Hot Torch, Room Full of Glass, and a Kung Fu Kwoon

Pouncing on Procrastination

2012-02-05T16:49:00.001-08:00

This last week I was working on procrastination or rather how to break through it in both my glass art and in practicing my forms. It's amazing how a few hours can slip by and oops! too late. Enough of that nonsense so time to do something about it.

I am learning EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) or tapping that involves tapping on acupressure points while focusing on the issue. What I learned about procrastination is that at one time procrastination actually served because the project was not right at the time and since then the subconscious kicks into procrastination mode when it's time to move forward. So how was my procrastination "serving" me in regards to my glass and forms?

With my glass, procrastinating was "protecting" me from visiting burnout island. Been there, have the "souvenirs" and sorry, don't want to go back. What's not serving here is that this protection mechanism is keeping me in the T-ball league when really I need to be shooting for the major leagues. In forms the procrastination was keeping me from seeing my mistakes and therefore, keeping me from being wrong. After all, in my mind my forms are perfect and again, this keeps me stuck in T-ball league.

After I tapped on the issue, I set a plan in place for going forward. Along with my pushups and situps first thing in the morning, a form is also done to hook me in. Plus when I'm not at my torch, I set my alarm every hour-ish so that I get up from my computer and go train. My alarm is in an adjoining room so I have to get up to turn it off. So far that is working so carry on.

During practice with my broadsword, I noticed that I tore a hole in my pants. I wonder if we get clothing allowance.......

Connect The Dots

2012-02-01T20:17:00.001-08:00

This New Year's banquet and celebration was the best yet for many reasons, but one in particular because I had a deeper connection with the event. I knew the candidates from being both with them in class and being team mates and it was very exciting to watch their journey closeup. Being on the dragon dance team was a thrill all of its own and setting up and helping with the silent auction made it more personal as well. As great as those instances were, what's to come next had even a bigger and more profound impact on me.

As proud as I was with my dragons I wasn't going to put them into the auction as I could make better ones with practice. When we were setting up Sifus Lindstrom and Kichko asked where the dragon was and I said that I wasn't going to put it in the auction. That started the why???? Then my "wonderful" husband blabbed that they were in the car and as a result off he went to get them. I unpacked my dragons and I was "peer-pressured" into putting the dragons in the auction. All through the night I kept getting blasted with "what do you mean you weren't going to put those in the auction??!!" and "you're your own worst critic you know". I must say that it was extremely humbling to see what the dragons sold for and that they both sold to the same person who was thrilled to own them both. It was made very clear to me that I, even though proud of my dragons, was looking at them through my list of improvements whereas everyone else saw the dragons for what they were. Two very different sets of pictures. While it's good to note the improvements, the improvements shouldn't be the focal point and that was the mistake I was making. Oh gee, guess which set of "glasses" I was looking at my forms through? No wonder I wasn't wild about doing them and yes I changed that picture as well.

On Sunday my husband, during conversation about the banquet events, looked at me and said "why don't you bite the bullet and get the kiln you want (and need)?" The kiln I want is a Skutt Scarab (a Cadillac unit), made by a torch hound for a torch hound, is much bigger and costs more than some of the cars on the road. Translation: a sizable investment. Then it hit me: I had been asked numerous times if I make such and such and my response was no because I was limited to the size of my kiln. Whew boy!! Talk about keeping myself in little league with that one! Am I serious about being all I can be as a glass artist or not? So I now have a call in to see what the local Skutt distributor can do for me to get the kiln up here so yes I am serious. Besides, I have a bunch more dragons to make among other things like a Turkish coffee pot and someone has been pestering me for wine glasses.

Oh yes, I have also been asked if I do large shallow glass bowls. My first thought was no because that's a hotshop project and I'm a torch hound. However after giving my head a rattle I had another thought: I don't have a hotshop, but I sure know who does and he's been doing the hint-on for team glassblowing. Must see about seat sales to California.....

Dancing 10 Feet Above the Ground

2012-01-25T19:44:00.001-08:00

Right now I am dancing 10 feet above the ground. Why? I accomplished a goal that I set for last year and did not complete, but today I did and I made 2 of them. I made a glass dragon, 2 of them actually and am damned proud of myself for both making them and how they turned out.

All of my life I have had the inner chatter of "not good enough" which is a real plague when I am an artist. People can tell me until doomsday how much they loved my work, but no amount of ego-stroking is going to made an iota of difference if I don't recognize the greatness within myself. However today was different as I do see the greatness. So, what changed?

On Monday I had an energy coaching call where I focused on the block of not going forward despite how much I wanted to. Within minutes the block was clearly identified as a big "not good enough" and it was set in very early in my life. Plus my parents played into that by holding me back in various things and event because they feared that I wasn't good enough. Time to clear that energy and replace it with energy that supports. To make a long story short, this was the most deep, intense, and powerful coaching call that I have ever had. I have taken a lot of personal development courses, been coached, have my Reiki I, and it all pales in comparison to this coaching session. Unbelievable!!

So today was my first day on the torch after the call and I was wondering how it was going to go. It was amazing as I had a peace and calmness that I have not experienced before and I really got into my "zone". After I made my first dragon I was (and still am) very proud of it even though there are mistakes. I looked at the dragon, learned from it, and made another incorporating the corrections. The result was an improved dragon. Dennis says that he can see a definite difference between the two dragons and so can I. I think that this is the first time that I can say that I am over the moon proud of my work. I think that if I plugged into a light socket I could easily light up Western Canada. What a rush!

And to make this event even more spectacular and great, I had an email tonight from a lady wanting to purchase, sight unseen, one of my early dragons as she is born in the year of the dragon. Only Dennis and I know what my dragons look like because they are still in the kiln. I think I have a bruise on my jaw from it hitting my laptop in joyous shock. Needless to day, I am dancing 10 feet above the ground.

Eve of The Dragon

2012-01-22T11:43:00.001-08:00

Tomorrow I officially start I Ho Chuan, Year of The Dragon and I can tell that this year will be different from the previous. This will be my third year living my life by my design personally, professionally and everything between. Will the third be the charm? If charm means the launching point, then yes.

Aside from starting training tallies tomorrow, I also will start the year with an energy work coaching call. I have wanted a coaching call with this particular coach for a few weeks now, however it was a no-can-do situation until last Thursday when I could FINALLY book a time with the time being on Chinese New Year's day, the official start of I Ho Chuan. Coincidence? Probably not.

So here are my predictions for the Year of The Dragon: I will advance to new heights, new awareness and new accomplishments. I will travel further than I ever thought or dreamed possible and be able to set my sights on points that I thought were impossible to even consider. I will "get over myself" many times and in many situations and genres only to wash, rinse, and repeat at a whole new level.

I keep thinking of my favorite scene in "Avatar" when Jake finds out that the dragon he chooses must also choose him. How will he know? The dragon will want to kill him. Outstanding. Then the impeccable directions of "shut up and fly straight." I do know that my dragon will challenge me time and time again but also will take me to new heights. And of course I too will have to learn to also shut up and fly straight and more importantly, hang on!

Tuning In.......

2012-01-13T19:04:00.001-08:00

During this break from UBBT 8 to I Ho Chuan 2012 I have been enjoying the solitude and inner reflection and getting in touch with my inner guidance. Finding out more about me, learning, growing, at times resisting, and in the end, getting a greater understanding of me and my place on this planet.

Reflections and meditations concerning my glass art are priorities in my day. What reflects my style? What is my style? What blocks in me do I need to clear so that I can infuse my pieces with high vibration and healing energy? And of course, how do I make a dragon? That's next week's project.

One can say that during this time I'm lacking motivation. However from my perspective, I'm getting grounded and tuning in.

2012: A Year in Preview

2012-01-05T19:49:00.001-08:00

My mandate in life is to live on purpose for a purpose. My I Ho Chuan requirements (goals), both personal and stated will help keep me on track. I have broken down my goals into 3 major sections: training, glass art, and other.

Training:
My focus on my training this year is both ``bang for buck`` and attention to detail as it`s no use logging big numbers if the technique needs fixing.

Log 50,000 pushups and 50,000 situps.

Because I want to increase strength for pushups, all of my pushups will be plank and the focus will be elbows in to both strengthen and also to decrease shoulder strain.
Situps will include core activities such as crunches, reverse crunches, etc.

Master two forms with a minimum of 1000 repetitions.

Hand form: Kempo
Weapons form: Nunchucks

1100 (total) repetitions of all other forms I know (both weapon and hand) with the intention of keeping current with the other forms so they don't get "lost in the dust"
Log 1000 rounds of sparring.
1609 kilometers running/walking/biking/rollerblading or equivalent.
8000 repetitions (total) of the following kicks: side heel, front thrust, roundhouse, spinning back

The focus is mindful kicks with proper form.

4000 repetitions of lat pulldowns with the goal of being able to pull my body weight

Reason is to build strength in order to do chinups and flexed arm hang

40 sessions of combination/technique review with a partner, probably Sihing Lowery.
100 sessions of Hot Yoga
Incorporate GSP rushfit workouts into my routine. I'm not sure what this will look like yet.
Record 1000 Acts of Kindness.
Blog weekly (52 blogs) on both my personal blog and team blog site
Compete in Tiger Challenge
Learn to Lion Dance
Qualify for and perform in at least 3 public performances, one of them being the 2013 New Year's banquet.
Memorize and recite Mastery by Stuart Emery.

Glass Art:
The main goal of my glass art is to double my income from 2011 with the 5-year goal of having my income from glass art be 6 figures. This includes income that is in alignment with my life purpose.

Make 1000 sculpture pieces (includes pendants, earrings)
Make 1000 blown pieces
Have lessons with either a glass master or scientific glassblower
Take a course with Brent Graber. Reason: his colors are amazing
Renovate the free-standing garage into my glass studio. I`m not looking for completion on this project, I`m looking at a good start.
Manifest a bigger kiln with cantilevered door (Skutt Scarab)
Increase my online presence
All of my stock listed in my Etsy shop
Facebook Fan page improved
Learn about pipes as I`m being led here, don`t know why, just know I need to go here
Make at least one very good pipe. I have a person chomping at the bit to be my first customer.
Learn to make a cognac (brandy) pipe
Learn about angel wing significance and make angels

Other:
The premise is to experience life and live life to the fullest.

Participate fully and complete the Prosperity Tribe (ends April 2012)
Be active on the Facebook group (ongoing)
Attend an Everything is Energy (Prosperity Tribe) live event
Read 20 books or equivalent: includes DVDs, online summits, webinars, calls
Daily Reiki Gassho meditations
Daily gratitude journaling and journaling
Knit 5 pairs of socks
Participate in and have fun at our monthly wine/food group gatherings
Go horseback riding 5 times
Asking for and receiving help: this is an area I need to be conscious of as I am very much a "Jane Wayne" and do things myself. I need to ask for help instead of assuming someone will leap up and help me. Also when asked if I need help, I will state how I can be helped. I'm not sure how to make this one measurable.

I did not make nutrional goals this year as raw foods and green smoothies are a big part of my life.

My values are connection, creativity, freedom and joy. Connection is not necessarily with people, but more importantly with self, Spirit, and God.
The big goal for me is health. Not only is it physical health, but also mental, Spiritual, creative, and financial.

What I REALLY Got For Christmas

2011-12-26T12:15:00.000-08:00

This Christmas has been, so far, the best and most memorable ever and I feel truly blessed. The best gift I received was a book that Dennis got from a used book store. When I opened the package and saw the title, I cried. The book was titled "How to Survive and Prosper as an Artist: Selling Yourself Without Selling Your Soul." I had no idea this book existed and now it's in my hands. On the surface I got a cool book, but looking deeper, this is what I really got:

The belief that I can truly make it prosperously as a glass artist.
A roadmap to fulfilling that dream.
Help and support is there, just ask, and it shall reveal itself.
The humbling and feeling of immense gratitude from seeing and feeling just how much I am supported.
I have a gift, now go share it with the world, just go as the how will fill itself in.

My head is still swimming in the wonder of it all and to tell the truth, I don't want to leave the "water."

Here and Now

2011-12-23T07:20:00.000-08:00

For the past 10 years the Christmas season has had an undercurrent of angst and because of that I could not truly enjoy the season. The angst ranged from "I have to remember to teach the students this" to " I wonder how the students are going to be" to frantically cramming in knowledge so that I can teach a course I knew squat about, to being in tears over the upcoming 6 weeks of living hell of a schedule I was about to undergo. Basically I was anticipating and living in the future. Not really a cause for celebration, however this year is different.

I declined the offer to go back for the spring semester and for the first time in what seems like forever, I am feeling peace, joy, and serenity. In this moment I am living in the present. When I declined the offer I felt a release, maybe a final thread of stress, I don't know, but what I do know is that there is a certain calmness that wasn't there before.

Why did I decline the offer? Going back did not align with my life purpose to learn, to grow, and to create. I have chosen to go full forward with me, my Kung Fu, and with my glass art. There's a boatload of learning, growing, and creating to be done of which I am both thrilled and anxious. It's all good, no, let me rephrase that, it's all amazing.

I wish all of my Kung Fu family and their families a very Merry, Blessed, and prosperous holiday season that is filled with joy, fun, and, laughter. All the best in 2012!

Leaky Holes

2011-12-14T12:26:00.000-08:00

In the Prosperity Tribe class that I am in there is a concept that is discussed and that concept is called "leaky holes". The definition given to a leaky hole is something that one spends unconsciously doing, in other words, doing something without giving it attention. Leaky holes is often used to determine nonsupportive spending habits such as always getting a Starbucks latte because that is what one does thirsty or not. However leaky holes can apply to various other aspects in life. I think I have heard the concept of mindful training a time or two in Kung Fu. Oblivious training could be considered a leaky hole.

Even though the leaky hole concept is wrapped around money, that isn't where my leaky hole is. Mine leaky hole concerns time. You know when you go to check something on the internet or email intending to spend 15 minutes at it and a solid hour goes by. Or intention of doing something and a shinier something comes along and there blows another chunk of time into the stratosphere. Yeah, that would about describe it. So first comes awareness, then comes action steps to keep me on track. It's amazing that when I keep on track how much I accomplish and in the direction of my life purpose and truthfully, that feels darned good.

It's interesting that when an "issue" arises so does a challenge. I have identified time as my leaky hole and have set in action steps to correct it. But alas a challenger has entered the scene. My previous employer called asking me if I want to come back to work part time for next semester. At first glance this would be a great opportunity because the coin is good. However, and this is the important point, is this going to add to the leaky hole situation? There are reasons why I left and by going back would I be going forward while having one foot stuck in a cement bucket? Not an easy decision and it's one that has to be made considering ALL of the factors involved.

UBBT 8: The Gifts

2011-12-09T15:06:00.000-08:00

It's very easy to look at one's goal list and assume that's what they got (or not) as a result of a year long event. X number of pushups, situps, Kempo reps, kicks represent only what's on the surface of achievement. However when one looks below the surface, the list of real accomplishments may be not only many, but also very surprising. When I reflect on this past year, I received a lot of gifts and some came from left field. A list gives an example of what was really accomplished as a result of a year long, can't quit, up/down/left/right event.

A training schedule and system that works for me.
A team of team mates that provided mentorship, help, and support.
An evolution of a circle of like-minded and action-oriented friends who gather monthly to explore tastes and boast culinary skills.
Immense personal and Spiritual growth in directions I didn't anticipate.
Deep gratitude for the leaps and steps I have taken thus far and continue to take.
Access to amazing materials, books, and programs.
Deepened awareness, listening and understanding of my body's requirements in regards to nutrition, activity, and movement. Gluten-free replacement method didn't work, but gluten-reduced with high raw does.
Increased awareness and acknowledgement of my inner guidance and the directional signs that appear before me. The signs get more intense when ignored, trust me on this one.
Beliefs and boundaries that are challenged, questioned, and pushed in order to determine mine and non-mine. To tag along, the amount of support I have when I am in self-doubt.
My glass art taken to and projected to a whole new level and experience and learning.
Self-healing and empathy
A greater definition of what I truly want in life and who I am. Aka my life purpose.
A realization of the type and value of support that I actually give especially to Dennis. This was a big a-ha as the support is non-monetary and is of huge value.
Greater awareness of when I'm buying my own baloney and the punt needed to quit buying it.
Friends with whom I can have a great conversations with on a great variety of topics and when the chips are down, our backs are covered.

I am sure that upon more reflection more things will appear. And yes, this all was accomplished through the pushups, the situps, the forms, the blogging, the torch time and what not.

The one question remains: knowing then what I know now, would I embark on this event again? The answer: why wouldn't I?

The 3 R's

2011-12-01T08:08:00.001-08:00

In my life right now the 3 R's stand for relaxation, reflection, and rejuvenation. Shows are tiring both mentally and physically and I find I need down time after I'm finished for the season. What worked, what didn't, what am I doing and where am I going are the questions that are floating around my mind these past few days in regards to life in general rather than just my glass art.

During the Lloydminster show I found out that a fellow co-worker from another department passed away suddenly in June from a heart attack. He was 50 and had plans to go back to Paris next summer. The gal telling me this news was saddened by it, of course, but also was full of anger and resentment towards the employer and was revealing to me that she is soooo outa there...... in 5 years. Blink, blink! In that moment my first silent question was "why not now" and my first feeling was that of gratitude that I took a leap of faith to defy all logic, to leave a routine (and paycheck) and to live my life now.

I often hear that I am so lucky that I can do my glass art, my Kung Fu and whatnot because I have a husband who supports me. Of course the literal translation is "your husband is a wallet therefore you don't have to worry about money". Now that's an assumption the size of the universe! However, I do have husband support and the wallet support is the least important of the support he gives me. Dennis believes in me and my potential and that is so important especially when I want to pull a lampshade over my head and hide from the world. There are times that it's his belief in me that keeps me going and sometimes the belief comes in the form of "how many more signs do you want for confirmation?? Get over yourself and get on with it already!" And I'm grateful for it all.

I finished my Weight Loss For Women Who Feel Too Much course and I really felt like I bombed it. I went in with the intention of melting away the body fat that was tagging along despite what I did. Well that's not what the outcome was. I wrote in my closing email that I had difficulty keeping on track and doing the exercises and as a result I didn't lose any weight, but I did break through resistance that I had in regards to the direction of my glass art. I got a return email response that said "WOOHOOO, The Universe works in such a powerful and perfect manner...you got EXACTLY what you needed out of this class...exactly! Clarity, purpose of vision and more. That is great stuff. Well, worth the class. And congratulations for being self-aware enough to KNOW that you got what you needed." I guess I didn't bomb it after all.

When I slow down I can take a good look at where I want to go in the future. What do I want to learn? What do I want to focus my training on? Is what I'm doing working and if not what shift can I make so it can? Of course there is the all-important question of what do I really want? What do I really want (and how would I train) if no one was watching me and if I didn't hold myself back? Hmmmmmm

Pipe Dreams

2011-11-21T20:13:00.000-08:00

The one thing that I quasi-know, am learning, and is being re-enforced about myself is that I need to be in an environment of continuous learning and growth regardless of the genre. The "same-old, same-old" simply does not work for me. One might think that I totally relish and embrace the learning curve that's placed in front of me. Well when it involves a challenge and possible adjustment of my beliefs, or more accurately, beliefs that I was brought up with it gets uncomfy and I really start to question myself and go off kilter.

For the past while I have had the topic of pipes come into my air/head space far too frequent for me to not take notice. But because of the beliefs I grew up with there was no way I was touching that subject, however the subject kept touching me until finally, a whack upside the proverbial head caught my attention far too much for me to let it go. Enter the doubts of "what will my friends think?","will I lose my friends?", "will I be banned from Kung Fu?", "what will the glass community think of me?" and on it goes. Despite the fear-talk there is one important fact that I cannot deny: I'd be both further developing skills and learning a boatload of new skills that would take both me and my artwork to a whole new level and direction. I'd be an idiot to turn that down based on fear of the unknown that will probably never happen.

Therefore I have resigned myself to the idea that I will be "back in school" learning and refining new skills and frankly, I am excited about that. Just because I will be learning how to make pipes does not mean that a pipe is the definitive end result. A skill is a skill however where it's applied makes the difference. Besides, even if I did make pipes, I cannot control what the person actually does with them as some are used for the purpose, but some are appreciated for the artwork they truly are.

One last twist of coincidence and affirmation. At the show this last weekend a lady came to my booth asking me if I blew the glass myself. Of course my answer was yes. She described an object and asked if I made it because she has been trying to get this particular piece for a long time and has been having difficulty because very few people make it. The object? A cognac (or brandy) pipe that was first introduced in 17th century France and used by the French aristocracy to drink their cognac. I'm now very intrigued and somehow I think that I will once again be learning from a master.

Tuning In

2011-11-17T19:07:00.001-08:00

There are a few things that I learned during the gluten-free stretch however the most important thing that I learned is how important it is to listen to the signs and signals my body is telling me especially when it comes to food. I am gaining a new found awareness of just how food impacts the body and how quickly the balance can be upset when the proper fuel isn't used.

I found that switching out one starch for another or a combination of starches didn't work for my system. I need fresh whole foods and lots of them. It's a good thing that I am finding more recipes that support this way of eating and taste good. Speaking of which, I have a piece of fudge (yes it's raw) calling my name.

Cosmic 2x4

2011-11-07T19:43:00.000-08:00

I have been both headache and migraine free for about 6 months and pretty darned proud of that accomplishment. However Thursday I had a headache and summed it up to weather change, hormonal, and possible gluten detoxing. Luckily I was able to combat this headache with a nap, rest, and peppermint essential oil on my temple. Life is good.

