Enchantment Learning & Living Blog

Welcome to Enchantment Learning & Living, the inspirational space where I write about the simple pleasures, radical self-care, and everyday magic that make life delicious.

Apple Crisp Overnight Oats

October 7, 2014

Cinnamon and apples are pretty much right up there with pumpkins for evoking autumnal goodness. This time of year I can't get enough of apples and cinnamon--I find a way to use them for everything from cocktails to my breakfast, to a quick snack and even dinner!

The best part about this recipe here is that while it may conjure up the flavors of an apple pie--apples cooked in sugar and ghee, topped with nutty oats and spices--it is healthier for you. I sometimes use homemade granola to finish off this meal and give it the additional crunch that a crisp offers.

Ingredients:

1 cup multi-grain oats

2 tablespoons chia seeds

2 tablespoons almond meal

2 tablespoons flax seed meal

3 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ginger

3 tablespoons maple syrup or honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups milk

4 apples, chopped

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon ghee

1/2 cup granola (optional)

In a saucepan, heat ghee until melted and then throw in chopped apples. Allow to cook on low until softened and lightly browned, about ten minutes. Then add 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon and all of the brown sugar and cook for another 5 minutes, until sugar has coated apples. Set aside to cool.

Mix all dry ingredients (including remaining cinnamon) except the granola together in a bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl, mix together all the wet ingredients until combined. Then begin to add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients slowly, until thoroughly mixed. Finally, stir in cooked apples. Divide mixture evenly between 4 mason jars and let sit overnight in fridge. Top each mason jar meal with 1/8 cup of granola before serving (optional). Makes 4 servings. Enjoy!

Enchantment Learning & Living is an inspirational blog celebrating life’s simple pleasures, everyday mysticism, and delectable recipes that are guaranteed to stir the kitchen witch in you. If you enjoyed what you just read and believe that true magic is in the everyday, subscribe to my newsletter below for regular doses of enchantment. Want even more inspiration? Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Here’s to a magical life!

Rethinking Everyday Magic in October!

October 6, 2014

Speaking of celebrating my one-year anniversary with this amazing and super easy subscription contest in which you can win a fabulous prize, there are some other great things going on in the realm of Enchantment Learning & Living. Not only can you continue to enjoy plenty more recipes and musing on the good life, but you can also enjoy a month of special Halloween themed blog posts in honor of the things that go bump in the night.

I've spent a lot of time on my blog talking about everyday magic--it's a central part of my writing--but with Halloween just around the corner, I began to wonder about the darker aspects of that energy. This type of magic is about more than just synchronicity and hobbit wisdom (as great as those things are); there is an equally important shadow side, if you will, to enchanted living. What about the proverbial vampires and zombies we encounter in our day? What about hexes and nightmares? These too are a part of everyday magic--as are their antidotes.

You may have seen me moving in this direction already with posts like Descending into the Underworld and the Curse of Normalcy. These too are about the darker aspects of everyday enchantment; this shadow side is not necessarily 'evil', but the realm of hidden desires, wants, fears, potentials that make up who we are; the waiting-to-be revealed wisdom just beyond the reach of our consciousness; and the violence that emerges when we cease to be true to ourselves. There is a certain amount of chills and thrills to be expected when venturing into the unknown shadow realm. It can be just as frightening as dueling with daily demons for all its ability to offer us insight into ourselves, our lives--or perhaps because it has so much potential to reveal our limitless ability to grow and change.

Sometimes the most terrifying thing in life--and the most empowering--is recognizing our full potential. So join me for this monthly meditation on the shadow realm for a more well-rounded insight on everyday magic!

One Year Anniversary Subscription Contest

October 4, 2014

Wow! I can hardly believe it but is was one year ago today that I started this blogging adventure (see how it all started here). And to think a few short months after that, I committed to a year of daily blogging. Nine months along on that road and I can't believe what an inspiring journey it's been! One of My favorite things about this project is the fact that I get to carve out time every day to simply reflect and enjoy the life lessons and simple pleasures that make up my life. It has also been a treat to share this journey with you readers and hear your stories.

To celebrate this wondrous milestone, I'm hosting a subscription contest! Here's how it works: simply subscribe to my blog by entering your email into the space provided at the end of this post or click here to enter your email address to be eligible for a gift card to amazon.com.

