Category: INSPIRATION

Inspiration for a Wednesday

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Sidebar: I walked around the drug store admiring the pretty sparkly cards and as i took a picture here and there of the muchy goodness, some curious looking old dude in a security uniform started hanging out over my shoulder. I was amused but also a little creeped out. I tried to shake him by checking out the school supplies but he just continued to hover.
I really had no choice. I spun around and asked him where I could find the tampons.
🙂
PS- this is not my Muchness pic of the day. Stay tuned for that!
🙂

The Muchness in Muchkins

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I was recently in Target looking for shoes for my kids. As I perused the racks of sparkly Muchness, debating internally the ramifications of buying the Hello Kitty ones (personal promise not to slather my kids in licensed characters vs. how much easier the morning dressing routine is when I can I slather them in licensed characters vs. why should I pay more just cuz there is a licensed character vs. ooooh! So shiny!!)  I overheard a four year old girl begging her mother for a pair of glittery sandals. Her mom kept saying “No. You cannot pick those. Choose another pair. Those are “gaudy.”

I’m sorry. Did she just tell her kid that the glittery sandals are “GAUDY?!?”

Ya know what’s gaudy? The word gaudy. Seriously. Was is this, 1994? The word she meant to use is Tacky. And tacky can be AWESOME!!

Case in point: when I looked up “tacky kids sandals” on google, this is the adorableness that popped up:

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And oddly, when I googled “gaudy kids sandals” this popped up:

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My conclusion? Gaudy is an outdated word. Don’t teach it to your kids.
(As an aside- I looove Pegi Bundy)

Back to my point— it made me sad that this mom was subjecting her kid to her own Muchlessness- squelching her Muchkin’s Muchness like a gaudy, glittery bug to be smashed.

So sad. Don’t do this. Not to your kids OR to yourself! If you look at something and it makes you smile, don’t second guess and squelch your Muchness Moments. Embrace them! If you love it, its beautiful. Don’t insert your perception of other’s opinion before you even have time to enjoy your own opinion! Find the confidence to wear the shoes that make your insides happy when you look at your feet! And in the name of all that is good and holy- DO NOT impose some silly insecurities on your muchy kids. Let their imaginations and confidence soar! Lord knows there will be more than enough circumstances in life that will try to steal their Muchness. For the time being, let them embrace their Sparkly goodness!!!!!!

Rainbows & hearts & bunnies = Muchness for 7 year old boy

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Sometimes at work I listen to podcasts of This American Life storytelling on public radio. Every week they select a theme, and then share a few true stories that discuss that theme from different perspectives. I was listened to today’s podcast, (which is actually a rebroadcast from 2002,) and the theme was about people who are “different” and at what point they realized they were different. The host, Ira Glass, was talking with a mom and her then 7 year old son.

Her son was born with a mental disorder that presented as very angry, scary and violent episodes when he was just a toddler. Discussing her son’s behavior, she described how at 3 years old he’d talk about death and dying a lot. He’d draw pictures of black holes and talk about falling into them. She talked about specific acts of violence he’d engaged in, and the remorse and lack of understanding of his own behavior that quickly followed. To hear his mother describe his violent behavior and destructive mental state was at once shocking and heartbreaking. And then they started him on a medication, and within two days they saw a difference. By five days, he was a different child. He stopped talking about death and stopped trying to hurt small animals and talking about black holes, and instead started drawing pictures of rainbows and hearts. It was when his mother described this change that I found myself getting all choked up. Have a listen:

[youtube_sc url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIsSKGj-4bo”]

“…All those hearts and rainbows and bunnies that he talks about all the time, it’s not because he’s silly, It’s because he’s been through [more] pain and powerlessness…. He made an informed decision that he’s gonna be happy with the good parts of life and he’s gonna spread them around… It all came out of something very hard”

Hear the full episode here

He found his Muchness— things around him that make him feel happy and grateful for the joyful little things in life. Have you found yours?

