An Excerpt: Chance Encounter

It was at the light house; the light house at the end of the sandy beach where he left the tarnished bottle of Merlot. The letter, slightly torn, was placed delicately inside and concealed with the remnants of the cork she had playfully thrown at him upon opening the bottle. It was one of her favorites, slightly expensive, but rich with a varietal blend of grapes that made her delightfully flirty and intoxicated by his arguable sense of humor. They had shared the bottle just to celebrate the simplicity of living and being able to breathe the mystery of the salty sea air. 

They had met by chance. She was running along the compact beach, merely an inch or two away from the waves that threatened to engulf her within their hefty arms. He had been fishing that early morning, not because he wanted to, but because it was ritual. He and his father had done it since he was a little boy, and he could not find the heart to abandon his father's passion. It had been a year that very day, that his health deteriorated and took away his last breath. 

He could see the outline of her body, slim, yet muscular, through the rays of sunshine that kissed her ivory skin. She appeared happy, lost within the rhythmic trance of her steady heart beat and the slight pounding of her feet. Her hair, loosely held in a ponytail moved gracefully with each of her passing strides. He remembers casting the line out into the ocean, careful not to stare. Politely, she nodded as she ran past him, revealing an enticing aroma of lavender, perhaps from the perspiration leaving her pores. Her smile, was that of a movie star, bright and undeniably welcoming. He responded by waving and smiling back at her. 

He was certain that there are very few moments where beauty truly stops the blood from pumping through ones heart. And as she ran past him that early June morning, he knew that he was in trouble of losing himself within the layers of her beauty.

weheartit.com

5 Risks Every Gutsy Girl Must Take

Be fearful. Be bold. Forget coloring in the lines. Here are 5 Risks Every Gutsy Girl Must Take:

1. Fall in love. Really seize it. The guy probably won't be "The One". But that's how you learn who you are.

2. Be yourself-especially in a relationship. We still live in a sexist world where women often twist themselves into what they think a man wants in order to have him. Put yourself first before pleasing a guy and you're  more likely to find the guy who's right. 

3. Make a firm plan to move out of your comfort zone. Say "I'll works this entry level job for two more years, and then, no matter what, I'm moving on."

4. Try everything you find interesting. 

5. Dare to ask: What is my purpose here? You might not know the answer but you'll learn a lot in the process. 

Source: Cosmopolitan, October 2008

Don't Judge Me But...

Don't judge me but, the idea for this post was not my own. Regretfully. Creativity, at the moment, is something I am lacking. It is a little after four and my exhaustion is setting in. Unfortunately my best ideas only seem to pop up between the hours of 2 am and 4 am as I toss and turn struggling to fall asleep. Yet, I don't write them down like I should, and end up forgetting my own brilliance. It's such a tangled mess. Anyways, enough about my rambling. I discovered this post from Simone who maintains the blog "The Bottom of the Ironing Basket." I loved this simple idea of the post and decided to write one like it. So here it goes...

Don't judge me but...

I am terrible at directions. 

In fact I am so terrible, that I have to search for another human being to give directions when someone asks me. I point, I stutter, I call out landmarks. 

I tend to over-analyze every situation I am in. 

I plot numerous outcomes both positive and negative and obsess over which will actually happen. 

I love the taste of wine far too much. 

In fact I am dreaming about a glass of Merlot as I type. 

I hate the camera. 

I try to stay away from it as much as I can. 

I prefer to be alone at times. 

Sometimes all I want is complete and utter solitude, a great magazine, and again, uh hem, a glass of wine. 

I do not have a big sweet tooth. 

I would rather have a big plate of french fries. 

I love food yet I have a fear of gaining weight. 

At this point I should get a trophy for will power. 

I cry a lot. 

It doesn't matter what the trigger may be; movies, television shows, concerts, quotes, great novels, or a great song, I will cry. 

One leg is longer than the other. 

It makes balancing very difficult at times. Which is why I should also ask you not to judge me when it comes to this: I walk into walls. 

I don't go to church. 

Sometimes when I do, I feel overwhelmed. 

I curse. 

Sometimes "fuck" is the only word that makes the kind of impact I want. 

After too much whiskey I slur my words like a true Bostonian. 

I am not from Boston, although this is something that I tell people in the south because "New Hampshire" apparently wasn't on their map in school. 

I tend to be bit dramatic. 

It's a shame I never took an acting class. 

I never played a team sport when I was younger. 

While everyone was joining a basketball team or playing baseball, I opted out. The only time I wanted to play a team sport is when I developed a love for hockey. When I asked my Dad however, he said that hockey would "ruin my pretty face."

I have never been to New York City.

Although I often dream of living a "Carrie Bradshaw" kind of lifestyle. 

I am terrible at math.

I count on my fingers, use a calculator or ask someone who is far more intelligent than me. 

I am not utilizing my college degree.

