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Rose Colored Reenie

Posted on March 2, 2012 by Kristin

Let me tell you about a little lady from East Texas that totally changed my life. Her name is Noreen Rylander. I worked with “Reenie” for more than 5 years at a Home Healthcare office while I was working my way through my college. She was an RN and I was an office clerk who processed her (and others) paperwork.

Reenie was different from any person I had ever met. She was loud and proud as you would expect someone from deep Texas to be. She was also as sweet and caring as one person could be.

Because she was SO different from anyone I have ever known, I learned many NEW and exciting things from her. Most importantly I learned to look at the world differently, maybe not through Rose Colored Glasses, but certainly in a new and beautiful way.

She gave me great life-advice and taught me about the Universe and how it works. She taught me to calm my sarcasm and never to speak negatively of myself or what I wanted for the future. I’ve always considered myself an optimist but, I never realized the negative things I said about myself and the world around me.

Reenie taught me that the Universe is ALWAYS listening and only hears the positives in what we say. It doesn’t process the CAN’T and DON’T in our statements. For instance, I used to say things like… “I really DON’T want him to break up with me!” If she heard something like that slip out of my mouth, she’d stand up at her desk and shout at me from across the office. “Don’t call that S#*T down on you!” Another example, Me: “I hope I DON’T screw this schedule up this week.” Her: (again shouting from her desk) “Don’t don’t call that S#*T down on you! The Universe can only hear that you WANT to mess this schedule up!” I really learned to watch what I said around on her.

It took several years, but I changed the way I behaved not just around her, but always. I stopped speaking that way. I honestly believe that dropping the negative vocabulary has brought me better fortune. I’m not a superstitious person (I totally am) but, there IS something to this. The Universe WILL bring you what you ask for as long as you do your part to accept it.

I still cringe when I hear people say negative things about their own outcomes. If I’ve ever corrected you, it’s because of Reenie. I hear her voice so loudly in my mind when I listen to people talk like this. I learned this from her WAY before Oprah and her “Secret” came out. It’s the same principle, but without the corny documentary.

The other thing I really admired about Reenie is she knew how to have fun. She was probably the only grown-up I’d ever met that made her fun and entertainment a priority in life instead of just a happenstance. She always drove a sports car, always believed in dating younger men, and knew what it took to have a good party.

While we worked together, she remodeled the bathroom of her early 1970’s split level home into one you’d expect to see in Buckingham Palace. It was amazing! She installed a huge forest green bathtub big enough for three people. She put in beautiful new brass fixtures, a hardwood floor and an amazing vanity. Yes, it cost her some money, but she really wanted and REALLY enjoyed it.

Her bathroom remodel spoke volumes to me about working for something you want and then really enjoying when you have it. Splurging is a beautiful form of art. I’ve known tons of people who practice parts of this principle. They’ll save money for years and years and never enjoy any of the money they’ve carefully saved. I’ve also known people who spend tons of money they DON’T have on things that are really enjoyable, but in the end can’t afford. Also, not as fun.

Another daily joy she had in her life was the jungle in her living room. I’m not even exaggerating when I tell you she had 50-100 plants growing in her living room. She had ferns, and vines woven through her banister, flowering plants, beautiful shrubbery and all kinds of other green things. She took great care and great pride in her work. It was a joy to her and to people like me who saw it.

My life has forever been changed by her influence. I’m not sure who I’d be if it hadn’t been for her transecting my life while in my early twenties.

Posted in INSPIRING PEOPLE | 4 Comments

An Irresistable Life

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Kristin

Do you ever resist doing things you know are good for you or that you KNOW you’d like if you just tried it?

For some reason it is my human nature to resist new ideas and new things even if I know they’d be good for me to do. I hope I am not the only one. If you have or ARE doing these things, then consider this your PERMISSION to feel GOOD about yourself today. Go YOU!

The rest of us, why do we resist things that we know will make us happy in the end? As I think back on my life there are been very few things like this that haven’t enriched my life greatly.

My goal in writing this post is to convince myself as much or more than anyone to spend LESS time resisting things I know would be good and spend MORE time enjoying and exploring new and better avenues in our lives. (I actually DO struggle with this, that’s why I need a list to tell me what to do.)

I’ll share a few things I’ve spent a lot of time resisting, but turned out to be the best and most influential parts of my life.

