Affirmations

     If you tuned in yesterday, I was talking about a list of things that I am leaving behind. I took that list of negatives and made it into a list of positive affirmations. I have been reading the list and repeating these affirmations to myself every day. These are separate from my 2013 Goals that I will post about on New Year's Day, but very much a vital part of what I want for myself in the coming year and beyond. Like I said yesterday, to further make plain my intention, I am posting them here :)

I am Evolving. These are my Affirmations:

-I will not spend time with negatvie people

-I will not let the negativity of others hurt me

-I will not be limited by the limitations other people place on themselves

-I will not let anyone steal my Bliss. I will Rise Above.

-I will put myself first more often

-I will make time for myself

-I will pursue my Dreams

-I will be Brave

-I will give my body the sleep, rest, exercise, nourishing food and creative and spiritual fulfillment it needs and deserves

-I will focus on my strengths and try to improve my weaknesses

-I will stand up for myself

-I will be aware and appreciative of my strengths, talents and spiritual gifts

-I will use my time productively

-I will not lose my compassion, but I will not hold onto the sufferings of others. I will learn to let them pass though me.


I Will.

Love,
Lynn

What I am Leaving Behind

     This post may come across a little on the emotionally heavy side, but I promise you, it is coming from a postive place, I'm only getting all this out in the open so it can lead into the more positive posts coming up :)

      Last week, on the Solstice (12/21/12), Mikey and I attended a lovely holiday party that was sort of a Christmas/Solstice/Yule Party all rolled into one. In additon to wonderful company and delicious food and drink, we also had a small Solstice Ritual ouside in our friend's backyard. On the longest night of the year, with the snow falling softly around us, we all gathered around a small bonfire and sang, offered thanks, greeted the return of the Light, and offered our intentions for the New Year to come. We each had two pieces of paper. On one piece was a list of things that we wanted to leave behind, the things that we wanted burned away. On the second piece of paper was a list of the things that we wanted to take their place, the new intentions we wanted seared into our hearts for the New Year. We put both pieces of paper into the bonfire to seal our intention. I found this to be amazingly cleansing and also empowering. I made an extra copy of each list so that I could reread them and refer back to them in the year to come. I am sharing them here, to further make plain my intention.

      Today, I am going to share the list of things that I am Leaving Behind. I gave myself about 10 minutes the morning of the party and created this list. Here is the list of what I am leaving behind, uncensored and unedited, in the order that they ocurred to me:

I am Evolving. These are the things I am Leaving Behind. I will become a better *Me*

      -Spending time with negative people

      -Letting the negativity of others hurt me

      -Letting the limits other people place on themselves limit me

      -Letting other people steal my Bliss

      -Putting myself last

      -Not taking time for myself

      -Putting everything I want on hold so that other people can have their lives made easier

      -Being afraid

      -Mistreating my body

     -Focusing only on my shortcomings

     -Not standing up for myself

     -Feeling like I am less of a person than I actually am

     -Wasting my time

     -Holding onto the sufferings of others when I should let them pass through me.

     There is no room for any of this inside of me any more. I cannot carry it with me any longer.  I do not want to lose my generosity, my kindness, my compassion, or anything like that, that is not what this is about. But, it has become clear to me this year that I seem to have lost the ability to live for myself. I live for others. I hurt for others, I take care of others before myself. I put what I want aside so others can have what they want. I make most of my choices based on the effect those choices will have on others. When people hurt, I hurt with them, I hurt FOR them. None of these traits are necessarily bad on their own. In fact, they are good, honorable, important traits, and I don't want to lose them completely. But there need to be boundaries. There needs to be Balance.  Everyone has the right and the responsibility to advocate for themselves, for their happiness, and for their own physical/emotional/spiritual well-being. I need to learn how to do this again. I WILL learn how do do this again.

    I'm not expecting this to be easy, and I'm not expecting to get good at it overnight. I'm sure there will be slip-ups and stumbles and sticky spots. But, I want to make a concerted effort to improve on this during the coming year. I took the above list and turned it into a List of Affirmations (the second piece of paper from the ritual), which I will also post here. But, if you want to see those, you'll have to come back tomorrow ;)

Love You,
Lynn

2012: End of the Year Goal Check-In

MY FRIENDS!!!

 If you're still reading this, that means you stuck with me during the *coughcoughfiveorsixmonthscoughcough* that I had to let this blog go dark, for reasons ranging from having no computer to a severe lack of free time. Oh, and on September 22nd, 2012, this happend :)

 My beloved Michael and I are now husband and wife :) Our wedding day was absolutely wonderful, and we couldn't be happier or more grateful :)

 I've missed you all so much :) After a beautiful first married Christmas, we are turning our eyes to the New Year, 2013. I've actually had really good luck with the goals I've posted here, even if I don't blog about them very often, so it's a trend I plant to continue. However, before I move onto my goals/affirmations, etc for the New Year, I want to do a wrap-up about my 2012 Goals.

