Birdstar

Weekend reading

2012-01-06T17:27:00.001-08:00

A delayed Christmas present - I can't wait to crack this sucker open! From what I can see so far it is awesome.

Lit up

2012-01-04T11:57:00.001-08:00

2nd Annual

2011-12-22T11:26:00.000-08:00

Yay! My second book. I think this will be a yearly thing. I got smart and ordered the paperback for the first copy. I always forget that the pictures turn out a bit darker than I see them on my screen. But I was really pleased that I didn't find any typos - just a font issue on one page and some punctuation that needed to be added. Blurb is so much fun!

NCS, CTS

2011-12-16T12:36:00.000-08:00

Started off my day by getting tasered. Just a little electric current between friends, right? I was a dork and made an illustration for what it felt like (see above). I felt lucky that it's now mostly just the little taser thing and not wholly poking with needles. They only had to stab me with one needle but that was quite enough.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome was totally confirmed though (not that I needed any convincing). Surgery in the new year probably. Seems like I have surgery every 5-7 years so it's about time, I guess.

Winter Sunset

2011-12-07T16:56:00.000-08:00

We had a string of wonderful sunsets the other week. I was quick enough to snap a picture one evening from work. That reflection in the windows of the building across the street was too good to pass up.

Friends and their awesome talents

2011-12-05T16:58:00.000-08:00

**UPDATE** Her etsy website is UP! Yay! Click here and buy buy buy!

Just some quick photos of the amazing work my friend Kristin is doing in preparation for getting her Etsy store up and running. I've gotten to watch all of this grow from cool idea to in-my-hand jewelry. I'll post the link when the store is ready to go!

Little wings

2011-12-01T16:36:00.001-08:00

Little owls ready to fly the nest. A friend has a table at a craft fair tomorrow and asked if I wanted to have some owls involved. Of course! They are all so cute, I almost can't let them go.

Group shot (and names!) soon.

[insert very bad word here]

2011-11-21T22:30:00.000-08:00

Just lost the entire contents of my hard drive.

Did not see that one coming.

LA and conference-y things

2011-11-17T10:46:00.000-08:00

Trip to L.A. was awesome! The Crystal Skulls event was amazing. I can't even express how cool it was. I got to visit with an old friend and also see my cousin and his super-rad girlfriend. A lot of doings packed into four days.

I'm off again tonight down to Eugene to attend a weekend class. Then next week I have to conquer Thanksgiving dinner for the first time. I can't wait until Black Friday so I can just collapse and sleep in and stay far far away from any stores.

What I'm doing this Thursday

2011-11-07T19:00:00.000-08:00

1. Pop into work early to do morning reporting.

2. Have best friend pick me up in her little red Mazda 3.

3. Travel 6 miles to local international airport.

4. Fuss with security.

5. Board plane for L.A.

6. Arrive in Los Angeles and hopefully spot celebrity coming or going. Am not terribly picky about which one. Just one I recognize.

7. Try not to pee my pants when realizing I am going to be attending THIS for the next three days.

8. Have mind blown.

Hmmm...

2011-11-07T18:57:00.001-08:00

Despite my payment last Friday to the city for my parking permit, the parking officer lady keeps leaving love notes on my car in the form of citations.

Sigh.

Really, Universe? Is this a sign? Cuz other than annoyance, I'm not getting your message.

Before and After

2011-10-30T19:59:00.001-07:00

Before, the second bedroom was just a place to throw all the boxes and a good majority of the craft supplies. I finally decided to get it cleaned out so I could use it for a treatment room - mostly for myself but also clients if need be. With several trips to IKEA and much lifting it turned into something like this:

These "after" pictures were taken this morning before I put my stones and crystals and stone grid layouts into the room. I also wanted to make sure I had room to set up the massage table for Reiki clients (including myself!).
You'll notice in the second picture here that the middle bookshelf thing seems to be missing something. When I opened the box, the two wood pieces that make it into a cube shape were not included. After making phone calls and searching the internet, the conclusion is that IKEA sucks and won't even let you buy the missing pieces. If you are interested, read this. Or this. Bottom line, I felt lucky that I had only spent $40 on it as opposed to some customers who had bought whole kitchens and faced nightmares.

Here's a little shot from this evening with some of my stones and a candle-lit oil diffuser going.

And a little picture of the beautiful piece of malachite I bought today. Just wanted to include it because it was so pretty!

Breakfast boy

2011-10-26T22:32:00.000-07:00

This is who I got to have breakfast with this morning. OMG. The cuteness is killing me. And Emily has a little girl on the way. I'm done for.

Big Smoky

2011-10-19T23:00:00.001-07:00

I've been caring for a very special crystal for about a month or so. It belongs to a friend of mine and she needed a safe place to house it for awhile. You can't tell from the picture but it measures about 18 inches long and weighs about 40 pounds! It is a Smokey Cathedral Atlantean Quartz. Just stunning! My friend is looking to find it a new home (I sadly do not have the thousands of dollars to buy it) and to get the word out, it is going to be the center piece to a stone grid event this Saturday.

Tonight I had to box it up and have her take it so she can bring it to the event. I didn't even know I had grown so attached to it. I kind of teared up a little when I had to say goodbye. It just had the most sweet, gentle energy to it. Bye Big Smoky!

Heft

2011-10-12T23:23:00.000-07:00

I carried two 40 lb. boxes up a flight of stairs tonight. I'm pretty impressed with myself but damn, I need to start exercising. I'll show before and after pictures when the room is done but there is still so much left to do - namely getting all the craft supplies out of there and into the living room space which doesn't get used for anything right now.

