A DELIGHTful way to shop for groceries...

These reusable grocery bags from Envirosax are a MUST. Please NO MORE plastic bags. And at 6 for $33 the price can't be beat - keep 3 give 3 away to a friend. Get them at Delight.

Calm the Brain Yoga Pose...

Seated Forward Bend - Paschimottanasana

This pose can help in the following ways:

Help a distracted mind unwind
Calms the brain and helps relieve stress and mild depression
Stretches the spine, shoulders, hamstrings
Stimulates the liver, kidneys, ovaries, and uterus
Improves digestion
Helps relieve the symptoms of menopause and menstrual discomfort
Soothes headache and anxiety and reduces fatigue
Therapeutic for high blood pressure, infertility, insomnia, and sinusitis
Traditional texts say that Paschimottanasana increases appetite, reduces obesity, and cures diseases.

Instructions:
1. From seated position bring the arms straight out to the sides and up over your head.
2. Inhale and draw the spine up long.
3. As you exhale, begin to come forward, hinging at the hips.
4. On each inhale, extend the spine and on each exhale come a bit further into the forward bend. 5. Keep the neck the natural extension of the spine.
6. Do not round the back.
7. Take hold of the ankles or shins, whichever you can reach.
Beginners: Take padding under the sit bones if necessary. Imagine the belly coming to rest on your thighs, rather than the nose coming to the knees. This will help you keep the spine long instead of curving over.
Advanced: If you can easily grab the soles of your feet, try taking a block in front of the feet and holding that instead.

My momME planner...

Many of you have been asking for a peek at how I use my momME planner. Here's how I fill it in (granted by the end of the week it is a lot messier than this) but I wanted to give you an idea of how mine looks. Click on image to view a larger one.

To order your own momME or organizeME weekly planner visit http://www.lobotome.com/

Bath Bombs...

Love, love, love ME!Bath products (and so does my 3 year old!) Samme calls them Bath Bombs.

"With only 24 hours in each day, it's getting harder and harder to find time for "ME"... Welcome to the world of ME!Bath where they encourage you to start making "ME" a priority again!" This is a great way of carving out a little "ME" time each week...there is nothing quite like hiding out in a bath tub for 1/2 hour.

I might start selling these on LobotoME.com but in the meantime visit www.MEBath.com to order!

Avoid Brain Drain...

Eat Omega-3 rich fish at least 2-3x a week


Eat plenty of leafy greens and Vitamin E rich foods (nuts & wholegrains)

Source: Nutrition Action Letter, 6/07

Foods to buy Organically grown...

Keep this list in your wallet:

Dairy Producst (milk, eggs, cheese)

Meat Products (look for grass fed)

Baby Food
Fruits & veggies -

Grapes

Pears

Bell Peppers

Spinach

Potatoes

Strawberries, Raspberries

Cherries, Peaches
Apples

Little Gurus

Thanks Sarah (http://www.gaiacreative.com) for sending this along...love it!

From: June 26, 2007 - http://www.dailyom.com/

"As grown-ups, we often approach children with ideas about what we can teach them about this life to which they have so recently arrived. It's true that we have important information to convey, but children are here to teach us just as much as we are here to teach them. They are so new to the world and far less burdened with preconceived notions about the people, situations, and objects they encounter. They do not avoid people on the basis of appearance, nor do they regard shoes as having only one function. They can be fascinated for half an hour with a pot and a lid, and they are utterly unself-conscious in their emotional expressions. They live their lives fully immersed in the present moment, seeing everything with the open-mindedness born of unknowing. This enables them to inhabit a state of spontaneity, curiosity, and pure excitement about the world that we, as adults, have a hard time accessing. Yet almost every spiritual path calls us to rediscover this way of seeing! In this sense, children are truly our gurus.

When we approach children with the awareness that they are our teachers, we automatically become more present ourselves. We have to be more present when we follow, looking and listening, responding to their lead. We don't lapse so easily into the role of the director of activities, surrendering instead to having no agenda at all. As we allow our children to determine the flow of play, they pull us deeper into the mystery of the present moment. In this magical place, we become innocent again, not knowing what will happen next and remembering how to let go and flow.

Since we must also embody the role of loving guide to our children, they teach us how to transition gracefully from following to leading and back again. In doing so, we learn to dance with our children in the present moment, shifting and adjusting as we direct the flow from pretending to be kittens wearing shoes on our heads to making sure everyone is fed and bathed.

What do you think?

For your daily dose of OM...sign up at http://www.dailyom.com/

Exercise = Stress Reduction

On busy, stressful Monday mornings, it's important to remember that exercise helps reduce stress and anxiety. Read more about this here.

So, squeeze in some exercise today - a walk during lunch or a yoga class after work. Just do it!

Keep Calm and Carry On...

A great find - a repro of the WWII poster. I have it in my office and it is my MANTRA for the week. We've got a big event going on this weekend in Breckenridge, Colorado so I need to Keep Calm and Carry On. I'll be back next week with more blogs.

