If you and your family have a fun Thanksgiving meal planned, including the desserts, but you would rather avoid some of the caloric overload, without missing out on the sweet treats, consider replacing some of the yummy offerings with tea, for your own menu. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Today is DAY TWO of a #selfloveuprising in my cozy self-care Facebook group. It's a 3-day self-care challenge, and I'd love it if you joined us. As women, we get bombarded with negative messages that can undermine our self-love. Let's make a pact to love ourselves more. Join us here. Or, get more info about it from Sunday's post here. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~As a Sipology consultant, I know their tea has all of the above. Here are several Thanksgiving-treat teas to try... Cozy Pumpkin Swirl Chai... Black tea, Cinnamon chips, Cloves, Carrot bits, Apple bits, Sea buckthorn peel, Ginger, Turmeric root, Orange wedges, Pumpkin bits, Anise, Natural flavors. Pumpkin Pie Ingredients: Rooibos tea, Safflowers, Natural flavors. Apple Crumble Ingredients: Black tea, Apple pieces, Cinnamon, Blackberry leaves, Safflower petals, Natural flavors. Contains Naturally Occurring Caffeine Canadian Maple Latte... (this one has have added sugar) Ingredients: Sugar (maple sugar), Black tea, Cinnamon, Calendula petals, Sunflower petals, Vanilla bean, Natural flavors. You may be able to find similar ones in stores near you, but if you do indulge on Thanksgiving Day, at least you can have these teas as your sweet treats for the rest of the holiday season. To order tea, go to bit.ly/jeanines-tea. See you tomorrow! Love, Jeanine ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~P.S. I'm participating in a 30-day blog challenge and today's prompt is to see if your blog readers will share an image that we post on Facebook. I would prefer sharing my video, and would love it if you'd share it, too. The post is on my page. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
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Thanksgiving DinnerStill deciding about your Thanksgiving Dinner Menu? Here's a suggested menu below, and some Thanksgiving recipes you can use if you want to try a menu item but aren't sure about how to make it. I've also got a free printable Thanksgiving menu planner below. Let me know what you decide or have decided on, in the comments. Frankly, I am still deciding. My son does not really care to celebrate, this year, so I am choosing for myself, and am not sure how much fuss I want to make about it. And we've got an invitation to dine with friends (*cough* plus one guest who is not a friend. *cough*), so I have that to decide. See you tomorrow! Love, Jeanine Thanksgiving |
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Today is DAY ONE of a #selfloveuprising
in my cozy self-care Facebook group. It's a
3-day self-care challenge, and I'd love it if
you joined us. As women, we get bombarded
with negative messages that can undermine
our self-love. Let's make a pact to love
ourselves more. Join us here. Or, get more
info about it from yesterday's post here.
in my cozy self-care Facebook group. It's a
3-day self-care challenge, and I'd love it if
you joined us. As women, we get bombarded
with negative messages that can undermine
our self-love. Let's make a pact to love
ourselves more. Join us here. Or, get more
info about it from yesterday's post here.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Tomorrow, we're starting a #selfloveuprising
in my cozy self-care Facebook group. It's a
3-day self-care challenge, and I'd love it if
you joined us. As women, we get bombarded
with negative messages that can undermine
our self-love. Let's make a pact to love
ourselves more. Join us here.
in my cozy self-care Facebook group. It's a
3-day self-care challenge, and I'd love it if
you joined us. As women, we get bombarded
with negative messages that can undermine
our self-love. Let's make a pact to love
ourselves more. Join us here.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I am so thrilled with the work, the activism and the message The Body Shop at Home is doing & sharing that I decided to join. And for anyone who participates in the challenge, and makes a purchase of $10 or more this week (through Cyber Monday), I will give my self-love kit to you...
GUIDED MEDITATIONS...
3 guided meditations, 2 of which are professionally recorded, & one that is written but is a video.
