My Authentic Self

# 79 - Powerful
I wrote a post recently about the feeling of power that children have, up to a certain age, when they believe they can do/be anything. It made me think about when I felt most powerful in my own life. So that's the prompt this week:When in your life did you feel the most powerful? Was it childhood? College? Now? What is that feeling like; what does it mean? Do you have power over your own life, or are you not feeling that so much these days? If you don't want to get serious, you might imagine superhero powers, and what you would do with them.Curious to hear what you'll say!

I feel like when I'm in between relationships or jobs or decisions, there is a sense of freedom and power to create the life I want. The world is whatever I want it to be. My life is whatever I choose to create. It's not that being in a relationship or having a job is a bad thing obviously but I honestly feel that I sometimes feel "stuck" or "obligated". I know this to be my own perception and that I still have the freedom to make my own choices. It's just that other people are effected by my choices and this in itself limits the choices I have. I just had a birthday, the big 40 and with a 23 year old son, an 18 year old daughter, I now feel the sky is the limit in regards to how I choose to live my life. My authentic life is just beginning and I am sooooo excited.

NAMES
We name our children, we name our pets, we hate our names, we love our names, we get nicknames. What's your name story? If you want to explore puppy names, click HERE.


My name was chosen by a doctor/friend of my mothers. My mother asked her if she had any ideas of what my name should be and Carla was what she chose. I wasn't given a middle name because my mother didn't have one and I guess she thought I didn't need one. I hated it all through childhood that I didn't have a middle name so when I got divorced from my highschool sweetheart of 15 years, I took my maiden name back and added a middle name to my liking. Therefore I am now Carla Nikol Wilson. Remarried now but never changed my name, I worked hard to get that back and customize it. ha ha

Friday's Feast

Feast One Hundred & Sixty Two
September 28th, 2007 Category: The Feasts, 2007

Appetizer: How are you today?
Groovy

Soup: Name 3 television shows you watch on a regular basis.
Tell me you love me
Weeds
Californication

Salad: What’s the scariest weather situation you’ve experienced?
A hurricane when I was a baby but I don't remember it. My mother told me my crib was sliding across the room.

Main Course: If you could wake up tomorrow morning in another country, where would you want to be?
Paris, France

Dessert: What do you usually wear to sleep?
T-Shirt and boxers

Booking Through Thursday

Suggested by Marsha:
Buy a Friend a Book Week is October 1-7 (as well as the first weeks of January, April, and July). During this week, you’re encouraged to buy a friend a book for no good reason. Not for their birthday, not because it’s a holiday, not to cheer them up–just because it’s a book.
What book would you choose to give to a friend and why?
And, if you’re feeling generous enough–head on over to Amazon and actually send one on its way!

I would buy my friend at work

We Dare You: Scrapbook Challenges About Real Life (Paperback) by Kristina Contes (Author), Meghan Dymock (Author), Nisa Fiin (Author), Genevieve Simmonds (Author)

because this is a book we've been looking at for art project ideas. We just started a "Creative Group" with three of us from work and we assign a project each week to present to the group on Friday nights. Neither one of us has the money to splurge right now but we both love what it has to say. I've heard her mention how much she wants this book over and over.

Ten on Tuesday: 10 Things You've Been Putting Off

Ten Things I've been putting off....

1. Getting a car wash.
2. Taking the GRE to apply for graduate school.
3. Going for my yearly check up at the OB/GYN.
4. Going to the gym.
5. Dropping off clothes at the dry cleaners.
6. Writing.
7. Doing my weekly art project 2 other friends and I assigning eachother weekly.
8. Coloring my hair.
9. Paying my Ad Valorem Tax on my car.
10. Looking for another apartment to move to at the end of our lease.

Wow, now I feel like a loser....

Invent an Opposite

What is the opposite of a kiss?
What is the Opposite of green?
What is the opposite of a train?
What is the opposite of cake?
What is the opposite of a fence?
Now, use both the thing and its opposite in a story, poem or essay.

