Hi and thanks for visiting EcoStella! I want to welcome you to share my journey to living a Stellar life in an Eco way. I’m not a Celebrity, if anything I’m just an average ‘Jane’ with an itch to live a ‘green’, healthy, and balanced lifestyle.

I love food, cooking, photography, travelling, and dancing. I recently ran my first  Half Marathon in October 2009 and I suddenly feel like I’m writing an ad for a dating site. Just so you know I’m a Taurus and enjoy long walks on the beach.

So let’s have a little fun and play 20-ish questions. These are a somewhat random collection of questions that have come up from comments/emails/anonymous “Ask Me Anything” notes over the past few months.

• Where are you from?

  Born and raised in Orange County, California! Just to clear things up I’m not anything like the ‘Real Housewives of Orange County’, I’ve don’t refer to my home as in the ‘O.C’., nor do I know anyone from Laguna Beach (although, I did play a high school volleyball match at their school once). I do however, love the show Arrested Development, and would love to actually find Wee Britain. (If you understand that reference then you are just awesome!)

• Where did you go to school?

I grew up in a private Christian school and moved to a public high school. After high school I went to college at University of California, Irvine where I graduated with a degree in Social Ecology. I’m currently pursuing a Certificate in Feature Film Writing at UCLA.

• I keep seeing references to CherryOrchid, what is it?

CherryOrchid is my other blog. It’s where I explore the beauty of the ‘daily grind’. CherryOrchid is where I discuss random musings, display art pieces, photography, travels, adventures, shopping, basically anything not related to food and ‘green’ finds. I just recently bought  my first home and all my reno projects/decorating will be hosted on CherryOrchid. I try to keep the two blogs separate; however, there is some crossover at times.

• I know you recently ran the Nike Half, how long did it take you, and is running your favorite exercise?

While I do enjoy running, it’s not my favorite activity. My favorite, hands down, is dancing. Doesn’t matter the style, I love every type of dancing. I also really enjoy yoga, kickboxing, kayaking, and I hope to try rock climbing this year. My goal for the Nike Half was to finish. I’m thrilled to say I did, but it was not an impressive time (3hr 12 minutes). As you may have learned from the blog I struggle with my weight and I’m sorry to admit I was not in the best shape to complete the race quickly. However, I finished (that was the goal) and am very proud of that. Hopefully in the future I can try the Nike Half again and rock a much faster pace.

• What do you do for a living?

I work for a major telecommunications company that shall remain nameless. At the risk at being very vague, I’m a project manager for contractual operations. I don’t plan on sharing any further details about this job on the blog, so please don’t ask.

• If you could have any job in the world, what would it be?

I would love to be a successful Screenwriter and own a dance/yoga studio, that’s not an odd combo, right?I also love interior design, writing, mixed media art, and photography. Whatever it is, I must have a creative outlet in my job. If I could find a way to earn a living, be creative, and help others…that would be perfect. This is the kind of thing you can read more about on CherryOrchid.

• Why do you blog?

All the voices in my head needed an outlet. Ok, no, seriously, I wanted an outlet for my feelings about going green. It branched into an opportunity to document my journey to living a healthy lifestyle, losing weight, and finding a balance in life.

• Married? Kids?

No, to both. I have a Chocolate Lab, Baxter, and he’s like a kid. You can read about my thoughts on living with a puppy here.

• How ‘Green’ are you really?

I’m trying to be as ‘green’ as possible. However, I’m not perfect and I have a lot to learn.

• Worst Habits?

Procrastination, and biting my nails.

• What are your New Year’s Resolutions?

I stopped setting New Year’s Resolutions, in stead I set goals. Sounds the same, right? Not really. I typically set short term goals that are easier to achieve. It’s also a psychological trick, since I tend to fail at New Year’s Resolutions fairly quickly. You can read about my goals here. (Though I’m a little behind in posting them)

• Do you play any sports?

Not at the moment, but in the past I played Volleyball for about 7 years, Soccer for 2 years, I was on the crew team in college but for reasons that won’t be discuss here I had to quit, I was also a cheerleader for 2 years. I’ve danced Jazz, Ballet, Hip Hop, Belly dancing, Ballroom, and Hula/Tahitian.

• You talk a lot on your blog about being stressed out, how do you deal with the stress?

I used to think that I had stress all figured out, but these past two years have showed me otherwise. I’ve come to realize that I can’t do everything on my own, and there is no fault in asking for help (that is a big lesson for me). I have also learned that deep breathing and mediation works wonders for me. I have some other tips/tricks that I use and will write up a post soon on the subject, so stay tuned.

• Do you really not have TV?

Technically I have 2 televisions in my house, but I do not have cable so they only work with DVD players. About a year ago I made the decision to cancel my cable and live without TV. It saved me about $100 a month in cable fees and I cut my electricity bill by 20%. I currently use online websites to catch up on my favorite TV shows. So now I see my shows, but it’s without commercials and for free (except for the cost of internet).

• Any ‘Green’ or Food books you recommend?

Oh that’s opening a can of worms. I LOVE reading. My favorite going green book is Sleeping Naked is Green (Vanessa Farquharson). I also really like Go Green, Live Rich (David Bach) for a more financial perspective. My other recommendations would be Food Rules & In Defense of Food (Michael Pollan)

• Is your name Stella? Do you have any nicknames?

My name is Jamie, Stella is nickname so I’ll answer to either. Other common nicknames are Jame & James…and of course my mom has a whole long list of cutsy nicknames for me. I tried counting once, I stopped when I got into the 30’s.

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Of course that not everything there is to me, so if you have questions, let me know. Or if you want to send me something fun to try/review, all goodies are welcomed You can reach me at ecostellablog [at] gmail [dot] com

As I continue my journey to a healthy lifestyle I will post daily eats, other food goodies, and workouts. I welcome you to read along and feel free to post your own thoughts and suggestions. I’ll share any cool new recipes, gadgets, tips, links, and I look forward to learning from all of you as well!

Cheers,

Stella