The Princess, was my husband and my 17th wedding anniversary gift to one another. She was not planned. I remember a friend saying to me at the time I announced this news (that I was pregnant again) to him, "Have you looked in the mirror lately?" jokingly referring to my age.
I say it was my husband's fault, he says it was mine - this unplanned conception. He tells people that he, on the night in question, was like a fighter pilot ... coming in for a landing. He says he could see the landing deck, he could see the lights and he could see me ... waving him in. I guess that makes me ... not his loving wife, not his soul mate, not the mother of his beautiful children, but ... an aircraft carrier (I already knew this).
I don't recall it exactly the same way. After seventeen years of marriage, I may have looked up to the sky and I am sure I saw the aircraft coming at me ... but, I'm not so sure I was waving him in.
But, what a gift The Princess has been! While she was nine years younger than our oldest daughters and my husband and I were ancient when we had her, she was the greatest surprise! I just love her to death! She tells me, "I love you as many as there are grasses in the world, as many as there are bees in the world, as many as there are leaves in the world, as many as there are cherries in the world and as many as there are eyelashes in the world."
She's six years old now, our baby and ... I love her as many as there all those things ... as well! (I'd say her daddy does too!).
Alexis, was my husband and my 17th wedding anniversary gift to one another. I remember a friend saying to me at the time I announced this news (that I was pregnant again) to him, "Have you looked in the mirror lately?" jokingly referring to my age.
I say it was my husband's fault, he says it was mine - this unplanned conception. He tells people that he, on the night in question, was like a fighter pilot ... coming in for a landing. He says he could see the landing deck, he could see the lights and he could see me ... waving him in.
I don't recall it exactly the same way. After seventeen years of marriage, I may have looked up to the sky and I am sure I saw the aircraft coming at me ... but, I'm not so sure I was waving him in.
But ... OH, what a gift Alexis has been! While she was nine years younger than our oldest daughters when she was born and ... my husband and I were ancient when we had her, she was the greatest surprise - the greatest gift!
I just love her to death! She tells me, "I love you as many as there are grasses in the world, as many as there are bees in the world, as many as there are leaves in the world, as many as there are cherries in the world and as many as there are eyelashes in the world."
I love her as much as all of these things, as well!
Charlie Hunter Paille, a model with her own line of clothing
Charlie reworked this vintage coat by adding the straps herself.
the "world is your oyster". Or should I say all that jewelry!
Finding inspiration in photography is normal as she carries her camera with her wherever she goes.
Finding inspiration on the subway between castings--possible
Charlie journals her inner thoughts in a diary, away from the world and through the peace of her pen
After time at Starbucks, back on the go between castings. Here rushing to Soho, then back to Union Square, then to the East Village. Repeat times two.
"my way" tattoo
Charlie wears her own creation, a Charlie Hunter Paille lace mini to a casting. The inspiration for this dress came from a photo she saw of Kate Moss. The dress took her about 2 hours to sew after she had the fabric cut at a garment store.
When a approaching castings, Charlie goes into model mode, with a James Bond like focus
In between castings, Charlie finds time to indulge her taste for Post Punk London music
which includes an ethereal appreciation for The Sex Pistols
Or sometimes dreams of Punk Rock music in from the 70's, like the Ramones
In her appreciation for the punk rock music and influence on clothes, she often finds herself at Search and Destroy
and loves to shop at Trash and Vaudeville for inspiration too.
She once made an ice cream statue as a child (5 yrs) and later had a tattoo made in remembrance of it.
1 of 3 daily meals here included fresh organic greens from Quintessence, one of the East Village's most famous raw/vegan restaurants.
Taking time again after eating to collect her thoughts.
One more trip to Search and Destroy won't hurt before ending the day!
Calling it a day.
Charlie Hunter Paille, a name that brings with it not only the privilege of own design and label, but a broad spectrum of interests from photography to fashion design to modeling. If Charlie's not busy scooting around the world's cities to castings, you can bet you'll find her rocking out to some Sex Pistols music or alternately, peacefully sewing a new masterpiece of masculine leather straps onto a more feminine foundation.
Charlie (Marilyn, NY) is a graduate of Montréal's Collège LaSalle with a major in Fashion Design. The following is but a brief glimpse into the world of Charlie Hunter Paille, a world full of castings, subway travel, dietary requirements, and time travel into London's Post Punk Era of the late 1970's. It also doesn't hurt that today is Charlie's birthday. Happy birthday Charlie!
When I wrote yesterday's post, it was right after I had had my interview on WOAI (San Antonio Living) and right after I'd seen Dooce on Good Morning America and Nightline.
