Friday*

Sunset in Luray.

Catching Up*

Catching up only to fall behind again. I fell behind on Wednesday when I was stricken with a combo migraine, tension and sinus headache. Is that even possible? I had the migraine symptoms of nausea and sensitivity to light and the right side of my head throbbing. I also felt extreme pressure in my sinuses and they were even sensitive to the touch. And my neck, jaw and temples were tight and spasming. So evidently it is possible. All of that was on Wednesday. Then throughout the day on Thursday I had each headache as an individual, no combo, thankfully.

Thankfully it is gone. Whew ... it sucked ass is all I can say. Now I'm off to a little retreat with my best girls where I'm about 99.9% sure there is no internet connection. If there is, I'll catch up. But I'm thinking the catch up won't come until Sunday.

Mini Forest*

Late*

Tuesday is a long ass day. At 10:46 I had pretty much just finished a sandwich and some fruit and was getting ready to get in the shower. That's when I realized I needed to take a photo and post it. So what better than a photo of how damn late it is when all this is happening.

I usually get up around 6:30 am on Tuesdays. Get some yoga in, get ready, go to work, teach two yoga classes after work and get home around 9:25 at the earliest. I need to work out a better system for Tuesdays if it is at all possible. I like teaching the two yoga classes back to back. In one evening I can spread the yoga energy and get paid for it rather than teaching one class, two separate days.

So, I try to balance it out with Wednesday. Wednesday there is no getting up early, I sleep until around 8:00. I also usually don't worry about taking lunch, so I don't have to deal with that in the morning. Funny thing is I just now realized that I have been trying to balance it out. And that this balance actually works. So maybe now, I can relax about it being so late on Tuesday. Time to get in the shower ... 11:06 pm:)

Punk Ass*

This is what some punk ass did to our house. Shot a hole in the window with a bb gun. In the big scheme of things, this is a minor irritation, at the most. But it's upsetting nonetheless. Lucy could have been sitting in that window. Any of us could have stepped on the pieces of nearly invisible glass that shot across the room. The cats could have ingested it. Thankfully none of that happened and thankfully this is all it is.

Little Minion*

I love playing with Lucy and using the continuous shutter to get action shots of her. Here I am swishing a feather around her face. There's just fangs and claws everywhere. Sometimes she looks like something out of a Dali painting but most of the time she looks like an evil, devil's minion. Ever since she was a kitten, she always had this look of a little devil's minion, like something out of the third panel of Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights. Like she should be prodding and poking souls in purgatory on their way to hell.














































Sometimes, the claws look like Wolverines blades. She and her antics are a never ending source of entertainment.















Then, there is the sweetness and cuteness.

Aaaaahhhh*

It's time for some total relaxation. Chillin' out. This summer has been insanely hectic. Between work being unusually busy and a lot of social activities, I've barely had a Saturday where I didn't have to rush home from teaching 2 yoga classes, shower immediately and head out within an hour to a party or event, in some cases hours and hours long. Don't get me wrong, I've been having a great time. But for most of this summer I have been ungrounded and exhausted from doing and partying too much. So back in May, when an event came up for this weekend and I knew every other weekend was booked, I opted out of tonight's event.

Tonight's event would have been fun but it would have been a big party. So, for a change, I am listening to my intuition telling me to take it easy. Relax and chill.

Peeks Around 17*

Driftwood turned into a candle holder.

New Home*

The chamomile plant has a new home. I decided to take it out of the little pot it had been in and plant in the garden where there are other herbs. Other herbs that have, over the last two years, thrived. It's really small, right now. But I think it will also thrive in its new home.






































This is one of the rosemary plants.























And this is lemon mint.

Before and After*

This is a photo of Shawn's grandma and grandpa sometime in the early 50s. Shawn's mom is putting together albums and was hoping to get some old photos restored. So I tried playing with it. Below is the after.























Photoshop can do some amazing stuff.

