Michelle LaBrosse Blogs

My friend Diane on our adventure to San Francisco in February. It was quite the journey to get there because of all the flooding in California. But we made a fantastic lunch for the journey over Donner’s Pass to make sure we would not suffer the same fate as the Donner Party.  Gourmet self-preservation at it’s best.

In early February my friend Diane from Haines, Alaska came to visit me in Carson City.  I met Diane several years ago through this phenomena called “Oneness” I learned about when visiting Kauai in 2014.  It’s an experience you share with a group of people that helps you feel more connected to existence – at one with the world.  Diana had been to India several times where this “Oneness” movement started and is certified to teach people how to share the experience of “Oneness” with others.  There is a large Oneness community in San Francisco and we wanted to go to a couple of their events.

I’m calling this Attitude of Gratitude “Closing the Gap” because it is what Diane helps me do.  My spiritual practice is to live in the innate goodness of others and to be a presence of love and joy in action.  Yet I have not always been as gracious to myself.  In our visit to San Francisco, Diane took me to a class taught by one of her teachers – Patricia Keel.  It was in the class, I could start to feel things shift inside of me and could feel my own innate goodness.  It was a good start.  Thank you Diane for suggesting we go to Patricia’s class.

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT

My birthday twin Madison and I out on a promotional photo shoot the day before our birthdays.

Here I am on February 1st with Madison.  I met her when she was handling the social media for Anne with her  Yoga Anne project.  When Anne decided to go to school to learn how to program mobile apps, Madison joined Cheetah Learning to handle our social media.  Madison and I have the same birthday – February 2.   In this picture we were out looking for hats for some promotional stunt we were considering – I don’t even recall what it was.  What I do recall is we split our sides laughing over these hats.  We took the pictures we needed and put the hats back – that was even more funny.

It was very much fun hanging out with a millenial with a shared birthday.  We worked together for several years and then like most social media positions, parted company to go ply our craft with others in other ways.  I have learned over the years that marketing folks need to stay on the move to stay current.  It was time for Madison to go grow in more ways beyond what Cheetah Learning could offer.  She is creating magic in her own magical ways out in the world.  I’m very grateful we could part company as friends and have stayed in touch.

Once I got the lovely studded snow tires on my Honda last January, I busted out of Carson City and headed North. This is Mt. Shasta on I-5 in California.

In late August when I was a kid, I’d start getting my school game on.   Now, I start to think about which of my vehicles in Alaska needs studded snow tires.  Up here, if you don’t have them ordered by mid-September, it’s can be tough to get them.  With the snow, thaw freeze cycle that happens – you’re stuck in your house most of the winter without studded snow tires.  I even have studded snow boots.

Last January though I did find myself house bound. But not in Alaska. Down in Carson City.  It had snowed so much that it was actually accumulating and icing. The snow boots with the ice field crampons I had on when I left Haines to head to Carson, came in very handy when I had to dig out my four wheel drive truck when it went off the steep driveway.

I had plans to head North to meet with some colleagues in Seattle,  and had to drive because I was on flying restrictions due to an ear infection. With three mountain passes to cross between Carson City and Seattle, there was no way my smaller all wheel drive Honda was going to do much better than the four wheel drive truck on the snow packed roads. I called Les Schwab and inquired, “Any way you can get me studded snow tires for a Honda?”  They said, “No problem, we’ll have them here for you by noon tomorrow.”  Best news I had heard in a while.

I got the tires on the car and was off the next day North.  For a wanderlust like me, being stuck at home, while fun for a day or two, gets claustrophopic really fast.  I had places to go, people to see, things to do.  With the flying restriction and the biggest snow year in almost a decade – those studded snow tires were the lifeline to the world as I like to move through it.

Annie Bananie my best friend, adventure buddy, daughter and inspiration for all types of fun things in life.

