tundra

As little as I do it, you wouldn't guess that one of my favorite things to do, rain or shine, is go on morning walks by myself. I'm grateful to have a wide open field with trails and landscape and a view of the Olympics right behind my house. Walking back there changes my perspective and reminds me that things aren't as big of a deal as I make them. It reminds me that God cares about me, because he cares about the sparrows. And I am in His care so much more. Things get more simple, and I find myself trusting Him more.

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, I took my camera out (aka iPhone) and shot some photos during my walk. It was a frozen morning, and the light was perfectly captured in the ice and frost. I used the CameraBag plastic filter after I took them, even though some of them probably didn't need it.

Call me greedy...

GORGEOUS!

I'll take two of each, please.

Gratitude

"Gratitude unlocks the fulness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more.

It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity.

It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.

Gratitude makes sense of the past, brings peace to our today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."

-Melody Beattie

The Exquisite Book

I saw this book online today and am in looooove.

Over 100 artists contributed to it by adding on to the previous artist’s drawing using a common horizon line.


Brilliant!! I'm dying to get it. Or start my own.


You can check it out here.

Summer Weekend

In honor of a great weekend, I've got to share some photos I took.

Friday night: Bolivian restaurant, then Seattle Art Museum REMIX with the gals.



Saturday night: I was given a ticket from a friend (if you're reading this Daniel, THANK YOU) to attend the Vogue fashion show in Bellevue.

I had a front row seat right on the runway!

It was a beautiful, inspiring show.

And yes, I wore jeans. A girl cannot have too many pairs.

Sunday: OK. So I have this friend who is training to climb Mt. Rainier, so we went to Mt. Si and got some serious hiking in. She is amazing! She will find a mountain and conquer it. I even tried on her 40 lb pack for a little bit on the trail, and the woman is seriously legit. And I am such a weakling.

Here she is. Nikki: Mountain Warrior Goddess.

This my friends, is a mac 'n cheese bar. It looks putrid, but it's actually delish. The synthetic cheese holds it together quite nicely.

Moss on a log. Once I was hiking by myself and I got tired and I took a little nap on a mossy log. It was very soft, trust me. I have a soft spot in my heart for mossy logs now, I guess.


Today: I'm a little sore, but I'm totally inspired. That's what happens when you combine friends + fashion + nature all in one weekend. My head is about to explode. In the best way possible, of course.

I might have posted this before...

...but I have to post it again.

Days With My Father

On Lake Union

Saturday Morn

See this innocent face?

This is Stella, Jen's pup and our house mascot.
Her hobbies include breakfast time, dinner time, cheese chunks and chew toys.

Last Saturday morning, Jen and I heard shrieks coming from somewhere.
Was it a small child? A bird stuck in the chimney? A squeaky toy?

Jen ran out back and found Stella pawing at a small animal.
Here's the scene of the crime.


Stella had found some live chew toys in this small little hole ("warren" to you bunny lovers).


Jen rescued this little guy (don't ask how). He had a broken leg.


We call him "Little Broken Leg".


Then we found his brothers: "Fearful Heart" and "Internal Wound".


What to do, what to do?
They needed to be tended to after flopping around in Stella's mouth and being batted around by her paws. So we put 'em in the shoe box and headed to PAWS...


We dropped them off and felt better about that decision than putting them back out in the wild, vulnerable and wounded.
God bless 'em.

mi madre

mighty one

"This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.

I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and that as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no "brief candle" to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations."

-George Bernard Shaw

Mr. Ed at age 90.

A friend said this photo reminded him of me.

Why, o, why?

Sea

I'm going to the sea for several days.

What I will do while I'm there:
Walk, for extended periods of time.
Rest, for extended periods of time.
Eat, periodically.
Pray, the entire time. This trip is a prayer in itself.
Read, but not much.
Write, if I'm compelled.
Paint, if I'm inspired. I know I will be.
Photograph.

Be back soon!

Today I was just missing my short hair.

If you can't tell, I'm the girl on the left. I'm very tense here. That's what happens when I play Ms. Pac Man.

Fashion Week is in full swing.

What a gorgeous catwalk.

Blooms

Today, at lunch, I looked over, and saw these little beauties. In mid-February. Astonishing.

This is us. I love us.

Watch this.

Big Box & Maru

Stylish + Simple + Inspiring

It's photos like these that make you wish you had long, blonde hair and THOSE SHOES.
Photo taken by Scott, of course.

"Are you a Puma?"

