Blast O' Joy

The Big Skies of the Southwest

Here is just a taste of how totally amazing the big skies of Taos are when you're driving out there to the big mesa. Enjoy …

 

Great Free Source for Wonderful Women's e-Cards

Like staying in touch with friends and family via cards you send over the Net? Here's resource I love … and love to share.

Self Esteem for Women is a fun, totally gal-friendly place to find free e-cards for those who you need to connect with. The images seem uncorny and fresh, and the categories like 'Female Fun' and 'Family Matters' reflect real-life card-worth occasions. Dig in and enjoy … I did!

Technorati Tags: Ecards, women's issues, friendship

An Empowering Message About Asking For What You Want

Our reader, Jean, posted this comment under my remarks about asking for what you want. I thought her big request took guts, and was inspiring. (Jean, if you're reading this, do post a comment on what happened!)

"Last month, I made the decision to ask for a new car for Mother's Day! Gutsy step for me! Usually I say things like, 'I don't really need anything' or 'I have everything I need already' or 'You don't have to get me anything...really.'

This year, I'm different...I've been leaving not-so-subtle hints around the house (like photos of me and my dream car on the computer desktop, printouts of the car info with my hubbie's work papers, informing the two teens how much it would help make our life easier). Just to be sure that this is the car I really want, I took it for a test drive last week. And yes, I really do want it! It's a Subaru Outback Wagon...and the price I came home with ended up being $7,000 LESS than I was anticipating :)

We'll see if it 'magically' appears in the driveway for Mother's Day, but even if it doesn't, I've had a lot of fun and a lot of laughs using my creativity to ask for what I really want (and what our car-sharing family really needs, as well). Bottom line...if it's not in the driveway this Sunday, it will be by the following Sunday!!"

Tags: Asking for what you want, self esteem, Mother's Day

I am now officially available to speak to your group

Ahem! (Throat clearing … paper shuffling … mic testing) A small announcement.

After a few years' hiatus (well, OK … I spoke about three times each year), I've got the itch to speak again. I did A LOT of presentations from 2000-2002, and took a deserved rest. But now … I'm back.

I am currently available to speak to your group about the following topics:

1. How to Package Yourself for Success on the Internet
I about how and why your Web presence can kill possible deals, offers, joint ventures and more if not done correctly … or attract national media when done right. I get into personal branding, blog and site optimization, and just which pieces need to be in place to really make your platform take off.

2. Automatic Marketing - Promote Yourself While You Sleep
Here's a neat system I cooked up that will help you get yourself out in front of the people you need to find … without a whole lot of stress and angst on your part. Using this very system, I've been covered in two major magazines in the past year (Home Business and Writer's Digest) and now have 42,500 links under my name on Google (up from 11,000 one year ago.)

3. How to Explode Your Income and Your Reach by Licensing Your Workshop or Seminar
I explain how and why anyone can take their workshop and repackage it to be a licensable 'Train the Trainer' package. I cover how to tighten your concept into workshop-able material, and then what's involved in setting up a successful licensing program.

4. Creativity Coaching: The Next International Trend in Coaching Comes from the Heart
As the author of one of the original books about getting on with your creative dreams (How Much Joy Can You Stand?), I can safely say I'm considered an expert on coaching others for creative breakthroughs. And I've trained more than 300 coaches worldwide on how to coach creativity, and create their own variations of my How Much Joy Can You Stand? workshop. This talk would cover basics on what creativity coaching is, why it's needed, and how to approach it.

(… or possibly some related topic you suggest? We can see how it fits.)

If you find the quality of information useful on this blog, and think I'd be a great fit for your group of entrepreneurs, solo professionals, coaches, speakers, authors and writers, consultants, professional services pros, personal trainers, pro organizers, small business owners, MLM marketers, wellness pros, chiropractors, or Net practitioners, be in touch using the email link up above in the margin.

Oh yeah … and I've spoken to many large and small audiences all over the US and Canada, including the ICF, Coachville, ASJA, PMAU, Kindermusic, Women in Communications, BPW, NAWBO … and well, the list goes on and on.

