Ready to assemble

July 25, 2008

What can I tell you?  Life is good!  Yesterday marked one month since our arrival in Raleigh.  I am glad to be here.  I actually don’t have much inclination toward blogging these days (as is evident by my lack of recent posts) but at some point I may pick up the pace again. 

Before I forget, on July 19 someone sent a comment asking for some coaching services.  I’d love to speak with this person about coaching, but I don’ t have a way to contact you.  Your comment was anonymous and you did not leave any contact information such as a phone number or an email address.  Please help me help you by writing again with a way for me to reach you! 

Lately I’ve been considering how to live the life I’m meant to live, as in how to honor and attend to the purpose my soul intended for this life.   Read the rest of this entry »

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Getting settled into our new life in Raleigh

June 27, 2008

We arrived safely in North Carolina on the morning of Tuesday, June 24th.  All is well.  John and I will start our new jobs on Monday, June 30th.

This week I hope to meet up with my aunt (Dad’s baby sis) who lives nearby and some of the many cousins who also reside in the area.  I have met many of the cousins around here.  Most of them are my parents’ age or better, and in turn each of them has 1 - 3 generations of offspring that live in the area too.  When I say I have a lot of cousins down here in Cackalacky, I mean it.  My father’s mother, Mattie Gooch Greene, was raised on a farm just one hour north of Raleigh, in the town of Stovall.  She had 12 or 13 siblings.  My mother’s father grew up in Seaboard which is less than 1 hour south of the Virginia border.  He had 5or 6 siblings himself and some of their progeny remain here too.

I just met one of my new neighbors.  She’s from New Brunswick, NJ which just so happens to be my birthplace!  I’ve met several northern transplants in the short time I’ve been here.  I expected to meet all these folks, seeing as many of my NJ-native cousins have also relocated to NC over the years.  Most of us cite the lower cost of living in NC as the primary driver for making the move.  Jersey really is crazy expensive and in my opinion, often not worth the effort it takes to maintain.  Just my opinion.

I’m about to call one of my cousins now and see what’s up for the 4th of July holiday.  Hope everyone’s doing well!

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I’ve got more change than a little bit

June 23, 2008

Those of my readers who know me and my husband personally are probably aware of the types of changes happening in our lives right now.  For those who rely on this blog to keep up with me, a bit of news: We’re moving to Raleigh, North Carolina!  We leave in about 24 hours.  You may wonder why we’re returning to the east coast after only 1 year here in Seattle.  Many reasons, all of them good:

1. I want to live closer to my family and they’re all on the east coast.
2. We feel the cost of living in Seattle is higher than what we want to pay.
3. We quickly found great jobs in the Triangle area and the new jobs pay better than our current jobs in Seattle.
4. We’re just ready for a change.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Mercy me, the ecology

April 12, 2008

This time last year I was posting about once a day.  Now, it seems my frequency of posts is way down to about once a MONTH.  Dramatic difference.  What can I say?  I’m just not in the mood these days to write blog posts and I see no reason to force it.

Still, every now and again, I do make an effort to come and post at least an update.  So what’s new with me?  Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Authentic Living 2 Comments »

Celebrating life in the NW

March 9, 2008

Yesterday I visited the newly opened Northwest African American Museum in Seattle. How exciting to see this long-cherished dream of many finally realized. John and I did not attend the opening ceremony, but we did walk through the museum and enjoy some of the other opening day festivities. My favorite part of the museum is the Jacob Lawrence exhibit currently on display in one of the galleries. I’ve never seen Mr. Lawrence’s work before. I was drawn in by the paintings because of the rich, vibrant colors and the curvy lines. Like me, JL loved chocolate brown. I’m not sure how long the Lawrence exhibit will be on display at the NAAM, so if you are anywhere nearby, see it soon and visit the museum often. Read the rest of this entry »

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C is for…

February 9, 2008

Change: Yes, we can.

Concern for the future.

Careful consideration of the options.

Commemoration of important past events.

Coach Char being Counted at the Washington CAUCUS today.

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It’s the Age of Aquarius!

February 6, 2008

And this Aquarius just celebrated 35 years of good living! Before I blew out the candles on my birthday cake, a friend asked me what I’d learned in the past year. It only took a second for me to form a coherent response:

“I learned to release attachments to things that don’t matter and to strengthen ties to what’s important to me.”

Everyone, including me, seemed pretty satisfied with that statement, but in truth, what I spoke of is an ongoing process that shall never be complete.

As for the next year of my life, what’s the intended theme? It’s Discipline + Daring. For fun, I created an equation to help me remember it:

D + D = 1(OY)

In English, that means “Discipline plus Daring equals One Outstanding Year”.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Meme: 8 Things You Didn’t Know About Me

January 18, 2008

A while back, I was tagged by some kind soul to share 8 things you didn’t know about me. It’s high time I participated in one of these meme posts, so here goes:

1. I speak Italian. After living in northern Italy for 3 full years as an adolescent, I was almost fluent.
2. I was a track star in high school. Cross country too. I was fast and I could run for hours without tiring. I have creaky knees to show for it too.
3. I once owned an online, home-based hosiery business. Some of my best customers were men. Large men.
4. I invent things. Over the years I’ve created many sketches, “prototypes” and models. Someday, I’m going to bring something wonderful to the marketplace!
5. My favorite flavor of ice cream is Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey.
6. I was painfully shy up until age 14 or so.
7. I never dated ANYONE longer than 3 months. As a matter of fact, by the time I’d been seeing my husband for 3 months, we were already engaged and living more than 2,000 miles apart from each other.
8. I have really wide-set eyes. I used to work in a medical lab with 2 other women and 14 men. There were some big men in the group, with large heads. Still, anytime someone had to use a microscope after me, they always had to adjust the oculars inward.

So now you know. Fascinating, huh?

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A new chapter, a new day

January 16, 2008

Without consciously intending to, I have taken a 2 month break from blogging. And just like that, I’m back! Today’s a perfect day to start posting again. Happy New Year to us! I’ve missed this creative outlet. It’s good to be back.

News flash: I’ve just resigned from a job that was stressful and emotionally draining. As I shared my decision with my associates and customers, people asked me what I planned to do next. I expressed an intention to start coaching again.

As I write this post I realize that I want more. More what? More joy and play, more physical exercise and fresh air, more meditation, more home-cooked and nutritious food, more inner peace and emotional fulfillment, more spiritual growth, more financial abundance, more personal freedom, more alignment and balance, more adventure, more creativity, and–most of all–more love. What does that look like? We’ll see… We’ll see.

Stay tuned for more updates in the coming days. I feel a 30 day trial coming on.

Posted in Change No Comments »

Life is about love

November 5, 2007

Three very dear friends of mine have encountered significant life changes in the past 3 weeks. Two of them have experienced the death of a parent and the third just welcomed her first child into this world. As I take part in the remembrances and celebrations of lives well-lived and the excitement of hailing a new member into our community, I’m more convinced than ever that all of this is about love. I believe the baby who was born on November 1st and the kind gentlemen who transitioned on October 19th and October 27th respectively all came into this life to learn and teach about love.  Each of these people (yes, even little Butterbean) has touched the lives of many others in ways that remain unfathomable to us while we are in these lives.

Posted in Change 1 Comment »