Fab Celeb Updates

Check out our Celebrated Contributors page for an updated roster of notable women who have shared (or plan to share) their own DTBF stories. Below are some of their latest updates. (Click on their names to link to their DTBF stories!)

Ginny Lambrix

"I am now the Director of Winemaking and Viticulture at Truett Hurst. We have launched a new brand- VML- named after me and dedicated to Pinot. Very cool... And I have a nice little flock of goats and sheep... Perhaps the biggest news is that Jon and I are expecting a baby boy in February.... So lots of changes, all good. My first company picture was wearing my DTBF tee shirt!"

Mariana Tosca

Mariana just wrapped production on a documentary that she produced and stars in called “Equine Destiny” about America’s Horse Slaughter Industry and is filming the pilot for the TV series “Call to Action” which will take viewers along as she rescues slaughter-bound horses from a kill buyer feedlot and releases them onto a wild horse sanctuary. (So far in 2009, she has pulled 147 horses from slaughter pipelines throughout the US and returned them to a life of freedom.) Earlier this year, she received an Artists for Humanity award for her dedication in helping the homeless population of Los Angeles to acquire job skills helpful in alleviating their plight. In the Summer of 2010, Mariana will be producing and starring in “Earth Echoes” a theatrical production that will run as a benefit for several environmental and animal protection non-profit organizations. She is also still leading the campaign for the release of Billy the Asian elephant from the Los Angeles Zoo, as the Los Angeles Court of Appeals just granted approval to proceed with the case against the Los Angeles Zoo for abuse and neglect of the 14 elephants who have died there. Mariana was recently asked to join Dr. Jane Goodall in serving as an Advisory Board member of Save the Chimps.

Renel Brooks Moon

Renel on the mike during her last show on Kiss FM

After 25 years of hosting 98.1 KISS FM’s “Renel in the Morning,” Renel Brooks-Moon has decided to step down. The radio station hosted a party in her honor and pictures and message boards are linked on their website, linked above, for her fans to visit. Meanwhile, Renel continues to be the public announcer for the San Francisco Giants. It’s been 10 years and she’s enjoying every minute! Read a recent interview with Renel, “Off radio but still at microphone,” published in the San Francisco Chronicle on August 27th.

Jill Robinson

Jill addressing the audience at the Second China International Animal and Nature Film Festival

Jill was in Chengdu for workshop meetings and events on site, then in Southern China as an invited participant for the Second China International Animal and Nature Film Festival in Sichuan province. Her China team was invited to join the event, which recognizes local and international filmmakers. The following quote is an excerpt from Jill’s blog:

"On the last night, it was like a scene out of Hollywood, with thousands of people crowded together in a huge auditorium, together with film crews shooting for live transmission on TV. “ While on stage to hand out a documentary award, Jill used the opportunity to discuss the endangerment of sharks and pandas along with re-iterating the need for China to stop the cruel practices inflected on her beautiful moon bears. She continues in her blog, “Now, since the festival, we’ve had several fairly high-profile people in both local and international film and media asking if they can come along and visit the bears – and so the message widens and perhaps our little piece of heaven in Chengdu will convince them to do more."

Never resting, Jill then headed to Europe where she will be for another 3 weeks.

Terri Lyne Carrington

"My new CD "More To Say" is finally out after nearly 2 years in the making! I am real proud of it and hope that other folks like it too! Most of my time these days is spent chasing my 3 year old around or teaching at Berklee, as well as gigs and session, so I am busier than a one armed paper hanger! All good - I am not complaining.... Until next time...." Terri Lyne

Check out Tavis Smiley’s recent interview with Terri Lyne regarding her new CD.

Rory Freedman

Rory in her kitchen, as seen in the New York Times

Rory just returned from a two-month backpacking jaunt around Europe and has never been so inspired creatively. She's ready to get crackin' on another book---maybe even one that's fiction.

Nalini Nadkarni

Nalini speaking at the TED Conference.

