Today is before tomorrow which is after yesterday

This song has such a happy, sunny, uplifting beat to it that it is difficult not to get sucked into singing along (even if you sound like me). The lyrics of it make it that much more cheerful and captivating. I remember this one day in particular some time after my divorce was official and I was.... cruising down Sunset Boulevard on a warm sunny Spring day, in my midnight-black, Italian-leather-interiors, high performance convertible Bentley Continental GTC...when suddenly I realized I felt exactly as the song sang. How cool is that I say:)

What follows is one of my favourite tunes accompanied by pretty savvy, real messages/images which describe....ME.

Keep yourself straight and clear and be a happy human being today

One of the things that struck me most when I first moved to Canada was the lack of human touch/affection people had towards each other. I found "most" (but luckily not all) people were cold and distant and if you accidentally touched them by patting their arm, leg or shoulder (which I seem to do a lot) while engaged in conversation their body language would quite clearly state the discomfort of that physical contact. There were times when my warmth and touch accompanied by my outgoing personality were misunderstood for sexual advances (I now automatically tell boys, and sometimes girls: I'm just a friendly gal, please keep your clothes).

In Tantrism, the first thing is having the experience of touch, of profound contact with things, with the universe, without mental commotion. Everything begins there: touching the universe deeply. Shouldn't that apply to humans as well? Is being affectionate and showing that affection by way of touch wrong?

I rather have melted ice cream on my lips than biting into a popsicle. I prefer that ice cream to be coconut...mmm, mmm, good!

Because we all need a little Zen

(I love the words of this poem and its sensuality)

Show me your mysteries, I'll show you mine

As we embark outside this space and time.

Clasping hands we'll join the dance divine,

Flowing gently toward eternal rhyme.
Tell me your fantasies, I'll tell you mine

Show me your ecstasies that flow as wine.

Together we'll reach the highest peak sublime,

Drinking deeply from the spring of time.
Try as we might...

So many chambers in which to dwell
To reach the heights...

From the bottom of the wishing well
With second sight...

How we ascend only time will tell
To the Temple of Living Light...

Far beyond heaven and hell
Bare your heart to me, I'll give you mine

Though all alone we might be flying blind.

Through embrace fire and ice entwine,

Surging and merging as the ocean tide.



Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.

We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out.

A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play; his labor and his leisure; his mind and his body; his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing, and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself, he always appears to be doing both.

For Once in my life

One of my favourite artist, and one of my favourite songs.

IT'S A BOY

Well, here it is! The newest addition to the regal family, and his name is BENITO (what else would you expect?).

He's a "Tea-cup Shih Tzu", three months old, only weighs 8 lbs, incredibly soft and absolutely adorable.

I thought hard and long before adopting him. I even made a "pros" and "cons" list (just like I do with anyone I date. what? doesn't everyone?). In the end, I decided he would be a healthy addition to our family, and a healthy one to both Vinnie and me. (thank you Jon for giving me the push that I needed - and thank you for welcoming Benito along with me this afternoon. The queen will for ever be grateful).

Granted, most are aware of my "commitment issues" when it comes to anything (anyone) outside of Vinnie, and getting Benito was the scariest thing ever for me (I know....I'm sad) - however, breaking the pattern is exactly what I needed and I must say, it feels gooooooooood.

Of course, none of this would've happened if it weren't for Vinnie who's been begging for months to get a puppy. This cute ball of softness is technically his (Vinnie's). It is hardly possible to find the words to describe how it felt inside my body when I finally gave in and told Vinnie: "Ok, let's do it. Let's get a puppy". Vinnie's eyes opened wide and I've never seen such big smile on that cute face of his - it brought sunshine to my heart.

Who says changes are bad? I think changes can be very good, and I'm learning very slowly (baby steps) that it's ok to dive into the unknown, the uncertain, and to open yourself up to new possibilities.

Remembering a Kiss

[Mimmo, questa la dedico a te Stronzone. Bacioni dal Canada].

Is teenage love a different kind of love? I believe that teenage love is the first step to developing normal healthy relationships in the future. I've heard many people talk about how they have never forgotten their first love. Maybe that's because it taught them how to love? So perhaps teenage love is a steppingstone toward the paths we may choose in our lives. Love, whether new or old, is a way to share important things with a person you are close to and trust. We all need that, but I think teenagers need love more than anyone. Who else better to get love from than another teenager who's going through the same transitions that you are? Who's to say what kind of love is valid? All love is valid.

