Happy New Year

I hope everybody has a happy and safe New Years Eve tonight! My New Years Eve plans entail a get-together at my brother and sister-in-law's with some friends and family. I'm looking forward to some good food and drink as well--though not too much drink--as I have a New Years afternoon date so a hangover might not be too attractive. See Y'all in 2006!!!!

Ah. Vacation.

I love having time off from school. Its been nice to relax. I've had a couple dates since I've been off from school.

1. Jdate Guy #5 and I went to see the Producers Sunday night. Nice guy. But not for me. A little too nerdy (again, I'm not knocking nerds, I do find many of them attractive!) for me and besides he smelled funny.

2. Jdate Guy #6 and I had lunch in Montclair on Tuesday. We then had coffee, perused some of the shoppes before ending the date. It was fun and he was a nice guy. I'm seeing him again on Sunday. We'll see how it goes.


Today, I'm spending time with my friend, Allison, who I have not seen in a year since she has moved to Arizona. I'm blogging right now from the "black room" of the 100 year old home her parents live in. This is the creepiest room in the house. Spooky! I plan on using some of my giftcards today before shopping for bridesmaid dresses later on for my cousin Andrea's wedding. Busy day!

Happy Holidays!

Happy Chanukah! Merry Christmas! Happy Kwanzaa! Happy New Year! Happy Winter Solstice! Happy Diwali! Did I skip any holidays? I think I got most of them there! Anyway, to all my readers, I hope you enjoyed your day!

Congratulations!!!

First off, congratulations are in order to Jaime and Corey, who just got engaged. I don't think Jaime even knows I have a blog, so I will have to email her to tell her to check this. They are tentatively planning a December '06 wedding! I am thrilled--and of course, that means I need to start saving my money to fly down to Louisiana! (For those of you who don't know, Jaime and I began our friendship as pen pals at the age of 15! Since then, I've flown down there once, and she's been up here three times. Crazy!)

My apologies to Jennifer and all of my faithful readers who most likely checked my blog on a near-daily basis wondering, "Where is Marisa? Why is she not posting?" Well, I am alive...but I've been suffering a cold again! Ouch! Throat aches! Eyes burn! I'm so congested and I have the desire to sleep for days on end. I took Tuesday off to rest and rested most of last weekend. However, I did have the opportunity to take Dave out for Indian food for his birthday last weekend! Happy belated Birthday, Dave! Also, happy belated birthday, Ashley!

Sunday, my grandma and I spent a glorious day together. First, we had lunch at Panera Bread. Then we went to a "Tea with the Author" at my temple. We had the chance to meet Myla Goldberg, who wrote the best-selling novel, Bee Season (which I highly recommend).

So, now its off to bed to rest this sore throat of mine...

Surprised?

Congrats! You are a Dave Matthews Band NERD! You
eat, breathe, and drink DMB. You've seen at
least 10-20 concerts, met a band member or two,
and trade their live concerts on CD-R. You
rule, and know what music should sound like.


What Dave Matthews Band fan are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Weekend Ramblings

This weekend, I saw my boys play at Madison Square Garden two nights in a row! Friday night, I partied too much with my fellow ants to really enjoy the show. But thats okay! We had a blast at P.J. Clark's before the show. Saturday night, I stayed sober and enjoyed an amazing concert. What an experience!!!! We danced and sang and partied at Blarney Stone after the show. I caught the 1.40 train and was home in my bed by 3am. Good, good times.

Sunday, I had a third date--and I think it went well. But--I can't relax. Questions ponder through my brain, such as...Does he like me? Doesn't he like me? Why hasn't he emailed me today? When will he call? Will he call? I know--I need to relax. But thats not something I'm good at. Anyway...we'll see what happens with this one and I'll keep y'all posted.

More Worst Dates

I guess my bad date story wasn't that hideous. My friend sent me this link and some of the stories are really funny. Though--glad they didn't happen to me. JDates Gone Wrong

A random list of things that make me smile

Isn't there something magical about...

The first snowfall of Winter.
First kisses.
New Friendships.
Hot Cocoa.
Cuddling with somebody utterly cuddlicious on a cold night by a fire.
Heated blankets.
Dogs.
Cats purring.
Mittens.
The beach on a cold, snowy, peaceful, winters day.

I hope we can all experience some or all of these things by the end of Winter.

Worst. Date. Ever.

Okay. So maybe it wasn't the worst date ever...but it definately ranks up there in the top five. I'm recovering from a sinus infection and didn't even feel up to it, but had plans to meet this guy at the Cheesecake Factory. I had never met him before--or even talked to him on the phone! He was from an online dating site--shhh! Don't tell anybody! lol . Anyway, we had dinner and I was not feeling him whatsover. Me and a dorky pharmacist? Not going to happen! The clincher? He tried to pay a $5 tip on a $43 bill! Cheap!!!!!!!! I threw a couple extra dollars in for the tip (this guy didn't think I needed to. He said $5 was a good tip. Oh boy.) After the date, we shook hands and he told me to email him.

PS I normally don't call people dorky. I'm a nice person. I wouldn't call him geeky--because, its kind of cool to be geeky nowadays.

Luckiness

I decided to take Norton for a hike on Sunday because of the warm temperatures. However, the trail was muddier and icier than I thought it would be--and leaving the Watchung Reservation, my white and pink Saucony's were now muddy and pink. Not too pleased about that. I decided it was time to put some money into hiking sneakers, because after I wash these babies, I don't want them turning muddy again. After all, the Saucony's are only a month or so old!

But, guess what? Today was my lucky day. In the teachers room was a bag marked, "Up for grabs to whoever can use them--size 8 men's Merrell low hikers." So they're used. Who cares? They fit perfectly. I now don't have to buy a pair of hiking sneakers--I got a great pair for free! Thanks to my fellow co-worker!

One Word

I took part in an email forward in which you get emails from your friends describing you in one word. Here is what I've gotten so far: inspiring, fun-loving, quirky, caring and energetic. If I get some more responses, I'll post those too.

Buy Nothing Day

Everyone knows that tomorrow is Black Friday. I plan on staying as far from the mall as possible. Shopping on Black Friday is JUST not fun! A group called Adbusters is organising Buy Nothing Day tomorrow. Its exactly as the title suggests. Adbusters wants you to stay away from buying anything tomorrow to make a stand against this consumerist society we live in. They have lots of things you can do to get involved if you want to. My favorite is push a cart around WalMart, buy some items, and then return them. You can do this all day, they suggest. Check out the link and see if you want to get involved. Its pretty interesting.

Best Inventions Ever

I'm sorry I haven't posted in close to a week. Know why? I've been very busy enjoying my 2 new toys--very possibly the greatest inventions ever.

1. I purchased a pressure cooker from Bed, Bath and Beyond. Women my mother's age told me,"Don't do it!" They said, "They're not safe!" I'm glad I didn't listen. The new cookers are 100 percent safe and reduce cooking time by up to 70 %. It looks like a regular 6 quart pot with a lock-on lid. The food can, therefore, cook at high temperatures at high pressure. So far, I've cooked dry beans for an Indian soup called sambar in 10 minutes as oppose to an hour and half. I've steamed artichokes in 9 minutes as oppose to 45! This thing also is capable of cooking risotto in 7 minutes WITHOUT the constant stirring! Did I say Wow?

2. I purchased a heated blanket from Target . For $32, I got the twin-sized--its only for me and Norton. It plugs in and has 10 different heat settings. Its wonderful. I go to bed all warm and cozy--and Norton loves it too. Its even machine washable! By the way, if you click on the link, you'll see the blanket I'm talking about. However, the website states its more money and its out of stock. I bought it in the store for less last week.

Yum Yum

I must say I've managed to impress my taste buds with my cooking skills as of late. A few years ago, I did a lot of Indian cooking--but stopped because it was time-consuming and much work. Well, this weekend, I decided it was time to start preparing Indian food again. Sunday, I payed a visit to Patel's Cash and Carry in Iselin. I bought tons of food for really cheap! I enjoyed my shopping experience there--its really amazing for all of your senses!

Sunday afternoon, I prepared a raita-like salad. It was like yogurt with cucumbers, tomatoes and onions and spices! Yum! Also, fragrant basmati rice and a sambar with okra and cauliflower. Sambar is a thick soup of beans--spicy and yummy! With what I cooked on Sunday, I've had lunch so far every day this week!

Monday night, I decided it was time for some more cooking. This time it was a tomato stew with okra, cauliflower, chilis, spices and panir cheese (farmers cheese, cut into chunks)! Yum!

Last night, I had dinner with my friend, Subash. He cooked dosas (a tangy flatbread) with more sambar (mango!) and coconut chutneys! Iddlis too (steamed balls made similiar to dosas)! Tonight, I'm ordering in Indian with another friend! Anybody game for Indian? I'm happy to make it or eat it anytime!

Vermont-Dreamin'

I'm now home in New Jersey. Home from beautiful, chilly, snowy, windy, sunny Vermont. Only there for 2 days but depressed to not be there anymore. Is that a sign that my home is there and not here? This happens everytime I go there. I come home and get sad and depressed. Today its going to be 65 degrees in NJ. What is that about? Its almost winter! In Vermont, we ate good food, drank good drink, did some antiquing and shopping, drove up mountains and bundled up with hats and mittens and scarves. We met some nice people and learned that its still much cheaper to live in Vermont than NJ, even though prices ARE rising there too. I sorta made a new friend there too--which leads me to believe that if I moved, how hard could it be to make some friends? But do I want to leave my friends and family here? Of course not...I don't know what I'll do. Stay or leave, I don't know. I'm 27 and single with only a dog and cat to care for. This is is my chance for greatness and bravery and trying something I've always wanted to do...I'll keep you posted.