"I gave a talk at the TED Conference in Long Beach this spring. It is a high-profile conference with many “idea people” who talk about their work, dreams, and accomplishments. Each talk is only 18 minutes, and it is hard to cram all the things one wants to say into that time. It has been seen by many people around the world, and nearly all of the feedback has been about people who are excited about trees and forests and trying to save them. That is very hopeful to me.

There were some good developments in terms of science outreach beyond science. Several of my projects were featured on the splash page of the National Science Foundation website. One of them was the “canopy rap” project I created, in which I hired a rap singer to accompany me and two other scientists with 40 urban youth (middle school aged) into the forest to learn about the plants and animals. The rap singer made up songs about the forest, and the kids did, too! They ended up making a CD of their songs in the sound studios of my college, and each student took home a copy of it for their friends and family.

In addition to these, I was really happy to be in the forest this summer. My family (husband and two teenage kids, Gus and Erika) took a six day backpacking trip to a remote area of the North Cascades National Park. We saw only 4 people in the six days we were there. And just last week, I took my annual solo backpacking trip to the Alpine Lakes Wilderness for six days. It was great to be out there on my own, just hiking, watching marmots, eating simple food, watching the starts, and letting my thoughts quiet and settle away from the everyday hubbub of life. But I’m glad to be back with my family and garden and work!

DTBF!

Nalini"

Ingrid Newkirk

"I’ve been on tour with my book lately. I’m asking people to consider loaning a copy to that person at work who loves dogs but who doesn’t think about other animals, that neighbor with the fur coat in the back of the closet – too embarrassed to wear it again; and that relative who insists you have “just a little” of the turkey at Thanksgiving, as well as to that wonderful kid on your block who rescues the birds fallen out of trees or who won’t cut up the frog in class. I’ve used real life stories to bring the individual animals alive and give them a voice and the book is packed with great resources, simple options, and compassionate solutions to rid our lives of the casual cruelty that wheedles its way into what we buy, eat, do and wear. I hope you take a peek and enjoy it a lot!

DTBF!

Ingrid"

Dianne Reeves

Dianne Reeves can be seen on tour throughout the rest of this year . She is also recording a new album which will be out next year. We'll announce it as soon as it's out!

Kamala Lopez

Kamala at the New York Latino International Film Festival.

"The good news is that A Single Woman won the Exceptional Merit in Media Award from the National Women's Political Caucus in DC!

Also, I am developing a TV series about girls and gangs and I wrote a related article on Huff Po about what's going on with that.

DTBF!

Kamala"

Kelly Dobbins

Kelly is currently training to compete in the NPC National Bodybuilding and Figure Championships this November.

Julia Butterfly Hill

Julia’s recent photo in the SF Chronicle.

Julia continues to inspire people to speak up, take action and make a difference in this world. Check out “Catching up with...Julia Butterfly Hill,” an article that appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle last April. Julia also continues to update on her own blog.

D.C. Screening Oct.30

This invitation comes from our DTBF sister Kamala Lopez, the producer and director of "A Single Woman," a film adaptation of the successful stage play about the life of Jeannette Rankin, America's first Congresswoman and co-founder of the American Civil Liberties Union (A.C.L.U.).

Read Kamala's DTBF story, "Picture Perfect," in our Guest column.

DTBF!
Johanna

Fab Contributor Update

Patti and I are very proud and supportive of the women we feature in our guest columns each month. We've already compiled quite a beautiful array of stories and are excited to be adding more inspiring, funny, touching, and daring stories to our roster. To continue our celebration of these fabulous women, we will be posting ongoing contributor updates in this column.

Our October columnist, Kamala Lopez ("Picture Perfect") is a film-maker and actress who just completed an important and inspiring film about America's first congresswoman, peace activist, and co-founder of the American Civil Liberties Union, Jeannette Rankin, entitled, "A Single Woman." In our blurb last month, we noted that Congressman Dennis Kucinich had offered to host a congressional screening of her film.  

The film will be screening at the Capitol Building on October 30th and Kamala is working hard to prepare for this event. Funds are running low after paying for hotel rooms for her production team and sending out invitations to 535 congressional offices. Kamala would love to get sponsors and donors. We are putting a shout out to the DTBF community and inviting you to contact her if you'd like to lend her your support. Please check out the film's website (above) and contact Kamala if you'd like to help.

