Tuesday, July 31, 2007

good one for all of us

"I still need more healthy rest in order to work at my best. My health is the main capital I have and I want to administer it intelligently."
-- Ernest Hemingway

Monday, July 30, 2007

WANTED: Chainsaw for Killer Plants

Got home when it was still light out and the husband was mowing the front yard so I decided to put my brand new dragonfly gardening gloves to good use and get out there too. I began by trimming some very big palms and then I went for the big plant bed full of palms and pine trees. It was like visiting the jungle. Not sure if anyone's been in this area ever. I pulled, grabbed, cut and cleared about five large black garbage bags full of limbs, pine needles, dead palms and a few items of trash. I was feeling pretty good about myself until...



The Spanish Bayonet...This thing is vicious! I noticed that the leaves at the bottom of the base were dying so I went in to strip them away from the trunk and unknowingly, OUCH! I got sliced. Just to make sure I wasn't imagining it all, I went in again and tried to grab another dead leaf and OUCH! Sliced again. I decided to back away from the little stabber of a plant and walk over to my Mr. Wonderful and as calmly as possible ask him, as blood is streaming down my arm,

"Honey...WHERE THE HECK IS THE CHAINSAW?"

He laughed and said, "You're not chopping that Spanish Bayonet down. What happened to your arm?"

I said, "Is that what that is? Hmmm..."

"Yea, did you touch it?...It's very sharp and dangerous. Are you okay? Do you need to go inside and put a bandage on that cut?"

"No, no (nervous laugh)...I'm fine. I didn't really notice that it was sharp."

I then repeated in what I thought was a stern tone, "Where's the chainsaw?"

He then reinforced his earlier response by saying, "You're not going to get rid of that palm tree. They're pretty."

I then began explaining to him (while bleeding) that we can't even maintain the stabbing foliage so to me it's ugly and unsafe and needs to go immediately. He seemed to believe that nature will take its course and things will remain nice without much blood loss from either one of us.

So after this episode, I went online. I did some digging (ba-dum bump) and I came across the following comment about the savage dagger:

This plant is impossible to get rid of once its in the ground. We moved into a new house and inherited about 30 of these. I have tried digging them out, poisoning them, nothing works. If a tiny shred of root remains, it will sprout a new plant. This is the bane of my yard!

Great! Just great!! I think we have three of them all in one corner of our yard. I guess it could be worse...We could have 30 like the person above but even three seems to be too many.

Anyway, I learned a lot the other day when working with plants:

1 - Get better gloves...The kind that goes up to your arm sockets so you won't get sliced. I love the green Dragonfly gloves but they're more for show. BTW, Mr. Wonderful did point this out to me when I bought them.
2 - Don't try to trim or prune anything you haven't been formally introduced to either by your husband or by online research.
3 - Have a chainsaw handy so that no one can argue with you about your impulsive behavior. It's not wise to mess with a woman and her chainsaw.
4 - If you haven't helped in the yard and only been maintaining the inside of the house, don't come home and get ambitious. You're doing just fine making sure the laundry is done and the floor is vacuumed.

Saturday, July 28, 2007

My funny valentine...


Contemporary Comes A Long Way

the view from my room (above and below)

my room (below):


I really enjoyed staying at the Contemporary Resort. They've done a lot of upgrades to the place and the rooms were very comfortable. There's a lot of noise in the center area of the hotel due to the character meals going on all day. The monorail is so convenient and you can get anywhere on Disney property in 10-20 minutes which is great.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

catching up with an old friend

DragonFLY and Minnie at HDPR - to think, I almost wore a dress just like hers...

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Before I forget...

thanks so much to all who continue to making the world, the one i live in, such a beautiful place:

