Things I Love Thursday -- January 26th Edition

Hi there fellow readers and writers! Welcome to another week of Things I Love Thursday where I tell you what I am in love with this week. In my pursuit of happiness, one of the things that I have noticed that the more grateful you are, the more happy you are. So have gratitude and be happy! With that said, here is what I am swooning in love with this week:

~~Today is my close friend Michael's birthday! On Twitter his name is Peelman126 -- go wish him a happy birthday please?
~~Getting the stomach flu. Whoa whoa whoa...you are probably saying why in the blue hell would you be so in love about that? Easy -- it caused me to slow down. A lot of times my life is rush rush rush and always busy. This was a way for my body to go "whoa there Dani, we need a break!" Got lots of sleep and rest and honestly feel a lot better.
~~Having Lauren and Veronica sing "Soft Kitty" to me on Facebook and Twitter to make me feel better.
~~Receiving cute e-cards from David when I was not feeling well.
~~Making plans with friend to see the movies that received Best Picture Oscar nominations.
~~This article: 20 Pictures that will make you feel HAPPY



What are you swooning in love with this week?

The Television Watching Routine

Over on my frien Kelli's blog she wrote a list about what television shows she watches religiously. Now I will admit I probably watch more television than I should but it is also a great way to relax and escape the humdrum life for a little while. With that said here is my television watching list!

Shows I love and watch almost religiously
Sex and the City
Gilmore Girls
Gossip Girl
90210
The Big Bang Theory
WWE Monday Night Raw
WWE Friday Night Smackdown
Supernatural
The Secret Circle
How Do I Look?
Jane By Design
Once Upon a Time
The Walking Dead

Shows I want to start watching.
The Guild
Suburbgatory
How I Met Your Mother

What television shows do you watch?

Doing Things for Others Brings You to the Land of Positivity!

Sometimes, the best way to feel good about yourself is to invest some time in others.

Some wise words from Megan over at Charade Style. Now I have a little confession to make -- I do a lot of things for others and you know what it makes me feel GOOD. In this day and age it is all about the individual, what can you do to make yourself stand out? Well why not helping others be what sets you apart? You might also attract like minded individuals to your cause. Right now my own individual emphasis is finding happiness. As Megan has asked -- We can choose to be positive life forces or we can choose to be negative life forces; what do you choose? I will admit I did have a relapse last week with David when he invited me to watch the NFC Championship game with his friends. I became over-analytical, overzealous, and over thought everything instead of just saying "you know what? He enjoys sports and wants to share it with me so why not go?" I did go, made the best of the situation as I do not know a lot about sports, and had fun. David's team won too and is off to the Super Bowl and he called me his "good luck charm". He roots for the New York Giants by the way.

Now that I have rambled on...let me outline for you some of the helpful things I do for others and that make me feel good/positive. These things can be small or big. The point is to invest in some time in others. Everyone needs some sort of support group and people like it when you are interested in them. Here we go:

1: Go through your closet and donate some items you know you will never wear again to a shelter. I did that three times for The Bowery Mission and it felt so good.

2: Holding the door open for people. Even if they do not say thank you, you at least know you did something nice.

3: Assisting a lost tourist in NYC or whichever city you might live in. Offer places to go too!

4: Volunteer at a library to help someone learn how to read.

5: If your friends have an interest that you really do not know that much about (for example David is a big sports fan) ask them about it! David loves it when I do this. It shows that you care about their life and what they are into.

6: Making a cup of tea for my mom, brother, or father just the way they like it.

7: Bringing in heavy groceries and helping put them away in my house.

What do you do for others?

I Will Never: Read This Book

Through the power of TheMarySue.com, which in my opinion is the best website for geek girl culture, I found this website/blog called Being Geek Chic and she had this fantastic blog post called I never: read this book. It got me thinking -- I am a book worm; what books will I never read? Well here it goes..

