Hollywood Vice

My name is Lora Rossi and I’m a celebrity gossipaholic.

Did I just admit to that?

I am currently in search of an effective 12-step program, but all of the ones I have read about in the Hollywood tabloids thus far have not worked for me.

I mean, we are all allowed to have our vices, right? I'm not into drugs (unless you count my perchance for NeoCitran when I can’t sleep), I don’t drink (unless you count wine) and I have never been arrested. Sheesh…I just got my first speeding ticket this year!

I'm so frickin' innocent I wear a flower in my hair every day.
OK...that was in Mexico.

But put me in the magazine rack aisle at the grocery store and I am in la-la land!

Ahhhhh...magazines!

Don’t bother trying to have a meaningful conversation with me when Billy Bush is talking about the upcoming summer blockbusters because I am not listening.

One of my news sources...Billy Bush.

It’s like talking to my husband during a hockey game.

Just walk away.

To let you all know that I am actually quite a well-rounded human being, I am also a mother of three, a wife of one, a writer/blogger (duh), a home décor junkie, and I love to help people whenever I can.

This includes keeping those that I love in the know about what the stars are up to! 

Here is what the stars are up to in the Southern Hemisphere.
You're welcome.

This includes what you should or shouldn’t watch on TV and who is making up or breaking up. 

Don't watch.

Sofia Vergara and Nick Loeb - just broke up and then made up and are now engaged!

You already knew about this, I realize.
Hey...we all knew about it before it even happened, right?

It also includes who is getting their mug shot taken, who is on the rise, who is on their way down and who is sporting a new belly bump (Sookie and Snookie…you are on my radar gals in case you’re reading! Do you think they are reading? How exciting would that be?!??).

Here is Anna Paquin (AKA Sookie), pregnant with twins at a red carpet event.
Maybe she was reading my blog earlier in the day.

But I digress.

Life is serious shit. We have a lot to deal with...especially us Moms, what with the diapers and the driving and the cooking and the working and the crying and the lego-ing and the this and the this and the that. 

Yes, this is me when I realize I just missed Entertainment Tonight.
I'm serious.

But life is also supposed to include some fun right? 

Can I get a “hell yeah!”?

Thank you.

So I indulge in Kim’s post 72-day marriage woes, Katie's concerns with Scientology, watch a little (OK, a little more than a little) TV and head to the movie theatre once in a while.  

Oh yeah...she's moved on to Kanye.
So convenient that Kim always kovorts with kuties who happen to have names that start with "K".
But again, I digress.

And because I do…and I do it quite a bit…I am here to pay it forward. 

I am here to indulge you with all I am learning. 

From fashion to plastic surgery news to “you-just-have-to-see-this-movie-and-this-is-why!”s to some deeper thoughts on the goings on in today’s pop culture, I’m here to serve.

So serve I will. 

Here's a glass of wine.
I've got mine.

Now…let’s dish!

Stay tuned peeps!

Smiles,

Lora

Shake the Mistake!

"Be not ashamed of mistakes and thus make them crimes".

 -  Confucius

I have a very heavy guilty conscious. I feel guilty a great deal of the time for one reason or another.

And guilt is heavy.

This weighs a ton!

My biggest source of guilt stems from my role as a mother. I wrote about "Mother Guilt" in an early post.

But this post is not so much about guilt as it is about making mistakes.

You see, I don't like making mistakes.

I rather like wearing the mask of the "perfect" mother and the "perfect" wife and the "perfect" employee, la la la.

Super Lora!
As if!

And it is just that - a mask (or maybe a cape!)

I am not perfect. I am a perfectionist in many ways...but I am not perfect.

Like any human being, I make a ton of mistakes. Some little ones...and some bigger ones.

And that is where that guilt I was talking about comes in to play.

When I make a mistake, I generally feel guilty about it.

And what I need to learn how to do more effectively is to stop the bullshit catastrophizing and shake it off!

Shake the mistake!

No, not Shake 'n Bake!

I need to let things roll off my back!

No, not roll up the rim!

I need to shake, shake, shake!

Shake the mistake
...and my booty until the (KC and the) sunshine (band) comes out!

OK. In all seriousness, I really hafta accept myself as a human being who can't predict the future and is gonna screw up once in a while.

Hindsight is 20/20

And I don't like to live constantly reminding myself about regrets.

That is no way to live.

Whatever has happened in my life up the this point has gotten me to where I am today. The little mistakes and the bigger ones.

Mistakes help us grow.

Mistakes help us learn.

If you never make a mistake...than really, you have not really tried anything new have you?

I could just sit here and do the same thing, over and over and over again because it is comfortable...or...I can have the courage to keep challenging myself.

And when one challenges oneself, one is bound to slip and fall along the way.

And when you slip and fall...it is really how you react to it that matters, right?

You can sit there and decide that since you made a mistake...and you are bruised and hurt...you are not gonna get up again and keep trying.

Or...you can get your ass up, brush yourself off, and keep trying. Keep going.

Everyone makes mistakes.

Maybe you need to go in a different direction.

Maybe you need to do a little more research.

But to just sit there and wallow in whatever went wrong...well you will be sitting there for a very long time.

Doing not much of anything...and going no where fast.

And you will be sitting perfectly.

Perfectly still.

And so...