She could see the train coming up the track from a distance. She parked her bicycle against the pole and put the lock on it. He rode up on his bike and she couldn't look him in the eye, if she did, she knew she'd cry. He reached out to pull her face near his and she turned away to avoid a kiss. How could she share such intimacy in the last moments before she left him forever? She conisidered instigating a fight the day before. Maybe an argument would spark a rage and she could slap his face, pound her fists in his chest, scream and spit words of terror. Maybe this would make her leaving easier. No it wouldn't in the end. Nothing makes seperation easy. Not from someone you've allowed into your heart completely. She felt evil when she turned away. She knew he must feel rejected by her lack of eye contact and aloofness. As much as she hated to be that way, she had to protect herself from the shooting pain down her chest at the thought of this being the last time he'd see her, know where she was, what she was doing, how she was feeling. They would be strangers. To think he had no idea this was the end made it hard for her to breath. The night before, in that little Italian restaurant with candlelight and anniversary cake, she made a wish that he'd move on quickly once she was gone. That he wouldn't think of her everytime he ate cake at a birthday party or celebration, that he'd say, "No thank you, I'll take pie instead, I never was much of a cake lover." She looked at his dark green wool sweater, the one they used to fight over when it got really cold outside. She'd miss those little things they shared like clothes, coffee, music and books. She wrapped her brown scarf around her neck as the wind from the train picked up. She turned to say goodbye and he wasn't there. After settling down into a window seat, her tears began to fall as she looked out the window, she noticed him on the other side of a chain link fence. His arms stretched out wide open, grasping the metal tight enough to cut off his circulation. When their eyes met, they both knew it would be the last time.

OREO

OREO ~ Tell us about your favorite cookie. If you aren't a fan of this kind of cookie, choose another as your subject. If you have a favorite way to eat an oreo (or any cookie), tell us about it. Did you help your grandmother make cookies?Instructions are in the sidebar to the right

My favorite Cookies are all Girl Scout Cookies. I remember when I was growing up, I couldn't wait until Girl Scout Cookies went on sale. I always asked my mom why they didn't sell them in the grocery stores year round. Maybe their strategy is to build up anticipation to increase sales during that shortest of seasons.

My very favorite is the Samoa. I love the chewy carmel with the chocolate coating and coconut sprinkles. It almost reminds me of a candy bar but better. Someone once told me if I put them in the microwave for a few seconds, they get all warm and melted like a real Samoa. I have yet to try that since I like them just the way they are.

A close second would be the Thin Mints. I think I can eat an entire roll in one sitting with a big glass of cold milk.

Third would have to be Tagalongs with all of that peanut buttery flavor.

Wow, I'm getting hungry just thinking about all of these cookies, does anyone know when they start taking orders again?

Book Giveaway

Found a book giveaway to share with you. If you would like to win a personalized, signed copy of Veil of Roses, please leave a comment at

http://thewrittenword.wordpress.com/2007/09/13/one-year-at-the-written-word-and-a-giveaway/#comment-6493

by midnight EST time September 22nd to be automaticaly entered into the drawing.

Good luck!

Friday's Feast

Feast One Hundred & Sixty One
September 21st, 2007 Category: The Feasts, 2007
{Featured Flickr Feast by tclement}

Appetizer: What is your favorite type of art?

Writing first and foremost, music is next, collages are after that at the present moment with photography a millisecond behind. Of course as soon as I see art of another medium that touches my soul, my favorites can change. I reserve the right to change my mind right?

Soup: When was the last time you got a free lunch (or breakfast or dinner)? Who paid for it?

Dinner at Joey D's - a rack of ribs, fries and a salad last night with my husband before going to see a free sneak preview of "Heartbreak Kid".

Salad: On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how emotional are you?

Easily an 8 but if pmsing, a 12.

Main Course: Approximately how long do you spend each day responding to emails?

Maybe if I were to condense all of the minutes into one cluster instead of interspersed throughout the day, an hour.

Dessert: To what temperature do you usually set your home’s thermostat?

70 degrees usually but sometimes at night I'll drop it to 68 and curl up under the covers.

need some daily inspiration

i love the writing accountability through - memes? not sure what meme stands for, call me a little slow ha ha but would love to find more in order to do at least one per day. can anyone suggest more memes possibly for monday, tuesday, wednesday, friday, saturday, sunday? they really get me thinking and start my day off creatively. thanks for the input…

Sunshine and Roses

Sunshine and Roses September 20, 2007
Filed under: Wordpress — --Deb @ 1:02 am

The reverse of last week’s question:
Imagine that everything is going just swimmingly. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and all’s right with the world. You’re practically bouncing from health and have money in your pocket. The kids are playing and laughing, the puppy is chewing in the cutest possible manner on an officially-sanctioned chew toy, and in between moments of laughter for pure joy, you pick up a book to read . . .
What is it?

Most likely I will have three books in progress (one non-fiction (usually a memoir), one fiction and usually one self improvement like motivational or new agey (The Power of Now)) and will pick one of those up. Nothing different than what I'd be reading in general. I find that the music I listen to changes depending on my mood rather than the reading. Currently I'm reading The House of Giants by Elizabeth McCracken and that is what I'd reach for today.