Heart vs Head

What do you use to lead to you . . . or to help you make decisions? I think it is scary to not know which way to go because your head wants one thing and your heart wants another. Or even your head and your heart are working towards one goal, and then, your head and your heart are also equally, working towards another. What is that called? A broken heart? That's ironically funny. So how do you know what is right and what is wrong.
I think when I start dwelling on something, instead of listening to my head or heart, I try to make a decision about what is right and wrong, or fair, or a compromise. They are never easy and I am never 100% confident in them. In fact, I don't think I will ever be.
I put predictive values on my decisions . . . the farther I can see into a decision makes me more likely go in that direction. Maybe that is my attempt at knowing which way to go . . . is that the right way to go about things? Probably not, because change is inevitable.
Why am I so afraid of making a mistake?

A Season, A Reason, or a Lifetime

A friend once calmed my fears, questions, and uneasiness when she said this: People are in our lives for either a season, a reason, or a lifetime.

A thought I wanted to pass on . . . she couldn't have been more right.

Quack

I remember being this little girl, who loved barbies and dolls, and liked to play house and make believe. There was this moment in my life when I specifically remember a thought I had: I dreaded the fall because my mom, my sister and I spent Saturday's at University of Oregon Duck football games. I was a little girlie girl who didn't want to spend my whole weekend at a sporting event. They were sometimes rainy and cold and they would take all day! I mean, really, 4 hours for one game?? Does that seem right?
With that being said, I don't think I ever complained about going to the games, it was always what we did as a family. It's not like I hated sports either, I played them myself but maybe my attention span didn't last 4 hours. At that time, there was so much space in the stadium with plenty of room to roam where I could entertain myself with toys and such and not pay attention to what was going on in the middle of the field.
It didn't take long for me to get hooked on the love of the game, and to get hooked on being a duck. Always and forever. I must have been 8 or 9 when that happened. Then the Rose Bowl. 94-95, Danny O'neil, Penn State, the Rose Bowl Parade, Rich Brooks, Chad Cota and Ricky Whittle and of course Kenny Wheaton (Been there, Done that, and Yes, I did just by the T-shirt titled "The Pick").
I have been a loyal and proud Duck ever since. I have been supportive in good times and in bad, ups and downs, disappointments and miracles. And I always stay until the end of each and every game.
Today is the day we know for a fact that we are going to the BCS National Championship. I am "O" so proud (no pun intended). We have been fighting for this for years and it has finally come. No matter what, I will always support the Ducks. I am just so happy we made it.
Thank you mom, for moving to Eugene, for being a season ticket holder for 20 years, and for taking me to the games. I can think of nothing else I would rather do on a fall day than to go to a Duck football game.

Om . . . unification of mind, body and spirit

I use yoga to create peace from within. To meditate on a mantra and to dedicate my practice to something or someone.
Tonight, since the moon was unbelievable over the weekend, we finished our practice with moon salutations, beginning with tadasana, mountain pose, to utanasana . . . focusing on the beauty of graceful movements and of quiet, even breaths.
We focused on prana . . . our life force. Our chi. Feeling its current.
This is a place where I feel grace.
And this is a place I call my own.

You know you're in the south when . . .

I went to the North Carolina State fair this past weekend and what did I see? I saw an extremely wide array of fried foods:

Fried peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Fried twinkies.

Fried oreos.

Fried mac n' cheese.

Fried candy bars.

Fried cheesecake.

Tex mex chili, mixed with cheddar, covered with frito chips, dipped in batter, and deep fried.

Lastly, chocolate covered bacon topped with sprinkles.

Unbelievable. I'm not sure I agree with this culture and neither does my stomach. Or my arteries for that matter.

The House on Mango Street

I was reading this and I couldn't help but like this excerpt . . .
"Sally, do you sometimes wish you didn't have to go home? Do you wish your feet would one day keep walking and take you far away from Mango Street, far away and maybe your feet would stop in front of a house, a nice one with flowers and big windows and steps for you to climb up two by two upstairs to where a room is waiting for you. And if you opened the little window latch and gave it a shove, the windows would swing open, all the sky would come in. There'd be no nosy neighbors watching, no motorcycles and cars, no sheets and towels and laundry. Only trees and more trees and plenty of blue sky. And you could laugh Sally. You could go to sleep and wake up and never have to think who likes and doesn't like you . . . nobody could make you sad and nobody would think you're strange because you like to dream and dream. And no one could yell at you . . . without someone thinking you are bad . . . without the whole world waiting for you to make a mistake when all you wanted, all you wanted, Sally, was to love and to love and to love and to love, and no one could call that crazy." (Cisneros 82-83).

the best magazines to have around the house . . .

if you want my opinion the best magazines to have around the house are:

national geographic (my favorite. i especially enjoy the beginning of the magazine with the short one page excerpts on "fun facts" if you will.) there world is an intriguing place my friends.

the new yorker (all around quality. i like the short stories, and the literary criticisms, not to mention the cartoons.)

rolling stone (i read through one the other day, and i thought is deserved to be on my list. it provided more information than i expected)

cooking light (i'll always look for new recipes)