We have rules for what a "resolution" is and how it's made... and although most of the rules get broken by somebody at least once every year, everyone, even those who looked terrified of it, wore the funny hat while telling us theirs.

I got a PRIZE (chocolate!!) for guessing a disney tune... but of course it's the only disney movie i know, Snow White, and it's from 1937, ten years after I was born.

i think i'm an adult now, because i WANT to clean my house.

Wrote and sent a grand total of 8 christmas cards ... sad and late, but true.

Going to a high school reunion tonight, even going to drive someone else, but turned back home because of the roads and decided instead to play an awful lot of bridge. (found out later there were only 4 people there :( )

When gas lamps glow on midnight snow,
and boots make crunching sounds below,
you'll find me frolicking around,
as gusts swirl o'r the frozen ground.

It is so easy for humans to forget that there are some things we simply can not control, and it is Nature's job to remind us of this fact by introducing beautiful and graceful storms that transform a dead street into a glistening white wonderland, which is appreciated even if it means that travel plans must be changed.

Let's go shopping in a "blizzard" and buy things that mean that we have to go shopping again (we'll wait till the VS semi-annual sale, though), because we don't have all the necessary parts.

Wouldn't you like to spend all of Christmas day (morning, noon, and night) in your pajamas with your joyful family whom you love to the moon and back?

The goose is cooked - literally.

My brother recently shared with me that, he now gets belly button lint.

When the last present is wrapped, and old ornaments are hung, little lights are shining in the windows, and the midnight service has ended, I will sit on the old couch in front of the fire with my family, and remember where I learned what love really is.

Christmas eve: traditions fill me with joy, but kids decorating the tree and keeping it secret from the adults makes me extra happy.

On this day, ninety years ago, my grandmother was born, and even though she is not physically here to celebrate with me now, I am thinking of her, remembering her, missing her, loving her, and thanking her for the incredible and unforgettable influence she had on my life.

spouses were not allowed at brian's holiday party, so i spent the time buying myself some presents instead.

i spent hours cutting little ribbons and knotting them to make hangers for chocolate to put on the christmas tree because we try to keep this traditional tree ornamentation which isnt american and therefore you cant get the necessary things here.

When snazzy vehicles, spandex, glow sticks, computers, Jeff Bridges, and Frisbees unite, you get TRON!

Sometimes I do things that I really shouldn't do, and I try not to regret them because I don't think we should dwell in regret, and maybe I don't regret them, but I still know that I should not have done them.

would you prefer to lose your memory or your mind?

1 comment: I think I would rather lose my memory. Not that I want to forget all the wonderful things that have happened to me, but I would want to be able to create new memories, and if my mind was missing, I feel like that would be tricky.

-a

ok, ive been tired the last week, because since i lost my wedding ring (though it may be unrelated completely) i have only slept an average of four hours a night even though nobody is keeping me awake, and i am tired enough to sleep, and have tried everything from pretending to myself that im asleep to dancing myself to oblivion.

Update and BONUS irma amanda sentence: If you pretend that cream is a letter, then ice-cream is a four letter word!

The first snow in Boston results in cars driving at -3 miles per hour but still managing to crash into one another.

last sunday of advent, and was too tired for pretty much anything except hanging out with some pregnant girls watching chick-flicks and eating cookies.

When family surprises take you on trips to Newark, New Jersey, you sometimes find yourself rocking out to Carol of the Bells performed by a fantastic gang of long-haired, head-banging men with lasers, flame throwers, and indoor fireworks! (Yay Trans Siberian Orchestra!!!)

stayed in with my small nuclear family today, and was sooo happy - especially reading the economist by the fire (yes, i know i'm nerdy)

A long train ride is often exactly what I need to remember the importance of just being.

My family is the best, and I spent all day with them, letting them rake my leaves, scrub my floors, play bridge with me and start writing a play script by the fireside.

Swing dancing with an very round, rather short, old man named Sam who smells like he actually IS a garlic clove is not exactly the most fun, but perhaps better than not dancing at all... and that is a BIG perhaps.

i told everyone at contra today that i was dancing with my married lover since brian had a ring and i dont.

Well at least this week I got the date for the company potluck right; it's just too bad I didn't get the time right, which means that I will be eating the berry walnut salad that I made for the second week in a row.

driving to the store for arugula today, brian was on auto-pilot to go somewhere else, but we still don't know where, since the wrong turns didn't seem to correspond to any particular logical place.

I have learned that love can evolve and change, but I can still be in love with the love I once felt even if I don't feel it any more.

I stayed in tonight with intentions of going to bed early for the first time in weeks, but something always happens to me and I just get so wrapped up in my own solitude that I forget to go to sleep.

