Been off for a couple of weeks again, haven't I? Time flies when you're offline.

What have I been up to? Well, I was still working on the kids beds, finishing them, and then moving on to staining. It all went well but for one thing: my asthma kicked in with a vengance. I forgot all about that before starting the projects, and the fumes played a wicked number on me. The upstairs of our house was basically off limits during these past two weeks. I'd go upstairs and paint, then leave all the windows open, and head downstairs.

Living was done strickly downstairs. I moved the kids downstairs to sleep in the sofa bed in our family room, so you can imagine what my family room's been looking like. Toys, video games, movies, books, and snack wrappers strewn all over. Enough to send my inner Monk into fits and seisures. My computer is up in my studio, hence my absence here. I do have my laptop next to my bed, but by the time I walked into my room, it was to shower and go to sleep.

Yesterday was a full one-day makeover for my bedroom, painted beautifully in a nice and relaxing tone of landscape green, and with a nice 'lil table-top cascading water fountain, it's feeling very Zen. :)

Winter break officially began here in FL, so my kids are home, back in their rooms, doing some major cleaning up. I decided to stop by and drop you all a note, and see how many messages I've got. Wanna know? Eh, just 714 new messages! Only 38 of those are spam. There's one list I belong to, but those messages don't amount to many. Not bad for two or so weeks, eh? I'm not sure how I'm going to reply to all of those, but I sure will try. So, if you've commented, and I haven't replied yet, I'm sorry. At least now you know why.

I still have the guestroom to paint and decorate, as well as the bathrooms. However, I'm back to some sense of normal. Now it's all about getting back to my daily routines, and spending some time playing with my kids. I had already begun a website overhaul here, behind the scenes, and I'm hoping to get back to that shortly. I'm aiming to be done with a total site redesign before 2006.

A little gift for those of you who like wallpapers, you can grab the picture below. I shot this one while on the phone with my friend and sister Debbie. We were both awe-struck with the beauty of this sunset. Now I just want to paint it, but I'm sure whatever I come up with won't do it justice. Click on image to embiggen; right-click and save to your computer.

Sorry, no voyages here. I just couldn't help myself. The Trekkie in me took over. Plus, I wanted to listen to Patrick Stewart in my head. Anyhoo...

We've been enjoying beautiful weather in FL, and tonight I took some time to shoot more pictures. I've been shooting pictures of the night sky three nights in a row. So what's up there that's caught my attention? Well, if you've been around here long enough, you'll know here at home, the kids and I are stargazers. Two night ago was New Moon, and I was able to enjoy Venus light up the night sky. It was SO bright, it was casting shadows. I saw Venus cast a shadow of my hand, my camera and my tripod. Very cool! No, I'm not just making this shit up, go read here: Science@NASA, and DigitalSky.org, SpaceWeather.com (check archives, date 12.02.2005)

I shot bunches of pictures, and I have a few to share. :o)

I hope you've enjoyed the pictures as much as I enjoyed shooting them. Some of the best shots happen with perserverance, others quite by accident. I do have a favorite picture; here it is.

The DIY project we've dived into is... beds!

Weekend One:

We have been creatively engaged as a family for this one. Today we tackled Kiki's project, finishing touches to follow during the week. Next weekend will BlogBoy's turn, so I'll need to sit down with my son and iron out several details.

I'd thrown an idea out to my husband -a simple one really- I wanted to build a bed for Kiki, something that would tie in nicely with the plans I have for her room. Our princess wants a garden, and I garden I will give her. Of course, my mind starts racing with layout ideas, how I'll paint, getting some sketch ideas down... then there was the bed. She didn't really have one. Nice, plush yet gigantic mattress atop a boxspring, and this old headboard from what used to be her crib/bed (which used to be BlogBoy's when he was born). The beauty of changing-stages, white furniture, eh? Anyhow, I keep thinking, "if she wants a garden, then the bed should be close to the floor. I could wrap the bottom in green, make it part of the scene, long, flowing green grass... hey, we can do that! That would be my biggest painting yet... OMG, can I pull this off?"

Hubby played with the design for a couple of weeks-and it quickly evolved into something else. He gave it his extra touch, and I can appreciate how this new design grows with her, which is a plus. I'll have to rethink my initial plan though, but I'm hoping it won't be too hard. Kiki will still have her garden. :o)

Yesterday, we went to Lowes, shopped for everything we needed -lumber and tools- (stains and paints will be next weekend), and took all the goodies home. My hubby couldn't wait to get into it, so he fired up his new tool, made a few cuts here and there, shot a few nails in, and set up for what would follow.

