batty.us

Boog just came home and handed me my Mother’s Day gift. In tears.  As he is apt to do, he got a little rambunctious on the walk home, tripped, and my traditional Mother’s Day flower pot broke into pieces. He was devastated.

I gave him a big hug and told him that I loved it and he did such a beautiful job on the painting. We’re going to fix it and find a new flower to plant in it.

Things that break due to an epic fuckup are still worthy of love. Don’t forget that.

In the last post where I blathered on about my food and exercise, I think I kind of made it seem like the skies opened and everything is calm, cool and happy and I am just going about my life. Truth be told, things aren’t as hunky dory as they seem.

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Things have been way busy here. I’ve had a boatload of things to say but not a lotta time to throw up the words. First off, I got myself an amazing new job as a designer/creative for a small studio on the east side of Cleveland. It is absolutely fantastic and what is housed within the company’s walls is pretty amazing. Beautiful, high ceiling spaces and I have a 25″ monitor as a supplement to my 27″.  There is a couch area where we all gather and discuss the complexities of logo design. My weirdness is embraced and I am encouraged to go over the top, as I am apt to do. This is, hands down, the best job of my entire career, and what I’ve been dying for all this time. There was a moment there where I thought I was just completely burnt out on the design thing, but in retrospect, this burnt-outedness really didn’t have anything to do with my chosen profession. I know now that part of it was due to just not having the right job. The rest of this burnt-outedness is due to a wad of complexities that I am slowly now unraveling.

So, if you recall, my last post was fueled by exhausted rage.  In the last 3 months, I gave myself a lot of attention to figure out just WTF is going on. Extensive medical appointments proved everything was functioning normally, so I was thankful for that.

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This is a post that I have needed to make for a while. It’s about high time I wrote it, because the level of rage I have is immense. So, if you’ll excuse me, I need to rage like a motherfucker.

Advance warning: I AM GOING TO BE TALKING ABOUT MY UTERUS.

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So if you are acclimated to the Fitness World and are on the internet, you’ve more than likely come across images like these. Images of fitness models with Random Inspirational Quote #45024214 where the intention is to get you to PUT DOWN THE CHEESECAKE, FOR FUCKS SAKE SO YOU CAN GET SOME AB DEF ALREADY.

And while I will recognize that these kind of images are inspirational for some, and just maybe they DO just give you a little pause before you devour that cheesecake. But, I also think that these kinds of images fabricate a fantasy world in which we all head to the gym with shorty shorts on and perfectly sculpted calves and hit the treadmill and watch our abs glisten with sweat. And, just maybe, there are people out there who will not do anything to better their health because they think the gyms are full of the type of people pictured above.

It’s a fantasy. It’s a fantasy that I think wrongly distracts us from the reality of ourselves and prevents us from truly appreciating the reality of ourselves.  Turning a blind eye to all the awesomesauce we currently have in ourselves.  You are still worthy even if you’re carrying an extra 10/20/30/50 pounds, or if you jiggle when you deadlift, or look like an Italian sausage if you put on shorty shorts.

I am that last one, btw. Pass the onions and peppers.

This is what I want: I want to create a gallery full of *~inspirational images~* full of us regular folks. I definitely do not look *~hot~* (I love doing *~this~* to words. Its so *~MySpace~*) when I head to the gym. When I leave, I’m sweaty, full of chalk, and my hair is sticking up.  I could possibly also be stinky.  I want to create a resource of wonderful, truthful photos picturing people of all shapes and sizes celebrating their own selves and bettering their health. You never know – that person sitting on the bench next to you could very well be battling some inner demons that are telling her (or him) that they are not good enough because the fantasy lady (or dude) in the photo keeps telling them they’re Not Quite Right.

This is what I’d love for you to do:

Take a picture of yourself at your gym. Or outside, whatever. Doing what you do – whether its lifting, or running, or walking, or Crossfit, or Hungarian Toe Sloth Hot Yoga.  The pose is up to you, but full body is preferred. There is no hiding here, there is no shame. Flaunt what you got.

Include your own *~inspirational quote~* if you so choose. It could be deep. It could be  real. It could be something you’ve learned on your own journey on this here Earth. It could be some thing like “I pee when I OHP”. Whatever.

Put that quote on your image with your photo editor of choice. Here is one available online. You could feasibly get all blingee on me, but I do not want you to block your body. If you really want a quote on your photo and have trouble doing so – send it to me with the quote and I will do it for you. Trust me, I’m a designer.

Credit where credit is due. Tell me who you are and where you’re from.

Pack that shizz up and send it to me in an email. I will collect them all and start our own regular peeps *~inspirational gallery~* that we can consult often when we come across the feeling of Not Good Enough. Because that Not Good Enough feeling is crap, no matter who or what you are.

Both Dudes and Chicks apply here, btw. Oh, and you really buff people? You bring it on, too. I will honor all body fat percentages.

Spread the word. Share this post wherever you can. I want many images of all kinds of people.  I think this could turn into an amazing project full of things that we really need – most importantly, appreciation for ourselves.

