Anti-Vampire

Happy Halloween! Why do I have a feeling there will be lots of Twilight costumes this year?

I came across this quote from one of my favorite books of all time, Shantaram. Seriously, if you have never read it you are in for a phenomenal journey. And quite a commitment. It's over a thousand pages. But I would read it again. Images from that book haunt me in the good way. There, that's Halloweeny! They haunt me. Like photos I want to step into if I could reach into another dimension. I bookmarked so many pages in that book.....This one leapt up at me today.

You can't kill love.....Love is the passionate search for a truth other than your own; and once you feel it, honestly and completely, love is a forever. Every act of love, every moment of the heart reaching out, is part of the universal good: it's part of God, or what we call God, and it can never die.

Gregory David Roberts, author of Shantaram

I guess love not vampirism is the way to live forever:)

Alex and Ani

One of my dearest friends in the world introduced me to the Alex and Ani (named for the designer's kids) jewelry line while I was in NYC last weekend.

I love these because 1)they are gorgeous. When I wear gorgeous things I feel more gorgeous. Not because of the thing itself necessarily, but because I took the time to put on something I want to wear, something I love, and that's esteemable. That's good for my relationship with me. And 2) they are made consciously, mindfully, with the intention of connecting the wearer to dimensions within: strength, grace, compassion, generosity. I love a visual reminder of an intention. It doesn't have to be a literal reminder--as in it doesn't have to say LOVE--but if it reminds me of that then every time I look at that I'm going to remember.

A sampling:

I love cuffs. And eagles are rad. So powerful and graceful and ass-kicking when they need to be.

This one's part of her Charity by Design collection. Proceeds from these pieces go to the charity the piece is associated with, and she's always rotating new causes in. This one saves the African rainforests. Yes.

I'm not really a headband person but I'd make an exception for this one.

The Halo Divinity Circle. Need I say more?

Stunning, no? As you might have guessed from my love affair with the Virgins, Saints and Angels line, I love a piece that has relics from the past. She has a whole Byzantine collection.

And that's just a beginning. You can design your own bangle at the Bangle Bar (me I'm going for a zodiac charm--Leo--and some beaded metal ones with a plain gold or 2 thrown in). The prices are really reasonable for something you'll have forever.

Time to start that Santa list.

If You Choose to Accept Your Mission

Sky and I are heading to New York tomorrow for a wedding. A fancy New York black tie wedding. FUN. Back early next week so see you after that.

Meanwhile I am going to leave you with a challenge. If you choose to accept we will be teammates for the next 30 days.

When Misalliance ended Sky was in Hawaii on business. Upon returning, and knowing his wife to be the type that with too much unstructured time on her hands can go a little kookoo, he presented me with a sticker which he said was to be my new mantra in this period of more free time.

Here it is:

I'll have you know I've mounted the sticker prominently in our kitchen. Eww. I see spots on the wall above it I need to go clean. I've never noticed those before!

While you might at first find this message offensive, I assure you its meaning is beneficent. Sky is challenging me to 30 days of no worrying. I am so good at worrying! And nothing like free time on my hands to get me going. Sky can tell by the look on my face if the hamster (ie the worrisome thought track in my brain) has been running. His favorite thing is to look over and see me peaceful. Then, he says, the hamster is meditating. That or she drank a lot of wine:)

So I'm taking this on. Because I'd really like this period when I'm not so busy to be a beautiful one. One in which I take more time for meditation, friends, kundalini yoga, reading, cooking, let alone time with my HUSBAND--things I LOVE to do that I've had to put on the back burner for a while. But trust me, I could stress out the entire time if I wanted to. Perhaps you relate. So in addition to putting into practice all the things that I've listed above, I also need to NOT do certain things that can get me going.