I had wanted to go on the Women’s March on Washington in January.  I reached out to Anne to see if she wanted to join me as she had us going to the Million Women March On Washington when she was just 13 and wow what a life experience that was.  It must have had quite an impact as she said “Mom I really don’t think it’s safe for you to be there.”  Okay, maybe I got a little too into the spirit of the protest when we went to that one back when she was 13.  (and I wonder why my friends say Anne is my voice of reason?).

I was going to go to the March in Reno – but I ended up with a crushing ear infection.  For which I had to have surgery a month later.  So I stayed home and knitted the pink kitty hats.  Anne went to the march that was held in Portland.  A week later, after getting studded snow tires for my car, I drove up to Portland to see a specialist there for my ear and visit with Anne.   (I could not fly because of the ear infection).  Here we are wearing our Pink Kitty Hats in the spirit of that time.

There comes a time when your children start to care for you as you cared for them and this happened for me this year with my ear surgery.  Anne was with me for every part of it.  I think the part where my dog Daisy ate my pain relieving medicinal marijuana pot brownies and had to have her stomach pumped may have been just a little much though.  Anne truly is just like the little book that I used to read to her when she was a baby and toddler – Annie Bananie my best friend, said we’d be friend ’til the end.  It’s not the end for me by any stretch of the imagination, but Anne truly is a fox hole buddy and I’m so thankful and grateful she picked me to be her mother.

Thank God I didn’t end up with a hairstyle like this…..

I’m the type of person who finds a hairstyle I like and sticks with it – for YEARS.   How I look is not something I fixate on as I tend to live in the world behind my eyes.  So it was a very significant decision to do something different.  For seven years, I had what I called “business women hairstyle number 5” – shoulder length, straight, a little longer in the front then the back.  I wanted to move into something different than business woman 5.

Mid January, I downloaded one of those change your hairstyle apps and tested out a bunch of different looks.  Yeah that is entertaining – try it some time if you haven’t seen them.  I was thinking of going shorter with curls.  Not having a stylist in the area, I checked on yelp and called the salon in town with the best reviews.   The shop I called, the stylist preferred text – PERFECT.  I sent her some of my ideas, she said just come in we will see what we can do.

And this is where I met Kim – who now almost a year later has become a great friend and a fantastic dog and house sitter.  When I first came in she had no idea who I was from Adam – except I had innuandated her with these crazy images of myself with these various hair styles.  And I was wearing my all purple outfit (I have this penchant for dressing monochromatically – must be from my Air Force Days).  She didn’t really know what to make of me at first (I think my brand of eccentricity may be an aquired taste).

This is a couple days after my first perm in about 30 years. An event that would change my life in ways I couldn’t even yet imagine.

Kim had other ideas – as all good stylists do.  So we permed my hair at the length it was.  And then we stopped.  No she wasn’t going to cut it – she wanted to see how I liked it.  We didn’t go too curly the first go round as afterall it was a big step breaking out of pin straight hair business women number 5 to something new.   I totally loved the new look.  My life changed from that point forward in some ways I had to yet to imagine.  Stay tuned…..

I was contemplating the variety of daily light oriented religious traditions and cultural that happen in December – Christmas,Advent, Chanuka and a general Festival of Lights.  The world is awash in lights for all types of great reasons.  It got me thinking that I’d like to start my own daily “light” ritual for December.  And I started looking through the photo’s on my phone. There are uplifting events that happen on a moment by moment basis in my life – when I take a moment to recognize and

I took this picture January 6th at noon. It’s the view from the Cheetah Corporate Retreat Center.

record them. So every day from now until the end of the year, I’m going to share the light that has shone through my life this year – as told by the pictures on my phone.

I found such happiness in this picture. The pristine beauty of this valley is breath takingly stunning.  I don’t get here that often so I still very much appreciate and enjoy this view.  Based on the location, I was outside taking this picture. I love the snow, and I was likely out playing in the snow with my three lively dogs.  I also like that it’s stopped snowing and it’s sunny – so the snow on the driveway is likely melthing pretty fast.  This picture reminds me of the beauty that surrounds me – and how lucky I am to notice and enjoy it.