So depressed about losing my wedding ring, though I know I'm still married, and that it is just a physical symbol of a unity that is still exists, but my sister made it, and I've had it for years...

when i have a gift card to spend at a store, i spend it on 1000 different items in my head, but have trouble getting any one of them when i get there.

I keep catching myself in these "moments" of sustained eye contact and connections with perfect strangers where I feel that both of us are thinking the exact same thing, but neither of us does anything about it and I turn away before anything more can come of it.

Perhaps there are times when we are so afraid that we might miss something "better," we fail to recognize that the best things might actually be right in front of us, and if we embrace those things, perhaps we will discover the ultimate happiness.

I had no energy, Brian had no energy to give, both not surprising since we were at Amanda's until 5am, but somehow, Amanda had energy to give, and for that I am thankful, and now, energetic!

When old friends, new friends, soup, and treats all exist at the same time in my living room, I know that my life is beautiful!

the definition of a soiree is now officially "party that one must not miss" and i am so glad i went and met lots of new people and that i got so pre-excited about soups.

What does it mean when all the cups in a Beirut tournament contain nothing but water... are we getting old... have we lost our cool... or are we just more responsible and know that beer all over the floor is a lot less fun to clean up than water?

At Goodwill with my dear sister, we saw two jackets next to each other one with the well-known ubiquitous label "London Fog" and the other with the less well-known "British Mist."

There are days when being a woman is just really painful!

my very-very-old next door neighbor told me in a not-very-hushed whisper that "somebody on our street buys a lot of stuff from UPS, because I see that truck almost every day."

Today a bird crawled down my shirt and fell asleep.

why yes, i have had 10 year old popcorn on the cob freshly popped with salt and nutritional yeast

Christmas card making (THANK YOU AMANDA!) is only the first small step of sending them out.

As it turns out, sponge cake has only 3 ingredients in it, none of which is a sponge.
1 comment: four ingredients counting the 700 calories of whipped cream that you need to serve it with.

As I was toweling off after my morning shower, my door bell began to ring... and ring, and ring, and ring, so with my robe securely fastened, my feet in slippers, and my hair dripping wet, I tiptoed down two flights to find my down-stairs neighbor hopefully peering through the front door in her pajamas and shoe-less feet, more thrilled than ever to see that I was, in fact, home.

the total time i spent with doctors was only 10-15 min but total time in doctors office was more than 2 hours and 20 minutes by the parking meter.

This week has been incredibly fantastic for a multitude of small, yet meaningful occurrances, one of which took place yesterday when my new neighbor (Maryfaith) invited me up to her condo where I entered into an intriguing and moving discussion pertaining to Maryfaith's monthly energy healings, shambhala, the power of thought, and love.

Ice-cream sundaes for breakfast on sunday is a plus, and guy who smells sitting behind me for 3 hours on a bus is a negative so i guess today's a wash.

Well, all I can say is, I apologize for my lack of sentences this month... I could make excuses but that would probably be boring and not really beneficial to anyone, but I am back now and I will try to be better.

we did a hallelujah encore to the messiah today, and people were asked to sing along, and did so, but if you don't know the piece, and just try to sing whatever you think the melody is in your chosen range, it sounds really really weird.

don't you wish that when youre minorly sick with a headache or a light sniffle that you could choose to look the part and have people feel truly sorry for you?

partially solo recital made me so nervous, but was so worth it, for the last comment from the presenter "it's been a long time since i've heard a viola played so beautifully"

my mother sent me an advent calendar from austria, and it arrived just in time for today!

i got so excited about a certain soup and dessert party, that i literally spent hours reading through cookbooks for soup recipes that all sounded so good to me, and i ended up making bacon (and split pea) soup which was delicious but it wasnt from a recipe.

the preconcert jitters got heightened when i listened to a recording of what i was playing for the first time and didn't agree with what they had to say in their interpretation (the very reason i stopped listening to recordings a few years ago)

the kind of pre-concert pep talk i would give is not the kind of pep talk i was sorry to hear today: (not directed at me) "you guys sound terrible, so when people tell you after the concert how nice it sounded, remember, the room is flattering and that you need to prepare your music next time"

Coffee at 6pm backfired yesterday (though I usually don't have much effect from caffeine) and had me practicing at 2am this morning and writing in all kinds of markings in my music, all of which made a lot of sense at the time and some of which i erased in confusion when i awoke.

back in civilization with all kinds of Thanksgiving leftovers and none of the usual clean-up - what a joy!

