New Year's Resolutions

Many of us make resolutions for the New Year but I have found the answer to sticking to two of the most popular resolutions and even succeeding in them.

Resolution #1

Get your finances straight... Overall I think we Americans struggle most with the money piece. We're not really taught practical money management in school, and as adults we can feel intimidated by all the economic jargon and we get the idea that financial savvy really belongs to a special few. That's why getting educated about your money is so important. Capital One, for instance, has some terrific tips and resources on their website: these are easy to understand and they yet provide the information you really need to know. Here are some of their tips:

Create a spending plan – Having a spending plan is the easiest way to stay on top of your spending. Once you have a budget, remember to track all of your spending against it and review it every few months to make sure you’re sticking to it.
Save – Save as often as you can. Start by establishing a few small savings goals and incorporate them into your budget. Remember that even small amounts can add up over time.
Get a copy of your credit report. Making sure it’s accurate is one of the best ways to protect against identity theft and consumers everywhere can obtain a free annual copy by visiting www.annualcreditreport.com.

Capital One offers a host of free consumer information available at
capitalone.com/financialeducation - just click on Financial Education Partnerships.

Resolution #2

Update your look. Take some of that Christmas money and get yourself some wonderful clothes. Don't wait till to lose weight or the styles get more flattering or whatever it is that's been holding you back. You deserve to look magnificent. And if wear glasses, new ones can spice up your whole look. I'm finding LenCrafters is like a fashionista's candy store. They have some stunning new styles from Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, DKNY, Versace -- having some of these terrific glasses is a way to wear something from a designer every single day without spending a lot. It spices up your whole look -- you know, people do look at your eyes first -- and you can look at 2008 with new eyes and a new attitude."

Visit
LensCrafters.comto find out the latest trends or visit the store near you so you can start the year off right!

Resolution #3

Come closer to a vegetarian diet. For your body, the animals, and the planet, eat green. Put more fresh vegetables and fruits, satisfying whole grains, and legumes (beans, lentils, split peas, soy products) in your diet, and double the number of vegetarian entrees you enjoy each week. Here are some stats to ponder (from EarthSave International):

Number of people who could be fed using the land, water and energy that would be freed up from growing livestock feed if Americans reduced their intake of meat by 10%: 100,000,000

Activity that accounts for more than half of all water consumed for all purposes in the United States:
Livestock Production

Risk of heart attack for the average American man: 50%. Risk of death front heart attack for the average American man who consumes no meat, dairy products or eggs: 4%

Increased risk of breast cancer for women who eat meat daily compared to less than once a week: 3.8 times higher

Health status of pure vegetarians from many populations of the world according to the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences: Excellent

Resolution #4

Have quiet time every morning. Nothing will change the way you see the world, your life, and yourself more than making contact every morning for ten to twenty minutes with the highest and best that's in you. Use the time for prayer, meditation, journal writing, inspirational reading or some combination. Here are some of the benefits of meditation:

More energy

Improved sleep

Decreased anxiety (meditation lowers lactate levels in the blood)

Increased concentration

Decrease in muscle tension and muscle pain, including some headaches

Supports immune system (it increases the activity of natural killer cells that attack bacteria and viruses)

Increased serotonin production which can lead to an improvement in depression

Stems overeating (this may also be a serotonin response)

Builds self-esteem

Improves quality of sleep and can be part of the treatment for insomnia

Increases alertness

Brings about happiness as an internal state not dependent on external events

A classic book for new and seasoned meditators: How to Meditate, by Lawrence LeShan

Resolution #5

Enjoy something every day. We're so serious that I see our society suffering from a great lack of joy. Oh, we have ease, and recreation, and entertainment, and diversions, but joy is different. It comes from letting your inner kid out to play. Find ways to enjoy the little things. Stop a moment of pleasure. The e-mail can wait. So can the laundry. Your heart and soul and self have been put on hold too often. Here are some of the simple joys that please the heck out of me:

Snow! Even with global warming, it still snows sometimes and it's absolutely gorgeous.

My cat: he'll follow anything with a tail (ribbon, string, shoelace, the cord from the phone charger)

Afternoon tea (get a whole new appreciation for the brew and its herbal associates at www.teagarden.com)

Watching a movie in the middle of the day, either at a theater or in bed under the covers

Having breakfast for dinner (my menu: Scrambled Tofu [I used Fantastic Foods Tofu Scrambler mix], toasted spelt English muffins with flax oil and all-fruit jam, grilled veggie-Canadian-bacon [Yves is a good brand, at natural foods stores], and fresh o.j. Yum.)

A hot bath with Dr. Kneipp's bath oils---there's an array to choose from if I want to relax, perk up, feel less stiff or sore, or clear my nasal passages and my thinking.

Charmed Monday Minute- 12/10/07

An amazing adventure...

