bliss

overheard...

mother to daughter: "i've started to wear my 'good' tennis shoes more"

um. what are her 'good' tennis shoes? are they fancy? silver laces?

it is also really cute that this particular mother doesn't know how to use the microwave so she cooks everything by 'beverages'. as in, defrosting a chicken is 17 beverages.

she literally pushes the beverage button the requisite amount of times.

pure hilarity.

but she makes a mean pumpkin butter - smashed pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, fresh ginger, maple syrup and crushed walnuts. mmm.

i heart momma-maz.

real.i.zation

in recent weeks, several unrelated events brought babies to my forefront.

- my dear friend leila gave birth to a beautiful little girl.
- one of my co-workers came to work with her 8-week old.
- another co-worker just found out that he and his wife are expecting twins.
- dooce, one of my favorite bloggers, is having another baby.
- they used a doll instead of a real baby on House (the TV show) the other night and didn't even TRY to convince the viewer it was real. it really distracted me with its plasticity and not-a-real-baby-ness.

it seems wherever i turn there is another newborn.

i live in a society where birth is still a mystery to some degree. i mean, we have all the facts and information. but we don't really experience it, until we do.

does that make sense?

i guess i feel that in other cultures where families are closer to each other, that birth and death are less of a mystery. you experience these things first hand, not through made-for-tv-movies.

today as i was reading leila's exquisite descriptions of being a new mother, i felt a deep longing that i've never really experienced before. i guess i felt the pangs of wanting a child.

it felt so different to other 'wants'. i think this is because it's not something i have direct control over. it's not like wanting a vacation, or a new job, or a puppy.

i think that being a parent is the most natural and important accomplishment of ones life. simultaneously terrifying and beautiful, challenging and miraculous.

i hope that one day i will get to experience it for myself. and until then, i'm going to bask in the surprise/joy/awe/delight of my friends who are experiencing it for the first time.

i need your vote!

hello. so the little 'carbon cap' video that dev and i created is one of the five finalists in the environmental defense fund competition. wahooo!

please click here and vote for 'get off the couch' and then have your neighbor, cubicle-mate and granny vote for it too.

dev and i have decided that if we win we are buying a still camera and a video camera so we can make many more projects galore.

we will also plant a tree.

and adopt a dog from the animal shelter.

that last part isn't official. but i'm working on it.

so you see, it's a win-win-win.

i'm more than a little bit excited. we all are.

the kind of magic that arrives in my mailbox and makes my heart melt on a freezing day

care of ashley-brilliant-star-ludwin

today's dose of warm and fuzzy

i saw this featured on dooce where she said it made her cry. but she's pregnant and a jumble of hormones so i figured i wouldn't be as affected. then i clicked play and by the end i too, was a sniffling ball of weepy|happy.

mirror mirror on the wall

my life of late is hectic to say the least.

but full of joy.

and jumping.

and impromptu photo taking at cafes where mountain hippies dwell.

grateful.

dev left tonight for california. andy's mother passed away a few days ago and we are all heartbroken about it. dev is going out there to be with his best friend and carry the love of his family and i to the grammers.

kathy grammer and i only spent two days in each others company but i think of her like an angel that whisked into my world with perfect timing. i was raw and hurting and confused. she was loving and wise and empowering. she gave me a vital gift - taking steps on the journey to figuring out my divine blueprint. there is no gift much better than that.

the events that have unfolded in the past week or so have just reminded me how fleeting life is, and the importance of living to our highest potential each and every day.

it has also reinforced my gratitude. for my health. my family. my friends. for the fact that my mum calls me every sunday night because she knows that my mood is always a bit despondent on sundays...and for moments like i just had when i peeled back my bed to climb in and found it littered with sweet notes from dev. letters he knew i would find, once he left...

i'm truly grateful for it all.

ps. there was also a random note in the freezer. and i mention it because it is nestled next to the MOST AMAZING treat of the week - trader joe's tamales. full of all natural ingredients. no sugar. no yeast. so delicious and delightful.