Spirituality Information on Squidoo

Spirituality Information on Squidoo

Salt N Pepa's hair?

okay, there's a Salt N Pepa show. Who knew? I was eating lunch and thought I'd flipped channels and ran across the Salt 'N Pepa show on VH1. Salt (what's her real name?) had a weave in and it was driving her crazy. It's not her style. It was itching, etc. Anyway, Pepa (what's HER name?) is all excited about a fake hair line.

The last I heard about Salt 'N Pepa. Pepa had gone religious and Salt was getting a divorce I think. I watched for about 15 minutes and all I could really do was ask myself questions; how old are they? how long ago was it when they were a big deal? why do they have this show? who watches this show and why?

It's a bit silly yet I'm interested in finding the answers to these questions. I'll post them at a Salt-n-Pepa MultiPurpose Woman page.

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86 the 70 miles per hour speed craziness

Thanksgiving was all that it should have been. Fun with family, good food, relaxation. My happiness level with thanksgiving would have been higher if only I could have done it all from the safety and comfort of my own home. Or at least a home close to mine.

We went 3 hours away. It makes sense considering that's where the bulk of the family is now. It makes sense because my sister-in-law loves to cook, is good at it, and invited us. It makes sense because I'm not a very good cook (my food offerings lean toward the experimental). It makes sense because my partner loves to drive - he does it for a living.

The problem with Thanksgiving?

The only problem was the drive. I dislike driving so I'm usually a rider. I even dislike riding most of the time, especially if the driver insists on exceeding the speed limit. Or should I say exceeds about 55 mph.

Yes, I want to world to slow down. It would make me happy for 55 mph to be the absolute fastest any vehicle not on a racetrack could go. There use to be a public service announcement; 55 saves lives. Can't we go back to that? Don't we want to save lives?

I saw way too many people exceeding the 70 mph limit while doing other things; talking on the phone, talking to and looking at the passenger, eating!

My body doesn't like to go fast.

I don't get motion sickness. I get paranoid. My anxiety level rises. I hate it. I've tried drinking. I found over thanksgiving that drinking a glass of wine doesn't get it for continuous driving at 70 mph. I've tried meditating. I'm not proficient enough at meditating while being still so I guess I can't truthful say this won't work. I've tried convincing the driver to go slower. That's the worst thing I could have done.

I'm going to have to turn into a hermit sooner than I'd thought. While that would make me happy on a lot of levels it would be bad. I'll never get to see my little nieces unless they come to me. That's sad. The saddest part about it all is that people treat me like I'm crazy for wanting to slow down.

Will drugs for my brain make me happy?

My electronic issues are wearing me down. Sometimes I can't tell if it's me and my ADD tendencies or if it's really the electronics and forces I have no control over. I've mentioned before that I've been having technical difficulties for weeks. It continues. I have my google accounts all screwed up OR google has me all screwed up with my accounts. The confusion is making me very unhappy as in nonproductive and not peaceful. It might even be unhealthy. I think the frustration could affect my blood pressure. I'm trying hard not to let it but when it takes 15 minutes to sign into an account ....

What do drugs have to do with any of this?
Well, if it's me that's causing the technical craziness then I need to think more on being tested, officially labeled ADD, and medicated accordingly. Since I'm still in rescue mode I'll tell you my rescue fantasy surrounding ADD drugs. It's simple. I take the drugs, my brain chemistry balances perfectly, I realize my true potential, the world becomes a better place because I've lived and been my amazingly brilliant self. That would make me HAPPY!

Reality Reel In:

1. I'm too paranoid about addiction and other side effects to take drugs.
   
2. Some of the technical difficulties are outside my control. I'm as smart as the average bear and I know how to do simple things like sign in to an account. So it's something else that's causing some of my tech issues.
   
3. If I woke up tomorrow and found that my mind was clairvoyantly clear and my physical energy levels were on overdrive I'd still have to contend with digging myself out of this hole I've dug for myself.
   

