Day 48

And this is how the majority of my afternoon and evening was spent...

Day 47

Last week at some point I noticed in the mirror for the first time that I was loosing weight - I joked that "my triple chin had reduced to something of a double." :) Today I had another monument - my jeans (admittedly my largest pair) were too loose to be comfortable on me at work today. They kept on moving around too much. Then this evening when I got home I *drumroll* took off my jeans without unbuttoning them. Just whipped them right off.

Tonight I put in a good workout to the point that I was dripping sweat.

That's right. Gittin' sexy.

Day 46

Tonight I had the tremendous honor of hennaing the head of a very fun and courageous woman going through cancer treatments. She had a party with a remarkable number of friends and family, all there to support her through her ordeal, and she had me come to henna her and her guests. It is one of the joys of being a henna artist, being able to bring more beauty into the people's lives that need it.

Day 45

Good long day of relaxing on the couch. Just what I needed.

Day 44

This evening, since Dan was down at the farm, I went to trivia night at Makeda. My team got third place! Considering the fact that I have only gone to trivia nights twice ever I thought that was pretty good

Here's hoping for a relaxing weekend. Getting up so early to work really puts a cramp on my style.

Day 43

Following up on my success from yesterday, I went and fliered Eastlake - and had a conversation with the very interested owner of the 14 Carrot Cafe about hanging my art there too!

This is going to be an amazing business opportunity, all this fliering. I'm going to be scheduling myself out through the whole year, if I'm lucky. And hopefully one or two per neighborhood, so I get coverage all over town!

I'll remember to take pictures as I go around, too. Yesterday there were some cool shots I could have gotten while I was walking, but I was so nervous and caught up in the whole experience of fliering that I couldn't manage to pull out my iphone! (although I used it to write notes in a bunch of places.)

Here's the henna I'm sporting for this round of neighborhoods.

Day 42

I realized today that I have been very unscientific about my life improvement. I can't tell you if I'm feeling good because of the nearly daily dancing, the wheat free diet, the morning time in front of the sunlamp. I know it's a combo of all, but I can't tell you which part of it is the awesomest!

Today I went around a few neighborhoods and not only to put fliers up, but I also booked one show and have two more potentials in the works. Gooooooo me!!

Day 41

For my flyering around town, this evening I got about 90% done with a carry sack for my equipment! Fliers, thumb tacks, tape, a little mini portfolio, and my business cards all sit in their own little pouches. I love fat quarters. :)

Day 40

MAN. I was having SUCH a good day...I got the news my dad's getting discharged from the SCCA at the end of the week. I was all ready to do projects and excited about them, I was running errands like a champ, and was almost done when...

BAM!!!!




IPHONE ON THE GROUND. Dropped it, right out of my hand face FLAT on the concrete outside the Fred Meyer. I'm pretty sure right now the glass is only being held together by the screen protector. Kudos to apple, the phone *still works*...it's just hard to see anything through the mess of fractures.

I have an apple store appointment in an hour. I'll update this post after...

*Update. They swapped out the phone (hefty fee) but now it won't activate. They couldn't figure it out, the verizon rep on the phone couldn't figure it out, the 3 verizon reps at the store (that I RACED to to get there before closing) couldn't figure it out. Bedtime soon, then I'll work on it again tomorrow. UGH!!!

Day 39

Honestly today was one of the most relaxing days I've had in a long time. Lots of couch time, husband cooked breakfast, dance central and a lovely evening hennaing my friends. I wish more days were like this!

Day 38

Some days my inner nonna comes out and I MUST make soul food.

Day 37

Today's photos are brought to you by the word "THAW."

Day 36

Today's photos are courtesy of my mother, who's holed up in Olympia and says the breaking tree branches sound like gunshots.

Day 35

SNOW!!!!

Day 34

My mom asked for a close up pic of my dad so she could see how he's doing. I obliged.

Also, I know the cats are up to no good when they don't greet me at the door. I know there's a dusting of snow out there you guys, but is that any excuse to leave me hangin at the door? ;)

Day 33

My view of "snowmageddon" is pretty anticlimactic. Let's hope the weather doesn't decide to show me up one and dump 5 in overnight.