Peeks Around 16*

Peeks around 16 is the KISS dolls ... oops, I mean action figures. Shawn was a huge KISS fan when he was a kid and I admit, I was too. HUGE fans. I've dressed up like Paul Stanley more times than I can remember, once as an adult for a Halloween party. Shawn too. His mom took him to see KISS at the Capital Center in 1977, my dad took me and my brother to the same show. God knows how horrified they were. We still get sucked into watching KISS concerts on VH1 but mostly for the comedic value, fully laughing at ourselves in the process.

Shawn collects action figures so these were a xmas present from me about 8 or 9 years ago. But I insisted that he open and display them. Most of his action figures are still sealed in the original box. But, seriously, these needed to be displayed in the full glory of KISS Alive 1.

A Little More Good Stuff for Good Prana*

Bright ... cheery ... colorful ...

Time for Some Beauty*

My yoga teacher Natasha says, "where the mind goes, prana flows." Prana is our energy, our life force. And where the mind is dictates where our energy is. For the last few days my mind has been focused on shit and grossness. Hmmmm .... no wonder I was exhausted Saturday. No wonder my energy has been shitty and a bit on the negative side. Well, it's time for some beauty. It's time for my mind to regroup and be with good, positive stuff and stay there for awhile, in spite of what might be swirling around me.

This is new growth on the maple ... I can never remember if it's a Chinese or Japanese Maple. This web optimized photo gives the color no justice. The red in the new growth is an amazing, vivid and bright red. So today, I will let my mind be in an amazing, vivid and bright state, so that my prana can flow with that.

"I Love What You've Done with the Place"

And, the flooring ... it's fabulous. This is what we were laughing at about an hour ago when Shawn looked around our basement. The entire basement is covered either in blankets, cardboard or newspaper. But it's clean. And if it gets mucked up again ... it can be cleaned VERY easily.

Tiki's issues have continued for several days. Wednesday there was puke everywhere. Thursday evening Shawn and I had a puke cleaning party, cleaned the basement, scrubbed, etc.. only to wake up Friday morning to an even worse mess. Our mantra these days is "We are grateful for the cardboard." Shawn has these HUGE pieces of cardboard that we put down to protect the carpet. Why didn't we think of this sooner??????

Thursday evening before we went to bed we noticed another lovely side affect behavior associated with Tiki's issue, the butt wipe. Certainly, no need to explain. Friday morning I felt completely defeated. Even though there was cardboard down, and we are grateful for the cardboard, there managed to be messes on the only parts of the rug not covered. I was even dreading having to come home Friday evening, to clean the stinking mess yet again. But I came home and cleaned it. There was almost a meltdown moment when the wet/dry vac didn't want to work. There was some loud yelling and cursing with no one here to hear it except the cats and as I felt my blood pressure boiling over, I decided to breathe deeply. Whew ...

So I cleaned up everything again only to, once again, wake up to a stinking mess. When was the universe going to cut me a break?? Well, the universe cut me a break by taking our internet down, thus making it impossible for me to worry about posting a pic yesterday. It took one thing off my to do list that made a difference. The universe also sent me some wisdom that I should have thought of WAY sooner, put some newspaper down for god's sake!

So now, the basement is covered and protected. And if I wake up tomorrow to a nasty mess, all I have to do is pick it up and throw it away.

Taking a Break*

This evening I took a break from all the shit. I stepped out back to take some photos and see what was happening out there. I haven't been out in our oasis in pretty much two weeks.

These are my metal sandals. You gotta love a pair of flip flops with studs.

Defeated*

These dead gladiolas kind of visually represent my feelings of defeat today. I've been trying to stay clam and balanced with this whole cat issue. We cleaned everything last night so that our environment wasn't gross. And this morning we wake up to yet another disgusting mess. I guess on the scale of disgusting it's on the lower end, when you really think about it. But after cleaning puke and shit last night, it wasn't what I wanted to wake up to again. And there's no one to blame or be angry at, it is what it is.

