Noury's Creative World…

This is my community center’s inside walking trail.  I went there yesterday morning, around 10:30 am and registered ($5 for a whole year!, I am a resident, big difference), had a nice chat with Miss Linda, the receptionist, and on my way up to the trail, just in a very casual way, I asked her, is the trail 1/4 of a mile?  I thought, I do this four times, and I am out of here, having done what is totally good for my internal organs and skeletal apparatus.  You know, 62 and two months and one half is not a joke anymore.  Either you take yourself seriously, or hit the road, or the pavement.  She said back to me, “no, it is 1/16 of a mile.”  WHAT!  I thought, I have to do this 16 times!  Now that is a total different thing than what I had envisioned.  Suddenly I felt very, very tired and the oval-looking trail became this out of space challenge.  On the second round of the walkabout, I started to feel as if the trail was moving under my feet, and then I said to self, “look, there are other women doing this thing that look a bit older than you and they are moving real fast.  Stop being a wimp and carry on.”  My heart started pounding a bit faster, and then I thought about Jim Fixx, remember him, he collapsed (and then died) while he was jogging.  All kinds of thoughts are coming at me real fast, but slowing very much my pace, I decided to move to the slow lane.  There are three; center lane, I guess for regular, right one for slow (me) and left for passers and hot potatoes that while they are passing you, you can tell they are kind of thinking of you as a second class walker.

I used to walk five days a week with Miss Raylene and one by myself with  no problems at all.  After my first walk at the center, (30 minutes, they have a small clock on the wall, slowest one ever) I decided three times a week will be just about right for me and the rest of my slow poke body.

Is the winter of my discontent affecting me so much that I have become a physical slob and cannot handle just a nice one-mile walk?  I’ll let you know what happens on Friday, even though there is a slight chance of snow.  Already looking for excuses.  Shame, shame on me.  I am just 62, what’s going on?  Need to put some of my-age type music and start the dancing routine once again.  Don’t like this laziness.  I used to be a type “A” person, now I rate myself a type “What the heck is that” person.  Need to change, or the bucket may be getting too close for comfort.

To wrap it up, I feel somewhat better about myself.  Oh, I forgot, they do take a picture of you for your id, and there I was, baseball cap and sunglasses trying to go incognito.  Thanks for the merciful Miss Linda.  She let me keep the cap.  Not a good hair day.  You know my issues with hair.

Tomorrow will be another day with its surprises and challenges.  Bring it on!

Your Happy Contessa

This morning while I was doing my bed, a thought hit me out of the gray.  The sun was not out yet, so it was still gray.  I had not done any resolutions at all.  But the next second, I went on to realize the routine for my mornings.  Boy, was it difficult to get out of bed.  So bloody cold!  I promised to myself not to use that word again, because when I looked it up on Webster,  it said that it was a crude expression.  But I remember my English neighbor using it often, and it sounded good.  Besides I cannot find another word to substitute.  Do not want to use profanity.  For me profanity is the expression of lack of imagination.  There is a lot of that in my brain.  Let me go back to the subject at hand.  Told you, ADD.

I bundled up enough for a visit to the North Pole, just to go out and get the newspaper.  I said North and not South, because I think it is closer.  But now that I think about it, do  you think the South Pole might be just a bit warmer, after all is in the south.  Just kidding.  Then, proceeded to make coffee, have my glass of water before I take anything (my mother used to say that it is like flushing your system before you add more stuff), then went on to prepare my plantain to boil,  and finally after I had my delicious 1/4 cup of coffee, sat down to read the newspaper.  I cannot remember anything memorable, except the cartoons, one of them in particular, Pickles, where Pearl (the wife) tells Earl (the little old man) that he must dress up before he can go out with her.  They are not going to the dollar store, they are going to Wal-Mart.  Dress a bit more upscale, she said.  Now that is memorable.  Have to remember that next time I go to Wal-Mart.

