Springtime Down South + Joy Journaling + Spring Rolls

Spring officially starts this week and I am so ready for it after a very cold winter by Charlotte, North Carolina standards. My poor husband had to cancel many of his regular bike rides this winter due to below freezing temps which are not that common in these parts. Simon has a bit of Reynaud’s Syndrome where his fingers and toes go numb and blue and take forever to thaw out. Once it’s solidly below ~40 degrees, even with biking 20-50 miles, his poor little tootsies freeze right up.

This week is a quick newsletter reflecting on Springtime and cultivating more joy in life. When I lived in Michigan, Spring was my least favorite season. Spring meant brown, dirt, salt, and mud. IYKYK upper Midwest friends! Snow piles would start to melt. Nothing was growing yet. There were remnants of grit and salt from snowplows all winter long. It was usually cold with occasional peeks at sun and warmth. We often had snow flurries well into Spring. Blah.

Since moving down South, I finally see why some people love Spring. It is BEAUTIFUL in Memphis and Charlotte in the Springtime. There is rarely any snow in the winter. Definitely no snow plows or salt trucks to leave residue over everything. In Spring, the grass gets green, trees bud early, everything is in bloom, birds are chirping. It is warm but not too hot yet. Perfect temps for sitting on patios at restaurants, coffee shops, and pubs, and just soaking in the warmth and sunshine.

What I love most is going for walks in the neighborhood and seeing all of the different flowers that we don’t have up North or wouldn’t be in bloom until almost summer. We have irises, tulips, daffodils, forsythia, all of the standard Spring flowers. We also have azaleas, wisteria, camellias, hibiscus. Tons of flowering trees including lilacs, magnolias in many colors, dogwoods, and fruit trees. More blooms than I can even name. These are just the beauties I have learned since moving down South a decade ago. I have come to really love Spring down South (even with the pollen that actually coats cars in an entire film of yellow ).

Spring now puts a pep in my step and gets me outside for regular walks and enjoying all of those flowers. I hope you get to enjoy some warmth and flowers wherever you are living.

This Week’s Shot of MINDSET

Simon bought me a new journal for Christmas. It is a Commit 30 Joy & Gratitude Journal. I wasn’t expecting it. I did ask for a new planner and a pretty journal (expecting blank) and got this little beauty. I write in it a few times every week and it has brought me a lot of… JOY.

It has space every day to write down:

What I am grateful for
What I am willing to let go of to choose JOY
What I will focus on to choose JOY
Things that brought me JOY that day
A checklist of self-care actions to feel good and allow more JOY
Room to journal a bit about the day

I just wanted to share this as it has really helped me with my mindset when I pause and take about 10 minutes to fill out a page in my Joy Journal. You certainly don’t need this particular journal dedicated to Joy. You can make your own lists of things you are grateful for, willing to let go, and things you can focus on that bring you joy.

Taking a few moments to pause and think about all of the good in life and all of the fun, happy, joyful moments & memories makes a huge shift for the better with thoughts and mindset.

This Week’s Shot of HEALTH

Spring Rolls for Spring! I used to think making these little rice paper wrapped beauties was so gourmet and beyond my kitchen skills. Best left to the chefs at Asian restaurants.

I was definitely wrong. Making spring rolls is really quick and easy. Get some rice paper wraps sold in Asian markets or the international aisle of any grocery store. Chuck in a variety of Spring veggies, fresh cilantro if you love it, noodles or rice for more starch energy, and protein of your choice (we love marinated tempeh or tofu). Throw together a peanut sauce in your blender or just a buy a bottle of premade. Voila! Perfect Vietnamese feast.

Simon and I get a little assembly line going. He is an awesome sous chef who can chop veggies just like a professional chef. He slices and dices all of the fillings and has them in little piles ready to go. He dips the rice papers in a pie plate of water to make them pliable. Plops it on the cutting board for me to fill and wrap.

I was a ‘Sandwich Artist’ (worked at a Subway sandwich shop) in college and learned how to perfectly wrap each sandwich. Those mad wrapping skillz come in handy often . We can wrap up about a dozen Spring Rolls in no time at all. Throw them on a big tray and dip away. This recipe is great for Spring when you have a big variety of Spring veggies on hand. We also love it in the summer down South when it is so hot & humid and we want a cold, refreshing meal.

THIS RECIPE from Minimalist Baker is simple and gives you lots of options and excellent guidance. You can use peanut butter instead of almond butter for the sauce if that’s what you have, totally delicious option. You can buy pre-packaged marinated tofu or tempeh to make it simpler. Trader Joe’s has an awesome baked Sriracha tofu. Give them a try at home if you’ve never attempted homemade Spring Rolls. You will be amazed at how easy they are to prepare and how beautiful your creations are.

If you are interested in using the power of the mind to uplevel your life, I share mindset expertise every week, along with fun & insightful stories from my own life path from 80s hair band superfan to chemical engineer to health & mindset coach (what a journey!).

You will also see plenty of health promoting tips and recipes because I am blown away by the power of intermittent fasting + a healthy diet to prevent & reverse just about any health concern Mindset plays a big part in health and healing too, the power of the Mind Body connection is pretty mind blowing.