Daily affirmation

I have provided a harmonious place for myself and those I love.

Sunday sunday sunday

I love lazy Sunday's.  Today was one.  We were going to go up to Spokane and see the sights, but by the time we got going, it ended up being a "let's just hang out at the park" kind of day.  Maybe next week we'll go up there, since I'm going up there about a hundred times anyway next week.  Oh how I love my car lately.  Anyone know a good car seat back rest?  I'm looking...

Anyway, random day.  Breakfast, park, shop, lunch, nap, park, dinner, movie (in process now-- Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind if you're interested).  Music back drop of the day, loads of Bob Marley (one love, one heart, let's get together and feel alright...).  It's funny, I woke up feeling in a funk.  A bit lonely maybe?  I don't know, just in a funk.  Now, I'm feeling silly and ready.  Kids do that to you don't they?  God love 'em.  

Here's to tomorrow, another day of adventure, maybe we'll do Spokane tomorrow. 

Dove chocolate affirmations

Got some Dove Chocolates for my event at work today.  Man I am an affirmation whore.  

Favs that I saved:

"Think lovingly, speak lovingly, act lovingly."

"Remind yourself that it's okay not to be perfect."

"Slow down today, enjoy what you have."

"It's never too late for a fresh start."

"Forget the potholes in the road and celebrate the journey instead."

"Too much of a good thing is wonderful."

"Happiness is the experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude."

Oh chocolate how you know just what to say to me.

I've given myself a full at home pedicure tonight.  Wee.  Soft feet are a must have item for summer.  Want to touch them?

Seasons of love

New news: 

Event at work today, I'mahavingablast!  I love it.  I work off energy and people.  LOVE LOVE LOVE.  Also the reason for the BLUE eyes.  Yay Beauty of Travel event.  It's so me.  I love that I can do things like this!

Jason Mraz is playing in Seattle on September 6th, which just SO happens to be my birthday!!  What a coincidence.  Oh yes, I am so there.  Yay for us Kim!!! 

Hugs and kisses to all. 

Namaste. 

xx

spring cleaning

Possible new tenants are coming to tour the flat tomorrow... so I guess this means I really am moving in 64 days.  Oh where or where shall I move to?  Lots of factors, lots of ideas, lots of hope, lots to do, little to move, little time, little credit, little choice.  Thank god I'm not a pack rat and am a bit of a minimalist or this would fucking suck.  

I just did a preliminary 'get rid of the total shit you don't need' clean tonight.  Now I'm so stinking awake I can't even believe it being it's midnight.  

Oh paneer my dear

I love food.  I love good food.  I love cooking good food.  How am I not horribly fat? :)

I just made palaak paneer.  I love that at most given times I can make it just by going and buying some spinach (and I usually have some of that lying around too).  Man Indians know how to eat mighty nice on the cheap.  Top it off with a little bit of lycopene from a tomato and dessert no doubt a nice omega charged avocado. 

You know what's odd?  In my teen years I was anorexic.  I was what was considered anorexic athletica with bulimic tendencies (so said my dietician/nutritionist).  In layman's terms, I didn't eat, I exercised like a banshee and I would throw up when my parents said, "finish your potatoes missy..." It finally dawned on me one day that this was not normal and I went to see my doctor.  She told me I was too smart of this 'crap' and to knock it off.  I was one of those girls who did it to have control over my life from an overbearing, obsessively controlling, neo-nazi father, not because I wanted to be stick thin like Kate Moss.  And now, 10ish years later, I love food.  I am obsessed with eating right, yes, but I love food that is good for me, that has a good taste, that makes me feel healthy, that makes my body react with energy and excitement.  I am so blessed to have those experiences to draw joy from and realize that things in life are beyond us and each even has something to do with what shapes our tomorrow.  And my avocado is going to shape my tonight. 

My name is Clare and I am a nutritionalfoodaholic.  And damned proud of it.

Stay fresh.

Clare's reading again

I've been re-reading The Prophet this morning. 

Love: "When love beckons to you follow him,

Though his ways are hard and steep.

And when his wings enfold you yield to him,

Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.

And when he speaks to you believe in him,

Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden.

For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.

Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,

So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth."

"But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:

To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.

To know the pain of too much tenderness.

To be wounded by your own understanding of love;

And to bleed willingly and joyfully.

To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;

To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;

To return home at eventide with gratitude;

And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips. "

The entire bit on children should be read by all parents: http://leb.net/~mira/works/prophet/prophet4.html

Giving:

"You give but little when you give of your possessions.

It is when you give of yourself that you truly give."

Oh just read the whole thing already!

