Hello and Happy New Year! 

I trust you are well and that you enjoyed moments of warmth and meaning throughout your holiday season.  I invite you to consider doing something fabulous for yourself after all you do to make the holidays (and every day) meaningful for everyone else!

I am happy to say that I have been invited back to facilitate the second annual Valentine’s weekend event, called “Better Than Chocolate,” at Deerfield Spa in the Poconos. Last year was a huge success: participants bonded together to share a transformational and supportive experience, making new friends for life–and taking good care of themselves physically at the same time.  Deerfield Spa in the Poconos is an affordable destination spa, and is a member of the acclaimed Destination Spa Group. 

This is perfect if you are traveling alone, with friends or family members, or with your special someone.   The weekend offers you participation in a series of complimentary 90 minute group seminars, or experientials, that I have created specifically for the weekend.  The focus this year will be: loving yourself, embracing your sensuality and moving forward as a whole and authentic being.

This life enhancing event will take place Friday, February 11^th through Sunday, February 13^th.  The investment in yourself includes my experiential workshop and materials, your accommodations, your meals and snacks, unlimited exercise, as well as twenty-four hour use of all spa facilities.

You can book pampering spa treatments: a massage, a wrap, reflexology, a facial—as well as microdermabrasion and microcurrent, just to name a few of the fabulous add-on services. (I have done many of them – and they are phenomenal!) Joan at Deerfield has renovated the spa services facilities, and the state-of-the-art treatment rooms are now considered the finest in the area.

Dr. Brad (who is my partner in My Life Coach at the Spa) and I will both be available to provide individual life coaching sessions and iPerk™ coaching sessions (iPerk™ is an amazing device!) for an additional fee, if you would like to have some one on one coaching tailored to your life situation.    

For nearly 30 years, Deerfield has been a warm, nurturing, and fun destination spa.  Their philosophy is that what truly makes people happy and healthy is laughter, friendship and camaraderie — mixed in with healthy lifestyle habits.  Sounds good to me!

On a personal note, the way I found Deerfield was by looking extensively for a restoring, restful and affordable experience after being a full-time caregiver for my mom who passed away in 2008.  Deerfield helped me to get back on my feet, re-charge my batteries and begin a new phase of my life.  It was wonderful!  Another thing I like about Deerfield is that it’s not “snooty;” you feel comfortable

If you would like to be a part of this wonderful weekend, click on the Deerfield link and they will take care of you.  Or contact me with your questions.  I really look forward to seeing you there!

Warm regards,  

http://www.beautynewsnyc.com/spa/confessions-of-an-esthetician/

In addition to Donnalyn’s workshops, the weekend also includes fitness, hiking, spa cuisine, and pampering in a casual, country setting dedicated to relaxation, wellness, and fun.  Rates are all inclusive and there is no additional charge to participate in Donnalyn’s value-added workshops.  Deerfield is the affordable spa for girlfriends getaways, stress management, weight loss, and spa weekends close to New York and Philadelphia.

Donnalyn Giegerich is co-owner of Heritage Benefits Group, a producing partner for Couch Braunsdorf Insurance in Red Bank, NJ, an avid athlete and dynamic motivational speaker.  Her hectic life was changed — but not interrupted — when she was diagnosed with Leiomyosarcoma, a rare soft tissue cancer in 2007. After a complex, 10-hour kidney auto-transplant surgery, general radiation, cyber-knife radiation, and six months of chemotherapy, she is Cancer Free! Throughout her recovery process, Donnalyn continued with business and daily life while maintaining a regimen of exercise including running, cycling and swimming.

As an inspirational speaker, Donnalyn encourages others to incorporate business, fitness, family, lifestyle skills, friends – and FUN — to navigate and excel through challenges with grace and style.

http://www.frommers.com/rss/articles/6702.html

Welcome to Deerfield Spa’s 2010 season! Yes, opening day was Friday, and what a beautiful opening day we had.  The rain stopped just for us.  We custom ordered it, of course!

You know, all the rain we had this March got me thinking about the notion of “too much of a good thing.”  How many times have we heard, “everything in moderation?”  Of course we need rain for a healthy planet, but in excess it can wreck havoc.

