Friday, September 30, 2005
you wanted a bigger picture.
say it don't spray it 8:00 PM
11 i heard that
the one day retreat
so, i've been talking about how my friends and i went to breitenbush hotsprings near detroit lake here in oregon last sunday . . . it was amazing!
me, two of my friends, and my sister all went out to the hotsprings for the day. the first thing we did was jump right into one of the sacred pools. these are little pools that were built to catch the flow of the natural hotsprings. the water was warm and the pool was in the shade. for being late september in oregon, the day was surprisingly warm. it felt wonderful to be naked out of doors. breitenbush had a women's only retreat that weekend so it was nice to sit and visit with the women who had come for the retreat and hear their stories about the different meditation exercises they had tried that weekend.
after soaking in the pool, we dressed and went to the main building for a delicious organic vegetarian meal of curry and cinnamon rice.
we were so full after lunch that we sat out in the grass for a while and gave each other stomach massages for a while. once we got over the imsosleepybecauseiatetoomuch feeling, we went for a "hike."
we hiked through the grounds. breitenbush is a community of people who live together and work together year round. i thoroughly enjoyed wandering through such a peaceful and welcoming place with my three close friends.
after following the inner path, we walked past the sanctuary where a statue for each major religion had been set up in a shaded area. there was a quiet bench on which to sit and meditate. people had left offerings for the statue of their choice as a symbol of whatever it was they had sat on the bench and conversed with the higher power about.
it was one of the most peaceful moments of my summer--sitting there in silence.
we wandered down toward the river and the ground turned dusty. we found the labrynth there in the hot sun.
we each made our journey in silence. i carried a small rock in my hand on the way, symbolizing my current burdens. as i walked i recited my self-given mantra "i am a healer." arriving in the middle, i placed my stone with the others that created the path and joyfully made my burdenless journey back out of the maze. it was encouraging to meditate on my desired future as a healer through massage therapy.
coming over a rise in the ground, we arrived at the river. an earie site awaited us there. along the banks and in the shallows of the river monuments or remembrance markers had been erected as reminders that water has spiritual qualities.
we each set up our own marker as well and sat in peace near the river.
hot and tired from our journey through the labrynth, we made our way to the medicine pools and sat mostly in the very hottest pool (autumn). each taking turns in the cold plunge pool. shrieking in shock at the coldness of this hydrotherapy practice.
rejeuvenated, we dressed and made our way to the office to each buy a bit of delicious organic chocolate for the ride home.
even if you aren't keen on such a "hippy" place, i highly recommend finding a place where you can have your own rejeuvenating retreat once in a while. a place for you that is sacred and brings healing and peace and new perspective.
for me, breitenbush offers just that.
say it don't spray it 7:35 PM
11 i heard that
Thursday, September 29, 2005
when i went to breitenbush this weekend, i had such a great time (will post pics when i have time) that i wrote in the dust on my car's back windsheild "i heart breitenbush." since then i have used my wipers . . .when i got to work this morning, i realized that i had been driving around portland with my back window saying "i heart [big empty space] bush."
i wiped it off as fast as i could.
----------
also, i read this article this morning about arctic ice disappearing. i feel so helpless.
say it don't spray it 11:10 AM
9 i heard that
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
ack!
i know it's been a while. sorry if i'm boring right now. i am training for my new position at work and that leaves me with half the day to get the rest of my work done . . .so for now,
play this game
or
make a difference here
and check out these pictures that my co-worker sent to me:
the amazing things that a little makeup can do:
guten tag! bis bald!
say it don't spray it 3:55 PM
7 i heard that
Friday, September 23, 2005
my coworker told me that i looked like side show bob today.
must be the red dreads.
----------
today is my last full day in this office before i transfer over to cubicle world for a 60 cent raise.
----------
my sorority/social club (whatever you call it at that crazy school i went to) had their rush party last night. of course i crashed it but i was the oldest one in the room (pledge class 1999 baby).
----------
i am really excited to wash my hair this weekend. this dread thing takes some getting used to. i couldn't wash my hair for a week . . . my scalp itches. no dandruff yet friends. not yet.
