...aaannddd *i'm off*...

the boyf and i left today for our SKI-esque weekend

it's my first time on the

[...haa haa...]

"slopes"

and I *hope*a few things for myself:

i *hope* the sun is out the whole time

(even the most slight relief from the frigidness will be greatly appreciated)


i *hope* i stay on my two feet
a larger-percentage of the time
than i do on my tush
...or on my face...[deep sigh]...

i *hope* my friends & i have
many laughs and many triumphs
by sunday morning

[yikes!!]
i *hope* you will be praying for me

Have
a happy
weekend.

Happy Birthday, *Grams*!

Isn't she a dish?

I hit the jackpot with Grandmas.

I really did.

Happy Birthday,

to my wonderful,

beautiful,

sassy-pie

of a Grandma!!

I love you, I love you, and I can't get enough of you!

Love x 100,

*amanda*

*to do* TODAY

(toDOlist above found here.)

the *To Do* list is LAWNGGGGG...today:

1. Do Laundry [3 loads worth]
2. buy my textbook on amazon.com
3. write a one-page autobiography on my educational background for my student teaching assignment starting Monday [ah!!!]
4. pay my phone bill
5. go to BANK & get $$
6. go to Weight Watchers meeting @ 1 pm [i've been so chubby]
7. make photocopies of a Lockhorn cartoon to hang on our ski-weekend cabin's fridge**
8. go to H-Mart & get three big bags of edamame as a weekend snack
9. pack for weekend
10. straighten hair [probably in vain, because of the predicted snow sleet & slush]

all though your day can get hectic

and all over the place, I encourage you to find

steady breath and a sense of

WoooooSaaaahhhh

for me, it will come in the form

of remembering these words I read in

*eat pray love* yesterday:

"I have searched frantically for contentment for so many years in so many ways, and all these acquisitions and accomplishments -- they run you down in the end. Life, if you keep chasing it like so hard, will drive you to death. Time --when pursued like a bandit -- will behave like one; always remaining one county or one room ahead of you, changing its name and hair color to elude you, slipping out the back door of the motel just as you're banging through the lobby with your search warrant, leaving only a burning cigarette in the ashtray to taunt you. At some point you have to stop because it won't. You have to admit you can't catch it. That you're not supposed to catch it. At some point...you gotta let go and sit still and allow contentment to come to you."

this is what i expect to do this weekend.

sit still

(well, ski too)

but mainly just enjoy the snow and the cabin

and my last weekend of

away-ness

friend-ness

no-homework-ness

i hope your *to do* lists are wonderful today and filled with at least one or two things amongst the bunch that set your *heart* a-flight

happy Thursday, reader.

** the Lockhorns cartoon that I'm copying shows Leroy in a hospital bed all bruised up with bandages and the doctor is holding an X-ray and saying to Leroy, "Want to see your ski vacation pictures?"

haa haa...that's what I'm afraid MY ski vacation pictures are gonna look like.

*snowBOOTS*

sooo...i am going

*skiing/snowboarding/snow-in-duh-face-ing*

this upcoming weekend

and

what am I most excited about??

being with friends?

no.

the surrounding frigid temperatures?

absolutely not.

my boyfriend's anticipated over-eagerness and nagging to go snowboarding every three seconds?

ummm...no.

give up?

It's the SNOWBOOTS!!!

Those GORGEOUS,
marshmellow moonBOOT-ish,

FLUFFY PUFFY SNOWBOOTS!!

(pics found at Snowboard Boot Site. text added through Picnik.)

I can't wait to put on my first pair ever!

I'm going parade around in

the

biggest

fattest

most plump

moon-shoe-ish

pair I can find!!

I want my feet to look like

*two meatballs on a stick*

*woot woot*

*yay*

still reading *eat pray love*

i'm still reading

i should really hurry up because i start my student teaching February 1st & i'm worried i'll not have time to recreationally read. [gasp!]

i made it to India.

(if you read the book, you know what i mean)

i made it to India and met Richard from Texas.

i've only just met him, and i love him.

Gilbert writes about Richard:

"His giant ambling confidence hushes down all my inherent nervousness and reminds me that everything really is going to be OK. (And if not OK, then at least comic.) Remember that cartoon rooster Foghorn Leghorn? Well, Richard is kind of like that, I became his chatty little sidekick, the Chickenhawk."

Oh my goodness!

I love the piece of advice he gives her on ego.

page 140.

I know a few people who I could give that advice to.

;)

i urge you to pick up the book.

