Category Archives: Women

Paper Flowers Redux

3 Comments

“My dear girl, you must cultivate a taste for the finer things. Civilized pleasures give meaning to life.” 

― Barbara Taylor Bradford,  Being Elizabeth

Did you read yesterday’s blog about my childhood fiasco of trying to take my little brother on a road trip? If not, check it out.

Speaking of road trips – A few weeks ago, a friend and I took a journey from Steamboat Springs, Colorado to Glenwood Springs, Colorado. We gallery hopped, window shopped and had a tasty lunch. It was a wonderful and a much needed day away for both of us just before Easter.

Not only did my friend get to return to something familiar from her past, so did I. My book, Sue’s memoirGift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected had only been published shortly before and as I entered into a fanciful women’s  clothing shop, called Confetti Design http://www.confettidesign.net. I was nearly blown away when I saw their window dressing!

glenwood springs paper flowers dressThere she stood a shapely women, a manikin, dressed in a fitting Easter outfit all made from tissue paper flowers. I couldn’t believe my eyes! My memoir has a chapter entitled Paper Roses. which recounts my fulfilling experience of learning to make and sell paper flowers as a project in  junior Girl Scouts.

I had never seen an entire frock made out of tissue paper flowers. As you can see from this image, it was gorgeous and so was the women’s clothing shop. The store had a real vibrancy to it, every color in the spectrum was represented in their high quality and creatively decorated shop. The sales clerks in it could not have been more hospitable either.

I could have shopped til I dropped, but instead I behaved myself. I’m trying to be fiscally conservative so I can properly get the word out about my publication through a diverse marketing plan and that takes some bucks.

Some day soon, I will take Barbara Taylor Bradford’s advice and will return to Confetti Designs with cash in my pocket to splurge on something deserved and special just for ME – perhaps an accoutrement to an outfit for a book talk! From all appearances, the ladies in Confetti have an outstanding eye for style and design.  Maybe they will help me find just the right thing. I will be back!

IMAG1013

I want to remind everyone to shop around by visiting different blogs – it’s a great way to discover fascinating sites and topics through the world-wide-web. You never know what you might run into that may peak your interest. Looking for a fun fashion blog? Visit http://invisiblecrowne.blogspot.com/. See you tomorrow on All Things Fulfilling. 

 

Moving and Birth

2 Comments

untitled“Having a baby is painful in order to show how serious a thing life is.” ~ author Lisa See

At the end of last week my husband and I changed residences. As we went through the process, I began to think of the analogy between moving and giving birth:

Through both you have to do the work and you are faced with labor. Yet if you want to make way for newness in your life, you must bear down, face it and go through it, whether you want to or not.

Once you’ve gotten through each event, you can look back and laugh. You forget all the pain and agony that was packed with the experience.

I’ve moved many times throughout my life. My most transient years were after I graduated college until the time I married. Come on back tomorrow to All Things Fulfilling. We will be visiting the neighborhood where I lived for the first 18 years of my life. It is where many of the stories in my memoir took place – in Towson, Maryland.

Sue’s memoir

May 5th: Steamboat Springs, CO

2 Comments

IMAG0998

Love grows from stable relationships, shared experience, loyalty, devotion, trust. ~ Unknown

You are cordially invited to Sue Batton Leonard’s book signing for Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected  in Steamboat Springs, Colorado: Here are the details:

  • Date: Monday, May 5th, 2014
  • Time: 6pm
  • Place: United Methodist Church, 736 Oak Street, Steamboat Springs, CO 8048

This event is open to the public and refreshments will be served.

The author will talk about her newly published memoir and about her experience of independent publishing.Sue’s memoir

See you on Monday, either in Steamboat or right here on the site of All Things Fulfilling!

Songs Stir the Memory Bank

Leave a comment

songs and memoriesYesterday’s blog about my experience of working in a factory in Baltimore City when I was in high school, stirred up all kinds of fulfilling memories – particularly of the music of the 1960s.

Here is an image that will bring a smile to many faces, as we look back and recall the place that Motown holds in musical history. This was my favorite album. Oh, how hard my sister and I worked helping our mother with household chores and babysitting just so we could save enough money to buy this treasured album, Love Child by Diana Ross and the Supremes.

What was your prized LP record or favorite song from the Motown era?

love child

I wonder whatever happened to all my Motown albums? They probably got discarded when I went off to college or when my parents moved to a different house.

This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com. See you tomorrow on All Things Fulfilling.

