snack

i am thankful for avacado, tomato, lime and chips. (or any variation that includes said ingredients)

weather

i am thankful for sunshine on the front porch and a down pour on the back.

laundry

i am grateful for joshua. i come everyday to a smiling face and clean house. today the laundry was sorted!! woo hoo!!

water

a couple of weeks ago i went to see a naturopath. after an hour and a half long visit, she gave me somethings to work on and try. more 'movement', deep breathing, taking some drops, eating certain seeds/nuts during different times of the month and drinking 80+ ounces of water. i had no idea that a gallon of water is equal to 128 ounces. yikes. have you ever tried to drink more than a half gallon of water in a day? let me tell ya', it will keep you busy. yesterday i did it. i drank more than half a gallon at work and another 4 big glasses at home. we'll see how i do tomorrow.

i am thankful for water. inside and outside of my body.

i would love to go swim in the ocean at my favorite beach in mazatlan today!

in bloom

wow! the trees, flowers and shrubs are all in full bloom now. joshua and i took a walk in our neighborhood, down by the golf course. i believe i heard him say something like... "i love our new neighborhood."

i am thankful for long walks in the sun, wearing flip flops and seeing colors only nature could come up with.

home

i grateful to be home in my own bed, with my boys and all of our smells.

nair and pasta

nothing better than nair-ing your friends back for his big date! it was great to hang out with adam and do our once-every-two-year tradition. and also catch up and chat.

i am also thankful strangers on park benches on sunny days, pasta made by sabrina and good roof top conversation at sunset with the church bell chime.

thanks for a great vacation. relaxation, sister, girlfriends (adam included), new friends (todd) and over all unexpected merriment!!

flip flops

i am thankful for my walk to the store in flip flops, sunglasses and no jacket!! beautiful day in boston.

todd

i know some people on line. some for a long time, and we have never met. years... even.

tonight i met todd. and it was like finding a missing piece. i have seen his photos, read his words, know some of his stories and watched his daily life unfold. and today... we met in real life and let me tell you... what a treat!!!!!!!!!

i have found a lost friend. he is even more than i imagined. smart, funny, kind, thoughtful and i can say... a dear friend.

i am thankful for our years of sharing on line and now... our real life friendship. thank you, todd. you make the world a better place!! thanks for the drinks and conversation!

... way better than john malkovich! ha ha ha

public transport

what a day!! i took the subway and a bus to south boston to the ICA (modern art museum). what a building. inside and out. i saw john malkovich in the museum. not to mention to exhibits. one, a tattoo artist and illustrator from mexico and a photographer woman who's work was mainly done in iceland. very, very cool. my favorite part was sitting looking out over the water on a perfect day listening to the artist talk about water. lovely.

but what i am truly thankful for is the public transportation and all the strangers i saw. every color, shape and size! amazing... and all the new sights and smells. life!

carolina

i am grateful for carolina and all the time we had together.

i also spent some time alone in the square having lunch, reading and playing on the computer. a dreamy day... that ended with good food and laughs with adam, sabrina, carl and jen. just lovely!!

thanks for the new sights, sounds, smells, environment. i needed a new 'show'.

umbrella

as we walked around boston most of the day. we had crazy weather, like portland. it would be pouring rain on us and 2 feet away it would be sunny. it was a lot of fun, but i was thankful for the cheap umbrella (that is now dead) that kept us dry.

saturday

my sister. how wonderful it is to see her. in the matter of hours we have found a rythym that is so comfortable and perfect and easy. we are having so many special moments of sharing ideas, see new things together and just savor the time together.

i am soooo thankful to have such an amazing sister. it is hard to believe that she and i met in 1991 and our friendship and paths have only come closer with time.

friday

i love airports. i get in this strange space in my head. i wonder, do what i want... people watch and i realize how open i feel to things. i love it.

i am grateful the freedom to go place and see things.

luggage

i packed for boston today. 10 years ago i would have crammed everything in one little backpack. now i have a backpack, a check on piece and carry-one-rolly-bag. back when i was married i would have felt guilty for taking so much. but now... i revel in the fact, that i can take as much stuff as i want to. whether i use it all, doesn't matter.

