a sweeter life…

Hello wonderful people,

How are you? Hope all is well for you.

I was sitting on my couch reading emails when I looked out the window and the sky and the tree looked so beautiful and the words, it’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood popped into my mind. Of course you cannot think those words and not remember Fred Rogers, so I thought I’d share his entire poem.

“It’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood,

A beautiful day for a neighbor.

Would you be mine?

Could you be mind?…

It’s a neighborly day in this beaurty wood,

A neighborly day for a beauty.

Would you be mine?

Could you be mine?…

I’ve always wanted to have a

Neighbor just like you.

I’ve always wanted to live in the

Neighborhood with you.

So, let’s make the most of this

beautiful day.

Since we’re together we might as well say:

Would you be mine?

Could you be mine?

Won’t you be my neighbor?

Won’t you please,

Won’t you please?

Please won’t you be my neighbor?

~ Fred Rogers

Hope this little poem fills you with a happy feeling.

And, please share what’s going on in your neighborhood today? I’d love to know.

Blessings

COPYRIGHT MASHA G. ELLMAN 2021

Hello wonderful people,

How are you doing? Hope all is well for you.

I thought I’d mix things up a bit and today I’m sharing something delicious for your soul, my new cookie recipe 🙂

A couple of years ago I found out that I have IC (interstitial cystitis) and my diet became very restricted, lots of things I cannot eat like spicy food, sugar, chocolate…and I don’t like taking medication so right now I’m able to control it with eating the right foods, foods that nourish me, are good for me, and keep me in a healthy way.

So one of the things I started doing is baking my own cookies with ingredients that are good for me. I use mostly organic ingredients and I substitute carob chips for chocolate chips, and I use organic, raw, unfiltered honey instead of sugar. The honey is really enough to sweeten the cookies to perfection.

Recipe:

Pre heat oven to 350/360 bake for 15-20 minutes, depends on your oven, and have all ingredients at room temperature before you start.

2 cups organic whole wheat flour

½ tsp baking soda

A dash of salt

1 stick organic unsalted butter

½ cup of organic raw, unfiltered honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 organic eggs (whites only)

1/3 cup carob chips

1/3 cup organic golden raisins

Mix the dry ingredients together, set aside.

Whip the butter until fluffy.  Add the honey and mix together, add the vanilla and mix, add the eggs and mix it all together.

Then add the dry ingredients and mix with spatula, when all is mixed add the chips and raisins and mix it all up.

I bake them for 20 minutes, at 360 degrees, I like them more well done.

These cookies are so delicious I can’t stop eating them. I have one after dinner every day, I honestly don’t know how I have the willpower to eat just one, well there are times like last night that I had 2, couldn’t resist 🙂

And I got this from my son, when they cool off, put them into a Ziplock bag and into the freezer, when you’re ready to eat one, microwave it for 30 seconds and whala tastes like it just came out of the oven.

Hope you try this recipe it’s really delicious. Leave a comment love to hear from you.

Have a wonderful day!

COPYRIGHT MASHA G. ELLMAN 2021

Hello wonderful people,

How are you doing? Hope all is well for you.

Thought I’d share with you some pictures that I’ve taken over the past couple of months of the trees from around my neighborhood.

I just love trees, don’t you?  No matter what time of the year you can always look at a tree and feel the energy they give out and take in their beauty. 

I found this quote by the German monk Martin Luther (1483-1546) love it.  Trees are certainly more glorious than gold and silver to me.

“For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver.” ~ Martin Luther.

Hope you’re having a glorious day!

How do you feel about trees? I’d love to know, leave a comment.

Blessings

COPYRIGHT MASHA G. ELLMAN 2021

If you’ve been following me you may have noticed that I’m really dedicated to my self-care, it’s sacred for me. Loving myself and having self-care practices that support my wellbeing changed my life. I have healed myself emotionally and physically, because of my dedication to myself. And just to keep it real, I do fall off the wagon at times (I’m not perfect) but for the most part, I’m dedicated to keeping myself healthy in mind, body and spirit.

My self-care practices change from time to time, but making self-care a priority will always be a part of who I am.

