Sometimes writing a book can seem like crossing a long, barren desert.  It’s a solitary pursuit.  Often you stagger around and encounter no one.  You just step over the bleached bones of the authors who fell before you.  Sometimes you think you will never see green or water again.  And then, you see the other side.  There’s trees, and grass and cool, cool water.  That’s what this book signing was for me.  An oasis.  A moment of rest and nourishment after a long, long haul.  I gotta tell you, it feels pretty good.

I hosted the book signing today at my favorite coffee shop–Joe’s Place.  I sat right in MY chair.  The very chair where I spend many hours, days and weeks with my trusty Mac laptop and an extra large, black, decaf coffee.  Many of my students and dear friends came by to get an autographed copy.  They were thrilled for me.  And their excitement allowed it to soak in.  I’m no longer considering the concept of thinking about maybe someday writing a book.  I WROTE the blessed thing. I have a copy in my hand.  I’ve crossed over to the long dreamed of moment where, sharpie in hand I’ve signed my name on the inside front cover and become an author.  And the balmy moist breezes blew over the watering hole and I said, Ahhhhhh.

So hang in there my little chickadees.  You’re nearer the oasis then you think.  See you at the watering hole.

Love,
The Fat Chick

Well it’s the second full week of January and by now I’ll bet some of the shine has fallen off those New Year’s resolutions.  You know, the ones you fervently spout while sipping (or slurping) champagne on New Year’s Eve.  And also the ones you whisper as you nurse your hangover on the first morning of the year.  Yeah those are the ones I’m talking about.  And while you’re still enjoying the shiny, new, I can be a size 4 by February resolution fantasy it can be a little hard to talk to you.  Believe me, I know exactly what that’s all about.  But now that you’ve had a few weeks to think about it, and to allow reality to filter in allow me to offer you an alternative.

This year, a lot of folks in the fat acceptance and health at every size communities (including me) decided to create a “New Year’s Revolution” instead of resolutions.  This year, for every day in the month of January, we’re focusing on a way to love, nurture and care for the bodies we already have rather than trying to change them into something else.  It’s super fun and super cool.  You can find out more about it HERE.

I hope you check it out.  The idea of loving and caring for yourself may be revolutionary, but at another level, it’s just common sense.  Viva la revolution!

Love,
The Fat Chick

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Well it’s the beginning of a new year and I’m starting us off with a picture of a fire extinguisher.  There’s really two reasons for this.  One, is that my husband and I spent practically all of the New Year’s Holiday putting out fires.  Not fun.  (Warning–whining ahead.  You may want to skip down to the bottom of the post.)  First, my Mac blew up.  This is the second Mac that blew up on me this year.  Now I love Macs, and both of these were quite long in the tooth, but what a PAIN.  I spent 3 days just getting back to some semblance of being able to work.  And we spent a good deal of New Year’s Day cleaning all the drains in the house with a plumbers snake.  (Don’t even ask…)  There were various and sundry other dramas as well.  In fact, at one point it became really comic.  My husband and I had to giggle.  Perhaps this was some sort of post traumatic stress disorder, but I tend to think it had more to do with gratitude.  After all, we were still healthy.  And we were strong enough to work together to solve the problems.  There’s something deeply reassuring about having a husband who knows how to fix a computer and snake a drain.  And there’s something deeply satisfying about learning how to do these things for myself.  Not that I wouldn’t love to have a staff to take care of these pesky troubles.  Not that I’m going to start picking up these activities for a Saturday night, but I like to know that if I have to do stuff, I know how.

When sharing my plight with my awesome friend Barbara, she offered this tasty tidbit of insight.  “Well we all know that a great performance is usually preceded by a really crummy dress rehearsal.  Naturally this means you will have an awesome year in 2011.”  And you know what, I think she’s right.  I don’t need a fire extinguisher to put out all the fires.  I need it because 2011 is going to be too darn hot!  So circle up my little chickadees.  I want to reassure you that 2011 will be less than perfect.  We will need a fire extinguisher nearby to put out fires along the way.  Stuff happens.  But we will take it in stride.  We will giggle at the absurdity of our tribulations.  And we will win.  And naturally, we’ll also need a fire extinguisher nearby just to protect those near and dear from our overwhelming hotness!  Happy New Year.