I have to say - I was a bit aggravated after seeing Dooce on Good Morning America. I just wanted to wring Kathy Lee Gifford's neck for being so stupid and uninformed. I don't think I am alone in my perception of this interview - that it did little to help people further understand blogging or to shine a good light on why we blog. I thought that Dooce held her own, but I was also a bit aggravated that she did not jump out there and put Kathy Lee Gifford in her place. I would have loved to have heard Dooce a bit more aggressive about her position (while I understand why she did not).
I did, however, love the Nightline interview - it was FABULOUS!
So many people left some really great comments on my post yesterday, I thought I would highlight some quotes from each of those comments. Who better to describe the positive aspects of blogging than a bunch of seasoned bloggers!
Mamarazzi said: "Blogging has made my life brighter and better ... just from the people who touch my life and allow me to touch theirs." She also said, "and FINALLY I did not feel so alone anymore."
Joanna said: "Reading what other's go through - their ups and downs, helped pull me out of depression. I don't click too well with other people, but in bloggy world I find my peeps."
Karen said, "We share about everything, support and encourage each other and laugh and cry together. Those that don't understand just don't know what they're missing."
Angela said: "I do love blogging. It isn't easy finding friends in this world of ours. Plus, I love talking about my son."
rthling said: "One of the greatest things about blogging is meeting people I would not have otherwise met. Blogging helps us find common ground and reminds us we are not crazy for loving our kids so fiercely. And to top it off, we have an outlet for pent-up creativity."
Denise Wheeler said: "I love bragging about my kiddos." She also said, "I have made some incredible friends in my blog world."
Dani said: "When I started blogging, I had NO idea the joy that I would derive from it." She also said, "I was really just writing for the fun of it and so the my words would be somewhere for my daughter and maybe someday for my grandchild/children to read."
Bichonpawz said: "I love the new relationships and friendships I have formed through blogging."
Yvette said: "I think it helps me to have a stronger focus on my family and the things we do in our daily lives, because I'm always looking for the story. I have also met some amazing blogging friends." She went on to say, "We are an amazing group of women!"
Kelli said: "I just might consider printing this post and handing it out to those c"clueless people".
Are You Serious said: "I'm fine with being a mommy blogger."
Elaine A. said: "I started blogging just to keep family and friends up to date on the comings and goings of our family and now it has become SO much more for me. I had no idea what a wonderful community it is and now I do."
Leeann said: "I vent, I cry, I whine, I cheer, I smile, I laugh, I brag ... all through words and pictures. I am leaving a legacy for my children. The day to day things that would get pushed out of my memory ... I have forever written down. To me - that is priceless."
Mighty Morphin Mama said: "I have to say that the family of women that I have found here, the women supporting and uplifting one another has been the biggest and most wonderful surprise about blogging for me."
Karen Meg said: "It helped keep my mind from going to mush, and a big, big bonus was "meeting" wonderful women like you, on the web." She also said, "But their (our children) stories are also our stories, and I'd like to one day be able to show these kids that my blog is a love story about them, and to them. And my husband too, whether he really likes it or not. But mostly to myself, because right now in my life, it is something that I enjoy. And moms, women, are allowed that in their life too."
Kim-d said: "My life has been enriched by blogging in ways too numerous to mention." She also said, "I cherish my blogging friends, and I feel that back from them. That's why I do it. It makes me a better, happier person."
Dawn said: "I do think that Mommy Bloggers are a community with a great deal of power ... precisely because we support each other."
Suz said: "This for me is just an outlet to remember all the little things in my life that I will forget one day unless I write them down."
Tabitha said: "I never dreamed when I started blogging that I would love it so much!! I have made so many great blogging friends, and am more than happy to be a mommy blogger!!"
Julie said: "I am so happy that I have so much of the kids' lives documented, which is the main reason for blogging."
Jenn @ Juggling Life (http://jugglinglife.typepad.com/) said: "I believe someday our kids will be so happy to have these anecdote's available to share with their children."
Kari & Kijsa said: "We are moms, and bloggers too! Yea for both."
Amanda said: "No matter where you are in the world, it's nice to read that other people (mums) are going through the same things as me. Mommy bloggers rule!"
Bonnie said: "I can tell you this, I am glad to be a part of it. It is validating, rewarding, satisfying and I LOVE it. I really feel it has helped me to be a better person. I have been pretty sick this past week. Knowing I am going to write about it on my blog later helps me to be more positive about the whole experience. The support from other people is so bouying and sustaining."
Kaci said: "I tried it a while back, but then deleted my account. But, after reading Leah's blog, I said I'll give it another shot. I love it ... and hope to never stop."
Jen said: "Look out world because here come the mommy bloggers!" She also said, "I feel honored to have met such a great group of women."
Sharon said: "I have found friends that I love dearly and may never meet until we step into the other side of eternity." She also wrote, "I am proud to be called a mommy blogger."