The 50th subscriber will receive a $15 amazon.com gift card. The grand prize of a $25 gift card will be for the 100th email subscriber! They can use this card to indulge in some simple pleasures that make their everyday life just a little more magical. I'll be announcing the winners at the end of this month.

It's as simple as that!

Why not spread the word while you're at it? Tell your friends, your family, your colleagues, your pets, your spirit guides and anyone else you can think of to enter the contest for a chance to win an amazon.com gift card. It seems to me the best way to celebrate everyday magic is to spread the love...with a champagne bubble bath as a distance second, of course!

Apple Cider Margarita

October 3, 2014

Oh yes, I went there. And I went one step further and published this with just enough time for you to get the ingredients for your weekend cocktail! This margarita came about last Friday when I found myself in need of one, but with not enough limes to do the job; I only had 1/2 oz of freshly squeezed lime juice, to be exact.

Cut to me eyeing my newly purchased jug of local apple cider. A plot was hatched. Why couldn't I take the autumnal bliss that is cider and marry it with my traditional Friday night margarita? I did just that and was rewarded with a wonderfully smokey (from the tequila), tangy (from the lime and cider) sweet (from the apples and triple sec) concoction. I'm addicted. But there's only one way to see if you will be too--try it out!

Ingredients:

1.5 oz tequila

1/2 oz triple sec (optional)

3 oz fresh apple cider

1/2 oz lime juice

ice

Combine all ingredients in a glass and stir until combined. Serves one. Drink immediately. Better yet, double the recipe and invite a friend over to enjoy this blissful fall cocktail on your porch!

Want more liquid autumn? Try my Cinnamon Apple Cocktail.

On Yes's, No's, & Maybe's

October 2, 2014

This week has got me thinking about the boundaries we set in our lives (the no's), the things we choose to let into our lives (the yeses), and the things that we are okay to be happily ambivalent about (the maybes).

It seems to me life is a delicate balance between these three things. Without the no's we are forever beholden to a people-pleasing version of ourselves that leaves us an empty husk of who we could really be; without the yes's we can't let in the good people that make up part of our soul-filling intimate bonds or the impromptu adventures with them that come our way. The maybe's are perhaps more mercurial in their meaning, forever inviting us to see the possibility--and changeability--of a situation.

However you are feeling this week--full of no's, yes's, maybe's, or a little bit of each, I leave you with a few short essays on the power of these three little words:

On Being an Expert

October 1, 2014

As you walk the path of your day, there are many things demanding your attention, many groups wanting your commitment, many places hoping to pull you away from your home. Each one of them wants your promise that you will give yourself over to their cause, their creed, their life and in so doing giving up a little of yourself one drop at a time, fuel to their collective hunger.

And yet you resist the temptation to give yourself over to these things, groups, places. You save your role as Expert for just one thing. In everything else, you are an Amateur. To turn away from the noise and busyness of those demanding voices and grabbing hands and simply devote yourself to your own craft, that is the true art of the Expert.

You could count all the years, months, days you've been a teacher, listing all the lessons you've learned and doled out. But that would only be your professional expertise. Or you could explain how you work at your writing desk every day, courting words as your fingertips gently kissed your keyboard. But these words are not just the click-clack of typing nor the splash of ink on paper; they are moments lived, felt, reflected upon. You could go further still and unfurl the many years you've been a yogini (much longer than you've been a teacher) like you would your practice mat. But that would only show you so many sun salutations and a few breathing exercises.

These pieces, all of them, only dance around the heart of your Expertise. They are the threads that make up the fabric of you, fibers that weave together to form your ever evolving mastery of just one thing: Listening.

That ephemeral magic just beyond the border of too much noise and activity, too little inward reflection--and too little of what makes you smile. It eludes the masses but waits patiently for those willing to cultivate its wisdom. To listen is to tune out the white noise and become aware of the beating of your own heart, the rustle of fabric on skin as your chest rises and falls with each breath. The whispering leaves above your head. The hush of your surroundings. The almost imperceptible voice inside you that grows in strength only when you tune out the world and tune into you.

That is Listening. That is your magic, your well of inspiration. And that is what you choose to be an Expert at--open ears and open heart.