I still have another trip to IKEA left to pick up another of those boxes pictured above and two table tops. This is when I would love to have some guy friends with free time on their hands. If I can do the boxes, though, the table tops are a piece of cake.

Spare change

2011-10-06T22:46:00.000-07:00

So, I've been thinking lately about maybe starting to work with essential oils - aromatherapy and such. Some of my teachers have made mixes that are the bomb for metaphysical work that I do and I have this whole spare bedroom that needs purging. And maybe some IKEA furniture. Just sayin'.

I've decided I will refer to it as "The Lab".

I took a very good friend of mine with me last night to IKEA and we had such a good time just wandering through the the rooms, sitting in all the chairs, and pricing out the pieces I ~~need~~ want. It really doesn't come up to much (price-wise) in the whole scheme of things.

What does come up to much is the list of essential oils I'm looking at. People just have a spare $700 lying around, right? Hahahahahaha.

Sigh.

So amazing

2011-10-02T20:20:00.000-07:00

Patience from Glowing Heads on Vimeo.

Found through Geninne's Blog here.

2011-10-01T23:18:00.000-07:00

Nice night

2011-09-22T01:15:00.000-07:00

I just had the most delightful evening doing readings for some really amazing women. I'm always so honored to be invited into someone's home and hopefully make their get-together memorable. It didn't hurt that the host and birthday girl is crafty like me. I definitely think that some craft parties are in our future.

My best friend went to Roswell...

2011-09-16T15:03:00.001-07:00

and all I got was Herzig. But I'm glad she wasn't abducted or anything. That would have been bad. (love you, T!)

Also, what I'm reading right now:

All kinds of fun!

Oh, Dahlia

2011-09-10T23:46:00.000-07:00

Saturday in the park

2011-09-03T15:14:00.000-07:00

First Try

2011-08-18T00:36:00.000-07:00

My first try at drawing Metatron's cube. I'm going to be trying it out as a base for a stone grid. It's pretty darn cool so far. Not all my angles were perfect - I only had a compass and a ruler so some of the lines don't quite match up just right. I'm going to give myself a break on that seeing as I started drawing it at about 11:30 at night.

An August Day

2011-08-11T22:47:00.000-07:00

A hastily made birthday cake for a dear friend. Thought I would liven it up with a bit of ribbon to make up for the fact it wasn't decorated. It still tasted so so good, though - ribbon or no.

Dahlia's from Mom's garden. So pretty!

Just me

2011-08-08T00:23:00.000-07:00

I've been having a hard time getting to sleep for the last few days. It happens every once in a while even when I'm on sleep medication (such a pleasant side effect from menopause at 30, let me tell you). So, there's been lots of time to play with the iPhone and download lots of photography apps.

The above self portrait was done on Saturday - can you see how big my pupils are? I had to have my eyes dilated at the optometrist office. They take a look at your retina then send you on your way! I was only driving about a mile down the road to see my parents but I have to say that I was pretty lucky to make it there without incident. Next time I think I'll need to have a ride.

This week is looking busy - I might be photographing a funeral on Tuesday (a friend of our family passed away), Wednesday is my day over at Celestial Awakenings, Thursday is Tarot Night out at Rose Springs. When did my calendar start getting so full?

What I'm Reading

2011-07-31T23:06:00.000-07:00

I did a Tarot reading for a client the other day who mentioned something about Matrix Energetics. I was curious and decided to read about it a little. If you hit their website and watch some of the videos, it's a little funny looking. I think the guy is a bit too showman-y for me. The theories are pretty sound from what I can tell, though, and I find it really interesting. I'm saving my pennies to hit the weekend seminar in Seattle the beginning of December.

That book led me to this one:
After the fairly easy and digestible pieces of quantum mechanics found in the Matrix Energetics book, Laszlo's* work is like getting thrown into the graduate school end of the pool but I'm slowly working my way through. It helps that it's seriously fascinating.

*I can't help but think of Laszlo Gogolak from The Whole Nine Yards whenever I look at his name.

Yes, yes

2011-07-30T22:03:00.001-07:00

It was only a matter of time, right? Until I started posting iPhone pictures. This is with the TtV app.

Brain mush

2011-07-27T20:30:00.000-07:00

“Seeing through people is so easy, and it gets you nowhere.”*

-Elias Canetti

This quote sums up my day today. It sums up a lot of my days, actually.
My brain is mushy from a long day of many readings for people. I don't usually hit my capacity so quickly but today was just sort of odd. I got to talk to a lot of interesting people, make some new friends, and meet some great kids who knew exactly what type of stone they needed. That makes it worth it.

*thanks to Nightmare Brunette for posting that quote

Not bad

2011-07-24T21:32:00.000-07:00

I'm probably the only person in the whole Northwest that is going to complain about sunshine. I must be ruled by the moon or something. Sun and heat are not my friends. But this was the sunset from my window tonight and that, folks, is not bad at all.

Newness

2011-07-23T19:11:00.000-07:00

I finally gave in and got an iPhone this weekend. (I've named her Juliet. I have no idea why I name my devices. It's a mystery.) I'm slowly but surely joining the 21st century. The things I'm most excited about?

SquareUp - so I can take credit/debit cards when I do readings at festivals and events (click here to see where I will be this month)

iAura app - do I think it's "accurate"? Who knows if you can really capture auras using digital photography. I will say that some of the resulting pictures do look very very similar to how the energy portrays in my head/inner sight. And it's hella fun!

Tarot Pro app - so much fun! I take most digital readings with a grain of salt, but this app would actually be great for a beginner tarot student to have at their fingertips when needing to look up a particular card.

