Photo A Day July - Week Four & Five

July 23rd - July 29th

Day Twenty Three: Mirror

Day Twenty Four: A Stranger

Day Twenty Five: Heart

Day Twenty Six: Sunshine

Day Twenty Seven: On The Road

Day Twenty Eight: Cup

WEEK FIVE

July 30th - July 31st

Day Thirty: Calm

Day Thirty One: Toothbrush

Photo A Day July - Week Three

July 16th - July 22

Day Sixteen: Sign

Day Seventeen: Your Addiction

Day Eighteen: Plate

Day Nineteen: Animal/Insect/Pet

Day Twenty: Eyes

Day Twenty One: 9 o'clock

Day Twenty Two: Upside Down

Manhattanhenge! o_O?

Fun fact of the day, Manhattanhenge is a thing!

Yup. Yup. Yup. It sure is.

Picture this: You're walking along the streets of Manhattan at dusk. The setting is perfect -- there's a cool breeze in the air, and the city is bustling with activity. And that's when you see it in the distance, peeking through the skyscrapers. It's a bird. It's a plane. It's.... Manhattanhenge!

(info and photo via)

Yes, Manhattanhenge. This amazing wonder, which paints Manhattan in the soft, glowing hues of pink, orange, yellow and red, occurs just twice a year on May 29th and July 12th (just a couple of days ago!) when the sunset aligns perfectly with Manhattan's streets grids. These pictures are just stunning! How fun would it be to be able to capture something so rare!

What's Potential?

I came across this quote over the weekend.

And just like clockwork, the good side of me, the romantic in me shouted, "Yes, that's it. That's exactly what you want in a relationship, Amanda. In one short sweet sentence, that's what you want in another person. That's who you want to fall in love with."

But the evil hatred of love side of me commented, which struck me as so wise and true and, frankly realistic: "You can't fall in love with someone's potential."

Well, evil hatred of love side of me's right about that too. Falling in love with someone's potential is, well, just that. Falling in love with someone's potential. You're falling in love with the person, sure, but not the real person. Not who the other person truly is, anyway. Not the person they are inside. Because in your mind, someone's potential could be anything; you could build up this person so much in your head that the potential soon eclipses everything else in sight.

And, falling for the potential sort of implies that you're going to work your magic and change the person into your own version of who you think they should be. I'm a bit weary of anyone wanting to change another person, and I know, that you may have the best of intentions. But I don't foresee us changing each other: I'd prefer to look at it more along the lines of being a positive influence on each other's lives. That sounds much better, doesn't it?

All the while, though, I can't help but wonder: Isn't someone's potential a pretty subjective thing? What's labeled as potential to one person may be labeled as unattainable to another. So maybe falling in love with your supposed potential -- and you falling in love with mine -- isn't the way to go here. Something tells me that route will only lead to confusin, hurt feelings and broken hearts. I know neither of us want that for each other, do we? So what exactly do we want? If I personally don't want to be wooed by your potential, what is it that will ultimately make me fall head-over-heels, can't-live-without-you love?

One Breath At A Time.

I don’t know how to breathe.

I know it sounds ridiculous, but it’s true. What was once a natural born instinct is now something I find myself struggling with. For most people, breathing is done exactly opposite of how it should be! Studies show that around 40% of us breathe incorrectly. Breathing is more than just the process of taking oxygen and carbon dioxide in and out of the lungs. Breathing regulates your state of mind, your emotions, your concentration and so much more. Learning to breathe the right way will help you to be healthier, calmer and give you the ability to handle stressful life situations. Plus, it just makes you feel better! And who doesn’t want to feel better, to live a happier and more peaceful life?

Think back to the first time you stood up and gave a speech infront of your high school class. Your palms sweated. Your heart pounded. Your voice quivered. Your stomach felt nauseous. That nervousness, fear, stress and anxiety wouldn’t have existed if you had known how to properly breathe. It’s normal to tense up and resort to shallow breaths or hold your breath completely when faced with fear. But what many people don’t realize is our body’s natural defensive mechanism is flawed! Physical, mental, and emotional stress all put extreme strain on our bodies. We get ourselves so worked up to the point where we can’t even breathe! It’s that breath before the first kiss. Or those gasps during the last mile of the race. If we just knew how to steady our breathing we would be ok.

