Daily Courage

Like many people going through midlife changes and transitions, I find myself wondering more than I ever did before, “Who am I?” I have been working in the book business since 2003, and prior to that had a six year run in consumer magazines, preceded by years of B2B publishing and event management. (Bear with me, this is leading to the widget headline!) In college, I was what they then called a “print” journalism major. But with all the changes, including the fact that this “print” journalist reads the newspaper and books on a Kindle much more often than actually touching a paper page these days, what am I now? I’m a communicator, part storyteller, part reporter, and these days an interpreter too. I’m spending a great deal of time interpreting what social media means for my peers and colleagues, and how they need to be positioning themselves to use it right for their business. I have always been fascinated by new ways to reach audiences and communicate with them. To engage like-minded people and give them a message they need and want has always been a high for me. As the media is changing by leaps and bounds, I know that the past is behind us and the ways we reach each other and engage in common interests together will never be done how its been done in the past.

That brings me to the widget. This cool little application holds all the information a person would need to make a decision to attend the wonderful Remnants of the Past Show this coming weekend in Central California.It has photos to enjoy, maps, entrance information, and anything else you need to know about the event. I love it when we can use technology to connect with each other. I’m picking April Cornell and Pam Cowan from Cornell too up at the Long Beach airport and we are driving up the beautiful coastline to the show. April will be a special guest at the event.  Hope to see you there!

Circumstances we might not have chosen, led me and my family to Colorado several times this summer. The wonderful part about it is that we have all been able to spend time outdoors experiencing what a gift nature can be to deepening personal spirituality. I have chosen to look at it that way and accept that if weren’t for a little suffering we would not have had this glory. After a very mediocre hotel experience in Boulder the last time we visited, I was determined to find some charm. I found it at Chautauqua. I was intrigued by what I read online about it origins, so it was the lodging of choice.

Upon check-in, being my usual inquisitive self, I had  to devour every piece of printed material in the cottage before I did anything else. My husband unpacks and hangs his clothes upon arrival, I read and get the lay of the land. It’s become a predictable pattern over the years.

I recalled a little bit about Chautauqua in New York State from my days working with Victorian Homes magazine. But I needed a refresher course which is what I got from reading a book of its history in the room. The founding Chautauqua gave birth to a national movement in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. Basically they were seasonal resorts where families would vacation and attend concerts, speeches, recitals, and other programs to further their cultural knowledge. Kind of like camping or cottaging with a purpose. The Colorado Chautauqua is one of the few surviving resorts from the period. It is beautiful, set right up against the Flatiron Mountains with miles and miles of hiking trails. I am a softie for any place with history, and this place has it. 

Saturday morning I set out with water bottle in hand determined to take a long walk to work the kinks and pains of too may hours on the computer out of my body. It was one of the most glorious outings of the summer. A warm breeze made it comfortable and the views were spectacular. I found a smooth flat rock outcrop and comfortably say and did some yoga in the warm sun.

It was one of those times you just wish you could freeze. I completely forgot why I was in town for the weekend. Even the camera on my phone was in the mood for soaking in the inspiration and appreciating the moment. When I downloaded the shots they looked as if the picture had been painted rather than shot with a Blackberry! It’s kind of like everyday life. Sometimes it just depends on the lens and how we look at things.

Sometimes I stray away from what I do best. I have seen others do it too. We each have our gifts, the things that come naturally. Despite knowing what we do best, it’s easy to become bored or wonder “what if?” Sometimes I find myself far from what I do best, and usually not very happy.

I met Judy Watkins over ten years ago at The San Francisco Gift Show when I was the editor of Romantic Homes. Judy and her partner owned a tiny, sparkling gem of a shop in Pismo Beach named Well La De Da! It was filled with vintage treasures they had gathered and packed into the little one-room store about the size of  a walk-in closet. The encounter at the gift show led to my visiting them, photographer in tow. Judy and I connected right away and an enduring friendship emerged. 

Judy is best at hunting, gathering, arranging things with an artist’s eye, and at bringing people together to enjoy them. She is good at lots of other things too, but these are the things that make her heart sing. 

She joined forces with another visionary retailer in a wonderful store that was named, “Old Edna Says Well La De Da,” just outside San Luis Obispo, CA. That launched her ownership  of a magical store called CALA. Along the way, Judy’s mother became ill. The business grew, and with it came the headaches of success. Judy made the decision to care for her mother and savor their last time together, which meant parting with the CALA.

She had long felt a calling in her heart to create a special event that would be a magical gathering place filled with antique dealers, collectors, artisans, and kindred creative spirits. It wouldn’t require day-to-day bricks and mortar, but would  be something to be looked forward to twice a year. And that is how Remnants of the Past came to be. Judy found a home for the event on a farm with rural barn down a pastoral lane owned by Judy Powers. Texas has Round Top, Massachusetts has Brimfield, and Central California has Remnants of the Past every October and April.