PS. While I've done plenty of conference keynotes, I do actually like small groups of 35-100, too. Especially if they're in New England or Mid-Atlantic. Call me. I'm good. (518 963 8927)

Tags: Speaking, motivational speaker, creativity speaker

What I Learned About Life from Chellie

I just got back from the Publisher's Marketing Association conference, where I roomed with my dear buddy Chellie Campbell, author of The Wealthy Spirit. It's great hanging out with other self-help authors, because we leap eagerly into supporting each other … and end up getting a lot of wise insights.

By the way, Chellie's got a great new book. From Zero to Zillionaire, which really sums up the wisdom of her very successful Financial Stress Reduction Workshop in LA. I've been digging in, and it's a fun and informative read.

Here's what I learned from Chellie on a walk we took around the Capitol.

1. I earn the most when I'm simply having fun. Yup, that's right. And it's probably true for you, too. When I'm truly cranking on my business in a connected state of passionate flow, I get ideas, start alliances and just plain blossom with creativity and joy. And these are always my most successful ideas. How great is that!?

2. Retirement isn't always the goal. I told Chellie my new financial goal was to retire at 52, to which she asked, 'Then what?' And … I had no idea. AND I realized I didn't particularly even want to retire; I just wanted to have some more hang time with my husband, who will be in his 70's by then. And then I realized … I'd like to have more hang time now. Insight: I thought I wanted to retire cause that's what all those commercials told me I wanted. But I don't! I love my work! I just want to do a little less of it … as soon as possible.

3. I'm actually set for life now. I keep thinking there's this bunch of money I must earn and save/invest to have true financial security; that then I'll be 'set for life'. But actually, there is no such thing as financial security. There's money in the bank - but even 'money in the bank' isn't a totally guarantee-able security. My only true security is that as long as I'm alive and fairly functional, I'll be able to create income if I need it. So yeah … save and invest, by all means. Even stockpile cash and work a lot less. But don't think this is the panacea that will save me from ruin. Instead, put it all into perspective and relax.

Thanks, Chellie!

Tags: Financial security, retirement, saving for retirement

Yep, You Really Can Think Yourself Thin

I wanted to do a quick follow up to an excellent call I had with Dr. Roberta Temes last night. She's an expert on hypnosis and weight loss. According to Roberta, if you are overweight, it's because of

a) conditioned beliefs that are buried deep in your psyche
b) genetics that pre-condition you to accumulate fat
c) habits, like sleep deprivation, that make us eat even when we're not hungy

... but here's the good news: each of these can be changed with hypnosis!

Dr. Roberta shared some excellent tips with us on how hypnosis works to get deep into our psyche and convince us of healthy lifestyle choices - like choosing vegetables, or removing the bread basket in restaurants.

Wouldn't it be great if that kind of thinking was just automatic? And you didn't have to dredge up will power around food?

That's all possible, if you work with a great hypnotist. Conveniently, Roberta has a CD series that does just that AND she's making it available to you for an insanely low price. I've managed to procure a really excellent deal for you, my joyful friends.

But first - if you missed the call and you'd like to listen, here's a link to the recording: http://www.audioacrobat.com/play/WJSrBt94

And here's the special offer. Buy 'Enjoying Weight Loss', Dr Roberta Temes' special weight loss-hypnosis CD program before Monday night, May 15. You'll get a whopping 60% discount on some amazing goodies - for only $97.

You get Roberta's CD plus a special product bundle we put together for free!

You'll get...
Bonus 1: Managing Stress and Anxiety hypnosis CDs (regularly $69) FREE
Bonus 2: The Coping wth Stress and Anxiety System© (ebook; value $39) FREE
Bonus 3: How Much Joy Nurture Yourself Bundle (ebook; retail value $27) FREE

Total retail value: $254     Your price: $97 (over 60% off)
Offer expires at midnight on Monday night, May 15th

Take advantage of this offer at www.hypnosisnetwork.com/102

Here's to a healthier, more energetic you ... ready to live your dreams!

Tags: Weight loss, hypnosis, finding more energy

The Power of 'Just Asking' … for Women

Reader Tammy Lenski contributed the following comment on my post 'A Parable About Asking for What You Want?'