After watching the movie, Million Dollars Baby... I learned that as a fighter you're taught the importance of proper breathing. When the fight is on your feet, you gain more power in your punches and kicks if you exhale on their release. When you’re tossed on your back in the middle of the octagon and the fight is on the ground, your body is tense, but you have to train your mind to relax. In that vulnerable position, you must control your breathing and not panic while fists are raining down on your face! Of course that’s always easier said than done, but anything in life worth doing is always easier said than done. Proper breathing is no exception to that rule. And while I may now know how to properly breathe while fighting, if I’m ever in the cage, it’s likely I’ve forgotten everything I was taught!

Breathing is one of those things that most of us don’t pay attention to. As I’m writing this, I’m breathing. In fact, I’m writing ABOUT breathing and I’m not even THINKING about breathing. While my body may be automatically performing this essential task for me in order to sustain life, it’s not necessarily doing it in the best possible way. Breathing is one of the few bodily functions that can be controlled both consciously and unconsciously. The goal here is to learn the proper techniques to conscious breathing. Then, with practice, those same techniques will soon become second nature to your body. The final result will be new and improved unconscious breathing! Basically, we are perfecting the art of breathing...one breath at a time.

To breathe correctly, you must divide the breath into three parts - lower abdomen, middle abdomen, and chest. When inhaling, first fill up the lower abdomen with air, then the middle abdomen, and last the chest. When exhaling, the air in the chest goes out first, then the middle abdomen, and lastly the lower abdomen. You must physically push the abdomen out when inhaling and in when exhaling. (That is not a typo.) When done correctly, there is no need to pull the abdomen in because it is done effortlessly. If you can consciously breathe the right way by forcing the abdomen out during inhalation your body will soon pick up this rhythm. The human brain has many functions and one of them is to follow the breath. Breathing is not about just holding the breath in or out, it’s about breathing long and deeply. Do this by breathing very slowly, using the full capacity of your lungs and completely exhaling. The best way to breath properly is to build up little by little. As the lung's capacity starts to expand, your mind becomes calmer and clearer.

The magic of breathing starts when you master exhaling. During exhalation there is a natural urge to inhale immediately after exhalation due to the discomfort it initially brings. When this natural tendency calms down you will be able to reach a higher level of consciousness. Retraining your body to breathe this way is harder than it sounds. But remember, anything worth doing in life is always easier said than done. Although I’m quite confident that once you learn how to properly breathe, it will be one of the best things you’ve ever done for yourself. Your stress will decrease and your focus will increase. Everyone seeks balance in life and breathing is the first step to finding that balance. So steady your breathing. And take it slowly, one breath at a time.

Photo A Day July - Week Two

July 9th - July 15th

Day Nine: Big

Day Ten: Your Favorite Color

Day Eleven: Letter

Day Twelve: Texture

Day Thirteen: Open

Day Fourteen: Building

Day Fifteen: Finger

Photo A Day July - Week One

THIS LIST:

July 1st - July 8th

Day One: Self Portrait

Day Two: Busy

Day Three: Best Part Of My Day

Day Four: Fun

Day Five: On The Floor

Day Six: Chair

Day Seven: Garden

250 Movie Challenge Update

As of today I have 176 movies of my Top 250 Movie Challenge watched.

74 movies to go.

Including today I have 178 days left of this year to finish them.

I can so do this.

xoxo

Moving On Is A Hard Thing To Do

It's OK. You can tell me what I've been telling myself for months. This is so pathetic. MOVE ON ALREADY! I think there should be some sort of special goggles you can wear when you're in the presence of "that guy." You know, the one you're sure, beyond a doubt that you're over him; and then you see him, and those annoying feelings start bubbling up to the surface yet again. I know I would invest in a hefty supply of said goggles. Stupid Marco (Polo)!


What in the heck sort of power does this guy have over me? I'm an intelligent, independent woman, so why is it that every time I see him, I morph into this 13-year-old again? I'm pretty sure he doesn't think we're even remotely compatible, and franktly, I'm not so sure we are, either.


