Christian author Barbara Baumgardner quoted this fabulous anonymous quip about death:

“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming, ‘Wow. What a ride!’ ”

She quoted this in her journal/article (book?) called  My Fantastic, Final Journey, about her final time on earth battling cancer. That saying became Barbara’s “slogan” until the day she died in 2005.

And that “slogan” epitomizes my sister, Mary Louise “Mimi” Sherwood Larimore (a.k.a. Maven here in Ms. Cheevious-land) who passed away on Tuesday, August 10, 2010, after almost 7 years battling Ovarian Cancer.  She absolutely, unequivocally LOVED life – with every ounce of energy she had. And she LIVED her life to the fullest – even when the cancer was at its worst.

Another sister, Blu and I were talking about it, just after Maven died, and Blu choked out, behind the tears, “And… she  had such a wonderful husband!!  He would have followed her to the ends of the earth!!”  I tearfully agreed, and as I pictured the happy couple that they were, I added, “Actually, she would have followed him too… that’s just how they were”  We both agreed.  What a rare thing to find these days.

So – I’m going to tell you a story that sprung from this. Believe me – I mulled over how to tell it – or whether to tell it at all.  But when I thought about my sister – who was my biggest fan and supporter… who planned to send messages about me to Oprah Winfrey every single day of her life, because she thought I should be one of the authors in Oprah’s book club…  just as soon as she felt better – well, for THAT sister, and because I knew Mimi would get such a laugh and a kick out of it – I decided this story had to be told.

It was in that moment, talking with Blu, that I also thought about just how lucky I, MYSELF, am.  I thought about how my man, M.C. Nugget would do anything for me.  He’s just that type of guy who comes from good stock… his mama brought him up right. He is loving, loyal and a true friend – to men and women alike.  If he knows of hard times in a friend’s life, and can do something about it – he does. It’s that simple.

So, in that moment I thought… ‘hmmm… that’s kinda how Nuggie and I are…’

Over the next day or so,  that very thought is what brought a smile to my face more than once – even in my pain. I felt so very lucky – and felt that Nuggie was pretty lucky too.

On one such occasion, when I had a silly grin on my face for no apparent reason, and Nuggie gave me a curious look, I retold the story to him — with a few qualifiers, of course, like “Not that you would ever NEED to follow me to the end of the earth, honey…ha ha!”

And in a flash – in true M.C. Nugget form, he said, “Well, I might follow CLOSE.”

I laughed and added, “Yeah, and I might STALK you to the ends of the earth, if you’re not careful!”

He continued with the pièce de résistance, “Is there a BAR at the end of the earth? I’d follow you if there’s a bar!”

I laughed and said, “Ya’ gotta figure, anywhere I go, you can count on there being a bar, honey!”

“Well, if not, at least I would be able to SEE you from the BAR closest to the end of the earth.”

Ahhh… true love.

We laughed a lot from that, because that’s who we are.  We love to laugh.

And that was Maven and her hubby! They laughed, and joked, and enjoyed life.  Every ounce of it.  She CERTAINLY skidded to her death sideways, her body worn and tattered… but DEFINITELY able to say “WOW… What a ride!”

Her love for life and her spirit lives on in everyone she knew and touched.  Everyone who was privileged to joke and laugh with her… to dance with her at a party – when she would make fun of herself and try to look like a 60′s go-go dancer, or when she would razz people and get a chuckle out of it…. or talk baby talk and whine to get her way… then chuckle about it.  Anyone who knew her generosity, thoughtfulness and deep love and devotion for her close friends and family – well, they were all blessed tremendously.  We all knew it was just who Mimi was… warm, accepting… fun… and infectious.  And we all wanted to be a part of it.

Maven. Vibrant. Vivacious.  Zesty. Full of Life.

I hope to live life as full and as vibrant as Maven did.  I vow not to let things slide or put important things off for another day –  I promise to LIVE as if every moment is my last — and to make SURE everyone in my world knows that I love them.  I am determined to go after my own personal “bucket list” and not put it off for the last chapter in life.  I don’t know when that last chapter is, and I’m not taking any chances.

