Monday, September 22, 2014

A Woman to Admire: Kristen Roedner

Dear Reader, I'm so excited for you to meet Kristen Roedner. Can't you just feel the sunshine she radiates from her being?


Kristen is one of the most LIVE OUT LOUD women I know. We met in Boston, circa 2002ish, through our sorority alumnae group. Delta Delta Delta, y'all!
Kristen hosts "Spread Sparkle" meetings at her home. It kills me that I live too far away to attend. She's been on me to start my own chapter.  I'll keep you posted if I do.

As I mentioned in a previous post, she drives a freakin' pink flying pig.


And there's a rainbow painted on the hood. Of course.



For the past two years, Beni and I spent the last week of summer break with her and her incredible daughter, Rosa Jane. The notes Kristen taped around her house for RJ made my heart melt. And made me excited to do the same once Beni can read.




Kristen's home is filled with art, art supplies, and inspiration.  I took the below photos last August. Two glittering reindeers and a flying pig Christmas tree are on display year round. Because they make her happy.


(Side note: I've never met anyone with more colored pencils than me. Her stash blew mine out of the water. I'm pretty sure I'd take her on ribbon and glitter though.)

But why all the pink flying pigs, you ask? She wrote an incredible blog post to explain her obsession. After you read it, you will know why I love her so much.

Kristen oozes sparkle and inspiration. And you want to know the craziest thing? She says I inspire her.

Monday, September 1, 2014

Mid-Life Reboot


Whoa! Today I'm 40!

Today is the first of the month and the very first day of the next year (and decade!) of my life.   While I'm grateful that I've made it this far (many are not as lucky), I also have some less than positive feelings about entering this next decade. There's no denying that I'm really middle aged now. And it's bizarre to think that tomorrow I will be closer to 50 than I am to 30. And closer to 60 than I am to 20! It's hard to wrap my head around that one.

As I lived the last month in my 30's, I started evaluating my life. For the past few weeks I've asked myself:
  • Am I creating the life I desire? (A life that sparkles!)
    • Do my daily activities reflect my values?
    • Am I living with intention? With mindfulness?
    • What life goals am I neglecting?
  • Am I nourishing myself physically, spiritually, and emotionally?
  • Am I nourishing my important relationships?
    • Am I the mother/ wife/ sister/ friend/ daughter that I want to be?
    • Would I be happy with how my close friends and family decribe me?
By sitting with these questions for several weeks, I've identified areas that need attention. While I'm not in a mid-life crisis, I'm definitely in need of a mid-life reboot. 

So for the next 365 days, I'm a woman on a mission. I've set nine goals for myself (symbolic because my birthday is in September). These goals are realisitic but will be challenging as they will require almost daily attention and/or action.

So here goes! By September 1, 2015, I will... 
  • go on 40 health adventures (I'm thinking of activities along the lines of hiking, rollerskating, and pole dancing classes) 
  • prepare 40 home-cooked, healthy, whole food, family meals
  • do 40 meditation sessions (each at least 5 minutes long*)
  • fill 40 or more pages in my gratitude journal
  • post 40 blog entries
  • participate in 40 Spanish learning sessions (at least 10 minutes each*)
  • work on my book 40 times (at least 10 minutes each*)
  • go on 40 dates with my hubby (not an easy task with a husband who works insane hours)
  • snail mail 40 letters to my friends and loved ones

* I will probably go longer than 5-10 minutes. But just knowing I only HAVE to do a few minutes, means it's more likely that I'll get started. It's a goal-setting Jedi mind-trick I'm playing on myself.

As I look over this list and think about everything else that is going on in my life, I realize this is an ambitious list of goals. But hey, what better time than now?

Wish me luck, Dear Readers. I'll be posting about my progress and counting on you to help keep me accountable. I also welcome fellow goal setters on this journey. Is there something you would like to work on?




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