Finances is the third spoke on the wheel of Primary Foods, when assessing our Circle of Life.

This is where I stalled out with writing the last time because this is an uncomfortable area for me. My finances have always been a bit of a murky thing, to say the least. I have found that it takes a really big commitment to something I want to achieve for me to get my money in order. The last time I got my financial act together was when I had made the decision to leave to New York to pursue volunteering in Scotland. I began that journey in 2008, and was ready by 2012. I really buckled down, got clear on where my money was, and where it needed to go. I started meeting with a financial planner and organized everything (as much as I can be organized, lol), put myself on a semi-strict budget while allowing myself some necessary luxuries such as my herbal apprenticeship and vacations (which I saved for instead of throwing everything on my credit cards…which was the bulk of my fiscal woes).

I have always come through and had enough, but I have rarely had more than enough so that I feel less stress around paying bills.

At some point over the past year I started to seriously think about buying a house some day. This is not something I have ever really allowed myself to believe was possible. I have lived in apartments most of my adult life. For some reason I started thinking it may be possible one day over the course of the quarantine. I started looking up places that came up for sale in my neighborhood as research and began dreaming of the possibilities…and the probability…of being able to pursue this idea seriously (I would love to one day have a larger home studio, a.k.a. kitchen, to work from).

This also led me to think about the future in a monetary way. One thing I do have going for me is that as a result of my former corporate work, I do have a little retirement nest egg started. However, I hadn’t been contributing to it since leaving New York due to all the upheaval with my nomadic lifestyle, school bills, and fluctuating income. I made the decision to start adding to it once again at the New Year…so that is something. Regardless, I am incredibly grateful to have steady income, a few coins in the bank, and a cozy and safe home. I have been very lucky over the course of these uncertain times.

As for the house, I have taken a step back to assess and see where I need to pay down some bills, increase my savings and improve my credit. But having a goal in mind is very helpful. One step at a time.

Creativity is the second spoke on the wheel of Primary Foods, when assessing our Circle of Life.

Pretty much every molecule of my life has always involved some sort of creative pursuit. If I look back, all I see are snippets of me making sand food or art in my backyard, creating worlds with my dolls in my basement, having all night tie-dying sessions with one of my friends, hoarding things that I thought I could use in some sort of art project….building a castle in my bedroom with my best friend for an English project. Fast forward to my adulthood: I went to college for Advertising design, worked in the Art Production Department of a National Magazine (TV GUIDE), briefly pursued a crafting business using my photography on functional products, started a photo-based blog…which morphed into a food blog after I got into cooking as a result of my herbal apprenticeship.

All of these things are all about creation.

And now I have wrapped up all these experiences into my current LionArt Creations…where I am free to create whatever my heart is led to create…both with my photography, food creations, herbal training, etc.

My day job also encompasses being creative…I make food items, gift baskets, and run the social media for a long running local business here in Shreveport, Cuban Liquor. I really do feel lucky that all my talents and pursuits have all come together is such a way, and how they are able to feed into each other. I am able to use all my accumulated knowledge at Cuban and everything I have learned through that experience helps me with my own business in terms of visual packaging, merchandising and social media.

My expressions of creativity have gone through many incarnations over the years but have been no less important. For me, there is a close link with my Spirituality. I even extend my creativity into creating and decorating my home space. I have done that as far back as I can remember.

Creativity, in whatever form for us, is so important. It can serve as a way of expressing things we feel we have no outlet for, helps us turn off our brain when we need a little relief or to redirect our thoughts, or as a form of meditation. So many people think they aren’t creative, but being creative is not just drawing or some form of visual art. It can be cooking or journalling or doing a crossword puzzle, building a card house, playing games, gardening, making plans…the possibilities really are endless. The important thing is that we explore what creativity means for us.

Spirituality is the first spoke on the wheel of Primary Foods, when assessing our Circle of Life.

