tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45118432241963196772024-03-20T01:45:51.335-07:00:: Kodachrome ::LizStowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07797305687648393380noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4511843224196319677.post-16498754319301621842010-09-02T21:09:00.000-07:002010-09-02T21:34:30.236-07:00twenty-three candles.<span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;">In my experience, whatever happens clings to us like barnacles on the hull of a ship, slowing us slightly, both uglifying and giving us texture. You can scrape those damn barnacles all you want, you can - and if you have money, welp, you can hire someone else to scrape...but it's those barnacles that will always come back, or at least leave a blemish on the steel.</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">...and sometimes, once every blue moon, you are lucky enough to have your cake and eat it too.</span>LizStowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07797305687648393380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4511843224196319677.post-40683598766920421202010-02-25T12:28:00.000-08:002010-02-25T14:18:15.444-08:00All the sweet serenity of books<span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">When you consider that the world's greatest thinkers have put their thoughts, opinions, and ideas into a format that we can access, isn't it a shame that most people don't bother to read, to explore the contents, and to see how those thoughts, opinions, and ideas can change their lives? We have a chance to have a few hours of intimate discourse with people we would never have met otherwise, how lucky are we? Over the years I have taken great pride in my book collection, and as I journeyed back East, I made sure my bounded pieces of heaven tagged along. Inspiration is the essence of living, and I felt obliged to share with you those words of some of the most majestic thinkers that have helped me facilitate my wild imagination, laugh uncontrollably, and appreciate my love for the written word. I mean, even Abe Lincoln said, "Books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren't very new after all."<br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;"><br />"If you take a book with you on a journey, an odd thing happens. The book begins collecting your memories. And forever after you have only to open that book to be back where you first read it. It will all come into your mind with the very first words - the sights you saw in that place, what it smelled like, the ice cream you ate while you were reading it...yes, books are like flypaper--memories cling to the printed page better than anything else." -</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" >Inkheart</span><span style="font-family:georgia;">, Cornelia Funke<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">"Whenever I see an old lady slip and fall on a wet sidewalk, my first instinct is to laugh. But then I think, what if I was an ant, and she fell on me. Then it wouldn't seem quite so funny." -</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" >Deep Thoughts</span><span style="font-family:georgia;">, Jack Handey<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">"When his life was ruined, his family killed, his farm destroyed, Job knelt down on the grown and yelled up to the heavens, "Why God? Why me?" and the thundering voice of God answered, "There's just something about you that pissed me off." -</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" >Storm of the Century</span><span style="font-family:georgia;">, Stephen King<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">"The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off." -Gloria Steinem<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">"You get a little moody sometimes but I think that's because you like to read. People that like to read are always a little fucked up." -</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" >The Prince of Tides</span><span style="font-family:georgia;">, Pat Conroy<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." -Studly Einstein<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">"A great book should leave you with many experiences, and slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading." -William Styron<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">"We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect." -Anais Nin<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">"Poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese." -</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" >Alarms and Discursions</span><span style="font-family:georgia;">, G.K. Chesterton<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">"Remember to always be yourself. Unless you suck." -Joss Whedon<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">"People aren't either wicked or noble. They're like chef's salads, with good things and bad things chopped and mixed together in a vinaigrette of confusion and conflict." -</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" >The Grim Grotto, </span><span style="font-family:georgia;">Lemony Snicket<br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" ><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">"May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art -- write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself." -Neil Gaiman (I love you)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">"You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you." -</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" >Zen in the Art of Writing</span><span style="font-family:georgia;">, Ray Bradbury.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">"It's not denial. I'm just selective about the reality I accept." -Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes guys)<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">"I myself am made entirely of flaws, stitched together with good intentions." -</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" >Magical Thinking: True Stories</span><span style="font-family:georgia;">, Augusten Burroughs<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">"If more of us valued food and cheer above hoarded gold, it would be a much merrier world." -J.R.R. Tolkien<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">"If at first you don't succeed, try, try, again. Then quit. No use being a damn fool about it." -W.C. Fields<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">"I can never read all the books I want, I can never be all the people I want, and live all the lives I want. I can never train myself in all the skills I want. And why do I want? I want to live and feel all the shades, tones and variations of mental and physical experience possible in life. And I am horribly limited." -Sylvia Plath<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">"The Paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one nights stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or just hit delete...Remember, to spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever. Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side. Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent. Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person might not be there again. Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind." -Bob Moorehead<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">"Taking one's chances is like taking a bath, because sometimes you end up feeling comfortable and warm, and sometimes there is something terrible lurking around that you cannot see until it is too late and you can do nothing else but scream and cling to a plastic duck." -Lemony Snicket<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">"Here is a lesson in creative writing. First rule: Do not use semicolons. They are transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing. All they do is show you've been to college." -</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" >A Man Without a Country</span><span style="font-family:georgia;">, Kurt Vonnegut<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">"The unreal is more powerful than the real. Because nothing is as perfect as you can imagine it. Because its only intangible ideas, concepts, beliefs, fantasies that last. Stone crumbles. Wood rots. People, well, they die. But things as fragile as a thought, a dream, a legend, they can go on and on. If you can change the way people think. The way they see themselves. The way they see the world. You can change the way people live their lives. That's the only lasting thing you can create." -</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" >Choke</span><span style="font-family:georgia;">, Chuck Palahniuk<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">"One day I will find the right words, and they will be simple." -</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" >The Dharma Bums</span><span style="font-family:georgia;">, Jack Kerouac<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">"Tomorrow may be hell, but today was a good writing day, and on the good writing days nothing else matters." -Neil Gaiman<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">"If things start happening, don't worry, don't stew, just go right along and you'll start happening too." -Dr. Seuss<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">"Book collecting is an obsession, an occupation, a disease, an addiction, a fascination, an absurdity, a fate. It is not a hobby, those who do it must do it. Those who do not do it, think of it as a cousin of stamp collecting, a sister of the trophy cabinet, bastard of a sound bank account and a weak