Smile, Valentines

Hello lovelies. How are you celebrating your Valentine's Day? Will you have a romantic dinner with a new flame, or will you cuddle up at home with your dearly beloved. Maybe this year you are your own Valentine.

Whether or not true love is in the air around you today, take a moment to put a warm smile on your face. Wouldn't it be great if we could capture carefree joy found in "Silly Runnings" this Valentine's Day and every day?

Hug for the World

I can't believe it's already Friday! Where has this week slipped away to? All week, I've been faced with crabby, cranky people who have something to complain about. Is cabin fever setting in big time, or what? As one of my co-workers put it, "I think the world needs a hug."

Indeed.

So here's a hug for you. Pass it on and maybe the love will spread.

I'm Back ... For Now ... With T-Shirts

Well, hello old friends! I have been gone for a long while. I looked at the calender and I couldn't believe we've already hit spring! I'm so excited for the change of season, but time is moving so fast.

Long story short, I've been absent because life got a bit crazy. And by life, I mean work. I love what I do and it's a lot of fun, but this month has kept me quite busy. I'm lucky if I cross the threshold to my apartment without passing out.

Luckily, tonight I have a little extra burst of energy. So what do I do? Shop for fun t-shirts online, of course. These would totally make up my wardrobe if only every day were casual day:





(I can't stop giggling.)

Hello Weekend (and Spring)!

Hi, lovelies! Do you have anything planned for this beautiful, sunny weekend? (I hope it's sunny where you are.) I'm looking forward to the day ahead. I'm picking out my new laptop (probably this one), getting fitted for new running shoes, and going to dinner and a play in Louisville. Most of all, I'm excited that spring is near.

"Listen, can you hear it? Spring's sweet cantata. The strains of grass pushing through the snow. The song of buds swelling on the vine. The tender timpani of a baby robin's heart. Spring." ~Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneide

Photo thanks!

A Mug For Me

Wouldn't this mug from CafePress.com be perfect for sipping coffee when on deadline? (Yes, the editor geek in me is out.)

Snow Day!

Winter weather overtook Lexington last night and a blanket of white powder now covers the ground. What a perfect excuse to be lazy and enjoy in life's simple pleasures. Today I:

Made comfort food...


Painted with water colors...


And watched movies.


It's been a delightful and relaxing Saturday.

Did it snow where you are?

I'm Plastica

I'm so tired this week. It's only 9 p.m. and I'm seriously contemplating putting head to pillow. However, I managed to find time to answer that age old question: What's my type. Finally, answers! I'm plastica.

What are you?

Winter Cheer

Brrrr... it's so cold outside. Winter just isn't for me. Luckily, at work I sit right in front of the window, and even when the sky is grey, small things cheer me up. Today, I caught a glimpse a plump bird just like this one perched on a branch outside. I don't know why, but it just made me happy.

What's keeping your spirits up during this long, hard winter?

Photo thanks!

Pig Pen Reunited

I had to post this picture from New Year because it was too cute. In college, we called ourselves the OU Pig Pen because we all trained for a half marathon together - the Flying Pig in Cincinnati. Isn't it cool we are still friends who can be silly together? And who are still running together (in spirit)?

Hippie-Chic Evening

Happy Monday! Did you get the day off for MLK Day or did you, like me, have to suffer the typical mundane Monday?

After a fairly uneventful start to the week, this chick is happy to be home enjoying a relaxing hippie-chic evening. After winding down with some yoga, I stirred up some homemade hummus and am settling down with a cup of tea. It's the blooming tea I got for Christmas. Check it out:

Before

After

It's oh so delicious. (And pretty!)

Ok, time to cuddle up with some Pride and Prejudice. Have a lovely evening!

Wednesday Love

I love when hand towels are so insightful, don't you?

On that note, it's my no-TV Wednesday, so I'm going to go no-poo my hair (yes, tonight is the night), make myself some tea and catch up on my magazine reading. I've got no chocolate, so grandma's homemade caramels will have to do.

