Reflections and Projections

By Cathy | January 5, 2009

As I sit here and reflect on last year I think for the most part it was a great year.  I am married to the man of my dreams, my business doubled,  our WMDA website has grown, evolved and has been very therapeutic, I have incredible friends, my family (especially my Dad)  has remained healthy and I was (and am) surrounded by amazing blessings everyday.   Not a bad year I would say.    As I continue to reflect on last year I also see some areas that need to be addressed and worked on.  I did not professionally achieve what I wanted to which was a career change.  I find myself stuck in my comfort career and need to get off my *ss and move on…. to what I am not sure but it is out there :) .  Kristy has decided that I am a “facilitator” of what you might ask?? Well of Everything !   The other biggie is that we did not make that all important baby decision. 

While I cannot change last year and to be honest I had a great 2008  I can look forward and make some projections for 2009…. I try not to make resolutions but prefer to set goals.   Some personal projections and goals for 2009 include:  Decision on whether or not to have a family, continue on my quest for personal clarity and work towards a career change.  I am going to leave this a little loose as If not a total change at least begin the process.   Taking the first of many steps.   We also need to decide where or whether or not to move into a new home that will one day accommodate my parents.  (that is a whole other post).  Like I said 2008 was a good year and I am pleased to announce that losing weight in 2009 is NOT on my goal list!!!  GOAL ACHIEVED ;)

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Fun With Bread

By Cathy | January 3, 2009

I was cruising along in my google reader when I was stopped dead in my tracks by this fun and playful post by http://onceinabluemooniris.blogspot.com/.  She had made this incredible grape cluster out of bread and it was wonderful.  When the holidays rolled around I decided to try to duplicate her as well as a new twist.  Warning my feeble attempt does not compare with what she created but it was fun trying and the family loved it.  

 This was very simple all I did was get basic rolls from the fridge section of the grocery store and played with them until I got the shape I wanted. 

Here is the Thanksgiving version:

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Here is the Christmas dinner version

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Imagine using your cell phone to light the way?

By jodycakes | January 2, 2009

And I’m not talking about using them to find keys in your purse at the front door!!!

On my way to the office, I heard a broadcast on BBC World Service last week, found it so interesting, I thought I would share with you… 

In Doerentrup, Germany - a small town in Northwest Germany is going green and saving money on electricity expenditures by shutting off their street lights at 9 PM.  No worries, though,  the residents of this village have the capability of phoning in the streets (I think by coordinates or numbers) before they head out and the lights will illuminate and stay on for 15 minutes, allowing safe passage.  They interviewed an older woman who would walk home from a friends house late at night and a jogger who can call in her route and jog late into the night without concern.

I heard this original broadcast on the BBC World News last week - It is worth a listen.  Or you can read more about it on The Huffington Post as well.

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EDAR - Thinking Outside the Box

By Kristy Nuttall | January 2, 2009

So the other night I was checking out the news and heard about something new that Los Angeles is implementing. It’s called EDAR - Everyone Deserves a Roof. It is a portable bed that allows the person to collect cans during the day and then it morphs into a bed for them too. Check it out …

I’m VERY intrigued by this project. I mean there are SO many homeless folks in Los Angeles and this could be something good to help the shelters have more beds. Apparently there are some shelters who are creating EDAR sections where people can roll in and set up for the night which will allow them to house even more people.

Peter Samuelson came up with this idea when he rode the streets of Los Angeles on his bicycle. He began counting the homeless people each ride and even took the time to interview all 62 of them that he passed on his route to find out what would truly help them.

I wonder if a homeless person gets one of these if they would feel some sense of ownership from it even though it’s meant to be a temporary fix?

These EDAR units can be built for $500. That amount is nothing in comparison to the money the city of Los Angeles would spend on building and maintaining another shelter.

Of course there is the other side of the coin … will homeless people give up trying to get back on their feet if they have something like this? I’m sure that could happen, but really what it comes down to for me is that Peter Samuelson has come up with something that could help a little with a big problem that LA has. Will it fix everything … no way … but at least it’s a step that will possibly cost less than the alternative.

So here’s my question to you:

What do you think about this idea? Do you think it’s a good temporary fix? Or do you think it will institutionalize homelessness in Los Angeles?

