Archives for November 2011

On Just.Be.Enough: New Kid on the Block

November 30, 2011 by Farewell Stranger ·

I’m still alive! We’ve moved into our new house (if you can call it moving in when you have no furniture and none of your stuff).

Us en route

Connor is sick, my husband is sick, and my back is giving me grief again (it does this thing where it tries to collapse when I’m stressed – fun times). And we have no wifi, so I’m doing all my online stuff the hard way.

But we made it!

By way of further update, I’ll direct you to Just.Be.Enough today where I have a post about adjusting to a new place.

Come visit!

Filed Under: Hard things · Tagged With: anxiety

The Honesty-Dignity Equation

November 29, 2011 by Farewell Stranger ·

If you were around here in the summer you may remember that I put myself out there on video and managed to land an opportunity to speak at a Bloggy Boot Camp in Dallas in September 2012. Well today I’m not here – not because we’re moving in to our new house (woo hoo!) but because I’m over visiting my SITStas. (Is that a word? It is now.)

I’m guest posting on SITS today about how to blog honestly without losing your dignity. (What? I only posted about my underwear once.)

Everyone has a line. Even me. I know where my line is and what I’m not willing (or able) to post about, but I might be willing to post more personal stuff than a lot of people. Doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter where your line is, I just think sometimes it’s a good idea to push it a little bit. And doing so is less scary than you might think.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the last 11 months it’s that, no matter what the struggle, we’re never as alone as we think we are.

What do you think – are you ready to step into the light?

Come and read my guest post and let me know what you think.

***

If you’re here from SITS (hi & welcome!) and you’re looking for the juicy stuff, here’s where you’ll find some of it:

Read “Loud” if you’ve ever yelled at your baby.

Ditto if you’ve ever wanted to throw your baby out the window.

On being a “bad” mom.

A post about how I got onto anti-depressants.

My scariest moment.

Not a good day.

The first of a two-part post about rage (which was also linked from the post on SITS).

Or maybe it’s easier to get it all in one video of my TEDx talk.

And if you’re looking for tips on getting freelance writing gigs, come back later in the week. I’m going to post some freelance tips for newbies based on my recent experience.

Filed Under: Guest posts, Motherhood, Postpartum depression · Tagged With: community, perspective, telling the truth, we're not alone

On the Road to Wisdom

November 27, 2011 by Farewell Stranger ·

Wisdom ceases to be wisdom when it becomes too proud to weep, too grave to laugh, and too selfish to seek other than itself.
~ Khalil Gibran

At the beginning of this year I did two things: I started this blog and I joined a One Little Word class. I thought I’d write here a bit and see where it went, and here I am almost a year later, fully immersed. I thought I’d dive right into the One Little Word class and do all the exercises, and almost a year later I haven’t done many of them but my word is fully immersed in my life.

I had a tough time choosing the word, and was skeptical about the common “the word will choose you” reassurance. Initially I thought I’d choose “improve” as my word because that’s what I wanted to do in many areas of my life. But thinking that was a good word was really a symptom of my problem, and luckily I came to my senses and realized that was too self-critically negative.

And then my word chose me.

I don’t remember how it happened. It just came to me one day, I think, and that was that. I didn’t know what it meant at the time, but I do now.

Seek.

verb, sought, seek·ing.

–verb (used with object)

1. to go in search or quest of: to seek the truth.

2. to try to find or discover by searching or questioning: to seek the solution to a problem.

3. to try to obtain: to seek fame.

4. to try or attempt (usually fol. by an infinitive): to seek to convince a person.

5. to go to: to seek a place to rest.

6. to ask for; request: to seek advice.

7. Archaic: to search or explore.

For too long I was too proud to weep (figuratively, anyway, or at least in public) and too grave to laugh. I lost sight of what was important.

Actually, I don’t think I knew what was important.

I do now. In part, at least. I was seeking something I didn’t know was lost, and now I’ve started to find my way back to it.

I was seeking myself.

This search (journey? quest?) has led me places I would not have anticipated a year ago, and now a new stage is beginning.

A new home.

A new place.

A new start.

I look forward to where seeking wisdom will take me, and what part of myself I will find on the way there.

Linked up with:

The Just.Be.Enough team is so thankful to have been partnering with Striiv on our Striiv 2 Be Enough month-long challenge. Now it is our turn to give back to one of you! Enter to win a chance to own your very own Striiv fitness device just by linking up an “I am striving for” post on Just.Be.Enough this week.

A winner will be chosen among the linked posts (remember that the linky closes on Wednesday 11/30 at 11:59 pm EST) using random.org on Thursday (12/1) morning. The winner will be notified by email and will have 24 hours to reply with a mailing address and telephone number or another winner will be selected.

To be entered:

Link an “I am Striving for” Be Enough Me post in the linky, AND
Comment on the JBE post to let us know that you would like to win your OWN Striiv.

—–

And don’t forget about our first EVER Twitter party!

We are so excited to host a “Striiv to Be Enough” event where we’ll be discussing getting moving and putting ourselves first as we strive to live healthy lives full of movement.

