It’s time for me to leave Atlanta and begin my wandering.
Everything is packed away.
My daughter has been dropped off at the airport (she’s also leaving today, to study in Spain).
I’ve taught my last yoga classes here for a while.
And so my journey begins.

From this hour I ordain myself loos’d of limits and imaginary lines,
Going where I list, my own master total and absolute,
Listening to others, considering well what they say,
Pausing, searching, receiving, contemplating,
Gently, but with undeniable will divesting myself of the holds that would hold me.

- Walt Whitman, “Song of the Open Road”

MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

#1 – Where are you going?

I don’t know exactly.  I’ll begin with a road trip to Ohio, then I’m flying to London.  I think I’ll be in Spain, Italy, and Greece, and possibly Moracco, France, Turkey, and Croatia — but don’t have that all worked out yet.  I’m just going one leg at a time and figuring the rest out as opportunities arise.  [Insert scary "OMG, I could never" face here.]

#2 – Have you been planning and saving up for a long time?

Nope. I’ve been generally thinking about it for six months, but actually have no idea how it will all come together. I’ll be paying as I go and working along the way.  Whether or not this method is wise, remains to be seen.

#3 – Are you coming back to Atlanta?

To that, I’ll let one of my favorite television characters give you the answer:

The Holiday

While most people probably like the Cameron Diaz side of the story (goes off to England to fall in love with super cute and sweet Jude Law), I love the Kate Winslet side. Her character’s intelligence and friendly attitude are her companions for a lovely trip, a stronger self, and — of course — a well-matched love.

Chocolat

Juliette Binoche, Johnny Depp, and chocolate. I don’t really think this requires any further explanation.

Eat, Pray, Love

Though there is a lot of personal insight from the book that doesn’t translate into this movie, it’s still a fun one to watch. Just the scenery from the three different destinations is enough to make it interesting, but the charming cast of characters along the way keep me coming back.

Under the Tuscan Sun

Another one with quirky characters, Italian vistas, and a fun story of getting exactly what you ask for.

Roman Holiday

With Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck, this one doesn’t really require a lot of selling. I think it’s funny and delightful, and they get to ride around on a Vespa all day!

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

Honestly, I just love the beautiful scenes in Greece. You could cut the rest and just play those parts on a loop, and I’d be good to go!

The Last Holiday

Once again, a kind-hearted woman faces her fears, does the things she’s dreamed of, and becomes stronger and happier, as a result.

Finding Nemo

Yeah, I went there. I love Finding Nemo. Aside from Ellen Degeneres being hilarious as Dory, it’s a great story that’s filled with metaphors about facing your fears, getting out of your comfort zone, making friends, and having fun. (I’ll spare you my musings on the deep spiritual concepts of the East Australian Current!)

Vagabonding-n.
(1) The act of leaving behind the orderly world to travel independently for an extended period of time. (2) A privately meaningful manner of travel that emphasizes creativity, adventure, awareness, simplicity, discovery, independence, realism, self-reliance, and the growth of the spirit.
(3) A deliberate way of living that makes freedom to travel possible.

(via Rolf Potts fantastic book “Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel“)

We’ll see where it goes. No expectations. Just curiosity. Here we go . . .

I began working with Brandon Smith a few years ago and, right off, we developed a strong working relationship.  He’s just one of those clients I clicked with immediately.  We have a smooth work process and creativity flows between us easily. So, when it came time to launch The Workplace Therapist in January of 2011, I couldn’t wait to get on board.

Brandon is a therapist, professor, consultant and radio host who brings an upbeat, witty approach to the challenges of workplace health and dysfunction.  With 94,365 hours of our lives spent working, he thinks that time should be well spent.  And, so — curing dysfunction from the cubicle to the corner office — The Workplace Therapist was born.

The Logo

Some Basic Necessities

After establishing the logo and color palette, we got Brandon set up with business cards, a media kit, andFacebook and Twitter Pages. (I recommend following him on Twitter and Liking him on Facebook because he posts, not only his own articles, but interesting and helpful stuff from around the web.)

The Mack-Daddy: The Website

The site is all about helping you meet the changing rules of work today. Specifically, tackling three pressing questions that we all face in our careers and lives:

1. What do I want to do with my career and life?
2. Who do I want to do it with?
3. How can I do it better?

TheWorkplaceTherapist.com features a Dysfunction of the Month along with supporting articles sharing loads of funny and useful insights on how to identify and cure your workplace dysfunction.  (This month is “I Don’t Have Work/Life Balance” check it out here.)

