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3 Ways For a Calm Happy Thanksgiving

In the past decade, I have spent 3 separate Thanksgiving holidays abroad or overseas that was everything but a calm Happy Thanksgiving. It was organized chaos in Mexico, Spain, and Morocco.

It’s all relative to each person’s life. For me, the trips were exciting and memorable times, and during more calm days when we traveled around freely. Some refer to as “the easier days.”

Those holidays, I was attending celebrational gatherings and occasions. But despite the freedom and travel adventure, I always felt something missing, being away.

…It’s the similar feeling that you get when you’ve arrived to your destination (place or accomplishments) and now you’re ready to go home or move on to what’s next…

Have you been there?

In those past Thanksgiving occasions, I knew that the something-missing was being in the country that I’m most grateful for, where I live and grew up celebrating Thanksgiving (along with all Americans) on the last Thursday in November. 🦃

Watching the Macy’s Day Parade is a calm Happy Thansgiving event I look forward to…  and, hearing television football games played in the background, catching up with family and friends, getting the special dinner on the table in the afternoon, and forgetting calories to celebrate.

…And remembering that Thanksgiving starts and sets the countdown to Christmas.🎄

Holiday time is also a time when holiday stress can creep in finishing work projects for the year, gift giving decisions, and sometimes compromising decisions on food and travel, and making winter and holiday plans.

…So, especially if that’s you, I wanted to help you to find a calm Happy Thanksgiving to kick-off your BEST holiday season.

I joyfully love to keep my holiday season as calm and simple as possible. And baking at home is one of those ways. That’s how I roll (and some time before this year ends I’ll be baking my first swiss roll and you can be the judge of how it turns out… so stay tuned).

And our staying calm is how I believe we can win in our life’s marathon. You don’t have to look far to find ways to not find R&R in this life. It’s your perception (mindset shift) that can change everything for you. I know this, because it did for me.

You can stay cool as a cucumber even when your situations get complicated and sometimes out of our hands.

You’re your biggest influence if you allow yourself that empowered choice.

We can go after the things that make us happy or feel calm.

One example is the Black Friday and Cyber Monday frenzies (you don’t need a reminder as they’re everywhere). Those are part of our newer culture traditions, but not what make a calm Happy Thanksgiving.

I mentioned I was overseas on three Thanksgiving occasions. One occasion was spent in Seville, Spain.

That year, I noticed they had similar shopping celebrations inside a mall I went into. I realized day after Thanksgiving big shopping sales don’t just happen in America in a shouting from the rooftops or fun confetti gun sorta way 🎉.

My turkey (while not the traditional kind) that year came from an express Carrefour grocery supermarket, and while not stuffed (the turkey or myself 😊), I felt grateful that I was healthy and able to travel before I started a new work chapter in my life.

… I felt I knew what I more deeply wanted in this Life… meaningful things that brought more peace, joy, and love that were missing from the previous season.

…That can sound like a Hallmark card or movie-ish, but that’s what everyone wants no matter what socioeconomic status. That never changes. And even if it’s never declared.

Having nice stuff is great, but getting in a habit of buying can swallow us up if we take the eye off the real joy and riches in this world.

And then those fickle feelings, thoughts, and moods can creep into the day. And we can easily feel dissatisfied at some point when our elated feelings draw to an end and the novelty wears off (…that’s this life).

We can then feel something missing when what we really want is to feel whole (and not missing anything). We want to feel healthy and healed.

So, from that lens, looking for the calm (and not the highs that can lead us to the lows) keeps us joyful, content, and in full gratitude (for our life). And in control of our feelings and lives. Simple to say but not easy to do if the mind muscles haven’t been stretched or we get super busy or proud.

I remember in my past, I would get invited to foodie restaurants where the bill would be similar to say getting the indulgent luxury spa works package.

I never felt guilty, but I never felt any better than if I didn’t go, when I looked back. There was a misalignment.

Deeper inside, I remember feeling I would have preferred to just stay at home and eat a nice bowl of delicious healthy homemade soup instead of getting all dolled-up to go out and splurge on a decadent 4-course dinner.

I didn’t need to feed my ego and outer wants. And my body would’ve thanked me for it too!

calm Happy Thanksgiving homemade yam soup
In case you get tired of pumpkin everything, and over Thanksgiving… here’s a delicious, calming Vata yam soup you can try! 😋

…It took me feeling that I wasn’t missing anything to get to that revelation. Does that make sense?

