Wednesday, December 30, 2009

SATC 2

So everyone is excited about the "Sex and the City 2" movie trailer.

I did like the first movie, really just for the clothes the gals wore and the NYC scenes. Big was a weak jerk (even the fabulous closet he built doesn't make up for it).

But you have to read this hilarious post on The Lil Bee -- a blog I recently found and am really enjoying!

She is so right -- Samantha IS Blanche!

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

yummy brunch

On Christmas morning, I made Mr Right brunch. Eggs benedict but with beef tenderloin and corn bread. No hollandaise sauce. Not my favorite, but I think he really liked it.
Accompanied by Vueve Clicquot. THAT was my favorite. :)

Got the inspiration here.

Sunday, December 27, 2009

resolution solution

no resolutions.

This is really hard for me. But I have a planner pad full of goals and projects and I don't need any more lists. I need more check marks on the lists I do have.

I was thinking today that in 2010 I will turn 45. Halfway to 50. Geez.

I saw Meryl Streep in "It's Complicated" yesterday. I was so looking forward to it; Meryl inspires me. She is amazing and yet she keeps getting better.

There is a scene in the movie where she is picking tomatoes in her beautiful garden and arguing with her ex-husband, Alec Baldwin (I think the character's name is Jake). I couldn't tell you what she said to him, because I was looking at the beautiful garden. It was amazing.

I'm sure Hollywood has a high-end nursery bring in beautiful plants and set them down right before the shooting. Still, it was gorgeous -- Kale, Swiss chard, tomatoes, lots of things I didn't recognize.

I'd like to have a garden like that before I'm 50.

The problem is, I don't really like gardening. I hate yard work. I know there's a lesson here about "enjoying the journey" but I just want the garden. I'd prefer to pay someone else to do it. Am I getting shallow? Aren't you supposed to be more drawn to gardening as you age?

Anyway, besides the garden, Meryl Streep is her typical amazing self. She's 60, and makes 60 look good.

So in the spring I'll be half-way to 50. What can I be doing now that I am close to being the "best self" that Meryl clearly is?

I think I want to learn to speak French.

Spanish would be easier, I took it in hs and college. And it would be more useful. But French is so beautiful.

Johnson County Community College has this great deal with Rosetta Stone -- you can take all the Rosetta Stone language courses for 10 weeks for $99. I'm going to try Spanish, French and Italian. At the end of the 10 weeks, I may buy the Rosetta Stone that I suck the least at.

Who knows, maybe I will be billingual at 50.

Run Forrest Run

I'm starting to love running.

I've always really hated it.

Teaching exercise classes for years created what I call "cardio-induced ADD." I have to have my mind busy.

I went Christmas eve before company and felt so good all day.
I went last night at 9:00 pm. Because I knew I'd sleep better.

I don't wantto curse this with a New Year's resolution, but I hope to do more running in 2010.
Benefits of Running - read here.

New York memories

One of my favorite memories of 2009 will be this trip to New York that Mr. Right gave me for an anniversary gift.
My one-year old sat through a 90 minute show and was mesmerized by the Rockettes.
I emailed abbey (who I've never met) and she recommended a fabulous raw food restaurant, Pure Food and Wine. We loved it. Creative cooking to say the least. And we were lucky enough to meet the owner, she happened to be in the restaurant that night.
"Love, Loss and What I Wore" might have been my favorite part of this trip. Rita Wilson is charming and funny and I want to be her. (Not just because she's married to Tom Hanks.) Kristen Chenowith was darling, and the mother-daughter duo of Rhea Perlman and Lucy DeVito made me want to have another baby and name her Lucy.
I want to go back to New York. Now. Even though it's cold and snowy.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Christmas Eve menu & Proscuitto Fig Tart

Last night Mr Right and I bought a Costco membership so we could get a few things for our company on Christmas Eve. Love the prices at Costco. Between the time we purchased the membership and got into the car, four different people tried to pitch us to upgrade to the Executive Membership for another $50. Ick. Felt like I needed a shower. Hate upselling.

After we got home, neither of us wanted to go back out so we sent Super Nanny to do battle at the grocery store. Now we are ready for company.

Christmas Eve menu:

appetizer: Proscuitto Fig Tart
Beef Tenderloin
Roasted brussel sprouts and parsnips
Garlicky parmesan cauliflower -- They used to try to fake mashed potatoes with this; I find people enjoy it more if you just call it what it is - cauliflower. Almost anything tastes good with garlic and parmesan cheese.
Cheese Tortellini with pesto and red peppers
Mac & cheese for kids (and probably some grown-ups)
Mr Right's famous cilantro-lime sweet potatoes
dessert: a small cake from Andres, chocolate-covered almonds from Andres, killer cupcakes from Cupcake Ala Mode.
Yumm.
I can't wait.

You HAVE to try the Proscuitto Fig Tart. Get a refrigerator pie crust and roll it on a cookie sheet. Spread spreadable cream cheese on it. Top with Fig preserves. (Sometimes I buy a can of figs, drain them, and stir them into the preserves for extra figgy-ness.) Turn up the edges of the pie crust, make your way around the tart. Then take extra-thin sliced proscuitto and twirl each piece. Put the twirled slices on the tart from the center outward -- like spokes on a bicycle wheel. Bake according to pie crust instructions. Yumm.

