Red Dress

Photo by Ali Penko

It's later so now I'll tell you why I said the red dress will have a heck of a story to tell. "The Joanie Johnny Show, that's all you need to know... we may have a 1960's sound but we're the baddest damn band around"... just a few lyrics from one of the songs explains a lot.

We all have big dreams but often times we not only have no idea how to make them happen, we are afraid to take steps toward them.

Fear often prevents us from stepping out of our comfort zone to reach for the sky because we are afraid we may fall and get hurt. I have plenty of fear but I'm not going to let it stop me anymore. 

Since I was a little girl I loved to sing and dance however I was extremely shy. Experiences in my childhood as well as being an empath provided me with a grand set of challenges I'm only beginning to finally overcome. I never thought I was good enough and sometimes I still wonder if I am but I'm doing it for the love of it. I've always loved music and movement so I'm throwing out the perfect pictures in my mind that have prevented me from doing what I love in the past.

I'm not perfect nor will I ever be anything other than perfectly imperfect me. I'm finally willing to take the risk of being myself and showing my imperfections to all as I sing and dance my heart out. Life is too short to worry about what other people will think of the real me who's been dying to get up on stage and make the world smile. Spreading the joy I feel inside is all I really wanna do. I want to world to be happy and this is one way I can see of making that possible. Happiness is contagious so if I keep smiling others will smile too. 

And I'm so thankful to have the opportunity to be a part of the Joanie and Johnny Show. The music is all original and it's incredibly fun. The band has a fantastic attitude as a whole and we all have common dreams and goals. Joanie and Johnny are an adorable couple and very talented individuals as well as just plain fun human beings. I absolutely love Meshe who is my companion back-up singer and dancer as well as an extremely talented person. James the drummer and Stephen the guitarist are totally cool too. It's awesome to be a part of this group and we have big plans for the future. This is your inside scoop because this band is up & coming... its been kept a secret for good reason until now.

The time is almost here for us to break out on the scene if you know what I mean. ;)

Perspective

I suppose with a lot of what we see in our lives it's all a matter of perspective. Our point of view changes the way we look at circumstances that occur everyday.

How do we then consciously shift our perspective so we feel better about those events that seem to happen beyond our control?

I'm beginning to see it's all about awareness and being present enough in each moment to choose. It's really easy for us to go on auto pilot and react or act out of sheer habit. Just like I almost cropped this photo so it was level with the horizon and then I decided I liked it better this way.

Who said I always had to keep the horizon level anyway? All it takes is a moment of realization that don't have to do things the same as we have before. In any moment we can change our minds and our perspective. 

Barre3 Bellingham

Gotta love Bellingham, City of Subdued Excitement  @JoylovesPhotography Winter 2018

I thought I was pretty fit until I went to a Barre3 class today for the first time. I'm participating in the Fairhaven Runners annual beginning of the year Bingo Challenge and one of the squares says "Try an new activity/exercise". Instagram popped up the other day with an ad for Barre3 so I thought why not give it a shot and cross that box off my bingo card. My friend Emily, who was already sore from Snowboarding yesterday, came along too and I can hardly imagine what it felt like for her. I've been lazy the past couple days besides the 30 minutes of hula hooping each day and hiking on Chuckanut Island, oh and hot yoga a few days ago. 

I felt like I was lazy anyway but generally I'm pretty active. This class kicked my ass, my muscles were shaking multiple times trying to keep doing the moves. It was absolutely fun but totally hardcore compared to what I expected. Yoga, pilates and ballet combined to create a type of aerobics on steroids. I will be going back only because they had a 3 for $30 special for newbies otherwise I think I'd prefer my ass kicking from reaching the summit of some mountain peak. However after class I did ask what it would take to become an instructor with some nutty post-workout adrenalin surging through my veins. Anyone who does that for a living deserves serious respect for that kind of dedication to fitness.

I like the studio too, with the floor to ceiling windows on two sides of the square room. I wish I could have a hoop dance studio like that. It was lovely to be able to see the lighting change as the sun set during class. I'm planning on going to Fairhaven Runners Tuesday night all paces group run tomorrow evening and I only hope my legs are going to forgive me for what I put them through today. It was a hell of a workout and I would highly recommend anyone give it a try at least once just to see what I'm talking about.

Costco Connection

A shot from the best Road Trip of 2017!

I just happened to notice a little box asking to share a story about a Road Trip in this months issue of the Costco Connection magazine. The first thing I thought of was driving through the desert this last summer with Mark for an unexpected work trip to Ontario, Oregon. 

 I thought it would be a good exercise to write something up and send it. It will be interesting to see if they decide to publish it.

Hooping in the desert sun.

It was full of everything I love- adventure, exploration, hot springs, scenery, hula hooping, sunsets and time with a man who stole my heart. Just like that mini road trip was unexpected so is our relationship. We never expected to be together, we didn't have any idea from the very beginning what this was or what it would turn into. We still don't know how its all going to turn out. I shake my head and wonder what it all is. We have some connection that is for sure beyond this lifetime, it may even be beyond time itself. 

All I know is that life is a hell of an adventure and I just want to enjoy it as best I can. I can take life much too seriously at times but I know life is supposed to be fun. Even though we all struggle at times I guess it's just happens that way to provide contrast for the times when it seems so easy and wonderful. 

Eschew Obfuscation

Espouse Elucidation.

Day 7, today is the 7th day in a row that I have written something here. I was wrong before although I wrote day 4 with a question mark, it was actually day 5. I started practicing my French lessons again using the duo-lingo app the same day I began writing with the intention to do it every day and the app says this afternoon that I'm on a 7-day streak. Easy way to keep track, all I have to do is keep practicing French everyday and I will know for sure how many days in a row I write without back tracking and counting manually on here. Is that all perfectly understandable? I am attempting to avoid confusion by writing clearly. Why am I keeping track anyway?

I want my book to be published with HayHouse and I have one shot coming up. The due date for my proposal is in January of 2018 so I'm demonstrating my ability and determination by showing how disciplined I can be. One of the first things I read in the book "Building your Platform" was something about writing everyday. I can do that. I am doing this. Lets see how long I can continue to do this. I just have to remember to keep working on my proposal/book every day too until it's completed and sent off for HayHouse to get excited about. Oh and the other thing I need to work on is convincing one of my favorite Authors to commit to writing my foreword. (Still on my to do list.) Enough for now, time to go to line dance class and boot, scoot and boogie it off. 

Oh and by the way, the title of this post was inspired by a friends Facebook post this morning that said, "Bumper Sticker spotted this morning: 'Eschew Obfuscation!' I spit out my coffee and nearly drove off the road." I nearly spilt my own coffee at the humor in the wordplay but also because I was imagining my friend Richard, dressed up in his fancy Town Crier garb (in my mind) at the same time as he experienced that moment.  If you knew Richard you would understand better, but I assure you it is very amusing. Totally worthy of mention as the title for this. Words are so much fun.