What's on your nightstand? ~ "Healing Your Heart: Rewrite Your Story with Awarness and Intention"

Reading.  Like a lot of you, it's one of my favorite pastimes ... especially in the summer when the daily schedule is a little more relaxed and open.  The kids and I sign up for the summer library program every year, and I live for the days when I can relax by the pool or on the deck with a good book. I love fiction, especially romance and mystery novels.  My all time favorite book is Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.  But it's not often that you don't find a book by Nora Roberts or Mary Kay Andrews on my nightstand.  Non-fiction books have always been difficult for me to get into.  While reading a self help book or the true story of some one's life and experiences is interesting, I have always leaned toward the fantasy section ... until recently.

I have been a life-long watcher of the soap opera, General Hospital.  Even as far back to the days when Luke & Laura got married, it's been an addiction of mine.  I don't blame you if you have no idea who these characters are or are wondering what this has to do with my summer reading ... but if you'll just hold on, I'm getting there.  The character of Carly on General Hospital is played by the incredibly talented Laura Wright, whom I follow in Instagram (@welcometolaurasworld).  Along with posting about her life (as we all do), she is very inspirational, fitness oriented and just plain fun to follow!  About a month ago she posted about a book that she was reading that hit a cord with me.  It's called Healing Your Heart: Rewrite Your Story with Awareness and Intention by Tris Thorp.  

Here's the glimpse via Amazon: 

The past does not have to determine your present—if you choose to heal it. As human beings, we’re born with a complex mental/emotional system. Yet we’re not necessarily taught how to use that system to create the lives we desire. As a result, many of us feel stuck in the pain of the past and the uncertainty of how to move forward. Not knowing how to process our negative emotions, they fester, poisoning our current relationships and experiences. Our emotions create color and texture. What kind of life would it be if we didn’t experience love, joy, awe and excitement? Even our negative feelings are important to guide us, help us survive, even give us the added push we need to stretch beyond ourselves. Yet, when we don’t know how to handle what’s going on in our lives, our emotions can sabotage our efforts, destroy our relationships and drive us to make poor choices. “I’ve experienced first hand what it’s like to be plagued by past wounds. My personal journey to healing has not always been easy. But because of the healing work I’m sharing with you in this book, today I experience the peace, love, happiness and success I once thought was impossible for me.” —Tris Thorp In Healing Your Heart, Tris Thorp uses her personal experience and expertise as well as step-by-step exercises to show you: • How to make peace with the past and turn painful experiences into empowering ones • How to deal with difficult emotions in the present and express yourself authentically • How to relate to yourself and others with compassion and acceptance • How to create new life strategies that support your growth and unlock your potential • How to allow more joy, love, expansion and happiness into your life “In the pages of this book I’ll guide you on the path I took to heal myself, to heal my relationships with the people I love and to ultimately step into the person I am today. It’s my hope that this book encourages you to find the clarity, the compassion, the strength and the fortitude within yourself to go the distance on your own path—and to truly heal your heart.” 

I'm not going to lie, I was a little skeptical at first.  Not only was it a non-fiction book, but a self-help one at that.  Two things that I have always found difficult to read without struggling...  but something told me that this time would be different and boy was I right!  This book covers everything from digging deep to find the root of your emotions and how you react to them to ultimately teaching you techniques to let go of the negativity and forgive not only others but most importantly yourself.   

As I said, I've always found self-help books to be a difficult read.  They don't transport my mind to a fantasy world of lost loves, unsolved mysteries or mythical places...  but not Healing Your Heart.  It had me from the very beginning journaling to find my better self and healing wounds I didn't even know still existed.  I finished it with a new found look on how I deal with my emotions, and even more importantly ~ how I've allowed them to affect my life.  

I highly recommend this book to anyone!  Whether your struggling with something at the moment or just looking for a more positive way to journey through this crazy thing we call life ... 

As we continue through the remaining month of summer vacation, I have already begun reading my next book series.  However, I would love to hear any suggestions that you have.  Sometimes a recommendation from someone may be just the thing you need to lead you down a new path, whether in life or simply in stories.  :)  

Happy Reading!

N

Go With The Flow ~ My Passion for Sea Turtles

If you follow me on Instagram, you know that we just returned from our family vacation at  Disney's Vero Beach Resort in Florida.  It's our second visit and has been deemed by Honey as his all time favorite vacation spot (the rest of us agree).  Its gorgeous beaches, beautifully decorated suites, amazing staff that always has something fun planned for young and old, and of course (my personal favorite) the sea turtles!

