*when* is the rest of it going to go?!

I'm really not trying to complain, really I'm not ;), I just wanna know when the stubble that is the remainder of my hair is going to fall out. It was traumatic enough having to shave it off because it was falling out and making my head hurt; and it sucks that there has to be *maintenance* of what's left at this stage in the game.

I mean, who would've thought that I'd be looking forward to having a smooth head? Ha!

memories of my childhood...

So my folks are redecorating the inside of their house and in the process giving away a lot of stuff; books mostly, but some records as well including the ones you see pictured. These are 3 of my most cherished childhood memories. I *know* that I still have the words to the "limelighters" in my head ("B-A-Bay, B-E-Be, B-I-Biddty-by, B-O-Bo, Biddity-by-U-Be-O-Bu-Biddty-By-You-Boo-Boo") and I'm sure that "Fox & the Hound" ("Arooooh! I'm a Hound? What are you?"/"I'm a Fox!") are in there somewhere as well but what popped out of me as I was looking for my childhood photo album, was the dress making song from "Cinderella"...


"...hurry hurry hurry hurry got no time to dilly dally, we've got to make it pretty/there's nothing to it really/"I'll cut it wit da scissors" "and I can do the sewin'",/"Leave the sewin' to the women, you go get the trimmin'"/and we'll make a lovely dress for Cindarellie/"Whoo!"/We'll make a lovely dress for Cindarellie"




I remember singing this song with my sister, Julie, and using either her green blanket or my green blanket as "Cindarellie"'s dress. lol! My mom dressed us up as mice apparently (or maybe we begged her to do it) and took this picture. Brings a smile to my lips and warmth to my heart. Good times, Good times.







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This picture is one of my all time favorites yet most hated picture that my sister, Julia, has ever taken of me. I vividly remember that I'd had a hissy-fit about *something* and had gotten yelled at, then my sister snaps this picture of me across the dinner table. See the tear? Ha! Priceless! I was *sooooo* pissed with her at the time, and now it's a picture that sums me up at that stage in life. I was *always* having hissy-fits, at least I feel like I did. Sorry mom & dad! hahahaha!






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Even in at my 6th grade graduation I was stylin'....and yes I made that dress. Awesome!







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Miss you Grandma!!!!






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Love you mom!






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Love you dad!






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Love you Julie & Romanda!






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Junior High School, the honor choir Excalibur. Me and my childhood next door neighbor Nat before our Christmas concert.







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Sophmore year, first football game; when the love affair with marching band began...







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9th grade graduation; dress is from my foreign-exchange student program. I think I bought it in Moscow.








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H.S. graduation...oy....









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I absolutely *love* this pre-school pic of me. Apparently that was my *favorite* dress and I wore it all the time. My mom sewed a piece of it into the lining of my wedding dress; how awesome is that?

nothing much to say on this rainy monday...

Poo on the rain. I have absolutely *nothing* to do this week except for what I want and it's raining. Blah. Don't get me wrong, I have plenty of projects I can create out of thin air I just don't want it to be raining. :(


Currently I'm feeling: Tired and stiff. I slept too long this morning and it's backfired on me
Procrastinating: My yoga practice. Need to eat which means yoga has to wait an hour
Reading: Re-reading "Eat, Pray, Love".
Watching:"The View", even though I despise this show anymore...need to change the channel
Doing to make me smile: Not sure what I'm going to do today to make me smile cause it can't involve $$ and all I want to do right now is go buy some canvas's and paints cause I have a creative bug going on right now. Maybe colored pencils and paper will appease the craving for a while.

early mornin' fishing makes me smile...

In the spirit of doing something each day that makes me smile, we went early mornin' fishin' yesterday and it was fabulous; I don't know why I don't do it more often anymore...

515 in the morning the alarm finally breaks through my sleep and I jump out of bed with the anticipation of going fishing with my hubby and doggies. It was a gorgeous morning; a cool breeze, nice sun, just a few clouds and the scent of freshly mown grass blowing through the trees.