-- mr. w for waking me up in the morning and making me laugh. the man is funny...not just saying that. he really, really is.
-- my mother who called me yesterday to let me know that i should stop drinking carbonated drinks. for the record, i don't eat carbonated drinks. apparently, it heightens your risk for heart failure. love my momma!
-- the fun folks at the house...especially the yearbook crew. that thing has turned into a great way to keep the connections going no matter who doesn't particpate.
-- the bug man for calming mr. w's nerves with the super treatment throughout the house and yard. as i told everyone, he can swim with sharks and wrestle snakes but when it comes to roaches, he's screams like a girl.
-- my soccer friends on and off the field. it's such a great group of people who all have a common goal (yes, i did...)
-- my be frie who in a matter of two minutes can save my world and have me laughing. she never ceases to amaze me.
-- the shop-meister for loving it as much as i do and for telling me the truth. so proud of you for so many reasons!
-- mr.w's friend gordon for the nice visit over the weekend and for keeping it real and making it real fun.
-- js for being js. love her.
-- my next door neighbors. they're out of town but doing simple things for them like checking their porch for packages just feels good. we share the block, we might as well be friends.
-- mcwyatt for staying cool no matter where we go or how much we dance.
-- my nephews from jville for visiting and keeping things so exciting.
-- the good pr people who are taking hdpr to a whole new level. it's finally here!
-- my father-in-law for all he does for us that we know about and don't know about
-- to best brother and his girl who turned 30 today for making such a beautiful baby
-- both of my friends gin-g and rowi and how peaks and valleys are here and before us but we know that we can carry through...we have to. it's way too hard to not.
-- even grateful today for the friends who don't call me back...i only hope that they're ok and that i'm thinking of them.
-- for my jenny who called me today from Shanghai! five months and she's back for a visit!!
-- for the "friends" who have purposely sought to hurt me and/or the people i love. i am thankful for you and for knowing the truth. saw a quote today..."time will prove what reason can't."
-- for Him and His grace...the kind that keeps me going no matter what comes along to trying to knock the wind out of me.
-- to me and the possibilities that are yet ahead and the choices i have yet to make.

Saturday, July 21, 2007

Friday, July 20, 2007

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

i'd rather be swimming.

Mr. Wonderful and I enjoying the beautiful Florida Keys in 2005.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO TIM (not pictured)
AND JMO (miss photogenic herself)!!

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Saturday with the Sun and Moon in NYC

So, Soli and I went everywhere on Saturday. I saw parts of the city that I had never seen before and we walked a lot, talked a lot and ate some good food. Oh yea...We shopped too! Here's almost everything we did. I will try and insert what I don't have photos of:

1 - We ate a huge breakfast at our hotel for FREE. Our table was completely full of food. So good and very helpful in order to focus on shopping at our next activity.

2 - Street Fair. Right outside our hotel was this festival that had tons of stuff to buy and look at and food galore. It was so much fun and something I had never seen before.



We both bought some cute clothes from this little booth. Really sweet shirts and dresses from Avalove.

Was not even a teeny bit hungry...I knew that for sure when I saw the candy apples behind me and was not at all sad I had to keep on walking by.


3 - Changed, packed our bags and all ready to go to Times Square. But before we leave, here's Soli touching the real grass outside our hotel entrance. Such a fabulous place to stay!

4 - On our way to Union Square Street Market...It just happened to be something we passed to get to the subway. How incredibly convenient!


5 - Union Square Subway. Ready to board...It was so hot down there.


6 - Soli excited about seeing the Lion King...I think she wore yellow just to coordinate with the show decor.

We made it to Lion King! So happy!!

7 - Soli and I had 30 minutes so we decided to step into Carmine's for a quick bite before the show. We met Mike and Kevin who were most helpful to us as we planned to rest of our day.


The view of the street from the second floor of the Minskoff Theatre.

8 - After the show which by the way was absolutely beautiful! We headed to the Manhattan Mall to get a peek at the new Sarah Jessica Parker line called BITTEN. Didn't get any photos of that since it was a complete madhouse. I did, however, get some great stuff and only spent $70. It was great!!
8 1/2 - WALKING, WALKING AND MORE WALKING


9 - We made it to dinner -- SPICE. Soli reviewing the menu...we are sooooooo hungry! It was the Thai Food Eating Olympics. We had 45 minutes to eat and get our bags to make it to the airport.


10 - At the airport and so exhausted. Wearing my new earrings -- silver leaves. Ready for home and for some relaxation...

Saturday, July 14, 2007

Inspiration Friday in NYC

Slept in a little and had a nice big breakfast before heading out into the city. Took the subway from Union Square to Time Square to check on the show tickets. Afterward, I headed to MOMA for the first time and was absolutely in awe. I was so inspired and so humbled and so aware of how much creativity is available to everyone. It makes me ask the question too about WHAT IF Monet or Richard Serra decided that their idea wasn't any good and chose not to express it on canvas or through sculpture? Total tragedy...


On my way to the subway...Union Square.

Inside MOMA from the 5th floor looking down on the second. This place was amazing...hence, the following art pieces that are displayed there:




Dan Perjovschi
Soli got back to the hotel at about 5:30 from her conference and we headed out with 24/7 to a few places. Really nice people and enjoyed being out and about...

Soli and I at Bar 13 on Friday the 13th!
Soli and her peeps from 24/7
The most intense 23 year old ever...Hope he made it to his date!
In the cab on our way to the Meatpacking District to eat at buddha-bar. So good...It was so good. I took photos of our food below. Mind you, it was much better in person but I tell you it was well worth the trip to eat and hang out in this restaurant.


