Who is She Anyway?

Hi, I'm Chrissie. How do you do?

Did you know that the appropriate answer to "how do you do?" is "how do you do?" and not actually telling the asker how it is that you do. I know this because I've read Victorian etiquette books. I am an insufferable nerd. I am also a super hippie type nature girl which is why I now live and work in the Grand Canyon National Park. I'm an animal loving vegetarian who uses only eco-friendly vegan products. I'm a displaced New Yorker who plans on some day going home, even though after 12 years and 13 moves and 6 states I know that home isn't what I remember it to be. I'm a poetry eater and sometimes writer and point and shoot photographer who is lusting after a "real" camera.

A few years ago I lived in San Diego and had a gym membership and worked out every day and counted every calorie and lost 50 pounds. Then life and depression happened and I've since gained back every pound I lost.

This blog is about getting healthy again and doing so holistically. This isn't just about weight or size but about health and well-being. A lifetime ago a friend of mine became a registered holistic dietician. Or something. I'm not sure what it was that she was licensed to do but we did sit down and talk about life and health and happiness. She explained that her interest was in holistic living. She explained to me that health wasn't just about the food that you put into your body, but also the situations that you put into your life. It's about your friends and your family and doing everything that you can to make sure that you are healthy and happy.

At the time I thought it was a bunch of silly hippieness. At the time I wasn't much of a hippie myself. But as I get older and unhealthier and unhappier and hippier I'm starting to think that maybe there was something to the silly hippieness. So I'm going to give this whole holistic thing a try. Because of this I'm not going to count calories and I'm not going to get on a scale. I am going to walk and hike and join a gym and go to counseling and make friends and take trips and visit people and read good books and not hibernate in my dorm and allow myself to get all kinds of depressed again.

It's not going to be easy. I know that. It's hard to move after years of atrophy. It's hard to laugh after years of crying. It's hard to share after years of being a hermit, but here I am - for better or worse, working to be a better, healthier, happier me. Thank you for joining me.