Nettle Tea

September 29, 2014

The nettle leaf is one of those plants, like the dandelion, that is often overlooked as a useless weed but is really one of the most amazing plants with health benefits out there. The tea it produces is my new favorite daily cup of goodness. I recently fell in love with the brew again after I found myself struggling with allergy symptoms last month. My sister-in-law, an amazing healer, told me to try drinking nettle tea. Luckily, I had some on hand. After a few cups of the herbal steep, I was feeling fit as a fiddle again! In fact, I realized that my symptoms only showed up when I had stopped drinking my nightly mint, dandelion, and nettle leaf tea blend.

Drinking nettle tea daily is worth it just to prevent any cold or allergy symptoms, but I also drink it because it boosts your immune system; relieves hypertension, bloating and cramps; reduces inflammation and allergy symptoms; contains vitamins A, C, D, and K, iron, and other important vitamins and minerals; builds energy; and even acts as a mild diuretic. What a power-packed herb! In fact, the only downside to this plant is that it might cause irritation (mild rash or upset stomach) for a few people, so it's a good idea to try just a little tea at first before committing to a cup a day. That said, I've never had any adverse effects from drinking this tea.

Ingredients:

Nettle Leaf

To brew, use one tablespoon per 8 oz hot water. Steep for 3-5 minutes. Can re-steep leaves. Enjoy!

Cinnamon-Apple Cocktail

September 28, 2014

Fall is officially here! What better way to celebrate than to whip up an autumnal cocktail? You'll get to learn about my Apple Cider Margarita later this week, but perhaps you are looking for something a little more sophisticated for Saturday or Sunday night...sophisticated or bourbon-y. This cocktail tastes like autumn in a glass: spicy cinnamon, tart apples, caramel-like bourbon. Bliss!

The surprise ingredient in this drink is apple cider vinegar. I tiny splash of it adds brightness and contrast to the drink, preventing it from being overly sweet. But be careful: more than a hint of the vinegar and your drink will be too tart.

If you want to give it a little extra sparkle, you can garnish it with a cinnamon-sugar rim and a dried apple piece as pictured here. Simply mix together equal parts cinnamon and sugar (about 1/8 cup total) in a shallow bowl or plate; next dip the rim of your cup in water and then place it in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Finally, slice a dried apple piece almost halfway through and perch on the side of your glass.

The drink, of course, tastes equally delicious without this fancy wrapping!

Ingredients:

dash of cinnamon

1.5 oz bourbon (I used Maker's Mark)

3 oz fresh apple cider

1/4 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

ice

Prepare garnish on glass, if you want to make your cocktail hour an event. Then place a dash of cinnamon at the bottom of your empty glass. Combine the remaining ingredients in a shaker and shake until combined. Strain shaker over cocktail glass until empty. Enjoy! Serves one--so double the batch and drink it with a special friend while enjoying the fading autumn light for the evening.

On Hippie Baby Showers

September 27, 2014

It is a gathering of goodwill and love for the life about to enter this world. Although we are more likely to celebrate with burning sage and rose quartz for the mother-to-be than with balloons and baby games, we come ready, yoga hippies that we are, to shower this baby with good vibes.

We do not celebrate this new life in conventional ways, but merely--after our private yoga and meditation, no doubt--unite to pay tribute to this woman's right of passage in the old way--honoring the cycle of womanhood and using our collective energy to nurture mother and child.

Like fairy godmothers in a folk tale, we all gather round and offer gifts to this new creature: happiness, love, creativity, enjoyment--each gift sealed with the good intentions of the sender. They come in the shape of clothes and diapers and toys but are no less the embodiment of the life and grace this baby will have. Though she is not in this world yet, she will absorb the feminine conjuring around her and know, even before she left her mother's womb, that she is loved.

5 Things Hobbits Taught Me about Living the Good Life

September 26, 2014

Imagine my glee when I found out that it's Tolkien Week! My little nerd heart went pitter-patter at the thought of a whole week devoted to the awesomeness of Tolkien (although really, isn't every week Tolkien week?). Then I almost passed out when I found out that this past Monday, September 22, was Hobbit Day, in honor of Bilbo and Frodo's Birthday! What can I say? It's the little things in life that make this bookworm happy.

I did have a moment of chagrin, wondering how on (middle)earth I was just finding out about this yearly celebration of one of my favorite authors and book series of all time. Still, I felt like now was a good time to talk about all the things I've learned from my favorite creatures and kindred souls: hobbits.

Seriously, I grew up reading (and re-reading) these books, long before the movies (which I watched and re-watched) came out. These books shaped the hobbit I now am: from my love of good food and even better conversation, bare feet and wild adventures, comfortable homes and long walks...the list goes on and on. But for today, I'll settle for telling you the top five things I've learned about living the good life from hobbits!

