Sunshine in 2009

Sunshine for your Soul today! Bring in the New Year! Peace!

Happy Holiday

Yes, that is our cat parachuting with us behind him...He loved it! He laughed the whole way down!

Happy Holidays to y'all! All the best in 2009! We feel very blessed this year...and we wish the same for you!

Upside Down Christmas

This was an excellent party, complete with naughty Elves and an old dirty Santa....Happy Upside-Down Christmas to you!

I love how this photo captures the motion and colors of the night...sexy in red and green...

SNOW

We are well on our way to breaking last year's record snowfall. It's hard to imagine. I'm not entirely sure where we'll put it all. The pile at the end of the driveway is already over my head. Where will we put it all?

Pumpkins Everywhere!

M and I had a fun day picking pumpkins and driving through country. The sky was beautiful, the top was down...life was sweet!

Slip n Slide

This was the day of our block party, back in May. The block party is one of those amazing days in Madison when everyone comes out of hibernation after the long winter. It's all about having a good time...I usually have a great time. This year was hula hoops and the slip n slide. The kids and I had a great time getting really wet and muddy. Markus and Chris, our neighbor kept adding more water and plastic to it...it was great. I felt like I was 5, in line with the kids. I love the photo below that Markus took. Everything is in motion, except for me.

Hot Springs, NC

My love of hot springs brought me to this beautiful place in North Carolina. Imagine, 4 lovely ladies (nude), a little wine...tucked in the woods along the French Broad River. The water in the hot tub is straight out of the ground. The staff cleans/refills the tub for each group. We got an hour to soak. The jets didn't work because the water is so full of minerals that they get all blocked up. It was just right.

Fall Day

Today the leaves were crunching under my feet as I took a walk downtown. I thought to myself, are any of us really ready for this? Fall is here. One one block, I saw so many signs on telephone poles about lost and found animals. Someone found a kitten (white and cute), someone lost a desert turtle (brown and slow). I thought that maybe at some point maybe the kitten met the turtle, lost and found on the same block. They probably ran into each other, and had a funny encounter where the kitten tipped the turtle over on its back. That's what cats always do to turtles.

I will post some pics soon. I have some really good ones. I went to North Carolina this summer to the hot springs there. Y'all know about my love of hot spring water. This was an interesting experience. I'll write more soon.
Promise.

NAMES 4 Fun

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME (first pet, current car): Keebe Honda (on the guitar)

2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME (fave ice cream flavor, favorite type of shoe): Oreo Sandal

3. YOUR NATIVE AMERICAN NAME (favorite color, favorite animal): Purple Turtle

4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME (middle name, city where you were born): Veronica Robinsdale

5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME (the first three letters of your last name, first two of your first name): Wagjo (It would be better the other way...Jowag)

6. SUPERHERO NAME (2nd favorite color, favorite drink): Blue Iced Tea (that's sort of dumb)

7. NASCAR NAME (the first names of your grandfathers): Russell Casmir

8. STRIPPER NAME ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy):
Rose Lemondrop (I want to strip just so I can call myself that!)

9. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME (your fifth grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter): Schmitz Seattle

10. SPY NAME (your favorite season/holiday, flower): Autumn Zinnia

11. CARTOON NAME (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now): Peach Undies (I'm wearing more than that--Peach Dress just didn't sound right)

12. HIPPIE NAME (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree): Smoothie Pine (cute)

back to school

Today I started back to school. I had a month break during which I did a lot of driving, drinking (not combined), eating and socializing. I meant to do a lot of running, gardening (damn the mosquitoes here!), and housework...but that's the way it turned out. I went to MN and North Carolina for a week...that was some good times. I checked out the hot springs and Ashville...also stayed a night in Kentucky. The land is so beautiful there.

Anyway, back to massage school for me.

Hula Hoop'n

This is so fun. If you haven't picked up the hula hoop in awhile, turn off your computer immediately and go find one. You can start with one. You'll be so happy you did. I got bored with one, so I tried five.

Sweet Life

Update:
Still in massage school. It's great to be spending time there. I go Fridays and Mondays, from 9am-3pm for the summer. I've been practicing more massage and trying to get a business card together. It's great to learn and I really enjoy my classmates. We're all so different and together only to learn massage. That's cool. I've been gardening a bit, it's all very happy and green from all the rain. Overall, the since the winter passed, life is very sweet. I will be going to MN soon, and to North Carolina for a small road trip. Stay tuned, I heard a rumor of hot springs in North Carolina. That would be really nice...Also, camping a bit in a tent, canoing down a river...Also, it seems everyone here is in good form and healthy, also happy.

