Ode to Mama Odie and New Orleans

The background story: Mallory and I have seen Princess and the Frog twice. Riley has seen it with us once. I was verklempt watching it the second time around at certain moments and maybe because it was our first girls only movie, just the three of us. It is set in 1930's New Orleans. It is a great little movie, message, music and native Louisiana jokes about Shreveport and such. I bought the soundtrack from the movie and we love it!
This past Sunday In Sunday School, both of the girls had lessons on making positive choices.
Mama Odie's character is a blind voodoo swamp woman or as Disney's website describes her as the "bayou fairy godmother" and an odd but wise, kind woman. I am now shooting to be like Mama Odie!!-except for the blind part...The two little frogs are trying to become humans again and this is why they visit her. And then she sings a song called "Dig a Little Deeper" and it is about finding out who you are and getting what you need. As you know, hitting home in Golightlyville. I've been digging quite deep as of late and figuring out EXACTLY what I need. I sat in the theatre thinking those Disney folks just really know how to get a message across. It was speaking directly to my soul...and I love that it was set in New Orleans. I did have a bit of a twinge with the teethless swamp frog hunters but oh well....

The first time we hear the song this week after Sunday School lesson, Mallory says "Mama Odie is making good choices, isn't she" And my head yet again spins around Linda Blair Exorcist style...does this four year old know how profound those words are for me?.

Anyway...New Orleans and the "Who Dat" nation are in the news majorly around these parts and nationally sportswise....and I am pulling for the Saints. And perhaps, will actually watch the whole Super Bowl, and not just the National Anthem or commercials. It is quite exciting. It is more than just a football game and I can appreciate that. Geaux Saints!

Peace

Peace.
It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart (unknown)

I love Barnes and Noble. Have I said that before? It's a mystical magical place for me. A fount of information. A quiet place. I found this peace verse on a coffee cup at Barnes & Noble. I picked it up and fell in love with it (and drink out of it often!) For some reason, as I have gone through life, I thought it was supposed to be easy or at least not hard all the time. Why? Why did I think that, that is SOOO crazy to think that. (And when I say "Crazy" it is said with an Columbian accent and your hands up in the air like the actress who plays Gloria from "Modern Family" which I adore. She's on my brain as I have seen her on her show, then on Ellen Friday and then the SAG awards last night. And I digress...

I guess why I love the saying, is because I'm really learning to live it. It speaks volumes to me now. VOLUMES. When one finally learns to relax after being uptight for years, it is utterly refreshing. Peace. The word just sounds good. The action of it is even better.

Letting go...of the clothes

Cleaned out the Master Closet with the help of the girls on Monday. I was primed and ready to let go of clothes. And then I began feeling sad, as I was letting go of the memories. But mainly the sadness was from the nice clothes that no longer fit. I have now learned to pay attention to the emotion. It doesn't change the fact that I am letting go of the stuff, but that it is okay to feel sad.
But getting rid of the "stuff" helps me with my vision. The vision that includes an active and healthy body and mind that will eventually and naturally get to the weight that I will become accustomed to. He he he... Also the vision of a more clean, less cluttered home which is in metamorphasis as I am!!




I really wanted to purge more than I purged the last time and I DID. This time when I came across the dress that I have saved since before 1993, it went in the GO pile. It was from my first formal date with George. The thing is there is no reason to keep it, so let's have fun with it. Mallory wanted to try it on. And the girls tried on other things as well and we had the music going. It was the party to let things go.

George and Carolyn - Hollywood Style

I read and really enjoyed Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I can't remember if I read it because Oprah recommended or not, but I loved, loved her style of writing. I very much enjoyed the tone, the humor and the depth. When I found out that Julia Roberts would be playing Elizabeth in the movie now being filmed, it threw me, it wasn't the obvious choice to me but the director did not get my input. Yet, dear readers, I have accepted it and moved on. At the end of the book as in her real life, Ms. Gilbert finds love and his name is Felipe. Here is their picture from their wedding day which is what her second book is about.


