Have you seen this Jimmy Fallon clip? It is worth it for the laughs. I have watched it three different times. It makes me giggle every time.
http://youtu.be/qtsNbxgPngA
xo
The Glass House Retreat |
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Every once in a while I have to have fun here, because let's face it, real life is often brutal. Have you seen this Jimmy Fallon clip? It is worth it for the laughs. I have watched it three different times. It makes me giggle every time. http://youtu.be/qtsNbxgPngA And it seems to be a week of a lot of people not feeling well. This one's for you. Women of a certain age will totally get this. The alternate response to the blog piece Feelings. This could happen. Let's dance! xo
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Yesterday was a devastating day for humanity and for the people of France. A gross, horrible, brutal day. My friend Katya Horner posted THIS BLOG PIECE by her friend Greg Fallis. He writes about Charlie Hebdo in a way that resonated with me immediately. If you've been here a while you know I enjoy the word fuck. So does Greg. I appreciate his piece so much and am thankful he wrote it. Five years of French, and I sadly write, je suis Charlie. xo I have spent the past few days of the new year DOING. FEELING. BEING. LIVING. PLANNING. PREPARING. I worked all day Friday and Saturday. Friday night I went to my brother's house where we gathered to eat some Chinese food, visit, watch the girls play "Just Dance" the newest version, and to actually play a game of telephone that ended with many of us laughing our fool heads off. From age 7 to 79 you can mess up a simple sentence. We are an amusing bunch. Saturday we had a client at the salon pissed off before 10:30 in the morning. Good times. We'll never see her again, and so it goes. Sunday I drove my mom to the airport. On the way out of LaGuardia I ended up all kinds of lost in Queens. I've only made that trip 100 times in my life and ended up all confused. Maybe because I was talking on the phone to my friend Carolyn at the time? I had to call her back when I finally ended up going in the right direction. I wrote my first newsletter for TGHR in over a year. I guess buying a hair salon does take up some time. And falling. And recovering. I wrote the newsletter for the salon. I addressed the angry client. Monday, Kathy and I headed back to Long Island to see Shira, our psychic medium. This time my grandfather, Art, my Nana, and a friends brother were the eloquent message givers. It was as fabulous as the last time. If you are so inclined, I would absolutely recommend Shira to my LI friends and anyone else who wants to take a quick trip to the island. She has a few gallery readings coming up on the island and a big event happening in March. I will share those details when I get them. If she comes back up for the Yorktown Relay I will absolutely post that too. In-between all of this, I am getting ready for Sunday. What's Sunday, you ask? Only the best day ever! I am over the moon excited for our Women's Symposium. It is what we hope will be the first of many. Info HERE. And then there is the small matter of feelings. Up, down, inside, outside and around, mine have been all over the place for days. And I recall, with all the sincerity of the therapist who shared it with me, "Feelings just are." You don't need to explain them. You just need to feel them. And boy, do I. Here's to all of us. May we be strong enough to be vulnerable. xo Simple Wishes
2014 was an amazing year. The good. The bad. The ugly. The spastic. My hope for 2015 is more good, less not so good. The further realization of dreams. Teaching more. Writing more. Peace. Through listening, understanding and compassion. Encouraging. Myself and others. Adventure. Through every day life and the stuff it hurls at me. Many words that will lead to many actions. xo Music Today: Bella has been playing this mash-up since it was released. It has reached huge heights of popularity, including love from Taylor Swift herself. It is superb. Midnight, you come and pick me up, no headlights
Nice to meet you, where you been? I could show you incredible things Magic, madness, heaven sin I've got a blank space baby And I'll write your name http://youtu.be/7m3o5LuFKxg Based on the posts on my Facebook newsfeed I thought I would recycle this post. It is one of my most read posts to date. Grieving isn't only death. And sometimes, it's helpful to read about someone else's experiences. xo Grief. Much has been written about it. Many have studied it, myself included. And yet... I don't believe a single one of us grieves the same way. Or over the same things. Yes, death is the obvious reason to grieve. However, in my lifetime I have grieved for reasons other than death.
