Another day of freedom, what will I do?

Today's rerun, "I'm the Other Woman" was without assignment. I found it interesting though and feel it does complement Oprah's running theme about living our "best life" and understanding our worth and what we deserve out of life. I especially found the man in the audience who's in love with Gayle King to be amusing. Ok, so it was odd timing to do a little on-air set up between her best friend and a stranger during a show about infidelity, but it was still charming.

I have been asked recently (by Christy in a comment) and by several other people in my life about how I can reconcile the dichotomy between my Oprah-suggested shopping lists/appearance upgrades and Eckhart Tolle's lessons in A New Earth. I'll admit. It ain't easy. My understanding, however, is that I can have things and even get enjoyment out of them as long as I don't identify myself through my ownership of these items or my appearance. Tolle (in my interpretation, so far in my reading) is teaching us to know ourselves in a deeper way, separate from our external lives. Easier said than done, eh? Especially when the makeovers on the show are presented in a way that promises we'll feel better about ourselves if we make major adjustments to our wardrobe. This strikes me as very contradictory to Tolle's teachings.

This weekend will contain some more de-cluttering and perhaps a bit more shopping. Speak of contradiction, eh?! I work during the weekends, so it's not easy to get a lot done, but I'll do my best and as always, you'll hear about everything...

Oh - and by the way - no luck on my bathing suit mission. Boy, do I NOT enjoy that activity. Think Eckhart Tolle would come with me next time and guide me through a meditation that helps me separate my True Self from the way my butt looks in a swimsuit?

Pray for me.

Today is a really big day for me. It's Shopping for a New Bathing Suit day. I have turned to Oprah.com for advice on how to find a new suit that's flattering and that makes me feel like a million bucks. My husband and I are planning to hit the beach this summer and I can't wear my dowdy old suits this year - not after watching the "How to Look Great at Any Age" episode yesterday! Whether or not I'm brave enough to post before and after photos on the blog is another question. Maybe I need another month or so of the Best Life Challenge before I will feel confident enough.

Today's show was about updating outdated decor. Oprah asked us to follow some of Nate Berkus' advice if our homes are behind the times. I don't really qualify for these assignments. Luckily, I cleared my home of dried flowers many years ago. (Hello, how much dust could one dehydrated rose collect? Sheesh!)

Without homework for the night, I think I'll work on my Chapter 3 homework for the next webinar. We'll see. I might also want to chill out. Oprah's kept me so busy lately that I forgot that she also told us to relax and take time to take care of ourselves in the January 2008 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine. Later, after my errands, I'll reread the magazine and check out the website and find out how Oprah thinks I should relax.

We do? We do?

I was fascinated with today's show about how to dress best for our age. I was mainly interested in the fact that Oprah kept saying, "We love this! We love this!" I've noticed she does this often...speaks for "us." And tells us how we're feeling. Hm. Call me a rebel, but this doesn't sit right with me. How about you?

Some Oprah advice about bras today: "Keep the girls up!"

And fashion: "You need a crisp, white shirt. You must have."

I'm due for a new bra fitting and think I can actually do that tomorrow afternoon. We'll see. And you know, I no longer have a "crisp, white shirt." So, that will go on the list.

Again on the show, the experts showed us the difference between a "splurge" outfit and a similar outfit purchased on a budget. The budget outfits were all over $350. One was even $794. These are the BUDGET clothes?? Ugh. I find it depressing. I just cannot spend that amount of money on my clothing. Sure, sure, spending almost 800 dollars on an ensemble might be super cheap for Oprah, but I wouldn't be able to pay my utility bills. I'll be honest, this makes me feel excluded from the O-club because of my income and my priorities.

Plus, it's like having a carrot waved in front of my nose. Yes, I want to "Look Great at Every Age" but I also want to be smart about my money - I have Lloyd Boston, Charla Krupp and Stacy London pulling me in one direction and Jean Chatzky and Suze Orman pushing me in the other. What's a gal to do?

And then, an admission: I actually really preferred the garb today shown for women in their 40s over the clothing for 30-somethings. I'm 35. I wonder if I should just let myself dress "up" or should I just suck it up and dress in the manner the experts say I should?

Whoa - these shows on style send me into a tailspin, don't they? Clothes are really hard for me! Give me a show about spirituality, health, relationships! I can handle those. But, there's something about style that triggers a panic for me. Honestly, I think part of that is the spending. I just don't like to spend on myself unless it's something I really feel I need. I already feel like I own too much "stuff" and I don't want to add to my already stuffed drawers.

WWPWD? What Would Peter Walsh Do?

Spiritual bootcamp

Well, I wasn't able to get into the live class again. Oprah has given us all the blessing to download the class the next day, so that'll be my plan from now on. I'm in the midst of downloading it right now and will watch it as soon as it's on my computer. I hope this class actually addresses the homework questions. Although, I'm not so much in the mood to think about my ego this afternoon. Is that wrong?

I watched today's Oprah show at the gym. Look at me multi-tasking my Best Life Challenge and studying the television show! It was a rerun with the Osmonds and the flat screen tvs at my gym made the entertainment family seem so lifelike, it was like I was actually in Branson, Missouri. No Oprah assignments today. Aren't you relieved for me I don't have to buy an Oprah doll from the Marie Osmond collection?!

I'm going to admit that I'm quite looking forward to tomorrow's episode called, "How to Look Great at Any Age." As long as that wacky Lloyd Benson doesn't send me for more white jeans, I'll be happy.

I wonder if chapter 3 of A New Earth will address how to be concerned about "looking great at any age" without involving my ego at all. Figuring that one out will be a tough game of Spiritual Twister.

At long last...

Here are some images I took of myself, wearing my white jeans, leopard print flats, white turtleneck, and trenchcoat. (I'm wearing a tunic in one of the photos, but it was already in my closet, thankfully). Tada! When I look at these photos, I don't think I look like myself at all. I never choose to dress in this manner, but this year is tossing me into many awkward behaviors. One side effect of the leopard print flats is that my cat is ceaselessly attacking my feet.

I have a couple missing items left on my list and I'll snap some pics of those as soon as they're in my possession.

Today was a new show with Charlize Theron and another Oprah's Big Give recap. I think this will probably be a trend. Just like last week, there's another 4 reruns filling up Tuesday-Friday. I find rerun days depressing and stale. Still, I need to keep focused on them, in case Oprah offers guidance.

The assignment given on today's show was to tune in to the Oprahs Big Give show next Monday. I already expected that one.

And just like high school, I have SO procrastinated on tonight's homework for the A New Earth webinar. I better get a move on and start my workbook questions. Enlightenment, here I come.