Happy Monday Friends,
Originally I started this post at 5:30 am with complete randomness on the brain because I felt like I needed about 83 more hours of sleep. It looked like the day was going to be a day fueled by coffee and orange nail polish. Randomness is still on the brain, maybe it's my thinking style, but after a delightful two hour pre-Valentine's Day nap I'm revived! Without further ado, this is what has been in the cooker for the past 24-36 hours........
A strong spiritual life is important for me and Church has always played a central role, both as a professional musician and personally. I'm a huge believer in the power of community and developing a strong, spiritual practice. I've been very fortunate to find both of these key 'ingredients' in my church but I know people who have found this in meditation groups, in mosques etc. Life is a big 'continuing education class' and I've learned so much about myself and just trying to exist as a decent and happy human being who is kind to others. Yesterday, a dear friend was a guest preacher and she taught me so much and was such an inspiration that I'm still blown away from my experience of hearing her yesterday. There is really so much to tell that it would take multiple blog posts, but two short but powerful takeaways was her talk on meditation and how just even two minutes a day in silence will change your life and how prayer can be a simple two words, "Help me" or "Thank you" or "Guide me" repeated over and over. Good stuff. Good stuff.
I've been spending my free time researching typewriters! I have a passion for good old fashioned correspondence and I think it would be just rock my world to type up my letters the old fashioned way. I've been checking out Olympia brand typewriters and particularly the models made in former West Germany. Sigh. I figure my handwriting is becoming more and more atrocious, I type much faster than I write, my Grandfather used to type his sermons on his typewriter on 1/2 sheets of paper, Woody Allen still uses one for typing up scripts, I've been getting rid of loads of things in the house so I could find a nice space to store and display said machine and it would just be a fun stunt. There. Justified :)
Oh beauty products, how do I love thee. Let me count the ways......
I have super, sensitive skin and winter is the worst. I get horrible dry patches that and nothing seems to help. Lotion is applied multiple times a day and stashed all over my house. While I still get some dry patches, I think I've found the miracle line of products. Burt's Bees! The Beeswax Moisturizing Night Cream is the 'bees knees'. Warning, it is a little thick but I like to be able to feel my moisturizer on my face. All of the tinted lip balms are terrific and the Aloe & Buttermilk body lotion smells like spring in heaven. Added bonus-minimum of 98% natural, the company supports local bee farmers, pushes for recycled packaging.......win-win.
This article in the Wall Street Journal was a revelation to me. I'm becoming a wee bit of a Francophile so the title alone caught my attention. While I have no interest in starting a parenting blog, I can honestly say that many times I feel like I've fallen short as a parent and don't get me started on how many of the other mothers at the playground drive me crazy and somehow manage to bring out all of my insecurities. There are some things in this article that I would quibble over but on the whole it helped to confirm that it's OK to not hover over your children all the time, it's OK to be a little firm when speaking to them (life is not always about negotiation) and it's OK not to obsess. There are some great life lessons here too-kids or no kids. There is so much insane and unessary pressure to have it all together and especially as women to have all the details in place. You know what? Stop obsessing and stop hovering! Just say NO to the crazy mothers at the playground and the crazy mothers in your lives and go get your nails done.
And speaking of not obsessing, last night I read a fascinating article in my Gather magazine. It was an article about the body. Again, loads of times are wasted on obsessing about our bodies and the imperfections but these biped vessels are amazing machines. One of the blogs I regularly read calls them God Pods. These amazing vessels have undergone years and years of evolution and have overcome many illnesses and injuries. Did you know:
-bones constantly break down and regenerate to that every 10 years you essentially have an entirely new skeleton
-more than 600 muscles twist and wind their way through your body
-your heart generates so much pressure that its pumping action can shove a single red cell through 60,000 miles of closed blood vessels in less than a minute
-Ukrainian pole-vaulter Sergey Bubke lept 20 feet and 1 3/4 inches; Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt ran 27.79 miles per hour in 2009; Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment set the record in 1997 to live 122 years and 164 days
There are loads of more facts online but the next time you worry about your muffin top or about your hips think about the glory that is your "Biped Vessel Food Loving God Pod".
Whew! Lots in the cooker today. Hope you had a wonderful Monday and wishing you a Buon Evening!
Bussi Bussi!
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