fracture

well i guess i've been running a little too much lately...

...and in the wrong shoes.

i found out on friday that i have a stress fracture in my foot.

so sad.

and i'm definitely not a fan of the crutches!

but thankfully i won't have to use them for long

...because i'm really, really bad at walking with them.

it's kind of comical.

here's hoping for a speedy recovery

home of the brave

"this nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave"

-elmer davis

here a few of my favorite americana photos from pinterest
in honor of our beautiful country and the brave men & women who keep us safe.

{land of the free print, blueberry pie, good people print, american flag, statue of liberty}

happy memorial day!

color crush: nittany blue & white

"they ask me what i'd like written about me when i'm gone.

i hope they write i made penn state a better place,

not just that i was a good football coach."

- joe paterno (1926-2012)

you made penn state the great place it is today, joe.

we will not be the same without you.

you were an incredible man & you will be greatly missed.

{alittlebead eyeglass necklace via etsy, ruche polka dot flats, victoria beckham jeans via coggles}
{lions pride legacy rugby stripe scarf, nike ladies sunny day t-shirt via lions pride, lions pride joe paterno banner}

rest in peace, coach.

(beautiful statement from the paterno family = http://live.psu.edu/story/57324#nw4)

black cat

so, i crossed a black cat on my jog this morning.


with halloween approaching, i'm thinking that this is not a good sign.


i'll have to look for some heads-up pennies on the ground or search for a four-leaf clover to cancel it out!




hope your day is filled with better luck!

simple joy {sky}

"open my eyes, i see sky"
-joshua radin 

[listen]

pretty pink sky on my walk home.

a simple joy in a hectic week.

switch

"happiness is a warm puppy"

- charles m. shultz

i've decided that i want to switch lives with my puppy, louie.

he's either napping, eating, playing, sunning himself, going for long walks, or getting pampered.

he's always wagging his tail, being told how cute he is, and being fed yummy treats.

i'd say that's quite the life.

tea & honey

when you're sick,

there's nothing quite like

hot tea and honey...

and "how i met your mother" reruns...and naps.

believe in love

[see larger image on flickr]

"all you need is love, love
love is all you need."  
-the beatles [listen / watch]

although part of me that isn't a fan of valentines day...its commercialization of romance and its tendency to make those without a significant other feel inadequate...there's another part of me that gets excited by the celebration of love.

love is about romance [which i'm hoping cupid can help me out with this year ;) seriously.], but love is so many other things too...

love is family, friendship, memories...
love is patience, and generosity, and kindness...
love is forgiveness, acceptance, and courage...

we sometimes forget to believe in love, but valentines is a day to remind us to believe - not only in the magic of romance - but in the beauty of our relationships with others...and with ourselves.

...hope you have a happy, happy valentines day filled with ALL KINDS of love!

p.s. i also did a little decorating around the apartment...flowers, chocolates, and doilies [oh my] :)

light in the darkness

[see larger image on flickr]

"darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.
hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
- martin luther king, jr.

i took these photos at st. pat's in NYC right before christmas.  my parents took me into the city to see a broadway show for my birthday and we had the perfect day in the city!  we stopped at the beautiful st. pat's cathedral to listen to mass and light a few prayer candles.

i've always loved the prayer candles in church ...hundreds of tiny, flickering lights ... each it's own silent prayer nestled among other silent prayers.  when you step back and look at all of the candles together, they illuminate the church in a warm, hopeful glow.  it's proof that many tiny, individual lights really can eliminate darkness.

so, in honor of MLK day and this inspired man's beautiful quote...i think it's important to remember that we should all be a light in the darkness.

we should choose to love and not hate.

we should be a source of that warm, hopeful glow that illuminates our world.

getting it right

[see larger image on flickr]

“cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.”
– oprah winfrey

my running shoes came out of the closet this morning so that i could start the year off right :)  it's that time of year again...a new start, a clean slate, a list of resolutions [which includes a lot of running!].

i actually love new years day because it inspires hope and determination...the heart and mind are open to the possibilities of what could be...and there's an excitement for the unknown.

so happy new year everyone!  ...here's to getting it right in 2011.

word cloud

word clouds are super popular right now, especially with visualizing data sets and online content trends.  these clouds grab the words or terms used in a text document or site and determine the frequency of use...the larger the size of the word/term, the more it's been used in the document or site.

so, i found the site wordle, which has a really simple interface for creating these images, and i decided to do a word cloud of my blog to see what my posts are mostly about.

