Thoughts for the Day

I had about five different things that I wanted to write full posts about this week and of course, I didn't write them down.  I'm hoping that now that things have finally started to calm down, I can get back into the groove and put more focus into the blog.  I make no promises though.  

For now, here are my random thoughts for the day.

• Mini Lee is 17 weeks today.  He (yes I think the baby is a boy and rather than refer to him as "it", I'm going to refer to him as...he...him...whatever you get it) can now hear loud noises and may respond to them as well.  
• I was disturbed to hear this week that a group of politicians think that the abortion issue is their main priority for 2011.  Regardless of where you may be on the fence on that issue, doesn't it seem odd that with all of the struggles our country is facing at this moment that abortion is their top priority?  Shouldn't unemployment, the constantly struggling economy, the increasing number of Americans who are suffering from obesity (and how the agriculture industry plays a part in it), or the growing number of teen pregnancies (there is a school in Tennessee that has roughly 90 students who are currently pregnant or have given birth this year) be considered a priority?  Then again, I will bow to the fact that it is an opinion that determines what a person considers to be a priority...and alas, my opinions are different from those particular politicians.
• I added "Taste Spotting" to my Google Reader.  What does that mean?  I added a blog that posts roughly 500+ posts a week.  My head may explode.
• As I was driving home to other day from work, the sun was glinting off the mountains.  I could see the mountains that were even in the background.  They were covered in snow but because of the sunset, they looked purple, blue and green.  In that moment, I was reminded of how happy I am here.

 That's all for now.  Hopefully, this will become more organized.  Soon. 

Thoughts for the Day

Do you sit back at the end of the day and think about what's passed through your mind, hands, mouth, etc during the course of that day?  I typically marinate on my days just to see what I've come up with.  So, here are the thoughts on today:

• Queenie and I have decided that iceburg lettuce is the "white trash" of lettuce.  It is.  Seriously.  Taste a piece of crisp iceburg lettuce.  It's 96% water.  You can look that up and I may be wrong but I'm not off by much.  And if I am, don't tell me.  It's not that important to me to know I'm wrong.  Now, taste a piece of crisp romaine, or arugula.  Tell me that those aren't better.  Let's face it.  Iceburg barely even has a flavor if any.  And very little nutritional value.
• I'm very happy.  And part of that is because it's really the little things that make me do a dance.  For instance, I did a happy dance earlier because I get to eat at the Cherry Cricket twice in four day.  TWICE IN FOUR DAYS!?!  and if you don't know what the Cherry Cricket is and haven't had their burgers than you have not had one of the most amazing burgers EVER and your life is incomplete (sorry...I realize that is a harsh truth but it is a truth).  Mi marido says it's one of his favorite things about me, that simple things absolutely make my day.  Can you imagine what I'll be like as a mom?  I'll be on a fricking baby high 24/7.  Screw meth.  Just let me hang with my baby!
• I LOVE FOOD.  Seriously.  I LOVE FOOD.  There is no way around it and considering this entire post thus far (and will continue) to kind of run around the topic of food, it's fairly obvious that I LOVE FOOD.
• My project this weekend: make homemade croissants from scratch.  That's right.  I'm taking on the devil of pastries.  Okay it may not be the devil but I'm told it's a fairly hard baking project to take on.  So pumped!
• My belly is starting to look like I swallowed a bowling ball.  It's entertaining me.
• Kaya has become a cat.  She sits on our sofa/loveseat like a cat, such as on the armrest or the back of the sofa.

I hope that this week has been lovely and happy for each of you!

Eat, Pray, Love

I believe I mention the book Eat, Pray, Love on my books galore list.  

  image from amazon.com

I decided today to watch the movie based off of this book.  I'm not going to dwell on it because Julia Roberts does a great job again.

The problem I have with this book being turned into a movie is exactly what I thought I would have a problem with (lost my train of thought trying to verbalize that).  I found this book to be inspiring and uplifting, insightful and touching.  I think the task of attempting to translate what is in this book into a movie is far beyond the comprehension of what the movie industry is currently capable of.  I'll be the first to admit that I prefer books to movies any day.  I find that they leave a lasting mark whereas movies...not so much.  So why watch the movie if I was pretty sure that it wouldn't live up to my standards?

Good question.  One that I don't really have an answer for.

However, the movie did do the one thing that I wanted/needed it to do.  It was a reminder of the main pieces that touched me about the book.  Granted, there were many aspects of the book that touched me and many were lost in translation to the screen.  But the basics were what I was looking for.  The main one that I want to mention is the lesson in Italy. 


