Amy Venezia

The TEN things I LOVE on this FRIDAY!

1. The sound an “on the rocks” drink makes…

2. That my 4 year old nephew still demands to hear Coldplay before he goes to sleep at night…

3. As cheesy as it sounds, hearing “Don’t wanna miss a thing” this week and smiling because in my 30’s,  I feel that way about life…not a man.

4. The Mahi burgers from Taco Loco in Laguna Beach, CA – Oh, how I miss them…

5. A full tank of gas, clean sheets, a just washed car…new beginnings.

6. That when my Mom and I were going back and forth in a conversation yesterday, my nephew looked at my Mom and said, “Mimi, Aunt Amy is right. Now, stop talking.” I have never laughed so hard in my life…

7. Dancing around my living room…:)

8. Having one of my friend’s say my back side is “ba- dunka- dunk” and that I actually took the time to go to the Urban dictionary to see what it means…

9. Hearing from my readers…

10.  Steak and frites and that soon it will be Rose’ time again…oui, oui.

HAPPY FRIDAY!!

The TEN things I LOVE on this FRIDAY!

1. Watching the snow fall while in my bed writing this…

2. That the threat of being snowed in for some reason gave me the excuse to buy bacon… I hardly ever eat bacon~ but looking forward to a yummy bacon and egg sandwichJ

3. How life gives you the opportunity to run into someone who really did you some damage in a hurtful way a long time ago- and yet you find you just feel love for them. That is a really cool feeling.

4. Wearing my hair in pigtails…it just makes me feel five again.

5. When I look up and see a man for the first time…and with that one look from him, he reminds me in all the right ways that I am all womanJ

6. Sea salt and vinegar chips…

7. Watching the people in our country step up and help Haiti, even in our financial state right now…

8. Laughing so hard my cheeks hurt…

9. Pandora radio…

10. That the snow day today has given me the opportunity to stay at home and finish writing this new bookJ No excuses…

Happy Friday!!

The TEN things I LOVE on this FRIDAY!

1. How I got behind a giant, jacked up truck this week- only to see a fake pair of balls hanging from the dude’s trailer hitch. I don’t know if you have ever seen that before? But, even though traffic was bad and I was stuck behind him for what seemed like an eternity? Every time those babies swung back and forth, I cracked up…very much needed that.

2. Sitting on the glass at a hockey game- no other way to watch it than that.

3. Watching snow fall while lying in my warm bed. A very peaceful feeling…

4. My friends, I love my friends this Friday- thankful to have such inspiring and giving people in my life.

5. Men… I love men. I have such a support system around me of men that love me, encourage me, protect me…and I totally believe it is for that fact alone. That I love them, for all the differences and brilliance.

6. I love what I do. I love hearing from the people who take the time to read my thoughts…everyday I am humbled in the outreach and connections that I make. I love the written word- Love it like a LOVERJ

7. Living downtown…I love feeling the pulse of a city.

8. Soul connections. Those rare times in life when I lay eyes on a person and something very deep inside just knows…this is a person who is going to move me…something very deep just knows in that one moment, there is no turning back- those people who stir your soul and help you discover that pain and beauty can be felt in the exact same moment- and so you learn that like a two sided coin, they really are one in the same. Those people that forever alter how you were living life and what you believed in before they crossed your path…I love those people.

9. The scent of my skin when I get out of the shower…so I guess I love my soapJ

10.  Romance- today I love and celebrate romance in my life.

HAPPY FRIDAY!

The TEN things I LOVE on this FRIDAY, JAN. 1^st, 2010!!

1. Joy was one of the emotions that greeted me this morning…haven’t felt her in awhile. I don’t think she enjoys hanging with sadness~ so with some soul searching and decisions, she was one of the first in line this morningJ

2. That for the first time in my life I truly DO NOT care what people think anymore. I used to say it and think it, but never felt that way. After taking a long look at how futile it is to care about what someone thinks when they have no idea where you are coming from and are also seeing through their own life lenses that have nothing to do with you? Well, I feel like I just got a get out of jail for free card- WE ARE ALL RIDING A HORSE OF A DIFFERENT COLOR-MYSELF INCLUDED!

3. I love the people who have been brave enough to let their words be heard in this world- those who move my soul- Rumi, Don Miguel Ruiz, Paulo Coelho, Wayne Dyer,  all of the philosophers…just to name a few.

4. I love going outside in the morning and listening to the birds sing- part of they way I meditate I guess.  I individually focus on one bird at a time. It is amazing when you do that, to hear the differences in tone, octave and melody. Talk about beautiful and getting you in the moment.

5.  I love my body. I am grateful for my health and have come to love every inch of my uniqueness. Even the junk in my trunkJ

6. The smile from a stranger- when you look up and catch them smiling at you. Means as much to me for some reason than when friends do…I guess because that person is seeing you for the first time- and something inside or outside, or something you have done, has brought a smile to them. That is pretty cool.

