I have fallen off the take care of myself wagon. Saddness has a grasp on me and is not letting go. It has been an awful week. I am up for a new years resolution in march! ciao!

Oh Kris.. do I hear you all last year well the first two years of BasicMissions really I said yes to every opportunity. At the end of last year I had a sucessful mission and was about to have myself run into the ground. This year I have scaled back. I do not have to do it all.. that is my mind talking my head thinks I am super human. This really resonates for me. I always feel like I can work myself to death being everything for everyone but I put myself last on the list. This year I am putting myself first. Or trying lets be honest there is still the bullshit in life like findind swatches for my sisters new mega mansion that is really not my job that I should have said no too..If you buy a 5 story house you decorate it not me.. I have been the decorator in charge on three other mcmansions.. oh well. I already said yes.. anyway. I just keep on trying to put my priorities in order. My web pages are sadly out of date my book has to be at the publishers on deadline and that will happened and I signed up for gulp a new yoga and pilates that I have to leave the office for for two hour each week and paid ahead to stop the drop in sessions that I can no commit to I will follow the money. Thanks for telling us what we always need. take care of yourself super woman.. and boy can I sympathize.

I loved the money saving tips.. I have been adding.. what I find.. I think this lifestyle is very doable on a reasonable amount of money meaning for two people 600 dollars a month.. that includes cleaning supplies.. replinishing toliet paper and stocking the kitchen and face cream.. I think if you think you can you can. Hugs.. and thanks for being so honest wiht us. It makes all of us on the journey not feel like we are falling short. Hugs and Peace Callie

Nadia did you know that Lent means Spring.. so spring on in and renew those promises you can do it. hugs. callie

Hmmm…Taking time to touch our toes, good! Taking a moment for inward reflection, to breath in anand, stretch, and honor the Creator through chant & meditation, all super yummy. Maybe sometimes the new mantra should be, “Stop and smell the incense”, or simply to just “Stop”. We all tend to over extend ourselves and in the end we must be mindful of what was lost , that quiet moment that should have been reserved for only us. It’s tough to give the best qualities of ourselves if we’ve just burnt the soy candle at both ends. Just remember giving and saying “Yes” all start at home, our home, our temple of bliss. I know we all know that, sometimes we just get a little off the path. So, shake yourself off, put those toes you just touched back on the path and let’s add to Kris’ week of be-ing list. This week, let’s all practice saying “Yes” and giving to ourselves first and witness all that pours forth from our glorious nature.
Blessings to you Kris on the wonderful work you do in raising the vibrational rate of the collective consciousness.
Peace to all,
Love to all,
Veggies for all.

Namaste,
Heather

“Meditation can blow me–it’s torture” LMAO!!!

I wash/cut veggies for juicing the night before. Sometimes it is soooo painful. I throw a temper tantrum in my head (I don’t want to! You have to! NOOOO! You can’t make me!) I drag my feet and get all grumpy about it.

So much truth here! By the way….over at the Fit Club I was wondering if you and Edward broke up =)
I’m learning that my quite time in the morning (with my happy light box) is an absolute MUST and nobody is allowed to interupt! When you are a couple years shy of the 1/2 century mark (50…oh my) you NEED this more than ever. THANK YOU Ms Kris for the awesome reminder!

dearest darlin human Kris,
meditation would never happen for me if I did not use my deepak guided meditation cd.. and now my podcasts.
We were just wondering how Edward and you were getting along over in Fit Club… we all miss the mark at times. It’s a commitment, a mindset, a solid dogged determination that works for me. I would rather eat nada than eat food that is not on my short list of raw and green love.. that’s just me.
Do love me some larabars though;)
kisses and love
deb
PS HI CALLIE!! xooox

I remember after my health issues began 10 years ago (wow, ten years ago, can’t believe it) that I read a book that made me understand how my people-pleasing-never-say-no way of life was slowly killing me…. it is called “When the body says no” by a dr named Gabor Mate. He writes about patients with chronic illness who were not able to put themselves first and always on the go… until their bodies literally say “stop -no more”.

I agree time management/ prioritizing is huge… so is asking for help. When I had my second daughter 6 months ago, I became very resentful that every morning amidst the chaos of getting myself and the baby ready I was trying to make my green smoothie… i made a snarky remark to my hubby and he said “well, write down your formula and i’ll make it every day!” and now most days he does, or i make a big batch the night before. I think maintaining a healthy lifestyle requires supportive partners or other family members. and it requires us being willing to use the support that is there!

I am loving all the guest bloggers Kris! Thanks so much.

ps.. hey debbie.. love you..

hugs. callie

I have a “special neeeds” child, my 78 year old mother broke her hip and moved in with me recently, I work…..I know that I have to make my health a priority, I’ve been trying to make more time for myself but I keep hearing Beth….Mommy….Honey….leave me the **** alone!!!! Ahhh, thanks for listening! Great blog by the way – thanks Kris! xoxo

P.S.
Did I mention I have MS too?! I should use the MS card…..

