Is it Best to Know a Little About a Lot or Know a Lot about a Little?

Yesterday, I received a wonderful email from my old friend Pam, updating me on her life in Georgia, her family... It made my day to hear from her! We used to live together in our old neighborhood until we both moved away. Pam was my salvage-yard buddy. I think we thought we were Rachel Ashwell going to the salvage yard and thinking about all the cool ways we could re-use some old thing. We brought home old windows, tin ceiling tiles and who knows what else. It will always be one of my favorite memories and I wish we had done it more.

Now, Pam asked me to tell her what I had been up to. Did I have any new projects I was working on...that kind of thing. I was walking my dogs this morning and thinking about what to tell her, because as usual, I have at least 20 projects I have started and stopped since we were last together. What a flake I am! I constantly beat myself up over how I am not an expert on any one thing. Why don't I just learn one thing really well??? I could say I get bored, which is true. I could also say that I have so many ideas flying through my head that I will never live long enough to do them all. I even have plans for new things to learn. I have this gut feeling I could paint and hope to take a class some day.
I came home and picked up my new favorite book by Alexandra Stoddard called "Things I Want My Daughter to Know". Hey, this is the book I had planned to write some day for my girls. I still will...even if they are the only ones who ever read it! (This was a gift from my stepdaughter, Lindsay and what a great gift! And by the way, every one of Alexandra Stoddard's books are incredible.) Anyway, there is a chapter titled "Be More a Generalist Than a Specialist". She says that it is too bad that society pushes us all to be experts in life. For those of who are not experts on anything, this is so stressful. She suggests that to know a little about a lot of the things that interests us leads to a richer life. Thank you! On that note, I decided to make a list of things I know a little about. I am not an expert on anything so we'll leave that for now:-)

My list of little things I can do:
1.Cook...a little...with a cookbook. No experimenting here.
2.Decorate
3. Throw a cool children's party
4. Make jewelry...my new charm bracelets are kind of cool.
5. Fix jewelry...because I have not always been a great jewelry maker, I have become good at fixing broken jewelry:-)
6. Use a glue gun...hey, not everyone can and I can do amazing things with this!!!:-)
7. Paint my house...even faux finishes, if I have to
8. Refinish furniture...yep, stripping it and all that good stuff
9. Photography...I'm just learning but love it
10. Shop for vintage stuff...most people wouldn't want to take the time or effort, right?
11. Knit...a tiny bit
12. Scrapbook...well, I KNOW what to do, just don't get to it.
13. USE a computer...and waste time on it
14. Hang pictures and other simple stuff around the house
15. Garden...but I hate doing it in Florida...creepy things!
16. I love to drive...can drive anywhere...and NOT get lost:-)
17. Embellish almost anything...flip-flops, purses...
18. Make tu-tu's:-)
19. Play tennis...a little
20. Ski

I guess 20 is enough. I suggest everyone do this if you feel like me. Now I know that I haven't been wasting my time after all, I've been experimenting with my time. Big difference!

"Have a variety of interests...These interests relax the mind and lessen tension on the nervous system. People with many interests live, not only longest but happiest."
George Mathew Allen

Diets & Bad Haircuts...

One day after celebrating Taylor's birthday and I am back to the real world...the one made up of dieting and bad hair days. Let's see, which one first...

How about dieting. I don't feel so bad about this, other than the fact that I have to do it:-) I am finishing my first day on WW Core diet. So far, so good. I've made it longer than many of my attempts at dieting. I had my 3 meals and a mid-morning snack. I need to look at my list because I will need a snack idea tonight...or I'll splurge on birthday cake and blow everything. My sister has lost 20lbs so far on this diet (not the hot fudge sunday one but the core diet. Hahaha)and says she has more energy and doesn't crave junk so much anymore. That sounds good to me! I really want to lose the same 20 lbs or so that I gain and lose every single year. I could even tell you which months I would be up and which I would be down, it's that predictable. This just tells me I never really make changes so that's why I'm trying it this way...slowly with some new and better eating habits. For dinner, I had mango-salsa chicken over brown rice. (If you have never tried it, you are missing out!) The recipe is in my files. Anyway, insead of piling it on a big plate and going for seconds after scarfing it down, I put a reasonable portion in a cereal bowl and ate slowly. I made my self wait to see if I was still hungry and guess what...I wasn't. I usually eat waaaaay more of my share when we have this. Good start, huh?