On top of that, you’ll find weekly GPB Radio segments where Brandon and Joshua Stewart discuss workplace issues and answer listener questions.  Plus, there’s a video therapy page that gives you access to helpful video tips (such as “The 5 Questions” you need to answer to get a sense of purpose, “The 3 Critical Conversations” that anyone needs to have with their boss, and “Developing Connection with your Work”).

Learn more and check out our design work at TheWorkplaceTherapist.com.

And, follow me on Twitter and Facebook to get more of my thoughts on what’s so great about The Workplace Therapist.

Last year, on the day after Thanksgiving, I went to a free yoga event at a local spa. I enjoyed the class and then, as I was fetching my things from the locker room and heading out, I noticed there was a scale. {insert scary movie music}

I don’t keep a scale at home, so out of curiosity, I stepped on. {Note to self: this is a GREAT way to ruin a perfectly good holiday weekend.} I won’t say how much I weighed, but let’s just say that it was 11 more pounds than I weighed 20 years prior, when I was just about to give birth to my daughter. (In case you can’t do fast math, this equals SOOO not acceptable.)

Some people found this hard to believe and said I looked totally fine (plus, I’m constantly doing yoga), but looks can be deceiving. (I’m 5′9″ after all — stuff is “distributed.”) Nonetheless, I knew I was too big (as in, not feeling good about it both physically and emotionally), and now I had a number to stamp on it.

I immediately got in touch with friend and personal trainer, Amber O’Neal, and like a good junkie said “Hi, this is Kristen, I’m too fat and I need help.” She said “Sure, I’ve got just what you need.” She set up a fitness and nutrition plan for me and voila!
I’m skinny!

PSYCHE!
Life doesn’t work like that, silly.

So, here’s how it really went:

Food

Amber gave me a little nutrition make-over. I felt like I was eating pretty well, but she came along and started messing with everything. (What do you mean I can’t eat cupcakes and that I can only eat a “treat” ONE TIME PER WEEK? And, Kale? Really? Are you kidding me?) The conversation about peanut butter was one of my favorites. It went something like this:

“Sure, you can eat peanut butter, but it has to be natural
– nothing but peanuts and a touch of salt.”

“But, I only eat JIF.”

“Nope. That has extra stuff in it.”

“But, I’ve only eaten JIF my whole life.”

“Sorry, but it’s got lots of added sugars and preservatives.”

“But, you don’t understand, I love JIF.
I can just scoop it out with a spoon and enjoy smooth and creamy goodness anytime, day or night.
YUM. JIF.”

“Too bad. Natural peanut butter only.”

“Stinkin’ nutrition Nazi!”

Needless to say, I moved — kicking and screaming — toward better eating habits. Amber helped me learn (mainly because I questioned her about EVERYTHING) how to eat more appropriate portions of “whole/clean” foods, how to consider calories (obvious and hidden) throughout the day, and how to develop a more mindful eating practice.

In spite of all my bellyaching, I have tried lots of foods (and even enjoyed some of them) that I previously wouldn’t even consider.  For example, because I’m not a giant fan of just having fruit as a snack (except bananas, which are of course, the worst fruit to eat if you’re trying to lose weight), Amber suggested adding a touch of fruit to other things (like salads).  It started off with a handful of dried cranberries and now here I am wondering what I else I can put golden raisins (a previously “I don’t eat that” food) on top of. How did that happen? (I think she drugged me with endorphins!)

Fitness

No body makeover is complete without the exercise aspect.  I should warn you right off, I’m not a fan of working out, in general (bouncing around, boring repetitions – ick!), so there will be a lot more whining in this section.

I aggressively suggested personal training sessions three times per week.  Now, if you put this into the context of me teaching six yoga classes per week and trying to take two or three yoga classes per week, you can see how adding three more “things” onto my weekly schedule might have been slightly delusional.  Nevertheless, we did it.

Unfortunately, these sessions took place at a gym.  (It didn’t have to be that way, but based on a number of factors, we decided this would be best.)  There is nothing I like about the gym.  Literally nothing.  (I won’t even get started on the rude and lazy staff at the Akers Mill LA Fitness.  That would require an entirely different post.)

The gym is smelly (ah, nothing like starting your day with the scent of chlorine, dirty carpet, and other people’s sweat), it’s noisy (I like ’80’s music as much as the next person, but I don’t really want the same 10 songs blasting over and over again), it’s crowded (I REALLY hate crowds), the TVs are targeted toward men (financial news and sports only), and it’s filled with rows and rows of scary machines (really, I have no idea how to use those things).  And, if all that wasn’t bad enough, I’m supposed to go to this place and do things that are boring and hurt.  And, if THAT wasn’t bad enough, I came up with the brilliant idea that we should do this early in the morning.

