Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Theo Jansen

"...and always strive to push the boundaries of what we know..." 
- Theo Jansen.
Here is what happens when you combine art and engineering....



Monday, February 27, 2012

Liu Bolin - the Invisible Man

This artist, Liu Bolin, is so amazing, I had to share!





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Sunday, February 19, 2012

free hugs!

just having some fun with iPhone photo app effects!







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Crazy Sexy Life!

Cancer. Bad.

No, I don't have cancer. I do have demons, though. I consider these my "cancer". (The list is tooooo long to name all of them, and maybe one day I'll blog about them). I'm tired of them. They drain my energy. I'm ready to be done....and finally get rid of them. 

This is part of the reason this blog has come to help me. It's become a way of healing. A way of inspiration and motivation. And though, at times, I "fall off the wagon" and give in to these demons, it seems everyday it's getting easier and easier to stay on track. It's amazing, and ironic, how, as you let go of your deathly grip on life, you become stronger...and more at peace.

One of my new "healthbits" (healhy habits) that I am trying out, is juicing (no, not steroids! lol). (Stay tuned for an upcoming post, dedicated solely to juicing). In order to begin this task, I have had to do some research (thank you Google!) on juicers, recipes, etc. I came across the blog of Kris Carr. I first saw her on Oprah a few years ago, when her documentary "Crazy Sexy Cancer" (check out the trailer below) first came out. I then bought a book called "Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips", which was very informative for those with cancer, and their loved ones. She has an amazing story of becoming diagnosed with cancer and through her own journey, and found wonderful ways to remain healthy - and cancer free! I remember a friend asking me, "Why did you buy that book? You don't have cancer." Well, no, I didn't have cancer, but I thought....why wait till I do?? Why not start now (at least TRY), and get proactive in this health thing....

So, for this blog post, I wanted to pass along one of her newsletters (you can subscribe to them on her blog Crazy Sexy Life. Check it out when you get a chance!



Hi Soul Shine,
 
Lots of people ask me what’s the difference between juicing and blending? Well, both are super excellent for you, but the main difference is that smoothies have fiber and juices do not. Since the fiber is removed in juices, the liquid nutrition can get into your cells much quicker and less energy is expended by your precious God pod. Nowadays, I juice more than I blend, but I still love my smoothies too. Do what works for you!
 
As I promised last week, here are some more tips for outrageous success on the Crazy Sexy diet and lifestyle plan.
 
Top Tip #1 – Which Supplements Do You Need?Probably one of the most confusing things about living a healthy lifestyle is figuring out which supplements you need. Ideally you’d get all of your nutrients from food but since our soil has been depleted so has our produce. I personally vary my supplement regimen regularly, but there are some basics you should know about. I also share my favorite brands here:
 
Top Tip #2 – Dry Brush Your Way to Healthy Skin
Dry brushing is my secret weapon against toxins, dry skin and that pesky foe: cellulite. Just by stroking yourself daily you can loosen dead cells, stimulate acupressure points, tickle your chi, massage your meridians, move lymph, reduce cellulite, stimulate your immune system and make your skin soft and velvety! Learn how here:
 
Top Tip #3 – My Favorite Recipe Books
Keep in mind, you don’t need any cookbooks for the Crazy Sexy diet and lifestyle; you just need to eat luscious whole foods. But a little inspiration in the kitchen always helps! These are my top 5 picks for raw and cooked recipe books. Use them to inspire you to create new and delish combinations of flavors and nourishing meals:
http://crazysexylife.com/2010/love-list-top-5-raw-top-5-cooked-recipe-books/
 
If you’ve been on the Standard American Diet (SAD) diet, remember to take it easy! There is room for transition in this diet. We move from worst, to better, to best and we do it in levels, slowly. If we move too fast we can experience too many uncomfortable detox side effects.
 
That’s it for my special introductory email series to help you get started with the Crazy Sexy diet and lifestyle. I hope you found these emails helpful. If you did, let me know on my Facebook page. Stay tuned for my regular newsletters, which have even more rocket fuel for your wellness journey!
 
Peace & peas,
KC












....go BEYOND boundaries!


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Thursday, February 16, 2012

SAY it forward!

If you haven't noticed, I've added a few extra "tabs" to this blog, which I wanted to quickly point out...