Slept in a sleeping bag or two last night and proceeded this morning with upstate New York Thanksgiving mostly out-of-doors (minus running water and electricity), with Turkey-on-a-spit and gravy over the fire and pies in a reflector oven and everything turned out great and my father even wore a Thai tie for the occasion.

I was the queen of one-armed cooking all day today.

I was preparing a short statement about a Telemann Fantasia that I'll be playing soon, and completely made up a fact, looked to find the truth, and found that my made up fact was in fact fact.

after a hard day of being double booked twice and scheduling myself to the brim for the rest of it, contra dance was the perfect thing to bring my spirits up, and then drew's spontaneous songs brought my spirits even higher.

Yesterday tapas for dinner (YAY bri steve joe ivy & ben!) and today snacks for dinner (YAY concert, amanda & ben) so maybe tomorrow i should eat real food between my teaching schedule and two back to back rehearsals.

Banana bread and banana bread beer for lunch - for real...... and we've been planning this for months.

I know this is America, the land of patriotism, but we are also the land of having random holidays and months, like Pizza month, and Talk-Like-a-Pirate day, so I designate today as National AUSTRIA month - pumpkin seed oil for all!

In my hazy not-really-awake stage at 3am, I truly asked Brian "why did you put Theo down standing up?" instead of thinking maybe the kid has finally learned to pull himself up on his own.

had a conductor with negative competence today; in fact, he took a perfectly wonderful group of players who were playing a piece of music that everyone already knew and had played before, and created a beat pattern so difficult to follow that we couldn't even get all the way through it in rehearsal.

Today i tried to use the word "fortuitous" as many times as i could - it's an SAT word my sister looked up - and it got stuck in my head.

one of my students today was so cute when i told her she did something "just right" and promptly told me the entire story of goldilocks and the three bears, and then followed that with her own version where the bears visit goldilocks' home and find that nothing is really right for them and where goldilocks scares them all away when she finds them there.

"helping" amanda (as much as pregnant baby with child can) move into her new apartment (JP!!) made me realize how much of my own stuff i want to just get rid of and while i hold such irrational sentimental attachment to these random things i don't want to ever have to move them.

When i drive even short distances at night I stay in the car when I arrive at home and sleep and it feels so good but the awakening is sooo sad.

it's all backwards when you leave for a dance too tired, become energetic during the dance, energetic enough to go to a sleepover (traditional spontaneous moving-amanda-into-her-new-apartment sleepover), from which you emerge the next day tired.

i read 5 little monkeys jumping on the bed and theo got excited and started bouncing around and when i said "one fell off and bumped his head" he fell down and bumped his head, so i started laughing and he gave me a really confused look and then started laughing hysterically.

I'm trying to grow out my toenails so I can cut them off straight (also i'm obsessed with cutting nails too short) but they keep chipping and breaking oh noes!

I am really enjoying all of these binary days... today is 3 2 2 (11/10/10).

I am moving this weekend, and although I'm not completely excited about transferring all of my possessions from one side of town to the other, I can not WAIT to be in my new place!!

theos first word is officially "geige" which is german for "violin"

what are the chances that when there are 3 uncut fresh delicious pumpkin pies on the table waiting for you that you will want to make a chocolate cake? (i ended up having both! :))

Before they changed daylight savings time the best birthday present of all was to get an extra hour of birthday time but I still like getting an extra hour not on my birthday, though by the time March rolls around, I've come to resent that I have to eventually give that hour back.

I would really love to recount a chat that some guy initiated with me because this dude's opening line was full of inappropriate ridiculousness and I feel like my response was pretty fantastic, but as the lines exchanged were not quite PG, I will have to leave you wondering (or you can ask me and I'll share it with you privately).

Bananas, pineapples and butternut squash are available all year round, but somehow, in New England, pumpkin is a "seasonal" flavor.

I should be reveling in my free, unplanned, uncommitted weekend, but I think I have forgotten how to do "nothing" and I find myself feeling a little depressed instead of relaxed.

twelve hours of sleep feels so good that it should be against the law.

My Christmas planning has begun (as have the Christmas Carols in select stores... personally I think it is a little too early for "Deck The Halls"), and I'm already really excited to give my sister her present!!

a lady sat next to me at an evening concert at a church holding a dog in a little dog carrier next to her chest and looked at me holding my baby, smiled, and said: "oh how nice, you have one too!"

Being back in a learning atmosphere is so refreshing and I find myself feeling re-energized and enthusiastic about my job!

Today I completely seriously wrote "3 NOV 2008" on a student's assignment book and she looked at me and said "You know it's not just 2010 right? it's actually already almost 2011."