Hi, everybody. U-Haul has as their slogan "Adventures in Moving" and, heaven knows, I've had an adventure. I did the move from New York City to Woodstock on my own. I figured William was in so much grief over the death of his son that he would not do well with the stress of moving so I bought him a nonrefundable ticket to visit his mom in Kansas so he couldn't say no. Then I proceeded to pack, transport, uproot, redecorate, and reestablish our domestic life.

I had some terrific packing help in NYC from a wonderful professional organizer named Liani Greaves. If you're in the NYC area and in need of establishing some order, I highly recommend her. You can reach her by phone at 917-561-9814. On the day of the Big Move, however, everything went wrong. I hired movers from craigslist---major mistake. For starters, they were six hours late. For finishers, although they advertised themselves as legitimate movers, they weren't. They were instead some guys in the restaurant business in Albany looking to make a buck when their truck is in New York City. Big problem: small truck. They ended up having to make two runs and charging me double.

And after all that, they forgot our clothes. No kidding: on the second run when they were by themselves, they didn't look in closets and I realized that all my business clothes and all my husband's suits and sports jackets and overcoats were in garment bags back in Manhattan - 2 ½ hours away. The moving guy promised he'd pick them up on Monday. He didn't. I ended up driving there myself Tuesday morning. It was rough: I was not ready to see the city only four days after leaving it. I cried so hard in front of my old building that the morning doorman, a devout Muslim who would never ordinarily touch a woman who wasn't his wife, felt so bad that he hugged me!

There were also snags of every sort on the apartment. The painter was skilled but went well over budget. The movers managed to lock my desk (I didn't know it had a lock and I certainly had no key) so I had to call a locksmith. The electrical outlets in my husband's office weren't grounded so I had to bring in an electrician. The windows are odd sized so getting shades and blinds was trying. The Roadrunner cable still doesn't work for our Internet (Dear Verizon: You cost a lot but we're coming back...) and the TV cable doesn't work at all. And yet, with every day and every challenge I felt stronger and more up to the job. I had to create a warm, welcoming home for William, no matter what. As I result, I matted pictures, hung curtains, painted woodwork, and did a host of other things I've never done and always said were outside my area of interest or expertise. The way I feel today: I can do just about anything. I guess that's what the word empowerment is about.

You know what I thought of through this time?---those military recruitment commercials that basically say, "Give us your scrawny, good-for-nothing kid and we'll give you back a soldier." Ten days ago I was, figuratively, the scrawny kid. Now I'm strong and brave in a way I wasn't before. Who knew they held boot camp at Home Depot?

Anyway, we're settled in. I created a shrine for James with a piece of his original artwork, his photograph, one of his school awards, and the crucifix from his memorial service. The picture of him is on a little table with a cubby where all the sympathy cards (thanks for sending them) are in a special box. On one side is a framed print of the angel Raphael and on the other a matted cover of the latest Harry Potter book, James's favorite. Other special parts of our new digs are two closets and the laundry room, painted a luscious red---perfect feng shui. One of the closets (mine) is the prosperity section of the apartment and totally magical, with a little hallway leading to it, stars on the walls, and magic in the air. Bobby, our cat, loves it here---he has birds to watch and great views from all these second floor windows. Siân and Erik, William's 21-year-old daughter and 20-year-old son, are here from Toronto for a few days, and Adair and Nick and the two dogs are coming for Christmas. It all feels very much a home, at least for the time being. I see New York City in movies and all and can't bear to think that I could conceivably not live there again, but for now this is sweet, and now is what I've got. I've also found a place to write---two actually. Daily Bread is a café just across the street from us that opens early and where I can write all morning. If I need an afternoon spot as well, there's a coffee bar and comfy lounge above a restaurant called Joshua's four or five blocks up. I was there today and talked to someone else with a laptop. Turns out he's writing his dissertation for a Ph.D. in religion from Columbia. He and his wife and baby have only lived here two weeks, so as fellow newbies and people interested in religion and spirituality, I hope we'll become friends. Enough of me. I hope you're having a lovely December. Happy Hanukkah and happy Advent and happy right-now-this-minute. Victoria Speaking of friends... A couple of months ago I mentioned a wonderful Tarot reader, Roy Sorrels. Some of you contacted him for readings and I've gotten so much positive feedback, Roy is offering a fee-reduced holiday-season special for anyone who would like a reading, either in person in New York City or by phone wherever you are. For information about Roy's work and to discuss booking a reading at 20% off, you can email him at RoySorrels2@aol.com or call him at 646-637-4576.

