Yes , those of you who are my longtime 20+ year clients and friends read this correctly. It should not come as a surprise however I have been changing right before your eyes …for years! Let’s review…. I began styling hair at the prompting of my father when I was 17 yrs old.  30 yrs ago.

30.years.ago.

I have been many things along the way, stylist, business partner, Executive VP , Entrepreneur/ Salon Owner, Resale shop owner, Makeover Maven, Radio Personality, Volunteer trainer for American Cancer Society, Mom, partner, divorcee, crazy… better… married…. you get the picture.

It has been in the past few years that I wanted to challenge myself to learn something new. I have ask myself the question, ” what else would I be good at”? This does not always get a supportive response, usually when I am styling someone’s hair. The eyebrow goes up in fear!

Rest assured, I will do my best to keep you informed of my progress in this mission. My mission.

Afterall, it has been MY path all along, that has brought me to this place and I like it. Don’t get me wrong, I have had so much help and encouragement along the way I am awed when I think of it all… and it is the one thing that gets me through the unknown-s when I feel a bit “disconnected”. As I prepare this morning for my yoga Instrutors Training session, I am reminded that I have come a long way from living in my car in San Francisco, California. ( the car was a 1973 Toyota Carolla, which I SHARED with my then-partner and a dog.)  Back then(1983) I never imagined that would be my life. I grew up in a middle class family, went to a great public school, had a fairly average childhood and BAM through decisions I was COMPELLED to make, I found myself parked in the marina , looking at the Golden Gate Bridge from a not-so- romatic point of view.

Fast forward to 2011, I have an assignment to read the Bhagavad Gita and write a short essay about how it’s themes resonate with me…. well, this has opened a PANDORA’S BOX of old thoughts and memories. The decisons and actions(karma) of my young adulthood have had lasting impact on my life. In the Gita, Krishna says,”true yoga comes when we do not attatch any meaning to actions , ours or others’… they are just actions paying a cosmic karmic debt”.

I left my family of origin when I was 18 yrs old. Determined to be who I was (am) and afraid of losing the most important relationships of my life. For 29 yrs, these decisons have impacted my thinking whether consciuosly or not. As humans, we cannot help this cycle of “samsara”… but we can work to be liberated from it’s pain. I believe my next incarnation(in this lifetime) will be to ”create change” through the yogic experience… to help others to detach from the cycle of karmic debts, and find their Dharma, PURPOSE.

Through my work as a stylist I have helped women to see their outside potential, I now feel drawn to show what they are truly made of… light and love and endless transformations.

namaste

ocean front property!

http://doshaquiz.chopra.com/

“What’s your Dosha Baby”, by Lisa Coffey…

Namaste Yo-ghee-knee

I love to shop. Really. It doesn’t matter where or for whom, in fact I sort of prefer to shop for others… I consider it a sport.

Yesterday at the “water-cooler” the girls and I were talking about fashion, shopping and expensive clothes… I mentioned I shopped at thrift stores and several of my gal-pals chimed in! It seems this is a quiet little habit that women don’t share on a regular basis. Many of us do poke around a Goodwill Store now and then. I speak only from my experience on this, but I enjoy the hunt! I have a couple of regular haunts that even when I go missing for a couple hours, my girlfriend knows where to find me I thought I’d share a bit… since I’ve already grabbed what I wanted…this week!

www.genesisshelter.org- this benefit store is growing and thank goodness cuz the other day I found some of the cutest summer dresses and skirts!  even the housewares are well-organized.

www.salvationarmy.org  this jumbo sized store has furniture, house wares, exercise equipment and CLOTHING galore! Wednesdays are half price clothing days and they are open till 9:00 pm for workin’ folk.

www.svdpthrift.org- Good for a quick dip to see what they have… different days of the week items are discounted! I have been known to find some great things here… and surprise, it’s 40% off day!

