I'M BACK!!!!

Well, that was quite the hiatus but I'm back now with lots of exciting topics to post about and things to discuss and of course, pictures too. The month of October saw us VERY busy. We were in Victoria, Vancouver & Whistler visiting good friends and making fun memories. There were leaves to play in and ducks & seals to feed.

And now I don't even know where to start...
The things that have been coming up a lot for me both personally and in conversations with my clients is "how much do our thoughts matter?". Someone once told me that the quality of my life will be dependent on the quality of my thoughts. Clearly our thoughts are important but can they really change the quality of our life? The answer is YES! Start to pay attention to what you say to yourself. Notice how much is positive chatter and how much is negative. This is the first step. Once you start to pay attention to what you're saying to yourself you can begin to exercise some control in "thought stopping" -- eliminating the negative and self-defeating things you think and allowing more positive thoughts to emerge.

Dream big. Imagine. Be inspired.
Live

Crystal & Leather & Beautiful Fall Days

Could it be any nicer out? Today was spectacular and although Jake wasn't being spectacular we had a fantastic day which included a workout for me, playtime with little ones for him, good food, fun shopping and then some family time at the park.
October 1st is the day we got married and we celebrated our 3rd anniversary today. It made us think about what we'd accomplished in the last three years and it's a lot! A baby, two career changes, building a house, selling a house, buying a new house and whole lot of joy and laughter to go along with it. Did you know that the traditional 3rd year anniversary gift is "leather" and the modern version is "cyrstal"? Who came up with these ideas?

What's on my mind right now is love. I was flipping through some quotes about love and here are two that caught my eye:

"Love is just a word until someone comes along and gives it meaning."
-- Author Unknown

"Our anniversary is a time to look back at the good times and a time to look ahead to live our dreams together."
-- Catherine Pulsifer

I love the last one. What are you dreaming about for your future? What are your dreams as a couple? When's the last time you stopped to think and talk about this stuff? If it's been awhile make a point of connecting with your partner and talking about what you're working towards together. What do you want your life to hold? Remember, you have to dream about it and realize what it is you want before it can happen.

Dream big. Imagine. Be inspired.

Hello Monday

Wow. I haven't posted for quite a while and that's only because we were AS SICK AS DOGS around here for the last week. So, this week is about getting back to a somewhat normal routine and feeling good again.

We did get up to a few fun things such as going to Crossroads Market and stocking up on yummy fresh veggies plus lots of walks in the park and we even watched a few cute movies (Son of Rambow & Eagle vs. Shark).


It was on one of these walks that I began to think about what my BIG DREAMS are and I realized so much of what I wanted has happened that I need to start dreaming again. So, my challenge is to come up with at least 30 big dreams, things that would be beyond my wildest dreams if they actually happened (ie. own a ski chalet in the Swiss Alps--you get the idea). If you can't even imagine it, you can't create it--so it all starts with really thinking about what you want. So I'm going to spend some time daydreaming and I think you should too. Think about what you want for yourself in both your personal and profesional life. AND, don't let that little voice in your head tell you that you "can't afford it" or whatever else it might like to say--you're daydreaming and you're the only one invited. Have fun.

Dream big. Imagine. Be inspired.

COMFORTABLE is BOREDOM with Good PR

http://www.fivebigquestions.com

If you have 8 or so minutes on your hands today check out the above link. The movie is fantastic and aptly sums up what coaching is really about. Coaching is about working with someone who will ask you the big questions and hold the space for you while you figure out the answers. If you don't have time to watch the movie then at least read the quote below.

"Have patience with everything that remains unsolved in your heart. Try to love the questions themselves... At present you need to live the question. Perhaps you will gradually, without even noticing it, find yourself experiencing the answer."

Rainer Maria Rilke, Poet

You Can Leave Deep Footprints

This quote was sent to me the other day by someone whom I love very much. I just thought I'd share it.

"Let us keep in mind that the best cannot hide. Meditation, education, all the dream analysis, all the knowledge of God's green acre is of no value if one keeps to oneself or one's chosen few. So come out, come out wherever you are. Leave deep foot prints because you can.

Forgive as much as you can, forget a little, and create a lot. What you do today influences the rest of your life."

You CAN leave deep foot prints."

Taken from "Women Who Run with the Wolves" by Clarissa Pinkoa Estes

Celebartion & Good Fortune

Tonight we celebrated. Why? Why not. There's been a ton that we've done in the last few weeks and it just seemed like a good night to stop being "busy" and relax and enjoy. What that entailed for us was popping the bottle of champagne our Realtor brought us when we bought our house, ordering Chinese Food and sitting in the back yard talking while the sun went down. Beautiful. It's my personal opinion that we (North Americans) don't celebrate enough things in our lives. I like celebrations. It's a chance to reflect on what we've done and the strides we've made in getting closer to our big dreams.

Thankfully it looks like more good fortune is coming my way (see above, crappy picture-I know, but that's not the point). I'm all for taking a journey to a place far away AND to having a good time after a hard day's work. Thankfully I didn't get my husband's fortune. It said something like, "Something you've lost will soon be found." I'd just assume that would be my mind--HA.

What could you celebrate in your life? What have you done or accomplished that would be celebration worthy? Pick something and plan something special for yourself. You're worth it.

DREAM BIG. IMAGINE. BE INSPIRED.

Why is life so busy?

No matter who I talk to these days it seems the standard answer I get when I ask how they're doing is, "Busy". Life is just busy-there are things to do, places to go and people to take care of. That doesn't even include the mental business we engage in when we have a constant stream of thoughts running through our head when we're trying to plan, organize, and get ready for whatever might come our way. I had a great visit with a friend today who has three kids and I know life is busy for her yet she took the time to come over and say hi and see our new place. Thank you. It allowed me to stop and smell the flowers you so graciously brought us.

