MY LATEST LOVE: Personal Pink Salt Lamp

I don't know about you, but I work in front of a computer for hours each day.

Because of that, I'm always looking for ways to neutralize the EMF (electromagnetic field) radiation that my computer generates.

I found a beautiful solution:  my personal, pink Himalayan Salt Lamp that plugs into my computer.

Isn't is cute? I bought it from Isabella Catalog and they've just started offering a new version that changes colors (blue, green, red, purple, pink, yellow and white).


My little salt lamp creates negative ions that help neutralize the nasty, man-made EMFs. And the pink color makes me happy. It has its own USB port so I just plug it into my computer and smile.


This is a beautifully better way to stay healthy at work.

May this inspire you.




Catherine

MY LATEST LOVE: Rose Coconut Oil

Anyone that knows me knows I love coconut. I eat it, drink it and would swim in it if I could.

Imagine my joy when I found Rose Coconut Oil. The sweet floral scent of roses mixed with the luscious tropical scent of coconut.

I love dipping my fingers into the pretty jar, letting the oil warm between the palms of my hand and then slathering it all over my body. Mmm. Heaven!

Kuumba Made uses certified organic extra virgin coconut oil and infuses it with rose. It's rich in Vitamin D, E and antioxidants.

Remember that your largest organ is your skin. Whatever you put on your skin soaks straight into your body. Use this organic Rose Coconut Oil instead of lotions you buy at the drug store.

A recent study in the UK found that the average woman wears over 500 chemicals on her body every day. 

I looked up a popular lotion. The first ingredient was water (hmm...that's a lot of money for water) and it included 16 chemicals I'm not familiar with. I figure if I can't pronounce it, it doesn't belong on my body.

How many chemicals do you wear every day?

Everything is a choice. Maybe you don't have a lot of choice about the air you breathe during the day because you work in a big city. But you do have a choice about what lotion you use.

Take care of yourself and your body. Buy Kuumba Made Rose Coconut Oil and enjoy.

P.S.  I found the Rose Coconut Oil at Whole Foods Market (some, but not all of them carry Kuumba Made products). You can go to the Kuumba Made website to search for stores that carry this product. And if you prefer to shop by clicking, go to Amazon, which carries it for $13.95.

May sweet scents surround you,



Catherine 
 

Pietro Dressing

WE HAVE A SECRET DRESSING WE USE IN MY HOME. It's called Pietro. Have you heard of it?

There are different versions of it, Ginger or Ume (plum). But we're so crazy about the sesame miso, we haven't been willing to live without it long enough to try a different flavor. We love...no...let's be hones...we're addicted to the Pietro's Sesame & Miso Dressing.

The brightness of vinegar sweetened with miso and balanced by sesame oil. Mmmmm!

It's more than a dressing. You can put it on anything:  plain rice, veggies, mayo, salads, sandwiches, meats (cooked and as a marinade), chicken, fish, tofu. I swear, we've put it on just about everything, except dessert!

You can find it at many grocery stores, usually in the international aisle.

May yumminess surround you,


Catherine

A&W in Modesto

I was in Modesto the other day visiting a friend.

Who knew it was such a quaint town...at least sections of it.

We lunched at the A&W near downtown.

The girl rollerskated to our car...propping the food tray on our car window!

Just like the old days...uh, you remember the old days...where girls wore pony tails and guys slicked back their hair?

We slurped down frosted mugs of root beer floats...ice cream dripping down the sides...crunchy fries...and a cheese burger too big for me to finish.

Aw! The good life.

If you're ever near Modesto, stop by A&W for a bite to eat and drive through some of the little neighborhoods. There are some beautiful old houses reminiscent of Willow Glen selling for around $125,000.

A bargain in many ways.

May good memories surround you,


Cathy

Getting Organized in the Google Era—How to Stay Efficient, Productive (and Sane) in an Information-Saturated World (Book)

Some say we are moving into the Human Age. A time where it matters less if countries and companies can access capital and more if they can attract and retain the talent they need to win.

And as for us, the talent, to be competitive in an ever-changing world, we need to commit to lifelong learning.

I know, I know. You thought you were done with school a long time ago. But have you noticed how fast things change these days? How many new tools there are to choose from? How often your apps and programs get upgraded? 

Well, it’s kind of like that. We need to get upgraded from time to time, too. And no one can do that for us, except ourselves.  

That's why I love Getting Organized in the Google Era—How to Stay Efficient, Productive (and Sane) in an Information-Saturated World by Douglas Merrill. It’s full of tips and techniques on how to improve my work life and my home life. Written with irreverent humor, it was an easy way for me to upgrade me.

Merrill gives a fresh view of how to stay organized in a world exploding in information. Although he often suggests online tools, he’s no technophile and sometimes recommends a paper-based tool over a technology-based one.  You’ll learn new ways to manage your email, calendar, to do lists and so much more. As a dyslexic with a PhD in Cognitive Science (how people learn and solve problems), Merrill has been using and fine tuning organizational techniques for years.

