For My Fave Gossip Girls - K + L

Thursday recaps of the show are not the same without you two...keep smiling and making art!  Bring your own S and B charm to everything you do and remember Chuck, Lonely Boy and Justin Bieber think you rock!!!!

Sister Goddess Desire - textiles and shoes

There are not too many people I would really want to swap lives with. I mean people are doing amazing and meaningful work around the world 24/7 and I am inspired and often full of good envy for their gifts and accomplishments, but I am very grateful to be in my own skin and in my own life. With that said, I would have totally grooved off swapping a few moments of Jenna Lyons' life during her "J Crew goes to Italy" Adventure. Getting to be behind the scenes and work with real artisans would be amazing. I'm gushing writing this. To watch people hand paint fabrics and charming old Italian cobblers pump out leather and denim sparkly stilettos - yeah, I would love to be there.
So as I pass these videos on, I am in my PG-fashion, sharing one of my desire with you and the universe. Oh universe and supportive people, places, things (?) and opportunities, please assist me in making my way to these delightful manufacturers on a spirited and productive trip much like Ms. Jenna and her talented crew.

tick tock no boom, thank you

© Vogue Italia

As the month winds down I am quite frankly ready for a new month and new 12TO42Project Challenge. Gratitude can be a biyotch! Being thankful and appreciative is not problematic (at least not for me), as I had the incredible good fortune and upbringing to value all that I have even if it appears (or in some cases actually is) not quite enough. What I am repeatedly reminded of during these challenges is how we get and/or in my case create situations and opportunities that demand a stepping up to a new place and perspective. Meaning in plain English - be careful what you ask for and know that there is no "bread of shame" (free lunch/free pass) when you really want to change.
In wanting to tap into my sense of gratitude I knew my sense of "plenty" would be tested. Its easy to be thankful for what you have when you want not for more. But can one be grateful when there is a lack, pain or suffering, inconvenience and fear?

© Vogue Italia

Living in Japan, actually a stones throw from the Atomic Bomb Peace Park, I am often reminded (like everyday, sometimes multiple times in a day) of history, death and transformation. How grateful am I to have lived through 9-11 only to move across the world to see how repair can occur and productive, healing dialogue can begin and continue on and on. Last week when we experienced a major earthquake and tsunami, my sense of appreciation soared. How lucky am I to be so far south of the disaster area that although I felt after shocks (old building and an apartment on the 8th floor) I was and continue to be safe. How grateful am I that my outsourcing company has an excellent customer service approach and called me to see if I was ok - actually alerting me to the magnitude of the tremor I thought was just "a little earthquake". I'm also grateful that my friends who were in the area are safe and my family and friends reached out in a way that although extremely panicked, showed their love and care. I am grateful to be thought of and worried about - it's touching and sweet. I'm also grateful that I don't speak enough Japanese to fully understand the local/national news because I see how its making people freak out, freaky and freaked - all not in a good way. I'm grateful that I am so busy with the pleasures of my life that I am not worrying about what I coulda/shoulda (regret - very anti gratitude) and am living life to the fullest, appreciating all I have so if (G-d forbid) tomorrow is not so fortunate, nothing was taken for granted. I'm grateful that I don't tweet (unless you are Obama or the ghost of Mother Teresa, I'm not interested) and that I've actually been too beautifully busy that I would rather live than blog about my life.

© French Elle 2011

 I'm also grateful that my cats are sleeping through the night, Gossip Girl still makes me smile and I still learn a lot from Southern Cross's weekly quiz night. I'm grateful that despite all the craziness in the world, I haven't lost my sense of hope, optimism, grace and humor. (If you've seen me depressed, pessimistic, pissed off or pissy, you'd be grateful too).
xo Purse Girl

Month 8 Challenge - Gratitude and Desire

so grateful for my few close friends - I heart you

 I loved bragging last month so much that I continue to do so - while brushing my teeth, on the treadmill and in the sauna, when I'm waiting in line, before I drift off to sleep and when I rise in the morning. I even brag online (SisterGoddess.com) and have been blessed to receive snaps for my smarts, conjuring abilities and fearless approach to living a pleasure-packed and abundant life. Recently in a soulful skype-chat with a dear friend who like myself is moving at light-speed through transitions, reinvigorations and reinventions we joked about "asking, believing and receiving". Well actually he joked - as in poking fun at me and my Napoleon Hill cheer leading. What I forgot to remind him to do to further activate the changes he desired was to be grateful for what he had. At that time and place. So, this month, I challenge myself to walk my talk and tap into that sense of gratitude. As I wallow in my desire, I'll stand, sit, speak, be in full gratitude of what I already have, where I am, with whom I am and who I am. Maybe I'll brag about how grateful I am while I'm at it:)

I Brag I'm an Awesome Teacher

I brag that I am an awesome teacher. 