I believe the balance of taking care of ourselves and meeting other needs is naturally difficult because our lives are always in flux and impacted by some many people and changes. HOwever, I truly believe that if I am eating well, more calm, more organized, more whatever else is important to me – I may not have more time to give, maybe even LESS, but I believe the time I do have to give (when I am taking care of me) offers so much more to the person or people or cause I choose. I heard someone once say that if your well is dry, you can not quench another’s thirst. Kris, thank you for this forum and for putting yourself out there. You make people feel like they aren’t so alone. Thank you.

Michelle-I love your comment! Its so easy to complain and complain and just expect the people around you to know that you need help. Its difficult to feel vulnerable or that you aren’t strong enough to handle EVERYTHING, but asking for help is often the quickest way to relieve stress and make everyone happier.

Wow… did you just crawl out of my head and my life? Ok, I am up for a March resolution and planning!
Thanks for the kick-in-the-rear reminder. :o)

Besos to you and your self care plan! Smooch!

Here’s a little whizbangy cheapo recipe for you! I made this up and it is delish.

Grab the Cuisinart and shred some purple cabbage, daikon radish, napa cabbage, zucchini and whatever else sounds good. Add lots of chopped up mint and cilantro.

Toss your veggie mixture into a big bowl, then replace the shredding blade with the regular cuisinart blade to blend the dressing.

For the dressing throw in: some tamari, lots of unsalted organic peanut butter, some braggs, some lemon juice, some crushed garlic (little bit), and cayenne for heat. Whiz it up while pouring a steady stream of canola oil until the consistency looks right. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.

Dress everything at once, or a little at a time if you want it to last all week.

I really needed to hear this post today.

I take on way too many tasks, often as a way to be a people pleaser or just to prove I can do it. The more I say “Yes” to others, the more I say, “No” to myself (no to the gym, no to eating healthy for the day, no to journaling and centering myself, no, no, no!!!)

What’s strange and often not recognized is when we say “Yes” to ourselves – we are more happy, more efficient, kinder to others, get more done, have more energy and a positive attitude!

Here’s to saying Yes to ourselves more often :)

Why is it that the first word many of us say in our life here on earth is the hardest word to say as an adult? The word is “No,” and we are the protectors of our time and our limits. Because we are such amazingly passionate people with the intent to change the world, sometimes we take on waaay too much.

I think that it is important to be honest and reasonable with yourself; give yourself enough time to get things done (or more than enough time…don’t cut yourself short with a crazy deadline, that only hurts you and whatever project you are working on).

And also please take some time for you because you are important too! You cannot give back to others unless you are giving to yourself first.

Such an awesome blog Kris! Please keep them coming!

Cheers,

Jessica

Corinne, I honestly believe my husband saved my life because he confronted me with my inability to let others do nice things for me (I was too busy doing stuff for everyone else)! I remember the first week or so that we were dating and he tried to do the dishes at my place and I was protesting and he pointed out what a hard time I had letting him help me. So one night I was cleaning up a plant that had toppled on my balcony and went to get the vacuum and said “here, can you vacuum” and it was this life-changing moment! lol! He had this huge smile and was practically ready to put a medal around my neck. But i admit sometimes i still find it difficult. Old habits die hard. I agree with what you said Advenutre Grrl, when I am kind to myself I am happier and can take better care of others.

Kris, my veggies got a new home today! Yes a new(to me) refridgerator!!! It was my father-in-laws fridge and you know I lost him a year ago and having his fridge is weirdly comforting to me. My veggies are in his fridge. Safe and sound. hehe

Ok, I just want to say that you are probably being grabbed from every direction so people can pick your brain. I have a really hard time manageing my time and I don’t really have much of a life so I don’t know HOW you do it! However, I have recently decided that I’m taking 30 minutes for myself a few times a week to take a bath and those baths make me a more relaxed gentler person to be around. So worth it. Take a soak love!

Goony

Michelle,
We both have keepers! Let’s give them a big smooch in the morning and let them know how much we appreciate them (better make sure it doesn’t get to their heads though!).
xo
Corinne

You know it Kris…we all do too much “yes”ing” sometimes or even a lot of the time! I have got a lot better at saying no over the last 5 years in particular. But there’s always more growth and work to be done to honour ourselves in all areas of your lives. You put that sexy bod of yours first girl!

Casey

oh my you kill me…how many times have i thought-MEDITATION CAN BLOW ME???? I laughed so hard i peed my pants and woke up vic!!! :0
thank you
i needed that
xoxo
terri

Bath? What’s that? I like the idea of a bath club! Maybe we could do it on Wednesdays along with our feasting….cleanse the body and soul inside and out! What cha think? We could share some natural spa secrets – I used to love put a few drops of lavender oil in, or my summer fav – cut up lemons, limes, oranges, grapfruit and let em’ float around….ahhh! My son uses the bathtub to “swim” in…move over floaty boat, here comes mama!

A BATH GROUP!!!! I love that idea! Make it happen!