*tootle loo, for now.*

*ski-trip* is coming up

(pic above found here.)

we're leaving Friday, coming back Sunday

it's going to be:

Tomas & I,

Jamina & Lev

Michelle & Dan

Steph & Cezar

Damian, and maybe Romain.

should be a good time**

Have any advice for me, reader?

i've never been skiing

there might be some snowboarding

but I'm sure there will be a ton of snow being jammed in my face,

upon the inevitable falling and rolling, of course.

**should be a good time even though there's been recent drama with one of the couples listed above. it's not for me to say here, but maybe worthy of another post one day. maybe not. i just hope the weekend doesn't end in catastrophe. [crossing my fingers]

is the *crotch shot* REAAALLLY necessary?

my Bitt & I

recently saw this commercial:

and

we started complaining

about the friggin' girl's

TWAT

in yo' face!!

my Bitt & I

started crackin' jokes

(like we do)

and I came

up with this gem:

"RiiiiiCOLA...in ya VaaaaaGINA!"

Haa haa!

needless to say,

we got a *kick* out of it.

lazy *lazy* lazy

lazy *lazy* lazy

Saturday

(not that i mind)

*coo-OOO-kie crisp*

(pic below found at weheartit.com)

i. need. this. right. this. second. now.

saturday mornings as a *kid*

cookie crisp & cartoons

have a good one, ya'll.

*happy birthday* BITT

*21 years ago*

*instant soulmates*

"Children of the same family, the same blood, with the same first associations and habits, have some means of enjoyment in their power, which no subsequent connections can supply."
--Janes Austen, Mansfield Park, 1814
how do people make it through life without a sister?

"There can be no situation in life in which the conversation of my dear sister will not administer some comfort to me."

-- Mary Montagu

"When sisters stand shoulder to shoulder, who stands a chance against us?"

-- Pam Brown

"Sister to sister we will always be,

A couple of nuts off the family tree."

Happy 21st

to my

*beloved sister*!

Best wishes for this year and the adult years to come.

*I love you.*

RE: *outfit sketch* from earlier this week

(a post more on the lighter side than what i've been postin')

This post is a reply to

my post from earlier this week

about my

take on *marriage*.

Bottom line:

I'm so confused by marriage I could pee!!

So many of my friends

already are

or

[are getting] married...

...and *the shows* don't make it better:

Bridezillas

Platinum Weddings

Say 'Yes' to the Dress

My Fair Wedding

...and then with this past weekend's

*Dylan & Toni*

Beverly Hills, 90210

*tear-fest* I had sunday morning,

my emotions were all over the place.

I really needed some comic relief

to balance out all

the confusion.

Soooo...

after extensive "research"

(a.k.a. aimless web-surfing)

I think I found

what might make me

feel better:

Yep.

That'll do it.

the *weekend* of *tears*

~this is the *sister* post to yesterday's post~

in addition to the tear-jerker morning I had sunday,

i ALSO watched

My Sister's Keeper

with my mom & Bitt

sunday night

(...aaaannnnddd The Lovely Bones friday night,

which we won't get into just yet, if at all,

but pretty much know that it was

the *weekend* of *tears*)

THE.

TEARS.

WERE.

FLOWIN'.

the tears were flowin' HARD.

I believe my quote was:
"my eyes weren't puffy and filled with dark-circles
enough, sooo 'Let's watch My Sister's Keeper!!' Great idea!"

the scene on the beach is mesmerizing.

the song that plays during it
just
*wrapped my heart in a heated blanket
& rocked it to heaven*.

the song
is my dreams,
and
sums up the
feeling
this past weekend
has given me,
and i now walk with.

it's all about love,
Love,
LoVe,
Love love Love,
lOve.

my *1995* is HERE

oh, ever the winds of *chance*

my sunday morning started with a

cup of coffee,

web surfing,

& flippin' through channels for

something decent to watch.

Then,

there

on the Fios guide popped my past:

Beverly Hills, 90210

& upon my soul signaling me to

keep it on,

I discovered it was

my favorite season,

with my two favorite characters

from all

10 seasons of the show:

*Dylan & Toni*

(pic above found here.)

The episodes that aired sunday morning
were first aired in 1995,
when I was in the 5th grade,
and I still
*to this day*, on occasion,
think about how much I loved watching
this fictional couple love each other.

Even though they're characters,
and their story is fiction,
in this case,
the fiction transcends the screen**,
and enters your heart.

i believe that's what it did for
me back in 1995,
and
only this past sunday,
fifteen years later
did ever the winds of *chance*
re-awaken their story in my heart
...and what timing!

i can only assume someone or thing
hears the confusion in my heart,
and wants me to know
it'll be okay.

i had to share this with you, readers,
because it had me in tears, on
a lazy sunday morning in my pajamas.

