Wanna know your thoughts...

....on this article. I, for one, am naturally very thin and was actually teased about it as a child. After having my children I filled out and carry any weight I gain in my butt! I'm proud of it and the day I grew hips and filled out was a happy day for me. If I don't work out or eat right I don't feel good about myself, if I do then I focus less on what size I am and feel good because I'm healthy. I would rather be healthy on the inside and be a bigger jean size than be scary skinny because I'm not eating right or working out. Being skinny and flabby doesn't feel good to me. Being fuller and maybe more muscular and toned makes me feel great. So I think we should focus less on size and more on what you are doing to make you the size you are. Be your natural you, your healthy you and whatever size that is, so be it! You will probably feel amazing if you know you are doing what you can to take care of your might body and soul!

Now here's that article that sparked this:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2085226/PLUS-Model-Magazines-Katya-Zharkova-cover-highlights-body-image-fashion-industry.html

This message brought to you by the world wide web...

We all know that the internet has taken over. It's become the number one way we communicate and is causing us to communicate in ways we never would have dreamt of a mere 5 years ago. In so many ways these changes are amazing and exciting. I, being someone who loves the idea of a time without cellphones, internet, television, etc. am for the most part scared by the promise that this is taking over our lives. The funny thing is, this message is being written and read on a computer, and I pay my bills by performing on television. So modern technology undoubtedly has it's perks.

I could write a hundred thousand word essay on the antithesis of that, and why it drives me crazy. Some ideas are; what it exposes our children to, us becoming an increasingly less social society while we becoming more social through a screen, less outdoor play, the need for instant gratification, the downfall of the english language and on and on and on I could (but won't) go.

This leads me to the reason for writing this scattered note. The US Postal service is going down down down baby down. It scares me because I love getting mail. I hate getting bills, but I love getting mail. It's one of the things thing that I believe simply cannot ever be replaced by the internet. E-cards just don't have the same feeling. You can't touch them, hold them, keep them forever... knowing that someone put the time and love into buying (or making), hand writing and mailing something for you. It didn't take a few minutes through a company that fills in the spaces for you and one click and it's off. It's the unexpected nice surprise that is mixed into your expected bills and junk mail. The birthday or Christmas card you didn't expect. It's the check from your grandma, the magazine you subscribe to, fan mail you sent, letter from your loved one in Iraq, the school photo of your niece, the confetti in the holiday card, the postcard from the Philippines, the smudge marks on the paper, the scent of your loved one, the S.W.A.K (sealed with a kiss) from your best friend.

When I read this article today it made me want to come on here and beg you all to try to send holiday cards this year. Even go buy an old typewriter, some cool paper and have fun with sending vintage-looking notes. Maybe keep an address book with the people you loves' mailing information in it and once in a blue moon, send them a card. Help the post office stay alive for as long as we can. It's up to us to continue on supporting something that our families before us relied on so much, before a time of status updates.

Who knows, you might miss it when it's finally gone.

And I would've mailed this if I knew each and every one of you addresses.


http://news.yahoo.com/postal-cuts-slow-delivery-first-class-mail-141723847.html

Keep warm in your homes and hearts,
*Chels

Breath in life.

I can handle problems when they needs to be handled. But there is always one thing that breaks me down each and every time. Suffering. I cannot process suffering. And hearing that a child is suffering is the worst thing I can possibly imagine. It kills me, it rips and tears me apart and I wish I could fix it. There is nothing I can do, and knowing that suffering is happening collapses my heart and soul. Life is so precious. We take for granted the simple things we take pleasure in. The beauty in simplicity. The ability to wake up in the morning and look a loved one in the eye. Simpler yet, the ability to wake up in the morning.
We are so quick to complain. We need to all take half a second each day to be grateful. To feel how lucky we are that we are not suffering and that we are blessed enough to be able to complain about a hole in our sock, or our work schedule or the barista doing our coffee wrong. Live and let live. Enjoy each breath. Relish in each moment. Do one thing each day to put a smile on even one person's face.
I'm heartbroken today. Not because my own child is suffering but because some else's is. It breaks my heart looking at my own babies faces knowing how lucky I am and how much we take for granted every day. I can't heal the broken, but I can help remind each and every one of you to take in every moment and be grateful. Ask yourself, is your problem is really a problem? And find joy in the small things.

Chels

Tao Porchon- Lynch...

So I thank you all for sticking with me and my sporadic posting. I'm gonna have a bit more time on my hands so have a feeling this'll become more regular...

Today I wanted to post about Tao Porchon-Lynch, 92 years old. Read the link I've attached and you'll see why I felt the need. This isn't about what she's doing (although it's amazing), but just the fact that she's not taken the path we all think we will take at 92. I'm going to go right ahead and say 'packing it in', because by that age so many do just that. We are told what our bodies are capable of and for how long, and give in to our 'limits' without pushing through them.

Anyway this has really made me look at growing older differently, and inspired me to take care of myself. Hopefully it'll do the same for you too :) I wish i could do what she does and I'm 25! Ha


http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20101129/lf_nm_life/us_fitness_yoga




Xo Chelsea

God did not create the universe.

Okay, I thought that would get some attention. So here is an article on the brilliant (most brilliant, actually) Stephen Hawking's views.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100902/lf_nm_life/us_britain_hawking


Clearly controversial, but highly fascinating. I am curious as to what your thoughts are. Even/especially the Christians, etc out there.