1. A hobbit hole means comfort. It is not enough to have a place to sleep or stash your stuff. A home should always be a sanctuary filled with the things you love, a refuge from the world where you can nestle in your study and read a good book or head to the kitchen and always be sure of a good meal from your well-stocked larder.

2. It's always a good time for a meal. Life is not just about surviving. It's about enjoyment. So too with food; it is not just about gulping down nourishment, but an important ritual, a pause to savor and enjoy the bounty of your life. There is no better way to appreciate this than over a good meal with family and friends.

3. Barefoot is the best way to travel. I'm not even joking about this one. After having spent one summer in my youth walking around barefoot so I could develop hobbit feet, I've grown to love my shoe-less meanderings. Even though I was later glad that I never got those hairy leathery feet, I still can't wait to kick off my shoes (cute as they are) and feel my soles firmly planted on the earth.

4. Adventure will always find you...so enjoy it! The Baggins family aren't just about enjoying the richness of home--they've been known to have a taste for adventure too. I've learned to let life take me by surprise and enjoy unexpected journeys.

5. It's the small things that matter most. This is what my blog is all about. Our lives are built on simple pleasures, like smoking your pipe on your porch--drinking coffee in my case--or relishing the everyday magic that surrounds you. Sometimes the biggest adventure of all is living your everyday life with gusto!

On Descending into the Underworld

September 25, 2014

As the days grow shorter and the nights longer, as the autumnal sun sets, bathing the earth in a honeyed glow, you begin to make your descent into the Underworld.

Not hell. Not Milton's proverbial nine layers, nor religion's antidote to heaven (it might be the final resting place of vice, but what a relief not to be perfect!). Nor is it Florence's Last Judgement safely nestled in the bosom of its canonical dome and foretelling the dangers of sin. Not hell nor any of these.

The Underworld. That quiet place which is not a place, both a cave below the earth and deep inside yourself. The still place. The silent place that you retreat into when the world gets too loud and you have been too long on its surface. Like Persephone, you make your yearly transition from the spring above to the winter below, feeding upon rich pomegranate seeds and turning away from external revelries to your inward gaze. You are bound to this cycle just as Persephone is to hers; you cannot change it any more than she can. The earth pulls you into its embrace, thick roots easing your passage into your deeper sense of being, sweeping away the debris of surface living.

It is there, there in the quiet and the shadows that you may meditate, contemplate the you that is you after casting off your worldly shell. You will navigate the dark--the shadows of the yet-to-be-revealed, the wisdom courted with your solitude. That secret you waiting to be heard. Like Persephone with those pomegranate seeds, you gobble up this underground knowledge one tiny morsel at a time, feeding the flame nestled within your ribcage. Feeding the you that goes beyond day in and day out, and exists in dreams, in caves, in the Underworld. Always waiting. Always ready to welcome you back to your roots and the rich earth from which you came.

On the Apple

September 24, 2014

The original forbidden fruit, at home with Eve and wicked queens, Aphrodite, and writers looking to sink their teeth into something. It is the promise of knowledge, desires slaked, immortality, and a full belly. And yet so unassuming.

What is it about this small lumpy fruit like the one perched on a stack of books at your desk, streaked with gold and red stripes, a fat nub sticking out of its top, that makes the world run mad after it? It is sweet, yes, and pleasant to bite into, with the satisfying crunch and smack of the lips as you make your way to its core.

But even now, as you stare at its hour-glass form--its full body a faint memory of teeth marks along its edges--you wonder at its ability to tempt us, to seduce us into grasping for things beyond our private Edens. And wonder still if it is wise to submit to that temptation, to look beyond this oasis of books and words and a delicious view of a tree in its autumnal glory outside your window.

You realize it then, what power the apple holds: wonder. The ability to make us want and wonder and dream beyond our own havens, to taste a little bit of life just outside your doorstep.

So, go ahead, you tell yourself as you turn from your words for the day. Be tempted.

Dried Apples

September 23, 2014

I am sitting at my writing desk, crafting my next blog post, and enjoying the autumnal scent wafting from my kitchen: apples baking in my oven. Apple slices dusted with cinnamon drying in my oven, to be exact. I wish this scent could be bottled because if it was, I would wear it as perfume; it has the tangy sweetness of apple cider and rich earth, with the spicy heat of cinnamon. My mouth is watering with the knowledge that in just a few short hours, I will be able to pull these apples from my oven and enjoy these dried morsels resembling fruit chips as a mid-afternoon snack (naturally with a cup of autumn harvest tea).

