Category Archives: Life

Things to Worry About, Going on Twenty-Nine

Life August 8, 2012 Leave a comment

Back in March, Letters of Note posted Things to Worry About. I quite enjoy this blog on a regular basis, but this particular day the post stuck with me. Not only was the letter written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, but it was written to his 11-year old daughter on my birthday. Fifty years exactly before my birthday, making it extra special to me.

I find the timing of the letter particularly intriguing and the content equally as meaningful. More often than not I worry about too many things that, in the grand scheme, are a waste to worry about.

So here I sit on my twenty-ninth birthday, seventy-nine years to the day Mr. Fitzgerald wrote to his daughter, and I can’t help but think what better time to relinquish worry and give those efforts towards the pure, simple things in life?

La Paix, Rodgers’ Forge
Towson, Maryland

August 8, 1933

Dear Pie:

I feel very strongly about you doing duty. Would you give me a little more documentation about your reading in French? I am glad you are happy — but I never believe much in happiness. I never believe in misery either. Those are things you see on the stage or the screen or the printed pages, they never really happen to you in life.

All I believe in in life is the rewards for virtue (according to your talents) and the punishments for not fulfilling your duties, which are doubly costly. If there is such a volume in the camp library, will you ask Mrs. Tyson to let you look up a sonnet of Shakespeare’s in which the line occurs “Lillies that fester smell far worse than weeds.”

Have had no thoughts today, life seems composed of getting up a Saturday Evening Post story. I think of you, and always pleasantly; but if you call me “Pappy” again I am going to take the White Cat out and beat his bottom hard, six times for every time you are impertinent. Do you react to that?

I will arrange the camp bill.

Halfwit, I will conclude.

Things to worry about:

Worry about courage
Worry about Cleanliness
Worry about efficiency
Worry about horsemanship
Worry about. . .

Things not to worry about:

Don’t worry about popular opinion
Don’t worry about dolls
Don’t worry about the past
Don’t worry about the future
Don’t worry about growing up
Don’t worry about anybody getting ahead of you
Don’t worry about triumph
Don’t worry about failure unless it comes through your own fault
Don’t worry about mosquitoes
Don’t worry about flies
Don’t worry about insects in general
Don’t worry about parents
Don’t worry about boys
Don’t worry about disappointments
Don’t worry about pleasures
Don’t worry about satisfactions

Things to think about: 

What am I really aiming at?
How good am I really in comparison to my contemporaries in regard to:

(a) Scholarship
(b) Do I really understand about people and am I able to get along with them?
(c) Am I trying to make my body a useful instrument or am I neglecting it?

With dearest love,

Daddy

P.S. My come-back to your calling me Pappy is christening you by the word Egg, which implies that you belong to a very rudimentary state of life and that I could break you up and crack you open at my will and I think it would be a word that would hang on if I ever told it to your contemporaries. “Egg Fitzgerald.” How would you like that to go through life with — “Eggie Fitzgerald” or “Bad Egg Fitzgerald” or any form that might occur to fertile minds? Try it once more and I swear to God I will hang it on you and it will be up to you to shake it off. Why borrow trouble?

Love anyhow.

Here’s to enjoying the rewards for virtue and gracefully accepting the punishments for not fulfilling my duties (which are doubly costly).

Summertime Sadness

Life July 20, 2012 Leave a comment

There is always that week, in the middle of summer, when everything becomes a little melancholic and the lust for autumn begins. I don’t mind the sweltering heat, poolside cocktails or backyard BBQ’s. In fact, I embrace all these glorious things. It’s just that, well, sometimes it’s tough to enjoy summer when your friends and family are all so far away.

This past week I may or may not have hit the boiling point of summertime sadness. I drove south to the border of Kentucky with every intention of not letting my foot off the gas until I reached Amelia Island, Florida. And then when I stopped for gas I realized I forgot Enzo’s medicine at home. So I drove back. The full two hours. It was not a pretty sight.

It was on that drive I realized I need to embrace these boring days leading to the last month of summer. From a cabin campout with Willie in Brown Country next weekend, the Mid Ohio IndyCar race and finally my birthday, I realized I’m pretty lucky to have such awesome plans in the coming weeks. And when I woke up this morning to a new video from Lana del Rey, appropriately from the track Summertime Sadness.

It must be a sign.

The video is too beautiful not to share and is the perfect song to help get through these dog days of summer. The dresses worn throughout are swoon worthy and I’m sure I’ll spend a bit of time over the weekend in search of the perfect replications. What better way to end summer than twirling around in new dresses and listening to good music with friends?

Mad About Megan Draper

Life, Style June 10, 2012 1 Comment

I feel like we waited years for the new season of Mad Men to start and now it’s over in a blink of an eye. Where did the time go?! With tonight’s season finale looming closer, I’ve found myself getting sad at the thought of not getting my weekly dose of Megan Draper.