mind." -Jeanette Winterson<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">"Finally, from so little sleeping and so much reading, his brain dried up and he went completely out of his mind." -Don Quixote, Cervantes<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">"If there is no love in the world, we will make a new world, and we will give it walls, and we will furnish it with soft, red interiors, from the inside out, and give it a knocker that resonates like a diamond falling to a jeweler's felt so that we should never hear it. Love me, because love doesn't exist, and I have tried everything that does." -</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" >Everything is Illuminated</span><span style="font-family:georgia;"> (A MUST READ) Jonathan Safran Foer<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it may be necessary from time to time to give a stupid or misinformed beholder a black eye." -Miss Piggy, Jim Henson<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">"Reality continues to ruin my life" -Calvin and Hobbes, Bill Watterson<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">"Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them." -</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" >Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can't Avoid</span><span style="font-family:georgia;">, Lemony Snicket<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">"You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children." -Madeleine L'Engle<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">"People think a soul mate is your perfect fit, and that's what everyone wants. But a true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that is holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life. A true soul mate is probably the most important person you'll ever meet, because they tear down your walls and smack you awake. But to live with a soul mate forever? Nah. Too painful. Soul mates, they come into your life just to reveal another layer of yourself to you, and then leave. A soul mates purpose is to shake you up, tear apart your ego a little bit, show you your obstacles and addictions, break your heart open so new light can get in, make you so desperate and out of control that you have to transform your life, then introduces you to your spiritual master..." -</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" >Eat, Pray, Love</span><span style="font-family:georgia;">, Elizabeth Gilbert<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">"Substitute 'damn' every time you're inclined to write 'very' - your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be." -Twain<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">"And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it." -Ronald Dahl<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">"If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world." -C.S. Lewis<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">"Life isn't divided into genres. It's a horrifying, romantic, tragic, comical, science-fiction cowboy detective novel. You know, with a bit of pornography if you're lucky." -Alan Moore<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">"And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt." -Sylvia Plath<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">"I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." -Einstein<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">"Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience-this is the ideal life." -Twain<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">"If you go home with somebody, and they don't have books, don't fuck 'em." -John Water<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">"Literature is a luxury-Fiction is a necessity." -G.K. Chesterton<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">"The best moments in reading are when you come across something - a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things - which you had thought special and particular to you. And now, here it is, set down by someone else, a person you have never met, someone even who is long dead. And it is as if a hand has come out, and taken yours." -</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" >The History Boys</span><span style="font-family:georgia;">, Alan Bennett<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">And last but not least, from one of my favorite books, </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" >American Gods</span><span style="font-family:georgia;">, by one of my favorite writers, Neil Gaiman...<br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;"><br />I can believe in things that are true and things that aren't true and I can believe things where nobody knows if they're true or not.<br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;"><br />I can believe in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny and the Beatles and Marilyn Monroe and Elvis and Mister Ed. Listen - I believe that people are<br />perfectible, that knowledge is infinite, that the world is run by secret banking cartels and is visited by aliens on a regular basis, nice ones that look like wrinkled lemurs and bad ones who mutilate cattle and want our water and our women.<br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;"><br />I believe that the future sucks and I believe that the future rocks and I believe that one day White Buffalo Woman is going to come back and kick everyone's ass. I believe that all men are just overgrown boys with deep problems communicating and that the decline in good sex in America is coincident with the decline in drive-in movie theaters from state to state.<br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;"><br />I believe that all politicians are unprincipled crooks and I still believe that they are better than the alternative. I believe that California is going to sink into the sea when the big one comes, while Florida is going to dissolve into madness and alligators and toxic waste.<br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;"><br />I believe that antibacterial soap is destroying our resistance to dirt and disease so that one day we'll all be wiped out by the common cold like martians in War of the Worlds.<br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;"><br />I believe that the greatest poets of last century were Edith Sitwell and Don Marquis, that jade is dried dragon sperm, and that thousands of years ago in a former life I was a one-armed Siberian shaman.<br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;"><br />I believe that mankind's destiny lies in the stars. I believe that candy really did taste better when I was a kid, that it's aerodynamically impossible for a bumble bee to fly, that light is a wave and a particle, that there's a cat in a box somewhere who's alive and dead at the same time (although if they don't ever open the box to feed it it'll eventually just be two different kinds of dead), and that there are stars in the universe billions of years older than the universe itself.<br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;"><br />I believe in a personal god who cares about me and worries and oversees everything I do. I believe in an impersonal god who set the universe in motion and went off to hang with her girlfriends and doesn't even know that I'm alive. I believe in an empty and godless universe of causal chaos, background noise, and sheer blind luck.<br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;"><br />I believe that anyone who says sex is overrated just hasn't done it properly. I believe that anyone who claims to know what's going on will lie about the little things too.<br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;"><br />I believe in absolute honesty and sensible social lies. I believe in a woman's right to choose, a baby's right to live, that while all human life is sacred there's nothing wrong with the death penalty if you can trust the legal system implicitly, and that no one but a moron would ever trust the legal system.<br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;"><br />I believe that life is a game, that life is a cruel joke, and that life is what happens when you're alive and that you might as well lie back and enjoy it.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" >Amen Neil Gaiman.</span></span>LizStowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07797305687648393380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4511843224196319677.post-81509311757291825852010-02-18T12:12:00.000-08:002010-02-18T16:02:08.360-08:00After the Cello<div style="text-align: center;"><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:78%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">Love.</span><br />Books and songs, films, poems, roses, candy--even days have been dedicated to it. Shit, I even wanted to make a career out of it, but what do we understand of love? There are as many answers to the boundless questions about love as there are lovers to ask them. Love has ever delighted and perplexed, inspired and confounded. And here, within my own heartbreak, I want to visit love from a certain angle in an attempt to show how this celebrated and mysterious emotion has been, and ever will be, the one enduring obsession of humankind.<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">Love doesn't necessarily have to pertain to a lover, but it can live within your family, friendships, animal companions, work, hobbies, passions, inspirations, and even materialistic objects like your beloved guitar. So, as I trekked Eastbound, I felt it was essential to shed a few tears for those that I love back in the desert, and delve into one of the most ageless, darling words. Now, I hate discussing my own relationship footlights, so I am going to do what I do best, and opt to write about the bright side of love, but in doing so I may have to analyze bits of my wacky love life. I apologize. Whilst there may be some pessimistic underlying notions of love, note that they have all been repaired. I already have a book in mind dedicated to all of those previously broken pieces...