Moderation is a concept with particular relevance in our world – the spa world: from fitness, beauty, and nutrition, to stress management, pampering, and time for ourselves.  We all know exercise is critical to health of body, mind, and spirit, but overdoing it can be detrimental in many ways.  When it comes to nutrition, maintaining a balance of good fats and good carbs, with the right amount of fiber and protein is the Holy Grail.  We’re all painfully aware that over-indulgence is unhealthy, but we often overlook the fact that over-restricting can be harmful as well.  Even when it comes to caring for our body’s biggest organ – our skin – too much of a good thing can be bad.  Over cleansing and over exfoliating, for example, can lead to inflammation and injury, and a vicious cycle of damage and repair.

So as we embark on another glorious season at Deerfield Spa, dedicated to well being, relaxation, pampering, fun, and friendship, we remember not to jump too hard, too far, or too fast at first into our fitness or weight management jump starts.  Easy does it.  Staying conscious of how your body reacts and acclimating to new lifestyle choices is infinitely more sustainable and healthier overall than extremes in any one direction.  And as always, there’s no substitute for having great support in your efforts, finding ways to make the process of change fun, and laughing all along the way!

Whatever your goals this season, we are honored and delighted to support you in them, to make the process fun, and to keep you laughing all the while.  Come and see us soon.  We’ll be waiting with open arms.

In Good Health,

Joan Wolff

Thanks everyone for the great feedback about the twitter contest.  Of course we want all our friends, fans, and followers to have a chance to participate ☺  That’s exactly the reason we announced the contest to all our friends/fans on Facebook and through our blog too, instead of only through twitter.

Twitter’s technology works differently than Facebook. It allows for the tracking of contest entrants’ names more reliably, which is why these kinds of contests have become popular on twitter. If there’s a way to do it on Facebook, we are unfamiliar with it.  But who knows, we’re pretty new to this whole social networking thing, so we’ll look into it or maybe even invent a wheel here. Woo hoo! And if you have seen similar Facebook contests where existing fans suggest pages to their friends and then they and their friends who become new fans can be reliably tracked and entered into a pool of contestants, let us now. We’d love to do it on Facebook too!

Meanwhile, anyone can join twitter.  It’s free and easy to do.  If you want, call us and we’ll walk you through it.

Please know, our intention was not to exclude, but precisely the opposite.  Most importantly, we’re glad you shared your feedback with us because it helps us know what our valued friends think, feel, and want.  After all, we’re in the happiness business, so thank you for helping us be responsive.

In Good Health,
Joan

Your spa getaway includes two-night mid-week stay, accommodations, all meals and snacks, unlimited fitness, lifestyle education, evening activities, Deerfield’s celebrated hiking program, and 24-hour use of all facilities including outdoor heated pool, gazebo-enclosed hot tub, gyms, sauna, lounges, grounds, and more.

DonnaLyn is a motivational expert on empowering women.  Her credentials include successful business owner, community leader, cancer survivor and advocate, triathlete, author, college professor, spokesmodel, and mid-life pageant winner!

She’s offered to tailor her Deerfield program to the interests of our guests, so use this survey to tell us what you’d like to work on when she’s here.  Just click the link below to access the email survey.

Here are some of our choices:

4 Ways to Stay Vibrant No Matter What

Beat Adversity with Less Fear and More Fun

5 Characteristics of Resilient Women

3 Keys to Unlocking Stress – Mind, Body, and Soul

Building a Better Life Model at Every Age

Bouncing Back From the Unexpected

http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e
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Ingredients

For soup:

3 shallots, finely chopped

2 (12-ounce) packages frozen winter squash purée, thawed

3 cups low-sodium chicken stock

For pumpkin seeds:

3/4 cup raw green (hulled) pumpkin seeds

3/4 teaspoon ground cumin

Pinch of cayenne pepper
To finish:

1 teaspoon finely grated fresh lime zest

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Preparation

Make soup:
Spray large saucepan with non-stick cooking spray. Using moderately high heat, sauté shallots until translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in squash and stock and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until soup thickens, about 30 minutes.

While soup simmers, make pumpkin seeds:
Spray small skillet with non-stick cooking spray.  Using moderately high heat, add pumpkin seeds and cook, stirring constantly, until seeds begin to pop, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in cumin and cayenne pepper and continue to cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer to bowl.

Finish and serve:
When soup has thickened, remove from heat and stir in lime zest and juice. Season with freshly ground black pepper. Ladle into bowls, garnish with pumpkin seeds, and serve.

Tip: 1 medium lime should provide about 1 teaspoon zest and 2 tablespoons juice. Be sure to zest the lime before halving and juicing it.