If your new year’s resolution is now a shadow of a resolution, fret not. try again. new resolution! it’s still january, so the statute of limitations is on your side… but before you come up with a resolution for round 2, read astro shrink’s advice: (photo)

Resolution with a Twist:
At this time of year why do we make resolutions to do and be better when we know they typically crash and burn around January 2nd?

Perhaps Edith Lovejoy Price explained our New Year’s quest for a fresh slate when she said, “We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.”

As the old year ends, we look to what changes we can make for a better new year. We resolve to begin this change January 1st on a clean slate. But as January gets underway, declarations begin to fade. Whether to exercise more, stop smoking, drink less, eat better, stop buying lattes, save money, recycle, conserve gas, or be more attentive with family, they leave a mild sense of defeat in their wake.

Oprah Winfrey said, “Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.” This “getting it right” links to a desire to feel good, both about yourself and your life.

So it’s interesting to note that New Year’s resolutions often involve giving up something you like (smoking, alcohol, lattes, shopping) or adding into your life something not wanted (more salads, regular visits to the gym, phone calls to mom every Sunday). No wonder it’s said a “New Year’s resolution goes in one year and out the other.”

After all, we are meant to follow our bliss, find our joy, be creative, live with a sense of purpose. When we don’t, we find ourselves on the psychiatrist’s couch or in the doctor’s office, unfulfilled.

The premise of the typical New Year’s resolution is to do something new that improves life, but in fact, it often is destined for failure because it is in conflict with what you truly want. One way to be more successful is to focus on how you want to feel.

Let’s assume you want to feel energetic, healthy, happy, and safe. You want to feel loved by others while having compassion toward them. Alter your idea that you have to do something significant in order to get there.

Focus more on the “what” rather than the “how.” It’s likely counter to what you’ve been taught. Most of us are taught to go out and make things happen, often when we aren’t clear on what underlies the desire to make them happen in the first place.

Many people are living lives they think they want, yet they are unhappy. They haven’t stopped to ask themselves how they want to feel each day. This is why resolutions get dropped like hot potatoes. They don’t feel good.

If you resolve to lose weight, first determine how you want to feel. Simply wanting to lose weight isn’t enough. Do you want to feel more energy? Do you want to feel more loved and accepted by society? Do you want to feel happy? Are you afraid your health is suffering and you want to feel more secure that your weight is just fine? Get clear on your intention around losing weight then focus on that intention. Make how you want to feel in the coming year the focus of your New Year’s resolution, rather than simply losing weight.

If you want to save money, go to how you want to feel first. What is it about saving money that feels good? A sense of security? Excitement? An inspiring challenge?

If you want to quit smoking, how do you want to feel every day? Peaceful? Calm? More loved?

Determine the underlying feeling you want to experience. Turn this into your resolution. This clarity will help make it happen. It’s not something you can drop that easily because you truly want it. It’s always there, beckoning you.

RESOLUTION WITH A TWIST:
1.5 oz pisco or vodka
.5 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice
10 dashes aromatic bitters
.5 oz simple syrup (raw sugar)
champagne

Shake over ice. Strain into flute.
Fill with champagne. Gently stir. garnish with a twist.

*Simple Syrup: equal parts sugar/water
(substitute stevia for sugar for no calories or glycemic index)

Cheers to a successful New Year’s Resolution!

Dr. Christina Grant is a holistic healer and spiritual counselor who uses astrology in her work to help people better understand their purpose and life circumstances. She works in person and by phone. She has helped hundreds of people attain physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being through personal transformation. Her writing is published nationwide. For more information, to contact her, schedule a session, sign up to receive her newsletter, or to read her blog, see WWW.CHRISTINAGRANT.COM

ring in the new year with style, sophistication, and libation… with a champagne cocktail in your hand. a glass of bubbly is fine enough–but a champagne cocktail is simply grand! make your new years resolution to become a cocktail aficionado, and start at midnight! cheers to a healthy and prosperous new year filled with abundance!