You can download them all from my giveaway page…
-Self-Love Meditation
-Letting Go of Regret
-Muscle Relaxation
3 SELF-LOVE ARTICLES…
-The Secret to Loving Yourself
-Increasing Self-Worth in Challenging Circumstances
-Foolproof Formula for Believing in Yourself
But whether or not you purchase anything, I'll hope you'll join the group and participate in the challenge. Each day, I'll be giving you a new self-love exercise or activity to do.
Join us here.
Where would you fall on the scale of self-love (1-10) if you measured it? Are you able to be kind to and compassionate with yourself consistently?
See you next time!
Love, Jeanine
In the Hallmarkies Book Club, on Facebook we read romance novels published by Hallmark, and occasionally, one or two that have been published elsewhere. And once we get to the end of October or beginning of November, it's all Christmas, all the time. :)
We're just finishing up with On Christmas Avenue, by Ginny Baird, and I had to read it pretty quickly in order to catch up, because I got a late start.
On Christmas Avenue:
My Confession

Y'all - I didn't read it!
I hate to do a bait and switch, but when I got about a tenth of the way through it, I just knew I didn't want to finish it.
I'm usually up for "we're about to lose the..." store, factory, or town, but this was a very slow-moving plot and I just could not stay with it.
Christmas at
Fireside Cabins
So, instead, I am reading Christmas at Fireside Cabins by Jenny Hale. I chose it next, because I always love her books, so it was a sure thing.
And although there is a character I am not yet crazy about, I do like the book! It's neat to get to know the main character, who, after a little bit of deception about the state of the fireside cabins when she rented them over the phone, is nonetheless being very kind to the elderly woman who owns them.
I definitely recommend this book if you are looking for a warmhearted holiday read.
And when you're done, her other books are great, too.
Have you been doing any Christmas reading yet? If not, comment and tell me what you are reading, or the last book you read.
See you tomorrow!
Love, Jeanine
What do you do to nurture your mind, body, soul and spirit? Have you tried any of these suggestions above?
If there are any you haven't tried, I encourage you to find a little time to try it today.
See you tomorrow!
Love, Jeanine
Being kind to yourself promotes happiness and confidence, how you treat yourself sets the tone for how others will treat you. - minimalismmadesimple.com
Which one of these do you find most challenging?
Idea - take one of these each day this week, starting today, and evaluate how kind you are to yourself in that area, and if anything needs tweaking based on what you are remembering. By the end of the week, you'll probably be thinking of yourself in a kinder way, and you'll have some ideas about how to improve in any of the areas that need it.
See you next time!
Love, Jeanine
According to psychologist Deborah Serani, “Christmas decorating will spike dopamine, a feel-good hormone. It does create that neurological shift that can produce happiness. - todaysmama.com
What Makes Us Happy:
It's Easy as 1-2-3
Three feel-good brain chemicals are responsible for the happiness you experience - dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin. And they are in abundant supply during the Christmas season, making it the most wonderful time of the year.
The joy surrounding Christmas may influence some of the chemicals in your brain (dopamine and serotonin) which affect your happiness levels. Dopamine is known to be involved with reward-driven behaviour and pleasure seeking and serotonin is thought to increase our feelings of worth and belonging. So when people talk about Christmas cheer they may be on to something. - 5 Ways Christmas Affects Your Brain
Of Course, You Love
Christmas
So it’s no wonder you love Hallmark Christmas movies so much. You get to experience dopamine rushes and serotonin increases over and over again.
And researchers tied the togetherness we often experience during the Christmas season with an increase of the hormone oxytocin.
For those of us who get depressed because we are sensitive to the loss of sunlight during the winter season, or who are grieving a loss, those moments, available 24 hours a day, would be very powerful indeed.
And anyone who has challenges that get in the way of experiencing everyday happiness would be well-served by frequent exposure to the Hallmark Christmas movie phenomenon.
But once Christmas is over, you lose it as an anchor, or a reliable source of those brain chemicals. Which means you need something to replace it.
That problem of needing and choosing replacements is what we will be taking about next week.
See you tomorrow!
Love, Jeanine
Last week, I took time off to rest, to recuperate after being sick, and to create a sort of sacred retreat for myself. Each day, I pulled a tarot card or two, for intuitive guidance.