Suzanne, I smiled all the way through your story, because I saw again the power of simply asking for what we want or need. Doesn't always work, but I know from coaching women in negotiation and managing difficult conversations effectively that it's an incredibly powerful tool...and one that women, more than men, tend to use a bit too rarely!

So let's hear from the rest of you women (and men) on this. Do you tend to ask for what you need? Or are you more likely to just let things past, assume the worst and keep quiet?

Men, do you perceive women as being more or less comfy asking for what they need? My husband would say I'm an excellent asker - and I would say I'm rather shy about it … and that he's actually better.

Where do you fit in?

Tags: Women's issue, self esteem, self assertion, joy

How to Handle Disappointment

OK, we can't always be all joy all the time in this blog. I mean, we've got to reflect life, right? Which does occasionally contain disappointment; so here are some thoughts on how to handle it. For without learning to deal with disappointment, you can never truly live your dream.

Say you get a wild idea. You think and ponder and eventu ally take baby steps towards producing this idea, all the while imagining a better day, far ahead, when you will actually be living this dream. That day always seems rosy, bright, seamless, until, of course, you've lived it.

Through hard work and perseverance, you eventually begin to live your dream and reality hits. No one prepared you for how hard you would have to work! No one told you you wouldn't spend Easter with your kids three years in a row! No one told you how many scary airplane rides you'd have to take, or how many bad reviews you'd have to weather in the press. No one prepared you for the first time you'd have to fire an employee.

And yet ... this is your dream. Welcome to it.

Within all this dark stuff, you find the true test of your character. You discover what you're made of, and where you're still hanging on to the illusions of childhood. You find out just how passionate you really are, and you learn about the shifty nature of being human. You'll discover your true creative resourcefulness, and sit back in wonder when miracles happen. You may even learn on a gut level about spirituality and it's place in your dream.

The popular view is that life should be fun all the time, and that since it never is, there's a design flaw somewhere. My view is that these 'design flaws' are actually just as guided as the dream, itself, and provide unique opportunities for growth and rebirth.

Stephen Sondheim's musical "Into the Woods" has a wonderful verse that uses going into the woods as a metaphor for experiencing the dark side of any dream:

Into the woods you have to grope,
'Cause that's the way you learn to cope
Into the woods to find there's hope,
Of getting through the journey.

That's the long view to remember when pursuing any dream. Sooner or later, once you begin to live them, all dreams are destined to become plain old reality, complete with speed bumps. The key is to keep an eye on how your dream is serving others, and to remember that all those disappointments are merely tools for moving forward.

That is, indeed, how you get through the bigger journey called life.

Tags: Dealing with disappointment, joy, happiness

My Own Happiness Hit List

Building on yesterday's post about how to get over a bad mood, here's my own personal list of things that bring me joy at the moment:

1. Seeing water (not ice) on Lake Champlain … and it's gloriously still and calm
2. The appearance of very young, very pale spring green leaves on trees
3. The smell of baking chicken
4. Going to our CSA (farm coop) on Fridays to pick up jars of extra creamy milk, just cut grass-fed beef steaks, fresh new maple syrup, and some gloriously old and huge rutabaga's
5. Cleaning the house with my family (and watching our kids mop floors, clean bathrooms, and empty trash cans) … that REALLY brings me joy
6. Knowing that my future truly is up to me  -- which is both daunting and joyful
7. Working with Rich and Lena, my business coaches, who get what I do better than me
8. Working with my incredible staff who turn stuff around so fast, and have such amazingly good ideas for making this little company go
9. The photo I saw of a 99-year-old Parisian woman decked out for the Paris fashion shows in black Issaye Miyake plus a lavender ostrich feather hat
10. My friend Laurie's seed incubator, which is roughly the size of a coffee table, and is hatching seeds for about 5000 flowers right now
11. The tenacity of wild strawberry leaves, the only green thing in our yard as the last foot of snow finally melts
12. My friend Trisha
13. Anticipating the first icy swim in the lake with Larry, my husband, as we plunge in in our new swim skins
14. The words that come as God tells me what to write, as usual, in this blog
15. The sanctity of doing what I am meant to do in life

Tags: Self-motivation, living your dreams, joy, happiness

How to Get Over a Bad Mood

I was in no mood for joy this morning when I started writing this post. I'd just spent twenty minutes in telephone hell, listening to one recording after another, trying to find an actual customer service representative at one of the long distance phone companies. By the time I hung up, I was convinced I was experiencing the final decline of western civilization.