Monday, December 14, 2009

so true...

"There is in every true woman's heart, a spark of heavenly fire, which lies dormant in the broad daylight of prosperity, but which kindles up and beams and blazes in the dark hour of adversity."
Washington Irving

Monday, November 30, 2009

Bye-bye November

I can't believe tomorrow is December.

November was good:
brunch for my Mom's birthday
several sweaty step classes
another month gone with no yoga (this is the LAST)
STFM Board meeting and Practice Improvement Conference
new windows in my house
a good meeting for NAPCRG
an exhausting week of work in Montreal
an amazing week in Montreal
a lovely Thanksgiving at my in-laws (I really do have wonderful in-laws)
holiday lights up outside house (a surprise from Mr. Right)
tree up; train up; ready for Christmas festivities
a couple of long stroller walks this past weekend

Now on to December.
And then to 2010.
Where is it all going??

Montreal





Montreal was magical.
The work was tiring, exhausting.

But that city was amazing. I so want to speak French. Maybe that will be a goal -- speak French before I turn 50. (I refuse to have a "bucket list.")

And I can find chocolate ANYWHERE. On any street, in any city and in any country. Had to snap a photo (thank you new Blackberry Tour) of this chocolatier. Christopher E still owns my chocolate-loving heart, but these folks were pretty darn good. Tres yummy!

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Thanksgiving is an inside job

Love this email I got today from Mama Gena about Thanksgiving.


Darlings,

What has the power to send a woman straight to bed with the covers pulled over her head for an entire week faster than the H1N1 virus?

Thanksgiving.

Not the ACTUAL Thanksgiving, but the Thanksgiving we are "supposed" to have. You know the one. . . the perfect family gathered 'round the perfectly set table, pumpkin pie aroma wafting through the air, children dressed in velvet playing nicely and sharing, handsome husband carving the turkey, grandpapa drinking brandy by the fire, while grandmamma and the aunties load the serving platters with all the trimmings. . .

WHAT?
That's not what you're doing?
Guess what?
No one is.
And the danger of this holiday season is that each of us have the potential to forget to celebrate what we HAVE and get stuck in the dark, destructive twirl of what we think we should be doing for the holidays, rather than being grateful for what we actually have- RIGHT NOW- and celebrating the light each of is in this world.

Is the scenario I described above enough to send you to bed with a box of Kleenex and a cold compress? Does it make you want to dive under the covers and emerge once this all passes?
Are you just gonna let it wipe you out and take you down?
Or will you rise up and fight back by having the most beautiful, blessed, outrageously thankful Thanksgiving of your life?

C'mon. Let me paint you a picture of what's going on for ME this Thanksgiving. My daughter is going out of town with her dad. My family is spread out all over the place and not getting together. A new guy I met and invited for dinner just canceled on me. And all my friends already have plans. Yep. Doesn't exactly look like the scene above, now does it?
Soooo, I could either join you in bed with the Kleenex- or triumph and choose to share this little light of mine bigger and brighter than it has ever shone before.

Because the truth is, no matter what I choose to do on Thanksgiving Day, I have got a lot to be grateful for. . .
I mean, c'mon- I just got back from Miami, with over 300 Sister Goddesses, celebrating every drop of what it means to be a woman. AND I had the incredible privilege of having my mama attend this World Wide event with me. This summer, after working non-stop for the last twelve years, I took time off to be with my daughter and work on my 4th book in beach paradise! I have an incredible team that I have the privilege of working with every day. My daughter is having a great school year in school. I am dating! (Not easy for a single mother/business owner!) AND I look and feel better than I have ever felt in my life. Not to mention, I get to live my dreams of leading the Pleasure Revolution every single day.

So, my plans for this Thanksgiving?
I have created a delicious day of thanks in honor of all I have been given. I'll be attending a Thanksgiving breakfast with some friends, and then I will be serving others dinner at a soup kitchen. And I've decided to take my alone time and spend it exploring parts of the city I have not had the opportunity to discover yet.

You see, it's not where we are going, or what we are doing, or who we are with that determines the way we experience this day.

Thanksgiving is an inside job.

You, me, any of us can decide to fall to our knees in gratitude for the gifts we have and shine our radiance on the world in any way we choose. We just have to remember- it's a choice.

So, now it's about you. I want to hear your Thanksgiving brags.
You can reply directly back to this email. I want to hear about your courage, your outrageousness, your hot, throbbing creativity as you design a day of days, filled with your magnificent, unique sacred light.

I am grateful to each of you for your part in the Pleasure Revolution. With you by my side, we will take this holiday season higher than it's ever gone before!

Happy Thanksgiving my darlings!
With so much love and pleasure,
Mama Gena

Monday, November 02, 2009

Bonjour November

It will truly be a month with a french accent, as I'll be leaving for Montreal in a few days and working like mad. Nearly 800 attendees at a convention. I am SO bringing my yoga mat and running shoes.

