Goodbye Girl

So today is the year anniversary of 38 and Growing. And it is my last full post. It is time to say goodbye to this stage of my journey. I am not abandoning the blogging world (you can't get rid of me that easily, she says maniacally!). But I am no longer 38, though I am always growing, and I am moving on to my own universe. Thank you to all of you who joined with me in this process. It became so much more than I dreamed. I feel like Marsha Mason at the end of one of my favorite corny '70s movies, The Goodbye Girl, when she realizes that she isn't alone and more importantly, will never be alone. I am not alone. I know that now. And this blog has been a part of me learning that.

I hope that you won't be saying goodbye either. I hope you will join me at my new website, A Star In My Own Universe. My beautiful friend, Lee, built it for me -- I went all Wordpress on y'all! Tomorrow is the official launch and I hope to see you there!

Until then, you know I couldn't leave you without one of my equally corny favorite songs.



All your life you've waited for love to
come and stay
And now that I have found you, you must
not slip away
I know it's hard believin' the words you've
heard before
But darlin' you must trust them just once
more... 'cause baby
Goodbye doesn't mean forever
Let me tell you goodbye doesn't mean
we'll never be together again
If you wake up and I'm not there, I won't
be long away
'Cause the things you do my Goodbye Girl
Will bring me back to you.

I know you've been taken, afraid to hurt
again
You fight the love you feel for me instead
of givin' in
But I can wait forever, for helpin' you to see
That I was meant for you and you for me
...so remember

Goodbye doesn't mean forever
Let me tell you goodbye doesn't mean
we'll never be together again
Though we may be so far apart you still
will have my heart
So forget your past my Goodbye Girl
'Cause now you're home at last.


And thanks to so many of you, I truly do feel home at last...

Also, a final update on Heifer International, thanks to an additional donations by my wonderful mother, I was able to donate $440 to Heifer International. Thanks to everyone who posted and to Erin from The Mother Load for making it such a success!!!

I Am Taking the Inner Mean Girl Cleanse

The wonderful Trinmom over at When Did I Become My Mom turned me on to this program. I am really excited to participate. This week I am promising to remove gossip from my vocabulary. Here's what I ave committed to:

TOXIN: GOSSIP


We all know that nothing good ever comes from gossip, right? Yet for some reason we might find ourselves participating in it. And in our society it can be really hard to refrain from it, even when we have the best intentions. For the next 7 days, your mission is to refrain from ALL gossip. To cleanse your system of this green goopy toxin by stopping all forms of gossip including:

Being the Gossip. Talking or writing about a person who is not part of the conversation in such a way that either:
a. they would feel bad hearing what you said or
b. you wouldn't want them to hear what you said.

Colluding in Gossip. Adding commentary and thoughts to a conversation or communication that create gossip. Gossip takes at least two - decline the invitation to join in!

Witnessing Gossip. Standing by and listening to other people gossip still lets the toxin seep in. Take a stand for good talk or leave the conversation.

Watching Gossip. Tuning into any form of media that promotes or shows gossip. Just because you don't know the people doesn't mean you're not gossiping! If you find yourself watching or listening to gossip (yes even celebrity gossip!) change the channel. Rather than picking up the tabloid in the grocery line, grab Yoga Journal or read Aspire on your Iphone!

YOUR DAILY PRACTICE:

"Be impeccable with your word."

Start your day: by saying this affirmation for at least one minute: "Today I speak only from my heart. I leave gossip and toxic words behind. I truly speak only from my heart."

Live your entire day aware of your words, and choose Good Talk over Gossip.

End your day reflecting about your new AHA's and awareness.

* daily practice inspired by don Miguel Ruiz's Four Agreements

So there it is. No gossip. I don't consider myself a gossip yet I know that I sometimes fall into its enticing trap. But this week I commit to dodging that mine and keeping my words kind. Or as my mother taught me, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all!" So that's what I am going to do!

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Also, please check me out at my other gig: http://www.doctorsmiths.com/content/problem-solved-oh-yes-0. Warning: I have a potty mouth (pun intended!)

Wordless Wednesday -- First Grade is on!

It's Wednesday, so it's time time again for Wordless Wednesday.

Check it out over at 5 Minutes for Mom.

Also, remember when I told you that I was writing for the great people over at Dr. Smith's.

