Author: Suzette

Healthy(er) Meatloaf

SuzetteApple Balsamic Vinegar Recipes

3 pounds meatloaf mix (ground beef & ground pork)20150812_234305122_iOS

4 teaspoons Wildtree Pizza Sauce Seasoning

2 teaspoons Wildtree Garlic & Herb Blend

1/2 cup gluten free breadcrumbs

1/4 cup oatmeal

3/4 cup ketchup

3 tablespoons worcestershire sauce

diced onion

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Prepare rectangular baking pan:  line with heavy duty foil and spray with non-stick spray.  Combine all above ingredients & form into loaf in baking pan.  Roast for 45 minutes.  Meanwhile, prepare topping:

1 cup ketchup20150809_224523785_iOS

1/2 teaspoon Wildtree Spice Carne Asada Seasoning Blend

3 tablespoons Wildtree Apple Balsamic Vinegar

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon yellow mustard

Combine topping ingredients and spread over meatloaf after it has roasted for 45 minutes.  Return to oven for 15 minutes longer.  Allow to stand for 10 minutes before slicing.  Yummo!

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Cajun Catfish with Mango Salsa

SuzetteJamaican Jerk Seasoning Recipes

CatfishYummy, healthy, and organic!

Catfish filet

Organic Mango

Wildtree Jamaican Jerk Seasoning

Wildtree Sweet & Spicy Thai Chili Sauce

Sprinkle Wildtree Jamaican Jerk Seasoning over catfish filets after placing them in greased baking dish.  Bake at 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes, depending on size and thickness of filet.  For mango salsa, peel and dice mango, and mix with 1-2 tablespoons Wildtree Sweet & Spicy Thai Chili Sauce.  Serve mango salsa with catfish.

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What a Wonderful World It Would Be …

SuzetteCreativity / Art / Design

ep431-own-sss-steven-pressfield-3-320x180I pulled up an old Super Soul Sunday episode last night.  It was Oprah interviewing Steven Pressfield.  A prolific writer, he was exactly who I was needing to hear from as I work at getting myself in my studio to write on a more regular basis.

Steven talked about what keeps us from doing whatever it is we are meant to do – whether you are a writer, an artist, or an entrepreneur, it doesn’t matter.  When there is something that you know that you know you were put on this earth to do, why don’t you do it? Why are there so many miserable people out there, working in jobs that they know they don’t belong in?  Steven calls it Resistance.  I call it the enemy.  The closer we get to being in the zone of where God put us here to be, the harder the enemy works to keep us from it. Continue reading “What a Wonderful World It Would Be …” →

Rediscovering One of My Past Loves

SuzetteCreativity / Art / Design

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Tonight’s dinner was so delicious, I feel guilty for eating it alone.  When I first embarked on my quest to eat healthier a year ago, I thought I would never enjoy eating again.  Thank goodness for Wildtree.  With the help of Wildtree, I have learned that you don’t have to eat unseasoned, boring food in order to put all natural ingredients into your body.  Through the journey with these products, I have also rediscovered my love of cooking and creating new recipes.

Tonight’s recipe was inspired by some recent online classes I have enjoyed.  I want to not only offer my Wildtree customers a catalog of healthy products; I want to offer them knowledge and fresh ideas for their families.  Apple balsamic salmon over a rich tomato sauce, paired with zucchini Carpaccio and gluten free gnocchi, is what was on the menu tonight. Continue reading “Rediscovering One of My Past Loves” →

April 18: “The Face in the Looking Glass”

SuzetteBeauty

Helpful-Hints-165x200-Play-Experiment-Have-Fun“One of the ways that we can begin to love our faces is to enhance them with makeup.” Sarah Ban Breathnach

Sarah has captured so beautifully in today’s reading how I feel about makeup. Like Sarah, I have had different phases in my life when I questioned the authenticity of plying myself with “war paint,” but I finally came to the same conclusions that she did:

“I began to become aware of the fact that looking your best, working with what you have, and bringing out your natural beauty with makeup was not as superficial a goal as I had originally thought. Makeup was simply a tool to help me look my best. When I looked my best, I felt better. When I felt better, I had more energy and accomplished more and was more outgoing.”

