Broken...but standing STRONG!

So this year has definitely been a year of growing and learning how to feel so many different things. It's crazy how the world can offer us so many different things..some good some bad. I am so lucky to be able to see the morning coming after night. It is to easy to sink into sadness, and burry your mind within  dark shadows formed by problems that loom in the corners of our lit walls. I have been informed that I need some pretty serious surgery on my arm from a tear in my TFCC tendon in my wrist, from this I need to have bones fused together with a screw, a bone graph from my elbow to my wrist and have my ulna bone shortened with a metal plate inserted. All this will leave me with a scar from my elbow to my wrist and in a cast until Jan.2013 followed by months of rehabilitation. I don't want to feel sorry for myself, but I am a musician, I play piano and guitar and teach music so now instead of saying I can not play for the next 6 months, I need to figure out how I can be creative and find a new way to play and become a better musician. I could sit on my couch and stay away from exersize and yoga but instead I will work my lungs with cardio and build my legs with squats and increase my left arm strength doing one arm yoga. I will continue to learn how to write with my left hand and become ambidextrous as I have been practicing since I fell in July slowly but surely I will be at least have left handed writing that could pass for a 10 year old, as right now it is a 5 year old status. Surgery is in 2 weeks....Until then I will enjoy showering and going out in the snow without being wrapped in a bag!!

Every day Be Grateful.
xo
-C!

Wine Not?!?

Hello you social media savy beauts!

Ok so I feel like everytime I start a blog it starts by....Its been way to long since the last blog haha...but for real it has!

So! I was out the other night chit chatting away...and come up with this new tag line..Wine Not?!...how fitting for a blog.... I have dreams of traveling the world tasting wines from all over and blogging about them...Wine Not?!  lol first stop Calgary....

Labeled Bitch...but Sweet on the Inside
Perceptions a killer people

My Backyard Office

Take a big breath...So most recently I have had the lovely pleasure of falling on my ass in pink suede cowboy boots down stairs and putting my wrist out of commission...it started off as a scaphoid fracture...so I had to wear a neon pink cast.....which then got to loose and had to replace it with a purple barney cast..they took that off ..and then seeing 3 doctors in that day...ending up back at the urgent care getting a half cast so I could get a CT...to then having a neon pink cast put on me again..living with pain killers that put me to sleep..to then getting a brace and starting physio... and seeing ANOTHER doctor who requested an MRI and anthrogram...which by the way is like sooo uncomfterable having a joint frozen....to now stuck in a brace potentially needing surgery OMG take a breath....Im sitting here going to "Dr.Google" researching a Torn Triangular Fibrocartiledge freaking out reading about surgery and having to be casted again haha....... I closed the screens and decided to wait for the specialist before freaking out anymore lol...

I will not let pain Hold me Down!
Especially in Pink!

Me, Barney and my Bro..McGrath's are
Dance PROS..OBVI!

I drink Monster on ice to keep me
FIERCE in a half cast!

Power to the strength of overcoming PAIN in a brace! with my CC sista!

As you can see I am doing my best but I have to be honest and say Its really quite silly how such a small discomfort in life can effect you in so many ways...having the ability of daily activities being stripped from you gets to be so frustrating...but I watched the movie Soul Surfer with the girl who has her arm bit off by a shark and she is just so passionate and driven to get back onto the surfboard even though she had one less arm and man that was inspiring....passion drives the soul...and witnessing that story reminded me that things can be so much worse! I may not be able to do my new blonde hair real pretty ..practice hot yoga, practice my non existent golf swing...write in my journal..or rock out on the piano or guitar..but I have gotten so much better with my left hand..taken time to write lots of music for a new Crystal McGrath album , become an airport cheaufer amungst friends and family aha and have had moments to come to peace with having silence in my life..something I have neglected for far too long... its the little things we take for granted and should appreciate the most.....so wine not raise your glass or fist or broken arm and cheers to the little things?!!?


My dad passed along a quote to me the other day which I figured we should all live by and it was to EXPECT NOTHING AND ACCEPT EVERYTHING.....wouldn't that make life a lot easier if we all lived by that statement?! try it ;)

New Music COMING SOOOOOON ahhhhh ;) in the mean time check out the latest cover of YELLOW by Coldplay from my band Boy&GurL and Wakeup Starlight! you'll like it as much as your favourite fantasy.. or something like that..and if you don't then I guess thats a few moments of your life you will always remember as not enjoying...either way you'll remember ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gBYLqD7ODk

Have a lovely evening or day whichever time you are reading this ;)

xox
-C!

I am a Warrior!
NAMASTE!!