i'm happy to see that love, music, listen, see, trip, flickr, and freezing [i do love my winter!] are all trends.  and i apparently have to stop using the word "really" :)

be musical

[see larger image on flickr]

"music expresses that which cannot be put into words
and which cannot remain silent"
- victor hugo

although i love listening to all kinds of music, there's something magical about playing instrumental music. to watch your fingers dance over shiny, ivory keys creating a wordless poem that speaks to your mind, your heart, and your soul. it paints emotion and memories on a canvas of silence connecting all of those who are listening.

i played the piano over thanksgiving after not playing for awhile, and, although my fingers didn't quite "dance" [it was more like a clumsy stumble at times], it still evokes the same sense of serenity and happiness every time i sit down to play.  so it's something i've promised myself that i'll continue to do...to be musical :)

some of my favorites:
cinematic orchestra - arrival of the birds [listen]
alan silvestri - amas veritas [listen]
craig armstrong - glasgow love theme [listen]

the heir to edison

last night a few of us went to see ray kurzweil speak.  i had never heard of him before my technology theory class, but this guy is fascinating...super smart and a bit crazy...the perfect combination for an IT mastermind!

kurzweil is most known for his inventions in the optical recognition field (technology's ability to read text and font), which include the first flatbed scanner and text-to-speech synthesizer [a major breakthrough for the technologies that aid the blind!].  he went even further in the 1980's and created a speech-to-text program that allows computers to transcribe the spoken word [incredible].

his father was a musican in vienna, austria before the family fled to america during WWII, so kurzweil talked about his appreciation for music.  this led to his invention of the piano synthesizer that can mimic the sound of a grand piano [think about the casio keyboards from our childhood...on crack].  but the interesting thing is that all of these technologies seem so common place because they have been around for awhile and we take them for granted.  but the initial conception and invention of them was considered insane, if not impossible, at the time that kurweil introduced them...which makes you wonder about the types of technologies that are in our near-future.  the ones that we all think are "crazy" but will soon become commonplace.

he talked about a lot of geeky-awesome things [which gets us technology students all excited] like moore's law, transhumanism, artifical technology, and nanotechnology [crazy, yet possible, ideas that make the movie, the matrix, look normal].  he is currently working on "reverse engineering the brain" [i kid you not] and believes in microscopic technologies that will be ingested into our bodies to help us regulate and heal our bodies leading to much longer lives, even immortality [yeah, this one takes a bit of time to wrap your head around].  he talks about the ability to download your brain...memories, thoughts, emotions...onto a computer by the year 2020.  no wonder he has been called "the rightful heir to thomas edison."

i couldn't take pictures inside and it was raining, so i just snapped this photo outside of the auditorim showing all of the students pouring into the building, excited for kurzweil's talk...i haven't been to a just-for-fun lecture in a long time, and it was so exciting to just listen and learn...especially to a technology legend.

building my timber

[see larger image on flickr]

"good timber does not grow with ease
the stronger the wind, the stronger the trees."
- j. willard marriott

so, the "winds" of this PhD program are pretty darn strong...gale-force, i would say.  but, in the spirit of this quote, i suppose it's making me "stronger" :)

inspirational signage

[see larger image on flickr]

now, this is one of the many reasons why i love penn state [i think i'm up to #439,827?].  while walking on campus i came across this enhanced stop sign.

it's a simple message:  don't stop believin'

it might just be a reference to the journey song...but given the number of undergrad spirit-groups on campus that day, i'm thinking it was also a tribute to THON...either way, i love it.

for those of you who aren't familiar with THON (short for the penn state dance marathon), it is the largest student-run philanthropy in the world that raises money every year for pediatric cancer through the four diamonds fund at penn state's children's hospital.  every february a few hundred brave students volunteer to "dance" for 48-hours straight.  it's an incredible event with dancing, bands, celebrity appearances, and, most importantly, the kids and their families.  the event is so moving and full of energy, love, and generosity.

so far, THON has raised over $69 million "for the kids" [incredible].  i used to raise money for the cause as an undergrad and have continued to donate as an alumni.  i'm excited to be back on campus and witnessing first hand all of the excitement and preparations for the 2011 event.

watch THON's "don't stop believing" sing-a-long here :)  if you're a penn stater, it'll bring back great memories!

mosaic nostalgia

over the weekend i was sitting at my desk doing some work when i heard a very familiar sound from my childhood...the sound of loud, rushing hot air at very close intervals.