Everything Sarah says here rings true for me. It is why I love being a Mary Kay beauty consultant. Giving women makeovers, taking before and after photos, and seeing their faces light up at the transformation is so rewarding for me. Likewise, teaching teenage girls the proper way to wear makeup so that they don’t hide their true beauty is equally as rewarding. There is something so gratifying in helping people to feel good about themselves, whether it is the application of makeup or helping them to earn some beautiful free jewelry. It all makes them smile, and making people smile is who I am.

Shalom!

April 12: “Learning to Love and Honor Your Body”

SuzetteBeauty

beauty-1“The body is a sacred garment. It’s your first and last garment, it is what you enter life in and what you depart life with, and it should be treated with honor.” Martha Graham

We women have such a love hate relationship with our bodies, don’t we? We envy the best features of another while discounting our own positive attributes. We wish we had Sally’s eyes or Megan’s legs, and we fail to appreciate and be grateful for our own unique qualities.

We all have them. Each and every one of us has been blessed with gifts that make us who we are. If you look critically at some who you find especially attractive, you may be surprised to realize that there really isn’t anything particularly outstanding about them compared to someone else – what makes them appear so spectacular is the fact that they feel spectacular, from the inside out. Continue reading “April 12: “Learning to Love and Honor Your Body”” →

March 24: “The Secret Saboteur: When You’re Feeling Blue”

SuzetteTransforming 2014 and Beyond

plateau“Listening to your heart is not simple. Finding out who you are is not simple. It takes a lot of hard work and courage to get to know who you are and what you want.” Sue Bender

Ah, this chapter resonates with me today. I have been finding it so difficult lately. Difficult to be still and go within. Difficult to be quiet enough to read or write. Difficult to get in my studio and be creative. Difficult to be me!

“Personal growth also comes in spasms: three steps forward, two steps back, and then a long plateau, when it seems as though nothing is happening.” Sarah Ban Breathnach

I have been a step beneath a plateau! Not only has nothing been happening with my spiritual growth these last few weeks, but I lost the foothold I had gained in this inner journey we have been on. I let go of the lessons I’d learned. I can attribute the setback partially to how busy I have been with my business and having difficulty finding balance, but I think there is more to it than that.

“When you’re about to step into a new level of your destiny, don’t be surprised if you hit a setback. That’s a sure sign you’re about to give birth to what God has placed in your heart … The enemy would leave you alone if you weren’t a major threat. He wouldn’t bother you if you didn’t have something amazing in your future.” Joel Osteen

Indeed, the closer we get to our purpose, the harder the enemy will work to keep us from it. When we are on the brink of reaching our highest potential, he works harder to hold us back.

“It’s important to realize that this dormant period always seems to precede a growth spurt.” SBB

The great thing about staying the course and never giving up is that you will prevail. There is nothing and no one who can stand in the way of God’s plan for you except for you. If you keep your eye on the prize and remain steadfast in your faith even through the plateaus that will inevitably show up, you will reach your highest potential, which is God’s plan for you.

I am ready to shed this dormant period and step up to the next riser. How about you?

 

February 27: “Committing to Your Spiritual Awakening”

SuzetteSpirituality

Suzette1“If you commit to your spiritual awakening as the most important part of the process, something marvelous will happen.”  Sarah Ban Breathnach

The impact that I see from this spiritual awakening is subtle and substantial at the same time.  I notice it most often at times when I would normally have found myself frazzled or tense, like when I need to be someplace and the dog is taking forever in the yard, or I am in traffic and want to hurry up and get where I am going.  I don’t have the same frenetic response that I would have had six months ago.  I am (mostly) no longer scolding Abby to hurry up; rather, I am enjoying the fresh air and listening to the birds sing to me while she finds the “perfect spot.”  I am peaceful in my driving, no longer rushing the person in front of me with frustrated words mumbled under my breath.  I am, simply, more relaxed.