</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">The most important heartbreak I am speaking of comes from leaving the aesthetic pleasures of the Arizona palm trees and the eccentric breeze they grant you on an eighty degree sun-drenched day, allowing your amigos and you to lay aimlessly by the pool sipping wine at any hour. I mean, essentially, it was those five years I spent in this season-free place that bloomed my imagination, vision, and bestowed me memories to write about. I drank a lot. I formed lifetime friendships. I laughed and smiled day after day. And it was my Hunter S. Thompson guise fashioned from my friends and the booze that ultimately sparked my inspiration to dig deep into my imagination. Love must come to you when you need it the most, because love became the creator of my many memories and the foundation for my fondest dreams. There is no reasoning with the heart-it is simply the greatest instinct. In fact, the heart has its reasons that fucking reason does not even know at all. And while reason and love may be strangers, in love it is the heart that rules the head. So, follow your heart, because when we look back on our lives, we find that those things we did in the spirit of love represent the moments we were truly alive.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Simply for the positivity that arises from my delicate situation, and to express the severity of never giving up on following your heart, I must break into the personal life safe. I did in fact pursue my heart recently, and it bit me in the ass. However, love gave me a fresh dream to chase, and despite my fears, I fucking followed my heart again. Second time's a charm, right? And I am not going to say I wasn't angry with the world, with "love", or life for a while, but I allowed love to pick me back up and show me the joys that life has to offer-with LOTS of help from my friends. Am I open to loving again even though it didn't work out for me the first time? Absolutely. However, I will definitely put the entire dating mania on hold for a while, but I do not regret a single obstacle I put my heart through. I don't regret wearing it on my sleeve, because the only way to learn about love is by loving, and you must love with all of your heart. I did that. It is a lovely and fearful thing, but great love takes great daring. I took that dare. And after it didn't work out, love let me live it up again for a while, and it was fucking fabulous. Remember, love is </span><span style="font-family:georgia;">always on your side, and so is your heart. They come hand in hand, and they will steer you to the place you are meant to carry out your wildest dreams. Love is still, and always will be, the sweetest gift of all, whether we give it or receive it.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Now, I recognize that all of my optimism can become old and bothersome, but you have to appreciate the fine things through the unpleasant. I am certain that if I did not allow my hopefulness to luster the shitty things in life, I would have become senseless by now. So, the hell with you pessimists, I am going to try and spread some more good spirits and love, because it is the greatest transforming power. And it is love that may wind up hurting us, but at the same time, it gives us strength to endure. It makes the heart strong when the body is weak, and love sure as shit does not bear grudges. We go through life seeing things not as they are but as we are, and love is the only lens available to straighten out our vision of the world and offer some hope of understanding. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" >Everything DEFINITELY happens for a reason. </span><br /></span><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"></span></span></div></div>LizStowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07797305687648393380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4511843224196319677.post-70035206855451546162010-01-13T10:51:00.000-08:002010-01-13T13:53:36.971-08:00Strange Overtones<div style="text-align: left;font-family:georgia;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Topic of the day: Generosity</span>. It can be overwhelmingly difficult to pin down, since the purest examples often go unnoticed, but generosity works its magic wherever people come together, and it sure as hell lives all around us! And one thing should become apparent after this terrible ranting of mine-that generosity allows us all to enjoy our share of the treasures that the world has to offer.<br /></span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br />The first word that comes to mind when I hear that lovely ten letter word is cheerfulness. Yes, that grandiose word 'cheerfulness'. Not sharing, caring, daring, what have you, but cheerfulness. In my eyes & freakishly weird brain, generosity is the off-shoot of cheerfulness and gratitude-it can blunt the sting of unkindness in others, and it most definitely can be a simple spontaneous expression of enthusiasm. Wow, Webster should have opted for my beautiful definition...but on a serious note, it is exhilarating. Just sitting at the computer and trying to tackle the impossible and discovering the logical--especially with a word so profound and dense--reinvents you. Generosity is everywhere, and everywhere there is something incredible waiting to be shared. I mean, shit, its like a treasure chest that grants wishes, and delving into finding meaning of what many people probably just see as a word makes you look through a wide-angle & allows you a view of the whole of humanity. It is absolutely glorious. And so, I thought I would share with you another one of my lost puppy, recently found, moments--but on generosity's terms this time.<br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><br />But first, I think it is important to express the reasoning for this blog and what provoked me to do some discovering. I am unfortunately a person who does not realize things until they are actually happening, and when they do happen, I over-analyze the shit out of them. For example, I was emotionless about Graduation until that moment I was standing there, shaking the Dean's hand, receiving my diploma. Not a good trait of mine, believe me--but that is insignificant. As most of you have heard, an unfathomable catastrophe has happened in Haiti. On January 12, 2010, the country was struck by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake, destroying the capital and killing over 100,000 Haitians. Heart-wrenching. Seeing photos, watching the news, and sitting here surrounded by my luxuries, the actuality of the event "hit" me--making me realize that lavishness may last until the money runs out, but its generosity that lasts a lifetime. Now, I know that I cannot save the world, and that my ten dollar donation to the Red Cross does not do justice to those who perished--or even to the state that Haiti is in at this time--but I do know that I sure as shit can make generosity shine through words. I can make it the center of attention, because we all know that a dose of generosity is exactly what Haiti needs right now. And there are many things that the world can do without, but generosity is not one of them.<br /><br />So, here it goes...Generosity, I hope I make you shine.<br /><br />We all possess a natural will to help others, but it simply cannot blossom without being nurtured first...so here is the big secret of generosity: use your extra energy to help someone else rather than try to get to the top first! It cannot be something you just do in your spare time, but an everyday act of lifting a person up. And I assure you that if you arise cheerfully & live the day in happy readiness to be generous, there is no such thing as waking up on the wrong side of the bed.<br /></span><div style="text-align: center;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-----------------<br />--My Boulevard to Generosity for You--<br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >Take the time to understand the best in others & compliment often.<br />Give even when you stand to lose out as a result.<br />Find your own peace, then pass it on.<br />Don't wait for people to be friendly-show them how instead.<br />Whoever you meet, always try to put them at their ease.<br />Show a willingness to see things from another person's position, even if you don't like the view.<br />We are never as generous as we think.<br />In life, try to be interested in the whole story, not just your own scenes.</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" ><br />Give lots of hugs.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Don't use the audacity of a beggar as an excuse for not helping them.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Love loudly & be generous in silence.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Whenever you see someone in distress, don't pity them--relieve them of their burden.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Accept tough challenges and trek into them with joy and enthusiasm.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Don't ask if there is anything you can do, simply do it.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />And most importantly, you cannot force others to be generous--the best you can expect is to set an example.