just be (or 10 ways to build a better body image)

i'm normally not one for the positive-you-can-do-it-if-you-just-believe messages that get slapped on pretty images and sent through the pinterest-universe. but, something about this image grabbed my attention. maybe it's the simple design, the calming colors or heck, the message but either way, i wanted to share. 

10 ways to build a better body image

• BE BALANCED -
  be good to your body by getting enough sleep, eating nutritious foods and being physically active.
• BE POSITIVE -
  focus on all the amazing things your body can do, not how it looks.
• BE DIVERSE -
  recognize that people naturally come in different shapes and sizes - embrace what makes your unique.
• BE STYLISH -
  wear clothes that make you look and feel good - no matter what your size.
• BE PROUD -
  make a list of your positive qualities that aren't related to your body or appearance.
• BE SAVVY -
  read books and magazines with positive messages that make you feel good about  yourself.
• BE SPECIAL -
  take time to pamper yourself. you deserve it!
• BE KIND -
  avoid body-bashing. focus conversations on the positive traits of yourself and others.
• BE ACCEPTING -
  challenge negative thoughts about your body. try to be less judgmental and more positive.
• BE INSPIRED -
  think about the people you admire. have they impacted you because of their looks or their accomplishments?

thanks to the park nicollet melrose center for the image ... and the be well magazine for popping in my mailbox yesterday. the melrose center is working on a 'be you' initiative to spread the power of positive body image with the hopes of preventing eating disorders through education, conversation and action.

cheers to that!

thankful - a book (aka - it's all the hp)

ooo, this one is tricky. books have always been such a large part of my life. i was the nerdy girl in school that ALWAYS had a book wit her. the moment we had a free second during class, i was reading ... while everyone else was socializing. i loved to read and still do. i'm always midway through a handful of books, have 10+ checked out at the library at a time and even started my own book club: bookmarks and napkins.

but, to pick one book that i'm thankful for ... nope, can't do it. i do have a handful that i can safely say have made a rather large impact on me. i cried when i finished the little house on the prairie series (and created a new life goal of traveling the footsteps of the ingalls/wilder family). i had one of those shinning-into-clarity moments after finishing the five love languages and will forever thank joanna for recommending it. it's so simple in highlighting what normally is a messy, don't-touch topic. after reading how to win friends and influence people (by dale carnegie) i like to think i took a step up in the mental social ladder. once i got over the concern of loving a glorified "self-help" book, the little gems of information he sprinkles in are priceless. if only everyone would take into heart a nugget or two from dale. wee claire would tell you the sesame street book the monster at the end of this book was a go-to read any day. grover ... i loved/love grover.

and yes, i could go on and on and on ... i've been keeping notebooks of every book i've read since 7th grade (yes, we're talking pre-goodreads) but for now, i'll take the easy way out and be thankful for books ... all those glorious, wonderful books.

or ... harry potter ... thank god for harry potter.

i'm trying something new this month - i love me a good challenge - and joining Chasing Happy for The Thankful Project. while i can't promise a post-a-day, maybe i'll get close? today's prompt - a book.

thankful - something i was taught (aka - pa's pearls of wisdom)

i often find myself repeating the words of my dad. i've hounded him that he should write a book. his letters are full of beautiful writing tailored perfectly to the recipient. i've watched him type on a keyboard, it's no small miracle how he can create these lovely stories and still manage to peck at the keys. good 'ole sausage fingers. it's impressive. he often throws out nuggets of wisdom that, depending on my mood, i gladly receive or else file away as wordy dad language and forget about. one nugget that stuck out and i repeat often is the simple phrase - keep going until you gotta make decision. when i've called him for job advice, i hear to just keep going until i have to commit.

i'm a stresser. i'm a worrier. i'm a worst-case-scenario kind of gal. so when a major life decision pops up before me ... when there's a hurdle i have to work my way around ... i think through every possible turn and twist. then i call my dad.

don't think until you have to make a decision. just keep moving forward until someone requires you to give a deciding vote. then think and stress and worry away.

i'm trying something new this month - i love me a good challenge - and joining Chasing Happy for The Thankful Project. while i can't promise a post-a-day, maybe i'll get close? today's prompt - something i was taught.

thankful - a memory (aka - the day my brother said no)

