Keep your eyes on these 10 women, all reader-nominated because they have found a way to live life fully as they pursue what they love — whether it is dancing, giving massages or providing investment advice.

We don’t need to see these women plastered on the cover of “Forbes” to recognize how they epitomize success. They represent a vivacious part of the community and deserve props for their devotion to their business or craft.    

1. Niara Eustace, 35, of Boulder
Founder and previous co-owner of Streetside Studios, www.streetsidedance.com

Niara Eustace

In January of 2007, Eustace founded Streetside Studios, a Boulder-based studio focusing on dance foundations, technique, character work, hip-hop and choreography with meaning.

Eustace, who grew up in Europe as a ballet dancer, says she opened the studio to provide a non-intimidating space where people could cultivate their inner artist.

“We really wanted the dance community here to have a place to express themselves artistically,” Eustace says.

Starting in 2010, Eustace decided to branch off to teach her own private classes, separate from Streetside. She is gearing up to start a smaller dance company of her own.

In addition to classes for kids, Streetside offers adult classes: hip-hop, ballet, modern fusion and salsa for $10 a class. Contact Eustace at niaradance@gmail.com.

What inspires you?
For dance: everything. Usually it’s music for movement. I learn a lot from watching other people, other dances, even kids. If I’m ever feeling blocked, I’ll put on music and watch my 3-year-old daughter dance. Kids hear, they feel and they move. They don’t think. Thinking gets in the way.

What’s your motto?

I have a goal for how I try to live every day: to live simply, not get caught up in all the drama and focus on what really matters.

What is something about you people would never guess?
A lot of people don’t know I spent 18 years of my life in Belgium and speak French. Or that I spent four months doing an internship in Paris in a neuroscience research lab.

What’s in your purse?
Kids’ socks, diapers, food, necklaces, four different kinds of lotion, nail-polish remover pads, flyers from the studio, window cleaner — really, everything.

2. Elyse Foster, 55, of Boulder
Principal of Harbor Financial Group, www.harborfin.com

Elyse Foster

Now the principal of the company, Foster pursues another dream: connecting with youth. She recently created a paid internship for recent graduates to work at Harbor Financial Group and learn the ins and outs of investment advising.

“I designed a training program where for two years I teach them everything I possibly can about wealth management up to ownership,” Foster says.

While driven in her career, Foster says she’s just as passionate about her family.

What inspires you?
I like helping people. I also love the challenge of putting all these separate pieces together and all the disciplines that go into a person’s life, not only financial but also personal. And this whole next generation. I am very passionate about bringing these young people along.

What’s your motto?
I am my own best competition. I really drive myself — I’d like to think in a good way — at every level. I don’t look around at what other people are doing.

What is something about you people would never guess?
I am a more vulnerable person than it might seem. I’m a very creative person, but I’m also a very private person.

What’s in your fridge?
Lots of organic fruits and vegetables. Soy milk. A bottle of white wine, almost always. And cheese. I like really lovely cheeses.

3. Traci Brown, 35, of Boulder
Personal trainer for your mind, www.tracibrown.com

Traci Brown

At the end of her athletic career as a three-time United States collegiate cycling champion and member of the U.S. cycling team, Brown realized her next path involved the mental aspect of cycling.

“What was going on in my mind was the primary factor that determined my success,” Brown says.

Trained in neuro-linguistics, huna (a Hawaiian spiritual healing practice) and hypnosis, Brown now helps clients get at the unconscious roots of their problems to make fast, profound changes in their lives. While many of her clients are athletes, others are also people struggling with chronic pain, depression, abuse, neglect or phobias. Recently, Brown published her book, “Mastering Magical Persuasion,” which discusses unconscious persuasion in body language. It can only be purchased through her website.

What inspires you?
Excellence inspires me. I love to see people who are really good at what they do.

What is your motto?
Excuses are the tools that allow you to deny the truth and destroy opportunity.

What is something about you most people would never guess?
I dance Hawaiian hula. It gives me a little bit of aloha here on the mainland.

What is in the back seat of your car?
I have a pickup, and that’s where my dog lies.

