turning a frown upside down

I have been having a momentary lapse of happiness over the last few days. I am not one to complain about much, or be sad about anything these days, but the last few have been a big bummer for me.

For one, last Friday I found out the conference I was invited to take part of a panel at in February regarding "growing your blog" had been cancelled. It was to be held in Napa, and I was invited to join the panel by the widely respected and very generous Stefania of CityMama. I was really eager for the challenge of speaking publicly, and of assessing and evaluating "corner blog" and what I've done with it so far. 

And then last night the verdict came in from Tease-O-Rama, and no, Yve Jobs was not accepted to perform at the convention. I knew it was a long shot, and there were three times as many applicants as the previous year. But to have shared the stage with such greats as Miss Dirty Martini and Satan's Angel, as well as all the amazing dancers from San Francisco and beyond, would've been a highlight of my life! By the way, you should rent (or BUY) the film "Dirty Martini and the New Burlesque" if you want a glimpse into the neo-burlesque movement and some great body-positive reinforcement.

I am just ready to up my game, and those would've been some great opportunities to do just that. I am ready for a good challenge. Maybe this past month of not performing has filled my reserves of courage and I need to release them again!

But, my frown is turning upside down today. Last night I finally located my late father's scarf, pretty much on the anniversary of his death seven years ago, which I have been agonizing over since I lost it during one crazy night out a few weeks ago. I turned over every stone I could possibly turn over, and I finally found the person who had found it. SO happy. I've had that scarf for over twenty years. Losing it was like losing one of my last connections to my dad.

AND, my birthday is this Friday. My friend Marie, who writes the blog "cowl-y-owl", gifted me this awesome cowl she knitted this morning. It's so awesome. I'm wearing it in this freezing cold cafe and it's the only reason I haven't gone home yet. 

AND, my mother and aunt are coming to visit next week.

AND, my "big" birthday gift this year is this:

(Photo by Victoria Smith of sfgirlbybay.com)

This is going to be a great opportunity to meet some other great lady artists, get some learning by local amazing illustrator Lisa Congdon, and meet the woman behind "The Jealous Curator", one of my new favorite websites ever. The workshop is in March. I seriously can't wait.

I should've titled this post "pretty f***ing lucky", come to think of it. Mood on the rebound, as we speak. Nanny time over, two weeks until I can sit by myself again for four hours at a cafe. I don't mind. :)