I brag that I inspire my students beyond measure and provide them with skills and tools to grow creatively, intellectually and personally. I instruct and guide, care and encourage, present and manage, lead and sometimes follow. My students become masters of their own learning destiny and I brag that with my superb teaching they joyously embrace the responsibility that is inherent with that mastery.

a strong teacher draws out the greatness

I brag that I'm an excellent teacher because I have the skill, credentials and experience as well as the vision, resourcefulness and passion. 

I brag that I am an exceptional teacher because I walk the walk, speak the truth, do as I say and let what I do speak for itself...even if it speaks alone, it speaks clearly and loudly and is heard.

a great teacher is a willing student

I brag that I am an unforgettable teacher because my being makes an impression in my student's mind, heart and soul. I challenge and push them to their limits and then beyond their fears and other's expectations. They begin to see what they can accomplish through my care, discipline, respect and confidence in them. There's no room for punitive measures  - the positives are accentuated so much that they outshine the weaknesses which eventually dissolve.

I brag that students want, yearn and beg to work with me and only the finest institutions (those that share my style and mission and honor my strengths) are like magnets to me and the work I do.

I brag that I am an amazing teacher because I'm not to proud to think there's nothing new for me to learn.

Month 7 Challenge: Bragalicious!

Amy Chua wrote what I thought was a brilliant, adorably loony and a few centimeters of spot-on article in the WSJ, of all places, essentially bragging about why/how she and other "Chinese" (like-minded) mothers are superior. The lady has balls and boobs and a whip tucked in her apron. But boy was she funny...again, or so I thought; in stark contrast to the multitude of other mothers (American, Jewish, Indian, Italian, whatever) who clearly but not so articulately wrote of how they felt otherwise. Granted the topic, child-raising and motherhood is a spicy one. Want to hit a woman hard in the core, tell her she's a suck mother. Being called a B-tch or S--t would likely sting less.

I brag that I am loving and nurturing...and a great cook

But as truly powerful women do, Chua focused not on what other women were doing wrong (although of course it was implied), but rather on what she was doing right. A Sister Goddess Brag and a half. But the sad truth of the matter, aside from her daughter's tortured journey to classical piano greatness and eventual joy, is that a pat on the back, a playful indulging in one's triumph or success is still taboo. Well, I'm inspired by Chua. While her mothering techniques are hardcore, I've met few mothers with as much passion and direction. She may be a mother Tiger, but you kinda want to pet her or at the very least, have her on your side. Fierce.

I brag that I'm an excellent student and a marvelous teacher

So in honor of passion and joy,  being unapologetically yourself, your best goddess self, and of course my half-birthday (Feb 3rd), this month's 12to42 Challenge is to brag. Everyday. Now I know bragging is defined as boasting, showing off, being arrogant, but it also signifies acknowledging what is "exceptionally good". My bragging will be of the SG kind... "to share the goodness in your life, especially your pleasurable accomplishments, in order to unearth your desires and to fan the flames of desire in other women."

I brag that I am a  hottie in my corset

Like my other challenges, this month of bragging isn't merely for kicks and giggles. Realizing the balance between letting your light shine bright and inviting/receiving more amazing luck,love,pleasure, success and happiness is groundbreaking. Mastering the art is worth aspiring to. So while some may see my bragging as show-offy, conceited, greedy or not what nice girls do...I say, jack into your higher wattage, stop hiding yourself and accomplishments, jump off that pleasure-restrictive diet and try a little of your own bragging. Cause at the end of the day, I'm not really interested in being a nice girl, especially when its way more fun being a Sister Goddess.

I heart PRADA

Since the 90's UES "IT-Girl" phenom began, my like/love/lust for all things PRADA began. I know it sounds terribly or terrifically materialistic and superficial, but since my eyes first fell on that black nylon back pack, I knew the woman I was deep inside and would eventually become. Okay, I've been drinking a bit of cough medicine and have a slight fever, but delusional I am not about that something PRADA does for me. 

As a modest dresser, only in my 40's have I really embraced the mini skirt, with opaque tights and lace up booties of course. But mostly its the Fellini-esque style of hinting and suggesting, simple elegant feminine dresses, slightly androgynous  styling and crazy prints that I am yearning to wear all the time (ignoring the obvious impracticalities that are present commuting mostly by bicycle). And despite the inconvenience and likelihood of getting paint and goo in my hair, I now let it down and apologetically add a bit of volume and/or length to dramatize my mood, because artists can be as lush and sensual as their work. This personal fashion revolution and evolution has been brewing for a while and is about to intersect beautifully - idea of self meets courage to be self meets means and material to help self manifest.  

While its been suggested, almost rudely, but hey, I can forgive although clearly I didn't forget, that this fascination is about maintaining youth or recapturing it, I couldn't deny if I tried the playful and uninhibited spirit that must be possessed in order to wear some of the ensembles. But that would be impossible to do regardless of age - these clothes are not for the jaded or those who actually believe that a dress can change your life. Its the other way around folks. 

Back to my "hearting"... PRADA is clever, cheeky, fun, sexy, no sultry, girly and strong, clean, classic, referential and edgy.  It makes me laugh and gush and if it were a boy, I'd ask it out on a date. 

xo PG