Yael Nehama

1. When you wake up, thank the Universe for a new day. The Jewish Prayer of "modeh/ah ani" is a good one to say. מודה אני לפניך מלך חי וקים שהחזרת בי נשמתי בחמלה, רבה אמונתך. Modeh ani lifanekha melekh ḥai v'kayam sheheḥezarta bi nishmahti b'ḥemlah, rabah emunatekha. I offer thanks before you, living and eternal King, for You have mercifully restored my soul within me; Your faithfulness is great. 2. Enjoy a cup of your favorite warm beverage. My choice, coffee. 3. Meet beloved people for more coffee and tea biscuits. (On the way, have an argument on the phone that upsets your tummy and then promise yourself not to do THAT again. Makes the hug greeting of your beloved people even sweeter and remind you of the great day you are having.) 4. Have many REAL conversations with long time friends, family and your children. 5. Dance, ALOT! 6. Hug more friends and your daughter, ALOT! 7. Forgive yourself and the other person involved in above argument. 8. Go shopping with belo...

Well, Philadelphia has been hit with 16" of snow and that means a SNOW DAY for me! Hooray! I happened to start my day off quite pleasantly with three hours of my morning spent talking on the phone with my two sisters and my newly married daughter. How lovely it was to just chat on the phone instead of through text, email or some other electronic medium or network. I haven't done that in quite some time, so even though I am not really a phone person, it was a fun change of pace. I really do love snowy days and have no objections to winter spreading her white mantle upon the earth, I mean, it is winter after all. If I didn't like the seasons I would be planning my move to the southern states. No, the biggest challenge is to spend my day wisely and not fritter it away online. This has become terribly easy for me during the past few years and I have to say, I don't like it. What I have decided is the best thing to do, is to compose "To do" lists. I did this the l...

So, I discovered this over at Dancing In a Field of Tansy and decided it would be a great way of really learning and discovering more about herbs and focusing on one in particular. The steps she has listed so far are as follows: 1. Having a Herbal Ally 2. Finding a Herbal Ally 3. Herbal Ally Tools 4. Herbal Ally Challenge #1: Decorating your Journal Cover 5. Herbal Ally Challenge #1 Completed 6. Herbal Ally Challenge #2: Infusions 7. Herbal Ally Challenge #2 Completed 8. Herbal Ally Challenge #3: Research Part I 9. Herbal Ally Challenge #3 Completed After reading the first two links she has posted regarding having and finding an herbal ally, it has become a bit hard to choose. There have been several plants that have spoken to me in my life, dandelion, lemon balm, lavender, yarrow and plantain. They seem to be the ones I am most drawn to. But I suppose if I had to choose just one, I would have to go with lavender since I can never resist brushing my hands past a lavender plant when I ...

I found this lovely link via Dancing in a Field of Tansy , so cute! Being a lover of raptors and owls in particular of late, I was delighted to stumble upon this. I am sure you will be too! Free Printable Owl Calendar

Today I woke to snowy shabbat. By nine o'clock the snow was falling consistently and had beautifully cloaked the city in a white mantle. By 9:30 am I began to get restless and started to debate whether or not a walk in the snow would be helpful. The child that I can be and who loves to play convinced me that it would be criminal to not avail myself of this winter wonderland and I quickly got dressed for the occasion. Once I had assured myself I would not freeze to death I began my trek. I stood outside on the patio for a few minutes taking it all in. It was cold and the snow felt lovely as it fell on me. I was amazed at how very quiet it was, very few cars out and about on this snowy morning, it all felt so surreal. Not even the juncos I had noticed earlier in the bush in front of my home were tittering about. I started my walk not exactly sure where I was going then quickly deciding I desperately needed to see the woods on a snowy day. It occurred to me that I have never been ther...

Here is a link from The Leaky Book Blogsite telling her story . After you read it and if you are on facebook, go like the new support page .