And its all because Judy followed her heart and did what she does best! I was there when she started talking about making Remnants a reality. She had the courage to do it.

The next show is October 10. In addition to the regulars, there are going to be some amazing women there – including April Cornell. It’s well worth the trip.

One of the realities of life is that we never know what is around the bend. Sometimes it takes great courage to deal face what we are handed. Like many women, I bought into a lot of the myths of motherhood. If I did things the “right way”, I would be fine and my children would be healthy and happy. Twenty-one years ago today, I gave birth to my first child, a boy named Brendan Patrick. Fairytales seemed to lie ahead with this little angel baby in my arms.

The one gift I wanted him to receive from me was self-confidence and a love of himself. What I didn’t know was that just because I did all the things a “good mother” does, there were no guarantees. I won’t go into the details because my cross is no heavier that anyone else’s. It’s how I dealt with it that is the point of this post. But it had to do with family health battles, and a rotten disease – Crohns.

I let worry and angst take me over. Without realizing it, I stopped nurturing myself and my own soul. I depleted any emotional reserves I had in the bank and fell hard and fast into an emotional breakdown prefaced by a panic attack. I nearly took my family down with me when I went.

I have built a career on talking to other women about the importance of nurturing themselves, taking time to creatively express themselves and inspiring them with articles and books. But, I myself had lost the balance and instead focussed on many things I could not control. Because I didn’t honor the signs my heart, soul and body were trying to give me. Because I didn’t stop to listen to, the deciding was done for me. I was knocked flat out, physically and emotionally. 

It was time to enter into a period of deep introspection, circle the family wagons, and make some changes. I developed a Wellness Plan. A component of it is to nurture my creative side, and get back to walking my talk. That has put me back in my craft studio. And back to writing. I was writing for everyone else, but not for me.

I think that is why I particularly enjoyed the Blogging for Bliss blog tour party that launched yesterday. I got to look into the creative souls of many wonderful women. Some of whom I am sure have had similar experiences to mine. (And then there are those better-balanced women who know that you don’t let up on the things that nurture you when the going gets rough.)

Happily, the Birthday Boy is doing very well after a wonderful wilderness therapy program. Our daughter is serving as a junior counselor at a camp for young people with Crohn’s Disease, where she is sharing her story that while you may walk in the valley at times, the illness is manageable and life moves on. And so do I. Wiser than before, back at the keyboard and putting in time  with my jumbled array of ribbons, papers, buttons, baubles and other craft supplies.

Time to crank out a few new crowns and perhaps some new jewelry designs from the watch parts I found at the Alameda Flea Market on an outing with dear friend Judy Watkins.

Whatever you do, don’t stop creating!

Today is a long awaited day. It marks the full orchestra, get-dressed-up-in-your-ball-gown, debut of Blogging for Bliss by Tara Frey. The party hostess is Kari Ramston from Artsy Mama. Thanks for having us Kari. 

The Red Lips 4 Courage team produced this book with Tara, and we have been waiting for months to see this unfold!

I blog for bliss because I love to share stories and connect creative women. I used to love sitting down to write the editor’s letter for each issue of Romantic Homes. Since starting my own little boutique book making venture, I have spent most of my time working on other people’s writing. I miss those days of personal connection, and the blog is giving me that chance once again. It feeds my soul.

Personally, I find myself getting drawn into intensive time-suck sessions because I become bound and determined to figure out much of the formatting and CSS  I can do myself. What is it about that? I’m like a primal cave woman on the prowl for the thrill of the kill. I’ll troll the web for hours for tips and solutions, and will try tweaks over and over to try to get things just right. I have a long way to go to be in the leagues of the women who are included in the book. But there is a certain unexplainable pleasure that comes from learning something new everyday.

The business camp I live in tells me WordPress is the true blog religion. But I manage a beautiful blog for a friend in Blogger, and find it a joy to work on. I have another little startup blog in the works on TypePad, so soon, I’ll be confused by all three platforms! A true Unitarian of blogdom.

I Blog for Bliss because of the connections it brings to creative kindred spirits and amazing women I would not have otherwise met.. I am a DYI kind of gal, so I spend far more time than I care to admit on the prep and code. But in the end, just like a project from my craft room, I love sitting back and enjoying knowing I did it myself! And I like to think it takes courage to venture into new realms, so its about that too…

Tara cheers to you and to all women who accepted the invitation to be a part of Blogging for Bliss!

