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Weekend/On my nightstand

May 17th, 2010 Kristi Leave a comment Go to comments

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I’m happy to report that I had to change out of my jeans in the afternoon and put on a black jersey skirt for my Sunday dinner guests because it was soooo hot! Yea. It is about time.

We had roast (the fail proof roast recipe is in my book); potatoes, carrots, salad, rolls and Dairy Queen for dessert. Oh, and of course, wine!

After church and between dinner, I attended a writer’s workshop and got some good resources for finding an agent and getting published (my fiction novel).

On My Nightstand:

On My Nightstand:

The God of Small Things – One of my book clubs picked this. I’m about halfway into it, though I think I may have read it in the past. It is good, but not something I can’t wait to get back to every night.

Reading Lolita in Tehran — A thrift store buy I have just barely begun — on the back burner for now. So far, it seems like it is going to be really good.

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers — I bought this on the recommendation from Phyllis Bourne (see side bar) who is a published author. I read the first chapter but am saving the rest for when the first draft of my novel is complete.

The Nautical Chart by Arturo Perez-Reverte — I adore this author and snatched this up at the thrift store. Also in a holding pattern until the library books and book club books are read. I can’t complain — I love having TOO MANY good books waiting beside my bedside to read!

My Spanish Book — I realized that outside my normal life, I have room for one great passion — This year it is completing my novel. Next year will be studying Spanish again. I am the type of person who becomes so immersed in what they are doing I have a hard time spreading myself out.

This is why I quit my job as a newspaper reporter when I had kids. As a reporter, I was obsessed! It consumed my entire life. When I had children, that passion shifted to them. There was no room for both. A friend who knew me well told me she wasn’t surprised that I had to quit my job because she knew me as having so much passion for what I did that she couldn’t imagine me doing both.

MY DVD: has been neglected. I don’t watch very many movies when it is summer and so nice out.

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  1. Phyllis
    May 17th, 2010 at 08:34 | #1
    Reply | Quote

    I was obsessed with it too. In fact, the hubs and I had a long-distance marriage for years. We were thrilled when I found a job which put us only 300 miles vs. 1200 miles apart.

    If you can, try to carve out time to continue with your Spanish. It’s hard to explain, but studying a foreign language brings a certain richness and insight to your writing.

  2. Kristi
    May 17th, 2010 at 09:34 | #2
    Reply | Quote

    Phyllis,
    You are one of the few who can truly understand the appeal of crime reporting! Most people look at me like I’m off my rocker! I think that is the main reason I am so compelled to revisit that life in my novel.

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What is it about those Italian women? You know the ones I’m talking about: beautiful, sexy, dressed to the nines just to take the kids to the park. They have a certain something that is indefinable. It is in the way they dress, the way they prepare their meals, the way they spend their leisure time.

It is because they know the importance of la bella figura. Roughly translated from Italian, it means putting you best foot forward in everything you do. It means cutting a beautiful figura. The opposite of la bella figura is la brutta figura, which is what someone might say about the falling down drunken guy at the party or the super tackily dressed woman at church. It means ugly figure.

La bella figura is much more than your appearance. It goes much deeper than that. It is about how you act. It is about how you treat others. It is about how you care for yourself, your home and your family. Living a life in line with la bella figura doesn’t take money. In fact, it is more about how to have class without a lot of money. Many guys who aspire to be a PUA are actually pursuing the La Bella Figura Lifestyle.

Someone who exudes la bella figura will have clean, pressed clothes and be well groomed. They will not be rude or sloppy. Their fingernails will be impeccably groomed. Their hair shiny and clean and their shoes will be polished. They will not have stray threads hanging from their suit hems. They will not be driving a car in need of the car wash.

La bella figura means driving that 15 year old car and meticulously cleaning it and caring for it. It means keeping your belongings in good repair. It means taking time to clean your house and not cluttering it up with meaningless objects.

When you focus all your spare energy, time and money on the things that bring you the most amount of pleasure, then you are truly living a life in line with la bella figura. The best part about it is that you don’t have to be Italian to do so. You just have to think like an Italian.

Italian children are raised to present la bella figura in whatever they do. From the time they are small and are groomed perfectly to attend church or school, they know that appearances count. They count because it is the first thing people judge about you. That first impression does matter. Appearances are also important because when you take the time to look nice, you are showing that you care about yourself. When you care enough to look good, it shows you have good healthy self esteem. Nothing is more attractive than self confidence.

In addition, dressing nice also shows respect for others. If you invite people over for dinner and greet them in flip flops, baggy sweats and a stained shirt, it is really disrespectful to them. The same if you dress sloppy to go to church or even to the market. By dressing nicely and being well groomed, you show respect for everyone in your world.

Having la bella figura means presenting yourself in the best light possible in all your interactions.