Goal #1: Pay for Our Portion of the Wedding Without Accruing Any New Debt: WIN!!!! I am insanely proud of this. This was incredibly, ridiculously hard. We would go for weeks or months at a time without full tanks of gas, went without anything that wasn't absolutely necessary, and survived on bread, peanut butter and instant oatmeal. But it paid off because we paid for our portion of the wedding without going into any new debt. We just used savings and our existing credit cards. The only exception to this was that, about a month before the wedding, my rear brakes failed (great timing, right? 0_O) and I had to get them replaced to the tune of $800, and in order to make that happen I had to open a line of credit with my mechanic, but that was not a wedding expense, that's just part of owning a car, so I don't count it toward *new debt for the wedding*. This was a huge, huge challenge, BUT WE DID IT!!! Seriously, I learned a lot about money management and I couldn't be prouder of us :)

Goal#2: No New Books Until September 23rd, 2012: WIN!!! Speaking of difficult, I have absolutely no effing idea how I pulled this off, but, one of the biggest bookworms you will ever meet, did not buy one. single. book. I borrowed from libraries and friends, received a few as gifts, and reread some favorites that I already own. This did get easier the closer we got to the wedding, because I had no time at all for pleasure reading. I bought one book on our Honeymoon, and I bought two books back in November for my birthday, but even though the challenge was technically over on 9/23/12, I haven't gone hog wild these few months of the year, and I feel really good about that.

Goal#3: No New Clothes Until September 23rd, 2012: WIN!!! With the exception of my wedding dress and Wedding Shoes, which were planned from the beginning, we met this goal with flying colors. I bought one pair of rain boots  because my old ones were absolute sieves, but this goal was probably the easiest in terms of temptation, and by that I mean that I am not as tempted by clothes as I am by books and food and whatnot. By September our clothes were pretty threadbare, and we did go on a mini-shopping spree for new clothes on our Honeymoon, but with the help of clothing swaps and hand me downs and borrowing, we did very well :)

Goal#4: Eat Out A Maximum of Twice Per Week: DRAW. I can't say we were great at this, but I can't say we were awful at it, either. We would go for weeks on end and not eat out at all, but then a week would come where we'd be  eating at restaurants or eating takeout several nights in a row. In the end it all balanced out and, basically, it was a wash. I'm certainly glad we attempted this challenge, and being mindful about our food spending is something that I definitely want to continue to do, but the reality of working in theatre plus working dayjobs is that sometimes we just are logistically unable to eat our meals at home, and we have to accept that and make the best choices we can within that parameter.

Goal#5: Love My Body Again: LOSE. Like I said at the halfway-point check in that I posted back in June, I wish I could tell you all that I had done really well at this, but the reality is that I have not. If anything, I am in a worse place in terms of body image than I was last year. I have put on about 10lbs this year, mostly due to stress, a full-time desk job and the inability to give my body the rest, exercise, pampering and other such self-care it needs. There have been shining moments, certainly. I looked lovely at my Bridal Showers, our Handfasting, and at our Rehearsal Dinner. And, if I do say so myself, I was absolutely radiant on our wedding day, but that had much more to do with Love and Happiness (thought the dress fit perfectly and I couldn't have been happier with it:) I have days, sometimes weeks,where I think I look good/fine, but sadly, those days have gotten fewer and fewer.  These days I weigh about 175 lbs, which breaks my old all-time highest weight by 3lbs. To be honest, I'm a little disgusted with myself. I really, truly try to like my physical self the way it is, but so far, I haven't succeeded, on a regular basis, anyway. But, before I get too much farther into this, let me be clear about something. I find women of all shapes and sizes to be beautiful.I am not stating in any way, shape or form that one must be thin to be beautiful. I would never, ever, pass judgement on another woman's body, I am speaking only about my own appearance and my comfort level in my own skin. My feelings about my personal appearance have nothing to do with the true beauty I see in other women, regardless of their size. I am not kind enough to my body, I don't give it what it needs. I don't give it enough sleep, or enough exercise, I don't give it enough nourishing food. I do not smoke or drink alcohol, and I try to minimize the chemicals my body is exposed to, but even with those in place, I don't give myself enough love. And it all gets very cyclical from there, I'm tired, I'm stressed, which makes me more prone not to like how I look, etc. etc. I will create some kind of 2013 Goal surrounding this issue, exact details to come.

All in All, I'm very proud of my work this year. Every year that I complete even some of the goals, it gives me the courage and confidence to attempt more specific and more challenging goals in the year to come. I hope to do several posts over the next few days surrounding New Years, with my reflections, goals and whatnot. More soon :)

Love,
Lynn :)

Remember Those Goals from January?

Hello Again, Friends :)

  While I have your attention,  I should probably update you on the 2012 Goals I listed here back in January. It's June, after all, we're approximately halfway through the year and it's about time for a Progress Report on the tasks I set up for myself for 2012: I'm actually doing reasonably well, better than I thought I would do, honestly :)

   So, here we go :)

Goal#1: Pay for Our Portion of Our Wedding Without Accruing Any New Debt: WIN! We're about three months out from the wedding and so far we have been able to pay for our portion of the wedding expenses using savings and existing credit cards. We have not opened any new bank accounts, new credit cards, or taken out any loans. Some of this is in part to extreme generosity on the part of our family and friends, and some of it has to do with our own dedication to not going deeper into debt. We do not want to start our married life together under a cloud of debt. There are more expenses coming, but thus far we've done very well :)

Goal#2 (as an extension of Goal#1): No New Books: WIN! No one is more shocked than me at this one, but I swear to you, hand on heart, that I have not bought one single new book yet this year. I have borrowed books from the library, I have borrowed books from friends, I have received books as gifts, but I have not purchased one.single.book. As a self-professed bibliophile, I can barely believe it, but I'm DOING IT and, frankly, I'm rather proud of myself :) (Full Disclosure, this particular goal ends after our wedding, which I also specified in my January post, as of 9/23/12, I am allowed to buy books again as budget allows)