I HAD to repost this from my friend Jim's tumblr.

Fun Fact

I will freak out and kick and scream and laugh and cry and fight you to the death if you ever try and hold me down and tickle my feet. FYI.

Song

I can't get enough of this song by Jordan Hardee.



I'll admit, it took some time to grow on me.

The electric guitar... you just have to hear it. Then there's this sweet groove about two.5 minutes in that is like, wow. "Come and wreck this ship with your love storm...come sweep us away with your holy ways..."

Then over and over he sings "set my mind on things about You; give me love for things You do."

The anthem of my life.

My latest painting.

2010. The very first day to begin again.

As I was reflecting on 2009 and re-reading some journal entries, this quote I'd written down by Henri Nouwen stood out to me the most, and summarizes so well how I see the step into the new year.

"To be grateful for the good things that happen in our lives is easy, but to be grateful for all of our lives - the good as well as the bad, the moments of joy as well as the moments of sorrow, the successes as well as the failures, the rewards as well as the rejections - that requires hard spiritual work.

Still, we are only grateful people when we can say thank you to all that has brought us to the present moment. As long as we keep dividing our lives between events and people we would rather forget, we cannot claim the fulness of our beings as a gift of God to be grateful for. Let's not be afraid to look at everything that has brought us to where we are now and trust that we will soon see it in the guiding hand of a loving God."

So on this new day, I step gratefully into a new year, a new decade. Unafraid to accept the fulness of my life story as a gift.



2010, here I come.

Quoted

"We must find each other."

-Mother Theresa

I thought this was beautiful.

But I can't remember where I found it.

bippity boppity boo

35mm

I've decided to post a few choice photographs from my childhood.

It all started with my dad's hairy leg and split 80's bathrobe.
Not really (cracking up at this photo! what in the world? what am I so confused about?).

Let me begin again.
It all began with a pink onesie.



From there, my love of eating (and sneaking bites when I thought no one was looking) began. Other than looking like a child of Spock, I'm loving my haircut & t-shirt here.



Once a cheesy smile, always a cheesy smile. (That's Ryan & Heather next to me.) And I want to know what's up with all of our mis-shapen diapers?



This one's my favorite. Just crazy! And I'm pretty sure I've had the same haircut since I was two.



Ryan would kill me if he know I posted a pic of him wearing a diaper on his head.

Gentry

This fellow's style is perfection.



I saw this photo today (compliments of you know who) and just can't get enough of it. I keep going back. So many flawless details.

#1, his haircut is just great. It sits atop his brow like a soldiers cap. Off duty, but ready for action.

#2, his jeans. The wash. The rips and holes. The mini cuff. The lengh.

#3, nice hands; enough said there.

#4, the t. Clean. Cuffs!

#5, his stance; even though he's not standing, he's at ease. It's like he was taken by suprise, but at the same time doesn't give a rats tail that his photo is being taken.

#6, he prefers a bike. That's just the cherry on top, isn't it?

I just love his look so much. But why? Mm, probably because it looks like he's not trying. That's key. In fact, that's HUGE. The most important. You lose it all when you try too hard. Effortless, but hits the mark.

Then (just now) I realized he's idential to my late favorite uncle, Gentry. Looks just like him! Tragically, my uncle died in a motorcycle accident when he was 30. But what I remember of him is beautiful!

He was my mom's only full brother, 2 years younger than her. He'd visit occasionally, and when he did, I preferred to ride on his back like he was a wild donkey. I was that little. I remember he'd light up a room when he walked in. He was tall and lanky, sensitive but hilarious, and would play harmonica on demand. When he was there, the volatile home I lived in was at peace.

Here he is.


(on the back of this photo, he says: "65 lb backpack with guitar, flute - small box behind my head - crawfish trap. Note: the fish hanging I caught him the first morning." hahaaaa. How can you not love him?!)



It's funny how you can miss someone you hardly knew, and even less remembered. But he is one of my only wonderful memories from when I was that age, and so I treasure those memories!

Fabrics make me so happy.

Gifts

I'd prefer to keep this simple and short.

WHY, oh why, do I strive for a thing which cannot be gotten by way of desire, hope, daydreaming or tears?

THING. Meaning: a confidant stance before the living God.

That thing, that promise, is a gift given to those who believe. If I believe it, that gift allows me to stand blameless and perfect before Him, to find my purpose in Him, and to find my end in Him.

And on that weighty thought, I'll end this post and go to bed.