Calling all goddesses–CONTEST!—-Website not required for nomination; deadline JANUARY 31, 2012

It’s the last day of the year, and I want to start 2012 with wild, succulent energy.  I would love to meet other women who are joyous about life and who feel like this next year is going to explode with good things.  I’ve been making changes in my life, and one of my goals is to connect with happy, passionate people.  I realized this yesterday when I read this post.  #1 states, “Stop spending time with the wrong people. – Life is too short to spend time with people who suck the happiness out of you.”

Right? 

One of my best friends recently introduced me to a circle of women online who are part of a goddess network that’s reminiscent of Sark. (And for good reason:  Sark says, “Leonie is a gifted goddess and illuminated creator. I featured her in my book Juicy Pens, Thirsty Paper and happily recommend her and her lilting work.”  )

Leonie’s website is an exhilarating offering of all you need to center yourself and to create the life you dream of, and here’s the kicker: a whole bunch of it is free.  The paid subscription I’m offering to one lucky goddess will give her access to 10 e-courses on business, meditation, and creativity, as well as access to a thriving online community.  As Leonie puts it,

• You’ll get your own personal blog-haven — a place to upload photos & videos. It’s Inspiration Central just to wander through all the Goddesses’ blogs, photos & videos to see what they are creating, dreaming up & musing upon. Utterly magical!
• There is a primary Circle where all the Goddesses commune, and smaller inner Circles of Writer Goddesses, Mama Goddesses, Business Goddesses & groups of goddesses who are all completing e-courses together.

I want to start the new year by making a difference in someone’s life, and I plan to do it by giving away a year’s membership to The Goddess Circle to someone who’ll find it as delightful as I do.  But I need help, and that’s where you come in: 

• who do you know who would get a kick out of this? Here are the contest rules:
• Post your nominations in the comments section.  You can’t nominate yourself, but someone else can.
• If she has a a blog or website, post it in the comments section. If not, just post her name.
  
• Tell us why you’re nominating her. Spice it up! Why is she wonderful?
  
• Voting will be done by readers via a poll which I will post midweek.
• Post a nominee’s name once.
• IMPORTANT: make sure your nominee is interested in the prize. Ask her to check out the Goddess Circle site; I would be enormously bummed if the winner wasn’t happy to join.
  

This contest will run through Tuesday, January 31st, 2012, midnight Pacific Standard Time.

You can click on the badge below, or you can click the scrubbed link below it.

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http://www.goddessguidebook.com/goddess-circle/

Posted: December 31st, 2011 under Contests - 7 Comments. Tags: creativity, goddess, goddess circle, inspiration, new year, passion, sark

Sundance–vote for Una Hora Por Favor by Jill Soloway

There are a number of good films on the Sundance site; I’m asking that you vote for Una Hora Por Favor. The writer is the daughter of a friend, and her splendid piece is so far back in the listings that I think it’s not getting a fair shake.  FYI, Jill Soloway was one of the writers for the show, Six Feet Under.

Check it out, then click on the link on the side that says, “Vote below for this film.”

Una Hora Por Favor

Posted: January 22nd, 2012 under Cool stuff, Videos - No Comments. Tags: sundance, video

Check out this cooking site: Cooklikemen.com

These are StumbleFriends I’ve known for a few years, and their simple recipes are geared toward those who don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. (Got kids in college? Or who’ve just moved out and are living on top ramen, or showing up on your doorstep at dinner time? Send ‘em here!)
I submitted a recipe for a quick chicken enchilada casserole dish, and they posted it! (It’s really yummy. Check it out.)

You can submit your easy recipes here.

Here’s a quick intro to who they are:
CookLikeMen

And here is an amazing Taco Soup recipe:

Posted: January 21st, 2012 under Cool stuff, Videos - No Comments. Tags: cooking, recipes

first recognize your fear

“First recognize that you’re afraid and slowly build your tolerance for fear…You may still feel it, but you become willing to bear it as you write. You keep your hand moving, you stay there, you move closer and closer to the edge of what scares you.” – Natalie Goldberg, Thunder and Lightning

You’d think it’d be easy, recognizing when you’re afraid.  It’s not.  Fear disguises itself in churchy clothes, prim white gloves and veiled hats that set just so on your hair.  In slutty clothes, see-through tops and tight jeans.  In tough clothes, leather jackets and shit-kicking boots.

