Inspiration Everywhere!

I'm feeling quite inspired today...as a matter of fact, there seems to be creative inspiration everywhere I look!

I'm also feeling a little anxious, because I have so much to do and so little time to do it...I have to cram about three days of work into this one day, and on this day, I also have lots of other things to prepare for. Like my trip to Nashville tomorrow to attend Blissdom '10--a blogging conference where I'll learn all sorts of wonderful new things about blogging, design, etc. I'm sure I'll be quite inspired when I get there! My friend Nell is going with me, and we're leaving at 7am sharp so we can make it to our first workshop at 2:15 tomorrow afternoon at the Opryland Hotel. So there's packing to do...

My first inspiration this morning came when I watched a piece on The TODAY show about Bill T. Jones, who did choreography for 20 years in the modern dance world. At a time in his life when he could easily retire, Jones instead is directing and doing choreography for "Fela!," a show on Broadway that's getting alot of buzz...(http://www.felaonbroadway.com/). Jones told Ann Curry that he was "reinventing the wheel again and again...such is my lot." I'd like to think I'm doing the same thing. It keeps things fresh and alive! As a choreographer, Jones likes to push boundaries, to be an orginal and to be real. The theme of the play, over and over again, is originality, not artificialty. To see Ann Curry's interview with Bill T. Jones, click here:

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/35217510#35217510

I was also inspired when I opened an email from Anthropologie, a store I have no apologies for loving. I've only been in two other Anthropologie stores in other cities before one opened ten minutes from my house! The person who does the displays at the store in Ridgeland is a creative genius! I'm so impressed with her work. She can turn anything--and I mean ANYTHING--into works of art. I actually enjoy just strolling the store and looking at the creative and innovative displays! And low and behold, in the online newsletter the store sends out, they talked about displays! After giving staggering statistics about the number of plastic water bottles we manage to add to landfills, and how they take 100 years or so to break down, they showed some beautiful images of displays made using flowers cut from water bottles. I was quite inspired!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/anthropologiephotos/sets/72157623090264211/show/ I've mentioned in my blog before that I love the show "Man Shops Globe," on the Travel Channel. It's about Keith Johnson, a buyer for Anthropologie, and his travels around the world to seek out unique items for the store. Oh, to have that job!

Talk about inspiration...I got a new book: Art Making & Studio Spaces: Unleash Your Inner Artist: An Intimate Look at 31 Creative Work Spaces by Lynne Perrella. I'm hoping it will help motiviate me to do something to make my office and studio space more productive. This book is like eye candy for me...and all I want to do is take Every Single Thing out of my office and put only the things I need back in, one-by-one, until it's a perfectly organized, smooth running, made-for-creativity space that I can feel really good about going in every day...because right now my office looks pretty bad...

I wasn't kidding...so stay tuned. I'm going to block out chunks of time all next week to work on this project, and I'll keep you posted. You may just be inspired to do the same!

Finally...I want to share with you that at my highest weight ever, and old as the hills, I've been featured prominantly on the cover of a magazine. http://www.porticojackson.com/ But, despite all working against him, photographer Josh Hailey, managed to make me look OK-ish. I think it's because I'm loving on Nicole, who in my eyes, is a miracle and a gift from God. This month's PORTICO Jackson magazine has an article called "Nicole's Story." And although her story has been written time and time again over the last year and a half, this article tells it from some unique perspectives--mine, Larry's, Joseph's and Nicole's. It was a difficult article to write, but cathartic at the same time. I read it last night (I always like to see my words in real print!) and it was just as difficult for me to read, but at the same time, it reminded me of how far Nicole has come, how strong we are as a family unit and it gives me confidence that we can handle with grace whatever life has in store for us. 

I won't be blogging again until Monday (unless we do some in our classes at the blogging conference...). Until then, look for inspiration in your surroundings and in the words of Bill T. Jones, "I want to say to the world: Take a solo! Go for it! Whatcha got?!"

Blessings to all who read this!

Susan

Birthday Bliss

On this day, at this very moment, 27 years ago, I was in heavy labor. Scared out of my mind. Not a happy camper At All.

I was about to give birth to my first born child.

IT (we didn't know the sex yet) was not making it easy on me. And IT didn't seem to want to come out. But finally, late into the evening, IT did come out. All 7 pounds, 3 ounces of wiggling dark haired beauty. Nicole Elizabeth came screaming into the world on Groundhog's Day 1983 and my life has never been the same since!

It's been a roller coaster ride and I've had to learn how to be a mom--her mom--as I went along. I'm still learning. And she's quick to let me know when I'm not getting it right. But she also tells me when I am, and for that, I'm grateful.

