The Gifts of Imperfection

Stumbled across this life changing book when I needed it the most!! Funny how life works that way!!
http://www.brenebrown.com/books/2010/8/8/the-gifts-of-imperfection.html

I hope you read it, I hope you download it, I hope it changes your life as it has mine!
Cheers, to Imperfection!!

Happy New Year!! Welcome 2012

I spent a very quiet New Years Eve by myself as I do every year. Don't be sad, it is just as I desire. When my girls were little, I told my Soulmate to choose something (anything) to do once or twice a year with his daughters (without me) that would last a lifetime. He chose skiing. Perfect, because I don't ski and had no desire to learn, lug all of that equipment around, be cold, have a snotty nose, go up and down a hill for no reason. So every year, he packs those two up and heads for Big Sky, Montana for 4 or 5 days of skiing. I'll admit the years when they were little were tough, lots of crying, lost mittens, frustration, but he persevered and now they pack their own bags, get their own gear on and look forward to that time with just their Dad.  I don't go and look forward to the solitude of those days to recharge, regroup, rearrange and realize. I don't do much, read, rest, sleep (alot), take baths, eat snacks for dinner, answer the phone only if I feel like it. Lot's of people are appaled that I would be ALONE on New Years, but for me it is perfectly symbolic, we come into this world alone, we leave alone, and for me saying goodbye to the last year alone and welcoming the new year alone is just as it should be. As for the rest of my days, they are filled to the brim with so many great people, positive energy, lots of laughter, tons of love, and bright, bright lights!! I'm so excited for 2012 and will always look back very fondly on all of my blessings from 2011.

From our snowglobe to yours!! Merry Christmas!!

Just in case I don't get back here before Christmas! Which is entirely possible!!

Just when you think you don't do enough.........

Here's a challenge for you! For some reason this morning I decided to go in and clean up my photo files. When I load my pics to my editing program they automatically go in by date. If I'm in a hurry, I grab the one I want and post it to facebook, my blog, or send it to a client. So at the end of each year I'm left with lots of files that just have dates on them..............come to find out 2011 was a pretty epic year for me!! It started out with me floundering for direction, ambition and ispiration.................then I took Soul Restoration 1 and 2, from Brave Girls Club, found this photo of my vision board which I LOVE!!

Then we all packed up and went to Sayulita, Mexico.....the whole crew and it was magical!! And WARM!!

There were graduations, first day of highschool, first day of junior high, therefore lots of lasts as well.....

We had lots of parties, birthdays and weddings, and some just for the heck of it!!

And I went to Brave Girls Camp in McCall, Idaho and came home with 30 plus new, amazing friends!!

Here's a pic of me and my roommate!

Kathy and Melody, the founders of Brave Girls and who made it all a reality!

The fall out from these photos was I realized how much weight I had gained, 30 pounds in the past three years......thus September 1st I went back to my trainer, cleaned up my food and started doing my cardio on off days, 10 down, many inches gone. 2012 will see a slimmer, fitter, healthier me!!

Another of my big dreams came true in October, Born in a Barn was birthed and what a great success!!

And what I've noticed about everything I write about this past year, it's not ever about things, but who was there..........because in the end you really do just remember how people make you feel!!

Buffalo Chicken Salad

I have a few weaknesses...............okay, alot of weaknesses!! But one in particular is for the Buffalo Chicken Salad at the Rib and Chop House here in good old Sheridan, Wyoming. They take an innocent fat free chicken breast, cut it up in pieces, deep fry it, coat it in hot sauce, then into a bed of greens (the healthy part), sprinkle with blue cheese crumbles and bacon (cause, why not?) and two big fat sides of creamy blue cheese dressing. And oh ya, my girlfriend and I like to order a side of fries and toss those into the salad! In my quest to lose some pounds, (by the way I weigh and measure this Friday, so we'll see if this helped), I had to find an alternative to my weakness. After much trial and error......I have succeeded!! And here you go!!

Buffalo Chicken Salad

2 pound chicken breast, pounded and cut into pieces

2/3 c flour
6 T cornstarch
¼ t cayenne pepper
1 t garlic powder
2/3 c Franks hot sauce
1 T olive oil
Heat pan to medium-high, combine flour, cornstarch, cayenne, and garlic powder in a Ziploc bag. Toss in the chicken and shake it up to coat.
Add olive oil to pan and once hot, add chicken and cook on both sides.
Once chicken is cooked put it in a bowl and cover and toss with the hot sauce.
Serve 6.4 ounces of chicken (180 calories) on a bed of greens with lowfat blue cheese dressing.

Lowfat Blue Cheese dressing (best to make day before, tastes just like the really fattening kind)
½ c crumbled blue cheese
6 oz greek yogurt fat free
1 T lemon juice
1 T white wine vinegar
Combine all in a bowl and wah-lah!! Only 85 calories in ¼ cup!!
Total salad calories 265!!

There are just some battles I can't win and craving this is one of them, so why not figure it out!!
I don't have a photo but I'll take one of the real one and my reduced version so you can see it for real!!



Wings for Minnie

A real sweetheart named Rach Rogers wrote to me on my blog about getting a pair of wings for her daughter, Minnie. I tried to e-mail her back but I'm pretty sure I've got something wrong with my blog settings because I can never e-mail back....this of course makes me all the more determined to find this person. I found her, and her sweet blog and her story about Minnie. Minnie has had many surgeries and her Mom, Rach, tell her that the scars on her back are her angel wings. I asked Rach why so many surgeries and her reply was,

"She was born with cancer, when they took her tumor out it caused her to get sever scoliosis.
I have almost everything blogged...
blog.rachelrogers.com
she had her first surgery when she was one day old.
her last big one one was last February, she has had a rough ride since this last surgery...",

I don't know if it is because I am nosy, or what, but I always have to know who I am making my wings for, so I can think about them while I am making them, and I like to write a personal note on the back.
These wings are for a very special little girl, and I'm pretty sure this is why they have so much spirit! I hope she likes them and she can fly with no more surgeries.

Just for you, Minnie!



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Born in a Barn Photos!!

This sale was an amazing success!! The vendors, the weather, the stock, the energy, everything combined to make our very first Born in a Barn an amazing event!! Stay tuned for our next one in June, 2012!!