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!

hello 2014

this is one of my favorite times of the year. we're all looking forward and ready to scrub away the past. we're ready to refresh and restart. clear the pages. move on without the burdens of the past year hunched on our shoulders, breathing in our ears, dragging ... ... ...

we set resolutions, knowing they won't be kept and we draw up goals, knowing they'll turn into fait wishing. we see so much promise and potential and hope for the coming year. we become unified with the belief that this ... this year will be it. it will be better. we will be better.

i'm over 2013. it was a good year. scratch that ... great year. travel, family, friends, food (a wee bit too much perhaps). but we're good. we're done. odd numbers unsettle me. let's push on to 1 - 4 and see where we land.

this year, i'm going to scratch the resolutions. we'll save the goals for another round. those wishes and dreams that creep up at night and hang over my head in the morning ... they'll still be there. hovering. but this year, i want to think narrow. i want to structure my year with a word. i want to focus.

focus on my family. my husband. my brother. my parents. my in-laws. i want to continue to nurture those relationships. the holidays were filled with family this year (well, 2013) and helped me realize just how fortunate i am to have such love so close. i want to carry that reminder with me.

focus on my friends. i love, love, love these kids. just last night my pa mentioned how amazing my friends are. it still amazes me that these fantastic people are in my life. we joke. we laugh. we eat. we talk. we dance. we whine. we cry. we share.

focus on my work. i'm going into 2014 with a big question mark over this slot of my life. my current job will end in six months and then who knows. there's a new business model bubbling in the works that could actually become something ... but who knows. lou's work is on the up-and-up with leaves a wee bit of wiggle room for me. how amazing to find myself in such a position. i want to focus on enjoying the next six months. i wan to focus on creating a new work-home for the later six months.

focus on me. you knew this was coming, didn't you? me. me. me. here's where i could say i want to focus on my eating - more veggies, less chocolate. more protein, less carbs.  i could say i want to focus on exercising more, use that la fitness membership i'm paying for. i could say i want to focus on my sleeping behaviors and maybe this year actually achieve some balance. i could say i want to focus on my wardrobe, updating those "pilled" sweaters i keep scrunched in the back shelves. but i'm not. deep down in side i want to lay on the couch and read smutty books about vampires. i want to sneak slices of my ice cream birthday cake that's calling from the basement freezer. i want to stay up too late talking with lucas and watching terrible netflix shows. i want to focus on me being happy. that i can get behind.

alright 2014 ... i'm totes ready.

an indulgence

an indulgence ... or perhaps a want ... or something way too expensive but way to cool not to own! so i might do, as in the fine words of donna and tom, a treat yo self day ... ... ...

and buy ....

THIS!

in the world of ipads, nooks, kindles, and all sorts of other square-light-up-shiny-objects it is almost a novelty to think there's still a select number of us that rely on paper ... the thought of me without my notebook ... gasp! it's part journal, part day planner, part notebook, part list-keeper, part stress reliever, part brain. and the fine folks at rickshaw bags came up with a one of the snazzy notebook add-ons i've seen. an organizer for my organizer?! 

can't take the awesomeness.

which is why i'm going to have a treat yo self moment ... and spend a crazy amount of money on something that i could probably live without ... and, fair warning, with the b-day in t minus one month, there will be plenty of treat yo self moments in the coming weeks. birthdays.are.the.best.