13 days later...

I am still alive!  Wow, I used to brag how I rarely got sick, but when I did, I would be the first getting over it.  Not this time.  I have been humbled!

Now on my second week with an awful head cold, I am due to leave to Nashville for another John Lennon art show.  It will be held at the Franklin Art Fair and we are the featured main event.  I would love to travel with a clear head, but I guess I have been really lucky all these years and this time is an exception to the rule!

OK, I must confess:  I have been completely alcohol free for a month.  Yes a month and I want to say, I do not miss it.

Do not get me wrong! I have never been the kind of person to think drinking alcohol was "bad" for you and, in fact, have a reputation as a trainer to be very lenient with alcohol.  Well, I kind of had to be, after all, I would be a hypocrite to suggest to a client to give up something I wouldn't.

This is the fuel source now.  It's just water!

All the power just seemed to fizzle from my nightly glass of wine or vodka/ soda with a squeeze one day.  I had just gotten back from Sarasota, Florida and I became obsessed with trying to lighten up our monthly expenses.  (Those boys in college, you know!)  My husband and I decided to turn our pool into a self-sustaining pond, complete with fish and lily pads.  Then the sun came out and my energy escalated and the next thing we knew our vegetable garden was planted.  Without my even realizing it, I had not had my nightly fix!  Was it because my stress level went down?  Was it because my husband decided he didn't want to drink anymore?

Whatever my reasons doesn't matter much to me.  I have had my share and if I should want to have a drink in the future, so what?  But for now, this feels really good!  Oh, and I don't have that monkey on my back saying, "Well, you drank alcohol and it depletes your vitamin C, so that is why you got this cold so intensely!"

No, I just got a bad cold.  So what?

"Purge, Organize, Beautify"

That is my mantra when I am stuck in some area of my life.  It is a simple formula for moving forward and making progress, but in the case of this being about making fitness (and lets face facts, appearance) changes, this mantra is especially effective!  Don't believe me?  Just try it!  All you have to do is repeat the mantra when you are feeling like you are not making progress.  Then actually do as you say!

First word is purge and it is one of the most important of the three, really.  The word has gotten some bad rap lately, but the truth is, in order to bring in something "new" in your life, you must make room for it.  Because of the very nature of weight loss, losing those energy blocking piles of stuff we accumulate over time, is powerful medicine!

To purge the piles of dated offers, correspondence and magazines, whose presence only seems to stress you, not comfort you, is cathartic and transformational!  Finish preparing or paying bills that have sat unopened on your desk.  Get rid of those things around you that only take up valuable space and feel your energy flow!  Start slow, but continue throughout your life to make room for the new!  (I could write an entire book on this subject.  And will continue to touch on it throughout my life as a blogger, but for now I am just going to outline this strategy for body changing success.)

Second word is organize and for those that know me know I use this word a lot when discussing strategies for weight loss and fitness increases.  You are your best when you have organized even the most basic areas of your life.  So, after purging, organize the valuable and important stuff left in your domain.  You don't have to be Suzy Secretary, just give it your best shot and leave it alone!

The areas that most affect our moods when we are working on body changes is:  the kitchen, office, bedroom, closet, bathroom and car.  Get these areas updated and easy to maneuver around and within them and you will be more empowered to persevere and stay the course.

The third word is beautify and let me tell you, life is about beauty so you have no choice but to create it whenever you can.  Revamp your bookcase and store the extra books, placing one or two interesting objects in the open space.  Hang your art in new locations.  Indulge in new bedding or candles for a softer more relaxed bedroom.

But nothing beats what happens to you when you beautify YOU!  Taking the time for your appearance is by and large the single most powerful strategy of all.  To take care to put yourself together, even if it just clean skin and a pony tail with jeans and a t-shirt, you can take the extra time to be polished and feel your value and confidence exude!

It was time to beautify!  Help, Karen!!  I need to feel young and fresh again.  Can yo help me?

I needed a little pick-me-up last week and saw my Esthetician friend and owner of Hello Beautiful Skin Clinic, who thought I'd be a good candidate for an Opulence Infusion treatment.  all I can say is I am hooked!  After the first treatment my husband said immediately after seeing me, "OMG! Your skin looks amazing!"  Seriously, he said this, like that.  That is my before photo of my face.  Next week you will get the after and let me know what you think!

Stay tuned!!

"I Am Afraid I'll Fail"

"Fear is the dungeon of the mind into which it runs and hides and seeks seclusion.  Fear brings on superstition and superstition is the dagger with which hypocrisy assassinates the soul."  -Philosopher

Out in front of my house, Helen was willing to play as a part of her workout.  She said, "What the heck!" as neighbors walked by.  Here she is balancing on one leg as she bends to pick her "marker".  (No fear.)

The only man (woman) who makes no mistakes is the man who never does anything.  Don't be afraid of mistakes, providing you don't make the same one twice."  -Theodore Roosevelt


"Perfection is the scariest of all flaws."  - Debra Devincenzi

Helen said she was never able to keep a hula hoop going, but tried it several times until she got it!

Yes, I came up with that one!  I love it and it is so true.  If we have nothing else, we have hope, right?  If you believe you can make health improvements, you will.

Jumping rope can burn more calories than running....so can hula hoop!  Try it!

Just, get away from your computer for a few minutes right now.  Go for a fast walk, bound up stairs, do some yoga, whip out some well performed push-ups or crunches.

Or go play!