UPDATE on Gina's Journey through, transition, training, travel and tranquilty

Recently, I started on a journey to learn more about Gina, I had turned 50 and I wanted to improve my health, I wanted to learn how to adjust to my role as a mother now that my children are grown. I started blogging in 2011 to help me document my experiences and maybe help someone out there that might be feeling the same things. Now, I have come a long way on this journey, I lost 30 pounds, changed careers, and gained a new perspective on having adult children, and now I have a new insight to myself.   2012 was quite a challenge, I went through a mild depression, was on and off medication,  gained back some of my weight and faced some of my fears such as, jumping into a new career with no guaranteed income, traveling alone and the major one was facing the mortality of my father.  

Well I overcame all of those fears with some new lessons in reality.

1. Peruse your passion and income will follow, maybe not right away and not without economic problems, but after one year, my business is now starting to show an income and I see a promising future.   

2. Menopause and depression sucks, but with help it is controllable.  I have lived through hot flashes, mood swings, weight gain and sadness.  I am not over this as, God played a little trick on us women, pregnancy last only 9 months, and menopause has no end date. But I am happy to say I am now medication free and handling things well.

3. Being on medication that makes you gain weight is not something I would wish on my worst enemy, no matter what you do the weight just doesn’t come off.  Now that I am medication free, my son Nick has become my personal trainer. He has created a workout program that makes me think he is trying to kill me, (payback for all those “timeouts” when he was a child) and now he has asked me to follow an eating regiment for 28 days to “shock my system”.  No dairy, no sugar, no bread/grains and nothing that has anything in it you cannot pronounce.  4 days into it and I am still alive. Although Coffee is horrible without sugar, but if I can lose this weight before my big trip, it will be worth it. I will keep you informed.

4.  I have three wonderful young men to call my sons. I raised them to be independent, and I have learned that it doesn’t mean they don’t need me, but the way they need me has changed. I am now trying to be a friend and confidant. I don’t get upset if I don’t talk to them every day, (Although once a week is nice.)  I understand that they have their own dreams and passions to follow and if the roads they have to follow lead them away from home, they will be okay and worrying about them is something that will go on forever.  They make me very proud and actually they have given me a new found strength.   

5. Marriage is not easy. It is put to the test on a daily basis. I am very grateful to have a man in my life that has allowed me to grow and change like this.  I think the change he has seen in me over the past 30 years has also opened his eyes to who Gina really is and I hope he love me more for it and he sticks with me another 30.

Lastly: the past year has taught me that strength comes from somewhere inside you that you never knew existed.  I have realized that I can deal with anything, I learned that if I can deal with my father being ill while I am worlds away, I can deal with anything, I know that I am strong and can weather all the mighty storms that will without a doubt come my way.  

I am now preparing to journey around the world on a trip of a lifetime.  Follow me in the future to see where this journey leads.  

God Bless
Happy and Safe Travels.

Are you dormant?

I was driving to work and as I looked at the brown grass and trees and I started thinking how sad it is to become dormant and I thought to myself is what I see when I look in the mirror? Am I a person that has become dormant?  There are many times when I think about aspects in my life and I feel I am dormant.  Now the meaning of dormant says “not actively growing: in an inactive state, when growth and development slow or cease, in order to survive adverse environmental conditions.”  I think there are times in our lives that we all feel like this and yes possibly these times are necessary, especially when we have economic or family issues. After my adventure to France last year I found a new life within me, a person that I think I was keeping dormant for many years and I kind of like this new person.  I no longer want to be dormant. I want to be consistently growing, learning and changing.  I want to blossom and stay flowering every day, year after year. Trying new challenges and facing the unknown with excitement and anticipation.  To be ever changing you need constant support, just as a flower needs to be watered and tended too, you need to have family and friends that will continue to support you and help you grow.  I know now after the support I have received in building my new career. I will have that support and I only hope that I will continue to make their gardens beautiful.  So when you look into the mirror in the morning, ask yourself are you becoming dormant?  Is there something inside you that you need to water and let flourish.  If there is find those around you that will support you and then let it grow.  I know if I can do this you can too.  I wish you luck, happiness and I hope you allow me to be the first person to put some water on your dream and say “you can do it”.

God Bless and Happy and Safe Travels.

New confidence, New eyes, New prospective.

Paris was everything I had anticipated and more, whether it was strolling along the Champs Elysees, drifting down the the Seine river on an evening cruise or standing under the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, I realized that this is a city that everyone should see. The beauty, the history and the people were all wonderful. Nothing was a disappointment. On this trip I learned so much not only about this city but about myself.  I learned that I am a self-reliant woman, confident, and strong,  and I am actually following my passion. The more places I visit, the more I want to send other people to witnesses what I have witnessed. I never felt this confident before, I always played it safe, stayed in my comfort zone and told myself that this is all there was for me, now I know different, and if I can figure this out about myself then anyone can.  You can step out of your comfort zone and learn more about yourself, it only takes one step and a huge desire.  

There has been something that has really been weighing on mind.  When I was in France, I would look at things with such wonder. No matter whether it was a huge museum or the small flower shop on the corner, everything I looked at, I saw beauty and amazement. Now that I am home, I wish that I should have that same feeling with things in my own backyard.  I think we all get into a rut; we look at the same things, whether it’s our Mountains or our Skyline, every day and we become complacent and unappreciative.  It’s not until we see things through a new prospective that we can once again appreciate its beauty.  Those mountains that I look at every day and sometime don’t even notice anymore are the same mountains that fill a newcomer with amazement and awe.  So I am on a mission.  I am going to try to look at everything as if it was the first time I was seeing it. Even when I look into the eyes of my husband, sons, family and friends, I want to feel that joy and amazement, I first felt.   I’m tired of feeling like I am missing out on something, when I have such beauty in my backyard and in my life. I hope that as you look at your surroundings, family and friends this Holiday season, you will take in every aspect of it, whether it is the same Christmas ornament that has been hanging on your tree for years, the beautiful stars in the sky, the sunset over the mountains, the sunrise over the skyline, or the smiles on your family and friends face, notice the beauty and think to yourself, how would someone that never saw this before view it and feel.  I hope that you all have a wonderful New Year’s filled with new prospective, new sites and lots of love.   Thanks for your support , for the prayers for my Father (he is doing great), and for reading my blog for the past year. 

 I love your comments and look forward to more interaction in 2013. See you next year.

God Bless
Happy and Safe Travels.