August 2021 (Volume 11 - Issue #8)
Hello and happy Saturday, <<Name>> ! I saw my first bright yellow school bus this week. I saw the first sunflower, standing out against a field of green. We’re still weeks and weeks away from the first day of Autumn, I’ve noticed the sun is setting just a little earlier each evening....
We're in the season for transitions and new beginnings.
Before we dive into what's been on my mind, I just want you to know how much I value our time here together here. I am ever grateful to be allowed to visit your inbox. So, welcome to all my old friends as well as those of you who are new to my world.
“I feel comforted by my awareness
as I recognize all the ingredients that
go into a happy state of being.”
--Alexandra Stoddard
On Wednesday evening, I wrapped a very full day of writing and coaching wonderful people, poured a glass of  Rose, and wandered outside with my book. The sun was shining, a soft breeze was blowing and I was overwhelmed with gratitude.
For most of my life, I believed that in order for life to be interesting, then that meant life had to be more downs than ups and fill with all kinds of angst (and other such nonsense). That we had to rush around to prove our worth and relaxing was for those "privileged people".
Well, baby, I'm here to tell you that though life is a glorious adventure, living a daily life you love includes lots of peaceful moment. That, at the end of the day, I don't have to rush around like a crazy person - I can actually relax and enjoy my home, a good book and an excellent glass of wine - sans drama.
I can't tell your how incredible that feels to a once-upon-a-time drama queen. Or, how contrary that is to what I was taught growing up.
I'm living proof that we don't have to follow in path of what we grew up believing. We get to choose our path and alter it to be experience in a way that feels loving and nourishing.
But I mentioned that all around us are signs of shifts. Even for folks who don’t have kids, August is one of those  transitional months where we get that “back to school” energy.
It’s a restart, the edges of the fall, the longing to complete a 2021 goal, and looking to the new year.
Though the new year doesn't arrive for four and a half more months, we've shifted into Next Year Thinking at our house.
JB's work uses a fiscal year calendar that begins October 1st, and their class - and travel - schedules are beginning to emerge. (Though, of course, we don't know about the travel portion).
So during my morning porch time, when I sit with my coffee and journal, I'm pondering what's on the horizon while savoring the goodness in my present.
It’s also when I begin not just my personal planning and household planning around his work commitments, I’m pondering what business goals I want to set…and frankly, what areas of my business need to shift. And what needs to change about ME so that I can better tend all the areas of my life?
Here's what I'm pondering lately:
- Is the blog still a good use of my time? Do people even read blogs in 2021?
- Is it time to rework my coaching packages? Though I have always loved working long term with clients which allows us to go deeper and deeper into their desires and growth, I would be lying if I didn’t admit how much I love doing strategy sessions with folks. You know, where someone presents a problem or challenge and we brainstorm all the ways to address it. And then create a plan. That’s super fun – and useful.
- I’m thinking a lot about my creative time. Is it time to finally finish that book that’s 90% complete so I can release it into the world? Or should I create – or revamp – some of my courses and breath
 new life into them?
- Social media is often on my mind when it comes to my professional life….as a coach and writer, is social media a good use of my time? Or is it all just noise anymore?
- And while we're thinking about social media, I'm wondering if it's good for me when it comes to my own mental health...
- How can I better tend my home without using it as an excuse not to write?
- What have I always wanted to do but held back from? Where are my own excuses getting in the way of loving myself and my life more?
- And, frankly, I’m thinking a lot about the future. Though I’m looking at the last four months or 2021 and ahead to 2022…I am also imagining a life where JB is retired and I am finding a balance of enjoying my time with him and doing a little work…
I share all the things I'm pondering because we're friends here. And pulling back the curtain on my process invites you to begin thinking about yourself and your life. Because while this can seem like minutia and a bit of naval gazing, it's about being open to possibility and digging into what I desire for the big picture of my life as well as the rhythm of my daily life.
All of this thinking and pondering is really about awareness.
When it comes to living a life you love, one of the first pieces of advice I give is to dive into your own self-awareness. Yes, even though it not always easy to look in the mirror and see who we are, warts and all. You may be asking why awareness, then, is worth the trouble. That’s because without awareness, you are cutting yourself off from the very tools you need to, not just pursue your desires, but enhance the quality of your everyday experiences
Self-awareness is the ability to observe ourselves – why we react and how we behave – and not only accept  what we discover, but make informed decisions about the changes we want to make.
