because...

there are so many things that  i want to do that it's driving me absolutely insane that i can't do them yet.

happy news: it's my wonderful hubby's birthday today!

happy birthday to my best friend...
my partner in crime...
the peanut butter to my jelly...
my soulmate...
the guy i've been crushing on for almost twenty years...
the guy i've married a lot...
the one that i want to snuggle next to forever.

i am so incredibly blessed to have him in my life. i'm the luckiest girl in the world, and i can still say that 9 years after the first time i married him.

i can't wait to live the rest of my life with him...

and i'll continue to make my lists until chemo's over.

countdown: 2 months left!!!

today

when i was diagnosed with hodgkin's lymphoma- i made a promise to myself that i would try to do at least ONE new thing everyday.

note: difficult to do when you're stranded home because of weather and chemo-feelings.
note 2: difficult to do when you used to be wonder woman in the home.

today was one of those days where i figured i'd tap back into my child-self and do some crafts. what better thing to pitter the minutes away doing than making stationery?

i am OBSESSED with stationery.  i honestly would never need to go to the store to pick up any, ever again. today, i thought it would be fun if i made my own designs. let's face it, i had a lot of the materials i needed available to me from years of accumulating cute stuff.

the photo map:

i think...this will continue. adding more to my list (:

what do you think?

please keep toasty this weekend!

love me,
the globetrotting gamine

a letter to my future self

Dear Me,

It's January 8th, 2013. In numbers, 23 years ago today our niece was born, it's been 3 months since running around from doctor to doctor, 2 months since I've gotten diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

Last year, I had just gotten back from a whirlwind vacation with my soulmate. The same goes for two years ago. 2 months since my first "not-published-by-just-me" book found its way in bookstores, 2 months since my first book discussion and signing...8 years MARRIED! to my soulmate...

Writing all this down makes me realize that I am extremely lucky. I'm still living a charmed life- Hodgkin's is curable and even though chemo is kicking my ass, I'm going to kick cancers ass and move on with my life- write more books, give more hugs and snuggles, meet more people, travel the world.

Where do I want to be next year when I look back and read this? Settled into my new life, taking care of myself and those around me. So far I've learned: what was wrong with me and why I was feeling so fatigued and sick, who my real friends are (I really got lucky with my group of friends- they are the most amazing people I know. True friends reveal themselves in times of hardships, and for that I am truuuuly thankful), my crazy strength ( i guess. everyone's been telling me i am, but i feel it's more of an "gotta do this to get back to my life" thing, and that God is present in everything (that's a story for another day. well- 10 days. so far.)

Cancer-Schmancer is right. I'm really quite through with it. I have 8 more chemo treatments left, and I muster up what looks like strength to get through the week with it. It's gross and makes me sick. What else it's trying to teach me I don't know. I've always been extremely grateful for my life, for the little things, for anything. There is a lesson in everything. Will I be forever afraid that it will come back? Maybe. There's the one year after chemo to build your immune system back up. I can't wait to be with you at that one year mark. Then there's the five year mark, where after that, you *i* are considered cured. I desperately want to be there already, but I won't let LIFE go until then. I plan to LIVE.

Cured cured cured. I want to hear that word so much. When I do hear it, I'll be 36 years old. That, in and of itself, is a miracle to me even hearing it, thinking about it. I was never one to be selfish or worry about  myself, and to know that I have to watch my every feeling for the rest of my life because my life now does depend on it is overwhelming. After April, a new routine, diet, celebration of life will ensue for as long as God sees it fit for me to be on this earth, and I will relish every second. Just like we all should, because that's all we can do.

The lesson that I may have to LET be taught to be because of all this? To keep strong with faith, and to not hold off anything that I want to do (not that anyone should!) for another day.

By next year, I hope your (my) life changes into something greater than I could have ever imagined NOT walking down this journey- I hope I (we?) have done everything we've wanted and could possibly do to make life that much richer. I'll know more that life was never about the material stuff, or accomplishments, or anything fleeting. Life is not about the TIME you have left- but what you DO with the time you've been given (wait, isn't that a famous quote?)

Life is and will always be about:
love
happiness
joy
family
friends
experiences
smiles
hugs
memories
furry friends
a quiet meal
beauty
faith
intention

And mine's gonna be great.
See you (me!) next year.

Signed,
the globetrotting gamine

september madness

i have a confession to make:

i seriously, without a doubt, love september. So many reasons why float around my already cluttered brain:

• the weather
• autumn decor
• crunch leaves under my boots
• punkins' (i am aware of misspelling)
• sunsets
• the harvest
• sunflowers
• apple cider
• pumpkin everything
• plans with great friends
• autumn autumn!
• the peanuts gang
• back to school (notebooks! pens! yay!)
• back to baking
• and the biggie- my BIRTHDAY!

