Jessica Simpson and Tony Romo (Dallas Cowboy's quarterback) broke up this week and it was all over the news. I say "Give her a break!" First, her marriage to Nick Lachey ended in divorce, then photos of her looking "fat" and now (according to People Magazine), Tony broke up with her the night before her 29th birthday. Wow, can't a girl and a guy break-up in private? It must be so hard for her. I know she chose to be a singer, an actress and on a reality series but she is young. I hope someday she finds a guy who appreciates her, IF having a man in her life is still important to her.
One of my favorite 80's actresses is in the news! Molly Ringwald is so great playing the mother of a pregnant teen on ABC Family's The Secret Life of the American Teenager. In real life she's a new mom to twins too! On Friday, July 10, Molly gave birth to a boy and girl - naturally (that means without drugs, right?). She already has a girl who is now 5-years-old. Congratulations Molly... I couldn't do that!
I have to admit that I have not caught the Harry Potter "fever" but with two daughters I think it might be rapidly approaching. I have, however, always been pleasantly surprised by one of the stars - Emma Watson. She has starred as Hermione Granger in six Harry Potter films in 10 years and every interview I see her in she seems to be the kind of young women that I would like my daughters to look up to. Only 19 but so wise, she recently told Teen Vogue that she will wait for the right role instead of just taking anything. "Until something comes along that I feel as strongly about as I did Hermione . . . I don't want to act again." Since I am writing my post from Rhode Island, I will give you an inside scoop from here... it is rumored that Emma Watson will be attending Brown this fall. Little Rhody couldn't be happier!
Any entertainment news that caught your eye this week? I would love to dish!!!! Jessica Simpson, Molly Ringwald and Emma Watson - three amazing women that we should all be talking about (but only in a good way!)
- Kristin Flannery Click here for more of Kristin's posts.
As some of you may already know from a post I did last Fall on different types of style, I am a big fan of Ali Brown. If you don't know who Ali (Alexandria) Brown is yet, let me introduce you: she is a top Internet business owner who strives to teach others (mainly women) to create the same success that she herself has achieved. I have been following Ali for over three years now and the growth she has experienced in that time in nothing short of awe-inspiring. Ali has created an Internet empire all the way from her humble beginnings as the Ezine Queen to now being known as a top business woman and millionaire making mentor.
So why in the world would I be talking about business woman Ali Brown when my regular beat is Fashion and Beauty? Well, first of all Ali is one Spirited Woman so I could easily do a Spirited Woman profile on her but actually Ali does fit in the Fashion and Beauty category now too. Towards the end of last year, Ali launched her own magazine - Ali Magazine to help women to be their very best in all aspects of their lives. It is a wonderful publication and every time I get the latest edition, I read it from cover to cover in no time flat.
The magazine covers business but it also has its share of girly things as well. One of my favorite parts is the fact that Ali has now created her own online boutique. In each edition of her magazine she features some of the great gift ideas you can find for girlfriends, family and of course yourself, at her web based shop. Ali's boutique carries everything from handbags, to home items, to personal planners to clothing. Each item is stylish without breaking the bank. There is also a special VIP list that you can sign up for so that you will know when new products come in and when special promotions are going on.
Though it may seem a bit of a stretch to go from helping women build businesses to offering them beautiful and unique items to buy, for Ali it just seems natural. Ali has a Richard Branson ( the famous Virgin brand founder) like drive and she is going to make the Ali brand successful in whatever direction she takes it. Lucky for us Spirited Women, Ali is always ready to take us along for the ride and the one element that she includes in all that she does is to inspire the best to come out in all that you do.
It was my friend Sionna's birthday last weekend and we went to the aquarium. There was a shallow wishing pond. We were looking in it and my friend C said, "Hey it's a state quarter. I wonder which one it is..."
I said, "I think it's New Jersey. That's one of the two I still don't have yet." She said, "Let's take it out." But I said, "No, then that person's wish won't come true."She said, "Just swap it for another quarter."
I had a quarter in my pocket, and I was willing to do that. We were staring at the quarter in the water for a while trying to make sure it was New Jersey before we took it out. Finally C was fed up, reached in the fountain, pulled out the quarter, and starts laughing hysterically.
"What's so funny?" I asked. "Is it New Jersey?" and she said, "No, it's New Nickel."
Luckily my friends can laugh with me at my mistakes. That's what good friends are for! They must be spirited women just like you and me.
- Alice, The Spirited Kid Click here to read more of Alice's posts.
