Category Archives: Positive

Having a FABULOUS Day!

Good afternoon!

I am having such a FABULOUS day, that it made me feel froggy enough to want to share how my day has been going since I decided to start a revolution in my life!! 😉

Here is something I texted to myself after having completed the first portion of my walk this morning:

“WOW! I feel AMAZING!! I just spent the last 1/2 hour walking from my old High School all the way to one of my first places of employment, downtown – and all I can say is WHOO! HOO! My sweetie was very surprised I made it down to him so quickly!! We are now at one of the local Starbuck’s where he is playing on his computer and I am thoroughly enjoying a nice large glass of ice water!! I am not sure what to do now, but I am having the hardest time holding still now. Who would have thought that the act of expending energy, would actually give you energy? What a good day!”

After sending this to myself, I tried really hard to hold still and read  a little, and I just couldn’t do it – hold still that is. So, I decided to walk a little bit further. I ended up spending the next hour or so walking everywhere I could think of just taking pictures like a maniac! It was soooo much fun!! I finally had to have my sweetie come pick me up because my camera battery had died, and my back up was dead too! So, here I am now at home, at least for a few hours before we go out to dinner with a girlfriend of mine this evening! I can’t wait!!! 😉

Here’s to having a FABULOUS day!!

 “If you want to have a different life, live differently!”

 

 

Starting a Revolution!

Good morning!

I woke up in a great mood this morning. I am not sure if that is because I am on day two of my four-day weekend, or if it might be because I had such a good day getting my house back in order yesterday that now I am ready to get out and conquer the world!! 😉

You know I have been using the phrase “If you want a different life, you have to live differently” as my daily matra, and it has really got me questioning how and why I do everything.

Why do I have so much stuff?

Why do I spend so much time watching television?

Why am I not arting?

Why aren’t I doing the things that I know I need to be doing?

Why am I not living in the city I want to be living in?

Why am I not working towards my dream career?

Why am I not happy?

In asking myself all of these questions, I am quickly realizing that all of this is because of the choices I am making in my daily life. Not even just the big choices, but all of the small, seemingly insignificant choices as well. They are taking me down the path that is called my life, but unfortunately right now, I have been letting those things take me down this path while I have been numbingly on autopilot. It has just seemed safer that way.  Safer, but not better.

When I was a teenager I used to walk everywhere, and I really mean EVERYWHERE!!! I had filled out a questionnaire while I had worked for this small Risk Management office, and it asked how much walking do you do on a daily basis, and I remember answering something like 4 hours a day! and if I remember correctly, that was a CONSERVATIVE guess!! I walked to school every morning, then downtown to work after school, then to my boyfriend’s place, then back to school for practice in the evening, which had another two hours of walking a couple of times a week.

No wonder I had so much energy!!!

I was like the energizer bunny, and although I am about double the age I was then, I wonder what would happen if I started walking out of the need to get from one place to another again? Would it start a revolution? Would the masses rebel? Ok, so I don’t really have “masses”, but I wonder what my sweetie would think? Would he think that I have lost my mind? or would this just seem like another “Chrissy Transformation” that he has come so used to expecting from me over the years??

What if I were to completely remove the television from our living room?

Would we spend more quality time together?

Would we do more outings?

Would it make us happier?

Would we be bored out of our minds?

Are we those people???

Or is it me? Am I THAT person?

The answer to that scares me, because I know that I AM!!

I watch the world go by.

It seems safer that way.

Sadder, but safer.

I know that it doesn’t have to be this way, I am starting a revolution!! I am taking my life back! No longer do I want to play it safe, sitting on the sidelines watching as others live, laugh, and love! I WANT THAT FOR ME! I WANT THAT FOR US! I WANT THAT FOR MY FAMILY!!!! 😉

So, I am going to take it!! We only get this one life, and if I don’t start now, then WHEN??? So, today, right now is as good a time as any!!! My sweetie is going to take me to my old High School so that I can walk from there to downtown, just to see how far it is/how long that will take me, and I will meet up with him there. Then we are going down to the University so that I can FINALLY take pictures of their gorgeous historical buildings (I have lived in this city on and off for the past 24 years afterall!!!) that I have ALWAYS wanted to take!

I am a loooong way from the girl I used to be, but if I can borrow some of her abundance of joy, my life’s happiness would improve drastically!!! Wish me luck!!

Here’s to a FABULOUS day!!

 

“If you want to have a different life, live differently!”

Chunky Dunker’s Night!

Good evening!!

I know, I’m late, late, late!!!

