Anatomy of an Intentional Calendar

Ah, September is upon us. Fall is here the weather is changing, and Starbucks keeps telling me I need pumpkin and caramel. Our days are getting shorter, the adventures of summer are coming to an end and more consistent routines quickly gives way to over scheduling and stress. Homework! Sports! Doing ALL the things!

I'm focusing on being very intentional with my time and energy month as I re-visit my family's launch pad and calendars. First things first... let's all take a moment to manage our expectations. Take 2-3 big belly breaths and remember:

Normal is a setting on a dryer

Comparison is the thief of joy

I'm stepping into my superhero alter ego here: Super Good Enough Mom.

I can do it all sort of good enough. I can do some of it great. I can love myself by remembering I don't need to do everything perfect to be a pretty damn good mom. Breakfast for dinner is fun, not lazy. 

Now that we remember we don't need to do ALL the things...let's talk calendar.

I'm posting a photo of our calendar below so you can get an idea of how I have created an intentional schedule that honors not only what I HAVE to do, but what I WANT to do.

Identify goals for the month for each family member, then be thoughtful about the commitments you make. Are they in line with your intentions? If not, practice saying no without guilt. This month, I'm going to focus on accepting opportunities to rest and rejuvenate, and opportunities to be inspired by ambitious people. My son is starting a premier basketball league and I've committed to getting him to practices and games. Other commitments need to balance these priorities. 

Be clear on what is optional. Include the things you'd like to do if you had the time on the calendar too. This helps you see the ways you could fit them in. Do some research and find things in your community you could decide to attend without a lot of planing or making arrangements. Note on your calendar which items you've actually committed to. (My commitments have a red dot.) Be selective in making commitments, then stick to your best intentions. Leave some space to accept some of those opportunities.  

Build in authentic celebrations. I get teased for being the queen of "Yay!" in my house. That's because I've learned that all work and no play makes Kellie a dull girl. I look for opportunities for dance parties, movie nights with popcorn and fancy dinner for no reason. Scheduling one little "Yay!" helps me grounded in fun. These aren't other people's parties (unless their party is truly a fun celebration for you), nor overdone dinner parties that bring pressure. Just small moments of gratitude and fun.


Hoping this help! I hope you will make time to nurture yourself and celebrate life. Leave a comment below telling me about your adventures!

xoxo
K 

Adventure Bites and GoogleFu: Cherimoya

 

Have you had cherimoya? We picked this up at the natural market this weekend to try. It's a bit like a cross between a pear and a banana. It's got a soft creamy texture and it's delicious. They do have a lot of big seeds, and I read that the seeds are not edible, so that make it a little difficult to eat. 

According to my good friend Google, the cherimoya has many health benefits. I'm a little suspicious about the heath benefits of fruit that's traveled so far before it reaches my lips, but I'll play along: 

Health benefits of cherimoya: 

• Very sweet and pleasant flavor annonas contain an impressive list of essential nutrients, vitamins, anti-oxidants and minerals

• The fruit has calories equivalent to that of mangoes. 100 g of fresh fruit pulp provide about 75 calories. It is, however, contain no saturated fats or cholesterol. It characteristically contains a good amount of dietary fiber (3 g per100 g) that helps prevent absorption of cholesterol in the gut. The fiber also helps protect the mucous membrane of the colon from exposure to toxic substances by binding cancer-causing chemicals in the colon.
  

• Cherimoya contains several poly-phenolic antioxidants. Among them, the most prominent in annona family fruits are Annonaceous acetogenins. Acetogenin compounds such as asimicin, bullatacinare...etc are powerful cytotoxins and have been found to have anti-cancer, anti-malarial, and anti-helminthes properties.
  
  
• It is very good in vitamin-C. Vitamin C is a powerful natural antioxidant. Consumption of fruits rich in vitamin C helps the human body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful, pro-inflammatory free radicals from the body.
  

• In addition, cherimoya fruit is a good source of B-complex vitamins, especially vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine). 100 g fresh fruit provides 0.257 mg or 20% of daily-recommended levels. Pyridoxine helps keep-up GABA neuro chemical in the brain. High GABA levels calm down nervous irritability, tension, and headache ailments.
  

• Further, it has a well balanced sodium-potassium ratio. A good potassium level in the body helps control heart rate and blood pressure, and thus, counters the bad influences of sodium. It also contains more minerals weight per weight than many common fruits like apples, rich in copper, magnesium, iron and manganese.

