Another Day Goes By

"That Space..."

Yes, "that space". You know it. It pops up everywhere. It's "that space" between being almost done and actually being done - that place where you want quit because you just know you can't do it. "That space" pops up in 90 minutes of yoga everyday. I hit rabbit and I'm positively sure I can't make it three more postures to spine twist. It pops up in a two month long period of illustrating a children's book. I get the book laid out. I make a thumbnail map. I sketch the hero. I begin the thumbnails, do three, and decide maybe I can't complete this when I think of turning each thumbnail into a major work of art. It pops up in a two-year long ordeal of detaching with love in a relationship that no longer fits. I go weeks doing well, then the tug of war between me and God starts. I wrestle it all back, begin to doubt myself, and give it back to God, only to start again in a few weeks time. Whether it's 90 minutes, 2 months, or 2 years, that space always shows up. Yes, I know you know "that space".

What I have recently figured out about being in "that space" is that's the place they're talking about in all those inspirational quotes that that tell you to push through when your back is against the wall. In the new music video by The Script that I saw this morning, it is the place where the dancer puts her forehead against the mirror, almost succumbing to the odds of a deaf girl becoming a prima ballerina. When I end up in "that space", it's an ah..ha moment for me - sooooo....that's "the space" they meant.

Examining "that space" changed my attitude when I'm in it. Instead of more moaning and groaning about how I cannot do this one more minute, I stop and feel it and think that THIS is the exact time all that inspiration is talking about. THIS is how it feels. Now - stop the pity party and push on through. Get through those last three poses, even if they are not perfect. Draw that next picture - keep in mind it doesn't have to be used. Let go of taking back control, playing the victim, and manipulation and let God deal with it by attending to and participating in all the new blessings He brings to my life everyday.

Feel that space. Move through it. Don't get stuck there. Finish. It'd be great to finish strong, but for now, just finishing will do. Meeting a goal is great, but how it has changed your very core by the time spent in "that space" is the essence of the journey.

And so, as a other day goes by, I love saying, "So this is what they meant", it is a sign of new growth, and....I have written.

Hallowed

Happy New Year to all my readers. In these first minutes of 2013, let us contemplate peace, love, and joy. Where is that better to be found than in your God? I have a friend I met in yoga class that is the vocalist for the Christian band Skywatch - a wonderful local band here on Cape Cod. Her voice is like an angel and she recorded this version of the Lord's Prayer to ring in the new year.

On this Happy New Year night I can't think of a more fitting way to welcome what lies ahead in this brand new year. So, from her to me, and from me to you, please click on the link below and enjoy and absorb the meaning of "Hallowed" by my dear friend, Jo-Anne Petty and her band Skywatch.

And so, as the first day of the new year begins to go by, may your God bless you and keep you in this new year, and...I have written.

Hallowed

Not On TV....But....

Last night I was watching the X Factor finals. I've been pulling for Carly since I saw her audition back in September. Last night she sang a Xmas song and after that there was a tribute from her classmates, piano teacher, and family. They all couldn't believe they were seeing her on TV. They were so proud and supportive of her.

I sat here trying to imagine how they felt tonight. Then I thought of my own two girls. They're not pop stars on TV. They do not sing. One is a special education teacher in upstate NY and the other is a graphic designer in Boston. But you know what? I was just as proud as those parents on that show. In different venues, my girls have worked and fought just as hard to get where they are today in this world and this economy. They slayed the competition in their respective fields for their jobs. Their performances were a cut above the rest. They both showed dedication, perseverance, determination, and were forces to be reckoned with.

They are true rock stars in my book. I am as proud of them and what they have done with their lives as Mrs. Sonenclar is about Carly. I sit here tonight, just like her, and know both of my daughters have extremely bright futures and they didn't even have to go on TV or win five million dollars to do it. They just had to love themselves, believe in themselves, and go for that brass ring they envisioned since high school.

