Take That!

There's been a lot going on around Chez Moi: what was supposed to be a small painting project has morphed into a whole big House project, which apparently all home projects do.  Homes are gremlins. Do not start putting money into them.
And keeping hold of a contractor, and ours is good, is like leashing a squirrel and trying to walk it on the sidewalk.
Then Hadley is going to a new home, which has been stressful as well as sad. I didn't expect it to be so hard - and here's what's hardest to admit- on my pride- to no longer be a horse owner. I mean, he went to his new home (hopefully) and they moved my trunk to a corner. Okay, that's just rude. And hurtful. And actually, it's really not okay.
Let's not even talk about work.
So I went to karate for a make up class- missing nearly two weeks, and feeling anxious that I may not remember Pinion 1 - the 19 step form I need for my next belt-
Well, the guys teaching had some time, so they showed me and Papoose Bruce Lee's 1 inch punch on YouTube. This led to everyone trying to break boards (what do you expect? Dojos are dens of machismo, at least the Asian version of it) including Papoose. Watching her trying, but not not doing anything but smacking her hand, I said, "Don't look at the board, just imagine you're hitting Sensei E. through the board." And to demonstrate, I whopped it with a good Palm Strike.
The Board broke. The Black Belt staggered back. It was completely kick ass impressive- I mean I impressed myself- I hadn't actually expected to do it.
But it made me realize that when you you focus on your problems- the board- it's almost impossible to break past them. But when you focus on the other side, that's when  the results happen.
Of course your hand may be a little sore the next day.

A Lady In Red

Rainbow Brite and I were having coffee at Starbucks last week. It was nice to catch up. And I thought I'm going to make my schedule my slave, rather than slave to my schedule (who worships at the altar of busy). But that's another blog.
Rainbow spotted a woman in a fireball red minidress with matching thigh high boots and bleached blond hair walking in the mall behind us. It was a shocking outfit to begin with, but made even more incongruous by this woman's age: clearly in her mid fifties.
We were so intrigued, we had to find her. Not in Starbucks. Not in the bank.
She was in a jewelry store. In fact, she owned the jewelry store. We went in and she chatted about the jewelry, the designs, the gems. She showed us her Klimt prints and pictures of her son, who looked a lot like the baby in the Klimt She seemed really comfortable with herself and her world. She expressed her vision of beauty.
Why do you have to be young and skinny to be congruent with a hot red dress and thigh high boots? I left feeling embarrassed to have judged, but also inspired.
When we are in our power, we allow others to be empowered.

So go ahead, wear a little red today.