How did tank tops and flip-flops turn into fuzzy boots, a down jacket, gloves, and ear muffs so quickly?

a flat tire on the way to the polls is how we knew our vote didn't matter.

Pop culture can be so silly!

Can it be that one simple conversation puts to rest months of discussions, arguments, misunderstandings, hurt feelings, and tears?

If there's someone on your list whom you're hesitant to call, because it's been "too long" just call because sometimes they are sitting around waiting and wondering if it would be too awkward to call you too, you should probably call them now.

OMy ability to mind-over-matter my way through a party was at it's best last night because after spending almost 7 hours socializing with both friends and strangers, I definitely experienced lunch and dinner for the second time at 5:30am (and no, I did not drink anything alcoholic at the party).

We all dressed up as a family for halloween, but when we took a picture we just looked like any other normal Austrian family dressed for a special occasion or festival.

If I was at a rally and wanted to see the stage, I don't think I would sit on top of a port-a-potty, but even more importantly, if I was at a rally, and I needed to go to the bathroom, I don't think I would go in a port-a-potty that had multiple butts on top of it.

For me, teaching someone a skill that I enjoy is almost as much fun as working at that skill myself.

I have earned my title of Italian grandmother without ever once having had grandchildren simply by pureeing rice with a garlic press and making ravioli from complete scratch with the most complicated tool being a rolling pin.

Is there ever a time when fighting is actually productive?

wonderful wonderful birthday party (two's a party!) with no baby and lots of outdoor hiking that tired me out so that i could only do 3 contra dances, and that with a break in the middle.

Today may or may not be the birthday of someone who may or may not also post regularly on this Live Journal. (YAY!!!)

brian's work used to have bagel fridays, but sometimes now they are on thursdays, and i always have fun if i drive him to work eating my free (free food *tastes* better) bagel in the car, and trying to figure out how much opium is left in the poppyseeds that get stuck between my teeth.

One more weekend of craziness and then I will have a full Saturday and Sunday completely free of plans!

i havent written in a long time and the mixture of guilt and non guilt stems from all the interesting things i have to say from my trip and from the amount of time i wanted to spend with my mom before she left until july (BUT NOW..... back to our regularly scheduled every day awesomeness)

I spoke Spanish for 5 straight hours today and I am proud to say, it went better than I thought it would, but I definitely need to beef up my vocabulary.

It was very difficult to say goodbye to a child and his family after working with them for almost a year and seeing them learn and grow together in such a positive and healthy way.

Some people are very good at making statistics talk for them so it is very important that you keep this in mind and always consider both sides to every argument.

In the Symphony Hall bathroom I witnessed a conversation between two women who were emphatically agreeing on the excellence of Beethoven's violin concerto, which we had just been performed, until Woman #1 said, "I'm sorry could you repeat that, I lost my hearing some time ago and need to see your lips," which I found rather puzzling considering the topic of their conversation.

I wouldn't consider myself a neurotic neat freak but there is a certain satisfaction that I get from cleaning my home... especially when I use scented cleaning products.

Last night I made my very first attempt at restringing my guitar (it went well I think), but then in the morning I had a note under my door saying that there have been a few problems in the building with noise violations and that tenants should refrain from playing musical instruments (among other things) after 11pm, though I don't think I am the only one who has been disturbing the peace because I realized that all of my neighbors received the same notice.

I was sooooo right about the day off thing... I feel GREAT today, and I have been singing all day long which is always a sign of holistic health for me.

I think that after working 5 days a week and spending the past 4 weekends running around and enjoying myself with wonderful friends, I am officially exhausted and really just need a day to collect myself and get a good night sleep.

I have a need to spend some quality time experiencing something artistic or engaging in an creating something that allows me to express myself in an artistic fashion, but what?

For the first time in our lives, Drew and I experienced a whoopee pie in the state of Maine.

It was a perfect day to explore some of the more "alternative" areas of Boston with my very wonderful friend.

I shared this ice cream magnificence that looked more like an Easter ham!

School buses always have the sign on the bumper that says "keep back 100 feet" but do you honestly think anyone driving in down town Boston is actually going to leave one hundred feet distance?

One of my 2-year-old local Boston clients picked up a box of blocks by its handle, told me it was his purse, and then said he was going to pick up some "Stah-bucks" for us.

My bird fell in the shower today (he often sits on the towel rack beside the tub while I shower in the morning) while trying to fly to my head, but once his wings got wet he lost his powers of flight and let me tell you, a wet bird is not a pretty sight.

I went to Salem, MA with Corey yesterday where we participated in a tour that left something to by desired, by one of the most uniquely scattered and random dudes I have ever met, whom we retrospectively named "Topher" since he managed to forget to provide us with his real name.

