Monday, December 31, 2012

End of year regret or New beginning resolve?

We're all making NYE resolutions and hoping to keep our promises to ourselves.  Every news broadcast seen today or in the next few days/weeks offers weight loss tips or talks about the "battle of the bulge."  It's so predictable.  My new year's goals are not elaborate, but still elusive, and well-meaning all the same.

I always wish to be a nicer person and to lose some weight, not necessarily in that order.  It would be ideal to reach pre-baby weight (approaching six years on that one).  Or lose at least 10 pounds.  Or not gain any more weight.  You see how the thinking goes, or the obsessing goes.  Got to look better before it's too late.  Too late for what?

The first order of business should be to be a nicer person, patient mom, kinder friend, more tolerant partner, better world citizen. But looks seem so important, of course on the surface.  This year I wish to not obsess on looks so much, to quit fat-shaming myself and others in my mind.  We live in and become complacent with superficial judgment of how we and other people look, as if that's our sole worth.  We are obsessed with it, and I admit my own participation in the ugly process.

I hope to look back in a year and feel confident in having lightened up a little.  My thought patterns become locked in a preoccupation with eating and exercising/not exercising.  It is important to be healthy, but inner peace is certainly part of that health.  I want to be a calmer, more content person who seeks balance in life and appreciates what I have, not what I don't have.

Happy impending 2013!

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Malala Yousafzai - Time magazine


"She has become perhaps the world’s most admired children’s-rights advocate, all the more powerful for being a child herself. Her primary cause — securing Pakistani girls’ access to education — has served to highlight broader concerns: the health and safety of the developing world’s children, women’s rights and the fight against extremism." 
- TIME magazine on Malala Yousafzai, the first runner-up in their "Person of the Year" issue. (via MissRepresentation.org)


This incredible young woman has been mentioned before on this blog, and she has been named the first runner-up in Time magazine's "Person of the Year 2012" issue, behind only U.S. President Barack Obama. Her brave example shines as a beacon for every young woman today, and her experience is a lesson for all people about equal rights and humane behavior. She was targeted to serve as an example of hatred and tyranny but lives on despite those terrorist attempts to destroy all the admirable qualities she embodies.

Miss Yousafzai is an amazing testament to the power of one person to have great influence regardless of the person's age. May she have a full recovery and a safe continuation of her life!

Friday, December 14, 2012

Thanks, my friend! (December 14)


Let's get this party started!
from The New Yorker
A pop of the wine cork brought the meeting to order, as Kay banged on the garage door to assure the resident possum stayed out for the night. Members generously filled their plates and topped off their glasses as they sat down for their monthly gathering.
Kay presented the agenda for the evening, and welcomed everyone into her home as their host. "Here, here! It's time to get started. We have a book to talk about, but first there are jokes to tell and unfamiliar sexual euphemisms to learn." Kay's strong demeanor demanded the attention of the group, and the members didn't dare speak over her witticisms.
 The women inevitably strayed off topic, not only at the misdirection of their hostess, but with the rhythm of their cross-over discussions as it was usually wan to do. Conversation wrapped its way around the usual circuitous route, glossing over work weirdness, crotch picking, stranded boats, wanton cleavage exposure, and haunted nurses in crisp uniforms creeping through the darkness. Somehow redirecting the commentary back to the purpose of this discourse, Kay regained control of the scattered interaction and insisted someone say something about the book. Otherwise the night will have been lost in a diatribe of fun and frivolity.
If nothing else, they had to at least pick a book for next month regardless of whether they'd actually discuss it when the time came. Alexis suggested Shelli be kept from nominating the upcoming read (hers hadn't gone over so well this time). Rhonda insisted that Alexis was only flexing her non-threatening muscle. She didn't work at TLC so who was she trying to convince she had the power of influence here? 
 After all mental notes were stored inside of that big bean called Kay's brain, they'd be recapitulated via email later. Bottles of beer were left to drink -- there was a hidden stash out in the garage the possum hadn't gotten to yet, and it was all hers. She'd have it gone by the time she and her mom made the next Arkansas horse race. Those ponies weren't waiting to bet on themselves.
 Kim giggled so hard she cried through squinted eyelids, and Shelli got so tickled she peed herself. Kim had lasted through a long day of policing the bathrooms at B-wood, and now Shelli had leaked all over Kay's nice clean floor. She would not be held responsible for someone else's leak and made a motion that Shelli try bladder training methods before they meet again. Alexis seconded the motion, and the vote was five for and one opposed.  Sorry, Shelli, mandatory kegels.
Rhonda brought a sense of stability back to their clacht -- she was the meanie of the bunch, scared of snakes or not, who insisted they stick with the agenda. The rules must be followed. Katy just sat back and laughed at them all, having infiltrated the funniest bunch of bookish broads she'd ever met.

Kay relinquished any semblance of group unity and wished the women well on their way. She promised to distribute notes to the feeble-minded few who missed any details or definitions. The last "kwish" of a beer can pop tab resonated with their departure. 'Til next time -- meeting adjourned. 
The glue holding the evening together was Kay. She was the one who leaves everyone in stitches with her self-deprecating yet completely confident humor. As the group's beloved scribe, she keeps the official record of their one night per 30 when everything else recedes to concentrate on biblio-biofeedback among friends. 
A casual observer is left to imagine Kay's same passion for her children and grandchild -- how she must lavish them with her love and generous attention. Her wisdom and temperance serve as a fine example to them and others. Her tenacity and beautiful spirit do much the same for her friends. They know and love her spirit.  

Kay is a wonderful attribute to the Book Sluts, and I've never enjoyed anyone else's sharp commentary on life more than hers. For that and much more, I want to say, "Thanks, my friend!"

Friday, December 7, 2012

Thanks, my friend! (December 8)

10,000 styles ago - <3 this pic
You have to really trust the person who cuts your hair. It's easier when she is a friend of yours, though. No way would she chance screwing it up and have to deal with your whining. I met such a woman through our mutual friend.  I ought to thank her sometime for introducing us, but I never seem to get around to things like that.  


My friend, Susan, used to do my hair.  She is so much more than simply a stylist ... she is a self-made woman, a single mom, a hard worker, and such a sweet person.  

Becoming a new business owner is her latest triumph. Susan is motivated by her beautiful daughters, who I know are also inspired by her. Her example will show them how a person can get through life by having a positive attitude and a loving spirit.  If there was ever a woman who exudes perseverance, it is Sue.  
My trips "back home" are accentuated by visits with her, otherwise I miss her smiling face. I've been impressed with her ability to carry on toward positivism, especially in the last few tough years.  Susan loves life and shows it every day.  We should all follow her lead!  I wish her all the luck she deserves with her salon and in her life.  

Once poor Susan made the mistake of calling me when I was deep in the throes of postpartum craziness.  She "talked me down" and supplied me with the support I needed at that moment.  Every now and then when I'm bummed out, I get a little message on Facebook along the lines of "I miss you, Katy," and it cheers me up.  So it's obvious from who ... it's Sue.  For that and much more, I say, "Thanks, my friend!"

Tell a friend you love her.  She deserves to hear it!

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Saw this today and love it!

"A critic can only review the book he has read, not the one which the writer wrote."
MIGNON MCLAUGHLIN

writerunboxed.com
Everyone who writes should read that statement.  Thanks, Goodreads!