Unbreak my heart

Here is a picture of my basil plant on our two week anniversary.

Why do I even try to love plants?
I'm reminded of the Sandra Bullock movie "28 Days" where at the end of a alcoholism recovery program, the sobriety guru says buy a plant and keep it a live for a year to show that you are responsible and capable before starting a serious relationship. I think the way I treat my plants is a reflection of how I live my life--with lots of passion and feeling and lots and lots of good desires, and a livable amount of knowledge, but not quite enough action. This is a cycle that I will break.

Another crummy thing about my life: the back of my legs (including the ever-tender back of my knees) are horribly sunburned. I'm happy to announce that the crisis portion of the sunburn has past, and thanks to some serious Advil use, it was bearable throughout. But it (the sunburn) is still reminding me that it's there.

Now, for some very happy things in my life.

1. It turns out that my friend Lillie uses "agra-therapy" with the troubled teens she works with (AKA she grows herbs with them). As a direct result, it turns out that she is a literal FOUNT OF KNOWLEDGE when it comes to how to keep basil alive. I am now armed with the knowledge necessary to save my poor little plant. Thank you Lillie!

2. I got to go to the beach!! Sure, it turned out cold and windy, but I went! And friends came with me! And it was fun! I've got the sunburned calves to prove it!

3. Today, at long last, I found nutritional yeast! It occurs to me that this point, that I have not yet announced by new flexi-vegan status to my blog following. So now, let me just tell you all that I've decided to adopt a mostly-vegan diet and so far (10ish days) I am loving it! I am not being super uptight about it (I ate a cookie a co-worker brought yesterday and had about .25 of a ounce of pastrami at Katz's).

In continuation of my good news regarding nutritional yeast (valued by vegans for it's high levels of B12 and it's nutty, cheesy flavor)-- I also decided to buy some soy hot dogs!

I'm excited because hot dogs are the thing I was most sad to give up. I'm optimistic that these will be tasty since it's mostly the spices in hot dogs that make them yummy and as my co-worker says "It's not like there's much actual meat in hot dogs anyway."

and then I got to work and YIPEE!! my first vegan cookbook had arrived!!! I did a lot of research and choose that one and one that focuses on quickness and budget (which has not arrived yet). I'm so excited!
I have been stocking up my vegan pantry (flax seeds, soy margarine, egg substitute, etc) and I am ready to go! Well I do still need a few more things before I"m fully equipped, but I definitely have a good start!

My brother John is awesome.

My little brother John came to visit. He was here for almost a week and, believe it or not, the above is honestly the best picture of the two of us that we got. But we had an awesome time. To give a brief accounting of his visit, I have decided to make a list of why my brother is awesome. (In the order inspired by the photos.)

1. He bought me watermelon!!!!!!
I love love love love love watermelon!!!! And for some reason, it is an expense I can never justify, although when I think about it logically, it is worth it. I've always thought that if a man really wanted to sweep me off my feet, he could bring me a "thinking of you" watermelon. I mean I love flowers as much as the next girl, but a watermelon is super romantic. It says "I know you. I know you love watermelon. I know this is something nice you wouldn't do for yourself." I loved my brother even before he bought me a watermelon, but even more afterwards (which I would not have thought possible). And he is so cute--he didn't eat any of it himself, even though I managed to save him some (for a day or two, then it was gone). Bless him.

2. We saw Patti LaPone in Gypsy!!!!

even though John wanted to "Phantom of the Opera" he went and stood in line at tdf and got tickets to Gypsy because it was what I wanted to see (even though Phantom would have been good too). And he bought my ticket! John is super awesome.

3. We had fun adventures and went some places I've never been. Seen here, Katz's Deli (you know, the one from When Harry Met Sally) John had the famous pastromi sandwich. As you can see, the sandwich is as big as you've heard.