----------
my last final of the term is tonight and then i have two weeks of freedom!!!
breitenbush hotsprings here i come!
say it don't spray it 3:27 PM
15 i heard that
Thursday, September 22, 2005
today is jon's last day working for a certain soulless corporation . . .
say it don't spray it 3:22 PM
6 i heard that
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
I made a Quiztake my Quiz
say it don't spray it 11:13 AM
4 i heard that
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
8 1/2 hours later . . .
alright friends, it's finally here: the post with the pictures of the dreads.let's start with a before picture. this is what my hair looked like until just a few days ago:
so, the process goes like this:
you wash your hair in this shampoo that strips everything out of it, making it clean and very tangley. and in my case, frizzy!
then you throw a party with beer and food and invite people over to help you out.
they proceed to section off your hair and secure it with tiny black rubber bands. these will each eventually become individual dreads. until then, you feel a bit like one of those models who has digusting hair on purpose. during this process we watched "gladiator."
next, you spray some salt water on your head to get it even more tangley (like when you swim in the ocean). then you pull out the wax, and send your husband to buy more combs because the four you have aren't enough for the three of you who are getting dreads to even hope to be finished in one day. you thank your friends gratuitously throughout the day, offering them hand and arm massages.
they start to "backcomb" and you start to drink.
during this process we watched "pirates of the carribean," "a mighty wind," and "zoolander."
it takes a long time. and it is pretty painful.
most of the time, i had three people working on my head at once. i was only nervous when one of them would say, "this isn't right" or "this isn't working!" i would just hope and pray that someone else could see what was happening up there and help them fix it.
i even had a "stranger" put a dread in my hair. this guy named henry that i met on couchsurfing just moved here from florida. i invited him to my party so he could meet some people and he even helped me dread my hair!
my husband turned out to be the expert dreadder. he basically ruled the school.
so, here's some finished product pictures:
coleen, barry and i celebrating our new hair.
yesss!!!!!
and here i am (excuse the shine on the forhead, it's wax from my hair actually) all shiney and happy after 8. hours. of. (self-inflicted) torture.
well. i survived. and now you have pictures for proof. any suggestions of ways i should wear my hair?
thanks to EVERYONE who helped with the dreadding!!
jon, sage, sara, jessica, shawn, carrie, coleen, barry, henry, dors, abby, lacey, seth, kristi . . . i'm sorry if i forgot to list you . . . thank you!!!
p.s. i am having problems sizing the pictures so sorry if they look stretched or squashed . . . or way too small . . . geesh.
say it don't spray it 8:48 AM
20 i heard that
Thursday, September 15, 2005
conglomorate
did i spell that right?----------
sooo . . . the conversations about wedding music and cloning have been fascinating. thanks for your comments everyone. don't stop if you still have stuff to say, i will keep dialoguing with you as long as you like.
----------
the other day, my co-worker told me that i looked like a pre-raphaelite painting. i cannot tell you how lovely that made me feel . . . i love those paintings!
----------
in memory of all the strange squirrell postingst that happened a while back, my friend coleen and i had a recent run in with a squirrell that was pretty wild. it was stuck in our friends room and we were freaking out and it was freaking out and we were screaming like girls . . . remind me to tell you the story sometime.
----------
i have a myspace account now. i'm not sure why . . .
----------
and best of all:
i am getting dreads in my hair this sunday!
my friend coleen and i are going to have a party at my place. come and help us dread if you are in the area! or just come keep us company. it is going to take a while.
i will be sure to post pictures of the process. but beware, dreads take a long time to set, so they wont look amazing for a few months at least. please keep that in mind.
anyway, i should wear my pink wig a few more times before the fateful day since the dreads definitely wont be fitting under it at all . . .
say it don't spray it 3:05 PM
12 i heard that
Monday, September 12, 2005
i know it's cheesy, but i wanna know . . .
here's my question . . . i was thinking about it the other day and i decided that the music people pick for their weddings says alot about who they are and alot about their relationship and about their ideas of love and marriage and comitment in general . . .so, i want to know this:
if you are married or were once married, what music was in your wedding? did you choose it or did your spouse? was the choice important to you or did you not really care? do you think that music and it's themes have been reflected in your relationship since then?
if you are not married, what music do you hope to use in your ceremony when you do get married? why? do you even care?
if you never plan to get married or don't (unlike me) pre-plan this day far in advance (even before you've met the bride/groom) have you been to weddings where they've played a song and you've thought "that was awesome!" or "really? why did you choose 'i honestly love you'?"
think of this as a research project of sorts. thanks for your participation.
