Craft to Heal

Announcing a Creative Wellness Teleclass

2012-09-19T16:00:00.000-04:00

I'm excited to announce a 4-week teleclass: Creative Wellness: Mind, Body, Heart, and Spirit starting October 16th from 6:30-7:30PM ET.

Learn how to create an individualized wellness plan that helps you to look and feel your best. We'll review strategies for creating work-life balance, becoming more mindful, reducing stress, eating better, getting more activity, losing weight, gaining energy, and reducing your risk of chronic disease.

Just $125 ($100 if you sign up by October 1, 2012).

Contact me at 203-556-8698 or email nancy@creativewellness.us to sign up and for more information.

Health and creativity coach Nancy Monson is the author of Craft to Heal: Soothing Your Soul with Sewing, Painting, and Other Pastimes. Her articles on health, nutrition, and mental wellness have been published in over 30 national magazines, including Glamour, More, Reader's Digest, Redbook, Shape, Vivmag.com, Weight Watchers Magazine, and Woman's Day. She has also collaborated with numerous medical and nutrition specialists to create educational programs for health professionals and patients alike. She uses all of this experience to guide you to creative wellness!

2012-05-01T13:57:00.000-04:00

Do you know what a health coach can do for you? Check out Sheryl Kraft's interview with me about the benefits of health coaching. It's posted on her "Midlife Matters" blog:

My new book "Creative Wellness," available at
www.creativewellness.us and on Amazon.

http://www.healthywomen.org/content/blog-entry/could-health-coach-be-you

The Book of Dog

2012-04-26T21:53:00.001-04:00

Be Creative, Be Well!

2012-04-15T15:35:00.000-04:00

Are you feeling stressed out? Honestly, who isn’t? The economy is struggling to get back on its feet. Jobs are still somewhat scarce. Relationships are hard. And many Americans are coping with depression, anxiety, physical illness, weight problems, and a general feeling of malaise.

Accessing your creativity can be the route to self-healing and wellness.

In this series of blog posts, I’ll offer you how-to tools to create wonderful changes for your health and well-being via your creativity and mind-body techniques such as meditation. I’ll be talking about strategies to reduce stress, lose weight and sleep better. Best of all, you’ll be able to take these practical strategies and easily incorporate them into your life so you can make the leap from your best intentions to actions.

Are you ready to get well? Then follow me…

Photo credits: Photoroller/Dreamstime.com (woman), Nancy Monson (path at Miraval Resort)

Better Heart Health the Craft Way

2012-02-28T14:06:00.000-05:00

If you're interested in the links between crafts and good health, check out this article (in which I'm quoted!) Fave Crafts.

The Middle-Aged Movie Maven on Facebook

2011-06-10T09:00:00.000-04:00

The Middle-Aged Movie Maven is posting again--on Facebook!. Here's the link:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Middle-Aged-Movie-Maven-with-Nancy-Monson/228168583866700?sk=wall

Thanks!

The Middle-Aged Movie Maven Returns!

2010-06-13T15:43:00.002-04:00

Hi there. I haven't weighed in on my blog in a while, but that doesn't mean I've stopped going to the movies. So here, for your edification (and to help you avoid the TOTAL clinkers at the cineplex), my latest thoughts:

Killers. Ashton Kutcher is adorable and sexy, and he has charisma, but Katherine Heigl has peaked. And both are apparently taking a page from the Jennifer Aniston movie playbook and only picking the WORST scripts they can find (I hated both Valentine's Day with Kutcher, although he was cute in it, and The Ugly Truth, with Heigl). The movie opens kind of cute, but is stupid and unbelievable, with cartoon characters. They're trying to emulate Mr and Mrs Smith, but have none of the chemistry, sex appeal, or clever banter of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. They're tv stars, just like Aniston, and that's where they should stay. I didn't laugh once and even my nephew, who loves most movies, said it was too long!

Shrek 3. So-so...there are some good laughs, but overall I found it forgettable. The first two Shreks were all we needed.

Get Him to the Greek. This movie actually has some good moments. Yes, it's crass and silly, it veers kind of widely from outrageous behavior to serious moments, but if you liked The Hangover or Forgetting Sarah Marshall you might enjoy this one.

Sex and the City 2. Carrie is a big, spoiled baby crying because her sexy, rich husband doesn't want to go out on the town every night but rather wants to stay in and watch clever old movies with her. The real stinker in this movie is Samantha, though, who takes her crassness to new heights. Her behavior is HORRIBLY insulting to Muslims and not funny. The fashions are ridiculous. I was hoping to love it--especially since I liked the first movie and the series (and, I'll admit it, the book about Carrie's teen years called The Carrie Diaries). And at 2 1/2 hours, it is REALLY too long!

Iron Man 2: I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this action flick. I loved the first one, but this one looked to be much darker. But I trust in Robert Downey Jr and he delivered--he's just as funny and fun as ever. The female characters are mere sexpots in tight skirts and high heels, but the plot wasn't half bad. I was quite entertained.

On my list of movies to see: The A Team (yes, I'll probably regret it but I do love that Bradley Cooper), Winter's Bone, The Kid's Are Alright, Eat Pray Love, Joan River's--A Piece of Work, Inception.