Boston Public Garden on a sunny Saturday in October means that every fifth woman you see is wearing a wedding gown and is being trailed by a parade of photographers and a disgruntled wedding party.

Perhaps you have a friend whom you go without seeing for weeks, months, maybe even years, but when at last you are back together again, it is as if you have only been apart for a few hours.

I consider it a great accomplishment that at 24 years of trials and tribulations, a thorough education, living in the "real world," experiencing heartache as well as great accomplishment, I am still able to derive such sincere joy from the simplest things... like the laughter of a 2 year old who has autism.

Every morning my bird calls me from my bed to come and play with him, but he has gotten to the point where he does not start chirping until he is sure I am awake, which he can tell by the sound of my movements; what a smart little animal.

Sometimes I am convinced that Mother Nature is incredibly empathetic; she picks the perfect days to cry.

It is not every day that I allow myself time to simply sit and experience a piece of music, and I say "experience" because when you have your headphones on (using headphones is the best way to listen with your whole body), and all of your energy is completely dedicated to attending to the sensations that are hitting your body through your ears, it truly is an experience.

Cold and rainy Monday's make me wish that I was wearing comfortable pants and that I was all wrapped up in someone else's arms.

 i have now bathed in a solid copper bathtub while listening to the rain drizzling down on the skylights

"Octoberfest" means 6,000 twenty-somethings crammed into the back lot of the Harpoon Brewery carrying the same Harpoon Brewery pint glass with oompa music being projected over the scene as it is performed by old German men wearing identical red vests.

only in new york city: church service with hundreds of dogs, a camel and a macaque and a turtle and (human) dancers with flowers in their hair?

This morning, I was early for the group that I run and when my boss saw me, she cheered and congratulated me the way your mom celebrates when you take your first ride on a training-wheel-free bike; maybe I should be early more often.

when somebody asks me what my favorite thing to eat is i never know what to say - do you?

This is the most binary-ish day I have ever seen: 10-01-10!

first day of october brings the start of packing for our austria trip next week, and a last violin lesson before i leave but unfortunately it doesn't bring taza chocolate since they don't carry it in every store in the nation, boo for having all the urban sprawl and not being able to use it.

Sometimes I forget that I live several miles from the coast and I find myself confusing the sound of wind in the trees for waves on the beach.

Found an overdue library movie behind the couch, and the irony is, i have 4 overdue library movies, all renewed once (2 weeks!) and we didn't even watch a single one, but we sure figured out how to hide them around our house for our treasure-hunting pleasure.

Watch the Amazing Race on CBS because one of my friends from high school is on it!!

There is nothing like a good night of arts and crafts with people you enjoy!

my sister centa's last night in town, and (chocolate cake) we didn't use subliminal messages to make things happen, and (plate of steak) make everyone sit outside in front of a fire in our bare socks.

Happy Birthday to my beautiful Mommo (yes, the "Mommo" was intentional- that is what I sometimes call her)!

i had visions that i did not bring to fruition today, but i should write them down, and bring the materials to the next craft night!

the three little words "sleep deprivation high" make me do funny things, like make my students' parents drive me to their house when their kids forget their music.

I have a brand new, state-of-the-art, mini garbage can (mini because I really don't produce enough garbage to justify a full-size garbage can), which has the follow features: 1.) foot petal for easy opening 2.) mouse-proof lid 3.) fingerprint-proof finish AND 4.) 10 year warranty (who knew they made garbage cans with warranties?)!

favorite road race quote (by lady motivating a team of "get fit for women" people): "look at that lady, running uphill! barefoot! pushing a baby! and she's beating you!" {Congratulations Brian!}

Last night I spotted a band of bikers on the most unique, blinged-out bicycles I have ever seen; the highlight was an extra tall bike that supported a 5 foot pole which then had a rotating disco ball that shimmered over the whole scene.

Have you ever been in a pub with 3 dozen fishermen singing acapella maritime folk music whilst throwing back a pint?

how many people with how many dslrs does it take to make a single awesome picture?

Sometimes I go dancing all by myself, which is really OK because I spend most of my time out on the dance floor with a stranger instead of with the people that I brought.

This sentence no verb and my bread no yeast and no good.

I have been known to fall asleep in the most unlikely places: my dinning room table, the kitchen floor, the T, and today I fell asleep in a gas station/service station- I don't think I am narcoleptic, but sometimes my behavior suggests otherwise.

to paraphrase someone else: "how do you portray sexism without being sexist"

It feels a bit strange to work my way through the seasons with little change to my daily routine, which is unlike my school years where each season was a new set of classes, or a different temporary summer job, or a long break; as an "adult," things look very similar as the calender pages flip along.