Or maybe I wouldn't. Maybe, ... never mind - I feel another rescue fantasy coming on. It's still NaNoWriMO so maybe I should flesh it out.

Happy to get GTD back on-track!

My "IN" box has been stuffed for weeks. I've been using it as a holding spot. I haven't done a weekly review in months. It's no wonder I'm feeling off track. To be happy, according to my acronym, I need to be productive.

Well, today I sorted all the stuff that was "IN". I even purged a lot of it. What's left? Papers that need filing or trashing. I'd be happy if only I would make some decisions about what projects I'm going to pursue and which ones need to just fade into I-had-an-idea-land. Some of them are dying a natural death due to lack of resources anyway. I need to be strong and take them out of their (and my) misery.

WWDAD - What would David Allen do? I'll have to think along those lines and get back to you (and myself). If you're a GTD practitioner and have any comments to aid me please spend less than 2 minutes and help me get back on-track!

focusing on being happy

I'm back to blogging at Body As Anchor & Filter. During the past months I went private. I kept writing. I just did it in a notebook instead of out in the open. It's a different experience and I think that being "visible" and open to comments and other randomness will generate some good elements and contribute to my happiness. So I'm back.

My number one focus will be exploring my current working definition of what it means to be happy. A couple of months back I decided that happy is actually an acronym for healthy, affluent, productive, peaceful, and yin-like. I've been writing, thinking, and playing around with what that means and have been pleasantly surprised with the exercise. I'll share some of those questions, games, and activities here and at www.MultiPurposeWoman.com.

Today's one of those special days when no one is expecting me to be anywhere. I'm staying in all day and purging some physical things that are cluttering up my space. I'm also going to figure out some computer issues I've been dealing with. It seems like my body has acquired some weird force field that is putting all my electronics in danger.

My palm pilot's screen cracked. I've had that thing for years and it knows a lot more about where I belong than I do. I've already missed one appointment. Hope there's not something on my calendar for today!! Both my computers are doing something strange - on my end software isn't working right yet support people are telling me that it should. I'm having that issue with 2 different things. Plus, my cell phone died and the new-to-me-one is also acting crappy. Maybe pen and paper are a good idea. Or maybe the electronics are mad at me for wanting a break from them. Just kidding.

Anyway, I have to get as many things acting normal as possible and as many areas purged and organized as time allows. Oh, I also lost my timer. Working in 15 minute blocks keeps my ADD tendencies at bay. Since I'm not leaving the house to buy another timer I'll have to use the one on the kitchen stove. Or maybe during the purge it'll show up. That's likely and it'll make me happy.

I think I'll add the things mentioned above to my wish list!! (palm pilot, phone, timer, - an iPhone! that would combine them all AND include an ipod function) Someone might have the means and desire to buy them for me. Yes, I'm in "rescue me" mode. Have you ever been in "rescue me" mode? Comment if you have in useful ideas for getting out of it fast and happy.

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I brought a pair of Birkenstocks's (betula) today to replace the Target clogs I've been wearing for months and recently tore up. Maybe these will last and last. I've always wanted a pair of shoes to wear forever - or that I could replace with an identical pair. My daughter approved of them - strange - she didn't like any of the shoes I tried on at Payless.

How'd hip-hop-erize go?

Well, I'm glad you asked. I went. I was late. I thought it started at 6:30 and it started at 6 - 5:30 on Thursdays. Guess I merged the two. Anyway, I got about five dances in. School started today and I dropped by to pick up my young friend but no one was home. I wrote the times in my palm so next week there's no excuse. I could go on Thursday since it's from 5:30 - 6:30 and the EarthSave event that I'm going to is at 6:30 and fairly close to the community center where the classes are held. I might be a little stinky. That's not good. I could just not go to dinner. It's not like I need to eat out. I did just go grocery shopping.

Who knew to be afraid of Balloons?

