Lang Leav

Ever since I discovered this gem, I've been so greedy, not to mention selfish with her work. I realized how childish it is of me for not sharing this incredible poet, artist and astonishing talent of our generation with everyone and anyone.

So, here you go, I hope you take from her what I have in the short amount of time I've had stalking her work.

 not a single one she cared about, she'd chew them up and spit them out.

please be my future daughter

please

Don't Ask Me About Stolen Rum

 

some GREAT advice



We're All Related, Just Not By Blood

Whenever I find a NOUN (person, place or thing) I can relate to, I feel a sense of calm wash over me. In today's case I came tumbling on "UNDER THE COVERS" a blog on tumblr. Please check out her absolutely raw, real, romantic, ruthless, ready for your eyes posts.

http://-piccadilly.tumblr.com/post/4409378014

Oh and here are a few of my favorites



Keepin' It Fresh

. sparkling lights .

. tic' tock .

. sisters .

. soaring high .

. spring love .

. text literature .

When it rains in Los Angeles ...

We are reminded that we are far worse drivers than we realize and far more blessed with the sight of the sun than we appreciate.

Here's some uplift for a down shift in the weather*

*rest assured the weather man promises clear skies and highs of 70 tommorrow

Most importantly .. feel free to replace "GOD" with any other spiritual being, or none at all for that matter. Just give yourself the ability to find some form of humbleness where you are allowed to thank someone other than yourself for all that is beautiful around you. Thank Buddha, Allah, Jesus or Mother Nature, or a table lamp for all that it matters. Just know that something, somewhere in some realm of time was responsible for 99% of the beauty in life that you (probably) neglect 99% of the time.

Relationship Weight

They say it's because I'm happy; I'm ready to be less happy and more fit.

For many more reasons, visit http://reasonstobefit.tumblr.com/

The do's are easy the do not's .. NOT so much!

10 Things You Do Not Need To Be Doing

10. Do not try to buy happiness: we live in America, the land of the GREED, do not give power to a piece of cloth, leather or metal, it may be cliche, but it couldn't be more true when they say "the best things in life are free." Once you separate out the type of emotion you feel from buying something expensive to the type you feel from receiving something free, you'll realize all the money in the world couldn't buy happiness (NO MATTER WHERE YOU'RE SHOPPING). Do not allow money to substitute for dignity because if you do then you'll find that you can only afford a piece of gum.

9. Do not lie to yourself: you may have the entire world fooled as complete fools, but you can not escape your own mind. Self-progress only starts once we are willing to be honest with ourselves.

8. Do not try to be a superhero (to everyone): we all want to save the ones we care about, but you may have to accept that trying to do so may only end up with a burnt out you and result with only a partial success rate. Narrow your focus, you can't be everything to everyone.

7. Do not forget to count your blessings: today may be good, tomorrow may be bad and vice versa for the rest of your life, but the mere fact that "the rest of your life" is a thought to be had, is enough to be grateful for all you have. Someone out there is waking up and fighting with imaginary skills to be able to envision a day where they can go back to thinking they have the "rest of their lives."

6. Do not allow other's gravitational pull to lower you: just because someone refuses to advance in their own life does not mean that you have to lower your standards to accommodate their lack of enthusiasm for a better life. Keep floating upward and remember there are foot prints on the moon.

5. Do not convince yourself that you are not ready: you will never wake up with the feeling that you are a hundred and ten percent ready for something. Self-growth comes from being put in situations that force you to get ready. Engineers never woke up one day and said they were ready to formulate high rises, somewhere along the path they were forced to take pre-algebra that lead to algebra that lead to geometry and so on and so forth. Get out of that comfort zone and note, you are far more ready that you realize. Remember, will-power is like a muscle the more you use it the stronger it gets.

4. Do not get involved in relationships for the wrong reasons: it may take days in coming or even months and years, but do not allow a "time lapse" to be the reason why you enter into a relationship with someone. You are far more better off in the company of just yourself than bad company. Society will have us thinking we need to conform to many expectations of other society members, but the most self-damaging action is to allow this (wrong) reason be the (only) reason you enter into a relationship. Be it a career-related relationship, friendship type or most commonly a romantic one.

3. Do not hold on to the past: no matter how good or how bad, it is only self-sabotage if you do this. The idea of life is to move forward and you can not write the next chapter of your life if you are stuck re-reading the last one.

2. Do not spend time with the wrong people: no matter how blindsided you may be, there is always a tiny person inside of you yelling at you when you are surrounding yourself with people who you shouldn't be. The beauty of life is that we are blessed with making choices. Time flies and the last thing you need is to be spending it with people who don't make you happy or encourage you to be better.

