What doesn’t get talked about are the days where you just want to lock yourself in the bathroom and cry till you drop. How, some days, you wonder why the hell you signed up for this roller coaster ride called motherhood? How you cry yourself to sleep when you realize that you couldn’t take away the bad day she had at school. How, one day, you are going to be “that” Mother in the front of the church bawling with sadness and happiness and emptiness as you give your daughter to another boy. How much you hope and pray that he treats her “right”—that he will worship and be in awe of her— as much as you are.

And so, this is how I imagine my Mother felt about me. She would want me to be happy–to be treated “right”–that the person who is with me will worship and be in awe of me–as much as she was. And so, Mom… I respectfully say to you “I will insist that whoever is in my life –in any capacity– will respect and care for the wonder that is me!” I deserve so much more and I demand to be loved in the way I should be. Good-bye game players, non phone call returners, non e-mailers, persons incapable of making a break from their own bad situations…..There is no room for you in my life anymore.

Life’s Passion: Music

9 to 5: Practicing piano, rehearsing with KTD

Shameless plug: I’ve been a classically trained pianist since I was 3 years old.

Favourite shoe: A vintage pair of boat shoes from the Salvation Army.

Home is… Chicago

I overcome a broken heel by… writing a song

I confess I am… really bad at interviews.

If I had one wish… I’d do everything I could musically, playing the piano and guitar, a solo album and Kids These Days

Beauty is… what you make it.

I absolutely love… Sour Mambas

My role model is… my mother

I want to be remembered for… the music that I make.

I make a difference by… doing what’s best for others.

Famous Last Words: LOOK FOR TRAP HOUSE ROCK! IT’LL BLOW YOUR MIND.

KIDS THESE DAYS

Kids These Days, or for those of us “in the know”, KTD, are a cross-genre phenomenon comprised of 7 uniquely talented musicians ages 17 to 21.

Do you want to read that sentence again? I thought so. I know, my mind was also blown.

All from the Chicago area, their sound is like no other. Combining three horns, electric guitars, drums and voices from a generation before their time, Macie, Liam, Nico, J.P., Rajiv, Vic, Lane and Greg create the hip/hop, jazz and soul sound of Kids These Days.

Leading up to their Lollapalooza debut, I spoke with 18 year old Macie Stewart, the only girl in the 8-member band. She begins by telling me that she grew up on the north side of Chicago in a small neighbourhood that nobody’s ever heard of. I like her attitude already.

Learning about Kids These Days, and most new bands for that matter, is always a thrill. It’s like being the first to win some kind of cool proverbial musical race. It’s totally how I feel about KTD. They’re in their own genre, creating their own sound, which in Macie’s words is: A compilation of music we all like and what we’ve grown up with.

KTD is crazy talented. Half of them went to the Merit School of Music and wanted to start a band. While Macie attended Whitney Young High School, she was discovered by Liam in the play Little Shop of Horrors. After they settled down to jam in their basement rehearsal space, the vibe just felt right.

The past couple of years have been increasingly busy for KTD. As their popularity is on the steady incline, Macie hasn’t even had time to fathom that in the last year she’s played at SXSW, Lollapalooza and with Snoop Dogg. But every show, she ensures me, is filled with lots of energy and is a guaranteed good time.

As a unit, KTD draw their inspiration from artists like The Roots, Lupe Fiasco and Esperanza Spalding. Personally Macie’s mentors, motivators and influencers include Aretha Franklin (of whom she recently finished reading a biography and notes that it was highly inspirational) and her mother (also a musician) who has been playing around the world since she was nine years old.

As a proponent of Canadian artists and the Toronto music scene in general, I was extremely excited when Macie told me that her go-to band of the moment was Metric. She loves Emily Haines as a songstress and front woman. She also mentioned that Portishead is on constant rotation and if that doesn’t show you her variable musical spectrum I’m not sure what else could.

In the next few months, KTD will be in the studio recording Trap House Rock – look for a free download coming up online!

Follow KTD on Twitter: @kidsthesedays

Check out their video for Darling:

Without even knowing it, you know Amanda de Cadenet. Well… sort of.

Amanda is a renowned fashion photographer and has shot everything from advertising campaigns to Hollywood icons and rock royalty. She is the youngest woman to ever shoot a Vogue cover and has worked with the likes of Vanity Fair, Dazed and Confused, Rolling Stone and the New York Times magazine, to name just a few of the most incredible names in publication.

Oh, is that all? you might be thinking. No, it’s not.

In 2010, de Cadenet decided she wasn’t doing enough as a mother of three, a successful photographer, rock star wife (her husband is The Strokes’ guitarist Nick Valensi) and splitting her time between NYC and LA so she established 140Women.

She also has a book of her work entitled Rare Birds. It’s glorious.

Anyways.

140Women “draws attention to the plight of women and girls.” The web-based show will “feature intimate interviews with high profile celebrity role models and exceptional women from the worlds of entertainment, fashion, business, health and politics, discussing relationships, spirituality, career, finances, health and human rights. 140Women aims to motivate and inspire women around the world, and will partner with non-profit organizations and women’s support networks to provide practical information and advice.”

