Serenbe... I think I am in love!

I would describe myself as a city girl, I crave a city skyline, hot spots, fine dining, etc. but when I see a town like this one it just makes me forget about all the madness of the world. It makes me feel in peace, and I can see myself living a life where I walk to the farmers market, I know my neighbors, I work from home, I paint and sculpt (yes, I know), go to bikram yoga and most importantly; a life where my little one is raised in complete harmony, playing outside with tons of other kids with no craziness or dangers.

This is what you see when you walk through the streets of Serenbe, people are friendly and the town is quiet. Everyone knows each other and it's just the cutest little place to live. Apparently, this was started by ONE guy that bought a lot for himself, started expanding and all of the sudden built his own little town. All homes are energy efficient and the 3 restaurants of the town adopted the from farm to table model.

Here is my slide show, I hope you like it!

Veggie Recipes

So today I went to the local farmers market to get my veggies for the week, all organic and fresh whole food. Now I have to come up with recipes to use all of these delicious picks without wasting a thing. One of the key elements is kids friendly meals so I can feed Sophia as well.

Today's recipe is a whole grain pasta with a veggie sauce, I will do my best to estimate measurements for the ingredients, but honestly I just threw whatever looked good... the results? A delicious meal that Sophia devoured with no whining and a smile on her face! And that my friends is a winner =)

Ingredients

* 2 cups of whole wheat organic spirals
* 1 tbsp of chopped garlic
* 1/2 cup of chopped onion
* 1 cup of fresh broccoli
* 1 cup of spinach leaves
* 1 cup of chopped tomatoes
* 1 cup of pasta sauce
* EVOO
* Salt & Pepper to taste

Preparation

Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and rinse. On medium heat in a sauce pan pour EVOO to taste and add chopped garlic and onion and sautee for about 5 minutes until onion is clear, now add tomatoes, salt and pepper. After tomatoes are soft add broccoli and cook for another 5 - 7 minutes. I personally like the broccoli's consistency to be hard so I just cook it for about 5 more minutes, once the broccoli gets really green I add the pasta sauce. For this I use whatever I have in the fridge, this is just to make it a little more saucy but the flavor will come from your fresh ingredients.

Once you are ready to throw the pasta in, add the spinach and stir; add pasta, stir and serve! If you are like me then cheese is a MUST, today I used parmesan because its what I had on the fridge but little squares of mozzarella go great with this recipe.

My munchkin loved it, which makes this recipe a MUST try =)

Still awake...

Isn't it lovely to drink diet coke while the Oscars? Well now I can't fall asleep! Arghhh! Maybe I should go back to Celine Dion or Gwinnett and their performances. Oh well, I guess I will try to figure out analytics for my blog. I just wanted to say HI!

XOXO!

CM

It feels good to be home!

I have to say that even though I miss Chicago tremendously, I am so happy to be back home. I got home last night to my lovely clean home and slept in my bed, it felt so good! I took a bubble bath before bed, had soup for dinner and catch up on "Parenthood", show that I love. This morning I started my routine again and finally went to church =) Yes my friend! I found a church! I went this morning and I was so happy, the music was amazing and the Pastor was great and funny... boy have I missed this. It felt so much like Calvary Chapel but just smaller, Sophia had a great time and is looking forward to going back.

I have to thank my new friend Cher who I met through Jackie, she attends this church and was kind enough to invite me. After church she fixed me and Sophia a lovely lunch while our kids played in this beautiful weather. Now I am getting ready to go to my bestie Jackie to spend some much needed catch up time.

I have to say that life is what you make it. I just moved to a brand new city and even though I miss my friends and family it is my mission to make the best of it. I have met already great people who have welcomed me into their homes, introduced me to friends and helped me find all the little things that make life more you when relocating.

I am just happy and grateful, life is beautiful and Sophia is happy and healthy... Everything else is just a plus and when I look at it, there are a ton of pluses in my life!

Remember people, life is what you make it... So make it beautiful!

Love,

Carla

Time is over...

How is it that every time I travel, on the way back somehow nothing fits? Let me mention the fact that I did not go shopping or had stuff left in the Chi, but some how my bags were difficult to pack. Sophia and Matt are not happy about their time together running out, neither am I of leaving, although I have to admit I do miss my apartment tremendously... and please do not forget Jackie, who I have seen and spent time with every single day since I moved to GA.

Today we sleep at Shannon's to spend some very much needed quality time with my BFF before she takes me to the airport tomorrow.  I feel like I had very little time to see my peeps, I am kinda bummed that there were many people that I didn't get to see or spend time with. Hopefully I will be back soon, but to all my loved ones always remember that you are welcomed to the south anytime!

On the bright side, and I say this literally, I go back tomorrow to a sunny Saturday with 70F degree weather! I can't wait to lay down in the pool and get some sun so I can go back to looking like a Latina.