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i'm still trying to decide why this particular memory is one of my favorites. if anything, it should be one of my more despised moments - those "i-wish-you-never-happened" but, so it goes. i can't remember the exact day or even the exact year. i'm not sure what we were doing or why but i remember the precise moment my brother first said "no" to me. to those who are not an oldest sibling, these feelings may not resonate. to all my fellow first-borns, you'll understand. as the oldest (my brother is four years younger) we get a wee bit a head start on life. we've been down those roads we watch our younger siblings now travel. we've danced that dance. sung that song. and because of that ... we have, what some would say, a bit of an upper hand when it comes to our younger siblings.

i could make my brother do anything. truthfully, i could make most people do anything but i had a special way with roy. i was bigger. i was wiser. i knew best. and when i wanted something; he got it. minus the usual sibling tiffs, we had (and still have) a great relationship. there were elaborate and imaginative games almost every day. the couch cushions were never safe and rarely stayed on the couch. we were inside, we were outside, we were in forts, we were under chairs, we were flying, we were sailing, we were busy. oddly, those games were usually the brainchild of me but roy, being a dear, played along.

then one afternoon we were laying about the living room ... possibly watching tv ... possibly just laying there. i turned to my brother and lazily said, "roy, go get me a glass a water." with nary a word, he got up and walked to the kitchen. the cupboard opened and glasses clinked. the faucet turned on. water was running. i could hear water splashing the insides of the glass. then ... silence. i heard the glass clink down onto the counter and roy's footsteps grow louder. he walked back to the living room, looked straight in my eyes and said ... "no."

and that, that was the day i knew my rule as leader of the household was over. my dear younger brother had "manned up" and said no to his big, evil sister.

i'm sure at the time i was more than upset. i'm sure i stomped a bit and thrashed about and whined. now though, the story of roy and the NO has become a fond memory and oddly enough, one i tell often. i'm grateful for the story. i'm grateful for my baby brother and the wonderful relationship we have .. even if i've had to learn how to get my own water from the kitchen ...

i'm trying something new this month - i love me a good challenge - and joining Chasing Happy for The Thankful Project. while i can't promise a post-a-day, maybe i'll get close? today's prompt - a memory.

thankful - a photo (aka - the day my face exploded)

this … this may be … the greatest photo of all time. each time i see this wonderfully terrifying pic, i think all that’s holy that i didn’t click that little ‘delete’ button when it first popped on my screen. the joy that this photo has brought over the past five years is unmeasurable. the tears of laughter that have rolled down many ‘a faces, priceless. the jokes, the gibes ...

okay, a little history. it’s the summer of 2010. i’ve just spent four months in praha … eating fantastic tomatoes sandwiches and drinking crazy-cheap and crazy-delicious dark beer to the point that those 15 extra pounds i took home with me were totally worth it. the family’s up in canada on our yearly trip. we’re fishing. my mom, being my mom, packed her always present box of cheez-its. me, being me, got tired of fishing and decided a wee snack was a wish choice. roy, being roy, caught a fish. dad, being a good little papa, took a pic. as the shutter snapped, i heard him say “this, this will be the next family christmas card.” we all went on our merry way.

fast forward a few weeks. i’m at home downloading the photos. this pops up. i squint. what the? Who the hell is that? what? wait? me? that’s me? there’s a gasp of what?? shock? horror? pity? my finger dives for the delete key. pause. it hovers. wait … this …. this photo is too horrendous. too terrifying … too … too … perfect to delete.

i called my mom over. she looks at the photo. looks at me. and laughs. tears rolling down her face for, quiet possibly, the next 20 minutes. my dad walks in and peers at the computer screen. who’s that? He asks. ha! your daughter, dad! from your own flesh and blood! you spawned that beastly creature at the bow of the boat!

she’s been dubbed the “ugly step-sister that lives in the attic” that my folks only let out for special occasions. there’s no way she’s me. that’s no physically possible for someone to look so different … to be so largely transformed. i say it’s the angle of the fish head. it’s warping my seemingly large … large … round … puffy face.

this photo has been fondly named The Cheez-it Pic. it is reference often in my family. it’s been recreated (to no luck) by friends and family far and wide. it’s used as a motivational tool – you’ll never look as bad as that … it’s used as a magic trick – see this here optical illusion? it’s used as a conservation starter – wanna see the time my head exploded.

you’d like i’d delete it. it is, quite possibly, the world’s most unflattering photo. but the joy, the laughter, the jokes that it brings to a conversation and will continue to bring ... worth it. totally worth it.

but wait, taken a mere day later ... normal!

