Fav. Foto Friday

This is one of those eternal photos that really captures the essence of a person - even though it was taken four years ago, it's THESE faces I see everyday when I look at my girls. That's grandpa in the photo with them.

Inspiration for the Week

The only thing that keeps us from seeing spirit in all beings
is our judgement.

Extra. Extra.

She's back!!!

Fav. Foto Friday

This sweet little toddler just left today for her very first trip away from home, ALONE! (i.e. without me). She's headed up to Asheville (4 hours away!!) for a middle school Model U.N. conference. How do the years disappear so quickly?!

Compensation

Having to read all the exciting adventures of Bossy as she travels the country strengthening new-found (and long-time) bloggy friendships with some face-to-face time, I'm left feeling a little envious, especially since I wasn't able to make it up to Richmond to join in on the fun.
But I DID manage to meet a really awesome group of moms last night at a Self-Renewal Party (Amy, I wish you could've been there.) Let me introduce them to you.From left to right: "in search of some spontaneous adult playdates", "gave up being a 'respectable young adult' for salsa dancing in the Rockies", "in love with the Body Therapy Institute", "really loves singing the bed-time song", "just realized how much she enjoys playing hide-n-seek", "is working on ditching her self-criticism", "goes jogging even when it's rainy and cold", yours truly - "exposing everyone on her blog", "can still do an amazing handstand", and "has always loved sneaking away alone for a bit". I can't wait to get to know them even better (and my road trip would only take me 40 minutes on the longest leg - except for the little detour to Atlanta!)

Inspiration for the Week

"It just seems to me that as long as we are both here,
it's pretty clear that the struggle is to share the planet,
rather than to divide it."
Alice Walker

Fav. Foto Friday

We've always loved going to the Zoo.

One of our favorite spots - the polar bear cave (2002).

A Wonderful Afternoon

Today we made one of my favorite foods of all time, because it combines two of the best things there are: bananas and bread.

Zohreh's Banana Bread

Preheat oven to 325º. In a mixing bowl, place three very ripe bananas and mash them well. To the bananas, add the following:

1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 cup oil
1 egg
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Stir by hand only until completely combined. Pour into loaf pan and bake for about 1 hour 15 min. (until a toothpick comes out clean)
We find this is especially good served with fresh squeezed lemonade,

and homework and friends on the deck.

p.s. should you ever feel moved to thank me for sharing this recipe with you, simply bake me a loaf and bring it on over! [OK - time for a road trip of your own (educational homeschooling field trip - a massive one!); Mrs. G - a homecoming?; foolery - because you're just crazy enough to do it for no reason at all]

Nerd Alert!

I always new I wasn't one of the cool kids, but I never realized just how nerdy I was (thanks foolery).

this is redeemed only by my new-found royalty

here's me as the only Junior in high school in the Math Club - redeemed only by the fact that at least I'm wearing my soccer uniform, and not my typical preppie one (yah, I was one of those too)
The black and white photo has spared you from the hideousness of my navy blue and BRIGHT kelly green outfit (yes, complete with "little whale" motif). The photographer also saved you from the sight of my green rubber "duck shoes" - who came up with that idea?! And, only in the South would you find a preppie with a mullet.

Inspiration for the Week

"History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived,
yet if faced with courage, need not be lived again."
Maya Angelou

(Someone on their blog recently mentioned what a powerful voice Maya Angelou has; I can share that that power emanates from her very core - she is one solid and deeply spiritual woman. I had the bounty of meeting her at a small political fundraiser in Winston-Salem, NC (her hometown) back in 1992. We were all sitting in a circle of chairs to hear her speak, and she happened to stand next to me while talking. The power in the room while she speaks is unbelievable, but then she placed her hand on my shoulder, and I could literally feel the power of her voice course through my body. She is one amazing woman. Deeply kind and thoughtful and unapologetically honest.)

Fav. Foto Friday

We had a lovely hike and picnic today

right next to this
with this view
Wish you could have joined us!

Inspiration for the Week

"No matter how far you go down a wrong road, turn back."
Turkish proverb

Fav. Foto Friday

Happy Naw-Ruz! ("new day" in Persian)

Bahá'ís celebrate the new year on the first day of spring.
Here's hoping you're having as beautiful a day as we are.

FYI

Did you know that, if you hold a mirror in just the right place, you can walk on the ceiling?

Kitchen Math

This

plus this(saute in a little olive oil: one large onion chopped,
3 stalks celery chopped, 4 sausages (sweet or hot Italian)
with meat squeezed out if the casing)

equals - YUM-A-LICIOUS!(of course, if you have a vegetarian-of-sorts in your house, you may want to set aside a small pot of the bean soup and add the sauteed onion and celery mixture BEFORE you add the sausage to be cooked - and of course, you MUST use a separate spoon to stir the veggie soup, because if the spoon that has touched soup that has sausage in it is used to stir the "veggie" soup, that soup becomes contaminated and inedible)

unfortunately, Elle wasn't able to finish her 4th bowl.

Extra. Extra.

Do you think the Girl Scouts had fun this weekend on their ALL-day-trip to the Aurora Fossil Museum and the Estuarium?

Inspiration for the Week

"I'd rather be hated for who I am
than loved for who I'm not."
Chuck D of Public Enemy

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