Erin and Ashley, I'm so proud to call you two beautiful young women my daughters. Everyday I look at your photos and think about how much I admire you and all you have accomplished. You may think I have taught you a lot, but it is the both of you who have been my finest teacher. Through you I learned to be patient, non-judgemental, a listener instead of a speaker, to kick self-pity to the curb, to always stop and examine both sides, to love life and attack it with a vengeance, just you both do, to get back up and try no matter what happens, and, most of all, you taught me what unconditional love is. To me, that is a Rockstar performance.

And so, as another day goes by, here's to you my babygirls, I love you more than you know, tonight I dedicated this post to you, and...I have written.

Related articles

VIDEO: Carly Rose Watch: Sonenclar Takes on Beyonce, Bieber

Life In The iCloud

Oh my. I didn't realize the heavens were going to open up when I invited iCloud onto my Mac Sunday night. Installing Mountain Lion was such an ordeal that I stayed away from the computer for the past two days. Tonight I ventured back onto it. Oh my.

When my desktop opened, my text messages from my phone were on it. Fifteen minutes later I found the culprit. A little messenger guy that now sits on my desktop. I didn't sign up for him, but there he is delivering me my text messages from Siri on my iPhone.

Next I opened my email. Oh my. Oh my, my, my. It was now in the format that appears on the iPad. I don't have an iPad. I'm not familiar with this. When I clicked on a message with the subject RE: Hi, not only did I get that message, but below it was every message I ever got with that subject line - all the way back to 2008. Way much more than what I bargained for!

While all of this was going on, in the upper right hand corner of my screen, new email messages and alerts from my phone were popping up and then disappearing. It now appears my phone is on my computer. I really expected my computer to ring if I got a phone call.

I still had much to do on the computer tonight, but this was already too much. Besides, I'm not allowed wine during the week, so further cloud exploration is going to have to wait until the weekend.

A really great thing I found on Twitter? Alicia Keys flipping the switch to light the Empire State Building illuminating it with the new LED lights. The really cool part was the lights, which are now computer controlled, played along with her new song Girl On Fire and her old song Empire State of Mind. Very, very cool. Take a break with me and just enjoy the video in the article below.

And so, as another day goes by, when learning a new thing it's important to know your limits, step away, and enjoy something totally irrelevant, and...I have written.

PS - I wrote this blog on my phone, saved it to Typepad, then went back to the computer to insert this link - when I got to the computer the screensaver would not go away when I moved the mouse or touched the keyboard.  I had to shut the whole computer off and restart it.  I think I'm gonna need a lot of wine for the weekend.  Enjoy Alicia.....this is so cool on the big computer screen!

Alicia Keys, "Girl On Fire", lights up Empire State Building

 

Photo: Bryan Smith

Just in case you're considering entering the cloud.........

Related articles

Instant expert - Cloud computing

Apple's iCloud Driving Your Family Crazy? Here's How To Restore Synching Sanity

Try

Watching the AMA's on Sunday night, I was so impressed by Pink's performance of the song Try off of her new album, that I had to download the song immediately. I posted that on Facebook and got an immediate response from my daughter - "Dear God.." . This...coming from a Nicki Minaj fan. Need I say more?

My daughter Erin and I have never seen eye to eye when it comes to music, but when it comes to "life" we are best friends. My daughter Erin is one of (the other would be her sister, Ashley)  THE smartest and THE most sincere person I have ever met in the arena of life. Since she was born she has challenged me to step up and be the best Mom and the best person I could possibly be. Her younger sister Ashley is lucky that Erin was born first. Erin demanded that I "Try". She would accept no less. In her middle school years she made me earn everything. She never gave me a free pass. If I was to be HER Mom, I would have to earn that position. Throughout her life with me, Erin never let me get away with being "the victim". She demanded more of me. She required me to be the best that I could be, even in times of extreme duress and I couldn't see what I was actually capable of, she made me step up.

