Category Archives: Positive

Finding Comfort in My Own Skin!

Good evening!

I don’t know if you know this about me, but I very rarely watch live tv, but my girlfriends have been ranting and raving about this television show called The Voice. I happened to stumble upon it this evening, and mamma, I am in love!!

Kim Yarbrough

Need I say more??

When she first came out, with her plus-sized-glamorous-sassy-self I said,

“HOLY CRAP!! DO I HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL I AM IN MY 50’S BEFORE i FEEL THAT COMFORTABLE IN MY OWN SKIN???!”

She is my new hero, and I mean she is a diva with T-A-L-E-N-T!!!

You go, Kim!!!

I am going to have to take a lesson from this uber-talented-woman, and even if I have to fake it until I believe it to the very core of who I am, I am DETERMINED to feel comfortable in my own skin!!!

Here is to a FABULOUS evening!!

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

Have You Heard It is Friday?

Good morning!

I have been having some car trouble for the past couple of days, and so I am waiting for my sis to come pick me up for work. In the meantime I thought I would take a quick minute to stop by and say hello!!

“HI!”

This morning, even though the day has hardly begun, it has been a day of blessings!!

I was startlingly surprised to see that one of my tax refunds was posted to my account this morning – YEAH!!! and PERFECT TIMING!!! 😉

My sis is graciously coming to pick me up for work, EVEN THOUGH IT IS HER DAY OFF, AND she is bring my nephew, Morgan, with her for the ride!! FUN! FUN! FUN!!!

I found something in my closet to wear to work today that doesn’t pull, fit badly, or make me look like a rag-a-muffin, which means I will not be going in to work running around naked today, even though I haven’t done any laundry since last weekend!!!! Well, that is more of a blessing for my co-workers!! Chris, Julie – YOU ARE WELCOME!!! 😉

One way or another I will be transportationally independent again by this afternoon – just in time for the weekend!! WHEW!!!

and finally, have you heard the big news???

IT IS FRIDAY!!!!

I soooo needed this day to get here, and it finally has!! GOD IS GOOD!!!

Anyway, I had better get finished getting ready for work this morning!!

Here’s to a FABULOUS Friday!! ;-)

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

Chunky Dunker’s Night!

Good evening!

I can’t believe that it has been a week since I last posted! I have been happily busy with a new online class that I have been taking for the past couple of weeks, but more on that with a different post. Tonight it is time for Chunky Dunker’s again! WHOO! HOO!!! ;-)

Chunky Dunkers is a group of friends who get together every week to cheer each other on as we all work towards our own personal health and fitness goals. Some of us want to lose weight, some want to become more flexible, some of us would love to be able to run a mile, and some of us would just be happy if we could just reach our long-lost toes!! ;-)

The name Chunky Dunker’s came from my sweetie and my two youngest sisters joking that we don’t skinny dip, we chunky dunk, and after all of the laughter finally died down, we realized that that would be the perfect name for our newly created support group!! We have been going for about 8 months now (if not longer), and it is still a group that I get excited about meeting with every week.

I try to post the Chunky Dunker’s post every Wednesday evening between 7 and 7:30, Pacific Coast time, and after I post, we “meet” in the comments section of this post where we can all share hints, tips, ideas, recipes, and encourage each other to keep on keepin’ on!

If you would like to join us, please feel free to do so by speaking up in the comments section, or feel free to be an anonymous reader – that is alright with us too!!

So, without further ado…

Tonight’s topic: Consistency!

I am always talking about taking baby steps to get from where we are to where we want to be, and baby steps is something that is very easy to do, however baby steps is not always enough! Consistency is something that, when paired with baby steps, can really move mountains! or so I am told! 😉

Baby steps are easy, but doing them with any kind of consistency is something that I really struggle with. I have a whole list of things I know I should be doing, all sorts of baby steps, but I have every kind of excuse under the sun to get myself out of doing most of them.