Two

Tag, you're it. Only I'm tagging myself. I am a sucka for these questionaires and found a new one on a blog I love reading. This is from Jesser's blog.

Two.

2 names you go by
1. Marisa
2. Mars

2 parts of your heritage
1. American
2. Jewish

2 things that scare you
1. Never finding my ONE
2. Never getting my life under control.


2 of your everyday essentials
1. Cell Phone
2. my Mac (appropriately named Candy Apple Red)

2 things you are wearing right now
1. fuzzy, cozy striped socks
2. ratty but warm zip-down sweater

2 of your favorite bands or musical artists (at the moment)
1. The Redwalls
2. Dave Matthews Band

2 favorite songs (at the moment)
1. Build a Bridge(by Redwalls)
2. Hurry up Sunrise (by North Mississippi Allstars and Lucinda Williams)

2 things you want in a relationship (other than real love)
1. Good kissing
2. Cuddling

2 truths
1. I am the most disorganized person in the world.
2. I have the attention span of a 2 yr old.

2 physical things that appeal to you (in the opposite sex)
1. eyes
2. smile

2 of your favorite hobbies
1. Travel
2. reading

2 things you want really badly
1. To find my ONE
2. To move out

2 places you want to go on vacation
1. Europe
2. India

2 things you want to do before you die
1. get married and have kids
2. travel the world

2 ways that you are stereotypically a dude/chick
1. I am sensitive.
2. I gossip and talk too much.

2 things you are thinking about now
1. Leaving for Vermont in the morning!
2. I miss my pupster, Mr. Norton!

2 stores you shop at
1. Target!!
2. Barnes and Noble

Friendship

If you have friends, you're the luckiest girl or guy on the planet. If you have great friends, thats even better! Someone asked me online tonight, if it bothers me to be single. Isn't it hard, this person, asked me. That irked me! First of all, this person is single too--and I am not going to settle just so I'm not single any longer! When I meet the right person, I'll know it. Do I get lonely sometimes? Don't we all?

I'm chilling to some James Taylor and just listened to a sweet song he sings called "Fourth of July," about the foundations of a new friendship. We forget how exciting it can be to make a new friend! Staying up talking and learning about one another! Friends are grand! Here's an excerpt from the song I gaily speak of...

Shall I tell it again how we started as friends
who would run into one another now and again.
At the Yippee Cai O or the Mesa Dupree, or a dozen different everyday places to be.
I was living alone, we were ever so brave on the telephone.
Would you care to come down for fireworks time,
we could each just reach, we step out of line.

Smile. :) Smile big!

Good Tunes

In my car, I am usually listening to one of the following--my Ipod through my crappy iTrip wireless transmitter, a cd in my six disc changer (usually Ben Folds Five, Dave Matthews, Jamie Cullum or the Velvet Underground), or WFUV. WFUV (90.7 in the NY area) is a public radio station and they actually play good music. You can go on their website as well and listen live or listen to archives of past performances of various artists. It's great. I am forever learning about new musicians--tonight discovered an awesome band called the Redwalls. Check them out. This week is their Fall Fundraising drive--they are totally member supported. I did my thing and became a member.

Beach

I also enjoyed some quiet time at the shore. I walked around Point Pleasant Beach. I checked out some shops, walked the boardwalk and the beach. Here are a couple of my beach pictures.

Halloween Party

Saturday night, I attended a Halloween party with Matt and Allison. Robin came too. Here are some funny pics from it. The first is Allison and I. Can you guess what I'm dressed up as? You won't guess what Allison was. Some dorky woman she knows. The second pic is Matt kicking some guys balls.

Happy Halloween!

I have not posted in over a week, golly geez. This past week marked the passing of another year...a year since I started dating Rich...a year since I almost lost my father. A lot happened in a year.

1. Rich and I began dating October 22 of last Fall.
2. My father fell off his horse and almost died on October 26, 2004, my Grandma's birthday. He spent 4 months in ICU then 2 different rehab facilities. He finally came home in February. He didn't begin working and driving again until September...and is still recovering and going to rehab.
3. Karen's father passed away this winter. It was devastating to all who knew him. He was a wonderful, generous, giving man. He is missed by his family and friends..he touched many lives.
4. For 26 yrs, I'd been a non-practicing Jewish woman. Jewish in name only. This year, I began the exhilirating process of learning about my religion and culture. Its been fascinating and wonderful! I've been taking classes, attending study groups, services...I gave up bread for Passover and fasted for Yom Kippur. For the first time in my life, I can identify with what it means to be a Jewish woman.
5. Engagements. Lots of them. Ryan and Lauren (yay, I'm going to have a sister-in-law!). Karen and Chris. Joanna and Brian. Gene and Jennie. Matt and Allison. Andrea and Frank. And I'm in three of those weddings--Ryan and Lauren's, Karen and Chris', Andrea and Frank's.
6. Shayla, our dear golden retriever was put to sleep, over the summer. She was a good, sweet pup.
7. Rich and I broke up.

And, a year later...life goes on. This year, Grandma didn't have to celebrate her birthday at the Au Bon Pain at the Morristown Memorial Hospital. I am spending time discovering myself...spending time with friends...growing up and putting my life back on track. And this Halloween...I'm not spending it pacing the ICU waiting room...dreading those moments when I'd have to see my father attached to millions of tubes and machines...I can spend it laughing and smiling with laughing, smiling children, chocolate, my dog and my family. Ahhh...new beginnings...relationships end...but friendships begin...seasons change and we all grow.

Knitting Away

Knit, knit, purl, purl, knit, knit, purl, purl...and so it goes...will I ever finish this scarf in time for Grandma's birthday? I think not. Oh well, it may just become a Chanukah gift. I am knitting and purling like a madwoman to complete this ribbed scarf from the Stitch and Bitch Knitters Handbook. If I ever complete my projects, then perhaps, I will be able to knit the alligator mittens that I'm dying to knit!

New Beginnings

It's time for new beginnings, isn't it? The Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur is over--its a new year. Its now Sukkot--a harvest holiday (supposedly, the very holiday that our Thanksgiving was based on!). But the fun part of Sukkot involves eating outside in a hut called a Sukkah. In this season of Autumn, I am blessed with many things...good friends...family...my health...a chance to reconcile with an old friend. Deep breath. Sometimes, we need to stop and smell the daisies. Its always good to appreciate whats good in your life.

Funny story...

This morning, I'm getting ready for work and all dressed in cordoroy pants. Dad says to me in surprise, "You can wear pants to work????!!!!!" Me: "Duh. Its not the 60's."

Guys don't Get why...

Cosmo came out with their Cosmo Men issue this month! Yippee!! Something in it cracked me up--it is in the 10 Things Guys don't Get about Women article...

#7 "Good Guy Games"
Women complain that all guys are jerks, but if one calls too soon after a date, you get freaked out and tell all your friends he's a stalker.

Its sooo funny but so true...

Autumn

It finally feels like Autumn. Its sunny with a cold breeze--it was perfect dog park weather today. Norton and I enjoyed an outing to Petco and then the Echo Lake Dog Park. I enjoyed chatting with another fellow dog mommy while Norton ran around with his doggy friends. Now I'm attempting to prepare for Fall by taking out the long sleeves and packing away the sandals. Aaah...next dimemna? What to be for Halloween?

Pugnacious

Misty morning
Rain drizzles
Sleepy eyes
Pontiac Vibe leading my Matrix
down the soggy Parkway today
I see a silhouette of a man and dog
A little puppydog
They snuggle up and share eskimo kisses
Explorer dog!
Struts to the back of the vehicle and sniffs
Oh! He's a pug!
Back to the front of the car
He's on his hind legs with his paws on the windshield.
Nothing to see, Pugster.
Kisses his Mr. Master once again.
Can I get some of that sugar please?
On this cold, dreary Friday morning.

L'Shana Tova!

L'Shana Tova! Happy New Year! As many of you know, it was just Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Lucky me, it fell on my birthday, so I had the day off from work! I spent much of the day at services at the temple then a lovely service at the local park. I visited with my grandfather--and enjoyed a lovely family dinner for my birthday and the holiday. My friend Subash also came over to have dinner with my family. My father, always being the strange character, gave Subash a few nicknames. Poor Subash, who is now "Shoebox" and "Superman" to my father. Oy vey! All in all, it was a great day!

Apples and More Apples

This weekend found me with a terrible case of pharyngitis. My throat was scratchy, my head was pounding and I felt yuckier than I had felt in a while. Saturday morning, I ended up at the doctor--I was convinced it was strep throat again. Lucky for me, it was only pharyngitis but I got a referral for a throat specialist so I can see about getting these damn tonsils out once and for all!

Later on Saturday, I ended up in the City with my familia for dinner at Carmine's in Times Square. We walked around, checked out the huge Toys R Us, Sephora, and Virgin MegaStore. Then, I enjoyed a Girls Night In with my sister and future sister-in-law.