Carl & Kathy said: "It's a way to keep in touch." She went on to say, "I've met fellow bloggers like you and I've been enriched. And I've enjoyed the creative outlet and the comments that people make. It's an all around positive experience."
Rima said: "I agree with all your points."
Melanie said: Blogging has been amazing for me. I was so lonely, staying home all day every day by myself before I started to blog. I've made some great friends, people I really consider to be my friends and I am a proud mommy blogger!
Rosemary Bogdan said: I was in a bookstore when I passed a book called, "Blogging for Dummies." I picked it up thinking, what is blogging anyway. I bought the book and read the whole thing. My older children were very amused. Are you going to start a blog, Mom? I said, maybe. I thought this would be good for me. I could learn more about computers and also practice my writing. After I finished the book I told my oldest I still had no idea what they were talking about and that I was going to read it again and see if I could glean more. He said, "Mom, don't do that. Just start your blog. You'll learn as you go along." And I did. (Although I still have a LOT to learn.)I love being a mommy blogger although I do also write on topics sometimes...Love your blog.
Nicki said: I think its awesome that blogging allows parents to tell their stories, brag about their ideas, vent their frustrations, and exchange information with others. It definitely makes the world a smaller, and more friendly, place!
So ... there you go. There are some of the reasons people (mommies) - blog.
I think Karen Meg said it best when she described one of the reasons why mommy bloggers blog. She said, "I'd like to one day be able to show these kids that my blog is a love story about them, and to them."
I have always loved the night - the darkness - the stillness of a sleeping world.
I try to encourage my body and mind to rise early - to wake with the sun and enjoy the part of the day that I have - for so long - given away easily to those that love the dawn.
It has never worked.
I was born to love the night.
It is when I relax.
It is when I enjoy my coffee the most.
It is when I relish the quiet and it is when my mind begins to spin and create and think.
And, it is when I am pulled outside ...
Into ...
The darkness.
Come with me.
Come on ...
I know it's dark ...
I know it's late ...
But this is when it happens ...
Come.
Now ...
Sit right there in that wicker chair on my back patio.
Sit.
Now close your eyes.
Go on - close them.
And now ...
I want you to listen.
Do you hear it?
The crickets?
Hear them chirping - talking to their mates?
And ... the soft hum of the pool pump deep in the back of the yard - back in the darkness?
Hear the frogs croaking - singing, almost - way down by the fence?
The cars and trucks driving by on the freeway off in the distance?
And ...
The train.
If you listen closely - you can hear the train as it crosses the road down by the high school.
Can you hear the sounds of my night?
The occasional plane traveling along the flight path over-head ... lowing its landing gear.
The coyotes - Oh - did you hear the pack moving along the road and into the neighborhood behind my yard? Listen ... there must be at least six or eight ... hunting in the night.
Do you hear the bugs buzzing around the porch light - banging into the wall - drawn to the glow?
Do you hear the neighbor's dog barking, down the street - making far too much noise for this time of night?
It's cool out - isn't it?
It's cooling off.
Can you feel it?
It's been a long, hot summer.
It is the night time when ...
I go outside into the darkness ...
Sit on this porch ...
To hear the sounds of my world ...
The life around me and my house ...
Take in the smells of the yard and oak trees and sweet grass.
Following in the steps of Chanel Iman and Adriana Lima, Hyoni Kang winner of the 2008 Ford Supermodel of the World Contest is equally sure to stir the modeling world.
home country -- Korea coat -- 3.1 Phillip Lim boots -- Vintage
This is a song that my mother would sing to my Sweet Billy when he was little. To this day, at age 10, he still loves when I sing him this song.
I was talking to a long-distance friend recently. The subject, of course, came around to my kids (she has none). I got to talking about my son.
I went on and on about all he's been doing, how he's doing in school, what sports he's playing ... and then I found myself going into great depth about how much I love him.
I couldn't stop describing what a wonderful little boy he really is. How special he is to me and how he lights up my life. How he has the cutest ways about him and how he reminds me so much of his father.
When I spoke of him, I could see his sweetness in my mind and feel the gentleness of who he is and I tried desperately to describe all this accurately.
He tries to act tough and disconnected sometimes. Tries to let on to the world that he is fine all of the time. Tries to go along as though he is in control and has no worries. And mostly ... I think this is true.
I love this about him.
But ... I know him. I know the little boy behind all the ball caps, dirty t-shirts and skinned up knees. That little boy behind the constant motion. That little boy that never seems to have the time to stop and show the depth of his emotions.
I love that little boy that is too busy to tell the world how special he really is. The one that is so confident that he just doesn't find it necessary to list his qualities or voice his inner desires or needs. The little boy with the humble heart and kind nature. I love that he seems to know who he is and is not concerned about what the world thinks of him. I love the way he lives his life.
