♥ Get a massage
♥ Spritz on perfume (where you want to be kissed)
♥ Dance in your underwear...or naked ;)
♥ Stretch your muscles with yoga
♥ Make an I-love-list just for your body. List everything you absolutely adore about it.
♥ Take a nap
♥ Slip into something that feels oh-so like you.
♥ Eat a piece of gourmet chocolate.
♥ Run a warm bath and fill it with essential oils, rose petals, bath salts, bubbles, whatever feels luxurious to you.
♥ Write down and say an affirmation like, "Life's too short for me not to love my body."
♥ Get rid of the bathroom scale
♥ Count your blessings, not your blemishes
♥ Take a walk
♥ Get some sunshine
♥ Work out your brain. Google "brain games" for mental fitness.
♥ Eat a green smoothie
♥ Write a poem to your body. Here's one I wrote:

She is natural, naked,
long tangled hair,
perfectly at ease in her body.
She has a pen in her hand.
Her legs and feet are strong.
Her heart big and delicate.
She doesn't care that she is naked
or that she may never see people again.
No need for makeup or clothes.
Just sunshine, flowers, good fruit,
and the words in her heart.

♥ Hydrate with plenty of water. Ideally, half your body weight in ounces. Sick of straight water? Add green tea, lemon, or try coconut water.
♥ Wear lingerie while you do chores around the house
♥ Meditate
♥ Take a Nia class (or Qoya, Journey Dance, Belly dance...)
♥ Stretch in bed before starting your day
♥ Wear red lipstick
♥ Treat yourself to something luxurious, like a fabulous bra, silk bed sheets, cashmere mittens.
♥ Take a hint from Victoria's Secret and make this Valentine's Day Bombshell Day. Celebrate your beautiful self, your body, your brains, your dreams and accomplishments. And while you're at it, have a flute of champagne. Salut!
♥ Stop the crazy comparisons. Instead, find something you admire about another woman and compliment her if you can. It'll make you feel good on the inside, which shows on the outside.
♥ Take yourself on a date.
♥ Explore your body; figure out what makes it purr.
♥ If you spend most of your day behind a desk, take frequent breaks to stretch and move your body.
♥ Write on your mirror, "Hello gorgeous!" so it's the first message you see every morning.

Out of one huge NO
comes a chorus of yeses.
Rivers of light flow from human eyes,
and consider your ears, where language
alchemizes into amber.
He gives the soul a house,
then another and another.
He descends into the dirt
and makes it majesty.
Be silent now.
Say fewer and fewer praise poems.
Let yourself become living poetry.
~from Soul Houses by Rumi

I came up with the bare bones for the Living Poetry e-course many moons ago, probably six or so years back. I was lying on the floor looking at a candle flicker inside a Christmas vase, mosaic red and green. The way the light looked at that angle captured me and I wrote a poem about it. Afterward I thought, poetry is everywhere. We are poems. Life is poetry.

It's easy to forget, easy for our eyes, our senses to dull to everyday life: the kids, the cleaning, the job, the cooking. It all becomes quite boring and routine when we rush past it, just to do it all over again the next day.

And even I, this self-proclaimed woman who sees with child's eyes, gets caught up in cobwebs every now and again.

I want 2014 to be the year of slowing down, of savoring, seduction. I want to drink a glass of Shiraz sloooowly, savor a piece of Mexican chocolate, seduce myself into little luxuries. I want to find even more poetry in this world and capture it with a pen, with my heart.

Do you?

How to Find (and become) Living Poetry

♥ Open your senses to the ordinary
♥ Practice mindfulness in everyday "chores"

From the time you get up to the moment you slip your body beneath the blankets, make a vow to notice what's around you. 

♥ Feel the water rushing over your body in the shower. 
♥ Listen to the cereal hitting your bowl and the milk pouring over the cereal.
♥ Breathe in your freshly brewed coffee. 
♥ Notice the slant of sunlight breaking through the windows.

Let these ordinary things seduce you. Look at them from a different angle. Feel them on your skin.

To see poetry, to become poetry is like believing in magic - you must be open to it. It's all there, from the candle to the spider's web to the mug clasped between your hands. 

It's life. It's you and me. We're dancing through poetry.

If you want to invoke even more living poetry into your life and get a soul nudge each day (with pictures, prompts, and inspiration), sign up for the next round of Living Poetry, starting February 1. ♥♥♥ It's the ultimate self-love, love life course ♥♥♥

It doesn't matter what the temp is, I'm a fan of hot beverages: coffee, hot tea, hot chocolate...

So I thought I'd put together a little hot chocolate guide for any fellow readers who can't get enough liquid cocoa. Marshmallows optional.

Nutella Hot Chocolate

Makes 1 serving

Ingredients:

• 1 cup milk
  
• 2 1/2 Tbsp Nutella
  
• 1 Tbsp Cocoa
  
• Tiny pinch of salt
  

Directions:

1. In a small sauce pan over medium heat, whisk all ingredients together until well blended and hot.
   
2. Pour in a cup and top with whipped cream and shaved chocolate.

Whipped Hot Chocolate

Makes 2 servings

Ingredients:
For the chocolate -

• 2 cups milk 1 tbs vanilla extract 
  
• 1/4 sweet ground cocoa 
  

For the whipped cream - 

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream 
  
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar 
  
• 1 tsp vanilla extract 

Directions:

1. Place a mixing bowl in the freezer. (You'll get it out in a sec for the whipped cream.)
   
2. In a pot, pour milk, vanilla extract and sweet ground cocoa, turn heat to medium and whisk all ingredients together until smooth and chocolaty. 
   
