http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/012709dnmetbandmom.335626c.html?ocp=1#slcgm_comments_anchor
You need to read this before knowing what my rant is about.
Ok? Great! Seriously, what kind of nutjob helicopter mom embarrasses herself and her family by threatening a lawsuit over a band job?
I remember when I was in High School, I missed out on getting first place in the State Fair Style Revue because I had a gap in the waistline of my skirt. Actually, I didn't remember that at all, but when I was discussing the previously aforementioned article with my Mom, she reminded me about that distressing event. Apparently, even though my beautiful linen navy blue suit that I had fitted to near perfection had a small gap where my white blouse showed through the space between the zipper and the waistband on the back of my skirt. If I would have moved the hook & eye over just a smidge, I might have received the coveted Grand Champion ribbon!
Alas, my mom failed me. After all, according to her, it was all her fault. She didn't pay enough attention to my details. And, ever since that crushing defeat on the sewing front, my poor self-esteem has never recovered...
So, why did I not remember that? I do know that ever since I can remember, I've had to learn when something is good enough, and how easy it is to get lost in the details. Maybe it was precisely that lesson that helped me to know how to save my sanity by not allowing myself to fall into the pattern of many perfectionists, which is to never start anything that you don't know for a fact that you will succeed in.
I've blown many things in my life! In fact, I've just acknowledged that after 8 years of trying to be a success at network marketing with Southern Living at HOME, it's not working. It's not for me. I used to love the products and the people, but over time I got sidetracked. I put in my time, and made a ton of people happy. So what? I wasn't the world's greatest network marketer, but I was good enough.
Life is too short to make yourself miserable. This woman has chosen to live in her personal hell, and dragged her son and the rest of the school unwillingly. I'm happy that the majority of the school chose not to participate, but what an example of negativity to set.
So, for all of those people who are making excuses for not being happy, my advice is the same: Get Over It! Refocus your eyes and find all of the great things around you! So what that the boy can't put Drum Squad Leader on his college application. He's already gotten accepted at George Washington University!
Darn, maybe that's what cost him Harvard...or maybe it's that Mommy just didn't protest enough.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Harry Potter, Life Coach
So, I finally got around to finishing the whole "Harry Potter" series, and am now absolutely ravenous for the new movie! OK, I didn't actually "read" the last 3 books, but checked the audio versions out from the library. If you've never listened to a book on tape, this is a great series to enjoy. The reader (who's name has escaped me) captures the characters perfectly, never wavering from the appropriate accent, nor does he stray from just the right decibel level, even during the exciting parts. I hadn't realized just what a big deal that was until I tried other audiobooks, and found that some characters were voiced too quietly to hear over the road noise, and others would have such an obnoxious whine to them that I shut the whole thing down. But I digress...
During the book, "The Half-Blood Prince", Harry and his other 5th-year peers were trying to learn how to apparate & dis-apparate. The teacher used a 3-word mantra to help them learn this very difficult task. I thought it was fascinating how it could be applied to our own lives:
- Destination: Figure out where you want to be. Hold the thought in your mind and stay focused on it.
- Determination: How much do you really want to go there? If it doesn't matter whether you make it or not, then is it really worth your effort?
- Deliberation: Once you've selected your destination, and have a determined mind to get there, it's time to set out a plan for achieving your goal. This is where many people fall short. I'm a big believer in the concept that our thoughts create our reality, but no amount of wishful thinking will cause a new Jaguar Hybrid to materialize in my garage.
If I want to have that as my reality, I have to put my feet to work, too. But as I take actions to make room for that new vehicle, I'll recognize opportunities when they arise through my visualizations. I can only hope that our new President will use these three things daily as he navigates his new job.
Destination: A renewed economy and global goodwill
Determination: Inspiring hope and personal accountability for all Americans and acknowledging the good that others have to offer as well
Deliberation: Inspiring speeches, decisive action, and surrounding oneself with smart people.
OK, maybe a bit simplistic, but you get the point. And if you don't, just check out the book from the library. It's really good, and sure does make for a quick commute!