2010-05-04T14:07:00.002-04:00

Hi there...it's been awhile. As I mentioned in my last post, I've been concentrating on the launch and publicity for my new ebook with Linda Peckel called Just What the Doctor Ordered: An Insider's Guide to Medical Writing.

If you've ever wondered what it takes to be a medical writer, please check it out. It's available at http://www.medicalwritingbook.com/ for just $16.95.

Arts Enclave blog about Asperger's and creativity

2010-04-04T11:03:00.005-04:00

Even though I'm not posting myself right now, I want to call your attention to a special blog post about Asperger's syndrome (which is classified as a form of autism) and creativity on the Arts Enclave blog. If you have a child who thinks differently than other kids, you might want to read what Linda Peckel (my sister) has to say about how Asperger's and other quirky behavior/thinking patterns can be a gift rather than a disability...

The Human Spectrum: From Aspergers to Creativity

http://artsenclave.wordpress.com/2010/04/01/the-human-spectrum-from-aspergers-to-creativity/

Styling...

2010-03-25T18:57:00.003-04:00

In honor of National Crafts Month (March), I've decided to stop blogging for a while and start crafting more. (Oh, and I need to focus on publicizing my new ebook Just What the Doctor Ordered: An Insider's Guide to Medical Writing, which will be available in mid April.)

So, my last post for a while...

I've been thinking a lot about taste and style lately. Where does it come from? How do we judge it? How can one person's taste be good and another's bad? How can we say one woman has style and another doesn't? That one dresses badly (Ugly Betty comes to mind) and the other well?

My conclusion is that we can't judge it.

You like what you like...the colors, the patterns, the textures, the forms, the fit. You're born with certain proclivities, just like you're born with certain personality traits, and then they're polished by the impressions laid over you by your family, your culture, your school, your job, the time you're at in your life, the place you live. It's not something you have a lot of control over.

It just is.

What's more, style trends are arbitrary. They're just someone's opinion. For instance, although millions of women emulate the Sex and the City girls, I think most of Sarah Jessica Parker's outfits are outrageously...well, stupid. And what woman can handle tromping all over Manhattan in 4-inch stilettos?

It's not a competition: Whoever has the most style wins. We're just different. Let's embrace it!

Middle-Aged Movie Maven's Oscar Picks!

2010-03-05T11:03:00.013-05:00

The Oscars doth approach. This Sunday in fact.

I can proudly boast to having seen all TEN, YES TEN, of the movies nominated for best picture this year. (Though it's no thanks to Netflix. I've had to rent elsewhere to catch all of the flicks, while my top requests sit in my queue week after week because they don't have enough copies. I've written three letters to the CEO Reed Hastings, called customer service twice, and downgraded my account all to no avail. They could care less about their customers. Their business model SUCKS! But I digress.)

Why am I such a cinephile? I guess because since I was a little girl movies have fed my imagination in a way nothing else could. They definitely spark my own creativity, too. And there's nothing more relaxing and, paradoxically, exciting to me than sitting in a darkened theatre watching a film on the big screen. If joy is what we're all looking for, for me it comes neatly packaged by the local cineplex!

Anyway, I know you're all waiting with baited breath for my Oscar picks (as trivial as all this movie stuff is in the scheme of things), so here you go:

Best Picture: Avatar--in 3D, an incredible ride, an incredible achievement.

Best Actor: Jeff Bridges--it's his turn for a career of great acting jobs (sorry Colin Firth).

Best Actress: Sandra Bullock--this character could have been a carictature and she made her real. I think it's her turn, too, cause everyone just likes her. (Meryl Streep could, and should on merit, edge Bullock out for her incredible portrayal of Julia Child, but I don't think she will.)

Best Supporting Actress: Mo'Nique in Precious. No question there. She was awesome.

Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds. He was scary hilarious.

Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow--girl power!

Best Adapted Screenplay: Up in the Air--great comedy and very human drama.

Best Screenplay: Hurt Locker--tense.

Best Animated Film: Up--touching.

So? What do you think?!

Creative interviewing

2010-02-24T12:04:00.004-05:00

Are you a Lost fan? Last week's episode featured John Locke applying for a job at an employment agency and being asked--much to his displeasure--"What kind of animal would you describe yourself as?"

Bizarre? Yes. But not uncommon during job interviews today. Prospective employees are regularly being asked:

If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?

If you were a car, what kind of car would you be?

If you were an item in the supermarket, what would you be?

If you had a theme song for when you walked into a room, what would it be? (Mine would be The Ramones "I Want to Be Sedated," but I don't think that would get me the job!)

So what's behind this trend toward the Barbara Walters' line of questioning? According to career coach Connie Thanasoulis-Cerrachio of Six Figure Start (www.sixfigurestart.com), employers are trying to schuss out if candidates will fit in with their corporate culture, and how confident and creative they are--the latter being an increasingly important quality in today's marketplace, where companies are seeking new and innovative solutions and products to get ahead and each prospective employee is up against five other applicants for every job.

