Thursday, August 26, 2010

head count

when we are out and about and I am doing a head count something in me panics.  where are they?  I am sure that someone is missing!!!  I count again.

1

2

3

4

wait...we have 4...thats the number.

so why then, do I constantly feel like I'm missing 2 kids?  seriously... it happens frequently.


our 2 babes....
one day they'll be here and I can stop wondering where they are.

I'll know.


Photo: Ethiopia
Photograph by Diego Lezama Orezzoli/CORBIS
Tisisat Falls presents an idyllic scene. The Blue Nile crashes over the cataract in the lush forests of northwest Ethiopia.

Monday, August 16, 2010

element bending...fun for the whole fam-damly

A few weeks ago he comes home and says to her, "a girl at work recommended a series to us...sounds fantastic!"

hmmm, she thinks. She is leery. Its the whole TV thing...she loathes TV, most anything associated with TV.

They go to their local super cool video store (not a big chain and best selection anywhere, hands down!) and he shows her the case.

double hmmm...she sees the nickelodeon symbol, the animated cover looking rather fierce.

Nope. flat out not interested. (she is stubborn...did I mention that?)

He walks away, ever so slightly crestfallen. He decides to check out youtube...see if they can find an episode to preview.

(she is also VERY picky about what her wee kiddos watch, did I mention that??)

He finds an episode online, watches it. declares that it was amazing and that she is going to love it and should just trust him already. (she does trust him, and loves that he would preview it for them...feels all beamy and weak kneed)

So, they rent it. Book 1, disc 1 (she loves that they call them "books" rather then seasons!)

They watch it. They love it. actually they LOVE IT!!!

She extra specially loves it. Why you ask? well, because it speaks to her soul connection with most anything to do with the elements and finding balance. because she is kinda old school spiritual and loves that the main character is likened to a Buddhist monk. she loves that so many great subjects are touched upon...deeper then one might expect from a nickelodeon "cartoon".
she loves the idea of element bending...has already decided that she would be from the water tribe and would be a water wheelin' healer. (of course she'd be a healer, as if you had any doubts) she loves the way her whole family gets giddy at the thought of a movie night. the way they all pile onto the bed, snuggled together and eagerly await the next turn of events.

She thinks, wow, how did this magic come to be?

she is grateful and fully into the wee bit of escapism that these movie nights afford them.

what she does not like, not even in the slightest, is what happened when hollywood got their hands onto it. what disgusts her is how, yet again, hollywood has done an amazing job at whitewashing a uniquely Asian series. what makes her feel ever so slightly ill and even more mama bear-ish is that each and every one of the main characters somehow managed to be white....oh, except that the fire nation somehow looks middle eastern. (grrr, that's a whole other post)

why mama bear-ish? because that's the part of her that clicks into high gear when she senses injustice, prejudice, racism...

check out this article, written by a 12 year old girl who was adopted as an infant from China. It was originally published in Adoption Today, a magazine dedicated to international and trans racial adoption.

also check out Racebending.com, advocating just and equal opportunity in television and film

So, they will continue their way through the books, disc by disc...but support hollywood racism? no, they'll take a stand, as a family and say....



Tuesday, August 3, 2010

because this is beautiful

bits about me that you may not have known

* I love to burn incense.  something about the earthy, heady aromas sets my soul at ease and brings me to a place of peace.  I always feel at home when I am out and about  and my nose catches that sacred sent adrift on the breeze...somehow I feel connected to all you other incense burners out there.

*there is something about my husbands hands that humbles me.  they are strong and so much larger then mine.  with them he creates the most inexpressibly beautiful music.  he uses them to shape magic out of wood, doors and windows...which is to me so much deeper then functional.  I find those hands more attractive then any.feature.on.any.human.anywhere. 

*I have a passion for tea.  I drink it numerous times a day.  I love to make tea in large mason jars and set it in the fridge, topped with frozen berries and slices of lemon...always with a drizzle of honey or agave.

*I don't drink caffeine....much to my dismay as I have a huge deep passionate love for a perfectly blended  spiced chai or a well made cup of coffee...you know, freshly ground organic/fair trade/shade grown/locally roasted goodness usually made in a bodum or espresso maker with a touch of organic/raw sugar and a splash of cream ((sigh))  my body has decided that caffeine just isn't for me:( so now I live through  the aroma therapy of my hubby's morning java and chai's rooibos style.

*I think the smell of garlic cooking is sexy.  seriously.

*I want to cook with you.  I want to  share laughter and tears that can only come through chopping, stirring and kneading.  

*I love to dance around the kitchen listening to the gypsy kings, abrihim ferrer or french cafe music...really anything upbeat and ethnic that will bring out my inner belly dancer.

*I'm a lemonade maker...if ya know what I mean

*right now I have a cold:(  I am wearing my jammies... desert pants and a gray long sleeved shirt, my padraig slippers on my feet even though it's august.  my padraig slippers are medicine to me.  I love their bright blue/turquoise/purple blended yarn, sheepskin lining and leather souls.  they make me feel soulful even when I'm feeling icky

*said cold caused much brain fog this am that caused me a)sleep in and b) to completely forget that today was Edens first day of swimming lessons...oops

*I sing all the time.  I dream that one day I will record a song in our studio and surprise you all...one day

*I spin fire....well, I used to anyway.  one of these days I will light up again...fire dancing is good for the soul!

*I love the bumper sticker that says "kill your TV".  it makes me smile and sing out a hearty gospel style AMEN!   I think TV is a soul killer/spirit squelcher ...and while I do find the term "kill" a wee bit on the violent side I think that in this case it works

*I would love to post pic's again BUT I have still not set up my computer so...

*I am so excited to be establishing myself as a Birthing from Within Doula and can't wait to get to know that birthing community here.  being a support for women in birth is something that I love more then word can express

*I am going to spend the day in the afore mention jammies, being thankful for spirulina and fresh fruit, playing with my kids and laying on the couch reading The Fifth Sacred Thing.  

blessed day to you all! 



oh that I could look so elegant in my ill, couch slumber, lol