I'm dying to have these shoes!!

Update: Because I have the BEST mother in the world, I got these amazing shoes for a present. Who wants to go out soon so that I can wear them! haha

Some news that made me shake my head

If you read the news as much as I do, or work in the news industry, as I do, you will find that you will often come across news that makes you shake your head in disgust and blow your mind.

So, what is wrong with bake sales exactly?

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/17/dining/17bakesale.html?ref=nyregion

Apparently, NYC is banning baked goods at bake sales...what the reason is for this I just don't understand at all! Why is it better for our children, when there is already a huge problem with obesity in children in this country, to have them eat processed food over home cooked baked goods? I just find this whole thing to be crazy, but hey, that's just me.

Speaking of crazy...someone got an idea in their head that a good addition to a playground in an NYC housing project would be a play jail. I don't even have anything to say about this, its beyond crazy and completely just makes me wonder what our world has come to.

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/24/a-jail-for-children-stirs-a-ruckus-in-brooklyn/

Why would anyone think its okay to have a play jail? Do they also put play jails in predominantly white neighborhoods? For some reason, I think that they probably don't. These people should be hanging their heads in shame! The good news is that they are removing the words jail from this play area.

On Creativity

I think that working the 9 to 5 grind in a cubicle can sometimes...or always...suck the life out of you. Some days it feels like you are slowly dying, or at least your soul is haha...er or maybe I am the only one that feels this way. So it got me thinking recently about creativity, and I naturally googled creativity, since I sit at a desk all day and therefore google everything that pops into my head throughout the day. Anyway, I found some good tips and interesting ideas of ways to keep your creativity alive. For those that work in an office, or just want some new ideas, here is what I found.

21 Ways to Be More Creative

(I encourage you to click the link above to read the descriptions for each of these ideas.)

1 – Stop watching television

2 – Take a 20-minute walk everyday

3 – Write with pen & paper (or pencil and paper)

4 – Write songs to your pets

5 – Dance around the House

6 – Walk in the rain

7 – Make a collage

8 – Make a list of things you love

9 – Write 10 postcards

10 – Get up early and watch the sun rise

11 – Listen to music you’ve never listened to before.

12 – Eat with your hands

13 – Be quiet

14 – Take a nap

15 – Take photos. Real photos. Not digital photos.

16 – Make an event out of watching the full moon come up

17 – Read poetry aloud

18 – Go see a play or live music or live anything

19 – Visit a gallery

20 – Write a letter

21 – Stop watching television (Yes this one was repeated for its importance)

I also found another 100 ideas for ways to explore your creativity. I won't list them all here because there are 100 of them, but you can find the entire list here.

http://www.kerismith.com/funstuff/100ideas.htm

Some of the unique suggestions include:

• Go for a walk. Draw or list things you find on the the sidewalk.
• Glue an envelope into your journal. For one week collect items you find on the street.
• Find a photo of a person you do not know. Write a brief bio about them.
• Write a haiku.
• Illustrate your grocery list.
• List the smells in your neighborhood.
• Give away something you love.
  
• Choose an object, draw the side you can't see.
  
• List all of the places you've ever lived.
• Describe your favourite room in detail.
  
• Write about your relationship with your washing machine.
  
• Draw all of the things in your purse/bag.
• List 10 things you would like to do every day.

Quote

"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude."
-Maya Angelou

Sweet Alabama

I am heading to Alabama tomorrow for my cousin's wedding. I am really really looking forward to getting away from the city and work, but mostly I can't wait to see my family! Plus, I have never been to Alabama before.

My oldest cousin is the first out of all of us to tie the knot, and the whole family will be there to celebrate with her. Shawn is meeting a lot of my family for the first time, which is also exciting. I am sure that everyone will love each other.

I love weddings. I can't wait to see where it is, what her dress is like, the kind of cake they have. And I really can't wait to dance and drink champagne!

Look forward to pictures here when I return on Sunday. XOXO

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!

Hopefully, Shawn and I will drink a beer tonight to celebrate :)

Its such a beautiful day here in NYC today and there are lots of people wandering the streets dressed up in green!

New Hair!!

Side bangs are back. Here are three views of my hair, front, up-close and the side. The picture aren't the best quality because I took them on my computer. I got it done at Takamichi Hair, they do a great job. Let me know what you think!

An eventful weekend

Last weekend the weather was beautiful, so I decided that instead of going to hot yoga on Saturday morning, I decided to take my dog for a really long walk. We walked all the way from my apartment to Long Island City, where there is a really nice dog park for her to run around in. its about a 45 minute walk each way. When we got to LIC and were around the corner from the dog park I saw police tape and a crowd gathering outside a building. Olive and I walked by to see what was going on, not expecting to see what we did. A man was lying dead in the street. He jumped from the 25th floor of the building and committed suicide. He didn't even live there. It was one of the craziest things I have ever seen! Once I was less shaken and walking back home, I started to think that maybe I have lived here long enough (almost three years) that I am going to start seeing more crazy things. It seems that people who have lived here a long time have seen a lot and have lots of bizarre, often funny, stories about living in New York. This, unfortunately, was sad, not funny.