You live on forever in my thoughts and in my heart, and in the thousands of things that remind me of you, Mimi. It hurts my heart deeply and sharply to even say that.  I still don’t truly believe you are gone.  You were and are an inspiration.

Love you sissy!  Mmmmmmphhhuuuuuuhhhhh!

xoxoxo,

Ms. Cheevious

a.k.a. Your baby sister, Lisa

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…for more people in her life that like to have fun and enjoy life to the fullest, for more chocolate to eat and fine wine to drink, for more opportunities to travel to interesting and exciting places, for more parties and events with free stuff, for more of that lap of luxury lifestyle she is accustomed to… and of course, Ms. Cheevious is on the hunt every day for MORE WORK.  Or any work will do!

That’s the main reason I’ve not posted in forever.  I am so sorry my pretties.  I know I should be more disciplined and I definitely should not promise content I can’t deliver.  I know I promised oodles of creative entries on the “Desperate Measures” front, and in my defense, I did shoot and record a cute video that would have personified every man (or woman’s) modern-day job hunt hilariously, but as I mentioned on my “author” facebook fan page, the parents of the girl I used vetoed it. HA! Who knew? Actually, as a single mom, I do get it. I use to black out the faces of any pictures I posted online of my kids, because I didn’t approve of putting them up in cyberspace, right there for pedophiles to fantasize about. 

It was a fun little video though, and believe me, I’ve been toying with re-editing it to include only me… 

I just have had NO TIME, literally.  Here’s a quick laundry list of what I’ve been doing:

1. Las Vegas for Daytime Emmys
2. Boston for the Fourth of July
3. Home on a Wednesdaycoincided by a two week visit from my 15 year old son (who lives out of state with his dad).
4. My Birthday Party on the following weekend.
5. Entertaining the teenager.
6. But above all…. that which consumes me night and day:  JOB HUNTING…

It all started back near the end of June.  My boyfriend (M.C. Nugget – and for you newbies, I change the names off all my peeps here to preserve their anonymity, unless of course, they are famous and misbehaving… then I dish it out baby. You can get a list of “aliases” on my “About This Blog” Page) and I traveled to Las Vegas a few weekends back because we had a friend who hooked us up with a virtually FREE room at the Bellagio, and we had a very good friend who was nominated for a Daytime Emmy.  We couldn’t miss it, and Nuggie footed the bill (the lovely specimen of male human flesh that he is) - so I was off!

We were home ONE day, and hopped a plane to Boston to visit his family for a week over the Fourth of July.  Boy was it FUN.  That’s where we shot the video for my little “Desperate Measures” series…. the one that got lost on the cutting room floor… ha ha.

Well, from the list above – you know the rest…  It’s been a litlte crazy.  Here is a fun picture of me  at my birthday celebration (which also coincided with my bff’ Sheila’s birthday – so we joined forces and painted the town RED) with just a few too many cocktails in me, and Nuggie – well… the same… ha ha.

So there you have it lovely ladies and gentlemen.  Fun on the not-so-sunny-these-days coast of Southern California…

I will ABSOLUTELY do a new installment very soon.  Until then: Keep getting up, Keep a good attitude, Keep Eating Chocolate and Drinking Fine Wine (but of course), and Love your People!

Love YOU People!  Mmmmmphhhhuuuhhhhhhh!

xoxo,

Ms. Cheevious

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Just sayin.

I know everyone talks and is writing creatively about the importance of exerting our own “independence” – especially in regard to women, but I’m kinda tired.

Oy.

I’ve been working so hard lately (no joke – like 6 am to 11 pm every night), I figure if you’ve got good people in your life you can depend on, it makes it all worth it.  The getting up, the emails, the running around, the worry.  Oy – the worry.  But with good people to depend on, my my, how sweet it is.  It brings to mind once again how life is not really so HARD, per se, but one great big adventure.  And no one said adventures would always be EASY.

So, on this Fourth of July be sure to tell those you depend on how happy you are they’re in your life.

THEN you can be independently happy you’ve got it so good.

Now, get out there and create your own fireworks, but be safe my lovely male and female adventurers! 

Stay tuned next week for Desperate Measures II – the first video installment in my light-hearted series about a serious subject: unemployment and economic hard times. 

