Deliciously Helpful!

I'm always on the quest for something delicious!

Joely Fisher

Well, I have found something absolutely "delicious" to share with you. It's a site called http://del.icio.us/. In addition to its...well...profoundly delicious name, it's a wonderful site in and of itself. In a nutshell, it allows you to store all your favorites (i.e. "bookmarks") in one Internet location so that you can access them from any computer. I don't know about you, but I find this resource most helpful indeedy! I can't tell you how many times I have gone to use a computer other than my own and forgotten the url of the site I want to visit because I've kept it stored in my favorites on my home computer. Having one-click access to your bookmarks is the Internet equivalent of speed dial--good to have, but it does tax the old brain cells when it' s not available! If you travel, use Internet cafes or the free computers at the library (or just mooch off your friends!), it's a great site to be able to access. It's also handy if you don't want the entire office seeing that you saved your personal web sites to your favorites. Your co-workers don't really need to know that you've joined Weight Watchers or that you read the postings at My Jellybean.

It involves the downloading and installation of two small buttons to your toolbar, but then you'll be up and running. In addition, http://del.icio.us/ can help you search for sites that might be of interest to you, alerts you of "tags to watch" ("tags" being a bookmarked favorite on the site), allows you to establish a network of other del.cio.us users, and points out the popular items on the site. If you have a web site yourself, it's a great tool to drive traffic to your site. It's also got a great blog.

In their own words:

del.icio.us is a social bookmarking website, which means it is designed to allow you to store and share bookmarks on the web, instead of inside your browser. This has several advantages.
First, you can get to your bookmarks from anywhere, no matter whether you're at home, at work, in a library, or on a friend's computer.
Second, you can share your bookmarks publicly, so your friends, coworkers, and other people can view them for reference, amusement, collaboration, or anything else. (Note that you can also mark bookmarks on del.icio.us as private -- only viewable by you -- if you like.)
Third, you can find other people on del.icio.us who have interesting bookmarks and add their links to your own collection. Everyone on del.icio.us chooses to save their bookmarks for a reason. You have access to the links that everyone wants to remember. You can see whether two people have chosen to remember a link, or whether it was useful enough for a thousand people to remember -- which may help you find things that are useful for you, too.

Here's how to get started with del.icio.us. Check it out--you'll be impressed! And remember to flag my blog and web site after you sign up!

Decompression

I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.

Charles Dickens

The week between Christmas and New Year's Day always feels very unique. Is it just me--or does anyone else notice? The frenzy is over (unless you're one of those brave people, of which I am not, who brave the post-holiday return-0-rama at the malls). The New Year is not yet upon us--so need need to leap into those resolutions just yet (she said enthusiastically as she reached for the leftover holiday cookies). I am neither traveling (thank heavens!), nor entertaining. My business is a bit sluggish--all well and good for those brides that got engaged over the holiday will be calling upon me soon enough.

Yes, as the weeks of the year go, this is kind of a lame duck. I confess that I like it. I've given myself permission to ponder, to gear up for the deluge that will inevitably appear in under two weeks time, even...perhaps...to be.. a bit... (gasp!) LAZY! Remember lazy? Remember this idyllic week of your childhood where the entire holiday break from school lay before you and you had hours and hours of time to revel in your holiday booty? Ah...bliss....

Everyone needs a break from the routines and minutiae of daily life--it's how we recharge our batteries, renew our spirits and refresh our souls.Perhaps a new holiday tradition for you might be to get in the habit of using this week of the year for just that purpose!

Unexpected delights

All creative people want to do the unexpected.

Hedy Lamarr

Don't you just love it when someone goes to the trouble to do something marvelously unexpected just for you? Often the doers of these deeds think they've done nothing grand, yet they have no idea how much their thoughtful action impacts the mood of the recipient. I'm convinced that the more attention I pay to these event in my life, the more they seem to show up.

This past weekend, I married Jaime and Pat at a beautifully intimate wedding ceremony at the Little Nell in Aspen. At the conclusion of the ceremony, the best man slipped me an envelope with a generous tip, which I of course appreciated. That wasn't the best part, however. As I was leaving, I was handed a box by the coordinator and I was told it was yet another gift from the bride and groom. The box was a fairly good size--perhaps 12 " square by 6' deep and I admit I was both puzzled and intrigued. With all the finesse and decorum I could muster, I offered a congratulatory good-bye to the bride and groom, who were busy with photographs, walked sedately to my vehicle, closed the door, and looking around like a child guilty of opening presents before Christmas, eagerly tore into my treasure. And what a treasure! Hailing from Minnesota and working form the 3M Company, Jaime and Patrick had filled this box with cornucopia of 3M products. It was like Christmas! I've never been so excited over Post-its, sponges, magic erasers, or adhesive products in my life! I took the box back to our hotel, where Jeremy and I gleefully sifted through it's contents over and over, each time coming up with a new product to exclaim over and talk about how we'd use it. Jaime and Patrick probably had no idea of the delight his unexpected treasure brought to me. And how kind of them to take the time when I'm sure they had many other things on their minds.

And then, just today, I received a wonderful email from Erynn and Levi, wishing me a happy holiday. I will be performing their ceremony at the Vineyard Chapel next August. I had the pleasure of meeting with the two of them this past August and we won't begin working on their ceremony in earnest until late Spring. The fact that they took a moment from their busy holiday/wedding planning-filled lives to send me good cheer filled my day with warmth and delight.

