4-Star Accommodations

In my quest to figure out my direction as a writer and blogger one thing has always been constant: my desire to become a travel and food writer. As a flight attendant I traveled on my own to many countries and continents to see the world. But once I went back to school and had a child at the same time, traveling took not only a back seat but another whole dimension. Travel writers weren’t in demand and I didn’t really know how to break into the area. Plus there’s this other little dark secret: I was intimidated to travel with an infant. In fact my son has only been on an airplane twice in his four short years, really quite sad if you ask me.

But here’s the thing, I believe strongly in visiting other countries besides the one you live in. However, I somehow found myself too comfortable in my day-to-day routine to venture out and take a stand-by seat with my son and husband in tow. At least I was until my conversation two weeks ago with my good friend (and also former flight attendant) Elizabeth. My “plinky” answer sparked her comment on my blog about travel and the importance of children experiencing other cultures and places.

Travel is a form of education and parents need to make financial planing for travel as much a priority as education and college. We are a global economy and learning about the other global players is key to developing a successful future. Parents need to take time to research, as a family,  places to go, what to do while there and if the kids are old enough have them take part in planning  the budget for the trip. All of these skills are real world skills,

But I’m sort of a throw back hippie/surfer (did I mention I grew up in Bisbee?) wrapped up in a modern, high tech bag of over achieving thoughts mixed up with my old school values. And so I see travel as a way to just be. But to learn from it too, learn what the locals do, where they go, what they think, become a local if you can and then just experience life as it comes to you. It’s the Zen side of travel that needs to exist. So when my friend, Jen, offered us her friends’ house to watch, and to look after Albert the unsinkable goldfish, we said “Hell yes” that, and it was 115 degrees in Phoenix.

I realized my long time purpose/goal or whatever you want to call it, is my desire to show Henry the world. To let him see it with his own two eyes, to come to his own conclusions of what he likes or dislikes about certain places or experiences. Which is what propelled me to bust out of my own confinement and shovel a disarray of clothes into a too small suitcase with my  toothbrush solidly embedded between my teeth to fly to San Francisco on a 7:45 a.m. flight.  I raced my family to the airport unprepared (hippie/surfer) to hop on the flight. Didn’t happen. Didn’t have all my ducks set up the night before.

But we decided to eat breakfast and wait for another flight. The surfer was rubbing off on all of us and we chilled and laughed while we ate a decent breakfast at the Home Turf Bar (they don’t have an online menu – I don’t understand this), anyway the food was good actually. Eggs and toast for Henry & Paul. Fruit and yogurt for me. I’ll give it this: it was fresh and good.

Needless to say we did NOT make it on the flight, so we left and ran errands. Got back in time to make the 1:15 flight.

Henry’s first subway ride was good, he enjoyed putting his mouth on every hand rail and seat back he could find. Paul was starting to OCD on washing Henry’s hands after every object he touched but I said let’s just attack the biggest battle, “Henry, KEEP YOUR MOUTH OFF OF EVERYTHING!’ after a while the message sunk in and I think we only had to disinfect his mouth half a dozen times… k not really.

Living in Other Countries

Living and pretending abroud.

Never. Wish I had. Always looking for ways to get out of here….

JK Rowling saved a writer

Well I have to say I have no idea what I am doing, other than, well writing (and blogging I guess). I started this blog and a few others for some ungodly reason (well I have them but meh…) and haven’t done much with any of them. I’ve had some nagging thoughts, which are fast becoming headaches since I’ve ignored them all to long, about my blogs.

So here’s the scoop: This page is dedicated to blogging. Sound ridiculous? Yeah well, to me too, but bear with me. I created this blog as a play on letters of my name. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to blog or write or journal under my byline name, plus I was trying to be clever (not always a good idea) but either way my thought was to have a site where I blogged, reported newsy/newsworthy stuff (journalist) and wrote (not sure the difference really – maybe my fiction and tragic poetry, who knows.

Either way, I’ve been stumped and stopped about this whole thing that I almost got writer’s block. Then worse, I stopped calling myself a writer and then the world got black. My enthusiasm for my freelance writing at Green Living AZ dulled. My green thinking turned to green envy at my friend, Becca, who is new to blogging and is blogging away like nobody’s business on . I poured over “ways to blog” and “don’t make the same mistake I made blogging” sites and e-books.

I felt hopeless, lost. If I’m not a writer then what or who am I?

But then my husband (and biggest supporter) handed me an article on JK Rowling and the last series in the “Harry Potter“  books. I’m no JK Rowling, not by a LOOOONGGGG shot, but a girl can dream right? A writer can aspire to be like her, right? Especially when Rowling has such an underdog’s story, was born the same year I was and, well, used her initials to create a new identity to sell books. I could be like her right? At least until I read the last paragraph, the closer, the clincher of the article:

Ever since she finished “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” in 2007, Ms. Rowling has given tantalising hints of future ventures. Now Pottermore, a website that goes live on July 31, has been announced as the sole source for electronic downloads of the Harry Potter books, as well as any prospective future texts. Still only 45, Rowling seems ready to step up her game. From Dickens, with his 20 novels, she must know that what a writer does is write.

“…she must know that what a writer does is write.” 

This phrase scared the shit out of me. I wasn’t doing that, not much at all. In fact I was feeling no “what a writer does is write” kind of thing. I started feeling really dark, really lost. But I also thought a lot about that phrase, about her and her being rejected 12 times by London publishers, according to the Walls Street article.  I even thought of the article’s writer, Norman Lebrect, whose talented and well choosen words hit home on such an important day for me.

