Chic Galleria » Carrie Castleman

White Water Rafting on the Nantahala River

Carrie Castleman — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 07:50:18 +0000

Looking for a wet and wild time this summer? How about white water rafting?

Growing up in Jacksonville Florida my family and I would go camping in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Georgia. One year when I was approximately 8 years old we tried white water rafting on the Nantahala River. Honestly I don’t remember much of the trip except for that at the very end was a class 3 rapid called Nantahala Falls. The reason I remember that is the river guide said it was not a good spot to fall out. Well guess what I did? I fell over half way out of the boat until someone grabbed me and I stayed in-whew!

I have always remembered that so recently while camping this year, I suggested we do it again with my children and my nephews. The Nantahala Outdoor Center is just west of Bryson City, North Carolina in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. They offer a variety of river trips ranging from beginner to expert and on several different rivers in North Carolina and Georgia.

The six of us (my Father, my cousin Emily, nephews James and David, and my two daughters) thought we would brave the beginner level rapids with our guide Susan. Turns out the biggest thing to brave besides the last waterfall was the cold water. WOW–48 degrees of clear, crisp, freeze your buns off water.

Our guide Susan was the greatest. We were in the head boat of 7 during our 2 1/2 hour trip of history, lame jokes (that were great), and action. We had tons of laughs and times to yell as we bounced off rocks, rolled of rocks, and headed down the river towards that final waterfall. It was just like 30 years ago–except I totally stayed in the boat. So if you are in North Georgia or South Carolina check it out http://www.noc.com/

Written by Carrie Castleman for Chic Galleria magazine.

Rio: A Tribute to Duran Duran

Carrie Castleman — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 07:56:53 +0000

Ok I must admit that before going to the concert I was skeptical. A Tribute band? Seriously? This is going to be so lame, but hey I have not seen the real thing in years and I am going with my DFW Duranies friends so it will be worth it..right?

Picture this..House of Blues Dallas July 10, 2010. Twenty women, starved for Duran Duran attention, enter the concert area and head straight to the front. Yep we did. The floor was empty but we will be up front. Tribute band or not we will be up front. At this point it was a light crowd but a fun crowd, including a group of ladies dressed in their best 80′s attire. Man we all looked interesting in the 80′s.

First up was a local Dallas cover band–The Mumbles. According to their My Space page their goal is to “bring back the music, energy and drunken madness of late 70′s-early 80′s New Wave, Punk and Power Pop”. They were a blast. The music was great, the guys were entertaining, and they put on a great set. I would definitely see them again. Then the break. Ok this is it…it will be either rockin or lame.

Lights fade, smoke covers the stage and from the darkness emerges 5 figures. HOLY COW–is that Simon? Is that John? It looks just like them. Music cranks lights come up and it is clear that this is not the real Duran Duran but WOW how they have got down exactly how the real members of Duran Duran dress, talk, and move. It was unreal. Literally unreal. If you closed your eyes you would swear that it was the real thing. And what a show! Tons of energy, perfect renditions of some of Duran’s best songs, and songs we never get to hear live.

After the show the guys came down, greeted all of us, took pictures and talked. Let me tell you 20 DFW Duranies were happy, excited, and left wanting more. More from Duran Duran and more from Rio. Congrats Rio—you did us and Duran Duran proud.

Check out Rio a Tribute to Duran Duran on Facebook.

And for more about The Mumbles check out myspace: http://www.myspace.com/themumbles#ixzz0tra8WUaM

Written by Carrie Castleman for Chic Galleria magazine.

Photo Credit: Cortney Dewhurst

Disney Movies from a New Perspective-Cinderella

Carrie Castleman — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 07:55:47 +0000

As a child, Cinderella was my favorite Disney movie and you might be surprised to know why. It was the mice. Yep! I loved Gus. He was such a cute, fat, ole mouse. Of course the happily ever after was a nice touch, plus a gorgeous man at the end, but really it was Gus. I still get a smile on my face hearing his laugh.

So now that I am supposedly a grown up, what healthy messages can we get from Cinderella? I must admit that this is a hard one.

Happily ever after–nah. There will be a gorgeous man there to save me–nope. I can save myself. Don’t need a man, but that is another article.

Deeper, deeper, deeper. I think the message I would like people to take from Cinderella is, that no matter the trial in life, no matter how many are against you, no matter how much you get beaten down, you don’t have to let that make you a miserable and angry person.