Connie says there are no right or wrong answers to these questions, but it is important to go with the flow in an interview and answer with a straight face (or at least a sense of humor!). Think about the company you're applying to and try to come up with solid answers--in advance--to potential interview questions. Make yourself stand out from the rest of the applicants by being thoughtful and unique. A little whimsy never hurt either!

For more on the subject, check out Connie's interview on NPR. Here's the link:

www.thetakeaway.org/people/connie-thanasoulis-cerrachio/

On Salinger, Books, Etc.

2010-02-08T13:05:00.006-05:00

My sister, Linda Peckel, recently did a blog post on her “Arts Enclave Blog” (http://artsenclave.wordpress.com/2010/02/08/just-for-writers-rules-of-the-road/) about some unbreakable rules for writers. The post was inspired by the death of J.D. Salinger, who was a genius at one of those rules--a distinctive writing style or voice. No one else wrote the way he did. (By the way, if you haven’t checked out Linda’s blog, I urge you to do so—not only because she’s my sister, but because she’s pursued writing in one form or another for decades and knows what of she speaks!)

I’m no novelist, but I do love reading fiction. It doesn’t even have to be great. One of my greatest pleasures in life is spending a Saturday or Sunday morning reading in bed with my dog curled up beside me. Bliss! Currently, I’m excited by the stack of books I have on my beside table and my Kindle—Pat Conroy’s South of Broad, John Irving’s Last Night in Twisted River, Cathleen Schine’s The Weissmans of Westport, Kathryn Sockett’s The Help, and the newest, Sarah Blake’s The Postmistress. So many books, so little time!

And if you'll indulge me a little bit more, here’s a list of some of my favorite books. I’m not saying they’re all classics or the best-written, but they’re books that have stayed with me throughout time:

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb
Straight Man by Richard Russo
One True Thing by Anna Quindlen
Sophie’s Choice by William Styron
The World According to Garp by John Irving
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Hunger Point by Jillian Medoff
About a Boy by Nick Hornby
Everything Changes by Jonathan Tropper
My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Piccoult

Any favorites of your own to recommend?

Becoming Unstoppable!

2010-01-27T10:58:00.003-05:00

You’ve heard the old saying “When the going gets tough, the tough getting going.” If you’re trying to get a job in the recovering economy, realize a long-held goal or dream, or simply evolve as a human being, there’s no better advice on persevering—or becoming unstoppable, in the parlance of motivational speaker Cynthia Kersey, president of Unstoppable Enterprises, Inc. (www.unstoppable.net). Although people typically think of unstoppable people as superhuman, Kersey has found through two decades of research that they’re just like everyone else. “They experience disappointment, rejection, and even failure,” she notes, “but they have the courage to take action toward their goal despite their circumstances or situation.”

According to Kersey, the unstoppable spirit—the one that propels us forward toward achieving our goals and forcing through barriers such as self-doubt and negativity—doesn’t need to be inborn. Luckily, this spirit can be cultivated. In fact, she’s identified seven characteristics of unstoppable people that she says anyone who has the will can find the way to develop. “The one common link among all unstoppable people is adversity—they struggled, tripped and stumbled, and had setbacks and failures, but they pulled themselves up and kept on going,” she writes in her book Unstoppable: 45 Powerful Stories of Perseverance and Triumph from People Just Like You (Sourcebooks). “The dream demanded their all and they gave it. With each trial, they emerged stronger, surer and more deserving of the dream itself.”