I'm enlisting all my iPhone peeps to give me lessons in this thing. Does anyone else miss the days when things came with actual manuals?

Special Event July 7th

2011-07-06T17:12:00.000-07:00

Celestial Awakenings on Hwy 99 in Vancouver is having a special little event Thursday July 7th from 7pm-9pm.

I will be one of the readers on hand to do short tarot readings. There is also a book release, raffle and drawings being held as well! Come stop by and meet some great people!

2011-07-05T01:14:00.000-07:00

As an aside, having three days off work sometimes screws me up because my natural tendency is to go to bed later and later. So, hello 2am sleep time!

Now, I am sitting here at 1:16am and not even remotely tired yet, but knowing that work is coming soon.

sigh.

Also, Dad is having surgery tomorrow. Can you believe having a herniated spinal disk fixed is now outpatient surgery? Dude. Why not get a van like the blood drives have and just park it in your driveway? Off to bed with you when their done, right?

If you can spare a good thought for him and the doctors/nurses, it would be grand.

Nice from afar

2011-07-04T23:36:00.000-07:00

When I was a kid, we went to see fireworks with the masses at a large local display. That was the year I learned the equation: drunk people + bottle rockets = NOT A GOOD COMBINATION! ("I'll just hold it in my hand and light it! It will be cool!" - cue burning of said hand and trajectory of said bottle rocket right into my lap.)

These days I opt for staying away from the large gatherings. Most of my friends were out of town this year or otherwise engaged, so I was firmly entrenched in my current novel when the noise began outside. I thought I would check out the view and see if I could see anything.

I live at the top of a hill and when I looked out from my deck, I got a 180 degree view of all the neighborhood fireworks. And they weren't little, either! A couple of subdivisions that surround my place were lighting the big fly-into-the-air-and-explode kind. A short peek:

Untitled from Shannon Loftis on Vimeo.

Holy Freaking Cow

2011-06-16T23:53:00.000-07:00

And you were a house on fire and I couldn't understand why
"Burn me all down to the ground," you said, the fire is on the inside
Flames dancing like ghosts behind the windows
Pain jumping from the walls
You want to keep this private, I can see that
But you can't ask that of me, we've only just met
I said we need hope now more than ever before, do you believe it?
The answer was silence, I'll take it as a no
We all want to be normal anyways
We all want to be somewhere else than where we live
But that's not reality, it's just point of view
Let's not talk about the weather
And whether or not there's really rain in the clouds
Unless you just want to know if I feel the same as you
It's more measuring up than just wasting time
But time is not on our side, you're burning
Rain would only be a temporary fix
And there's just no place right now for cute ironies like that anymore
You're a house on fire

We all write songs about life, we just sing them different
You sing the words but you don't know the song
And you expect us all to sing along, how selfish
The lengths that we go to to put so much distance between us is staggering
You're burning alive with stress and life
Both hands in flames trying to hold the fire inside
Drop and roll, repeat line for emphasis
I'll repeat it and repeat it until you believe it
You're gonna be ok, say it to me
The answer is still silence, I'll take it as a maybe
I can't decide if I should knock down your door or on it
Say the word and I'll take a hatchet to your heart or a pin prick
Cut right through the dark, let it spill out the contents
On our knees sorting through the remnants
Pour out your hate in my hands, I'll let it slip through my fingers
And this is for all of us
And this is for the times that we only listen long enough to know that the other person we're talking to has the same opinions we do
For when we're burning inside, for when we're trying to hide that fact
This is for the scalps that we went after to be only the best-dressed
Add another notch to our belts, add another feather to our headdress
I want to be the bigger man for you, but I can't take all this truth
I'm trying to kick the habit here, but these track marks are 100 proof
"Burn me all down to the ground," you said
I'll kick through your ashes, hope they sober up my head

2011-05-29T00:19:00.000-07:00

A little cake

2011-05-21T21:39:00.000-07:00

Made a little cake for my birthday today. I ended up celebrating with my adopted nieces (whose birthdays we were celebrating, too) and nephew and dear friends. They took the kids to a local gymnastics place where the kids got to play on all the equipment (trampolines, zip lines into pits of foam, etc.) Then we headed into Portland for dinner. Thankfully, the restaurant let us bring the cake in. :)

Heard

2011-05-10T22:06:00.000-07:00

What I'm listening to on these 70 degree days.

Snippet

2011-05-09T17:08:00.001-07:00

Overheard as I was sitting at the restaurant waiting for my take-out:

". . . and there were, like, 12 cops outside! And I really wished I had a hammer."

The back deck view

2011-04-25T22:10:00.000-07:00

900

2011-04-24T22:23:00.000-07:00

Some pictures from my day. I got to decorate some eggs, have meals with the folks, see a double rainbow. All in all, quite nice.

I know it has been sorta quiet over here. I have so much happening lately - good things, really cool things that I have no idea how to even begin to talk about, hence the quiet. I'm good, I promise. Maybe words will come soon.

In other news, this post in my 900th post. 9's are good, yeah? I think so.

To the degree

2011-04-17T23:29:00.000-07:00

The only reason we don’t open our hearts and minds to other people is that they trigger confusion in us that we don’t feel brave enough or sane enough to deal with. To the degree that we look clearly and compassionately at ourselves, we feel confident and fearless about looking into someone else’s eyes.

–Pema Chodron

2011-04-17T23:20:00.000-07:00

Rest in peace

2011-04-14T16:00:00.000-07:00

The best little dog was laid to rest today. His last week here with his companions was a tough one filled with lots of pain but thankfully, he isn't hurting any more.

Romeo was one of my favorite dogs and I even got to dog-sit for him when my friends Tina and Rex were out of town a few years ago (when this picture was taken).