I am a religious person. I believe in God and believe I have a communicative relationship with him. When I was 20 years old I felt I had a calling from God to dedicate myself to full-time missionary service. This was not something I wanted or that I had planned. I was a full-time employee and student. Honestly, my biggest fear was that I would miss out on FUN with friends and family while I was away.

I resisted this calling for three years before giving in to the spiritual promptings and accepted a call from my church leaders to provide missionary service in Upstate New York. It was a tremendously difficult job that yielded tremendous spiritual benefits I now rely on and have built my life around. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t fondly reflect on my days in New York.

Another instance was the inner battle I went through before I joined Weight Watchers. I knew that I should join, but I resisted because it cost money, it was embarrassing to admit that I needed help, and I was AFRAID I would fail and then have no options.

After several years, I finally joined. I’ll never forget the RELIEF I felt after my first session at Weight Watchers. The program made sense to me and I knew could live with it for a long time. That day, I almost felt like I had already lost all the weight I had been carrying around physically and mentally. I knew I was on the road to recovery. My only regret is that I resisted the idea for so many years. Over the next five years I (slowly) progressed down the road to better health and a better body. In all, I lost 65 pounds.

These were GIANT examples about ways I’ve resisted my own happiness, but there are small things that we resist that can bring daily joy and satisfaction. It might be something like exercise, or meal planning, personal prayer, housekeeping, doing something fun, or providing an act of compassionate service to another person. I hope this post will bring to the forefront of your mind the things you know you WANT or know you SHOULD be doing for your own sake. I hope it inspires you to take some kind of action that will make you happy today and in the future.

Posted in THOUGHTS ON HAPPINESS | Comments Off

A life living–Elise Wallace

Posted on February 24, 2012 by Kristin

I’d like to introduce you to my friend Elise Wallace. She’s my living life mentor. If you’ve ever wondered why I do many varied activities, it’s because I’m trying to be like her.

She’s my friend Skyler’s wife. I used to do missionary work with Skyler in Albany, New York. They live in Orange, California and we used to double date with them in California before either of us got married.

Elise and I both ran our first half marathon in 2007. Shortly after that race we got together for a visit where I learned that Elise had started perfecting the art of swimming so she could compete in her first Triathlon. I hadn’t done anything since my half marathon. I marveled at her ambition. Could adults really learn to do new things, like swim?

I was intrigued by her determination as I watched her improve via her blog. She got better and faster all the time. Instead of just being jealous (my natural tendency), I decided to try being like her instead. I asked her and her husband for some swimming how-to advice. They told me to find a US Masters Swimming team and join them.

With great trepidation, I showed up to a Masters Swim class. I started by swimming once across the pool and feeling like dying on the other side. With great coaching, advice and technique I gradually became a swimmer and competed in a Sprint triathlon a year later. For the first time in my life I felt athletic.

I’ve done LOTS of other athletic stuff since then, all in the spirit of chasing Elise. As it turns out, swimming is my favorite sport! I never would have had the guts to try it with out her example. Here’s the take home…If there is something you’re interested in, or think is super neat, try it!

Since our first race in 2007 Elise has competed in 70 yes SEVENTY other races, including a few Half Iron Man 70.3 mile races, one of which she did while pregnant. Yes really.

Did your jaw dropped to the floor? Mine too. I don’t even have time to tell you about how she’s been on the podium multiple times and even WON a handful of her races. She’s amazing. And she started just like me doing the one race in 2007.

She’s an accountant by trade, a racer by passion and The Cupcake Activist by talent. Here we are together eating a cupcake shake during one of our Cali visits.
She’s won multiple awards and had more honors from her blog than I can tell you about here. Check out her delicious cupcake blog yourself.

If that wasn’t enough to impress you, let me tell you about her other business, Team-Sparkle.com. She and some friends made super cute sparkle skirts and wore them at a race. They got so many complements that they started selling them.

The rest is history. If you like to run, bike or sparkle, you’d be silly not to check it out.

Lastly, I have to tell you about her family. For several years they have been proud parents of an adorable dog they rescued named Pumpkin. He’s been an excellently athletic dog and member of their family. Just after Thanksgiving, they added a HUMAN BABY to the family.

Of course he would be the cutest, coolest baby I have ever seen.

Here she is on her road bike a few weeks before the baby was born. You wouldn’t think you could ride a bike when you were THAT pregnant, but turns out that you can.There is always a reason NOT to do something. Success and accomplishment come when you KNOW the reasons NOT to do it, but then CHOOSE to DO it anyway. Elise has taught me this.