Well so is Heloise. Yes, the Heloise. I met her.

She's totally nice and exactly like she is on the Today Show.

Well, her first blog post is here today and be sure and go back tomorrow because I have a potty-mouthed post. That's right. I'm talking poopie and tinkle!

Shh... I Have Got a Secret

So the fabulous folks over at CSN have given me yet another wonderful opportunity. You all know CSN, right? They sell everything, and I mean everything. They have gorgeous lighting, luggage, and wonderful furniture including absolutely terrific dining room tables. These are pretty enough that I might start cooking just so that I have something worthy of such a table!

Well, they offered me a chance to review an item of my choice and I couldn't resist something for my favorite two product testers -- my kiddos, of course. So don't tell but something very big and very fun is on its way. I just can't wait to share it with them and you! If feels a little like Christmas around here.

In the mean, if you'd like to guess what it is, check out CSN. Here's a hint, it's from Little Tikes and it is a perfect fit for my two little artists. So stay tuned. I promise pictures of product and testers!

Sundays in My City -- Galveston Edition

This a glimpse at the wonderful Sunday we spent on our beach vacation. I love the beach. And thankfully so do my husband and kids. One day I will live there, but until then.. we will always have the weekend.

I showed you mine. Check out my friend, Unknown Mami, to check out other great Sundays in other great cities.

I'm Hopping and Following

I am participating with A Bloggy Mom and Bloggy Moms Network in Friday Follow (Check out Tiffany and the other cool Moms here.)

and Fun Friday Follow with Simply Stacie and My Wee View.

Happy Friday all!

Born to Be

Are you born to do something? Are you great at numbers? Can you paint? Do you make the best brownies? In other words, have you found your calling?

For a very long time, I knew my calling was acting. I knew it from a very young age. I have memories (verified by mother) of dressing in my ballet leotard, having my mother tie a red ribbon around me neck (a fascination developed by watching Wild, Wild West on Sunday evenings), and performing in our driveway. I believed that I would be kidnapped/discovered. Maybe not the healthiest desire or practical -- we lived at the end of a horseshoe shaped street in a so suburban-it-was=almost-rural area. Needless to say that I was neither discovered (Boo!) or kidnapped (Yay!).

The point is that I knew what I should and would be doing for all my days. I was confident without wavering of my life's desire.

FLASH FORWARD 25 years, I am living in New York. Pursuing my dream. Loving it! I was never quite a SATC girl (I was married, after all) but I loved living in the city. I loved the trains. I loved living the life of an actress, even a struggling one.

And on one of the most beautiful mornings in September, I was in Manhattan to be a small part in an even smaller film (No. I don't remember the name.) And two planes flew into two buildings. And everything changed. For the country. And for me.

My husband and I were separated that day with little communication. For those of you who do not know, we lost cell phone capability when the towers fell. The trains were shut down. The tunnels and bridges were closed, Quite simply, I could not get home. And he could not come get me. He was enraged at his helplessness and he was forever changed.

Soon thereafter, he started dropping the words National Guard into conversation. We had both been impressed by how the Air National Guard had secured the airports and how the city was protected from the chaos expected by so many. Finally, he told me that he wanted to join.

Join? We were artists. We were the wacky, crazy, liberal gypsies. We were not a military family. Or so I thought.

It seems that this became his calling. And almost nine years later, he is still serving. I am very proud of him. But there was a cost. We walked away from our life in the city. We moved back to Texas and started over.

In September 2001, I was in a show. That was the last time I performed as an actress. I got to Texas and I focused on supporting our new life (Not surprisingly, the military does not pay exceedingly well) and then I focused on our family. I did not focus on acting. I would like to make this part of the story sound like Annette Bening walking away from Catwoman -- but the truth is I walked away from the acting world and it did not notice. At all. Nonetheless, I walked away for some time.

And after the years past, I began to wonder if I was still capable of acting. I feared that I no longer had a calling. I came to believe that in supporting my husband's calling, I had lost mine.

But this past weekend, I was proven wrong. As I mentioned previously, I was able to be a part of a series of staged readings. So wonderful! In several plays by young playwrights. And I discovered that a calling is forever. It may gather dust but it does not leave you.

I still have a calling. I don't quite know how it will next appear in my life but I now have faith that it will arise again. And that I will be ready when it does. It is a calling, after all.

So what's your calling?