Plus, we’re offering amazing prizes that you will NOT want to miss! You must RSVP and be present during most of the event to be eligible to win prizes.

When: Tuesday, November 29th, 8-9 pm EST/5-6 pm PST
Where: On Twitter!
Follow: @JustBeEnough and hashtag #Striiv2BEnough

RSVP here

Filed Under: Be enough me, Hello, Inspiration · Tagged With: Be enough me, expectations, firsts, gratitude, hope, living life, perspective, The Universe

Searching for Life’s Purpose

November 23, 2011 by Farewell Stranger ·

You may have noticed (because I plaster it everywhere) that I’m sort of fond of my tagline. Live the life you’re meant to. I thought I knew what I wanted to do, but my experience in the last few years has made me think differently about what I think I’m meant to do.

I think we’re all meant to do something. That doesn’t mean it has to be huge or Earth-shattering, but I think there is something for each of us that has meaning and that contributes something. I also think sometimes it’s the hard things that make us see what that something is (though that doesn’t necessarily have to be the case).

A friend of mine has a blog called Quest for Purpose, where she’s on a journey to explore what she’s meant to be doing with her life. I find the things she posts and the peek into her thought process fascinating.

In any case, she is doing a series of interviews to talk to others about life’s purpose, and I was flattered that she asked me to be part of it. Come and watch, and please share your thoughts. I’d love to hear what you think (as would Erin, I’m sure).

Filed Under: Hello, Inspiration, Vlogs · Tagged With: living life, perspective

Striiver’s Log, Week 2

November 23, 2011 by Farewell Stranger ·

This is the second week of logging my activity with my Striiv fitness device and Coach Striiv kicked it up a notch this week. Here’s how it went down.

Wednesday

Went to Calgary for the day and had to take my Striiv off at airport security. Damn, six precious steps not counted! Then when I got to the Calgary airport there was a moving sidewalk. I love those, but Coach Striiv wouldn’t let me on it. Had to walk on my own, she said. Gotta admit it felt kind of good powering past all the people standing there gliding along on the moving sidewalk.

On my way back I had some time to kill before boarding so I decided to wander down to Starbucks. Came across this:

How did they know?!

Thursday

Coach Striiv apparently doesn’t differentiate between normal walking steps and the running-around-like-a-chicken-with-head-cut-off kind. Crazy, ridiculous day. But I got enough credits to donate a day’s worth of fresh water to a child in South America!

Starting to obsess about building things in MyLand. Got greedy and built some cool things, but only have the foundation. My Tree of Ages is in place but I need more energy credits to get it to grow. Must focus.

Getting started

Friday

Last day of work. Walked up to get a hug from Rita, who’s nearing the end of The Year of Hugging Fearlessly. Great hug that put me in a good mood, so I decided to take advantage of the sunshine and go for a walk. I even did some challenges. Coach Striiv was impressed.

Home from work and the husband was tired. Graciously offered to take the dog for a walk so he didn’t have to. Got some energy credits and ended up at over 10,000 steps for the day. (That’s harder than I would have thought. Noted, Coach Striiv.)

Saturday

Coach Striiv put the pressure on today, so I went for a run. Ran around the bog and somehow managed to end up on a big hill right in the middle of a hard challenge. Coach Striiv pushed me on. No stopping! It worked and I got to grow my Tree of Ages and my Greek Vineyard. Nice!

After my run - enough to grow to the next stage!

Went out for dinner with friends, which turned into a bit of a bar hop. Stepped right through midnight and already had some credits toward Sunday. Partying does pay off!

Sunday

Hit the museum this morning for one last visit before we move. Some good walking but our visit was at a three-year-old’s pace so we didn’t stay too long.

Lots of packing in the afternoon, which doesn’t add up to many steps. I want credit for being on my feet all day, but Coach Striiv won’t budge. Threw in another dog walk with some challenges to get my step count up.

Striiving through fall

Monday

More packing. A little low on steps throughout the day until we started loading things into the moving container. Got energy credits and some extra for the stairs, so I guess there’s that. Then a dog walk again. Never been so motivated to walk this dog in my life.

Tuesday

Last day of the challenge. More packing (when does it end?) and some stairs. The toddler got antsy in the afternoon so I took him and the dog out for a walk. Did some challenges, even though it was pouring rain. Coach Striiv has this motivation thing down to an art.

Ended up at almost 47,000 steps by the end of the week. I donated three days’ worth of water and collected a whole bunch of trophies.

I really like this Striiv – it’s a great motivator with enough different things to keep it interesting. I love the MyLand game (similar in concept to Farmville for those who are familiar with that, though not nearly as annoying) but I really want to get far enough to unlock the next level. I guess I’m going to have to keep walking the dog!

I was not compensated for this but I would like to thank Striiv for providing the device to support our Just.Be.Enough. challenge.

Want a Striiv of your own? You have the change to win one, along with some other cool prizes, at our Twitter party on November 29th. See the Striiv wrap-up post on Just.Be.Enough. for details. You’ll also have a second chance by linking up with Be Enough Me on Monday, November 28. The prompt for this week is: What are you striving for?

Filed Under: Better world, Happy things · Tagged With: living life, running, Striiv