The Diet Mantra

Recently I have been hearing and reading about the need to diet, the need to lose weight, or the need for a change in lifestyle.  As our society continues to praise the beach model beauty, many of us (especially ladies) strive for that "oh-so-perfect" body.  Whether it is for health, self confidence, or peace of mind, it is hard to resist the bandwagon of creating "the new you" when it is blaring in every other commercial or advertisement.

As one of the many people out there who have striven for the list above, I have found that the mentality and perspective one takes makes the difference between a diet and a lifestyle change.  I'm not here to pose The Almighty Plan upon you because lord knows, there are enough of those out there.  However, I chose to list the factors that may help others who - like me - just want to feel good about themselves and their bodies.

The Spiritual Journey - This is probably the most important troll to tackle when attempting change in your physique.  I find that so many people turn to dieting with a negative frame of mind.  The "I'm fat" or "I want to be skinnier" or "I don't like how I look or feel" are all negative self reflections which make the whole process more of a burden than it should be.  As difficult as it is, the change should be something positive as well as the reasons behind it.  A healthier mind set might instead be "I want to feel good about myself" or "I want to try something new."  Making a choice involving change is an adapting process, so seeing it as an adventure creates a sphere of possibilities instead of a cave of restrictions.

Diet vs. Lifestyle Change: It's all about Perspective - I do not like the word diet.  In our society, it tends to be a marketing tool for any and every health program to jump on in order to persuade the population that their formula is best: "Eat this pill or this shake or this fancy food system and you will lose weight without trying!" I wish. Dieting is a tool for weight loss, yes.  However, unless long term ramifications are made and accepted, once the diet is 'over', so is the process.  This is where terminology comes into play.  Lifestyle change tends to be associated with a long-term commitment.  People that make lifestyle changes tend to have long term goals behind their motivations.  The "look good for the summer bikini" may be a bonus, but it is not the ultimate goal.  At the same time, a lifestyle change may take longer to bear fruits of success, but it can be easier to maintain for - well - life!

The Workout: Make it Work! - Whether claiming the 'diet' or the 'lifestyle change', being active is important to keeping your body working through old age.  However, sometimes this word intimidates or discourages people who are either not athletic or just don't like to 'work out.'  While working out is important, it is not the end-all to maintaining a healthy lifestyle.  One need not run a marathon in order to feel good.  For some people, increasing stamina and physical fitness is fun, appealing and a healthy challenge.  That's super.  However, each person has their own fitness goal, and with the world of possibilities, one person's ultimate workout may vary vastly from another.  I say, find something that sticks and go with it.

Making Changes - Sometimes the hardest thing to do is changing the way we eat.  Where dieting goes astray is it often focuses on one area of eating instead of looking at the various ways we can change habits. Whether it is portion control or food quality, both are things to consider when changing the food we eat.  When making changes, a crucial first step is to acknowledge your weaknesses.  Do you have a sweet tooth? A salty tooth?  Or do you have cravings?  I find that trying to eliminate your weakness entirely makes the whole experience negative.  Instead of ignoring them, accept them and make adaptations that allow for positive change.  For example, if you like snacking or grazing throughout the day, limit the "bad for you" items, and replace them with healthier foods, like vegetables, fruits or nuts.  If you can't cut it out entirely, change it.  If you can cut the frequency of intake and don't want to cut on calories, don't.  Moderation, moderation, moderation.  Find what works for you and stick with it. Sounding familiar?

The fact is - we are human and we are different.  Which means that one "plan" is not always the right plan, and sometimes the baby steps in change yield the greatest results.  So for anyone out there who wants to lose weight, diet, etc. make positive changes that work for you.  This is a reflection, not an instruction manual, so take what you will from this and I wish you the best on your journey!

A Litany

I don't normally post things like this; however, I thought this would be an exception. 




We all grieve differently.  On May 31, 2012, I received a phone call that my grandma had passed that morning.  Shocked at first, I didn’t cry or emote much emotion besides shock and yet somehow,  I was happy for her spirit.  However, I knew that I needed to reflect my feelings about her.  I’m no pro, but sometimes writing can trigger emotions one cannot always express verbally.  This is my litany to her -

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My grandma was a fine lady.  I remember going to her and my grandpa’s house all the time as they were my babysitters for the greater part of my childhood.  She used to sit with me, take my silly quizzes that I made up so I could use their computer and grade them.  But that’s beside the point.  She took them.  She also taught me card games such as “Scrunch”, Kings Corners, and many others in there somewhere.  And let me not forget to mention that at the beginning of the summer she braved the mighty cold 60 degree water of their pool with me - just because I wanted to go swimming.  Words that come to mind in my recollection of her - spirited, joyful, passionate, and most of all - loving.  She never stopped loving.  Always a hug and a kiss with those lips that were always covered in some bright shade of lipstick.  But that was her.  Her bright lips, her bright smile and her bright personality.  She was a ray of sunshine for our whole family and I always felt close to her because she brought me in.  Drew me into her sphere of giving.  