How is mid-week treating you?

Giving up Caffeine... Sort Of

Ok, the title of this post is misleading. I'm not giving up caffeine. Not even a little bit. Caffeine is my vice, but every once in awhile, I try to curb my addiction. This past week I did so by adjusting my caffeine intake. Here's what I did:

1. I did NOT started the morning with a cup of joe. There's nothing better than a warm cup of coffee in the morning if you can sit and savor it, but that's not how my mornings work. If you can't love it, don't taint it.

2. I drank tea. For two days, I replaced my caffeine super surge with black and green teas. I love tea as much as I love coffee, but it's subtle. It's calming. It's really quite lovely. And with 1/3 the caffeine of coffee, it doesn't cause the jitters and a mid-afternoon crash.

3. I saved the coffee for the rough spots. You know 2 p.m. Wednesday, when you have a stack of manuscripts piling up on your desk and an article on equine parasite resistance that still needs written? Ok, maybe you don't know, but that is the moment that warrants an extra boost of energy. And energy's what you get if you save the caffeine for those crucial moments.

Surprisingly, limiting the caffeine increased my energy this week. (Although, the extra energy coincidentally followed a much-needed long Thanksgiving weekend.) I'm going to try to hold on to this method next week. Maybe I'll even last until Christmas!

Are you addicted to caffeine? Do you ever try to quit?

Photo thanks: laurelinn

Awake from Hibernation

Hello blogging world. I've missed you!

My body has had an adverse reaction to the chilly weather that's creeping our way and gone into hibernation mode. I apologize for my absenteeness.

So what is new with you?

I've been busy with work and gym and squeezing other things in along the way. Tonight, I'm putting up my first Christmas tree! I can't wait! I love this time of year. I still need to get some decorations, though. I'm thinking of going with a classy red and silver theme.

Give me updates, please! We have a lot to catch up on.

Photo thanks to plaidbuttons

Happy Weekend!

Hello friends!

What are you doing this weekend? Emily is visiting from Cincinnati and we are going to have a "get lost in Lexington" day because we can't decide what to do. If that means hiking or shopping or touring a bourbon distillery, so be it. It's going to be fabulous.

Hope your weekend is fabulous as well!

Wonderful Wednesday

“I’m not interested in money. I just want to be wonderful.” ~ Marilyn Monroe

Happy Wednesday friends! It's mid-week, and perhaps you need a little pick-me-up to to lift you out of the daily grind. As the work piles high on your desk, keep a bit of Marilyn perspective in your heart and mind. It's not about the money but the passion (and about being just plain wonderful).

What's keeping you wonderful this week?

Lost Pen

About an hour ago, I spent 10 minutes looking for a pen I "just had!" (Don't laugh.)

I just found the pen.

In my hair. (Cue chuckles.)

Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday! :)

Photo courtesy theatreluvr

What is Soweto?

Were you curious to learn more about Soweto? Yeah, me too. When a question arises, Google it.

According to the city of Johannesburg's website, Soweto is the urban area of South Africa with the largest number of black residents and the heart of the apartheid struggle. It's where Nelson Mandela lived and where school children protested oppression.

Learn more here and listen above to the music of South African artist Sipho Mabuse, who incorporates elements of traditional Zulu into his music. (Note: The Zulu tribe was one of the most oppressed groups under apartheid.)

Flash Mobs Are Cool

Being in Cambodia for a year kind of set me back a bit on the whole being-up-to-date-on-pop-culture thing, so I'm still fascinated by the concept of flash mobs. To some of you, the social phenomenon of flash mobs might be old news since you probably have had opportunities to see them lived out on tv commercials and the like. But maybe you (like me) still get a thrill watching videos on YouTube. I especially love the Oprah Flash Mob Dance because my friend was there. (KBrock, you are cool!)