7. How the dog I am sitting- a giant Golden retriever/Shepherd mix- gets up in bed with me and lays, vertical, like a human next to me and falls asleep. Like my own big space heater…

8. The new project I am working on…not gonna jinx it- but it is pretty coolJ

9. Pumpkin pie- I am ashamed to say I ate a whole one in two days:)

10. I LOVE that the sun is out today!!! Makes me happy happy!

Happy Friday and Happy Newyear!

Make it a good one:)

1. Hugs from friends that make you feel warm even when it is freezing outside…

2.Going into a bookstore and getting lost in time. Just like when I was little and the book fair came to school. I would stand mesmerized…taking in all the sizes and covers and smells of the pages.

3. How, when hearing someone play a haunting melody on a piano, I literally can feel a symphony of emotions stir in my heart…like the person’s hands are caressing the strings of my soul and not the piano keys…

4. I finally finished decorating my bedroom and now it feels fit for a Queen…a kinda goth, renaissance QueenJ

5. The dreams I have been having lately…full of wisdom and healing.

6. Fried chicken!

7. The story of The Cupcake Collection in Germantown…very inspirational and just goes to show you that if you listen to your heart and leap, great things come from that.

8. Mother Mary…I am not Catholic~ but whenever I see a statue or a picture of her I feel love.

9. How lately I have been making a little afternoon snack of hot green tea and chocolate chip cookiesJ it feels good to give myself a little treat.

10.  Living and learning~ what a gift…

Happy Friday!

1. The squirrel that got a smile out of me this morning. He was sitting in front of my truck eating…and he was going at it 90 to nothin’- I mean he didn’t even take a second to breathe… I looked at him and thought “I feel you man”- since I am known to eat like that…then I thought that maybe there is a good possibility I was  a squirrel in a past life…that got the smile out of me.

2. How a broken heart is a heart that has loved in some capacity. Period. And when it comes down to it, that is something to be grateful for.

3. When I see feathers on the ground as I am walking somewhere. For some reason I see it as the Angels saying, “We are here…”.

4.  How, when I went to eat pancakes this week I found I couldn’t even finish half of one…I thought to myself, how can it be that when I was  little I could scarf down three and now I can’t even finish one? I then realized when I was five I wasn’t drinking quad shot mocha’s ten minutes before pancake time. Might have somethin’ to do with it?

5. My friends who held me up when I couldn’t stand this week…you know who you are and I love you. Thank you.

6. Compassion. If you don’t  hold it for yourself and others? Your love and your faith is nothin’ but a scam. This week? I chose compassion~ strangely enough, not for another, but for me. That was a huge revelation for me this week. A 35 year coming revelation.

7. My nephew telling me how excited he is that “thanks” day is coming. So beautiful.

8. Lady Gaga’s new song “Bad Romance” and the artistically killer video…

9. That I am like the energizer bunny…I can take a lickin’ and keep on ticken’…I acknowledge the fighter in me.

10. Humility- not the kind religion shoves down throats- humility in the sense that when you experience something in life that causes great pain and exposes your weaknesses and wounds, it can be accepted with open arms -on bended knees, knowing that an opportunity has been presented to you to heal and be even better in the next moment. I cannot put into words the love I feel for a Universe that would be so loving as to give a chance to make beauty from ashes. THAT IS LOVE.

Happy Friday…

The TEN things I LOVE on this FRIDAY!

1. The thrill of diving into something or someone, not knowing if there will be hell to pay or arms to catch yaJ

2. The blueberry doughnut I treated myself to last night on my way home from a friends…

3. Those rare times you meet someone in life, that when you look them in the eyes, you see their soul. That is a magical and stunning moment.

4. The release that laughter begets…

5. How I am so starved ,I am about to eat my laptop, but am committed to finishing this list firstJ

6. Gratitude- makes the world go round.

7. Candles…I just love them. If I could? I would never use electricity.

8. Hearing these four words, “ I HAVE A DREAM…” that is all I need to  hear to light my fire and inspireJ

9. The homeless people who have been camping out in the alley behind my building- they play their guitars at night and sing…and then get into fights.

10.  My family and friends~ I am a blessed girl!

Happy Friday!!!

The TEN things I LOVE on this FRIDAY!!

1. How I went to get my coffee this morning and go to use my check card and it declinesJ  With a line of about 20 people…I had no cash on me…slightly humiliated, though keeping a sense of humor since I suck at keeping track – I call my banker, who is the best banker on the planet-  he laughs at me and tells me I am $3 overdrawn- good news is? Since I made a deposit right away, no NSF fee! WOOHOO~gotta love AVENUE BANK!! And Sante…my bankerJ I just love being a writer…

2. A hug from my nephew…he makes me feel my heart…every time.

3. Brilliant ideas… no greater high than creating.

4. When my friends find  love…just makes me feel good seeing them so happy.

5. Stopping to smell the roses…literally. There are still a few hanging on where I go for a walk everyday. I always stop and smell them…now that I come to think of it, they make me feel my heart too.