4. Jeannette McVoy, 63, of Lafayette
Distributor for Send Out Cards, www.sendoutcards.com/mcvoy

Jeanette McVoy

After a 39-year career in nursing, Jeannette McVoy retired and began selling greeting card software through Send Out Cards, a company that prints and mails cards after the user creates them online.

“Now I can do what I want, when I want, with whom I want,” McVoy says.

While businesses use the greeting cards as a relational tool for clients and employees, McVoy personally uses the software to connect to relatives she had not seen in years. She believes working for Send Out Cards encourages her to break through her shyness and become a better businessperson, wife, mother and grandmother.

What inspires you?
I love what Zig Ziglar says: “You can have everything you want in life if you help others get what they want.” I love helping people and showing people appreciation.

What is your motto?
I wake up every day and send an unexpected card to someone I care about without any intention of getting anything back.

What is something about you people would never guess?
At the age of 59, I did my first cross-country ski marathon in St. Moritz, Switzerland. I am into health and working out every day.

What’s in the back seat of your car?
I have two car seats for my grandchildren.

5. Leslie Jones, 39, of Longmont
President and founder of the Inneractive Institute, www.inneractiveinstitute.com

Leslie Jones

Formerly known as Jones Associates, the Inneractive Institute aims to educate, coach and provide training programs for business leaders, consultants and other clients who seek to fulfill their dreams and intentions. Clients range from top-level managers to yoga instructors to legal firms.

“Every day when I’m interacting with prospects, clients, and colleagues… I get to experience human potential,” Jones says. “And there’s such a richness to the relationships in my community. It’s a gift.”

What inspires you?
Deeply connecting with other people, as well as witnessing and guiding other people to see their greatness.

What’s your motto?
It’s something like, “This is it.” This is your life. Live it now. My life purpose is being loving and alive. The power in love and living on the edge. There is so much available when you’re present to the moment and the day. I love this quote: “The way that we spend our days is the way that we spend our lives.”

What is something about you people would never guess?
I used to be terrified to be a leader and public speaker. Terrified. During my training to become a presenter, I used to not be able to eat for 24 hours.

What is something from your past that you just can’t get rid of?
I have my teddy bear from when I was an infant. It’s red and white. The other things are stories. My mom was a great storyteller.

6. CJ McCarthy, 52, of Niwot
Physician’s assistant at Dakota Ridge Family Medicine in Boulder

CJ McCarthy

McCarthy started practicing as a physician’s assistant in 1983. She chose her career because she craves changing scenarios that require her to be constantly on her toes and resourceful. She also wanted to be a mom without having her career engulf her. With her patients, McCarthy aims to create a safe zone where they can be open and honest about their problems.
“I call myself a human troubleshooter,” McCarthy says. “You can’t judge anyone. You just have to absorb, observe and help.”

What inspires you?
Challenges and variety.

What is your motto?
Life is sweet. Never give up.

What is something about you people would never guess?
I have a very cool, very special whistle. I’ve never found anyone who can do it quite like I do. I use my whistle to get little kids to trust me. I also white-water kayak, snowboard, sing and dance. I sang with Ars Nova Chamber Singers (a professional vocal ensemble in the Denver and Boulder area) for years. My mom was an opera singer.

What’s in your purse?
I always keep a journal with me. I always carry my laptop and all the cords and a digital camera.

7. Gail Kanemoto Hogsett, 57, of Longmont
Co-owner of Walters & Hogsett Fine Jewelers, www.waltersandhogsett.com

Gail Kanemoto Hogsett

“Our business is a happy business,” Hogsett says. “People come here because they are in love. They want to celebrate life with us for their different occasions. Just being a part of their special times is what makes it so enjoyable.”

What inspires you?
I’m wowed by great design. Guess that’s why HGTV is my favorite TV station, and fashion magazines are high on my list.

What’s your motto?
Following my parents’ footsteps, my motto is that whatever you do, do it to your best ability. I may not always do it the speediest way, but I give it my all.

What is something about you people would never guess?
People often comment on how organized I must be, but in reality, I am so unorganized. Guess what my New Year’s resolution is?