On Christmas Eve, I went into his room to kiss him good night and when I bent over near his face he asked me, in the sweetest and most sincere voice,"Have I been a good boy?"
I loved that he asked this question because it gave me the chance to tell him that he is a good boy and that I couldn't have ever hoped for a more precious son. It was a wonderful moment.
When I think of him now ... I see his sweet little face, soft brown eyes and dark brown hair (what a head of hair). I see his dirty little hands and his skinny legs. I see those teeth that are too big for his smile. I see the smirk he so often gets when he has done something wrong. And I see ... a little boy that brings great joy to my heart, indescribable warmth to my soul and a love so pure that ... I wouldn't know how to live without it.
It would take many years for the truth of her uneasiness to show its true self. It would take many words and many tears. It would be overwhelming and frightening and sad. It would be ... an awakening. A calm after the silent storm.
It would turn the girl's world around. It would come full circle. It would then turn away from the tiny girl towards many new directions. Destinations she could not foresee - nobody could foresee. There would be more misery and yet ... through the pain it would offer a glimpse of hope - of relief. Not just for the girl, but for others as well.
She would finally see the thing that was hidden in the shadows. The thing that was subtle. The rumble. The thing that hurt so many people. The thing that hurt her.
It would wear on her for her entire life, this dark and secret thing. It would wear on her family. She had worn it and carried it and even the knowing ... would not rid her of it. It would always be. It would always be theirs and it would be hers.
But ... she would emerge whole. As whole as could possibly be. She would strive to be stronger and wiser and happier because of this thing that she once felt ... could surely destroy her. She pushed through it ... to survive. She hoped this would be true for the others.
And through it all ... there was only ever ... love. The searching for it. The need to possess it. The desire to lavish it. There was only ... ever ... love.
She is no longer that tiny girl.
The darkness is not bright yet, but there is much light. The secret no longer holds power and yet it tries often to take hold. It is bold and dangerous. It is filled with scars and breaks and sorrow. It is filled with pain. It no longer holds power, but it remains strong.
The woman protects the tiny girl - and as so, took on the load of the burden.
And then ... she laid it down and pushed all that was inside of it away.
The burden was a heavy load. Too much for a tiny girl. Too much for anyone.
And now it is over there ... the burden. Sitting as if it is special for all to see. With it's shame and sadness. With its guilt and anger. It's over there ... away from everybody. They do not have the strength. They do not need to carry it.
It needs to stay over there ... away from the tiny girl. Away from her mother. Away from her father. And ... away from me.
Being a 7 year old - she sees the world through the eyes of an innocent and curious child.
She spies butterflies clear across the yard and often jumps up from her chair and bounces through the yard after them.
She hears a wood pecker off in the distance making his home in the side of a telephone pole - even over the sound of traffic and airplanes and screaming children.
She notices the brilliant color of pink in the flowers of her dress and explains why it is the best color in the world and ... her most favorite.
One day recently, she and I were sitting on the back porch - me resting from working in the yard and she taking a break from swimming.
She pulled up a chair and sat her dripping body down next to me.
We chatted a bit about this.
We chatted a bit about that.
Then, she said ...
"The coolest thing about going to Heaven and meeting God is going to be ... being able to ask so many questions."
I smiled.
"Like..." she went on, "How many birds are there in the world?"
She giggled.
"Like - How many grains of sand are on the beaches and in the ocean and on the deserts?"
I smiled again.
"Like ... all that stuff," and she got up from her chain - ran over - and dived into the pool.
I got up - and went back to work.
On the upside ... She is certainly right! It will be very cool to find out how many grains of sand there are and right after He answers that question ... I think I will also have to ask Him ... "What is it that I did - what spectacular thing - where I earned so many points that you would give me ... such a magnificent little daughter?"
She gathers paper, glue, sticks, tissue, crayons, sparkly beads, string ... anything that catches her imaginative and little-girl eye at the moment.
Then she sits.
She creates.
With tiny hands she makes something beautiful.
When she is done ... she brings her creation to me and says, "Mama ... I made this for you," and she places the beautiful thing in my hand, a focused and generous expression on her delightful, angelic face.
She makes these things to offer the world bits of herself ... to fill the world around her with beauty.
When she gives these parts of herself to me ...
places the object on a nearby table ...
attaches the jeweled creation with loving hands around my neck ...
With fashion month just around the corner, I thought this interview I did with modeling industry icon Faith Kates would add some balanced insight into the world of modeling.
Faith Kates is a modeling industry legend. She started NEXT Model Management in 1989. Recently, we sat down to talk all things modeling. Needless to say, it was a great learning experience. Enclosed are few snippets from our conversation. And to Faith and the people at NEXT, thank you!
