because i wouldn't do that to you

...here's another pic of sage that i adore.

gifts from the garden

there seems to be a lot of activity going on in my garden. these are some of the fruits of not a lot of labor.

vine-ripened and amazing

the watermelon and cucumber plants are spreading, but bearing nothing. hm.

sage demonstrates how to suck your thumb - i mean hers.

we were just playing around on sunday morning while we let mom get a few extra minutes of sleep.

traditions can be a drag. but when you have sage in one of dem outfits....

i know... so cute huh?

sage turns one, part i

i got to spend the weekend with family in san diego, specifically my sister Helen, Gene, and Sage. sage turned one on sunday.

one!

i remember when i first met her at 2 weeks old. she was just the cutest little button. and now, she's still the cutest lil button that stands, laughs, and eats like an adult! i'm feeding her mini spoonfuls of yellow peach flesh here.

i have so many more pictures to post! talk about being inspired.

quietly inspired.

there's something stirring deep within.













today,

• i purchased my very first 5D
• listened to amy seeley all day
• wore a skirt and high heels
• found out about a workshop i want to go to and called to reserve a spot
• sipped on a mojito
• talked to strangers at a bar
• signed a contract
• heard some really sad news
• oozed with love as i thought about seeing baby sage
• am probably pulling an all-nighter

i'm off to SD, on a bike.
then on a train.
then on another train.
then on a airplane.

my little sage is turning one and i'm not about to miss the celebration.
you know i'm going to have so many pictures of her.

btw. a lil bday shout out to pri. happy days mi amor!

bored & cautious

These people look bored.













I wonder if I chose this picture because it’s a reflection of something inside of me.

By the way, I appreciated everyone’s suggestions for things to try to get inspired. I have a few ideas for things I must post as soon as I get my computer back. My garden is also in the queue because you have to see my gigantic crooked neck squash plant. It is gigantic!

But, something I wanted to write today is this: dance is a mirror to life.

At tango class, I feel myself almost getting emotional every time I’m there. And, not that I’m necessarily about to cry; I just become so aware of mind, soul, and body and it resonates deep within. Dance forces me to be aware .. to be intentional. I need to know what my body is doing, yet let it move freely within the space my leader and I have formed – between the connection that supposed to make us into one body moving through time and space together. Deep no?

I have so many more thoughts on this. But, on a fun note, let me end on this.
As one of our beginning exercises, Felipe had us scatter chairs throughout the room. Then, he made us hold hands with our partner and for follows, we had to close our eyes and trust our lead to lead us through the space without bumping us into chairs and other people.
I went through 4 stages through this process.

1. A lil stiff: Trusted my lead, but was sort of “holding my breath” as he lead me through.
2. VERY cautious: He bumped me into a chair! My body totally resisted following him freely. Makes sense…he messed up and broke trust. Funny thing was that this second stage was when he and I were laughing out loud the most. My eyes were closed, and though I couldn’t see my expression (or his), I am positive my body was squirmed up like a shriveling slug under the sun. I had a blast in stage two.
3. Give a lil: He bumped me into another chair! But, something inside of me wanted to let it go and trust his lead, so I felt my body loosen up a bit.
4. FREE: And finally, FINALLY, I decided in my head to just be free and trust completely! It was a liberating feeling…but the song ended about 15 seconds later.

You might consider asking someone to hold your hand and guide you through an unknown place. It’s exhilarating!

main coon huh?

andychon suggested "main coon" as a comment to my last post.
i immediately thought, "cancun? is he suggesting i go to cancun?"

um, yeah.

so, i googled it and this is what i found on the pinetar rag.













i'm not sure if i should be inspired or freaked out!
but gosh, seeing that human-sized cat makes me just want to wrestle with it like a bear. it has nothing on me! rar!

the weirdest part is that there were 103 comments after this post. maybe now that i borrowed a picture from this lady, i'll get .. 103 minus 100 comments or something like that.

picture of pictures

i have a confession to make.

i've been tired of blogging....i think because i haven't been as inspired as i usually am. Could it be that i'm OD'ing on photography?

hahah, ok. i think that is hardly the case because i still love it. it was just a passing thought.

i need a lil inspiration! suggestions?

snippets

shoo-shee giggles
dance-a-thon in the back seat
tandem bike ride (w/ no hands! w/ no feet!)
painful drive up

it's a snippet of tahoe.
in words.
because my pictures are sitting in my camera, itching to get out and get posted.
but, my computer is with apple b/c it's broke (again).

lots and lots and lots to come. ai-YA!

NO laptops allowed

...said Nat in an email with Tahoe details.

Nat is. my roommate
Tahoe is. my weekend destination

"well fine then, i'm dropping my comp off at apple this morning anyway."
i'm going on a mini vacation starting this afternoon.

grill. jacuzz. sleep in. be quiet. play board games. lol.
hike. bike. and sit in an intertube as i float down a river.

