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Wednesday, July 30th, 2008, 3:12 pm

Dear Blog Buddies,

Angelina and Brad finally welcomed their fraternal twins into the world this week in the South of France. YAY! It seems celebrity baby names are quite extraordinary these days. Their baby girl was named Vivienne Marcheline. Their baby boy was named Knox to go with their other boys Maddox and Pax. Sounds like a Dr. Seuss dream...."There is Knox in a box with a fox....etc....!"

And then Nicole Kidman had her baby on a Monday and named her Sunday.

Matthew McConaughey had a baby boy that he wanted to name Budweiser (OMG Men!) but eventually named him Levi. In the same vein, I am surprised there are not more children out there called Green Bay Packers or some such name. I had to persuade my husband not to include the names Callaway, Titleist or Ping in our son's name!

Then there is Gwyneth and Chris Martin with their delightful children Apple and Moses. They sound like some kind of weird twisted biblical expletive when you say the siblings names together. Oh Apple and Moses!!!!

Jamie Lynn Spears just had a bonny baby girl, Maddie. Should fit in well with the family. Mad, Madder, Maddie. Hmmmm.....

In the future will the singer/songwriters of the day be singing these names. Eg. Instead of Neil Diamond's 'Sweet Caroline' will Natasha Bedingfield be singing about 'Sweet Harlow Winter Kate?' (Nicole Richie's baby girl)

I think Sir Bob Geldof takes the biscuit though. His 3 daughters with Paula Yates are named Fifi Trixibelle Geldof, Peaches Honeyblossom Michelle Charlotte Angel Vanessa Geldof and Little Pixie Geldof. I kid you not! Imagine being called Little Pixie Geldof as a High School Senior!!!!! AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!

In a BBC Brit sitcom called the Vicar of Dibley there is a really lovable but dopey character called Alice Tinker and she wants to name her child after the Teletubbies- 'Tinkie Winkie La La Dipsy Po.' This is completely fictional sitcom stuff but I still think she gives Sir Bob a run for his money!! (Just as an aside, after reading the Da Vinci Code and noting that her name rhymes with chalice, Alice decides she is in fact a descendant of Jesus! Hehehhe!)

Frank Zappa has children called Moon Unit, Dweezil, Ahmet Emuukha Rodan and Diva Magick. Alrighty then!

So I researched the daftest name I could find. And here it is.....

Tarquin Fin-tin-lin-bin-whin-bim-lim-bus-stop-F'tang-F'tang-Olé-Biscuitbarrel.

It is his actual legal name. He is a British (had to be!!!) political candidate self-renamed after a Monty Python character. Born John Desmond Lewis.

I absolutely love all these names and applaud the creativity and guts of the above mentioned parents. Good on them, I say!

Does your child have an unusual name? Post them here and let me know, I would love to hear from you.

Abyssinia,

Love and light,

LauraXXXXXXXXX

www.yourpotentialpower.com

Tags: brad pitt, angelina jolie, life coach, celebrity baby names, brit

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Wednesday, July 30th, 2008, 2:18 pm

Dear Blog Buddies,

Welcome! Thanks for clicking on me, reading this and becoming a blog buddy:0)

I have to tell you right off the bat that I am from England. I am a Brit, born and bred in England so I have to apologize up front for any peculiar English sayings (Eg. Ecky thump! Cor blimey! Ta ta for now!) and even more peculiar English spellings (Eg. I had to remember to put a z in apologize just now!)

Brits on TV such as Simon Cowell from American Idol and Gordon Ramsay from Hell's Kitchen may have contributed to an image of Brits being meanies. I would like to say, for the record, I am not a meanie but I am into straight talking.

Simon Cowell and Gordon Ramsay are without doubt fierce critics who offer their personal and professional opinions with confidence and brutal straight-talking that may make you cringe, cry, laugh or all of the above.

But they are honest. They are true to themselves. Perhaps they ham it up a little for entertainment purposes (most probably!) but they say it as they see it. They are fearless of reactions to their opinions.

And because of this they remind me of our children!