Think about it. No matter what was thrown Cinderella’s way, she always maintained a positive and hopeful outlook on life. She always looked for the bright side and did whatever she could to make the best of a horrible situation. Even when she was faced with nasty, evil people, she held her head up high and prayed for guidance, strength and hope. Now that is a hard act to follow.

I am blessed to have a friend in my life (Sydney) that is a Cinderella. What do I mean by that? She always stays hopeful. No matter what stress, conflict or road block emerges in her life she will quickly vent and then she immediately looks for the bright spot. Seriously! At times is grosses me out because I vent longer than she does, but it does help me keep things in perspective.

Our attitude is ours to decide, not others. We cannot give up hope, and we cannot let others bring us down. I hope everyone out there can find their “Sydney” or “Cinderella”. They are life savers.

Has Disney Tainted a Girl’s Real World Perspective of a Happy Ending?

Carrie Castleman — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 07:59:03 +0000

When I read Carrie’s article on Disney/Pixar movies and the great messages that they often carried with them I couldn’t have agreed more. I have always been a BIG fan of Disney! I was born not far from Disneyland and from our backyard in Anaheim I remember early childhood memories of watching the fireworks every night. I have such fond memories of princesses and Prince Charming, fairy godmothers and far away castles and happy endings that I am deathly afraid I may have transformed them into my real life.

Though I know that these movies often carry a great moral story for both children and adults, I have to wonder if they carry a far more sinister downfall for the little girl in all of us. Can I blame the “mouse” for the relationship failures I have experienced in my adult life…ok, who am I kidding….I don’t think I have had what anyone would consider a healthy relationship since high school! I fell for the town rebel in high school….four years later I was stood up for my senior prom. Yep, I spent four years of high school pining away for this boy. I couldn’t even tell you where he is now, couldn’t care less. What I can tell you is that I have since then, had continued failure in relationships and an attraction to the obviously not Prince Charming type has been my track record.

Now, I’m not saying that my relationship partners have been “bad people.” That is between them and God. What I can say is…we were obviously not the right ones for each other. My friends make fun of me for my ability to sniff out a faux Louis Vuitton, Coach or Prada bag at a minimum of fifty yards. I can spot a classic Chanel D’Orsey pump at nearly a hundred yards. Moving into a new area? Let me sniff out the high end shopping district for you in no time! There must have been a scent hound somewhere in my family tree! Why then do I have the uncanny ability to always sniff out Mr. Wrong? One would think that since I have an affinity (not that I can always afford them!) for the finer things in life (let’s just chalk it up to really good taste!) I would also possess the ability to find the one person God put on this earth for me to spend the rest of my life with. Obviously not! I have to wonder if it isn’t the perfect fairy tale storyline that we have been spoon-fed? Does Disney play a significant part in my (and I am sure there are others) need to have the “fairy tale” relationship?

I know that relationships are hard work. They are the same as good friendships. They need to be cultivated, nurtured and cared for. I would like to think that I have a fairly ok idea of what is normal and that I don’t expect a white horse, a castle and a glass slipper. I don’t think I have overly high expectations. I do have some expectations and I don’t think I am asking for too much. If I give my significant other a card for example…leaving it on their pillow Christmas Eve night…is too much to expect them to open the card when they come to bed? It would seem logical to me. Are my expectations too high when it takes over twenty hours for them to open it and then never even make mention of the fact that I gave them a card? If I am out of line in thinking it falls within normal levels of decency to at least say “Thank You” for a card, let alone read it and acknowledge the gesture then please let me know.

I fear that somehow the fairy tale happy ending that Disney has so perfectly spun for little girls of all ages might just have jaded my ideology of relationship behaviors. I do try to treat others better than I myself would like to be treated. Maybe that is my problem. Who knows? I seriously have to wonder though, if these magical tales of beautiful (always impossibly thin and pretty) princesses who come from humble beginnings haven’t tainted the real world perspectives of little girls of all ages the world over…this little girl specifically.

