Ziji Wangmo

Have you all read the blog The Coming of Ziji Wangmo? It's one of my favs. I love her artwork, poetry, photos, stories of her family (husband, four kiddos, and two dogs). Ziji agreed to let me quote her in this article I wrote titled Love the Landscape, Lose the Lawn (eco-friendly ideas for your yard). She pointed out that because of the quote she'll never be able to use a leaf blower again. I'll have to make a special trip to Northern California this fall so I can rake for her. Thanks Ziji!

Mountain Woman

In the dirt, I’m pulling weeds. I’m filling the bird feeders with seeds and nuts and mowing native grass with a reel mower. Later, I'm hiking around the oak brush trying to find a logging road.

I’m feeling all “tough” and “tomboyish” up here at our retreat home in Colorado, and I’m sure Ron must be appreciating the fact that I don’t mind the rough life (no pun intended) and that I’m not afraid to sweat. I'm cool with the possibility that I might run into a bear or a mountain lion. I don't mind that practically every time I pick up a Ponderosa pine cone I get pricked by its thorn.

A flower petal floats in the breeze and lands on my head.

“EEEEEeeeeeeee!” I yell, jumping three feet in the air. When I see it’s a flower petal I put my hand on my chest and breathe a sign of relief.

“I thought it was a tick,” I explain to Ron who stopped dead in his tracks at the commotion.