Let’s face it, Megan Draper’s got it going on. First and foremost, she hates orange sherbet. You have to like her for this, if for no other reason. I mean really, who would settle for orange sherbet when you can have rainbow sherbet?

Speaking of her taste in food, have you noticed she always makes noodles for dinner and keeps the sauce on the side? As a big non-lover of sauce I greatly appreciate that. If there was one person whose dinner party I could attend, you could bet your last dollar it would be Megan Drapers.

She kicks major booty in her professional life, too. Her ladylike charm and smart business sense helped her to land the Heinz ketchup account during a pitch over dinner when Mr. Heinz ketchup himself was going to break-up with Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. Unlike some other characters on the show, she doesn’t have to sleep with potential clients to land accounts, she’s all brains and guts. The best part? When she is successful at work she is humble.

Megan Draper is just cool. Her style is enviable. She’s elegant, intelligent, witty and classy without it seeming forced.  She takes the high road, stands up for what she believes and just makes me want to be like her. Or at least her best friend. Oh Megan Draper, please stay so awesome next season, too. I’m counting on you not to disappoint.

Welcome Back

Life March 20, 2012 1 Comment

I think it’s a blogger rule of thumb that not posting for an extended period of time and then mentioning said absence is a no-no. Quite honestly, I feel like that would be like not mentioning the elephant in the room. So I’ve been absent for a while. What can I say, life is what happens when you’re busy avoiding your blog. Okay, I haven’t exactly been avoiding it, at least not intentionally. I’ve been somewhere in between being un-inspired and over stimulated. I guess that’s a fancy way to explain I’ve been so busy enjoying life that I haven’t had time to catch up and write about it.

There’s that and sometimes I get nervous that if I write about all of the things happening in life I might risk a chance of having them become less special. So what exactly has been keeping me too busy to write the past month or so? Let’s recap:

Taste testing my way through Over-the-Rhine in downtown Cincinnati has quickly become a new favorite hobby, one delicious restaurant at a time. From A Tavola to Senate, stay tuned for more in-depth reviews. In the meantime I have to actively keep myself from trying not to salivate from the thought of the duck gnocchi at Abigail Street.

[image via]

A new friend that I shall refer to as Hermie has stolen a great deal of my attention. Off hand I can tell you that he’s got me listening to dance music (look out Mixtape Mondays) and taught me Ohio isn’t as bad as I originally thought (which was that Ohio was the worst place on the planet). And he quite possibly loves Enzo more than I do. Photographic evidence of both the Ohio and Enzo bits can be found below.

Speaking of Enz, he is days away from six months old! Does this officially make him a toddler?! More importantly, is there a puppy term for toddler? In addition to growing .3 pounds, he has become a master in the art of escaping his playroom. First he used the blanket basket as a platform to hop onto the couch, which led to freedom. Once I took that option away he decided to scale his baby gate like a rock wall and pull his way over the top.

He’s also reverted to pretending like he’s not potty trained. This behavior was originally thought to be a urinary tract infection caused from humping (what else?) that I diagnosed via Google. One vet visit and two-hundred U.S. dollars later it was determined he was healthy as can be and just naughty.

Of course one post can’t possibly sum up and entire month, but I think this is a pretty good highlight reel. Goodness, it feels good to be back.

Abstinence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

Champagne, Life February 22, 2012 Leave a comment

When trying to decide what exactly to give up for Lent, I always find myself wanting to add something new to my daily routine as well. There is a sort of excitement that comes with the challenge and self-discipline it takes to give up anything for a brief period, knowing there will be cause for celebration when the time of abstinence is over.

This year I’ve decided to give up alcohol (I know what you’re thinking, and yes I can survive forty days without champagne). And because I’ve been neglecting my bloggerly like duties as of late, I’ve decided to add a post to le blog each day of the Lenten Season. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some writing to do in order to enjoy a tall glass of Veuve in forty days.

Image via.
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Locked Away, No Key

Comedy, Life January 26, 2012 Comments: 2

My very own, first bedroom had two doors. I thought I was the coolest girl in the whole wide world, I had two bedroom doors.  I was never allowed to have both doors in use at the same time. My bed was pushed against the door that led to the entrance of the house. For the life of me, I could never figure out why my mom wouldn’t let me put my bed in the middle of my room and let me use both doors.

That is, until I locked myself out of my current bedroom that has two bedroom doors.  Twenty-some odd years later and I now understand just why I couldn’t have two bedroom doors when I was approximately eight.

In my current house, I have a normal bedroom door (that I always keep locked in case of an impromptu robbery) and a door to my bathroom, which leads to my bedroom. Unknowingly, I locked the bathroom door behind me as I was leaving my room. It wasn’t till I went to return to my bedroom that I noticed the bathroom door was locked.