This morning he was up and about, pretty early for a Sunday I should add, and quickly made progress. It was up to the rest of us to lift and hold and carry and place. Then we carried everything upstairs for assembly. I even handled the nail gun! So much fun!

Now, some pictures to share, which should pretty much complete the story.

Kiki hard at work, safety glasses and all, under Dad's supervision.

-detail, unfinished wood-

Mattress fits perfectly!

Illuminate! Very cool alternative to a night light. :o)

... and here is the princess, very pleased, and exhausted from all her hard work.

Ok. So I'm thisclose to calling it quits regarding NaNoWriMo. I'm SO behind on wordcount it's not even funny. The problem is I'm editing, I'm editing all the way thru. I just wish I wasn't, but I can't stop. Plus, I'm finding it hard to write fiction. I remember there used to be a time where I'd wake up thinking about what I would be writing. Now, not so much. I mean, I've got lots to say, I just don't think fiction is the way I want to go about it. So. *grumble*

Add to that, learning a bunch of crappy news from certain family members, the games, the lies, the manipulation... oh, wait!!! There's a novel right there! Honestly, let's just say the terror alert should be elevated.

That said, my tune for today: Fuel -Bad Day (be nice... right-click and save)

Ok. Enough whining. On the bright side, my creative output is on high, which is a natural high in and of itself, and that's a very good thing, right?

work in progress

That's one of the pieces I'm working when I'm not working my words on that novel-writing-thing-that-shall-not-be-named uh, thing.

... at least to me. :o)

First of all, I must thank Arethusa. She hosted a most wonderful Saturday night radio show that was both G rated and entertaining, which is not something that can be done easily, or as gracefully as she pulled it off. Areth, thanks you, from the bottom of my heart, because you made my little princess truly glow, with a smiling heart, and made the rest of us incredibly happy. We did arrive a bit late, because we were out having dinner, celebrating our kids straight A grades, and that so far they are in the Principle's Honor Roll. To come home to your show, well, what can I say? It was priceless. Thank you!

Pluto may have moons. [link]

Bones and House are back at Fox.

NaNoWriMo... yes, it's going to be a long, long month. Can anyone tell me why I do this? :o) What's that you say? You want to know my word count? ROTFL! Good luck to all of you who signed up, and happy writing.

Nov 1st. Not counting today, 60 days left this year. When is the cool weather going to stay?

I must get to reading my email, and sending you replies. Yeah. I'll go do that now. ;o)

Hurricane Wilma has come and gone, and here at home we're all safe. I'm counting my blessings. I hope all my other Orlando area bloggers and friends are doing well and hopefully haven't suffered any damage. Much of South Florida suffered damage. (CNN)

With the constant tornado watches and warnings, I ended up going to bed at noon today, took an hour nap, and was then back up and taking care of mine.

It was fun though, being up all night with my kids. To keep them from being worried of the storms effects, we played card games, watched some TV, and munched on brownies. Our late night-early morning movie was Finding Neverland, which is now among my favorite movies. My kids truly enjoyed it, particularly my son, who identified with the writing part. I hope he continues to be inspired. Just before they drifted off to sleep, we had some yummy hot cocoa. If you ask my kids, last night was one of the best. So, mission accomplished. ;o)

I did finish one painting yesterday, and I'm going to put the finishing touches on another one. Sad thing is I'm running out of pastels, so I'll have to do some shopping to replace the colors I'm short of soon. I'll need to shoot some pictures before I have these framed, so I hope to have something to show you this week.

All for now, I need to finish up a bio, and several pieces I'm writing. Since I'm handwriting these, I'll be doing this outside. The weather is beautiful now, and it's cold! Well, more like very cool and breezy! Feels like we went from Summer to Fall in 20 minutes. You couldn't tell there was a hurricane making its way through less than five hours ago.

Plus, I need to get the kids ready for tomorrow. Somehow, they are in holiday-mode. Wouldn't that be nice?

My son, BlogBoy, dove in and is now participating in Illustration Friday. I love that weekly meme, even tho I haven't participated online. I've done but a few sketches out of several words that triggered images, but I've kept them all in my journal. My son, however, got his hands all virtually-messy fiddling with Photoshop. I love to see him figure his way around the progam. I think it's great! So now, as soon as he's done with homework, he turns on the computer.

