Hot and Unbothered

Scatterbrain

2010-06-26T14:38:00.007-04:00

I'm back!

Or I very soon will be. Consider this an IOU to a payment that is just around the corner. The currency... killer content and frequent updates. I HAVE to get back into the blogging world.

Since I graduated from Champlain College (#campchamp) this passed May, I sort of let my social media presence fall to the wayside. *Tisk tisk* I know, especially for a Marketing/Mkt Mgmt Degree holding Social Media Specialist. It's relatively understandable though, I suppose.

Hear me out, I mean after the Web Operations Manager position I was planning on taking up in Burlington, VT (#btv) fell through, I moved back home (to the Boston area) and have been acclimating myself. That in itself is a full time gig. Parents, little sister, pooch, nothing very interesting within walking/biking distance, no available jobs of interest, blah blah blah...

Enough whining! It's all looking up. I know there's some great stuff for me on the horizon. For instance, I'm going to begin tutoring adults with low literacy levels at my local library. Reading with them, writing with them, etc. I'm looking forward to getting into that. I've been buried in books since I got home, they've really been my only escape. I hope to sprinkle some book reviews in with whatever else I decide to focus on here at Hot and Unbothered, which might be up for a name/layout change. The job/internship search will commece

Anyway, I've got to get going. I'm spending the night with a few friends in Boston. Dinner, drinks, catching up, FREEDOM. Photos and stories to come.

XOXO,
Carolyn

2010-06-26T14:03:00.001-04:00

2009-04-28T18:02:00.006-04:00

"I love these nights, I love playing the outdoors. This is outer space, we're just here. Can't get any closer to outer space than we are right now."

-Jason Mraz, A Beautiful Mess (From A Raining Jane Session)

Two-time Earth Mosaic Contributess!

2009-04-22T22:26:00.011-04:00

These are some of the pictures I took on this lovely Earth Day. The first two are ones that I sent in to become part of the Earth Mosaic! It will be wonderful to see my photos mixed in with photos from all over the Earth. I'll post again once the mosaic is completed :)

Earth Meets City

Love Birds

Obstruction

Untitled

Enjoy the rest of Earth day, Earth week, Earth month, Earth always!

2009-04-22T02:17:00.003-04:00

"The planet's talking about a revolution. The natural laws ain't got no constitution. They've got a right to live their own life. But we keep paving over paradise. 'Cause we're only human"

-Jason Mraz, lyrics from Only Human

Earth Day Photo Shoot!

2009-04-22T01:26:00.006-04:00

Earth Day 2009 is upon us! The day whose title demands our attention. Everyone is green on Earth Day, but what about the other 364 days of the year? Must we be constantly reminded that we are all merely residents of this planet, who has been ever-so-good to us?

EarthMosaic.org was thunk up by a guy named Paul. He wanted to do something significant involving photographs and what he came up with is pretty marvelous if you ask me... A mosaic of the Earth made up of pictures taken by ALL OF US on Earth Day!

>>It really doesn't matter if you're hot-rod pro-shooter or a student with a 1.3MP cellphone camera. We all share this planet, and we'd like you all to share in this mosaic. And that leads us to what YOU can do now. The success of the project depends on getting hundreds of thousands of images. Each one represents your tiny block of our life on earth. Even though you can't see your picture at first, you can see the result, and you know that you're part of that. Everyone is. Everything we do, affects our planet. Give us your picture. Ask all your family, friends, Facebook friends, Twitter followers, Flickr buddies. People who aren't on those services. Everyone gets in. Let's make our pictures a commitment to do better for our home, Earth.<<

Cool huh? So take a picture, upload it, become a part of the Earth Mosaic and remember today, tomorrow, and 52 weeks from now how lucky we all are to have a home on this planet.

If you'd like to be a part of the Earth Mosaic visit the website EarthMosaic.org and make sure to read over the rules (they aren't too complex, no sweat!)

Happy Earth Day Earthlings!
Much Love,
Carolyn

Food for Thought

2009-04-21T23:10:00.021-04:00

A year or so ago, I attended a Pampered Chef party at Jan + Traci's apartment. I wasn't so much interested in the cookery as I was in the wine, h'or d'oeuvres, and desserts I knew everyone would be bringing :) My contribution was homemade Orange Brownies, yum. A Paula Dean recipe that my friend Becky introduced me to. They call for something like 4 or 5 sticks of butter...... A once in a while treat, obviously.