On another note, I threw my back out. I've been miserable all day. Sitting sucks big monkey balls. However, that didn't stop me from doing 30 mins on dance central tonight (it felt good!)

Day32

My god is there nothing this iPhone can't do? I'm updating my blog on this miraculous device. In other notables, it snowed this morning, and I've got some kind of bug.

Day 31

Today I had three lovely young ladies come in and get beautiful hennas at my shop. I love my job.

Day 30

Well, as a break from all the whoop-de-loo I've been going on with for the past few days, I got to spend the morning with Charlie.

http://youtu.be/5HDFzJoxzMg

Now that's a cute boy.

Day 29

The drugs they're giving my dad (they have him inhale it, by putting him in a tent, blowing the drug at him) is very harsh on him. He started off with 99% oxygen intake (very good!) and then this morning they've put him on an oxygen tank because in a day it dropped down to 88%. He's also coughing up blood, and that is distressing to him, even though they say it's normal. He feels like he's getting worse, which in a way I suppose he is, but it's the treatment doing it, not the cold, and it's hard to get him to understand that, or believe that. I'm spending as much time as possible with him, but the tent procedure requires that no-one's in the room with him, so the day is split up.

So my mother went down to Olympia to go see her doctor (her cold has gotten much worse) but before she could do that, she went home and discovered the house had been burlged. Strangely. Long story, no more then $1100 worth of stuff was stolen, and nothing very personal, however it's creepy to have someone go through your house.

I'm exhausted. The day never got much better just stranger as it went along.

Day 28

My dad got a cold a couple days after Christmas. They started monitoring him very closely, and what started as a sore throat turned into a snotty nose and a cough. They cultured him and discovered he has what's called RSV, an EXTREMELY common virus, something that nearly the entire population has had by the time they're 2 or 3. Baby's immune systems seem to handle it well, but infant's...not so much...and my dad has the immune system of a 50 day old. But still, they kept on monitoring him closely, he had to wear a mask to the SCCA (which he doesn't know how to wear, so he hyperventilated last week and "his knees went weak" and he fell over...great excitement) and his cold just kept on going. Last week my MOM got the cold too, and earlier this week they banned her from the SCCA, so I've been put on "primary care giver" roll since then.

Yesterday (the day after his birthday) he developed a fever of 102.5. Here's the sign we'd been looking for that it's progressed. I was already at their apartment (took him in for clinic earlier in the day) and so I just zoomed him over to the UW where they broke his fever. He's now admitted for at least 10 days, probably closer to 14, for treatment for the RSV and by tomorrow hopefully we'll know if he's got pneumonia or some other bacterial infection as well. I'll be heading over there every day to keep an eye on him, keep him entertained, and keep the nurses on their toes. :)

All we can do now is wait, but we'll keep our fingers crossed too. On a positive note, my in-laws gave Dan and I iPhones for christmas (we got them today!) so I'll be able to futz around with that while he naps or is having procedures done.

Day 27

Day after his birthday and pops is in the hospital. More (much more) info tomorrow. Now I'm going to bed...I've been dealing with this since 2pm after a busy work day and am wiped out.

Day 26

Happy 67th birthday to my father! For all he's survived, he's a lucky man to be celebrating today. My mother, Dan and I took him out for a birthday burger. Happy birthday!

And now, for a link. This is the video/song that has been bouncing around in my head for the past couple days...

http://youtu.be/d9NF2edxy-M

Sidenote - this video's gotten 4,546,361 views since January 5th when it was uploaded. That's what I call viral.

Day 25

This is what it looks like when I actually henna my fingernails "for-reals"...for the night, really. The longer the paste is on, the darker the stain, and I haven't done this to myself in MONTHS. Occasional touchups, more often on my left hand then my right, and my fingernails have been a sorry sorry mess for a long while. It's not a very convenient method of beautification, but it keeps me from having to wash dishes. ;)

Day 24

Merry Hippe Christmas! Today my in-laws came down to my house, around noon, and almost immediately Dan, Scott & I went to the Verizon store and ordered our christmas gifts from Dan's parents - matching iPhone 4s's. Then back home again and I showed off the xbox kinect, we played cards, made a very nice meal, along with grog and egg nog, and wonderful deserts.

