dinner at 10pm

i am grateful for beans and rice. today after our bus ride we got some beans, rice and tortillas for lunch and then hung out at the shop with tomas for a bit. by 10pm we realized that we should probably eat again. joshua got in a good surf. 3 times up on the 'herbie fletcher' and came back smiling!! it is hot and great! bring on the surfers! we confirmed our first reservation today.

day 1 in sayulita

what a day!! we got our 5 pieces of check on bags, 1 surfboard box, 1 cat and 4 carry ons in the car, through 2 airports, customs and security with little trouble. we scored a rather cheap van to bring us to town. there was construction, traffic and the guy running with the olympic torch. fun stuff. when we got to town we had to back track due to the bridge being out but with a trusty driver and some 4-bying we made it to town AND THEN, the driver floored it up our hill only to stall at the top. all the gasoline was at the back of the tank and he had to back down/turn around to get it started. but we didn't have to carry all our stuff to the top of the hill by hand. thank god. bodo did well. he was panting and a little unhappy, but seems to be recovering pretty well. he now has a proper litter box, food and water. sleeping was a challenge with the heat and new noises but that will settle down with time. adjustment is the key. met back up with all my friends from before, drank beer and even checked out an apartment in the square above the 'fish taco restaurant'. not ideal space but will do if we don't find something a bit better. it was a good price and location. ($300 a month) and a block from the shop. sweat sweat and more sweat. : )

last day in LA

i am grateful for a wonderful stay in LA with joshua's mom and meeting more of his family and friends.

hookah

i am thankful for garage space at joshua's mom's house. it is amazing how little and how much we are taking to mexico for 6 months. we hung out with a couple of joshua's friends. it was a great day of repacking and enjoying the last days of american conveniences and pleasures. flushing toilet paper in the toilet, mint ice cream, large screen (english) tv, LA mexican food, speaking english all the time, crosswalks, stop lights, quiet neighbors...

malibu

i am thankful drives through malibu. (when i am not driving) it was great to see the ocean again, meet more of joshua's wonderful family and eating more LA mexican food!!

driving

i am thankful for arriving in LA safely... 21 hours early and realizing that, i AM a long distance driver. we have a couple of days here with joshua's family, running errands and picking up the last of our supplies before we hit sayulita.

travel

i am thankful for enough energy to drive from portland to redding... with ease. here is to trying to make it to LA by tomorrow night. woo hoo!

vans rock

i am thankful for the mini van and all its hide-able seats, that and i can fill with every worldly possession i have left.

last hoo rrrah!

i started out the day packing and organizing. camesha, nyah, sophie (and bryan in spirit) can over and we played in the yard and ate sandwiches. then april, alice (and kyle in spirt) came over and we drank a bottle of wine. next... tiff picked me up and we picked up kate and drove to erin's place. (my old apartment) and had LOTS of wine and smokes. we talked about now, before and what is to come. we laughed and smiled until our cheeks hurt. and then i said goodbye to portland in THE hug to erin. i have a hard time saying how much love went through and through our tears... it was amazing!!! love. just love.

i am thankful to portland and the girl send of i received today. it was the BEST send of, to end my time living 9.5 years here. my gratitude that i feel for this home is immense and grand.

i love you!

sold

i am grateful for people who want to buy my stuff. i sold my car and the futon today. it IS happening.

best day

i am so thankful!!!!!!!!! i just made my dream come true on my father's birthday. more importantly... i made my gradma vi's dream come true... i spoke with my dad and wished him a happy birthday. (without barfing... ha ha ha) and joshua told me i made his dream come true, too.
i am blessed and on the right path. thank you all for love and support. it is an example of, when you follow your heart, and do no harm... you can make others happy.

sold

2 things left to sell; the car and the futon. i have a hand shake on the car and i'll do a craigslist on the futon. i am thankful for great timing... things always work out as they are meant to.

party

i am grateful for all my portland, eugene and seattle peeps that came out to wish me luck in mexico. you will all be missed!

