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After a weekend in the “country” I am headed back to my “other” life. When I first moved upstate there were so many emotions and uncertainties. And here I am living somewhere else and still have just as many uncertainties. I’m a better person for taking the risk, but the real question has become, now what? There are a few things I know for sure:
1. Moving to the country was one of the boldest things I had ever done and there are many people who would have never taken the leap. I am proud of myself for doing it in the first place.
2. The decision to leave the country and pursue career opportunities elsewhere was one of the hardest things I have ever done. And there are many people who would have just stayed. I am proud that I have the will to make decisions and carry them through with conviction.
3. The relationships I have are gifts from heaven. Although I have yet to meet the “one” I have strong and supportive roots in many places and spaces. These people are loving, supportive, kind and cheer me on in all that I do. I walk into a room and people actually cheer. It’s an insane and amazing reaction to get from your peers. Apparently, as I was told this weekend, “I see why everyone is so obsessed with you.” Humbled. And thankful.
4. People are not going to change. My Dad’s theory reins true, we are pretty much fully developed by seven years old, the rest of it is further development of our basic personality. We can expect or demand change from someone else. We can only do our own changing and growing. Including the way we react to behaviors we don’t care for. It’s our work we have to do.
“Ahh, Home
Yes, I am Home
Home is when I’m alone with you.”
~ Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes
A few weeks ago, over Memorial Day weekend, my dear friend Noel and I cooked up a storm for a local music video shoot. You remember Noel from our City Mouse Country Mouse cooking demo last year.
Local ingredients and meeting multiple needs (gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, etc.) was quite the challenge. And at the same time, awesome and creative.
When amazing things happen right in front of your eyes, your imagination starts to work on overdrive.
“Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere.” ~ Albert Einstein
So far in 2012…
I turned 30.
Winter was lame in the Hudson Valley, no snow, no sleet, no ice. Weirdness.
I influenced the lives of Hofstra undergrads for eight week in a Public Relations Copywriting course. Like whoa.
I taught social media workshops for the continuing ed program at Ulster Community College.
Spoke to inspiring NYU alumni / women / friends who are changing the world. One day at a time. Keep going ladies.
Saw amazing world change start.
Welcomed spring. Thank the good lord.
And continued my journey on being good to the people around me. Through their stomachs.
This year I hope to…
Increase DIYing, from sauces and breads to time capsules, pasta and rooster sauce and maybe even some coffee liqueur.
Travel.
Conquer everything on Bon Appetite’s 25 things… thinking the biggest challenge is going to be Tasmania.
Be comfortable in a bathing suit on my 30th birthday.
Step out of my comfort zone just because.
Learn how to type on t he new iPhone with only minimal auto-corrects.
Conquer my first class… as a… professor.
Take more pictures.
Enjoy and get to know Pinterest, Hipstomatic and my google reader better.
Get published in a food publication, online version would suffice.
Limit the people in my life who don’t value our friendship as much as I do and practice what I preach, all relationships have to be mutually beneficial at some point or another.
Accomplish at least five of these financial tips.
Dance around in my underwear [more].
Make parmesan crusted goat cheese with basil oil, spiced chai concentrate, vanilla bean syrup, and pork crown roast.
“The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time.” ~ Abraham Lincoln
Cheesecurd at the Tillamook Cheese Factory.
Crows perched at the Oregon Coast.
Sweet and cool sand on the west coast.
Best BELT (bacon, egg, lettuce and tomato) ever at the Love Joy Bakery.
I could get used to this Oregon place.
“We want you to visit our State of Excitement often. Come again and again. But for heaven’s sake, don’t move here to live. Or if you do have to move in to live, don’t tell any of your neighbors where you are going.” ~ Governor Tom McCall, 1971
After much hemming and hawing, for reasons unreasonable to some, I got over it. Here is Thea Sphere Sweets.
And this is a sample of what I make over at Thea Sphere Sweets:
Ever play the game “Never have I ever?”
That is how my latest project has come to be. Never would I ever have been able to shape my cooking and baking craft if I hadn’t moved to the country, found a roommate, rented the most colorful house in all the land and spent many of a night in the red and orange kitchen. Yes, the walls are prison orange and the cabinets are cherry red. I wouldn’t have it any other way, even if I had gotten to pick the wall color myself. So for the last two years, I have made cakes, cheesecakes, cookies and cupcakes for every holiday, birthday, sappy Friday, snowday and BBQ in and around the Hudson Valley. The confections made their way to Syracuse, the city, Long Island and New Jersey. And where ever the treats went I heard, “why don’t you sell these?” I had two, in my humble opinion reasons why not to make baking more than just a middle of the night de-stresser.
1. I love to watch people at food I have made. If I were to sell baked goods how would I ever go to every single order’s home and see them eat the confection I created.
2. People who cook for a living often end up hating it. And that I can not and will not have. Baking (and cooking in general) is the only thing that stops my eye twitch. I have a stress eye twitch that come from work, car and personal stress. It’s the right eye above and sometime below the lid. It makes me batty. So why would I risk not enjoying the one remedy I have?