Continuous loop

What I'm listening to today:

Tattoo song:

uses for yogurt are a plenty

Honey, plain yogurt, smidge of almond milk and a little bit of sugar for an exfoliator if your skin can take it.  Mmmmm does the skin good and tastes great.  So what if you look like an idiot with it on.  No one has to see you unless you post it on the internet too. 

Just wait until I show you the avocado and oatmeal hair mask! 

Cheers.

Random thoughts on memorial day

Random thought number 1:  Life throws you some things that don't make sense, that make you feel low, and that leave you wondering why.  But inside and outside of those moments there are times when you feel love, peace, joy, gratitude, safety, admiration, smittenness (my new invented tonight word), and the knowledge that this too shall pass and when it does you'll rise from the ashes, stronger, braver, more sure of yourself and the world around you, and willing to cast your ego and cares aside and ride the wave of life. 

Random thought number 2:  Uh, I just used a water analogy for life.  Yeah, it must be a weird day. 

Random thought number 3:  Why is it so hard to find a pair of flip flops with a little bit of heel that aren't dressy?  Just a random question really. 

Random thought number 4:  My son is growing up before my eyes.  I'm so proud of each new change, but wow, sometimes it all happens so fast I have no time to remember and retain the daily things he does. 

Random thought number 5:  Om mani padme hum. 

Been a smidge busy

But not like that's anything new.  

Let's recap the last few days of thoughts. 

Friday was good.  Long day, but good.  Saturday was okay.  Stressful day to say the least.  Work and life both.  Just felt pulled in too many directions.  Sunday was a really good day though, lots of sunshine which was oh so needed.  Even a little playing in the dirt, both metaphorically and physically.  What else what else... let's see... up to Spokane this morning.  Met up with a friend I haven't seen in a while, it was lovely.  

Tonight has been bath, apartment searching, a bit o texting and some organic california strawberries.  Oh San Diego, how you torment me with your wholesomely delicious fruits. 

san diego like weather

Looking forward to a few days of absolutely beautiful weather here in Moscow.  Wow.  It looks unstoppable on the forecast.  Oh sun, how we orbit you only to find you hidden beneath a set of clouds.  

So many songs are about the moon and the sexiness of it.  I want someone to right a song about doing it under the sun.  ;)

This has been a very interesting week.  Appointments were cancelled which was a blessing in the end because I needed a real day off.  Work has been slow, but not terribly unbearable.  Lots of people from the past are being thought about and then contacting me.  I've always believed that everything happens for a reason and even if we don't know what they are at the time, we will one day find out.  

Well me and the sun are going to do dance and play for a little bit before work.  

It's going to be a good day, somehow I can feel it. 

Namaste. 

avocados are super food

I love avocados.  They are sometimes in every single meal in my day.  Few things in life are better than an avocado smoothie for breakfast, a whole ripe avocado for lunch, avocado and mushroom over couscous for dinner and chocomole for dessert. 

When I was a kid my parents grew an avocado seed as a houseplant.  I thought they were weird as fuck until it actually had a small itty bitty little avocado flower.  I just about died.  They did the same thing with a grapefruit.  We lived in bloody Minnesota, I don't know what they expected, but they were cooky that way.  

Menu for tomorrow:

Break-fast: blueberrys and granola topped with Almond Milk

Lunch: avocado straight up, half of a mango, a handful of Almonds, and a tomato with a bit of sea salt. 

Superfood supper: Avocado mango salad with poppyseed dressing and cranberries and pumpkin seeds. 

Evening snack: Corn thins with cucumber on top. 

hoop it to the right...

Made my hula hoops last night.  They are perfect.  Aren't they pretty?  I am thinking about selling them around town.  I think people would really enjoy them and they cost me very little but time to make.  I hooped for a few hours last night and I am wrecked today.  I love it!!

hoop it to the left...

one of the best exercises ever.

heading to do it best for some 160 psi irrigation tubing to make myself (and a few other lucky people since you can only buy it in 100 foot rolls) a custom hula hoop!  got to love hands on projects.  

health and happiness to all. 

for the love of pondering

What makes people look at me: And think that my tattoo:

Is in reference to a Diamond Rio song? 

Please tell me if something about me makes you think of Diamond Rio. 

It will then be time to switch my entire life choices and become a nun or some other similarly radical change. 

Thank you.

Namaste. 

blonde? red? black? brown?

Which color do you think I did? 

Can you guess? 

No idea?  

That's too bad.

Come on. 

Just try. 

You should know me well enough.

This is something new for me. 

Never done this before. 

And what length do you think it's at? 

Short?  

Long? 

Medium? 

Pixie? 

Shaved? 