What is even better is that I get to see how his mind works, from a different perspective. We went over several previous words, and his imagination and imagery is so much fun, wonderful and brimming with humor! He gets an image in his mind so quickly and runs with it. So he tells me from now on he'll try to participate every week. Yes, I'm smiling.

Now here's a(nother) plug. My friend Debbie wanted to set up a little space of her own on the web, and now she's got it. I've finished set-up and design, and now she's ready to roll. She's also doing some exploring of her own, so why don't you veteran bloggers pay her a visit at Ethereal Muse.

While I don't entirely agree on the selections included in the following list, I do understand why John Scalzi thought they should make the list (in his book The Rough Guide to Sci Fi Movies). The book . Some I'd take off, and include serveral others which IMHO should have made the list.

Still, I thought I was way behind with my sci-fi flick viewing, but after reading thru the list, I haven't done to bad. ;o)

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension!
Akira
Alien
Aliens
Alphaville
Back to the Future
Blade Runner
Brazil
Bride of Frankenstein
Brother From Another Planet
A Clockwork Orange
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Contact
The Damned
Destination Moon
The Day The Earth Stood Still
Delicatessen
Escape From New York
ET: The Extraterrestrial
Flash Gordon: Space Soldiers (serial)
The Fly (1985 version)
Forbidden Planet
Ghost in the Shell
Gojira/Godzilla
The Incredibles
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956 version)
Jurassic Park
Mad Max 2/The Road Warrior
The Matrix
Metropolis
On the Beach
Planet of the Apes (1968 version)
Robocop
Sleeper
Solaris (1972 version)
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
The Stepford Wives
Superman
Terminator 2: Judgement Day
The Thing From Another World
Things to Come
Tron
12 Monkeys
28 Days Later
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (I think.)
2001: A Space Odyssey
La Voyage Dans la Lune
War of the Worlds (1953 version)

via Arethusa and Darth.

Sometimes, as parents, we don't get a chance to easily see the impression the days events make on our children. Maybe it just takes longer for them to deal through it. Perhaps they toss around the images and thoughts in their head, express them in conversations with you, or in the tears you manage to catch yourself sharing with them when you see glimpses of tragedy on TV.

I've always been a strong supporter in journal writing, and the healing that comes forth from such practice. There are times I don't understand why a person would feel reluctant to take pen to page, finding solace within the lines and scratches that spew from the deep well within our soul.

In the past, I've pressed my son in regards to the importance and benefits of writing, in the hopes that he will find it a safe haven, in the same way I do.

The boy arrives at the page, in his own time. This is something I must continue to learn.

Years ago, I gifted my son a journal, a private place he could arrive at and sort out his thoughts. He shares his writings with me when he feels moved to do so. Today was one of those days.

And today, he's sharing a page from his journal with you.

** Edited: It would be great if you shared your thoughts and comments on his poem with him. It would mean a lot to me, and a world to him.

My daughter explains to me the whole "woulda, coulda, shoulda" thing.

Metroblogging Lahore as seen on CNN's The Situation Room (transcript here) regarding the earthquake disaster, and how you can help. Also, Bilal posted a verse of trapped echoes.

Me, I'm doing a bit better, started eating again, and enjoyed good renewing sleep that was much needed. Can't wait to be strong enough to ride my bike again.

Thanks to those of you who have emailed me and left good vibes for me to get better. Every little bit helps. :o)

Ha! Tagged. And I only found out because I was commenting on someone's site, who had also been tagged; via Man About Town. Niiice!

1. Go into your archive.
2. Find your 23rd post.
3. Find the fifth sentence (or closest to).
4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions.
5. Tag five other people to do the same.

That's it.

I swear, that IS the fifth sentence of my 23 post, which in itself, was a very small one. Two years ago, and at around the same time. I was pondering web site changes, and my upcoming birthday. My month of renewal in many ways. Which came around again, just about a week ago. Pretty neat.

Like my friend Lori said... cycles. :o)

Now... who do I tag? Let's see if I can turn the excitement up a notch, or at least make it interesting. One To The Nth Power, Crankydragon's Scratches, Darthworld, Stalkers Not Allowed, Humanyms.

Back to my Stargate SG-1 Monday, an a nice, warm, soothing cup of tea.

I've been clearing my blogroll these past couple of days, visiting everyone in my blogroll. Dead links or blogs that haven't been updated in a few months I deleted, as well as some that I'd previously added which had caught my initial attention, but then, well, kinda lost it.