Goal#3 (also an extension to Goal#1): No New Clothes: WIN! With the exception of one pair of boots that I really did need (I had no boots that were waterproof and I was tired of soaking wet feet), I have not bought any new clothes yet this year. Any *new* clothes have been thrifted, handed down from friends, or borrowed. In my January post, I made an exception for my Wedding Gown, and, as further full disclosure, I will be buying wedding shoes, possibly a veil and other such bride accouterments. But, those were expected expenses, and those wedding-type things are what I'm trying to save money for. So, wedding related clothing and accessories are not counted in my *no new clothes* tally. With that caveat, I am meeting this goal :)

Goal#4 (also an extension of Goal#1): Eat Out Maximum of Twice Per Week: DRAW. We're up and down with this one. Some weeks we don't go out to eat at all. Other weeks we eat out a few times or stop for coffee, etc. It all seems to equal out in the end....we're not doing as well as we could on this particular goal, but we're also doing way better than we could be, and we've by no means flung it out the window or anything. So, in short, we're doing....*okay* on this one, not great, not awful.

Goal#5: Love My Body Again: DRAW.  I would love to tell you that this particular goal is going really well, that I've made a real connection to my body again and I've learned to love it just the way it is while still seeking to get healthier and improve. My progress on this one has been uneven. I go in fits and starts, some days are good, some days are not good. There have been some bright spots, definitely. My wedding dress has come in, and it looks lovely on me and it is TOO BIG, which is always a great feeling. I looked lovely at my two Bridal Showers, and every once in awhile I'll catch my reflection in a window or a full-length mirror (we don't have one at home) and think *Hey, not bad, I actually look nice today*. Those days are good :) Unfortunately, there are still not enough of them, and I spent far too many days unhappy with how I look. I'm very frustrated with my weight and the fact that I don't seem to have the willpower to stick with any kind of regimen for very long. I lose a few pounds, I gain them back, blah blah blah, you've heard it before. I have to do something, for the life of me I don't know what it is, what the key is to unlock dedication to health and self-love and weight loss and all that, but I'm sure it's out there somewhere. Anyone want to help me find it?

  So, all in all, the goals I've set for myself this year are going well :) Did you set any goals for yourself this year? How are they going? I'm all ears :)

Love,
Lynnie

Technical Difficulties

  Two of my dear friends who were kept away from blogging lately due to various life interference  have posted an *I'm Still Here!!! Gonna do my best to get back into Blogging!* type post today. So, I decided to make it a hat trick and do one of my own.You may have noticed my disappearance from both this blog and my food blog:

Let me tell you a story:

  Back in January of this year, my fiance and I moved into an apartment together (yay!) We each brought with us a laptop. Less than a month after moving in together, both of our laptops were dead (I ranted about this a few months ago). My laptop (which was secondhand when I got it and, if I'm honest, never worked perfectly to begin with) got caught in a system repair loop and eventually froze up completely. Within days of that, Michael tripped and fell while carrying his laptop and it literally broke in half. He managed to put it back together, but the computer no longer recognized itself, so that one was basically a doorstop too. So, we were computerless for awhile, and, with no home Internet and no free time, I was not able to blog with any frequency.


  In late February, our very generous brother and sister-in-law loaned us their old laptop, and we were back online :) We were still ridiculously busy and I had very little computer time, but I did manage to participate in the April A-Z Blogging Challenge here on this blog and put up a food blog post or two. Then, in mid/late May, the fun started again. One day for no reason at all, the laptop would not turn on. It had been working perfectly the night before. Mikey fiddled with it and managed to get it to turn back on, and for a few days everything seemed fine. The the screen started to malfunction, and, one morning we got up and, again, the laptop would not turn on. For a few days it did not work at all. Then, randomly, it turned itself back on, but it had uninstalled its operating system. We managed to reinstall the operating system, but later that same day, the computer froze, shut itself off, and when we turned it back on, it had, once again, uninstalled its operating system (*this happened about four times before we threw in the towel*).

  This past weekend, we brought the laptop back to my bro and sis in-law for troubleshooting, and it was decided that really the only thing that would do much towards fixing the laptop would be a new hard drive. Seeing as how the laptop is about 10 years old, we decided against this. We categorically cannot afford a new computer of any kind right now. So, we're going to tough it out for the summer and hopefully buy a new computer this fall after the wedding. It's only about three more months. (Wow! We're getting married!!! Can't wait!!!)

  Now, in the grand scheme of things, I know that having no home computer is a relatively small problem, especially when we can both get on the Internet at work if we need to do online banking, check e-mails, etc. However, this year so far has been an extreme test of what Michael and I can learn to live without, and no home computer has been has been a BIG portion of that test. We have no computer, no cable (not even basic cable), we do not have smart phones, iPads, Kindles or anything devices of that type. Sometimes it sucks and it's massively inconvenient. Sometimes it's peaceful and awesome.

  So, here we are, at basically the same place we were back in January. Ridiculously busy and no home computer to blog with. But you know what? I really, REALLY miss blogging. There's got to be a way for me to blog fairly regularly even with these stumbling blocks in place. I don't know what it is, but its got to be out there somewhere.....

 In other news, we are healthy and happy (tired, very stressed, but happy and ridiculously in love ;). The wedding planning is coming along, slowly but surely, and we can't wait to get married :) I very much look forward to the day when I can give my blogs the time they deserve, hopefully that day will be sooner rather than later. If anyone has any tips on how to blog despite no computer and no time, please toss them my way, I'd really appreciate them :)

  I will endeavor to update as often as I can, stick with me folks, I'm here, I swear :)

*love!*
Lynnie

Sneaking In Under The Wire: *S-Z*

Yes, I am massively lamesauce for falling behind on the last 8 letters of the A-Z Challenge (usual story, illness, massively busy, family commitments, blah blah blah, but it is true, nonetheless). But, even though I had fallen behind, there was no way that I'd just bail out of the Challenge without finishing. So, better late than never, and just in time for the wrap-up of the Challenge, here are *S* through *Z*:

A television show that you enjoy that starts with *S*: Secret Diary of a Call Girl :) Billie Piper is AMAZING!!!

