Curly Girl-Book Review

If you don't own this book, you should.  I had my hair cut this week while I was home and my hairdresser told me all about Curly Girl.  I went to get it as soon as I could.  (After I read it, I realized she probably didn't really read it, as she didn't cut my hair per the books instructions.)

It explains many things like:
  Curly hair is like a pine cone
  How to cleanse and style.
  How to cut it.
  How to diagnose it.

Basically, it takes a somewhat natural approach to achieving beautiful curly locks.

I've started the process and will let you know how it goes.  We curly girls need to stick up for ourselves, band together, and patiently mend the damage that has been done!

Thank you Lorraine Massey for your page turner,

A

Listen Up

Ho-k, so I may, or may not have come home from work today and totally passed out...for four hours! That's right, out at five, up at nine, drool on the pillow. I think my body was trying to tell me something. I'm just not sure what it was.

Moving on...

I've decided that my job is teaching me some very excellent skills in the non-defensive approach to life,
for example;

Question: What do you say when some one puts together an array of colorful words you have never heard all at once before, and then lobs them at you with much force and conviction?

Answer: "I hear what you're saying, how can I help?"

Question: How do you react when someone randomly calls you a #^$%@, and flips you off as you walk past them in the hallway?

Answer: Smile! They are probably having a really bad day.

Question: What do you do when a person says "Hey, are you OK?" and you say "Yes. why?" and they say "Oh, ok, your hair just looks really bad today."

Answer: "Well yes, it probably does, I'll look into that, thanks for your concern. How are things?"  

I almost don't even think about it anymore, these validating words just flow out of me. The more caustic the offense, the more calm and collected I am. Outside of work, I try to be in that sweet spot where I let myself believe if someone is all red in the face, scrappy, or condescending, that it's, well, not about me. More so, as I was saying to Abby earlier, when we were doing this:

Google+ Hang Out - Abby is the snorkeling astronaut, in case you were wondering. You can figure out for yourselves who the maniacal banker is.

I said, "Abs, I'm trying to be better about letting people have thoughts, (not that I can stop them, but you know what I mean) you know? Not, these people are having thoughts, and I don't care, or these people are having thoughts and it must say something about me, just plain old, someone is having a thought, and I'm listening." Revelatory, I know, but it's working for me right now. I'll let you know if the process becomes more sophisticated than this. It probably won't.

In fact the more I think about it, God's whole plan about us having to listen really really hard if we want to hear what he has to say about our thoughts is rather ingenious for both parties: A#1 We can't hear His initial thoughts about our thoughts, because He probably has some funny/irreverent thoughts about what we think, because we don't know much, and those might not be too helpful. A#2 Usually if you don't get what you want right away, in this instance feedback, you tend to want it more, and try harder, and it means more to you when you get it. It's the same with us right? If I shut-up and listen for two seconds, I can avoid saying dumb, unhelpful stuff, and maybe actually get what the person is trying to say, and where they are coming from. Yes.

Very deep stuff. So, wish me luck on Plan "Everyone Has Thoughts, You should Listen More" I think it is going to continue to be quite enlightening.

Thoughts, anyone?

E-

P.S. I may have post-postage remorse on this one, because it was pretty random, and free flowish, but sometimes that's how I roll, we've all been rather random this week, anyway eh? Except for P, who has just not been present. Postage please, Pants.

Jury Duty

Today I reported to the Fulton County Courthouse for Jury duty. I took both babes and walked in ready to go all Erin Brokavich(sp) on them. I had a whole speech prepared on how it would be rediculous to ask me to stay when I have children at home and all that jazz. Apparently I am not the first to feel unjustly summoned to fufil my civic duty. All they did was hand me an affidavit asked me to sign it and sent me on my way. So we rode up and down the escalator like a bagillion times because it makes the little chic happy and the I took her to the park for an hour and went to the grocery store, all before 10:30 am might I add. I'd say it was a pretty successful day. Have any of you ever served on a jury? I kind of want to, so I was slightly disappointed that I couldn't. I took some pictures but I am to lazy to get to the computer as I am doing this from the Pad with one hand and holding Henry's binkie in his mouth with the other. Goodnight peeps. L

The Cake

Well I am sure none of you appreciated my disappearing act last week but it was quite the week. I suppose that probably happens for everyone. 

Enough about me and on to the CAKE!

Marcia Wilson is now Marcia Milne and well....Marcia Milne LOVED her cake thanks to some wonderful tips from E!

I was originally going to do the same cake that E did for L's wedding, but the night before preparations began the bride changed her mind, on me so we did what we could with a new dream. 

Fondant. 

I know most of you are extremely against fondant and for good reasons! Most of the time is it to thick and dry and hard and purchased from JoAnn Fabrics in a sealed bucket. The fondant we used however was HOMEMADE and wonderful in every way in comparable to Wiltons.

The cakes flavoring went something like this

Lemon Curd Filling

Vanilla Bean Filling

Raspberry Filling

All on White Cake with a Swiss Meringue Buttercream! 

It looked something like this....

and this

and up close it looked something like this....

overall I think it was a success, what do you think??

Well other than that stressful experience this past week we have been car shopping and becoming the best interviewees ever, with probably 5 interviews total between the two of us last week and a few more coming up this week. Hopefully R will get a internship and I will get a new job!  

