Positive Body Image

I had the honour of speaking at #MomsMeTimeTO conference on Friday (I’ll blog about that later), and then I came across this sticker on Facebook today: (sorry so big but it’s the only way to see all the steps)

So, I thought I would share this picture that was taken of me (being 5’10″ and wearing 3″ heels, which put me at 6’1″) and one of the fabulous attendees, Christine from Life On Manitoulin:

 

Our huge smiles show how funny we thought this was and it sure puts across that we’re both pretty comfortable in our own skins. We both shared the photo on our personal Facebooks, our Pages and now our blogs…with the caption “Funniest picture ever”.

 

Sure, I would like to lose 5 or 10lbs (don’t we all?) but at the end of the day, I don’t do anything to achieve that so it obviously isn’t a priority for me….and I don’t guilt myself about it. I’m tall and embrace it (I’ll admit that it’s easier now that I’m with someone who is 6’3″, compared to my ex-husband who is 2″ shorter than me). Mind you, being a natural redhead gives me a lot of confidence.

Writing Prompt: Top 100 Lies

Twitter has been having some great hashtags lately, that I have paid attention to and find amusing…the other day, I blogged about I Knew It Was Over When.

Today, I came across another trending hashtag: #Top 100 Lies. Some I found that I thought were amusing and/or truthful: .  

• I’ll be there in 5 mins. @funnyorfact

• I can live without Twitter. @CodyDaily

• It’s so easy to say Goodbye. @twitteels

• I’ll never hurt you again. @SheWant_French

• I have read & agreed to the Terms & Condition. @LiveLoveJelena

• I just dyed my hair red! Now I’m a ginger!!” @GingerProblems (Ha! Ha! Doesn’t work…us natural gingers/redheads are true to the core!)

• I’ll always be there for you. @cuhl

In my experience, some of the Top 100 Lies should include:

• My door will always be open for you, even when your heart gets broken. (said by my ex who won’t even make eye contact with me anymore!)

• My door is always open. (said by a manager whose door was almost always closed)

• I finished the document but I can’t get it off my computer. (yeah, right. Good thing you earn a living on a computer)

• I’m not a player? Why would you say that?! (besides the fact that it’s written all over you? I actually asked a first date this within the first 5mins of the date.)

• You’re my soulmate. (yeah, right. I was told this AFTER the relationship was done!)

PS – check out @Unique_Blend’s list of top 100 lies – he actually listed 100!!

What would be some of your top 100 lies?

30 Days About Me: Day 14 – Where to Travel

Day 14- Somewhere You’d Love to Travel

I would love to go back to France over and over again.  I love the culture, the language, the history, the laissez-faire attitude, etc.

 

Having said that, basically anywhere warm with beautiful white sandy beaches would suit me just fine!  Yup, I’m a redhead who actually loves beaches!

 

30 Days of Me: Day 5 – Favourite Quotes

Day 5- Favourite Quotes

So many to choose from!  I’ve been seeing tons of wonderful quotes on friends’ Facebook pages too recently…so many in fact, that I’ve started Motivational Mondays posts to help capture them.  Having said that, here are ones I live by.

“I loved you the minute you were born. Then I saw your face and fell in love some more. You were only a minute old but I knew I would die for you. To this day I still would. When you choose to have a child you make a conscious decision to allow your heart to walk around outside your body.” ~ Unknown
“A mother’s love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path.” –Agatha Christie

“I am who I am. Your approval is not needed.  Thanks.” ~ The Female Truth (from Twitter; I am a redhead after all…gotta have some spunk in me!)

“Tough Times Don’t Last, Tough People Do!” ~ Tracy Lynn (I’m blessed to know her IRL)

“Snort…giggles…snort” ~ Opti-mom (another fantastic woman I’m blessed to know IRL…her snorts and giggles are CLASSIC!)

What words to you live by?

 

30 Days of Me: Day 15 – Facts About Me

Day 15 – Write 15 interesting facts about yourself

I don’t know how interesting they are but here we go, and in no particular order…

1. I’m a proud redhead
2. I have always answered the statement “carrot top” with “carrot tops are green” – go check.
3. I’m trained in classical ballet
4. I’m sarcastic
5. I’m verbally fluent in English and French, and know some statements in Greek and Japanese…and they aren’t swear words!
6. My favourite colour is green – shocking, I know…a redhead who likes the colour green.
7. I grew up working on a land survey crew
8. I don’t like cooking unless it’s to share with someone else
9. I love baking
10. I have worn glasses to read since I was 16, and because of the “fashion” of having large lens back then, my first pair of glasses were bifocals. Sexy, I know.  Thankfully, the style now is smaller so I just look over the top of them if I have to see far away.
11. I have half a university degree, 2 college diplomas, and 1 business school certification.
12. I can drive a four-wheeler
13. I’m a chai “addict” (but if you read my blog frequently, you already knew that!)
14. I have been doing yoga off and on for 15 years
15. I love being a mom!!!

