A random thought that's been speeding through my brain as of late. Why is it, that as women - in general - we don't support one another in the workplace? Why is it that some women just don't want to 'manage up' (as they say in the biz) one another? Why is it that instead of mentoring younger women and supporting them to the best of our ability, that we cut them down, supress them?
I'm not saying that working with men is better, but at least they support you and help you along your path. I've had more MEN mentors in my corporate life than I can count, but not too many women. You'd think, since we're the same sex and feel that pressure of getting on in the corporate realm, that we'd HELP one another more often.
Well, I'm here to report that I've had possibly two real mentors who were female in my LIFE - meaning, older than me, more experienced than me, who actually gave a crap about who I was and where I was going in life. As for the men that we were told 'supress' and 'keep us back' because we are women, um, I have a TON of them that I can say are/were my mentors that helped me to succeed in life and the corporate world.
So, I ask again, where are these mentor women? Why are most women so spiteful and bitter when it comes to helping another woman out? Maybe I'm just being silly, but when asked to help or mentor any young lady or woman MY age or whatever, I'm IN! I truly enjoy passing on what I have learned, ideas I have and celebrate their accomplishments with them. To me, that's the joy of life - sharing what you know, what you have, who you are - to others.
Call me old fashioned, silly or just plain stupid, but that's how I view things and that's what I do when asked for help or when someone is younger and looks like they need some help - professionally or not.
Sigh. I just wish others would help out willingly and as much with young women in the professional realm - share best practices, be there for them and allow them to experience some of what we do in the office.
I was allowed to mentor a college student recently and LOVED it. I cannot wait to see what she does with her life - and keep in contact with her! I just wish every woman who is accomplished and/or has a talent to share would pass it on to a younger gal who could use it.
Try to pass along something YOU are great at today - share some of your light to someone and watch how it enhances YOUR life as well as theirs!
Summer 2012
BibeauArt of Santa Rosa
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 02, 2010
Painting for a cause
Today I was asked to paint something, anything, for a local charity auction by a good friend of the family. I used to work with her hubby at HP back in the day, and know that these people are the most generous and kind folks in the world, so of course I said 'yes'. Saying 'no' would be a sin and totally selfish.
It's for the American Heart Association's local chapter and it's a good organization that our hospital partners up with for heart disease each year. It's amazing how many women are affected by heart disease - way more than you'd think and way more than men are. There is a co worker who is the picture of health, beautiful, smart, a go getter, goes to the gym, eats right and all that but had a stroke one year. We were stunned. How did this happen to her???
Looking back, she sees the 'signs' that she ignored and realizes that she was a prime candidate for this all along. Friends, co workers, people I know through associations here and there have all been hit with some type of heart issue - and sometimes it takes them away forever.
I'm hoping that my painting will raise enough funds to help with research or education or both with the AHA this year and protect my friends, family and co workers who might be touched by heart disease. Being asked by a woman with a compassionate and loving heart to donate some art today made me remember all those I know with heart disease or those who are already gone because of it and of course, their families left behind wondering if it will happen to them.
God gives us talents to use in this lifetime - I'm hoping that my little talent can help others this year.
It's for the American Heart Association's local chapter and it's a good organization that our hospital partners up with for heart disease each year. It's amazing how many women are affected by heart disease - way more than you'd think and way more than men are. There is a co worker who is the picture of health, beautiful, smart, a go getter, goes to the gym, eats right and all that but had a stroke one year. We were stunned. How did this happen to her???
Looking back, she sees the 'signs' that she ignored and realizes that she was a prime candidate for this all along. Friends, co workers, people I know through associations here and there have all been hit with some type of heart issue - and sometimes it takes them away forever.
I'm hoping that my painting will raise enough funds to help with research or education or both with the AHA this year and protect my friends, family and co workers who might be touched by heart disease. Being asked by a woman with a compassionate and loving heart to donate some art today made me remember all those I know with heart disease or those who are already gone because of it and of course, their families left behind wondering if it will happen to them.
