How Many Shoes??? ...

I shot this picture last week with my cell phone. These are NOT my shoes. These aren't anyone's shoes. They are part of an abandoned estate that my mother in law is having to sort through. The woman that moved away had to abandon all of this, let's just say it's a "riches to rags" story.

This woman left thousands ... yes, thousands of mostly new items in the house and in the front and back yard as well. In the back yard were hundreds of wet soggy boxes (it's been raining on them for months) containing family albums, brand new linens, fur coats, vintage camera's and so much more. At first, I was saddened by all this but then I moved on to gratitude. Truly, I'm grateful that I'm not bound by what I own, or what used to own me. I'm so glad that I already did my own massive purge when we moved from OC to SD about 18 mo ago. This was a surreal reminder to me of what could happen when you look to "things" to make you happy. Seriously, most of this stuff didn't even have the price tags removed yet. I think it was just the shopping high that led to this sad ending.

I suppose if you have a bunch of stuff and you're not really attached to it and can easily give it away or use it for good, than it's OK to keep some stuff around. But if you have way more than you need, and then you let it go to waste and don't help anyone with it, then that is tragic. That's probably one of the biggest teachings of Christ that makes so much sense ... He tells one guy "Great, you want to follow me. Sure, just go sell everything you own, give the money away to the poor and follow me", the man went away sadly because he was a man of great wealth. The reality is there's a bit of this guy in all of us.

So, in my quest to digest all the "stuff" that I saw being trashed, dumped and given away. I found myself thinking about another person that had a bunch of shoes, actually way more shoes. Her name was Imelda Marcos. Remember her? In case you don't, Imelda Marcos is the widow of former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos who was ousted in 1986 and the family exiled to Hawaii. Outside the Philippines she is often remembered for symbols of the corrupt extravagance of her husband's dictatorship and political reign, such as having over 3000 pairs of shoes.

The story of Imelda's shoes has something to teach. She could never wear them all. And when she had to abandon her palace, these 3,000 were tossed and it was discovered that the money that bought them had been stolen from the poor people of the Philippines - what an injustice. But really, Isn't this one of the great mysteries of life? Why do we always want more? ... more money, more power, more of everything.

I don't have the answers but I do know that I should be asking myself this question everyday. I need to remind myself to be grateful and use what I already have. We already have all we need to be happy, we just need to chose to believe it.

Oh, and as usual I have a few things that I came across while researching all this. Here's my favorite Imelda Quotes. She definitely was drinking her own Kool-Aid.

"Filipinos want beauty. I have to look beautiful so that the poor Filipinos will have a star to look at from their slums."

"I hate ugliness. You know I'm allergic to ugliness."

"I did not have three thousand pairs of shoes, I had one thousand and sixty."

And the grand finale, here’s a video for the Santigold track "Please Don’t." It contains some actual news and archival footage of Imelda. Most of the lyrics on this one are from her interviews and quotations. Imelda believed that she could help Philippine interests by charming world leaders into seeing things her way. She called it “Handbag diplomacy”. I guess it's how she rationalized that she needed all those shoes. Enjoy ...

ps. If you are viewing this via Facebook, you'll have to visit my blog to see the video

What do you want? ...

Psalm 23: The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Hmm, if that's true, which of course it is. Then why do I want what I think I need? Maybe I don't really "need" the things I want. Maybe if I saw it as; "I won't lack the important things God knows I really need" and the other stuff is just my human thoughts mucking things up.

Let me give you a little perspective on where I'm at with all this. Right now we're living here in San Diego as part of an intentional community. Oh geez! Stop rolling your eyes, it's not what you think. It's not a commune. We're actually part of a mentoring/coaching community that we are helping to lead, but that's even harder to explain, so for the sake of getting this blog post out of my head and put into words, I'm just going to go with "intentional community".