Those are just a small part of my lifetime's worth of grievable moments. There is no timetable for moving on, getting over it, picking up the pieces, that works for all of us. For me, I cope with humor. I cope with eating entirely too much of the "wrong" foods. I cope with hiding in my basement for hours on end. I cope with sleeping. I cope with writing. I cope with meditation. I cope with yoga. I cope with the help of a gifted therapist. I cope with the help of not one, but two psychics. I cope with my dearest of friends who get me and don't judge me. I cope with listening to same song on repeat for as long as it takes. We ALL put on award worthy performances for the public. We smile, though our heart is breaking. We get dressed and put one foot in front of the other even when the very last thing we want to do is leave the cocoon of our blankets. We put on mascara, even though we will cry. We go out for meals with friends. We toast each other because we have gotten through another day. When we need a good cry there is ALWAYS a movie or two we can watch that we know will do it for us. Steel Magnolia's anyone? Brian's Song? ANYTHING by Nicholas Sparks. A friend of mine shared this version of this song with me. It is haunting and beautiful and might make you cry. I can now listen to it without crying. Which I guess goes to prove, life happens. We keep living and loving and moving forward even when it seems we can't. Right this second, as I write this, I know of more than, oh I don't know, fifty different people who are all going through trying times. They are experiencing life at the sorrowful end of the spectrum. Let's all just take a second, just one second, to close our eyes and send some love out there, to the people who are aching, who are sad, who are in need of the comfort of love although they may not be ready to leave their own cocoons quite yet. Here's to all of us. May the crawl out of the wreckage of grief go at exactly the right pace for YOU. xo Fare you well, fare you well, I love you more than words can tell,
Listen to the river sing sweet songs, to rock my soul. http://youtu.be/TG48Pwy__1c THIS is my favorite look on a Sunday. Today, the salon is closed so it's like a Sunday! We had a fabulous Christmas - the house was filled with 24 people from age 7 to 85. I took no pictures; I just basked in going from room to room and chatting with different people. Bella doesn't feel all that hot, so we may head out to Urgent Care to get her checked out. When I called a little while ago I was told the wait was two hours, at the minimum. No one wants to wait that long in a room full of other sick people. She can get seen at her primary tomorrow and just rest in for today in HER jammies. As we head into 2015 I hope to write more, eat less and live abundantly. It seems so simple on paper. xo My friend Candace will love this. I googled "songs about relaxing." THIS song, came in number 1 out of 30 from this article. I am no Superman
I have no answers for you I am no hero Oh, that's for sure But I do know one thing Is here you are is where I belong I do know where you go Is where I want to be http://youtu.be/qjykrjAS5bQ This is my version of church. My homily of the day with guest speakers. Today, the news remains unbearable. So much senseless violence happens on the planet on a daily basis that it hurts my heart. It is so fucking exhausting to read about mothers killing their kids, cops being shot gang style, human beings being targeted because of their color, their sexuality, their religion (this is the one that pisses me off the most - what - your God is "better" than the other God?!), this war, that war, a kidnapping, a murder, a rape, a beloved Bill Cosby no longer beloved, the injustices of so many people for so many reasons and let's not forget to be jolly.
For centuries, this kind of behavior has been going on. Eons of people not listening to each other. Not understanding. Trying to force the views of one another ON each other. When will the tide turn? I don't have an answer. I can't even pretend to. I just wish the mindless violence would stop. In the name of love. xo ALL the lyrics matter.