It's my birthday month. Actually, in a timeline? I started going out with my hubby (again) in September, a lot of friends birthdays in September, we adopted our puppy in September- it's just a month where change is accepted and can't really be complained about. 

I LOVE SEPTEMBER! Here's more reasons why:

preparing for my book launch! 

(quite obviously this is not me, this is a screen still from The Mummy: Curse of the Dragon Emperor. Ultimate Inspiration. Property of the above (the mummy movies!) )

Sleeping in with a huge comfy comforter, and a small comfy dog. He wears shirts in the autumn. Yep. Shot by my loving husband. Geez.

Love me,

the globetrotting gamine

oh, harvey

to start, i would like to say how amazing my friends are.
old and new have given me so many smiles, laughs, hugs and more that i am truly thankful
for each and every one of them.

over the summer, some of us trekked on over to the roundabout theater
in manhattan
to watch Harvey.

so my first reaction?
Sheldon, sheldon, omg!!

(Side note: I love TBBT. I love Sheldon. I wish I could have hugged him because i do think he is so awesome and he makes me quite happy)

the show was
epic.

i was actually busting a gut laughing in the audience
and was happy that
i didn't research the story line itself.

if you can see the show-
see the preview with James Stewart-
watch The Big Bang Theory.

so
much
awesomeness

and i will truly never forget it!

love,
the globetrotting gamine

i'm weird.

it's true. not like this should be a shocker to most of you that read my blog, but i am so weird.
for example, the list of things that i want to do with the next 15 years of my life should mind-boggle most 30 year olds...50 year olds...boggles my mother's mind, that's for sure.

so, knowing all these years that i am weird and dealing with bullying at a young age kind of got me to where i am today. and i'm thankful. where am i today? ha, good question.
home. enjoying the weather. watching my puppy stare at me while i write and create more lists and read more books.
about to step out to the library and possibly on a photo hunt.
making all my dreams come true at a rate i never thought possible?

that's where i am today.

by now you know that i'm very secretive/protective of my life and that of my friends and family's.
i know that there are know it all's out there. i am not one of them. people only tell you what they want to tell you- it's the way of the world. i can't judge- though i used to. that made it easy for people to bully me through manipulative ways.

those people aren't in my life anymore.

many of you probably think that i stick to a strict schedule of writing and reading. for the most part, i try to. the winter are my busiest working months, and by the time summer rolls around i am swimming in new material for new stories and scrapbooks...and to do lists.

being completely content with my life astounds most people around me. it always has. i used to care- time having gone by has allowed me to not care and chase some more dreams down.


have i changed? i like to think that i haven't. i believe that people grow up but that their cores are unchanging.
 so if i've been M.I.A, it's because i'm busy doing summer things so i can complete these to-do list demands of mine before i continue on this crazy whirlwind i call life.

and i hope your summer is going well, too!

<3

see you in a few weeks!
~the globetrotting gamine

movie madness

In December, LML and I were away.
I'll admit- when we're away, we don't tend to say we are.
I like my private life- just that way. private.

So, while we were on holiday, on a beach somewhere...
we made a list of all these movies we'd have to catch once being home for a while.

(and duh- i always travel with more than one notebook and oodles of pens)

my list look something liked this....

1. Larry Crowne
2. The Help
3. Super 8
4. Midnight in Paris
5. Crazy Stupid Love
6. Secretariat
7. Water for Elephants
8. all the Paranormal Activities
9. Eat Pray Love (again)
10. Hot Tub Time Machine
11. Take me home tonight
12. Dinner for Schmucks (I'm sure I didn't spell this correctly)
13. Life as we Know it
14. My soul to take
15. Morning Glory
16. Black Swan
17. How do you know
18. Hangover 2
19. The Rite
20. The Roomate
21. Just go with it
22. Unknown
23. Hall Pass
24. Adjustment Bureau
25. 50/50
26. In Time
27. Tower Heist
28. J. Edgar
29. Immortals
30. Jack and Jill
31. Descendants
32. Hugo
33. Week with Marilyn
34. Beastly
35. Paul
36. Red Riding Hood
37. Bridesmaids
38. Art of Getting By
39. Bad Teacher
40. One Day
41. Horrible Bosses
42. Dream House
43. Our Idiot Brother
44. Don't be afraid of the Dark
45. I don't know how she does it
46. Let me in

Obviously, we've been away and busy in the last two years.

The chunk of time that we've been stationed in one locale, we've adjusted the list a few times.

Now, it looks like this...