You can read a story about it here: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/queens/apt_buyer_tours_high_rise_to_jump_KKWhbFR6HLZrjb5XgxFIkN

The excitement didn't stop either. On Sunday, a blue parakeet wandered into our building and was caught by our doorman. The poor little bird was just walking down the street. The doorman called us because he knew we already had a bird and wanted to know if we could take it. We haven't found the owner, but we don't really want to because our bird is really happy to have a friend with her. Its a really pretty little blue bird. I will post a picture soon!

New Cookbook: Dishing Up Vermont

I saw this post on a blog I read from time to time, by someone who writes about restaurants in Astoria, N.Y. and other parts of NYC. Since I live in Astoria, I am always looking for new restaurants in the area to try and because I don't have much money, its nice to go somewhere that someone else has tried first, to see what their experience was.

Anyway, this blogger The Foodista wrote about a new book that was coming out called Dishing Up Vermont by Tracey Medeiros. Since I am from Vermont, I am interested in checking out this book to see what kind of recipes it has in it.

There is an event for the book in NYC at Murray's Cheese Shop in the East Village, you can read more about this at here:

http://www.foodistanyc.com/2010/03/win-murrays-cheese-event-dishing-up.html

NYT: Divorced Before Puberty

I saw this story recently in the New York Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/04/opinion/04kristof.html

Its an article about Nujood Ali, a third grader in Yemen who has already been married and divorced at such a young age. I would like to read her book someday, it sounds like a scary and interesting story.

The author of this article also recently wrote a new book called Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, along with his wife. It sounds like a great book, although I have not yet read it.

http://www.halftheskymovement.org/

Sleep

I have been so tired lately. Last weekend I went to bed early both nights and even took a nap on Saturday, which I never ever do. There were points last weekend when I just could not stay awake any longer.

Apparently, I am not alone. My friend Caroline recently also wrote about exhaustion on her blog, I guess we have had similar thoughts lately, since I did all this research earlier this week, but hadn't had time to write this yet haha.

I think March can be a really hard month, because its the tail end of winter, and this winter has been long and hard.

I did some research on sleep and found out a lot of interesting tips for sleeping better and getting the most out of sleep. I am one of those people who just pushes on and on until I am falling down dead tired. Hopefully, I can try to make resting more of a priority.

Here are some interesting sleep facts for women:

• 68% of American women admit to sleeping less than recommended average of eight hours per night.
• Women living in the populous Northeast and West Coast have the more trouble sleeping than people in other regions.
• 26% of women report trouble sleeping at least once a week compared to only 16% of men
  
• 19% of individuals ages 45-64 admit to losing sleep due to stress a few nights per week

These are some tips that I fund at the Better Sleep Council Web site:

1. Make sleep a priority by keeping a consistent sleep (bedtime) and wake schedule, including weekends
2. Create a bedtime routine that is relaxing. Experts recommend reading a book, listening to soothing music or soaking in a hot bath.
3. Transform your bedroom into a haven of comfort. Create a room that is dark, quiet, comfortable and cool for the best possible sleep.
4. Evaluate your mattress and pillow to ensure proper comfort and support. If your mattress is five to seven years old, it may be time for a new one. In general, pillows should be replaced every year.
5. Keep work materials, computers and televisions out of the bedroom; it should be used for sleep and sex only.
6. Exercise regularly, but complete workouts at least two hours before bedtime.
7. If you sleep with a partner, your mattress should allow each of you enough space to move easily. Couples who've been sleeping on a "double" (full size) may think they have enough room, until they learn that each person has only as much sleeping space as a baby's crib!
8. Avoid nicotine (e.g., cigarettes, tobacco products). Used close to bedtime, it can lead to poor sleep.
9. Avoid caffeine and alcohol (e.g., coffee, tea, soft drinks, chocolate) close to bedtime. It can keep you awake.
10. Finish eating at least two to three hours before bedtime.

There is more information here, as well as a lot of answers to questions about sleep.

http://www.bettersleep.org/onbettersleep/faqs.asp#SS2

Italy

Its official, I am going to Italy in October with my mom. Words cannot even express how excited I am about our trip. I am thrilled about going to Italy and especially about going with my mom. I know that we are going to have a great time together.

We are first flying into Venice, then going to Florence and ending our trip in Rome.

Here are some pictures of Venice, Florence and Rome (in order). I can't wait to see it myself and take millions of pictures!

I Wanna Dance with Somebody