by Cole Millen (visiting writer)

Eating in a healthy way while on vacation may prove to be quite a challenge for some people. This is especially true if you are visiting an area of the country or world that tends to favor very rich, high calorie dishes. For example, when you are sampling the local cuisine, eating a grilled fish dish at a restaurant off of the coast of Maine will net a much lower calorie count than Texas barbecue ribs with a full side of fries. The same is true when you are travelling internationally. Eating a rich, gravy-laden pot roast in England will be much higher in calories and fat than a grilled chicken dish with grape leaves and fresh vegetables in Greece.

If you do choose to travel to a destination that favors rich foods, bringing and/or buying some staple items when you arrive is critical to maintaining a healthy, balanced diet while you are on vacation. When you arrive at your hotel, the very first step to maintaining a healthy diet is to ask the desk clerk to lock the minibar in your hotel room, so that you are not tempted to snack on high calorie foods. Also, if the hotel offers a continental breakfast, making sure to eat a healthy breakfast of fruit, high fiber cereal or oatmeal will nourish you for the day ahead and prevent binges later in the day. 

When you arrive at your hotel, it is also helpful to ask the concierge if he or she knows where the nearest health food store is located and to have a small refrigerator placed in your room. If you go and stock up on healthy snack and meal items as soon as you arrive at your hotel, you are more likely to stick to a healthy eating plan while you are on vacation. Additionally, bringing a small crockpot to the hotel with you will enable you to cook some simple, nutritious meals.

A few meals that are quite easy to prepare in a crockpot are chicken, mushrooms and rice, jambalaya and a variety of soups. Bringing a few staple items with you to the hotel will also help to offset food cravings. Whole wheat bread, nuts, energy bars, peanut butter, fruit and vegetables all fit this bill. Hard boiled eggs are also very transportable and lovely to eat for breakfast with a croissant and a piece of fresh fruit. Most hotels will offer rooms with microwave ovens, which will further enhance your in-room cooking options.

It is very important that prior to booking your vacation you do a little research to ensure that the hotels offer these amenities that are so helpful in your healthy lifestyle. I have found that the best way to do this is to look up reviews regarding the hotels in the area that you are staying. Consumer reviews tend to give you the best insight regarding these types of things because they are unbiased facts based on personal experiences. I recently took a trip west and found a great site that listed the top hotels in Las Vegas and it offered reviews regarding all the amenities, restaurants, and even things to do. This made it so much easier to plan ahead and maintain a healthy week.

When you are ready to go out for dinner, asking the hotel concierge for recommendations of local restaurants that specialize in regional cuisine will often steer you in the direction of a healthy, freshly prepared meal. Chain restaurants that advertise family-size portions, county-style and so on will usually be very high in calories and fat. If you stick to local restaurants that are recommended to you by the hotel staff, you will usually be delighted with a wonderful meal that showcases local cuisine in a healthy way. Of course, ordering the entrees that are prepared by grilling or baking will ensure the meals you are eating are healthy and nourishing, without all of the extra fat and calories.

If you can follow these simple yet strategic steps, you will find yourself having a blast on your vacation and ensuring that you feel like a blast as well.

Visiting author Cole Millen
colemillen@gmail.com>

So I took this gift of a day and did just that. I took a walk with a friend, had coffee, had a pedicure, went to yoga, and came home and checked off items on my personal To Do list. I love my work, my company  and my job and yet, I reaize how these "free days" are truly a gift and needed.

I remember a friend who worked for a city government and if the month did not have a 3 day weekend, they create one. In most organizations, there are only 3-4 months without a 3 day weekend (March or April, June, August and sometimes October depending on what you celebrate). I say, create your own and take that personal or vacation day during those months and give yourself the respite we need in this busy world. 

For today, I say Thank you 

Buy this book between Wednesday the 27th and Friday the 29th, from:

• ·         your favorite bookstore or
• ·         Amazon

This book introduces the radical idea that our personalities, when operating on automatic, take us in exactly the opposite direction from where we need to go, so we move further away from what our souls most want, further away from what will create the deepest fulfillment. We continue to question who we really are.

“There is nothing missing in you,” author Roxanne Howe-Murphy says. “What is lacking is a direct and unfiltered experience of inhabiting your own life, which the vast majority of us have never been taught to do.” 

Offered through the lens of all nine Enneagram types, Deep Living compassionately guides the reader to discover her own lens for understanding how to truly “be with” herself in a new way, enjoying greater intimacy with her own authentic, precious nature.

And there are times we they truly amaze us and we wonder "Did we bring this person up?" "Who is she?" "Where did she get so wise?" 

Following is the story of such a time.

This past December, our daughter had her Bat Mitzvah, an intimate affair at sunset with family and friends, a great meal and dancing. The evening sunset glowed over her like an angel as she read out loud her interpretation of the Torah portion she chose to read. (Being a private ceremony she decided to choose the Torah portion about Adam and Eve.  Following is an excerpt from her speech which we heard for the first time that evening. 

