I am Rosie. I live in a small town (seriously, it’s made up of 5 square miles) outside Charlotte, North Carolina with my 4 year old son and my husband. In most of my every day life, I call my husband BF and my son Happy so that’s what I call them here, too. I spend the fall and winter obsessing over NFL fantasy football and my cardigan collection and the spring and summer obsessing over my garden and pleasure reading. I am a fair-weather runner, a crack of dawn worker, and dig yoga, Pilates, surfing, and stand up paddling. I came to any semblance of athleticism in adulthood. I paint for pleasure, write for purpose, and parent with equal parts whimsy and panic. I battle having enough time to do anything that I love outside of just getting my workdone, the family fed, and making sure our boy feels loved, but I have paid a lot of attention to that tension in the last year and a half and have made really great strides.
I’ve got an eclectic professional set-up: I teach Body Image classes at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, I do workshops and retreats for women and girls, I do some speaking around the country, I help run a non-profit that empowers young Latinas called Circle de Luz, and I write books and inspirational columns and blogs. And while how I do what I do is eclectic, it all comes down to this: my mission is to empower women to embrace their authentic selves so they can live their passion and purpose and give their gifts to the world.
I’m always looking for post ideas, so please don’t be shy about what you like and what you don’t. If you have a question about what I do, how I do it, or anything else, just ask. If I can answer it with any modicum of intelligence in a future blog post, I’ll try.
I am inspired by conversations– real ones and e-ones so I hope you’ll share your thoughts here and get me thinking even more (please don’t make me the crazy lady who talks to herself in real life AND on the internet).
Now your turn!
- Where do you live?
- What’s a little known fact about you?
- What brought you to this little corner of the internet?
- Do you have a blog? If so, please tell me a little bit about it and include a link!
- What posts do you like, and which ones bore you to tears?
- Do you have a question that you’d love for me to try to answer?
- Do you know me, if so how?
- And anything else you wish to share.
I look forward to making this corner of the internet a little more intimate!
I am Adah! I live in a small town near your small town. I know you from Tuesday Club (although I’ve been scarce at programs this year). I can’t remember how I got to your blog exactly, but it was after we met again at Tues Club. I know several people who know you quite well, so when I talk to them about your blog posts it makes me feel even more like we are friends!! I teach middle and high school science, mostly biology and environmental courses but generals science, too. I love school, but I also love thinking about and trying ways to re-invent school. I work in a school that is enormously trusting and supportive of faculty! At home, my husband and I have two kids under the age of five, nine chickens, two cats that we never intended to keep, and a high-maintenance old house.
Currently I love reading books about backyard homesteading, but most of my reading is blog content. I use Google Reader to keep track of the ones I follow and I really wonder how everyone else keeps up with their blogs, since no one seems to have ever heard of Google Reader (and I imagine that some day it might be nixed).
I started a personal blog that I never kept up with. Recently several colleagues and I have started a professional blog that I am enjoying being a part of. Lately I have been pondering community building, so many of your posts are a perfect fit for the mental exercises I like to do. I am interested in how teachers can foster independence and also community building skills in their students. We want our students to be independent learners but not so independent that it is isolating and/or self-destructive. Communities of various kinds are the obvious complement to independence, but knowing how to create and grow a community is not intuitive for everyone. So I am spending some time thinking about that.
I read almost every word of all of your posts. I am fascinated by the journey of your life and how you’ve actualized a professional set-up, as you say, that captures what you want to do but makes ends meet and isn’t a traditional 9 to 5. I am also awed by the wisdom you share in the form of lists of ways to think about things and make them happen! Your blog has been eye-opening to say the least.
I could go on . . but for now I will leave you with my current secret wish, which is to have a milking cow (I would settle for a pig, though).
Adah, I always forget that you read the blog. I love it. That makes me happy to know that someone I might run into at Tuesday Club (i have always been scarce) or around one of our two towns is reading. I had no idea that you had chickens. I must find you at spring picnic and hear all about them– what fun! And I know that feeling about teaching and wanting to find the right balance between cultivating independent-mindedness while also building community. Are you reading anything about community building that you would recommend? And I love your secret wish. I got to care for pigs and cows on my grandfather’s farm growing up and I have an affinity for both! Hope to see you around soon!
