Girdle Of Strength

Place your thumbs on the lowest points of your rib cage. Now place your fingers on your front hip bones. Ron Fletcher refers the space between your thumbs and fingers as the "girdle of strength." In contemporary Pilates and fitness language, it is also referred to as the abdominal "core" or "powerhouse." What is the state of your girdle of strength?

In the late 1800s, women would cinch their waists to create shapely silhouettes. Thankfully, at the turn of the century, women became interested in sports and athletics and corsets lost their whale bones and lacing for more comfortable and movable elastic shapers. Men had their own versions of fashionable torment, a waistcoat layered on top of high waisted pants, that were fastened in the front. In modern times, our girdles of strength do not come from reality-defying corsets. Rather, it is a combination of attentiveness to diet and exercise that creates toned abdominals reflected in flat bellies with waists smaller in circumference than our chests and hips.

What you might find fascinating about the powerhouse, or girdle of strength, is that the spine is supported by the muscles of the torso versus the spine supporting the torso. Think about that. The spine is like an elevator shaft in the center of a high rise. The elevator does not hold up the building. The building holds up the elevator. It is the same with the portion of your back that is located between your ribs and hips.

The health of the lumbar vertebrae are dependent upon a properly functioning core. Excess weight around the midsection and a lack of abdominal strength are contributors to low back pain. Vice versa, relief is often experienced with focused development of the powerhouse.

In You On A Diet, a healthy waist measurement for a woman is 32" or less. The healthy waist measurement for a man is 35" or less. Authors Drs. Roizen and Oz have come to believe that the waist line is more important than weight regarding one's health. On the Discovery channel's television version, it was compelling to watch the doctors clean out the fridge and pantry of the program's case studies, tracking progress and results with a tape measure instead of a scale.

Unlike hip huggers, the waist whittlers of old aren't likely to make a comeback. We will have to rely on old fashioned hard work and thoughtful food consumption to build girdles of strength.

Happiness For Two - Stoddard

Choosing Happiness author, Alexandra Stoddard, is back with a new book in time for the lovers holiday with Happiness For Two. The book contains 75 essays aimed at finding happiness in loving relationships or "secrets for finding more joy together."

Avid Alexandra fans such as myself will not be disappointed with this latest publication. Those of us who read "Living In Love" will find Happiness For Two to be more universally wise about love with less reliance on the personal love of Alexandra and Peter. For this reason, I believe the book speaks equally to men and women. I have a daughter aged 25 who is reading the book with her girlfriends so it seems to surpass generational boundaries as well.

My favorite essays:

6. Go on vacations alone, together.
7. Assume more responsibility at home.
13. Write each other's New Year's resolutions.
14. Celebrate more.
22. Don't discuss your intimacy and secrets with others.
23. Be there as a support for all important occasions.
37. Establish your own rituals and traditions.
43. Talk up, not down.
44. Stop the teasing.
47. Don't move things from each other's personal spaces.
52. Don't correct each other in public.
56. Try not to interrupt.
58. Conversations shouldn't be monologues.
67. Patience, patience.

A few essays, such as vacationing alone together and establishing our own rituals and traditions, are favorites because of my wholehearted agreement with Alexandra's advice. Others, especially regarding not interrupting or moving things, are ones that would heighten our happiness if I improve in these areas. Some are ones that have a fresh idea or perspective, as in the one about writing each other's resolutions.

I found these quotes to be thought provoking...

"Cannot we let people be themselves, and enjoy life in their own way?" - Emerson

"Good and evil do not befall men without reason. Heaven sends them happiness or misery according to their conduct." - Confucius

"Do not sit long with a sad friend. When you go to a garden do you look at the weeds?" - Rumi

"What do we live for if not to make life less difficult for each other?" - George Eliot

• "Whenever you love what you're doing, you will be more lovable."

• "When you genuinely want harmony at home, assume more responsibility."

• "Equal power is not the same as equal distribution."

• "We best work things out when when we want the best for each other."

• "In an intimate partnership, be high-hearted about what's really important: how blessed you are to love each other."

• "In order to increase your own happiness, you have to get into the happiness habit."

