Fav. Foto Friday

Nothing beats a beautiful flute solo, especially with a side of recorder.Faith & Leyla, 1999

Stuff of Life

Yesterday was THE perfect day
for sittin' outside and gigglin' with your girlfriends.

I Burned My Veil Long Ago

O.K. motherbumber, here you go... this is 41 ALL DAY:
I don't even put on warpaint for the ladies.

Though in my head, I'm still this person (who also never wore makeup):Gosh darn-it! Who invented mirrors anyway?!!

p.s. in the spirit of complete "truthiness" and full disclosure, (and after actually READING the original dare), I don't usually look that together - my daily mom uniform is not so stylish (I haven't even discovered loga yants yet) and I don't usually wear earrings. Here is my actual first thing in the mornin' shot, well, not first thing, I did wait a few minutes until my eyes were willing to open under the lights:
Who invented lights anyway?!

This is for Sarah

Wow… when I actually sat down to do this, I realized I was a lot quirkier than I originally thought.

1. Back in 1986, I was the only tree-hugging, peace-loving, punk-rock-listening, atheist in the College Republicans – they weren’t quite sure what to do with me. This is what they recruited for:

and this is what they got:

They tolerated me though, because I was one heck of a debater (“Logic” was one of my favorite classes in high school), and I had a slew of witty, stereotypical, knee-jerk one-liners to take down any reasonable, good-intentioned position that ran counter to “just let everybody pull themselves up by their bootstraps because that’s what I did heard someone did once”.

2. I am obsessed with cleaning my ears – always have been. Back in college, my freshman roommate was constantly brushing her teeth, about 5 times a day, and I was right alongside her at the sink, cleaning my ears. I’ve weened myself back to “Q-tipping” just twice a day, but sometimes, if I’m bored (i.e. am pretending I forgot about the list of 37 things I NEED to get done today) and walk by the bathroom sink, I have to stop for a quick re-check.

3. I am a dishwasher-loading snob. There is only ONE right way to load a dishwasher:

and I am one of, apparently, only a handful of people qualified to perform this delicate task. You would think that with ALL the dishes that are continually piled up in my kitchen:

(hello family of five who’s mom-figure is highly organized, but far, far from neat and tidy – you’ve seen my “office”), that I would be less particular about at least getting something clean to eat off of for the night. But when anyone offers to “help” me with the dishes, I just about go into convulsions because my dishwasher is likely to end up looking like this:

and while I can have this:

I can’t have that.

4. I absolutely LOVE having my hair played with – it relaxes me like nothing else. In fourth grade, I had long hair, and my best friend, Beth, had very short hair (read: hair envy). Our classes would get together to watch films, and no matter whose classroom we were in, I would sit on the floor and Beth would sit in the desk chair and brush/style my hair the whole time. Needless to say, I don’t remember seeing a single film in 4^th grade. My addiction hasn’t abated over time either, and I will tolerate all manner of strange things being done to my head, just to get a little free brushing out of the deal.

5. No matter what my mood, I always cry at some point when watching Sesame Street. Maybe it’s the warm fuzzy memories of innocent times gone by (childhood) or the sweet, tender messages of kindness and tolerance – whatever it is, this show ALWAYS gets at least one insides-tightening, cathartic, “man, the world is so beautiful” tear out of me.

Now that all three girls are in school, I haven’t seen it in a while, and boy do I miss it. And of course, don’t even get me started on Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood – just typing that made me blurry-eyed.

6. I have a real knack for silly sweet nicknames (move over Hallie). Here are some samples for each of the girls:

Pouran – Plouper, Ploop-dog, Scoop-de-dooper, Ploup-alopogas, Plouperificals

Gabrielle – Schmee

Faith – “B”, Spaz B, Beeble-weeble, Bee-ster

Here’s some insight into the whole creative process. I’ll walk you through the evolution of Elle’s nicknames.

Gabrielle --> Elle --> Elle-belle --> Elley-belly --> Smelley --> Schmelly --> Schmee

Once you had a good solid core nickname, you can make derivatives of it in all kinds of ways: Schmee-bee, Schmizzle-schmazzle, McSchmozle-ator, … be creative and enjoy!

