Email to Nora Ephron

"The fact that you're not answering leads me to believe you're either (a) not at home, (b) home but don't want to talk to me, or (c) home, desperately want to talk to me, but trapped under something heavy. If it's either (a) or (c), please call me back" .



As I've said before many times, my sisters and I can have entire conversations filled with movie quotes.

With the sad news we received yesterday of Nora Ephron's passing, I immediately started mentally running through everything she's written / directed that became a permanent part of my life. Those conversations with my sisters are usually based on quotes from movies that Nora was involved with. In an email to my "girls club", I asked, in despair, "Who is going to write and direct movies that give me movie quotes I say every single day? WHO is going to make movies starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan that change my life and way of thinking about the very tapestry of love? Sigh."



Guys, I'm here to tell you. Make fun of us all you want, that we "watch You've Got Mail a hundred times!" or, "haven't you seen Sleepless in Seattle a thousand times already?!", but if you want to get the girl, take note from Sam Baldwin or Joe Fox (eff oh ex), they know what true romance is. They may not at first, because why would a movie have all of the questions answered at the beginning? You would be leaving the theatre before the popcorn was all gone.

I know that I'm not likely to have the 12 year old son of a widowed father become my pen-pal from great distances away, only to then eventually meet him and his father at the top of the Empire State Building, wherein happily ever after awaits. I know that. But, isn't it fun to think of it anyway? Isn't it allowed to want to own a quaint little bookstore in New York City called The Shop Around the Corner, that looks oh-so-inviting on a Fall afternoon? For me, reading a Nora Ephron book, or watching a movie based on that book, was a very happy place I could always go to make my day better.

"It was like going home. Only, to no home I'd ever known".
See? Her words stick.

I DO want to get bouquets of freshly sharpened pencils in September because the new school year has begun. I DO want to fill my apartment with vases of fresh daisies because they "are the friendliest flower". And I DO believe that "when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible" .


In a text this morning from my Mom; "I'm so sorry to hear of Nora Ephrons passing, she was one of my favorites. Though, she will never know".

I'm hoping she does know now.

Hey Nora....."you've got mail"

RIP my friend, we already miss you.

Tiffany

PS On "Success", Nora was quoted as saying "Most of us live our lives devoid of cinematic moments". While this may be true, I try to add cinematic moments to my days. It IS Breakfast at Tiffany's after all.
See you soon!

But that smaller scale......has gold in it

"Right here, right now, there is no other place I wanna be...." -Jesus Jones

I've been wondering when we will be happy in the right now. Having goals and looking ahead to the future is a very good thing. I'm mostly talking about being content in the here and now. Summer is nigh, and I'm sitting at the pool, soaking up sun and reading a great book, but also thinking of Fall and leaves swirling and crisp air and Football season. Chuckling to myself, I thought, good grief, how about enjoying the summer first why don't you.
When in our twenties we think we're invincible and we'll always be, and feel, this young. But, for me, I was always looking so far ahead that I think there were times I missed entire years. Time doesn't really fly, but it feels like it does, quite often for me.

This whole "chasing the dream" mantra that I've always heard about, has been somewhat of a mystery to me. I understand the concept, in that you dream of what you want and who you want to be, and then you make plans to make it all happen.
I've been called a dreamer many times. And I concur. But I've never felt like I was chasing the dream. More like, I'm living it every day. Usually, phrases like these come from people who have climbed corporate ladders, and made it to the top, or inherited large sums of money and have literally been around the globe.

If I find I'm not living the dream, I go to bed with the thought; "Tomorrow. Tomorrow I will." But the here and now, is not far away. Being happy with small things each day, a note from a friend, a phone call from my sister(s), a text message from a favorite cousin who makes me laugh out loud (and no I am not going to use real names, they all think they're my favorite, don't tell them otherwise!).

I'm not driving a fancy car, or living in a mansion on a hill, but I can drive 20 minutes in to Dallas Farmers Market and get some of the sweetest watermelon I've ever tasted and bring it home to my apartment and enjoy that moment for days.