1. Larry Crowne
2. The Help
3. Super 8
4. Midnight in Paris
5. Crazy Stupid Love
6. Secretariat
7. Water for Elephants
8. all the Paranormal Activities
9. Eat Pray Love (again)
10. Hot Tub Time Machine
11. Take me home tonight
12. Dinner for Schmucks (I'm sure I didn't spell this correctly)
13. Life as we Know it
14. My soul to take
15. Morning Glory
16. Black Swan
17. How do you know
18. Hangover 2
19. The Rite
20. The Roomate
21. Just go with it
22. Unknown
23. Hall Pass
24. Adjustment Bureau
25. 50/50
26. In Time
27. Tower Heist
28. J. Edgar
29. Immortals
30. Jack and Jill
31. Descendants
32. Hugo
33. Week with Marilyn
34. Beastly
35. Paul
36. Red Riding Hood
37. Bridesmaids
38. Art of Getting By
39. Bad Teacher
40. One Day
41. Horrible Bosses
42. Dream House
43. Our Idiot Brother
44. Don't be afraid of the Dark
45. I don't know how she does it
46. Let me in

Here's the math...

The price of a movie in New York is approximately $10 (and I'm being nice). 

Together, if we'd gone to see every movie on this list, we'd have spend over $900. (um, holy crap?)

That's a whole vacation (or more than one vaca, depending where you're spending it) for two!

Since we've been back, we've accomplished 21 movies on this list- roughly. 

That's still $420 dollars saved.

We've seen all these movies in the last few months at the expense of the wonderful people over at our present 'cable company'...which is not time warner, cuz they blew chunks.

Our favorites out of these 21 movies:

1. Hangover 2
2. Paul
3. Hot tub time machine
4. bridesmaids

As I'm a girl, to my list I'm adding:

5. The Help (which was "OK" to LML but "Boring.")

6. Midnight in Paris (which was about the plight of a writer--LML understands me, but not other writers. LOL)

7. Jack and Jill (I love Adam Sandler...LML chuckles at a few lines. I would love Adam Sandlers career- so I always closely pay attention.)

Thus concludes our list of movie madness so far. Help us add to it :) e-mail  me at whosthatgamine@gmail.com

LOVE ME,

the globetrotting gamine

Harlem Brewery

A few months ago, we had the incredible honor of meeting the folks over at Harlem Brewery at an event...

we fell in love with their Sugar Hill Brew! we also continued to tell everyone about it and can't wait to meet them at future venues!

We think you guys are great!

visit them here!

~the globetrotting gamine

new places we love

our favorite place

for artisan coffee's, espressos

biscotti and scones

has come back!

thanks, aldo's!

this coffee-drinkin' writer

and her hubby

really missed you!

see more here

the delicious food
featured in the picture above
was consumed at our newest fave place
called erik's

so,
chili---goooooood
spinach panini---goooooood
turkey panini with raspberry creamcheese (i think?)---gooooooooood

the globetrotting gamine does not share her food!

erik's- we'll see you soon!!!

McCall's Vineyard

these are some ipod photos
of McCall's vineyard
in long island.

we loved it here,
and especially the fact
that the tasting barn
has 2 individual "private-er"
rooms.

on the walls there are antique
farming tools...
and it's quickly turning into
another one of our favorite vineyards.

oh...and great wine, too!!

~the globetrotting gamine

a few of my favorite things

my little happy place
by the long island sound...
and my favorite guy.

pre-research and meetings
for my upcoming historical work.

love x 100000000 !!

~the globetrotting gamine

PS- yes, all my pictures. yes, shot by my ipod. love.

greetings from ocean city

wish you were here!
~the globetrotting gamine

pup days

 Pup says, it's way too early
for the dog-days of summer-

but I still love it when people come over
and visit with me!

What a crazy pup!

Happy Tuesday!

Love,
the globetrotting gamine and her pup (copyright, 2012)

grumpy

(shot in kalamata, 2008)

i have to admit, for the last two weeks i've been super-stressed and grumpy.
of course, it's all for a good reason and a good cause- my 'mission' is almost complete!
or will be complete on Friday.

thank goodness.

on monday, i'll admit to my bloggie friends what's been going on,
what's been crazy,
i'll be back to my regularly 'scheduled' programming,
which is comforting though it usually takes on a life of it's own.

i am ready to start quite a few new adventures,
that wouldn't have been made possible without
my incredible family and friends,
the LML,
and freaking awesome people.

it has been totally worth it.

that being said...
dear springtime,
where are you? i'm ready.

let's gooooo!

dream a little dream....

everyday, one of my best friends puts a status up on facebook about the things she is thankful for. i love this practice. even though with some projects, i feel that i've bitten off more than i can chew-- i know it benefits me to be grateful for the project itself. and for almost completing it!