Awareness is also the ability to be honest with ourselves about our weaknesses and strengths, as well as our thoughts, motivations, and emotions.
Awareness often done through a personal inquiry process: asking yourself good questions and getting nakedly and brutally honest about your real answers. And trust me, even if you're not much of a journal keeper, it is so helpful to do this on paper. To ask yourself good questions, record your answers, and then ask yourself "Why?" and "And what would that give you?" several times until you get to your deeper truth.
Because you don’t know what you don’t know, even about yourself. This is something that I believe is critical work - especially right now.
Because even if you've done a ton of personal growth work in the past, not one of us is the same person we were before March 2020. It's just not possible to experience - or witness - so much chaos and worry and stress without it changing you.
The beauty of awareness is that it allows us to make better choices and curate a lifestyle that makes us feel engaged and alive.
Remember when we talked in June about idleness? From the outside, awareness can look an awful lot like idleness. And making the decision to dig in means that you may look idle on the outside....and your actual productivity for getting things done - such as laundry, errands, chores, and work that produces something tangible - is going to languish.
For me, personally, this means that less consumable content can be created because all my energy is going towards digging in. Because when you are asking yourself the harder questions around what you need and  desire? All that brain work takes energy, time, and bandwidth.
As a still-reforming perfectionist, I often get into my head the idea that I should be able to do EVERYTHING. I am wired as a "J", which means I tend to see a lot of black and white in the world as my norm. It's sometimes hard to remember that I can't always BE and DO everything. To leave behind the idea that I should be able to do more work in a single day - coach more people, get more words on a page, not need quiet, not need company, and certainly never battle resistance.
So, darling, when you're choosing to live in the question and go deeper for your answers, be patient with the lack of exterior results. Because it's frustrating to reach the end of a day - or week - when you've done so much exhausting, inner work....but have nothing "productive" to show for it.
This is why I’m often asked if self-awareness is worth the trouble. Because there’s the shadow side of it.
This shadow side can make us angry or sad at our past choices, and can send us spiraling down the rabbit hole of the so-called “bad” emotions. And how can I forget the Inner Critic’s ability to become oh so judgmental when we play with being more aware of ourselves as our ally.
Let’s be honest, sometimes too much self-awareness can be downright exhausting. And no one enjoys digging  into painful, old wounds and stories.
Yet, awareness, while sometimes a bit painful, is actually quite freeing. If we can pair the awareness with kindness towards ourselves, it gives us a great opportunity to step into our own greatness. To allow what could be seen as flaws or cracks in our perfect facades to burst open so that the light from our souls can shine.
Even when we deal with the painful side of awareness, it invites us to dream and go more deeply into our desires and wishes. Because, as my old pal Cinderella would say "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes".
It's the most beautiful part of my work as a coach. To finally understand that when we step into our own awareness that life only gets sweeter. That we aren't made to be perfect. That our cracks don't indicate brokenness, but the ways in which we've been touched by the world and our existence in it.
Awareness is always worth the trouble. That’s because, without taking the time to observe how we feel about what we’re doing, seeing, or experiencing, it’s impossible to feel fully engaged. Or, as I have to remind myself regularly: when you plant new seeds, the first thing to come up is dirt. Yet, before anything can bloom, working through the dirt is necessary.
That’s my wish and hope for you this month. That you find loving, gentle ways to deepen your own self-awareness. To dig more deeply into what you desire, what you need, and how you can make it happen.
For when you do, you're sure to recognize it as an opportunity to look around you and really love yourself and your life even more.
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No matter what's happening in the outside world - or in my own small little world - one thing I've learned is that the smallest of things can keep us afloat, pull us out of the deep end, and help us be a happier version of yourself.
This month, I'm digging into the great - and not so great - things I'm turning to thanks to my old pal, Awareness.
in the Laundry Room
I am by no means a clotheshorse. I like basic, classic clothes and often buy quality items that last for years and years. I have dresses and suits that are more than 15 years old...and a ton of summer sweaters that are a  good decade old. And though I never keep clothes that look bad, sometimes you have to pitch a perfect looking item due to something we don't often talk about : STANK.
Yes, I know. But do you ever put on a sweater or blouse and within an hour smell a funky stink? That happened to me back in May. I had showered, dressed, and was out the door...and within an hour regretted my outfit. It wasn't how it looked, it was the way that the smell of BO just ROSE UP from the sweater. I couldn't wait to get back home and change clothes!