During the book, "The Half-Blood Prince", Harry and his other 5th-year peers were trying to learn how to apparate & dis-apparate. The teacher used a 3-word mantra to help them learn this very difficult task. I thought it was fascinating how it could be applied to our own lives:
- Destination: Figure out where you want to be. Hold the thought in your mind and stay focused on it.
- Determination: How much do you really want to go there? If it doesn't matter whether you make it or not, then is it really worth your effort?
- Deliberation: Once you've selected your destination, and have a determined mind to get there, it's time to set out a plan for achieving your goal. This is where many people fall short. I'm a big believer in the concept that our thoughts create our reality, but no amount of wishful thinking will cause a new Jaguar Hybrid to materialize in my garage.
If I want to have that as my reality, I have to put my feet to work, too. But as I take actions to make room for that new vehicle, I'll recognize opportunities when they arise through my visualizations. I can only hope that our new President will use these three things daily as he navigates his new job.
Destination: A renewed economy and global goodwill
Determination: Inspiring hope and personal accountability for all Americans and acknowledging the good that others have to offer as well
Deliberation: Inspiring speeches, decisive action, and surrounding oneself with smart people.
OK, maybe a bit simplistic, but you get the point. And if you don't, just check out the book from the library. It's really good, and sure does make for a quick commute!
Monday, January 5, 2009
The 12 Best Sayings I Heard or Read – to use in 2009
12. I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. Thomas Jefferson
11. Someone who sighs because he doesn't believe that God forgives him for his sins, is an atheist! Rebbe Mottele Tchernobiler
10. If you want your dreams to come true, don't sleep. Yiddish proverb
9. There are three things which are real: God, Human Folly, and Laughter. The first two are beyond our comprehension, so we must do what we can with the third. (from Tales of the Ramayana as told by Aubrey Menen, Scribners, 1954, p. 276)
8. When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people. Abraham Joshua Heschel
7. Life can only be understood backward, but it must be lived forwards. Soren Kierkegaard
6. I slept and dreamt that life was joy, I awoke and saw that life was service, I acted and behold service was joy. Tagore
5. Ask not what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive...then go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. Howard Thurman
4. Music is what language would like to be if it could.
3. In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of. Confucius.
2. Kindness is more important than wisdom, and the recognition of this is the beginning of wisdom. Theodore Rubin
1. The wireless telegraph is not difficult to understand. The ordinary telegraph is like a very long cat. You pull the tail in New York, and it meows in Los Angeles. The wireless is the same, only without the cat. Albert Einstein
This came from the following mail list:The ALEPH-PNAI-OR mailing list is hosted by Shamash: The Jewish Network a service of Hebrew College, which offers online courses and an online MA in Jewish Studies, http://hebrewcollege.edu/online/
11. Someone who sighs because he doesn't believe that God forgives him for his sins, is an atheist! Rebbe Mottele Tchernobiler
10. If you want your dreams to come true, don't sleep. Yiddish proverb
9. There are three things which are real: God, Human Folly, and Laughter. The first two are beyond our comprehension, so we must do what we can with the third. (from Tales of the Ramayana as told by Aubrey Menen, Scribners, 1954, p. 276)
8. When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people. Abraham Joshua Heschel
7. Life can only be understood backward, but it must be lived forwards. Soren Kierkegaard
6. I slept and dreamt that life was joy, I awoke and saw that life was service, I acted and behold service was joy. Tagore
5. Ask not what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive...then go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. Howard Thurman
4. Music is what language would like to be if it could.
3. In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of. Confucius.
2. Kindness is more important than wisdom, and the recognition of this is the beginning of wisdom. Theodore Rubin
1. The wireless telegraph is not difficult to understand. The ordinary telegraph is like a very long cat. You pull the tail in New York, and it meows in Los Angeles. The wireless is the same, only without the cat. Albert Einstein
This came from the following mail list:The ALEPH-PNAI-OR mailing list is hosted by Shamash: The Jewish Network a service of Hebrew College, which offers online courses and an online MA in Jewish Studies, http://hebrewcollege.edu/online/
Friday, January 2, 2009
Texas Hair and Mountain Mamas...
