"Practice for the Children Pendant" Thank You cards...

I have just had these professionally made...and I placed an order for 100!
I have more pendants being made this week..You will receive one with each order placed!
The pendants are all individually hand made and it is a painstaking process~ These are Very Special as is the jeweler who has agreed to make them all!
Each week she has created and hand made each one individually~ I know you will treasure yours when you receive it.
I Thank You all once again for your help in making this dream a reality and once again this year helping the children of Operation Shanti!

(the girl in the photo is Sumitra of Operation Shanti)

We have now sold 22 Pendants and raised $345.00 for the children of Operation Shanti!!!!
US taxpayers who buy the pendants can get a receipt for a tax deduction from Operation Shanti for the value that they receive (so the portion of the pendant sale that goes to them $15.00 ) -- They just need full name and email address or mailing address (email better as it is easier)

UPDATE on "Practice for the Children Pendant"

I am just SO excited over the outpouring of support for the "Practice for the children Pendant" that I wanted to tell you all Thank You and give you an update~

Our beloved Guruji is still with us and he has obviously given us his blessing..as everyday I am getting orders and the total is now up to SIXTEEN Pendants! That brings us to a new total of $255.00 for the children of Operation Shanti!! I had one gracious woman donate $15.00 AND another $34.00 as she decided she wanted one of the beautiful pendants after all~~~

I am getting orders from all over the globe~with the last order placed for THREE Pendants from a donor in Kuala Lumpur!!
WOW.....

I am SO grateful to you All~~
I wanted to let you know that these are indeed suitable for the men in your life as well~ as they have a nice weight to them and are substantial in size~
They will come in a beautiful Organza bag, well packaged, along with a special Thank You card~

I Thank You from the very bottom of my heart for all of your support in all of my charity work with Operation Shanti..this is the Third one and it is proving to be quite special~

Please see the side bar link if you would like to order one for yourself or for a gift~ and you can also visit Operation Shantis blog while you are on that sidebar!!

Namaste~

"Practice for the Children Pendant"!

As a few of you know...

I have been working on getting a playground structure for the children of Operation Shanti~~

I called out all my forces for this new project..
one of them Tracey F. my dear friend whom I met via my blog a few years back when I had "Walking in Their Shoes" and got so many shoes for the children that I personally carried over to Mysore, India.

Tracey F. is an entrepreneur, go getter, smart cookie with a heart as big as the earth, but most of all..she is my friend now. I am so blessed.

She helped me write the letter to the "sources that be" whom we asked for the playground structure...still waiting for the word and once we get it...I will reveal who we asked. You know her from the movies...
She is an advocate for all things good, stands up for what she believes in, is a lover of animals and Life..and she lives it to the fullest!
I am good friends with her best friend and we have a connection which I am also blessed to have as well~

But beyond all of this..as that pot is stewing and brewing...
I designed a piece of jewelry for the Yoga people out there along with a friend of mine and I am pleased to offer it to you now!
It was designed with our beloved Guruji in mind~ and hence it is a very special piece and I hope that those of you who see it and love it will order one as I have one around my neck and love it with all of my heart! They are little bubble pendants that are two sided..I hope you like them. I designed them in honor of Guruji, to celebrate his life and his influence and love for all of us~

The Good News is that half of the proceeds from each necklace will be going to Operation Shanti to help the kids with whatever it is they may need for their well being and daily life~ The cost of each necklace will be 30.00 w/4.00 for shipping. The total will be 34.00~ for anywhere in the world! Your pendant will arrive in a beautiful silk organza bag with a very special thank you card!

So...
my new charity for this upcoming year, January 2010 is now on and if you would like to order one of these Limited Edition Necklaces I will be taking orders beginning today and you can send me a paypal payment through the link here on my blog!
I will have 10 pendants by next week~and once I receive them I will ship them immediately..and remember the holidays will be upon us before we know it! What a Perfect gift for the Yogini in your life!!

I have sold ALL TEN, in just 4 days!!! I will be having more made right away, so if you are interested get your order in soon!!! These are Limited Edition~so I hope you will take advantage of these very special pieces!

I hope this new charity aptly named "Practice for the children Pendant" makes you all as happy as it does me..and will make them as well~
Thank You all for always helping out when you can..
because it blows my heart wide open!

OM Shanti

p.s. if you click on the pictures you can see a bit more detail on the clasp~~these are truly Very Special pieces and you can wear them while you practice as well..just not in the shower~~~ALSO, these are suitable for men as well as women as they are substantial in size!

WE HAVE RAISED $180.00 FOR THE CHILDREN OF OPERATION SHANTI AS OF SEPTEMBER 23rd!! WITH THE SALE OF ELEVEN PENDANTS SO FAR and ONE DONATION OF 15.00!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

This one's for LG!

(photo taken early this year in Mysore, India when I met LG!)

OK....a LONG overdue post for my great friend LG!
She was curious about what my "secret" is....

well...I have a few secrets ;~) but she specifically wanted to know "What are you doing, you look great" I Thank You a Million times over for the compliment first and foremost as I turn the BIG 48 next week!!

I feel it has to be credited to a number of things that I do in my life..
first is that I try to be Positive every chance I get..even in the midst of negativity in some situations..that is Life~

I drink LOTS of fresh filtered water every day...All Day!

I exercise 6 days per week..sometimes 7 and I always make sure I SWEAT...A LOT! So much that my clothes weigh about 4 or more pounds when I take them off...yes, that much sweat!

I have recently begun to make fresh Green Drinks every afternoon~~
and here is the drink that I love and make every single day..and I drink the whole thing!!! (after my workout)

Tracys Green Drink~
4 carrots
5 handfuls of fresh organic spinach (big handfuls)
4 stalks of celery
a BIG chunk of fresh ginger
a full size cucumber
a full Gala apple
a full lemon
one cup of 100% pure coconut water

I run all of the above through my juicer..
takes minutes
and the clean up is so easy...

