Category Archives: Community

My Goal List for 2011!

Good morning!

Well, I was up bright and early this morning at 6:45 AM. Apparently that is what my body thinks it is supposed to do when I want to sleep in on this lovely Saturday morning!! I guess it actually did sleep in, since I have been up and at ’em every morning this week at 5:30 am – so there you go!! 😉

Yesterday, I had started thinking about My Life List, and thought about how I was able to cross a couple of items off for this year, belly dancing, and being on time to everything for a week. I realize it is already April, but I figured now was better later late than never to decide what other things I want to accomplish this year, and thought I would share this list with you!!

  • Adopt something from the French culture
  • Bake an authentic French baguette
  • Bake fresh croissants
  • Become a plus-sized model for a day
  • Become a vegetarian for a week
  • Blog every day for a year
  • Build a piñata from scratch
  • Cancel cable for at least a month
  • Cook an entire meal for Jason’s family
  • Create a time capsule
  • Create a warm, inviting & comfortable home where everything in it has a designated place
  • Crochet a queen-sized blanket using a difficult stitch
  • Do an entire cross stitch pattern
  • Eat at Voodoo Donuts in Portland, OR
  • Fill up a journal from cover to cover
  • Form a choir to sing Christmas carols
  • Gather a group of people to blow bubbles in a public space
  • Get a passport
  • Get a professional facial
  • Get a tattoo
  • Get an article published in a magazine
  • Get CPR/First Aid certified
  • Get eyelash extensions
  • Get paid to do what you love
  • Give everyone homemade gifts for Christmas
  • Go a day without speaking
  • Go fruit picking
  • Go out dancing
  • Go rock hunting for geodes
  • Go to a large water park
  • Go to Disneyland with Jason
  • Go whale watching
  • Go whitewater rafting
  • Grocery shop using only reusable bags for an entire month
  • Grow a flower garden
  • Grow a veggie garden
  • Hang laundry in the sun to dry
  • Have $20,000 in Savings
  • Have a grown-up sleepover
  • Have a home with an antique hardwood floor
  • Have a pin-up style photography shoot
  • Have a prayer alter in my home with stair-stepped candles
  • Have my photography displayed in a gallery
  • Have something studded with crystals
  • Hike the longest trail at Silver Creek Falls
  • Hold a jumbo garage sale to downsize belongings
  • Knit a scarf
  • Learn an authentic Hawaiian recipe
  • Learn how to build an SSIS package
  • Learn how to hula hoop
  • Learn how to make a ribbon lei
  • Learn how to make a white sauce
  • Learn how to manage money
  • Learn how to serve cheese
  • Learn how to take pictures with a Brownie Camera
  • Learn how to tile
  • Learn how to walk in heels
  • Learn how to work the camping stove, propane lights, etc
  • Learn scary advance SQL – subselects, unions, temp tables, etc
  • Learn to authentically barbecue beef
  • Learn to belly dance
  • Learn to can food
  • Learn to make ambrosia
  • Learn to make doughnuts
  • Learn to play piano
  • Leave $100 for a haggard waitress
  • Leave yourself a letter in a library book
  • Live without eating out for one month
  • Live without junk food for one week
  • Love my entire wardrobe
  • Make & send my own Christmas cards
  • Make a loan to an entrepreneur in a developing country through www.kiva.org
  • Make a quilt
  • Make Aunt Alice’s somen noodle recipe
  • Make authentic spam musubi
  • Make butterscotch from scratch
  • Make fire without matches
  • Make marshmallows from scratch
  • Make pasta from scratch
  • Make something powered by a potato
  • Make sourdough bread
  • Make yogurt from scratch
  • Meet Della Reese
  • Memorize the preamble
  • Milk a cow
  • Milk a goat
  • No cussing for an entire week
  • Organize a group of friends to spend a day picking up trash/litter from a public space
  • Organize a large family picture
  • Organize all of our personal photographs
  • Organize the scariest place in the house
  • Own a home furnishings boutique
  • Paint a mural
  • Paint a self portrait
  • Pan for gold
  • Pay off all debt
  • Perform 100 sit ups in one sitting
  • Play an entire song on a cornet, again
  • Play ping pong with Jason
  • Publish an e-book
  • Read every book I own
  • Read The Art of Being a Woman
  • Record a lullaby CD with my dad for my child in a recording studio
  • Refinish a piece of furniture
  • Ride a bike for an hour
  • Ride a paddleboat
  • Ride on a ferris wheel
  • Ride on a merry-go-round
  • Ride on a ride that scares the shit out of you – DO IT ANYWAY!!!
  • Ride on a roller coaster
  • Run a mile
  • See a classy burlesque show
  • See a view from the penthouse
  • See one of the planes my dad worked on in the Navy
  • See Pink Martini live in concert
  • See the filming of a Twilight Saga movie
  • Sell all of my jewelry from my old jewelry business
  • Send a letter to a politician telling them, “Job well done!”
  • Send a letter to Elisa every month for a year
  • Send a message in a bottle
  • Sew an entire outfit
  • Spend the day searching the Oregon coast for glass floats
  • Start a book club
  • Start a personal black & white photograph gallery of friends & family
  • Surprise someone with May Day flowers (Ding & Run!)
  • Swim 10 laps non-stop
  • Take a child to OMSI
  • Take a cooking class
  • Take a nature walk & press the wild flowers you collect
  • Take a photography class
  • Take a weekend vacation by myself
  • Take a yoga class
  • Take Jason on a surprise trip
  • Throw Jason a HUGE un-birthday party!
  • Try 10 scary fruits
  • Try 10 scary non fruit/veggie foods
  • Try 10 scary veggies
  • Type up great-great grandma’s recipe book for the family
  • Vacation in a yurt
  • Visit a historical cave
  • Visit a movie studio
  • Visit the Hollywood Museum at Max Factor Building
  • Visit the Winchester House in San Jose, CA
  • Volunteer in a homeless shelter
  • Wear a hat in public
  • Wear a size 14 pant
  • Wear a t-shirt that you’ve creatively changed
  • Wear a veil in public
  • Weigh less than 220 pounds
  • Wire a lamp
  • Write a celebrity a fan letter
  • Write a letter to the President