U2 - Pride (In The Name Of Love) One man come in the name of love One man come and go One man come here to justify One man to overthrow In the name of love! One man in the name of love In the name of love! What more? In the name of love! One man caught on a barbed wire fence One man he resists One man washed on an empty beach One man betrayed with a kiss In the name of love! What more in the name of love? In the name of love! What more? In the name of love! Early morning, April 4 Shot rings out in the Memphis sky Free at last, they took your life They could not take your pride In the name of love! What more in the name of love? In the name of love! What more in the name of love? In the name of love! What more in the name of love... http://youtu.be/sxFY861LR2E The news is brutal this week. The news is brutal every day, but when kids are involved it always seems that much worse. In order to combat the bad news I have decided today I will share some of the funnier, kinder, gentler, nicer stuff I have seen about recently. First, Happy Hannukah to all who celebrate. THIS made me giggle. THIS is one of my favorite videos I saw posted on Facebook. It's so worth the watch. http://youtu.be/NoHp2Rq8sMI "Giving is the right thing to do." ~ Jarrett Wilson, age 9 This kid won a Samsung Galaxy Tablet and then decided to sell it so he could buy gifts for the kids on the giving tree. Watch the video. It reminds you how good a heart can be. http://youtu.be/lBh-v8CuN44 I know of many families that have been affected by cancer over the years. My sister Jane is very involved in Relay For Life and shared this story from USA Today. If you haven't bought a calendar for 2015 yet, may I suggest this one? http://youtu.be/P6VAgoruTYU Go out of your way today to find GOOD NEWS. To find things that make you smile or giggle or laugh or guffaw. It will take you on a mini vacation and help you to breathe just a little easier. xo I read about the atrocities all over the world and I have to shut down. I can't do anything except read in horror about the madness playing out all over this globe. It makes it seem like what I want to write about is drivel in comparison. So, sometimes, I just don't and can't write. Yet, with all the horror, there is also much joy. Much love. Much hope. Much faith in whatever it is that your faith is. My every day drivel is the every day drivel of so many. Thus, I ultimately share. My profound belief is that people are good. xo Every year, Christmas falls on December 25. It has not deviated from this date in all the years I have been celebrating it. And yet, I remain particularly astounded this year at how utterly unprepared I am for it. I haven't mailed Christmas cards in something like three years. If you're my friend on FB or you read this blog you get a fair showing of my kids throughout the year. At this point in their lives they aren't changing all that much. The dog looks essentially the same. I LOVE each and every card I receive. LOVE THEM. I am in awe of those of you who get that done. The fake tree has been in the living room for two weeks. For the first week the top half of the lights weren't working. That got fixed. Now, it's by its lonesome, forlornly looking for an ornament or two to be added to it. I have bin upon bin of Christmas paraphernalia and none of the wherewithal to bring it up, set it up, bask in it for a few weeks and then put it all away. I cannot understand how I got so much more done when the kids were little. I decided it was because of the magic of Christmas when they were younger. It had to be done. Santa was coming and my god, it WILL look like a wonderland no matter what. In those days I telecommuted and had hour upon hour of conference calls. I couldn't get pinged on an IM as that technology didn't exist yet. And so, with my headset on and my phone attached to my body I could do tons of holiday prep work and still participate in the mind-numbing event called a conference call. I would start baking in November. I don't even know if I have enough ingredients on hand for a full batch of Toll House these days. My children need nothing. Zero, Zip. Zilch. Nada. Peter ordered his own gifts, had them shipped to his dorm room, then asked me to pay him back. Bella still has a pair of boots from LAST Christmas, brand new, in the box, because she hasn't treated them yet. It is madness I say. And yet. And yet. And yet, it will somehow get done. There will still be a couple of gifts under the tree. The insanity of little kids is gone and with it come kids who want to sleep past noon and hang out in jammies all day long. It beats the 6:00AM wake-ups. I am not alone. This is the story in countless households across the land. For today, I will continue to do what I can while attempting to remain in a holiday mood. I wish *you* the same kind of day. xo Magic from Pentatonix.
