Tonight (well, last night actually since it’s 2:30AM as I write this) I had the privilege of being on The Dr. Shirley & Steve show.  Now, I feel privileged to share my story on any radio show and appreciate the opportunity to get the word out about all the healing that can be done.  But, this show is staying with me more than most and I feel I need to share the insights I’m having with you.

So, here’s the deal.  Dr. Shirley is an expert in what she calls Somantic Experiences (she even wrote a book on it).  Which in my brain translates to your muscle remembering the emotional trauma and holding onto it long after you think you’ve moved past it.  Fascinating stuff.  On the show tonight, I learned just how fascinating when I was sitting in the interview talking about the crash like I always do and Dr. Shirley (who asked before hand if she could use her technique on me during the show) gently asks me to tell her about how my body feels as I’m describing the incident.  Me, being game for most anything (except spiders, snakes and leaving Burbank if it’s not absolutely necessary J) say sure thinking, no problem, I’m completely over it and fine.  When, WHAMO – who’s crying?  This girl!  On live radio!  What the heck?!?!  Why is this happening?  I’m completely over it.  Right?  Apparently… not so much.

As we’re talking it through on air, I’m feeling really horrible about the blubbering sounds I’m making and thinking about how uncomfortable the audience must be feeling right now and then it hits me.  My body is TOTALLY holding onto the emotional trauma of the crash.  And, the most interesting part about it is that as I really sit there and think (at the station and on my way home and for the last couple of hours) two things occur to me.  1.) My back has been randomly (or so I thought randomly) going out pretty frequently over the last year and a half and the way it’s going out is actually not random at all.  As I’m going through the exercise with Dr. Shirley on the show, I’m noticing that I’m leaning away from the side I was hit and my body is taking on the same crooked shape it takes on when my back is in the most pain.  INTERESTING! 2.) Maybe it going out isn’t random at all either.  What I mean is, I’ve been thinking about the times that it goes out and realizing they are when I have been doing a lot of speaking about the crash or writing about the crash.  Maybe at these times, my body is subconsciously trying to protect itself from being hit???  There is absolutely no rhyme or reason that my back goes out.  I just wake up in the morning and boom.  No more straight walking for me for a while.

It’s all just so fascinating.  Dr. Shirley is certainly onto something here and I’m excited to find out if her technique can help me further.  She is going to work with me and I will write about my experience.  Something I walked away from that show thinking is how I really thought after all the therapy I had following the crash, I was finally fine.  But, today I realized maybe I need a tune up.  Maybe I need to go back to therapy now that there is some distance and perspective and really delve into the idea that I can be even better.  I have a lot of confidence in Dr. Shirley.  She is just such a cool lady, sweet, caring, nurturing and I think going to be extremely helpful and I’m really looking forward to the work that I can do.  Who knows what’s going to happen.  All I know is I’m going to try anything because man this back problem is annoying and I have a 50 pound wedding dress I need to wear in 9 months so my back can not be going out for that (hey, whatever motivates you, right?).  So, stay tuned, be kind to yourself, listen to the show (in podcast form) because it was really such a neat, insightful experience for me (and the people on the show are AWESOME) and I hope it will be for you and don’t be a hardhead like me and think all is well when apparently it really isn’t.  Kidding.  All we can do is learn, right?

Filed under: A Scrapbook Life by Jenna Edwards

I’m so excited to announce that I have my first official sponsor!  The company’s name is Gwynnie Bee and their tag line is “clothing without commitment” but I describe them as the Netflix of clothes.  I saw an ad for the service on Facebook and it peaked my interest because it’s for chubby people like me (and some not so chubby people too!) The clothes range from size 10 up and so I clicked on their banner.  Once at their site, I couldn’t get over how cute their clothes were.  I am in love with the dress section!

I’ve been going back and forth for months now on what I’m going to do with the radio show and events I have to go to for Scrapbook Rehab.   As you all know, I’ve been trying to lose weight for the wedding and it was not going well and part of the reason for that is because in the back of my mind I am constantly thinking about how much money it costs to buy clothes for each stage of weight-loss and now that I can’t just camp out in my sweats for the duration of my weight-loss, I kind of just stopped losing.