I’m Marie. I’m French. For two years, I lived in New York with my son. I’m a teacher and I taught FFL in a French English Dual Language in a Public School in the Bronx. It has been an amazing experience. One day, while I was looking for a book to read (I was in the wonderful public library, 5th avenue!!!), my choice was your Beautiful You book. Even if I didn’t unterstand every words, your message went straight to my heart. And at this moment, I needed to read this kind of message 😉 During our stay in NY, I had a blog : diary of a mapie girl.eklablog.fr. Everything is written in French! Now, we live in France (South, near the Mediterranée beach). We have wonderful friends who are lovely with us! And I don’t forget my american friends! I miss them so much… Since January 1st, we decided, some friends and I, to share the experience of Beautiful You Journal. Every day, I translate the book for them. We bought a notebook (mine is decorated with colored flowers, one friend bought a black and white notepad)and try to be as sincere as we can! And I improve both my English and my soul. When I read your blog, I love the lists! And also the goals for the month, or the week. You have so many surprising and great ideas. Please, write, again and again. What a pleasure to read you.
Oh Marie, what a pleasure to know more about you! I love that you happened to find BY at the library– as I have such a heart for the library (it is where I spent Saturdays growing up). Are you teaching in France now? And your Beautiful You book club fills me with joy! Thank you for letting me be a part of your very special community and for being a part of my community here!
I’m going to jump right in b/c I am having a day…
I live near Rosie, for now. Not sure where life is taking my family this year. I had truly just emailed Rosie to tell her I needed to look for a job when my phone rang with someone wanting to talk about me becoming a travel agent. It SCARES me. What if I really don’t know what I’m doing?!? What if I screw up? What if we end up in the poor house?
I was about to say I never have felt anxiety about a big decision before (moving, parenthood, adopting, world travel) and then I remembered I almost didn’t go to my own wedding. There have been times I’ve wanted to leave since. (Hey, I’m being honest here.) But in the past few months I’ve realized that while it has not been always pretty or romantic by others’ standards, my marriage is strong and has allowed me to become truly myself. My husband is not some macho, big money dude. But he is the only partner I’ve met so far in life who is not afraid of my crazy, and sees amazing things in me that I’m not sure are there.
So, I guess I jump in???
Carrie (mom to 3 teen and tween girls, with an addiction to volunteering)
My counter question to you, Carrie, is what if you don’t? What if this is what you were mean to do all along (I know how you love travel)? And so funny that you say that about how your partner is not afraid of your crazy because I always say that we’ve all got a little crazy, the key is to find someone who likes, needs, or isn’t afraid of your brand of crazy. What a gift to have found that! Look forward to see where you search takes you!
Hi! I’m Trini (it’s short for Katrina, though I don’t remember the last time anyone’s called me that). I’m 25, and I just started going back to school for my degree in early education. I love cooking/baking and gardening and reading. Yoga and pilates are my favorite forms of exercise, even though I’m trying to incorporate more cardio. Usually when I’m stressed, I find a lot of comfort in cleaning, baking, knitting, and cuddling up with my main squeeze.
I *just* moved from Connecticut to a suburb outside of Pittsburgh, PA. It’s been challenging being so far away from my friends and family for the first time in my life, but at the same time it’s been nice to be able to reinvent some parts of my life and habits. I’ve been spending more time on yoga and trying new recipes and giving myself some attention for a change.
A little known fact about me is that when I first was deciding on a college major, I was going to go into musical theater. I’m now an early education major, which is something I’m equally passionate about. A lot of people don’t know my original major, since I don’t really sing or act very frequently anymore (something that a part of me misses dearly, but I’m also finding myself becoming shyer as I get older). I left school before I was done the first time, and I don’t really try to explain to people why I have to take so many core classes over again (reason being that the general education requirements for teaching are INCREDIBLY more stringent from those for theater).
I came to this part of the internet through Mara Glatzel. I think I found her blog through some twitter friends, and I fell in love. I was always very hard on myself, if not on my body then more on my personality and thinking I wasn’t good enough. So a lot of topics regarding self-love really resonate with me, and it’s been something I’ve been actively trying to work on.
