I Like...

I LIKE...

Saturdays, because I don’t have to work and I can continue to snuggle in bed… alone.

Listening to Delilah on the radio, with her soothing voice and sappy love songs

Dog-eared books, reminders of many hours spent dreaming about other worlds

Watching AlDub fall in love. Trying to hide my wide grin. I believe that this loveteam earned the word "kilig" a place in the Oxford dictionary

A Jigzone puzzle with 247-piece triangles to completely empty the mind. No cares in the world except to click and click.

Old couples walking hand-in-hand. It's nice to know that there is a "forever".

Big veins on the patient’s arms, back when I was still at the bedside.

Old photographs of family and friends, especially when I'm homesick. Then I miss them so much more.

Boomer waiting by the window. Unconditional love.

Walking in the rain with friends as we double up in laughter. Certified Pluviophile here.

Double rainbows, double pots of gold.

Bob Ross and Norman Rockwell, geniuses and psychotherapists

The cover picture on my book, when I was young and somewhat pretty.

Challenging myself, out of my comfort zone.

Writing. Leaving a legacy of my thoughts.

Knowing that I have options, that I have so much more to offer.

Simple Pleasures: Beloved Geniuses

BOB ROSS (1942-1995)

A tree is not just a tree, not when it’s Bob Ross’s tree. He painted happy trees and happy clouds. Even a simple snow-capped mountain glistens and the river streams joyfully on his canvas.

Bob Ross, the Air force veteran turned painter and PBS television host, has a cult-like presence in the internet and his “Joy of Painting” show is considered the most-recognized, most-watched art show in the world.

It’s not just the painting. Just watching the bushy-haired and mellow-voiced Bob transform a blank canvas into a beautiful world of landscapes with an occasional squirrel provides a peaceful respite from the crazy world.

It is some kind of therapy; a reminder to pause in our fast paced daily existence to enjoy the simple things in life.

I had a curious fascination with Bob as he charmingly instructs us on his wet-on-wet technique of dabbing vibrant colors, often changing his mind where his happy little trees and bushes reside.

“We don't make mistakes, we just have happy accidents.”

“I can't think of anything more rewarding than being able to express yourself to others through painting. Exercising the imagination, experimenting with talents, being creative; these things, to me, are truly the windows to your soul.”

“There's nothing wrong with having a tree as a friend.”

“The secret to doing anything is believing that you can do it. Anything that you believe you can do strong enough, you can do. Anything. As long as you believe.”

NORMAN ROCKWELL (1894-1978)

Norman Rockwell painted Americana. It is his artistic legacy.

Norman Rockwell’s warm and humorous depictions of small-town 20th-century America had given the world a wistful glimpse of a much simpler and innocent time.

He is the quintessential American who had inspired genius filmmakers like Steven Spielberg and George Lucas to collect their own Rockwells.

His vivid illustrations on the Saturday Evening Post covers showcased ordinary people in a nostalgic frame of naivete and simple joys. His paintings were charming anecdotes of the time, but he had also chronicled more serious themes such as his famous Four Freedoms and Civil rights series.



"Maybe as I grew up and found the world wasn't the perfect place I had thought it to be, I unconsciously decided that if it wasn't an ideal world, it should be, and so painted only the ideal aspects of it," he once said.

“The secret to so many artists living so long is that every painting is a new adventure. So, you see, they’re always looking ahead to something new and exciting. The secret is not to look back.”

Funny Thanksgiving

On this Thanksgiving Day, especially after Hurricane Sandy, there is a need to give thanks for the simple things in life. For family and friends. For our health and safety. For everything else that God provides.

For those things that make us smile. And laugh out loud.

The irrepressible Maxine who says what she thinks. When I get to be her age, I will definitely relish doing exactly that, lol.

This is the real Norman Rockwell drawing-

And before we place the blame on the tryptophan for the "turkey coma", the culprit is really the serotonin effect of all the protein-fat combination or just the gluttonous excuse of the holiday. Or it could just be the alcohol. These poor turkeys don't have a chance.



This is the Brits' version of their Christmas turkey-



And this is why I don't even try to cook turkey. Hello Boston Market.



Addendum: Nov. 26, 2013

For the first time since 1888, the two holidays of Thanksgiving and Hanukkah will converge. This marks the first joint celebration of the two holidays named THANKSGIVUKKAH. Enjoy the holiday with family and friends.

On Not Feeling Guilty About Guilty Pleasures: Korean Telenovelas, Harry Potter, Books, Old-time Crooners, Norman Rockwell, Food

If something gives me pleasure, why should I feel guilty?

