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Showing posts with label Date Night. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Date Night. Show all posts
4.23.2016
"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.” — John Muir
Happy Earth Day 2016
Right after the top left photo was taken by Steve, my phone rang.
It was a tree service calling to set up trimming my trees for the following morning, asking me to block off parking spaces on the busy road we live on.
So Steve handed me my phone while I was perched on this tree stump in lotus.
By the time I was done, Steve had walked away from me and had climbed a tree of his own.
My problem was, I needed him to de-lotus myself from the stump because I could not get in and out of this pose without wiggling and leaning this way and that.
There was just no space for that.
So I started screaming for him to come quickly because, well, quite frankly, the lotus pose is not very comfortable.
I could not even twist my body to look for him!
By the time he climbed down his tree to rescue me, my body was shaking.
(The true yogi might call this "reaching my edge")
The end of that pose was not meditative at all.
But, that picture does not show that part, does it?
Nope.
Just like most of the pictures we share with friends or post online- we never show the sweat, tears nor our human-ness hitting our edge.
Just the smiles.
Just the pictures posed 'just so.
Not too concerned with my lotus-on-a-stump-plight, all Steve asked me when he finally got to me was: "So did the tree guy know you were on a tree when you were talking to him?"
Right after the top left photo was taken by Steve, my phone rang.
It was a tree service calling to set up trimming my trees for the following morning, asking me to block off parking spaces on the busy road we live on.
So Steve handed me my phone while I was perched on this tree stump in lotus.
By the time I was done, Steve had walked away from me and had climbed a tree of his own.
My problem was, I needed him to de-lotus myself from the stump because I could not get in and out of this pose without wiggling and leaning this way and that.
There was just no space for that.
So I started screaming for him to come quickly because, well, quite frankly, the lotus pose is not very comfortable.
I could not even twist my body to look for him!
By the time he climbed down his tree to rescue me, my body was shaking.
(The true yogi might call this "reaching my edge")
The end of that pose was not meditative at all.
But, that picture does not show that part, does it?
Nope.
Just like most of the pictures we share with friends or post online- we never show the sweat, tears nor our human-ness hitting our edge.
Just the smiles.
Just the pictures posed 'just so.
Not too concerned with my lotus-on-a-stump-plight, all Steve asked me when he finally got to me was: "So did the tree guy know you were on a tree when you were talking to him?"
4.15.2016
3.03.2016
2.06.2016
12.18.2015
The Surrender Experiment.
Whenever I am scheduled to go out of town- I become a bit of a spaz with everything I have to accomplish before we leave.
I have a checklist of things that must be done.
This list generally does not include opening my home to two groups of teenagers for their Christmas gathering, hours before we are scheduled to depart.
It does not factor in Steve and I attending a dinner in the outskirts of the city while they are hosting said parties.
It does not plan on letting the teens be in charge of locking up our house and loading up the dog and driving in snow flurry conditions to meet us after our dinner, 30 minutes drive North of the city.
But this is what happened hours before we left for Rochester NY.
It was a surrender experiment.
(To be continued)
I have a checklist of things that must be done.
This list generally does not include opening my home to two groups of teenagers for their Christmas gathering, hours before we are scheduled to depart.
It does not factor in Steve and I attending a dinner in the outskirts of the city while they are hosting said parties.
It does not plan on letting the teens be in charge of locking up our house and loading up the dog and driving in snow flurry conditions to meet us after our dinner, 30 minutes drive North of the city.
But this is what happened hours before we left for Rochester NY.
It was a surrender experiment.
(To be continued)
12.13.2015
This was good.
Even Gabi liked it.
The last time Gabi was stuck seeing a movie with us, (without Kika) we saw "Twelve Years a Slave."
She hated that one.
I think Gabi complained about "Twelve Years A Slave" just as much as Kika protested about having to see the Christian film called, War Room <-- which I recommend.
While my girls may not have enjoyed these films, both movies have something valuable to teach.
I told Gabi that War Room is now available on dvd and iTunes. She wickedly suggested we get it for Kika as a stocking stuffer.
10.31.2015
5.14.2015
This Post Is About Promposals, John Mellencamp and What I am Willing To Bet
Let me backtrack.
