Camping Is Not For Sissies

What exactly is a sissy? I just looked it up and it means an effeminate man or boy or a timid or cowardly person. Camping is definitely not for a coward, especially the longish camping trip Anthony and I are about to embark on.

I like to pride myself on being one of those people who isn't into material things. I haven't bought new shoes for quite a while (other than running shoes, those need to be kept newish so you don't hurt yourself), most of my clothes bear the logo of one of my former employers and were given to me for free or at a steep discount, and my truck is old enough to drink. Seriously, it was born in 1988.

Yet somehow when we start to pull out all of the junk we need just to take a simple camping trip and be able to sleep, stay warm, prepare a meal, and light a campfire, I become overwhelmed by the amount of stuff it takes! And that's not even close to all of the stuff that we have in our house! We have milk crates filled to the brim with canned goods and paper towels, bags stuffed with beach towels and underwear, and camping gear coming out of our ears.

That's why I say camping is not for sissies. You have to find it, pack it, cram it, yell at it, drive it hundreds or thousands of miles away, unload it, keep it (kind of) clean, repack it, wondering why you can't get it to fit back in the same damn way it was before, drive it another few hundred or thousand miles, unload it, clean it, leave it in the dish rack or on the living room floor for two weeks, and then put it away. Exhausting! But worth it.

For the next week or two I'll be sleeping under the stars and showering infrequently, but if I ever get a chance to hit an Internet cafe, I'll check in.

Baking with style

Look what I made today out of paperclips, rubber cement, and number 2 pencils:


Hard to believe, right? Yeah, okay, it's really made from whole wheat flour, flax seed meal, molasses, brown sugar, and spices - it's a gingerbread cake!

I got all artistic with my photographs of it:

Well, at least I tried to. That way my blog would seem longer and you would be even more impressed than usual.

That's it for pictures of my cake. Did I say my cake? Whoops, I made it to bring to my parent's house for dinner tonight, so I guess it's "our cake".

I am mostly really impressed with this because it came out of the Bundt pan without breaking into a million pieces. I may make very delicious baked goods, but they are often not very attractive, it's kind of my calling card. Mmm, that carrot cake looks great, why is there a big dent in the middle? Oh, you dropped it when you were trying to get it out of the pan?

I am feeling more excited today than I was when I posted yesterday. I had my very last session with my life coach, Barbara, this morning. It was pretty much just a wrap up. When I started with coaching I had NO CLUE what I wanted to do and was in a job that made me feel awful. Now I'm free from that job and much, much happier, but it's time to get into the swing of things with my new career. I need to successfully hold a workshop and get some clients to get that sense of, "This is my career, look, I'm even getting paid to do it." All in good time. First I have to get tan (or less pasty, at least) in Florida.

Not Even Burritos

In the end not even burritos could make my mini-sized workshop come together. My girls had conflicts with work and lack of sleep, which means I get to practice my material on...no one. Oh well. Luckily I have plenty to keep my mind off my lack of refried beans, salsa, and feedback. Like, oh, I kind of have to pee. And I'm kind of hungry. And the TV is loud and flashy and full of bright and shiny colors.

See? There is plenty to keep me occupied.

Okay, I'm kind of bummed. I just realized this is sort of the end of the first chapter of my self-employment and life change stuff. Tomorrow is my last day with my awesome life coach, Barbara. I do feel ready to move on, specifically because I've moved into my life coaching course and have buddies to coach and be coached by, homework, and lots of supportive people in my life. It's the end of my first experiment in the world of life coaching, since my workshop is now officially...umm dead? Or at least comatose until I come back from vacation and revive it.

When I get back from vaca it's time to refocus on what I can do to gain clientele, to keep myself motivated, to continue to get published, to increase my coaching skills, etc.

Change is pretty much a regular part of my life, as much as flossing my teeth, filling up my gas tank, pulling Coconut's tail. Some things in my life are more stable than they used to be. For one, I've actually lived in the same town for more than four years. And I've lived in my house for three years (to the day!). When I was in my late teens and early 20's I lived in tons and tons of states and in all sort of different apartments, rental houses, and tents.

This is a change I chose, and it's a positive one. And now I have to pee.

Burritos Will Make It Better

After all my hard work of sitting around the house waiting for someone to decide to come to my workshop, I had to cancel it. I had to cancel it because no one signed up, save one friend who signed up because she is wonderful and one friend who signed up because I told her she had to come or there would be terrible consequences for her, and her little dog, too.

I'm not really all that disappointed about it, because now I don't have to stand up in front a group of people while wondering if I'm going to wet myself or if it's possible for my face to literally burst into flames because I'm so nervous and embarrassed. Now I just have to eat refried beans and tortilla chips.

Since I had to cancel the workshop but have a (my very last!) session with my life coach, Barbara, the next day, I felt the need to present the material to someone to get some feedback. After asking Nola and Coconut if they'd be willing to fill out the evaluation sheets for me and getting only a blank stare and a mouthful of fur from a tail in my face, I decided to ask the previously mentioned friends (Christy and Amy) if they would like to meet for dinner so we could catch up and I could practice my material on them.