Love,
The Fat Chick

The autumn rains have arrived in LA and I think it’s fair to say that I have rain on the brain.  So in my ongoing search for stuff that weighs more than me,  I found this little gem–the world’s largest umbrella dance group.  This large crew of folks in Bath (giggle) Somerset England all came out in the rain to dance to “Singin’ in the Rain”.  Apparently the group prepared for over six months before their big debut at the Bath International Dance Festival.  It looks like so much fun!  Check out the video below:

While it’s difficult to determine EXACTLY how much this group weighs, we do know that we are talking about over 200 dancers complete with raincoats and umbrellas.  Here’s the stats:

Dancers: 234
Estimated weight: Over one metric ton

Conclusion: The world’s largest umbrella dance troupe weighs more than me.  (Oh and, doot doodle doo, doo, doo, doot doodle doodle doo….)

P.S. If you’d like to hear a little more about my own tromping around in the rain, check out my recent post on The Fat Chick Sings over HERE!

One of the primary lessons I’ve learned in getting and staying fit is that exercise sessions often don’t go as planned.  Your exercise buddy doesn’t show up, the class is canceled and on the day of your big group walk, it rains.  Sometimes it seems like the entire universe is conspiring against you in reaching your fitness goals.

In this situation, you have two choices.  You can say, awww the heck with it and go watch TV.  Or you can get out there and do it anyways.

This past Saturday was the final leg of our progressive Mara-thon at church where we raised money for the Mara district in Africa.  During the Mara-thon, we raised money to buy motorcycles and bicycles for the Mara missionaries–to help them cover their district which is 700 km from end to end.  This is roughly the distance between Los Angeles and Phoenix.  That’s a long darn way over some hot and dry terrain.  And I think it’s fairly safe to say, that their travel/exercise conditions are rarely optimal. 

So it was apropos, that this past weekend, for the final leg of our Mara-thon, we had some pretty tough weather.  It rained.  (and rained and RAINED!)  But I’m proud to say, that our little band got out our umbrellas and raincoats and just got on with it!  Yes it was tough.  Yes we got cold and wet.  But we didn’t suffer anything that a cup of hot coffee and a nice warm bath couldn’t cure.

Yes it was raining (cats and dogs) but we decided to feel the rain and do it anyways.  We were cold.  We were wet.  But above all, we were proud.

So my little chicklettes, here’s my wish for you.  We’re coming into the holidays–when there are built in excuses to avoid exercise around every single corner.  You may be tired.  You are undoubtedly busy.  But I’m asking you to put on your raincoat, grab your umbrella and exercise anyways.  Enjoy some well-earned pride along with your holiday pie.

Love,
The Fat Chick

Okay, the whole Maura Kelly blog kiss kerfluffle finally got me off my (proverbial) butt and back to blogging.  And what else should I blog about but the world’s largest (solid chocolate) kiss.  This bad boy, created by Hershey for the 100th anniversary of the Hershey’s Kiss was awarded the World Record. 

It took 152 people 9 days to construct it.  Check out the video HERE.

This is one seriously BIG FAT KISS.  Check out the stats:

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After the flap over the now infamous Maura Kelly blog post on MarieClaire.com about how she felt that fat people kissing or indeed walking across a room would be “gross”, I’ve been thinking a lot about the simple kiss.  Much to my delight, I watched as rad fatties and friends staged a “Big Fat Kiss In” at Friday closing time in front of the Hearst building.  I participated in Big Fat Blog’s Virtual Kiss in with a photo of my own.  I kissed and was kissed.

Right smack (hee hee) in the middle of all this hullabaloo about kissing, a new episode of Glee aired, with a kissing theme.  And intwined in the plot was a very sensitive and interesting story about two characters who had “never been kissed“.  Both characters expressed their angst over never having been kissed and what that meant–were they good enough?  Were they desirable?  Would they ever find somebody to kiss?

And this strikes at a deep fear that many of us share–the fear that we are not kissable–that despite the prince (or princess) inside, folks just can’t get past the “frogness” outside.

That’s what makes Maura’s post so dangerous and damaging.  That’s also what makes the Kiss-ins so extraordinary.  This Kiss-ins show that Maura is just WRONG.  The kiss-ins remind us that we are all not only kissable, but liable to be bussed in public for all the world to see.  It’s a simple and powerful statement–“It’s not just the skinny chicks that get kissed.  Fat Chicks get kissed too, and some of OUR snogging is simply epic”.

So, my little chicklettes, it’s time to tell those who shame you or make you feel inadequate to “kiss off!”  And it’s time to simply line everybody else up for a kiss.  Smile and share a smooch with somebody today.  Don’t let ANYONE you love say they’ve never been kissed.

Love and Kisses,
The Fat Chick