Here are 4 things that I’m loving right now:

Books and articles– Making time for reading is a must, I like to read a variety of books and articles about subjects that interest me, not all of them are related to self-care but somehow self-care is woven into the act of reading.  Sometimes reading a book that has nothing to do with self-care, can be the catalyst for forming a new habit that can better serve me.  Right now I’m reading Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin (here), Keep Going by Austin Kleon (here), The Life Diet by Laura Jane Williams (here) and A Cornish Christmas Carol by Liz Fenwick (here), this is the first novel I’m reading in ages.

Online courses – I love online courses, it’s a great way to stay creatively connected, meet others who have the same interests and I love learning new things.  Currently I’m in a course with Greta Solomon (here), Writing for Creative Self-Expression.

Morning ritual – I believe that the early morning when you first wake is the most precious time. It’s that time before the noise of the day, It’s when I feel the most connected with my higher being and the universe. Right now my mornings consist of journal writing, I’ll also do some scripting about my health. Light a candle, I’ll pull a tarot/oracle card for the day, and of course there’s coffee involved here :). It’s my time for getting in touch with my creativity and my intuition, really tuning into me. 

Cooking – I love cooking it’s a meditative and joyful experience.  I strongly believe that what I put into my body nourishes all of me.  My health is my number one priority.  Cooking for myself allows me the freedom to choose exactly what I put into my body. My food is mostly organic, fresh, and almost completely free of any preservatives, salt and sugar.  I’ve become very creative in inventing new flavors by using combinations of herbs and spices, my favorite right now is combining garlic powder, turmeric and rosemary, I practically sprinkle all three on just about everything I cook. 

Well, here you have it, four things that I love right now as part of my self-care.  Hope this inspires you to craft a self-care practice for yourself, it doesn’t have to be huge and involved, keep it simple, it can be just one thing that you do just for you, one thing that fills you with joy and reminds you that you’re worthy, deserving, awesome and amazing!!!

Share your thoughts I love to hear from you.

Blessings

COPYRIGHT MASHA G. ELLMAN 2021

Ever since my new word for the year – EXPAND – showed up, I’ve felt a shift within me, a new door opened and I’ve walked through it.  I’m feeling that I’m bolder, more expansive, more free…I can’t really find the right words to express the feeling.  This year I’ve decided to trust in Universal Intelligence and follow every guidance I get, not to change it, not to make it smaller, just to trust in and follow the flow of what is showing up. I’m not willing to hide myself away or make myself smaller anymore, I’m ready to show up as the “bigness” that I am.

My higher guidance for you:

Get out of your smallness and get into your bigness!

You’re not here to play it small, you’re not here to hide your greatness, you’re not here to live in limits, let yourself out – be the amazing being that you were created to be – you are a miracle!

Have a wonderful week!

Blessings

COPYRIGHT MASHA G. ELLMAN 2021

Hello wonderful people,

How was your first week of 2021???

I am full of hope and inspiration.  I’m reminding myself that we’re in a #5 year which carries the energies of freedom from restriction and change.  And talking about change, I’ve revised my personal boundaries. I made a list of what I will allow and not allow into my life, for instance, I don’t go on social media, look at emails, answer the phone, or read texts (at least I’m trying not to) for the first two hours after I wake up.  This is my sacred time which I devote to me, focusing on my dreams, my health, my creativity, and whatever else I feel nourishes me. I put my list where I can see it every day and read it. I know not everyone has time in the morning, but if you can manage to give yourself 30 minutes or even 15, believe me it’s a game changer. When I give myself time, my mind is more clear, I feel better, I am in a positive mindset and I feel happier.

I finally got myself out for a morning walk yesterday, something that I love to do but fell behind on last year (I’m blaming this on COVID) Here are a few photos from my walk. There was a flock of birds that flew by but I couldn’t get a good shot of them, I did manage to get a shot of the birds on the wire above the house.

I’d love to know if you set boundaries for yourself? Feel free to share, I love to read your comments.

Have a wonderful day and weekend.

Blessings

COPYRIGHT MASHA G. ELLMAN 2021