7. I hate needles. Now I know nobody out there actually enjoys getting a shot, but for me it induces a fit of mild hysteria. During my first pregnancy, I had to have blood drawn for tests. Knowing how terrified I get (and uncooperative), I brought my husband along for comfort. We go in to the lab, I’m breathing slowly and steadily to remain calm, and my darling husband tries to cut the tension a little with some humor. As I’m relaxed and “ready”, he loudly exclaims, “Man! Look at the SIZE of that needle!”, thinking the sarcasm would give everyone a good chuckle. I immediately curl up into a little ball, sobbing and shaking profusely. Needless to say, that was his first AND last prenatal visit with all three of our pregnancies. The all time worst needles – those at the dentist – needles have NO business in a person’s mouth. I’ve actually had cavities drilled without Novocain, because I’ll take pain over needles any day (and I’m a pain “wuss”). Which leads me to the point of this point: because I dread the dentist with a passion, I let a simple cavity devolve into a cavern (chunk of tooth fell off) that exposed the nerve and caused a few months of constant pain (avoiding the dentist the whole time). It finally became unbearable, so I went in, reluctantly, a couple weeks ago...

prognosis: root canal
my response: no way
result: gaping hole in my mouth

Inspiration for the Week

“The more faithfully you listen to the voice within you,

the better you will hear what is sounding outside.”

Dag Hammarskjold, former Sec. Gen. of the U.N., 1953-61

Fav. Foto Friday

As I regularly flip through my boxes and boxes of old photos (and there's a whole closet full of them - my last scrapbook entry: Faith (the 12 y.o.) at 6 mos. old) to supplement blog postings, embarrass old friends on my facebook page, and avoid cleaning, I come across some really great photos. So my "newest feature" here on my blog [read: an easy post to get me up from one a week!] is to share these photos with you, every Friday. Here's my first one:These are some of the girls from our Girl Scout troop during our Troop Campout last October. We're going camping next weekend, and I can't wait - I love camping and these girls are so much fun to hang out with.
p.s. Thandi, we miss you and your family

Inspiration for the Week

"Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it. My optimism, then, does not rest on the absence of evil, but on a glad belief in the preponderance of good and a willing effort always to cooperate with the good, that it may prevail. I try to increase the power God has given me to see the best in everything and every one, and make that Best a part of my life."
Helen Keller, 1903

Inspiration for the Week

"When I say it's you I like, I'm talking about that part of you
that knows that life is far more than anything you can ever
see or hear or touch. That deep part of you that allows you
to stand for those things without which
humankind cannot survive.
Love that conquers hate,
peace that rises triumphant over war,
and justice that proves more powerful than greed."
Mister Fred Rogers

p.s. if you're in need for a good, heart-warming cry, here it is.

Can I Brag?

Well, I'm fairly new to this whole blogging thing, and I'm not quite sure if there's an unspoken etiquette on posting, but I simply must do a little bragging about my wonderful husband.

We don't really "do" holidays or anniversaries or anything, we don't observe them, we never buy gifts or cards, but after almost 13 years of marriage, we do still call each other daily to say "I love you." Needless to say, I was quite surprised last Tues. when Kamyar brought up the issue of Valentine's Day approaching. He asked if I had any plans or thoughts about it, to which I replied, of course, "No." Then he shared that, since we never go out for such things, wouldn't it be nice, if we offered to child-sit for another couple, so that they could have a night together? My heart melted instantly as I was reminded why I love this man so dearly.

There are few gifts which can top getting to make that phone call to friends offering a night out as a couple. They were thrilled - they were planning to go out for dinner as a family, but were thankful for the chance to go to their favorite Thai restaurant - which the kids do not enjoy. Their kids came over and had a great time with our kids, the two hours flew by way too fast, and it was joyous to be a part of such a wonderful win, win, win situation.

Thank you, my love, for being you and for loving me so deeply.

Inspiration for the Week

"You think because you understand
ONE
you must understand
TWO
because one and one makes two.
But you must also understand
AND."
* Sufi teaching

Much Love to You All

Happy Valentine's Day - with the mandatory bow to Ze Frank.

p.s. how do you get a video to embed directly in your blog?