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Happy New Years to you and yours !!

By Kristy Nuttall | January 1, 2009

Happy New Year everyone.

I seriously doubt we’ll have much traffic today as most people “I” know will be hung over - haha.

Our New Years Eve is usually the MOST low key evening of the year. Since Ron works with the tournament band for the Rose Parade each year, he’s DOG tired by the time today arrives. He’s been working very long hours trying to get the kids ready to march in the parade and having to leave our house before 4 am on New Years Day doesn’t make him much of a party animal on NYE. I don’t blame him and seriously don’t mind that we have a low key evening at all.

Zac and I will gladly bundle up on the couch this morning and watch the parade on tv … hoping to spot him during the 1-2 minutes of time that the tv cameras will be pointed at his band. The past two years they caught him waving to the crowd and smiling :-D … and one of those years was the year it POURED. Yeah we were there in person that year … very very wet but TONS of fun and hardly crowded at all - imagine that ;).

Have you ever seen a wet parade before? I felt SO bad for all the people wearing white pants because seriously … you could see their panties.

Anyhow … the REAL reason for this post is to say THANK YOU to the loyal readers/friends and family that have supported us during our virgin year of blogging on this site. We’ve not even been here a year yet and it feels like we’ve known a lot of you forever. I am really looking forward to what 2009 has to offer ALL of us and I hope you are too :-D

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Starting anew…Happy 2009 to all my friends!

By jodycakes | January 1, 2009

Happy New Year - Auld Lang Syne and all that jazz…

By the time you’re reading this, I will be sawing logs…deep in a food coma from our dinner at Textile.  Cannot WAIT!  Full report soon, I promise. 

For some reason, I feel a bit low again - this strain of cold will not seem to go away…I have been feeling icky (proper medical term, you know), off and on for two months.  Just when I think I shake it, it sneaks back up.  Ugh.  Oh well…loads of Vitamin C for me!  I know that when I do my cleanse I’m going to suffer from SERIOUS withdrawls for the first few days…my body is full of toxins and crap it doesn’t need.  Caffeine, sugars, so forth and so on…wish me luck - I will keep you posted.

Okay folks, pull up a seat - I just wanted to jot down a few notes on my feelings today and what I will work on in 2009…besides the 20 lbs I need to lose before my 20 year class reunion. 

I am blessed to have the people that surround me, in my life today.  I will continue to cherish these relationships…

My new husband, my family, my coworkers/colleagues and my friends.

I know that I’m not the easiest person to deal with - not high maintenance, just high strung - and I have decided that if you can’t handle that, then you can’t handle me.  This is who I am.  I will trim the proverbial fat by releasing those that do not reciprocate or reflect the love that I have for them, or for those who simply do not ’get’ me. 

Life is too short. 

Now, on the flip side…I have not always been the greatest friend…in all my outgoingness, I sometimes shut down.  When this occurs, I disappear.  When one disappears, things continue…life goes on…and then I resurface and wonder when this happened and that happened and want to know why someone didn’t drag me out of my cage.  Hrumph.  Do you see how one sided this is???  :)  Well, I want to apologize for not being able to ante up at the table and be there! 

One of my goals for 2009 is to practice what I preach, as in love and reflection and reciprocation. 

So with that said, I am BEAMING MY LOVE out to all of you!!!  Looking forward to the best year yet - health, prosperity, business and love!!! 

Woo whooooooo!!!!

See ya on the flip side!

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Chicago cold in areas not yet felt before

By Cathy | December 31, 2008

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This is what I call an …”ICE BOX”

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Meet Scarlett’s Pup’s

By Cathy | December 30, 2008

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Scarlett and her babies

On December 24Th I introduced you all to Scarlett the Mama of our “hopefully” new addition.  I say hopefully because it was thought there were 10 puppies in the litter and she actually had 8.  She went into labor Christmas eve and they were born just after Midnight via “C” section.  There was some trouble during the delivery as she was pushing so hard that one of the pups got stuck.  Thankfully all are fine but the traumato Scarlett was so severe that she ruptured her uterus and this will be her final litter.    The puppies are temporarily named after all of Santa’s Reindeer - very fitting given when they were born :)

So at this time we wait to see where we are on the list and we are very hopeful that one of these incredible Rhodesian Ridgeback cuties will be ours.