{Side note: 7 a.m. is not the beginning of my day, it’s the end of my night.  As in, I’m still asleep.  Disrupting that to go to the icky place described above to do icky things that I don’t want to do – not my most brilliant idea.}

So, fresh and cranky, poor Amber had to endure my whining during every rep.  The only redeeming aspect was that I got to hang out with her and chat during the sessions.  This is an excellent reason to workout with a trainer you like or with a friend.  Because, seriously, I wouldn’t have done 80% of what we did without 1. Being able to distract myself with conversation, and 2. Having Amber to say “I understand,  but keep going.”  (Translation: “You can gripe all you want, Kristen, but you’re still going to finish.”)

I’m going to let this section be mostly my whining.  Because, the truth of the matter is — I just didn’t like the workout part at all.  Amber and I made the best of it, but being at the gym and pushing and pulling on machines is just never going to be in my ongoing plan.  During one exercise or another, I found myself thinking (and saying) “There’s no way I would choose to do this on my own. What kind of people think this is a fun way to spend their time?”

Fun

But, before you end up thinking that all I want to do is sit on the couch and eat cupcakes all day long, we did come up with an ongoing routine.  My last couple of sessions with Amber were not at the gym (hallelujah!!!).  One was at a local park where, in addition to walking a couple of miles, we were able to do extras like lunges, push-ups, and other exercises using whatever was available (steps, grass, benches).  The other was at my home (where I actually have — rarely used — dumb bells, and a couple of other small items).

Amber’s website, CafePhysique.com (which I designed), has a part that talks about how in the past, onlyfamous Hollywood stars had personal trainers.  When Amber was leading me through my workouts in “my own spaces,” that’s truly how I felt.  Like I was getting the royal treatment.  I enjoyed these sessions so much more and was excited to create a plan and a fitness routine that I could (and would) continue on my own.

So, after about three months of working with Café Physique, I lost 22lbs and feel tons stronger.  I realized as my arms started to take on a new shape and that I could even do more in my yoga practice, it was the gain in strength (not the weight loss) that would be my motivation to keep going.

I’m sending out a big thank you to Amber for putting up with me and pushing me to get stronger and healthier.  (I’m also sending her a bill for all the new clothes I’ll need to buy, now that nothing I own fits!!) :)

Café Physique is a 100% mobile fitness & nutrition company that offers programs that are designed to meet clients’ healthy lifestyle needs in the privacy of their own home. They offer mobile and in-home Personal Training, Yoga & Pilates, and Nutrition & Wellness Coaching to individuals, groups, and corporations.

While Café Physique has always had a pretty strong brand-identity (great logo, clear feminine appeal), having a lot of designer and developer hands in the pot, left things feeling inconsistent.  While the owner, Amber O’Neal, was excited for a colorful website several years ago . . .

{BEFORE}

. . . she was ready for something a little cleaner, a little fresher, and a bit more simple to use (both for herself, on the back end, and for site visitors).  Enter K-Leigh Creative.

First, we got rolling on revamping the website with a new WordPress framework.  Then, we designed the theme around Amber’s goal of having a website that is not only cute and colorful, but that also makes featuring important information possible, and finding service descriptions and pricing quick and easy.

{AFTER}

As part of the web project, we jazzed up the great free download Amber wanted to offer.  We carried through the new look to the Menu Planner and the 8 Bonus Pages of expert tips on how to lose weight, eat better, and get healthy . . . at home!  It’s really a handy tool. Get yours today.

The new web presence also required a bit of freshening up for the Café Physique Facebook page:

And some custom graphics and styling for the E-Newsletter template:

I really loved learning about everything Café Physique has to offer and simultaneously got to experience some of the services first-hand.

Check out our design work on the Café Physique website at: www.CafePhysique.com

For more, check me out on Facebook or Twitter to get my thoughts on what’s so great about Café Physique.

I wrapped up my 30s with a day of fun with girlfriends. (Many thanks to Angela, Heather, Amber, Katia, and my fellow new 40-year-old, Oana for the lovely brunch, presents, love and cupcakes . . . oh so good.)

Yep, now for the big 4-0. (A super-big number in the eyes of my 20-year-old daughter.)
I don’t feel too bad about it, though, because – when I was 20 – I couldn’t do this:

Not that doing Bakasana (shown above) is life-changing or anything, but it was a pretty cool thing to accomplish in the past year and just a small representation of how I hope to continue growing stronger — and maybe more playful — as I move along in this journey.