It is not everyone that can celebrate being 500 years old. Back in 1510 the Benedictine monk Dom Bernardo Vincelli created a mythical elixir… and that alchemical creation is still called for today in the world’s most famed cocktail lounges. here’s an easy peasy recipe made with the famed 500-year-old benedictine liqueur:

THE BENEDICTION

3/4 oz. Benedictine Liqueur
Dash of orange bitters
Top with champagne

Add Benedictine to a champagne flute. Add the bitters and fill with champagne.

The Benedictine Limited Edition bottle is $32 at fine spirit shops

henri bendel through holiday with our new wine glasses. our cocktail candles, of course, will also be available. cheers!

cheers to EXAMINER.COM’s jackie silver, for toasting our SHOT GLASS CANDLES!

VIA EXAMINER:
“Based on Medieval Herbal Astrology, plants have signs like people, according to “mixologist” and artist Gwen Sutherland Kaiser, founder of Intoxicated Zodiac, a company that offers “Cocktail-inspired Shot Glass Candles” based on Astrology. Each candle’s Zodiac sign has an exclusive scent which is associated with its unique cocktail recipe.

Kaiser created a cocktail recipe and astrological illustration for each sign. Her experience as a Manhattan bartender, New York product designer and life-long astrology buff led her to create Intoxicated Zodiac, Astrology of the Cocktail. Intoxicated Zodiac blends, shakes and serves up those famous bar scene lines with a twist… “What’s your sign? Can I buy you a drink? C’mon baby light my fire!” Her favorite line these days is, “do you have Martini rising?”

The recipes use plants, herbs and flowers associated with each individual sign. In Medieval times, those who could not afford traditional medicine cured themselves with the supportive and nurturing plants of their sun sign. Today, this topic is enjoying renewed interest as people realize the enormous healing potential of botanicals. This uncommon collection has been formulated using the work of renowned herbalist, Nicholas Culpeper, as a guide. In his book, Heal Thyself, Culpeper identified the Zodiac sign of each and every plant he found. This book is still in print today, 300 years later.

The Shot Glass Candle retails for $14 and is available in New York at Henri Bendel through the holidays. They can be purchased year-round at IntoxicatedZodiac.com.”

if you’re stuck for stuffers for the man in your life (or the stiff-drinkin’ woman) consider yourself… unstuck. santa has just delivered the most awesome little drams of whisky, right to my door—hey, i don’t have a chimney. each dram is a dream come true for whisky fans… because it’s actually a handmade sample of the highest caliber scottish malt; bottled and sealed with an authentic wax closure; an ancient-looking label adorning its front. as a graphic design and product junkie, it is simply too cool for me open, for each sample dram is a piece of art in itself. when your “stocking stuffee” does actually break down and open one of santa’s sample drams, they’ll be able to choose their favorite… and with one bottle, their birthday present quandary is solved! MASTERS OF MALT is great for gifts, even when gifting yourself ; )

here’s what was in the collection of samples i received to give you an idea of the fineness of spirit available:
1. Master of Malt Bowmore 26 Year Old

2. Ichiro’s Malt 1991 Five of Clubs

3. Master of Malt Arran 12 Year Old Single Cask

4. Bruichladdich Octomore 02.2 Orpheus

Our Intoxicated Zodiac candles will be in Henri Bendel through holiday. Swing by and pick up the perfect stocking stuffer, birthday present, hostess gift, or haunakah present. Because all the best gifts come in brown and white boxes ; ) Imbibe Wisely, Live Healthy, Love Freely, Burn Safely… Cheers to a blessed yuletide season!

Before Charon commences her column, let me just say a big THANK YOU back, for her excellent blogging ability! Let it also be known that no, Charon was not in NYC the night before the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, but I was…. totally by accident. the pics came out pretty cool though… And without further ado, Charon:

It’s been a wonderful year here at IZ and I humbly and gratefully thank Gwen for the opportunity to be a part of the family. I have learned a great deal from her and all of the other guest bloggers here and my life has been enriched for it all. You, dear readers, are also being held in gratitude, for without you, none of us would be nearly as compelled to share our thoughts and recipes in the manner and with the frequency that we do.