When I was younger, my family had a dehydrator that we would use to make beef jerky and these dried apple slices. This time of year, I find myself longing for those dried apples; they are a perfect grab-n-go snack or an ingredient that can enhance everything from a tea blend to cocktails to salads. They are also a good way to preserve apples when you find yourself with more than you can eat. But alas, I have no dehydrator. This lack makes me get creative, and I've found I can get these same dried apples by using my oven. The crisper you want your apple slices, the longer you keep them in the oven.

Feel free to dry as many or as few apples as you would like for this recipe. As a general rule of thumb, I don't work with less than two apples at a time, but you can dry as many as six in the oven at a time. I don't skin or core my apples; the skin provides healthy nutrients and not coring the apples leaves a pretty star shaped center. It's best to make this recipe when you can spend several hours at home. The prep is under ten minutes but then you need to let the apples slow bake in the oven for a couple hours to dry out. The cinnamon here is optional, but a great addition if you want the full flavors of fall.

Ingredients:

2 large apples (at least)

cinnamon for dusting (optional)

Preheat over 200 degrees. Slice apples about 1/8 inch thick. Lay slices on a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Dust with cinnamon if desired. Place pans in oven and let cook for at least two hours (the longer they are in the over, the crispier they get). Remove from heat and let cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Stores for one week on the kitchen counter or up to a month if in the fridge. Makes approximately one cup of dried apples. Enjoy!

On the Autumnal Equinox

September 22, 2014

It is a celebration of the year's bounty, the richness, and abundance that came from months of living in the sun. But now it is time to descend into the underworld. A dark place, yes, but not made of darkness; it is the home of the inward-turning gaze, the refuge of introverts, a sanctuary of gentle solitude where you can reflect on the abundance in your outer life and nourish your inner one.

It is a union with both halves of ourselves: the balance of external and internal mirroring the equal length of night and day, bringing wholeness. The sun and the moon are aligned in you. For one moment, one shift of the earth on its axis, one shift of you on yours, you receive this gift. A gift that allows you to taste what year-long union with self would be like, one whole year of honoring your dreaming and waking lives in equal parts, one whole year of your world above mirroring your world below.

The dying rays of the sun plant the seed of balance within your fertile soil. Though it will seem you are dormant in the coming months as you retreat to the underworld, you are really nourishing yourself, tending that seed, cultivating your soil. Come spring your seed will unfurl into the plant it's meant to be.

5 Ways to Celebrate the Autumnal Equinox

September 21, 2014

It has been a few weeks since we felt the first kiss of autumn settling over the land, bringing with it all the glories of the season: apples, crisp mornings, cozy sweaters, pumpkins, hot mugs of tea, hearty stews and, in New Mexico at least, the chile harvest. But autumn will officially be here tomorrow on the equinox--an event worthy of celebration. Like the harvest moon or other important dates on nature's calendar, the autumn equinox represents a time for us to be more aware of our connection to nature and the natural cycles of life. Every equinox and solstice, I like to pause and take the time to relish the bounty in my life and the importance of my connection to nature. This ritual helps to both ground me and give me wings, as I feel at once rooted to this earth and yet capable of continued growth.

Given the importance of the autumn equinox--historically and symbolically a time of harvest and turning inward as the coming months pull us indoors--it is important to celebrate this new season so we can transition gracefully into the colder, more contemplative months. I offer you five simple ways to celebrate this autumn equinox; you can do one or all of them or invent your own!

1. Sage burning. Traditional sage burning, best known from its Native American roots, is about cleansing a space using a smoking smudge stick (or densely packed bundle of sage). Sage has long been considered an important healing herb and, magically speaking, offers protection and wisdom to the user. Sage is also considered an important autumn herb because it thrives in this weather, symbolizing abundance for the next harvest cycle.

2.Celebrate your abundant harvest. Typically, when we think of the harvest, we picture farmers market stalls overflowing with squashes and pumpkins and apples, or gathering the last of our garden goodies before the first frost. This is an important part of celebrating abundance, true, but not the only one. It is equally important to reflect on your emotional, spiritual, personal harvest--what do you have in abundance in your life? What are you grateful for? By honoring these things, events, and people, you welcome future abundance and wellness into your life.