i looked outside and couldn't believe it...a hot air balloon was literally RIGHT outside my window!  i waved to the people [not that they would ever see me inside my room] but more out of habit from when i was little.

back when we were kids and heard or saw a hot air balloon, we'd all rush outside to look in awe at the colorful facade, wondering who the people were and where they were heading [and if they were going to make it over our tall neighborhood trees!].  once a balloon landed in our neighborhood, another time the people came so low that they threw candy to us.  so i quickly grabbed my camera to capture the mosaic-patterned nostalgia of my childhood memories.

it must be some experience, to peacefully float above neighborhoods, towns, and cities.  to do nothing but look down at the miniature world below and enjoy the beautiful scenery.  i'll have to try it sometime...[and i will bring candy for those little kids who run outside and wave at me :)]

also, fun fact: did you know that wikipedia says that the hot air balloon was created on my birthday!  no wonder i love them so much :)

raindrops & polka dots

i'm all for rainy days.  when it's damp and cool outside, and i'm curled up and comfy under a soft blanket, watching a movie or reading a book, drinking a cup of warm tea.  love it.

rainy days when i have to be outside?  not liking that so much.  especially when my mode of transportation is my feet...my cold, wet feet.

but instead of getting all pessimistic about this perpetual rain, i thought i'd list the things i'm thankful for in this rainy weather:

• only two classes today within relatively short walking distance [1/2 mile one-way isn't so bad, right?]
• my mom's yummy homemade cauliflower soup [perfect way to warm me up!]
• anti-frizz serum that keeps my hair from looking ridiculous [seriously]
• the grass, flowers, and foliage are happy
• my pretty polka dot umbrella...it's cheerful AND keeps me dry :)

so over the next two days [which will be full of rain as well] i'll remember to be thankful for raindrops...and polka dots.

wishies

[see larger image on flickr]

i took this photo on my "take time for you" walk yesterday :)  i used my 55-200 lens for the first time and, let me tell you, that baby gets some serious depth of field.

when i was trying to search for a quote or song lyric to go with the photo for my flickr post, i couldn't find one that really fit.  these dandelion flowers, or "wishies" as we used to call them, reminded me of being little and believing with all my heart that if i blew off all of the petals while making a wish, that my wish would come true.

now, when i was little, i used to write a lot of poems...they were so silly, usually with lots of awkward, forced phrases so that the words rhymed [although i did have one poem actually get published!].  and thank gosh for my mom, with her patience and encouragement, always telling me how great they were.

so, in the spirit of my 8-year old self, i decided to just write my own poem [also considering that i was attempting to do anything BUT read research papers].  given that my poetry skills are still at that 3rd grade level [at best] this is what i came up with to try to capture that innocent and hopeful wishing on wishies memory...

oh, to be that young, little girl
with her sweet and cheerful allure.
in the grass, barefoot as she twirls,
wishful thoughts, so innocent and pure.

she plucks a dandelion flower,
blows the petals to the sky of blue.
she believes in its magical power
to make all of her wishes come true.

after taking its picture, i did pick the dandelion and blew off the petals with a wish in mind...and it made me smile when i realized that i still believe in the magical powers of wishies :)

to-do lists

if you know anything about me, it's that i'm obsessed with to-do lists.  at any given time, i have at least 5 to-do lists going.

...grocery shopping, school/work assignments, long-term goals, short-term goals, cleaning, extracurricular activities, workout schedules, christmas gift ideas, what music to download next, what tv and movies to watch....it's insanity [albeit, organized insanity].

lately, i've been overwhelmed with the amount of things i need to get done. so i decided to create a simple list of one item...an item which is not found on any of the other lists i have.

"take time for you"

...so, as i'm working on getting through my enormous to-do list for today, i'm going to do just that.  i'm going to go outside for a walk on this gorgeous day with my camera so that i can focus on getting only one thing done in the next hour:  enjoying the beautiful fall day.  taking time for me.  i suggest you try it too :)

we remember

[see larger image on flickr]

"we remain the land of the free because we are the home of the brave."

i took this picture earlier this year in new york [while drinking an overpriced coffee] at dean & deluca near rockefeller center. it was the perfect seat right across from the nbc studios, with a little hint of patriotism waving in the wind.

it's hard to imagine that this beautiful city suffered such a horrible attack only 9 years ago.

it's inspiring to see how the city and the people of america are so resilient...and brave. we've moved forward to repair the damage, physically and emotionally, with determination and hope.

but in our hearts we will always remember...and we are a stronger america because of it.