contract

i am thankful for nike contract work. it will offset the money i am losing on selling my car. pretty cool deal; charge more, work at home, sleep in... and hopefully be able to help out again when i get down south.

victor

i am so grateful for victor. we had tons of beer and memories this evening. it was a blast to catch up and just 'be' with victor. one of the great men of the world. i have been a part of his life, which makes me a very, very lucky person.

no consumption

today i spent no money. sounds easy... but for what ever reason (life) it seems that i spend money every day. food, books, bills... whatever. but today. i had a lovely day and no money escaped my grasp. (not that i want to hoard. i just don't want to spend) i am grateful for days of 'in' and not 'out'. i am in transition, of turning my life into something... more simple. more quiet. more satisfying. more moments. more... important.

nike/car

i am thankful for movement. today i started some contract work with my old group at nike which could give me some cash down south and less pressure on the business. also the woman that looked at my car on friday wants to talk numbers tomorrow... here's to positive movement forward.

brownies

yes. i am thankful them, too. (homemade!)

spaghetti

i am thankful for homemade spaghetti and sauce, with bread (roasted garlic, tomatoes, sweet peppers and herbs). YUM!!

hugo and elaine

when it comes to 'last meals' in portland... i hit the jackpot today. first was lunch at hugo's with baja fish tacos and ceviche made with mexican love from the home land. it was a sunny day filled with love and hugs.
dinner was beef bourguignon made by elaine's husband, matt, for elaine's birthday. WOW! it was accompanied by appetizers, (fine) homemade wines, ports, desserts and amazing friends.
i am so grateful for friends and family, that when i say, "see you later." it means that. i am thankful for my friends here in portland... the gravity of my situation is starting to sink in. i am going to miss my friends and portland. i am amazed daily by what i have built here...
thank you!

sarah and leana

i am so grateful for new friends, sarah and leana. i have only known them briefly and now i am leaving, but i feel a wonderful friendship with them and hope that it continues. i am sending big hugs to them and their journeys.

bethy, kimi and leslie

i am grateful for my girls. i laughed so hard tonight and got the good lovin' that is so precious. i love you!!

nice

it was a busy and relaxing day. did a bunch of work in the garage. i am so close to having all the 'shit' thrown out and all the other stuff organized. this afternoon i spent some time at the bathtubs and got a massage. sometimes it is so nice to be pampered and given love... from a stranger, that asks nothing in return.

today i am most thankful for being at the tubs and seeing naked bodies. short ones, tall ones, fat ones, skinny ones, dark ones, light ones... soaking in a 'people soup', just enjoying feeling of the water and air on their skin; what ever skin you're in.

back

i am thankful that my back is feeling a bit better after my seattle tv injury. i have hot tub and massage scheduled for tomorrow. yeah!!

b/g/a

i am thankful for ben, gretchen and addie. i will miss them and having them so near. i love you!!

hot tub

i am thankful for erin's hot tub. it made my (tv watching injury) hurt shoulder feel a little better.

indian

i am making a list of, 'last meals' and today indian food came up on my list. so erin and rona found a great place in their neighborhood. YUM!!

i am grateful for the plethera of food in seattle. (and portland)

near and dear

i'm in seattle for the weekend... making my rounds and seeing friends.
i am thankful for my near and dear friend, rona and her lovely backyard.

crystal

i am thankful for an evening with crystal. for a couple of years crystal was the first smiling face i saw in the morning at work. she made me breakfast and gave me the energy to make it through my day. today we hung out and had beers together. what a wonderful woman. thank you.

rose quartz and lavender

i am grateful for my long friendship with mark and kari. they move to washington this weekend and i am sad see them go and even more excited to see them begin a new chapter in their lives.

today kari gave me a small purse of lavender she got from a 'crazy' lady and some rose pedals from her 'passion party' a while back. the other sweet gift is a rose quartz heart stone.

hustle

i am thankful for a great day of hustling. we got tons of work done today on the house, the business... and enjoyed the whole day of working for ourselves.