Inspiration for the Week

I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God
Who has endowed us with sense, reason and intellect
has intended us to forgo their use.
Galileo Galilei, circa 1600

Bossy Shoulda Got Her Hair Done Here

The older sisters organized a fun party for Elle's 6th -- they set up a salon on the back porch (notice the "waiting room" of chairs off to the right), and the construction paper purses they're holding - full of construction paper money to pay for a day at the salon!! [would Antonio take construction paper money?!!],There was a choose-your-own-nail-color bar, hosted by Faith (11.5)

and an upscale hair-do-ery staffed by Pouran (9) and her friends, Ginya, Kyra and Mia
complete with plenty o' chatty gossip with each style. Bossy, at least they wouldn't have done anything irreversible.

Oh, and the oldest sister? Leyla (16) kept the boys off the back porch with a distracting game of Mouse Trap

And when all the "customers" were satisfied... a styling chain!
Later on, even some of the parents tried a new "do"!

Inspiration for the Week

"It isn't enough to talk about peace.
One must believe in it.
And it isn't enough to believe in it.
One must work at it."
Eleanor Roosevelt, 1951

Lordy,lordy, Elle is... 6?!!?!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GABRIELLE!!

Your sisters were so excited when you arrived.
And you grew, um... large, uh... rather quickly.
How do the years fly by so fast? It seems like only yesterday you were one.And eating dirt...And now you're making friends, making music, making goofy faces, and making us love you more each day.

Why I'm glad I'm "out of the loop"

If you haven't run across this wonderful post from Mrs. G, you MUST read it now.

Inspiration for the Week

"I slept and dreamt that life was joy.
I awoke and saw that life was service.
I acted and behold, service was joy."
* Rabindranath Tagore, nobel poet laureate, 1913

Questions

I like questions. I find myself asking more and more of them. My most enjoyable questions are those directed at me - taking a second look at things I thought I'd "known" for a long time. In that process, I'm working hard to abate my natural tendency to rush in with an answer, and just sit with the uncertainty for a while. Pema Chodron (watch the interview) tells us that's the space from which actual transformation is possible, and I've experienced it, but don't have words for it yet. Questions have never been more important.
"...the most important question facing us at this uncertain juncture in the history of human civilization is whether or not we can begin to ask the correct questions soon enough to halt the deadly consequences of asking the wrong ones for so long. Or perhaps, more accurately, it is important to ask not which questions are right or which are wrong, but rather which are relevant to the healthy and hopeful survival of humanity at this time - because, of course, some of the most destructive questions we have ever asked of one another concern what is right and what wrong." -Bahiyyih Nakhjavani, Asking Questions: A Challenge to Fundamentalism, pg. 4-5.

Thank you for the dream, Dr. King

From a speech to the SCLC, Aug. 1967 - the words of Martin Luther King, Jr.

I want to say to you as I move to my conclusion, as we talk about "Where do we go from here?" that we must honestly face the fact that the movement must address itself to the question of restructuring the whole of American society. (Yes) There are forty million poor people here, and one day we must ask the question, "Why are there forty million poor people in America?" And when you begin to ask that question, you are raising a question about the economic system, about a broader distribution of wealth. When you ask that question, you begin to question the capitalistic economy. (Yes) And I'm simply saying that more and more, we've got to begin to ask questions about the whole society. We are called upon to help the discouraged beggars in life's marketplace. (Yes) But one day we must come to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring. (All right) It means that questions must be raised. And you see, my friends, when you deal with this you begin to ask the question, "Who owns the oil?" (Yes) You begin to ask the question, "Who owns the iron ore?" (Yes) You begin to ask the question, "Why is it that people have to pay water bills in a world that's two-thirds water?" (All right) These are words that must be said. (All right)

Now, don't think you have me in a bind today. I'm not talking about communism. What I'm talking about is far beyond communism. (Yeah) My inspiration didn't come from Karl Marx (Speak); my inspiration didn't come from Engels; my inspiration didn't come from Trotsky; my inspiration didn't come from Lenin. Yes, I read Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital a long time ago (Well), and I saw that maybe Marx didn't follow Hegel enough. (All right) He took his dialectics, but he left out his idealism and his spiritualism. And he went over to a German philosopher by the name of Feuerbach, and took his materialism and made it into a system that he called "dialectical materialism." (Speak) I have to reject that.

