9 Things on Thanksgiving

1. I am thankful for my family - you all continue to make me the person i am today - and i think that's a good thing (others may beg to differ but they can keep their thoughts to themselves!)
2. I am thankful for my friends – you accept the quirkiness that my family has instilled in me, and actually like it (or pretend to ;) )
3. I am thankful for my man - he is such a great friend a special person in many ways and to boot he's my husband - how lucky am i!
4. I am thankful for provision - my needs have been met
5. I am thankful for music and performing – opportunity twice this year!
6. I am thankful for food - baking, food blogs, and the discovery of Nigella Lawson (she is melodramatic in a fantastic way)
7. I am thankful for excercise, including zumba - (no i am still not certain which is left and which is right)
8. I am thankful for life
9. I am thankful that the world is a much smaller place in 2010 and I can share a piece of thanksgiving 7,000 + miles away from its birth place.


HAPPY THANKSGIVING


Lu

a state of action

This week is stirred by seizing the moments that are at hand. Grabbing them and not letting go.

Exhibit A. Mr. L and I have put in great effort to get out of bed by six thirty every day. This may sound normal but for us it is far from. We both like our sleep and historically despise the dawn hours. The early rise payoff has been fantastic. I get to work on time. He gets to work on time. I seize the day with a feeling of peaceful control over the hours in front of me. Bliss! (until that load of files mysteriously lands on my desk…)

Or B, tidying my house. Working 8-5 every day can take a toll on one’s organisation, cleanliness and state of mind. Computer screening for most of the day can leave me feeling sapped. In the midst of such chaos I found a great article on www.apartmenttherapy.com. “How to clean your house in 20 minutes a day for 30 days”. I have yet to follow the plan 100%. However, I seize (there’s that word again) little opportunities every day to improve my well being by tidying and cleaning bits of my apartment. Over the long run everything stays organised. A happy home is a tidy home and that makes a very happy Lu! (Apparently my mother has been right all along…grr…mom if you are reading this you can give your self a big smug high five)

Or C: 1 hour average to watch television per nigh. I feel a bit ashamed to admit it but I waste a lot of time watching T.V. Again I think it’s the grim monster of pity that convinces me that I have the right to vege all night because of my oh-so-productive-work-life. Last night I watched two, ½ hour cooking programmes, one of which I thoroughly enjoyed featuring Nigella Lawson. She is soooooo melodramatic! (and her recipes look tasty and quick) Love it. The other, which will remain un-named, I will not repeat next Tuesday. I then turned off (did you see that, if not please re-read) the telly. I got up, walked away, and did something, which last night was surface clean the bedroom. Check, check and double check!
What I am saying here is I seem to be learning something about valuing the moments in front of me. The action involved is glorious.

Big LOVE

Today’s Buzz started while watching 60 minutes on TV3. It featured a story about a man who has struggled with cancer since last October. This cancer patient sneakily, right under the nose of his wife, crafted an amazing video just to say “I love you” to her.

It was supremely beautiful. He even managed to get famous people, Actor Viggo Mortensen, and NZ Prime Minister, Hon John Key, to help out... I say "way to go!"

Rachel, the wife, got the opportunity to hear  "I love you" in a big way. The things is, her husband was simply reciprocating the “I love you” which Rachel had been giving over the last year through All of the care and support she offere dto her sick and ailing husband. 

Here is a snap shot of Lula’s thoughts while watching: “Life has an entire gamut of the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Everyone has highs and lows…everyone. Hmmm…”

No human is an island -- all of us actually have a massive need to know we are loved.  To know our hard work has been noticed. To know that who we are is genuine and special. All of us deal with problems and so often they are things that filter into our lives, without our control. 

Plain an simple: Sometimes we all just need to hear “I LOVE YOU” in a really BIG way.

~Lu Lesaro

Let the Thirties Begin

I've turned thirty. Anyone up with pop culture knows that 40 is the new 20, so thirty must the new "somewhere-between-fifteen-and-twenty".  However, that "youthy" bit does not mean, go wild, party, craziness etc etc etc.

Instead it is the serious phase of my youth.  I'm sobering up and looking at the world with eyes of someone who now has a full three decades under her belt.

In a nut shell things I've learned a few things.  Below is a list, off the top of my head (note: there should be many, many more things not listed here.... hopefully) of what I've learned:  

Decade One: 0-10

a twin is cool and makes me cool

a big family rocks

not all step parents are evil - some are the squishy teddy bear type that love you like crazy

imagination is key - don't leave home without it

food is a beautiful thing

turkeys are awful pets if you are shorter than them

swimming and riding a bike are necessary adventures for all humans under 10

math is over rated

siblings can be mean

other people can be mean

learn from older siblings 

Decade Two: 11-20

Jr. high is a period of life which resembles hell

being tall at twelve is only advantageous if you play basketball - unless you suck at basketball

stick with the flute -- do not play sports if you are not a natural athlete 

pierced ears-- a right of passage

high school teachers can be scary

high school teachers can be motivational

if you have the opportunity to hang out with the opposite sex in high school -- do it

it is necessary to make friends with people outside ones family

friends in high school are fantastic, will most likely be acquaintences later in life

dating can teach one a lot about themselves

dating can be painful

Decade Three: 21-30

university is equally about book learning as it is learning about ones self

don't get involved in your boyfriends family "politics"

deal with skeletons from childhood early

anxiety disorders can be managed

willingness to take a big leap can mean a big reward at the end

living overseas is an adventure

one may not marry the person they expected

marry the nice nerdy guy

there is no pain like that of losing a parent

being stylish is a good thing

having a savings account is necessary

it is not easy to mold the life dreamed of but it is worth the struggle all the same.