Mimmo may not exactly have been “my first” love but certainly one that captured me to the point that to date, the very memory of it still brings a smile to my face. And he turned out to be the only person, twenty some years later, who I continued to talk to.

I have fond, innocent memories of my teenage years growing up in Rome, and I find today that innocence is disappearing and I miss it. Kids these days are different. They talk about "hooking up"; sex indiscriminately with anyone without any emotional attachment. The norm at colleges; the norm before any actual relationship begins. I find it sad, reckless, empty and desperate. The days of searching for Mr. Right, of falling in love have taken back seat to gluttony.

After all these years, I still have a small flame that burns for my first crush. There's something magical about that. Few experiences will ever be as intense and overwhelming as your first crush. Mimmo was my first crush.

I was 14 and he was 16. The first time I saw him we were both at a local Discothèque in Sacrofano (Rome) and I remember asking my friend (Nayla): who is that? She replied: you don’t want to get involved with him - trust me. Ha, well needless to say that’s all I needed to hear – I definitely, without a doubt wanted to get involved with him:) From that day on I would try in any way possible to get to know him and I eventually did. As we spent time together I began dreaming and having thoughts of "happily ever after" poured through my innocent young mind.

Our story was not without complication (ha, story of my life). When I wanted him he had a girlfriend; when he wanted me, I had a boyfriend. But somewhere in between we managed to have a little love story of our own, and it was delicious. Over time we became great friends, and one thing I knew for certain, we truly cared about each other.

Mimmo and I had an innocent "crush", which involved passionate glances, passionate kisses and some touching (as far as I was willing to let him go OVER my clothes). Still, it was intense. I remember riding in the back seat of his VESPA and having my arms wrapped around him wishing the ride would never end; that I could find a way to be still in that very moment for ever. The sun kissing down on us, the wind blowing in our faces, and a few bugs to pick off our teeth later – how do you forget such moments? I still remember how his beautiful eyes would stare at my lips as he moistened his and he'd say I had the most beautiful lips...Ha, it worked every time;)

The one moment I have never forgotten was “that kiss”. One evening we were outside of this coffee shop where we all hang out regularly (Paola e Mino…I believe) and at that time he was seeing this girl (Monica). I had put my mind at rest that Mimmo and I were meant to be just friends and as he and I left our group of friends to take a walk that was exactly what we talked about - let's just be friends! As we turned around and started to walk back to our friends I felt this sudden pulling of my arm, he firmly turned me around and pushed me close to him and gave me one of the best kisses I have ever had (one that I’m willing to mention on here anyway). The world stopped! I felt such passion even though his lips were gentle and soft. I remember it so vividly to this day (Mimmo te lo ricordi?).

It’s amazing how little importance men put on kissing these days. The first kiss is something that women place a lot of importance on and may even base how far they let the relationship progress. Their thinking is that if you can't get that right, chances are you won't be able to get the rest right either.

http://www.whereihadmyfirstkiss.com/

A passionate kiss is lightning that hits you on the lips, and dumps a searing, white current through you...
10 tips to a perfect kiss (according to "askmen.com" and I happen to agree):
1. Be alone (pretty straightforward here)
2. Have good breath (Always keep a pack of gum or mints in your car or in your jacket pocket)
3. Don‚t ask (Check her body language)
4. Take it easy (There is nothing that will turn a woman off faster than a guy who moves too quickly)
5. Touch her (while you kiss her, caress her body and feel her getting goose bumps)
6. Close your eyes (a great kiss is much more enjoyable when you are completely immersed in it)
7. Pretend she’s sleeping (gently awaken her sensual side)
8. Watch your tongue (Never shove your tongue down her throat - she might choke)
9. Don‚t slobber (Keep your saliva to yourself)
10.Pick your moment.


It's been scientifically proven that frequent kissing stabilizes cardiovascular activity, decreases high blood pressure, cholesterol and overall makes one's life better.
http://english.pravda.ru/science/19/94/377/12469_kiss.html


Benefits of kissing and why is Good for You:
- It helps prevent tooth decay
- It relieves tension
- It helps you lose weight
- It slows the aging process
- It increases fitness levels
- It’s a good indication of what’s to come
- It boosts self-esteem.

http://www.coolnurse.com/kissing.htm


A passionate kiss is
when everything around you
turns to curling, churning napalm
and a silent wind rises up and blows it away;
the ashes it leaves behind are damp, though, like your lips.

