Wet fur

I love going out and about.  And without going into detail yet, following my intuition may prove itself yet again.   It poured rain yesterday and I got soaked trying to find a spot to sit, relax, and (of utmost import) find a place to plug in my laptop. 

In the end I went low tech anyway and chicken scratched my next concept into my binder at a local pub.  Hi Christian!  Hi Lori!

So much work to do I found my eyes popping open at 5 am and refusing to close.  I truly love my work and passion moves me.

Today I finally ordered business cards.  They are absolutely adorable and I thank Mr. Magnificent for his reinforcing belief in my flair.  They are not the style of cards one would likely suspect me to gravitate toward, but hey… I am nothing short of unpredictable.

A little Lily Allen to get me moving and now I am off!

Victoria Crystal

…living the SimpleSexy life

On the prowl

Yawn. Today I feel like a cat. Sleepy, distant... mildly curious... waiting for trouble. I'd love to find some.

Yesterday I watched the curious case of Benjamin Button for the first time. I have to admit I am not a great fan of Brad Pitt. He's too good at what he does... dissembling.  Irrespective to my aversion, I enjoyed the movie a lot.   True to form, Pitt was believable and Cate was stunning.

Staring out the window listening to Coldplay the theme of trouble finding wrestles me to action.

I’m going to get in my car and drive until I find it or am sated in some way.

Ciao.

Victoria Crystal

…living the SimpleSexy life…

Today’s issue of the SimpleSexy gazette is out.  Yay!

It is part two in the series on Change and I have to admit I am proud of it.  It discusses Change Propensity and helps to discover a little more about how you respond to change.  I did all the hard work, now you get to play and reinvent yourself.

Have fun!

Not a Chance

Business first:  Having made an executive decision, the SimpleSexy gazette will henceforth come out on Tuesday, that is until such a time as I change my mind again ;~) There are actually several good reasons for this, not the least of which is that Monday’s tend to be disorderly for many. I’ll honor this current energy and go with the flow.

And now...   What an incredible weekend.  Not sought but accepted, not expected but appreciated.  

It was determined, quite to my surprise over coffee Friday morning, that I would accompany Mr. Magnificent in attending a class on the Yuen Method of Chinese Energetics.  I had expected the class to have somewhat of a vampiric aspect on my energy.  Often when working deep within one’s psyche, there are emotional euphorias that are closely followed by despondency (as discussed in the series on Change: Part One).  Add the palpable influence of others and my ability to be an emotional barometer…

Well… I proved to myself yet again that the simplicity of understanding and acceptance are keys to changing one’s everything.  Watch out.  Here I come.   

At the end of class we experienced an emotional shift what we imprinted for recollection.  The experience was nothing short of profound and there are already discussions about attending the next session. 

Hi Jill, Bonnie, Christina, and Mr. Magnificent’s soul sister Nancy!  Perhaps we will see you all next time!  Wait… I’m in ‘Bama…  perhaps we’ll see ya’ll next time!

Gosh, there were so many wonderful things that happened this weekend, not the least of which was meeting this a precious girl named Alexis.  We were eating dinner in this great little Italian restaurant and she and her daddy were seated a table away.  She reminded me so much of my daughter and was just as sweet.  She walked over with her blue crayon in hand and honored me with a drawing on my notebook.  Circle and spirals I will treasure forever. 

And then, shifting through time and space in the large city of Atlanta, on the very next day we found ourselves once again seated next to each other in a restaurant a few miles away.  There are no coincidences.  This time Alexis took hold of my pen to share more of her gift.  Thank you little Princess!

Smiling, I am now off to work…

Victoria Crystal
…living the SimpleSexy life…

Fanfare

I had a profound dream, begging me to do what must be done, essentially, or suffer the consequences. And while I moved through this dream, a vibrating noise followed; as I sat at a table in a restaurant discussing philosophy; as I walked through a friend’s winery; as I strolled amidst trees or stood on a bridge.  Thup, thup, thup, thup, thup.  What is this noise?  Why does it go where I do?  Thup, thup, thup, thup, thup.  I could feel its vibration externally.  It did not come from within.

My subconscious was being baited.  Pay attention.

I wish I had.  It would have been a perfect moment for a lucid dream made more perfect by the theme.  Do what must be done… or suffer.  Oh to have accessed the subconscious insight.

To varying degrees we all have these crossroad moments, but only the open wise or the lucky are keenly aware.   

As I listen to the trumpets cry in La Niña de Mis Ojos, I am reminded of my father.  As far as the eye can see there is nothing but smooth sailing out to the horizon, yet I sense a disturbance.  How why or from what direction I cannot say.

