A whisper

Great ideas come into the world as quietly as doves. Perhaps then , if we listen attentively we shall hear, among the uproar of empires and nations, the faint fluttering of wings, the gentle stirrings of life and hope. Some will say this hope lies in a nation; others in a man. I believe rather that it is awakened, revived, nourished by millions of solitary individuals whose deeds and works every day negate frontiers and the crudest implications of history. Each and every one, on the foundations of their own suffering and joy builds for all.

-Albert Camus

Need a reason to not hate?

Well, I've got two.

1. Dolphin saves stranded whales.

2. Scarlett saves her entire family despite the risk it poses her own health.

Us people could learn a lot from our animal brethren.

A movie I want to see (I think).

It's a film set in Romania in 1987 about a girl who gets pregnant, waits for a long time to deal with it and she and her friend (from what I understand) try to get her an abortion, which is illegal under the dictatorship ruling the country. It won a Golden Palm at Cannes in 2007.

Here is the trailer on youtube.com.

It was reviewed by the Village Voice as a "white-knuckler". There are a lot of reasons I want to see it, probably first and foremost that abortion is hard to talk about something I strongly support (talking about it, that is). So I would like to give my money to a film that tries to deal with that issue, no matter what country it's in or what the political backdrop is.

I hope to see it this weekend and I'll let you know how it goes.

But if you're interested, it's just barely still playing in NYC at the IFC Center - according to my fiance who called to confirm that it is still playing this week - at 323 6th Ave in the West Village.

Save $$$ every time you shop online!

Being a bride-to-be has it perks. I got a free few copies of Modern Bride. I started flipping through the pages saying, "Oh GOD... look at that dress... give me a BREAK! Ha! What a racket!"

And while it's true, the wedding industry IS a racket there was a handy little page in the back of the magazine that gave brides ways to cut costs when they are shopping for all the three-trillion things it takes to throw a nice wedding.

So... the best piece of advice they gave me that I use all the time, not just in relation to the wedding, is to Google the Company Name plus the word "Coupon" every time I go to check out online. For example, if I'm shopping at Ted's Fabulous Wedding Supplies, Inc. I would Google "Ted's Fabulous Wedding Supplies Coupon".

You would be surprised how many companies have offers going on that they will not inform you of when you go to pay! I just now saved $35 getting some clothes for my honeymoon.

Copy and paste the coupon code into the promotional code space when you go to check out. Watch carefully as they tend to be on different pages for different companies.

Happy shopping!

Exercise the demons! Part 2

As I have mentioned in the last blog post, I am getting married on August 2, 2008. I bring this up again because I am trying, as many future-brides do, to lose weight and get in better shape before "the big day".

My exercise regime has faltered a little in the past two weeks and I am, currently, procrastinating going to the gym by posting this blog (crafty, eh?). However, I have managed to lose 11-12 pounds already and will try to at least double that (big sigh) before August. I do it using the techniques listed below.

I want to clarify that when I say I do "3 reps of 20 sit-ups" I mean I do 3 reps of 3 different KINDS of sit-ups 20 times each rep. For example, I will do 20 leg lowers, 20 crunches, and 20 obliques and then repeat that two more times, usually lifting a heavy weighted bar in between to tone up my biceps. Then I do the plank position anywhere from 1-3 times for as long as I can and I time this so I am constantly trying to out-do myself.

We'll see. It is one thing to lose 11 pounds and quite another to keep it off and lose more and keep THAT off.

My new favorite recipe is flounder piccata which I will post later on my recipe blog - Flavors to Marry.

Also, if you want to see in shape check out a beginning scene from one of my favorite Bond movies.



If you can do that, I'd say you're doing just fine.

Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse... the series

I am not the most well-read person in the world.

But I DO read.

And I know the signs of being enthralled with a piece of fiction when I see them in myself:

1. Won't listen to others
2. Won't put book down to eat
3. Won't watch tv or movies
4. Won't sleep
5. Will panic when approaching the last third of book unless sequel is on bedside table
6. Find myself thinking about what the characters will do when such-and-such happens as though I should DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT ALREADY!
7. Have a small depression upon finishing those books that are written and curse the author for not being prolific enough.

This is what happened to me (and my niece who is 16 years old - see? cross-generational, folks!) with the Twilight series by, Stephanie Meyer.

Now that is all fine and good. But my niece informs me that the new book, Breaking Dawn, is due out August 2, 2008!

Fine! Except that I am getting married on August 2, 2008 and not in this country! Can I pre-order the book? Will they ship internationally? Will the people at the place we're getting married think I'm a FUCKING MANIAC having a vampire book shipped express to myself overseas?

These are the questions I have to grapple with. And you thought YOUR life was hard.