Happy Pre-Easter!!

Well, it has been a little bit since I posted. In the meantime I drove to Albuquerque and back to help my son and his lovely new wife move here to live in the town where my husband and I reside. They will be starting school again in the fall, and so decided to get a head start on finding employment before the rest of the college crowd try to compete for summer jobs.

AND ... yesterday was my birthday, and I will admit that I turned 49 ... my last year of my 40's. So I plan to enjoy this year as much as possible before I roll into my 50's. And, while aging might be a problem for some women, it truly doesn't bother me at all ... at least not yet. Now while that's being said ... I still color my hair, so I guess the correct response would be that aging without gray hair doesn't bother me! The most wonderful part of my birthday was realizing that ALL of my children were here to celebrate it with me. That hasn't happened in years, and it truly was the best present I could have asked for (besides the homemade lemon cake that my husband made me!).

So ... here are my juicy updates that I have waited with bated breath to share with you!! Many of you (my lovely and much loved facebook followers) have asked for tutorials on how to use some of the graphics that I create. Well ... they're coming, they're coming, they're coming!!! I'm so excited. I have been working on the evolution of my blog for several months, and spent hours upon hours working on what I wanted to share with you. All of the effort is finally paying off. So, I'm going to give you a little teaser ... you will definitely want to check in the beginning of April (and this is no joke, mes amies) as it will be the beginning of all of my plans coming together. I can't wait to share them with you.

So ... here are some teasers:

* Coco Chanel
* Life's Lessons for Women
* A Craft for Beginners (or those who think that they can't make anything ...)
* A Craft for Crafters (something to tempt even those who think they've done everything)
* Give Aways
* Contests
* Reviews about things that we all want, know, or love!
* A continuation of Freebie Fridays, but most of all ...
* Motivation that you ARE beautiful. You ARE special. You HAVE value. You ARE WORTH IT!!!

I hope you know that I care for each of you who reads my blog. I want you to feel what has taken me so many years to discover for myself: life is too short to spend any more time feeling doubts about your own unique beauty or self-worth. So, if you'll stick with me ... we're going to make sure that you do!

In the meantime, I created a graphic for my Brag Monday. For those who are new, I create something each Monday using one of the Graphic Fairy's beautiful vintage images. You'll find her link to left. I wanted (SO BADLY) to jump the gun and share next week's graphic, but I restrained myself and focused on Easter so I wouldn't fudge and ruin my surprises.

I hope you enjoy this graphic. Please feel free to use it in a non-commercial way. You are more than welcome to click on the picture and then right-click to save to your computer. You might use it as a desktop wallpaper, print it out to frame and decorate for Easter, or even create cards or crafts with it. I only ask that you not mass produce it. You may, however, send anyone my way to get their own copy.

And while we're talking about sharing ... if you haven't signed up for my facebook page, please do so. That is where you'll find past Freebie Fridays, some that weren't shared here, although you can always click on the Freebie Friday button to the right for the ones that were posted here. I try to switch things up between my followers. So, to make sure that you don't miss anything, you'll want to follow me in both places. I promise, some are truly treasures (at least that's what I think, as well as many of my followers). Last Friday's ... well ... does the name Audrey Hepburn mean anything to you? I don't think I need to say more! LOL!

Mes Amies ... have a very lovely week. I hope it is filled with beautiful thoughts and wonderful happenings for you and your life.

Warm Regards,

Lorraine



Im also linked to: Mosaic Monday

La La La La La ... But ....

So, today's post is a rant. Not a political rant. Not a rant about here, or a rant about there, nor a rant about anywhere (for you Dr. Suess fans out there). I promise, it won't be too big of a Debbie Downer, but still I need to rant.

Why is it that we, as women, find it necessary to tear each other down in order to feel better about ourselves? I, for the life of me, do not understand this cultural anomaly. We, as women, have a hard road to trod. One would think that we would be as supportive of each other as possible. But, sadly, that isn't so.

This past week I've had to "let go" of some comments that an extended family member directed toward me. Is this new behavior? No. Is it an unusual dynamic in our relationship? No. However, it still cuts like a knife, no matter how much I try to "let it go." Maybe it's because I'm an oldest child, but I really expect people to like me. I don't expect everyone to think I'm the "cat's meow." However, I have sufficient evidence to support that for the most part, I'm a very nice person, and people, in general think I'm a nice person. So, how come I get dumped on by someone who should be part of my support system?

Well ... I happen to know that the truth is ... [insert drum roll here] ... she is intimidated by me and the small amount of success that I've had in my life. The sad part is, I would be the first person jumping up and down cheerleading for her if she were to allow herself to have the same types of experiences.

Long ago I read the book by Stephen Covey entitled "The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People." He talked about the Zero Sum game. "If you are winning then I am losing. If I am winning, then you must lose." HOW COME WE CAN'T ALL WIN? I'd like to know. As far as I'm concerned you are all winners. I don't always win, but I'm moving forward, none the same, and for me, that is winning. I would bet that you could say the same thing as well.

So ... girls (I still like to think of myself as a girl, even though I'm in my late 40's) ... let's be a little more supportive and help everyone around us to feel like winners. You know ... it doesn't really take a whole lot of effort, either to do that. A small compliment, a smile at the store to someone who looks like they are having a bad day, a "congratulations" when someone gets a promotion or a raise, or a job, or, or, or, etc.

