Pretty Powerful

Open letter to Women:

Since we decided to make a blog for women about women, we have heard some incredible stories. We will be sharing these with you over the next few months. Next week we will post from SC who is going to share her story of "Letting Go".  It is empowering to hear these women discover their strengths.  To hear how they work through difficult times and learn amazing things about themselves in the process.

Just because we were curious,  we tapped the mic on a tablet and asked Google to "Define Women"  here is what came up first:

Dictionary.com
Female is sometimes used in disparaging contexts: a gossipy female; a conniving female.   Lady meaning “refined, polite woman” is a term of approval or praise: a real lady in all things; to behave like a lady.

Wow, the use of negative words first to describe us... whether the word is women or female.

NOT OKAY. 

How about we take Dictionary.com's ridiculous first impression and knock it on it's ass? Woman are unique, we have many layers, we are simple yet complex. We are masters at multi-tasking whether wearing heels or flats. We get it done, there's no stopping us! We are also sensitive, gentle and sometimes fragile. We are harder on ourselves more than anyone else.  On the flip side ALL women take words to heart. Words matter, they have power. A lot of power. We have all been there, a not so cool women can use her words to cut us to the core. Make us feel less than. Take a great day and immediately turn it south. And that right there is where these asinine notions of who woman are come into play.  

Let's talk about that, women to woman:
Why are we so hard on each other when we know each other's heart so well? We know what words do. We know how judgments make us feel. So why do we do it?
Oh, it's not all of us who hurt or cause drama. It's a select few, but those few love to ruin a good party.  Life is tough enough as it is to have to deal with women who only want to bring other women down.  In truth all women belong to a private club, we are VIP, we are in a rank all our own. It is worth so much, this women's club is one of a kind. Yet some use this club to judge, hate and steal joy. Some women stamp negative words on others before they have had a chance to show themselves. Why is that... Because women have power.

Women are designed to be leaders, business owners, writers, artists. We can do everything and anything we want, and we do it well. We do it with babies on our hips and husbands waiting at the dinner table :) We do it under glass ceilings and with fewer zeros on our pay checks. We have many talents; we are mothers, wives, sisters and friends. We have so much inside of us to share. We have the power to teach without judgment and love without worry. We are the light that shines into those dark places we like to hide. We are the extended hand that pulls each other up when we fall.  We are that strong and we have that much power, so why not use it for good?

We have a challenge for you; today/tomorrow when you're at the grocery store (because we know we're there every other freaking day), look at the women standing behind you and smile at her. Do not judge what's in her cart.  Look at the women next to you in gym or yoga class and tell her she looks good. Do not compare.  Watch what happens when you give a women or two a genuine compliment, her face will light up!  That's power.

Lovelies, we need to lift up, not bring down...We encourage you to share words from the heart to other women. She as well as you will shine brighter and more beautiful then yesterday.

Cheers,

Christie and Leigh

PS: Follow us on Instagram 

True Strength, true love

Hey beauties,

Okay y'all, here we go, our first guest blog post. This woman is very near and dear to our hearts, this woman being my mommy. This is Leigh by the way. October is breast cancer awareness month so we have this amazing lady sharing her journey with us today.

Not being a writer, I kind of freaked when Leigh asked me to write a blog about my escapades with breast cancer. She said, "Just write, mom", and I tried to explain that it wasn't that easy for me. I'm not a writer like she is. But here's me giving it a shot.

I went in for a mammogram almost five years ago, and they saw something. So I went in for another one. And then everything changed. During the diagnosis process, I only let the "what ifs" take hold one time. The words "I have cancer" just didn't want to leave my lips. I had never been so shaken before, it was like my world had stopped. Thank God, literally, my husband Scott was with me. He picked up where I left off, asking the appropriate questions and listening to the doctor. All that is usually my job, I'm the nurse. But I just couldn't seem to focus. Other than that one incident, I knew I could and would beat this disease. So from then on, I focused on enjoying every minute of every day. I've always been a silver lining kind of person but this went deeper, like each day truly became a gift. Nothing is promised. I made a deal with myself that I would be cancer free and love the life I was given.