However, I now realize that some of what I thought were dead links was actually blogger acting up. So, if I had you in my blogroll, and now you notice you're not there, drop me a line or comment, and I'll take care of it quick.

How am I? Meh. Could be better. Actually, I'm in a lot of pain. My whole body aches, as my stomach. I haven't been able to eat anything since yesterday. And today I've suffered severe ear pain. Going to have that checked. *sigh*

Kids are doing fine, my daughter is going over her next song, and my son is contemplating a few new games, now that he is done with Halo 2.

Even though I feel like crap, I'm contemplating some web design and continued work on my painting. The simple thought of it makes me smile. :o)

My princess has gone and done what I have yet to even try. She's posted her first audioblog.

I'm too excited! I had the pleasure of listening to her practice, get in the zone, and them perform for you.

You, go listen at The Secret Garden.

It's about what matters. SC&A

Go, read.

Take it in.

Read again.

Tomorrow.

So tell me, is 34 scary?

Between loads of laundry, vacumming, and cleaning bathrooms (Oh what fun!), I'm undoubtedly busy, busy, busy. Yes, I've got my work cut out for me. But I've been offline long enough, and I can feel the pull. However, my online time today will be striclty dedicated to reading everyone in my blogroll.

In doing so, I will inevitably stumble upon some of you having posted a quiz, which in turn will compulsively send me off to try it myself.

You're a little gold key, and you unlock other people's hearts.
Your kindness and willingnessto be there for those you care about
lets people open up to you knowing they will be accepted.
People will rely on you, but be careful not to give more than you have.

What sort of key are you and what do you unlock?

brought to you by Quizilla

via EtherealGirl

...and because every little bit helps.

One Tiny Voice

Thanks, Elle!

What a blessing!! They've landed that airplane safely.

The Orange County Public Schools has a program in which fifth graders run a fully operational retail store. It's called Biz Kid$.

I was part of the interviewing procedure, giving the students a real life experience of what applying for and being interviewing for employment is like. I was amazed! Some of these children are remarkably talented. There was only a handful of students I didn't interview, because those were applying for either the management and security positions, and among those applying was my son BlogBoy.

Today, he walked in, proud to let me know that he was assigned the position he applied for: Junior Manager.

He starts tomorrow, and although it's only a two-day venture, I know they will learn a lot about the working world. I can't wait to see him in action, and to hear his thoughts about the experience!

trying to kill them dead.

I've managed to contact a couple of unknowing victims, as spam had been left in their blog-name.

I hate when they come back like that, after months of spam-free days.

Damn you, spammers.

Damn you all to Hell.

Scenario: After seeing the images of the damage and the suffering the people of the Gulf Coast were going through (days 2 and 3), after spending a good deal of time talking with my children about what they were seeing in the news, I decided to seek some comfort in a book, one of several I purchased a few days earlier, with a B&N gift card a dear friend gifted me. Honestly, I wanted to escape the pain I was seeing on TV, pain that was clearly seeping into me. Yes, we helped, donated money and clothes and food, but somehow -at least in my head- it didn't seem enough. It still doesn't.

The book begins with several short poems, and each of them is numbered. I didn't get too far reading, as you'll notice below.

V

Glee! the great storm is over!
Four have recovered the land;
Fourty gone down together
Into the boiling sand.

Ring, for the scant salvation!
Toll, for the bonnie souls, --
Neighbor and friend and bridegroom
Spining upon the shoals!

How they will tell the shipwreck
When winter shakes the door,
Till the children ask, "But the forty?
Did they come back no more?"

Then a silence suffuses the story,
And a softness the teller's eye;
And the children no further question,
And only the waves reply.

VI

If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain'
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.

* from The Collected Poems of Emily Dickinson

As we finish getting ready for school today, we watch the morning news for updates from Hurricane Katrina. Yes, as a family, we like to pay attention to such important events, and how they may affect us.

Newsperson on TV: "[...] two people are dead in Ft. Lauderdale because of trees falling on them due to winds from Hurricane Katrina..."

Kiki: "Awww... trees falling down, Mom."

Because I honestly believe that what Jay really needs is one of these.

And no, I honestly don't believe it's ever too early during the day for an Appletini.

There, 'nuff said.

Reason for weeping? This night's episode -series finale- of Six Feet Under.

I can't believe how intense and moving and amazing this episode was, or the entire series for that matter.