Now, most of my sweaters go to the dry cleaners...but I found out their process is more about stains than odor.
Then, my favorite brand for all things smelly, or rather to eliminate all things smelly, introduce a laundry product. Yes, I'm talking about Lume, whose deodorant I praised in the January newsletter.
Lume Biofilm Buster is a laundry pre-treater that breaks up the build up clothes get. I've only used it on bras and sweaters that I've then machine washed on gentle (and hung to dry) but WOW does it work!
in the Kitchen
If you've been around here for long, you know I love food. I love everything about bringing a meal to the table - yep, even grocery shopping. But when I'm doing a lot of thinking work, I'm just wrung out mentally and  emotionally by the end of the day.
Yet, we still need to eat. So I need some shortcuts to make that happen. Yes, I meal prep (as I shared in February), I create at least two or more meals when I grill (as I shared in June), and I use some shortcuts.
And while I don't love a lot of pre-packaged food, I've discovered that the entrees from Kevin's Natural Foods are a gift. They were on sale last month at my local Whole Foods, so I grabbed their Roasted Garlic Chicken and Chipotle Lime Chicken. And I was WOWED!
All the Kevin's entrees are Gluten Free and non-GMO. Many of the items are "Paleo" which means they are also free of soy, something super hard to find in already prepared entrees.
If you grab one of these entrees, inside you'll find fully cooked meat that's been prepared sous vide style with the sauce on the side. Just heat up in a skillet with a little olive oil, add the sauce, and five minutes later, dinner is served.
I've been thinking about placing an order online since there are so many other varieties to try beyond what my Whole Foods stocks. But that will be for later in the year...when I'm not doing so much introspection and awareness work!
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Whether you have your own garden, a friend with a garden, or only buy your produce at your local grocery  store, you’re sure to find this ingredient everywhere: zucchini. The great thing about zucchini is it's a nutrition powerhouse. And, because it has a fairly neutral flavor, you can use it all kinds of ways.
But in addition to using a spiralizer and making “zoodles” what else can you do with this late summertime staple?
Here’s five ideas for you.
First Up: Baked Goods.
Zucchini is a great addition to baked goods because, even when you drain the excess moisture from it, it makes baked goods tender and moist. Here’s some of my favorites:
Lemon Zucchini Bread (makes one loaf)
Begin by preheating the oven to 350 degrees. (325 if you have a convection oven). Spray a 9x5 loaf pan with  PAM for baking.
In large bowl, sift together: 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup whole wheat flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt and set aside.
In a medium bowl, cream 2/3 cup sugar with 1 stick of softened butter. Add 2 eggs, ½ cup of buttermilk, the zest and juice of one lemon (zest first with a Microplane zester, then juice). Blend well.
Gently fold in one cup of grated zucchini that you’ve gently squeezed the excess moisture out of. Combine in dry ingredients gently (but don’t overmix or your bread will be tough)
Pour batter into prepared 9×5″ loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean (About 35-40 minutes in a convection oven).
Cool in pan 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack and cool completely. This is pretty yummy as is, but if you want a bit tarter and sweeter added, you'll want to do a simple glaze.
This is the epitome of simple glazes for quick bread: sift a cup of powdered sugar and add about two teaspoons of lemon juice. MIX and pour over life, preferably while it’s still warm. If you want a thicker glaze, just add a bit more powdered sugar.
Orange Zucchini Bread (makes 2 loaves)
Begin by preheating the oven to 350 degrees. (325 if you have a convection oven). Spray a 9x5 loaf pan with  PAM for baking.
In large bowl, sift together: 3 cups all-purpose (or white wheat flour, or combo of), ½ teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt and set aside.
In a separate bowl, add 1 ¼ cup of granulated sugar. Zest 1 orange over the bowl of your sugar and then rub the zest into your sugar until it’s combined and fragrant. Next, add 2 sticks of softened butter and beat until fluffy. Then add in 3 eggs, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract and blend well. Remove from mixer and do the rest by hand, adding 2 cups of lightly packed shredded zucchini and the flour mixture.
Pour the batter evenly into prepared pans and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Let the bread cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before turning them out onto a cooling rack.
The glaze is similar to the lemon glaze: ¼ cup orange juice and 1 cup of sifted powdered sugar. Pour over loaves before they cool completely.