So, I guess a little gratitude is in order. I'm thankful that it isn't the most disgusting mess it could be. I'm thankful we put cardboard down on most of the floor before we went to bed so most of the mess is on that. I'm thankful that the mess is all organic and can be cleaned. I'm thankful Tiki is ok and is hopefully healing. I'm thankful we have a basement to confine the mess to. I'm thankful my husband is understanding and compassionate about this situation.

Wow, just taking that moment of gratitude, I feel better already.

Ugh!*

Any pet owner can look at this photo and know why this post is titled Ugh. UGH! Tiki Baby had to go the vet yesterday. To spare the few souls that actually check this blog out, let's just say she's got some issues and let's just say that yesterday was a shitty day, literally, with some puke thrown in.

Poor girl. She's going to be fine but aside from any discomfort she's feeling, there's no doubt she is suffering from the worst humiliation a cat can suffer from. And like this blue collar is going to stop her from licking. It will if it stays on. I've found her now 3 times with it off. More ugh.

And we have to keep her confined to the downstairs. I can hear her meowing right now, please let me up with the people, please, PLEASE. And she's not typically a meowing kitty. All of this also was preceeded by Shawn steam cleaning the entire house within the last two weeks. You couldn't tell by how our basement looks right now. Thank god we put that steam cleaner on our registry when we got married.

In confining Tiki to the basement, that means we had to bring a litter box into our bathroom for Lucy. That's just lovely. Oh, and Lucy has been acting like she was the one that had to go the vet yesterday ... hiding and being all scared for the entire day. Can we say total upheaval? Jees ...

Learning to Share*

It's hard to see here, but Tiki has a toy that she's kind of sitting on, right in front of her chest. It's not specifically one of Lucy's toys, it's just a house toy. Nonetheless, Lucy wasn't quite sure that she wanted Tiki to have it. But Tiki wasn't giving it up.

Peeks Around 15*

Peeks Around 15 is the top shelf of my desk. All kinds of stuff. It's an altar of sorts ... favorite things, little collections. There are a bunch of kitty figures made out of sculpy, glass and stone. There are these box altar thingys for Ganesha and Kuan Yin figurines that are elsewhere, so a kitty and a different Ganesha sit in them now. A vase, a sculpture I did, some cool boxes, pictures, crystals and agate slices. I really need to spend some more time in this space to take in all of it's energy and coolness. The problem is my desk and office area is in the basement, where it's cold and dark. Seems that I need to find a way to embrace the cave.

Getting Grounded*

This photo is the makings of salsa. This photo was also taken several weeks ago.

With all the summer time activity, I keep finding myself a day behind in posting and lacking in photos. The activity from the previous day keeps me out past midnight and I usually haven't been able to take any photos that day. Some of the activities have left me completely exhausted the next day, like I worked out for 8+ hours exhaustion.

It's been very difficult to stay grounded this summer. Not that it hasn't been fun or enjoyable stuff but all very ungrounding. So once again ... Monday rolls around and it's time to get grounded and present. Any tips from anyone on what you do to get and stay grounded?

Rock Time*

This has been a week of rocking out. Whew ... There was the Mis-Fit gig from last Friday, then Chevelle, Shinedown and Staind in concert on Thursday and finally Baberpaloozafest on Saturday. The party/fest yesterday had 2 acoustic acts and 4 bands and nearly 12 hours after we left, we got home. All this rocking out has been a lot of fun. And exhausting:)

Happy Friday*

Lucy Poo says Happy Friday!

Summer Flowers*

Currently we have gladiolas and hydraenga in full bloom. I never really paid much attention to the gladiolas before and thus never realized their beauty. It's good to be present:)

Summer Time Zen*

Brought some of the garden inside. Here it is on the zen shelf.

Magnificent*

Distractions*

One of the ideas behind yoga is to develop focus and concentration and to disengage from distractions, especially while on the mat. Well, it's kind of hard to do that when what's distracting you plops herself right down on your mat along with the paper ball that you are trying to use to distract her from distracting you. This is what I found three times while trying to do some sun salutations. I'd be in a forward bend getting ready to step back into a lunge but would have lunged into a pile of cat.