</span><br />---------------------<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:85%;">So ladies and gents, generosity is in fact a cinch--and it is easy to put yourself to good use if you always remember you are needed. And hey, generosity has no size. There is never too little or too much cheerfulness. In fact, my little piece of heaven sleeping next to me lives and breathes for long walks, and guess what, I am a vital factor to fulfilling that desire of hers, I am needed. So, as my words leave off, my generosity begins--and it makes me smile to think its just by the wagging of her tail and a walk to the park.<br /></span></div><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div></div></div></div></div>LizStowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07797305687648393380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4511843224196319677.post-82347906365153221762009-11-11T09:35:00.000-08:002009-11-15T16:45:30.754-08:00ATTN: Lost Puppy Found<div style="text-align: center;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Apparently Fall brings inspiration-because I have yet to blog since the first of September. Well...I suppose a quickie of these past two months in a nutshell is suitable: things have been mediocre, and I have been on cruise control for a solid sixty days. BUT...with the help of a Barnes&Noble trip and a new journal last night, I have turned that cruise control baby off, and I feel like I'm not just coasting anymore. And I must admit...a little book guided me to the light.<br />Lo and behold, the reason for my epiphany:<br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">It's Not Easy Being Green<br /></span></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" >But first.<br />6:30 P.M.---I'm antsy, smelly, sitting in an uncomfortable chair in a stuffy classroom, and discussing mediated memories in the digital age. Over it. I put my knee up against the rim of the table, place my notepad on it, and I pretend I'm taking notes on van Dijck and her brilliant account of bullshit...I continuously nod my head, and voice a little "Yes, absolutely," every blue moon. Now, the art of pretending you're paying attention in a 12 person, 4 hour long Religion 405 seminar is to make sure that none of your other bored fellow classmates see you are actually not paying attention. Religious Studies students are amazing, but they are nosy as shit. And they will call you out for it. So, the knee on the table trick is the perfect way to keep their pestering eyes off my dazzling list of career possibilities. It is already a page long, and starts with a librarian & ends with a leprechaun. Whelp. I'm screwed. No, just kidding, there are some normal ones in there--but either way, each one of my dream careers entail an underlying notion of something that has been pestering my brain for these two months now. Something that I always lead back to when trying to be practical about my life after graduation...my constant desire to simply give love in this lifetime and be in love with loving. To fulfill a life of simply giving and putting a smile on someone's face-whether a child, the neighborhood slut, or even Kermit the frog puppet himself (that's an easy one). Just to make a career out of love...it's what I'm good at, and when you read my thoughts later, you will understand more of the details of such a luxurious career.<br /><br />IMPORTANT: Keep in mind that every single stinking time careers come up at bars, dinners, on the toilet, I sound nuts.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">But the question is: Am I really nuts?</span> That is where my new favorite book & epiphany chime in.<br />8:30 P.M.----I'm sitting in the library video chatting with Jessie, volume on mute, and watching her shed enough tears for a leprechaun to water his plants for a year. Consoling my best friend, I had this sudden urge to make a trip to Barnes&Noble (Not Borders, I'm a loyal B&N member). And when I normally feel these urges, I go with it. Nine out of ten times something lands in my lap and makes me feel like I can put the pedal to the metal and get the fuck off cruise control. And well, sometimes what falls into my lap is also my double shot Venti Cafe Americano that burns my vagina, but a book often follows. Anyway, I could not get this whole "love" thing out of my mind. I wasn't searching for any answers either-I have literally had this notion teetering in my brain for months now, and I was just about to throw it on the back-burner----do away with its constant nagging and how pitiful it made me feel--until Kermit. I was having dreams, INTENSE dreams, screaming at me to write things down, and I just couldn't.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Quick note:</span> Not too long ago I was obsessed with the Twilight saga and I spent too much time thinking of vampires. Good example-Joey was sick once, and apparently in the middle of the night, I turned to him and said, "You can bite me if you want". Why? Well, because I thought if he drank my fucking vampire blood he would heal faster. NUTS. Anyway, with this Twilight craze came constant refreshing on the stepheniemeyer.com website, etc...and once I stumbled upon a letter she had written that said:<br /></span><p style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;">I woke up (on that June 2nd) from a very vivid dream. In my dream, two people were having an intense conversation in a meadow in the woods. One of these people was just your average girl. The other person was fantastically beautiful, sparkly, and a vampire. They were discussing the difficulties inherent in the facts that A) they were falling in love with each other while B) the vampire was particularly attracted to the scent of her blood, and was having a difficult time restraining himself from killing her immediately.<br /></span></p> <p style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Though I had a million things to do (i.e. making breakfast for hungry children, dressing and changing the diapers of said children, finding the swimsuits that no one ever puts away in the right place, etc.), I stayed in bed, thinking about the dream. I was so intrigued by the nameless couple's story that I hated the idea of forgetting it; it was the kind of dream that makes you want to call your friend and bore her with a detailed description. (Also, the vampire was just so darned good-looking, that I didn't want to lose the mental image.) Unwillingly, I eventually got up and did the immediate necessities, and then put everything that I possibly could on the back burner and sat down at the computer to write—something I hadn't done in so long that I wondered why I was bothering. But I didn't want to lose the dream, so I typed out as much as I could remember, calling the characters "he" and "she."</span></p> <p style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;">From that point on, not one day passed that I did not write something. On bad days, I would only type out a page or two; on good days, I would finish a chapter and then some. I started from the scene in the meadow and wrote through to the end. Then I went back to the beginning and wrote until the pieces matched up. I drove the "golden spike" that connected them in late August, three months later.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Point of this? </span>First, anyone who knows me, knows I love fiction & I love writing. My dream has always been to be a writer, but I think that the world & NY Times Bestseller list doesn't deserve my shit. Second, I have seriously intense dreams, and have been starting to abide by what these dreams are telling me, because according to dreammoods.com and Stephenie Meyer's, they are my pot of gold. </span></p><p style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Okay, so back to Barnes&Noble. Probably around 10:00 now. I begin browsing for the perfect journal-I knew that needed to be my first goal-find a journal TONIGHT. I had been too cheap and putting it off for too long, and tonight I was feeling fierce and lustful, ready to buy myself a twenty dollar leather bound journal! Ha, just kidding, I'm not really that cheap, but I did go for the $12.95 one. I have been keeping my dreams and money making thoughts inside my head because I have been afraid I would fail at being great. But tonight, I was feeling lucky. And lucky I was.<br /></span></p><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" >As I was about to purchase my new snazzy journal, I saw that tiny green book glistening on the bottom shelf of the Bargain Priced books. I did a double-take...picked it up, saw Kermit on the front cover, and thought to myself, shit...I really used to love that frog. I opened it to a random page and it read-<br /></span><div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;"><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-weight: normal; font-style: italic;">"I believe that we form our own lives, that we create our own reality, and that everything works out for the best. I know I drive some people crazy with what seems to be ridiculous optimism, but it has always worked out for me". </span><br /><br />Okay, thank you so fucking much Kermit.<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-weight: normal;">That was it. I was planted on that floor for the next hour and I was marking pages, engulfed in the words of an optimist, someone who came down from heaven to show me that my dreams weren't as outlandish as they seemed. </span><br /><br />Jim Hansen, my hero: W<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">riter, father, lover, enthusiast, dreamer, child at heart, creator of the flipping Muppets!