What’s in the back seat of your car?
There’s always something in my back seat. The most likely things are items to return to a store, a folder of coupons and there seems to always be a pile of clothes to take to the dry cleaners.

8. Julia “Jewl” Petteway, 33, of Nederland
Owner and director of Sensorielle Spa, www.sensoriellespa.com

Julia "Jewl" Petteway

After working in marketing and management, Petteway felt burnt out. At that time she received massages every week, and she started wondering what it would be like to be the masseuse. Now she is.

“I wanted to do something to help people and make people feel better instead of working all day in a cubicle under fluorescent lights,” Petteway says.

Three years after she started working at Sensorielle Spa, Petteway is now the director and owner. She loves working with her staff, which feels like a family, and seeing her clients happy. Among its services, the spa offers acupuncture, massages, skin care, facials and ayurvedic treatments (a treatment that focuses on balancing your body through special massages, skincare, body wraps and other specific methods). The spa also offers a sliding scale system, a pay-what-you-can system, on Tuesdays and Thursdays for those with limited financial means.

What inspires you?
I have a background in dance and music, so my other self is a belly dancer and a musician. A lot of where my inspiration comes from is artistic. It’s all holistic; it all comes together to inspire me, in general. Like watching dancers, teaching dance, playing music, seeing people smile is inspiring.

What is your motto?
I live my life with love. I think that love is what makes things move and what makes this world go ‘round.

What is something about you people would never guess?
I love kung fu films. I’m a big kung fu buff, and I study kung fu.

What is your latest Facebook update?
“Full moon! Aaaawooo!”

9. Deb Britton, 39, of Longmont
CEO/principal of K2 Audio, www.k2audio.com

Deb Britton

At K2 Audio, clients get help improving the way a room sounds, from changing the room’s architectural “shaping” to finding materials for optimum acoustics. K2 Audio has worked on school cafeterias, churches, theme parks — even the U.S. Senate Chamber.

“I really like the end result,” Britton says. “When you see a happy client and they say, ‘Wow this really sounds good; this is exactly what we need. I can hear exactly what I need to hear.’”

What inspires you?
I’m a people-pleaser. I like to see people happy with what I do. That just seems like one of the more important things in life.

What’s your motto?
I think you have to enjoy what you do, otherwise you’re not going to put 100 percent into it.

What is something about you people would never guess?
I am currently forming a B-52s tribute band.

What is in your refrigerator?
Pork chops, beets and a little leftover egg nog.

10. Sudi Haynie, 51, of Boulder
Master Colorist, www.sudicolor.com

Sudi Haynie

After going to school for art at Colorado State University, Haynie worked as a model in New York, Tokyo and Paris. Her biggest client in New York was Bill Blass, and she also worked for other designers such as Valentino, YSL, Oscar De La Renta, Escada, Anne Klein and James Galanos.

In her mid-30s, Haynie decided to go back to school for cosmetology to tap into her creativity. She specialized as a colorist. Haynie now works at Rumours Hair Studio in Boulder and draws from her experience.

“I love the creative aspect,” Haynie says. “I love working with color and tones. To me, there’s no reason why everyone shouldn’t have gorgeous hair. I love problem-solving.”

What inspires you?
Making a difference for people. Any kind of opportunity for people to feel better about themselves is huge.

What is your motto?
I am always saying, “Laugh as much as possible.”

What is something about you people would never guess?
Just looking, they’d never guess that I’m funny and quick-witted. I’m kind of a ham and like to pull practical jokes.

What is the last text message that you sent?
I think it was to a girlfriend last night: “I love hanging out with you. Love you, talk soon.” We hung out for a while, and I sent it to her on the way home.

— By Caroline Seib

Linda Willetto journeyed from her Easy Bake Oven in elementary school to starting Indulge Bakery with her husband Thomas Willetto in November 2006.

Linda, now 46, knew she wanted to be in the restaurant business after taking a cake decorating class in seventh grade.

“I’ve always liked cooking,” Linda says. “I’d make cakes for my friends (in junior high). I didn’t make a wedding cake until I was in college.”

