One a Day.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Since that never worked for me growing up, I decided to follow some other advice:

Do one thing, every day that makes you happy. Go discover a fountain that talks (did that). Buy Mozzarella di Buffala (my excuse: you can’t find it in America). Paint your nails (sometimes, it really is fun to be girly). Buy a new shirt (or save your money for traveling). Read a book in a language you understand completely, just because you can (A Tale of Two Cities: highly recommended). Spend the day with someone you’ve never met before, and will probably never meet again (this is another post entirely). Take pictures of people who make you laugh. Or smile. Or are just plain outrageous (I can be kind of a creeper with my camera- anything for a good photo).

It's Fonzie! The right picture is the real Fonzie- we just spied his young admirer while reading in Piazza del Campo:

Or, take the time to type out an obnoxiously long quote and send it in a text to someone: Layne and I were traveling on trains to opposite destinations and still we could communicate or random little thoughts. Thank you, technology.

“Mr. Cruncher always spoke of the year of our lord as Anna Dominoes: apparently under the impression that the Christian era dated from the invention of a popular game by a lady who bestowed her name upon it.” -Dickens

Her response was definitely more thought provoking:

“It is vain to say human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquility: they must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it.” -Jane Austin

I found this quote incredibly insightful. Jane Austin knew what she was writing when she so acutely scrutinized human behavior. I long for peace and tranquility in my life, for everything to be easy, yet I intentionally put things in the way to prevent this state from being a norm. Of course, it’s a necessity that one has periods of tranquility in their life, but, to pull out another cliché phrase, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing.

Tension. Anxiety. Discomfort. Apprehension. These adjectives pull us apart, rearranging us, forcing us out of our mold and into something more beautiful, into a shape that in the end, will reflect what we’ve become. We’re like mozzarella. With enough twisting, tearing and dips into boiling water, we’ll turn into something desirable. Sorry, it really is just that good.

This is one of my recent splurges. All .99 centesimi of it. It's perfect for my slightly-longer-than-weekly grocery trips. Oh, how I miss the ease of having a car.

A close up, for your viewing pleasure. Creepy, certainly, but truly the epitome of my Italian eating. I live off of basil, tomatoes, fresh pasta and mozzarella. Veramente.

Moral of the story: lay and bed and read in the morning. Purposefully get lost and see what you find. Whatever makes you're day exceptional.