Smiles,

Lora

I See Your True Colours

Yo dudes.

Colours are bright!

Dare I even say - as the British would...colours are "brilliant"!

I mean...they really are quite smart. Yeah...smart. Like...it is as if they have brains type of smart.

This is more a brain with colour...not a colour with a brain.
What do you WANT from me peeps??!?

Huh?

No really! I mean...they can change your moods at will simply by being there in your presence. They don't even have to say a thing! (If only humans were colours. I bet the divorce rate would go down. And the world would be very colourful! That sounds like it would be a pretty fun world to live in. But I digress...)

But yeah! Colours have the ability to affect the way people feel.

For a simple example - image you are in a room with lots of bright red. How does that make you feel?

Now imagine you are in a warm, soft blue room. How does that make you feel?

Chances are, those feelings in those two rooms were different.

And the cool thing is...every person will have different, combined answers no matter what rooms you show them.

That is why some people feel at home in a home saturated with bright hues and some have a very neutral thing going on.

Now what some people need to learn is that our homes are not museums. If your home looks great to some but does not make you feel at home, then is it really worth it?

If you feel your best in a bright, pink room but the decorating magazines made you think that beige walls and furniture are chic? More aesthetically pleasing...especially to the masses? Well are you selling magazines with your home or living in it? Are you selling your home...to the masses?

If not...then come on in to your house! Make yourself feel at home!

You - and whoever lives with you - need to feel that they are in their own space...somewhere that makes them feel comfortable, cozy and calm. And of course...this verbs greatly from person to person and from household to household.

If you live with others...some compromising may be needed...but that is marriage and family for ya peeps! If you like everything white and you have 3 little kids under the age of 8 running around, all I can say is "good luck with that!"

But that does not mean white can't be incorporated into your home.

Who cares what "such and such" a designer says or does. If you look, I promise you that you will find a designer who thinks that your colour palate of choice is marvellous! And even if they didn't...if it makes you feel how you want to feel then "screw them" I say!

Start small.

If you crave colour and/or pattern and you have basic, neutral furniture...go get some pillows that speak to your sensibilities and throw them on your couch.

Get some fun curtains for your living room. Buy some vases in the bright colours your love. Buy them at a thrift shop if you want to start really small (or if you know you can find awesome stuff at thrift shops no matter what, like I do!!!)

Then if you notice you are really enjoying the bright accessories but you feel you need more...try paint. It is cheap and you can change it out with a little elbow grease and $50. Or just start with an accent wall or the powder room. Whatever strikes your colourful fancy!

And if you want to get brave and update some or all of your furniture with brighter or funkier pieces...go for it! (Again...an ugly, dated, brown dresser at The Goodwill - or on the side of the road...oh yes I have! -  can become a cool, original, bright blue showpiece with inexpensive but attractive and updated hardware! Again...you don't have to have major cash to get the home you want if you are creative and a little resourceful!)

Oh...and a tip in case you are not sure what colours make you feel the way you want to feel...which is...I assume...good? Take a look in your closet and what you wear most often. There's a good clue.

And because I am in a yellow room, which makes me feel cheery...here is song by Cyndi Lauper. (And you know this chick knows a thing or two about colour if you have followed the career of her hair.)

I see your true colours shining through!

Smiles,

Lora

WellX Articles #20 & #21: On Working and On Pain

Happy Friday all!

As I always do, I will begin by pointing you in the direction of my first nineteen articles published by Wellx here.

Today I am going to share with you a new article that was published yesterday...as well as one that I somehow missed before. These will be my twentieth and twenty-first articles for WellnessX.

Back in June, 2012, my piece on working was published:

Work's Gotta Work! By: Lora Rossi June 21, 2012

Yesterday, a piece about pain was published:

From Pain to Gain By: Lora Rossi July 20, 2012

I am so happy to continue to work with WellnessX and share my thoughts with you and wellness professionals around the world.

Thanks as always to Mel and Brad and everyone at WellnessX for continuing to share my work and for their on-going support and great work with the wellness community!

Smiles,

Lora

Inspiration and Instigation

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Well it really depends on how you look at things doesn't it?

Now in terms of writing blog posts, which comes first - inspiration or instigation?

Again, it really depends on the situation...in my case anyways.

Sometimes I see something or hear something or taste something or feel something or read something or, or, or....that inspires me.

Draw inspiration from all your senses.

It could be a word, a quote, a song, an emotion, a meal...anything really.

Something in whatever it is I am experiencing can inspire or spark an idea and from there, a blog post is born.

Look! An idea is sparking!

So I am inspired and then I instigate.

On the other hand, sometimes I just start writing.

Yup. I sit down to write a blog post with absolutely no idea what I am going to write about and my stream of consciousness just takes over. Some end up as sort of a ramble, and some have ended up to be pretty darn goodies.

So I instigate and get inspired.

If you are a blogger or a writer...or any kind of artist for that matter, remember that inspiration can come from anything and from anywhere.

See?

Listen to music.

She looks pretty inspired to me!

Read.

(Some interesting inspiration could come from reading A Clockwork Orange I am sure!)

Look at some art.

Talk to your children.

...and have a tea party while you're at it!

Or just begin.

That's what I said!

And then...you will find yourself...at the end.

Like I just did now.

Not too inspiring a post, I realize, but I made my point.

Smiles,

Lora