Chunky Dunker’s night is a casual, but fun group for people from all walks of life to get together online to support one another in their health and fitness goals, whether it be to lose a few pounds, or to do one situp; I am very happy to welcome you here every Wednesday evening, where we “meet” in the comments section to catch up, share hints, tips, and ideas and to just encourage each other as we go through our health &  fitness path together!!

I have had an alright kind of week health-wise, but I still managed to gain .8 pounds. Oh bother!!! Very Eeyore of me, I know!! But, I just had an EXTREMELY healthy, and yummy dinner that my sweetie cooked for us, thank you, Love!!! Now I am eating a sweet treat of a dumb-dumb, you know those little suckers that have all different kinds of flavors? Those are a big hit at my place with the kiddos!

I am sorry this post is so short, but I am running late this evening and I want to make sure that I am able to get into the chat room and start chatting!!!

See you there!! 😉

Have a FABULOUS evening! :-)

“If you want to have a different life, live differently!”

You Have to Start Somewhere!

Good evening

I wasn’t planning on posting tonight, and I know that I have been out for the past couple of evenings. I have been having a rough few days; a pretty bad case of “the mean reds” a la Breakfast at Tiffany’s, if you know what that means?

Anyway,  I have a dream – not a Martin Luther King Jr grand kind of a dream, but a small, made just for me and my little family kind of dream. I have been wallowing, because I really just didn’t know how I was going to make my little dream come true, and then this evening, I ran across a post that said…

You Have to Start Somewhere!

That one little phrase got me to thinking; I need to start somewhere, which is right here, right now, and with what I have on hand, which happens to be quite a lot!! My word for 2012 is Freedom, but true freedom is not going to happen because I wish it to happen!! I have got to stop sniveling, and whining, and I have got to start taking some action. So, here I am, shouting it out to the universe that I am ready to stop talking and start doing.

I have to go grab a pen and some paper and get a rough plan out on paper!!! Here’s to making my little dreams come true!!!

Have a FABULOUS day! :-)

“If you want to have a different life, live differently!”

Flannel Jammy Day!

Good morning!!

As many of you may already know, I am a to-do list kind of girl! I keep to do lists for what needs to get done in my lifetime, this year, this month, this week,, and today! Even though things are getting accomplished and things are getting crossed off my lists, I have been feeling a little burnt out by it all; combine that with the fact that since my sweetie is out working today, I have the day to myself!! Aaaaaah!! 😉

So, I am declaring that today is…

FLANNEL JAMMY DAY!!!

Today is the day that I am going to put away my normal to-do list, just for the day, and replace it with a to-do list of things that I can do to gently take care of my inner self today (the key word being GENTLY)!!

Some of the things on today’s list are:

  1. Take a relaxing shower and take time to just enjoy the sensation.
  2. Wash, tone, and moisturize your face, neck, and decollete, and really take time to see yourself in the mirror.
  3. Brush and floss your teeth, don’t forget to mouthwash, this instantly makes me feel like I’m taking care of myself.
  4. Use your favorite body lotion all over to make all your bits feel baby soft.
  5. Slip into your favorite comfy jammy’s – preferably non-holey, and something you feel beautiful in.
  6. Give yourself a manicure.
  7. Give yourself a pedicure.
  8. Eat whatever whole, healthy foods you want all day today, no stress, no pressure.
  9. If you must get dressed in your real clothes, take yourself out for a casual walk where you can enjoy the sights and sounds of nature.
  10. Spend some time in the quiet just meditating.
  11. Make yourself a lovely cup of tea and snuggle up with a good book, and don’t feel guilty if you happen to doze off.
  12. Water, water, water! Keep yourself hydrated. Add a few slices of cucumber or lemon, and serve it in a chilled wine glass to make it feel special.
  13. Spend some time loving on your pets, your stress level will immediately lower.
  14. If you have kids, spend some time just observing them while they play.
  15. Join them.
  16. Smile for no reason.
  17. Spend some time writing your thoughts in a journal.
  18. Don’t be afraid to be alone. Alone time can be really nourishing to your soul.
  19. Keep the tele off today, but if you must watch something pop in  a great chick flick you have been wanting to see.
  20. If you must keep your phone on, keep it to a lower volume so as not to cause any unnecessary anxiety.
  21. Make it a point to do something you LOVE today.

What would your list look like? If you don’t have an entire Flannel Jammy Day, is there something you would like to do in just a spare hour? Half hour? 5 minutes??

As I go and thoroughly enjoy my new found Flannel Jammy Day…

Have a FABULOUS day! :-)

“If you want to have a different life, live differently!”

Getting Back to the Artist Within!

Good evening!