</span>---Are those not all of the qualities I possess? Well, I'd rather be a mother instead, and it would feel majestic to be considered a writer and creator of the Muppets, but the point is, he renewed me. My new mentor from heaven. And after reading this storybook of his life and mind, I know he is the type of person who would be rolling around in his grave right now smiling ear to ear for helping a lost puppy follow the yellow brick road back to Emerald City. So, for my first blog in two months, I decided to share something with my beloved readers. Not only am I going to share my newly christened journal (with MANY things left out--especially the money making ideas) to vent and re-instill my inspirations--to kick me in the behind & tell me to get going with following my dreams--but also so my lovely friends, family, stalkers, and other lost puppies, see that...well, folks, making a career out of love really isn't that crazy.</span><br /><br />I hope after the rest of my ranting, you will see what Jim Hansen showed me: it is not just a "love career," but a conglomeration of finding your inner child, using your imagination, and creating something that can give you joy because of the joy it brings others.<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" >JOURNAL<br /><span style="font-weight: normal; font-style: italic;">(italicized is my writing)</span><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; font-style: italic;">My life is basically a very fortunate one and I first of all have no big complaints. </span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: normal;">Things that inspire me and I would like to be reminded of everyday. Jim Hansen and I seem to be a similar seed of a zany flower--with a heart encompassed of a vibrant imagination. Through all of this uncertainty of the future and my feelings of just living, breathing, and giving love in this lifetime seem not as crazy because of him. </span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: normal;">Why are there so many songs about rainbows,</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">And what's on the other side?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">Rainbows are visions, but only illusions,</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">And rainbows have nothing to hide.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">So we've been told</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">And some choose to believe it.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">I know they're wrong, wait and see. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection,</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">The lovers, the dreamers, and me.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">Who said that every wish would be heard and answered,</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">When wished on the morning star.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">Somebody thought of that and someone believed it.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">Look what it's done so far.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">What's so amazing that keeps us stargazing,</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">And what do we think we might see?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection,</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">The lovers, the dreamers, and me.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">-Kermit</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span>Jim inspired people to be better than they thought they could be. To be more creative, more daring, more outrageous, and ultimately more successful. And he did it all without raising his voice. -Bernie Brillstein<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: normal;">This is what I want to instill on people in my life & to leave the world with loved ones feeling this about me. We SEE with our eyes and we KNOW with our hearts. Outside...inside. Follow your heart. I think he lived by example. To show other people how to be by who you are. I believe I can be better. </span></span> <span style="font-weight: normal;font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><br /><br />Whenever there's a dream worth a-dreamin'<br />And you want to see that dream come true<br />There'll be plenty people talkin',<br />Say forget all about it<br />Say it isn't worth all the trouble,<br />All the trouble that you're goin' through<br />Well, what can you do?<br /><br />You can't take no for an answer<br />You can't take no for an answer<br />You can't take no for an answer.<br />No, no, no!<br /><br />Whatcha gonna do when times get tough,<br />And the world's treatin' you unkind?<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">You've got to hang on to your optimistic outlook, </span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">And keep possession of your positive state of mind.</span><br />-Dr. Teeth</span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span></span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-weight: normal;">Well, when the path is steep and stony and the night is all around</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">And the way that you must take is far away</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">When your heart is lost and lonely and the map cannot be found</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">Here's a simple little spell that you can say: </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">You've got to face facts, act fast on your own</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">Preparation, perspiration, DYNAMITE DETERMINATION.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">Pack snacks, make tracks all alone</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">Don't be cute. Time to scoot. Head out to your destination.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">Chase the future, face the great unknown. </span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span></span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-weight: normal; font-style: italic;">My dream is making other people happy, and it's the kind of dream that gets better the more people I share it with. Together we'll nab it. US-OURS-WE-NOT ME.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">"Jim was the fellow who uncorked the bottle. He not only uncorked the bottle, he also shook it up". Frank OZ</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; font-style: italic;">I love wine. I think that quote should refer to me please.</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />**<br />"As children we all live in a world of imagination, of fantasy, and for some of us that world of make-believe continues into adulthood. Certainly I've lived my whole life through my imagination. But the world of imagination is there for all of us-a sense of play, of pretending, of wonder. It's there with us as we live". Jim<br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: normal;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:georgia;">Life's like a movie. I sometimes live too much through movies-thinking I can re-create reality to fit my own utopia. Fiction. Ugh, fiction. It's my best friend and my worst enemy. I have to write my own ending, a real one. Just Keep believing, just keep pretending. It will come to me. I'm a smart gal, I just need to re-create something majestic.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Be lovely in your ways</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">People are generally good.</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Love expecting nothing in return</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">The heart is generally good.</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Make your own map and follow it true</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Everywhere you end up will be generally good.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">At this point, I was a 1/2 a bottle of wine deep and getting wildly deep into my thoughts, so prepare yourself--Maybe a weird side of Liz you've never seen & maybe never wanted to.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Too much wine </span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">And too much time</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Why can't I put into words</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Which my mind always seems to find?</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">I have the spins</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">With thoughts overflowing</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Yet when the pen touches the paper </span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">My mind stops glowing.</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Dear old imagination </span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Running wild</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Trying to bring me back thoughts of being a child.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Librarian</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Kindergarten Teacher</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Children's bookstore owner</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Children's bookstore employee (no salary??)</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Children's bookstore owner with photog extravaganzas & storytelling</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Wedding Planner</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Assistant to Wedding Planner</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Personal Assistant</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Publisher</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Publishing Company</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Assistant/Secretary at a Publishing Company?