Yolande

Book review time!

Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love is one of my new favorite books. As I read this book I could feel myself relaxing about the stupid little details in life and instead, focusing on what really matters to me. I really began to let go of some stress and allowed myself to enjoy life a little more--and who doesn't need a little dose of 'chill pills' every now and then?

I won't ruin the plot but here is my cliff notes version:

Liz has a minor mid-life crisis and decides to travel abroad for a whole year of her life. She picks Italy for pure pleasure---eating fabulous food while learning one of the most beautiful languages in the world made for a happy journey. Italy is the 'Eat' in the title. She picks India for religious devotion---focusing on her inner soul, in order to experience spiritual enlightenment. India is the 'Pray' of the book. Then she picks Indonesia to find balance between pleasure and spirituality--where she just might find some sort of 'Love' to balance her life wonderfully.

As someone with minor OCD when it comes to structure, organization, and fitting everything into perfect little categories, I love this book. Liz has everything divided into glorious symmetrical sections: three sections of 36 tales which adds up to 108, which is the exact number of beads on Indian prayer necklaces. She strings her tales together as if she is creating a beautiful necklace and I dig it. I like how she picked three countries with the letter "I" and each of them symbolized something unique. I like how she gets all philosophical on us because sometimes I enjoy making my brain hurt with deep questions in life: such as...Who am I? What do I want out of life? Deep stuff, my friends.

Anyway, this is the type of book that inspired me to jot down some of my favorite quotes for future use. And of course, that future use includes sharing some of them on my blog. You ready?

Best quote ever:

p.10 "Moreover, I couldn't stop thinking about what my sister had said to me once, as she was breast feeding her newborn: 'Having a baby is like getting a tattoo on your face. You really need to be certain it's what you want before you commit.' "

Can I get an AMEN? I know a lot of you are in the same boat as me: recently married, getting bombarded with the 'when are you going to pop out a kid?' questions, and wondering if now is the right time. Well, hello, tattoo on my face! I couldn't have said it better myself--not quite ready to commit.

Then there is this quote about depression, which thankfully I have never experienced first hand but some of those closest to me have struggled with this diagnosis:

p.48 "When you are lost in those woods, it sometimes takes you a while to realize that you are lost. For the longest time, you can convince yourself that you've just wandered a few feet off the path, that you'll find your way back to the trailhead any moment now. Then night falls again and again, and you still have no idea where you are, and it's time to admist that you have bewildered yourself so far off the path that you don't even know from which direction the sun rises anymore."

I just think that description is beautiful in some sad way.

This quote runs along those same veins:

p.52" That's the thing about human life--there's no control group, no way to ever know how any of us would have turned out if any variables had been changed."

Here is my new favorite quote about transitions in life, a topic that obviously hits home on this blog. She is talking about a mausoleum in Rome that has made it through some rough times:

p.75 "I look at the Augusteum, and I think that perhaps my life has not actually been so chaotic, after all. It is merely this world that is chaotic, bringing changes to us all that nobody could have anticipated. The Augusteum warns me not to get attached to any obsolete ideas about who I am, what I represent, whom I belong to, or what function I may once have intended to serve. Yesterday, I might have been a glorious monument to somebody, true enough--but tomorrow I could be a fireworks depository. Even in the Eternal City, says the silent Augusteum, one must always be prepared for riotous and endles waves of transformation."

I like it!!

And one final quote for you, my lovelies. Here is is talking about finding true happiness and not wanting it to end.

p.260 "I also keep remembering a simple idea my friend Darcey told me once--that all the sorrow and trouble of this world is caused by unhappy people. ...Even in my own life, I can see exactly where my episodes of unhappiness have brought suffering or distress to those around me. Clearing out all your misery gets you out of the way. You cease being an obstacle, not only to yourself but to anyone else. Only then are you free to serve and enjoy other people."

So yeah, it's pretty much the bomb and I highly recommend reading it. Who else read it? Did anyone get a completely different feel from the book?

Any other books I must read now that I'm finished with this one?

Good Luck & Happy Shopping!

I've made progress on my bad attitude. I hit a low today at work when I broke down in front of my boss. All it took was her pulling me into her office and asking if I was okay, because I was so quiet today. Miss "I never cry, not even at my own wedding" freaking balled like a baby and it felt so good! My boss is awesome and cried a little with me because she has a daughter my age and the situation hits everyone pretty hard.