Now on to bad haircuts. I haven't gone to beauty school but seriously, why is this so difficult. I went today and here I am, thinking I could have done better myself. (I usually come home and take the scissors to it myself but this time it's not that bad, thank goodness!) I have short, thick hair with good body and texture. I know I cannot explain what I would like so I bring a picture and tell them it is just to give them an idea. Today was Meg Ryan's day. Isn't this cute? How difficult can this be? Sometimes I am Lisa Rinna, I've been Sharon Stone and I even like the way Jane Fonda is wearing her hair these days, although I can't bring myself to ask to look like her...and not because of her age!!! Anyway, they always bring out the dreaded roll brush. I HATE that thing. I only use it when my hair is growing out and I need a little lift on top. I want to say "Do these pictures LOOK like someone carefully rolls their hair under smoothly?" It looks great on some but not me. I want choppy, messy, tousled and NO PART (and yes, I got a center part today but I changed it quickly). I do say all of these things and they always tell me that's cool, no problem... And then I walk out looking like my face is shaped like a bowling ball because they smoothed my messy hairstyle into a nice, rolled under "do". YUK!!!!! It is not me. I came home, wet my hair, blow-dried it without a brush, messing it up with my fingers as I worked and then put wax into it to separate it and make it look as choppy as possible. Better, but still crazy. Anyway, I guess that's what you get when you start a new diet and get a haircut on a Monday:-) Other than that, I had a great day. And yes, I am grateful that dieting and bad hair days are the worst of what I have to deal with.

14 Things I Love About My Daughter On Her 14th Birthday

Today is my daughter Taylor's 14th birthday. I don't know whether to celebrate or cry, because it has gone so fast. No doubt I will do all of my crying as I write this which is good, so I'll be ready to celebrate with her tomorrow. In honor of her birthday, I decided to write about 14 things I love about Taylor. There are so many more but this is a good start. I can honestly say that what I am going to write about Taylor is absolutely the truth. If she sounds too good to be true, that's because she is...to me, at least:-) Happy Birthday Girlfriend...I love you!

1. She loves God. She wants to be a good example to others, which she is. She always wants to do the right thing. She BELIEVES!2. She loves her little sister... They have their rough "sisterly" moments...many of them...but Taylor usually takes the high road in the end and before I know it they are happy and close as can be. They share a very special bond and I know Taylor will always be there for Jordie.3. She is kind. I don't mean a little nice, I mean she has a kind heart. She has a concern for others that is 100% genuine.

4. She is a good friend. I could learn from her, I know that much. She takes such good care of her friendships. She is always there for her friends, always gives them the benefit of the doubt, wants them to be happy and successful and keeps in touch no matter what. She would never miss a birthday and often puts their wishes before her own.

5. She is sensitive. Sometimes it is tough for her because she can cry and hurt so easily, but she also feels deeply and sincerely.

6. She loves to laugh. She REALLY loves it...and she laughs big! She will laugh her head off at funny movies, funny videos, old shows like I love Lucy, The Honeymooners and The 3 Stooges. If something funny happens in her day, she will laugh about it forever, often bringing it up when she or someone else needs a smile. She can even laugh at herself, which is truly a gift!:-)

7. She is generous. She will give her last penny, doesn't ask for much for herself and wants everyone to have what she has...or more.

8. She's an "old-fashioned" girl. She loves to knit, read, ride a vintage bike and shop for antiques. She'd rather go for tea than a milkshake, dance ballet to classical music than hip-hop, loves to bake bread, loves charm bracelets and cameo necklaces, prefers writing letters to email...a very vintage girl. She can also fit right in to today's world when she needs to...if she must:-) She just loves it all.

9. She loves to dance. She has twirled, leapt and waltzed around the house for as long as I can remember. She works very hard at it and is blessed with a natural grace when she dances. She has known success and disappointments and through it all, she dances.

10. She has an incredible imagination. She always has and always will. My wish for her is to write a book someday. She could do it, too. While many mothers wish their daughters never played with Barbies, I am so grateful she fell in love with them. She played for hours, making up stories and later as she got older, made up games and stories to act out with friends.

11. She is beautiful...inside and out. She is beautiful in a classic way and is not obsessed with her appearance. She is beautiful on the inside in every possible way. My beautiful Taylor!

12. She loves animals. Not just her own puppies, although she loves them to death. She doesn't like to see any animal being harmed. Her day is almost ruined to see an animal lying by the side of the road...even a creepy critter. She is a true animal lover and if she ever learns to eat her vegetables at every meal, I will let her be the vegetarian she would love to be:-)

13. She is a dreamer. She isn't sure if she should be a dancer or a pastry chef. She does believe there is a "happily ever after" and I love that about her. I will always try to guide her to independence but will never stomp on her dreams. She believes in them too much for me to do that. There are enough people out there only to eager to destroy a young girl's dreams. I will not be one of them, so dream on, Taylor!

14. She is my princess. She has always loved girly stuff and pink rules as the perfect color. She loves diamonds, pearls, tiaras and ballgowns. She is a lovely young lady and will always be my princess.