some catching up to do

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve blogged, so I think it is time to catch up.

You’ll be happy to know that I finally have a hair strategy (long layers). I know, it was keeping you up nights. And thanks to my colorist, I will no longer be parading as my grandmother for Halloween. It’s the little things.

The record was moving along splendidly…until I caught a head cold, which halted singing for a week or so. So here’s hoping that this is the week the vocals are finally finished!

Fortunately, during the couch phase of my cold, I was able to work on my book. Have I talked about the book? It’s a self-help book…for people not ordinarily inclined to read self-help books. And also, for people who would be inclined to read self-help books. Why discriminate? Besides, since ruling out bra shopping on Ebay (see blog for reference: In Search of...everything must go), Ilene needs, well, you can never underestimate the importance of fine foundation garments. Speaking of which, did anyone know that Spanx makes jeans?!! They’re $148. Of course, I could just go to the gym and buy regular jeans. Wait, how did I veer so off-course with this blog?

Oh yes, now I remember. I do not recommend working on multiple projects as huge as a record and a book simultaneously. It puts the brain on overload…or is it overwhelm…or maybe it’s overboard. On the other hand, it does temporarily keep me away from the high end makeup, shoes, and handbags. Temporarily.

On a more serious and celebratory note, my father turned 86 this week, and for all those of you who “liked” and commented on the pictures on Facebook, thank you. I showed them to him, and he was overjoyed at the outpouring of affection.

Time is a gift we’re given if we’re lucky. We mostly take it for granted until life stops us short and wakes us up – that’s if we’re lucky. But me, I’ve always been aware that time is fleeting and savoring the precious moments is the thing to do.

Every moment holds within it the choice to be happy and to recognize the beauty. Yes, we all strive to be something more and somewhere greater, but the truth is this moment encompasses the totality of all that is. So I say we should find a way to wring every ounce of joy out of it and stay open to allowing for something better than we know how to contemplate.

A friend of mine just started doing standup comedy. I think it’s the bravest thing I’ve seen anybody do, just get up there, with nothing and no one else, and make people laugh. Though I haven’t asked her the reason for this choice, I’ve known her a long time and never once heard of a burning desire to do standup. But knowing Jeryl, I think it’s to broaden her own perception of herself and what she is capable of.

What would happen if we would all take the limits off ourselves? What could we accomplish if we erased the idea of “I can’t,” or “I could never?”

One of my favorite quotes is, “What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?”

People think happiness lies in the obtaining of or accomplishing of something. I have found it to be in the moments I truly believed anything was possible, in the excitement of imagining my wildest dreams coming true. I think joy is equated with possibility. And possibility is endless.

Celebrate what you can while you can. Laugh heartily. Dream big. Love passionately. Be generous with compliments. Know that you are destined for greatness. And that greatness is found in the smallest of moments where we rise to the occasion of being ourselves.

Thanks so much for stopping by, catching up, and spending a little time with me. I appreciate you.

Peace & blessings,

Ilene

a project update with a video clip!!!

Did you ever hear a song on the radio that made you pull over to the side of road just to listen to it? Is there one you and your friends would sing and act out the respective parts to? Was there that concert where you got out the Bic lighter (the predecessor of our cell phones) and waved it in the air, singing along at the top of your lungs? And don’t those songs just wrap themselves around you still, like a warm hug when you hear them?

Well, one of the cool things about making this record has been having the opportunity to think about what made each of those types of songs I loved special, and then writing something that both respects and carries on that legacy.

And that brings me to – the anthem. You gotta have an anthem. The one everybody sings along with after hearing it only once, the one that has a message that bears repeating (a whole bunch of times).

Mine is called “We are the Ones.” And what better way to have a sing along than to actually have friends sing along with me on the record?!! (Of course, this would never work if all your friends were tone deaf, but that only occurred to me after realizing all my friends sang.)

So here’s a little video clip of “Ilene’s Angels” rehearsing “We are the Ones” this past week.

I can’t wait for you to hear it when all the moving parts are put together!

We’re getting closer and closer to the finished album, and I could not appreciate you being part of it more!

Huge grateful hugs to every single one of you!

Ilene

with Tanya Leah, Anthony Barone, BethAnne Clayton, Garry Novikoff, Arnie Roman, Jeryl Brunner, and Marvin Levy