Gradually, as the smoke stopped coming out of my ears, I remembered a certain page that used to appear on my web site -- a discussion board with a post called Finding Fifteen Things a Day to Be Joyful About. So I took an unlikely moment to consider mine. And as I did the smoke cleared, my mood shifted, and life was good again. It really was as simple as that.

On this thread, people listed fifteen things that bring them joy. Some of my favorites:

"A walk in the rain on this lazy Sunday."
"Sitting in my pajamas on the kitchen floor with my three year old grandson, eating spoonfuls of peanut butter before breakfast."
"The moss on a tree outside my window."
"The energy I received walking around the strip in Vegas on a Sunday morning."
"Being in bed, getting ready to fall asleep, and having my cat curl up on my belly and purr like a diesel engine."
"The dancing smiles of friends."
"That my neighbor is an 88 year old woman who grows a garden all year long, and does her own yard work."

There is something almost hypnotic about reading what makes others joyful, yet listing them for yourself is even more powerful. It's remarkably soothing.

No matter how sophisticated we think our brains may be, they don't seem capable of holding both tormented, anxious thoughts and happy thoughts at the same time. So by stopping for a moment, and forcing yourself to think about what makes you happy in life, you get a profound perspective shift. Suddenly, the telephone desert you wandered in only a few minutes earlier is gone, and you're back making brownies in the kitchen with a child, each of you licking a beater. I can't emphasize enough what a powerful tonic this is for healing the furious, fed up, frustrated, or just plain downtrodden soul.

Drop me a quick list of your top three right now - just hit the Comments button below. I'll post mine here tomorrow.

Tags: Self-motivation, living your dreams, joy, happiness

My Annual Spring Ritual

Now that spring has finally come to the Adirondacks (though it did snow the other night!) … I've been back to running outside. All winter long I pound away on a treadmill in front of the Food Network. Me and Gianna. Me and Tyler. Me and the Barefoot Contessa. I get to burn calories and consume them vicariously instead!

Then comes spring and our annual family ritual to run some 5K races together. The children, who are 11 and 16, really look forward to this - and so I'm forced off of my treadmill and out into the actual roads of our town to start taking on the real hills, facing the wind, and feeling a host of new discomforts.

This year I started prepping early and got myself up to 4.4 miles, the equivalent of the Champlain Classic, the 5K run we will do on Sunday. It's really a push for me to go past 3.5 miles, but on this one day last week, I just decided to go for it. Could I turn my chattering mind off long enough to really run this distance?

My body is in good shape and certainly capable; that I knew. But my innate laziness wasn't so convinced this was possible or even necessary. Still I bravely punched 50 minutes into the treadmill time clock and set off to prove myself right … or wrong.

At the three mile mark, I could feel myself tensing up and resisting the rest of my run. Would I break through? Or could I? Or would this just be a small exercise in torture. Fortunately, Gianna was making chocolate tiramisu so I was gloriously distracted.

At the four mile mark I suddenly looked down and realized I was and had been in the runner's 'zone'…. A place where you don't really feel like you're running. Instead, you're just moving rhythmically and there's no good reason to stop. Still there I was running a ten minute mile, which for me is the stuff of true breakthroughs.

I stopped, almost reluctantly, at 4.4, so aware that the only reason I didn't usually run that far was my busy mind. Man, what a liberating new awareness… I'm not as lazy as I always thought I was! It was just a matter of believing it.

How about you?

Tags: running, breakthroughs, coaching breakthroughs

Create a Dream Binder for Someone You Love or Yourself, Part II

So … now are you ready to set up your own Dream Binder? (See yesterday's post to learn what that is.) It's easy and extremely fun - and it can be as elaborate as you want, or as simple as time will allow. Here's what you'll need:

You'll need a binder with a clear sleeve on the front for inserting cover art, dividers, 3-hole punched paper, loose leaf or filler paper, and access to the Internet.