Coffee or Tea? TEA!!!!! As I may have mentioned once or twice, I'm really not much of a coffee person. I love the smell, and every once in awhile I will have a flavored iced-coffee, but by and large coffee is not my beverage of choice. However, I am completely enamored with Tea, hot and iced, herbal, green, black, red, chai, you name it, Lynn+Tea = LOVE :)

U is for Unitarian Universalist: (no survey question for this one, since I did something very specific regarding this letter very recently) One of the goals on my 30 by 30 List was to attend a Service at a Unitarian Universalist Church. Just yesterday, I attended a service celebrating Beltane, led by my dear friend and fellow blogger Merlyn, at the Auburn Unitarian Universalist Society in Auburn,  NY. I'm going to do a whole blog about this very soon, but for the moment, let me say it was a wonderful experience and I'm very, very glad I went :)

If you could take a Vacation anywhere in the United States right now, where would you go? Somewhere along the Coast of South Carolina or Georgia (Charleston, Hilton Head Island, Savannah, etc). That region of the South is so breathtakingly beautiful this time of year, Spring is in full bloom, and the hard-core heat hasn't taken hold yet....*wistful sigh*, my kingdom for the fresh but sultry smell of ocean air and springtime blossoms.......

What are you Wearing today? I'm wearing a black v-neck long-sleeved shirt, black jeggings, a lightweight silvery-purple duster-length cardigan, and I had on my silver high-heeled rain boots at work today. (OMG I LOVE THOSE BOOTS!!! There nice enough to wear out to dinner, but they're also waterproof, so I can splash through puddles with them :) I'm also wearing my watch, my engagement ring and my locket :)

Have you ever had X-Rays? Yes, I've had x-rays at the dentist many times. I just recently had a full set of x-rays done when I went for my initial consult at the Chiropractor (which is going very well and I've started to see improvement already:).

Have you ever practiced Yoga? OH YES!!! I belonged to a wonderful Yoga studio when I lived in Brockport, NY, The Beyond Center for Yoga and Pilates. I absolutely adore Yoga. I was so happy when I was practicing yoga, I slept better, I had more energy, fewer headaches, and I felt so much more peaceful. I still practice some yoga at home, but I haven't rejoined a studio since returning to CNY, but that's due to a lack of time and money, not a loss of interest. It's high-up on my list of things to do as soon as I can squeeze it in. If there's anyone reading this in the Central New York Area who can recommend a good yoga program, I am all ears :)

First geographical location you can think of that starts with *Z*: Zagreb, Croatia.


Well, there you have it, Darlings, The A-Z Blogging Challenge for April 2012. Thank you to everyone who stopped by my blog, it may take me while, but I promise to respond to all the comments that new readers and friends have sent me :) Be Well and Happy Blogging!!!


XOXO
Lynnie :)

P, Q, R

Hey Folks,

Sorry, about the lag in posting, this week just got away from me, and I haven't mastered writing posts ahead of time yet. So, to speed things along and get back to where I need to be, I'm gonna steal an idea from my dear friend Nubby and do a survey question for each letter :)


P: Do you have a signature perfume or scent that you wear? Actually, no, I don't. I tend to like light, crisp, clean scents (think light florals, clean laundry, ocean air, things like that). I've have several perfumes/essential oils that I wear on occasion, and while I like them all, I haven't found the *one* scent that I think suits me perfectly. Hopefully someday ;)


Q: Favorite Queen Song? *Fat Bottom Girls*, no contest :)


R: Last Restaurant you went to?  appeThaizing, a delicious Thai restaurant up on the S.U. (Syracuse University) Hill, last Sunday evening. Pan fried tofu with sweet chili sauce, Pad Thai and Thai Iced Coffee (OMG NOM!).


Whee:)
Lynnie

O is for *Over the Hump*

Gonna sneak in under the wire again tonight with a quickie post:

O is for *Over the Hump*

Today, I looked at the *To Do List* for our wedding and realized that we have accomplished more already than there is left to do. Put more simply, we are more than halfway done with the wedding planning :) Don't mistake me, there's a TON left to do, but it's actually all starting to come together, we're over the crest of the hill  and we're gathering momentum for the final push through to nuptial day :) Huzzah :) While I have loved being engaged, I cannot wait to get married :)

xoxo
Lynnie

M and N are for *Migraine, No Post*

Greetings All,

  I'm sorry I missed Saturday's post, I was in the Finger Lakes all day and ushering for a play at the Shakespeare Festival all evening. I had a whole combined *M* and *N* post planned for tonight, but sadly, I got hit with a migraine a few hours ago and can't be in front of the computer screen longer than a few minutes because the glare from the monitor wreaks havoc on my eyes/head. So, a post, other than this placeholder/disclaimer isn't going to happen tonight, I apologize. If I end up with extra time later on, I'll come back to *M* and *N*, but for now I'm going back to the couch with an ice pack, and hopefully I'll be back with a real post for *O* on the 'morrow :)

Night Night :)
Lynn

L is for *Love List*

Hey Ho :)

   I'm borrowing the concept for today's *L* posting from a phenomenal retired blogger, Sayward, from the now, sadly, discontinued Bonazi Aphrodite (*sniff!* Miss her so much!)

