for today.

prompts courtesy of The Simple Woman's Daybook via Ali Edwards . . .

FOR TODAY
October 15, 2009

Outside my window . . . sunshine, breeze, hundreds of migrating butterflies.

I am thinking . . . about my daughter's birthday, money & family.

I am thankful for . . . my good life. Weather changes (well, some). Our tidy little bookend dogs. The new superhero my son thought up. Getting things done. Reminders from the Universe.

From the kitchen . . . a banana & takeout.

I am wearing . . . a navy scoop tee, dark gray yoga pants, my fall/winter seasonal specs.

I am creating . . . a kickass kittycat party for my girl, a baby book for my boy.

I am going . . . to pick up the kids once I'm done with this post.

I am reading . . . I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. Very, very s-l-o-w-l-y.

I am hoping . . . we all stay healthy & flu-free.

I am hearing . . . silence at this moment (wow).

Around the house . . . Hank is showering, the dogs are wrestling, the wind chimes are busy.

One of my favorite things . . . rice krispie treats. Mmmm.

A few plans for the rest of the week . . . party prep, cleaning, groceries, sister visit, twosome time, vacuum, wrapping, favors, lists, cupcakes.

A picture to share . . . my almost 11yo all summerfied a la August [see above]. Love all her freckles. Love her tangled hair. Love her skewy eyeglasses. Love her & all her in-betweeness. :)

austin hearts leslie.

If you're not from Austin, then you might not get our community's genuine affection for our local "Keep Austin Weird" mascot, a homeless-by-choice, cross-dressing, former mayoral candidate named Leslie.

But Austin loves Leslie － in large part because Leslie loveslovesloves Austin.

Which is why I've found myself praying daily for his complete recovery. Albert "Leslie" Cochran, 58, suffered serious head trauma about two weeks ago (EMS was called when he fell down in front of a taxi, and while the news coverage is clear about head injury, I've read that he had a brain aneurysm which caused him to fall and that he hit his head when he fell, so the nature of the trauma is unclear), had brain surgery to relieve cranial swelling, and for several days was not expected to survive.

Now, he has been upgraded to "fair" condition, but is apparently rather vegetative, with limited hope of full recovery. His sister, Alice Cochran Masterson, says Leslie will likely require assisted living arrangements for the rest of his life, and probably won't ever be able to return to his home out on the streets again.

Which is a huge loss for downtown Austin, where Leslie hung out － both on the street and from his infamous thongs. He was smart, irreverent, hilarious, as eccentric as they come, big-hearted and, in his way, inspirational. Who among us can honestly claim to be as authentically ourselves as Leslie was 24/7/365?

So please say a little prayer for Austin's Queen of Weird-Ass Soul. Our sidewalks will be dimmer without him.

Click here for an interesting piece about how Leslie came to be Leslie.

today.

Today . . .

. . . I'm a little frustrated with the schizophrenic weather here in Austin, Texas.

. . . I'm struggling to really get really inspired about something. Anything. Really.

. . . I'm wondering how to make everyone at my house [including me] a happier camper in the morning.

. . . I'm procrastinating － dr.'s appointment, tax stuff, work.

. . . I'm happy to be helping my sweet husband write lyrics again.

. . . I will go to two fifth-grade choir performances & be duly impressed with our choir director, again.

. . . I'm worried we'll be at a different elementary school next year.

. . . I'm wishing I had scrapbooked and/or folded laundry last night while watching Mad Men.

. . . I'm fretting about money, as ever.

. . . I'm ordering birthday gifts for my daughter anyway.

. . . I'm excited to go see author Elizabeth Gilbert speak tomorrow.

. . . I'm searching for a groove.

. . . I'm digging this quotation from Ali Edwards' blog:

Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are.

Let me learn from you, love you,

bless you before you depart.

Let me not pass you by in quest of

some rare and perfect tomorrow.

Let me hold you while I may,

for it may not always be so.

One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or

bury my face in the pillow, or

stretch myself taut, or

raise my hands to the sky and

want, more than all the world,

your return.

－ Mary Jean Iron －

Happy normal day. :)

collect.

oh, october. somewhere, it's harvest season . . . a time to reap, to gather, to collect . . .

collect yourself with a deep breath.

collect your thoughts & turn them loose.

collect funny things your kids say day-to-day.

collect something quirky [chicken pitchers are my weakness].

collect leaves.

collect lists.

collect memorabilia.

collect inspirational quotations.

collect garbage along the roadside.

collect friends old & new for an autumnal feast [remember the gourds!].

celebrate the everyday － october.

It's October, 2009. How will you celebrate being a woman?

October 2 － National Diversity Day & World Smile Day
October 4 － Full moon [the Harvest Moon]
October 5 － Improve Your Office Day
October 10 － Universal Music Day
October 16 － Mammography Day
October 18 － World Menopause Day
October 23 － iPod Day
October 24 － Make a Difference Day

Remember, where there is connection, there is power.
Where there is power, there is hope for change. For ourselves, and for our world.
We are all connected. We are all powerful.

