Day 11 of Gratefulness: Whole Foods

I am so grateful to have a Whole Foods just blocks from me- not just because they provide such wonderful food but also because they truly are a part of the neighborhood.  I love walking in there on any given day and feeling right at home.  The staff is friendly and personable.  The atmosphere brings a sense of peace and relaxation- there is a calming affect most of the time and people just go with the flow.  They educate you on the foods they provide and offer tips on how to utilize them more.  They provided free classes often and host many special events that really interest me.

Whole Foods is much more than a store - they are truly invested into the community and want it to thrive and be sustainable.  They are genuine about their Core Values as a company and that is the base of their success and foundation.  A few of their values that really hit home for me are:

• Selling the Highest Quality Natural and Organic Products Available
• Caring about our Communities & Our Environment
• Satisfying and Delighting Our Customers
• Supporting Team Member Happiness and Excellence

Here is a link to their full list of core values if you want to learn about them: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/company/corevalues.php

I just appreciate walking into a place like Whole Foods and feeling welcome and right at home knowing that they are taking care of my needs and my health. 

Day 10 of Gratefulness: My Neighbors

I have lived in the same building going on 8 years now and over the years I have seen a variety of people come and go.  You know those neighbors that play their music to all hours of the night, or those that wear heels all day every day and the clicking sounds starts to run in your sleep.  How about the neighbor that knocks on your door at 3:30 am wanting to make a sandwich.  Or how about those that let their dog poop right in front of the front door and do not bother to pick it up.  There were a few that were notorious for leaving their keys in the door or would leave the front door wide open for the folks to just come on it.  There were also those that would totally help you out of a jam or picked your lock because you locked yourself.  Or the neighbor that let you park behind him because there was not any parking on the streets for blocks.  And of course there have been those neighbors that will loan you a cup of sugar and an egg when you are in a bind.  Or the neighbor who will come rushing over when she hears you screaming because your dog got her leg caught in the chair.

As you can see there are pros and cons to living in a building with other people in such close proximity - sometimes it is a hassle to deal with it all but other times there is a sense of community.  I prefer the community and so will take the hassle that comes with it.  It is great to have someone around in case you need to jump your car or want to borrow a movie.  In the last year the building I live in has gathered a really great group of people that are entertaining- it is not quite like the show Friends but it is our version of it.  Our get togethers are more than a small group gathering in the hallway or the dog run.  Our get togethers provide that sense of community that so many of us are missing in our lives and so many of us thrives to obtain.  Today I am grateful for the great neighbors I live with.

Day 9 of Gratefulness: Bella

Growing up there was no way I was ever going to have a dog.   I was scared of them.   The dog hair all over the furniture or in someone’s car literally grossed me out.  Now I cannot imagine my life without my dog, Bella.  What changed?  About 8 months after moving to Denver I moved in with my friend Penny and she not only had her dog Lincoln but her roommate Todd had a dog and her boyfriend had a dog.  There I was confronted with three dogs, which was bearable.  I never allowed the dogs in my room and actually had a baby gate in front of my door to keep them out.  Thought Lincoln once jumped the gate and a stole a bar of chocolate off my dresser- not to worry nothing happened to him.  Over time I grew to really like the dogs and often walked them to the park.

I was still no fan of their slobber on my face or their hair on the furniture but I managed.  After that experience I was not 100% cured from my fear of dogs but I knew that I would eventually have one of my own.  Well in April of 2009 an email fell into my inbox requesting a home for three adorable puppies.  Something inside of me told me that I had to do it- it was now or never. Here I went down the rabbit hole of being a dog owner and not having a clue as to what I was getting myself into.

I knew I was going to name her Bella due to my infatuation with Twilight.  The day I picked her up I was so nervous and when I held her for the first time I was not really sure what to do- would she pee on me and how the heck do I take care of this delicate creature?  Those first few hours were like delightful, here was this adorable little creature that was all mine and yet I had no idea what I was doing.   Well our journey began together and it has been life changing ever since.

There were times over the last two years that I got frustrated with her and thought I was not being a good doggie mom and that she was being a bad doggie.  I have learned a lot of patience, a lot about practice as well as about love.  Bella has taught me so much about myself and that play needs to be a part of everyday including my own.  It is so incredible everyday how much love she has for me- you can see it in her eyes when I walk out the door, or in her smile when I come home or how close she needs to be near my at times.  She brings me so much joy and love, which I am grateful for.

