Moo-Moo's and Patio Dresses

Today I am thinking of my upcoming 50th Birthday, and somehow that deviated to Moo-Moo's and Patio Dresses. This amuses my addled brain because when I thought of turning 50, I quickly found myself immersed in a daydream (or was it a fantasy?). I just thought it might be fun to share this with you. There is a group of people here, all summoned to celebrate my half a century milestone (unbeknownst to me)...they are wearing Moo-Moo's and patio dresses with big straw hats. The men are wearing tourist shirts, and shorts with dark socks and sandals. We are eating fondue and getting ready to play limbo...it sounds like a retro Luau more than a birthday celebration in this millennium.

WHERE may I ask did this insanity come from? I can't recall a single party where the attire was so amazingly fashionable, even in my childhood! Nevertheless, I found the idea strangely comforting, and fascinating. [Yes-I used both those words together. It is not as outlandish as you think.] Then a deep longing overwhelmed me for all the friends I have made and kept and lost over the last 40 years. Some I have made and lost in the last 2 years, either by circumstance or just losing touch, or whatever. (I will leave that to speculation). I wondered what it would be like to have all these people together at once and what would that be like? Probably very much like a class reunion. Hmmmmmm. That may or may not be a great way to spend a birthday.

Then, I began to muse about simpler times, when people had a "sense of place." When communities were active and pulled together to celebrate, to grieve, to rejoice, to work, to dream, to worship, to play, to sing, to dance...well, you get the picture. Now, to have that in a community you have to have been there your whole life, or at least know someone who was. Even then, you still have to be "accepted" as part of the community. I think that is the dream..I mean about the patio dresses. I know this blog is title "Me and my Blue Suede Shoes", but I think I may have to find a really awesome Moo-Moo or Patio Dress, and just relive the comfort of that daydream on my birthday, and try to embrace the new era over the 50+ crowd, with all the benefits. Who else can get away with wearing such outlandish, unflattering attire? Besides, it would probably be very charming with my Blue Suede Shoes.

What to Do with my Blue Suede Shoes?

If I wear these I am exactly 6'3". In some instances, that is intimidating. I have several shoes with heels this high. I am 5'10". The problem is, I rarely wear them. I am wondering why. I mean, other than the obvious...which is comfort. Not that a silly thing like comfort would stop me from wearing a pair of crazy fabulous high heels, but I think you have to have somewhere to go in a pair of shoes like these.
So, exactly WHERE do you wear Blue Suede Shoes on steroids? Weeeellllll, I am so glad you asked! You didn't? Oh well...for the sake of something to ramble on about, Let's explore this together. Let me take you on a typical day with me. On a good day, I get up before 7, and go to the gym. Though I have to admit...good days are few and far between..but just to be positive, let's say it is so. How do you think these will work for a work-out? Exactly. Now, after a shower, and a check-in on FB, which incidentally, is a perfect opportunity to wear them, and maybe post a pic of them, I grab a quick bite, run out the door and do errands. This may include such things as Wal Mart, or Fresh Market, or Destin Commons...or the beach. OK. Now the only one of those activities suited for high heeled blue suede shoes is Fresh Market, though I am strangely conspicuous there, towering above the tallest men. I can tell you are getting my point. I have black, gold, silver, brown suede, brown leather, tan leather sandals, etc, etc, etc...that get as little time on the floor as these. However, these once were worn by a schizophrenic who thought she was a fairy godmother. Yeah. That was the most wear they got since come "out of the box". SO, here lies the problem; the places I go don't match the clothes/shoes I buy. My closet should be stuffed full of tennis shoes, flats, flip-flops and sandals, along with gym clothes, loose skirts, shorts and jeans. Instead, it is full of dresses, pants, skirts, jewelry, etc. How could one become so mismatched in body and soul? I have decided that somehow I must bring this all together, in some creative genius. This genius is called my daughter.
Let's put her to the test, with her styling capabilities! I will report to you when we have 'discovered" how to reconcile this problem. Complete with a short photo-journal of her work. Until them, "Don't Step on My Blue Suede Shoes" !!

December--Climbing Out of the Shoe Box!

Already? I can't believe it! Didn't I just post that photo of the MadHatter? What has happened? Here we are on the precipice of Christmas looking into a new year with all the wonder an awe we had at this time last year! Time to evaluate, assess, look forward to another new beginning.  So I am sitting here looking at my shoe closet for "inspiration" wondering what my future holds...and I have decided...some of these dudes have to leave. I haven't worn some of them the entire year, and while they are still nice, I doubt seriously I will wear them next year.

I am sure someone will love them though. I counted 10 pairs, that I most likely will never wear. I counted 2 brand new that i haven't worn because, well, I haven't been anywhere I could wear them. Will I be going anywhere I can wear them? Not if my life stays as it is right now...OK I see it, time for some changes. Either gonna have to make plans to go somewhere I can wear them, or let go of them too. They just sit there as a reminder to me, that I really don't get out enough. To get all dressed up and go where?  I suppose what I need to do is join a charitable organization and participate in Gala events, so I can actually use these things, or donate them to the organization.

This brings me to the question: Why do I have this overwhelming urge to buy these beautiful dresses, shoes, etc when I have nowhere to go in them?  I know this sounds foolish, but really, it tells me that there is something inside me wanting to feel beautiful, go out and have some fun...and come home with aching feet! I am left with this question hanging over my head, like a thought bubble, "Who have you become?"...YIKES!! I don't want to examine questions like that. They scare me. Where the heck are my Blue Suede Shoes and how can I get them back on? Or, do i need the red boots? How easy it is to slip back into the mundane, the routine the survival mode. How easy it is to allow yourself to stop living, to try to find some counterfeit form of "peace". So there it is, my goal, for 2011: Find my way out of this pit, get rid of shoes that have no pizzazz, step out in those pretty ones I never wear,(figuratively speaking) and go find something meaningful to do with my life. Like Film School in Hollywood. Create some beauty, tell some meaningful stories, get out of this shoebox.  I wonder if they are ready for me?