WHY THE SECOND SEASON IN A MODELS CAREER IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE FIRST
Faith: Realistically, there's so many girls that have gotten ruined because they come the first season, they're not ready to do those shows and they do them. And the second season they're like, 'but she couldn't walk last season.' You know our job as agents is to prepare these models to get them out there, so that they do their job perfectly. ...we want to get them out there and we want them to know how to walk. I always say if you can get them a couple of good shows so they have some confidence. Think about being young from Latvia...this is the first time you've ever been on airplane and you walk out from behind the stage. You walk out and you're in shoes this high (gestures to a 5" stiletto) and there's a thousand people looking at you with cameras flashing. Think about that very first moment. See that's the story you should start talking to the girls about is, 'What do you fee like?' So it's a lot easier to do that exact thing in a smaller show and then another show and another show and then by the time you get to Prada, you got it.
Craig: So you might not necessarily try and book her for all the big shows?
Faith: Exactly. The first season is important but the second season is more important. Because the first season, lets say you got all the shows. You've got to keep them the second time. It's easy to get the first time. Now you have to do the editorial. Now you have to be out there the whole time. Because your only new once. (pause)
You are only a new girl once.
...you have to really know how to pace it. You have to know what you'll be able to sustain and not sustain.
ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THE EDITORIAL IN A MODELS CAREER
Craig: How important is editorial?
Faith: Very important.
Craig: More important than campaigns?
Faith: It's all about VOGUE. If you are a VOGUE girl you are everywhere. Go into VOGUE magazine. You want to learn something, go in Vogue look at all the girls that are in the well. Go in Anna J, any one of them, Catherine, those are the girls that are doing all the campaigns. Those are girls that are in all the shows.
WHY GOOD RELATIONSHIPS WITH KEY PHOTOGRAPHERS ARE IMPORTANT
Faith: ...I think that in our world...when a girl starts, if you have one of the three or 4 really important photographers behind you, that's the girls that are making it. So if you have Steven Meisel, you have Mario Testino, you have a Craig McDean, you have a David Sims... you have one of those guys behind you, you're in.
Craig: So that's the goal then?
Faith: That's the goal.
Craig: Is that how you view your goal, moreso the photographer?
Faith: It is. You could walk in 1 show. I could get you to walk in Prada, you can walk in Gucci, you can walk in 1 show. But you didn't do good in that show. Or you know. You had the exclusive for the good show. I've seen girls have an exclusive to Prada and you never see them again. They weren't so great in the show. But at least if you are in a picture, it's out there. and it's out there for at least a couple of months and people keep seeing it. It's different. It's on the shelf its always there...with magazines while they're sitting out there, people are able to take them home and they keep looking and looking and looking at them....
Craig: The photographers are the key then?
Faith: The photographers and the magazines have all the power. Designers are important, don't get me wrong. They are very important. But I think it goes first with if you can get to the photographer. There are some girls that are really photographers girls.
ON THE IMPORTANCE OF A MODEL LIKING CLOTHES AND FASHION AS A NECESSITY TO SUCCEED
Craig: Does a girl with a genuine appreciation for fashion and clothing fare better in this industry?
Faith: You don't have to care about clothes...I don't think you have to love clothes. I don't think you have to dislike clothes. I just think you have to know how to wear clothes and know what feels good and right on you.
Craig: But like a girl who can get in touch with the artistic aesthetic of a Yohji Yamamoto because she's interested in style?
Faith: I don't think that matters.
Craig: It doesn't matter?
Faith: Not at all. I don't think it matters at all. I think that girl understands better what, and appreciate more what she's wearing but I don't think that that makes her a better model or makes her any better at what she does because she understands the dress
ON TWO TYPES OF FAME FOR A MODEL
Craig: How important is press as opposed to campaigns, editorials in magazines, and runways to a models career?
Faith: It depends upon the model. So there's a "high fashion model" lets call her that's doing all the campaigns and doing Vogue and doing all the shows. It doesn't matter. Because for her, her bible is the editorial, the Vogues of the world, and doing runway.
Then there's a whole other group of girls that, they are famous because of the press. They probably were not really famous models. But they became famous because they dated somebody that was famous, they were in the right place at the right time, they dated a basketball player, there was something about them that made them famous.
...There's 2 different kinds of famous. There's fashion famous which is what every model, I hate to say it , aspires to. They aspire to being in the well of American Vogue, they aspire to being photographed by Craig McDean, and David Sims, Steven Meisel, photographers Bruce Weber, like that.
And then there are girls that you know that their dream was to be in Sports Illustrated or to be in Victoria's Secret. Its a very different kind of famous and its a different kind of fashion. So its completely different. So there's two types of fame.
