Special Occasion Items...

Wow. It has been awhile since my last post. Shame on me. I came up with a million and one excuses and reasons why I have not had time to blog. But guess what? I am not going to do that anymore. I am not going to give excuses for why I don’t do things or haven’t got to things. The simple fact is that I have not been on top of blogging. Shame on me, and I will work at being better about it.

I was reading “The Happieness Project” last week and there was a chapter about spending. In this chapter they touched on the fact that it is okay to spend money on yourself without feeling guilty. It is okay to buy yourself the things you want. Just not to go overboard. It transitioned into talking about all the things that we buy and have, but we save them for special occasions. I, too, find myself with a lot of items that have gone unused because they are too special or amazing to use for everyday life or any ordinary occasion.

In the book, there was a blurb about a lady who had received this amazing art set when she was younger. She treasured it so much that she had never used it. It was too precious to use on any old project. So it sat around for years. Years later, she went to retrieve it and her mother had gotten rid of it because her daughter had never used it. She assumed that she did not want it.

Well guess who has an art set/kit like that? Yep, I DO! I have had said art set for at least 17+ years. Everything looks so nice, neat and lovely in the kit. I did not want to disturb it, mess it up and “ruin” it for any old art project. So it has sat nicely for all of these years, on shelves, in closets, in garages, and who knows where else. It currently resides in my home office on a shelf. The case is a lovely dark wood and matches my furniture in there. I realized I have been using it as a decorative piece instead of what it is intended for because I wanted to save it for a special occasion.

Had I not read this book, I probably would have gone my whole life without using my sacred art kit. This led me to discover and use things that I had not used before, or had used only on special occasions. Those lovely note cards I got as part of a bridesmaids gift package? I have only used one because they were so pretty; I wanted to use them for special occasions. Our wedding china has only been used once in the last five years! I even have undies that I do not wear that often because I save them for special occasions. Guess who is having a painting party on china in her undies this weekend? This girl!

Seriously though, we forget or overlook these moments that are happening right here, right now. These moments are just as special. Just as memorable. What if there is no tomorrow, or we do not make it to have that “special occasion” we have been waiting for. What then? I encourage each of you to get out those items that are wasting away because they are too precious. Use them. Enjoy them. Savor every moment while doing so. That is why you got them in the first place.

It's the Little Things

As Americans we tend to think BIG. Bigger is always better. But I have found that it is not always the case. With my realization that I need to shed a few pounds, I grew overwhelmed thinking about all the big things I needed to do. Cut out foods from my diet completely, join a gym, give up soda, etc, etc. While these are all great ideas, they were too big for me. Too much out of my comfort zone, too much at once. Most likely something that I would do for a few weeks and then jump back into my old routine and habits.

Instead, I started focusing on the little things that I could do that would contribute to an overall better and healthier me. I love sweets. I mean I really LOVE sweets. This doesn’t go well with the fact that I love to snack as well. During work, while watching TV, before I go to bed. So one of the little things that I have done was purchase almonds, grapes and happy cow cheese. I make sure that I always have one or another on my person. Instead of heading to the vending machine at work or making a trip to the local QT for some sweets, I snack on one of the healthier options.

It has also helped with my snacking on chocolate at home. Instead of going to the candy bowl (I know, it would be so much easier to get rid of the bowl, but I can’t…my husband is a mild chocoholic) I open the fridge and grab some grapes. Not as sweet and yummy, but I feel better about my choices after.

I have also started parking further away from where ever it is I am going. It does not have a huge impact, but it does add steps to my day, get my blood flowing a little more and, again, makes me feel better about my choices.

For those of you that do not know me, I am a Diet Coke junkie. I drink it first thing in the morning, clear until bedtime. I recently started just taking a limited number to work. Once they are gone, I turn to dreaded water. When I get home, instead of having regular Diet Coke, I drink Caffeine Free Diet Coke. Still not ideal, but having caffeine free vs. regular diet coke has allowed me to sleep better. I am not staying up as late because I jacked up on caffeine.

I know these are all little things and will not have BIG AMAZING EFFECTS, but these small things are allowing me to make healthy choices. These healthy choices can (and will) lead to additional, bigger healthy choices. It seems to be contagious. Once I do something that makes me feel even a little better, I want to do something else, and something else, and something else. So they were right when they said it’s the little things that count. What little things can you do, or are you doing to make a healthier you?