Thoughts on A Simpler Life... I wrote this a couple of months ago as I anticipated this move. Maybe you can relate: I want a life with less stuff in it - fewer books I don't read, fewer clothes I don't wear, less mail and less paper; fewer to-do list items that don't make my heart sing. I want everything in my home to either do something or mean something. I intend to travel less - only for real fun or real money. I want less email and the nerve to not answer it if I don't feel like it, and maybe not even open it if I don't feel like that. I want a clearer calendar and shorter tax return. I look forward to divesting from my wardrobe any garment that has "sweat" as its first syllable. I relish knowing less about Britney and more about me. I crave the chance to do more work that matters and less that spins my wheels. I want days to be longer so I don't have to choose between mediation and writing in my journal, or between yoga and Pilates, my husband and my daughter. Long days would mean cooking dinner from scratch and writing my books in pen. Days like that would put empty spaces in my life so if something wonderful showed up, there would be room for her sit. I want more time to spend with my dog. (If I had the time, I'd get the dog.) I want to live in the day I'm given and stop defusing miracles by needing them so much. I want to spend more time with the people I love and the ones I find interesting. I yearn to immerse myself in the sacred and be choosy about the profane. I choose to live my life now and never again strive to reach a goal unless I should happen to take up hockey. Christmas cooking... I hear people say sometimes, "I could do without the turkey. It's the stuffing I'd miss." I've been vegetarian since before they held that concert in my new home town, and I have often had to suffer through a stuffing-less holiday season. We serve our stuffing (or stuffings -- we often do one with bread and one rice, depending on how many diners will be around the table) with either a nut loaf or one of the turkey alternatives now on the market ("Tofurky" and the others, available at natural foods stores), a fresh green salad, string bean casserole with cashew white sauce, a simple sweet potato dish, and either pumpkin or apple pie as a belated dessert. Here's a stuffing recipe I like. It's from The Compassionate Cook: More Than 200 Delicious Vegan Recipes, by Ingrid Newkirk: Harvest Stuffing 1 cup shredded carrots 1 cup diced celery 1/2-1 cup diced onion 1/4 cup margarine (choose one with no trans-fats) 1 tsp. poultry seasoning 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1/2-1 tsp. salt 8 cups dry bread cubes 2 apples, peeled and finely chopped 1/2 cup chopped walnuts 1 1/2 cups water or vegetable broth Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt margarine in large skillet over medium heat. Cook carrots, celery, and onion until tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the poultry seasoning, pepper, and salt. In a bowl, combine the bread cubes, apples, and walnuts, then add the carrot mixture. Add enough water or broth to moisten, tossing lightly. Transfer to a 2 1/2-quart casserole dish, cover, band bake for 20-30 minutes. Serves 8 to 10. Preparation time: 30 minutes. Baking time: 20-30 minutes.

Tuning into my Internet radio program, A Charmed Life, on www.healthylife.net... Some people have had some difficulties accessing the show which airs live on the 4th Wednesday of every month and is archived forevermore. One of the people who couldn't hear the show was my November guest Judy Goldberg, a certified flower essences practitioner. Linda MacKenzie from HealthyLife.net walked her through it and here are the instructions for you: Hi Judy, Victoria forwarded your message to me. Let me see if I can help. To get to our main site log on to http://www.healthylife.net which gets you to our home page...then: 1- If you want to hear a live show - double click the blue "Listen Live" button at the top and whatever show is on plays automatically. 2- If you want to hear an archive show - click on the archive button located at the top of our home page near the Listen Live button called "Archives." Scroll down to Men, Woman & Family Issues and directly beneath this you will find Victoria Moran's name. Click on her name and that will bring you to her archived show page. Then merely select the show you would like to hear and click on it and it will automatically play. Windows Media Player is required and if you don't have it you can download it free at the top of our home page above the "Listen Live" button on top upper right of the home page. It does take a day or two after the show is aired before we archive it. Although there should not be any trouble to listen to our programs (unless you have a Mac - they can be finicky) but if you do have trouble listening click our "Trouble Listening" link in the left hand column to find out what to do. We even cover those finicky Macs. (Note from Victoria: I have a Mac and never before believed I could love a computer. Different strokes.... Anyway, please tell me (1) if you listen to the show; (2) if you have trouble accessing it. I will do something different if people can't hear this. Thanks.) I'm on BeliefNet! I am honored and privileged to have some work of mine featured on BeliefNet.com, the premier site on the net for spirituality and religions. Here is the link to my latest piece, "10 Ways to Be Your Own Life Coach." New Internet Radio Show: You can listen to my internet radio show on HealthyLife.net from noon to 1pm EST every 4th Wednesday of the month. The last show was wonderful, featuring my action partner and opera-singer-extraordinaire, Sherry Boone. Check it out in the archives here. (Trouble listening? Click here for the site's help page.)

Victoria, Virtual Life Coach! Victoria is now the official Life Coach of the blog "Elastic Waist" and will be featured a few times a month in exclusive interviews! To view the first post, click here. The second is here. Enjoy! OprahSelects.com: Fat, Broke & Lonely No More was picked for OprahSelects.com since Victoria was a guest on the Jean Chatzky Show on Oprah & Friends Radio. If you go to the page, you can write a reader review if you'd like.

Quotation of the Week: "I pray thee, God, make me beautiful on the inside." -- Socrates

WHERE I'LL BE...