I was so happy that my last student forgot her music, it was an extra early night to go have potato chips and bridge, and I didn't try to save her lesson, and didn't feel guilty about that.

I found a dollar outside the door of my apartment building today and I could not help singing the song from the old Little Rascals movie, "I got a dollah, I got a dollah, I got a dollah, hey hey hey hey!"

and some days you find out you've accidentally bought eggs too many times in a row without checking your fridge, and find you have over 80.

I accidentally broke off my F9 key in an effort to extract a small bird seed that got stuck underneath it; I am glad that F9 doesn't have a secondary function on it that I would otherwise have to remember, but the secondary functions were apparently reserved for F9's neighboring keys: F8 and F10.

some days you have to run up a big hill in a long skirt (and see a fox!).

Today my parents saw one of only twenty two toucans (the Fruit Loops bird) that resides in the United States, which they happen to run into while carrying their own bird as they purchased coffee at a New Jersey WAWA; I'm not sure why this makes me feel special, but it does.

church is comforting and so is sleep: who will win the battle?

HATS make some days more awesome, like when you're going to randomly play music in the middle of town (by a synagogue on yom kippur) or when you are at a chinese food restaurant not being quite as rude as the guy at the next table shouting obscenities at the waiter (a really upscale chinese food restaurant at that) or when you are meeting new people for the first time and the impression that they get is that you are a really hoopy frood (disproved here by the nerdy hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy reference).

Where could I possibly have put my black and white striped arm socks?

I get an unexpected satisfaction out of paying bills; I think it is because after I have paid them, I derive peace-of-mind in knowing that I don't have to think about them for another 30 days, and the remaining money from my pay check can be allocated toward whatever I deem worthy.

dare to be different - not just from what other people expect, but from what you yourself expect of yourself.

This morning I faked the feeling of staying up at night simply by walking around the mall for an hour before it opened.

It is important to remember the complex simplicity of childhood, the randomness that always made perfect sense when you were small, and the creativity that bubbled up in the most natural way.

A few hours ago, I shared a meal with two people who knew me before I was old enough to wear deodorant.

The recycling truck man's thumbs up wasn't returned, but that was because i was pushing a lawnmower and holding a baby.

It is amazing how sometimes the only remedy to a problem is to experience the physical presence of another person.

what kind of mother would let her baby lie naked in the cool september sun and watch as he puts various green things like dandelion leaves in his mouth, and laugh when he makes faces?

Yesterday I touched the lead singer of the band OK Go... I had to do it... he was just so close to me... and that opportunity just doesn't dance past you every day... I touched the back of his right shoulder!

i clean other peoples' houses more than i clean my own.

A jewish man wearing a kippah stopped me on the sidewalk to tell me I had "the most beautiful smile" and that made my day!

many people talk about cloth diapers, and many of those try it, but few are committed to keeping it up and few of those actually stick to it.

I think I ate a pound and a half of dust today at the Life Is Good Music Festival- this is something I would not recommend.

if there is something that disproves the conservation of energy better than ... running to contra, contra-dancing, running back, crashing a middle-eastern line dance, and inviting total strangers over for coffee the next day ... i don't know what it is!

sweet cream ice cream is a dish best served cold.

My Swiffer sheets claim to smell like "citrus & light" (I didn't realize light was scented), but the important thing is, my house smells and IS clean.

there are now THREE valid passports in our house, along with the three awesome people who live here!

Sometimes you just have to say, "better late than never!"

Now I have a couch and a mom in my house at the same time... bliss!

new student showed up today, and won't smile unless i tell her to, and definitely doesn't talk, even when i tell her to, and yes, i'm just trying to teach her some music.

family is the best, because they will hold your baby while they take a nap, and spin you around on the tree swing, and let you unburden your secrets on them.

Sometimes you just need to sit in a parking lot with the girls and eat a pint of B&J's with a pink baby spoon that changes colors when it gets too hot.

labor day is about your jaw laboring eating all the thai-american fusion cooking, and your arm laboring winning 3 bridge rubbers in a row.

In the morning I took a sail,
Then at noon I brought my pail... to the beach;
All's whale that ends whale! (Ha!)

Today is my dad's 54th birthday and let me tell you, he is the youngest 54-year-old I know!

who spends a whole weekend in the same house with two guys and *misses* them fire-breathing?