Thanks and sharing thank you’s is an integral part of this time of year as we move into the Holiday Season as denoted on the European calendar. For a great many of us, that Season began with the Turning of the Year as noted on the old Celtic calendar on the last day of October.

A lot has happened for which I give an enormous amount of thanks. I had a birthday this month. The day prior I was married to my Best Friend by another very dear friend to us both who opened her home and attached grounds to us for the ceremony and ensuing celebration. A great many people from very far distances were in attendance, including one of my dearest friends, whom I have known since we were 4 and 6 years of age respectively.

As I write this I am a few miles from the home of my eldest brother and enjoying the remainder of the autumn leaves in a gorgeous campground. In another few hours we will join him in his home at the end of a mile long driveway atop a tall hill to share libations, stories and fellowship with other members of our extended and expanded family. Next week I share the home of our middle brother, his wife and my nephew as we prepare to join our parents for the Thanksgiving Holiday. Following that, we are with family of our own choosing, those persons whom you know from times Before and with whom you share an inexplicable but very solid bond from the moment you meet and exchange greetings.

Yes, indeed. There is a lot to be thankful for and a lot to hold in gratitude.

Even during some of my worst years, times in which eating was often a questionable possibility and utilities were many months behind in payments, I still found the changing leaves to be a comfort, the smell of wood smoke to be a reminder that conditions weren’t at all permanent. Even when things seemed bleakest and sleep was a treasured commodity in between bouts of stress over where the next few dollars would come from to keep a roof over my head I never ever stopped looking at the goodness about me.

I suppose you’d say I’m one of those blissfully ignorant optimists. But I will steadfastly maintain that ignorance is the polar opposite of optimism. Optimism, which contains a root word shared by “optimum,” and “optimal,” isn’t about being unaware or a refusal to face what most would call reality. It is about choosing what parts of the reality around and about you best serve you. It is about taking the power that Scorpio wields and putting it to good use towards manifesting what you desire rather than allowing it to fan out in chaos. It is about using the balance provided by Libra to help decide what is to be given more weight, more importance in one’s life. It is about the Sagittarian inventiveness and subsequent focus upon what we are becoming and what we want to become in the future in order that these states of being come to pass. I am far from ignorant about all that can go wrong in life, and I have had many people tell me throughout the years that it is nothing short of a miracle that I did not go the Path of the bitter, angry and resentful pessimist much earlier in life. The truth of the matter is that I didn’t see any future in that Path, and I walked away from a great many sources of strife in my life during this festive time of the year a few years ago.

In their place has sprung up a profound thankfulness for the time I have had to share with those who are no longer with us, the places I have been able to see, the people I have been able to meet and grow close with, and the improvements in my Self I have been able to make with good building materials of all sorts. All of it has been worth what it took to make room for it. I, myself, was worth making room for it.

And that last item was what took me the longest to realize.

Sometimes, dear readers, we forget that we owe ourselves some gratitude, even if (especially if) it took us a very long time to grow into the lives and selves we feel are worth that gratitude. As we grow as individuals, we make difficult decisions, have unpleasant conversations and hurt those we love along the way, but this does not mark us as horrible or reprehensible.

It marks us as human.

As we fill our glasses this holiday season, we must look about and take in all that we have and all that we are at this moment in time, RIGHT NOW. Rejoice in what is going right, well and successfully, even if it is minimal, and feel how that affects your entire outlook. Sit with it and really experience it. You will find that it is truly profound.

Happy Holidays dear readers. Here’s a full-bodied cocktail to get you started down the Path of gratitude.

THE HOLIDAY MUSE

4 parts red wine (sweeter rather than dryer works better for this one)
2 parts Port
½ part Grand Marnier
½ part lime juice

Sip this slowly and savor it. It is very rich and very filling.

Cheers~Charon, The Most Dangerous Beauty Alive
theswordswallowers.com
oddangel.com

Charon Henning is one of a handful of female sword swallowers in the world today. She’s performed on carnival midways and at wine tastings, on theater stages and grassy lots.

Charon also reads tea leaves professionally, a skill she inherited from her grandmother on her mother’s side of the family. Tea-leaf reading is a wonderful and elegant form of entertainment, suitable for many time periods and venues.