Also, we went on the Staten Island ferry. Here are some pics. (oh my goodness--sometimes I think I could explode I love New York so much!) (in true manly fashion, John was very interested in all the forts)


4. John is a good photographer. I like this one of the George Washington bridge.

5. With John in town, every event became another chance for Team Bluemlein to dominate. John did an awesome job at the "Paper Bag Game" which involves mass amounts of flexibility. You have to bend over and pick up a paper bag with your mouth--the catch is the bag gets progressively smaller and smaller. John made it to the final round! And he was the tallest one by far, which was a major disadvantage on this game.
(he was so fast, it's blurry!)

6. John was so excited about the Indiana Jones premier, he was my inspiration to accept an invitation to go to a midnight showing. We had a fun time. My review--the movie is good to the extent that you are willing/able to suspend your disbelief. And overlook some faulty props. And plot holes. But the ninja monkeys were cool.
(this picture is a shout-out to the Lego Museum that we wanted to visit, but we found out it was in New Jersey, so we didn't go)

7. The event I have been waiting for happened--28oz cans of tomatoes went on sale for a dollar! Luckily John was there to help me pack them home. Here's a picture of him with 30 pounds of canned tomatoes on his pack, hiking up the hill.



Here's a picture of the contents of the bag I was carrying (as you can see it was pansy light). John is the embodiment of a gentleman and insisted on carrying anything heavy that we came across during his whole vacation. I love him.







8. John has a great sense of humor. Any of you who spoke with him know what I mean.

9. It was so nice to be with someone who saw the city with new eyes and was delighted with or intrigued by things I take for granted--street performers, the candy sellers on the subway, beggars, parking lots with elevators for the cars

10. John is such an incredibly person! It was so wonderful to have him around. He is so kind and charming and thoughtful. I was discussing it with a friend and we decided and that is the epitomy of masculinity.

Called Out

I'll confess every time I get in the elevator with someone else at work in the morning, I feel a little glee when I push a higher button than anyone else. Because I always do. (Feel glee AND push the higher button in case that was unclear.) Today it was me and lady who pushed "18." I got in directly behind her and with no small amount of relish (which I mistakenly assumed was kept discreetly to myself) I pushed 20. She said "Alright, alright. Your 20 beats my 18." I was shocked and slightly embarrassed (name that quote) but we then had a delightful discussion about the fruit we had each just purchased for breakfast, how excited we were about said fruit, and she recognized me as "a Christian sister" resulting in my first stranger in an elevator high-five.

True, this story is not more worth-telling than any other 15 things that happen to me in a day, but it is part of my goal to blog more often and perhaps share more of the small things that bring me joy.

Also, I wanted to brag that my friend Jeff just taught me how to insert links in my blog. All the way from Provo. Good job Jeff!

PS the elevator buttons pictured below are NOT from my building. our buttons are WAY classier then those

So many life adventures, so few blog posts

I would estimate that approximately 5% of the blog posts I write in my head actually get typed and published. I think largely it's because I think no one is interested in a post without a picture. I will ponder on this. And without further ado, present you with this picture:

I have been nesting lately. Although I have never in my life had any sort of interest in plants, gardening, etc about 6 months ago, I saw a plant at Ikea that I HAD TO HAVE. I bought it. It died. I was heart-broken. To help heal my broken heart, for my birthday Becca and Richard gave me a new plant and some Miracle Grow to help me out. That plant also died. I was very sad.

I've decided my next attempt will be an herb garden. Above is the first member of my herb garden family: Basil. If I keep him alive for a week or two I will get another and grow from there.

In the photo above, he is fresh from the farmer's market and sitting happily on my desk at work. He has since been transplanted in a cheery yellow pot and is at home.

And while we're on the subject, I really really want a garden. I am just longing for one. Sigh.

Who is this person I've become? I didn't even know what basil was when I moved to New York. (well, I knew it was an herb of course but I couldn't recognize it by smell and wouldn't have known what the actual plant looked like.)

I know it's cliche and everyone's doing it, but I couldn't help it.

I do fancy myself a speed typer.

90 words

Speed test

I'll confess it took some practicing. My goal is to break 100. I'll keep you posted.

