Thematic Photographic - Round 5

What a happy discovery today, this photo!
Perhaps a nudge from the universe to break out the Marble Madness ♥

Unconscious Mutterings

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Soul :: Man
   
2. Fold :: Cranes
   
3. Breakup :: and Makeup
   
4. Will :: Won't
   
5. Fond :: and Often
   
6. Powers :: are amazing!
   
7. ho-hum :: life still worth living?
   
8. Hustle :: Do it!
   
9. Avenue :: of the Americas
   
10. Tower :: of Doom

Daggummit, now I'm all dancy antsy pantsy!
Here are "Scenes from Hawthorne Elementary PE with Mr. Bush, 1973" Please imagine you're watching small white children in red polyester gym uniforms.

ABC Meme

A - Age:
My 365 blog tells my I've posted 344 times. That means I'm 40 344/365 which roughly comes out to: I'll *be* 41 on may 27.

B - Bed size: Queen

C - Chore you hate:
Yes, I hate chores.

D - Dog's name:
Charlie the unicorn *snort* Jennerson

E - Essential start-your-day item: pooping stool (as in, where I put my feet so to easily poop!)

F - Favorite color: green, green, green.

G - Gold or Silver: Platinum

H - Height: After a chiropractic adjustment I might be 5'2"

I - Instruments you play(ed): Violin first, then clarinet... I can read music and pluck out a song on the piano. I am surrounded now by many instruments, I imagine I'm sure to pick one up (I'm bringing a guitar to Life is Good, ladies & Frank! :::deep breath::: gonna do it!)

J - Job title: Supermom, Baking Goddess, Interpreter Extraordinaire, Fabulous Girlfriend ;)

K - Kid(s): Hayden, 10.5; Hannah 1996-2006 ^i^

L - Living arrangements: With Super Cool Boyfriend, Amazing Son and Big Black Dog

M - Mom's name: DeLila

N - Nicknames: Mah, Mom, (the whole Stewie list); Scotty brought D into my life and it kinda makes me crazy because my mom is called Dee, but it's now pervasive enough with the gang I roll with it :) Mostly I just like to be called diana.

O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: death, Hannah's - that was night 12 for us.

P - Pet Peeve: weird, icky, meanness. especially delivered in a saccharine package. most especially from parent to child.

Q - Quote from a movie: "As you wish" Princess Bride

R - Right or left handed: Yep, though like Zaphod, I'd like a 3rd option most days :D

S - Siblings: Thomas, 39, Linda, soon 38 and DeAnna, soon 19

T - Time you wake up: lately I've been awake by 8:30 am. It will change soon and often.

U- Underwear: cotton, boy cut. The current stash is from Old Navy.

V-Vegetable you dislike: Bell Peppers. really.

W - Ways you run late: Parenting can sometimes take more time than I budget.

X - X-rays you've had: teeth, head (jaw), spine, knees

Y - Yummy food you make: I make a great chocolate sheet cake, cinnamon rolls & snickerdoodles :D Gonna make me some brownies, right now!

Z - Zoo favorite: that song by Raffi
mama's takin us to the zoo tomorrow, zoo tomorrow, zoo tomorrow,
mama's takin us to the zoo tomorrow, so we can play all day.
Goin' to the zoo, zoo, zoo,
How about you, you, you?
You can come too, too, too
We're goin' to the zoo, zoo, zoo!

And I really liked our camel named Humphrey, who is the same age as Hannah. Mitch took her to his naming ceremony, they were 9 months old, and she got to "sit" on him :D Oh, at the Great Plains Zoo, in Sioux Falls.

Thematic Photographic - Round 4

Venice Beach is a favorite destination for me and the boy
(Scotty'd like it too, if he believed California even exists - he's not seen it...)
It's in the little details I find comfort...There's something special about monogrammed 'manhole covers ♥

I feel much safer now!