From Trash to Treasure

I got to spend my Saturday with two amazing ladies who I have had the privilege of being friends with for around ten years. My girlfriend Megan is getting married. What a beautiful bride she is going to make! She is one of the strongest, people I know. One of the things I admire most about her is her ability to stand by her beliefs strong and proud, no matter what. Megan, Amy and I took a day trip (a 2 hour drive one way) up to check out Megan’s venue. She is getting married in Cornville AZ (I had never even heard of this place until the trip). It is located near Cottonwood, Az. It was such a beautiful location and I can’t wait until her wedding day in May to see all of the ideas and hard work come together.

After the tour of the venue, we headed to lunch at a quaint local establishment, the Grasshpper Café. We were pleasantly surprised by the inside, the quality of service and the food. We walked over to the market next store and were greeted with wine tasting and small town hospitality. How friendly and amazing everyone we met were. I had no idea there were so many wineries in Arizona!

After our local market experience, we headed out to the party rental store, only to stop at a half dozen thrift stores on the way. Can you say JACKPOT! We all walked away with items, but I think I had the most amazing finds. It seems like out of town thrift stores are where all the amazing items are located! Some of the fabulous finds were my own and some were from Amy shouting my name across the store to come check out her find. Most of my finds were projects that I would need to work on to create a fabulous end product. My favorite kind of find!

For less then $20 I returned home with some amazing treasures! I found a punch bowl with 12 punch glasses, serving spoon and some other bowl that matches (not sure what the bowl is for), a fabulous frame, two glass jars, a fantastic fancy mirror, a tray of sorts and a $2 chair. The tray and the chair would become my afternoon/evening projects.

The $2 chair was a hunter green that had chips in it with a funky seat cushion covering and was super wobbly. I regret that I did not take a before picture of the whole chair prior to me starting my project. I was so eager to get started I forgot. Trust me, it was beat up and ugly! Once home, I took off the seat cushion, and spray painted the chair a matte black (I had this on had so it cost nothing). I went to Joann’s Fabrics and purchased a ½ yard of upholstery material ($17). Once home, I recovered the cushion and tightened all the screws to fix the wobbly legs. This chair is now AMAZING and it only cost me less then $20 (and I still have fabric left!).



















My fancy tray I bought was perfect for transforming into a elegant chalk board. The tray cost $4 and the chalk board paint cost $5 (and I have a TON left over for future projects). This super cool chalk board only cost $9 to make!




















So, considering I got to spend the whole day with to fantabulous ladies, AND I found some AMAZING deals, I consider this Saturday a huge success! I never realized just how fun it was to take something that is not so pretty and give it a make over! Especially on a bargain budget! The girls and I are already talking about when we can do this kind of a trip again to find more treasures!

Volunteering Abroad

Volunteering….one word can change a life, change someone’s views and change the world. Volunteering is something that EVERYONE can do, but not everyone chooses to do. Volunteering is one of the most valuable acts, yet it costs nothing, except your time. For a long time, I found myself thinking of all the great places I would like to volunteer, of all the change I would and could make, and then I would go about my business. I never signed up to volunteer; I never researched any volunteer opportunities. I just always thought “that would be a great volunteer opportunity” and then go on with my day. I guess I was satisfied with even just the thought of volunteering.

Years ago, when my husband and I first started dating, I had watched a show (maybe 60 minutes or similar) about Opera and all the great things she was doing in Africa. I told my husband that one day, I wanted to do that to. And again, it got swept under the rug and I went on with my life. I didn’t have “time” to volunteer, much less volunteer abroad. Who does that kind of thing anyhow?

It was a little over a year ago that I started looking at my life with a microscope. What had I done with it? What impact or mark had I made? Whose life had I affected? If I were to die tomorrow, what would be said about me? That I was a lot of fun and great to party with? That I lead a great life full of sitting on the couch, crafting and baking cupcakes? I really wasn’t pleased with who I was at the moment. Sure, I was a great person. I was considerate, caring, compassionate, etc. But I needed to be more. I needed to feel like a made a difference, that I touched and changed at least one life.

It was a week later that I signed up with United Planet, an international volunteer program. I agreed to volunteer in Tanzania for one month. Signing up for this program, I knew that one month wasn’t long enough to change the world, but it was all I could get off work, not to mention I was leaving my family behind. I was going to Tanzania to help teach English in one of their primary schools. I was so excited and nervous. I had no idea what to expect, so I left all of my expectations at home and went with an open mind.