In their 20 years of marriage, the couple shared the idea of opening a bakery. Having three children of their own, they created a family-friendly environment and a European-style shop where children can peer into cases of specially decorated cakes, cookies and other pastries. These goodies have no preservatives and most are made from scratch.

“We are accommodating to what our customers want,” Linda says.

Recently, the Willettos started making gluten-free goodies, and now the couple is attempting to make delicious dairy-free baked goods.      “Our No. 1 rule: If it doesn’t taste good, we won’t sell it,” Thomas says.  

Concertos in Chocolate, 6395 Gunpark Drive, suite R, Boulder.

Stepping inside Concertos in Chocolate makes your nose tingle with excitement from the rich, fresh smell of chocolate.

Having a lifelong love for chocolate, Chris Widlar, 50, of Boulder County, searched for better tasting chocolate that did not contain artificial flavor and ingredients and opened Concertos in Chocolate in 1999.

“I started out in my garage and had really just planned some seasonal chocolate and chocolate for corporate gifts, and it kept growing and growing,” Widlar says.

Widlar’s secret weapon is her own all-natural, handmade caramel. It is richer than traditional American-made caramel because of the heavy cream and butter, she says.

Alongside her specialty caramel, she makes 25 different flavored truffles, fruit gigs, toffee, marzipan and other mouth-watering confections. Of her products, 95 percent are all natural.

Shamane’s Bake Shoppe, 2825 Wilderness Place, suite 800, Boulder

Every day is Valentine’s for Shamane Simons and her husband Matt Dessi, Simons says.

“Our relationship is 99 percent laughter,” she says.

She laughs remembering one Valentine’s Day when the couple wanted to go to a new restaurant to celebrate. They made reservations, but when they arrived they discovered they were not on the list. Instead, they made the best of it sitting at the bar laughing about how it felt like prom night.

The two Boulder residents have been married almost seven years. Simons, now 38, met Dessi, 37, nine years ago through her roommate. Dessi’s Italian heritage caught her attention.

“I was intrigued by him because he grew up in an Italian family in New York and his family owned a bakery in Little Italy,” Simons says.

Along with pastries and local coffees, black and white photos of his family business, Pradella’s Italian Bakery, decorate Shamane’s Bake Shoppe. On one wall, Dessi’s great aunt smiles and stares out the front glass window of the old bakery. On the neighboring wall, two of Dessi’s uncles hold a basket of fresh bread. Below the photo, Dessi’s great uncle shyly smiles from under a fedora hat.

“The photos have sentimental value,” Simons says. “They make great decorations but have a story behind them.”

The couple tries to spend time together, despite Simons’ busy schedule and late nights at the bakery. The couple has date nights at the shop, where Dessi brings dinner and puts on music while Simons finishes up her work.

“What brought us together were my passion for food and his family’s traditions with food, and his passion and talent for music and my love for music,” Simons says.

— By Emily Burrows-Poretsky

New kid on the block

Vanessa Metalli Dionne grew up near Rome working in her parents’ restaurant, baking and making pastry. But it wasn’t until she moved the United States in 2003 that she became interested in chocolate.

“The more I studied, the more I discovered about chocolate,” she says. “I got a little bit addicted. Dark chocolate … the flavor and the way I can manipulate it to make chocolate. I can use my artistry and my passion for baking and pastry and combine it. It’s my perfect medium,” she says.

Dionne started her company, Desiderio Chocolates, in 2008.

“I make molded chocolates. I like to paintbrush them,” she says. “I use ganache filling with fresh cream, local and organic as much as possible, butter, organic nuts and organic fruit purees.”

In a couple of her chocolates, she uses brews from Left Hand Brewing Co. Dionne works out of the Glacier Ice Cream store in Longmont, and her chocolates are available there and at Cheese Importers in Longmont.

— By Cindy Sutter

December weight update: 222 pounds

Total weight lost to date: 53 pounds

December’s lesson: I finally passed the 50-pound mark, so I’m more than halfway to my ultimate weight goal. Can I hear a collective “Woo-hoo!” The best news: This month I’ve really moved beyond some of the emotional issues and tough lifestyle changes that were painful in the beginning of my physical transformation. It’s still not easy, and there’s always more I can learn and improve, but this whole “healthy habits” thing is truly becoming my new way of life. I feel like I’ve crossed over some invisible threshold of wellness, and I’ll never go back to the way I was before. That feels fantastic!