Now, off to get something to ease this headache, and emotionally prepare myself for the encore tomorrow night.

Finally, you get to see my mug in a pic. The only two pictures of me from our trip. I insist the reason I'm actually in the picture has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I had already indulged in 3 Cocotinis (yeah, coconut martini). I swear, it was the most orgasmic drink I've ever had. No, I'm sorry, but I don't have a picture of that particular drink. ;o)

Joel & Loyda

Ender & Eva

Mr. & Mrs. Zee

and my favorite...

My Lobster and me

Now that school has begun, I've been very busy, and haven't been able to get online. Bike riding early in the morning, then getting the kids ready for school. Also, I'm serving as a volunteer at school -even after school hours. By the time I get home its time for the kids, dinner and housework. Slowly getting my time organized, and today I've been able to squeeze in some online time, and later tonight I've set out some time for painting. *grin*

Here are a some beautiful views of a few places we visited while in Puerto Rico. Different days, different places, except for the last two. Click on them to make them larger; enjoy!

El Morro

Curve

Infinite Blues

Dorado Beach

Guajataca

Guajataca (close-up)

Sadly, you won't find Yours Truly in any of these pictures. Actually, you'll be lucky to find but one picture in which I'm featured, but that won't be today. :o)

BlogBoy practices windsurfing with Dad

The Lobster takes to sea (aka Mr. Z)

Yes... I know, about time, eh?

I'll be loading quite a few pictures. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed taking them and thinking of sharing them with you. Click on the images to make bigger and more enjoyable. :o) Feel free to ask any questions. I'll do my best to reply quickly via comments.

On Our Way

Open Sea

At the beach...

Dorado Beach, near hotels

Time to play...

... run ...

... and relax.

BlogBoy at the beach

Kiki at the beach

Sorry for the lack of updates. We arrived well last Friday, but I've been very ill, bedridden and unable to move out of my bed until today. I'm finally beginning to see the signs of getting better, and mustered up the strength to plug my laptop in.

Now that I'm home and with real internet access (instead of the wonderful 14 kbps dial up connection I was suffering with in PR -unless I was really lucky, and connected at a whole 28 kbps!- which is when I was able to post, LOL), I'll be posting the pictures I've so promised all of you.

Thanks bunches again to all of you for your emails and comments and get better soon thoughts. You guys rule!

I'll be catching up with emails and blogs tomorrow and thru the weekend, so you'll be seeing me around soon.

Oh how I missed home, and I missed you all, too.

feeling much better, thank you very much. and thank you for your thoughts. meant bunches, made me feel at home. did some local venting. also focused on all the positives rather than just that negative. mind you, it's still a big negative, and i'm still pissed off, but i don't feel so miserable. few things to do while i'm still here.

now kids have come down with a cold, and so am i. yeah, i'm all stuffed up. heh.

so, how's it going on your side?

Finally here at my parents house. So many things have changed, and so many others remain the same. Hmm... It's good to be here, but after 17 days, I already miss my own space, my own routines, my own home.

Time spent with my in-laws was good. Wonderful conversation and nights out, movies, restaurants, beach and pool. They made me feel welcome and comfortable. Not to mention the kids had a blast, and that makes me a happy mom. I'm planning to see them again before the return home.

But...

Funny thing how my "vacations" usually go for me -not well. The one thing I was looking forward to, something for me, which planned for, hoped for, wanted, needed- I didn't get, and now I won't. My husband left for Orlando earlier today, and should actually be arriving as I'm typing this.

I'm incredibly upset, and I need to vent. I need some wide open spaces where I can scream and cry and let it all out. There is no such space here -not anywhere close. Feels like this little Island is going to swallow me whole. I just want to curl up and cry myself to sleep.

*sob!*

I may soon develop a nervous tick. Not very many chances to get online, but I at least got this one to let you all know we are all doing well. Soaking up some sun, which as I mentioned before, is H-O-T. It's a jungle out there, and I'm in it. Hot damn!

Blogboy did some audioblog testing, so stop by and let us know how it sounds.

Pictures, close to 700 -no lie- and I hope to get a chance later today to post a few online.

We've enjoyed some awesome restaurants here, but my best drink to date was a 'cocotini' (coconut martini). Yes... pure bliss.

More to share soon!

Just wanted to let you all know we've all arrived safely in PR. Geez, it is hot beyond belief here. That's tropical for you. :o)

I couldn't help myself, so I shot more cloud pictures from the plane. I'll share them with you as soon as I can upload them. Some cloud formations were truly amazing.