  Anyway, every Friday, as part of her Weekend Send-Off, she would post a *Love List*, or list of things that she was loving from that week and looking forward that weekend/month/season/whatever. She would leave the posts up all weekend so readers could add their own Love Lists in the comments :)

  I think this idea is pretty dang awesome, and I'm hoping to incorporate it in some form into my own blogging efforts on a fairly regular basis after the A-Z Challenge is over :)

SO!!!

The Love List for 4/13/12

- Getting a good chunk of uninterrupted reading time on Monday with my latest book, 'The Swan Thieves" by Elizabeth Kostova :)

- A friend who will drop everything and stay on the phone with me for two hours when I'm having a bad day, just to make sure I'm okay and let me vent

-Open Mic on Wednesday night with Merry Mischief and other old and new friends :)

- Cleaned out both closets, put away the winter coats and boots and reorganized the cupboards in the kitchen

- Leftover Easter Candy

- Drinking Sparkling water mixed with fruit or fruit juice out of fancy wineglasses

-Ushering this weekend for Love vs Time, the latest show at the Syracuse Shakespeare Festival

- Visiting a possible location for our Mini-Moon after our Wedding this September (big Honeymoon will be next year when Mikey has more vacation time)

Cheers!
Lynnie

K is for *Kinship*

Today feels a little bit like Christmas :)

    Okay, so there's no snow and no tree, and the gift I received today was not wrapped in pretty paper, but what I received today was so incredibly AWESOME that it really does evoke that same Christmas Morning excitement, plus a little more because this was pretty unexpected.

    Today I was given the gift of kinship or, more specifically, family history :) My Nana's brother, my Great Uncle Stanley, has become a genealogist in his retirement. He has been researching the family history on my mother's side for the better part of 20 years. (Side note, he will do this for other people as well, he's done quite a bit of  research into Mikey's family too). I always knew that he did this, and it would occasionally come up in conversation during family get-togethers and I found it very interesting, but, like so many other things you mean to do, it got lost in the shuffle of a busy life.

     A dear friend of mine has recently begun researching her own family history, and her efforts have rekindled my interest in my own. So, this past weekend over Easter, I talked more with my Uncle Stanley about our family's history, and he asked for my e-mail address and he said would send me everything he had. He sent me a series of e-mails today, and I'm sure there are more to come :)


YOWZA!!!!

I was completely unprepared for the volume and depth of the research my Uncle has done. He has traced my maternal lineage back SEVEN GENERATIONS!!!! My Mother's maiden name is Caufield, and he has traced the Caufield line back to my four times Great Grandfather Patrick Caufield who was born in County Louth, Ireland in 1787!!! My family is wicked Irish in that line, in addition to *Caufields*, there are *McKay's*, *Kelly's*, *Karney's*, *Driscolls* and a host of other Irish names.

Here is County Louth (it's a little ways North of Dublin)

Here is the County Louth Tartan :)

     It appears the Caufields were primarily a farming family and emigrated here in the late 1840's or early 1850"s, which coincides directly with the Great Famine/Potato Famine in Ireland that went on from 1845 to 1852. When they first arrived here, they settled in St. Lawrence County, and then a few generations later moved to Oswego County. I've only barely begun to penetrate all the family history that Uncle Stanley sent to me and I can't wait to read it in more depth and hopefully be able to add to it myself.


    I don't know if I can accurately describe how I feel right now.....the best word I can think of is "Connected". I am here because those people were here. I live because they lived, and even though they lived hundreds of years ago, there is still a part of them in me. That. Is. Amazing.


  I can see myself becoming massively addicted to Genealogy :)

  Love,
Lynn

J is for *Jokes*

Who doesn't love a good joke?


Here are a few of my favorites :)

Two of my faves from childhood:


"What do you get when you cross a chicken and a cow?

"Milk and Quackers!!!*


"How many inchworms does it take to make a foot?"

"None! Worms don't have feet!"


These two take a second to dawn on you:


'What's the difference between mashed potatoes and pea soup?"

"Anyone can mash potatoes!"


"What do you call four Spanish guys in quicksand?"

'Quattro Cinco" (if you don't speak Spanish you can skip this one)


One-Liners:

So, a Priest, a Minister and a Rabbi walk into a bar. The bartender takes one look at them and says "What is this, a joke?" (rim shot!)

A guy walks into a bar, the next guy ducks. (rim shot!)


And just for good measure, one naughty joke, from the incomparable Ms. Sophie Tucker ;)


"So, I'm standing in the kitchen when in walks my boyfriend Ernie, and he says to me "Soph, if you could learn how to cook we could fire the chef". I turned to him and said 'Ernie, if you could learn how to f*%k we could fire the chauffeur!"



Don't know who it was that said that laughter is the best medicine, but they were so incredibly right ;)

Got a favorite joke? Lay it on me :)
(Keep it reasonably clean and respectful please)

xoxo
Lynnie

I is for *Inspiration*

Although the uncut list is quite long, here are a smattering of people that Inspire Me :)

                                                             Pablo Picasso

                                                             William Shakespeare

                                                   His Holiness The 14th Dalai Lama

                                                            Katherine of Aragon

                                                              Queen Elizabeth I

                                                                    The Beatles


:)
Lynnie

G and H are for *Good Heavens!*

Sometimes life goes by a little too fast for me to blog:

   Deepest apologies for missing Saturday's entry, I was baby-sitting until after midnight and unable to get online. So, I am combining Saturday's *G* entry with tonight's *H* entry.