ON THE INTERNET AND PRINT
Craig: ...how important is the internet going to be to a models career as opposed to print publications?
Faith: I think we've all been struggling through it for the last 7 or 8 years. I don't see the print magazine or the newspaper or even the written book going away. As hard as I try to read and kindle it was the same as turning the pages. I think the internet becomes important because every day you can change it.
I do believe that the print magazine never goes away. I don't think VOGUE ever goes. I think that they are going to do business a bit differently.
AND FINALLY: THE BIGGEST NAMES NEXT HAS DEVELOPED FROM SCRATCH
Craig: The biggest names you've developed from scratch?
Faith: Milla Jovovich, Molly Sims, Joy Bryant, Diane Kruger (the actress), Angie Everhart, Anja Rubick, Anna Jagodzinka, Catherine McNeil, and Jessica Miller.
Kellan, from On The Upside, in the green room at WOAI TV Station on Tuesday, May 13, 2008.
On the set, waiting to be interviewed by Leslie Bohl Jones. Story featured as "The World Of Blogging" with primary emphasis on Mommy Bloggers, featuring local Mommy Blogger, Kellan, of On The Upside.
Meeting Leslie Bohl Jones (WOAI TV - San Antonio Living Show) for the first time. She is strikingly beautiful and such a talented professional. I was so excited to meet her, as I have watched her show for years and she is just as beautiful and smart in person as she is on TV every morning.
Using my hands to talk a lot about blogging! Leslie was very kind to point out the positive and rewarding aspects we bloggers enjoy about blogging and made this experience very enjoyable. I could have talked all day with her about blogging.
And, with all that hand waving, I do believe I got my points across.
If I can figure out how to upload the video of this interview (which featured not only the interview, but quite a bit of footage of my children at our home), I might put it on my blog. For now, all I have are these lousy pictures my mom took with the cell phone camera.
I thought you all - my fellow Mommy Bloggers - would appreciate that I am doing my part to get the word out about the good work we are doing! I did my best to explain why we love blogging, what a fine community we have created and how fortunate I feel to be a part of it. It was a lot of fun.
(Okay - Rachel (From The Land Of Monkeys and Princesses) says I should tell you to go to http://www.woai.com/ (or http://www.woai.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoid=541862). (Channel 4 News) and then go to "videos" and then go to "Living" category and view the video that is titled as "The World Of Blogging").
As most of you know - I have teenage twin daughters, Courtney and Chloe.
My girls are juniors in high school and fixing to turn 17 this April *sad face*.
One of the things I have most enjoyed about having teenagers around my house is seeing the friendships they have developed with other kids their age. They often brings their friends to our house and I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know all of them and being around this great group of kids.
One of the friends my girls made this last year at school is a girl named Becca. Becca is a year older than Courtney and Chloe (she's a senior) and yet they have become especially close and my girls just love her. They played basketball together for their high school's varsity team and hung out a lot after school and on the weekends (she's coming over today, as a matter of fact). Becca has not only been a wonderful friend to both of my girls, but a fabulous influence. I know they are going to miss her tremendously when she leaves in the fall to head off to college at Texas A&M - but we are all very proud of her and wish her only luck and happiness and love.
The reason I tell you all this is because I found out this morning that Becca has started her own blog called The Leaves On The Ground.
Becca
I know several teen bloggers and just love their blogs, their stories and their perspective of the world. I am certain that Becca's blog will be fabulous as she is a great girl and also takes amazing photos.
It would be so nice if you went over to welcome my special friend, Becca (The Leaves On The Ground) into this wonderful blogging world - show her how much we love teen bloggers and encourage them to be part of our community.
In a world (the fashion world) where people commonly mistake their public image of who they represent with who they really are on the inside, it's always freeing to meet someone who intuitively makes you feel like they know who they truly are on their inside. I've always felt a bit of this authenticity with Karlie which I think this picture displays.
Alexis is always mentioning things that she wants.
She is not unlike most 7 year old girls - I would imagine.
She wants toys.
She wants certain foods she sees in commercials.
She wants to visit Six Flags and Disney World and Sea World.
She wants to go to the zoo.
She does not hesitate to list those things she wants and will even write down this list so as to not forget.
She will write down this list so as to request these things for her ...
Birthday.
For ...
Christmas ...
For ...
Being good.
Sometimes ...
When she is sure that there is no other way for her to get something --- that she particularly wants ...
She will say, "I am going to ask Santa to bring me this thing - Santa will bring it to me if I am good." It does not matter how crazy the request or outlandish the toy - she will truly believe that Santa will grant her wish.
On the upside ... Santa tries to give Alexis many things on her wish list. Santa is always good to the On The Upside children. But ... just for the record ...
While this creature would certainly fit right into the On The Upside ZOO ...
