Conference Wear

NOOO I don't have a naturally smiley face as you can tell. I do feel better after yesterday's ppt and video fiasco though!!! I did also get alot of compliments even today for the great presentation I pulled off so its all good after all!!  Fitted clothes are my friend even on "I feel fat" days.  And don't you just love it when you find a blazer to match pants/skirt that just happens to be almost the exact same material?  Just dandy!!

Yes. Thats right. Red. Fitted. And a green computer. Not to mention animal print shoes. A good day all in all.

Always have a backup plan

Today's Lesson: ALWAYS HAVE A BACKUP PLAN. Yes. I learned this the hard way today. Big conference.  I am a guest speaker amongst some of the well known leaders in the field.  Presentation did not go as planned. Powerpoint goes frozen. Video does not play. I am hooped.  Something seemed to happen to my brain, like I was suddenly in stupid air and I could not seem to remember anything to talk about.  Lots of long silences.  I could feel my cheeks turning red.  Honestly-- I wanted to bolt from the room.  But I didn't. I stayed. I made a joke.  I poked some fun at myself and how the presentation was not going as planned.  I asked the audience some engaging questions.    

The voice in my head scolded: " what a crash and burn", "what an idiot", " they will think you are stupid" and on and on.  I quickly wrestled those voices to the ground and replaced them with "it's not the end of the world", "shake it off".   I don't know about you but boy my default inner conversations  are sure not supportive nor empowering.

Several people came up to me and made comments about their interest in some of my key points, complimented me on the presentation, and also said they could feel my pain when the technology all failed.  At any rate, I lived. I did not die (even though in the moment I wished a hole would open up and swallow me away).  A good reminder to not take yourself so seriously and just roll with what life throws your way in the moment!!!  LOL  What a day!!

An Imposter Photographer

I was asked by a friend to take some photos at a stagette party not that long ago.  Since I'm working on becoming a better photographer I jumped at the chance.  Here's a few shots- my favorite one is the last one :)
Happy Weekend.

Red Turtleneck

Well Helloooo abit of a zoolander face today:)  I really feel like I have lost my fashion mojo!!  Right now in the face of packing for our move I am finding all these clothes that I have been hanging onto for years that I never wear but keep since you NEVER KNOW when it may be in fashion again.  It feels good to purge all that stuff.  Also- I have all kinds of crazy things from thrift stores that I don't wear, or some of them that I DO wear-- I shouldn't :)   For me this is an exciting phase of redefining my look-- out with the old and in with the new.  I will be more intentional with the new stuff however, and only buy stuff that is POW!! SHAZAM!! DAMN AWESOME!! No more 'just okay and I will buy it because its only $2.00!!'

You know that feeling when you put on an outfit and you feel amazing VERSUS that frumpy outfit and you feel frumpy?  I find that strange given our happiness is an experience rather than to be sourced from something external.  Anyway-- just a thought or question.

Do you think your outfit is what makes you feel good/not good?  And if so why?

Going Nowhere

I felt pretty darn good in this outfit as I made my way to the seaplane terminal this morning. Was heading to the Big City for a meeting. EXCEPT.FOR.THE.FOG. Thanks Fog. I got sent home because all the flights were cancelled. What a waste of a great outfit not to mention missing out on my stakeholder meeting. Sigh. What's a girl to do?

I sure notice the difference between wearing an outfit that I feel awesome in compared to one that I feel frumpy wearing. UGH.  I just need to pre-plan and put together more of the GOOD ones so I feel hot more often :)

High waisted pencil skirts are on the top of my list- as worn previously here Pink Top Pencil Skirt.
Nothin like some whoopa$$ sass in your day.

Have a good one,
J

80's Flashback

New Blazer. I had this on my list last year and could not find the right boyfriend blazer to fit me. Low and behold I recently found this one on a sales rack. I love it however the minute I put it on I feel like breaking out singing Karma Chameleon.