Mt Ruapehu - keep the adventures coming!

the trinket no bag owner should be without

Are you a woman? do you own a handbag?  if so, then you need this...

Enter Lula to "Cafe de happiness"

Bag on shoulder, strutting in, ready to devour some cake, ready to gleefully sip a glorious coffee..... ready for the time of her life!

 

You are curious because this gal has glam! "Why is Lula so confident? Why does she think that this is the best day ever?" you ask.  

It is because Lula is on her way to cafe happiness. Her bag is not going to be tossed on the floor with all the crumbs, and dirt.  No, her handbag is going to hang, suspended from all of the grim in bag heaven.  It will swing, happily waiting while Lu dines via the beloved "handbag hanger"; a gift from Mr Lesaro on anniversary number 4.

Bag saved!

What a perfect gift from Mr Lesaro...well done.   The end.

Moral of the story: Get your Mr to buy you a handbag hanger or buy one for yourself -- they are the perfect accessory to all cafe dining.

The two cafes pictured here happen to be fantastic NZ spots I love:

Caffiend in Petone, on Jackson Street, Lower Hutt, NZ - the citrus cake (pictured above) melt in your mouth!- the atmosphere, bustling, urban, and funky

Floriditas in Wellington City, Cuba Street  - I suggest a long black (pictured above) filled roll and grilled holoumi - the atmosphere -a.m. casual and fresh, evening- comfortable and aesthetic

Check 'em out!

Survival is necessary, but it is not always sweet.

How is it that I've been able to live without Twin?   Seeing her for the first time since Christmas 2008 brings a certain upheaval for the life I've crafted in her absence.  I suddenly realize how empty the months have been without her compared to what the next two weeks will be with her.

This thing about living long distance is such a strange phenomenon.  Yes we've talked on the phone, kept up via the web... but seriously, how have I lived without the sparkle of her smile in my life?  Laughter is so much more in the physical, when we can experience nuance and jest in the tangible. Conversation is three dimensional with expression, and meaning has context that does not exist in 2 dimensions via phone or page.

My realization from this; it is that a fine line sits between the enjoyment of life and the survival of life.  We live in different countries.  We survive without each other.  But, we enjoy life so much more when the steps are walked together. Relationships are those crusty, wholesome things that make each of us who we are.  They are fabric.  My twin is part of my fabric.  I prefer it when she is nearby, but I survive when she isn't.  Yet when she is, it is such a beautiful, harmonious thing.

Survival is necessary, but it is not always sweet.

If you are reading this today and just simply surviving, I know what that's like.  I have experienced survival many times while living away from my culture, best friends and family.

I hope right now you can think of some people, family or friends whom you know life is sweeter with.  Cling to their memories.  Don't stop growing in their absence, but keep that little memory of their company near by.

Happiness was born a twin

Left to Right: Twin and Lula

thought to ponder on a sleep sunday

How do we learn, understand, and accept personal limitations?

Habit is either the best of servants or the worst of masters.

Up front I simply want you to know that Buzz de Lu is not a weight loss blog.  However, in the interest of self improvement let me tell you about a little self improvement I've been quite private about.

I started a sub journey a little over a year ago, July 2009.  I joined the world wide  Weight Watchers program. I'm not ashamed to say that I'm a true convert! It works. Needless to say my journey on the program hasn't been without hiccups.

After loosing 12 pounds I stopped losing. I gained 5 back and I thought, perhaps I would just be one of those people who has no motivation, eats chips all day and, who will one day be happy as a chubby chic. Fortunately for me I had a light bulb moment: June 2010. Drum roll please....

"I need to change habits."  I could hear my own voice in the back of my head... "motivation won't take you far Lula, you gotta change your strategy"...okay my own voice was really bossy...

Bugs and the Present - Monday May 31st, 2010

I am sick today. Tummy bug. While resting at home, between sleeps I had the chance to catch Oprah. Though not a huge fan today's show featured an intriguing story . It was about a woman who forgot her daughter was in her car. The little girl died tragically after being left in the hot car 8 hours. I don't want to get into "how could a woman do that?" or any argument about the scene. It has passed and it has happened, and it is horribly tragic. Instead, I find that my question is "Why this story on Oprah?"

I think it's because this woman, in the most unfortunate way, learned that each moment in our lives needs to be lived in the present. When distracted by the determination to get to the next moment, getting to work on time, she completely forgot the present, and the consequences were devastating