Whew!! That is a HUGE list!! Today, I plan on baking fresh croissants today, which I have never done before! Wish me luck, baking is NOT my forte.

I am also going to be working on my cross stitch pattern, which I almost have done, and my knitting a scarf project, which is about halfway done!!

I want to go swimming, take the girls for a walk, possibly meet up with some friends for lunch, play some games with Jason, take a nap (it sounds like I will need it), do some neglected house chores, organizing, purging, and reading done!! Again, I say WHEW!!!

Have a FABULOUS day!! 😉

Friday Night Wrap Up!

Good evening!

First I wanted to start out by saying…to my daddy & his wife Trudi! They have been married four happy years, today!!! I wish you both the VERY BEST!!! 😉

I love you very much!! 😉

When I was trying to decide what to write about this evening, I thought that I would just share with you that this has been a VERY GREAT week. Between my new habit of writing for an hour in my “Morning Pages” every morning, or getting brave enough to start a 3-month belly dancing class, at the size that I am, this has been a FABULOUS week of self-discovery.

I have always felt that I have had a pretty good handle on who I was, and what I wanted out of life, but the action of writing my scatter-brained-random-crazy-confusing thoughts down on paper, in my own handwriting, with no set writing rules, for an hour every morning has given me a clarity about myself that I have never experienced in all of my 35 years of living. I am starting to see things about myself that I’d always hoped would be present, and actually are, and some things that I have wanted to be present, more out of envy than true want, but will never be.

Both are ok.

Both define who I am.

I am starting to see that I am good.

And knowing who I authentically am, and who I am authentically not, is such an eye opener and the giver of true freedom.

Freedom to be me.

Without fear.

Without worry.

Without self-judgement.

That is huge for me. That might be huge for you too, I don’t know.

I took my first MAJOR step in literally stepping out of my self-imposed box, and took a belly dancing class. A belly dancing class that will last for 3 months, mind you!!  Being a 300+ pound woman, the old me would NEVER EVER have been brave enough to do that!! I was trying to talk myself into skipping the whole thing and just going home, all the way up through having to walk out of the dance studio’s restroom, after changing into my leggings and t-shirt, and I just stopped and remembered what I had already had discovered in my morning pages. I am an artist. I knew like a flash that I was not going to chicken out. For once in my adult life I was actually going to follow through with one scary thing on my life list simply because I knew it was AUTHENTICALLY ME!! I am an artist.

