Cinco de Mayo

Posted on May 5, 2020 by Laurie Buchanan

Today is the 5th of May—Cinco de Mayo. It brings to mind our favorite Mexican restaurant—Old Town Mexican Cafe and Cantina—in the Old Town section of San Diego. It’s the “Home of the original Handmade Tortilla Makers.” Authentic and delicious!

While waiting for your meal you can watch tortillas being made—by hand. You can also admire the festive, colorful bar stools.

“Belly up to the bar” means to move near something. However, when looking up the etymology, I found all sorts of interesting information. I especially enjoyed this improbable meaning that was said to be given by a tour guide at an old Lexington tavern:

“The origin of ‘belly up to the bar’ goes back to Colonial times. If your belly could reach the bar, you were old enough to drink.”

What is it that you are belly-ing up to?

Cowabunga!

Posted on August 28, 2018 by Laurie Buchanan

In July, I enjoyed a week at my sister’s beach-side home in Cardiff by the Sea during the first leg of my book tour at The Book Catapult in San Diego.

Moonlight Beach is but one of the many jewels in the beach communities of Cardiff by the Sea and Encinitas, California. It’s located in a residential neighborhood at the bottom of a steep incline that gently slopes into the Pacific Ocean.

This well-loved beach receives a lot of face-time from local volleyball players because of the three beach courts. And with a large playground, ample picnic tables, lifeguards, and a snack bar, it’s family-friendly and perfect for a picnic or a day in the sun. The icing on the cake? Plenty of clean restrooms and showers.

While there, I enjoyed breakfast at the ever-popular Pipes Cafe, shopped at Seaside Market, visited the Self-Realization Fellowship Temple, and checked out the Cardiff Kook Statue. Cowabunga!

When was the last time you hung ten or stuck your toes in ocean water?

Lazy Dazy

Posted on June 26, 2018 by Laurie Buchanan

With the publication of The Business of Being: Soul Purpose In and Out of the Workplace just two weeks away, I’ve used the month of June to enjoy a much slower version of life before I hit the ground running:

July 11, San Diego, The Book Catapult
July 27, Boise, Rediscovered Books
Aug 12, Crystal Lake, IL, Veteran Acres Park

When I was in Joshua Tree, CA I saw this “hammock roundup” that five people can enjoy simultaneously.

On Eleuthera Island, the neighbors across the way enjoy a solo version of quietude.

And while we don’t have a hammock where we live, there’s a multitude of gentle choices. My three favorites are reading (dive headfirst into a book and don’t surface for a good, long while), restorative yoga, and walking the Boise River Greenbelt. We’re also just a stone’s throw from an arboretum, nature center, and park.

What do you do to recharge your personal battery?

Got Mud?

Posted on August 30, 2016 by Laurie Buchanan

When I travel to the San Diego area I make a point of visiting the meditation gardens at the Self-Realization Temple in Encinitas. Located on a cliff overlooking the ocean, their aquatic gardens are home to colorful koi fish and lotus flowers.

A lotus flower grows from the bottom of a muddy pond rising upward, emerging at the surface where it blooms into a beautiful flower. At night the petals close and it sinks beneath the surface only to re-emerge in the morning with the sunrise.

In my perspective, Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh’s observation, “No mud, no lotus,” is a lovely metaphor for the human experience.

Have you got mud? Turns out, it’s a good thing!

Some Like It Hot!

Posted on April 19, 2011 by Laurie Buchanan

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Coming to you (almost) live from Coronado Island in southern California…

Hotel del Coronado
Built in 1888, the Hotel del Coronado was the largest luxury hotel in the world and the very first hotel to use electrical lighting. A grand dame, she still holds her head high with the best of them.

Some Like It Hot
The Hotel Del has been featured in many books and movies, but perhaps the most well known movie was the 1959 comedy with Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon. “Some Like It Hot” ended up being the largest money-making comedy up to 1959.

Coronado Bridge
Coronado Island is linked to San Diego by a 2.1 mile long bridge that spans San Diego Bay. Construction on the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge started in February 1967 and was opened to traffic in August 1969. Beautiful in the daytime, the bridge is stunning in the evening.

The drive to and from Coronado over this impressive structure—along with the many photographs that I took—triggered thoughts about the use of the word “bridge” as a metaphor. In turn, this line of thinking stirred the pot and bubbled up bridging disciplines—something I use when Life Coaching.

Back in the day a bridge was a singular tool that got us from Point A to Point B—metaphorically speaking and otherwise. In today’s complex world many people move at the speed of technology: turbo-charged in the fast lane, while multi-tasking both personal and professional lives. We’re not limited to a single way of accomplishing something or arriving at a particular destination. Rather, we have a wide brushstroke of options to choose from.

Sadly, when I was researching the length of the Coronado Bridge for this post, I also learned that it’s the third deadliest suicide bridge in the United States—trailing only the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and the Aurora Bridge in Seattle. That information served as an excellent reminder to shift gears and slow down. It’s time once again to put one’s shoulders down and intentionally focus on the breath—inhale, hold, exhale, hold. It’s time to simply be.

Metaphorically speaking, what gets you from Point A to Point B?

Listen with your heart,

Laurie Buchanan

“Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing.”
– Laurie Buchanan

Tuesdays with Laurie

"Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing." —Laurie Buchanan

Tag Archives: San Diego