And maybe since I had worked in and out and behind-the-hotel catering and restaurant hospitality-scenes, my lens was altered and the happy going-out eating Disney-effect just wasn’t the same.

…but I really do think it was more just being misaligned with my purpose. At that time, I was still trying to figure out what category that could be as I used limited gifts and talents (and more management and planning skills) in corporate work.

Today, I know what keeps life calm and joyful (especially as we enter holiday weeks where it’s easy to get off healthy and happy balance)… and, that’s taking care of and growing yourself (mind-body-spirit).

We all have a chance to forge a new path or start a new pivot for the first or nth time in this or the next season. I know what that is like as much as anyone (and probably even more). It can be a little uncomfortable in uncertainty, but with taking risks come rewards.

You could be in a slow season or a fast-paced one that’s passing you. Neither I found were sustainable. They were for a season.

And whatever the case is for you today, it’s better to take charge of your destiny.

…Because you’ve probably noticed in your life, as soon as you get used to a way, then a new one is presented especially these days in our warp speed up and slow down world… and sometime it’s hurry up and wait (that will help you in your adaptability and flexibility… good skills to have!).

If you want to find your next calling or your purpose, one thing you can do is maintain better consistent sleep which I think is one of the telltale signs of your optimal mental health (and of course physical health).

If you have a new purpose to wake up for or purposefully trying to search for one, your mental health improves and that helps your sleep. And getting moving with physical exercise can be one of those easier ways to get this sleep party started (if that needs restoration).

As for finding your life’s purpose, if that’s the crossroad where you are, thinking outside of what’s around you and finding inspiration from those outside your circles (different from you) and the sources you usually would look at, can definitely spark new life and life-giving journeys…

For many seasons, looking back, I found I was thinking way too small at times (not dreaming big) and usually those were clouded thoughts. There wasn’t a sharp gut knowing that I had felt before in other seasons (from dreams or heart whispers). Like those feelings of when you know, you know, and when you don’t, you don’t.

When I got more air and space, I could believe for bigger things, and those ideas became my reality. Not usually right away, but sometimes they did “suddenly” in life’s mysterious and everything-happens-for-a-reason ways.

I consider myself a feet-firmly planted on the ground type of person… and maybe that’s how you operate.

On the ground, these days with all the resources we have available to us, we can go straight to the root, find resources, and decision maker sources, and bypass months of trying to find right answers, and get in the front door. The right ones open for you in your effort and staying calm.

And to help you stay calm, here are 3  simple ways to stay feeling balanced, joyful and in calm waiting (if you are waiting) over the Thanksgiving weekend and maybe (hopefully) beyond… Continue reading “3 Ways For a Calm Happy Thanksgiving”

Flying Travel Essentials For Ayurvedic Body Self-Care

Flying travel essentials are good to pack so you are prepared to have a great trip without hassles.

You may be rusty and getting your travel legs back, as you and some of us have not traveled much over the past years.

But this article will help you get excited again about packing and for your travel adventures. ✈️ Be sure to read the wellness list below.

Firstly, travel conveniences have evolved. Liquids don’t have to be pre-packed in bags anymore, so you want to be sure to bring your creams and eye drops you may have forgottten about especially if we haven’t traveled in a few years. There’s no total quantity limit.

And many innovative airports have smartphone chargers built-in.

You sometimes don’t even have to bring out your cords for your newer devices. That something to get excited about before you board! 💛

flying travel essentials to take on your next trip.

Hello, I’m a planner at heart. I’m the person that will have what is needed while others fly by the seat of their pants. 😁 One profile that I adopted as an event planner early on is focusing on details. And in the details, we plan everything.

But some things we can’t plan.

Like the new space travel and space tourism category.

Not too long ago, Jeff Bezos took off in his Blue Origin aircraft and we heard “best day ever!” after the 4-some landed back on earth.

I think it’s exciting that there are new possibilities and options available. This was kinda like the mission effect of the first man on the moon about half-a-century earlier. 🌕

But for most of us, we’re planning and dreaming of earth travel in new and familiar places that have been traveled to before.

I consider myself lucky to have leisurely traveled overseas almost every other year for a decade. 

Because travel offers a good change in scenery and a learning experience wherever you go.

If that’s how you or someone you know feels now, I have some flying travel essentials and tips for your health to take with you so you adventure is enhanced and more enjoyable.

Plus a food-as-medicine healthy digestif elixir 🍶recipe you can prepare and carry with you that will solve some of your body feeling off symptoms for temporary situation changes.

OK, this is a little unknown, maybe unique fact about me that will help you make the hotel choice easy… because I love staying in hotels!