Charon loves being on the road seeing new places and meeting new people. Want to catch Charon on the road for her live show? View her tour schedule here. Or, book Charon’s talent for your next event!

october is the first ever NON-GMO month… just say NO to GMO!!!

In my tiny area of the globe, I am a gardener, keeper of animals, feeder of birds – someone who is concerned about the protection of the earth, land, soil, waterways, air, and all living beings. Increasingly, I am aware of the myriad ways we have become detached from nature, and the natural ways of living on the planet. One of the main issues of concern is our lack of knowledge about where our food comes from.

(photo) Recently, the Corn Refiners Association applied to the FDA to change the name of high fructose corn syrup to “corn sugar.” Apparently, more and more consumers have been reading labels and they don’t want the syrupy stuff in their food. Now, an attempt to put another
blindfold over the eyes of the American public has been made, to lead us to believe that their product, implicated in the nation’s obesity epidemic, is nothing more than sugar from corn. (Gwen’s Comment: Have you seen the ads on TV yet? They’re hysterical.)

I can detect high fructose corn syrup in any product. It cheapens the taste and has a sickly sweet flavor. “Corn sugar” will do the same. It isn’t like regular sugar and doesn’t taste like it even though the argument laid out by the Corn Refiners Association is that high fructose corn syrup has the same nutritional value as sugar. Well, for Pete’s sake, who eats sugar for its nutritional value, which is nil? Let’s not forget the real issue is that we, as a nation, consume too much sugar in any form.

Even if you are a fan of eating products that contain high fructose corn syrup, I think it’s still wise to know the source of what you are putting into your mouth. Anything derived from corn (and soy or rice) carries the potential to be genetically modified (GMO) so it can withstand a few solid drenchings of pesticides and herbicides, including Monsanto’s Roundup. The corn can also be modified by changing its DNA so that it “naturally” wards off bugs and increase crop yields. (Gwen’s Comment: crop yield increase has been found to be untrue in numerous studies)

(photo) Currently in the United States, the FDA has not required genetically engineered products to be labeled as such, while many other countries have demanded the labeling, including the European Union. A number of people work in the government, including the FDA, who stand to gain through their association with corporations like Monsanto, thus the labeling law has gotten bogged down in red tape.

Labeling all products with GMO ingredients is a vitally important issue that we as consumers must insist upon. The FDA hasn’t required labeling, indicating it’s too complicated. They say the evidence against GMO food isn’t clear enough, they don’t want consumers like me and you to look down on GMO ingredients in our food, and, what they don’t say, is that there are powerful people with corporate interests whose personal wealth will be negatively affected when we stop spending our money on their products.

We do know that there are adverse health effects from this form of biotechnology, that it was not and hasn’t been studied properly before it was used in the food supply, and that the use of GMO seed in crops contaminates other fields, including those that are organic. We also know that in many cases, more pesticides and herbicides have to be used on these crops. If you would like to learn more about this, read Dr. Joseph Mercola’s article entitled “10 Reasons to Avoid Genetically Modified Foods” at http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/02/27/10- reasons-why-no-one-needs-gm-foods.aspx. (Check Gwen’s side bar link category, ECO WHORES, for additional resources on genetic modification.)

(photo) Whenever I write about these concerns, and when colleagues have done the same, someone (often working in Washington, DC) responds with a scathing letter, an attempt not to state facts, but rather disqualify the author and further confuse the public. The responses are personal attacks instead of rational disputes. This is spin, and it’s done because big money is involved, they know the facts are building against them, and they’re afraid the American public won’t remain in the dark for long.

But the American consumer is king and all we need is knowledge. We are the ones with the money who buy the products, and there is power in that. We could change the system at any time, with the dollar. By buying whole organic food, preferably from local farmers, and shunning the processed food world or at least demanding proper labeling, each of us declares that we support foods (including corn) to be grown the way nature intended, not modified by scientists, however well-meaning they might be. Keep in mind, all non-organic foods you pay for that contain corn (and soy) derivatives are likely to in some way support the GMO practice, while allowing chemical companies like Monsanto to control our food supply. This includes conventionally grown beef and chicken, since they are subjected to the GMO food in their daily feed.