• "We must constantly discipline our minds."

• "Someone who celebrates more lives more fully and loves more deeply."

• "If only we tried as hard to be good as we try to be beautiful."

• "I don't appreciate people who try to brainwash me into going along with their opinion when I find their political or religious beliefs incompatible with mine."

• "The secret for all lovers is that you put each other first."

• "Each should do whatever possible to make their partner happy."

• "Show me what you like to do and I'll tell you who you are."

• "If you don't express yourself, the world will never experience your unique vision."

• "Simplify the outward details of our lives."

• "It is better to strengthen your back than to lighten your burden."

• "Be a fountain, not a drain."

• "No matter how fortunate we are, if we're not thankful for the gifts we have, we will not be happy."

• "Wake up in the morning and make up your mind to be happy."

• "If your lover is kind, generous, warmhearted, loving, friendly, outgoing and forgiving, you will live your lives together in harmony and contentment."

- Alexandra Stoddard

It is a tradition of mine to read one new relationship book and reread "Living In Love" before Valentine's Day. As we celebrate the day, Doug and I like to reflect on our past together as a couple. Sometimes he reads to me the marriage proposal he drafted. We also like to discuss how to take our relationship to the next level. We strive to be grateful, to not take our love for granted and keep the romance, not only alive, but blazing. We seek that ultimate experience that is happiness for two.

We Are - Chris Pfeiffer

we are

you are the wind, if i am the canvas
you are the carpenter, i am the keel
you are the port, when i am weary
you are the pilot, i am the wheel

you are the ballast, when i am tossed, caught up in a hurricane
you are the stars, when i am lost
the voyage the path the way

(chorus)
we... are
we... are

i am the heart, you the compassion
i am the soul, you are the deep
i the mind, you the stillness
i am the traveler, you are the strength

i am the yes, of sailing on into this freedom of thine
i am the choice, of which we choose
to be you and i

(chorus)

we... are
we... are
we... are
we... are

- Chris Pfeiffer

Chris is a Texas Hill Country musical artist whose music we have enjoyed at our Unity church and at a local concert lately. We Are is one of my favorite of his songs. Follow the link to learn more about him and his music.

Wardrobe Finally Done

Wardrobe Woes was a post I wrote about my closet dethugging procrastination. It is dated March 27, 2007!

Perhaps inspired by the arrival of the new year, I began to chat with Doug about tackling my disorganization. For several months, files and documents have gotten stacked in to a lower cabinet at my desk. Our fourth bedroom is scattered with unpacked boxes of photographs and keepsakes as well as books for both gift giving and donating. The garage is stacked three levels of boxes high with unpacked and unassembled patio furnishings. And despite my lamenting in March, and taking several passes to delete wardrobe items, I still had yet to strip my closest of the ill fitting, the out of style and the unnecessary.

This is the week we found the will, the energy and the time to address two areas: the garage (check done) and my closet (check done!).

This is the state of my closet when I started. I have implemented a new rule: if I bring a shopping bag home, I have to fill it up with discards and take it to my donation station. As you can see, I still have packed shelves.

I have an easier task than most. California Closets had already installed shelves, drawers and baskets. There are other systems where they provide the plan and installation or for do-it-yourself. We have used both with equal satisfaction. My suggestion is to make the investment.

As any man or woman who has watched HGTV would do, I began the process by completely emptying the entire closet. All those shoes lined up that were underneath the hanging clothes - not worn since I put them there!

My entire closet was laid out on my bedroom floor. I began separating the clothes into "keeping" and "going" piles. I purchased two boxes (75ct) hangers at the Container Store. My strategy was to only put back as many items as I had new hangers. This required me to handle every article of clothing, assessing and reassessing as I rehung them.

Along with the hangers, I bought drawer organizers. They have
seemed a frivolous purchase before. However, I had to tell myself the
truth about the state of my lingerie drawers. As you can see, only the items I really wear were kept.