Gloria Steinem's Op-Ed piece on Sarah Palin was also linked in our last column. We're indulging by sharing that link here again. (Gloria's DTBF story will be featured at a later date!)

Continuing with the political theme, Granny D  just gave a speech in Wisconsin on Sept. 6. She's 97 years old, folks, and she's still going strong in her pursuit to change politics as we know it. Her big issue? Campaign finance reform. Read Granny D's DTBF story, an excerpt from her book, "Walking Across America in my 90th Year."

Julia Butterfly Hill ("Heart") started a blog earlier this year. It's subtitled, "Thoughts, Experiences, Feelings and Photos from Julia Butterfly Hill." Read her blog and post your comments!

Dianne Reeves ( ("Talking to the Devil") has a new album of love songs entitled, "When You Know." Watch an excerpt from Dianne's recent BBC appearance.

Michelle Shocked is going on a concert tour in the U.K. in November. She will be in the U.S. of A. in January, 2009. (Michelle's DTBF story will be featured at a later date.)

Terri Lyne Carrington( "Full Circle.") is performing with her own jazz group, appropriately called the Terri Lyne Carrington Group, and their next gig will be at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. on October 18th.

Celebrating her 50th birthday last month was Renel Brooks-Moon ( "Finding My Voice."). She celebrated in style with Bay Area VIP's at her home away from home, San Francisco's AT&T Park. You can link to a photo gallery from the birthday bash on her website.

Jill Robinson ( "Her Name was Hong") is continuing the arduous and vital work of helping the animals after China's recent earthquake. She is working diligently and needs our help. You can support her efforts by donating to her organization, Animals Asia.

As we add fabulous women to our DTBF contributor roster, our updates will continue to come.

DTBF!
Johanna

DTBF requests your generosity for one of our own

A Dare To Be Fabulous sister, Jill Robinson, founder of Animals Asia, is at ground zero in Chengdu, China, helping survivors of that horrendous earthquake that killed tens of thousands and left millions homeless. Read Jill's story here

Jill's famous moon bear sanctuary, situated in Chengdu, miraculously escaped the devastation caused by the earthquake, and I'm happy to say that Jill, the staff, and the bears were uninjured. But Jill  feverishly continuing with rescue efforts to help the people and animals in surrounding villages, which is desperately straining the financial resources of the sanctuary. Please read the moving report below from Animals Asia, log on to Animals Asia, and donate as generously as you can.

We send our thoughts and prayers to Jill -- please let her know that the Dare To Be Fabulous sisterhood is supporting her.

Patricia Howard & Johanna McCloy

---

We need your help urgently!

It's now almost three weeks since the devastating earthquake hit Sichuan in China and the full horror of the tragedy is really hitting home. As many as 90,000 people could have died in the quake and its aftershocks, which are still causing panic throughout the province. More than 365,000 people are injured, many of them also losing their homes and livelihoods.Animals Asia is extremely fortunate and grateful that no staff or animals at our Moon Bear Rescue Centre in Chengdu were hurt, but we too are facing a difficult time. We are in urgent need of donations to deal with two emergencies arising from the earthquake. First we are racing against time to rescue dogs and cats from a town in northern Sichuan, where the authorities have ordered a cull of all companion animals; and second, we need to rebuild four of the buildings at our sanctuary.

Four of our main buildings, including the big office and accommodation blocks have been so badly damaged that they will need to be completely rebuilt at a cost of hundreds of thousands of US dollars. A fifth building needs repairs. Initially, onsite staff (who launched an immediate donations drive among themselves for earthquake victims) were sleeping on the floors of the quarantine area for new bear arrivals, but are now crammed into the remaining buildings that have been deemed safe.

But rebuilding will come later. Right now, there are more urgent needs. Rescuing already traumatised family dogs and cats from being shot or beaten to death in the city of Dujiangyiang - one of the worst-hit areas is our highest priority. The authorities there have ordered a cull of all dogs and cats, even if they have owners, adding to the misery of survivors who are clinging to their pets for comfort.

