New bloggie blog

I think I'm all out of little frogs to make so go here
http://alice6things.blogspot.com/

and let's try this on for size...new address, new name, let's see if an app with help me get into this again...

Upgraded!!

Yeah, that's right, I'm upwardly mobile & have been moved to business class for my 6 hour flight to LaLaLand (and straight on till morning) -I got to stretch out, sleep (which was desperately needed as I was already grumpy from only sleeping a bare hour), enjoy a real breakfast (with a glass of champagne) - ooh it was cushy! When I got called up to the podium when they were boarding, the United lady said in a whisper "looks like you won the lottery". Indeed. I consider it an goodness omen, an excellent sign of things to come!

Here I am swathed in my down alternative blanket ... merci beaucoup,oh ye travel gods!!

Karma Repair Kit by Richard Brautigan

1.Get enough food to eat, and eat it.

2. Find a place to sleep where it is quiet, and sleep there.

3. Reduce intellectual and emotional noise until you arrive at the silence of yourself, and listen to it.

4.

This was how I spent my looooooong Independence Day Weekend - I did #4. And you know what? I loved it. I didn't do a whole lot and yet, much was accomplished. Mostly that means I had a set of tasks set out and I ticked most of them off as "done", walked around DESPITE the overbearing heat, street fairs, sitting in the park, people-watching, street fairing, netbook purchasing, Sephora goodie stops - that sort of thing. Mostly it was me getting ready to head to California on Saturday and be by my beloved ocean ooooh she can't wait to dip her toes in the sand and sea. I just need to live through this week, I have FAR too much going on - this week is just a continuation of last week where I felt I was forgetting to breathe and man, do I hate that feeling. I'm gonna do my best - to breathe, yet, but also smile - sometimes I forget to do that too, in my grumpitude.

You too - yes YOU - don't forget:

1. Breathing
2. Smiling

Do it now - feel better?

Celebrate YOUR Independence..

listen to the mustnts, child,
listen to the donts
listen to the shouldnts,
the impossibles,
the wonts
listen to the never haves,
then listen close to me…
anything can happen, child,
anything can be.

— Shel Silverstein

(this was supposed to be my July 4th post but the pic got all screwy so now that I've corrected it, it's dated today - anyhoo...also, I totally forgot the source of the supercool pic so I apologize to whoever created it - it's lovely and makes me wish I had a head made from butterfly wings!!)

"The moment one gives close attention to any thing, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself." — Henry Miller

Mazes! Gnomes! Lavender!

If only Austraila were closer - I'd spend a LOT of time HERE:

http://ashcombemaze.com.au/

They have a hedge maze (with a hidden gnome!), a rose maze, a lavender maze, gardens...sigh...

Then, I'd have to go HERE as well - this sounds even MORE up my alley:

http://www.enchantedmaze.com.au/enchantedmazes

Enchanted mazes? The Amazing Lolly Shop? Fantasy Gardens? COME ON!!!!!!!

Life's a bowl of cherries-or sometimes just a handful

"Life is just a bowl of cherries
Don't take it serious
Life's too mysterious
Life is just a bowl of cherries,
So live and laugh at it all."

Creepy Philly Photos

I forgot to post these from the Philly trip - aren't they freaky?

She looks at her reflection in the mirror, glass dusty and tarnished with disuse. She notices a girl on the other side, forlorn, transparent.There are fingerprints all along the edges and she begins to wonder: am I trying to get in or is she trying to get out? Before she can ask, the girl on the other side catches her eye, gives a wink and a sly smile and is gone...

Let me keep my mind on what matters, which is mostly standing still and learning to be astonished, which is gratitude.
~Mary Oliver

First on the gratitude list this morning? MY OH MY do I make good coffee. I honestly do. Buying Bustelo instead of the cheaper espresso helps (yes, I do lean towards thirfty, much to my dismay, but I'm learning to spend more when it's meaningful and appropriate, i.e. whenever I want) but wow! for some reason, this current cup stands out as scrumdidiliumptious... and here it is in all its glory

I find it odd that every time I look at the clock in the evening, the
time is 10:08 (my birthdate) ... does that mean something? Can I make
up a meaning for it? Or someone out there, if you care to - tell me
what to think about it

;-)

Also, on a side note: call me strange (hee - too late) but I love the
way the 42nd St stop on the 6 train smells - like a woodburning
fireplace or oven - from the market above?? It's quite yummy, even in
the swelter of summertime.

Caterpillar Days

"Whenever you go out of doors, draw the chin in, carry the crown of the head high, and fill the lungs to the utmost, drink in the sunshine; greet your friends with a smile, and put soul into every handclasp. Do not fear being misunderstood and do not waste a minute thinking about your enemies. Try to fix firmly in your mind what you would like to do; and then, without veering off direction, you will move straight to the goal. Keep your mind on the great and splendid things you would like to do, and then, as the days go gliding away, you will find yourself unconsciously seizing upon the opportunities that are required for the fulfillment of your desire, just as the coral insect takes from the running tide the element it needs. Picture in your mind the able, earnest and useful person you desire to be, and the thought you hold is hourly transforming you into that particular individual....Thought is supreme. Preserve a right mental attitude-the attitude of courage, frankness and good cheer. To think rightly is to create. All things come through desire and every sincere prayer is answered. We become like that on which our hearts are fixed. Whenever you go out of doors, carry your chin in and the crown of your head high.

We are gods in the chrysalis."

