The desert awaits

A big thanks for all the encouragement on my last post. And a HUGE over the top thank you to Pancakemama who has taken a bit of time to go through my Flickr stream and find her favorites. I thank you again and again for sorting through and givin' the support.


We are gearing up for a camp trip in the desert. Death Valley to be exact. It is looking to be warm one. Triple.digit.warm.

The house is getting cleaned, the camp gear organized, the car tuned up, and the cameras cleaned off... except for that new camera that we are waiting patiently to arrive on the door step. We ordered a Canon D30 this weekend and it is supposed to be in our hot little hands by Thursday. I am over the top excited about this new little gem. I have been hunting down photos tagged with Death Valley out on Flickr, look at the beauty that awaits us.

It's All In The Cards

Sometimes I just stop and think about this deck of cards I have been given called life, love and family. I think about all the queens and kings that surround me, the jokers and the wild deuces. Stopping and looking at it I realize how all those cards don't quite fit in the box nicely any more. They overflow out of the box. Some of the cards are earmarked or bent a little. Some are in pristine new condition, and others are worn smooth, broken in and easy to shuffle and deal. Some of the cards are right there in between. Some have found their pair, others are working on a full house.



And then I look down at the stack of chips on the table before me. I think about how little I started out with. There were times when there wasn't even a stack. There was only a single chip sitting on the table in front of me (and my mom). The chip sat there like a loose tooth holding onto its roots just waiting for the promise of something bigger to take its place. The anticipation and the betting, the poker faces and the holding out just long enough.. out lasting the others around us and building back the stacks slowly and steadily. All that time, holding the heart cards close at hand, because that was really what would win us the jackpot.



Over the past month we have had a party every weekend (every.single.weekend). The house has been cleaned and re-cleaned. Food has been prepared and devoured, wine has been poured and spilled. Laughter has echoed through the walls of our home filing it with memories and love.
I know that my chips are stacked high now. I know that holding out for that straight flush in hearts was all I really needed to do.
It really is all in the cards that you are dealt.
And damn, I got a good hand.

Merry Merry- Happy Happy- Peace Peace

circa 1987 (do you think Santa hit the egg nog early that year?)

Happy Holidays everyone...

Flamingos All Around

I don't know about you, but there is something about a flamingo that just makes me smile.
Is it their color?
Or maybe it is there long neck and the graceful way they can stand on one leg, as if in a perpetual Vrksasana.
Maybe it is the thought of warmer climates and palm trees... not quite sure.

All I know is that when I opened a gift for my birthday from my dear friend Uma* I could hardly contain myself.
I mean look at these things?
I love that she used the idea of a "Christmas tree" and flip-flopped it into something so unseasonal and wonderful.
I am totally in love with these little nick-knacks right now.
They are sitting pretty in the dinning room for all to see...
Awesome.

*names have been changed to protect the innocent

Can I getta a woot woot?

and the cowgirl themed booth set continues...
Happy (photobooth) Friday everyone.

A few favorites from Flickr to round out the Friday blog post...

Red Berries, whitneybee
thrifted xmas balls, leslie.keatings
gorgeous red, girlhual
satsuma, malisonian
the VC, JesC
Snowflake, 'daisies
~~~
Looking forward to the next few days off. I have one last gift I need to craft for the gift exchange and maybe a few little stocking stuffers for hubby. We haven't yet decided if we are actually doing presents for each other- nothing like waiting until the last minute, right?
We are hosting Christmas night dinner at our house with in-laws and out-laws and in-betweens. I am going to pull together a huge pan of lasagna and Andy is going to make his famous chocolate cheese cake.
Even though having everyone over is exhausting, it is a wonderful exhausting. A kind of warm and fuzzy, "I just had my family in my house to eat" exhausting. I love that we are making memories and adding to the good vibrations in the new house. It is what makes it a home.

Taken 2 years ago on Christmas morning. Elk, CA

Over Load- T.I.L.T.

Is there such thing as being too cute? This is a cute overload version of T.I.L.T.
I don't want to be one of those bloggers that posts endless pictures of her animals... so I don't do it that often (do I?) But I had to share this... plus it is festive right?


And just in case that wasn't enough... (not my dog, just one I saw while out and about last Saturday).

Can I get an "Awwwwww"?

Blue balls and silver bells

It has been a very busy past few days.

Family in town.
Fondue, sushi making.
Ice-skating and wine-walking.

Gift exchanging and food consuming.
Last minute gift buying and making.
Snow and ice.

Just as it should be this time of year.

Fianl Day --11*12*11

Final Day~! Of 11*12*11


Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me! Happy Birthday to me!
sorry, the silence around her was killing me!!
~~~
11*12*11 has been a wonderful challenge for me. I have been frustrated and inspired. But most of all, I have been forced to slow down and see.
stop and see the world around me, see all that makes me laugh, cry and feel alive.
And that is a beautiful thing.