It astounds me what they can do with only voices. The video is fun to watch! http://youtu.be/jt3oAyK_IG8 I began this several days ago and have been sitting on it. It was percolating in my head and my heart. It is long. I was born in Bay Ridge Brooklyn where I spent the first six years of my life, 99.5% of which I have no memory of. We moved to the "country," Massapequa, on Long Island, where all my formidable growing up really happened. Massapequa was often called Matzoh-Pizza back then due to the large Jewish and Italian population. I was a half Irish mutt. My graduating class of over 600 students had less than ten black kids. With that said, I was raised color blind. My parents taught us from birth, we all bleed red, and that's all that matters. I learned LOVE WINS way before Glennon Doyle Melton coined that as her own phrase. I was brought to rally's of every kind. I was taught chants to shout during boycotts. I went to every church denomination in order to experience faith at a gut level. When I was a young teenager, one of my friends made the ginormous mistake of saying the "N" word at my dinner table. My father didn't say a lot to our friends, but I can assure you THAT day, my dad let this kid know that was UNACCEPTABLE in our home. I didn't experience or participate in racial prejudice except to fight against it. I confess to having prejudices against morons and people who refuse to use their directional signal. I once pondered if we were all blind, color would have no meaning. Smell probably would. Vocal tones probably would. The texture of clothes probably would. I am privileged. I was born a white female in 1961. I have never had racial slurs yelled at me. I will never have a black son. I will never have to wonder if I am being pulled over because of the color of my skin; I can assure you it will because I was speeding. I have worked with men and women of every color, religion and sexual preference. I have had but a handful of black friends. I live in a predominately white community. My friend Leigh is a woman of color. She is my "go to" woman when it comes to Girl Scout issues, dance discussions, college angst, the fact that our dogs are litter mates and equally fabulous and dumb at same time. I know she is black. From my side of the the relationship, it has never been an issue, because she is and always has been, Leigh to me. Soccer sideline mama. The woman whose kitchen I was sitting in when the first drafts of TGHR logo were produced. My friend. She posts inspiring FB posts that MAKE ME THINK. I like to read diverse opinions on a myriad of thoughts. I disdain blanket statements. I have a very hard time when others chose a stand based on political party lines, because at this point in time, politics is a free for all horror show. And that includes Olivia Pope, thank you very much. Fuck fifty shades of gray. We are one million shades of human. At one point I lived in Edison, NJ. My absolute dearest friend was Sharon. She and her then husband Leo were a young, gorgeous couple with a baby girl. Sharon described their skin colors to me. Sharon's was "espresso bean black," Leo's was, "light cappuccino," and baby Jenna was as dark as her mama. The more I got to know them, the more I loved them. THE PEOPLE. I still have Sharon's mama's "Shirley Chops" recipe in my binder, and I have a shirt Leo gave me a hundred years ago that is oh, so, tattered. Both Sharon and Leo were professionals who dressed to the nines. Leo was a buyer at the time for Ralph Lauren. It was stepping stone to many more lucrative jobs in the fashion industry. He wore exquisite suits. I will never forget the story Sharon shared with me when Leo, in an overcoat, with a Coach briefcase, shoes shined so bright you could see your reflection in them, and Sharon, dressed in heels, an overcoat, stunning make-up, asked someone for the time. The person on the street they asked backed away. Leo had a presence. He, a 6'4", shaved head black man, and his tall wife asked the time and the person they asked was frightened. I repeat. I was born a white girl. I have never experienced this. When she became pregnant with her second child, the obvious truth was there was a 50-50 chance the baby could be a boy. And as the mama of a black son, Sharon was scared for a kid who wasn't even born yet. Max was born. A beautiful, amazing, wondrous son. And she was worried and concerned and he was one hour old. I ask all my white friends to think about if you were ever scared for your child before your child was even born because of their skin color? I doubt it. Sharon and I lost touch over the years. (While I was writing this I tried to search her out on FB and couldn't find her.) But her stories (this is but one) have stayed with me for close to thirty years. I managed an office in NYC and most of the women who worked for us (an additional three other managers, the one other woman was black) at that particular location were all black. I think we had close to 40 employees working in that department. They taught me a lot about being mom's to black sons. They taught me about being mom's to black girls. They taught me about being daughters, wives and sisters in a black