I've had a unique opportunity to do alot of the things I've done once before all over again. When she had her accident at age 25, she was suddenly transformed from an independent, active young woman to a small and helpless little person in a hosptial bed--not unlike a newborn. We went through all stages of development: sitting up, learning to eat, hand-eye coordination, talking, and (thankfully!) walking. Because she's in the room she grew up in, and she's still the same size she was in the ninth grade, it's easy to forget sometimes that she is a young woman, not a child. For goodness sakes, she was already two years old when I was her age!

But in that time that I've been "raising Nicole" again, I've had lots of time to reflect on her wonderful childhood and all the joy she's brought into our lives. She's been a little actress since she could talk, and she could recite lines of movies as early as age two. "I've seen a house fly (accentuate the FLY). I've seen a dragonFLY. I've seen a horse FLY. Oh I been done seen about everything 'til I've seen an elephant fa-lyyyyyye!" (That's the song the crows sing in "Dumbo," which was her favorite movie for a long long long long long long long time. We watched Dumbo A-LOT!)

One thing I can say about Nicole is that she loves a camera. And cameras love her! Since she was little, she was hamming it up for professional and amateur photographers, and that's made it even more fun to look back and remember all she's done. This was her first "professional" photo shoot in Hattiesburg at age three. It was a for an ad for a children's store.



Not long after that, we moved to Jackson, and Nicole was enrolled in the Ballet Mississippi School at age four. We did a studio photo session with my friend, David Claiborne. He asked her what she'd like to dress up in to have her picture taken, and she chose this pink tutu--which I bought for her at a garage sale for a dime! What a wonderful investment that was! She loved wearing it so much that it was often her attire to the grocery store, the park, McDonald's...

I'm heading to a blogging conference in Nashville this week where I'll learn alot more about how to improve the look of my blog, tricks with photos, etc. What I know now, I've learned on my own, which means practically anyone can do it! I just want mine to be a little more polished and interesting.

I also want to explore the possibilities of blogging for companies, and this conference has a business track that will teach me alot of how that world works. The conference is called "Blissdom," and many of the (mostly) women attending read each other's blogs and they are great online friends. I read a few blogs every week--it's addictive, and if I'm not careful, I can do nothing but read and admire blogs all day. I learn alot from the many insightful women whose blogs I read. It will be fun to connect with them once I'm in Nashville.

One way we'll connect is through a cool new toy sent to each of those registered to attend the conference. It's called a Poken. http://www.poken.com/ A little plastic USB-looking thing, it is a type of 'social business card.' It's an easy way to share your contact details and online social networks in the real world. just hold two poken palms together - high4! - and you're connected.  Of course, I've already lost mine...so I ordered another one. But this time, I ordered a fun Geisha Poken! (By the way, Larry calls it a "social slapper.")

So, Happy Birthday, Nicole! Hope your day was a good one and that life for you has only just begun! Keep those cameras focused, because she's always ready for her closeup. And I'll use the photos in an artful and entertaining way in my blog, as soon as I learn how!

Blessings to all who read this!

Susan

Readin' and Writin'...

Words have been flowing into my brain and back out again through my fingers alot in the past few days. I've got a stack of books to read from my wonderful Girlfriends Weekend in Texas a couple of weeks ago, as well as the book club selection we will be discussing on Monday night. It's a fun read...The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder by Rebecca Wells (the same author who wrote the wonderful "Ya Ya Sisterhood" books).

This book is different from her others. It's a little deeper, a little "darker," a little sexier but still lots of fun. To hear the author talk about the book, go to the Harper Collins website and watch the little video. Or just click on the link below: http://www.harpercollins.com/books/9780060175313/The_Crowning_Glory_of_Calla_Lily_Ponder/index.aspx

I've also been reading Robin Robert's book that came out last year. It's her rules to live by...and since she's a pretty successful woman, I think she must have some pretty solid rules. We actually worked together--shared an office!--back in the early 1980's at WDAM-TV in Hattiesburg. I shared an office with Glenda Brundage in the morning. Glenda did the "Midday" show after the noon news, then left. Robin came in after lunch and worked through the 10pm news. She was in sports. She was rarely in the office, because she was usually off covering some high school basketball game or some other sporting event. Her book, "From the Heart, Eight Rules to Live By,"  is a quick read, and I really recommend it for high schoolers or those in college. I have the second edition. When the book came out, it was seven rules to live by...and the cover photo showed a healthy Robin with a head full of hair. The second edition was post-cancer, and she has a short hairdo, as she lost all her hair during chemo treatments. The eighth rule is "HAVE A REGULAR MAMMOGRAM!!!" and she's pretty serious about that one.