I ate breakfast at a place where a 13% discount is given to all customers who come wearing their PJs, there is a bathroom sign-in book complete with a section for visitors to indicate why they are visiting the bathroom, and the staff and customers are all encouraged to greet each other upon entering the dinning area with a special hello to the "Salami Lady" because, after all, "that's what she eats."

bowties go with farmers markets (we tried) but not with salsa dancing (we speculated)

opera is best watched after dinner with balloons.

When hurricanes threaten society, train rides get canceled and then friends end up in your passenger seat on road trips to New Jersey.

we took a long road trip this time with no lengthy pear descriptions

Two great things have recently come into my possession: 1.) a pretty ankle bracelet that has just the right amount of sparkle and 2.) a cast iron pan, which I have been wishing for since October... it just makes everything taste better! (Thanks Irma!)

Do you ever feel as though old friends pop into one another's mind at the same time even if they haven't seen each other or even spoken in months?

The start of a new school semester and the date being September first meant that everyone and their mother were moving to Boston today so there were more U-hauls on the road than cars and it really seemed as though every single one of them needed to make a left turn on Commonwealth Ave.

The start of a new school semester and the date being September first meant that everyone and their mother were moving to Boston today so there were more U-hauls on the road than cars and it really seemed as though every single one of them needed to make a left turn on Commonwealth Ave.

yesterday night at a red light, i didn't get cat-called; i got *dog*-called: these 3 guys in a jeep started waving and smiling at me, and i smiled back and looked away, and then they started woofing and bow-wowing.

I have to remember that when you are going to do something for someone and you say "This is probably not going to be that good" that they will have that in their head when you do it, and maybe even think it sucks when it doesn't but if you say "I love doing this, and you'll love it too" they probably will, and at least remember you being really enthusiastic even if that thing ends up sucking, and the reason I am using "the thing" instead of something less vague is that it applies to everything!

This isn't my sentence, but I haven't been able to get it out of my head for the past two days so I am posting it: "You are my favorite moment, always, forever."

Today I missed you.

how much more can i get done before noon today? (11:53 am)

Sometimes moms just help; they just do.

there are few things more exhilarating than racing a train and winning, even though you win because it is coming to a halt at the station.

It is hard to say which is worse; being hurt by someone you love, or knowing you are responsible for the pain of the one who loves you.

most things get better with more simmering, but maybe 12 hours is a bit overkill, plus the mega-carcinogen sauce doesn't look appetizing stuck to the pan but the good "nose" is.... very punny

 From the airplane window I saw the glow of an orange moon beginning its ascent into the new night sky.

i got the pink-pants hot-girl cute-baby milf discount today - and by discount i mean free.

About 95% of the time I am animately opposed to taking naps- I just feel like they are a waste of wonderful time and daylight- but today I took a nap for a few hours and I think it was a very good idea.

if i could meet any musician (living or dead), i would choose gershwin, and ask him how it felt to ride the fine line between classical music and outright jazz.

some people sing and yell along with music when they are driving but i listen to talk radio and sometimes pick on specific words to imitate and end up yelling them, especially ones with good accents - so on my late drive back I was yelling in a british accent "CLEA-AAH"

Living in an apartment has its advantages (you don't have to mow the lawn) and its disadvantages (the fire alarm goes off at 4:45am and does not cease until past 6am).

What do you think happens to you (body, soul, spirit, conscious, etc) when you die?

1 comment: your consciousness is the first to go, your body stops working, then slowly decomposes, your soul and spirit move on to a new world possibly to affect another body/consciousness

if youll believe that this is better than chickpea hummus, you'll try my self-named "bip dip" (short for black-"Ied"-pea dip) which is simply about a cup of over-cooked black-eyed-peas blended to death with a bit of the water used to boil them to taste with salt (1/2t?), lemon juice (2T?) and oliveoil (2T?) and then you'll make it every day, and possibly write run-on sentences about it.

1 comment: I want to try it! -Amanda

There was once a psychology professor named Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (pronounced Cheek-sent-mah-hye-ee) who developed a concept called "flow," which I experience every time I am engaged in a crafting project.

i love it when i wake up with nothing to do but do tons of stuff anyways.

midnight hiking is so awesome, especially with pregnant women - a new tradition i am loving.

Summer berries are so delicious; I am going to miss them in the fall.

I have been the proud owner of the same African Violet since October 2006 and for the first time in almost 4 years, it is producing flowers!

whenever people ask why i dont know some obvious piece of pop culture, i tell them its because i was born in 1927 - and i dont really feel like im lying.

working on potty training a sixth month old - and having fun too!

While stuck in Boston traffic, I glanced over to witness a small Asian woman in the car beside me clapping and grooving to her music, but when she noticed me appreciating her rhythmic enthusiasm, she smiled shyly, placed her hands on the steering wheel, and fixed her gaze on the cars ahead, her cheeks blushing ever so slightly.

