the whistle-blower

While most everyone (including me) has been watching this clip from Jon Stewart's The Daily Show, I thought I'd pass it along for my not so Facebook savvy readers.

I realize that may only be a few of you, but it shouldn't be missed. Chuckles all around.

Stewart hits home with spot-on analysis - cheers to Crazy Uncle Ron!
He's not unelectable if people vote for him.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Indecision 2012 - Corn Polled Edition - Ron Paul & the Top Tier
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog The Daily Show on Facebook

Also, while we're loving on technology (because I got fancy and inserted a video):
check out spotify.com . I do believe it's a game changer.

B

afternoon escape

Let's talk exercise.

I've been trying to force myself to run for 10+ years and have never (ever) gotten the hang of it.  That natural 'high' and sense of accomplishment people claim they get after pounding the pavement? Garbage. I refuse to believe that anyone actually enjoys running. No matter how long, how paced, how well-practiced my run is, I hate every single, stupid second.

So what's a girl (who loves cooking with heavy cream and butter WAY too much) to do? Force herself to try any and every other form of exercise that comes her way. It was an exhausting and depressing endeavor until things drastically changed five months ago.

I've now permanently hung up (burned) my gym shoes, shorts and t-shirts. Now all I need is a towel, bottle of water, and just enough clothing to stay decent. What happened? I joined a Bikram yoga studio.

(Quick overview of Bikram--it's always the same 26 poses done in 90 minutes in a 105F heated room.  Humidity is usually somewhere between 35-50%. There are also periods of total stillness while your body re-energizes for the next posture. You've heard that variety is the spice of the exercising life, that you should always keep your body guessing by changing your workouts. Bikram takes the opposite approach - your body will constantly change so the practice needs to stay the same.)

I love it, so SO much!

Well, actually I hated it the first time so much I felt like crying. And I hated it the second time...and third time. And then - overnight - everything changed. My attitude, my energy level and my body completely rewired itself. A switch was flipped somewhere.

My instructors call Bikram a 'moving meditation', but that doesn't mean levitating or 'ohm-ing' the mind into oblivion. What it does mean is using every last drop of concentration in holding postures, keeping your balance and (above all) maintaining a steady breath. The benefits: cardio, strength training, core building, balance, flexibility, improvement of breath, metabolism booster, cold-killer, depression buster, etc etc.

(plus you get a hot bod just like this. tattoos not included)

Give it a good 3-4 tries before you decide whether or not you like it. Is it necessarily for everyone? Probably not; but I do know that my body responds very well (and very quickly) to yoga.

What I really want to try next is this:

Crazy, huh? But I'd give it a spin.

B

my new 'Type A' personality

We're so thankful for our new house. It's been officially ours for 3 months now, and the longer we stay the more we love it.

I'd be posting pictures all over the place if we weren't so far behind in getting everything put together. We are notorious procrastinators, especially when it comes to cleaning and organizing.

Which is why I'm on a mission to become OCD about all things clean and organized. I realize that this is a huge change (for the both of us), but I'm really excited about the possibilities. I actually get quite giddy when thinking about a future when someone asking to 'stop over' doesn’t send me into a panic. And as with all big projects, certain tools are helpful. 

This is where I share what I’ve found to be invaluable in my quest for clean.

Method's Lavender All Purpose spray. Smells wonderful and is the perfect clean and green cleaner.

Scotch's Fur Fighter sweeper. With so many animals, fur is our #1 problem. This has replaceable felt-like sheets that grab fur like no other. Ever try to sweep up cat hair with a regular broom and have the fuzz fly everywhere or get stuck on the broom bristles? Never a problem with this baby.

A well stocked and organized cleaning caddy (doesn't hurt if it's super cute too). Ours is stocked with non-harsh, environmental friendly, no-animal testing products.

The best in class, dreamy Dyson dc28 Animal Vacuum. This thing is a beast and has been on our wish-list for a very long time. And it's now ours, after help from a wonderful anniversary gift and some bartering at Bed, Bath and Beyond. I've never been more disgusted yet satisfied as I was when emptying out the collected dirt/fur after one round of vacuuming.   

I'm sure once we get this under our belts, a baby's going to show up and we'll have to start all over again from square one. Or learn to deal until they're out of the house...

Does anyone ever really get this down perfectly?

B

high living at the county fair

Maybe it’s because I’ve been so overwhelmed with the adult world.

Or perhaps it’s because my recent return to journaling has made me incredibly nostalgic…

Whatever the reason, I can confidently say that today is one of my favorite days of the year.

It’s the opening day of the county fair.

Why do I love the fair?

Because I can see it from the front yard of our new house.

Because I can talk to people who know chickens. And Jersey cows. Which is important, because we will someday have chickens, and a Jersey cow. And it’s never too early to start preparing.

Because I can disappear for hours at a time in the horse barn, fantasizing about my return to riding. Admittedly, I struggle with jealousy as I watch little kids prepare their horses for show. I hope they know how incredibly blessed they are. They say memories are most closely tied to your sense of smell; the smell of a horse barn moves me like nothing else.

