A “Life is Good” Kind of day…

Today I experienced an all-time high while attending my oldest daughter’s graduation from California Western School of Law… the tears ran down my cheeks as I tried to hold onto my composure sharing this experience with her. As I sat there watching her every move I wondered what I have done in my life to deserve her; to deserve this opportunity to witness her experiencing the high reaching this major accomplishment in her life…always questioning is my nature, sometimes to the point of wearing myself completely out… The pride I felt being her Mom cannot be expressed in words.

Mantra…

live boldly. laugh loudly. love truly.

play as often as you can.

work as smart as you are able.

share your heart as deeply as you can reach.

as you awaken may your dreams greet you by name and may you answer, “yes.”

as you walk may all your angels gather at your shoulders and may you confidently know they stand with you.

as you rest may all your endeavors know contentment and peace.

Mary Anne Radmacher

Quote…

“Writing and reading decrease our sense of isolation. They deepen and widen and expand our sense of life: they feed the soul. When writers make us shake our heads with the exactness of their prose and their truths, and even make us laugh about ourselves or life, our buoyancy is restored. We are given a shot at dancing with, or at least clapping along with, the absurdity of life, instead of being squashed by it over and over again. It’s like singing on a boat during a terrible storm at sea. You can’t stop the raging storm, but singing can change the hearts and spirits of the people who are together on that ship.”

-Anne Lamott

ABOUT me…

You asked for it and so here it is:

My intention in sharing my journal is to share with you…

I write, collage and photograph my world…

I have a passionate love affair with the written word…

I say yes to all things real in life… I choose to live outside the box…

I am not easily swayed from my personal truths and belief-system…

I am a freethinker…

Open mindedness is an absolute for me, it is not subjective.

I hope you find something upon these pages that speaks to you personally…

Thanks for reading!

Angela

 

             

         

 

          

  

                                       

  

15 Ways to Live, and Not Merely Exist…

As Jack London once said, “The proper function of man is to live, not to exist.” Far too often we travel through life on autopilot, going through the motions, accepting what is, and having every day pass like the one before it. Everything seems relatively normal and comfortable, except that constant twitch in the back of your mind that’s saying, “It’s time to make some changes.”

Embrace your Face…

My Mother was a true natural beauty; perfectly symmetrical with gorgeous full lips, enticing Big Brown eyes, lush lashes & in her younger years, a rockin body… Blessed was she, no doubt about it!

I on the other hand, never felt so lucky growing up partly because of my heart-shaped crooked mouth and freckles. I can recall feeling anything but beautiful when studying my reflection in the mirror, that is, until I discovered the magic of cosmetics especially lip liner and foundation which hid those freckles (which I now realize are perfectly adorable). Now at 49 I realize these imperfections are what make me interesting looking and authentic.

I’m not quite sure my Mother felt the same way due to the fact anytime she’d see me without a full face of makeup she’d make the remark “why didn’t you put on your face today?” I have to admit my heart sank each time I heard this. It took me close to 40 years to conjure up the courage to finally speak up and so the last time she made this remark, I walked into the room and she said “why didn’t you put your face on?” …For which I replied, “Mom, this is my face, and I feel beautiful!”

by Angela C. Ragosa

Educate Yourself Online For Free…

All education is self-education. Period. It doesn’t matter if you’re sitting in a college classroom or a coffee shop. We don’t learn anything we don’t want to learn.

Those people who take the time and initiative to pursue knowledge on their own are the only ones who earn a real education in this world. Take a look at any widely acclaimed scholar, entrepreneur or historical figure you can think of. Formal education or not, you’ll find that he or she is a product of continuous self-education.

If you’re interested in learning something new, this article is for you. Broken down by subject and/or category, here are several top-notch self-education resources I have bookmarked online over the past few years.