It’s beer season! OK, maybe not for everyone, but for those of us who like a good lager now and then (and what Spirited Woman doesn’t?), the summer is the best time to indulge. A cold frosty mug of beer just seems to taste even better when you’re outside in the hot sun. And, although beer goes great with hearty, winter dishes like stews, chilis and casseroles, it’s also perfect with grilled meats and seafood. In fact, there’s a new movement to “pair” beer with food – just like we do with wines – to get maximum enjoyment from both.
Unfortunately, I’m not that sophisticated when it comes to my brews . . . I tend to play it safe and go with beers I know and love like Stella Artois, Sam Adams Summer brew or Corona this time of year (and heartier stock like Sierra Nevada or Harpoon in the colder months). Lately, though, I’ve been reading about some new options for the summer that could broaden my horizons!
Wheat beers and IPAs (India Pale Ales) are supposed to be perfect for warm summer weather based on their brewing process and ingredients. Wheat beers (as opposed to barley-based beers) are lighter and more thirst-quenching. They’re straw-yellow in color with a light foamy head, and a distinctive citrus-y aroma, while IPAs are all about hops (the flower buds from the hops plant used to flavor beer). Back in the 1800’s, hops were used to preserve beer and mask staleness – and they gave beer a bitter taste or bite (in fact, there’s a measurement called the International Bitterness Units or IBUs). Today’s IPAs still have a bite, but are served fresh instead of aged which make them lighter and very enjoyable.
If you’re like me and want to branch out a bit more this summer, here are some suggestions of Wheat beers and IPAs to test:
I’m about to leave for a camping trip. If you would have told me a couple of years ago that I’d be a camper I’d have laughed in your face. I know that I’m a Taurus and we’re connected to nature and all that jazz, but I happen to be one of the more “upscale” Taurus types – or at least I thought I was.
To me, camping meant sleeping around dirt, bugs and various unknown creatures. It meant no electricity or clean bathrooms, no comforts of home and it meant we’d have to work for our food and shelter. I’d much rather enjoy a stay at the Ritz Carlton in Maui thank you very much!
But my family persisted.
My cousins, aunts and uncles swore that we’d have a good time. Over the years this annual camping trip has grown into a DeSimone family reunion that includes over 35 of my relatives. My uncles swore they’d make it easy for me. They would put up my tent and do all the “dirty work”. All I needed to do was drive up there with my kids, roast some marshmallows and enjoy nature.
So last year I relented. I pushed past my comfort zone, packed up my children (and half of my house for good measure) and embraced my family’s camping trip.
It was one of the best decisions I’d ever made.
First of all, this isn’t your ordinary camping trip. With my family it’s more like Little House on the Prairie – Italian style. A campfire is burning almost all the time and we’ve got the most amazing food to eat. Homemade pizzas, specialty breads, chili, marinated steaks, and desserts – you name it and our campsite ate it. What else would you expect from a down home Italian family?
Traveling is important for your mind, body and spirit! But sometimes, it is not the easiest thing to do when you are traveling solo. Many travelers set out to explore new corners of the world alone, but many of us prefer to shareour adventures with others. As a female traveling solo, safety is an important factor as well when considering a trip – and traveling with others gives you a sense of comfort that you may not have when traveling alone.
There is this very cool organization called Women Traveling Together that offers women organized trips with other women. WTT offers solo travelers a way to connect with a group experience and women who want to explore a new location together. WTT has been around for 11 years and their trips are a mix of leisure, activity, culture and special tours.
Women Traveling Together has a great list of upcoming trips. Not only does WTT offer organized group trips, but you can become a member of the WTT Travel Club. Membership in the WTT Travel Club provides a variety of benefits including:
- Trip discounts - Earn travel dollars when recommending friends - Receive early notice of upcoming trips - Receive a monthly newsletter on travel - Standby listing on trips
There is a $45.00 membership fee depending on when you sign-up.
Check out some of the personal stories from travelers. Women Traveling Together goes beyond your typical organization that focuses on group travel – it is a place where women who are passionate about travel can come together to make new friends and become part of a family of travelers.
- Monica Rohleder Click here for more of Monica's posts.
I first encountered the beautiful Livingreen eco-store in 2006, after I moved to Culver City from Orange County (which seems to have become much greener since I left). Not only was the store walking distance from my house, but it also hosted several meetings of the Sustainable Business Council, an organization for which I volunteered. Upon moving up to Santa Barbara a year ago, I was delighted to discover not just one, but two Livingreen stores within a short drive: the original store on Milpas St. and a smaller, design-centric location in chic Montecito.
