One year older

I'm not much of a birthday celebration type of gal.

But, why not have a sale on Hello, Strategies today to #1: celebrate my birthday this week, and #2: make me work harder because it is my turn to ship products this month and next!?

Use the code:  Jengetswiser for 20% off everything on Hello, Strategies for this weekend only!  Offer expires on May 1st (at midnight).

Here's to growing older and wiser!

I can't believe I am 32!

Jen

Profound Gratitude

This weekend I am celebrating my birthday and also completing another {life} coaching class.  The focus of this class is being in the present moment.  Last night's surprise, intimate gathering for my birthday gave me a fantastic opportunity to practice being in the moment.  I didn't waste the opportunity.

When I woke up this morning, I thought, why not continue to be in the moment?  Here it goes.

At this moment, I feel a profound sense of gratitude.  The image that comes to mind is the Grand Canyon.  Every time I've seen the Grand Canyon in person I am in total awe.  Could it really be that vast?  Expansive?  Magnificent?  Radiant?  Astonishing?  And quiet?

The gratitude I also feel is related to abundance.  It goes on and on and deep and far reaching.  I'm standing right now and I feel all my emotions shooting through my feet like roots of a tree in a time-elapse video. This profound sense of gratitude is literally anchoring me to the earth.

From this vantage point, I am seeing possibility.  And, holy moly, my eyes cannot believe what they see.   If you were here with me (in my kitchen), I would call you over and say, do you see that?  Do you see?

.....I just released a gigantic sigh......

It's like what you want.  What anyone wants.   And what the world needs is right there.   Feeling this evokes calmness, delight, and awe.

....Is this a dream?.....

Oh, there it is.  The ugly side.  The this-really-is-a-dream-side-and-doesn't-exist side.  The side that likes to sabotage moments or thoughts like these.  Gosh forbid there is this beautiful land of possibility and gratitude and abundance.  What if there isn't enough?  Or I fail?  Or get hurt?  Or go unliked?  What then?  I'm shaking my head.  Again?

....That stupid story again?  Ugh.

This is my birthday.  I am over four decades old.  I didn't invite the saboteurs and their stupid story to this party.  They are not welcomed at the Grand Canyon in my mind.  This is my land (and yours?) of possibility.  I am grateful they remind me how fragile life is.  I'm grateful those saboteurs show me how high the stakes are. But, they don't serve me anymore.  In fact, they box me in.

So, right now.  In this moment.  I am noticing a take-back sense.  A "this is my life" feeling.  A "do you see this?" feeling.   A profound wave of gratitude that is as exuberant and as expansive as the Grand Canyon, indeed.

...If you could see me in person right now, you'd see this inquisitive and mischievous look on my face with a gigantic splash of awe.....

I like the mischievous part best,

Jen

Birthdays, Salsa Dancing, and Star Wars

As you know from yesterday's post (and the post before the weekend), we celebrated two birthdays this past weekend - Lil O and my mom's.  Now, it is time to wish my mom a very happy birthday!  Happy Birthday, Mom! I love you more.

Those cakes, by the way, were made by my uber-talented mother-in-law.  She even handcrafted those fondant flowers herself.  If you missed her KFC cake, check it out here.  I mean, really?

Not to divulge too much steamy information, but Mr. UpCyclist and I met salsa dancing.  To get back to our roots, we are taking the "30-Day Salsa Challenge," which we totally made up.  We are going to dance one salsa song a day for 30-days - no matter the time of day or our energy level.  Gone are the days where I'd dance in heels and slinky outfits and Mr. U in button down shirts and his favorite Banana Republic pants.  Now, we embrace slippers, socks and pajamas.  Ha!  Here's to 30-days and honoring what brought us together.

Is it just me or do you think there's a lot of confused Lego people at our house?

Enjoying my spring break from home,

Jen

PS - We are still sifting through the Rainbow Loom Project packages.  I will share a full update on the blog next week.

Cake. Yes, This is a Cake.

Can you spot the birthday cake above?

I know, hard isn't it.  Here, I'll give you a hint.  It is under that chicken.

