Handmade Holidays

I know, I know "The Holidays are still 4 months away".

Yesterday my husband and I made a commitment that we would be having a Handmade Holiday season. We want to give gifts that are handmade by us or handmade by local artisans. I know there is a "movement" to further buying local, handmade, goods and I, for one, am ready to join. Too much of our money goes to support big corporations that outsource their work which only detriments our local economies. And honestly, don't we all own enough plastic crap made in China?

I currently buy local when I can and like shopping at mom and pop stores. It's not exactly easy to enforce the 150 mile rule, year round, when making food purchases but we do support local growers at our farmers market during the summer.

So for those of you who have holidays on your mind, where will you put your dollar to work?

Sometimes I forget

Do you ever have those days where you forget to be grateful that you are alive and well? I'm really struggling lately to be thankful that I have a heart that pumps blood through my body, legs that get me where I need to go and feet that are large enough to carry around my 5'9" inch frame.

Admittedly, I'm having body image issues as of late.

Recently I had lost a nice bit of weight and had been going to the gym on a very regular basis. I was getting to know my muscles again and I even said hello to my waist line. I was feeling very, very good in my own skin.

The last couple of months the weight has begun to creep back on and my muscles are disappearing under that nice layer of fat nature provides to keep us warm in the winter. The only thing is that it's summer and 95 degrees. No need for that extra layer of fat. Thanks Mother Nature, I owe you one.

Okay, so I can't blame mother nature or my genetic make-up. And in comparison to someone who is overweight, I'm relatively thin. Compared to Kate Moss, I'm a whale. Compared to Kate Moss, who isn't a whale, right?

On Regina Spektors' newest album, Far (which I love and highly recommend), there is a song called Folding Chair. In it she says, "I have a perfect body. But sometimes I forget. I have a perfect body 'cause my eyelashes catch my sweat."

I'm trying to remember that even though I may not look like Kate Moss (and really, do I want to?) my body is healthy and strong and I can get back on track. No need to kick myself while I'm down. Now, what was my gym membership number? And where is my exercise schedule?