November Massage Special

TeeWork Massage that Moves your Spirit. Here in Los Angeles, we are offering a special deal this month to keep you balanced and keep your spirit moving and in charge. Book a full hour massage during the month of November for only $50. If you begin your massage journey this month, you can also lock in the rate of $50 for the entire year of 2010. Simply send an email to eramacustoms@gmail.com with phone number, time preference and date, and we will call to confirm your appointment. In the meantime, read on to understand why it is so important to take care of bodies during this season. They call the season from October to February Flu Season. But it isn't about calculated sickness. It is about the changes that take place in our bodies. Starting with October and Halloween, we overdose on toxic sugars that leave our bodies fatigued, defenseless, and full of acidic waste prime for viral attacks. The month of November is a wonderful time of family, friends, and holidays, but is also a source of great stress. Some of us have unwanted visitors, we stress about purchasing gifts for the holidays to come, we worry about how dinner will turn out. We also over stuff ourselves and cause undue stress and toxic ailments within our bodies. December brings even more than November, and we end it all by partying too hard for News Years. This isn't flu season, it is weaken your bodies' immune systems and leave yourself defenseless season. Flu viruses move around everyday. But when we are better able to defend ourselves against them, the viral infections don't thrive. Now more than ever is the time to think about taking care of our bodies, staying in tune with the spirit, and destressing and detoxifying our lives from the outside in, and inside out. At Erama we want to remind you to leave the stress behind. Get back to what holidays are really about, being with people you love. Don't stress over money, visitors, bills, or issues that are merely circumstantial. Remember that life is only 10% what happens to you, but 90% how you react to it. React with patience, knowing that everything will turn out more than fine. We want to remind you to eat healthy foods. Eat as many raw vegetables as possible and avoid foods high in sugar, dairy, oil, and processed ingredients. We tend to hibernate in the winter, and work out in the spring in preparation for summer. At Erama, we want to remind you to take time to dance, play with your children or nieces and nephews, or anyone young in your life. Drink alkaline water and balance your body. Invest in your body by stretching, going to a yoga class, or just simply sitting down and concentrating on your breath. Remember that oxygen is the source of life and we have an unlimited supply. With Love, Patience, and Gratitude, Tyus & The Erama Family PS- Please feel free to forward this blog to everyone you know will benefit from its content. Blessings.

Everybody is talking about "this economy" and why we need to start changing our careers, working for ourselves, or working in more stable professions like plumbing. We will always need plumbers, crack and all. Because of "this economy," entrepreneurs seem to be coming out of the wood works, claiming a niche in the world of fiddle sticks and doodads, and trying to make a living, albeit it honest or not. Funny enough, a lot of these entrepreneurs are much happier slaving on their own time, in their PJ's, with their toddlers, friends, family, and gadgets near and dear. Funny enough, once again, it is fear that has moved us to embrace our independence and desire to work for ourselves.


WHY DO WE ALLOW FEAR TO CONTROL OUR LIVES?

We do things because we are afraid of what will happen if we don't. We constantly second guess our decisions and intuition because we are afraid of the what ifs. We consistently let our circumstances dictate our goals, passions, and emotions. I am not immune to fear. I work in a stable profession (college professor), and I enjoy teaching very much, but something is missing in my life. I keep finding myself wanting to solder this, saw that, glue this, paint that. I start pulling interesting items out of alley trashcans that I can reuse in the name of art. I start buying jewelry supplies whenever I can in the name of sales. I start painting my jeans, and turning old saggy pieces into fresh new jewelry designs. People comment, give me gusto. I keep going. Next thing you know, I create an etsy account. It starts with only a few pieces, a couple of sales. It grows. Four shows and 100's of sales later, I decide this is what I want to do. But fear follows me into my visualizations. Fear finds its way into my path. Every few days I start looking for work just in case. I check my accounts just in case. I give thought to quitting my job, but fear strikes again. What if I can't make my mortgage payment? What if my family starves? What if everyone just stops buying my products? Besides, collegiate teaching is something I do well. It is something that my students benefit from me doing. It is something I am "remotely" passionate about. Why quit? I'm good at it.