It's no secret that I love turtles.  Long before Crush and lil Squirt were introduced in Finding Nemo, I have held a special place in my heart for these beautiful animals.  And coming to Vero Beach has now given me the chance not once, but TWICE to see them in their natural habitat.  Disney has adopted a 5-10 mile stretch of beach that they monitor daily during sea turtle nesting season.  Once a nest is found, they block it off in two different ways ~ a square marking means they are just protecting it, while a triangular marking means that they are studying it and using the data to further research to help these endangered animals.

This particular area is nesting grounds for the Loggerhead sea turtle, the Green sea turtle, and the "grand-daddy" of them all the Leatherback sea turtle.  I say "grand-daddy", because their shear size can range from 550 to 1,540 pounds.  Their front flippers alone can grow up to over 8 feet!  This photo doesn't even do them justice, as her back flipper and tail extend beyond the picture. (Taken by Disney Conservationist during a night walk observation)

If you are wondering how they were able to get so close, according to the conservationist they were actually over 15 feet away as her other flipper was also extended.  Also, when a female turtle is laying her eggs, she goes into a "trance" so to speak where she is completely still and quiet.  (So unlike the human birthing experience.  Lucky!)

We were fortunate to be able to see a Leatherback nest this year.  It was huge!  If you look at the markings in the back of the dunes, that's where her flipper was as she was moving the sand and digging a hole for her nest.  WOW!

Each nest is labeled with the type of turtle's nest, the date it was laid and the number of nest found this season.  So you can see that this nest was the 5th nest of the year and laid on April 29th.  With a typical incubation time ranging from 55-90 days, this nest is due to hatch any day!!

Both trips we had the privilege of observing how they find and mark of a newly discovered nest.  As the mothers lay their eggs at night, the crew is up bright and early each morning combing the beach for newly laid nests.  So at 7am (not your typical wake up time on vacation, I know), Miss B, Honey & I were out on the beach ready to see what they had found.  The boys opted for sleep.  :)  

Loggerhead turtles are more common here so that's the type of nest we were able to see both years.  Here are the mothers tracks as she climbs the beach to find just the right spot to lay her eggs.  Loggerhead tracks look like commas in the sand as they move one flipper at a time as they crawl (similar to how we put one foot in front of the other to walk).  Leatherback and Green sea turtles use both their front flippers at the same time to move through the sand. (Have you figured out how much this is a passion of mine yet!?!)  :)

Once she finds her spot, she begins the process of digging a hole in the sand to lay her eggs.  Each turtle is different is the amount of time this takes.  Typically this is what a fresh Loggerhead nest looks like....

As you can see the nest can be rather large, so how do they find the eggs? Well, Disney has adopted a very special dog named Dory and trained her to locate them by being able to smell the mucus that surrounds the freshly laid eggs.  I'm sure you're thinking the same thing we were, Dory??  Dory (the fish) is known for her short term memory loss.  Hmmm....  But not this pup, she is one smart cookie!  Once released, she sniffs around the nest until she finds the scent of the eggs and then simply sits, letting the Conservationists know right where to start digging to locate the top of the nest.

Then the search begins.  Loggerhead nest are typically not that deep... about elbow length or so in the sand.

Once the nest is found, we are carefully able to take a peek into the hole before it is covered back up, and the nest marked off.  It was so amazing!  While you can only see a few, there are typically 115-150 eggs in each nest!

Now if you think I wasn't grinning from ear to ear at this point, you should have seen me on our first trip when we actually got to see some baby hatchlings being released into the ocean!  Don't judge, but yes tears were shed.  (I know, I know... but it was such an amazing sight to see and for a turtle lover like me ~ a possible once-in-a-lifetime experience!)


Sometimes when a nest hatches, there may be a few baby turtles that need a little extra help.  So Disney takes them and makes sure that they get any extra attention they may need before releasing them into the water.  This was the case on our last trip.  4 babies turtles ready to find their way to the ocean, Four!!!  :)  

They are so cute and tiny!!!  We were all told to make two lines leading down to the ocean.  Once they released them, we were not allowed to move, or touch them in anyway (it's illegal).  Even if they got caught up in a wave an washed back up over our feet, DON'T MOVE!  And then they were off ...

Almost there!  Look at their little tracks!!!!  :)

And finally, they made it!  

It was unbelievable!  It still puts a smile on my face to this day.  

I want to leave you with this quote that I found that speaks not only to the life of a turtle but to all of us as well...

"It does not matter how slowly you go, as long as you don't stop."  ~ Confucius

XOXO
N