Zazazu

Once again, I feel like there is much I want to write and yet, I can’t write it or I can’t remember it all to write it down. I fear that it is a jumbled mess up there, in my brain. Things go up there and rarely come down.

Luckily, I have some wonderful friends who talk to me and discuss things with me and generally give me wonderful insight. Some of that insight comes in the form of carefully chosen quotations like the one that Melissa gave me this week:

Do not let your fears choose your destiny. {Author Unknown}

Mmmmmm… savor that one for awhile. Yummy.

Another delightful thing to savor is the free bracelet being offered by my friend digitalteacup on Etsy. Okay folks… not many things in this world are free anymore but this really is! It is truly FREE! Just send her your address and she will send you this adorable crocheted bracelet. FREE! How much more uber-cool could you get than that?

Last weekend, I watched Becoming Jane with Anne Hathaway and James McAvoy (No. 60). I’ve been excited to see this movie since I heard the title of it, since it even hit theaters. I love Jane Austen, everything about her and the very concept of her life. I devour it, dream about it, and think everything to do with it – even the dank houses and unfortunate fashions – are just so magical and romantic.

But… the movie leaves something to be desired.

Anne Hathaway made a surprisingly decent Jane. I don’t think there is any actress out there who could really do Jane Austen any justice at all. Honestly, I don’t even think that Jane could play Jane. But, Anne holds her own. James McAvoy is cute and his accent is dreamy but he oozes cocky, even more than his character called for. The supporting roles did VERY little more than just that.

The storyline was forgettable, quite literally. I’m sitting here exactly one week later and can only remember the high points to write this review. I remember none of the nuances that should have captured my attention enough to recall. I remember the ending (which I shall not giveaway) and that is about all. I can’t say much for a movie when I’m disappointed in an ending that I’m glad to see come about.

See it once and judge for yourself. You might like it. Anything regarding Jane is worth a see.

The remarkable thing about Jane Austen is that her work, her life and her person continue to be ‘done’ over and over and over and over and over and many renditions are not very good at all. In fact, more are bad than are good. And yet, she stands her own. Her work, her life and her person speak for themselves, through the bad re-makes that are yielded hundreds of years after her death. Everyone wants a stab at her, everyone wants a piece of her, everyone wants to try their hand at doing their version of Miss Austen.

But, only Miss Austen is Miss Austen. And, so she lives by her pen. Her ultimate goal in life, her dream… to live by her pen. If only she knew how very well she is doing it.

It was quite a delightful surprise here in the great Magnolia State over the weekend for us to have snow!

This may look like just a dusting of snow but for us, it is a LOT of snow. This is the most we will get in a year, if this.

I have friends who go out and have snowball fights, make snowmen and such but I stay indoors. Obviously, I ventured out to take these pictures but no further. It was *snap – snap* and then I scurried back inside.

It is pretty, to be sure, but, for most days, I like weather like today: 74 degrees, mild and sunny. Bring on the springtime!

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I was tagged recently over at Paint Floats. Her meme was done with a retail-therapy spin, which I loved. However, when I went to post mine in the same fashion, I couldn’t think of seven things I wanted badly enough to post up here. I’m at the same time shocked and very proud of that.

So, I will put my own spin on the tag. I will list seven things that I’d like to be at some point in my life. Here goes:

1. Yoga instructor
2. English as a foreign language teacher
3. Life coach
4. Wife
5. Animal rescuer
6. Actress
7. Writer

I won’t tag anyone but if you want to play along with this one or put your own unique spin to it, go ahead and have fun. Thanks, Paint Floats!

{To anyone else tempted to tag me, I won’t be doing anymore tags anytime soon! Thanks for understanding! I’m about tagged out!}

This print of BluLima’s is such a chic, classy rendition of the 1939 British Government poster and is standard size for framing. I traded for one like this (different color) and it is amazing! The quality of the print is astounding and for only $12.oo? You really can’t beat it! See here for details.

{Let Them Eat Cake… print}

She has tons of wonderful designs and even more amazing colors! Her service is amazing and she is just the most fun to converse with too. Check out her store! You will LOVE it!

Softly love and to love softly.
Dew on the sycamore branch.
By the creaking gate where my heart hurries afterwards through the path of wheat along the briar, to that stone, under which I lie.

As many of you know, I’ve been working through The Artist’s Way with a group of wonderful and creative people.  The blog we set up is here.  In an effort to get more out of the exercises at the end of the chapters and because I really admire how this particular participant does hers so thoroughly and freely, I thought I would follow suit and post (some of) mine here.  JC doesn’t stipulate that you do all of the exercises, just most of them.

Week Three

Describe five traits I liked in myself as a child…
I loved my imagination, my hope and faith in the future, my dramatic flair, my trust, and – above all – my unwavering confidence in myself and who I was.

List five childhood accomplishments…
1.  Drawing an impeccable picture of Mickey and Minnie Mouse for my Dad
2.  Singing “Friends are Friends Forever” in the talent show as a duet and being told I should have done a solo because I was so good
3.  Being editor of my high school yearbook and it turning out so great!  It was such hard work but SO worth it… such a great accomplishment!
4.  Being in Advanced Placement English, on three years of yearbook (one year as editor) and on the county-wide newspaper team
5.  Having great hair all through high school

Bad habits – time killers & creative drainers…
1.  Procrastinating – simply NOT doing stuff that I need to do.
2.  Spending too much time online – I do a lot of things that I need and want to do online but they are things that I’ve created to do that don’t really serve much purpose toward my ultimate life goals.
3.  Worrying.  Stressing.  Pacing.  Letting anxiety literally overcome me.
4.  Not exercising.  At all.
5.  Not eating healthfully or drinking enough water or taking vitamins.
6.  Not having a healthy network of friends around me in real life.
7.  Not getting out of the house enough.
{I need to stop here or I will have *certain people* after me for sure.}

Make a list of three friends who nurture you and their traits that serve you well:
1.  Tracy – always supportive, no matter what, will always back me up and go with the decisions that I make.
2.  Rebecca – tells it like it is, a resource that I couldn’t do without in my life… is also the friend who is always up for a challenge with me.
3.  Kirsty – keeps me in line about getting back out in life and keeps the principles of The Secret in the forefront of my mind… very proactive and positive… she is like my little inspirational army.

Five people I admire and the traits they possess…
1.  Mom for her desire to help others.
2.  Dad for his inherent wisdom and way of knowing how to handle things.
3.  John Martin for being so good that all that he is good at and being so interested in all that he is interested in.
4.  Jason for taking care of himself.
5.  Laura for being as active in life as she is.

List five people I wish I had met who are dead or who I’d like to hang out with in in the afterlife and their traits…
1.  My maternal grandmother-I just wish I had known her… I have a feeling that I’m a lot like her and that we would have loved each other a lot.
2.  Anne Boleyn – To see really what she was like, what she looked like and to find out where her spirit, determination and courage came from.
3.  Jane Austen – To witness her imagination, intellect and wonder firsthand.
4.  Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette – Just to see how someone lives a life truly on their own terms.
5.  Queen Elizabeth I of England – Arguably, the most powerful monarch in history.  I’m fascinated with British royal history and this is where it begins… such a powerful historical bachelorette.   So much to learn…

Finally… what do these lists tell me about what traits I admire?  What of these traits could I incorporate into my own life?

Something to think about…