Just to make it really easy for you, I've also put together a free download of Dream Binder workbook pages you can print out and use in your binders. They include exercises, questionnaires, and some helpful general articles on dream pursuit. (When you download it, you'll also get access to my free, award-winning ezine, The Joy Letter.)

Then print them out on 3-hole paper and pop them in the binder. The cover art I created is only a suggestion - feel fr.ee to make your own very personal image for the recipient.)

How to Make It:

When you sit down to make your Dream Binder, take a blank piece of paper and ask yourself just what your friend's dream should have in it. Let your mind wander deliciously, and capture all the inspirations that come up. Then get on the Web and start surfing - I promise you all the information you're looking for is out there.

You can make your Dream Binder as simple or as complicated as you like. Divide it up into sections that seem most useful for the recipient.

Include web sites, product or site reviews, free software URL's, and just about anything else you can think of. You can even give them gift certificates to helpful subscription services or retailers who sell dream-related products, if you want to add monetary value to this gift

Also look for
" Inspirational biographies
" Stories of others who've succeeded in the field your friend wishes to go into
" Helpful contacts
" Could be names/addresses/etc. from anyone you can find in their dream field who might serve as mentor, or even cold contacts you don't personally know.
" Notes or messages from supportive friends/family
" Free articles
" Great books/programs/tools

Are there helpful books that have good reviews that might somehow assist them? Think not only of technical books from experts in their field, but general dream books like my own, Living Your Joy.

Give the gift that really DOES keep on giving? Let someone you love (yes, that can include yourself) know that their dream matters and that you believe in them completely. You'll be so very glad you did.

Let the dreams begin!

Create a Dream Binder for Someone You Love or Yourself, Part I

Recently, I came up with a big idea: creating a binder of goodies that supports the dream of someone you love. I'm all for homemade gifts… and letting a friend or family member know their dream is supported is just about the best gift anyone can give. (Think Graduation, Mother's Day, birthday … or just make one for that other best friend - yourself!)

Here's an example.

My daughter Teal has a big dream of being a country singer. Teal has a great voice and has been performing pretty much non-stop since she was about 6. And she spends a considerable amount of time every day simply singing … sometimes for hours at a time. So for her 15th birthday, I made her a Dream Binder.

A Dream Binder is a great big book of support for any dream. Teal's Binder included photos of her favorite country singers and stories of how they got discovered. Plus I included information on contests, contacts at local radio stations, inspirational quotes for down days, helpful Web resources, and worksheets on things like keeping track of key contacts and planning next steps.

Her Dad, her brother, her godmother, her friends and I also added fun, mushy letters of support for her dream. And they also added more elements of their own, so the Dream Binder became a family effort.

What's really great about these Binders is that you only start them. The recipient then takes the binder and can keep on adding lots of support pieces as his or her dream builds steam. (Hence the need for loose leaf in the back.)

So who do you know whose dream needs a boost… beginning with you? I invite you to make lots of dream binders and share them with your fellow dreamers. They're easy and truly fun to make.

I'll post more tomorrow on just what the dream binder should include. If you'd like a template to work with, drop by my website and pick up your own copy of my Create Your Own Dream Binder kit. (You'll also get my excellent ezine, The Joy Letter, too.) It's all free … and it's all good.

How I Unwind and Lose My Stress

As I delve deeper and deeper into this journey to move people to express themselves, I seem to have a tighter and tighter knot of thought and worry in my gut. I can feel it when I meditate; I can feel it creeping up on me in the middle of the night.

So I've taken aggressive measures to keep the stress beast at bay. I've been down the stress-induced illness road once already in life and I'm not interested in going there again.