Love you people!!! Mmmmmppphuuuuuuhhhhhhh!!!!

xoxo,

Ms. Cheevious

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I am a mom.  A mother, mama, madre… etc.  And I am truly celebrating that today.  But I’m also celebrating my super-hero ability at this particularly unique juncture in my life to do – - – well – - –  absolutely nothing. 

Zip. 

Nada. 

This super-hero ability transcends traditional thought, and enables me to love doing nothing, to cherish it, to step outside of myself at times and analyze and see my nada state of being for what it is – to relish and be thankful for it.  And THAT is amazing.  The really super-power trick, however,  is not to let the nada-ness be cause for worry, self-defamation or fear.

Mother’s Day 2002

My two boys are older now- one fully grown up (I know… I was six when I had him.  It was in all the papers), and one who is 14 and lives with his dad in another state.  I love them so much (and so often) it hurts – in a good way most of the time – but that is another story — one that is so very much more than nothing or nada, and to even try to do it justice in my nada frame of mind, just wouldn’t be fair or right.

So – I’ll tell you about my realization that I actually relish being a Nada Mama on this beautiful Mother’s Day, 2010. 

You see, though I own my own business, and love what I do (marketing and PR – spinning and pitching stories for the media, getting my clients on red carpet at some fabulous events, making deals for them, etc.), things (and by “things” I mean paying clients) have been very scant lately.  So much so, I’ve been keeping myself ultra busy, spinning plates/wheels, doing tricks, “putting it out there” – pitching myself to friends, acquaintances — sending resumes around since October – and still nothing has changed (my bank account notwithstanding).  As busy as I’ve been – even up until this past week – trying to “make things happen” – there is still – - just – - nothing, it seems. 

Oh, I’ve gotten a new client here and there, lost a few along the way – but things everywhere in this universe just seem to be —  STUCK.  And I feel for others out there!  I’ve only been trying to elicit some serious change since last October.  Many more have been battling far longer.

So, I’ve just decided this week to just go with it.  To love the nada-ness.  Embrace it.  Hold it.  Cuddle it. 

And now it’s official.  I am a bonafide nada queen.  A lounging fool.

It’s Sunday, and I spent the day yesterday lounging on the beach with M.C. Nugget. 

I love the beach. Love laying in the sun (with appropriate SPF properly applied, of course), riding my bike along the strand in Santa Monica, watching the sunset over the Pier. It’s quite relaxing and amazing.  I may not be raking in the dollars right now, but I am certainly raking in the sunshine and reaping the benefits – the soft, golden skin that comes from the balmy sea air.  I may not be making power deals at every moment, but I am powering up the little hill on Ocean Park Boulevard peddling my bike as fast as possible to make the green light, and reach my final destination — the friggin OCEAN people! Hello?  How lucky am I to be just a couple of blocks from the great blue sea?

So, it’s been an incredibly challenging year for most folks.  I can’t even begin to detail the types of difficulties my friends and family have encountered.  Yet, even still, for every person who’s struggling (financially, health-wise, etc), I know someone who at least seems to be doing just fine. 

So I’ve decided that I am too.  And I am actually GRATEFUL for the NADA MAMA I am! 

Right here.  Right now. 

Carpe Diem, people!  I gotta seize the day, because, hey – life is short – and I may never again be able to simply wake up, attend a 5-day-a-week pilates class, answer a few emails, check in on Facebook, handle a few details for my clients, and then – if I so desire – take the rest of the day off to lay in the sun or ride bikes with my man.  Granted, I don’t do that every single day (I’m still in Nada Mama training) – but believe me, as of late, I’ve done my share.

No matter how difficult things get, I have to realize that I’ve got it pretty stinkin’ good to be able to just stop, dead in my tracks, along with the seemingly STUCK UNIVERSE, and smell the roses, sip the coffee, soak in the rays, etc.

Ahhh.  To do absolutely nothing.  Everyone should be so lucky.

Happy Mother’s Day everyone!  Yes – EVERYONE.  Even you, who are not female, or mothers.  Yes, even you have a mom, or have had one.  Everyone has.  And I bet they all learned to enjoy being a Nada Mama once in a while too.