“That’s my mountain woman!” he says.

~~~

We’ve been out here at our retreat home for almost a week now. I love it except I miss you! I haven’t been keeping up with blog reading. But this afternoon I'm at the Internet Café in town, so off I go to catch up on what you’ve all been up to!

Speedy Gonzales

Andale! Andale! Yeehaw!

Speedy Gonzales, Slowpoke Rodriguez, and yoga. Oh yes, believe it or not those three topics connect. Read about them in my latest blog post over here at Wasa (titled "Are We in a Hurry?").

If you've tried to leave a comment over on the Wasa blog before - sorry, the comment feature was sorta broken. Now it's fixed. I'd love to hear from you on my second blog and especially whether you relate to Speedy or his cousin Slowpoke!

Mountain High

“We made it,” Ron says, leaning over to give me a kiss. “Welcome to Colorado.”

I roll down the window of our rental car and stick my head out the window.

“I swear the sky is bigger here,” I say.

Ron starts up the engine and begins backing out of the airport parking lot.

“The grass is greener and the sun brighter,” I add as we pass tall green pines and pristine lakes. Then I take in a deep, satisfying breath. “And the mountain air is so much fresher.”

Ron pats the top of my head. “And the people nuttier,” he adds.

"No" is the New "Yes"

I love my little writers’ group. Here's what we discussed last meeting:

Amy: I got another rejection from S___ magazine, but now we have a dialogue going on.

Jenny: Good, good.

Scott: You should write an article about getting rejected from S___ magazine. Talk about what that does for your self-esteem.

Amy: Scott, Scott, Scott, “No” is the new “Yes.”

Jenny: It’s true!

Melanie: It’s an invitation to . . .

Amy: . . . continue the dialogue. Okay, editor, you hated that idea and the five previous ones, but how about this one? Every time she says, “No,” I think, “Okay, no - but yes!”

Rina: "No" is the new "Yes." I like that.

Road Trip

I wish I could post a link to an artist I met today. Well, technically I met her last August when Ron and I were wandering around St. Michaels, Maryland. This morning I went on a road trip with my friend Elizabeth – we drove two hours from Washington DC to the artist’s house.

Anyway, I can’t post a link to her work because she doesn’t have a website…

Can’t post an address because she doesn’t have a studio…

Can’t post a phone number because she doesn’t have an answering machine…

This is a wild guess, but I think she doesn’t have these things because, well, who needs those distractions really? She has a lovely gift (painting), a beautiful family (husband and kids), a fun job (teaching art on the Chesapeake Bay), and a cozy welcoming home with rocking chairs on her front porch (and not only rocking chairs, but blankets too). Why add computer glitches and voicemail messages to that mix?

I’m sure my friend Elizabeth and I were quite a sight when the artist pulled into her driveway after work and discovered the two of us swaying back and forth on her front porch waving hello…

The artist was welcoming and joyful and gave us a tour of her house where she showed us her work. She paints landscape with Scripture:

Psalm 147:14 - He makes peace within your borders

Psalm 46:10 - Be still and know that I am God

Matthew 6:28 - Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you?

The best info I can pass on is this: if you’re ever wandering the eastern shores of Maryland and stumble across an art fair, keep your eye out for Heather Crow and her gorgeous artwork.

Because You're All So Sweet...

Last year when I moved from California to the east coast I not only left behind the land I love, but a very dear friend of mine, Kari.

You might remember her -

I wrote about her when I was assigned my first restaurant review…

And when I talked about my book club…

Well, right before I moved she had given birth to a beautiful daughter. And now she’s due to give birth to another baby (she’s not finding out the gender and it’s killing me!).

Before her kids she was Ms. Corporate America, but once she gave birth she was all mother. Love that.

Still…I kept telling Ron, “One of these days I’m going to get an e-mail from Kari about some business she’s drummed up. She has the entrepreneurial bug – I just know it!”

Sure enough I got that e-mail yesterday. She has a product/service in mind about family organization and she wants to do some market research to see how viable her idea is. If you are a mother with young kids would you mind taking her survey? She says it’ll take 10-15 minutes. Here’s the link: Survey Monkey

Thank you!

We're Melting

My husband, Ron, forwarded me an article the other day: Putting the Green Back in Greenland. Ron liked the piece because he's not so sure that global warming is caused by humans, and the article sets forth a different perspective than Al Gore’s in An Inconvenient Truth.

I have a hard time believing that with over 6 billion people on this Earth we aren’t having a big effect on global warming, but Ron thinks the planet would be going through this climate change humans or not. Anyway, he sent a response to the article which was published on AgoraFinancial.com. His words were thoughtful and I thought I’d share them here:

"Well, the media must be doing an excellent job in stirring the masses into an appropriate frenzy if any discussion from the other point of view leads to such virulent reactions. No doubt this means we will allow the government to pass all sorts of nonsensical laws to try and protect the planet from its energy-hogging inhabitants.

I think we fail to realize how big and old our planet is, and history needs to be measured in millennia, not decades.

Personally, I don’t know what impact our actions have on the planet, but I don’t believe the evidence is there to say with high confidence that our actions are having a primary impact (as some scientific report supposedly stated). I just can’t imagine that we have the evidence on a topic as complex and massive as climate change on planet earth.

But this debate does leave me in a quandary, as I try to live a relatively earth friendly lifestyle—recycle, take public transportation, only 1 car between my wife and me, etc., so I am in support of conservation and environmental efforts. At the same time, I am very suspicious that scientists really know what impact we humans are having on the planet. If the hysteria motivates some to become more environmentally friendly who otherwise would remain insensitive to the environment, should I be thankful for the hysteria? That is, does the end justify the means?

Of course, my concern is that we pass laws and statutes that end up doing more harm than good.

I enjoy the Rude Awakening, and I hope you will continue to flesh out the whole story on these complicated and sometimes politically charged issues. I may not always agree with your viewpoint, but I appreciate the perspective."

Ron R.

So there you have it. Pretty eloquent isn’t he? I’m thinking maybe he should be the writer in the family!

Book Craze

Library: a place set apart to contain books

Gimme a B
Gimme an O
Gimme another O
Gimme a K
Gimme an S

One of these days I’m going to fulfill my dream of building a home library. My current library is a bunch of books crammed into a single shelf and lots more in storage boxes. The other day I had lunch with a woman who has a home library – built-ins, a fireplace, a comfy couch, the works.

We mulled over important issues:
-how she organized the books
-whether she should arrange them by title or author
-how deep to build the shelves (apparently 12-inches is standard)
-and, most importantly, exactly where inside her books she should use her personalized "FROM THE LIBRARY OF" stamp.

Does anyone have a home library? How do you organize it? I’d love to hear.

Things to Do Post-Op

1. Finish the stack of partly-read books by your bed

2. Give up (there’s a reason you only made it halfway through the first time)

3. Watch the three hour version of Gandhi

4. Spend the next three hours contemplating the morality of hunger strikes

5. Lay on your back and try to will the dog to make you tea with honey and lemon

6. Lay on your back and try to will your husband to walk in the door with a gift (he brought flowers)

7. Try to figure out a way to scratch your itchy, healing scars without actually touching them

9. Try not to burp, hiccup, sneeze, cough or laugh (ouch)

10. Decide you have too much “stuff” in your house and begin making a list of all the things to donate or sell

Any other ideas? I still have another week of recovery…

I Spy

A few weeks ago The Urban Muse inspired me to write a blog post linking to helpful sites for freelance writers. Here’s what I've spied lately:

Wooden Horse Publishing – a directory of pubs and a nice newsletter;

BellaOnline.com – their Writing Site lists publications seeking submissions;

WeddingChickie.com – submit your wedding related essays.

The Benefits of Surgery

Before the Surgery*

Last Friday Ron and I had dinner plans with friends. On our way out the door he tossed me the car keys.

“You drive,” he said.

“But I don’t like driving in heavy traffic,” I said, handing the keys back to him.

“You’ll learn your way around the city better,” he said.

True.

I hesitated.

“But I’m getting surgery,” I said, turning out my bottom lip and giving him sad eyes.

“Alright,” he said, agreeing to drive.

After the Surgery

“Do you want me to make you dinner?” Ron said.

“Tri-colored pasta and red sauce please,” I whispered, my voice scratchy from the breathing tube that had been in my throat this morning.

Ron made the pasta and it was the first thing I ate all day. It tasted delicious. For dessert he brought me a bowl of fresh cherries. He poured water and gave me my antibiotics. He offered to make tea. He agreed to watch Frontier House** with me.

I guess having surgery isn’t so bad.