It got me thinking, how do you even get one of these "cacophonous events" together? And as with any good question, it was Google-able. Check out what the people at instructables.com have to say.

If you could pull it off, what kind of flash mob would you create? (That question isn't Google-able so give me your answers.) I'd get everyone to spin around until they were dizzy, like we used to do in the backyard when we were kids, and then all fall down at once. On second thought... that could be dangerous. I would probably have to make sure a flash mob of EMTs immediately followed.

(P.S. I like using the adjective form of Google.)

Cherished Words

I'm a self-diagnosed pack rat, but there are times every once in awhile when I like to weed through all my accumulated stuff and clear some of it out. This is always a difficult chore, though, because my keepsakes are like a time capsule to the past. I hold an old photograph I took in my high school photography class and I remember how you could always find me toting around my mom's old 35mm. Or I look at a trinket my best friend bought me in 5th grade and reminisce about how our gifts have evolved from toys and trinkets to good meals and long conversations.

Today, I found myself wading through a pile of old cards given to me over the years. Birthday cards. Christmas cards. Valentine's Day. Easter. St. Patrick's Day. Graduation. As simple as a card is and as easy as it should be to throw a card away, I never have the heart to.

For me card-giving is heartfelt and vulnerable. It's intimate. It's nothing you should share with the inside of your trashcan. And I love reading old notes, especially when feeling a bit under the weather, to remind myself of the caring circle of friends and family I'm surrounded by.

In a birthday card from a college classmate: ... I'm sure glad we had a chance to talk. You have such an interesting personality and so much fun to be around. You made going to Soc. class worthwhile (of course the days you didn't skip.) ... Got to love that last part!

A post-surgery card from my roommate the card read: "Congratulations on the successful completion of your surgical procedure... Doesn't that sound better than 'Going under the knife and living to tell about it'?" The kicker is when she wrote in, especially at O'Bleness! Our university hospital was known to give tylenol to treat broken bones. Yikes!

These notes remind me of people I don't know any more.

I love this from my Japanese conversation partner: Thank you very much and I had good experience with you. Do you remember salsa? I was excited that dance and your house is very nice! I wanted to talk more with you but my English is not good. So, I'll study English hard after go back to Japan. I'm glad to meet you and I miss you. I especially love the broken English... there's no wrong way to say sweet words.

In these notes, I can sometimes catch a glimpse of how these people and I have changed over the years.

In a friend's postcard from vacation: ... Stephanie (her sister) walked into a pole! Today, she walked into the door. Mom is getting fat (kinda). ... Oh, the things that really matter to us as seventh graders. (In her mom's defense, she was pregnant.)

And other times, I relish in how things never change.

This one is my favorite because it truly fits the personality it came from. The card read "Celebrating Your 100th Birthday," and he wrote: They didn't have any happy birthday you are 20 cards so I figured 100/5=20 and that's close enough.

It's adorable that my best friend dates all her cards and endearing that my family is typically forced to scrawl, Sorry a little late! across the inside. (Or in my aunt's case, Sorry this is so so so late.)

Yes, each little note is unique, from the words that are expressed to the script they are written in. I suppose I have no choice but keep them around until drawers are spilling over with them.

Do you keep any special notes around? What do they say?

Photo courtesy taco-chipz

My Night Off

if it's monday, i must be standing on a bench., originally uploaded by sfgirlbybay.

Since moving back home, it's been a rarity to have the house all to myself. Tonight the family is away on one last hoorah before the end of summer, so my company tonight is all me. I gladly welcome the chance to walk around the house as I please, but I've yet to decide what to do with myself tonight. The options I'm considering are catching up on my reading (I'm sorely lagging in Love and Longing in Bombay that my friend lent me more than a month ago) or trying out this new recipe for lavender biscuits. Or maybe I'll just leave the house to itself and have coffee with a friend.

What do you like to do with your precious alone time?

Photo courtesy sfgirlbybay