~Elbert Hubbard

"And then you break through
And dry before my eyes
Take me with you, where you hide tonight
Did you feel the beat in a fetal curl
Could you be original caterpillar girl
Crawling up the vine, splitting your spine
Flowing through the motion, leave a shell behind...
The birds, like me, want you now
We want you now
Caterpillar come out..."

~Lou Barlow

Touchstone Word for the Week? Simplify.

Sometimes I go about pitying myself, and all the time I am being carried on great winds across the sky.
~ Chippewa, translated by Robert Bly

My niece is THE COOLEST!!!

and she's so much like me...

Ugh, What a Week...

I'm beyond exhausted, drained, all those things - drama at work, sadness for Dear Veronica, some highs & now a good Saturday planned: Mermaid Parade time!! Then a Brooklyn Cyclones vs. Staten Island Yankees game, hot dogs, a beer, Coney Island, beachy breezes and hopefully, onto a better next week. Okay, last time I went to the Mermaid Parade, I took about 200 pics - let's see if I exercise some restraint tomorrow. Now that I do believe I've figured out the Bloggie to Facebook thingamajig, I'm going home, to rest, read, eat kale, meditation time, then to SLEEP!!!


I do believe - by the way - this to be a terribly written post, but I'm really very tired and annoyed so I'm just trying to determine if the Facebook thing is figured out and then I WANT TO LEAVE MY OFFICE!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!

Big hugs all week to my teacup friend...

Testing Testing

I'm just seeing if how to update Bloggie then share on Facebook... did I do it? Let's see...

Someone is having fun with the Red Giant Plastic Bullet app on her iPhone - it makes the mundane magical! This is just a plant in my office, the actual photo is quite dull - but shake a fairy wand at it and BRRNNGG!!! Ta da!

"Your imagination is your preview of life's coming attractions." ~Albert Einstein

The view from my bench ...

I'm quite ambitious for my office garden - at the Botanical Garden this weekend, I got a wee bit swept up in all the bountiful Mother Natureness around me so I stopped by their garden shop and bought lavender, rosemary, basil, and mint for my herbiness and most excitingly, borage, nasturtiums, and marigolds - for - ta da! - EDIBLE FLOWERS!!!

The first time I had flowers on a salad, I was probably 12 or 13 years old and visiting family in Carmel, California and Aunt Beth put petals on top of the salad and I thought that was THE most magical thing you could have ever done to greens except maybe some sort of edible glitter bacon bits. And every once in a blue moon, I see a package of them at a gourmet deli but I thought I'd grow some myself and have a fairy-elven-magical type salad this summer - I'll come up with a formal, more poetic name once I get these growing.

About a month ago, I had started two little pots with seedlings and I watered and I protected and I hoped, but nothing happened. So, I figured the seeds were no longer viable, the soil was dead - something. And I gave up. But so as not to waste the soil, I just plopped it in this other plant and packed it down. Well look what's going on!

They are growing! It's a green thumb miracle! For some reason, however small a thing this is, it made me feel happy to see it when I came in to work yesterday and made me think of one of my favorite quotes:

“Every blade of grass has its angel that bends over it and whispers, 'Grow, grow.'”

Moonstone Beach

I don't even remember how I came across this blog http://pixiecampbell.typepad.com/ (most likely from someone else's blog) but as I was scrolling through some of her posts, I see that the author went to Cambria in California for Mother's Day and posted this photo of Moonstone Beach which I know very well. It's right down the cliff from my family's favorite restaurant The Sea Chest and we've gone walking here so many times, gathering driftwood, stones, taking in a glass of wine while waiting to get in the restaurant, or watching the sunset. I love rocks and pebbles to the point that I'm greedy and want them all when they are beautiful & smooth & multicolored like these - so you can guess by the picture that I could spend hours sitting there, just looking and hunting and gathering and then squirrelling them away - indeed, here is a photo of me doing just that the last time I was there in 2008!!

It's only the escargot and the calamari steak from the Sea Chest above me that beckons me away from my spot...but anyway, I loved her photo because up close, that what you see - the stones are all tiny and jewel-like, polished perfectly smooth, bits of jade and jasper like she says but also you find agates and moonstones...and in just over a month's time, I'll be back there so this made me feel wistful because I wouldn't mind being there now but for now, it's an image of something good to look forward to.

Whenever, wherever, and with whoever you sense fear, close your eyes, breathe deeply into your heart, exhale some authentic prayers, and then imagine a million tiny drunk giddy angels dirty dancing with your cells.
~Sera Beak

Poetry.
Park.
Peaceful.

