Imperfect is my middle name 9

You are so busy trying to make everything perfect in your life right now that you're forgetting how satisfying and beautiful imperfections can be! Today you need to challenge yourself to step back and take a break from your attention to detail. Let your eyes focus on far away ideas instead of immediate minutia. Get a fresh perspective. Right now you don't have to prove anything, so relax and remind yourself that being less than impeccable is also called being human.

I'm pretty sure I've got the "less than impeccable" thing down. But I had to have a conversation with Daughter this evening about the very same thing. She has been working so hard on her new skating team but was pulled aside by the coach tonight who told her she can't believe how well Daughter is blending in but her moves aren't quite up to the standards for judging and she's going to have to start pulling her out at practice (so they can practice the routine with skaters that can be judged). Daughter has worked SO hard and come SO far and all the work will pay off for her eventually, but I know how hard that was for her to hear. And I had to be positive and give her a pep talk when all I really wanted to do was call the coach and yell at her for taking the wind out of my daughter's sails!

But it's a lesson for both of us. One I keep learning, and one I hope she learns a lot faster than I am. You won't always get immediate gratification; in fact, sometimes gratification is a long time coming. And imperfections are beautiful - that is the only reason I've had a career.

Thanks for the reminder and the fresh perspective, Universe. But you didn't have to break my son's arm for me to get the imperfection message.

Why don't you throw in a flat tire for the hell of it? 6

You'll have to wait for outer blocks to clear. You'll also keep getting mixed messages from others, which will make it difficult to see the truth as the Moon drifts through your sign. Defending your own beliefs will be a sign of your deepening connection with Spirit. You'll be empowered to face a confrontation or conflict in a calm and wise manner this week, thanks to your tarot card, the High Priestess.

Seriously, This is what you're giving me on a MONDAY? Where do I punch out? I don't need mixed messages, or being defensive, or confrontation. This week hasn't even begun and I already want it to be over. I thought what I KNEW I was facing was bad enough: Daughter's big skating test tomorrow, video gig in undetermined city at undetermined time on Wednesday, skating team garage sale this weekend. I don't need any more crap! I don't have time for any more crap.

Universe, I am sitting in the corner and holding my breath until you change my prognosis.

Let the sun shine 4

Meditate on the power of your tarot card, the Sun, to boost your confidence and tap into an endless source of energy.

It was an up and down day, and I could use some energy. Got Daughter off to Boot Camp with her skating team, then had to deal with an issue from 5 hours away. I felt so helpless. I know she's fine; but will I ever get rid of this instinct to protect her?

A friend called with some great news: a new job and a potential agent. She's worked hard and deserves every last bit of success. So why am I so jealous? Why do I feel like her success means there's none for me? I know it's ridiculous, I know there's enough to go around. We don't even write the same kind of stuff! But the petty little part of me can't stop whining "What about meeeeeeeeeee?"

The friend part of me is INCREDIBLY thrilled for her and knows that no one deserves it more than she.

And I did get a call for an audition tomorrow. Stay tuned for another episode of Stacey DuFord: Bad Actress.

So, Sun, it's your turn today. Boost my confidence.

Freak-O-Scope - 0

It's said all our ancestors are still alive, inside ourselves. Remember the people you call wacky, who at least partially inform you who you are now. You may find yourself saying, oh, that's where that came from!

This is the kind of horoscope that gives Astrology a bad name. If some unfortunate Pisces picked today to start reading her horoscope she is probably still quivering in a corner.

I HAD to do a Google search: typed in "ancestors alive inside yourself" and came up with a blog dedicated to the god of truth: Shiva, a sacred Andean journey site, and found out that the Los Angeles Times runs the same horoscope as the Detroit Free Press.

I like the idea that some Pisces in Los Angeles who is maybe waiting to hear about a part in a movie, or whether they got into film school, or if their pilot got picked up for the season is trying to interpret the same cryptic messages that I am. Vanessa Williams (Ugly Betty) shares my birthday and I can't help but wonder if she glanced at her 'scope this morning and thought "What the ?" just like I did.

My Google search also brought up Native America poetry (why did I feel the need to capitalize that?), and a study on the psychology of advertising. I guess nothing is safe from advertising, not even dead ancestors. Of course I shouldn't talk - I'm the one who is trying to get Daughter's skating team sponsored so my monthly bill is only $1.

Why don't men think skating is a sport?

I know I'm off on a tangent here, but really - I have tried to figure skate. It's HARD. Daughter's team practices are 2-2 1/2 hours long and end with laps and drills and suicides - on skates! I remember playing basketball in high school and being exhausted at the end of a practice and can't imagine what it would have felt like to do suicides while trying to balance myself on two thin blades the entire time. Now I'm getting preachy, but I'm hoping that's what the documentary will show - what great athletes these girls really are.

Whew. Can't believe that diatribe came from "our ancestors are alive, inside ourselves" .... unless one of my ancestors was a soap box preacher! THAT could explain a lot.

Idealism - 9

If you're caught up in confusion, it's because your ideals are clashing with reality.

and ....

Keep your standards up. Hold others accountable.


Daughter has been auditioning for skating teams, and I am incredibly confused. How can I put her on a team whose ethics don't agree with ours? What do I tell her about friends who are saying one thing to her face and the opposite behind her back? What do I do when rumors are spread about me even though I have been nothing but open and honest about my actions?

How do you raise children with integrity in a world where people do nothing but lie and deny? Where people are "famous" for being idiotic? How do you teach them to do the right thing so they will feel better about themselves at the end of the day .... only to see, at the end of the day, the cheaters being rewarded?

Here's the hardest part: How do you raise children to respect authority when the people in authority are the biggest idiots? Son is 7 and he thinks a Mayor is like a Sheriff (thanks to SpongeBob, I'm pretty sure). Thankfully he is unaware of the Mayor of Detroit's texting scandal - and various other scandals.

Maybe we were better off in the 50's and 60's when the press were in on hiding the fact that the President had lovers or was ill. Maybe there are some things we are just better off not knowing.

I left a job recently because of the inexcusably inconsistent, erratic, and ugly behavior of a Person in Authority. I listened for months while PiA badmouthed everyone who currently or formerly worked with the organization. I watched as PiA made decisions based solely on protecting his own interests, not for the good of the organization, yelled, threw tantrums and bullied. When I was finally tired of being accused and abused (and I put up with it much longer than I should), I left. I am afraid to look for another job. I'm afraid of the situation happening again. I'm afraid there is no one left with integrity.

My ideals are high standards and fairness for everyone. Reality is quite the opposite. Of course they are clashing.