soosy and dwed.

on saturday afternoon, greg and I went to stumptown over on s.e. division to do a little reading and coffee drink drinking. it was the perfect weather for such an activity and I was delighted to find myself hooked on my new read and was even more delighted to find a quote to share in the third chapter.

"children aren't coloring books. you don't get to fill them in with your favorite colors" - khaled hosseini

shawn and hilary and little cole (great friends of ours here in portland) invited us to dinner at their place on saturday night. going to their place is always great but this time was especially sweet. the little meister is learning his letters, numbers and words. mom and dad taught him how to say our names, which, was SUCH a fun surprise! soosy and dwed. haha....just when we thought this little guy couldn't get any more cute he had to go and say our names. he is such a little sponge...big time. we (being childless) have to really pay attention and watch what we say. it seems like every other word would be echoed from whatever direction cole was in. not that we're potty mouths, but, you know. anyway, it's very cool to see the little person he's turning out to be.

30 things I want to do in my 30th year.

so inspired by her listmaking, I decided to do one of my own. so here it goes...

1. learn to speak a little italian.
2. plan my perfect trip to italy and maybe even go.
3. perfect the made from scratch margarita.
4. make a pinata.
5. explore a new city.
6. learn to make a new dish, maybe to compliment the perfect margarita.
7. read a lot. definitely want to read this classic.
8. grow some vegetables.
9. make something to put on the wall...painting...collage maybe.
10. host a really fun party.
11. watch at least 6 foreign films in at least 6 different theaters.
12. learn how to really use this camera.
13. take on a new photo project.
14. see the film, "millions" by danny boyle.
15. explore something new about portland.
16. take my yoga practice to the next level. what that may be is unknown, but, very exciting to me.
17. learn some origami (aside from the little boat I can make with my chopstick wrappers to hold my chopsticks)
18. hit some new coffee shops with greg as part of a new sunday routine. not a lot of talking...mainly reading, writing, drawing, observing...just together and out of the house...and quiet.
19. host a celebration for our dear friends tony and amber who are expecting their first child in may...a boy.
20. complete this assignment straight out of 52 projects...what does the number thirty mean to you?
21. go to a film festival. SIFF maybe?
22. discover and learn about a new artist...music, painting, photography, anything really.
23. find or make greg a really great gift.
24. take on some fun projects with haley and gillian (neighbor girls from the old neighborhood).
25. make an entire meal with ingredients purchased at farmers market.
26. spend more time in the multnomah county libraries maybe to do some research on my #22. walk to the one in our neighborhood and maybe go check out the sunday cinema classics in the st. john location.
27. go see at least 5 plays in at least 3 different play houses. (maybe tie this in with #24).
28. go camping this summer! preferably in northern california. maybe along the salmon river to meet up with my family for the annual camp trip. OR along the eel, possibly to participate in this festival. the last time I went to this festival I was in college and it was called reggae on the river. ya...it's been a while but it's fabulousness still sits so vividly in my soul. so...it's about that time to go back - particularly because one of my closest friends from home (who I definitely don't see enough of) goes every year and what would be better than being there with her in our 30th year of life...not much.
29. introduce color and drawings into my moleskin. up until now it's been black ink and all words. it's about that time to change it up.
30. hmmm...loving this list making thing SO much that my 30th thing I want to do is make another list...for 31.
    

happy photobooth friday!

this was taken back in october. my dear friend mandy, her beau evan and me. the last frame is funny...at the last minute evan goes, "ok...mean face"...when we pulled the strip out he says, "nice mean face lucy" haha! I clearly don't do good with directions in the photobooth...they just make me laugh.

I picked up the buttons the other day at powells and am particularly fond of the happy button. right now, thinking about summer, packing up in a funky little wood paneled camper trailer and driving into the woods along a beautiful beautiful river makes me very very happy.

vegan fare.

yesterday after practice down at yoga pearl I decided, as I often do, to order some lunch and check out what was on the soft serve menu at blossoming lotus. this is by far our favorite vegan restaurant in portland and if you're ever in the area I highly recommend popping in for a taste test. yesterday, the soft serve was my favorite flavor -- chocolate almond. yum pretty much sums it up AND even better that its vegan. I had high hopes to go out and take all sorts of pictures yesterday all over town but found myself taking only a few really -- here and at home. I don't know...I was in that kind of "life goes on" reflective mode vs. the "take life on" action mode I had hoped I would find myself in.

I'm inspired by the fact that I'm turning 30 in 10 days and have been thinking a lot about what it is I would like to do in my 30th year. I have a few ideas in mind and am thinking I'll get them all nice and organized and write them all out. I'm doing a lot of consultation with the 52 projects book and am looking forward to getting them all nicely listed here on le blog. having them decided on and listed will definitely help me take action. sometimes I find myself overwhelmed with so many things I would like to accomplish that I can't even get started on one.

lastly...we recently visited one of my favorite theaters twice to enjoy some pizza, wine and movies. the darjeeling limited (love this movie. love wes anderson.) and lars and the real girl (funny, sincere, uplifting and down to earth). both were great and come highly recommended.

celebration of life.

whether it be dr. martin luther king jr., another influential individual or a loved one, today I am reminded that each day is a celebration of life, a day to live, love, give, experience, interpret, and connect. I am in awe at what we as human beings can accomplish in our lifetime and beyond. I attended a celebration of life service on saturday over in bend for an individual who I had never met and who passed a week ago yesterday in a skiing accident. I went in support of his older brother, who, I work for and think very highly of. the service was so moving, full of pictures, music and personal stories and captured the wonderful spirit of this 26 year old who did nothing short of living life to its fullest. I feel grateful to have experienced this service and to have my life touched by his spirit and can only imagine how thankful his wife, family and friends must feel to have known him in life and can only imagine how much they will dearly miss him.