Because I can spin myself nauseous on the craziest of rides.

Because of funnel cakes.

And because of cotton candy, my favorite food in the whole wide world. Look at this fatty – he’s with me.

Don't take my word for it;  take a trip down memory lane and listen to this sassy goose.

It’s refreshing to spend time with ‘normal’ people. By normal, I mean salt of the earth. And by salt of the earth, I mean people who appreciate honest living and simple pleasures (I’m not counting the completely different type of ‘earthy’ people found at the DMV and dog fights…). The wealth and sterility of the suburbs can be mind-numbingly exhausting. Give me greasy food and manure to cleanse the palate from Escalades, 2.3 kids and Jimmy Choo’s.

All this to say: After 3 years of St. Charles living, I’m happy to report that there are indeed places to find anti-suburban activity. They’ve been difficult to find, but so totally worth the effort.

And for the record, I’m not saying I’d turn down a pair of Jimmy Choo’s….

B

the love of learning, the sequestered nooks, and all the sweet serenity of books

Now that we have 3 bedrooms, we finally get an official home library.

A room full of our many, many books.  Where sunlight streams in.  Where cats can snooze, climb and get into mischief.  With a couch you can read on for hours at a time.  And the most lovely, ornate Indian rug passed down from a grandmother (pictures to come).

One of our prize possessions is an original printing of Atlas Shrugged, a treasure we discovered while unpacking boxes and boxes of books that had been cooped up in storage.  It's an incredible find (no matter how you feel about the author).  It smells so nice and old too.

 Here's where we've been wasting hours at a time as we search for inspiration (very aptly named).

I'd just die if I could walk into this room every morning.

It feels good to let our 100's of books finally breathe.  We want the printed word to be an indelible part of our home's identity--we are thrilled to finally have the square footage.

T&B

for the vertically challenged

A quick gripe about clothes.

Every girl over 6 feet tall has difficulty finding anything that fits properly.  Things are always too short, too tight, too little, etc.  Nothing's worse than trying on a fitted dress only to realize that the extra space tailored for the (average person's) bum bits just happens to be hitting the small of your back.  That 'pooch' of extra fabric is just not a good look...not to mention the awkwardness of having your butt squeezed into parts normally filled with legs.

Any dress shorter than homeschool becomes sketchy short (hooker is not really my style).  And those long, billowy and beautiful maxi dresses that every midget is running around in??  Forget about it.  The few (FEW) times I've ever found something for super tall people, it's always crazy expensive and/or desperately ugly. 

At least that's what I thought, until someone dear introduced me to this place.  It's made for girls 5'8" and up, which still isn't quite my size, but it's a very nice start.

I wouldn't wear everything they sell, but there are some real gems.  Like this dream:

This dress would get worn to pieces.  I'd accessorize it differently every day (with all of the beautiful golds, silvers and bold colors of Stella & Dot, of course!).

And I'd wear it while riding my horse across the deserts of far-off lands....naturally. 

I wonder if we could go without groceries for a week or two...

it just might be worth it.

B

'we only live, only suspire Consumed by either fire or fire'

For days when all seems unbearably drab...

T.S Eliot's 'Four Quartets'

'Little Gidding' 

IV-V

IV

The dove descending breaks the air
With flame of incandescent terror
Of which the tongues declare
The one discharge from sin and error.
The only hope, or else despair
     Lies in the choice of pyre of pyre—
     To be redeemed from fire by fire.

Who then devised the torment? Love.
Love is the unfamiliar Name
Behind the hands that wove
The intolerable shirt of flame
Which human power cannot remove.
     We only live, only suspire
     Consumed by either fire or fire.

V

What we call the beginning is often the end
And to make and end is to make a beginning.
The end is where we start from. And every phrase
And sentence that is right (where every word is at home,
Taking its place to support the others,
The word neither diffident nor ostentatious,
An easy commerce of the old and the new,
The common word exact without vulgarity,
The formal word precise but not pedantic,
The complete consort dancing together)
Every phrase and every sentence is an end and a beginning,
Every poem an epitaph. And any action
Is a step to the block, to the fire, down the sea's throat
Or to an illegible stone: and that is where we start.
We die with the dying:
See, they depart, and we go with them.
We are born with the dead:
See, they return, and bring us with them.
The moment of the rose and the moment of the yew-tree
Are of equal duration. A people without history
Is not redeemed from time, for history is a pattern
Of timeless moments. So, while the light fails
On a winter's afternoon, in a secluded chapel
History is now and England.

With the drawing of this Love and the voice of this
     Calling

We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
Through the unknown, unremembered gate
When the last of earth left to discover
Is that which was the beginning;
At the source of the longest river
The voice of the hidden waterfall
And the children in the apple-tree
Not known, because not looked for
But heard, half-heard, in the stillness
Between two waves of the sea.
Quick now, here, now, always—
A condition of complete simplicity
(Costing not less than everything)
And all shall be well and
All manner of thing shall be well
When the tongues of flame are in-folded
Into the crowned knot of fire
And the fire and the rose are one.

T&B