As I get older, I've realized we are all born with certain gifts. What is so wonderful, everybody's gifts are different, we are all unique in our talents. I had an epiphany this evening. I know what my gift is. I have no idea what took me so long to come to this conclusion..it's something I've been doing since I was sixteen. If there were competitions based on degree of difficulty and awards given for this gift, my mantel would be covered with trophies.

What gift am I talking about?

I am the world's best parallel parker! When I was learning how to drive in high school, this was a skill I picked up on immediately. I have great depth perception and excel at spatial relationships. We did not get to practice very much in driver's ed but I wasn't worried. When I took the driver's exam, I pulled it right in the space! Now I have to say, living in St. Louis at the time, there was not a lot of call for parallel parking but when I moved to NYC, HELLO...parallel parking everywhere!

Okay, I drive a smaller car (Geo Prism - manual of course) but I get to practice my skills a few times a week playing the opposite side of the street parking game. You can only park on certain sides of the street depending on the day. New Yorkers in general are not so good at fitting their vehicles properly on the street. This creates a problem of odd sized spaces along various streets. The bigger cars and SUVs are unable to fit in these odd spaces. The great thing about having a smaller car is it can sometimes fit in these spaces that the other cars can't. I can get into the tightest of spaces and fit my car with mere inches to spare. When it's that tight, I may have to scoot back and forth several times to inch it in but if it will fit, I'll get it in the space. Perhaps I should start a competition so I can show off my skills. Any takers?

With the new year brings thoughts on goal setting, new activities to try, places to go and changes to make. I've been doing a lot of reading on creative visualization and manifesting your desires the last few weeks. The picture is the top of a box I've decorated to put ideas, dreams, goals and wishes in. It's my "magic box." I painted it myself and although I'm not really a painter, I'm very proud of the palm tree. I hope that reviewing the contents will keep me focused on the things I want to accomplish this year. I'll keep you posted.

The theatre is still closed, so I have a lot of time on my hands to think and read. Perhaps I've been pondering too much because I've been writing what ever pops into my head without much thought and I may have pissed someone off with my ramblings. I'm working on being very honest with my feelings not only with myself but my friends and family as well. I've spent a lifetime keeping my mouth shut and not sharing what I really feel with others out of fear of rejection. No more. Nothing I've said was cruel or nasty, it may be I'm saying some things people don't want to hear or acknowledge. Anything I say truly comes from a place of love and not anger. Oh well, can't do anything about it now. Regardless, I love you all!

I have a birthday coming up next week. I'm not sure how I feel and I have no idea how to celebrate it. Friends and family have been asking what I want to do. Every year we end up going to dinner somewhere and usually have a good time, except last year. I had been to a restaurant with a friend on the Upper West Side that is very health conscious with vegetarian choices. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal so I thought it would be a good place to go, with something for everyone. It was a nightmare. The service was slow and disorganized and the food was terrible. I don't know what happened. But as usual, a family member got a little loud resulting in me wanting to slip under the table and disappear. Maybe that's the reason I'm so hesitant to come up with a plan this year. You can never please everyone. If I could do anything I wanted, I would hop on a plane to someplace warm with a beach and palm trees. Or maybe a cruise in the Bahamas...never been on a cruise before. Hey - a dream to put in my magic box!

So here I sit thinking about another birthday coming and going wondering how the year will go. Before I know it, another year will have passed by but not before I accomplish the things contained within the box....

You never know what the day will bring. Yesterday was one of those days like no other. It was the first day back to work at the day job after being off for 2 1/2 weeks. Morning time was pretty normal getting ready for work. Didn't have to wait for a train when I got to the subway. When I got off at my stop in the Village and came up the stairs, I immediately noticed it smelled like gas. I looked around and didn't see any Con Ed trucks or workers and no one else seemed too concerned so on I went to work. As I got closer to work I kept thinking, "Gee, the smell isn't going away." It was following me. Still, no one else noticed or cared. Must be me and my sensitive nose.

I got to work and walked in the building and thought, "Wow, the smell has followed me inside." I walked up the stairs to my office on the third floor and started the realize the smell was in the stairwell, I'm thinking, "Whew, this really does smell like gas. We're, going to have to evacuate the buidling." Now mind you , there was no sense of urgency on my part, just matter of fact. I hadn't been in my office for more than a minute when someone came running in to let me know we were evacuating the building because of a gas leak. "Okay." I went to the bathroom then grabbed my stuff and emergency bag then went down the stairs, out the door and then waited with other staff members across the street, waiting for instructions.