Now, finally about the infamous resolutions…I started, as you can see on the picture above, (click on it to see a larger image) but my mind went totally blank.  It is as if someone tells you that you will be granted three wishes, so go ahead and name them.  It is kind of scary.  I think there is a lot of pressure on this business of resolutions.  How about if I take a few months, perhaps to make sure I know what is it that I want to accomplish or change.  By then, half of the year will have gone by and half of the stress will be gone.  I don’t have the foggiest idea of what I want to do or have materialized in 2011.  I am still going through the things I thought I wanted since I was seven or so.  Now, that ravishing little boy I used to have a crush on, oh well, now probably he has grandkids and has a donut protruding  out of the middle section of his upper body, or maybe he has hit the recycling bin already.  That was bad.  I have to stop now, I am laughing so hard that I am crying. 

Shall I continue with the resolution business…I think not.  It is too complicated and the stress is a killer.  Let me resolve to finish this day, watch my novelas and maybe tomorrow I will feel better about this thing.

This was a hard one.

Your Happy Contessa

This was dinner last night.  I took the first bite and I thought, wow! this is the sweetest potato ever I have tasted.  What did they put on the ground?  Then…I remembered, I had put some sliced dates in the stir fry and I was chewing on a piece of date together with the sweet potato.  Let me back track.  Yesterday, late afternoon,  I was doing some research.  Pondering the reasons why the house hasn’t sold, and at the same time researching places I would like to visit in the future.  Some of them; India, Egypt and Spain.  Better time to visit India is around November to April, I think.  Not too much rain.  Humidity and my hair do not do well together.  That’s very important to me.  It’s a hair thing.  Ask any Dominican, and they’ll shake their heads in approval.  Where was I?  When I next looked at the clock, it was 5:27 pm and I was feeling a bit hungry.  Do not do fast foods.  So my options are do I cook or do I cook?  I took the latter.  Had some 1/4 pound of beef being defrosted, so I thought a stir fry does not sound that bad, with my usual staple, sweet potato.  Need to find another side dish with the same nutritional qualities as the one before mentioned.   Started cooking the beef, put some stir-fry mixes and some leftover vegetables from the night before, and then thought, why not some dates.  I love dates.  Added about one tablespoon of stir-fry sauce, and voila, delicious tasting dish.  Added olive oil to the potatoes and sea salt.  Very yummy!  FYI that was sparkling H2O.

Whenever you are having dinner with a group of friends, the anticipation of a good meal, and the conversations are like the ascension to the crescendo, you can’t hardly wait to put that food in your mouth, and then…after the process has been finished, you feel so full and bloated, you can hardly look up to the other people around, because they look just as disgusted as you are for having eaten so much.  But on this occasion, at least the aliment (food) was good for me.  Give the small amount of beef a break.

Where am I going with all of this?  I don’t know.  I know it tasted good while it lasted.  Maybe life is just like that.  Good things last for a bit, and then you have to start searching for the next one.  Always looking for good things is my favorite sport/hobby along with being informed how the Blue Devils are doing.

After dinner,  mixed with the dessert into it, I parked myself in my tv chair to catch up with my novelas and then, after my eyes started to get heavy,  started the process of closing my day with a prayer with gratitude for all the good things, and then to do it all over again today, looking for that new just perfect touch to the day.  Maybe I’ll win the lottery!  Yeah, right.  Maybe the house will sell.  Now, that’s a possibility.

Looking to a brighter today,

Your Happy Contessa

We buy stuff, we use stuff, we recycle stuff, we store stuff, we give away stuff, etc., etc.  One day inevitably, we must get rid of stuff.  And that day is usually Mondays on most of the communities in our cities.  It feels good to see that stuff go.  I remember, it must have been very important to me, otherwise I wouldn’t have bought it.  But now is the time to let it go.  Some of it is useless, out of date or plain not so hot right now.  This thought just occurred to me.  It is just like us, we are hot one day, feel we can rule the world, and before we know it, is time to be part of  “le garbage.”  Just that we don’t get picked up, we somehow get recycled.  This is a dark thought, but I think is funny.  Have to have a sense of humor even in the darkest hour.  It makes things light and not so serious.  Nothing should be taken that serious.  It gives another perspective to everything.  I think.  Now, le garbage will get picked up, and next week, I am sure I will have a whole bunch of new stuff to send away.  Musical chairs.  Here today, gone tomorrow.