Alas, I broke down and ordered business cards.
And I made this page.
And then I bought labels.
And now I am planning an open house for 11.11.11 to showcase what is available for the holiday season.
In the midst of baking and cooking in the country, friends and family have pushed me in the direction of making it official. And although I am not ready for that, I can do the local thing and bring baked goodness to the ones I love (and the ones they love). Thank you for the push [read shove] to the next step.
“Like” away at www.facebook.com/theaspheresweets and you can check out all of the amazing baked goods that I have come up with in the last year or so. Phew. I’m glad that’s out.
“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” ~ Luciano Pavarotti
The most fun summer events are the weekly dance parties at the Spiegeltent at Bard College. For $5 you get entry into the best dance floor in the Hudson Valley. The beats are serious. The people are characters. The dress code if as you see fit. The energy is awesome. And the sweat dripping down your back is just what the doctor ordered. There are only a few weeks left of the Spiegeltent and it is highly recommended you attend. In something cute. And with some body glitter.
Talk about dance? Dance is not something to talk about. Dance is to dance. ~ Peter Saint James
I’m treating my two-year “country” anniversary much like I treat my online dating profile… laundry lists and hopeful daydreaming.
Likes: clean air, baking, trees, the colorful house in Pdub, clear plastic wrap in a box on the counter, really good friends, local brews, cheese, bread, wine, kundalini yoga with Alli at Sacred Space, a porch where the Adirondack chairs sit nicely, mediation and Reiki
Dislikes: lack of 4 am bars / pizza / cabs / city friends / diversity, the baby sister always being at least two hours away, the persistent, “Why did you more here?” questioning, driving in really bad snow, basements with water in them, bugs, wild and most domestic animals, car trouble and not being able to speak car
For fun: Waterfalls, swimming holes, dancing at Bard in the summer, skiing Hunter mountain in the winter, snowshoes, farmers markets, Warren Cutlery and wing nights at Max’s
Interests: Getting smarter, braver, smaller and happier
Exercise habits: yoga, gym against my will, walking and laughing
Favorite hot spots: Keegan Ales in Kingston, 36 Main in New Paltz, Club Helsinki in Hudson and Mercato in Red Hook
Favorite things: cucumbers and tomatoes growing in the yard, meeting Melissa Leo before Tuesday’s showing of Dear Lemon Lema at the Rosendale Theater, Sunday night dinners with a full dinning room table, saying good morning to the Hudson River everyday, Hudson Manhattan Rye Whiskey and winning a free Hudson Whiskey t-shirt from Tutilltown Distillery as they hit 10k fans on Facebook, kitchen appliances (most important of them all is the KitchenAid mixer) and the roommate when we are in the routine of the week, learning to trust again and updates with the baby sister
What I am looking for: more sunsets over the Hudson, someone to go on roadtrips with, more motivation to frequent the gym, financial security (will settle for lack of financial anxiety)
My relationship with the country has come along way in the last two years and yet, I continue to be a city mouse in the country wondering what is next on the agenda.
“All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better. ” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
It is no secret that live music is my thing. Being in front of a musician doing their thing is electrifying and exciting. I have been attending concerts since before I was old enough to stand. My mother had me in the bass case of Dave Holland, named me after Thelonius Sphere Monk and dressed as purple velvet witch for the 1985 Grateful Dead Halloween show. She and many others have brought music to me. It’s my happy place.
With hundreds of shows under my belt, it seems that Michael Franti and Spearhead are the current winners in the smile department.
Pictured here with Michael at the Dave Matthews Band Caravan in Atlantic City this past weekend.
After a few, “It’s nice to see you again,” a guitar pick and numerous dancing in the front of a venue. I did it. I was in the front row for a Michael Franti performance and better yet, had a kind fellow concert goer take our picture. In case you had trouble deciphering it, that’s was pure happiness looks like. It’s embodied in a genuine smile. Not a posed smile or a fake smile or a no teeth smile. It’s just a grin. The kind of grin that arrives when you are near your musical genius crush.
“I think music in itself is healing. It’s an explosive expression of humanity. It’s something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we’re from, everyone loves music.” ~ Billy Joel
I am ready.
I am ready for it to stop raining. I am ready for sundresses and flip-flops.
I am ready to fall in love.
I am ready to change my hair color.
I am ready to create.
I am ready to let go.
I am ready to move on.
I am ready to forgive, but not forget.
I am ready to manifest change on a higher level and help the people around me to do the same.
I am ready to bake. And cook. And make homemade mozzarella.
I am ready for the rest of my life to get started.
I am ready to change my bedspread.
I am ready to say goodbye to my insecurities.
I am ready to accept help.
I am ready to clean out my closets, material and intangible.
I am ready to make a difference.
I am ready to dance.
I am ready.
“It just goes to show you that you don’t really know how impactful you are on someone’s life. It’s really important to be the best person you can be because you don’t know what kind of an impact your actions are having on the other person. ” ~ Thea Linscott on July 1, 2009