But you know what's even worse (or annoying....I haven't decided yet)? I think my friends may have been right, at least in part. Maybe hes fear did stop him from seeing where things would go with us. After all, I had created this fantasy in my head for the last year or so, and the moment we were remotely moving toward that fantasy. I pushed him and in which, he recoiled. Yes, probably in fear. But don't we all do that?


I tried giving him space to think these over but in the end... I continued to push. I was scared. We're all so scared that the fantasy we'd built in our heads is all we'll ever have (or want?) that maybe we'd rather just have that instead of, well, the inevitable heartbreak that would probably come with reality. 


I guess I just love that damn fantasy too much. That's not fair to me or him, I know, but how can I change the thought patterns I've had for a year or so? And again, maybe I'm just too afraid to try. 


But the question still remains: Why do I keep opening these flood gates? Desperation? Craziness? I'm not sure, honestly. 


What do you think? Am I really as hopelessly hopeless as I think?

In The Kitchen: Vodka Steak Penne

I've been thinking I might start a new blog label/tag/category titled "In The Kitchen". It would be fitting for post like this one. I've been wanting to try my hand at cooking lately. Growing up with my mom (this master "chef") I've always liked cooking but never fully got into it. Once Pinterest came along great recipes have been putting up left and right. This new, "In The Kitchen" would where I talk about a lot of kitchen related things, but at the same time, a lot of nothing. I want to start trying new recipes, so I'll cook them up and post them here, along with the fact if I ended up liking it or not.

We'll see how this goes. Wish my no luck (never had it to begin with)

xoxo


To start this new idea off... I tried making....

Vodka Cream Sauce with Steak and Penne!

This is what theirs looked like:

MINE:

That looks delicious right??
OH, IT WAS!

Ingredients:
1 14.5ox box of penne pasta

1 tbsp olive oil

4 oz chopped bacon (i subbed this for a 6oz steak)

1/2 cup vodka

1 small spring fresh rosemary, whole

1/2 cup heavy cream

3 cups prepared tomato/pasta sauce

3/4 cup water

salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Wanna see how this dish is made?? You can find it HERE!

Creative Sticky Notes

You might not know this about me but I love sticky notes. I have them covering just about everything on my desk with little notes, to-do list, and random things I need to remember, so when I came across these creative sticky notes... I screamed, "I WANT THESE!". 

Aren't these just awesome?? I especially love the block of wood one! And the blast-from-the-past floppy disk ones? Fraking Genius! :]]

When I'm Dead And Gone.

I can't be the only one who has ever had this though cross their mind. I would think that anyone who keeps a personal blog, a diary or any type of journal has pondered this same question. "I wonder what people will say as they read this blog...when I am dead and gone." Anyone else ever thought about that? Perhaps it's a morbid thought, however I have been told on many occasions that I tend to have morbid thoughts. There are some things I have written about in this blog that even my closest family and friends are clueless about. If they did know about it, I worry that it might scare them, that they would be unable to handle my raw truths. Or perhaps a bigger fear is that I couldn't handle what they would think of me, what I would leave behind to be remembered by. I suppose if I could foresee my inevitable upcoming death, I could delete all I've written on the web. Although as we all know, a delete key never fully erases your electronic trail. Whether I like it or not, my blog will have a way of living on, long after I'm dead and gone.

For people who allow themselves to be totally and completely honest about who they are and their lives, any form of a personal journal can be very hurtful or confusing to loved ones. And I imagine that pain would only intensify after one's death. Because let's face it, to be truly honest with oneself is to admit to the various aspects of one's character in all its humanity, both well-intentioned and spiteful.

Your reactions to life's events, the experiences you have lived, your genuine opinions of friends, acquaintances, strangers...it all requires a great deal of resolve. Not to mention releasing one's deeply held thoughts and feelings. To release genuine honestly from one's own mind and heart, from you very being and to share it with others, it's not only brave but also complex given that the repercussions can resonate infinitely.

And the sometimes a journal is simply a place to vent about a situation, confrontation or a misunderstanding which soon after it occurs is resolved and even forgotten. I'm reminded of a scene in the chick flick "Bridget Jones' Diary" when, after she and Mark Darcy admit their mutual feelings, Mark finds Bridget's journal and reads her initial opinions of him. I don't want to ruin it for anyone who has yet to see the film (even though it's an old movie), but those who've seen it know what follows.