I appreciate everyone stopping by and leaving comments here and there (or being awesome and doing so every day!). And even if you didn't leave a comment, thanks for swinging by and taking a look at my world. I hope I have made a few new "readers/viewers" along the way....
~~~~
I hope the photos spoke for themselves for the most part. But I know that several of them probably lent to a ton of questions... so if you are interested and because I have gotten a few request to do so, I am going to give you a few words to go with the images.

CAUTION, I have not writen here in a month and the following portion of this post will make up for that... seriously this could be long, so go to the bathroom and get a cup of tea before you start to read and click and click and read.

ENJOY~

Day 1 Veteran's Day, lazy weekend of knitting and breakfast making. Then meeting up with my best friend and her man for a drink.
Day 2 Learning how to home brew with above mentioned best friend and her man.
Day 3 Even though I often get home late after work /teaching yoga/practicing yoga, I really like to make dinner.
Day 4 Because I work a regular 8-5 job and then pile on teaching yoga, I get pretty busy...It is sometimes a blur.
Day 5 I had been going through pictures from the past few years... This one is a favorite. Taken on the Black Rock Desert. Playing croquet dressed up in crazy costumes...
Day 6 I got up early to go to the dentist on this particular day. Nothing like the feeling of freshly polished teeth to make me happy!
Day 7 Headed up to a pre Thanksgiving party. I was happy to see friends of all ages.
Day 8 Spent the day in my craft room making holiday gifts. Andy's family decided a few years back to stop buying gifts for one another at Christmas and the tradition was made. We have to make something for each person. It is such a great way to share your creativity, get a good laugh, and cut down on the insanity and consumerism of the season.
Day 9 Attended an AcroYoga workshop, and got Andy to join in the fun. This is one of the funnest things to do. If you have a chance try it. It brings your yoga practice in a full loop... The usually contemplative and internal practice is taken outward. It is a wonderful chance to learn to communicate and also reinforce community, commitment and trust...Oh, and there is a lot of really good laughter too! I am lucky enough to have now gotten to go to 2 of these workshops, and my massage therapist is also a teacher here in town, so that means there will be more in the future- wooo hooo!
Day 10 Happened upon this "snowboarding" event taking place in a local shopping center parking lot. It made me laugh and yearn for my snowboarding days again...
Day 11 No real story here... These lovely foods were sitting on my kitchen counter, the light was right and so I snapped the shot.
Day 12 Spent the day in the sewing room. Later on that afternoon Andy got busy in the kitchen making his famous flat bread for Thanksgiving... Oh and the kitty got a little treat, whipping cream.
Day 13 Thanks Giving day... Wonderful and warm. Celebrated Dad in law's birthday as well because all the kids were home. It was such a great day.
Day 14 Some days it is nice to just be inspired by others...
Day 15 In Napa, CA for a bit more birthday celebration and left overs from Turkey day... This time it was my God Father's 60th birthday!
Day 16 The birthday celebration went well into the night and early into the next day... Dancing and more dancing.
Day 17 This photo was taken one year ago from the date posted... It makes me laugh.
Day 18 Photography has always been important to me. It is a link to my family history and to my grandfather who passed away when I was about 10. He had a dark room "down the cellar" and this was his camera. He gave it to my mom and she used it often while I was growing up. I asked if I could have it and so now it is mine (it actually goes back and forth between my mom's house and mine)... The Girl Scout camera is my mom's. She has had it since she was 6 years old, and I asked her if I could borrow it and the old Yashica to attempt to do a bit of this.
Day 19 Getting the holiday garb out... Three new Christmas trees...
Day 20 I have some of the most amazing girlfriends. They are formally known as the ChIPs (Chicks In Planning) we knew each other from work but decided to start hanging out because we are all roughly the same age and are connected through our professions... Over the past 2 and half years become great friends. We are there for laughter, for crying for venting and for love. We were out and about on the town... Theme: cowgirl (had to dress like one, see my vest?) We had Pho and then headed to a few bars to play pool and laugh... (oh, and a few of them stuck it out to locate a photobooth with me, classic set)
Day 21 Peace, Hope, Joy... Need I say more?
Day 22 Dressed up warm and hopped in the beloved suburban for a day of Christmas tree hunting. I was just playing in the drive way before we left and really liked the shadow that cast out before me.
Day 23 Feeling like dog, but trucking through it. In a Nyquil comma... this about sums up the color and the lines I am seeing...
Day 24 Slept all day to keep the cold at bay. I had no chance to get the camera out... Although there were a few moments that I snapped my "mental camera". Made me think of one of my favorite songs my John Mayer, 3x5s
Day 25 I have come home twice now at lunch and seen this beautiful colored shadow that the old vanilla and pepper corn bottles create. I love little bottles, especially glass ones. I have no idea what I will do with these, but I just like the way they look. And so many things are no longer bottled in glass (like mayo and peanut butter for instance)these little bottles make me smile, and their shadows bring me joy.
Day 26 Out with the girls and dressed up to a cowgirl theme... Talked them into boothing it up with me. I love these strips and will have several more to share over the next few weeks.

final days?? Not such a good camera girl.

We had a huge open house party on Sat (30-40 people stopped by) and I didn't have the time or the energy to get out the camera, silly me there were so many people at our place.
I slept most of the day yesterday, just getting my beauty rest- I am getting old, I need more sleep right?
Last night, had dinner with a group of friends. Yummy food, good people, who could ask for more?


Tonight, family is coming over for dinner and celebration.
I am exhausted... but in such a good way. So much love it makes me glow.

have a great week everyone!

Day 22--- 11*12*11

Day 22 of 11*12*11

Day 19---11*12*11

Day 19 of 11*12*11





Friday Flickr Favs:

1. Playsilk Wings Tutorial, Baby Hopes
2. Parasol, Kamoda
3. Sparkly hat, madorganica
4. Jump, E Welthorpe
5. untitled, tigerluxe
6. untitled, pyrodreams
7. untitled, Bisy Backson
8. the longest escalator ever, girlhula

Day 13--- 11*12*11

Day 13 of 11*12*11







....and a look back to last year..... so thankful, so, so, thankful.

Day 12--- 11*12*11

Day 12 of 11*12*11