In the meantime, I've created a Freebie Friday for you that is definitely "Tongue in Cheek." I saw this vintage painting of 1840's fashion and the sarcasm of the moment just sprung out of my brain and onto the page. You'll see what I mean when you click on it and read the commentary. I promise ... it will either get a chuckle out of you, or it may sting a little. Because, you see, many times we as women do our best "Catty" impersonations under the "guise" of being supportive or "helpful." Well sisters ... that doesn't cut it either. And, don't you find it always seems to be that this "helpfulness" is usually couched by starting out as a positive statement, followed by the word "BUT" and then the knife comes out!

Okay ... thank you for letting me get my rant out. I feel so much better and I hope you will too when you think about how much of a "winner" you are (and please, please, please, do not think about Charlie Sheen's rant about "winning" - I promise you shouldn't go there either!).

So, sweet amies ... here is your free printable. As always, feel free to click on the picture and save to your computer or print out. It might just help you accept my challenge to be more supportive of the women in your life this week. Let me know how you do, and I will too.

Bonsoir, and have a WONDERFUL weekend!!

Lorraine

Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder, Or Is It?

I hope you had a great day yesterday. I certainly did. I spent time with my daughter (who is recovering from an appendectomy) and helped her "Feng Shui" her living room (which I had been dying to do, but biting my tongue until she asked!). It was wonderful to feel needed by her and to help her out. She is my first child and never asks for my help (she feels like she should be able to do everything herself ... hmmm I wonder where she got that - says another first child?).

I also had a great visit with a newer friend of mine. I'm not going to name any names, because she may very well read this, and while I know she'll forgive the content, my lips are sealed as to her identity! :o)

Anyway, in the course of our conversation, we started talking about our looks, and I commented on how beautiful I thought she was. She wasn't having it. She started pointing out what was wrong with her face, why it wasn't beautiful (and I have to mention her subject matter was backed up by a National Geographic documentary on beauty - so she felt she had science on her side). It didn't matter what I said, she knew when she looked in the mirror that because her eyebrows weren't symetrical, she was majorly flawed, and she couldn't see beyond that. I felt like we were talking about two different people. I thought she had beautifully arched eyebrows, and I have always believed myself to be a pretty observant person, but I honestly could only tell that one eyebrow was a little more arched than the other. I thought it was charming. She wasn't having it.

Okay, this has just made me remember that when I try on glasses, the eye technician always tells me that I have one eyebrow higher than the other, and you can only really tell when I have my glasses on, because that's when you notice it. HA! I have science (aren't the eyeglass technicians scientifically trained, or am I stretching things here?) on my side. She never mentioned anything about my eyebrows, and so we are equally flawed, but she didn't even notice ... now why couldn't she accept that I couldn't notice hers?!

Okay, it sounds like I'm picking on her. And, I promise I'm not. But it really made me start to think about what I see in the mirror, versus what everyone else sees. How different are the images we see in the mirror from the visual images that everyone around us sees when they look at us?

I have to wonder if it's like when you listen to a tape of your voice, and you think "Yuck! Do I sound like that?"

I know that I have a great disconnect between how I perceive my looks and how the others around me perceive me. My husband is always telling me how beautiful I am. But, I have to admit that I assume that he is biased because he loves me. At the same time, I also have to admit to myself that my husband couldn't lie to save his soul. So, while I know this about him, why can I not believe that his visual perception of me is accurate based upon his ability to truly see me, not based upon his feelings alone?

I think that is something that probably most women (and I know that I'm assuming here) have a difficulty with. At least in America it seems to be a problem. We look in the mirror and we see our flaws. We see the lines that experience has given us, we see the imperfect bodies that children or gravity have given us. We see the experiences that life has brought to us, and we see them as negative instead of seeing the beauty that all of those things have wrought in our lives and that we now carry as badges of bravery and wisdom. Life's impressions on our bodies shouldn't be seen as anything less than beautiful, because they have made us into the people we are today. And I don't believe that science can accurately measure that type of beauty.

So, in keeping with this theme. My Freebie Friday printable has a fabulous quote on it that I hope will inspire you to be a little kinder to yourself when you look in the mirror. It is by Anais Nin, who was a wonderful french writer who mostly wrote memoirs before it was even really a genre, or popular genre, of writing. Of course I had to throw a little french in here, bien sur!!

If you cannot find the beauty that life has given you on the outside, then maybe you need to dust some of the cobwebs out inside of you and start to see (with gratitude) all of the good that has come from the experiences that have marked your body. I promise it will help. I feel better about myself just writing this post! So, that is my challenge to you. Look at yourself in the mirror, and be kind! When you see a flaw, think of the good that brought that flaw into your life. Even if you have to work hard to do so, it is worth the effort. A feeling of gratitude and love will always create peace in our lives. And, the peace we feel radiates from inside ourselves and sheds itself to others around us. That is true inner beauty, that cannot be measured by science and cannot be contained within us. It radiates from inside ourselves and shines so brightly that we truly radiate a kind of beauty that is visual to the eyes of all who behold it.

Bonsoir mes amies. Have a wonderful weekend, and be kind to yourselves!

Bisou Bisou! (Kiss Kiss)

**As always, you are welcome click on the above picture to get the original size (8 1/2 by 11), then rick click and save to download and copy this to your computer or print out for personal use. You are not allowed to mass produce or use for any commercial gain. You are always welcome to direct people to my blog to get their own free copy.