I say I'm doing this because of my session with Barbara, and the fact that she's going to want to know how the workshop went and what I learned from my experience, but I'm really meeting with them for the food. The place where we're going has this incredible bean dip that they serve with their tortilla chips instead of salsa and the chips are always hot and fresh and the burritos come in all varieties and are out of this world...and okay, the food is a great incentive, but the real reason I'm doing the mini workshop is because I genuinely want feedback.

This is all very new and weird for me, the whole acting responsibly and trying to do scary things that make me want to throw up thing, because I generally avoid all new and scary experiences all together. If I have to experience them, I pretend they're not happening or I eat lots of cookies while they're happening so I still maintain (in my mind) that they're not happening.

So tomorrow night is a good stepping stone for me. I'm not actually standing up and giving a presentation to a bunch of people, but I am going to share my ideas, theories, heart, nerves, and handouts with my two friends to get their responses, suggestions, and maybe something I say will resonate with them and will spark my inspiration and desire to try, try again with another workshop in the future.

If not, at least there are burritos.

Hey Guess What

I really did want to write a brilliant blog post about toilet paper, but I think it's just going to have to wait. First off, it's 10:30 at night and my brain is not at peak performance right now; that usually occurs somewhere between 8:47 am and the sixteenth time of the day Nola wants to go out, which is around 8:52 am. Second, I'm tired. Third, I'm wearing my glasses, which are older than most 6th graders, because my contacts were dry. Trying to truly function while wearing them is like trying to breathe through Jello. Jello with mango pieces in it.

I did have a good day - I got to hear the real, live voice of Martha Beck, life coach, author, funny person that I really look up to. She taught the first of the six sessions she, well, teaches, during our seven month course. I'm going to meet her in July when I go to the Martha Beck Coaches Conference in Chicago. That is going to be SO AWESOME.

So, tomorrow maybe I'll feel more inclined to write about something.

Stinky Fishy Kitty Couches

Do you know what the most creative thing I've done today is? Sang a song to Coconut about how HORRIBLE her breath is. Seriously, I have no idea what is wrong with this cat. Good thing she is already spayed because Lord knows she's never going to snag a man with that fishy stink seeping out of her. Blech!

Actually, I also worked on a newsletter for my workshop.

LIVING JOYFULLY ON A BUDGET How to enjoy life for less Register Now! When: Tuesday, January 27, 6 to 9 pm Where: Oriental Pavilion at the Westgate Plaza Cost: $25 plus dinner (budget options available) Register: Contact Jen Trinque by Friday, January 23rd Contact: jentrinque@gmail.com 828-734-1422 View the flier! Bring a Friend and Save! Mention this newsletter and register with a friend to get the special discounted price of $15 per person! Cost does not include dinner Greetings! I'd like to remind you that the Living Joyfully on a Budget workshop is only 5 days away! Learn to live joyfully! This workshop will help you focus your energy on enjoying what you already have in your life without spending a dime. I'll talk about simple budgeting tools to assist you in figuring out where your money is going, what you're really gaining by spending, and how to refocus your intentions and embrace what you have. We'll also discuss ways to fit in some fun extras in life for less than what you'd usually spend! Please join me Tuesday, January 27th from 6 to 9 pm for this fun, interactive workshop. Living Joyfully on a Budget is only a workshop away.... Sincerely, Jen Trinque Joyful Coaching

Wow, I can't believe I was actually able to cut and paste this baby in here...we'll see how it looks up on the blog though! Okay, it looks totally weird on the blog, but I trust you to know it doesn't look so wacky in real life. Yes, I know, my phone number is on here, so if you do want to call me, please do it during waking hours. (Eastern Time, I'm usually awake and available and sober between 12 and 8 pm, with the exception of naps and feeding times and when I'm watching my soaps. Don't believe anything I say.)

You may notice I'm offering a two-fer. Yup, I've got NO ONE coming. Okay, one person, who is actually the freakin' CPA at the place I used to work (wait, if a CPA wants my help to live joyfully on a budget....) and I'm so relieved and thrilled to have her...but I need more people!

I sent this version of the newsletter to my life coach Barbara to get her feedback, then tomorrow I'm going to send it out. I'm going to see if I can think of anyone else to send it to...I just don't know that many people locally, and I'm certainly not meeting anymore by sitting in my pajamas reading books and blogging all day, not to mention singing songs to my tuna-breath cat.

Oooh, tomorrow is my second life coaching class and my first one with Martha Beck herself! She's a celebrity in my mind and I'm even reading another one of her books right now. It's going to be so weird to be hearing her voice, live! I also signed up for the coaches conference this summer where both she and Byron Katie will be appearing. Talk about exciting. For me, I mean. I don't know that it would excite the average person.

You know what, my couch is calling my name, sad and depressed since I left it to put on a batch of Spanish Rice, do dishes, and blog. I must return before it gets up and leaves me for good.

Not Much

I didn't make any art today. I watched the art of the inauguration instead. And I finally learned how to spell inauguration, which was a rough road, let me tell you.

Tomorrow I actually plan on keeping the TV off and being creative...writing, reading, maybe making some art.

Until then...