I wake up on a Monday thinking I would rather stay home and swim instead of going to work. And THEN I think, "I've got leftover BBQ for dinner tonight, w00t!" See how easily that can be turned around?

The here and now is unchaseable. (I'm not sure if that is a word). But it is. You don't need to chase it. It's at your fingertips. All of the motivation posters and quotes yelling, 'THINK BIG!" "DREAM BIG!" are not, in any way, telling a non-truth. I do think we should think big. But that smaller scale has gold in it.

At approximately 5:00p I will be swimming under the North Texas sky. THAT, is living the dream.

See you soon friend,
Tiffany

PS Have you been wishing for something fabulous lately? Why don't you go get it. Life is too short. Once you get it, s l o w down and enjoy it. Much like breakfast on the patio. I go as slow as possible. I want it to last you see.

Have we taken the social out of social media, or, are we more social than ever?

Okay so let's see. With all of the online rants regarding social media, I'm gathering the following:

You don't want to know about, or see what I'm eating. You don't want pictures of my new pedicure, or my manicure for that matter. (this one was directed mostly at women, but hey, it's a free country, it could be directed at men as well). If I have small children, you don't want to know about their habits, provided to you each half hour. No "Eeyore syndrome" allowed! If one lives under a black cloud every single day, and absolutely nothing goes right in one's world, you don't want to hear about it? Well how rude! (I'm laughing as I type this). The newly joined couples and lovers of love, seem to irritate you. I hear you on many levels, I know it's sugary sweet to see the I love you's going back and forth between two people. Some mentioned their gag reflex was being conditioned daily. (still laughing) I have to say that I would rather see love being passed around, rather than hate.

Do I dare even mention the political arena? I want to run from myself if I do so, but here I go. Republicans and Democrats and Libertarians and fence sitters and everyone-under-the-shining-sun have so many opinions, yes? And they r e a l l y like sharing them in social media settings. I'm reading that most don't want to know these opinions. I'll be fair and share mine about this subject. As I mentioned previously, it's a free country. Although I don't enjoy the bashing of our President at ANY juncture, post whatever you like as you see fit. It's your page after all. I can then elect to stay so far away from it that my zip code changes. This is what I call Freedom of Speech. The choice is mine to not participate and move along to the more enjoyable post about someones beach vacation or their getting their Masters in physics. At the age of 42 no less!

I love the Sports Arena in real life so it's a given that I will love it in the social media setting too. There is camaraderie, and then there is competivite nature, both equally okay in my book. I grew up in Missouri. Mizzou fans have never been fond of Nebraska, for one example. But I have friends that I care about who happen to be Nebraska fans. So my choice is this: I cheer for my friends team even if Mizzou is playing them. Some don't agree with this. I feel compelled to explain. I want Mizzou to win every game they play, never be mistaken about this. But I also want to be a fan of the game itself. And, I want my friends to know that I suppport them and what/who they like. One of the most fun times I've ever had was when St.Louis and Texas were in the World Series. Oh, what games! the congratulation from me, in the end, was for BOTH teams. I thought it was cool to live in Dallas and be a fan of both teams, and see them do well. I screamed when St. Louis won, and was thrilled. But it had to be mentioned that both teams should be proud of where they went in that series, and both deserved to be there. I'm not sure that I should even mention the MU/KU rivalry given that such extreme hate seems to swirl during these games. I'm not a fan of ugliness or hate, and given the recent "moving to the SEC", I'll move along. To my dear friends and family that happen to be KU fans, "rock chalk". And here's to a great 2012/13 season. (I can hear the Mizzou fans groaning all the way from Missouri haha)
To get to the real deal, GO CHIEFS!!! But Raider fans, I'll still congratulate you on your facebook wall when you kick our butt. And mean it. (even though I'm accused of not meaning it)

A few other items I found in the so-annoying-please-stop-posting category:
1) obscure, begs the question, rants about specific people that aren't mentioned by name and won't see the post, but the poster feels compelled to rant anyway
2) posting and tagging of unauthorized pictures of friends (I've never been a fan)
3) the TMI post, way too much information that we truly do not need to know, some combined with a pic of that too much information.
4) the TLI post, so little information that it leaves your friends scratching their heads (?)
5) The "I'm so awesome I can't stand myself" post

I am sure I haven't mentioned all of the annoyances. I'm now left with, so what do we want to see?