The part of having a good time in Happyville is because the tree is in the garage, all ornaments and decor have been shoved into the garage and house looks somewhat neat and ready for next invention I am able to come up with.  Oh man, I forgot the wreath on the door.  Need to work on winter landscape for that one.  Thanks God for my glue gun.

I am really having a good time writing this blog.  I want to see how far I can extend my comfort zone and what this will lead me to.  I am positive this is going to be a good part of the fabric of my life.  For the moment, I have the best audience I could have asked for and it keeps me thinking what should I ponder on next.  A little bit of stress sometimes tries to get hold of me, but everything in moderation is good.

Thank you for reading my adventures and way of thinking.  You are very much appreciated.

Merci beaucoup,

Your Happy Contessa

Bought this new inexpensive (cheap) camera, not necessarily a bad one.  I am very pleased with the results, but oh my, couldn’t find anywhere the above picture, you know, getting used to a new brain challenge so early in the morning, and it happens later in the afternoon too, can take a toll on my limited neuron population.  I finally found the picture, and hopefully I’ll remember tomorrow where it is.  Need to write things down.  Information overload.

Now, let’s go back to the title of the posting.  All Christmas decor must be put away, to give space for the new (not really) stuff.  The tree and all its accessories go back to the garage and out of the garage there comes the good old (renewed) stuff.  Life is just like that, must move some things out of my life to make room for the new or renewed ones.  Otherwise, it becomes too much to handle.  It was a very good Christmas, just as good as the past ones, cannot remember a bad one.  I have decided that I am going to be very selective with my thoughts.  Only the good things I have room for in my mind.  The bad memories can hit the road even before the thoughts cross my mind.  I like living in this sort of escapism (wow, I thought this word didn’t exist, but checked my good friend Webster, and there it was), because it works for me.  I like to choose things that work for me.  I really do not care what works for others,  I may listen to what work for others, but I need to do things that work for me.  Sounds selfish, but c’est la vie!

Today I will place in the garage the things that belong to the past season, and I will bring back out the things that pertain to the season to come.  I will only deal with things that are on my plate at a particular moment, and tomorrow’s plate, I will deal with it tomorrow, or maybe not at all.  Sometimes things just sort of take care of themselves.

Laundry going, newspaper reading still going, post almost finished, I am looking at the sort of things I want to see in my plate today.

Ta ta,

Your Happy Contessa

As you can see, I don’t have any problems receiving a new year by myself.  I am a happy person with a great life.  First I am so grateful for my incredible journey, the fascinating people who have populated my universe, and I look forward to new arrivals and figuring out how all is going to be played.

I toasted with sparkling water, put on my little hat, and had some dates to signify the magnificent abundance that will be part of my life in 2011.  That 2011 sounds somewhat different from 2010.  I hope and I will do my best to make it even better.  If it is to be, is up to me.  Right now is 12:17 am and there is in my surrounding a feeling of contentment, joy and great expectancies for this new station in my journey.

I hope and wish for you joy, and happiness.  Make sure you do everything within your power and capabilities to continue to make your dreams come true.

A toast to you, your happiness and our times together.

May the best be yet to come, always!

