It's just that other kind of day

I think I will wear my lemon drop earrings.

They remind me of sunshine.

It's just that kind of day

  I think I will wear my lemon drop earrings.

 

They remind me of sunshine.

mourn with those that mourn

What is there to say?
I met her when we were picking up our repaired cars.
I passed her while walking out.
She had been crying, but trying to hold back.

I was afraid.
Afraid of offending her.
Afraid of looking foolish.
Afraid of intruding.

I swallowed that and touched her.
She fell into my arms with deep, gulping sobs.
Her accent was strong.
I thought she said hurricane.

She is from Haiti.
Some of her family was still there.
It was January 12, 2010.
The rest of the world did not yet know.

She let me drive her home.
She let me cry with her.
She let me pray with her.
She let me mourn with her.

What a blessing to me.

I think about her every day.

funny update

Cat scratch sans band-aid.  Not looking much better.

I notice eyes darting this way and that.

When talking to me, folks are putting a lot of effort into avoiding looking directly at my nose.

Susan O. says I should tell them it was a nose hair trimming accident.

Like I sneezed while using an electric nose hair trimmer.

But I fear they wouldn't think it was a joke.

Nose hairs are scary.

Even more scary than cat scratches.

(but how good does that sun feel streaming in through my window?)

It's not about what it's about

Have you seen it?

I am a sucker for a movie.

I am also a sucker for actually watching movies in the theater.

I think that even if I had a home theater, I would still love the actual outing of the real theater.

 The outing is something I love.

Lately, some girlfriends and I have had outings to matinees while the kids are in school.

It's like playing hooky.

 

Today we saw Nine.
If you, too, appreciate beauty, see it in the theater.

Have an outing.

It won't be around much longer.

And if you want to know what it is about.

Forget it.

Doesn't matter.

Because really it is about Style.

Intoxicating Style.

Don't try to figure it out.

Just sit back and enjoy.

You, too, will be walking away singing and dancing.

It may mostly be in my head, but I am singing and dancing, nonetheless. 

Has anyone else seen Nine?

Do you have a favorite scene?

This is mine:

All these stylish men dancing in their stylish suits.

And Kate Hudson as an editor for Vogue singing about style.

It makes me happy.

And it makes me want to sing and dance.

That Refreshing Clean or Blast from the Past

Remember this?

While perusing the shelves at Wal-Mart, looking for the finest in skin care products, I noticed something from my past.

I have been using it for two weeks now.

My skin looks fabulous.

Some items just can't be improved.

It is my new favorite thing.

Can you smell it?

Want to see something funny?

This is how I started my morning.

The moral of the story?  Don't hold kitten Jenny while mutt Trudy is nearby.

Don't worry.  You can laugh.

I will, too.

Tomorrow.

Inspired

Barbara, the other Lulu who started Tallulahs,  is creatively inspired wherever she goes.
When we were "working" in NYC last summer, she noticed colors most people just look past.
She is good at appreciating beauty that way.
After our trip, she had a month of really hard work to get her store, Perch, ready for opening day.
And she knew just the color she wanted to paint the door:

Look what I found in Competa, Spain, two weeks after Perch opened:

How did she know?

A friend who is creatively inspired by forces she hasn't even seen!

AND she likes to people watch with me.

I think we need another trip.

Work, work, work.

If you should be so lucky to visit Competa, stay at Villa Andalucia with our lovely hosts, Phil and Helen.

It truly is paradise at their Bed and Breakfast type hostel.

You can float in the pool surrounded by beautiful gardens and overlook the whole whitewashed village.

Parts is Parts (I Don't part 2)

 "How do you do it all?"

Indeed.

I still am occasionally asked that in regards to my family, my business, my creations.
But I am asked it less and less often.
Probably because it is pretty clear that I don't "do it all."

Recently, after making these ornaments (found on Anna's blog--where else?), I was asked that familiar old question.  Needless to say, I wasn't getting it "all" done since the ornaments each took me half a day to complete!  There were lots of things neglected. 

Let's be real.  We CAN have it all, just not all at the same time (except for Anna...).
According to economists, "opportunity cost" is what we give up to do something else.

I want to recognize all of the different parts within myself, and know that fulfilling one may require me to give up something else, at least for a time.
That is the opportunity cost.
My goal is to accept it.
I will recognize the part of me that needs to be creative.  And the part that needs to nurture.  And one that wants to feel beautiful.  And one part needs to be social.  One wants to strengthen my spirit.  One wants to learn.  And there are many more layers and parts that need attention, and discovery.
In time.

(This one didn't get finished.)
So, I will accept that things are not all "done."

Some days the family meals are ramen noodles, and I feel a pang of guilt realizing my youngest actually has a favorite flavor.
Some days I sadly put another project away unfinished as it disappears into the never-never land of my studio shelving.
Some days I admit that I don't want to finish my book club book because I would rather work on a project than read.  And then I would rather attend book club shame-faced than miss out on being with my friends.
All of these opportunity costs allow me to do something else I enjoy in my life--it fulfills another part of myself.
When I recognize the trade-off, and appreciate it, the cost is less frustrating.
And when I toss my children a banana with their noodles, I am sure they will be okay.
And hopefully they will learn the importance of fulfillment and balance.

I Don't!

Recently I've been reading some favorite bloggers musing about getting real (and I was reading these because I was not getting something else done.  Doug graciously calls it "research"). 

Postings like A Common Place Life where Amy describes the trouble with Martha Stewart is that she makes us think others' lives are always beautiful.
Or Life in Yonder when Anne Marie reminds herself to breathe when she sees perfect lives perfectly presented on blogs.
And Jill's le blab discussing how these perfect blogs are like the proverbial "perfect life" Christmas card--but presented every day.

And since I don't want to falsely represent myself as one of those perfect lives, I give you these truths.

When my twin boys were very young and my military spouse traveled, I often got asked, "How do you do it all?"
My answer was, "I don't!"
Sometimes my sweet cherub faced toddlers ate lunches of vienna sausages and crackers in their car seats while driving to Mom's Day Out.
Sometimes they were neglected while I was involved with their older sister.
And sometimes (gasp), they even went to bed without brushing their teeth.
It was a reality.

 (my little cherubs hopefully got their teeth brushed this night)

(Rose "raising" her brothers.  this is how old they were when she first made them lunch--so I could finish Christmas sewing!)

Along this same train of thought (or bounced around in my head and u-turned back to this train), I decided years ago that it was better to have someone come over unannounced for a visit instead of calling ahead.  If I didn't know they were coming,  I didn't feel the pressure of cleaning up for them.  And then they didn't idolize me because of my great housekeeping skills.
Bonus:  I had no pretense to keep up, and therefore didn't have to clean for them in the future.
Second bonus:  in the off chance that they stopped by after I did clean, they would be just as impressed with me as I was with myself.

So come on over.  See my mess:

 and notice the well worn "to do" list looking back at me whilst I type away on the computer and look at dreamy pictures of my cherubs (perfect as they are...), and other such "research."

How do I do it all indeed?

part II soon...

absent

Neighborhood Medical Center

Stilesboro Road,

Suburbs, GA 30152

Tel: (770) 726-6464

Date: ______Jan. 5, 2010____________

MEDICAL NOTE

This is certify that I have examined and treated

......Cindy H....................... of Company / School and

she / he will absent / unfit for duties for ....lots of...... day (s),

from ....Dec. 31, 2009...... till ....Jan. ??, 2010.......

 Diagnosis: .....Sinus Infection and General Laziness........

...............Dr. Who.................................

(Medical Officer Signature & Stamp)

No. 25147