Day of Rest: Mensa Girl

You may remember my niece Marlene from her YouTube classic, Marlene Goes down the Stairs. As I posted yesterday, she was sitting on my lap. She saw my blog and said, "Hey! There's a labyrinth!" pointing to my profile picture. Then she said, "Hey! There's another one!" pointing to the one in the blog header. Then she explains, "You can trace it with your finger."

Still only 2-years-old. Wow.

What is Real?

Last night Remi came to me in a dream. It was so sweet. We had a nice visit. Was it real? What is real?

LOVE is real.

Post T-day Food Coma

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz . . . .

We had an AWESOME Gluten Free T-day at chiro-sister Ruth's. And yes, this will be a Hair Wash post because I'm at Brother D's with the nieces. Marlene has just informed me that she has snot. "It's yucky." Hahahaha Speaking of Brother D, last night was the typical lose-it-during-grace. He is the Instigator, but my BIL didn't make it v. easy. He led a v. sweet grace but then added a moment of silence.

*snort*

I keep my eyes closed so I don't see Brother D biting his lip and shaking with silent laughter.

*snort*

Doesn't help because I can feel the table shaking. Hahahaha

It's not funny. Except it is.

Yam Season

For a thoughtful, insightful T-day blogpost, go read The Grasshopper. Go see, I'll wait.

I like yams better than sweet potatoes.

Do you do this? On hollidays & family celebrations, you think of all the others? Good times. And then there are things that are funny NOW that were a bit, er, awkward at the time. E.g. The Year of the Accidental Kiss. Go see, I'll wait.

OK, back to me: when we were growing up, I claimed at ONE dinner (T-day or X-mas, I don't recall) that I liked yams better than sweet potatoes. Um, I may have repeated it a few times. Anyway, Mum claimed there was no difference. (Yams are lighter in colour, longer & not as sweet from what I could tell). One year, Brother Daniel sent me a link with: There really IS a difference! So this has been the running joke with the fam. Last year I sent the above cartoon out as my X-mas card to everyone.

I always liked Thanksgiving. It's all the family fun & food without the gift pressure.

Plus, you know, yams.

HAPPY day of THANKS & GIVING, everyone!

P.S. Just as I was posting, Seth's Thanksgiving post zipped into my inbox. Awesome.

P.P.S. One of my favourite quotes for today & everyday:

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more....It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. ~Melody Beattie

The Day Before

Tomorrow begins the season of family dramas. I once had a family counselor friend who said that he had clients who began medication a month before Thanksgiving so that they could get through the holiday season. Others scheduled "business trips" to avoid them. I am fortunate to enjoy my family. Families are the microcosm reflecting the macrocosm. It is the time to see conditioned patterns run themselves without our awareness.

OR

perhaps we begin to notice...

It usually starts with noticing it in others. It's almost a cliche, but Zig Zigler used to say that whenever you point your finger at someone, you have 3 others pointing back at you. Hahaha

I'm going to mention one pattern that is common in so many families: drinking. Dave Dobson used to say that saying "alcoholic" sanitized the person's pattern. He would say, "Well, this patient was a drunk." Because he was. I bring this up because John Morgan did a v. elegant and insightful Grasshopper Note about this topic that went beyond the obvious reasons. He also talked about the role of willpower. If you have been struggling with addressing the pink elephant in the room, this post will remind you of Uncle Bob or Aunt Mary. There's one in every family.

I'm also reminded of a couple quotes from the Open Letter blog post:

Your secrets are transparent. Everyone knows them at some level. Stop hiding.

People who help keep your excuses alive are not true friends.

Clean up your life and let everyone see your light.

And what can you do as you go into the family drama? Something different. Namaste.

Stoopid Spammers

Last night I clicked on an invitation from a friend for Reunion.com.

BIG MISTAKE.

It sent an "invitation" from me to all my contacts. This is prolly how I got the initial email in the first place. I spent the next hour sending an email out to everyone warning them not to click. I'm trusting that peripheral acquaintances will say Hali Who? and hit delete. The worst is that it went to Seth Godin, the King of Anti-Spam. YIKES! Speaking of, here's quote from his blog today:

Some bosses don't want to hire people who have a vision, a personality and a shtick. That's okay. You don't want to work for them anyway.