Is that just me? What are some healthy things that you know you should be doing, but you can talk yourself out of doing? Here are a few of mine:

  1. Eating healthy
  2. Exercising
  3. Meditating
  4. Taking stress breaks while working
  5. Taking multivitamins
  6. Flossing
  7. Stretching
  8. Getting to my doctor when I need to
  9. Avoiding the candy bowl at work
  10. Taking vacation days – ok, so that one I am pretty good at being consistent with!! 😉

Hmmmm…I wonder what would happen if I were to be more consistent with some of these? What would happen if i were more consistent with all of these?

Here’s to a week of baby steps AND consistency!! 😉

Have a FABULOUS evening! 😉

Chunky Dunker’s Night!

Good evening!

It is that time of week again, Chunky Dunkers!! WHOO! HOO!!! ;-)

Chunky Dunkers is a group of friends who get together every week to cheer each other on as we all work towards our own personal health and fitness goals. Some of us want to lose weight, some want to become more flexible, some of us would love to be able to run a mile, and some of us would just be happy if we could just reach our long-lost toes!! ;-)

The name Chunky Dunker’s came from my sweetie and my two youngest sisters joking that we don’t skinny dip, we chunky dunk, and after all of the laughter finally died down, we realized that that would be the perfect name for our newly created support group!! We have been going for about 8 months now (if not longer), and it is still a group that I get excited about meeting with every week.

I try to post the Chunky Dunker’s post every Wednesday evening between 7 and 7:30, Pacific Coast time, and after I post, we “meet” in the comments section of this post where we can all share hints, tips, ideas, recipes, and encourage each other to keep on keepin’ on!

If you would like to join us, please feel free to do so by speaking up in the comments section, or feel free to be an anonymous reader – that is alright with us too!!

So, without further ado…

Tonight’s topic: You Don’t Have to Like It, You Just Have to Eat It!

This is an ongoing theme in my house, “You don’t have to like it, you just have to eat it.” Sometimes eating healthy can be rough, bland, boring, expensive, inconvenient, time consuming, and just plain not fun. So when I am eating something healthy and I would really rather be having, say… I don’t know, fried chicken? pizza? a massive steak? My sweetie will remind me that, I don’t have to like it, I just have to eat it. What he means is that the nutrients, and good for me vitamins outweigh my grouching and complaining about something that I may not be in the mood for. Kind of like choosing to take that 1/2 hour walk you have been dreading, instead of spending another half hour wasted watching yet another television show! The benefits of the walk far outweighs the temporary discomfort of actually taking the action!

Now, if I can only remember that on a daily basis, I would be doing a lot more of the things I know I should be doing in my life!! So, how about you?? What is something that you should be doing, but really don’t want to?? Could this statement be applied to your situation?

“You don’t have to like it, you just have to eat it!”

I look forward to seeing you all in the comments section!!

Here’s to a FABULOUS evening!! ;-)

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

 

Having a Good Night!

Good evening!

After a slight snafu this morning, I have had a pretty good day, and am planning on having a pretty good evening too!!

Ok, so to start with this morning…I had jury duty, which isn’t so bad, but forgetting that I had jury duty and going to work first, well, that not so much! Yep, that is what I did! I got to work early, ready for a good day, when I looked up and realized Oh EM GEE!! I HAVE JURY DUTY IN 5 minutes!!! AAACK!!! 😉

So off I went, over to the courthouse as fast I could, all the while hoping they weren’t going to put out some kind of bench warrant for my arrest or something – ok, so I have literally NO EXPERIENCE with jury duty before, and I might have watched one too many Matlock’s!! 😉

Anyway, I got there, only about 5 minuted late, got checked in and waited, and waited, and waited, and waited, and then when I thought I couldn’t wait any more, they started dismissing people, with kind of a lottery system. Well, let’s just say, I didn’t win that lottery! I got to wait some more! Finally a judge came out and said that the case the last of us were waiting for was at last dismissed and we were aloud to leave. YEAH!! 😉

Oh, and before I forget, I have to say a great big thank you to my sweetie!! All of the parking around the courthouse is only 2 hour parking, and I was worried I was going to get a ticket while doing my civic duty!! So, I placed a frantic call and he took time out of his busy day to come and get my car for me!! Thank you, Honey!! I know I owe you biiiiiig time!!! 😉

So after getting dismissed from jury duty, going back to work, and finally getting home this evening, I am seriously planning on having a great night!!

