Life Advice from Hocus Pocus!

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Halloweekend

The past week leading up to Halloween has been an interesting one!! Denver got about 12 inches of snow on Wednesday...It was kind of strange because all of the trees still had their leaves. Driving all over town, I saw many tree limbs down and some neighborhoods were without power for 24 hours plus!! Everyone was hypothesizing so many limbs were down because the trees were heavier than normal, still holding their leaves... Oh, Denver.


But as the week progressed, it became increasingly warmer - just in time for Halloweekend!!


We went out Friday night to Justin's friend's party in Wash Park and didn't stay out too late, knowing that we had another party to attend the following evening. Saturday morning, we grabbed our usual Pho and chit chatted about the upcoming evening and the night before. I made it to the gym for some cardio and arm balances... The gym is OK but I would really rather just go to Qi! ;)


Saturday night was an absolute blast. We all got ready at our house .. curling hair, applying makeup - including freckles and stars on our cheeks!! Sparkle hairspray and blue hairspray (Justin only) were also part of the picture... We dressed up as Rainbow Bright and the Color Kids (all of her friends). I was dressed as Patty O'Green who is the character who is responsible for all things green on the planet. My "homemade" costume was cute, though next year I will probably go as a character that is more recognizable!! Group costumes are the best, though!!


It was quite fabulous seeing friends I hadn't seen since the summertime... Especially in costume!! Halloween has to be one of my favorite holidays.. dressing up is the best!


Today, I loaded up with liquids before heading to Qi for a Qi Kettle-Barre Master Class - {2} hours of booty-kicking with Kettle Bells and Barre work!! Holy Moly! I am so psyched for this new program!! The program was super cardiovascular, just the ingredient I have been missing in my workouts!! Whoo-hoo! :) And it is such perfect timing to launch before the holidays... Let's shock our bodies more than ever as it gets colder and we eat sweeter things!!


Speaking of food, I made a silly goal today (and I only say "silly" because of my cheese obsession)... But I have decided to stick with it. I resolved that I would eat no more pizza for the remainder of the 2011 calendar year. Pizza is such an easy thing to look to when we don't feel like cooking... But Pizza no more... I need to eat more greens, more fruit, and less greasy, fatty foods. Homemade cooking is where it's at!

Night 1 - Patty O'Green + Rainbow Bright

Night 2 - Patty + Cleopatra

Buddy Blue, Hamburglar, + Rainbow

Amy Winehouse, Lady Gaga, + Patty

Black & White Whoopie Pies

Whoopie Pies... They are creeping up everywhere and with the holiday upon us, I knew I had my chance to bake something fun! I originally was going to bake Pumpkin WPs, but I decided to go a bit a simpler... Black & White...


They turned out great ... If you decide to try the recipe, check out Delish :) Some things to keep in mind....


1. My recipe yielded (8) not (12) pies. I might have made the cookies to small, but they seemed pretty large to me!
2. The recipe instructs 3 tsb of filling/icing per sandwich, but this amount tended to be too much and dripped off some of the pies. I recommended 2 tbs.
3. Make sure to have some milk nearby to wash these babies down as they are uber rich!
4. ENJOY!

Squares and Ovals

Today was a successful day.. Even though it feels like a lazy Saturday when it is all said and done; I still feel somewhat productive. I needed THIS day to catch up on sleep! The last day I have slept in past 6AM had definitely been forgotten until today. Gotta love Saturdays!!
I pulled together my Halloween costume and ate pho with a friend our favorite pho place... They definitely know us as typical customers these days.. I just seem to crave it every Saturday morning... Thankfully, it is a healthy thing to crave!!


After pho, we went to the Spirit Halloween store to check for costume accessories... I found green and white-striped tights and green hair spray... Later, we headed to Target where I found the perfect green skirt...Well, Catrina found it... (kid's section, but it works and it was cheap!) I also found 15 glow stick bracelets for $1 in the dollar section. Love it!! 


I ended up stopping in Hobby Lobby, shocker, I know! I needed 6-square frames for photos I had ordered for our living room. I have a clear obsession with square photos... They are so unique and really capture photos differently from your everyday, typical 5x7 print. Most of the photos I take these days are square .... They are just more fun! Below is some inspiration for the Square... Be sure to check out Ritz Pix - they offer a few size options in square prints... I am so very excited for my 12x12 prints!!

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HL was a good stop as I also needed to make a new wreath for our front door to celebrate the fall season - the spring/summer wreath just wasn't doing it anymore. So, I bought a few items to make a quick "Fall" wreath and walala. It is now "Fall" at the May household!!

I am off to continue reading Carlos Ruiz Safon's The Shadow of the Wind...Thus far, this is quite a thrilling book selected for our Book Club this month... Halloween-related of course :)


Tomorrow, we are off to start workout "55"... 1 squat, 54 push-ups. 2 squats 53 pushups. 3 squats 54 pushups........ 54 squats, 1 -push-up. After that, if I am still able to walk, we are completing some running drills... Should be interesting ;)


In the afternoon we are finding the perfect pumpkin at the pumpkin patch and running through corn mazes :)


EnJOY your weekend!

Your Purpose

Connecting back to our hearts allows us to see the path in front of us more clearly... Dive deep into your heart and ask yourself... What is my purpose and am I fulfilling it ? Am I breathing it, my purpose ? If not, what can I do to be closer to my purpose ?


Am I taking the easy road or am I taking the more adventurous road ? So many questions, but the answers lie in our hearts.


We are the deciding factor as to "What is next ?" "What happens tomorrow?" Swim in your purpose, dig deep, and open your eyes... because we are all going somewhere and we are our own guides on this journey.

We Have No Idea

Sometimes it happens in an instance. We step up, we see a path forward. We see a path and we take it. Even when we have no idea where we’re going.

 - Meredith Grey

How

“In the end
these things matter most: 

How well did you love? 

How fully did you live? 

How deeply did you let go?” 


-Siddhartha Guatama