Fast forward to present day, I came across a photo of who would be playing Felipe on the screen. Here is that photo. It is none other than the sultry, hunky actor of Spanish origin, Javier Bardem. How do I write without insulting Felipe, whom I'm sure is sultry and hunky in his own way, that I wasn't expecting this choice, either. I hadn't pictured him as he was after I read the book and then I didn't picture him as Javier. Felipe is 17 years older than Elizabeth and I'm sure is a nice man but Javier Bardem, he is not. Granted, I have written about pictures/images being one dimensional. And people are multi-dimensional. And yet...it is Hollywood, yada, yada, yada.


So, it started me thinking, hmmmm, who would play me (and George) in the movie version of my future smash best-seller. My first thought was of an actress that we lost in a tragic accident last year. Natasha Richardson, I just thought she was fabulous and I do have English blood running through me. And now I'm stuck, I really can't come up with anybody. Wait, it just hit me, I would want Reese Witherspoon. I have been told that we have similar mannerisms.




For George, it would be Val Kilmer - Top Gun Days. What do you think???

Oh,and the office/guest room has NOT been pulled together...no pictures to be forthcoming.

"The Last Time I Felt Like This"

I came across the old movie "Same Time Next Year" with Alan Alda and Ellen Burstyn on cable and watched bits and pieces of it. It's about two married people (but not to each other) who get together and have an affair the same weekend each year for 26+ years. It was made in 1978 and the movie starts in the 50's. I'm not a fan of adultery but it just drew me in, the actors are fabulous. I taped the full movie and then caught this song which is at the beginning and the end and it blew me away. I had to find out who was singing. Just so romantic...it's either the fact that it is a Marvin Hamlisch song or that Johnny Mathis (with Jane Olivor?) is singing. Marvin also wrote "The Way We Were", and "Through the Eyes of Love" That must be it, the teenager is coming out in me who played "Looking through the eyes of love" over and over and over on the piano, singing my heart out.

This new old song just took my breath away. Maybe it's knowing I'm going to have an overnight alone with my husband this coming weekend?! A little much needed rendezvous ourselves. It was one of those movies of longing, that you just didn't want to end. There's not many movies that make me feel that way anymore. Same feeling that I have at the end of "The Way We Were," except there they did not end up together but Katie and Hubble couldn't end up together, but it was so sad. I'm starting to feel old because I can't think of any new movies that make me feel that way. So thank you Marvin and Johnny (and Jane Olivor, whoever you are) for taking my breath away, it was a good feeling.

Dippin' dots in the Designer Department

George and I are going to a Mardi Gras Ball in Kenner next weekend, and we decided to do this last week. I have never attended a Mardi Gras Ball but I think George might have. I have not necessarily been excited about this, but I am perking up. Honestly, I have just never been a fan of all of the hoopla around Mardi Gras especially all of these people dressed up in outrageous costumes for what? But I'm not going there. The idea of getting a dress (!), shoes, figuring out hair, jewelry, being with people I don't know, etc. was just not appealing to me but I could tell George really wanted to go, so I am learning to suck it up. I have expressed no negativity not even related to finances as we talked about wanting to cut corners recently. And the tab is adding up especially with an overnight hotel stay. (And since he has not read my blog yet, I'm still safe here!) He called me on Monday when I was with our girls at the mall, and said that I definitely needed a long formal gown and that I could look at the mall while I was there. I said, do you not know the girls are with me???!!!