Here, then, Cynthia Kersey’s keys to becoming unstoppable.
• Devote yourself to your true purpose. Some know their purpose intuitively, while for others it takes some exploration. To discover your purpose in life, which relates to how you can be of service to others, think about how you want to be remembered after you die by your friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, and even the world. Write out the qualities, deeds, and characteristics that you want to live on as your legacy. This exercise will help you home in on your true values, says Kersey, and how you want to spend your time.
• Follow your heart’s passion. Your purpose will lead you to seek out activities you love—to really experience the pleasure that life has to offer rather than just enduring your time on earth. Kersey, for instance, discovered that her purpose in life was to inspire others. She could have chosen to pursue all sorts of activities that allowed her to realize that purpose—from joining the Peace Corps to becoming a nun, a hospital volunteer, a hot-line counselor, or a teacher. After she assessed her natural strengths, likes, and dislikes, however, she decided the best route to achieving her purpose was to become an author and motivational speaker, a choice she was passionate about and that energized her to the core.
• Believe in yourself and your ideas. “Belief is a prerequisite to becoming unstoppable,” reports Kersey. This requires being able to keep going even when others say it can’t be done, or that you’re being irresponsible or unrealistic. “There are always going to be people who try to protect us from our unrealistic fantasies,” she says. “They’re not trying to be cruel. They just don’t see that possibility for themselves, so they can’t see it for you. But the only opinion about your dream that really counts is yours.”
• Prepare for challenges. Most people don’t have a plan of action for their lives, and end up pursuing things that aren’t in line with their purpose and passion—for instance, a boring but steady job they took just because it was all they thought was available to them. Instead, Kersey advises envisioning what you hope to achieve, determining the skills you’ll need to achieve that goal, and then creating a plan of action to achieve it. “From the greatest achievements to the most personal accomplishments, preparation is essential to success,” she says. As a side benefit, preparation also helps to neutralize fear, which can inhibit you from following your passion and purpose.
• Ask for help and build a support team. “Behind every great achiever is another achiever,” says Kersey, so look for people who can serve as role models, mentors, coaches and cheerleaders. Network for team members at your company, professional associations, nonprofit organizations, clubs, in your neighborhood, and among your family and friends. Hire other team members as necessary. For Sharon, who used Kersey’s unstoppable techniques to lose 40 lbs. and realize her life-long goal of getting to a manageable weight, her team consisted of a personal trainer and professional weight consultant. “The personal trainer helped keep me accountable,” she recalls. “If I didn’t show up for a session, she would call me up and ask why I didn’t make it into the gym that day.”
• Seek creative solutions to problems you encounter. Focus on creating a series of “unstoppable moments,” which taken together will lead to an unstoppable life, according to Kersey. For instance, if you want to lose weight like Sharon, such a moment might be choosing to eat a grapefruit instead of a Twinkie, or figuring out how to fit exercise into every day—perhaps by watching one less television show. Be flexible and take a step-by-step approach to problem-solving. “You start with a small step toward your goal everyday,” says Sharon, “and then you go beyond that”—putting yourself on the path to achievement.
• Persevere, no matter what the challenges. Continuing on with your goal no matter what the roadblocks you encounter is the true key to being unstoppable. Cultivate a long-term mentality toward your goal, accept failures as learning experiences and ultimately, you’ll find that “perseverance rewards,” says Kersey. There can be no better example of this concept than Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, who kept writing the first book in the series (long-hand, since she couldn’t afford a typewriter or computer) even though everyone told her that getting a children’s book published was a pipe dream. As a single mother who was grief-stricken over the recent death of her mother and the break-up of her marriage, she could barely make ends meet, but she still spent every spare moment on the project. When the manuscript was finally done, it took her six years and 12 rejections to find a publisher. Today, of course, her stories have captured the imagination of the world and she is the wealthiest and perhaps the most successful author of all time—all because she didn’t let a lack of money, divorce, or the doubts of others get in the way of pursuing her dream. “If you don’t give up, you simply cannot fail,” notes Kersey. In short, you become unstoppable!

Photo copyright of Dreamstime

Your Creative Bucket List

2010-01-10T14:26:00.005-05:00

Did you see the movie “The Bucket List” with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman? The movie wasn’t much, but the concept is great: What things do you really, truly want to do before you kick the bucket?

Well, my friend Amy just introduced me to the concept of a quilting bucket list! What are those quilts you absolutely, positively can’t die without doing first!? It’s kind of a wish list, Amy says. “Techniques, styles you've always been meaning to do, or an extra special project. My friends and I bring our list to shows and meetings so we can add to it as we see new things that just need to be on the list. It’s a great way to prioritize all those things we want to do and put some structure around it.” She’s starting a notebook of motivation, containing pictures of quilts and projects she likes. “It’s kind of cool and surprising how things seem when you commit them to writing.”

Makes you think, huh—and dig through your fabric and pattern stash for those lost projects!

If you’re not a quilter, well then broaden the concept to creativity in general. What creative projects do you want to pursue? What pieces of yourself do you want to leave behind…a scrapbook, a collage, a knitted sweater or scarf, an embroidered wall-hanging, a painting, a poem.

Now that we've rounded the corner of a new year (and, woo hoo, a new decade after a lousy, lousy one), what projects are you going to put on the top of your to-do list and resolve to finish this year?!

Cloud photo by Woo Bing Siew, Dreamstime

A sucky decade, but some good movies

2010-01-01T13:02:00.004-05:00

The past decade may have sucked, but the movies didn't. My friend Connie challenged me today to make a list of my top 10 movies of the 2000s. Wow! Who can even remember that far back? But I Googled some other lists and films and here are my picks in no particular order. (By the way, if you haven’t seen It’s Complicated, you’ve gotta—especially if you’re middle-aged. It’s HILARIOUS!)

1. Almost Famous. Kate Hudson’s debut in a Cameron Crowe film about rock and roll—the bands, the groupies, the journalists, the fans. It was touching, it was funny, and it was evocative of an earlier, more innocent era.

2. Wonder Boys. Fantastic, funny, inventive adaptation of the equally great Michael Chabon book about a disheveled author, Michael Douglas, with major writer’s block and big life problems.

3. The Bourne Identity. Incredible action and Matt Damon is great as the amnesiac-assassin. In a word: Tense.

4. Mr. and Mrs. Smith. I could watch this one all day. Not only does it have Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as warring spouses (and they are hot, hot, hot together!), but the action scenes are fantastic (directed by the same guy who did The Bourne Identity) and it’s funny.

5. Lord of the Rings. I have to mention this one for the spectacle and Viggo Mortensen!

6. Lost in Translation. Bill Murray as a disaffected movie star connecting with a young woman, Scarlett Johansen, in Tokyo. Funny, touching, stays with you.

7. The Royal Tannenbaums. Wes Anderson’s quirky comedy about a strange but loving family. This was on TV last night and it’s still fun to watch. The pacing and dialogue are so unique. Angelica Huston, Gene Hackman, Luke Wilson, Gwyneth Paltrow, etc.