Just because we are good at something doesn't mean we have to do it. Jut because we enjoy something doesn't mean it should be our profession. Just because our economy is in a recession, doesn't mean run to the hills and make for yourself. It isn't about the "what ifs". It is about the "what is." Is isn't about fear, it is about happiness. It isn't about layoffs, stock options, pink slip parties, or money. It is about the love, joy, pleasure, and comfort of being surrounded by the ones you care about doing something you are extremely passionate about. It isn't about remote, it about extreme.

Gone are the days of fear; here are the days of passion, love, and care. Answer the following questions:

If you had all of the things you need, what would you be doing right now? If you were to die tomorrow, how would you spend today? What are you doing right now?
Do you even know what you need?

What are your answers? How do the first two answers compare to how you are living your life right now? Take a moment to reflect. This is a time of great shifts in consciousness. Grab on to your own reigns and take yourself where you have always wanted to go. If your answers don't match up, then ask yourself why. If money is what's stopping you, then you have no imagination. If materials items and tangible un-necessities fill your list, you've been dooped. Let's get back to the simple days. I don't need my blackberry. I don't need Jimmy Choos. We need food, water, love, shelter, safety, and peace. Clothing and shoes optional depending on climate and laws. Don't be afraid to trust and jump. Don't b afraid to write your own path, make your own rules, decide what life looks like for you. Maybe then, we can answer all three questions in unison. I relinquish my fear, one day at a time, one hair tie at a time, one sale at a time, one happy customer at a time. It is a process, but I know the end will be well worth the journey.

WHOSE JUMPING WITH ME?

Would you rather be called Fat or a Whore?

I came across this article in a facebook post and had to read it. It alludes to some extremely disturbing, yet obvious issues we face in our little world these days, issues of obesity and sexuality.
"Would You Rather be called Fat or a Whore?"

Funny Enough, while I think the article is definitely a worthwhile read, "things that make you go Hmmmm" I have issues with so many more things related.

For instance:

1.It is not about being called either fat or a whore. Sticks and stones right? Who cares what people call me behind my back or in my face. It doesn't matter. It is an issue of would you rather "be" fat or a whore. Entirely different issue.

2. Why do we pick on the "whores" of the world? We could have easily said would you rather be fat or ugly, fat or physically challenged, fat or mentally challenged. Why is whoredom a bad thing. So what you like to have sex? So what our ancestors and elders preached abstinence and sex only for procreation purposes? We don't have to follow in their beliefs. Embracing our sexuality is a taboo only in religion. Avoid the religiosity of life=avoid the sexual taboo. Granted, that doesn't mean go out and have unprotected sex, yay! We should always be responsible, careful, and mature enough to communicate about our bodies and our desires. But we don't have to hide, shame, or stray from our natural tendency to seek pleasure. Everything in moderation, including food!

3. I am afraid even in the said scenarios people would still avoid fat.

4. This is really an issue of body image. We have negative body images rising due to skinny b* in the media. Until we change the images we see, the answer to that question will never be fat. Take away cable, billboards, high fashion, etc., and I would never want to be mentally or physically handicapped, ugly, or anything else. Give me back my cable and I might ask, well, how fat? How disabled? How ugly?

5. The reason we can't part with food in this day and age, the reason we grow more morbidly obese everyday, is because we are SLAVES. We are SLAVES TO TASTE! We never talk about nutritional value anymore. We talk about how "GOOD" something tastes. Ironically, we have gotten so used to spices, pesticides, chemicals, preservatives, and overly processed junk that we hardly know what taste is anymore. Anytime you have an obsession with something you don't fully appreciate or have inadequate knowledge of, everything undoubtedly goes to crap. We are misinformed slaves to taste that appreciate the fine flavors of Whoppers, MCDonald's Fries, Strawberry Shakes, and Gorditos over steamed organic vegetables. Yuck! I didn't appreciate the actual flavor of unprocessed food until I cleansed myself of the lies, deceit, and forlorn tastebuds I used to own. It was impossible to like food for what it is supposed to taste like because my taste buds were clouded by chemicals, salt, and pepper.

