Weekend Roundup

It's been a busy weekend, filled with family functions (my cousin's engagement party) and writing amNewYork event listings/articles and traveling into and out of Manhattan and hanging out with friends on my porch while watching a thunderstorm and figuring out my new smartphone. And then there was the best part: hanging out with Todd.

At the end of this week, it will be our 11-month-iversary already. I'm trying to plan out a date to take him on, since he planned a really great date for me last month. I'll keep you updated on how it turns out.

Have a good week, readers! I'll update as often as I can :)

ART

When I was younger, about 8 or 9 maybe, my dad and I were playing around with some foam-like clay. While I can't remember what I tried to create with the substance, I can still look to the shelf above my desk to see the miniature Christmas tree that he made for me, complete with tiny round ornaments and tinsel wrapping round its branchless trunk. And although sometimes the ornaments fall off or the tinsel starts unwinding, I always try to glue it back together because, for me, it's a symbol of all the time and energy my dad devoted to giving me a good childhood.

Click here to read my poem, "Art," about the Christmas tree on the Green Spot Blue website, where it was published today. 

Exercise & Breath

Do you pay attention to the way you breathe? Do you stop, feel the breath slowly enter your mouth, slide down your throat, and fill your lungs? And then reverse?

I have to admit, I don't usually think about the way I'm breathing unless I'm trying to do yoga or calm myself down. When I'm doing any other kind of exercises, the most I do is pant in exhaustion. But this morning I read an interesting article on Live Strong, which had some useful information on different breathing techniques to remember when exercising and when's the best time to use each one. 

If you like to exercise, be sure to check it out and put it into practice. If you're lazy like me, then you should just read it over so that you can pretend you exercise during all those water cooler discussions at work.

Song of the Day

Point / Counterpoint by Streetlight Manifesto

A Date With Creativity

Let's spend a midnight in Paris
walking all the same streets
as the classic literary greats --
     On this side of paradise, we hold hands.
     We watch the tender night give way.
     As the sun rises we kiss and part.
     We bid a farewell to arms that kept us warm.

How We Met (Aw)

I'm sure all regular followers of my blog have seen more pictures than necessary of me and my boyfriend Todd. But what you haven't seen yet is an in-depth account of how we met. And now you can read just that at HowAboutWe, a fun dating website that features a series of "First Date Stories." Make sure to check out all of the other features of the site while you're there as well.

And now, another picture of me and Todd :) 

why saying you're in love isn't the same as showing it

we were like that spark of creativity

that pops into the mind while watching a play

or while reading our favorite novels;we think

we will write something great

we have so many ideas

really, what could go wrong?

and then three months later

we never even opened the box of black

gel pens we bought especially

for writing

The Sled

when the fence around the yard stood
taller than me
i listened to the old man next door whistling
and scraping away
i grabbed a stool that Dad used
to paint the black shed roof
i peered over 
he told me it was a sled it was so big and sleek that i knew it would soar
down the big hill when the snow came
when i asked what he needed a sled for
in the first place he said
that man always needs a way 
to get away
that winter i built an igloo and sat with 
ice chips melting into my socks 
and thought i understood what he meant
life passed like ears stuffed with cotton
years later i went home and my neighbor
had moved out but the sled still remained
rusty and peeling in the yard
i thought about fixing it up 
getting it together
venturing out into the
Great White North
then i noticed a tiny set of black hand prints
on the fence and changed my mind
it isn't a method of escape that man needs
it's something to guide him home