My spirituality has gone through many phases over the years. I had let a lot of my practices go dormant for a while and then, in the wake of personal distress, I was guided to pick them up again…and expand on them. I originally turned to spirit to try and get answers for unexplained things.

Since then, I have been on a rollercoaster of a spiritual healing journey. Highs, lows and everything in between. I’ve gotten back into meditation and crystals and incense, reiki, and well, you name it. I’ve had some incredible, unexplainable, experiences which keep bringing me back to spirit, even when I feel disillusioned.

I’ve met so many other incredible women on a similar journey and am so grateful for the support because it is not an easy road. Through my research I have learned that we have signed up for all of this when it comes to an ascension journey. One of my friends and I regularly have lamented, “Why would I sign up for this???” LOL But true awakenings are indeed messy and heartbreaking.

I have been exploring so many different healing modalities, including getting back into my herbal teas and medicine (which has led to me starting and expanding my herbal business out in my community over the past year), and I recently started going back to church to sing in a choir again. This has been a wonderful bridge back to my essence since music and singing is a very spiritual (and healing) experience for me. With all of this, I am constantly trying to learn how to balance spirit and earth.

It has been such a gift, having spirit to focus on in the wake of loss and confusion! Filling my toolbox with knowledge of self and healing. Even when I am in the ebb, not in the flow.

I find myself approaching another threshold after a challenging pandemic year. Sometimes when I have a major internal shift, I expect my outer world to immediately change (patience isn’t always a virtue). I also struggle with control issues when I need to relax and open my eyes to the fact that what I am praying for might present itself differently (and possibly better) than what I have imagined. Letting go is not an easy thing to do, and everything can change in the blink of an eye. We cannot control anything but ourselves. I have found energy clearing and traditional counseling to be wonderful tools for finding clarity and balance. Spirit and Earth.

When it comes right down to it, we are either aligning with Love or Fear. And most of the time fear feels more familiar and, bizarrely, more comfortable. I still strive to always align with love in all ways. Especially towards myself.

When we are trying to create change in order to live more mindful, healthy lives, looking at what we eat and how we exercise is really only part of the whole. We need to focus on our entire life. This includes Spirituality, Creativity, Finances, Career, Education, Health, Physical Activity, Home Cooking, Home Environment, Relationships, Social Life, and Joy…

This is a concept my school taught as “Primary Food,” and they often said that it was more important than the food you put in your mouth.

I like to focus on Primary Foods with my wellness coaching. I have found, that on the whole we tend to jump to what’s on our plates before investigating what’s in our hearts…and usually heads…in terms of our wellness.

The above image in an exercise called “The Circle of Life.” It allows you to judge all the aspects of your life honestly…creating a visual shape…and then ideally you can address each aspect to go forward and create a more balanced shape as time goes on.

You can download a copy of the worksheet HERE.

I will be back to break down each of these items in more detail over the coming weeks. I focused on primary foods in my 2014 newsletters, but these are things we need to revisit on a constant basis because we are always evolving. The only constant in life, is change.

Sundays are usually my one full day at home during the week. I try to use my time to hang out with my dog, Sam, and attend to my home…which usually gets a bit neglected through the week. Today ended up being my annual first Spring day to plant things and clean up my little patio space. It ended up being a nice grounding activity after an energetically difficult week. It is a rare day when I don’t need to have the air conditioning or heat on…and the door to the patio can stay open without consequence, like heat or cool air escaping, or bugs getting inside. Sam also loves to be able to freely go out there to bark at something or lie in the sunshine.

I rode the wave of productivity and made a green smoothie for the week, chili, skillet cornbread…and managed to still have the energy left to get all the dishes washed. I do enjoy starting the week with a clean(ish) space, and it rarely happens!

Being outside and having my hands in the dirt is usually a calming and grounding practice. I have also cleaned up the patio a bit since I lost some plants during our recent snow storm. It feels less congested and in turn makes me feel a little more organized and calm. Over the few years I have been in this space I have also learned what does and does not grow well out there…so I hope to have more success this time around.