TOPEKA, KS: January 6, Sunday, 11 a.m., Sunday service, "The God-Shaped Hole," book signing to follow; Unity Church of Christianity, 9126 SW Tenth Ave., www.wingsunfolding.com

KANSAS CITY, MO: January 13, Sunday, 9 and 10:30 a.m. Sunday services, "The God-Shaped Hole," book signing to follow; Center for Spiritual Living, 1306 W. 39th St., 816/931-2395, www.cslkc.org

NEW YORK CITY: January 15, Tuesday, The Learning Annex , workshop entitled "How to Have a More Spiritual Life"

Charmed Monday Minute- 11/19/07

Happy, Thanksgiving, everyone ---

And happy Monday. This is the last day Joya and I will be working together in person. She'll stay on as my virtual assistant after I move (at least until she takes off for a Masters program in directing) and the Minute will go out every other Monday as usual.

William and I went up to Woodstock this weekend to take care of preliminaries like getting a car. I must say, that was tough. I never thought I'd ever have to deal with owning a car again. Well, you know the old saw about never saying never. We got a Honda Civic hybrid---automatic for William, although I've always been fond of manual transmissions myself. This week, we finish packing and the movers come Friday. We'll go out with Adair and Nick (my daughter and son-in-law for those who don't know the names) on Thanksgiving and come back and keep packing.

We've moved a lot and don't have nearly the "stuff" most people do, but I was reminded how much stuff accumulates when William's daughter Siân moved back to Canada a few months ago. She'd only lived with us for a year, and all her Stateside possessions fit nicely into a mid-sized bedroom. But when she moved she had to pack so many boxes, letting me know there's lots more here than I want to think about. All this brings me to...

The book of the week!

This book was a gift from my friend Cynthia Fellowes. Cynthia is a fascinating woman in her own right - a gifted actress, a prosperity coach, and an animal psychic. She's the official animal psychic for Commerce Bank- no kidding! Take a look at her site.

Anyway, back to the book:
It's Scaling Down: Living Large in a Smaller Space, by Judi Culbertson and Marj Decker (Rodale Press, 2005). It is the most humane and practical organizing book I've ever read. I loved that they said "90% of what's put in a file is never looked at again." My sentiments exactly. Scaling Down is great if you're moving, downsizing, clearing out, moving your parent(s) to a smaller space, or if you just want to get closer to only having around you things you use and things you love. The closet section alone is worth the price of the book. While I can't say that I'm looking forward to packing up, the suggestions in this book are making it seem more adventure than agony, and I know that I'll get to Woodstock with clarity and open space and things around me that lift my spirits. I give this book five stars, two thumbs up, cheers and accolades...

Quotation of the week: In an email from a beautiful friend, I read this bit of deliciousness... Spirituality is the end of arguing with what is. -Adyashanti Heading for the Hills Coaching Special: Someone wrote to Joya asking if we knew of a life coach in her geographic area. Actually, 99% of life coaching is done by phone so geography is not an impediment. I do see some clients in person in Manhattan, but I'll be cutting that back with my move and as a result, I'd like to offer you a special rate on telephone coaching services. Anyone signing up between now and the end of January 2008 who asks for the "heading for the hills" coaching special will get a 20% discount on any one-month or three-month coaching package. (This is in addition to the discount already built in for 3-month packages.) To learn more about Charm Your Life Coaching, my spiritual life-coaching practice, and see the fee schedule, go to my coaching page. To take advantage of this discount offer (available to new clients only), email me directly at charmedlifelady@aol.com. Barbara: Would you like to look and feel younger? Okay, here's the deal: a lovely reader named Barbara ordered a copy of Younger by the Day as a gift for a friend. In my multi-tasking state, I signed it to Barbara herself instead of to the friend. I signed another book properly for her, but I have one now inscribed to Barbara. ...So, the first Barbara who writes to Joya requesting this book (put "Book for Barbara" in the subject line and your mailing address in the body of the email) will receive the inscribed copy for free! The first Barbara to email gets it. (If you don't hear back from us, somebody beat you to it.)

