After watching the Oprah finale, I want to say that I thought it was inspiring and beautiful. This was my favorite part – what I’m trying to find for myself, and what I try to express to others in many different ways!
What I know for sure from this experience with you is that we are all called. Everybody has a calling, and your real job in life is to figure out what that is and get about the business of doing it. Every time we have seen a person on this stage who is a success in their life, they spoke of the job, and they spoke of the juice that they receive from doing what they knew they were meant to be doing… Because that is what a calling is. It lights you up and it lets you know that you are exactly where you’re supposed to be, doing exactly what you’re supposed to be doing. And that is what I want for all of you and hope that you will take from this show. To live from the heart of yourself. You have to make a living; I understand that. But you also have to know what sparks the light in you so that you, in your own way, can illuminate the world.
Each one of you has your own platform. Do not let the trappings here fool you. Mine is a stage in a studio, yours is wherever you are with your own reach, however small or however large that reach is. Maybe it’s 20 people, maybe it’s 30 people, 40 people, your family, your friends, your neighbors, your classmates, your classroom, your co-workers. Wherever you are, that is your platform, your stage, your circle of influence. That is your talk show, and that is where your power lies. In every way, in every day, you are showing people exactly who you are…
My great wish for all of you who have allowed me to honor my calling through this show is that you carry whatever you’re supposed to be doing, carry that forward and don’t waste any more time. Start embracing the life that is calling you, and use your life to serve the world.
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No time for a movie post today, but here’s a recipe for your Memorial Day gatherings!
Chocolate Orange Truffle Cake
From a Betty Crocker cake mix box.
Ingredients:
1 package chocolate fudge cake mix
Water, oil, and eggs as called for on cake mix package directions
1 Tbsp grated orange peel
1 tub ready-made chocolate frosting
1/3 cup whipping cream
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350. Prepare cake for two 8- or 9-inch round pans, as directed on package, adding grated orange peel to the water. Bake cake as directed, and cool on cooling racks.
2. Fill layers and frost cake.
3. Heat whipping cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until hot, but not boiling. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips until melted and smooth. Let stand 5 minutes. (I substituted half-and-half for the whipped cream, which resulted in a thin sauce. I recommend adding more chocolate chips if you do this.)
4. Carefully pour chocolate mixture on top center of cake; spread to edge, allowing to drizzle down the sides. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or until chocolate is set. Cover and refrigerate any remaining cake.
I made this for a movie night, which has since been canceled, and a picnic/concert, which I may be going to alone. So now I have a huge cake and no one to help me eat it. Not a good combination. :| I hope all of YOUR Memorial Day weekends are full of fun and friends!
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I can’t believe the Oprah show is over! I haven’t seen the finale yet – I DVRed it (yeah, I admit it) yesterday, but heard it was pre-empted by severe weather coverage, so I’m waiting to watch the full re-airing today. I’ve never been a serious Oprah watcher, but her show has run for most of my life. In my childhood, Oprah being on meant that my mom was cooking dinner and my dad would be home soon. The show still carries those connotations of comfort to me. Since college, on the rare occasions I’ve been home at 4:00, I’ve usually turned it on in the background just to experience that nice homey feeling (and I know I’m not the only one).
I don’t agree with Oprah’s politics or Scientology, and this last-minute adoration of her has really been over the top. But she’s done a lot of great things, and the world is in some ways a better place because of her. I think everyone can be inspired by that!
If you’ve never seen this, prepare to laugh hysterically:
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FYI: I’ve created an About Me page! In it, I mention in passing that I’m an HSP (Highly Sensitive Person). I want to expound on that a little bit.
I had never heard of the term Highly Sensitive Person until a couple of years ago, when an online friend posted a self-test. I love personality tests, so I took it just for kicks. To qualify as highly sensitive per the test, you need to score a 14. I was stunned when I scored a 21. Clearly this was something I should look into, so I checked out The Highly Sensitive Person from the library. By the end of the book, my world had been rocked.
Most people whom I’ve told about this have assumed that high sensitivity only refers to emotions. While I am emotionally sensitive, that’s just one facet of HSP-ness. HSPs are neurologically more sensitive to (and sometimes bothered by) light, noise, textures, smells, etc. They’re very aware of nontangible things, like the mood of a gathering. They’re easily agitated by too much stimulation and overwhelmed by too many possibilities. They’re unusually upset by violence. They tend to need more sleep than most people. When they’re too busy or have too many demands on their plates, HSPs have a lot of trouble compartmentalizing. These are just a few examples of HSP traits. There are physical, emotional, and behavioral aspects.
As I learned about this, a million things from the whole course of my life suddenly made sense. I never thought that these random traits had anything to do with each other. They were just personal weirdnesses, weaknesses, that I needed to get over (which, as it turns out, is a textbook HSP response). Finding an explanation for why I am this way was so freeing to me. While I’m determined not to use it as a crutch or an excuse, it’s helped me to avoid unnecessary stress and stop pushing myself too hard. I know now that if I get really stressed out in a situation where everyone else seems fine, it’s not because I’m immature or weak. It’s just because I’m HSP. So instead of beating myself up about it like I used to, I can take a deep breath and apply that energy toward the actual situation. It’s made a huge difference in the way I approach problems.
If this sounds like you, take the test! If you’re a parent and this sounds like your child, there’s a separate test and book for Highly Sensitive kids. They’ll provide information and tools for dealing with HSP-ness. Knowledge really is power in this case!
8 Comments + Posted in: personality
Because window treatments are not my area of expertise, my parents helped me put up new living room curtains this weekend! Up to this point I haven’t had any full-length curtains, only valances. Mainly because I was afraid the cats would shred long ones. Time will tell, but so far they haven’t even noticed them.
Here’s an old picture of the living room with the old valance. My mom sewed it for me and it was very nice, but we both felt something bolder was needed to go with the new look of the room.
And here it is with the new curtains!
I bought the panels for $15 each at Garden Ridge. They were exactly what I wanted – basic and colorblocky, not too busy. The colors go perfectly with the rest of the room. The curtain rod is also from Garden Ridge, and I got the holdbacks for $8 at Target a while back. I was afraid all the brown would be too dark, but I think it looks great and frames the big window nicely. I’m very pleased! :)
In other news, I’m being smothered by my to-read stack:
(Taken with picplz, which I’m still figuring out)
I randomly selected Jenny Han’s The Summer I Turned Pretty on my last trip to the library, and was hooked from page one. Of course, the library didn’t have the rest of the trilogy, so I dashed to Target, bought the second book (second from the top of this stack), and blew through it in one day. Now I’m faced with my usual dilemma: do I buy the third book (which just came out), even though it’s in hardcover and now my books won’t match? I don’t think I can wait much longer to find out how it ends! Sadly, this happens to me ALL THE TIME. I should start checking the library catalog for sequels before I start books.
Finally, here are the latest contenders in the flip-flop search:
These are Candie’s, and I got them at Kohl’s (which has tons of great sandals right now – it was hard to choose just one!). They’re a little snug around the foot, but I think they’ll stretch out. I’m enjoying them so far!
2 Comments + Posted in: domestic, fashion, reading