Greys Anatomy...tv makes you think

What do you take for granted?....Make a list...Reflect....and remember that every single thing on that list can be taken away from you at any time...and when that happens that will be the moment you want what you've lost back more then anything....that will be the moment that you feel like you would take a million days of stormy rain just to have that one thing back....that will be the moment that you wish you would have said the words I love you...or walked along the beach every day while you lived there...or taken the dog for a run more. or used your monthy gym membership..or cooked the food in the fridge before it went bad ..at least you had food in the fridge....it could be the simplest thing or it could be the strongest part of you ... whatever is on your list...do something right now to utilize what you have in your life...remind the people you care about that you care...enjoy every moment even if the moment sucks...remind yourself that those moments are the times that make the good ones that much sweeter....let yourself cry its healthy and necessary but DONT feel sorry for yourself...let tears be the strength of what pulls you through to your next experience... don't be afraid to care because when the time comes when caring doesn't matter..thats the time you'll wish you had cared the most...It happens all the times in relationships..the 2 individuals get so used to having each other around that they take their time for granted and forget the little things that matter...It happens all the time in day to day things like having the tools for success in front of your face but choosing not to use them ...we all have friends we never call to say hi even though we might think of them often...we get busy and distracted and we forget.....

Take a breath...be grateful for that moment...now make a list,,,the power of attraction is strong...if you remind yourself what you have, you will naturally appreciate those things more.

happy thinking!

-c!

October 2011 reflections...

I cant believe another monthhas passed....

October 2011 ...LIVED.. can check that off my list of things to do...

lets do a backwards recap...

-Halloween...last minuite costume throw together as usual.... got myself a wig and have decided i highly enjoy being a red head....but to chicken to color my hair so I might become that girl who sports wigs.....thats me and one of my best buds dale to the left before we put on our masks!

-Great meeting with Lisa Heinricks...some really cool stuff coming up so please stay tuned ;)

-Did a Photoshoot for her new Urbanbuckles.com line with some really co

ol yyc peeps pictures will be posted soon this is a pic of the photo shoot group!

Boy&GurL released the

ir masquerade music video Take me Away!!!! directed by Kyle Thomas! here is the link please take a moment to check it out and share with your friends ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBRtc0Cl7zg

Boy&GurL hosted their FIRST ever Write2Dream Workshop!! and it was a huge success...we are really excited to do more!!

I had an allergic reaction to peanuts!!! Im deathly allergic...wa

s at a restaurant to be nameless and ended up in the hospital. I survived..again......that set me off track for over a week and now I am still scared to eat out!!!

I have witnessed success in the music students I teach! it is so inspiring to watch people grow as individuals and artists and excites me to inspire them to con

tinue on their musical paths!!!

I had an amazing Thanksgiving weekend....with friends and family...lots of laughter...lots of laughs directed at me...I seem to be the centre of everyones jokes...hahaha but I do get myself in silly situations often soo I can't blame them! Went pond hopping in Bragg Creek/Kananaskis... lived freely and enjoyed every moment.

I went fishing....well I went and watched fishing....I sat glamorously in the chair...sadly no fish were caught...apparently they don't like cheese...worms....cherry nibs...or corn....

Went to a FULL Flames game in Calgary lol although we left during overtime to get a good spot at the craps table in the casino haha...but i think that still counts as full

I have been reminded that its not a good idea to take

many weeks off from running...my body hurts more being lazy then it does being in pain from exersize...

I was reminded how important it is to have faith...and to care....even if it seems like the hardest thing in the world!

there is alot more that took place but those are the first things that come to mind...oh and that i watched 10 episodes of drop dead diva....IN A DAY omg ahha

Its so funny so many times we forget to acknowledge the times we have had and the memories we have made with people...we so often think of tomorrow and not the today and the moments that have made us feel good to bring us too today!!! Sooo make a list challenge yourself to list your successes and great moments of October!! and enjoy that moment of reflection ;)

time for sleep to wake up to November!!! Another month that will shape the rest of my life!!!

-C!

Dancin on my own ;)

FAITH

Believe...Vision...Have Faith...in everything you want in life.

Nothing comes easy and Time is usually essential.

You can either worry. OR You can have faith.

Either way it's going to be ok.

Because it has to be.

Have FAITH it's much easier on your mind body and soul.

VISION 3 months from now how you want it to be.

BELIEVE it will unfold that way.

Theres hope for the hopeless.

If we just have a little Faith.

You can take the POWER out of your FEAR.

Strip it down.

Fear of the unknown is controllable.

If we have FAITH in our strength to make it through.

We always make it through, we were built to survive.

I BELIEVE in the VISION of my FAITH.

Enjoy Today

Just Breathe and Smile.