i am thankful for luggage and more than enough cloths to take with me anywhere i want to go.

vi

today is grandma vi 94th birthday.

i am grateful for her.

she and i have developed a great friendship over the past few years. with her move from florida to the assisted living home in ohio, her emergency room visit while i was out to see her... and our recent phone conversations. she is a good teacher.

let the bad stuff just roll on by. she doesn't even remember the a bad time in her life.
laugh often.
share your life with people.
love.
have faith.
help where you can.
calls are better than cards.
travel when ever you can.
hope.
dream.
share.
be grateful.

prison

i have been slacking on doing my post the same day. oh well. that is just the way it is at the moment. my evenings have been filled with other thoughts.

we watched a comedy show last night where the comedian preformed in front of an audience of all female inmates. at the start of the show she was talking with some of the women. there was one woman that was sentenced to 145 years in prison, and she looked about 2o years old. it was really sad.

if you didn't know this about me, i do not believe in the death penalty. i do not think one (or more) deaths justifies another death. of course sentencing someone to 145 years is ridiculous. for me, the part that bugs me is... this idea that people are dispensable, unforgivable, unworthy, unworthy of forgiveness or unable to change. i am not saying that there are people out there that shouldn't be in prison for 145 years... but there is something flawed in the system. where is rehabilitation? where is change? where is the forgiveness? where is, working towards making things right? ... moving forward? ...making the imprisoned life 'worth' something?

i am grateful for not being in prison and knowing... 'that i am one bad decision away from being your cellmate.' we all are.

adam

today i talked with adam. one of my boston friends that i am looking forward to seeing next week. i am grateful for a herd of friends that i will get to play with on my trip to bean town. (including adam and BEAN!)

boston

i am grateful for vacations. i leave on friday morning to go to boston to see sabrina, adam, todd and my sister carolina. it is going to be a great week!!

projects

i am thankful for this project and not feeling guilty about not typing this last night.

phone

last night i chatted on the phone A LOT!! it was so great to catch up with loved ones.

i am grateful for cellphones, so i can sit in my backyard and talk for hours and hours while looking at the lovely outdoors.

paul

i am grateful for paul and the lovely gift he sent me today!! big hugs to my friend pauly.

all day

i am grateful for no meetings tomorrow. at least the all day kind.

and being able to shut my brain off from work (mostly) once i get home. some days are harder than others, but for the most part, my time at home is filled with only with home-y things.

meetings

i am grateful for the sunshine i saw in the middle of the work day and dinner made and presented to me with a smile after a long, long day of meetings.

freiya

i came home to the perfect home today. clean, full of food and fun!! i also received international mail from my pen-pal. lucky, lucky me!! chocolates, something to build, a photo book she created, a key chain, mix cd and the loveliest card.

i am so grateful for freiya. she has been a wonderful friend, AMAZING pen pal and an inspiration through her creativity and humor. i hope to one day share a pint and a huge hug, in gratitude for her friendship.

naps

i am grateful for sunday's. books to read, naps, homemade food and movies.

ben

oh ben. one of my first friends in portland and first 'boyfriend' here. we have come along way since '01. relationships, his marriage, his baby, my relationships, moving.... and through it all we are still the best of friends, with such a great connection. he has not only given me his love and friendship, but through him, his wife and i have found an amazing friendship and bond that is so dear to me. AND their daughter, addie, has become such a light in my life as well. all of them full of sweetness and love that can not be measured, only enjoyed!

i am grateful for this family and ben and i's early friendship that cultivated this wonderful union. they are my family!! i love you.

ella

i am grateful for having had 'ella' in my life.

i met her and sabrina around '05 when we lived together. (with epi) ella is such a wonderful, sweet, fun... chubba-wuabba kitty. tomorrow the world says good bye to our little girl. she has been sick for sometime and at age 13... she will die in the arms of the person she loves the most and loves her the most. my heart goes out to ella and sabrina. i love you both.

john

i am thankful for john, halcyon, styn.

i am inspired by his actions, words and what he shares with people. he lets his light shine so bright, never dimming to make others 'feel better'. but shows we all can do more, one action, one smile, one hug, one gift at a time. showing others that being the best version of yourself, lets others be their best version.

john's latest cause