Last week, as a part of a book we are reading together, we were asked to list the words that came to mind when we hear the word "community". I must admit I struggled a bit with being honest. The first words that wanted to fly out of my mouth were bad hairdos and weird clothing (but that's just too much TV coverage of the wackos that had 400 kids taken away in a raid on their ranch), but what I ended up saying out loud was "challenging". A few years back, I would have ran away as fast as I could at the thought of living in a "community"; when I was in high school one of my sisters went off to live in a Kibbutz (that did not end well) and I had many pre-conceived ideas of what living in community might look like. So far, this experience is not stereotypical.

And now that it's been almost a year into the adventure, I am starting to see my role here a little more clearly and my definition of "community" is changing. One of the things I've struggled the most this past year is with giving myself away and keeping my love tank full. I saw a great quote recently, it went something like this:

"In order to receive love and acceptance, you only need to give it away."

Think about that for a moment. Isn't that so opposite to how our culture stockpiles away everything for ourselves? That's what I've been doing emotionally and relationally. I've had to dig deep to get to the heart of this one. I suppose it's a good thing to realize something isn't right.

The truth is that I need to be needed and wanted, but really, unless I need and want others I'm not going to get what I want. I'm still thinking this one through and as a part of that conversation with myself I'm going to re-read a great book that I went through about 10 years ago, called "Search for Significance", maybe it will help me remember who I am and why I want the things that I do.

So in celebration of my "aha" moment today, I share with you this fabulous vintage Cheap Trick song that I so can relate to today. Enjoy!



*** if you are coming in via FB, to see the video you'll need to visit my blog by clicking here OR just watch the video on youtube

I'm loving this song ...

The Walrus ...

I watched this today, it's a pretty cool animated version of a 30-year-old interview with John Lennon. It was produced recently by Jerry Levitan, who back in 1969, when he was 14 years old, snuck into John Lennon's hotel room in Toronto and convinced John to do an interview. This is during the time of John & Yoko's "bed-in" for peace. It's a great message even for us today.

***If you are trying to watch this via Facebook, you have to go to my blog to watch it***

What You Do With What You've Got ...

OK, since the pressure was on to post something, because it's almost been 30 days since my last post (and the blog police fired their warning shot today) I wanted to share this inspiring and beautiful song by Eddi Reader with Thomas Dolby on the piano.

Our family spent last weekend with about 125 volunteers just south of the border in Tijuana building homes for some very impoverished families, the trip was amazing and I can't wait to go again. If you want to know more about Project Mexico, check out some of Jon's latest postings on his blog about our last trip with some links to some great photos from the weekend.

So in honor of all the amazing Project Mexico volunteers who really "used what they've got" ... I hope you enjoy this song!

Lila & Frida ...

I came across this little snipppet recently. Lila Downs is a great Mexican singer that has that husky vintage tejana sound that I love. This song is Alcoba Azul. It's paired with some original Frida Kahlo art & photos of her and Diego Rivera, both two of my favorite Mexican artists. Some of the other photos are from the movie "Frida" starring Salma Hayek.

Hope you enjoy this little MezoAmerican moment!

Who do you love?

Jon and I went to a great work convention last week in Las Vegas. The main band for the night was George Thorogood and the Destroyers .... I loved one song in particular "Who Do You Love".

The next day Corey, a friend & co-worker with Jon sent him this graphic that he made in response to the hate he hears coming out of "Christians". He says ...

I created the posters above to try in my small way to fight back at this view of sinners. No one is better than me or less deserving of Christ’s grace. I need to remind myself daily to love everyone no matter what, because Christ loved me, a wicked and filthy sinner.

WOW! What a great reminder of how we all can be so judgemental. Not a one of us is perfect, and who are we to say what sin or choice is worse than another ... so back to the question, Who do you love?

Project Mexico ....

In a few weeks our family is headed across the US border into Mexico with close to 200 volunteers to build homes for impoverished Mexican families living just outside of Tijuana. My husband Jon started Project Mexico in 1999, to date participants have built over 80 homes. The impact goes way beyond shelter for these families, it gives hope.