Race season will be done after this weekend and I get to chill for about a month then get back into it. I'm going to be teaching TRX this year.  Have you heard of it? It originated with some knarly military guys getting stuck in the middle of nowhere for a long time with nothing to do so they put together a bunch of ropes and straps and made up some workouts to keep them fit while they were waiting for help to come.  Great story and if you do the exercises you get a killer bod too!!

Not much else to report today. Over n out. Hope you had a great day yourselves. J

The big move

Happy Friday!  Our exciting news is that are buying  a wee bit of a bigger house.  And, its just down the street so we get to stay in the neighbourhood.    We have a few months until we move in which means I can be well prepared. I am already going through all my old stuff and cleaning out.  I'm the kind of person who likes to have the boxes packed and neatly stacked in the corner for weeks before moving. Everything organized and  tidy.

I have realized that I certainly do not need to buy new clothes for a long time. I have TONS of clothes.

Interesting- I have a big box of scarves.  I love scarves.  As I was going through the box I realized there were scarves in there that I forgot I had.  I get bored of things and its not like I NEED something new but its like the novelty of having a new item.  Even if its new to me but from the thrift store, thats still something different. Don't get me wrong, I am not a materialistic kind of gal, I just like alot of variation.

Anyway, I am being intentional about cleaning out alot of the stuff I dont wear or don't really need.  It will feel really freeing to let go of alot of the unnecessary stuff.

Of course I have been scouring the internet for house ideas and already envisioning how I am going to be setting up the new rooms. AND there will be a bigger room that I can set my camera up and leave in there so its almost like my photographic studio. I hope that it is easy to just snap shots in the morning before I go to work.

Alright, back to my room I go and back to sorting and tossing.

Happy Weekend everyone!! I will share house photos in a few months once we move in.

mwah

J

The Rain Begins

And the rainy season begins.  I prepare myself for the next 4 months (at least) of rain!  I like fall weather but do get tired of constant rain. At least I don't live in Vancouver where its even worse!

Since we aren't training now and its only been 1 week since our ironman race, we have some time to do other things- walks in the park, yard work, thrift store shopping:), etc.  We went for a nice long walk this morning, stopped by our favorite coffee shop and then wandered home in a bit of an aimless fashion.  Very nice to relax!!   I hope you are all enjoying your Sunday afternoons. Talk to you this week!!

Cheers
J

Last Tri of the Season

Okay, now that I am done my big race (ironman) for this season I will be back to wearing more interesting clothing and regular posting. Thats the plan anyway :)

On the jock side of things: the race I just did was one of the most grueling competitions I have ever done. We had extreme weather conditions - wind, hail and thunder. Many people could not even finish the race.  I placed 4th in my age category so I'm very pleased with that especially because no matter how well trained you are, you never know what elements you will be up against on race day. Thank goodness ME STRONG LIKE OX. hah hah

There are tons of awesome looking consignment and thrift stores in this little town we are staying in so I cant wait to check them out and see what I can find.

Thats the extent of my post for now, toodle doo and talk to ya later.
J

Riding in the Desert

I just spent a week cycling in Nevada. It was hot, muggy and heavenly!!

Lake Mead is fantastic for riding. Long stretches of road with little to no traffic. Absolutely gorgeous scenery too, so different from the west coast of BC.

I rode 90 km on my first ride.  Went through lots of water.

Lots of cool cactus along the roadside.

In total I road about 300 km while there. Ran a few times and swam every second morning at the Multi-gen centre. They have an outdoor pool which is awesome!!

The friends we were staying with took us to Red Rock Canyon. That was cool!!

The other highlight was that fiance and I went to Cirque du Soleil. My favorite performance in the whole entire world. In another life I would be one of those performers. I am so totally inspired by their physical ability. I often fantasize that if I ever lost my job I would run away and join them :)

My FIRST time ever gambling.  I plugged in $5.00 and played a few games. Won some, lost some. Then I closed out the night with 5 cents.  Woot woot.

Am back home now and 1 week away from my big ironman race. ohhh getting nervous!!