What I'm saying to you this morning is communism forgets that life is individual. (Yes) Capitalism forgets that life is social. (Yes, Go ahead) And the kingdom of brotherhood is found neither in the thesis of communism nor the antithesis of capitalism, but in a higher synthesis. (Speak) [applause] It is found in a higher synthesis (Come on) that combines the truths of both. (Yes) Now, when I say questioning the whole society, it means ultimately coming to see that the problem of racism, the problem of economic exploitation, and the problem of war are all tied together. (All right) These are the triple evils that are interrelated.

And if you will let me be a preacher just a little bit. (Speak) One day [applause], one night, a juror came to Jesus (Yes sir) and he wanted to know what he could do to be saved. (Yeah) Jesus didn't get bogged down on the kind of isolated approach of what you shouldn't do. Jesus didn't say, "Now Nicodemus, you must stop lying." (Oh yeah) He didn't say, "Nicodemus, now you must not commit adultery." He didn't say, "Now Nicodemus, you must stop cheating if you are doing that." He didn't say, "Nicodemus, you must stop drinking liquor if you are doing that excessively." He said something altogether different, because Jesus realized something basic (Yes): that if a man will lie, he will steal. (Yes) And if a man will steal, he will kill. (Yes) So instead of just getting bogged down on one thing, Jesus looked at him and said, "Nicodemus, you must be born again." [applause]

In other words, "Your whole structure (Yes) must be changed." [applause] A nation that will keep people in slavery for 244 years will "thingify" them and make them things. (Speak) And therefore, they will exploit them and poor people generally economically. (Yes) And a nation that will exploit economically will have to have foreign investments and everything else, and it will have to use its military might to protect them. All of these problems are tied together. (Yes) [applause]

What I'm saying today is that we must go from this convention and say, "America, you must be born again!" [applause] (Oh yes)

And so, I conclude by saying today that we have a task, and let us go out with a divine dissatisfaction. (Yes)

Let us be dissatisfied until America will no longer have a high blood pressure of creeds and an anemia of deeds. (All right)

Let us be dissatisfied (Yes) until the tragic walls that separate the outer city of wealth and comfort from the inner city of poverty and despair shall be crushed by the battering rams of the forces of justice. (Yes sir)

Let us be dissatisfied (Yes) until those who live on the outskirts of hope are brought into the metropolis of daily security.

Let us be dissatisfied (Yes) until slums are cast into the junk heaps of history (Yes), and every family will live in a decent, sanitary home.

Let us be dissatisfied (Yes) until the dark yesterdays of segregated schools will be transformed into bright tomorrows of quality integrated education.

Let us be dissatisfied until integration is not seen as a problem but as an opportunity to participate in the beauty of diversity.

Let us be dissatisfied (All right) until men and women, however black they may be, will be judged on the basis of the content of their character, not on the basis of the color of their skin. (Yeah) Let us be dissatisfied. [applause]

Let us be dissatisfied (Well) until every state capitol (Yes) will be housed by a governor who will do justly, who will love mercy, and who will walk humbly with his God.

Let us be dissatisfied [applause] until from every city hall, justice will roll down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream. (Yes)

Let us be dissatisfied (Yes) until that day when the lion and the lamb shall lie down together (Yes), and every man will sit under his own vine and fig tree, and none shall be afraid.

Let us be dissatisfied (Yes), and men will recognize that out of one blood (Yes) God made all men to dwell upon the face of the earth. (Speak sir)

Let us be dissatisfied until that day when nobody will shout, "White Power!" when nobody will shout, "Black Power!" but everybody will talk about God's power and human power. [applause]

And I must confess, my friends (Yes sir), that the road ahead will not always be smooth. (Yes) There will still be rocky places of frustration (Yes) and meandering points of bewilderment. There will be inevitable setbacks here and there. (Yes) And there will be those moments when the buoyancy of hope will be transformed into the fatigue of despair. (Well) Our dreams will sometimes be shattered and our ethereal hopes blasted. (Yes) We may again, with tear-drenched eyes, have to stand before the bier of some courageous civil rights worker whose life will be snuffed out by the dastardly acts of bloodthirsty mobs. (Well) But difficult and painful as it is (Well), we must walk on in the days ahead with an audacious faith in the future. ...