RELAX. i've been stressed recently and though i'm able to still find inspiration, i find that it hasn't come as easily. :( hopefully this weekend will bring some clarity and simplicity back.

eat a juicy white peach. it will make you smile.

screaming angel

i met this little girl at the farmers' market last sunday.























in fact, it was my first time at the mountain view farmers' market and i was really impressed. if i were there by myself, i would've shamelessly consumed loads of free washed and cut up fruit. the best thing about the fruit that the vendors have to sample is that they know which ones are the tastiest, so you're probably getting the best white nectarine ever OR the one that's about to go bad in 10 minutes. either way, my mouth is happy.

rubberbandovation

She had to be hurting. Band-aids around her toes, and rubber bands holding her shoes in place? She was definitely very innovative in her approach to fix her cheap shoes. I give her 8 out of 10 stars for innovation!

equations and tweeks

2 pictures + editing = cool !

below are pictures straight-out-of-the-camera. i used the two of these to create that last picture i posted yesterday. Thought I'd share some of the behind-the-scenes because before and afters are sweet!

play. work. play.

friday was a unique day; it made me happy.
especially drinking a fine cup of cappuccino from cafe borrone.
breakfast with Sarita and Sachi, east bay for work, then roamed around berkeley.























i also tried something new. took a pic of me, and then added a texture to it. the texture is a picture of a tree i took on cal campus.












i was also inspired sunday morning and have pictures to post about what that inspiration was. it'll come later this week. as for this week, i'll be at the ypulse mashup conference, monday and tuesday. should be quite interesting.... i'll have my camera with me, so as to capture the MASH-up.

passed out

after catching up on america's best dance crew last night, i completely passed out.
i mean, i didn't even move once.

door wide open.
woke up this morning confused.

hence, no post. sorry to disappoint, but i've been sleepy all week and it was about time i caught up. i have lots to share though, so stay tuned.

[live a lil]
i want you to do something this weekend, that you've never done before. i hope that it makes you squeal, laugh out loud, giggle, get butterflies in your stomach, make your heart melt, fall over, or something else that you don't expect. do it. do it. do it....

then tell me about it!

[drumroll please]

the first picture, HK (1 point) and shindz (1 point) got it right. it was taken at stanford at the oval. BUT, because they weren't specific about where on stanford campus, i'm going to knock off 1/2 a point. (that's right, baby!)

the second picture is the toilet flusher of a kiddie toilet in my friend's house in santa cruz. i saw the reflection while you-know-what-ing and went back in to take that picture. since this guess was two part: the location and the actual thing....we have loads of winners! HK (1/2 point), Becca (1/2 point), Shee Shee (1/2 point), Melissa (1/2 point), and shindz (1/2 point).

but, the grand winners with the most points - a whopping ONE POINT- are [drumroll please]

HK and shindz

You win: Fraiche Yogurt...on me...next time you're in Palo Alto. Ohh whaddaya know, HK and I are already meeting up next Wednesday for some pre-dinner fro yo. hahah... and shindz? you get your pick since I already owe you a drink: Rose & Crowns or Fraiche. Yummm

THANK GOD none of the winners were out of the bay area! It would've cost you a lot to fly out to Palo Alto for some frozen yogurt with me - even though it's worth every one of those many dollars that fraiche customers need to dish out (and for good times with me). ;P

---
special thanks to this lil boy who's toilet training process allowed me to encounter the thing he's going to get REALLY familiar with for the rest of his life. the royal chair that we all love and cherish and miss when we've had to squat. meet james.

self-portrait 7

Try to guess where I took this picture. Winner wins an ice cold beer, courtesy of your wallet and local convenience store.


















Now, try to guess where I am and what it is that is creating my reflection. If you get this right, I am seriously going to think of a VERY COOL REWARD. Name it...and win. You can guess as many times as you want. (No other contests offers that option!)

security

last thursday, chanell helped me get bernice's desk into my civic. we took the top off, and then managed to stick it in like this.












i needed some rope to secure it all in place. so chanell comes out of her house saying, "i have this extension cord...will this work?"

my eyes lit up. "it's perfect!"












i took el camino all the way from san jose to palo alto because i wasn't so sure how this secure innovation would hold going 70 on the freeway. i mean that clear packaging tape might look mighty strong, but juuuust in case, i didn't want to risk a flying desk crashing into someone's windshield and causing a major freeway accident on the 101 to headline the news that evening.

and now, i have a corner desk. it feels like it's always been here. corner desk and i have become bff's over night!

what's your favorite way to show affection?

they answered, "just holding each other."
and so they did.

meet heather and dave at their family photo shoot this past weekend.

3 things official

1. I'm finally a regular employee at hopelab. This week was my first official week, and what an eventful week it was! Lunches, fun, good company, flowers, and two days off?! Because today is our joy day and friday's a holiday, I'm excited about time to do some lil life in different and familiar contexts. (definitely fun pictures to come!)













2. my keys make a new sound.

3. maricar and james are officially married. here's a teaser picture from their wedding (sorry about the color quality; blogger's been really annoying with messin with the goodies)


















i leave with a quote from william wallace in celebration of july 4th: "Freeedoooooooooooooooooooooom!"

making a move

i think the guy liked me a LOT. he decided to bust a doggy style and go straight for a sniff. i mean, we had barely met at that point. i don't know if i should be flattered or just straight impressed.

thanks for sending this pic ingrid; it's hilarious!!






























(photo taken by either jerry or ingrid)

"baak baK"

next time i visit jerry or shoot with him, i'll know that i can expect anything to happen.

he's creative and random and these chickens are one example of that. who in the world expects to have chickens in their wedding photos? not i. but as soon this black and white speckled one started pecking at my fingers...it was love, love, love.

not only did the couple use chickens in their pictures, they were up for some shots that made me want to become friends with them. they were up for just about anything...my kinda people!

more pictures to come. (this pic reminds me of this one).