We are Amy and Gail Shingler, sisters-in-law and friends!

We are passionate about living authentic and intentional lives!

We are enthusiastic about healthy eating!

We created a space to share our favorite recipes & the life philosophies from which they stem!

Our desire is to inspire,

may you be edified by what you read here!

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

labels

to the labelers:
"nothing, and no one, is ever as simple as the labels we give them"

and to the label-ees:
"labels only matter if we let them stick"

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

is it true ?

go to the address below and click on the video "he owes me."
my husband art and i were at this event and watched this wife, 
so angry at her husband, begin to see, 
through the work byron katie has designed, 
how her husband "paid her," 
and how distorted her perceptions were 
and how misplaced her anger was, 
and how easily we are moved by our thoughts, 
and how quickly we can change our thoughts 
to support a loving, full, joy-filled life, where we are letting people BE---
who and what and where they are, 
where we are focusing on thoughts that bring us closer to others, 
help us resolve and cooperate and reconcile!  
it was unbelievably beautiful to watch and i am so grateful i was there, 
it was powerful and has stayed with me this whole last year,
reminding me to CHANGE MY THOUGHTS 
when they made life seem sad!

“He Owes Me”

http://www.thework.com/watch.php?cat=watch&yid=B1KpCZGWbL8

Sunday, January 6, 2013

i've decided these are my resolutions

1. to fully realize and embrace my exquisite beauty-
god created an amazing creature in me
and a hurt heart has kept me from loving myself fully and trusting myself fully,
which translates into loving and trusting others less fully!
and what a waste of time because
god loves me
and god’s love is enough,
i don’t need to put my faith in others to not let me down-
god will always be my one true source of strength and inspiration and enthusiasm for life
regardless of the thoughts, words and actions of others, regardless of my circumstances
or heartbreaks…


2. to continue to say each day, all day,
“how shall i serve you today? and to respond…
to not miss opportunities placed before me to show great love and care,
whether it is stopping in my rush somewhere to listen to the story of a homeless man and share a laugh and a hug, or to make a meal for someone who is sick when i myself am exhausted, or write that card or make that call so that someone knows they are not alone, that they are thought of, that they are celebrated, my creator will give me all the strength and superpowers i need, and i will be the one truly blessed to serve others!


3. to walk toward, not away from, the people who challenge and frustrate me,
the truth is that they love me enough to come into my life
to teach me the lessons i am ready to learn about myself-
they push buttons to show me i have buttons,
i want to grow and stretch, and stretch and grow beyond my comfort level, to cry and scream and walk straight into life’s “fires,” bravely, to be refined and experience greater depth and meaning in being alive,
i don’t want to have any buttons left to push by the time i take my last breathe!


4. to say ‘thank you’ for every apology i have never, and may never, receive.


5. to laugh every laugh and to cry every tear, to hug "strangers" and talk to people in elevators, and leave things, experiences, people and places lighter and brighter because i was there!

6.  to remember every single day that we are ONE, every single person and creature and growing thing on this planet, they ALL belong to me to care for, to lift, to help along, to hug, to cry and laugh with, to enjoy!  they all deserve the very best of me, those who would strike me down as well as those who think i am neat, they all deserve 100% of what i have and what i am!  no giving to those who give back and withholding from those who don't, EVERYONE DESERVES MY ALL, ALWAYS!

Friday, January 4, 2013

resolution inspiration : a heart for health








The ultimate source of a happy life 
is warm-heartedness. 
This means extending to others 
the kind of concern we have for ourselves. 
On a simple level we find that if we have a compassionate heart 
we naturally have more friends. 
And scientists today are discovering 
that while anger and hatred eat into our immune system
warm-heartedness and compassion 
are good for our health.

lhamo dondrub, the 14th dalai lama

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

a cup of tea and resolution inspiration





















when i was almost done with my cup of pomegranate rose tea tonight, i noticed the inspirational quote on the tag dangling from my cup...

always be pure, simple and honest.

i thought, "that's the perfect phrase to end new year's day and to begin 2013."

for me, it's not so much a new resolution as a renewed focus...i've been working on being those three things for a while now...and making them a habit everyday made them my default, but what is more true is that making them a habit, making them a focus and a priority, changed the source from which my choices were made, that process and work changed me.

and there is great freedom and beauty and absolute joy living from a place of purity, simplicity and honesty.

along with those changes in me, i have learned, that in a world where we are always questioning the care and motives of others, it doesn't matter if anyone else believes i am pure, simple and/or honest...

what others think about me and my choices does not change the truth...

what others think about me and my choices does not change MY truth...

may we all discover truths for ourselves that give us life, that bring us happiness, that help us serve the world, and that are so true that we are changed in the deepest parts of ourselves, and we never again concern ourselves with what others believe us---our lives---or our truths---to be...