Tribute Tuesday (one day late): Chocolate Covered Katie

So I know it’s not Tribute Wednesday, but to be totally honest, Tribute Tuesday was full of all sorts of things that kept me far far away from a keyboard.  It’s not all something I’m quite ready to share with the blog world yet, but let’s just say that change is never easy.  And the most difficult part is the uncertainty about whether the change is for the better or not. Certainly, in the moments of pain and discomfort it’s hard to believe that changing anything at anytime is ever a good idea.  I’d much rather things just be happy, sunshine and rainbows all the time, but I know that’s not realistic. I recently read a post about change by a blog-o-sphere friend Danasia.  It came through my feed just as some major changes were happening in my life, a perfect moment of blog serendipity, and came along with a quote from an unknown source that said “Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts.”

Personally…I am much more interested in this quote at the moment:

“May your life be filled, as mine has been, with love and laughter; and remember, when things are rough all you need is … Chocolate.”
― Geraldine Solon, Chocolicious

So, at a time when the last thing I want to think about is adventures and talking about my own life, and the only thing that sounds good is curling into a ball and cradling a pint of ice cream, I decided it was high time for another Tribute.

I won’t lie, I’m somewhat of an emotional eater.  I try to keep it under control now in the interest of my health, but when things get rough…I give myself at least one day for just no-holds-barred comfort food. Ordinarily that means making and eating an entire tin of brownies, or treating myself to a bag of Dove chocolates, but recently I’ve been trying pretty hard to cut out processed and unnatural foods, even in my comfort food binges.

Luckily, my sister Bella, who has as much a passion for indulging her sweet tooth as much as I do, introduced me to today’s tribute: Chocolate Covered Katie.

She’s a food blogger, but instead of blogging about all of those decadent “sometimes foods” as Cookie Monster would put it, she writes recipes that make dessert an “at least once a day food.” This makes my comfort food binge not only guilt-free but also allows me to extend it for as long as I freaking need it, since now I can eat things like…

Triple Chocolate Nutella Fudge

A big fat Cake Batter Milkshake

A healthy stack of Chocolate Chip Cookies

Or if I’m really feeling like I just need it injected straight into my veins, I can skip the oven all together and just get to the good part…the frosting, just a big shot of it, no cake necessary.

And, it’s all healthy, and all natural, and (I believe) all vegan too.

So thank you, Chocolate Covered Katie.  For making the rough times easier…or at the very least chocolatey-er.

And, as a tribute amendment, I would like to publicly thank all of those who are lending their support, kind words, and just sending love in general. Like I said, change isn’t easy, but having amazing and caring friends and family certainly makes it easier.  I love you all.

Tribute Tuesday (A New Tradition!): Amy Keast

I’ve only been blogging four months now, but I have met (virtually or in real life) so many inspiring people with inspiring stories.  My blog wouldn’t be what it is without the inspiration I get from these people, so…I’d like to start dedicating Tuesdays as a tribute to those people who show me that the extraordinary can be found anywhere and in anyone.

Amy Keast

I became acquainted with Amy early on, and I’m not sure exactly how I found her blog, but I’m glad I did.  The other thing I didn’t know was that commenting on her posts enters you in a drawing for a free reading.  Much to my surprise, I turned on my computer one day to a comment on my About page announcing that I’d won for that week.  I scheduled my phone reading for later that week, not knowing what to expect.

I’ve had psychic readings before, but nothing like what I walked away with from Amy.  Even as a complete stranger, she managed to tune in to me and what was going on in my life on a level that sometimes even my closest friends aren’t in on. You’d never even want to attempt to lie to her, let’s put it that way. Not only is it impressive, but it’s incredibly healing to have someone confirm that you’re headed in the right direction, or point you toward the right direction when you’re feeling a little lost.

Being an amazing intuitive isn’t the only reason Amy inspires me, though.  She’s the epitome of “living your truth.”  While she admits that sometimes it’s scary to share her gifts with others for fear of being judged, especially by those closest to her, it’s great to watch her kind of grow to be comfortable with the publicity that comes with bringing your most personal thoughts and beliefs to the blogosphere (does anyone actually call it that?).

She’s also an incredible mother, and writes frequently about her daughter who has similar intuitive gifts.    She speaks from her heart and encourages her daughter to do the same, something that I recognize my mother did for me while I was growing up. There’s no way I would have been as comfortable in my own skin as I am without a great example, and I’m sure the same will be true for her daughter.

So…this Tribute Tuesday, I’d like to thank Amy Keast for inspiring me on so many levels and of course for writing an extremely entertaining blog. 🙂  I encourage anyone who’s interested in intuitive readings or just the spirit world in general to check out Amy’s blog at amykeast.com