Read the article first though, I don't want just biased opinions based on the titled.


Go.






XO Chels

Time to talk fashion

Okay, so it's become clear that my little sister is a fashion savant. I, am clearly not (to anyone who knows me, I am very hit or miss). But it's the thought that counts, right? Maybe not.

Here's her blog:
http://www.boufihobbs.blogspot.com/



Boufi was her nickname as a kid cause her hair was so blonde it was see-through and it was pouffy. Someone called her Boufi and it stuck for life. Taylor (her real name) is 3 1/2 yrs younger than me and works as Canada's fashion merchandiser for Levi's, and 4 other huge lines.

Basically, she reps the lines and it's her job to sell the clothes to stores across Canada. A job people go to school for and even still have to work for years to get that high up. She is so good at what she does that she is one of the most sought after young talents in her field. And she is JUST 22. It has already taken her around Europe, the US and Canada, and she more than tripled Levi's sales for the quarter she worked for them. I'm such a proud big sis lol!

So here is what I've learned from her this week:

Retro patterns are hot:


Leopard can still be cool (thank god; I love it):



I need to find some Pamela Love jewelry:



I can bring out my clogs again (I heard this news, but needed the official from my sis):



So there you have it. Check out her blog for your fashion updates even if you are not quite as daft as I am in the field ;)

XO Chels

Who are we?

One of my favorite quotes. Sometimes it's good to be reminded. Thank you, Mr. Nelson Mandela.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Boufi

If you like blogs ( I'm assuming you do if you're reading this), check out my little sis' new blog. Not only is she adorable and gorgeous, and cooler than any girl I know, but she has an insane eye for fashion and will be showing that to you all. In fact, she's in the fashion industry.
Now I'm gonna go take a nap cause it's been a long week and I'm on lunch.. enjoy!

http://boufihobbs.blogspot.com/

Here she is Taylor "Boufi" Hobbs :)




XO Chels

“No object is so beautiful that, under certain conditions, it will not look ugly.”

I guess what's been stopping me from doing this project lately is the simple fact that I am overwhelmed by the magnitude of what I am taking on. All I want to do is contribute to the movement. The embrace yourself movement.

For decades we have listened to our mothers. We've been raised to love ourselves and yet we all emulate what we saw. Insecurities in the women who raised us or the need to keep up appearance. Even watching movie stars; looking flawless behind their vaseline-lensed cameras with flattering lighting and impeccable makeup. We've perused through magazines and the unattainable images they portray. We've been heartbroken, and rejected for a woman that represents something we're not. We as a whole put this incredible image of a woman on a pedestal held so high that no-one can touch it. We are all flawed. And even the few that seem unflawed are, themselves, flawed too.

The pressure to keep up. To keep up with what society tells us is perfect, is causing us to enter a time when women are no longer women, but plastic shells of what women used to be. Our children are going to grow up in a time when not having had plastic surgery is the rarity. When everyone starts to look the same because they are all trying to look special. Although the only thing that is moving us forward towards more plastic surgery is more technology. There has always been something that women have done to "enhance" their looks. Their outer shell. If we spent so much time enhancing our inner shell, we would be a much better society.

Still, things will not change and nor do I expect them to. Men and women are sexually fueled by what they see on the outside (initially, at least) and this helps the obsession. Of course, it's not just getting the life partner we want it is also getting the job we want and life we want. All of this seems to be hinged somehow on being physically attractive. All I hope is that I can encourage young women and men to work towards being the best that they can be. Many try to look like their favorite model, singer or movie star and in the process lose themselves and their true beauty. We are all flawed, we all have our self-esteem issues and when we can learn to love who we are and feel good about ourselves we will find a sense of self. The sad thing is that for many, this doesn't come until later in life. If somehow self love and acceptance can come at a younger age the focus will be on more important things, teens will grow up to be more successful happier adults, and suicide rates will come down.

If only the rest of the world would take action and stop putting images of unattainable males and females into the world and maybe more realistic instead.

So I'll continue on thinking of things big or small, to do my part in finding beauty in the unlit, untouched bodies of the world...

Pauly Boy

So...
my next blog on the artistic side of things is about a musician called Pauly Boy.

The first time I heard him play was live in Hollywood. "Till we meet again" made me cry; and after hearing it was about a couple in a terrible car accident, I feel just as touched every time I hear it. That doesn't take away from every single song of his, all of which have a haunting quality to them. He is a unique hybrid of, (and I hate comparing anyone to anyone) Jeff Buckley, NIck Drake, Elvis in his good looks, The Beatles for their song writing, and Johnny Cash when he hits those smooth low notes. There are so many processed, over synthesized musicians out now; and when I find someone who moves me like this, I feel like it's worth taking note and spreading the word. Oh and this is recorded in a home studio, word is; he is recording in Nashville soon. I'm not joking either.

Check out his myspace and/or facebook for his songs:


http://www.myspace.com/paulyboymusic

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pauly-Boy/45215527664

Inspiration at it's finest

I think it's about time I suggest everyone check out this photographer.

His name is Teren Oddo, and I happen to know him very well. He shoots musicians, fashion and entertainers/actors.

I am posting only a couple of his most recent photos that I LOVE so much they inspired me to post this blog, but his site has some equally inspirational stuff that I'm not posting here; so check it out.

www.terenoddo.com

Love always;

Chels