~~~~~

*The surgery was this morning. Thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers. I’m fine!

**Frontier House is a PBS reality show about three families who agree to “live” in 1883 as they homestead in Montana. Excellent. Excellent. Excellent. It’s the best show I’ve watched in a long time. And it’s perfect if you’re ever laid up (two DVDs, six hours).

Finally, my latest blog post is online over at Wasa. It’s titled The Gift of Teachers. C’mon over and check it out.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to my mom. She made me this quilt.

She collected my t-shirts as I was growing up. She's working on two more for my brothers.

Isn't she creative? I love the borders as much as the shirts.


Thanks Mom!

A Conversation

Last night two little guys were hanging out with me, one on each shoulder:

Angel: What are you doing?

Devil: Shh! Watching a television show.

Angel: About what?

Devil: Patients whose heads catch on fire during surgery.

Angel (tapping foot): But Jenny’s getting surgery in a few days.

Devil: I know, and this is really freaking her out. Ha Ha!

Angel: That won’t happen.

Devil: It might. The oxygen from the breathing tube catches on fire if there’s a spark from the equipment.

Angel (whispering in my ear): Turn the television off. Visualize the doctor’s hands moving fluidly, draining the cyst, removing it with ease.

Devil: Quiet! You’re missing the best part. Did you see Jenny’s heart rate jump during footage of that last accident?

Angel: This is unnecessary stress. Be wise. There are better ways to spend your evening.

I turned off the television and read the bible. It’s full of stories about Jesus healing others. Much better.

Present Moment, Wonderful Moment

Click on over to the Wasa blog for my latest posting: Bringing Yoga into the World.

It's about the mantra present moment, wonderful moment.

You're still here, aren't you?

Small Small Bloggy World

Don’t you just love it when you come across a blog you really enjoy (SusieJ)?

Or two (Author Mom with Dogs)?

Or three (Confessions of a Suburban Diva)?

If you’re a cocktail enthusiast check out The Liquid Muse. The Liquid Muse and I were exchanging e-mails the other day on a message board when we discovered we write for the same publication. It’s a small, small bloggy world!

No Worries

You’ll be fine, the mother said.
You’ll be fine, the father said.
You’ll be fine, the brother said.
You’ll be fine, the sister-in-law said.
You’ll be fine, the husband said.
You’ll be fine, the friend said.

I’m getting surgery next week and THERE IS NO GUARANTEE THAT I WILL BE FINE.

Okay, I just needed to get that off my chest.

I’m all for positive thinking, and I will admit that this is minor laparoscopic surgery, nothing too major, but if life came with guarantee tags, the doctor would not have had to sit me down for a half hour consultation and go over all the risks. I realize people are trying to be helpful and optimistic. And I realize I’ve probably said, “You’ll be fine” to other people hundreds of times in attempt to put them at ease about various issues (um...sorry 'bout that). But tonight, after Ron got home from work, I told him: I just need to talk about what’s going to happen and I need someone to listen to me about my fears! So he sat down beside me and listened and hugged me.

I feel better now.

The Department of Lost and Found

This weekend I did something I don’t normally do – I read a fiction book (I know, I know, I’m a wild one, eh?)

I’m pretty much a non-fiction, memoir, documentary, biography type of gal, but I couldn’t resist reading The Department of Lost and Found.

