Somehow, I let a whole month passed without a single blog. I have lots of excuses, but let's just get down to business instead, shall we? In the past 24 hours, I've changed time zones, read a book, watched "Bones" and "The Office," met new friends and moved in with old friends. In the next week, I am going to try to blog every other day – no promises though. This weekend, we're heading to the Pacific coast, so my next blog will come on Sunday. Or tomorrow, if you're lucky.
Pondering Today: Yesterday evening, I flew into
It's been a long time since I've had a day to sit and move at my own pace, to eat breakfast sitting at a table, leisurely flipping all my Frosted Mini Wheats frosting side up and not get annoyed that my hair takes a year to dry. Strangely, it's unsettling for me to have so much time with so few commitments (meaning none) and this morning, I had to intentionally deny myself the right to send out emails, texts and Tweets while eating breakfast.
There's so few times I'm actually alone during the day, both physically and electronically, that actually being alone made me feel a little bit panicked and friendless and jumpy. But as the day has worn on and the sun has gently warmed the day; as I've walked along the rows of cherry trees and savored dark chocolate with coffee and milk; as I've actually sat down and prayed and journaled and been in the silence, there's a calm that's begun to settle within me. It's been absent for quite a while, so its arrival was surprising and strange, in a bemusing, exciting sort of way. But, like all things in life – a new friend, a new car, a new pair of running shoes, it's starting to have sort of a comforting, familiar feel. My multi-tasking, mile-a-minute, fast-talking self is slowly finding a rhythm with this calm. And I think I like it.
Random Fact of the Day: While on the plane, I decided to browse through Sky Mall and find the most obscure thing in the magazine. I found two things that made me especially perplexed. I'll let you in on the first item today: Feet First with Jumpin' Jammerz. The description reads: The essential accessory for that ULTIMATE slumber party. Adult footed pajamas are perfect for KIDS of all ages, even YOU! Yes, my friends – for the low price of $59.95, you can get adult footed pajamas. They come in a variety of patterns – skulls, ducks, pink camo. Definitely what I want to spend $60, given the opportunity. Stay tuned for the next item. I have to find the link because it's unbelievable, really.
An Idea: As much as I adore being in CA right now, I do miss the concession food at Tulip Time, in Holland. Tulip Time is one of my favorite times of year. In Holland area schools, we always got half days during the week of TT, because of the parades. I've been craving a corn dog, elephant ear and fries for about a month now, so I'm thinking next Saturday, after the RiverBank 10k, I'll need to indulge. Maybe Thursday night as well. It's only once a year - gotta live it up.
Anyway, if you're looking for something to do this weekend, an idea would be to head to Holland for the fireworks on Friday. And watch the Dutch Dancers - it makes me laugh, because to us Hollanders, it's totally normal to have people walking around in Dutch costumes and stores with signs in the window that say "No wooden shoes, please." Yet to most, it's wierd and out of place and I love it. I'd much rather be wierd than boring. NO - people don't dress like that year round - I've seriously had people ask me that. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I don these three skirts and hat and six pairs of socks and metal kissers and wooden shoes EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR. It's especially practical on humid, 85 degree days. At work. In 2009." No...I can't even imagine. If you would like to feel like part of the Dutch culture, you may borrow my costume. It's been in retirement since my high school Dutch Dance days and my lovely portrait in National Geographic, which I believe I blogged about earlier.
Note: I've already decided to post another blog tomorrow because I'm going to skip out on the rhyme and a long post. My eyes are closing as I type (I wrote half of this earlier today) and so I need to stop typing, since I hate having grammatical errors and typos, which come more often when my eyes are tired.
Sweet dreams/good morning,
Nicole
0 comments:
Post a Comment