Monday, November 30, 2009

Buddha at Work*


















Here's another one of the anniversary Buddhas. He has found a home on my desk at work. This is another Meditating Buddha holding the begging bowl. I'm hell bent on finding a good resource on the meaning and significance of all these Buddha's and will share as soon as I do.

He is sitting on the book, Five Good Minutes at Work - 100 Mindful Practices to Help You Relieve Stress and Bring Your Best to Work. Next to him is some aromatherapy spray I mixed for clearing the head, boosting concentration, stimulating the mind and alerting the senses, made up of peppermint, eucalyptus and rosemary.

The work related stress that I get is more from having a lot of projects and becoming overwhelmed and not knowing where to start, thus becoming paralyzed. Which leads to procrastination, which leads to more stress. Often thrown in is the disaster that my desk becomes. Clutter just makes it all worse.

So, hopefully, having some sacred space on my desk with Buddha there will help with this. My goal is to clear off my desk at the end of the day so that it stays clean. It's been clean since office clean up day on Nov 6!

Right now the sacred space is next to my computer but I'm getting a new computer so that may have to change. Uh oh, there's that "C" word again!!

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Hanging On*























Fall is almost over. Just a few weeks until the Winter solstice. A lot of trees are bare but there's a few that are still hanging on to their leaves.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Saturday Afternoon*














































This afternoon I had a photo shoot with a great little family. I've been taking photos for them since their little girl was born, 18 months ago. Little kids like this aren't easy because you can't really tell them what to do. So ... you go with the flow. And it flowed really well today.

Peeks Around 23*
















Peeks Around 23* is the second Buddha to find a home. This is Meditating Buddha with a Begging Bowl. I still don't know the significance behind the hand positions, etc... and need a good resource. The internet is not helping with this one.

So this Buddha is maybe brass or copper and I'm guessing that the color is some sort of patina. The little table this sits on gets used a lot and it moves around depending on space and need. My bff Lisa found this table and two matching but smaller ones. And each table fit underneath the other. I don't know what happened with the other two but I got this one. It has followed me through something like 8 moves. Maybe more. And it's not the most stable thing, although I think Shawn may have done something to it to make it a little more sturdy. It's also painted gold and has some sort of damask type of pattern on it.

This past summer it was in the living room. Once the plants came in Big Buddha had to move and the table had to move into our bedroom. There was stuff from the Big Buddha altar that needed a home so I decided to make a small altar in the bedroom for the winter. This new meditating Buddha is perfect for it. He's in the photo with his buddy Ganesha, a Buddha candle from Soaring Spirit Yoga studio, a shiva lingam stone, a couple of crystals and some other stones. It's exuding some really great energy.

And ultimately there was a lesson learned from this altar that I didn't realize until this very moment. When the plants first came in for the winter I was bummed about having to move Big Buddha and losing the space. There was a hard attachment to the way things were and I was having a hard time letting go of that, even though I knew it was coming. And attachment only causes suffering. The end result of the change that I didn't want, is a beautiful altar with amazing energy that I see every. single. day. Not such a bad change after all.

Friday, November 27, 2009

Gratitude*























Gratitude on Thanksgiving Day is a given and it's easy. But are you grateful every other day of the year for everything, good, bad, ugly, otherwise? Gratitude is also about being thankful for the bullshit because ultimately that bullshit is a teacher, somehow. Whether to not do something again, whether to change something that's not working, whether to realize that even though it's bullshit you still got it good.

So I am grateful for everything that has crossed my path or happened to me this year. Good, bad, ugly and otherwise.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Meditating Buddha Finds a Home*
















So this Buddha is Meditating Buddha. Every hand position, foot position, what Buddha is holding, etc... all have significance. Meditating Buddha has found his home on the fireplace mantel. Oddly enough, he's next to a gargoyle. It seems not right but so right at the same time.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Scenes from an Anniversary!
















It looks like we have never actually worked on our anniversary. Yesterday was no exception. So here are some random scenes from our special day. Between the champagne brunch, wine drinking all day and anniversary cupcakes, somewhere around 7pm we lost track.

Here's our wedding photo album, FINISHED!! After 6 years!!! Last year on our anniversary we sat down and put together an iPhoto book for the wedding and reception. Then it sat in iPhoto for 11 months! Because there were two photos that needed to be fixed. So I finally took care of that and got the damn thing ordered and here.
















Here's Shawn's anniversary present from me ... a sitar!
















Here's Shawn strumming the sitar.























Making brunch pancakes in the sexy, clown slippers. Who needs lingerie when you've got clown slippers??























Champagne for the champagne brunch. That just got the ball rolling for wine drinking ALL day.
















A set of buddha's from Shawn to me. It was a fantastic day.