----------
the music we had in our wedding is as follows:
"the three of us" -- by ben harper (when the girls lit the candles)
"like a bridge over troubled water" -- by simon and garfunkle (when the grandparents and parents were seated and the groom and officiant walked to the front)
"forever"-- by ben harper (when the wedding party walked down the aisle)
"songbird" -- by denison witmer (when the flower girls and i walked down the aisle)
a song i might never hear again and don't know the name of -- written and perfomed by jake white (during the candle lighting ceremony)
"tonight, tonight" -- by the smashing pumpkins (when everyone exited the scene)
"something in the way she moves" -- by james taylor (while we dismissed our guests row by row -- instead of a receiving line)
"i'm gonna be (500 miles song)" -- by the proclaimers (same as above)
----------
now you know more about me than you ever thought you would . . . sort of.
say it don't spray it 4:02 PM
23 i heard that
Thursday, September 08, 2005
"sein oder nicht sein?" das ist de frage . . .
so . . . i got a promotion at work yesterday! whoo-hoo! i will be working in hr starting in about 2-3 weeks. i'm a little nervous and a lot excited to learn new skills (aside from my already awesome bow-hunting skills) and introduce some change into my workday. and hr skills are good to have for the future should i ever need to suppliment my massage therapy practice . . .
but that's not the point. the point is this: to celebrate, jon and i went to see the island last night at laurelhurst theatre.
:::now, i'm not going to spoil the ending or anything, but if you don't want to know anything about this film at all, read no further:::
in the film, ewan mcgreggor and scarlette johanson (both celebrity crushes of mine) find out that they are clones for rich people and are being kept in an old military bunker underground. they are told that they are survivors of a worldwide contamination and are being kept in a certain facility and are slowly being moved to "the island" (the only uncontaminated place left in the world). well, of course, they discover that this isn't the case and instead when people go to the island it is because they are going to have their organs harvested for their rich "sponsers." they are, in short, "insurance policies." the people who "own them" are told by the manufacturer that the clones are kept in a vegitative state permanently and are never allowed to acheive consciousness. but this is a lie. these people live, feel, experience emotion, are hungry, form relationships, etc.
this brings me to my question: how do you feel about cloning? is it good? bad? do you choose not to put a moral judgement on it? how far do you believe scientists should take it? do you think it is right to clone animals? humans? do the benefits outweigh the harm? what do you know about cloning so far? do you feel you are pretty well informed?
this is a big issue, i think. this is where science is headed and there really is no stopping it. the nature of science is to push the limits of what is possible--and it will. but how do you think it should be guided?
where do you see this cloning race going? scientifically? morally? politically? spiritually?
---------
here are a few links to sites with information about cloning (note: just because i posted links to these sites does not mean i agree with or support what they say. i do, however, believe in the exhange of ideas and the freedom for all to voice their opinions in a respectful and open manner):
national geographic
genetic savings and clone
something from the government
human cloning foundation
another site about cloning this one looks pretty good.
NIH stem cell site
stem cell research foundation
stem cells and ethics
all view points from a religious tolerance site
reason.com's take on the issue
what the president said in 2001
a god and science site
----------
i would really like to know what you think. please post your comments with respect and openness. let the dialogue begin!
say it don't spray it 9:05 AM
25 i heard that
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
ponderables
my co-worker sent me this email and i giggled a little so i thought i'd post it.happy day after labor day. hope you have fun laboring!
-----------
Can you cry under water?
How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of just murdered?
If money doesn't grow in trees then why do banks have branches?
Since bread is square, then why is sandwich meat round?
Why do you have to "put your two cents in"...but it's only a "penny for your thoughts?" Where's that extra penny going to?
Once you're in heaven, do you get stuck wearing the clothes you were buried in for eternity?
Why does a round pizza come in a square box?
What disease did cured ham actually have?
How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?
Why is it that people say they "slept like a baby" when babies wake up like every two hours?
If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing?
If you drink Pepsi at work in the Coke factory, will they fire you?
Why are you IN a movie, but you're ON TV?
Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?
How come we choose from just two people for President and fifty for MissAmerica?
Why do doctors leave the room while you change? They're going to see you naked anyway.
If a 911 operator has a heart attack, whom does he/she call?
Why is "bra" singular and "panties" plural?
Do illiterate people get the full effect of Alphabet soup?
Who was the first person to look at a cow and say, "I think I'll squeeze these dangly things here, and drink whatever comes out!"
