love over fear.

my dear friend & inspirator [i just made that up — & i like it!] renee trudeau
has just launched a challenge/movement/psa
that is so very appropos for what we all face, day in & day out . . .

natural disasters. manmade atrocities.
contempt in the name of politics. mockery in the name of religion.
economic uncertainties. everyday incivilities.

it's a lot to deal with.
so, how do you deal with it?

love? or fear?

quoth the wise & wonderful renee:

we always have a choice in how we interact with each other & how we see the world.

we can come from fear —
where we constrict, shut down & cut ourselves off from others,
or we can come from love —
where we expand, open up, connect with & trust others.

our daily interactions are a reflection
of where we choose to hang out & live in:
the house of fear or the house of love.

i choose love.

& that's what renee's challenge/movement/psa is all about.

encouraging us all to mindfully choose to come from
a place of love rather than a place of fear in our daily doings.

to choose love
in traffic
in line at the drive-through or grocery store
in high-pressure meetings
in temper tantrums at the mall
with our partners
with our parents
with our children
with ourselves.

that's right — choosing love isn't just about doing unto others.
it's about doing right by you, too.
because the more you show you some love,
the more you can show others the same love, kindness & compassion.

the more you can ease into the flow of life.
the more you can trust the universe is working for you.
the more you can feel there is more than enough for everyone.
the more you can have a soft & open heart. every day. all day long.

& who doesn't want some of that?
[i do! i do!]

so, how will you choose love today?

suggestions for starting:
:: read renee's challenge & faq's about it.
:: visit her live inside out community & share stories about it.
:: get an i choose love tee [at cost] & clearly wear your intention.


image source: reneetrudeau.com.

loving. hopeful. optimistic.

my friends, love is better than anger.

hope is better than fear.

optimism is better than despair.

so let us be loving, hopeful & optimistic.
& we will change the world.


~ jack layton ~


image source: typeposters @ etsy.com.

full of awesome.

i recently discovered a blog
i feel i should have known about,
being a self-described suburban feminist & all.

pigtail pals' cutesy-wootsy name
belies its noble & serious calling/mission/tagline:

redefine girly.

pigtail pals was created originally as a children's clothing company
by melissa wardy, a mom-preneur working with the intention
"to show girls they may be bold, adventurous & heroic, just like boys!"

according to her website,
"a pigtail pal doesn't wish upon a star & wait for her prince to show up.
a pigtail pal gets into her rocket ship & finds that star all on her own!"

melissa found a following of like-minded parents
wanting to preserve childhood through media literacy & creative play.

today, she works her blog & social media
to fight the marketing & sexualization negatively affecting childhood.

melissa, you go, girl.

i discovered her work through the following post, which itself is
full. of. awesome.

feel free to print it & tape it up on your bathroom mirror. i did.


there was a time when you were five years old,
& you woke up full of awesome.

you knew you were awesome.

you loved yourself.

you thought you were beautiful,
even with missing teeth & messy hair &
mismatched socks inside your grubby sneakers.

you loved your body & the things it could do.

you thought you were strong.

you knew you were smart.

do you still have it?
the awesome.

did someone take it from you?
did you let them?
did you hand it over, because someone told you
you weren’t beautiful enough, thin enough, smart enough, good enough?

why the hell would you listen to them?
did you consider they might be full of shit?

wouldn’t that be nuts, to tell my little girl that in another five or ten years,
she might hate herself because she doesn’t look like
a starving & photoshopped fashion model?
or even more bizarre, that she should be
sexy over smart, beautiful over bold?

are you freaking kidding me?

look at her. she is full of awesome.

you were, once.
maybe you still are.
maybe you are in the process of getting it back.

all I know is that if you aren’t waking up feeling like this about yourself,
you are really missing out.

image source: me of her, age twelve & still full of awesome.

who we are.

tonight, let us think back to the sense of unity that prevailed on 9/11.

i know that it has, at times, frayed.

yet today’s achievement is a testament to the greatness of our country &
the determination of the american people.

the cause of securing our country is not complete.
but tonight, we are once again reminded that
america can do whatever we set our mind to.

that is the story of our history,
whether it’s the pursuit of prosperity for our people,
or the struggle for equality for all our citizens;
our commitment to stand up for our values abroad, &
our sacrifices to make the world a safer place.

let us remember that we can do these things
not just because of wealth or power,
but because of who we are:

one nation,
under god,
indivisible,
with liberty & justice for all.

thank you.
may god bless you.
& may god bless the United States of America.


u.s. president barack obama
on the occasion of the elimination of osama bin laden.
5.1.2011




image source: denise gould.

just be you. be just you.

dare to be what you are

& learn to resign with a good grace

all that you are not.

~ henri-frederic amiel ~

image source: daily mail.

relentless summer.

it's the last day of august 2011.
thank goodness.

for me, this summer has been a relentless parade of
rather stressful stuff.

:: a loved one's cancer diagnosis, surgery & eventual cure.
:: a ton of work that took 'til mid-august to complete.
:: a weeklong international family vacation.
:: three texas road trips.
:: tween puberty -> body-image issues.
:: third-grade leap -> labeling issues.
:: giant puppy [40+ lbs. @ 6 mos.] training.
:: searing heat [75 & counting days of 100+*F].

all somehow good [except for maybe the weather],
but still stressful.

so i didn't intend to put the blog on hold for a month,
but i have.
i guess maybe the blog & i, without really realizing it,
were both craving a break.

but we're back. & looking forward.

i hope you're still here.
& i hope you missed me.
because i'm still here & i missed you.

& i intend to do some serious back-blogging come september.
which reminds me . . .

come, september.

come & bring the autumnal equinox.
bring non-record-breaking, non-broken-record,
good old-fashioned double-digit temperatures.
bring our world a color other than brown.

come, september, & bring new, doable everydays.
bring new friends, new colleagues, new business.
bring new comfort, new commitment, new confidence.
bring new communication & connection, one day at a time.

come, september, & bring health, happiness & good dogs.
bring spots for resting, reading & creativity.
bring space for nesting, organization & clarity.
bring dancing, stitching & learning italian.

come, september. come & be a seasonal leader.
bring something new, something improved, something different.
bring change — & i'll do my best to bring
grace & gratitude to go with it.

how about you? what do you wish for september
to bring when it comes?


image source: lettergirl @ etsy.

awfully smart for a dumb blonde.

"to all you girls who think you're fat 

because you're not

a size zero,

you're the beautiful one.

it's society that's ugly."

~ marilyn monroe ~

image source: celeb-face.com.