Damn! 1/2 of me looks GREAT in this picture!! The other beauties are Jojo and Christine... 

Bestest Friends, this picture really does capture us & our undying love for each other! (and the back fat... but we won't talk about it!) 

diana

I'm too tired to modify the instructions for blog placement, I'm sure you know what to do... cut and paste yadda yadda yadda. Please post your answers to the comment page or e-mail them to me... I'd love to know more about those of you who are reading my blog ::bg::

1. Full name?
Diana Lea (Lambert) Jenner
2. Were you named after anyone?
Mom says my godmother Linda Diane Beasley and Diana Ross; I think Lea came from Worcestershire Sauce ::g::
3. Are you married?
I'm widowed; currently entangled in a crazy love-fest
4. When did you last cry?
Sunday morning, I talked to Mitch's gramma about Mitch and Hannah... I really, really, really want to bawl my fool head off right now!! I will next cry when I can curl up on Jeremy's lap and soak his shirtfront -- hopefully by noon tomorrow!!

5. Do you like your handwriting?
I'm a girl in this *one* way... I like mine :)

6. What is your favorite lunch?
really good cheese pizza (preferably from Jersey)
7. Where is your favorite place to eat lunch out?
Sushi Masa -- yep, sushi in SD!
8. Names and ages of kids:
The ones I've given birth to? Hannah, forevermore 9.5 and Hayden currently 7.75; they count among many practice kids I had in the years before them
9. If you were another person would you be friends with you?
Hell yeah, but I'm the first to admit it'd be tough!
10. Do you have a journal?
Many of them! Some paper and some electronic
11. Do you use sarcasm a lot?
I do, but my son doesn't appreciate it so I may have to tone it down
12. Would you bungee jump?
Only in New Zealand where it was invented, though I probably won't go there for the earthquakes and volcanoes (can you swim to Australia from there??)
13. What is your favorite cereal?
There used to be a natural raisin bran with almonds...
14. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?
If I wore tie shoes, I might untie them :)
15. Do you think that you are strong?
I am stronger than I know, moment to moment I amaze myself
16. What is your favorite ice cream?
Baskin-Robbins Peanutbutter Chocolate, but we don't have that locally, so I settle for any version Rocky Road - hormone free = hive free
17. Favorite TV Show?
Any form of Law & Order, 24, Big Love, Sopranos
18. Red or Pink?
Red
19. What is your least favorite thing about yourself?
My latest tendency to overreact emotionally to any/every stimulus... Physically? I'm too loose all over for my liking
20. Who do you miss most?
Hannah Lea Jenner
21. Do you want everyone you send this to send it back?
YES! I want to know who reads this!
22. What color pants and shoes are you wearing? cool green yoga pants and no shoes!
24. What are you listening to right now?
Jason B. singing Adam Ant's Goody Two Shoes while putting together a grill
25. If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
I'd be one of those chunky square crayons from kindergarten, the red/yellow/blue combo
26. Last person you got an e-mail from?
Birthday wishes from my redheaded compadre, Lori
**What Happened to #27??***
28. The first thing you notice about the opposite sex?
eyes
29. Do you like the person who sent this to you?
YES! She is my bestest friend in the whole universe...
30. Favorite Drink?
a well-home-made bloody mary, but I'll settle for Crown Royal and Coke
31. Favorite Sport to Watch?
American Football
32. Hair Color?
a new pretty shade of red - Thanks 'netta!!
33. Eye Color?
green
34. Do you wear contacts?
and suffocate my precious eyeballs?? (didja know there's thermasol a.k.a. mercury in some contact lens solutions?!)Hell no!! I love my glasses they're funky and fun!
35. Favorite Food?
Cheese Tortellini Spezia - worth the hives!
36. Scary Movies or Happy Endings?
Definitely, Happy endings
37. Last movie you watched?
Elizabethtown w/Hayden
38. Favorite Day of the Year:
My birthday (the whole 18 days!)
39. Summer or winter?
in SD: Summer; in CA: Winter
40. Hugs or Kisses?
they each serve their purposes... and I love them both!
41. Favorite dessert?
Godiva Raspberry Truffles, oooh, I think I'll have one now :-D
42. Who Is Most Likely To Respond?
an Amy or two ;)
43. Least likely to respond?
I don't know, cause I don't know who you are
44. What's On Your Mouse Pad?
currently using a laptop, at home I use a roller ball
45. What's On Your Screensaver?
a cool one from gogratitude.com
46. What Did You Watch on TV last night?
no TV for many, too too too many days
47. Rolling Stones or Beatles?
Beatles, but more Stones are still living... hmmmm
48. What's the furthest you've been from home?
from SD: Rosarito Beach Mexico; from CA: Niagara Falls Canada

On becoming 38 -or- On completing 38

I'm enjoying the last hour or so of my 38th year and pondering what the hell it is I will be doing with my 39th ::g:: The older I get, the more Gemini I am about our society's numbering system. I like that I'll get to say 38 for the next year, even though it is inaccurate; I'll begin living my 39th year tomorrow and I *do* want credit for the whole of my existence.

*****

Jeremy called today to remind me it is my last day of being only 7 years older than him, tomorrow I become *8* years older (& wiser!) than him, at least until his birthday in October.

*****

I called Brian at 10pm CA time, to be the first to wish him Hap Bir Day!

*****

Tomorrow, Hayden will join me in my birthday celebrations, hanging out with Chance so I can talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk to Christine and Dave... actually, he just really wants to meet Dave so they can talk World of Warcraft ::g:: I'm so looking forward to being *me* and celebrating my birth and my life, out of the watchful, judgmental eyes of the famn damily...