This is the picture that was emailed to me- you would adopt her too?

This is from Christmas this year where she was like really mom this is embarrassing

Day 8 of Gratefulness: Raw Vegan Chocolate Macaroons

I am not surprised anymore how fantastic each day is and I am eager to get up every morning and see how things just unfold naturally.  My day started with an amazing breakfast with a client at City o City.  I have been dying to have breakfast there but few of my friends can live without their meat so I have not had the opportunity to eat at this vegetarian only restaurant until this morning.  To my delight it was truly mouthwatering and delicious.  The best part of the breakfast was not the food but was my client.  I have been working with Heritage Camps for Adoptive Families for 3 years now and I feel like they are family.  Their Executive Director, Pam, is so honest, open and just real.  She is not only passionate about the organization but lives it in every breath.  I enjoy working with them because they make it fun and honestly when you do amazing work like they do it should be just that - FUN. 

There are so many needs in the world and at times it can feel truly overwhelming.  It should not be hard to make a difference- really it should be FUN.  My goal in the work I do it to keep is fun- for crying out loud we are changing lives, impacting our world and creating a better future for ourselves and generations to come- why no make it fun along the way?  I recently saw this TedX talk about Life is Simple- I agree we make life way too hard.  It needs to be simple, it needs to be fun and we need to be happy.  Ok, I will get off my soapbox now.

What I am most grateful for today is the fact that I am tapping into my creativity again.  I made raw vegan macaroons (yes Pieter I used agave instead of honey so they are vegan).  I decided I wanted to take my macaroons to the next level and decided to whip up a raw vegan chocolate sauce.  I had to get creative, as I have made raw chocolate peppermint bark but never a sauce.  I took what I knew and I began playing around with ingredients until I got it just right. 

These macaroons were shared and enjoyed with a few friends tonight.

Day 7 of Gratefulness: Pay It Forward

I started my morning off in a little bit of a rush, as I just did not want to get out of bed.  I never got around to making breakfast but instead headed to Whole Foods to pick up a breakfast burrito.  I knew I needed something to keep me going through all the meetings I had scheduled this morning.  As I was checking out the cashier asked if I wanted a rose. I was a little confused as it was not Valentines Day or even my birthday and I was being asked if I wanted a rose.  I asked her what the roses were about and she mentioned to me that Whole Foods has a program called Whole Trade Guarantee™ roses give back to the communities where they are grown.

I pulled this additional information right from their website about the program: Grown in the Ecuadorian Andes by a group of Fair Trade certified farms, these “blooms with benefits” help to cultivate better working conditions and equitable wages for the farms’ workers. For each case of Whole Trade roses purchased by Whole Foods Market, an additional percentage is paid directly to worker groups from each farm who collectively decide how to use the money. Some development projects have included education, training, scholarships, health care and housing.

This sounded like a really cool program so I took the rose not sure what to do with it but I knew something would come along that was meant to be.  Not more than 1 minute leaving the store I ran into Matt.  Matt is a vendor for Denver Voice.  The mission of Denver Voice is to a dialogue addressing the roots of homelessness by telling stories of people whose lives are impacted by poverty and homelessness and to offer economic, educational and empowerment opportunities for the impoverished community. Matt sells their monthly newspaper to financially support himself and I often see him outside of the Whole Foods I shop at.  (To learn more about the Denver Voice visit www.denvervoice.org)

I decided to give the rose to Matt as well as one of my Pay It Forward bracelets that I was wearing.  His first reaction was- really, you want to give me a rose.  Of course I wanted to give him the rose and I did with the bracelet.  All I said was to wear the bracelet and remember to be kind to others.  When the time comes Pay It Forward to someone else.  Little did I know that time was coming in less than a minute.

From there I headed to my car to make it to my 8:30 am meeting.  While I was getting into my car I glanced over at Matt and a young women had approached him to buy a paper.  He handed her the paper and the rose- she was shocked and a brought a smile to her face.  It was a beautiful moment and I wish I could have captured it on video.  There were so many people affected by the simple act of kindness and it was just that - a simple act.  I am grateful for the rose, for seeing Matt today and getting to experience a beautiful moment in life.