Today, I picked plenty o' apples at Battleview Orchards in Freehold. Then Robin cooked me supper and we walked around the Freehold Mall. It was a fun weekend and I think I'm ready for my upcoming birthday and the Jewish Holidays. Yippee!!!

Free Movies

I am so excited to find that my public library stocks some great dvd rentals. Are they still called rentals if they are free? Two nights ago, I watched Garden State. It made me laugh and cry. Tonight, I watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, another superb choice. It was another one that made me cry. Seems like every movie makes me cry nowadays.

In any event, its nice to know that there are some movies that are different than the rest. I cannot stand Hollywood Blockbusters that are all the same movie repackaged with different actors and different stunts and the like. I need sleep now.

Nasty and Grumpy

Today was one of those days. The sky fell. The air was harsh and cold. The wind blew through to my soul. By the time I got out of school, the sky was blue and it was beautiful, chilly, cold fall weather. But it was too late. The damage was done. I was tired, grumpy, and irritable. It was a helluva long day for no particular reason. At dinner time, I was given the "gossip" that a cousin had "run into" a particular ex at the drug store. WHY did my mother feel the need to tell me this? No clue but it put me into an angry, hostile mood. I ate like a pig, and after knitting some, decided to fall asleep. Plus a certain friend is not speaking to me. Maybe it is my fault. I don't know. Today is one of those days that my soul feels like a big black hole. Is there help please or will I keep falling and falling???

Dalai Lama Photos

I was lucky to be able to check out two books written by His Holiness at my public library today. Here is a picture I took of the Dalai Lama yesterday. The guy in the red (yes, it looks like a dot!) is His Holiness!

Happier Days and Happier Dreams

Yesterday morning, I was one out of 36,000 or so at Rutgers Stadium. Why were we there? A football game, you are assuming, right? Nope, we were there to see the Dalai Lama in the flesh. The lecture was titled “Peace, War, and Reconciliation” and it was to be delivered by none other than Nobel Peace Prize winner, the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso. Although the presentation did not start until 10.30 AM, beginning at 6.30 am were to be films of Tibetan culture and musical entertainment. I arrived at 9 am and enjoyed some throat singing and Buddhist chanting. It was very beautiful! The Dalia Lama was given an honory doctorates degree of Rutgers University. The Dalai Lama expressed his thoughts on receiving this honor--he thought of himself to be very lucky to receive this degree without any of the hard work! The Dalai Lama lectured for about 40 minutes and then spent some time doing a question and answer session. He really is an amazing man who strives for world peace, the abolishment of all nuclear weapons and resolution of all world conflicts. Here are some thoughts of the Dalai Lama's that I will share.

In today's society, we are all interdependant on one another. America is dependant on Europe, Europe on Asia, etc. In today's world, war is outdated. We should be getting along, not killing.

Killing is not morally right--on any grounds, whether it's one man shooting another for drugs--or one man shooting another in war.

The Dalai Lama's English wasn't exactly the sharpest, so some of what he said was kind of funny. He was trying to say there are evil people in all religions. But what he said was--there are mischievous Jews, mischievous Christians, mischievous Muslims. When there are only a few of the "mischievous" in that religion--it makes no sense to discriminate against the religion.

May we all have happier days and happier dreams.

The Dalai Lama visits Rutgers.

Girls' Night Out

Well, I enjoyed a lovely 24 hour outing with a few of my girlfriends. As many of you know, I won a free Marriott stay a while back--and I finally had a chance to use it. Amber and my future-sister-in-law, Lauren met me up at the Park Ridge Marriott in Northern Bergen County, NJ. What a beautiful hotel! The room was wonderful--fluffy duvets and a bathrobe to use! And a balcony overlooking--a roof? We ate dinner at the Melting Pot with Jennifer. We had a great time--and I can assure you we stuffed ourselves to capacity. We started with the cheddar cheese fondue, then salads and a vegetarian fondue dish for Amber. Jennifer and I gorged ourselves with the chocolate fondue with every possible dipper imaginable--cheesecake, pound cake, brownies, fruit. It was decadent. By the end of the meal, we lost all our manners and began double dipping. It was a riot. Amber was the only one who was not tempted by the dessert. God Bless her.

After the Melting Pot, the Irish Pub in our hotel was calling our names. So Lauren and I had a couple beers--Amber had a Shirley Temple. Next morning, after Amber had to leave, Lauren and I enjoyed some FREE room service for breakfast and a shopping excurstion to the Christmas Tree Shops. Then lunch and gaming at the Dave and Busters. We had a blast!

Trails

I love hiking! It's just amazing being outside with my dog, Norton, and wandering the trails. You never know what you may find along a trail. You may take one trail because you think its going to lead you to an extraordinary viewpoint, steep climbs, or a body of water. But sometimes, you may take a trail which loops you in a giant circle. There are no bodies of water or viewpoints at the end. The trail may be full of mirages, who knows. This barren trail leaves you sad and angry. But what if, indirectly, this trail leads you to another? This other trail is YOUR kind of trail! What if the first trail takes you to a second trail which is full of scenic overlooks, waterfalls--and beautiful places to lay in the grass and eat a picnic lunch. So in that case, should you be angry at yourself for taking the foolish path--or grateful that it led you to one you were looking for along? I think the answer is pretty obvious. I've just stepped foot onto that second trail. It left me smiling and laughing--and we'll see if its the trail I've been seeking. To answer my own question--I don't make regrets. Everything happens for a reason--it's all part of a master plan, isn't it?

Life is Good.

Life is sweet, ain't it? Sometimes, you get knocked down--but then you get back up and you are stronger than ever. Don't ever be too busy to appreciate the little things in life. Here are some that make me grin.

1. The fresh smell of the air after raining. Its like magic.

2. Dewey drops of water on flower petals.

3. Wintery Snowy Kisses (I have mentioned that one before but find it SO worth repeating).

4. Norton jumping in the air because he is so happy to see me when I come home from work!

5. Cozy, fuzzy, slipper socks.


Today I started my day on a kind of sad note. Driving to work on the parkway, there was a dead little dog on the side of the road. It really did break my heart. But later on, I saw two wonders of nature. At least to me, they were. Driving home from the gym after work, I noticed two or three deer feeding on some grass. However, one of those deer was a young buck with growing antlers! It's not too rare to see deer in this area--but it's not everyday you see a buck!

Even later on that evening...my mom called me downstairs to see a huge bug on the outside of the sliding glass door. It was a praying mantis! It was amazing. He was big and beautiful! Like a martian! I looked up some information on the praying mantis. Did you know that along with eating insects, they can eat mice and hummingbirds too? Ewww...

In this grand thing called life, we have great moments and horrible, sad ones too. Don't forget the little things in life though. If you slow down, stop and smell the flowers, you never know what you might find.

I've been listening to The Heart of the Matter by Don Henley. Its beautiful and though its 6 minutes long, I've listened to it a gazillion times over the past few days. I would like to share some of the words because I think they are so meaningful.

The more I know, the less I understand
All the things I thought I knew, I'm learning again
I've been tryin' to get down to the Heart of the Matter
But my will gets weak
And my thoughts seem to scatter
But I think it's about forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if, even if you don't love me anymore

These times are so uncertain
There's a yearning undefined
...People filled with rage
We all need a little tenderness
How can love survive in such a graceless age
The trust and self-assurance that can lead to happiness
They're the very things we kill, I guess
Pride and competition cannot fill these empty arms
And the work I put between us,
Doesn't keep me warm

There are people in your life who've come and gone
They let you down and hurt your pride
Better put it all behind you; life goes on
You keep carrin' that anger, it'll eat you inside
-------------------------------------

Isn't that what life is about? Remembering? Forgiving? Learning from your experiences. Letting your heart free of all the anger and hatred and sorrow. Then you will be free to love again.

Garden State Equality

Tonight, Dave and I enjoyed an evening in Montclair. I wandered my favorite bookstore and then we had dinner at one of my favorite Indian restaurants, Udupi Village. After dinner, on to our next destination--the Montclair State University Student Center. We attended a Town Meeting put on by a group called Garden State Equality . This group is a nonprofit and its made up of straights and gays alike. They are all about trying to get gays the right to marry in NJ. There were 437 people present at this meeting--it was an amazing turnout. The focus of the meeting was clergy--so many clergy from various faiths attended this meeting and spoke. Some were straight, some were gay, some had gay sons and/or daughters. But they all supported the equal rights of gays to get married. The stories were heartwrenching. It makes me so angry that in the year 2005, people honestly don't think gay people should be given equal rights. Give me a break. I get especially angry thinking about the stupid, ignorant people out there. Check out the website if you're interested. I am going to do what I can to help right this wrong. Sometimes, I feel that I cannot do enough. But tonight, I came across a great quote.

"The work of an individual still remains the spark that moves mankind forward." ---Igor Sikorsky

New Beginnings

Its been 2 weeks and 2 days since a certain person and I parted ways. Here are some thoughts of the day. When you are in a relationship, you naturally rely on the other person to some extent, right? They are your favorite person and your best friend. When you go through a devastating breakup, you realize that you NEVER really could count on them, could you? The rug is pulled out from under you and they never want to see nor talk to you again. Okay. So who can you rely on? Your wonderful friends, that is true. They would do anything for you. But, really, there is one person you CAN rely on.

