blogroll

A Girl and a Boy "If I'm feeling anxious about something, the least helpful advice is "You're dumb to feel anxious about that." Reassurance is one thing ("Don't worry! You'll be fine!"), but dismissal is another."

Alice's Wonderland "so there i am this morning with a watering can up one nostril, saline water dribbling out the other nostril into the sink. with oliver the cat, who is obsessed with drinking running water, trying to drink from the stream of water coming out of my face."

Better Now "I'm less concerned about thin legs and the acquisition of a 6-pack now and more concerned about my overall strength and fitness.  Babies have been dying around me, families have been shattered, friends have been diagnosed with unspeakable illnesses and the earth is drowning in oil and I can't do anything about it, and so I sprint and I lift and I push myself.  My resolve is the only thing that really belongs to me.  And I intend to make the most of it."

Chelsea Talks Smack "Sometimes life shakes us up, totally fucking "snow globes" us and we can't see straight- and sometimes, it's because we need that reminder to not abandon OURSELVES. Our dreams. Our Mid-night inspiration, or "unreasonable" desires. Commit, no matter how heartbroken we are, or have been to love just as hard the next time around....and in the meantime be grateful that this is your time- YOUR TIME."

Cusp of Normal "Earlier this week, I got a blood blister. From a fanny pack. That is all."

Distractible Jane "I stare at the guy for a minute. He smiles at me weirdly. I take my car keys from my pocket and hand them to the cashier. He pretends to scan them, then rings up my other items."

DShan "I not only worry about writing well because I want to be able to write well.  I think it might actually be more of a need than a want, honestly.  I think I love how writing allows you to deliberately try to communicate clearly.  With precision.  With deeper emotion, a way to talk without your voice getting in the way.  Truly communicating is a holy grail for humanity; to feel known and understood.  I need to think I can use words to really be known."

Dutch Blitz "My broken edges are jutting out and my eyes are dripping my chest is heavy and then my husband runs inside and tells me to grab my camera because the sunset is SO PRETTY. Thanks be for someone who will listen to your hurts and wrap you in a bear hug and then points you to something so inspiring that you forget why you were crying in the first place."

Emily Jane "We all have a choice in how we decide to live our lives, in the way we choose to see the world, and in what we put into it. Just because I'd spend the last twenty-something years making the wrong ones doesn't mean I have to ease myself into making the right ones gradually. Every day is a new opportunity to change everything, if you only have the determination. Since last summer, I've made the choice instead of retreating, to dive headfirst into everything that scared me. I can choose whether I allow things to control my life, or if I want to control my own."

Gorgeous Footsteps in the Sand "My ears. They are huge. And they stick out, a lot. Well maybe not so much any more but I've been plagued with embarrassment since I was ridiculed as a kid and called Dumbo. But now. I just don't give a damn and I love my ears, earringless and all."

Jive Turkey "I cannot be trusted to make responsible dietary decisions with a pan of brownies in the house. I can (and will) find a justification for replacing breakfast/lunch/dinner/daily multivitamins with a generous square of brownie. Unlike most other sweets, I never reach that “Ugh, I’ve had too much, get it out of here” overindulgence point with brownies. If I was to become a born-again Christian, I’d probably have a real issue accepting Jesus into my heart, because there’d be no room for him in there with all the damn BROWNIES."

Just a Titch "When I say I’m a perfectionist, it’s not just for the good of a job interview, or to sound virtuous, it’s literally something that paralyzes me."

Just Expressive "You truck along with your nose down so many days, so many milestones, so much focus that sometimes the greater picture seems like it’s so far off…so untouchable. He is his own person and his own entity but I had a part in who he has grown to be and not ONLY through mistakes and wrong doing like my parents but through actual fore-thought, intention, intuition and faith in myself."

Kempt "There are moments that your heart will alter; you will remember the feeling of a warm hand on your hip and the taste of salt, not the sunburn blaring from the photo. Your heart will see the photo and forget the million bugs and the lost sunglasses, the paper cuts from folding maps, and only remember the taste of lemonade."

Kerrianne "I am not angry. I don’t spend precious time despairing. I just can’t. I see hope in all of this. I see purpose. I see promise. I see a woman rising from the ashes of her own life. I don’t even recognize this woman, it’s been so long since I’ve seen her. But she is me. She is strong, and confident, and capable. She is excited about all that is to come."