1. Do not run from your problems: no one is saying it's easy, nor is it fun or anything else that would encourage you not to run, but sometimes you have to do what's not fun to end up having some fun. It won't be the time of your life and you won't be able to solve them over night, but the more you look your problems in the eye, the more closer you'll get to having days of fun.



Walk Slowly, Live Wildly

Want to smile?

Sure who doesn't?

The one's who don't make lists.

What kind of lists?

The kind that make you smile.
 Duh!

:)

Things That Make Me Smile:

• finding money in my winter coat
• getting a card/letter in the mail that doesn't have an "inc./co." in the sender box
• getting a hello nod or good morning from a stranger on the elevator
• gummy bears
• discovering new and good music
• vintage handbags
• eating cookies
• tulips
• over hearing someone compliment you
• my dog
• coffee
• online shopping
• instagram
• re-runs of old classics on Nick @ Nite
• the holidays
• having geeky conversations with geeks
• my niece
• fire escapes
• the mail man
• bubble baths
• coffee dates
• rainbows
• a good ending to a good book
• blogs
• crossing off things on a "to do list"
• silly jokes
• polite drivers
• watermelons
• palm trees
• lip gloss
• my dad kissing my mom
• sneakers
• coming of spring
• surprises
• Disney cartoons
• FedEx/UPS/Postal Service deliveries
• skype
• inside jokes
• tropical vacations
• sore muslces after a run
• smores
• DIY projects
• making other people smile
• jeans that fit perfectly
• opening and eating fortune cookies
• the crunchiness of celery
• cupcakes
• coconut smelling shampoo
• brick walls
• seeing old couples holding hands
• photography
• smell of old books
• crisp cool sheets in summer
• unexpected texts
• wrapping presents
• sound of kids playing
• decorating
• good hair days

Growth is your Best Friend

Thank you technology. Without you, I wouldn't have been able to see my dear friend's face from approximately 2,790 miles away and without you, I wouldn't have been able to have this wonderful feeling of pure and legitimate content in my heart.

If you're among the population of people who have been blessed and yes, emphasis on BLESSED to have gone through any type of emotional trauma, then by all means read on. If you are of the latter and have been blessed to live a life of Utopian nature, feel free to click the tiny 'x' at the top of the screen and continue on with your rainbow infested life.

Pain victims, take a second to think about the utmost worst time in your life. Think, think, think. Ok, now stop. Here's where you ask yourself if you're still the same person as you were when you were encountered by that situation. If a tiny midget doesn't pop up in your head waving flags with numerous descriptions, facts and statements of why you're no longer that person then you haven't truly given your situation a makeover to become a blessing. It's true that life is what you make of it and everyone has the ability to decide whether they want to be an optimist or a pessimist. Yes, all this is true, but despite these decisions, there are those of us who not only get by with a tough situation, but use it to come out truly a stronger person. Not a stronger person because we allowed time to pass by and the situation to dissolve, but because we picked up the ugly hurt and smacked some beauty on it and made it look better than it ever thought it could. Hmm, chances are I've lost you by now, but my simple point isn't that we turn unfortunate circumstances into blessings, but rather we turn them into blessings that we grow from. Permanent, truthful, real, authentic for the better growth. This is the true definition of a blessing. Not winning the lotto, not getting by life with no scars, but taking those scars and altering yourself to be a greater and grander you who can bring greater and grander things to the people you surround and the society you live in.

Yesterday You Said Tomorrow

Yes, we all do it. We act as if like we have infinite number of days here on planet earth and so, we constantly procrastinate what we could be doing today/right now/this instant to 'tomorrow' and regrettably when 'tomorrow' arrives, we only push it to the next 'tomorrow.'

So it all boils down to will-power, the will power to do everything that you claim you're going to do tomorrow, today. Anyone with a pulse knows that this is easier said than done. In conclusion, I plan on reading Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength.

stay tuned for a review
(or don't and visit amazon.com for hundreds already made lol)

5 Bullets of De-Stressing

• Remove toxins: includes types of foods you consume, types of products you use and most importantly types of people you know
• Sleep: not just any type of sleep: plan to sleep .. take a nice long bath beforehand, light some candles and/or turn on some of your favorite night time tunes
•  Seek friends: a good friend can make the most stressful situation seem like child's play
• Go natural: the purest form of anything and everything comes from nature .. take your self outdoors, wink at the sun and talk to the moon

and most importantly, always, always and I mean ALWAYS ...