Or watch a white thing come out a chicken behind and think, "that ought to taste good."
Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat?
Why is there a light in the fridge and not in the freezer?
When your photo is taken for your driver's license, why do they tell you to smile? If you are stopped buy the police and asked for you license, are you going to be smiling?
If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a stupid song about him?
Can a hearse carrying a corpse drive in the carpool lane?
If the professor on Gilligan's island can make a radio out of a coconut, why can't he fix a hole in a boat?
Why do people point to their wrist when asking for the time, but don't >point to their crotch when they ask where the bathroom is?
Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all fours? They're both dogs!
What do you call male ballerinas?
Can blind people see their dreams?
If Wyle E. Coyote had enough money to buy all that ACME crap, why didn't he just buy dinner?
If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, what is baby oil made from?
If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?
If con is the opposite of pro then is Congress the opposite of Progress?
Is Disney World the only people trap operated by a mouse?
Do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same tune?
Why did you just try singing the two songs above?
hy do they call it an asteroid when it's outside the hemisphere, but call it a hemorrhoid when it's in your butt?
Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him for a car ride; he sticks his head out the window?
say it don't spray it 9:09 AM
8 i heard that
Friday, September 02, 2005
ryan and emily and jenell will be here today!!! they are coming to spend the weekend in portland and I AM SO EXCITED!!!! WHOO-HOO!!i think this evening will be spent at java vivace on 23rd . . . mmmm, nothing beats good coffee and good friends!
say it don't spray it 8:35 AM
6 i heard that
Thursday, September 01, 2005
ghost dog tagged me with the sevens
7 Things I Plan To Do Before I Die:1. Learn at least two more languages (German and . . . . ? any suggestions?).
2. TRAVEL! I want to take my husband my backpack and my passport and a rail pass start somewhere in Europe and just go.
3. See Phantom of the Operah live.
4. Learn to play the cello.
5. Understand spirituality better.
6. Have a baby that looks like my husband (he’s so cute!)
7. Have enough money that I can afford to be more philanthropic (big word, huh?)
7 Things I Can Do
1. Touch the tip of my nose with my tongue.
2. Give a pretty nice full body sweedish massage.
3. Read children’s books in German as long as there are pictures to help me.
4. Use the formulas in Microsoft Excel.
5. Name almost every bone in the body.
6. Make plaster casts of various parts of the body.
7. Love my family and friends.
7 Things I Cannot Do
1. Tan.
2. The splits.
3. Audio Blog.
4. Afford to quit my job.
5. Scare people with my angry face.
6. Get Tanya Kristine to start bloggin again. I miss her!!
7. Fit my pink wig over my hair anymore . . . it is getting too long (when I have dreads, that wont be corrected. In fact, I think it will get worse).
7 Things That Attract Me To The Opposite Sex
1. “Portland style” clothes
2. Spirit
3. “Swimmers back”
4. Beautiful eyes
5. Creativity
6. Brilliance
7. Compassion
7 Things That I Say Most Often
1. "What?"
2. "I love you” (to my husband)
3. "I don’t wanna get up! I wanna stay here with you!” (every morning)
4. "Hey, do you want to (insert chore here)?” (to my husband—sorry! I’m working on it!)
5. "We don’t have any money"
6. "I have gross skin"
7. "Will you make me breackfast?" or "What's for breakfast?"
7 Celebrity Crushes
1. Ben Harper
2. Johnny Depp
3. Cate Blanchett
4. Angelina Jolie (no matter what decisions she is making right now, I still want to be her!)
5. Morgan Freeman
6. Katie Holmes (see #4)
7. I’m leaving this one open as my alternate. This way, I will be allowed to change my mind as I see fit. Somedays it will be Hugh Jackman, somedays it will be Brad Pitt, or Anthony Hopkins, or whoever)
7 People I Want To Do This
1. Breanna (because I know she’ll get a kick out of doing it)
2. Kat (are you reading this!?? You have to do it!)
3. BSC (because he loves these things)
4. Rebeccaa Marie (because she said she was bored in her last post)
5. Andrea (because I miss you!)
6. Kathy (because I like your pink background)
7. Charlotte (because you haven’t updated your blog in a looooooong time!)
once you have done your sevens, post here and let us know so we can read them . . .
say it don't spray it 9:40 AM
18 i heard that
_jpg.jpg){kind=link}
