A Personal Renewal Group for Mothers (and Other Artists)

"Courting the Muse!"
Starts Tuesday July 28th, 2009
Creativity coaching group. Facilitated by Austin singer/songwriter Tricia Mitchell.

• Do you want to feel more connected--to yourself, your art, and to others?
• Are you craving the support and structure that will enable you to move to "the next level" as an artist?
• Would you like to learn how to nurture your physical, emotional and spiritual well-being--so you can be at your creative best?
• Are you interested in new ideas for self-renewal and life balance?

Topics Include

• "The Transformative Power of Self-Care" (on a physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional level)
• "Your Identity As An Artist"
• "You and Your Crazy Dreams!"
• "Inspiring the Work Space"
• "The Inner Play Space (for Kids of All Ages)"
• "Managing Your Energy: Setting Priorities, Saying 'No,' and Asking for Help"
• "Treasuring Your Obscurity"
• "The Power of Flow"
  

Feedback About Tricia:
-"Brings great focus, reverence, clarity and humor to the process, while she lovingly guides the meetings and the follow up." -Liz B.
-"Knowledgeable about both the systems and the attitude that I need to succeed." -Donna R.
-"Packed a tremendous amount of rich material, reflection, and sharing into a short time without giving any impression of rushing." -Deb. P.
-"Every time I walk away from a meeting, I have a spring in my step and AT LEAST one new idea I want to pursue or ruminate upon." -Risa F.
-"If you want to cry less and laugh more, run--don't walk--to Tricia's next PRG!" -Kara S.


About the Facilitator:
Tricia Mitchell is a mother, a singer/songwriter, dancer, and writer, and a Renee Trudeau & Associates-trained Personal Renewal Group (PRG) facilitator. Her approach is appreciative, motivating, and filled with humor. She has an MBA from Rice University and lives in East Austin with her husband, two young children, and a Labrador Retriever.


To Learn More or to Register:
Begins July 28th, meeting every other Tuesday evening for twelve weeks, at Armstrong Community Music School at Austin Lyric Opera, 901 Barton Springs Rd., 7-9 p.m. For info or to register, e-mail Tricia at pigtailrecords@yahoo.com or call (512) 940-4027. Cost: $180 for 6 meetings (includes e-mail support/reminders between meetings). Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis; group size is limited to twelve participants.

Decide

At our last PRG meeting, we talked a lot about deciding. It's something I'm really into right now. I used to really agonize over things, and now, especially as a mom, I find it so freeing to "just decide." Did you know that the origin of the word "decide" is "to cut"? When we decide, we take leadership over our future, by cutting off some of the possibilities. It's powerful stuff.

Of course there are good things and bad things about any choice. Of course we always have limited and imperfect information. What I like about deciding is how good it feels to choose as best I can, know it won't be perfect either way, and vow that I will live with the choice I made, whatever it brings. When I was a kid, my dad always made these cracks about what a drag it was to have adult responsibilities. I have been surprised at how much I really enjoy being an adult, being the captain of my ship, getting to try things and see how they go. It's not so bad, and in most ways it beats the heck out of being dependent.

When the husband and I were on the fence about having another kid, he kept coming back and asking me increasingly strange questions...about what if the baby had a disability, what if we struggle financially, what if I went back to work, what if this, what if that. After awhile, I said, "you know, it seems like you might not want to have another child. And if you don't want to have another child, for sure I do not want to have another child. So let's just decide! Let's be happy with the two beautiful children we already have. We're grown ups--so let's just say that we're not going to have any more kids. Sure, there may be times when we feel wistful and wish we had another, but there will also be many times we're glad we didn't take that on."

That was such a great experience, and we were both immediately relieved. Then I got to start thinking about the next part of my life, post-mom-of-young-kids, which gave me this great surge of energy. I hadn't realized how much of my energy was caught up in not knowing whether I would be prolonging this intense and exhausting stage of my life even longer. Now I think that not knowing and being in limbo actually use up tremendous amounts of energy, way more than dealing with the fallout of any particular choice does. Carrie Contey, Ph.D., my favorite parenting coach, concurred with me that deciding is great role modeling for my kids. It teaches them that they can choose, without a lot of waffling or wailing and gnashing. I'm one of those people who believes that we really do know what the right choice is, if only we will listen to ourselves and own the responsibility of making the cut.