3. Feast! What better way to celebrate fall than with a lovely feast featuring the produce of the season? In older traditions, people would pour cider or wine on the roots of trees and plants to thank them for the food they bore. Think of feasting as another way of honoring the way nature nourishes us.

4. Spend time in nature. Go for a walk or hike; you might even be able to enjoy the turning leaves. Linger outside in your garden. Sit under a tree and just let your mind wander. Soon the cold will make it harder to venture outdoors, so take time now to relish nature.

5. Turn your home into a sanctuary. Since autumn ushers in winter, it signals a turning inward, both literally and metaphorically; it makes sense then to tend your home, preparing it for when you spend more time inside. Decorate it with autumn by collecting gourds and other signs of fall. Pull out your knitted blankets, roll out the autumnal table cloth. Give it a good cleaning. Create a cozy space that feels like a sanctuary you can retreat into for the coming months.

How do you celebrate the coming autumn?

On Belief

September 20, 2014

The deepest form of magic. It's how we conjure day after day, crafting our lives through a series of routines, thoughts, actions, dreams. It creates our reality and paves the road to our future. It is the strongest yet most ephemeral of things: belief.

Yes, magic. Often cast without conscious intention or a clear purpose. Rather, it is like a well-worn road made by the repeated tread of footsteps. But like any magic, it is capable of both dark and light. Sometimes used to stop yourself short of fulfilling your own potential. Stuff like that just doesn't happen to people like me, that's not real life, that's just how things are. Or used to conjure a deeper way of living. Let's bring this dream into the waking world, this will happen sooner rather than later, what I am searching for will find me in its own time.

If not a well-worn road, let it be a butterfly's wing, so fragile and yet capable of making you fly. Still not convinced? Then think of your belief as the silky wisp of a spider's thread: breakable with just one strand but when spun with others, over time it becomes a home that protects and nourishes. Belief, any way you choose to think of it, is the backbone of our existence, making its home in your spine and radiating outward to craft your world from hopes and dreams and fears and what-will-bes and what-might-have-beens.

So what will you choose to believe in? What path do you choose to create? For belief at its strongest, at its most unbreakable, is a fluid thing shaped by nourishing the dreams of our most authentic self.

Enchantment Learning & Living is an inspirational collection of musings touching on life’s simple pleasures, everyday enchantments, and delectable recipes that will guarantee to stir the kitchen witch in you. If you enjoyed what you just read and believe that true magic is in the everyday, subscribe here.

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On Normalcy

September 19, 2014

Normal.

It is a curse disguised as a cure for your soul-sickness, wrapped in a perfect package like a dainty chocolate truffle dusted with gold leaf and neatly cradled inside a ruffled liner. It is hard to resist the temptation to slide that little morsel between your lips and feel the immediate satisfaction of giving in to what is expected of you.

It promises everything: safety, community, release from the burden of carving out your own path. Just one taste and you can have the illusion of being just like the others. Just one taste and you can strip away your accountability and sense of self, your teeth and your bite for the simple comfort of not having to question anything, least of all your place in this world.

That's the problem with poison: it always seems like such a good idea at the time. And it always looks so lovely: an apothecary's cure-all dram poured and stoppered in a vial just for you. A quick fix for something that will only heal by prying loose the stitches used to hold colorless clothes together (all the better to blend in). Or better yet, to wear your bright colors like a second skin, as loud and untamed as your unruly hair. Still better, your remedy is in reveling in the dusty hue of your skin (there is no need to hide from the light, no need to keep yourself interminably pale like those parasitic grub worms). But that takes work. And so much heart. You simply want to taste that rush of sugar and feel-good tingles up and down your spine...that quickly fade, leaving you with a gnawing hunger stronger than ever before.

Let that emptiness be your wake-up call. Let the gnawing hunger in your belly be the reminder that you were never normal and so normal will never be for you. There is no cure for being who you are. There is no cure for your whispers that sound likes shouts to people not used to listening or the way you seem to live in a technicolor dream. There is no need to be less.

So forget about normal. That dirty, filthy excuse for a word. Forget about condemning yourself to a life of cheerful oblivion. And don't you dare demean yourself for being other. (It is a gift, not a punishment.) Be the weed that grows--thrives--from a crack in the earth no matter how hard other might try to uproot it. Be the sliver of moonlight peeking through bedroom curtains illuminating a dreamer's heart. Be the wind's wild and restless song, without end, implacable with its message.