A personal visit to Livingreen is likely to inspire your eco-senses with gorgeous, environmentally-conscious home decor, furniture and gift items that look more high society than flower child. For non-locals, many of Livingreen's products are offered online. Whether you're upgrading, remodeling or just browsing, there's something for everyone: sustainably harvested bamboo flooring, luscious silk upholstery fabrics, low-VOC paints, baby blankets, pet beds, an array of green cleaning products, practical and inexpensive items that can help you reduce your eco-footprint, and more.
On the website, affordable items currently on sale includes Kill A Watt, an ingenious device that calculates your appliances' energy efficiency, a showerhead adapter that cuts down on water waste and multi-purpose, flexible, outdoor containers called "trugs" made of recycled tire rubber (available in colorful recycled plastic versions, too).
The owner of Livingreen, spirited woman Ellen Strickland, has developed a unique set of criteria to evaluate the relative greenness of the store's merchandise. The Shades of Green five-point scale ranges from Budding Green to Deep Forest, based on five key factors for each product:
As I mentioned in my last post, Are You Spent?, my energy level has been a little low lately. This is rather strange for me considering it is summer-time and the warmer weather and increased hours of sunlight that only last a few months, here on the East Coast, usually gives my energy level a huge boost. While chatting with some friends about this, one of them asked me - are you breathing? I said, I think so… I mean I wouldn’t be alive if I weren’t- right? Then I thought about it. Maybe I’m not really breathing as deeply as I could be?
According to HealthMad.comdeep breathing, when done correctly, can increase your energy level and also release endorphins into your system. Higher endorphins levels can aid in fighting fatigue and help you with overall feelings of well-being. Breathing oxygenates every cell of your body, from your brain to your vital organs. Without sufficient oxygen, your body becomes more susceptible to exhaustion and weakness.
What could be more natural for you than breathing, but do you know if you are doing it right?
Deep breathing involves flexing your diaphragm while taking deep, even breaths. In order to get the full effect of a good deep breath, you need to be standing straight or laying down flat. You can do this sitting, but you must be sitting up straight (shoulders back, back straight). You need your abdominal cavity to be long, not scrunched up because your breath should fill your belly.
Place one hand on your stomach and take a deep breath paying attention to that hand and your shoulders. Your hand will move with your stomach, if you are breathing properly, and your shoulders will stay put (they will not rise and fall significantly with each breath). As you breathe concentrate on filling your stomach cavity with air. Do not push your stomach out with your abdominal muscles, but with the air in your lungs. Each breath should take between 15-20 seconds to complete.
I have to admit, I have been consciously trying this several times a day and it takes some practice. But in the short time I’ve been practicing, I can feel the difference in my energy and stress levels. In fact, it’s somewhat addicting!
So how about you spirited women? Are you breathing….correctly???
- Maureen Keyte Click here for more of Maureen's posts.
I am currently struggling with a bad case of writer’s block. Every time I sit down at my computer, I come up with a whole lotta nothin’. It’s not like creativity normally springs forth from my bones with little or no effort, but I can usually eek out a little somethin’ somethin’ when push comes to shove. Although lately, the only thing I feel like shoving is my laptop into the trash can.
I blame it on the overwhelming time demands of my job. Lately it seems all I do is work. I leave for the office in the early morning, and I don’t arrive home until late evening.Often, the only sunlight I see is during my morning commute. And I’m usually too busy cursing the traffic to enjoy it.
And for a variety of reasons, but mostly because I am just plain tired, on weekends I find myself holed up in my apartment.
So my current writer’s block begs the question: Does one need to get out in the world to attain inspiration? Would a little lunchtime stroll through the neighborhood surrounding my office building trigger some humorous musings? Would dinner with friends kindle some funny memories? Would a walk with a pal get my creative juices flowing?
Seeking inspiration is like searching for love. Some people believe one needs to be proactive and put oneself out there. Others swear it comes only when one isn’t looking for it. I think it might be a little bit of both. But I’m fairly certain that neither inspiration nor love is going to find me while holed up in my apartment…
Can you relate?
- Monica Regal Click here for more of Monica's posts.
This post is as much a tribute to wise and witty singer-songwriter Sara Hickman, an extraordinary philanthropist in addition to being a gifted musical talent, as it is to my younger brother Joachim and the wonderful dad he is to my niece, Josie.
While I know there are times when his parenting ideals are chipped away by the doubt, exhaustion, frustration and that whole gamut of emotions that I'm sure many parents experience amid the profound love that exists for their children, I can't help but feel proud and so grateful for the example he is setting for Josie.