• Count your blessings: take a minute to give your mind a break from what is actually making you have to give your mind a break and think about all that you have going for you, for example: "Another Day In Paradise"

Who needs a kitchen?

The most disorganized of girls would still keep her clothes, shoes and accessories organized if given sufficient space for it. This will be mine, even if it means convertting my kitchen into my closet and my coat closet into my kitchen. After all, it only takes a microwave to make a box of mac n' cheese! I pity the lad that marries me.

And of course the most famous closet of all time, Ms. Carrie Bradshaw pre-marriage to Big

if only they would allow it to become a monument and charge us a pair of Manolo Blahnik's to visit and awe for a few thousand minutes .. hey, a girl is entitled to her dreams, ok!

A Rewarding & Selfish Relationship

For 3 months now I've had a friendship bracelet on. Many people have asked me if it's to represent a friendship with a longtime childhood friend, and every time I've been super, super, uber, duber anxious to respond with "no." Now you wonder why? Well, I suppose my eagerness stems from the fact that my friendship with my best friend (forced to use that word for lack of a better one) is so rock solid that I like giving people that element of surprise.

Now, the more important reason is because I picked up that friendship bracelet, tied it around my own wrist and promised myself that it was to represent the relationship I have with myself. After all, we come in alone and we leave alone. Truth be told, I try my best to live my life according to what my ultimate opinion of myself would be based on my actions. If I'm not going to be happy with myself after doing something, I try not to do it and vice versa. Some of us get sucked into reacting maliciously because we get tired of what the world exerts on us, but keep in mind: what people do to you is their karma, how you react may or may not be yours.

Just be proud of what you do, if you can't be proud of it, don't not only do it, but don't even associate with it.

It's quite simple. Oh, and remember, what you think of yourself is what matters the most when the sun sets and the moon shines. What hour the clock reads is irrelevant because it is unavoidable that it's the hour you find yourself ready to put your head on that fluffy pillow and as cliche as it may be, it couldn't be more of a fact that, "there is no pillow softer than a clear conscious."  

The Path Less Traveled

They say, if you want something you've never had, you've got to do something you've never done. Quite simple, yes? No. We're creatures of habit. Just look at the way we wash our hair: rinse, lather, repeat! Fine, that's a bad example, but really we are instinctively programmed as human beings to be comfortable doing what we're DUH, comfortable doing! I know there's probably a profound amount of scientific research out there to prove my point, but I'm too lazy to look for it and quote it. Ha! There's proof right there, that I, at the very least am a creature of habit (lazy habits - if you missed that one). 

Now to refute all that I just spent time saying, we as human beings need to break this ugly cycle. Yes, there is so much good that is to come of our "NEVER DONES" (cheers to some awful use of the English language-- but note it was intentional)! I'm working on breaking some bad habits. That's all that was meant by this. Of course I had to make it lengthy because that's one habit I refuse to break! ;)

So if anyone has been faced with some harsh realities in recent days .. know this, you are not alone and we will get what we want together. Let's just try a different path this time. Preferably one that has been used by none. And in conclusion, I must thank my favorite poet of all time Robert Frost for his inspiration when my bad habits came crashing down.

Crummy Advice Can Be So Marvelous

 

Eat donuts. Wave at a stranger while driving. Have a shot before 12 noon. Tell the truth. Light candles and sing in the dark. Look up a word in the dictionary. Give compliments you mean. Don't make wishes, make decisions. Frame pictures. Buy something you've been wanting. Give something away. Throw away someone else's trash. Send a friend a hand written letter. Eat candy. Kiss and tell. Take a drive to nowhere. Plan a trip. Pick a penny and bless it lucky. Give the penny away. Take deep breaths. Predict the future by creating it.  Donate your time to a non-profit organization. Buy a dozen balloons and let them go. Bake something even if you burn it. Tell someone a secret. Don't wonder about answers you don't have. Don't follow your dreams, stalk them, chase them, corner them & have them. Forget any insults you've ever heard. Lay in the sun. Take a completely different route home. Cross your fingers. Whisper through a whole conversation. Pray for someone else. Pick a flower. Kick stress in the balls. Ask someone over 75 to tell you a story. Date someone completely wrong for you. Turn off the television. Read. Forget getting approval from others. Fake it till you feel it. Smile. Fight tears. Enjoy life's struggles. Shock yourself with yourself.

A. Esmaili's "out of order" advice! :)

The Way I See It

:)

Oh, Hello!

why is it that the simplest of concepts are the hardest of tasks ?

.. duh

Oh, hello!

Oh, hello!

So, have some good, great, splendid, divine, outrageously out-of-this world amazing thoughts today!

Happy Monday! ;)