family. Mostly, though, they taught me to LISTEN. When I left they gave me a Coach bag. A sumptuous, caramel colored, leather bag I used with pride and fabulous memories until it basically disintegrated. When I worked in White Plains, I had one black woman working for me among a whole lot of older Irish moms, and she taught me a few assorted quirky things I don't dare share here. And so, again I state the obvious, I am white. My uncle was a NYC cop. It is a one time thing, we don't have generations of cops. When the Ferguson story was all over my newsfeed I felt a survivors guilt. I felt the same way with Trayvon Martin. I felt the same way about Dillon Taylor. I feel the same about Eric Garner. I personally don't know ONE person who was AT the scene of any of these events. I can read the millions of words written about these cases and more. I can read the posts on FB from law enforcement people. I can read the blogs that make you sit and think. Benjamin Watson's FB post is profound. (read it HERE) The interview with Chris Rock in New York magazine is brilliant. (read it HERE) Charles Barkley has been equally vocal. (read some of it HERE) But at no point do I feel I know "the truth" about any of these cases because the truth is so mired in media bullshit. And also, you know, I wasn't there. What I DO believe is perhaps naive, coupled with a rose colored glasses approach to life. There are people who will always stir the pot. There are people who will always believe in only black and white answers. There are people who will do horrible, horrific things. There are thugs. There are thieves. There are heroes. There are angels. None of these people are a particular color. We are taught hatred, and bias, and how to be a criminal from other criminals. We are taught love and kindness and compassion from other like minded people. Children are colorblind until someone truly points it out to them. As a HUMAN race we have GOT to take many long minutes to breathe. To stop being afraid. Fear is what incites anger. It can also incite peace. May all of our collective fears start working to bring about some peace. Some dialog. Some COMPASSION. It is my single greatest hope for our future. xo We can chase down all our enemies
Bring them to their knees We can bomb the world to pieces But we can't bomb it into peace http://youtu.be/Bia9FdO-X0c Several years ago, I read a blog post from The Bloggess. It is one of THE greatest posts ever written because you laugh out loud from the beginning until the end. I have it saved as a bookmark and no matter when I read it, I laugh. I shared it. I continue to share it. And now, I will share it again so you can see where this is all coming from. Go ahead and read it and then come back here. And that’s why you should learn to pick your battles. Welcome back! Last week, after the great friend surprise, my sister texted me that she had found me THE best gift EVER. Jane always gets excellent gifts, so I knew it must be REALLY good. I was told to sit on the couch and not look. Peter and Doug went to the car to get it. Jane took the picture above when the chicken came into the house. Seriously, this is awesome. My friend Clare has had Baby Beyonce for a while and I think she/he has to come home to roost for a bit with this darling cock. (Yes, I had to go there...) I put the picture on Facebook, laughing the whole time, and tagged my fellow Jenny Lawson friends. There is a tad bit of jealousy, along with probable relief that this giant chicken isn't in their own homes. Naturally, this chicken needs a name. He came in as Roger Rooster a la Doug, but I think something more fabulous is in order. What say you? I enjoy Reginald for some mad reason...I've been reading a trilogy from British author, Gil McNeil, and it sounds oh so dashing to me at the moment. OF COURSE this poultry delight HAS to be in the Magic Basement. Where else could it possibly reside? That was the start to a perfect day. THE most perfect Thanksgiving in the history of our Thanksgivings. Just eight of us, delicious food, (fabulous left overs today!), lots of laughs and a grand 'ole time. Here's hoping you had a spectacular Thanksgiving. xo PS - I know a few people in the New England states who got hammered by the weather and had no power. Good for you for Bar-B-Queing your turkeys, for using propane and for making gratitude happen despite Mother Nature's tricks. As I prepare to leave my house this morning to do some shopping for Thanksgiving and the return of my favorite son to the house for the week, I am reminded how fortunate I am to be able TO shop. During the holidays I become hyper aware of how little so many have thanks to many heart wrenching articles, videos, or blog posts, that remind me just how blessed my family is. One of my salon friends posted this list on her FB page after she went to the local food bank and found the shelves particularly bare. A week after she posted it, she let me know the shelves were wonderfully stocked. Need has no timeline. BUT, at this time of year, if you are a coupon clipper, or some of the items are "buy one, get one free," consider putting together a box of some of these items and drop it off at the food bank. Click HERE for the link for the Westchester Food Banks. xo 10 Things Food Banks Need But Won’t Ask For Some items are in high demand at the food bank and you may not realize it. Because they aren’t essentials, the staff doesn’t publicly ask for them. A survey on Reddit.com asked volunteers what items people would be most appreciative of and we’ve listed the top 10 below. If you’re looking for an easy way to help out, pick some of these up while shopping and drop them off at one of our area food banks. 