Simply let yourself be.

Odes to Self-Care

September 18, 2014

It seems to me that there have been a lot of conversations floating around the office this week about how to make time for self-care and really give ourselves over to living a healthy, balanced life. I've also talked about ways to make self-care a priority when your scheduled gets busier. It can be tempting--albeit an awful practice long-term--to think of self-care as a luxury rather than an essential part of our lives. But over the years of actively developing my wellness routine, I have come to view self-care not as an indulgence but a necessity; to see it any other way is a form of self-inflicted violence.

Sounds extreme, I know. But really, if we don't take the time to tend ourselves--our hearts, our minds, our bodies, our souls--we deprive ourselves of living fully, deeply, meaningfully. Why shouldn't we take as much pride in our self-nourishment as we do in our hard work? Why shouldn't we carve out time to tend ourselves the same way we pencil in time to grade papers?

In honor of these office conversations and my renewed efforts to tend to my personal wellness, I offer you three past blogs that celebrate self-care:

1. On Things You Do to Unwind

2. On Self-Care

3. On Healing as Art

How do you care for yourself?

On Rainy Days, Miles Davis, & Whiskey

September 17, 2014

Today was a day of low steady drizzle--the kind you used to dread when you lived in Seattle, but that is now somehow more romantic, more cozy for its rarity in your desert home. It brings back perhaps one of your few good memories of when you lived in a land coated in fog and frost: listening to jazz, drinking whiskey, watching the rain roll down your window pane.

Yes, those were those moments of bliss, when after a week of work and trudging through that rain you knew you could come home, put on some Miles Davis, and, after warming up in a hot bath, pour yourself a little whiskey and get lost in the sounds of Ascenseur Pour L'Echafaud, the jazz record of all jazz records. The movie it plays soundtrack to is incidental, forgettable even. But that is not the case for that woozy, intoxicating drone that Davis teases out, hitting your system harder and faster than any glass of whiskey--and all the more dangerous for its richness, no fire, just cottony bliss that soothes away the thorns of the day and melts the frost building up around your heart--a side effect of living among the frozen.

You enjoy a similar moment today, but somehow much more wonderful than when you did in those long winter days in that damp land because you do not need to hold that record quite so tight, nor seek the refuge of your home quite so hard to chase away the frost. You are one with your land now, as warm and as feeling as you are, as full of richness and depth as that soundtrack.

This rainy day calls to you, begging you to play that jazz record, which you now realize you haven't played in so, so long. Even though the rain has faded into a mere suggestion of moisture and cloud cover outside, you are still drawn to Miles Davis, a glass of whiskey, and gazing outside at the world softened by jazz and rain. This time from the comfort of your patio.

Teacher's Survival Tea Kit

September 16, 2014

I love my tea--brewing it, drinking it, blending my own healing mix--all of it! Of course, this should come as no surprise, considering how much I write about it; for those of you who see me beyond the writer's desk, you know I am never without a good cup or thermos of this magical elixir. And I love teaching, too---the lesson plans, the classes, yes, even the grading. But most of all, I love the way tea helps me stay refreshed and nourished while tackling those important teacher duties, especially this time of year when the first term papers beginning to rolling in.

I look to my herbal tea to revive me in (healthier) ways that caffeine or sugar just can't, to sooth me to sleep at night, or to keep me from getting that bug going around the office...the list goes on and on. Tea is my personal toolkit for self-care during a busy workday. So here I offer you three of my favorite teas every tea-lovin' teacher should have in her stash to help her plow through those first round of papers or take a breather between classes.

1. Warrior Tea Blend: Teachers are warriors of the mind, right? Whatever your answer to that, this warrior blend is chock-full off nutrient dense herbs to keep your body nourished between meals while you go from class to class.

2. Winter Wellness Tea: This tea is the miracle cold and allergy prevention blend to drink the very second you think you might be coming down with something. The elderberries, especially, ease congestion while the tulsi helps your body adapt to stress.

3. Sleepy Time Tea: A teacher needs her shut-eye if she's going to be a grading wizard and look good doing it, so this tea helps you unplug from your day and wind down for an evening of sweet dreams.

What teas do you drink to keep going through the day? What else is in your Teacher Survival Kit?