Fade out

Do you know what today is? Today is the one year anniversary of Say Yes to Polka Dots dot blogspot dot com. I'm sure you had it on your calendars as well.

Some of you may be wondering how this all come about. Why did it start? Well I'll tell you, it started as a way for me to stay connected with long distance friends. It started because I burst at the seams with thoughts and opinions (is that what causes pimples?). And okay, to be completely honest, there was an ulterior motive to torture my manfriend with my amazingness in case he dumped me (let's face it - what ex could resist stalking their ex's blog?). Luckily he hasn't dumped me yet and luckily this blog provides an extra (less crazy) reason to continue, and that is the honing of my writing skills.

I scanned my inventory of 129 posts!! and have selected for you some to surf back to, in case you missed them.

Proof I'm awesome. (Food edition).

Food is really important to me. 

How to make me cry. (link fixed)

My future living room, despite lucite.

Etsy love, and romance neurosis.

2012 holiday gift guide. Did this help you?

Gross honesty, regarding my laziness.

SATC wardrobe appreciation and over-analysis.

The best colors can be found in my garden.

Great TV shows, vetted by yours truly.

A recurring thought in my head, crystallized by this post.

My last Tastykake. I'm proud to say I have stuck to this.

Scarves that make me drool (and make one of my wonderfully honest and awesome friends hurl).

March seems so long ago on this hot, muggy May day.

How I learned (and continue to learn) to cook.

.......................................................................................

And now it's time for me to announce I'm taking a break from this hobby. I'll be back, but first I need to take stock in what I've done. Some of it is shit and some of it is pretty good. What do you think? What do you like? Please tell me! Either comment on this post or email that address on the right there. What are your favorite posts? I'd LOVE to know.

Expect me back in about a month. Until then, squats and abs, baby. It's go time!

Favorite chips

I don't take favorites lightly. Something has to really, really stand out.

Behold:

Gold medal awardee in the 'Dipping Chips' category are these Veggie and Flaxseed Tortilla Chips from, you guessed it, Trader Motherfuckin Joe's. Hummus or guacamole or what have you, these chips are really tasty while not being uber unhealthy. Solo they rock. All told, they are my go-to chip purchase. Thanks again, Trader Joe's /feel free to throw me some cash/.

Summer's path

Has unfolded:

This year my garden plot stretched across the aisle, so I decided to try a symmetric aisle planting of purple and green cabbages, cauliflower and brussel sprouts.

It's gonna be pretty rad.

Broken English

Broken English is a movie that Netflix or fate brought to my attention. It sat in my queue for years, and then in my apartment for weeks, and then I watched it. 

First of all, buns!

Second of all, I love this movie. I watched it back to back. Parker Posey should have gotten some awards for this performance. Drea de Matteo plays the best friend and adds a lot to this movie in support (as does the insanely cute Frenchman). Fantastic acting all around. Wonderful nuance and complexity in the story. Love love loved it.

And last of all, friendship.

Radonculus

There's this flower called ranunculus which I consider radonculus and can be picked up sometimes at my local Trader Joe's (too).

So happy to see you, Spring!

Let's be gentle with the allergies this year, eh?

Root causes

Any gardener or conscious adult in general will tell you that if you pull weeds and don't quite pull out the root system, you'll be weeding again pretty soon.

Same goes for the psyche, no? Of course it does.

Ever get this unsettled feeling - something is wrong, I'm annoyed, something's not right, I'm nauseous, GRRRRR!!!! I want to scream or sink or set ablaze or hide in a hole - but why? What? I thought I had a handle on this, but something is still stressing me.

If you checked out my 2013 recommended reading list you may know of the following exercise from Tantra for the West (paraphrased):

1 - Ask yourself a simple question - What's really getting to me? (or similar)
2 - Immediately answer yourself, completely uncensored. Answer with that most unthinkable, unspeakable answer. Shame be damned.
3 - How do you feel? Did you tap into it? Do you feel lighter? If not, try again and again. Every time you try, thank yourself for trying.
4 - Eventually you'll hit it. You'll tap it. And you'll know. There's a chance you'll hate this answer - hate seeing yourself as someone capable of such rotting roots. But you'll feel pretty darn good. You'll be proud of yourself for your honesty.
5 - When you hit it, share your revelation with someone. Test it out. See how it feels.

(OK - This exercise is pretty deep in my brain. It's a part of how I now function. I wrote all that down from memory and the book says the same darn things.)

The first time I used this exercise I was needing to get deeper than the feeling of jealousy. Jealousy wasn't sickening me. Something else was. And I found it. And it was such a relief. The most recent time I used this was to help understand my need to reset, and I found it. Finding it didn't transform me like a magic wand, but it did enable me to move past the agony of obsession. It freed me, if you will. And it works for issues both big and small.

Welcome back, bulbs! Spring is here and these roots are good.

Wishing your psyche a good spring cleaning....