Let me back up a little…

I’m so grateful for Allison Winn Scotch and her wonderful blog Ask Allison – an entire site devoted to answering questions from freelance writers about the biz side of the industry. Her insights have helped me fine tune my magazine writing career. She also answers a lot of questions about the publication process for a book. And she should know because The Department of Lost and Found is her first novel and it hits stores May 8. It’s about a Senator’s aide named Natalie who is diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer. Even though the book is fiction, Allison did have a close friend who died of breast cancer a few years ago. During Natalie’s journey through chemo, she learns some valuable life lessons. My favorite character, I’ll admit, was “Sally” the freelance writer (who, in my head, I kept thinking of as Allison and would ask myself, I wonder if that really happened!).

Overall, it was a fun read even though it’s about a serious topic. In fact, I just might pick up another fiction book and go for two novels in a row (I’m telling ya, I’m going nutzo here breaking outta my shell).

Cute Cute Cute

I'm not a purse girl. Or a shoe girl. Or much of a girly-girl at all for that matter. But aren't these CUTE?

Wait...you have to Click Here for more variety (I can only get one of the darn pictures to upload).

A month or so ago, I came across these "recycled books" in Washington DC's Eastern Market (sidenote: sadly, Eastern Market burned in a fire on Monday. It was at night so the vendors were gone, but the loss of space is devastating. For more info visit SaveEasternMarket.org).

The Book Purses are designed by one of the vendors - a super creative woman named Caitlin Phillips. Visit her website Rebound-Designs.

To read my write-up on the "Book Purse" click here (scroll to the article titled "Status Bags for Book Worms").

I know what I want for my birthday!

WASA Up?

Upon hearing that I began a new job as the yoga blogger for Wasa Crispbread, my Dad now calls or e-mails and says, "WASA up?"

Well, I'll tell ya. Wasa up today is my latest post titled "Unfolding" - it begins like this:

We are sitting in Sukhasana (cross-legged), our palms resting open on our knees. Erica, the instructor, tells the class to inhale as we raise our arms over our heads. It's a simple yoga posture, but I'm amazed at how good it feels to unfold and spread out. . .

To read the rest of "Unfolding" come join me at Wasa's new blog. While you're there, post a comment and pass the word along to anyone who may be interested. I'd be most grateful!

And speaking of yoga, my latest What Counts column is online (the gray column under the picture of the building materials). The topic this month? Yoga facts. What a coincidink!

A Virtual Connection

When I found out I was pregnant, my husband and I immediately told everyone. Our families. Our friends. Our work colleagues and neighbors. We even told the dry cleaning lady. Also, I shared the news on my blog.

People warned us, "Be quiet." They were afraid I'd have a miscarriage and then what?

But I knew if the pregnancy ended I would want to talk about that, too, so I didn't feel the need to keep it a secret.

At eight weeks my morning sickness disappeared. At nine weeks and six days I started bleeding. The day after the sonogram technician confirmed the baby was no longer developing, I posted a message about the miscarriage on my blog. What happened next was nothing short of amazing.

And so begins a piece I wrote for Ohio Valley Parent magazine (you can read the whole article here). The article talks about how women are able to maintain friendships thanks to the Internet.

In fact, the editor of OV Parent, Betsy Bethel-McFarland, is a friend of mine from college. Last week she was traveling through Maryland for a bagpipe competition (her band won first place), so she stopped by and we gave each other a huge, looooong hug, I met her baby girl, and we got to spend an hour or so catching up. I'd like to think we'd have stayed in touch without the Net, but the truth is e-mail has played a BIG role in keeping us connected.

I've also been able to "keep in touch" with Michelle, Carrie, and Terry -- three wonderful women who I met at a writer's workshop and who let me use part of their stories in the article. Thanks girls!

P.S. The writer's workshop we met at was run by Jennifer Lauck and Jennifer is holding more this summer for those searching for peace, healing, wholeness...well, I'll let her explain it: click here.

Wasa is Live

A few weeks ago I was in Tulum, Mexico for a week of yoga, meditation, and silent beach walks. I arrived at night after everyone else had gone to sleep. Inside my cabana, two flickering candles revealed a comfy bed draped in mosquito netting with a welcome card on the pillow. I picked up the card and read what was written . . .


To finish reading this post and find out what the card said, visit WASA (as in the crispbread) where I've started a new gig as the yoga blogger (scroll down to the April 30 entry titled Welcome, Loved One). My bloggy buddy, Zandria, is the vegan blogger, so I guess that officially makes it a grog (group blog).


C'mon, it's just one little clicky-poo away. It'll be fun - promise!

Oops, I almost forgot - post a comment over there if you get a chance.