How balloons impact health

Click here: Balloon HQ presents: How Balloons Impact Health

Dancing, Exercise, and Resistance Control

I went to the hip-hop-ercize class. It was fun. I even took a young neighbor. She's going to high school this year and wants to lose weight so she can join the basketball team. I kind of think of her as insurance. If I'm waivering and she wants/needs to go then I'll go. If she's trying not to go and I'm in front of her house ready then she'll go. We've doubled our chances of success.

How is it that I can't dance?

The class was a lot like auditioning for a music video. Except that of the 13 participants none of us fit the body type. Anyway, it was fun music and hip-hop dance moves. I'm so out of it. An added bonus was that I learned the names of some of the moves/dances. As if knowing what they're called will aid my body in doing them.

Amazing for being in a community gym there were not an misc. people running/hanging around. It's free. It's about 3 miles from my house. And, the center is the proud owner of three pieces of my artwork so I get to see them whenever I go.

Unfortunately, Thursday's class is cancelled! That's actually a good thing since I'm already scheduled to do a healthy eating class with EarthSave. Besides the instructor, Tanika, said that soon there would be morning and evening classes. That's be good for my flighty schedule. Not so good for my neighbor once school starts.

I'll dance anyway. And go to next Tuesday's class.

Resistance and exercise for weight loss

In Live the Life You Love, Barbara Sher, advises that when you are resistant to doing something that you actually want to do you should “try to think of a unit small enough to give you a feeling of complete willingness”.

I need to exercise. I really, really, NEED to. I want to. I truly do. I’m about to burst. And perversely feeling myself get bigger is keeping me from wanting to move. Yet moving is the thing that will stop the spread. Moving is the antidote to my inactivity. Anyway, this morning I still couldn’t talk myself into going for a walk.

What I did finally get myself to do is look up some information on the web. Send two emails about possible exercise activities in my neighborhood and then I actually made a phone call. The phone is at the top of my “things I hate” list so for me to call anyone is momentous and for me to call a stranger is next to unheard of. So maybe to paraphase Nin, “the day has come when the risk to remain tight in a bud is more painful than the risk it takes to blossom”. I hope so. (…hope is not a method) Anyway, I hope so. The phone call was to a personal trainer who is participating in a project called Active Louisville. There’s a Hip Hop-ercise dance class tonight at 6. She sounded so pert, energetic, and helpful that I’m going to go and …. I’m going to go. Let me leave it at that.

Would I Actually Play Rugby Football?

I was out with my daughter and picked up a postcard inviting me to join the Louisville Women's Rugby Football Club. My daughter laughed at me. I don't really know what rugby football is. I think I've seen a practice at Seneca Park a couple of years ago yet that could have been something else.

No experience necessary! That's what the card states. And good thing since I have no experience being a member of a team. The only sports experience I have is doing karate in high school. I'm not good with sports. I'm too self conscious of my body. I'm paranoid about getting hit and/or hurt. My temper's too short in physical situations. I'd either end up hitting someone or crying because I wanted to.

So why'd I pick up the card?

People can change. I need a change. I've read over and over again and said it too, that if exercise was fun and interesting I'd do it more often. And if I did it more often surely I'd lose some weight and feel better. I'd actually be more active. That's good in and of itself.

I can at least email and find out about when and how often they practice. I can at least go watch a game. I can at least pretend as if I'm going to do something new and potentially dangeous and beneficial. The Louisville team calls themselves, The Riversharks.

How many calories can I burn?

One site estimated the calories burned in an hour to be 780 for a person my size. That's compared to 550 for jogging, which I'd never do & 784 for jumping rope at a moderate rate, which I love to do! Jumping rope fast for 1 hour would burn about 940 calories. That could solve all my weight problems. I can't jump for an hour yet I could jump for 5 minutes, every hour on the hour during 12 of my 16 daily conscious hours. Why does exercise always sound so easy and doable in writing??

related post: dance like no one is watching & lose a pound a week

Exercise Fun with Kango Jumps

In September 2002 I brought a pair of kango-jumps (photo)
I went to the mall specifically to get them.
That’s an endorsement in itself. (I hate the mall.)
Anyway, they looked fun and that’s what I most want from my exercise routine. I also want it to show results fast.