When our days become dreary with low-hovering clouds of despair (Well), and when our nights become darker than a thousand midnights (Well), let us remember (Yes) that there is a creative force in this universe working to pull down the gigantic mountains of evil (Well), a power that is able to make a way out of no way (Yes) and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows. (Speak)

Let us realize that the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. Let us realize that William Cullen Bryant is right: "Truth, crushed to earth, will rise again." Let us go out realizing that the Bible is right: "Be not deceived. God is not mocked. (Oh yeah) Whatsoever a man soweth (Yes), that (Yes) shall he also reap." This is our hope for the future, and with this faith we will be able to sing in some not too distant tomorrow, with a cosmic past tense, "We have overcome! (Yes) We have overcome! Deep in my heart, I did believe (Yes) we would overcome." [applause]

Mandatory Viewing

I had the opportunity last night to watch three amazing short films on the impact that climate change has on the lives and work of three families, from Indonesia, Niger, and Peru. (produced by these folks: http://www.ddcmadagascar.com/index.php The videos I saw aren't on-line yet, but there's similar stuff to check out).
Anyway, thinking about a huge global problem like climate change can be disconcerting as you wonder "What can one person do?" Well, fret no more - watch this short video on The Story of Stuff and you'll realize just how much one person can do.
ENJOY!!

Global Warming, Schmobal Warming

Playing outside (for fourth day in a row - highs in the 70's), Jan. 12th
Oh, wait... high for tomorrow - 39!!!! Nevermind.

The Office

A quick tour of my "office", for a friend in a cornfield somewhere.

Desk, check. (All I need are some cutesy post-its to remind me of stuff I'm not likely to do.)
Bookcase, check.

It's not behind the door, but will an unused corner do as well?

Thanksgiving

HAPPY TURKEY DAY!!

From the Virgin Islands!!!!!!

A wonderful essay on the true spirit of thanksgiving:

Thankfulness is of various kinds. There is a verbal thanksgiving which is confined to a mere utterance of gratitude. This is of no importance because perchance the tongue may give thanks while the heart is unaware of it. Many who offer thanks to God are of this type, their spirits and hearts unconscious of thanksgiving. This is mere usage, just as when we meet, receive a gift and say thank you, speaking the words without significance. One may say thank you a thousand times while the heart remains thankless, ungrateful. Therefore, mere verbal thanksgiving is without effect. But real thankfulness is a cordial giving of thanks from the heart. When man in response to the favors of God manifests susceptibilities of conscience, the heart is happy, the spirit is exhilarated. These spiritual susceptibilities are ideal thanksgiving.

There is a cordial thanksgiving, too, which expresses itself in the deeds and actions of man when his heart is filled with gratitude. For example, God has conferred upon man the gift of guidance, and in thankfulness for this great gift certain deeds must emanate from him. To express his gratitude for the favors of God man must show forth praiseworthy actions. In response to these bestowals he must render good deeds, be self-sacrificing, loving the servants of God, forfeiting even life for them, showing kindness to all the creatures. He must be severed from the world, attracted to the Kingdom of Abhá, the face radiant, the tongue eloquent, the ear attentive, striving day and night to attain the good pleasure of God. Whatsoever he wishes to do must be in harmony with the good pleasure of God. He must observe and see what is the will of God and act accordingly. There can be no doubt that such commendable deeds are thankfulness for the favors of God.

Consider how grateful anyone becomes when healed from sickness, when treated kindly by another or when a service is rendered by another, even though it may be of the least consequence. If we forget such favors, it is an evidence of ingratitude. Then it will be said a loving-kindness has been done, but we are thankless, not appreciating this love and favor. Physically and spiritually we are submerged in the sea of God's favor. He has provided our foods, drink and other requirements; His favors encompass us from all directions. The sustenances provided for man are blessings. Sight, hearing and all his faculties are wonderful gifts. These blessings are innumerable; no matter how many are mentioned, they are still endless. Spiritual blessings are likewise endless -- spirit, consciousness, thought, memory, perception, ideation and other endowments. By these He has guided us, and we enter His Kingdom. He has opened the doors of all good before our faces. He has vouchsafed eternal glory. He has summoned us to the Kingdom of heaven. He has enriched us by the bestowals of God. Every day he has proclaimed new glad tidings. Every hour fresh bounties descend.

