I Am

I’m searching for the perfect, authentic life for me. For several years, I was a part of a 12-step Alanon group meeting weekly. At the end of the meeting, after either taking turns talking about the selected topic or to review what was happening in our lives, we would stand in a circle and hold hands to recite the Serenity Prayer. Before we did, we would all chant: “I am not perfect!” in an effort to take away our shame at not being picture perfect human beings. I can be perfectly me and that’s all I can be. I look at TV, movie, magazine, and Internet models of lifestyles and I have to remind myself that I have to create my own model; no matter how hard I mimic others behaviors or buy products to look and live like others, in the final analysis I have to be me. With all my faults, my memories, my personal experiences and perceptions … I can only be me. And isn’t it wonderful? To totally be me, to dig deep inside and feel myself experience life authentically, to have enough self-confidence to be happy being me. To like myself – that is the key! For so many years I mirrored others – behavior, style, choices … and now, at 55, I find myself being a blend of all that came before, being the sum of all I have experienced and been influenced by. I seem to feel truly full and content within my own skin. For perhaps the first time in my life. Every day I am still learning about life and love and how to grasp the here and now. No longer filled with so much angst … that feeling has been replaced I think by a curiosity, a wondering – what now? How do I live, how do I love, now? So much of my life has been an exercise in sleepwalking … am I awakening too late to achieve my full potential as a living being? I love the quest, I pick up the thrown gauntlet that has been tossed at my feet. I am.

Sunglasses

According to the contributors at Wikipedia, 12th century Chinese judges used panes of smoky quartz crystals to hide their facial expressions when questioning witnesses, and other documentation indicates the crystals use for others to protect their eyes from glare. Sunglasses have come a long way, baby, as this week’s collage illustrates. Ah, is that YOU behind those Foster Grants?

Pictures subject to copyright by respective owners.

Ruffles

I love ruffles on skirts, curtains, flowers, and chips. I’ve selected examples of fashionable ruffles circa the 1700s through 2008 off the Internet and from my personal collection for this week’s collage. Ruffles just seem to add that little extra flirtiness and fun to every day life.

Pictures subject to copyright by respective owners.

Sky Watch Friday

A summer evening on Sunset Beach in San Francisco, California.

Please join us at Sky Watch Friday for more sky-views around the world and to perhaps add one of your own. Enjoy!

Or:  http://skyley.blogspot.com/

Curlers Partie Deux

According to Web site Hair Dressing “The ancient Egyptians practiced curling hair with wooden sticks and mud. First they wrapped the hair with a layer of mud from hot springs around sticks. Then they dried the mud wrapped hair in the sun and later removed it … the mud had an alkaline chemical makeup that helped the curls to set.” Step right up for an application of mud setting gel folks … My personal favorite method is rag curls, which I grew up with. Later model Jean Shrimpton’s iconic curls in her Yardley ad inspired big curls pinned up or tumbling all over my head when I was in my teens (when I wasn’t busy ironing my hair straight on my mom’s ironing board). And now … well, usually no curlers, just air dry and let it flow naturally … lathering on the gook to try to tame it, shine it, and unfrizzy it… maybe mud isn’t such a bad idea after all!

All pictures on my collage (except the one of moi) from public Internet searches are subject to owner’s copyrights and used here strictly for educational purpose.

Wishful Wants

Adriana Papell beaded jacket at www.nordstroms.com

Courtesy of www.jessicamcclintock.com

Waiting for part 2 of Stevie Nick’s Soundstage concert performance airing tonight on my local PBS station, I found some clothing pieces in the style of Stevie I would love to own for myself.

21 Things to Stop Waiting for in Life

Thanks to the September 2006 issue of Glamour magazine I stumbled upon when I was clearing

off a bookshelf (while NOT waiting to get in the mood for decluttering … just doing it, see #17 below), I spotted the article by Kimberly Bonnell and Pamela Satran “12 Things to Stop Waiting for in Life.” So, here are their 12 things that I agree with, plus 9 more of mine:

 

 

 

Age, It’s Just a Number

My favorite public entertainer, Stevie Nicks, is on tour this summer in all her swirling silky-chiffonny magic.  Stevie chats about past-present-future in a recent interview on the road. My favorite quote from this interview posted June 13, yesterday, on BND.com is regarding turning 60 years old in May:

“Really, it is just a number,” said Nicks, “but an important one. Better than the alternative. I would say. I’ve never been one to be obsessed with my numerical age. I really do believe you are as young as you feel, and as long as you are happy within yourself and good to others, your youth shines through, no matter what your age. It’s all about change.. in lifestyle, diet, and emotionally. Age is about learning and growing, not your number.”

For Mac fans, Stevie hints at a possible new Fleetwood Mac adventure in recording and touring. Stevie also suggests she’s working on material for a possible Rhiannon movie project. This is a project I hope materializes and remains faithful to Stevie’s vision of this legendary character she brought to life with her haunting song so many years ago.

Visit Stevie’s official Website for tour information at nicksfix.com

Branding

I read on a couple other sites a meme on branding and I was intrigued enough to explore this concept. I am amazed at all the products I use to get me out the door most work-day mornings. Some brands are really alternates, i.e. instant coffee some mornings and drip others, so I tried to incorporate all alternatives I might use any given morning. This is an interesting exercise and one that may make me more mindful going forward on all the different products and goods I consume and use every day that might be simplified or eliminated.

Thanks for the idea La Vie Quotidienne

And Une Femme’s suggested book review reading at the Salon “We are what we buy.”

Curlers

Stevie Nicks, my continued source of inspiration, turns 60 in a couple days. I am just a few years behind her and have spent the last 30+ years listening to her songs, experiencing live concert performances solo and with others, i.e. Fleetwood Mac and Tom Petty, watching videos, TV specials, and voraciously reading everything online and in other print media about her. Yeah, I’m a fan. Stevie’s song catalog is so diverse and I can always find a song (both published and not) that fits situations and moods I find myself in. I have enormous respect for Stevie’s survival instincts and how she just keeps on being herself regardless of what hand she’s dealt (and she has paid a price for it, I know). This photograph is decidedly not the most flattering of this woman, however it makes her much more human, in my eyes. This photo from last year (Stevie on her way to a sound check while on tour) inspired me to run out and buy some huge hair curlers … I happen to have long hair similar to Stevie’s (no extensions, however!), and usually just let it air-dry to a loose wave. But I tried this ‘do, and I learned another valuable lesson. Comparing myself to Stevie I have to say, even when we are both in curlers, I can’t hold a candle to La Nicks! So Stevie, again I applaud your style and embrace your courage to keep on showing the world – or at least those who want to know – who you are! Long live this goddess of rock’n'roll.

Links:

Stevie Nicks in Wikipedia

Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac forum The Ledge