The Imperfect Solution

I painted my nails for the first time EVER a few days ago. It was quite an exilarating experience! One that I had put off because I was scared of what would happen after a few days of doing dishes, scrubbing children, and washing my hands. I didn't want to have nasty looking fingernails. I wanted them to be perfect. So kept them clean and trimmed, but I never painted them. 

But a few weeks ago, after admiring a few of my friends' nails,  I decided that I was going to paint mine and I'd just deal with the consequences. As soon as the paint chipped, I'd take the polish off and be done with it. That was my plan. 

So I went to the store, choose a nice summer color and went to work. I had so much fun! And for about two days I stared at my perfectly painted nails with a newfound since of joy. Then the paint started to fade (as depicted in the picture above) and I began to panic. This is what I feared most. 

Then a thought struck me. Why was I so worried about having perfect nails? No one looks as closely at my nails as I do--I doubted that most people would even notice. So what was I so stressed out about? Who was I try to impress? Myself?

It took some soul searching but I've decided that I like painting my nails and that I'm not going to let perfection get in the way. My fingernail polish is slightly worn right now, but I've started to see some of the beauty in it. And I have to say, I'm a happier person with my imperfect solution.     

The Journey

We had a plan for Sunday. We were going to go to church and then head to the museums. The plan was a good one, but life doesn't always seem to go according to plan, does it?


The moment I woke up I knew something wasn't right. Prone to getting bladder infections, I am pretty familiar with the symptoms. I was hesitant to bring up my predicament to my friends because I didn't want to ruin the plan, but I also knew that no amount of cranberry juice, water, or any other home remedies were about to fix my problem. Thankfully I have friends who not only roll with the punches, but know how to get stuff done. Within minutes of me relaying my problem, we were headed to a doctor/pharmacy.

Who knew that New York has 24hour clinics/pharmacies about every other block? Seriously once you pay attention you will see a Duanereade drugstore more often than an LDS church in Utah Valley. I was seen, treated, and drugged within thirty minutes. It was a little bit terrifying (when the doctor threw up my dress to examine me) and also absolutely incredible that they were so efficient. Everything seems to happen much quicker in New York.

After our pharmacy trip we were able to swing by the LDS church, where I was able to use the restroom. I don't really remember a lot of that walk because the doctor had given me something to take the pain away, and the pill worked really, really well. Maybe too well.

After our short visit to church, we headed on to Central Park. This has to be one of my most favorite things about New York. It is like magic. One moment you are surrounded by head-tilting buildings, angry taxi-drivers, and endless streams of people and the next you are transported into a peaceful paradise where you can see the ages of the years played out in the daring trees and vast fields of greenery. I LOVE this park.

     

Beautifully maintained, it felt like one of the most human, heart warming spots in the city.

After touring Central Park, we headed toward the the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

I had no idea this place would be as massive as it was. My friend Rachel is a talented artist on so many levels and was very interested in the museums, which was awesome for me because I'm not sure I would have gone without her there. One of the things that made our trip so amazing was that we each have different interests and therefore got to experience a variety of EVERYTHING! It was an amazing experience to step out of my box (and sometimes my comfort level) and try something new. I would highly recommend it. ;)

I think we stayed lost and highly interested in this building for a few hours but we could have easily spent the entire day. The one painting that I loved the most was this one.

  

Bohemia Lies by the Sea, 1996 

Poppies, the flowers of remembrance and forgetting.

This was one of the first large canvas paintings I saw and for some reason it stuck with me. I read the sign next to it first and realized that it was a vast field of poppies. I looked at it up close and couldn't see anything spectacular about it. Then I reached the other end of the room and looked back. All at once, I saw the little flowers bursting into life and having been thinking about perspective from the day before, I was immediately touched.

After the MET we decided to go home and got caught in the rain...and the Israeli Parade! It was a lot of fun and very, very cold. By the time we got back to our hotel, I was shivering incoherently and had to put on as many layers as I brought--which wasn't many because it was supposed to be summer.

That night, after a short recovery, we went out for Greek food.

It was my first taste of Greek and it was delicious. We ordered Topas, which is basically pita bread with a lot of amazing dips. My favorite was the red pepper dip. We also ordered a stinky cheese platter and all decided that we liked good old-fashioned cheddar cheese better.

After dinner, we strolled some more through the streets. Have I mentioned that we walked everywhere that day? When my friend tried to add it up on her GPS she said it was just over ten miles of walking. But I gotta say, it felt more like twenty.

As I went to bed that night, I couldn't stop thinking about the places I had seen and the people I had met and the thought struck me that it isn't about the destination...it's about the journey. It is about who we meet and what we learn that makes our lives mean something.

New York was wonderful. But it was the journey that made it priceless.  

The Food Network

 Lately I've been watching the Food Network. This is a new thing for me. Most of the time my TV watching habits are very unproductive and involve a lot of really lame, entertaining story lines. I'm a sucker for characters, plots, etc.

The Food Network only really came about because I'm nursing, which means that I'm sitting in my rocking chair a good chuck of the day with my blouse open and no where to go. When my baby was younger, I'd be able to read during our interludes or even write, but now that he's gotten older and his attention is, hmm...shall we say, less focused, I find those activities impossible. And because day time television sucks, I have found myself watching the Food Network.

This has been good and bad. Good because I am learning all kinds of neat tricks and recipes, and bad because I swear I've gained ten pounds just from having the channel on. Besides the recipes and neat information--like why it's important to use room temperature eggs when baking and what cornstarch does for making cake recipes light and airy--I love watching these people talk about food. Their passion for food is unbelievable, and I dare say, infectious.

The last few weeks, I’ve been waltzing around the kitchen like I'm Emeril Lagasse. I find myself sprinkling salt into the pot and saying mmmm! out loud and when we sit down to eat, I start talking about all the different flavors and how they melt in my mouth. I will never, ever be a true chief, but watching the masters at work has changed my attitude about having to make dinner for my family every night. I will never own their complete enthusiasm for cooking, but I can take a piece of their pie. so to speak.

The truth is: passion inspires passion. (And now I sound like Oprah.) 

My passion is books. I write books, come up with plot lines and develop characters. I am always reading and can talk about books and story ideas for hours. For some people, their passion is cooking or dancing or art. Or, in the case of my sister's boyfriend, it's mushrooms. The point is, be passionate about something. And be around passionate people.

You never know where they will lead you.