1: Any book by the lame brains on Jersey Shore. I am talking these titles: A Shore Thing by Snooki, Here's the Situation: A Guide to Creeping on Chicks, Avoiding Grenades, and Getting in Your GTL on the Jersey Shore by Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino, The Rules According to JWOWW: Shore-Tested Secrets on Landing a Mint Guy, Staying Fresh to Death, and Kicking the Competition to the Curb by Jenni Farley, and so on. Here is why: Most of these books I have mentioned are ghost-written meaning they did not put in the grueling work that it takes to write a book. Also, as a New Jerseyian; an Italian-American New Jerseyian at that, these books just put a foul taste in my mouth as now most people view us as these type of people and it is sickening.

2: Dollhouse by Kim Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian and Khloe Kardashian. Ugh. I do not need to know every waking thing about these socialites. Are they smart in the realm of business as they have trademarked themselves? Yes but sometimes you just need privacy in your life. Mystery does go a long way.

3: Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Plus On Stieg Larsson by Stieg Larsson. This selection I might get a lot of flack for. I used the 100 page rule for the first book and I could not get through it. Incredibly boring as well as if anything is overhyped as the flavor of the month, I tend to shy away from it.

4: Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy by Caroline Kennedy. Another book that falls into the invasion of privacy. Also Caroline Kennedy has done nothing except come out of the right womb and has not had to work for anything in her life. Ugh.

What books fall into your I Will Never Read list?

Things I Love Thursday -- January 19, 2012 Edition

Why hello there fellow readers and bloggers! Here is what I am in love with this week.

~~Liveblogging on Yahoo for the Golden Globes. Here are my comments that made it on the blog along with the timestamp:
8:43 Comment From Danielle Dadamo Thank you Vera!
8:50 Comment From Danielle Dadamo i do not like her dress. It is too long. (talking about Madonna)
8:51 Comment From Danielle Dadamo Plus what is up with the one glove? Homage to MJ? (still talking about Madonna)
8:57 Comment From Danielle Dadamo I would like to thank all of the panelists for this. This is fun and the fact that I can be part of a live blog for an awards show is amazing!
8:59 Comment From Danielle Dadamo Yeah sure Vera! Just joking with you.
9:12 Comment From Danielle Dadamo Why does George Clooney have a cane?
9:23 Comment From Danielle Dadamo Loved Midnight in Paris!
9:26 Comment From Danielle Dadamo Nice factoid Vera!
9:37 Comment From Danielle Dadamo Daniel: It shows that they are grounded.
9:44 Comment From Danielle Dadamo COME ON JOHNNY GAELICKI!
9:45 Comment From Danielle Dadamo JOHNNY WAS ROBBED!
9:48 Comment From Danielle Dadamo That sounds interesting Vera...
10:07 Comment From Danielle Dadamo The movie was Lean On Me, Rich
10:25 Comment From Danielle Dadamo Show the ring Jessica Biel!
10:58 Comment From Danielle Dadamo This has been a lot of fun! Thank you!

~~Joining Plaent Fitness. I work out three days a week now. Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays.
~~Watching Golden Globes and discussing it with my pal Josy.
~~The television show Jane By Design on ABCFamily. It is a mixture of Clueless with Don't Tell Mom the BabySitters Dead. Love it!
~~Chinese New Year Celebration in 4 days! I can not wait!
~~Thinking of what to get myself for my birthday.
~~The excitement of football playoffs, even though my teams are not in it.
~~Going to a New Orleans Saints bar in NYC and soaking up the experience.
~~Going swimming in the middle of January in a heated pool. It was lovely!
~~Latest salad obsession: Mixed greens with apple, cranberries, feta cheese, and greek dressing. Holy yum!
~~Getting back into studying French.
~~Reading before work.


What are you in love with this week?

Epic First Weekend of 2012

This weekend was a bunch of firsts -- first visit of a gallery in 2012, first walk in 2012, first donation in 2012, first event in 2012. i am spending a lot of time doing things that I enjoy without the crutch of an excuse and i am so much in love. I feel so lucky that I live in an area that does not get boring and that there is always something new to try, new to go to, new to eat. This weekend the weather was fantastic. Not too cold, not too warm, just PERFECT.