The writing I've been doing hasn't been as inspired, although the articles have been interesting. I wrote a series of medical/healthcare-related stories that will run in the MS Business Journal next week, and a FUN story about the uuber-chic apartment of Eddie Outlaw and Justin McPherson. They are the owners of the chi-chi-chi William-Wallace Salon. They used to live in the Fondren Corner Buildling, which was pretty cool, but now they are in the newly-renovated King Edward in a divine new apartment. You can see photos and read all about it in the March issue of PORTICO Jackson. (What? You don't subscribe to Portico? Quick! Hop over to their website and do so Right Now! http://www.porticojackson.com/) And now, I'm writing my blog...feel free to leave a comment!

There's lots more writing on the horizon, thank God. I'm going to be covering arts stories around the state for MSDigitalDaily.com...so be sure to log on to that every day! I am really excited about doing that, as I am a BIG supporter for the arts (about 25 or more pounds bigger now than ever before!!!!).

And speaking of the arts...there's a BIG event planned for March 27 at the Auditorium (in the old Duling School in Fondren)...it's something Nicole is putting together to support arts education in Jackson Public Schools. It's going to be a wonderful event, and I hope you'll all want to go (only 200 tickets will be available...and I KNOW it's going to be a sell-out!).  Called "An Evening of HOPE," it's the kind of event that you'll leave with a guaranteed warm feeling in your heart. Tickets will be $75 each, but well worth it for a night of great food, entertainment, a live art auction and much more...start budgeting for it now!  By the way, kuddos to Talameika Brice, for the awesome job she did on this photograph and the incredible graphic design work. This is the start of the promotional poster that will plaster the metro area in a few weeks...I just love that my nekkid daughter will be seen all over town. (But she is beautiful, scars and all...)       

Blessings to all who read this!

Susan

Making History

There are some dates that are forever etched into our memories. Birthdays of special friends and family meembers, anniversaries, and even landmarks in history. Quick! When was Pearl Harbor attacked by the Japanese? December 2. Columbus sailed the ocean blue in forteen-hundred-ninety-two. With some historic events, the date alone tells the story: 9-11.

I always love those "on this day in history" segment in certain news programs. It's already 10:00am, I have a full plate of writing assignments and deadlines, and instead, I'm writing my blog. And I'm wondering what happened on this particular day in history. January 26. And of course, there are Entire Websites dedicated to nothing but telling me what happened on this day in history.

So what happened on January 26? Some pretty important things, actually. In 1802, Congress passed an act calling for establishment of a library within the US Capitol. In 1837, Michigan became the 26th state in the United States. In 1988, Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera opened on Broadway. It would go on to become the longest-running Broadway show.

In more recent history, a magnitude 7.7 earthquake rocked the Indian state of Gujarat, killing more than 20,000 people in 2001. Just nine years ago, and I don't know about you, but I have absolutely NO recollection of that at all. That would be like wiping out all of Madison, where I live. I'm sure that this date will forever be etched in the brains of the survivors, as will the day the earthquake struck Haiti, where they say fatalities can reach into the hundreds of thousands.

Each day is a gift. It's up to us to decide what to do with it. What will you make of this day? I have no choice (unless I want to do without an income). I have deadlines that determine what I must do today. But sitting at home, in front of my computer, in my warm, comfortable jammies (don't hate me!), I can make a difference. Hopefully the articles I write will be provacative, informative, entertaining and interesting. With any luck, the readers will know more than before they read them, and some will be motivated to learn more.

And I can give a portion of what I earn today to the relief efforts in Haiti. I'm going to do it the easy way. We all know what the Red Cross does in times of disaster. To give, simply text the word “HAITI” to 90999 to donate $10 to Red Cross relief efforts. Another organization doing great work is the Yéle Haiti--a foundation started by Grammy-Award winning musician, producer and social entrepreneur Wyclef Jean that is changing lives in the desperately poor but optimistic nation of Haiti. Text the word “YELE” to 501501 to Donate $5 to Yele Haiti’s Earthquake Relief efforts. Either way, the charge will appear on your phone bill. How easy is that? Imagine, if everyone with a cell phone did this. Another fact I found on the Internet: the United States has about 250 million cell phone subscribers – a number equal to 82 percent of the population. If everyone did this we could raise $1,250,000,000 to $2,500,000,000 IN A DAY! (For the math-impaired, that's BILLIONS!!!)

At the end of this day, will you look back on January 26,2010 and know that you've done something with this gift? Whatever it is, start doing it now...it's almost half way over, and you'll never get this day back again.