So for those who might be trying cram a lot in, here are a few tips on how to unwind totally and completely:

1. The hot bath. For me, this is nirvana. Sometimes I even indulgently take two in one day if I'm really going at full tilt - and this picture is the general idea. (That's not me by the way. :) If I want to go really wild, I light some candles. And I always turn off the phone, shut down my email, and close the door to my office. That feels gooooooood. I also use Zum Bars, really indulgent soaps made out of goat's milk that I buy through my health food store that smell UNBELIEVABLY good. They're also sold online.

2. Candles. As demonstrated in the picture above, there's something inherently healing about candles. My favorites come from Zena Moon, a handmade candle company in Washington State run by the highly creative Carla Blazek (I love this woman!) Carla made a special candle for me that's shown here - my Coming Out of Hiding Candle. It smells like freesia and mint and it gives me power… I burn it all day long at my computer. Other favorites are 'Screw Perfection' and sex-o-rama (!) Then there's 'Little Miss Pissy Pants' in sage and pomegranate. Nothing like an irreverent, totally fun candle to light your mood. I burn 'em anywhere I need the recharge.

3. Regular Massages. I've fought this notion for years, feeling that a regular massage is way too indulgent. But I'm seeing what it cost me. (My previously mentioned stress-related illness could have been entirely avoided with regular massage.) So I see Courtney, the local masseuse, every three weeks … and it makes a major difference.

4. Mental Training. There are lots of ways to get our roving minds under control. I'm doing Dr. Jill Ammon-Wexler's Millionaire Mindset training right now, and it's forcing me to spend enough time in 'alpha' state that I can feel myself re-grounding and getting into a more creative, relaxed frame of mind in general. To learn more about mental retraining, take a listen to an interview I did with Dr. Jill recently about brain states.

5. A Good Sweaty Work Out. There is simply nothing that takes me back to zero faster … so I save this for my end-of-day meltdown. It's a lot more effective than a glass of wine, once you get going with a regular program. And it's a whole lot healthier. I have energy that I haven't had for twenty years because I'm doing three sweaty 45-minute workouts per week, plus attending a single Bikram yoga class per week. (That's a MAJOR sweat-fest.) Added perc: Once you get home .. if you still want that glass of wine, you can REALLY justify it!

That's it for now. How to you lose your stress?

How to build a better fire

Every night after almost eight or nine hours pouring over a hot computer, I need a little therapy … something to push the reset button. And I realized last night, as I curled up for yet another night in front of the fire, that this was it.

Larry (my husband), a crackling fire, a kid quietly doing his Sudoku puzzle and maybe a glass of wine. What could be better?

Here are tips I've gleaned from about 30 years of random fire building (I even had a fireplace in my room at Wellesley where I was the resident firebug.)

1. Use a grate and wad up about 4 or 5 pieces of newspaper under it to get the fire going.
2. Next layer above the grate is small to mid-size kindling
3. On top of that consider a teepee style pile of logs (like this pic.) A Scotsman taught me this trick … and it works well with old 'Rumford' style fireplaces like ours - tall, shallow firebox with tapered sides
4. Let enough ash accumulate so a good pile sits right under it with no more than one inch of air between the ask and the bottom of the grate.
5. Make sure you've got the flu open before you light <grin>
6. When the fire burns down, scrape down loose coals from the logs
7. Keep wood at room temp for at least 24 hours before you burn

Let 'er rip … and do keep a firescreen up, will you?

How I spent last Friday

Lately, we've been observing the law of Sharpening the Saw around the Joy camp. Just about every member of my team takes one day off during the work week and makes that time just for them. Some of us use it to catch up and get control of the office - I use mine to get out of my office and sit in Speeder & Earl's, an Internet café in Burlington and write. Then I go do some hot yoga at the place across the street. I also visit dentists, get oil changes, and take care of other 'life stuff.'

Like making tiramisu. I made this in prep for my first dinner guests in … well, about six months. Hubby and I suddenly realized we were turning into total hermits, and why? Because I was refusing to do anything but work.

That's officially over. I'm back to living a balanced life. And happily, that includes whipping up glorious, fattening desserts like this one. Because you can't live on toast and good intentions all the time, now can you?

What I Learned from ‘American Idol’

First of all, let’s just get this out on the table – my favorite ‘American Idol’ singers are Taylor Hicks (the gray-haired, blues-singing guy) and Paris Bennett, the very incredible 17-year-old African-American singer from Georgia.