Why do women hide their real age?

by Vera Chidi-Maha

When it comes to the issue concerning a man and a woman, the intrigues involved cannot be overemphasized. Especially when they are both romantically inclined a lot is really involved. They try to impress each other with everything within their reach. They try to look and act good just to get the other party to fall deeper and deeper in love. Then comes a time in the relationship when the man needs or wants to know how old the lady he is involved is really is.

New Ways To Tie A Scarf…

I am a scarf freek! I thought I’d share this with you so… Get your Scarf On!

Dear Every Woman I Know, Including Me…

I feel the following article articulates with such precision  how many of us as women verbally butcher & emotionally assault ourselves into depression over each and every line on our face,  & the number on the scale. I have found myself at times literally crying while in the shower after weighing myself; now how sad is that! It is without a doubt time to stop emotionally & physically abusing ourselves and begin embracing the beautiful human beings we are… I hope you enjoy the article.

There’s never a better time to start loving yourself than right now. Author Amy Bloom tells women everywhere how.

By Amy Bloom

A few years ago, I was at a lunch for the launch of a TV show called How to Look Good Naked. (Do I need to say that the host was a slim gay man and the soon-to-be-almost-naked were all women? Can we even imagine a show in which men try to improve their appearance before the big reveal in the boudoir?) The middle-aged woman sitting next to me almost spat out her white wine. "How to look good naked?" she said. "Wear clothes!"
I wish that helped. But after 58 years of being female, I’ve come to the conclusion that a healthy, positive body image is hard to find, and neither caftans nor liposuction nor photoshopping is the answer.

Easy secrets for body confidence

Easy secrets for body confidence

By WeightWatchers.com

Photo:Google Images

Not happy with your reflection or brimming with body confidence? Unsurprisingly, you’re not alone. But sadly there are too many women are embarrassed with their bodies and giving their figure the thumbs down. New research from the University of Queensland shows that about 80% of Australian women are unhappy with their body image.

:: Shine On:: by Julie Henderson

Everyone and everything are moving around me at light
speed. I am sure that some days I must look like one of
those die hard monks in Tiananmen Square, standing at the
epicenter of a busy intersection like an anomaly exhibiting
her humanity. My arms are at my sides, my posture is
upright, my eyes are closed, and I have a look of peace

Mastering the Art of Resilience…

 

Do you sweat the small stuff or feel chronically stressed? If so, you’re not alone. According to a 2008 national survey by the American Psychological Association(APA), 77 percent of Americans reported having physical symptoms due to stress, and 73 percent claimed to be experiencing stress-related psychological problems.

How Taking One Small Step Can Change Your Life…

Can taking one, small step really change your life? Proponents of kaizen think so. (And for the record, so do I.) Kaizen is a means of making great and lasting change through small, steady increments. Kaizen’s practical roots are based in the Japanese management concept for incremental (gradual, continuous) change (improvement): breaking tasks into small, manageable steps.

Overcoming Procrastination: 6 Steps to Getting It Done

If you are like me you have found yourself putting off things to do that you know would be good to get done. We procrastinate on exercise, getting the taxes done, cleaning the house, making that phone call and getting our work done. You tell yourself, “I know I should do it,” but you seem to come up with a million great excuses for not doing it. Then you find yourself criticizing yourself for not getting it done. The next day the cycle starts again — “It would be great to get it done,” “I have other things to do,” “It’s too unpleasant,” or “I just don’t want to do it.”

Infant Father by William Wenthe

Birth

You entered screaming, anointed
with blood and vernix—
our tempestuous goddess,
weighed, cleaned, rubbed, recorded
by your priestess-nurses.
When I held you in my hands,
I was the small one.

16 Harsh Truths that Make Us Stronger…

It takes more courage to reveal insecurities than to hide them, more strength to relate to people than to dominate them, more manhood (or womanhood) to abide by thought-out principles rather than blind reflex. Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles and an immature mind.