Stay tuned next week for some more tales of — well — how about nothing!  It’s either that or I’ll have to give away some of the fun and frivolity that occured at the Baja Cantina, The World Cafe and more on Cinco de Nuggie (M.C. Nugget’s Birthday)!  But until then, people… just do this for a while:   breathe in…. and breathe out…. ahhhhhh.

Love you people!  Mmmmmppphhhhuuuuhhhh!

xoxo,

Ms. Cheevious

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So, the date was December 19, 2009. M.C. and I hosted a little holiday party at my place. It was awesome. People came and went. A couple of my clients stopped by, as well as some family… It was the usual holiday get-together.  That is, until about 2:00 am.

That’s when all that remained were me, M.C. and a couple of our friends who decided to stick around and gab. At one point we decided to start taking photos to remember the evening.

I was the first designated photographer (and last – you’ll see why in a second). I moved in to get a great shot, and leaned over to get an even  ”better” angle of the three of them.  I didn’t realize I was dangerously close to a taper candle M.C. lit earlier that evening.

My girlfriend gasped and said, “Lisa! Your hair’s, on fire!” I shrugged it off and patted it out… or so I thought, until she continued, “No! It’s REALLY on fire!”

Just then M.C. took two very large strides in my direction and somehow patted the flames out — VERY quickly.  (Actually all of that happened in a matter of seconds).

That was it for the photo session!  I ran to my bathroom to observe the damage, and believe it or not, there was NO VISIBLE DAMAGE?  I am NOT kidding!  That’s what I get for accommodating my friends and being the designated photog!  Ha!

The only thing I can think of which may have prevented my hair from going “POOF!” and literally bursting into flames, however, is that I’d been using a new hair product for a while (that day and evening included). It was a heat protector to be used prior to flat-ironing your hair.  I’d been in search of something like it for years, and when I found it a few months back, I immediately began to use it.  It protects your hair up to 475 degrees, Fahrenheit.  So – I am thinking it had to have some sort of FLAME RETARDANT in the mix!  Ha ha!  Is that CRAZY or WHAT? 

So, here is a picture of me with some super imposed flames on my hair.  I never got any pictures of myself that evening… as I mentioned!  By the time we got around to taking photos, my hair burst into flames!  HA HA! 

I’m told this is how big the flame was (or at least this is how I imagined it based on the saucer-sized eye balls my girlfriend had)!!

What’s funny is that about a week later, my girlfriend called me up to tell me that I must have angels around me, because my whole head of hair was engulfed in flames, and there was NO damage.  We were laughing about it.  I told her about my little product, which, of course, she asked me to pick up for her the next time I saw it. 

Fast forward to this past Wednesday.  She was back at my house, prior to an event I was taking her to (she is also a client of mine).  It was the People’s Choice Awards Post Celebration Party Benefiting Britticares (for kids with cancer).  Long story short, I was still finishing up my “flat-iron” routine when she arrived, so she chatted with me while I finished up.  My “product” was sitting on the counter, and I held it up to her.  And I swear, it was the FIRST time I’d actually paid any attention to the name, but it was called “GUARDIAN ANGEL.”  I kid you NOT.  Pretty funny!  We CRACKED UP at the fact that not only did I have angels around me, but I also had a GUARDIAN ANGEL – in a BOTTLE!  Ha! 

And – of course, without further adieu – here it is, my friends. My “Guardian Angel”:

Be sure to click this link and buy it now (shameless plug, I know).

So – we laughed and went off to enjoy a fabulous night at the People’s Choice Awards Post Celebration.  It was a fantastic event, and my girl and another celebrity friend were photographed, interviewed, hit up for autographs – the whole shebang (sp?). 

Whew!  I’m SOOO glad I can take that one off the list! I now know what it’s like to be ON FIRE.

Have a fantastic weekend you marvelously gorgeous humans! 

Love you people!  Mmmmmmppphhuuuhhhhhh!!

xoxo,

Ms. Cheevious

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Blog content copyright 2009, LISA JEY DAVIS a.k.a. Ms. Cheevious