so, today, inspired by bff, my grateful list is:

• the weather we've been having, coupled with the fact that plants, flowers and trees are already blooming- in mid March!!!! In NEW YORK!!!
• being born into my family, because- yay :)
• LML- who I love so much and has bought so much of everything- especially happiness- into my life. 
• for growing up, literally and sometimes painfully, with LML
• for my friends- because I got the best ones. i know it.
• for my planning and consulting skills...which it took others to point out to me (especially LML, who has learned to be patient)
• for my puppy, because he thinks he's a person. 
• to do lists. they make me happy.
• technology- because sometimes, it helps.

also- regarding dreams. 

i'm a whopper when it comes to dreaming things up---

for example, last night it was a kind of rewind to four years ago and i was having conversations with people i haven't seen since during my daily routine THEN.

figure that one out.

so to my friends, and dream-friends...

thanks for listening!! and being there ;)

(please tell me i am not the only one dreaming insane dreams!)

this guy

is

amazing.

that is all.

hi-it's me again :)

(shot by little old me 2010)

i have a lot of things floating around in my head, so please, please don't judge me based on this post.

or at all, thank you very much! lol

let's start off with what i was watching on tv last night. know that i was falling asleep-- i have no channel it was on but it was something about SETI making contact with an E-T life form. i have to say this....

if *i* was an alien, knowing what i know about this world even JUST AS A HUMAN!, i would not plan to abduct such a race of control freak minded, power-struggler weenies. i would probably want to be left alone.

most likely, i would leave you alone and try to bide my time on a beach in maui, but again- that's me.

thank you for letting me tell you that, i had to get it off my chest. must have had a nightmare or something.

oh, other stuff in my head: travelling. reading. my research. my blog. the future of my blog.

question: should i continue on the way i have been, most honestly and regardless of critics? shall i warp this blog into something more 'professional' and therefore not me at all?

so many questions.

presently, i am simplifying my life and minimizing the clutter in my house. i wanted to say hi and inform you that me and my assistant are well-- right now, he is resting peacefully on my legs while i type this.

i am desperately craving coffee. i am desperately craving for the day that i submit this project and can get on with...other plans.

well, if you know me, you know what's going on. and if you don't, i tell you when you e-mail me- so thank you :)

how about this weather we've been having? i think it's awesome, and the cherry blossom trees around the corner have started to bloom. it's phenomenal. i love it!
of course, this has no affect on pup who has not moved since i've begun to type.

and typing i must do--back to it i go.

happy wednesday, dear ones :))

love love loveee

life is...

me and my best friend in '09

freaking awesome.
i'm sorry that i have been so vague- there has been so much activity going on in my neck of the woods that it's CRAZY!

i have been clocking in office hours trying to hit my deadlines- and most times, not even that feels like work. when i'm not in my office, i am re-planning it's layout, constantly working on these projects, and catching up with friends and loved ones.

i am truly, truly blessed and could not ask for anything more.

happy news:

• having beer at a brewery is the funnest thing ever!
• seeing friends over coffee, lunch, brunch, dinner or whatever it may be is flippin' awesome.
• i have so many books to catch up on after i am done with said projects, that I cannot wait to post my reviews.
• my projects are...

wait for it...

almost complete!! woooooooo!!

i have to get planning this huge things going on for 2012. i am seriously considering opening a p.r. agency at this point :))

hope y'all have a happy monday! and thank you for your kind words through e-mails and facebook :) 

more than i can chew?

hello, friends.

pup here...

keeping you company

while Mommy is singing and happily working on her lists.

see, a lot has been going on-- people coming by, likely to see me.

so, i'm happy, too.

i've heard and travelled with Mommy

with colleagues and to meetings and appointments- 

i have to say, she's a busy bee.

so i KNOW this constant hustle and bustle

lead her and my Daddy to all sorts of conversations--

and they are excited!

yeah, about me. it has to be about me.

then again, i always bite off more than i can chew. 

i think mommy is happy with me and

also, with more books in the works? 

new plans? 

about me or for ME?

my parents are so cool.

is there anything new

in your world?

how are you?

did you bring me a cookie?

woof,

pup

quote saturday

quote taken from twilight: eclipse

“This wasn’t a choice between you and Jacob—it was a choice between who I should be and who I am. I’ve always felt out of step—like, literally stumbling through my life—I’ve never felt normal, because I’m not normal. I don’t want to be. I’ve had to face death, and loss, and pain in your world but I’ve also never felt stronger—like, more real; more myself—because it’s my world, too. It’s where I belong.”


'cuz that's how i felt before i got married, too ;)