On Friday, I went to TNA Wrestling in Long Island. This has become my New Year tradition apparently. it seems the past three years during the first weekend of January I have wound up at a TNA Wrestling show in Long Island. The show this year sucked in my opinion. It just seemed to go through the motions -- this was the card and that was it. Nothing memorable, nothing exciting. I am glad that David got the mask that Jeff Hardy painted autographed. After the show we were off to Sonic where I got two Chicago dogs and they were quite nummy.












Saturday was all sorts of epic. First I had some donations to give to The Bowery Mission so I went there first; even though my bag ripped! They are always quite appreciative of the donations though. Since the weather was gorgeous with a capital G, I walked to Mulberry Street where I visited the which is an NYC event space. Right now, the latest installation is an indoor pop up park calledPark Here!. Here is the official description: Park Here is Openhouse Gallery's response to frigid winter. It's a pop-up park in the heart of Nolita that's blooming when nothing else is. Park Here has plush grass, beautiful foliage, picnic blankets, oversized bean bags and hammocks. Blazing fast WiFi, morningsexclusively for moms and their kids and kicking off with a Rolling Stone concert series. This park has plenty of
food vendors too. OPEN DAILY 12PM - 8PM DEC 5TH - FEB 15TH.

I figured this would be the perfect time to go because in NYC where something is getting close to its closing date, EVERYONE shows up. This park is located at 201 Mulberry St. between Spring + Kenmare Street and it is quite nice. You do feel like you are in a park but I guess that is the point. i went it, walked around, tried some jam from The Jam Stand as well as enjoyed a ginger ale and some Pop Chips. I will definitely make my way back to this place before February 15th. Check out my pictures below.







After I left Park Here, I decided to get my first dessert of 2012 at Rice to Riches located on Spring Street. This place has had features in a slew of New York magazines as well as Food Network. I could get over the signs on the windows of the place. Here is one of them: After ogling all of the different flavors, I decided to try a hazelnut chocolate bear hug rice pudding. Let me tell you -- this place is expensive. A solo serving will cost you $7 dollars but you do get a nice size portion. No wonder why it is so popular! I think the next time i go there I will try their sex, drugs, and rocky road flavor.

Since rice pudding can be heavy, I decided to take a nice long walk. I walked down to Bowery to find Prince Street and said to myself "wait, I can get the R train on this street!" I walked down the street and took in the crisp warm air. it was such a great weather night on Saturday. Made my way into Brooklyn to watch the New Orleans Saints stomp all over the Detroit Lions and spend quality alone time with David.

Come Sunday it was time to call the weekend the end. I hope all of my weekends in 2012 are like this. One can only hope and since I am a planner as I mentioned in my last post...

Things I Love Thursday -- January 5, 2012 Edition

First Things I Love Thursday for 2012! This week has been a freezing one as I went back to work but still does not mean that was not filled with the hotness of love. With that said, here is what I am in love with this week:

~~My new graphics from my friend Michael.
~~My new blog design.
~~My Besty Bow Ring to remind me to always be my best. I got the Rebel one and it has not left my right hand since I got it.
~~This adorable video from the Pittsburgh Zoo

~~This remix from Skrillex

~~Not a big fan of Korn but I like this song.

~~Walking through the cold romantic air in NYC.
~~Getting back to my routine.
~~Shopping for Love Month supplies!
~~Dreaming happily.
~~My students and their funny ways. Gee I wonder where they get it from...
~~Getting sudden bursts of muse when it comes to writing.


What are you in love with this week?

True Individuality

Individual: noun 1.a single human being, as distinguished from a group. verb of, pertaining to, or characteristic of a particular person or thing:

When I saw this particular topic on Charade Style today, my mind exploded. Every day people are inundated with images, songs, news stories and what have you telling you how to be. What to wear, what to read, what to listen to, and so on and if you do not "conform" you are considered evil and an outcast. So to not be bullied in school or in the workforce, a lot of people fall into the trap of the exterior influences and are not happy with who we are. I reiterate verbatim what Megan said: Let’s start channelling our power into making the best of the self we hold in our hands right now and give-up the complaining and the fight to be something else.

