Love easy recipes - don't you? This one is in a recipe book of mine I have had for years ... I even think it was the very first recipe books I purchased when I moved out on my own. I did add a dash of onion powder and about a teaspoon on horseradish in the recipe. It is delicious. 

2 1/2 lb. chicken pieces, skinned
1/2 c. low sodium chicken broth
1/2 tsp. mustard
2 tsp. worcestershire sauce
2 or 3 dashes of hot sauce
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. each oregano, salt
1/2 tsp. paprika

Arrange chicken pieces in shallow baking dish. Add all remaining ingredients to broth, mix well. Pour over chicken. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until chicken is tender.

January 9, 2015: The first week of our new year is complete. Whew! It is done. Don’t get me wrong … it has been a good week – well … kind of.   It has been a week of reality let’s say.  You know those times when you have thoughts in your head … ? You are about to burst or breakdown … the doubts, fears, what ifs have overtaken you like a bad alien movie from the 1980s?! (Maybe you remember The Prophecy … scary flick!)

Then, it happens. Someone close to you asks you a very direct question … that’s it – it is all over.  Unless you deny it and say “I’m fine.”  Or, you dodge it by saying, “What do you mean?” But most likely, if the moment is right (or a nerve is hit) out comes it [everything on your mind or weighing your shoulders] – all of it.

Quite honestly, this very thing happened to me a few days ago … and boy did I feel better afterwards. And, frankly, the person (oh I will just tell you … my loving husband of 20 years) on the receiving end, I think, felt better too!  It’s out – no more guessing games on trying to figure out what’s wrong … well, at least, until the next “get real” moment. 

So … how did you enter our new year? Did you begin 2015 with great expectations and hope or with doubt and questions in “What’s to come”? As you may guess, I began my year with some hesitation. These last three months have been hectic as well as uncertain – and at times very discouraging that resulted in zapping my normally high level energy.  By the time Christmas arrived, I felt like I had nothing to give. I was operating in survival mode no doubt. (Our whole family, with exception of my 16 year old, was sick before or during Christmas … no fun when most of your vacation involves cuddling close to the vaporizer and tissues.)

But, like my Momma always said (and still does … ), “Everything happens for a reason.”  Truth. Period. Momma knows best.  I became very reflective during these not-so-happy days … it came back to one word: BALANCE. I had none. My life got totally out-of-whack. Cray cray to the max! Some of the happenings were out of my control, some not.

Suddenly, a shift happened in my week … was it my “real” conversation with my husband, who can read me very well? Was it a good friend shooting arrow prayers up the Heavens? Or, was it my brief personal quiet times I had with a Living God who cares about every little detail of my life and sees what’s to come? I believe it is all of the above!

There are so many to do items of 2014 (home life and career) I did not get to … it’s true. I don’t like to admit it, but true. I consider myself a person of discipline … but sadly some items just went by the wayside. I can hear my dear mother – the most hip high-energy 81 year old I know say … “Don’t be so hard on yourself.”  And, my Dad would be saying, “You are not going through anything others have not.” Dang it! Love wisdom you remember from your earlier years even at 48!  But, with my shift, I see 2015 as a year of better discipline in saying NO to certain things so I can say YES to the more important matters at hand.  I am saying YES to writing … starting with this blog!

And, last week, as I browsed social media, I know my parents are right.  I saw lots of posts – especially in the fitness industry, and in particular, women fitness experts … encouraging their readers/followers to go easy on themselves and return to the basics! I could not agree more! Back to basics … B2B=BALANCE.

When I first started teaching Pilates, I purchased a long sleeve shirt at a conference, as did my colleagues at the time. This shirt has rips in it, plus specks of white paint. It is over 12 years old! I know that because I had just had my second daughter, Izzy, almost 13 (yikes! Two teenage girls in the house soon!), shortly before I attended my Pilates certification weekend course in San Francisco.  Oops … rabbit trail … the light green shirt is a favorite of mine because of the words on the front. It was my first post on my JOY2BWell business page on Facebook. I will end with it here … ponder over it …

BE BALANCED. BE MINDFUL. BE BEAUTIFUL.

May our 2015 be full of hope, joy, happiness and prosperity as we just “BE”.  Until next time … Be Well and LIVE!