Yesterday (Sunday) at the show where I was a vendor all of a sudden my eyesight got funky and an aura set in. Hello migraine and this one is a "good one." Luckily my friend had migraine meds with her and she gave me one so I could function the rest of the day, however I may feel symptoms later. I did and that was my day today. So what was the migraine trigger? Weather change? Hormonal? Sleep disruption from time change? Almost full moon? All of the above? There is one more possible answer and that is "none of the above."

Since August 2010 I have been resisting a direction in my glass art even though I am both supported and encouraged to take this direction. Signs have shown up to give me hints that this is a direction for me to go if I want to play in the big sandbox. Sure I have noticed the signs, but have slinked away because I'm "not sure" if that's the sandbox for me. However the Universe and my angels have given me even more signs that this is the way to go and still I am playing the resistance game despite the signs, support, and encouragement.

Saturday when I came home there was on my chair one of my glass art magazines hosting a picture and publication of the very thing I am resisting. I read the article and it seemed like it was written specifically for me to read. Sunday morning there was a letter on my table stating that the show I am at is the last show this committee is doing. This show will be no more unless someone takes over. Considering that this is a good show for me, the "what will I do now?" lept into existence. A couple of hours later I had the migraine and today it was clear as to why I had that annoying and painful visitor.

I believe that the migraine served as a cosmic 2x4 across the head (believe me, softwood lumber was NOT used) to get me to slow down and pay attention to the signs that I have been given. A migraine puts me into a different angle of consciousness where my brain slows down and I can very much reflect and think. As dopey as what I am in this state, it can be a very reflective place and today I have been doing a lot of reflecting and thinking. I have the skills, have access to more skills, have the tools, have the access to the one tool I need, I have the encouragement and the support so who am I not to step towards that big sandbox?

I know this kind of sounds "out there" and "woo-woo" but I believe that I have been given a very clear sign that it's time for me to step into the unknown and make a cross to the dark side for that is where the light will be.

Gluten Free For November

2011-11-01T12:42:00.000-07:00

Both Sihing Lowery and I, along with our families, are going gluten free for November. Dennis and I decided that we would go gluten free and when I found out that Sihing Lowery was looking at doing the same, we joined forces. More fun in a group. The reason I am going gluten free is mainly to support Dennis as it's more of a trial for him, but I have a sneaking suspicion that I might just have some sensitivity as well. Good time to find out and do something about it.

At first thought of eliminating a food "group" is the fear-filled, knee-jerk reaction of "I'LL STARVE!!!!" However that's not true as one does eat more than one food group. What it does take is an open mind to explore what the possibilities are and the willingness to try them. For me this is like an exploration journey and I get to practice one of my favoritest things in the whole wide world: playing with new recipes. If the recipes make something that tastes yummy AND is good for you: SCORE!!

What I have discovered from eliminating dairy from my diet was instead of looking for foods or ingredients to replace, look for good tasting foods. That outlook really helped with modifying my diet and not starving in the mean time. From experience, cheese has no direct replacement and some of it is just down right horrid so let's take another direction. I have a feeling the same just might be true for the gluten. Some things can be easily substituted, some with imagination, and some let's just leave where they are.

Both Sihing Lowery and I have been on the hunt for recipes to replace bread and a few other things. Today I baked my first loaf of gluten free bread that uses a combination of brown rice, tapioca, and sorghum flours instead of wheat. Let me say that it's a different dough to work with!! It does not rise and stretch like wheat dough and is more wet so it took some getting used to. As for the taste: decent!! Worth baking again. Actually I have to as I have more dough but I know what to expect next time.

In my recipe hunt I have discovered a recipe for a vegan, gluten free twix cookie bar that I can tweak to make even more healthy so let's say that recipe is worth trying out. Besides, it's not a cheat if it's a healthy treat. My philosophy and I'm sticking to it. :)

As I see it, November is going to be a month of discovery not only in the kitchen, but in our bodies and minds as well as we discover what symptoms are relieved and what symptoms we discover that we didn't know were there until they are gone. Here's to the journey!

From The Observation Deck

2011-10-27T15:27:00.000-07:00

Currently I am taking a course called "Weight Loss for Women Who Feel Too Much" by Colette Baron-Reid. The course is designed for those of us in the population who not only feel our energy/emotion/pains, but everyone else's as well. We are called clairsentients or empaths. It's enough when I feel my own stuff, but to add on others just complicates things a whole lot more. Is this mine? Yours? Whos? And am I reacting to me or someone elses stuff? Believe me, I just want what's mine, thanks.

It is very typical for women who fall into the clairsentient or empath category to experience either weight gain without reason or weight clinginess regardless of diet and exercise. Plus typical eating habits are impulsive and include the rich, sugar, and junk categories. One can say that this pattern falls into the emotional eating category, but it doesn't. Emotional eating is fueled by self emotion. These patterns are a result of feeling others emotions. And, of course, one can have both. However, this is where I differ: my eating habits are very healthy. So what's my vise if it's not eating? It's training/exercise and when I feel out of my own zone, I want to train: a lot. Here's the catch: I need to train for the right reasons, the healthy ones and not to escape the situation or emotion that I need to feel or deal with at the time. Of course exercise can be used as a release, but again, needs to be healthy. So do I avoid training? Not at all, however, I need to be aware of WHY I am training. In other words, train because I love it and not to escape.

The only diet plan in this course is to avoid white sugar and white flour. Everything is to be eaten on a plate (dish) and while sitting down. There is a breathing and prayer ritual to do prior to eating to get conscious about the food and the eating process. I have found that I am eating slower and not as much when I implement the ritual. Plus I am more grateful for what I am going to chow down. I have noticed that my body does not want sugar (as in refined). Too much white death and I feel like I have a hangover. Blah!! Dennis's sister picked apples from her tree to make a pie for supper and everyone was jumping up and down about the pie. I was jumping up and down about the apples: fresh, organic and pass on the pie, just give me the apples. I want fresh and unadulterated dammit!

During the horse show, people paraded past my booth with big plates of fries and gravy. And the aroma!! I was salivating like Pavlov's dog, I caved, and I too chowed down on a wondrous heaping plate of artery-clogging delight topped with gravy (of course!!) and ketchup. So how did I feel afterwards? Well much like I had a layer of wax lining my vessels and a layer of fat was just added on to my body. However the one thing I am clear on is that was a reaction to a smell and chemical trigger so I need to reset myself on that one.

How did my training go? At first good, then for escape, then I fell off the wagon and during the show with the long hours it was a no-go. Proudly, I must say, is that the morning after I got home the first thing I thought of (and did) after opening my eyes was doing my pushups and situps. Now I'm back on schedule. Yes I do have some resistance about some of my training, however, with the course I will be looking at that and resolving the issues. Again: mine or someone else's?

If I can say the major thing that I am learning from this course is self evaluation and awareness. Plus I have the tools to deal with the issue at hand. And it's on a whole new level for me. Is it easy? No and I do have resistance at times. However if I want to go forward, I have to take a step even if it's a small one.

Old Friends, New Friends

2011-10-19T16:47:00.000-07:00

One thing that totally amuses and amazes me is who comes into my life and when. Yesterday I was re-acquainted with a couple of people I went to school with. Kathy and I saw each other at the reunion and spoke briefly, but yesterday I spent an afternoon with her by the ocean talking and realizing just how much we have in common. School was a commonality, but we're not in school anymore.

Last night I went out with Jimmy J who I knew since junior high. We knew each other because of being in the same school and same classes, but that was it. We weren't close except for when he sat in front of me in Algebra. Again, it was a blast talking till way too late at night and realizing the commonalities.

It was a real treat seeing my two school friends in a "today" light. Sure we reflect back to what it was like in high school and to catch up on the gossip, but it's the now that's really exciting and I'm thrilled that our paths crossed again and I'm sure will cross a few more times. It was a risk to inform that I am here and it was another risk to meet up. Worth the risk? Hell ya!

To The Fab 5

2011-10-13T16:51:00.001-07:00

This is especially for The Fab 5 who are grading this weekend and who have been a source of inspiration throughout the year. You all have shown the makings of a great team and the strength of a great team. Through your efforts you have shown how to train wisely and, in some cases, not so much but from that shown how to recover.

I am honored to have each of you as my team mate in whichever class we were in and I have enjoyed watching and learning from each of you throughout your training, your triumphs, and your challenges.

All the best to you, The Fab 5, this Saturday. In my mind you are already there, just go and get it.

Here's Your Sign

2011-10-04T09:12:00.000-07:00

I have said that since I was at glass camp last year that if I were to upgrade my torch I would get a Carlisle CC, however, I'm in no rush so I'm not looking.

I have realized that if I want to glassblow or sculpt bigger projects I need a bigger kiln. Specifically one with a bigger door. My kiln has a bead door that's only 3 inches tall, kind of like a mail slot. Again, I'm in no rush as one will come to me.

About a month ago my friend emailed me a link in Kijijji about a glassblowing/lampworking studio (local to boot) for sale (posted end of August) that contains the exact torch I would upgrade to, a bigger kiln, ventilation system, table, all of the tools, and all of the glass. Basically this person is selling lock, stock, and barrel. Yes, let's mention that this is a boro studio and I'm a boro hound. Can we say a dangling carrot? After I restarted breathing, I came to realize this studio is out of my price range and I don't need a ventilation system. Hell, I don't NEED any of it, this is an opportunity that one (me) could capitalize on however, I don't have the cash lying around getting moldy, so I decided to let it go and not think anything more of it. Fly away... be gone....

In the mean time I connected with the fact that I want to deepen and expand my glass skills so that I can build a very successful and thriving glass business. Since I don't know how to do the latter, I prayed to God and my Angels to show me the way. Basically... help me out here!!

This past weekend my glass friend in Edson told me of her plans to build a new studio and she is in a need of a ventilation system. Hey, I remember where I saw one available so I hunted and dug around and found the link to the (drumroll please) Kijijji ad that was sent to me earlier. She looked at me and said "you need that studio and there's my ventilation system, let's see if it's still available!" Yeah, it is.

I have come to realize that God and the Angels have a sense of humor because wrapped in with the glass studio is how to focus on what I REALLY want (not the means, aka money) and let's also work on those scarcity issues, shall we? So yes, I am looking at this studio further and it's a possibility of purchase. How do I feel about this? Hand me my paper bag, I'm hyperventilating. Furthermore to the sense of humor this is a quote that I received a few days ago via my daily email from "The Universe".

" Next time you feel fear, Sherri, either right after a major decision or just before one, it usually means you're exactly where you need to be.

Nice,
The Universe"

Great. Better stock up on paper bags....

Listen Up!

2011-09-29T08:46:00.001-07:00

I am currently reading the book "Follow Your Passion, Find Your Power" by Bob Doyle because I am feeling a little stuck on a specific area of my life. Read the book first and then work through it is how I am approaching this book. I can say that I am enjoying this book, however page 174 was the Hello!! moment for me and explained as to why I am stuck. The bold letters in the passage reads "are you focusing on what you want or the MEANS to get what you want?" Insert Hello!! I had been focusing on the means (AKA money) and not what I really want. Hmmmm. Now the question: what do I really want?

Since my trip back from Cold Lake I have been writing out a want list daily as an exercise in clarifying what I want. The key here is to get quiet and to listen to my inner guidance as to what really floats my boat. Not what I think I should like, not what I think I should do, but what do I really like to do or want? I have discovered that a lot of what I really want is happening in the here and now.I really like to watch the sun rise as I am journaling with a latte in my comfy chair. I really like to play with recipes and make something new. I really like to train Kung Fu, daily train, and take hot yoga classes. I really like to learn about eating styles, nutrition, and personal development. I really like (okay LOVE) to play with my glass, create things, and share my creations with the world. It now makes it much easier to write my vision of a perfect day when I have a template to follow.

The block for me was that I had it in my mind that where I am now wasn't okay and that I should be wanting something different or something way out there. As soon as I realized that hey, I really like where I am and what I am doing, I already have my template of my "vision of a perfect day." Now that I realized this, I can reflect on where to go from here. Not to change persee, but to grow, to evolve. Where do I want my glass art, my training, my learning to go? This is where getting quiet and listening to my soul comes in. I have a show this weekend in Edson so I have drive/meditation time coming up. (I drive in quiet so I can think.) Shows, even though they are a lot of work, are a lot of fun and I am focusing on the fun that I will have.

As for training my idea of a weekly training schedule and goal numbers is working like a charm! A weekly picture of my goals works for me as I can see what I have to do during the week to catch up, plan to how I accomplish, and it's always great to see that "hey, that one has been met already" so I'm at choice what to do from here. Smartest thing I did do my training in a long time. I can definitely see how my weekly goals and schedule will help me keep on track during show season (this weekend until end of November). I can definitely say that I'm very excited heading into this show season for a number and variety of reasons, emphasis on the word "variety." Now to start packing.......

Fall Forward

2011-09-22T19:27:00.000-07:00

I've heard the saying over and over again to always have something to fall back on. If you fail at what you try, you can always go back to where you came from. Playing it safe is wise, but is it really? What would it be like if I approached my art like there was no safety net? To clarify "with no safety net" means with full on enthusiasm, excitement, and passion. What would my art be like if I had no safety net? What would I be like? And where would this take me?

For me to be pondering these questions this means that I am holding myself back somewhere, playing it safe with something I know how to do. Yes I make this variation or that variation, but it's still a variation on something that I know how to do. So why am I holding back? Well what if I don't know how to make it? Considering that I didn't know how to make any of the things I make now, that excuse is really quite pathetic. I think that instead of me trying to figure out why I'm holding back, it would be more enlightening if I looked at what I'm holding back on and go from there.

I want to make a dragon. However I've never made a dragon and every time I look for images of a dragon there's a gazillion different varieties of a dragon. Where do I start? How do I know if what I make will even look like a dragon? Maybe I'll just stick with the dragon kanje, that's easier. Dennis suggested that I start with the dragon head. Sure, start with the most difficult detailed part. Sigh.

Happy Dancing

2011-09-15T18:47:00.000-07:00

There are a couple of things (so far) this week that I am doing the happy dance over. I have many things to be happy about but these two stand out the most.

I have been getting frustrated with my pushups since I moved into corrective action to fix a bad habit of raising my thumbs off the ground during full extension. During this time I fixed the thumb-raise habit, but started to feel tension/pain in my upper trapezius muscles (more enhanced after Mom was with me). Because of this pain regular pushups were not happening, something was wrong with my pushup picture and I was not a happy camper. On Monday our class was blessed with a Sifu-not-seen-before and that Sifu was Sifu Harrigan. It was a great class (as always) and after bow-out I had a eureka moment to ask Sifu Harrigan pushup advice. (Judging by his physique he's done a pushup or million in his life so far.) Sifu Harrigan watched my pushup form and within a heartbeat diagnosed the err of my ways and had suggestions for improvement. As a result I have a new pushup routine, still keeping the numbers. The result: no more upper trapezius pain, scapula and lat muscles in action (yes I feel those) and my core very much more engaged. Happy Dance # 1. Warrior Princess, here I come.

The other happy dance is a result of going horseback riding, one of my UBBT goals. However there is background information as to why this happy dance is so special. I LOVE horses, always have. Horse-crazy kid and had a horse growing up. One day (in my early teens) while I was leading my horse, her and I became tangled and I ended up under her but still having an iron grip on her halter. 3 of her feet and both of mine were tightly hog-tied together. She was trying to get loose (can't blame her) and truthfully not trying to hurt me, but still was stepping on me. The dog was barking and Mom was yelling for Dad. Then my shoe came off, the hog-tie was undone, and we all were standing there looking at each other. I didn't think much of this besides the bruises on my legs, but Mom (outside of Dad's earshot) became unglued and ripped 10 strips off of me because of what could have happened. In that moment I felt my blood pool at my toenails and a blanket of fear set in. The result: I became scared of riding, uneasy around my horse, and had Mom's voice of "what if", "aren't you scared', etc ringing in my ears since.

Even though I lost my confidence that day, I didn't lose my love of horses nor my desire to ride. I wanted to ride but fear took over. Even though I had riding lessons from a few different instructors, the fear still had an overcasting grip. I let go wanting to have a horse (or even riding) being content to just be around them, look at them, and make them in glass. However fate wasn't letting me off the hook that easily as my morning Kung Fu class is littered with horse people and one of them suggested I come to her place and ride her kid's horse and then we could have tea afterwards. Okay, I can deal with that and agreed. That was last year.

This year I put in my UBBT goals to go horseback riding and mentioned to Jacqueline about us getting together like we mentioned last year. We both agreed and it wasn't happening due to schedules, holidays, rain, and whatnot until this week when we nailed down a date and time: today. So this morning I, with my riding helmet, went to Jacqueline's to be with the horses. Jacqueline knows my history and said that how I proceed is up to me. Whew! In the meantime, I also came to terms with the fact that the fear I have been carrying around wasn't mine, it was Mom's so time to let that one take its rightful place and not on my back. Jacqueline's horses are great, quiet and friendly. I led Meadow around and around the corral just being with her. I mentioned to Jacqueline that should I learn to ride again it would be bareback to learn to really ride the horse. In that moment I decided that I want to hop on and I did. There I was on Meadow, bareback, and feeling like it was home. I sat there for a while and gave Jacqueline the okay to start walking Meadow. Even though I was riding while Jacqueline was leading, it didn't matter as I was riding and riding bareback and again, it felt like home. Insert Happy Dance #2.

I must also mention that at Jacqueline's bluebirds perched on the fence railings only a few feet away from me. I was enchanted as I don't see bluebirds very often and when I do I savor the moments. Because I believe in animal totems and meanings, I believed this to be a sign so when I got home I looked up the significance of bluebirds: modesty, unassuming confidence and happiness. Need I say more? Okay just one more.. Warrior Princess, here I come ...... on horseback.

So Far So Good to Awesome

2011-09-09T09:33:00.000-07:00

I have implemented my daily schedule and my daily training schedule and so far it's been very good. Having the days "themed" is great because when I wake up I think what is up for the day and I get excited about it because I know what I am doing that day versus wondering what shall I do today. I have found that since I implemented hot yoga classes 2-3 times a week, I'm more noodlefied that I anticipated, however I will adapt. The executive decision has been made that the 90 minute hot yoga class on Fridays will be opposite the weeks of I Ho Chuan.

Implementing my daily training is a progressional transformation progress and I must say that having the bulk and light days for my pushups and situps is very much working for me. Bulk days are on Monday-Tuesday and Thursday-Friday. Last week I made sure that my goals were met for pushups and situps and this week I added in the forms and will probably keep status quo for next week. The week after I will be adding in another requirement and so forth. The reason for the progressional transformation is to not only to divert overwhelm,but also give a sense of accomplishment along the way.

Designated torch days pull me forward as well. In this hot weather I have been making icicles not because they cool me down, it's because they are quick to make and meditative in the process. Plus I have to build up a stock of them so now is a good time as any to do so.

Now for the awesome part. I have added a "want list" to my daily journaling and it's helped me to be more free in asking for what I want. Here's the kicker: most of it isn't material, it's either way of being, what I want learn, or what I want to accomplish. I am, however, careful not to make my "want list" into a to-do list. What I have discovered is that through my journaling I am getting to discover who I really am, what my gifts are, and are starting to embrace them. I am turning to my inner self for answers and guidance, not making decisions based on others thoughts and opinions of me or otherwise. It's truly amazing to see what is revealed through my pen when I ask what I need to know for today. I am learning to recognize, trust, sharpen and follow my intuition even more than I have in the past. Some times it's scary but at least it's me making and following the decision. In other words: total accountability.

Le Schedule: Take One

2011-08-31T20:09:00.001-07:00

Over the past few weeks I have come to identify a few things that were not working for me not only in the way I trained, but also in what my day shaped up to be like. First of all, I was lacking structure in my day particularly in my glass art and that overflowed in other areas. Next my training got to be a hamster wheel of excitement. In other words: boring!! Some people do well in day to day routine of doing the same thing day in and day out. That's purgatory for me. The third thing I noticed is that I have my UBBT yearly goals and my daily goals, but no weekly goals. For me, a weekly goal is a better measuring stick of how I am doing. So now that I've identified the issues, what are the solutions?

Solution 1: a weekly week-at-a-glance schedule of my core activities that include Kung Fu classes, I Ho Chuan classes, fitness classes, open training, Hot Yoga Classes, torching (glass art), and appointments. Of course my shows are scheduled in as well. These are the first things that go into my schedule. I have instituted the structure but also left it open enough so that I'm not micro-managing myself.

Solution 2: a color-coded week-at-a-glance schedule much like the class schedule I had when I worked at Nait. The purpose of this schedule is to theme my days. For example: Mondays are Kung Fu and Hot Yoga with the afternoons for the business side of my glass art. When I worked at Nait, I used both types of schedules and it worked really well for me so I'm implementing it here (good thing I still have the template). The beauty of this schedule is that when I wake up in the morning, and realize what day it is, I know what direction my day is going and where I can slot in my daily training.

Solution 3: speaking of daily training, I looked at my yearly goals and broke them down into weekly goals. Then I divided my activities into a daily and specific day schedule with Sunday being a total rest day unless I want to play around with something. Pushups and situps are a daily activity, Monday/Wednesday/Friday I do Kempo, combinations, horse stance, air squats, Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday I have hand and weapon forms, plank, squat thrusts, kicks. Getting back to pushups and situps: I have a weekly goal of 1000 per week, however, that does not mean 150 a day. I have a routine where 240 are done in a day therefor I have just about all of my pushups and situps done in 4 days. So what this looks like is Monday/Tuesday and Thursday/Friday are heavy numbers days. Wednesday is a light day (my chiropractor appointments are on Wednesdays and no training after) and so is Saturday where I can test myself with different positions and try other methods. By setting up my training this way I am giving not only giving variety but also inserting rest periods. I will also do an at-a-glance schedule specifically for training so at the start of my day I know what I have to accomplish.