I am looking forward to what next week has in store for me, a couple of business meetings going on with new clients and the start of my new business. I am so ready to kick ass!

XOXO

CM

Excited about my new business!

"Love what you do and you won't work a day in your life"

If there is any proof that a positive mindset works to your favor is this. A few days after moving to GA my friend Jackie asked me to go with her to one of her friend's birthday dinner,. At the dinner I met a pretty big group of women who I have been in touch with ever since. That night I met Libby, a wonderful and very bubbly life coach with whom I clicked very well. 

Libby has been wonderful, she checks on me all the time and has introduced me to several people making sure I expand my circle of friends and enjoy my time while in the south. Her first invite was to a health seminar, topic that I of course love, so how could I say no to something like that. The seminar was literally down the street from my place at a Chiropractor's office that I had been driving by every day since I moved. I had been thinking about stopping by many times so this was the perfect excuse to check it out.

At the seminar I met Rachel Smartt, a beautiful southern woman with a very compelling personal story about the importance of healthy eating, love and happiness. Her husband, who was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer had extended his life from 6 months to 8 years through the benefits of whole foods. This important lifestyle change not only changed her family forever, but it touches the lives of every person who listens to her story.

One of Rachel's secret ally throughout her family journey was a wonderful product, a product that re-shaped her husband's health and gave her family what medicine had told them they wouldn't have... time! Rachel's husband was able to live for 8 years in almost optimal health after doctors had told him he had only 6 months to live, what a blessing.

This made me think about our daily struggle to a balanced nutrition, not only for me but for my little picky eater who freaks out the moment she hears the word "vegetables". After doing some research and reading a good amount of clinical studies I decided to give it a go, to my surprise this amazing product not only promotes health but it also promotes wealth.

I have, for a while, been looking for ways to do what I love and having a passionate job where I can enjoy every second of it. I have been praying for this for so long and after a presentation of Juice Plus' marketing plan I just knew this was it! I wanted a job with flexibility to go back to school and enough freedom to manage my schedule and spend time with Sophia. Ideally, this job was working from home and last but not least, something I was passionate about. Can the answer be clearer?

This is the perfect opportunity to build a business around health, wellness and nutrition with a very realistic income potential in a very short period of time. I can see ME very clearly doing this for the rest of my life, getting to the income I want and deserve and enjoying every moment of it, life couldn't be better.

But non of this can happen without your support! So if you want to help me achieve my goal while improving your health and nutrition feel free to shoot me a line or go to my Juice Plus site to learn more about the product, clinical researches and The Children Health Study where you can sponsor your child's Juice Plus for 3 years... Yes, get this for your children free for 3 years!

I am excited about this new beginning, about a happy and prosperous life doing something that I love while making a difference in people's life through heath and nutrition. 

Be part of my journey improving your health!

XOXO

CM

My favorite broccoli recipe

In an attempt to add more veggies to my diet I am doing a recollection of my favorite veggie friendly recipes, this next one is by far the yummiest way to eat broccoli! I can sit with a whole bowl and munch on it like its a bag of chips. This recipe comes from a cookbook of Asian recipes and let me tell you, some of my favorite recipes come from here.

Stir-Fried  Broccoli

Ingredients:

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 medium heads of broccoli, cut into florets

2 tbsp soy sauce - I use more so feel free to add more if you are into soy sauce

1 tsp cornstarch

1 tbsp superfine sugar

1 tsp grated fresh ginger root - Again, I go crazy with this one because I love the ginger taste

1 garlic clove, crushed

Pinch of hot chile flakes

1 tsp toasted sesame seeds, to garnish

Preparation:

In a large skillet or wok heat the oil until almost smoking. Throw the broccoli in and stir-fry for 4 to 5 minutes. In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, cornstarch, sugar, ginger root, garlic, garlic, and hot chile flakes. Add the mixture to the broccoli and cook over gentle heat moving constantly for 2 or 3 minutes.

Put on a serving dish and garnish with sesame seeds and serve immediately.

Hope you love this as much as I do!

CM

Health is my quest!

I am always trying to figure out how to get more fruits and vegetables in my diet, but the real challenge is how to do the same for Sophia. This society full of McDonalds and chicken nuggets is destroying children's healthy habits and making healthy eating very hard to implement in our daily life. I dream with the day that I see her picking cherry tomatoes, asking for broccoli and ranch or eating a home cooked meal without the whole whining experience.

While in GA, I ran into this amazing product which is backed up by a ridiculous amount of clinical studies and I am very excited to see the effects that will have not only in my body but in Sophia's health. This company actually sponsor's your kids for 3 years, that's right! You get it free for 3 years for your little ones. I am not saying that this is a substitute to your fruits and veggies but it definitely fills the nutritional gap and lets you go to bed a little more at ease knowing that your little ones are well taken care of.