This is so true. When I've gone on an interview I've asked myself Do I want to spend my time like this with these people? It's more like I'm interviewing them. It's nice to be appreciated for being something other than a drone. And it's nice that I have a boss-friend-mentor John Morgan who really does appreciate my schtick. Yes, I'm schticky. But so is he. Whenever he fills out paperwork he puts "philosopher" for occupation. Hahahaha I guess it's not a hot occupation like it was a few centuries ago, Kierkegarde, Plato, & whatnot. Still, it's an apt description. His Grasshopper Notes are AWESOME! Insightful, witty & wise.

Well. I'm just rambling, now aren't I? My head is swimming with a To Do List, so I'll sign off here. :-) H.

Quote-of-the-Day

Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened. ~Anatole France

I made a mistake. No, I didn't make a mistake. I was going to get a new-to-me dog, Haley. She belonged to a friend and Wife didn't want her. She was crate-trained (good) & had a cushy garage gig. But she wanted company. You see where this is going? I picked her up on Sun. p.m. in NJ on my way back to VA from NYC. I found a pet-friendly hotel to stay in somewhere in PA. Here's the lesson:

You can take the dog out of the garage, but not the garage out of the dog.

Well, maybe I could with the help of the angels & The Dog Whisperer. There was so much wrong, tho. The biggest thing was that she wasn't Barkley or Remi. And she so different--smaller, barkier, with a tail. *sigh* It just made me miss my dogs. It was a long night of pacing (her, not me--she'd settle & then any little noise & she was up again with a bark). So the next a.m., I headed back to NJ to drop her off.

Just as I was thinking that perhaps I just needed to give her more time...she peed & crapped all over the back of my car. Thank you, Universe. If I'd had any doubts, that was the confirmation I needed.

Sometimes it helps to have something you don't want to help define what you do. And sometimes it's useful to recognize when something's not working and quit, instead of making it work. I could have. I'm glad I didn't.

Day of Rest: Note from Mum

Read with proper English accent:

I just managed to get into my mail and hope I am able to remember where I clicked ! I didn't get here until Fri.evening .The ferry from Aberdeen was cancelled because of bad weather.The short version of the story is that I hitched-hiked north to Thurso to catch the Scrabster ferry.They run 3 a day and I would have been stuck in Aberdeen for two more nights .It was about 200miles and so stayed in a Band B on FRi. only one ferry ran and it went a different route to avoid really rough seas.and took twice as long as usual .From way up north the ferry ride is only about one and a half hours.I arrived in a fierce hail storm which later changed to snow .Ah.Orkney in the winter!! Anyway I am having a fine time .and will write again later. L.M.

CLASSIC QUEEN ANNE. Here's what we'll be joking about around the T-day table:

And then the ferry driver had a heart attack so I simultaneously resuscitated him while maneuvering around a treacherous iceberg in the dark, but good thing I carry a flashlight.

Hahahaha LOVE you, Mum!

Cash Machine Report

I have doctor-friend who teases me about my dissertations after I've attended a seminar. It's true, I get v. excited when I learn new things. And I get doubly excited when it's in the arena of healing or personal development. Loral Langemeier falls into both those categories, I think. Her Cash Machine workshop is 3 days of financial empowerment and more. So much of what she was saying reminded me of Bruce Lipton. She's growth and expansion-oriented. Just as Bruce says we respond according to our environment, Loral teaches you to create a financially prosperous environment in which you can thrive. And just like Bruce, she's one of the most joyful, FUNny people you'll meet. She's all about breaking through limiting beliefs and past programming to create the life that you've always wanted:

The life that is waiting to live you.

I'm going to give a few classic Loral quotes:

SO WHAT? NOW WHAT? It doesn't matter what happened in the past. It doesn't matter what excuse you have. It doesn't matter. Because you can...

Say YES & figure out how. Because...

It's not difficult, it's different.