I don’t have a blog. I journal, and I’ve been working through the Beautiful You prompts. I’ve been considering blogging again, since going back to school has raised a lot of thoughts and ideas. I do have a tumblr, though that’s primarily for sharing cute animal pictures with friends.
I’m generally a fan of all your posts. I really like the Friday Reflections, and anything that may lead to an new recipe for me to try.
I guess the question I would have for you is how to take steps towards accepting who I am as a complete person. That’s what I’ve had struggles with in the past and on my really low days (when I feel like I can’t get anything right), it’s what I tend to go back to.
I don’t know you personally but I think you’re inspiring and I look forward to reading your posts in my google reader each morning =)
Oh, Trini, so many things I want to talk about– where to start?! Back in your musical theaters days, what musical did you most want to perform? So glad that BY has become a part of your journey! As for Friday reflections, I am still really digging on these honey oatmeal muffins. You must make them! And I will keep working on posts that talk about how to move towards accepting all of you. Thanks for your kind words!
Hi, I’m Shannon. I live in a little town about 30 mins east of Raleigh, NC (small world!). I stumbled across your blog in surfing for inspirational/positive body image sites and recently won a contest on your site that included your wonderful book! I do have a personal blog, http://www.intuitiveeatingjournal.blogspot.com about my disordered eating and body image struggles. Ironically, I am a social worker/therapist myself. Nobody’s perfect, eh? I love reading about positive body image, recovery from eating disorders and fun anecdotes.
I am mother to a 19 month old daughter and I am trying to learn more about how I can make sure to raise her with a good self-image and prevent my patterns from being repeated, having been raised by a disordered eater myself.
Hooray for small towns, Shannon, and for BY finding its way to you. You should be so incredibly inspired by you and your journey of healing and intentionality- I am! I have some mother/ daughter posts on here and over at Mamiverse and will continue to keep that in mind as I brainstorm and write!
I am a licensed clinical psychologist in Overland Park, KS (a suburb of Kansas City) and I have three little boys (5, 3, 1). I am the founder and director for a nonprofit called REbeL (www.rebelks.com) that works to raise awareness of eating and body image issues as well as bullying, peer pressure, etc. We work within area schools and help teens become peer educators so they can try to act as agents of change within their friend groups. I also had an eating disorder during my teen years and find body image problems to be a struggle for nearly every woman I know. As such, I particularly love your posts on self-image, appearance, the media and its manipulations, etc. I am typically putting my baby down for a nap when your blog posts come to my email so I read them on my phone while rocking him. And the Friday Reflections posts always make me smile. I do not have a blog.
Laura, thank you for what you are doing– it is such important work! Great to know what posts are particularly insightful to you– I’ll keep those up. And it makes me smile that Friday Reflections is a tradition you like! Fingers crossed that I get to go to Kansas City one day!
I can’t resist. I live in Fairfield, CT. A little known fact about me is that I have HORRIBLE vision in one eye that they tried to correct with a patch when I was little and it didn’t work. That I will lose sight in my good eye is one of my not-so-irrational fears. Having my kids on a boat is one of my irrational fears.
Here’s why I can’t help but answer. I am at this little corner of the internet because I had the amazing good fortune of having Rosie be my first friend when I started a new high school. I can tell you all that she has ALWAYS been good and kind and I have never heard a bad or unsupportive word out of her mouth. She is the real deal.
I would start a blog but I think it would end up being about my attempts to be a more old-fashioned mom in a modern world, and who wants to read that????
I love any post about Happy, but I love the annual cupcake post. I don’t think I have ever been bored by your posts, but that is largely in part because when I read your writing, I hear your voice and it makes me smile.
Steph, I had NO idea about your vision! I would totally have the same fear. And I am with you on the what other people would consider crazy kid fears (but I think are totally rational). I most freak out when in a mall with Happy and he walks over to the little cutouts on the 2nd floor that let you look down at the first floor. I totally go bonkers– heart racing, sweat, tight chest. So there is just a smidge of my cray cray.
Thank you for your sweet words. It was my great fortune to be your first friend at SVHS and an even greater honor to still call you friend today. And I would LOVE to read that blog. Please.