1. Spices. Think about it. People who rely on the food bank eat a lot of canned food, rice, oatmeal, white bread, etc. They love spices. Seasoned salt, cayenne pepper, chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, oregano, basil and so on. 2. Feminine Products. Can you imagine being worried about affording these? Pads, tampons, panty liners, etc. Recommended: Buy in bulk at Costco for donating. 3. Chocolate. People don’t need it, but think about being in their shoes and how nice it would be to be given a chocolate bar or brownie mix along with your essentials. 4. Toiletries. Grocery stores are great about donating surplus or unsold food, but they have no reason to donate toilet paper, tooth paste, soap, deodorant, shampoo, etc. Food stamps often don’t cover these. 5. Canned meats and jerky. This isn't true of all food banks, but some struggle to give users enough protein. 6. Crackers and tortillas. They don’t spoil and everybody likes them. 7. Baby toiletries. Diapers, baby wipes, baby formula, baby shampoo, baby soap, baby food, bottles, etc. 8. Soup packets. Sometimes you look at rice, beans, instant potatoes, and cans of vegetable and think, “What do I make with this?” Hearty soup is a complete meal. 9. Socks. From a former homeless person: “Socks mean the world to you. They keep you warm, make you feel like you have something new, and just comfort you.” 10. Canned fruit other than pineapple. Food banks get a lot of pineapple donated. Their clients love it when other kinds of fruit are available. And remember! Food banks love cash donations because it allows them to buy whatever they need! List taken from: http://bit.ly/tghr20141124 THIS. This is what my Saturday afternoon looked like. One of THE biggest surprises of my life. Cathi texted me last Thursday to ask how far away from Marist College I was. She asked me if I was working. We went back and forth about life, kids and college. Then, we went about our day. APPARENTLY, on her end, there were texts going back and forth that said, "Road Trip?" Imagine my utter delight when these five women walked into the salon! I cried. I sputtered. I couldn't believe my eyes. Saturday at the salon is always busy. The Saturday before Thanksgiving is mayhem. STILL. These women came up to surprise ME. Well, you know already the staff at the salon is over the top awesome. Taking turns, Kathy, my fellow Long Island girl, Leslie and Nicole ran the front desk for almost an hour so we could go out to lunch and catch up. So. Much. Laughter. We called our friend, Jean, who lives in California so she could be part of the fun. We wanted to Facetime her, but alas, it didn't work. Sharon lives in California too, so it was QUITE the shock to see her face so soon after our reunion. We are women who have held each other up through heartache, through acne, through college, through marriage, through kids, through divorce, through death, through all the trials that this miraculous event called life gives us. We have grown up into amazing women with such interesting lives. Each one of us is a shining star. I wish I could have been part of the road trip, because I can only imagine what else Dr. Susan could have taught me... These are not the everyday friends you have through work or from the neighborhood. These are the friends from WAY back when. Who know some of your deepest fears and dreams and secrets because they lived through them WITH you, as teenagers, those angst filled days. Time and distance melts away when you are with the people who "knew you when." THANK YOU Girls! Oh. My. God. I wish you each the same kind of beautiful surprise in your own lives. I get teary eyes just thinking about it. ALL LOVE to Bonnie, Cathi, Cindy, Sharon and Susan. ALL LOVE to Jean and Amy who joined us all this morning via a group message gone mad. xo PS - JEAN gets song credit. I asked. She answered. You just call out my name,
And you know where ever I am, I'll come running... http://youtu.be/r-n2yuwTcmc Last night, at 6:10pm Bella received her first college acceptance email. The 6:10 is important because that's her birthday, June 10. For a kid who doesn't believe in nearly anything her mother or grandmother does, she noticed this. I think (hope) the pressure is off now. She can relax and wait for the next five colleges to get back to her. It will certainly make it easier to live with her! While I was looking around for a quote or song or something to add to this, I found this beautiful video. You will love it. It is just over a minute. http://youtu.be/2UtymXSMsDU This is from Rion's mom, Susan, under the YouTube comments. She wrote it 11 months ago:
She wrote THIS three weeks ago.