An Author to Watch

Leave a comment

“You write in order to change the world … if you alter, even by a millimeter, the way people look at reality, then you can change it.” ~ James Baldwin 

I’ve been so busy I haven’t picked up a book other than my own to proofread it for the zillionth time in several weeks. Not having time to read drives me crazy – walking and reading are my most treasured personal freedoms. It’s how I relax and escape.

library hospital for themind. jpgOn Friday I decided I REALLY needed an outlet aside from what I am doing. I caved and went to the library. I found a real honey of a story by debut novelist Natalie Baszile called “Queen Sugar.”http://bit.ly/1nAv4B9. Oh my, how I have enjoyed it. It has not disappointed. Author Tayari Jones describes the book as “a page turning, heart breaking novel of the new South, where the past is never truly past, but the future is a hot, bright promise.” Put this book, published by Penguin, on your To Read List. In my opinion, the author has interwoven important societal messages and cultural values into a well-crafted story.  Natalie Baszile, I’m keeping my eye on you. You are a great writer!

Now it’s back to work. There is so much a head of me to look forward to.

This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com. See you tomorrow on All Things Fulfilling.

Life Below the Mason-Dixon Line

Leave a comment

I recognize the fact that there are many people across this big vast country called the United States of America who have had no exposure to southern living. In fact, for some individuals just the mention of the Mason-Dixon Line is a little bewildering. Wondering where the Mason-Dixon Line runs? Here’s a map. I grew up not terribly far from Annapolis in Baltimore.

Life below the Mason Dixon Line

One of the most interesting things of having been so far removed from my East Coast roots, over the past five years, is the opportunity I’ve had to learn something through experience (and by reading books from Western writers) about life in this part of the country. While I have been here in Colorado, it’s been especially interesting to travel to Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico where life is distinctively different than anything I have ever been immersed in before.

So, what’s it like being a southern belle? This list will give you a bit of the southern flavors of living.

Quotes about the South

From a Baltimore gal’s perspective, there’s something that is missing from this list. If you are from Maryland, you are often called “hun.”  If you are  called “hun,” when you go visiting someone in the “Land of Pleasant Living,” don’t feel insulted and turn around and go back home where you came from. Feel accepted, honored and loved, it is the term of endearment for nearly everyone.

Putting a value judgment on what kind of lifestyle is more fulfilling than another doesn’t quite seem fair.  I think it’s all about what you get used to. But I do feel strongly there is value in experiencing different ways of life, even if it is even through reading.

Tomorrow on All Things Fulfilling, do return for some valuable information about how to seek validation of your work as a quality writer.

On Monday I will be honestly opening my heart about some of the costs of  writing and publishing a book.

This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Shoes Bring Back Memories

Leave a comment

We can not change our memories, but we can change their meaning and the power they have over us. ~ David Seamons

Antique photos can be very stirring because some times they dredge up old and difficult memories we’d rather not think about. Yet some images have the power to help us recapture feelings that are as sweet and fulfilling as thoughts of vanilla pudding.

saddle shoesWhen I came across this photo of saddle shoes and white cotton socks, my recollections of standing at the bus stop on my first day of school came flooding back. My saddle shoes and white socks went everywhere together, like my twin sister and me. One was never without the other – kind of like the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that were in our school lunchboxes. I recall how the socks felt around my ankles – flimsy, insufficient and weak like my body. I can’t associate them with any warm feelings. My sister by my side was my strong, fuzzy security blanket.

When I look at the picture, I can even remember the precise smell of the white shoe polish our classmates used to keep their shoes looking new and unscuffed. Mine never really needed to be polished. My shoes didn’t get knocked about or hard use. In fact, just outgrowing a pair of shoes was a big accomplishment.

This image of saddle shoes has brought back an entire childhood worth of memories. Now six decades later I look forward to sharing my story. My hope is that parents who have kids dealing with childhood illness will find something comforting and hopeful in the memoir. Most of all I want the book to bring to a smile to some faces.

Did you own a pair of saddle shoes? If so, you must be a baby boomer. Did your shoes have band of black, brown or navy blue leather at the instep? What thoughts of childhood do saddle shoes stir up for you ? Are they happy memories or difficult?

This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com. Do return tomorrow to All Things Fulfilling.