A little seasonal something: Adair and Nick are rehearsing A Christmas Carol with Personal Space Theatrics in New York City (here's the link for more info for any New Yorkers interested in the show - this is the fifth and final year for the production and it's not to be missed). During one of the first music rehearsals, they were going over "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." When it came to the line about "bring us some figgy pudding," one of the little boys in the chorus belted out in the perfect pitch of a New York City stage kid: "Come bring us some friggin' pudding!" The director stopped the song and said, "It's figgy pudding, made from figs, not 'friggin' ' pudding." The little boy said, "Oh, I thought it was friggin' because we were really mad that nobody had given us any pudding yet." ...Which brings to mind: figgy pudding! When William and I were in Glastonbury, England, in 2003---and a wonderful, magical place it is, with legends of the Isle of Avalon and King Arthur and the Holy Grail---I got a recipe for figgy pudding that is more than half-a-millennium old. There was a large monastery in Glastonbury at the time that Henry VIII outlawed the Roman Catholic Church in England. Those abbots and monks who would not convert to the new religion were killed, their buildings demolished, and their lands seized. The operation was done quickly and haphazardly, though, so in the case of the Glastonbury Abbey, many of the structures were destroyed but some survive to this day. One of those is the monks' kitchen, recreated to show what it might have looked like in 1500, complete with instructions from that era for figgy pudding. The measures were hard to translate so this is my guestimate. Play with the amounts if you try this. It's pretty hard to mess up. Figgy Pudding from the Long Ago Monks of Glastonbury Abbey 3 cups white wine 3 cups water 1 Tbls. honey (I use agave nectar, but the monks didn't have that.) 1 tsp. ginger 2 Tbls. raisins 1 Tbls. ground almonds 4 to 5 cups dried figs, cut in quarters with stems removed Simmer on gentle heat 10-15 minutes till figs and raisins are swollen and soft. Pour into cups. Let cool. Say grace. Enjoy.

WHERE I'LL BE... TOPEKA, KS: January 6, Sunday, 11 a.m., Sunday service, "The God-Shaped Hole," book signing to follow; Unity Church of Christianity, 9126 SW Tenth Ave., www.wingsunfolding.com KANSAS CITY, MO: January 13, Sunday, 9 and 10:30 a.m. Sunday services, "The God-Shaped Hole," book signing to follow; Center for Spiritual Living, 1306 W. 39th St., 816/931-2395, www.cslkc.org NEW YORK CITY: January 15, Tuesday, The Learning Annex , workshop entitled "How to Have a More Spiritual Life" I'm on BeliefNet! I am honored and privileged to have some work of mine featured on BeliefNet.com, the premier site on the net for spirituality and religions. Here is the link to my latest piece, "10 Ways to Be Your Own Life Coach." New Internet Radio Show: You can listen to my internet radio show on HealthyLife.net from noon to 1pm EST every 4th Wednesday of the month. The last show was wonderful, featuring my action partner and opera-singer-extraordinaire, Sherry Boone. Check it out in the archives here. (Trouble listening? Click here for the site's help page.)

Victoria, Virtual Life Coach! Victoria is now the official Life Coach of the blog "Elastic Waist" and will be featured a few times a month in exclusive interviews! To view the first post, click here. The second is here. Enjoy! OprahSelects.com: Fat, Broke & Lonely No More was picked for OprahSelects.com since Victoria was a guest on the Jean Chatzky Show on Oprah & Friends Radio. If you go to the page, you can write a reader review if you'd like.

VICTORIA'S NEW, 10th, and (we're hearing!) BEST BOOK EVER, Fat, Broke & Lonely No More: Your Personal Solution to Overeating, Overspending, and Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places from HarperOne Get your copy today! If you'd like to order online, here are links to the big guys: Amazon Barnes & Noble Or, visit your favorite independent bookstore to get your copy! (To find an independent bookstore in your area, you can search on booksense.com here.)

Take care, and all good things -

Victoria Moran

Charmed Monday Minute- 11/5/07

Hello, all -

I'm so glad it's November. My astrologer friends tell me that October was largely taken up by a "Mercury retrograde" (when things are prone to go awry, communications are difficult, and tensions are high). I'm pleased to report that Mercury has straightened out and we have a new month for being grateful and going forward.

I would be lying if I said that things here were not difficult. We'll be dealing with the ramifications of James's passing (for those who don't know, my 16-year-old stepson made his transition in September) for as long as it takes. There have also been a series of losses, disappointments, and detours for my husband and me that have been going on for a bit more than a year, and with our move to Woodstock coming up the day after Thanksgiving, I'm also looking at the loss of Manhattan island (and not living two miles from my daughter), which is huge for me.

Nevertheless, I feel a great deal of peace most days. I feel James's presence and that's a blessing. (If you noticed that I used clumsy wording about him in the previous paragraph, it's because I feel strongly that he told me, "Stop saying I'm dead. I'm not dead. I'm just somewhere else, like if I went away to college.") I also have the great gift of being able to write the sequel to Creating a Charmed Life for HarperOne. It will be called Living a Charmed Life and it will be my Woodstock work through the winter and spring. In addition, there are very good things happening with my husband's screenplays. A producer we admire and trust is now involved. I can't say more till things are more solidified, but William has never been closer to his dream's coming true, and that makes me happy, too.

I'm also really eager to see what delicious surprises await in Woodstock. Even though I'm a city girl and am going with the attitude of a temporary regrouping, not a permanent exit, I look forward to living in this village that has such high consciousness, so many people who think as I do, and so much to learn and experience. If you want to know more about where I'm headed, you can visit their Chamber of Commerce's website. (I love it that there's a link on the Chamber of Commerce site for "spirituality." What a town!)

