Dare to be lovely.

YOU are...

- From Doe Deere Blogazine

& so are you...

LISTEN LISTEN!!!
I AM BORN OF STRONG, BEAUTIFUL BLOOD
& SO ARE YOU.
SO ARE YOU!!!
EVEN WHEN YOU DON’T FEEL IT
YOU HAVE SO MUCH POWER COURSING THROUGH YOU
E.V.E.R.Y. SECOND
YOU ARE STRONG
YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL
NO ONE CAN TAKE THAT AWAY.

- from YOU ARE REMARKABLE

And don't you worry what their bitter hearts are gonna say...

Hey, you know they're all the same.
You know you're doing better on your own, so don't buy in.
Live right now.
Yeah, just be yourself.
It doesn't matter if it's good enough for someone else.

Dancing Queen

I woke up this morning wanting to dance.
I danced in the hall. I danced in the living room.
I danced in the breakfast nook. I danced in the kitchen.
I danced as I made coffee.
I danced as I cooked waffles.
I danced like a psycho. I danced like a dancing queen.
I danced like a disco star.
I dance because it makes me feel good.


Did you dance too?

[weheartit]

March 12

Dear Stargirl,

Hey, you're a big girl now. Stop being such a baby... You want to talk loss, look at all the loss around you. How about the man in the red and yellow plaid scarf? He lost Grace. BELOVED WIFE. I'll bet they were married over 50 years... And you have the gall to be sad in the same world as that man.

Betty Lou. She's lost the confidence to leave her house. Look at you. Have you ever stopped to appreciate the simple ability to open your front door and step outside?

And Alvina the floor sweeper--she hates herself, and it seems she's got plenty of company. All she's losing is her childhood, her future, a world full of people who will never get to be her friends. How would you like to trade places with her?

Oh yes, let's not forget the foot shuffling guy at the stone piles. Moss-green pom-pom. What did he say to you? "Are you looking for me?" It seems like he hasn't lost much, has he? Only... HIMSELF!

Now look at you, sniveling like a baby... What don't you understand about the message? Hel-loooo? Anybody home in there? You have your whole life ahead of you, and all you're doing is looking back. Grow up, girl. There are some things they don't teach you in homeschool.

Your Birth Certificate Self,
Susan Caraway

- Love, Stargirl; Jerry Spinelli

Badass.

Image from janina




I am totally badass.


Say it to yourself now.

I. Am. Badass.

Scream it out loud; whisper it to yourself as you go to sleep at night.

I am badass.

Feels pretty amazing, huh?


I AM BADASS.

iCiNG Transformation Challenge!

What is the iCiNG Transformation Challenge? Well, it's a chance to transform yourself! A better explanation comes from the mouth of the unicorn herself:

For those of you who weren’t here for it last year, the iCiNG Transformation Challenge is an opportunity to achieve something you’ve wanted to do for a while but as yet, haven’t quite managed to hit out of the park."

Gala Darling did this last year, and she's doing it again and I've decided to jump on the bandwagon. For this year's iTC I have decided upon just three goals:

1. Write something every day. Doesn't matter what. It could be a beautifully worded grocery list or a short story or a poem. So long as I do it with intent and to the best of my ability, it counts. I am hoping that this will cause me to grow artistically and creatively.
2. Along the same vein, I will take at least one photograph each day. It can be an image that sums up the experience of my day, or a picture of one special moment. It can even just be an outfit shot or a hastily taken, 'Oooh, look! My cat is cute!' photo. I just have to take one.
3. I will start playing my violin again. That doesn't necessarily mean practicing everyday, though. My goal is to play several times a week, and to be conscious in my efforts of improving my technique and style while doing it. As long as I am present during my practice, I will get more out of it than if I were just playing every day for the sake of playing. My hope is that as I get back into the groove, it will once again become impossible for me to put it down!

What about you guys? Are you up for the challenge?

Stephen Hawking

"Hubble's Observations suggested that there was a time, called the big bang, when the universe was infinitesimally small and infinitely dense. Under such conditions, all the laws of science, and therefore all ability to predict the future, would break down. If there were events earlier than this time, then they could not affect what happens at the present time. Their existence can be ignored because it would have no observational consequences. One may say that time had a beginning at the big bang, in the sense that earlier times simply would not be defined. It should be emphasized that this beginning in times is very different from those that had been considered previously. In an unchanging universe; there is no physical necessity for a beginning. One can imagine that God created the universe at literally any time in the past. On the other hand, if the universe is expanding, there may be physical reasons why there had to be a beginning. One could still imagine that God created the universe at the instant of the big bang, or even afterwards in just such a way as to make it look as though there had been a big bang, but it would be meaningless to suppose that it was created before the big bang. An expanding universe does not preclude a creator, but it does place limits on when he might have carried out his job!"

- The Illustrated A Brief History of Time

5 Musical Artists I'd like to have dinner with

Image from rlcasey

Big Girl (You Are Beautiful) | Mika    [download]
"I said, 'Hey girls you are beautiful'"
Listening to the lyrics of his songs, he seems to possess this magnificent ability to speak and connect with many different types of people, and I wish that I could foster a similar talent within myself.



Funeral March | Frederick Chopin    [download]
I have always been enamored with Chopin. In my mind, he cuts quite the romantic figure. From his elegant talent to his romance with George Sand, I have always been captivated by this man. I think it would be absolutely spectacular to hear his view of the world, and to see what he thinks of his legacy and that of his contemporaries.



In the Ghetto | Elvis Presley    [download]
"People, dont you understand? The child needs a helping hand, or hell grow to be an angry young man some day. Take a look at you and me, are we too blind to see? Do we simply turn our heads and look the other way?"
It's no secret that I love Elvis. I must say though, in the spirit of radical honesty, that I would only want to have dinner with him so I could hear his beautiful voice.



Cool Yule | Bette Midler    [download]
"From Coney Island to The Sunset Strip, somebody's gonna make a happy trip tonight, while the moon is bright."
The Divine Miss M seems so positive and powerful--positively powerful and powerfully positive! Supposedly she is very witty and an absolutely grand conversationalist. I would love to dig in deep with her and really pick her brain. We could discuss politics and current events (who am I kidding--they're one and the same!) and she could enlighten me with her views and I would stun her with mind. My goal for the evening would be to deliver a downright witty utterance that stuns her and leaves her at a complete loss for words in the best way possible. Over dessert, she could entertain me with stories of her days when she was singing at bath houses.



Miss Vicious | Fefe Dobson    [download]
"We're the same--two in one. Gonna get you; gonna make you run. Don't dare scream, you're all I am. I was born to be your only friend"
Fefe Dobson is remarkable. She has a killer sense of style, and I love her music. Over dinner I would convince her to release Sunday Love publicly and to have a concert here in Houston.





The whole shebang: [download]