Eye Mask by Denise Levertov

In this dark I rest,
unready for the light which dawns
day after day,
eager to be shared.
Black silk, shelter me.
I need
more of the night before I open
eyes and heart
to illumination. I must still
grow in the dark like a root
not ready, not ready at all.

~~~~~~

Foundations by Leopold Staff

I built on the sand
And it tumbled down,
I built on a rock
And it tumbled down.
Now when I build, I shall begin
With the smoke from the chimney.

Totally geeking out at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden ... just saw the most amazing butterfly in these blooms but couldn't capture it on film - so many colors! My senses are kicking into overdrive - as they should in a place like this ... very perfect - nice work God! Gold star!

In the dew of little things, the heart finds it's morning and is refreshed.
~ Kahlil Gibran

Hmmm, little things such as my good coffee whilst reading, an open window with a slight cooling breeze, pretty little fun things bought yesterday as I wandered about after getting out of work early, feeling like my week was ever so hectic & yet I did a good job of keeping myself balanced (for once) and present in the moment which makes me feel capable, which makes me feel like a real adult, not some child playing dress up which is usually how I feel! I'm okay with that by the way, I have an idea that it will prevent aging oh if I can just stay young at heart! Wrinkles may come, but heart & soul, may you stay smooth as a baby...

SOOOOO tired lately - maybe I'm still run down from being sick last week, from running nonstop all around Philadelphia last weekend - my aching legs just stopped hurting today which shows you I've been hibernating all winter because usually, I can walk and walk and walk - fast too - and feel nothing but oooooo was I feeling like the Little Mermaid when she came on land. I need to find a way to balance things out more, less feeling like go go go during the week, wearing myself out to the point that the weekend rolls around and I feel like I could just curl up like a roly-poly bug and not move until it was required of me - you know, for food and bathing and such. Even that proves difficult. Bottom line is, I feel slothful. And that is despicable. A deadly sin.

Must repent. Must become virtuous. Move move MORE, eat BETTER, sleep LONGER, etc etc etc...you know the drill. Live,not just exist. That kind of thing.

Candlelit ghost tour in Philadelphia- why do I find it funny that it's always me and the nine year olds up at the front, hanging on the guide's every spooky word? Think I found my age group ...

She's made it to the City Of Brotherly Love and she is awake now, yes it's finally morning, 7:34, and I purposely left the drapes open last night so that the sun would greet me. Except there isnt much sun - mostly gray out there & I didn't know that I would have such a choppy night of sleep & maybe wouldn't want that light creeping in to bother me - weird dreams, kept feeling I was awake but the would wake up so I must have been sleeping,right? Disorienting.

I realized last night this is the first time I've been in a hotel room by myself (it seemed oh TOO quiet at first) since ten years ago when I had to come here for work a couple of times a year and it brought back memories - all good ones actually - of catching the train (Amtrak because we didn't have to pay for it), working all sorts of crazy hours because we'd have a deadline to meet & never being able to see much except the few blocks around the office which was right across
from City Hall so this is my second trip back to see more "stuff" and really enjoy it - even last time I came only for a day and it was rush rush - fun but too quick. So this mini trip, I hope we can stroll a bit more, not run place to place.

Onto the stuff then!! But first - COFFEE...

For all that has been, thanks; to all that will be, yes.
~ Dag Hammarskjold

Ah bliss bliss sip sip ... yes, still in pjs, still laying in bed (on top of it), still drinking my good coffee, reading & jotting things down - notes to self - breeze blowing my curtains gently, slightly cool still, sun shining and so yes bliss bliss sip sip ... just enjoying a peaceful morning home from work because soon it will be vroom vroom go go as I pack and train it to Philadelphia for the weekend so I am gathering my energy now so I can walk my socks off and have a mini historically inclined adventure - most needed by me at the moment. But for now, let me return to bliss bliss sip sip..

Oh, The Lovely Poem du Jour

The Secret of Life ~ Ellen Goldsmith

I grabbed the streetcar from Fisherman's Wharf
to the Ferry Building to save my feet for later.
My dollar bill, wrinkled and worn, resisted disappearing
into the slot. I stuffed the transfer
in my pocket without looking.

As the streetcar rounded the Embarcadero,
I called my mother-in-law with mother's day wishes,
imagined the conversation
I'd have with mine, were she alive.
On exiting, I asked the conductor
how long the transfer would last.
I gave you extra time, he said.
Just show it. Hardly anyone looks.
It's good until it's taken away.

Just finished reading Little Altars Everywhere - awesomely beautifully sad funny all at once - SO my sort of book. But favorite line?

"...we all get Cokes too, even though Daddy says that having a cold drink before twelve noon is 'a whore's breakfast.'"

Sip on that, all you people out there buying iced lattes from the coffee cart tomorrow morning ... I see you!!!

Now I'm dying to get/read the other 3 books by Rebecca Wells but for now, to sleep because, yes, she's down with a cold yet again - I swear, if this were the olden days, (the days of yore) they'd send me off to the sanitarium to recover my health. Or if I had been wealthy in ye olde tymes, take the waters at Baden-Baden. I do know that I'm quite tired of getting a bug or a cold every 6 weeks & it always seems to hit at a bad time - in this case going to Philly with some friends this weekend while dealing with extra special work stress.

So to bed to sleep then where I wish myself sweet dreams and an unstuffy nose and a head that doesn't feel like lead...

"Nobody can be exactly like me.

Sometimes even I have trouble doing it."
~Tallulah Bankhead (1903 – 1968)

(I know exactly what you mean Tallulah...)