October 2010 is the first official “Non-GMO month” involving more than 580 natural food stores nationwide. This will be to promote awareness and celebrate your right to choose food that is not genetically modified. You can learn more about the event by reading a press release from the executive director of the Non-GMO Project: http://www.nongmoproject.org/wp-content/uploads/ 2010/07/Non-GMO-Month-Press-Release.pdf.

If you want to watch two good movies, see The Future of Food and Food, Inc. They help clarify these issues, and at the very least, make us more aware of the necessity to have a GMO labeling law. This law might be complicated to enforce, but no more so than the prospect of an entire food supply being contaminated.

(photo)

If you’re interest is piqued, read Jeffrey Smith’s book Seeds of Deception. For more on the American food industry read Marion Nestle’s Food Politics and Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation.

A descendant of Midwest farmers who came to California to work in the fertile Central Valley, I’ll continue to be an advocate for organic farmers and local farmers’ markets. I hope you will do the same, or we run the very real risk of being fed solely by a chemical giant who doesn’t have our best interests at heart.

NON-GMO’TINI:
1 part grenadine
(that does not contain corn syrup, unless organically grown)
1 part vodka
(that is not made with corn, unless organically grown)
1 part clear citrus
(lemon or lime, which has not been genetically modified)
top with tonic water
(that does not contain corn syrup, unless organically grown)
add ice, stir, adjust to taste, cheers…
to a world free from the unseen ravages and false truths of genetically modified foods!

Dr. Christina Grant is a holistic healer and spiritual counselor who uses astrology in her work to help people better understand their purpose and life circumstances. She works in person and by phone. She has helped hundreds of people attain physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being through personal transformation. Her writing is published nationwide. To learn more, see WWW.CHRISTINAGRANT.COM

two valentine’s bevies that slithered across my desk:

1) FEVER: this non-carbonated herbal fusion is infused with only 100% natural ingredients. “FEVER heightens a persons euphoric state, while also stimulating the body and providing a natural source of energy.”

i had the KIWI STRAWBERRY, and it was good… i do believe it even stimulated me! at the time i drank it, i was in my booth at the jacob javitz center and thankfully i managed to control my lust. i simply channeled that energy into a killer sales pitch instead of…$#*!!:) considering that almost every buyer there was either a gay man or a straight woman, it wasn’t HARD to do. however, if i had consumed this delicious, libido-enhancing libation at any other time, well, i doubt i would have been able to control myself and the erotic FEVER this drink would have unleashed from the deepest caverns of my carnal self. shake things up this valentine’s day-mix it in a sexy nightcap.

2) LOVE POTION #9: this tasty cordial bears the perfect name for that fast approaching sexiest of days. oh yes, my fave, valentine’s day. i suggest pouring this fruity, tasty, sweet, delicious liqueur all over your lover’s sweet spots. oh how will you clean up that desirable mess? of course i strongly recommend preparing a valentine’s day COCKtail with it too… i do believe that LOVE POTION #9 is a guaranteed good time no matter how you use it.

“LOVE POTION #9 is a 60-proof, distilled spirits specialty that was developed over the course of five years and almost 1,800 trial-and-error formulations before its blend of 20 exotic tropical fruit flavors, including mango, peach, chocolate, vanilla, pear, apple, cherry, almond and many others, was perfected.”

And so it begins, another Solar year here at IZ. Hands up, gentle readers, who among you have already stumbled on, broken, or otherwise, like yours truly, completely demolished their New Year’s Resolutions?