As the ladies gawked over this mixer and that set of bowls I was sampling the offerings. Among my favorite appetizers was what everyone was calling 'the Bean Dip.' It was refreshing, sweet, and tangy - just perfect. Using my charm I was able to swindle the recipe and I have been making it ever since. I could literally eat it every day for every meal. What an exaggeration right? Well it's THAT good!

NOTE: I've made the executive decision to change the name to Veggie + Bean Salad because 'dip' to me implies something mushy. This little bit of heaven is crisp and fresh (and vegan!)

Because it has been so wonderful to me I have decided to pass the recipe on. Pay it forward if you will. So, here you are!

the Veggie + Bean Salad

1 red pepper
1 green pepper
1 onion (large)
1 can of kidney beans
1 can of black beans
2 cans of shoepeg corn
1 lime
4 tbs sugar
salt + pepper

Cut the fresh veggies up, open the cans, drain the bean juice, toss in the goods, squeeze the lime over it all, sugar and spice it up, and VOILA!

Drooling yet?

here I substituted red pepper with yellow pepper, but it's all good ;)

A healthy, fresh and delicious Veggie Bean Salad that you can enjoy anytime. Eat it with tortilla chips, throw some into a wrap with or without chicken, add it to a garden salad (no need for dressing!)

What do you think? Should it be considered a dip, a salad, or something else entirely? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, right?

Give it a go and tell me what you think ;)

Bon appetite,
Carolyn

2009-04-11T13:43:00.004-04:00

"And timing's everything and this time there's plenty. I am balancing, careful and steady, and reveling in energy that everyone's emitting"

-Jason Mraz, lyrics from Make It Mine (We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.)

On the Mat We Are All Equal

2009-04-09T19:11:00.001-04:00

In other social media news 'TWITTER BRINGS BIG SMILES'

John Mayer (the music man himself, who kindly shares with us the wealth of his brilliant brilliant mind) twittered Demi Lovato (singer/songwriter, actor, and my personal favorite Disney darling) about her song La La Land whose B section he seems to think pretty highly of. The tweexchange went a little something like this... (well actually it went exactly like this)

johncmayer
I have 'La La Land' by @ddlovato stuck in my head.
Actually, it's not stuck. I'm choosing to sing it.
B section is sophisticated.

ddlovato
@johncmayer Holy crap. THANK YOU. You're so awesome.

johncmayer
@ddlovato You're going to make lots of records, I can tell.

ddlovato
@johncmayer That is quite possibly the best compliment
I've received in this business. Thank you so, so much..... !!!!!!

johncmayer
@ddlovato 'welcome. Write one song at a time,
never apologize for any of them, ever.
From Wonderland to Trio stuff, they're all my kids.

ddlovato
@johncmayer See, That's exactly what I needed to hear today.
Wow. If that's not inspiration, then I don't know what is!
You're incredible :D

How cool, right?!? Oh how wide the smile was that graced my mouth upon seeing this most sincere exchange. We should all take notes from these two class acts. Imagine where you might be today if, instead of being torn down by someone's harsh words, you were built up with a bona fide compliment. It's time we think before we speak down to someone and speak up before the opportunity to genuinely praise someone passes us by.

We all have unlimited potential that's literally dying to come out of hiding and into the spotlight. It's being suffocated by insecurities. Those insecurities are brought on by energy being stolen rather than shared. Think about the last time you felt 100% sure of yourself. Did you feel lifted, like you could do anything you set your mind to? Was there someone involved who helped you get there? What about the last time you felt really low. Was there someone who helped put you there? Were words spoken that got you down on yourself? Do you remember any situation where your words or actions may have affected another, either by deeply moving OR hurting them?

Bikram is a place where, once on the mat, we are all equal. In some classes I can literally feel the shared energy in the room and it gets me so high. My poses are spot on, my focus is unfaltering, I gain this special kind of endurance that lasts for days. It is something else. Knowing that my energy is added to the mix and may be fueling the person next to me is indescribable.

These passed few nights I've been taking class with Regina, who at first I'll admit I wasn't too fond of. To me she seemed like a my-way-or-the-highway type. I felt as though I was being neglected because my postures weren't perfect the way she wanted them. This got me down, but I've since realized that she is the type that won't accept anything but ones full effort. She knows that effort and potential go hand-in-hand. Perhaps I had slacked off and because of that she was quick to dismiss me. Last night I poured my heart out on that mat and she noticed. I could see it in her eyes and in the smile she directed my way. Tonight she even gave me a compliment in passing.