But that's ok, because ultimately yoga is all about being present in the moment and it doesn't get any more present than this.

Silly Kitties*

Today I took Mousey and rubbed some fresh catnip on his face. Here we have Tiki playing with Mousey ... which is Lucy's toy.

Lucy and Tiki have been playing with each other just a bit. A little chase here, a bat or two to the head and face there. Tiki has actually instigated some shit and backed Lucy into a corner. And Lucy will do the run by, where she runs by, jumps on or over Tiki, and then keeps running.

It's fun watching these guys getting to know each other a little better and how they interact just like kids.

Embracing the Imperfections*

I'm almost over the bad photography experience from the other night. Almost:)

Another lesson I learned from the whole experience is to practice what I preach. You know, things I'm ALWAYS telling other people to do, like let go, don't be attached, embrace the imperfections. It's hard to practice what you preach but ultimately I really have no choice.

So in working on the photos from the other night, I'm embracing the imperfections. Yeah, they might be blurry or parts just completely burnt out but if I can find one cool thing about each photo in spite of its imperfections then I'm on my way. The cool thing about this photo is that all of the guys are in the photo and it's a pretty cool angle.

I could be saying to myself (and maybe I am still, just a little) but if only it was ... something else. But it's not and I can't change that. So I'm letting go, unattaching and embracing the imperfections.

Humbled*

Apparently every now and again I need a reality check. Something to make me stop, think and learn. Last night Shawn's band Mis-Fit had a gig at the good old rock club Jaxx. Jaxx is a great place to get photos of the band because they have a decent light show that makes it possible to shoot without a flash. And this band doesn't play that often, so it's important to me to get some great photos. Well, I had been on a roll of getting some great photos without having to put a ton of planning and thought into the whole thing. And for a gig, I am there to have some fun too.

For last night's gig I decided to use only the zoom lens. I was trying to not be up in the guys' faces, right in front of them with the camera, so I thought I would give the zoom lens a try. There was a slight nagging in the back of my mind that this lens just wouldn't be fast enough in the lower light, zoomed all the way but the desire to not lug a bunch of gear won over. Lesson 1: ALWAYS listen to your intuition. I knew I should have brought the wide angle for this show but went against my intuition.

Lesson 2: Don't be attached to ANY outcome. I've been pissed and totally disappointed about it since 2:30am this morning, when I downloaded the photos. I was so attached to one outcome, that I didn't give mind room for another. Which leads to Lesson 3: A little humility goes a long way.

Maybe if I had been a little more humble about getting great shots, I would have actually taken some. I was certain I would get some great shots, in spite of what my intuition was telling me. Surely the outcome would be like 50+ great shots, like always. Uh, no. Try like, 5 good shots.

So now, with a little humilty in my pocket, I will salvage what photos there are, fix what I can and move on. However, I will move on in the future by preparing myself for ALL photo shoots. Reviewing notes, processes, etc... so that I will make the best decisions for gear, lighting and being a good photographer. And you can bet for sure, I will be listening to my intution.

On a brighter note ... my friend got a great shot of me and my husband. This photo alone is worth all the duds I took. And evidently I shot some good video, which was more important to Shawn.

An Odd Creature*

I like how plants and flowers often look like odd creatures. Check out the odd creatures you can find at the Botanic Gardens Orchid Show.

Peeks Around 14*

Peeks Around 14 is the Buddha Altar.

There are some photos of Shawn and me and of the original triumvirate, Nelli, Tiki and Mr. There are some awesome candles, the one in the center is the Buddha candle from 13 Magickal Moons. The other two are blood orange from Pacifica. Another candle to the right is Sacred Space from Lemurian Spirit. There's a dish with the sage and some stones and rocks. Buddha is holding a crystal and there is a rose quartz and a shiva lingam. And Ganesha is sitting on Buddha's right knee. I also keep my malas on Buddha.

This altar adds such an amazing peacefulness and calm to the entire house. You can definitely feel the energy and it sits just inside the front entrance to our home.