I love our yearly forays into the mountains of New Mexico! I inevitably return with a rekindled desire to relocate to the mountains, and this year is no exception.
The culture of Los Alamos is fascinating. After living in the Dallas area for nearly a decade, I've grown used to women (and increasingly men) being Botoxed, bedazzled, and BMW'ed to the hilt. Status is conveyed by the height of the hair and the bounce in the boobs, or by the size of your house. Granted, I am making a major generalization here, but many Texas folks also seem to be unconcerned about the size of their ever-growing girth, too.
Now, juxtapose that with the New Year's Eve party we attended in LANM. There, I soon found out, the things that made one part of the "In" crowd centered on two things; education level and physical fitness. Where else but in the shadow of the lab that made the atomic bomb would you find a PhD in Physical Chemistry teaching preschool? The number of physicists, geologists, and engineers in the room made for an interesting experience, mainly in that I felt like a total numbskull. Hey, I may not be Einstein, but I've always thought of myself as relatively intelligent. Suddenly, though, all of my skills and intellectual prowess seem diminished when talking to a guy who has multiple doctorates and deals daily with keeping the nuclear detonators from going boom.
Honestly, I found it all exhilerating! It's been quite frustrating to see how many times education has been seen as a negative (witness the latest Presidential election, and the past 2 administrations). We do what we can with our own children to encourage intellectual curiosity, and yet run up against the age-old prejudice against being smart. I wish I had a dime for every time that I was chided for using "big words" as a child. I loved the precision of them, and the wonderful way they rolled off the tongue. "Gregarious" was a personal favorite, especially since I felt it described my personality.
There really aren't many overweight folks in Los Alamos, either. You'd have to work hard to get fat there, expecially since the lure of the outdoors is so strong. Hiking, biking, skiing, and shoveling snow all call for one to be in decent shape. Plus, if you want to have a sharp mind, a lot of fresh air and fewer excess pounds will help you to achieve that goal.
Sure, I look a lot more presentable while in the 'burbs of Texas with my heavily sprayed hairdo, tailored clothing, and ever-present face full of make-up, but I feel more real when hanging out in Los Alamos, with the freshly scrubbed face free of mascara, the hair barely recognizable after being smooshed by a ski hat, and layers of long underwear obscuring my curves. After all, fashion is totally subjective, right?
The culture of Los Alamos is fascinating. After living in the Dallas area for nearly a decade, I've grown used to women (and increasingly men) being Botoxed, bedazzled, and BMW'ed to the hilt. Status is conveyed by the height of the hair and the bounce in the boobs, or by the size of your house. Granted, I am making a major generalization here, but many Texas folks also seem to be unconcerned about the size of their ever-growing girth, too.
Now, juxtapose that with the New Year's Eve party we attended in LANM. There, I soon found out, the things that made one part of the "In" crowd centered on two things; education level and physical fitness. Where else but in the shadow of the lab that made the atomic bomb would you find a PhD in Physical Chemistry teaching preschool? The number of physicists, geologists, and engineers in the room made for an interesting experience, mainly in that I felt like a total numbskull. Hey, I may not be Einstein, but I've always thought of myself as relatively intelligent. Suddenly, though, all of my skills and intellectual prowess seem diminished when talking to a guy who has multiple doctorates and deals daily with keeping the nuclear detonators from going boom.
Honestly, I found it all exhilerating! It's been quite frustrating to see how many times education has been seen as a negative (witness the latest Presidential election, and the past 2 administrations). We do what we can with our own children to encourage intellectual curiosity, and yet run up against the age-old prejudice against being smart. I wish I had a dime for every time that I was chided for using "big words" as a child. I loved the precision of them, and the wonderful way they rolled off the tongue. "Gregarious" was a personal favorite, especially since I felt it described my personality.
