Anticipating Easter

Easter 2011

(Note the bunnies on my dress! And the scarf is Peter Max!)

In just a few minutes I’ll be off to church for Maundy Thursday; tomorrow night I’ll be in church again for Good Friday and again on Easter Sunday. One of my favorite places to be and I get a triple dose this week — yay!

Pastor Carol’s services are so creative, I can’t wait. She’s the best!

This is my first Easter as a Christian and I am looking forward to the intensity of the services as we approach Easter Sunday.

After church on Sunday, my husband and I will be dining at Park & Orchard restaurant (http://www.parkandorchard.com/Home.html) where we spent our Easters since 2011. I’ve been going there since the 1980s and it’s one of my favorite New Jersey restaurants. I’ll probably go for the dairy and wheat-free lasagna.

For those who celebrate, I want to wish all of you a very Happy Easter. I love chicks and bunnies and chocolate too, but please take a moment to reflect the true meaning of the Easter season.

Gearing Up for 2013!

I loved 2012 in so many ways. I accomplished a major goal of mine which was to be more expressive and confident in myself, including myself in more conversations and not feeling embarrassed if I was center of attention, because I deserve it!

For 2013, I continue to work on that because it’s really a hard one for me. I’m too afraid to let loose because of fear of rejection and/or fear of coming across as egotistical — and that is definitely not me, as I’ve been told I am “too humble” by those closest to me.

I need to remember what they taught you in school — JUST BE YOURSELF! Whether it’s being funny or philosophical or standing up for something I believe in, I have every right just as everyone else does!

If someone doesn’t like who I am, or is annoyed by me, that is their issue not mine (because we know so many people are annoying themselves, so who are they to say!)

I always hated when people referred to Anna Nicole Smith as a “bimbo” because she once said something very profound: “If you don’t like me, I’ll like you anyway.” Now THAT is the spirit! To be able to like everyone, even if they don’t like you — you’ve mastered something very special in your life. And I truly believe I am there!

And speaking of special, early in 2013, I’ll be interviewing one of my favorite fellow bloggers, Rohan Healy http://rohan7things.wordpress.com/about/

Rohan wrote this amazing book, “The 7 Things That Made Me Genuinely & Irreversibly Happy: and how they can do the same for you.”

His recent blog entry, “7 Things You Can Do To Make Your 2013 Better than 2012!” is very inspiring: http://rohan7things.wordpress.com/2012/12/30/7-things-you-can-do-to-make-your-2013-better-than-2012/

To illustrate that these things really work, I will comment on each one of his seven points!

1. Stop Spending Time with the Wrong People. It was very important for me to let go of a few people this year. I’ve blogged about that a few times. People can be the greatest in the world, but doesn’t mean they are right for you. When a friendship feels like “work” — whether it’s one person always trying to call the other and get together, or you’re always worrying about how the luncheon will turn out (will it be fun or will it drain you?), then it’s time to take a break or move on. Believe me, when you let go of the wrong people, you will definitely grow closer to the right ones. Or new rights ones will appear!

2. Create Reasonable Goals and Stick to Them. Running my own business is very hard, but knowing my limitations and when to let go of a client that is no longer serving my highest interest really helped keep my career on track. Just like having “wrong” friendships, you can have wrong clients too. There is no law that says you have to keep every client. If something isn’t working, you’ll know it.

3. Affirmations and Holistic Healing. I know this first hand. I have a saying, “I don’t do doctors.” I’ve had one too many miracles in my life healed by positive thinking, meditations and believing in ME — not them! I am 49. My blood work is excellent. My bone mass is excellent. And I am only a few pounds more than I weighed in high school. And I have no gray hair. The color of my hair is all natural, I haven’t dyed it since 2010!  I am doing something right!

4. Practice Self Discipline. Self discipline is very important to me. Except for when I’m on vacations, I get up every morning and have a moment of silence where I light a candle. I also exercise every morning. Whether it’s a half hour or just five minutes of stretching, this, to me, is what keeps me focused and ready to start the day!