</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Public Relations (would be great at, but fuck that)</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Event Planning Company</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Real Estate Agent??? Fulfills both my creative side & people skills with a small hunger for the business world. I would make a lot of people happy and think I'm moving in the "right" direction, but would I really love it?? Look at how engulfed my mother is in her business--change, change, change. Everything inevitably changes and naturally desire and greed take over things. I believe its about the decisions you make that ultimately bring out that natural desire and greed. If you choose the situation which you believe fits your personality the best, the only thing which will change is your success.</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Secretary-I would be great at, but its sad to say-I'd feel less of myself</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Radio Station?? Horrible voice, too much imagination going on in the head and less through technology. --Well, except now. Oxymoron?</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Dog walker-Side job for sure</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Leprechaun?? I fucking want that pot of gold</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Qualities I believe I possess and wish to Google with the result of a career:</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Great people person</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Good writer (no, great writer...at least I think so?)</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Background knowledge of Religion, Culture, and critically thinking (so contradictory but nonetheless amazing). I honestly would never take back majoring in Religious Studies. I know I chose it as my major solely to graduate in 4 years, which is now 4 1/2 years, but it has sincerely changed me in the most gratifying ways possible. My studies have helped me feel comfortable in my own skin and truly know that not conforming and following the ways people intend you to go bring much better joy and satisfaction than following someone's dreams. I went from a Business major following the norms of my small hometown and compromising for going to ASU. I cared too much about what I was going to tell people over Christmas Break rather than achieving it myself. Then, Communications. Oh, dear old Communications Department. I hated you. I thought I could discover a new passion with you because everyone else said I would be great at it. And finally, I chose the shorter road to graduation. But it stuck. Big time. It awakened my mind and I began THINKING like I used to. I started appreciating the things in life again that I had lost and stowed away for so long. Ahhh, the joy of re-discovering who you are and the little things in life that used to make you glee. Books, Music, Alcohol-(excessive=not good)-Love, REALITY. It all came to light. I am very thankful for my adviser that day. I wish I remember her name, because she really did more to one student out of 60,000 + than I think she knows. </span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Great with children</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Great with animals (especially dogs) except I can't handle anything morbid involved. Too heartbreaking.</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Creative</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Artistic (not so much drawing)</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Friendly (Jim Hansen comes in here)</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Dislikes confrontation</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Loves helping</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Loves books</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Loves cooking</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Loves reading</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Loves photography</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">LOVE (I keep using that word-FUCK. Joey would already be shaking his head right now because of it)</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Great manners (thank you Lily-Pulitzer cloned mother)</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Descent style (not shoes)</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Family oriented</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Polite</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Motivated</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Ambitious </span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Spiritual</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Perfectionist</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Genuine (I like to think)</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Generally have GENUINE intentions</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Traditional/Old school</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Organized? I don't know-not so much with my things but more with others.</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">I seem to enjoy doing more for others than myself. Do I try to live through other people's lives? Would I be a great assistant for this reason? Haha, oh dear, THAT's what I take from asking myself if I try to live through other people's lives. </span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">My love for fiction-do I underestimate myself?</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">What gives my life meaning?</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">People say I need to live for ME, discover ME, succeed for ME, and find my OWN ambitions. WELL, DUH! I agree!!!!! But why can't I have both-why does there have to be a compromise? What if I am just inevitably in love with loving? Can't a person be selfless, while still wanting some materialistic things that make them feel lovely, primped, and a true lady? Not talking the best shit here, just a current trip to the thrift shop and hair lady to feel special. When I think of living a life solely for ME, it does not sound satisfactory, but that in fact something will always be missing. NOT SHARING IT WITH SOMEBODY! What does this immense satisfaction I thrive for in making other people happy mean? Am I insecure at heart? Do I have past issues that subconsciously makes me feel I need to BE loved? Is that my persistent reasoning of wanting to give love? To receive love BACK? Fuck. Now it's pouring out. At four in the stinking morning.</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Are these emotions I am not recognizing because I suppress them??? Do I have unresolved issues from the past I just force myself to forget and its now inadvertently showing/telling me? What is with all of this love? </span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">I know I am a good person. </span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">I know who I love and want to devote my life to.</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">I know who my true friends are.</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">I have a wonderful support system. </span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">I have an exceptional mind-</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Why all of this love???</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">It has always been tattooed in me, but lately it has been bleeding out. Dreams, books, small signs-they are all latching to me and teetering in my brain to be leaked out. I don't know if it is just another sign, but I can't seem to put the meanings, actions, and emotions of love down. </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;" ></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >That's all folks. </span><br /></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><br /></span><br /></div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br /></div></div><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></div></div>LizStowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07797305687648393380noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4511843224196319677.post-68398295709598839602009-09-01T11:46:00.000-07:002009-09-01T11:57:08.255-07:00Hunter S. Thompson<b style="font-family: georgia;">It's a strange world. Some people get rich and others eat shit and die.</b><span style="font-family:georgia;"> Who knows? If there is in fact, a heaven and a hell, all we know for sure is that hell will be a viciously overcrowded version of Phoenix — a clean well lighted place full of sunshine and bromides and fast cars where almost everybody seems vaguely happy, except those who know in their hearts what is missing... And being driven slowly and quietly into the kind of terminal craziness that comes with finally understanding that the one thing you want is not there. Missing. Back-ordered. </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">No tengo. Vaya con dios.</i><span style="font-family:georgia;"> Grow up! Small is better. Take what you can get...<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;">Maybe there is no Heaven. Or maybe this is all pure gibberish — a product of the demented imagination of a lazy drunken hillbilly with a heart full of hate who has found a way to live out where the real winds blow — to sleep late, have fun, get wild, drink whiskey, and drive fast on empty streets with nothing in mind except falling in love and not getting arrested...</span><br /><i style="font-family: georgia;">Res ipsa loquitur.