Let us all feel happy about who we truly are. Who cares what others think right? We all talk about what others have so let me be materialistic for a second -- The most precious item you have in your entire life is YOUR INDIVIDUALITY. What makes YOU stand out. What makes YOUR LIFE magnificent and delicious. It is all about mental attitude and what makes YOU happy. You are born with your own individuality. Your parents did not give birth to a magazine or a television ad. It is a lot simpler to be yourself and not worry than to try to be the person you think your family, friends, and strangers want you to be. Who really knows what they want anyway? A life of integrity and individuality is one lived as your natural self -- not as some fictional character made up to accommodate and please those around you. So be yourself in all of your glorious quirkiness. You may be surprised how many people like you for just that.

So with this statement, and something I do on a regular basis, I spent a day with myself and figured out what truly makes me, well, me. As the homework that Megan gave on her blog which is linked above--Be aware of your thoughts, your cravings, your talents, your motives, your ambitions, your agendas, your triumphs, your ideas, your thrills and your spills. I then came up with ten truly individual and amazing qualities that define who I am. So without further ado...

My Ten Truly Individual Traits

1. I am always polite and gracious. I believe in the old cliche' "Kill Them With Kindness."

2. I am a planner.

3. I am a bookworm.

4. I am creative with words, photography, and videos.

5. Music, especially heavy metal and punk rock, drive me.

6. I am intelligent.

7. I am a kid at heart.

8. I have a sense of style that leans toward the bright, sparkly, and colorful side of life.

9. I have a deep love for the sport known as professional wrestling.

10. I am intelligent.


Now I ask all of you -- what makes you, well, YOU?

Thought Tuesday #30

Why hello there feature I forgot about! I am so sorry...this will not happen again. Anyway this little nugget comes from my Happiness Project page-a-day calendar.

SPONTANEOUS TRAIT TRANSFERENCE

In "spontaneous trait transference", people spontaneously and unintentionally associate what you say about the qualities of other people with the qualities of you. If you describe a colleague as hilarious, for example, the listener associates you with that quality. Ever wondered why people want to kill the messenger who brings bad news? Trait transference.


This definitely made me go hmm and realized that I want to be associated with positive traits; not negative ones. What about you?

Happy Two Thousand and Self!

It is 6pm on Sunday January 1, 2012 and I must say my year has started off well. I went into NYC and hung out at my favorite Starbucks which is located on 14th Street and 6th Avenue. While I was hanging out with my venti Vanilla Chai Latte and book, in walks in Gabrielle from Besty Bow Ring to hand me my ring. I got the Rebel version and it is very much rock and roll. Afterward I walked down to Union Square Park and to The Strand. It was a great day for a walk and reflection.

I have worked on my New Years Goals and they are below. I do not use the word "resolution" as it is a set up for failure. So without further ado..


Dani’s 2012 (Two Thousand and Self!) Goals
Starting: January 1, 2012
Ending: December 31, 2012

1.Read 52 books
2.Watch 100 movies
3.Visit 20 new and different restaurants
4.Go to 10 museums
5.Study French
6.Walk the Brooklyn Bridge
7.Save up for an Alexander McQueen scarf for my birthday.
8.Travel to 3 different states
9.Save at least $X0,000 by December 31, 2012 in savings account.
10.Try 10 foods I have never tried before, barring allergies.
11.Start to write a book using the Writers Toolbox and 21 Days to a Novel CD
12.Limit myself to one dessert a week.
13.Only eat one carb a day.
14. Drink 64oz of water a day.
15. Worry less, love more
16. Be more selfish with my own interests and needs.
17. Write more in my notebook and blog.
18. Participate in 365 Day Photo Project

I will also list events that I have gone to. My first event this year is TNA Wrestling in Westbury, Long Island on Friday January 6th.

What goals do you have for this year?