Maybe that’s why I was attracted to and started my young career working in hotel catering management.

Hotels make vacation life easy, as they have an in-person check-in/out and additional services, a coffee café or restaurant with room service, and breakfast options usually.

They run 24 x 7 so there’s always someone there to avoid hassles with a card or code that doesn’t work (that leads to Pitta frustration).

Keys were pre-Ayurvedic days. And these days, listening to your body and Ayurvedic habits pay off. No matter what temporary roof you have on travel, today we can do so much on-travel to self-restore our balance and wellness. 🌱

This can start with making choices like using a full-service hotel good for pampering and ultimate body self-care.

Some hotel rooms even come with tempting luxury robes and irresistible turn-down chocolates if you’re lucky.

Some have a knowledgeable in-house concierge who can answer your questions, and in-hotel spa and attendants.

They also have bellmen that can do the heavy lift, moving your luggage to your room and can help you get around by ordering taxis for you.

And if those services aren’t enough, there are usually clothing cleaning valet services from the housekeeping staff who clean the rooms and make your bed every day. That could be a robot someday soon, just sayin’!. 🤖

During the pandemic, hotels were one of the first business impacted and testing robots to fold towels.

Another hotel feature is in-room safes that give us peace of mind so we can relax on vacation.

Hotels run a business with consistent features that’s different experience than a short-term rental run by your neighbor .

For short stays, hotels can be less stressful.

And in true Vata fashion on vacation, you don’t mind and like to move around from hotel to hotel, to get a different hotel vibe and soak in a new locale while visiting new places. For others, that may sound like work.

…But, everyone’s a little different. To each her own, and that’s what makes this world go round and each of us uniquely special. 🌍

One things that helps everyone is planning ahead. It comes in handy as it saves time and prevents hassle inconveniences as some need travel items can’t be found in certain places.

For flying travel essentials, I still put the liquids in a zip lock size bag (out of organized habit) and pack it to the rim.

But now you can pack many more on your carry-on as long as any one liquid bottle does not exceed the amount limit. That’s something to be happy about. 😊

You can even bring your small liquid soaps, so you don’t have to use the shampoo or hard bar of soap. 

So go ahead and add those toiletries you can’t live without to your list now or in your carry-on bag.

Other flying travel essentials includes personal things that calm your senses like essential oils.

Vanilla scents will help your anxiety and rose scents for your irritated moments. Those are common feelings you’ll experience on travel.

Also, dryness is usually a part of flying travel life, as the re-circulating air on planes is filtered, but drying and drinking too many liquids mean inconvenient bathroom runs.

Time zones also affect your body in every way. You want to moisturize your thirsty skin after you get settled and after you take a shower especially from a long overnight flight.

You can also use a green tea, lavender, or rose face mist that feels soothing to restore a Pitta body.

Stress Reducing Flying Travel Essentials

Jet lag temporary stress doesn’t do body damage like chronic stress, but being on a vacation can produce stressful moments if you get lost, are on a time crunch, or when you’re with a new travel partner where you don’t know what to expect.

Some other common stress-inducing situations:

…Once you leave your house for vacation, your eating times, patterns, and what you eat routine changes as food is prepared for you unless you have access to a kitchen under your temporary vacation roof. But then foraging is always a new adventure.

The ingredients consumed are different than back home. Maybe, bring a spice or two that reminds you of home cooking that’ll help calm nerves.

And also pack Ayurvedic spices like turmeric (anti-inflammatory), cumin when it’s Pitta hot, and cayenne pepper when it’s Kapha cool temperatures.

Cinnamon is good for Vata and good for a sweet addition and sugar-alternative for beverages

…A home sleeping routine is interrupted. You rarely hear that people naturally slept better on a plane ride than in their bed at home.

Bring your ear buds that come in handy in more ways than one.

Flying Travel Essentials: What to Pack in a Carry-on Bag (checklist)

__ Allowable liquids (remembering you’ll have to toss out water or any liquids larger than the size allotted when you get to Security after you airport checkin)

__ Bagged teas for comfort (peppermint tea bags to calm a stomach that’s doing somersaults. Herbal teas are found in most hotels)

__Eye drops and nasal sprays. You can also carry a little coconut oil or Vaseline that isn’t considered a liquid.

__Moisturizing lip balm, sunscreen lip balm, face, and hand moisturizer, and body sunscreen.

__A light essential oil scent like citrus, vanilla, or bergamot for calming. Taking a whiff of peppermint oil helps headaches. Gone are the days when wearing scents on a plane are customary.