First, there is a "Links" tab...here is where I'm listing all of the links I've talked about from different posts, including a few blogs I'm following, and highly recommend for some good reading! Be sure to check these out...as I am adding more and more everyday...

In addition to the new tabs on this blog, I have also just started a Facebook Page, Take a Hike and Beyond and a Twitter page: @takeahikebeyond. The great thing about these social networking sites, is that I can add/include info on lots of different subjects, short and quickly. Please take the time to "Like" or "follow", and check out the "lists" on twitter, or the other pages I "like"...for some other ideas/hobbies/inspiration/info to go BEYOND! I'm adding more everyday to these lists. And please feel free to also post YOUR pictures/stories on the fb page!

I am also going to add posts by guest bloggers! Soooo...if you're interested in writing a post for this blog, and sharing a story of you going BEYOND, I would LOVE to have you featured! Email me at takeahikeandbeyond@gmail.com with your idea :)

This blog started out to be about my own journey, but it has become something more. I want it to also help encourage others out there to try to go BEYOND...so take a minute, and share your story, or share the blog/fb page/twitter (don't forget #BEYOND)! It may just inspire someone else....

I like to call it:
"SAY it forward!"

Saturday, February 4, 2012

....or better yet....climb a rock!

Ok...it's been too long...and I've been super busy! I realized I forgot to blog about my birthday...

On my birthday this year, I decided to try something I've always wanted to try - rock climbing!! I rounded up a group of friends and headed over to Climb Nashville - an indoor rock climbing facility.

 Wow - walls and walls of rock! A few of us signed up to learn how to belay - to be the one on the ground, holding the rope for the climber. Once our instructor showed us (very quickly! she talked so fast, I had trouble keeping up!), we made our first attempt! My friend, John, belayed for me (his first time belaying! yikes!) while I climbed - for the very first time!! It was scary at first, hoping that John wouldn't let go, and belay correctly, while I attempt to find "rocks" to grab on to and step on, all the while, on the ground is a bunch of pebbles and stones....NOT a soft landing pad lol.

I made it to the top!! I think I'm learning I have this competitive side of myself...with myself. I feel the need to show myself that I CAN do it...yet, I don't seem to fight as hard against other people. Hmmm...there's one for the therapists out there!

So, yes...I made it to the top. What a rush!! Ok...then, I had to come down. The girl told me to let go of the rock, and just push myself away from the wall. WHAT???? I was clinging on to that rope so hard! "John", I kept saying, "I love you! Please don't drop me!!!" Well, luckily he picked up on this belaying thing quickly, and let me down very gently. And yes, this lowering to the ground gave me an adrenalin rush too...weird! But let me tell you, when I touched the ground, I was the happiest girl in the room!

I'm Tebowing....Hello ground...I love you!

So, after the first climb, we all took turns climbing and belaying. We tried different walls and discussed different strategies to make it to the top. We asked other climbers...those who looked like they knew what they were doing. We got some great pointers. We came to the conclusion that we were gripping on to the wall for dear life, and using our arms so much, that our fingers, hands and forearms were getting tired! What we needed to do was use our legs more...to step UP...not PULL ourselves up with our arms. Also, after watching some other "pros", we also noticed that it was ok to lean back away from the rock, trusting the rope, and using that time to find our next move up the wall. I now know what NOT to do next time!


I'm excited to get back to the wall! I made it up to the top 3 of the 4 times I climbed...and hopefully next time I'll make it every time. We'll be going again in a few weeks. The cost for the day included the equipment rental. I'm considering getting my own shoes and harness at some point. Though I'm not quite ready to go outside on a REAL rock, I definitely want to make this a frequent activity INSIDE! It's also a wonderful workout. My arms and lats were pretty sore the next day....Oh, and by the way, belaying was a little tiring as well...I need to find out if I was doing it correctly. I was pulling so hard on the rope, that my right arm was getting tired. But then again, maybe I'm just out of shape! Well, kids, this rock climbing thing will get a person in shape....

I encourage everyone to try this at least once! I may even try bouldering. This is really just free climbing...without the harness. There was a shorter wall, with a big soft pad on the ground, where a few gutsy guys were climbing. I think I should get this climbing thing down WITH the harness first....then we'll see.....

                 
      trying to learn how to thread the rope correctly!                                  me belaying...


I had one of my best birthday EVER!!! Thank you so much to my wonderful friends Adair, Richard, Charlotte and John! Thank you guys for making the day so special! :)