 

Hanging out in the old internet neighborhood…

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Once upon a time, before I’d ever heard the words TTTS and Babyloss, I used to spend my free time meandering around the internets on blogs that were lighthearted, enjoyable and fun. It’s been a while since I’d visited any of those sites, but today, I thought “hmmmm, I wonder what’s going on at Apartment Therapy?” I used to read that blog all. the. friggin’. time.

Today I logged on and boy has it changed! I mean, it’s still a home decorating blog but there is just a whole lotta other stuff going on there! hmmm. nice.

I saw this post and I thought “Oh, that’s pretty muchy! I’d like to share that on my blog.

Check it out: 10 simple things that can make you happier at home.   

If you have a minute you should check out the list- there are some gems there, but my favorite is #5: 

“If you can’t get out of it, get into it. This tip comes from The Happiness Project By Gretchen Rubin. I love the message: The dishes are not going to clean themselves, so you will do it, and you will like it! (Unless, of course, you can outsource this job, in which case I say: Nice work!) Otherwise, get into doing the dishes. Feel the soothing warm water on your hands. Enjoy the tickle of the tiny bubbles. Crank your favorite album at an unusually loud volume, do a couple fist-pumps while shouting “Can I get a hell yeah for the dishes? Hell! Yeah!” and pretend you love it.” 

Ya know what’s funny? I got an advance copy of Gretchen Rubin’s second book, and it’s called Happier at Home and I’ve been meaning to finish it and write a review, but I’m a slow reader (especially when it’s filled with so many gems I have to stop every 5 seconds to highlight something…hmmm- put that on my never-ending to do list…. right below “rewrite to-do list because Liat scribbled all over this one…”)

OK- I’m rambling. The other one I loved was number 4:
Start a one-line-a-day gratitude journal.
Ya know why I loved that one, right? OF COURSE YOU DO! That’s pretty much your Muchness Challenge!!! (Take a picture! Upload! Share!! Muchness Multiplied!… yay!?)

Anyway, like I said, go check out that post. It kicks. And while you’re there, check out this FANTASTIC –  OMG – I CANT BELIEVE ONE WOMAN COULD SINGLE HANDEDLY CREATE THAT INCREDIBLENESS WHILE ON MATERNITY LEAVE – bathroom floor. I’d nearly forgotten that it was there… but I reread all the nice stuff people said about the bathroom floor that I retiled in pennies (all heads up! You betcha!) after Molly was born, and I thought “Hmmm, In January 2009, I asked the question: “How should I decorate this bathroom that I tiled in pennies.” and in the three and a half years since, all I’ve done is  hang a light and mirror. Maybe it’s time for a Muchy Makeover, Powder room style!!

Penny Floor

Good Questions: Ideas for the Penny Tiled Powder Room? | Apartment Therapy

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KC Bakers School for the Well Spoken Woman

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Last night I volunteered to work at this event created by KC Bakers School for the Well Spoken Woman.
I thought it would be empowering and inspiring to hear women speak about that which empowers them. And I was right. It would be. If I was in the auditorium listening. Which for most of the night I wasn’t. I volunteered for door duty. That meant I was the muscle making sure people didnt come and go in the middle of the speeches.
But that was ok. Because I was inspired anyway… By the women who joined me in the hallway. And by the women I did get to see-
The recipient of their “thought leader of the year” award was Regina Thomashauer.

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You may know her as Mama Gena and she is inspiring thousands upon thousands of women to live their dreams and find their passion. She is so high energy- so self confident- living in such a way that celebrates her womanhood that you can’t help but be infected by her passion.
So, ya know what I did? I introduced myself to her, twice. And I told her my story. And about The MUCHNESS. And she gave me a tremendous hug and told me to keep doing what I’m doing. I told her I have no choice. This is my calling.
And then, I went over to KC Baker. She founded and hosts the event. I’d been in touch with her “people” in advance and knew that she’d been to this site and loved the MUCHNESS Bands. So, after introducing myself and showing her my band, I actually gave it to her.