8. Wall-E: In a decade filled with great animated films (Ice Age, Bolt, Shrek, Up) this one stood out for me. Maybe it was the tune from Hello Dolly! in the beginning of the film…

9. Little Miss Sunshine. I’m partial to comedies, so I loved this bizarro film about a dysfunctional family that gets behind their little beauty queen. Greg Kinear, Toni Collette, Alan Arkin (who won an Oscar).

10. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. This film is SO imaginative and engaging, and so are the performances by Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey. Imagine if we really could erase a broken heart…

Honorable Mentions
1. Memento: For the backwards plot.
2. Gladiator: For the spectacle and Joaquin Phoenix's crazy emperor.
3. Pan’s Labryinth: Disturbing, fascinating, fantastical.
4. Traffic: A great ensemble film, serious subject, interesting filmmaking.
5. 21 Grams A trio of performances--by Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, and Naomi Watts--make this film about a freak accident and intersecting lives a stunner.
6. 500 Days of Summer: A surprising and touching twist on the romantic comedy genre.
7. Up in the Air. My new favorite (I’ve seen it twice already) for George Clooney’s performance as an unattached man who travels over 200 days year firing people. His life gets upended by two women in this dark comedy: One, a fellow traveler who is truly his equal; the other, a young naïve woman who thinks she knows his business better than he does.
8. It’s Complicated. My other new favorite with Meryl Streep as a middle-aged divorcee whose ex-husband comes back for me. As I said up top, it’s hilarious!
9. Something’s Gotta Give. Fun, surprising comedy with Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson, plus a gorgeous Hampton’s home facing the beach.
10. The Hours. Lovely, affecting performances by Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, etc.

Middle-Aged Movie Maven

2009-12-24T19:02:00.002-05:00

As we close in on the holidays, it’s likely many of you will be hitting the cineplex for entertainment. Luckily, the prospects are pretty good. Here are my two cents on the movies that have opened so far this season…

Up in the Air. This is THE movie to see this year. Not only does it have George Clooney, charming despite playing a morally repugnant character who fires people for a living, but it resonates with the country’s current financial straits and the isolation we can feel in our lives. It is pitch perfect from start to finish. The characters have chemistry and the dialogue is funny, surprising and touching. It's the best movie I’ve seen since last summer’s 500Days of Summer!

The Blind Side. A feel-good movie in the best tradition—and it’s based on a true story of a white family that took in a homeless, 6-foot plus black teenager with a sweet nature. It’s touching and engrossing. Sandra Bullock pulls off the role of a blonde Southern belle with nerves of steel. Country singer Tim McGraw does a fine job as her husband and the boy who plays their son steals the show with his antics. A definite yes (and suitable for the whole family).

Everybody’s Fine. I didn’t hate this movie as much as some reviewers; in fact, I might even venture to say I enjoyed it! It's a small, quiet film, but I thought it made some salient points about the relationship between fathers and their children and it was well-acted by Robert DeNiro, Drew Barrymore and others.

Avatar. You’ve gotta shell out the extra bucks to see this movie in 3-D because it transports you to a different world! The effects are amazing, the story is engrossing enough, and it even has a message (about community and about preserving the environment). Personally, I think it is about an hour too long (and you’ve seen the battle in the last third many times before if you’re a sci fi fan), but enjoyable for young and old.

Did You Hear About the Morgans? The reviews were horrible for this film--and well-deserved. Being the good sport and movie nut that I am, I went to see it anyway. Sarah Jessica Parker is miscast, too serious, and looks homely (WHO convinced her to go with bangs?). Hugh Grant gamely tries to carry the movie with his usual wit and charm, but isn’t given enough to do. The end result: the movie is predictable and unfunny.

On my Christmas list:
• It’s Complicated with Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin. This one has been called “middle-aged lady porn” for its story of a tossed-aside spouse whose cheating ex-husband comes back to woo her.
• Sherlock Holmes with Robert Downey, Jr., Jude Law, and Rachel McAdams. Love ‘em all and this film looks like fun.
• Young Victoria with Emily Blunt as the English queen of yore.
• A Single Man with Colin Firth, in what sounds like a breakthrough role as a gay man who loses his partner and his will to live.
• Crazy Heart with Jeff Bridges, as a torn-up, run-down country singer.
• Nine with Daniel Day-Lewis and a host of women. I saw the show and it wasn’t much to write home about, but I’ll see this anyway for the musical interludes. The Penelope Cruise number was a showstopper when Jane Krakowski (of 30 Rock fame) did it on Broadway.
• The Lovely Bones and The Road…both sad stories. I'm on the fence about these two because of their content. I hate how the movie industry releases these "serious movies" in the dead of winter, as if we're not depressed enough already!

Merry Christmas!

Feeling Like a Fraud

2009-12-13T19:09:00.003-05:00

I just read Andre Agassi’s book “Open.” I’m a big tennis fan—I was at the US Open the day he retired and had the honor of giving him a 5-minute standing ovation as he said goodbye—and I found the book fascinating. Not so much for the tennis dirt, but more for his honesty. He says that he was forced to play tennis from a young age, subject to a well-meaning but abusive father who de-valued education and elevated tennis as the only way for him to succeed. Agassi never graduated from high school and was stuck in a career he hated because he thought it was all he could do. He had amazing talent but he says over and over again that he hated tennis. It was a lonely, scary, physically painful life.

