Life is not complex - We are complex. Life is simple, & the simple thing is the right thing. - Oscar Wilde

This hangs on my desk at work & reminds me every single day that I'm here to make my life what I want it to be. 

..& ain't nothin' gonna change that.

Lessons Learned Thus Far

...in a few short months which I am confident will fly right past me - I will be 25. 

I will have lived a quarter century.  Gross! I get all clammy & anxious just thinking about it.  Am I all of those things I want to be? A great woman, an inspiring older sister, a daughter to be proud of?  Holy moly I still think I have a long way to go! Before I send myself into a downward spiriling emotional state of distress, I'll focus on a few of the things I have learned in the 25 wonderful years I have lived...& can only wish to be so fortunate to live another 25 years filled with many more lessons.

• No matter what, it will work out in the end.
• I cannot tell you how many times I have been late for a flight, gotten stuck in security, misplaced my boarding pass, & generally speaking - cut things a liiiittle too close at times.  In the end, there are always two options & life depends on neither.  Make the flight, or get on the next one.  There truly is no reason to stress when life & limb are not depending on it.
•  You don’t have to get along with everyone, or make everyone like you.
• I naturally gravitate towards certain people.  I have yet to find a commonality between them, however I know when I like someone, & when I don't.  I'm ok with that.  On the flipside, I am ok with not being everyone's #1.  I can understand why some may not want me in their life - I am alot to handle.
• Love makes you do funny things.
• Love made me learn to cook, love convinced me to stop eating my filet mignon well-well-well-done & try it medium.  I now like my steak medium. At times, love trumped things that I had previously held so high in another single life.
• You always have at least 2 choices, even if you don’t like your choices.
• You can do what everyone else wants, or you can do what you want.  You can take one under the chin and deal with the bs, or you can choose to lead a life without those who bring negativity. 
• Our generation has a hard time pulling themselves up by the bootstraps.
• I am sad to see so many of my peers in their midtwenties dependant upon their parents & lacking ambition. It's a tough world out there & there will constantly be younger starts trying to outshine us. 
• Everything in your life is your responsibility.
• Stop blaming the man who didn't offer you the job, the cab driver who didn't go fast enough, & your colleague who didn't do their share of the work.

                                                                                                                          

Out of Office AutoReply: Life

Oftentimes when work gets a little hectic & life seems to be driving me crazy I wish I wasn't so available to everyone.  Yesterday while sitting on the couch during a typical lazy Sunday, without hesitation I bought into the newest messaging craze: Kik Messenger.  This messaging app allows Blackberry, Driod, & IPhone users alike to utilize a messaging service that is similiar to BlackBerryMessenger. (Anyone who knows me - knows that I live for BBM. So sad, but so true.) Messages have either a "D" or an "R" icon next to them - allowing the sender to know if the message was "delivered" or "read" which has always been a major appeal to BBM.  Please let everyone I come in contact know whether I have my phone right in my hand & am reading their messages & not responding.  I shouldn't complain, I am a total sucker for it. 

Monday rolled around & all at once, like a freak tornado - I realized just how available I am.  There are a number of people who can reach me via:

Text message.BBM.Personal email.Work email.Phone call to cell.Phone call to direct work-line.Gchatting me.Tweeting me.Kik Messaging me.Facebooking me.

It is outrageous.  I am all for the newest latest & greatest technology, fastest operating systems & most convenient apps

...until I can no longer get away from anyone.  Somtimes I wish there was an out of office email I could leave periodically for life. 

Wantin' Lovin' & Enjoyin'

Wanting (baaadly):

The Donegal Tweed Schoolboy Blazer from JCrew

&

These gorgeous Tory Burch booties...







Loving:
My newest gift to myself...













The Quilted Leather Townhouse Bag from Ann Taylor
..it feels like smooth silky butter






Enjoying:

A hot cup of Apple Cider from my hometown cider mill, The Clinton Cider Mill

...p.s. if you're ever in Upstate NY in the fall...you must stop by for a cider doughnut.
& their apple butter.
& their cider.

Ok, get anything!

New Crush: Emma Watson.

Dayum this girl is chic. & gorgeous, & so petite....& flawless!

I think she would make an ... exceptional Alice..... In Wonderland that is!

Yum yum yum!

Pasta With Tomatoes, Spinach and Goat Cheese
1 6-ounce bag baby spinach, rinsed, or 1 bunch (about 12 ounces) fresh spinach, stemmed and washed
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound fresh, ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and finely chopped or grated
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons slivered basil
3/4 pound farfalle or fusilli
2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
1. Begin heating a large pot of water for the pasta. Wash the spinach, and wilt in batches over high heat in a large frying pan. Transfer to a colander, rinse with cold water and then squeeze dry. Coarsely chop and set aside.
2. Dry the pan, and heat over medium heat. Add the olive oil and the garlic. Cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute. Stir in the tomatoes. Turn up the heat to medium-high, and cook the tomatoes, stirring often, until they have cooked down to a fragrant sauce, 10 to 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the basil and spinach. Keep warm.
3. When the pasta water comes to a boil, salt generously and add the pasta. Cook until just al dente and firm to the bite. Add a ladleful of the pasta water to the pan with the tomatoes and spinach, then drain the pasta and toss immediately with the tomato-spinach mixture and the goat cheese, which should melt. Serve at once.


Yield: Serves four.


Advance preparation: Wilted spinach will keep in a covered bowl in the refrigerator about four days. You can make this through Step 2 several hours before you cook the pasta. Reheat the tomato and spinach mixture, and make sure to thin out with a ladleful of the pasta water before tossing with the pasta and goat cheese.
Nutritional information per serving: 472 calories; 14 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 15 milligrams cholesterol; 70 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 95 milligrams sodium (does not include salt added during preparation); 18 grams protein


**One thing to note: The sodium content can be high in some brands of bagged spinach. A 3-ounce serving of Dole organic baby spinach, for example, contains 135 milligrams of sodium. The same amount from Fresh Express contains 65 milligrams. The difference may have to do with the solution that certain commercial producers use to wash the spinach.
If you do use bagged baby spinach, check the values on the package. A 3-ounce serving (85 grams) should not have more than 70 milligrams of sodium.

Promise.To.Be.More.Diligent!!!

Yikess....I really need to get back into blogging! I wish I could say in the time that I have been on a vacation from this blog, life has changed drastically - but it hasn't!  I suppose digging deeper into that notion, I believe I live a happy, healthy, successful life ...so maybe I should be glad things aren't drastically different! 

LDW '10 (for those of you who aren't acronym saavy - Labor Day Weekend) was spent at the St. Lawrence River, 1000 Islands area in Upstate NY with my wonderful parents. 

We are so fortunate to be invited often to a sprawling palatial house that sits right on the river every year, with as you can see boasts- breathtaking views. It was so nice to get away & relax, drink copious amounts of wine, & eat til we could no longer move.  The nights often ended with late-night "dance parties" of which MY father was the ringleader.  What.A.Sight.

I find myself wishing there were more holiday 

weekends in the summer. Memorial Day, 4th of July,

& Labor Day just aren't enough, ... maybe I just crave more summertime parties ;-) 

*Photos compliments of my uncle, Mark Anderson

Big Dave & his beer of choice, Labatt Blue ... yumm :)