Solution 4: I noticed a BIG difference when I took a break from Hot Yoga. My shoulders were crawling up to my ears and my hips were crankier. So I have now incorporated Hot Yoga after Kung Fu classes on Mondays and Wednesdays as well as on Fridays. A side note is that my Hot Yoga is before my chiropractor appointment so that should yield good benefit there. The buckets that I sweat during the class leads to fat loss (safer not to argue with me on this one) as well as a toxin flush-out.

I'm quite excited about my new schedule as it gives me direction and structure in my day as well as a guide to see how well my goals are being accomplished. As I see it, the only way to know for sure is to take this on a test drive. Nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Uncensored Wanting

2011-08-25T16:12:00.000-07:00

A statement that has been repeatedly coming up in my personal development books, courses, interviews, and what not has been to "focus on what you want." Focus on what you want instead of what you don't want. However the question that has kept cycling back to me is "what do I want?" Good question and not so easy of an answer.

During our drive back from our weekend camping trip Dennis and I decided to play a game that I invented (okay, I decided and he played along). The game was called "Uncensored Wanting" where we ask each other what we want and we would answer back with the freedom of a 6 year old with the new edition of the Sears Christmas Wish Book. Sounds like an easy game full of frivolity, well hold the frivolity and it wasn't so easy. I found myself playing the game "safe" and the censorship was rearing its head. Excuses such as "my studio isn't set up for something that big", "I really don't need that", "I can do with something smaller", "I should ask for this first", " I want this because of these reasons" and so on. Oh yes and the "be careful for what you wish for" kept chiming in as well. (Who invented that damned saying anyway??!!) I also found myself silently seeking approval for what I wanted.

What an eye-opener this game was for both of us! Talk about some blocks! How can I focus on what I when I either don't know what I want or I talk myself out of what I want? Yeesh! So now I have decided that I need practice in this game (as uncomfy as it is) and to practice frequently either by saying out loud what I want or by writing a list. Also, make some outrageous requests just to flex and stretch that asking "muscle".

So Sherri, what do you want? The only rule of the game is that you cannot censor your answers. Let's begin..... what do you want? P.S. Don't forget to breathe.

Pencil Me In

2011-08-17T09:14:00.001-07:00

At this writing I am in Saskatchewan again. Mom is back home and happy to be back with her friends, her familiarity and basically, back to normal. As she put it "Great vacation, but home is home." So for me, it will be back to normal again, right? Well, not so fast.

Before our UBBT meeting I was pondering on the concept that I had my yearly goals, but not really anything further. Yes I do have my daily training goals, but.... At our meeting Sifu Brinker said a word that had me go "A-ha, ring-a-ding, Eureka!" and a cascade of realizations arose that got me really thinking.

Yes I have my yearly goals and there they are, on the wall, I look at them fleetingly, throw darts at them once in a while, and that's where it's at. I'm not using my goals as the tools they are meant to be. I have not divided my goals down to the weekly and monthly bite-sized chunks that make life more exciting. (A note is that I'm also talking about ALL of my goals, not just training.) I am working towards my goals, but with the energy of a cork bobbing in the ocean versus a set course. Sure a cork bobbing in the ocean will still reach its destination plus or minus a few miles and however long in time, but a set course carries much different energy.

So what was the word Sifu Brinker said that gave me the Eureka!? The word was "structure." When I had a job/career the structure was preset for me. Now that I am my own career, I am responsible for providing my own structure, something I wasn't doing mainly because I didn't know firmly what I wanted. I still don't have all the answers, but the one answer I do know is to just start.

Tomorrow during my 8 1/2 hour meditation, I will be reflecting as to how to incorporate the structure into my day. When is the best time for torching, for training, for study, for journaling, and for me? What do I want to accomplish by the end of the day, the week, the month? Keep things simple to avoid overwhelm but still have direction and focus. Draft up a schedule that will work for me and still be flexible. And as always have a backup plan.

Livin' The Dream

2011-08-11T17:15:00.001-07:00

I am doing what a lot of people dream about and that is to do what I love on a full-time basis. Oh boy, to be able to torch (or whatever the craft is) all day, every day! What's it like to live the dream? Two words: friggin' scary. Didn't think those would be the two words, did ya? So why the scary factor?

It's one thing to dabble and another to make it one's own. I hear frequently that one cannot make a living with art and that one must make what the public demands. One word: baloney! The biggest challenge is not what to make, but to be true to oneself as to what one loves to make or do. Decisions, whether it's a show, or a piece must be made with the heart or via intuition not with the head/ego. I have found that pieces that I love to make have no issue finding owners yet items that are would be "good sellers" collect dust. Why? The decision to make the "good sellers" came from my head versus from my Spirit and people subconsciously tune into that.

I tuned into a webinar by Master Coach Jeanna Gabellini from Masterpeace Coaching who says that it is essential to do what you love in your business. When you do what you love, the opportunities and the sales find you. Now that doesn't mean that I make a product and sit on the couch. I still go to shows, list on my Etsy shop and promote my goods. However through these avenues the correct people will show up. It's up to me to keep doing the steps.

So really, why is it so scary? Take a look at society as we are programmed to fit in, to mold to someone else's belief system, to put on a show, to hide one's true self, to seek approval from others, and to try to control the outcome of a situation. However now I am expressing (or starting to) express myself, warts and all. It's a nakedness of its own kind, a vulnerability and that's where the scariness comes in. It's not easy to let go and especially to let go of the outcome and expected results. Basically I'm in a crash course in Self Trust 101, 201, 301, Masters and PhD levels.

Getting back to Jeanna and her webinar, I like how she sets up her business plan: simple, fun and full of Spirit. She believes that we are not only entrepreneurs, but more importantly, Spiritualpeneurs. I will be setting up not only my glass art via her plan but also reflecting that plan on other areas of my life including my training especially when I set my goals for UBBT 9. I'm not saying what I'm doing now is wrong, I'm saying that it can always be improved to make living the dream even that much more exciting and better.

My Buddy and Me

2011-08-05T16:57:00.000-07:00

Since I came back from my reunion trip my Mom has been staying with us. It is a bit different having an 87 year old senior in the house. If anyone has not spent time with seniors, I suggest doing so as they are a species all of their own with no two days (or hours) being the same. If you think kids have ADD, try an 87 year old and getting a group of them together is much like herding a bunch of chatty cats that want to check out every flower and other cat around.

Having said that having Mom around has been great as she's "eager-beaver" to pitch in, help out , and enjoy the scenery when I have to do an errand. We did the big Costco run yesterday and Mom was quite happy to push the cart. (ok, I pulled she pushed, but none the less). Mom even surprised me by coming down to my glass studio when I was working and watched me work.

The only downside is that I am having to shoo myself to train as I feel I should be spending all my time with Mom since she is here. This is not her request, this is my stuff. When I practiced forms Mom was quite happy to watch and asked questions about what I was actually doing. It comes down for me to give myself permission to train when she is here. I still need to take care of me and my needs even when there is someone in my energy space (no issue with going to class). This I need to be conscious of and practice, practice, practice and when I get that, practice some more. Good thing Mom is here for a while so that I can practice. I hope this gets easier.

Reunion-Reunited

2011-07-29T16:42:00.001-07:00

I must admit that I was a tad nervous walking into my 30 year high school reunion however all nerves settled down when I met one of my former classmates outside the door. What's it like attending a 30 year high school reunion? Absolutely amazing and euphoric!! I will add that there were 157 graduates in my class and we all knew each other in some form with some being from kindergarten, some from elementary school, some from junior high and the rest from high school. Growing up in a small farming community town (similar in size to Stony Plain) everyone basically knows everyone and those not known are known from where they are from.

We did have a reunion at the 10 year mark but there is still some "high school" remaining at this point. Not at 30 years! Everyone was happy to see everyone, find out what we did since grad, and how we have all grown into ourselves. Basically it was one big gab and laugh fest (going on waaayyy too late both nights) with a 4 ball best ball golf "tourney" inserted in the middle. What surprised me about the reunion is what I had in common with who and who I spent the most time with and am looking forward to getting together with them again. Oh yes, Perry James (Canadian comic) entertained us and he's a hoot. Also found out that Perry is a brother to one of my classmates that I didn't know had a brother.

There was also another surprising element of the weekend and that was who is following my glass art. Quite a few of us grads are friends on Facebook and I post my new listings and pictures on my page with some feedback but not much from my grad friends. That was until I got to the reunion. Wow!

I must admit that my training ebbed during my trip unless I count chasing after a golf ball as part of my training. I will count the amount of laughing I did as part of my abdominal exercises (how many minutes of laughing counts as 50 situps.... anyone?). Ah well this week I'm back to training and more easing in for two reasons: sore muscles and my Mom is with me for about a month or so. I find it more difficult to train when there is someone else is around as I feel I should spend time with that person vs train. I think there is a guilt/gift to me issue that I need to work on.

Attending my high school reunion does complete a UBBT goal but more importantly provided an environment of shear joy and fun. There were 57 of our graduating class there and the one common thread among us was not to wait for 30 years to pass until we reunite again. I, for one, can say "have trailer, will travel, and will be there."

Fast Forward 30 Years

2011-07-20T20:15:00.000-07:00

This weekend I am going to a special event and completing a UBBT goal. I am traveling to my hometown in North Central Saskatchewan to attend my 30 year high school reunion. Considering that I have not seen my classmates since our 10 year reunion, and some of them since graduation, this will be an event.

We all remember each other as we were in high school, but that was high school and this is now. Are the cool people still cool, are the jocks still jocks, did the brainiacs do something with themselves and what became of the stars and starlets? It's a curiosity that will be settled this weekend with some being surprises, some being expected, some being disappointments, and some will be sweet revenge. (Did I just write that?)

Our graduation theme song was "Road to Paradise" but no one told us that the road was loaded with potholes, forks, and washouts in amongst the roses, fruits, grasses, and pots of gold. Each of us for graduation wrote a piece saying what we were going to do with our lives. It will be entertaining to see just who did what and who stuck to the "plan". Did we stay the same, did we change or is it a combination?

I can say that for me I did what I said at grad, but only a few short years later was bored out of my tree and began to search for something more (okay a hell of a lot more) along my road to paradise. Where I am now is nowhere near where I started at grad and thank God for that! Have I reached paradise? No, but I've reached a pretty good vacation spot: for now.

Life Purpose Revealed

2011-07-12T10:57:00.001-07:00

For quite a few years since one of my first personal development courses, I have been wondering what my life purpose is. What is the reason as to why I am twirling around on this planet? I have heard that each of us has a specific role to play and I was wondering and seeking what my unique role is.

I finally got an answer through a Human Design reading using my birthdate, time of birth and location. Human Design is an intersecting point between modern science, ancient cultures and several metaphysical arts. It is the assimilation of Eastern and Western Astrology, Quantum Physics, the Chinese I’Ching, the Kabbalah and the Hindu Chakra system. Mathematical calculations are applied and one's specific Human Design is revealed. I have no clue how the calculations are done I just wanted to find out more about me.

My Human Design chart revealed that I am a Manifesting Generator. Basically I am here to work, to produce, to create so it's a good idea to find work that inspires me. However it was the next sentence that was the "a-ha" for me. The ideas for my creations are not necessarily mine, but are suggestions or ideas from other people. I am here to bring ideas to life. To me that was a big relief because even though I can take a technique, learn it and put my own flavor on it, I was a blank when it came to "inventing" something on my own. Pretty much all of my best sellers have been suggestions from others. I am also encouraged to see where the voids are and to fill that void. Keeping "ear to the ground" and my "eyes open" is what I need to do to see where a good idea and a need arise.

Now what about the Human Design thing in regards to my Kung Fu. What I got was to settle in, learn the techniques and to focus on the nuances. Learn, learn, learn and practice, practice, practice paying attention to the details. I have a feeling that I have heard that before.

My new found knowledge brought a settling to me as I am more clear both in the direction of my glass art and my training. To say the least, it feels relief to have a long time question answered.

Countdown to Christmas

2011-07-08T11:12:00.000-07:00

It admit that "Countdown to Christmas" is a weird title considering that we are now in the dog days of summer. July has just started so what's with rushing the season? I'm not rushing the season I'm taking advantage of the dog-day slowdown to think about what I want to have on my table for the Christmas season. What worked well last year? Is there a new product I can introduce? What would give me a better advantage for selling this Christmas season than last Christmas season? For me this is time for reflection and for planning.

Now is also the time for me to make the majority of my product for the upcoming fall shows. It may seem weird to make icicles and tree drops when it's BBQ season outside, but that's when the Christmas line is in production. Also this gives me time to get my Etsy shop (SherriD Lampwork Glass http://www.etsy.com/shop/sherridlampworkglass) and Facebook fan page up, stocked and running so that I have a good database come Christmas shopping season. I've already had "warnings" of an order.

During this reflective time I am also looking at my Kung Fu training with the "same eyes" of what works, what doesn't, what do I need to ramp up and which goals shall I keep (and delete) for next year. I must say that I am very much liking our team's challenges as they help keep me in the present.

As for the raw foods and healthy eating the fresh fruits and berries have started appearing in the stores and I am stocking up big time so that I can enjoy the freshness in the winter months as well. I am also taking advantage of when bananas are on sale and freezing those as well. Thanks to Sihing Lowery, I have discovered a wonderful new way of having soft serve "ice cream" (non-dairy of course) with the ingredients being so simple. Take a frozen banana, chop it, put in food processor until it looks like soft serve. Voila!! Pineapple and strawberries (insert imagination here) can also be added. But wait!! Here is the chocolate version: 1 frozen chopped banana, 1 tablespoon raw cocoa, 1 tablespoon almond butter (I used peanut butter), put in food processor and process until it looks like soft serve. Yummy!!

For me the dog-days of summer are a chance to not only wind down, but also to plan, prepare, and play. Do what I love to do with the playfulness of summer. Works for me!

B is for BOOT CAMP!

2011-06-27T16:13:00.001-07:00

Saturday was our Kwoon's annual boot camp, an event that I look forward to every year even though I know that the next day the only body part that won't hurt are my eyelashes. So why do I look forward for such a torturous event? Let me explain....

First of all, boot camp is filled with seminars that are jam packed with both fun and learning. I get to experience new things that I wouldn't otherwise. Where else can one learn about meditation, Tai Chi, weapons, Sanda, and George St. Pierre conditioning all in one day?

Next the team Spirit is astounding. We are all there to learn, to grow, to have fun, and to support each other. It's easy to have that Spirit when the Sifus leading the seminars are not only well-knowledged on the topic, but are very passionate about it and they too like to have fun. A day with a great bunch of like-minds.

Even though the day is long and tiring, we are well cared for as we are given breaks and good food. Meditation feeds our energy and soul, the remote location feeds our Spirit, and the challenges feeds our self-worth and well-being.

Now a day full of fun, learning, and growing would not be complete without everyone's *ahem* favorite event: the fitness test and 2K run. Personally, I'm not wild about the event based on previous performances, or more accurately, lack thereof. However this year I decided to be unattached to my results. I was just going to do the events and see what happens. I did have one goal and that was to run the whole 2K, something I have not done in the past. This year I completed all of the events including the 2K run. To top it all, when I checked my fitness rankings when I got home, I was SHOCKED when I saw how good my results were. I am still in disbelief.

Lastly, even though my muscles were wildly threatening strike action, the aches and pains pale in comparison to the amount of pride and accomplishment I felt (and still do) at the end of the day. Words truly cannot describe the feeling when we all come together to celebrate our completion of boot camp.

Thank you to Sifu Brinker and all of the Sifus for making Boot Camp 2011 an amazing event. Thank you to my Boot Camp team mates for your Spirit (both self and team), your commitment, your inspiration, and your enthusiasm as you all made the day a day to remember.

Wealthy

2011-06-23T12:07:00.000-07:00

Being wealthy is something that I have wanted since forever and have been striving towards that goal. However, what is the definition of wealth? We, as a society, have been patterned to think that being wealthy equates having a bank account that's bursting at the seams from all of the money it contains. Not so as that describes monetary wealth, which can be a section of wealth. So then, what is wealth?

I discovered this definition of wealth taken from the course "Wealth Beyond Reason" by Bob Doyle. "Wealth is living the life you desire in abundance and joy." Wow, there is no mention of money in the equation. Abundance can mean anything from health to food to friends to feeling great to signs of packratitis. A great find at a thrift store brings about feeling of both joy and abundance. An amazing training session can also bring those same feelings and the list goes on. Definitely a different perspective of wealth than the implied wealth = money definition.

Does this mean that I will cease striving for wealth? Not at all. I consider myself to be wealthy in a lot of areas of my life and I want to spread that feeling of wealth to all of the areas of my life. Why wouldn't I? Good question. Now for the question to be kept front and center: what do I desire? Some answers are simple, some take some thinking, and some I haven't got a clue. The latter is where the heart seeking begins.

Positive Twist

2011-06-16T16:55:00.000-07:00

There is one activity in Kung Fu that I particularly don't like and that is the shuttle run. It's not the activity itself that's so bad, (and I don't care for the activity) it's all of the unpleasant childhood memories that keep rushing back when I see the dreaded hoops partnered with bean bags come out of the equipment room.

Every year in elementary school was the Canada Fitness Test and every year I dreaded it because I was always the slowest, took the longest, and was the most out of shape and I was very embarrassed because of it. And every year the bronze, silver, and gold were out of my reach and yes, embarrassed by that too. Of course one of the activities was the shuttle run and every year I failed at it. Therefore I was a failure at fitness.

I was listening to an interview with Dr. Joe Rubino on self esteem and he said something in particular that stuck with me. He said that everything has a positive to it and if it seems negative, pull out the positive from it and focus on that. A positive with the shuttle run???!!

Fast forward to Wednesday morning class when we did the dreaded shuttle run. I felt not bad running it and my time was 2:08. Somehow I can live with that as I had a feeling it was my best time ever. When I got home I pulled out the black belt criteria and saw that I was 2 seconds from the chart. I also pulled out my boot camp results from a previous few years. Two times I saw were 2:47 and then a 2:24. Hey that's a 16+ second improvement from the last recorded time. I like that. Also I'm only 2 seconds from the chart, it's doable! I feel good about my run and confidence that my times will improve over time.

One thing I can say is that it feels lighter and better to go with the positive spin than with the negative. At least I don't dread the shuttle run as much as before. However, still working on that. Also there are a couple major differences from elementary school (besides I'm older!): I have a plan and executing it and I have a support team. Huge difference to the self esteem.

Hot Yoga and The Holy Land

2011-06-09T20:42:00.000-07:00

Hot Yoga and The Holy Land

For over 6 months, my friend, Krysta, has been pestering me to go with her to hot yoga and Monday I finally caved in and went with her. The Yoga Place has a first time trial of a week unlimited yoga for 20 bucks so I figured why not? The worst that would happen is that I wouldn't like it and I would sweat a lot. To start the week, we went to the noon class that was after my Kung Fu morning class so that any muscle tightness could be worked out at yoga. Also the class we went to was a 60 minute slower class, good for beginners like me. I was warned that the room would be hot and humid and that I would sweat buckets. That's an understatement and considering that I don't like the heat, I'm pretty amazed at myself for lasting the whole class. However I must say that I felt pretty relaxed coming out of class so much in fact that a nap was right up my alley.

The next day three words come to mind: "Holy Release Batman!!" Release in both the physical and mental capacities, something I needed considering that I have decades of tension in my shoulders. Wow. I'm starting to see how hot yoga can supplement my Kung Fu training as well as my chiropractic adjustments. Considering I have a week pass, might as well try a couple more classes and so I did with the next one being after my Wednesday Kung Fu class.

During my day-after-my-first-class day I was reading a Numerology report that I had done on me. Since it's entertaining and I know some of my numbers I wanted to see if this report would match. A tidbit regarding my Soul Urge number caught my eye regarding that my quest for Spirituality indicates that I need to frequent the Holy Land and mysterious places. I mentioned this to Dennis also adding in that I have no urge whatsoever to visit the Holy Land so that part was out to lunch. Dennis suggested that I wait a second and consider that the Holy Land is MY Holy Land not the traditional Holy Land. Yeah, okay, I can dig it, whatever.

Well Wednesday's hot yoga class was good as I survived, sweat buckets and drank enough water to raise the Titanic. During the last few minutes of our class we lie down on our mats to enjoy and remember the peace we feel right now. The teacher said, "take your time and enjoy as this is your Holy Land." I damned near bolted upright. I think Someone is trying to tell me something.

My third class was a 75 minute class and that too went very well and I must say that I am very much enjoying hot yoga and definitely see the benefits. What have I noticed so far besides the Holy Land? Well the family of knots that lived under my right shoulder blade has been evicted and my shoulders feel relaxed (so that's what it's supposed to feel like), my hips are deciding do let go and I feel great. Yes I definitely will be adding hot yoga to my training to supplement my Kung Fu. Thanks Krysta for being such a nag. Namaste.