As a result, he had a very up and down career. What was most interesting to me, though, was that his youthful rebellions—long hair, crazy loud clothes, and bad-boy style—were interpreted by the media as his personality. He says he didn’t know who he was. He certainly wasn’t this rebel everyone thought he was. Actually, he was towing the line he was told to by his father and coaches. He was wearing a hairpiece because he thought he’d be ostracized if fans and his sponsors knew he was prematurely bald. He even married actress Brooke Shields, not because he really wanted to, but because he thought it was what he was supposed to do. He was numb to his own life.

I was struck by how miserable and self-destructive he was when he seemingly had so much. Around age 30, he really screwed up by using drugs. That's when he got a second chance at tennis and out of his marriage to Shields. That’s when he committed to his career, he committed to building a school for disadvantaged kids in Las Vegas, and he committed to a real relationship with a woman he was suited to (tennis star Steffi Graf).

At first, I wondered why Agassi would admit to using crystal meth or not having a good marriage to Brooke Shields. But having read the book, I see he was on a mission to be real and authentic by telling all. The book is a cautionary tale about being too afraid to go for what you want, and about the damage that living life as a fraud can do to you.

Wow. How brave. I respect him even more.

Martha and Me's simple handmade gifts

2009-11-29T11:39:00.003-05:00

I've been following a blog called "Martha and Me," a writer's paean to all things Martha Stewart. She's tried the techniques, she's tested the recipes, and she reports it all on her blog.

I like Martha Stewart well enough (although I'm SURE I was saying "it's a good thing" before she was, not to mention "yadda, yadda, yadda" before Seinfeld), but I find her stuff, well, INTIMIDATING to attempt. And I'm a crafter from way back when. That's why I love Martha and Me's post on simple handmade gift ideas a la Martha S that even, as writer Brette Sember says, "the most craft-impaired person can make."

Check it out at http://marthaandme.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/merry-martha-handmade-gift-list/.

Pushing Past Limiting Fears

2009-11-23T14:04:00.007-05:00

I spent this weekend with my quilting friends in Vermont pushing back at "my gremlins," as master quilter Susan Damone Balch put it! As luck would have it, waiting in my in-box for posting on Craft to Heal was the wonderful essay below from fiber artist Brecia Kralovic-Logan. It seems that no matter what the creative endeavor, we all struggle with our fears, our limiting beliefs, our self-sabotaging thoughts.

Creative Knitting Pushing Past Limiting Fears
Nine knitters gathered at Anacapa Fine Yarns in Ventura to take my Creative Knitting workshop. As they introduced themselves they shared their excitement at being in a class that supported “out of the box” thinking. Some felt a little nervous, anticipating leaving their comfort zone, but hopeful that they too would be able to knit an original garment with the organic look of the sample that had enticed them.

The whole morning was spent doing exercises to explore their passions, to awaken their intuitive wisdom and to connect them with their natural authentic knowing. By lunch they were ready to think about knitting in a way that they had never done before.

Those knitters did in fact spend the rest of the day exploring and discovering ways to create original knits. But I’d like to tell you about another knitter, who did not take the workshop. She slowly slipped into the classroom at midday and shyly shared that she had absolutely fallen in love with the sweater that I had on display in the store as a sample for the class.

“I didn’t take the class because it seemed too scary,” she said. “I would like to know how to knit like that but I didn’t think I could do it.”

As she moved about the room, the class participants each assured her that she would be able to work in this new way. They shared their own fears with her and told her how liberated they felt by tapping into their inner creative spirit. They suggested that she come to the next workshop and as she left her body language seemed to convey that she had let go of her conviction that this was impossible. Hopefully, she realized that she was not alone in feeling afraid of stretching past her comfort zone.

Having the opportunity to share their thoughts with the visitor, the class seemed to exude new confidence. In their comments at the end of the day they shared that the class loosened them up, liberated them, gave them confidence, and expanded their horizons. Each one of them had taken a risk and entered into unknown territory. Although they already had the knitting skills they needed, feeling supported to work in a way that helped them to develop a creative frame of mind was a powerful experience.

Yes, being creative does involve risk. Taking a class to learn something new can be intimidating. However, pushing past the thoughts and beliefs that keep us in our comfort zone can be exhilarating. Taking the skills we have and using them in new ways is one way to express our unique individual spirit.
I just love this quote from Tom Robbins:

“Our individuality is all, all that we have. There are those who would barter
it for security, but blessed in the twinkle of the morning star is the one who nurtures and rides it, in grace and love and wit.”

Brecia Kralovic-Logan is a fiber artist in Santa Barbara, CA where she teaches workshops, writes and offers Creativity Coaching. Visit her web site at www.pebbleinthepondartstudio.com.

Troop Time

2009-11-15T12:54:00.004-05:00

It’s early to be thinking about the holidays, but not if you want to send gifts to the troops. (I'm anti-war, but I’m not anti-troops. How can we not admire their courage and commitment?)

