Scrumptious Smoothies

I am officially on a smoothie kick! I've been blending up a storm! I don't have recipes or anything; although I'm sure they are easy enough to find. I've been doing some intuitive smoothie - making :-)

A few of my favorites...

A protein-packed sweet option:

ice about 1 cup lite Vanilla soy milk 1 banana about 1/4 cup peanut butter drizzle or two of chocolate syrup Blend and savor!!!
Here is a fruity-delicious option:

ice about 1 cup lite Vanilla soy milk 1/2 banana 1/2 cup strawberries 1/2 cup blueberries
Blend and enjoy!!! I need to come up with fun, Ben & Jerry - like names for my smoothies!

Photo credit

Taking stock

Wow! I can't believe it is August 20th! Where has the time gone... It has been almost a week since I returned from vacationing, but I feel like I am still not back in the groove of things. I think part of the problem is I feel like my days lack shape. On the one hand this is fabulous because I have so much flexibility in designing how I spend my time, but on the other hand I feel overwhelmed by all the choices. Another issue I am having with working right now is that my only office is a space within my bedroom. I find myself working and then getting caught up in the urge to clean up the house or even take a nap! Hopefully my new office space will be ready in the next few weeks...

Ugh... right now I am so struggling with work! I think I need to take stock of where I am at and come up with a plan and a schedule!

Basically what I am attempting here, along with my fabulously supportive husband, is the opening of two new businesses (Living Wellness of Niagara and my private practice as a psychologist) and the expansion of one existing business (Tree of Life Yoga Studio).

For Living Wellness of Niagara, we have purchased a property, started repairs, completed a business plan with the help of the SBDC, and applied for two grants. We are in a sort of standstill now while we wait to hear about the grants. Two things that I can work on are the accounting (groan) and the website (more groaning).

For my private practice, I have passed the licensure exam, applied to be on insurance panels, applied for a professional LLC, and attended a workshop on private practice. Things I can work on for this business are accounting (as you can see I tend to let this slip - I hope my dear accountant does not read this blog), researching software for electronic medical records, and creating other necessary forms. I also have a meeting next week about a possible consulting contract that I need to prepare for and I am teaching a class at Niagara County Community College so I need to finalize my syllabus.

For the yoga studio I need to - you guessed it - catch up on the accounting! I'll also need to start thinking about the fall schedule soon, including any specialty offerings.

So it seems that I have a reasonable amount of work to do and now that I've thought it through it is pretty well-defined. I guess I will get to work!

Exciting updates

Reasons I have not posted in oh-so-long:

1. Working hard at the future home of Living Wellness of Niagara. Exhibit A: moi standing on a ladder painting my new office in eco-friendly paint. Also note the gorgeous new fan and light fixture installed by my lovely hubby. Disclaimer: he really did most of the painting! The place used to be a framing shop so there were about a zillion little holes in the walls that we had to fill in and sand off...ugh! I tried to capture some of the amazing woodwork & leaded glass windows in the top left photo. I am so in love with this place! I cannot wait until it is ready to be revealed to all! The hardwood floors are being refinished throughout this week and then we have a bit more painting to do.


2. My poor furbaby Monty had to have a minor procedure that left him with stitches and one of those goofy (but effective) cones on his head.










3. My hubby and I took a short trip to Sonoma, California.




Pictured to the right is the view from Viader, our favorite winery in the area.

We also went into Napa to have dinner at Ubuntu, a fabulous vegetarian restaurant/yoga studio. I didn't have a chance to take in a yoga class, but I did enjoy a relaxing practice everyday in the hotel room.


This is what I had for dinner at Ubuntu. It is an amazing salad filled with scrumptious flowers, vegetables, and more from their biodynamic garden - so delicious!!!!









4. After traveling home from California, I spent the day at the American Psychological Association Conference in Toronto for a workshop on private practice. I always feel invigorated after a day of professional development, whether for yoga or psychology!


5. Next the family and I headed off to Rhode Island for a wedding! Whew! A lot of traveling in just a few short weeks! It has been great to take some time away. Sometimes it is hard to pick up and leave in the midst of a big project, but I feel confident that we will return refreshed and inspired to continue our work!