We have set up a hotline and a receiving station at a local vet clinic for earthquake victims to surrender their dogs to us for safe-keeping until they are back on their feet and can take them back. Many people, terrified that their much-loved dogs would be killed in front of them have been hiding them in the ruins of their homes and risking their lives to go and feed them.

We have promised those who have handed us their pets that we will make sure they are well cared for. If, after six months, they are still unable to take their pets back, we will continue to look after them until they can be reunited. If they decide they can't take their pets back, we will try to rehome the animals.

So far, we have rescued around 100 dogs and brought them to Chengdu's Qi Ming Pet Rescue Centre, which can take about 100 more. We have also rescued some cats and a few starving dogs that have been found wandering around looking for food. We are giving each a health check and vaccination and will build a quarantine facility for the dogs at the shelter and provide them with food. All this too, of course, will cost money - and we're not sure how long we'll have to provide for these dogs.

I am the first person to question where donations are going in a crisis situation and I can assure you that any donation you make to our earthquake appeal will go directly to our work rescuing dogs and cats from the earthquake zone, vaccinating against rabies, building quarantine kennels at the Qi Ming shelter and supplying other local shelters with food and medical help. Being here on the ground, I will ensure your donation goes first to distraught dogs and cats. Any funds left over will go to rebuilding our bear sanctuary.

Given the enormity of the Sichuan tragedy, this is a difficult time for us to raise funds, as donors are understandably channelling their donations to the human victims of the earthquake. So please, if you are considering donating to the earthquake relief effort, remember that animals are victims too - and by giving to us, you may be helping to save the only family member a survivor has left.

Warm wishes,

Jill

Jill Robinson MBE
Founder and CEO
Animals Asia Foundation
PS: Don't forget to check my blog for regular updates on how we're helping earthquake survivors – both animals and people.

For more information visit Jill blog - http:/www.animalsasia.org/blog
To donate now please go to our website http:/www.animalsasia.org.

Your Top Twenty Inspirational DTBF Films!

Films have so much power to inspire us, lift our moods, or give us heroes to admire. We were thinking about the many movies where the central female character has either dared to be fabulous, or just was fabulous. Or maybe just a movie involving a woman character that made us feel fabulous. We thought it would be a blast to find out which movies with great women characters inspired all of you!

We’d love you to help us create a Top 20 Dare To Be Fabulous Films list, so let’s get to it! Reply in the ”Comments” section below and name some of your favorites, with a few words about why they inspire or move you! We can’t wait to hear from you. We’ll publish the results here on the web site.

Just to get you started, we’ll throw out some of our own favorites, just to give you an idea. Maybe they are some of yours, too. Just examples, in no particular order:


Johanna: Norma Rae; Whale Rider; Harold and Maude; TransAmerica; Erin Brockovitch; Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore; many of Pedro Almodovar’s movies!

Patti: Shirley Valentine; Anne of a Thousand Days; Romy and Michelle’s Class Reunion, Enchanted April; Elizabeth; Sweet Charity; The Unsinkable Molly Brown; anything with Doris Day.

We’re waiting to hear from you! Remember – click on “Comments” below and tell us what you think! We’ll publish the results soon!

Patti and Johanna

Illustration: "Late at Kate's" by Teresa Moore
www.TeresaMoore.com

Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner

What a fabulous woman. Here's an interview with her from a recent Time Magazine:

"Senator and First Lady Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, 54, wife of President Nestor Kirchner, is all but certain to win Argentina's October 28 presidential election. If so, she will be the first woman ever elected to the Casa Rosada, the Pink House, the Buenos Aires presidential palace. (Isabel Peron, president from 1974 to 1976, succeeded to the office after her husband Juan died.) A veteran lawyer, legislator and stateswoman, as well as political fashion plate, Fernandez is often called The New Evita, after Argentina's most famous First Lady, Eva Peron. In a rare interview, she talked with TIME's Tim Padgett about her role in Argentina's return to the world stage after its disastrous financial crisis of 2001-02."

Link to the article here: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1666879,00.html

DTBF!
Johanna

Sundown Dip

What do you do when your bikini top gets tossed away by the ocean's current? If you're Corrie White, you Dare To Be Fabulous!