I am having the best kind of quiet evening at home!! 😉 My sweetie picked me up from work, and as soon as I got home, I got busy cooking a healthy dinner for the two of us. It was a new little ditty that I kind of dreamed up, thinking that the combo sounded really veggie-sentric, filling, but still very delicious!! For my sis,Alex, who I know will be reading this and will want to know EXACTLY what I made, this is for you!!

  • Prepare 2 servings of whole wheat angel hair pasta – enough for each person to have about 1 cup of cooked pasta!
  • Next steam about 1 1/2 cups of diced broccoli – leaving it a little on the crunchy side (just a little though!)
  • Slice 1 1/2 cups of cherry tomatoes in half
  • Cube two boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • and dice about a third of a large sweet onion

Here comes the fun part! The putting it all together!!! 😉

In a medium-sized saute pan, pour 1 or 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and heat over low to medium heat. Once heated, add 1/2 of the diced onions and sautee them until they are clear. Next add one chicken breast worth of the chunked chicken, and cover with lid, while stirring frequently to brown chicken. Keep an eye on it at this point, so you don’t accidentally dry out your chicken.

Once your chicken has cooked through, add 1/2 of the steamed broccoli, and 1/2 of the slice cherry tomatoes. Heat thoroughly. Then add 1 cup of pasta, and toss until all ingredients have been warmed back up. Add 1/2 a cup of your favorite store-bought Alfredo white sauce (we used Bertolli’s – YUMMY!!) Toss a few times to coat all ingredients!!

Serve immediately with some freshly sliced French bread, that has been sprinkled with some good olive oil and sprinkled with some fresh cracked pepper.

Let me tell you, it was ABSOLUTELY DELISH!!! 😉

This meal was TOTALLY healthy, very Weight Watchers friendly, and my sweetie LOVED it too!! Here is the kicker though, I wasn’t able to get a picture of the dish – my camera should be here within 2 weeks, I really can’t wait!! and when I make it again, I will make sure to share a pic then!! 😉

As for this evening, I am going to continue my night of flexing my creativity muscles by spending the evening up in my art studio – something I haven’t done in literally MONTHS!! and play! Play! PLAY!!

I will make sure to keep you posted!! 😉

Have a FABULOUS evening! :-)

“If you want to have a different life, live differently!”

Chunky Dunker’s Night!

Good evening!

Welcome to another exciting night of Chunky Dunker’s night!!! A club for people from all walks of life to get together online to support one another in their health and fitness goals, whether it be to lose a few pounds, or to do one situp; I am very happy to welcome you here every Wednesday evening, where we “meet” in the comments section to catch up, share hints, tips, and ideas and to just encourage each other as we go through our health &  fitness path together!!

Tonight, I thought I would talk about Making Progress!

Today I have been on Weight Watchers for one week, and in that time I have lost 3.8 pounds – YEAH!!! I’ll take it!!!

I am not exactly sure HOW I lost that much weight, I really didn’t do so well tracking, but maybe it was because it was in the back of my mind that I really could get healthy if a I make smart choices!! 😉

I haven’t done much in the way of exercising much more than normal either. I have a knee that I really tweaked going up the stairs to my office the other day, so I am going to get back into the pool and start working it out!! I also have a belly dancing, and a plus size Pilates DVD that I want to get into the habit of using when the weather is not cooperating outside! Once the days get a little longer, I will be able to start doing my daily walks outside again – that will be good!!!

Also, because of the book I am reading, Living the Savvy Life, I have really become inspired to try and eat at home more often, which means getting creative in the kitchen! I know how to cook, pretty well (if I may say so), but generally I don’t enjoy it! Too many years of HAVING to cook, makes cooking not so much fun now. That is, EXCEPT when I GET TO cook!! That somehow feels different. Especially when it is just for my sweetie and I. I generally look forward to those cooking nights!!

This evening, I assembled a healthy dinner this evening of a chicken strip, covered in lots of fresh spinach, a couple of sprays of Ranch vinagrette, all wrapped up in a large whole wheat tortilla. It was incredibly satisfying!!! 😉 Tomorrow evening, I will be making us something very Olive Garden-ey, but WAAAAAY healthier!! I can’t wait, it should be fun!! 😉

Well, I seem to really be going on-and-on here this evening, so without further ado, I will meet you in the comments section of tonight’s post so we can all chat!! 😉

Have a FABULOUS evening! :-)

“If you want to have a different life, live differently!”


Getting Things Done!

Good evening!

This evening, I am working on getting my day’s to-do list done so that I can spend some additional time reading for bed this evening! I am reading two really great books at once. One book is called Living the Savvy Life, and the other book is called, The Sorceress, (book 3 of the Secrets of the Immortal Nicolas Flamel Series) !! 😉

I don’t have anything deep or profound this evening. I am just focusing on creating balance in my life for just this evening. Baby steps, baby steps!! Do a chore, do something you want to do, do something fun, do something you want to do. It is slow going, but it seems to be working!!