This is something that my parents have a hard time dealing with. I honestly at times, do not know what the hell I want to do. Why can't I apply for the wine-making, vineyard-owning, brilliant published writer, living in a sweet beach home, position? That's what I want. I'll get a degree in that. 

I have curly hair and if I go to bed with it wet, I wake up a stellar version of Diana Ross. 

Not much more to say there. 

High heels kill my feet

I wear them anyway.

I don't own a pair of skinny jeans or leggings. 

I got thighs and a booty and some people simply cannot pull off that look. I am one of them. 

I hold on to things far too tightly. 

I guess a part of me just wonders if such wonderful things can happen more than once.

I am utterly fascinated with Marilyn Monroe. 

She had a keen desire to be loved, yet I don't know if she ever really found it. Admired yes, lusted after yes, but did she ever find that heart-wrenching, beautiful, volatile, love that she desired? 

Last one. 

I cannot for the life of me pronounce "apocalypse".

If the zombies were coming you would hear me stuttering like Rob Schneider in Big Daddy: 

hip...hip-hop...hiponoumous. 

YOU GIVE HIM THE EASY ONES!

Personal: April Goals

Where the heck did March go? I can't believe it is already the 28th and the Color Me Rad 5k is in 2 days! Because it is the end of the month, I decided I need to sit down and start writing my goals for April. And I'll tell you what, I am so excited to have the chance to start over, and make myself not only better, but continue to grow as an adult. I have maintained a vast majority of my March goals and I am very proud of myself. In the past month I have really pushed myself physically and the results are starting to show. Now that I have increased my stamina on a variety of levels, I am ready to start pushing my body even further. One thing that I have yet to master, although I have been careful, is my diet. I need to "clean it up" and start eliminating the processed junk. With that being said, here are some of my goals for April:

Physically

Log some serious hours at gym which includes 4-5 sessions of cardio a week and incorporating weight training. 

Continue to practice yoga

I never knew I  could do a yoga headstand but I challenged myself and got into one. I am going to focus on mastering the pose and increasing strength, flexibility, and agility. 

Clean up the diet:

I am going to start prepping my lunches for the week on Sunday evening. I want to make sure that I have several healthy choices available to me at work and before/after workouts. I also want to start walking during my lunch break to burn more calories. 

Get some definition in my abs:

Ugh. Abs are so difficult and I know they come with a clean diet and lots of cardio, etc.

Plank, Plank, Plank. 

Creatively

April Photo-A-Day Challenge

Maintain my Creative Writing Blog

Paint

Journal

Draw

Around the home:

Spring Cleaning

I want to tidy up the yard, put up the gazebo, and clean out the garage. 

Maybe go to Bed, Bath and Beyond.

If I have time.

Happy Hour Readers: What are your April Goals 

What Our Parents Never Taught Us

“Here’s what our parents never taught us:

You will stay up on your rooftop until sunlight peels away the husk of the moon, 

chainsmoking cigarettes and reading Baudelaire, and 

you will learn that you only ever want to fall in love with someone

who will stay up to watch the sun rise with you.

You will fall in love with train rides, and sooner or later you will

realize that nowhere seems like home anymore.

A woman will kiss you and you’ll think her lips are two petals

rubbing against your mouth.

You will not tell anyone that you liked it. 

It’s okay. 

It is beautiful to love humans in a world where love is a metaphor for lust.

You can leave if you want, with only your skin as a carry-on.

All you need is a twenty in your pocket and a bus ticket. 

All you need is someone on the other end of the map, thinking about the supple

curves of your body, to guide you to a home that stretches out for miles

and miles on end.

You will lie to everyone you love. 

They will love you anyways.

One day you’ll wake up and realize that you are too big for your own skin.

Molt. 

Don’t be afraid.

Your body is a house where the shutters blow in and out

against the windowpane.

You are a hurricane-prone area. 

The glass will break through often.

But it’s okay. I promise.

Remember,

a stranger once told you that the breeze

here is something worth writing poems about.”

-Shinji Moon, "What Our Parents Never Taught Us"

The Art of Letting Go

Found this article on marcandangel.com and had to share, it is very inspiring. Enjoy.

Holding on is being brave, but letting go and moving on is often what makes us stronger and happier.