And lookee here - if I had a garden, it would be filled with gnomes - real and otherwise!

Buddha-like meditating gnomes!! Luuuuve these! But I actually don't like it when they portray gnomes to look like this - these are more dwarvian. EVERYONE knows that gnomes look like this:

Aujoud'hui, I say "merci!"...

parce que the older gentleman on the who plays the accordion on the uptown platform of the 6 train at 51st street is back and he toujours makes me feel like I'm starring in a French film ... so bienvenue et merci - you were missed!

I always mean to go to that side of the platform and drop something in his chapeau but since I'm always et forever en retard, I never remember to...

Peut-etre a demain...peut-etre...


P.S - my hair makes me feel very Amelie-ish too - so VIVE LA FRANCE!!!!!!

The motto of the weekend, you ask?

"There must be always remaining in every life, some place for the
singing of angels, some place for that which in itself is breathless
and beautiful."
~ Howard Thurman

A very busy week, ending with me realizing I didn't breathe for most
of it so the goal for the next 2 days is to inhale some sunshine,
something beautiful, and feel peaceful ...

Sent from my iPhone

"Everything you can imagine is real."

- Pablo Picasso

Fancy kombucha time! I stayed strong
with the no-vino credo! Let me now get to my 30Rock and Office
giggling <contentedsigh>

When the day echoes your moods..

What a whirlwind...thunderstorms, raindrops, bright sunnyshine, rush rush, 2 meetings, barely time for the eating of the lunch (a handmade delight by the way, sort of my version of fattoush and tabouli but with quinoa instead and no pita), barely any coffee ( I know EGADS!), the state of mind going up & down, zigzag sideways, wiggling to irritated then blooming right back up to okayhood and right now I feel mostly like I'm in need of a glass of wine.

But I'm trying not to do that. I'm trying to be sooperdooper healthy, remember? Get my strength back up so I'll settle for picking up my laundry from the Magical Miraculous Laundress (so-called because of their use of "Magic" soap and "Aura Clean" bleach and softener - seriously, these are truly Laundry Fairy Godmothers!), making some kava tea, watching the Office and then to bed at 10. I need SLEEP. This entire week, I've tried to go to sleep early and to no avail - wide awake and bleary-eyed at 1am. Toss and turn. Once I get to sleep, I'm fine, but it's just the getting there part that needs work.

Sigh...I'm one tired lady. I've hardly been outside in fresh air all week, that's how crazed things have been. I simultaneously love and detest those times - I love to be busy, I love having projects to work on but I don't like it when I get in those modes where I feel like taking a break is a big deal. Must remember to breathe. Must remember to get some sunlight on that face. Especially because it's Springtime...

"Springtime!
Spring Time!
La

la

la

la la
la"

Now, I do believe I'll walk to Grand Central to get some fresh evening air time in my system... gute nacht!

Quotes to place under my pillow, to sleep on..,

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle.

- Philo of Alexandria

When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.

- Willie Nelson

Look how pretty it is!!!

She has THE cutest bloggie stuff - I suspect I will be playing with the backgrounds (particularly around the holidays) and colors and stuff but for now, I'll leave it as you see it now

http://blo64rt.blogspot.com/

test photo sent to Bloggie via iPhone

Finally, I figured out how to post pics from my phone directly TO bloggie - what is it though?

Found at A Clear Path to Happy's blog - this should be my (ours, yours) daily wish, midday thought, bedtime prayer:

May I be happy.
May my friends be happy.
May my enemies be happy.
May all beings everywhere be happy.

The Psychology of Good Hair

I had sort of an weirdly anxious week. What I realized in getting "The Hair" chopped off was that "The Hair" was totally acting as a security blanket, something to hide behind. Coming into work on Monday, I suddenly felt very exposed so I'm guessing that "The Hair" had made me feel very something all these years - secure? Girly (because I'm not really girly)? I never had really long hair before and while I did like it, that hair was old - it's been around for years. So cutting it off made me feel like it was a good omen, a fresh start perhaps, a portentous ritual for Spring? Something like that. In any case, it's something that has made me feel better (so far) and much more comfortable in my skin in some ways. I could be wrong, but I think it suits my personality better.

I feel ... lighter.

We'll see how long the good vibe surrounding it lasts - you know me ... all it will take is one bad photo of it or one terrible hair day to ruin my love of it and for my raised self-esteem to come crashing down. I crumble easily in such situations.

However, I seem to be better at picking up my pieces and putting them back together again; quicker about the task, too. Has the puzzle gotten easier or am I just more skilled?

Last night, as I was sleeping,
I dreamt -- marvelous error! --
that I had a beehive
here inside my heart.
And the golden bees
were making white combs
and sweet honey
from my old failures.

~Antonio Machado (Trans. Robert Bly)

I think I've outwitted this weird Springtime heat (is it truly 88 degrees right now? REALLY?) by not leaving my office all day... I hate the fact that I haven't had fresh air since 10:30 though but it was one of those days, one thing after another, my jaw is all tight and clenched (my poor teeths!) and I do believe a small sip of wine (just one small glass) would be really fine right now. Once I get home, I mean. Ah, sweet Chardonnay, you are my friend.

But my point is - heat?

YOU ARE NOT WELCOME.

GO AWAY.

One more day in the 80's and then back to the lovely 50's and 60's which are necessary to create the awesome greenness and blossoms and blooming that needs to occur. More rain even, I'll take it. Just no warmth. Not so soon...

So is the glass half-full or half-empty?

Massage that Kale

So in an attempt to get my cheeks rosy again, my pruneface diminished, my all-encompassing "glow" back, I'm trying to be sooperdooper healthy girl. So that means doing things that I know work for me, that I know make me feel good and right as rain (or sun) in my skin.