What I know for myself is that I can sometimes get lost in the business of it all and it usually takes something like getting sick to slow me down. Not this time!!! I am choosing to slow down this weekend by saying "NO" to many things I don't like doing and saying "YES" to things I sometimes don't make time for. To get into a perspective that allows me to do this I have to think when it's all said and done, when it's over will I really care that I always got the laundry done on Saturday or that the floor was clean? Or, will I care more about the relationships I nurtured, the good times I shared, and the fun I had. SIMPLE.

I encourage you to say "NO" to a few things you don't like doing--that will create some space to allow you to do something fun instead.
Dream big. Imagine. Be inspired.
Good night.

Making the world a little bit greener--one step at a time

I am officially in love with my brand new environmentally friendly, coffee-to-go cup.  It proved today that it can keep coffee hot and withstand being thrown 8 ft by a toddler and not leak or chip.  I hate it when I end up getting coffee and use a "to-go" paper cup. I always look at the line up of people and then think about the 9000 stores that exist worldwide and if the average Starbucks serves 100 people/day (probably a low estimate) that's 900 000 paper cups being put into garbages around the world every day. And that's just STARBUCKS! Then there are 3000 Tim Horton's, however many Second Cups, a bazillion independent coffee shops---how many trees are sacrificed to make paper cups and how much landfill space do they take up?  My new commitment to the earth is that if I don't have my fabulous new coffee-to-go cup with me, I can't buy coffee. Simple.  So that's my rant.  If you drink coffee go buy a nice "to-go" cup. You'll feel good about yourself and help the planet out a little bit too.

Rejuvenate Yourself, Rejuvenate Your Life

This heavenly place is Willow Stream Spa at the Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Alberta.  I have to say that I'm not much of a spa girl but going to this place was one of the most incredible experiences I've ever had. Pure indulgence. It was a completely rejuvenating experience and I swear I looked and felt years younger when I left compared to when I got there.  It all started when a girlfriend of mine suggested that we go together as a treat after spending two full days packing up my house (this was before we moved). The idea is that it would help me unwind and give me some time to myself in the midst of August chaos.  I readily agreed. So, off we went, lattes in hand for an hour of great conversation and tons of laughter on our mini road trip there. We pulled up to the Banff Springs hotel, checked the car, and walked into Willow Stream Spa.....beautiful, perfect.  

Planning is now underway for the ultimate retreat weekend for women -- "Rejuvenate Yourself, Rejuvenate Your Life". There's more to this weekend than just going to the spa but I'll save that for a later post. I don't know the exact dates yet but I'm tentatively planning one in November and two in February so if you're at all interested or curious, get in touch with me as space is limited (8 women/weekend).  

Survival

I love this picture! I found it on the shutter sisters blog and I realized how totally tired I am and how much I look forward to my favorite caffeinated drink in the morning. August was a rough month and I think it's all catching up with me and that's OK, in fact, it's necessary. In the last 6 weeks we sold our house, put my best 4-legged friend of 12 years down, bought a new house, moved, transitioned from being on "vacation" mode to "back at work" mode and I've been struggling at keeping up with all of the change. What I know is that I need to create some structure for myself and set some goals for the fall. Goals? Yes. Specific, achievable, fun goals. Once I know what they are I'll post them. For me this is when I take the time to dream big, imagine, and be inspired -- that's what it's about. LIVE.

Ahhhh--broke my commitment already!

What can I say...I already broke my commitment of posting something everyday but it was BUSY here last week. There was work getting done, food being cooked and my beautiful little boy to play with.  As soon as I figure out how to post recipes I will because we had the amazing luxury of having my godmother come and stay with us for a few days and she always makes the most fantastic meals for us.  THANK YOU!!!  Also, if you have 3 minutes watch this short movie. It won the Cannes Festival Award and I absolutely love it. The only way I know how to add it is to include the link...still working on my blogging skills here but I'm learning [slowly].

http://www.historiadeunletrero.com/

Home Sweet Home

Change. Change can be good and hard and scary and rewarding and exhausting all at the same time.  What I've realized with this move is that change makes me think about what I'm doing and where I'm going so that even when it is hard (and packing up a 2 story house and moving is definitely hard with a 1 yr old) I'm still feeling fulfilled by what I'm doing and the reasons I'm doing it.  Change. It shakes things up a little and you get the chance to choose what you want to keep and discard what doesn't work for you. I like that. Change. Change is good. 

Baby steps

I have to remind myself that at least I'm finally starting--these may be baby steps but I'll get things figured out pretty quickly with this whole blogging thing.  Right now it seems a bit overwhelming with all of the different things to do--patience, I just need  some patience with myself.  Jake took his first real steps today and it was such a treat to watch his tentativeness mixed with his excitement and pride as we both cheered him on.  I think I need to do that with myself when I start something new. 

Anyways, hello and welcome. I'm very excited that I'm finally part of the blogging world.  I'm not a 100% sure what this space is going to be for but I know I like to write and this seems like a great way to share thoughts, opinions, stories and so forth.  So, that leads me to ask you to leave comments if you read something you like or even something you don't. I want to hear your two cents too.  

Dream big. Imagine. Be inspired.

Welcome to Jennifer Powter's Professional Coaching Blog

OK. So this is a work in progress so please be patient with me. I can't wait to have this blog up and running and one of the things I'm promising myself is that I'll post something everyday (except weekends, unless something absolutely amazing is happening). I'll try to have perfect grammar and correct spelling but I can't promise as I type quickly and sometimes my eyes play tricks on me when I re-read things. Oh well. Gotta run. Things to do and a baby to play with.