My List

2011-05-31T17:08:00.000-07:00

I've rewritten this blog about half a dozen times and it's all coming up flat. So I have decided to make a list of what I am grateful for since my last blog. Here goes in no particular order:
Dennis
Tiger Challenge Kung Fu Tournament and all of the people involved in organizing and running it
My performance in the Tiger Challenge
My team mates in the Tiger Challenge
My UBBT team mates
Kung Fu (including I Ho Chuan)
My dogs
My squawky cockatiels that I feel like BBQing sometimes
The bird feeders that I feed the outside birds with and the birds that feed from them
The apple, pear, plum, and cherry trees are in bloom
The hummingbirds are back
My home
I'm accepted into Leduc Craft show
My garden and hoop house that I'm prepping for planting
Green smoothies
Chocolate
The books I read and DVDs I watch
My glass studio
Getting my white forms stripe
Feeling that life is pretty great
My Vitamix (best blender one can have)
My mentors, Kung Fu and otherwise
My health and fitness
My broadsword even though it stabbed me during my warmup at the Tiger Challenge
My desire to always improve
Sifus who are picky on techniques and forms
Chocolate: it's just worth mentioning again

It's a partial list and it makes me feel grateful for what I have, the people in my life, and who I am and striving to be.

I'm Doing.... Let's See

2011-05-26T08:22:00.000-07:00

It's been just about 6 months since we've started UBBT 8 and I've been thinking about how I'm doing. This comes after one of my team mates posted about her numbers and asked how the rest of us are doing with ours. That got me thinking about just how my progress is going.

If I look solely at my numbers, according to my calculations I am behind. However, that is a one dimensional answer. I am behind on my numbers and I've been working on quality of technique. My squat thrusts have improved greatly and so has my core and might as well toss in my leg strength and my forms for improving as well. Even though my numbers are behind, I'm not stagnating, I am moving forward, just slower (in numbers) than anticipated.

My mandate for UBBT 8 is to live my 5 passions in life and to live my life in balance. More accurately to find out what balance is in my life and to live life from there. The aforementioned has been going quite well as none of my passions have been left in the dust, all are alive and well. For the first time in my life I can say that life is both grand and balanced. Of course there is always room for improvement and it's a process.

The one area that's leaping forward is my glass art and yes, I have UBBT goals set for it. My glass art is on the verge of rocket launch because I have found my niche and it's also in a market (a big one to boot) where I have no competition: I am it. Plus there's hints of "spidering" to other markets because my work is that unique. Part of me is thrilled, excited and jumping for joy while the other part is wanting to run and hide from the big scary monster. Why the run and hide?? Well in the past my pattern has been workaholic-to-burnout and that is the big scary monster that I want to run and hide from. However I do believe that this time I have a "plan with a weapon" and that "plan with a weapon" is UBBT 8. Through UBBT 8 I am developing both my martial and glass arts WHILE keeping my life in balance. Easier said than done and there have been bumps along the way.

As I see it, the whole purpose of a goal is not necessarily to achieve it, but to work towards it because once the goal is achieved and the event celebrated, now what? More and bigger goals get set. I believe it's the forward, continuous, and conscious process that is the paramount, not the actual achievement of the goal.

So where am I? Behind and ahead, below and above, but more importantly, right where I'm meant to be.

Pizza!

2011-05-16T19:55:00.000-07:00

In this moment, as I type, I am well-fed, content, and happy much like Garfield the cat when he devours his favorite lasagna. My tummy filling deliciousness didn't come from lasagna, it was pizza and it's been a long time coming. Now this might seem strange because the first thought might be "well just order a pizza or go out for one, or hey, check the frozen aisle in Superstore there's pizza there." For me that's a no-can-do because it's difficult to get an oh-so-yummy pizza that's dairy-free. Until today. For the record, I have tried cheese-less pizzas, but something was missing (ya think?), and even with cheese-less the pizza quality is just not there (again, ya think?) and some places use pizza sauce that contains Parmesan cheese so that's really a no-go.

Truthfully the words dairy-free and pizza sound like the biggest oxymoron in Italian history, but not any more. I have found a non-dairy, non-soy, non-GMO, gluten-free "cheese" made by a Canadian company called Daiya. Flavors are mozzarella, cheddar, and pepperjack. All are good and here's the bonus: they melt!! Is Daiya an exact substitute for real cheese? No because no one can duplicate the cow's handiwork when it comes to making the real thing. However, this is as close as it comes in both taste and performance and for me and my dairy allergy this is a grand moment in time.

So for supper I made pizza from scratch, crust and all. Homemade crust with marinara sauce and oregano leaves topped with Black Forest ham, and pineapple and because we couldn't decide which "cheese", put all three. The pizza was then baked on my stone at 550 F to give a nice puffy crust (firm on the bottom) and a layer of "cheese" that melted over the top. It's been over 4 years since I've had a decent pizza until tonight. Life is truly grand and I'm savoring it!

Oh yes, training. Back on track and have found that switching the order/time when I do certain things helped a lot in both circadian rhythm and flow. Since my spear has been tipped, there are new challenges that align itself with that from snagging the ground to whacking myself and everything between until I get the center figured.

As for right now, blog is done and I'm back to my pizza savoring meditation.

I Love The Frogs

2011-05-10T19:01:00.000-07:00

This week it's back to "business" both in torching and in training as well as finding a flow on how to put the two together with emphasis on the word "flow". That I'm sure will iron out as I experiment on which parts of my training to insert where.

Today was the first day back on the torch making horses since the show. My mojo was "off" a bit, however how the horses come out is how they come out despite what my intentions are. It's very humbling to let the art happen or let the art flow through me and not try to control it as control does not work (trust me on this one). As I looked at my last horse before putting it in the kiln, I laughed at its disheveled mane. My horses make me laugh and that's a good thing.

I was using a color called Blue Caramel for two of my horses. This color is my new favorite color, but it wasn't before. You see, Blue Caramel is famous for leaving a thick layer of yellow deposit from all the silver it contains. I thought this was how it was supposed to look until a more seasoned glass artist told me to acid etch the piece and that I would be amazed at what was underneath. The piece went from "yellow poo" to an absolutely stunning array of greens, blues, and yellows. I got to thinking about what else (training included) is absolutely stunning once the "poo" is pealed off? Be willing to make the adjustment to peel off the "poo".

The more earth-shattering discovery made this week was when Dennis and I made the executive decision to turn off the air purifier that sits beside the cockatiel cage. The air purifier does siphon the feather dust from the birds, but it's noisy and when we shut it off, we realized how noisy it was and decided to leave it off. As I blog I am listening to the frogs in my and my neighbor's dugouts. I can also hear the summer birds sing. I truly love hearing the frogs and birds and am willing to drag the vacuum cleaner out more often so that I can enjoy nature's symphony. I guess this was another instance where the "poo" was peeled off.

After The Event

2011-05-04T14:28:00.001-07:00

The Mane Event was a huge success for me with a couple of surprising results. First surprise was the popularity of my turtles and the second was how many requests I had for donkeys and mules (guess what I get to make next) and third was the like minds that I encountered. At first glance one might say that "Duh! You were at a horse show, of course it was all like minds." Yes, but I'm not talking about the common interest in the equine species, I'm talking about people who are also into energy medicine and raw foods who appeared.

After the show I always reflect what worked, what didn't and what I would improve for next time or show. Not much for improvement for the show itself, besides making donkeys and mules, but for my hydration status while doing the show. Aside from the water I have at my booth, I will also include both hydrating and satiating foods that are nutritionally dense. Diced tomato and avocado sprinkled with sea salt and pepper comes to mind. Shows can be quite dehydrating and I really dislike having to deal with super chapped lips.

Now that I know the popularity of my horse pendants (almost sold out), I can plan better for the next show by starting the production process now. Also by doing this I can avoid the pre-show panic and slot in more time for training and not feel like I'm "robbing Peter to pay Paul" type thing. Yes I admit that April was not the stellar month for training. However, it's what I do with this insight that counts.

So now as I head into May, my plan is to be more balanced in glass work and training rather than living at the extremes of the scales. Even though April was more unbalanced, it's a vast improvement from where I came from so I am making progress.

One last thing: I found my source for blue-green algae and a good anti-inflammatory at the horse show. Sounds odd, doesn't it? Not really. Horses are commonly treated holistically for joint pain and inflammation as well as being well supplemented. Companies with such products also carry a human version and/or give human dosages. Works for me.

The Mane Event

2011-04-26T08:03:00.000-07:00

The focus this week is preparing for The Mane Event, a horse show in which I am a vendor at.Truthfully, I am both excited and a little nervous about the show as it's the first time I've been at this venue, type of venue, and this big of a venue.

Mostly when people look at my glass art the common reply is craft show and that's not a "bad" reply. However, in a craft show I'm one of how many tables allotted for the show with the common theme of "craft". Because I want to advance myself, I started thinking about where my niche in the market is and the suggestion came last year at my first craft show of the season. The suggestion was horses and it resonated because I'm a horse nut and have been since I was born.

Now at The Mane Event the trade show part is quite large and the weekend attendance is about 40,000 (yikes!).Of the 200+ booths, I will be in with the horse trailers, outfitters, horse blankets, training services, breeders, saddles, tack, you get the idea. There are a few jewelery booths, but for glass art, I'm a league of my own. In reality I have no idea what to expect as to how well I will do or how long my stock will last and that can be a little (ok, a lot) nerve rattling when it comes to preparing for a show as some shows get very cranky if one runs out of stock.

So in this week of madly preparing for a show I am going to Kung Fu even though my daily training has been scaled right down. I do slip something in here and there to keep connected. What I have made a priority though is meditation especially when I feel myself starting to go into a flap. I have a 10-minute meditation CD (I can spare 10 minutes) that I tune in to and bring myself back down to this planet. It's been a sanity saver and sometimes my sanity has been saved a few times through the day.

Even though The Mane Event is both exciting and scary, I am looking forward to it both for the adventure and my glass art career. It's something that I have a feeling about. I made 43 horses for the show (so far) and 5 have been presold, and another one spoken for and I haven't set up at the event yet. So if that's any indication, I'm in for a great ride.

The only thing for me to do is to don the boots, the jeans, the hat, the buckle, and my best smile and enjoy the show! As I see it I have nothing to lose, but everything to gain. At the very least at the end of the show, I will have completed one of my UBBT goals. Yeehaw!!

To Be a Pincushion: Round 2

2011-04-22T09:31:00.000-07:00

I had my second acupuncture treatment on my neck and shoulders last Thursday and this time I did something a little different: I went straight from acupuncture into a Reiki session. By my thinking, acupuncture releases the muscles and the trapped energy and the Reiki would help clear it out making room for new fresh energy that serves me. I was correct in my thinking as the Reiki treatment right after acupuncture was amazing and did a ton of benefit.

As a result of the acupuncture treatments my neck and shoulders are now much more relaxed. Yay! The Reiki treatment flushed out a lot of negative energy and such that I have been carrying around since a child. The past is the past and it's time to let it go and truthfully, I'm for that. I was also advised to meditate daily to further facilitate the releasing process. So now I have a 10 minute energy refresher meditation that I plug in to daily and it has benefited. In fact there was one day I meditated twice because I felt my breathing get too fast and shallow. It worked.

Speaking of shoulders, during our fitness class Sihing Gamble pointed out that while my technique is good for punching, my shoulders are very much lifting. He also stated that keeping my shoulders relaxed will save energy as well as it takes energy to tense them up. I am very grateful that Sihing Gamble was kind enough to point this out to me because if I'm wearing my shoulders as earrings for punching, where else am I doing the same thing besides just about everywhere? From that point on I have been very conscious about my shoulders during my day be it in training, at the torch, or at the design table. I did find that I have to adjust a couple of things however the benefit will be in the long run.

There was one final message that I got this last week from Reiki and it was to go forward from Spirit and not ego. Hmmmmm. This is vital for me considering that my energy goes into my artwork and I have a major show next weekend. All of this is very timely and so are the tools that I recieved to help me.

Where am I? What am I doing? And where are my shoulders? Nameste.

Something In The Air?

2011-04-13T19:41:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if it's something in the air, something in the water, something in the weather patterns, or something in the acupuncture needles, but this last week I have been as enthusiastic and energetic about training as a rock. I've been dog-dead tired which is very unlike my usual can't-sit-still self. What gives?

I had acupuncture on my shoulders last Monday and a lot of stuff was released because of it. I carry my tension, stress, and emotion in my shoulders. Considering that I had been doing such for most of my life, there's a lot of junk packed into my shoulder muscles. After my treatment I looked and felt like I hadn't slept in a week. Needless to say training was not a high point in my things to do list and what was a high point was sleep and lots of it. It could very much be that I was going through a detox.

I have another acupuncture appointment tomorrow and I am doing something a little different this time to see if it helps. Right after my acupunture treatment I am going down the street for a Rieki treatment. I figure that acupuncture will loosen a lot of tension and past energy the Reiki will serve to remove it. I shall see how the combination works.

There is another thought for me to consider and that is that I am in a lull in my training. I can't be on my game all of the time and this lull is part of the whole process. During this lull I have been doing something for my daily training, but I want to do all of it and I get frustrated when I don't have the energy and gumption to complete all of my daily requirements. Argh!

So what to do other than go to acupuncture and Reiki tomorrow? Well accept that this is where I am in the moment and like all moments this too shall pass. Patience Grasshopper, patience.

Smile :) !!!???

2011-04-03T10:27:00.000-07:00

This last week has been spent training for and focusing on the weekend Trade Show demonstration of which I was performing my broadsword form at. I love my broadsword and get right into the form when do it. After one of our practices, one of my team mates asked if I would do a favor for him after the demo. The requested favor was to perform my broadsword form smiling. !!!!!???!?!?!!?!!!?!?!

Ok, to me that request made just as much sense as it would be to frost a chocolate cake with sauerkraut. In my disbelief, I asked the obvious question: "why???" His answer was that I always look so grumpy when doing my forms. (I have intense eyes that can see through a person when I'm in action). For the record, I'm far from grumpy when I am doing my form, I'm very much enjoying it. When I am doing my forms aren't I supposed to be in the moment of action, actually being the part in my mind? At least that's what I learned in acting classes. I will mention that the last time the team mate commented on me not smiling I whacked myself in the ankle with my spear.

However I must say that my team mate has a point. What would my flow, movements, expression, and aura be like if I were smiling (toss in any other expression) during my form? It's worth exploring because who knows what I will discover when I do? Right now when I think of me in broadsword form, showing my pearly whites brings one word to mind: psychopath having that grin of delight as I'm slicing someone to ribbons. However, I could be (and am willing to be) wrong on this one. Exploring the facial expressions while doing my forms could bring a whole new dimension to my performance. So, what the heck, why not play around and see what happens?

One thing for sure is that I will honor my team mate's request of doing my broadsword form with an honest smile and yes, in his presence. But alas, I have requested a favor of my team mate: perform his forms, especially weapons, without smiling. Checkmate.

Quality vs Quantity

2011-03-29T07:36:00.000-07:00

Even though I may have heard something a hundred times before hearing something at right place, right time, right environment, and right headspace creates an epiphany. I had one of those ring-a-ding moments in I Ho Chuan class last Friday. The topic was pushups and why we do them plank style (even if it's only one) in I Ho Chuan. Reason: because that's what's done for the Black Belt test. The bell rang.

In that moment I flashed to my UBBT pushups that I had been doing on my knees. At first it was for injury, however it morphed into "I can do many more this way" so that I can catch up on my numbers. (Yes I am behind) I was focusing solely on catching up on the number rather than doing a good quality pushup and building strength. How can I graduate to doing all of my pushups plank if I hold myself back and not challenge myself?

I also clued into something else in that ring-a-ding moment as well. Because I had increased my pushup numbers to catch up, my shoulder blades were becoming very tight and I could really feel the knots making any pushup cranky. This isn't fun and I really don't like wearing my shoulders as earrings. The good news is that I realized the instigator: increasing the numbers. Time to back down to my daily requirements.

So for my daily pushups, I do as many as I can plank style and complete the rest on my knees. Considering that yesterday I did 220 pushups and about 60 were plank, that's nothing to sneeze at. Also Dennis reminded me that when I started KungFu, I could not do a plank pushup and that the reason I am where I am today is that I kept trying. "Where and I, what am I doing, and why am I doing this?"

3 Months, 6241 Pushups Later...

2011-03-21T19:39:00.000-07:00

I decided this year to take my weight, measurements, and pictures every 3 months to see my actual progress during my UBBT challenge. I didn't do this step last year because I was too caught up on my "stuff" and was kicking myself in the end because I was such a bonehead. There were differences in my physique, but I had no concrete data. Hence the change this year.

It's the 3 month, 6241 pushup, 7323 situp mark and I shall post the differences from January's readings:
Weight: -2 pounds
Chest: +1/4 inch
Ribcage: +1/4 inch
Waist: -3/4 inch
Hips: -1/2 inch
R arm: same
L arm: -1/4 inch
R Leg (quad): -2 1/2 inches Upper thigh: -1/2 inch
L leg (quad): -3 inches Upper thigh: -1 1/4 inches
Waist/hip ratio: 0.78, which is down 0.01. Desirable for us females is below 0.8.

I'm happy with my results especially when I see WHERE the big changes are. If I focus solely on weight or waist measurements, I'm missing the big picture and that is why I take the measurements I take. Now to actually see the numbers, it brings it right home.

Here's the cool thing: am I doing training in Kung Fu for weight/fat loss? NO, I train like I do because I love Kung Fu and I want to get better/stronger/faster/more agile at it. The weight/fat loss is a consequence of my training not my focus.

Tis a great day and I have a demonstration to train for which means doing the form for the gazillionth time, sore muscles, my tongue hanging out because I'm out of breath, and keeping myself out of boredom, but it's all worth it when I know it's a job well done and I can actually now see the results.

Move Over Oscar!

2011-03-15T10:10:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend there were a few events that took place at our house: Dennis having a sinus cold, time change (that I wish would go away), me eating too much starch, and my reading about Liz's experience of all her stuff coming up in the Ashram in India in her book "Eat, Pray, Love". Yesterday I woke up in a MOOD, more than owly enough to punt Oscar the Grouch out of his trashcan so that I could move in. In times like this Dennis would tell me to go back to sleep and find the alternate universe where I am stuck at, take me out and leave Snagerella behind. Even though I had morning Kung Fu class I felt it better that I take me and my grouchiness back to bed for more sleep. I slept until noon: very unusual for me. Translation: I needed the sleep.

Even though I had intentions of torching, training, baking bread, roasting coffee, and making soy milk in the afternoon, I ended plunking myself in my comfy chair and finally getting out of my bathrobe at 5:30 pm (or was it later?). Again very unusual for me. I'm usually high energy and need to recognize when I need to park it and relax to recharge. Yesterday I did just that and I needed it. I still baked bread, roasted coffee, and made 2 batches of soy milk with Dennis's help. Still by 8:30 pm I was bushed and slept like a rock. I was tired, huh?

The result? I woke up today being "me" again having "the best day ever." Could I have done that without resting and relaxing yesterday? Probably not. What about my Kung Fu training that got missed yesterday? I'll catch up and my training today will be higher quality than what it would have been yesterday should I have trained. I must say that I will have a much better attitude about it.

This morning I was listening to a video by James Malinchak (ABC Secret Millionaire) on 3 Lies to Achieving Million (I insert black belt, dream, whatever) and the one tidbit that stuck was that if the fish are sick, don't treat the fish, treat the pond. Good point, who in my pond is toxic? It could be family, friends, or even closer, me. This made me think about yesterday. Could I have been cleaning my pond from my own polluting? I think so.

Oh, and Oscar, you can have your trashcan back.

How I love Thee, Let Me Count Thy Ways...

2011-03-09T18:56:00.000-08:00

This month our team is journaling everything we eat and drink and posting it on our team diet blog. The main purpose of this exercise is to create awareness. Ever since I discovered my dairy allergy a few years ago, I am very conscientious about what goes into my body because frankly, the reaction I have is quite painful so I would rather not go there in any way, shape, or form. I was thinking that my awareness would come in regards to my raw food content, or my vegetarian to meat ratio. I was not expecting to have the light bulb shine where it did and that is that I love food.

Yep, I LOVE food. Not just the taste, but the whole experience. Here's the kicker: I'm not talking the experience of restaurant dining. In fact, I actually don't like eating out unless I know that I safe from the hidden diary. I do have a choice few places that I go to and enjoy the experience, but the topic here is about my love affair with the food I prepare and have at home.

And here's another factor to add: I'm also not talking about the ooeey, gooey, savory richness of dishes that leaves one with an "urp but that was sooooo good" feeling. I'm talking about raw foods, fruits, and vegetables. I truthfully look forward to when and what I can feast on next. I love tasting each food on my palate regardless whether it's a piece of fresh fruit, a piece of dark chocolate (dairy-free), or a bowl of raw steel cut oats loaded with almonds, banana, cocao nibs, gogi berries and sweetened with maple syrup sugar. To me this is a game, and a game I thoroughly enjoy. I feast with reckless abandon and I stop when I've had enough and that point is long before the "urp" sensation.

Aside from the taste experience, the energy I feel after dining on fresh goodness is uplifting. After drinking a cilantro (pears, apricots, and green apple are also there) smoothie, I can feel the cleansing energy of the cilantro in my bloodstream. Add in maca or lucuma, hello euphoria! What a rush!

To top this whole torrid affair, the food I eat works with me, not against me in ways far deeper than nourishment. Lean muscle building, fat burning, hormone balance, immune building and acid/base balancing leaving me with energy to burn. All this in a chocolate-raspberry "cheesecake": gotta love it!

So here I am coming clean with stating to the world that I love food and the food I love loves me. It's a match made in the kitchen.

Tap, Tap, Tap.....

2011-03-01T18:51:00.000-08:00

For the last week I have been tuning into an online audio event called 2011 Tapping World Summit. The tapping is about EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) using Meridian Tapping on acupuncture sites to release trapped emotional energy while focusing on a subject or an issue. Topics covered in this Summit include Abundance, Physical Pain, Weight Loss, Relationships, Emotions, Workplace, Children and Adults, Procrastination, Goals, and Law of Attraction.