Here you see the finished product. Everything is
hanging on a calming sky blue hanger. The shoes
peeking out under the hanging clothes are the ones
I really wear everyday; sneakers, flip flops and ballet slippers. Since I don't expect two many
more cold days, I folded up my heavy winter wear
and they are housed in the bins overhead. I organized clothing like so: light to dark, prints to solids, no sleeves to long sleeves. Suits are hanging above blazers and sweaters. Skirts are hanging above slacks. Print shirts are above solid ones.

The entire process took about 4 hours.












Resources:
WEB
Organized Home
Life Organizers
Get Organized Now
TV
Clean House
Mission Organization
Real Simple
Simplify Your Life
RADIO
XM 156 Peter Walsh Show Fridays @ 11, 5 & 11 with encores Sat & Sun.
BOOKS
Peter Walsh's It's All Too Much
Christopher Lowell's 7 Layers Of Organization
Linda Coopersmith's The Beverly Hills Home Organization Bible
FIND AN ORGANIZING PROFESSIONAL
NAPO
BLOGS
Life Organizers Blog
The Room Space
The Clutter Diet Blog

Facing Forward

I will be having a facial this month. I get them every quarter now, as suggested by Victoria Moran in Younger By The Day. Scheduling facials at each season is one of her 365 recommendations for rejuvenating the body and revitalizing the spirit.

I have only known a woman or two who have facials regularly. We all seem to have bottles of lotions and potions. Purchases are likely a result of the marketing we have been exposed to rather than on the advice of a trusted professional. Men are even less likely to have facials even though they experience the same skin issues as as their mothers, sweethearts and daughters.

I must admit that my new facial regimen is one of the first signs of my acceptance of being a middle aged woman. My skin has always been dry but I've resisted anything besides a moisturizer. Since my fall facial, I have been applying 2 serums, one for "cellular renewal", another described as"drops of essence hydration". There is a creamy "treatment" that follows that. Every few days, I am also exfoliating. I've committed to the extra expense and time these take. I can honestly report a payoff. For the first time that I can remember, my skin feels hydrated and supple at the end of my work day.


Brands I have used in the past have included Bobbi Brown, Chanel, Lancome, Aveda and Mac. The products I am using that have proven to be dramatically different are formulations of Rhonda Allison.

There is something appealing about starting the new year off with a refreshed face.

"When you do look and feel your best, it's easier to do whatever you have to do." -Ivana Trump

Happy New Year 2008!

HIGHTLIGHTS OF 2007

• Having Doug's mother, Katie, in close proximity
  
• Attaining Apprentice Teacher/Level 1 with the Ron Fletcher Program Of Study, completing comprehensive study with the Pilates Conservatory
  
• Unity Church Of Practical Christianity membership and service
• Unity Women's Retreat in Leakey, TX
  
• Finding a Pilates home at Studio C with Jean, Dana and Roseanna
  
• Doug's induction as a Trustee of the Riot Relief Fund, NYC
• Girls Weekend in the Hamptons with Heather, Shelly and Jessica
• Reunion with Naples Pilates gang
  
• Doug's 60th, Jessica's 25th, Frank's 50th, Smith-Conner wedding
  

POSSIBILITIES FOR 2008

• Study another language
  
• 4 - 6 wk vacation in the summer
  
• New Year's in Australia
  
• Build my Pilates clientele and Pilates For Stylists
• More time at home
  

READING IN 2007

• Buddha, A Story Of Enlightenment - Chopra
  
• Happiness For Two - Stoddard
• SuperFoods Healthy Lifestyle - Pratt
• Barefoot Contessa At Home - Garten
• Fat, Broke And Lonely No More - Moran
• Return To Life - Pilates
• The Husband - Koontz
• Can't Wait To Get To Heaven - Flagg
• Blink - Gladwell
• Bless His Heart - Ford
• Mysteries Of The Middle Ages - Cahill
• Whitehorn Woods - Binchy
• If Democrats Had Any Brains, They Would Be Republicans - Coulter
• Power To The People - Ingraham
• The Secret - Bryne
• The Princess And The Pea - Child
• You Are Your Choices - Stoddard
• Manual For Living - Epictetus
  

WATCHING In 2007

• Rome
• Keeping Mum
  
• No Reservations
  
• The Secret
• Journeyman
• The Impressionists - BBC/Netflix
• House Of Cards - BBC/Netflix
• Enchanted
• Next Food Network Star
• Cirque De Soleil
• Boynton Beach Club
• Miss Potter
• Curse Of The Golden Flower

LISTENING in 2007

• Seal IV - Seal
  
• Wreck Of The Day - Annie Nalick
• All The Right Reasons - Nickelback
• Awake - Groban
• BB King
• Tony Bennet
• Goo Goo Dolls
  

Bells in Italy 12/07

Click on photos to enlarge!