October ended in a flurry. I was so happy to attend Judith Lasater's yoga workshop "Moving from the Organs" and learn how healthy I'm getting from the inside-out!

Halloween was great fun with M as Baby Shrek. Went to visit my old neighbors, which always leaves me a bit lonely for that cul-de-sac of families.

Sunday was a gorgeous fall day and we had pizza outside at Pizza 51 to celebrate my stepson's 18th birthday.

Thank you October, for a month where I worked really hard. Adn for the milestones and celebrations.

I am still sad about the deaths of Kelly M and Ann W, 44 and 45 years old. For that I am glad to see October go.

November's shorter days are a mixed blessing. Like most of you, I love seeing the sun early and don't care so much for the darkness as I leave the office.

Here's hoping NAPCRG has an amazing meeting and November feels productive and like a month well spent.

and baby (shrek) makes 3




October 31st was Halloween. A happy, fun halloween.
It was also the 2-year anniversary of seeing that PLUS sign on a pregnancy test.
It was 5:15 am just before my fave 5:30 yoga class. Talk about pulling your brain together -- I had to really focus to teach that day!

That Halloween Mr Right and I dressed up as Shrek and Princess Fiona. This year we added a baby shrek.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Judith Lasater quoted Eleanor Rosevelt at workshop yesterday:
No one can make you feel inferior without your permission.

Can't hear that one often enough.

But Judith added: Fill in the blank, change "inferior" to any word you want. Hmmmm.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

my favorites

All the young bloggers -- and the blogging community makes me feel very old -- are doing lists of their favorite things.

There's no such thing as too old to have favorite things. :)

My current favorites:

Sweaty runs followed by a long shower

Sunday mornings with no schedule, just snuggling with baby girl and Mr Right

Hot baths

Yoga

Vanilla cupcakes from Cupcake ala Mode or Babycakes (no others, not worth the calories)

Fantasy travel planning

Fantasy interior design (no budgets in my fantasies)

recorded episodes of Divine Design

anything in New York

shopping

books, books, books

shopping for books

style and home magazines

my Kindle

Bukeka Shoals singing at church

pasta my husband makes

long walks

Anthropologie, Z Gallerie, Prydes, Nordstrom, "With a French Accent"

brunch (or anything) at Blue Stem

Christopher Elbow chocolates

beautiful hand writing

notecards and stationary

my iPod

my iPod shuffle

mocha, tea or anything warm in a mug on a chilly day

stories of inspirational entrepreuners

the beach

the city

completing a project that I created

taking photos

writing letters (or long personal emails)

strategic thinking, esp to boost business or participation

Is my list too long? I'm certainly not done. Has to be getting boring though.

My very favorite of all my favorite things:
when baby girl plants her slobbery, open mouth on my face and exclaims "mmmmm-uh!"

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Professional crushes

For a long time, I had a professional crush on Mireille Guilano. CEO of Veuve Clicquot -- is there a better job? Then to be an author. Too good.

Then I went through a phase watching Dara Torres - pure fitness envy.

Then Anna Wintour (how could you not with all the "September Issue" hype?)

Then Keith Johnson and Glen Senk -- but I was more envious of their style and homes. Ok, maybe more envious of their professional life.

Now I've come full circle and am envious of Mireille again. I downloaded her new book to my kindle last night. I read her "business manifesto" on her website today. "Bad hair is a branding catastrohpe for women." Sounds so shallow, but so darn true!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

new book - Merci beaucoup Mireille!



I can't wait to get this book! I just ordered it on Amazon.

You can read the first chapter here.

MAYA ANGELOU'S' BEST POEM EVER



MAYA ANGELOU'S' BEST POEM EVER

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
enough money within her control to move out and rent a place of her own,
even if she never wants to or needs to.....
something perfect to wear if the employer or date of her dreams wants to see her in an hour...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ..
a youth she's content to leave behind.....
a past juicy enough that she's looking forward to retelling it in her old age....
a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black lace bra...
one friend who always makes her laugh... and one who lets her cry...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE .......
a good piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in her family
eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems,
and a recipe for a meal that will make her guests feel honored...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ..
a feeling of control over her destiny...
how to fall in love without losing herself..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
how to quit a job, break up with a lover,
and confront a friend without ruining the friendship....

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW....
when to try harder... and WHEN TO WALK AWAY...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW....
that she can't change the length of her calves,
the width of her hips, or the nature of her parents..
that her childhood may not have been perfect...but it's over...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
what she would and wouldn't do for love or more...
how to live alone... even if she doesn't like it...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW.. .
whom she can trust,
whom she can't,
and why she shouldn't take it personally...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
where to go...
be it to her best friend's kitchen table..
or a charming Inn in the woods...
when her soul needs soothing...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
What she can and can't accomplish in a day...
a month...and a year....

from Angela: I'm not sure that a man shouldn't do the same. But I suppose most of them already know they should.
"A youth she's content to leave behind." Hmmmmmm. Gotta work on that. And the juicy past too.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

you must watch this

http://www.oprah.com/media/20090924-tows-stephanie-struggle-crash