I got to spend some time with him on Sunday, give him a little Reiki and tell him what a good dog he is.

Goodbye, Ro. I'll miss you.

The music of today

2011-04-13T22:15:00.000-07:00

If I had a soundtrack for today, it would be this:

Early Morning

2011-04-08T10:14:00.001-07:00

Missives

2011-04-05T21:30:00.000-07:00

I look for metaphors in everything. Maybe it’s my poet’s brain or maybe it’s just a wiring thing in my mind. I am not a concrete thinker.

Anyway, the thing is, I spent two nights ago up sick most of the night and now, these days later, the muscles that I used to vomit the badness from my body are sore and make themselves known when I cough and breathe. Is it like this when we are rejecting the things that hurt us? What muscles do I use when pushing away the badness in life? What unknown parts of myself are stretched in those moments?

I plead for growth and get metaphor. I ask for clarity and get symbol. If I was not a metaphor thinker, would the Universe send me missives in the post?

The screaming neighbor has been quiet today. I’ll take that as missive enough.

"Go out into your heart. . . "

2011-04-04T22:53:00.000-07:00

Summer was like your house: you knew
where each thing stood.
Now you must go out into your heart
as onto a vast plain. Now
the immense loneliness begins.

The days go numb, the wind
sucks the world from your senses like withered leaves.
Through the empty branches the sky remains.
It is what you have.
Be earth now, and evensong.
Be the ground lying under that sky.
Be modest now, like a thing
ripened until it is real,
so that he who began it all
can feel you when he reaches for you.

-Rainer Maria Rilke
Rilke's Book of Hours
(Translated by Anita Barrows and Joanna Macy)

I'm celebrating National Poetry Month on my other blog. Some originals by me, some beautiful pieces that are my inspiration. Stop by if you like - hopefully, there will be something every day.

I know I dropped off the map for a bit. Now that I have an internet connection at my place, things should be back on track soon.

#892 - 5 years

2011-03-09T18:04:00.000-08:00

I've been visiting and writing in this little place for 5 years as of today. I can hardly believe that I have stuck to something for so long!

I currently have no internet service and am writing this short little message from work after my shift. I just had to send a message out to say that I'm still around.

I'm in the process of a lot of things lately, hence the quietness. I'm finishing up a move to a new apartment, I've just completed teaching my first Tarot class, I'm working a few days this month at a little metaphysical shop in town, and I'm working on making a new website to corral all these bits of myself I have on the internet.

Phew! *wiping brow* Hopefully, things will settle down enough for me to get some of these boxes unpacked and back in the swing of posting more regularly.

No pictures for today, just . . . holy cow! 5 years.

Morning Sights

2011-02-24T10:53:00.000-08:00

The Joy of No Forecasts

2011-02-16T12:29:00.000-08:00

I don't usually watch the news or the weather reports. It's the Northwest. It will probably be rainy. So that makes mornings like this a bit magical.

Still bleary-eyed and not altogether woken up, I stumbled into the kitchen this morning to see this:

Big, fat, quarter-sized flakes of snow falling quietly outside. By the time I got ready and out to my car, we had accumulated about a half an inch. Luckily, the streets weren't icy, just a bit of slush.

Breathing Through

2011-02-13T21:26:00.000-08:00

I am breathing through the pain. That's what I keep telling myself. It's been a week since the first visit to Urgent Care, four days since the second. There's nothing more they can do. I just have to wait it out. With stronger drugs we take the risk of a bad reaction like the last time.

My days have been mostly comprised of watching the clock to see when I can take some more ibuprofen. I'm sure I'm exceeding some limit somewhere but the few Vicodin they gave didn't really touch anything at all.

And in the midst, I'm still searching for an apartment. And teaching class. And signing contracts. And stalling about packing. And making cupcakes for a wedding.

Somewhere, in all these places, there is a feeling that I can't find the words for yet. A feeling about settling into myself and understanding my own power, of really Seeing myself - a me I always knew I could be. Always knew I was. How do you describe that?

Lately

2011-02-13T00:58:00.000-08:00

Songs that are just killing me with awesomeness lately:

More city pics

2011-02-07T20:14:00.001-08:00

One more composite picture I took last week before The Illness descended.

Speaking of which, I spent most of my Sunday in urgent care and the pharmacy, then doped out on pain medication that didn't really touch the pain all that much. Better than nothing, I suppose. (No Strep but a nasty little ear infection that still has me deaf on one side)

I made it through several hours of work today, but had to cancel the tarot class for tonight. Everyone was really understanding which was really nice.

I'm making some cupcakes this week for a wedding and I really really really really need to start to pack and look for a place to live. The looking was supposed to happen over the weekend.

But tonight? Tonight, I just have to rest. That's my only job.

Calendars and Cards

2011-02-05T22:51:00.000-08:00

Catching up on posting some of the projects I did around the start of the year. Here is my Bambi calendar. It's magnetic and thoroughly awesome. I haven't finished the little marble magnets for the days of the month yet, but you can get an idea. I've been saving this particular piece of paper for a long time because I couldn't decide what to do with it. No project seemed cool enough. When I was going through all my papers looking for a good background, this was definitely the one!

What I like the most is that since the whole thing is contained in a picture frame (and not glued together or anything), you can change out the background whenever you want. This is a little birthday card I made for my mom's birthday. I was so excited to use my Cuttlebug die cut machine to make the "window" in the card.
I forgot to take a picture of the birthday card I made for little Carter. I'm hoping they haven't thrown it out yet and I can get Emily to send me a picture. Even if I do say so myself, it was really adorable.