I believe our children have a similar Cowell/Ramsay ability to deliver blunt, straightforward, expert opinions on all manner of things they encounter in their young lives. It is like an innate ability to speak the truth as they see it with no fear of wounding or offending anyone, just like Cowell/Ramsay. Our children's brilliant opinions should not only be sought but encouraged.

Come on now you have all had those experiences with your children where they just lay the plain truth right at your feet like a little offering of wisdom especially for you. My son appears to be particularly gifted in this department. Asked if he likes my new groovy haircut he replies, "NO. EEEUUGGHH!"  Nice one. And there are pleeeeeennnnnntttttttyyyyyyy of other such examples. You know you've had those moments. You know what I am talking about!

Funnily enough, because the Cowells and the Ramsays of the world are so honest and truthful coupled with such a blunt delivery that is in no way softened, the receiver of their words of wisdom actually get to HEAR the words that are being spoken.  People may not like to hear such opinions and find them unpalatable and in conflict with the image and opinion they have of themselves and their abilities. Certainly they may disregard them in the short term. But such opinions may serve a greater purpose in the long term after private reflection and some soul-searching. Such truthful opinions coming from an honest place may actually promote an opportunity for an individuals growth and personal evolution. A wake-up call. A reality check.

Perhaps as parents we might reconsider the way we offer our opinions to our children. Take a leaf out of our childrens' book. If we are constantly rewarding them with "Good job!"  and "Well done!"  and "Congratulations!"  for every little burp, scribble, cute smile or good behavior, are we actually encouraging our children to perform life with an inner 'ta-da'  added to all they do with an expectation of reward or applause? Now I don't encourage you to be deliberately hurtful to your child. For instance if they offer you a piece of art work, please don't respond with, "Well, that's just crap isn't it?" (A la Ramsay) or if they recite a nursery rhyme, please don't respond with, "Well, that's a piano bar/ karaoke/ cruise ship performance, isn't it?" (A la Cowell).

Perhaps we can be honest in our responses to our children. Let's consider our choice of words. "I can see you were really focussed on drawing this picture. I really like the colors you have chosen. Tell me about it?" Is a response that is truthful, specific and constructive in you child's development. Let's trust that our children are strong, capable, independent thinkers and confident in themselves. If we constantly 'protect' and 'cushion' them from our honest opinions as their parents are we not conveying the message that they are weak, incapable and unable to handle an honest opinion?

I invite you to share stories of your children's Cowell/ Ramsay moments. I really look forward to reading them!

Ta ta for now!

Love and light,

Laura XXXXX

 www.yourpotentialpower.com

Tags: blog, brit blog, best blog, brit, fun

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Saturday, June 28th, 2008, 9:38 pm

Okay, so there are times when we need to hear your opinion and other times we don’t.  A few weeks ago, I was leaving a restaurant with a few girlfriends.  My friend, Megan, was walking a few steps behind me. Let me stop here and tell you that Megan is one of those girls you want to hate but just can’t because she is really not hateable at all.  She is a sweetheart.  But, you do want to hate her because she is really beautiful, thin, smart and has great style.  Okay, I digress. So Megan says to me, “Those pants are really cute but I can see your panty lines.  You need to start wearing thongs.”  This was not said in a mean way at all.  She was truly being helpful and she was right.  I have had almost twenty years since I was told that VPL (visible panty lines) were an awful site.  I was too afraid or disgusted by the idea of thongs back then.  However, I realized now that I should have followed this advice when I heard the VPL truth from my gay male college friend (whom of course I did not know at the time was gay – but that is another blog entry in itself). 

Back to present day, I appreciated the thong tip and decided Megan was right. However, later that day, I received a voicemail from Megan.  The voicemail was an apology for the comment.  Megan felt terrible that she criticized my choice of undergarments and was so worried she hurt my feelings.  I truly was not upset or hurt; I sincerely appreciated (and needed) the advice.  Sometimes it is very helpful and necessary to receive constructive criticism.