She is NEVER ... getting a FLYING SQUIRREL - NEVER - NOT EVEN FROM SANTA!!
YES SHE DID! She put it on her Christmas wish list and I ... SCRATCHED IT RIGHT OFF!
It was cold in my room and my bed was nice and cozy. My pillows and down comforter never feel as soft and cuddly as they do in the morning after all the kids are out of the house and I am home alone in a quiet room and snuggled in my bed.
I was not dreaming or stirring or wakeful - I was deep into the darkness of my empty mind and I was completely at peace.
That was .... until .....
The phone rang.
CRAP!
"Hello," I always try to sound like I am awake when I answer the phone early in the morning. I never want anyone to realize that I have climbed back into bed - when the rest of the world is awake and living their lives.
"Mom," it is my son. I love how he speaks to me when he calls me on the phone. Honestly ... he is the nicest to me of all my kids, I was thinking and then it occurs to me that ... he is also the only of my children that often calls from school - BECAUSE. HE. HAS. FORGOTTEN. SOMETHING!
"Yes," I say, cautiously.
"Am I going to buy pictures today, Mom?" his voice is so sweet.
CRAP! CRAP!CRAP!
I know the answer, but my groggy mind asks the question anyway, "Is today picture day?"
"Yes, Mom. Am I going to buy pictures?"
"It's group picture day today, right? They are just taking class pictures, right?" Now I am wide awake and sitting up in my nice cozy bed with my cuddly pillows propped behind my back.
"Yes Mom," his voice is still so soft and sweet.
"I didn't send money?" I also knew this answer.
"No. Am I going to buy pictures?" he just keeps asking.
CRAP! CRAP!CRAP!
"Do you want to buy pictures?" I ask, knowing full well that this is not something a small 10 year old boy should be deciding, but so hoping he will say "No, I don't care," and I can push the guilt under my pillow, lay back down, relax and go back to sleep.
"Everyone is buying pictures, Mom," he says softly, never once fluctuating his monotone voice and I imagine him looking around the classroom at his classmates, as we speak, walking their picture-order-forms-with-money up to the teacher's desk - poor Little Billy ... the only neglected child who has no form or money because his mother is hibernating at home while the rest of the children's mothers did their picture-ordering-duty and, of course, are not hibernating, but ... out in the world on this early morning ... living their lives.
"Can you bring money, Mom?" he is the sweetest thing.
CRAP! CRAP!CRAP!
Now ... I have been a mother long enough to know that this is where the conversation was going - I KNEW!
I was just stalling.
"I'll get the money up there, Sweetie," I say, and throw my warm legs over the side of my bed.
"Thanks, Mom," he hangs up.
On the upside ... Now, those that don't know me, would imagine that I jumped out of bed, raced to get myself dressed, ran a brush through my hair, put on my shoes, grabbed my purse and ran up to the school to give my son his picture money so he would not be the only child in his class that did not purchase the 5th grade Class Photo of 2008. But ... those that do know me - like my family and close friends - they know this is probably not the way things happened - at all. They would more likely assume that I slithered out of bed (grumbling A LOT), stumbled over to the window of my bedroom, peeked through the blinds, spied my husband's truck (which indicates that he is still home) and then scribbled out a check quickly, raced like a crazy woman through my house, searching frantically for the father of this boy child - placed the check in his hand and BEGGED HIM TO TAKE THE BOY HIS PICTURE MONEY!
My friends and family would be right - THAT'S WHAT I DID! And then ... I crawled back into my cozy bed.
When I started this blog back in 2007, there was no such thing as the fashion world using twitter, using instagram, using Tumblr.
That's all changed for me and it's all changed for the modeling world too. Previous to the internet, models received their booking value through Runway, Campaigns, and Editorials. Now, models get their booking value through Social Media, which combines their street style presence via Social Media with their own social media channels like twitter, instagram, and Tumblr.
Even Supermodel Karolina Kurkova recently exhorted models, "It is no longer enough to just look beautiful and be in great shape. You need to be interesting." The fact of the matter is, as bloggers can now create their own booking value via developing online presence, so models can create their own booking value too. This translates into more money.
Trey Laird, Creative Director for Laird & Partners, the advertising agency which represents Juicy Couture (cha-ching, Steven Meisel shoots for them for a reason) confirms Kurkova's exhortation in financial terms “It’s not just enough to cast such-and-such a girl that opened Prada or Vuitton or whatever,” . “It’s a huge help if a girl already has a platform and followers, and Kate Upton is a great example of that.”
I am rummaging through the racks admiring all the pretty clothes.
I hear a voice ...
She is whining ...
She is whining ...
She is really whining ...
I look over inconspicuously, because she is already making enough of a scene without me adding to the chaos with any sudden movements of my own.
