the difference between boys and girls....

enough said

~

i have two tiny posts with a few more wedding photos over here

and i would be green...

i'm not a starfish or a clam

i'm not a crab or an urchin

i'm a sea sponge

if someone asked me who i was in the ocean of life

~

soaking in everything around me

my feelings

the feelings of others

the little things that nobody else sees

the big things that overwhelm me

the way the clouds bring a sense of calmness to a day filled with prickly thorns

~

absorbing all the good

the grey when i thought it was white. the softness. the focus. the hugs.

and

trying to fight the bad when it wants to be absorbed

too

~

yes

i am a sponge

and

i can only hope that someday

when it's time to be wrung out

that all the good and beautiful stay

and

all the bad falls silently away

with no parade of fancy

like a low damp mist whispering while it fades into the rising sun

realizing it never had a room in my heart to begin with

but

only in my hands

as i questioned it's belonging in the first place

*

maybe tomorrow...

it's not that i want things different. i honestly don't love change. but i want things to change.

i don't want to move. but i want to move. i don't want to take the chance of what my hair might look like if i get it all cut off. but i want it all cut off. i don't want to paint my studio. but i don't want to look at the kalamata olive colored walls another day. i don't want summer to end. summer makes me happy and light and almost bubbly.

~

but

i want to wear my favorite scarf that smells like me and that my hubby will sleep with if i die tomorrow. at least i know i would if it was his scarf. and my fingerless gloves that make some people look at me with a raised eyebrow. that look of disbelief. that look of she's gone crazy now. her gloves don't even have fingers for god's sake. i want to wear those too.

~

today

i want to sit in a park by the water and watch people. people watching is something i'm really good at. not in a creepy stalking kind of way. just in a way of being thankful that we're not all the same. of course i'd want to take their photo. i would. i would ask first and they would say yes. they always do. but today i have appointments.

~

and

when i move. which will happen. we move often. i will go into the restaurant where this light fixture lives and beg them to let me buy it.

~

seriously

i will beg

*

i have a winner.....and what's important

you guys are the best guessers

ever

~

especially jillsy

who works as an undercover cop and crime scene investigator on the weekends

~well she doesn't really, but she could~

who

totally nailed where we were

~

we were in seattle first for our nephew's wedding

~those photos soon~

and

then we headed south and over to the coast

where we spent two glorious nights

at the

stephanie inn

in

cannon beach

oregon

and

because you all played along with my little guessing game

the random draw winner

~after hubby pulled a name out of the hat~

is

deb

~

oh and now you're probably waiting for me to tell you what's important. well from these photos, what's important is to make sure that before you start digging your little piggies in the tide pools, you make sure your pink laced leggings are all rolled up and tucked safely under your skirt and if you have adorable little pigtails in your hair, too....well, then you're really set for an afternoon of exploring.

~

jillsy and deb....please send me your snail mail addresses

have you....

have you ever noticed

that the beach calls your name with a familiar voice

and

embraces you with a hug that feels like a long lost friend

when you finally arrive

have you ever noticed

that the beach never makes you feel lonely

even if you're all alone

have you ever noticed

that the beach makes you more playful and smiley

and

that after a day of even just walking in the sand

your cheeks are pinker

with a color that can't be bought

have you ever noticed

that the beach is as alive as you are

have you ever noticed

that the beach makes you a bit weepie

when you have to say

good-bye

*

i have

~

august break

day

13

~

have you thrown your guess in the hat yet

for where i was in these photos and the ones below

~

there's still time to play

*

i have a secret...

i've been gone for a week

~

did you know

could you feel it

~

could you tell i wasn't sitting in front of my computer everyday

anyhow

the first person

{and no you can't be anonymous~you have to have a blog or a blog profile}

to guess correctly where i was during the last part of our trip

based on these photos

will win a little prize

and

if you're a follower

you'll be entered twice

~just be sure to remind me you're a follower~

~

but

please

if you are a friend or a family member who knows where i just spent the past week

please please please

don't ruin the guessing game for those who want to play

~

okay

enough rules

let the guessing begin

while i unpack and do laundry

*

{i'll pick a winner on friday around 6 pm}

~

august break

day

11

i searched everywhere....

but

the non-pucker up lemons

just couldn't be found

::

august break

day

10

and then my inflated head lifted me off the ground, and i flew away

Happy Birrrrthday to Youuuu, Happy Birrrrthday to Youuuu, Happy Birrrrthday Dear Beth, Happy Birrrrthday to Youuuu! A few years back, not so long ago, heaven and earth erupted into a major celebration with the news of your impending adventure into this very time and space. You see, someone like Beth doesn't come along all that often. In fact, there's never been a single one like you, nor is there ever ANY possibility that another will come again. You're an Angel among us. Someone, whose eyes see what no others will EVER see, whose ears hear what no others will EVER hear, and whose perspective and feelings will NEVER, ever be duplicated. Without YOU, the Universe, and ALL THAT IS, would be sadly less than it is. Quite simply: You're the kind of person, Beth, Who's hard to forget, A one-in-a-million To the people you've met. Your friends are as varied As the places you go, And they all want to tell you In case you don't know: That you make a big difference In the lives that you touch, By taking so little And giving so much! Beth, you are so AWESOME! For your birthday, friends and angels from every corner of the Universe, including buddies you didn't know you had, will be with you to wish you the HAPPIEST of days and an exciting new year in time and space. You won't be alone! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Beth!

these were the words in my inbox today

from

the universe

~

and

now you know why head inflated the way it did

~

but

i guess when it's your birthday

you get 24 hours for that to be okay

~

august break

day

7

kind of like this....

when i think of all of you

and

how you make me feel

it looks like this

~

hearts + all of you = me feeling loved

~

between your amazing comments

~reassuring me that i'm not dorky~

and

the birthday wishes

you've bestowed upon me for my "big day" tomorrow

~

well

honestly

i think of myself as incredibly blessed

and

without all of you

my days would be lonely

and

the house would be spotless

~since i would spend all of my time cleaning instead of sitting here at my computer~

~

and

between me and you

a spotless house

is so overrated

~

besides

i kind of like naming my dust bunnies and their babies

*

august break

day

6

you already know i'm a dork....

but

today

i'm a dork over here

and

since she lives like a million miles away

i'm not even sure what time it is there

but i know our morning and evenings are like a day apart

and

well

ummm

she might still be in her jammies

~

fine

it's me who's still in her jammies

and

she's probably out saving the world

~

anyhow

i hope you have time to come and visit me

and

see some of my favorite photos that i've been saving

~

oh

~and if i'm not her immediate interviewee when you get there, then i'm right below that one, because like i said, she's a day ahead of me...i think~

~

but

first

or

second

watch this

and

smile

~

60,000 photos

9,600 prints

~

i'm more than amazed

*

august break

day

5

and my heart swelled....

a few weeks back

she wouldn't let me come to her first swim meet

~

"i'm kind of nervous, aunt beth"

she said

~

i promised her then

that i would come to her last home meet

~

"you're going to take my picture, right?"

she said

~

i took over 100 pictures

~

she smiled while she did the breaststroke

and

the butterfly

~

i cheered her on like she was one of my own

*

august break

day

3

me...and the bachelorette {UPDATED}

august break

day

2

~~~~

who's with me tonight

in front of the television

with no distractions

?

chris or roberto

or

neither

?

come on

i can't be alone

here

~

my daughter thinks chris

i think it would have been frank

~silly boy~

and

roberto

well

he sure is hunky

~

thank god

it's not jake

poor strange can't.look.you.in.the.eye vienna had to deal with him

but

hey

she wanted him

*