Our Story

Ten years ago, on November 23, Shawn and I got together for a drink. We've been together since then. Shawn and I have known each other since we were kids. Our fathers are both Persian and were working in the same restaurant in DC. They both had American wives and I think when they met, I might have been about 3 or 4 and Shawn would have been 1 or 2. I don't remember anything from that time frame, really. When I was 5, we moved to the suburbs. Shawn's family followed a year or so later. From that time on, I remember holiday gatherings, birthdays and my mom and Shawn's mom hanging out and gossiping. Sadly though, Shawn and my younger brother Mike, had no interest in playing with the girl, so I was usually stuck either listening to the women gossip (ugh!) or taking care of my baby brother or playing by myself. Needless to say, there are a bunch of childhood memories that are great to rehash now as adults. Here's a pic from Christmas, from 1974 or 1975. Shawn is on the far left, in between are my two brothers and I'm on the far right, with the Chihuahua.















Somewhere along the line, when we were teenagers, our families lost touch. When my grandmother died in 1990, Shawn's mom was at her funeral. I was able to chat with Karen for a bit and she told me what Shawn had been up to. See flyer below.























Shawn is on the far left. My roommate and I were always going to check out bands at Zaxx, Hammerjacks, The Bayou, The Rabbits Foot, etc... How had we NEVER heard of this band, especially since I knew one of the guys. Plus, Shawn was a hot, rockin' honey. So a few months go by and my roommates and some friends and I are at Zaxx in Springfield and I see Shawn there. Mind you he hasn't seen me since I was like 12 or so. So I go up to him and ask him if his name is Shahin Sharifi and sure enough it's him. We talk for a few minutes and that's it! I didn't give him my number because I didn't give my number out to band dudes. And he didn't give me his number because he was a hot, rockin' honey in a band and didn't give his number out to chicks.

Eventually as fate would have it, I started dating someone and that relationship would end up being totally f'ed up. Shawn and I saw each other briefly, here and there, when I was broken up with the other dude, but clearly it was not our time and I simply wasn't in the right place to be with someone like Shawn.

So, fast forward about 9 years, to 1999. I'm in college, have ended the f'ed up relationship once and for all and think it's time to look up an old friend and minimally apologize for being such a flake. So I emailed Shawn to say hi. That was in March. Never heard back. I emailed him again maybe in the summer (we've got all the emails saved:) and this time attached a photo of one of my paintings. Luckily I did that because the artwork inspired him to reply. Thank god for that painting!!! So we corresponded here and there and it was time for Thanksgiving break, so I was like how about we meet for a drink. He said sure ... we had that drink on November 23, 1999. The minute I saw his face, I knew that I would end up marrying him. It was just a weird premonition. I was only there to apologize for being a flake.


My last semester of school, we visited back and forth. In March, I wrangled him into being my boyfriend:) I was visiting and he had a gig. So I asked him when people asked who I was what should I say, am I your girlfriend or what? He was like, yea, I guess you can say that. He proceeded to gleefully introduce me to everyone that night as his girlfriend.

















After I finished school, I moved back to northern VA. November 23, 2001, Shawn asked me to marry him. It was a total surprise. November 23, 2003 we got married. The best 10, 8 and 6 years of our lives.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Flying Kitty*























There's a new feather toy in the house. Lucy is having the time of her life. She likes playing with this toy more than food. She sits next to it waiting for someone to come and flap it around. So she can fly around.













































Saturday, November 21, 2009

Love Me Some Clogs*























You gotta love clogs. Slip on, slip off. They go great with jeans. No spiky heels to navigate in. And when they have metal studs, how could you not wear them. These remind me of the coveted Mia clogs I had back in high school. I don't know whatever happened to them. I suppose some bad fashion of the 80's swooped in and then suddenly those coveted Mia clogs were nothing but outdated. And now, 25+ years later, you're seeing clogs like the Mias everywhere.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Lunch*
















This is one of my favorite lunchs. Whole Foods International Food Bar. There's fried rice, green beans, tofu and today some veggie lo mein. It's missing something though, purposefully. I'm taking the first steps of reducing my intake of meat and working my way towards being a vegetarian. So, today no chicken. And honestly, I didn't miss it all. So, there you go. More on this later. I'm on vacation now so back to my cocktail.

Serendipity*























Sometimes there's a perfect moment of serendipity.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Cat Drama*























Here's Lucy recovering from her day of trauma. Today Lucy got to stay home while Tiki had to go to the vet, survive the ride without an accident in the carrier and be poked, prodded and whatever else they do to the cats in the back room. So naturally, Lucy is freaked out.