Kyla Roma "But this is my reasoning: if all we have is what’s happening right now? Then in every decision, my whole life is at stake. And in that case, I want to be paying attention and going to bed tired because I’ve given everything I can. I want to make this life joyful and creative, and I want it to count."

Lemon Gloria "An explanation of PCBs and containment problems takes place. Schools have to be torn down, because you can't just remove the caulk. I resist the urge to giggle like a girl. The caulk, people, the giant, dangerous caulk! What do we do with the caulk?"

Live It, Love It "When first confronted with my dead skin phobia, he maintained it was worth my suffering because then if he ever murdered me, I’d be fortunate enough to have his DNA under my nails to prove it was him. Which doesn’t really work out because then I’m A) dead, and B) he is a tricky bastard and we’ve watched all five seasons of The Wire, so I’m pretty sure homeboy knows how to get rid of a dead body by now. You just don’t watch Stringer Bell operate without picking up a thing or two."

Marie's Blog Cafe "Then of course there was the time two nights ago when I was texting a friend of mine something about “whitehouse” and my iPhone of course believed it needed to correct me and changed it to “whorehouse.” Because apparently they go hand in hand."

No Ordinary Rollercoaster "And so, without sounding too much like I’m about to wear a cape made out of hemp and join a commune in India (I only wear capes when pretending to be a superhero whose power is sexiness…or Britney Spears), I’m happily moving forward, leaving the manscaping howler monkey and that seductive whore-tree well behind me."

Pantalones Del Fuego "I hadn't even thought about the chef in, oh, years maybe, other than to remark on the 3 good things and one Life Lesson I learned while involved with him (1. How to make my own salad dressing from scratch, 2. How to toss a skillet without needing to use a spatula or other implement, 3. How to play scrabble competitively, and Don't Date People Who Used To Have A Drug Problem And Are Also Kind of Intellectually Stunted, respectively) at various times."

Pudding and the Post-fab Princess "Although I do kinda think pants are the devil's work! It's just more on account of the bum pinching and muffin topping then it is the whole women/pants/abomination thing."

Sam Dot Com "As bloggers, we understand the connections. We understand how special it is to be able to easily communicate with people around the world, from all walks of life. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, these connections lead to a friendship you don’t know how you were ever able to survive without."

Sentiment "The right music at a funeral or an event can leave an impact that will last forever in your heart. The right music set to photos or video means you will watch it over and over again feeding from the comfort of both music and imagery. Music has the power to influence your mood, manipulate your perceptions and make a situation greater."

She Likes Purple "And if you know nothing else about me, you should know I want to be a better spouse, a better person. Every day I want to be better. He may not do the dishes, but he deserves that much from me."

Sizzle Says "I’m trying not to bury the feelings that got me to this precipice of risk- the deep love I have for this man who has made a home in my heart. Where the book cases go or who gets what closet doesn’t matter in the long run, just that we are together and remembering that it’s the love that matters in the end."

SoMi Speaks "But, it’s more than just listening. I remain sincerely open. And by that, I mean I allow myself to maybe even learn something that might change my mind. Or, I may remain firmly planted on my side, but come to a new understanding of why the other side believes what they do. The point is, I benefit when I really process what others have to say."

Spirit of Place "But being back home, with space all around and a view of the hills from the village that’s practically postcard worthy, made me realize how lucky we are to be here. I’m not sure how we lucked into our lives, but I’m very thankful."

Taking Chances "I like having a plan. I like knowing what I’m working towards, what I want, and how I’m going to get it. I’ve finally made some decisions about where I want to go, what I want to do, how I want to do it."

The Ramblings of Chaos "i know there is no such thing as 'normal' - i tend to believe things are more on a sliding scale, but how does the 'normal person' keep going?"

The State That I Am In "I guess it's hard for me to imagine that people want to read about a charmed life which really, in the past year, is what my life has become."

Tried to Live Forever Every Day of the Year "The point is: I would have said something and that may have led to a conversation, and maybe she wears red lipstick like me because she digs vintage 40s pinups and also Gwen Stefani, or maybe we go to the same bars sometimes and never ran into each other. Or, she could just smile and nod at me, totally nonplussed by my surprise that a 20-something was reading Pike on the subway." 

xox, b "Maybe I’m alone in this and everyone’s going to think I’m a crazy girl, but I talk about you guys in real life. Most people in real life don’t know that I have a blog. Instead of trying to explain how I know you, I often refer to you all as my friends."