January’s obstacle: I love Christmas. Not just a little bit, but to the point of probably needing some type of therapy. Once the music stops, the decorations come down, and the gloss wears off the gifts I’m prone to slip into “post-Christmas depression.”

Not this year. I’m not going to let the cold weather trap me inside — and I’m committed to facing the winter months by continuing my routine of healthy eating and regular exercise.

Reader’s challenge: New Year’s resolutions. Every year Americans make them, and every year 99.9 percent of us break them (yes, I just made up that statistic!). This will be the first year in a long time that I won’t make a new resolution to lose weight in the coming year. I’m already doing it. I hope that this January, instead of a temporary crash diet or gym membership you won’t use, you’ll really pledge to change your entire life for the better — permanently.

“Sometimes the design hits immediately,” says the Boulder County sculptor, nationally known for making furniture and doors. “Other times, I sit with the wood for a while, then suddenly visualize the piece.”

Shutan originally studied creative writing. (She even had a teacher tell her to “forget art.”) But she wanted to work with her hands and ended up learning from a traditional Dutch woodworking master. That’s where she crafted her first door.

Her teacher died a few weeks later — after telling her, “You don’t need me anymore. Look at you.”

Twenty-eight years later, Shutan boasts custom doors around the country, including many throughout Boulder County. She etches movement and curves into her one-of-a-kind mostly mahogany doors; she wants to call out the “sensuous” nature of wood. She rides the band saw like a pencil across the rugged material.

Each door takes two to four months. Her only limitation is that it must fit in the door jam, she says.

“But within that boundary, I can go quite wild,” she says. “It’s like life.”

Her doors are functional, but with abstract qualities, she says. And as with her abstract sculptures, the results always surprise her, she says.

In fact, she adds, often “the accidents are more interesting than the original idea.”

Perhaps the accidents are the secret hidden inside the wood.

Check out Shutan’s work on display at the Osmosis Gallery, 290 Second Ave., Niwot, and online at www.ashutan.com.

— By Aimee Heckel

Broken Neck Baby was once a doll that could blink and cry. The blinking had stopped, leaving it with one open eye and one sealed half-closed. Its little rubber noggin had come to rest for days on the mailing label of my Vanity Fair: It left a permanent tattoo of my name and address on its temple. Its neck was broken, the exposed wires of what used to make it blink and cry made me constantly vigilant to keep the doll away from the baby.

Photo by Ray Tollison, www.pixelpooch.com

But the longing disappointment was real: Days later, a doll’s pacifier is ferreted out of a full toy chest. “Oh,” said a voice trembling with near tears, “this belonged to Broken Neck Baby.”

This is a story every parent knows already: Children will love toys to death, and if you held on to every scrap of the broken possessions, you’d be living in a landfill. Grown-ups have to teach children how to move on from material things. And on a daily basis, we need to teach coping and safety skills as well.

And children teach grownups, too, with their spirited defense of all creatures beautiful and ugly, of dogs both clean and smelly, of things whole and shattered. With their capacity to forgive flawed mothers who throw away beloved things, they remind us on a daily basis about the worthiness of unconditional love.

— By Erika Stutzman

It became a ritual, a beautiful class at the intensive care unit. Yoga is unity. And I joined my dear friend for a different kind of yoga around her hospital bed, dressed alike in our blue paper hospital gowns and matching masks. Shed been trying to heal for a month now, beeping machines and blinking lights keeping her alive  and for many weeks before, fighting off the ravaging beast we call esophageal cancer.

Photo by Joe Glynn.

Then, one day we faced the decision I’d only read about in the newspaper. When do you let a person pass on  freeing her from the tubes that can both save and strangle? My friend was alert enough to talk with us. Unable to make noise because of her tracheotomy, her parched lips mouthed her wishes. Her son dabbed her mouth with a tiny pink sponge, rubbing ChapStick on pale lips, lightly purple because of weeks of labored breathing.
Just be sure, she said.