Crack me up that you remember the cupcake post. it is such a quintessential moment in my and BF’s relationship. Valentine’s Day is coming which means so is the cupcake post (and also means that I am that much closer to seeing you!).
Hi! My name is Drea and I was born & raised in Jackson,MS. I now live in Charlotte,NC with my 6 yr old maltipoo Bo. I absolutely LOVE to sing and dance but I can’t do either very well. I consider myself an armchair psychologist who is a mix between Dr. Phil, Iyanla Vanzant and Sister Souljah. I enjoy reading all types of fiction and autobiographies, huge football & basketball fan and love hosting big gatherings of family & friends. I read your blog at least a couple of times a week for inspiration and thought provoking ideas on how to authentically be ME and how that can show up in the world. I met you through a mutual friend Joy a few years ago. I do have a blog called Being Drea Nicole at http://www.beingdreanicole.blogspot.com. I write about everyday musings and other foolishness and like to read about people’s life journey.
Drea, Love that combination of armchair psych styles! And I had no idea that you love hosting– I bet you have some wonderful soirees! Saw your 33 things list– there are some great things on there! Eager to watch how it all goes!
Hello! My name is Samantha. I’m a creative and quirky 23 year old with a passion for photography and urban exploration. I currently live in Charlotte, NC in the Ballantyne area and I’m a student at UNC Charlotte graduating in May! On campus, I’m the co-founder and Vice President for the To Write Love on Her Arms UChapter which is an organization dedicated to finding help and presenting hope for students struggling with mental health disorders such as addiction, depression, self-injury, etc. Though I’ll graduate with a degree in English, my future plan is to pursue my new-found love of photography by taking art classes and possibly obtaining an apprenticeship with a local photographer.
I’ve been reading your blog since I took you for Body Image last semester! The course really helped me to find and accept myself in ways I never thought possible. I hoped that by reading your blog, it would be a reminder of what I learned in your class. In the future, I would love to see more posts related to coping with anxiety as I suffer from the disorder and there are days that I feel so overwhelmed that even getting out of bed seems like too much effort. Additionally, any post about Body Image and learning to accept your body really resonate with me.
I don’t have a blog but I do have a tumblr devoted to my photography (I have an actual website in production): http://www.tumblr.com/blog/yupitooksomepictures
SAM! I love that you are really looking into photography for your future- makes my heart happy. Just checked out the tumblr- love the anxiety photo series! Here’s a past post on my strategies for quieting anxiety and I’ll keep that in mind (and, of course, accepting your body and self) for future posts! https://rosiemolinary.com/2012/09/11/the-list-quieting-anxiety/ Happy last semester of college!
I live in Houston, TEXAS
I don’t think there is a little known fact about me. I am a HUGE OPEN BOOK! I’m a single mom now. I have 2 wonderfully gifted children and I just recently blogged about how my son is a “high functioning” Aspe.
I can’t remember how I first heard about you! I’m also a blogger and I love the way you inspire women.
http://www.shoegirlcorner.blogspot.com I’ve been blogging for 8 years. I love writing. I love inspiring women, I love making a difference in someone’s life.
One of my favorite posts was the one about how BF built you that beautiful writing room. I loved it and I wanted one too! One day I’ll have one.
I want to know you. I hope to meet you in person one day.
I also blog for skirt! magazine at http://www.skirt.com/shoegirl1970
Loida, You will make BF’s year. The Sugar Shack is the sweetest of spaces; BF gave me an incredible gift. Blogging for 8 years is just incredible– that’s awesome! And I hope to meet you one day in real life, too! Love live skirt!
Where do you live? About 25 minutes north of Atlanta, in Woodstock.
What’s a little known fact about you? I joke with friends sometimes about “being born the wrong color,” especially after marrying into a Latino family. I have never felt more welcomed except when I’m with my own blood relatives, and my loyalty and gratitude to them is unparalleled. After getting married, my views on immigration, illegal immigrants and the process of becoming an American citizen changed drastically. It’s hard for me to not fly into a blind rage now if I see anyone posting negatively about it, and I have to remind myself that opinions are like you-know-whats.
What brought you to this little corner of the internet? honestly can’t remember how we met – on Twitter? Through Blogger?
