Friends

And ideas?
Thanks.

Michael sorted out the Win32 error; I set Gimp up as the program to automatically open photos with and it seems Gimp doesn't like that at all!

So here are my birthday books.
First is a reprint of a men's tailoring and etiquette book from 1836. I have to say it's a really amazing book, Lots of long long loongggg sentences, but there is an endless amount of knowledge to be gained from it.
Next is the Fashion book every history buff has to have the Victoria and Albert's Nineteenth Century Fashion in Detail.
Then there is Janet Arnold's Pattern's of fashion 1. This is one of my trusted books from the past that was lost several years ago. Lots of detailed drawings of oroignal gown construction!
Finally is Dressed for the Photograhper! I first saw this book in the Discover Mill's Barnes and Nobles sells for eighty bux! It's as thick as my Western art history book, and contains amazing original photos with a wealth of knowledge behind each one of them.

If only I had more time to oh and ah over them!

( Read more )

Current Mood:

accomplished

Anywho I managed to alter a gown for a client that came by this afternoon and replace a zipper on the stoned "Sun" gown I made for Bianca. I even cut everything out for my table skirt and window curtains! On a sad note I may not have enough blue left to do a soft wall for my backdrop. I may be able to squeeze it, but I will have to do a super tiny rolled hem.

We will see! I will put it all together tomorrow then go back to client work. I just felt that I needed to do a little environmental clean up.

Just a quick update:

This is the second entry I’ve started today. I keep getting sidetracked and fall of the course of whatever it is that I was trying to say.

Things are going really well here. I’ve come to a great sense of peace in my life, learning to really live in the now and be more fully present in all that I do.

I have a new found peace with the M situation. I was at work last week and walked out onto the sales floor to find him standing there. We hugged and chatted for a bit, and it left me absolutely wrecked.

I spent the following night with a buddy of mine. In talking, he told me about his consultation with Louise Hauck (http://www.louisehauck.com/welcome) and how powerful it was for him. I looked her up and listened to the two introductory audio clips she has. HUGE impact!

I’ve totally changed the way I see the M situation. Instead of carrying around all of that hurt, beating myself up over my perception of fucking things up, lamenting what I thought could have been, I now look back in appreciation and joy. It was EXACTLY what I needed at that time in my life to learn the lessons I was to learn. I am appreciative of the experience. As painful it was for me at the time, now that I look back on it all I see what it was trying to teach me – to love myself.

I fully believe that I am now able to leave it behind me and open myself up for what is coming my way.

I also finished reading A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle. A great book which is helping me to be more fully present and live life in the now.

I’ve felt like I’ve been living in a sort of limbo since moving. I spent so much time hating my life and being miserable feeling as though there was no light at the end of the tunnel. Then I moved out here and TOTALLY changed my life. Suddenly, it was all calm.

But it’s been calm before. Even a hurricane has calm at its eye. There would be moments in Kansas City where I felt happy or that I had come to a new understanding, but then the world would come crashing down around me and I would find myself in the grip of despair.

So when I started to notice the calm here in SF, I didn’t want to jump to any conclusions. I didn’t want to wait for the other shoe to drop because I didn’t want to manifest another shoe. Not knowing what to think or how to feel, I just kind of went about my daily life trying not to think or feel anything

The other day while walking from the Y to the metro stop I noticed that the calm was starting to establish itself. 

It’s like a forest fire had come through and burned everything up and now little shoots of green growth were starting to appear amongst the charcoaled remains. Plants like gratitude and appreciation for the life that I have been given, a sense of presence in the moment, in the now.

It’s much like working out. I started out flabby with little to no muscle tone. Now I’m astounded by the results that I’m seeing and feeling! 

However, it took several years to get to this point. Had I given up in frustration years ago, I wouldn’t have made the progress that I’ve made.

I thought about this fact and started to apply it to my spiritual development. In my consumption of things spiritual, I have picked up the ritual of repeating “Every day and in every way I am getting better and better.”

I said it daily upon waking up each morning, even when I didn’t notice any difference. I have since gotten out of that habit, but will repeat it whenever I think about it.

Had I given up on it because I didn’t see any immediate results, I may not have gotten to where I am today. It really is a process and as long as I keep at it I’ll keep noticing results. They may be imperceptible at first but accumulated over time and it is becoming quite impressive.

** ** ** ** ** **

I had a great time with my cousin Jill when she was in town. She didn’t get to stay as long as she had hoped and was delayed by snow in Reno, but it was still really nice to spend time with her. Wednesday night we reminisced about how much fun we had when all of the cousins got together when we were younger. Thursday we went to Golden Gate Park – she LOVES plants.

She brought my alto with her and Tuesday night was my first day of band practice! It’s going to be a lot of fun!

Okay – just wanted to be sure I posted an update to let people know what’s going on. Gotta motor for now.

Be well.

I can't squeal...I can't squeal...I can't...

*explodes*

Current Mood:	horny
Current Music:	classmate droning on about "how all women want to be beautiful"

So I called up to RSVP, and the assistant I talked to was taking down my information since I told her I was RSVPing. She asked for my last name, and I told her, "Well, it's Michaud right now," and I spelled it for her. "But in a week or two, it should be going back to my maiden name, which is Henry." She asked me which name I wanted on my honors certificate, so I told her Henry. She looked me up under Michaud though and asked, "Tracy?" "Yes." "Oh! Oh wow! You're graduating Summa Cum Laude! Congratulations!" I'll admit that I asked her to repeat it just to hear someone else say it. I was so stoked.

That's it then. I'll get my honors cords on the 5th for Summa (on top of two other honors cords I get to wear...Sigma Tau Delta and Golden Key...with their secret handshakes) and whatever other goodies they give to us poor bastards who kill ourselves for damned good grades.

Current Mood:	accomplished
Current Music:	whir fan whir