This situation got me thinking – well, since my mind never stops going, it did not “get me thinking” but just switched my mind gears into this situation.  The question is “when do we want or need truthful advice?”  How often have you seen a friend after an unfortunate visit to the hairdresser and wondered if you should tell the truth?  Probably not.   OR, Do you tell your friend who is so happy to finally fit into a way too tight size 6 pair of pants that she would really look better in the comfortable size 8 instead?  Definitely, if a camel toe is involved.  Or more seriously, would you tell your friend if you knew her spouse was cheating on her?  (Unfortunately, I have been personally faced with that one and it was not a friend but  a family member and a pretty horrible situation  - again, saving that one for many many future blog entries)

 In my opinion, the answer lies in the following simple statement.  If the friend who will be hearing the truth can simply remedy the situation, then GO FOR IT!  In other words, there is no reason to tell a friend that everyone thinks her husband is a jerk because all that is going to do is hurt her.  However, if that same husband has a piece of seaweed in his teeth, you can feel free to tell him. 

Lastly, remember to only give the advice when “the offender” can do something about it.  Once, years ago, and only once, my husband made the following mistake:  We were out on a Saturday night with friends.  He looked at my jeans and told me that they were not the best look for me – okay he was not that diplomatic but you get the point.  While I would have appreciated the advice prior to leaving the house, there was nothing I could do about it while waiting in line to buy movie tickets – except of course spend the rest of the night obsessing about how bad I looked in those jeans.  I calmly (okay, I admit, not so calmly) explained to him that next time, I would prefer to hear “the truth” when I could have CHANGED MY STUPID JEANS BEFORE WE LEFT THE HOUSE!  I think you get the point. 

As for me, I threw away those jeans immediately when I got home that night.  And of course, more recently I learned that after a few minutes, you forget you are wearing a thong!

If you enjoyed reading this, you can read more of my blogs at www.acrazyredhead.wordpress.com 

Tags: funny, friends, women, humor, woman

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Thursday, June 26th, 2008, 12:11 am

Help me get noticed, check out my videos at youtube.com and search virginiabeachbrad.  I have talent and I am not afraid to look like an idoit trying to prove it. I will do whatever it takes.

Tags: talent, snl, funny, virginiabeachbrad

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Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008, 6:17 pm

My poor husband.

I used to be the kind of wife who had a schedule.  I scheduled chores.  I scheduled dinner.  I scheduled when we would meet up with friends, and when we would go out and have a beer.  I even scheduled sex.

But guess who's gotten laaaazzzzyyy?  Yup.  Me.  Your numero-uno.  I dunno what's gotten into me, but it's been about a year now.  Hahaha!  I've been slacking.  I keep apologizing, dropping hints that I truly am sorry for the way that I'm acting, but I honestly feel that I can't help it.  I mean, the first thing that I'm going to do when I get this little job of mine is to have the Maids come into my house and clean it.  And then I might just do the laundry.  You see, I always need an excuse, and having people over (even if it is only The Maids) might propel me to do something about it. 

Then, once the house is clean, I might just pick up the phone and call some of our friends.  My hubby loves to cook, and since we're already in the summer grillin' mode, I can go ahead and invite gobs of friends over all at once, so that I don't feel guilty about not inviting them over one-by-one throughout the year.  Is that distasteful of me?  Maybe I'm a hermit.  Yes, that must be it.

But what about the biggie...the sex?  I know that my sex drive just isn't what it used to be.  I'm settling now into married life, and it's getting better and better.  Our sex is familiar, and wonderful, and sacred.  It's also scarce.  And doggone it, I'm tired most of the time, and so is he.  Either that or lazy.  I know I am.

So that's my story and I'm sticking to it.  I think that I'm definitely in a rut.  So what should I do?  Run?  Do jumping jacks?  Just MAKE myself do it?  BTW, I'm not that kind of girl...still rather lazy. Just being honest!  Hopefully I'll get a jumpstart with a job, and become organized again, and hooked on the adrenaline of the change and then BOOM! husband will have his sexy little wife back.  Vacuum and all.

Tags: lazy, sex, funny, schedule, maids

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