Written by

Theresa Jones

Chronicling Weight Loss Stumbles and Goals

Carrie Castleman — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 07:13:20 +0000

Not many know that I at one time was almost 400 pounds. WOW…even now that number seems far too high and I lived it! I can’t really say everything that got me to that point, nor do I even know really what it was that sparked the fire in me to lose nearly 200 of those pounds. I remember going to a doctor visit and the first thing the doc said to me was “you know you have a weight problem, right?” “REALLY? I NEVER knew! Tell me doc, exactly how many years of medical school did it take you to come to that conclusion?” I was stumped. Was that really the best this doctor could come up with? No matter. I walked out of her office and never went back. I didn’t need a doctor to tell me something I already knew every moment of each day. I don’t know what it was in my mind body or soul that caused me to decide it was time. I do know that somewhere around the beginning of 2004 I somehow made up my mind it was time to get back in shape. I hadn’t always been that large. I have always been, how can I put this…not petite. I have never been, nor will I ever be a petite girl. I’m just one of those people who is lucky enough to be built like a line backer and have no problem looking like I could hold my own in a fight. Let’s just say I have no problem going for a run after dark. I am not afraid of anyone bothering me (where is American Gladiator now?).

I knew I had attempted (far too many efforts to count) any and all diet regimes (some of them seemed like militant regimes), weight loss gimmicks, tricks, and anything else that was being hocked on late night television as a sure fire way to finally lose the weight for good! Guess what? Nothing so far had been that magic trick to transform my body overnight into a Victoria Secret’s runway girl (again, remember I’m built sorta like a line backer!). I had heard people talking about this whole South Beach Diet thing and I kept thinking, “Ok, yeah, whatever…same thing, different name.” As hesitant as I was, I ordered the books from my favorite online bookseller. Heaven forbid someone see me buying a weight loss book! I read it cover to cover in about a day, cleaned out my fridge, cupboards and cabinets and didn’t look back. I will admit that the actual working out part didn’t come to me for a little while. I did however become militant in my quest to make certain that I followed the SB plan to a “T”.

I was determined! NOTHING was going to get in my way, slow me down or stop me! This went on for almost two years. My fierce determination and can do attitude impressed even my biggest supporters! Sadly enough (and maybe even hard to believe) I did have a few people who were supposed to be in my camp who were not as supportive as I thought they would be. I even battled back from a surgery to remove an acoustic neuroma (aka small brain tumor) at record speed because it was interfering with my walking schedule! I got to the point where I was walking eight to ten miles a day (sometimes twice a day) and swimming three days a week. I LOVED it! Not even as a teenager had I been this active! My parents called me the “Food Nazi” due to my militant rules regarding no junk food, no flour, no sugar and no refined carbs of any kind! I was afraid if I even smelled carbs I would fall of the proverbial wagon.

Somewhere, somehow along the way I found myself loving my new self. I was strong, confidant and most of all….THIN! Now, what could be wrong with this you ask? Well, after two years of this, somehow I have found that I no longer am militant with my eating. It is sheer torture now to get out for one of my long walks that I used to cherish and look forward to come rain or shine. Heaven forbid, the unthinkable has happened! I have gained almost fifty pounds over the course of the past two years! HOW did this happen? Where did I falter? How did I fall off of that wagon? For almost the past year I have tried countless times to get back on that wagon. Each time I crack, fumble, falter and any other descriptive word you can think of to describe my slippery down fall into carbohydrate Hell! That is the only way I know how to describe it! Seriously, I know that if I am even tempted by something remotely resembling anything made with flour and sugar….forget it! Wild horses couldn’t drag me away. All I know is some how, some way I have to get that mental mind shift back! Whatever switch clicked a few years ago, and caused me to have the fierce determination of a woman on a mission (and ANY man who has ever lived with a hell-bent woman on a mission knows exactly what I am talking about) well, I need that switch to flip again! I’m not even sure what the catalyst was that caused it to shut down in the first place!

So, that is where I am at right now. I need to figure out my wiring and find the source of my faulty switches! I know that carbs are my downfall and my body LOVES them…so much so that they go straight to my derrière and there they stay! I have a feeling that it might just be an uphill battle, but it is one I am willing to fight tooth and perfectly manicured nail! I at first was mortified to even think about letting this blurb off of my computer, but if in the course of all of my downfalls, missteps and stumbles I might help someone else along the way to achieve their goals as well, then I certainly don’t mind the public forum of chronicling my constant battle with the dreaded sugary goodness of a Krispy Kreme doughnut! I will (WILL) be back with a story of success! I have WAY too many cute clothes that I couldn’t wedge myself into right now if the warmer weather even permitted it! I even braved the cold today to get back into my extra long walks – minus the pooch of course! He is already spoiled into thinking he is a pampered lap dog!

Written by Theresa Jones