cele-BRA-tion...Yowza Style

cele-BRA-tion…Yowza Style

What is a "cele-BRA-tion" you might be wondering?   Well, a "cele-BRA-tion" is a celebration imbued with true Yowza Spirit…that’s what it is!

The Back Story: 

On one of my walks around the neighborhood last summer I met up with Sue, another “walking gal”.  We walked and talked as we enjoyed the gorgeous day. Somewhere in the midst of non-stop conversation, I discovered she volunteers (cooking dinners for the homeless) at the Little Portion Friary, a local Buffalo, NY shelter. 

Aha!  My mind raced; my energy bubbled. Visions of Yowza Elves danced in my head. I wondered, "Could this be an opportunity to see if I can continue in Western New York with the Yowza Spirit work I had begun in Texas?"  

The Need:

I asked Sue what ONE thing might a group of women be able to do to further help the women at the shelter. She didn’t hesitate: “Bras,” she said.  “Hmmm…bras?” I mused. Suddenly I imagined the scene—a gathering of women in my backyard, my gift of wine and appetizers as a thanks for the generosity of these guests, their gifts of gratitude and giving by filling a bucket full of bras of all types and sizes for women in need. 

The Gathering:

So there you have it. Invitations were created and delivered. RSVPs came in. The beautiful summer weather cooperated.  And over 30 women showed up. And show up they did with bras of all makes and styles and sizes in hand. When all was said and done, these bras were placed into not one, but several buckets. (Bras were even sent by my gal-pals back in Texas!)  The spirit of the gathering was filled with laughter, conversations, joy. And the outcome of the first Western New York gathering for a Yowza Spirit “cele-BRA-tion” was a huge success.   

The Gifts:

When all was said and done—we presented Sue (our guest-of-honor for the event) with over 100 bras! Never in my wildest dreams did I think we would end up with this number of bras. 10 bras…Maybe? 20 bras…how great would that be? 30 bras…could we dare hope? But…over 100 bras…amazing!  Simply amazing that over 100 women would be gifted with a new bra!!!

The depth of giving that night reinforces the belief that “ideas become real at the point of action.” When presented with a chance to help others in need, these women stepped up and reminded the universe that no “bookend” can be placed on the generosity of good people.

YOWZA!   

Snapshots...Yowza Album 1

Album 1:  

fall, 2009, Western New York

Kenmore, NY; Buffalo, NY; Lackawanna, NY; Tonawanda, NY  

This photo is of an autumn full moon, 2009, taken from our driveway...Kenmore, NY

The reflection pond behind the Erie County Historical Society and Museum

(the remaining structure from the 1901 Pan American Exposition held in Buffalo, NY)

has a mesmerizing affect upon one's spirit.  

While strolling around the pond, this is one of the many reflections that evokes a sense of serenity.    

                                                  

In Lackawanna, NY, there are two absolutely grand and stunning architectural treasures--

the Our Lady of Victory Basilica and the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Garden.  

As you drive along the Niagara River toward Lackawanna, you pass old warehouses and factories and storage silos--remnants from days when the steel businesses were thriving.  

Somehow, you don't quite expect to find these breathtaking 

structures, but there they are, grand palaces--

one of stone and marble, the other of glass and steel--

both of which have withstood the stress of time.  

 

...and this last snapshot was taken from the shore of the Niagara River 

(Tonawanda, NY, fall sunset, 2009)

YOWZA!

Going Green at Malone's Irish Bar and Grill

I've only lived in the Buffalo, NY, area for about two years, but one thing for sure--they know how to celebrate. While St. Patrick's Day is honored by a lot of folks only on March 17--that's not the case here. No ma'am. Things go "GREEN" for a whole week...and I must say that New Yorkers definitely know how to pay tribute to "all things Irish". Last night we joined in the "green movement" with our neighbors Tom and Carole at Malone's Irish Bar and Grill -- and we loved it! Their granddaughter, a member of the Irish Dance group Rince Na Tiarna performed...and they brought even more life to an already pretty lively group of people. These dancers are amazing performers.

Life can't get much better, can it? Spending time with friends, enjoying good food and drink, receiving great service, and all the while toe-tapping and clapping to a professional performance by an award-winning group of Irish dancers...now that's a nice way to experience a little Yowza snapshot of life, eh? Malone's really was a perfect place to toast to life. What a way to create a Yowza memory--embellished with the spirit of St. Patrick, shamrocks, green beer, leprechauns, Irish dancers, corned beef, potato soup, Irish stew, folks donning green hats and boas and beads and glasses and t-shirts and more. Yowza!

Yowza! Yowza! Yowza!

For me--that one single word has come to encapsulate so much of what it means to live an intentional life, a spiritual life. Let me try to pinpoint what the word "Yowza" has come to mean to me. That one word encompasses so much--a soulful spirit...a gratitude spirit...a giving spirit...a playful spirit..a heart spirit...a creative spirit...a joy spirit...a loving spirit...a let's-do-a-cartwheel spirit...a let's-gather-with-friends spirit...a let's-live-life-fully spirit...and so-much-more spirit. For several years now, my life has found a new center when I live and share the Yowza Spirit, and so I think it is time to enter into the "circle of bloggers" with the hope that others will "Catch the Yowza Spirit...and Pass It on".

Because life can become hectic and demanding at times, I decided that I would give myself permission to use this blog when the spirit calls and when time allows. It is my intention to sit down on a regular basis to share the Yowza Spirit...but if there are lapses in entries, please don't throw this "baby out with the bath water". Most likely, if you haven't heard from me in a bit, then it means that the spirit of life has grabbed me by the arm and pulled me right smack-dab into the middle of things. Enough said.

To set this Yowza Spirit blog in motion, let me share how it all began.

Many years back, I participated in a creative writing workshop at a women's writing conference. The session was one in which we were to discover our "barbaric yawp". The session felt like many other writing circles--a session where one is invited to tap into the inner spirit, the creative spirit...but this time, we were asked to stand up and shout out the one word that bubbled up from deep within our creative core and that begged to be loosed into the universe. So there we were, a group of women writers--eyes closed, crayon poised above a blank sheet of newsprint--waiting for the first note of music so that we could free up our creative ideas and imaginings. Hmmmmm...I had participated in activities like this many times, and at first it felt a bit like I was just "going through the motions" of participation. The music began, my crayon met the blank page, I sat there for a while and then began doodling (remember - my eyes are closed). As the music played and images and thoughts danced on my eyelids, I felt it--a little "seed of a word" taking root in my stomach, taking hold and then moving up and up toward my heart and then the word burst into full bloom. That's right -- I shouted out my barbaric yawp--YOWZA. (And I was not alone in the shouting of these yawps...women, at different intervals, whispered or spoke or shouted out their yawps into this writing circle.) The energy was electric. My heart was happy. I felt giddy. And that is when Yowza began to define a part of me. Since that writing session, I have found my happiest and most fulfilling life moments when I am in the Yowza Spirit.

And so it is that I now enter the circle of blogging to share the Yowza Spirit. I will allow the blog spirit to bubble up--to take on a bit of a a life of its own through shared stories, photographs, gatherings, writing and who the heck knows what else. I will little stories of the good things that Yowza Elves are doing. I will invite you to be a Yowza, too. See you back here soon - Susie