In her time spent in Italy, Gilbert learned the importance of pleasure.  I, personally, think that, as a whole, Americans are out of touch with this (and to spare any of you that want to argue, "as a whole" is another word for saying "majority" so yes, I acknowledge there are exceptions to this).  Many will argue and say that we know too much about pleasure.  I disagree.  What Americans are great at is instant gratification and in fact, I think we are addicted to it.  Whereas for Gilbert, in Italy, she learned to appreciate the pleasures in life.  We take them for granted.  One of the Italian men (and I'm taking this from the movie because I don't feel like digging through the book to find this part so I'm hoping that it's true to the book..either way, it supports my point) points out to Gilbert that Americans spend too much time working and then when they want to enjoy themselves, or indulge in "pleasure", their idea is to lay around in their pajamas all weekend, or have a "Miller" time with a six pack.  So rather than really lavish the pleasure of experiences, we rush through them because we are so glad to have that moment. 


I find it interesting that the majority of Americans rush through their food.  We barely take time to really enjoy the flavors and lavish in the meal that is before us.  Who cares if it's just a grilled cheese sandwich?  If you are going to eat it, shouldn't you actually take the time to enjoy that food?  It's nourishment that your body needs and you should let your tongue take the time to do a happy dance.  It's no wonder to me that Americans are struggling with a sordid amount of health issues that are related to diet and self care.  If we (as a whole) are in fact addicted the instant gratification drug, then what we are faced with is that immediate high that throws us down on our asses.  So we reach for the next instant gratification.  Rather than enjoy pleasures as an adult, we get stuck in the mindset of a four year old: "I want it NOW" (throw in a foot stomp and fist pump if you like).  I have read articles of other country's mocking Americans because we rush through things and it's hard to argue with that point.  We want it all and we want it NOW.  I could go into a whole theoretical rant right now about how the instant gratification drug ties in with the health issues which tie in with the theory that really, a lot of Americans don't take care of themselves because of a low self esteem issue, but I feel like a lot of people would quit reading this and I think I'll just save that for my thesis paper in grad school.


So, what does that long dribble which probably doesn't make much sense to you have to do with me?  I've felt myself going through a period of growth lately (and I'm not talking about the baby belly which is in indeed growing) and rather than rush myself through it, I'm allowing the time to savor it and figure out the direction that my character is going in.  Perhaps it is just motherhood kicking in.  In order to truly learn the lessons that are coming into my life right now, I'm taking the time to dwell on them and figure out what they mean for me and my future.  


It may just mean that in six months from now, it'll take me 15 minutes to eat a single grilled cheese because I'll be allowing my tongue to do a bit of a happy dance around the melted cheddar cheese.

The Pioneer Woman

I know some of my readers follow The Pioneer Woman, and if you don't, allow me to recommend her.

Rather, I demand that you follow her.

Queenie introduced me to the blog roughly two years ago and now that I have my google reader (come on, you haven't jumped on that bandwagon?  Then you are seriously missing out, especially on all of the wonderful things that I share), it is so easy to follow her.  Whether you are interested in photography, country life, cooking (who isn't?), animals, homeschooling, or just other people's lives (again, who isn't?), surely there is something on Ree's blog that will tickle your fancy.

For instance, here's a link to one of her recent posts:

Pioneer Woman's Annual Reminder 

In it, she sends you off to FreeRice.com to check out the fun happenings going on there.  You can play a variety of games and each time you get an answer right, the website donates ten grains of rice through the World Food Programme.

Ten grains of rice doesn't sound like much right?

Trust me, addiction ensues quickly.  And who doesn't want to take five minutes out of their day to do a good deed?

Feeling smart?  Go test your vocabulary and see if you can donate 500 grains of rice one day.

I Dare You.

It Flu Thru Me

Monday afternoon I was driving home from work.

It was like any other day.

Until about five minutes into the drive.

I started feeling congested and my head started hurting.

Within an hour and a half, I was on the couch and ready to cry I felt so sick.

It's three days later and I'm still on the couch.

I haven't been back to work.

I hate being sick.  With a severe and deep passion.

I don't get sick often and when I do, it's typically for a day.

And of course, all I can think about is the pile of work on my desk.

Good news though: in my downtime, I've completed one baby blanket and should finish the second by the end of today.

I should also finish Chapter 4 of my psych class.

Oh and I've figured out the master's program that I want to go into.

So perhaps I haven't been such a lazy bum.