It was very illuminating, and I wanted to share some of the cards I pulled in this post, as well as the conclusion I came to, after I thought I was finished with this post...
Strength
FRIDAY NIGHT
Lead with a bold, kind heart. Gentle healing builds resilience. Power sweetened is strength unmatched. Courage dwells in the soft spirit. Meet adversity with inner fire. You have the power to persevere.
Adelita of Air
SATURDAY NIGHT
Shout, sing and scream. Declare your truth loudly and without fear. The Adelita of Air is a champion of truth.
Hmm. For half a week, I have been immersed in exploring parallel lives and dimensional wholeness. I read the book, Pull Yourself Together, by Rebecca Whitecotton.
I think that card might be referring to sharing my thoughts about alternate realities, and my interest in the possibility of offering self-love & healing for all the selves you have ever been. But also, it is probably about being me more, in all the ways.
I have been told that my voice is powerful, soothing and healing, and maybe this is reminding me that it is my responsibility to use it as a messenger.
Three of Fire
Delight in your own unique expression. Creative inspiration will last longer than one season. Allow your ideas to find wildly original expressions. Remain enthusiastically committed to your goals.
I think this might be guidance for the work I do. It's hard to stand out and not look like the others.
But even more importantly, I think it's about not letting my own enthusiasm wane. Though I am multi-passionate, I think there are times that I give up on my ideas too soon.
It's like I abandon myself because of fear and self-doubt, and this reading encourages me not to do that anymore.
Eight of Water
SUNDAY NIGHT
After taking the weekend off, but actually, doing at least a few things that weren't exactly retreat-like, I was thinking of the next day as a day when I might go back to tackling my to-do list. And then, I got this card...
Seek the depths of rest. "Sleep is the best meditation." - The Dalai Lama. Relax, recover, recuperate. You may be overextended and weary. Do you need to step away from commitments?
So there it was again, the message to make time to retreat. But this one adds that I should allow myself to recuperate, and that is interesting, because I have been sick. I started this challenge with a plague (I exaggerate) and was planning to just keep right on going.
Which means that in addition to creating a feeling of sanctuary, this retreat is really about resting and recuperating.
And so it continued...
The Moon
MONDAY AFTERNOON
So, the first thing to know about Monday is that I cheated, and spent about 45 minutes doing WORK in the middle of my retreat day.
But it felt inspired! I was meditating and suddenly, I got this sort of download of an idea for a video for one of my groups, and I wanted to capture it before I forgot.
If I had stopped there, it would only be a 6-minute cheat. But then, I uploaded it to the group and the website, and created a graphic and before you know it, 45 minutes was gone. Ah, well.
But I also fell down the well with this book I was reading. I was learning a lot and one chapter became three.
So by the time I got to the Moon, I didn't really care what it had to say, LOL. I had run our of fuel.
But my takeaway from the card is to spend time being open to intuitive guidance because "intuitive awakening awaits."
It also encourages me to embrace vibrational medicine - which may be a clue about the new spin on an ancient calling or remedy message that I keep getting.
And it reminds me to connect with the moon, which I have gotten away from doing.
Six of Fire
TUESDAY MORNING
I actually remembered in the morning that I wanted to pull a card, and wondered if doing so would give me a message that would inform the way I spent my day.
Call the circle. Make some magic. Raise a little power for healing & transformation. Your ability to bring people together creates magic.
This card's message also mentions celebrating myself and my friends, and using creativity to do things with my own personal flair. It encourages me both to "dance to my own beat" and to be in harmony with others.
Using sacred time to magnify joy and accepting my role as a leader of my own community were also part of the message.
Rather than being about how to spend my day, it seems to be more general guidance about my work, and possibly about something I am planning for January.
But it may also affect one of my plans for today - I am writing this part of the post on Tuesday.
I feel guided to start writing the revisions on my book today, and it may be guidance meant for that, too.
I may pause for a few minutes to think about that before I start writing. And maybe see if I can step into the card in a meditative moment.
After the reading last Tuesday, I started to forget to do them. So altogether, I only had 6 days of tarot wisdom, but I intended at least a week of readings.