This month, we feature her story in our Guest Column. It is entitled Sundown Dip.



Link here to read her story: http://www.daretobefabulous.com/guestcolumn/corrie/

We welcome your feedback below this posting!

DTBF!
Johanna & Patti

July's All-Star Renel

This month, our Guest Column features a story by Renel Brooks-Moon, a woman whose name is widely recognized throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Renel is the host and morning dee-jay of "Renel in the Morning" on KISS-FM, while also being the public address announcer for the San Francisco Giants' AT&T Park. Renel is a trailblazer as a woman in the sport announcing profession. This month is no exception, as Renel prepares to announce Major League Baseball's All Star Game on July 10. (Watch the game on TV and you'll hear her voice in the background!)

Renel's story, "Finding my Voice", was borne from an interview with Johanna on June 25.
Read her story by clicking here

We welcome your comments, below!

DTBF!
Johanna & Patti

Granny DTBF!

It's May and we are very excited to feature a story from Doris "Granny D" Haddock as our Guest Column this month.

If you haven't heard of her, this is a great time to become acquainted with this fabulous woman. She walked across America at the age of 89. No easy feat for anyone, far less an 89-year old woman. Why, you may ask? To raise awareness and support for campaign finance reform. Her story is one-of-a-kind and her example is beautiful.

We celebrate her passion and her work by sharing an excerpt from her book about the walk, entitled "Granny D: Walking Across America in My 90th Year," written with Dennis Burke.

Link to our Guest Column (top right of this page) to read her story!

We welcome your comments!

DTBF!
Johanna & Patti

March 8 is International Women's Day

Today is International Women's Day. Not that we need to mark a day to celebrate women around the world, but as long as it exists, our feeling is, let's celebrate!
We received a message today from DTBF alert subscriber, Sarah Clark, and we'll share it with you:

Good morning dear women! I wanted to take a moment today to celebrate the courage and strength of Women and also to pass on some information I learned recently about International Women's Day. According to an article in Bay Area Business Woman last month:

International Women's Day (IWD), celebrated annually on March 8, was born
at the turn of the last century - a time of economic and political turbulence.
It is rooted in the movement for women's right to vote and work: women's
strikes for bread and peace at the end of World War I, and the UN Charter declaration
of gender equality as a human right, signed in San Francisco at the end of WWII.
In December 1977, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming a
"United Nations Day for Women's Rights and International Peace."
For women of the world, this day became an occasion to review how far we have come
in our struggle for equality, peace and development. It is also an opportunity
to unite, network and mobilize for meaningful change - locally and globally.

When I lived in El Salvador in the 1990s, there was a women's march every year
on this day. I'm delighted to learn the origin of the day and to know that
San Francisco played a role. Thank you for being loving women in my life! Sarah

For more information, check out the International Women's Day website:
http://www.internationalwomensday.com/

DTBF!
Johanna & Patti

Going with the Flow / Feb Guest Column

When we told Karen that we wanted to feature her story in our Guest Column this month, she was thrilled, yet also surprised. She thought Dare To Be Fabulous featured columnists who were oriented toward success. Well, our answer to that is, IT IS! To us, success is not just about outside accomplishments, but even more, about the spirit of daring to be true to ourselves, of defying conventions, personal histories, or our own fears; of following our guts, our hearts, our intuition. After all, momentary decisions can also be momentous ones! Little things we choose to do each day are important. They add up to create the bigger picture, and in that bigger picture, conventionally defined successes may or may not happen. But it’s in daring to be true to yourself that you Dare To Be Fabulous!

So, we bring you Karen’s story about her totally unanticipated yet very welcome change from a home-bound to an ocean-bound existence. It is entitled, “Go with the Flow.” Link to it at the top of our column page. Also, scroll down the side of this page to link to previous posts. We welcome your input through the comments section below each item!

We continue to accept submissions, so if you haven’t already shared your own DTBF story with us, please do! And spread the word to the women in your life. Read our story guidelines by clicking under "stories."