Old Before My Time

Subtitle: How does one spell "fogey"? Seriously, how? The only English word that sounds at all similiar is "vogue" and I can't imagine it's spelled similiarly.

It has come to me suddenly and repeatedly this week that I have become an old fogey. I have outlined several points clearly illustrated that I am no longer a spring chicken.

Point One:
To begin my swift descendent into old age, I discovered Monday that rock concerts are not to my liking. I went to my first rock concert (and note, it wasn't even REAL rock, just British pop) and although I had a very good time at the concert, I found the music and especially the crazy light effects were distasteful to me. The music, as a whole, was too grating and the crazy lighting hurt my eyes. I don't see how shining very bright lights directly into the eyes of the audience members is supposed to make the music more enjoyable. (Honestly, you can't tell me I don't sound like a 80 year old right now.) However, apparently the more young-at-heart surrounding me enjoyed it. I couldn't believe they weren't shielding their faces like I was. I kept thinking "Preserve your retinas people!"

Point Two:
The next morning I went to work and imagine my joy when I discovered that my food storage order from the Church had arrived!!! Honestly, I thought excitment of this magnitude regarding a non-personal-salvation issue church point wouldn't come until I was at least 40. (I'm sure it will amuse you to know that the pictures of canned wheat on the church website are copyrighted and thus cannot be downloaded to be used on my blog. So instead, here is a picture of my very own wheat and oats sitting in one of those coat closets at work waiting for me to take them to their new home.)

Point Three:
Then Tuesday I went and saw the movie Ironman which was very good and (dare I say it?) perhaps even emotionally satisfying. I really enjoyed it. But oh my goodness, it was intense! At points I was sure my poor nerves couldn't take it! I used to LOVE being stressed out during a movie, but now, although I did love the movie as a whole, I did not love the stressful parts.

Point Four:
Last night I had a very happy dream in which I went to the library and got a book I was excited about. And I woke up in a state of bliss because I thought that I was going to write an essay on the book for class when I was done. Is this what my fantasy life has come to?

Point Five:
I can't remember the name of the book I was excited about. A senior moment at 28.

Point Six:
I've spent all day listening to Peter, Paul, and Mary.

Point Seven:
Today, I started an 401(k). Which is actually quite exciting:(a self-potrait of me and my 401(k) explanation form)
So now I'll have plenty of money for when my body catches up with my mind and becomes old. Not that it really matters because I'll be super rich by then anyway.

Extremely Joyful Spring Title

Subtitle: Tulips are like opium, only better.

I consider myself to be a happy person. I think that, on a whole, my capacity for joy is unusually high. I think that I am happy most of the time. And it has always seemed to me that I feel my joy rather intensely.
Also, I have never been one to think that one's mood needs to correspond with the weather. Just as easy to be happy in the winter as in the summer, I've always thought. I've always enjoyed spring very much (same as fall, and most of summer and winter) but I've never understood the very high levels of excitment a lot of people seem to associate with spring.

That said, I cannot remember a spring ever having such an overwhelmingly powerful influence on me as it has these last several days. I just cannot believe how HAPPY this weather is making me! The other morning I literally thought, "I would have supposed I'd have to be in love to reach this intense of a level of happiness!" I just feel like there is joy and rapture gushing out of me. Soemtimes I think my neuro circuits are in danger of being overloaded with happiness and my brain just might explode. Seriously. That's how happy the spring is making me.

I've pondered about why it is that I'm being so very strongly influenced by the weather for the first time ever. This is my theory: I think I am being more exposed to the spring then ever before. I wake up around 8:30. I can see a wide expanse of bright sunny sky from my bed. I have wonderful wonderful amounts of sunlight all around my apartment as I'm getting ready. I walk by a park on the way to and from the subway. (coming home is the best because the park is full and everyone is having fun and Mr. Frosty is selling ice cream. sigh!!). I go to work and sit in front of this all day:


The picture (which I took myself, thank you very much) does not do it justice. It is so lovely looking out over Trinity Church and it's surround yard with flowers. And I can see parts of the Hudson AND the Harbor. And the buildings are beautiful. And it is so wonderfully sunshiny. I'm getting gushy just thinking about it. Also, I think I'm just basically surrounded by more beautiful scenary then I have in a long time. For example, here in the fiancial district where I work a lot of the buildings have flower beds and/or huge planters of loveliness. You don't see that in the printing district (where I worked before).