Do you have a blog? I do. I’ve been blogging since 2007 right before a breakup and I needed a place to vent. Before that, I had a LiveJournal and wrote there sometimes. Ashleygraceless.com has a little of everything in it, really. My goal is to be more consistent with the writing, even if it’s not my best.
What posts do you like, and which ones bore you to tears? I can’t think of any that bore me to tears, but I do know that I thoroughly enjoy any about Circle de Luz. I think that’s an amazing program.
Do you have a question that you’d love for me to try to answer? Do you have any suggestions for someone trying to learn Spanish as a second language later in life? Some days I get so discouraged.
Do you know me, if so how? Not personally, but we’ve been Internet acquaintances for a while. I would love the opportunity to one day come to one of your writing workshops.
And anything else you wish to share. I still have not finished reading The Artist’s Way since you recommended it back in 2009. Another goal…
Ashley, How did we connect? I feel like we’ve been e-friends forever! Oh, that touches me that you are inspired by Circle de Luz. I actually do have a few Circle posts coming– keep an eye out! Alright for Spanish– here is my suggestion (although this might be what you are already doing)– buy an audio language program (I’ve never used Rosetta Stone but in that vein) and listen to it on your commutes, longer car trips. I did this to learn Portuguese before a summer in Brazil (and no, knowing Spanish didn’t help with Portguese- I think it was actually a distraction). I thought there was no way in heck it worked but after 24 hours in Brazil, something clicked and I was conversational. I was shocked because I had spent the spring just talking to myself in the car in Portuguese. So, that would be my big recommendation. That and some WAPA and Univision tv watching and then practicing with whomever you know who speaks Spanish.
I would love to have you for a writing workshop. I am actually doing one in March if that might be a good time to visit family: http://www.weatherscreek.net/Weathers_Creek/March_-_Molinary.html.
Hmm, maybe The Artist’s Way just isn’t your thing. Maybe given it another try for 2 weeks or something and if it doesn’t click, then just let it go!
Can’t wait to meet you one day!
Hi! My name is Joanna, and I am so excited that I am not the only with crazy-worrying-about-kids syndrome! Isn’t it amazing how things are escalated and magnified when it comes to your children? I think mine has gone beyond worry to anxiety, so I could probably learn some things from Samantha P. (above). That was going to be my little known fact, but since it seems so popular, I’ll go with something else. How about this…I sang in the show choir and women’s a cappella groups in college, a fact that my husband uses as a source of endless teasing. I will now tell you a little known fact about my husband. He sang in an opera in TN when he was a child. So there!
I do not have a blog yet, but it should be up and running by the Spring, in conjunction with my launching a personal stylist business here in Richmond, VA (after 7 years of staying at home with my sweet kids). I have, so far in life, managed to avoid Facebook, but starting a business means delving into social media. I’m working on Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram, wishing I could continue avoiding Facebook. I know I can’t.
I am so lucky to have known Rosie for many, many years (starting in middle school). Rosie is the kind of person who makes you feel like you are the most interesting person in the world. I really think she believes you are. All of you. I love that about her. I love so many things about her, including the amazing work she does! Rosie, nothing you have written has ever bored me to tears. I look forward to reading all of your posts, articles, books, etc!
I’m off to bed now. My husband is out of town, and I will put my son in bed with me tonight. I’m “worried” because he wasn’t really acting like himself today.
Jo, I love that you sang in show choir and the a cappella group. That’s awesome. And P singing in the opera? Stop it.
I really am so excited that you re launching a personal stylist business. Wish you could style me from afar. If something ever takes me to Richmond, I’m hiring you! And a truth: you can still avoid a personal Facebook page. I only have a professional Facebook page, and it is just the perfect happy medium. Just a thought.
Awww, you are just the sweetest. I feel pretty lucky to have know you for so long, too. I say things all the time that are from my Joanna days. For example, What kind of a question is that? Its a (burrito), of course it is good. I also remember us deciding once in high school that all we needed to complete a look was earrings. When I put in earrings, I often think about that.
Hope your little guy is acting more like himself today. Love to you both.
Qué pasa, Amiga! Soy Colleen, de Del Rio, Texas. Vivo en la frontera Texas-México.