Here she is just 9 weeks post pregnancy, back to her pre-pregnancy weight, out running with baby and Pumpkin.
I don’t even hate her even a little bit for bouncing back so fast. She deserves it. She’s meticulously scheduled her life prior and post pregnancy to accomplish her goals.

We may not all look like Elise or race like Elise, but we CAN all learn something from her.
If you want to do something, just try it.

Plan it and do it. You can. ( I know, look at that hair! I’ve never seen a baby with so much hair! SO CUTE! He’s only 12 WEEKS old.)

I hope she inspires you to do one new thing the way

she has me.

Posted in INSPIRING PEOPLE | 2 Comments

Sleeping With The Enemy

Posted on February 22, 2012 by Kristin

I LOVED that movie. Didn’t you? I had an edited VHS copy recorded off TV. I watched it over and over in college with my roommates. You have to love Julia Roberts.

I told you in a post a few weeks ago about a Mental and Emotional Health Meeting I attended a few weeks ago. In that meeting another redeeming message was about the importance of Sleep Hygiene.

Unlike most the things I write about, I don’t personally struggle with sleeping or getting enough of it. I can and do sleep anywhere. It was a problem for me in high school, college. Let’s just say I missed some lectures. There were certain classes I could always count on for a nice snooze. Ahh!

Here I am sleeping on the floor in the terminal of the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport on a layover after a red eye flight. I had just held a writhing one year old on my lap on a very turbulent overnight flight. I hadn’t slept a wink and it was 4 a.m.
I laid down in a completely empty terminal and woke up four hours later to find thousands of people hustling and bustling all around me. Why no one in my party thought to wake me when things started to get busy I still don’t know. It was pretty embarrassing but I was grateful for the sleep. (I guess I could count this as #131 on the list?)

I know a lot of people DO struggle with sleeping so that’s why I wrote this. I know that when my sleep patterns ARE temporarily interrupted because of sick kids or worry, I am not a very nice or happy person during the day.

According to the experts at this meeting, although there are medical reasons people don’t sleep well, many people are Sleeping With The Enemy (get it, that’s the title of this post), victims of their own bad sleep habits. They talked about how people give their teeth the proper dental hygiene, but think nothing of proper Sleep Hygiene. The experts say it’s equally as important.

They said, people make some basic mistakes when they sleep that result in long-term poor sleep hygiene. Here’s what the experts at The University Of Maryland Sleep Disorders Center advise.

Use comfortable bedding. This is obvious, but if you’re not sleeping well consider a new bed? Or new pillow or sheets? You spend A LOT of time in your bed. It should be a really comfortable place to be. It’s probably worth the money.
Only use your bed for sleeping (and one other thing *wink*). Don’t watch TV or read in bed. They advise you to get out of bed if you can’t sleep or wake up during the night. Go to another room and do something quiet or boring (No housework, cleaning or TV, it’s too stimulating). Then try going back to bed after 15 or 20 minutes.
Use some relaxation techniques before bed. I found this to be extremely effective during my preparations for a Hypnobirth (another story for another time). My husband and I practiced audio relaxation exercises before bed. Every night without exception we were both out before the track ended. I’ve never heard the end of that CD.
Don’t take your worries to bed. If anyone has the answer as to how NOT to worry while in bed, please share it with me. When I do lose sleep, it’s because I am worried about some conflict in my life.
Establish a bedtime preparation ritual. Warm bath, reading in another room, etc.

I hope you’ve found this post to be helpful. Besides the experts at the meeting I attended,here’s my source if you want more info about sleeping better. I’m no expert on this, but sometimes a little new information, even if it’s kind of obvious, can make a difference in the way we go about solving a problem. I HATE not being able to sleep. It makes me grouchy.

Anyone have a pillow or blanket or special sleep tip you swear by? Feel free to share…

Posted in THOUGHTS ON HAPPINESS | 2 Comments

Geronimo!

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Kristin

The last week was a bust at our house and I mean that literally.

Late Monday night we found a BIG problem related to this website. Some of you may have noticed it. It took several days and was very stressful, but we (other people) fixed it.

Before we got the site back up, I was talking to my Server Person on the phone, I happened to look up and I noticed that there was paint sliding down the wall near the ceiling in my bedroom. It looked my roof was leaking.

Meanwhile, my six-year-old was as sick, coughing, fever, swollen red eyes.

And on top of ALL that, our TIVO died. Like died forever died. Without recording Modern Family!