- Alex Karras

The Desire to Change: You’ve gotta want it…

If you desire radical change in your life, you must WANT radical change. In today’s vlog I riff about the importance of surrendering to our desire for change. If you don’t truly want to change then you’ll continue to stay in the same cycle. I encourage you to join me in the ego outing process and share a habit you’ve had trouble changing. Getting honest is the first step to true surrender.

 

overheard by ross gay

Overheard

It’s a beautiful day
the small man said from behind me
and I could tell he had a slight limp
from the rasp of his boot against the sidewalk

Marcel: Instant Inspiration part 2…

Flying Lessons

by Jen Lambert

My close friend has a book out. I just read it cover to cover, and although I’ve read most of those poems in various forms throughout the past couple of years, the collection still brought me to tears. It’s a gorgeous expression of passion and heartache, yearning and loss. It’s the paradoxical exhilaration and grief that surround the metamorphosis of woman to wife to mother and then that the long flight back to find the woman again.

Instant pick-me-up…

MORE QUOTES & INTERESTING PERSPECTIVES

“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”

-Arthur Ashe (1943-1993); American tennis player, social activist

 

“Compliments are the helium that fills everyone’s balloon; they elevate the person receiving them so he or she can fly over life’s troubles and land safely on the other side.”

-Bernie S. Siegel M.D.; Author

The Beauty Of A Body That Practices Regular Yoga…

I’m certainly no stranger to controversy.

I’m the spokeswoman for a lovely company called ToeSox, where I model yoga postures in their socks. Yup, you heard me. Just in their socks.

Needless to say, modeling in the nude is a surefire way to shake people up. Our intention was to inspire and show the beauty of a body that practices regular yoga to get people back on their mats.

THE KEY TO HAPPINESS…

The Self-Esteem Repair Kit

By Martha Beck
O, The Oprah Magazine

Of course you can feel wretched about wrinkles, jowls, thinning hair—all the slings and arrows of time and mortality. You can try to fight back—giving new meaning to the words in vain. Or you can rise—serenely, even happily—above i

When does one become too old to drive a car?

By Kevin Ransom

AOL Car Correspondent

When does one become too old to drive a car? That’s a question currently being pondered more and more by the families of older drivers.
Elderly drivers now account for nearly 20 percent of all motorists, according to the Government Accountability Office. And that number isn’t shrinking in the coming years, because those who make up the first wave of the huge baby-boom generation turned 65 this year.
According to a recent survey from The Hartford and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s AgeLab, almost 1-in-10 adults is now worried about an older family member’s driving.

"Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep"

by Elizabeth Frye

Do not stand at my grave and weep,

I am not there; I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow,

I am the diamond glints on snow,

I am the sun on ripened grain,

I am the gentle autumn rain.

Stop Being So Hard on Yourself

From the June 2008 issue of O

By Valerie Monroe

Everywhere we turn, there are images of gorgeous women, constant reproaches to the reality of us, with our real bodies and un-Photoshopped flaws. We’re not buying it anymore. We’re tackling the critics—from the parents and teachers who favor the prettiest children to look-ist employers to the most hurtful of all, that nasty, catty girl who lives right behind our eyes.

Not long ago, I sat in my office, chatting with a friend. “I want to talk to you about your face,” I said. “Oh my God,” she said, looking stricken. “Do I need a facelift?” (I forget that people think I have a right to be openly critical of their appearance because I’m a beauty editor.) No, no, I said; I only wanted to know what she saw when she looked in the mirror.

The City

Constantine P. Cavafy (1910)

You said, “I will go to another land, I will go to another sea.
Another city will be found, better than this.
Every effort of mine is condemned by fate;
and my heart is — like a corpse — buried.
How long in this wasteland will my mind remain.
Wherever I turn my eyes, wherever I may look
I see the black ruins of my life here,
where I spent so many years, and ruined and wasted.”

