Awake and living in the present

Every phase of the cycle of life has its gifts and its challenges. 

Each stage is temporary and ultimately gives way to a new phase.

This is what makes each phase precious: it will never last.
 

Fully embracing wherever you are in the cycle of life is the very essence to happiness.

Happiness is not a destination but a journey.  

Even when an event seems unfortunate there is always a hidden opportunity to learn, to grow, to evolve.

Gratitude

To realize how truly blessed we are, we should list all the things for which we are grateful often. (every day if possible)

My gratitude list of the day:

I am grateful to have a beautiful and healthy daughter who makes me laugh every day.

I am grateful for being at home with her every day.

I am grateful for this forced vacation that allows me to spend more time with her and focus on my personal and professional development.

I am grateful to live in Switzerland.

I am grateful to have my six senses working well.

I am grateful for THIS moment.

I am grateful for being alive.

I am grateful to be who I am.

I am grateful for the beautiful people who surround me.

I am grateful to know LOVE.

When we are grateful we release positive energy which attracts positive energy.      

music.love

I listened to this song on February 14, 2013 as I browsed through the aisles of a perfume shop:

It touched my heart. It depicts real love.  And I wanted to share it with you.

I stopped celebrating Valentine's day a while ago as I think that love should be shared every day and not just because it's Valentine's day.

However, 2 years ago, on February, 14, 2011, I found out I was pregnant with my beautiful princess, Leilani.  This is the only reason why this day means something to me. 

A brand new kind of me

I have slowly been changing since I became a mother.  I am becoming more me.  I am less afraid of expressing myself.  I don't know what exactly triggered this but that's not very important.

What is important is me feeling happier and more comfortable.  I am taking more actions to accomplish goals I set for myself.  I am going after what I want and I try to live for me first.  My daughter inspires me to just be and just aim for what makes me happy and just go for it without worrying about it.

I have been feeling changes happening in me, in my life and even when I don't see the change yet I feel it coming.  Whether good or bad is not important.  It's the lesson learnt from the experience that matters the most.  I am growing and I like it.

I was recently fired for the first time in my life.  After almost 4 years with the company.  It was a surprise but a blessing.  I am now home (and will be for the next 2 months or more if I don't find another work opportunity), spending time with my daughter and witnessing her evolution, and it is great.  This is also an opportunity for me to learn more about myself and the path I want to take in my career.  I have this drive/motivation since 2012 to make changes, to follow my heart, my instincts and reach my goals.  And I feel I am on the right path.

I look forward to what the universe has in store for me.  I am very excited and open to receive all the greatness it has reserved for me.

I just wanted to share this with you.  I felt a need to write without thinking about whether people will be interested in reading my thoughts.  I feel that I will post on the blog more often and more on anything that inspires me.  I tried to have specific topics posted on it but rarely felt inspired to write and this could explain why I have not posted anything in a while.

2013 is a new year, with a brand new kind of me and I am ready to seize opportunities.

God bless you all.

Stephanie       

music.love

Her voice is so beautiful and this song touches me deeply.

 

music.love

I heard this beautiful voice today and loved it...Just wanted to share with you!

coconut oil: hair nourishing treatment

I have treated my hair several times with this and every time I am satisfied with the results.  My hair looks healthier and moisturized.  It has brilliance and feels protected.

The procedure I follow:

1. I wet my hair a little bit so it can be damp.  I think it helps the treatment penetrate it better.
2. I heat coconut oil in the microwave for about 40 seconds.  The amount of oil depends on the length and thickness of your hair.  I like my hair to be well saturated with it.
3. I separate my hair into several sections and "finger detangle" it.
4. I coat each section of my hair with the hot oil (from roots to ends).
5. I make a bun and put on a plastic cap to cover my head for at least 20 minutes.
6. I rinse my hair with warm water and wash my scalp with soap.
7. I let the soapy water from my scalp wash down to my ends.
8. I rinse my hair with warm water
9. I apply one of my favorite hair conditioners and detangle my hair with a wide tooth comb
10. After detangling, I rinse my hair with cool water.
11. Style as I want.

cream cheese pound cake with raspberry coulis

Here are photos of the latest cake recipe I tried.  The recipe was found on Annie's Eats.  She made it with a strawberry coulis and since I did not have any strawberries I opted for raspberries.