Junky Day Pre-halloween....Added photos....of costumes

Whoaaaaa, It's Been Awhile...

So...I have been extremely busy. Life is never dull around here, there is always something happening..if it is not, somehow I create something, not always good, I am afraid.  I have changed shoes a lot since my last post. Not only shoes, but clothes, hair, hats, wigs, personalities, etc...
I jumped into a an Indie film project being filmed here, and have had the time of my life. What a great cast. I played several roles, and was able to wear all the shoes I never wear..black high heels, cowboy boots, red pumps, and YES! My new Blue Suede Shoes!! I will post pictures soon, from the "behind the scenes" photos. The film is comedy, so bear that in mind. Here is the great thing: NOBODY stepped on them!
If they did, I pulled out red ones, and you know what happened next!!
I did this film on a "fluke", just a "why not" moment. You never know what is out there unless you dive in. I dove in. I got plunged, and soaked, and I had fun. It was great! I am just sad it is soon coming to an end, though I think some of the friendships I made will last. It can be a very bonding experience like getting stuck in an elevator. You are thrown in with people you most likely would have never met and you are forced to interact and relate on sometimes deep levels, to portray what is being asked. My life will never be the same. I had thought the day I went to audition, that I should walk a mile in someones else's shoes, and acting was a way to do that kind of thing. I walked in 7 pairs of shoes, belonging to 1 person with 6 personalities. Just learning what Schizophrenics/Multiple Personality Disorder people go through was pretty enlightening. While this piece is comedy, there is in no way any jeers toward the disorders, just the comedic things that can happen. I will keep you posted when the trailers come out! And no matter how korny it is, or cheesy, you are STILL not allowed to step on my Blue Suede Shoes! I am at least pursuing my dreams!! Somethin' to be said for that!

These New Shoes

I always love a new pair of shoes, no matter what color. I stepped out in some today, wood heels, cool brown leather criss-cross straps, pretty tall heels...you know, just putting on a pair of heels makes you feel "dressed" right?  Right. Until the pain sets in. Now, I am an experienced high heel walker and can negotiate some interesting terrains in most of them. However, sometimes you just get a bad angle on your arch. This can be not-so-cool. You look cool, polished and put together, but if you can't walk correctly, why bother? I would rather look not-so-fabulous and "float" across the room (as a customer once said about my daughter when she was waiting tables) in flats, than to look like a storm trooper coming in for a raid in gorgeous high heels I can't walk in. I am sure you have seen it. Expensive clothing, fabulous shoes, "Clonk-clonk-clonk...." it is usually accompanied by poor posture. I have seen some of the most beautiful women guilty of this. I suppose that was why they used to send girls to "finishing school"...Where are the wise women who teach these thing to us now? Where are the Heloise's, the Mrs. Manners'? So today, in spite of my sharp dressing, in my new shoes, I pulled out my flip-flops and floated, bearing in mind that the proper carriage of one's self shows more class than expensive clothing/shoes. It is not the garment, but the woman inside the garment, and how she uses what she has to accent her best features, along with how she conducts her self in public that has bearing on her character.
How to do this? Hmmmmm.I think it is important to follow your heart in all things. If today, your heart is very drawn to those comfy sweats and flip flops, do it...just do it with passion! BTW...do you have your "crazy" shoes yet? I would love to see them!! Send me photos, and your story.

Undignified Musings

I am amazed at how the human mind operates. Especially mine...I wonder at how I can make myself think what I want or need to think at the time, at how I can push out what I need to push out, bring in what I need to bring in, etc...I wonder at how I react instead of responding, the preferred method. I am becoming more and more amazed at the complexity of the human brain. All those psychology terms:
denial, transference, delusions, fantasy, boundaries-the one I hear all the time, self-care, self-abasement, control, etc, etc, etc...

The Blue Suede Shoes are an interesting expression of where I am in this journey to being real. I think now it is time to search out some really crazy ones, obnoxious maybe? For the time being though, I may pull out the red cowboy boots, just 'cuz. Cuz my sista bought 'em for me the last time I went through a "passage" like this. They too, are symbolic...I think today though, I grieve. I grieve over all the delusions I have lived by. I grieve over losing ground by not being real to myself, to God, to you. "You" meaning anyone I know. Yes, it is strange, and hard to mid-life publicly, but if Brittany can shave her head, Tom Cruise can jump on chairs on Today Show, if Mel Gibson can flip out publicly, and so on, why can't the rest of us just go for it? Aw heck, there is no dignity in that is there? Dignity...That is what will keep you OUT of your Blue Suede Shoes, or your Red Cowboy Boots, or your Yellow Galoshes!!

Dignity....dignity....I prefer to be undignified. But is is risky. I prefer to be passionate, but it is often misunderstood. I prefer to just go for it, but I often fall flat on my face...like now. Prostrate. Making sand angels again! In my Boots no less. Undignified. Real. Humble. Real. Grieving even my dignity..but still Real. I think that Real is something God can work with. Delusional, well, it just keeps us in our own prison. I prefer Blue Suede Shoes, or Red Cowboy Boots, or Yellow Galoshes in the sun to prison...how about you?