Tuesday 9:00AM

by Denver Butson

A man standing at the bus stop
reading the newspaper is on fire
Flames are peeking out
from beneath his collar and cuffs
His shoes have begun to melt
The woman next to him
wants to mention it to him
that he is burning
but she is drowning
Water is everywhere
in her mouth and ears
in her eyes

911 WRITER’S BLOCK…

Quick Fix for Writer’s Block!

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2OmaNs/www.webook.com/911writersblock/

WHO, WHAT AM I?

FREE HUGS CAMPAIGN

Sometimes, a hug is all what we need.
Free hugs is a real life controversial story of Juan Mann, A man whos sole mission was to reach out and hug a stranger to brighten up their lives.
In this age of social disconnectivity and lack of human contact, the effects of the Free Hugs campaign became phenomenal.
As this symbol of human hope spread accross the city, police and officials ordered the Free Hugs campaign BANNED. What we then witness is the true spirit of humanity come together in what can only be described as awe inspiring.
In the Spirit of the free hugs campaign, PASS THIS TO A FRIEND and HUG A STRANGER! After all, If you can reach just one person

How it all started:
I’d been living in London when my world turned upside down and I’d had to come home. By the time my plane landed back in Sydney, all I had left was a carry on bag full of clothes and a world of troubles. No one to welcome me back, no place to call home. I was a tourist in my hometown.

What If I Didn’t Write?

 by Jen Lambert

Lately, during my designated “writing time,” I find myself shuffling around the house in my slippers and rearranging piles of cooking magazines and lengthy utility bills. I take out the recycling and I brush the dog and I shake out the rugs and I think of all the things I could be doing if I wasn’t supposed to be writing – which I’m really not doing.

the birth factor

by Jen Lambert

I’ve been thinking of babies, little balls of cells and energy and song. I want to fill my house with their tiny baby fists and milky baby wails. I want to swell. I want to nurse. I want to begin again. But I’m old and tired bodied. I bend against the weight of my life. My husband tells me it’s biological, that we have enough children, and I can’t argue with him, and I can’t argue with myself. My gut aches and ignores all rational argument. I need to give birth to something, so I write and fill my house with lengths of glittery syllables that I tend to and cradle, and when they are ready, and when I am ready, I send them off to the world and the next day I start again. I can have as many poems as my body needs. They are never biological and no one can argue that we have enough under the eaves of our low roofs.

A Compact Guide to Creating the Fitness Habit…

Post written by Leo Babauta.

A new year, a new slate of resolutions.

Perhaps the biggest resolution at New Year’s is to get fit — start exercising, start eating right, and all that jazz.

But resolutions never last. As you might already know, I’m not a fan of resolutions.

Instead of creating a list of resolutions this year, create a new habit.

Habits last, and they lead to long-term fitness (and more). They require more patience, but they are worth the wait.

The reason some women stay single…

Attack of the Killer Comment:

Protecting Yourself from Verbal Assaults

By Michelle Burford
O, The Oprah Magazine | From the March 2003 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine

It comes out of the blue—a catty remark, a veiled put-down, a blatant backstab. So, what’s the best defense against wolves in sheep’s clothing?

Near the top of my list of annoyances—right there under people who leave really long voice mails but don’t give a calback number—is a mega-peeve: Engaging in catfights. I don’t even like to think about them, so please allow me to boil my last near-rumble-in-the-ring down to short scenes. First: I find myself utterly bored, so I start a book club with friends. After three sessions of patchy participation, I throw out provocative questions just to crank up the debate. A week later, reports hit the girl-gossip chain that I’m a know-it-all who should be “dethroned.” I realize whose campaign this is (she and I have history) and chuck it in the bin marked: Ignore This. Until the meeting when, as I’m exiting my living room to refill the bowl of stale popcorn, Suspect Number One says (she thinks out of earshot), “Yes, please go—we could use one less smart-ass in the world.”

