Happy Anniversary/Birthday

Who would think I could be sitting here, at 7PM, exhausted more than I ever have been, but smiling and writing this blog post? Certainly not me!!

If I had a euro for every time I thought we would fail, close, give up, or run away, I probably could fund a business.... all of those things are true. Are they part of being a business owner? Is this normal?

As we began to celebrate our first year anniversary, we made a couple of changes to our menu, we are selling burgers (Living Whole Burger as named by the two most amazing people we now call family - I’ll explain more in a moment), and making smoothies. These two things I fought for a long time but now I see they are our gateway drugs to wellness, kindness, inclusion, growth, and change.

CHANGE... change is the most important ingredient we must all have to success in life. We must be willing to see what we can do differently, in order to grow. Staying in the same place but expecting things to change will not do it for sure!

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About six days ago we had a family of three come in, while on holiday. Instantly you could feel their kindness, honesty, and inclusion. I never met them before (not true, they came Monday and I hadn’t to turn them away because we were not open and I had nothing to offer) but was happy to enjoy talking with them and learning about who they are as human beings. The photo above is from their Instagram feed this morning, of our new Living Whole Burger for breakfast. Oh I love these burgers...

Today, they came into the bakery early and brought us flowers. I tell you, it took a lot for me to not cry. Strangers, people we only met days ago, we’re moved enough by our time together, brought us flowers to congratulate us on making it one year. I am still moved to tears just writing about this.

Today they were playing cards and I asked how come I wasn’t invited and they said their daughter actually asked if I could play with them, maybe they thought I was too busy. Sandy took control of the ship and for an hour the four of us played a card version of rock/paper/scissors/a lot of cheating!! 😂😂😂😂 ... how amazingly lovely and beautiful was that time?

30 minutes later we played a little more. I gave them hugs to say goodbye and the daughter came up and said she wanted one too! We will stay in touch as they are now our friends.

That, is what is the underlying gift of the bakery, relationships... the food is just a connection to bring people together.

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Not long after this family came in the bakery, the two people who really have already given us more hope, love, kindness, inclusion, and integrity, than anyone I’ve known in a very long time, came into the bakery with balloons.

Here you can see those beautiful balloons and the plant we received as well. How does one escape the love from such thoughtfulness? It is not possible.

Sidenote: I just lost three paragraphs I wrote so I hope to recreate those words below

These two people have given Sandy and I so much it will be hard to express everything in a short blog post. They are beautiful, kind, generous, loving, honest, and oozing with integrity.

As the time has passed we have gotten to know them better and they really are family for us and we love them dearly. I could hug them all day every day and never get bored (unless I’m hungry of course 😂).

A week or so ago, Sandy and I had a bad fight. With the bakery this has happened a lot mainly due to stress and being so tired, but this was one of the worst. We were not talking nor even interacting at one point. But when these two beautiful humans came into the bakery, we lit up, smiled, and got amazing hugs. That is what they give to us. It is that beautiful pure energy that is helping our tree grow with change.

The burgers were their idea. A week ago Sunday they said, “you should sell burgers, healthy burgers”... and I was not so sure. But I sat on it a few days and then told them just three days ago that starting today we would have them and smoothies on the menu. The details were not worked out, but I believed that once I made the verbal commitment that I would do it. They gave us the beautiful name, Living Whole Burger. They are plant based, oil free, and loaded only with goodness and whole foods. You eat one and you transform yourself to another place, wel that is what I believe anyway!

We are changing. We are growing, we are evolving. It is absolutely necessary and these two have given us the tools to not worry and just be. I see many more changes to come and I hope they are with us with their guidance every step of the way. I trust them like I trust Sandy, and that is really in the center of my heart.

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I want to briefly back up one moment about relationships. A few months ago a couple from Switzerland came into the bakery and we immediately found common ground, including our mutual love for Rich Roll, a man who defines transformation. So we kept in touch and a couple of weeks ago they came back and brought me a copy of their book. A few years ago they wrote a cookbook for vegan families. It is beautiful and I love it very much. Below is a photo (I have cropped their names out as it isn’t important to the story).

These relationships continue with many people who come in the bakery. We know what they like when they come in, they feel like they matter, and the fact is, they do matter. I love this so much about what we are doing, even when I am not exactly sure what it is we are doing... 😂

So I close with these two thoughts...

One, I could not do this without Sandy. She really lifts me up when I’m down and she is so much stronger than anyone I have ever known. Sure we have our moments but that is all they are, moments, and we move forward every single time. I love her and I’m endlessly thankful for everything she brings to our tree.

And two... we did it!!! We made it one whole year. I believe that this second year will be the most challenging and when we pass this one, we will have transformed Inca, and working on the rest of Mallorca (for starters). I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to always read my blog entries and being so supportive with your private messages and encouragement. It is that journey that I love sharing with you, and that same journey, which keeps me going every single day.

I love you, and remember, do EVERYTHING with love!!