A Thankful Hump Day

Sup G?

Happy almost Turkey Day my merry friends! In honor of the holiday and the day we all collectively say "why on earth did I bother coming into work?" (aka, today) I've compiled a fantastic list of distractions for you. I wish you all safe travels, delicious meals and a few moments of peaceful reflection to remember that no matter the challenges you face, there is much in this world to be thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving.

* I love this NYC tradition more than you can possibly imagine.

* Big Squishable Animals. Yup.
* So funny. So true.

* Some people should really stay off of Facebook.

* The truth about what will be on your tv all day tomorrow.

* So easy, you can have THESE on your dessert table even with less than 24 hours notice. Sure to be gobbled up (hehe).

* Why Friday just might be more awesome than Thursday.

* Two really cool ways to support those still recovering from Hurricane Sandy HERE and HERE.

* 49% of me says "ahhh! so dangerous!" but 51% says "damn I want to try that". (Skip to 1 minute mark).

* Be thankful for what you have. Be charitable to those who have less. 

Love in a digital age?

Romantical.

I recently watched the movie Sleepless in Seattle [Warning: plot spoilers below] for the first time (late to the party I know, but SO worth the wait!) and after I recovered from my Nora Ephron-enduced moony love trance, I started thinking about how modern technology has absolutely obliterated the plot of this "timeless" romantic comedy. For starters, not too many people are listening to radio these days and even fewer are writing letters. If Tom Hanks' Sam Baldwin was around today, his inbox might have been flooded, but not his mailbox. Additionally, Facebook, Linkedin and Google pretty much guarantee that Meg Ryan's Annie would not have remained a mystery to Sam for long. They both would have had pictures, employment histories and countless other pieces of personal information to judge the other on prior to having an actual conversation. The mystery and romance of the Sleepless love story are just not possible in our internet dominated world!

Dr. H and I are of the generation that grew with the internet, meaning we fell in love just before the proliferation of the smartphone, when Facebook was only an idea floating around Harvard's campus. Other than over-analysis of AIM away messages (song lyrics never had so much meaning) we fell for one another face to face. Our romance felt organic and real. I wonder for today's generation if the internet has ruined falling in love, just a little bit. Though it's great to "know more", for me, the mystery and anticipation of learning more with each minute spent together was one of the best things about falling in love. I'm grateful there was no internet history for me to cross-reference or pre-judge. Because even though it took Sam and Annie months of "near misses" and cross-country wondering to find one another, without a single text or tweet, the crazy power of love led them to the Empire State Building. You can't find that kind of magic on the internet:)

Manic Monday.

Yup. That's about right.

My brain is not fully functional today. I started out feeling very empowered at SoulCycle:

A coveted Union Square ride!!

And since I have the day off from work, I was all "Ima hit up the Farmer's Market and cook Dr. H something amazing and fresh for dinner".

The plan was to cook up some chicken cutlets with a side of THIS:

my maiden voyage with cauliflower.

But then my girlfriend reminded me (thank goodness!) that we're signed up for a little pre-turkey/gravy/mashed potatoes burn sesh at Barry's Bootcamp tonight and I'm like "F. I totally forgot. The chicken is defrosted and my butt's already sore from spinning." Also, the "clean and organize my closet" project is not nearly complete:

So now I've got Tim Gunn screaming "make it work!!!" in the back of my mind as I push forward into the day's plans. Tomorrow I will likely be crippled, have an untouched head of cauliflower in my fridge and be back at my desk. But on the bright side, I'll be having guilt-free pumpkin pie on Thursday and my closet will finally be livable.  I might even be able to squeeze in painting those dining room chairs... SO, I'm off... Seize the manic Monday friends... holiday break is just around the corner:)

Something to smile about

Nothing like a witty joke...

... a play on words

or a brilliant idea...

To make you smile...

Happy Friday!

You've gotta play to win...

Winner.

Want to know something funny about me!? I LOVE to enter contests. And not only do I love to enter, but I do it a lot... and I win. Front row at a Madonna concert? Thanks mtv.com. Free Caribbean cruise? Bingo! At the moment I have my sights set on a VIP trip to Disney World (including one night's stay in the Castle Suite!!!). I enter literally every day. 

As you might expect, I get made fun of pretty endlessly by family and friends for my contest fetish (I guess they didn't want to be 1 of 8 joining me on the Fage Greek Yogurt 10-day Greek Getaway!?) but the reality is it takes about 30 seconds to visit a site I've bookmarked  to click "enter" and the worst thing that happens is I don't win that $500 shopping spree or free iPad. Are the odds of winning good? Definitely not. (Part of what I do for a living is oversee the Official Rules of contests and sweepstakes, so I know that the odds are not in my favor.) But if you don't try to win, you definitely never will. So I say click to enter, visit daily, buy that Mega Millions ticket... because as the New York State Lotto is constantly reminding us... "hey, you never know".

Hump Day Distractions

A direct message to Thursday and Friday.

Hump day is here and maybe if I fill it with extra goodness you'll totally forget that I couldn't get my shizz together yesterday for a post? Damn you real life and your commitments and obligations and necessary effort!! Enjoy the distractions and good luck with your humping:)

* Brilliant holiday card for those of you sick of twinkling trees and spinning dreidels. 

* THIS event is called a Beerathon. Need I say more?

* This is your dose of touching joyful love for the day.

* The sloth has some stiff competition for cuteness from this guy.

* Straight men beware (the best argument yet for supporting gay marriage)

* Easy, tasty, get in my belly.

* Boys are so dumb.

My Imaginary Tattoo

Amazing what you can do with a pen & boredom

Lately I've been fixated on the idea of getting a tattoo. I can't explain where exactly the burning desire has come from, but suddenly I'm Pinterest-hunting designs and doodling on myself with a uniball pen, all the while knowing in the back of my mind that this is a permanent decision which I'm highly unlikely to actually go through with. The tattoo I'm never actually getting is an anchor. I'd put it on my left wrist, tiny enough to easily cover with a watch or bracelet. It's meaningful as a daily reminder to stay "anchored" and strong and also because it evokes happy thoughts of summers spent in the sunshine on my family's boat. As you can see, I've given this imaginary tattoo a lot of thought. 

Do you ever get an impulse to do something you know you're not really brave enough to do? Have you researched skydiving despite a fear of heights or planned for a haircut, but never actually let the scissors chop off those inches? When thinking through the idea of a tattoo, I find myself unable to deal with how permanent it is, yet there's something awesome about the imaginary plan. It's like "other meri" is playing what if? and I'm just enjoying the hypothetical. Maybe that's ok, kinda what our imaginations are for, to enjoy being the "other" version of ourselves that isn't attainable in reality... or maybe it's time for me to go get a tattoo...