Now at this point, if you don't know me, I should let you know that I'm an RN and work in a school. I'm standing there, waiting and thinkng what a great way to start off the New Year. Then Mr. R runs over to me, very excited and says "We need you right away, someone just fainted." Great! And I thought it was going to be a quiet day. I walk quickly with Mr. R (never run - everyone gets a little too excited and panicky) around to the other side of the building. It's a teacher that fainted but she's already on her feet by the time I get there.

"Are you okay?"
"No."
"What happened?"
"I don't know, I was fine then I got really nauseous and dizzy. I think I was overwhelmed by the smell of the gas."

We started to move everyone to a nearby school.

"Can you walk?"
"Yes."

I escorted her the block and a half to the other school, asking all my nursey questions and dicovered she's not been well. So now I know that she's been under extra stress, on medication and still feeling dizzy and nauseous.

"I don't want to alarm you but under the circumstances, you need to be assessed by a doctor."
"I don't want to go to the hospital!"
Jeez, why do people have to be so difficult.

As it turned out, her doctor was a couple blocks away, so we assigned another staff member to take her so I could stay with the students at the school. Off she went. Once inside the other school, the students were split up by classes to three different areas. I stayed with the youngest students because I was concerend for them the most. The kids were great and no one panicked. Then it began.."so and so is not felling well, etc..." Knowing I wouldn't be able to be in three places at once I instructed the teachers if anyone was complaining, call their parents immediately and if it's an emergency to come get me. Luckily I only had to call for a couple of students to be picked up. Soon we were given the "all clear" to go back to our school. The students were wonderful, no one was upset or anxious. It all worked out well, just as I knew it would.

Today it's all a mystery. No one knows what caused the smell. Con Ed says it was not a gas leak. My favorite theory it was swamp gas from New Jersey. New Jersey denies any involvement. Terrorists? I don't think so. Another New York mystery/conspiracy to be solved.

As always,
TOO

Yesterday was an amazing day in NYC - the sun was shining and the weather mild. The temperature got up to an unbelievable 72 degrees! It was wonderful to walk outside without a jacket - in January yet! I can't remember it ever being this warm in the middle of winter. Global warming - Al Gore must be right!

I spent the day with a friend and all of NYC walking through Central Park and enjoying the beautiful day. Everyone was out playing, running, rollerblading, volleyball, soccer and biking. Joy was in the air and everyone was participating . I didn't see a single angry face - unusual for NYC. It was certainly an unexpected day. How often can a New Yorker say they didn't run into an angry person?

Three winters ago was one of the coldest winters ever. It was so cold one week that a few stores in Times Square closed down because they didn't have heat. It was so cold that even with layers, a down coat and head covered, you couldn't spend more than a few minutes outside a a time. I remember my head being so wrapped up with only my eyes uncovered so I could see where I was going. Still, it felt as if my eyeballs would freeze.

Today was a lovely day as well. The temperature dropped down to the 50's so a heavy jacket was not required. I went out again to enjoy the sunshine and walk down Broadway on the Upper West Side. It felt good to get out and walk. I realized that I have not been walking as much as I usually do. With so much time off, instead of increasing my activity, I've been taking it easy - most likely the reason my pants were getting tight. Okay, now that I've acknowledged it, I must add the walking back in to my routine. It's a good thing I love to walk!

On some of my previous posts, I've been going on about the law of attraction and there are no coincidences. The more I talk about this, the more I realize it's true. Everywhere I turn, I am reminded by something I see or read. I bought a book the other day on health and the raw food diet. I mainly picked it up for the recipes (I'm a recipe junkie). I opened the book up and started skipping through the beginning and found myself reading that food carries a vibrational energy that influences how we feel when we consume it. The higher the vibrational energy, the better we feel. OMG - like attracts like even in our diet and food choices.

On my walk- about today, I stopped in to a Barnes & Noble for a pit-stop and then decided to go browse though my favorite section (the new age/inspirational). I'm always looking for something new to expand my mind. On the shelves I saw the "Conversations with God" series. I've never read these books but I've been seeing the author, Neale Donald Walsh, all over the place. I picked up one of the books and flipped open to a page and there it was again; we are all vibrational entities and attract people of the same frequency into our lives. Okay, I get it! I think I'm being told from every angle possible so I won't get discouraged. This is a concept I do believe in and find it reinforced all the time. Over the last several weeks I've had instances with friends bringing up a conversation I had planned to bring up. I'm finding I will finish an activity or have a similar experience a friend did several thousand miles away! Yes, we are all riding on the same frequency.

I will continue to talk about the law of attraction and let you know what comes my way over the next few weeks. Maybe I should start thinking about Hugh Jackman. If you're gonna dream, better dream big, right?

