FINDING GOD IN GOURMET
  • Home
  • Mai's Recipes
    • Appetizers, Dips and Sides
    • Busy Peeps
    • Breakfast and Brunch
    • Creative Cooking
    • Desserts and Baked Goods
    • Main Dishes
    • Salads , Soups and Dressings
  • Mai Blog
  • Bites of Wisdom
  • About Me
  • Contact

Mai's Table:  Recipes for Delicious Living

Subscribe to my youtube channel

LOOK FOR MY COLUMN IN MIDWEEK.COM IN THE VOICE WINDWARD SECTION

Happy Holidays

12/25/2022

0 Comments

 
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Holidays!

I’m reading a book called Moonwalking with Einstein.  It’s about improving your memory.  I’m halfway through it. The thing that struck me the most is that the reason time goes by quicker as we get older is because we do less and less memorable things!  What? Yup. When we are young, there are so many things that are new, surprising  and wonderful, but as we get older, especially as we get into the workforce, we get into a routine that is pretty mundane. Week after week  is a carbon copy of the last. They all run together without much to differentiate it. I can relate to that! How about you?

This time of year is full of traditions and various ways to celebrate, which make it more memorable.  My wish for all of us is that the coming years will be slowed down and made memorable by making it special. This can be done through traditions, and it doesn’t have to be just for the Holidays.

My Mom died in May and this is the first Christmas without her.  We used to have a big Christmas dinner at her house on Christmas day. Ham, special baked beans, and her delicious orange rolls were always on the menu. That tradition has gone with Mom’s passing, but we started a new tradition this year where we gathered on Christmas Eve day for brunch! We had French Toast, bacon, quiche and stuffin’ muffins.  It was so fun and we are looking forward to doing it again next year.

Think about what you can do to make every day special. What will your new traditions be? How will you keep the wonder of Life alive?

When I come to the end of my life, I want to be able to remember it well and specifically. I will be thinking of ways I can do that and will be sharing them with you.  I’d love to hear some of your ideas.

Warmest aloha to you. May you look for Spirit in all things, may you seek and find sustenance in all of Life.
0 Comments

Turning Holiday Blue-hoos into Holiday Woohoos!

12/18/2022

0 Comments

 
​Ah, the Holidays!  It is meant to be a time of celebration and enjoyment… right?  Too often it becomes a time of added stress and being overwhelmed. Here are some tips to shoo away the blues and bring in the woo:

  1. Be present. Be focused on each moment and whatever is in front of you. The opposite is to hurriedly check everything off on your to do list, to just to get it done. When you do everything in a hurry, your day is a blur and there is no woo. My definition of woo is magic, purpose, splendor, to savor!  You cannot have any woo when you are going through your day at break-neck speed.  Being focused means slowing it down. Being present is a gift to yourself and those around you.
  2. Plan ahead. The Holidays come sound every year at the same time. This means you have a year to plan, purchase, and prepare.  If you see something you know a loved one will enjoy, buy it ahead of time.  Black Friday and Cyber Mondays are great, but it adds a level of tension that I personally avoid. Are you crafty?  Make Christmas gifts in July. Sew, paint, embroider, throw pottery - create something special for your loved ones when there is plenty of time.  If you like to give goodies away during the Holidays, start baking in October and freeze your special treats.  
  3. Create rituals. Many people have rituals that are tied to their religion, which is wonderful and grounding.  Along with that, create your own rituals for yourself and your family. For over 60 years, my mom made sushi (nori maki and inarizushi) to give away at New Years.  This was a big job and it took the help of all of us girls to make all those norimaki  rolls and inari cones.  Some years we made as much as 50 rolls and over 100 cones to give away to family and friends. Every year Mom would say it was her last year to make the sushi, but she kept it up til her late nineties! This is the first year without my mom.  She passed away 12 days before she turned 99. My daughter wants to carry on the tradition, so we will be making sushi this year.  It will be bitter sweet; mostly sweet.
  4. Be grateful. You cannot be blue when you are grateful. Count your blessings. In order to keep myself in the attitude of gratitude, I would start counting my blessings while I drove 30 minutes to work.  After 5 minutes, I had to think hard about what I was thankful for.  I had to dig deep and start thanking God for things like challenges that brought growth.
  5. Be of service. Volunteer at a soup kitchen, or visit people in a Nursing Home. Call a local school and pay down a family's lunch bill. I did this anonymously every December while my daughter was in High School.  It was shocking to learn how many families were in need. It was a double blessing as I was just as happy to offer the help as I knew those families were to receive it. 