   Good Heavens, but life is awfully......mind-boggling....awesomely so.....

    Today, I had jury duty. The last time that this happened was 8 years ago, in 2004. During the copious amounts of downtime in between selection processes, I couldn't help but think about how different my life is now and all the changes that have taken place in these eight intervening years.

   In September of 2004, I was 21. I was single (fairly newly so), had graduated that May,and I was living in Rochester, NY, (but still legally residing in Syracuse, hence the Onondaga County Jury Summons).I was working primarily for a Rochester-based children's theatre, but was also working at Panera Bread Company to fill in the income gaps. I shared a house with a friend in the South Wedge Neighborhood of Rochester, a few blocks up from Highland Park. I drove a bitchy, temperamental Dodge Neon and was nursing a crush on a gentleman who, though we were certainly good friends, I had convinced myself didn't have the time of day for me romantically. This, however, was not the case, as I would find out in a few months.....My goal at the time was to build up my savings and my resume and move to New York City as soon as possible.

   Fast forward 8 years:
 

   I stayed in Rochester for five more years after that. During those years, I taught English as a Second Language, was a Nanny, went to Graduate School, got a Master's in Children's Theatre, worked for several excellent theatres, made many wonderful friends, lost a few of them, (though found some of them again) had several health scares, was in a very serious, committed relationship for five years, and grew in a multitude of ways that really can't be described in a blog post. After finishing my Master's , I moved home in August of 2009, ostensibly to rebuild my finances and regroup for life's next challenge.

   I have yet to make it to New York City, I mean, I've been there many times to visit, but I don't live there, yet, for a variety of reasons ranging from Grad School to lack of funds to the Recession to the ebb and flow of romantic relationships to my basically constant tendency to put everything I want on hold so that the needs and wants of others can be met first. It's still on the list. We'll see how the next year or two go....

   I still live in Syracuse, I am engaged to an indescribably wonderful man whom I adore and that I hope one day to deserve. We have a cozy apartment in a Syracuse suburb. I am an Actor and Teaching Artist for The Syracuse Shakespeare Festival and have also recently been voted onto their Production Board. I still need a *day job* to fill in the cracks, but this day job pays well, offers me very good health insurance and flex time, and is full of wonderful people, and I'm very grateful for it.

   I am getting married in about five and half months. I will turn 30 this year. Virtually everyone I know in my age bracket is getting married, having children, buying a house, and moving from menial side-jobs into careers. I am at-once the same person I always was and completely different. My world is changing, bigger and bigger changes that come at an ever increasing speed. It's not that I mind, exactly, I like Change, the world only spins forward and all that.....

  But......just....wow....I.....it all just kind of hit me today........

  Not sure how to end this post. Sometimes you're just too stunned by life to be coherent, and that's about all I've got for tonight.

'Night, All :)
Lynn

F is for Feast

Feast: THAT is what I did tonight :)

   One of my dearest surrogate families generously invited me to their Passover Seder. After the ceremonial portion of the meal, we FEASTED on Stuffed Cabbage, Matzoh Ball Soup, Roast Turkey, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Applesauce, Strawberries and CHOCOLATE TRIFLE!!!! OM NOM NOM!!!

Sorry so short, but I'm so full and so happy, that's about all I've got, I'm gonna flop into bed now, Goodnight :)

Happy Pesach/Blessed Good Friday :)
Lynnie

E is for *Effort*

Gonna sneak this short post in right under the wire!


  Today ended my loosely timed around Lent wheat-fast. Though not exactly for religious reasons (more like a self-discipline exercise), I timed the fast around Lent to help me focus. Here's how it fell out:

  -For the first three weeks of Lent, I did a full cold-turkey wheat-free fast, and, while it was occasionally a logistical pain in the ass, I did not suffer emotionally from it. I was fine without wheat. I missed it, but did not suffer in it's absence.

  -Around the three week mark, I started getting more headaches, mood swings and energy crashes. Around that time I also joined Weight Watchers, and juggling points and avoiding wheat and dealing with the above mentioned side-effects got to be too much, so I modified the fast to accommodate one serving of wheat per day, and did pretty well with that.

  So, not the exact results I was hoping for, but I did my very best and I'm pleased with the effort I made.

  And now, off to bed!

  xoxo
  Lynnie

D is for *Dolmas*

                          These little babies are, hands down, one of my very favorite foods :)


   Cool, creamy, tangy, dense but oddly refreshing, herbaceous, just little bit odd and exotic, and SO ADDICTIVE!!!!

  I am forever indebted to my friend Joey who introduced me to these during undergrad. I devour Dolmas with absolute abandon, and crave them at basically any moment of any day ;)

   Here's a recipe for Dolmas from Budget Bytes

   And another from Ellie Says Opa ( the recipe is at the bottom, scroll all the way down)

   And here's one more from The Kitchn


   If you live in the Rochester area, head out to Brockport, NY to Mythos Cafe for some of the best Dolmas (and Gyro!) I've ever had!!!

   In the CNY area? Hit up King Davids, Byblos or The Black Olive for more Dolma Deliciousness :)

*NOM!!!*
Happy Wednesday!
Lynnie




 

C is for *Chiropractor*

Hello There ;)

   Day 3 of the A-Z Blogging Challenge! This has actually been really fun so far, ;) I know the title for today's post topic sounds a little boring, but I promise it is not.