On Thursday, I did do one for 11/11 as part of an online manifesting ritual, but I just did not feel like posting those cards, several of which I have pulled and written about before.
There was one that stand out because it said, "she makes lots of remedies," so I am happy to share that piece since I am remembering it now.
So we move on to today's reading, on Monday, the 15th...
The High Priestess
MONDAY AFTERNOON
Follow the fragrance of mystery.
The mystery summons the awakened one.
Awaken ancient memory.
Answer the call.
The card also suggested that I could increase my access to intuitive guidance through dreams and visions.
In thinking about what this might mean in the contest of my own life, I am thinking about creating aromatic blends, using essential oils, and priestessing, possibly using healing or shamanic journeys.
I used to love to create essential oil blends.
And I have started to meditate more, so I would love to have some intuitive insight on the whole ancient part of these readings.
Do let me know if any of you reading this see a big picture I might be missing!
Meanwhile, I believe that that retreat and rest time was good for me, and I think I need to change the way I spend my time even more than I have done, so that I get even more rest, and stillness.
I have mixed feelings about being back, and about finishing the challenge, even though I have written all of the remaining posts ahead of time.
When The High Priestess shows up in a reading she may be asking you to recall ancient wisdom to help you on your present journey. You may need to take a break from the madness of everyday life, be calm and meditate. You are wise, but at this time you may need to pay attention to your inner world more than your external world. - Suzanne R. Banks
As I was saying, I feel like I need more retreat time, but have not figured out how to do that and this challenge, and finish the book, and so on. So if you don't see me for a while, again, that will be why.
I've Got Questions
(1) Do you ever do intuitive readings?
(2) Have you ever had an insight or revelation come to you in a dream or a vision?
(3) Do you ever sense that there is more to know about your own calling or life purpose?
See you next time!
Love, Jeanine
Postscript :)

P.S. Re-read the High Priestess part of this reading if you need context. That's the card I pulled today, and I wasn't completely sure what the Herbcrafters interpretation meant for me, personally. So I added to this post, finished it & scheduled the posting.
Then, hours later, I came across a quiz (again, I got High Priestess as a result), an information about a 3000-year-old - ancient? - secret mystery school for scent priestesses.
I Googled scent priestess, found a training/school and it said this in its description...
I Googled scent priestess, found a training/school and it said this in its description...
Immerse yourself into the ancient rites and mysteries of anointing. ... learning the art of anointing using high frequency oils combined with sound and gem stones. In Gate One you will learn the art of anointing using specific oils on the body for consecration, deep emotional release, and transformation. -Scent Priestess Training, EmeraldTemple.com
So I am thinking the "fresh look at an ancient calling" messages I keep getting, along with hints that remind me of essential oils, must be connected, and I just may have landed on it, with the idea of a modern scent priestess.
I'm a certified spiritual aromatherapist, but have been ignoring that, for years now. I don't even have any essential oils, right now, so that will need to change. Might add some to my wish list for Christmas.
And this is going on my Christmas wish list, too...
Withdraw into sacred solitude. Rest and stillness are good medicine. Go within and listen to your own voice. - The Hermit, The Herbcrafters Tarot
Withdraw into
Sacred Solitude
This was not the post I had planned for today.
But after reading the comments from yesterday' post, and then, re-reading the post, itself, I decided to pull a card just to see what it would say, and The Hermit was that card.
The Hermit
The Hermit is not just about spending time alone, though that is often part of it. But it is more about self-reflection and contemplation.
And I think that for me, it means that I need a time out for guidance.
So, I think I am going to take a week off from this challenge and probably, social media, too.
But I'll be back!
See you then.
Love, Jeanine
Hi, I'm Jeanine
Professional elf, transformation coach and self-care healer.
Do you love Christmas so much that you start to miss it even before it's over? Me, too!!
I've dedicated 2022 to creating a Hallmark Christmas lifestyle.
Stay tuned, if you also love Hallmark Christmas movies, but feel sad when the season ends. I'll help you stay connected to Christmas all year long.
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