In Peace

With enormous love, little Peanut

Wordless Wednesday

Leap of Faith

Introspective Reflecting

I stayed up until 5:30 this morning, engrossed in fiction that had my rapt attention, and then I forced myself to take a nap before I got up to go to work.  I don't normally stay up that late (or, rather, early)... but it does happen from time to time.  There is a domino effect that follows, of course.  I'm tired, I give less than a stellar effort in my work throughout the day, my interactions with people are subdued and they receive less than my best, and I've heard that we never actually catch up on the sleep we lose, although I've tried!

I've not reached a point in my life that I've been seeking to get to for a long time.  One of balance.  One where everything actually works the way it's supposed to.  Sometimes I imagine a mirror image of myself, living a parallel life just the other side of some translucent barrier I can almost see and touch (thanks Hollywood for the air/water/energy force field filmy see-through image in my brain).  It's the same me, living my life, but living it the way I always wish I could.

I see the Scarlett who gets out of bed early every morning, goes to the gym every day, gets everything done on time, always says the right thing, always does the right thing, the one whose morals and integrity are always intact, the one who remembers everyone's birthday and sends the right cards and gifts, the one who keeps the spotlessly clean home, the one who finishes everything she starts, the one who is unfailingly reliable, the one who does it right, all the time, every time, the way that I mean to and just can't seem to do.  Sometimes I imagine her looking through that otherworld barrier at me, as I do her, and we regard each other.

She wonders at my life of chaos and passion and rushing about, at my spontaneity, at my self indulgence and all the extremities that are a constant in my life; everything as far as I can take it all the time, and over the edge more often than should happen.  I wonder at her perfection, at her stability and constancy, at her ability.

We are both at a loss, because each of us has qualities that the other would need for a truly full and perfect life.  We both have strength, dedication, and drive.  We are both passionate about what we do, but because we are not one person, because there is no combination of our lives, we are each leading a life that is unbalanced.  How I wish, almost daily, that she and I were one person.  I wonder how different my life would be if we were one person... my pseudo other me and I.  For now I will just keep seeking the balance between us... that place where we'd be if we were ever really able to meet and change everything.

In Which I Become The Muse Of Irony & Serendipity

Scarlett: I'll have a chicken salad, please.

Waitress: We don't have chicken salad.

Scarlett: Fine.  I'll have a chicken burrito with lettuce and tomato and hold the tortilla.

Waitress: No problem, that will be right out.

Scarlett:  :/

Wordless Wednesday

Relax~Revitalize~Renew ~101

Viaggiatore and I are ready for the road again.  Nevermind that we just got back from another trip to London; there is a very special trip coming soon... one that we've been looking forward to for a very long time.

This will be the one that truly counts, for the whole year.  This will be the one during which we can relax and let the world go away, revitalize our souls and our bodies, and renew all those things about life that we love, live for, and believe in.  We'll find new things, too, which will only enrich the experience.  Oh the adventures to be had!

Mr. Black has agreed to join us on this excursion as well, so the company will be very good, indeed.  There's much to be said for good company on adventures to be had.  We'll visit friends and family, make new friends along the way, and see so many countless wonderful things and places. 

Here's some preliminary Introspect:

Wordless Wednesday

Top Ten ~ Healthiest Sins

From 1-10, as per Health magazine's proknowitalls: 

Sleep....

Play!

Physical Love ~ XO

A little chocolate every day...

Girls night out! Friends are imperative!

Fattening dressing... honest!

A cuppa joe.

~Relaxing massage~

A little sun...

Vino by the 5 ounce glass a day!

Now... remember, too much isn't good for you, but a little bit will get you a long way! 

More details at CNN.

Wordless Wednesday

Finding Happy

Things have been a bit slow around here lately. 

*cue cricket*

Things have been a bit bumpy behind the blog. 

So Viaggiatore and I have determined to find our happy again.

We searched Google, which is a wonderful tool to find whatever one (or two) might be looking for.

We started with "image of serenity".  We found several images of a dark haired girl with a dagger. 

.......

.......

.......

.........

................

Last time I checked, serenity was the state or quality of being serene. 

Color us oh so full of doubt... but this just seems like the wrong path. 

The search has grown to include peace, harmony and balance, but mostly happy.

We found some good things.  Bubbles, water, sunshine, mountains, sea, coffee, chocolate, hugs, warm blankets, babies, giggles, new friends and old, lazy weekend mornings, red cars, hand holding, sunsets, cameras and good books. 

How about you? Where do you find these things? What makes you happy and brings you peace?

One Night With The King

Maybe it's luck. 

Maybe it's charm, grace, or an Egyptian blessing from the boy king himself.

Tonight will find me photographing the King Tut gala and exhibit opening at the Denver Art Museum.

I am nothing short of ecstatic about this opportunity.

The board presenting this gala have decided to call it "Flappers and Pharaohs Bash" and tie in a roaring twenties theme complete with flappers, gangsters and Tommy guns galore to coincide with Harold Carter's 1922 discovery of King Tut's tomb. 

I can't really see the connection between a rough and tumble dangerous party era and one of the most fascinating and mysterious ancient kings in the history of mankind... but it's going to be a lot of fun!

What do you think... Flappers and Pharaohs? Do these images show any resemblance to each other?

Think Al Capone knew how to walk like an Egyptian?

The chance to photograph King Tutankhamen's artifacts and listen to Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, speak about him, will be one of those special life experiences that I never forget.  The fact that they're letting me photograph it is one of the great highlights of the night for me.  One night with the King. I can hardly wait!

Mike The Headless Chicken

I really wish I was kidding about this one.

Let's go back to September 10th, 1945 in the very small rural town of Fruita, Colorado.  Lloyd Olsen's wife, Clara, sends him out to kill a chicken for dinner.   Lloyd fells the axe on the chicken's neck.  The head comes off and the chicken, oblivious to the loss of his head, keeps right on going about his bird business.  When Lloyd found him alive and well, sans head, the next morning, he decided to let the bird live and fed him with an eye dropper to keep him going.  

They named him Mike and Mike became so famous that for the remaining 18 months of his headless life, he hit celebrity status; he even wound up in both Time and Life Magazine.

 

That celebrity status became legend and now there is an annual Mike the Headless Chicken festival in Fruita, during the third weekend of May.  The festival features a lawn mower race, chicken dance contest, eating contests, chicken games (like pin the head on the chicken and an egg toss), 5k run, a car show and a 'Good Egg' award, among several other interests.   

If you would like to know more about it, he has his own website:

Mike's website.

Alternate titles for this post:
the afterlife of a chicken
it just wouldn't die
and in other news... chicken defies death

axe me again

life after death

stranger than fiction