Got a Heart of Stone? Watch This

Nevermind the cheezy cheese commentator, just watch this lovely video about love. A most unlikely but beautiful love.

A Little Fashion for Your Saturday Morning

Isn't this just so beautiful?! I love everything from the dress (!!) to the bolero, to the walls, the furniture... 

I'm in love.

Rainy Day Sewing Project

Today, I meet up with a friend and we're going to have a sewing fest! I'll be bringing my sewing machine over to her house, then we'll go to the store to shop for fabric and supplies (!), and then we'll sew and knit to our heart's delight. I think we may even whip a lunch and some tea! I know, we're hardcore like that!

This is what I'll be doing. I think she'll be making a simple bag. Can't wait!

Have a Beer!!!

 In preparation for one of my very favorite holidays, I'm dancin' a jig!  Having friends over for some authentic and delicious Irish dinner the day after, too. Can't wait! My taste buds are already a waterin'!!

OK, This is Just Badass

Jim Breuer does Metallica. Uh, does it get any better than this??

Cuteness Overload

Memories, Sweet Memories

Missing my grandmother today, my lovely, warm, Italian grandmother. So what better way to go through pictures than to have Dean Martin playing in the background. Ah, nothing like my grammy and her delicious Italian cooking. I am so proud of my Italian and Irish heritage. I am looking forward to one day doing an ancestral search.

Ah, in the meantime, sway along with me and maka some anti pasto tonight!

Grateful Dead: What Rainy Days Were Made For

Gesundheit

The best.

The Perfect Bedtime Story, In French

A most delightful little French child tells of a most harrowing-yet-hopeful tale. Listen, enjoy, pray your future children are as cute as she is. :)

In the Christmas Spirit

I am feeling rather festive today, as I've been preparing Christmas gifts for my family and planning what to give friends and coworkers. I am so excited! I of course love getting a gift or two, but I am having the most joyous time planning gifts for others. Not to mention that we're doing a Secret Santa at work and I know just the thing to get my person (I actually got my boss! Yay!) So tomorrow, my last day off for a while, I will be gathering baking supplies and tins to give as gifts to friends and neighbors, bottles of wine and beer (to my other boss, she likes beer!) for others, and then knocking a few more things off my family's list. To the in-laws we're giving one of those neat electronic picture frames so I also have to get snappin' so they have some cute ones of the girls on there. Not to mention that me and the girls will be making gingerbread men, too. I am just so excited. And secretly, I am really looking forward to my (potential) gift from my husband - my first sewing machine - better than the one I was even hoping for! YAY!!!

I am just so much in a festive and giving mood right now. So here's a little gift for you, dear readers. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Nothing like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir beliting out Christmas carols and hymns. Nothin' better in the way of Christmas music, way I see it...

Two of my favorites:

400 Years

Needed a little funky Reggae today and this fit the bill. Enjoy you some Bob, mon.

Let's make a move... Fools don't see...

Giving Thanks

Here's a little something I wrote last year about the Holiday Season, and well, I still feel this way so I thought I'd share it again. :)

Happy Thanksgiving to all - friend, foe, those I know, and those whom I do not. May we all have somewhere to be and have someone to love.

Love to all

***

This is the time of year when my very soul is enlivened by the delicious scents of cinnamon and pumpkin spice, when apple cobblers and pumpkin pies are baked in our homes, when cozy boots, sweaters, and scarves clothe us all, when Halloween, Thanksgiving (my most beloved holiday) and Christmas impend their promised magic, when luscious wreathes adorn inviting doors, pumpkins are carved and their seeds baked, and Christmas music fills the air. The weather cools promising snow angels and icicles for many, when geese leave for winter, when children giggle as they whisper their greatest of wishes to Jolly St. Nic, when homes are warmed by blazing fires, when candlelight flickers and glows in windowsills, when families walk under the night sky to enjoy the neighborhood's lights, when friends stop in to enjoy a glass of mulled wine or spiced cider, when family visits from afar, and when stockings are hung by the chimney with care. When New York City is jiving with rosy-cheeked ice skaters, when Salt Lake City bustles with excited reverence while it's lighted Temple is a beacon in the nights, when choirs raise their voices in joy and praise, when parents become suddenly secretive so as to hide their family's gifts, when life ~ even if just for a while ~ is cheerful and sweet. When we lay aside our cares and worries, when we create with gladness in our hearts the very magic the season is intended for, when we come home and warm the chill from our fingertips, when we watch a little longer the the giddy playing of bundled children outside, when we sip our cocoa and slowly savor the marshmallows just that much more, when pieces of candy canes stick to content children's smiling cheeks, and when we relax in our warmed homes while our children play in the golden and rusty leaves outside. When Halloween begs us to give a trick or a treat, when Thanksgiving reminds us what is really important, when Christmas brings it's resounding joy. When we bring glad tidings to those less fortunate than ourselves.

Oh how I wish this were so year 'round, oh how I wish. Until such a time, I will hold tightly to my season, to the cheer in which my soul so delights!

Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau is one of my top two favorite periods for art, aside from Renaissance. Upon looking at both styles, I see in both a hint of romanticism and simply romance. I love discovering and analyzing things that I like!