We really have to reevaluate our lives, what we eat, who we screw, and how we pass down our morals and values. There are issues with our religiosity, government, family structures, friendships, everything. Let's start seeking our own individual truths and stop letting the world decide for us.

Have you tasted a carrot lately?

Someday...

Sometimes we forget how talented, creative, cool, driven, happy, peaceful, and alive we are. We get trapped and fall into the slumps of poor me...the slumps of corporate America, the slumps of trying to get a job period. My husband and I were in that slump, until we un-slumped ourselves. In Dr. Suess, Oh The Places You'll Go, there is a great line about un-slumping yourself.

OH!
THE PLACES YOU’LL GO!
You’ll be on your way up!
You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights.
You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed.
You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you’ll be the best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.
Except when you don’t
Because, sometimes, you won’t.
I’m sorry to say so
but, sadly, it’s true
that hang-ups and bang ups
can happen to you.
You can get all hung up
in a pricklely perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You’ll be left in a Lurch.
You’ll come down from the Lurch
with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then,
you’ll be in a Slump.
And when you’re in a Slump,
you’re not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself
is not easily done.

But fortunate for us, it is possible. We have to remember back when our imaginations flourished. Back when we felt we could take over the world. Back when fear wasn't a part of our vocabulary. Re-remember your dreams, reclaim your voice in the silence of recession, reverse your slump into the world's greatest hump and get over it!


I remember being a preteen. My favorite song was Someday by Mariah Carey. I just knew that I was going to be something big, something special someday! I lost sight of that somewhere between my grandma telling me i couldn't major in interior design because I couldn't get a job and would be waisting my mothers money, and the pressure of the University! But my Someday is still on its way. I am sure of that!

Sisterlocks

So that hairstyle I flaunt is called Sisterlocks. I get asked about my hair a lot. What is it? is it permanent? Can I wash it? What color is that? How do you get them? I get asked all types of questions. Here is a bunch of FAQ about sisterlocks and why I love them.

Sisterlocks is a technique of locking the hair with a natural tool. The hair is literally tied into itself, much like braiding backwards from the tips to the roots. It can be done on all types of hair (permed, color treated, etc), but works best with kinky and curly hair.

I had sisterlocks for over 6 years. When I got pregnant, I cut them off and started over. I wanted a fresh start. The slideshow depicts my hair changes from sisterlocks the first time around, to short hair, to sisterlocks again, to red sisterlocks.

I absolutely love my hair! Wouldn't change it for the world again! I welcome any questions you may have!

In the meantime, if you have sisterlocks, or thick hair, or curly hair that is difficult to fit into standard hair ties, I have a solution! ERAMA Hair Ties!

I am on etsy at www.erama.etsy.com
I am also on facebook, myspace, and will be on ebay shortly!
Please feel free to email me with any questions or comments, suggestions, whatever!

Welcome to Me

So, I am welcoming myself to blogspot! Introduction: I am a partner, mother, friend, professor, and mentor. I encourage living life to the fullest, loving yourself, and learning as much as you can. My brain never turns off, it just keeps swimming, swimming, swimming! I make jewelry, I paint, I dance, I write poetry, I am a photographer. I love love love board games, dominoes, and LAUGHING OUT LOUD! I am fun... or at least I think I am fun :) Come on over and be my friend! Meet me in the halls of LMU, on the dance floor, or in a lecture. I will be there when the time is right.

Enough!

I occasionally sell paintings, photographs. I always sell jewelry and hair ties. I have an etsy page, www.erama.etsy.com

I write about poop and children a lot. That is what happens when you have two sons.

Now down to the chow!

WELCOME!