Blessings to all who read this!
Susan

Every Step of the Way

On the six month anniversary of Nicole's accident, she performed in a dance at the Belhaven College Performing Arts Center. The event was "Tunes, Tutus and Turning Wheels," and the pieces involved both able-bodied and disabled dancers and performers. Her performance was the finale of the evening. The piece was entitled "Every Step of the Way," because it was Nicole's feeling that God  had been with her every step of the way throughout her journey. Cynthia Newland, dean of the department of dance at Belhaven, choreographed the piece based on Nicole's accident. Click here to see the actual dance performance (get ready...it's almost nine minutes long...) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cl6zmS4mHoM

I named my blog after that performance, as a reminder to me and everyone else that we don't walk alone.

Just for grins, I "Googled" Every Step of the Way, and it turns out there are several songs by that title. Santana has a beautiful instrumental piece, and the Monkees  (remember them???) have a song by that name. The lyrics eerily apply to Nicole's situation. In one of the verses, it says:

"Do ya wanna, do ya wanna, do ya wanna dance?

 Take a chance, baby, take a chance

 I'll be with you every of the way

 I'll even show you how to strut one day

 I'm with you (yeah, you) I'm with you

 Every step of the way"

Nicole's heading off to the Coast with Caitlyn (her fabulous personal care assistant) this afternoon for two days of speaking engagements at high schools there, which is great, because I have a heavy load of writing assignments this week.

I'll be posting my blog daily, so stop by and feel free to make a comment!

Before I sign off...I just have to say: How 'bout them Saints????!!!

Blessings to all who read this,
Susan

Obstacle or opportunity?

"What is the difference between an obstacle and an opportunity? Our attitude toward it. Every opportunity has a difficulty, and every difficulty has an opportunity." --J. Sidlow Baxter, 1903-1999, author & theologian


I get an inspirational quote sent to me via email each day, and most are pretty good. At least worth pondering a bit. This quote hit me pretty strong this morning, because it's as if it was written for my daughter, Nicole. She's a person who very rarely sees anything as an obstacle. Most of the time that's a good thing, but it's also what got her into the situation she's in now.

Locked out of her apartment? No problem! She just thought she'd find another way to get in. A six-story fall later, she was in quite a pickle.

Broken body? Not the end of the world for her, by any means! Instead, Nicole immediately started looking for the opportunities to get stronger and better. She loved going to physical therapy in the hospital because she saw it as her opportunity to get back on her feet. Now she celebrates her scars as badges of courage. So much so, that she had photos made recently that will appear in an article about her in Gendance magazine.

While Nicole can't dance like she did before the accident, she is working feverishly to put together a big dance performance on March 27-- a performance where she will dance in front of a crowd of 200 people. Just putting together an event of the magnitude she is planning requires her to face obstacle after obstacle. But positive thinker that she is, she just finds a way around them--she looks for the opportunities instead of the reasons why she can't do it.

I sat in on a meeting Nicole had yesterday with Nathan Glenn and his attorney at The Auditorium (the awesome new restaurant in the old Duling School in Fondren: http://www.theauditoriumrestaurant.com/). They were going over all the points of the event, which Nicole has named "An Evening of Hope." For $75, guests will receive a three-course gourmet meal, a signature drink, a chance to participate in a live art auction, and an incredible evening of multi-media entertainment featuring dance performances by students in the Belhaven department of dance. Proceeds from the event will benefit the "Ask for More Art" initiative of the Parents for Public Schools. (http://www.ppsjackson.org/askformoreart.html)

She is working very hard on the event, learning alot about event planning along the way. Not only is she choreographing and producing the show, she's talking to artists to get pieces for the auction, and talking to businesses to obtain sponsorships to cover the costs of incidentals like advertising, security, etc. It's as if the words "you can't do that" aren't in her vocabulary. She just plugs along and finds a way.

I believe old J. Sidlow Baxter was right..."Every opportunity has a difficulty, and every difficulty has an opportunity." I'm seeing those words played out right before my eyes through the actions of my amazingly persistant daughter.

What are your obstacles today? Knowing that opportunities have difficulties, what will your attitude be towards them? Just think about Nicole, and face it head-on, with a firm image in your mind of what you want the end result to be.

Blessings to all who read this!
Susan

For the Love of Words

I've never been a morning person. Yet, I can go from dead asleep to reading in about thirty seconds flat. It's because I love to read.

When my children were young and in school, and I was working outside of my home, I got up around 5am so that I could drink a cup of coffee and read the paper, beginning to end, uninterrupted. It was my way of easing into the day, and by the time everyone in my house was awake, I was alert and up on all the current events. Except when the delivery person didn't get my paper here on time. Then I'd have to read something else, and that was OK, too, because I had plenty of books and magazines stacked up to be read.