WOW, is all I can say. I went to Tanzania hoping to change a life, make a difference and improve a life or two. I’m not sure what kind of impact I had on the children or people that I worked with, but I will tell you that I did change someone. I was able to alter someone’s perspective on life. I was able to give someone clarity and the ability to appreciate the simple things and learn how to put things into perspective. The person that I changed was me. Unintentionally, I changed. I didn’t bring this change on by myself. Every child that I came into contact with, every person that I converse with, people that I just sat back and observed….they changed me.

I’m not going to lie, I am sure that I made a small impact on one or two of the kiddos. I am sure I created some stories for them to tell featuring the “crazy white lady from America”, but those kids have given me so much more than I ever expected. They touched my heart, my mind and my soul. I could go on and on about what an amazing, life changing experience I had. I could share a hundred stories with you. But I won’t. Not in this post anyhow.

I just want everyone to know that volunteering abroad is an amazing thing. You touch the lives of the folks you come in contact with, but you also touch your own life. You improve yourself. You get to know yourself a little better. You get to see how strong you really are. You realize that you can overcome obstacles that you never thought you could. You are forced to try new things and look at new point of views. You are exposed to new cultures and ways of life. You are often outside of your comfort zone, but you learn how to accept it, deal with it and embrace it. You are able to make these discoveries though the people you meet during your volunteer work, through other volunteers and through experiences during your volunteer time.

I LOVED every minute of my experience and would do it all over again. I look forward to when I can do it again. For everyone that says they don’t have the time, or the money or the millions of other reasons why you could never do volunteer abroad, I want to tell you that is bulls*%t. You reconstruct your priorities, you save more and spend less, you figure out how to get your family involved with you if you cannot bear to leave them, you work it in around your vacation time. You put all the reasons aside why you can’t do it and focus on the reasons why you can! I guarantee you will not be disappointed that you did it!

For more information on volunteering abroad, you can check out www.unitedplanet.org or one of the many other organizations.

Some of my students

A monkey just hangin' out in the forrest

A monkey that came over to read my book and nibble on my postcards

The beautiful Indian Ocean

Lunch! Rice and cabbage

Some of my fav kiddos!

Spice up your sprinkles!

I remember how excited I was to get married. There were many things that contributed to this excitement. One of the biggies was, of course, the registry. We had the fun of going around stores, armed with scanners, picking items that we “needed”. Everyone remembers how fabulous it is (mostly the ladies…all the men I have talked to dread it). Anyhow, I just HAD to have a spice rack. I assured my husband that since we were getting married we would spend a lot more time cooking and this would be PERFECT!

Well, almost five years later, I have come to the realization that we do not NEED the spice rack. We have only used a handful of spices and the others have gone bad. Did you know spices have an expiration date? I recently found that out! Well, being that the spices were expired, it was time to throw them out. So here I was with this great rack of little glass jars. What was a girl to do?

I soaked and cleaned the jars to rid them of the smell of various herbs and spices. I let the jars dry completely and then I filled them with all of my fabulous sprinkles and colored sugars. Not only does this provide a great storage for all of there items, it keeps them organized AND it looks great sitting on my counter. It adds a nice touch of color to my baking area.

Think twice before you toss out your spice racks! I am sure there are a ton of other uses, such as keeping small, misc crafting supplies like buttons, paper clips, safety pins, etc. What would you use it for?

Get Your Craft On!

One of my goals is to do something for ME once a week. Whether it be cake, cook a new dish, crafts or various projects. All too often, I think we forget to stop and spend time on ourselves. Life gets in the way and we no longer become a priority to ourselves. Well, Im moving myself to the top of the list.

Today I was inspired to do a craft which I have had my eye on for a few weeks. There is this super cool felt flower throw pillow that I saw on www.thecraftingchicks.com that I fell in love with. I have been wanting to do it, but getting to the fabric store was never a priority. Well, I made it one today! It didn’t turn out perfect, but it is still pretty cool. I would make my flower a little smaller (A LITTLE) next time so you can see more of the pillow coloring in the background. I am going to make a few more. The sad part is, I can’t put them out on the couch or bed because my puppy Penny will eat them. So for now, my new crafted pillow is acting as a piece of décor on my shelf!