Both of these couples have inspired me to remember how significant "small" actions can be. I'm thinking of making my New Year's resolution "Give Unexpected Delights". I never lose the 10 lbs. anyway and this might be something I can actually stick to!

Peace on Earth

The spirit of Christmas is-and hopefully always will be-about goodwill and generosity to others and peace on earth.

Nick Rahall

The Seattle-Tacoma International Airport has felt compelled to remove its holiday trees this year. Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky requested the addition of a holiday menorah, and the airport responded by removing the trees so they "wouldn't appear to be exclusive." Of course, both sides have consulted their attorneys and undoubtedly there will be litigation. So much for peace on earth!

I've married many couples where the partners are of different faiths (or where one of the partners has no religious affinity, but the other does). The folks in Seattle could learn a lot from them. These couples understand that love is more important than dogma and symbolism and that the heart of all spirituality and religion is pretty much the same. They have melded their various holiday traditions to reflect the harmonious life which they pledged to live with one another. It's pretty simple, really. No need for attorneys!

Having grown up in a staunch Catholic home and now professing a more "spiritual as opposed to religious with a bit of Science of Mind and Spririt and Feng Shui thrown in" outlook, I have managed to mesh my life with my partner, Jeremy, who is Jewish. When he tells me the story of Hanukkah, the menorah and the Maccabees, it sounds little different in scope than the Christian upbringing I lived. Of course the facts differ radically, but the essence boils down to family, love, miracles, and of course--food! Who wouldn't embrace such a holiday?

Last December, my friend Kim (who is also one of Lyssabeth's wedding officiants) had her children create both Christmas cookies and marshmallow menorahs. The kids see absolutely nothing crazy about this, which is as it should be. This year, there will be a menorah on our mantel, 6 feet away from our Christmas tree (which we also call laughingly call the Hanukkah Bush when it suits our purpose.) We will have a Hanukkah party where we might decorate Christmas cookies, spin the dreidel and read The Night Before Christmas to my two-year old granddaughter. It's all about celebrating with family our love and good fortune and I'm willing to bet that similar joint traditions will be carried out in many homes.

And that is a lesson from which our religious leaders and government officials should learn.

To Work or Not to Work

Anything that does not bring you alive is too small for you.

David Whyte

I received an email from one of my brides this morning--a delightful gal named Jocelyn who is currently at Harvard Law School and coming home to Colorado to be wed by yours truly in July. We're trying to set up a meeting to write her ceremony this month, as she will be in town for the holidays. In trying to juggle her busy schedule, she requested a meeting with me on the 27th or 28th of December, asking me if I "worked" on those days (i.e. so close to Christmas).

I was touched by her consideration of my time, but must admit, the question puzzled me a little, for I seldom "work" at wedding-related activity. Webster defines work as "exertion or effort directed to produce or accomplish something; labor; toil." While the "accomplishment of something" part does appeal to me, the rest of the definition does not sound like something I want to do day in and day out. In fact, I try to avoid it as much as possible. I joyously wrote her back, laughingly explaining that I don't "work" when I write or perform ceremonies. I play, I create, I get inspired and I laugh on a daily basis and would be happy to do any and all of these things with her on the 27th or 28th of this month!

It called to mind a conversation I overheard recently at a restaurant where a group of women was listening to another gal exclaiming over the "benefits" of her workplace (there's that word again). The ladies were all abuzz, oohing and ahhing over two weeks paid vacation in the first year, health insurance, a supervisor magnanimous enough to allow the employee to leave 30 minutes early to attend a holiday party and loans from the employer to purchase personal computers. Wow! Talk about a different perspective! For me, the benefits of my "work" (if I called it that) that come immediately to mind are things like avoiding the morning commute, never having to shop on weekends, hiking in the mountains on a Thursday, taking off for a trip to Spain with the love of my life without asking any one's permission(which I am doing in January), and being able to throw in a load of laundry in between tasks. (Try telling your boss that you are running home to separate your whites from your colors and see how long you last!) Multi-tasking for the self-employed person means soaking in a hot bubble bath while you read your industry-related publications, or better yet--a novel or something inspirational. No, no....not work at all!

My purpose here is not to gloat, although I do admit to a tremendous sense of self-satisfaction on snowy mornings as I hear the spinning of tires outside of my window during the morning commute to (you guessed it) work! It is however, to get you to think a bit about the quality of the time you invest in an effort to keep a roof over your head and food in your belly. We all get the same 168 hours per week--shouldn't that which you do for most of that time be spent doing something that is the opposite of "toil"?

My First Blog!

Nourish beginnings, let us nourish beginnings. Not all things are blest, but the seeds of all things are blest.The blessing is in the seed.

Muriel Rukeyser

Okay, so I'm finally coming into the new millennium with my very own blog. My friend and colleague, Dixe Darr (who calls me the "Marryin' Woman") says having a blog is a must for my business and I've learned to follow her advice when it comes to The Art of Self Employment. She's usually right!

So, begin a blog I will! I love beginnings; perhaps that is why I am so passionate about my career as a wedding officiant. It's all about new beginnings, a new life together, new shared hopes. Beginnings are exciting, which is a wonderful alternative to endings, which are often sad, or middles, which can be downright tedious. Beginnings are energizing and bursting with possibilities.

I'm excited to share my thoughts with whomever is interested enough to read them. Some days i will share stories of the couples with whom I'm workling, other times, yu may be privy to my own personal musings. Either way, I hope to inspire, perhaps to make folks look at things in a different way, to encourage readers to act outside of their comfort zone and of course to instill laughter, which is one of life's most wonderful pleasures (it also burns calories!)