Consider how all the people are asleep, and ye are awake. They are dead, and ye are alive through the breaths of the Holy Spirit. They are blind while ye are endowed with perceptive sight. They are deprived of the love of God, but in your hearts it exists and is glowing. Consider these bestowals and favors.

Therefore, in thanksgiving for them ye must act in accordance with the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh. Ye must read the Tablets -- the Hidden Words, Ishraqat, Glad Tidings -- all the holy utterances, and act according to them. This is real thanksgiving, to live in accord with these utterances. This is true thankfulness and the divine bestowal. This is thanksgiving and glorification of God.

I hope you all may attain thereto, be mindful of these favors of God and be attentive. It is my hope that I may go away from New York with a happy heart, and my heart is happy when the friends of God love each other, when they manifest the mercy of God to all people. If I see this, I shall go away happy.

* 'Abdu'l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 236-7

Oh Bossy, How Do I Envy Thee... Let Me Count the Ways

This will only be funny if you're me; or..., if, like me, you just came off of a 72-hour Bossy marathon, but even then, probably still only funny to me. Oh well, for everyone else, here's something funny for you to watch

For me, enjoy...


1. At least Bossy's backyard weeds flora bloom.

Of course, not all of my yard is weeds.

2. My pj's are typically whatever clothes I pass out in (notice dress socks, leftover from a meeting the other day). And yes, that is a Charlotte Hornets t-shirt, just to date myself (and my wardrobe) a bit.
3. Walking down my hallway at any hour of the day yields a choice between dodging piles of clothing on their third day of strike and dog toys.

4. My husband was also a rock star when he was younger.

5. My cultural background is Southern - all the guilt, none of the beseder holidays.

6. While I have a great sense of humor, not much of it is original - I have to steal blog ideas from Bossy!

7. It's hard to have "stretched arm photo taking skillz" when all your strength goes into holding the battery compartment closed on your 2.0 mp hand-me-down (and yes, it's my first digital camera). Though, I do live in the same town as Elizabeth Edwards.

8. I don't even have shutters.
9. My dog has the right coloring, but lacks the gi-normousness of Bossy's.

Also, I can't get her to strike the same adorable sleep poses as Bossy's deer dog.

10. All my quirky 80's music

[had to do it]

is trapped on cassettes somewhere in the vast wasteland that is my attic. Though I did manage (God bless i-Tunes) to download a fun tribute song:

Pictures of You, The Cure

11. Try as I might, I just can't refer to myself in the third person!

12. My hair challenge? The EXACT opposite of "embracing my inner curl."

13. My photoshop skills consist of open file, crop, save, exit...

14. Bossy's husband doesn't have anything to fear from my garden.

Unless there's such a thing as "okra envy"?!

15. The only time I've seen the wee hours of the morning, is when I've stayed up way too late free-basing youTube videos - thanks Nathan.

16. I completely missed the Little People, Big World marathon.


p.s. any plans for one last college tour - Southern style?!!

Giving Dads Their Due

In all fairness, here's one for the Dad's too

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uISuvTiTYJA

Moms' Anthem

Finally... our very own tribute song - enjoy. I can't seem to get the link to function correctly, so copy and paste this address into your browser: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxT5NwQUtVM

1-2-3-4 Dance

So I get into the car after a meeting and the clock says "12:34", and I become acutely aware of how much I miss my girls (all three are in school now during the day). They have this delightful practice of, whenever anyone realizes that it has turned "12:34", doing the "1-2-3-4 Dance". It consists of simply stopping whatever you're doing, hopping to your feet (if necessary), and performing any combination that feels good of shaking your hips, bouncing up and down, and swinging your feet and/or arms. It lasts until, you guessed it, "12:35". The pure joy and infectious radiance of their countenances is manna from heaven. As I remember that I'm in the car, I'm struck by how deeply spiritual this act is - talk about "living in the moment". For that minute, nothing exists but the dance and the happiness it brings. Next time, I hope I have the courage to pull-over and dance.