Your Happy Contessa

 

During my trip to visit my daughter last week in D.C., I was admiring the fresh roses my daughter had in her mini-kitchen and also in the mini-bathroom.  First I thought they were silk flowers and asked my daughter where did she get them.  They looked so pretty.  She looked at me and said:  “Mom, those are from Whole Foods, I learned from you that you always have fresh flowers in my bedroom when I come to visit with you.  So these are for you.”  I was surprised because we have a tendency to forget the niceties of life we are capable of doing.  Also, as the saying goes, it is not what you say, it is what you do that leaves a lasting impression.

You cannot imagine how joyful I felt at that moment.  Right now I am wondering what other impressions I have made to my daughter, good or bad, that will influence her life for as long as she lives.  Hopefully the good ones will overcompensate for the not so good ones.

I heard a saying once that goes like this, be careful of what you say or do, because maybe you will be the only bible some people will ever read.  There is a huge responsibility in being part of the human race.  Kindness and compassion are two qualities I am focussing on, because as I have more and more happy birthdays, I find it is easier to do so, and it gives me a good feeling inside, because after all, all that I do or say is between God and me.  Nobody else is involved.  My happiness or frustrations I create, even if I like this principle or not.  Gravity works, even if you cannot see it or believe in it.  Same applies to karma.  What goes out, comes right back at you.  Like the sight and beautiful scent of those roses.

Thank you sweetheart for making me a proud mama for a moment in our time together.

Wish all of you same experience sometime.

Your Happy Contessa

P.S.  I learned something new.  If you click on the pictures on the post, you will see an enlarged version.  Always for learning something new and sharing.

The Winter of our Discontent…have not read the book, but the title seems fitting to the way I used to feel about winter.  Do not like the cold weather, but because I am forced to be at this stop of my journey right now, I am looking for the good things this stop and season will provide to my life.  The photo above is my backyard.  It is beautiful!  At the next snowfall, I will photograph the same scene with snow on the trees’ branches.  Then it becomes majestic.

Why do I need winter?  Because after analyzing and concluding that our Creator did a perfect job with everything (what is not perfect in Nature, we screwed it up), I decided I need winter because I need to slow down, rest more than usual, need to ponder what next fabulous thing I am going to do during my journey through this beautiful planet, and set up some great expectations for myself.  It sounds so exciting, doesn’t it?   I can’t wait to see what I can concoct in my mind.  Then I need to write it down, because what I don’t write down, somehow it does not materialize.  It is amazing that when I write some things down that I expect to accomplish, they  become reality.  Sometimes with a twist (I may like it or not).  But it happens.  I call it my Wish List.

Winter is good also to check on what I want to get rid off in the house that is cluttering my space and my life.  Have to have space to keep good energy floating around.  Clutter only stagnate my space and in turn, my life.  Need that blue aura at all costs.

These two photos I took this morning.  Nature at its best, isn’t it!  These are some of the reasons why we need winter, otherwise we would not have these magnificent views.  They look the same, but if you are into details, you will notice the different trees.  Details, details, make all the difference. 

Yes, I took these after having my half of a plantain and an egg, boiled.  Put some EVOO  and sea salt on the plantains and sea salt on the egg.  I am hooked on these.  Good alternative to the oatmeal, at least for a while.

Where was I?  Oh, yes, winter.  Can I have all this beauty but a bit warmer weather?  Cannot have it both ways.  Need to learn that some things are not negotiable.  Then I remembered that I need to embrace change, otherwise I’ll perish.  Don’t want to do that.  I was going to start with another pondering thought, but I think I’ll leave it for a next posting. 

I am embracing winter right now because I have to, but at the same time I am enjoying this stop in my journey.  It is magnificent, wouldn’t you say?

Until our next time together,

Your Happy Contessa

I needed to read the subject matter a few times this morning.  One of those days, pondering what in the world I am going to write about.  And then after having my new, but still healthy breakfast (plantains with one boiled egg), and feeling stuffed, I decided to have half a plantain tomorrow.  Too much of a good thing sometimes is not that good.  

