Mad About: NPR

Do you ever get sick of listening to the same 50 songs repeated on radio everyday? I have a few stations that I usually surf through in the car, ranging from Classic Rock to Top 40 to "hot jams". I can't believe I just wrote "hot jams". Anyways, I usually go through a kick where I listen to one style of music for a couple weeks straight and then move on to what's next. I was on a Z100 kick for about a month towards the end of the summer, as a couple tunes caught my ear and kept me intrigued. After a while though, you want something new and fresh and not "Devil Went Down to Georgia" at the top of the hour, every hour...

I was never really a fan of Talk Radio. If I wanted to listen to people talk, I would get together with friends and converse. I started listening to NPR in the car a couple weeks ago, curious as to what kinds of reporting they were doing on the Presidential Race, and I am now finding myself only able to listen to NPR. I find it soothing, actually, not to mention informative and very thorough. I like hearing snippets about what's going on locally, nationally, and internationally, without having to watch tv or pour over the news websites. And Harriet Jones is by far my favorite (Doctor Who fans, it sounds just like her!).

I have taken up listening at work through iTunes radio. There are many NPR stations available, and my favorite is WGBH Boston NPR Arts and Culture. Most of the programming is classical, instrumental, orchestral music. It keeps me focused throughout the day. Plus, I have heard many pieces in the past few days that I played in Wind Ensemble in high school. It's like a time warp!

I highly recommend giving NPR a listen. If you have the means, become a member and contribute. They do a great job bringing the news to the public, and they're grateful for any contribution you can give. Do yourself a favor and turn off Britney's "Womanizer", your brain cells will thank me later.

Guilty Pleasure Wednesday

Now that Project Runway is over, I am finding my Wednesday nights a little less hectic.; only 3 shows to watch instead of 4! Here's what captures my attention for 3 hours every Wednesday night (unless I fall asleep, and in that case, an hour or two on Saturday morning thanks to DVR)....

Private Practice - Ok, I'll admit it, I don't think this show holds a candle to Grey's. However, I am interested enough in the characters relationships to each other and their specialties to watch. I don't mind if I miss an episode, but I like seeing where Addison is going with her life, and Taye Diggs alone is reason enough to spend an hour sipping wine and just...watching. Man, he's hot.

Lipstick Jungle - I started watching an episode or two of this last season, mostly because I have a little girl crush on Andrew McCarthy thanks to watching Pretty in Pink when I was a 'tween. I do like the style of the show, as a Sex in the City fan, it's hard not to love a self-indulgent estrogen fest.

Dirty Sexy Money - The most guilty, most pleasurable show of all...This show is cleverly disguised as smut, but takes all the best of daytime soap opera drama and transforms it into better written, more engaging nighttime entertainment. The Darling family is messed up like no other. It is fun to watch how such a rich and powerful family tries to deal with issues, and how poor Nick George takes it all on his shoulders and is starting to fight back in his own, sneaky way. Donald Sutherland is fantastic as Tripp Darling, and I love the development of character in each family member from where they started off the series premiere. I'm glad it survived the writer's strike, I thought it would be cancelled without a second thought!

So tonight, after I torture myself with a good long run, I will have some dinner (Trader Joe's roasted red pepper tomato soup, perhaps?), pour myself a glass of Shiraz, and let my brain decompress while I watch people who are prettier and smarter than I muddle through their fake, and very entertaining lives...

Love One Another

I wanted to post on Sunday about Monsignor's homily at Mass, but there's really no way of being able to put his message in to words half as eloquently as he did. If I could just post it here, I would! I've needed the past 2 days to think and reflect and let the message sink in. I will try to convey it here, because it is too good to not pass on...

This past weekend's homily revolved around John 13:34-35 "I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." It has been my belief my entire life that this is the core principle that mankind should live by. Not just Catholics or all Christians, all of mankind.

Looking at these 2 short verses, it is easy to say "Yeah, yeah, if we love each other and respect each other, the world would be a better place." This is true. But there is so much more to it that just that. The very core of this is that we are imperfect. God knows this. But he loves us perfectly, despite our imperfections. Because God loves us in this way, we are free to love ourselves for who we are. We are human; we makes mistakes, we do things we are not proud of, and we feel guilt and shame. We hurt each other, and we hurt ourselves. But because God loves us so perfectly, we are called to love ourselves in spite of our shortcomings.