(Got the pillow part sewn, Cutting out all of the pedals that start as circles)


(Glued on all the pedals, before the stuffing)

It is super easy and took me about an hour and a half from start to finish. I expect my second go round to go faster. I will make my next one black with a hot pink flower and then just an all black one. For step by step instructions, visit http://thecraftingchicks.com/2011/01/felt-flower-pillow-2.html



(Done! The pic makes the bottom look funny, but it is fine!)

Happy Crafting!

Happiness in less then a minute

A friend recommended a book, the Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. Actually, she heard the intent of my blog and asked if I had read the book. It sounded very similar to my goal of improving myself and my being. Well, I had not read the book, much less heard of it. Once mentioned, I went to my local book store and purchased a copy. The author has made a resolution of becoming happier in all aspects of life. Work, family, leisure, etc. One of her personal goals was that if she could accomplish something in one minute or less, not to put it of, but to do it NOW.

This stuck with me. I find myself more often then not, putting off things. Whether it is putting away the laundry, throwing away my wrappers, filing papers, it doesn’t matter. I don’t want to do it now, so I put it off until later. This way of thinking has led to years of getting frustrated with clutter, having to pick up my “messes”, etc. It has let to cranky moods, the hubby being upset by my lack of enthusiasm to clean, etc.

Could it be as simple as doing something NOW that takes less then one minute? I mean, come on. One minute is not that much time. What could you possibly get done in one minute that would have any kind of impact? I immediately put this into effect for every thing in my life….replacing the T.P., putting my shoes away, throwing the ridiculous amount of advertisements that come in the mail away instead of letting them pile up on the counter because I “might” look at them later, load the dishes in the dish washer, etc.

Can I tell you how amazing this has been? This has TOTALLY reduced the amount of clutter we get, the amount of time we spend cleaning up items, and kept us a little more sane. I put my blow dryer and make up away after getting ready instead of leaving it out for tomorrow. This makes my bathroom look SOOO much nicer, making me feel better because it looks clean and pretty! The items I set aside for recycling….well, they make it into the recycling bin that night. The items that I set on my desk because I don’t know what to do with them…they find a home….the right home.

It is kind of amazing how keeping on top of small tasks can lead to eliminating some tasks all together. I find myself walking by an item or task, thinking in my mind, “I could do that in less then a minute”. I turn myself around and put the item away or complete the task. Even just walking into the kitchen and not having ANY dishes on the counter because I have taken the time to put them in the dishwasher gives me a great feeling of satisfaction.

So, it seems, even the smallest of things can have amazing impacts. Give it a try. See how it feels. It only takes a minute ;) You can learn more about the Happiness Project at www.happiness-project.com

Kicking one of my many addictions....

I am addicted to television. I mean I really LOVE TV. I love watching funny shows, educational shows, dramas, etc. You name it, I watch it. My FAVORITE shows happen to be crappy reality TV. Jersey Shore, the Bad Girls Club, the Housewives of any damn city, back in the day, Flava flave..i think you get the idea. I love it. I think I secretly wish I could behave as badly as they do and have no repercussions. Ah, to be a crazy, easy alcoholic…

Since I was in middle school, I have had a TV in my room. This hasn’t caused me to spend an obscene amount of time in my room, but it has kept me up late, sometimes very late. My bedtime routine, well, honestly, I don’t have one. I crawl into bed, sometimes I’m tired, sometimes I’m not, and I watch TV. I watch it, and watch it and watch it. I am one of those folks, much to my husband’s dismay, that falls asleep with my TV on. He wakes up in the middle of the night to turn it off. If I am only half asleep, and not even watching it, I scold him for turning it off. Perhaps I enjoy the background noise and the comfort of the Bad Girls Club girls yelling at one another over missing hairspray and hooking up with their boyfriends.

One thing is for sure, I stay up WAY past my bedtime watching TV. Sometimes I will watch crappy shows that I have already watched because I am bored. If I missed a show, instead of recording it to view another day, I will stay up extra hours to catch it. So one of my latest self projects was to remove the TV from our bedroom allowing me to not only go to sleep at a decent time, but to get quiet, sound sleep. Oh yeah, also so my husband can have peaceful sleep as well! I also read somewhere that you tend to communicate with your spouse more without a TV in the room. This way, as you lay in bed, you are forced to chat, vs watching Basketball Wives.