As we were loading up the truck, Buck and Lilly started picking up on what was happening and their excitement was palpable (it's not everyday that mom AND dad take them fishing). Buck was running around with the ball in his mouth trying to get one of us to play with him and Lilly was in the middle of her regular M.O., which meant she was running around and barking like crazy :)

We finally hit the road about 6 and headed up to Plattsburg to "our" little lake at the quarry. It was lovely taking that drive with my hubby in the truck. We got a chance to reconnect and talk, which is nice. He's such a busy guy during the summer and gets so worn out with work that sometimes we don't get the chance to *really* talk so it was nice to have that drive to reconnect with one another. :)

We rolled into Plattsburg and just *had* to stop at Larry's One-stop for some B&G. If you've never had Larry's B&G you are truly missing out. I *highly* *HIGHLY* recommend that you travel to Plattsburg just for the express purpose of having these biscuits and gravy. They are absolutely to die for and the little ladies who make them for you are just too cute.






So loaded up on good food and beverages we headed to the quarry. At this point the dogs were going absolutely insane with anticipation. Buck was drooling, Lilly was whining, and they were both working themselves up into a lather. We got to the lake and went about our separate tasks. Tim takes care of getting the boat ready and I entertain the dogs (otherwise known as keeping them out of Tim's way). Hitting the ball is always first up on the menu, especially hitting it into the lake so that's what we did and they were in heaven. They love a ball and they love water so putting those two together?! Fuggeddaboutit.










Usually I stay by the truck where I can be ready if Tim needs me, but this morning I decided to take a walk across the damn, while hitting the ball of course, and record some of the beauty that is the quarry's lake. It's hard to believe that this is a little slice of paradise that we get to come to whenever we want and it's just us. It's so peaceful here it's ridiculous. I've decided that whenever it is I die, I want to be cremated and have a portion of my ashes sprinkled across this lake. It only seems right.










After my walk across the damn and back, Tim was ready to go so we told Buck and Lilly to "load up!" and we were off. We fished and talked, then fished some more; it was a beautiful morning spent with my family and it did nothing but make me smile. I can't wait to do it again. Enjoy the pictures and maybe if you're lucky enough we'll take you fishing with us sometime. :)


http://tinyurl.com/267oagr

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Currently I'm feeling: Fabulous but my head itches like crazy!!
Procrastinating: Steam-mopping my floors (this *will* be done today!)
Reading: Re-reading "Eat, Pray, Love".
Watching: "Batman Begins".
Doing to make me smile: Getting ready to go upstairs and do a nice long yoga practice then clean the house and make food for the festivities today.

I feel a lazy day coming on...

So I didn't sleep very well last night and have been up since 6am; no biggie really, it's just put me in kind of a lazy frame of mind. I've been surfin' the net and idling away these early morning hours on some of my favorite sites and I stumbled across a young lady's blog called "time to pretend" (http://soulfulsource.blogspot.com). If I remember correctly she is 16 years old and loves everything vintage. Anyways, reading through her blog I stumbled across these two gems;

Sometimes I feel like I live my life in routine.
You know: get up, take a shower, eat, go to school, eat, come home, finish homework, read, write, eat, go for a walk, sleep.
And I hate it. I mean, I love everything I do there (except maybe going to school), but I just feel like I'm stuck in this limbo.
so here's my plan:
starting today, I'll do one exciting little thing every day.
It doesn't have to be big.
Just something that'll make me smile.
Join me?

and...

Currently I'm:
Listening to: Microwave by Cocoon
Reading: The Catcher In The Rye (for the millionth time)
Procrastinating: My French Summative
Counting Down The Days Till: The sound Of Music Festival

I feel the very same way. I feel like I've gotten too stuck in my routine. I believe this is something the universe was trying to tell me. So, I am going to join this young lady in doing something every day that'll make me smile.

Join me if you like :)

The second gem I am borrowing from her I am going to alter to fit my style. So,

Currently I'm feeling: Fabulous. Today is a good day.
Procrastinating: Steam-mopping my floors
Reading: In between books at the moment. Any suggestions?
Watching: "The Devil Wears Prada"
Doing to make me smile: Getting ready to go upstairs and do a nice long yoga practice then head to the pool

just like comin' home...