Our family gets so much out of doing this every fall and spring. A few trips back we built a home for Marisol and her daughter, Karla. Since I speak Spanish we all made friends very quickly. When I told Marisol how each participant pays their own room & board ($65 for the weekend) and each team of 20 raises the $6,200 for materials ($300/person) via fundraising she was completely amazed and grateful. Marisol has had a very rough life; she had an abusive mother, she's a single mom, and the list goes on. She told me that the miracle of getting a home from complete strangers with no strings attached was already overwhelming, but the fact that we all come back and visit and really do care about her and her daughter is something that she has never experienced until now. She's on a journey as we all are, I'm so grateful to be able to be a part of the story that God is telling in this little corner of the planet.

I've realized that these weekends in Mexico are so much more than just building a home, it's about using our hands & feet to show God's love for the people of Colonia de San Bernardo. If you want to know more about Project Mexico check out the site by clicking here.

Here's a video that Jon made from our last trip; hope you enjoy it!

My New Favorite Tune!

The artist's name is Leslie Feist, she just goes by Feist. This song is "1, 2, 3, 4" off of her "The Reminder" album. I've been obsessed with listening and watching these. I apologize in advance if I cause you to become obsessed too.

This first video has great sound and is from the David Letterman show. The second video is my favorite because it has the most amazing choreography, and yes it's all one shot. I watched the director's cut that showed how it was filmed, it is truly spectacular!

ps. Sharon, now your 1st post makes sense =)

I'm an apricot

"Soft and sweet, over time you let your provocative nature shine through. You are definitely unconventional, but you don't broadcast it. You offer people a fresh perspective on life - so fresh that it can be shocking!"

Orange is one of my favorite colors. If you like it too, take this quiz and see what color orange you are.

Would you like a margarita?

This is my favorite margarita glass. I bought a pair at the Goodwill on El Toro Rd, Lake Forest, CA they were .50¢ ea and they've lasted for 5 years. They are the perfect size and I love how they look in the sunlight next to my sink about 5:45 in the afternoon.


I hate that summer is coming to an end. It doesn't feel right to make my favorite drink while the leaves are starting to change and there's now a slight chill in the air. Since I live in Orange County, I think I can fit in a few more before fall officially arrives.


In case you want to know how to make a "real" Mexican Margarita; it's half tequila (5 oz.), one third (2 oz.) fresh lime juice and one sixth (1 oz.) triple sec which is a citrus liqueur. The rim of the glass is rubbed with lime juice and dipped in salt. The ingredients are shaken with cracked ice and strained into the salt-rimmed glass. It's served garnished with a wedge (not a slice) of a mexican lime (the tiny ones that look like key limes) You can get a bag of 25 for .99¢ at the 99¢ store, also on El Toro Rd.


This margarita is smaller and more potent and definitely more refreshing than the typical huge, frothy happy hour concoctions, you know, the ones that taste like a 7-11 slurpee. Be careful; there's a fine line between great conversation and inebriation ... therefore these should always be served with food, even if just a bowl of tortilla chips and salsa.


From my experience, the best time to enjoy a margarita is not at a noisy bar, but at home with my husband, preferably while sitting on a green plastic adirondack chair on my freshly mowed lawn under the huge tree in the front yard while watching the girls ride their the bikes and draw with chalk.


Now go enjoy your margarita before the eggnog and cider arrives =)

Money vs. Wealth

I started my day by reading the newspaper. They carried a story, from the assoc. press about Jack Whittaker, the winner of the highest paid PowerBall jackpot in the U.S. The article entitled "Powerball Win: Fantasy or Nightmare?" ends with a quote by Jack ...

"I'm only going to be remembered as the lunatic who won the lottery," he said. "I'm not proud of that. I wanted to be remembered as someone who helped a lot of people."

As I reflected on this today, I thought a lot about my dad. He was a preacher, his churches were mainly in the middle of California; the farming areas and were mostly comprised of migrant workers. He barely made any money, as a matter of fact our family was often paid with crates of fruit or vegetables.

Since he had such a flexible "work" schedule, he often spent the week fishing & gardening; and I spent most of my childhood with him outdoors. We ate fish often, since it was readily available because my father was such an amazing fisherman. He taught me how to tie my first hook and do my own line by the time I was 4, he even taught me how to clean them too. That's me in the picture, I'm 5 and was so proud of all the fish I caught by myself. I really should teach my girls to fish, I really miss it.