I also thought about my newly blogging friend and her beautiful writing exposing her scars for all to read. She’s brave. She’s capable of writing her thoughts and experiences in a humorous and thoughtful way. She, my friend Becca, inspires me in her blog, Team Hope Chest to get up and write and to quite whining about not doing it right or whatever I may be thinking. Her posts inspire me to “just do.”

I also thought about my husband Paul and his faith in me and what I do. Sheesh even he has a blog, albiet, waaaay off the kind of stuff I read, but he just writes what he needs to and moves on.

And then I thought, who cares what I have to say, who cares if I “do it wrong” ? I don’t, not anymore. I’m not even afraid of the Big Bad Big Brother Eagle Eye in cyberspace clocked wolf’s clothing reading my shit. In fact if no one ever reads it I am okay with that too. And I mean that in the nicest way possible, really, because I have something to say, a lot really, and I’m tired of letting all my thoughts go to waste. Because I’m a writer and that’s what writers do, we write.

Negative Feedback

I am just checking to see if all the negative feedback on Apple’s App page about the WordPress app are accurate.

So far I am not having any of the issues the majority of posters/users are complaining about.

My app opened perfectly on my iPhone, all of my posts are there, everything is working as needed. I’ll finish by “posting” and see what happens.

My Biggest Challenge Right Now

Time (management) is not on my side.

Time management & prioritizing what I need to do. Lately I'm just horrible at it.

How I Stay Healthy

Workout hard, mix it up and eat your vegetables.

I workout at least five times a week and I do something different every day. When I am in the 'gym' routine, I do an intense weight lifting workout one day, then a killer kick box or power yoga class the next, Spinning the next day, yoga following and on my last day either a dance class or I lift again. I do at least 1500 abs a week. I have been a fitness instructor for almost 30 years but I got into my best shape ever following this routine. Plus I eat a lot less than I used to.

My best advice for people wanting to change their body with exercise: you MUST work hard to see changes. Most workouts leave me feeling like a rung out towel. But I see so many people in the gym doing the same workout day in day out and their body NEVER changes.

The Sky Is Not Falling

Chicken Little ran around scaring everyone with his cry about the sky falling and sometimes we do the same.
With access to media and viral emails we often extrapolate more fear than is necessary and the radiation fall out from Japan is one such topic.

In today’s New York Times, an article discusses the amounts of radio active material from the reactors in Japan versus the amounts after Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the effects on people.

“Dr. Douple emphasized that at very low doses, the risk was also very low. But he also said that there was no indication of a threshold, or a level below which acute radiation exposure would have no effect, or a smaller effect than would be predicted based on higher exposures,” according to the article, read more here.

The article goes on to point out that,

“Outof 120,000 survivors in one study group, 219 with radiation exposure had died of leukemia from 1950 through 2002, the latest year with published data. But only 98 of those cases, or 45 percent, were excess deaths attributed to radiation.”

Granted to the relatives of those patients and the patients themselves this is little consolation and as a cancer survivor I truly do understand. But as a scientist and journalist the point is, in the big picture it is not “the sky falling.”

So the next time a disaster strikes or fear sets in, take a few moments to read solid information. Seek out smart, educated, scholarly and well documented research before you let your imagination run away with you, your heart, lungs and all your cells will thank you for it.

 

Randomness

This is just to post a pic of my a,m in Kauai.

First thing in the am – before my hike.

Keeping It Simple & In The Same Color Scheme

One place it seems that I have finally gotten down to a science, and hence more organized is in my clothing choices for my trips.

I have a “uniform” of sorts, and most things are in the same color hughes. This really helps when trying to squeeze four outfits into one small suitcase, especially since I need to have my workout clothes, pajamas, lounging clothes and something to go out in. Seems like a lot of clothes for just 36 hours doesn’t it? I think so so too and I keep trying to pair it down more.

But it seems so hard, or is that the “umbilical” cord of fear of not having what I need/want?

I like to do things on my layovers, I like to run/hike or take the most amazing heart thumping, butt shaking Zumba class on the planet (that’s Wendy’s class in Honolulu at 24 Hour Fitness on Thursdays at 5:30 – for the adventurous!). Then I need a suit to swim and layout in.

Yes I know tanning is bad for you – don’t care – I do it anyway.

And well, I like to be super comfy in my hotel room when I’m lounging or reading or what have you. So I need sweats or tights, those seem to be the most comfortable to me.

Finally the ocean air is always chilly and I need a long sleeve t-shirt or jacket and cute clothes to go to dinner, drinks or walking the town in. I LOVE clothes – can’t eco me out of that one! I love them, always have, always will. And I’ve worked really, really, really hard to get this body and I like to dress in fun and flattering stuff.

So all that being said – I think I am pretty organized for travel. I don’t even unpack my toiletries bag, I just replace what is empty.

I still want to try just packing a suit, shorts and pajamas some day, I think it would be daring and exciting.

Hmmmm…. maybe my next Honolulu, you know cause I can always cross the street and pick up what I need at Forever 21, just in case

~BjW

Whrn Clutter Fonds You

Well I didn’t expect to be thinking about organizing my CDs and music just yet. In fact I’d even forgotten I owned music CDs, sorta.

Until tonight.

As I was preparing for the two fitness classes I have to teach tomorrow, I went in search of my old aerobics CDs.

Well this is what I found & happily techno/club music doesn’t really change much….

Holy crap!!! This is my first time posting to my blog via my iPhone, guess I should’ve done a dry run huh?!?

Think I’ll just leave it – typos & all.