According to Wikipedia (another guilty pleasure), a guilty pleasure is "something one enjoys and considers pleasurable despite feeling guilt for enjoying it". The "guilt" involved is sometimes simply fear of others discovering one's lowbrow or otherwise embarrassing tastes.

Excuse me, but I don't consider my tastes "low-brow"; it's just that others do not have the same good taste that I have. Really, no accounting for taste. (Picture me clicking my fingers with an attitude.)

Young ones mistakenly think that they need to conform to be cool. But in my maturity and wisdom, I can finally claim my God-given right to state my own opinions and proclaim them to the whole wide world without fear of repercussions, without any embarrassment, or a dip in my social standing... what the heck, I deserve my guilty pleasures.

So, dear readers, these are my favorite things:


1. Korean Telenovelas-


Watching Korean dramas till dawn (even though I had school papers to write early this year) and reliving lost youth with sweet romances and naivete, albeit with subtitles.

For full measure, I even had the audio turned up just to hear their voices. "Saranghae" (I love you) sounds more romantic in Korean. Lee Min Ho, Lee Dong Wook, Jo Hyun Jae... all gorgeous and, unfortunately, too young. ( Ah, to be 18 again).
NOT GUILTY!



2. Harry Potter-

I am a Muggle and I'm proud of it. Magic and sorcery are woven with masterful and imaginative brushstrokes by welfare mom-turned-cultural icon J.K. Rowling. More bonding through reading, I shared Harry, Ron, and Hermione with my son through seven books, most of which I devoured one night way ahead of my son... just to explain the eye bags the day after.
NOT GUILTY!



3. Books- check out my design template

By my modest approximation (and a big dent to my finances), I have close to a thousand books in my home, half of which are unfortunately packed in boxes waiting for that time when I have a bigger house.

My future library will have wall-to-wall shelves that will be bulging with my classics collection- some Agatha Christie and Jane Austen novels, and certainly none of that brain-numbing-torture-from-highschool Shakespeare nor Tolstoy for me.

My eclectic collection will display my fascination with numerous authors, especially Angelou, Keillor, Koontz, Sparks, Roberts, Baldacci, Meyer, Higgins Clark, Grisham, Cornwell, Albom, Sheldon, and that queen of humor, Bombeck.

It all started at age 16 with extreme addiction to Mills and Boon romances with their British maidens and dashing foreign-born heroes; I flashback to those nights spent under covers with a flashlight just so as not to disturb my mom.

No Kindle for me. Why spoil the pleasure of smelling the books and of putting dog ears on the pages (to the utmost consternation of my son, who hates putting dog ears on books)?
NOT GUILTY!

Addendum: 6/12/14. Argh! I have succumbed to the temptation of convenience. Finally got a Kindle and loaded up on books since I have no time to go to bookstores anymore. On rare occasions, I have managed to sneak to the neighborhood CVS stores to buy books that I can smell and dog-ear.



4. Old-time crooners
Perry Como, Matt Monroe, and Andy Williams were respected vocalists of eras gone by when the singing was seemingly effortless and their intonations impeccable. When the crooners looked debonair and suave in suits, or in Williams' case, sweaters. No low-waist pants with crotches on their knees worn by hip-hop artists of today (shudders). For the record... these gentlemen were actually before my time.

Listen to Perry Como's "And I Love You So". Close your eyes and let the melodious voice envelop you like a warm embrace. Sigh.
NOT GUILTY!







5. Norman Rockwell

One of my prized possessions was a gift of an oversized Norman Rockwell book from a friend (Thanks, Fe-pot). According to filmmaker Steven Spielberg, “Rockwell painted the American dream — better than anyone.”

My mouth watered at the glorious illustrations of Americana. His vivid portraits of everyday life graced the covers of The Saturday Evening Post. I had dreamed of following in his footsteps, until my rude awakening that I can't draw bodies, only faces.
NOT GUILTY!



6. Food- "I see food, I eat"

Can't get the Thai Crunch salad from California Pizza Kitchen out of my mind: Interesting flavors with fried wonton strips, fried rice strips, avocado, cabbage, carrots, scallions, cucumber, cilantro, edamame, and peanuts with lime-cilantro and Thai peanut dressing.

Yummy!!! Never mind that this salad staggers with 1460 calories!!!
NOT GUILTY!


I'm not guilty!!!!! I'm pleased. :)


PART 2- http://jcerrudocreations.blogspot.com/2012/12/guilty-pleasures-part-2.html

PART 3- https://jcerrudocreations.blogspot.com/2019/07/guilty-pleasures-part-3-audio-books.html