When you wanted it?  For most of us most we don’t always get what we want exactly when we want it.  Which I think is probably a good thing. In my own life it has been a very strange paradox. The things I wanted or thought I needed in my 20’s I have in my 40’s. How would my life have been if I got everything I wanted in my 20’s

1. Tomatoes get their color from an antioxidant called lycopene.  Diets rich in lycopene have lower cancer rates.  2. Drink Red Vino.  Wine is packed with polyphenols, another antioxidant found in grapes.   Drinking moderate amounts of red with a meal can lower your risk of develpoing heart disease and diabetes.  3. Arugula, a type of leafy green is a great source of fiber that is loaded with antioxidants like vitamin C and beta-carotene. Mix up a salad using arugula, cherry tomatoes, shaved parmesan cheese. Add  olive oil and balsamic vinegar and Wha La..A  delicious, healthful  salad.  4.  Pasta, Whole Wheat Pasta has a lower glycemix index than white pasta.  Low GI foods are key to keeping blood sugar levels down.  5. Fruit, Peaches, Strawberries, Mangoes High in Vitamin A and C, high in fiber and minerals like potassium and magnesium. Fruit is low in calories.  Add to  your red wine, refrigerate for a refreshing summer drink. It tastes great and in moderate amounts is good for you. Or simply eat them as a snack! 6.  Pesce or Fish, lean protein, loaded with omega-3s like salmon.  Omega-3s protect the heart and reduce inflamation in the body.  7. Garlic, Your breath may smell, but garlic will aid in keeping your total cholesterol down as well as your blood pressure. Go heavy on the garlic for heart health, but remember to bring mints so everyone doesn’t run from away from you.   7 reasons to Eat like an Italian. Actually there is an 8th!   Sophia Loren… Need I say more!   Bon a Petito

What if today you could work in a job anywhere in the world what would it be…

Words that is!  Is there something you have said that you wish you didn’t or  you could just take back. I’m sure we all have uttered a few things we later regret.
Taking them back once they are out there can be very difficult if not impossible.

Especially the written word.  That’s the problem with words, they are very very powerful and they pack a punch. Hence the expression, “choose your words carefully.”  Honestly, If I could take back anything it wouldn’t actually be the words I’ve said to someone.  I have said a few things in my day that I probalby shouldn’t have, but no regrets. For me its more about the the time I’ve wasted saying them. I’ve learned through a great deal of aggrevation that sometimes you just have to get off your position!

It’s not that important to prove your point. As long as you feel convicted in your beliefs, then why waste your breath?  Use those precious minutes for something else. I know sometimes you have to be breathy and make a point,  as others will benefit from your words of wisdom. But, and I quote from a wonderfully insightful friend, ” Your friends don’t need it and your enemies won’t believe it.”  I know you don’t actually have enemies or at least I hope you don’t , but you get it,  right?  Save your energy and your words for things that matter. Moving forward say what you mean and mean what you say.  Once you’ve said it you can’t take it back.  If  it would  make you feel better to take something back go to http://www.whatifbag.com and Bag it. It can be really liberating to just get it get it off your chest.

Words equal power, they make us laugh and cry, they enlighten and entertain, seduce and surprise. Choice them wisely.  What if you could take something you’ve said back…what would it be.  For m it’s time, and I can’t get that back.  So, I’m going to spend my time  and energy with words that really matter!