Blessings, Victoria

I'm on BeliefNet! - I am honored and privileged to have some work of mine featured on BeliefNet.com, the premier site on the net for spirituality and religions. Here is the link to my piece, "10 Ways to Be Your Own Life Coach." Recipe of the week - Garbanzo Curry 2 Tbls. Olive oil 1 tsp. coriander 1 tsp. cumin 1 tsp. turmeric 1 tsp. ground cloves ¼ tsp. cinnamon Minced garlic to taste (I used 4 cloves, but then I'm half Italian) Dash ground cayenne 1 pound green beans in 1-inch pieces 1 pound Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cubed 2 carrots, thinly sliced 2 cups water 1 ¼ teaspoon salt 1 20-ounce can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained Heat oil in large skillet until hot but not smoking. Add next seven ingredients and cook two minutes. Add green beans, potatoes, and carrots, and mix well. Add water and salt and heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook fifteen minutes. Add garbanzos and simmer until liquid is reduced by half. Serves 6 (and the leftovers are great). Do you have stuff to pass along? - A professional organizer is helping me pack for the move and she recommended these two websites as sources for deserving nonprofits who can use stuff I'd otherwise not know what you do with. They are: Wastematch.org Justgive.org

Book of the week - The Art of Simplicity: Living Life by the Essentials of the Heart by Candy Paull (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2006) The fourth in her series of absolutely beautiful books - the first two are The Art of Abundance, The Art of Encouragement, and Christmas Abundance - this is the readable equivalent of Earl Grey tea, steeped in a pot, and served in your grandmother's china. That is: it warms you through and through. If you're a fan of inspiring quotations, The Art of Simplicity, and all Paull's books, is filled with the cream of the crop: If grass can grow through cement, love can find you at every time of your life. - Cher If you want to see the brave, look at those who can forgive. If you want to see the heroic, look at those who can love in return for hatred. - The Bhagavad Gita Sin is an obstruction in the heart, and inability to feel and comprehend all that is noble, true, and great, and to take part in the good. - The Talmud (See, what did I tell you?) But beyond the lilting words of sacred texts and wise and clever people from throughout the ages, Paull's own insights in chapters such as "Spiritual Magnificence," "Clearing Clutter: Releasing That Which No Longer Serves," and "Taming the Money Dragon" are what makes this book a worthy read and top-notch gift. This author is infinitely practical. She gives you concrete things to do and none of them require that you have to buy anything or gather a lot of props. It's such a pleasure to read a book, say "Gosh, I can do that," and then do it and see your life get better. Give The Art of Simplicity to someone you know who's overwhelmed or in transition, or put it on your own list for Santa. And speaking of books... It's autographed-copies-from-Victoria time again. Get a head start on your holiday shopping by ordering personally autographed copies of my books for your friends and family members. It's easy: you can email in your order between now and December 10, and then call me with your credit card number (Visa, MasterCard, American Express). I cover postage and packaging charges. Books available are: Creating a Charmed Life: Sensible, Spiritual Secrets Every Busy Woman Should Know A cute little softcover. Great for stocking stuffers and gift exchanges. Some people put the book a gift bag with a box of the Celestial Seasonings teas - Victorian Earl Grey or Tuscany Orange Spice - that has a quotation from Creating a Charmed Life. In any case, everybody seems to love this book. $13. Lit from Within: A Simple Guide to the Art of Inner Beauty. Oprah said, "This book will light a fire inside you." Perfect for a young woman who doesn't realize how beautiful she is or any woman interested in enlightened self-care. Softcover. $13 Younger by the Day: 365 Ways to Rejuvenate Your Body & Revitalize Your Spirit. A great holiday gift since it's a day-at-a-time guide to a whole year of growing more youthful and vital. Softcover. $15. (Hardcovers are still available at $21.95, but I'd have to do a special order.) Fit from Within: 101 Simple Ways to Change Your Body & Your Life. This book tells everything I know that's kept me free of 60 extra pounds for 24 years. Softcover. $13. Fat, Broke & Lonely No More: Your Personal Solution to Overeating, Overspending, and Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places. Obviously, with a title like this, you could only give it to your very best friend (along with a copy for yourself so you guys could work on this stuff together), but I believe it is my best book, a fun and helpful read. Only in hard cover. $24. (Yes, you can save quite a bit on hard covers from Amazon or BN.com, but I'm small potatoes and have to sell at the cover price. Besides, you're getting a signed copy.)