If there was ever a daughter that I was grateful for, it's my Erin. The first born child teaches you things no one else can, boy or girl - the first born has a foothold. They get you raw. Before you even know a fu%#ing thing about being an adult - much less a parent. The first-born teaches you that you have to step up. Time to put yourself aside and exist totally for the betterment of someone else. SHOCKER! You are not number one anymore. Your comforts and well-being don't matter anymore. Their siblings that follow them owe them a big thank you. First-borns pave the way. They make the life of their siblings much easier. They made Mom and Dad realize they are not the important ones here. The next 20 years will be spent doing whatever it takes to get all of you kids educated and settled in a life where you can take care of yourself, make good decisions, and become an upstanding member of society.

Another words - as parents - first-borns teach us to TRY. Thank you, Pink, for reminding me of that by your AMA performance last night. Willy is lucky to have you for a Mom, but I'm sure she'll bring you to your knees and teach you, too, as Erin has taught me.

And so, as another day goes by, with Thanksgiving on our heels, I have to say I'm thankful for both of my girls and all they bring to my life, and...I have written.

Photo: Mine - I took it off the TV :)

Pink comes through again!

"Try" video by Pink (use full screen)

Related articles

• Pink Will Walk The AMAs Red Carpet With Daughter Willow Sage Hart
• Yes, This Happened At The AMAs [Candy Dish]
• Pink Credits Her Rockin' Body To Daughter Willow Sage

I Can't Believe I Did It

I love bright colors. When I was taking art classes last year and trying to find my style, everything I was interested in creating had bright, bold colors that stood out against a contrasting color. My favorite work I did was that of a multicolored beach umbrella against a bright blue sky. When I plan an outfit, I find a bright color against black is my favorite time and time again. Even today, when I was on the computer, the picture across the top of the page was of mini cupcakes frosted in white. They were in a horizontal row and each one had a bright colored heart on it. I almost saved the picture.

Ok. Those are my excuses why I did it. I love the Target commercial with her red lipstick against that bright blue dress and stark white background with the red ribbons. Today on Ellen I loved the white and gray out fit with the stark red lipstick and red guitar against it. And what a concept for a song - loving him is red? That conjures up all kinds of feelings that have nothing to do with color. And loving him is like driving a Maserati down a dead end street? Oh yeah. I know that feeling when loving someone.

Let's face it. It took four albums to make make me push the button, but with this one she nailed it. Nailed me. I.....downloaded.....a....Taylor Swift album.

There. I said it out loud. I admit it to the world. Once again bright colors roped me in. I hope I enjoy myself on my ride to NY tomorrow.

And so, as another day goes by, I just saw my 27 year old daughter's Facebook post: "How old is too old to be excited by a Taylor Swift album?" Haha. Like mother, like daughter, some days a you just gotta laugh, and...I have written.
(See what I mean? I'm really not to blame, really! These pics are from my album entitled "My Favs"...I really couldn't help it!.... It's marketing!) Lol ....

Banana Plants - Literally!

My husband commutes to the Cape from NY every weekend. When he arrives on Friday night, I hold the door open while he brings in his gear. Last night he went back out to his truck after bringing in the last suitcase. He came to the door with a six foot potted banana plant. "Surprise!", he said.

My jaw just dropped. My daughter gave him tiny banana plant shoots over a year ago for Father's Day. He raised them on our kitchen table in our apartment in NY. I had no idea they had turned into floor plants in my absence. Now I had to find a place to put this thing. I had an idea.

In the summer a friend was over and I showed her my serenity room, built for yoga, meditation, art, music, and writing. I did a beautiful job three years ago building this room and getting a new computer so I would have a serene place to write. My friend loved my room, but when I complained that I couldn't sit at the this computer and write, she just looked at me knowingly and smiled. This was something that's bothered me all three years. I have a gorgeous room to work in, but I prefer to sit in the family room and write on my phone. She said, "Of course you can't. The computer isn't by the window." The light went on. She was right. Every writer friend's home I visited had their computer in front of a window. I was going to have to empty this room, clean it, and start from scratch. A full day's work.