Half anxiety stricken, I ran around the corner to my actual bedroom door and gave it a turn. That door knob was not budging. Only when I glanced at both door handles and noticed there were no screws on the outside did I morph into full-fledge, anxiety stricken panic.

How in the h-e-double-hockey-sticks was I going to get into my room? You mean to tell me I have to break into my own room? Isn’t this irony at it’s finest.

A few texts and a phone call to pDiddy later, I was informed to take a bobby pin, try to wiggle it inside the tiny hole in the center of the door knob and wait for it to click.

There was no way this was ever going to workout for me.

Somehow, someway, with a bent bobby pin and sheer determination,  I was able to channel my inner MacGyver and -click- like magic, I was granted access to my bedroom once more.

And twenty-some years after wondering why I wasn’t allowed to use both of my bedroom doors, I finally understand.

Adios Twenty Eleven

Life January 15, 2012 Leave a comment

I think I speak for most everyone I know when I tell you that I was not sad to see Twenty Eleven come to a close. Like life has it’s way of running course, there were  several ups and down, more extreme than I can ever remember happening in one calendar year.

My intention was to share a year in review highlighting what went down in my little world last year, but I resisted. After the big robbery of ’11, life seems like it was on a steep downward spiral and I was left at the start of the New Year wondering what just happened (and why the heck we still observe the no Rose Parade on Sunday rule). So I waited. I’ve lamented and realized life is going to happen, good or bad, whether I share a damn video on youtube or not.

The other night while conferencing calling with one of my favorite people I heard the best story. The moral being if I go right when I enter a supermarket I have to know the rest of my life could end up different by deciding not to go left and there’s nothing I can do about it. I can just sit back, relax and enjoy the ride.

Here’s to stopping to enjoy. Happy New Year.

Christmas Scenes

Life December 30, 2011 Leave a comment

[Cookies for Santa]

[Christmas Eve bloody marys overlooking the ocean]

[Spanish Moss at my dads church on Christmas Morning]

[My favorite festively decorated house on the island]

[Hello Kitty stocking ready to be opened]

[Enzo enjoying the wrapping paper debris]

[A beautiful painting by my Aunt that adorns her mantle]

And of course, no Christams recap would be complete without a video of Enzo opening his very own present from Santa. He was, obviously, the center of attention the entire day.

The Times They Are A-Changin’

Life November 29, 2011 1 Comment

Today’s post is brought to you by the letters “i” and “a”

As you may have noticed, when you visit my blog formally known as oblivialand dot com, you are taken to a scrapbook store. Yes, you read that right. A scrapbook store. While I loved scrapbooking when I was like 15, I’m a grown woman now and certainly have better ways to spend my time.

Somewhere in between the domain for my blog not auto renewing and trying to get help from the great folks at wordpress, this so-called scrapbook company ganked my domain name. This has been quite the pain in the arse. It has infuriated me, brought me to tears and honestly I feel like a part of my identity has been stolen.

After sleeping on it, I decided to go where many great men have gone before and undergo a name change. Diddy (to clarify: the music mogul not my dad), Prince, Chad Ochocinco, Metta World Peace aka Ron Artest, you get the idea. If they can evolve why shouldn’t I? Lovely readers, I present to you my new blog domain:

oblivland.com

It was only a matter of time before I dropped the “ia” in “oblivia” and went with “obliv”.

For the love of things more joyful than scrapbooking, please update any bookmarks or links you may have from oblivialand to oblivland. And if you haven’t already, you can always like me on facebook, follow me on twitter and bloglovin.

Eat, Fry, Love

Life November 24, 2011 Leave a comment

Today some of my racing family gathers in Indy to enjoy a lovely meal and share our thankfulness. Us ladies are going to slave away in the kitchen, whipping up traditional culinary delights such as mashed potatoes, stuffing and candied yams (my personal favorite).  I’m sure we will enjoy a few several glasses of wine, dance around in our aprons and laugh, laugh laugh our heads off.

image source unknown

And what will the men be doing (besides watching football)? They plan on deep-frying a turkey. Hey, I love deep-fried turkey just as much as any other Hoosier, but it can be a dangerous thing, turkey frying. Thank goodness William Shatner and State Farm teamed up to boldly go where no youtube video has gone before. Like a good neighbor, they made us a turkey frying awareness video:

After watching that I have all the confidence in the world we will have a successful, un-flammable Thanksgiving meal. pDid has ordered me to stay at least five feet away from the frying turkey at all times, as to avoid any possible mishaps. Here’s to raising our glasses filled with Foyt Family Wines and enjoying the evening. And if you takeaway one thing from Mr. Shatner, please have it be that the thing that lowers the turkey into the pot is called a dingle dangle.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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