What grounding practices do you use in your life?

It has been almost a whole year since I have updated this blog. To be honest, I have not had all that much to say! I really have just been trying to take things one day at a time. So I decided to look through my old website’s posts that I took down and am revisiting some of the topics from where I am now.

In the interest of how overwhelmed I can feel at times lately…this post topic seemed appropriate. I had heard the quote, “The only way to eat an elephant, is one bite at a time.”

I have been in hermit mode, like most folks over the past year (I haven’t even gotten a haircut, lol, trying to see how long it will get is kind of fun though).

I have been trying to keep my fledgling business afloat this past year, like a lot of folks. I am super blessed and grateful to have steady employment and a safe home with a cuddly dog to come home to. Trying to keep it all going on my own can be challenging and exhausting at times, but I am trying to count my blessings. On top of my job at Cuban Liquor, I love having a space among other artists at ArtiFact and C&C Mercantile and Lighting. I had moved in right when the shutdown happened, and then we grew which has been such a gift. Being able to go in to work and have other artists and friends to work with, and create beside, has been a life saver. I love being part of the small local business scene in all ways.

I am grateful to say I have been able to start volunteering at The MLK Health Center and Pharmacy once again. I really had been missing it. I’m also trying to get back into the swing of planning classes and events. It has been a struggle with class attendance restrictions etc.

Even amidst my gratitude, I have most definitely been letting my self care slide. The irony of being a healer and having a new wellness business (and working two jobs) is that you tend to overextend your time and energy and burn yourself out. Self care and boundary setting are important skills to learn. I am still learning.

So nothing super profound from me today, lol. Just wanted to check in and say that it’s okay to take things one bite at a time.

How is everyone doing with sheltering in place? The above photo was taken way back in 2008 during my 30th birthday trip to Scotland. I was talking about my time there in a recent Facebook Live chat over tea, and it really did remind me about how our gifts are sometimes born out of times of solitude. It was on this particular trip that I set the next chapter of my life in motion (literally since I was turning 30), and pretty much everything I am doing now is a result of those intentions.

1. Apply to be an Herbal Apprentice.
2. Get a laptop so I can start a blog and write it from anywhere.
3. Create workshops or classes…about what, I wasn’t sure yet.

Fast forward 10 years and change, and here I am. And oddly enough, while really in transition again with my business, I am being forced into more retreat time. Oh, Universe.

I am delighted to see so many other people using this time to do beautiful things. Sometimes it’s hard to sit in the silence. It isn’t always easy when we are so used to being busy, and going and doing. I keep seeing funny things about how Generation Xers are taking the quarantines in stride because being alone is nothing new to us. I do find that to be true for me. I spent some time alone after school as a school kid and would entertain myself for a bit (however nothing very prolonged), and I would spend hours in the basement making up worlds and stories with my dolls or watching TV. I would make mixed tapes of video clips on the VCR, my friend Charity and I would make up and record commercials on cassette tapes using my Dad’s and her Dad’s record collections. We would also spend hours doing various arts and crafts. I was never into video games but was heavily into watching my shows and would get very upset if the VCR failed to turn on if I wasn’t home because that meant I would have to wait until they re ran it over the Summer. Oh, pre Netflix/Hulu/Amazon….

I will say, I am also experiencing some anxiety at times over all this. I am not immune to it even though I try to remain calm and focus my energy into positive things and my work. I have been trying to meditate, nap, drink tea, talk to friends etc., to keep grounded.

I am also trying to stay in place. Be in the stillness. Because even though I do have a lot of practice with solitude…I have become accustomed to the digital connections and conveniences. I love me a good show binge…no waiting for the happy ending! LOL. But I appreciate my days of waiting to see what happens next because it reminds me that good things can take time, work, and yes, rest.

Be well and Stay Safe.

Things are so up in the air right now, but I have been wanting to get on here and write, in general, for a while now. I am risking imperfection a lot these days in order to simply get my messages and products out to where they are (hopefully) needed.