I made a choice to tune in to and tap along with every seminar whether I thought it applied to me or not. Truthfully, they all apply to me on some level. As a result I have been tapping on my designated acupuncture sites for 2 seminars a day for the last 8 days. Something should shift as a result of all this and it did.

Yesterday I woke up feeling that my energy was feeling a little jagged and uneasy, like a salad that's just been tossed. I chose to be with it and proceed through my day starting with Kung Fu class in the morning. Kung Fu is always great for an energy shift. After warmup we went into sparring: 8 rounds of it. Sparring can be famous for stirring up emotion whether I want it or not and yesterday was a not especially during one particular round when I got triggered and the emotion set in. I was proud of myself that I chose to slow down and breathe rather than get engaged in the the aggression. Still my emotion was ramped up and I wasn't feeling too charming.

What happened after class took me by surprise. My intent was to leave and go shovel snow but that's not what happened (yet anyway). A conversation was initiated by the person who was my partner in my trigger-round. We talked about our match and what happened. There was no fault, no blame, but there was honest open communication and understanding. We talked about how we will help each other in the future because we will match again. Because of the conversation I gained a much deeper trust and respect for this person and I look forward for a rematch.

Was my energy back to "me" after class and shoveling? No, it was still stilted and remained so until I had a good night sleep. However I did wake up being more me again ready to tap on procrastination and pursuing my goals.

With that note, I have a training session to complete.

Back to Black

2011-02-25T08:52:00.000-08:00

I'm back home now and have pretty much recovered from the travel. South Carolina was nice and the hospitality is definitely noteworthy. Phoenix was cool and rainy, but still no snow so that's good. The 4-foot high column cacti were just about to come out into full yellow blooms. I was a bit sad that I am just missing seeing these cacti in their magnificent glory.

In Phoenix I was at a Full Expression Workshop discovering what is holding me back from going forward in authenticity. Discoveries were made through sessions of watercolor painting, voice training and Latin ballroom dancing taught by world champion coaches. An amazing experience especially when the dance coach had us bend backwards to touch our head to the floor.

From the workshop I got 4 questions for me to ask myself when I am stuck:
How would I be if I had nothing to prove?
How would I be if I didn't care what anyone thought?
How would I be if I didn't compare myself to others?
What am I saving for later?

These questions get to the heart of what is keeping me in my swirlpool of "stuff" whether it be in Kung Fu, my glass art, or my relationships including the relationship I have with myself. The whole point is to go forth in authenticity with myself having nothing to prove, not worrying what others think, and not comparing myself to others. All of the aforementioned I am guilty of on a few assorted levels. Now this does not give myself permission to beat myself up. Once I have the awareness, I have choice as to how I go forth without judgment.

How does this apply to Kung Fu? Well, my movement is different in my forms, but more importantly I am looking at my numbers for my goals. I'm in the red and it is what it is. No use beating myself up about it. However I do have a plan to get my numbers back into the black. I am using the same plan that I used for debt dissolving. I keep up with the minimum requirements on all goals, but I pick one to do extra work on. Once that number is in the black, I keep those minimum requirements and move on to the next goal. I continue the process until all of my goals are back into the black. That's the plan and with the help and harassment of my teammates, I plan to stick to the plan.

One final tidbit I learned at the end of vacation: passports do survive the washing machine... kind of. The good news is that it wasn't my passport, I just washed it.

When In The South....

2011-02-15T14:16:00.000-08:00

As I look out the window I see no snow and when I go outside I am sans jacket. What a feeling as the sun is warm and refreshing. I should be training but instead I am soaking it all in: the weather, the scenery, the food and the Southern hospitality. I am in South Carolina and as my friend put it, I am going to be exposed to as much of the South as can be packed in the few days I am here before I board another plane to Phoenix.

Instead of training in situps and pushups, I am being trained in jambalaya, Bo Jangles chicken, dark rum and Doctor Pepper, bourbon and coffee, and black-eyed peas and collards. I must say that I have done some Kempo forms to keep my blood moving and my jeans fitting.

An excursion to Ross department store fulfilled my shopping adventure by getting my jeans and long-sleeved T-shirts at a fraction of the price as in Canada. How much can I cram into my suitcase?

What gives me a great chuckle is seeing a Southerner's reaction when I mention "snow" and "warming up to -30". I keep getting asked when I will move to the South. My reply is when the South cools down in the summer.

5 Animals of Kung Fu in A Glass Near You

2011-02-08T18:20:00.000-08:00

This week I completed one of my UBBT 8 goals: to design a line of eco-friendly glass drinking straws. What's even better is that these straws were designed for the Silent River Chinese New Year's Banquet and Silent Auction with all proceeds going to our benevolent fund.

Before Christmas Sihings Wiebe and Lindstrom asked me if I would consider donating something of my glass art to the silent auction. Of course, but what would be fitting for this event. I left it at that. A few weeks later in an email newsletter that I get from a health food store was a blurb saying that they were now carrying glass drinking straws. Interesting and I had to investigate. When I saw the picture the inner wheels were turning. The picture was of a simple glass straw with fire-polished ends. I could do better than that. How about color? Hey how about attached charms of the 5 animals of Kung Fu? Works for wine glasses at a party so why not straws for the kids? Excellent!

I went on a snoop and found that I could get all of the 5 animals of Kung Fu: tiger, leopard, snake, crane (that one surprised me), and dragon. Promptly ordered those guys as they needed travel time. Now for the challenging part: how was I going to attach these things to the straw? Insert the technical difficulty of keeping the tube intact while the middle is floppy. Grab an au dente spaghetti at each and try to rotate, you get idea. I needed a eureka moment to make this work and luckily one came. A few weeks later, but the idea came and it worked.

So what I created were eco-friendly glass drinking straws that are a generous 8 inches long with a slight bend. Bottom end is flared to prevent vacuum lock on the bottom of the glass and the top is slightly flared to give the lips something to hold on to/play with. The charms hang on the outside of the glass and serve as both decoration and as a hanger to hang the straw on the glass rim. I didn't invent the glass drinking straw, but I did invent this design that I am very happy with.

The picture in this blog post is the set that went up for auction and did very well for the Benevolent Fund. What's the future for this straw design? A horse line to be released at the Mane Event Horse show as well as more of the 5 Animals of Kung Fu. Can I do Kung Fu Panda? The only charm that is a stickler is mantis because it's made of sterling silver ($$$). However I will keep looking as I am sure mantis is waiting to be discovered.

According to My Calculations...

2011-02-03T15:15:00.000-08:00

After tallying up my numbers, I have come to the distinct conclusion that I am behind in my physical goals with some numbers being scarier than others. For some reason I went into hibernation mode for January only sporadically training rather than being disciplined. Now what? Do I look at my numbers and bury my head in the concrete from shame or do I consider this an opportunity for growth? The latter wins hands down.

One thing that I have learned from all of my personal development training is that what one focuses on is what keeps showing up. If a person focuses on bad luck and hard times that person is always the "Bad Luck Charlie". Focus on opportunity and possibility, the world opens. So yes, I am behind in my numbers, but how can I catchup? Where and how can I slot in few more extra of something? A few somethings eventually lead to a lot. This is where creative imagination is going to come in handy. Plus today is our Chinese New Year's pushup/situp challenge so that is a good avenue for me to capitalize on for numbers.

This week an opportunity came to me and it's a very good one. It's an opportunity to teach one of Bob Proctor's personal development courses called Thinking Into Results. I love personal development and it's truly a passion of mine, however, do I want to teach it? Do I want to delve into this business opportunity that has the potential to be very lucrative? Considering that I have taught college education, and love personal development, this is a shoe-in for yes. But it's not and here is why.

When I think about my glass I get electric with excitement. I don't quite feel the same way when I think about teaching personal development. I love to learn for improving myself, but not sure on the teaching aspect. My husband had a great suggestion: work through Thinking Into Results again and this time use the program to focus on my glass and to pay attention as to whether I would be just as excited to teach it as when I'm using the program for me. Very good suggestion that I will embark on.

I believe that it all boils down to I will be making a decision of the heart rather than one of the head/bank account. I've heard it said that when you know that you know that you know you've made the right decision. Whatever the decision it has to be one that feels right.

Back To The Future

2011-01-26T19:01:00.000-08:00

Last week I was called to see if I would fill teaching for a week for a colleague who just got a new foster baby and wanted to stay home with the new baby. Because I would be walking into pretty much my old schedule, I said sure. Plus the bribe of paying me very well for doing so also helped my decision.

The week was fun, but with all "vacations", I don't want to live there. I fully realized what I loved about my job and that I was fully expressing myself in the classroom or lab. The students got the whole me, unedited. To be "ON" for a class is like a good workout because of the mental challenge.

The more important re-visit I had last week was why I left my job. Even though being in class is great fun, it's very mentally challenging. My week included 1-hour lectures, 2-hour lecture, 2-hour labs, and 3-hour labs. Tally that up and it's a lot of time being "ON" and as a result, tiring. Most of my energy was taken up with my job and the consequence was a minute time for me. That just does not work well for me over the long run. Hence: great to visit, don't want to live there. I very much like being in the casual pool and I'll fill in when I can, but I have areas of my life to live and explore and they take priority.

As for my training, I haven't hit the ground running this year. I'm strolling and stopping to smell a rose or two and that's OK because I will pick up the pace. That's my nature. To me my new training schedule is like new pair of jeans, just have to spend a bit of time breaking them in.

Act of Kindness: Receiving

2011-01-19T19:03:00.000-08:00

A lot of us (me included) have the 1000 acts of kindness to do for one of our goals and that's great as we all should be more kind to our Earth and inhabitants. But how do you respond when an act of kindness is given or shown to you especially one that comes out of the blue?

This week during my bus commute from work it was standing room only on a sardine-packed bus from Nait to Spruce Grove. Considering we are still recovering from snow, snow, and snow and there was an accident to scoot around the ride was way longer than usual. I was one of the people standing for the ride. I didn't mind as there was camaraderie and I adjust to moving. Well, when some people exited at some of the stops a few seats became available, one of which was behind me. A young fellow standing behind me offered me the seat. I said that I was okay standing and that he could take the seat for himself. This fellow looked at me, told me that was my seat, and insisted I sit. The next move for me was to smile, say thank-you, and sit. After I sat down, he sat in a seat adjacent to me. A point to note is that this young fellow was of Middle Eastern area descent. Does this make a difference? Actually it does.

This young fellow was not necessarily offering me an act of kindness, but an act of respect according to his culture. For him, this was a normal and expected gesture. For me, it was a surprise. Isn't that interesting? I thought so and this tells me that I need to sharpen up my receiving skills in a few areas.

A very valid lesson learned on that bus ride.

20/20 Hindsight

2011-01-13T07:48:00.000-08:00

There was a certain requirement that I had to do when I did the Body For Life program that I really wished I would have done for UBBT 7. I thought about it when UBBT 7 started but I was caught up too much in my own "stuff" to do it and when UBBT 7 was complete and I saw the changes, I wished I would have. Not making the same mistake for UBBT 8.

Here's my requirement:
- Record my weight.
- Record my measurements of chest, rib cage, waist, hips, each arm flexed and each thigh with weight on leg.
- Put on my bathing suit or similar 2 piece not covering much outfit.
- Take front, side and back view photos.
- Repeat steps 1 to 4 three months from now and compare results. Repeat until the end of the year.

It was step 4 that I was snorkeling in the toilet with last year. Cameras don't lie, but our eyes do and I really didn't want to see myself. I mean really see myself where I was at and because of this I missed out on a very valuable progress tool and proof. Yep, kicking myself for that one.

Even though I'm not at the same place physically as I was last year at this time, I still will gain astronomical benefit from doing the photo measure requirement. I will see exactly what changes were made and where as I progress. Considering the amount of training I will be doing this year, I wonder what the before and after UBBT 8 photos and measurements will actually look like. Only one way to find out!

Sometimes It Takes Me a While

2011-01-10T15:49:00.000-08:00

There are a couple of things that I just got the "I get it" on this week. The first one is the injury that I have to my left ring finger that I knuckle jammed during sparring before Christmas. Basically I blocked a kick with my hand half-open and since then have figured out that hand closed was the better option and not having it there in the first place was actually the best option, but too late for that. So since then I have been icing my knuckle and wrapping it, but not totally immobilizing it even though the wrapping included fingers on either side. The bad news is that my finger still had mobility, and as a consequence, was not healing. So today I dug out one of my finger splints, put it on my finger and totally immobilized three fingers on my left hand. As soon as I splinted my finger, my finger gave out a "THANK YOU!! and what took you so long!!!????"

Really, what took me so long to properly take care of myself? Here's the kicker: I know better being both from the medical field and a former ski-patrol where all we did was splint. Back to the original question: what took me so long? Arrogance/ego comes to mind teamed with being a bonehead. "I'll be ok, I'll heal in a week." Not if I don't allow myself to heal I won't (and didn't). Sigh, so now I have a snazzy style of ring on my finger for a while which makes typing REAL entertaining.

The other "I get it" has to do with our Adopt-A-Driveway program that our Kwoon has for shoveling snow. The Kwoon "adopted" five driveways to shovel this year for seniors who are registered with the program. This has been going on for a few years, but it was 3 years ago when I noticed it. 3 years ago when the call for volunteers went out my response (said to myself) was "no way man, I have my own ton of snow to shovel (I live on a hobby farm with a driveway that needs to be plowed)" and so I ignored all of the messages in our Kwoon chat pertaining to driveways and shoveling. I didn't answer volunteer call for the next 2 years, but I started reading the messages. Don't know why, maybe I was just nosy. However when the volunteer call came this year, I was twigged and I was also wondering how I would shovel someone else's drive when I have my own ton of snow to heave. Then in our morning class someone mentioned to check driveways and shovel (if needed) after the class. Hey! I could do that and so I, along with a couple of others, volunteered to be on a shovel team.

This last week I was shoveling my team's drive when I saw a big rabbit. How cool! Year of the rabbit and I'm born in the year of the rabbit and here I am looking eye to eye with a rabbit. Good sign! Then a feeling of "hey, I'm taking care of a person's well-being here. I (and my team) are ensuring that these people do not have to worry about how their drives will be cleared. It's like a Christmas present after every snowfall." What an amazing feeling and "I get it" as to why I volunteered. I told my Mom, 88 year old senior herself, about our driveway program. The first thing she said was "do they appreciate it?" My response was that considering we are showered with goodies, cards, hugs, and thank-you's, I'd say so. Her reply was "good, you all are appreciated for what you do." A positive feedback loop.

As for my training numbers, I may be behind a bit, but that's ok (for now). I learned from UBBT 7 that it's a wave to ride. Sometimes I'll be up, sometimes I'll be down, sometimes I'll have clear sailing, and sometimes I'll be picking sand from my shorts because I've hit a sandbar. It's my response to the situation that's the important thing because I'm here for the long ride. Buckle in.

2011: The Action Plan

2011-01-04T09:48:00.000-08:00

2010 and UBBT 7 enabled me to discover what I am passionate about and what makes me tick. I am taking what I learned from UBBT 7 and applying it to UBBT 8. I have set up my goals in the categories of my 5 passions with a miscellaneous category.

My overall year goal is to earn a desired amount of income from multiple income streams while having a healthy and balanced life that include all of my passions in life.

Passion 1: creating and sharing my glass art
-develop a horsey line of products as well as a line of eco-friendly glass drinking straws
-make 1000 each of sellable sculpted and blown glass pieces
-open and "stock" online SherriD Lampwork Glass Etsy shop
-develop and add content to my website www.lampwork-glass-guide.com
-create a banner for my show booth
-make a glass dragon
-research and find the best solution for accepting credit cards for sales
-attend horse shows as a vendor

Passion 2: learning and developing my Personal/Spiritual growth
-do and record 1000 acts of kindness
-audit Reiki I and participate in Reiki II
-Complete "The Passion Test" and Darren Hardy's 10 Year Goal course
-read 20 books
-practice Reiki meditations daily
-participate in "Full Self Expression Workshop" in Phoenix
-continue participating in Prosperity Study Group
-discover my life purpose (the "bigger than me")
-daily gratitude lists and journal
-find an avenue for tithing that is in alignment with my belief system

Passion 3: Kung Fu
-50,000 each of pushups and situps
-1,000 minutes of plank position held
-1,000 minutes of horse stance held
-1,000 reps of Kempo
-2,000 reps of all other forms combined so I don't forget them
-4,000 each of squat thrusts and frog leaps
-1,000 lat pulldowns
-10,000 kicks per leg cycling through all the kicks I know
-250 rounds of sparring
-52 entries of blogging on my site and the Tom Callos Ning blog
-complete P90X workout program
-learn the fan form
-do at least one chinup (currently I can't do any)

Passion 4: Being with my DH
-Train Kung Fu (forms, techniques, slow sparring) 52 times
-partake in 2 RV holiday trips
-go to the gun range 6 times
-yard cleanup and house rooms organization
-plant and harvest our garden
-revamp and clean the raspberry area

Passion 5: Raw foods and healthy eating/longevity
-consume 400 smoothies, mostly green smoothies
-consume 400 raw meals, including meals where the content is mostly raw
-read "Superfoods" and "Naked Chocolate" by David Wolfe

Miscellaneous
-knit 5 pairs of socks
-go horseback riding 3 times
-attend my 30 year (aack!!) high school reunion in Saskatchewan

This or something better!
I look forward to 2011 with excitement and anticipation, but also with gratitude as I look around to see the awesome team of UBBT 8.

Sherri Donohue

2010-12-31T19:48:00.000-08:00

Sherri Donohue: "I connected Blogger to my http://flavors.me page - http://flavors.me/sherrid"

Cut In Half or On The Diagonal?

2010-12-30T08:44:00.000-08:00

When my Mom made sandwiches she always cut the sandwich in half, straight down the middle. Not cutting so there is a top and a bottom, but down the middle creating 2 halves. To me, a sandwich tastes better cut on the diagonal. Yes there are sandwiches that are better off left whole, but for the most part, the diagonal cut results in a better tasting sandwich. Oh, and cut into 4 little triangles is shear decadence. Here is the interesting part: I'm not the only one who says that the sandwich cut on the diagonal tastes better. (Yes the geek in me has done a poll.)

One day last year Mom was making sandwiches and there she was poised with the knife ready to cut the sandwich in half when I exclaimed "No!! Cut it on the diagonal, it tastes better that way!" Mom looked at me as if I was another species that dropped in from another universe. She cut the sandwiches on the diagonal because it made no difference to her which direction the knife blade went, but it made a difference to me.

I have been thinking about the diagonal cut sandwich and why it tastes better and what I have come up with is the energy that goes into cutting the sandwich. In a cut in half sandwich the knife is thoughtlessly placed on the bread and cut. Whereas with the diagonal cut, there is thought (or consciousness) as to where the knife is placed so as to make the perfect cut resulting in the perfect cut sandwich. Cut the sandwich into 4 triangles infuses even more consciousness and even the possibility of love going into those little delicacies. No wonder they taste so good.

So how does this wisdom reflect on the rest of my life? Am I going through life "cut in half" or do I have the conscious energy of the diagonal cut? Translation: am I living my life consciously or "floating along"? Good question and one for me to reflect on from here on in regardless of whether I am training, reading, knitting, food prepping, lampworking, or even eating a sandwich or anything for that matter. How am I when I am with another person or even being with myself? Body only or fully being in the experience? Such things to be aware of and all stemming from how a sandwich is cut.

This is my last post of 2010 and of UBBT 7. It's been an amazing year full of adventure, challenges, realizations, and accomplishments. I am proud of myself for surpassing my pushup and situp goals as well as my reading goal. My squat thrust goal I will not accomplish, but what I did accomplish from that goal is technique improvement so that I can carry that forward to UBBT 8. I've learned a lot about myself in 2010: what I like, what I don't like, and what has to be part of my life for my life to be fulfilled.

Happy New Year to all and all the best in 2011. 1000 pushup/situp challenge on New Year's Day here I come!

Warning - Pattern Alert - Warning

2010-12-20T18:42:00.000-08:00

So here it is 11 days until UBBT 7 is finished and I am smack in the middle of a no-good pattern. I was wondering when I was going to hit my wall and here it is. I'm not surprised as this has shown up before in various other places, however it's real obvious now. At the time for me to pull out the stops and go for it I'm settling into my comfy chair and saying "had enough, I'm done." Can't wait to start UBBT 8, but here I am in the lazy chair for the rest of UBBT 7. What gives?

The no-good pattern I am in the middle of is that I don't like to finish. Love starting, can hunker down in the middle, go when the going is tough, but to finish that's where I take a seat and watch the world go by and no amount of hip-hoo-rah gets me going. So now what? Do I analyze my position and figure out why I am where I am or do I look at how to change this pattern? After talking to my insightful husband, I chose the latter as I need to do something about this now rather than wait until later (black belt grading comes to mind).

Instead of focusing on my weakness (finishing) I am chosing to focus on my strength and that is starting. I have my numbers up to date, or to the minute is more accurate and I have set myself new goals for the next 10 days. What do I want to accomplish over the next 10 days? I have a new set of goals to work on. Wahoo!! Oh hey, how about what I can accomplish in a day? Even better.

I love challenges and what I have done to my brain (suggested by my husband) is to get it thinking about the next challenge and how to overcome that. Make a myriad of little challenges to tackle. Will this work? Don't know and I have nothing to lose at this point of time besides time itself.

The way I see it, worth a shot or 10.

A Thought to Ponder

2010-12-16T17:07:00.000-08:00

This quote was emailed to me via Bob Proctor's Insight of The Day.