As a parent I want my kids to be happy. Peter is thriving at college. Bella is thriving in high school. The pressure they are under far surpasses anything I dealt with at their ages as far as "my future" went. WAY back then you were "guaranteed" a job for life if you were hired by certain companies. Well, I got laid off by the phone company and that was one of the places that gave you job security. So much for that fantasy. The latest statistics state most people will have 12 to 15 jobs in their lifetime; they will work 4.4 years per job. Peter applied to ONE college Early Decision. He was accepted by early November and knew where he was going. There was no emotional trauma. It is an entirely different experience with Bella. The competition for college is unfathomable to me (maybe because I didn't graduate until I was 51?!) and to experience the angst of a kid waiting to get accepted is like living on a see-saw. Until we hear from the other five schools, we will just delight in the one acceptance, so far. Because you want to know, Bella applied to: SUNY Binghamton SUNY New Paltz St. John Fischer College - that would be SO convenient Ithaca Northeastern University of Vermont - ACCEPTED (!) I want my kids to be happy. I want them to enjoy their college experience. I want them to have jobs that provide them with quasi security. I want them to live life to the fullest. xo I'm doing all right, getting good grades
The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades http://youtu.be/8qrriKcwvlY If you are on FB, you saw I created an event for this yesterday. If you have been part of TGHR from the get go, you know this event is a L-O-N-G time coming. It's funny how life works out. TWO YEARS ago I went to a Women's Symposium. I was a participant. Kacey was the emcee. Demitra was a speaker. The symposium ceased to be and Kacey and I decided we would try to pull something off. Life got in the way for a million reasons that I'm sure Demitra could explain and it didn't happen in 2013. Or 2014. Last winter the three of us met for lunch and conversation at my house. Just 'cuz. We didn't even talk about having an event. We just chatted like girls do and we spoke of how to tweak websites. During the early summer, Kacey and I actually met to discuss making this happen. Well, we all know what I happened. I fell down and went boom. Kacey opened a reiki practice. Demitra had her life happen. But somehow, someway, through the magic of emails, text, and runs to Sam's Club, despite not having the venue we thought we would, we are committed to making this happen. Naturally, people want to know what the day is about.
To learn more about Kacey, visit her website, Kacey On The Radio. To learn more about Demitra, visit her website, Heaven to Earth Astrology. The best part about her website? The home page is your daily horoscope. To buy tickets to the event, visit this page, January 11 ~ A Day About & For Women. Graphics once again, designed by the supremely talented Kelly McKinley of Pak Creative. There will be lots more on this as the day draws near, but that's what I've got for you now. I hope to see you. xo I'm a woman
Phenomenal woman Yes, indeed 'Cause I'm a woman Phenomenal woman Baby, that's me http://youtu.be/Ej1_4WDlQZo I live in a pretty nice house with heat, and hot water, and the ability to house a bunch of kids tonight for the Malcom Bump Debate Tournament that goes on at our high school each year. It will be the third time we've done it for the debaters. They get picked up at 10:00-ish tonight, they collapse into bed, and are up and at 'em by 7:15 Saturday morning. Every year it's hard to get enough families to house the kids and I always think to myself, I would want someone like me to house MY kids if they needed it. So, we get a few snacks, get some Dunkin' Donuts, apples, and strawberries and send them off to argue for the sheer fun of it. I write this because I have a friend, Elisha, who is doing amazing work for at-risk teenage girls. The polar opposite of the teenage girl who lives in my house and the girls I will be housing tonight. Their mission is to help a particularly vulnerable group, exploited and at-risk teenage girls through their organization, The Crossover Yoga Project. They bring a curriculum of yoga and creative art therapy to girls in the juvenile justice system, empowering them to make positive changes for a better future. I urge you to learn about it HERE, watch the video, and give what you can afford to give. Because it's Friday, and, because we are ROCKING the salon with '80's music these past few days, we shall, of course, dance! When this song came on yesterday, I squealed. Mark your calendar for January 11, 2015 from 9:00 - 3:00 and plan to be at Backstage Salon for an intimate day about and for women. Your investment will be $65 and it will include a light breakfast and lunch. More details to follow. I am SO excited! Jen Pellingra, my talented, amazing, wonderful massage therapist has a brand new website and blog! Launched just yesterday it allows you to buy gift certificates right then and there. I am sending you DIRECTLY to her blog where she has