Enough Spanglish. I know Rosie from Facebook. Somebody posted a link to one of your blog posts on body image, I liked it, and liked your FB page. I generally enjoy all of your blog posts that I read, but i’m only a casual reader. Any post about Happy usually makes my day, because my kids are all grown up, & I miss having little kids around. I love reading about the college class you teach. A little known fact? Depends on the audience, I suppose. I don’t blog, not really interested in writing that much.
I teach Physical Education at an all sixth grade campus. 750 sixth graders, nothing but sixth graders. I am paid to laugh and play all day. Yes, it is a public school, and I used to teach science on this campus, and I felt the same way then. I feel sorry for people who have to work with adults all day. That would drive me to drinkin’! I’m a glass half full, find a silver lining kind of person. Bloom where you’re planted, ladies!
Colleen, Hola m’ija!
Oh, I love that your school is just a sixth grade campus. There are probably a couple grades where that would be great (9th). But sixth graders are such a special, special group. They haven’t quite hit the hormonal craziness that really takes off in 7th grade and so there is something really still very dear and vulnerable, less self-conscious about them. I know you must laugh all day long!
And, yes, bloom where you are planted, indeed! So glad that you do and that you remind kids of that important truth everyday!
Our 9th graders ARE at their own campus, right next door to DRHS! The freshman teachers love it. Now THAT is a special group of teachers.
Hi Rosie,
My name is Bethany, or B but definitely not Beth (smile). I live in Portland, Oregon. The City of Roses, RipCity (Blazers), Stumptown (coffee), Nike-town, home of the tv show Portlandia and the land of foodcarts, Voodoo doughnuts, craft beer, rain, composting, hiking and everything green. Can you tell I LOVE this city?
I think I may be only west-coast follower who’s posted something here so far. Fun!
A little known fact about me is that I’m extremely shy and modest despite my gregarious, outgoing, vivacious personality. I’m learning to trust myself and others to show this more vulnerable side. Sometimes it feels good, sometimes not.
I am so grateful that I found your blog, you, your book Beautiful You and this community of women who remind me that I’m not alone. I have a near photographic memory so it’s odd that I can’t exactly pinpoint how our paths crossed. In Portland there is an amazing wellness space that I frequent (BeNourished.org) and they have flyers and information about intuitive eating, body trust etc. I think one day I googled information and came across Christine Inge’s blog (or maybe it was The Organic Sister or Mara Glatzel’s blog?) and she was RAVING about your book. That led me to your blog which led me to tears of joy, which sparked a hope within me which made me drive to the bookstore and buy BY and a new journal!
I have a blog that was the brainchild of an idea I had when I was unemployed in 2008. It’s called hiremeimawesome.blogspot.com and I love it. I haven’t updated it recently or very frequently over the years but I love to write and when I think something is a relevant topic I’ll share it.
The posts I love the most are the “this moment” posts of Happy. It just makes my heart smile. The posts I need the most and the ones that keep me coming back for more are all the other ones! Ha. Seriously though. There is always a take-away.
When I first started reading your blog I felt like we were soul sisters. In addition to the body image struggles, I too am bi-racial and experienced so many similar experiences you’ve described. So, it’s a blessing to connect with you and your amazing work. I hope to come join you one day for the workshops you facilitate with the horses and meet you personally. THAT would be so fun!
The only other thing I’d like to know is, who do you want to be in the Superbowl this year and who do you want to win? I want Ray Lewis and the Ravens to get there and I want them to beat the Falcons or 49ers because both those teams beat the Seahawks. So I guess I just said I want the Ravens to win.
Joy to you,
B
I am with you on Portland, Bethany. One of my BFFs has lived there (she’s a naturopath) for a long time and I LOVE Portland. After my first visit in high school, I thought that somehow I would end up living there one day. It’s in my top five cities in the US for sure.
I completely understand that dichotomy of being gregarious but also being more shy. People are shocked to learn that I am pretty introverted. Sometimes, I just have to remind myself to take that first step over my shyness because everything will be okay after that (and my insides know what to do, I tell myself).
I am so glad that the universe saw to it that we got connected and honored that BY has been part of your journey.
So did hiremeimawesome lead to a job? And what do yu do for a living (if you are comfortable sharing)?