To you, my dear reader, whoever and wherever you are, may your blue-hoos fade and your woohoos flourish. God bless you.




0 Comments

Growth Can Only Be Experienced Outside Of Your Comfort Zone

12/11/2022

0 Comments

 
Have you ever noticed that you have to stretch to grow?  You can’t be in your comfort zone and grow.  It usually involves being scared and feeling uncomfortable.

I remember being in Nursing School and learning new ideas and concepts every day, I was scared out of my wits when I had to start practicing what I was learning. I will never forget putting in my first Foley catheter for this frail woman in her eighties.  Talk about feeling uncomfortable!  Like anything, after a while I put in so many catheters, it became easy.  

I went to the beach today and watched people kiteboarding and windsurfing. There was one guy in particular who was so comfortable and relaxed. He was beautiful to watch. He did all kinds of jumps, turns, twists and made flying on and above the water look easy.  I’m sure he didn’t start out that way. It took lots of practice. Remember that when you are scared and uncomfortable starting something new - with practice, it will one day be easy.

I pick topics in my blog to encourage others and myself! I’m learning new technology that comes with doing videos, social media, foodtography, email lists, courses, etc.  There is tons to learn. I’m uncomfortable a lot.  Tony Robbins suggests that we learn to get comfortable being uncomfortable.  I’m striving to do that AND to be excited to learn new things because one day…. One day, what I’m learning now, I’ll be comfortable doing. THAT is something to look forward to and to strive for.  We are here on this earth to evolve spiritually through learning and growing. The Universe is continually expanding, so it is only natural that as one of God’s creations, we should too.
0 Comments

Extra Baggage

12/4/2022

0 Comments

 
I’ve been doing a lot of traveling lately. Traveling for me involves a lot of luggage. I bring gifts when I visit friends and family, it’s the Hawaiian in me.. One suitcase is dedicated to gifts. But honestly, even without the gifts, I tend to carry too much around with me.  Life is full of symbolism, so it made me ask myself what am I carrying around that doesn’t serve me? 

Ooooh! I got a lot of answers to that question.  Here are a few: the weight of feeling unworthy, incapable, and incompetent. The negative thoughts like I’m too old, I don’t know how, I don’t have the resources.  Here’s some really heavy ones - regrets of the past,  like working too much while I was raising my daughter, decisions I wish I could change.  But here is the thing, I HAVE NO CONTROL OF THE PAST. I CAN’T CHANGE IT, none of us can.

So I imagined filling a large suitcase with all my regrets, negative thoughts, and self berating accusations. I made myself feel the weight of it. I recognized that I was being mean to myself by carrying it all. It is pointless.  I saw  myself lugging that baggage up to a high mountain top and throwing it off. As it fell, it caught on fire, it was gone.  Big sigh.

I could feel the relief. I felt lighter.  Afterwards, and this is important, I filled myself up with light and love. I filled the spaces where I was carrying all the weight - my mind, my heart, my gut, and I filled it with affirmations. I am worthy. I am capable, everything I need is within me. The Universe is limitless and I have access to all the resources I need to succeed and be happy. I am guided and directed in all things. I am blessed and protected in all ways. 

 I encourage you to do this, or a similar exercise.  It’s not a one and done thing. But we can get in the practice of catching ourselves when we think something negative about ourselves, or feel regret.  Take a breath. Make this moment forward one of positivity, of progress and of love.  You cannot be discouraged when you look at experiences as learning opportunities.  As Wayne Dyer said: Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it is always your choice. Choose to be your best self, every day, every hour, over and over.  

God bless you. If this was helpful, please share it.  Thank you.
0 Comments

    Author

    Spiritual Foodie, Soul Chef, Holistic RN, Healer

    Archives

    August 2025
    July 2025
    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • Mai's Recipes
    • Appetizers, Dips and Sides
    • Busy Peeps
    • Breakfast and Brunch
    • Creative Cooking
    • Desserts and Baked Goods
    • Main Dishes
    • Salads , Soups and Dressings
  • Mai Blog
  • Bites of Wisdom
  • About Me
  • Contact