"My torah portion comes from the book of Genesis and takes place in the Garden of Eden. The Garden of Eden is a perfect place, filled with beauty, honesty and joy. Animals, Adam and Eve are the only beings present. You might remember that God ordained rules for Eve and Adam. God told Adam “You can eat from any tree in the garden except the tree of All Knowledge.”

That's when things start to get interesting. A serpent slithers along and starts up a conversation with Eve. He broaches the subject of the tree of All Knowledge. Eve tells him that “God said you can’t even touch the tree of All Knowledge because you will die.” The serpent disagrees and states that God knew that if they ate of the tree they would be like gods, knowing all things. Eve sees how good to eat the fruit would be, that it was alluring to the eye and how desirable the insight from the tree. She ate and then gave some to Adam and he ate. They achieved knowledge at a great price (being kicked out of the Garden of Eden for one).

Christopher L.C.E Witcombe, an art historian with a P.H.D and studies ranging from Leonardo de Vinci to Prehistoric Art states the traditional view of Eve as “By nature disobedient, guileless, weak-willed, prone to temptation and evil , disloyal, untrustworthy, deceitful and seductive.” Her story was supposed to show to men what women were really like. In many past contexts her actions were interpreted as proving woman’s temptation for evil.

This is one way of reading the story. However, in my personal view, Eve is ambitious and desires more than living in ignorance. She isn’t content with living without knowledge. She craves learning and despises ignorance which we know because conscious of the consequences of disobeying god she still ate the fruit.

Do you think Hillary Clinton, Anne d’Autriche; Elizabeth the 1^st, Catherine the Great, Susan B. Anthony, J.K Rowling or even Oprah weren’t ambitiously seeking power through knowledge? Knowledge and ambition can change the world. Knowledge can be stored or traded just like a valuable commodity. Ambition is what drives our leaders to be great. An ignorant but ambitious person can get far in life .A knowledgeable but unambitious person can only teach so many. However if you have both of these qualities you could transform humanity. By having these qualities you can govern a country, start a philanthropic foundation or invent Facebook. You can cure disease, discover an end to world hunger and create world peace. And what did Eve start? Just the human race........"

Stay tuned for the second half.

I bring this up now as I think sometimes we overlook what we have built, created, helped, assisted in and only focus on what we haven't done, what we have neglected, what we have lost or forgotten. 

Take this beautiful first day of spring and stop and count the amazing things in your life and the gratitude that we have the these amazing kids in our lives who will indeed make the world a great place to live.

#1: Wash your hands all the time 

Washing your hands or using the waterless disinfectant is key to keeping germs away. Wipe down your keyboard, phone, and everytime you touch a banister, glass, faucet, doorknob, wash your hands. Okay, maybe not every hour, but making a point of doing it often is key!

#2: Take Airborne:  

Popping a chewable airborne everyday seems to work the trick to build up your immune system and cut back on the chances of getting sick. Pop them early and often

#3: Drink alot of water and keep hydrated. it can only help

#4: Chew a couple of gloves of garlic a day. 

Peel fresh garlic, cut it up in small bits and swallow it like a pill. It's bound to ward off the evil germs.

#5: Stay away from people who are sick

Cancel all plans if someone tells you they have a cold, are coming down with something or just got over the flu. A night of visiting is not worth a miserable week of being sick

Happy 2013!                                                                        

The world did not end on December 21 as we were told the Mayans predicted. We can all breathe easier as 2012 is behind us and we made it. However, we all seem to know and feel somehow that an era has ended and we now live in a new world.

The downward spiral that started in 2000 is over, greed and materialism is giving way to connecting through the heart, being compassionate and living in harmony with nature. Plant based diets are in and killing animals are out. Owning guns is frowned upon after the recent tragic incidents. Needing assault rifles for hunting seems to finally be questioned like never before.

Today we use technology in everything we do from working, to shopping, to leisure and to connecting with friends and loved ones. In a connected 24 hour world, achieving balance is more difficult. Unplugging for rejuvenation is harder than ever before. To thrive, we need to disconnect and center into solitude and reflection in spite of our craving for the constant flow of information from a world out of balance.

Hopefully, the economy will start improving in 2013. The spectacle of our leaders discussing the financial issues with ineffective resolution is over. Going forward we need to ensure social programs are not gutted to pay for the lack of fiscal management. The recent decisions to tax the so called rich, the coming increase in the payroll tax, keeping middles class taxes unchanged; it means we can hope for the economy to improve minimally at best and exactly at the time we are all wishing for a truly strong economy. We are all tired of the constant struggle, wages remaining flat and costs increasing constantly. If more and more costs are passed onto consumers and if more austerity is imposed to address the budget deficit, we (who are not economists) know from common sense, that it will not create new jobs or stimulate the lackluster global economy.

The good news is that we are in a new year and in a new cycle. The 2013 energy is expanding. We can change and improve on the status quo, we can fulfill ourselves, and we can do and achieve something we have wanted to for a long time. Individually we can communicate more authentically from the heart, speak more freely, we can eat healthier, be more grateful, be balanced and joyful.