I’d like to think we’re in good company. Our human nature makes a perfectly fine and reasonable cause for toasting, don’t you think? Perhaps next year I’ll resolve to get over my growing sense of perfectionism (which, if you saw me typing this entry, you would understand completely. Bless you little spell checker!), but right now I truly believe it is time to let myself off the hook, and for all of you to do the same.
Every day is a good day for new beginnings. We don’t need it to be a Monday or a holiday to start a new project or change a habit. We can empower ourselves by truly stopping to consider our needs and then making desired changes according to the way we understand our minds, bodies and spirits to work. We know them best, after all.
I have had a lot of time to consider this while on the road. I spent the first part of 2010 in the desert, replete with all the silence and saguaros that I could stand, and was able to take the time to step outside of my long-held notions of self in order to find out what changes I truly wished to make, in what order and how important each truly was to my health and happiness.

It is heady stuff, and good food for thought on long hikes to the rare spots of water hidden in the mountains. Once back to the familiar and safe environs of my Silver Twinkie, though, I tend to ruminate on the lighter side of things, and perhaps have a laugh at how very human I am after all.

When I am struck by the humor of such things, and when I need to stop taking myself so very, very seriously, I have been known to put together a lovely and wonderful concoction called the Sake Martini.

In this particular martini manifestation, sake is substituted for vermouth, and being a white wine as well, brings a soothing and feminine quality to a cocktail traditionally associated with drab-suited businessmen seeing just how quickly they can ingest them before returning to the office or, more tellingly, before returning home. While I admire business savvy, I am very particular about what I consider good business savvy. Speedy consumption of good spirits is bad business, IMHO, so the only traditional element I retain in my mixing of martinis is the classic main ingredient: Gin.

[If you prefer vodka martinis I won’t hold it against you, but I’ll forever and steadfastly maintain that you aren’t drinking a martini. You’re drinking vodka in a martini glass.]

Gin is a tricky alcohol in the wide and wonderful world of mixology, and I think it’s probably safe to say that most first time gin samplings end in unmitigated disaster due to it’s very potent, as well as pungent, nature. To further complicate matters, juniper, gin’s reigning ingredient, is a fiery and masculine sort of plant, ruled by the sun. Additionally, the Brothers Grimm identified it with extreme feminine angst (most often applied liberally and vengefully) in their myriad works, so the foundation plant that allows us to have gin has enjoyed a rather confusing and powerful reputation for many generations, one that lingers on our psyches to this very day.

This is why I am particularly fond of one brand of gin amongst all the marvelous offerings out in the world today. Above all others towers the Great Shining Black Pillar that contains none other than Hendrick’s, a gin touted by its makers as both “ridiculously good” and “loved by a select few”, and with good reason, dear readers.
Hendrick’s methodology with one particular ingredient not only calms the fiery rage of sun-ruled juniper, but also makes their gin the perfect foundation alcohol with which to blend an appropriate cocktail for the turning of the Solar year AND the transition in Pisces within the first month. They have added a generous amount of the cooling and calming flavors and effect of cucumber. Being ruled by the moon and having a watery disposition, as well as being best planted during the turn of Pisces in the heavens, cucumber makes the very best partner for the vivacious juniper, and with it, Hendrick’s creates a flavor absolutely unique in the world of gin.

Your choice of sake in the matter is strictly yours. I sometimes prefer unfiltered for a sweeter drink, and it creates a lovely and wonderful snow globe in the martini glass that I’ll get lost in from time to time. Filtered is my main squeeze, though, and I mix them 2 parts gin to 1 part sake in a cocktail shaker full of ice.

Shake, strain, enjoy. It’s a simple as that.

And now, gentle readers, I believe it is time for me to get down to the business of figuring out how best to salvage 2010 from my ridiculous initial batch of resolutions and plotting something more realistic and forgiving for fostering long term change. And, since it’s strictly business, a martini is most definitely in order.

Cheers~Charon, The Most Dangerous Beauty Alive
theswordswallowers.com
oddangel.com

Charon Henning is one of a handful of female sword swallowers in the world today. She’s performed on carnival midways and at wine tastings, on theater stages and grassy lots.

Charon also reads tea leaves professionally, a skill she inherited from her grandmother on her mother’s side of the family. Tea-leaf reading is a wonderful and elegant form of entertainment, suitable for many time periods and venues.

Charon loves being on the road seeing new places and meeting new people. Want to catch Charon on the road for her live show? View her tour schedule here. Or, book Charon’s talent for your next event!