a gift of resplendence

Today, I devoured a book. I mean, literally. I read the whole book in one day.

Light Boxes

by Shane Jones

It was a beautiful little story. I loved every minute of it. Read it. Now.

Also interesting to note: While searching for the image of the cover to attach, I discovered that Spike Jones has just acquired the rights to this book for film production. I smell a quirky, esoteric film coming...

sub me!

I love sandwiches! The perfect sandwich is hard to find, but when you do...oh, the places you will go and the things you will do!

My perfect sandwhich includes:

Turkey
Mayo
Spicy Mustard
Lettuce
Tomato
Pickles
Green Peppers
Avocado
Pepper Jack Cheese

On a crunchy french baguette

a pickle and some salty chips

Would you please excuse me?

A Rebel Without a Cause? OR How I Learned to Trick Myself

I am crazy.

Here's why:

Last night I had planned to do an evening run. When I got home from school I hung out, had a snack, and read for a bit. Slowly, I start to secretly tell myself that maybe I won't go for a run after all. "It's been a long day" I tell myself, "Maybe I should just relax". So, I decide not to run. OK, right? No. As soon as I decide not to run, I start wanting to run!

What I learned about myself (well, actually I think I already knew this, but it was just reinforced) is that I like to do what I'm not supposed to do or what goes against a previously made decision. The rebellion in it is too much to turn down. There is something so satisfying about just saying "F*** it!" to a decision or a plan.

So, how I learned to trick myself: Reverse psychology. I think I just need to decide the opposite of what I need to do- then I will end up doing what I'm supposed to do.

on the edge

We've been talking about "the edge" a lot in yoga lately."The edge" being the point between not enough and too much. Erich Schiffman (yoga-meister) wrote about this and discusses a negotiation of balance in the yoga practice and in life. I like to think about it in terms of Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development (there's a little educational jargon for you). A point at which if you did any more it would be too much and any less would be not enough. And it's only at this point that one can truly grow and develop. So, in terms of a yoga practice it makes perfect sense. You have to push yourself forward to develop, but if you push too hard you will have nothing but pain and sorrow. As you flirt with the edge, the threshold is slowly raised and you progress through your edge only to encounter a new edge.
Obviously, as with all yogic theory, this applies to life on and off the yoga mat.

Naturally, I love this idea. Being the non-pusher that I am, I like to think that people who push themselves too hard are missing out on something. And, being the non-pusher that I am, I have also learned that by not pushing yourself enough you are missing out on something.

Balance. It all comes back to balance.

Home brew!

The newest home brew from Barbee-Roberts* Brewing Company is pretty darn tasty! We call it Yellow Bellied Warrior. Named for the pleasant amalgamation of Amarillo and Warrior hops, the Yellow Bellied Warrior pleases the palate of those seeking a delicious summery IPA.

Yummy.

Anybody want to give us $100,000 to open up our own brew pub?

*Jason did most or all of the work. I just like to "Little Red Hen" all over the place!

EO-pee

Before we begin, you must clear your desk of all materials except two No. 2 pencils. Please check to be sure that your pencils are No. 2 and are sharpened. If your pencils are not No. 2, please raise your hand and I will provide them for you.

Can you feel the crazy?

Let me just soap box for a minute about the garbage that is the End Of Grade standardized test.

Why oh why must all children be held to the same standards? Why should a child who doesn't know what a book is be expected to take the same test as a child who was read "Good Night Moon" in the womb? And why is it surprising when children from backgrounds other than white middle class do not perform on the test that was written by and for the white middle class? And, if I know that the tests are not a valid measure of intelligence or human worth why do I even care?

Make your marks heavy and dark. Please make sure that the number of the question you are bubbling on your answer sheet matches the question number in your test booklet...

Biodynamic

Yesterday, I was transported back to my childhood while picking strawberries. Jason and I also learned something new along the way. Here's how it happened:

Friday: I say "Hey! Let's go pick strawberries tomorrow"

Jason says "Ok!"

We found a place about 10 miles north of Hillsborough called Whitted Bowers Farm

We drove there, got cute little picking baskets and proceeded to time travel to our strawberry picking childhoods.

Another cool thing- Whitted Bowers Farm is certified organic and practices biodynamic farming.

What exactly is biodynamic farming? Well, the bearded man in camping chair who worked at the farm explained it as a mystical practice of farming which followed astrological calendars, old school harvest mentality, and good old fashioned love for the crops. They are a fully sustainable farm. They don't use any pesticides. All bug friends are welcome because they have a place too. And maybe if you put the strawberries next too the garlic, the garlic might deflect the strawberry bugs and vice versa. That sort of thing. They also use solar power and bio fuel for all of the farm equipment. So, basically nothing shitty touches these fruits and veggies, including shitty vibes.

I like this idea. I like to think that as I eat these berries, I am filling myself with pure love and energy from nature. Delicious.

Who is my (S)elf?

Think about a time in your life when you were the most true to yourself. The most "yourself" version of yourself that could ever be. Honest with yourself. Honest about who you are and what you want. Real. What did it feel like? What were you doing? Go there now. Be it.

Guaranteed, you will probably the most in touch with your Self as you ever have been.

I wouldn't do it, but I totally support you...

To how many things or people can you say that? How many times has someone said it to you?

2012ing

Much like how "google" became its own verb, Bekah and I have have now created a new word out of our obsession with 2012. Not the movie, but the idea of the world ending as we know it.