For 2013 it boils down to deciding on one item that you could do differently that will move you closer to your goal. Pick one easy thing you could do every day or week, that will improve how you think and feel. It could be as simple as; drink a glass of water once per day, replace one meal of animal meat once per week with plant protein, walk around the block once a day, call one friend once per week or do one thing that makes you feel passionate.

At the core, it is about using the expansive energy available to you now and to move beyond your blind spots, to find true meaning and joy. This is the year to achieve what you have wanted to for a long time. Have a happy, healthy and joyful 2013!

 Jean Pierre Roux, Ph.D.

What this makes me wonder is maybe these rituals of study and learning are about the discussion, the debate, the learning, and the understanding. We were lucky enough to find a great teacher who directed her and listened to her; who debated with her and opened her mind; who let her believe and guided her. 

This challenges came slowly and as we see our daughter become a young lady we couldn't be more proud as she comes into ther own.

Determining what is "Out" as well as "IN" is just as important. This summer Zoe volunteered as a Youth Naturalist at Audubon and even though she loves Audubon she realized that running after 5 and 6 year olds was not something she aspired to -- cross of elementary school teacher from the list. 

Her ninth challenge focused on stretching herself to learn about other careers. Her initial impression of hospital work when she went to visit a hospital  with her dad, was that it left her with the feeling that being a doctor, nurse, or hospital worker, was "too depressing."  

Then she hung out with me at work for a day and came away with the conclusion that people who work in my office talk a lot to each other.  Not exactly a true representation of what they do, but an interesting observation.

This week, Zoe took on the challenge to join teens at the World Affairs Council International Career Week to listen to professionals who are engaged in International Careers. Approximately 60 plus teens from the bay area came together to talk to panelists such as an International Journalist, two professionals focusing on Sustainable Development, a doctor involved in infectious diseases around the world, economists, educators, CiA, retired Ambassadors and the Foregin service and more. 

Her favorite was the retired Ambassador who spoke of the Foreign Service and talked about watching the Berlin wall come down and the Egyptian protests. He spoke 7 plus languages and spoke of the joys and tribulations. Then there was the woman was was a CIA agent for 15 years and explained the job both analyzing data and recruiting assets. Her present career was working in Silicon Valley in security. Zoe thinks she was doing corporate espionage... who knows for sure. 

This career challenge was just as much about having the confidence to talk to people about their careers as expanding her awareness of the choices in front of her. 

Read the first 8 Coming of Age Challenges

• Everything Speaks - What you say and how you say it sends a message.
• Everything is on Purpose - Everything has an intendended purpose - everything. 

Continue reading 

Sometimes we fly far away to stimulate our senses and expore new cultures

Sometimes the crowds and traffic take away from the beauty of a place that sometimes is quiet and serene

Sometimes the weather suppresses the beauty or makes it shine.

Our past times at Lake Tahoe were for long weekends skiing in the winter or a holiday weekend in the summer. What that often led to was more traffic than we could bare. If you need proof that California has grown and gotten overcrowded just drive up to Tahoe on a Friday night or back on Sunday. As  a result we found ourselves driving up there less and less just for a weekend. 

And yet, we hadn't thought or given ourselves a week to enjoy it. A week when the summer vacationers started to return to school and the resorts, restaurants and swimming pools were full of empty lounge chairs and the hiking trails felt like nature should, quiet and peaceful. 

Our week in Lake Tahoe reminded us of our love of the summers hiking in the Alps and the mountain air. The long hiking and beauitful mountain lakes and the smell of the pines. Lake Tahoe in late August truly was representative of the world's most beautiful Mountain Lakes and scenery. Our hikes took us from the new Tahoe Rim Trail to Emerald Bay where in 1929 a wealthy woman built a grand home on the Lake where she lived for 15 summers entertaining friends. Our stay at a Condo in Northstar gave us access to the grand Recreation area with a huge pool, an adult pool, 6 tennis courts, a gym, and 3 jacuzzis. It was a perfect way to spend the late afternoon after a hike. The unique part was the week we picked (again helping to contribute to the tranquility was that most schools had started and the Recreation area was free the usual crowds at a pool). The new Northstar resort had restauarants and a rolling rink with cushioned chairs to relax and enjoy the scenery. In between we took a raft ride down the Truckee river, swam in Lake Tahoe, went to a jazz concert, met friends for dinner, and read a few books.

What amazed us was how Lake Tahoe is fantastic when we could see and feel the beauty of the area, when the sun shines brightly, the green trees glisten, the ride up without traffic was easy, you could easily get a swiming lane for as long as you wanted and the area was free of crowds.  This insight and glimpse of what we remembered and loved was renewed and at the same time the recognition that we hit accidentally the right time makes us sad that it can't always be that way -- the freedom to get away for an easy weekend (sans traffic)  like we used to when we first moved to the Bay Area.  

Final lesson - a weekend just doesn't make it anymore!