Carry the story of your life, or can change it.

No one's going to give you permission to be rich.

Interesting that these concepts are universal and can be applied to any area of your life beyond finances, isn't it? I watched her work with a woman and she said to her, "You're a very powerful woman. You just don't know it yet." This woman was having a hard time getting congruent in presenting her product. She was shy and feeling awkward and battling against some poverty patterns. Her transformation at the end of the seminar was remarkable. She was a completely different person: powerful, indeed.

There are many reasons that people go to Cash Machine. Some people want financial freedom. They want to get out of debt. Some people want to have financial security. Some people have always dreamed of having their own business. Some people want a big house and a more luxurious lifestyle. Whatever your goals are, this seminar is the doorway to all of that and more. The part I appreciate is that I don't have to know it all before I start. There are people available to put on your team so that you can do what you do best, and they handle the rest. One last quote:

Focus on your strengths, and hire your weaknesses.

...and start earning money before you leave the seminar. How cool is that?

The Way I See Me

I got these AWESOME photos yesterday from Moriah Diamond, creator of the The Way I See Me photography. I watched her leap around (and encourage others to leap around!) with a huge SMILE the whole time. Here enthusiasm is contagious! You know those inspirational photos with little captions underneath? She makes YOU the inspirational photo and you can create any caption, quote, or affirmation that you want. So go check her out and tell her I sent you!


On the last day of the seminar, after we've learned all about marketing and selling our services and products, we have a Market Place where we mill about and do just that. We tape a sign to ourselves front and back:

Your muscles will melt...

because I'm a massage therapist. But if you don't have time, or you want a relaxing meditation, you can listen to my Virtual Massage CD--with built-in muscle-melting hypnotherapy. Yummy. Back tomorrow with the full Cash Machine Report!

Many Busy's Today

I'm going back into the studio to re-record one of my nap meditations. I finally just rewrote it. So it will be out for the Christmas holiday--stay tuned! Speaking of staying tuned, I'll be on a radio show tonight getting interviewed about holistic wellness and how I used it to address migraines.

Wow. I just had a flood of GRATITUDE wash over me as I think about that v. dark time in my life. Ah! Life is WONDERFUL. My personal motto is A merrie heart maketh glad the day and there you find your treasure. A new one has emerged for my professional life:

When you feel better,
you do better.

Have an AWESOME day!

NOT Ordinary

I'm taking Mum to the airport today for her trip to the Orkney Islands to visit my cousin. She just got new luggage and wanted to do something besides the red ribbon that everyone else ties onto their suitcases. She was so taken with her friend Jack's Habitat for Humanity T-shirt that we used that. I took a picture of it and printed it onto a T-shirt transfer. Simple, right? Except it wouldn't stick. So we transferred it onto a cotton pillow case to glue it. It wouldn't glue. So Mum sewed it on. With dental floss. That did the trick!

Hey, everyone! I'm Queen Anne & this is MY suitcase!


We call this the dental floss blanket stitch. She tried it out on a smaller suitcase first before this one. However, she'll go back and redo it because she rounded out the corners with this one. It's killing you that they don't match, isn't it? I asked. She just gave me that Oh, Shut up! LOOK. You know the one.

There is so much that I admire about my mother. One is her spirit for adventure. Long before Nike ever came up with the slogan, Mum has lived a Just Do It life. And yet.

She thinks she's just ordinary. Ordinary?! This came to light when I asked if I could read her letters that she had written as a young woman living out in the Yukon. Oh, I threw those away.

WHAT????

She thinks no one would be interested in a young woman living in the arctic wilderness in 1961 working with Eskimos where she met my chiropractor father. They weren't Eskimos, they were Indians. Whatev, Mum! Quit throwing away the family history! But it's not just that, it's all the other things she does that she takes for granted: amazing multi-tiered, wedding cakes that taste good. She routinely reupholsters furniture. She sews, knits, hangs drywall, and sings in the church choir. She has inspired generations of nursing students. She has mentored midwives and brought 2000 babies into the world. She raised us living in a dome. Ordinary?

One person's ordinary is another person's unique.