Hopefully next week I will have plenty of good news to post about! We sure love you here at the Burr House and miss all of you. 

Sunday night R and I skyped with E and I couldnt really stop the flooding of emotion that made me realize how much I miss my wonderful sisters. I love you all and hope you have great weeks, whether you have 5 loads of dirty laundry waiting for you, children falling asleep on the floor of the DMV, Finals/moving out, or the daunting task of finding clients for the summer! You are all amazing! 

Cheers!

-M-

P.S. Next week there will be a new yummy recipe for the restaurant!! Grilling season is here!!

The Private Practice Plunge

I'm gonna do it.  I know I always say that, but I really am.  I was at work last Thursday and I kept thinking that I hated working in the schools and I missed my babies.  There is so much paperwork and there isn't enough time to actually do meaningful 1 on 1 therapy.  So, kids are on the program for years and hardly make progress.  That isn't how I roll.  I like to work one on one.  I don't like paperwork, laws, and red tape.  No Child Left Behind?  It's more like, Child Left Behind.

So, despite financial insecurity, I'm gonna do it.  I already have 3 clients in the works but haven't had enough time to initiate things.  I am that busy.  I felt like I was barely treading water this past week.  I probably needed a breathing session with E, but I didn't even have time for that.  I'm gonna do it.  Innovate, Communicate will be up and running and I will be in charge, and making a difference one child at a time.  They won't get left behind on my watch.

A

"I wouldn't Recognize Her..."

One of my sisters made this comment to me today and it made me very sad.  I can't wait until the beach house in August.  Then everyone will be able to know and love my sweet girl.  Here are some pics from Christmas to the present.  She is always smiling, screaming, climbing, and giggling.

I can't get enough of those blue eyes.... 

I guess the bird's debut will have to wait another week.

Yogaville, VA

 
Lets just get a few definitions out of the way before I jump into this post shall we?

ash·ram [ahsh-ruhm] noun 
1. a secluded building/compound, often the residence of a guru, used for religious retreat or instruction in Hinduism.

yo·ga [yoh-guh] noun

1. a school of Hindu philosophy advocating and prescribing a course of physical and mental disciplines for attaining liberation from the material world and union of the self with the Supreme Being or ultimate principle.

2. any of the methods or disciplines prescribed, especially a series of postures and breathing exercises practiced to achieve control of the body and mind, tranquillity, etc.

3. union of the self with the Supreme Being or ultimate principle.

med·i·tate [med-i-teyt], med·i·tat·ed, med·i·tat·ing.

verb (used without object)

1. to engage in thought or contemplation; reflect.

2. to engage in transcendental meditation,  devout religious contemplation, or quiescent spiritual introspection.

These are three words you need to know if you want to understand anything I'm about to write.

So, last weekend, I went to an ashram in VA, about four hours south of DC. This came about because my roommate Sarah is a yoga instructor, and a social worker. She found out that the ashram, or Yogaville, as it were, was hosting a yoga master who also happened to be a well known mental health therapist in NYC. He was giving a weekend seminar on using CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and yoga to treat anxiety and OCD disorders. 

I've been doing lots of yoga this year, and I use CBT all the time in my work, so I told her I was in! I got even more excited when she told me the ashram had a temple built in the shape of a lotus flower, and that it was PINK! For reals.

For an entire weekend I got up at 5:30am to meditate for an hour and then do yoga for an hour and a half, all before breakfast. The food was all vegetarian, all the time. It was pretty good. Meditation was an interesting experience. There was lots of Om-ing, which I liked the vibration from it wakes you up, and feels cool. You know, especially on the mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm part. Then there was all the chanting, which I decided to refrain from participating in. I figured I didn't really know what they were saying, (it's all in Sanscrit) or who they were saying it to. 

Their leader, Guru Dev, who is dead now, was a Yogi. He decided to set up the ashram on the basic belief that there are "Many paths, one truth" So, I don't know, I guess you would call that a Non-Denominational Hindu-Jewish-Muslim-Christian-Atheist (and 10 other religions I've never hear of) ashram. There were lots of pictures of this guy...everywhere, and little altars with his picture, an pictures of him doing all these crazy yoga poses. I thought it was a bit odd, but I thought, well he must be like their prophet. Because they talked about God all the time at meals and such. 

He was a pretty happy guy.

I was standing with Sarah in front of a big stain-glass window of him on the last day. The conversation went something like this...

Me: Wow, they really like this guy don't they?

Sarah: Umm, well, they worship him, so, yeah.

Should have seen that coming.

Over all, it was a really great weekend. The seminar was great. The guy who came to teach it was really talented, and I got a lot out of it. I met a lot of very cool people. 

The peeps I went down with.

Sarah and Jessica are super bendy!

But I did finally figure out how to do this:

Next time you want to spend your weekend breathing, eating vegetables, doing yoga, and breathing some more, Yogaville is your place. ;) I'm telling you it's a good time. But we can do all that at my house too, if you really want. So just come visit me instead.

E-

PS: Laugh-A-Yoga was maybe my favorite thing that happened all weekend. But don't worry ladies, it will be unveiled at the family reunion. And you will like it.