I am so delighted to rediscover so many wonderful books of my childhood, and after reading Madeline every night for the past week, I am ravenous to read new-to-me books with Miss Cassidy Sue.
Since Madeline won a Caldecott Medal in 1940, that is where I am beginning my search. Bemelmans's words connect in such an effortless lyrical quality, something that is not easy to achieve.
While I am all for letting Cassidy discover her own passions, it's apparent to me that children emulate their parents, not only out of love, but also due to an increased exposure to certain activities. For example, I apparently am in love with commas. My English teachers were always fussing with me to simplify and reduce sentence length!
I've struggled with reading to Baby Girl up until now, but it is becoming a huge part of our bedtime routine. She really is a fantastic sleeper. Life is so intense in the first few months, it's impossible to not worry about EVERYTHING... I've just got one of those babies that don't sleep longer than 3 hours... but the nighttime snuggles are pretty worth it!
We've already begun swim lessons...
Today we are headed to lesson #2. I'm going to have Travis handle her, I felt so nervous! I'm sure she felt that energy. This week I can smile and sing to her... probably no videos if we are in the water, but there will be many, many more.
Here are the Insta-Glamour Shots for baby Cassidy this month!
These crazies make me giggle. They shoot in the loveliest of Portland places.
"Who are they? Are they going out? Are they friends?"
"Its very much about our friendship. Its a way for us to hang out that seemed normal. Because we weren't in a romantic relationship but we were flying all over the country for each other. And so, if you're not, like, romancing someone, you better be working on a project, otherwise its really wierd for them to just show up at your house"
And ready to share. Today is another long day to cap off a week of wilderness trekking, summit hiking and hot springs wallowing. After teaching two yoga classes today, Travis and I head to celebrate the wedding of one of the owners of the fabulous Breakside Brewery. But tomorrow I have all day to blog, do laundry, and share.
So here is a little teaser to share with you. I fully intend to process all my pics and get them up to Flickr. I need to do a better job of photo management... iPhoto is kind of a mess when trying to organize, access & backup your library {please discuss!}. I just recently backed up & deleted over 12,000 photos! And that is only from 2008. My oh my. I've inherited the documentary bug from my dear Dad.
My garden has exploded! I feel like the entire city just BLOOMED while I was away! What a week of 85 degrees temps will do. Now all the roses are showing their colors, my collard greens are big enough for me to notice slug attacks, and the weeds are so so happy.
After a long and energetic vacation back home, I reveled in a silent house this morning. Roommates all scattered at their various jobs, I had a rare few hours with just myself and a quiet, overcast morning. While cleaning the kitchen, I popped out into the garden, dug in the herb garden, fed the chickens a few wilted tomatoes. Something about cleaning the kitchen creates this amazing space for my heart to really settle. I am a homemaker at heart. Whenever my inspiring bloggers share their heart's desire to be a wanderer, I am reminded of my longing for a little farm. My visions of family include goats, chickens, honeybees, and all kinds of rural adventures.
Something about clearing space in my home create space for soulful expression either by movement, writing, chanting, or meditation. This morning, the writing bug caught me, and several topics arose.
Ego, Yoga and Feeling Good
Release attachments to the shapes created within yoga asana. Asana means posture, which reminds us of the emphasis upon the spine. Without a long spine, and comfortable breath, we are not practicing yoga.
Remove the link to the ego, or individual self.
The breath is a messenger to our infinite self, revealing the connectedness between each and every one of us.
Value Assignments
Most of us do yoga to feel good, or look good...
We know that we will feel good after doing yoga, and we know that we might feel bad while doing it, so bad we might want to quit, walk out, never come back.... but we don't. We Stay.
We have been told that "Pain is Weakness Leaving the Body"
Look past this conditioning. Remove the value assignments. There is no feeling good or feeling bad... Just Feeling.
That being said, I love this song:
My Brightest Diamond "Feeling Good" Dark Was the Night Compilation
On March 26, 2011, pledge to turn out your lights at 8:30 pm for Earth Hour, a worldwide collective display of commitment to protect the one thing that unites us all--the planet.
This Earth Hour, when the lights go back on, we hope you go beyond the hour and think about what you can change in your daily life that will benefit the planet. Let’s work together to create a better future. Our actions can add up.
Purchased a new journal, and its ugly cover is sparking a new crafty venture. My extremely talented friend, Jenny from San Fran gifted me a cigar box with sea animals modge podged to every surface. This was in high school so naturally, the box has drifted from my immediate possession.
Can you guess what I've picked for a theme? Yoga Journal illustrations! Its the one magazine I have held onto when all others hit the recycle bin. Now its time for spring cleaning, magazine cutting and crafty, sunny afternoons.