Last night's dinner is a good example. I massaged some kale with toasted sesame oil, some mirin, a splash of teriyaki, threw in some dried cranberries and walnuts, sprinkled ground flax on top and you have a raw veggie delight. Why massage? I learned about that in a class I took 2 years ago at the yoga place and it's a good way to keep the greens - which are a bit tough - raw to get the maximum vitamins & minerals but breaks them down enough to tenderize and changes the flavor slightly. I like it cooked as well but this was QUITE tasty (and I took a photo because it

looked pretty - those garnet berries!) and I felt good after so that one goes in the books. And my teacher talked about sort of praying into it while you are massaging it so that when you digest it, you are "eating" the love you put into it, so to speak. I just like that idea a whole lot, sort of like when you say grace before the meal but this is while you are making the food - it makes sense. And then if you know about all the Emoto stuff with the water crystals (which I'm fascinated by) well than let us think good thoughts over everything, yes?

YES! (I know, it's all sort of hippie-dippie-new-agey stuff, but I like all that so I'm fine with trying it.) Plus, as Veronica will attest - things taste best when made with love - during college, the UFM Coffee Guy ALWAYS made his coffee with love and when we saw him behind the counter, we knew a good cup was coming up and would make us study better. Right. It all trickles down to other things.

And then here at work we have today's delights, including kombucha, some supergreen powder, a teaspoon of organic molasses in hot water (instead of afternoon coffee - it's got a ton of iron and magnesium), and of course - a big fat slice of cake.


YUM. Got to keep it all in balance, right? All work and no play makes Nik a dull person. So let me eat cake!

Now to balance it, I'm thinking roasted asparagus for dinner...

The Sacred Path of the Warrior

Acknowledging fear is not a cause for depression

or discouragement. Because we possess such fear,

we also are potentially entitled to experience fearlessness.

True fearlessness is not the reduction of fear

but going beyond fear.

~Chogyam Trungpa

To be nobody -- but yourself -- in a world

which is doing its best night and day

to make you everybody else -- means to fight

the hardest battle which any human being

can fight and never stop fighting.

~e.e. cummings

Texan Photos: Proof of Recovered Muchness!

Courtesy of Veronica's iPhone & Facebook posts:

Can you tell we got a kick out of Willie's Place? Well who doesn't love Willie Nelson??!!

An attempt to take a self portrait of the three of us but alas, Little Buddy's arms are too short to fit Cindy in..also, I have a large head!

Mrs. Grant and I

Veronica's Mom and I at the House of Happy Hands!

Another try at a photo of the Three Amigos - this time, we stopped some drunk guy and as you can see, his finger is in the shot...

As I eat a Peep & some chocolate egg for "breakfast", I remember

...sitting at the dining room table, the constant smell of warm white vinegar as we dyed eggs, dozens and dozens of bright and beautiful eggs (what did we do with them all?)

... my cousin Jamie's famous egg, the ugliest egg ever, dipped in every single color and so it became a gray/brown muddle but its perfect because we still remember it the most out of all of the thousands of eggs we've colored and she was so little and so proud of it

...watching the Sound of Music - it was only ever on once a year, usually at Easter but at some point, they switched it to Christmastime too, but I always associate it Eastertime

...waking up the next morning and running around trying to find where in the house the Easter Baskets were hidden; usually, I would spy Snow White's first or she would see mine and we'd get all excited "I FOUND IT!!! But it's not mine..." and then the other would scurry over to see where the other sister had just been...

... getting a new bathing suit from Grandma Max for the season and wanting to wear it RIGHT AWAY

... our sugar panoramic eggs

... the bestest thing , our Easter egg hunt, which involved my mother calling forth her inner rap star and coming up with these awesome rhymes for clues. She would put coins and a clue to the next egg in each plastic shell and at the end of it all, Snow and I would add up the money and split it

... having to get prettied up for church - which would be annoying because it would be packed with the 2 X a Year People (a.k.a The Bad Catholics)

... squirming the whole time because we wanted to get home to use the bathing suit, eat candy (which we always gave up for Lent so today, at long last, we could eat as much as we liked) and take our first dip of the year in the pool. Daddy would stay home to take the cover off and clean it, we'd go pick up Grandma Marion after Mass and then it was back home to See's chocolate eggs cut up into slices, ham, potato salad (or maybe egg salad - DUH!) running from the house and jumping straight in the pool and SCREAMING because it was so GODAWFUL COLD.

But it was so much FUN.

Snow White, Mom, Daddy - what else am I forgetting??

Would it be pathetic

if I ordered myself one of these beds? http://www.sweetdreambed.com/pricing.html

OMG! I understand they are meant for little girls, but COME ON UNIVERSE!!! Surely you knew that I was going to watch "Kimora:Life in the Fab Lane" last Sunday and surely you knew that I would spy these beds bought for Ming and Aoki and desire one with all my heart RIGHT THAT MINUTE!!!

I know, I know, they are for little girls...I really don't care...look at these beds, tell me you don't want one too..I dare you

And Universe, don't make the Airplane joke (don't call me Shirley)

Anyhow, as luck would have it, I'm ill, I'm going home to drink massive amounts of my homemade ginger immunity booster tea - I woke up Monday morning with my head swirling, like Alice down the rabbit hole, my throat and chest achy, my nose all stuffy and so I stayed in bed and called in sick to rest. Which I did but it's now 2 days later and my chest hurts more and I'm weary all over - this always seems to happen like a week after I fly anywhere - next trip, I'm trying that Airborne stuff and see if that helps me - at least I can be grateful enough that I felt blissful the whole time I was in Texas and I must counting my blessings that I wasn't sick there. Nothing was to get in the way of AdobeCar Time!!!