"When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don't adjust the goals, adjust the action steps."

Confucius
551-479 BC, Philosopher

Amazing how timely this is.

Humble Pie: Mmmmm, Mmmmmmm Blech!

2010-12-06T20:22:00.000-08:00

At the end of one of our previous I Ho Chuan classes we were reminded to keep up with our forms: ALL of them. Okay. Sifu T. Playter added in that the form we are most "confident" in is the one we need to practice the most. Uh-huh, check. And that's as far as it went. I was practicing my forms, most of them. I was also concentrating on my spear form while leaving my broadsword form to "I know it."

Well tonight I decided to practice all of my I Ho Chuan forms that I knew. I picked up my broadsword, bowed in, made the first move and could not remember the move that came next and to make matters more self-insulting, there were a few parts later that I stumbled on and I whacked the ceiling light with my broadsword. How could this be? I performed this form for crying out loud!! I must say that I heard Sifu T. Playter's words loud and clear in my ears. I now fully understand what she meant and it's a lesson definitely learned.

What does humble pie taste like? Bitter and it does not come with ice cream.

UBBT 7: A Year of Discovery

2010-12-02T16:01:00.000-08:00

When I asked Sihing Prince how UBBT 6 was for her, she said that she worked harder than she ever did before and it was the most incredible year ever. Sihing Prince also added that it would be the same/similar for me should I stick it out. That makes sense: sort of. Sifu Brinker also suggested I add goals for my glass art in my UBBT 7 goals, something I had intended to do. So what did UBBT 7 mean to me? It was a year of self-discovery and clarity.

The biggest realization I made was whether my goals were ones that I really wanted or were they goals that I thought I should have or someone else's idea of what I should have. This became very apparent when I was working through Darren Hardy's "Design the Next Decade of Your Life" course. This course and I came to a screeching halt because I realized that I didn't have a clue what I really wanted. I had an inkling in some areas, but concrete clarity? No. Therefore I had some background work to be done before I went on.

This led to the discovery of what I am passionate about and these passions must be part of my daily life for my life to be fulfilled. Now that I am clear on my passions I can set clear goals that are what I want not that I think I should have. Of course requirements have their staying power. The interesting clarity I got was around horses. I love, love, love horses and have been madly in love with horses since I was a kid. Here's the interesting part: just because I love horses doesn't mean I want (or should) own one. I am fully aware of the work and commitment horses are and it's not a commitment I want to make. I have access to a lot of horses. In fact my neighbor puts her horses in my pasture in the off-winter months. So how can I say I love horses and not be glued to one?

Hence the discovery in my glass art: finding my niche. There is the assumption that lampworkers make beads. Not this one. Also that if one is into boro glass, one makes pipes. Again, not this one. I found that I love sculpture and what do I sculpt? My personality is one that goes "off the beaten path" so to speak. Ok so where it that? I got an inquiry from my booth-neighbor in my first 2010 Christmas season show. She asked if I made horsey things and suggested I look at The Mane Event as a vendor. The more I thought about it, the more I became dizzy with excitement. Here is how I can show my love of horses: make them in glass! The icing on the cake is that this is off the beaten path. What a way to be around horses!

So what about Kung Fu? Through the pushups, situps, squat thrusts, and forms I found I love training. Pretty much all of my physical/Kung Fu goals will roll over into UBBT 8 with some minor adjustments. UBBT 7 physical/Kung Fu goals were about getting the basics down and getting into a rhythm. I developed a lot of lean muscle mass and lost a lot of body fat. The scale however says that I lost a grand total of about 4 pounds, but I will soon need to go clothes shopping. I put more belief into the latter.

I can now understand Sihing Prince's answer that she gave me when I asked about her UBBT 6. In short I worked the hardest on myself that I ever have and had by far the most rewards I ever have had in the past. I will also add that I have been the kindest on myself than what I ever have also. Some goals I accomplished, some are almost and some I didn't get too far on and it's these goals that will either be tossed (not mine in the first place) or amended into mine.

I am very grateful for having the opportunity to be on team UBBT 7 and to have shared experiences with all of my team mates. UBBT is not easy and there are times when it's easier to sloth it than to get into action but the rewards are so worth the efforts. Even though we still have a month to go, congratulations team for a fantastic year.

Poetry in Motion

2010-11-23T12:13:00.000-08:00

Here it is the weekly blog,
But I am coming up flat as a saw-milled log.
I think I have something to say
But when I write it comes up nay.

Pushups, situps, forms the numbers have come to slow
As I prepare for two shows this weekend barring sun, rain, or snow.
I attend my Monday-Wednesday Kung Fu class,
But sadly this week I Ho Chuan I must pass.
For where will I be?
But at a show selling my glass pieces to thee.

Alas there is a show end I see,
But not for my torch and me.
Custom orders I have to fill
So that loved ones will experience the thrill.
Of a glass piece unique as can be
Made just for them by my torch and me.

Has my training gone by the wayside?
Not at all for that would hurt my pride.
All the pushups, situps, forms, and squat thrusts
Have come to be for my daily training a must.
My numbers again will be on top
As for a pushup down I drop.

So as I finish this year
With my butt in gear.
From some help from heaven
I will finish UBBT 7.
However not to be late out of the gate
As I set my sights and goals for UBBT 8.

The Passion Test

2010-11-15T17:51:00.000-08:00

I am currently reading and working through the book "The Passion Test: The Effortless Path to Discovering Your Life Purpose" by Jane Bray Attwood and Chris Attwood. If it sounds like I am on the path to discover who I am, and what I'm supposed to be doing on the is planet, that is correct. Living my life according to someone else does not work: trust me. However before I can live my life, I have to figure out what is essentially me. Over the past years I have been discovering pieces, now it's time for a concrete discovery and plan.

The first thing the Passion Test has one do is to discover the 5 things in life one is passionate about. It is noted to retake the test in about 6 months because things change, things get accomplished, and life goes on. I honed in on the 5 things that I am passionate about: Personal/Spiritual Growth, my husband (easier being married that way), Kung Fu (whew!), my glass art (good thing), and learning about and discovering raw foods and healthy eating. AS I look back previous to this year, I realized just how many passions I was focusing on: basically none. My passions were basically a dim flicker of light in a Universe of darkness. No wonder I was so out of kilter and miserable over so many levels and in so many ways. I swore at times I felt like I was headed for depression and looking back, I probably was considering my life was a mere existence. Thankfully the dim flickers of light were enough to encourage me to follow in that direction.

Now that I have unearthed my passions, now what? Focus on them, focus on what I am passionate about because that is what living and life is all about. It is mentioned in the book that doors will open and opportunities show themselves when one is focused on what they are passionate about. True as I have had opportunities arise and events happen that came from out of nowhere. Now that I am discovering a plan of focused passion, life just might be quite the ride.

I think that it's going to be quite exciting working through this book and discovering more. I changed my life, this year was about discovery, and next year will be about focusing on the 5 things that I am passionate about. Sounds like a setup for another UBBT. What a coincidence or not.

Gassho

2010-11-10T13:40:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago when I blogged, I was in a Bah! state of mood and it showed in my training. I was holding myself back and when I mentioned this to my Reiki teachers the first question was "why?" and the second was "when did you last do your Reiki meditation?" When I gave the ever-brilliant answers of "I dunno" for both I was hauled in for an attunement (adjustment if you will).

I must say that the attunement tuned me in. Since that day I have been practicing my Reiki meditations daily and my training has been going much smoother and with a lot more flow than before. My training is getting done with ease as in ease to slot in my training. My training isn't easy and it's getting done.In fact I've increased the either the numbers or the difficulty in some areas. My glass art, my shows, and basically my life are flowing along. This is great! I like this! Life is grand!

My Daily Reiki Meditation

NO JUDGMENT

No judgment of yourself. No judgment of your process.
No judgment of their judgment or questions.

Breathe and allow process to happen.

Gassho - give thanks
Today Only
Do Not Anger
Do Not Worry
With Thankfulness,
Work Diligently
Be Kind to Others

Hatsurei Ho

Self healing hand positions.
Gassho - give thanks

Migraine.... But...

2010-11-04T14:55:00.000-07:00

As I am writing this week's blog I have a migraine, however there is something very different this time: I am drug-free. My head is fuzzy and thoughts take a while to process, short term memory takes a little longer than normal, but I am upright, have very little pain and no light sensitivity. The part that I am totally amazed with is that this time I am drug-free: no codeine, no caffeine, no Tylenol.

At noon today while writing an email, I started to see a small flashing halo and where the halo is I can't see. This usually means that I'm in for a not fun time. As the flashing halo gets larger my vision does come back and after the flashing halo is finished I usually have about half an hour to get drugged (3-4 Tyleno1 3 to start with a Coke chaser), get dark, and get horizontal with a bonus feature of an ice pack. However this time I had the feeling to wait and try something different: raw smoothie, raw meal, breathe and be still. It's now 3:30 pm and I have very little pain, still a bit fuzzy, but very mild pain.

What triggered my migraine? I believe it was due to my deep tissue massage and chiropractic treatment yesterday. Something was unearthed and has to come out. My chiropractor is doing very specific focused treatment on me and I believe this is a case where I have to reverse a bit to get better for the long run.

I do strongly believe that the reason behind not needing drugs this time was due to not only my regular Kung Fu training, but more importantly my dramatic increase of raw foods (fruits, nuts, and veggies) into my diet. I had noticed that since I began to eat more raw and drastically remove sugar and junk, my headaches decreased both in severity and number. My dependence on codeine shifted to being able to cope with extra-strength Tylenol and my headaches decreased from 1-3 a month to one mild headache every couple of months. I was (and still am) very happy with those changes.

Even though today I have a few mild migraine symptoms, I am very much feeling grateful and celebrating that I am drug-free. I now hold the distinct possibility that if I keep doing what I am doing and following the path (diet, exercise and chiropractic/massage) that I am on, headaches of all kinds will be a thing of the past for me. It's been a shift from not a chance to maybe there is a hope to I believe it can happen. What a feeling!

Holding Back

2010-10-26T10:35:00.000-07:00

During my coaching call, it was brought up that I am holding myself back and I can feel it. It's like a wall is in front of me and it would be so much easier to curl up and have a nap rather train, practice, torch, or work on my marketing my glass. Right now I'm in a ho-hum type of slump. Bah!!

I mentioned my slump to my Reiki teachers and the first question was "are you practicing your Reiki?" BUSTED! "Why not?" Good question, one that I don't have an answer for. Is it past programming, past conditioning, laziness or a hissy-fit? It might be all of the above, none of the above, and the reason is not important it's what I do about it that counts. Bah again. Just take a step in the direction I want to go (as in goals, not the lazy chair).

I do however have a source of inspiration for me to draw on and that is Norm Yip Photography. http://www.normyip.com His style, to me, is absolutely captivating and I could look at his work, both photography and art, for hours. Norm is a very gifted artist and photographer but there is more to it that that. Usually when I see photography of Norm's caliber it's usually met with "wow", and it's someone from somewhere who I don't have a connection with. Not this time. This time there is a very definite connection: Norm and I grew up together. We were friends throughout school right from kindergarten to graduation. However after grad we went our separate ways until we met up again for our 10-year reunion. He was an architect in Toronto and I was a lab tech in Edmonton. We parted again.

It was this last Saturday when I finally tracked Norm down after wondering where the heck he was and what he was doing. I was absolutely astounded when I saw his work. It's easy to remember a person where they were and hold them at that, but when the present appears now what? For me to see the then and now of Norm is truly a gift and inspiration to me. I find it interesting how both of us started out, both left what we aspired to in high school and are now on similar paths both as artists. I feel very grateful and lucky to have tracked down my friend as he is a great example of what no holding back is about.

So after talking with Norm my Bah! is melting into Believe! I have more encouragement to take the necessary steps to where I need to go and for now that is onto my training mats and after that my torch as I have turtles and a spider to make. Next step is to open up my Etsy shop again under my new name: my name, SherriD Lampwork Glass.

My Plastic Diet

2010-10-22T10:32:00.000-07:00

One of my goals for UBBT 7 was to reduce the amount of plastics that are thrown into the garbage. The area I chose to focus on is the grocery area. I have been using reusable grocery bags for a while but I found an area that could very much withstand improvement: produce bags. I eat a lot of fresh fruits and veggies so when I grocery shop, each type of fruit or veggie goes into a separate bag. When my cart is full of produce, there is a lot of plastic in my cart. I started to feel like a hypocrite because on one hand I'm saving the world by using reusable bags, and on the other creating to world demise by the mountain of plastic produce bags I collect. I needed a solution.

I could make my own with lightweight material but I know how far that would get after buying the material. I could purchase the bags from a person who makes them and that is an investment. For the time being I chose to reuse my produce bags so not only do I have my reusable bag stash, I also have a stash of produce bags that I also take into the store with me. This does work as long as one remembers to take the bags in with them. Hence: in with the grocery bag stash.

There is another way in which I curbed the plastic consumption. I made a once-a-year bulk purchase of dried fruits and nuts from a company who supports smaller farmers and cooperatives. Because I drink a lot of smoothies, I now soak the dried fruit and put that into the smoothie instead of fresh. The dried fruit is much healthier, is from this year's crops and tastes a heck of a lot better than the so-called fresh fruit we get here in the winter months. As a result I don't have produce bag invasion that I have to figure out what to do with.

Even though my contribution may be small in the world of plastic reduction at least it's something and I feel much less of a hypocrite when I go to the grocery store.

Yellow-Boy and The Zen of Knitting

2010-10-12T14:06:00.000-07:00

I have four cockatiels each with their own personality and vocalness but there is one cockatiel, Yellow-Boy, who really stands out in more ways than one. First of all, Yellow-Boy is yellow and the other three are grey. Another feature is that Yellow-Boy is a sentinel cockatiel, which means is that he is a watch-bird and will let the flock know of any incoming "dangers" or weather changes. The other feature is that Yellow-Boy has a scream on him that would roust the dead into full alertness and he likes to be vocal with his "opinions". Considering that my house is an open concept design and I do not have carpeting, this will give you an idea of the volume this bird can produce. Truly "joyful" when I have a headache: NOT!!!

One of my UBBT 7 goals is to knit 10 pairs of socks this year. Well, I am behind in this category even though I have 2 pairs of socks on the go. I do most of my knitting while watching TV during weekend evenings. However there are 2 factors around this: I have not had the TV on since July and the socks I have been knitting have been patterned and require my attention. Combining TV watching and pattern knitting = R and R (rip and re-knit). Therefore I have laid that pair of socks aside. The other pair of socks I started while on my Pennsylvania trip. This pair is self-patterning so the only thing I have to do is knit. It's a great way to think, and to lose myself in the hum of the world. Plus it gives me something to do as a passenger besides sitting.

So what does Yellow-Boy and my sock knitting have to do with each other? I am not knitting Yellow-Boy socks however there are times when I want something to tie his beak shut.The connection is actually quite simple and kind of funny. This morning I had the thought that I needed to sit still and take a break while I was having a late morning snack. Yellow-Boy was in one of his energetic moods and decided to scream loudly when I got up from the table and continued on. I had a hunch: I went to my chair and picked up my knitting bag. As soon as I picked up my knitting Yellow-Boy was quiet and has been content and quiet since.

Maybe this bird knows something I don't and it's possible he was telling me to take a load off. I did feel better after knitting (I usually do). Now I am left with the thought that instead of telling Yellow-Boy to shush maybe I should pick up my knitting instead.

Worth a try.

Three Too Many

2010-10-06T19:41:00.000-07:00

Right now I am feeling very grateful and very thankful that I made the choices that I made including leaving my job and getting my life and health in balance. It was a leap of faith, but a leap that I am very glad I took. However this week's blog is not about me, it's about two former colleagues, one my office mate, being diagnosed with cancer.

I got a phone call very recently from my former office mate asking me if I heard about Sally (name withheld). I didn't. Sally was just diagnosed with ovarian and peritoneal cancer. Sally is 42 years old and has 2 young children. For cancer treatment she has started radiation, will undergo surgery and radiation again. The drug used is a new one which the doctors feel that will help her. Truthfully not a good scenario.

Then a few days ago I get a message from my former office mate, Tanya (name withheld). Tanya had abdominal symptoms since January and finally discovered through persistence that she has an ovarian tumor that was attached to her intestine. The doctors said that she would be monitored, but Tanya insisted on surgery. The surgery was laproscopic (tiny incision) and the tumor was removed. Yay! Not quite so fast. She got the pathology report indicating that the tumor hosted a small cancer tumor inside. Translation: ovarian cancer that was encapsulated. Her prognosis is extremely good.

I had a long conversation with Tanya today and she has a very positive outlook and is the mindset that her bout with ovarian cancer is serving a purpose for her. As she puts it "I'm going to be fine, however I'm not sure about Sally. It does not look good." I concur. I have to think that if Tanya wasn't so persistent she would not be as lucky as she is. When she reflects back, she had all the signs of ovarian cancer.

Ok, now what are the signs of ovarian cancer? Good question and here they are:
Physical symptoms of ovarian cancer include:

* abdominal discomfort or pelvic pain
* bloating
* difficulty eating or feeling full quickly
* frequent urination
* fatigue
* backache
* nausea, indigestion, loss of appetite
* weight loss
* change in bowel habits
* gas
* pain during intercourse
* abnormal vaginal bleeding (rare)

These symptoms are associated with a variety of health concerns, many of which are not serious.

Hmm that pretty much sounds like a bout of the flu. Here's the difference: the flu goes away, these don't. Not to put a scare into everyone, but be aware of how your body operates, works, and feels. When something isn't right and it persists or gets worse, check it out and insist on a resolution.

Both Tanya and I reflected back that a little over a year ago we lost a colleague to cancer: ovarian cancer. That totals three people I know who have been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. In my mind that's three people too many.

For more information about ovarian cancer check out websites such as this one http://www.womenshealthmatters.ca/Centres/cancer/ovarian/diagnosis/index.html and/or consult your physician.

Having It All

2010-09-25T20:41:00.000-07:00

I clued into something today about myself and that was that I was falling back into a pattern that I made big changes in my life to avoid. The pattern was more subtle, but nonetheless, still there. When I was teaching all my energy and time was focused on the job and as a result my life, health and fitness (Kung Fu) suffered. Basically I had a great wage, but paid a high price for it and that did not sit well with me. So I decided that my life, health and fitness are more important than the money so I left the teaching world. Now I have my life, health and fitness and working on increasing the income. My goal is to have it all: a life, great heath, great fitness and be financially free. Nothing wrong with that.

The upcoming weekend is the start of my show season that lasts (this year) until the last weekend of November. In show season my focus is going to the shows to sell my glass art. Of course when I am at a show, it's very difficult to train, however, it's before the show where I caught myself slipping back into the pattern of all work and no room for training. I had been focusing on show preparation. Do I have enough product? Am I going to have enough variety? 20 isn't enough, I need 100 of everything and as a result, I was starting to snorkel in the toilet of despair. What the heck am I doing?? I left my job to to have a balanced life and here I am knocking myself off kilter.

I began to think of an exercise in the book "Monetize Your Passion." The exercise is two fold: to identify what are the most important things in my life and how do I want to spend my time. The things that are important to me in my life are my health, personal growth, family, Kung Fu, and my glass (income falls into this category). Now that I have identified what is important to me, how am I going to spend my time to include what is important to me? The author of the book asks this one question that I have been pondering over "what would a perfect day look like for you?" Basically I set a blueprint for what I want my day, my week, my month, and my year to look like. Of course there will be hiccups along the way, but the overall gist is the life I want.

Life outside of show season is much easier to fit everything in, it's now that I think of the how to keep my life in balance. Now I need to be ever present of the 3 famous questions: "where am I now, what am I doing, and where do I want to go from here?" There is time to fit it all in, just finding out how all of the pieces will fit together. I think for me (especially) right now my training has to be mindful and getting the "biggest bang for my buck."

What I do know is this is all practice and preparation for what I want next year, and subsequently my life, to look like. Yes I am starting to think about goals for next year in the various aspects of my life and also thinking how my time will be spent. There is no reason why I can't have it all just have to find a way that works for me.

The Third Question

2010-09-22T18:40:00.000-07:00

In our Kung Fu training there have been two questions posed to us: "Where are we?" and "What are we doing?" Those two questions are paramount when evaluating oneself in whatever. However, I think that there is a third question that one should ask oneself: "where do I want to go from here?" The prior two questions are all about awareness of presence of mind as well as just what is happening at that moment.

I have heard the saying that "awareness is the key to change." I disagree. I think that the step following the awareness is the key to change. I can be aware of something until the cows come home, but if I am not willing or wanting to adjust I'm not changing anything, I am continuing on in the same pattern as before. Does that serve? Depends where I want to go. If I do want to advance forward then maybe some changes have to be made and I can make them only after I have the awareness.

What does this all mean for my Kung Fu and otherwise? Well, where am I?, what am I doing? and where do I want to go from here? Then implement the necessary adjustments and the process starts over.

This last year I have been focusing on "where do I want to go from here?" Some things are clear, some things I just got clear on, and some is a not sure. And that's ok....for now because at least I always have something to work on and towards.

Got Worms?

2010-09-13T12:16:00.000-07:00

I do and it's not the parasitic infection type. Yesterday we finally got a pound of red wiggler composting worms for our house vermi-composting system. I do compost, but hauling the pail to the garden through the snow is a drag. (Yes, 6 feet of snow, uphill both ways, 40 below all year round). Plus the composting system in the garden is working quasi well and I wanted a better system. Then I heard about vermiculture and inhouse composting. Yes, but what about the stink that compost pails can be famous for? Then I heard that there is no smell. Ok, now I must research so I read the book "Worms Eat My Garbage" and had to have an inhouse system.