When I checked the mail this morning, I found a package inside – what a pleasant surprise!! Inside I found some treasures from my sissy, Alex!!! Thank you, Sis!! 😉

I had some dinner, one of my baked stuffed bell peppers from yesterday, and a slice of fresh baked French bread. Ok, so I realize it looks a lot scarier in this pic than it actually looked, but trust me on this, it is soooooo DELICIOUS!

Then I am going to work on some of my to-do list for this evening, namely my financial tracker!! I am trying really hard to stay on top of that!! How am I ever going to get wealthy if I don’t know where my wealth is going?? I’m just sayin’!!

Anyway, I may do a little more crocheting on my scarf. It is still pretty cold here in Oregon, even for February so, I am sure I could have a couple of weeks use out of it before the sun decided to make an appearance!! 😉

Finally, I might curl up with my girls and have a nice, quiet evening with the new Blick Studio artist catalog that came in the mail today! Yes, I realize that might sound a little sad, but I am telling you, there is a whole group of people out there that will TOTALLY relate to my love of all things art supplies!! 😉

So, there you have it, my night wrapped up in a pretty little package!!!

Here’s to a FABULOUS evening!! ;-)

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

 

A Random Monday!

Good evening!

I am home! YEAH!!! You know, I thought my life was pretty regimented before, but it is even more now! Who knew that was even possible!?!??? 😉 Just a warning, I can tell that tonight’s post is just going to be a jumble of random thoughts! Ok, so now that you have been warned…

I left the office this evening, a little later than I had originally planned, and headed straight to the grocery store on the way home. I had to get my grocery shopping done for the week. My list really kind of startled me, and the fact that it only cost me a cool $22 was quite a nice surprise! I picked up:

  • a half gallon of milk
  • sour cream
  • yogurt
  • a loaf of French bread
  • ground sirloin
  • fajita seasoning
  • a bottle of Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce
  • a six pack of Top Ramen (the lazy person’s yakisoba noodles (just add lean grilled protein, and a bunch of sauteed veggies)
  • Oh, and a box of tic-tacs (my sweetie stole my last box!) 😉

Ok, so I realize there is not much in the way of fruits and veggies on this list, but I just stocked up on all sorts of healthy goodies a few days ago, and my freezer is packed with more than enough lean protein to last me quite a while.

As soon as I got home, I ran upstairs, got into my jammies: plaid flannel pajama bottoms, and a black comfy tank made out of a sumptuous t-shirt material!! Next, off to say hello to my girls, put groceries away, and get started on dinner!!

Tonight I made myself a few meals this evening. I had chicken fajitas with sauteed onions and peppers – YUM!! I had enough of that left over that I was able to make myself a bowl of chicken fajita soup, and I also made a couple of meals worth of baked stuffed bell peppers, all of which will make EXCELLENT meals to take to work for lunch.

I did all of that, not because I am some kind of a super-woman, but because I really am not a big fan of cooking. I did so much of it growing up, that I kind of think of it as a really big, yucky chore!! Well, that is until I am on vacation, then put me in a great big old kitchen with someone to cook for, and I LOVE it!! 😉

I am actually having a hankering to make some brownies, or some rice crispy treats, but since I already have so many cookies in the house – THANK YOU GIRL SCOUTS – I’ve decided that I am not even going to bother!! It may take me another month or so to get through the 5 boxes I have in the house. I keep them all in the freezer so that I actually have to think about getting into them. I know that sounds crazy, but it really works for me!

Anyway, what other randomness can I share with you tonight? Well, I am totally on a Angel bender at the moment! You know the tv show? I watched episodes almost all day yesterday, and I am planning on watching a few this evening, while Pinteresting my little heart out!! 😉 I have only one more season to go, so my addiction will be over soon!! Does anyone know if there is a 12 step program for people like me??

“Hi, my name is Christina, and I am an Angel-aholic!!”

“Hi, Christina!”

Yes, sad, I realize!! 😉

Do I have anymore  randomness to share? Well, I started a new book today? Well, it is really an old book, it is Deception Point by Dan Brown. I have only gotten through the first few chapters of the book, but so far it is intriguing!! I will keep you posted!