Things that contribute to me worrying excessively: too much time on the computer (called The Silver Bullet), too much time on the iphone (called The Baby Bullet), too much time puttering in the house looking for things that are wrong with it, too much time spent comparing myself to other people especially at the gym and IMDB, balancing my checkbook late at night, getting on the computer first thing in the morning, wondering how much money I'll have thirty days from now, wondering what jobs I'll have by the end of the year, spinning at the thought that I might never get pregnant, wondering if that will destroy my life, trying to plan my schedule for the end of next week, the political quagmire that is this country. I think these are the big ones.

If you want to be my worriless warrior buddy perhaps you'll make two similar lists. Perhaps we can post them in prominent places to remind ourselves what we love to do and what isn't so great for us. Perhaps we'll telepathically connect or find each other on Facebook and send messages that we quieted the hamster for today and totally enjoyed ourselves. I think having a good deal of fun every day is a worthy goal.

Here we go......30 days....Starting now

Bits from the Weekend

Spent time with this precious munchkin: my nephew Dashiell who is already almost 8 months old. Hooooooow did that happen???

Ate at this incredible restaurant. Their site plays some pretty sexy music. I think I need to find out who it is. Dinner was amazing. Honestly have never had Mexican food quite like it. Need to go back for the goat cheese tamale and the roasted vegetable enchiladas pronto let alone the leather swings we sat in at the bar.

Reading this beautiful book

And listening to a lot of rain

It's Very Quiet Now

I kind of don't know where to start.

The 3 plays are finished and I promised Sky and myself that I'd take a little time to be home.

Over the last 5 months I've played women from 24-38 living between 1880 and 2010. I've been English for 2 of them and am still tempted to pronounce the word been as the British bean rather than the American bin.

I've put several thousand miles on my car driving to and from the theatres. I've listened to audio books (highlight was revisiting Bridget Jones' Diary which I read about 10 years ago. Hilarious still) and started learning Spanish on CD.

I have done that crazy thing that theatre does where you get really really close to people and suddenly the show is over and time passes and you don't talk for 2 months.

It has been (bean) so extraordinary. I'll post photos when I get them---waiting for a CD to arrive with good pix.

And now....home. Remembering what it is to cook dinner more than one night a week (and that's if we're lucky), having date night with Sky on a Saturday instead of a Monday, seeing friends' babies, and sleeping. Lord, have I been sleeping. I clocked 35 hours over 4 nights. And catching up on the blogs I love to read! Crispy Tarts I miss you!!

I am so happy to be back here. How are you????

I'll let you know on the baby frontier that I really really really thought I was pregnant last week. I'm not. And I actually cried about it. That was a first. But when Sky and I were, ahem, trying a couple of weeks ago, I got really emotional and the next day we both said that if it hadn't happened we both felt a special little spirit came to visit. That morning I dreamed about a little being that matched a little being my mom has dreamed about twice. So I think it's close. I remind myself, though, that close to me might be another month; close in divine timing could be a month, could be another 6--the Universe has its own timeline and I am praying to trust it. I had an ultrasound a few weeks ago and all my PCOS symptoms are gone. Can you believe it?! GONE. In a matter of months. I tell you, our bodies want to heal, and if we let them they will.

It's a little scary to not have another project to jump into. But wait, I do have projects! I am going to perfect pizza crust and Parisian macarons! I am going to get back into kundalini yoga at Golden Bridge! I am going to hang out with girlfriends for more than an hour at a time. And maybe, just maybe, I'm going to start carrying a munchkin. But most importantly I am going to do for me what can be the hardest: live in the unknown with lots of unstructured time.

Bedtime Story

Once upon a time there was a blog called Figs and Feathers.

It's creator started it as an outlet for creativity and expression that was hers to manage rather than waiting for someone else to give her a job as the life of an actress implies.

Then this creator had the most amazing 5 months of work of her life in which she played women spanning over 100 years of history, each of them dealing in their own gorgeous way with what it is to be a woman in her time. And she had very little time for blogging as she has been very little at home.

One week from now the final show in the odyssey of theatrical expression closes and the blog's creator will return home where she promises and cannot wait to be blogging her little heart out.

I miss you all! See you on October 11.

XO