Me and my sick daughters basically stayed home ALL WEEK LONG. I tried to restrict TV time, but by the end of the week it was PBS Kids overload. I finally gave up trying and just joined the TV viewing. I spent Friday afternoon lying on the couch watching Sesame Street under a blanket. White flag. It was actually kind of nice, good cuddle time with my three-year-old.

My husband came home after skiing with his co-workers (it was annual department ski day) to find his family had turned into PBS zombies.

Knowing I’d been stressed and stuck at home all week, my husband urged me strongly to LEAVE. He invited me to go to our local rec center to swim, run or otherwise raise my heart-rate past 45 beats per minute. I resisted. After all, I was warm and comfy and thoroughly entertained by TV. Elmo was having a check-up and I wanted to see how it all turned out at the doctor’s office.

After I missed my chance to recreate, he later brought up my “list” and asked if I’d like to do something on it. I didn’t. I WANTED to stay lethargic.

To get him off my back, I came and looked at the list and picked the easiest fastest thing to do. It’s # 29. Geronimo!? I thought I could probably do this.

I didn’t feel like making dinner so we went to our favorite Mexican Restaurant. On the way there, I pulled over at a park so I could jump off something and so the (still sick) children could run around for five minutes.

As I looked around the park trying to find something I could jump off; my heart started to RACE a little bit. I still didn’t want to do this. I was a little nervous but against my wishes I started to get a little bit GIGGLY about it. I didn’t want to break my leg, but I also didn’t want to look like a total wimp in this photo either.

I found a moderate (still wimpy) place to jump and prepared myself. I started to laugh out loud as I thought about what I would look like jumping and yelling GERONIMO!

Then, I did it. Actually did it several times, because it was fun and because Steve didn’t get a good photo until the 5^th or 6^th time.

Even though this was super silly, it really did fix my mood. We took a few more minutes after to go on a bridge and throw some sticks in the river. That was really fun for the kids.

We were at the park less than 15 minutes, but it totally changed the momentum of my day. I felt alive again. The kids are still sick, the paint is not fixed yet (the roof is), but it’s easier to deal with the stress after having a little fun, and planning some more fun later.

Posted in PLEASANT EVENTS | 12 Comments

Why Am I Writing About Karl Malone?

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Kristin

Good times. That’s what I think of when I see Karl Malone. I know it might be kind of a stretch to call Karl Malone and inspirational person, especially if you’re trying to sell that notion to an audience of mostly women, but hear me out…

Remember when Karl Malone was Mr. Utah? Remember when he was everywhere? Playing basketball, saying something stupid on TV, being sighted on his motorcycle on I-15. It was fun. Like fun fun.

I don’t follow sports that closely, but he has some pretty impressive stats. I didn’t bother to research them, but Steve tells me that he used to be the WORST free thrower in the league and came back one season after a bunch of practice and effort as one of the BEST. Also, he was a workhorse. He never missed games. He never got injured. He just…DELIVERED. He did what he was supposed to do, all the time. Not like our guys now or in the recent past who apparently were all made of glass.

Was I the only one who was sick and tired of Andre Kirilenko breaking all the time? With his frequent injuries I wondered if he maybe didn’t get enough milk to drink as a child in Russia. Is that a possibility? I don’t know that much about Russia, but…I think it’s a possibility.

And then there was Carlos Boozer. Disappointing. And really for all the money the Jazz paid that fellow? I mean come on. Come to the games and shoot the basketball.

Not Karl…he was so reliable. He was like our State Mascot. We were all united in our LOVE for Karl Malone. Remember that? Remember how awesome 1997 was; when John Stockton sent the Utah Jazz to the NBA finals? A bunch of us Snow College students piled in the car and made the 2-hour trip to the Salt Lake International Airport to yell and scream and welcome the team home after that incredible victory. (We would have ran away with the title too if it weren’t for that blasted Michael Jordan and his incredible ability to win against all odds.) They brought such pride and prestige to the whole state.

Anyway…I’m not sure I really sold the idea of Karl Malone being inspirational to women, but hey, I tried. Isn’t that what’s important? Yes. I really did/do like Karl Malone especially before he sold out on us and played for the Lakers and went through the whole “Kobe Bryant is my team-mate” phase.

So basically, what I am saying is I like Karl Malone and I’ve been bored with the Jazz ever since he left.