Churning the Universe

You may be asking yourself the following questions about the past couple of weeks:

1. Tricia, why did Howard Thompson begin playing your song "Girlfriend of the Band" on his internet radio show, North Fork Sound this week?

2. Why did David Hooper recently play your music on the "Demo Derby" portion of his marvelous radio show, Music Business Radio? (I haven't heard it yet, and I can't even tell you which episode it's on, but it's due to air soon).

3. Why is Sara Hickman's version of your song, "Learn You Like a Book" in a voting contest (details below)?

4. Why all this, so all-of-a-sudden, in the last two weeks, when you're not performing live or actively promoting your old, old, CD, "Purple Room"?


It's simple. I have begun a self-imposed singer/songwriter boot camp, and I am churning the universe, from the inside out.

I have hired a coach. I have a new guitar teacher, we're meeting twice a month. I have resumed piano lessons. I'm still with my same voice teacher I've been with for almost five years. I am practicing like a little someone-or-other who practices a lot. I'm taking on my personal demons, summoning my inner hero, and shining up my goals and direction. I've connected with a version of myself who lives 20 years in the future, and you know what she told me? "You're going to have so much fun not being so creatively pent up anymore!" I even bought a new music stand--it's shiny and red. I'm busting through, come hell or high water.

For real. All that inner stuff, and then this outer stuff pops up, no less than two weeks later. Awesome, huh?

So go vote for my song! You can vote once a day through May 30th.

1. Go to: Hoss the Boss
2. Scroll down to "Sara Hickman, 'Learn You Like a Book'"
3. Check the box
4. Click on VOTE!

Thank you! (we're in first place right now!)

Every Mom Needs A Copy ...

FREE MOTHER’S DAY BOOK DOWNLOAD ($20 value)

Download a free copy of national life balance expert Renee Trudeau’s award winning The Mother’s Guide to Self-Renewal: How to Reclaim, Rejuvenate and Re-Balance Your Life for 48 hours: May 8th-May 10th.

www.mothersguidetoselfrenewal.com

I can't say how much I love this beautiful and powerful book! It has contributed greatly to my peace, happiness, and ability to be a balanced role model for my kids. I am currently leading a self-care group for moms based on this book.

Download it today! Thank me later! (You deserve it.)

Happy Mother's Day!

To Wake Up Inspired...

This is a brilliant video/song by Tanya Davis, from Halifax.

Thanks to Kathie Sever, who posted this on her blog.

It's just so perfect, everyone needs to see it.

And big kudos to me, for figuring out how to embed a video in my blog! La la la la la..... :)

TOP 10 Reasons Why You Should Love Brad Paisley As I Do

Now it is time to write my long-awaited reflections on seeing Brad Paisley perform at the Frank Erwin Center. I have received hundreds of comments from faithful blog readers since I posted my musings on Darius Rucker's show. The people, they want to know: How was he?

All I can say is that I believe everyone should be a fan of Brad Paisley. I am afraid some of you-- namely my Yankee friends, my really cool liberal friends, and some of my other friends who aren't keen on country music--won't even check him out. On the surface, he probably comes across like any other skinny, little white guy who sings with a southern accent.

When I have these fears (and this is part of what has taken me so long to write about this), I get a little frustrated. I'm just so sad for y'all.



My TOP 10 Reasons Why You Should Love Brad Paisley As I Do:


10. He just won two Grammys and is nominated for six American Country Music awards, including Entertainer of the Year. 10 million albums sold. Thirteen #1 hits.


9. If you're a dude, Brad Paisley should be your role model. You should admire him because he is SO grounded in the things he loves in life. It's not that he's not into chicks--he is (just check out "Ticks")--but not so much that's he's gonna give up going fishing or playing his guitar. He's not the one writing these pathetic, co-dependent, "I'm gonna die without you" songs. (Well, except for "Whisky Lullabye." but that song is SO over the top, with the double suicide and all. You know better than to try that at home).