If you want a thicker glaze, do the first glaze over the loaf, then add more powdered sugar to thicken it slightly. Layering one layer of glaze atop another.
Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins (12 muffins)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
In a large bowl combine 1 1/2 cups whole wheat or all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1  teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon salt and set aside.
In a separate bowl or in a large liquid measuring cup, whisk together 1 stick of melted butter, ¼ cup of buttermilk, 1 large egg, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract., 1/4 cup buttermilk, and 1 large egg.
Combine the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir gently but don’t overmix. It’s ok to have some dry streaks remaining.
Now add 1 ¼ cup of shredded zucchini, preferably zucchini you’ve squeezed out a bit or have sitting in a colander to drain off the excess moisture. Combine in with muffin ingredients along with ½ cup of your favorite chocolate chips (I prefer semi-sweet) – just don’t overmix.
Portion out into prepared muffin tins and bake for 17 minutes, or until the top so the muffins spring back lightly to the touch.
NOTES about Baked Goods with Zucchini
Flour: One of the casualties of the pandemic is the supply of flour. My favorite flour to bake with is King Arthur's Sprouted Whole Wheat Flour, which has been next to impossible to find lately. I love the heartiness of whole wheat flour, but have found that white wheat flour has a bit of a lighter touch. You can cut this heartiness a bit by subbing all-purpose flour for ½ the amount of flour in any of these recipes.
By the way, no matter what flour I am working with, I prefer King Arthur Flour as it's 100% grown in the USA and never has any GMOs.
Butter: I love baking with butter from a standpoint of taste and texture of the finished baked goods. You can substitute a neutral oil (avocado, organic canola) or even half the amount of oil with half the amount of unsweetened applesauce and get a good result.
Zucchini: All these recipes call for grated zucchini. Cut off the stem, keep the end and the peel, and box on the large grates of a box grater. I put a piece of waxed paper under my box grater so that I can then just fold up the waxed paper and gently pour into a measuring cup. You could use a food processor if you’re doing a marathon baking session.
Oh, and while zucchini added makes baked good moister, do give it a quick squeeze with clean hands before you add it into any of the batters. Alternatively, you can grate the zucchini over paper towels and squeeze it out there.
Add ins: Though the Lemon Zucchini bread is perfect as is, I also sometimes add a cup of shredded coconut to the Orange Zucchini Bread. And if you don’t like chocolate chips, you can sub a preferred chip – such as butterscotch or peanut butter chips.
Storage: With just the two of us, we never finish an entire loaf or batch of anything before it begins to degrade in quality. This is why I usually freeze baked goods. And on loaves? I will often halve a loaf: 1/2 for now and 1/2 for later!
To freeze, allow to completely cool, wrap in waxed paper, and then put in freezer bags. A full loaf or 1/2 loaf fits perfectly in a gallon size freezer bag. And I put muffins - or a loaf I've sliced into individual servings (yes, also wrapped in waxed paper)- in sandwich sized bags.
All these baked goods will freeze for up to six months. Which, by the way, is a great way to begin your holiday baking with some non-traditional drops of sunshine in the colder months.
Savory Recipes with Zucchini
While the moisture is a plus for savory recipes, they’re also great vehicles for stronger flavors: think cheese, chili powder, garlic, etc. While you can do the aforementioned spirals of zucchini as a sub - or mixed in - with spaghettis noodles, I also regularly grill zucchini. Just toss zucchini coins in a zip lock bag with your favorite dressing about 2 hours before you're going to cook it.
Here's how to make the zucchini more of a star rather than just a side dish
Baked Zucchini & Cheese Fritters
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly coat with  cooking spray or lightly grease an unlined baking sheet.
Grate zucchini on a box grater (as mentioned above, but this time, you want to squeeze as much excess moisture out as possible. You can do this by putting zucchini between paper towels, or put in wire mesh colander and pressing down with the back of a spoon. You want 1 ½ cups of shredded zucchini packed as tightly as possible into a measuring cup that you would use for dry ingredients
In a large bowl, add 1 large egg and lightly beat it, then add wrung out zucchini, ½ cup of sharp cheddar cheese (like Dubliner by Kerrygold or Organic Valley Raw Sharp Cheddar), ¼ cup of bread crumbs or panko,1 teaspoon of garlic powder, ½ teaspoon dried basil, and several grinds of pepper.
