As April's Shine (30 mails in 30 days Detox program) was over, I gave myself a little tiny holiday..
..That I have spent doing whatever V wanted, pretty much. 

You may have guessed it.. We watched Marvel's superhero movies over and over again while eating the first water melons of the season.. Yum, from Marocco, one of the few non-local staple food in our family..

But don't let me digress as there is a lot to cover today.. :-) 

Today is the last Shine Café of the season.. In June, July and August there won't be any Shine Cafés and I am not really sure whether and when I will hold a Shine Cafe again.. Things are shifting lots in the Shining Mama's World (you'll hear more about it later) and I am planning to do more thngs online.. On the other hand, I love having you guys in my living room! Watching inspiring movies together and eating yummy raw shiny treats is always good so Shine Cafe might stay in the program after September.

Today we'll watch the movie the Connection: Mind your body. As usual we start around 14:00 with a raw buffet. I have prepared a new recipe for water kefir that is awesome! and some other really yummy treats.
The movie starts at 15:00 and is 74 min long.

Shining Mama @Leefmarkt
On May 16th Shining Mama will have a stand at the market Leefmarkt, (translated would be something like Live!-Market).

I will have lots and lots of Shiny Boxes with raw chocolate and some other raw shiny yummy surprises - like raw cakes and tarts. 

Come if you are in The Hague, it will be fun.

..That joke with the priest that said "do as I say, not as I do"?
(Wiktionary says: This order first appeared in John Selden's Table-Talk (c. 1654): "Preachers say, 'Do as I say, not as I do.'")

I watch V, he is learning, every second of his life. 
He is learning how this world works, how his body works, how interaction works.

Does he learn from what I say? 
A bit, when I insist, I explain and I plead.
But the biggest part from his learning he does by watching me.
He learns from what I do.

I believe we are all like this naturally - but we the grown-ups seem to have learned to only (mostly) believe the words and not the actions of people around us. 

In marketing school I even learned that people believe it more if they see something written - so I'd better write all kinds of convincing "facts" (read: lies) on my website - in order for people to buy what I sell..

Of course, this opens the door for everybody to write whatever they think fit - and declare it "truth"..

Oopsy... today I was not able to make any video. 

I was going to this morning but I couldn't.

I was going to make it after we came from the market but my son had a particularly challenging day today and he is still like totally glued to me. 

He tends to do that when he does not like something - and lately he definitively does not like to go to the market.. 

I wish I could spare him that but it is not in the cards at the moment.. 

So he also decided to not let me do anything else today - and he is telling it quite loud and clear at the moment from my lap while I write:-) If I would try to make a vid I know it could get frustrating for both of us in such a moment, so I will not attempt it:-)

It's almost here!!!

When I proposed an April SHINE challenge that would bring us from the Winter Slumber to the Sunny Summer I had no idea that the winter will still be lounging in my garden! 

But still, it is. It is snowing today as we speak and write and read..:-)

Thus I believe a Shining Challenge is totally in order. It starts in 3 days, on April 1st (no fools here, right?), and for most of us it will be right after we had delighted in all those Easter chocolate rabbits and eggs:-) 

I am sure most of you can relate..:-) 

.. (if not, much muchos muchos respect for you!!)

I invite you to become friends with yourself. If you are already, even better, think of how you can make this friendship even sweeter. Think, how would you treat a loved one if she/he would come to visit for only 30! Days?

I invite you to commit to yourself. From one Shining Mama to other Shining Mama's (and we have a few Shining Papa's amongst us, too!!) - I am honored that you go along with me on this journey and I applaud you for being willing to take the time for yourself. 

Sooo, is the spring around for you? 
It certainly feels like that for me.. 

I also feel like I need to transition, that I need to take some steps to honor the winter in order to get to spring and summer. Every spring I feel like I need to re-birth, and this spring more than ever.

Beginning with April 1st (no fools at Shining Mama) I decided to  go through a process of transitioning from the winter slumber to the go bare warmth of the long days; from warm clothes on top of each other and artificial light, to long evenings on the beach and being kissed by the sun; from the silence and almost hiding and hibernating 
(I certainly wish I could  do that most part of the winter) to SHINING. the most glorious version of you.