Why can’t I look like her?

Yesterday my Dad and I were looking through proofs from a recent photo shoot and with every picture my eyes immediately zoomed in on myself. Did I look good? fat? ugly? weird? Only after evaluating my appearance was I able to observe the rest of the picture. When I’m obsessing over the way I look in photos (and in general) depression always follows.  I have this vision of how I should look, and I know that I will never reach that standard. It definitely doesn’t help that we are constantly shown images of women who are “perfect”.

It’s almost impossible for me to look in the mirror without consciously or unconsiously comparing myself to the latest cover of Instyle magazine.  But the images on magazines covers and billboards should not be our standard of beauty, because they’re not even real people! For a quick reality check, watch this video created by Dove as a part of their campaign for “real beauty”. You’ll witness the amazing process of how artists can turn an ordinary girl into a cover girl. The second video, Amy, is a great example of your own self image versus the way others might see you. It’s really cute!

The incredible story of an incredible singer – Eva Cassidy

Eva Cassidy’s story is an amazing one. She was a local nightclub singer in the Washington D.C. area who achieved international fame years after her untimely death from melanoma in November of 1996 (she was 33). My family moved to the same area where she lived in Bowie Maryland just a month before Eva died (I was 7), but I didn’t know anything about her until nearly 10 years later. Fortunately, Eva Cassidy had recorded a small body of live and studio material. In 2000 a BBC morning radio show began playing two of her songs, Somewhere over the Rainbow and Fields of Gold. There was an incredible response from the British public and within months her CD Songbird was sitting at #1 on the British album charts. The story just gets better from there. Just to list a a few highlights:

- she has now sold over 6 million records
- she is the #5 all time selling artist on Amazon
- her music has been played in television and movie soundtracks
- Olympic skaters have used Eva’s songs for their routines
- AIR productions has purchased the rights for a full length feature film on her

For those of you that would like to know more about this remarkable woman you can read Eva’s complete biography hereand/or you can watch a 20 minute ABC Nightline Special at:

(part 1)
(part 2)
(part 3)

 

 Eva Cassidy is a true inspiration for me as a singer. Here’s what the NY Times wrote about her singing – “silken soprano voice with a wide and seemingly effortless range, unerring pitch and a gift for phrasing that at times is heart-stoppingly eloquent”. I can also relate to her as an artist. She was hard to categorize because she liked to sing so many styles of music. She wasn’t into visual or vocal flashiness, but preferred to earn an audience’s respect with great singing and song interpretations.

I wish I could have seen Eva perform live. But it wasn’t meant to be. Instead God gave us all the gift of her recordings and videos. Here’s one of my favorites:

-Marie

Megan’s Song

My topic today isn’t one that I am always eager to talk about, but I do want you to know about my sister Megan, who was diagnosed with leukemia last November.

Before Megan’s illness, my overly simple perception of cancer was that of a very sick person with no hair. But through her ordeal, I learned that there is much more to cancer than illness and baldness. You may be thinking, “Well of course there’s more to it.  What about sadness, worry, and crying”. Yes, my family has experienced all of that. We’ve been through a lot of pain, but somehow in the midst of all the suffering we also found laughter, hope, and even joy.

As Megan’s time in the hospital went on, my family and I fell in love with the other patients, their families, the doctors, the nurses, and everyone else who was part of our difficult  journey. I can see now that our joy came from this love. I’m not saying that I would volunteer to go through the whole ordeal again, but I can say that I (and many others) were deeply touched by Megan and the other children in the hospital.

I made the following video (coming soon) to give everyone a chance to be blessed by Megan like I’ve been these last 8 months. The accompanying song was written and sung by my sister Marie.

-Tess

Fairy tales in New York City?