It was a great experience to celebrate Christmas in Florence this year. There were no crowds to fight, prices were a bit more reasonable and the Florentines were especially friendly. There really aren't many places you can witness Christmas Mass as it has been done since the 1400s or Santa (Babbo Natale) piloting a gondola!

A few places we enjoyed in particular this trip in Florence...

Hotel Savoy
The staff treated us as if we were visiting their homes. Our room had a view of the Duomo. The Savoy sits on the corner of the Piazza della Republicca, which is in the center of historic Florence. The lounge played American Christmas standards as well as chill/ambient music. There was a great internet connection in the basement. The food was delicious. The hotel is owned by the Rocco Forte hotel group. We will definitely look to stay at other properties such as the one opening next year in Prague.

Trattoria Gabriello From the Piazza Repubblicca, head east on Via Porta Rossa , which becomes Via Condotta. Restaurant is #54, 055/2102098. You must have the Ribollita, a tuscan bean and cabbage stew thickened with day old bread.

Trattoria Antellesi
via Faenza 9, 055/216990. In the area of the San Lorenzo cathedral and the Mercato Centrale. Our favorite dish this time was beef tips slow cooked in tomatoes and wine, known as Stracotto.

Trattoria Bordino
Via Straccieatella, 9, 055/213048. After crossing the Ponte Vecchio heading south, you make the second left. It's hidden a bit in a neighborhood. We have always gone at lunch and had the Bistecca alla Florentine. Perfect when in the vicinity of the Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens. Very reasonably priced.

Harry's Bar
Perhaps its a cliche but we made our first visit this time. I love the one in the Sherry Netherland on Central Park/5th Ave. This did not disappoint. We had a late supper after walking from our hotel along the waterfront. We started with the customary Bellini. They also make excellent wine recommendations.

Boboli Gardens
These gardens are a not to be missed activity for us. We spent a majority of our time walking the most southern part of the gardens, where we discovered many covered arched paths. It will be the coolest part of the gardens anytime of year.

Pineider
A stationer/cartolaio located on the Piazza della Signoria. They have been making some of Florence's finest papers since 1774.

Rivoire

Piazza Signoria. Renowned for their chocolates, we enjoyed our priciest cafe latte and dish of cookies here! Across the Piazza from the Ufizzi.

and in Rome...

Albergo del Senato
The hotel is located on the Piazza Rotunda, also known as the Pantheon. It's a lively piazza and ideally located to Piazza Navona and the Vatican. Consider yourself lucky to be served by Mauro.

L'Angoletto
Piazza Rondanini 51, 06/6868019. A block or so walk from the Pantheon. Fresh fish deliciously prepared. I highly recommend the Shrimp (Gamberi) Scampi, grilled Flounder (Dimenamento) or Mussels soup (Zuppa Cozze).

Jeff Blynn's
v Parioli, 06/8070444. While they feature good Italian cuisine, what I like is the fantastic American hamburger and french fries. In the summer, the patio is divine. North of the Borghese gardens, the via Veneto and Embassy area.

Our trip arrangements were made by a wonderful agent named Bestsy Patton at Betty McLean Travel. Betsy is recognized by Con de Nast as one of the Top 100 agents in the country and the agency is a Virtuoso member. We met her in Naples, however, she has planned two trips for us since relocating flawlessly. I highly recommend using Betsy. There is a nominal booking charge. She is the master at coming up with unique and memorable activities abroad. The guide she arranged for us was through the Arno Travel Agency, if you were to prefer dealing with them directly.