God gives us talents to use in this lifetime - I'm hoping that my little talent can help others this year.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
The revised 2005 blog entry on Knitting for Dyslexics
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Knitting for Dyslexics (revised 2010)
Forget the Prozac or your prescribed 20 minutes of 'sun time' outside each day or the damned "happy lite" - the answer is Knitting, folks! You see, as I learn the ancient art of knitting, this skill has kinda taken over my life and my home. Wherever there's a nice sitting area on the couch you'll probably find some yummy yarns strewn around attached to a pair of 'needles'. Don't worry, they won't bite - they are pretty dull. Wonder why they call them 'needles' - they are more like 'chopsticks'.
For one to begin a knitting project, one must find a pattern for their skill level in order to purchase the correct yarns, the correct 'chopsticks', and any other accessories one may need for their desired item. I noticed the 'advanced' designs, the 'moderate' designs and the 'easy' designs, but what about the 'dyslexic' designs? You see, I'm the person in your Sunday morning Yoga class who goes left when you are to turn your body into a pretzel going 'right'. I'm also that person in your Zumba dance/fitness class who will sashay right into you when not recalling in a split second where my 'other left' is and land on top of your manicured toes.
Even my normally very supportive husband looked at me with my new project and all it entailed and sighed, deeply. No matter, I was determined to learn this skill of women of the frontier, women of the Victorian age, women of the craft! Heck, men used to knit their own socks, so why couldn't I learn this?
Knitting my first project with my sister in law started out well, until I noticed that her knitting was perfect and even and mine looked like a screen shot from a bad Tetris game I had just lost. My edges were ragged, uneven and not at all like the perfect little photo in the knitting book I had just purchased.
"Frog it," she would say without looking up from her knitting project, meaning: unravel that horrible mess before someone sees me helping you. And frog it I did, and fast. I became really good at frogging and rolling up the balls of yarn for their next project while watching everyone else knit.
At the local library I found a book called 'Freeform Knitting' and my heart leaped for joy. Just reading this book confirmed what I thought was a dyslexic defect in my learning of the skill of knitting - not everyone goes by a pattern...or maybe they start off that way, but then find their own style and let it flow into something beautiful. There was no math in this book, no measurements, no real instructions actually - just visualise what you want to create and knit it! I'm a creative person with a need to do something with my hands every ten seconds, so why not? I could do this!
My first few creations were horrible and amazing creations - but I did get the hang of this Freeform Knitting thing and rather enjoy it and came up with tons of interesting ideas, some better than others. It was the joy of the actual knitting that kept me going, and of course, the occasional item that someone would ask me for once they saw me wearing it.
Now, as I knit, I think about the ladies who write down the patterns as to what they are creating for contests, calendars and published books about how to knit. My goodness, that sounds like torture - like an Algebra pop exam - the annual visit to the doctors - just not something that's fun to do or even remotely appealing. But, even now, as I knit myself to sleep tonight, I think of these ladies who must count all of their stitches. Mark their stitches, drop every fourth stitch on the alternating rows. Picking up a stray stitch after frogging away most of their creations, using a computer to compute the most accurate pattern for their dog sweater.
I think of them AND their perfect little worlds, the clean bonus rooms, clean and polite children lined up properly at the dinner table waiting for the freshly made nutritrious and wholesome meal and the newly brushed cat sprawled out in the sun on the family welcome mat near the front door (that was knitted with recycled Safeway grocery bags) and wonder if they ever do anything 'not by the book'.
I'm certainly not a 'by the book' kind of gal and neither is my home I keep or my knitting. I rather like it this way, a bit backwards, thrown together with some creativity and the results are one in a million - amazing, fun and most of all, a part of me given to someone I love.
There, that's my 'pattern' for knitting and for my life. Hope you can understand it and maybe enjoy it.