YOURSELF. I believe its true that if you want others to love you, you need to love yourself first and foremost. After a breakup is a good time to evaluate your life and get to know yourself. Interesting that this is the month of Elul in the Jewish calender. It's the time of year that, if you are a Jew, you are to evaluate the last year. We are to make amends and ask for forgiveness for what we have done wrong. Right after the month of Elul, comes the high holy days, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. In the Jewish calender, its a new year--and a fresh start. These are deeply solemn days and I'm looking forward to observing them for the first time this year. I'm starting fresh on my own and will be working to ENRICH myself.

Autumn will be arriving very soon. Autumn is my favorite time of the year.

Why I Love Autumn

1. Apple Picking and baking fresh apple goods
2. Pumpkin picking and carving jack-o-lanterns
3. Jumping into a pile of freshly raked leaves!
4. Starbucks' Caramel Apple Cider on a brisk day!
5. My birthday (October 4)
6. Halloween
7. The feel of brand new school clothes on a chilly day
8. Zipping up my Knee High Boots after unpacking them from their storage spot.
9. The first snowflakes melting on my tongue (possibly at the near end of Autumn)
10. Days off from school for Holidays and Teachers Convention!

Drunken Phone Calls

Last night proved to be an enjoyable evening at the Polish Home. Several friends showed up and we had good, good times, drinking, chilling, and playing pool. Steve and I drank the most, I'm pretty sure of that. Our friends pretended not to know us when we began dancing. An interesting but true fact--I suck at pool, but I'm even worse when I'm drunk. I actually made the white ball jump off the table. After the bar, we went to our local diner. Steve and I left our cars.

Walking into the diner, I grabbed the SAT Coaching brochure, and lo and behold, the names of the "coaches" I recognize from high school! They are teachers and one, was a real wuss and the bowling league coach. So what does a drunk girl do at 2am but call the numbers until the people get so pissed that they take their phones off the hook.

The climate of the diner got chillingly exciting when Tom the bartender walked in. I hear other patrons calling out his name and I start yelling for free drinks. Some guy with long hair comes over and lo and behold, he remembers this bowling coach too, and wants to call him for himself. But the phone was off the hook.

I received a voicemail from a woman at 6.47 am and she was none too thrilled that she received a call at 2am. She advised me to call back during normal business hours.

Frustration!!!!

Well, its the (almost) end of my first week of school. Remember that hollow feeling in my chest? Now, its been replaced with much frustration and anger. I'm pissed off for a lot of reason and VERY ANGRY. It will be nice to kick back a few at the Polish Home tonight!!!

Vent--I am tired of people being self-centered and not being considerate of others' feelings.

Activism

Tonight, I attended my local Democracy for America meetup with my great friend, Dave. It certainly feels great to attend a gathering of like-minded political folks. It's interesting to go to these meetings--I certainly do learn a lot! And, contrary to what some morons think--Democracy for America is not a communist organization! Its an organization that supports progressive democratics! Jeez!!! I just wanted to voice my opinion!

Much too much...

I feel like I am dealing with much too much. With the onset of the school year, I stress myself out and cause myself massive anxiety. I am coping with my own problems and feeling guilt that I make a big deal out of heartbreak when there are worse problems out there. But doesn't it feel worse than death when you're experiencing it? School tomorrow. Gotta make my lunch and shower and pick a first day of school outfit. What to wear? 1. 2. 3. DEEP BREATH!!!!

Late Night Wanderings 'Bout Town

I enjoyed a fun and rather eventful Saturday night in my humble hometown last evening. It started with Katie and Karen coming over and we went out for dinner at Tony's Pizza. This is also where my sister waitresses and we had the best waitress in the world! After a yummy dinner, we headed to the Polish Home, my favorite local watering hole. There, we hung out with Bill, Bret, Chris, and Jenn. They have an awesome jukebox and pool for $1! So we played a couple games of pool and drank some beer. At closing time, Jenn, Bret, Bill, and myself were the last of our group left. Our next destination was Sherban's Diner, where I ate way too much food. Funny story regarding the diner. We had 2 designated drivers--Jenn and Bret. So I get in the car with Jenn and Bill gets in with Bret. Jenn and I are getting in the car, and 2 hoodlums are waving at us from inside the diner. I alternate telling Jenn, "Lets get out of here," and blowing this one dude kisses! Finally, I tell her to hightail it because he is now not in the diner but came outside after us. So, as Jenn is pulling away, I open my window, and am blowing the guy kisses and telling him I love him. I didn't mean it. It was just pretty darn funny okay.

After Sherbans, we headed to the playground. Let me tell you that this one school in my town has an awesome playground and we were there for hours playing around. There were moments I laughed so hard, my abdomen was hurting!

So now its 5am. Time to go home. Bill had to be at work at 9. But, Jenn wanted coffee. So we head to Dunkin Donuts and drink more coffee and eat some donuts. We were there until 6am! Funny thing--at 5.30 am, in walks our bartender, Tom, from the Polish Home. He is dressed for golf and says he didn't sleep much. I told him we haven't slept yet. Tom already knew that. He saw us at the diner, he says, and then here at Dunkin Donuts.

Anyway, that was my fun and crazy Saturday night. Anybody up for partying tonight??? ;)

End of Summer!

Well, the end of the summer is finally upon us and I am trying to enjoy every last minute of it! Thursday night, with my family off to Penn State to peruse colleges for Ashley, I had a girls' sleepover! Karen and Jenn R. spent the night and it was wonderful to have 2 of my closest friends over! Karen made me a very sweet card and Jenn brought me Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul. Did I mention I have the best friends in the whole wide world?

Friday, Karen and I took the train into the city. Karen wanted to go check out record stores, so we went to the Virgin Megastore first. Then we took the subway to the village--one of my favorite parts of the city! We walked around in the hot summer sun and visited a shop I adore called Sabon. Its like an Israeli Bath and Body--they are very expensive, but have wonderful products. I bought a lavandar foam scrub and a mud mask (with mud from the dead sea!)! They even gave me a rose petal soap sample! Their stuff is just amazing and can't wait to order more of their stuff online!

Last night, I went to Fox and Hound with Robin and Jessica. We had a nice time--and I had another sleepover. Robin slept over and we took Norton hiking. We had a good workout and Norton had a good swim to boot! I will post some pics! I may even be able to post the video...not sure about that though!

Help...

I just made a donation to a group called America's Second Harvest to help those affected by Katrina. They work to bring food to those in need. If you can, why not make a donation to them or the Red Cross ? We really are VERY lucky, aren't we, when you think of what those people are dealing with down there?

A New Day!

Yesterday, I had a very good day and night. I spent some time at working going through boxes. Then I had a lovely lunch with some wonderful friends--current and and former coworkers, including Jennifer and Jenn! After enjoying a very long lunch at the California Pizza Kitchen, I wandered around Borders. I had a couple hours of home time (knitting--yessss!) then went out with Bill and Bret to Flanagans. After Flanagans, Bill and I celebrated his new job at the Italian American Club Bar, then I insisted we play on the playground equipment for the school across the street. It was grandiose!

Yesterday, I ribbed 2 rows on my latest knitting project. It will be a gorgeous multi-colored hat, in shades of red, orange and purple. Its a beautiful yarn. I've decided to use my blog as an outlet, and post 25 goals (my book says I should). They can be long-term or short-term. So here they go.

1. Rescue farm animals.

2. Plant a garden.

3. Eat falafel in Jerasulam.

4. Drive to Montana next summer and check out the Going to the Sun Road at Glacier National Park.

5. Go to Western Canada and check out the great outdoors, British Columbia and Vancouver.

6. DRIVE to Alaska.

7. Buy a house with a lovely wrap-around porch.

8. Get a little dog to be friends with my big dog. Maybe a pug.

9. Drive across Europe.

10. Learn to crochet.

11. Become fluent in another language.

12. Be a nicer person.

13. Become more organized.

14. Begin balancing a budget.

15. Go on more hikes.

16. Put myself before any guys.

17. When I'm ready, meet a fabulous guy who is crazy about me and wants to tell the whole world how much he loves me!

18. Have a gaggle of kids one day. Well, not a gaggle. Two or three. I just like that word!

19. Go to Centralia, Pa. They've had a fire going on under their town for over 50 years!

20. See the Pacific Northwest. Washington and Oregon.

21. Go to Wine Country, California.

22. Go back to Burlington, Vermont.

23. Visit every continent!!!!

24. Remember all my friends' birthdays on time every year!

25. Write my own book.

Completed!!!

Last night, I spent the night hanging out with Karen, Chris, and Karen's 17 yr old brother watching movies and drinking. It gave me an excellent opportunity to finish my scarf! Thanks to Karen's mom for helping me fix my oopsies this morning...and I even figured out how to do fringe, thanks to the book I got the pattern from! Let me know what you think! I can't wait for it to get cold!

Extraordinary Me

We all have those devils and angels that live within us. The devils point out our failures and insecurities and the angels point out our strong points and tell us we'll be okay. Sooo...thanks to some suggestions from Dave, maybe I'll list some of the things that make me extraordinary...the angels are making me do this, I swear!