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The quote inside was “It’s time to start living the life you’ve imagined.” – which is basically the message of her classes.
And besides, it, like, totally matched her outfit!
I am on this MUCHNESS finding journey and somedays I feel empowered and some days I feel confused and lost. But it’s women like this who remind me that it’s ok to feel whatever I feel and just allow those feelings to be my guide and be my fuel. I remember that I don’t have to know the path laid out before me. I just need to put on foot in front of the other and the path will form. And it is my goal to use my voice to take what i learn from inspiring women and share it with you and learn it with you.
I look forward to doing more of that.

Seeing ourselves as beautiful… everyday.

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Every day, while walking to work through the NY Garment district, I pass a bunch of buildings. They have recently been doing some construction on one of the older ones. I think it used to be a fabric store that had been there since the dawn of man, and I suppose they’ve recently leased it to this variety store. They’ve been doing the construction for a while but I honestly didn’t even notice. I walk by the store, usually on the same side as the building and, well, I had no idea.

Then, yesterday, I walked by on the side of the street opposite the construction. And that’s when I saw what was going on. I don’t know how I missed it before, but they are making this old, invisible store beautiful. They are scraping off the old paint, patching the cracks and breaks and  reviving the old architectural details that were probably hand crafted at the turn of the last century.

I feel like even if I’d seen this activity going on it still wouldn’t have really impacted me. But what I saw it from a distance, I could see the bigger picture:

See that? It’s the Before -Middle – After all at the same time.

I don’t know why, it just made me stop in my tracks and shoot the pictures. The whole rest of the way to work I thought about how – or maybe why- this was so compelling to me. I’m still not sure I’ve figured it out exactly, but it’s like, this beauty was there the whole time. Maybe the previous tenants saw it but didn’t care. Or maybe they saw a hint of the beauty in it, but decided it wasn’t worth investing the money to revive it. Or maybe they never saw it at all. But because they never did anything to share the beauty of their building, I never, ever noticed it. But this new tenant, he saw and recognized the beauty there. He put people to work to draw it out. He not only cleaned up the broken and neglected parts, and he not only painted it in a clean, fresh white, he decided to Celebrate the nuances and beautiful detail of the architecture by painting it—Muchy Silver— of all things!

And then I started thinking about us, as people. I think we all have areas about ourselves that are beautiful, that look, metaphorically, sorta like that “before” window. We don’t see the beauty there, or we don’t allow ourselves to see or share it’s value, we don’t nourish and express those parts of ourselves, even though, somewhere, deep down, we know that there is beauty there. Maybe we tell ourselves it’s not worth the effort. And sometimes it takes someone new in our lives who DOES see that beauty, who looks at us with fresh eyes to remind us that what we’ve got going on there IS beautiful. But then I started thinking that maybe it’s not only about someone else seeing it. Maybe the key is making the conscious choice, the daily effort to see ourselves through those fresh eyes. See our own potential for beauty where we may have been overlooking it before.

In a way, that’s actually what The Muchness Challenge does. Choosing to look at your world through these fresh eyes and think creatively for 30 days about the joy and beauty around you, opens you up to see the beauty within you. It’s really been so remarkable to see the challengers blossom as they go through the 30 days… It’s kinda like watching those windows go from sad and neglected to bright and Muchtastic.

I feel so grateful any time someone takes the 30 day challenge. I started this project because I LOVE being able to offer people an actionable way to put a smile on their face and find joy, and ultimately, reconnect with their identity and passion. If you’re thinking of taking the Challenge but don’t know where to start, Please contact me and let me help you muster up the courage and direction to get started. I LOVE doing that.

If you’re thinking you’d like to but aren’t quite ready, here’s a secret tip… In September we will be doing a Group Challenge that will not only help you tap into your Muchness, it’ll also teach you some incredible photography tips… AND we will even get a chance to chat online- face to face!! 🙂 I’m really excited about it! Stay tuned for more info to follow!!!