Kids are having the time of their life. :o)

To those of you who have commented and emailed me, but I haven't been able to reply to, thank you, thank you so much for stopping by, for your emails, for caring, for sharing. :o)

Just wanted to let you all know we're ok. Bit of a stomach bug going around here, suprisingly enough of a bother to keep me away from the computer for the past few days.

Well, that and getting everything ready for our trip. Packing is a pain, particularly when you want to pack all kinds of things into your suitcase, things that don't quite fit, like say... your computer. As much as I love my laptop, my true baby is my PC. Did clean out a lot of junk I had on my laptop, to make sure I had gigs of space for all the pictures I hope to shoot.

There's also my easel, which I'll have to manage without. I've been working on a couple of paintings I wanted to finish before we leave. I hope to make some time to properly shoot them.

My previous trip to Puerto Rico was in January, to see my Grandma, who passed away shortly after I saw her. I went alone. This time we go as a family, mostly as a vacation for the kids. Needless to say that my emotions a running strong and high right now.

One thing I didn't share with you from that trip was pictures, aside that of my Grandma's flower-showered grave. I didn't really take many pictures. But there was one I shot that I'll share with you now. I found it this weekend while cleaning my laptop of unused and old files. You know how they tell you to shut off all cell phones and computers and cameras, right? Well I didn't. In all honesty, I didn't hear a word they we saying. In any case, I was awe-struck with the view, and felt compelled to pull out my camera and shoot. I took only one shot. I call it A Walk Above Clouds. Might not be a very creative title, but it is what I felt at the time I shot it -still feels that way.

There's a rule in my house my kids always follow: do not to touch my stuff. Pretty simple. The exception to this rule is of course, when I let them touch, borrow, or otherwise use my things -with my permission. (ie. Kiki uses my paints, BlogBoy uses my books...)

For years I've had Magnetic Poetry kits splattered all over my fridge. My kids are allowed to use these, of course, as long as they tell me first -so that I may tell them which are poems they are to leave untouched, all other words are game (not currently part of a work-in-progress). However, my son must have been nervous or preoccupied, because he forgot, and completely erased two poems of mine which I had not had the opportunity to write down yet. Yes, I was a little upset, because I'd been working on those for a while. So, what did I do? I told my son to fix my poems.

And he did. Here's what my son mused:

My son's heart and mind mused of beautiful things. Makes his mommy proud.

Pics of late. New one at my photoblog, Beyond Focus, several below. :o)

[ click on images to embiggen ;o) ]

Yes, that's a victory cheer above, while playing horseshoes. Ah, the days of summer. :o)

"Hi! You've reached Zee. Sorry, I can't come to the phone right now. I'm completelty absorbed watching Danica Patrick kick some ass at the Indy 500. However, your call is very important to me, so please leave a message after the tone. I promise to call you back as soon as I am able."

*Edited: She didn't win, but... She.Is.Amazing.

Wake up call this morning, doorbell rings. FedEx making a delivery -to the wrong house. *grumble*

As I close the door I notice a small envelope on the corner by the door. I open it, it's the Norah Jones Feels Like Home CD. No note on the envelope, so I don't know who it's from. So, to whoever it was, a great big "Thank You! How did you know?" Talk about turning your day around, eh? :o)

Off to make my morning coffee, and give my little princess some breakfast. Kiki says she has a plan. She's getting a band together. She wants to play electric guitar and drums. She may be watching my Eagles: Hell Freezes Over CD a little too much. ;o) I tell her she should blog about her new band, and she says she will, but it's going to be a surprise for all of you. She said she'd draw you a picture of what her electric guitar will look like, and then she'll have me put that up with no writing. (That would be my child figuring out a way to not write today... heh.) So it's up, go by The Secret Garden and check out her Surprise Entry.

Hubby is in North Carolina somewhere, hiking with friends/co-workers. Left Thursday morning, and will be returning Monday evening. Hope he's doing well, as we don't have a way to get in touch. Still, I know how much he was looking forward to a little adventure, and what better way to go hang with the boys.

Doing some spring cleaning these past several days, as well as some gardening. My spirit, it seems needs to find some order and enjoy some time outdoors.