As always,
TOO

Haven't blogged in a couple days. With the troubling current events this past week, I found it difficult to write anything positive.

I've had a few days to think about the things I would like to accomplish in 2007. Along with attracting positive people and events into my life, I want to focus on keeping my excellent health. As some of you know, weight has always been a huge issue for me. Having been big in the past (code word - fat), I'm very conscientious of how I feel physically and emotionally when my weight is higher. Well, my pants are feeling a little tighter and my belly is pooching over the top of my skinny low rise jeans...not exactly a muffin top yet but it will be soon if I'm not careful. I'm feeling a little Rubenesque and zaftig. I am not going to step on a scale or make a resolution to lose weight because I hate diets. I think it's healthier to concentrate on eating real food and controlling portions. I refuse to eat "diet food."

A couple years ago, I stopped eating any foods that contained ingredients I couldn't pronounce. I was never a big fast food eater so it was no problem staying away from the Golden Arches or hanging with the King. Living in New York City presents many wonderful choices when it comes to finding something good to eat. Granted, there are many fast food joints throughout the city but there are also wonderful "little gems" that are not expensive, use real food and taste much better.

I suggest you all try something new - go to a restaurant you've never been to and check it out. Oh, and stay away from the Clown, King and Colonel.

Last night I was watching tv, trying to find something decent to watch and not having any luck. I decided to return some emails leaving the tv on in the background. Suddenly I heard some familiar music and looked up at the screen. It was a commercial advertising DVDs for the old tv series "Get Smart." I vaguely remember the show when it was first on but I was too young to remember much of the series. I did watch some of it in syndication when I was older. Still, I don't remember much of the story lines these many years later. I decided to check out the website selling the DVDs. There's a clip of Maxwell Smart using various articles of clothing as phones. I remembered the shoe phone but had forgotten all the other items used as phones. In one of the clips, he switches back and forth between his shoe, wallet, tie and belt trying to coordinate a rendezvous with other agents. I've watched that clip at least seven times. I think I should just get the DVDs. Who knew the shoe would be the first cell phone?

I had forgotten how funny the show was. It's amazing how much of that show has crept into our language. The catchphrase "missed it by that much" is something I've heard and said many times. Honorable mentions go to "would you believe" and "sorry about that chief." The humor still holds up and God knows we all need to laugh more these days. I am taking every opportunity to laugh and play. I suggest you all do the same!

As always,
TOO

Today is the first day of 2007! I took it easy, very happy I didn't have to go anywhere today. I've been working on including more creative activities each day such as writing, daydreaming, reading, dancing and singing. On top of these activities I've made sure to include laughter. I would have to say laughing is one of my most favorite things to do, including laughing at myself and the circumstances I find myself in.

I stopped into a store the other day, looking for something in particular and not having any luck. An older woman walked up to me, recognizing that vacant stare in my eyes and asked if she could be of assistance. I explained what I was looking for, that I had already asked another sales associate and they were unable to help. The women then asked me if I had tried the fourth floor. "There's a fourth floor? I can't tell you how many times I've been in this place and didn't realize you had a fourth floor." We both started to laugh. With this new information, I took it as a given I had to go to the fourth floor. She then told me I would need to take the elevator to get there. "Elevator? Where's the elevator?" We burst out laughing again as she took me by the hand and lead me to the elevator. And by the way, I did find what I needed on the fourth floor.

As part of my creative growth process I've begun to dance again. I love to dance. I'd forgotten how much I love to dance. There's nothing better than putting on some great music, whatever it is you like, and letting it all hang out. I remember as a child around five, I would put my mother's records on and dance around the living room. I would jump from chair to chair, onto the the sofa, over the back of the sofa and then dive back over the sofa to land on the cushions all to the rhythm of the music I was listening to. Frequently is was Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass. I can still remember the picture of the album cover of this woman covered in whipped cream. Very provocative but I didn't see it that way as a five year old.

Dance was always something I took with me as I got older. I didn't need anyone else, just some good music and room to move. Over the years, I danced less and less. I'd forgotten the joy it brought. Over the last few weeks I've begun to turn on the music more and more at home. First the singing started along to the music. Then the dancing began. Before I knew it, I was letting loose all over the apartment. This has now spilled over to the public arena. I have become a great embarrassment to my children. Apparently parents are not allowed to dance in public. Since updating my ipod, I've been listening to my favorite dance music everywhere I go. I can't help but get caught up in the music and start moving. I am not going to stop enjoying myself. Those kids will just have to get over it!

As always,
TOO