Here's some clips from
*Dylan & Toni's*
story:





(great caption from the above clip @ 4:40)
Toni: Kelly looks absolutely stunning tonight, doesn't she?
Dylan: I really hadn't noticed. I was too busy looking at you.
Toni: Good answer.

Of course, Dylan asks Toni to marry him, but I don't have that clip.
But after the proposal, here's some more:



Dylan: All my life, people have told me I was running away from something. I always felt I was running to something. I just didn't know what that was until now. I love you. I always will.
Toni: You don't have to run anymore, Dylan...I love you with all my heart and soul.


The gorgeous song in the above clip is

Nobody Knows Me

by

Lyle Lovett

**reader, my dear, please don't underestimate the power of the T.V. as a vehicle for *art*. Just like the printed page, when written well & acted well, even a cheesy show like Beverly Hills, 90210 can be divine poetry. I encourage you to open your heart, and hear it. :)

Okay, I'm wiping the tears off now, hee hee.

I'm off to GRAD school.

I have a presentation to make today.

Love yous.

xoxo,

*amanda*

*YES MAN*

i watched

*Yes Man*

this weekend

and...

...Zooey Deschanel's character Allison is the *coooolest*!

I mean, c'mon!

She's got a *moped*,

a navy jacket with a red trim,

she wakes up at 6 a.m.,

TO TAKE PHOTOS while jogging,

she's lead singer in an all-girl band

named Munchausen By Proxy,

who, by the way, dresses up with each song!

Haa haa!

Love it, love it! Can't get enough of it!

Did I mention she rides a *moped*?

;)

for an internal

pick-me-up,

i recommend the movie.

tee hee hee.

Happy Monday, lovelies.

*outfit sketch* for the future?? maybe...??

oh my goodness, reader

i am soo f***ed up!

here i am *outfit sketching* myself in a wedding dress!!

I'm nowhere near ready to get married,

plus I'm pretty sure i don't believe in the institution of marriage itself,

yet here i am, knowing EXACTLY how I'm going to look on 'my wedding day'.

WTF??!!

can you say "L"oser??!!

Well, as the picture says,

maybe this'll be me

*one day.*

(when my hair's just as long as in the photo...haa haa...)

Although I'm unsure about marriage,

i AM sure about *dresses*
my Bitt & I even made up a song about dresses

(maybe I'll record it & post it one day)

i *heart* dresses

what do you think on the manner?

to wed or not to wed one day?

and

how do you **know**??

rihanna's *new TaT*

What do you guys think of Rihanna's new TaTtoo??

it reads backwards when you look at it,

and forwards when she looks at it in the mirror:

"Never a failure, always a lesson"

it says.

(pic found @ okmagazine.com)

let's go there:
*TaTtoos!*

How many of you have them??
How many of you want them??
(*i raise my hand up* in answer to my own posed question)

i want a TaTtoo
I think they have the potential to be beeeeautiful
but i know my track record with things like this
you know, permanent things
(ooo...that dreadful "p" word)
it'll get f***ed up, i know it

I also have a horrible
(wretched!)
track record whenever
i try to do something i think is *cool*
it most often is the total opposite
after i attempt it.
that's my middle name:
Amanda "UN-cool" Z, from NYC

sad, but true story.

So, do I want a TaT?
Yes.
I don't know of what or where I'd put it, but...
...what do you guys think??

v*virtual PhOtObOOth*h

v*virtual PhOtObOOTH*h

i like the idea of this post b/c i friggin' looove *photobooths*
wit a passion. they demand you to be silly & in-the-moment

mine, above, shows me**

in my superhero *look*

with black nailpolish

shiny straight hair

over one eye

tan from the SuMMer sun

in bold, fierce comic-book colors :)

what would be my superpower??

hmmmmm...

I'll have to get back to you on that.

here's howta conduct your own

v*virtual PhOtObOOth*h:

- take 4 similar pictures -

- maybe jazz 'em up with picnik -

- upload 'em in a stacked format -

- smile, 'cuz you're you -

** please reader, my dear, do not mistake [me having too much free time to take pictures of myself] with [me thinking i'm the shit]. Believe me, I know i'm not. You, however, *ARE* the shit. To me, you guys rock!! *woot woot*

Okay, loves.

Happy Friday!!