It isn't easy to get where we want to be. We can't do it alone. In order to reach our potential we must work with each other rather than against. We must build each other up rather than knock each other down.

YOU CAN DO IT. I BELIEVE IN YOU!

Love always,
Carolyn

Single-tasking

2009-04-07T11:53:00.000-04:00

This is an excerpt from a message I sent my Mum this morning.

>>i'm here, just painting my nails, writing to you, and contemplating how i'm going to approach today. i just realized that multi-tasking is the evil that i've been grappling with for so long (and look i'm doing it right now... oops!) it keeps me unfocused. and being unfocused in turn hinders me (sometimes almost completely) from getting anything important done. so yea, today (for starters) i'm going to cut back on multi-tasking. as soon as i realize that i am doing two or more things at once, i am going to stop for a minute and think about what really is most important at that moment. right now for instance, i have put down my nail clippers and polish to write you this little ditty.<<

i have since finished painting my nails and thought that i would like to document this anti-multi-tasking campaign of mine. maybe not so much document it. really i just want to have it written down somewhere for me. and for you. perhaps you might be afflicted with the multi-tasking bug? perhaps you do it well and can get everything done top notch.

how can we become more aware of how we spend our time? do your daily tasks overlap one another? do those overlapping tasks get completed? do they get completed well or could they be done better?

I am off to single-task!
Kablamo.

-Carolyn

2009-04-02T01:21:00.002-04:00

"It takes no time to fall in love, but it takes you years to know what love is."

- Jason Mraz, lyrics from the song Life is Wonderful

You can tell by MY smile

2009-04-01T10:33:00.000-04:00

This morning I woke up in the knick of time (6:25AM wake up = perfect for 7:00AM bikram). As you may or may not know, depending on if you read my last two posts, I didn't end up falling asleep until sometime after 3:00AM and I ended up praying for an April Fools miracle.

Well it looks like today's my lucky day. Not only did I make it EARLY to the studio, kill it in class (one of my best in the last few weeks), and completely check out of my mind resulting in major relaxation and clarity (much needed as of late - as the semester winds down I'm lacking motivation for school work. I know, uhhh oh!) I also turned 21! Booyah.

So there, I'm finally an adult.

Wait!? No, never. Can I be honest for a minute? Okay this is 120% how I feel today... and always:

Enjoy yourself today. Let your inner child out and let him OR her pull some pranks!

NAMASTE big kids,
Carolyn

Prank

2009-04-01T03:06:00.001-04:00

Today is April Fools Day and I'm hoping my body will play a reverse joke on me. Something like, "you didn't get ANY sleep last night so it looks like your doomed to be weak and useless for the duration of today... APRIL FOOLS! You actually have more energy than ever and all the time in the world to do everything you want to do. WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

My reply would be "Ohhhh body! You got me."

On a less serious note I am going to pee and then do ardha kurmasana (half tortoise pose) until I am able to shut my eyes and sleep. Deep!

Peace be with you,
Carolyn

Unknown

2009-04-01T03:02:00.001-04:00

Unable to sleep.
It's now 3:02AM
Bikram at 7:00AM... ?
Which, due to my half hour commute,
means I've got to get out of bed at 6:15
(at the absolute latest)
Will I make it?
Stay tuned.

-Carolyn

Save-A-Seed and Superforest

2009-02-02T02:09:00.000-05:00

My new friend Jackson and his company of SuperForesters have built up the Save-A-Seed Coalition, and I'mma join 'em.

According to The Millenium Seed Bank Project it is estimated that anywhere from "60,000 to 100,000 plant species are threatened with extinction."

With forested areas being cut down and paved over AND our climate being all whacked out, it's no wonder these plants are facing such uncertain fates. And, incase any of you have forgotten, life depends on plants. You depend on plants. Yo' mama depends on plants. Friends, roommates, teachers, firefolks, policefolks, singers, dancers, yogis, strangers, and bloggers all depend on plants. Even your pooch depends on plants!

The brilliance behind the MSB is to collect and conserve seeds from all around the world. So they're pretty awesome and they need help. Donations are necessary for seeds to be saved and I'm trying to spread the good word. Even if you can't donate green, you should donate your words and tell someone else.

Think of your word as a seed, and think of the beautiful tree you can grow by simply telling someone, who'll tell someone, who'll tell someone else about the MSB!

For the love of your pooch, do it!
And check out Superforest too!

Chloe and Me :)