Sunday, February 27, 2011

Countdown


Original copyrighted image can be found here.

11 weeks until my Spring marathon . I am excited, but subdued. This is the first marathon of the year for me, and I'll be trying yet again to better my finishing time. Last year- at the same race, no less- I managed a new PR by a good 8 minutes. This year, I'm hoping to shave off even more time.

So, right now I should be running about 10-12 miles. But its cold outside (16 degrees!), and most of yesterday's snowfall has yet to be cleared from sidewalks and streets. Plus, I've got to throw together my running club's newsletter.


More importantly, I need to prepare for tonight's Oscar ceremony. Oh, who am I kidding?! We all know that I really care about the clothes and not the movies. *giggle*

So many of life's events are preceded by a countdown, an artificial building up of importance of the event, a forced celebration built on the supposition that everyone around you simply must share your excitement, your anticipation, your anxiety, your joy. But by assuming these emotions to be shared, we often forget to focus on the intimacy of the moment, of the special bond created by the simple act of being a part of the event.

You know the phrase "You had to be there" ? Well, so many of our personal countdown moments are location-specific: you have to be there. Otherwise you're left trying to explain the unexplainable: what made something so special and unforgettable for you.

*sigh*

I guess the theme of this post is prudence. It is something that takes time to learn well, I think, and so I'll leave you with that challenge for today: exercise prudence.

Friday, February 25, 2011

The (Kinda) Young & The (Winter Blues-Induced) Restless



Have you ever felt that your life is constantly on the precipice? And you can never tell if its a precipice of peril or great things? UGH.

I've had this feeling for awhile now, and its such a struggle to maintain optimism.
I feel stalled.
I feel like a wallflower.
I feel like I deserve some positive attention, some good conversation, some fun.

I feel like I should be paid attention to, rather than just assumed. (Does that make sense?)


I have tried to do the things that I've always done to ward off these feelings. I mean, I'm re-reading what I've just wrote and it sounds like I'm a whiny, self-centered prima donna.


But I'm not, I swear.


So, the question is: What do you do to get out of a slump? Where do you turn to when your go-to plan seems to have got up and went?
This is so much a part of my life, this quest for knowledge, for understanding, for clarity. And I know that so much of life simply cannot be about clarity, that it must be muddied and dirty and leave you feeling like you need a hot shower. I am that smart.
And yet...
...yet. I cannot help longing for the day when things will just "click," and I'll be the person I see in my magazine-layout fantasies: dressed in designer clothes, lounging on high-end furniture, sipping vodka gimlets and laughing with similarly clad friends as we recount our latest trip to Milan ("Oh, do you remember the look on Gianni's face when you told him you thought he was too effeminate?" "Ha! Yes! It was like a dagger to the poor dear's heart!" "Well, he should know that's what people are thinking when he wears a fringed scarf with that silk shirt opened to his waist." "I know. And its not like he has the physique of a rugby player!" "Tru dat.").
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to buy a lottery ticket (I'm still hopeful!), use up that jewelry store gift certificate (Sparkly is uplifting!), and pick up those killer jeans at the boutique (A good looking ass goes a long way in boosting a gal's spirits!).
Have a great weekend.

Monday, February 14, 2011

A Valentine's Ode to Sugar



Oh, Sugar!
You, with your many colors, your many incarnations, your many flavors!

In nature's harvest you delight me:
Golden Delicious apple goodness, sweet nectarines, June strawberries,
and oh!, the taste of Hawaii in that prickly coat- pineapple gold!

And sugar, you chameleon!
Is the list of your myriad faces ever long? Do you taste as sweet with one name, and not the other?

Nay, you are always sweet, always comforting,
always ready with your cavity-inducing powers.

Sugar wafers, frosting, caramel corn, Karo syrup.
Dulce de leche, sweetened condensed milk, sugar cubes.
My elfin diet: candy, candy canes, candy corn, syrup!

Candy shop, penny candy, stocking stuffers, Valentine.
Willy Wonka, I wish you were real.

Cupcakes, cherry pie, Cinnabons, macaroons!
Chupacabra!
Lofthouse Cookies!
I rue the day we met, yet cherish you beyond measure.

Sugar.

Do I take you alone?
Is a Fluffer Nutter the same without your touch?
Did your chocolate get in my peanut butter?
Did my peanut butter get in your chocolate?- I can only hope.

You bring rot to my mouth, energy to my muscles
frenetic-ness to my brain, padding to my hips.
My belly.
My ass.

I will take you however I can get you.
I will keep you close.
I will sing your praises at every opportunity,
And you, Sugar,
Will be mine.

Friday, February 4, 2011

What the?!...


Yep. New blog layout. New blog colors. New blog font, even. And probably, most importantly, new blog title and focus.
Whereas my blog before was a kind of journal for everyone to read, I've decided that at this juncture in my life, I need to FOCUS. And so, after some serious thought (like, a whole 7 minutes), I've settled on the title "Roots & Wings." I know I've written about this philosophy before and how I like it, about how it best describes how I want to raise my daughters (show them their roots, but give them the wings to explore on their own), about how it meshes well with my love/hate relationship with birds.
I've also changed the tag line from "think, hope, create" to "Life is one big learning experience- take what you can." I mean that you should learn something- at least one thing- from every experience you have, from every day you're here on the planet.
I recently moved to a new house (another post, another time), and my beautiful friend Magheen gave me a mezuzah. The short version of things is to tell you that when you enter or leave your home, the mezuzah is on a doorpost, and you are to give thanks for the blessings of the day. See? Learn something new, be thankful that your blessings include new knowledge. Share it with your nearest and dearest.
I really wanted to put "Learn something new. Everyday." But I think Martha has a trademark on that. Bummer.
Anyhoo, I'll post more about my new outlook soon. Right after that love letter to my dear friend, sugar.