seeing red

Sometimes I wonder if deep down I am truly just an angry person, but then I remind myself that sometimes anger is justifiable. What are some of the things that anger me? I am pissed off at injustices, both in the world and in my life. Stupidity kind of ticks me off too. And don't get me started on inconsiderate people or those with the "I told you so" condescending attitudes.

The upside is that anger is often a good motivator for me, a sort of fuel for the motivational fires. Right now I am pissed and motivated. I feel it coming from the depths of my soul and the bottom of my feet. I feel the urge to stand up against the injustices that are coming my and my peers' way (sorry to be cryptic, but I will be asked to cease and desist if I go into details at this time).

Maybe if I just channel the coolness of Kim Gordon 


Hey, Kool Thing, come here, sit down beside me.
There's something I go to ask you.
I just wanna know, what are you gonna do for me?
I mean, are you gonna liberate us girls
From male white corporate oppression?
Tell it like it is!
Huh?
Yeah!
Don't be shy
Word up!
Fear of a female planet?
Fear of a female planet?
Fear, baby!
I just want to know that we can still be friends
Come on, come on, come on, come on let everybody know

oh week, how you are kicking my ass!

Did you ever have a week when you head into work and as you arrive you notice your boss is waiting there with a brand new company car, promotion and hefty raise for you? 

 Yeah, me neither.

My week, thus far, has been quite the opposite and I feel run down. Watching unfair treatment abound, people losing their livelihoods, and others being seen as commodities makes me want to make some changes, for myself and for others. It is awful when you step back and realize that it doesn't have to be this way but you don't have much power to change things. 

 Maybe this salmon going upstream needs to recite the beginning of the Serenity Prayer:

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference. 

Oh, and a bat to beat off the evildoers.


Okay, I may added that last line.

before after after

before after after
Originally uploaded by misslissa13

Here's a little taste of one of the changes we made to the house. The previous owners really liked pink. Now don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with the color pink, but a pink/rose/frilly living room? Not quite my style. Bright and blue = happy.

The gold velvet chair was my grandmother's. Unfortunately, it doesn't photograph well but I love incorporating an heirloom into our decor.  

oh come on now

The Universe is using public access television now.

yeah, hi universe. what are you trying to say?

Two days after I post this blog entry about my struggle between veganism and my taste buds, I stumble across this powerful reminder that what we choose to do daily has an impact (positive or negative) on the world.

Waking Up from The Gaia Foundation on Vimeo.

Sigh, okay, off to organize...for real this time.

time wasting

I am so adept at getting caught up in researching things and distracting myself, that I end up wasting time I could be engaging in productively organizing the house. Case in point: I am blogging instead of unpacking the second bedroom or the kitchen. It is snowing and I have the day off so I have no legitimate excuse to be unproductive. I think I found my motivation: crafting.

So I am going to sign off and clean and my reward (besides an organized house) will be space and time to do some crafting this evening. Nice!

What are you doing today and how are you rewarding yourself?

poor little tasty crustacean

I struggle. My struggle comes in the form of seafood and dairy. *insert visual of a prawn and cheese wheel in arch-nemesis regalia here* Yes they are my enemy. My enemy in the battle of waxing towards veganism. WAIT! Don't click off this page just yet. I'm not a crazed, militant animal rights coo-coo for cocoa puffs type. Nor do I preach what other people should or should not eat.

Okay, good. You stayed and I know, I know. "Why the heck would you want to do that? Become a vegan???? Bleck! Vegans eat weird food and stuff." Years ago, I never thought I'd want to ever give up animal products in their entirety. Yum, vegetable lasagna with gobs of melty mozzarella and happy sprinkles of parmigiana cheese on top. Why WOULD I want to give that up? Trust me, part of me doesn't. Part of me would jump in a vat of warm gooey cheese and do a few laps before dipping crusty bread into the fondue fabulousness if I had the chance.

"Isn't being a vegetarian good enough? Why deprive yourself some more, Missliss? Wait, you're not a 'real' vegetarian anyway!" True, I am technically a pesca-lacto-ovo vegetarian. My diet for the past eight years has consisted of mostly of veg fare, still including dairy eggs and cheese, and the occasional seafood dish. (I never said I was a good vegetarian.) I started eating this way as an experiment: How would I feel if I cut most meats out of my diet? Survey says: Vastly better. Lots of aches and pains I carried in my joints most of the time dissipated. I lost a little weight and my energy improved.

"Well, why didn't you go full vegan then?" (See the first paragraph, reinsert arch-nemeseses...arch-nemisii? arch-neme...the prawn and cheese guys.) First off, I never wanted to give up sushi and cheese...cheese really didn't seem like a thing to bother giving up.And sushi? No way! Too yummy. As I continued with a poultry, beef, mutton-free diet (alright, I never ate mutton) I realized I really didn't miss any of it. Plus, keeping seafood in my diet made finding things to eat at peoples' houses or restaurants much less of a chore.

"Sooooooo, vegan now? Why?" Mostly for health reasons. If I cut cheese out of my diet there is no doubt I'd be healthier. I am a cheese junkie for sure. (Wait, can you mainline Gouda?) Additionally, I am starting to think about all those little lives that needlessly die so I can have Cajun-shrimp wraps. It kind of seems unnecessary.