6 Quirky Things

I'm at Mum's & my brain is FULL of all my adventures. So in lieu of doing a huge post, I'm going to give myself some integration time. In the meantime, Duchess Dreams tagged me, so here we go with 6 Quirky Things:
1. Latest favourite food: sardines with ketchup. Hurray for Omega-3's!
2. I grew up in an old boyscout camp-turned-commune.
3. I went thru a purple-hair phase in my younger daze, still my favourite colour.
4. I adore my mother & feel sad for other women who are angry with theirs. Thanks for all the lessons, Mum. Intentional and otherwise. This a.m. she was telling me she found a snake in the garage. I don't know what kind it was, it was very long & the width of my thumb. I told her it was prolly a garter snake. "What did you do?" I asked. Well, I got my brush & dustpan...." Really? How did that work? Well, it just zipped off SO FAST! Hahahaha
5. I am often alone, but never lonely.
6. I'm a pathological learner--always reading, taking classes, etc.

I'm pulling a Margot Potter here: if you're reading this, TAG, YOU'RE IT!

Did I get into to Ellen?

No ticket, not even a stand-by ticket. But I went to Warner Bros. with the intention of getting in:

Standing by...

Danny, the Gate Keeper said that I wouldn't be able to get into the show, but he'd see if he could get me into the Riff Raff Room. I said, "That's great! Then at least I can buy some Ellen underwear!" There were these 3 AWESOME gals who overheard my story (cuz you know, I was all yackity-yack) and they had an extra ticket. I went back to Gate Keeper Danny and he said as nice as that was, he'd have to offer it to a standby person. OK, Riff Raff Room here I come! 10 minutes later . . .

YAY, meeeeee!!!!

Because I was just one person & everyone else was with someone else, YES, I got in!!!

3 AWESOME Chicas: Aida, Stephanie, & Jennifer

The show featured Hugh Laurie & airs next Tues. I sat in the middle, toward the back, right across from Ellen. As I was sitting there, part of me was thinking, I can't believe I'm here. AND the other part was thinking, It's just as I saw it.

ICING-ON-THE-ICING:
Ellen invited everyone in the audience & Riff Raff Room BACK for one of her 12 Days of Christmas shows. I'll be back on Dec. 4th. THANKS to my new friends & Gate Keeper Danny & Ellen for a FANTASTIC show!!!

P.S. I'll be heading to NYC to see THE Doug O'Brien for his Down the Rabbit Hole seminar, AND I get to see Jerry Stocking, too! Back to the wilderness next week, where I will settle in for a coupla weeks and blog everyday again. I want to give a full report on Loral because WOW WOW WOW is all I can say!!!

Hello, Burbank!!!

First of all, WOW WOW WOW!!! Loral Langemeier ROCKS!!! I will have a full report when I get back to VA. But let me just say this: if you ever dreamed of creating a *successful* business, and even if you think you don't have the skills, Loral shows you how. She doesn't tell you to quit drinking your a.m. latte. She says, "Just make more money." I've never gone to a seminar where I made money--until this one. I was trying to figure out how to get from Costa Mesa to Burbank yesterday and then John suggested a limo & googled for me. I had made enough money to pay for it. How cool is that?! And the ride was AWESOME. The owner, Mike & I chatted the whole way. I referred him to Loral. He shouldn't have to drive!

So right now I am at a copy center checking email and waiting for Ellen, er her people, to call me.

And on a sad note: My dear friend, Bill Hutton, a.k.a. XM Radio Guy to readers of this blog, said goodnight to his XM Sat. Night radio show last Sat. :-( I know he'll be back with something new, but it's doubtful that it will be with XM Sirius. Idiots. Hehhhhhh...anyway, he sent me a link to download his last show, so you can hear it here.

OK, signing off until Wed. Wish me luck! :-) H.