I’ve just been doing either salt & baking soda or apple cider vinegar baths but I would LOVE some more ideas. I love doing detox baths. I sware I feel somehow more relaxed but more energized all at the same time after salt and baking soda. I hope it really does work for getting the radiation out cuz man I’ve been exposed to a lot lately.

Detox baths are supposed to be a great way to help you feel better when detoxing like doing a juice feast, by pulling out some of the toxins. Here is a website I like to go to for a few detox bath recipes

duh I forgot to give you the link, sorry here it is

http://www.ourlittleplace.com/detox.html

How timely… oh bad pun. But what I meant was, I got a stern talking to in the kitchen this morning as I was rushing around and complaining about having too much to do. My husband said, “Sit down and read, relax, you have time”.
No!!! I protested, I have too much to do!!! And he again said “You need to relax too! Why don’t you sit down and look at the pottery barn catalogue? Be lazy!!” This sounded like the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard, I kept rushing and cleaning and stacking things, tidying up, making lists in my head about all of the things I was behind in. Then I started to feel the creeping dread like he saw something in me he didn’t much like. A feeling I NEVER had with him before. And then I realized, I don’t much like this nervous rushing around martyr either. But how do I get it all done??? And not be stressed. How to be most productive and effective and still be calm, relaxed, peaceful.
I know the answer is MINDFULLNESS. Be present. That’s when all the priorities come in to focus and fall into place. I live in a beautiful place. I have beautiful fresh food. I am deeply loved. And I need to thank my husband for telling me the truth instead of thinking he was being insensitive.
Whenever I am mindfull, present to what I am doing at the same time I am doing it. Stress falls away. Life feels full and there is always enough time. I am in the right place now. Deep breath. And I get things done in a much higher quality way with less mistakes. An older friend reminded me, “You can only do what you can do and the rest you will do another day”. She is really nice to be around & so is my husband.
Love and gratitude to you all
Mary Ann

Mary Ann,

I relate to your story of your husband. My husband James has been telling me forever to take time out for myself and just relax. I aways put it on myself – “I can’t” – I have found that when I take time, I feel so much better – even if it’s 15 minutes on the couch with a magazine. Im the only one who is in charge of me – I’m the one with the “shoulds”.

People – stop “shoulding” all over your self!!

Bless you all!

My problem is being able to prioritize everything. I have so many “important” things going on at once. I sometimes get so stressed I say “screw it,” and surf the web.

Time Management:
If I focus mostly on the things that were on the planet before 1900, I find I can zap the time suckers and eat a wholesome pure diet. In addition, if I group my chores and do them in bulk I find I am able to manage time more easily.

Time management is something that requires time to implement. Sounds probably…odd but it’s totally true. You need to take the time to make the time to get every thing you need to get done, done, in the way which you know it’s most effective.

Holy crap, I don’t think that really makes sense.

This blog post really hit me Kris!!! Time is a huge stress factor in my life Tick-Tock-Tick-Tock. But I have over the past 6 month – since my boss sent me on a 2-day Time Management Course – been working hard to improve. Here is a list of 5 simple Things that have helped me:
1. Do not stress about things that you can not control! Like if the subway is late I can not influence on that so why stress? NOW I take a deep breath and inform my boss, or the person I am supposed to meet, that I will be a bit late and spend the rest of the time watching people, reading a book, planning my week or just thinking.
2. Understand your own responsibility of time management! Like if I have to prepare something for a meeting it is fully MY responsibility to plan and do that in time in order to avoid getting stressed last minute. NOW I try to do my preparation a few days ahead and my man is happy to have to deal with a stressed and irritated me that for some reason tend to put the fault on him…(is it only me doing that?) .
3. Set clear time limits to work on/finish an issue. This is in order to avoid burry yourself in an issue that could be sorted much faster. NOW I give myself Dead Lines for both work and personal issues. (have learned to set a time for when my “housework” finishing at night and after that hour I am not allowed to do any household work! only things for ME) Helps a lot!
4. Don’t be a Time-optimist. Add an extra 10-15 min to your tasks and if you do not need. NOW I use my extra time to RELAX/meditate/think/breath/ and talk/play with my children (it is strictly forbidden to squeeze in other tasks that were not planned)
5. Start your day with out stress. Get out of bed on time. Do not snooze too long in the morning as it will cause lots of stress and negative thoughts towards you (thought by yourself of course). NOW…I am still struggling with this one…any suggestions how to get out of bed in time??? (I totally forget all my responsibilities when I lay there in my warm cozy bed and then afterwards I have to rush like crazy to get the kids ready for school and get to work on time…)
I am a BATH LOVER and will absolutely join the proposed group – it is such a great way of ending the day. A hot hot bath with a Himalayan Crystal salt candle light, some nice Calendula oil from Weleda! I use the time for me, let my mind relax, maybe I work on some positive affirmations or maybe I use it for some EFT (tapping). In order to avoid the stress of economical kind I do fill up HALF the bath tub so the hot hot water just covers me. It is perfectly enough and I can take more baths per week than before :)