Can't wait to see your v*virtual Phbth*h.

yours un-cool-ly,

*amanda*

hey winter!!...i *miss* my bike

(pic above found on weheartit.com)

i just wanted to take this time

to say

that i *love* my bicycle

so so much

& i miss riding it around town

i bought it for myself in May of last year

and rode it all *summer* long...

over bridges,

in the city,

by myself, with my music in my ears,

with my boyf riding along side,

*pinchin' the tush* when he
pedaled hard enough to *keep up* with me

**[i'm a little *adventurer* on my bike]**

(deep sigh)

miss it. love it. can't get enough of it.

hurry up,

*SpRiNg* & *SuMMeR* 2010

i want to ride my bicycle

*read* eat pray love

okay, I know.

I'm *late to the dance,*

as usual.

*eat pray love*

let's talk about it.

well,

the extent to which *I* can talk about it is this:

"I started reading it last night. I'm on page 30."

I saw Elizabeth Gilbert on the Ms. Winfrey show

a couple of years ago, & wanted to read it then.

Didn't.

Picked it up now.

started it.

and *we'll see*.

(pic above found here.)


i know that julia Roberts has been filming the movie

version of the book due out

in August of this year. (pic above found here.)

up to page 30, the book's a good read. I want to read on, so how much better can it get? My favorite part so far has been *on page 24* when she talks about loving every minute of 'learning herself' Italian.

Gilbert writes that after her Italian classes she signed up for she would

"slosh home through the rain...draw a hot bath, and lie there in the bubbles reading the Italian dictionary aloud to [herself]...just speaking the words made [her] feel sexy and happy."

This makes *ME* happy because I'm from Italian decent, but lately...I don't know...I've been indifferent about it. Actually, I've always been indifferent about it.

I want to be Asian, I think.

I cannot pinpoint why this is so, and it's not like I'm ashamed to be Italian, but I guess I kinda feel like i'm not Italian. my family doesn't speak it, so I don't. We eat plenty of it, and cook just as much lasagna as the next group-a *pisanos*, but...my mom and dad are from Queens.

I've never been to the homeland. I dream that when I do go to Italy, it'll all *click*, but Queens, NY is the culture I most identify with, and quite frankly, a lot of Italian people are just so high on the fact that they can call themselves "ITALIANO" even though they really don't know what that means.

(don't get me started on the MTV show Jersey Shore. don't even.)

I don't wanna be one of them.

page 24 of *eat pray love* however, struck a chord because here's a woman who appreciated something about my background so admiringly that I was proud to be of that background.

does that make sense?

(deep sigh.)

Gilbert writes

"Just speaking those words made me sexy and happy. My divorce lawyer told me not to worry; she said she had one client (Korean by heritage) who, after a yucky divorce, legally changed her name to something Italian, just to feel sexy and happy again."

reading this, my loves, made me grin from *ear to* droopy-lobed *ear*. I have a very Italian last name, and sadly, but honestly, it took this line in the book to change my perception of it.

I looked up from the book, said my own last name in my head and - for the first time ever - felt somewhat sexy and happy about it.

Whatever.

i'll keep reading.

If you've read it, check back HERE regularly and we'll BLOGGY-TAWK about it.

I suppose that's all for now.

Take care.

enjoy your *wednesday*

*i've got somethin' ta tell ya*

*good morning.*

I wish you an *abundance* of life's natural highs, reader, my dear.

Here is my recent *second-on-the-list* natural high

(favorite *at-the-moment* song on the radio):

Hey Soul Sister by Train

Oh, and

*last-on-the-list*

for you - reader - my love,

I *have* to *tell you*:

I *know* this.

I know this because you are a

thinking,

breathing,

speaking,

laughing,

hugging,

kissing,

singing,

dancing,

beauty-appreciating,

extraordinary machine,

with limitless potential.

Uh!

You are beautiful.

xoXOxo,

*amanda*

i *heart* grub

2009 was the year of *culinary growth * for myself

*domestic* growth, as well

(i met Mr. Dishwasher and got quite acquainted with Mr. & Mrs. Washer-Dryer)

My cooking skills *blossomed* last year and I hope that this year only brings more savory selections made by *yours truly* to the table, or picnic blanket, or lap, or wherever life might find me chowing down.

Here are some of the many *dishes* made by me for...me:

above: mmmm...Italian-style artichokes (my favorite)

above: groundbeef torta with cucumber/tomato salad

above: our *easter* perogies, before frying


above: mmmm...our *easter* perogies after frying

more to come in 2010...stay tuned...
but while you're waiting,
think of these questions:

What was the last meal you made yourself?

What dish have you cooked yourself that you're most proud of?

What's one dish/food that you'd like to try this year?

What's your all-time favorite meal ever of life?


i *heart* food chat
i *heart* any chat

Happy Monday!

the year IS *2010*, correct??