Now there's an online source for local news in addition to the regular media outlets. http://www.msdigitaldaily.com/ launched today, and my blog is in it! It can be found on the OPINION page. That excites me more than you'll ever know. Now Who-Knows-How-Many can read about our crazy life! It's the power of the internet, but more importantly...it's the power of Words.

I joined a book club in the early fall and I've been reading like crazy since then. I read the selection of the month and usually one or two more books each month. We have lots of lively discussion in our group, and it's all led up to this past weekend when ten of us went to a book club convention of sorts in the quaint little town of Jefferson, Texas.

Girlfriend Weekend was started ten years ago by Kathy Patrick, who owns a combination beauty shop/book store in Jefferson called Beauty and the Book. She is also the founder of the Pulpwood Queens, a book club that met in her shop. Before long, there were spin-off clubs and now she has chapters worldwide. (http://www.pulpwoodqueen.com/) She later wrote a book, The Pulpwood Queens' Tiara-Wearing, Book-Sharing GUIDE TO LIFE. Our group, the BB Queens, is a chapter of the Pulpwood Queens. So, off we went to the tenth anniversary of Girlfriend Weekend, where we had a ball! (Of course, any time women get together wearing tiaras and boas, a good time is had by all...just ask my friend Jill Conner Browne!)

Jefferson has about 40 bed and breakfast inns, and we stayed in the Old Mulberry Inn, although most of our time was spent in Jefferson's new civic center with women from other bookclubs and AUTHORS, who were invited to come and talk about their books, their writing routines, and whatever else they wanted to talk about. I bought a ton of books, because all the authors were signing them, and I can't resist a personalized signed copy of a book, especially when I've heard the author read from it.

 One of the highlights of the weekend was a panel discussion with best selling author Pat Conroy (The Great Santini, Prince of Tides, South of Broad, etc...)and his daughter, Melissa Conroy, and up-and-coming children's book writer. They were discussing her book, Poppy's Pants, written about Conroy and his endless supply of khaki pants. It was sweet to hear him talk so fondly of his daughter, but tempering it with "grouchy grandfather" stories about his seven grandchildren! Conroy was the keynote speaker at the luncheon on Saturday, where he spoke to a roomful of adoring fans (including plenty of other authors!)

for over an hour. He entertained us with stories about how he stumbled into the publishing world (he wasn't born a best-selling author!), stories of his childhood, stories about practical jokes with his best friend and sister, and touching stories, including the fond memories of his mother reading books to him as a child. "When I'm reading over my manuscripts, it's still her voice I hear."  He was fun and entertaining, as good ol' boy Southern storytellers tend to be, and it was a real treat for us.

Then each night it was time to strap on the boas and tiaras...Friday night we had a "Barbie Ball," celebrating Barbie's 50th birthday. Everyone dressed up like their favorite Barbie, or as the Barbie they'd like to see.

 Merilee Hall and Theresa Reed dressed up as "Pajama Party Barbie." The next night was the "Big Ball of Hair Ball," with a Wizard of Oz theme to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the movie. There were some very creative costumes, like this mother and daughter Munchkin duo. They rocked it out on the dancefloor to "She's a Brick House." That was worth the trip...they were hysterical!

I had a little Barbie lunch pail that served as a fun accessory (my purse!) as well as coming in very handy for the Barbie Ball...

It's always good to get away on a girls' weekend to recharge your batteries, open your eyes to new experiences, and to bond with other incredible women. That's exactly what I did, and here are some of the witty, intelligent, caring, fun, friendly, creative and fabulous women I spent my weekend with:

While I was away, Nicole had some promo shots taken...this is my favorite. A quick update on her therapy program...she "graduated" from outpatient rehab, and is now in the Methodist Rehab QUEST program, which focuses on independent living skills. She had her first full day there today (I feel like it's the first day of school!). She'll go to QUEST three days a week. She's still working out with Eclecius (in the basement of the Fondren building) five days a week, and soon she'll be in a dance class, if all goes as planned. Nicole's still persuing a career in motivational/'inspirational speaking. Tomorrow, as a matter of fact, she'll be speaking at the Professional Women's Association luncheon at River Hills Country Club. Her message is a strong one! For more information about Nicole, check out her website (which is a work in progress!): http://www.youcantstopthisdancer.com/

It's nice to know that her life is back on track in such a positive way, and I can resume mine...writing, reading and spending an occassional weekend with the girls!

Blessings to all who read this!

Susan