One of the reasons your mom signed you up for summer camp was to keep you on a routine while school was out. Moms have known the importance of routines forever. So have geniuses. Maybe if more of us paid attention to our routine, more of us would be geniuses.

Incorporating a routine in your life keeps you balanced in mind, body and spirit. Sounds genius to me.

Three of Seven Common Traits Found in Geniuses:

A Daily Walk or Exercise
So important – get up and get moving. I dread the drive to work because traffic is a mind waster and sitting is a killer.

A clear dividing line between important work and busywork.
Busywork  = mind wasters, yuck!

Limited social lives.                            
Be mindful of when to say yes or no.

One more, my favorite…

A supportive partner.

xoxoxo

“And Andy Warhol called friend and collaborator Pat Hackett every morning, recounting the previous day’s activities in detail. “Doing the diary,” as they called it, could last two full hours — with Hackett dutifully jotting down notes and typing them up, every weekday morning from 1976 until Warhol’s death in 1987.”

What cool documentation of one’s life.

That's only three (okay, four) of the seven common traits found in geniuses. 

Read the rest of The Daily Routines of Geniuses (Sarah Green, Harvard Business Review).

Make your "routine" super fun. Build your own summer camp for yourself without even taking a day off of work. Your own personal retreat week.

Start slow, incorporate a few things so you can 1) accomplish them all 2) still allow for life to happen.

1.     Take up SOMETHING new! Commit to making it a priority in your daily routine.  

Personally, I wanted to study and learn more about the chakra system. It interests me greatly and it will give me a better foundation before I start my yoga teacher training in a few weeks (yay!).

I purchased an audio book and “studied” the chapters during my commute from home to work and back. Loved the book so much, I purchased the paperback version so I can have printed copy and make notes in it.

Not a bad way to make use of my time while I’m in traffic. I actually started to look forward to it anticipating what I’d learn next.

2.     Your Daily Walk – this is going to look different for all of us, but that’s the best part about your Personal Retreat Week! It’s catered and customized to you and your needs.

Exercise – move. An object at rest will stay at rest. What do you expect to happen if you don’t move and take action?

Summer camp always has an exercise component! So make a commitment to moving your body at least once a day every day.

I LOVE BEING OUTSIDE! And have been wanting to jog more, so that’s my exercise piece I’m focused on this week. Got some new kicks to inspire me! And I might rope in a friend to run with me right after work.

3.     Set a goal for yourself personally or professionally this week. Carve out some time in your daily routine to make this happen.

I signed-up for a live webinar I was super excited about and participated in. I have been interested in Rha Goddess' work for a few years now. I felt compelled by something inside me to be a part of this conversation, especially since Take the Lead Women was hosting!

This happened and pretty much is EVERYTHING.

There is something amazing that lies at the core of each of these disciplines I encourage you to find out @1922House #reapandsow

— Rha Goddess (@RhaGoddess) July 9, 2015

Thank you, Rha! I am going to.

So - subscribe to a newsletter related to your field or your interest to generate some ideas. Make something. Spend time with someone.

Take Action.

That’s it. Only 3 things! How fun is that? You can make them exactly what you want. Your own personal retreat week and you didn’t even have to take time off of work.

Have a kick-ass personal retreat week! 

Holly 

Indoor Urban Farm Coming to Big D - Good Karma, a t-shirt, free lettuce and more!

Good Karma, a t-shirt, free lettuce and more!

There is a guy in Dallas that wants to start an urban farm in Deep Ellum, and I want to help him.

I just backed his project with SEVENTY-FIVE of my hard earned bucks via Kickstarter, because I really want this to happen (and, I really want that tshirt and naming rights of a harvest!, not to mention a month's worth of lettuce - I know, right?)

You can read all about Jake's Terra Tech Farms and his plan to build an indoor hydroponic farm in Deep Ellum and provide fresh, sustainable, pesticide-free products to Dallas in The Advocate (I love this magazine!) or D Magazine's Side Dish. It sounds like the plan is to start on the farm before the end of summer. 

Wishing Jake and his team all the best! 

Now, LETTUCE get growin'!

The Greenville Avenue Food Truck Park - It shall be called Truck Yard

As most in Dallas, Fort Worth, The DeeEffDub and Austin know, Food Trucks and Food Truck Parks are all the rage lately. The concept has quickly moved throughout our urban landscape and generated quite a buzz for this creative niche market.

Over the last five plus years, the Lower Greenville Avenue area has seen quite a revitalization. It's been exciting to see all the new restaurants and boutiques open up around 1922House. For years now, the word on the street was that Greenville Avenue was getting a food truck park. Supposedly, it was coming around the same time as the Trader Joe's grand opening and would be close in proximity. 

Trader Joes is set to open in August.

As I was taking My Humps (Humphrey = World’s Largest Springer Spaniel) for a walk, I noticed some activity in the old Pearson Plumbing location (across from the Trader Joes parking lot). I went back to snap some pics and here’s what we found in progress:

Then, just a few days later an email from Eater landed in my inbox and here’s the Cliff Notes

It shall be called Truck Yard.

There will be a main permanent building that houses a restaurant, bar, restrooms (you know you were wondering! And as a resident of the neighborhood, I’m appreciative of this =), and possibly - an ice cream parlor.

There is talk of “tree-house” seating. Whaaaaaat? And I can walk to this place?!?! Right up the 1922House alley!

I’m looking forward to having such a fun place within walking distance of 1922House. Surely, one of my favorite food trucks, Easy Slider, will be one of the first to pop up in this new park. Why is Easy Slider one of my favorites, because they created the Sweet & Lowdown. This little slider is packed full of deliciousness = Angus beef, bacon, goat cheese, and wait for it....strawberry jam!

Wake Up, Drank. Workout, Drank. Be awesome, Drank.

#drank #healthy #applecidervinegar #tonic #kitchenwitch http://t.co/02bZOQVM0d
— 1922House (@1922House) March 8, 2013

I've always heard that raw Apple Cider Vinegar was up there with coconut oil as being a healthy cure all. When I was in elementary school, my mom had a book full of natural home remedies. I loved reading how to cure all sorts of ailments by things you could naturally obtain, grow or mix up on your own. I've always been a little bit of a kitchen witch.

In November I started taking supplements on a daily basis in addition to my daily vitamin. I chose a simple addition of Evening Primrose Oil, Turmeric and a Super B Complex. (And...really excited about this....This week I started using the Oil Cleansing Method.)

Since, I’m on a lifetime kick of being more awesome, I also decided to dive into some kitchen witchery and start consuming a healthy tonic with Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV).

Dr. Oz recommends using ACV as part of his Swimsuit Slimdown Plan, and although I’m not following that per say, I do have trip to Cabo coming up in only 11 weeks (what?! what?! I cannot wait!), so I thought I could incorporate some ACV into my “being more awesome” plan to see how that helps.

Reasons why I’m drinking up ACV? It is supposed to reduce sinus infections and sore throats, balance cholesterol, cure skin conditions, prevent muscle fatigue, strengthen the immune system, and more.

This week I added about 2 capfuls of ACV to my water for workouts and at work, I enjoyed a 2 capfuls in water with some organic grapefruit juice.

I was concerned I wouldn't like the taste, but it is pretty refreshing actually. This morning I added some lemon juice to my ACV and water – yum! The taste was a friendly reminder to myself to enjoy what good things I was doing to and for my mind, body and spirit.

I’m using Bragg Organic Apple Cider Vinegar (raw, unfiltered and it has the mother).

Here’s a Vine of what I was concocting this week before my lunches and workouts. Are you on Vine? Follow me as I post about living a loving, greener, healthier life in Big D.