There really aren't many overweight folks in Los Alamos, either. You'd have to work hard to get fat there, expecially since the lure of the outdoors is so strong. Hiking, biking, skiing, and shoveling snow all call for one to be in decent shape. Plus, if you want to have a sharp mind, a lot of fresh air and fewer excess pounds will help you to achieve that goal.
Sure, I look a lot more presentable while in the 'burbs of Texas with my heavily sprayed hairdo, tailored clothing, and ever-present face full of make-up, but I feel more real when hanging out in Los Alamos, with the freshly scrubbed face free of mascara, the hair barely recognizable after being smooshed by a ski hat, and layers of long underwear obscuring my curves. After all, fashion is totally subjective, right?
Sunday, December 28, 2008
As the stomach churns...
**BTW, I just was tired from the long drive. Our gracious hostess was the one who got to experience the 24 hr bug. I still think it was the leftovers. :-)
Ah, vacation! You look forward to it for months, maybe even years, and then finally the moment arrives when you turn your dreams into reality! The euphoria of having all of your hard work and planning pay off into the promise of an idyllic getaway makes it all worthwhile as you unpack your belongings and settle in for the first round of activities.
And then the stomach lurches.
No. This can’t be happening! I don’t accept it. It’s just because the drive was long, the jet lag is kicking in, or the vitamins I just took aren’t settling well.
It’s a sad moment when the reality of the situation hits you, usually when the cool porcelain of the foreign toilet meets your lunch. Some people give it the amusing euphemism of “Traveler’s Tummy” or “Montezuma’s Revenge”, but no amount of magical thinking can take away the fact that your vacation has an uninvited guest – Mr. Bacteria and/or Ms. Virus.
We continued our tradition of spending the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve with our friends in Los Alamos, NM, confident that our families would be healthy this time around. I loaded up the car with all of the necessary vitamins, OTC remedies, and herbal supplements, all designed to keep our immune systems fully functional. In the past, we’ve battled the stomach flu, high fevers, mysterious headaches, and a wide variety of body aches. In fact, one year, our entire extended family took turns with the 104+ fevers and chills, just in time to sweat in the New Millenium. Quite the bonding experience, let me tell you!
Unfortunately, botulism just doesn’t care what you throw at it. It throws it all right back out, and then some.
None of this is the worst thing in the world, considering the poverty, famine, and life-threatening illnesses that pervade many areas of the world, but I began to notice a trend as I watched our hostess succumb to left-over sweet potatoes. Why does it always seem to happen when it’s vacation time?
Here’s my theory: we spend so much time gearing up for the event, we neglect our health. Then, when faced with an unfamiliar environment, our lowered immune system doesn’t have the resistance to fight off the bugs that are constantly surrounding us. Next thing you know, you’ve become one with the couch.
Which is probably the real reason behind it all… all your body wants is to relax. If you don’t listen to it when it asks you to slow down, it takes matters into its own hands (or digestive system), and helps you find that brick wall that makes you slow down. Taking it easy isn’t always an option, especially if you have a demanding job, small children, or even a home to take care of. Sometimes, the only thing left of you is just enough energy to go into serious repair mode.
I remember my college years (vaguely, as the years are now stretching into decades), and how trips home were filled with chicken noodle soup, hot toddies, and loads of naps. This was because I would have pushed my body to the absolute limit, maintaining a job, a social life, and studying for mid-terms and finals. Those semester breaks were necessary to recharge my battery. I don’t think that college students know what it’s like to NOT run on empty! Now that I’m a student of life, it’s not much different.
Sometimes, it’s not the guests who are ill. It’s the host. I’ve been in that role, too, and it’s almost worse than being sick in an unfamiliar environment. The thought that you might somehow be passing on the flu or some particularly virulent form of the common cold is abhorrent. Not to mention the scenario of having to see off an entire family of phlegm monsters as they hack and cough their way back to the airport, ready to begin the contagion anew.
Feeling under the weather definitely brings about an intimacy that is unrivaled, a true sense of who people are at their core. Some folks are great houseguests but lousy patients, while others are just as wonderful whether they are hacking or hiking.