1. I'm strong (sometimes).
2. I can love.
3. I have faith.
4. I'm wacky, fun, and unique...I'm ME.
5. I've been hurt before and I've bouced back. I can do it again.

5 Goals

1. Engage in a healthier lifestyle (ie No more chocolate and go to the gym!)!
2. Keep up with my knitting. Learn to knit alligator mittens (from Stitch and Bitch Nation).
3. Spend time with ME. Work on loving me.
4. Spend time with my wonderful, amazing, awesome, loving friends. I have the best
friends in the world. Really.
5. Stay away from dating for a long period of time.

Knitting Away!

Well, my knitting really is taking off with a passion! I am doing well with the chunky orange yarn and size 35 needles I bought a couple days ago. I am knitting a warm and soft, pumpkin colored scarf. Its wonderful! So much in fact, that a couple friends saw it and asked me to knit them an orange scarf just like it! But imagine that? I knit everyone I know an orange scarf? I told them no. Any color but orange!

My Brilliant eMac

Well, well, well, I finally did it. With my brand-spanking-new-no-APR-for-6-months-Visa, I got my eMac. Wow, life is certainly sweeter on a Mac, isn't it? I absolutely love it. Everything is fun and easy on this baby. I've been enjoying creating a documentary of Norton on iMovie. iPhoto is absolutely brilliant--the photos on here that I took look 1000 times better than they looked on my Dad's Dell. I love the photo quality and even the red eye reduction works! It didn't work on my Camedia program that came with my digital camera! I've already downloaded some fun widgets. Dancing Monkeys and Hula Girls and a Tigergotchi thing. My sister downloaded the HotorNot widget because I love rating people on there. If you can't get these widgets (if you don't have a Mac), then go to this site (www.hotornot.com) and have some fun. Sorry, I couldn't insert a link. Blogger doesn't like me today and won't let me do it! I'm sure my blog will soon get much cooler because I'm using a Mac. I'm sure I will get better at computing now.

MacMacMacMacMacMacMac...

I want a Mac! An eMac to be more specific! I've really wanted one for the past year but really hope to get one very soon! I spent some time in the Short Hills Apple store last night with a very helpful sales guy last night. I really really want one! It will be my first Mac, but I hear once you go Mac, you never go back! If anyone who reads this uses a Mac, I'd love comments! That would be tres cool!

Last night, I hung out with some friends, and we saw the movie 40 Year old Virgin. It was sooo funny, go see it, go see it!

My Mini-Break

Mini-Break. Thats what they call short vacations or weekends away in Britain. At least thats what I learned by reading British chick-lit and watching Bridget Jones. So I partook (is that a word?) in a mini-break up in Watkins Glen, New York. Thats Schuyler County and Watkins Glen sits right on Seneca Lake, the largest of the finger lakes in New York State. What a beautiful area! Watkins Glen is actually a village! It's a small town that (with the exception of a yucky Walmart) is wonderfully uncommercialized. In lieu of a Starbucks, there are two delightful cafe/coffehouses. One is a bookshop, the other is a deli-cafe. There is a fabulous bar and grille that brews its own beer! It is called the Crooked Rooster in case y'all were wondering. There is plenty of fun to be had in this town and Robin and I sure did have fun!

We stayed at a rustic and clean motel which combined the wooded atmosphere of a campground with the convenience of bathrooms and televisions. Our first day, we enjoyed activities such as walking near the water, checking out the shoppes and buying some important supplies, such as Zima, hand sanitizer and a beach towel (I know, I forgot). Lucky us, they were featuring a free movie in the park! So Robin and I layed under the stars and watched Hitch! It was a cute movie!

Wednesday was a big day for us. We started the day bright and early by patronizing our favorite cafes in town and then hit the kayak rental on the lake at 10 AM. The water was smooth as glass and we were excited to hit the lake in our double kayak rental. I've kayaked a couple times before, but this was Robin's first time. We were sailing smoothly, until we realized we kayaked too far out and the water was too rough to kayak back. As hard as we paddled, we kept going in circles. But its okay. We got rescued and "towed" back. I hope to go kayaking again before school starts. On smoother waters.

After kayaking, it was time to hike the Gorge trail at Watkins Glen State Park. It was a 3 mile round trip hike. Intense and lots of stairs but gorgeous and worth every second. I treated myself to a full fat but delicious ice cream but deserved it after the kayaking and hiking.

We also enjoyed visiting a couple wineries. I brought home four bottles of wine and can not wait to pop them open! Another highlight of the trip was visiting Farm Sanctuary. Its an animal rescue farm--there are actually two of them, one in New York and one in California. Check out my pictures and then check out the website to find out more about what they do over there. Its an amazing place!

Coastin' Along...

Isn't it funny that people pay good money to ride on of these babies...I'm a sucka for the wooden ones myself. As the coaster nears the top of the hill, inwardly I panic and then, down we go and I'm screaming and laughing and throwing my hands up in the air. But a part of me says how irrational to even take the chance...one electrical problem and you're dead! Hey, it happens...

Isn't life like that though? I am better at giving advice to others than giving it to myself. I tell hopelessly-wishing-they-were-in-love friends that the right person will come along, and not to worry. I tell my friends love (life, too) is like a roller coaster. You experience the greatest highs but you have to ride out the lows. When you are having a panicky feeling and wondering, "What the fuck am I doing?" remember that you have another high just around the corner. Next thing you know, you'll be lying on a blanket at an outdoor concert with your favorite and most handsome boy in the sticky heat-- and it'll be the best thing in the world. Really.

I really need a high right now. I've already got that panicky-almost-at-the-top feeling. Are we there yet? This past year, I made it through plenty of lows. Just when I think, I'm almost there, and I'm about to hit the sweet spot...down I go...

You may be wondering what I'm talking about here. Well, I think I just needed to vent and didn't feel like sharing with the whole Internet my sob story. For those of you who know me, get in touch with me and I'll share.

Its 2:14 am and I'm supposed to be leaving first thing in the morning for Watkins Glen, New York for 2 days. Maybe this girls only trip will be just what I need. Outdoorsy and rejuvenating activities await us such as visiting Farm Sanctuary (an animal rescue farm), hiking, kayaking, and visiting wineries. Maybe we'll even take in a drive-in movie.

Road Trippin!

Well, inspired by Jennifer's post on Thursday and my semi-boring Saturday night, I called a couple guy friends, Andy and Dennis, and suggested a road trip to Dave and Busters in the Palisades Mall in Rockland County, NY. Sunday afternoon traffic was not bad and we made it to the megamall in about an hour. We ate a delicious lunch at Dave and Busters first--for me, it was a salad, poblano chili, avocado and shiitake quesadillas, and a few forkfuls of Andy's and Dennis's chocolate desserts. So so yummy! Then we spent a good hour in the supersized arcade. I love simulator games and I played a variety of racing games--whitewater rafting, motorcycle, horse racing, 18 wheeler--and skeeball! A $14 card lasted me an hour and after Dennis and Andy shared their tickets with me, I was able to "buy" a little stuffed dog--Pupster the Cuddlemonkey, he is to be called, along with a mini-frisbee, and a yo-yo. Thanks guys! Can I say that this was my first experience in Dave and Busters OR the mall and I was amazed by both! This was the largest mall, I'd ever entered--4 levels, a zillion stores and restaurants, including an IMAX theatre! It was a fun day but I'm looking forward to a relaxing evening at home tonight!

My (un)eventful Saturday Night

Last night, I went out for a yummy Thai meal at Royal Thai with my brother and fiance and a couple of their friends. Afterwards, I rented a couple of movies--Bride and Prejudice and the Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.

Under just about any circumstances, I would not have sat at home by myself on a Saturday night. But these were my choices for entertainment. A) I could have went fishing on the docks of Carteret? Besides the fact that I am a vegetarian, fishing in Carteret? I'd probably get shot! It ain't happening! B) Take a train into New York and go to the Hard Rock Cafe. That option did sound like fun, but I just didn't have the energy.

So, Norton and I watched Bride and Prejudice last night. It was really a fantastic movie. Its by the director of Bend it like Beckham (another superb film), and its a modern retelling of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Its Bollywood style with lots of song and dance but its all in English. A must see!

Napoleon Dynamite

Right now, I'm sweaty and purple faced. But I'm not dying or having a heart attack. Robin and I embarked on a bike ride and I'm just not great in the heat. But here are some KILLER Napoleon Dynamite links. Use this one for making prank calls to your loved ones. Watch Napoleon dance dance dance.

Take a quiz and find out which character you are!


You are Trisha.


Which Napoleon Dynamite character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Knitting...

Well, can you guys believe that I am actually knitting??? I am finding it quite addicting and Monday night, decided to start knitting my first scarf. So I am in the process of knitting my first scarf. Its orange and will match beautifully with my orange and red striped winter hat (although it may be the wrong shade of orange, but fuck it)! I think it will take me forever to knit this scarf but I'm hoping to be knitting at a superhuman rate soon so it will take me a little less time. Well, today I'm actually going to try to get something done, before I spend the day knitting and watching tv again.

Last night, I watched Napoleon Dynamite and it was one of the funniest movies I ever saw! I was hysterical laughing for most of the movie. It was great!

Strange but True

Well, since my Monday afternoon doctor visit, I have been spending great amounts of time knitting and watching television. Hello? Is this me? I'm actually doing pretty well with the knitting considering the fact that I just learned how yesterday!