Who started the rumor that ladies who have pet birds are crazy?

i can never get rid of books even if they are terrible - a throwback to my childhood when my papa taught me to value the written word (and education) above all else.

A grey-haired woman sauntered down a busy street, except her hair wasn't really grey... it was purple, which matched her purple shirt, purple shorts, and purple sandals.

using the teethbrushing model for showering works well, both time and water-use wise: first a quick allover rinse, turn the shower off, scrub, lather, shower back on and rinse.

I caught a small mouse
right in my kitchen's corner
and now he is dead. :(
(Haiku for you)

driving an automatic car is a lot harder for me than driving one with a stick shift.

I just called the emergency maintenance number to report a giant turd that I found in the elevator and the man on the line subsided into a fit of hysterical laughter... I can't say that I blame him.

modern music can't be compared to ancient music because something as awe-inspiring as a 16th century 10-minute 40-voice (8 5-part choirs in surround sound) called Spem in Alium is truly incomparable.

just now, my baby discovered how to play peekaboo all by himself, and with some light at the other end of the room.

A homeless man was begging on the streets of Washington, D.C. with a sign that read, "why lie? I need $ for BEER!."

I love how when you fly to Latin countries, the people always clap when the plane lands safely on the ground; they don't clap when you land in Washington, D.C.

when you are in the middle of no internet country celebrating your son's great grandmother's 90'th birthday after a 12 hour drive, i think you become entitled to a little backdating.

Art is everywhere if you just open your eyes and ears.

What does the Kathman du (do) if he lives in Nepal?

have you noticed that your senses of hearing and seeing are better in times of pain or need than normal, and have you wondered whether your senses of smell or taste is better then too?

Hopefully by this time next week I won't have a letter in the mail telling me that my passport application has been rejected, but by the same time next week I hope to have a car without a hole in the engine!

There is typically greater than a 50% chance that I will be late to... well everything, because I am constantly trying to squeeze one more thing in before I go, like writing this sentence for example.

you know you're in boston when you see a menu outside a restaurant that says, "lunch specials $6.50. $12.95 for yankee fans"

The echo of my wind chimes that enters through my bedroom window brings me back to the present moment, and I become mindful of myself and the peace that can be found right now.

I find that when I am limited to one sentence, I experiment with punctuation marks that were never before a part of my standard grammatical repertoire; either I will become a better writer as a result, or I will become an expert at carefully crafting run-on sentences.

i'm a paper girl, but it doesn't always love me back.

when gummi bears are made naturally with fruit juice and no preservatives or colors, and they are in a hot car for not very long, they become a solid mass very unbearlike but they taste like delicious fruit punch.

The raw joy that is derived from a dance is unique in that not only is it directly shared by a dance partner- much like that of a hug- but it can also be spread to anyone witnessing the dance; thus energizing others to participate in the kinesthetic, rhythmic celebration.

Comfort can be found when you are able to express your true feelings knowing that your company will still appreciate and accept you exactly as you are.

if the only word you knew in spanish was "besos" and you said it to a random person on a street in tijuana, it may be missheard as "pesos" and you would be incorrectly assumed to be a thug; therefore, to disambiguate, my new favorite phrase is "besos por pesos."

Watching a quality live performance at a park in the grass is completely worth the soggy pants that you get as a result of the evening dew!

many times i catch a glimpse of my reflection in a passing window, and am surprised by what i see, and now i am delighted to see little theo starting to recognize his little mirror friend and be surprised that he is being perfectly imitated.

One of my favorite things to do, although I rarely do it, is go to the car wash; the kind where you have to put your car in neutral and let it go as giant scrub brushes massage your vehicle.

If sleeping beauty was anything like me, she wasn't sleeping for 100 years at all - she was just lying there, waiting to get up, and when the prince finally kissed her, she said in a grumpy voice: "Ok, ok, I'm awake!"

Picking up my sister from the airport (flying in from Austria) I realized that the gas station at Logan right past the E-terminal must make a lot of money, since they can hire a  police officer 24 hours a day just to watch and make sure people don't park there if they aren't using the store.

heavy downpour accompanied by thunder and lightening provides such a liberating and invigorating sensation that reverberates throughout my mind and body.

A two year old walked smack into a fire hydrant yesterday because he was too distracted by the movement of his own feet to look up and realize the structure before him, which was slightly larger than his tiny toddler frame.

today i want to post something, anything, just to say i wasn't hurting my creative mind by trying to come up with the perfect single sentence - and that's harder than it sounds.