It was very moist and delicious.  I will definitely make this again for a special occasion.

So far, I have tried two recipes from Annie's Eats and they both have been successful and this makes me trust the recipes she tries and posts on her site.  I am going to try another of her recipes soon.

August 1: Swiss National Holiday

Fireworks in Sion, Valais

 

 

raspberry lime sheet cake

Last month, one night, around 1 am, my husband was craving something sweet with raspberries.  I was not sleeping and was browsing different websites on food so I told him that I can bake him something if he wants.  I found a recipe on Annie's Eats and had all the ingredients I needed.  So, I decided to bake a raspberry lime sheet cake and he offered to help me.

We made the cake quickly and waited for it impatiently to be done.  I was delicious!!!

The Lost Movement [UK Stand Up]

cupcakes from sweet dreams café

There is a cupcake shop in Lausanne, Switzerland named Sweet Dreams Café.  It's owned by an American young woman.  

I tried some of her goodies a while ago and liked the strawberry cheesecake cupcake.  The one I ate was nice and moist with a delicious strawberry filling.  The vanilla orange and double chocolate cupcakes did not impress me.  The cakes were dry and the frosting tasted too much like butter.  I felt like my arteries were getting clogged and my body fat increasing as I was eating them so I just stopped.

Photos of the mini cakes:

Gluten-free, lactose-free: a baking adventure - 2nd try

As promised here, I am sharing the results of my second attempt at baking a lemon cake with gluten-free flour.  I used the same recipe with another type of gluten-free flour from the same brand, Schaer.

Firstly, here are some photos of the first attempt:

 As you can see the cake did not cook properly.  It's too dry on the outside and the inside is not moist at all.

The second try looks so much better and tasted really good.  Moist, fluffy, light!

music: pigeon john

I found a new song to rock to this summer: "so gangster" by pigeon john.  I love it!

social networks: why i stopped facebooking

I stopped connecting to Facebook (the only social networking account I had) last year.  I don't remember exactly when but it feels like it was ages ago.

At first, I questioned whether I would 'survive' not seeing updates from my family (who live on another continent) and friends.  It was fun to browse through their photos but this activity would usually last hours.  During these hours, there is so much that can be accomplished.  And, I have lots on my to-do list that I would postpone when facebooking: reading books, studying, spending time outdoors, improving my baking skills, blogging and more...

fried plantains

I love these!  I grew up eating Haitian food and it's usually one of the side dishes or snacks.

A walk by the lake: Lac Léman, Switzerland

I love walking by the lake during my lunch break.  I work very close to this beautiful place.

Yesterday, it was very warm outside.  There were some people swimming or just lounging in the shade.

This lake is named Lac Léman and is located in Switzerland.

Where I take my walks is in Ouchy.  As you can see, the streets are very clean.  This is how it is in the majority of Switzerland.

Gluten-free, lactose-free: a baking adventure

This week, I baked a lemon cake with gluten-free flour and lactose-free butter but the result was not so tasteful.
The cake was not as moist and fluffy as I expected it to be.

I realized that it's probably due to the type of flour I bought.  

On the package it is stated that it's great for crêpes, pasta or a sauce thickening agent.  However, I didn't notice it until last night because on the front of the package it is stated that the flour is great for all culinary applications.

7 things about me: Stylish Blogger Award

I'm very happy and grateful to have received the Stylish Blogger Award from merely marie.  Sweet of her to have chosen me.  Thanks, Marie!  This motivates me to keep blogging.

The rules of the award are to: 
• Thank & link back to the person that awarded you this award
• Share 7 things about yourself
• Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers
• Contact these bloggers & tell them about the award

 Seven things about me.  What can I tell you...

Reflection on Life: Happiness

The other day, I had an interesting conversation with someone about happiness.
We discussed what most people in our society consider to be happiness nowadays, how they forget to live in the present, always searching for an instant gratification that will soon be replaced by another because they are never satisfied with what they have, trying to fill up a hole with depthless elements.

The following poem (not written by me) states perfectly how I feel about happiness and living in the present (not yesterday, nor tomorrow).