hey lil big cuz...

to you, Alek!

Love you!

suddenly...

... it hailed, big big hail balls too, complete with lightening, thunder, and strong wind. Really took us by surprise. I had just come into the house with Oliver as it started to hail - once inside, the hail balls became huge - we'd never seen them this big. (Of course this is small potatoes for my sister-in-law who lives in TEXAS...)




Here's some of the damage, caused by the hail. Not sure how we'll replace this. :)

Infinity--they keep making more of it

These are random snippets of thoughts that have been buzzing around in my head for the past couple of weeks:

My boss made me smile when he asked me to request a hybrid rental for a recent trip to California. I thought that was pretty cool. Then, yesterday in a conversation we had just before I left for the weekend, he said (in response to something I noted), "it's a blessing, isn't it?" I LOVE that he used those words. I'm really rubbing off on him. hahahaha Jason remembers the first time "what a blessing" fell out of his mouth after spending lots of time with me. When he said it, his long-time friend looked him him, rather surprised. Heh. Life is full of blessings. Every breath we take, no matter what is going on with us, is truly a blessing; a gift.

Aphid-Mite Attack - product name I saw in the organic gardening book mom gave me. Reads out loud as: "aphid might attack". Yes, they might. And in the case of one of my plants, are attacking in full force. :(

"British researchers announced that the most stressful time of the work-week is Tuesday at 11:45am." - the Daily Telegraph Let's see... at 11:45am on Tuesdays, I'm usually behind a shut door pumping breast milk.

And speaking of milk, Kaemon Ze is starting to hold his own milk bottle. Very exciting. A lil milestone in his growth.

Speaking of growth, the scatter seeds Jason put on the dirt mound over the fence that faces the side street were appreciated by many over the summer as the flowers grew and grew and grew. So beautiful, they were! Tonight Kaemon Ze and I went to the side yard to wait for Daddy to ride up from his bike ride to work. Shortly after Jason arrived, I saw a guy walking by with a camera. I piped up and asked him if he was shooting the floors in the neighborhood. He said he was. He asked if this was our yard, and when I told him it was, he said, "let me show you one of my favorite photos - and it's from your yard." How wonderful is that?? Then he showed us a BEAUTIFUL close-up shot of a sunflower with a pretty green bee on it.

This odd photo cracked me up... not sure what it was advertising, but I recall the ad reading something like, "beauty procedures gone wrong."

And lately I've been seeing some interesting 'word verifications' when I post comments, like this one:





Seems to go well with the photo, no?

Today, Jason sent a link to an article about a critically acclaimed artist who is using his iPhone to create art. This quote tickled my funny bone: "BlackBerries are for secretaries and clerical workers while the iPhone is used by artistic people." - David Hockney I will say that I LOVE LOVE LOVE my iPhone. Artistically and creatively speaking, it's been a gem - I use it as a tool for creating beautiful snapshots. I'm curious to try the application Hockney's using.

Whew. My brain feels better.

hey lil mama....

Happy Birthday, Susan!

May your birthday re-mind you of the gift you are to the world.

Love & Joy!

on this day of life...

I noticed Kaemon Ze is cutting his first tooth!

The baby book I have calls it a "central incisor" - it's the front left tooth.

I tried to get a photo of it, but well... it's rather complicated. :)

I'll post a photo as soon as I managed to get a good shot.

In the meantime, here's a tulip that caught my eye in the yard this afternoon:

shot with Nikon D40

life with me

shot with iPhone

See what my husband puts up with?

he seems so serious ...

c e l e b r a t i o n s

Kaemon Ze is 6 months of age today. And right now, he's laying in front of the warm wood stove, enjoying "nekkid time" while watching and squealing to a DVD called, "Classical Baby, the Art Show". It was a gift from Debbie and Mark, set to classical music and showing the art classics. Not a bad way to spend a birthday morning. :)

shot with iPhone

And here's the birthday boy on his walk to the grocery store with Daddy this morning:

shot with iPhone
Let's see... at 6 months, Kaemon Ze:

• still loves to stand up (with lots of help) and take steps
• loves to bend down and fetch something he's dropped
• speaking of dropping, he's beginning to drop things off his hi-chair and noticing the corresponding sound of impact
• is no longer 'beat boxing'; his new thing is feigning coughing, especially when we lay him down to change him
• is not sitting up on his own just yet
• like to drink water from a glass - he likes the drinking part and seems to like the water part; he doesn't actually swallow much
• likes peek-a-boo, patty cake, this little piggy, and a slew of other songs that Daddy and I use quite often to entertain him and mood-shift him
• enjoys spending 3 days a week at Gramma & Grampa's house
• is facinated watching Oliver (our dog) and Ravine (our cat) move around
• seems to love to be outside. Taking him outside will always stop a crying fit - whoo hoo!
• likes to pull himself into a sitting up-right position in the stroller, by grabbing on to the tray with both his hands
• loves to play, smile, laugh, be tickled (we don't over do it), and observe the world up-side-down
• he likes the mobile his Auntie Jacque and Uncle George sent him from TEXAS
• likes to hang out with us in the kitchen while we cook and clean
• likes to watch mom vaccum; dad mow the yard
• loves to reach for everthing he wants (keeps us on our toes when he's on our hip and we open the fridge!)