Sure of what, Mom? Her son asked, leaning close and staring in to her eyes.

She didn’t seem to have the strength to add more, but I think we knew. As with birth, when words are few, death also doesn’t demand much talking. It is all in the eyes. And my friend would only say goodbye if she knew shed gone the distance and there was no more hope.

Without our breath as a guide, our body finds no poses, no energy, balance or expression. Her breath was leaving and sadly none of us could help her find it again.

In her last days, she continued to be my teacher. I always brought gifts when Id visit, trying to help even if I couldn’t heal.

Last week I brought her a small mirror Id found among my daughters make-up. It had been two months since my friend had looked into her own eyes. At first, I worried, What would she see in her face after weeks of such sickness? I helped her unclasp the mirror, her swollen and bruised fingers trying to hold tight. Her wide smile filled the moment. She saw the beauty of herself. Her own reflection brought her such peace. She held her gaze tight, nodding and thanking me for my gift. I hope she knew she had given me even more: the reminder that self-acceptance is the greatest joy.

Today is the day that her children had decided that they were sure. They didn’t want her to struggle any longer, never giving up, but with dignity she could finally give in. As we gathered around her bed, we tearfully embraced her as she found her final savasana.

I had always wanted to take my friend to a yoga class, but shed always say, Im just not flexible enough. I wouldnt be good at it! I know she would be proud to know that she actually became a wonderful yoga teacher, bringing the peace of unity and self-acceptance to a small dim room in the ICU.

– By Priscilla Dann-Courtney

Dann-Courtney, of Boulder, recently released her first nonfiction book, Room to Grow: Stories of Life and Family, published by Norlights Press, www. roomtogrow.info.  

Get up and go: Dann-Courtney will be doing a reading 7:30 p.m. Feb. 4 at the Boulder Bookstore, 1107 Pearl St., Boulder. Free and open to the public.

Got a story to share? Submit open forum entries to speakup@womensmag.com.

2. Balance your bed by adding same-size bedside tables to both sides.

3. Add fire colors: cranberry or orange pillows or a duvet cover.

4. Have art that encourages partnership. Ditch the image of a woman waiting at a table alone.

5. Move workout equipment or your office out of the bedroom to encourage restful sleeping and a relationship that’s not hard work.

Read more in the February/March edition of Womens Mag!

– By Liz Canavan, www.alchemyoforder.blogspot.com

Whether you celebrate the holidays or not, it’s nearly impossible to avoid the barrage of input that marks this time of year. However, you have a choice about how to handle it all. You can choose to put your head down and barrel through it, hoping against hope to survive another month of December. Or, put a few simple practices into place that could make this a welcome month on the calendar.

Take control.
December can so easily be taken over by the excess of things. Too many parties, too many shopping trips, too many long hours at the office to prepare for the holiday downtime. We start out feeling like it’s going to be fine, only to find ourselves exhausted later in the month because we didn’t do anything to prevent the overload.

The best way to avoid end-of-the-season resentment and exhaustion is to start at the beginning of the month and chart the activities that you really want and need to undertake. By taking time to plan your month before it happens, you are making a conscious choice to tame the holiday madness.

Ultimately, you have control over a lot of the things that can make December feel crowded. Sure, we can convince ourselves: “I just have to go to that party” or “I have to go to three different malls.” Are you challenging yourself to evaluate the truth of these statements? What will really happen if you whittle things down? Will you lose your job? Will your family love you less? Will your social circle dwindle?

Yes, some of the decisions might be hard. You might have to withstand a few guilt trips. Through it all, keep reminding yourself that these choices are going to make your holiday season more enjoyable.

More of what you want.
Once you commit to a more reasonably-paced schedule, you’re already well on the way to savoring a more sane holiday season. By cutting out the things that will drain your energy unnecessarily, you inherently make the choice to take pleasure in the things that inspire you: seeing your kids more during their break from school, hand-making holiday gifts for your closest friends, sitting down with a cup of hot cider and a good book.

