Cherry Blossom Festival

Here are some pictures from my first foray into photography with a real camera! It was borrowed - but so much fun!

Bart Simpson is Hamlet

We all love a good Shakespeare tragedy, right? Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet is great, Mel Gibson is even pretty good. But I think Bart Simpson as Hamlet is a classic too. If you haven't see it you can click here: The Simpson's Hamlet.







The Cast:
Homer - The Ghost
Bart - Hamlet
Lisa - Ophelia
Moe - Claudius, the King
Marge - Gertrude, the Queen
Polonius - Chief Wiggam
Laertes - Ralph Wiggam
Krusty the Clown - head of the players
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern - Carl and Lenny

Tear Inducing Laughter

Nick just told me about this guy - he heard about him at work. We watched a couple of clips and started crying we were laughing so hard! He reminded me a little of Steven Wright (dead pan one-liners). I never knew ducks, watering plants, advil and toast could be so gut-wrenchingly funny!
Click here to go to the video: Mitch Hedberg On Letterman

Serendipity

The Endangered Joy of Serendipity

A friend sent me this link to an article from the St. Petersburg Times by William McKeen, chairman of the journalism department at the University of Florida.

It's not about the John Cusack movie, well maybe a little bit. But it doesn't mention it at all. I'm not going to expound too much on the points he makes, because you can just go click and read it yourself! I just really like the idea that we miss out on a lot because we are too directed, too focused and too "plugged-in" to enjoy some of lifes surprises. We don't much happen upon things by chance anymore. I'll share a couple of my favorite lines and hope you enjoy reading the article.

The modern world makes it harder to discover what you didn't know you were looking for.

In another context, Thomas Paine once wrote: "The harder the conquest, the more glorious the triumph. 'Tis dearness only that gives everything its value." . . . Looking for something and being surprised by what you find - even if it's not what you set out looking for - is one of life's great pleasures, and so far no software exists that can duplicate that experience.

Technology undercuts serendipity. It makes it possible to direct our energies all in the name of saving time. Ironically, though, it seems that we are losing time - the meaningful time we once used to indulge ourselves in the related pleasures of search and discovery. We're efficient, but empty.

Except for matters of life and death - and shopping at Wal-Mart - there's an emptiness in finding something quickly. (We all want to minimize time in Wal-Mart, don't we? Life is too short to spend too many of its precious moments in that particular hell.)

The modern world is conspiring against serendipity. But we cannot blame technology. I've met this enemy, and it is us. We forget: We invented this stuff. We must lead technology, not allow technology to lead us. The world is a better and more cost-effective place because of technology, but we've lost the imperfections inherent in humanity - the things that make life a messy and majestic catastrophe.

We must allow ourselves to be surprised. We must relearn how to be human, to start again as we did as children - learning through awkward and bungling discovery. Otherwise, when it's all over and we face the Distinguished Thing, we will have led extremely efficient but monstrously dull lives.

Giving Thanks

I thought this was amusing. I didn't catch the first time I looked at it that the blind guy was carrying an axe.













Well, on this Thanksgiving Eve, I was thinking about giving thanks. I have a friend who has sent out an email each day for a week leading up to Thanksgiving. Each day a new subject with an accompanying list of things she is thankful for. I realized that I hadn't focused enough on those types of things - no matter how small - and had let negativity creep it's way in. There are so many little things to be grateful for and they help give perspective to the larger things.

So here is a list, in no particular order of some of the small things I am thankful for.
the smell of the first crisp day in autumn
yoga
freshly picked apples
running
my baby's laugh
uninterrupted sleep
clean laundry
free long distance
emails from people I know, written just for me duvets
voicemails from friends and family
good ideas
My husband's smile
compliments
a good book
funny jokes/comics
sincerity
a new blanket of snow
a smiling cashier
anything baby blue
cheese
apple pie
office supplies
and many many more.....
Too many to write and some too personal to share. I will be more grateful and remind myself that things are always much better than we realize. Life is good. Share it and be happy. Happy Thanksgiving!
(What are some little things you are grateful for?)

Excercise = Exhiliration

I just started up running again. I was motivated by reading in Jeff Galloway's Book on Running 2ed. He gives you permission to not go out there and kill yourself. He tells you to take it easy and ease your way into so you don't injure yourself.

After my pregnancy related health issues and getting over that it has been about 2 years since I really went on a good run. So 2 1/2 months after Alison's birth I started going back to yoga. I had to get my balance back. Then I started going on short walks - about 15 minutes at a time. I continued doing yoga and started walking longer. A month ago I did an hour long walk and realized I could do it. There was hope!

I find that I think if I can't do something perfectly then I shouldn't attempt it all all. But I am learning that doing a little is better than doing nothing. And then I saw this quote today:

In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing,
the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is
nothing. - Theodore Roosevelt

Even doing something wrong gets in you in the frame of mind of doing SOMEthing instead of just putting it all off.

So today, following Jeff's advice, I took it easy. Set my watch for a 4 minute 1 minute interval cycle and headed out into the crisp fall morning (perfect running weather). I walked the first 4 and ran 1. That one minute seemed so short. I kept checking my watch during the 4 minutes thinking it was too long. But I kept reminding myself slow and steady gets you there. I did add an extra 10 minutes to the 30 he reccomends starting out with. But it felt GREAT!! I did it! So for a week I will do this and then decrease the walking and increase the running little by little until I can run the whole time!

Exercise really does get you going! Simple physics. A body at rest tends to stay at rest - a body in motion stays in motion.

Getting rid of clutter!

Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful
or believe to be beautiful. -- Walter Kitteridge

I love this quote! I have been actively trying to minimize and simplify. If you haven't heard of Flylady - let's just say she is the guru of decluttering and her system of setting up routines has helped me get rid of a ton of stuff I didn't need that was just taking up space. Plus I have been able to give things that were still in good condition to people who can use it. Freecyle is a great way to do this.

One of Flylady's mantras is "If it doesn't make you smile - get rid of it!"