Hmmmmm

Well, in the "I can do more than I think" department I bought the girls their dessert at dippin' dots and said "let's go walk by and see what long dresses Dillard's has." As I see long dresses on a wall, I spotted a low glass coffee table and two chairs. I placed Riley and Mallory and their dippin' dots at the table, pushed their chairs in and off I went to find a dress. I saw the saleslady look them over but I just went with it, because the ball is well, NEXT weekend. I found 2 dresses, and then realized I was in the designer section after looking at the price tags, but ran into the dressing room anyway, which was conveniently in the direct line of the dippin dots dessert table, AND Riley said she would watch Mallory. The girls were so excited to see me in a long gown, how could I NOT think that would entertain Mallory for a few moments. I found a definite potential dress except for the designer price tag and after they finished their dessert, we went to the less expensive department and found another possibility. They were actually INTO the whole process but let me say, I do move swiftly. I ended up buying two dresses to make my decision from.

School was cancelled yesterday due to extreme cold (high of 34) and the potential of ice on the roadways. So we went back to the mall, and found a wrap, shoes and even looked at costume jewelry in one shop. It didn't hurt in keeping them occupied that we were going to see "Princess and the Frog" and they were playing a game involving "Lenny" of the "Wonderpets" and clues to the movie the entire time. The sales lady let us keep the plastic ring the size of a bracelet that the wrap came in and it was perfect for Winnie as a hula hoop. A piece of plastic kept Mallory entertained for many minutes. We (perhaps I) have come a long way, as I thought I would not be able to shop for myself with the girls in attendance at their age. It takes a little finagling, but we did it. I was so pleasantly surprised as you can tell. I'm learning that many things are possible, I just have to let myself believe AND move swiftly.

2009 in the bag

Woo Hoo!! I just realized that I finished my first year of blogging. I started in January 2009 and completed over 70 blogs. I just completed my first blog of 2010, and this will be the 2nd, that is kind of a cheat but oh well. I feel a sense of accomplishment! I am planning to stick to my once a week blog, even if it means putting up a video or song that I like. I feel like I have very heavy topics and am very self-involved, but I'm not going to apologize, as that is where I am now. That is the self-discovery process I'm going through, yada yada yada. I do want to entertain, and let my sense of humor out as well and I will work on that as well. Thank you for reading!
Oh, and in two weeks, by January 17th, I will put a new picture of my computer desk and we will see if it is any neater, and the receipts and papers are put away. At least, I will have to do it for the picture! I should probably do a 360 video of the spare room that would truly say where I'm making any progress.

On a Roll in the New Year...

I'm enthused for the moment, I'm on a decluttering roll...Christmas decorations are down and now up in the attic. (We even declutterd those!) I was almost as excited to put the decorations away as I was to put them on display. A couple of days ago, we went through the girl's playroom closet and we let several bags and boxes go and the closet is organized, and everything has a place. We even decluttered the attic. It feels really good. I'm working hard to get the high from getting rid of stuff and simplifying, rather than buying. It has been a slow shift in thinking and action for the last couple of years. This afternoon, the van (heretofore will be known as Our Lady of Blessed Acceleration-thank you Cousin Herman) was loaded up with donatables which we brought to the Bargain Depot for Connections for Life, a ministry of our church.


I decided to take a walk on the wild side with a new zebra print bedspread. Mallory walked in and said, "Who did this?" But she and Princess the cat seem to both like it. This purchase is to compensate for the "we decided not to sell the house, but are so happy we didn't" letdown. Actually, the very nice organizer lady picked out a plain white bedspread when we were "staging" the house and I needed to take back ownership of my bedroom. And it was 50% off and checked out for even less than that at the department store. I just love it when that happens!

Riley and I have been watching episodes of "Clean House" on the Style channel. Either I've been home with kids too long, or these shows really are funny. Espcially one of the hosts, Niecy Nash who cracks me up. Well, there is so much more to do including the clothes in my closet, the bathroom cabinets, the bookcases, the girls clothes, the under the bed box with memorabilia, etc., etc. Oh, and not to forget the daily stuff that has to occur as well! I want to keep the decluttering going. I just need time, energy and motivation. I really see the connection between an organized decluttered home and how that relates to having a vision for life. I feel better when I'm in my house and I feel better when I come back. I just need to keep the roll going.