She is saying ..
"I just love this outfit.
It's just perfect.
It's just darling.
It's just adorable.
It's just exactly what I've been looking for.
I just have to have it.
But ... I can't find my size.
You don't have my size!
How could you not have my size?
All you have is a size 6 and a size 8 and a size 8 and a size 10 and ... you don't have a size 4 anywhere!
I need ... a size 4.
Is that a size 4 on the mannequin?
OMG - that's a size 4!!!!!
I have to have it.
That's just my size.
A size 4!
I FOUND IT LOUISE - THEY HAD A SIZE 4 ON THE MANNEQUIN!!!"
And ... Just nearby ... there is a fat woman that is not a size 4 just minding her own business.
There she was just watching this episode unfold with her mouth nearly hitting the floor and the look on her face was saying ... "Just. Shut. Up! We don't care that you're a freakin' size 4! We don't care if you've always been a size 4! We don't care if you just lost 500 lbs. and are NOW a size 4! We fat people don't care! Shut the hell up!"
Suddenly, the fat woman reached down, removed her shoe, and flung it across the store and hit the obnoxious size 4 right in the head!
And then ... I walked over ...
Picked my shoe up off the floor ...
And waddled away.
On the upside ... Okay ... so I exaggerate just a tad, but this was pretty darn close to what I heard. If this was you I saw doing this crap - KNOCK IT OFF! Yes - I'm a little jealous that you're a freakin' size 4 - but, worse than that - you look like an idiot announcing it to the whole world of women. We don't need to hear the words come out of your mouth - we can see that you are a SIZE 4 - we know a SIZE 4 when we see it! When you say it - for all the world to hear - we just HATE YOU MORE!
My husband came to bed a couple nights ago while I was sitting up reading a book and he walked up, took his jeans and red t-shirt off and dropped them on the floor on his side of the bed, as he does every night. And then he said, "I think that dog's finally trained." He was referring to our two year old Pomeranian, Barbie.
When my husband made this comment about the pup finally being trained, I didn't even ask what he meant as I assumed that he meant that she had gone easily into her crate. I simply said, "She's been trained. It's you that's not trained." He just laughed and crawled into bed.
He knew exactly what I meant when I made this comment. The puppy is pretty well trained, but she will not listen to a word he says, because I am the alpha dog in our family. She listens to most anything I tell her to do, because ... I am the alpha dog. My husband knows this as well. He doesn't necessarily like it or even know how it happened, but he knows.
I became aware that I was the alpha dog once we got Barbie. We also have another dog (a five year old Golden Retriever) named Buddy. I was the leader of the pack with Buddy before Barbie ever came along, but never exactly realized it until her arrival. Our family order goes: Me, Husband, Twins (equal on the totem pole), Son, Princess, Buddy, Barbie and then the three cats (Garfield, Snape and Boo). At least that is the order the dogs relate to. And I think if my husband were to have to admit this honestly, he would agree that this is probably the order of things.
I didn't choose this alpha position. I don't think I was really even aware of what it meant until I started watching The Dog Whisperer (Cesar Millan), on TV. He's amazing - that guy- with those dogs. Anyway, I've watched him a lot over the past year or so and agree with much of what he says on his show, with regard to dogs. And one of the main emphasis' he makes - show after show- is that dogs see their family's as a pack and therefore need to have established or establish themselves, a leader. In our family, I was already the leader before these canines came along - so no need to change that, as far as I was concerned. They see me as the alpha dog.
My husband doesn't watch this show as often (if ever) as I, and probably doesn't even realize all this "alpha" stuff; therefore, he gets his ego hurt that these dogs won't listen to him. According to Cesar Millan, everyone (all humans) should be able to control these dogs - we should all be their leaders - as we are the humans. In my house, pretty much everyone is following me - especially the dogs.
My kids are always arguing about who's the boss. "You're not the boss of me," The Princess will tell her big brother. And then she will put her hands on her hips and turn her chin up in the air and announce, "Mom's the boss of everybody." I often tell my kids that their daddy is really the boss of everybody - just so they know.
Recently, The Princess came to me and asked, "Are you in charge?" to which I said, "Yes." She then said, "Of everybody?" I said, "Well, I'm in charge of all you kids," and she smiled and walked away. I think she is trying to clear this concept up. I honestly think she may very well believe that I'm in charge of everybody - in the whole world. I didn't clarify that for her, as it didn't occur to me that she might think this until she left my room. That's okay - if she believes I'm in charge of everybody in the whole world - I kind of like her thinking I'm that powerful; like I have super powers or something. She's only six ... she'll find out soon enough how very little power I actually have.
On the upside (for my husband) ... for the most part, the "alpha dog" position SUCKS! He's not missing anything.