;)


Some of The Simple Things in Life to Never Forget:

Pictures I Took in July 2012

Montreal

 The Open Road

Boston ;)

 More Boston...see you again in 2012

Peace

Comfort

Compassion xox

Breathless

Faith

Baseball ;)

City Streets

On the Road Again

Anchored.

Best Friends that remind you

of FAITH!

Inspiration

Today was a very Inspiring day for me, I got to do something for people that someone did for me years ago. To give the gift of inspiration to a group of people is something money could never buy and provides this gratifying feeling that you just know everything that your doing in life even if it's taking longer then what you may have anticipated is the right thing. That feeling is so rare and I am so lucky that I get to experience it and share it with my business partner who at the end of the day shares my vision and will do whatever it takes to make it happen. Jarred and I (Boy&GurL) created our own organization titled "Write2Dream" (www.boyandgurl.com/write2dream) which we created to subsidize the costs of music workshops to be made available to schools, charitable organizations and to the general public at no costs. Today was the first workshop and to be on the teaching side of a songwriting workshop was a really cool experience! We got to fuel the fire for peoples minds to be inspired and open up new doors for their thoughts and images to be released!

I remember my first songwriting workshop was with Laura Doyle in Vancouver, and I remember being in the workshop full of so much inspiration just by surrounding myself with like minded individuals and hearing others opinions and thoughts, with the thought going through my head " I can't wait to one day bring people together like this". That was in 2005....6 years later we made it happen! That to me is a huge reminder Never Give Up! Persistence is what will get us all through even if we have to wait years for the timing to be right!! I bet ya if you write down a few things you want to do with your life, in 5-10 years time you look back at the list and I bet you will have completed the majority of the list if it was something you truly desired!!

Today in the workshop it was so inspiring for me to watch people overcome their fears of sharing their most personal thoughts with the group, to give them the confidence that it's ok, your writing can't be wrong! It was so inspiring to have people share their gratefullness towards Jarred and I for putting the workshop together, creating an opportunity for people to collectively come together to be inspired and to learn something new!! It's something that we don't even think twice about doing and the fact that the one afternoon of conversation and brainstorming could potentially affect someones life in such a positive way is an amazing feeling, and I am so grateful that I am in a position to be able to inspire individuals and to share the experiences and challenges I've gone through to educate people!! I think the most exciting thing for me is that this is just the beginning.....The early stages of some great things to come for Write2Dream and Boy&GurL.....and to envision inspiring people for the rest of my time is a thrill I can't even explain!

Pick up a piece of paper....write for 20 min no music..no tv...just you..a piece of paper and a pen...dont even think about it just write! even if you write down I don't know what I am writing! Start the free write with..."If I could do anything...."

Good Luck ;)

-C!

Make it Rain!

Make it Rain!

Right now....I am sitting in bed..listening to a mix of Adelle and the peaceful breeze coming through my window...I can seriously hear nothing but breeze from outside probably because if the house was moved 1 mile to the north we would probably live outside the city limits...so different from when I lived in Vancouver in Yaletown where there was a constant buzz of movement...or in Atlanta on Peachtree Street (Yes there really is a street called that...its not just a tv channel aha) where there was constant traffic ..once there was even a marathon with thousands of people running below my building at 6 am that was fun to wake up to...speaking of marathons I've been doing a lot of running lately pulling muscles I never knew I had and constantly failing at finding ways to stretch them!! Pretty sure I want to run in a short runathon aha as Im not sure id pull off a 40k marathon at this point!...theres a walk for water coming up in calgary someone always writes in sidewalk chalk about it on the path we run on ..i should google that and perhaps partake!

It seems as though I need to be inspired by something/someone or moved by music to sit down to record a song and upload it to youtube....its so silly...like it takes half an hour 45 min..to learn the song ...record the song..upload the song...but yet I somehow always put it off....Its something Im continuing to work on ;) and here I uploaded a song of just me and my guitar!

I was driving the other day after buying the Colbie Calliat CD...and this one song came on called Make it Rain...it was pouring Rain well hailing actually...and there is just something soothing about listening to a song with really good lyrics in the middle of a storm...so thats what inspired me to learn this song love it..hate it...share it..please ;) Make it Rain Music!!!

heres the link

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=cmcgrathmusic#p/u/2/wqyt7EenacY

Do you ever sleep in your gym clothes to be motivated in the morning when you wake up??? Because I will admit I do.

Would you rather know the answer to a situation....or just enjoy the ride and let it be???

Good night Wurld...

xox....u know if you mistaken the letter x for the letter to the right on the keyboard you get a totally different meaning of a word...just saying..

-C!