If you like good fiction then you need to know about Regina Doman’s series of modern fairy tales. The books are based on the Brothers Grimm’s stories but re-told through the lives of contemporary teens. Rather than a lengthy review, I’ll just give a big endorsement and provide the link to Regina’s website www.fairytalenovels.com There you can learn all about her Snow White and Rose Red trilogy and the new book The Midnight Dancers, which is based on Grimm’s The Twelve Dancing Princesses.

btw, We are featuring Regina on our first podcast. I talk to her about writing and her personal life. Also, the picture on the cover of The Midnight Dancers is of my sis’ Carol Lynn.

-Marie

Beauty

As we all know true beauty lies within, but can a well groomed outward appearance positively impact your inner beauty? I believe that it can. Even just a splash of lipstick or a good haircut will boost my confidence.

But as much as I like to look my best, my real passion is to make other people look beautiful. Through the power of make-up, a blow dryer, and a flat iron I can create a masterpiece. For me doing make-up and hair is artistic self-expression and my goal is to bring out the unique and natural beauty of each subject. Make-up artist Geri Cusenza says, “We’re retraining our eyes to look in a different way- to enhance the face, not disguise it.” I totally agree with this approach; by beatifying ourselves were only enhancing the natural beauty God gave us, not disguising it. By staying within the nature of the person maybe I can provide a little window into their soul.

So have fun. Increase the richness of your appearance. But never ever allow it to overshadow your true beauty that lies within.

Coffee…

I must admit that I am into the whole coffee scene. For me coffee shop visits often include meeting up with a friend. So a typical Marie Miller experience goes as follows: First I take it all in – fresh coffee brewing behind the counter, chill music playing on the stereo, friends relaxing together, and people reading their newspapers. Next, I order a drip coffee (hopefully something bold like a French roast) and then my friend and I engage in a nice long conversation. What amazes me about this seemingly normal experience is that each time I walk in and soak up all the sights, sounds, and smells of a coffee shop, I get that “God is good” feeling. (Especially if the coffee is really good)

I started drinking coffee when I was pretty young (eleven I think), and I must admit that in the beginning I enjoyed the Mochas and all the other extremely sweet drinks more than straight coffee. But by the ripe old age of thirteen, quality coffee with a bit of cream was my cafe drink of choice. I especially love rich, full-flavored coffees and discovered while traveling in Europe that people in Italy and Spain know and enjoy good coffee. But my favorite cup of java is the one that my Dad makes for me in the morning. Quite often I wake up to the smell of freshly brewed coffee (courtesy of Dad) and make my way to the kitchen to enjoy an eye-opening, taste-satisfying, perfect start to the day. I will leave you with some coffee quotes. Enjoy!

I have measured out my life with coffee spoons. – T. S. Elliot

Thank you for your coffee, seignor. I shall miss that when we leave Casablanca. – Ingrid Bergman

“You did it! Congratulations! World’s best cup of coffee! Great job, everybody! It’s great to be here.” ~ Buddy
The movie ‘Elf’

Ah! How sweet coffee tastes! Lovelier than a thousand kisses, sweeter than muscatel wine! I must have my coffee…” – Johann Sebastian Bach

-Marie

Bella – I highly recommend this movie

I must admit that I did not go to see Bella while it was in theatres, and even after my family purchased the DVD, I didn‘t watch it for awhile. Finally my sister Tess looked at me and said, “You are going to love this movie! And besides, the guy in this movie is super cute.”

Well, what can I say? I decided to give it a try. It was a cloudy afternoon, and we were planning to watch an hour of the movie and finish it later. Ten minutes into the movie I knew I would have to watch the whole thing. AMAZING! If you haven’t seen Bella yet, I strongly encourage you to watch it.It’s very artistic and cool but at the same time it’s very relatable. This movie celebrates life, and I think it will reach your heart the way it reached mine. Oh and Teresa was so right, Eduardo Verástegui (main character Jose) is “super cute”. But even more impressive than his good looks is his fire for God. Check out Bella and see for yourself why I’m such big a fan.

-Marie

An adventure story

After spending a year at school without much (or rather any) time for pleasure reading, it’s summer and I’m reading for fun again! This is one of the many things that I love about summer. It is the perfect time to learn and explore without mid-terms and finals haunting you.