That’s when I decided to sign up for Gwynnie Bee because I could lose weight and not worry about having cute clothes to wear to events, in fact, the clothes they have are way cuter than any I could afford to buy anyway.  So, I sent them an email telling them that I love the idea Gwynnie Bee and we started talking and now they are sponsoring my show.  They are an incredible company with a great story of their own and a fantastic team of people.  I highly encourage you to check them out and check out the show each week (the live stream has video) so you can see the adorable outfits.  I will post pictures here and on my facebook page as well.  I’m really thrilled to be working with such a great company and am excited to get back in the weight-loss saddle again knowing that I don’t have to worry about clothes once I start losing.

Here’s how it works…you sign on to Gwynnie Bee and create an account.  Depending on your budget, you can get different amounts of clothing items sent to you per time.  You fill your virtual closet with all the clothes you want to wear and they send you your first shipment (the amount varies depending on your subscription). Just like Netflix, you keep the clothes as long as you want and when you send an item back, a new item from your “closet” comes to you in its place.  It’s so much fun when you receive the shipments.  I took pictures! Oh, did I mention you get a free month trial?!?!??  How awesome is that?!?!?

Each item comes in it’s own box!

Once you open the box, your item is wrapped so nice.  It really makes you feel great about what you’re getting.  So cute!

Gwynnie Bee really cares about what you think so they send a comment card with each garment so that you can let them know if something isn’t fitting well or if you really love something.  They just do all these really great added touches.  It’s so nice.

I was so excited because my first shipment arrived just in time for me to go to Ladies Night Out here in Burbank, CA.  It was the perfect dress for the event and I got so many compliments.  It was comfortable and just so cute!

That was on Friday.  The following Monday was my first radio show with Gwynnie Bee as a sponsor.  I chose this blue dress because it was just so cute and exactly the type of outfit I like to wear to work. Though, it was a bit too big.  But, that’s the great thing about filling out the cards when you send items back.  The company will let you know if something runs a little big or not as they get to know your sizing.

Then it was off to my little sister’s (little…ha! she’s the one in the middle towering over me) graduation.  We all wore Gwynnie Bee and looked and felt fantastic!  It was so much fun to share the experience with my mom and sister.  Even though we’re all different sizes, the outfits fit all of us really well.

Then it was back to work.  And, yes, you are right!  That’s the outfit my mom was wearing.  It looks totally different with the leggins.  The clothes are so versatile.  I just love them!

It was quiet a couple weeks for me and I have to say, I was so happy I had my Gwynnie Bee outfits with me.  They made the events a lot easier to handle.  I used to panic thinking about what I was going to wear.  It was a treat to have so many great options and all of them looked good and were comfortable to wear.  I am so excited about getting to represent Gwynnie Bee and can’t wait for my next shipment to come in!

Filed under: A Scrapbook Life, Scrapbook Inspiration by Jenna Edwards

Hello!  I hope everyone is having a good day so far.  I am.  Today’s blog is about one of the coolest people I’ve ever had the privilege of meeting.  His name is Joseph Gatt and he plays one of the coolest characters in the new Star Trek movie out now (coincidence…I think not).  I first met Joseph while co-hosting Tony Sweet’s radio show and he was just such a cool guy.  He was so open and funny and nice even though, if you take one look at him, you know he could kick my ass (and most of yours’).  But, that’s what I loved about him.  He is the epitome of “don’t judge a book by its cover”.  You see, Joseph has alopecia, which is a condition that makes all your hair fall out and Joseph is one buff dude.  So, the lack of hair just makes the muscles more noticeable and it’s a bit intimidating.  Until you start talking with him.  Then this sweet, wonderful man comes from within this tough exterior to really touch your soul.

That’s why I wanted him on my show and I was not disappointed.  Not only did we talk all about how he was able to overcome something truly devastating and work with it to create this incredible acting career.  We talked about what caused the alopecia to begin with.  It happened when Joseph was 14 and all he ever wanted to be was a fighter pilot and he found out he was color blind and that job would never be possible.  His dreams were crushed and he definitely didn’t bounce back from that right away.  He had never even intended on acting but took an acting class and now Joseph has played some of the coolest roles out there from Star Trek to Thor and he is just so nice and humble about it. Maybe that’s because people still judge him so harshly on the street.  He talked about how people will literally cross the street so that they don’t have to be near him.  He said a lot of people think alopecia is contagious (it is not) and he gives a brief rundown of it on the show.  It’s worth a listen.