sharing some love on friday morning.

quickly because I need to get back to work, but, I wanted to share a few fun things. the above work is by a brazilian artist named beatriz mihazes who is featured in the latest issue of artkrush. I love her work and love that this piece is titled, "love". also, a childhood friend of mine, taj, found and posted this, which, just totally made my morning a better place. what day can't be brightened with some old school bob? finally, my dear friend candis, who lives in chicago now but is originally from maui forwarded me this article which delightfully reminded me of how cute hawaii is and definitely brought a smile to my face. xxo and happy friday!

in between.

am feeling a bit in between on things....random ridiculous things. way too unimportant in the grand scheme but are still fogging my thoughts a bit. for instance, I can't decide on how I would like to have my hair, what to have for lunch, dinner, what to wear, what to listen to on my itunes, what book to read next (just finished a GREAT book - Middlesex), what to plan for the week-end, where to go take some pictures. if I had a video camera following me this week I wouldn't be at all surprised if I was found to be walking in circles. I've concluded that I'm over thinking things and probably need to get out of town -- somewhere where the sun shines. maybe it's that my 30th birthday is next month...although I haven't felt too strange about that...more excited really. maybe it's that next month will be the one year mark for my yoga practice. hmmm...you're starting to get a taste of this in-betweenness that I've been working with this week. :)

oh...there was one cool thing that did happen. I had a vision of a painting or collage that I would like to create. I was in the final resting shavasana pose in yoga and my mind was clear and rested, especially after the 1 and a half hours of practice and it just kind of came to me. it was somewhat ironic because at that point I usually try to let my thoughts go but this one I definitely wanted to hang onto. this might possibly be my next fun little world to stumble into.

it's early.

life is just beginning to stir out there. mostly truckers, I think, trying to get through the city before the morning commuters. my head is a bit blurry but if I go back to sleep, waking up again (on time) will be like torture. at just about 6:30 my bed will be the most comfortable place on planet earth, and beyond, and I will be trying to convince myself that another hour of fantastic sleep and enjoyment of the cozy pillowy goodness will be worth the fog that will hover around me for the first half of the day and the fact that I will have to park far far away upon arriving late to work. I've decided to fore go the torture for today and make a steamy hot pot of coffee and catch up on some world news.

thinking green.

inspired by this project, I've decided to begin regular postings about thinking green. greg and I love food and, even more so, love it to be healthy, natural, local and organic. I came across this great site, called local harvest that I thought I would share. this site contains a national directory of small farms, farmers markets and other local food sources. it's user friendly and carries a wealth of information. also, I was browsing this great newly found blog (thanks to global tree) and found the link to baggu bags. these are perfect if I might say so myself and SUCH a better alternative to plastic or paper and, hello, who wouldn't want to carry around a few of these lovely colorful totes!? even better, they conveniently fold up to nothing so you can just stick them in your purse wherever you go. this will be good for me because I'm always forgetting my canvas bags when I go to the store so am forced to either juggle my goodies in my arms or go with the paper option. I'm already thinking of what else, other than groceries I can tote around with one of these. I'm fanatic about big colorful totes! happy savvy green shopping!!! :D

photobooth friday!

happy 1st photobooth friday of the new year! I'm delighted that my first posting has all of us crammed into the booth. I'm even more delighted that it's friday. even though this was only a three day week for me at work...it felt like a big fuzzy bad hair eternity!

california.

I'm going to close my eyes, listen to some joni mitchell tunes and picture myself driving -- south from humboldt on 101 through richardson's grove and along the eel. it's august, the windows are down, I have sun and a smile on my face and I can smell those big magnificent trees and the drying grass. missing my home.

sustainability.

I've been enjoying reading up on my usual and not so usual blogs these last few days, particularly to see what people have discussed around the 2007 year coming to an end and the visions, ideas and resolutions they have for what is to come. this evening I was reading the blog of one of my holiday ornament swappers (the one who made the oh-so-fabulous owl) and she presented her new year resolution, which, is actually an interactive design project called the global tree that will, over the year, beautifully unfold in her effort to promote environmental sustainability in a very creative way. well, you've just got to hop over there and see this blog for yourself. I LOVE this idea and find it very inspiring, which, is why I decided to spread the word about her brilliant little creation here. cheers to you colette for this wonderful project; it's already inspired me!

hello, two thousand eight.

"it's ordinary to love the marvelous, but marvelous to love the ordinary." - unknown

I've never really done the whole new years resolution thing, although, I like the idea. I try, rather, to make these kinds of things (resolutions) as often as they make themselves clear to me. on this first day of the new year though, I've been thinking a lot of my life and asking myself what I would resolve to do in the coming year. the answer that came to me was one that I distinctly remember discussing internally in my senior year of undergrad, live for the present because, the past is, well, the past and the future is an abstraction. I often find my head clouded by what might come in the future (thankfully I'm not one to live in the past) so here and now I'm resolving to keep my mind open and further my practices which connect me with the present in my body, mind and spirit: yoga, drinking a lot of water, cooking and eating good and healthy food, reading, photography and writing just to name a few. I've stumbled on SO many wonderfully inspiring people, practices, readings, etc. etc. in 2007 that I can only take each moment in each day of this coming year as an opportunity. I never know what I might stumble upon and, you never know, it might already be right under my nose. :)

I don't know how old my grandmother was in this photo, I believe it was taken while she was still in college - studying art (lucky and quite lovely girl). anyway, I can only imagine what she may have been thinking about her life at that point, not knowing what she might stumble upon.