In Search of a Better Well Being!

As some of you know we, my husband and I are gearing up to quit smoking soon. We have been seriously talking about it since my husband's MS diagnosis.  MS patients that smoke have at least a 17% chance of faster progression than non smokers with MS. His neurologist that specializes in MS - also advised that he needs to quit!  We know we should, and have known this for a long time, but until 5 years ago we were invincible, and I am the most stubborn bitch on the planet!

So last week sometime, before the "Heavenly Ball" my mother told me that my sister's lenten prayers were for us to quit smoking... I was like "wow"... but put it in the back of my mind, as I do with most things I don't want to deal with...  ADD in it's finest form!  Saturday mom and I had a great time at the Heavenly Ball, with my sister and my brother in law, the food was fab as well as the music which included a live set by a man who could sing Frank Sinatra like no one's business!! He was that GOOD! Then after the meal the DJ took over and played your typical feel good, party music. What a wonderful group of people the Annie's Angels organization is!  I could go on and on but I will save it for a separate post, because honestly with everything they do, they deserve their own post! Right before we ready to leave my sister brings out a white shopping bag and hands it to me, she says "I originally bought you this for Christmas but had to exchange it, so consider it an early birthday present" so I open it and there is a "Miche" bag inside the white shopping bag! Miche bags are all the rage, they are a "base bag" with magnetic outer coverings... She got me a pink Croclike cover and one with Leopard print!! Yeah baby - I loved it and the leopard print matched my outfit perfectly! For those who don't know, this blondie loves anything with classy (not cheesy looking, cuz I know some of it is) LEOPARD PRINT!

We stayed over my sister's house Saturday and Sunday we went shopping, just us girls... Mom, sis, my nieces and me =)  After an afternoon of shopping we went back to my sisters for dinner, and we got to talking about the quitting smoking.  My sister grabbed a book that she is reading by Dr. Deepak Chopra, called "Perfect Health: The Complete Mind/Body Guide" and proceeds to read me the chapter she has already highlighted about quitting smoking and the "alternative" ways, which honestly, made a whole lot sense and I think that is what has gotten me interested into alternative ways of quitting that don't require the god forsaken "will power" and nasty medicine... I know I call the medicine nasty but continue to smoke, go figure...

• My sister does Yoga regularly and has been on a few "Yoga, Well Being" retreats.  Dr. Chopra was an Endocrinologist at the former Boston Regional Medical Center in Stoneham, MA, so that sparked an interest in itself for me.  She briefly got into "Ayurveda" - stating that she didn't want to overwhelm me and she was in the middle of cooking dinner.  Since then I have been researching Ayurveda myself, very intriguing... Anyone have thoughts on this, practiced or researched yourself? I would love any feedback!

Then we changed directions and I was telling my sister about a new thing I am working on that involves "essential oils", she then tells me that she has been looking into homeopathic remedies for a variety of things and "essential" oils and aromatherapy are a huge part of that. As we are talking about "essential oils" she tells my niece to go grab her shiny brown bag upstairs... My niece brings down a bag with about 10 or 12 little amber bottles of "essential oils"  my sister told me pretty much what the ones she uses are good for and I got to smell them..

She uses Aura Cacia & another brand that starts with Oshi...  I have been looking at a few different brands on Amazon because I have a gift card balance, checked out some reviews on the different brands etc... If anyone has any suggestions or feedback on essential oils please share!  I am open to all information =)

So right now I am on a quest for a better well being and I figure with a such a diverse gather family, maybe someone else out there knows what I am talking about..