The Power of Authenticity

By Mike Robbins

How often do you not say or do something because you’re worried about how it’ll be perceived? For most of us, myself included, this happens more often than we’d like to admit.
We live in a culture that is starving for authenticity. We want our leaders, our co-workers, our family members, our friends and everyone else we interact with to tell us the truth and to be themselves. Most importantly, we want to have the personal freedom and confidence to say, do and be who we really are without worrying so much about how we appear to others and what they might think or say about us.
Sadly, however, even though we may say we want to live in a way that is true to our deepest passions, beliefs, and desires, most of us don’t. It’s not that easy. We’ve been taught by our parents, teachers, spouses, friends, co-workers, politicians, the media and others that it’s more important to be liked and to fit in than it is to be who we truly are. In addition, many of us assume that who we are is not good enough and therefore we’re constantly trying to fix ourselves or to act like others who we think are better than us.

This is so Adorable; I just had to share it with you…

It doesn’t interest me

“It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing. It doesn’t interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.

If I had my life to live over by erma bombeck

If I had my life to live over, I would have talked less and listened more.
I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded.
I would have eaten the popcorn in the ‘good’ living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.
I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.
I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.
I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.

Quotes: Interesting Perspectives…

“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.”

― Mother Teresa

“Three things in human life are important: the first is to be kind; the second is to be kind; and the third is to be kind.”

― Henry James

Writing is a concentrated form of thinking…a young writer sees that with words he can place himself more clearly into the world. Words on a page, that’s all it takes to help him separate himself from the forces around him, streets and people and pressures and feelings. He learns to think about these things, to ride his own sentences into new perceptions.”

Don Delillo

Cinderella

by Angela Soelzer Ragosa

Yesterday I awoke very early due to the fact I had another attack of insomnia in the middle of the night and never really fell back into a deep sleep or the stage REM as the experts call it. I’ve always thought REM was a comical way of describing a mode of deep sleep due to the fact REM stands for rapid eye movement.

Well, when I’m suffering with insomnia, I have oodles of rapid eye movement, it’s just that my eyes are flung slap open, and appear to be the size of saucers and my mind is racing like the Indianapolis Speedway. Enough about REM—that is not the point of this writer’s blog.

Driving in Oklahoma

by Carter Revard

On humming rubber along this white concrete,

lighthearted between the gravities

of source and destination like a man

halfway to the moon

in this bubble of tuneless whistling

at seventy miles an hour from the windvents,

over prairie swells rising

and falling, over the quick offramp

that drops to its underpass and the truck

thundering beneath as I cross

with the country music twanging out my windows,

I’m grooving down this highway feeling

“Mad Girl’s Love Song”

― Sylvia Plath

I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead;
I lift my lids and all is born again.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)
The stars go waltzing out in blue and red,
And arbitrary blackness gallops in:
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.
I dreamed that you bewitched me into bed
And sung me moon-struck, kissed me quite insane.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)

We’re all part mother by julie henderson

I was driving and thinking about angels and androgyny… about the Soul’s genderlessness… about my lack of interest in upholding polarized, contrived, socialized divisions long enough to protest their restrictions…

it’s all just fiction anyway…

… And anyway

We’re all part mother.

Julie Henderson

the Holstee manifesto

“This is your life. Do what you love, and do it often. If you don’t like something, change it. If you don’t like your job, quit. If you don’t have enough time, stop watching TV. If you are looking for the love of your life, stop; they will be waiting for you when you start doing things you love. Stop over analyzing, life is simple. All emotions are beautiful. When you eat, appreciate every last bite. Open your mind, arms, and heart to new things and people, we are united in our differences. Ask the next person you see what their passion is, and share your inspiring dream with them. Travel often; getting lost will help you find yourself. Some opportunities only come once; seize them. Life is about the people you meet and the things you create with them, so go out and start creating. Live your dream, and wear your passion. Life is short.”

metamorphosis

“Any transition serious enough to alter your definition of self will require not just small adjustments in your way of living and thinking but a full-on metamorphosis.”
— Martha Beck