The first book I picked up was Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. Each time I opened this novel I was transported to 19th century Russia – a place very different from 21st century America. But even more striking than the difference in time and location was the fact that every character’s life was so much more dramatic, eventful, and captivating than mine! Now don’t misunderstand me, I definitely would not want to change places with any of Tolstoy mostly melancholy and often tragic characters. But reading the book did make me long for adventure and excitement.

This adventurous spirit seems to dictate most of my day dreams, and I often fall into the, “my life is so boring!” state. One day I was particularly distraught over my seemingly dull life and I decided to talk to God about it. I opened up my bible to John and read John 10:10, “I came that you might have life, and have it abundantly.” Wow! I finally realized a simple and beautiful truth – It doesn’t matter if I am watching my little siblings, sitting on my front porch, or traveling the world, if I’m doing it with Jesus, it’s an adventure!

He’s the one that fills my days with richness and meaning. Without him I’m just busy. Have you ever heard the old saying, “It’s not what you do but who you do it with that really matters?” Well that definitely applies here. I could live in a castle and have lots of drama in my life, but without Jesus, it would be a mundane and empty existence. He is richness, depth, fullness, and abundance, because He is all that truly IS. I just need to unite myself to Him and I can share in that fullness. The next time that boredom tries to steal away my happiness, I am going to remind myself of John 10:10. And after all, it’s great to be the daughter of a King. It’s quite the adventure!

-Marie

Elinor Dashwood – a source of inspiration

 One of my favorite fictional characters is Elinor Dashwood from Jane Austin’s Sense and Sensibility.  She is strong and sensible but also kind. In the beginning of the novel, Elinor’s father dies and she takes responsibility for the care of her Mother and her two younger sisters.  One of the most inspiring things about Elinor is her emotional strength. Even in difficult situations she is able to control her feelings. This trait makes other characters occasionally accuse her of being cold hearted. The way that she endures this criticism without striking back is a real testament to her inner strength.

Elinor presents an ideal to aspire to, but she is still approachable. She is human and makes mistakes, but her heart is always in the right place and she uses her strength to achieve good things.
If you’ve read Sense and Sensibility, I’d love to get your thoughts about Elinor (or any of the other characters). If you haven’t read the book, I highly recommend it.

-Carol Lynn

In defense of musicals

I am a huge fan of musicals! Yes, It’s true! Despite my self conscious, got-to-be-cool, college student attitude, the musical is one of my favorite movie styles and I am not afraid (well maybe just a little) to shout it out.  I recognize that not everyone is as much of a musical junkie as I am, so let me explain my position:

Imagine a place where you can burst into song and/or dance to your heart’s desire whenever the mood strikes you. In the world of The Sound of Music, Oklahoma, and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers you can do just that! I dream of living life as a musical! Wouldn’t it be amazing to be sweeping your kitchen floor while singing My Own Little Corner with a full orchestra behind you?

Historically, people have been bursting into song for a very long time. The ancient Greeks added song to their comic and tragic performances, and in the middle ages traveling minstrels entertained the nobles with music and comedy.  

Another great thing about musicals is that the majority of them are positive and family friendly, which sets them apart from most other current entertainment forms. Although scripts for musicals don’t typically emphasize realism or character development, not all musicals are light and fluffy. West Side Story, Fiddler on the Roof, and Carousal are all examples of musicals with important lessons to teach.

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rodgers were pioneers of musical comedy films. They acted together in many award winning movies during the 1930′s and 1940′s. If you are interested in amazing songs, top rate dancing, and endearing story lines, watch these films! My favorites are Swing Time (it showcased the great song The Way You Look Tonight) and Top Hat.

I know that musicals aren’t for everyone, but if you haven’t watched one in a while, give musicals another try. There is hardly anything as timeless and dreamlike as Judy Garland singing, Somewhere Over the Rainbow in the opening scene of The Wizard of Oz.

“If pretty little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow, why oh why can’t I?” – now that timeless…

-Marie