Source: http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/cherimoya.html

Sounds great, except this part right here:  "powerful cytotoxins and have been found to have anti-cancer, anti-malarial, and anti-helminthes properties." (record stop). Wait, what?!. So this stuff has toxins in it? Isn't snake venom a cytotoxin?

GoogleFu to the rescue.....more research needed. I read several reports and research papers, but the best explanation was found in a well sourced post on the 30 Bananas a Day site. (I am NOT recommending the 30 bananas a day approach to dieting.)

"The cherimoya fruit skin and its crushed seeds are toxic; ingestion of either is discouraged except by those well familiar with their medicinal qualities. The seeds have been used for insecticides while a dilution of the skin can induce paralysis.

The dried flowers are used as flavoring in snuff in Jamaica while rural Mexicans sometimes use a dilution of the seeds to induce vomiting or defecation (Morton). The pulverized seeds are also used to kill lice and treat parasitic skin problems. The skin can also be brewed into a tea for treatment of pneumonia.

Source: http://www.aihd.ku.edu/foods/cherimoya.html

One of the common internet myths that I wanted to take an opportunity to dispel was the idea that a Cherimoya can kill you if you eat the skin and seeds. According to Mr. Ruskey, the skin is tannic but not poisonous. The seeds of the Cherimoya do contain alkaloids, similar to a number of other plant seeds, and while you could do a fair amount of processing to collect the alkaloids, accidentally swallowing one seed won't harm you. Lucky for my readers, I recently swallowed a Cherimoya seed and I am still here typing this post (or am I....?) so rest assured that Mr. Ruskey is indeed correct in his analysis.

Source: http://www.uncoveringfood.com/2009/04/deliciously-divine-uncovering...

The hard seeds are toxic, but can be swallowed whole with no ill effects.

Source: Morton, J. (1987): Custard apple. In: Fruits of warm climates. Julia F. Morton, Miami, FL.

So there you have it folks. Adventure level: 9- May cause paralysis.

Today's adventure bite led me to some new learning and a reminder to know thy food. 

Kellie 

Make It Happen

 

Hiya! It's been a long while, and I'm excited to say that I'm feeling grounded in my work again, both in education and holistic health, and ready to get back to writing, coaching and teaching. I've been working on a lot of projects, and now I'm almost ready to launch my updated website and new community workshops. Stay tuned for that.

I've been busy! In January I finished a graduate certificate in Preschool to 3rd Grade Executive Leadership from the University, and now I'm studying Public Administration at Fort Hays State University to finish up my Masters degree. I've also found my dream job, as a Prenatal to 3rd Grade Campus director of an amazing early learning center that is showcasing high quality early learning while partnering with a top notch elementary school. Together we're aligning our instruction and eligibility practices to ensure that children in our neighborhood get equal access to programs designed to support diverse learners and eliminate opportunity gaps. 

I've been continuing my health and positive parenting education as well, completing certifications in Positive discipline and allergy elimination. I'm designing some really great classes and curriculum for parents who want to develop a peaceful home and practice healthy habits. Please contact me for coaching in person or via Skype, or for community workshops and parent groups. I'm really excited for what the new year brings!

Finally, I'm working on a variety of meal plans for an amazing online program developed by a friend and fellow coach, Michael Roesslein who is incredibly inspiring and knowledgeable.

Primal90 is a 12-week online-based course which is going to feature 22 educational videos, in addition to 30+ video segments with well-known doctors, researchers, practitioners, trainers, chefs, farmers, and authors from the natural health world including Dr. Terry Wahls, Dr. Daniel Kalish, and Stefani Ruper.  In addition, there will be dozens of guides, checklists, worksheets, shopping lists, meal plans, and other tools to help members successfully implement everything they're learning.

The co-creators of the program are Joe Rignola, FDN (Wellness Punks), Diane Kazer, FDN (Kazer Wellness), and Michael Roesslein, MS, FDN, CHEK (Natural Evolution Holistic Health).

 

You can register for free here: http://bit.ly/1whCJpP for a month of FREE tools and video interviews with leading health experts. I'm learning so much and it's really re-energized my own health journey. This is different from all of those health summits you've seen before. No more trying to listen to a bunch of videos at once. This is available free all month. Watch one video every day and then stay tuned for the full program if you are so inclined- and get access to all 9 meal plans I'm creating :)

I hope you enjoy.

 

Kellie