6. How I am learning to take care and love myself enough that when those around me show me love, I make them feel like they are appreciated instead of annoyingJ

7. How my nephew demands to listen to Coldplay every night while he falls asleep- and when I asked him if he knew the song “strawberry swing” , one of my favorites- he had no clue. I found out it was because it is one of the last tracks on the CD and he is knocked out by thenJ Too cute.

8. My friend Scotty’s fried chicken and macaroni and cheese…yummy.

9. How I had a rare visit to McDonald’s yesterday- got a sausage biscuit and a hash brown. Drove past a homeless man selling newspapers for a dollar.  I passed him since I had no cash on me, but then turned the car around and asked him if he wanted my sausage biscuit- he said, “No darlin’ they have been giving me breakfast all morning. Would you like a newspaper?” I said, “ I don’t have any cash on me…sorry.” He said with a smile, “ That is ok! Let me give you one anyway.” He had such pride in his eyes to be giving me something that I couldn’t pay for. That is cool….

10. I LOVE LIFE~ LOVE~and everything in between.

HAPPY FRIDAY!!

The TEN things I LOVE on this FRIDAY!!

1. How the last thing I dreamt this morning before I woke up- was an old lady made me hot chocolate with little marshmallows and handed it to me with a smile. A complete stranger, with not many teethJ Regardless, I woke up feeling like a little five year old girl.

2. How my post http://www.amyvenezia.com/2009/09/02/crack-maybe-whack-but-a-leopard-can-change-its-spotsoh-and-i-bawled-writing-this/ , got thousands of hits in one day and the greatest outpouring of emails I have ever received in the ‘less than one year history’ of this blog. Seriously, took me hours to respond back to all of themJ

3. The two little boys that I passed in the park yesterday on my walk. They were with their parents and when I walked passed them , asked me if I can do a cartwheel. I said, “Yes..”- they said, “Well, will you do one then?” I laughed until I looked at them and saw they were serious. I said I would if they would do one too. So they both did one and then this 35 year old chick did a cartwheel in the middle of the park with complete strangers…obviously I haven’t used those particular muscles in a while.

4. The 40 day risk that musician, Nathan Lee started on September 1^st. This guy is truly one of the brightest lights I have witnessed in this lifetime. Basically, he is showing up in 40 cities for 40 days- just finding a place to play at.. check out the website…follow along…help him out if you can- http://www.40dayrisk.com

5. How I saw the biggest ass spider I have ever seen yesterday while watering flowers and I didn’t pass out or run like a little school girl…trust me- that is big.

6. How lately I have had genuine excitement going to the store and picking my ingredients and fresh flowers and wine- then coming home and making this amazing meal…and it is just for meJ I truly have felt romance in doing those little gestures… that is a great place to be in life.

7. How I actually met a child named Cialis on Tuesday…at least it wasn’t Viagra- what goes through parent’s heads???

8. My journey. I am sharing more and more of it  and in doing that realize I am getting to the place a painter probably gets to when the masterpiece starts coming together. Flaws, mistakes and beauty. Flaws probably only the artist could spot, others more obvious. A masterpiece none the less.

9. Love. In every one of it’s demonstrations. 

10. How in being self employed, a four day holiday weekend means nothing to me. I will still write, still work, still create. And maybe have a hotdog…oh, and a doughnut of course.J

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

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The TEN things I LOVE on this FRIDAY!!

1. How I went to cash in a lotto ticket and left my I.D. in the car- the girl looks at me and says she is going to need to see my I.D.- I proceed to go back and forth with her about how it is in the car and is she really going to make me walk back out and get it? Does she really think I am under the age?  With no smile she replies, “YES”… so I am walking out aggravated until it hit me, WHY AM I ARGUING WITH A WOMAN WHO IS TRYING TO SAY I LOOK YOUNGER THAN I AM??? DUH! I came back in and handed it to her with a smile…

2. Waking up to rain…

3. I love fall- as a child I used to sit outside at the first inkling of it with a sketch pad and pencils. I could not draw for the life of me- but the sound of the leaves dancing and the crisp air hitting my face sure inspired some awesome stick figures…

4. Working out so hard that I feel sweat in places a woman wouldn’t or shouldn’t admit to…Yeah, I said it, get over itJ

5. Tater tots…

6. How sometimes I catch myself rubbing my feet together like a little cricket when I am falling asleep.

7. How I am 90% geek inside…I really am.

8. My family and how much we love each other.

9. How the cat I am watching came into the bathroom the other morning as I was brushing my teeth and just randomly bit me on the calf and ran off…guess he was ticked I was brushing my teeth before feeding him.

10. Singing to the top of my lungs at home- not sure how the neighbors feel about that.

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!