Until my next post, be well, be happy & be hopeful.

get happy: a women's prescription.

Marcus Buckingham － bestselling author and leading expert in personal strengths － has been blogging over at the Huffington Post about his upcoming book, Find Your Strongest Life: What the Happiest and Most Successful Women Do Differently, and I've been blogging about Buck's blogs.

Here's the down-and-dirty to date: Studies show that over the past forty years [just about my lifetime ... hmmm], women's happiness has decreased while men's has increased － this despite gradual growth in women's power and prosperity. Adding insult to injury, we're unhappier younger and we become even sadder as we age.

Wow. Debbie Downer moment, everyone.

OK, so what Buckingham did with all this bad news was to do a little research of his own to try to discover the upside: he talked with hundreds of women who claim to be happy and successful to try to determine what it is they all share.

First, he offered five quick questions to assess women's satisfaction with their lives:
1. How often do you get to do things you really like to do?
2. How often do you find yourself actively looking forward to the day ahead?
3. How often do you get so involved in what you're doing you lose track of time?
4. How often do you feel invigorated at the end of a long, busy day?
5. How often do you feel an emotional high in your life?

Second, he did in-depth interviews with all women who answered "every day" to four of the five questions.

Third, he found the common threads.

1. These women at some level simply chose to pursue happiness.

2. These women focus on moments rather than dreams, goals or plans. Not just any moments at all, but what Buckingham calls "strong-moments" － moments in your life that create in you strongly positive emotions, that you easily recall in vivid detail, that as you think about them, you feel yourself change. Buckingham says these strong-moments and the emotions they evoke represent your truth, your authentic self.

When you commit your life to being true to yourself, ... you are committing to the truth embodied in this specific moment which, for no rational reason, energizes you.

3. These women accept what they find. You might not like the strong-moments you find. But your life will get better once you accept the reality of which moments energize you and which don't. Says Buckingham:

[A]ccepting which moments strengthen you and which don't reveals to you exactly how you can live your dreams .... It means not only being comfortable in your own skin, but also being creative in your own skin.

4. These women strive for imbalance. OK, completely counterintuitive for me. But apparently these happy, successful women felt that not only is "balance" almost impossible to achieve [agreed], but also not necessarily fulfilling. Buckingham's recommendation:

Pinpoint the strong-moments in each part of your life, and gradually target or tilt your life toward them. [Be] as deliberate as you can about making them happen ... investigate them when they do happen, look at them from new perspectives, celebrate them. Give them the power of your attention.

5. These women say "Yes." Buckingham bucks common counsel by advising: Learn to say 'Yes.' Yes to the strong-moments ... Yes to the people who help you create these moments. Yes to your feelings as these moments happen. Say 'Yes' with enough focus and force, and yours will not be a balanced life, but it will be a full life.

Wow. Interesting if true, yes??

Finally, Buckingham offers the Strong Life Test － a quickie quiz to help you identify your "lead role," the role you return to again and again, a role you and the people closest to you see as the core of who you are. Knowing this role, according to Buckingham, will help you know where to look for your strong-moments, where to begin in order to infuse your life with greater happiness.

Just FYI, my Lead Role came up as Advisor, my Supporting Role as Equalizer. And you??

ten tips for lifelong connection.

A list to print and tuck into your wallet from the Slow Family Living blog. Co-blogger Bernadette Noll outlines the big life lesson she learned from her mom － how to make pausing and connecting more than a great idea, how to take it beyond the theoretical:

It is possible, if we put the pieces in place now: the rituals, the practices, the conversations, the pauses, the all-important SEEING of each other － it is possible to build a sustainable connection. Quite possible indeed.

Here are a few of the very tangible things [my 84-year-old mom] did and continues to do in the name of connection:

1. Write letters, send postcards every chance you get. Keep stamps in your wallet so that whenever you think of someone, you can jot them a quick note.

2. Talk it through.

3. Say sorry. Even when you’re not really sure what you’re sorry for. Be sorry there was strife. In the name of peace and love.

4. Forgive. And forget. And move on.

5. Give people a second chance. More if they’re family. And if they’re your children, give them endless chances.

6. Ask people questions about themselves. Your family and friends, and also people you meet on the street. Whether you’re at the grocery counter or the bank or the gas station, talk to people about their life.

7. Listen to the answers.

8. Make the connection when you think of making the connection. When you think of calling someone, call them right then.

9. Have extra beds for guests. Or cots. Or sleeping bags. And lots and lots of blankets.

10. If you have to choose between order and quiet or mess and noise, go for the mess and noise. It might make you a little crazy, but there’s plenty of time for order and quiet when you get old.