Oh, I would love to have you here for a horse workshop. We are actually noodling with the idea of doing a long horse weekend retreat where it would make sense to fly in it for it because there would be 2.5 days of programming and it would really be a big event for an out of towner. It wouldn’t happen before the fall but I do so hope it happens. I think we have found an incredible place for it.
And now for the Super Bowl. Before last weekend, I really wanted the Seahawks vs. Ravens and would have been happy with either income. Now, I want 49ers and Ravens (it will be the brother bowl) and I will be happy with either winner with probably a slight edge to the Ravens (so if it is not both of these teams, I am pulling for either of these two teams who get in). I really wanted it to be a Manningless, Bradyless Bowl. Yeah, they are great quarterbacks but I just REALLY want some Superbowl team diversity. So, go Harbaughs!
Hey Rosie,
My blog didn’t specifically land me a job, no. But the “Hire Me! I’m Awesome.”fancy business cards I handed out during interviews may have set me apart from the rest of the candidates. It was a great conversation piece and always seemed to make people smile.
After 9 months of volunteering and 15 interviews I landed a job with a beverage distributor as a financial analyst. I really love my line of work and hope to transition into a leadership or management position soon.
Thanks for putting together this mixer. So great!
Cheers,
Bethany
Oh my goodness. If you gave me a Hire Me I’m Awesome business card after an interview, i totally would. Brilliant.
And that is awesome that you ended up with a position that you really loved. Good luck with that promotion!
I like this mixer idea 🙂
My first name is Kessia Reyne (KESS-ee-uh RAIN), and I live in Chicago, several states away from the Pacific Northwest where my heart still lives 🙂 I’m married to a fantastic man and I just started my PhD in theological studies. Little known fact? I danced ballet as a teenager. And I miss it!
I first came to your blog through a friend (http://heatherbo.blogspot.com) who spends a lot of her blog words on body image issues. I can’t remember the first post that I read here, but whatever it was, I loved it and subscribed immediately! That was a little over a year ago. I keep coming back because it speaks to the feminist idealist in me that cheers along with healthy body image messages and also the imbalanced person in me that from time to time loses her joy in the to-do lists.
I do have a blog (http://kreyne.blogspot.com) and it’s made up basically of short personal reflections, often religious in nature.
I especially like the posts that are about body conceptions and personal identity, posts that tell your own story, and short ones 🙂 I don’t think I’ve ever been bored to tears here.
And no, I don’t know you. Maybe one day!
Oh– and my word for 2013 is “persist.” La que persevera, triunfa.
By the way, I sent that post of yours to several of my friends. Now we all have words for 2013 and it’s cool to be able to check in on each other.
Oh, Kessia, I love Chicago. It is also in my top five favorite cities (Portland, Seattle, San Diego, Chicago, and Burlington, Vermont).
Very cool about your PhD. One of my dear friends has an MDiv in Theological Stories and a blog called HolyHellions.com. You might dig it. Would you like to be a professor one day?
How cool that you danced ballet– such a gorgeous dance form! Do you dance at all right now?
Persist is a LOVELY word for the year. And I love that you and your friends have each chosen a word for the year and can help each other find way.
So happy that we have been connected!
Hello hello to you!
My name is Kate Morris and I live in Rock Island, IL. We moved here when my now six-month-old daughter, Parker, was only 10 days old! My husband teaches Religious Studies at Augustana College and I was just hired as Associate Pastor at a Lutheran church down the road. I am originally from SC, and I so enjoy being with my family, most of whom are still down south. I dabble in cooking, photography, writing, and exercise (yoga, running, punching and kicking to some video or another in my living room).
I met Rosie when I was a student at Davidson College, and we reconnected several years ago when I started blogging about my experience with eating disorders and, more generally, being a woman in a world full of societal pressures to be thin, strong, lovely, smart, silent, sexy, funny, polite…at Thighs and Offerings (www.thighsandofferings.blogspot.com).
While that “chapter” of my life during which I most intensely suffered from eating disorders will never be completely in the rear-view – during the hard days, the lonely and stressful and seemingly endless days, I still find myself turning to food and, if I’m not careful, self-deprecation and self-destruction – blogging helped me work through so many of those issues in a positive and wildly affirming community.