On Sunday, I bought this hilarious book (for 99 cents), Think You're the Only One?: Oddball Groups Where Outsiders Fit In. The funny thing is that Monday evening, I spoke with Jennifer and discovered she bought the same book on the same day! She blogged about it as well and has links to some of the funny groups in this book so check her blog out!

Another really funny book which I don't own but highly enjoy is Food Court Druids, Cherohonkees and Other Creatures Unique to the Republic. You can read about these groups through this book and the hilarious website that goes with it. You could be a silver surfer, an asphalt ranger, a flexisexual or a TGIF. Check this book out the next time you are at Barnes and Nobles, you will pee your pants with laughter.

My busy weekend

Well I enjoyed a fun but very busy weekend. I spent Friday night at Karen's in Spring Lake. We sat on the boardwalk and watched the ocean crash with Robin and then had ice cream here. Saturday night, Jenn, Dennis, Andy and I went to New Hope, Pa. Its a great town for those of you whom have never been! We ate dinner and sampled the local brew at Triumph Brewery. Then we went here and to another bar where we sat at the outside bar. It was a fun evening but a late night! Sunday, Andy, Dave and I checked out the Middlesex County Fair. We had a good time there until it rained, then went to Barnes and Nobles, Ruby Tuesday and Coldstone Creamery.

Today I woke up absolutely exhausted from my weekend but went to my very first knitting class. I didn't do so bad! Then paid a visit to my doctor to learn I have strep throat...fun,fun...

Yay for the Matrix!

Well, en route from Wildwood last Friday, my reverse stopped functioning on my car. Kind of an important feature, I would say. So on Tuesday, my repair guy gave me the sad news that, alas, my trusty old Saturn would need a new transmission. With the miles I put on that baby, it just would not be worth fixing it.

So yesterday, the car shopping began, first with internet research and then visiting car dealerships. I first had my heart set on the Ford Escape or Pontiac Vibe. After checking out a few vehicles, I opted against large SUVS because of their poor mileage efficiency (and I commute many miles to work!) and higher price tag. I test drove the Toyota Matrix last night, which is basically the Japanese version of the Vibe, and fell in love with it. So today, after visiting several dealerships to get the right price, I purchased (well, financed) my very own 2005 silver Toyota Matrix. I am very excited about all the features on this baby (my old car didn't even have power locks). It is a 4 wheel drive with a moonroof, 6 cd changer with 6 speakers, fog lamps, cruise control, keyless entry, alarm system, and extended warranty. Its a great car and I'm sure Norton will love it! Yay!

Catch up...

Well, my apologies to my 2 or 3 readers who religiously checked out my blog all week to see the non-existent updates. I spent a week down in Wildwood Crest with family. It was like a big family reunion. My uncle rented a condo and we had 16 people staying there most nights. I had a great time, though, drank and ate way too much. But anyway, now I'm home and trying to get back on track.

Saturday, I went to see DMB rock out Randalls Island. It was an amazing concert and I'm happy to say that I figured out how to download the show and am listening to it right now! DMB is so cool that they let people professionally tape the show and then you can download the shows right through this site. Pretty cool!

Lately, I have been feeling like I want to be more domesticated. By the end of summer, I'd like to be able to knit and can jams and pickles. Today, I signed my sister and I up for knitting lessons and also bought some freezer jars to make jams. So we'll see how that goes!

Feelin' Lucky today!

Okay those of you who spoke to me yesterday know I had a pretty miserable night. It was as if everything that happened this week hit me all at once. But after talking to some good friends last evening and relaxing a bit, I feel pretty good today. So, tomorrow, I am going to Wildwood Crest for six days to vacation with my family. I decided to go to the library this morning to get some reading material for vacation and for the next month of summer. So here is what I borrowed.

1. Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination (renewed)(Helen Fielding)

2. Under the Tuscan Sun (Frances Mayes)

3. The Bean Trees (Barbara Kingsolver)

So I check out my books and pay my overdue fees and notice there is a book sale today. $1 for a bag of books. So I take a bag and start filling it up with tons of kids books for school. Most of the other books are old or just not really of interest to me. But then I come across a couple good ones. One that I already have but will give it to a friend who doesn't (In her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner--excellent read!) The other is a book I've been wanting to buy but is currently only available in hardcover because its pretty new. Well, the library was giving away the free advance copy they'd received. So I'm really excited about that one. Its called Chloe does Yale and is a Sex in the City type book on the campus of Yale. Should be a fun summer read!

Relaxing

Well! I finished Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince today! Wow wow wow what a book! I want to reread it! By far, this one is the best one yet! Anyone out there who finished it, email me and share your thoughts. I don't think I can wait 2 years for the next one to come out! Oh boy, oh boy!

My friend, Karen, is coming over soon and we're going to have a Girls Night. We're going to drink and eat and watch movies and play checkers chasers . I'm excited! I decided to be comfy so I'm clad in my pumpkin pajamas pants, pink tank top and red pullover. Yippee!

Harry Potter

Well, I am about halfway through Harry Potter #6. I think I'll finish it and then watch the third movie, which I haven't seen yet. I think I'll have a Harry Potter movie night. Anyone interested? Here's a link to something I found on Jennifer's blog. Its's pretty funny and very long but stick it out until the third time you see Snape.

Productivity

On the whole, I guess I'm not a very productive person. I'd much rather waste time on the computer or lay in bed and read or hang out at Barnes and Noble rather than do any kind of work! In fact, usually, I forget what I am supposed to do! But today, I'm going to attempt to have a productive day. I'm going to see my grandfather, rejoin Weight Watchers, go to David's Bridal to get a dress for Karen's wedding. She picked the dresses out and they are really pretty. The David's Bridal link goes right to the dress Karen picked for her bridesmaids. Anyway, I also need to go to the gym and get some stuff done around here w/ my parents being away. So lets see what I actually get done today.

May she rest...

Poor, poor Shayla. Our old tender-hearted golden retriever was suffering. She spent 24 hours at the kennel. When we realized we weren't going on vacation to Wildwood this weekend due to my cousin's accident and a error in dates booked, my sister and I went to the kennel today to retrieve the dogs. Poor Shayla could not even walk and it took the assistance of two employees to help her to the car. Lets just say Shayla wasn't in great shape as it was and the stress of the kennel only made her condition worse. So tonight it took four of us (my parents, myself, and Rich) to hoist Shayla into the car and she was put to rest at the emergency clinic.

I'll share some Shayla memories with everybody.

1. She loved being sneaky and eating the cat food. Sometimes the cats would be fed several times a day because she'd keep eating it. Whenever Shayla had fish breath, she was the culprit!

2. Before Shayla was fixed as a puppy, she had her "time of the month" twice. I have fond memories of Shayla in underwear (with a hole for her tail!)!


3. Shayla loved the snow. She liked to eat snowflakes and catch snowballs in her mouth.

4. Shayla loved giving her paw. Once she gave it to Striper, one of our kitties.

5. Shayla loved Norton. Even as an old girl, she tried to keep up with him.

May Shayla Monster/Shayla Maydala rest in peace. We loved her very much and she will be missed by everyone who knew and loved her, people and animals alive!

A Good Old Dog

We've had Shayla, my family golden retriever since she was 8 weeks old. She is now 11. She suffers from arthritis and has gotten so bad that today she couldn't walk at all. I am numb because tomorrow we are putting her to sleep. Later on, I will post a picture and write a little poem about her. What a weekend. My cousin Laurie was in a horrific car crash Friday and then this happens. My cousin will be ok though. I will write more about all of this later. Right now, my dad needs the computer. I will just continue with the Malibu's and Lemonades (Light).

Today's Mood

3.17 AM as my mind wanders

3.17 AM, I'm still up. I should probably get to sleep soon. And my throat hurts :(!!! Thanks to the comments from Jennifer and Becky! Glad to see you read my blog :)! I read both of yours too! I am listening to Stand Up, the new DMB studio album. It rocks! In 2 weeks, I'm going to see DMB w/ Barenaked Ladies at Randalls Island. I'm pysched! I"m going to see if I can mess with my blog at this wee morningish hour.

Winter Thoughts...Just deliberating...

It will be nice when its cold, nippy and frosty.
It will be nice when, once again, we can catch snowflakes on our tongues and then give frosty kisses to ones we love.
It will be nice when we can lay in the snow and create snow angels or snow devils. Depends on the day.
It will be nice when we can bundle up by the fireplace with warm blankets and drink hot apple cider with spiced cinnamon sticks.
It will be nice to wear a new coat and drink hot cocoa in my sweater, pom pommed hat and gloves.
But I always spill the hot cocoa on my white pompommed gloves.
It will be nice to ice skate and again.
It would be nice to go moose-finding in the mountains of Maine.
It would not be nice to get chased through the mountains of Maine by a moose.
I like this story though
Its quite nice.
Finally, it will be nice to watch Norton frolic in the snow and run around like a child dog.

Question...

Does anyone read this blog anyway???? I took pictures of some homies and Dove wrappers for my blog...I'm such a dork! I'll post them soon!

I do, don't I? 

How cute! 

Dark Chocolate Rocks! 

Dove 

Slut Homie Girl in a Dove cloak to cover her scantily clad body! 