My painting. I'm trying to be nice to myself, as I know the ebb and flow is necessary in all things, particularly when it pertains to creativity. It's great to receive email from other artists stuggling through the same ups and downs, to know that we can nurture and give each other that little nudge or extra push, even if it comes in the way of an email, a letter, and even a comment. The weather is improving and you are headed outside with the kids and looking forward to setting up for painting en plein air, you are recovering from recent illness and introducing me to ATC's, or you are online looking for inspiration, or dreaming of what your future can be... Ladies, you know who you are, consider this a group hug.

Upon waking, I felt sad, miserable, tired. I didn't want to bother going about the day ahead. Crawling back in bed seemed like a great idea. I felt... 'bleh'. Last thing I wanted to do was go out for my morning bike ride, but that's exactly what I did.

After getting the kids ready and walking them to school, I returned home, and looked at myself in the mirror. Some inner dialog commenced, I turned around, and chose some nice clothes to wear. I wanted something light and comfortable, yet nice. I got myself into a pair of Capri pants, and a fresh white shirt. Braided my hair, washed my face again, and applied sunblock lotion. I applied some lip-gloss, and glanced at myself again. Little more inner dialog as I put on my helmet and adjusted the straps. Darted for the door -no whining, no place for doubts. I felt like I just wanted to cry, for no reason but perhaps a sense of sadness, but didn't... and off I went.

Little did I know that out of the 16 days since I received my bike and done my daily riding, today would turn out to be the best yet.

I have serious fears of riding my bike, which is both a bit funnny and ironic, seeing as how I don't think twice about taking my hubby's motorcycle out for a spin. You see fourteen years ago, I suffered a bike accident that not only bruised my ego, it also broke my nose. Because of this, I haven't taken my camera with me on a ride yet, for fear that if I fall, I won't ruin my little baby. ;o) But today I realized I'm getting over the fear quicker than I thought I would. Soon enough, you’ll see pictures!

So far, motorists have been kind to not follow too closely when I hit the road, and I'm doing better at keeping my straight line in such little space (there are a several main roads around here that don't have a bike route, and it adds a bit of nervousness on my part to share the road with a motored vehicle.)

Pushing myself beyond my limits was the order of the day, and it felt great! I chose a route with a pretty high hill, and it hurt... oh, it hurt so good; used higher gears the entire time, and kept pedaling throughout the entire ride -non stop- until I reached my destination. Honestly, I didn't think I would be able to do it, but it was an awesome goal for me, and I rode it out -I did it! Also went the farthest and fastest today, so I’m extra pleased.

I arrived at Starbucks panting like a thirsty puppy. “Venti iced water, please!” That’s right, no water bottle. Why? Cause I’m a loser… and I just can’t be bothered to go shopping for a water bottle holder. BikeTown gifted us water bottles, coffee mugs, shirts… yeah, we got spoiled. But since I had not yet done more than two miles a day, basically covering a stretch in my neighborhood, with a handful of rides between 3 and 5 miles. Those longer rides have mostly been in the afternoon, so it’s been quite cool, and the thirst factor hadn’t really kicked in. I can be real dense at times. However, today was a different story. Damn, it hot out there! Still, I was grateful it was not as hot as yesterday. That S-SW wind can be a killer, blowing such hot air this way. Wasn’t as hot today, and the swiftness in my ride provided for some pleasingly cool breezes. Still, the ride back was ahead of me, and the day was only getting hotter. So, I pedaled my way into the bike shop, and pedaled out with new gear. *grin* Water bottle holder and a small zippered bag which expands… to fit my camera! Now I don’t have to go around carrying my backpack on my rides.

Highlights of today’s ride: pushing myself out of my comfort zone; the sound of the wind as I pedal faster and faster; the chirping of the birds and the warmth of the sun; having a butterfly flutter the way ahead of me for almost a whole block, which seemed, for a moment, eternal. I remembered my daughter chasing her two butterflies. Three crossed my path today… truly a sign of transformation and change ahead.

I’m going to embrace it.

It was a wonderful day outside, a day fit for swimming in the pool. After splish-splashing around for 2 hours, my kids take their respective showers and we all head outside... yes, next to Kiki's willow. I'll have to shoot a picture of my Willow, so you can appreciate how out of control she is... yes, ever-reaching-for-the-sky limbs everywhere. She needs a bigger pot, to further spread her roots.

Anyhew...

