Day 185-Off the Market, In the Moment LONDON

I spent the holidays down South with the family so when I saw the blizzard was going to hit both us and New York City, I knew my long-anticipated London plans were in trouble. Made it through the ice to the airport for my flight, had a plane, was told Laguardia would open by 4pm only to be canceled 10 minutes later. I know I wasn't the only one stranded and singing this tune, not by a LONG shot, but there seemed to be no way to get to NYC and London. I'm pretty sure I yelled a good Southern damnit coupled with a foot stomp to left off a bit of steam.

With hope totally lost while standing in the rebooking line, I received a text from my new friend, ironically the guy from Meet me Halfway, who wanted to rent a car and drive. Talk about being in the moment AND meeting halfway! An hour or so later, we had embarked on our journey up 1-95 which funnily enough, could also be thought of as also a 10 hour date. Life has such a sense of humor...

Long car ride, short story-great time, great guy, and not sure of anything more than that. Which I think I'm ok with for a change. I think??? It's so hard to resist 26 years of learned behavior with the opposite sex!

But more importantly, LONDON! I'm sitting in my friends' lovely flat as we speak, contemplating which type of tea I'll begin my morning with. Morning being noon as it's so foggy in London you're totally fooled into what time it actually is which has resulted in me sleeping the latest I have in my entire life. I could get used to this!

But seriously, London has been amazing, and everything I hoped for. I'm very tempted to move my OFTITM self here. Even though I love, love, love New York, there's something about Europe that has such a special feel. Plus, the shopping, great food, and history surrounding your every step.

Buckingham Palace and the Changing of the Guards, Westminister and Big Ben, eating curry at Char Bizarre (highly recommend this, btw), and tea in Queen Anne's gardens. This trip has been amazing and worth every bit of craziness it took to get here!

Simply put, I've never felt more in the moment in my life. And now, I must finish my Earl Grey before embarking on another brilliant day.

I'm Off the Market & In the Moment!

Day 194-C is for Choice: Why Diamonds Wait for No Man (Sponsored Post)

When I turned 18, my mom gave me my grandmother's diamond ring. "Now you never have to wait for any man," she told me. I remember feeling a newfound sense of independence as my finger sparkled before me. No longer would I have to wait on another human being's validation of me to get a little bling. I already had the power.

Even though I still wear my ring every day, I haven't thought about that moment in a few years. Somewhere along the way, I lost that sense of security which my little token once gave me. I'm sure broken hearts have a tiny thing to do with it, and I also will give some credit to the neverending Facebook posts of friends getting engaged which let's face it, beats up us singles from time to time. And those damn "He went to Jared" commercials!

Nevertheless, the diamonds constantly call us. And make us feel powerful. And celebrated. They make us remember our worth. Yet, so few of us indulge in these secret wants and rather, wait for the guy(s) in our life to get a clue. But I'm taking my independence back this year! No longer will I gaze at those Tiffany windows wishing I could go on the fourth floor if ONLY I had a man beside me. Sure the engagement one celebrates a milestone, but there are too many beautiful diamonds in the world to just wait for the big day.

So with the holiday season around the corner, there's no better time to channel your inner Samantha. I challenge you to give yourself a little sparkle love. I'm personally digging this fashion ring from Diamond.Com.

Let's face it-the men in our single lady lives may come and go, but there's no denyin' our diamonds are rock solid. And therefore, our very best friends.

I'm Off the Market & In the Moment!

Day 200-200 Day Milestone Giveaway

200 days to go! 200 days to go! My how the time flies when you're having fun. Confidence is going up, the walls are going down, and I'm feeling more centered than ever.

ANYWAY.....in honor of today's milestone, I'm oh-so-ironically giving away two copies of the book IN STYLE:WEDDINGS (I crack myself up!) to the readers who share Off the Market & In the Moment's homepage link on their Internet or Social Media site (ie. Facebook, Twitter, etc).

To enter, share the OTMITM link on your page of choice and just copy and paste that URL in today's comment field. I'll randomly select two winners who will each receive a copy of this most-inspiring title to read under the covers late at night, gift away at their best friend's shower, or use as a strategically placed "hint" for that guy dragging his feet.

Deadline for Entry is Wednesday, December 15th at 3pm EST.

I'm Off the Market & In the Moment!

Day 204-Happy Friday from Downtown Dharma

Happy Friday! Congratulations to everyone for surviving what I'm sure was another busy week. Even though the holidays are the most wonderful time of the year, let's face it. For many of us, it also proves to be one of the most stressful times.

