getting healthy

Achieve!

Oh no! Not a yoga post! YES! A yoga post! This is also a post about achievement.


What have you recently been able to do that was hard to do a week, a month or a year ago? Today, I was able to straighten both of my legs for Triangle Pose. Yesterday I conquered my fear of buttonholes. (They still aren’t perfect, but I did it without hesitating — they normally give me anxiety). I may not have figured out how to build a rocketship (don’t do that, also the earth is not flat) or did a calculation to get us to the moon, but I did two things that I wasn’t able to a few days ago.


What were your achievements? What are you hoping to achieve?


Today I’m hoping to get another chapter almost done. I’m leaving early for an appointment so I can get some walking in. Tomorrow I am determined to do a full plank pose… even if for a few seconds. Your achievements or goals don’t need to be huge, they just need to make you happy!


Back to Yoga! Don’t think yoga can be fun! This is why I LOVE Yoga With Adriene! She makes it fun! She also has a Yoga for Zombies video too!

I decided to build my own 31 Day Challenge with her videos. I made the playlist public if anyone wants to do it with me! I’m starting with video #1 tomorrow. The last few days I was picking and choosing videos that went with my mood that day.

Bonus! Aka Day 31

Bonus content! AKA Day 31. Don’t worry, this is the last daily post about yoga. Some have been loving my daily posts… some have been absolutely hating it. 🤷‍♀️


Today I did an intense video because I wanted to challenge myself and I also wanted to see how far I’d come. It was hard and I shook and there was a position I couldn’t hold all the way to the end and my legs are going to hurt tomorrow! Will they ever! However, if I don’t challenge myself and if we don’t challenge ourselves, what’s the point. I’ve gone through life jumping in to many situations because they would be learning experiences (good ones, sometimes they turned out bad). I would go for job interviews and not have 1/2 the skills required and say I did and when I got the job, busted my ass to learn those skills before showing up for day 1. Hell, I quit a day job to write full-time! Yes, a lot of it is scary, but… we have to not let fear stop us from trying.


When we were kids my Dad built a treehouse. I was scared to go up the ladder because I didn’t know if the treehouse would fall down. Once I got up there, I was terrified to climb back down and had to get my Dad to help. Two days later I stood at the bottom of that damn tree wanting to go back up into the treehouse. I had to talk myself into it, but I did it. I climbed up and yes the journey back down the ladder was slow and cautious, but after that point, I kept going into the treehouse. Yes, mostly to annoy my brother, but… you get my point!


This weightloss journey is one huge challenge. I’m doing it for my health. I went from being fit and slender to messing up my knee, not exercising, being sedentary and then whammo menopause. All of this had me put on weight. Now… I am fighting the battle to get it off.


Who is still doing the Yoga challenge? What have been some of your life challenges?

Day 30

Day 30! Today was a really challenging workout and I loved it! It was also done without Adriene talking. She wanted us to use our 30 days of practice and it was a great way to show me how far I’ve progressed! I was actually able to grab my toes in the seated position (legs stretched out). Couldn’t do that day 1. Also further proof my belly is shrinking!


When I was a teenager, my Grandma Betty gave me an old Instamatic camera and an 8 mm movie camera. Neither worked, but both intrigued me. Eventually, my parents gave me a working camera for my birthday and I went photo taking crazy.


Fast forward a few years, after graduating college for Graphic Design, I felt like something was missing, so I took a college course for photography. For a while, I worked in both fields, but I didn’t feel either stretched my mind creatively. Photography then became more of a hobby.


Fast forward a few more years and I did something I still regret to this day. In a desperate situation and between that fine line of being evicted and living on the streets, I sold all of my photography equipment so I could pay rent. Doing so kept me off the streets, but it took something away from me that I cherished. For years after that, I considered buying a new camera to restart photography, but could never afford a camera or at least the one I wanted.


Fast forward to a few years ago, my husband and family I created Cate and Laurie all went in together to buy me a camera. Even to this day, I can’t even begin to explain how much it meant to me. Though I don’t get out as much as I want. I have been and this year (once winter passes) I plan on getting out even more. It brings me so much joy. More than I will ever be able to express.


What brings you joy? Who made it to day 30 or are you still going. Tomorrow I am starting to go through her other videos. I also will stop posting daily about yoga. I will post from time to time about my progress.

