Virgin Saint Angel

I am none of the above.

However, a couple of weeks ago there was yet another turn in baby-creating world, and my body did it's thing--you know--it's woman thing. It bled. It was quite amazing, actually; and I realized the upshot of going through what I've been going through with no cycle is that I'll never be that girl that complains about her period. It was incredible to see my friends' faces when I told them---they got so excited and I felt so supported and cheered on. The kind of positivity that makes something already good even greater and more real. I'm continuing with my health stuff as I was before, even with the show running (OK I'm getting a little less sleep but my happiness level is so high that it makes up for what I'm not getting in rest), and I know that this doesn't mean I'll have the same experience this month but it might.....

It was worth celebrating.

Sky is a big fan of the celebration. Our engagement story is the stuff of legend---it's a 30-minute tale--I'll tell you sometime---and he's the kind of guy that plays it low key.....until he doesn't. Then he goes all out. And he gets to decide what's a good reason for going all-out. This became one of those times.

We planned date night on a night I got home from rehearsal and he showed up with 12 unbelievable red variegated roses, some sparking shiraz (one of my favorite things to drink---sparkling and red?! c'mon), 3 dinner reservations for me to choose from, and a gold box for me to open.

This was inside it.

Welcome to Virgins, Saints, and Angels jewelry line. (If you click on this link it will take you to their home page but most of the designs aren't visible there---you have to be an authorized retailer. There are more images here.) The pieces are borrowed from Mexican symbols of feminity; some are made with found objects; some are replicas of found objects. All are guaranteed for life. Here are some more:

You can wear them dressed up on a Saturday or throw them on with a t-shirt and boom, you're glam.

Needless to say, when I wear the one Sky gave me with the heart in the middle I feel my female goddess superpowers in full effect. Alisa said the coolest thing to me in our call yesterday: she said motherhood doesn't begin when you conceive, it begins when you decide to have a child. This feels like my first Mothers' Day gift.

Get your Game On

I'm coming back I swear!!!!!!

Opening went beautifully. I don't as a habit read reviews but I heard this one was stellar so I caved.

I have so many things I want to put up here and until there's a teeny more time in my day I will leave you with a game for your amusement. I suppose if you're really stubborn this could become an obsession. But a minute or 2 is fun and weird.

How Smart is Your Right Foot?

1. While sitting in front of your computer (ie now), lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles

2. Now, while doing this, draw the number "6" in the air with your right hand.

Your foot will change direction.

There is nothing you can do about it!!!!! My sister says she beat it but I know there's something fishy going on there. I catch myself trying it at random moments, sneaking up on it like a cat burglar, and it never fails: my right foot follows my right hand. BIZARRE. What neurons are talking to each other, oh mysterious body and brain?

So now you always have something to do in doctors' offices, in airports, while waiting for a train......

Go Lakers.

Where I'll be this Week

HI

I am officially going underground this week because my play opens on Friday. I am facing the realization (again---life is often teaching me this) that I am not in fact Superwoman and cannot do everything I want to do, ie post here during tech week where my days at the theatre are 12 hours.

HOWEVER, here's the flyer for the show and if you're in LA or know anyone in LA send them!! The play is beautiful and funny--about relationships, being lonely, trying to connect, what's under the surface; the cast and direction is so good; the theatre is a SoCal gem. And if you do come, please find me after and say Hi! That would make my day.

Talk to you next week

xo

Baby Love

Italy was amazing! Sorry I didn't send postcards! Cavorting with local fisherpeople, drinking rose, hanging by the sea in one of those sassy Norma Kamali bathing suits I posted a while back.....All of this in my head anyway:) I promise that when I do figure out how to teleport I will be sure to tell you.

And big shout-out thank you to those of you who posted or emailed me your post-it notes---it means a lot to me when I hear from you:)

I think it's time for a baby update! I feel like it's been a while since I talked at all about actual physical progress and what I've learned.....And some of it isn't just baby-focused--some of it is just good women's health tips.

The biggest excitement of the week is that I had my hormone levels checked and they're all NORMAL!!! Woohoo!! They were all over the place before, mostly low. So in 4 months through acupuncture, herbs, and changing my food and exercise, my body IS actually changing and healing. If mine can do it, yours can do it. I mean that. Sometimes I hear of or read of or see another's success and I think "She can do it but not me". That is absolutely the worst thinking out there. If another's success can be inspiration not defeat everybody wins. This is VERY HARD for me sometimes---I can get really freaked out and scared I'm getting left behind. I was scared to get the levels checked; scared everything I've been doing would be working for everyone but me. There's that saying Feel the Fear but Do It Anyway. YES. There really is enough health, wealth, creativity, romance out there for all of us. K, there's my rant on that.

So the the big discoveries of late.....

1) The Pill:

Thanks to Alisa and Laughing Sage I have learned a lot more about this drug that celebrated its 50th anniversary lately. Did you know our brains aren't finished developing til we're 21? That means if we're going in there and tinkering with its functions before that we can actually get in the way of it developing?! I went on the Pill at 17 for PCOS. That means 4 years before it was finished developing I put parts of it to sleep. And I wonder why it hasn't wanted to wake up. It literally never had a chance to function as an adult woman's. Thankfully our brains are amazing and it's learning now. Tell your little sisters or nieces or whomever to seriously consider not touching the Pill til after 21. And as for after that, it's a personal decision if you want to use it ever or use it for years. I wish someone had told me about the long-term effects of using it: difficulty in cycling naturally again being high among them, but also just the effects of not having hormones in balance and how, like any intricate art piece, every little part affects all the others. The Laughing Sage ladies know waaaaaay more than I do about all of this; give 'em a call if you want.