One thing I can recollect is her passion for her Irish heritage and her passion for music.  She introduced me to music that I might have never touched otherwise - music like the Chieftans, Andrew Lloyd Weber among others.  I recall the times when I used to sit in her back room chair with a CD I had borrowed, and I would sit there. Listening.  Perhaps she always knew that I would have such a strong bond to music.  It runs in our family after all.  She always had a spice to her.  A sassy side that was stimulated by my grandpa’s grumblings or mumblings about one thing or another.  The two of them loved each other so much. Loved their family and treasured the bond that they were able to instill in all of us.  I am so proud to have come from a family where everyone is welcome.  There are no “in-laws” in our family.  We are all family.  She was everyone’s mother and she kept that current strong.  Or should I say they did.  Eugene and Marilyn Husslein.   They left a legacy of love and forever bound friendship.

I miss her.  I miss her spark and yet, with her passing I am so happy that she is reunited with her spirit that was only half full after the love of her life left this world for the eternal.  Now she is at peace.  Now she is whole.
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I love you Grandma.

The Art of Conversation Today or Lack thereof

I went to type an email the other day - a personal email - and somehow felt foolish doing so. In the age of high speed results and smartphones, I heard recently that email was not the "cool" means of communication anymore - not when things like Facebook messenger and texting are "faster" and appeal to our need for instant gratification. But as frustrating as the unspoken demands of instant gratification are, I am not here to discuss them (yet!). What is of interest to me is the art of communication and how it struggles to stay afloat in this ever advancing technological age which glorifies instant gratification.

When looking back at artful dialogue and conversation, I always turn to Jane Austen. Now granted, her novels and their characters reflect an older age of dialect where conversation had certain expectations for each party. Many of these expectations were between men and women, but the fact is - do we see these in our culture anymore?

The age of letter writing is practically extinct which is unfortunate because of its ability to express emotion without personal contact. Then we came to the phone conversation, which by today's standards is still the next best thing to face-to-face contact (or Skype). Yet the ever popular means of communication (at least amongst the younger generation) rests in texting and the instant messenger.

I remember when the ability to send a text message was so novel and not as popular at first because of the limitations in character amount. From that, and our apparent desire to avoid spelling out full words, we came up with the shortcuts--including our favorites "lol" "u" "sup" "brb" "gtg" "ttyl" "rofl" "omg" "r" and the list goes on. Then technology got savvy, gave us more space, allowed us to type full words, use capitalization and, believe it or not - punctuation! With this innovation in instant gratification, you would think that everyone would jump on the bandwagon and write full sentences again. Unfortunately, this has not been the case (at least in my own experience).

How does this affect the 'art' of communication?

With the apparent inability to use full sentences in conversation (even if, yes, through texting), we seem to have lost the ability to carry that through in our own personal conversation. With people texting more and using messengers as modes of conversation rather than talking on the phone, we sometimes forget the intricacies that conversations possess, whether in person or on the phone, such as the subtle transitions from one topic to the other.

I will not pretend that I do not text. I do, and probably more than I should, but I still make phone calls or, when possible, Skype. However, I think it is important that we not forget the art of good conversation and the ability to communicate with the physical world as it is that aspect of human culture that refines us.

New Years in Perspective

2011: What happened to it? This seems to be the question we ask ourselves each year since we could grasp the concept. Between December 25 and 31, it is as if we suddenly realize that the year is coming to a close. The digits of the calendar year will change, which means we have to start practicing writing our dates with a 12 and not an 11 (possibly taking up to a month to get used to depending on the person).

I'll admit, I'm one of those people that "can't believe where the year has gone" even though I say that each month of the year--In October, "where did September go?" or November "where did October go?"--you get the idea.

The fact is, except for the bleak month of Wisconsin March where the weather is indecisive as to what it wants to do, each month tends to go quickly and exponentially quicker each year. I'm sure as a kid, the months went slower and we couldn't wait for the month to be over (if it was bad), and in school we began the countdown to the end--whatever the end may have been. And yet at the end of the year and all of the countdowns during hard times, we still ask ourselves "where did it go?" Now as adults, our busy schedules make us wish that the month would slow down or that we could have more hours in the day. Taking that idea into perspective, I think New Years is not only a time of positive reflection on what has passed (even if so quickly) but also a time of anticipation.

Personally, this year has had it's ups and downs like anyone else's, but am I happy with my life at the end of the day? Yes I am. Each month brought a significant change to my life and who I am, and I could not write this post without having those experiences. I won't engross you with the details of my year here, as I probably couldn't do it justice at this very hour of this day or at any one moment.