My dilemma? Each time I contemplate trying a full vegan diet, my subconscious stomach starts demanding shrimp dishes and everything smothered with cheese! I wonder if it is the thought of being so strict that makes me panic? A few years ago, Groovy and I did a 30 day raw foods diet which was vegan (except the pasteurized cows milk in my morning coffee. Yeah, it wasn't raw either) and I didn't even bat an eye. My cravings and hunger were completely satisfied and I didn't waver one bit. It was amazing and delicious, and I felt great.

Perhaps I am being too hard on myself. Perhaps I just need to put myself to the task of giving it a try and seeing how it goes? Do I smell another 30 Day Challenge? Mmmmm perhaps...but let me finish this calzone first.

Are All Ardently Awaiting Acquisition of the A Activity?

So I started gathering my thoughts about the letter A for my Alphabet Challenge.
A for Anarchy? No! A for Archery? I did some research and there are some local indoor archery ranges that you can rent and get a lesson. I think this could be fun. Anyone interested on hitting a target with a sharp pointy stick with me? If you live local, I'd love to get a group together for an "archery party" (seriously, some of the places have this!) or one or two people as accompaniment. If you live in a land far far away (from me), why not find a place by you and give it a try?

I am still open to other A ideas, too. Plus, there are still 25 other letters of the alphabet to get to! Lots of you read the original post about this challenge, but no one got creative with ideas. Come on, lurkers. This is group participation and it may affect your grade (tee hee).

this is lovely

be patient

A, B, C. easy as 1, 2, 3

So, driving home the other day, I passed an OTB (Off Track Betting for those of you unfamiliar) and thought, "well that is something I've never tried before." After posting a semi-joking Facebook post requesting accompaniment to a day of betting on the ponies I thought, hmmm. As a one-time thing, it might be fun to do something new like betting a few bucks on horse races.

A few minutes more into my commute, my brain started to wander to other things I have never tried. Archery. I have never tried to shoot a bow and arrow. Archery starts with "A." Betting. Betting starts with the letter "B." Hey, what if I go through the alphabet one letter at a time and find something new to do, try or learn? Put myself to a challenge, maybe? After all, it's been a while since I've done something to get my mind and juices flowing. I'll do it!

Here's where I ask your assistance. I have some ideas for some of the letters of the alphabet, but maybe you can come up with different ideas for me to consider. Of course, this challenge will also give me fodder for blog topics and I would love it if you'd all join in (independently or with me if you're local...or willing to commute to NY).

So here's where we start. In the comments, list the alphabet and ideas of new things to try. I'll start with just a quick brainstorm.Some of my ideas are lame, but this is just a starting point. If you come up with something better for a letter, I'll engage in that one.

The Super Tentative, Incomplete List of Things to Try:

A - Archery
B - Betting on horses, Bungee jumping, Belly dancing
C - Crocheting 
D -
E -
F - Fishing for shark
G - Gold-leafing something
H - Hot yoga, Hooping
I - Icing a cake artistically, Inline skating (aggressive style)
J - Juggling
K - Kite building, Karate
L -
M - Marionette - learn to make and control one
N - Noodle making
O - Orienteering
P - Parkour (okay, I physically can't do this right now but I'd love to try)
Q - Quilting
R - Rugby, Riding a motorcycle,
S - Snowboarding
T - Tightrope, Trapeze
U - Ukulele (learn how to play)
V - Vaudeville acting
W - Water skiing,
X - Xylophone (buy and learn how to play)
Y - Yo-yo tricks
Z - Zeppole making, Zamboni driving (don't know how I'd manage that but hey, you never know)

What are your ideas?

never mind the chaos

As things at the office get all chaotic, messy and busting at the seams, I am feeling an amazing sense of calm between the moments of being out-of-sorts. There are changes happening and a lot of covertness occurring. I'm observing coworkers being treated unfairly and everyone's stress levels seem off the charts. The hard-working among the ranks are getting no recognition. In general, there is a topcoat of icky. I know things are going to change real soon, so I will not have to worry about it much longer, but I find it sad for the simple fact that it doesn't have to be this way. There are ways of finding balance between getting expected work done while treating people with kindness.

In spite of it all, today I vow to keep myself grounded.
I vow to take the extra steps to be more kind to others.
I vow to find the humor in everything.
I vow to be myself, flaws and all.
I vow to stay calm in the face of chaos and use this to lead by example.
I vow to breathe.

Shanti, shanti, shanti
Peace, peace, peace

wowzer

I has certainly been a while since I posted. So here's a little update:

Moved into our home and are getting settled. Boddington is being a bit neurotic and trying to chew everything in sight, but he is loving the exploration of a new town. Once the ground thaws in the spring, we're installing a fence so he can frolic and play catch in a space bigger than a living room. Sherman is in bunny heaven getting to bask in some sunlight through the big picture window and showing his glee with lots of happy-bunny flops. We couldn't be happier...well, except maybe if we won the lottery. Yeah, I know money can't buy happiness but neither does being dirt poor. Think about it, wouldn't you rather be rich and miserable than poor and miserable?

We spent the first week of home ownership painting the abode and changing the color scheme from pinks, pale yellow and peach to a vibrant palette worthy of a daycare center. Two of the rooms were to our liking, but everything else had to go. So much painting, I had to don a wrist brace to deal with ligament/tendon strain. There is still some unpacking to do, but before and after pictures are on the way.

As I have mentioned in a previous post, this town has a bad rap, but I have to say, the more I live here the more I love this town! Taking walks with Boddie allow me to take in water views, watch wildlife (deer, ducks and various birds), see unique architecture and breathe in the salty air.