8. If you're a woman, you should want to be/be with a guy like Brad. See #9. Women, believe me, you want a guy who's grounded in the things he loves in life. And most importantly, you should ground yourself in the things you love.


7. He is a great songwriter. His songs are catchy, and usually funny, and smart. We all need more catchy, funny, smart songs. Do yourself a favor and go watch "Letter to Me" and see if your heart is unmoved.


6. At his Austin show, even though he's a big fancy famous guy, he brought out locals Ray Benson and Redd Volkaert. How cool!


5. He did this crazy thing where Alison Krauss appeared on stage with him in a hologram. Spooky!


4. He showed this amazing and fun little animated movie that he made, featuring delightful caricatures of his band, The Drama Kings. Like he doesn't have enough to do, between being a great songwriter, an amazing guitarist, touring all over, being married to that actress from the "Father of the Bride" movies, and being a dad. He's just gotta bring it home to the fans.


3. He respects his elders. Brad is a guy who reveres the traditions and teachings of those who came before him. His new CD, "Play," features many of his heroes, folks like B.B. King, Albert Lee, James Burton, Buck Owens, Steve Wariner, and Vince Gill. And oh my God, speaking of elders: have you seen that video with Andy Griffith, for "Waitin' on a Woman"?


2. He is a complete badass on the guitar. I call him "BrAD-ASS"! If you have any doubts that this statement is true, go buy or download his new guitar record, "Play." Thank me later. Any dudes who didn't make him their role model after reading #9 above, should do so after listening to this CD.

Here's what Brad Paisley he says about his new CD:

"This album is my love affair with the guitar. When I was eight I got a gift from my grandpa. No coincidence that around that time I also got an identity. See, no matter how I have changed, learned and evolved as a person, the guitar has been a major part of it, and really the only constant. A crutch, a shrink, a friend, love interest, parachute, flying machine, soapbox, canvas, liability, investment, jackpot, tease, a sage, a gateway, an addiction, a recovery, a temptress, a church, a voice, veil, armor, and lifeline. My grandpa knew it could be many of these things for me, but mostly he just wanted me to never be alone. He said if I learned to play, anything would be manageable, and life would be richer. You can get through some real tough moments with that guitar on your knee. When life gets intense, there are people who drink, who seek counseling, eat, or watch TV, pray, cry, sleep, and so on.

I play."


1. If you are a human, you ought to like Brad Paisley. He comes across as a very successful, multi-talented, down-to-Earth, super nice guy who gets to do what he loves for a living. And he's at all shy about expressing his gratitude about that.





(Brad, I do have to say that I will not be watching the ACM awards on Sunday night. I'll be taking my husband to see Bruce Springsteen, at your joint, the Frank Erwin Center. I guess this is my year of big arena shows.)

Got Cracks?

As in, spaces one might fall through?

Sometimes really suddenly, so that your life completely changes?

Do me a favor, and head on over to some websites for me:

Start by clicking on the photo of the cute baby on the upper right side of my blog.

You'll meet Ike, a 10-lb baby who is doing time in the pediatric intensive care unit at Dell Children's Hospital. He was born something like 15 weeks premature last fall. Lately, he's been making a strange wheezy sound when he breathes, and then, more recently, he caught a virus that made it almost impossible for him to breathe.

His mom is a wonderful writer who also has two other kids. Check out her blog, too, especially if you like witnessing someone who can go through a pretty horrific set of events and remain funny, tender, smart, and tough. After you check out her blog, go buy her book, Haiku Mama, from Amazon. Makes a great baby shower gift!

Ike's dad's whole department was laid off last week. Very unexpectedly. They have COBRA coverage, but it's expensive.

Everyone knows that the "current economy" is not in the best of shape. You may be hearing about people losing their jobs, homes, etc. This particular family is caught in the midst of that. Their community is stepping up in a major and very inspiring way, and I invite you to step up, too. Ike's website lists some upcoming fundraising events. Please attend, and give generously. And regardless of whether you attend, or whether you give, please keep this family in your thoughts and prayers.