Day 29

Day 29! My legs are shakey after today’s practice! I am so glad I started this practice though. I’m getting physically stronger every single day. Getting strong and building muscle will help me let go of the weight I’ve been holding onto.


If I was alive (maybe I was in another life) in the early 1900s, I fully believe that not only would I have been a flapper, I would have been in Vaudeville or the Silent movies. I must have been. What little kid (yes I was into this stuff as a kid) is into all of this stuff otherwise. One of my dreams was to put on a full Vaudeville show. Though I didn’t do a full scale one, I used to run a monthly Cabaret. Running a smaller show I fully appreciate all of the work that a full Vaudeville show would have been to put on.


One of my other favourite parts of Vaudeville are the amazing posters!


To learn more about the history of Vaudeville, please click on the below link.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaudeville

Day 28

Day 28! And I feel great! {could turn this into a dirty limerick – maybe later}
For a couple of weeks, I wasn’t really losing inches, which is odd, because along with long brisk walks, I’m doing yoga every day and I’m still eating healthy. I am keeping track and I noticed that I will lose, then two weeks nothing, then lose, then two weeks nothing. Apparently, this is how my body loses weight. This time it was 3 weeks before something disappeared. I also wonder if it’s because I’m starting to build some muscles. (being hopeful here)


Here are the current stats on inches gone:
Arm = 1
Bust = 1
Waist = 4
Stomach = 9.5
Hips = 6
Thigh = 4
Calf = 1

I LOVE ghost stories. Reading them, writing them, watching movies and documentaries about them and you guessed it, even those reality-style TV shows about them like Ghost Adventures. If it goes bump in the night, I want to know about it. Do you like ghost stories?


Who else made it to day 28? Two more days to go in this challenge for me!

Day 27

Day 27! I cannot believe it’s already day 27! Today was another challenging video, but I personally prefer the ones that make me work! I think by round 2 I will be able to hold and do most of the moves except Crow Pose. That one is going to take work. Otherwise, I’m doing pretty good!


Since I was quite young I have been intrigued by Marilyn Monroe. Over the years I have watched and rewatched her movies, purchased and read many books about her (I have kept my favourites) and watched lots of documentaries about her. She was incredibly fascinating and super talented, she was also someone who suffered from depression and a sense of low self-esteem. Many of us can understand that to certain degrees. She had a beautiful soul and died way too young. When asked if there was anyone dead or alive I would love to meet Marilyn is at the top of my list. I would love to have had a coffee chat with her.


As many of you may or may not know, I make a lot of my own clothing. This year I have a goal to make 2 of her many fabulous dresses. The well known blue dress and the red dress from the movie Niagara. For the blue dress I am going to be using the Lila + June Picnic dress (I just need to find the right material) and for the red dress a Gretchen “Gertie” Hirsch pattern. Both I will be making over the next few months! I’ve always wanted to make them as a tribute to Marilyn and this year I’m doing it!

Day 26

Day 26! I believe that I started doing the 30-day yoga challenged exactly when I was supposed to. Adriene’s messages line up with exactly what I am thinking or dealing with. Today’s message was about letting go of things that no longer serve a purpose. Also, today was another hard work out and I wasn’t getting some moves. As I said earlier, when I’m done this I am going to do 7 days of her current practice then redo these 30 days. I want to get better at the moves!


Back to the point. We all do this, I do this. Hold onto things or people that no longer serve a purpose in our lives. I was raised by a father who kept broken things around because one day he would fix it. Then the basement gets cluttered, my mom gets annoyed… well, guess what. I’M THE SAME WAY. To a certain degree. I will use things, even past their usefulness until they completely fall apart. Then I feel guilty about getting rid of them. I will keep books, clothing, etc, just in case. I will stay in friendships, even if they are unhealthy. Well… I used to. Last year, I started to change that, to get rid of things and people that no longer made sense. It’s a process and hard, but if we want to be happy, we need to do this. Sometimes we feel bad about it. Then Adriene says the words and you shake your head agreeing because somehow she knew exactly what you were suffering through.