Before we can love one another as God loves us, we must first love ourselves. This is not selfish. How can you extend God's love to another person if you do not first love and respect yourself? Your love for another will not be a perfect reflection of God's love for you until you accept that you are not perfect, and love yourself anyways. Improve upon yourself. Strive to be a better person, a better daughter, sister, girlfriend, friend, coworker, aunt, all of these things. Once you know what it is to love and accept yourself, you won't help but be able to look upon your friends and loved ones with the love that God has for us. That is seeing someone else's imperfection, and loving them anyways.

I have been striving to be better. I think we all should. It's too easy to dwell on the past and on times and relationships gone wrong. I look forward, with clarity, knowing that my wrongdoings have made me the person I am today, and that I can always be better, to love myself and therefore love others better.

What a gift.

Is It Just Me...

Is it just me, or is traffic a little lighter in the morning these days? It's nothing drastic, but noticeably less congested.

It used to take me at least an hour to get to work, most days, an hour and fifteen. Lately, I have noticed that what is usually bumper to bumper stop and go traffic is moving more smoothly between exits. There are still slow downs, but it has been a much easier ride in general.

My thought is that this is a direct effect of Wall Street. I live in Fairfield County, where many Wall Street financiers and employees live. Given the state of the stock market, and many people losing jobs...my guess is a lot of my neighbors are still at home in the mornings when I am off to work.

It's sad and it's strange that our country is experiencing this right now. It's sad that many hard-working people just trying to get by are being laid off because of the mistakes of the wealthy and the government. It's strange that we are experiencing this first hand, and everyone knows someone who has been laid off, or has nothing left in their 401K, or are moving or finding some way to cut back on spending that for so many years, we've been taking for granted. A trip to Florida in April with the kids seemed like a natural way to spend vacation to the average family around here. I'm betting families stay home this year, or do a long weekend on the Cape or down the Jersey shore.

It'll be a different way of living for a while, that's for sure. Sean and I are ok, our jobs are as secure as they can be, and we do well enough to not need to make any dire changes in our lifestyle. We don't live that's lavishly anyways.

What are some things you are cutting back on or stopping all together to make things easier? Here's my list:

-Trips home only for Thanksgiving and Christmas. (at least $60 just in gas for a roundtrip)
-Picking names out of a hat for Christmas presents instead of everyone buying something for everyone. Splurge on the kiddos (they deserve it)!
-I haven't been to a movie in about 2 months. It helps that there hasn't been anything really worthwhile to see, plus Netflix and primetime tv keep us on our toes and entertained).
-Not going out on nights and weekends. Finding things to entertain myself at home.
-Bring lunch to work. I used to easily blow $50 going out to grab a sandwich (usually with chips and a soda), stopping for coffee on the way back, grabbing a few groceries and a snack for the afternoon.
-Probably not doing the Disney trip we'd hoped for in the spring. We'll see how things are after the new year. I'm hoping we can do some hiking once the weather gets warm again.

Times like these bring out the best and the worst in people. May your worst days be no worse than the best!

Wine-O

Let me tell you...There are some nights, nights like this, when nothing beats hanging out with your sweetie and a really wonderful friend, and you finish off a bottle of wine much quicker than you should have. Given that sweetie wasn't even drinking wine, just me and said wonderful friend...We are happy people. 

This has been a very nice relaxing day; even the parts that weren't "relaxing". I went for a walk/jog around the lake area that I love, and there were leaves covering the path, and it smelled so good, combined with the beautiful late afternoon sunshine lighting up all the foliage. There is something really magical about this time of year. 

Oh, and the Patriots won!

All randomness aside, today was a really nice fall day. I apologize for not having anything particularly interesting to post about right now. My friend that's visiting is a Philly's fan and they're winning right now. I guess that's cool...?

In other awesome news, I got new tires on my car, and it feels brand new. It is such a smooth ride, quiet and steady the way it should be. It inspired me to clean out all the crap that always ends up on the floor in the backseat, and I gave Yota a full vacuuming. I am going to try very hard to keep my car clutter free. I cannot guarantee that this will be any sort of success, given my sloppy tendencies when it comes to vehicle cleanliness. But it's worth a try.

Ok, there is a little bit of wine to polish off. Buh bye...

Hot Stuff

Do you like spicy food? I do. I thought I had a high tolerance for spice, since I've had my share of 4 or 5 alarm chilis in my day.

Until now.

Sean's boss grows these peppers that, well, could probably melt a baby. Not to sound gross. But I have never felt this kind of burning and pain before induced by food. I took the end section of the pepper, and about 15 seconds after I started chewing, the hotness just completely overtook my entire mouth. I could barely catch my breath.

Then Sean took a slice from the middle. I thought he was going to die. It was comical and horrific all at once, if that's possible. He convinced the piece I got was nothing, and that I had to try a slice from the middle, which I did.

