Welcome
back to the rebirth of my new blog now titled: "Life Into Lemonade". 
I have missed you all so much!  I thought it would be fitting to launch a blog
all about how to embrace life's imperfections on the supposed day of impending
doom!  "Life Into Lemonade" will be a place where you can laugh at life's
unexpected BOULDERS in the road and find a way to use those rocks as the
foundation for your dreams.  I will be sharing fun recipes, tips, mishaps,
stories and more!  Everyday will be something new to improve your wellness, your
work and your ability to laugh at life.  Now lets get down to business.

SAL & I TURNING THE APOCALYPSE INTO LEMONADE

I
thought my Armageddon was the day my husband Brian was diagnosed with cancer
two years ago.  I was trapped in a Hulk Hogan chokehold with no end in sight.  I
was filled with a secret hate.  I hated how my life had changed.  I hated I
selfishly felt abandoned by my spouse.  I hated the people who made it all about
them.  I felt deflated and
lifeless.  Everything I knew, everything I loved, and everything I cared about
had suddenly vanished.  I couldn't write and I couldn't speak.  I was just an angry General.  I
had one job and that was to get my two-man army home safe.  In these desperate
moments of solitude I found solace in an unexpected place…the kitchen.

It
started out as a necessary chore.  I believed food could cure Brian.  So I
looked at his meals as scientific experiments.  The kitchen was my lab.  Eventually, I realized food was
the only thing I had control of in our lives.  I would get up at 7am head to
the local farmer's market, Whole Foods and health stores.  I would study recipes and
change them to a more palatable presentation for Brian. This went on for
months, I couldn't work but I could cook.  Slowly but surely, friends and family
started to comment.  "You need to share this recipe".   "I
would love to hire you to cook healthy for me".  At first I refused to see
the signs.  I liked holding on to my anger; clearly these people thought I had lost my creative
touch.  They no longer saw me as writer or producer.  They looked at me and saw someone who had failed, someone they needed to show pity.  It took months for me to realize that
they were ACTUALLY complimenting my creativity.  It took even longer for me to realize the universe had
given me an opportunity not a curse.  Cooking not only allowed  me to be creative but it allowed me to
help those around me better their lives.  My "Armegeddon" was a big fat present.

 
WE RENEWED OUR VOWS ON THE TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF OUR "ARMEGEDDON"

We wanted the ceremony be an opportunity for our guests to benefit from what we learned during our journey with cancer.  So the theme was all about mother earth and accepting the power of healing and oppurtunity.

 We decided to do a handfasting ceremony so we asked our guests to wear white or green.  Green represented healing, generosity, and abundance in family.  White represented new beginnings and opportunties.

MY LA "ADOPTED SECOND MOM"  JOAN, WHO IS AN ASS KICK'IN CANCER SURVIVOR AND MY BEAUTIFUL MOTHER JUDY, ROCKED THE COLOR GREEN!

We wanted everyone to see the power that lies in perceived obsticles.

OUR TABLE NUMBERS WERE LOG STUMPS. BRIAN'S GRANDFATHER'S CHALK BOARD SAID "GRAB YOUR STUMP TO GET OVER A HUMP"  

 DURING DINNER WE ASKED OUR GUESTS TO WRITE ON THE STUMP WHAT WAS HOLDING THEM BACK IN LIFE.  LATER WE ALL BURNED THEM IN A FIRE.

THEN WE ALL ATE S'MORES THAT REMINDED US ABOUT LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP

See today as a new lease on life!  Let it be the end of your old way of thinking and the beginning of a new way of living!

 xoxoxo

KK