Given that many people have limited budgets this year and may not be able to send the usual toiletries, snacks and care packages, I found a group that is accepting crafty things: fabric pillows, neck coolers, knitted and crocheted hats. You can either donate the materials and they’ll have volunteers do the rest, or you can make the items yourself following the directions on their website.

I’m busy making 12” pillow casings from my fabric stash for soldiers to carry in their packs! It's just a little thing, but then again: it's the little things that often count for the most.

Here’s their contact information…

Website: www.ustroopcarepackage.com
Address to send packages: US Troop Care Package, 4302 N. Swallow Street, Pasco, WA 99301
Address to send letters: US Troop Care Package, PO Box 3445, Pasco, WA 99302

The Power of Belonging

2009-11-09T08:48:00.005-05:00

As we approach the holidays, we think about gathering together with our families. That’s not always a good thought—have you ever seen the movie “Home for the Holidays” with Holly Hunter? Her parents pick her up at the airport and they get stuck in traffic on the way home. Her mother is jabbering on in the front seat and her father is talking to himself, and she looks out to the next car over to where a grown man is sitting in the back seat listening to his parents do the same, and he all but mouths “Help me!” to her.

I think most of us can appreciate that.

But we also need to appreciate the power of belonging to a group, whether it’s a partnership, a family, a group of friends or an organization. The desire to belong isn’t just wishful thinking—it’s actually a fundamental human need that is as old as men and women themselves.

“In primitive times,” says Duke University's Mark R. Leary, PhD, who’s looked at the many psychological studies on this subject, “a single human being was unlikely to survive, while those who banded together thrived and even reproduced. Psychological studies indicate that the same need is present in modern times and drives much of human behavior and emotion.”

People who lack “belongingness” suffer higher levels of mental and physical illness than do those with strong social connections, says Dr. Leary. What’s more, feelings of loneliness and depression may actually be your brain’s way of telling you that you’re being deprived of social contact. These emotions should mobilize you to consider the types of connections you’re lacking—gabbing with one true friend perhaps, sharing stories and solutions with others, or even cuddling with a partner. Once you’ve homed in on your needs, you can strategically pursue situations that will put you in contact with other people who share your interests. That might mean joining a quilt guild, hanging out at the local bead shop and working on your latest project, joining a book club at the local library, meeting other dog lovers at the park, or posting a sign at the local tennis court looking for a partner. (The “meetup.com” website has groups everywhere to do everything, so check it out.)

While some people may need to bond with only one other person to feel socially connected, others need more: A spouse, several close friends, and membership in a group. “Everyone is different,” says Dr. Leary, “but the key is to form at least one positive, on-going relationship.” Those are the kinds of bonds that keep you happy and healthy--not to mention sane over the holidays!

Quilts, fly fishing, and Susan Damone Balch

2009-10-31T14:17:00.008-04:00

This week I'm getting back to quilting, crafts, and healing. My friend and teacher, master quilter Susan Damone Balch, has written a guest post about her work and her latest quilt. That's a photo of it above. It's called Apache Trout (and it's for sale, by the way. Her contact information is below if you're interested.) The quilt is as intricately and expertly designed, executed, and filled with intent as all of Susan's quilts. But I'll let her speak for herself!

Hope, Recovery, Fishing, and Quilting
Susan Damone Balch
Quilt Artist & Fly Fishing Instructor
http://www.fishnquilt.com
susan@fishnquilt.com

I am passionate about both quilting and fly fishing. However, there was a period of about 10 years where I neglected my quilting for another healing art….fly fishing. It started when I became involved with Casting for Recovery, a national non-profit organization providing support to women in all stages of breast cancer treatment and recovery through fly fishing retreats. Their motto is “To Fish is to Hope.”

Between 2000 and 2007, I immersed myself in a full time job as Program Director of Casting for Recovery (CFR). Throughout those years I traveled around the country and had some incredible experiences, met some amazing women, helped to introduce thousands of women to the art and healing power of fly fishing, and had the opportunity to fish in some beautiful places. Mostly, I gained a new outlook on life. One of the biggest lessons I learned is that life is just too short!

As precious as those years are to me, I was not doing my art on a regular basis any more and really feeling the void. In the spring of 2007, I made the difficult decision to resign my full time position and re-commit to my art work. I am still involved with CFR and teaching fly fishing, but I am spending most of my time now in my beautiful home studio and, as Joseph Campbell says, I am following my bliss.

“Apache Trout” was one of the first quilts I completed when I returned to my art work. It was inspired by a trip to the White Mountains of Arizona where I was leading a Casting for Recovery retreat and had the opportunity to catch one of these little feisty creatures.

Native to Arizona, Apache Trout live in small stream habitat above 5,900 feet and are found nowhere else in the world. Once near extinction (listed as an endangered species in 1969), they have been restored to much of their historic range through decades of cooperative protection and recovery efforts. (The White Mountain Apache Tribe has been instrumental in their recovery along with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, AZ Fish and Game, and Trout Unlimited.) The hope is they will someday be the first species of fish to be removed from the endangered species list.