To "2012" is to catastrophically explode, fly off of a car, run over something, or something else really horrible that might happen in 2012.

Some sentences with the use of the word in context:

• Woah...I really hope that the Charleston bridge doesn't 2012 while we're driving over it.
• Damn, that slide sure is precariously tied to the back of that truck; I hope it doesn't 2012 off the back and decapitate me after it crashes through my windshield.
• Have a good flight home; don't 2012!

But, seriously...2012!!!!

Rain!

It hasn't rained here in several weeks. The pollen has been yellow and dry and stuck to everything. The ground has been dry. The garden has been thirsty. Today is torrential down pour day. It has been raining super hard and I love it. As a child I hated rain. It ruined everything! But as an adult I have come to love and appreciate the rain.

I think Madonna once said "Rain...feel it on my finger tips, see it on my window pane". Yeah.

Now, if I could only get home, get a book and curl up. MMMMMMMMM

Weekend at Bernie's!

...Except with the trinity in Charleston!

This weekend was filled with super fun shenanigans, graduation, dresses, a road trip, elaborate photo shoots, a British love interest, family dinners, Sex and the City-esk roof top cocktails, and even talk of the apocalypse. It's the making of a perfect movie. One maybe as perfect as Weekend at Bernie's...without Andrew McCarthy.

But as all good things must, it had to come to an end. I'm still trying to come to terms with why fun things end so much quicker than not fun things. Like, working seems like it takes 20 hours and Weekend at Bernie's trinity weekend was maybe....5 min.

Perhaps one day, I'll be better at savoring the good, and finding good things to savor in the not so good.

it's on!

great things are about to happen...

get ready for it

dramamongers

Have you ever noticed that some people just attract drama? Or, they create a climate of drama for themselves? Or maybe a little of both. These people LOVE the gossip, the speculating, the talking, the secrets, the scandal! But, why?

There's a lot of drama going on at school right now, which has gotten me thinking a lot about how different people deal with drama in their lives. Now, I'm not going to lie, I love to hear about the drama just as much as anyone else but I HATE to be involved in it.
Basically, because of budget cuts and low test scores 8 teachers were "let go" on Friday. All day Friday people are walking around naming names, speculating who should or shouldn't be fired and counting off people on their fingers like it's nothing! Certain people were feeding off the drama that this created and others were fueling the fire.

People like this are everywhere..I've known them throughout all chapters in my life and its always the same story.

Not Santosha.

Fiyeroooooooooo!

So, last night we went to see the traveling cast of Wicked at the new Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC).

So, first I got a little tipsy on white wine before (quite appropriate in my opinion; I had to mix in with all the white upper middle class southern women). I tried to make some jokes to the people selling the wine, and they kinda weren't having it. Which brings me to my side point- people never want to joke anymore! Maybe its the serious climate of the world right now, maybe its the stuffiness of the 'theatre', maybe its that I'm not that funny and people don't want to crack jokes with me.... sad. But come on...throw a girl a bone!

Anyway...Wicked was really good! I was pleasantly surprised. I tend to never have high expectations for traveling casts of things, but these guys rocked it!

Wicked was cornily delightful. And, I can't get the songs out of my head.

Elephants = love!

As an elementary school teacher I am often asked mundane yet thought provoking questions such as: What's is your favorite color? Favorite food? Favorite season?
It's somehow refreshing to have to consider questions like this. And, I often find that one's answers to questions such as these tend to reveal an awful lot about his or her true self (or Self).

So, recently I was asked what my favorite animal is, and it didn't take long to come to the conclusion that the elephant is the one for me!
Not only are elephants exotic and somehow dinosaur-like, but they are some of the kindest creatures on the planet! They are loving to each other and other animals around them.
They have the ability to create compassionate relationships and feel grief when one of their own dies. Amazing! Elephants also exhibit signs of self-awareness!

Elephants are absolutely beautiful. They are the largest mammal on the Earth, yet their hugeness is filled with grace. Each movement is slow and deliberate. Perfection.
Throughout time elephants have been in symbol of wisdom and intelligence. I mean, their brains are bigger than ours! Maybe elephants should be running things...

And this is the conclusion of my report on elephants.

I hope that one day, in another life, I can be an elephant too.

Pangaea

It's really weird to think that millions of years ago, all the continents were connected into one mega super continent. Dinosaurs roamed the Earth. Crazy. Then, it makes me wonder if in a million more years, people will think back and say "Woah, its really weird that a million years ago there was only 7 continents. And, these strange people things drove cars around and ate these things called cheeseburgers"!

Even crazier: civilization as we know it is just a tiny little blip in the history of the Earth. And if Earth continues to exist for the rest of time, the size of our blip will continue to decrease until we are nothing but a fraction of a blip. Thus, as time and civilization furthers we are projected into a state of pure insignificance.

But, then I'm brought to the thought that we couldn't be totally insignificant. Especially if you subscribe to the idea that everything is a sum of the things that have happened before it. Like, if you go back in time and kill a fly- the whole world would be changed.

Pangaea. Shit.

A reason to be excited

Spring is coming to an end (yay!), which means no more pollen, hot hot heat, backless shirts, and yummy salads! Jason has planted lots of delicious veggies in the garden. And, while many of these here are store bought because the others aren't ready, we are using our very own lettuce! Hip Hip Horaaaaaay!

To make:

Combine lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, peppers, carrots, cheese, avocado and dressing of your choice. Eat it.