2) Rest, Recharge:

Like so many Americans, my adrenals were semi-tapped. And I've been getting enough sleep for years (after I fell asleep behind the wheel one night and ran my car off the road--that was literally a wake-up call from the Universe). But I'm busy, I drank caffeine, even if it was only tea in the morning, and my brain was on overdrive a lot of the time. Most hormonal issues start in the adrenals. It's why acupuncturists have so many patients with "low kidney/spleen chi" and "overactive/angry livers". The adrenals are tapped and the liver is overworking. In addition to getting sleep, cutting out as much caffeine as you can (I've had none for several months and it's fine--I've only craved it maybe three times), there are some great herbal supports you can take. Ashwaganda is a tincture you can get at a health food store that supports adrenal function; also many herb companies make Adrenal Support formulas. Alisa gave me Jarro brand, and I've been taking it every day for almost 2 months. If you have adrenal burn-out, there are lots and lots and lots of ways to deal with it.

3) Get Your Mind On Something Else:

I'm working on an amazing play. So there's something that requires a whole lotta focus while being a source of incredible happiness and creativity. I was ready to spend the whole summer meditating on a baby, and I am still doing that, but it's not taking up every waking thought. Which I think is helping. A watched pot.....you know.

4) What I'm eating:

Meals that prevent blood-sugar crashes throughout the day. Alisa helped me find a template that works for me; all of us are a little different. The general idea being that it's hard for the endocrine system to function properly if there are crazy blood-sugar highs and lows all day. So eating in a way that supports regular blood sugar is super-helpful. I eat a LOT more protein than I did, no refined sugar, not nearly as many grains as I used to eat, and barrels of veggies. What I did, with Alisa's help, was pay attention to what I ate and how I felt: if I was starving 2 hours later it wasn't a great sign; if my stomach freaked out, also not a good sign. It's intuitive, but sometimes we need help hearing our intuition.

So that's what I got for today.

After the post-it post, Juliana found this for me online at this etsy shop. How cute???!

Day Off

It's my day off today.

I want to spend the next 3 hours here

from This is Glamourous, which I always love browsing

Then get dressed in something like this

Have whatever kind of afternoon she's having

both of the above from Dustjacket Attic, which blows me away every time

Preferably set here

Italian Riviera. Yes, please.

I read today a dream is the same thing as a manifestation. So I'm testing my powers. If I wake up in Portofino this afternoon I will let you know.

Homecoming

Sky came home today from Hong Kong where he's been for a week. He had a semi-difficult time, largely due to the fact that he's a vegetarian and in Hong Kong when you don't know your way around the restaurant scene that can be harder than it sounds. He went to one restaurant and saw this on the menu

Can you read that? It says Chicken Testicles. Wok-seared chicken testicles and pork kidney with ginger.He got a little weirded out and ended up eating McDonald's french fries across the street.

So I wanted to do something sweet for the guy, leave him something at home since he'd probably get home before I did (which actually didn't happen, but oh well). Something that didn't involve long hours of crafting since that just wasn't happening this week.

I don't think flowers are only for girls, especially when the flower is a peony. It's peony time at Trader Joe's. A friend called me earlier this week to tell me; I wait for this all year. Lots of us Angelenos do. $6.99 for 5 when normally they're 4 bucks a pop in a flower store. I indulged and bought 2 bunches.

And propped up underneath them I left this card (in its envelope of course)

from this company, Naughty Betty at Calypso Cards.

Here are some more from them:

that says sixteen-year-old if you can't quite read it

Sometimes it's just right to be a little bit wrong.

Note to Self

This is the header for my friend Juliana's new blog. Remember that Hall and Oates photo? That would be Juliana. (Jules, I had to.)

A) you should check it out because she is the best esthetician you will ever find. B) she inspired this post

She actually had this up on her mirror for quite some time which got me thinking.....

This lovely lady has gotten a lot of attention lately---seen her up on several blogs, and even before I saw her there this same Juliana had sent me her link.

The post-it thing could kind of work the same way. Not in the Stuart Smalley way (SNL watchers are you out there?), I know affirmations can seem totally cheeze. I've tried standing in the mirror talking to myself and I just ended up laughing. But I think there's really some correlation between the way you talk to yourself and the way you feel, and then how your day goes. If your running tape is

I'M FAT

I CAN'T

THEY DON'T

IT'LL NEVER

try having a happy blissful day. It's hard.

For more evidence of thoughts affecting reality peek at this.

What if the post-it was there to remind us to be sweeties to ourselves....So every time you look in the mirror or get in your car or open the fridge there's a little nudge to believe in that thing or stand for that quality or make that change you said was so important. It's said beliefs are just thoughts you think over and over again. So if you're looking at your note umpteen times a day that's umpteen times you have a chance to think that. It could end up you believe it. Which will probably make you act differently, which will probably make very different things start to happen in your life.

It could be cheeky:

YOU HAVE A NECTARINE BOOTY

I aspire to this. I want one. But when I forget I want one I forget to do extra booty-lifting things at the gym.

It could be deep:

LOVE EVERYTHING

I was reminded here yesterday that we learn to love by being shown love. I just loved reading that. And we also get what we give, so can't hurt to dish it out in huge quantities

It could be specific, tailored to something in your life you are playing big for:

YOUR BODY IS HEALED

YOUR KIDS ARE COMING

I like that one.

Your turn. That's what the comment box below is for. I'm waiting.