Fear hides in mashed potatoes, and Hagen Daz ice cream, in peanut butter and bananas, and carne asada burritos.

It skulks in Farmville, and poker, porn, shopping, smoking, and reading.

I’ve skated past fear in my thoughts, come back and circled around and finally skidded to a stop so I could scuff at it with my toe.  Slowly I’ve been eliminating places it can hide, and the result is clarity.  I can see and breathe now that I am facing my fears.  Now I’m not just feeling for the edge with my feet–I can see the edge from here, and yes, the drop is steep.  But the other side isn’t as far away as I thought.

All the mixed metaphors in this post make me grin.

Posted: January 15th, 2012 under A Day in the Life of a Writer, Musings - 3 Comments. Tags: a day in the liife of a writer, Writing

Naming characters

I just discovered this on Facebook, and I think that may be the only place you can use this technique.  If you’re stumped about what to name your characters, try this meme-y thing:

Did you know your CELL PHONE has a name? Try this:

1st step: From your mobile number, take the last 3 numbers. Example- 780-496-9684 , take “684″only

2nd step: Write this @*[684:0] in the comment box below, replacing the 3 numbers with your own. … …

3rd step: Remove the * sign and press enter in the comment box!

For the naming of characters, just make up numbers. NOTE: I’ve been informed that if the 1st of your last 3 digits is a ’0′ it won’t work.

Examples:
927= Travis M. LaVoi
647=Azzura Cox
123=Morgan Grice
456=Becky Wald
789=Matt Kozlov
233=Michael Blickstead
999=Peter Saldarriaga

Posted: January 15th, 2012 under A Day in the Life of a Writer, Writing - 2 Comments. Tags: a day in the liife of a writer, character development, naming characters, plotting, Writing

cut off your head–it’s getting in your way

“Writer’s block results from too much head. Cut off your head.
Pegasus, poetry, was born of Medusa when her head was cut off. You have to be reckless when writing. Be as crazy as your conscience allows.” - A Joseph Campbell Companion: Reflections on the Art of Living

I do it all the time. :/

Posted: January 3rd, 2012 under A Day in the Life of a Writer - 1 Comment. Tags: a day in the liife of a writer, Writing

One Girl Riot promo video featuring Arturo Aguilar and Josh Furrer

My boys made this video for me.

The creators are here: IV Films

Posted: January 3rd, 2012 under Cool stuff, Videos - 1 Comment. Tags: One Girl Riot, promo, video

7 things I’ve committed myself to for the new year

…and no, one of them is not an institution, thank you.

• Ever since I viewed this video, I’ve been on the lookout for ways I can communicate to people how important they are in my life. I was blown away by the response of the kids that Angela Maiers refers to in her talk.  I encounter people daily who say or do something that changes my perspective or otherwise rocks my world.  Now I’m telling them so.
• I’m going to trust myself more.  No more second-guessing decisions or kicking myself all day when I make a mistake.
• I’m going to value my time more.
• I’m going to take more risks, even if it means I may fail. I had to tell myself over and over that messing with the style sheet on this blog would not ruin anything; so far, so good.  Marc and Angel write, “The real world doesn’t reward perfectionists, it rewards people who get things done.” (I read that  here.) 
• I’m going to write as much as I long to do.  Bye-bye, rigid rules, fear, and and writer’s block. To this end, I’ve downloaded Dr. Wicked’s Write or Dieapp, which gives me the willies. (I should clarify that saying goodbye to fear doesn’t mean I won’t feel it. I’m just going to work through the palpitations and cold sweats.)  I have three options while I write using this app:
  1. Gentle Mode: Distraction will result in a gentle, almost maternal, reminder to keep writing. (Waste of time)
  2. Normal Mode: Procrastination will result in annoying sounds played at me until I start writing again.  (like Pavlov’s Bell. Might work. )
  3. Kamikaze Mode: If I stop writing, Write or Die will start eating my words one by one until I start again. (Big Sir William willies. This will work.)  Give the online version a try. (The download is $10)