</i><span style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" > Let the good times roll.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Fiction is based on reality unless you're a fairy-tale artist, you have to get your knowledge of life from somewhere. You have to know the material you're writing about before you alter it.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">Music has always been a matter of energy to me, a question of fuel. Sentimental people call it inspiration, but what they really mean is fuel. I have always needed fuel. I am a serious consumer. On some nights I still believe that a car with the gas needle on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio.</span>LizStowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07797305687648393380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4511843224196319677.post-54159635636119355892009-08-29T09:45:00.000-07:002010-02-13T06:21:52.456-08:00An overweening interest in humanity<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6aEWhRlxPBMiEH0KTEVQoVU5WbMQbZBmaMe4mIZTYzbZk1V9Xnsra3xXKMJrhAKZyI7aW8Xm7yYpyUOEnd95R-8lVyAnferPyAVcuZmhnto2ciTbq3jRIfuI87eoDGeWzVRenIOq2b_w/s1600-h/heart+leaf.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 309px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6aEWhRlxPBMiEH0KTEVQoVU5WbMQbZBmaMe4mIZTYzbZk1V9Xnsra3xXKMJrhAKZyI7aW8Xm7yYpyUOEnd95R-8lVyAnferPyAVcuZmhnto2ciTbq3jRIfuI87eoDGeWzVRenIOq2b_w/s400/heart+leaf.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375429274539754210" border="0" /></a><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" >Expressing some basic human emotions--tragedy, ecstasy, doom, and so on...<br />The song Big White Gate by Grace Potter & the Nocturnals inspired this one--Please listen to it while you look at this photo. Not only will you understand its meaning more, but you may even shed a tear. </span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzYplPb8tPqAFX1Wm6NPPBStAGOqAkzjhbImSvV5m_1Udj9KJ8zKiSu2aBtRUOKvpNzoAB88RCgEvVrZOiXevh_Xgr2zAd-hRay9zyCWMqmeh9XIrfNF2xyntPYCu6eTanxInEH_6HLF4/s1600-h/sweet+lady.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzYplPb8tPqAFX1Wm6NPPBStAGOqAkzjhbImSvV5m_1Udj9KJ8zKiSu2aBtRUOKvpNzoAB88RCgEvVrZOiXevh_Xgr2zAd-hRay9zyCWMqmeh9XIrfNF2xyntPYCu6eTanxInEH_6HLF4/s400/sweet+lady.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375436794546749026" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:georgia;">This one will pick you right back up, but only if you listen to Stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again by Cat Power. To be honest, any time I need a little lift me up, I blast this song on our speakers. Plus, who doesn't love Cat Power, and of course, my sexy red-haired lady...her name is Ginger.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><br /></div>LizStowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07797305687648393380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4511843224196319677.post-31831335886538569722009-08-28T14:09:00.000-07:002009-08-28T15:44:21.954-07:00Sitting Duck<span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" >First of all, I think everyone should know that Henry was a huge success last night. In fact, and I quote, Joey said, "Henry did not die in vain babe." Oh, how that man knows the way to make me feel less like a bird killer...<br /><br />Anywhoo, today I received an interesting email from my Lily Pulitzer clone of a mother--and it looked something like this:<br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" >Subject: From Mom (uh-oh)<br />Content: SNAGAJOB.COM<br />XOXO<br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" >That's it. Just snagafuckingjob.com and some hugs and kisses. Well, <span>yes Mom</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">,</span> I have been desperately trying to find a job for, oh, two weeks, but don't nonchalantly send me silly emails like that--because let me tell you a little something about snagajob.com. Unless you enjoy wearing hair nets-hanging with toothless co-workers-eating unhealthy foods, then well, I'm sorry-the website is hopeless. And believe me, I don't want to belittle anyone who is in that sort of industry, but hey, I still have some city gal in me. That website is belittling ME by even opening in my browser. To be honest, I have never seen more Pizza Hut and Boston Market job openings in a single sitting. Do I love Boston Market mac-n-cheese every blue moon? Yes. Do I want to serve it curbside with a side of cornbread? No, thank you. Also, Mom-for someone as proper and conservative as yourself, would you really want your daughter delivering pizzas or roasting hundreds of Henry's a day? Oh, and I definitely can't forget to mention the numerous U.S. Army opportunities I saw on that website. ARE YOU ARMY STRONG? Nope. And if I joined the army, my mom would shit herself.<br /><br />But on a serious note-I sincerely do want a job. While I know I am lucky to have an abundant amount of work during the final semester of my senior year of college, for some reason I just want something more (insert sarcasm). My schedule is in fact...well, basically non-existent...and I am actually starting to see myself getting wildly weirder as the days progress in this Arizona heat. I currently have three online classes, all of which are related to parenting-(embarrassing)-and two classes that I truly love on campus-a Religion seminar and Black & White photography class.<br /><br />So, I decided to take the liberty to do the math of my wasted time for you, and well, for myself.<br /><br />1 day=24 hours<br />Monday-Friday=120 hours<br />A full week=168 hours<br />Hours on campus per week=7 hours<br />Hours of sleep per week=30 hours (stupid insomnia)<br /><br />And finally, wasted hours during the week-(weekends can obviously be wasted so we won't count those days)-A grand total of...83 stinking hours. Shoot. I guess to make myself feel a tad bit better, we will just say that about 40 of those hours are spent taking photos-reading-saving the world-painting-drinking the vino-being an unmarried housewife-day dreaming-and last but not least, attempting to cook from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking (you have NO idea how long any recipe takes). So, ultimately, we are still looking at a large/bewildering sum of 43 hours wasted during the week...I need a job ASAP--At least for the sake of my sanity. Oh, and to keep up with Joey. His work ethic is sickening. Not sickening in the way that I was going to vomit when I discovered my wasted hours, but in the sense that if he is idle, not working, for merely two days, he's "work frustrated". Slightly different from sexually frustrated for two reasons--one, I am the best girlfriend in the world and I never allow that to happen--and two, well, I am the best girlfriend in the world. Either way, he makes me look like a sitting duck. And when I say sitting duck, I want you to picture me with an orange flat bill, webbed feet, and a body of white feathers, relaxing in the sun poolside-probably drinking some wine-well, definitely drinking some wine-portraying Michael Bedard's famous lithograph. Look it up, smile, and then understand that his artwork is what my lovely man has to come home to. However, I would not be myself if I did not look at the bright side of this unemployment situation. So, in the mean time, as I not-so-patiently await replies from employers, I am not going to open any emails from my mother with the subject 'From Mom', and I am going to continue saving the world...preferably by the pool.<br /><br />But first! A short little story...<br /><br />My dearest friend Jessie is enough inspiration for a book alone (another time, another story) and as one of my biggest supporters in pursuing my dreams, she said something extremely captivating to me yesterday--BUT, before I quote her, I have to set the record straight even before it is crooked. Jessie is not even remotely as gracious or poetic-(that is, except in school and with me)-as this comment will make her seem. But don't worry, you will learn this rather bluntly in the near future.<br /><br />"A reader will only continue to read something if you are able to surprise them and evoke feelings/emotions they can't get from anywhere else." J.K.R.<br /><br />First and foremost, a big thank you to my other half...the one person who I believe knows me better than I know myself. Why? Well, simply because I know the hidden notion behind her too affable of a remark is in fact, "Liz, let your guard down, write exactly what you feel, and make it fucking outrageous."<br /><br />So, thank you Jessie. And to any readers--if you are, in fact, out there--I want you to know that as I continue to discover myself as a writer/photographer, I truly hope you will follow me along the yellow brick road to reach the Emerald City, because...<br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" >"In the land of Oz, we are all small children walking down a road of yellow brick in a crazy, outlandish, ozzy sort of world."</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" >L. Frank Baum</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" >XOXO</span><br /></div></div></div><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"></span></span></div>LizStowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07797305687648393380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4511843224196319677.post-50245027422845312012009-08-27T10:35:00.000-07:002010-02-13T06:30:23.212-08:00HENRY!