Well....

I bet you want to see don't you?

The suspense is killing you isn't it?

Ready to see it?

Yeah, you'd like that. 

Well okay fine.

I suppose you deserve it since you demanded...

Ask nicely. 

Say please. 

Pretty please?

With cherries on top? 

Okay here you go!

How about all of the above?????  And short!!! 

Wow... just... wow...

Edited after the fact to add these phone pictures that are a little better to show the cornucopia of color and texture.

loop-di-loop

Test scheduled for today was postponed until next Monday.  Apparently the doctor I was too see has just had a baby.  Funny how these things work.  

Anyway, going to get hair stuffs with Ayla and get a cut and dye done.  That'll make me feel better at least.  Funny how the little pampering we do for ourselves every once in a while does help in so many ways.  Small islands of sanity. 

Raining again today as well.  Oh sun, can't you stay out for longer than two hours at a time.  I need me some vitamin D and sunshine.  Yesterday was glorious, today not so much.  Tomorrow is supposed to be rainy as well.  Going up to Spokane tomorrow though for training.  

See you in a couple hours with new hair. 

and the world is new

I gots me a new keyboard today.  Mother's day gift to myself.  $10 at office whatsit down the road.  Last one was heavily spilled on by a certain wonderful child of mine and was in massive need of replacing.  

Sigh.  How nice it is to type with ease and speed. 

seasons are a'changin'

I've slowly realized over the years that there are some things in life I can't change (even if I try really hards), but what just dawned on me is that all of those things belong to other people.

Happy Mother's Day.

Kindness go with you.

wake up

i lack motivation today.

tests i was nearly late for this morning.

just changed into work clothes. 

it's a flip flop kind of day today.

though sadly not weather wise.

really want coffee, but i've cut myself off.

sticking to tea.

it does satisfy.

feeling blue.

i can't believe it's been two years.

le sigh.

i can't believe it's been five years.

okay so to work i shall go.

time to go throw on some make it mine and pretend perky and get my lazy arse to the gratitude cafe and out of the bitter barn.

peace.

near or far away

I've decided not to resign my lease.  

By July 31st I's got some decisions  that need making.

Stay.  Go.  Go.  Stay.

Shakespeare knew nothing.  That is the true question.

Peace.Love.Happiness

ps- damn shit fuck i forgot to put out the trash. again.

found in the special interests section

Last night I had an interesting talk with a guy at work.  He was talking about another co-worker watching cartoons in the break room.  I made the statement that said man was just out of high school and much younger than us.  This guy however decided that it was because he was gay and homosexual males act younger than their age.  Of course I jump in with a "you bigoted weirdo" comment and refute his claim.  He then tells me he's doing it because a gay man offended him once and so now he makes fun of 'them'.  My response: and that's different how???  New girl in our area pipes in with: beside, he's straight.  Oops.  Someone should feel like the giant phallic creature he's just made himself into, but no.  I then explain that it's no different than if I were to make fun of him for being Persian.  He immediately snaps that it's different and I'd better not or else.  *head reeling brain hurts* My response: Wha??  How?? Wha??  He then tells me he makes fun of them so he doesn't hate them.  That he could be a lot meaner but isn't.  That he knows a friend of a friend who said he'd kill a gay man if he hit on him.  I first starred dumbfounded and then mumbled something about choosing the lesser of two evils still makes you look like a dick.  Partially my look and the way I carry myself and partially the circles I am in, I get hit on by lesbians quite a bit.  To me, knowing how damn picky women are, I take it as a huge compliment!

Speaking of work, this older man comes in 4-5 times a week.  He hands out little goodies along his way.  I now own four stuffed wolves.  Well on my way to a pack. 

Yogini the bear

Yoga has long been for me the only thing that soothes my aching back.  It has since gone from being 'just an exercise' to being an integral part of my daily mediation.  The benefit to body and mind are undeniable. 

Do I sense another tattoo coming on?

So many times I  see such irreverence and lack of knowledge toward nature and the world around us, but the lack of respect people show their own bodies amazes me.  Still don't know if we get one life or many, but this one is too short to squander on feeling sick (even if you are), feeling down, and filling your body and earth with genetically modified rubbish.  Eat fresh, live fresh, stay fresh. 

As Salām Alaykum.

Cancer.

The scariest letters arranged in the english language.

"Hope is the physician of each misery."

Hope.  

The four brightest letters.

I will celebrate.

Do not permit the events of your daily life to bind you, but never withdraw yourself from them.

What a hard thing to accomplish.  Learn from life.  "Water which is too pure has no fish."  My new mantra.  Be okay with my dirty water.

Namaste y'all.