Going The Distance

Butterfly, begin... looking back at our wedding ceremony.
Photo by John Whipple for Jeremy and Sarah Clowe. All rights reserved.

Today was our one-year anniversary... I can't believe it went by so fast! Thanks friends for all your well-wishes. We had a very nice weekend celebrating. 

Yesterday we kept the weekend's exhibition theme going by traveling to the Hyde Museum to check out Modern Nature: Georgia O'Keeffe and Lake George. Sarah has been a longtime fan of the artist, and actually interned at the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico, during college. It was interesting to see the local influence on O'Keeffe's work: her husband, photographer Alfred Stieglitz, had a family home in the area, and they visited frequently during the 1920s. O'Keeffe's compositions and colors, in particular, are exceptional. I loved seeing the Lake George area translated on to her canvas... I feel like she captured the mood of the area's scenery. Later we walked around downtown Glens Falls... appropriate since the town was known for its paper industry, and this was our "paper anniversary."

No butterflies were harmed during
the eating of this cake. nom, nom!

Tonight we had a delicious Indian dinner (of course) at Lazeez in Albany--probably our favorite restaurant in the area. Then we went back to our place to enjoy wine and de-thawed wedding cake, which they tell me is a tradition for your first anniversary. Well, it was just as delicious the second time around... big props to Villa Italia in Schenectady. We also settled in and re-watched our wedding video... much love and laughter. 

We're doing great, and I'm feeling good... I have given myself a goal of working out every day this month--at the gym or comparable exercise at home. I haven't missed a day, and I'm halfway through July. So here's to another year of health, happiness, and love...

Love. Photo ©Jeremy Clowe. All rights reserved.

Special Thanks:

www.hydecollection.org

www.eatlazeez.com

www.villaitaliabakery.com

www.fireflyflorist.com

powersmediaproductions.com

www.johnwhipple.com

Captive Audience

Tonight Sarah and I sat in on another taping at the local PBS station. Here is the presenter: Dr. John Tickell, a medical doctor from Australia, talked about ways to achieve healthy longevity through changes in diet and habit:



A bit more entertaining than the last one we sat through...  but cold... why do they have to keep the big chill going in these studios? Dr. Tickell's program should be airing next spring.

Working That Green Screen

Before someone else asks, yes that is me in the audience for this show, Dr. Fuhrman's Immunity Solution! currently airing on PBS stations. Yes, I agree with much of the sentiment, even if the presentation is a little silly... but then again, so is much of TV:



Sarah and I sat in on a taping of this show at WMHT-TV's studios in Troy, New York, a few months back. It was an opportunity to meet again with some of the station's staff I had been getting to know, and make a quick buck (yes, we got paid to sit in the audience). The production was first-rate--the studio looked beautiful, and was well-coordinated. I don't know about the presentation though... the doctor seemed a little forced, and it had the air of one of those infomercials... but I'll reserve judgment until I see the final show (maybe I can fast-forward through the silly bits).

Having said that, maybe Dr. Fuhrman's book is worth reading. I know that Sarah and I have been pretty keen on learning more about the prevention of disease through natural foods--we are big supporters of locally-grown produce and co-op markets, and have been on a green drink kick ever since a recent trip to New York City... we even got a food processor and juicer for our wedding, so I'm ready to "go green"... we just need to learn how to make better wheat-grass smoothies than a few years back (was like having a glass of mowed lawn... blecch!).

This book looks interesting: healthygreendrink.com (no canned audience reaction required!).

Love Is All You Need

Feeling much better, thank you. Finally got a good night's sleep, and enjoying some green drinks and healthy fruit and veggies today. 


Most of the day has been spent working on our wedding program--I'm really happy with the way it turned out! Again, I feel a certain calling to be a graphic designer... it was also fun to collaborate with Sarah again. The programs reveal a secret that we won't share until the wedding. Good fun.


We're off to a graduation/birthday party... there are several celebrations happening this weekend and through the week... it seems only fitting.

pop goes my heart

Well, I spent most of today still trying to get out from under this pesky cold I have developed over the last couple days... I can't tell what was making me feel so miserable: the cold, lack of sleep, or the heat (or combination of the three). There could be a third factor: lack of food. Yeah, we hadn't managed to get the store yet this week, so my "breakfast" consisted of left-over tortilla chips from last night's burrito. The saving grace came when my soon to be mother-in-law called to see how I was doing, and offered to bring over some homemade chicken soup... ok, I think I'm marrying into the right family here!


I was still feeling pretty drawn out for the rest of the day, and just looked at a few wedding-related items here and there. Trying to figure out banners, and we had a meeting scheduled with our DJ to go over music... but I was feeling so lousy by the time we were planning to meet, that I told Sarah to go ahead without me--that's saying something, because music matters to me! I told them to give me a call, and went and made myself a bowl of popcorn...