I’ve had the TV out of the room for two nights so far. It is kind of nice to have an actual bedtime routine. I am going to bed because I am tired and want to go to sleep. Because I don’t hit the pillows till I am sleepy, I have had no problems getting right to sleep. So this should contribute to a more rested, happy, healthy Shannon! I’ll keep you posted if the TV mysteriously returns back into my room!
Am I alone here? How many of you DO NOT have TV’s in your rooms?

I Think ALL My Pants Shrunk!

Okay, so, most people have New Year’s resolutions that revolve around weight loss, being healthy, etc. Well, I am no different. Somehow, over the last year and a half I packed on 25 pounds (give or take a few). I am at my heaviest weight I have ever been. Now, I say “somehow”, as if I am unaware how or why the weight came, and came, and kept coming. Could it be my sudden decrease in working out? How about my decisions to eat fast food almost every day for lunch? Or enjoying an Arby’s milkshake before bed as a reward? I slowly realized that my pants were a little more snug, I didn’t feel as fabulous in my little black dress and I had developed what most of us know as a muffin top.

Once I started packing on the pounds, instead of doing something about it, like working out, eating healthier, etc, I just seemed to get more depressed and eat more, exercise less, etc. I use to love to get dressed up to go out with friends. Getting dressed now just put me in a foul mood since nothing fit. I didn’t look good, I didn’t feel good and it started to reflect in my attitude.

So it is now my goal to make healthier lifestyle choices. Whether it is food, activities, etc, I am going to make a choice to live healthier overall. I decided that I am not going to be obsessed about weighing myself of the dreaded scale. I have had a love/hate relationship with scales. One day they are your best friend. A few days later they turn on you. I will weigh myself tomorrow morning and then only once a month after that. I figured I could tell how I am doing weight wise better by monitoring how my clothing is fitting.

So I am finding fun and exciting ways to live healthier. Thanks to Groupon I have some fitness pole dancing classes coming up, Bikram Yoga and a fabulous body boot camp. Perhaps I will buy a shake weight....nope, not that desperate. I am also seeking out healthy recipes to try and I am going to start hitting my local farmers market. I am dedicating Wednesdays as “Wellness Wednesdays”. Each Wednesday I will fill you in on my latest healthy lifestyle changes, challenges, accomplishments, failures, how my pants are fitting, etc. Once I reach my goal, I will share with you all (if you dare to look) my before and my after photos! Uggg.

Thanks for coming on my journey with my!

De Clutter Phase 1

It has been a little while since my last post. But I SWEAR, I have been super busy in a big, beneficial way. I spent the last week de-cluttering and purging my house of unused, unneeded and unwanted items. I LOVE stuff. I love to buy stuff. I love to get stuff. All kinds of stuff. Kitchen stuff, entertainment stuff, clothing, shoes, accessories, etc. Buying stuff makes me happy (a completely separate issue I am working on).

I knew we had a lot of stuff that we didn’t use or need, but I didn’t really know the extent of it until I started to go through our whole house and garage. OMG! So much stuff. Stuff that still has the price tags on it because it has never been used. That fondue pot that I HAD to have? Well, I got it 6 years ago. Guess how many times I used it? 0! Still in the box unused!

The worst part of the house was my closet. I have a tendency to buy clothes and never wear them. I purchase them because I fall in love with them at the store. Once I get home, I realize I have nothing to wear them with or that they looked much cuter on the size 0 mannequin. So they go to the back of my closet and I forget about them. OR I tell myself that someday, I will wear them. If clothes don’t fit, I put them in the back of my closet and tell myself, someday, I will wear them.

I tried EVERY item on that I had in my closet. If it didn’t fit, I hadn’t worn it in the last year, or it didn’t make me FEEL great, I put it in the get rid of pile. There were a few items that I could not bear to get rid of yet, but it became easier and easier to get rid of items. It started to feel GOOD. I had a little more trouble with the shoes, but I think I did pretty well.

Overall, it felt great to get rid of stuff. That’s all it was…stuff. It had no meaning, no purpose. It took up space and it felt freeing to decide I did not need these items to make me happy. It’s amazing how much clutter you can accumulate until you see it all piled up in boxes. We starred at it in amazement realizing that all that STUFF was once scattered across our house.

I would also like to mention that my junk brought in a little over $400 in 3 hours at a yard sale we had on Saturday! Now, I would love to use that money to do buy more stuff..but I wont. In the savings account it went. But the feeling of accomplishment, cleanliness and satisfaction is still hear with me. Now, to just de-clutter my LIFE ;)

I challange you to take a few days and de-clutter your home!