I have fresh veggies every night for dinner during the week
I saute them very gently along with some leeks, zuchini, crookneck squash, grated carrots along with a package of Organic Vegan Buckwheat SOBA noodles and firm organic Tofu...
then adding some fresh roma tomatoes after they have been gently sauteed.....
WOW! Sooooo good and filling!

Some nights I will have a glass of red wine that I adore or other nights I will have a Kombucha drink instead~

I always get at least 9 hours of sleep per night and I HIGHLY endorse Eye Cream...!!!
Been using that good stuff since I was 16 years old and to this day I have no wrinkles around or near my eyes....and I go one step further...
I put eye cream between my eyes (you know those lines women get Botox injections for) above my upper lip area.....and in the crease of my chin!

It works for me...
and now you know my secret!!!
Oh..one more thing..

I make it a point to Laugh Everyday and Sing!!!
Life is Good....

Alotusgirl meets Mysore Life!

The day arrived and we met up with Jean in Berkeley at the infamous Cafe Gratitude!

The rain even came along that day as well~~~
yes..some beautiful, Glorious, welcomed Rain~

Jean, Ray and I had so much fun together and it is true what they say about some people you meet...
You feel like you have known them for a lifetime!

I met Jean by reading her daily blog while she was living in Mysore, India with her new husband H. She was my daily "fix" to the place I love and call my second home..
I would leave her a comment here and there..and she would read my blog too...we became Friends.

Distant friends...and now we are lifelong friends...
She will be leaving again very soon to travel back to Mysore, and reunite with her new husband...days must seem like years for her. But she is a beautiful, balanced, level headed woman and she knows how to take each day as it comes.

It was a treat to meet her and one day we will meet again....
that is for certain!

Maybe....

Maybe . . . we were supposed to meet the wrong people before meeting the right one so that, when we finally meet the right person, we will know how to be grateful for that gift.



Maybe . . . when the door of happiness closes, another opens; but, often times, we look so long at the closed door that we don't even see the new one which has been opened for us.



Maybe . . . it is true that we don't know what we have until we lose it, but it is also true that we don't know what we have been missing until it arrives.



Maybe . . . the happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.



Maybe . . . the brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; after all, you can't go on successfully in life until you let go of your past mistakes, failures and heartaches.



Maybe . . . you should dream what you want to dream; go where you want to go, be what you want to be, because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you dream of, and want to do.



Maybe . . . there are moments in life when you miss someone -- a parent, a spouse, a friend, a child -- so much that you just want to pick them from your dreams and hug them for real, so that once they are around you appreciate them more.



Maybe . . . the best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch and swing with, never say a word, and then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you ever had.



Maybe . . .you should always try to put yourself in others' shoes. If you feel that something could hurt you, it probably will hurt the other person, too.



Maybe . . .you should do something nice for someone every single day, even if it is simply to leave them alone.



Maybe . . .giving someone all your love is never an assurance that they will love you back. Don't expect love in return; just wait for it to grow in their heart; but, if it doesn't, be content that it grew in yours..



Maybe . . . happiness waits for all those who cry, all those who hurt, all those who have searched, and all those who have tried, for only they can appreciate the importance of all the people who have touched their lives.



Maybe . . . you shouldn't go for looks; they can deceive; don't go for wealth; even that fades away. Go for someone who makes your heart smile and who loves you more than they love their self.



Maybe . . .you should hope for enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human, and enough hope to make you happy



Maybe . . . you should try to live your life to the fullest because when you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling but when you die, you can be the one who is smiling and everyone around you crying.

Resilience

Resilience~
an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change

That defines my longtime friend pictured above perfectly.

About 24 years ago she married her soul-mate Michael.
One of the most Gorgeous men you have ever laid eyes on..
He modeled for Vogue Magazine, in Italy.
He was a beautiful person, not only on the outside, but truly beautiful on the inside even more so...

Quiet, NO Ego, Loving, Compassionate and he Adored Diane...

They got married and were the most adorable couple..so deeply in love were they...
I was so happy for them. They had a beautiful wedding...it was almost dream~like.
It was so very long ago now....

A few weeks after they were married, one morning Mike told Diane casually...
that when he died, he wanted her to donate his organs.
Just like that. Out of nowhere...and she told him OK, she would and that when she died she wanted him to have hers donated as well.

He was a bodybuilder..not one of those "hardcore" bodybuilders...a "natural" bodybuilder. He was in excellent shape...he worked out at Golds almost everyday when he was in town.

One evening he was riding his bike home from the gym and he was hit by a drunk driver.
He was killed instantly.

They had been married less than one month.

I was on my way to work and heard it on the radio...
I went in and told my boss that I couldn't work that day...
I drove right over to her house.
She was barely able to speak..not was I.

It took her a really long time to get over Michael..we talked about it today. I have not seen her in 20 years.
She is remarried, she has a beautiful little 5 year old girl named Bianca...

Michael still visits Diane...
he even knows Bianca. She told Diane that he visits her and that he (quote) "is like my daddy, but not my daddy" ....
"he watches me play sometimes"
This brings Diane such peace and comfort...
he visits Diane too she said..
he tells her that he is so happy for her and he likes her new husband Matt.
He thinks Bianca is beautiful and loves watching her play.

Diane did donate all of Mikes organs and when she signed the form that asks.."Would you like to know who the organs went to" she checked the box "No" and she told me today that at times she wished she would have marked that box "Yes"...but maybe it is better that she did things the way she did them...but she does often wonder...who has his eyes...who has his heart...

I love her so much and love that she is so happy now...
she does define Resilience though...if anyone does...Diane does.