Thup, thup, thup, thup, thup… went the overhead fan.  Pay attention.

Victoria Crystal

...living the SimpleSexy life...

String'spiration...

This morning I awake with an excitement that I do not understand but readily accept.  I feel genuinely “pushed” to create, to work on the website and make the changes I have been desirous to make.  I feel the magic.

Rain.  Rain.

I feel this brilliant orb within growing wanting seeking holding sharing bigger…  I am listening to Carlos Montoya on Pandora.  I have an acoustic guitar station I have labeled La Isla.  It has been an inspiration to me often, this morning is no exception as Jesse Cook now performs just for me…

Well… I am going to take this great energy to the website.  I pray it translates!

Victoria Crystal
...living the SimpleSexy life...

Delicate Dance

Have you ever noticed the delicate dance of change that goes one step forward, two steps back, or sometimes three steps forward and two steps back…

This is the change we are actively watching anyway.  Our lives are continuously changing.  I, in my own way, have become a master of change in that it has been a decision of mine to reinvent myself on a semi-regular basis.  Often it is in small ways like actively making adjustments to my posture, trying out karaoke, listening to a new type of music, gardening, playing a strategy game, trying new foods… or big ones like living in Mexico, traveling new places alone, or starting a business. 

Whatever the change, I have engaged in the delicate dance… one two three one two three…

My posture will slouch, I hit a flat note, there are a few songs I don’t like, weeds overtake my vegetables, I lose, something makes my stomach ache…

Yesterday the Internet gods decided I would not get my newsletter, the SimpleSexy™ gazette out in my time.  C’est la vie.  Regardless, it is a good one.  I smile at that.  I look at these moments not as setbacks, but as opportunities to pause and reevaluate.  Is there something better?  A different way?

If you haven’t signed up and would like a copy of this week’s SimpleSexy™ gazette, send me an email and I will send you the link.  I believe you will like it.

Cheers!

Victoria Crystal

living the SimpleSexy life

Tech no no's

I can create an excel spreadsheet to sing and dance its way onto your screen, but I cannot figure out how to work this social media scene.  My business page posts onto Facebook are forwarded to Twitter and my Tweets get posted to my home page.  But not the reverse.  And I cannot access my business page from my phone and from the computer FB keeps having me “use as Profile” to send messages etc.  Wicked annoying.  Can you tell I am losing my mind?  I gave my technical team the rest of the month off, but I think I should fire them for leaving me in such disarray :~)

I got so excited for the follow from Tdub that I tried to send him(?) a message.  Long story short, I wound up following myself instead.  Then I thought: why wasn’t I following myself in the first place?  All of this needs to be connected somehow..?!?  Another reason to fire my technical team for not thinking of this. 

Ah, visions of grandeur. 

Considering I was in Colorado last week… I suppose I should give myself a wee break.

The sounds of the birds in the trees outside the window tell me to take a walk.  Sweet twittering birds...  oh here I go again.

Have a wonderful weekend of laughter and kisses!

Victoria Crystal

…living the Simple Sexy life…

Cuppa cuppa

The muses sleep this morning.  I have been staring at the computer willing my head to accept all of the work that now lay before me.  I need to… and then… there is of course… but that hasn’t been working so I need to call…

But first I must settle in.  Unpack.  Organize. And buy some decent coffee.  Mr. Magnificent, with all of his wonderful kindnesses to foster my happiness, doesn’t drink the stuff so I was left with what I believe to be last year’s canister of Maxwell house.  Stale and oily.  I can still taste it on my tongue.  For someone who cannot think beyond her next word in the morning, coffee has become a fundamental component to the coherent accumulation and distillation of thought.

Regardless, I am enlivened by so many things!  A message from a new friend that literally warmed my heart, the happy reception upon my arrival last night, the subsequent dinner, a wonderful sleep and the endless possibilities of today …  and most spectacularly, the excited call I received from my son this morning.

He continually amazes me as this most profound soul.  He has taught me many things, not the least of which is the idea of Lucid dreaming, something I had not know before he shared it with me a few years ago.  Since, he and I have had many incredible conversations around the subject and how dreams extend into our waking life… and our waking life into our dreams. 

I’ve asked him to begin blogging tonight as well.  He has agreed to write down the experience he shared with me.  It is so profound I offer only a hint: Dealing with inner demons.  I dare say that he accomplished something few adults will… but at sixteen, he is an adult to me.

Shower and coffee… then so many many things to do.

Cheers to my reader!

Victoria Crystal
living the SimpleSexy life… minus a really good mug o’Joe  ;~)

Awakenings

You know that feeling of walking up in a new place and for  one heart stopping second you have no idea where you are…?  Well I don’t get that anymore.  It was this fact that was more arresting to me than waking in a new hotel.  I realize I’d be an excellent transatlantic consultant.  