So the take home here ladies…I don’t know. Drink milk? Or take your calcium so your bones don’t break. Win games. Work hard to be the best (or second best) at what you do. Happy Friday. Go shoot some hoops. It’ll be fun.

Posted in INSPIRING PEOPLE | 2 Comments

Watch It!

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Kristin

So I watched the premiere of NBC’s SMASH last Monday. I expect it was the first of many episodes I’ll see. It’s the first show on at 9:00 p.m. that I’ve been able to watch in YEARS.

For years, the only shows on at 9:00 p.m. were about murder and homicidal maniacs. Why?? Why are these shows so compelling? I don’t know but they are. There have been short spurts where I’ve have been sucked in. I always stop watching after a few episodes because when I sleep at night I KNOW there is someone lurking inside my house, or I KNOW there is someone outside my house waiting to steal my children.

I get so paranoid from the things I see. Shortly after the birth of my first child, I started watching all the seasons of Alias with Jennifer Garner. Remember that one? It was such a good show and I REALLY enjoyed watching it. However, during the several months it took me to watch all the episodes, I KNEW that everyone around me was a spy. I’d pull up to an intersection in my car and see someone in the Jeep Cherokee next to me and I KNEW they were on some super-secret mission.

Anyway…when I gave those shows up I wasn’t nearly so paranoid. We really are victims of what we put ourselves in front of. Negative will yield negative. Paranoid will yield paranoid. Positive will yield positive.

Decide how you want to feel and surround yourself with that kind of stuff. Every Fourth of July, we surround ourselves with patriotic stuff and guess how we feel? Patriotic, that’s right. You can see from these photos that we REALLY get into the holiday. It’s a little ridicuous, I know. But it’s really fun and we really enjoy doing it.

My brother was in rut a few years ago and was looking for a new job. I have always looked up to my brother because there is so much to admire about him. But, I could tell he just wasn’t himself for several months. We got to talking one day and he randomly told me that he called his wife every day before he left work because he chose to drive home on a dangerous two lane highway with high speeds to cut his commute time. Although the highway is not super crowded (that’s why he went home that way) it is notorious for severe and fatal accidents.

I advised him to stop going this way. If it took him an extra 5 or 10 minutes to get home, wasn’t it worth not worrying about dying and leaving his family fatherless. He stopped taking this highway and just a few weeks later he was feeling lots better. A few weeks after that, he got a great new job. I’m not saying it’s all related to his cutting out those negative thoughts and behaviors, but it certainly didn’t hurt his psyche, mood and general sense of well-being.

It really is THAT simple. If you’re in a rut and don’t like the way you’re feeling, change the line-up of WHO you’re with, what you WATCH, where you ARE, and what you HEAR. Do it for an hour. A day. A week. Try it forever, it’s up to you.

I am telling you, that you are what you surround yourself with. I REALLY liked SMASH even though the acting left a little to be desired. I really liked that it was different and there was lots of good music and mainly that it was NOT about MURDER.

If my theory holds true, I probably won’t be worried about intruders, rather I’ll be auditioning on Broadway by the end of the year. And really why not. A trip to NYC actually sounds pretty fun.

Update:

March 7, 2012

So i’ve been watching SMASH for several weeks now and I am afraid that it’s just too smutty for me to reccomend. I do appreciate the great music and the basic story line is very interesting and fun to watch, however I really can’t keep watching the terrible immoral behavior shown in the last two episodes. Bummer. I was excited about this show.

Posted in THOUGHTS ON HAPPINESS | 1 Comment

Something Yummy–Valentimes Edition

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Kristin

I love Valentimes. I really do. I always have. I just love seeing people walk up and down the street holding roses or some ridiculous oversized teddy bear. I love all the balloons and the special cards exchanged everywhere. But mostly, I love eating treats and chocolate.

I somehow managed to never have a “Valentime” of my own until I was married to my husband five months. And oh…if I thought I liked Valentimes before…

Our first Valentime he came in the door holding two dozen long stemmed roses all wrapped and tied with ribbon. Really. I thought I might die. It was wonderful. He also brought me a box of delicious chocolates. I felt like I was living a TV show Valentimes Day special. It was awesome.

We still LOVE Valentimes as a couple, but we also love to celebrate Valentimes with our cute girls. So to kick off the Valentime weekend we stopped by our local Bakery/Café Kneader’s to have a special treat. I’ve been hearing the ladies in town talking about this special new offering at Kneaders called the Chocolate Mousse Dome. I actually had a sample of it once while lunching with my sister-in-law. It was…incredibly good.