<span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" >First off, I believe it is necessary to begin this blog by expressing that it is only 11:00 A.M. in Arizona right now, and I feel like I have successfully completed an entire day. Secondly, anyone reading this who knows me--that is, if anyone is even reading this at all--knows that I name every single pet-animal-creature-alien-anything really...Henry. So, naturally, I had to name the whole chicken stewing in my crock pot Henry. As<span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>a former vegetarian, now turned carnivore again, I feel as though poor Henry is screaming at me trying to escape his inevitable third death/slaughter. Either way, let's just put it this way--after having to move the "young chicken" from it's packaging, clean the bird, and throw it in its dungeon, I washed my hands clean of the job. Actually, I scrubbed them clean with lots of antibacterial products. Anyway, enough of my ranting, let's get to the yummy part--the end result!<br /><br />But first-Just in case anyone who is reading this and does not know me--once again, if anyone is even reading this at all--I feel compelled to give a brief biography.<br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" >Full Name: Elizabeth Stowe (last name revoked for stalking purposes)<br />Interesting Fact: I was named after Harriet Beecher Stowe, who wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin--which everyone should have learned about in 7th grade History class--and as an avid reader, I'm ashamed to say I have not read it, but have a copy on my ghetto bookcase (another story, another time)<br />Hometown: Dear old Rumson, New Jersey. Born a city gal in Manhattan, but always a Jersey girl. You should definitely listen to the song Jersey Girl by Bruce Springsteen (the Boss)--it is the song I have tortured men with in the past. Also, to toot my own horn right now, I was lucky enough to live a few doors down from the Boss himself. Yes, be jealous.<br />Age: I was born just short of being a Valentine's Day baby--February 15th. I am twenty two, and yes, very confused.<br />Currently: Well, in a nutshell, I am currently living with two fools in Arizona, and finishing up my last semester of undergrad at ASU for Religious Studies. I am avoiding the real world at all costs--Grad school it is! I live in a very whimsical fantasy world where Joey, my baby girl Roxie-not a baby, a cockapoo-my family, and my savvy girlfriends, could all peacefully live and drink vino all day and eat lots of cheese and crackers. Yum. Oh, and have all of the money in the world...preferably so I can buy myself a ring and slip it to Joey to give it to me.<br /><br />...However, I can't give everything away quite yet, I mean, if I DO have readers, I want you all to come back!<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" >So, back to Henry it is!<br /><br />What's in store for din din--Chicken Enchiladas with "Usable Chicken" a la Regina Murphy and a fabulous bottle of Pinot Grigio--but, probably beer for my man, because I don't share the goods...<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">AND YOU TOO CAN NOW MAKE USABLE CHICKEN FOR CHICKEN ENCHILADAS!<br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-size:100%;">(IN A SCREECHING MOTIVATIONAL TONE)</span><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;font-size:180%;" ><span style="font-size:180%;">DINNER A LA HENRY</span><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" ><br />Usable Chicken a la Slow Cooker<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1 Whole Chicken or Package of your favorite parts (gross)<br />4 cups of water<br />2 tbsp parsley<br />2 tsp garlic salt<br />1-2 bay leaves<br />1 tbsp minced onion<br />1 tsp Lawry's seasoning salt<br /><br />Place all the ingredients in crockery to create a magical/scrumptious Henry<br /><br />Cook on low for 6-8 hours<br />Cook on high for 3-4 hours<br /><br />**Gina, my second mother/idol says that this recipe is a great one to do the night before & that you can use the chicken in any sort of casseroles-soups-etc. And believe me, take her advice, because she raised five Irish screaming boys. Meggy, the youngest and only daughter, was the last of the litter, and a saint. I honestly could boast about Meggy and Gina forever so I'll stop there--but hmm, there's an idea for another post**<br /><br />Chicken Enchiladas a la Henry<br /><br />One crockery of Usable Chicken (the name makes me laugh)<br />1 can (4 oz) chopped green chiles<br />1 onion-diced<br />1 batch Mexican gravy, AKA Enchilada sauce--Gina says store bought is perfect<br />4 oz of each: Monterey Jack and Cheddar Cheese-grated<br />1 can chopped olives<br />1 dozen corn tortillas<br /><br />Filling: Skin, debone, and cut-up Henry (see, now it's his fourth slaughter) Stir in chiles, onion, and one cup of gravy<br /><br />Assembly: Dip tortilla in gravy and lie flat. Fill the center with 3 tbsp. of filling and roll tightly. Place seam side down in a 9X13 pan. Pour any extra sauce of the top. Cover with cheese & top with olives.<br /><br />Bake 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve with sour cream and erase all notions of Henry said here from your mind!<br /><br />Thank you Gina and Henry.<br /><br /></span></span></span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" >Well ladies and gents, back to my semi-real world, I have tons of photos that need editing.</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" ><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">Bon Appetit!</span><br /></span><br /></span><br /><br /></span><br /><br /></span></span><br /></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span></span></div></div></div></div></div>LizStowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07797305687648393380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4511843224196319677.post-77088918117756825412009-08-26T09:11:00.000-07:002009-08-26T12:46:51.135-07:00Lovely<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:courier new;">Whitney, my ballerina extraordinaire girlfriend, decided to audition for So You Think You Can Dance--And guess who was lucky enough to be asked to take her head shots? As you are about to see, capturing the perfect photo with someone as beautiful and fabulous as Whit is quite simple.</span></span><br /><span style=";font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;" >P.S. Amiee Joy Krasner needs<br />to be given credit here as well for being my muse </span><span style=";font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;" >& therapist</span>.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjawERIeEYDD5xBy2Eh8hoi-axtz5dsGXTUmcohqdhlgKWWpJTIe4nVjihzGux8Wd6qtUUfW4xjG0JxvlRnMo2IJH77itKW8FTO32H02yPNy4PKDsQy6HBUnQ0U_Se_5lNTTlbI0iIe744/s1600-h/Picnik+collagewhit6.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 242px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjawERIeEYDD5xBy2Eh8hoi-axtz5dsGXTUmcohqdhlgKWWpJTIe4nVjihzGux8Wd6qtUUfW4xjG0JxvlRnMo2IJH77itKW8FTO32H02yPNy4PKDsQy6HBUnQ0U_Se_5lNTTlbI0iIe744/s400/Picnik+collagewhit6.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374310700245018514" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCD5TWEpjf2YYZHS7v3w-ghOMynMA33-IheEX5Ghwqnto3846CTdfMndSQ5JE0BGDt29_QVucFuAemdXk-dOKW42M6Dl6PIr_NbjUzKDw_4p5g3ExFjN4WQiUprk0IkLbt8qt3mzUP6_k/s1600-h/Picnik+whit+4.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 349px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCD5TWEpjf2YYZHS7v3w-ghOMynMA33-IheEX5Ghwqnto3846CTdfMndSQ5JE0BGDt29_QVucFuAemdXk-dOKW42M6Dl6PIr_NbjUzKDw_4p5g3ExFjN4WQiUprk0IkLbt8qt3mzUP6_k/s400/Picnik+whit+4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374310146601505346" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFXILX2UhGXy7gLRBSZnS2YPgmSxoEzovCFblFKnbsWG5kRTkP8YBHy8z_-3MWDXaj7pyjwG9bpb6P2vbi_ZxJ6VKerbMrVarwvzMjBktaOu2vpX2ejtnZIwXYV5-CVK1IHiNAUqAYikA/s1600-h/Picnik+whit+3.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 391px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFXILX2UhGXy7gLRBSZnS2YPgmSxoEzovCFblFKnbsWG5kRTkP8YBHy8z_-3MWDXaj7pyjwG9bpb6P2vbi_ZxJ6VKerbMrVarwvzMjBktaOu2vpX2ejtnZIwXYV5-CVK1IHiNAUqAYikA/s400/Picnik+whit+3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374310138905330754" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD-jALvb5cRfrVAOPNNYlTbItGoJJ3Ens1_VKSCPMnqA3kn9ZQmKfIAM5SUhAml7KQ6OTH168U_Fck-blBGHs5c8OEpMosub8WWBEPy-__4h_oKWSbwdBCcWaNqgmAyMIf7a9l9Zk8KXw/s1600-h/whit2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 241px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD-jALvb5cRfrVAOPNNYlTbItGoJJ3Ens1_VKSCPMnqA3kn9ZQmKfIAM5SUhAml7KQ6OTH168U_Fck-blBGHs5c8OEpMosub8WWBEPy-__4h_oKWSbwdBCcWaNqgmAyMIf7a9l9Zk8KXw/s400/whit2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374310126657520562" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM4ofI4GZolotylNyaWO52GCsQq8DCCPV0O5Y94uITobRvM1Fi6P2a1FpKz3aPyKnpcIfmTF4ORbhV7NQ9O4W-d-_3dk4_cios_zhggXSZXbgIwcKjna0aJas51nfFDa2HRJh-e3GQRtM/s1600-h/whit1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM4ofI4GZolotylNyaWO52GCsQq8DCCPV0O5Y94uITobRvM1Fi6P2a1FpKz3aPyKnpcIfmTF4ORbhV7NQ9O4W-d-_3dk4_cios_zhggXSZXbgIwcKjna0aJas51nfFDa2HRJh-e3GQRtM/s400/whit1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374310114151507426" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDcvF7UYIjZ5JY1qFPJ5NXh-vsyoLSZeeWPxVb6gMttHlr9vz10fyKZ7CZ-aF0JR99DSFpnoF-6FbD9C2W-bXS0l_dMeMmFHQiZH8ZQtuXih6AwhmGH_E-l5Eh0laudQj27s7-E-eUY24/s1600-h/IMG_3095whit+7.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 334px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDcvF7UYIjZ5JY1qFPJ5NXh-vsyoLSZeeWPxVb6gMttHlr9vz10fyKZ7CZ-aF0JR99DSFpnoF-6FbD9C2W-bXS0l_dMeMmFHQiZH8ZQtuXih6AwhmGH_E-l5Eh0laudQj27s7-E-eUY24/s400/IMG_3095whit+7.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374311782085863730" border="0" /></a><br /></div>LizStowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07797305687648393380noreply@blogger.com0