On the day of my surgery, to remove the tumor from my right breast, my parents and my daughters were there. They were all camped out in the waiting room, trying to make me laugh. Trying to make things light hearted and as normal as possible. Scott walked me back when my name was called and when I looked up at him, he had tears in his eyes. We'd both been so strong over the last week or so, staying up beat and not letting bad thoughts take hold. His sudden wave of emotion surprised me so much that I snapped at him. I told him, "NO! Only positive thoughts. We will get through this together". It was the only time I saw any real fear in his eyes and to this day I still feel guilty for snapping at him. The surgery went well, my doctor was confident that they got it all, clear margins all the way around. After it was over, they took me home. They stayed around the house, piled on couches and the guest bed. They got me a burger and fries from my favorite place.

A few weeks after my surgery my husband and I moved to California for his work. The move itself was what motivated me to have my mammogram, so it was a blessing in disguise. We were driving from Dallas, Texas to Los Gatos, California, and I decided that I could drive my own car. I was not going to ask for help. That was a huge mistake, I have no idea how we made it. I was still so sore from my surgery and holding my arms on the steering wheel was excruciating.

Once we arrived in Los Gatos, I met my guardian angel, my neighbor Lynne. She was amazing and made the move away from my family and friends bearable The first day we met she brought me flowers and we spent the entire afternoon day-drinking red wine. I fell in love almost immediately. Lynne had lost her best friend to breast cancer and was more support than I knew I'd need. One memory from those first few weeks of friendship stands out in my mind. I'd always had really long hair, and a few days before my first round of chemo I cut it really short. Lynne and I had brunch that day. She made me laugh while we tried on hats, I think I laughed and cried more that day than any other. Nothing like having your friend, who's from the United Kingdom, help you with hat etiquette. She will never know the depths of what she means to me. We are still close, we talk all the time. And even though she and her husband moved back to the UK, we try to see each other as often as possible. We are "Thelma and Louise"... she really does call me Thelma.

Scott, me, Lynne and her husband Steve

We had family and friends visit frequently while we were living in California, they all helped my husband keep me busy and distracted. Lauren, my youngest daughter and her husband came right after the first chemo treatment. She's a nurse also and it was really hard on her to be away from me during my treatment. She had just gotten engaged, and we tried to tour some wineries. I wanted to be the mother of the bride, I wanted to be energetic and tried to be up beat. But I was so tired. My oldest, Leigh, was pregnant with her first child. As some of you may know, Leigh hates to fly. She has to take medication and she still barely makes it one the plane. Her OB/GYN wouldn't let her fly, it would have caused too much stress on her and the baby. I didn't get to see her until after the chemo was finished. But she would send me videos of the baby doing somersaults in utero.

Leigh sent me this before my first chemo treatment

I missed my girls so much but knew it was better for me to be away so they didn't have to see the day to day issued that came with the treatments. I am their mother, I wanted to keep them sheltered from the worst of it.

One major side effect, of course, was losing my hair. It was coming out in handfuls, I was officially going bald. So, I grabbed Scott's electric razor and talked him into shaving my head. At first he was pretty timid and nervous, and I was an emotional mess. But we face-timed the girls and my parents. I'm sure the sight of Scott with a razor to my head was pretty funny. At one point he mentioned a Mohawk. We laughed through our tears and I think I fell in love with him a little more that day. IT turned into a wonderful memory, and I still get choked up thinking about it.

Scott and I on the California Coast

I had some issues with the chemo treatments. I was having really bad side effects, and they wanted to postpone my last round to give my body a chance to recover a little. I basically said, "HELL NO". My grandbaby was due any day and I was going to be there when she was born, no matter what. Thank goodness she waited for me, it was such a beautiful day. Lauren and I were able to be with Leigh and her husband for the birth. I was there to watch my baby have her baby. There is literally nothing like it, nothing I can compare it to.