If you are interested in donning some Dare To Be Fabulous tees or undies, we have some available on the boutique page. (We also have Large, XL and 2X sweatshirts in the same colors, so let us know if you’d like to order any of those.) Link on "boutique" ...or write to us if you'd like to order sweatshirts.

DTBF!

Patti & Johanna
Co-creators/ Co-Editors

Hurrah for American Apparel

News this week further solidified our support of American Apparel as the manufacturer of choice for DTBF merchandise. We wanted to share why. Here is an excerpt of a Dec.19 article:

American Apparel to Be Sold for $244M

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The mostly foreign-born workers at American Apparel's downtown garment factory, the nation's largest, have enjoyed benefits that would make austere executives grab their wallets: A health plan. Free English classes. Back rubs from a masseuse and stretching breaks.

But with Tuesday's announced sale of the T-shirt maker to a publicly traded company came news not of slashes to staff and perks, but of yet another novel benefit: A piece of the company would be offered to American Apparel's some 5,000 employees.

You can link to the full article at: http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?Feed=AP&Date=20061219&ID=6290725
(You may need to copy and paste this URL in your address window if the link won't work.)

Dare To Be Fabulous is proud to support the work of this socially conscious company. You can see our apparel on the boutique page:
http://daretobefabulous.com/boutique/
(Note: Large size sweatshirts are also available now and will soon be posted on the site. If you'd like to order one, let us know!)

DTBF!
Johanna & Patti

December Guest Column: ESL Drop-Out

Our December Guest Column has been posted. This month we feature a story by Nana Chen about her experience of personal transformation as a second generation Taiwanese who went from ESL student to ESL teacher to editor, writer and full-time artist. She defied general perceptions by daring to pursue her dreams and she did it with gusto. Her story is entitled, "ESL Drop Out." You can link to her story at the top of this page. (That's her photograph you see, too.)

We invite you to share any feedback by posting your comments below this entry.

Happy holidays, everyone!

DTBF!
Johanna & Patti

DTBF Boutique: Holiday Specials

Now that we’re nearing the holiday gift-giving season, we’d like to invite you to check out the Dare To Be Fabulous boutique! We have added some holiday specials. If you are thinking of what to give your friend, daughter, sister, mother, co-worker.....keep these in mind! Link to the Boutique at the top of this page.

We’ll be adding a few items to the boutique soon... and always welcome any suggestions you might have for additional DTBF wear and merchandise. :)

DTBF!
Johanna & Patti

Dear Tokyo, Meet Your Next Pop Star

Our Guest Column is up! This month, we feature a story by Kimberly Cooper entitled, "Dear Tokyo, Meet Your Next Pop Star." This story is a great example of going for it. Kimberly had a dream of becoming a Japanese singing pop star...and she gave it her best shot. The dream didn't materialize as she once hoped, but she had an adventure during her quest and still walked away feeling satisfied. She has no regrets and is simply happy for having tried. Now that is the spirit of Daring To Be Fabulous!

Read the story here: http://www.daretobefabulous.com/guestcolumn/

We encourage your feedback to the story. Share your thoughts by clicking under this posting.

DTBF!
Johanna & Patti

Johanna on TV- Sept. 6 (DTBF!)

We’ve received notice that Johanna’s Guest Starring episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation will be playing again on the Spike channel this Wednesday, September 6th. Watch for her as Ensign Calloway in “Eye of the Beholder.” (Check local listings for the air time in your area.)

DTBF!

Beating the Collywobbles

Happy August, everyone!

For this month’s Guest Column we feature a story by Ingrid Newkirk, co-founder and President of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). She submitted this story under the category called “Moments.” It is about a personal moment in an airport when this seemingly tireless crusader for animal rights found herself exhausted...and face to face with an opportunity to take yet another action. Would she let it go? Or would she do something? And if so....what? Her DTBF story is called “Beating the Collywobbles.” Check it out by linking to our Guest Column page (to the right, just above the top entry on this page). We welcome comments here!

DTBF!
Johanna

Share Your DTBF Pictures!

Let’s share our DTBF photos! If you have a photo of yourself in a DTBF moment, we’d love for you to submit it for our consideration to place on the website. DTBF moments are highly personal, of course, so we ask that you submit it with a caption telling us why this was DTBF for you. We’ll start posting some photos on the site soon!