3. Turn temperature down to low and let simmer. 
   
4. Get bowl from the freezer and pour in the heavy whipping cream, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar.
   
5. Use a kitchen mixer or whisk by hand and whip, whisk, beat.
   
6. Turn stove off and pour the hot chocolate into mugs, about 1/2 to 3/4 full. Then spoon in big heaps of the whipped cream. 
   

Dairy-free Hot Chocolate

Makes 2 servings

Ingredients:

• 2-3 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk (you can also use coconut milk for an extra rich drink)
• 3 tbsp cacao or carob powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon powder
• 3 tbsp coconut sugar or coconut syrup
• pinch Himalayan sea salt

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in a medium sauce pot and bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring often. 
   
2. Reduce heat to medium low and cook for 4-5 minutes.
   

Mexican Hot Cocoa

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 cups reduced-fat (2 percent) evaporated milk
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup chocolate liqueur
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ancho chili powder
• 10 cinnamon sticks
• 1 dried red chile
• 2 1/2 oz bittersweet chocolate, broken into pieces
• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:

1. Whisk evaporated milk, whole milk, liqueur, vanilla, sugar, cocoa, 1 tsp of cinnamon and chili powder in a heavy saucepan. 
2. Add 2 of the cinnamon sticks and chili and cook gently over medium-low heat until warm. 
3. Add chocolate and cook, whisking until melted. 
4. Gently bring to a high simmer; reduce heat and simmer until liquid thickens and reduces slightly, whisking often, 10 minutes. 
5. Combine heavy cream with remaining 1/2 tsp cinnamon and beat until peaks form. 
6. Ladle 1/3 cup hot cocoa each into 8 teacups; top each with 1 tbsp whipped cream and garnish with a cinnamon stick.

Easy Peasy Homemade Hot Chocolate

Makes 5 3/4 cups dry mix or 92 eight-ounce servings

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 1/4 cups cocoa
• 1 tablespoon table salt
• Whole milk for serving

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine sugar, cocoa, and salt, and whisk to combine well. Store the mixture in an airtight container.
   
2. For individual servings, pour 1 cup whole milk into a microwave-safe mug, and microwave on high just until hot. Add 2 tablespoons of cocoa mix, and stir to dissolve. For a larger batch of cocoa, warm the milk in a saucepan set over medium-low heat, taking care not to let the milk boil; as it warms, stir in 2 tablespoons of mix for each cup of milk.
   

You know those days when you wake up and you're upset because the sky's blue and not purple? Or maybe you've had an okay day and then all of a sudden your mood drops and you're not sure why? Or maybe you're just plain ole grumpy.

Whatever the case, when the suckies strike it's good to have a backup plan, a checklist of things to do to boost your mood and get you back on track.

Here are a few of my favorite "reset" buttons and little tricks to lighten the mood.

1. Take a Nap
Ahh...the joys of napping. There's nothing like taking a break to rest your eyes and clear the mind. 

If you're at work during a suckie strike, just close your eyes for 30 seconds and take a few long, deep breaths. It'll do in a pinch. 

And if you can squeeze in a 20 minute speed nap on your lunch break, do it! I used to set a timer for 20-30 minutes, lay my head on my desk and take a light snooze. It's incredibly refreshing.

2. Sit in the Sun
A little sun is good for you, ya know? and that gorgeous Vitamin D is sometimes all we need to perk right up. 

There are days when I realize I haven't been out of the house for hours, and when I finally step into that slice of light and let the sun sink into my skin, it's total bliss. 

3. Treat Yourself
A midday tea break, a warm baked blueberry muffin for breakfast, an afternoon walk in the park. What are the small things that make you smile? 

Include a little something sweet, just for you, into your day. Something you can look forward to, so that even if you're feeling like crap, you know you have that treat coming your way. 

4. Cry, It's Okay
Why do we hold in our tears for as long as we do? Crying is refreshing and releases toxins from the body. It's true! In times of stress and upset, toxins build up and releasing the tears (which hold more toxic byproducts than tears of irritation, a la chopping onions) is like natural therapy without the hefty bill. It's a massage for your mind, body, and soul!

5. Eat Dark Chocolate
Here are just a few good reasons why you should nibble on that truffle:

a) dark chocolate lowers high blood pressure
b) the antioxidants in dark chocolate gobble up free radicals, those nasty molecules involved in heart disease and other ailments
c) it helps boost your mood by releasing phenylethylamine, the same chemical your brain creates when you get that falling-in-love feeling 
d) dark choco has a low glycemic index, which means it won't cause a huge spike in blood sugar levels

Need I say more?

6. Make a Gratitude List
Take out your notebook and list 5 things you're thankful for. Just five things! I bet you'll have way more to write out and I'm 100% positive that afterwards you'll feel a little warmer (and fuzzier?) inside. Here are five things I'm grateful for right now:

1. my puppy who just stretched and made the cutest noise
2. the antibiotics that helped me get past a nasty kidney infection
3. an afternoon cappuccino
4. peace & quiet to get this blog post written
5. the perfect breeze

Hello darlings!

Wanted to let you all know that a little something I wrote was published on My Thirty Spot today. It's called from Hospitalization to Dream Life Living and is part of the Love for 30 Project - a celebration of this gorgeous decade!

When you get a chance, pop on over to read my story (and other 30something's beautiful tales) and say hello.