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Scrabble and other such ponderings…

By jodycakes | December 29, 2008

Hello everybody~ 
I am BACK!!!  I am so happy that 2008 is nearly done…it sure has been full o’ excitement!

Spent a good bit of time in Corpus with the fam for Christmas…it was nice…there was a point where we didn’t leave the house for 2 days!  I can’t tell you the last time that I did that!  We ate ourselves silly and then some.

We played trivia, did crosswords, played Scrabble…It is always a pleasure to play cerebral type games with my family - they keep you on your toes.  Even learned a new word.

Xeric - Relating or adapted to an extremely dry habitat. Succulents such as cacti, aloes, and agaves are xeric plants.   Try using that in a sentence next time you’re discussing Cactus plants or tequila (lindaloohoo)…seriously, it would be most impressive.  Plus if you use it in Scrabble on a Triple Word Score, you could easily pen 42 points.  Not too shabby.

We actually went bowling this weekend as well…and can I just say, Yeah…it’s time for me to start working out again. I was SORE  on Sunday.  What is that all about? 

Looking forward to a shortened work week!  

Mr. G and I have decided to ring in the New Year in typical foodie fashion by dining at one of Houston’s new hot tickets in town, Chef Scott Tycer’s Textile Restaurant.  The restaurant was given a small write up in Gourmet Magazine  recently as well.  We are so excited.  Mr. G. actually said to me that he was looking forward to it (SURPRISE from the man who said he eats to live, not lives to eat like me).  We are doing the late seating for a 7 course tasting menu and champagne toast at midnight.  Prolly be in bed by 12:45.  :)

January 1st 2009 - I begin my annual cleanse, usually lasting anywhere from 14-20 days…ugh.  It is a toss up this year, but I may do the Master Cleanse (don’t know if I have the willpower for a cleanse this hardcore this year or not) or I may juice like I have done for the last 3 years…time to clean the ol’ system out!

How do you plan on spending your NYE?  Also, what are your goals/resolutions for 2009?

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The DAMN Question … where do I get good yoga pants?

By Kristy Nuttall | December 29, 2008

So a month or so ago we received a GREAT question from Mindy who’s one of our loyal readers. Her question was where to get a GREAT pair of yoga pants.

We had a few suggestions for her such as Victoria Secret … but I started researching to find a GREAT pair that was truly a find. I stumbled upon a company called Be Present. After cruising the site, I fell in love with a ton of it. I mean lotus flowers on the back of the pant … OMG … I love lotus flowers … and yoga pants so yeah … love I tell ya. Look at these …

I emailed Be Present to get more information and asked some questions. I decided to try a pair of their mobility yoga pants so that I could report to our loyal readers on my findings. I chose this pair in the graphite color:

When they first arrived, I looked at them and thought, “oh man those certainly aren’t going to fit my ASS until I’m doing a lot of yoga in a VERY hot room”. I looked at them for a couple days and then when I was sure that nobody was in the house to hear me cry when they didn’t fit, I stripped down and actually tried them on. Guess what … they fit perfectly! They are made with a material they call breath weave and they are awesome.

Here’s an excerpt from their site on the breath weave fabric:

Breathe Weave TM: the next generation in wicking fiber. No matter how much you sweat, Breathe Weave TM keeps you dry. Worn by yoga instructors and yoga enthusiasts in the hottest studios, Breathe Weave TM has proven to be a fabric that can handle hot yoga and the harshest stretch. Made of a high performance Cotton/Nylon/Spandex blend, Breathe Weave TM wicks sweat away from the body, dries quickly and has give to allow for movement during practice. It has a two way stretch capabilities and maintains its shape when wet and after being washed. Wear Breath Weave TM to stretch, to practice, to sweat and to relax.

Seriously … I LOVE these new yoga pants. Now that Christmas is over, I need to get back on track with my fitness. That means it’s the perfect time to share my “FIND” with you. I have a list of things that I can’t wait to buy from their site. They even have a “special” section with lots of discount too … do yourself a favor and check them out … you can thank me later.

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