In December 2010, de Cadenet attended the TEDWomen conference where “great, diverse women with courage, impressive ideas, grace, beauty, global reach, compassion, gentle but powerfully persuasive voices, bold innovation in the toughest of times, and inspiring, moving stories in Washington D.C.” gathered. There she interviewed Kris Carr (best-selling author for her Crazy Sexy Cancer documentary and books) and Hannah Rosin (founding editor of online magazine Double X).

She is currently working on launching www.140women.com, along with shooting campaigns and well, life. Right now she has a site at www.amandadecadenetcommunity.com that connects women and builds a unifying network of those working towards empowerment and justice for those without a voice. There are forums and discussions to participate in, photo posting options and you can connect with Amanda directly. I became a member instantly.

Visit Amanda de Cadenet

Be a part of the movement so our daughters don’t have to be.

Follow Amanda on Twitter: @amandadecadenet
Follow 140Women on Twitter: @140Women

The 140Women Daily is a paper.li website updated every day with the top news stories surrounding women’s issues worldwide.

– information used was from www.amandadecadenet.com

]]> http://www.thebrokenheeldiaries.com/2011/02/21/amanda-de-cadenet-140women-photograph/feed/ 4 http://www.thebrokenheeldiaries.com/2010/10/19/me-and-my-momma/ http://www.thebrokenheeldiaries.com/2010/10/19/me-and-my-momma/#comments Tue, 19 Oct 2010 21:31:56 +0000 krissy http://www.thebrokenheeldiaries.com/?p=7071 I haven’t written a personal post in a while, been busy living…

I had to share this advancement in my relationship with my mother, I went shopping with my mother last week. I know this is quite normal for many people, but I haven’t bonded with my mother over shopping since I was about 9 years old. I was apprehensive at first but I had such a great time. I could see in her eyes that she enjoyed the bonding as much as I did. I haven’t had the best relationship with my mother in the past, but it is never too late to make a new beginning. She has come to the table prepared to make things better, and I have done the same. Working as hard as I can to reconcile our differences, I don’t want to be a parent and have a poor relationship with my mother.

Here is to the future, and the blossoming relationship with my mother. Looking forward to what’s ahead.

Who thought healing would feel so great...

In the vain of healing, relationships in my life are getting a dose of healing as well. Relationships that I thought were beyond repair. As you may know from reading this blog, in the past my relationship with my mother (as you can read here in Time With My Mother / My mom loved me…I didn’t know until recently)  and my father  (My dad loved me now I know)was anything but easy for me. I never had thought that it would be better, I hoped it would. I mean who wants to get old and not have a good relationship with their parents ?!

Either I am maturing, extremely fast, or maybe its about time. New cycle?! However, whichever it feels great ! That part of my heart that always felt like it needed more love, that part of my heart that always felt like I was missing something, that I was incomplete; it filled itself. Its so hard to put into words the exact feeling. All I know is that apprehension, that tension, that uneasiness that I used to feel around them is now gone. I don’t feel anymore pain. I am really excited for what that means as a whole, and how that will shape my future now that I was finally able to heal this part of my life. I am looking forward to how my relationships with other people will take a different route since I have rectified the two most important relationships in my life.

It all happened so suddenly, not many people around me are aware of the significance of these events. I feel empowered and confident more than ever that I complete. I finally feel the love from my parents that I was looking for during all these years. Things can only get better from here.

If like me you have or had difficult relationships with your parents, I am here to tell you that it can get better and it does if you are willing. Once you are ready to forgive, move on, and see things from a different point of view, your heart will open up. Let it, don’t be scared

]]> http://www.thebrokenheeldiaries.com/2010/09/28/me-my-mom-my-dad-healing-relationships/feed/ 0 http://www.thebrokenheeldiaries.com/2010/09/23/growing-into-the-woman-i-always-wanted-to-be/ http://www.thebrokenheeldiaries.com/2010/09/23/growing-into-the-woman-i-always-wanted-to-be/#comments Thu, 23 Sep 2010 12:34:14 +0000 krissy http://www.thebrokenheeldiaries.com/?p=6390 Read the Rest...]]> I always say this to my friends and they get a good kick out of it “When I am a grown up…” , they always look at me with the craziest side eye as if to say that I am the only one who hasn’t noticed that we are in our late 20′s. Believe me, I have noticed ! I just don’t feel like a grown up yet, and I don’t think there is anything wrong with that. I am sure I am not the only person taking her time to grow up in all area of her life, I mean studies are showing that our generation is taking longer to mature than past generations.

More and more in the past months I have started to acquire personality and character traits that I always wanted to have when I “grew up” as a “grown up”. I am adopting new habits, new ways of thinking and I am loving it. It feels like a jolt of energy that is moving me forward and attracting me to all the things I ever wanted to do. I am embracing every moment of it, because I feel myself growing. I know I am making better decisions for myself, and preparing myself to be one hell of an adult, maybe one day wife and mother.

Some women at 28 fear turning 30, I cannot wait to turn 30. I don’t feel old, I sure don’t look old. I have so much fun with my friends that I look forward to getting older and enjoying each other’s company doing – “grown up stuff”.

The point that should be taken away from this is, its never too late to grow up and become who you want to be. You may not develop at the speed everyone else is expecting you to, but none of that means anything. As long as you strive to grow into the person you always wanted to be, that’s all that matters. I didn’t do everything when others told me to, or when they wanted me to. One day a light switch went off and it all made sense, I was ready. I was ready to move on to the next chapter of my life.