So much feels uncertain and I know that a lot of folks are dealing with having their lives disrupted schedule-wise as well as having the fear of the unknown hovering over everything.

One thing that I am grateful for, is seeing how many people are rising to the occasion to not only get creative in terms of their own businesses but to help others out. Local businesses and people unexpectedly stuck at home with children…big organizations like the Metropolitan Opera streaming productions for free. I have been able to use my social media skills to not only promote for the small, family owned, business I work for (Cuban Liquor), but to share information about other local businesses’ events, schedule changes and new offerings via our platform. We are all just making it up as we go along and trying to support our community, which gives me hope.

As for me personally, I am naturally a homebody and homesteading is my norm…for which I am grateful. I only have my dog Sam and I to worry about locally (I am grateful for technology that helps me keep in touch with my relatives and friend-family who are of great support). I also had been on the verge of burnout what with deciding to expand my own small business this year, and last Sunday was the first real day off I have had in a long time (with all my extracurricular activities being cancelled: Opera, Church Choir and Volunteering). I was neglecting my apartment, and my health…if I am being honest. They say that when we neglect things long enough, we are made to slow down…this seems to be happening on a global level right now.

As for my small business, I will continue to go to C&C Mercantile on Saturdays to make stuff as long as I can…and I will always be available to chat about ways to support our immune systems…there or via online (I feel privileged to support, work for, and within so many small, local businesses right now). I have the ability to do FaceTime sessions, or Zoom meetings. I am still a little nervous about the idea of doing a Facebook Live…but we will see. My favorite part about what I do is the in person aspect, but in these times we must use the resources we have! And I would still like to be able to help people by sharing my knowledge. In that spirit, I am still planning on teaching my class on plants for the immune system on March 28th at The Peace of Mind Center, where you can also purchase some of my products locally.

I do want to work on my Etsy shop so I can more easily ship products. I am also always willing to do product handoffs. I was thinking about a subscription box…but one thing at a time…

So for now…Love and Light.

I am trying very hard to bring everything back up to date! The new year started with me asking C&C Mercantile how much a studio space would be…for the future…and much in line with how things seem to work sometimes…it was the right time to ask! I have a lot more to say on this subject but I have updated this site to include where you can find me locally! And, as always, you can keep up via Facebook and Instagram.

My timing for this one is pretty awesome, I think. Happy Halloween everyone! Ever since I was a kid, Autumn has been my favorite season. Sweater weather, apple cider donuts, changing leaves and my Mom’s stuffed pumpkin. Now that I am far away from home, this is the second year I have made my own and me being me, I’ve put my own spin on it…

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My Mom’s stuffed pumpkin is always filled with seasoned ground beef with white potatoes. You can’t really go wrong there! Last year I stuck pretty close to the original but added in some greens.

This year, I went two steps further out of the box by using ground sausage meat, purple potatoes and spinach. Yowsa…it was pretty darn good!

I am going to tell it in pictures:

I gutted and par-cooked my pumpkin at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. You really just need to keep an eye on it since every pumpkin is different. I also brushed the inside with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.

Filling: (I actually made most of the filling the day before and stored it in the fridge)

I started with a medium onion and sautéed it until translucent (you can chop it any way you like). Then I added some thinly sliced purple potatoes (about 7 small potatoes). I chose not to par boil them because I thought they’d keep more of their purple color. I added garlic powder, sage, rosemary and fennel seed to taste. Cook until potatoes begin to soften…

Then add 1 pound of pork sausage meat and brown. I took the mixture off the stove and cooked a bag of frozen spinach with some olive oil, garlic powder, lemon, crushed red pepper flakes and salt to taste before adding the meat and potatoes back in.

After all that, you can put the mixture into the pumpkin and put it back in a 350 degree oven for 30-40 more minutes. You want to be careful not to over cook because the pumpkin will start to sag (learned that last year).

XO