I bought a large storage box from Home Depot (3 actually) and Dennis drilled holes in both the sides and bottom for air circulation. He covered the holes with mesh screen to make sure everything stays inside where it's supposed to be. the bottom was lined with shredded paper and cardboard, in went compost pail material and so did a pound of worms. Everything was covered with wet newspaper and the lid went on.

I'm excited that I now have a system from plant based food and paper scraps to usable "soil". I can now use this soil to sprout my wheatgrass, other sprouts, and use in my houseplants and garden. It's a great bio-feedback mechanism and the bonus is no sinus-piercing fragrance.

Now the excitement in our house is discovering what we can feed our gazillion red wrigglers and the anticipation of castings that I can use for my wheatgrass and be even more healthy. Everyone benefits: us, the worms, and the environment and the bonus is no trudging through snow uphill both ways at 40 below.

Want Worms?

What's For Dinner?

2010-09-07T10:44:00.000-07:00

For the month of August, the UBBT team tracked and journalled everything that we ate for both a fun project and possible awareness of what we eat or not and the discovery of possible patterns that we are unaware of. My eating goals are to be 100% dairy free due to an allergy and to have at least 50% of my food consumed be raw to increase the amount of living food into my diet.

As a result of the journalling process, I have made some discoveries:

1) I am not giving myself enough credit for the amount of raw foods I do eat. My UBBT 7 goal is to consume a certain number of raw meals. However this negates the amount of raw foods that I eat along with foods that I eat cooked because I am only counting meals. Therefore I am amending my UBBT 7 goal to be meals that contain a raw food component be it a salad, a soup or a dessert.

2) I like food that tastes good. When I eat, I enjoy the process and savor what I am eating. I love tasting good food regardless of whether the food is a piece of fruit, a hamburger, a bowl of popcorn, or a piece of candy. If a food does not taste good, I don't eat it regardless of how good it's supposed to be for me or how I feel. My Dad was a food piler and shovel eater. He would have a mountain of food in the center of his plate and proceed to eat. Everything was piled on top of each other. That drove me bananas and I asked him if he had taste buds because how can one taste a salad if it has gravy on it (ick!!). His response was "it all ends up in the same place." My reply was "yeah, but it doesn't have to get there that way." I am the polar opposite of my Dad (in this respect). Food is arranged neatly on my plate and some foods have no business touching each other. I taste everything first and the food that I like the least is eaten first so that I can savor and enjoy the foods that I like the best.

3) I don't eat a lot of junk food. Ok, I love popcorn (no microwave junk for me) and have it regularly, but there are health benefits to popcorn. (My story and I'm sticking to it) Given a choice between a sweet and a salty, pass the salty please. I have noticed that since I have cut out the dairy my sweet tooth has declined dramatically. If I do have some junk, I take a moment to taste and then decide whether to carry on and for how long. If I am not enjoying what I am eating, I don't eat it.

I am 100% dairy free and have been for a few years. Am I tempted to cheat? Nope, not at all because I know what I feel like when I do have dairy and it's not pretty and not at all fun. What I can say is that the dairy allergy opened my food choices up immensely because I started to explore just what my options were and the rewards have been fabulous.

The other awareness that was made was that during this project we were on a 3 week road trip with our RV and during this time we ate at a restaurant once. That's it! We didn't miss it because we enjoyed what we bought from various markets instead and looked forward to our meals at our next picnic table. Interesting discovery for both of us.

Everyone's a Student: Everyone's a Teacher

2010-09-01T14:47:00.000-07:00

Everyone's a student: everyone's a teacher is the heart of the Art Glass Invitational (AGI). Sure the theme is glassblowing and fun, but the heart is the open learning environment. Tom Doner, AKA Mr. Wonka, states in his opening speech that everyone regardless of experience, age, or background is a teacher and a student and the AGI is no place to withhold technique secrets. Excellent!

After I set up my torch and looked around, I realized that the torches there made mine look small and that the caliber of artist was not small either. Much for me to learn and truthfully, I was intimidated and felt out of my league. However, I was there and home was a 5 day drive away so I best get over myself and get into learning mode. I kept thinking of that advice Scott gave when he found out that this was our first AGI. Scott said to ask a lot of questions regardless of who you are watching and you will get answers. True enough and people were overjoyed to share what they knew regardless of whether they were publicly demonstrating or not. There were no secrets.

Okay so the learning potential was astronomical, but this teaching thing I don't think so. Besides what would I teach to someone who can make a 2 foot high wine glass? However Dennis kept nagging me that I would show someone some thing and I did have skills to offer. Uh-huh, thanks Dude, but I will stick to learning. Well it was after Salt's demo that Dennis gave me the "told ya." Salt is a very talented glass artist who brings out color that is unbelievable and abstract sculpts to captivate the eye and hold the captivation. During his demo, Salt was telling us that his favorite sculpting tool was on its last legs and he hasn't been able to find a replacement despite searching. His beloved tool was one that he got from a friend who got it from his grandmother's kitchen and she had used it to ice cakes or something. Salt said that he wasn't sure what he was going to do when his tool finally gives up the ghost. After the demo I walked up to Salt and said that he is looking for either a cake knife or spatula, where to find it and the brand to look for. They also come in various sizes and lengths and also to check Ebay under kitchen tools. Salt threw his arms in the air and exclaimed, "This is why I come to the AGi, I always learn something!!" Ding!!! At that moment I was the teacher and Salt was the student. So much for not having anything to teach.

Okay, I feel better now so I will light up my torch and make something to 1) see what my torch is like with liquid oxygen (think airplane fuel in a dirt bike) and 2) so that my torch buddy Rob would quit pestering me whether I made something. So I fired up my torch and started making a witch ball. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed that I was being watched and I too had questions asked of what I was doing and out of the conversation came some ideas of how to make it even better. Teacher/student: student/teacher. Over the next couple of days it seemed that people (me too) settled in and friendships were born. Of course one of the first questions in a conversation is "what do you make?" I teamed up with other wearable artists and we shared techniques, ideas, and stories.

The subliminal beer glass competition was the best avenue for teaching, learning, and sheer entertainment. Matt made a 2 foot wine goblet with scalloped tubing, then another made a similar glass but fumed it with gold (gorgeous pink color). Dennis gave Rob the idea of a double-walled glass so guess what Rob was making. Texas Matt came to see what Rob was doing and as a result had to make one himself. "Glasses" of all shapes, sizes, colors, techniques were walking around and attracting all sorts of oohs and ahhs and "this is what I did". Then the glass lathe was fired up and a whole new generation of glasses came out. Dennis had to make himself a beer glass on the glass lathe. He did and he's proud of it, rightfully so.

The final night hosted a glass exchange where we can exchange with our fellow AGIers. Once again my inner chicken started cackling loudly. Dennis (good thing he tags along) said to set out my stuff and see what happens. A heck of a learning is what happened! Not only were my pieces being traded, but so were ideas and I wasn't the only one sheepish about asking to trade. As a result I have a box of goodies, a head full of ideas and a stack of cards from new friends.

What's it like in a total open learning environment? Unbelievable! There were many lessons learned during that week and not all were about glass. The only one judging me was me and when I let that go, it was an amazing journey. The atmosphere was truthfully a bunch of misfit glass artists who get together to hang out. We are who we are, we make what we make and hey, have you seen/done this yet? No? Well you have to go check it out/let me show you! These sell well at my shows, this is how it's done, so try it for yours. Amazing! If only more classes and events could be like this one.

3 Weeks, 9000 kms (5500 miles) Later

2010-08-23T18:29:00.000-07:00

I am now back home from our 3 week road-trip to Pennsylvania. Am I glad to be back? Yes and no. Yes because I can get back into a routine and no because I like it in the holiday mode. Also I'm not wild about the transition back to the "real world". It's easy to slip from life to holiday, but the reverse is a little more trying.

Our trip was amazing and full of discovery. We traveled in 10 states (Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and North Dakota) and 2 provinces (Alberta and Saskatchewan). Both Dennis and I love RV holidays where there is something about deciding that day where we are going to park for the night whether it be the side of the road or a state park or a friend's driveway. Also traveling like we do makes no room for squabbles and heated disagreements because it would be one long trip if the aforementioned slipped in. Truthfully it's a chance for us to truthfully hang out and have a lot of fun.

What did we discover during our 3 weeks? Here's the partial list:
Wide open mountain ranges can get tiring and are harder to drive with a 3/4 ton diesel truck and 30 foot 5th wheel than a Mazda Miata.
Directional signs, especially the ones I need, can be hidden by trees.
The GPS lady can send one down some interesting "round the mulberry bush" routes if one does not indicate "no gravel roads".
Road construction in the US is different from Canada and Canada can learn a few things.
The funny looking plants in the field are sunflowers and are outstanding when in full bloom.
The quest for pushup pictures in every state became a game and expanded to things not found in Canada (Missouri River, sunflower fields and Mt. Rushmore)
Marshmallows, especially toasted coconut ones, taste yummy frozen in liquid Nitrogen. Kit Kat bars and sour gummy worms are also dang good frozen.
There are at least 10 gazillion corn fields from South Dakota to Pennsylvania to North Dakota.
The sight and smell of an Amish parking lot. Yes they are very traditional. Love the horses.
In Pennsylvania "road narrows" equals both sides of the 5th wheel whacking the tree branches. Good thing no one was coming.
The euphoria and "Holy cow!!" of discovering that a $35-$40 (in Canada) 5 liter box of wine can be purchased on sale for $10.99 in a grocery store.
The real taste of fresh fruits and vegetables vs the trucked in variety.
Giving in to my popcorn addition and bringing back 137 pounds (not a typo) of popcorn (black jewel, white, red, blue, purple, ladyfinger).
Bullfrogs are big.
Fields of wind farms. Those things are huge and even more so when seeing a blade pass by on an extended semi. The blades are 100 feet long!
People in Indiana are SERIOUS about Nascar races.
The 70th annual Sturgis Motorcycle rally was expected to attract over 800,000 people to fit in a town of 6,000. We went through the week before. Whew!!
The vast lot of people for the Sturgis event are sub-geezer, very seasoned and deaf. Noise bylaw enforcement would hit paydirt.
The living room in the 5th wheel is over the truck bed and is at an angle and as a result I was doing my pushups on a decline and my situps on an incline. No wonder I found them harder than usual.
One can fight off mosquitoes by spear articulation.
High heat and humidity causes Junior Mints to melt into a blob.
I spent 3 weeks away from my Kung Fu family, but for a week gained a glass blowing family.

Training was on schedule for the first week and every time we stopped I did forms and so did Dennis. He discovered that forms were a great way of getting the circulation going from sitting. However when we got to the AGI, my training shifted and the physical included walking to and from the 5th wheel to the AGI. I did find the weather in Pennsylvania to be very hot and humid and would save a fortune in hair products if I lived there permanently. From talking to the locals, this year was hotter than usual. I will never forget the feel of all of my clothes sticking to me and the relief felt when I swam in the pool: almost a religious experience. This was after a mini-squabble with Dennis trying to get me into the pool in the first place (I can get a bit testy in the heat) but he did have the right to lord the "I told you so" (and he did) after I discovered the relief.

Would I do the same trip again? Yep and we are planning our return trip to the AGI. The route we will take next time will be more direct and we are glad we went the way we did this time. I must say that sometimes it feels surreal and questioning as to whether the trip happened, but all I have to do is to look at my glass inventory (6+ 40 pound cases more), my new popcorn stash, and the gargantuan mountain range of laundry to come to the conclusion that yes, we did take a trip and it's back to the real world and training with a refreshed outlook.

For now I have but one question remaining "where is that laundry fairy hiding?"

On the road

2010-08-16T18:28:00.000-07:00

On the road, typing with half the keyboard and the rest by on-screen mouse keyboard,
AAAAACK!!!!!!
Catch up when home

Life at The AGI

2010-08-10T17:42:00.000-07:00

Sunday afternoon we arrived in Hilliards, Pennsylvania at the Art Glass Invitational (AGI) after 7 days on the road. During the drive my training was kept up pretty much, however the climate here in Pennsylvania is much more humid and hot than what I am used to. As a result my training has been walking back and forth from my RV to the event itself (about 1/10 mile each way) and sweating buckets throughout the day and while I'm at my torch. Other than that, I am a noodle. It's a good thing that my pushup and situp numbers have a good cushion.

However my glass training has had a workout and a half. At home I have a big torch and am confident in my skills in what I do. However here, my confidence had a jolt as I have pretty much the smallest torch and my skills are pretty elementary compared to the other torchers here. My bench space is between two guys each with 35 years of experience so yikes!!!

Even though my confidence level took a dive what is absolutely fabulous here is that this is a total learning environment regardless of who you are, how big your torch is and how many years you've held a rod in your hand. In fact people are more than happy to show what they know especially when they find out you lack that skill or knowledge. I had a big lift today when I made a witch ball and I had people ask me how I did it. How did I get the tendrils inside? That felt good and I'm now in full osmosis mode learning what I can from whomever.

Of course there is another measuring stick for an event and that is the food. The food is absolutely amazing and right now I am waiting for the chicken to come off the BBQ. During the wait, we were satisfied with Kevin's special fries that are seasoned 3 times with vinegar and seasoning. Yep, they were good!

So life is grand, life is a ton of learning and life is entertaining watching the people make their beer glass creations. There's a certain kind of testosterone in the air and it's fun to watch.

From the AGI in hot, humid Pennsylvania where the wake up alarm is the complimentary shot of a cannon. Really a cannon is fired as the morning alarm.

Merry Christmas Sifu Brinker

2010-08-08T12:22:00.000-07:00

Here is one for your pushup album.
Mount Rushmore National Monument, South Dakota, USA

My Golden Ticket Awaits

2010-07-31T13:09:00.000-07:00

As I write this I am giddy with excitement. I have just finished my first public demo and it was with my new 9-ring broadsword that my husband surprised me with. It was a great experience and I look forward to the next demo.

The uber reason of my giddiness is that tomorrow our truck and 5th wheel are pointed towards Pennsylvania and the Art Glass Invitational (AGI). The AGI is a week long glassblowing event where everyone is a student and everyone is a teacher. There will be loads of demos, camaraderie, good times, skills to be learned, and I have a designated torch station for practice and to make my art piece to allow me to get into the Friday Night Poker Game. The event is set around the theme of "Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory" and entry is by the Golden Ticket and we have ours waiting for us. If that isn't enough, Generations Glass will be there selling and I have already made my order to the tune of a little more than 6 cases of glass (each case is about 36 pounds so you get the idea).

The demos are performed by people who have achieved a certain mastery in their skill and I fully intend to tackle one of them for my interview. I have been stoked all year about this event because I will be among torchworkers who work with the same type of glass that I do and craft the type of work I am going towards. At home not only am I one of 3 who work with the type of glass I do, but I am also self-taught so this is exciting that I can ask someone how the heck to do something.

As for my training, I'm packing along my training events as well as my staff and spear (sans tip) so that I can get this articulation thing better without knocking myself into next week. I am making a promise to myself that I will continue to train while away. I may have to adapt for time, but I will train.

So until next time where I will be somewhere between home and the AGI.

An Old Pair of Jeans

2010-07-26T06:04:00.000-07:00

For the last 6 weeks, I have been training a 16 minute pushup/situp intensive workout along with the 200 squat challenge from www.100pushups.com as well as my regular Kung Fu classes and form training. The 16 minute workout includes 8 x 2 minute cycles of 8 regular pushups, 8 regular crunches, 8 wide pushups, 8 full situps, 8 tricep pushups, and 8 reverse crunches for a total of 192 pushups and 192 situps in the 16 minute time frame. And because I think in 5's and 0's (I'm quirky that way) 192 is so close to 200, I have to go to 200.

For the past 6 weeks, I trained the 16 minute workout for 5-6 days a week. For the squat challenge I kept up the numbers until the end of week 4 when my left knee was getting rather cranky. It was fun for the first 3 weeks, and then week 4 the fun ran out. I was doing in the neighborhood of 155 squats in a training session in week 4. I decided to pull back on the squats because that knee happens to be directly above my injured foot/toe and I think there are some dynamics there. Plus I probably am not doing a great service to my injury pushing it as hard as I was.

The results: 1/2 inch off my chest, 1 1/2 inches off my waist, 1 inch off my hips, my biceps are still 13 inches but have more muscular conformation and the scale decided to decrease by 3 pounds. Unfortunately the scale doesn't distinguish between fat and muscle weight and it would be interesting to see the actual fat loss/muscle gain. My left leg gained an inch and my right leg stayed the same. The comment from my husband is that my legs changed shape. Translation: melt the saddlebags, built up the quads.

Another result: I melted myself down to fit into some jeans that I haven't been able to wear for years. Yay! The jeans are Calvin Klein size 12. Wait a second, I wear CK size 12 now and they are bagging on me. What's up? I laid down my current CK 12 and put my old CK 12 on top. Wow, there was at least an inch of material difference between the 2 pairs (the old ones were smaller and not stretch). Talk about mind-diddling with fashion sizes. All in all, I'm happy to fit into my old jeans and I'll need to go shopping.....

As for my diet, I didn't alter it significantly. I did add in a daily glass of water with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and a cayenne tablet to increase metabolism and to help cleansing the colon. As for the rest, I eat what I want (no dairy) and what I want is good food (a good portion raw) with my "vice" being popcorn (Whirley-Pop on the stove in coconut oil topped with non-dairy margarine and a little sea salt or soy sauce).

I am very happy with my results and after my upcoming 3-week roadtrip I will be on to the next intensive version of a workout. During my roadtrip I will keep up with 16 minute workout and maintenance squats and forms for cardio.

The only "argh" thing is that I am still considered obese by the BMI charts. However I will remember what my massage therapist said when I told her that I want to gain more muscle in my quads. "I don't know about you, but I am feeling some serious muscle already in your quads." I like her. :)

Insights

2010-07-18T18:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I attended the Super-Summer Charger event by Bob Proctor and Sandra Gallagher. Bob Proctor is one of the best in personal development especially on how the mind works. As usual the event was amazing and my head was full of information. No wonder I slept 12 1/2 hours straight.

The one question that stuck out for me during the seminar is "what do I really want?" Not what I think I can get, not what I should get based on others opinions, and not what others want for me, but what do I really want? That is a good question and one that is not easy to answer. It was said that people do not make their own decisions but rely on others to make the decision for them. I have to agree as I think back of past conversations of "what movie do you want to see?" "I dunno, what do you want to see?" "I dunno, what do you want to see?" "Make a decision!" "You make a decision." "I asked you." "Well I'll see what you want to see." And back to the beginning it goes. So if it's so hard to make a decision about a movie, what about real life, about what I really want?

When I was reviewing my notes from yesterday I had a couple of insights about how my days are progressing. One realization is the time wasters that show up and as a result what I need to get done doesn't. Examples are email and the internet. Holy cow, can an hour or two evaporate when time is spent there! Does this mean no internet or email? No, it's conscious time spent on email and internet and having a time budget for them as well as other time wasters that I clue in to.

The other insight I had was that I need to draft a schedule for myself that includes my glass time, my website building, my training, my Kung Fu and other activities. I have noticed that I have no problem doing my pushups, situps, and squat challenge, but it's my forms that aren't getting the attention they deserve. It's silly because I like forms. What has happened is that I would leave the forms to be inserted into the day because they can be. Yes, can be but weren't because everything else came before the form. I noticed some other things getting the short end of the stick as well. To be effectively productive I need to schedule time for the various aspects of my life and (here's the key) stick to the schedule. This does not mean that I lock in every waking moment to a schedule, it means that I manage the activities that I want to do in a day. It was revealed yesterday that "one cannot manage time, what one can manage are the activities to do in the time period." True.

I have some thinking to do as to what I really want in life so that I can live my life to the fullest. This gives a different perspective to the goals that I set as some I will keep, some I will adjust, and some will be discarded. Summer-Super Charger left me with a lot of insights, questions and above all, clarity in regards to my direction in life. After all, the decisions are mine to make.

Both Sides of the Fence

2010-07-14T15:43:00.001-07:00

Today I had my first Reiki session and was not quite sure what to expect. I have done energy work before and have my Reiki Level I course, but I have not had an actual session until today.

The message that I got from the session was that I need to get in touch with my feminine side. A female who needs to get in touch with her feminine side sounds like an oxymoron, but it really isn't and I'm not alone in this category. I can pretty much pinpoint the exact moment when I chose to give my feminine side the boot. I was about 10 years old when my Mom told me to act like a lady and to me that meant dresses, snootiness, being prissy, and not hanging with my Dad and brother. Forget that noise! I was a headstrong farm girl who loved horses and playing ball. Acting like a "lady" did not fit in my description and to me was a sign of weakness.

As a result any time I heard the words "feminine side" I cringed and refused to go there. What I didn't realize is that the feminine energy from the heart and is where the creative energy spawns from and considering that I am an artist, it would be a really good idea to tap into that energy. Also, feminine energy is far from weak and also is nowhere near prissy and snooty and does indeed wear jeans and cowboy boots.

Hold on a second, what will happen to my Kung Fu if I get in touch with this feminine side? Will I throw punches like a "girl"? Will I burst out in tears at the sight of a hangnail? Actually no. What I am told is that I will access more flow and fluidity which will be an asset to both techniques and forms. To me that is good news because I sometimes feel that my flow resembles a teenager learning to drive a stick shift. As with a stick shift, learning flow will be a process as well.

For now, get out of my head, tap into the creative energy and let it flow regardless of where I am or what I am doing. Dance on both sides of the fence because there is a gate where I can access both sides.