One of the places to get your hands on one.

http://sfgirlbybay.blogspot.com/2007/03/keep-calm-and-carry-on.html

hip yoga magazine...

Elephant - An independent magazine that focuses on the mindful life - yoga, organics, sustainability, conscious consumerism, buddhadharma and the contemplative arts.

Mantra ME...

"The yogic sages say that all the pain of a human life is caused by words, as is all the joy. We create words to define our experience and those words bring attendant emotions that jerk us around like dogs on a leash. We get seduced by our own mantras ( I'm a failure...I'm lonely...I'm a failure...I'm lonely..) and we become monuments to them. To stop talking for a while, then, is to attempt to strip away the power of words, to stop choking ourselves with words, to liberate ourselves from our suffocating mantras."

From my favorite book Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.

What mantra do you want in your brain this week?

For ideas see: http://www.lobotome.com/mantraMe.htm

Aromatic Hangover Pillow...

Could have used this post Margarita party last night...Never attending one of those again! :)

Aromatic Hangover Pillow Description: Ease the morning-after blues with Himalayan herbs for purification and mental alertness. The genuine Himalayan herbs in this pillow are used by traditional healers to cure headaches, purify polluted minds, promote mental alertness and concentration, treat nausea, restore strength and courage and ward off evil spirits.

http://www.ruthwhiteyoga.com/cgi-bin/rw_product_detail.pl?propswen020Yoga%20Props

Do you think it works??!?! :)

Find Your Sassy Sadhana...

Join Kimberly Wilson for a one-hour le chic teleclass chat focused on designing a sassy sadhana (spiritual practice) with your journal, cup of tea, and pen in hand. During this teleclass you will learn the eight petals of a hip tranquil chick's spiritual practice, small ways to make a BIG difference in your daily live, and how to bring the yamas and niyamas to life. The fun will be held on Wednesday, July 25 at 8:30pm ET (7:30 CT, 6:30 MT, 5:30 PT) and focus on Chapters 3 and 12 of Hip Tranquil Chick, along with some new material from Kimberly's next book, Tranquilology. The fee for this class is $10 to go toward the Tranquil Space Foundation. For more information or to register visit http://www.hiptranquilchick.com/happenings.html#chats

5 minute yoga fix for Friday...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7drLSbrHft0&mode=related&search=

The Daily Stroll...

LobotoME products were featured this week in the Daily Stroll Newsletter...Each day they send out info about new products, hip designers, and more for parents & parents to be. To sign up for their great daily fix visit http://www.dailystroll.com/

Remember to stop and smell the flowers...

Despite the fact that I sell organizers & planners...I loved the Editor of I Yoga Life's latest blog posting...TO DON'T LIST.

New shades...

Loving my new sunglasses... They are the SMITH Melrose.

http://www.backcountry.com/store/SMI0417/Smith-Melrose-Sunglass.html?CMP_ID=PD_GOO001&CP=Google&CMP=KNC-Google&mv_pc=r101&gcid=S2000x137&keyword=Smith+Melrose+Sunglass&s_kwcid=smith%20melrose%20sunglass672868604

Tired Tuesday...

ThatsFit.com has a great article on how to never feel tired again http://http//www.thatsfit.com/2007/07/09/how-to-never-feel-tired-again/

Monday Morning...

Happy Monday to all of you!

How have you used your MomME or organizeME planners to schedule in some "ME-Time" this week? I've schedule 2 power yoga classes, one gentle yoga class, a hike with a friend and a raft trip with friends on Saturday.

Tell me what you are doing for "ME-Time" this week...

Have FUN!

Feed ME...

Here's my weekly Feed ME meal planner filled in as an example!

Meal Planning Made Easy...

The FeedME pad was recently featured on http://www.thatsfit.com/

http://www.thatsfit.com/2007/07/04/meal-planning-made-easy-with-lobotome/

Next week, I'll post my weekly meal planning menu as an example.

Hip solar lanterns, in time for summer parties...

www.allsopgarden.com

Tranquility Tools...

Here are some tips and a podcast from Kimberly Wilson on some of her most valuable tranquility tools.

http://hiptranquilchick.com/podcastblog.html

How to Be a Chic Mom...

http://www.shesheme.com/newmomchic/newmom17.htm

ps - It suggests the momME planner! :)

Monday Madness...

How was your Monday? Mine started at 6am with me hitting snooze 3 times (for a total of 24 interrupted minutes of additional rest). And it will likley go past 11pm.

Did you carve out any ME Time today? I carved out 20 minutes of yoga this morning on the deck - it was beautiful and lovely and QUIET. Then I took 45 minutes of time during lunch to get a pedi with my mom (my feet were so dirty from wearing flip flops 24/7 the past few weeks). So, if you didn't find ME Time today...try tomorrow - try waking up 15 minutes early to have a cup of tea by yourself and stretch. Try taking a walk during lunch tomorrow instead of sitting at your desk.

Let me know what you do for ME Time in the comments.