'You Really Can Do Whatever You Want'

back to that post from last Monday...

Here are some more things I would do if I could do anything I wanted:

:: spend more time being creative with tangible (not digital) materials (ie paper, glue, found objects, paint, etc.)

:: travel the world as a writer -- writing about luscious things in other places (farmer's markets, little hotels, summer festivals, etc.)

:: speak closer to fluent French and learn Spanish

:: live in a foreign country for a year or two

:: do more meditation retreats

:: continue to expand my yoga practice and skills as a teacher


more, for sure, but that's a start... If you get a chance today, start off your week with a couple of ideas that break you out of your standard view of what's possible.

artwork from Keri Smith.

Everybody needs a fancy coat...

with a fake fur fringed collar and sleeves ... especially on a snowy spring day like today!

A good morning for an early (7:30 is early for a Sunday) yoga class, full of backbends (invited opening up to vulnerability, left me feeling really invigorated) and a warm chai afterwards. Ahhhh...

The teacher, De, read a really beautiful quote from Rodney Yee's latest book. Here's a quick backbend video from Rodney you can do at your desk this week. (Super simple. The commercial before the video is kinda annoying, but do something else while that's playing, like closing your eyes and taking some long inhales and exhales through your nose.)

Happy Sunday!

Meal Planning this Weekend?

OK OK, I should be working, but next on my list this afternoon is to edit some designs for lobotoME, a company created by my Durango pal and fellow mama Jenny. lobotoME sells fabulous notepads and planners (really ideal for busy mamas, or, well, busy anybody). I designed this feedME pad for her last year, and it's super handy for those weekend menu-planning ordeals. Makes writing it all down and getting your shopping list organized really fun. lobotoME's releasing 4 news pads at the NY Stationery Show in May, so stay tuned for new pads, new designs, and more witty insight and tips from Jenny. Her blog is a really good read, too.

And I swear I'll get back to work now! Something on my menu for next week: falafel and baba ghanoush in pitas. Mirelle's down with the ethnic cuisine...

Earth Hour tomorrow

Can you live without lights for just one hour? Cities across the world are shutting down March 29th at 8 p.m. Sounds like a great excuse to break out the candles! More info here.

If you love to dance ...

I started going to Zumba classes in January, did other stuff for the last month, but went back to class again today ... it is sooo much fun, and just exactly what I need after sitting at my desk all day. Find a class near you on their website, and start shakin' those hips! It's like Spring Break at the gym. Love it. Their motto is 'Ditch the workout. Join the party.' Well said.

My parents are in China...

...and I just signed another petition regarding the situation in Tibet ... the petition will be delivered to Chinese President Hu Jintao showing that a violent response to the Tibetan protests is not acceptable.

My parents set sail yesterday on a boat from southern Japan that will take them eventually to Hong Kong. With the Olympics looming, let's hope China might listen to the global community and approach the Tibetan situation with a little more dialogue and less violence and oppression.

Thirty-One

In honor of my birthday, I took the day off work, had lunch with Mirelle and Ross, then painted a canvas (something that I haven't done since, well, college, and the resulting piece is well, interesting). The Henleys (my sister, brother-in-law, and their two girls) came to Louisville for a birthday dinner; Jessica and Sydney made a yummy sticky date pudding. (Family recipe.)



My sister found me this book for my birthday."Billed as fiction with a mission, this well-written supernatural adventure unabashedly seeks to convert young readers to an ecologically green philosophy." (from Amazon.) Sounds good to me! The author also keeps a blog to keep young readers inspired. Hooray for all things gaia!

Inspiration for today

Hmm ... what would I do if I truly believed this?

artwork from keri smith.

I'd make more time to be creative with scissors, glue, and pretty papers. Right now I'm inspired by Ali Edwards. Speaking of which, I'm going to log off and do that right now. I'll add more to this list later this week.

Beautiful baby journal

Watch out, friends having babies. I found this beautiful baby journal 'The First 1000 Days' at growmodern. It may just be my new favorite baby shower gift. I've been keeping track of Mirelle's first year and a half in a random journal, but I'm going to transfer it all over to this book instead. It's a beautiful thing!

Happy Easter, Happy Spring!

Hope your day was lovely!



Here's Mirelle this morning, admiring the tiny chicks found in her Easter basket.

Petition

Just signed this petition related to yesterday's post:

After nearly 50 years of Chinese rule, the Tibetans are sending out a global cry for change. Violence is spreading across Tibet and neighbouring regions, and the Chinese regime is right now making a crucial choice between tougher crackdown or dialogue.

President Hu Jintao needs to hear that "Made in China" exports and the upcoming Olympics in Beijing will have the support of the world's people only if he chooses dialogue. But it will take an avalanche of global people power to get his attention. In just 3 days, the campaign is almost half way to the goal of 1 million signatures!

Free Tibet

I don't watch the news. I hardly even listen to NPR anymore. I'm really out of the loop (almost always) about our pop culture and the latest happenings. Sometimes it's just all too much to take in ... and the news is, well, so sad. I'm really saddened about the happenings in Tibet, especially the violent clashes between the Chinese and Tibetan protesters lately. I practice a style of meditation known as vipassana (well, now my meditation looks more like changing a diaper, scraping bits of food off the floor, and wiping off a yogurt-covered face than sitting on the actual cushion). So the best I can do right now is send metta, or lovingkindness (a vipassana practice), to the Tibetan and Chinese people, and all those in conflict.