Mentoring Women in Business

Leave a comment

To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funnybone. ~Reba McEntire

Have you ever wondered why people chose the professions they do? Sometimes there is little choice as to how people support themselves and others make very deliberate career choices, according to what fits their passions and personality.

cookie lockhartCookie Lockhart, a member of our We Write Steamboat networking group for independent publishers, couldn’t have chosen a career path more suitable to her temperament. Her “pioneering spirit” led her to become the only female student  among 126 men in the Class of 1963 to pursue a career in an industry that was dominated by males. As a woman auctioneer she was featured on the TV show To Tell the Truth back in 1966. To see a video clip of the show, please follow this link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bRI-H9g5zw.

Lockhart followed in the footsteps of her father and grandfather, and has been a real driving force in the auction business. She has served as an outstanding mentor for many women in business because of her leadership qualities including her love of people and her fortitude. If you have ever had the pleasure of meeting Cookie, you’d never forget her. Her personality is larger than life and she has a winning spirit.

It’s been a fulfilling career for Lockhart. She is the only woman who has ever been inducted into the National Auctioneers Association Hall of Fame, and she’s also a member of the Colorado Auctioneers Hall of Fame.

On Wednesday, Jan. 29 at 7 pm Mountain Time,  Cookie and her business, Lockhart Auction and Realty will be featured on American Pickers, a popular TV show on History Channel. To read more about the casting of the show when it came to Steamboat, here is a link to an article that appeared in the Steamboat Pilot newspaper. http://bit.ly/1hLjMtW.  

Tune in on January 29th. It is bound to be a lively show because Cookie is like a character you read about in a book. She portrays the epitome of “Western spirit.”  Here is a quick preview of the show. http://on.fb.me/1fikAUd.

This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

 

 

 

Revisiting a Fulfilling Subject

Leave a comment

Memory is the diary that we all carry about with us. ~ Oscar Wilde

High school was not a fun time in my life. I could have cared less about academics. My theory why? At that time all my energy was being tapped into physical, and perhaps, emotional growth due to delayed development. Things changed when I became a college student, however. I began to excel and catch up.

joy de vivre Taking French in high school was one of my better subjects. I liked it, and studied it for four years. I’ve decided this year to reacquaint myself with the language. I’ve begun taking an on-line French class through www.duolingo.com.  My twin sister told me about the program, and we are having fun trying to advance ahead of each other in the lessons.

It’s been a blast except I have been hung up on the part about food. There are so many forms of the word “manger” or “eat.” Trying to match the right conjugation with he, she, we, they or you has been challenging. For a culture that makes cuisine such a fulfilling part of their lives – the French sure make things difficult when it comes to expressing the word “eat.” I wouldn’t care so much except that I am trying to keep up with my sister! Hummm….that sounds familiar, when you read my memoir you will realize why this lesson has maybe been especially frustrating – it stirs up the pot of my history. No, you won’t be reading a story about eating disorders. Its a story about twins and one helps the other to keep going.

As I mentioned in a recent blog, over the next year I have personal development goals that I look forward to achieving – continuing to brush up on my French speaking skills is one of them. Life long learning keeps us vibrant and mentally stimulated.

What fulfilling things do you wish to pursue for personal growth and development in 2014? I’d like to hear from our readers.

This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Preparing for the Stump

1 Comment

“Speaking from the heart can be the strongest move of all.” ~ Rick Hanson, PhD 

How many of us stay within our comfort zones just because it is easier? I can’t exempt myself from that. There have been many, many times in my life when I have taken the easy way out.

Most people say “public speaking is outside of their comfort zone because it is terrifying and they avoid it all costs.” In fact when I talk with potential clients about their book marketing plans that is the first thing authors mention that they WILL NOT DO.  “If you think I am going to get up in front of a crowd and talk about my publication,” they say, “just forget it.”

speaking from the heartIn September, I decided that I was going to step outside my comfort zone and tackle my own discomfort with public speaking. I enrolled in a class. I have not shied away from speaking to groups completely. In fact, over the past five years I have done more public speaking than any other time in my life.

Guess what? It feels good to move ahead, rather than staying stuck because of self-imposed limitations. Am I cured of glossophobia – the fear of public speaking? I think so because I know I CAN DO IT! In fact I am proud to say for my most important speech of the semester I even impressed myself! What was my message? Something I have strong opinions about. I spoke from the heart about “Helicopter Parenting.”

I have made a further challenge with myself. I will seek every opportunity I can to get up in front of a crowd. So, don’t be surprised to see me out on the stump, especially when my book has been published!

This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com. See you tomorrow on All Things Fulfilling.