The police. To protect and serve...
My question is questions are:
~Who needs to be protected from a peaceful intoxicated naked guy at an outdoor music festival? [pssst the cops are ALL naked under their clothes!!];
~Who is being served by public displays of excessive violence against a naked wizard?;
~Are Tasers recommended for use directly over one's heart or brain stem?;
and lastly and most importantly:
~Are we getting our money's worth from these so-called public servants?
Tax dollars at work.
Disturbing, I ain't gonna lie.
[photo is a still from the video]

Thematic Photographic - Round 3

Peace signs are RoundMy inner hippie loves a car with a Peace sign as it's symbol ♥ My inner sociologist loves that a car born of connected deeply with bigotry and genocide has a Peace sign as it's symbol ♥ My inner pinup girl can't wait to have black and white nude photographs taken of her lounging on a car with a Peace sign as it's symbol ♥ My inner steel worker loves the tank like qualities of a car with a Peace sign as it's symbol ♥ My inner Me likes to write a Peace sign as it's symbol over and over again ♥

The Right Way

I'm historically not-so-good at doing this life thing the right way. I was told on several occasions that I was not grieving the right way, though no one cared to exactly model the right way to behave once one is widowed followed by the death of one's child 5 years later. There seemed an overwhelming need to cluck and judge about the right way to Live *my* Life.
Thankfully, I've learned to avoid putting stock in the right way and instead do what works and what brings Joy into my life.
Then someone makes mention of the right way to celebrate Easter. Greetings were sent to those celebrating Easter for the right reasons. Oh that phrase got stuck in my craw!! For the right reasons.
I know it especially stuck with me this year because I was feeling this crazy undercurrent of missing Easter with Hannah. Deep and raw and empty, my wounded Holy Day. I know I don't have to have this conversation with myself, I can think other thoughts. And yet I really wanted to buy matchy-matchy Easter dresses with my daughter. I really wanted to participate in all that is Spring and Fresh-- with HER. And I harbored my resentment. I held down that which I thought I shouldn't feel. I quieted what I felt I shouldn't be thinking. Which took so much energy, I once again missed out on giving Hayden the holiday he deserved. (there is no room to harbor guilt, simply another opportunity to muster it up and give what I got right the fuck now to the "kid who's still alive")
[if you read the thing about Saving Grace, it was the final episode that broke this dam and forced all the oozing grief outta me... which is why I can even write about it now]
So, sans my annual Easter Ritual of Joy, yet fortified by the bounty of Springtime 1/2 price chocolates, I bring my right way/right reasons response here. So it doesn't have to live in my head anymore.
Messiahfying Easter's Spring Rites is not celebrating Easter for the right reasons. Easter and Resurrection Sunday are two different Holy Days, often celebrated at the same time, with the same candy, with the same sacred reverence; not, not, not the same holiday. Easter came first. Jesus might even have celebrated it; afterall, he did love himself some Pagans! And who doesn't smile at the thought of Spring's first blooms and some extra special candies? Then there's that whole resistance He had to doing anything the right way. WWJD? Let Joy happen where it happens. There is no right way or right reason to be happy. Amen.
And Happy Easter! ♥

Thematic Photographic - Round 2

You spin me right round, baby, right round... She's got the whole world in her hands...First time, ever I saw your face...Joy to the fishies in the deep blue sea,
Joy to you and me...This little lady's been waiting months for her blog debut,
Thanks to Carmi for creating such a perfect opportunity!
Click here to see the whole of my pictures for this project ♥

Thematic Photographic - Round

I was lucky to have been gifted with a reuseable coffee cozy.
My friend Robyn made it and I used it faithfully...
until I left it in a classroom on campus.
I'm calmed by the thought that someone will be using it somewhere, someday
and they'll hear Hey, the sign language lady has one of those!
Now I've made some of my own.
Well, one of my own and several more to share ♥
I'll unveil them at the LIFE is Good Conference,
so we'll be able to tell our Starbucks apart.
That's right, we're gonna be drinking Starbucks all weekend.
Venti Soy Mocha no whip.
That didn't hurt a bit much.
~♥~
This week's theme is Round.
Who might be Photographic?
My eye surprises.

Thematic Photographic - Floral 7

I couldn't do it, I couldn't post a week's worth of flower pictures,
only to leave out my out of season favorites! ♥ Morning Glories ♥These here are last summer's 1st generation Oregonian
'glories, grown from seeds from Sandra Dodd's backyard.
I'm gonna fortify the places I know they like to grow,
and I'm hoping for some 2nd generation bloomers.


A not very well-kept secret: I take pictures of the new blooms almost every day.
I say almost so you don't think I'm crazy enough
to actually do it every.single.day.
I am.