Unrelated

2011-02-04T22:52:00.000-08:00

Picture is unrelated to what I'm about to tell you, which is that I am sick. Again. A-freakin'-gain. I think that the fact that I was sick for the ENTIRETY of December (31 whole days) should get me a get-out-of-virus-land pass for at least, say, the next 8 months. What the hell kind of super-viruses are out there? Is this what killed the birds and fish in Arkansas? I can believe it.

Don't listen to me. I'm just a tad grumpy. Sore throats are the worst, in my opinion. I can deal with any of the other things (stuffy nose, headache, coughing) but the sore throat kills me. I can't tell you how many bottles of vitamin water and cups of tea I have been through in the last few days.

Ugh. Ugh.

Please send me healing thoughts if you think of it.

Sunset

2011-01-27T22:40:00.001-08:00

Here's a composite shot I put together.

The real action was over to the west where you can see the dark pink starting to burn its way over the horizon.

Ever-moving

2011-01-25T21:25:00.001-08:00

Sorry about the quietness lately on the blog. Things are changing and moving at a breakneck speed over here.

While I'm gathering my wits about me, enjoy some pictures from someone who had a first birthday party this weekend.

Today

2011-01-17T23:46:00.000-08:00

881

2011-01-11T23:45:00.000-08:00

It is dark and late and raining outside. In this wetness, in this roundness of night, I feel like I am being born again. I'm looking around this place that, in a few short weeks, I won't live in anymore and see the work to be done. So much sorting and throwing out and giving away. The thought of it makes me feel lighter with every breath. This time I am asking for help outright, no hedging or hinting. And I have no idea where I am going to land. The cards say things look okay, so I'm just going to trust that the right thing is out there for me and start trying to find it.

9 days of new year under the belt

2011-01-09T19:55:00.000-08:00

From everything that has happened in the last 9 days, this year is going to be a little nuts. It started out strong with finding a winning lotto ticket. Calm down now, it wasn't much. It was enough to cover my groceries for a few weeks, though, and that was very very welcome. I also had a dream come true. It was an innocuous dream about my mom and I and finding a store that sold scrubs. A few days later. . . bam! Mom and I are out shopping (something we almost never do) and what do I come across? A store that sells scrubs!

I'm thinking, "Dude, this year is going to be cool!"

Then. . . then, we have a thing at work. A thing that ended up creating one of the most exhausting weeks I can remember in the last few years. I have to say that the last Mercury in retrograde (from December 9 - 30) hit us particularly hard. And one of the results of that? I have to move offices.

And speaking of moving -

I find out my roommate is going to move and consequently, so do I. I don't even have words to tell you how much I don't want to move. The idea is so overwhelming that I am just kind of blocking it out for a few days.

But, my class starts tomorrow. I'm really excited about it and surprisingly not nervous at all. It helps that I already know a bunch of my students.

So, that is the new year update. I'm going to stop typing now because, as usual, I am totally procrastinating on getting ready for teaching the tarot class tomorrow. I'm off to prepare!

2010 in Pictures

2011-01-05T00:09:00.000-08:00

Music: No Envy, No Fear by Joshua Radin and Make it Gold by Ohbijou
Huge, huge, huge thanks to my friends Kristin and Richard who helped me out with putting the video together!

2010 Reading List

2010-12-30T21:30:00.000-08:00

I was hoping to cover a lot of ground in 2010. Looking at the list I did cover, it seems a bit paltry. My list of re-reads, I think, is almost the same as the number of new ones I read which is fairly typical of me. I had five books I just couldn't finish which is not typical at all - I'm kind of a power-through-it sort of reader. When the book is becoming painful and no relief is in sight, I think you've got to just cut your losses.

Here's a quick list of what I covered this year. (If I read it more than once, asterisks show how many times I read it)

Three Days to Dead by Kelly Meding (meh)

Bloodring by Faith Hunter
Seraphs by Faith Hunter
Host by Faith Hunter

***Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs (so so so so good. as usual.)

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

The Scent of Sorrows by Vicki Petterson (this is the book that made me officially tired of the main-character-has-secret-heritage-she-knows-nothing-about-and-has-to-figure-it-out-and-save-the-world storyline)

****Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews (utter perfection. And I got to meet the authors this year which made me so freaking thrilled)

One Bite with a Stranger by Christine Warren (I read a bunch of her books hoping they would get better because I think they had the potential to be fun. In the end, I was actually a little bothered about the message they sent about women.)

**Touched by an Alien by Gini Koch (most hysterically funny book I have read in a long time. The sequel is out now and is up next in my reading queue)

Confessions of a Demon by S.L. Wright (naming conventions in this book drove me nuts for some reason)

**A Glimpse of the Devil by Victoria Laurie (quick-paced and fun as usual)

Magic Lost, Trouble Found by Lisa Shearin (can we have a limit for how many characters you can introduce in a chapter? Couldn't keep track of everyone for the life of me.)

Bite Marks by Jennifer Rardin (so shocked and saddened by the author's sudden death this year)

You're So Vein by Christine Warren
Walk on the Wild Side by Christine Warren

**Bayou Moon by Ilona Andrews (brilliance. sheer brilliance.)

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Masques by Patricia Briggs

Ghosts and Echoes by Lyn Benedict

Books I couldn't get through for various reasons:

Greywalker by Kat Richardson
Nightwalker by Jocelynn Drake
Tempest Rising by Nicole Peeler
Dark Lover by J.R. Ward (my friend, Tina, was obsessed by this whole series and I couldn't even make it halfway through the first one!)
Black Blade Blues by J.A. Pitts

Merry and Harried

2010-12-25T18:17:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the long absence, folks. The last few weeks have been pretty draining. My cold is still hanging on and I have been trying to have as much down time as my schedule and family obligations allow. Work has been a whirlwind of activity and I'm trying to just go with the flow of everything.

