Joy In The Journey

Life is certainly a journey and years ago I made the decision to live this journey with joy in my heart. It's not always easy for me to find joy, especially in the midst of grief, sadness, loss, anxiety, stress, pain and all the busyness ........you get the point.   My faith in God has a lot to do with it.  But it's also my passion for personal and spiritual growth that is enriching my heart and my mind and helping me to put in to practice things that I am learning.   And this path to deeper self knowledge is not only helping me to get to know myself better its helping me to better identify and deal with the challenges that that come my way without turning to food for comfort and picking up or staying stuck in old unhealthy habits.   Growing up food was family, it was abondanza, love and familia cooking and gathering around the table.  It was comfort but it was not the emotional crutch that I turned to for comfort during a difficult ti...

“ For thou didst form my inward parts, thou didst knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise thee, for thou art fearful and wonderful. Wonderful are thy works! Thou knowest me right well; my frame was not hidden from thee, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth” Psalm 139: 13 - 15 My mother loved to make this dish of penne pasta tossed with broccoli, garlic, crushed red pepper and olive oil topped with pecorino Romano cheese. She got the recipe from my sister Anna and she made it Mama style. It is versatile and my mother often made it using her electric skillet to prepare the sauce. At one point my mom was confined to a wheel chair and unable to access the stove very easily so using the electric skillet worked perfectly. My dad would prepare the penne and the broccoli on the stove. And she would do the rest and put it all together in the skillet. One of my favorite pictures with my mom was just before we were about to s...

I am passionate about my journey to live a healthier lifestyle and the mission to help others who want the same. It's not always easy to do and it takes intention, purpose, commitment and effort but it is worth every second to live the life I am living today. And the journey for me is progress not perfection. It has been a challenge coming out of vacations and the celebrations, parties and event s of summer and early fall and staying on track with nutrition, working out and a healthy lifestyle?   John and I have for the most part done well this summer and fall so far, but by no means perfect, we have indulged much more than we should, veered a bit off track and on occasions blurred the lines of balance and moderation.  We have committed 100% to finish this year strong before we head into the temptations of the holidays and another year is over and we have been kicking that into high gear with a few changes in our routine and its workign wonders! We are not intere...

Sometimes you have to glance back to see how far you have come. It's amazing to me that the best part of this journey for me is not the physical transformation but the rejuvination of my mind, body, soul and spirit. It's the whole package. I am closer to God, healthier and stronger than I have ever been, more confident in my skin and energized with a strength and purpose to use the gifts and talents that I have been given to make a difference in the lives of others and in the world around me. From where I stand its the best makeover ever! There is nothing like finding your purpose and intentionally moving towards your potential. I don't pretend to have all the answers. Because I don't. What I do have is desire, grit and a can do attitude and what I do know is that if I can do this and make these changes in my lifestyle that have opened up more doors and opportunties than I can even share, you can too and I can help you if you w...

This video makes my heart smile wide, brings tears of joy in having been blessed to call Maria Angela my mom and makes me miss her and everything about her all the more. Some may think that after close to 20 years of her being in heaven the loss may not cut so deep. But anyone who as lost someone they love will tell you, grief come in many stages and the loss never ever ever goes away. Over time it may ebb and flow in its course and at other times, in an instant the loss c an feel as fresh as if it just happened. Perhaps its because our hearts remember, and the memory of those we love are etched into our souls and will never be far from our thoughts. They are and forever will be a part of the fabric of our lives and thier fragrance lingers and at times may be stronger than others. As time marches on, circumstances change, things happen and events come and go different layers of grief and acceptance arrive, and mourning, remembrance and loss are sometimes peeled back and anoth...

Want an alternative to those tempting Halloween Treats? You know that your going to be tempted around all that Halloween Candy that is filling the store shelves and may soon be in your home...............before you do, take some tips from Batman and his Lady Love  We've got some tasty treats and alternatives that taste like the real deal without all the calories, added sugar and guilt that are easy to make and won't leave you saying.... "Holy Batman!! What did I just do????" Do you like Almond Joy and Peanut Butter Cups? Then check out our kitchy little Halloween Treats with the Caped Crusader  video.  And stick around for the end....it's the best part.   Contact Me  if you too want to make some healthy lifestyle. I can help and I don't bite......well maybe only on Halloween, but you'd have to ask Batman about that 😻 Keeo checking out my blog for recipes like  Almond Joy Shake  and  Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls ...

My beloved and I were away on vacation when this Super Saturday Transformations Video  was played at the event.  Although hundreds of miles away, I heard about it from a number friends, fellow coaches and business owners who reached out to let me know that my story was the lead in to this inspiring video. Our vacation plans were made in advance, before we knew the date of the event and then we learned that the CEO of our amazing organization would be there too.  We were disappointed that we were not able to make it, but so excited to check in and see the posts and videos that our team and friends were posting about he event.   Yesterday for the first time I got a chance to view it, without the music, the buzz and excitement of thousands gathered together for that amazing event.  I guess it's a good thing I was alone, because with every transformation image came an additional flood of tears.  Grateful, awestruck, humbled, hopeful, thankfull, blesse...