 

Losing My “Virginity”…

 

 

 

 

Tomorrow I’m having my first surgery ever. Yup, in my mid-thirties and there are a few things that people are amazed at…I have never dyed my hair (why would I? I’m a natural redhead!), had my first cavity at 31 years old, AND have never had surgery. The closest I go was having a couple teeth pulled when I was a kid because they had been wiggling forever and wouldn’t come out. Broke my arm as a kid, but no surgery required. I even gave birth to twins without a C-section for crying out loud!

 

Anticipating my first surgery feels like I’m losing my virginity…the nerves, fear, anxiety, the heart palpitations, the excitement, etc. Will I feel different after?

 

~ If you get queasy with medical information,

do NOT read the next paragraph…you have been warned ~

 

I’m having what’s called a Vaginal Myomectomy. Basically means that I have a mass in my uterus (and it’s not a baby…or two in my case!) that needs to be removed. This fibroid grew to 5cm within a year (what can I say? I’m an incubator!), and has been the bane of my existence for the last 3 years. As each month passed, my periods became heavier and heavier, and more and more painful. By the time they put me into chemically-induced menopause the 2^nd time (shrinks the fibroid), a “normal” period for me was 2 weeks “on”, 1 week off, and repeat. The pain was unbelievable, and I couldn’t leave the house for 3 – 5 days, and was going to washroom every 20 mins, day and night (therefore no sleep!). Not good when I’m a SAHM to 5yo twins. Their father would help when his schedule allowed, and my friends filled in whenever possible too.

 

My obgyn didn’t feel skilled enough (nor did any of her colleagues) to remove it without removing my uterus. What??!! I was still married when they found the fibroid and still wanted to keep the option of having more kids open so I was NOT impressed. Thankfully, my obgyn found a specialist (with the same first name as me!) who has, to quote her, “removed bigger and badder” fibroids. Phew! She can also remove it without a C-section-type entry, therefore only needing a few days to recover instead of months. Double phew! Felt kinda weird to go to appointments at a fertility clinic though – my twins were “natural”.

 

So, my fibroid is FINALLY being removed, and I can no longer say things like I did to my father a couple of weekends ago: “I’m menopausal AND having PMS. Don’t screw with me” but I’ll be glad to see the end of it. 

Redheads + Sun = Freckles

 

 

 

 

The kids and I spent a couple hours yesterday with friends of ours at a playground near the water. It was crazy hot and sunny out. With 3 redheads and 2 fair-skinned brunettes in our “party”, everyone was sprayed with sunscreen first. DD and her best friend laughed their heads off while they were being sprayed (okay, I did too). DS was NOT impressed. He’s very sensitive to liquid drying, but the feeling was short lived.

 

We also saw and petted some police horses while we were there. DS was even very interested in the horses, which was amazing as he doesn’t go near the horses at my parents’ farm. My kids are now proud owners of “trading cards” of one of the horses…and I deny taking extra time to look at/drool over the police officer in uniform on the front of the card…completely deny it…

 

After spending time with the horses, we all walked over to Pier 4 playground, where there is a very cool replica of a tugboat for kids to play on. Very quickly, the other grown-up with us was dumping water on the kids and they all looked like drowned rats.

 

Today however, the kids and I have been “counting new freckles”. Welcome to the life of redheads! If exposed to sunlight, we freckle. I was fortunate to grow up in a family where my grandmother used to always say that freckles were “marks of beauty” so I seem to have come out of childhood not being embarrassed by freckles like others who freckle easily. Even before my kids had freckles (their father is a redhead too so it was “destined”), I was working on them embracing freckles.

 

Although not a redhead, my dad is very fair-skinned so he and I were always putting sunscreen on when I was a kid, while my mom and brother didn’t “need” to with their darker skin tones. We aimed to use SPF 45 if we could find it…which was very hard to find 30 years ago. I always wanted to get that beautiful tan that all my friends did, but I also knew it wasn’t going to happen. Thankfully, I’m not a redhead that just thinks of sun and gets burnt.

 

My mom gave me a t-shirt once that encompasses redhead vs sunlight perfectly: “Authentic Redhead: Keep Out of Direct Sunlight”. My t-shirt is even in that bright green that ONLY redheads can wear.