So I was pleasantly surprised--which is really no surprise--that today's Downtown Dharma gave me just the medicine I was looking for, a cure for stress in the city. As a result, I decided to take some writing stress off myself by opting to share Dharma's insight for today's post. So without further adieu, check out Punky Meditation:

1 Comment Posted by admin in Downtown Dharma
Josh Korda has silver teeth, sports tattoos from head to toe and lives in Williamsburg. Oh, and he’s also the spiritual teacher of a Buddhist meditation group called Dharma Punx.
Intrigued by his edgy enlightenment, I interviewed Korda months ago for a book proposal. He is a freelance art director by day, which allows him to conduct his Dharma Punx talks and sittings pro bono. The ancient Buddha never believed in receiving payment for spiritual services, Korda insisted. (He also didn’t live in Manhattan or enjoy fine dining, I responded.)

The day we met, he explained why we’re all so stressed out in the city.
“We base our identity on things that are constantly changing: work, money, beauty and friends,” Korda said. “We try to control what we have no control over. Instead, base your identity on the internal, on what’s inside.”

What’s inside me usually includes a very Chatty Cathy that’s not always so supportive. Meditation has helped me quiet my thoughts, keep me cool and allow real wisdom to surface. You know, wise thoughts like, yes, must work out today and no, a size two just wouldn’t look good on you.

I checked out the Dharma Punx meditation and dharma talk this past Tuesday. Meditating home alone is a big challenge, especially with the MacBook, iPhone and iPad nearby. Korda said that even the Buddha recognized our difficulty and suggested we meditate in groups to share in the experience.

The room was filled with hipsters and artists, layered in sweaters and tees: your typical LES bunch. During the 40-minute meditation through traffic sounds on 1st Avenue, Korda interjected with calming statements and thoughts like, “If we were more peaceful, there would be less suffering in the world.” I was hitting my Zen state. The grungy gathering was doing me right.

Korda’s Dharma talk afterwards was about isolation and suffering, which I interpreted as such: The mind kicks us when we are down. Life is suffering — people die, we gain weight.
“Buddha says we all get struck with arrows,” Korda told the group. “But for every arrow, we shoot many, many more into us. The bulk of suffering is what we create. Those extra thoughts that include, ‘What’s wrong with me?,’ ‘Why me?’ and ‘How could this be?’”
Part of the group’s purpose is to share and swap life stories so people can see we all have similar arrows.

I tried to keep my Zen mind state going on the train home. Though I got funny looks as I sat with my eyes half open and index and thumb fingers touching, meditation style on top of my iPad.

Then again, those thoughts could just be more arrows in disguise. Ohm…

Like what you're reading? Sign up for your own Downtown Dharma emails here.

I'm Off the Market & In the Moment!

Day 207-Bloggin' for Betty

As those of you who personally know me can testify, I normally like things busy, busy. I do enjoy my downtime, but I also get high on life when there's lots of places to go and interesting people to see.

On top of the usual business, I now have more things to write! That's right-you'll be catching my byline on www.BettyConfidential.com here and there, and not just on the Blogger Fan page. So let me get a bit of bragging out of my system-this is my open ME forum, after all! As soon as I get enough breathing room to submit my paperwork, I'll be an official contributing blogger working with an official Betty editor-how fancy is that?!?! Now I just need to create another day of the week to devote to blogging, blogging, and more blogging because right now, my head is barely staying above water with everything that needs to be done.

Yet, I'm following the moment, however tired it makes me. My purpose when starting OTMITM was to re-focus my energy and be in the present (and who are we kidding, get over that guy). Yet, it just shows how little we know of the future. I certainly never thought that a broken heart could mature me, bring me back to writing and lead to all of these amazing opportunities.

So thanks to you guys for carrying me this far-knowing you are reading has been a comfort blanket for some rocky times, and I appreciate you letting me voice, well, everything! Now I just hope those of you out there reading who are feeling lost, broken-hearted or just having a tuna fish day will take heart. Things will get better. Better than you ever imagined.

I'm Off the Market & In the Moment!

Day 212-Another Blog To Know About

To build on my last post where I shared my newfound feelings for texting, here's an author AND blog to watch for more insight on the topic of life, love and the Internet. Cavanaugh Lee makes her debut as a novelist just in time for Valentine's Day with SAVE AS DRAFT a novel evolving over emails, texts, and Facebook messages that makes you wonder if the things we leave unsaid—or rather unsent—could change the story of our lives.

It's already getting great pre-pub praise. Check out this quote from Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus, authors of the New York Times bestselling The Nanny Diaries

“Reading Save as Draft gives the vicarious thrill of peeking where one shouldn’t only to get drawn in by the warm and funny heartbeat with which Cavanaugh Lee has infused this up-to-the-second modern romance. We haven’t wanted a guy to hit ‘send’ this badly since college—a truly good time!”

This is a book I immediately fell in love with and read in one sitting (well, except for when I kept running to E's room exclaiming "this is just like me!"). Suffice to say, I highly recommend as a pre-purchase on Amazon-until your copy lands, you can enjoy Cavanaugh's daily insight on her newly launched blog.



Get ready to ENJOY-I did!



I'm Off the Market & In the Moment!