“With each day of the journey, you have become more open to the mystery, the magic, and the majesty of the Master Plan because you are committed to your spiritual awakening.”  SBB

I am no less busy, nor am I working any less hard.  I am just less stressed about it.  I am relaxed, feeling the presence of Spirit, and paying attention when I get the message to take some time to feed my soul.  Tonight, for example, after enjoying dinner with friends, I took one of my guitars off the wall and played for two hours – the first time I have played in months.  There was work to be done, but I chose to listen to the whispers telling me that the work can be done tomorrow; for now, it is time to create.  I find that creation, artistic expression, is a beautiful form of prayer, and I am grateful to have awakened my soul enough to heed the message that this certain prayer time is long overdue.  I am transported to heaven, bowing my head over my guitar, smelling its varnished wood and listening to its melody while I sing with the voice that God gave me.  It doesn’t get much better than that.

Shalom!

February 25: Reordering Your Priorities

SuzettePersonal Growth

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“Learn to get in touch with the silence within yourself and know that everything in this life has a purpose.”  Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

How have you been doing at taking your quiet meditation time each day? I hope you have been doing better than I have recently.  I am sorry to admit that these last few weeks, I have not spent enough time in silence.  I am living at this harried, frenetic pace, so much to do and so little time.  But then, once again, I hear the now familiar voice coming from within … “Relax.  Enjoy the moment.  All will be done as it is supposed to be.”  I smile to myself during those moments, recognizing the progress that I am making on this journey of transformation.

I took one of those moments last night, enjoying my grandsons for a few hours and ignoring the work I had planned for the evening.  I have been working so much I have barely seen them in recent weeks, and they were so excited to see me (and I them!) that I couldn’t leave them.  So I stayed.  I stayed and let my heart fill with the joy of listening to one after the other say, “Nana, watch this!”, so excited were they to have my attention.  They have no sense of time.  These beautiful little spirits live in the moment and enjoy it to the fullest, with no thoughts about needing to hurry up and finish what they are doing because it will be bath time soon.  They don’t worry about that.  They don’t worry about what is waiting for them.  They are completely, wholly in the present and loving every minute of it.  Oh what we can learn from them, and what a gift it was to myself to allow myself time to be still and enjoy their presence without thinking about the work that was waiting for me.

“Today make getting in touch with the Silence within your first priority.  As you do, you will be amazed at how everything else seems to find its own order.”  Sarah Ban Breathnach

I didn’t get here overnight, and the transformation isn’t going to happen overnight either, but as long as I am moving in the direction of positive change, I can be satisfied.  I will try harder to learn the lessons my grandsons teach me about enjoying the moment without worrying about what is next.  And I will work harder to get my butt in that meditation chair every day.  Maybe if I write it on my schedule that will help …

Shalom!

February 24: “Now That I’ve Gotten Your Attention”

SuzettePersonal Growth

“Sometime in your life you will go on a journey.  It will be the longest journey you have ever taken.  It is the journey to find yourself.”  Katherine Sharp

Hopefully everyone will take this journey at some point in their life, before it is too late for them to do so.  I wish I had done so earlier, but I am glad that at least I am doing it now.  Some days it is easier than others.

“I know how easy it is to find heartfelt excuses for why you can’t begin something new even if you yearn to, desperately.”  Sarah Ban Breathnach

There have been many days in these past two months were I have spent time searching my soul, searching my memories, and listening to my heart and Divine guidance in this quest to become the person that I was put on this earth to become.  There have also been many days when I’m just tired.  My real estate business is important to me, and I am committed to making it a success.  I’m busy with my mind going in multiple directions, and sometimes I find it hard to remove that distraction long enough to be still and do the soul work that is so important to me right now.  But at least I am moving in the right direction.

“How many times in the past have we chosen not to change our lives for the better simply by not choosing?”  SBB

I have chosen.  I have chosen to become the very best version of my authentic self possible.  It is a commitment that I have made to myself, and I am sticking to it.  I may have days of lapse, but they are only temporary, and I know that the next day I will be back in my chair, meditating and listening to the voice of God whispering in my ear, leading me in the right direction.

“Keep your eyes on the horizon.  Or stay on shore.  But choose.”  SBB

I pray that you are keeping your eyes on the horizon with me.

Shalom!