By Trina, December 8th, 2009
Some of my happiest childhood memories were during the holiday season in my hometown of Ida Grove, Iowa. There were weeks of festive cookies, a real Christmas tree decorated to perfection, visits with loved ones, white blankets of snow and evenings spent opening advent calendars and Christmas cards. My mother would decorate the entire house so beautifully that holiday parties were an absolute must. On Christmas Eve, we would watch Christmas Vacation, eat Rueben sandwiches for dinner and attend the evening service at St Paul Lutheran Church to sing classic hymns in a candlelit sanctuary. To me, the holidays were truly magical and those family traditions made it so.
However, families naturally evolve: babies are born, loved ones pass on, folks marry in and people move away. My family is no exception. I live in Dallas, my brother’s family lives in Florida and the majority of my relatives are back in the Midwest. Unfortunately, a mega-trip to Iowa is not feasible every December and my family understands.
Over the last two years, this complicated geographic situation has given me the idea to come up with some of my own holiday traditions. I’m not sure what the final catalyst was—if it was the fact I’m becoming more and more like my mother every day OR if it was that my apartment seemed to lack the magic of my home in Iowa—but whatever it was, I’m glad it happened. Here are some of the holiday traditions I’m beginning…
By Trina, November 23rd, 2009
Over the last 4 months, I’ve had an excessive amount of change happen in almost every facet of my life: work—I’ve switched positions from a travelling consultant to a stationary office worker, location—I stay in Dallas every week now (I actually feel like I live here now), financially—being local means I drive more and need to buy groceries so suddenly bills are going up, love life—Irish BF has moved to Dallas changing our ridiculously long distance relationship to a suddenly very short distance relationship, physical size—I’ve been expanding… All this drastic change has resulted in many things, but one in particular has bothered me to no end: severe neglect of my darling blog.
By Trina, October 26th, 2009
Dear Autumn,
Ah yes, it’s autumn yet again and that pumpkin-shaped hole in my heart has been filled. That’s right, the leaves are changing, the air is cooler, drunk people in burnt-orange shirts are wandering around Uptown Dallas on Saturday afternoons and Starbucks has their pumpkin-flavoring out. I LOVE this glorious time of year, and I want to sing these affections from my balcony.
For the last 3 falls, I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing autumn in 3 very different states: Iowa, Rhode Island and Dallas. Each one has offered up something delightful in this already wonderful time of year, and I’m going to share my favorites from each with you…
By Trina, October 20th, 2009
Yesterday I received an eye-catching email from my former sorority, Delta Delta Delta (aka TriDelta), with the subject line: Friends Don’t Let Friends Fat Talk. Upon reading the content and checking out the website, I felt compelled to post something on my blog, because I may be one of the guiltiest women out there when it comes to this.
What is fat talk? The site defines it as:
Fat Talk describes all of the statements made in everyday conversation that reinforce the thin ideal and contribute to women’s dissatisfaction with their bodies. Examples of Fat Talk include: “I’m so fat,” “Do I look fat in this?”, “I need to lose 10 pounds” and “She’s too fat to be wearing that swimsuit.” Statements that are considered Fat Talk don’t necessarily have to be negative; they can seem positive yet reinforce the need to be thin — “You look great! Have you lost weight?”
I am terrible when it comes to fat talk… Like the majority of women, I have body image issues and frequently buy a one-way ticket to negative town. When I start the down negativity spiral, it really does have an effect on everything in my life. The other morning my pants were really tight, I got down on myself and it ruined my morning—I know I’m not alone on this kind of morning.
That’s why I’m on board with Fat Talk Free Week.
By Trina, October 17th, 2009
The past few weeks have been hectic to say the least with finding my groove in the new role at work and having my on-and-off-again long-distance Irish boyfriend move to Dallas, and I have found myself going a bit nuts… My zero-to-frustrated time is minimal, I’ve burst into tears twice and an early morning runner in my hose turned into an over-the-top dramatic event (there were witnesses too…). I may be a bit feisty, but this is too much even for me…something is out of wack.
In the past, I have written about the need to treat yourself for sanity’s sake and created a list of “treats” I give myself. In noticing my recent ridiculous and totally out of balance behavior, I realized that this list needs to be updated. What’s the additional sanity-saving treat? Blogging, of course.
By Trina, September 14th, 2009
We have all known a bully, been a bully or been bullied at one point in our lives. Learning to deal with bullies is an unpleasant but essential part of growing up. As we enter the real world, we are hopeful this sort of traumatic treatment is over. Unfortunately, bullies are as alive in corporate America as they are on the grammar school playground, only now they come in the form of leaders and managers.
By Trina, August 27th, 2009
Many of us have lived a life with minimal risk. It is in this riskless lifestyle where we create comfort zones allowing us to continue on in a steady state of happiness. Others of us have shattered our comfort zones by taking major risks, such as moving to Colorado or traveling abroad, as soon as we were able.
My life up to my twenties was mostly lived in my comfort zone: Iowa. I was born and raised in Ida Grove, IA (Northwestern Iowa). Although it was small with only 2,350 people and one stoplight, Ida Grove was a truly blissful place to grow up. I was among life-long family friends, close to a majority of both sides of my family, able to roam the streets on my bike at all hours and felt very safe—the only crimes I can remember were drug related and rare. My parents were happily married and both had steady, full-time employment. Life was grand.
By Trina, August 24th, 2009
Lately I have been stressed for unknown reasons. I can’t quite pinpoint what exactly is bothering me but something sure is… I’ve been wound up a little more than usual – yes, it is possible for me to be even crazier than my normal, baseline state. My attempts to calm down and relax have been unsuccessful as I’ve been on the go-go lately: a week in Fort Lauderdale for work, a wedding in Houston, a work week in Dallas, another wedding in Houston, etc.
I knew some time with my family was what I needed, because I find spending time with people who get you down to your core is an amazing way to refocus and re-center. This Saturday I boarded a plane to Omaha to spend a week at my parent’s house in my hometown. It has been almost 9 months since I’ve been home (a reality I accepted when I left two years ago).
By Trina, August 20th, 2009
I like to think I’ve got great style, but often times I lack the confidence to pull things off. Many an outfit makes me feel awkward or fat, and I find myself wanting to run home and change the entire time I’m wearing said outfits. My brain begins obsessing that everyone is looking at me and mocking my failed attempt to be hip and stylish. I am my own worst enemy, because it causes me to seek encouragement by asking others, “Do I look ok in this?” Fact: I need a considerable amount of external validation to just be me.
By Trina, August 16th, 2009
Dear Irish Boyfriend,
I think you are as wonderful as a cool pint of Guinness on a Saturday afternoon, and I want to sing my praises for all of your help in my Trina Left Iowa adventure. This blog would not be possible without you. No, seriously it really wouldn’t!
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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed on this blog are all mine.
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