Have you ever felt like your tongue was seared, flames were seeping into your gums and palate, your throat was closing up and you might actually, if you really try, breathe fire?

Yeah, that's how it felt.

The culprit.

Sean, about 5 minutes after eating his piece.

All I can say is thank God for bread. There are tears in my eyes.

Halloween Costume Brainstorm

What I have been in the past:

Posh Spice
"Holy Cow" - cow with halo and angel wings
Skater chick
Strawberry Shortcake
Scottish wench
Anime....type...chick
Ladybug

I am having the hardest time thinking of what to be this year. I am going to a party on the first, and my friends who are going all have really fun, well thought out plans for their costumes. I keep trying to think of movie or tv characters, or something witty. I keep coming up short of anything interesting.

I would rather not buy a costume, but I might if all else fails. I don't want to spend all that much on something I will wear once, however.

Ideas? Anyone?

Mad About: Splenda Flavor Blends For Coffee

For all you 2 or 3 cups a day coffee drinkers looking for something to make that horrible office sludge they dare call coffee a bit more bearable, I've got just the solution!

Splenda Flavor Blends For Coffee

They come in a variety of flavors; French Vanilla, Hazelnut, Caramel, Cinnamon Spice, and Mocha. My personal experience so far has been with Mocha, and just today, walking from the kitchen to my office, I got 3 comments on how yummy it smelled, how it smelled better than any candle, and what on earth am I drinking?

They come in long, small, tear off the tip packets, much like the Crystal Lite on-the-go packets. For a standard cup of coffee, 1 packet is enough. You can easily keep a bunch in your purse, desk, or car!

Now, why do I like something like this? I drink generally 2 cups a day, one first thing when I get into work, and usually one mid-afternoon as a pick-me-up. I usually take mine with a packet of Splenda and a little skim milk. I deal with the horrible taste, and when my budget allows it, I splurge a little for my afternoon cup at Starbucks. With these Flavor Blends, there is no need to go to Starbucks. You can have a perfectly delicious cuppa joe wherever you are. Don't spring for Dunkin Donuts nasty flavor syrups when you can drop one of these in a cup of regular!

I know there are arguments against Splenda, the chemical make-up, processing, and some people will never use a Splenda product. Others love it, and if that's the case, try these! I personally prefer them over using a flavored creamer because my stomach is sensitive to dairy, and flavored creamers usually make me a bit queasy before I'm even done drinking my coffee!

Give it a try, and I hope you find it as enjoyable as I do! I think I'll be trying Cinnamon Spice next!

Little Photoshop of Horrors

Today I attended a Photoshop workshop to hone in on my mad skills (ha!), and it was a great class! I'm usually wary of those workshop style classes run at hotels, and you're never really sure if you'll learn something or if they're going to spend 7 hours trying to sell you their learning materials, with a 1-hour break for lunch. Luckily, they only spent the first 20 minutes advertising the learning materials they have, and dove right into the nitty gritty.

I took the advanced track and pretty much spent the day face-palming myself every time my instructor showed me a great way to edit and work. Turns out I've been doing things the hard way for a long time. Needless to say, adjustment layers are my new best friend, and I cannot believe my former classes did not teach me this stuff!

I am pretty stoked to start using my new tools to start retouching all my digital photos. I want to go into my Italy and hiking pictures and do some crazy color correction. All those pictures that are very dark or hazy looking? No problem! Facial blemishes and double chins? Bring it on.

I want to try to take another class this winter, given that CS4 just came out, and although we probably won't upgrade at work for a while, I want to keep up with the new tools and tricks.

I'll post some retouched pictures as soon as I can.

Cheers!

Pennies From Heaven?

A constant thought I have had on my mind this past month has been that my car needs new tires. Winter is fast approaching, leaves are falling, and the poor excuse for tires that my Yota currently has are not going to cut it for much longer.

So I have been trying to figure out how to save about $500-600 to pay for such new tires in the next 4 weeks. I would ideally have new tires by Thanksgiving.

Without divulging my income, I can say this: It's not going to be easy. Regardless of my promotion last June, and managing to pay off a few credit cards which set me back 2 years due to a month of retail therapy back in the late summer/early fall of '06, I am still living with a very tight budget. It is not nearly as scary as it was at times when I was just starting out, I do have money left over after paying my bills, but not enough to put away a big enough chunk of change each week to take care of this necessity.

