Things to do in Ithaca, NY
Three years ago when I moved here, practically everyone I met volunteered things to do in Ithaca, so as not to be bored. They felt it vitally important to share with every newbie—and potential former Ithaca resident. I kept hearing the exact same three things from the different people who live here. Someone would say “ohh if you like Mexican food, we've got the best Mexican downtown it's called Viva …Gimme Coffee has the best coffee…of course you’ve got to go to the famous Ithaca farmers market .” These things always came up as a tri…
Mindful Eating: Day 4...
How to mindfully eat a hamburger and fries...or not. On the one hand, I was not looking forward to mindfully eating my weekly hamburger and fries from Five Guys. This is because I wasn't sure I could do it. This meal is quite often scarfed down, book-ended by a handful of salty roasted peanuts. Questions in my head: Will I be able to do it, eat a succulent burger and too-many-delicious fries slowly? Chewing and swallowing the bolus before taking another bite? If so, will I enjoy this meal more than in the past? As with others this week…
Mindful Eating: Day 3…
Finding the time for mindful eating…Breakfast is a challenge. First, because it’s muesli. I’m not a fan of oats, so I must to doctor them up special to make them palatable. Practical DINK Muesli recipe: (random amounts of) Oats, unsweetened dried coconut, dried cranberry or currants, unsalted pepitas, raw sunflower seeds, cinnamon, and a scoop of raisin bran cereal. Next, I have grown accustomed to standing for breakfast, and shoveling it in (again because I don’t really like oats) , and I have rarely sat down to eat breakfast. So, Today, I…
Feeling Sad? Write Poetry
I'm terrible at poetry, but this is what I felt at 5:30AM: You know when you were little kid, and you went to the fun fair, and you begged your mom to get you a balloon. From that diminutive vantage point you looked up and saw floating high above you, a gaggle of helium filled excitement. When you wore down mom’s resolve and you finally got the balloon it was tied by it’s string to your finger, and you imagined then the force, the rising force, gravity defying force pulling up, on the balloon also raised your hand and your arm into the …
There's Nothing Wrong with your Eyebrows
25 years ago my Chinese best friend told me that I had 'Chinese' eyebrows. This was neither dig, nor compliment, just an observation. She went on to point out the similarities between my brows and her brother’s. The resemblance was uncanny…I likely made a joke about us secretly being related, before we moved on from the topic completely. Four photos of my brows through the years:(L-R) my 20-year old somewhat thicker unadulterated eyebrows (me and Baby Jen), my 27-year-old heavily plucked eyebrows with some highlighting, then my 2023 e…
Planning for the Future
Laser Hair Removal, a choice. 'Round about the time I decided to schedule my hysterectomy surgery , I also decided to get laser hair removal on my chinny-chin. A few years ago I noticed a couple stray hairs growing thicker and longer on my lower face and planned to do something about them. Waxing and plucking offered a temporary solution, but my skin was often irritated from the process for days. Shaving scared me, as I once sliced out a meaty chunk of flesh when learning to shave my legs at age 15 (the reason I don't shave my legs to…
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