I love his conversational style, personal stories and 21 Principles of Organization:  Organize your life to minimize brain strain, get stuff out of your head as quickly as possible, multitasking can actually make you less efficient, etc.

He ends his book with Stuff We Love. A list of tools and apps he loves, likes and dislikes. Oh, sure, there are things you’ve heard of like Gmail (uh, he puts Outlook under “dislike”), but what about Adium for Mac (see Pidgin.im for Windows PCs) so you can access multiple instant messaging services in one place? Ever hear of Phonevite where you can send one voicemail to multiple people (maybe family and friends waiting for good news or even bad)?

There are lots of things I still want to try and here are three I’m using right now:

--  The tilde symbol (~) immediately before a word I’m searching so that Google will look for Web pages containing the word and others like it. For example, if I search for “paris hotels” ~affordable, Google looks for paris hotels affordable, cheap, budget.

--  Fewer folders for my Outlook email and using my search function instead.


--  RememberTheMilk.com, a free online tool to mange my To Do lists.

If you’d like a fun read that improves your home life and your work life, get this book and use it. 

May efficiency surround you, 

Catherine

My Latest Obsession: Garr Reynolds

SPIRIT.  Abraham calendar quote (please buy your own copy at Abraham-Hicks.com > Store > Calendars > Planning Calendar/Workbook):  "It is important to understand that you do not have to physically get invovled in order to allow the pure positive Energy that streams into this time and place. Every time you are silently appreciating, every time you are letting something in your physical realm be the object of attention and at the same time you are vibrationally connected to your Source of Energy--you are adding upliftment to this time and place. Every time!"  -- Abraham

What are you giving your attention to? Is that uplifting you and others?

WORK.  I've been doing a lot of research on the internet...looking for new ideas and ways to do things differently at my new job.

Oooooo! I found Garr Reynolds and I'm obsessed.

He's all about simple, powerful images with strong emotional ties on business presentations because he's fighting:

I've ordered every one of his books and am flinging open my front door every hour or so to see if my box(OK...OK...I admit...boxes) of books from Amazon have arrived yet.

Visit his blog at PresentationZen.com.

I CAN'T WAIT TO TRY THIS AT WORK! ! !

How about you? What do you plan to differently at work this week, hmm?

May newness surround you,


Catherine

I'm Alive

YES, I AM ALIVE AND WELL.

Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you. I really am alive...and well...and happy.

It's just that I've been so busy. My new boss wanted my ideas on how to improve a PowerPoint presentation.

So I do what I usually do, which is lots of research. I've been Googling on the computer for hours at home...2-3 hours after work and 8-12 hours on the weekends. I get sucked in and have to pull myself away. But I'm having fun and it's so interesting.

Presented my ideas to my manager yesterday; 6 pages of typed comments & a draft re-do of the presentation. She said it was more than what she expected. That's what I want to hear!

Now I'm off researching something else.

I get up at 6:00 AM > meditate for 15 minutes > get cleaned up and dressed > drive to work > work > off after 5:00 PM > home after 6:00 PM > visit with the fam and eat din din > jump on the computer for a 2-3 hours > fall into bed.

I miss my old work friends, my blog and the Cheetos Bill used to bring me so I wouldn't steal his at lunch.

And I know I'll settle into my new job, get to know people and will build new friendships over time.

ABRAHAM-HICKS DAILY QUOTE (see Abraham-Hicks.com > subscribe to daily quotes).  "Make a decision and then make the decision right. Line up your Energy with it. In most cases it doesn't really matter what you decide. Just decide. There are endless options that would serve you enormously well, and all or any one of them is better than no decision." -- Abraham

"Line up your Energy." That used to confuse me, but now I understand it means thinking about what I want, feeling the end result of joy (or whatever) and doing this a little while until it feels easy and then notice how I feel. When I feel good about the task or thing and I give it a bit of time, inspiring thoughts and ideas and actions float up for me...while I'm driving, resting, napping, being, sitting outside petting Frankie the cat.

And then I take action.

I've been trying to line up my energy more often. It really does make things easier. It's subtle. And so easy for our mind to dismiss how much easier things are, but it really does work.

Try it. Start with something small (so you don't have a lot of judgment or investment in it) and see how it works for you. Practice makes it easier.

BILL AND KIM HAD THIS FLOWER ARRANGEMENT DELIVERED TO MY HOME.

Isn't it the cutest thing? I LOVE IT! ! !

They were trying to cheer me up and cheer me on as I start my new job.

We keep it on the dining room table so everyone can enjoy it each day. I notice it gets moved around a few inches now and then. And I often find the "mouth" sticking straight up. I think Bachan thinks it's some kind of handle.

And to make the flowers more "important" (because they're from Beeru--Bill), Bachan did this:

(sigh)

May sunshine flowers surround you,


Catherine