But back to the quilt...I could not have done the design surrounding the trout without the help of [master quilter] John Flynn and the mathematical formulas he provided in his “Feathered Sun” book. The animal totem images in the corners are representative of the healing powers they are thought to possess. The snake represents fertility and life force; the frog, emotional healing and cleansing; the scorpion, defense and self-protection; and the lizard, caution and regeneration.

Quilt photo by John Polak

The Newseum Rocks!

2009-10-25T15:26:00.008-04:00

I was in Washington, DC, this weekend for a meeting and, dutiful writer that I am, I went to visit the Newseum. That's a museum on Pennsylvania Avenue that chronicles the history of journalism (www.newseum.org). My friend Hildy had told me she’d heard it was highly worth seeing—and it was. In fact, it was fantastic! I had a great couple of hours there.

First off, it's a beautiful glass-windowed building with an incredible view--it gazes down the block to the U.S. Capitol.

Second, the exhibits are fascinating, varied, and often interactive. My favorite was the collection of Pulitzer-prize winning photos spanning some 40 years. Most were outrageously sad and somber: a naked young Vietnamese girl running from napalm ...a dead American soldier being dragged through the streets of Somalia...a Thai man being hanged.

Others were incredibly joyful: Bill Clinton laughing amidst a parade...a young boy looking up at a kindly policeman.

Still others gave me chills: a rain-soaked Barack Obama making a last campaign stop despite a downpour...soldiers raising the U.S. flag at Iwo Jima.

There were so many other great exhibits, too: Pieces of the Berlin Wall, a 9/11 exhibit (complete with tear-inducing video interviews with journalists on the scene at the World Trade Center), photos from Woodstock, pictures of presidents and their dogs, a crime wing containing Unabomber Ted Kaczynski’s actual cabin in the Montana woods, and covers of the current day’s front pages of newspapers from all over the country (with nary a throughline story among them!). And finally, George Stephanopoulos’ tiny (and I mean tiny) studio, where he shoots his Sunday news show. Basically, it consists of a small round table sitting in front of a row of windows looking down to the Capitol. Amazing how spacious TV can make a set look!

Middle-Aged Movie Maven

2009-10-18T09:42:00.007-04:00

I go to the movies. A lot. It’s one of the forms of creativity (and therapy!) I most enjoy.

And I’m convinced no one sets out to make a bad movie. They just happen.

They’re there at the multiplex, and I’ve sat through more than my fair share of them. So you might as well benefit from my inability to resist the cinema.

Here, hits and (mostly) misses on the fall schedule:
1. Capitalism: A Love Story. Not Michael Moore’s best. I’m a liberal and I found this movie tiresome. As always, he makes some good points, but we’ve been so inundated with the financial mess that it’s old news. He’s uncovered some great footage of FDR speaking to the nation and some shocking standard practices—like major companies that take out life insurance policies on their employees and cash in when people die. But for the first time, I questioned some of Moore’s facts and his stunts. It was a little dull, to tell you the truth.

2. Couples Resort. HORRIBLE. I thought this was a comedy, but it’s just NOT FUNNY. Never see a Vince Vaughn movie again. He has as bad taste in movies as Jennifer Aniston. Yes, he was funny in Wedding Crashers and Swingers, but he seems to have lost his mojo. This movie isn’t a comedy; it’s more like a Lifetime movie with a couple of laughs. (And yet it’s number 1 at the box office. Go figure.)

3. The Invention of Lying. Sorry, I just don’t find Ricky Gervais’s deadpan humor funny. This movie is interesting and Jennifer Garner is adorable. I even like Gervais’s character. I just didn’t like the movie.

4. The Informant. Matt Damon is awesome as a chunky corporate spy, but the movie slogs along at a snail’s pace. Another wasted opportunity. It looks like a comedy from the previews, and yet…

5. All About Steve. The cast almost makes this movie: Sandra Bullock, Bradley Cooper, and Thomas Haden-Church are good actors and play well together. The plot is just too preposterous, though, and the characters too broadly drawn (Bullock plays an intellectual misfit with a penchant for loud outfits). And what starts out as a wacky comedy turns serious halfway through. But see The Proposal with Bullock and Ryan Reynolds instead (a real romantic comedy, just out on DVD) and The Hangover with Bradley Cooper (very raunchy but TRULY hilarious, especially the picture show at the end!).

6. Extract. Ugh, why are they giving Jason Bateman such terrible parts? He can be so adorable, so funny. But not here. He just whines a lot (he plays a similar role in Couples Resort). This one-note comedy even wastes Saturday Night Live’s Kristin Wig as Bateman’s wife.

But all is not lost. I actually have liked a few movies lately…
1. 500 Days of Summer. Quirky, clever and unexpectedly charming.
2. Julie and Julia. As you may have heard, the Julie portions of the movie are throwaways we could have done without, but Meryl Streep’s Julia is priceless. Not to be missed, along with Stanley Tucci as her husband and Jane Lynch as her gangly sister.
3. District 9. A sci-fi movie (about aliens living on earth) with a message.

As always, too, I’m hopeful the holidays will bring some better movies! I'll keep you posted.