Blink

Life is too short. We live each day but do we really live? I try to. But sometimes I fail. Sometimes I am too tired to be out at night. Then again sometimes living is just simply being in your own space, appreciating that you have your own space, your own belongings, your own 4 walls. Your own sweet little doggie and a glass of Rioja.

Does it get any better than CSN & Young (Neil is brilliant).
If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with.

Wow, I think I need some karaoke time!

rain and scientology

we practically had a torrential downpour last night. at least for this part of the world. we had actual thunder. i love it.

the noise of the raindrops hitting the tin awning of my mid-century apartment was incredibly loud. it echoed in my living room. but it was the most amazing acoustic creation.

today i took lady calliope (callie) out for her walk. i tried to wait for the rain to break. i put on her cute yellow rain coat (its function and fashion), my own rain gear as well, and went for it. she was freaked out at first, but then we had such fun running in the rain. i was excited to have a real reason to wear my purple rain boots and use one of my many umbrellas. someone took our photo as they were driving past us. so many people come up with cameras on my street trying to get a shot of the hollywood sign. i used to be one of them. i was laughing so hard, running in the rain with the doggie. she's a good cure for sadness too. it was beautiful. the sky and the dark clouds sitting on the mountain above the hollywood sign here reminded me a lot of hawaii today. it was a good feeling.

the chill in the air was exhilarating and there is something about rain that is obviously cleansing. i'd been rather sad yesterday but today nature somehow pulled me out of that place. rain gives a feeling of a new beginning as well. like a baptism of the earth and our spirit. i'm just free thinking so don't judge that last sentence. it just came out of me...... but i do think rain is quite depressing for a lot of people. not this one.

i went for a soy cappuccino at the "bourgeois pig" which i rarely do since i only started drinking it last year--hopefully it will remain an occasional thing, not a habit. i picked up the taste for coffee late in life from my ex frenchman. i sat outside with callie, talking to the pale new york girl as well as the hyper man next to me. i'm still the nice southern girl after all this time here. i stared at the "Scientology celebrity center." though i'm no celeb or scientologist, i decided to go for it and went for a tour on my own with doggie. there is a full basketball court. the building and grounds are very lovely. there was a natural looking fountain with rocks that reminded me of the waterfalls in hawaii. i stood by it for sometime getting the negative ions. maybe those helped my mood as well?

sadly, we were not abducted, not that we remember......

but i'll be going back to enjoy this lovely place. it is peaceful there and it is nice that it is open to the public.

first time

so the moon was right for this. i had been saying for 2 weeks i was going to start a blog or website about my dog and her adventures. but i decided to do this instead. she'll have a starring role, of course.

i went with this name incorporating "steel magnolia" because my aunt has often referred to me as such the (the urban dictionary defines the term as, " A southern woman who is strong and independent yet very feminine.") i think all of the women in my family are steel magnolias for the most part. some are a bit more steel, others way more magnolia. i've learned so much from all of them.

rick levine @ tarot.com has amazing horoscopes. sometimes eerily spot on. i used to enjoy the ones from the ny post a few years ago, but then they changed astrologers. not that i live by these things by any means, but i do believe there is something significant, our scientific/magnetic connection to the universe. where the earth was was lined up in relation to the sun, the moon, and the other planets when we were born, and where the planets are lined up each day.

(yes, i am wearing a dashiki right now. but i was wearing my purple marc jacobs rainboots and a proper trench coat earlier. i'm not "just" a hippie, mind you.)

i do feel i've always been particularly tied to the moon. i really take it in visually every night. i love to see the moonrise, the different phases, and of course the full moon makes me a bit crazy and keeps me awake.

suffering from insomnia as i often do, i was sick of tossing and turning so i left the warmth of my cozy bed around 5 AM today and read the "daily horoscope overview" for all signs. it seemed to work with what i had been aiming to do. and this is much more fun than the menial tasks i really should be doing.

"The Moon enters intelligent Aquarius at 4:17 am EDT, highlighting our connection with information technology. We are more attached now to data than to our feelings. Even if we ponder our relationship to the community, it is less personal as we reach out beyond our individual perspectives and seek a broader, more universal view of the world. Staying in touch with our emotions can be a struggle as we stretch into a more mental posture."

ok, i feel a bit doogie howser right now....... they were so ahead of the trend ;)