Happy Birthday Kaemon Ze!

hitting the keys

Jason went through his mom's attic to find this relic from his childhood:

more spring pretties

shot with Nikon D40

my happiness is my greatest gift to others

my happiness is my greatest gift to others

selfishly seek joy, because your joy
is the greatest gift you can give
to anyone.

unless you are in your joy,
you have nothing to give anyway.


- Abraham

photo credit: www.buzzworks.nl/

It's not my responsibility to convince anyone of anything

It's not my responsibility to convince anyone of anything.

Make your decisions about
what you want,
and set out to create the life experiences
that you choose -- and allow all others to do the same.

-Abraham

Another way to read this: be the change you wish to see in the world.

it's all for joy

This is me and Jason, my "whimsy" guy
painting at Picasso Camp, Burning Man, 2006

What's my big hurry?
(It's all for joy.)
All is well.

What's the big hurry? I'm not
ever going to get it done, so what
am I racing toward?

Every single activity that I'm
involved in is for one purpose only,
and that is to give me a moment
of joy. That's why it all exists.

Lighten up. Laugh more.
Appreciate more. All is well.

- Abraham

One of my favorite videos of all time goes perfectly with this:
youtube.com/watch


Another good one:

Who you are and what you know when you are born is everything that you need to know to thrive.

You are born with a sense of self and a sense of wanting self to feel good, and the mechanisms to bring it about.

- Abraham
(abraham-hicks.com/)

the fabulous kim s.

I was poking around online and found that one of my favorite book series, "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" was being made into an HBO series. I was pretty excited about this. Too bad I don't have HBO! :) I'll have to wait for the DVD to be released to rent it.

While on HBO's web site, I saw there was a contest to win a trip to Botswana, where the series is set. Always open to the possibility of winning, I followed the link. As it turns out, in order to enter the contest you must nominate a woman who represents these qualities:

confident
independent
optimistic
compassionate
empowered
determined
inspirational

That was easy: my friend Kim S., who is a professor of Sociology at a local community college, easily embodies these characteristics. So I nominated her. Should I win, Kim will receive a $1,000 for being the Light that she is in this world. :)

the art of appreciation

whimsy and JoyGirl, Burning Man, 2006

I look for more reasons to appreciate.

The more I appreciate, the better
I feel. The better I feel, the more
I am allowing who I am to flow
through me. The more I allow
who I am to flow through me --
the better I feel.

- Abraham
(abraham-hicks.com)

bbq daddies

we had a last minute bbq (due to the forecast of outstanding weather) and invited our new parent friends over. I snapped a few shots of the daddies and their babies - aren't they (all) so cute together? :)

shot with Nikon D40

Jake with Elayna, Najam with Zamir, and Jason with Kaemon Ze.

just push the button of intention

It's not your work to make anything happen. It's your work to dream it and let it happen. Law of Attraction will make it happen. In your joy, you create something, and then you maintain your vibrational harmony with it, and the Universe must find a way to bring it about. That's the promise of Law of Attraction.

- Abraham
(abraham-hicks.com)

across the pond...

Happy Birthday, Warren!!

May this year be the best -- yet!!

With love & joy,
me, J, and KZ... and Ollie too!

kaemon ze first bike ride

Sunny Saturday, whoo hoo! Our original plan was to ride to a place in nearby Sellwood for a latte and scone, but Kaemon Ze decided to nap - for a long time - so we ended up getting a latte - and lunch! This was my first time back on a bike since I was about 6 months pregnant. :) I'm feeling it tonight. Heh.

Anyway, we had a good ride. This was Kaemon Ze's first ever bike ride (very exciting) and he did GREAT. Couldn't have been better. At the coffee shop, we ran into our friend, Karin, who got to meet (and hold) Kaemon Ze for the first time. It was so good to see her again.

I didn't edit the video below - the route Jason wanted to take us home on was being blocked by a film crew / police. I stop at one point and ask (nosey me) an officer what's up. It turns out a car commercial was being filmed. Fun. :)

THANK YOU SO MUCH
Gumpapa D, Great-Gramma Ruby, Great-Auntie Laurie, Lisa, and Casey!
The bike trailer works GREAT!

my power animal

The Owl

Wisdom Perception Truth

The owl brings you wisdom as well as great powers of perception and intuition. Welcome her into your heart and life gladly!

The owl has very keen hearing and vision, enabling her to perceive what others cannot. With her powers within you, you will be able to penetrate the darkness with your intuitive senses. You will see through deception and illusion. You will uncover all mysteries and bring truth to light. Fill yourself with her power whenever the truth is unclear or hidden; she will shine the light so you may see.

The owl also allows you to move silently and unseen. When you do not want undue attention paid to you, when you wish to just quietly keep your own counsel, call in her spirit as you would an invisibility cloak.

One of the greatest powers the owl brings you is to penetrate your own secrets, to see into the beauty of your own soul and uncover there your personal truth and intentions. Feel her within you now, opening yourself to yourself, your true purpose sparkling like a treasure within.

Ah, what a blessing to be the owl!



My power animal resonates with me. I am a lover of Truth. (www.poweranimalsunleashed.com/)