I'm still prepping for my tarot class and getting more excited every day. I did get around to making some cookies for a charity event my workplace was helping out with. I was so sad to part with those since they are my favorite, so I made a whole other batch (as seen above) for myself, my friend and her girls who I spent Christmas Eve with, and Jeff and Kimberly at Celestial Awakenings. I absolutely love the look on peoples' faces when they first bite into this cookie. It's almond-y, soft, and the cherry makes it perfect!

Noel (the little angel owl ornament above) was made on Christmas Eve. I love her sparkly eyes!

I hope you are all safe, sound and loved on this Christmas day.

Dude, not cool!

2010-12-13T15:34:00.000-08:00

I am on the 13th freaking day of this damn cold. It's holding on for the long haul, apparently. Now, the dry hacking cough is left and won't go away. Joy. [insert eye roll here] So not cool.

But things still go on. There is work to be done and holiday parties to attend. I'm so glad I opted out of the secret santa thing at work this year, though. I think my brain would have exploded a little bit.

I'm trying not to live up to my middle name (Procrastination) when it comes to getting ready for the Tarot class I am teaching in January. The more I work on my notes for the class, the more I remember how much I love working with the tarot cards and how much insight and guidance they have given me over the years.

On the craft front, not much is going on. My parliament of owlets is disappearing fast as gifts for people for the holidays. It will be fun to make some more when they have all left the nest. I still have 10 or so larger owls to finish from Labor Day weekend. I believe the Russian contingent is in this group (Boris, Svetlana, Zhenya, and D'mitri) and I'll be making a Sheriff owl as I found the most perfect silver button that looks like a Sheriff badge! I'm truly hoping to finish up the accessories for the SWAT owls I made forever ago, too.

Ugh

2010-12-05T00:03:00.000-08:00

Things have been buzzing a bit over here. A little too much, I think, because last Wednesday I came down suddenly with a pretty bad cold. I'm headed to Urgent Care tomorrow if I don't see a significant change overnight. I'm kind of hoping it might be Strep because then at least they could give me some antibiotics. Being in pain sucks!

I got a new coffee mug from one of my favorite potters in the area and spent some time with a dear friend today. I always have such a nice time with her and it definitely helped me keep my mind of off feeling so crappy.

If you have a spare good-health thought to send my way, it's appreciated! :)

We get more days off, right?

2010-11-28T23:48:00.000-08:00

The last four days have been crazy and busy and exhausting. I need some days off to recover from the holiday. I think I've done more in the last week than I have in whole months. I'm tuckered out.

Ha! Speaking of which. . . the two owls above got made this morning. Holly on the left, Tucker on the right. Holly is going away to live in Kansas. And Tucker is headed to Hollywood, baby! Another little owl is going with Tucker - her name is Polly. She is in the hands of my new creative kindred, Jessica. Hi, Jessica! (The picture I took of Polly was a little fuzzy. You can see her better in the group shot posted here. She is in the second row, third from the left with the spotted nose.)

I'm headed off to bed now. I hope everyone had a good holiday!

Gratitude Month (day 24)

2010-11-24T22:40:00.000-08:00

I'm thankful for self-publishing! Hee hee.

My book is here! (It's called Starling Barge)

3 little friends

2010-11-24T21:49:00.000-08:00

I said goodbye to three little owls last weekend. They went to live in new homes.

That is McCoy on the left. I named him such because the blue fabric that makes up most of him has koi fish on it. Get it? McCoy. Koi. I crack myself up.

Then, Maisy in the middle. That sounds like a band name. But she was cute. And I couldn't believe I hadn't used that name for an owl before.

And on the right, Clementine. She's orange. And those little circles on her tummy! So cute!

Gratitude Month (day 23)

2010-11-23T23:43:00.000-08:00

So thankful for this ever-expanding, never-ending Universe. This infinite space that is big enough to contain all the miracles I need.

I like

2010-11-22T20:10:00.000-08:00

Works in progress

2010-11-22T18:30:00.000-08:00

I'm embarrassed to admit that I'm still working on a project I started last year around this time. My mom's quilt is finally getting finished. All I had left to do was the binding and hanging pocket. I totally forgot how meditative hand stitching the binding was.

A sneak peek of my book. This is a little view into the publishing software that is Blurb. In that picture, you see the front and back covers to my book (the dust jacket). I finally put the order in on Friday night. I can't wait to have that book in my hot little hands!

Gratitude Month (day 22)

2010-11-22T18:18:00.000-08:00

Sorry about the missed days, there, folks. Back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Today, I am grateful for finding beauty in small things: the pattern of the balsamic vinegar in the olive oil, the tiny hand stitching on the quilt binding, the delicate pattern of a cobweb.

Gratitude Month (day 18)

2010-11-18T23:44:00.000-08:00

I am so thankful for discovery, that each day can hold something new - a new joy, a new love, a new lesson, a new teacher.

Gratitude Month (day 17)

2010-11-17T23:19:00.000-08:00

Thank you, all the Forces in the Universe, that there are ends to endless days. So much thanks for rest.

Gratitude Month (day 16)

2010-11-16T23:09:00.000-08:00

I am grateful for . . . meeting new people who see all your craziness and say, "Hey! Me too!"

That's kind of awesome.

Gratitude Month (day 15)

2010-11-15T22:57:00.000-08:00

Today, I am grateful for guidance and revelation. I am so thankful that 8 years ago I finally decided to take a tarot class. It has been such an indispensable tool to help me know myself better, to help me see my decisions more clearly, to help steer me towards the best version of myself through gentle guidance and insight.