Broadswords, Rapiers, and a Turkey

2010-07-06T13:04:00.000-07:00

Holiday weekend was spent at our friend's place near Cold Lake. It's a yearly event where a group of us get together for a weekend campout. Of course training and healthy eating intentions are well and good and usually fly out the window when it comes to holidays. Not this time! I made a promise to myself to train during my holiday weekend and especially because I had some words of encouragement from a certain Sifu (you know who you are), I was not willing to let myself backslide on this one. Were there distractions? Yes and my friends were saying "you're on holidays", "calories on holidays don't count" and at times I had to remind myself of the promise I made to me, but the important thing is that I kept my promise to me and trained. Granted the ambiance of my 5th wheel living room isn't the same as my training mats, but I improvised and it worked.

The highlight of my weekend (aside from keeping my promise to train) was sword and knife demonstrations from my friend Garth. Garth is a blacksmith who specializes in crafting swords and knives and he is also a Western Martial Artist. I asked Garth why Western Martial Arts and his response that he's always had a fascination with the metal pointy things and if he is going to craft them (especially custom orders), he needs to know what the purpose of each part is. Fair enough.

Knife demos included both offensive and defensive skills. It was interesting to see the similarity between Garth's demos and the skills that I know. The sword demo was my favorite because I played with swords from Medieval time period (double hand sword, single hand sword) and Renaissance time period (rapier or fencing sword). I do admit that Garth's double hand sword (made of steel by him) is almost as tall as I am and it was a little unnerving so see it come towards me. (Garth also admits that the first time sparring with a real double hand sword, even though dull, is a tad unnerving). Defense against a rapier is a whole new ball game as well. "A-ha! Open spot, project forward, ok I have opponent's long thin sword in my chest. That obviously didn't work." The opponent focal point is very different from Kung Fu sparring. And that darned sword tip shows up when least expected. Talk about keeping one's distance.

So what does a turkey have to do with all of this? Our friend has a resident turkey hen that thinks it's a dog. This turkey had to be in with all of us regardless of what we were doing. Pet the turkey, scratch the turkey, see the turkey sit in the middle of our visiting circle. I grew up on a poultry farm with turkeys, turkeys aren't supposed to be this tame and attention demanding! I found it absolutely hysterical that during the knife demo there was the turkey right in there with us like a dirty shirt. I guess no one told the turkey what she isn't supposed to do. Maybe I can learn a thing or two from the turkey.

Boot Camp 2010 Aftermath

2010-06-29T14:56:00.000-07:00

The highlight of the week and the event that I look forward to all year happened on Saturday: Kung Fu Boot Camp. I wasn't supposed to go this year, but things happened so that I could and am I ever glad I was able to go.

It's a real treat to learn special subjects from Sifus who know their subject not only very well but are passionate about their subjects even though each displays their passion differently. One would have to be on a different planet at the time not to get caught up in the magnetism of it all. Seeing the pride and passion the Sifus have for their subjects made me think and reconnect as to why I am in Kung Fu, what's my emotional attachment?

Growing up I was the overweight kid who did not fare well at any leaping, jumping or running, therefore scored in the basement at school track meets. Sure I was on the fastball team, but only for my pitching arm. As I got older and played various sports and was on various teams, I realized that I wanted a sport that I can train year round and also a sport that did have a "past my prime" like so many sports do.

A conversation 10 years ago with my now-deceased brother who was a gifted athlete rang in my ears and stuck in my brain. We were talking about my Dad, in the end stages of prostate cancer, having to give up his favorite sport: fishing. That bothered me and it was then that my brother said, "you've never had your sport taken away from you, have you?" I didn't and I knew my brother was talking about his achieving his dream of being called to the Toronto Blue Jays only to have a medical report saying that he was in stage 4 of Hodgkin's Lymphoma and that he was too far gone to operate on. My brother demanded the operation, survived that cancer, but could not go back to the sport he loved: baseball. It was even hard for him to watch a game especially if the Blue Jays were playing.

I then knew that I wanted a sport that I can call my own, not be season dependent, teams were optional, and there would be no glory days of days gone by. I wanted a sport that I could train hard and excel at regardless of age or ability and no matter what was going on in my life I could still participate even at a minuscule level. Excellent!! The only problem is that I didn't have a clue what that sport was. In June 2006, Kung Fu called my name and I haven't looked back. There have been some minuscule times, but I still was connected even though it was only through pushups.

Aside from the Boot Camp gifts of camaraderie, learning, accomplishment, sore muscles, bruises, a whole ton of fun, and skills, I was also given the reconnection as to why I train when I don't want to, go to class when it's painful to get out of bed, and why I keep going despite being best friends with an ice pack: it's because Kung Fu part of me and who I longed to be.

Half Way There

2010-06-21T13:13:00.000-07:00

I have to say that it's Sihing Kichko's blog post "Reflection" that is the source of inspiration for my thought process as well as my blog this week.

Usually I write goals at the beginning of the year and them tuck them away until the start of the following year. It's interesting and uplifting to see just how many goals were accomplished by me just "putting it out there" and by subconscious happenstance. UBBT is different from my norm because I am consciously working towards my set goals and monitoring my progress.

So, how is my progress? Well, some goals I am ahead in, some I am on track, some I am a bit behind, and some are in the basement. I am also looking at my set goals (especially the ones in the basement) and questioning myself if I really wanted that goal or did I set it because it's something that I thought I should do. Good question and one worth thinking about especially when setting future goals.

I have noticed something key about my training: I love high intensity workouts and I have noticed myself slotting them in whenever I can. Note to self: start 2011 with P90X. Right now I have set a mini goal for the next 6 weeks to do Sifu Laurie's 16 minute ab/pushup routine 5 days a week as well as take the 200 squat challenge as a substitute for squat thrusts until my toe heals.

As far as my glass, it's gone where I didn't expect. I am making 7 new pieces and am figuring out how to do another 3. All of the new pieces (and going to be new) except one stemmed as a request of "can you make?". At the beginning of the year I had no idea I'd be making butterflies, dragonflies, turtles, jellyfish, whaletails, and figuring out how to do both a sculptured spider and an encased one. (No spiders will be harmed in either method) I just wanted to figure out how to make a witch ball. The gem for me here is to be open and willing to try.

As I see it the next 6 months will be even more insightful than the first 6 months. In August I am at a week long Art Glass Invitational Glassblowing event with a variety of glass greats in the type of glass I work with. At this event everyone is a student and everyone is a teacher so again, I have no idea what lies ahead but what I do know is that it's going to set the pace for 2011. For Kung Fu as I get to know me and my training style better, there is only one direction for me to go and that is forward with no turning back.

It's All A Process

2010-06-16T09:47:00.000-07:00

As I spent last week with my foot up and learning the web program, what was mentioned frequently was " take your time, it's a process." Where have I heard that before? Hmmmm.... let's see, everywhere.

I got to thinking that "it's a process" applies to pretty much everything in life and the only thing for me to do is to enjoy the process and learn from it. Steps happen the way they are supposed to happen and it's my reaction to those steps that determines my experience of it.

So as my foot/toe heals, I am back at training and modifying if need be. It was good to slow down and it's even better getting back.

Sit Boo-Boo Sit

2010-06-08T07:31:00.001-07:00

I have heard that there are no accidents in life, that everything happens for a reason and that even the injuries have meaning and opportunity if one takes the time to look with an open mind. Last Wednesday's class was quite "special" for me. A muscle in my right quad (not the quad muscle, but the smaller one beside it) spasmed during warmup. That hurt! And then later during the fitness test and in the roundhouse finale, I pivoted but my left big toe decided to dig in instead. CRACK!! Ok,now that REALLY hurt! I'm not sure what exactly I did to my toe/foot, but the end result is swelling, bruising, ouch and a toe/foot that needs to be elevated and immobilized. Of course the best way to do that is to immobilize me and for a person who sits still similar to a ping-pong balls in a dryer, that can be a challenge. However my foot rules at this point, so it's in my best interest to obey. After all there is boot camp coming up and I am going!

I have been thinking for a while that it's time to get my web presence for my glass, but I have not found a way that I like for designing a web page. A couple of weeks ago a web program came across my desk that I looked at, liked it and had a good feeling about. It's about building more than a web page, but a web business. Because I like the concept and the process, I signed into the program on Tuesday night. Refer to the above paragraph as to what happened Wednesday morning. Hmmmm guess what I now have the time to focus on? Yep, my web presence so here I am in my easy chair, foot elevated, laptop in lap, table beside me working on my web biz.

And isn't it funny that getting a web presence just happens to be one of my UBBT goals. Coincidence? I don't think so.

It's About Time

2010-06-02T13:48:00.000-07:00

Training over the last couple of weeks has been rather dodgey and not to the capacity that I am capable of. Friday I spent my day zipping around the house getting ready for the show on the weekend. I have mind-fiddled myself into believing that I didn't have enough time to train. Nope, no time, must prepare. What a heapin' helpin' of baloney! How long does it take to do a set of something? A form? Even Sifu Laurie's intensive pushup/ab workout takes only 16 minutes. Oh and I wasn't wearing the right attire. Good grief! Pass the mustard and let me serve up a sandwich.

My saving grace is that I stubbornly kept my commitment to I Ho Chuan class and was very glad I went. I went into the class almost hyperventilating thinking of what I had to do yet and came out of class dragging my knuckles on the ground from staff articulation. Translation: my focus shifted and I was able to get the rest done with ease.

I now understand the meaning of "slow down so you can speed up." For me it means park the butt, be still, breathe deep for at least 20 minutes, and then carry on with grace. Do this when I am the most "busy". Get out of my head because it truly does not have a grasp on reality.

Now that I have the awareness, called me on my baloney, it's time to get clarity to see how big of a mess I have gotten myself into and take the steps to out and forward. I do have time, so just do it already.

Anyone Home?

2010-05-25T14:32:00.000-07:00

I have heard that when one is aligned with what they are supposed to do, opportunities come out of the blue when one least expects it. That would be this last Friday and the event would be surrounding the Make It! Edmonton Show May 29-30.

My friend, who is also in Make It! called me very excited on Friday to say that there was a callout (I was not home at the time) for six designers to showcase their work on Breakfast TV (City TV) Tuesday morning (6-9 am) because Make It! producers secured the remote location. She was very excited because she was accepted as one of the designers to showcase her work: an awesome opportunity and I was very excited for her because chances like this don't come every day. In her excitement she said "yes and we have to be on location at 6 am."

Now unless my friend has invested in a mouse for her pocket, the "we" sounded suspicious. I asked to clarify the "we" and found out that when my friend answered the callout she also suggested me and my work and I too was accepted. Wow, what a pleasant surprise to come home to despite having the alarm sound off at 4 am to be on location at 6 am. (Does my alarm even work that early in the morning?) However I must prepare for my segment.

Flash forward to today: my alarm does work at 4 am, there is daylight at 5 am, parking meters are not in effect on Whyte Avenue until 9 am and media crew operate in a time zone different from ours. It was a fantastic fun experience and Bridget Ryan is a character who creates a very relaxed atmosphere. Definitely glad that I was voluntold for this event. But alas, my camera life is over.... for now as I have a show to panic err prepare for.

Celebrating a Personal Victory

2010-05-17T15:45:00.000-07:00

On Sunday I realized that I had a victory on Saturday. My victory was one that was not set by a goal, in fact it was one that never entered my mind of being possible.

For the past 25 plus years, I have been no stranger to a headache of any sort: migraines, severe headaches, cluster headaches, tension headaches, and the list goes on. Thankfully I didn't have more than 2-3 headaches a month, but still they were something that I'd rather not have. My treatment for the past 25 plus years has been Tylenol 3 (2-4) at a shot with a chaser of Coke Classic for the extra caffeine boost into the bloodstream. This worked for the pain control and neither me nor my Doc messed with it.

Since about January I had noticed that a pattern was starting with the headaches (including migraines): they were either less frequent or not as severe or both. Needless to say this caught my attention. On Saturday I woke up with a headache and to my surprise it was alleviated with 2 extra-strength Tylenol and a Coke. The victory here for me was that no codeine was needed and it was only 2 tablets not 2 now and 2 a couple of hours from now. Considering my history, I didn't think that this was possible, now I have hope that maybe someday I won't even need the Tylenol.

I was thinking about what I was doing different in my life and I do have a list:
Daily training with Kung Fu
Detox of stress and other toxic relationships as well as negative thoughts and speak.
Vast increase of raw fruits, raw vegetables, nuts and seeds into my diet. Meat is consumed only once a day or every second day.
Refined sugar drastically reduced and pretty much the same with white flour.
Daily affirmations of health and vitality
Daily journaling of gratitude and free-flow writing
My mind is continuously being fed with personal growth and development as well as the power of the subconscious mind.
Rieki course
Following my passion

I don't think that my list is complete and I truthfully don't know what the magic bullet was, but what I do know is that I will continue doing what I have been doing for now I can see that it's possible that headaches can be a thing of the past for me.

Reset-Ready-Go!

2010-05-11T08:35:00.001-07:00

This last week I was anti-training. I went to my regular classes and open training on Saturday, but that's about it. The rest was nope, no and not going to. I can sum it up to my body needing a vacation from training after preparing for the tournament. Sunday I found myself back on the mats after all one must come home from a vacation. In yesterday's class Sifu Laurie had us do the intensive 16 minute pushup/situp interval training which I very much liked because I was getting variety and a workout and it was short too! I will be formulating my pushups/situps around the 16 minute circuit for the time being.

I am finding that the squat thrust is still a trouble spot for me and I'm not sure why. I have come a long way in doing my squat thrusts, but it's still my nemesis. Maybe it's because I feel awkward and clumsy while doing them that I feel this way. Need a mind shift so that I can move forward. Anyone?

On the positive note, I have achieved on of my UBBT goals:read 10 books this year (actually have read 11 so far). I made the promise to myself that the books would not be picture-heavy. I set my goal at 10 because I was under the impression that I didn't read much recreationally largely due to the amount of reading I had to do professionally (hence the picture laden books). I guess I was wrong with that assumption because I have been reading a lot and I have noticed that my books have been focused in one particular genre: personal development/self help. So to fuel my reading epiphany, I have decided to set another reading goal to have 12 more books read by the end of the year.

I heard a quote from Floyd Wickman, very prestigious real estate trainer, who said that in the development of self (mental/physical/professional/every aspect) there is a dance and the dance is 3 steps forward, 2 steps back and sometimes it's 3 steps forward and one step back. The point to remember is that in order to go forward, there are times when one has to go back but as long as the overall result is net forward, you're doing great! Hmmm might need to pay attention to Floyd's quote.

What If?

2010-05-03T12:09:00.000-07:00

Here is the scenario: my first class and it was revealed that the expectation is to be in all four of the form events. Currently I am registered in two (hand and team) form events. I have an idea for a musical form, but I don't know a weapons form. Now what? I could plead my case as to why I can't enter the weapons form event and I could have an arsenal of "reasons" to justify my case considering that the tournament is in a week. Not enough time to learn a form. Or is it?

What if? What if I took a chance on learning a weapon form? Which weapon? I have nunchukas, a stick, a staff and a double-edge broadsword all from previous years bootcamps and I do remember the bow for broadsword. That's a start, but what about the rest of the form? On Monday I was given a tip that the broadsword form was on video in the 2009 tradeshow demo in the archives. Eureka! Wait a minute, what if I mess up and look like a total idiot? Well I could do that with a hand form that I can perform in my sleep, so what is the difference? Besides the expectation was to enter the event, not to win it. All I had to do was show up and demonstrate what I knew. After watching the form a few times I decided to go for broke.

I spent the rest of the week practicing my heart out and watching the video over and over until my eyes bugged out and watched some more. On Friday evening a few of us from the team got together to practice and I showed what I knew. My teammates helped me brush up my form and helped me hone in on a few details. Thanks guys!! It's Friday evening and I have a weapons form, I am ready.

Tiger Challenge Saturday and the arena is buzzing with both excitement and butterflies, a few of which are mine.
The weapons form event for my category was called: aack!! Breathe, I can do this!! Dang, where is that earworm music when I need it? Breathe! I was informed that I would be competing against myself in my category. Isn't that funny, I have been competing against myself right from the get-go and now I get to finish it off (for this event). I'm up and I performed my broadsword form the best I could in that moment of time and I was happy with how I did.

When Sifu Prince hung my metal around my neck that fleeting moment was sacred to me because the metal wasn't about how I just performed a few minutes ago, it was about the decision I had made, the risk I took, and the work involved to get me to this place. It was a lesson learned about what happens when I made a decision, get out of my own way (the biggie), and do the work. Will it always end up this way? Maybe not, but this time it did and it sets the tone that I am more likely to take a risk then to sit back.

Reiki I

2010-04-26T20:48:00.000-07:00

This week was an awesome week for me. I'm not sure how it started, but the ending is amazing. For the first time I feel complete freedom and very much where I'm to be (Kung Fu and all)

This weekend I was in Reiki Level I and had a very amazing powerful experience learning self-healing. We started the course with (and were reminded a few times to go back to) Nelson Mandela's Inaugural Speech, 1994.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that
we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness that frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God.
Your playing small doesn't save the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won't feel insecure about you.

We were born to make manifest
the glory of God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone.
And, as we let our own light shine,
We unconsciously give other people
permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fears,
our presence automatically liberates others.

Something I Ate?

2010-04-19T05:44:00.000-07:00

Friday night was a night of celebration to celebrate my last day of my Nait teaching contract and we were meeting friends at Original Joe's. My feast included a honey brown, chicken fingers and fries with gravy and ketchup. Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum! And it was yummy. Then at about 8:30 pm the "concrete" settled leaving me with a full-UGH feeling. Sleep was very restless and included a myriad of very weird dreams. As a result on Saturday I felt like something that the cat dragged across the desert and up a tree. A rock had more gumption than what I had and I dragged myself through training. I wanted to seriously dine on fiber- rich foods and water. My body was sending me a strong message that I way overdid it.

Growing up I remembered my Dad always having heartburn, indigestion and other related symptoms and the remedy of course was to take something to alleviate the symptom at hand. Monkey-see, monkey-do, I practiced the same thing until years later I discovered that I had dairy allergy. I found out that I had symptoms that I didn't realize were symptoms and it was only when I detoxed from dairy completely did I realize what the symptoms actually were. Wow, talk about going through life totally oblivious and in total acceptance. Since then I have been tuning in to how my body feels after I eat and eating certain foods. It has been an education all of its own.

I also realized how powerful marketing is on the education of people. A friend (on Friday) asked why I wasn't eating the nachos and my DH replied "she can't, she has a dairy allergy." The response from my friend was "well, why not just take Lact-Aid?' Well for starters, Lact-Aid is for the enzyme lactase deficiency and does nothing for the actual allergy to the dairy protein casein. Second, even if Lact-Aid did "work", why would I want to take a product to enable me to consume something that causes me harm? To me that just does not make sense. What truthfully is sad is that countless people are being educated by clever (and very well-funded) marketing instead of thinking about the situation and applying some wisdom.

As for me, I did learn my lesson about oinking out on the saturated fat goodness of the french fry. Next time I may have a honey brown, however opt for the Thai Chicken Salad sans banana bread, and snitch a few fries. I have a feeling that I won't be so dragged out the next day and sleep will be much deeper without the weird dreams.

Expert in Field: Check, Numerous Years of Experience: Check, Position Rank: Redundant

2010-04-11T19:16:00.001-07:00

Job security, based on an employer, is a myth regardless on how expert one is in his/her field or how much experience one has. In the blink of an eye many years (20+) of seniority and expertise can be reduced to redundant and "here's your severance". Three colleagues in my department were faced with redundancy on Friday as well as another department who shares our office bank. A total of 13 programs were being spoken to. Needless to say, the air was heavy.

Flash back one year ago this time: if I didn't drastically change my life I would have become the poster babe for the neurotic something-year-old holding a cup of coffee with frazzled hair saying that she has one nerve left. Every fiber of my being told me to take a leap of faith and leave. I was not going to another job, I was going to live my life. Even with the conviction that I had to leave I sensed that there was another reason and I was on a "need to know" basis and the need was "not yet." (FYI: I returned this semester on a part time contract basis)

Fast forward to Friday. I found out the need to know. If I didn't leave, even though my job would have been "safe", my psyche could have been in for much harder times based on the amount of negative energy and the shoe-drop anticipation that is now present. I believe the higher power that was packing my suitcase and pushing me out the door has a sense of what was to come and it wouldn't be pretty.

Where I am now: I am so very grateful, thankful, and glad that I grabbed the courage and faith to take the leap and to build a support system for me to tap into. I left on my own terms with my psyche intact and excited about what the future holds even though there are parts of it on a "need to know" basis and the need is "not yet." I am sincerely grateful for the team of people who give support be it gesture, words, prayer, or a kind thought. If you are reading this, you are thanked.

It's Just Me

2010-04-07T10:15:00.001-07:00

My right hip has been cranky for about a week and since it has affected my sleep, I decided to go to my Chiropractor to get it put back in place. As I suspected my hip was twisted in a couple of places. Since this isn't the first time it happened, I was wondering if I was causing the injury via Kung Fu. Nope, it's just me and how I go about my day to day activities. What I did find out is that I have an obnoxious muscle that keeps wanting to torque my hip out of place. A-ha something for me to work on. And of course sitting in the hot tub is always good therapy.

"It's just me", but who is me? I've been on that quest since last year and truthfully before that time. I have been finding out aspects of me that are quite opposite as to what was originally assumed and/or pasted on by other people. It's one thing make the discovery and another to accept the finding. Of course some things are easier to accept than others.

As for the time being, not to worry, it's just me.