Mi Familia

One of my goals this year is to reconnect with my family. My folks live in New Mexico and my sister and her family are located in California. We typically see each other just once a year for the holidays. I chat with my mother on the phone maybe once every two weeks….maybe. My sister and I typically only chat on the phone if there is a special occasion. There were a few recent events that made me realize that I not only need better relationships with my family, but I WANT better relationships with them.

My sister recently got married. I found myself a little jealous and saddened when I realized what amazing friends she has. I wasn’t sad that she had great friends, I was sad that her friends knew her better then I did, they had inside jokes with one another, they knew each others favorite drinks. They KNEW EACHOTHER. It made my heart heavy and made me remember back in the day when I knew everything there was to know about my sister. I knew what drove her crazy, I knew what her favorite food was and who her favorite basketball player was. Even though we spent most of our high school days arguing with one another and rolling on the floor with one another in headlocks, we knew each other, we loved each other and we would do anything for each other.

My second eye opener came during Christmas. It was a little disturbing that I had no idea what to get any of my family for Christmas. I didn’t know what they were currently into, what their hobbies were, and what style of clothing they were wearing now. I didn’t know what my nieces favorite colors were, what she enjoyed doing. I didn’t know. I had to buy each person a gift off of their list (which isn’t a horrible thing). I could not have completed my Christmas shopping without my family telling me who they are and what they like.

My visit home this year was one of the best I have had in YEARS. My sister and I did not fight with our mom, nor did we fight with each other. Some of you might not understand what a huge accomplishment this is for us. We are all free speaking, open, honest women and sometimes, having three of us together can be a bit much. Not this year. I don’t know what was different but we all were able to enjoy each other and appreciate each other. It was nice to have a conversation with them and not once did I imagine myself choking one of them out…..that is huge! I think the number of time my eyes rolled on this trip took a huge dive as well.


My niece and nephew have turned into two amazing, smart, talented, considerate and kind young adults, and I have missed most of it. That in itself is heartbreaking.

It made me realize that this is MY family. They have always been there for me. They love me unconditionally and always will. They have stood by me when my decisions were not always the best and they have celebrated achievements with me. I realize I need to know these people. These people helped create and mold me into the person that I am today. I am me because of them. I am committing to call my family at least once a week. This may drive my niece and nephew crazy having to chat with aunt Shannon that regularly, but you know what? Tough! I am also committing to making that 8 hour drive to Albuquerque more then once a year. And California…here I come!

I miss them, I love them, they are my family and family is forever!

A Closet Full of Nothing...

I had a super informative first image/style class with Dana Lam, from Does This Ponytail Make My Butt Look Big. We discussed the importance of looking good for other people, as well as, and especially for ourselves. When you look good, you feel good. You walk a little taller and feel a little more confident. We learned some great tips that can help you make wise shopping decisions that wont end up unworn in the back of your closet. We also talked about defining our style. I never new there were so many different types! I am still trying to figure out what category (or categories) I fit into.




My main frustration is the fact that I have a walk in closet FULL of clothing and shoes. I mean FULL. But every time (ok, most of the time) I walk in, I end up frustrated and upset because I “don’t have anything to wear”. This is insane! Did you know most people only wear about 10=20% of what is in their closet (Thanks for that fact Dana)? This happens for a few reasons.

First, when I am able to find something I like, I have no clue what to wear it with. Does this top go best with jeans or dress pants? What shoes would go best? High heels? Boots? Sandals? Don’t event get me started on accessories! I have so many amazing shoes that I have never worn because I don’t know what to wear them with. They just looked killer at the store!

Sometimes I spy something in my closet that I am super excited to wear. I put it on and it doesn’t fit! Either I gained weight, lost weight, just bought it knowing someday I would fit into it or just bought it because I loved it (without trying it on). That never leaves you with a good feeling. Excited to put something on, only to have your heart torn out because you can’t get it up over your butt, or if you do, there is no way in hell you are going to be able to button it….staple gun anyone?

Back to the accessories. I love accessories. They are so fun and add so much. I think I am scared of them. I have no clue what to pair with what. When is it too much? Hats, scarves, jewelry, etc. I love it. Every time I walk by displays with accessories, I fantasize for a few moments about me rocking this hat or those gloves, or these tights and then I walk away, a little sad, that I may never experience the joy of rocking them in real life…only in my mind.