40 Days & 40 Nights

Since 3/12 kicked-off a new decade for me, I thought I would have a little fun with my first 40 days of 40.
So, I’m spending 3 minutes per day on 12 activities. These aren’t totally foreign activities to me, I’m just formalizing my commitment to these things being included in how I get my 40s rolling.

My twelve things:

1.  Meditate — Sometimes on something; sometimes on nothing. At times, meditating is about stilling your mind in order to just “be.” Other times it’s lovely to focus on a particular topic or concept. One day it was raining, so with each breath, I considered the blessings that come from the rain (growth, nourishment, cleansing, etc.).

2.  Read a Sacred Text — The first week was spent reading any bible verse numbered 3:12 (Genesis 3:12, Exodus 3:12, etc.). I also expect to incorporate other texts in order to compare, contrast, and contemplate — a few minutes at a time.

3.  Journal — Inspired by the “morning pages” of The Artists Way (and the new journal I received as a b-day gift from my friend Heather), I’m just doing a random, free flowing, whatever-comes-out kind of writing. (Since I can only fill a half page in 3 minutes, this is ending up as 6 minutes, or one page.)

4.  Massage — Just taking a few minutes to show different parts a little love and be appreciative for the role they play in my life. For example, the first day, I gave myself a little foot rub and gave thanks for my feet carrying me throughout my activities and my life.

5.  Dance — Inspired by a yoga class I took a couple of weeks ago in Florida, where in the middle of class the teacher put on some drum music and said something like “Okay, now move around like every part of your body is hitting the drums.” Admittedly, that was weird and felt awkward at first. But there were only about 8 people in the class and everyone had their eyes closed, so you could do it and not feel like anyone was watching. After the first minute (and after she said “Just let go, we’ll be doing this for the whole song.”), it was very liberating.  I decided you can’t really feel anything but good when you’re dancing around, so I’d add that to my daily routine.

6.  Headstand — I can do it by the wall, but again, in Florida I dared to take my feet off the wall and actually was able to balance. Feeling empowered, I decided I’d work on doing a headstand in the middle of the room (yikes! no wall to kick up to). A week in, and I can get up on my own with out kicking up. It’s crazy scary (still worried I’m going to flip over and bust into the furniture), but each day is getting better and better.

7.  Handstand — This one is actually harder. It takes a lot of core strength (and sometimes my back is not feeling cooperative). But, I’m just committed to kicking up on my own first (with wall), then, I’ll move on to something like . . . this . . .

8. Face Yoga — Yes, I said Face Yoga. As in, exercises you do with your face. Because, well, I am forty, after all.  And if I’m to live to, say 120 or so, I’d like to do so without any pokes or pulls or stretches from outside sources. So, this is the one thing on the list that is all about vanity and counteracting the wrinkles and sagging. (Though, I’m totally tempted to re-frame this as a way of leaving no part of my being out of my yoga practice, bringing attention to a previously neglected area, so that I can truly live a holistic yoga lifestyle . . . yeah, that’s the ticket!)

9. Language Study — I thought I’d like to be fluent in Spanish, Italian, and Greek by the time I was thirty. Turns out you have to actually do something (regularly) in order to become fluent in a language. (Go figure.) Though I can order a coffee or find the bathroom in any of these languages, that really wasn’t what I had in mind, so I’m rekindling my language fire a few minutes at a time (more on that later). Last week was Greek, this week is Italian, next week Spanish (and I’ll probably throw some Sanskrit in there after that just to bring the yoga side in). How do you study a language just a few minutes at a time, you ask? I found these podcasts from Radio Lingua Network. Very cool.

10. Friend Attention — This one sends the love out. (Because, I mean really, enough about me already.) I’m just picking a friend or family member randomly to either say a prayer for, send a note to, or whatever seems like the right thing for that particular person.

11. Savor Something — Just as it sounds. Take three minutes to just enjoy and experience something. The taste of a birthday gift caramel (thanks Oana!), the joy of an unexpected free Starbucks, or the sound of church bells ringing in the distance.

12. Try Something New — This last one might be the most challenging of all. I mean, how do you try something new in only 3 minutes? (Well, this weekend, I combined 2-days worth into 6 minutes, watched a “How to Play the Guitar” video and tried to play along.) Other ideas are taking a different route, eating a new type of food, using a different nail polish color, trying on a crazy wig (I’m determined to do this one), or whatever interesting possibility presents itself.

PS: I even incorporated it into this January wallpaper!
(Just click the image below and then right click the large image to set as your wallpaper.)