Just to give you examples to get started, some of Johanna's photos might include: skydiving; speaking at a soyfoods industry conference; sitting with her friend Madhu in India when she was eight years old; or eating a veggie dog at a MLB ballpark where she made that possible. :)

So send one to us! Write “DTBF Photo” in the subject heading and make sure you include that caption, along with your name (first only is fine if you prefer not to share your last name), and location where it was taken. And if you like, you may also include where you are from, so we can see how far around the globe we all are Daring To Be Fabulous!

Send your photo to: info@daretobefabulous.com (Please send only one photo per submission. Thanks!)


DTBF!

Johanna and Patti

Guest Column by Julia Butterfly Hill

Can you imagine living alone in the canopy of a giant Redwood tree in the middle of a rain forest.... for TWO YEARS? Julia Butterfly Hill did just that in order to save that tree, and the surrounding grove, from loggers . Her story is our featured submission this month. It is aptly entitled, “Heart”.

You can link to her story by clicking on the link to the Guest Column, above. Also, if you would like to view any previous Guest Columns, be sure to scroll down that page to click on their titles.

DTBF!
Johanna

DTBF tees and undies, my oh my!

Dare To Be Fabulous long-sleeve tees, short-sleeve tees and undies! These items will soon be available for orders through our boutique page. Watch for them in April!

Happy International Women's Day!

Ya gotta love that – we have our own day! Last I checked, there was no International Men’s Day. This is a day where it is absolutely imperative that we exercise our right to be fabulous. In fact, it’s a mandate.

I’m feeling the pressure.

What will I do to mark this great celebration of our special place in the universe as the females of the species? I feel it should be something extraordinary, special, exciting, heroic! But reality is that it will be a day just like any other.

And that’s just as it should be. International Women’s Day celebrates us just as we are. On this day, we are special just because we are women. Our contributions are already massive and irrefutable just by being. That’s a concept that is hard for many of us to grasp. That we don’t always have to be doing and accomplishing and contributing just to be worthy. Just by virtue of being women, our gentler, higher, more compassionate, and musical vibration is loose in the universe. Our yin balancing the yang. We create, nurture, inspire, compete, cooperate, rescue, accomplish, and love. All of this is a more than enough reason for the day.

So many of us are frantically busy and distracted dealing with the demands of our families, animals, jobs, volunteer work, passions and hobbies – the constant rushing movement of effort and commitment, the fatigue of giving too much. My first thoughts when I became aware of International Women’s day were that I had to do even more than what I was already doing, even though there were no more hours magically added to the day. Upon reflection, I now see that the opposite is true.

OK, no more pressure. On International Women’s Day, I am going to do nothing. Beyond the necessity of going to work or [insert your non-negotiable daily obligations here], I am just going to think about what it means to be a woman. I am going to celebrate that I am a woman and celebrate what that means in today’s world. And I’m going to be a little smug about it. Because women are cool. Women are amazing. Women rock.

Women are fabulous.

DTBF!
Patti

In the spirit of international fabulousness, we share our joy and celebration with women all over the world.

English: “Dare to be fabulous!”

French: "Osez d'etre fabuleuse!"

Japanese: “Subarashii kimochi....gambarimasu!”

Slovenian: "Drzni si biti cudovit/prekrasen!"

Italian: "La sfida per essere favolosi!"

Hebrew: "Ha-izi lihi-iot nifla-a!"

Norwegian: “Våg å være fabelaktig!”

Spanish: “Osa a ser fabulosa!”

Polish: “Miej odwage byc soba!”

Interestingly, Patti and I found it difficult to translate this phrase into other languages. Some don't have easy translations for the word "fabulous" or for the word "dare", so we are trying to get the best figurative translations of the spirit of the phrase when this is the case. In Polish, the translation is "Have courage to be yourself!" We liked that. In Japanese, I simply translated the closest word to "Fabulous!" We invite you to share your own translations in other languages (or better translations in these, as the case may be) through the Comments below this post.

DTBF!
Johanna