PLAY

Never underestimate the importance of having fun. I’m dying and I’m having fun. And I’m going to keep having fun every day, because there’s no other way to play it….Having fun for me is like a fish talking about the importance of water. I don’t know how it is like not to have fun…Never lose the child-like wonder. It’s just too important. It’s what drives us. Help others. ~Randy Pausch

I'm leaving you with this, because I am off! I will endeavor to check in from the road, but am pulling the BWO (Blogging Without Obligation) card until my return. Here's Randy's Last Lecture:

Earth's Lullaby from the Labyrinth

Standing in the center

looking out to see
more leaves on the ground
than on the trees.

A twilight time
between waking and sleep
lullaby to Earth
to dream a new dream.

Of LOVE and PEACE
FAITH, not fear
CONNECTED to ones
that we hold dear.

Earthly scent
Heavenly EMBRACE
Deep in PRESENCE
of this SACRED place.

Make a Wish

The above quote comes from one of my all-time favourite books, Illusions by Richard Bach.

Yesterday I had one of those v. creative days. I woke up with a flood of ideas and images. I was downloading a deluge of information, not just for myself but other people. The rest of the day was spent creating. It flew by! XM Radio Guy says that he always knows when he's on track with his work and he looks up and sees the clock and hours have gone by. Conversely, we've all sat in a class or a job, where time creeps by.

Do you think the traditional school setting prepares us as drones to do the same thing with our work? So much of it is a waste of time. I say that as a student AND as a former teacher. I'm getting ready to go to Loral Langemeier's Cash Machine workshop this week. She has a different approach from the Suzi Orman Club:

You can have your latte and drink it, too.

Her attitude is if you don't have the money, MAKE it. And then! she shows you how. Yes, negative programming and beliefs hold us back. However, we don't have to go into financial psycho-analysis to start making money:

We don't ask you how you grew up, or what you think about money, of if you truly believe you can be wealthy. We prompt you to take immediate massive action in order to change your situation and move forward. You will believe it when you see it.

In her book, The Millionaire Maker, she takes different families and guides them out of debt, out of life-sucking jobs, and into the world of the entrepreneur and financial freedom. Even if you've never had a job and are just a mom. We all have skills and talents that have a market somewhere. What did you like to do as a child? What did you want? What would you do for free? What's your hobby? What gives you juice and enthusiasm? That's a clue.

MAKE A WISH.

P.S. For those of you who will comment on the layout of this post (you know who you are), I have successfully failed to create s p a c e between paragraphs. Hehhhh . . . . Stoopid Blogger.

Day of Rest: Sometimes

Sometimes the cows are in the barn when you expect to see them in the field . . .


Sometimes you want it to be spring . . .



when the reality of autumn is all there is . . .

Il fait frais!

"The degree to which you suffer is proportionate to your resistence."

"Acceptance is the catalyst for transformation. Willingness is the catalyst for acceptance."

~The Grasshopper

Wishing for spring keeps discomfort locked in place. Accepting the season, the event, the feeling--no matter what it is, is the key to moving through to the other side into peace. I wish you PEACE on this day.

Ellen has not called me yet

Political Pumpkin. YUM.

Isn't this a cool pumpkin? It was taken somewhere in Atlanta by a friend I've recently reconnected with, thanks to Facebook. It's taken with an iPhone. None of the fancy cameras could properly catch it because their flashes kept going off.

So I mentioned I'm voting, right? And it was in part thanks to Ellen for deciding to do my duty as an A-MER-ican citizen. Hahahaha I said do my duty. [I think I'm channeling my brother]. Anyway, back to Ellen: I'm going to a Loral Langemeier seminar in CA this week. And since I'm traveling all that way, and I dance with Ellen everday, I'm extending my visit a coupla extra days and going to Burbank with the hopes of getting into her show. I wrote for tickets. I got nothin'. I got crickets, as XM Radio Guy says. So I'm going on faith. Afterall, I managed to get into David Letterman back in the 80's when he had a 2-year waiting list . . . . so this shouldn't be so hard, right? Well, we'll just put The Secret to the test, shall we?

In any case, I know I'm going to have FUN no matter what. I get to see my best friend from my Skymont days, Henny. She's the reason I finally joined Facebook. I'm really getting EXCITED about this trip--everything will be icing on the gluten-free cake after Loral!