I just got a text that my sweetie has gotten himself his first counseling appointment next Monday – YEAH!!! Now, I just need to make one for myself!! A marriage takes 2 people, and that includes me too!! We are determined to work this all out! 😉 Living alone isn’t fun, I am sure, for either of us!! 😉 When you have 17 years of loving someone invested, it is not that easy to just walk away!! 😉

Onto another topic, I have gotten my chores done, except for a couple of loads of laundry that are going at the moment! I love having a clean house. It is so relaxing! That might be one of the biggest perks to living alone!! No one to clean up after!! Aaaaaah!!! 😉

Ok, that is enough of my random blathering for one evening!!

Here’s to a FABULOUS evening!! ;-)

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

 

Chunky Dunker’s Night!

Good evening!

It is that time of week again, Chunky Dunkers!! WHOO! HOO!!! ;-)

Chunky Dunkers is a group of friends who get together every week to cheer each other on as we all work towards our own personal health and fitness goals. Some of us want to lose weight, some want to become more flexible, some of us would love to be able to run a mile, and some of us would just be happy if we could just reach our long-lost toes!! ;-)

The name Chunky Dunker’s came from my sweetie and my two youngest sisters joking that we don’t skinny dip, we chunky dunk, and after all of the laughter finally died down, we realized that that would be the perfect name for our newly created support group!! We have been going for about 8 months now (if not longer), and it is still a group that I get excited about meeting with every week.

I try to post the Chunky Dunker’s post every Wednesday evening between 7 and 7:30, Pacific Coast time, and after I post, we “meet” in the comments section of this post where we can all share hints, tips, ideas, recipes, and encourage each other to keep on keepin’ on!

If you would like to join us, please feel free to do so by speaking up in the comments section, or feel free to be an anonymous reader – that is alright with us too!!

So, without further ado…

Tonight’s topic: Shaking Things Up in the Kitchen

I have been spending some time this evening on Pinterest, and looking at all of the different food recipes that people have posted. I am very inspired to get into my kitchen and start shaking up the ho-hum, and turn it into OH-YUM!!

(Do you see what I did just there??? LOL!) 😉

There are so many different kinds of meals out there that for some reason seemed to not be on my radar, until now that is!! I am going to take a few of these recipe ideas, and give them a shot. Even if they are a complete and utter failure, I will have flexed my bravery muscles, which will make it easier to keep my kitchen repertoire a little looser, funner, and a lot more varied!

When was the last time that you tried something new in the kitchen?? Tried a new recipe, bought a new and different fruit, vegetable, or other food item, or put things together in a way that you hadn’t before? Shaking things up this way in your food habits could get you out of cooking slump, and turn your everyday mundane cooking chore into a gift of untapped creativity.

My challenge to all of us this week is to do a little pre-planning and get into your kitchen and shake things up a bit!! Come back and tell me what you were able to come up with!! I LOVE hearing your stories!!!

I can’t wait to hear how all o f you have been doing! I will “see” you in the comments section!! GO CHUNKY DUNKERS!!!

Here’s to a FABULOUS evening!!! ;-)

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

 

Chunky Dunker’s Night!

Good evening!

It is that time of week again, Chunky Dunkers!! WHOO! HOO!!! 😉

Chunky Dunkers is a group of friends who get together every week to cheer each other on as we all work towards our own personal health and fitness goals. Some of us want to lose weight, some want to become more flexible, some of us would love to be able to run a mile, and some of us would just be happy if we could just reach our long-lost toes!! 😉

The name Chunky Dunker’s came from my sweetie and my two youngest sisters joking that we don’t skinny dip, we chunky dunk, and after all of the laughter finally died down, we realized that that would be the perfect name for our newly created support group!! We have been going for about 8 months now (if not longer), and it is still a group that I get excited about meeting with every week.

I try to post the Chunky Dunker’s post every Wednesday evening between 7 and 7:30, Pacific Coast time, and after I post, we “meet” in the comments section of this post where we can all share hints, tips, ideas, recipes, and encourage each other to keep on keepin’ on!

If you would like to join us, please feel free to do so by speaking up in the comments section, or feel free to be an anonymous reader – that is alright with us too!!