I remember enjoying them for a long time. I’d also brought this music tape. The music is silly, “jump, jump, jump, like a kangaroo …” over and over again –there were others but that’s the song I remember.

My kanga-jumps have been in the basement for some time. I don’t remember why I stopped wearing them. They even give my abs a workout. I think it had to do with that fast results criteria. Somewhere in my mind I thought they’d do it all; aid in weight loss and tone and trim my lazy body. I didn’t measure so I didn’t have a baseline. I did them a disservice. They may have been doing all kinds of wonderful things but how would I know?

Well, last night it occurred to me that I should pull them back out. I’d been walking around my neighborhood with M.A.G., my dog, and that started getting stale. Actually, it started getting depressing because of the high levels of litter.

Plus the past couple of weeks I’ve developed a strong urge to be alone and unseen. I wonder if I could be developing agoraphobia. (The fiction writer in me is fascinated by phobia in general and agoraphobia in particular).

Anyway, I realize that the neighborhood walks were not a complete waste. Despite their inability to make me drop 20 pounds in a week (somewhere in the back of my mind this must be what I expect), they got me moving and I learned a lot about the neighborhood, had some interesting conversations, and I even found a couple of people who will walk with me if I call them. Which I have done a couple of times but I like to walk at 8 am and I don’t like talking on the phone that early (or really at all).

So I decided to keep moving but inside hence the return of my kango-jumps. With this decision came the epiphany that I should only hold myself responsible for the things within my “circle of influence”. I can’t really gauge when I’ll lose weight or where I’ll tone but I have total control over rather or not I follow my plan; put the kango-jumps on, walk/dance with them for 10 or so minutes, etc.

Check out Research IDs Genetic Basis for Fibroid Tumors - Forbes.com

Click here: Research IDs Genetic Basis for Fibroid Tumors - Forbes.com

Skin Care Conflict

I brought expensive “un-petroleum” lip balm but I can’t tell that it works any better than regular chap stick. My lips don’t look or feel any more kissable than usual. I can’t even taste the cherry flavor. Yet, somewhere along the way I became convinced that petroleum was not good for women’s health so I spent the extra money for “un-petroleum”.

Now I’m wondering, if I can justify the extra expense the next time I need lip protection?

“Un-petroleum” touts a lot of benefits like

• SPF 18 (I’ve never been sure about
  
• Healing vitamin E
  
• Protective jojoba oil
  
• Naturally soothing plant extracts (petroleum is natural)
  
• Not tested on animals (who does any more?)

Seeking skin care assurances

Despite my cynicism I want Vaseline to be able to say the same or something to smack down the new-is-better-so-pay-more voice in my head. I’ll visit their website.

Vaseline has a crappy lotion application flash demo as its homepage instead of useful skin care information. You have to look very closely at the bottom of the page for “enter site” and even then the information is hidden behind images and tech wizardry. What words I did finally get to come up didn’t convince me that their lip therapy was anything special. I'd trade some of the site flash for some vitamen E.

I did pick up a skin fact: “every 28 days, the skin renews itself”. I seem to remember reading a different number elsewhere and I want a definition of "renew" but my curious mind will worry about that later.

Petro or Un?

Since the two products seem to work about the same, personal finance Gwen would buy the petroleum next time. But women’s health Gwen decided to consult a book by skin care expert Aubrey Hampton.

Dr. Hampton is touted as “the father of natural hair care” and he doesn’t mince words when talking about petroleum:

This familiar, semisolid mixture of hydrocarbons is derived from petroleum. All petrochemicals pollute our water and destroy marine life. Avoiding them is essential for the health of humans, animals, fish, water, land and air.