I wish you all the best.

rainday

Last night, I thought, 'tonight is the night for a good storm.'
This morning I wondered, 'did it storm all night?'
Where was I? Drifting in the land of dreams. Where rain filled the stereo of life outside my window. The birds chirp a bit and rehearse for when the sun comes out.
The rain carried my umbrella away. It looked like a boat floating down the sidewalk.
Like one big clap of thunder, my life erupted in the early morning as I woke up.
The rain spilled over the gutters, through the ferns, seeping into the ground.
I watched the contents of my life,
pour over the gutters, rush down. How much do I remember? How much do I forget?
The lightning flashes.
I blink, not quite awake.
It's just another moment.
Turns out it's going to rain like this all day.
How many times can I wake up in a day?

Pineapple Royalty

We had a party a couple weeks ago for spring break (many weeks ago)...and I just loved these pictures. I sculpted a pineapple crown as a candle votive and then after the party we all wore it. Here I am, in Happy Mode, as Markus would put it.
My friend Ricardo was also rockin with the pineapple.

Slimy Crud Run

On May 4th, we went to the Slimy Crud Run. This annual ride is basically a big gathering of bikes of all kinds...I was sort of fascinated with my reflection in all the shiny bike parts (there were many shiny parts). I was wearing a brown deerskin jacket with lots of fringe. I didn't exactly fit in with all the Harley riders, basically I looked like a big hippy. The jacket was my friend Cosmo's. He would have loved it.

It was a great ride through the beautiful parts of Wisconsin, hills and valleys. I saw a few hawks, lamas, dirty cows, lots of motorcycles and 3 cranes.

Jack Flower

Jack-in-the-spring. It's a very rare flower that only grows in my garden. It looks remarkably like a cat.

Flowering Trees

The Arboretum is amazing this time of year. Everyone just walks around all blissed out...the air smells sweet...I was sneezing...

Gold Finch

My First Gold Finch!! Check out this bird at my feeder. It's brilliant yellow. I'm sort of a geek about birds. I know all their names and actually get excited about seeing new ones. I'm actually 75 pretending to be 28. (not to stereotype)

Public Enemy

Kelly Z!

This is the filming of a Hollywood movie in Madison! We actually got out of class to walk around the capitol for an hour. I didn't see Johnny Depp, but it was fun to see the cars on the square. I was just happy to be in the sunshine on a nice day. Markus ran into my hairdresser who was doing hair for the extras on the set. Very cool Kelly Z!

A Good Day

Today was a good day.
All of the reasons...
gardening with a good friend
getting dirty in the dirt
Culvers lemon ice
giving a massage
singing karaoke with my favorite 7 year old (not in public)
picking tulips
finishing my homework
going to bed early!

Earth Day

Isn't today Earth Day? The election is hogging all the news. Besides the Google graphic, I haven't seen anything to mark it on the news. I guess I'm not reading the right news.

After looking around a bit these are some links I found:

Did you ever wonder which foods it's really important to buy organic?

Did you ever have the question, "Why bother?" when considering making a green choice?

Puddles

a puddle jumper's lament

The link above reminds me of the fun that can be had in spring...but also the way it teases.

Winter from Hell

It snowed again. Madison is just a smidgen away from 100 inches this year. This is the winter from hell. It won't just die. When I was 10, I had a goldfish like that. It's name was Austin, if I remember correctly. The fish floated, lifeless for about a day...so I geared myself up for the big flush. I poured the bowl into the toilet bowl and suddenly the fish was swimming and kicking in the toilet. So, I had to refill the bowl, scoop it out and it lived for another month. That's how this winter might be.

The cute girl who was our waitress yesterday was expressing her concern in such a cute way. She said, "I'm not from Wisconsin...it can't really snow again can it?"

Yes it can.

Mission Statement

As some of you may know, I have just started massage school at the local technical college in town. I am really excited about this and want to share some of my experiences with you all. As a class assignment, I wrote a mission statement and found it to be really interesting process. If you've never written a mission statement, try it out! This is mine:

"I believe wholeheartedly in the power of massage for the enhancement of health, healing and relaxation. I am dedicated to obtaining knowledge of massage techniques with the goal of creating a sustainable career that supports the general wellness of those I serve. As I continue to care for my own wellbeing, I make healthy choices and demonstrate my compassion by encouraging others on their own wellness journey. I strive to develop and maintain professional healing relationships, while remaining positive and optimistic. I am excited about being part of a rejuvenating healing community of people with similar missions."

Blue Lagoon

This is our last stop in Iceland. The famous Blue Lagoon, a geothermal hot pool in the middle of a lava field heated with the runoff of a powerplant. It was the coldest, windiest day of our trip, so we were one only 10 crazy people lounging in the pool.

With the water full of salt and minerals, floating is easy in any position. The feeling of weightlessness was awesome.

The waters and mud here are famous for their healing properties to the skin. The mud is found in wooden boxes at the edge of the pool, but also more interestingly at the bottom of the warmest part of the pool. It was the softest, squishiest stuff I've ever felt between my toes. It was repulsive and interesting at the same time.

The lifeguard. Poor guy, all bundled in Gortex. He was cold standing in the steam of the pool. Overall, this was a great lasting impression of this amazing island. We totally enjoyed our stay there and look forward to our next trip...perhaps in the summer months with the midnight sun.