I was engaged and married in 1993.
When Steve asked me to marry him, I think it was the dead of winter, and we were in the back room of my sister's house in Rochester, New York.
As I recall, he sort of mumbled something about marriage and then unceremoniously handed me an engagement ring.
(In his defense, my visa was expiring...)
As the years went on, I would meet more and more couples who had an "engagement story."
Scavenger hunts through a park (granted, that couple is now peacefully divorced)
Rings in drinks,
Big signs,
Oceanside or lakeside even pond-side proposals, etc.
And like the whiner that I can be, I would turn to Steve with narrowed accusatory eyes wondering why he could not have been more creative.
He would shrug unapologetic.
The thing is, some chicks dig that.
The question is, when do you give someone what they want, even if it is not your true nature?
When should you honor yourself?
The other night, Steve and I watched John Mellencamp in concert.
We were worried that he would sing unfamiliar songs from his newest album and save his old hits for the end, but we were not disappointed.
Early in his set, John said something along the lines of,
"the next song I am going to sing, I don't really want to sing, in fact I don't know why I am going to sing it except for the fact that you all want me to sing it..."
Then he started to sing "Jack and Diane."
The crowd went wild. The entire place started singing along with him.
He stopped singing and let the audience continue....until EVERYONE (except Steve, who knew) sang the wrong verse!
So he stopped everyone and said: "that's not right."
(everyone ((except Steve)) forgot the 'suckin' on chili dog' verse.
It was extremely funny.
Anyway, I digress.
I bring this up because clearly John Mellencamp weighs what he wants to do with what is wanted of him, and apparently with the right balance--it keeps people loyal.
Let's set that aside.
Have you noticed the craze of promposals lately?
If you've not had a prom going teenager for the past 3.5 years then you would not know what this is.
A promposal is the current trend of asking someone to go the the prom in an extravagant, flamboyant and creative fashion.
I have had the "pleasure" of hosting one such promposal when K helped a boy (friend) ask a girl (friend) of hers right here in my foyer.
When I first heard of promposals, I admit I was initially scornful and dismissive of it.
And then I decided to look deeper into why I felt this way, and I realized that it touched something tender in me.
I think I was still carrying my own (this is embarrassing, I know) disappointment about not getting a creative proposal over 21 years ago! (WTH?!)
Well any drugstore shrink will tell you that you can not get over anything you do not acknowledge so I take this as a sign of onward movement.
And as a result of upward mobility, I have now decided to view the trend of promposals as some sort of a training ground.
The promposal type of teenagers today, may become the more celebratory engaged couples of tomorrow (as opposed to the blase`-too-cool-to-be-demonstrative-types)--who may become the grown adults of the future that will honor their spouses/children/parents/friends in a way the recipients want to be honored.
I am willing to bet that the teenaged boy of today that steps out of his comfort zone to do a creative promposal will mature into a man that honors not only his own mother but also his wife (if she is a mother) for Mother's Day in a way they would appreciate.
I ain' agin' it
(that's my slang for: "I am not against it" please try to incorporate this phrase in daily conversations as I would like it to trend)
In the words of John Mellencamp:
"Hold on to sixteen as long as you can,
changes come around real soon
make us women and men...."
Addendum:
I was engaged and married in 1993.
When Steve asked me to marry him, I think it was the dead of winter, and we were in the back room of my sister's house in Rochester, New York.
As I recall, he sort of mumbled something about marriage and then unceremoniously handed me an engagement ring.
(In his defense, my visa was expiring...)
As the years went on, I would meet more and more couples who had an "engagement story."
Scavenger hunts through a park (granted, that couple is now peacefully divorced)
Rings in drinks,
Big signs,
Oceanside or lakeside even pond-side proposals, etc.
And like the whiner that I can be, I would turn to Steve with narrowed accusatory eyes wondering why he could not have been more creative.
He would shrug unapologetic.
The thing is, some chicks dig that.
The question is, when do you give someone what they want, even if it is not your true nature?
When should you honor yourself?
The other night, Steve and I watched John Mellencamp in concert.
We were worried that he would sing unfamiliar songs from his newest album and save his old hits for the end, but we were not disappointed.