Drop the mixture by the tablespoon (about 2 tablespoons per fritter) onto parchment lined pan and then lightly press down with the back of the spoon to flatten.
Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
These are best WARM. OR, if you're trying to cut down on carbs, size these up a bit with 3 to 4 tablespoons of batter and use them as a sub for bread for a sandwich.
Zucchini Boats Two Ways: Mexican OR Italian
When cooking for two, I often have leftovers. In fact, as I’ve shared before, I plan for leftovers. So, rather than make the same thing – again – use zucchini boats as a vehicle for leftovers. For Mexican Zucchini Boats, use  leftover taco meat. And for the Italian version, use leftover meat sauce.
Once you have your meat decided, here’s how to proceed.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch OR 9 x 9 baking pan (based on how many you are cooking for) with nonstick cooking spray.
Cut the stem end only off, halve the zucchini, and then scoop out the center, discarding the seeds and leaving the outer zucchini flesh about 1/4-inch thick, forming little zucchini boats.
I usually plan for 2 boats per person. Sprinkle the cut side of each zucchini with a little bit of salt (a pinch for each zucchini half) and set aside.
You probably want to lightly warm your leftover meat of choice just enough to knock of the chill and for any excess grease to be cooked off.
When I do the Mexican Zucchini Boats, I add a cup of pinto or black beans along with 1 cup of corn to the taco meat bulk it up. When I do the Italian Zucchini Boats, I add in a cup of shredded carrots and 1/2 of a diced onion that I’ve lightly sautéed in olive oil in with the meat sauce. And, who am I kidding, I add garlic to  the carrots and onions, too.
Then, scoop an even amount of the meat and sauce mixture into each zucchini boat, piling it on.
Cover the baking dish with a layer of lightly greased foil (or my favorite non-stick foil) and bake for 20 minutes.
Uncover layer 1 to 2 cups of shredded cheese* on top of the zucchini boats and bake for another 15 minutes until fork tender.
You can serve as is or sprinkle some fresh toppings like Parm or fresh tomatoes on the Italian version and avocado, fresh tomatoes, salsa, or a squeeze of lime on the Mexican version.
*On Cheese: If at all possible, choose organic cheese. My go-to brand for pre-shredded cheese is Organic Valley. But I also usually have a block of Kerrygold Dubliner (which is a grass fed cheese) and a hunk of parmesan. For the Italian Version, I use Mozzarella, Parmesan, or the 3-Italian Cheese variety. For the Mexican version, I use cheddar, Monterey jack, 3-Cheese Mexican variety. Or, if you want to be fancy, use crumbled Cotija!
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Have you chosen Your Word for 2021? It's something I've been doing since 2005 and has been a great influence and support on my personal development over the years. Yes, even those years that I have tried to ignore my word, just the act of choosing a Word is like a prayer.
One thing I wanted to do in the year ahead is to serve as a cheerleader, companion, and champion for you - and Your Word - for 2021. In my experience our words work their own special magic whether we check in with them or not, but keeping them in mind certainly helps boost their ability to serve us.
Here's some ways to play and connect in this month:
- Ask yourself: What ways is my WORD helping me be more self-aware around who I am, what I need to be happy, and deciding what's next? Grab a sheet of paper, your journal, or open a blank document on your computer to explore the answers to this question.
- How can my WORD be a jumping off point to slow down on exterior productivity and go within for more introspection? Sometimes, we rush headlong into life - or confuse being busy as a way to prove our worth. Yet, sometimes, the opposite of action is needed in order to best reach our goals and thoughtfully pursue our desires....
- Use your WORD as the starting point...and catalog what you deeply desire. And why. What I mean by this is to brainstorm everything you want to achieve, experience, to be, or have....and explore how your WORD supports that, ask yourself WHY? followed by "And what would that give me?" and just when you think you've discovered your true answers, circle back to your word and ask how it can help you breath life into that desire.
PS - If you haven't yet chosen a word, there's still time. I'll never forget what happened to me in 2010. That year, I didn't even commit to a Word - FAITH - until March. I took leap after leap after leap of Faith that year, and my life has never been the same. It gave me the courage to trust my intuition and step out of my comfort zone.
Though it will no longer be available to the general public, as a subscriber you can download (or re-download) A Touchstone For Your 2021 Journey: The In-Depth Guide to Revealing Your Word of the Year you can get the details here.
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