15 Minutes of Fame - This weekend when I was away speaking for a TOPS conference in Amsterdam, NY, and the Unity church in Albany (thanks to all the new subscribers from both places), I got this email from my husband and thought it was a hoot: I was having lunch at Parnell's, and there were a couple of guys sitting next to me. I thought they were from Holland, and I broke one of my main rules and started to talk to one of them. I asked where he was from. He said Iceland. They are here in NYC because a friend is running in the NYC marathon. I told him that my wife had been to Iceland and that her books sell well there. He asked me who my wife is. I said Victoria Moran. He hit his friend on the shoulder and said "Oh my God, this guy is married to Victoria Moran". They went on to tell me that you are the no. 1 author in Iceland and that even though your books are written for women, all of the men read them, too. They said that there are special sections in the book stores for your books. Anyway, they know every book you have ever written, and were disappointed to find out they couldn't meet you. So their names are Hoskuldur and Smari and they are here until Tuesday. I'm sure they would be thrilled if you sent them an email (I have their cards). They insisted on paying for my lunch, because "I am the husband of the famous Victoria Moran." So, if Woodstock doesn't work out, there's always Reykjavik... WHERE I'LL BE... Nowhere! - well, almost. After speaking for The Masters Circle in Orlando this weekend (the premier chiropractic practice-building organization), I'll get a welcome break from traveling. I'll spend November on the move to Woodstock and December on the holidays and on starting the new book. I will doing another Learning Annex class in New York City on "How to Have a More Spiritual Life" January 15th. The first class was terrific; everybody had a great time and learned a lot, so: New Yorkers, mark your calendars. New Internet Radio Show: You can listen to my internet radio show on HealthyLife.net from noon to 1pm EST every 4th Wednesday of the month. The last show was wonderful, featuring my action partner and opera-singer-extraordinaire, Sherry Boone. Check it out in the archives here. (Trouble listening? Click here for the site's help page.)

Victoria, Virtual Life Coach! Victoria is now the official Life Coach of the blog "Elastic Waist" and will be featured a few times a month in exclusive interviews! To view the first post, click here. The second is here. Enjoy! OprahSelects.com: Fat, Broke & Lonely No More was picked for OprahSelects.com since Victoria was a guest on the Jean Chatzky Show on Oprah & Friends Radio. If you go to the page, you can write a reader review if you'd like.

VICTORIA'S NEW, 10th, and (we're hearing!) BEST BOOK EVER, Fat, Broke & Lonely No More: Your Personal Solution to Overeating, Overspending, and Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places from HarperOne Get your copy today! If you'd like to order online, here are links to the big guys: Amazon Barnes & Noble Or, call your favorite independent bookstore to reserve your copy! (To find an independent bookstore in your area, you can search on booksense.com here.)

Take care, and all good things -

Victoria Moran

Charmed Monday Minute- 10/25/07 (Actually a Thursday...)

Hi, everyone, and welcome to new readers -

I'm on the plane en route back from the Girlfriends' Getaway Weekend in Bermuda. It was a lovely event and I met some amazing women, notably the conference planner, Nadja Piatka, founder of Nadja Foods and Donna Voll, a co-presenter who is an expert on angels. Donna has an Internet radio show that's worth knowing about.

Bermuda is like a jewel in the sea with hibiscus blooming everywhere. It's very British (they drive on the UK side of the road) and laid back. The speed limit is 25 mph and life is like that, too. I had the privilege of visiting a longtime friend, Lane Martin, whom I met through the homeschooling community in Connecticut way back in 1990. She's since moved back to her native Bermuda and gave me the chance to see the island from a local's point of view. She also gave me a tour of her backyard orchard - banana, avocado, guava, cherry, peach and fig trees, plus a grape arbor. (Lane is a raw foodist and just returned from the Raw Spirit Fest in Sedona.)

Because it was our tenth anniversary, William made the trip with me. He's not ready to travel or do anything really. (For those of you new to the Charmed Monday Minute, our youngest child, James - William's son, my stepson passed away last month.) The loss is still very fresh. And because of that, a major change is about to happen in our lives: we've moving to Woodstock, New York. I know they tell you not to make any major changes the first year after a tragic loss, but we need to do this. William is working far too much in order to keep us in Manhattan and he needs to get away, let some of the stresses go, and focus on processing what's happened, grieving, and healing. Woodstock seems perfect: there's a lot of music there and he can reactivate his musical life (William plays harmonica, accordion, and French horn), and it's a close-knit community that's as cute as it can be. We've rented an apartment over an art and office-supply store on the main street. Among the town's unique offerings are a spiritual bookstore and a regular bookstore, two vegetarian restaurants (one of which is vegan), a good natural foods market a block away, a cute café where I can write (to make up for my neighborhood Starbucks in NYC moving away), and a farm animal sanctuary eight miles up the road. There seems to be a strong spiritual community and plenty of yoga and Pilates. I think it is the perfect place to write the sequel to Creating a Charmed Life. The publisher is still deciding if they want it or not. Please send good thoughts and prayers in that direction. To leave the city and my support system there without having a book to write would be tough. Here's the plan: We can take possession of the apartment November 15 so we'll drive up that weekend in a rental car with plans to clean the flat, measure the space, decide where we'll put things, tend to any necessary repairs, and get our Internet and cable hooked up. We'll also buy a car (I never thought I'd own a car again, but life throws curves...) Then we'll go back to NYC and get packed to move over the Thanksgiving long weekend. It will be a busy month: William is going to Toronto in a few days for a posthumous honor for James (he's getting his school's Social Justice Award) and I'll hold down the fort. I'll also be giving a class, "How to Develop a Spiritual Life," this Thursday evening at the NYC Learning Annex. The following weekend I'll be in Amsterdam, NY, to speak for a TOPS club conference and then to Albany to speak for the Unity church there the first Sunday in November. The following weekend I'll be in Orlando for The Masters Circle, a huge chiropractic seminar where I'll be on the program with speakers including Mark Victor Hansen and Dr. John DiMartini. That will end my speaking year and I can cycle into a quieter way of being without the travel and stepping so often into "public mode." It will be a good time to move, set up housekeeping, and be more inward-focused for awhile. Joya will stay on with me as a virtual assistant so you'll get the Charmed Monday Minute as usual. I will not take new in-person coaching clients in New York City, but I will continue coaching and adding more telephone clients from around North America to my list. In fact, I may run a "moving sale" to make coaching available to more new clients - watch for that in an upcoming Minute. My very best, Victoria