So, I am forced to re-evaluate how I am living, how I am spending, and where I can make some sacrifices. Gas prices have been dropping, thank goodness, and I have decided that after this past weekend's trip home to see family, I won't be heading back to the Boston area until Thanksgiving. I rarely buy coffee anymore, and I need to make a concerted effort to bring lunch every day and deal with drinking the office coffee instead of Dunks or Starbucks (Dear Pumpkin Spice Latte, I will miss you.). I need to babysit more and put that extra money right into savings. My weekends need to be especially frugal.

It's not easy. Being 25, you want to go out on the weekends, or spend $50 on a new pair of shoes, have a fabulous dinner with your girlfriends and not worry about what you order because you might not have enough for tipping. So I ask this: In this economy, how bad are you feeling the pinch? Are you living paycheck to paycheck? Have you not felt one bit of tightening in your wallet? What do you do to make it easier?

I keep saying it'll get easier, with the hope that indeed it will. I don't know anyone who doesn't have a credit card bill, or a car payment, or student loans, or all three! This is life, for better or for worse. I guess we all just need to take it one day at a time and really evaluate what's important, and what can wait for when times get better.

And So It Goes

Thanks for a great season guys. You put up a good fight when they didn't think you could. We gave em a hell of a run to the very end.

See you in April!

There's Only One October...

THE RED SOX HAVE MADE IT TO GAME 7!!!!

Ok, had to get that out of my system. I stayed up last night, watched up to the 6th inning at my brother's house and sped 20 minutes down the highway to catch the rest of the game at my parents' house. Sandwiched between my mom and grandma on the couch with Caseypuppy sprawled over our laps, and my dad in the armchair, we watched and cheered and hollered at the Tampa fans, and in the end, we made it through to Game 7. Holy cow. This team sure knows how to raise the blood pressure of the greater New England area for the month of October.

I was literally rounding the off-ramp of Exit 11 when Varitek hit his homerun after the worst hitting slump of his career, and I almost hit about 5 snow poles, I was so excited and screaming and honking my horn (note: in a quiet little town with 1 traffic light and all local business close at 5 or 6 pm). It was fantastic.

I really hope we get to go to the World Series. I don't think it's greedy to want my teams to win championships. Every team has ups and downs, and you need to enjoy it when they're up so you can get through the seasons they're down. Some teams, it's true, have more ups than downs. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the Patriots Dynasty the past few years, so I'm able to take this season with a grain of salt. The Cubs will have their year (I hope!), and so will the Mets and all the other teams that haven't won in X or Y years. There are curses and superstitions and rituals and I love every aspect of the season, from wearing the same jersey every home game to hopping over the first base line when going onto the field to not shaving to sitting in the same order on the bench when at bat. I love this stuff. You can't script a post-season like this.

Bring it, Tampa Bay. May the best team win.

Octoberfest

I am about an hour away from heading up to Massachusetts for the night. My big brother turned 30 this week and his wife is throwing a party for him this afternoon into this evening! I am excited for many things regarding this party. First and foremost, seeing family and friends I don't get to see very often (although thank to Facebook I am somewhat better at keeping in touch). Also, there will be Tessie, my brothers almost 1 year old Welsh Corgi, who is just so darn cute! I love getting to see her and play with her, she just loves people.


The next thing I'm looking forward to is the food and drink. There is sure to be some yummy food, and my brother has been working on making his own apple flavored vodka. He let me try a teeny taste last week when we stopped by, and we loved it so much we're going to try to make our own!

And last but not least...the Red Sox lived to fight another night! They shocked the baseball nation Thursday night making a comeback from a 7-0 deficit in the 7th and beat the Rays. They reignited the fire in their fans hearts, and surprised the hell out of anyone who shut the game off and went to bed because they thought it was over and done. Well, Red Sox Nation, you should know by now that it is never over until the final out of the ninth is played and they clear the field. They did it in '04 against the Yankees. They did it last year against the Indians. I don't know what will happen tonight, but all I know is that I'm glad they're getting another chance to play and hopefully advance. I just love my Sox.

Ok, time for a quick shower and packing. I hope everyone enjoys their weekend!

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1-0 Baby!

The Sox killed it last night! Man, what a good game. That was a perfect example of why I love post season. The adrenaline, the '2 men on in scoring position and the go ahead run at the plate' type of anxiety that has me hooting and hollering as I watch from bed and need to apologize every 3 minmutes for waking my sweetheart up (although I think he was somewhat pretending to sleep and listening to the game).

Could you believe the shot JD Drew took off his shoulder! I could feel the sting from here. I'm glad he was ok. These teams are going to be on edge the next couple games, I can tell. I hope the antics and rough-housing of the regular season don't rear their ugly heads. Although it's very entertaining.