Last night I had a lot of weird dreams. A few about a friendship I ended. I woke up feeling bad, wondering should I have given that person one more chance for the 99th time. Or was it the 100th time. I’m not sure, I’ve lost count. Then I did yoga. Then I reminded myself… that I’ve lost count. These thoughts, this guilt, no longer serves a purpose, so I’ve let them go. I have to. People are getting sick of hearing about it and I’m thoroughly sick of talking about it.


Right… there is a photo to talk about which somehow also goes hand in hand with letting go of things that no longer serve a purpose. That message is stand up for what you believe in. We are living in a time where we are seeing protests. Lots of protests. We’ve had enough and banding together in protest is a way to get our message heard. We need to learn from our Suffragette sisters. Do not back down until you get the solution you were looking for. Stand up for your beliefs and never, ever give up because you were told no!

Day 25

Day 25! How much am I enjoying getting up and doing yoga right away? A lot apparently. I forgot to turn the alarm off this morning, so I woke up thinking it was a regular day and not a holiday. When I clued in that it was a holiday, rather than go back to bed… I did yoga. Who am I?!


Today was a gentle practice. We often forget to be gentle with ourselves, to take breaks when we need it. We live in a chaotic world that doesn’t stop. We have access to news, social media and whoever we want to get in touch with 24/7. Things such as cell phones and social media can be a huge determent to our own mental well being. We need to remember to be gentle with ourselves and sometimes, turn the world off, even if for 30 minutes.
Everything about this picture makes me happy. There is a raven, a black cat, a baby Chuthulu, Edgar Allen Poe and H.P. Lovecraft. The only thing missing is a bat. I’m sure it’s there somewhere. I’ve read their work many, many times and I will read it many times more. It’s my happy place.


The other book I have read so many times that my copy is falling apart, is A Tree Grows In Brooklyn. It’s the book that inspired me to be a writer.


What authors do you read over and over again?

Day 24

Day 24! I can’t believe I’m on day 24 already! I honestly look forward to waking up and doing yoga every day. They say it takes 28 days to break or start a new habit. I’m 4 days away from 28, but I already feel this is now a daily habit. A healthy habit.


I LOVE B MOVIES! All kinds, from all eras. It’s why Zed Dulac and I started Killer B Cinema. We both grew up watching them. Though I loved them then, I don’t think I really started to appreciate them until I was older. The plots, the costumes, the badly written scripts! One of my all-time favourites that I NEVER get bored watching is Plan 9 From Outer Space. I love Ed Wood Jr. for not just this movie, but for his motivation to live out his dream of making movies. He was a fascinating person with an inspiring drive. When I want to give up on a creative project I will say to myself, would Ed Wood have given up. NO! So I don’t either.


Do you have a favourite b movie? A favourite genre? Who is still doing the Yoga Challenge?

Day 23

Day 23. Today was about focus and for me focusing on the good things. After the fat-shaming, I had to remind myself that I am in fact focusing on my health and working really hard to get rid of weight and get back to my healthy weight. My reminder yesterday was putting on two dresses I recently made. Reminding myself that I am almost two dress sizes down. When I made these dresses I actually made them 2 dress sizes down. It helped me focus on the fact that I am doing something positive. I’m running a make a vintage/vintage reproduction dress a month with two sassy vintage loving ladies. I am hoping that by dress 12 I will be at my healthy weight. I’ve included a current photo of me wearing the dresses.


Continuing on the theme of sassy ladies. When most think of Rockabilly, they think of the male artists and forget that women were a huge part of the beginnings of Rock and Roll and it’s continuation as Rockabilly. I love Rockabilly and Surf music. They are happy, be a rebel, get er done music to me and the women who are the part of it all, are exactly that, rebellious and getting it done! Wanda Jackson is a very recognizable name and she only recently retired from playing. We were lucky to catch her last show at The Cadillac Lounge. Other women you should know are Janis Martin, Bunny Paul, Sparkle Moore, Lorrie Collins of the Collins Kids, Jo Ann Campbell, and Alis Lesley just to name a few.


The photo is of Sparkle Moore.


Here are a few links:
https://ravishly.com/2015/04/16/move-it-over-11-women-who-made-rockabilly-history
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockabilly
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sparkle_Moore
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wanda_Jackson
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janis_Martin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jo_Ann_Campbell
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alis_Lesley