Remember that part in The Sound of Music when the mother superior tells Maria that whenever the Lord closes a door somewhere he opens a window? I do because I, like my sister and half my cousins, LOVE The Sound of Music. I have yet to be convinced in the existence of a higher power, but I always kind of believed that statement or ate least the gist of it.
We all have bad times in life, and I am no different. During these times I always try to remember that others have been in the same boat, and also somewhere there’s an open window to better times waiting for me to find it. Earlier this week when I was exhausted from lack of sleep — teething baby, work, school, being ill myself — and I was off the charts stressed, a friend pointed me to a discussion forum post containing the following quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson:
Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.
I’ve been pondering the quote ever since. I do believe I’ve found a new motto. Or just a motto, since I’ve never actually had a motto before. No matter how bad any day gets, all you really need to do is finish it. And it’s over. If you ask me, we don’t even need to get to tomorrow to become too high in spirit. Especially when you come home to this (cue gratuitous pictures of cute toddler)….
Pondering the meaning of it all
Yup, life is good. Even when it’s not.
zahra, August 25th 2010 |
Tags: bad times, Emerson, good times, positive attitude
Posted in Short + Sweet, Uncategorizable Ramblings
Hey, psst. Notice anything different? Yup. The name of this blog. Here’s the thing. No one knows how to say “khoresht.” I mean for some reason my own husband can’t pronounce the name of my blog. What gives? I guess it’s for the same reason Iranians will say “sand-e-veech” instead of “sandwich.” So in the interest of cross-cultural communication I decided to change the name to something that gets the same point across in a more pronounceable way. And what’s more Iranian than a kabob? And what’s more American than apple pie? So, “Kabobs & Apple Pie” it is.
I reserve the right to change the name again, because lets face it, I’m a fickle and indecisive woman. But I’m kind of liking this change, so I think I might stick with it for a good long while.
Here’s the thing that will be changing more often — the header. I’m just playing with some ideas, and knowing myself as well as I do, I’m pretty sure that the ideas will keep flowing for at least another dozen iterations. At some point I may settle on a permanent header, or I may just go the route of doing a different header every month. We’ll see where this takes me and what kind of feedback I get on the header. That’s where you come in. I am lost without you my dear reader (yes, I meant to make that singular). Please give me some feedback. I need direction. All feedback is appreciated and opinions will be taken very seriously. I promise.
p.s., Because I can’t resist…
Cookie Face
Babies look cute after eating cookies.
zahra, May 11th 2010 |
Tags: kabobs & apple pie, new name
Posted in Short + Sweet
Remember those commercials for Calgon bubble bath? A stressed out mom shouts “Calgon, take me away!” just as all of her responsibilities are bubbling up to a head. I remember laughing at that commercial when I was a kid. It seemed so silly, or “dorky” as I actually called it. I can sympathize a little more with the mom nowadays, but I still scoff at the advertising. Some days, some weeks, even some hours out of a day need something far more potent than bubble bath to take away the stress. And anyways, what mother can actually spend more than a minute or two in the bathroom alone before they are interrupted? Clearly that was a commercial conceptualized by men who know nothing about women and the pressures we all face.
zahra, January 25th 2010 |
Tags: Calgon, responsibilities, stress, stress relief
Posted in Parenthood + Childhood, Short + Sweet
An acquaintance who is about ready to have his second baby mentioned to me the other day that he realized that he could no longer remember some of the details of taking care of a newborn. When can you start using the Bumbo chair again? At what age do you stop swaddling? When does the baby stop feeding every hour or two? All of these things are a blur just a year and a half after his firstborn came into his life. I realized then that I can’t exactly remember all of this stuff either. It kind of puts things in perspective. When you are in the throes of taking care of a newborn, everything seems so hard and complicated and overwhelming, and most of all, like you will never get through it. Not only do you get through it, but it goes by so quickly and it’s so not traumatic that you can’t even remember what was so hard about it all in the first place.
I’ll have to remember that if I am so lucky to have a next time around.
zahra, January 12th 2010 |
Tags: newborns, string around my finger
Posted in Short + Sweet
New Years is almost upon us. I’m not usually the type to make resolutions at a certain time of year. Rather I tend to tackle things head on right when they first occur to me. So when I go to the doctor and discover I’m horrifyingly heavier than I thought, I start my diet immediately rather than waiting for Monday or my birthday or next week or New Years Day. This means that when the rest of the world is making their resolutions and getting the year off to a good start, I’m kind of sitting around feeling like New Years is no different than any other day. I’m not saying that I have nothing to improve. I’m just saying that I have extreme perfectionist tendencies and an obsessive need to constantly work on my imperfections.
I feel different this year. I don’t necessarily want to make a resolution because I plan on continuing to address my issues continuously. I’d just like to make a mini bucket list of sorts — a list of things I want to get to before the end of next year.
So far my list consists of nothing. Here’s where you come in, reader. Help me make my list. I promise I will take all suggestions that don’t include eating meat or tackling my fears of insects or heights very seriously.
zahra, December 29th 2009 |
Tags: bucket list, New Year's resolutions
Posted in Short + Sweet
“A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave.”
-Mohandes Gandhi
Here’s hoping that all of you have lives rich with brave people. Peace, love and joy to all of you this holiday season.
zahra, December 25th 2009 |
Tags: Christmas
Posted in Short + Sweet
Sometimes it seems like Azita is doing yoga.
Exhibit A: Going into Crescent Pose
Crescent Pose
Exhibit B: Downward Facing Dog
Downward Facing Dog
Exhibit C: Wide Yoga Squat
Wide Yoga Squat
zahra, December 20th 2009 |
Tags: azita, baby yoga, growing up, photos
Posted in Parenthood + Childhood, Short + Sweet
Let’s talk about respect, shall we? Like Aretha, it’s all I want. Why exactly is it so hard for me to get it? At least in the work arena. Could it be that I work in a very male-dominated industry? It seems like a possibility, but a ludicrous one. We are in he 21st century last time I checked. Women have been a valuable presence in the workforce for decades now. Still, I put in the hours and get results, but respect is nowhere to be found. I won’t pull a dooce here, but I am very tempted to. Very, very tempted. So maybe I should end this post now before I’m bathing in hot soup.
zahra, December 17th 2009 |
Tags: rant, respect, women's lib, work sucks
Posted in Categorizable Rantings, Short + Sweet
The precious
Sometimes when no one is around, not even the cats, I talk to Azita as if I’m Gollum and she’s THE ring. I mean I do the full on Gollum voice and everything. Feel free to judge.
zahra, December 14th 2009 |
Tags: azita, Gollum, the precious
Posted in Short + Sweet, Uncategorizable Ramblings
When I was a kid I used to play this little “game” with myself where I’d invent the person I wish I was. It went something like this. I’d decide I wished I was the most popular girl in my class. But then I realized that I liked my hair better than hers, so I’d want to be her but with my hair. Oh, and as long as I’m fixing things I may as well want Brooke Shields’ face. And Einstein’s genius, and the ice skating talent of Dorothy Hamill and the singing voice of Eartha Kitt and…you get the idea. Actually, as long as I’m confessing this silly game, I’ll confess that I didn’t just do this when I was a kid. I’ve wished to be a pastiche of people basically my whole life. Things seemed to have changed since Azita was born though. I’m pretty happy being myself. I still wish for different life circumstances at times, but I basically like who I am at the moment. It only took me 36 years. Maybe by the time I’m 40 I’ll be really happy with me.
zahra, December 14th 2009 |
Tags: growing up, musing, self love
Posted in Short + Sweet, Uncategorizable Ramblings
