Samatahiti

So I finally got around to making this video!  I love it!! :)  I hope you do to and want to plan your trip with Samatahiti tomorrow.  Seriously, I know you do!  This snow is killing us slowly!  My spirit yearns for warm Puerto Rican beaches!  I'll even take a sea urchin or jelly fish sting!  Ok...no I'm over it.  Just enjoy the video!

Be-you-tiful

Well - no cinnamon rolls tonight.  I could  not get comfortable last night. I went from hot to cold and back again.  I tossed and I turned.  The only position that felt comfortable was on my stomach and I get headaches from sleeping on my stomach.  It's a visious cycle. 

I for sure am not getting to those cinnamon rolls.  I can't wait for an opinion piece, so I'll skip to Wednesday's "Say What"-ever I want blog.  Today at work we got the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition.  I hate that thing.  I especially hate when girls say they are looking at it for the swimsuits.  Really?!?  Some of the girls aren't even WEARING ONE!
 I admit that I am a person that has always struggled with body image.  Still do and probably will forever.  I don't think my mother has a good self-esteem and she wasn't able to teach her daughters how to love themselves.  I love this image I saw the other day on the Girl's on the Run facebook page.  It had Kate Winslet saying how she had never heard any of the women in her life say that they were proud of their bodies and how she makes sure to teach her daughter how to appreciate her body for what it is, not isn't. 

I wish we had more role models like Kate Winslet who say: I don't have "perfect" boobs.  I can completely understand because I don't either.  I look more like "balogna Barb" in Pitch Perfect to be honest.  I'm a little sad this girl was mocked for her different body.  It is extremely awkward with her going braless, but I give this girl kodos because she will probably be forever known as the girl with bologna tits.  I know, I know - overshare!  Heck, if this blog post makes one girl feel a little less like: "omg, I'm a freak because I'm the only one with a body like this!" -I did what I had hoped to do.

We wonder why girls in our country deal with such low self-esteem.  It is because we see girls with Kate Upton's not typical body praised so openly and we realize that we can't compare to these beautiful women.  Our boyfriends, male bosses, brothers, and male friends look at these girls and I'm sure are a little disappointed when they don't get those massive jugs, perfect cleavage, and amazing asses in real life.  I have to learn to let go of hating these women for their amazing bodies.  I need to change my image of me and my beauty.  It is a lot to overcome when you've had your mother tell you: "You don't look that great, let's be honest.  I wouldn't want you going around with rose colored glasses." 
I need to "breath in love and breath out jealousy; breath in peace and breath out insecurity."  - Renee knew exactly what I needed to hear at that moment.  Yoga with her and my other teachers have made me appreciate my body for all the wonderful things it can do, not just fitting into the body norms of the moment.  I shouldn't have to feel that I would be considered beautiful if only I'd been born around the time of the Renaissance.  Heck, if I'd been a few decades earlier, I'd probably have been considered too skinny!  Marilyn Monroe wasn't Kate Upton sized.  She had great undergarments and killer curves to her not size zero body.


PS: Yes, that is Marilyn's wide booty. 
 

So here is to the Tina Feys and Kate Winslets who are wickedly gorgeous telling us that not everyone is going to have the "perfect" body and that is ok. Ok, better than just ok; it's great to have a body that you are proud of! Tina's observations also make it so obvious how ridiculous beauty standards are; really, we are trying to meet those standards just with our body shapes!  That's not even counting having to dress it nicely in all the latest fashions and apply perfect makeup that is perfectly framed by spectaculate hair.  So maybe this still is a Testy Tuesday and all of us women just have to look in the mirror and say: "I am beautiful" along with all the amazing things your body does for you.  Say it until it sinks in and we can deal with the Kate Uptons of the world and their perfect bodies on display because our bodies do so much more than create a shelf of perfect breasts or a pair of tight cheeks!