Knitting for Dyslexics (revised 2010)
Forget the Prozac or your prescribed 20 minutes of 'sun time' outside each day or the damned "happy lite" - the answer is Knitting, folks! You see, as I learn the ancient art of knitting, this skill has kinda taken over my life and my home. Wherever there's a nice sitting area on the couch you'll probably find some yummy yarns strewn around attached to a pair of 'needles'. Don't worry, they won't bite - they are pretty dull. Wonder why they call them 'needles' - they are more like 'chopsticks'.
For one to begin a knitting project, one must find a pattern for their skill level in order to purchase the correct yarns, the correct 'chopsticks', and any other accessories one may need for their desired item. I noticed the 'advanced' designs, the 'moderate' designs and the 'easy' designs, but what about the 'dyslexic' designs? You see, I'm the person in your Sunday morning Yoga class who goes left when you are to turn your body into a pretzel going 'right'. I'm also that person in your Zumba dance/fitness class who will sashay right into you when not recalling in a split second where my 'other left' is and land on top of your manicured toes.
Even my normally very supportive husband looked at me with my new project and all it entailed and sighed, deeply. No matter, I was determined to learn this skill of women of the frontier, women of the Victorian age, women of the craft! Heck, men used to knit their own socks, so why couldn't I learn this?
Knitting my first project with my sister in law started out well, until I noticed that her knitting was perfect and even and mine looked like a screen shot from a bad Tetris game I had just lost. My edges were ragged, uneven and not at all like the perfect little photo in the knitting book I had just purchased.
"Frog it," she would say without looking up from her knitting project, meaning: unravel that horrible mess before someone sees me helping you. And frog it I did, and fast. I became really good at frogging and rolling up the balls of yarn for their next project while watching everyone else knit.
At the local library I found a book called 'Freeform Knitting' and my heart leaped for joy. Just reading this book confirmed what I thought was a dyslexic defect in my learning of the skill of knitting - not everyone goes by a pattern...or maybe they start off that way, but then find their own style and let it flow into something beautiful. There was no math in this book, no measurements, no real instructions actually - just visualise what you want to create and knit it! I'm a creative person with a need to do something with my hands every ten seconds, so why not? I could do this!
My first few creations were horrible and amazing creations - but I did get the hang of this Freeform Knitting thing and rather enjoy it and came up with tons of interesting ideas, some better than others. It was the joy of the actual knitting that kept me going, and of course, the occasional item that someone would ask me for once they saw me wearing it.
Now, as I knit, I think about the ladies who write down the patterns as to what they are creating for contests, calendars and published books about how to knit. My goodness, that sounds like torture - like an Algebra pop exam - the annual visit to the doctors - just not something that's fun to do or even remotely appealing. But, even now, as I knit myself to sleep tonight, I think of these ladies who must count all of their stitches. Mark their stitches, drop every fourth stitch on the alternating rows. Picking up a stray stitch after frogging away most of their creations, using a computer to compute the most accurate pattern for their dog sweater.
I think of them AND their perfect little worlds, the clean bonus rooms, clean and polite children lined up properly at the dinner table waiting for the freshly made nutritrious and wholesome meal and the newly brushed cat sprawled out in the sun on the family welcome mat near the front door (that was knitted with recycled Safeway grocery bags) and wonder if they ever do anything 'not by the book'.
I'm certainly not a 'by the book' kind of gal and neither is my home I keep or my knitting. I rather like it this way, a bit backwards, thrown together with some creativity and the results are one in a million - amazing, fun and most of all, a part of me given to someone I love.
There, that's my 'pattern' for knitting and for my life. Hope you can understand it and maybe enjoy it.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Every two years, needed or not...
We move every two years, I believe. We don't like to move, but it seems that it happens to us a lot. We move because we relocated. We moved because we thought it would be fun to live in a converted chicken house (not kidding). We moved because we liked the last house we were in better, and moved back. We moved again, then again as a favor to our landlords. This weekend, we moved because if I didn't have a garage and a larger house I was going to go nuts. Literally.