1. Short shorts are meant for VERY thin and VERY young ladies who have no cellulite and a great tan. Period.

2. When wearing a bathing suit top sans cover-up, please be sure there is a) enough fabric to cover the breast and b) a underwire. Looking at partially concealed droopy boobs is unappetizing when others are trying to eat.

3. Men who wear the “gangsta holding up his pants” look… LOOK STUPID! Especially on the beach and especially when you are trying to play frisbee at the same time. Let’s face it, this is a ridiculous guy thing and it needs to go away…NOW!

4. Drinking in excess is NOT attractive. Ever.

5. Wear sunscreen… Leather is a material that goes on shoes not faces.

Now the Do’s

1. Do wear white shorts that cover the bum and can  flatter even the lightest tanned skin.

2. A TUNIC is a nice alternative to a t-shirt when going from beach or boat to a restaraunt. You will look put not thrown together instantly.

3. Bra top bathing suits and One piece swim are the most flattering styles for a busty girl. Buy a solid color and do a sarong wrap or just pull you linen pants right over . Voila… you are ready for your closeup!

4. Men in linen shorts, simple cargos (not military) or a pair of colorful trunks are easily made restaraunt ready by throwing on a fresh t-shirt or polo shirt. ( please leave the “I got ”leid”  in Maui) ” shirts that you wore in highschool home. It’s offensive on so many levels…mainly cuz we don’t care where you got laid).

5. DO RELAX! Read or just listen to the sounds of spring /summer. Birds, kids laughing and the beauty of having some time off from the usual routines. That’s really what this is all about anyway.

I got your back… is that a tatoo or did you get slimed by a jelly fish just above your crack?

Wish you were here!

Okay, okay, even Marilyn Monroe isn’t in one, but hey that was the style then!  One I think was pretty sexy and forgiving of our less than perfect bodies. I noticed as I walked on the beach yesterday that I had a new appreciation for a beautiful body… and I mean there were some beauties! More interesting to me though was my lack of envy. No really, I am so glad I have not obsessed over what I am going to wear on the beach this spring break… after oh, 30 yrs of being really stressed by that decision!

Most satisfying is the fact that the people around me in all of their beach attire and tanned-ness are as uninterested in me as I am in them… I am done wondering what others think about my thighs… or belly or … boobs! I kinda like them. Kinda. I am not totally recovered. But what I suggest to all of you who are embarking this week or weekend on bathing suit shopping is this …

Wear a bathing suit, in fact wear a bikini if you want to, no one cares. REALLY! Most people are thinking about you for 2 seconds and then “poof” they are back to their  favorite subject…THEMSELVES!!! ( me too by the way ;0) Seriously though, life is about enjoying the moment… let the kids worry about their bellies, and tan lines. You have come to a place where you can appreciate a beauty and yet not feel “less- than” just because you don’t look like a Sports Illustrated cover model.  The next time you sweat the dressing room in some poorly lit department store… remember what Nora Ephron said, “

“Oh, how I regret not having worn a bikini the entire time I was twenty-six. If anyone young is reading this, go right this minute, put on a bikini, and don’t take it off until you’re thirty-four.”

Enjoy your Spring Break… Happy First day of Spring Ladies!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7xIowzNMRA&hd=1

mailto:cancerpatientsupport@groups.facebook.com

 I was first introduced to Deva Curls’ NO POO product several years ago… It was ok, but just one more supposed fix for curly hair that we were still beating into submission with the flat-iron! I am an admitted skeptic when it comes to the newest, latest greatest products that claim to do everything including changing your whole life… but this may be it the one that renews my faith!!! I LOVE NO- POO!

It is so unlike other sulfate free products, it doesn’t lather at all… I know seems weird, but you really do get used to it… the shine and calm-texture of your curly/frizzy hair will sell you on the rest of the line to boot!

Do yourself a favor, if you have curly or frizzy hair, want to wear it natural or even just want to make your blow -out look smooth and feel like “salon finished hair”, try this shampoo… or should I say NO POO!