Well, faux chicken.  That is Mr. UpCyclist's birthday cake!  Yes, that bucket of KFC is a cake.  And no, I'm not kidding.  My mother-in-law (MIL) is a professional cake decorator.  She made the cake for Mr. U's birthday this past weekend. Mr. U loves Kentucky Fried Chicken, but rarely eats it.  For his birthday this year, we celebrated with real KFC and a KFC cake.  Isn't it the best?  Isn't my MIL soooooo talented?

My MIL made the faux chicken legs, wings, and breasts by coating fondant (I think she said) with crushed up corn flakes.  The cole slaw she made by hand-cutting strips of fondant that she had dyed in "cole slaw" colors and added a gel/glaze to them to look like cole slaw dressing.  And those fries?  She airbrushed each one of them with special edible, airbrush "stuff" to give them that two-tone appearance.

Here's what the inside of the bucket looks like - the cake!

And boy was it delicious!

Happy Birthday to Mr. UpCyclist and huge thank you to my MIL for making such an incredible cake.

Love them both,

Jen

Birthday & Beaches

Our family never goes to the beach anymore.  Besides being a two hour drive, we tend to spend all of our vacation time at our condo in Colorado, which is lovely, but having sand between your toes was missed.  

I think we also started a new tradition - my birthday and the beach!  Bonus: the B & B where we stayed welcomes dogs.  In this photo, Lil O was twirling and squealing with delight.  

I think she really missed the beach.

This photo cracks me up.  I love Jedi's dog paw in the shot.  Our family.

Jedi spent most of the weekend off-leash.  He had no less than ten dog playdates a day.  At one point, a couple said to me, "Your dog is such a delight.  We've watched him all day welcome dogs and play with them."  Yep, Jedi is a friendly pup.  Boy, did he drink his fair share of sea water.  Oh my.

We took advantage of the deserted morning on the beach.  Since Mr. U is training for a triathlon, the beach provided a chance to dig in his heels.... & Jedi's.

I told Mr. U and Lil O, no more gifts for my birthday.  Let's just spend a couple of days at the beach.  Please.

Refreshed and refueled.

Jen

A New Kind of Party for Our Family

As many of you know, Jedi celebrated his first birthday the past weekend.  Since our family is totally in love with Jedi & slightly kooky, we decided to throw him a first birthday party at a local dog park - decorations and all.

We brought human and dog treats to celebrate.  Plus, party favor bags for all of Jedi's dog friends.  The favor bags included homemade dog biscuits (check back later in the week for the recipe) and samples of Jedi's dog food, Honest Kitchen (leftover from his stint as a spokesdog for their company).  PS - Did you know Honest Kitchen was featured on CBS Sunday Morning last week?  I heart that company.

We asked all of the party-goers to bring a donation for Black Dog Rescue - the amazing rescue that chose Jedi from the shelter in Kentucky and nursed him back to health. If we ever adopted another dog, it would be from Black Dog Rescue in a heartbeat.  

We had quite a crowd of party attendees.  About 10+ dog friends and 30 lovely humans all bundled up in the cold.

Oh, the dogs played!  Only one got bit :(  Many got chased, licked, smelled, wrestled or just explored the dog park.

The kids were quite happy.  They brought Jedi toys, cards and items for the rescue.  I should mention that some families who attended the party don't even have a dog!  Yes, you heard me.  They just like Jedi and so they attended.  Doesn't that tell you how sweet Jedi is?  He is.  What a temperament on that sweet pup.

Case in point, Lil O's friend, N.  She doesn't have a dog.  Her mom asked her to choose between attending Jedi's party and another party she was invited to - a human party.  She chose Jedi's!  N also made this sweet card for him.

The party-goers were so giving.  Here are some of the donations for Black Dog Rescue - new toys, leashes, collars, chew toys/sticks, gift cards, and cash!  I know the rescue will appreciate all the new items.

Have you ever thrown a party for a pet?  Do you have another way you like to celebrate your pet's birthday?  I'd love to hear.  We are already brainstorming celebration ideas for next year and Jedi's second birthday.

xoxo,

Jedi's Mom, Jen :)