Now … let’s analyze why I like them.

I’m a newbie to American Idol – it’s something my kids have gotten me into, but boy … a LOT can be learned here about the creative process and the art of passing muster. Not only are you dealing with Simon Cowell’s scowling countenance all the time … only those who are self-possessed, fairly real and really relaxed seem to make it into the final rounds.

These are the people who ‘have it going on’ – they know their job, they know they’re good, and they’re not waiting for the judges to validate them. Best of all, they’re having fun. And that all springs from passion for your craft.

I love these two singers because they’re genuinely passionate about what they do. When Taylor Hicks came in to see the judges to find out if he made it onto the show, he was playing his harmonica. Just for love of being there, and taking the long stroll down to their table, he played the blues all the way. This guy is full of joy whether he makes it to the final round or not … and he’s certainly not going to stop, regardless of whether he wins. Frankly, if I was an A&R person with a major label, I’d already be talking to this guy about signing. He’s just got that unique, amazing … something. (I love that he says on his page that he’ll go back to being a ‘broke performer’ after the AI whirl ends.)

Same for the fabulous Paris Bennett. This girl is just 100% about delivering her gift. Her ritual (according to the American Idol site) is to ‘Pray and ask God to be my words and let Him use me!’. How cool is that? Paris is connected to the music, down to the core of her soul, and it makes us love her.

I’m not forgetting what she did when she passed her original AI audition and got the ‘golden ticket’ to spend the week auditioning in Hollywood (essentially round 2 of the process.) She dropped to her knees in the doorway as she exited, and just began to sob with joy. She’s feeling it … and so can we.

If you haven’t ever checked American Idol out, do … it’s a great lesson in life as a working artist. Who’s your favorite contestant?

Hubby's at MOMA!

OK … I'm gonna bust I'm so proud. My very own husband, Larry Barns, will have some of the still photographs he's taken for Iranian concept artist Shirin Neshat at a show, opening February 26 at New York's Museum of Modern Art.

For about ten years, Larry has accompanied Shirin on the shoots of her abstract and very beautiful fine art videos to places like Turkey, Morrocco and Oaxaca, Mexico. There they create images that accompany her videos, and are sold to collectors. (Museums tend to be the buyers of the videos.) This work has been shown in all the major museums in the world - in fact the image at the left, an early shot Larry did with Shirin, was  on the cover of the program of the Venice Biennale.

The exhibit at MOMA is called 'Without Boundary; 17 Ways of Looking'. The museum website says about it: "The exhibition features the work of artists of diverse backgrounds-Algerian, Egyptian, Indian, Iranian, Iraqi, Lebanese, Pakistani, Palestinian, and Turkish-across a variety of mediums, including painting, sculpture, video, animation, photography, carpet and textile, and comic strips."

Larry thinks this is part of a major global trend in art, and certainly in the US, to become much more international and inclusive. To which I say, thank God someone's being that way! Just what's needed in a time of war, violence, hatred, and a whole lot of other base emotions that make these sad and challenging times.

Long live art as the healing force!

Warm Relief for a Cold, Rainy World

I love soup! And I especially love it when we have a spate of dank, wintery weather up here in the Adirondacks where I live.

Lately, I’ve been getting heavily into curried cream of pumpkin or squash soup – and honestly, it’s SOOOO delicious, I just have to share it here.

What I do is bake some squash, pumpkins or both, until I have several nicely roasted pieces. Adding a touch of butter or maple syrup to the pieces while they bake helps.

Then I scoop out the soft, roasted flesh, and mix it up with some nice chicken broath, a little sautéed shallot (optional) and some salt. I let the mixture simmer for a while, then I add a blop of this wonderful curry paste I have that a company called Patak’s makes.

What’s great about curry paste is that all of the hard work – the simmering of garlic, the claifying of butter, the grinding of spices – is done! You just add the paste and instantly anything gets a nice, mellow curry flavor.

Then I pop my stick blender in the pot, add a long shot of fresh cream from our organic farm coop, and whip the mixture up. And there’s the best damn soup you ever did have.