Early in his set, John said something along the lines of,
"the next song I am going to sing, I don't really want to sing, in fact I don't know why I am going to sing it except for the fact that you all want me to sing it..."
Then he started to sing "Jack and Diane."
The crowd went wild. The entire place started singing along with him.
He stopped singing and let the audience continue....until EVERYONE (except Steve, who knew) sang the wrong verse!
So he stopped everyone and said: "that's not right."
(everyone ((except Steve)) forgot the 'suckin' on chili dog' verse.
It was extremely funny.
Anyway, I digress.
I bring this up because clearly John Mellencamp weighs what he wants to do with what is wanted of him, and apparently with the right balance--it keeps people loyal.
Let's set that aside.
Have you noticed the craze of promposals lately?
If you've not had a prom going teenager for the past 3.5 years then you would not know what this is.
A promposal is the current trend of asking someone to go the the prom in an extravagant, flamboyant and creative fashion.
I have had the "pleasure" of hosting one such promposal when K helped a boy (friend) ask a girl (friend) of hers right here in my foyer.
When I first heard of promposals, I admit I was initially scornful and dismissive of it.
And then I decided to look deeper into why I felt this way, and I realized that it touched something tender in me.
I think I was still carrying my own (this is embarrassing, I know) disappointment about not getting a creative proposal over 21 years ago! (WTH?!)
Well any drugstore shrink will tell you that you can not get over anything you do not acknowledge so I take this as a sign of onward movement.
And as a result of upward mobility, I have now decided to view the trend of promposals as some sort of a training ground.
The promposal type of teenagers today, may become the more celebratory engaged couples of tomorrow (as opposed to the blase`-too-cool-to-be-demonstrative-types)--who may become the grown adults of the future that will honor their spouses/children/parents/friends in a way the recipients want to be honored.
I am willing to bet that the teenaged boy of today that steps out of his comfort zone to do a creative promposal will mature into a man that honors not only his own mother but also his wife (if she is a mother) for Mother's Day in a way they would appreciate.
I ain' agin' it
(that's my slang for: "I am not against it" please try to incorporate this phrase in daily conversations as I would like it to trend)
In the words of John Mellencamp:
"Hold on to sixteen as long as you can,
changes come around real soon
make us women and men...."
Addendum:
5.12.2015
Life Goes On....
We will not get parents-of-the-year award since we opted to see John Mellencamp, (thanks to Simon and Denise) instead of watching G's band concert this evening. We sent K to watch her for us, which she did begrudgingly
I noticed that although the concert crowd was lively, upbeat and about 10 years younger than the Neil Diamond crowd, I still felt confident that I could out-sprint most of them in the event of a bear attack.
Last week we were also unable to attend G's sports banquet due to life-
I asked G if people were beginning to ask if she was an orphan.
In my defense--she may be better of raised by a pack of wolves.
4.27.2015
As Quoted By Our NYC Cab Driver Shamraiz Ali:
"Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing."
~Ben Franklin
(the rest of our NYC pics here)
I can't write right now--although I want to!!!!
I'll be back.
~Ben Franklin
I can't write right now--although I want to!!!!
I'll be back.
4.22.2015
Finally
A good article about Filipino food in the Washington Post.
Updated: 4/24/15, ate in Maharlika, one of the restaurants featured in that Washington Post piece.
Location: 111 First Avenue in the East Village, NYC.
Ordered:
San Mig light Beer
Chicharon (delicious)
Kare-kare (delicious)
Sisig (delicious)
Pancit (nothing special)
Good vibe. Would eat there again.
Location: 111 First Avenue in the East Village, NYC.
Ordered:
San Mig light Beer
Chicharon (delicious)
Kare-kare (delicious)
Sisig (delicious)
Pancit (nothing special)
Good vibe. Would eat there again.
4.08.2015
The Show Must Go On
Steve and I went to see Neil Diamond last night with Simon and Denise.
I was not really interested in seeing this 73 year old guy, since the only song I was familiar with was Sweet Caroline--but in the interest of "date night" which we've been trying to do once a week--I went.
It was actually a fun concert.
And I noted that in the event of a stampede, I could have out sprinted 99% of his fans.
That is of course if I did not trip over any of the walkers and wheelchairs.
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