So after all this thinking and mulling over the difference between being rich vs. being wealthy, I pulled out my favorite gift from my husband Jon, a poem he wrote for me the year my father passed away, hopefully he won't mind me sharing it with you.

The Wealthiest Man I Ever Knew - by Jon Hall, Christmas 1995

The wealthiest man I ever knew wasn’t a man of many possessions. He didn’t have a fleet of cars, a big house, or attend expensive therapy sessions.

He was a man of simplicity, of gentleness … of servant hood and of thoughtfulness – with a fair share of caring, he had a character like no other … strong, but not overbearing. Of worldly things, he had quite few … that which he had tended to be recycled, used, and not very new.

But of earthly things, this man was beyond rich. The love of his family, and of his God, carried him through life without a hitch. Oh, he had problems, setbacks, and failing health like the rest of us. But the love of one daughter, she is the essence of love – represented in its simplest.

This daughters’ love, showed more than caring. It showed more than admiration, something far more daring. Her love was the essence of unconditional love. Something more than from herself, something more like from above.

This man showed his daughter this love, every chance he would … He showed it through the lessons, he showed it when they were fishing, he showed it whenever he could.

And from his example, she learned something quite valuable. She learned to love in a way that was gentle, but unstoppable. It showed in those hours, many a long hour, that she sat at his bedside, frustrated, but not sour.

For she knew that this man, tired, in pain, and near the end, was going to a place unlike any other … he was going to a place where his body would more than mend.

What made this man so wealthy, was more than money could buy. It’s worth more than anything … more than the world, bigger than the sky. It’s worth more than all the possessions of the world, more than all this earth could offer. His wealth was so staggering, greater than the world coffer.

For this man’s wealth was based on a love. The love of his God, the love of his daughter. An unconditional love, more than this world could eve offer.

And in the day, that she sees her father again, she’ll give him a hug, she’ll share a tear, but she’ll know where he’s been. In the place he is now, in a place we can only imagine, this wealthy man’s there now, in a place called heaven.

Just one last thing to leave you with, it's a little snippet from my favorite Nooma video ...

Balance

School started for us two days ago. This will be my sixth year teaching, I think it will be the most challenging and hopefully the most rewarding. I'm following a wonderful classical home school education outlined in the book The Well Trained Mind, this year we cycle through Ancient Civilizations again, my absolute favorite time period to cover. The girls are in 1st, 4th & 5th grade this year. I have not posted recently, I've spent the last few weeks trying to get organized and work out a schedule of sorts, I think I'm ready.

In the past few weeks, I've been contemplating how chaotic my life has become. Lately, I've been so busy juggling my clothing design business, running a household, teaching, attending church events, keeping in touch with friends and all the other things I cram my life with that it's getting tougher to juggle it all.

I want to balance ... I don't want to juggle. Not sure what to do about it, but while thinking and digging around the web, I came across this fascinating little vintage animation from 1990, it won the Oscar for Best Animated Short that year.

I'm definitely not a deep thinker, but this little movie has got me thinking. I suppose it's a commentary on our society. My thought is, if they stayed perfectly balanced forever and didn't move, that would be boring. It didn't get interesting until they started shaking things up. Hopefully you'll enjoy or be bothered by it, let me know what you think.

Vintage Finds!

On my weekly trek to my favorite thrifts, I found these. They came from 3 different stores, but match so perfectly. The avon index box is my favorite. My kitchen loves them all!

Getting In The Game!

I'm a little slow. I've been needing to have a blog for quite some time. One of my passions is designing girls clothing. I get phone calls asking "anything new this week?" So in an effort to update my friends, I'll be posting pictures of my newest creations along with some relevant events of my day. We'll see how it goes.

I sell my one of a kind creations on Ebay, Etsy, Journal Modiste, Blossom Street, Craft Shows and personally to family and friends. Here's a dress I made today. My youngest daughter models it in this picture. It's called Scary Cherries!