So my decision is not just about an extra dollar. Women’s health and the wellbeing of the planet seem to be at stake. Now there’s no choice. I’ll finish using my in-stock 13-ounce jar of Target brand petroleum jelly (my feet love it) but then I’ll seek out and pay more for skin care that in the long term will be good for us all.

Tags: skin care, women's health, skin, personal finance

body praise from Jorge Cruise

I received this nice note from the 3-hour diet newsletter. Yes, it's was just for me :-) Be Receptive to Praise Dear Gwendolyn, Remember the last time you received a compliment? How did you react? If you said something like, "Oh, you liar," "Shut up" or "I'm not what you think I am," then you're not fully respecting yourself. You must respect your body unconditionally. Would you ever belittle a compliment given to one of your best friends? Well you deserve the same respect that they do! Even if you think the person giving the compliment is trying to flatter you, why turn it into something bad? The best answer to a compliment is, "Thank you for saying that." When you reject a compliment, you also reject the person who gives it to you. Being gracious is an art, and it makes others feel that you receive their words warmly. And when you compliment others, be sincere. Don't overdo your praise, but tell the person how you really feel. A sincere compliment makes us feel appreciated. On the other hand, flattery involves telling people what they want to hear, (even when they know it isn't true.) If you never say anything that you don't mean, people will truly value the praise you give them.

Life is short, live it well. Your Coach,

dance like no one is watching & lose weight

If a 165 pound woman (that's me) dances wildly for 1 hour daily she can burn 445 calories. That's enough to lose one pound every 8 days. Six Tips to make this work:

1. wear heart rate monitor
   
2. find music in the 125 - 130+ beats per minute range
   
3. do it every day
   
4. do it in 15 minute increments to get around your I-don't-have-an-hour-to-exercise critic
   
5. keep a glass of water near by
   
6. keep the dancing our little secret
   

Tags: exercise, dancing, weight loss,

Who’s that woman with the unstoppable body?

Confession: I’d love to have the body of a video vixen. There I admitted it, sort of out loud. I don’t want to wear the show-all-your-goodies outfits but I’d like to have the option.

Will watching exercise videos help you lose weight?
At the library I picked up Unstoppable Women: achieve any breakthrough goal in 30 days by Cynthia Kersey. I love books with definite timeframes in the title.

I get these books and usually just passively read them. It’s like the way I once watched exercise videos; I’d watch them and hope that some miracle would happen so taht my body would, through exposure, be encouraged to start and keep moving. In the middle of the video I’d remember that “hope is not a method” and either start exercising or turn it off.

At any rate, I read parts of Unstoppable women propped up in bed. It made me tired so I went to sleep. It didn’t bore me it was just overwhelming.

I have so many areas of my life in which I’d love to “achieve any breakthrough goal” that it has taken me a week to sort out that losing 25 pounds is the one I’d most like to achieve. It’s the one that keeps nagging me. It’s the one that could positively influence all the others. Weighed in this morning at 165 ½ pounds. I’m 5’3" so I’m officially obese.

The Unstoppable System

Last night I picked Unstoppable Women back up and decided to actually consider taking the challenge. It’s fairly simple two part program: a- preparation, b- 30 day challenge. So we’re actually talking at least 31 days. Is this the lazy part of me start trying to talk my motivated self out of committing? The prep is emotionally intense, especially if you chose a goal that you’ve been having trouble achieving in the past. It might take a week to do the planning. Getting out of the house might help me get started. It would just be me, the book, a blank notebook, and my favorite pen. It’s a good excuse to visit the coffee shop and have a piece of carrot cake with a large decaf. I could even take a walk since the coffee shop is in my favorite part of town. Yes, yes – focus – focus.

The 30-day program is just that. 30 days of inspirational and hopefully helpful to-dos. Each day consists of …

• absorbing an “unstoppable insight” gleaned from the author’s experience counseling many other wanna-be-better people
  
• reading an “unstoppable woman story” (more about my issues with this below)
  
• completing a predefined “unstoppable action” (when do you do the actions from your planning session?)
  