Nate worked with me today and we talked on the ride home a lot. He told me I need to open up to him and actually TALK about my feelings [novel idea, huh?]. So I did, and that helped, too.

I also received a lot of very uplifting comments, emails, and messages today which always makes me smile. So thank you, girls. Much appreciated.

Not only that but I found coverage for my trip! I meant to tell you guys about this therapist in my BOTB post because she is 33 and pregnant with her FIFTH child! Freaking ridiculous but the girl is a saint because she is going to work for me. Whoo hoo!

Also, I decided that half of my funk must be blamed on the weather. I try not to even go there anymore on this blog but I swear this winter will never end. Sure we got a 60 degree day last weekend. Big fricking whoop. Check this out:
Yep, SNOW this weekend. And the rain we are experiencing currently is miserable, ice-cold, and gloomy as you would imagine. Not fun. I pray for warm weather in St. Louis next weekend! And then San Diego in a few weeks. Cannot wait.

Other things that make me a happy person:

1. I took it upon myself to become a vet. Not really, but I DID decide to take charge of Henry's anal gland issues. I won't go into detail but if you know me, you know I love grodie stuff like this. Here are some pictures of my procedure--Nate says my smile is totally creepy. I have no idea why I find these pictures so funny and I'm sorry if they are in bad taste. Blame my loss of sanity this week:)


2. My good friend Allison, who lives in Maryland, has decided to buy tickets to Kansas, too. I wasn't sure if we'd be able to time our "Keri trip" on the same weekend. But this makes me even MORE pumped for May 2-4. Here is a classic picture of Allison and I on my 21st birthday [drinking grape juice of course]:


And here are the three amigas in full force on Keri's 22nd birthday, 2003. This is our classic pose in case you haven't noticed:
Here we go again, 'Julia the Giant' with her little friends, 2002:

Ah, the memories of this night, 2003:

My God we are pale in this picture!

I can't even put into words how happy I am to reunite with my girls in a few weeks. It is going to be a much needed vacation for all of us!

3. Another thing that makes me happy is looking through my old scrapbooks and reminiscing. Hence the pictures you just viewed. I love daydreaming of our college days when our biggest worry was a killer exam or choosing an outfit for a night out. It's also quite amusing to watch us grow up through the years. Check out my hair, for instance: short to long, brown to blonde, curly to straight. Ah, the those were the days----when I could stomach paying for highlights:)

Here is another trio that always spelled trouble: Me, Megan, and Keri. Again, PTs tend to make up for lost party time pretty quickly. The library couldn't hold us down, baby!

New Years Eve 2005, immediately after we graduated with our masters. We were obviously wise beyond our years. Also, please note the camera around tourist Keri's neck:


Then there was that PT graduation trip to Mexico in December 2004. I love this shot of us girls!

4. Keeping with the theme of reminiscing through pictures, look at these jewels I found of me and Keri:

Kissing our big muscles. Yes, we actually posed for this picture. It's totally normal for us:)
Mardi Gras, 2004. We were so proud of our $20 rubber ducky beads. Whose idea was it to buy such overpriced items?!

Here we are in Mexico again. Did I mention that Keri and I participated in a dance competition against each other? Read her [and Allison's] blog spotlight here for details:)
OMG I forgot about this picture! While in Cancun, we decided to get a stranger to take a group picture. Well, said stranger got a little out of control with my little 35mm film camera and seriously snapped like 50 pictures. I was ticked because she wasted my film! Here is the picture that Keri calls the "model shot" because our hair is blowing in the wind. I'm thoroughly ticked and Keri is still grinning away!

Keri's 21st birthday. I did, in fact, make her shot book. It was completely fab from what I remember:)

At Chris and Steph's wedding, June 2005. Was it really that long ago?

Best. Picture. Ever. The year? 2003. The reason to party? The start of another semester. And we broke it down like champs.

Oh my, remember Party Pics? Total rip off but so funny. Here we are, dancing together, and holding it down for The Lou. True gansta style. We were hard core, you guys. Please notice the size difference between my palm and Keri's. I am a total Neanderthal.
What a fun trip down memory lane. I love it.

5. The last reason I'm in a better mood? The Office returned tonight. And it was hilarious. I love that show [and Jim!] so much it hurts.

So yeah, I'm much more mentally stable at the moment because of the above items. I hope you enjoyed the trip to the past like I did.