We seeded the backyard lawns and asked the chickens to keep their poop and claws out of the yard and patio. They refused, so we locked them away in their ridiculously spacious coop. No wonder they don't try to escape! If we ever move out of this house, I'd love to plant an herb garden in the space vacated by the chickens. With the straw mulch and their constant digging, pecking, and fertilizing, it should be quite a fertile spot for a thyme creeper. Which also means more bricks! I want to create permeable pathways all over the yard, to enhance the minimal growing season we have under the shady apple tree.
Indoor herb garden idea... Modge Podge Outdoor. (Pretty much I just discovered I've spelled it all wrong. But I'll I like my name for it!)
The most exciting part of partner yoga is sharing.
At friday night's Mandala Yoga and Acro Jam I learned a Therapeutic sequence with Flying Whale.
{ http://www.yogabhoga.com/class-descriptions/ }
I extremely excited for a new Sunday night Acro Yoga class, focusing on Thai Massage and Therapeutic Flying. Perhaps the Friday night class is amping up for more acrobatic variations! I love a powerful challenge, and Acro Yoga is definitely something that challenges my focus and endurance.
Circus Yoga is coming to Portland for a Street Yoga & Circus Project volunteer workshop in February. I also registered for their Seattle workshop the weekend before. They spread such a wonderful message of:
planning a fireside yoga class... wishing for acro. ruminating about thai massage, herbalism...
knitting, planning knitting, procrastinating. my dad converted nearly 100 hours of family video to DVD... watching sister and i jump and ham for the camera in oklahoma, missouri, with family, birthdays, roller skate parties...
We've dug up dead grass clods, escaped armies of ants, cuddled with a furry friend, spoiled some feathered fatties rotten. I am working on my disc golf throw, tasting summer rye micro brews, practicing yoga in the dappled shade and loving every minute of my dreamy escape.
Today I actually sent out a couple resumes, designed some custom invitations, signed up for a new street yogagig, harvested some vegetables, cleared way for the winter crop of cruciferous vegetables.
Perhaps my roommates just want to pay me to garden, cook and clean? Think of all the delicious, healthy meals we would feast upon in the verdant garden...
That's what time it is indeed... mountain biking tomorrow, plus some berry picking, river swimming, yoga-ing, horseshoe tossin, bbq grillin. Then repeat it all the next day! and the next, and the next...
I'm teaching yoga in the park this weekend, join me!
the hammock heaven
path into enlightenment
sacred destinations
Travis took captured these lovelies. I uploaded to his flickr.
A day off for my adventure buddy involves driving through the local stratovolcano's foothills. Hiking as far vertical as possible. Hang a hammock. Read a book until nodding off under the whispering cedars.
This evening after work my roommate remarked that she enjoys spending when we all spend evenings in the backyard, candles lit (bug spray out), hammocks hung, slackline slacking. She feels relaxation makes her doubly efficient when taking care of other chores. I agree.
Here are more of Trav's beautiful pictures, these being from the polar opposite time of year... the Arctic Blast of Winter 2008. He's quite the photographer.
However, this week I will be working on my roots. Friday is my last day at work. Making the decision to leave my job has been the most exhilarating, scary, reckless and amazing decision I have ever made. Every move I have made in my life thus far always involved a calculated safety net. This time however, is different.
I have no job lined up. My portfolio is pitifully out of date. I can barely look at my resume before getting fed up and stomping away from the computer. This would explain the dearth of posting here, my inability to upload photos of my garden, adventures, and fun fun things. Everything in me is rebelling, trying to escape the 17 inch glowing screen. My body wants to open, not sit: stagnant for hours upon hours. Freelance is a possibility, since that would hopefully open up my office to hammocks and sunny parks surrounded by my fellow goofy Portlanders who can't stand to be inside during our glorious summers.
That is why my only gig lined up is teaching yoga! (Which you already heard about of course)
I want to get my hands dirty. Play in dirt all day. Brew some coffee, smile at children.
I believe that if I take this leap of faith, my dreams, my passions and desires will flower. Opportunities will present themselves. And I will have the freedom, the space, the grounded roots to be able to accept.
So this week I am grounding down. Finding my source of strength. Then flying free.
Pedalpalooza 2010... The one ride I managed to attend exceeded any expectations! Next year I will make a concerted effort to attend as many as possible. Making friends and riding across town with a bike gang is just so cool. The pace is slow and leisurely, tunes are pumping out of the car battery powered stereo, what more can you ask for? Okay, a tutu perhaps, but that is another ride in itself!
Video footage is awaiting editing and compiling... coming soon.
Click on any of the images for more play by play commentary!
Upon deciding to name my bike Blue Steel, a google search eventually led me to this gem (random):