What’s interesting to me about it is that it’s 2013 and some people are still so ignorant and living in fear all the time.  Let me tell you, if that is you (which I doubt because the readers of my blog rock), you are missing out.  This man gives the BEST hugs (besides Craig of course) and he is a person for crying out loud.  I don’t understand why we think it’s OK to treat other people horribly.  He has feelings just like everyone else.  I am a firm believer in the golden rule and hearing Joseph story made me sad but he gives me such hope.

My situations have always been hidden from the outside.  I always had to explain my flashbacks with people because I looked just fine until I was flailing on the ground so I don’t know what it’s like to be different looking…well, now that I’m thinking about it, that’s not true.  Being chubby has always been a source of harshness and meanness from the skinny bitchy people (not all skinny people are bitchy BTW, I’m not saying that at all), but you know the ones.  The thing is that this type of thing hasn’t bothered me in a really long time.  And that point of view for me stems from a couple of incidences that happened during my senior year of high school and freshman year of college when I was lucky enough to really understand where that kind of picking and hatred comes from.  I think I might talk about that on the radio show on Monday because it’s a lot to get into in this blog.  The point is, don’t be mean.  You don’t know what’s going on with someone else and if you are being judged, figure out how to feel sorry for that person because it takes a really insecure and not so happy person to be mean and cruel to someone else.  It really does.  And, frankly, most of the time it’s not even about you.  So, you just be the wonderful, beautiful person that you are and don’t worry about them.  And, listen to Joseph on the show, he really is inspiring.

Have a great day!

Jenna

Filed under: A Scrapbook Life, Scrapbook Inspiration by Jenna Edwards

Happy Monday everyone!  I am so far behind in my blogging it is just horrible.  I hope everyone has had a great couple of weeks.  I know I have.  I’ve been moving so my brain has been focused on getting everything in order on the home front.  I’m so excited because we moved into a house and we have laundry for the first time in 12 years!  No more Laundromat!  I know that sounds like a crazy thing to be excited about, but it makes such a huge difference.

I’m also thrilled beyond belief about my new workspace.  The garage is the perfect place to set up the Scrapbook Rehab offices and I’ve been taking time to try and organize and pull out all my scrapbooking supplies so that they’re easily accessible.  It’s such a luxury.  I’m just trying to enjoy each moment as it comes.

Which, is the perfect segway into what I wanted to write about regarding my interview a couple weeks ago with the lovely Melanie Lutz.  Melanie, is a walking transformation and just all around fantastic person.  She went from a high power career in the corporate world to following her heart and becoming an author, poet and artist.  She is just inspiring.  But, the one thing that always makes me pause when I talk to Melanie is her ability to be completely present.  She is so focused on living in the moment and being thoughtful of what is happening right then and there. It is a magical thing.  I do NOT possess this skill at all.  I wish I did.

I am more the person who notices everything in the moment, but there are so many things going on that I have to find a quiet place and process everything later, after the excitement of what is happening wears off.  I just get SO excited by everything and want to have all these experiences that I can’t just stand there and soak it all in.  Talking with Melanie is such a sharp contrast for me that I really realized I am not someone who can do that.  You know how they talk about those people who can make you feel like you’re the only one in the room?  Yeah, that’s not me.  I am more the person who wants to make everyone in the room get excited about being in the room and being together with everyone else rather than making them feel like there is no one else there.

I guess it takes all kinds and I’m just not a very “traditionally” Zen person.  And, you know what, that’s OK.  I like being me.  I am a spastically, excitable, over-achieving, inappropriate, foot in my mouth because I get way to happy about the littlest things kind of person.  So, I’ll just appreciate what people like Melanie bring to the table and be good with all of it.

Hope you have a great week and check back here tomorrow for my 2^nd “catch-up” blog.  Where I’ll talk about Joseph Gatt from the new Star Trek movie and what he made me thing about regarding people acting strangely when someone is different.  Oh and please listen to the show today because I have an exciting announcement about a new sponsor for the show.  Things are getting exciting.  New home, new life J

Hugs,

Jenna

Filed under: A Scrapbook Life, Scrapbook Inspiration by Jenna Edwards