Wow

It's the crack of dawn... The sun is up and so am I. Jeremy just left and Hayden's in my bed now... I've got my space to myself - a glorious beginning to a very busy day.

He Loves ME!

Ya know that yeller I mentioned, Jeremy? He loves me. He told me so on Monday night, when I returned to Bemidji after a wonderful FUN weekend with him. There's something really cool about walking around being someone's love, somehow everything is better, easier and funner ::g:: mayhap it's Post Coital Euphoria, either way, I'm smiling and I'm squishy inside!

Thank You

Thank you, David for allowing me the opportunity of a lifetime.
If not for your inability [unwillingness] to step up to the plate, I'd not have met someone who is.
You were the very best dream I had of an alternate future... unfortunately, that dream future has no basis in the here & now nor in the you & me.

Our lives and souls are forever intertwined, I've no doubt.

Hmmm

I got kissed by a cute boy. All is right with the world.

My amazing weekend

I can't believe it's so far past... I'm still reeling in the shockwaves.

I picked up the pictures from David, for Gramma Mimi. I even went to Lisa's and wrapped them up for shipping. Not with an open, loving heart, however. I chose to wallow in self-pity and exaggerated (some imagined) wounds. If it wasn't one person it was the other, I was a ball of pain. Joanna came to town with Nathan. We got Hayden and Nathan together and they had a great time! At lunch on Saturday, with family, I was waaaaay bitchy and snippy (though right in principle, the, ah, example wasn't accurate/appropriate). So Donna came and took me for a drive and a much needed puking session. I said what needed to be said, for it to be gone from my soul, so as not to fester and spoil my thoughts. Ah, what a relief! Hayden was at the zoo with Nathan and Jared & Liz. When they returned, we (us + Nathan) went to see my niece Brittany's basketball game. Nathan was so excited to meet another cool cousin! She played well, it was a blast. We absorbed her into our mass and went to Aunt Karna's for dinner. Joanna had recovered enough from her migrane, she was willing to take on the kids and go to The Wild... I ran away to hang out with Lisa and Brian :::bg::: ***Warning***out of character behavior*** We went to the Cage Fights at the Armory on the Fairgrounds. Totally bizarre, in every way! My expectations surprised me by even existing, then my disappointment was a shock, the fact that there were 8 pregnant girls in attendence strikes me mute... I was really surprised (and a bit elated) when I began coaching the yeller sitting in front of me and he took the coaching! I had some crazy commentary... this was truly another piece of diana history, the big grand sociology experiment which I am. A drunk girl fell on us and flashed a bleacher full of rednecks. Only two of 26 fighters bled (externally). There was a lot of wrestling, dancing... even some praying. Not a lot of fighting. Lisa thinks the first three minutes should be used to insult one another, so at least there'd be some adreneline flowing. I spent lots of time talking to the yeller, who turns out to be a pretty cool guy. We met up for a beer after the match and ended up talking until 5 am.
Sunday ended up strange, too... I slept with my cell phone, in case David called for church in the am -nope- We got up in time to go to Aunt Karna's for lunch... JamieJason came up with the rest of their family and Jon was in good spirits... what a great day! (Pictures to come!). Wrassled a bit with jason - he's huge!- someday, I'll kick his ass without having to fight like a girl... until then, I won like a girl! Brian called and was desperate to play some disc golf - I'm not good, but I'm a hell of a lot of fun. Brian sold the park to an incredibly tired Hayden and he joyfully came with us. At Tuthill Park, a hot-air balloon was half filled on the lawn, readying for take-off. Hayden bee-lined for the spectacle and we got front row viewing of the amazing process... we stood in awe until the wind took it over the tree line and out of sight. We threw the bottom few holes, tossed a disc for Buddha, laughed A LOT, I pushed Hayden on the swings and coached him on jumping off... I walked thru the thick, cool grass with bare feet (Hannah would say: Hannahbear feet)... I was high to just be alive for such a peaceful, joyful moment.

Rockin my Unschooling World

I'm moved to tears over this community... Amazing beings spanning the whole of humanity, hearing me, knowing me, supporting me, loving me -- and the biggest surprise of all: being inspired by me. Most days, really, I'm just a regular ole' diana, the girl with big dreams and big ideals, who believes (mistakenly) her life is an island (and not Cuba, either, there's no major land mass in sight). As extroverted as I may be, still it's a huge chore to get the boat ready and row across the span to make human contact. I've got Big Love and I wanna squeeze it into every crack of my family (dna not required) and spackle all the damage left from lives lived long before. It's that Love that makes me row even when my arms are burning so hot my heart will melt. It's the Gratitude I have for every sensation that rolls thru me, heart, mind and soul; Bodhicitta.
When I think of all these strong women, making their children's worlds a LOT better and thereby insuring the whole wide world will be a bit better, I am proud to count myself among them, for them to know that our world is better for them in it... the Wisdom is almost palatable, it is certainly visible and tangible; it's big pink, swirly, sparkly love. It's that always better second option that comes from nowhere. It's drumming, birkenstocks, TV (Family Guy!), organic food, belly dancing, Australia, movies (almost said good, but sometimes the bad ones remind me of them too ), singing, red hair, connections, cellphones, bread breaking, dreams, Japan, wine & whine, cheese & cheesy, evolution, bugs, G-d, Girl Scouts, guitars, COFFEE, guacamole, Bob Marley & The Clash, poetry, neighbors, man-skirts, babies, Mommy Milk, candles, womanhood, child hair smell, video games, dry ice, mashed potatoes, bare feet, China, vacuuming... it's in every molecule of my life, it is the heart of unschooling.
For when I can't find my own calm, knowing I can borrow someone else's ... There is not enough thanks in this universe. If you need mine, feel free.