Mmm-mmm warm and cosy!

Boy v. Guitar: Update

Here’s the latest update on my son Luke’s struggle to do that daily task which feels cumbersome to him: practicing his blue scales and chords on his guitar.

If you recall when I last posted on this, we were at the pleading-balking-wild promises stage of parental attempts at control … and then I got a brainstorm. I sat down with Luke and asked him to really tell me exactly what the problem is with practicing.

‘It’s boring!’ he cried. ‘The same stuff over and over!’ And yes, to some degree that is true, because that’s how your fingers learn to fly along a fret board. YET! It didn’t have to be boring.

I gave Luke permission to do these nimble little exercises while he watches afternoon TV – something that’s been really pretty restricted in our home. And magically, the problem has disappeared.

There might be those who think this TV-as-entertaining-background thinking is wrong, and it probably is to some degree. But what IS working is that Luke is suddenly rounding the corner on his playing so he feels more confident and it sounds a lot better. And that’s when guitar is fun enough that you actually feel like practicing.

I invite you to look at what you avoid doing for your art, and how you can make it more fun for yourself.

My Favorite Singer … and Why She Matters

My favorite singer in the entire world is the late cabaret singer, Nancy Lamott, who died tragically in the 90’s when she was only 43. Nancy’s voice is so gorgeous, and so full of feeling, that she simply stands in a league of her own … even twenty years after her death. In fact, her recordings regularly move my husband to tears, so much so that he’s not allowed to listen to her on the highway.

I’m writing about Nancy today because an authorized website on her work has just been released after a very long, protracted legal battle over control of her estate. And boy … is this great stuff! First of all, for the first time, you can actually buy her entire collection of 6 CD’s. Secondly, you can read all about her climb to relatively obscure fame – and what it took to get the following she had, JUST on the strength of being an awesome singer.

See, Nancy was chronically ill throughout her entire career with Crohn’s disease, and later, near the end, with uterine cancer. She still did shows, appearances and recordings between hospital stays, though, and continued to build in popularity until she finally started to peak just as she died. Her final performances were a sold out week at New York’s prestigious Tavern On The Green (one of her live albums.)

Along the way during this incredible, final burst of her creativity, she also finally met the man of her dreams, Peter Zapp, who she married in her hospital bed two hours before she died. (Her demise came unexpectedly quickly, on the heels of some public appearances.)

This woman truly knew what it was to be alive. If you want to learn more about Nancy’s amazing work, please go to www.nancylamott.com

Consider purchasing a CD just as an awesome gift to yourself!

Hershey the Wild Mink

The other day I was leading a teleclass from my office that overlooks our woods, Lake Champlain, and the Green Mountains of Vermont. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched the most beautiful wild mink dark across the edge of what we jokingly call our yard, and disappear into a tree stump.

We live down a mile-long dirt road in the woods, surrounded by 1000 acres of state wilderness and share our point with two, deserted summer cottages, so wildlife sightings happen a lot. Often I see bald eagles fly by my desk, as well as deer, ermine, and all manner of small bird life including peregrine falcons and pileated woodpeckers. On my walks in the woods, I’ve discovered bobcat and coyote tracks, and seen a number of timber rattlers. And there are always porcupines wandering around.

But this mink really caught my eye, because you just don’t see minks very often – and this one was really cute and frisky. So I told my son, who is eleven, about it when he got home from school.

‘That’s Hershey!” he cried with glee. Hershey? Turns out this mink actually lives in that log and had slipped from view for about the last five months. My son and a buddy found him last summer when they poked their head into his log for a look around. Hershey poked his head out and the three of them had a short stare down. Then Hershey would do the head poke thing whenever the boys wandered by his log after that.

So a new ‘pet’ has been named. (Please note, these boys also tend chickens, so they’re big on naming beasts. There’s Bob the Chicken, for instance, who is known to be something of a slacker.)

Now we’re going to call up a friend whose hobby is shooting wildlife in the woods, and see if he can get a digital shot of Hershey for this blog.

Here’s to Hershey! (Love that name!)