Once you make those initial choices, the process is not over. You will undoubtedly have ongoing opportunities to make your days as stress-free as they can be. At any given moment during the month, you have the power to change course away from the eyeball-rolling experiences of holidays past.

If you’ve chosen to visit extended family, you might have to make the decision to bow out of some activities in order to maintain an even keel. Or you might have to make that last-minute call to cancel your attendance at a social event because you aren’t seeing enough of your family. Again, not all of these choices will be comfortable, but they do all have the potential to have you sailing into the New Year, energized and fulfilled.

The point is, we can chalk this up to “it’s that time of year again” and gird ourselves for the worst, or we can sit down calmly on Dec. 1 and get a lay of the land, pen in hand, ready to design a do-able season. It will require discernment and a healthy measure of self-control, but once you take these few simple steps, there’s no doubting that you’ll be able to have your fruitcake and eat it, too.

— By Kimberly Jonas
Jonas, of Boulder, facilitates individual and group experiences in body awareness, personal inquiry, and intentional space. Contact her at www.kimberlyjonas.com.

Needing to shake off a bit of that holiday stress? Join Jonas for some refreshing and de-stressing movement classes:
Wednesday evenings 6-7:30 p.m. and 10:30 a.m.-noon Saturdays, Core Movement Studio, 1844 55th St., Boulder, www.body-mantra.com.

Whether you celebrate the holidays or not, it’s nearly impossible to avoid the barrage of input that marks this time of year. However, you have a choice about how to handle it all. You can choose to put your head down and barrel through it, hoping against hope to survive another month of December. Or, put a few simple practices into place that could make this a welcome month on the calendar.

Take control.

December can so easily be taken over by the excess of things. Too many parties, too many shopping trips, too many long hours at the office to prepare for the holiday downtime. We start out feeling like it’s going to be fine, only to find ourselves exhausted later in the month because we didn’t do anything to prevent the overload.

The best way to avoid end-of-the-season resentment and exhaustion is to start at the beginning of the month and chart the activities that you really want and need to undertake. By taking time to plan your month before it happens, you are making a conscious choice to tame the holiday madness.

Ultimately, you have control over a lot of the things that can make December feel crowded. Sure, we can convince ourselves: “I just have to go to that party” or “I have to go to three different malls.” Are you challenging yourself to evaluate the truth of these statements? What will really happen if you whittle things down? Will you lose your job? Will your family love you less? Will your social circle dwindle?

Yes, some of the decisions might be hard. You might have to withstand a few guilt trips. Through it all, keep reminding yourself that these choices are going to make your holiday season more enjoyable.

More of what you want.

Once you commit to a more reasonably-paced schedule, you’re already well on the way to savoring a more sane holiday season. By cutting out the things that will drain your energy unnecessarily, you inherently make the choice to take pleasure in the things that inspire you: seeing your kids more during their break from school, hand-making holiday gifts for your closest friends, sitting down with a cup of hot cider and a good book.

Once you make those initial choices, the process is not over. You will undoubtedly have ongoing opportunities to make your days as stress-free as they can be. At any given moment during the month, you have the power to change course away from the eyeball-rolling experiences of holidays past.

If you’ve chosen to visit extended family, you might have to make the decision to bow out of some activities in order to maintain an even keel. Or you might have to make that last-minute call to cancel your attendance at a social event because you aren’t seeing enough of your family. Again, not all of these choices will be comfortable, but they do all have the potential to have you sailing into the New Year, energized and fulfilled.

The point is, we can chalk this up to “it’s that time of year again” and gird ourselves for the worst, or we can sit down calmly on Dec. 1 and get a lay of the land, pen in hand, ready to design a do-able season. It will require discernment and a healthy measure of self-control, but once you take these few simple steps, there’s no doubting that you’ll be able to have your fruitcake and eat it, too.

— By Kimberly Jonas
Jonas, of Boulder, facilitates individual and group experiences in body awareness, personal inquiry, and intentional space. Contact her at www.kimberlyjonas.com.