Gratitude Month (day 14)

2010-11-14T23:46:00.000-08:00

Today I am grateful for laughter. From-the-gut, almost-pee-your-pants, I-can't-breathe laughing. I need more people in my life that can make me laugh like this site does.

All Official

2010-11-13T17:54:00.001-08:00

OMG. Sooooo cool.

Pictures on the front of the cards are by my friends at Yellowshoe Photography.

Photo on the back is mine.

(I've blurred out some of the info, in case you are thinking they are missing something)

Gratitude Month (day 12 and 13)

2010-11-13T17:41:00.000-08:00

Apparently, I have an problem with posting on Fridays. Huh. So today will be another two-in-one.

Today, I am so grateful for awesome internet businesses. Today, I am specifically thinking about Moo.com and Blurb.com. I've been a little quiet about it, but I will be publishing a book of my poetry and photography through Blurb later this month. Just the idea makes my heart swell a little bit. I'm kind of proud of what I have written over the last few years and I can't wait to see it in print. In actual book form. I'll totally post more after I get the first copy.

And Moo. What can I say about them? Awesome. Just awesome. I've gotten their little moo cards before and several packs of postcards too. As an anniversary present for my friends Emily and Matt, I got them a set of postcards with pictures I had taken at their wedding.

And today. . . I got business cards!! Yay! They look so good! (see next post for pics) I feel all official.

Gratitude Month (day11)

2010-11-11T16:54:00.000-08:00

So thankful for photography. For blissful hours in the darkroom at high school, watching those magical chemicals transform your idea into reality. For the digital ways I can now capture moments of my day and send them across the world in an instant. For all the work of others, whose pictures leave me stunned, moved, enlightened and changed somehow.

Gratitude Month (day 10)

2010-11-10T22:32:00.001-08:00

Tonight, I am grateful for tea.

Sometimes, it is just the perfect thing.

Gratitude Month (day 9)

2010-11-09T21:29:00.000-08:00

For a year, I had a job which required me to wake up at 3am, be out the door by 4am, arrive to the transit center by 4:30am to catch the first lightrail train to the city and be at work by 5am. And hit the ground running once I got there.

Even though my checking account is considerably lighter after taking my car to the mechanic today, I wouldn't trade it for public transit at all.

I love the freedom it gives me. I love the safety (you might be surprised by what I faced on the train every morning at 4:30am). I am so grateful to have a reliable vehicle and a steady job that pays for its upkeep.

Gratitude Month (day 8)

2010-11-08T21:55:00.000-08:00

The other day, I left work a little early and needed to head out to the west side. This means I-5 south, the Freemont bridge, Hwy 26, etc. The Freemont is a tad scary if the winds are high, but the day was ending and everything seemed fine. But there was an accident in my lane so we were stopped for a few minutes as everyone parted seas around the drivers who were exchanging information.

I sat in my car on the bridge, the vertical movement literally bounced me in my seat. It was a moment of prayer as I begged the Powers That Be that an earthquake would not hit right at that moment.

But as I looked up at the supporting cables and beams, the setting sun reflected off the clouds and to the right, about 20 birds swooped and dove in interlocking patterns in a column of air that was rushing up right in that spot. For 10 seconds my world stopped and consisted solely of those birds and the setting sun.

I keep thinking about those birds and that moment. Today, I am grateful for the beautiful synchronicity that the Universe provides.

Gratitude Month (day 7)

2010-11-07T21:02:00.000-08:00

Today I am grateful for the particular genius that is the mind of a good writer.

Words are a sanctuary for me, stories have been my saving grace many times over. A love of reading settled in when I was very young and trips to the library were golden.

So much of who and where I am today as a person is because someone else had a passion to share their knowledge or imagination through the writing of a book. I am thankful every day.

Gratitude Month (day 5 and 6)

2010-11-06T19:19:00.000-07:00

I missed yesterday's gratitude moment so today I have a big thing to be grateful for, something big enough to span two day's worth - the creativity of others.

In general, I consider myself a second-level user. Meaning, I don't know how to make paint or design fabric but I can sure as heck take those things once they are made and do something pretty with them.

I am so grateful there are people out there who think up new patterns for fabric or new designs for rubber stamps, people who can come up with fantastic paper or new tools to use.

Without them, my little owls wouldn't exist!

Fortune

2010-11-05T08:01:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure what I have been searching for, but according to my fortunes from last night, I'm going to find it today. *claps hands excitedly*

So amazing

2010-11-04T21:24:00.000-07:00

This is a new purchase for me. The store has been holding on to it for a few weeks and I finally got to pick it up today and bring it home. The pictures don't show it's size very well. It's about ten inches long and three or four inches in diameter. It weighs a lot! 8 pounds maybe.

It's the most stunning piece of green calcite included quartz. (which means that there are floating bits of green calcite trapped inside the quartz crystal) It may look a little plain but it is packing some serious energy.

Just wanted to share.

Gratitude Month (day 4)

2010-11-04T21:13:00.000-07:00

When I was younger, I never imagined that I would know such interesting people. I have friends that are interpreters and 911 dispatchers, firemen and interior designers. I know artists and lawyers, hypnotherapists and healers.

I am so thankful for each one of them. They are all my teachers, bright shining moments and intersections in my life.

Dreams

2010-11-04T15:27:00.000-07:00

Last night, in my dream, there were rows of little birds on branches. I reached my hand out and one the size of a hummingbird came to sit upon my finger. It was the deep blue of early night and fluttered it's wings as it balanced softly on my hand. I have a feeling it might have said something, but I can't recall just now.