But I do look quite ugly, I look like that lady in those awful Halls ads I kept seeing in the subway all winter - I HATED these ads, for some reason, they pissed me off, I wanted to smack them, they made me feel icky just to look at them...and now...I look just like her...

UGH. Must get prettier soon.

From the Sanrio Vineyards...

They must have had me in mind when they came up with this...you know I'd want every SINGLE bottle - this is just way too cute for me and my Hello Kitty loving heart...

http://blogs.laweekly.com/squidink/wine/will-you-see-hello-kitty/

Hello Kitty Sparkling Brut Rosé - A deep reddish pink sparkling rose made from 100% Pinot Noir that has a frothy mousse as well as a pretty nose of rose petal and red currant scents.

Hello Kitty Sparkling "Sweet Pink" (Half Size) - This semi-sweet sparkler sports a pale pink hue and has very delicate bubbles.

2008 Hello Kitty Angel White - This is a fresh, very "blanc" white wine made entirely from Pinot Noir free run juice.

2006 Hello Kitty Devil Red - Garnet red with brickish highlights, this is a classically rendered Pinot Noir that presents a seductive bouquet of wild flowers and forest aromas.

Oh I must seek this out... where are you in NYC, Hello Kitty Vino?

Test post from my new iphone!

For Emergencies ONLY

Some new keys that were added recently to my keyboard here at work...just in case...

Thumbs UP!

for She and Him Volume 2

Luverly luverly - I may like it better than Volume 1 but this is just my first listen...

The Creep

There is a fine line between casually observing others around you (which I do all the time and which I love to do - we are all very fascinating) and that point where it becomes creepy, where the gaze lingers just a bit too long, the eyes scanning everyone in the train up and down then up again, slowly taking in whatever is arousing your curiosity about them.

The older man leaned against the subway door - he looked left over from the Eighties, his hair out of date, too poofy, the bushy moustache no longer in style. His suit was quite elegant and it fit him well and he looked as if he was headed to a meeting of some sort or an interview, just well groomed enough to suggest he had some money, that he wasn't just spiffing it up for the occasion. I imagined he was new to this world or planet and placed here to gather data and this was the disguise they gave him, "to blend in". He turned his head to the left, his eyes not missing a body, then to the right in the same way, and his face stayed impassive, as if he was merely curious about what he had been sent here to see, our human ways, our culture, our way of dressing, of doing our hair. "I must observe them in order to become one of them", he must be thinking.

But then his gaze would rest far too long one of the women and then it was no longer a mystery. The lingering looks had become weird, bordering on offensive and I find myself irritated by him and wanting to ask him to knock it off. He now seemed predatory; you could imagine him having dark thoughts and ideas of what he would do if only...if only...

CTRL+ALT+DELETE

Then reboot! Yes, I've been on defrag and reboot phase these past few days and it has been the best treat I do believe I've bought for myself. St Patrick's Day, lucky four-leaf clover ring on hand, I jumped a flight to Charlotte, then to Dallas where I was met by my Little Buddy and off we drove to San Antonio - let the nonstop giggling commence! Lets see, what did we do, what did we see? Bugtussle Lane (I just like the name), bluebonnets, mountain laurel, a humorous stop at Willie's Place for some of Willie's Bio-Diesel fuel, home cooked tacos & fish & a huge breakfast by Mommy Delgado, La Villita shopping & browsing, snow cones & Casa Salazar for a new ring (of course, how can I resist that?) 5 GLORIOUSLY funnylovely hours with Cindy with even more laughing by the River Walk, AliceinWonderland-themed Late Night at the Dallas Museum of Art on Friday, a little shopping, a little makeup, followed by one of the yummiest (because it was "made with love") vegetarian meal at a Hare Krishna temple on Saturday and can you believe it SNOW on the first day of Spring - in TEXAS??? 3D Alice (SO AWESOME because I agreed that it's okay if I'm mad because all the best people are) and Wellies (for rain puddle stomping) and other little goodies bought at Target yesterday, capped off with a fire in the fireplace (I'm very jealous of her fireplace) and a creepy Swedish vampire film which, thankfully, did not give me nightmares.

And that brings us to now, to me sitting on the couch as I type this, lounging in pj's on Little Buddy's couch while she poses as a teacher at work (ha, I STILL don't believe they call her Ms. Delgado) and I get to be a bum and drink coffee and read and watch the Today show. Tomorrow I return to the Big City (sadly) but let me focus on one more day of vacation and with that, let me get back to my resting and reading on the sofa....

Today's Cledon

(What's a cledon? Originating from ancient Greek culture when people consulted the oracle of Apollo to ask a question, the concept of a cledon is where other unsuspecting people are used by God - or as they say in Clash of the Titans "by the gods - to convey a message to the inquiring person. In the past, this was through getting a message through overhearing a conversation between others, or when someone else who doesn't know about one's question answers it. In this day, it's also likely through seeing a headline or a billboard, or through hearing a certain song on the radio, or even watching something on TV)

As I stood on the corner of 30th and Park, waiting to cross, I heard it, quite loudly, quite clear:

"Stop being such a pussy"

Indeed.

"Good soup draws the chair to it"

(2 posts in one day, what have you fine people been doing to deserve such a treat?)

And so we begin with a fine Ghanian proverb that fits well with the day - it's so rainy and raw and chilly to the bone. Some soup or hot cocoa and a nap would be mighty fine right now.

But, alas, I did not have any such good soup for lunch, it was instead a turkey sandwich. Yes. Excitement reigns. Blah.

