A salty cure...

Hope you are engaging
in all three as needed!

xo xo,
Miss Bliss, aka Danielle

pic via Tumblr

Fine February Art: Showing Yourself Some Love

The Fine February Art of Showing Yourself Some Love

If you are familiar with output required to function and maintain contemporary life, you know the value of showing yourself some love. We can all use reminders and ideas; February is the perfect time to enjoy replenishing oneself, and to find more of what you enjoy.

What does it take to do more than merely function and maintain your life, to even thrive and feel bliss?

Consider time for yourself in which to grow, to replace your wellness “reserves.” Where would you like to go? Is there a favorite place you haven’t been in a while, because you have been “too busy”? Is there a new place you’ve been meaning to visit and explore? What’s stopping you?

What do you need? Give yourself permission for it. Why not? If not now, when?

Plan to stop thinking about planning. Be. Put your favorite music on and enjoy. When do you feel at your best? Most energized, or relaxed? Why not give yourself more? Give yourself the gift of freedom, down time, rejuvenation time. Dr. Andrew Weil states, “Don't be afraid to say "no" when someone asks you to do something. Learn your limits. You can't do it all and you shouldn't feel guilty about it.”

Be open to surprises. You might find yourself talking to a new friend while eating a quick lunch at your local Whole Foods. We can get stuck in our regular work circles and social circles; meeting new people can be a gift when you least expect it. Recently I crossed paths for the first time with a fellow Miamian, Ivette, and within moments we were laughing like old friends, and opening up unexpectedly… over lunch at cafeteria-style tables in a Whole Foods. Who knew?

Consider that less stuff means more time for loved ones and finding what is important. What can you clear out? Make room for your life. Let go. Recently my sister packed up a layer of the toys in her daughter’s room, and the five-year-old said, “I have this paint?” Usually her mother’s shadow, she spent her first afternoon on her own, happily painting in her room with the newly discovered paints which had been there all along.

What are you reading? According to Dr. Alice Domar, executive director of the Domar Center for Mind/Body Health in Boston, MA, “women take care of everyone else, but not themselves.” Her best selling title, Self-Nurture, has a new follow-up: BE HAPPY WITHOUT BEING PERFECT: How to Break Free from the Perfection Deception. The book addresses “why women just won’t give themselves a break or give themselves permission to enjoy all of the good things in their lives.”

I suggest it is time that we all should do just that.

February is a short month. Enjoy its days and enjoy each chance to make and revel in loving choices, especially for yourself.

How do you maintain and create your own well-being?

xo xo, Miss Bliss

Next Stop: BARBADOS!

I am planning our next vacation...join in for the "research" process....

This looks pretty much perfect!

How are your toes in this pink sugar sand?

The jacuzzi with this view: I might never leave.

At the Crane Hotel and Residences in Barbados...
nothing to get in the way of your view!

Water Therapy.

Maybe I could hang out here. Maybe.

This could work...

Do you feel the lovely walk here?

If you have paradise to match this, please send me in the right direction!

You can use this pool or your very own plunge pool...

The breezes here would work just fine....

I think this is an acceptable spot for breakfast.

Do you have your sunglasses?

How is the water?

Look at this adorable flower!

Sweet Dreams!

Hope you enjoyed your Barbados stop.

What do you think????

What's your favorite vacation spot?

images from here

"That's Criminal," my dentist said...

I've been a little worried about a little boy I love.

On his visit recently, we gave him his first plum. We gave him his first peach. We gave him his first mango, and he lives in South Florida, where they grow like apples. His little sister is crazy about the blueberries we give her. We told him there were pits inside the peach and plum, and he could eat the skin...He loved them.

He is eight, entering third grade next week. He has been raised on a lot of candy and soda...but he knows we don't allow soda when he is with us.

I was at my dentist last week, telling him how I was worried about the soda and lack of fruit, etc. the adults in his life give this kid. "Who are these people?" he asked. "How are you related to this kid?"

"They're a little... well....dysfunctional."

"That's not dysfunctional," he immediately said. "That's CRIMINAL."