Homies Altogether 

Dove Words of Wisdom 

Words of the Day

According to my Dove Dark Chocolate...

Smile. People will Wonder What you've been up to.

Homies Altogether

Yesterday as I was cleaning up I found a few of my homies. They are all together with some other junk in a little pottery thing I made in my semester of being an Art Ed major in college. Now the two overalled homies are together. Yessir...

My Accidental Shoplifting Experience...(I'm not kidding!)

Today, I ate lunch at Rasoi, in Iselin, a yummy Indian restaurant. We ate at the buffet and I ate way too much (thanks Dave for lunch)! Then Dave and I decided to check out the store, Below Five, that Jen blogged about. It really is an awesome store! I bought some Brain Quest cards and other assorted stuff, including the Swell girl's guide. They had tons of stuff I would have loved to buy but I bought enough as it is...

So by now, y'all are wondering about the shoplifting experience I had. Well, I am a collecter of homies, those little gangsta figurines you can get from the 50 cent machine. So I am in the store and I hear something drop and I look in one of the bins. And what do I see? A homie with overalls! I am thinking, I have that homie, it must have fallen from my purse! So I take back "my" homie and put it in my purse. As I am checking out, I see a bin full of Homies at the register. I am thinking...oops...wasn't my homie...but at that point, the damage was done...so now I have 2 overalled homies and it really was an accident.

Happy Fourth of July

Happy Fourth of July, everybody! I hope everyone had a fun and enjoyable evening. Yesterday, I had a barbeque at my house. Three of my friends showed up, all boys. Next time I have one of these things at my house, I'm not preparing anything. All they eat are burgers, hot dogs, and cookies. Whats the point in things like chips and dip and salad? Too funny. I also have like 10 bags of rolls. I told the boys I'd buy them, but each of them brought 1-2 bags as well. I guess they like lots of buns!

Last night I was drinking Yuengling Light and Lo-Calorie Amaretto Sours. I bought the light lemonade (Tropicana) and mixed it with amaretto. Yummy! I also ate way too many chips and cookies. Ivillage has some great recipes, for those of you who like to cook. I made this awesome Caesar Slaw yesterday from ivillage. It was soooo good!!!!

What flavor ice cream are you?

Your Icecream Flavour is... Choc-Chip Cookie Dough!

You are fancy shmancy! You have all the bells and whistles and you attract the most gluttonous of ice-cream shop patrons. You are fattening and intensely rich. That being said, you are very tasty and have a huge fanbase! good for you!

What is your Icecream Flavour?

Find out at Go Quiz

What kind of girl are you?

You're the innocent girl next door. You are
friendly, cheerful, kind, and happy. You like
to spread your happiness around making people
feel warm and joyous. To do this you like to
bake cookie and muffins while giving kind
compliments. Plus you actually give apples to
your teachers. You're pure and innocent and
most likely haven't broken many rules. Everyone
loves you. How can they not?


What kind of girl are you? (with pix!)
brought to you by Quizilla

What Season are you?

You're a Summer. You're just a ball of energy that
is constantly going on and on!! You're kinda
like the energizer bunny. lol. But your
probably really athletic and even if you're
not, you'd be good in sports because of all
your energy. You're enthusiastic about
everything you do and find it hard not to be
happy. You're usually pretty optimistic but can
be realistic when needed. You always hope for
the best to turn out and many times they do.
Sometimes though, you let your temper get the
best of you but you apologize as soon as you
can because you hate people being angry with
you. You're friends love how active you are and
you make them feel. (If you can't see tje pics,
go to my homepage and look near the bottom and
find your result) like they can do anything
crazy if they want to.


What season are you? (pics)
brought to you by Quizilla

If You Were An Anime Character What Would You Look Like?(Girls Only)

You are a happy anime girl.You are carefree and are
always happy even through the toughest times
you manage to stay happy and you always think
happy thoughts.You are very popular and are
cared for a bunch.You are a good friend and you
can cheer people up in an instant.You can fool
around but be serious at times.Ok umm You are
probably always hyper and jumping off of the
walls.You also love everybody and everything^_^
bada bop bop bah i'm loving it.


If You Were An Anime Character What Would You Look Like?(Girls Only)
brought to you by Quizilla

Which Alcoholic Drink are you?

Cocktail


?? Which Alcoholic Drink Are You ??
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Which Dysfunctional Care Bear are You?

Raver Bear


Which Dysfunctional Care Bear Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Happy Fourth of July Weekend!!!

Hello to the three people who read my blog. Who knows, maybe there are more of you out there, I really don't know. To those of you who think I enjoyed an exciting night in Belmar last night, well, it was not that exciting and I didn't get to Belmar. Yesterday, I ran around all morning and afternoon doing mystery shops at Panera Bread and an apartment building in Highland Park. Then I sat in traffic before getting to Freehold, NJ, to Robin's house. We hung around her house, ate dinner (yummy wraps) at this great coffeehouse called the Cornerstone Cafe. They even had acoustic musicians! Then we went to the new franchise of Applegate Farms. They have the best ice cream in the world!! For those of you who are familiar with the Applegate in Montclair, this one is an exact replica! Its quite nice. If you're hungry, why don't you order The Farm? 16 scoops of ice cream and you get a free t-shirt!!!! After dinner and ice cream, Robin and I watched Win a Date with Tad Hamilton. It was her first time seeing the movie, but I've seen it a few times. Its such a cute movie!

Today, I got up at 10.15 (slept in!) and paid a visit to a luxury apartment complex in Freehold (mystery shopped it!). It was very nice but I would never live there. A rip off, if you ask me. But I'll make $40! I stopped at Petco and bought a crate for my adult but wacky dog, Norton. Tonight, ate dinner at Bensi in Gillette (awesome) with Dennis and Andy and we went to some party in Branchburg. I'm sure I got 40 mosquito bites. I played badminton and drank beer. So that was my weekend thusfar...

Midst of the Night Awakenings

3.40 Am (whats with the formatting? It won't let me skip lines? Aargh! Can't remove the formatting) Well, for the second night in the row I am awakened in the midst of the night by my zoo of five pets (three cats, two dogs). Last night, I was wakened by a cat confrontation in my bedroom at four am. The dogs just hung out in my room as this was going on. I guess everyone likes a good fight every now and again! Tonight, I am awakened by our old golden retriever, Shayla, whining in the family room. I came down to check on her to see if she wants to go out. But, alas, I guess she just wanted attention. She is just laying here...Goodnight, ALL...

Summer Reading List

My sister, Ashley, is going to be a senior in high school and because she's a smartypants she has a few big, fat books to read on her summer reading list. Here is mine. Its none too thick but does anyone have any suggestions? By the way, my reading list is self-assigned. There are no quizzes on the first day of school. Ha, ha, Ashley.

1. The New Helen Fielding Book which I can't recall the name offhand

2. The Reading with Ripa selection which name I can't also recall.

3. Aleph isn't Tough Book 1 (Hebrew 101--already on chapter 7)

4. The Red Tent (A biblical tale which is supposed to be phenomenal) by Anita Diamonte

5. Under the Tuscan Sun (then I'll watch the movie)

Last summer, I swore I'd read 20 books. I think I read somewhere around 6 or 8. I'm sure I will be adding to this list...

Learning to Knit and other Summer Fun

So this is how I've been occupying my time for the past 3 days since school ended...

On Thursday, I went to gym for the first time in a month. My father and I (it was a joint effort!) filled up the tires of my Quasar bicycle and after polishing that baby up, I went for a ride around town. That was wonderful! After class Thursday night, I went to the Barnes and Nobles, thinking, no school tomorrow, I can stay out later! That was a nice feeling!

Friday, I woke up and rode my bicycle to the library! Oh, the pain! I need to get me-self one of those gel pad seats for my bike. I took out four books from the library--a Rachel Ray cookbook, the new Helen Fielding, a "Reading with Ripa" selection (sure its a classic lol) and a Learning-to-Knit book. I went to Rag Shop and bought some needles and yarn. Lets just say learning to knit is not as easy as the book suggests. Anyone want to help me??? Puh-lease???

Friday night, I went to dinner with some old college friends and then saw Bewitched, which I have been dying to see. It was great--only one problem, I didn't drink coffee before hand, and therefore, had trouble staying awake at the 10:00 showing. Guess who we saw emerging from the men's room prior to the movie? Our former governor Jim Mc Greevey! Funny huh?

What to do? What to do? I'm so bored...

Summer!!!!

Yay!!!! Its SUMMER!!!! And best of all...I am done with teaching for the summer! However, I decided to make some spending money tutoring and doing other odd jobs, such as mystery shopping. The summer is off to a great start--I secured my first tutoring job this morning. I will be tutoring a soon-to-be 4th grade girl once a week. I am off to Sports Authority right now to get a bike bump. I am planning on doing lots of biking, hiking and sunning this summer! Yay! To summer!

Girls, beers and...GHOSTS????

My town, South Plainfield, doesn't have much going on. Some local bars, a couple Dunkin Donuts and a really lame "downtown." However, we do have one claim to fame. Our local strip club, Liquid Assets, actually has GHOSTS. Well, I have never been but its what I hear. So it really is a haunt, then. The other day, I drove by and was laughing out loud when I saw their sign out front...something along the lines of Nude girls, beer and ghosts....I will have to drive by again again and take some photos for the blog.

