Life is a Beautiful Journey

I am sitting here in NC as my mom is healing from back surgery. The boys, my husband and the lovely Miss Bear have come to keep her company. 

We come in and out heading for exercising, retreating back in to sit around the table, gathering around to talk and eat.

My parents -I should include are suffering a bit at meals, they don't know what to make of all these vegetables, strange grains and lots of fish. My mother has announced she needs real food. She wants a piece of meat attached to a bone to gnaw on. Me- I just don't get how they have made no move towards eating well and exercising. It is hard to watch their bodies deteriorate, knowing it is not the way it needs to be. I have learned though to say little, it is not going to change.

I just am so grateful my sons are so into their health. At the moment they are watching the cross fit competitions while eating bowls of quinoa my son Michael cooked up. Yesterday my son Kevin and I were running and he is asking me whether Caesar salad dressing is too high in fat, and what I thought about steal cut vs rolled oat oatmeal. I am so in awe of how well they get it.

I am on the porch of my folks house reading the NY Times, there is an article on the restaurant Delancey, which is opening in Seattle. The owner Molly Wizenberg is under contract to write about her experiences in opening the restaurant. It gave me an idea to start telling my ginnybakes story. Who knows where it will lead, but it has been quite the ride so far. 

I want to tell my experiences and write them as they go, so I never forget. 

ginnybakes began as a journey, a continuation on a path of proving to myself I can stay a course while following a passion. Have I had my moments where I have felt so lost-absolutely. Have I giggled with such joy and pride in others, absolutely. I have lost 7 pounds from stress, gained another 10 from stress and having to taste test ginnybakes products all the time. I have  had great bouts of acne like those I had as a kid. I now have a permanent Wednesday 4 pm appointment with Dr Dan Nevel, ( my acupuncturist) who has been a saving grace to my physical and mental well being. He straightened out the digestion issues, has me sleeping again, and in balance.

Am I happier than I was before this all began. Sometimes...depends whether my yoga practice, acupuncture, and exercise are in place. I know the minute that goes stress comes tearing back in, and my world as I know it, is not running the way it should. If my life is in balance I am so filled with gratitude at the journey I am following.

I have so much to share with you.   

xo ginny

Life

 I think a lot of you know so much about me by now. I have never hidden my life and use this blog as my personal space.  I truly hope my blogs enhance, enriches, and possibly at times even teaches life lessons, sometimes through recipes as well. Who knows...I just keep blogging and hopefully you keep reading.

This blog is about life lessons,  perceptions,  opinions etc. so I wanted to tell you about a few different opinions I have received lately and how I found it so incredible.

ginnybakes started plodding forward, until all of a sudden it went from a tiny company, and jumped one step forward and actually needed lots of attention and a core group of dedicated employees. Baker, baker consultant, packers and someone to help me oversee it  as well as a bookkeeper.

This was becoming a real business which is not my fortay. I like people, baking and creativity. Numbers, papers, invoices...foreign, scary and something you run from!!! So for awhile there it was getting pretty stressful, couldn't seem to find the right core group, felt really alone and out there, no partner to bounce ideas off of. Trying to work crazy hours, be a wife and mom, and do this with no yoga, as there quickly became no time for the luxury of a class for 1 1/2 hrs at 9 am. That only made the stress greater!

I did work out though however,  and my trainer Jeff Shepard, and my best friend Jane were with me in the gym early one morning when another employee called and  quit. If I wasn't so stressed it was almost comical-just couldn't seem to get out from under. Jeff who just worked through opening his gorgeous new gym Symbio, understood about working through hardships and struggles to bring a dream forward. I watched him work in a dust bowl keeping his head up as the struggles with the city to open to me seemed insurmountable. He survived, and is now mentoring me in how to be a business woman. Jane and Jeff were both encouraging me and telling me just pull it together and push through. I left the gym teary eyed, but ready to fight another battle.

I saw my yoga teacher on the street at that moment and he asked why I wasn't going to yoga. I explained what was going on. His advice- Walk away,  simplicity is the only way to live. I asked him about working through struggles, and feeling empowered when you strive and work hard to make a dream a reality.  He answered I will do it only long enough until it no longer feels right. It was a very enlightening conversation, as I knew I could not walk away from my ginnybakes baby. Goes back to the theory I truly believe in, hard times, make the sweet moments even sweeter.  The next day  my first Fresh Market came calling, and I grinned so wide at the joy of the timing.