If you can reframe your temporary ill health as yet another bonding experience, you will be allowing yourself to heal faster, since beating yourself up for being sick won’t help at all. Who knows? You might even discover some new techniques to aid your recovery!
Ah, vacation! You look forward to it for months, maybe even years, and then finally the moment arrives when you turn your dreams into reality! The euphoria of having all of your hard work and planning pay off into the promise of an idyllic getaway makes it all worthwhile as you unpack your belongings and settle in for the first round of activities.
And then the stomach lurches.
No. This can’t be happening! I don’t accept it. It’s just because the drive was long, the jet lag is kicking in, or the vitamins I just took aren’t settling well.
It’s a sad moment when the reality of the situation hits you, usually when the cool porcelain of the foreign toilet meets your lunch. Some people give it the amusing euphemism of “Traveler’s Tummy” or “Montezuma’s Revenge”, but no amount of magical thinking can take away the fact that your vacation has an uninvited guest – Mr. Bacteria and/or Ms. Virus.
We continued our tradition of spending the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve with our friends in Los Alamos, NM, confident that our families would be healthy this time around. I loaded up the car with all of the necessary vitamins, OTC remedies, and herbal supplements, all designed to keep our immune systems fully functional. In the past, we’ve battled the stomach flu, high fevers, mysterious headaches, and a wide variety of body aches. In fact, one year, our entire extended family took turns with the 104+ fevers and chills, just in time to sweat in the New Millenium. Quite the bonding experience, let me tell you!
Unfortunately, botulism just doesn’t care what you throw at it. It throws it all right back out, and then some.
None of this is the worst thing in the world, considering the poverty, famine, and life-threatening illnesses that pervade many areas of the world, but I began to notice a trend as I watched our hostess succumb to left-over sweet potatoes. Why does it always seem to happen when it’s vacation time?
Here’s my theory: we spend so much time gearing up for the event, we neglect our health. Then, when faced with an unfamiliar environment, our lowered immune system doesn’t have the resistance to fight off the bugs that are constantly surrounding us. Next thing you know, you’ve become one with the couch.
Which is probably the real reason behind it all… all your body wants is to relax. If you don’t listen to it when it asks you to slow down, it takes matters into its own hands (or digestive system), and helps you find that brick wall that makes you slow down. Taking it easy isn’t always an option, especially if you have a demanding job, small children, or even a home to take care of. Sometimes, the only thing left of you is just enough energy to go into serious repair mode.
I remember my college years (vaguely, as the years are now stretching into decades), and how trips home were filled with chicken noodle soup, hot toddies, and loads of naps. This was because I would have pushed my body to the absolute limit, maintaining a job, a social life, and studying for mid-terms and finals. Those semester breaks were necessary to recharge my battery. I don’t think that college students know what it’s like to NOT run on empty! Now that I’m a student of life, it’s not much different.
Sometimes, it’s not the guests who are ill. It’s the host. I’ve been in that role, too, and it’s almost worse than being sick in an unfamiliar environment. The thought that you might somehow be passing on the flu or some particularly virulent form of the common cold is abhorrent. Not to mention the scenario of having to see off an entire family of phlegm monsters as they hack and cough their way back to the airport, ready to begin the contagion anew.
Feeling under the weather definitely brings about an intimacy that is unrivaled, a true sense of who people are at their core. Some folks are great houseguests but lousy patients, while others are just as wonderful whether they are hacking or hiking.
If you can reframe your temporary ill health as yet another bonding experience, you will be allowing yourself to heal faster, since beating yourself up for being sick won’t help at all. Who knows? You might even discover some new techniques to aid your recovery!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Ch-ch-ch-changes...