I was even more struck by the mindfulness, joy and compassion he brings to fatherhood when I recently heard the lyrics to Look At Me, a sweetly poignant song from Hickman's 2003 album, Big Kid. Sung by her daughter, Lily, only 6-years-old at the time, the song speaks with simple eloquence to a child's hunger for attention when faced with over-committed parents and the easy alternatives to active participation in their children's lives that many frequently turn to.
When young Lily sings that she longs for a genuine encounter, eager for her busy parent to notice the person growing inside of her, I sadly reflected on how many children could probably echo those sentiments -- and I saluted my brother for all the ways he gives of his time and his heart to Josie.
From the moment she was born, he's always been careful to preserve his quality time with her, whether it's spent coloring or making music together, hiking through the woods or playing Frisbee. Even just this past week, when I offered him an extra ticket to a reggae show with an artist he loved, despite the quandary of wanting to say yes, he turned it down, knowing that he had promised his own family an outing on that same night.
Though Hickman sings both adult and children's music, in her children's songs, there is the sense that she is fully aware of the preciousness of these years and appreciates the bright curiosity of these little souls who are constantly evolving and forming their own ideas of the world.
Tune into this artful YouTube clip of "Look At Me" to get a sense of just how this Spirited Woman is raising a Spirited Daughter, and the next time your attention is being pulled away from your giant to-do list, remember that little person beside you is not only deserving of your attention but that their presence also is a reminder of our own inherent innocence and appetite for joy.
- Naila Francis Click here for more of Naila's posts.
It's summer, usually the time for a vacation or some family travel. But with the big shifts and money being tight its hard to get away and take that trip to relax. Think for a moment why you like to "get away."
What do you get from taking a break? You step out of your routine and step into a different frame of mind... You can do that this summer too, even if money is tight and travel is not possible. You can step into a different frame of mind right where you are. Your spirited inner muse is ready to help you, play, relax, and step out of your routine.
Spirited women everywhere are coming up with different ways to relax and unwind without leaving home. Registration for adult art and improvement classes are up all over Cape Cod and the Boston area, I'm sure they're in your area as well. Community sings, weekly community picnics, and band concerts are springing up on lawns across the North East.
Its just a matter of tapping into some summer inspiration - its being open to it that is the key. Not the miles you drive to go to new surroundings. I saw a group of women having a blast in Ocean Park this week, they were having lunch and taking turns making bubbles from one of those large bubble wands. The laughter was contagious as they put aside their "adult frame of mind" and they enjoyed the bubbles dancing over the park.
What different ways can you step into a new frame of mind? Where can you let yourself go as you tap into some summer inspiration?
I like to think of the ocean as the blue spirited woman. Diamonds sparkle across her brilliant blue surface. The sounds of the gulls and terns that soar above her and her waves as they gently lap against the shore bring me such pleasure. I know not everyone can be at home an enjoy being near the ocean. I found a video that lets you enjoy the majesty of the "blue spirited woman" so you can step into a different frame of mind.
Watch it, relax and then open to the possibilities right around you to get away and let summer inspiration help you have a wonderful adventure without ever leaving home.
There’s just something about steam trains. That unforgettable whistle. The chug-chug-chug. The anticipation – here she comes, down the track.
Last week my husband and I visited Steamtown near Scranton, Pennsylvania, where we took a brief ride back in time (to the 1930s and 1940s) on a steam train just a few miles beyond the roundhouse where the trains reside. It was fun to have the train’s conductor assist us in climbing up the stairs into the passenger car, call “All Aboard,” and then give us a brief history of the train’s glorious past.
After the ride, we marveled at the trains coming in to the roundhouse and being turned in a different direction on a gigantic turntable. Fascinating. We were just one of a crowd of people snapping pictures and ooh-ing and aah-ing at the interesting sight.
Here in California there’s a terrific steam train (with some open-air cars where passengers can gaze up in wonder at the tall redwood forest they’re passing through) down in Felton at Roaring Camp, near Santa Cruz. This logging train from the 1880s is authentically preserved, with a locomotive dating to 1830. It runs along the same narrow-gauge track from so long ago, and is an unforgettable one-hour trip up a winding grade to the summit of Bear Mountain and then down to Santa Cruz and the bustling Boardwalk.
I’ve flown in many an airplane, been on cruise ships, tour buses, and other modes of transportation throughout the world. But a steam train appeals to my adventurous nature like nothing else. I am immediately transported back to an earlier time when it was anyone’s guess as to what was around the next corner, and travel was, for the most part, a very enjoyable experience.
I knew for sure I was a spirited woman when I started to travel the world, excited beyond belief at the prospect of seeing cities I’d only read about in books. How about you? Do you love to travel? Is there a particular way to travel that you find fascinating, as I do steam trains?
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