"It's all chemicals, and nothing...Fucking soda," he said, disgusted. It wasn't just the dentist in him talking, but the human, who wanted my nephew, who he has never met, (and everyone) to have the good stuff. The real stuff.

Later we had a chat with our little friend and told him to think about what the school gave him to drink..."chocolate milk, strawberry milk, milk."

"They don't give you soda, right?"
"No," he said.
"Because it's not good for you, and they wouldn't be allowed to do that."

He had to go lie down for a while after taking that in...paradigm shifts are exhausting.

I have turned into an "annoying" adult. It's because I LOVE this kid and I am concerned about his well being and future.

Off to the secret oasis...

Remember this place?

Yes. That place. It is calling my name. I will be plunging in to that water in less than 20 minutes!

Will report back on the tropical pool bliss!

The Oprah "What can you live without-- Challenge!"

She is giving two families: a one week challenge--focus on each other and not screens... avoid being plugged in to tech and not connecting with each other...

-cut out all technology, including her show ;)

-no eating out at all, brown bag your lunch

-no spending except one budgeted trip to grocery store

-one family project to give back

-one date night

-no working late

What on this list appeals to you? What could you live without, for a little while? Do you find yourself or others needing to cut out tech usage in order to truly focus on friends/family sometimes?

See Oprah's letter here...

Her first family seems pretty devastated by the technology shut down so far... we'll see. I bet they are going to LOVE IT.... *update--they did!!! They even agreed to go a second week without their tech toys...

patience, my dear! on breathing, healing, and going back to school

Dear Kind Readers,

Mr. Wonderful is going back to school. The road has been a bit bumpy, but he is hanging in there. I thought for sure this would be a brilliant idea, because imhyao, he is brilliant, an absolute genius for sure. Studying his passions in a university environment would be something he would enjoy, I was certain. He wants to do weather and environmental research, and basically advise the weather announcers what is going to happen. He is all about weather and science, marine, tornadoes, you name it. The above images make sense to him, and fascinate him. Just having the conversations with professionals and experts is an experience I want him to have. The degree would just be the paper work to open doors in order to do what he loves...

He is a true renaissance person: sciences (atmospheric, earth, etc), history, politics, photography, writing, you name it. After we got together, I thought, I WANT him to have the opportunity I had in going to college. (He went to the Coast Guard right after high school, then worked, then went to theology school, then worked, then volunteered, and worked, gave his all to a church, all at the same time, you get the idea.)

He was able to visualize going back to school after some months, and was finally willing to apply and take time off work for going back to school at age 36. I also have a work benefit for spouses to go to school, with a substantial chunk of tuition covered.

Part of the reason I returned to Miami, with him in tow :), was for him to go back to school.

As I say, there has been a bump or two in the road. And I love him so much, and it is hard to see any bumps. We did not sign up for any more bumps. So basically, it has taken longer to get the process going than we expected. I am afraid he has gotten a bit taken aback with it all.

I do think things have unfolded a certain way for a purpose, and I have been hoping to get him to de-stress along the way and he has. That has been very important for his health! Just breathing and dreaming was his job, I told him. For the first time in his life, after giving more than was imaginable his whole life, I just wanted this childhood love/love of my life- of mine to breathe and heal from our unbelievable life stories.

This week we will learn more, and he will be on his way, I project. Any support you want to send him on his way back to school, now entering late thirties, and rethinking all our "masculine" and "marital" stereotypes, would be greatly appreciated!!!!!

We have basically said screw it to all the "shoulds" of everyone else's, and decided to live life on our own terms from here on out, and we just need the universe to catch up, on his school entry front.... but again, I know the timing has been right, and just love him so much and do not want the timing being different than expected to get him down.

I told him, yes, it's a pain, and anything worth doing is not so easy or everyone would do it. This process is not easy, but worth doing, we both agree. We are on the way, just doing things our own way, in our own timing. There is no rush, I keep saying to him, we have the rest of our lives, and it is not about pressure. The trip when I first saw him two years ago, and we knew we'd get married, we agreed, there had been "enough bullshit to date."

Now, on to the bliss................