__Scarf for coolness. In some countries, they require shoulders to be covered going inside churches so it’s good to have a lightweight one for covering.

__ Compression socks (good for flying where air changes and it gets cold).

Wear regular socks on the plane as likely you’ll have to take your shoes off to go through Security. And there’s nothing less comforting than having to walk bare feet on the cold public floor.

__ Gloves  for if you get cold hands or it’s winter. An extra pair of gloves is good to bring as sometimes you lose one.

__A squishable hat or ballcap that you can attach to the outside of your bag makes you American, but so adorable. If you have long hair, remember to pack hair ties to keep you cool.

__Vitamins help to boost immunity when you don’t have immunity foods at your convenience and you’re in and around the public more often. 

Include: Vitamin C, a mushroom or onion complex, and/or zinc, elderberry.

Take extra vitamin C as it’s water soluble and your body naturally rids of any extra (that’s not the case with B, A, and E that are also essential flying travel vitamins you can get in a multivitamin or immunity support supplement that you can dissolve in water).

__Minerals such as magnesium-calcium will help you on travel and with your circadian rhythm. Lavender tea or your Sleepy-time blend of tea can also help your sleeping efforts.

Some other miscellaneous flying travel essentials that are often forgotten, include: tissues, cough drops (in case your throat gets dry), and an apple good when you can’t brush your teeth. It will help clean teeth, so is better than gum.

Check-in bag items:

Water bottles are not always easy to find in some countries outside the U.S. So if you want to be cool, and stay cool, it’s good to bring an aluminum one.

You can store some of your smaller items inside until it’s filled with water at your destination.

Plastic or aluminum ones can be expensive to buy in a pinch. I learned my lesson in Rome when the fountain-style public tap water is potable (safe to drink), but the water bottles for tourists to buy could be as high as $40. You can bring your cooling metal bottle or purchase a collapsible travel bottle to pack in your other bag.

Of course, you can use regular plastic water bottles you buy locally, but your water bottle would look cooler in your memorable photos. 📸

You can also bring cut ginger, to add to your water.  This is an Ayurvedic practice. The best way to get the ginger juices out is to chew the piece with your teeth and drink with water.

Ginger is great for morning hygiene and digestion. It’s a good primer before coffee in the morning. Or you can bring ginger spice (to make everything nice) for your long travel adventures.

For in-between meals, oatmeal is a good dry food to bring along as you can usually find warm water in your room from the room coffee/tea maker.

Some chain hotels even offer free breakfasts with warm oatmeal or oatmeal packets.

It’s smart to carry nutrition bars just in case you get super hungry, have low blood sugar, or have a drop in potassium.

Carrying bars around even when you’re in town cruising around is a good idea as it won’t ruin your next meal but will tie you over

…I was once in a museum where you had to stand in a line and wait to go in, and the only food they sold in the gift shop was a high sugar candy bar.

I could’ve brought a bar and not spent extra minutes moving around.

On travel, you can bring healthy energy powder supplement where you just add water.

You can also consider protein powder if you want to squeeze in a run, or a quick workout in your room or the hotel gym. With a full-on meal, you’d have to wait for your food to digest. So powders and bars have their smart use in place!

It’s also a good idea to bring a bathing suit on any trip. I actually pack this in my travel flying essentials bag because it’s so lightweight and I know I’ll need it.

Even if it’s winter and not warm beach weather, I find an indoor pool, spa, sauna, hot steam room, or jacuzzi that can be very relaxing and therapeutic.

Aaah… I’m dreaming already.

And the last thing you want to do is go bathing suit shopping on vacation unless you’re at the beach.

And one last thing…

Pack a pair of flip-flops. They take little bag space and they’re good to walk around with in a room, outdoor patio, or hotel spa (…ahhh!).

And you can wash them off with a little shampoo and water in your hotel room before you can quickly dry them off and put them back in your bag.

You can easily find cheap flip flops for a few bucks in America, in case you don’t want to bring them back home.

And this is a good food-as-medicine bottle to make and bring for your Ayurvedic balance…

organic navel orange peel for ayurveda drinks
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Ayurvedic Apple Cider Vinegar Heartburn and Digestif Elixir

To calm heartburn, apple cider vinegar is a good "medicine" to have on you and this digestif will help with temporary indigestion symptoms.
Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

  • apple cider vinegar (with the mother)
  • water
  • orange zest
  • cinnamon
  • five spice blend (fennel, cloves, anise, pepper)

Instructions

  • Shake up apple cider vinegar if it has the healthy "mother."
  • Add ACV and water (about 1:1 ratio) to a small bottle. Add additional ingredients. Shake. Ready to go! Are you?