I just read  someone’s opinion that “souls know their purpose,” including cases where a life is taken abruptly, violently or shortly after birth. “The soul is pre-programmed and knows it’s function,” and I’m quoting here.  Interesting thought to ponder?  It definitely got me thinking, as I have done many many times before. Thinking about why a baby dies, or loved one is killed at the hand of a drunk driver, or  watching someone you know and love deal with cancer.  Can those fates/souls be pre-programmed?  How unfair. To delve deeper into this concept, one has to believe that we have a soul in the first place, and that a person’s soul is completely separate from the body.  In other words, a soul is energy that is constant, it never dies even when the body does. I don’t know, I’m just putting it out there for discussion. Our logical mind tries to make sense if this concept. Quite frankly, I personally think it is always going to be a huge unknown. But people find comfort in many forms when confronted with  situations like I mention above. Sometimes these tragic events make us stronger, better more compassionate…  Life, Death, Faith… Do our souls have a predetermined purpose?  Until someone comes back from death with a video we can upload on U tube, I think we are all left with our beliefs and our faith to get us through and find peace with all this.  For me, I think it’s far better to believe in something than nothing at all.  I think we are all on journey from second one!  That everyone’s journey is different and unique, full of twists and turns, joy and sadness.  That you have to take the good with the bad and learn how to deal with both.  And that today, this very moment, is a gift and tomorrows are not guaranteed.  To take what comes to you and deal with it as best you can.  Sometimes bad things happen to good people, but yes definitely, good things happen too.  Continue to create what you want your life to be like. The rest, well it’s a journey! A soul purpose?  Maybe, but a journey non the less.  One that continues to unfold as long as we are lucky enough to be here.   And sometimes, as difficult as it is to understand,  It is enough for a soul to have just Touched The Earth….

Submitted as a Whatif  by a Dear sweet  friend who recently lost her Mom. She was a beautiful  Italian woman inside and out.  I’m lucky to have met her.  She so reminded me of my family, especially my Grandmother, also a beautiful Italian lady.  I think her words will speak to anyone out there who has lost their Mom.  Words do make us laugh as well as cry. But I believe there is also an ability to heal with the written word.  There is power in writing because you don’t need approval or a response you can just write from the heart and express yourself freely with no interruptions.

‎”What if Heaven had a phone?” ” If Heaven had a phone so I could hear your voice again. I thought of you today, but that is nothing new. I thought about you yesterday, and days before that too. I think of you in silence, I often speak your name. All I have are memories and a picture in a frame. Your memory is a keepsake, from which I’ll never part. God has you in his arms, I have you in my heart.”    Love you Mom 🙂

When you wanted it. What fun would that be? Really, think about it.  As much as it can be torturous at times.  Not getting what we want,exactly when we want it can actually be a very good thing. It makes us, or at least me, work better, try harder.   Like my Dad always says…”everything takes time.” But that doesn’t mean wasting time thinking about it.  Go out there and make things happen. “Good things come to those who wait,” right?  Well you can’t just wait, you have to work toward your goals.  I am a firm believer, if it’s meant to be it will happen. “Things happen for a reason.” Make your intentions clear, set a goal and most importantly never give up! I have to say looking back, It’s strange how life works. You just don’t alway get what you want! In my late twenties and thirties I didn’t get everything I wanted and for the most part drove myself crazy.  I worked really hard, sometimes too hard.  I was waiting and wanting something more,  beyond what was right in front of me.   Now I’m in my 40’s I’m good with the “now” and pretty darn content.  Not complacent but content.  And big surprise,  it has nothing to do  with “stuff” and everything to do with experiences and relationships, family and friends.    I wish the me of today, could have talked to the me of  20 years ago. I could have saved myself so much frustration.  “Enjoy what’s right in front of you. Celebrate the blessings in your life right now this moment.  Don’t worry about getting what’s yet to come or having this or that.  Because what  you eventually come to realize is that at the end of the day those “things” just aren’t important.  I guess the “wisdom thing” has to come at it’s own time too!

What if you could speed muscle recovery after a work out by drinking  low fat or fat free chocolate milk.  Drink it up!   According to researchers at the University of Connecticut.  “Diary drinkers had lower markers of muscle protein breakdown, suggesting the protein in milk provides a recovery advantage over carb only drinks.”  Eating Chocolate also helps minimize the inflammatory response of muscles in the body after working out.  Muscles recovery more rapidly therefore feel less sore and fatigued.  The key  is to drink it within 30 minutes after working out.  So, for those opposed to working out.  I say  focus on the upside, a nice big cold glass of chocolate milk just waiting for you!  And  dark chocolate has been linked to improving moods as it affects opiate production in the brain!