So we took the girls down for desert. I think you’ll agree from these pics that the girls were totally cute.

We saw the treats…We were excited to eat the treats.

No one tell the Kneader’s folks, but these treats are ridiculously underpriced. Only $1.99 each. Their other cakey treats are all $4 each. I’d gladly pay more, but I’m glad I don’t have to. Anyway…we splurged and each got our own. The girls couldn’t believe their eyes. We usually get one desert and we ALL share it.

In case you can’t tell from the photo, this treat is made of Chocolate dipped chocolate cake and the most creamy and decadent chocolate mousse. It’s garnished by somehow being rolled in chocolate shavings. Really, I don’t know how, I can’t figure out how they put this thing together. It’s an engineering masterpiece.

I have figured out one thing out though…at least I think I have…I believe the cake is really just a leftover muffin stump from a chocolate muffin. See, they sell just muffin tops. What to do with all the leftover muffin stumps….I think I figured it out. They top it with mousse, dip it in some kind of elegant chocolate “magic shell” (but better) sauce and roll it in shavings of chocolate. Brilliant! No one would ever guess they were eating a muffin stump. “And they would have gotten away with it too if it weren’t for those meddling “happy-fun-fun” bloggers!” (Please excuse my Scooby-Doo reference)

So at last we ate the delicious Chocolate Mousse Dome. It was…incredible! So yummy! All of us were unanimous. WE LOVED IT!

Having four turned out to be a little much. We all brought home leftovers and ate it again (for breakfast the next day, mother of the year, I know). No one complained about eating these leftovers.

I looked forward to going with Steve and taking the girls here all week. Since this was such a scrumptious treat, I’m totally counting it for Number 291 on the list.

I hope your Valentimes is/was sweet and lovely. If it wasn’t I hope you at least got to eat something you really enjoyed! I’d love to hear what it was. Leave me a comment and let me know how Valetimes treated you.

P.S. In case you were wondering, I just think it sounds better as ValentiMes.

Posted in PLEASANT EVENTS | 2 Comments

Purdy Inspirational (if you ask me)

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Kristin

I have to start by saying how much I respect and LOVE being around Ralynne Purdy. It’s the highlight of my week. Seriously, I love her. She’s like warm sunlight on my face when I’m cold.

Shortly after our new rec center opened I hired a Personal Trainer for a few sessions because I had NO IDEA how to operate any of the equipment there.

My trainer happened to be Ralynne. She was not intimidating like I feared. While we worked, she distracted me by asking about my life and telling me about hers. I felt great about myself while I was with her. She’s been teaching group fitness and personal training for more than 18 years and she’s perfected the art.

“Exercise saved my life,” she told me while I was doing multiple sets of inclined sit-ups (which was very hard for my flabby abs). “I left an abusive marriage when I was pregnant with my first daughter. It was hard. Before too long I was literally packed to go back to him. One of my girlfriends stopped me and took me to the gym. She told me I needed to go exercise with her before I went back to him,” she said.

“The exercise empowered me. Even though I wasn’t emotionally strong, the exercise made me feel stronger. It made me remember who I used to be before my first husband.” She credits this experience with exercise as her first step back into a healthy life.

She credits her mother with teaching her to be an active person. “My mother is 78 years old and has Macular Degeneration. She still exercises in her garage every day. She does full push-ups from her toes (not like the cheater ones I do from my knees) and she kick-boxes,” Ralynne told me.

“When I was a kid, my parents used to wake us up early and we’d ride our bikes to Provo (45 miles one way), the whole family. I’d get on my little banana seat Schwinn and pedal down to Provo. We’d stay overnight in a hotel and ride back the next day. We did stuff like that a lot,” She said. “We rode everywhere as a family.”

What an accomplishment that would be, a family long-distance bike ride. I wouldn’t think a family with little kids would be capable of that. We put a lot of limitations on ourselves, don’t we? Hearing about this opens up a lot of possibilities doesn’t it.

You can see her life-history in her behavior at the gym. Even when her classes are full (and they always fill up), she rarely turns people away. She wants everyone to get the workout they need. “My motto is BE NICE. You never know what is going on in someone’s life. Attending one class can empower you forward through the thing’s you’re struggling with. It did for me,” she said.

Empowering people is what she does best. At least that’s what she’s done for me in the training sessions and classes I’ve attended with her.