For the time being, though, I have stopped blogging. Before I had a baby, my issues were mine. If people judged me, fine. Since then, my issues become part of who I am as a mother, too, or that’s how it feels, and because that part of my life is still so new and so vulnerable, I need it to be off-limits to the judgment of others. Does that make sense? I still think often about and work continuously toward health with relation to food and body image. And I still hope and pray that somewhere down the road my work leads me in the direction of positively influencing others with the same issues. (I pray this a lot, actually. I secretly hope to receive a phone call offering me the opportunity of a lifetime in the field of positive body image in a religious context in, oh I don’t know, Davidson, NC. Ha.)
I love the posts where you, Rosie, share a story about your life, your childhood, your family, or your work. I know you must think that’s most of your posts, and indeed it is. So, keep up the good work! 🙂 Nice to meet the rest of you!
Hello sweet Kate! Congratulations on your new gig! I hope that it is really a wonderful fit for you– how fortunate they are to have you. Your reason for not blogging right now makes complete sense– I so understand. That said, I encourage anyone reading these intros to go read Kate’s blog. Her post stand the test of time and are so insightful, encouraging and true. Keep putting those prayers out there, Kate. It could happen. And please give Dan and baby Parker my love. All my best to you, sweet friend.
Hi Rosie: We have been acquainted from a distance for a few years. We have overlapped on community projects. I have admired your work from a distance, so am trying to move in a little closer!
I live several small towns north of you. You know me as an artist, but a little known fact is that my husband and I also own a small farm further north. I am a great supporter of the environment and animals. It is both a wish and an active pursuit of mine to encourage awareness of nature – it’s amazing beauty, wisdom, and practicality.
I see many of you on this blog have children. I admire you and have enormous compassion for the issues you must face in raising children with love, wisdom, and protection. Since I don’t have children, I have decided that one of my roles is to personally support and protect animals – up close and personal. And also, I try to support women in their unique challenges and road to fulfillment.
I will enjoy seeing your posts. I wish you the best in the New Year ahead.
Hello Kathie! So happy to see you here. I want to know so much more about your farm. WHat kind of critters do you have, for example? I dream of farm life. Maybe one day!
I love your commitment to animals and to supporting women so clearly. Very powerfully said and I know you live it powerfully as well. Glad to have reconnected!
Hello, I’m Cecile! I’m French, married to a wonderful Italian man, and we live in Germany near Stuttgart together with our daughters Delight 4 yo and Enjoy 3 weeks old.
The way I’ve found your blog is quite long: I’ve read a French book about “alternative education” -> found FlyLady, who helped me to get organized in my household by solving some personal issues (beginning with perfectionism) and therefore giving me more self-esteem -> heard from Sandy on BodyBliss who hosted a serie of interviews about body image and self-esteem -> there! an interview from you! -> I’ve bought Beautiful You, still working with it, it is so powerful!!! It was more a boost than only a support on the journey to myself! -> eventually I was curious to read your blog. And I love it!
I enjoy all of your posts, they touch me deeply! I love any mental exercize that support my inner growth.
I’ve made a long trip from perfectionist, in-a-hurry, always busy to self-knowing, self-loving and more aware.
The experiences I make with my 5 senses are very important to me.
I’m currently Pinterest-addicted. My thoughts are always in effervescence, coming up with new ideas, learning from any event. I slowly begin to use this source for my enjoyment, not only for my job or for problem-solving… and this truly fulfills me!
I’d like to work on being more present, being mentally fully here and now. I know you already have written posts about it, and I’ll read them again… If you have ideas for further exercizes, I’d be very glad!
I wish you all the best!
Greetings
Cecile, Happy new year and new baby! I’ve been thinking about you so much lately and was eager to see you pop back up so I could check in. I am thrilled that you and the family are doing well and I hope the adjustment is going as smoothly as it can.
I loved hearing how you found BY and the blog. And thank you for your kind words.
I, too, love Pinterest. It just makes me happy. And I love how you shared that your thoughts are always in effervescence. Wonderfully said.
And, yes, I will think more about being more present- always an important issue!
Glad you are back!
Happy new year to you too Rosie! I wish you that this year brings you the flow you need!