I'd been meaning to get to it for three weeks now, but the sudden arrival of this amazing plant made me decide today was the day. I emptied the room, washed the floor and my husband helped me move the commuter table over to the window side of the room. After finding the perfect home for the banana plant, I began putting things back into the room one by one. I soon began to see there were things that I didn't want in the room anymore. I ended up with a pile of stuff in the dining room that I must somehow make disappear. As I dusted objects and redesigned the room, I pondered why this was so. Why do certain things not fit in my room recreation?

The answer was clear. It's been three years since I created that room. I'm not the same person I was three years ago.  Three years ago I hadn't written a single word.  Three years ago this blog didn't exist.  Three years ago my mom was still alive.  Three years ago I was newly retired.  Three years ago I had just moved to a different state.  Things that meant something to me back then, don't hold the same value in my life anymore. Who I used to be, now sits in a pile in a corner of the dining room. My "new" new room reflects who I am now. My soul just moved up another notch on it's journey. Time and experiences have redefined me.

I sit here tonight listening to music I never listened to before, entertaining thoughts new to my brain, and loving the pieces of who I have become that surround me.

And so, as another day goes by, we, like the snakes and the hermit crabs are called upon to shed our skins and change our homes to fit the space of life we now occupy, I love my banana plant and the changes it has forced me to make, and...I have written.

Chiclets, Widgets, & Whatsits

My Ultimate Blog Challenge certainly is living up to its word. Since I've written everyday for two years now, it isn't posting that's giving me a run for my money. First I had to figure out how to post to the challenge sight. That took all morning yesterday. This morning presented new challenges of its own.

Last night I had a great time reading and commenting on everyone else's blog on the challenge site. That's part of the challenge - visit blogs and comment on them. In return, people read my blog and commented. It was great fun as The Voice played in the background. The best thing about it was that I read a lot of posts on promoting your blog and your businesses. One thing that was suggested was if you have a fan page on Facebook for your blog, you should tell your Facebook friends to please go "like" it. So I did.

Well, that started its own little brouhaha. It wouldn't come up in the search. I tried to fix that by posting right from the fan page. That just took people to the blog page. My next recourse was to learn more about the things my dashboard provides that I know are there, but I wouldn't take the time to learn. I clicked on settings,then on something called SEO. Later I found out that stands for "search engine optimization". I thought that would be a good place to start. That took me to something called Google Analytics and since I had to leave for yoga in an hour, i just knew that wasn't a good place to start.

Next, I clicked on RSS, which I still don't know what that is the acronym for, but I found out accidentally that I have a Feedburner account. (I do vaguely remember being there a year or two ago.) It was a pretty simple site. I was able to pick the things I wanted from their array of "chicklets and widgets", hit Type Pad and voila! they appeared on my page. I moved them around, previewed them, clicked save and finally I had all these things on my blog that I see on everyone else's.

So, my faithful readers, now if you just look in the upper left hand column you can find me in various ways. You can subscribe by email, you can read this in an e-reader, and you can like the Facebook page, all with a quick click. (Please like the Facebook page - that's what started this whole thing. Thanks.)

I am just so pleased that this challenge is causing me to stretch, grow, and investigate stuff I'd been putting off for two years. Tonight my blog group meets. I can't wait to finally show up with progress in the area I was supposed to be working on. The next challenge is to figure out why my blog quit posting on its own page sometime last March. Facebook.

How about you? Do you have to venture into something new? Is it niggling in the back of your mind? Do you keep saying "Someday I'm going to do that"? How about today? Take one small step and I guarantee you'll get hooked and begin surprising yourself.

So what have you been "meaning" to do? Start a blog? Write a book? Take cooking lessons? Exercise? There is nothing more exhilarating than introducing yourself to something new. Go for it! Start today...not tomorrow. Put it in the search bar and just begin by reading about it and feel the excitement surge.