Bryan: looks at me and smiles. He's just basking, soaking up the sun. One cool dude.
Kiki: decides she wants to follow two litte butterflies around. Yes, it's a garden girl's prerogative. ;o)
Me: ever thoughtful... I count my blessings.
...
Kiki: "Mom, which butterfly should I follow, they're going to different homes now."
Me: "Follow this one, I think she still wants to play." (What? You didn't know all butterflies are girls, it is so according to Kiki. Consider yourself enlightened in the world of one little girl.)
Kiki: Carefully follows the closest butterfly, staying close to home. "Mom, I'm sneaking right behind her!
Me: "I see... you are doing a good job!"
Kiki: "Yup! Wow, I'm a good sneaker, right mom?"

So, today I'm fiddling around with Audioscrobbler. Another 3AM kinda night for me. I blame Darth for it. ;o) Thank goodness, 'cause boy, am I out of it. Plus, there's Technorati tags for Audioscrobbler to work with it. Nice. On a mission to increase the embarrasing amount of song files existing in my computer.

Other than that, I'm cleaning some very, very old computer files, and trying to set my webcam up again. ;o/

Very important: email a few very close friends today.

Then onto the canvas, hopefully get a good couple of hours in. Wish me luck.

The wonderfully brilliant Arethusa tagged me, so now I'm it. The meme follows:

01. Total volume of music files on my computer?

• 147 files (on this computer); my laptop has another couple hundred

02. The last CD I bought was?

• Rise, by Kim Richey

03. Song playing right now:

• Electric Green -Kim Richey and Pete Droge .

04. Five songs I listen to a lot or that mean a lot to me (in no particular order):

• A Case Of You -Joni Mitchell .
• Gira Con Me Questa Notte -Josh Groban .
• Fallen - Sarah McLachlan .
• The Mystic's Dream -Loreena McKennitt .
• Walk On -U2 .

05. Which 5 people are you passing this baton to, and why?

• Quirky: Because I love, love, LOVE her playlist! *completed!*
• Jen: She's an inspiration, and I KNOW that's not just my opinion... ;o) *completed!*
• Cailani: Well, her days begin around the time mine ends, so she'll probably do this while I'm sleeping, plus she's younger than I am and I'd like to know what's going on in her head. ;o) *completed!*
• Muzik: Because I don't recall him ever doing a meme, and since he is the MuzikDude...
• Miss Franchini! because she enjoyed my answers to the meme, and because she's the birthday girl... ;o) *completed!*

*Daria chose to pass on this meme because she's done it already, and honestly, who wants to do the same meme over and over and over. So I gave someone else a try. Thanks Daria!

:::

** Very important: that period at the end of each song above is a link to the song itself. I was moved to share. Be kind, right click and save, will ya?

My thoughts on this meme:

Only five songs? How unfair...

Music is very much alike visual art -every song holds quite a unique meaning to whoever is enjoying it; it transforms, and transcends.

The songs I listed above are the ones I listen to daily and have special meaning to me.

My days are not complete if I haven't indulged in a little Enya, Eagles, Clannad, and Deep Relaxation (this last one by Dr. Jeffrey Thompson, which is wonderful for painting and meditating...)

I'm always have music in the background, unless I'm sitting outside, in that case, I'm doing the singing. ;o)

:::

I'll be updating as those I tagged complete the meme.

... goes surfing around the blogosphere leaving compliments, casting smiles on your face, and brightening your day.

What a wonderful concept! Last night, in just 3 weeks, the Complimenting Commenter reached 1,000 compliments. Truly an inspiration. :o)

Go, pay The Complimenting Commenter a visit, and leave your own complimenting comment!

Tonight's CSI: Crime Scene Investigation two hour season finale:

What can I say?

Nick Stokes -not dead- and I'm incredibly grateful.
I'm terrified of ants -phobic; I would have shot myself.
I've never shaken or cried so much during a TV show.
I've already drugged myself because my head is about to explode.
Taking a shower, and headed for bed.
I hope to wake up without a migraine.

Quentin Tarantino, I hate you because you are so good at what you do.

[for behind the scenes click here]

Me: "Hey, what's that on your dress?" (as I point onto a trickle of stains on it)

Kiki: "Oh, mom, that's ' the dirtiness'."

You scored as Cultural Creative.

Cultural Creatives are probably the newest group to enter this realm.
You are a modern thinker who tends to shy away from organized religion
but still feels as if there is something greater than ourselves.
You are very spiritual, even if you are not religious.
Life has a meaning outside of the rational.

Continue reading "What is Your World View?" »

both the good and the not so good. ;o)

What's yours?

via EtherealGirl.