1.Read. I am a Too Much Woman by Ev’Yan Whitney. (via Swiss Miss)

“There she is. . . the “too much” woman. The one who loves too hard, feels too deeply, asks too often, desires too much.

There she is taking up too much space, with her laughter, her curves, her honesty, her sexuality. Her presence is as tall as a tree, as wide as a mountain. Her energy occupies every crevice of the room. Too much space she takes.

There she is causing a ruckus with her persistent wanting, too much wanting. She desires a lot, wants everything—too much happiness, too much alone time, too much pleasure. She’ll go through brimstone, murky river, and hellfire to get it. She’ll risk all to quell the longings of her heart and body. This makes her dangerous.

She is dangerous.

And there she goes, that “too much” woman, making people think too much, feel too much, swoon too much. She with her authentic prose and a self-assuredness in the way she carries herself. She with her belly laughs and her insatiable appetite and her proneness to fiery passion. All eyes on her, thinking she’s hot shit.

Oh, that “too much” woman. . . too loud, too vibrant, too honest, too emotional, too smart, too intense, too pretty, too difficult, too sensitive, too wild, too intimidating, too successful, too fat, too strong, too political, too joyous, too needy—too much.

She should simmer down a bit, be taken down a couple notches. Someone should put her back in a more respectable place. Someone should tell her.

Here I am. . . a Too Much Woman, with my too-tender heart and my too-much emotions.
A hedonist, feminist, pleasure seeker, empath. I want a lot—justice, sincerity, spaciousness, ease, intimacy, actualization, respect, to be seen, to be understood, your undivided attention, and all of your promises to be kept.

I’ve been called high maintenance because I want what I want, and intimidating because of the space I occupy. I’ve been called selfish because I am self-loving. I’ve been called a witch because I know how to heal myself.

And still. . . I rise.”

— Ev’Yan Whitney

2. Watch. I saw Jojo Rabbit this week, and I thought it was excellent. It had the theatre laughing, smiling, and crying. It told a well-known story from a unique satirical perspective. Teaser: Jojo’s imaginary best friend is Hitler.

3. Do. I have been taking flamenco dancing lessons this fall, and I’ve been enjoying it so much. I have learned a lot! And I definitely love wearing my flamenco skirt! (Thanks, B, for the skirt. Thanks, M, for challenging me to take a dance class.)

4. Do. Two weeks ago, I bought a Verilux Happy Light at Costco. Sitting in front of it for about 15 minutes a day is supposed to help with seasonal affective disorder (SAD). I’m not sure if I suffer from SAD, but I figured the light can’t hurt. And since it was on sale, and Costco has a great return policy, I figured I had nothing to lose. For the last two weeks, I’ve been using it every morning for 15 minutes or so. Have I noticed a difference? Yes. I have noticed that I have energy all day long. You know that 3pm, 4pm slump that many of us get? Well, I haven’t had that in 2 weeks! I haven’t changed my activities or my diet, and I seem to have energy all day long. It could be the light or it could be a whole bunch of other things, but I’m going to continue with the light because, well, why not?

5. Think. What does everyone think of the dramatic flooding in Venice this week? It makes me sad to see destruction.

Have a great weekend, everyone!