I am an artist.

I AM AN ARTIST!!!

I want to shout it from the rooftops!!

This is something that I have always, ALWAYS wanted, and was just too damn chicken to bring it to the forefront of my reality! I AM AN ARTIST! I get teary-eyed saying it out loud even now. I AM AN ARTIST! I ALWAYS have been, since I was as young as I can remember. Going to a belly dancing class is something that a creative person would do. When I made that mental connection then I wasn’t scared anymore. I walked out there, into the middle of all of these women – who I am sure have all of their own body issues going on, and are too focused on that, to be focusing on my body issues, stood right in front of the dance studio’s windows and I GAVE IT MY ALL AND HAD THE TIME OF MY LIFE!! It was as if I had taken a deep breath for the first time since I stopped playing music almost 13 years ago.  I am an artist.

Wow! I have always been a firm believer that God has a dream for you, but not only that, but that His dream for you is WAAAAAY BIGGER than you COULD EVER IMAGINE for yourself! I don’t know what the future holds, or what more the next 11 weeks of Morning Pages is going to help me uncover about myself, but I think that this week, I got a glimpse of God’s bigger plan for me, and it just jazzes me more than I could EVER imagine!! I guess that is the point, isn’t it?

He is bigger.

He is greater.

There is a little song that we used to sing as children, and these are the words:

God is so good,
God is so good,
God is so good,
He’s so good to me.

This simple little song sums up my feelings perfectly.

Have a FABULOUS evening! 😉

A Night of Shimmying!!

Good morning!

Well, I did it!!! I can’t believe it, but I did!!! My belly dancing class last night was sooooo much fun!!! What an EMPOWERING class!!! I had always thought that belly dancing was for the benefit of men, after last night I realize that the power in belly dancing belongs entirely to women!! Taking charge of your body, undulating, swaying, and shimmying. When combined with the music, there is almost something magical that happens that just pulls the moves out of you – I can’t think of how else to describe it!!

I also love that belly dancing is so accepting of all ages, body types, and conditions!! And last night all categories were represented, so I fit right in!!! I really had nothing to be afraid of!!!! 😉 I have muscles I never knew that I had that are hurting right now (but in a satisfying way)!!! What an AWESOME way to trick yourself into exercising!!! 😉 I can not WAIT until next week’s class!!

Well, I have got to zip off to work!!!

Have a FABULOUS day!!! 😉

A Morning of Excitement!

Good morning!

Well, I am seriously late on getting my posting out the door this morning! I have been running myself ragged trying to accomplish a bunch of stuff of my to-do list every morning, and Thursday’s are kind of hard because I have to get to work a little earlier than normal.

Tonight is my first belly dancing class. I am so scared, and nervous, and super excited all at the same time!! This is my way of challenging my bravery muscles by stepping outside of my comfort zone and doing something that I have always been super envious of others who have been ballsey enough to do – so now IT IS MY TURN!!! 😉 I couldn’t decide what to pack to wear for this evening – you should have seen me freaking out in my huge closet this morning! I have decided on a simple pair of black capris, a tank top with a fun t-shirt over the top of that. I may not be too stylin’, but at least I will be EXTREMELY comfortable!!! 😉

I finished my morning pages this morning! I am really LOVING the process of doing those! I have to get up at 5:30 in the morning to get them done, because they take me almost an hour to do. They really help clear the clutter out of my head, and help me focus on what is really important to me right now. I only started doing these pages on Saturday, and in the few short days I have started doing them, I have really learned A LOT about myself that I WAS COMPLETELY OBLIVIOUS too!! How does that happen??? I have lived with myself for 35 years, and apparently I am just meeting myself for the very first time!! 😉 

The morning pages process comes from the book The Artist’s Way. I have the morning pages journal which doesn’t have too much from the original book, but it basically skims the surface on how to tap into your inner artist. When I first found the book, I couldn’t afford it, but my Sis, Alex told me that she has found it for me for only $8 and will be sending it up my way! I CAN NOT WAIT TO GET MY HANDS ON IT AND START READING!!! I LOVE it!!! Thank you, Sissy!!! You are THE BEST!!! 

Anyway, I had better get back to the business of living life! It will be late, but I will try to post at least SOMETHING this evening about my class tonight!! I can’t wait! I really just am SO STOKED!!! 