I can say I'm grateful for a body that still moves. I can run, walk, skip.  It just powered through an amazing session of yoga that left my legs a little jiggly by the end.  Despite the slight cold I have, I'm healthy.  I have teeth that are healthy and well cared for - which is a perfect accesory for the smile I typically have plastered across my face. My feet keep me well founded when I'm doing yoga and running or trying something like surfing! I am beautiful because I am me and there is only one like me out there. 
*Now seems like a good time to put on Beautiful by Xtina and sing it for all it's worth!*

An exciting side note: My review of Samatahiti finally got posted on TripAdvisor.  Check it out and don't laugh at my grammatical error.  Remember I was typing that thing up with one finger out of action.  Come on, who doesn't want to surf and do yoga in such an amazing place with such amazing people?!?

Broche de Oro

I feel I have spent too long at a desk today.  Ugh - I wish didn't have to come back to Wisconsin.  This cold, rainy weather makes me want to crawl back into my bed and dream of Puerto Rico.  New mission in life: Live part of the year in Scotland and part in Puerto Rico.  I was told/warned that I was going to love it so much I wouldn't want to leave.  If I had a place to stay, I think I would have really been tempted to stay. Not the first time I've done something completely crazy.

Really, who wants to leave this?!?

I had so much fun paddle boarding and surfing and snorkeling and doing yoga and not starring at a computer screen all day.  Not to mention I found Puerto Rican equivalents to Max from DWTS and Zach Effron.  The sun was amazing, I had adorable puppies to keep me company, and some pretty awesome new experiences.  I surfed on my birthday!  I told my teacher, Robert Ferrer, who is the best by the way, "I never expected to do this, ever, in my life.  I saw it in a movie when I was little and thought it would be really fun and now I'm here, doing it!" I also danced with completely strange men.  I had one guy tell me to move my ass.  I was slightly offended, but not too much. He quit dancing with me because I pretty much decided not to move anymore after that comment. A) I can move my butt and damn well B) I shake it when I want to, not when some dude is telling me to "move it" C) I had just gotten in that morning at 2:30 and it was late at night when I really wanted my bed instead of a dance partner.  Jose, the next guy I danced with didn't seem to mind.  I did hit him with my hat brim, accidentally.  Hahaha, I had to turn my hat around backwards to keep dancing without incident.   I can't help it, I find grinding just awkward.  What is even the past tense of that: He ground on me/he grinded on me/he was grinding on me.  Ok, the last one sounds the best.  Turns out, everyone actually from town thinks that this guy and his friend Ryan are really undercover cops.  That would probably explain why Jose first introduced himself as Josh.  Lord only knows.   I got up and rode several waves all the way!  Woot.  I also got burnt to a crispity crisp.  Good thing we had done the mountain biking the day before because all that chafing would have killed me!  I was already dying - I'm more of a ride bike for errands around town, not a ride bike far distances for fun.  15 miles is more than I ever want to do again.  Ok, I may try it again.  Just with less heat, more water, and a little more build up to that great of a distance.  My chain also popped off on the corner where the iguana lives.  If I had known that giant thing was near by, I'd have run with the bike away.  I have to say I am proud for doing things I never would have before - I totally "yolo-ed" a few times.  That rope swing was scarier than looking down and seeing a jellyfish between my legs.  Yes, that one did sting me.  Thank God it was just a tiny brush against my knee.  It could have been worse!

Surfer Eye-Candy

I did watch a movie while in Puerto Rico!  It was called Broche de Oro (Wave of Gold).  It was a really cute movie.  I teared up at a few places.  I even understood parts of it.  I definitely didn't get all of it, but I did get a good chunk of it.  The movie is about a young boy/man who breaks his grandfather and his grandfather's two friends out of their strict Catholic retirement home for a day.  It accidentally turns into a 2 day excursion when the tires on their car get slashed.  Bonds are made stronger between generations and love is discovered in all sorts of places!  A very entertaining way to spend a night in Puerto Rico.  The surfer eye-candy wasn't all that bad either.  It is a feel good comedy of sorts.  I very much enjoyed the movie.