So basically, the only time I am not keenly aware of my beautiful sunshiny glorious weather is while I'm on the subway.

And while I'm on the subject, have there always been so many tulips in the spring? I've never noticed them before. I just don't see how a person can look at a tulip and not go into a tizzy of pure joy.

I am a lucky girl! I love my life!

The best day of my life.

Subtitle: Joyfully, joyfully, biking to our home

I feel like I have been bike obsessed for the last several weeks. Before I did something crazy like going out and buying one, I decide to borrow someone else's to see if bike riding is really as awesome I remember it being. I attempted to borrow one Saturday morning and even had it in my possession for a full 40 minutes, but due to a long series of small, seemingly unconnected events that were somewhat humourous but which I will omit here for the sake of brevity, I only ended up riding it for approximately 3 pedals. That, however, was enough to convince me that I absolutely had to have a bike that day.

I called my friend Marcus who is a hardcore biker and therefore knows things. He told me the best place to go and even came with me to help pick one out. With Marcus' help, it was an easy decision. I fell in love with this one right away:



Mine is red like the one above, but has a woman's frame like the one beneath:


I decided to include them both so that you can begin to fully comprehend how beautiful my bike is even without seeing it.

To date, the purchase of my bike is the biggest impulse buy I have made in my life. But I think even just for the joy it has already given me, it is worth it. I get absolutely weak in the knees when I anticipate a full summer of biking about. Oh the joy and rapture!!
Marcus, Corina and I went on a little bike ride on the Hudson River Trail to break in my bike and the whole time I just kept singing a happy song (for the exactly lyrics see "Subtitle" above).

Here's a picture of me and Marcus at a lookout point long the Hudson River Trail.



Then Marcus had to high-tail it back to his place to get ready for stake priesthood meeting while Corina and I lolly-gagged around a bit enjoying the beautiful weather and the feeling of wonderfulness that is bicycle ownership.

Then we manged to leave our bikes for just a few minutes to do a bit of rock climbing:

(We were trying to make it to the boat seen below and we almost did, but decided Corina was in the wrong shoes to go into the water, which might have been necessary.)

Oh, I am a happy happy girl to own a bike!!!

PS I named my bike Rosie, partially because she's red and partially after Rosie the Riveter (because she's made out of metal and Rosie the Riveter is awesome).

The Rumors are True

Due to certain irresponsible, and some would say near-suicidal g-chat status messaging (done largely by me) rumors have begun to circulate that I underpaid my 2007 taxes by nearly $800.

These rumors are true.

Upon making this startling realization, I will admit I felt heavy internal pressure to unravel, which I did but only to the extent of issuing public g-chat status messages regarding my state of turmoil and subsequent arrival at peace.

Having thought it over more thoroughly, I have decided to turn this into an opportunity to be thankful to be a some-what aggressive saver so that this little incident will not actually affect the quality of my life at all. I've also decided that $800 is a small price to pay for living in what is largely considered to be the country place on earth.

So really, I've made it a joyful experience.

Musical Apartment

A few weeks ago, I procured a piano keyboard. This was part of my ongoing desire (although, as yet lack of follow-through) in becoming a proficient piano player. My goal is to be able to sight read hymns.

Well I spent about 20 minutes trying to play out of the hymn book, then I lost interest probably largely due to my lack of talent. Then we had a rip-roaring roommate music fest. Although my musical talents extend only as far as typically being able to pull off a good alto, my roommates are more talented. Amelia played the piano, Christina played the violin, and I sang (soprano--ugg). It was pretty awesome. Blissful even.