Have a FABULOUS day!! 😉
~Christina

The Chunky Dunker’s Club, Week 6

Good evening!

Welcome to week 6, of the Chunky Dunker’s Club!!! Can you believe it has been Six weeks already??

Every week I post a new Chunky Dunker’s article ever Wednesday evening, and you have the opportunity to comment, and cheer each other as you each go through your journey to get fit and healthy!!! We will discuss hints, tips, and ideas on losing weight, staying motivated, and achieving your fitness goals, whether that is to lose 5 pounds, to do 10 sit-ups, or just incorporate some healthy habits into your daily life!!

Tonight’s topic: Staying with the Program When the Program Gets Tough

We are at six weeks in our get fit journey, and I don’t know about you, but there have been a few times that I want to throw in the towel. WHY? I don’t know, there are lots of reason at different times:

  • I’m tired
  • What’s the point?
  • This is taking so much time
  • The weight isn’t coming off fast enough
  • This is too hard
  • Blah! Blah! Blah!

Have you dealt with any of this yet?? Or is it just me? I thought tonight would be a good time to talk about this. To get this out in the open so that we can push through this sixth week so we can keep going on our journey to get fit. How can we make the lulls easier??

  • Get support, reach out and talk to someone who will genuinely cheer you on and help motivate you to keep going!
  • Do at least one thing that you didn’t think you could do before. Once you accomplish that task it will empower you to keep going!
  • Change it up! Is the reason you are wanting to quit because you are bored? Try a new activity, recipe, or something that you have been wanting to do but haven’t taken the time to do yet!
  • Look at the “old you” versus the “new you”. For example, the old me would have eaten that whole box of cookies in one sitting, changes to, the new me was able to eat just two cookies, and walked away.
  • Find something fun to do as exercise, so you trick yourself into burning more calories. For example, tomorrow night I am starting a belly dancing class, something fun, but something that will also get me moving!!
  • Remember why you wanted to get fit in the first place. Me wanting to be able to walk all over Paris without getting tired is great motivation for me to keep going!

What are your thoughts on sticking through to your journey of fitness? Have you had any inclinations of quitting, or giving up? What were some of your reason? Do you have any ideas to add to help the group keep on keeping on?

I can’t wait to hear your thoughts and how all of you are doing. If there is anyone new who has just stumbled onto this blog, feel free to join the discussion in the comments section. This is not a closed group – the more the merrier!

Have a FABULOUS evening!! 😉

Wednesday Reminder!

Good morning!

Here is your friendly reminder that it is Wednesday!! Trust me, this is the week that I really need a reminder of what day it is today!! I thought I would share just a few pics from my nature walk last night! It is trying so hard to be Spring here, but it is unfortunately, it is still really cold, and there is snow in the forecast for later this week, so I am not sure what all that craziness is about!

Spring I am sooooo ready for you to get here! Sunshine, warmth, everything in bloom, you coy sexy thing!!!  😉

Oh, and before I forget! A reminder that tonight is the meeting of the Chunky Dunker’s Club!! I will try and have our post up by 6:30 this evening, then the comments section will be open for all of your discussions! I can’t wait to hear how everything is going!!! I will see you this evening!! 😉

Have a FABULOUS day!! 😉

Tonight’s Night Sky!

Good evening, once again!

I just went on a nice little nature walk to go take some pictures, and thought I would share a few pics of tonight’s sky this evening. It looks like a storm is coming, and they sky is just so pretty! ENJOY!! 😉

Aren’t those skies just beautiful??? I am waiting for those clouds to open up and just start pouring!!!

Have a FABULOUS evening!! 😉

A Day of New Labels!

Good evening!

I tried posting this morning, but alas, my other PC was misbehaving!! So, let’s try this again!

This morning after doing my morning pages, I realized that I live my life with all of these labels all over myself that I either have given to myself, or I have let other people put on me. Labels like nerd, dork, chicken, unworthy, fat, etc.

So, today I decided to create new labels for myself. Empowering labels like,

  • Spiritual
  • Creative
  • Healthy
  • Photographer
  • Writer
  • Traveler
  • Entrepreneur

When I hear these new labels they get me excited about the possibilities of what can be, and they feel like they are true to the authentic me. I think that is a HUGE step in my journey to create myself, and all that “Self” entails!!!