Jason is in the kitchen making dinner. He is grilling some barbecue chicken (one of my FAVORITES!!), and making some steamed broccoli, and steamed rice. We are going to eat well this evening! 😉

Talking about eating well, tomorrow is my very first Weight Watcher weigh in day, and I have to confess I am a little bit nervous!! I have been writing down what I eat, but not really tracking my points well. That is one of the hard things about not being able to go on the internet while at work to track my points. WW does have an app available, but unfortunately not for Blackberry – dang phone.

Which segues me nicely into the fact that my sweetie is trying to talk me into getting a new phone. I am a creature of habit, and I have grown accustomed to having my Blackberry, so I am not sure how I feel about a new phone. However, it would be really nice to have one that takes pictures, and doesn’t click when you are texting someone!! So we will see, I have been eying the new Samsung phone that is out, and an i-phone might be kind of cool, but I would have to change carriers to get an i-phone!! Hmmmm…decisions, decisions!! 😉

Anyway, I have got a few more chores this evening that need my attention, including hopping on over to my Fly Tribe’s Blog site, to check out some more of the artists who are currently participating in our blog hop!! It has been fun seeing everyone’s blogs, and getting to know all of the fun people that I have been “Flying” with!! I hope you take the time to go check them all out!! 😉

So, I am going to call it a night for now!!

Have a FABULOUS evening! :-)

“If you want to have a different life, live differently!”

I Dream About!

I dream about…

  • living on a farm
  • growing my own vegetables
  • picking fruit from my own orchard
  • having a child of our own running around barefoot in little denim overalls
  • owning my own home furnishings business
  • swinging on a swing hanging from a large tree in our garden
  • traveling to Europe
  • being more
  • canning the fruits and veggies we grow
  • sharing our goodies with others
  • creating art
  • being a woman who meditates
  • being a woman who is fit, healthy, and energetic
  • being happy
  • traveling across the country in an RV with my sweetie and two four-legged girls
  • making a difference in someone’s life
  • taking long walks out in nature
  • being a good big sister, auntie, daughter, niece, and cousin
  • being brave enough to let down my hair and let the real me shine through all the time
  • growing old with my sweetie and loving him more and more every day of my life!

Have a FABULOUS evening! :-)

“If you want to have a different life, live differently!”

I hope you will take the time to check out my Fly Tribe’s Blog and visit my friend’s sites. I’d like you to meet them, and see what their words for the year are. Maybe you will be moved to adopt one for yourself!

To access these blogs, either click on the red words above, or the “Word Hop” logo on the right side bar. Either will take you directly to the blog where you will find links to their posts! Enjoy!

My Word for 2012, Freedom!

Good evening!

I have been giving this a lot of thought for the past few days, what should my word for 2012 be?  Even now, as I sit here with my sweetie and two four-legged girls, I was struggling to decide what word would I love to sum up my life for this new year. I turned to me sweetie, and out of sheer desperation, I whined to him

“If I had one word that I would want to describe 2012, what would it be???”

Without missing a beat, he said, “Freedom”.

My jaw practically dropped onto the floor. DUH!!! That is such a PERFECT WORD for me, and my 2012!!

Freedom in my life is something that I have been really struggling with!!

Freedom from fear!

Freedom from debt!

Freedom from clutter!

Freedom from indecision!

Freedom from my own perceived limitations!

Freedom from negativity!

This is the year that I want to get out of my own way, and live the creative life that I know that God must have put me on this earth to live.

There is a quote from one of my favorite movies that keeps running through my head. It is from the movie Answer Man:

Kris Lucas: Why can’t I do the things I want to do? There’s so much I know I’m capable of that I never actually do. Why is that?
Arben Faber: The trick is to realize that you’re always doing what you want to do… always. Nobody’s making you do anything. Once you get that, you see that you’re free and that life is really just a series of choices. Nothing happens to you. You choose.

This is something that I need to remember, freedom is a choice, that I either take advantage of or miserably neglect. I am already free!!

What a perfect word for me…Thank you, my love, You still know me so well!!!

FREEDOM!!! I am so excited to see what this new year brings!!! 😉

I hope you will take the time to check out my Fly Tribe’s Blog and visit my friend’s sites. I’d like you to meet them, and see what their words for the year are. Maybe you will be moved to adopt one for yourself!

To access these blogs, either click on the red words above, or the “Word Hop” logo on the right side bar. Either will take you directly to the blog where you will find links to their posts! Enjoy!

Have a FABULOUS evening! :-)

“If you want to have a different life, live differently!”