For next year? I look forward to 2012. I used to be terrified of going into the next year because with it are new expectations, older age and the exponentially speedier months. With a new outlook and a very pleasant year behind me, I feel that 2012 will bring about good things, good company and good times. I don't know what will take place--and for all I know the world will melt if the Mayan supporters have their way--but I will embrace the new, the changing, and the exciting possibilities of 2012. I hope you do the same.

Happy New Year everyone!

Walker, Wisconsin Ranger: Our own drama series

I'm sure I don't need to explain what has been going on in Wisconsin politics lately; I gather that if you are reading this, you have a pretty good base already.

Before I put in my two cents, I would like to clarify that this is not scientific. It is an opinion or should I say a summary of what I have seen among my fellow peers about the whole situation, following facebook statuses, articles and other such commentary.

As someone who is potentially going to be one of those 'state workers', I feel like Walker made the best decision in choosing to balance the budget through cutting state funding which (according to my own professors) would cost them approximately 5% annually. Why? Because he brought out the suppressed feelings of two sides of our employment system, creating a triangle of chaos. Good job.

We have the governor pinning two groups against each other, the state workers protesting the governor, and the non-state workers (or those in favor of the bill) telling the state-workers to suck it up (mind you, not all) because they deserve it. What I find troubling is that now teachers are being called cowards and told they are not doing their job because of the protest.

My question is: If teachers and other state workers cannot protest (and dare I say leave their work for a day), then how is the matter supposed to addressed? Diplomatically? Because having a majority republican state would do that so effectively. However, I do not think it was wise for the democratic party to flee the state because it only puts off the inevitable and in the mean time, giving those people who will be affected by this a bad reputation.

Who I don't understand is those people that lash out against the people opposing the bill. So state workers are over paid and not doing their job correctly? Then please! I invite you to join the "over-paid" "high benefits" circle of holding a state position and tell those who work there now how you like it. You'll probably have to sell your BMW though because your new exorbitant salary will not afford you one.

The "About Me"

Hobbies? Interests? Activities? What do you do for fun?

Four questions that seem to describe the default "about me" section of any profile. These would be the perfect outline for anyone's description except for one small detail--they are all pretty much the same question! Let's say for example that I'm interested in singing. Hmm what might one of my hobbies or activities be then? Singing perhaps? There are exceptions of course but as I peruse an "about me" section, most of the time these are repeated items. Which is fine of course, but then how much are you telling people about you?

The other great part about these sections is how most people have the same things under their questions: reading, music, movies, outdoors, sports, blah blah blah. That is quite fascinating that we are all the same according to these responses. I call this the standard response of "I don't really think about all the stuff I like and do all the time, but I know I do these at some point so I'll write them here".

Here's a sample of what might be a "standard A" response:

Interests: music, movies, sunshine, biking, reading, animals

Hobbies: singing, collecting Harry Potter books, hunting

Activities: choir, sleeping

For Fun?: video games, friends, family, watching movies

I know this doesn't speak for everyone, but if I put this, I wouldn't necessarily stand out in a crowd because it's not "eye-opening" or exciting.

Here's an example of one might put to show how unique they are:

Interests: death metal, sharks, rainbows, theater

Hobbies: collecting candy wrappers, Pez collector, running 5K

Activities: eating chicken nuggets, writing novels, chopping wood

For Fun?: laser tag, downhill skiing, skydiving

Yes I made this up, but even though it is quite strange, it is far more descriptive and shows how quirky this person is.

I guess I'm not as interesting as the made up individual, but as "unique" as our descriptions may seem to the writer, in a sea of "unique" people, we generally fit under a Standard A description. So the next time you have to fill out an "about me"section, be creative! Be exciting! And don't follow the manual's hidden directions. :-)

Concert Week!

It's concert week and that is something to look forward to right? It is if you don't have to sing for several hours 7 days in a row. Unfortunately I get the pleasure of rehearsing every day (sometimes twice a day) this week through the weekend in order to prepare for the great Beethoven Concert!

Like any concert I'm sure the pattern of what goes on will be relatively similar to this one. When it's concert time, you can ensure that I will be doing all of the following:

1) Drinking Tea: Though I like tea and have enough of it, I don't drink it as often as I do when a concert approaches (or my throat dies). No matter what time of day, I am guaranteed to have at least 2 cups of the stuff a day in order to stay on my A game.

2) Listening to Classical: A little Bach, a little Beethoven, a little Pandora radio of everything classical under the sun? Don't mind if I do! I get in a classical mood to keep me focused and driven for the week.

3) A.D.D.: Since I have so much on my plate, what better way to organize the crazy than to do everything else besides what needs to get done? Obviously not ideal, and it does all come together in the end--thanks to some harpsichord sonatas and green tea!

Probably a thousand other things, however I am out of things I'm doing at present so I'll cut it there.

Welcome to concert week!