My grandbaby and I when she was two weeks old

My five year mark is coming up in early March and I'm really looking forward to crossing that milestone. I'll be celebrating from February to the middle of September, my diagnosis to the end of radiation. One of the things that stands out about the time I was going through chemo, and then radiation, was how I could actually feel the power of the prayers being said for me. It was amazing, It kept me upright when I was so tired that walking down the stairs was too much. It may seem an odd thing but just the year prior, I ran a half marathon, so I wasn't in bad shape. But I would have to stop halfway down just to rest. The prayers kept me going. I'm still awed by the feeling. Cancer changed me. It changed my body, my skin, hair, eyebrows...so much on the exterior but most of the change has been on the inside. I really do appreciate my gifts, my loved ones. I cherish my friendships and can't wait to see what each new day brings. I'm happy. I don't know if I would feel this about my life without the cancer diagnosis.

My tattoo

Being away from my mom while she was going through breast cancer treatment was torture. It was horrible. I wanted to be there, I felt like I needed to be there. My step dad is a saint in my eyes, he's a hero. He was there when we couldn't be, day in and day out. Keeping her strong, holding her. But I want to take a minute here to thank someone else. Mom told me about her friend Lynne, I face timed when they were together. Lynne watched my daughter dance in my stomach while she held my mothers hand. She made her laugh and she went with her to try on hats and wigs. She'll never know the amount of love my sister and I have for her. It's not something that can be measured. Lynne was there for my daughters first birthday, she sends gifts and cards. She's part of our family. That's the thing with women though, isn't. We see a need, we see a kindred spirit and we dive right in. We love and we support and lift up. That's what true love is, true friendship. I am surrounded by amazing women, I've been taught by the best. The examples set for me...I can never thank these ladies enough.

Cheers,
Leigh and Christie

Our Creation Story

Hi Beauties,

Since we are going to be spending so much time together, we thought it would be fun if we shared how this bad ass friendship came about. Our husbands met and fell in bro love, and they wanted us to meet as well. Christie and I would love to tell you guys that there was an instant connection between us as well...but there wasn't. This is our creation story.

Christie: One Saturday morning in July my husband called home and said one of our customers and his wife were having a birthday party for their little girl. I discovered two thing during this phone conversation; their daughter was the same age as our youngest, three.

Leigh: No she wasn't. She was only two when we meet. 

Christie: Really?

Leigh: Yes.

Christie: Oh, okay. Well, then they were two at that time. And the second discovery was that they only lived two blocks away. Me being the spontaneous person that I am, said sure let's go! I was going to meet the wife and daughter, and eat cake. 

Leigh: It was cupcakes. I made cupcakes. 

Christie: {Eye rolling} Anyway, I loaded my four kids into our red neck golf cart and headed out to meet my husband at their house. 

Leigh: You brought wine. 

Christie: I did?

Leigh: Oh yeah. I remember that well. I drank it after you left. It was delicious, thanks. 

Christie: When I drove up in our golf cart-

Leigh: It was loud. That thing was loud as hell. And you had so many kids piled in there. 

Christie: Yeah, I have a lot of kids. Do you remember when they saw the slide and they started falling out of the cart? Were you there for that? Did you see it? All your friends did.

Leigh: Yeah. I saw it. I thought you rounded up a bunch of neighborhood kids and brought them to my house. 

                                                         

Four of those kids are Christie's and one is mine. 

 Christie: {cracking up} Our actual introduction? There was nothing. No sparks, no wow moment. Are we are going to be fast friends? Nope. I came, I stayed a while, I went home and opened a bottle of Merlot.  

Leigh: I didn't think you drank! My husband told me he didn't think you drank. I was uncomfortable around you because I was buzzed as hell at my kids 2nd birthday party, and well, because people who don't drink make me uncomfortable. 

Christie: I didn't even know your husband until that party.