Doing a quick estimation, from vacationing travel, etc in Playa del Carmen, Palenque, Oklahoma, Denver, California, and New York I can safely say I have woken in no fewer that fifteen different beds this past year alone…  


Now… I know what you are thinking.  This is not that kind of blog… yet.  ;~0


180 miles on my drive in yesterday I came up with what I believe will be my best branding.  Where is my team of ‘yes men’ when I need them?  Oh well.  Forging ahead on my own.  It will take me a least one week to begin rolling it out; continuing my travels, settling in, then getting down to the business of design… (which I suck at).  But you can be the judge, my one reader.  Let me know how you think I did. 


But for now I am at point one: continuing my travels.  So fare thee well.  Until tomorrow.


Kisses and hugs,

Victoria Crystal

...living the SimpleSexy life

PS... I just received an email from Mr. Magnificent (the friends with whom I will be staying)...  Such words of kindness!  I am so excited for this next adventure!

Which Tatoo should I get?

The moon this morning is majestic and radiant.  A primal call from the wild.

As I prepare for departure on my long journey to Memphis I plan the drive with a mental theme.  All night I woke with ideas swimming through my head as I had placed this thought on my altar… succinctly embody all these distilled truths into one phrase… otherwise known as Branding.

It has come to my awareness that, as usual, I am all over the place.  I have so many ideas and so many of them toppling over each other; so many philosophical concepts to distill, each as important as the next.  Each one a building block to simplicity.

I know in the end the answer will be a Simple Sexy one.  Hahaha!  But Simple Sexy truth is a distillation of complexity necessitated from today’s setting: an environmental, technological, philosophical hodgepodge pushing and pulling upon itself without a centering theme. 

It has taken years to extract these philosophies from the weighted societal continuum.  Now I must focus on the entirety and brand myself in two days… and then LIKE IT!

The good news is, I have sent out my first newsletter!  Nothing feels better than accomplishment. Horray!  And thank you for subscribing.  Please feel free to send feedback.
Okay, I am off!  Long drive ahead.
Kisses and hugs,

VC

Sweet Sorrow

There is a time for hello and a time for goodbye.  Each can be emotional, even if the emotions are different.  As a person who travels far and often, I’ve had my fair share. 

From Colorado to Alabama I go, in my modest way, to repay an old friend.  I lose my BP but gain a peace in my heart.  I will miss the daily gift of Will’s sense of humor and the roar of his crazy laughter when he feels especially witty.  Take good care of yourself Will and don’t forget to take Sam out for morning walks!  And tell everyone at Jersey Street I send them my love…

I understand I will be heading to Alabama during hurricane season.  Normally I would not even bat an eyelash, but Mother Nature has certainly been making herself heard.  From earthquakes and tsunamis, to massive F4 and F5 tornados, record heat, fires, droughts, and flooding all over the world… I know that hurricanes are another trick up her sleeve.

Will this be the end of Victoria Crystal?  Tune in tomorrow to find out… hahaha!

It truly bears the striking need for us to attune our energies with earth’s magnetic field.  I believe in this more and more and feel the Mayan’s earth sense is important for us to follow.  Knowing this brings more pressure to offer the Mayan Calendar I have developed.  But I know I will get it out soon.  Traveling these next few days will bring about a certain delay, but my passion is not quenched in the slightest.  Perhaps I am even more on fire, so to speak ;~) 

Well my pretties!  So much to do, I must be off.  Kisses and hugs.

VC

Flat Out

The stresses of starting a new business are starting to wear on me.  BP called me his bipolar beauty this morning…  Ho hum.  It is so much easier for me to accept a critique when ‘beauty’ is attached to it.   

*

I am not looking for perfection… just close.  I am a B personality, but I can also be Type A.  I actually like that about myself.  I can switch gears from traveling 25 through hilly pasture lands and open it up on the Audubon to 120.  

*

But he’s right.  I’ve been revving my engine just a bit too high.  I need to get back to basics.  Chill.  I realize this especially because I messed up the site today… again.  But rather than race around trying to fix it for the ONE person who just MIGHT happen by and create potentially more mistakes… I stopped. 

*

Back to basics.  Breathe and cook up some warm lentil soup with apple chicken sausage, garlic, and onion.  Yummy.  And some toast.  With butter.

And a facial.  Yes, definitely a facial.

And my vitamins… and then breathe again.

*
It has only been a little over a month and a week since we even conceived of this idea.  Taking an idea and actualizing it in so little time is pretty impressive.  Breathe.  