Have we taken the social out of social media, or, are we more social than ever?

This is what you're going to get from me. If I think it's a funny quote, or an adorable picture of a corgi or a baby panda, I'm posting it. If Eddie Vedder is singing Just Breathe to me, I'm posting it. *he does sing it just for me, right? If I'm so mesmerized by a sunrise over the ocean that I get goosebumps, I'm posting a picture of it so you can be mesmerized too. At times I have the most random thoughts ever, if I truly want to hear what you have to say about them, I'll post them. If some casual stranger does something nice for me out of nowhere, I'll post it to remind you that you too, can do these nice things for others. If I'm staring at glistening swimming pool water under a North TX sky, I'll show you. Maybe it will make you get your swimsuit on and go find the nearest pool, and relax. We have to RELAX people.

This is what you won't get from me. When I'm sad, or irritated, or tired, or gloomy. When the day hasn't gone well at work. When a friends post has made me angry. When I wake up, when I go to bed, or how fabulous I think I am. <-------- I do think YOU are fabulous though, and will gladly tell you that if you need to hear it.
Now I guess I'll go post this in Facebook.

See you soon friend,
Tiffany

PS I think Breakfast at Tiffany's has obviously gone to the dare-to-be-different phase of late. I had leftover BBQ chicken this morning, and I have no idea why.

The Keepers of my Days...

Do you have certain phases you go through? Not necessarily serious ones although they are important too.


For instance, I have a snowcone phase. Yes, snowcone. This can occur in the Winter months, and my friends think I'm nuts for wanting something so deliciously cold when it's so deliciously cold outside. I love Winter, in case you didn't know. I love all of the seasons actually, each in its own right, brings various favorite things. But Fall, oh it's my favorite.


I have a cheesy love phase, where I want to watch what men call "chick flicks", like The Notebook, and Nottinghill, and The Lake House, and....well I could go on and on. Then, I get out of this phase, and switch to serious, deep thinking movies that may not have a red bow tied at the end, but I still got something from the content. I would say that my men friends just rolled their eyes, but I cleaned it up in the end, didn't I guys? =)


I have certain food phases too, like fresh spinach salad. I've eaten this for breakfast several times in the last few days. I'm weird I know, but at least it's healthy! You never know what Breakfast at Tiffany's may bring, so it's best to keep an open mind and ready taste buds. Do you like Indian food? See, told you.


I even have a workout regimen phase. Sometimes it's all about yoga, and pilates. Then, I want to get things moving so I swim like Michael Phelps! ahem, I mean I aspire to swim like Michael Phelps. Or I do P90-X cardio that reminds me that I'm not 22 years old anymore. If you don't know what I'm talking about, try Plyo and get back to me.


The talking on the phone phase comes and goes. When I really don't want to talk, but just be still for a while, I'll text more. I've always said a phone call is more meaningful, but really, who am I kidding. What means even more than that is a face to face conversation with a friend(s). I think this age that we live in, the social media, texting, online everything era, is sadly replacing quality time spent in person. I try to not fall into this category often, but with work and personal life it's very easy to slip into the mold.


I will say this, certain loves of mine don't come and go with phases. Like moon gazing, and taking long walks, and reading great books, and fabulous quotes, and blog posts. No, these are the keepers of my days.


Whatever phase you happen to be in right now, I hope you're enjoying it, and things are going well. Maybe the next time we meet, you can tell me all about it!

See you soon friend,
Tiffany


PS Strawberries drenched in balsamic vinegar are really, really tasty for Breakfast. Seriously!