We ended up stopping in a place called Revel...It reminded me of Pat O'Brien's in New Orleans. There was a garden in the back...Pat O's is much better but we stayed for a little bit and took in the social scene and then headed back in a cab to the hotel.

Monday, July 09, 2007

mind pour -- what's with secrets?

JUST BECAUSE IT'S YOUR SECRET, DOESN'T MEAN IT'S TRUE.
Glinda

how many times in life do you know the truth about something or someone but no one else seems to see it? do you tell? do you keep it to yourself? i have kept secrets before for people...secrets that could've damaged a situation or a person's reputation. i read once that secrets are like stars -- hot, volatile, concentrations of energy. it's true. they can be so powerful.

the worst part of holding onto a secret is watching yours fall out in the open by the very person you've been "protecting" for however long. i've seen it...from a distance and up close and personal.

i can't say that i choose to hold on to secrets much these days. if a friend needs me to be discreet or a shoulder to cry on, i'm there. but many times, it's not secretive stuff...it's just life. what's interesting is when releasing a "secret" out there, so many times the letting go allows someone else to be inspired and possibly do the same because they either have a similar secret or they know how you feel about what you've been keeping inside. your choices, your actions, cause things to happen around you and they cause things to happen in other people.

whatever your secret may be...however "bad" or "good" just remember that it only exists that way because you choose it to. ask yourself what it would look like if you just let it go?

Friday, July 06, 2007

Happy Birthday Be Frie Hubby!

Hope it's a beautiful day with your new little one...First birthday as a daddy --
HOW SPECIAL IS THAT! Enjoy!
"Hallelujah! Find rest in the King of Heaven..."


Thursday, July 05, 2007

workin' out in appreciation

back at work day and the traffic was light so i wasn't annoyed or frustrated on my way in. did get coffee on the way (always a plus) and caught up on emails (plus plus). it was quiet since a lot of people are out celebrating (extra plus) which means i had a chance to catch up on some of those to do's that get pushed back due to others' to do's.

left the office and went to work out. such an awesome session. we did cardio, pilates, yoga and then ended the session with some thai massage. who wouldn't want to work out for that? even though i haven't made major progress, it feels great to be following a program that requires me to stretch a bit further than i normally do. soccer is great but i like the pace of the sessions. calming and concentrated. plus, i don't get as many bruises and dirty from the grass.

headed to ID for a quick carry out order. ran into jk and talked for awhile. i love their hot tea. it's never the same when i make it at home. it must be environmental or something. k. (restaurant owner) gave me a necklace and bracelet as well as some tea from Taiwan. she is so sweet.

it's days like these when everything seems to be in motion and time is full of good moments that i breathe in and i breathe out the gratitude i have for everything right where it is. i'm surrounded with those who have been brought into my life so we can continue our growth and our journeys to fulfilling our passions and our dreams. i have no regrets, no incompletes, just presence and possibilities. so grateful...so thankful. amen.

Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Happy 4th of July!

Yea so this day was rather long and I was thinking it would be a day off but quite the contrary. I woke up around 6 a.m. and met up with Mr. Wonderful at Mead Gardens for the Watermelon Run. Took photos of the crew and then came back home. Did a few errands along the way. Then, after Mr. W. took a quick dip in the pool and showered, we headed to a friend's 4th Bash/Housewarming in a new neighborhood. Their house was so brand new and huge...5 bedrooms and 3 full baths. Really sweet! Ate party food until my stomach hurt and then headed to Rock Star Family house for some more party food and fireworks. Since Mr. Wonderful was running on fumes, we decided to take off right as the fire in the sky was happening. He couldn't hold his eyes open. I have photos of the festivities that I will post soon. Overall, it was a great celebration of our Independence Day! So glad I have good friends to share it with and a great guy to go along with me. Muah to ya!

Tuesday, July 03, 2007

naps in the afternoon

so, today was a particularly nice day because i was home. did a few things but nothing too overwhelming. i read a few things in the "reading" room and then took a nice afternoon nap. it was so refreshing. i think i overdid it a bit on the weekend so it was a good catch up. i look forward to using this new part of the house that is finally semi-clean. i still need more book shelves...don't we all. i guess it's a good problem to have. i think offices should allow optional nap time. i was more productive after a shot of sleep. something to think about when making policy changes or giving feedback about what's missing in corporate america. :-)

Monday, July 02, 2007

inspiration meets inspiration


Kathy called me on Sunday afternoon about her meeting up with Senator Barack Obama. She was so excited and said that it was an amazing experience. She also said that I would've enjoyed it too! Wish I could've been there with her. Check her and Angel out above with the Senator. To think, we had the same type of photo of the three of us the night before...I think I can hang with Barack. :-)