Hi Nolan.  Hi Alex.  Mommy’s working it.

Is that a Marriage Proposal?

It has been a crazy few days and BP (aka Will) has disallowed me from posting blogs on the weekends because he said I need to take time off.  That having been said, we worked hard on the website all weekend but yesterday I really did need to take the day off.  

*

But it brings me to crazy moment.

Saturday night, after working hard on the website all day, BP and I went out to dinner.  It’s a local place within walking distance (just the way I like it!).  We’ve been there three times (since I just moved to the neighborhood), and already we are getting to know everyone mainly because Will and I are both social butterflies, chatting with all of our neighbors.  

*

Will and I get along really well; laughing all the time, inspiring each other, working like fiends.  When we get to the restaurant, everyone can tell we have a certain chemistry.  So it wasn’t too surprising when the owner’s wife asked if we were married.  When I said no, she asked if we were brother and sister… huh?

*

When I said no again she gave me a wink and walked away.  It did not take long before she stood before Will, her hand on her hip.  “So when are you going to put a ring on her finger?”  … huh?

*

We both laughed off the awkwardness but did not correct her.  I believe we could tell that admitting anything to this woman would bring a lot of personal meddling.  But I was amazed that she did not let up and began pushing Will for an answer. Will and I played at her game and I sat there looking wistfully at my finger.  Before long, several people had chimed in and were either telling Will to hurry or asserting that I could rest in the knowledge that Will was sure to put a ring on my finger soon.  ...huh?

*

Will and I laughed all the way home, mainly because, well... we aren’t even dating.  

*

But we had to imagine… what if we were?  Can you believe the pressure Will would be under right now?  Our relationship would be on the brink of collapse! We couldn’t stop laughing that night as I tapped my foot on the kitchen floor with a mock pouty face asking why I wasn’t special enough for him.   

*

It is hard enough maintaining civility as friends and business partners when our creative juices flow in opposite directions.  Add relationship to our list of things to do and our passion would turn to punches.  But seriously, it brings me back to a key philosophy of mine:  Show, explain, but never push.  I decide my life, you decide yours. 

Lessons Learned

It is almost difficult to sit down and write today, so many excited thoughts begging to be released.  Can  I just say that I love my life!

*

The website is progressing nicely.  I plan to have more up today.  It’s pretty exciting that you can “go to print” and then simply make an edit the next day, changing what everyone sees.  Somehow it seems a better reflection of time – not being static.  Perception is reality.  What you see is what you get. 

*

Many people tell the importance of history, and while I will not disagree to the myriad of valuable lessons that are learned from experiential wisdom, it cannot be denied that ‘to the Victor goes the spoils’ and the record of events is written with their pen.  Any accounting by definition is incomplete, if for the only reason the vast majority do not realize what drives them and the others, why they follow.

*

Jesus, Buddha, Confucius, Lao-tse, Mohammad spoke often in parable and proverb.  I find that allegorical statements about, say the War of 1812, will have a more far reached effect on people, causing them to nod their heads in understanding, then will a list of events and outcomes.  It is the way children learn.  So effective that even years after memorizing on old adage it can suddenly appear in your mind as an “ah-ha” moment.  

*

That’s right.  Simple, Sexy™!    On that note… back to work I go!

A Goldilocks Moment

There is an overwhelming silence of thought that greets me each morning.  I’ve always said that I am not a morning person, but perhaps I am and my distracted surliness is a jealous guarding of the time I have to feel completely empty.  Like meditation.

*

Windows in my mind are opening and I am experiencing a profound acceptance of things I did not realize I was pushing against.  I chose the box of crayons and pulled out the colors with which to paint my life. 

My Business Partner and I (I call him BP because his initials WS won’t quite roll off the tongue unless you say it with Fancy’s southern drawl from Richard Pryor’s The Toy in which case it would be Double U Ass.  I could probably pull it off, but he’s too cool to earn it)… anyway we went out last night to have an appetizer at our ‘local watering hole’.  Hi Michelle!  Hi Bob!  Hi Katie!

*

We came back home with Chinese food from a few doors down and sat outside to enjoy.  BP immediately began arguing with himself over the food and the sauces.  Too spicy, too sweet.  In his little Goldilocks moment, I offered to switch meals (I love spicy) and suggested he not use the sauces and enjoy the food as is.    He eventually tried as I suggested and looked up with a smile.  “It’s good to be so high maintenance and feel so appreciated.”  We both laughed hysterically because he knew that I knew all too well what he meant.

*

As the night wore on, our conversation turned to harnessing the power within… and it is this morning that I realize how much we have both used that principle to laugh our way through so many moments that could have turned to frustration. 

BP… I salute you!