Blah.

BLAH.

Now, I've been feeling the way the day looks so I decided to do something about that. On Wednesday, I called Good Ole Lil' Texan Buddy and asked if she was doing anything next week - was she perhaps on Spring Break? Then I asked Good Ole Boss if I could please take a few days off, hmm, let's see, how about a whole week? To which he replied "I was wondering how you've gone since the beginning of January with out one single day off."

And so an aeroplane ticket was purchased and so it is with great glee and bliss that I announce I shall be Texas-bound next Wednesday at 8:30 am and shall be returning not sooner that the following Tuesday - YIPPEEE!!! I get to see Veronica, drive to San Antonio and spend 3 days there, see Cindy, and laugh SO FREAKING MUCH.

My stomach muscles hurt already.

I need that. I feel like a great weight has been lifted, a hint of blue sky seeping through the cracks of the rainy day, for I'm guaranteed to feel complete and utter happiness at just the mere thought of my Tex-Mex adventure.

It's what happens when you fuse German (and Russian/Swedish) engineering with Mexican knowhow.

Celebrity Rehab, David Sedaris, & Me

So I love watching Celebrity Rehab and Sober House on VH1 - I just do, I'm not going to defend it. I find it interesting, so there. And it doesn't help that I have a slight crush on Dr. Drew (who doesn't?) and when he looks so understanding at the patient describing something painful - I've also developed a David Sedaris crush, but I'll get to that later. I love Amy so doesn't it make sense that I think that I could somehow turn him straight and then marry him and then be able to take part in the superwackyfunness of their family? I already have the superwacky part down and I think Amy would make such a fantastic sister-in-law... we could do crafts and baking together... if only...

Anyway, I wanted to comment that I found it interesting that out of all the latest participants of Celebrity Rehab, I found myself rooting for Heidi Fleiss to be the one that comes out of this totally sober, cleaned up and turned around. When they hinted that someone in the house tested positive for meth and then cut to the break, inside I got nervous and said "please don't make it be Heidi". Why her? I want them all to do well but for some reason, my heart goes out to her. I guess I feel sorry for her; she looks like a dog that's been kicked far too many times, like one of those patchy skinny puppies on the ASPCA ad with Sarah McLachlan, like some one who's dug herself a deep hole and she can't get out of it by herself.

I was just surprised that out of all of them, she was the one I seemed to have picked out to support mentally from afar. I have a feeling she might not make it, I read somewhere that she's marrying the guy who owns the Bunny Ranch and lives near Death Valley- that's only a few hours from my parents, maybe one of them could drive out and check on her.

Not Daddy though.

Now the David Sedaris thing. I've been suffering from a REALLY bad mood lately. Which is one reason I haven't been good about posting here. I feel like all I do is complain and describe what fresh shitty mood has descended or why things aren't to my liking. It seems to be the trend of this year, so I'm trying to halt it and fend it off and do something about it, but feel it's boring to those not taking part in BitchFestIHateTheWorld&EveryoneInIt 2010 (it's a party of 1) so I'm declining to discuss it.

Last week, I discovered was how much a Daily Dose of David can assist that cause and so I'm sharing it because maybe Mr. Sedaris can help you too. When Veronica visited in November, she left "When You Are Engulfed In Flames" for me to read and I hadn't touched it until last week when I decided to pick it up because I thought laughing a little would distract me from the Foul Mood Brain Drain. And it did. I devoured it in 2 nights and was laughing aloud by myself which always makes me feel like my neighbor must think I'm a bit bonkers if he can hear me. So I've proceeded to read one story/essay/chapter a day (sometimes more) as a way of self-medicating. I had only read "Dress Your Family in Corduroy & Denim" so I've got enough to last me a few weeks. After that - well lets just focus on the now. It's helping.

Kombucha = Buzzy Hearted

When I ventured out for my lunchmeal (avocado sundried tomato sandwich & banana) I decided to try a GT's Kombucha for the first time - I keep hearing/reading about this fermented mushroombacteriayeast drink.

Firstly - yummy. Tastes slightly vinegary, slightly champagney, slightly gingeraley, topped off with a seaside-kelpy smell. I like it but I am an odd one so don't blame me if you open a bottle and instantly say "ew".

Secondly - I feel slightly buzzy in the head and in my insides - not like drunk but just - buzzy. It's a good feeling actually - except that I'm at work and I feel sort of - hmmm - buzzy. No other way to put that, is there? My brain feels tingly - how about that?

Therefore - I most ecstatically proclaim my kombucha experience a success and if only it were a bit cheaper, I could see it becoming a daily thing. Maybe I'll just save it as a treat for those trying times when you heart feels shrivelled and a little buzz buzz will do it some good.

Well.

What started out as a snowstorm of little promise has turned into something so beautiful. Much more so than I anticipated last night on my way home; it was just slushy and wet, and so I predicted just a gray mess today, but this morning I was greeted by a definite Winter Wonderland. Downright Narniaesque. Where is the the White Witch Ice Queen, where are the fauns? Aslan? Hiding for sure, bundled up under furs and and tucked into hollows for warmth.

I really would have liked to see a faun though. Perhaps one will slip out of hiding at some point.

I made it in to work - late - but still I came in so now it's all cozy and the snow is still falling softly and I have my blinds pulled all the way back so I can see it all and there is that lovely kind of thing happening where it looks like the outside is a snowglobe and someone has shook it and you can see each the flake fall in every direction but sort of hung in suspension and then swirls one way and then some go sideways and some just go straight down to the ground and others seem to defy gravity and the laws of the world and seem to be falling up.