Props to Jennifer

Just wanted to say AWESOME job on the concert tonight, Jennifer !!!! You did fabulous--as you were fabulous in Pirates of Penzance! We're sure going to miss you next year...who will I goof off with at work???? :(

Wilting in the Hot Summerlike Sun

Well...well...we suffer through some nasty, cold weather to now endure 90-something degree days! I just can't take the extreme heat, especially since I work in a school with no air conditioning! I'm drained and exhausted and I can't wait til school is out! And looks like I might have a prospect for tutoring! Yippee!!! Spending money! Shore bars!!! Well, I am looking forward to going to the Feast of St. Anthony Carnival in my town this weekend. Oy vey. Another hot one tomorrow :(...

A New Time-Waster!!!

Well, yesterday I spent some time showing everybody my new favorite Internet technology--google's satelliting! Go to http://maps.google.com/ and put in any address. If you click on satellite, you can zoom in/out and do lots of fun things. I found my house, my place of employment and some other places. I located Topanga Canyon BLVD in Malibu, Ca and traced it up through Topanga Canyon (a wonderful canyon town which used to be a nudist colony, according to legend!) all the way to Woodland Hills. Point being, you can have a lot of fun with this feature of google! Today I plan on staying away from that site though--I have things to do and they won't get done once I start playing with this online satelliting!

Some stuff about me that I betcha didn't know!

I am a sucka for these surveys and I found one that I actually haven't completed on my friend Jennifer's blog!

1. Total number of films I own on DVD/video:
about 35 dvds but many on video also!
2. The last film I bought:
Probably Harold and Kumar go to White Castle
3. The last film I watched:
Star Wars (the newest one--does it count if I slept through half of it?)
4. Five films that I watch a lot or that mean a lot to me:
You've Got Mail, Office Space, Dirty Dancing, Saving Silverman, Bridget Jones' Diary (1 and 2!)
5. 10 Things I haven't done!
Backpacked across Europe, ridden in the pouch of a red kangaroo, started an animal rescue farm, drove a motorcycle, backpacked the Appalachian Trail, attended an opera or ballet, adonorned a sari and bindi in India, learned fluent Japanese, scuba dived, finished Ghandi's autobiography.

I guess the last question concerned the # of friends who blog...only 3--but I don't know my sister's, so there's Allison and Jennifer

Memorial Day Weekend Ponderings

Well, it was quite a busy, exciting and fun weekend even though I have been battling a nasty cough and sore throat, at times leaving me with a Peppermint Patty-esque voice. Some interesting going-ons from the weekend...

1. Saturday at the liquor store, a 4 pack of Jack and Coke (wine cooler type drinks) fell from the faulty packaging and shattered upon my flip-flopped toes. Ugh...the pain...now I have 2 ugly bruised toes and a toe bearing a cut. That same day, I stepped upon a nail and a drawer fell onto my hand. Whats the deal here? Klutz, can you say?

2. At my family barbeque on Saturday, I got sooo intoxicated from consuming most of a 64 oz jug of apple cider. It was so good but because of this, I slept thru most of Star Wars that night. I think my friend was waiting for me to get drunk so he could drag me to Star Wars. I most likely wouldn't have gone sober.

3. With friends, I went to my favorite shore bar, Donovans on Sunday. We got there at 6:30, listened to the Zone play, ate at Ichibods, went back to Donovans to see Brian Kirk and the Jirks. Brian Kirk got married on Saturday! He wore a t shirt that said "Liz's Bitch" on the front and "just Married" on the back along with a black bow tie. Sorry, Jenn!!!

4. And today, me and my hoarse voice are back to work!

Last Weeks Word of the Day

Well before my blog entry on last weeks word of the day, I'd like to say that I spent a fair amount of time working on yesterday's blog entry. However, damn computer "couldn't find server" when I tried to submit it and it was lost. Therefore, this will be the entry for right now. Who knew there was a phobia of the number 13?

Word of the Day for Friday May 13, 2005

triskaidekaphobia \tris-ky-dek-uh-FOH-bee-uh\, noun: A morbid fear of the number 13 or the date Friday the 13th. Thirteen people, pledged to eliminate triskaidekaphobia, fear of the number 13, today tried to reassure American sufferers by renting a 13 ft plot of land in Brooklyn for 13 cents... a month.

--Daily Telegraph, January 14, 1967 Past disasters linked to the number 13 hardly help triskaidekaphobics overcome their affliction. The most famous is the Apollo 13 mission, launched on April 11, 1970 (the sum of 4, 11 and 70 equals 85 - which when added together comes to 13), from Pad 39 (three times 13) at 13:13 local time, and struck by an explosion on April 13.

--"It's just bad luck that the 13th is so often a Friday," [1]Electronic Telegraph, September 8, 1996

_________________________________________________________ Triskaidekaphobia is a fairly new word (first found in print in 1911) formed from Greek treiskaideka, triskaideka, "thirteen" (treis, "three" + kai, "and" + deka, "ten") + phobos, "fear." The adjective form is triskaidekaphobic. One who fears the number 13 is a triskaidekaphobe or triskaidekaphobic. There are many [2]theories about the origin of triskaidekaphobia. In medieval Christian countries the number 13 came to be considered unlucky because there were 13 persons at the Last Supper of Christ. Fridays are also unlucky, because the Crucifixion was on a Friday. Hence a Friday falling on the thirteenth day would be regarded as especially unlucky.

Some famous triskaidekaphobes1:

* Napoleon * Herbert Hoover * Mark Twain * Richard Wagner * Franklin Roosevelt

1. Source: "It's just bad luck that the 13th is so often a Friday," [3]Daily Telegraph, September 8, 1996
References 1. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
2. http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_080.html
3. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

What my IQ says about me...

I took one of those online IQ tests this morning (www.emode.com). I've done it before and the score wasn't entirely accurate with how I usually score. I don't really think those things are a true test of intelligence anyway. But here is the little blurb that tells about my intelligence. Interesting and fairly accurate if you know me!

Your Intellectual Type is Insightful Linguist. This means you are highly intelligent and have the natural fluency of a writer and the visual and spatial strengths of an artist. Those skills contribute to your creative and expressive mind. And that's just some of what we know about you from your test results.

Ali G is da man!

i just cukabillyvered dis ali g translata at www.disbealig.com . it is way wicked! my friend got me ooked on da show afta watchin da season 1 dvd (first 3 episodes) saturday night! it is too wicked! i can't wait to watch it again! today, back at scool afta a glorious week off. oh joy. but i ave 2 personal days comin to me dat i should use in may along wiv memorial day off and thun only one more monf or so of scool! yippee!

Create-Your-Own-Epitaph Day

April 6th is Create-Your-Own-Epitaph Day. How strange. But why not use the day to write a eulogy about myself. I mean I'm not dying or anything...but why not take the opportunity to embellish my life a bit? I don't see why not. So here goes (one day early)...

Marisa L. B. (lived a short but sweet life).

Marisa was a fun and witty character and she was loved by most who knew her. She loved to laugh and make others laugh and was frequently told that she should consider a career in stand-up comedy. If not for her stage fright and her likelihood of turning beet-red in front of a crowd, she may have done it. But Marisa preferred making her friends keel over laughing-- or strangers she met at the California Pizza Kitchen.
Marisa often said she carried the "wacky family gene." However, she did not look at this as a bad thing. She was happy to be the oddball, the eccentric one, the one who didn't always care what people thought of her. With a few drinks under her belt, you'd have no problem getting her out on the dance floor or up on the stage for Karaoke Night singing "Baby Got Back."
Marisa enjoyed adventures and trying new things. She'd drive cross-country by herself just to do it! She'd ride a mechanical bull, absolutely sober, just for the fun of it. She may have fell off half a dozen times, but each time, she got back on and tried again! And she made everyone in the bar laugh!
Though fairly intelligent and capable of great achievements, Marisa preferred having fun and enjoying life to great academic pursuits. Halfway through her master's program, she decided she's rather not finish the program. She left her teaching career to become a farmer in the hills of Central California. She rescued and raised many farm animals, along with dogs and cats.
Marisa would not want you to mourn her death but to celebrate her life. So go out and party and keep her memory alive! Cheers!! L'Chaim!

The absurdity of...

Bunsen Burner Day! March 31st is Bunsen Burner Day! What shall i do to celebrate? Bring a bunsen burner to school and light some stuff on fire. I don't think that would go over well. Or I have the option of celebrating Clams on a Half Shell Day tomorrow. But I don't eat clams....hmm...but www.postcards.org says that tomorrow is also Sleep Awareness Week (the beginning of?). I think I'll spend my free time, tomorrow, plotting and planning my April Fools Day prank. Haha!!!

Today's Holidays (March 29th)

Today was...

1. Don't do your homework day (I didn't tell the kids that one!)
2. Smoke and Mirrors Day (I thought about renting out some funhouse mirrors and smoke machines but not sure that would have went over too well at school. Oh well.)
3. Lemon Chiffon Cake Day

I didn't celebrate any of the holidays. However, I did get the happy news from my dentist that I have to have 2 of my wisdom teeth yanked in April. Good news is that according to some assorted folks, like my friends and family, I won't die. Y'all can jump for joy that I won't be leaving the land of the living anytime soon--I would hate for my blog to end on a morbid note.