May all beings be peaceful.
May all beings be happy.
May all beings be safe.
May all beings awaken to the light of their true nature.
May all beings be free.
I'll add more details on metta in a future post.

Here's a press release from the Dalai Lama, sent a couple days ago. You can also visit Free Tibet's website for more info here.

May all beings be free.

Fluorescent bulbs and mercury

Compact fluorescent bulbs (or CFLs) are an excellent choice when it comes to energy efficiency. But the bulbs can't simply be tossed when their life ends. All CFLs contain about 5 milligrams of mercury — a tiny amount, for sure (barely enough to cover the tip of a pen) — but that is enough to contaminate 6,000 gallons of water beyond safe drinking levels. You can read a more detailed article on CFLs and mercury here, and look for a recycling center near you to dispose of them.

These images are from an invitation job I did last summer for the Discovery Museum at the Powerhouse in Durango. It was a really fun die-cut job (so just imagine the bulbs being cut out where you see the outline around the shape...) The invitation was for their gala fundraising event held last September.

Mirelle draws a name...

And the winner is...



Melissa Johnson!, Senior Account Exec at Bayard Advertising and one of my clients in Denver.

Thanks, everyone, for your feedback, comments, and support! Check back for more giveaways this spring!

A good day for green tea...

Buena Vista

Spent the weekend in Buena Vista checking out a New Urbanism neighborhood going in there.

Buena Vista is pretty low-key right now, but definitely up and coming. And beautiful, for sure. We stayed at nice little b+b,



had a really good meal at mothers bistro, and played some mean YAHTZEE.

Zwaggle

My sister told me about Zwaggle -- a national network of parents who have come together to share kid stuff.

Basically, you receive Zwaggle points (or Zoints) by giving your gently used things to other families, then use those Zoints to obtain "new" things for your family.
They're touting it as 'financially smart' and 'ecologically responsible.'

Now I just need to sort through all of our stuff to get started... I'll let you know how it goes! I know we could really use a double stroller for our nanny to use...

gaiacreative card giveaway

To celebrate the launch of my blog, I'm giving away a set of two handmade cards - made with colorful cardstock, translucent vellum, and satin ribbon, all wrapped up with corrugated paper and hemp twine. The cards come with two policy #10 envelopes (policy means they open on the short end.) The quote on the cards is Love: don't be afraid to seize it and features a little feather illustration from a stamp that belonged to my friend Jonathan Gibbs.



Enter a comment to this post before Monday March 17 at midnight; winner will be randomly selected and announced on Tuesday.

My word for 2008

Enough said. What is yours?

Warm weather riding (and running)

I've been thinking about doing some sort of bike tour/marathon this summer. Now's the time to start training, or at least thinking about it. I sometimes think I can't take on one more 'thing' on my to-do list, but these goals are very me-friendly, and momME time is always a good thing to map out well in advance.



My friend and fellow yogini mama Andi introduced me to this ride that she's thinking of doing this summer, and, well, it seems right up my alley. Plus, their website is just downright beautiful. And it's a women-only ride, and for a good cause ...

Another idea is the Boulder Backroads Marathon in September. Hmm. The Galloway run/walk method is a favorite of mine, and makes it feasible for anyone to do long distance runs. I trained with a group in Durango in 2005, but bowed out because of weird ankle stuff. So running may still not be in my future. But the Galloway program rocks!

Planning any rides/races this summer?

8 million tons

...of trees used annually to produce paper catalogues. Easy way to remedy the proliferation of catalogues stacked on your kitchen table: unsubscribe online here in three quick steps. Yay for trees! I started tonight by removing my name from Boden, Boden Kids, and Athleta. (It's all online anyway.)

Mirelle in iota

Spring has sprung! Mirelle loves sporting about in her handmade iota pants, courtesy of Kelly, designer extraordinaire and the force behind iota.

My second job as a designer out of college was with Kelly, at words pictures colours, and that is where I cut my teeth, so to speak. Kelly played a huge role in me creating design as my livelihood - to her I am very much indebted.

iota is her stationery baby, and it's doing quite well - from paper goods to fabric, and now to leather goods ... can't wait to see what iota debuts this spring at the NY Stationery Show. These are the patterns in Mir's pants:

re:vision international

I've been working with my cousin Eric on branding and design for his new non-profit, re:vision international. The identity is done, and now I'm at work on the website. It's really fun for me to work with a cousin who not long ago I was feeding him in a high chair as one of his 'big cousins.' Eric's a cool guy.



This summer he, alongside re:vision cofounder Joseph Teipel, will be riding his bike from Alaska to Argentina, beginning on August 1, 2008 and ending in February, 2010. The Revolution campaign will research how communities across North and South America are affected by global warming, resource depletion, and extreme poverty, document successful ideas and innovations on sustainability, and deliver the message of Revision International.




Here's a video on the re:volution campaign.



And their current website can be found here.

Christiana Coop, a friend I know through my friend Mary Sanders, has recently been featured both online and in the San Francisco Chronicle for her very hip digs. Christiana left her career as a lawyer to become the US rep for ferm LIVING, a Danish design company that produces some seriously hip wallpaper and wall decals.

Visit her beautiful apartment in San Fran and check out a couple of pics of her coverage in the San Fran Chronicle. Truly an inspirational woman! You can visit Christiana's clever spaces blog here. Oh, and you can read the whole Chronicle article here.