This post is coming from a very funny place:

Last night, the boyf walks in my door after work and goes,

"Wanna get ribs?!?!"

in the oh-so-excitable little-boy manner that he does.

I retaliate in my oh-so-excitable little-girl manner

and respond wide-eyed,

"Mmmmmm! Yes! Where?!"

After a few minutes of research we decide to try Tony Roma's .

We've both never been.

Upon arriving,

"table-for-two" ing,

waiting with the buzzer,

getting seated,

nagging the waitress to tell us all she knew about the ribs in the joint,

drinking our Michelob Ultras (we're both on WeightWatchers),

and ordering full rack of "the St. Louis Ribs" for dinner

& coconut shrimp to start

(the boyf surprisingly threw those in there knowing

how much I love them - I like when he does that),

we were finally settled in our booth.

He looks into my eyes, smiles, sighs a deep sigh and says,

"Ahhhh...our first official date of 2007."

We both paused,

looked at each other,

& started laughing.

Lord knows where his brain was at, but it wasn't Earth.

You can guess that every ten minutes, I was bringing it up.

He's a major *goofball*.

*Happy Weekend,*

reader bo-beader.

~~*amanda*

by *we* i mean *my BLOG & i*

no matter how present you are,

you're reading this,

& i love it.

P.S. -- Isn't this just *the greatest thing* to hear??

(i mean it, too)

Welcome. My *2010* is HERE.

Hey, reader.

It's the first Monday of the year.

Fifty-one more to go.

(picture found at weheartit.com)

Well, my *2010* is HERE.

(I guess you already new that.)

Let me talk a bit about what's happening-happening.

My name is *Amanda*.

This is my first BLOG ever.

I never really *got* BLOGs or what they meant or

why anyone would want to have one.

With my 25th birthday occurring this past November,

I began to feel an incredible urge...

the need to write

to take pictures

to share

to create

to draw

to paint

to scrap

to explore

to appreciate the world more

to love

to hug

to kiss

to smile

and to laugh,

and even cry, if I needed to

SO HERE I AM!!

Does that make any sense??

No?

Read on. :)

Just a little after my 25th birthday, I *stumbled*

(as I believe we do upon most of life's enchantments)

on this magazine.

I was mesmerized by what I was reading...

I was reading about these women who - some time ago - had felt just what

I was feeling above and did something about it:

made a BLOG.

By reading their BLOGs and clicking on the links

to BLOGs that they loved

and clicking on the links to BLOGs that *those* people loved...

...it's like a never end source of inspiration and motivation.

And there's so many different *kinds* of BLOGs!

There are those by women closer to my age

who are on the verge of or have just gotten married.

They talk about love, life, beauty, art, simple things, and complicated things.

I relate.

Then

there are those BLOGs by women older than me

with children - the most beautiful children,

each and every one of them, that I have ever seen - and a house

and with a husband or without one.

*They* talk about love, life, beauty, art, simple things, and complicated things...

...and...most fantastically...

...I relate.

So, reader.

My *2010* is HERE.

This is *my* BLOG.

However exciting or boring or cool or lame you find it,

HERE it is.

By reading it you'll learn more about me,

and maybe more about *yourself*.

I would tell you

topics I expect to write about,

but how would I know that??

I can speculate and say probably about

love, life, beauty, art, simple things, and complicated things.

I hope you relate.

Super-sincerely,

with a warm and jolly welcome,

*amanda*

P.S. - Okay. See ya!

wanna have a *picnik*?

Hey, reader!

I just wanted to give a quick shout out to picnik.com - a website that makes photo editing easy. You edit right here on your browser.

Below are the three pics from my previous *new year'sEVE* post all *jazzed* up!

...a little softening here, a little text there, and some pictures just come to life.

(Don't get me wrong, though, I love me some point-and-shoot, one-snap-only, set-exposure polaroids. Oh, yessiree, I do!)

If you haven't checked the website out already, you know what to do.

If you have, then okay!

Love-a-Dub-Dub,

Amanda

let the *games* begin

oh, those glasses!!

and notice the silly string can on the left

aye yai yai

*Rock Band*

Jamina - lead vocals

Daniel - lead guitar & back-up vocals

Tomas - drums

Cezar -base guitar

Steph - groupie

Amanda - paparazzi

just

us

girls

on

New

Year's

EVE

NewYear'sEVE was great.

we slept over our friends' Jamina and Lev's place.

woke up had french toast & eggs & bacon breakfast.

vegged all day there with their two kids.

sipped afternoon drinks.

played poker.

did American Idol karaoke.

*this* was one of my favorite moments:

~~ what a great start, *2010* ~~

thank you already

<3