And so, as another day goes by, let's review my October theme song...."This girl is on fire....", come on, download it and play it as you search...., I'm going to play it as I hunt for more widgets and chicklets, and...I have written.

October 1. Let's Go!

This morning as soon as I woke up, I knew the first decision I'd have to make was to go to yoga at 9:30 am or 6 pm. When I opened up my phone and saw October 1, it was like a switch flipped. I hopped out of bed knowing it was going to be 9:30. There was an energy about the universe that told me something was changing.

I arrived at the 9:30 class, hopping and ready to go. Then I saw the teacher was my dear friend, Shirley. Now I knew why I was supposed to come at 9:30. Shirley always has the room perfect. Shirley always reads the needs of her students with uncanny precision. I always have the best mind and body class when Shirley teaches, and today was no exception. I left that studio with more energy than I ever have. I wish Shirley could be my Monday morning person forever.

Change certainly was in the air. After yoga, lately, I've been too spent to do anything but go home. Not today. I went to the grocery store, the post office, and Dunkin Donuts and knocked off goals I've had for the last week - all done today. Coming home was no exception. The energy flowed. I had lunch and a brief rest and then was back at completing tasks that were on my mind for weeks, in record time. Things got cleaned, washed and organized. Bills got paid. Goals were set in every area of my life. Now, at 9 pm, I stand amazed at what I accomplished today.

My 100 day challenge is amazing. I took the weekend off and resumed it today. This is what I learned:

Saturday - Day 5 - The Power of Deadlines
-When you set a deadline and expect to get your goals accomplished - guess what? They get accomplished quickly!

Sunday - Day 6 - Discipline Your Behavior
- Every act of self-discipline you engage in moves you closer to your goals, and every exception takes you off course.

-If you are ahead of target: You are a seller.

-If you are below target: You are a buyer.

- If you do not discipline yourself, you are sure to be disciplined by others.

- Freedom is the result of personal triumph over excuses and bad habits

-To get consistently positive results requires consistency. (Something I've always believed strongly!)

Today - Day 7 - Results Are Everything
- Don't tell me what you are going to do, show me what you've already done because ......the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.
JUST CHANGE!...what you think, say, and do.

Today's challenge was to examine my results since starting the 100 day challenge and find clues to what I did right, what I did wrong, and what I was thinking, and then list what I was going to change to get better results today.

I know. A lot to be reckoned with. But you know what? It's energizing and it is truly making a difference.

And so, as another day goes by, "this girl is on fire", October 1, I'm making some changes, and....I have written.
My new theme song: (amazing how new music comes out at just the right moment) by Alicia Keys. Get it now and set yourself on fire......

The Clock Tics

Tonight is filled with more "Joie de vivre!". My husband and I went to the South Shore Music Circus in Cohasset to see the Creedence Clearwater Revisited show. We came up earlier today and spent the late afternoon in a charming Irish pub. Wine and food were excellent. (Grilled chicken salad sandwich - made with avocado, onions, and cilantro - served on homemade bread with a crisp Pino Grigio - yum.)

The opening act took the stage. Four gentlemen twenty years or more older than us, known as the George Gretsbach Band. We just looked at each other. When they started to perform we were pleasantly surprised. Joie de vivre. They turned out to be a really good blues band and wow, for their ages to perform like that - they certainly know about Joie de vivre.

Next the Creedence band took the stage - and I mean took the stage. Amazing. They had the whole place up out of their seats, dancing. The drummer and bass guitarists are original members of Creedence Clearwater Revival. They have been together for 54 years. They met when they were 13. To be up there and doing what they did tonight just needs to be respected.

The drummer told their story and then said, "Yes! We are 67 years old. You can't stop the clock from ticking, so just go out everyday and enjoy the time you have left on this planet." Joie de vivre?

And so, as another day goes by, I hope I'm around in 20 years to see Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga take the stage at 42, and...I have written.