[hec: box:  ]Needing to shake off a bit of that holiday stress? Join Jonas for some refreshing and de-stressing movement classes:
Wednesday evenings 6-7:30 p.m. and 10:30 a.m.-noon Saturdays, Core Movement Studio, 1844 55th St., Boulder, www.body-mantra.com.

* Audible attachments, such as bells.
* Felt appliqués of any variety (Santas, presents, trees, reindeer).
* Electronic parts that glow or blink.

If you answered “yes” to any of the abovementioned, it’s time for some extreme fashion intervention.
It’s easy to get carried away in the season of tinsel, embellishing our yards and trees and presents and bodies. But before you scare the reindeer games out of Rudolph, offer yourself the gift of good style by checking out this local shop:

Barbara and Company, 1505 Pearl St., Boulder, 303-443-2565

Barbara and Company carries a range of styles, all touting “casual sophistication.” The hip, but not trendy. We love how the store is organized by colors, with tons of inspiring and accessorized outfit combos on display — making it simple and quick to walk out with a foolproof (and applique-proof) party outfit.

Here are a few style inspirations:

Models: Alexandria Holton (brunette) and Rose Silkey (blonde), both of Boulder.
Stylist: Angel Garcia, www.pinupprettymua.com
Photos by: Jonathan Castner
Story by: Aimee Heckel

The little details
The little things add up big, like delicate bead accents, crystal accessories, ruffles and black diamonds.

On Ali: Bailey44 ruched beaded tunic, $152. Equestrian velvet leggings, $156. Giles and Brother black diamond earrings, $104. Giles and Brother crystal and topaz bangles, $52-114.

On Rose: Bailey44 scoop neck dress with draped strings and lurex trim, $220. Season Whispers bracelets in black with crystals, $84. Bailey44 camisole in black with silver banding, $102. J and Z ruffle wrap, $218. Marlyn Schiff silver rosette ring, $48.

Sparkles and silver
The holidays are the perfect time to shine. Sparkling silver becomes less garish and more sophisticated when paired with black or a deep purple wrap.

On Ali: Bailey44 beaded tunic, $152. Liz Palacios collar necklace in silver with pearl/topaz, $174.

On Rose: Bailey44 camisole in black with silver banding, $102. J and Z ruffle wrap, $218.Marlyn Schiff silver rosette ring, $48.

Long shirts and leggings
Leggings are in this winter, but they can be done oh so wrong. The right way: Dress them up with long shirts or dresses, extravagant jewelry and a sexy, cropped jacket. (Leather and crystal is our ideal combo.) You’ll be comfortable, but not look sloppy.
On Ali: Andrew Mac leather jacket, $298. Michael Stars crystal sprinkled tank, $50. Bailey44 ponte zip front leggings, $142. Virgins, Saints and Angels charm, Magdalena in hematite, and sterling necklace, $358. HOBO red leather clutch, $85.

On Rose: Language flora applique tee, $78. Equestrian French velvet leggings, $156. Virgins, Saints and Angels san benito necklace, $320.

Violet and ruched
Deep purple is the color of winter 2009. And shirts and dresses with ruching, or a gathering of the fabric, flatter all body types.

On Ali: Three Dotes v-neck rouched front dress, $132. Chan Luu hematite earrings, $94. Chan Luu hematite necklace, $182.
On Rose: Bailey44 rosette ruched tunic, $176. Equestrian French leggings in black velvet, $156.

More than a pretty face: Meet the models

Rose Silkey, 25, of Boulder
Loves: Music, art and dancing.
Motto: “If you do everything that you are capable of, you will truly be amazed. Give it all you’ve got.”
Inspired by: God, beauty and love.
A challenge overcome: “When I was 16, I had to move away to a new town. I learned how to make new friends and also learned what is important to me in life.”

Alexandria Holton, 27, of Boulder
Interests: Traveling, exercising at Rally Sport, cooking, shopping, fashion, reading and enjoying the first year of marriage.
Motto: “Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the number of moments that take your breath away.”
Inspired by: God, my husband, my mom, family, friends and everything around me.
A challenge overcome: “The hardest obstacle I’ve had to overcome was leaving home for college and learning that it molded me to become who I am today.”