Rainy Days and Laundry Always Get Me Down...

Yes, exciting times ... its rainy and chilly outside, so I'm about to head home to do some laundry and watch Lord of the Rings on TNT AGAIN - or the Star Wars Saga on Spike...or Pride and Prejudice (yes with Keira Knightly...I can't STAND her, but I watched this a few weeks ago and found myself really liking it - almost as much as the Gold Standard of Jane Austen Movies, the one with Colin Firth, who makes your toes curl as you watch him). And to bed early so that tomorrow, I can NOT go to yoga, but instead, I came up with something fun to do. I was in a funk for most of this week and am slowly working my way back to Fraulein Maria-hood (more on that in a bit) and I didn't want it to fade, plus I'm having that feeling like I want to outrageously hop on a plane to Las Vegas and get away from NYC for a week. But money being what it is and all the things going on right now, it's just not feasible. So instead, I'm bucking up, thinking of raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens and taking a day trip instead. I'm going to The Van Cortlandt Manor in Croton on Hudson for a day of butter churning, cheese making and learning various blacksmithing skills...

Hands-on Heritage Crafts
http://www.hudsonvalley.org/content/view/15/45/

Come enjoy plenty of hands-on opportunities. Visitors of all ages are encouraged to take part in historic crafts during this celebration of colonial-era life. Make your own candles, sew a medicine bag and fill it with dried botanicals, operate the blacksmith's bellows, and take part in spinning, weaving, coopering, tinsmithing, hewing wood, quilting, open-hearth cooking, butter churning, cheese-making, and more. Food and beverages are available, or visitors can bring a picnic lunch.

That seems very Fraulein Maria-ish, no? Maybe you recall an earlier post of mine where I decided my moral compass was going to be Fraulein Maria and therefore, when in doubt, ask "what would Fraulein Maria do? Would Maria sit around and sulk because she had nothing fun to wear? No! She would rip those old curtains down and make some playclothes to wear while gallivanting around Salzburg. Would Maria let some bitchy Baroness take her position in the household? No. She would realize she needs to climb every mountain and face life head on and not hide in the abbey. See I had this realization while watching the Sound of Music (3 x in a row) on ABC Family a few weeks back...bear with me... Maria is the ultimate heroine BECAUSE:

1. Maria is moral and strong - she does the right thing while standing up for herself and generally speaks her mind

2. Maria doesn't let the meanspiritedness or the conniving plots of others manipulate her into changing her behavior. She does what is right for her, not because of trends or because other people might expect her to. She remains true to herself.

3. She is can outmaneuver Nazis.

4. She is crafty and practical - such as the curtain clothes making.

5. She is a master at turning around a bad situation - she is scared of going to the Von Trapp's yet she bucks up her confidence and asserts herself; simply sing a few lines of My Favorite Things and all is well - and you know it!

6. And in the end, she gets the man.

I could go on, but you get the idea - Fraulein Maria is AWESOME... so I'm attempting to be just like her, bowl haircut be damned!

Oh, I must stop these doubts, all these worries
If I don't I just know I'll turn back
I must dream of the things I am seeking
I am seeking the courage I lack
I have confidence in sunshine
I have confidence in rain
I have confidence that spring will come again
Besides which you see I have confidence in me...