5. Try Abundance Consciousness. When you believe you deserve something, you get it! Whether it’s love, money, health … it’s all yours! The gifts from the universe are ours for the taking. It’s just so bizarre, sometimes I’ll find an extra $100 bill lying around when I really needed money. Other times there will be more money in my checking account than I thought there was. Mind you, this always happens when I’m in a positive frame of mind, not a doubting one!

6. Learn to Love and Accept Yourself. This one is easy for me because I have so much love to give, whatever is left over is for me! Each year I try to be the best I can and I’m always happy with how far I’ve come.

7. Read Some Old Philosophy. I love philosophy. My favorite of all time is Gurdjieff. Also, I’d like to add to this — read the stuff that is positive, period. Don’t bother reading “train wreck” blogs or Twitter pages. If something makes you cringe reading it, best to pass it by and move on to something that makes you feel high and happy.

Thanks to Rohan for all his wisdom and inspiration!

NOW, on to the celebration!

I’ve always believed that it was important to have a good New Year’s Eve. It would set the tone for the upcoming year. And best of all, that New Year’s kiss — which is right up there with the wedding kiss!

Tomorrow night I’ll just be having dinner with my love, then we’ll spend some time for family. And I will be waiting for the stroke of midnight to get an amazing kiss from the love of my life!

WISHING ALL OF YOU A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!

My all your dreams come true in 2013!

How to Respect a Vegetarian

Happy Memorial Day Fellow Bloggers!

It’s a day to respect what our soldiers fought and died for. This morning I lit my candle and took a moment of silence three times throughout the morning and afternoon.

Today also marks the day that starts off the summer cook-outs. As a vegetarian, it’s hard enough getting through the winter holidays with people not getting it. Now there’s a whole slew of summer holidays to get through with people not getting it.

It really is a shame that people don’t make more of an effort to understand the vegetarian lifestyle. Yes, some of us are vegetarians because we love animals. But we are also vegetarians because we care about our health and are conscious about what we eat.

So here are my top five issues with people who don’t understand the vegetarian lifestyle and hopefully someday in the future, life will be a little bit easier for all of us.

Top 5 Tips for Non-Vegetarians

1. TRY the food that a vegetarian brings to your party!  I’ve been to numerous parties where I was the only vegetarian. I’d  bring food and not one person touched my dish. I find this insulting and hurtful, especially because I’ve been told by a lot of people that I’m a great cook — vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike. Some even said I should open my own restaurant. Vegetarian food doesn’t meant it’s tasteless or just “grass.” That old  “rabbit food” joke went out the same year your mullet did, so we vegetarians are just sick of hearing it!

Most people can afford to lose a few pounds anyway by eating something healthy, so just be a sport and you may be pleasantly surprised.

2. Fruit and vegetables are delicious without unhealthy toppings! Strawberries are delicious. Period. They do not need whipped cream on them or to be smothered in cheap ass milk chocolate. String beans are very tasty raw. They do not need to be put into a casserole with breading and cheese overload.

3. For the love of God, give the veggie burgers a separate section on the grill. A friend did that for me once and I was absolutely tickled! That was very thoughtful and unexpected! No vegetarian wants a veggie burger with meat juice.

4. CHEESE IS NOT VEGETARIAN! I can’t say that loud enough. It contains milk and rennet, which comes from an animal sources.

5. We Eat a Helluva Lot More Than Pasta and Vegetables. To everyone in the 21st Century who is entertaining guests, I highly suggest buying a vegetarian cookbook or do some heavy duty “Googling.”

I dread going to yet another party, wedding,  or gathering where the only thing I could eat is pasta, potatoes and salad. And cake is made with animal lard, so when I refuse cake do not be offended.

It would be nice if there was something sweet I could enjoy at the end of my meal, besides a generic fruit salad purchased at an A&P. There’s a ton of vegetarian and vegan desserts that can be purchased pre-made or you can experiment and make yourself by just doing a Google search for “simple vegan desserts.”

So to all the non-vegetarians in the world, please be a little more creative. I beg you!

–Maryanne Christiano-Mistretta

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