The health benefits of Juice Plus are amazing and will post more info about the clinical studies but can't wait to post about the results of having 17 servings of fruits and vegetables every day in our diet!

Take a look at the video below for an intro to the benefits of this amazing product! And if you are curious or interested shoot me a line and I will "hook you up"! lol  =)

You are the creator of your own destiny...

No one can dance your dance, no one can sing your song, and no one can write your story.

If we are made on God's image, we are nothing less than perfect, we just have to believe it. Do you realize what this means? Everything that you set your mind to you can create and make happen, there are no impossibles, and the only difference between a dream and reality is YOU believing and intending to materialize it.

We are raised in a world of impossibles that only limit ourselves through our mind, they make us believe that we can't. Teach yourself to re-program your mind, wake up every morning and realize you are perfect and work towards being the best you can be. Focus on what you want to achieve and be grateful for what you have, and you will see how soon things will just start happening.

I am so grateful for life's blessings and can't wait to see the new gifts that God will send me!

It's been good getting to know me more

It's funny how without knowing, when in a relationship, we stop doing things, hanging out with friends, etc. I am not complaining, but it is not until it's over that you realize how much you neglected other things and relationships in your life.

I guess your priorities change because you really like spending time with that special someone, but is it healthy? It is so hard to balance relationships and friends, no wonder your whole world comes crumbling down when you are no longer with that person. I particularly didn't know what to do with myself; in our case we texted, chatted and talked throughout the day for every silly thing and I really didn't know how to live without him.

Now I find myself reading more, catching up on the shows I like, I am taking painting lessons the moment I get back home and I signed up for 2 races already! I am going back to the things that I loved doing but that neglected because I loved spending time with him.

I am sure he feels the same way and he is back to all the things and relationships that he neglected as well. To me these are the things that make this transition easier, the bright side, the blessings in disguise!

Gardenia - Mandy Moore

Love this song

Well I put so much thought into getting ready
Now I know that was the best part

It's so easy to get caught up in what I'm regretting
Forget what I got from a wounded heart

I'm the one who likes Gardenia
I'm the one who likes to make love on the floor
I don't want to hang up the phone yet
It's been good getting to know me more

I've been seeing all my old friends in the city
Walking alone in Central Park

Doing all the things that I've neglected
Traded 'em all in to be in your arms

I'm the one who likes Gardenia
I'm the one who likes to make love on the floor
I don't want to hang up the phone yet
It's been good getting to know me more

Well I hear my own voice
Sounds so silly
Keep on telling my story all around

Everything I lost seems so different
Well this is how everybody gets found

I'm the one who likes Gardenia
Oh
I'm the one who likes to make love on the floor
And I don't want to hang up the phone yet
It's been good getting to know me more

...2 months later

"The only constant in life is CHANGE"

It has been a rough but very great 2 months, it is very true when people say that you need the lowest lows in life to appreciate the highs and that MY FRIENDS is what I have learned. It does not matter how bad you think you have it, there is always someone who has it worse and honestly as long as you take life's challenges as opportunities you will always have the upper hand!

I have learned to count my blessings and be grateful for all those things we take for granted, like health, my beautiful daughter, great friends and even the happiness of those loved ones who have chosen to no longer be around. I learned how to accept and live with the decision of others even if I didn't agree or liked them and have come to terms with the fact that I am not perfect and making mistakes is OK.

I think of these experiences as a big awakening; it has changed who I am and what is important for me. I have learned that material things do not define ME or what SUCCESS in life means to me. I think of myself as a new person who became more mature and learned to appreciate life's blessings in disguise. 

I am happy and in peace and approach every day grateful and humble, because I know that tomorrow is not a given, so I am just happy to wake up every day and have another day to live.

‎"When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around." ~ Willie Nelson

I have Beiber fever

I can't tell you how happy I am to have a little 5 y.o. girl with a crush on Justin Beiber, because otherwise I would have never watched Never Say Never. Yesterday I dragged myself to the movie theater to take Sophia to see the Biebs who she claims to be her "boyfriend". Well I am very happy I did... Not only it was priceless to see Sophia's melting face throughout the entire 3D experience, but boy what an empowering movie!

I definitely sub estimated the power of the Biebs! His story was great and shows how hard work and determination always pays off, sometimes sooner than later. It also shows what a positive family and support system can do to kids and how encouraging our children can do wonders for them.

I personally grew up with old school parents that were everything but supportive and call themselves "Realistic" and even though I appreciate everything they've done for me I wish they would have been more supportive in what my interests and dreams were. On the positive side, what that taught me was the kind of parent I wanted to be. That's why I look forward to supporting every single talent and dream that my little girl might have... She will always know that she is perfect, because God never gives birth to anything less than that!

My new motto!

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.