Is it possible to fall up?

I think it may just be.

And, according to Professor Serge Gavronsky, it's possible for an elevator to go sideways so why not fall up...

Isn't that so Veronica?

Learn to See Through Flames

Yes, the earworms have returned, this time in the form of a Massive Attack song; this has been on repeat on the iPod since last week, love love love it:

Pray For Rain
In deepest hollow of our minds
A system failure left behind
And their necks crane
As they turn to pray for rain
And their necks crane

Dull residue of what once was
A shattered cloud of swirling doves
And their eyes change
As they learn to see through flames
And their necks crane
As they turn to pray for rain...

Drops on rocks fall fast and fleeting
Hearts and wings commence to beating
Woods unseen with all believing
Vision walls fall all receding
Vision walls fall all receding
Drops on rocks come fast and fleeting
Rhythm laws unleash their meaning
Usher us into the dreaming
Vision walls fall all receding
Hearts and wings commence to beating
All unending all completing
Vision walls fall fast and fleeting
Vision walls fall all revealing
Vision walls fall all revealing
Vision walls fall all revealing
Vision walls fall all revealing...

LOVE-LY

Snowicane!

They make it sound so serious ...

"A Winter Storm Warning is in effect. A significant winter storm or hazardous winter weather is occurring, imminent, or likely, and is a threat to life and property. Stay vigilant for severe weather. "

Stay vigilant indeed. I have. I shall.

So far, it's all a mushy wet mix of rain and snow, nice big fat flakes falling as I was coming to work, but as I look out my window now, the flakes are now raindrops and I'm left to wonder when this last (I'm guessing, not hoping), luscious, lovely storm will arrive. It's coming, it's on it's way (so they keep telling me).

Sigh.

I know I've been MIA - I've been feeling like I haven't had much to share or say or just wasn't in the mood to so I didn't or just too busy/preoccupied with Stuff and very busy watching the Olympics - did you know I'm a big nerd about the Olympics, I love Olympic years! But please know I have not abandoned the Good Ship Bloggie yet; I shall persevere, continue on, hack my way through and somehow come out the other end having endured and emerged the better for it.

Do I sound dramatic? Hmmm. Perhaps. Maybe I'm just trying to keep up with the weather.com writers. I do enjoy a good storm though. I like the excitement of the ride...cloudy days full of rain, snow, hail, who knows what are always preferred to banal blue skies.

Stay vigilant. Storms are imminent.

Not knowing when the dawn will come, I open every door

~ Emily Dickinson

Funny, when I was home at Christmas, I parted my hair in the middle and pulled it back down low, over my ears and into a bun and I asked my mother didn't I look like Emily Dickinson.

She said no, you look like Octomom - HA!!!!

Sad thing is, I did...minus those big wormy lips.

So that's my hopeful quote of the day, hopeful for a blissful weekend of course - it's supposed to be a big snowstorm here and I intend to enjoy the winter wonderland as it might be the last snow of the season - you never know. Just a walk in the park or around and about the Upper West Side should do it tomorrow, before I head to the ballet - Sleeping Beauty at Lincoln Center. Just me myself and I - yep, I'm taking myself out. Next week is Swan Lake - I got cheap cheap tix for both and I don't know anyone else who likes the ballet so I'm stuck with myself. That's fine, I'm good company.

Time to bundle now and head out - bring on the flakes!

Rumi Medicine

Come, come, whoever you are-
Wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving-
What does it matter?
Ours is not a caravan of despair.
Come, even if you have broken your vow
A hundred times-
Come, come again, come.

The Guest House
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice.
Meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.
Be grateful for whatever comes
because each has been sent as a guide from beyond.

In the Belly

That's the traditional translation of today's holiday (um, not Groundhog's Day but more the Celtic Brigid's Day (pre-Christian sainthood of course, I'm not going to include the "St." - they just made her a saint so that it would be appropriate for the conquered Celts to keep praying to her) - she gives birth to Spring and so it was a day to say HEY THERE hold on, have some hope, even though food supplies are scarce and it's still so dark and cold, and yes, better, warmer times will come around again on the wheel. So what's in the belly...

Six more weeks of winter says the groundhog and so you have to wait and be much more patient for things to blossom and bloom, don't you? Yes, I'm speaking metaphorically as well as literally.

Such as? Well, it was my third week in a row of yoga. I'm very proud of myself for sticking to it and let us bless it to continue. I've fought with myself beforehand "oh I'd rather stay home, oh but you'll feel so good afterwards and you'll be HAPPY, oh but I'm sleepy and I have all these things to do, oh but you'll never do them anyhow, you'll just lay and read and wander, won't you, so GO!"

And I went. And I felt so much better for it. Whatever it does to the body is great, I know I looked and felt physically better when I was going to a class on a regular basis, but the mental and emotional peace is what I missed all this time. It completely short circuits any depression, foul-mood, blues, mean reds, etc. Most excellent. She sighs with contentment ... if only the other things of life were that simple... my other thing that it's in the belly is how to learn to carry this forward to the rest of the time I'm not in a yoga class - I'm a rather anxious person but I'm working on it - I'm trying to just go with the flow of the river I'm in, not fight to swim upstream. Smile more. Be positive instead of expecting the worst. Wish on stars and fallen eyelashes and still believe that they'll come true. That sort of thing.

I'll leave you with my poem-medicine dose for the week:

I made a fire, the blue sky having abandoned me,
A fire to be his friend,
A fire to enter the winter night,
A fire to live better.
~Paul Eluard