Happy Gratitude in Paris

Happy gratitude is easy to find when your senses are heightened like in a city like Paris that has beauty, scents, and sights.

happy gratitude in front of Louvre Museum.
 

That’s one souvenir that is priceless. Even more valuable than the Mona Lisa.

It’s also a good time to reflect in happy gratitude for the life you’ve already had.

For me, I’m thankful for the travel I did pre-2020 that are joyfully stamped in my memories.

For self-care, I find solo travel to be one of the best ways to be reflective and grateful. You can find a new place to explore without compromise, and to find yourself and happy self in the process.

In May 2012, I did just that. I explored and got lost around Paris, France for a week. I could breathe in a different culture, and see a glimpse of how big this world is and how small a piece we are.

What you take with you on travel and in your life is your mind, body, and spirit. And that’s the part that gets impacted the most in travel.

For me (and maybe you), international travel is exciting with new sights, sounds, tastes, culture, people, and history.

And a city like Paris is nothing short of joyful sensory overload… But there are more similarities to American cities than dissimilarities.

The language is the biggest difference that jumps out the most.

The highlights are walking down boulevards, visiting museums, purchasing a Parisian beret and scarf, experiencing scents and tastes from all the beautiful boulangerie breads and pastries, and then finally making it one day to the iconic Eiffel Tower (as a dramatic climax).

When I had first arrived, I was sleep-deprived from the 6-hour time difference. But — the first day is magical as my eyes pop out of my head in wonderment. The happy center of my mind is hungry for more. And is reinforced with the scent of fresh quiche everywhere.

Walking up a classic cobblestone pedestrian street like Rue du Mouffetard was a great way to start.

The joy effect does wear off after a few days, and it took a few cappuccinos and seeing many sights.

These are a few gratitude notes I took away:

Balance. 

Paris is a city of balance. You can sit in a café and “be,” and no one will rush you. You can watch the world walk by.

And you feel like you’re on top of the world like in balanced yoga poses.

You can stroll and sit along the Seine River, or relax in the garden parks (Jardin des Tuilleries).

Staying in the Latin Quarter area, I got away from the hustle and bustle tourist district and shopping-feel that the central Opera neighborhood has.

Beauty.

When you see peaceful Monet’s water lilies mural paintings at Musee de L’Orangerie, you get a new sense of appreciation… and then you just wanna lay on an outdoor chaise lounge so you can be mindful of your beautiful surroundings.  

Beauty you can find in food elegance you can find in a bistro where everyday is brunch fare.

Life.

You can get your fill of vitality in the churches, as you visit the grand Notre Dame and Sacre Coeur.

You can hear church bells and see street performers playing accordions in between sites.

You also hear fluent French spoken with beautifully connected sounds. I appreciated my ability to speak broken French as my high school French teacher came to my conscious mind.

City of Lights.

In May, you realize that the Paris sun sets around 10 pm and that the global earth operates in different time zones.

With more daylight, you have a chance to experience and aspire to do more each day.

You realize how the world runs in different time zones and the Universe looks different from another perspective, but the lit sun stays constant.

Contentment.

I felt grateful (and content) for the gift of life and the uncertainty to get better answers than the ones I currently know with my limited knowledge.

I was grateful for the freedom and ability to travel by myself to build self-confidence.

I was thankful for the healthy intentions I have and the growth I had made up to the point. Nothing learned goes wasted.

I was thankful for the people I had met and who are a happy part of my life even if it was only for a season. Life is about the experiences, relationships, and becoming better people.

Then when it was time to go back home, I was looking forward to going back to the life I had that allowed me to take a week off to explore.

I journaled my experience in a scrapbook I created with warm and appreciative memories. I can re-live the thoughts and feelings I had at the time, any time in my mind.

With memorable trips like the one I took a decade ago, I realize I’m physically living in a different place, and in a different place in life now (as we’re constantly growing).

Since my Paris trip, I’ve opened my mind and world to seeing 9 additional countries.

There’s plenty of room for happy memories that’s a gift.

The happy gratitude part I cherish the most in every one of my  travel adventures. And when in my return, it’s my turn in the airport line to pass through the American Immigration desk, and the man in the kiosk smiles and says, “Welcome Home.”

I celebrate with my American flag smoothie that’s found nowhere but home.