Visiting Portugal

Images: Gate1 Travel

You Don’t Have to Feel Grateful to Be Grateful

Greetings all! 

If you are in the United States right now, this is the Thanksgiving week. Are you feeling thankful? 

A friend of mine reached out and said, “My family is getting together but I honestly don’t want to join them.”  Being around family isn’t always easy. Ram Dass once said that “if you think you’re enlightened, you should try spending a week with your family”.

 

Image: https://www.yourtango.com/quotes/funny-thanksgiving-memes

Here are some CALM thoughts for this week: 

“Gratitude feels hard sometimes. And that’s okay. When stress strikes, burnout bites, or depression looms, it’s not always helpful to force yourself to feel grateful. So take the pressure off.

Authentic gratitude only comes when you honor where you’re at anyway — even if that’s sad or mad or lonely.

So here’s permission to *not* feel grateful this week. Feel however you’re feeling. You can feel grateful next week, or next month. It’s all good.

-> Remember: Sometimes growth comes from the being, not the doing

-> Reflect: Who are you most grateful for? Tell them

-> Reframe: Just be grateful → Just feel however you're feeling” 

Image: https://www.yourtango.com/quotes/funny-thanksgiving-memes 

I hope you allow yourself to feel however you’re feeling! Have a great week! 

The 12 Interesting Additions to Coffee

Greetings all!

How do you take your morning coffee? And I am not talking about fancy Starbucks orders, just your average coffee. I prefer mine with milk or cream but I am always curious to read about unique add-ons!

Image from https://es.pinterest.com/pin/494762709073892599/

If you like to be adventurous with your coffee, here are some interesting options for you:

1) Honey

2) Protein Powder - this one I do occasionally, since the powder fully dissolves and is tasteless.

3) Salt - this one I actually heard about and tried but my coffee did not taste any different!

4) Citrus and Carbonated Water - I added a slice of orange to my coffee, and it was interesting.

5) Butter/Ghee/Oil

6) Olive Oil

7) Black Pepper

8) Eggs

9) Cheese

10) Hot Sauce

11) Fish Sauce

12) Soy Sauce

Options 5-12 are definitely too adventurous for my palate! What do YOU add to your coffee? Drop me a line! 

Source: https://www.pastemagazine.com/drink/coffee/weirdest-things-people-add-to-coffee-butter-salt-oil-cheese-eggs-citrus-hot-sauce

Imaginative Buildings

King Alfred’s Tower – England

Unzipped Building – Alex Chinneck in Milan, Italy

Unzipped Building – Alex Chinneck in Milan, Italy

Alpine Refuge – Monte Cristallo, Italy

Hallgrímskirkja Church – Reykjavík, Iceland

The House That Sank – The Crooked House, UK

Organic Slate Roof House – Germany

Cliff House – France (Built 1347)

Rock-Built Homes – Sanaa, Yemen

Source: https://streetartutopia.com/2025/10/24/buildings-that-look-like-theyre-from-a-dream/

You Get to Choose What Grows in Your Field of Dreams

Greetings all! 

I loved the message in the November Oracle Forecast from Colette Baron-Reid: 

Image from https://www.pinterest.com/pin/291326669669147112/

“Ever find yourself at a point where something just... isn’t working anymore? Like you've hit a wall, or a dead end, and you’re not sure what comes next?

That’s exactly the kind of energy we’re entering as November begins. But the good news is: the only way to go from here is up.

…The first card that came through was Rock Bottom, a powerful signal that something is ready to shift.

It’s flanked by Compass and Home, which tell us that November is about finding our center after a period of confusion or emotional exhaustion. It’s a month to gently ask ourselves where we’ve been pouring our energy, and whether it’s time to reorient toward something more meaningful.

Not everyone will be seeing the world through the same lens right now, and that’s okay. What matters is that you’re being honest with yourself. This is the month to come back to what’s true for you, to return to your inner sense of home, and to realign with what you want to plant going forward.
 
With Mercury Retrograde returning later this month, we’re being encouraged to slow down, reassess, and allow space for emotional integration. The astrology supports a pause. Think of it as an invitation to reflect on everything you’ve learned so far this year and to be open to how things might shift before the year ends.
 
Even if this month begins with a sense of heaviness or uncertainty, there’s still room for hope, creativity, and forward movement. You get to choose what you align with. You get to choose what grows in your field of dreams.”

What did you think? Drop me a line and remember to slow down and reflect on what you want to grow in your field of dreams!

Zombie Delight

Greetings all! 

Are you prepared for the zombie apocalypse? Just in case, make extra of this cocktail! 

Image and recipe from https://www.totalwine.com/cocktail-recipes/zombie-delight

Ingredients

• 1 oz. Vodka
• 1 oz. Peach Schnapps
• 1 oz. Irish Cream
• 1 splash grenadine syrup 

Instructions 

• Pour Peach Schnapps, Vodka and Irish Cream into cocktail shaker and shake with ice.
• Fine strain into a martini glass.
• Top off with drizzles and spatters of grenadine syrup, allowing it to drip to bottom of glass.

Bon Appetit! Let me know how you like it!

If Cats Were Giants by Andrew Scherbak

Sources (and more!):

• https://www.aol.com/artist-photoshops-giant-cats-photos-080000866.html
• images by odnoboko / https://www.instagram.com/odnoboko/