Seriously, though? I REALLY made out like a bandit this year in the technology department for Christmas. I mean...REALLY. And I didn't ask for any of it, and I'm so happy and grateful, and a more then a little embarrassed...I mean...REALLY.


Life is so unfair
Where is my Lamborghini?
xbox? iphone? sigh.

;)

Day 23

Today for the most part was kinda poopy. I had a doctor's appointment in the morning, which was unsatisfying but productive, I suppose. I made friends with the phlebotomist and she wants me to do her wedding henna. Then after lots of errands and a little bit of shop time, I came home and didn't want to do anything for the rest of the day. I napped and watched TV. By the time Dan came home I was truly in a funk.

But then we went and met with his parents at a restaurant and all that changed. Dan was in a really good mood when he got home, so he was cheerful and pepping me up before hand, and I really enjoy the time with my in-laws anyway, the meal was good, and we found out what our Christmas gifts are this year, so there was a lot of great stuff going on. Long before our food arrived I was feeling much better.



The moral can be
a little more obvious
then what we look for

Day 22

No photo today! I'm exhausted! I went to a really exciting seminar this evening for a small business training program that I don't qualify for because....drum roll...I'm too rich. Huh. Bummer!


wealth is in the mind
even without a penny
you can still be rich

Day 21

I spent most of the afternoon with my dad today, getting him a blood transfusion at SCCA. While there, I got a lot of work done, including editing a few photos. Here's "Cloisonne" on the wall at Makeda 1 month after I had originally put it up. Look at the stain on that!

Day 20

Finally the promised picture (slightly out of focus, sorry) of my new years henna from Krysteen!

Day 19

This morning my dad's cold was too much for him to handle so we went in to the triage nurse and they gave him some Robitussin. It took 2 hours. Then this afternoon Dan and I went and saw the American version of "Girl w/ the Dragon Tattoo" which we enjoyed, both for the movie itself and for the fact that we were actually AT a movie. I honestly think the last time I went to see a movie was over a year ago, but I can't remember. And to think I used to be a regular SIFF goer and wanted to get a moving film-related tattoo.

Now it's storming and I don't want to go back to work tomorrow. This is all I have for a post today - I'm going to wait until tomorrow for the henna photo, it's getting nice and dark, but will photograph better tomorrow.


Storm raging outside
Keeps me huddled deep inside
Nature mirrors Me.

Day 18

The first day of the new year. Almost immediately this morning the word I've been looking for started banging around in my head. "Respect". At first I didn't get it. Although I know the word was re-introduced into my fore-conscious recently, I didn't know why it was *here* NOW, on New Year's Day. And then it suddenly hit me. It was my "key word" for the new year, the thing that I can focus on to help me move forward.

I've had a big slump in self respect. I haven't been taking care of my body. I've had trouble respecting my house and my role as a wife. I've lost all respect for the job I despise. I think have great respect for the things that interest me, (mainly henna) but if I don't have respect for MYSELF, do I really have that respect? So the first and easiest thing to recognize is "respect your body." Do I need to eat that wheat-product? No, that's disrespectful to my guts that can't handle it. Should I exercise? Yes, that's healthy and respecting my body's needs. Start from there, and move out. Once I feel that I've got a handle on ME, I can start touching other external disrespects.

The henna I posted a few days ago of my hand, the small star with flowers around it and a circle enclosing that, has been very helpful. Today, however, I had Krysteen and Prashanthi come to my shop and Krys and I hennaed each other and Prash too. For me, I had Krys mirror that star, on the back of my other hand, but have it exploding out with henna-y goodness down my fingers and up my arm. I'll post photos in a couple days when it darkens. I did a sturdy oak tree on one of Prash's hands, and a Jay on the other. These were very specific and meaningful symbols for her, just as my trapped star and exploding star were for me. Here's her oak.



So here's to symbolism and learning in the new year. Here's to explosions of grace and goodness, and most of all Respect.