 

 

 

can never be recreated ...

i'm trying something new this month - i love me a good challenge - and joining Chasing Happy for The Thankful Project. while i can't promise a post-a-day, maybe i'll get close? today's prompt - a photo.

thankful - a trait (aka ... kick-ass skills)

i've always thought i was a travel agent in a past life. i loveeeee planning trips. love. love. love it. sometimes, i love the planning stage more than the actual trip. when i was gearing up for my 15 day, 5200 mile road trip along the oregon trail, i realized that there's three components to a vacation:

- 1/3 of the trip is the planning stage. here's where you think about your dream plans, where you jot down your wish list and the "don't miss" sights and tastes and sounds.

- 1/3 of the trip is the actual traveling to your destination, the getting from point a to point b, seeing the sights, eating the food, smelling the smells and hearing the noise.

- 1/3 of the trip is the destination. some might say the "relaxing" part of the trip. i beg to differ, but to each their own.

once i figured out that there's more to a trip than the destination or even the actual travel, trips become that much more fun. plans become that much more elaborate. lou has backed down from anything more than offering a suggesting on what music to listen to in the car and left me to dig through the details.

so today, i'm thankful for my kick-ass trip planning skills. in my ripe old age ... i can finally say that i can set up one hellva a good trip. i got a bit of a knack for it, a talent if you will. yeah, there will be bumps and there will be headaches and quite possibly some snide comments but in the end, we all come out unscathed and better, no less worse for the wear.

i like to think there's a wee bit of organization required (alright, more than a wee bit). a wee bit of creative interpretative for the sights, sounds and tastes one may encounter. and a wee bit thriftiness - 'cause the shady motels always make the best stories.

so, anyone planning a trip anytime soon? maybe i need to tag along?!

i'm trying something new this month - i love me a good challenge - and joining Chasing Happy for The Thankful Project. while i can't promise a post-a-day, maybe i'll get close? today's prompt - an experience.

thankful - a role (aka ... the decider)

how do you pick one role you've played to be thankful for? i suppose it is easy enough to take for granted all the possibilities and options we have open to us each day. each day i wake up as a wife. i sneak in the dark, digging out socks and hoping they match, creak open the dresser drawers and tip-toe around the bedroom so lou can keep on sleeping. i turn into the commuter on my 20-minute drive to work, zigzagging around traffic and watching my coffee doesn't splash over the passenger seat. i walk into the office and i'm the state employee, typing away on my computer and setting up meetings. after work, i'm back to the commuter before heading home to be a puppy-momma and wife. some nights, i might take the role of the friend. some nights, i might be the community activist. some night, the artist.

reading over what i just wrote, i guess i'm thankful for the role of the decider. i get to decide what "hat" i want to put on each day (to overuse an overused phrase). and not only decide which role i'm going to play that day, but how i'm going to play it. is it going to be a good day? or a so-so one? am i going to wake up with a wee bit of pep in my step or more of a slow drag through the day? i'll admit, i don't always choose the correct role. but those little mishaps make the good days that much better.

i'm trying something new this month - i love me a good challenge - and joining Chasing Happy for The Thankful Project. while i can't promise a post-a-day, maybe i'll get close? today's prompt - a role you've played.

thankful - a person (aka ... the fam-fam)

to pick one person in my life that i'm thankful for today is impossible. totally impossible. do i pick my cute little momma for all her tidy ways and crazy optimism that pushed me through the summer? do i pick loulou for his never-ending supply of patience? do i pick my brother for never failing to make me smile, snapchat skills and all. or maybe it's my dad and his old-age wisdom that's (oddly) starting to make some sense.

i think i'll lump them together into one giant, magical person. daily i feel so blessed to have such support. i call ma when i need a boost for my self esteem. i call pa when i need some level-headed realism. i call roy when i need to dream. i talk to lou when, well, i talk to lou all the time.

thankful.

I'm trying something new thing month - I love me a good challenge - and joining Chasing Happy for The Thankful Project. While I can't promise a post-a-day, maybe I'll get close? Today's prompt - a person.

thanks

to the weather for being such a charmer

and tom with his delicious chicken parm

to willis and his lack of teeth 

to hashtags

and

#sixtysevenemailslater