Rock Bottom

I've long been on a road to get better....healthier.... I hit rock bottom in the last 24 hours. I know this is an elusive post....can't go into detail here in this public forum, but don't want to ignore a turning point, either...I hit rock bottom and want to climb out. Maybe this really will be the time. Code words to help me remember....Tiffany-blue tin from England.....Hallmark Channel/romantic movie [how come everything always works out so well on the Hallmark Channel? the stories end up tied with a bow]......H. working in NYC, Fig out with friends......Saturday night at home with Sug.......jolted awake in the dark....get up, brush teeth, drink Dixie cup of water.....disgusted....scared. But life is new every day. Every single day. I don't have to live this way anymore, and I don't have to fight it alone. I don't want to be in this place again. I can pursue a healthier life.

Thank you for listening.

Rolling: "Stories We Tell"

This film made me think about my own secrets, the ways I've spun my own life story.

Went with Elly and Candy [a friend whose real name is Candy, not my dear friend whom I nicknamed Candy] to this documentary, written and directed by Sarah Polley, who's only in her mid-twenties. It's engaging and poignant, funny and sweet.....I loved it.

We all have secrets, and this movie explores the depths of one woman's rich trove of them....Ms. Polley turns the camera on her family to peel back the layers in a story about her mother, who died when Polley was 11.

Go see!

TCOY

1. Movie viewing while hard-working H. is out writing 60-Second Novels at a party in NYC.
2. Reaching out for support and help.
3. Got tofu and grilled veggies for dinner.

Portraits of the Artists

Me and my Figgy @ Art Walk @ St. Luke's Church. [I'm standing on a lower step.]

Well, Fig's four paintings were shown with some amazing works of art, from mounted pieces by Richard and Carrie to amazing photographs by Will Hobbie--I especially loved his photos of France and of Falmouth, on Cape Cod. Of crisp reach-out-and-try-to-touch-me sunflowers and fields of poppies. Beautiful.

I'm proud of Figgy. So is H. He scooped up her Lana Del Rey painting--it had the little green SOLD note on it. He really didn't want to part with it. So he wrote a check for $450 and Figgy is donating a portion of it to Toni's Kitchen, which made it possible for her to show her art there in the first place.

The photo roll:

Fig's friend Izzy came by.

Camera-shy artist Mé with two works of art.

The windows in the meeting room/art gallery.

Artist Carrie, left, with Toni's Kitchen art teacher Veronique.

My friend, Anne, Toni's Outreach Director, with Carrie.

Anne and me.

MHS art teacher Joanne Petrigliano, an inspiration and true gift to Figgy.
 Good night, artists, one and all.

Art Walk in Montclair Tonight!

"Queen of Coney Island," acrylic on canvas portrait of Lana Del Rey by Figgy, will be in Art Walk tonight. And BTW if you saw "The Great Gatsby," you know Lana's music rocks the soundtrack.

Ready to melt my dark chocolate and dip my strawberries so I can bring some goodies to Art Walk, where Figgy will have her first official art show!!!!!!!!! Fig is on a vegan trend now, so will try for vegan PB cookies, too.

If you're in the area, please check this LINK for Art Walk locations.

Thank you.

TCOY

1. Boot camp in the park.
2. Turkey sandwich.
3. Walked Sug.
4. Watered seeds.

Girlfriends

Our friend Nicky gathered 14 women for a girls' night out at McLoone's Boathouse, over near the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange. We sat outside and shared appetizers, sipped cosmos,  wine and margaritas, saw the sky get streaked pink and blue. There's nothing like laughing with girlfriends--especially when colorful, glamorous Nicky is at the heart of it all.

Good night.

TCOY

1. Elly and I took a long walk [1 hour and 20 minutes] to and through the Bonsal Preserve. A cute little bunny scampered across the grassy path, like something out of a Disney movie.

Chocolate

I can't help but tell you about my favorite chocolate right now: Dark [not milk] graham crackers from Starbucks, sold in two-packs. When they first came out, in the 1990s, they were darkly, deeply good and I'd sometimes get them as a snack at work in NYC. Then they switched the chocolate the grahams are dunked in and the result was mediocre at best. Now they changed the formula again--at least in my area--and they're back to being excellent. Just a little lead for chocolate lovers.

Good night.

TCOY

1. Boot camp in the park.
2. Walked Sug around the block.
3. Saw Sis and Don in CT. Enjoyed driving over Tappan Zee Bridge, especially at night.
   

Humming Along Last Night, Spitfire Mad This Morning

My teenage daughter brings out everything beautiful and everything ugly in me. Where she is lovely, I am worn. When she is applying eyeliner and mascara to perfection on a schoolday, I am pulling on sweatpants. How can I want to be her mother and resent the responsibility at the same time?