Leigh: He said he met you for like two minutes when he went over to look at some four wheeler your husband had. He was gone until one o'clock in the morning. I thought he ran away. 

Christie: {Shrugs} I don't remember that at all. Either way, fast forward two weeks. Our husbands put together a double date night. It's dinner out and I get a sitter. Lets go! We decided on a Mexican restaurant in town and my husband and I meet them in the courtyard-

Leigh: Wait, we didn't-

Christie: The wives say, hi-

Leigh: No! We didn't. We didn't meet there, you guys came to our house. We rode together. You don't remember that?

Christie: What? Really?

Leigh: Yes. You were wearing that dress and I told you you looked pretty. 

Christie: I don't remember that. But...okay. Well, we all sit down to eat and the waiter comes to take our drink order. Leigh and I order the white wine sangria and my husband orders a beer. Leigh's husband orders a beer, a shot, and beer chaser. The look on Leigh's face was priceless, she was mumbling something to her husband-

Leigh: I said "What the fuck? I just me these people-

Christie: But then my husband piped up and said he'd have the same. I looked up from my menu straight into Leigh's eyes, and the look I gave her said everything I couldn't say out loud. And she got my message loud and clear. BAM! We had that wow moment. Things just got better from there, we shut the bar down {9:00 pm, we live in a small town} exchanged numbers and called it a night.

Perfect picture of the four of us.
Christie's husband is the finger, and Leigh's is the tongue.
Wait. Is that okay to say?

Leigh: What? No we didn't. Remember we came back to my house and your husband crashed through that door in the garage?

Christie: Did we? He did what? Oh yeah, we were standing in the kitchen.

Leigh: You know what? You need to leave all the remembering stuff to me. My iron isn't low like yours. My memory is stellar comparison. Yes. We came home, the guys were wasted, your guy broke shit in my house. And you and I kept drinking.

Christie: That's what having four kids does to my brain. Didn't' we ended up sitting on the couch watching them play ping pong and talking about rescuing animals?

Leigh: Yes, congrats. You finally remembered something correctly. Holy balls. 

Christie: {Sighing} Three years later, we are in it to win it. We give each other much support, our husbands work long hours so we lean on one another to help with kids and "toiletries" {yes, when one of us runs out and haven't made it to the store...we run a roll over}

Leigh: It's usually me. I never have toilet paper. 

Spot. On. As you can see, we're in a bathroom.

The End. 

The Beginning... And this is the start of why we created Wine Colored glasses. 
We are the best of friends, who have other best friends. And we will share with you our stories and their stories as well. We think its going to be fresh and fun. We hope you will keep up with us, as we raise our wine glass {filled with water or wine, or maybe even something stronger...} We are just like you. We live, we love, we make mistakes, we learn everyday. Most importantly, we are all in this life together. 

Cheers,
Christie and Leigh

Drinkin' Water Out of Wine Glasses

Hi Beauties,

Here we go. Post number one. 

No joke, here I am creating our new blog site {titled WINE Colored Glasses} and Christie walks in and hands me a gorgeous pink wine glass. FULL OF WATER. What the hell? So what that its 10:00 am and we just went on an hour long hike? We were almost attacked by three buzzards and a handful of Texas deer. 

I deserve wine. 
Christie said, "Nope. Drink the water first."

We are excited to begin this journey with all of you today. This blog is a labor of love. We want to spread strength, honesty, adventure, and lots of laughter. The wine is just icing on the cake. 
{Y'all. Christie wanted me to type icing on the rim. What? The rim? Is that sexual? We can't put that in our first post...} This is a blog for women by women. We will be sharing our stories but we will also have other spectacular women that will be sharing as well. 

We are not perfect, in fact we are flawsome. 

We are wives, mothers, business owners, writers, friends, and wine drinkers. We love to laugh. We love to have a good time. And more importantly, we love to lift each other up. 

This is just the beginning, we have much to say and look forward to sharing. We hope you will enjoy spending time with us at Wine Colored Glasses.

Cheers,
Christie and Leigh