Quirky Word of the Day

lilliputian \ lil-i-PYOO-shuhn \  , adjective;  

1.Extremely small; tiny; diminutive.

2.Trivial.

 

Quirky Quote of the Day

"Thanksgiving is America's national chow-down feast, the one occasion each year when gluttony becomes a patriotic duty." -Michael Dresser

Quirky Quote of the Day

"Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people"-Eleanor Roosevelt

Quirky Quote of the Day

"A woman is like a tea bag - you can't tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water. "
Eleanor Roosevelt

Quirky Quote of the Day

"Happiness is not a destination. It is a mood, it is not permanent. It comes and goes and if people thought that way then maybe people would find happiness more often." -Julian, One Tree Hill

Happiness is a Warm Gun.....Unlikely Life Lessons

Sometimes you find inspiration in the strangest places. Today I found mine in an episode of One Tree Hill. One Tree Hill is something that I caught on to a little late. I actually didn’t start watching until it came back for its fifth season. This season began four years in the future after the characters had graduated high school and were young twenty-somethings trying to figure out what to do with their lives. It resonated with me because at the time I was doing the same thing. I was trying to find my place in the world and figure it all out and in many regards still am and here came this cheesy post high school drama that was going through it all with me. Granted the characters were much more glamorous, they’re dreams were slightly unrealistic, and definitely more attainable through clever writing but it still resonated. The drama was quite over the top but underneath it was a show about a bunch of friends following different paths trying to do something with their lives and make sense of it all.

This show was a weekly oasis and guilty pleasure all wrapped up in genetically blessed packaging. Luckily a little channel called SoapNet has One Tree Hill marathons on the weekends so that I can catch up on the lives of these fictional characters before they were confused twenty-somethings. Tonight while catching up on missed episodes of season eight online, I was really struck by something one of the new main characters said. He said “Happiness is a mood, not a destination” and this really struck me. I had never really looked at life this way before. The thought that happiness isn’t something that we should work toward, but a mood and emotion just like any other that comes and goes in waves. I know sometimes we work hard toward this idea of happiness, that if we just do the right things in a certain order that this overwhelming thing called happiness will arrive and then all will be perfect. After today I really will try to appreciate happiness for what it is, an emotion that should be savored when it comes and not looked upon with regret when it leaves. All emotions are valid even the ones that are hard to deal with or less than flattering.

One emotion that I will not feel for really loving this show is shame. ;) Sometimes life lessons come in the least likely of places, like in an episode of One Tree Hill and you have to just go with it and take it these small gifts when they come.

One Tree Hill "Happiness is a mood, not a destination"

Quirky Quote of the Day

"Whoever said nothing is impossible' never tried to nail Jell-O to a tree".-Lisa Bryant

Quirky Quote of the Day

"The ceiling isn't glass;it's a very dense layer of men"
-Anne Jardim

Quirky Quote of the Day

Our lives are not determined by what happens to us but by how we react to what happens, not by what life brings to us, but by the attitude we bring to life. A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events, and outcomes. It is a catalyst, a spark that creates extraordinary results. -Anonymous

Macarons, where have you been all my life?

     I recently took a trip to London and Paris for my honeymoon and it was one of the best experiences of my life. Though I’ve always been secretly obsessed with the French and their mysterious and glamorous ways, going to Paris has made this obsession even greater. I have to say that what I loved most about Parisians is their passion for great food. The largest obsession in my life is food, which isn’t so great for my waistline but nonetheless I absolutely cannot get enough of food. I love to eat, cook, and spend endless hours buying cooking gadgets. Needless to say Paris was my dream city in this regard. I don’t want to go all Julie & Julia on you, but after this trip I plan on mastering the art of French cooking just so that I don’t go into withdrawal. French food is the most delicious cuisine I have ever had the pleasure of tasting and there was one surprising French delicacy that I cannot stop obsessing over and that is the macaron.


     When I told a friend of mine that I was going to Paris she gave me two pages of notes of all of the things that I had to do to truly have an amazing experience. Number one on her list was that I had to eat a macaron. Frankly, I didn’t really see the big deal about eating a pastel colored cookie but I figured I’d give it a go. Before my trip I had only seen pictures of macarons in bridal magazines as a new wedding trend and they really didn’t look that appetizing. They looked as though they would be crunchy and cloyingly sweet and really not that satisfying. Boy was I wrong. While walking to the Eiffel tower, my husband and I passed several patisseries but one in particular had a huge window display of macarons. My lovely friend Claire told me that the pistachio flavored macarons were her favorite, so I that is the one that I ordered in my elementary French. When I went out onto the sidewalk and took a bite of this delightful cookie I had no idea that it would affect me so. As I bit into this pastel green cookie it was so good it made my eyes cross. The outer crust of the cookie was firm and almost crispy but when you bit down the inside was melt in your mouth moist and the filling was sweet but not overwhelming. As I took several more orgasmic bites I realized that I may have found my new favorite thing on the planet!


     Now that I am back in the lovely U. S of A, I am craving those little pastel circles of deliciousness. I am now on a mission to find a macaron just as life-alteringly good as the one that I found on Rue St. Dominique. In New York you can find any thing you ever could want so I am starting a macaron quest for the ages. I will report on every macaron that I consume and let you know which are worth the trip. It seems as though a good macaron is hard to find so I have my work cut out for me. Wish me luck!

Quirky Quote of the Day

I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world.  This makes it hard to plan the day.  ~Elwyn Brooks White