   Yesterday was my first ever visit to a Chiropractor. I've been meaning to go for, literally, years, but such obstacles as no health insurance or health insurance that would not cover chiropractic care, lack of time and not knowing a reputable Chiropractor got in the way. Now, finally, I actually have really good health insurance, and I have been led to a wonderful Chiropractor who is a friend of a friend. While I didn't actually receive any adjustments yesterday (my first one is tomorrow), I had a full workup with medical history and x-rays and got to have good, lengthy conversations about chiropractic care with both the Nurse and the Doctor.

 Okay, now that the setup is over, I can get to the blog-worthy part. Everyone knows the spine/spinal cord  is important, of course; it's what sends the messages from the brain to the rest of your body. However, I didn't realize how much the health of your back/spine could affect health in the other areas of your body that, on the surface, have nothing to do with your spine.


 Let me see if I can explain this without butchering it too badly (if there are any chiropractors reading this, I apologize for any inconsistencies). If some event or repeated events (car accident, bad fall, repeated bad posture, etc) throws something out of alignment in your spine, this obviously causes pain (although, interestingly, I learned yesterday that only about 10% of the nerves in your body are devoted to pain response, so by the time something *hurts* the damage causing the pain has been going for quite awhile). However, pain is only one part of it. This misalignment or *subluxation*, (there's a fancy science word for ya) in your spine effects how the messages get sent from your spinal cord to the rest of your body, so all kinds of nervous system signals to the rest of your body could be getting missed or screwed up.

   Take me, for example. I sought out chiropractic care because of migraines, neck shoulder tension headaches, neck/shoulder/upper back pain, and sinus issues. However, I also have (controlled) acid reflux. Most of these issues developed during my undergrad years, and have peaked and valleyed ever since. It came up in my medical history that I've been in several car accidents (none of which were my fault), and taken several bad falls (no broken bones, though) What can I say? I'm clumsy. But, when asked to ponder the onset of each of the symptoms/health issues I listed above in relation to when these accidents or falls occurred, it was like a light-bulb went on in my head. When I was a senior in high-school I fell down the stairs and slipped and fell in the bathtub (on two separate occasions, not on the same day), and within a year or so of that I developed migraines. Within two years of being in a nine-car pileup accident, I developed sinus issues and acid reflux. Last winter I fell and hit my head and I've had neck tension headaches ever since. I don't know why I never linked these things together before. Probably because none of these occurrences presented any immediate, obvious injuries, so I sort of just wrote them off. Obviously not realizing that just because it *didn't hurt* at the time, that didn't mean that something wasn't thrown out of whack and could cause other problems down the line.

  When I took Yoga, I had a teacher that constantly stressed the importance of keeping your back healthy. If your back is healthy and happy, YOU are healthy and happy, and while I certainly listened and understood what she meant, after yesterday I think I've taken it to heart in a new way. The idea that the headaches, sinus pain and tension could be alleviated through better back/spine care is absolutely  music to my ears. I don't remember a day when my head didn't hurt at least a little, and getting on a regimen that someday might leave me virtually pain free is a challenge I am happy to accept :)

  So, I guess it was Science Day today here, I hope this post wasn't a drag to read. I'll let you know how my first adjustment goes tomorrow :)

Happy Tuesday ;)
Lynnie

B is for *Book Club*

Hey Ho ;)


  I can't tell you how happy I am that *B* Day of the A-Z Blogging Challenge fell on a Book Club Day, because I've been aching to babble about Book Club on this blog (alliteration ftw!!!).

  Started about a year and a half ago by my wonderful friend Merlyn (go check out her blogs, she is a Bard of incomparable skill!!!), I've had the privilege of belonging to this Book Club for about 14 months now :) Unlike most Book Clubs, where the the focus is on novels, ours is a StoryBook Club :) We focus on Fairy and Folk Tales from all over World!!! Sometimes there is a specific story to read, and other times there is an overarching theme within which we are free to do our own research. Once a month we meet to discuss the theme/story of that month, and we FEAST upon all kinds of food that is themed to our topic of that particular month :)

                   Here is the Spread from our *Legend of Sleepy Hollow" Meeting last October

We call ourselves *Storycologists* :) Two of my favorite things about this book club are the creative outlet it provides and the fact that it brings together some of the most creative, kind and hilarious people I know, people who's company I don't get to enjoy nearly often enough because we are so far flung. Having Book Club as a bonding agent has been glorious and I'm so grateful to be a part of it!  Here are all the topics that we have covered so far :)


-Hansel and Gretel
-Little Red Riding Hood & The Snow Queen
-Baba Yaga (my first meeting!) (Russian Folktale)
-Finn McCool (Celtic Folktale)
-Beatrix Potter
-Fairies
-Dragons
-Vampires
-Werewolves
-Frankenstein
-The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
-Zombies
-The Golum (East European Jewish Folklore)
-Trolls
-Damsels in Distress
-Banshees (Celtic Folklore)

-and this month's theme? The Velveteen Rabbit ;) (One of my very favorites since childhood:)

Can't Wait!!!

I hope something makes you smile today ;)
Lynn

A is for *Acquaintance*

Hi Friends!

Welcome to my first post for The A-Z Blogging Challenge!!! I'm really hoping that joining this challenge will lead me to some great new blogs and hopefully lead some new people to my little blog. So, on the idea that there may be some new people poking around, here are a few Random Facts about me that will help us get Acquainted :)

So, without further ado (yay! another *A* word!)

Lynn in Ten Random Facts:

- The first musical I ever saw was Peter Pan when I was about four years old.

- In the years I spent as a Nanny/ Daycare Teacher, I stopped four children from choking.