Book of the week: Pornography for Women, by the Cambridge Women's Pornography Collective and Susan Anderson (2007). This is really fun little book. Its point of view is obvious from the cover photo: a great-looking guy vacuuming! The book is comprised of photos of handsome men doing and saying what really turns women on, like "I don't have any answers, but let me make you a cup of tea and then I'll listen," "Is this the way you like me to fold your blouses?" At the back of book, each model is given a tongue-in-cheek profile that lets us know that he's planning to open the world's first "luxury orphanage" and that his most admired person is his mom. This would make a great gift or stocking stuffer, a fun little something for a bride, and a humorous conversation starter when you're having a night out with your girlfriends. (It's a not a bad hint for a guy either.)

New Film: Suzanne Taylor is a friend who I met during my book tour for Shelter for the Spirit in 1997. She has produced and directed a fascinating film called Walking in Circles, a new feature-length documentary on crop circles. It will receive its first preview showing in November at the "Shh! It's A Secret! Not on the 6 O'Clock News" Conference in Tempe, Arizona. For more info on the conference, click here. Clarification from the last "Minute"... In the chocolate cake recipe, it should have read "bake for 25-30 minutes," not "5-30 minutes"! Oops! An Important Cause: Reader Carol Dickman wrote a few weeks ago to ask if we could help spread awareness about her son's condition. She writes... "My son, Rob, has had psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis for over 10 years now, and I have witnessed the pain he has been subjected to by people thinking the disease is contagious. He's been asked to leave restaurants and get out of swimming pools, and people shy away from him. There are several approaches being taken these days to make people more aware of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. The goal is to spread the word that it is not contagious and to give encouragement to those who suffer with the disease." To hear more about Rob's story, you can view the YouTube video he made to help spread awareness of psoriasis here. To learn the facts about psoriasis and what you can do to help, check out the site of this advocacy group working to find a cure for the condition, Psoriasis Cure Now. New Internet Radio Show: You can listen to my internet radio show on HealthyLife.net from noon to 1pm EST every 4th Wednesday of the month. Yesterday's show was wonderful, featuring my action partner and opera-singer-extraordinaire, Sherry Boone. Check it out in the archives here. (Trouble listening? Click here for the site's help page.)

Victoria, Virtual Life Coach! Victoria is now the official Life Coach of the blog "Elastic Waist" and will be featured a few times a month in exclusive interviews! To view the first post, click here. The second, which just came out today, is here. Enjoy! OprahSelects.com: Fat, Broke & Lonely No More was picked for OprahSelects.com since Victoria was a guest on the Jean Chatzky Show on Oprah & Friends Radio. If you go to the page, you can write a reader review if you'd like.

Victoria on ABC News Now! To view part of an interview with Victoria on yesterday's Good Morning America Now, click here and scroll down to "Video: Fat, Broke, and Lonely."

WHERE I'LL BE... -TONIGHT! New York, NY: Learning Annex, "How to Live a More Spiritual Life." October 25, 6:45pm. -Amsterdam, NY: Keynote address, regional conference, TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly), November 3. Contact person: Judy Pettit, 518-438-8928. -Albany, NY: Guest Speaker at Unity Church, 21 King Ave. (topic: "The God Shaped Hole") November 4th at 9:00 & 11:00 AM. Book signings 10:00 AM and 12:00 PM. Tel: 518-453-3603. -November 8-10: The Masters Circle SuperConference for chiropractors, Lake Buena Vista, FL. Site to check out: When you have a chance, click on over to SelfGrowth.com- - SelfGrowth.com is the most complete guide to information about Self Improvement, Personal Growth and Self Help on the Internet. It is designed to be an organized directory, with articles and references to thousands of other Web Sites on the World Wide Web.