Well, I took a big step out of my comfort zone today. I changed my website to announce that I am not only a Feng Shui consultant, but I am also a personal coach and an energy worker. I've been doing these things for the past year surreptitiously, but now I'm out and proud! While this work may not make me the financial super-star of the world, it has the potential to be even more powerful. With my gentle help, my clients will be able to uncover their true natures by peeling away the layers of false beliefs, negative perceptions, and encoded patterns that have been handed down through generational means and mass mindsets. This is powerful stuff, and I'm grateful to have the ability and training to handle it properly. Some folks call what I do being a Lightworker, but to me that sounds a bit odd. After all, we ALL have a glow to our being that can illuminate the darkness, so doesn't that make all of us Lightworkers? I'll just go by Beverly. If you must attempt to contain me in a title, call me a Feng Shui consultant. I'll fill in the gaps for anyone who asks. After all, it's all on my website now, www.TheIntuitiveInterior.com!
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Farewell, my wooden friend...
Growing up is inevitable. However, our logical mind can process this even while our hearts are desperately clinging to the past.
Our fort is gone.
The children, who are now 14 and 11, have barely glanced at it in the past few years. But there it stood, solemnly waiting for the next visiting munchkin to slide screaming with joy down the green rocket, preferably into a waiting pool of water that had been conveniently arranged to catch them. It, too, remembered the tea parties in the upper tower, the evening dinners at the picnic table below, and the beanbags tossed at the sentries posted on the rock climbing wall.
I miss the gymnastics competitions the most. OK, granted, I won't miss the threat of bodily harm that the kids faced every time they found a NEW way to flip over the swings, or the skinned elbows as they raced each other to see who could do the obstacle course in the fastest time, but the laughter...oh, the laughter!
"The Fort" was a 2-story cedar construction with a 10' tower and a 13' tower that we had to get special dispensation from our HOA to even build it. There was a rock climbing wall, a sandbox, a picnic table, and an arm that held 3 swings. It hosted sleepovers, birthday parties, art projects, and scared puppies. But most of all, it was a fixture in our lives for over 9 years, as it was the first thing we purchased when we moved to Texas, almost before furniture. My husband and I lovingly assembled it, and sometimes not so lovingly restained it - several times. Even though we knew it was time to go, the vacancy in our back yard - and in our hearts - is almost unbearable.
Sure, something new and wondrous will take its place eventually, but for now, for this moment, I grieve. The loss of childhood, the memories never to be repeated, the high-pitched squeals of laughter forever replaced by the girlish giggling of a tween and the low baritone of my ever-growing young man. I miss those little kids, but I adore the people they are becoming.
Thank you, Mr. Fort, for being such an integral part of our family for so long. I know you'll be just as good to the next family that you went to!
Our fort is gone.
The children, who are now 14 and 11, have barely glanced at it in the past few years. But there it stood, solemnly waiting for the next visiting munchkin to slide screaming with joy down the green rocket, preferably into a waiting pool of water that had been conveniently arranged to catch them. It, too, remembered the tea parties in the upper tower, the evening dinners at the picnic table below, and the beanbags tossed at the sentries posted on the rock climbing wall.
I miss the gymnastics competitions the most. OK, granted, I won't miss the threat of bodily harm that the kids faced every time they found a NEW way to flip over the swings, or the skinned elbows as they raced each other to see who could do the obstacle course in the fastest time, but the laughter...oh, the laughter!
"The Fort" was a 2-story cedar construction with a 10' tower and a 13' tower that we had to get special dispensation from our HOA to even build it. There was a rock climbing wall, a sandbox, a picnic table, and an arm that held 3 swings. It hosted sleepovers, birthday parties, art projects, and scared puppies. But most of all, it was a fixture in our lives for over 9 years, as it was the first thing we purchased when we moved to Texas, almost before furniture. My husband and I lovingly assembled it, and sometimes not so lovingly restained it - several times. Even though we knew it was time to go, the vacancy in our back yard - and in our hearts - is almost unbearable.
Sure, something new and wondrous will take its place eventually, but for now, for this moment, I grieve. The loss of childhood, the memories never to be repeated, the high-pitched squeals of laughter forever replaced by the girlish giggling of a tween and the low baritone of my ever-growing young man. I miss those little kids, but I adore the people they are becoming.
Thank you, Mr. Fort, for being such an integral part of our family for so long. I know you'll be just as good to the next family that you went to!
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