I adore color. Again, I am a little afraid of it. The vast majority of my closet is black (I separate my clothing by color). A small sliver is white and then there are a few splashes of color here or there. I wear these sparingly, because quite frankly, I don’t want to overdo it. I don’t want to wear loud colors that call too much attention to me, make my skin look pale, etc. I would like to work on building a relationship with color…a positive one.

I hope to learn how to resolve most of these issues in this class. Next week we will learn about purging our closets. Getting rid of what we don’t wear, what doesn’t fit and what doesn’t make us feel fabulous. I have a feeling I will have A LOT of room in my closet after that!

I found my COLOR!

At work, all employees are to take the “True Colors” test. This test is designed to assist you in identifying your core values, motivations, sources of dignity, causes of stress, communication styles, social skills, learning styles, ethical behaviors and much more. This is a simple test that not only tells you a lot about yourself, but assists you with learning how to best communicate and work with other “colors”. After completing a simple test, you are scored and assigned a color. There are four colors- Gold, Orange, Green and Blue. Everyone has a primary color, secondary and so on. Once I found out what my colors were, I was able to learn about that colors strengths, weaknesses, communication styles, etc. So many of the traits were right on!

Gold folks tend to:
Follow the rules and respect authority
Conservative
Value home, family and tradition
They tend to be:Prepares, thorough, sensible, punctual, faithful, stable, and organized.

Orange folks tend to:
Act on a moments notice
Consider life as a game, here and now
Need fun, variety, stimulation and excitement
They tend to be:Charming, spontaneous, witty, impulsive, generous, impactful, optimistic, eager, courageous,

Green Folks tend to:
Seek knowledge and understanding
Need explanation and answers
Value intelligence, insight, integrity, and justice
They tend to be:Analytical, conceptual, calm, collected, logical, perfectionistic, hypothetical and investigative

Blue folks tend to:
Need to feel unique and authentic
Look for meaning and significance in life
Need to contribute, encourage and care
They tend to be:Enthusiastic, sympathetic, warm, compassionate, spiritual, flexible, imaginative


My primary color is Orange, followed by Blue, then Green, and lastly, Gold.

Orange attributes are playful, energetic, risk taker, test limits, creative, a natural entertainer and thrives on competition. Others perceive oranges as goofing off, scattered, immature, unable to stay on task. Famous oranges are/were Elvis, Johnny Carson, Clint Eastwood and Donald Trump. 38% of the population are oranges.

Attributes of my secondary color, blue, are optimistic, passionate, cause-oriented, motivate and encourage others and sensitive to the needs of others. Others perceive blue as very emotional, easily persuaded, weak, illogical and too trusting. Famous blues include Oprah and Gandhi. Only 12% of the population are blues.

What color do you identify with?
You can get more info on this at http://www.true-colors.com/

Ringing In the New Year

Wow. It is hard to believe that it is already 2011. I know I cannot be the only one asking where the heck 2010 went. I had a fabulous New Years and was able to spend it with some amazing people. We played board games, sang karaoke, played in the snow and had an opportunity to just enjoy hanging out in beautiful Prescott. I am ready to embrace this New Year and OWN IT!



I decided the perfect way to kick of my year of transformation would be something simple that would have a big effect and was long lasting. Clothing is a powerful thing. It can make you feel beautiful, confident and sassy or it can make you feel fat, ugly and insecure. I don’t know how many times I have stepped into my closet and felt as though I have nothing to wear. I have enough clothing for 3 people to wear. I just don’t know what to mix and match to make the perfect outfit for my body. Hence my usual jeans, v neck t-shirt and flip flops. You can tell a lot about a person by how they dress. It contributes to people’s first impression about you.

For these reasons, I will be taking a 5 week Image and Style Class offered by Dana Lam, Image Consultant with Does This Ponytail Make My Butt Look Big. This fabulous image consulting company is located in Phoenix, Arizona. They cover how to define your image and set style goals, basic elements every wardrobe should include, how to shop for and find the missing pieces in your wardrobe, how to work accessories to your advantage, how to maintain your look and much more. You can check out their website for more information on this class or Dana’s other services: www.doesthisponytailmakemybuttlookbig.com

The class starts this Wednesday and I am excited to see what I can learn and share with you! This is my first step towards my year long transformation of body, mind and soul. I thank you for following me on my journey to a better me!