And speaking of classes, let me tell you about her Power Lift class. Before this, I’d never lifted anything. I was too intimidated to learn, but this class has changed that. If you don’t believe me, just look at my guns. BooYAH!

Notice my new Party Rock work-out top. Courtesy of the LMFAO clothing line launch party I attended at The Sundance Film Festival. Somehow I still don’t look as “Party Rock” as the people at that party. What am I missing?…Oh, the Glasses! And probably some piercings and some sleeve tattoos.

My new favorite thing is to do blow-dry my hair and watch my biceps and triceps flex as I move the dryer and brush around. Lift pushes me harder and makes me do more than I ever would on my own. Even though the class is tremendously difficult and I am sore for days afterward, I still love to go because I love to be in the same room with Ralynne. She’s enchanting, lively and F-U-N! Watch out though because she routinely tricks her class into doing more reps with heavier weights.

Ralynne is the best of the best. If you live around here, you’d be foolish not to find her classes and start attending. She’s also for hire as a PT. It might be the best thing you’ve ever done.

Her contact information is purdyfit@yahoo.com or her phone is 694-6873

What are your favorite exercise classes or activities? What new things would you like to try?

Posted in INSPIRING PEOPLE | 12 Comments

Your Pantry of Happiness–The Essential Ingredients

Posted on February 8, 2012 by Kristin

I don’t know how many of you watch Rachel Ray or know her methodology, but one of the things I’ve picked up from watching her is that she has a basic pantry list she keeps her kitchen stocked with.

As long as those pantry items are available, she can put together any meal just by adding a hint of other things. It’s genius really. Since Rachel taught me that, I try to keep my pantry stocked so I am at the ready when it comes to cooking.

This is NOT a post about cooking.

I recently went to a meeting about emotional and mental health sponsored by my church’s women’s group. It really hit the spot. This meeting, led by group of Mental Health Professionals, did a lot to shed light on ways to promote better mental health. There are a lot of women who secretly or not so secretly struggle with this.

The discussion included a short list of “ingredients” our psyches need for emotional health and happiness. Here’s where Rachel’s pantry comes in. While these items were discussed, I thought about my life now and in the past. I recognized why each ingredient is significant to my own recipe for wellbeing. I identified times when these certain items had been used up and not replaced and I felt their void. I was like bread with no yeast or cookies with no sugar.

I’ll share the list. I hope you’ll read each ingredient and think about how it contributes to YOUR recipe for emotional health. If there are things you’re running low or are plain out of, take this time to make a little “shopping” list and get the essential pantry items you need. Your life will be more delicious if you do.

Six Pantry Ingredients

Connection. We need to feel a connection with people around us and I’m not just talking about your children or your spouse. People need people, a group who understands them.

Certainty. We need to know what we have today will be there tomorrow. It’s knowing that tomorrow you’ll have a home, a job, heat, food, love, cupcakes those kinds of things. Panic sets in when basic life fundamentals are in jeopardy. It’s hard to be “well” while freaked out about something.

Variety. Too much certainty however, isn’t good. We get BORED. Knowing exactly what is going to happen everyday is BORING. We need unique things to happen on a regular basis. I’ve practically taken care of this problem for you. You’re welcome. Check out the Funnest 30 Day Challenge Ever. Or simply look at THE LIST. This is one of the simplest ways to relieve boredom or even symptoms of depression. If you don’t believe me, just ask me, or…try it out, I dare you.

Significance. We need to know who we are and what we do is valued and essential to others. Depressed people often report that they feel like no one would notice or care if they were not there.

Growth. You’ve heard the old adage if you’re not moving forward, you’re moving backward. Experts say this is true for mental health. Without growth it’s easy to feel old and outdated. We need to find and take opportunities to do more to progress and keep learning.

Contribution. We also need to find and take opportunities to give our time, talents, energies and resources to the society around us. Doing so brings great personal satisfaction and lulls away negative thoughts and/or symptoms of depression.

Having these ingredients in your pantry will go a long way to creating an appetizing life you can be happy about. Just like cooking, you’ll have to seek out other fixings to flavor your life exactly the way you want, but if you have these things on hand you can always count on making something you can look forward to.

These six staples are just a few of the items you might keep in the pantry. What are some other ingredients in your happiness pantry you couldn’t live with out? Or feel free to leave any other feedback. You never know if something you might say could help stock someone else’s shelf.

Posted in THOUGHTS ON HAPPINESS | 7 Comments