Get ready... cause here we come!
Photo by John Whipple. All rights reserved.

Well, if I didn't love popcorn enough before... I ate the delicious fluffy kernels and found myself feeling a hell of a lot better... sinuses cleared up a little, my head stopped hurting, and I suddenly felt a surge of energy--it was the best I have felt in a couple days! Did I just need some fresh air (popping)? 


I jumped in the car and headed over to Starbucks, where Sarah was meeting with our DJ, Raphel. It was cool in there, and the chai tasted good (as always). Again, I think we're in good hands... Raphel brought up certain considerations about the use of music in the ceremony and other details that I had thought about myself; she's a fun personality (and former high school classmate of Sarah's) and I think she will be a big help to us on our wedding day. Now comes the challenge... whittling down our list of songs for the reception... hmmm.

co-efficiency!

Today Sarah and I drove out to New York City, and met up with the rabbi who is co-officiating our wedding. Since she lives in Queens, we decided to meet in Astoria, where I had an apartment a couple years ago. I like the area... it is a little toned down from Manhattan, and has a nice ethnic mix, with great food! We met at the local diner that I used to frequent.

future's so bright...
photo ©Jeremy Clowe. All rights reserved.

Planning a wedding is like putting together a theater production... good fun! We talked with my friend Tom, who is a reverend and the other officiant, about a way to blend our Christian and Jewish traditions into a single ceremony. I think this is going to be beautiful and quite meaningful for both of us... it is all coming together.

After that, we took the subway down to Greenwich Village, and did a little shopping. Sarah found some good gifts through street vendors, and I ducked into Record Runner, an independent record shop that used to stock The Swing of Things, an a-ha fanzine I created back in the 1990s--I was happy to find Morten Harket's latest solo album, Out of My Hands, which is now in my hands. 

We wandered around a bit more, finding interesting galleries and more shops, and organic juicers... I think we're going to become addicted to making our own healthy green drink diet... so wild in the city, knocking back wheatgrass shots laced with ginger, and kale/apple drinks... we felt energized anyway, enough to get back to the Hudson Valley to see the tail-end of fireworks... yay... everything always seem to work out with my girl.

Related Links:

http://healthygreendrink.com

Coming on Strong

As of today, there are exactly six months until our wedding. In some ways it seems like a long way off, but it was about five months ago that I proposed to Sarah, so I know how fast the time can go! Sarah is looking up wedding songs at the moment-- I have pretty strong ideas about what I want played, but I have to be fair and give her a chance to also make some decisions... I guess! ;)

Today I finally managed to get back to the gym here in Schenectady. It has been a busy year so far-- with weekly trips back and forth to New York City, and working on various theater and video productions-- apart from taking some long walks during my lunchtime in Stockbridge, I haven't managed to get back to throwing some weights around. I do well with bench marks (no pun intended), so it is fitting that this day that looks forward to six months would be the day I start back in...

The truth is that I do so much better when I am exercising regularly. I feel more relaxed and in control--both emotionally and physically. I notice my posture, my breath support... that is especially true when I need to serve as a spokesperson at the Museum, and when I try to sing. I really would like to do more singing this year, and gaining that extra support from strengthened muscles around my diaphragm is crucial. In fact, if the improv thing takes off, I would benefit from the same.

I feel good... a little tired near 10 p.m., but that's a good thing-- I'll hopefully sleep better (and my girl is always telling me I need to get to bed earlier). The tricky thing is when to get these workouts in. It takes me about an hour drive back and forth to work, so the best time often is to get it in before I head to work. That means an early day-- getting up around 5:30 a.m. to hit the gym by 6 a.m. If I can manage, it's great-- I don't have to worry for the rest of the day.

One thing I need to figure out is when I am back in Hudson A Planet Fitness gym just opened there, and I paid them a visit last Monday to check out the scene. To be honest, it was a little odd. They bill themselves as a "no-judgment" zone, but I think their efforts are a little heavy-handed. You walk in the place and there's a big sign that says "check your egos here," but I didn't see a coat rack. Sign, sign, everywhere a sign... telling all of their rules. Apparently the chain has a "no grunting" policy, and there have been some news stories about guys getting kicked out for, well, being guys! It's a little strange. I'm no fan of the whole "musclehead" thing, but there's something a little ironic about a place marketing  itself as non-judgmental being one of the most discriminatory I have seen:



But maybe I will look into it-- Hudson's such a small town, so there's not many options (and the $10 a month membership is hard to beat). But I will be sure to boycott their pizza nights, Tootsie Rolls, and other silly things that seem to be the antithesis of what a "real gym" should be all about.

Anyway, I'm back on track, and looking forward to getting into great shape-- and now I have one more thing to keep track of on this blog.... arrrgh.