Simplicity is a beautiful thing and at moments when I don't feel it, I am so glad I achieve it in Paul's yoga class. For now though think I will stick with advise on fighting through. Yesterday I was giggling so much my husband thought I was the biggest goof ball. Oh the laughter and goofiness, felt so right, so perfect. I was relaxed, I am beginning to understand, with business there are always ups and downs and I cannot take it personally.

Thanks to my husband, my friend and trainer Jeff, my yoga teacher Paul for all their wisdom and opinions, and thanks to my best friend Jane who is always there asking ok what's next? She is my Ethel and I am her Lucy-what a team.
xo ginny

Getting Better

After the GinnyBakes oven mitts come off, the juicer stops whirring, and the boys and Miss Bear and Sam the cat are all happily fed- I retreat into what I love. Researching, constantly learning, reading and getting in touch with the lives of all of my clients. As a certified Holistic Nutrition Counselor, I see several clients for private consultations on a weekly basis.  Each one is so unique and so characteristically different in their needs.

My knowledge of holistic nutrition and positive life coaching and self-improvement has been a life long one, gained not only from my wonderful schooling at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition- but my own life experiences, travels, life choices, readings and overall intuitiveness about the human spirit. And I am so blessed and thankful each day that I am helping others make positive changes in their lives. Changes that help themselves, their families all for the better.

One client, after one of our sessions- heard a song by the Beatles and it brought on a new meaning to her more than ever before. She shared the song and her thoughts with me and I admittedly feel honored, flattered, but most of all- so proud and happy that she was feeling so great!

I am so happy and blessed to be part of her journey to better health and wellness. Thank you!
xo ginny

"Getting Better" by the Beatles

It's getting better all the time
I used to get mad at my school (this I feel is my old patterns of eating and living)
The teachers who taught me weren't cool 
You're holding me down, turning me round
Filling me up with your rules.
I've got to admit it's getting better
A little better all the time
I have to admit it's getting better
It's getting better since you've been mine. (my health coach)
Me used to be a angry young (wo)man
Me hiding me head in the sand
You gave me the word
I finally heard
I'm doing the best that I can.

I've got to admit it's getting better

I used to be cruel to my woman (my body)
I beat her and kept her (my body) apart from
the things that she loved
Man I was mean but I'm changing my scene
And I'm doing the best that I can.
I admit it's getting better
A little better all the time
Yes I admit it's getting better
It's getting better since you've been mine
Getting so much better all the time!

love your life!

My clients come to see me initially about food, and yet food frequently is just the beginning of our discussions. I am so frequently asked what about cravings... a craving is frequently your soul talking to you, perhaps you are lonely, bored, too stressed, tired or angry.

Try to start to look into yourself to understand why you crave. Perhaps if it happens everyday at the 4pm slump, your nutrient profile is not keeping up with your physical needs. I do not mean your calorie intake, but rather the quality of your food.

Maybe your relationships need adjustments. If you are a female,  has your identity been overtaken by the label wife and mom? Who are you? Do you have enough in your life just for you? I will tell you something from my own life, at times when my 4 boys were young it could be very overwhelming. They were six years apart top to bottom and life at moments was too much. I used to believe I had to be perfect, that was who I expected myself to be and was brought up to always show a proper facade. I lived up to that til the day I fell down a dozen stairs in the house rushing to make dinner. I was never so relieved not to have a baby in my arms at that moment.   I finally learned in an awakening moment that perhaps pizza and pajama nights have a great place in life.

Not only did I discover pizza nights, I also learned each of us needs a place to crawl into that no one in our daily lives has to be part of. For me it was a hovel of a yoga studio with a master teacher. It was my oasis, my home for an hour each morning, my sanity. It didn't make me less of a wife and mom, instead it gave my family and myself the gift of a strong impassioned woman who adored herself and her family and could give more because I saved some for myself.

A marriage like everything else needs major tune ups as do our jobs.
Are you passionate, happy? It is the start of the year, a beautiful time to reevaluate.

For myself my 21 day challenge has me re-looking at everything going on in my life. I am questioning mysef more, feeling more radiant and full of blessings. I feel strong, cravings are not part of my life lately and life has a feeling of wellbeing. Good nutrition and introspection does that, throw in the exercise and what bliss. xo ginny