It's nearly midnight, I'm alone, on a rainy, thunder stormy night. What better way to spend the evening than write a new, melancholy song? That's a pretty good time for me.  I tried several new things on this song that I've never done before. First of all, I'm playing with a keyboard. I'm a hardcore "piano-only" kind of girl, but the sound affect fit the glum mood of the song so well! Second, there's no real verse-chorus format. Mainly, I just wanted to play around with odd chords and uncommon dissonance in the melody. This is a chord progression I would  never  use if I were trying to write a catchy-sounding, get-stuck-in-your-head kind of song. It's weird, quirky. A little off beat. And honestly, I was hoping the microphone on my computer would pick up the steady rain and pounding thunder outside my window to add to the atmosphere.  Some people who hear my music automatically get concerned that I'm depressed or love sick over someone. I...

If you're not from New York City area, you might be unfamiliar with the true "Delicatessen experience." What you see on Seinfeld and The Sopranos, is true. Delis are small, crowded, and loud. But what's interesting is, every customer knows exactly what to order, and how to order it - like clockwork. Eddie and I went to a deli today and threw a kink in their clockwork. We may live in the busiest, most culturally diverse area in the country, but we don't really "get out" much. We're used to ordering sandwiches at Subway's drive-through, or from the menu at  Applebee's . We found that we were out of our element when we pushed our way into the organized chaos of this local deli. For one thing, there we things on the menu that we've never braved before; matzoh balls, knish, chopped liver, and every type of salami imaginable. To keep things as simple as possible, I decided to go with a turkey sub, and Eddie chose ham and cheese.  First, we we...

"I value my garden more for being full of blackbirds than of cherries,  and very frankly give them fruit for their songs."  -Joseph Addison

Sometimes I get worked up over the big picture. I think about how something simple may or may not affect the rest of my entire future. Everything turns into a life-altering domino affect when reality, sometimes it's just not that big a deal. While it's made for responsible decision making in the past, it often becomes quite unnecessary and exhausting. So while for some (who can't see the forest through the trees) need to be reminded to step outside and look at the grand overview, I have to tell myself,  sometimes there's just a  tree  through the trees.

Braving the crowded, confusing streets of Manhattan in my trusty Hyundai, I searched the narrow, one-way streets of the Lower East Side for a parking spot. I was in no mood to pay $35 or more for a garage. Searching hard for a vacant space between the lines of parked cars, I tried to block out the honking taxi cabs behind me, trying to rush me out of their way. But you have to drive slow, because if you're driving too fast when you see a spot and overshoot it, you're out of luck by the time you drive around the block and get back to it. The fire hydrant spaces are the trickiest. All that room by the curb, and what a waste! Park there, and expect a hefty fine. I know this from experience. At last, up ahead. Could it be? Wait, is it a fire hydrant space? Nope! It's all mine! Time to parallel park. Slowing down, lining up with the passenger door of the front car. Oh that taxi driver is angry. Honking doesn't make me park faster! I have a flash of doubt. Can I make it? Is...

While everything is  beginning  to bud and bloom, I found this one, completely open flower among the bare branches of a near by bush. Talk about an early riser! Birds are shedding some extra pounds, getting ready for warmer weather (as  I  should be doing). DEER  are shedding some extra pounds!!! (Don't know what I'm gonna do with this yet, but it's gonna be something cool). I can't get enough of this tree outside our apartment. So heavenly fragrant and colorful. I just love standing underneath the tree and looking up at the blue sky peeking out behind the various blooms. And I love the SUN peeking out through the various blooms! Just wait til all these open up. Ah, such beauty!

I am SO not a  horseback rider , though I love to try every now and then. Eddie and I went for a trail ride in the Pocono Mountains and I rode an older, brown horse named Jerry. Like most trail horses, Jerry followed the guide in front of him with minimal direction. I thought it was odd though, that Jerry kept veering around the particularly rocky parts of the trail. I am no expert, but I thought maybe the rocks were uncomfortable for his feet, so I let him veer occasionally.  But my heart stopped several times when Jerry stumbled and tripped. Some stumbles were so bad, that I spoke up and told the guide, worried that poor old Jerry may actually go down. The guide didn't seem concerned at all. He told me, "Just keep him on the trail." It dawned on me that perhaps Jerry thought he was making things easier on his feet by veering around the trail, but really he was tripping himself up on his own feet, making things more complicated. After that, I was much more strict with ...