- My favorite category of Dessert is Ice Cream, and within that category, my two favorite desserts are Gelato and Chocolate Ice Cream Sodas.

- I spoke in full sentences at 13 months and I could read before I turned three years old.

- I am deathly afraid of roller-coasters and other amusement park rides of that type, the ones that use sharp turns, sudden drops, etc.

- There are eight books that never leave my nightstand (as in, they never make it back onto the shelf because I read them so much): *The Complete Works of William Shakespeare*, *The Complete Grimm's Fairy Tales*, *The Six Wives of Henry VIII* by Alison Weir, *The Historian* by Elizabeth Kostova, *The Essential Shakespeare Handbook* by Leslie Dunton Downer and Alan Riding, *To Kill a Mockingbird* by Harper Lee, *Green Chic* by Christie Matheson and *French Women Don't Get Fat* by Mireille Guiliano.

- I read cookbooks like novels, there is always a stack of them at my bedside (and several bookshelves worth, too!).

- I love to wear corsets and I feel much more comfortable and beautiful in period costumes/garb than I have ever felt in modern day dress.

- I could live on crusty bread, artisanal cheese and fresh fruit ;)

- Some of my favorite sounds are Moving Water (waves, streams, waterfalls, rain, etc), Wind through Leaves, Crackling Fire, Gentle Whispers and the Sound of Bells (Wind Chimes, Church Bells, etc).

So, that's me, the Appetizer course :) Stick around for the next 26 days and you'll learn more, and in alphabetical order ;)

Love,
Lynn

A-Z Blogging Challenge, Whee!!!

Starting April 1st, I'm going to be joining the April 2012 A-Z Blogging Challenge, just the thing to get me back in the saddle of regular blogging :)

You should join too!!! Go Play!!!

(Oh, and as you may have noticed, I couldn't decide between two ideas, so I used *Blue Eyed Babblery* in the title and *LynnSanity* in the subtitle :)

*love*
Lynn

Maybe It's Time for A New Blog Name?

Greetings, Friends :)

I'm back!

With a laptop on loan from our wonderful brother and sister-in-law, we are internet capable at home once again!!! Carving out the free time to blog has still been quite the challenge, but I'm here and I'm gonna do my best :) Lately I've been thinking about revamping this blog a little. I've outgrown the Design and the Title, I want to streamline the look of the blog somewhat and pick a blog title that is....more encompassing of me :) *So I was thinking* is a cute title, but it's not specific enough, not really indicative of me or the sort of babble one will find here. At first I thought I'd have to create a whole new blog, but it turns out that I can change the title and look of the blog, but still keep the same blog site/link.

SO!!!

I'm gonna be working on the design elements little by little, and I'd like some help picking a new name: Here are some brainstorms I've had recently about a possible new blog name, please let me know your thoughts, and if you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them!

-Blue-Eyed Babblery (self-explanatory)

-Shakespeare and Grape Leaves (two of my favorite things)

-Oh, Lordy Lou (one of my favorite expressions)

-The Daily Story (cause I've always got one)

-Busy Panda ( for those of you that don't know, Panda is one of my favorite descriptive words, I call myself a Happy Panda, Busy Panda, Sleepy Panda, Hungry Panda, etc)

-Playing Dress-Up (cause that's basically my life, but does it sound too much like a Fashion Blog?)

-LynnSanity (my friend Therese's suggestion)

-Lynn Conclusion (Merlyn's Suggestion)

-LynnSense (Mike's suggestion, a play on the word *incense*)

Thoughts? I welcome any feedback you have!!!

Let's Play!!!

Love,
Lynn :)

January Review

  So, my laptop is broken. Mike's laptop is also broken. Mike's laptop is more broken than mine, because his laptop is literally broken in half.

  To whit, although we have internet in theory, we can't use it, because we have no computers. My only internet access it at work, and on the occasions that I can get to a library or my Mom's house. I'm currently in tech rehearsals for a show that opens tomorrow, which means I have had no time to get to the library or my Mom's. So, in short, I apologize for the lack of posting, it wasn't due to laziness or lack of interest. I literally have no home computer, so I'm at the mercy of whatever moments I can steal in other scenarios. I'll do my best to post as regularly as I can, but I absolutely cannot afford a new laptop right now, so, for the foreseeable future, it might be touch and go.

  And now, with the bad news out of the way, here's some good news about the goals I set for myself this year:

Savings/Money/Wedding:

-Put a down payment on my wedding gown using only savings and existing credit :)

-In month of January, I did not buy one single book, or one single piece of new clothing :)

Eating Out

-In terms of eating out, this is how it went, broken down by week:
 
 -Week of 1/2: 1
 -Week of 1/9: 3
 -Week of 1/16: 3
 -Week of 1/23:1
 -Week of 1/30: 0

 The original goal was twice per week, the middle two weeks were more than I would have liked, but, they balance out with the first and fourth week, so it came out to a similar amount in the end, and we didn't eat out at all last week, so I'm still pleased with the progress :)

Self Love

 I'm not sure if this relates directly, but good mental health  is definitely part of self-love. Living above where I work has lowered my stress level quite a bit. I don't have to stress over commuting, packing a lunch, or all the housework that will be waiting for me when I get home. I can run upstairs on my lunch break to unload the dishwasher or throw a load of clothes in the laundry or whatever. I don't have to get up as early, I don't have to brush off my my car or any of that other stuff that makes commuting a major pain. Less Stress is always a good thing and I'm grateful :)

Here's hoping I get a chance to post again soon!
Love,
Lynn