Here are ten signs it’s time to let go:

1. Someone expects you to be someone you’re not. – Don’t change who you are for anyone else.  It’s wiser to lose someone over being who you are, than to keep them by being someone you’re not.  Because it’s easier to mend a broken heart, than it is to piece together a shattered identity.  It’s easier to fill an empty space in your life where someone else used to be, than it is to fill the empty space inside yourself where YOU used to be.
2. A person’s actions don’t match their words. – Everybody deserves somebody who helps them look forward to tomorrow.  If someone has the opposite effect on you, because they are consistently inconsistent and their actions don’t match up with their words, it’s time to let them go.  It’s always better to be alone than to be in bad company.  True friendship is a promise made in the heart – silent, unwritten, unbreakable by distance, and unchangeable by time.  Don’t listen to what people say; watch what they do.  Your true friends will slowly reveal themselves over time.
3. You catch yourself forcing someone to love you. – Let us keep in mind that we can’t force anyone to love us.  We shouldn’t beg someone to stay when they want to leave.  That’s what love is all about – freedom.  However, the end of love is not the end of life.  It should be the beginning of an understanding that love sometimes leaves for a reason, but never leaves without a lesson.  If someone truly loves you, they will never give you a reason to doubt it.  Anyone can come into your life and say how much they love you, but it takes someone really special to stay in your life and prove how much they love you.  Sometimes it takes awhile to find the right person, but the right person is always worth the wait.  Read The Road Less Traveled.
4. An intimate relationship is based strictly on physical attraction. – Being beautiful is more than how many people you can get to look at you, or how others perceive you at a single glance.  It’s about what you live for.  It’s about what defines you.  It’s about the depth of your heart, and what makes you unique.  It’s about being who you are and living out your life honestly.  It’s about those little quirks that make you, you.  People who are only attracted to you because of your pretty face or nice body won’t stay by your side forever.  But the people who can see how beautiful your heart is will never leave you.
5. Someone continuously breaks your trust. – Love means giving someone the chance to hurt you, but trusting them not to.  When you completely trust a person, without any doubt, you’ll automatically get one of two results - a FRIEND for life or a LESSON for life.  Either way there’s a positive outcome.  Either you confirm the fact that this person cares about you, or you get the opportunity to weed them out of your life and make room for those who do.  In the end you’ll discover who’s fake, who’s true, and who would risk it all for you.  And trust me, some people will totally surprise you.
6. Someone continuously overlooks your worth. – Know your worth!  When you give yourself to someone who doesn’t respect you, you surrender pieces of your soul that you’ll never get back.  There comes a point when you have to let go and stop chasing some people.  If someone wants you in their life, they’ll find a way to put you there.  Sometimes you just need to let go and accept the fact that they don’t care for you the way you care for them.  Let them leave your life quietly.  Letting go is oftentimes easier than holding on.  We think it’s too hard to let go, until we actually do.  Then we ask ourselves, “Why didn’t I do this sooner?”
7. You are never given a chance to speak your mind. – Sometimes an argument saves a relationship, whereas silence breaks it.  Speak up for your heart so that you won’t have regrets.  Life is not about making others happy.  Life is about being honest and sharing your happiness with others.
8. You are frequently forced to sacrifice your happiness. – If you allow people to make more withdrawals than deposits in your life, you will be out of balance and in the negative before you know it.  Know when to close the account.  It’s always better to be alone with dignity than in a relationship that constantly requires you to sacrifice your happiness and self-respect.  Read Stumbling on Happiness.
9. You truly dislike your current situation, routine, job, etc. – It’s better to be a failure at something you love than to succeed at doing something you hate.  Don’t let someone who gave up on their dreams talk you out of going after yours.  The best thing you can do in life is follow your heart.  Take risks.  Don’t just make the safe and easy choices because you’re afraid of what might happen.  If you do, nothing will ever happen.  Chances must be taken, mistakes must be made, and lessons must be learned.  It might be an uphill climb, but when you reach that mountaintop it will be worth every ounce of blood, sweat and tears you put into it.
10. You catch yourself obsessing over, and living in, the past. – Eventually you will overcome the heartache, and forget the reasons you cried, and who caused the pain.  Eventually you will realize that the secret to happiness and freedom is not about control or revenge, but in letting things unfold naturally, and learning from your experiences over the course of time.  After all, what matters most is not the first, but the final chapter of your life, which unveils the details of how well you wrote your story.  So let go of the past, set yourself free, and open your mind to the possibility of new relationships and priceless experiences.  Read The Power of Now.

And the one thing you should never let go of is hope.  Remember what you deserve and keep pushing forward.  Someday all the pieces will come together.  Unimaginably good things will transpire in your life, even if everything doesn’t turn out exactly the way you had anticipated.  And you will look back at the times that have passed, smile, and ask yourself, “How did I get through all of that?”

Bucket List Continued...

1. Read Baudelaire in the French Riviera

2. Get another tattoo

3. Starting in Kalapana, Hawaii, I would like to walk to the place on the coast where active lava flows touch the ocean. 

4. Wade the waters of Starfish Beach, Grand Cayman

5. Take a french cooking class.

6. Experience New Year's Eve in Paris

7. Have a glass of wine and a piece of pizza in Rome

8. Explore photography in Santorini, Greece

9. Abandon all the rules for just one day.

10. Breakup with the idea of perfect. 

Happy Hour Readers: What is on your bucket list?