Going back to the subject matter, I pondered about happiness.  Happiness for me could be a gazillion things.  Having my bed made and having the breakfast dishes done and feeling free like a bird, give me a certain degree of happiness.  It is somewhat a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.  I looked outside from the window of my kitchen and saw all the grounds covered beautifully with the purest white snow and I said to myself “what a wonderful world we live in.”  Going out there and slug it out  walking on the stuff and driving aware of it, is another matter.  But in the meantime let me continue focussing on happiness.  Right now I feel happy.  I am typing and thoughts just get flowing.  I am going out later to use a $10 coupon that a store gave me as an incentive to spend $50 or more.  Good marketing.  I feel I need to go back there and use that coupon, but the goodwill process will cost me some extra money.  What the heck.  I need some more winter socks and who knows what else I need, I’ll only know when I see it.

Happy Everything…It depends on me to give anything in my life a rosy color, it does not matter the degree of darkness of the issue I am facing at the moment.  I just put on my rosy eyeglasses (I have an unending supply in my mind), and carry on.  I wish you…Happy Everything.

Your Happy Contessa

It is good to be back!  Some many things to write about, but I’ll stick to the basics.  You know, of course, that I had a grand time with my daughter, her boyfriend and his family.  Eating and etc., etc.  Yes, nice gifts for all and vice-versa.  Happyville is in a bliss indeed.

Now, the scoop.  Christmas Eve, my beautiful daughter and I went to Whole Foods in D.C. or Chevy Chase, don’t remember.  As usual, I am driving my cart around and taking my time to supervise the vegetables, and saying to myself, wow, a pound of yams at $2.99.  Oh well, when you are in D.C., act as the people in that stressed out town act.  Price doesn’t matter, just get the task done.  Even though later your pocketbook gets in a stressed out condition too.  Going on with my looking around, finally my daughter says “mami, here you have to move faster or people will just run over you.  You are too nice, you talk to people and here that’s not the norm.”  She took the cart away from me and was zipping in and out of aisles, like she was in a Nascar lane.  I am left behind still admiring everything, even though the place is a mad house, as if the store was never going to open again.  But you know me, have to keep my blue aura at all costs.  Finally after a while, we got what we went there for and left.  Imagine trying to get a parking space.  Oh, forgot, the whole saying of my daughter to me was because at a bookstore I established a conversation with the cashier, complimenting her on her attitude, very upbeat and pleasant, even though the place was like a madhouse also.  I talk even to my shadow if there is no one around.  From there on…Christmas Day came, with its pleasantries, gifts, and stuffing myself as if I was a potato,  and Christmas Day went until December 2011.

Pigeon Alert!  Pigeon Alert!  This happened at Union Station, that by the way it is a beautiful place to wait for over five hours as the train bound south was late.  Nice people to talk with and pigeons all over the place next to where you sit to wait.  The issue here was the flying creatures’ droppings.  I thought, well if one of those aeronautical shots falls on my hair, of well, that means good luck and then I imagined how I would look with my hair washed in the sink at the restroom at the station.  Not a pretty picture.  I immediately took that negative thought out of my mind and proceeded to tell myself, that was not going to happen, but every time one of those creatures got too close over my head, I would invoke to higher authorities.  Not only had to deal with waiting, with my derriere growing flatter as the minutes went by, but the impertinent entertainment.  Life in the fast lane in Washington D.C. 

Finally around 10pm made it home.  Nice people at the train and all, but it was a long day.  Grew some muscles while moving my suitcase up and down the storage bin in the train, but tired muscle, less derriere and all, it is good to be home.

Thank you my lovely daughter and her boyfriend and to the people of D.C.  It was great while it lasted.

Having to deal with a lot of snow on the grounds here in North Carolina, I must retire now to face my day.

Until next time,

Your Happy Contessa

P.S.  The picture in the middle at the beginning of the posting I took while my daughter drove her car to take me to Union Station.  No, it was not snowing, just that her windshield has a lot of personality.  That’s the Capitol, where our fates are decided on a daily basis.