Here are some examples:

The Many Benefits of Yoga

Physiological Benefits of Yoga
* Stable autonomic nervous system equilibrium * Pulse rate decreases * Respiratory rate decreases * Blood Pressure decreases (of special significance for hyporeactors) * Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) increases * EEG - alpha waves increase (theta, delta, and beta waves also increase during various stages of meditation) * EMG activity decreases * Cardiovascular efficiency increases * Respiratory efficiency increases * Gastrointestinal function normalizes * Endocrine function normalizes * Excretory functions improve * Musculoskeletal flexibility and joint range of motion increase * Breath-holding time increases * Joint range of motion increase * Grip strength increases * Eye-hand coordination improves * Dexterity skills improve * Reaction time improves * Posture improves * Strength and resiliency increase * Endurance increases * Energy level increases * Weight normalizes * Sleep improves * Immunity increases * Pain decreases * Steadiness improves * Depth perception improves * Balance improves * Integrated functioning of body parts improves

Psychological Benefits of Yoga
* Somatic and kinesthetic awareness increase * Mood improves and subjective well-being increases * Self-acceptance and self-actualization increase * Social adjustment increases * Anxiety and Depression decrease * Hostility decreases * Concentration improves * Memory improves * Attention improves * Learning efficiency improves * Mood improves * Self-actualization increase * Social skills increases * Well-being increases * Somatic and kinesthetic awareness increase * Self-acceptance increase * Attention improves * Concentration improves * Memory improves * Learning efficiency improves * Symbol coding improves * Depth perception improves * Flicker fusion frequency improves

Biochemical Benefits of Yoga
* Glucose decreases * Sodium decreases * Total cholesterol decreases * Triglycerides decrease * HDL cholesterol increases * LDL cholesterol decreases * VLDL cholesterol decreases * Cholinesterase increases * Catecholamines decrease * ATPase increases * Hematocrit increases * Hemoglobin increases * Lymphocyte count increases * Total white blood cell count decreases * Thyroxin increases * Vitamin C increases * Total serum protein increases

Benefits of Yoga Versus Benefits of Exercise

* Yoga Benefits
o Parasympathetic Nervous System dominates o Subcortical regions of brain dominate o Slow dynamic and static movements o Normalization of muscle tone o Low risk of injuring muscles and ligaments o Low caloric consumption o Effort is minimized, relaxed o Energizing (breathing is natural or controlled) o Balanced activity of opposing muscle groups o Noncompetitive, process-oriented o Awareness is internal (focus is on breath and the infinite) o Limitless possibilities for growth in self-awareness

* Exercise Benefits
o Sympathetic Nervous System dominates o Cortical regions of brain dominate o Rapid forceful movements o Increased muscle tension o Higher risk of injury o Moderate to high caloric consumption o Effort is maximized o Fatiguing (breathing is taxed) o Imbalance activity of opposing groups o Competitive, goal-oriented o Awareness is external (focus is on reaching the toes, reaching the finish line, etc.) o Boredom factor

*Lists borrowed from the Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple website.

Because of One Great Man

Today is the National Day of Non-Violence. This is because it is also the celebration of Gandhi's birth. Two great days in a row: yesterday was Vegetarianism day, and today this. Awesome. Gandhi was my first Hindu inspiration. As previously noted, I feel very connected with all things Indian, but as Indian culture is not very prominent in the States, I hadn't heard of this great man until I was in my teens. Now that I study Hinduism and Indian culture more academically, I have found it to be a pleasure to get to know this man more. The most beautiful part to me is that his message didn't die with him. Through his courage and efforts he is known, and thus his message is known. The UN recognized Gandhi's contribution to the world and has codified this day to be a national day of non-violence. I think he would be most pleased even if it is only one day. It is a start in the right direction.

We Love You, Mr. Farley

Be Still My Soul

Be still, my soul: The Lord is on thy side;
With patience bear thy cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In ev'ry change he faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: Thy best, thy heav'nly Friend
Thru thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: Thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as he has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: The waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while he dwelt below.

Be still, my soul: The hour is hast'ning on
When we shall be forever with the Lord,
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: When change and tears are past,
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

I Cant' Help Myself...

LOVE these songs! Pure entertainment genius.

Just Flappin' Away

The term flapper in the 1920s referred to a “new breed” of young women who wore short skirts, bobbed their hair, listened to the new jazz music, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered acceptable behavior. Flappers were seen as brash for wearing excessive makeup, drinking, treating sex in a casual manner, smoking, driving automobiles and otherwise flouting social and sexual norms.

Flappers had their origins in the period of liberalism, social and political turbulence and increased transatlantic cultural exchange that followed the end of the First World War, as well as the export of American jazz culture to Europe.

While many feminists deplore flappers for throwing away all the progress made by the suffragettes, they made quite a bit of progress for women in other aspects. While most people know they were the first women to actually show off their legs, cut off their hair and even wear shorts, they did much more than that. In the Victorian era, it was unheard of for a woman to go to a bar, to drink or to smoke. Bars were places for men to escape their wives.

That all changed in the twenties – and not only because of prohibition. These young women also dated around, something that was unheard of in the past.

They were some of the first women to drive cars.

Flappers had their own slang, with terms like “snugglepup” (a man who frequents petting parties) and “barney-mugging” (sex). Their dialect reflected their promiscuity and drinking habits; “I have to go see a man about a dog” often meant going to buy whiskey, and a “handcuff” or “manacle” was an engagement or wedding ring. Also reflective of their preoccupations, they had many ways to express approval, such as “That’s so Jake” or “That’s the bee’s knees,” or a more popular one, “the cat’s pajamas.”

Many terms still in use in modern American English slang originated as flapper slang, such as “big cheese,” meaning an important person; “to bump off,” meaning to murder; and “baloney,” meaning nonsense. Other terms have become definitive of the Prohibition era, such as “speakeasy,” meaning a place to purchase illegal alcohol and “hooch,” which means liquor.