La Dolce Vita Retreats

Life is your art. An open, aware heart is your camera. A oneness with your world is your film. Your bright eyes, your easy smile is your museum. -Ansel Adams-

I sat down this morning to write about the Art of Living and realized that so many have eloquently and concisely spoken of it that I decided to share some of their thoughts. Each of the quotations are from artists in their own right, and I hope that the prose encourage you to reflect on your artist within you.

There is certainly an art to living. It starts with being present, in the now. It means realizing the difference between living and existing, or between living and surviving. The art of living requires that we approach life with an attitude of gratitude and abundance and be open to receiving and relishing its gifts.

Living in the now is making each moment more delicious, living and absorbing, taking action without fear of consequence and putting in the effort for the sake of involvement, without worry as to whether we will get our just rewards. Leanne Cadden

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. George Carlin

I used to be very concerned about making art, about my painting turning out ‘right.’ Now I feel that the life you make is the art; making a painting is just one part of that life. Judy Gehrlein

Life is now in session. Are you present? B. Copeland

What would it be like if you lived each day, each breath, as a work of art in progress? Imagine that you are a Masterpiece unfolding, every second of every day, a work of art taking form with every breath. Thomas Crum

Life is a song… sing it. Life is a game… play it. Life is a challenge… meet it. Life is a dream… realize it. Life is a sacrifice… offer it. Life is love… enjoy it. Sai Baba

Blessings,
Janice
janicebriggs@ladolcevitaretreats.com

To request your complimentary copy, email janicebriggs@ladolcevitaretreats.com

The two dogs need to be kept together so we are looking for a family that can take both of them. Beolw is additional information and the contact information for Mariann.

Here is some info about the “boys” that I have been sending those asking about them. Right now they are still at the boarding facility and we are awaiting to hear back as to how long we can hold them there. Once I have a definitive timeline I will email you and let you know.

Mikey & Riley have been through so much all I want is for them to have a forever home with a family that will love them as much as they love people.

When I rescued them – it was very sad – they had been locked in the house for about a week before anyone even knew they were there. You would think that they would hate people – but quite the opposite – they were afraid at first but so grateful to be taken out of the cold and dirty house. You see …..the family that abandoned them were squatters – they were living in the house for almost a year with no gas, electric or water. But through all that they still loved the family’s 5 kids and the mother. There were 2 pre-teen girls, one pre-teen boy, a special needs child and a younger girl about 5 in the family with whom they lived.

We were able to raise enough funding to have them vetted, neutered, vaccinated, heart worm tested, temperament tested and cat tested. They have been temperament tested and passed with flying colors- they love kids, dogs, cats and even birds! They were moved to the boarding facility where they are now – but they now need a forever home. Because they are co-dependent and rely deeply on each other – I am only looking to home them together as I believe for them to be separated would devastate each of them. They didn’t deserve to be abandoned – they are babies and don’t even know what happened to their family.

Mikey & Riley are just turning one year old this month. They are 45-50lbs and 55-60lbs. each. According to the vet who cared for them they are a mix of terrier, shepherd and hound among other things. They are house broken and obey simple commands. They are eager to learn so training them further would be fairly easy for someone who can spend a little time with them. They love to go to the park and run and play together. They are truly each other’s best friend. This is good because they keep each other company when their family is not around.

If I can answer any other questions for you please feel free to email me.

Any help you can offer is deeply appreciated by me and the boys – thanks again for opening your heart.

Mariann Smith
Founder, Owner and Chief Bubble Maker

7222 Elizabeth Avenue
Rockaway Beach, NY 11692
718-474-1705
718-945-1939 (Fax)
www.justbubbly.com
www.childrenstreasures.com

I’m not going to talk about 2009 in the context of positives and negatives, challenges or opportunities. I’m going to briefly discuss some of the information I learned from one year of researching what women want. I thought I’d put the concepts in an A-Z format referencing experiences we provide at La Dolce Vita Retreats and then each day focus on one aspect. Of course we would love to have you participate at one of our women’s retreats but, even if you are not able to join us, we hope this will be information you can use in your daily life to create a life of balance and wellness.

The A-Z Benefits of Womens Retreats:

A- Discover the ART OF LIVING; art classes to stimulate creativity aand imagination; abundance journaling; Amalfi Coast

B- the Butterfly Principle

C- Celebrate; camaraderie; coaching; Cote d’Azur

D- Discover your own dance;dare to dream;discussions of women’s issues

E- Essential self; new experiences; exercise; energy

F- Freedom to do nothing; fun; foods of the region; France; Florence

G- Growth – mind, body, spirit;gratitude journaling; goals

H- Health and Wellness; hiking;hobbies;history

I- Inward focus; I; Italy

J- the art of Journaling

K- Knowledge

L- Laughter is the best medicine; Life enhancement;

M- Meditation; Mediterranean diet; miracle moments; Mallorca; mission

N- Nourish; nurture; explore Next Chapter;nutrition; now

O- Om; open markets; outdoor activities

P- Prana; power walks; pilates; peace; Portofino; present; permission

Q- Quest for excellence and balance; quiet

R- respite; relax; refresh; renew; recharge; reflect; read; Ravello

S- Serenity; spa; sisterhood; sharing; Spain; slow travel; soul; self

T- Travel; transformation

U- Understanding; universe

V- Vision; values; value

W-workshops; wellness; worth; wonder; way; why

X- (E)xplore; (e)xpress; (e)xperience; (e)exhale

Y- Yoga; yourself; You; yes

Z- Zen; zest for life

Blessings,
Janice

I received this note from a colleague and thought I’d share the information just in case anyone wants to improve their blogging:

It’s Darren Rowse’s 31 Days To Build A Better Blog workbook. If you don’t know who Darren Rowse is, he owns problogger.net (he makes a significant full-time income blogging). I got this (sorry to say) quite a few months ago, I went through most of it, but hadn’t implemented much. As my business has grown the last few months, I’ve decided to go back through the workbook and actually IMPLEMENT what I read. I’m a bit embarassed by some of the things I haven’t corrected or am not doing. Which is why I think this is an EXTREMELY important tool for anyone with a WordPress site! Even if you’re strictly using your site as a CMS…you’ll find VERY useful and valuable information.