So, without further ado…

Tonight’s topic: Heart Health!

I am not sure if all of you knew this, but this past Friday was National Wear Red Day, for Heart Health. I, of course, wore red that day, and unbeknownst to me, I would become a celebrity. Ok, that might be an overstatement, but I did make the cut on our hospital’s Wear Red video that they put out on the web. I honestly didn’t know anything about it, except that one of the multimedia guys stopped me as I was eating a piece of celery (thank you, I was being very good!!), and asked if he could take my picture. So, being the ham that I am, OF COURSE I SAID YES!!! Well, little did I know that he was actually taking a video. So without any further explanation, here is the Salem Hospital’s video on Wearing Red for National Wear Red Day for Heart Health!! BTW, I am near the end of the video, and don’t you dare blink, because you will seriously miss me!!!

Well, there you have it!! My nano-second of fame is officially up *SIGH!*

I can’t wait to hear how all o f you have been doing! I will “see” you in the comments section!! GO CHUNKY DUNKERS!!!

Here’s to a FABULOUS evening!!! ;-)

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

Chunky Dunker’s Night!

Good evening!

Welcome to Chunky Dunker’s Night here at Christinaville! 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!!

Well, this week…ok, let’s face it, I am not doing so hot on my consistency, so I am sure my weight is not quite heading down in the right direction yet. I do great throughout my workday, where I have pre-packed lunch box ready for my healthy breakfast, snack, lunch, and snack to get me through my day. I have always had an easy time drinking my water, it is generally about the only thing I drink, so that is not a problem. The places where I am really struggling is dinner, and the weekends, and not getting enough exercise, hardly any, matter of fact!

Dinner is hard, by the time I get home, I am hungry, and if I’ve had a bad day I want to comfort myself with food, if I have had a good day, I want to celebrate with food. We are doing better at cooking healthy meals for dinner, but I am sure that our portions are still much too large. As for the weekends, I find that I do not enough structure in my days to make sure that I am eating regularly – I have a very bad habit of skipping snacks and meals, and ending up so hungry that I don’t care what I eat as long as it is yummy, and if it is a comfort food, all the better. At least in the moment – not so much for trying to lose weight!

As for the exercising??? Well, in all honesty I am so sore all the time. I know this can’t be a new story for everyone, there has to be others out there who feel the same way, but my knees, ankles, feet, and now my lower back seem to almost constantly hurt. It really is a problem. You know the ironic thing is that I have an indoor pool at my house. I could swim every evening – if I WANTED to!!! Maybe that is the problem, I haven’t gotten sick enough of being overweight to really take some serious action on getting it taken care of!!

But, I am recommitting myself to get back on my own wagon, and to get moving, even if it is just for single digit minutes at a time!!! I am worth it, and I really can do it – with patience and CONSISTENCY!!!

Go Chunky Dunkers!!!

🙂

Have a FABULOUS evening!!! ;-)

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

Finding Inspiration!

Good evening!

I have had a VERY nice weekend!! The house is clean, the chores are done, and I have been soaking up all sorts of inspirational and positive messages all weekend!! I have had a great time with my sweetie baking, trying new recipes, going out on the town, taking a ton of pictures, going out with our girlfriend, Rachel, and catching up! Having a nice lazy day today, re-energizing before my work week starts. The only way I can sum it up is that life is good!!

I am busy planning some new decorating projects for our little place. I am excited to get both my energy and my creative mojo back!! Some things I inspired to do/make for our little place:

  1. A faux fireplace to our master bedroom
  2. Use a long and low bookcase to create an entry way into our home
  3. Painting vertical stripes on one wall in our dining room
  4. Wallpapering a small hallway with damask paper
  5. Hanging a family/friends photo gallery up our stairway
  6. Tiling the walls in our kitchen with white subway tiles
  7. Hanging a new chandelier in our dining room
  8. Adding bead board to our kitchen island
  9. Creating a burlap wreath
  10. Creating a new tabletop for our dining room table using reclaimed barn wood
  11. Refinishing our French inspired coffee table

Hmmmm…I am sure that the sky, and my imagination are the limit! I can not wait to share my results with you!!! 😉

Have a FABULOUS evening!!! 😉

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