Gratitude Month (day 3)

2010-11-03T18:30:00.000-07:00

The first things I think about when I count my blessings are the basics. I am so grateful to have shelter, to have food, to have clean water, to have a job. These are the essentials for me and I feel so blessed every day to have them.

The picture was the view from our offices yesterday morning. The fog was thick and beautiful and the fact that I can take that picture reminds me that I have a paycheck that makes all those other things possible.

Gratitude Month (day 2)

2010-11-02T16:26:00.000-07:00

Today (and everyday) I am thankful for western medicine. It's strange to think of it in such terms, but my life has been saved many times over by surgeons and doctors and pharmaceutical companies.

It's weird to think that I have to take medicine so that I can eat food without pain and so that I can sleep - things my body should be able to do by itself. But I am so grateful that the right medicine exists to let me do those things without pain or trouble.

Gratitude Month (day 1)

2010-11-01T13:24:00.000-07:00

I'm playing along with Curious Girl for a whole month of gratitude. One post a day in November about something for which I am grateful.

Today, there is no picture because as much as I try, I have still not been in the right spot at the right moment with camera in hand to catch this phenomena.

I am grateful for the fall and those moments when the wind blows leaves off the trees making it look like it is raining golden and red-toned drops of leaves. Bonus points if the sun has them lit up.

This morning, the sight of yellow leaves falling from a tall tree on my way to get some much needed coffee provided me with a moment of bliss.

Thank you fall. You make my world beautiful.

Minions

2010-10-31T12:50:00.000-07:00

Martha Stewart's minions are the best. I had so much fun with her Halloween clear stamp set while I made cards for my friend's kids.

Practicalities and feeling punky

2010-10-28T10:29:00.000-07:00

I had a weird night of sleep last night. I dreamt of spiders. 9 of them, each as large as a dinner plate, surrounding me. I wasn't exactly afraid, more like stunned. I kept saying to the people with me, "Look how BIG they are!"

Now, I don't dream of spiders often. When I do, I usually feel a little like a big life moment is coming up. Their appearance makes me think of the web we are building of our life, the weaving of decisions into a coherent whole. And after a morning of researching business licenses, liability insurance and having a business from home (all topics I am ill equipped to understand), I have a feeling the real message is, "There's actual work involved in this, you know."

Yes, here is where I lose my steam. I don't balk at the fact that there is actual work involved, but that the work I need to do is so outside of my area of interest. I'm not a business woman at all. At. All. Add to that the complication of doing my work in two different states and doing work that is so nebulous there is no really listing for it. . . Well, yeah.

On top of that, I woke up feeling a bit punky. Not truly sick but really needing a day in bed and someone else to pick up the slack for a few moments.

Ok. Back into the fray, there's more research to be done.

Milestone

2010-10-25T22:27:00.001-07:00

You guys, I just hit "send" on an e-mail that was about something I never thought I would do. A good thing. A great thing. I don't want to say too much in case it doesn't happen. But it felt like such a huge step for me and I don't have anyone in my immediate vicinity to share it with. So you, Internet, get to hear it first.

This moment is really amazing.

Thank you for listening. You may now return to your regularly scheduled programming.

Like a chicken

2010-10-25T21:17:00.000-07:00

This last week has been so crazy and fabulous. So...here's the update. Last Tuesday I reinstated the Craft Party. About 8 people came over, dove into my art supplies and went to town. I didn't have a project in mind, but next time I am definitely going to. I was going to share the pictures of my decimated dining and living rooms but maybe I'll save it for next time. I'm going to maybe start having Craft Night once a month. We'll see if my roommate can live with the craft supply explosion that often. :)

Here are some of the projects people made.

Thursday night was off to Rose Springs Center to play with crystals and grids. There was a nice small group and we got to raid the store and play with all their inventory. We tried some new methods and the grid I came up with is totally kick ass. I can't wait to set it up and see what happens.

I had Friday night off but we had some drama at my house so it was a little bit before I could relax for the night. I got to do some SRT work for a girl I met at the stone grid night and it went really well. I can't believe how much energy is moving around inside me lately.

I was up early and over to the Oregon Convention Center for the Body/Mind/Spirit expo. I went both days and heard some really amazing lectures. It comes to town twice a year and there are times that nothing really jumps out at me or grabsmy attention. This year was full of new things and good directions for me and possibly some new teachers.

Saturday night I went on a tour of the underground tunnels in Portland. That is a whole story in and of itself. I think it will be a whole separate post. I will say that I am glad we were all laughing about it at the end of the night.

Sunday was a craft get together at a new friend's house. She has at least as much, if not more, craft stuff as I do! Yay! Kindred spirit. I made a few cards but I think I was more ready to just have some down time so didn't end up staying long.

Tonight. Tonight was very cool. I went to a past life regression session at Celestial Awakenings. It was really interesting. She basically guides you into a deep meditation session where you explore one of your past lives. Mine was really so much more vivid than I expected. I don't know if I will share the story here, but e-mail me if you are interested in hearing it.

There's more little stuff, but those with the big things for the past seven days or so. Whew! I need some sleep!

Foggy Morning Bridge

2010-10-21T10:13:00.000-07:00

Parts

2010-10-17T23:28:00.000-07:00

This

2010-10-14T22:07:00.000-07:00

There was something coiled and tense inside me tonight and this song unravelled all the little pieces. I'm a little in love with the whole album.

The cupcake

2010-10-13T23:08:00.000-07:00

Yay! Chocolate cupcake, chocolate frosting, pink pearl candies and gum paste flowers. Tasty and very pretty.