Fantasy is great sometimes. It can help with creativity and expand your horizons. But to stay submerged in a fantasy world 24/7 can lead to a deteriorated appreciation for what you have right now. That is what is truly important.

I look forward to your photos.

Much Love,

Batty

1. hold myself accountable for my actions and my words.
2. find something i am good at.
3. create.
4. discover my calling.
5. love.
6. make adventures.
7. cultivate  friendship.
8. grow.
9. find peace.

May 2013 allow you to look back and be amazed at how far you’ve come.

We have an inordinate amount of boxes filled with Christmas tree ornaments, as I am sure many of you do. We have a handful of ones that have special meaning to us, of course – either ones that have been handed down to us through the generations, or ones commemorating special events. But the rest is just crap – meaningless filler purchased over the years to fill up space.

I don’t like crap too much.

So we decided to make our tree a bit more meaningful and uniquely us.  In case you missed the memo, we’re very much outdoorsy people. Most, if not all, of our vacations are spent in tents. This is us. D and I took a lovely hike through the pine forest a few weeks ago and collected pinecones and acorns to serve as the base of our decorations. We then spent an evening with Boog coating them in glitter and paint. Shut up, glitter totally occurs in nature.

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The latest to make its roundabouts in the social media:

The Flip Side: Workout

For the most part, everyone thinks it’s funny. Ok fine, it has its merits. Yes, there are things that women typically do in the gym, and there are things that men typically do in the gym. Stereotypes sufficiently played there, bravo.

There is an undertone to this video thats kind of rubbing me the wrong way, and I will tell you why.

That bench scene? That was totally my friend and I on Tuesday. We do that. In actuality, a lot of women do that. This video seems to suggest that it doesn’t and it is completely ironic and awkward.

There are women out there that act like “dudes” in the gym. Mind you, I am not talking about the lewd ass grabbing and come-ons that are nizz-asty and should not happen. I’m talking about the part where you see the women sweating their asses off under loads of weight, shouting encouragement at each other as they send that weight back to its origin, and hi-5 each other when its done.  We do that.

We sweat.

We push.

We act like “dudes”.

And there is absolutely, positively nothing wrong with that.

And we’re not freakshows, or a totally hilarious comedic concept portrayed in a joke video. I still have a vagina and the inherent sexiness of my bad self is not diminished because of this. I go to the gym, I grunt, I get sweaty, I yell, I sometimes forget to wipe my ass sweat off the seat, too – and I can still look killer in a hot pair of heels and fishnets.

I would like to have it so that when I hit the gym, these “roles” are not assigned, at all. More women, I bet, would be less intimidated to become the awesome, sexy-ass powerhouses they can be. We’re trying so hard for some equality around here – are videos like these actually helping?

Break that stereotype, women. We’re better than that. I will fight for your right to do whatever the hell you want to do in the gym without being judged.

Now wipe that ass sweat off the bench, because ew.

Our church is having an experimental service on Saturday nights throughout August. We decided to attend last night instead of the usual Sunday morning and now I am feeling strangely Catholic.

But I would like to tell you about the Homily. Mind you, this is my own recount and it might not be verbatim.  It ended with a guitar riff, pyrotechnics, and the priest moonwalking back to his seat, although D said he didn’t recall that part happening.

At the Homily, the priest talked about diet. We are told what to eat by various authorities – our doctors, nutritionists, yadda yadda. We make choices and consume things for various purposes – losing weight, getting healthier, getting stronger.

He then pointed out that we also have a Christian diet.  We are instructed to practice various things by our holy authorities. We make our choices and beliefs by these instructions, and our own personal reasoning. We choose what to consume as a Christian.

However, he pointed out, that there’s a lot of fear going on today and the instructions for both are reflecting that. Eat X because Y will kill you. Eat A because B will make you fat. Believe 1 because 2 is something scary. This is truth because Authority Told You So. Be Afraid. If you don’t, the consequences are disastrous.

He told us it was necessary to really take a look at what we are consuming, believing, and doing as Christians and really consider why we’re consuming, believing, and doing those things.

It never ceases to amaze me how, when, and where these Messages From the Universe come to me.

Do you practice your beliefs because it is good and right and it makes you – and those around you –  feel good, or is it out of some kind of fear of the alternative?

Are you suffering because Some Authority told you this is what you have to do in order to be a Good [insert Noun here]?

^^^^^ There are so many labels you can put at the end of that sentence.

Christian. Atheist. Person. Athlete. Skinny Person. Vegetarian. Paleo. $Label.

Are you killing yourself trying to get skinny because you’re afraid of being fat?

Are you dealing with the pain because They said if you don’t, you’re a pussy?

Consider this all today. Take a look at what you are feeding your body and soul and really think about why you’re doing that. Are you making the choices to be – and do – good because you want to be and do good? Or, are you consuming dogma out of fear of other things?

Do things and be things and consume things for the right reasons in every aspect of your life. Fear is not a very good reason.