A passionate kiss erases your memory of what has gone before the kiss,
removes all desire to know what will be after the kiss,
and lets you live out your life in the long moment.


A KISS CAN SEAL THE DEAL.

I dedicate this to Mimmo, becasue after so many years, we have managed to keep in touch and though our lives are completely separate from each other we will always share some special teenage memories that after all these years, have kept us in contact and able to continue being (if in a small way) in each other’s life. And because of the obvious: he’s one of the few in my life that gave me a kiss worth remembering;)


So, pucker up people:)

13 Year Old Girl forced to Abort - Right or Wrong?

TURIN, Italy, February 19, 2007

An Italian judge ordered a 13 year-old girl to undergo an abortion, despite the girl's pleas to let her keep her child, reports the Italian news agency, La Stampa (original link: http://www.lastampa.it/Torino/cmsSezioni/cronaca/200702articoli/1641girata.asp

The 13 year old girl, Valentina, had become pregnant by her 15 year-old boyfriend, however rather than let her choose to keep her child, her parents demanded she have an abortion on the grounds that she was ruining her life by becoming a mother."You cannot hold this child ... you must abort, and father will never have to know, ”Valentina's mother told her, saying that she did not have the money to support the child.Despite Valentina's repeated attempts to make her parents understand she wanted to choose to keep her baby, the case went to the Court of Minors.

Judge Giuseppe Cocilovo then issued the ruling to abort Valentina's child. Under Italian law, a minor may not decide whether to keep or abort her child, and may be forced by her guardians or parents to undergo an abortion. However, the abortion has meant nothing less than disaster for Valentina, who was confined to the psychiatric unit of Regina Margherita children's hospital in Turin after the abortion for wanting to commit suicide. “You have made me kill, and now I kill myself, I kill myself”, cried Valentina. "I do not want to be here," Valentina repeated. "I am not crazy, I am sick for what my parents and the judges have forced me to do."

The case of Valentina is an egregious case of forced abortion in Italy, where one would expect that a woman‘s “right to choose” would mean the possibility of choosing life. However, the silence of purportedly "pro-choice" feminist groups has been deafening thus far over 13 year-old Valentina's forced abortion, despite her very own choice that her body should carry life.

Obviously a 13 year-old is too young to be a parent, but why kill the baby? The baby is innocent....why not give the baby up for adoption and give him/her a chance to life?
This is not a single incident, this has happened and will continue to happen over and over again, not just in Italy but all over the world. Why? Someone I once knew briefly told me of a friend who had had not one, not two but THREE abortions. I'm not normally judgemental but after THREE abortions I'd probably have more respect for a pig. Though we all make different choices in life, right or wrong, I would hope that after one mistake (and not a light one) such as this you would have learned - but it's obvious these days the kind of weight we put on human life - none. I heard more than once: For the first three months you're pregnant it's NOT really a life you carry inside of you. I am repulsed every time those words come out of anyone's mouth. Every time I look into my son's eyes I see not just his life, but mine as well, and to me he was a life from the moment he was conceived.

There have been those who said to me: "If you've never been there, how can you firmly say what you would do?". No, I have never had to make such choice but that's because TO ME there is no choice to be made.

I had a friend back home who had an abortion when she was 21 and I held her hand the day she went to the clinic. I waited in the waiting room and I sat with her and offered her my arms and shoulder when she cried. That was HER choice, and I stood by her because I love her and because she is human. No one has a right to judge the choices you make in YOUR life. Me? I could not do it, and that is my choice.

Is it Murder?
8 Weeks Gestation
All essential organs have begun to form.
Elbows and toes are visible.
The fingers have grown to the first joint.
Facial features — the eyes, nose, lips, and tongue — continue to develop.
The outer ears begin to take shape.
Organs begin to be controlled by the brain.
The length is about 1/2 to 3/4 inch.

Here's a link to abortion photos. What do these pictures say about life and the choices we are making?

PLEASE NOTE THAT THESE ARE VERY GRAPHIC ABORTION PHOTOS. DO NOT CLICK HERE UNLESS YOU WANT TO SEE THOSE PICTURES.

I was only able to see one or two photos and then I had to close the link just before I began sobbing uncontrollably.

http://www.100abortionpictures.com/Aborted_Baby_Pictures_Abortion_Photos/