What labels have you given yourself? What labels have you let others give you? If you can re-label yourself with any labels you wanted what would they be. Please let me know in the comment section above, I would love to hear your thoughts!!

Have a FABULOUS evening!!

The Chocolatier Is In!

Good evening!

This is going to be a nice and quick post! My sweetie is busy in the kitchen filling our home with the smell of chocolatey goodness! I took a quick peek, and what I saw made my mouth water!!! 😉 Our counters are covered with chocolate covered strawberries, haystacks galore, and a new invention that he dreamed up tonight, which doesn’t have a name yet. They look like haystacks, but they are dollops of crushed pretzels, chopped walnuts, and rich dark chocolate in the cutest little white paper cups – very creative, my love!! I can’t wait to taste one of your delectable homemade treats!! 😉

Anyway, just to give you an update on what I did today…well, nothing too exciting! I spent most of the day by myself, which was kind of a nice change from the norm! I hit St Vincent de Paul’s to check out their book selection, and of course I walked away with 3 books, but one of them is a gift, so I don’t feel too badly about that! Besides they totalled exactly $3.50 – so there you go!!

Next, I headed over to the craft store, which was ABSOLUTELY SWAMPED!!! There were people doing craft classes, and demos in almost every department, but I still managed to spend at least an hour toodling around, looking for inspiration and ideas, and I am very proud to say that I got out of there empty handed – thank you very much – that took the will of a saint!!! 😉

Afterwards, I met Jason for a very late lunch at one of our favorite little restaurants, and have spent the rest of the afternoon at home, watching a couple episodes of Bones, and spending time together just the two of us and our two little girls hanging out! Now he is busy creating all kinds of goodies out in the kitchen! Well, I am going to have to do some extra working out to keep on track with my fitness plan, but don’t you worry! I will behave!!

As for you…

Have a FABULOUS evening!!! 😉

Note to Chunky Dunkers: This is a good time to say that you don’t have to give up all of your favorites to get fit and healthy. Just remember to enjoy your favorites in moderation. It is all about balance!! GO CHUNKY DUNKERS!!! 😉

A Productive Morning!

Good morning!

Whew! This morning has been VERY productive!!! Last evening, I had purchase a book called “The Artist’s Way Morning Pages Journal” by Julia Cameron. Well, you can go read for yourself what that is, but basically it a guided journal that instructs you to tap into your inner-self by writing 3 pages of your thoughts first thing every morning!! For someone like me who seems to constantly be writing, that was a lot harder than I could have imagined!!! You are not supposed to “cheat” and type out the words, you are supposed to be engaging your whole self while you are being tactile with paper, pen, and writing your thoughts out long hand. Well, about a page and half into my writing this morning I was dealing with some serious writer’s cramp!!! All of my years of computer programming is catching up with me because my carpel tunnel is apparently just out of control! However, what came out on paper, kind of surprised me, and I can see how doing this exercise every morning, for the prescribed 12 weeks, could be VERY eye opening to what is going on inside of you. So, when I finished my third page, I had this strange sense of calmness, relief, and accomplishment. When I was finished I reread everything I had just spent the last hour writing, and I am not sure I would call it writing, but it is definitely a true representation of how my brain thinks, and my mind wanders from one topic of conversation to another. I think this Julia Cameron knows what she is doing, and I can’t wait to see what I discover about myself in the coming weeks!! I will keep you posted!!! 😉

Next on my self-appointed to-do list this morning was to get my taxes filed, both federal and state. Check and Check!! This was a lot more time consuming and more expensive than I was expecting, but it is done, and they are submitted, AND I am getting a nice return – WHOO! HOO! But, not that it is done, I am feeling very much at peace. I think balance might be something that may just be achievable!!

Next on my list is take Jason over to his truck, which is at his sister’s place, so he can go get some work done, and then I am going to take myself for a walk, and maybe watch a movie with the kiddos! We will see, I heard that they hadn’t watched Tangled yet, and now that Uncle Jay-Jay has bought it for me, and I LOVE IT, I thought it might be fun to share it with them!!! TOO FUN!!!

That is it for my plans today, but I know that after Jason is done working, we are talking about going out on a date! That should be fun!!! I may have to call our friends Dawn, and Erin and see if they are up for a get together!!! So, we will see where the rest of today leads us!!

Have a FABULOUS morning!!! 😉