So, this time it's all my fault and I'm so happy about it! Now, I have a two car garage for my 'studio' for my artwork. Thank the Lord in heaven! Now I have my own bathroom - well, I must share with the hubby, but no more KIDS and visitors in my freaking bathroom. I can leave out things - like makeup, drying bras, etc. I don't have to hide everything each time I'm using the bathroom for fear that the neighbor's kids may see something and report it to their parents. "MOM! Did you know that JP's mom has three RED BRAS and one has flowers on it?" Yeah, that's all I need.
My son has his OWN bathroom, toilet, bathtub/shower and HUGE sink and vanity area. That's enough for me to jump up and down in pure joy! Amen!!!
My hubby and I have our own den (he works at home a lot and needs it) so I'm not shuffling my papers and PC all over the house each time someone wants to eat at the kitchen table. The best part is that my room is upstairs - away from the horrible television. Can't get rid of that TV, but I can banish it to another part of the house - another reason for JOY!
So, even though I'm surrounded by boxes, turned over boxes, stuff everywhere and more waiting for me in the garage, I'm happy sitting on my floor in my room tonight typing this. I will miss my heirloom tomatoes that I planted months ago, but I'm sure the new neighbors at my 'old' place will share.
Back to it!
So, this time it's all my fault and I'm so happy about it! Now, I have a two car garage for my 'studio' for my artwork. Thank the Lord in heaven! Now I have my own bathroom - well, I must share with the hubby, but no more KIDS and visitors in my freaking bathroom. I can leave out things - like makeup, drying bras, etc. I don't have to hide everything each time I'm using the bathroom for fear that the neighbor's kids may see something and report it to their parents. "MOM! Did you know that JP's mom has three RED BRAS and one has flowers on it?" Yeah, that's all I need.
My son has his OWN bathroom, toilet, bathtub/shower and HUGE sink and vanity area. That's enough for me to jump up and down in pure joy! Amen!!!
My hubby and I have our own den (he works at home a lot and needs it) so I'm not shuffling my papers and PC all over the house each time someone wants to eat at the kitchen table. The best part is that my room is upstairs - away from the horrible television. Can't get rid of that TV, but I can banish it to another part of the house - another reason for JOY!
So, even though I'm surrounded by boxes, turned over boxes, stuff everywhere and more waiting for me in the garage, I'm happy sitting on my floor in my room tonight typing this. I will miss my heirloom tomatoes that I planted months ago, but I'm sure the new neighbors at my 'old' place will share.
Back to it!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
End of Summer Swappie Poo!
http://www.meetup.com/NORCAL-FASHIONABLE-CHICKY-POOS/calendar/13975230/
AUGUST 22ND from 6-8pm is our end of Summer-beginning of Fall clothing swap! It's my little mission to help every chicky poo look FABOO for NO MONEY DOWN or NEEDED type of thing. Girl Power!
AUGUST 22ND from 6-8pm is our end of Summer-beginning of Fall clothing swap! It's my little mission to help every chicky poo look FABOO for NO MONEY DOWN or NEEDED type of thing. Girl Power!
Yes, we're at it again, same place (490 Mendocino Avenue, SR at the Serendipity Studio) and hopefully some new and some newer friends to make. Each time we do these swappie poos, we get a surprise. Either people 're meet' up here, find a new style with our blessing or bring faboo wines and snacks to munch on.
Of course it's about the clothes, but with some encouragement, these unwanted faboo clothes just instantly find new homes! Each of us turn into stylists and pitch in to help someone who just lost a TON of weight - or a new mom in need of stepping up her style a bit. Career chicks like me love new pieces to fit into my ensemble. Although the clothes (sometimes) are NOT new, we all know 'it's new to YOU'...our mantra!
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