Remnants of Summer*























As we approach mid Fall this plant is still flowering. While the flowers are beautiful, somehow the remnants of the flowers are more aligned to the feel and energy of the season.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Knee Socks*























Actually, over the knee sock. Outfit for today was the socks, cowboy boots, dress and denim jacket. The over the knee socks were perfect for it. The sock part was nice and soft and under the dress it looked almost like tights. And the bow is very cute. But the elastic band was awful!!! It had some shiny, almost metallic like thread running through it and made it pretty much unbearable to wear them over the knee. The metallic thread scratched. Just like the plastic thread on the tags they sew into the neckline of tops. Eventually, I rolled them down to be comfortable. Note to fashion industry, don't do that. Don't use plastic, sharp material to sew stuff or weave into stuff. I'll give up some sparkle to have a soft and comfy over the knee sock.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Baby & Buddha*
























Baby being watched over by Buddha, from a photo shoot this afternoon.

And to elaborate on the post about Lucy and the Ficus tree, here's a photo that gives a better view of how big the tree is. Lucy is laying by the trunk.


Welcome Back, Sun*























After 5 days of Nor'easter clouds, rain and wind, the sun made a glorious return today. The mums were happy, not to mention the people.

Serious Catch Up*























OMG ... do I have some serious catching up to do. The past week, 3 weeks actually, have been filled with extra late nights, weekend photo shoots and Friday a yoga class that seriously kicked my ass! Yes, the yoga class, Rockasana, was fantastic, but I'm fairly certain I didn't drink enough water afterwards, after major sweating and detox for an hour and half. So yesterday I was dehydrated and kind of, well not kind of, but absolutely exhausted. Hmmmm ... perhaps a little more presence with my body would have been helpful.

Anyway, time to catch up and get back on track. So let's start with Miss Lucy Poo and "her" tree. Here she is on the ficus tree. First, this photo does not give justice to just how big this tree is. Lucy claimed it last year when she was a kitten. Thankfully Shawn was able to find something to put around the trunk so when she gets up there she doesn't end up spreading and digging up dirt. That would just be lovely.

Last year, when she was about 1/2 the size she is now, she figured out how to climb up in the ficus tree. I pretty sure there were a few times when she got up in it and just chilled, like the jungle panther. I think she knows now that she's just too big. But she still loves hanging there. She'll rip snort through the house and come right back to that spot. She gets her goodbye pets in the morning from this spot. She has claimed it.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Inside Out*

















This is the view from our living room window. The neighbor's trees across the street are looking pretty spectacular. Especially because it's cloudy out — the color is just so much more vibrant. Just seeing the darkness inside, makes me want to lay on the chaise and take a nap:)

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

More Rain*
















Getting more rain here today. A lot more rain.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Another Sneak Peek*
















Carrie and Dave did cupcakes instead of a wedding cake. Great idea!

Monday, November 9, 2009

Sneak Peeks from Carrie & Dave's Wedding*























These are some sneak peeks from Carrie and Dave's wedding from last Saturday. There's a lot so I thought I would start with the fabulous Rachel and Jen's handiwork. You find Rachel here. Rachel and Jen are the owners of Atelier Floral Design. Not only did they do beautiful arrangements for Carrie and her bridesmaids but they also did the amazing altar below. It's just beautiful and full of energy!



Sunday, November 8, 2009

Sun Spots*






































Kitties enjoying sun spots on a lazy Sunday morning.

Cuteness on Color*
















Here's Lucy sitting on the kitchen rugs. Every time I pull them up, shake them off and throw them in the other room so I can sweep up the kitchen, she goes right to them. Well, first, she comes in the kitchen to try and walk through the mess I'm trying to sweep up. So after I chase her out of the kitchen, she goes right to the rugs. And they make the perfect colorful backdrop for a little black kitty.

Friday, November 6, 2009

Fall Leaves*

Friends*























While I don't think they'll ever be snugglers, looks like they are becoming friends.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Goddesses*























My horoscope for October urged me to follow up on creative ideas that had been simmering. One of those ideas was photographing some goddesses. So I got some of my yoga girlfriends to go out in the woods with me and let their inner goddess shine through.
























Each of them is so different and I really feel like their energy and essence are captured well. Each of them their own goddess.






















Want to let your inner goddess shine through? Just contact me for your goddess photo shoot:)

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Blooms in November*























It's November 3 people. And look at these flowers. In full bloom!






















And one of the two buds on the night blooming cereus bloomed today, although in the morning.

Monday, November 2, 2009

The Death of the Feather Toy*























This was the feather toy from Grandma last Monday.
























This was the feather toy as of Saturday. It's in even worse shape now. But Lucy LOVES that toy and she has loved every second of ripping it apart and shredding it. She sits next to it waiting for one of us to come along, pick it up and play with her. Poor Mousey, her former favorite toy, has been forsaken.