written a beautiful entry about peace. After you read it, buy a GC or call her for an appointment. She is life changing. http://www.jenpellingra.com/blog <-- hurry! I wanted to share the pictures the uber generous and talented Rana Faure took from the Cut-A-Thon. I am including the link to the page on Backstage's website. Such a rewarding and fabulous day! http://www.backstagesaloncroton.com/cut-a-thon-pictures.html The Piano Guys are at it again and released this video last night. OK, it's not Friday, but I say, let's dance anyway! It's fabulous when you mix Dave Matthews with Beethoven. They are having a concert at Carnegie Hall in March. I saw them last year and I can tell you it's well worth it. xo I have been creative in my head these last few days while getting "stuff" done. Kacey and I have been ironing out the details of our day retreat. I got my cards read by Shyla. The third book, Blood Magic, in the Nora Robert's The Cousins O'Dwyer trilogy was released, so of course I spent a day reading that. I got caught up on paperwork for the salon. I got caught up on hulu. I did laundry. I made a pot roast and chicken soup. I still have a ton of filing to do and I don't love filing, but it must get done. All the mundane stuff that goes into being human. How much of our life do we think about just before we fall asleep? How many creative ideas are borne out of weariness? My guess? A lot. I really love Bob Dylan's lyrics. I really do not like his voice. Susan Tedeschi may have one of my favorite new voices (to me) and her cover of this is magnificent. xo AH, the air is crisp, the moon is full, and it's Saturday! You already ARE awesome. Make today awesome as well. Since we didn't dance yesterday we can do so this morning. xo Send healing thoughts out to my friend Lisa's son Will. From her FB page: Will is being admitted to the hospital to treat an infection of the bone, muscle and joint. He will likely be there for the week as they work to find the right course of antibiotics. Prayers we get on the right drugs soon and that he gets some pain relief. As you all know, I didn't go away to college right after high school, so this is a ritual I am not familiar with. Many of my friends were dropped off on move-in weekend and then didn't come home until Thanksgiving. Parents rarely visited, calls were made on a pay phone in the hall and you were forced out of the comfort of your high school life into college life. I was looking forward to this event so I could see Peter and so Bella could officially tour the school. We arrived on Halloween and went to dinner. It was a lot of fun and terrific to see Peter in this new environment. We went to Wegmans in Pittsford after dinner so we could load Peter up with water and so I could get a look at the place. It's impressive. We dropped Peter back off at his dorm so he could do some college age trick or treating. On Saturday, the weather was a mix of cold, wet, and miserable. Saturday morning we went to the info session and then on a tour of the school. For the most part, I had only seen Peter's dorm room; I love the place. Bella has already applied there; it was terrific for her to get a good look as well. What was especially excellent was that we had our own tour guide. It made asking a ton of questions very easy. We had tickets to a football game we quickly kaboshed. I don't like sitting in the rain watching kids I do know, to sit watching kids I don't know seemed like a recipe for disaster on my mood. Which was spiraling downward. I was now on Peter's turf. This was his new home. He felt a need to entertain us and that really wasn't all that fair to him. He did, though, suggest a stroll through the mall. If you know me, even a little, you know shopping is not my thing. But I put on my big girl panties and we really did have a nice time just being together. My dear friend Claire grew up in Rochester and had suggested a restaurant to eat at. It was perfect and exactly what we needed for an early dinner. Bella stayed overnight with Peter. They went to a party. Apparently my children "ruled the pong table." SO PROUD. For the record, no drinking was admitted to being done in my presence. OF COURSE I know the drinking age is 21. To my knowledge, it has not, nor will it ever happen in my house until they are of legal age. BUT... Teens are sneaky little bastards. God knows, I was. Bella met a ton of kids, all of whom felt it was their responsibility to tell her she HAD TO COME TO FISHER, except for one, who thought Northeastern was the way to go. We ate out, one last time, at Peter's request. We laughed. A lot. The ride home took one million years. Seriously. Family Weekend is a wonderful event for parents who worry about their kids. I'm not a worrier. It is costly. I would only do it for a Freshman. Unless they need MY expertise at the pong table... xo So hand me one more
That's what I'm here for I'm built for having a ball I love the nightlife I love my Bud light I like 'em cold and tall http://youtu.be/XtMy5IBmX7E |
Maggie PinqueBeliever in making dreams come true. Archives
January 2021
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