So I went to Lawrence today because I just couldn't face another day sitting around my house staring at the same walls, talking to the same dogs (yes I talk to my dogs), and laying at the same pool. Just couldn't do it. SO, I went home to spend the day with my folks and got the added bonus of seeing my nephew Thomas, my sis Romanda and bro-in-law Dan.

After a wonderful afternoon spent hanging at home having lunch, working on the computer, convincing mom to transform a dress for me, and helping Dad hang art in the studio (wonderful father-daughter bonding project :) I decided to wile away the lovely Lawrence rush-hour with a beer and some food at Free State Brewery.

For those of you that don't know, Free State is the *bomb-diggity*. Not only is the beer to *die* for (BRING BACK THE CANNONBALL RED PLEASE!!!!) but the food is awesome as well (have you *tried* the crack dip otherwise known as Queso lately?); and according to the local guests (Greg) it is the "Finest Beer Cuisine This Side of the Mississippi".

This is my first home. This is where I spent almost 3 years of my college life working, drinking, and friending. Walking back into this restaurant is just like coming home. It smells like home, it feels like home, and it sounds like home. Many of the folks I worked with back then are still here and it's really that place where "everybody knows your name".

So CHEERS TO YOU FREE STATE!!! Raise a glass of whatever you're drinking (Wheat State Golden for me currently) and drink to your health.

"Here's to you, here's to me, if ever we should disagree *bleep you* here's to me! 1...2...3...!!!!"

yoga yoga yoga...i love yoga....

Triangle pose, downward dog, upward dog, mountain, pigeon, crescent, warrior I, II, III, reverse warrior, headstand, handstand, bridge, low lunge, high lunge, goddess pose, eagle pose, lord of the fishes pose, twisting sage, forward bends, backward bends, hip openers, shoulder openers, cow, cat, camel, plank, chattarunga, dolphin, side stretch, and savasana to name a few. Bikram, Vinyasa, Anusura, Hatha, Gentle Flow, Power, Yogitrance, Yogidance, I love it all.
Why do we practice yoga? Why do *I* practice yoga? Is it to become bendier than our friends? Is it to find peace, solitude and quiet within ourselves, or is there some higher purpose at work? Yoga, in Sanskrit, can be translated as "union". It originally comes from the root word of yuj which means "to yoke", as in to attach yourself to a task at hand with the discipline of an ox. The task at hand with Yoga is to find the union, *your* union, between body and mind; between our God and ourselves; between us and everything in the world.

I've read books on Yoga, and I've practiced Yoga consistently now for about 10 years, and I am still a work in progress and that's what I love about it. Following a Yogic path doesn't mean you become all natural running around in the woods eating nuts and berries, howling at the moon and twisting yourself into pretzel like shapes while wearing no deodorant. Far from it. In fact; following a yogic path is something that takes time, and something that can wax and wane in your life. The Yogis believe that within all of us there exists a supreme Self who is eternally at peace and when we are calm, quiet, focused and centered we can find it. The Supreme Self is our *true self*. The one we want to be, yearn to be....it's who we really are.

One of my most favoritest (yes my English teacher friends I realize that's not correct grammar but you'll just have to deal with it ;) books is "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert. If you have not read her book I *highly* recommend that you do. In a nutshell it is about her life's journey through a painful divorce to the other side. Whenever I am feeling distance from Yoga, distance from myself, I read through this book. One of my favorite passages is below...

"Yoga is the effort to experience one's divinity personally and then to hold on to that experience forever. Yoga is about self-mastery and the dedicated effort to haul your attention away from your endless brooding over the past and your nonstop worrying about the future so that you can seek, instead, a place of eternal presence from which you may regard yourself and your surroundings with poise. Only from that point of even-mindedness will the true nature of the world (and yourself) be revealed to you."

I leave you with my favorite meditation as I get ready to practice yoga this morning. I had wandered off the path for a while and now am ready to return. So this morning I will honor the divine that resides within me and be one with my Supreme Self.

Om Namah Shivaya

ॐ नम: शिवाय:

"I honor the divine that resides within me"

Namastae