• creating your “day planner” for the following day (this reminds me a lot of Barbara Sher’s Wishcraft)
  

On Saturdays you also have “intimate conversations with Cynthia”. I hate that girlfriend talk fluff! And on Sundays there’s a weekly review.

Is my emotional intelligence to low for this book?

Hello. It’s me again trying to not commit. You’d think I was a 25 year old guy instead of a 42 year old woman. Here’s another confession: I can’t read the book cover to cover because a large part of it consists of people’s stories; Verneta Wallace’s story, Margot Fraser’s Story, J.K. Rowling’s Story, etc., etc. There’s something about reading “inspirational” vignettes that makes me tired.

But?! But change is my mantra for this year so my personal challenge is to read ¼ of the stories. There are 26 listed. On day 30 I’m supposed to write my own unstoppable story. I don’t know that I’ll take this heighten-my-emotional-intelligence sub-project that far but I will read 6 ½ - okay 7 - of the stories.

Having my own copy of Unstoppable Women would be best but I’m going to have to settle for rechecking this copy out from the library.

Do I really want to join the Unstoppable Women movement?

We’ve already established that I’m not good at committing. Yet, I feel compelled to try (“there is no try only do” – where did I read that?) I will take the challenge. Will I follow the system exactly? Maybe not at first. There are so many parts of my personality that make following a rigid system near impossible. Why do Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable – keep coming to my mind? Maybe it's because Kim represents unstoppable women.

Can you join me in the Change Challenge?

If I’m going to follow through, all the self-help books I’ve ever read, say I need emotional support. In my emontionally-narrow opinion, writing to strangers counts – especially if strangers right back so buy Unstoppable Women or get it from the library and challenge yourself to do something or at least post comments so I’ll know there’s intelligent life out in the world.

Will I keep my commitment?
Okay, I’m going to ...

1. do the planning part of the unstoppable women challenge this week


2. consult my calendar, once I have a plan in hand, and see when I have 30-days that are structured enough for me to follow the program as designed by Ms. Kersey. I need to do an elimination diet and I’ve been trying to schedule it for weeks.
   

I promised to read 7 stories about unstoppable women but I’m not sure if I should read the book’s daily steps (including the stories) before and during the challenge or just during – I hate duplication and repetition so I’ll do it during – well I’ll see what she suggests. That sounds sensible.

Tags: weight loss, exercise, emotional intelligence, personal challenge, unstoppable women, Cynthia Kersey,

Bad weight loss advice for mature women

I’m starting to detect a conspiracy theory. The government and food manufacturers have joined with the health care industry to aid the entertainment field in producing and maintaining an audience of fat, sick, depressed women. I’m only half joking.

My fibroid problems started when I decided to listen to the government and the weight loss industry. I wanted to lose weight. I wanted to be healthy. The mantra was repeated on the news, in sitcoms, on billboards, in commercials. It was blatant and also subliminal – I’m sure of it. It was/is full of half-truths and circular double-speak.

Anyway, their advice was;

• eat more whole grains (wheat is the easiest to obtain)


• drink 24 ounces of milk in a 24 hour period (as if diary is the only calcium source)


• any exercise is better than none (... who will you blame when your weight loss stagnates? self)


• there's more seemingly useful but simple urgings (test them before believing them)
  

Unfortunately, wheat and diary are not good for my body. I’m sure it’s not just my body but the bodies of millions of other women. I’d been eating these things for years but when I started focusing on eating healthy I ate more of them. They built up in my body and mucus held all sorts of bad things in. I sometimes ignored the fact that I didn’t feel well after eating.

just remember that I moved posts about "food as poison" to www.MultiPurposeWoman.com - eating should be simple. I wanted to focus this blog on other body issues. The fibroids have taken up so much of my energy and other resources.

This is where I started this blog back in October 2004! How to move forward?

weight loss quagmire

Why would a rational person need prompting to do something they've self-identified as a goal and that could increase the quality of their life - maybe even save it?