• I’m going to get rid of things I’ve been holding on to out of fear, mainly:
  1. books:  they might stop printing them; I’ll never find this book again; I’ll forget I wanted to read it; my shelves will be bare.
  2. clothes:  I won’t have enough variety; I’ve loved this shirt so long; I’ll never find this color again.
  3. and CDs.  What if I want to listen to them one day? Never mind that I haven’t in ages. I might want to tomorrow.
     Truth:  I’m not trapped in the Handmaid’s Tale, I don’t need 9 million bookshelves, I need to change my style anyway, and I listen to enough music to keep me happy, and I don’t miss what I’m not listening to. Or not reading. Or not wearing.  Seriously. wtf.
• I’m going to enjoy the process, whatever it entails. Whatever it takes. Hakuna matata.

Note from the Universe:  If you understood the extraordinary gifts that every single challenge in your life makes possible, even inevitable, you’d celebrate your challenges, new and old alike, as the omens that they are of new beginnings and spectacular change.

 

Posted: January 1st, 2012 under Musings, Thoughts on Notes from the Universe - 3 Comments. Tags: commitment, new year, Notes from the universe

How to be a legend

Note from the Universe:  A tip on legend making:  Always do what you most want to do, and do it your way.

This note reminds me of the quote:
“Well-behaved women seldom make history.” ~Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
In that case, well, shut up?! I’m already there.

What do you most want to do?

I want to express myself. (ok, that made me laugh. I have a blog, so that’s obvious.) I mean I want not just to write, but to paint. But I have this vivid image of what a painter looks like:     my mother.

Mama was a wildly talented painter and sculptress. Her paintings hang in libraries at Western Washington University and she had numerous showings.  Her long brown hair was often tipped with cerulean or burnt umber or yellow ochre because she never tied it back.  Turpentine. Palettes. Paint tubes. Easels.  All of it looms in my head when I look at a blank canvas.  It reminds me of her talent and I am stalled. I can’t use a brush correctly (seriously. It looks so easy, but the brushes never do what I tell them.)  When I paint I use my fingers, or a sponge, or a palette knife, anything but a damn brush.  I cannot draw a proper representation of anything to save my life. My bent is strictly abstract.

I have a beautiful 36×48 blank canvas hanging over my desk that I am afraid to ruin. I have it there to …coax me, I suppose.  It’s not working.
Mama…Mama was a columbine. And I am a dandelion.

…and dandelions are amazing.

• They grow wherever they damn well please.
• We make wishes on them,
• and we divine whether someone loves us by holding one under our chins.
• They help plants to crop more heavily,
• and it’s believed that if they grow near fruit trees the fruit ripens more quickly.
• You can make wine out of ‘em,
• or salad,
• or tea.
• Herbalists use it to treat liver ailments.
• They’re used in pagan celebrations of springtime. (Beltane is my birthday, so I love this.)
• Dandelions are a symbol of perseverance in the face of hardship,
• and they are so ubiquitous that nearly anyone can picture one.
• And have you heard of our Dandelion Universe? Look here and here.

"The dandelion is an excellent barometer, one of the commonest and most reliable. It is when the blooms have seeded and are in the fluffy, feathery condition that its weather prophet facilities come to the fore. In fine weather the ball extends to the full, but when rain approaches, it shuts like an umbrella. If the weather is inclined to be showery it keeps shut all the time, only opening when the danger from the wet is past." Source: "Camping For Boys," by H.W. Gibson

So ok, I can hang with being a dandelion.
I do everything else my way. Can’t hurt to suck it up and paint, too.

What amazing flower are you?

Posted: December 26th, 2011 under Thoughts on Notes from the Universe - No Comments. Tags: Art, memoir, Notes from the universe

Song Sung Blue

Posted: December 26th, 2011 under memoir, Songs Mama Sang to Me - No Comments. Tags: memoir, music, Neil Diamond, Song Sung Blue