I have TWO copies of the book to giveaway. Just leave me a comment and I will use Tara’s random number generator to determine the winners. I’ll post the lucky ducks over the weekend. No need to write a long post, but I’d love anything you’d like to share.

To lean on an old cliche, “It took a village.” When Tara Frey contacted Red Lips 4 Courage with the concept of creating a book about blissful blogging, we loved the idea. She was onto something big, and we felt it in our creative hearts. What Tara and our team did not understand at the time was just how big the movement of blogging for artistic expression had really become. There is a lot to know and many, many talented women out there doing some incredibly creative things in the blogosphere. Seasoned editor Rebecca Ittner took the reins and led Erika Kotite, Cathy Risling, Jocelyn Foye and I into the wonderful world of blissful bloggers. What Tara didn’t know, Rebecca researched and found out. We all learned a great deal and fell in love all over again with why we love working in the world of creative women. The book is just starting to ship and already the response is wonderful.
Surely many new blogs will be brought to light over the coming weeks. Please help us share them with others by telling us about them here. Look forward to hearing from you!

Sterling booth at BEA

No one knew what to expect at BEA in New York City this time around. The bloodletting has been long and deep in the book industry. Reading the daily publishing trades has been more like being immersed in endless obituary pages of late. So, it was with a slightly faint heart that we set out for Book Expo this year. 

We were thrilled to see that our latest project, “Blogging for Bliss” by Tara Frey for Lark Books/Sterling had perfect placement in the Sterling booth. We are optimistic about this one in particular. We believe in the importance of creativity, especially in trying times. Spread the word, positive attitudes and creative pursuits trump negativity and pessimism every time. We hope you’ll try blogging for your own bliss.

These are exciting times we live in. While I often hear others complaining about too much technology, I say count me out on those pouts. Never before has it been so easy to communicate with anyone you wish to get to know. I see the world coming together in a wonderfully woven tapestry of cultures brought together in common interests and values. What a marvel it is to be able to relate to a woman halfway across the world who shares the same tastes and passion for decorating or crafting. 

The challenge we face is the same with everything in life – find the balance. Because we are all human, losing balance is easy and straying from what keeps us centered is a temptation. Too much Twitter can lead to twitching, and being a slave to Facebook or blogging surely means something else in life is not being tended to. Sometimes you just have to unplug and work on the body and soul. 

And so, a break is about to begin. Be good to yourself, I am off to do the same.

There is lots of talk about the importance of “finding your voice” in blogging. Experts will tell you that you need to talk about things of interest, have a unique message, be transparent, etc. Being a print journalist by training (I could date myself talking about things like waxers, and I don’t mean for your legs), I place high value on the importance of communicating a clear message. Like all of us, as this new age of social media unfolds, I have wondered where I fit and what messages would be worth someone else spending the time to read. 

The clouds parted over the weekend, and I had the moment of creative syncronicity I have been waiting for. The Red Lips 4 Courage  blog-Daily Courage-is going to do what I have always done best. Tell the stories of regular everyday women who have had the courage to create. While I was editor of Romantic Homes magazine, I had the opportunity to introduce our readers to many wonderful women and to tell their stories. This created an intimacy among women who would not have otherwise met each other. It allowed the real life experiences of real women to inspire others. 

Not all days are happy ones. Some seasons are filled with angst. What pulls us through is faith and courage. Often, we have to look outside of ourselves and into the lives of others to see how we can find our own way. Daily Courage will tell the stories of women who have had the courage to create. They have had the courage to go against the odds, to appreciate their great gifts, and to have the confidence, and yes, the courage, to share them with others. 

I may have wandered while searching, but I have found my voice! Again. Stay tuned for some amazing stories.

I’m a sucker for traditions. I’ve always been nostalgic and find great joy in warm memories. For our family, Easter is filled with both. Over the years its become “our” holiday, meaning we usually host. This year, everyone brought a dish and that made all the difference in the world. That will be a new tradition!

My mother always baked an Easter lamb cake. When she passed away, the mold came to me. Its a joy to bake it year after year. I made two so there was plenty to go around, and two heads to argue over. I’ve learned to grease and flour the mold well, and to go a little light on the wet ingredients so the cake holds together. After trial and error, I have happily settled on the seven-minute boiled icing from The Joy of Cooking Cookbook.

This Easter we enjoyed a dramatic presentation. My father teaches the three youngest nieces their weekly religion lessons. He found a wonderful script based on two modern day TV journalists interviewing Mary Magdelene Easter Sunday after the Resurrection. I think the girls have launched another tradition.

Whatever your traditions are, whatever you observe and believe, I hope you will always have the courage to be creative when celebrating. Whether its baking a cake, performing a play–complete with homemade props, or setting a special table, make being creative a tradition.