Damien the Omen?

All I have to say is: wow. I am sure this kid didn't choose his outfit but, that with the look on his face along with his name made me think of The Omen. Honestly Liz, what were you thinking? And what's with that hat!

*This is a photo of Elizabeth Hurley and her son Damien...yes, that's his real name.

Green Smoothies

I have started making green smoothies. It started out with a powdered whole food shake packet I have had in my vitamin stash for over a year. I haven't felt "healthy" in a long time and I am gaining weight and have zero energy. It is time to do something different. 

A friend of mine has been eating Raw for a while now and she looks so good. She looks vibrant and has lost weight. One of the things she told me she does is make a shake with tons of greens. This idea stuck in my head. I'm no dummy when it comes to nutrition, just lazy. So making green smoothies was a really great idea. 

The other night I made up the powdered shake and gagged it down. It was powdered, what did I expect. Still, I was buzzing until midnight. I was alert, had energy, and kept my focus on knitting and conversation the entire time! This was great!

I thought I could buy more of the powder packets from the vitamin store or I could my own FRESH green shake - probably cheaper. So I picked up some kale, chard and spinach. I thought I'd make it like I would a regular smoothie so I also bought orange juice, bananas, and Greek honey yoghurt to throw in to balance the bitter greens with some sweetness.

It was so good. That was last night, and now this morning I am having another one. I figure I could have one green shake a day in order to get all of the vitamins, minerals and protiens I need for the day. Now I can eat the foods I usually eat that don't usually contain many green veggies and still feel great.

Spinning DragonFibers

Last night I transferred the white Merino from the drop spindle to a bamboo knitting needle to hold for plying. I cracked open the DragonFibers targhee wool and begun spinning. This is only the second batch of wool I have spun in my life and it is really different from the Merino. The targhee is more course and in some ways easier to spin because it doesn't pull apart as much as the Merino. I can maintain a constant size with it than the Merino too. The Merino is so soft and slick that I was constantly having to stop and redraft and well, lets be honest, it's going to be a bulky yarn due to all of the irregularities in size. I love that kind of bulky, big knit yarn so I am happy with it and it will look so cool plied with the DragonFiber.

A friend gave me a huge bag of Corriedale which I can't wait to try and I bought some DragonFiber Blue-faced Leicester at the same time as the Targhee so I have a lot of different types of wool to experiment with and learn the differences. Fibers are so fun!

Gone Baby Gone

A calm has washed over the Sanders household with the fairly swift eviction of the "neighbors from hell". I received the update at work from husband that yes, the psycho couple were moving boxes out of the apartment. It was actually happening.

I had my doubts. I'll believe it when I see it, I told my husband when we got word that our neighbors, who have been tormenting the complex with their public displays of aggression toward each other as well as their not so private fights and obnoxious middle of the night movie, music and sex blasting from the bedroom, had been given an eviction. It was little relief since I know how difficult it can be to get someone out if they decide not to leave.

Getting that call from my husband was the best news I could have heard. I was bordering on a breakdown with the stress of inconsiderate neighbors and the subsequent lack of sleep. My shoulders didn't tense up at the sound of stomping feet coming up the stairs to our joined entry because there was no stomping feet!!!!

No screams in the middle of the night, or loud music, or action movies played at a volume for the hard of hearing, no bodies being thrown about, or marathon sexcapades of the extremely vocal variety. Don't get me wrong, I am all for a round of crazy loud sex. Just not when its my neighbor next door and it's going on from midnight to 5am and it sounds like she is actually in pain.

I'll stop now. It's over. They are gone. I can't rehash the horrible memories anymore. It's time to move onward and enjoy the peace while we have it, because you know it's just a matter of time until new people move in. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that they are an old boring couple with cats!

The Resurgent Knitter

One of my favorite past times is knitting. I will admit to not being very good but I am a little bit more than a beginner. My thing is that I like immediate gratification so I tend to lean toward the easier patterns and smaller projects like hats, scarves and big bulky knits for sweaters. The sooner I can see my results the happier I am. Maybe I have ADHD or something but I can get pretty bored with something very quickly if I have to do a stockinette stitch that goes on forever, like in the way of an adult sweater in worsted weight yarn on size 9US needles.

The last project I completed was about a year and a half ago. It was a boatneck sweater by Debbie Bliss for the baby I was expecting. It was a size 3-6 months, so it was small and knitted up fast. The challenging part was sewing the pieces together. I wasn't completely satisfied with it but it was cute.

Now that I am thinking about it, I think I did knit a couple of small scarves since then, but nothing to write home about.

A friend of mine has been knitting and spinning for a long time and one day she had come over with a small drop spindle and wool. I thought it was so cool! I wanted to do that too!

I was a student and single mom at the time so I didn't have the expendable income to blow on wool and a wooden drop spindle so it had to remain a yearning desire.

Jump forward several years and I decide to put a drop spindle, wool and a book on the subject onto my Amazon wishlist a few weeks before my birthday.

My friend and I always joked around about how no one ever gets you stuff from your wishlist. It was true. No one ever does. So when it was her birthday back in February, I was determined to get her something from her wishlist, and I did.

But I digress...

My friend comes over a couple of days before my birthday bearing gifts - even after I said no gifts. She hands me a cool bag from a local yarn store, Village Yarn & Tea.

Inside are several wrapped gifts and as I begin to unwrap them I realize that she had just given me things from my wishlist - a drop spindle, carded wool, and a book. As a bonus, she also put in some recycled sari silk yarn from Nepal. How cool is that? I was giddy like a child!

Another friend, the spinning friend, also came over and gave me yarn along with a pattern for a neck warmer. This was all I needed to get me back into knitting again after quite a long hiatus.

I am so thrilled to have my hobby back as well as a new one that compliment each other so perfectly. In between spinning wool, I knit my neck warmer. Which has cables, something I have never done so it is an especially fun challenge for me. Needless to say, I did end up having to frog the damn thing and start over! So I'm a bit rusty, I'm just warming up!

Thank you to my wonderful friends who know just the right things to enable me in my obsession of yarn and fiber.

Picture to Put a Smile On Your Face

BBC News: In Pictures had this great photo that made me smile at 8:30am on humpday and felt like sharing.

Designer vs. Client Part II

So my second to the last post was about my frustration with an in-house client and the struggle I am having in maintaining a professional, clean, and orderly redesign. Clip art and crappy logos are a thorn in my side at the moment. I was able to finally go back and rethink the design and with some inspiration from the zen of css design I was able to come up with something that I hope everyone will like.

I also felt an odd sense of relief knowing that what I am going through is a common thread for many designers. This article I read on Smashing Magazine was also quite helpful:

How-To: Fit a Circle Into a Square Hole

Monday Morning Rant

I am so out of it today. Last night was a horrible night sleep with baby girl waking up what seemed like every hour. She has been out of sorts ever since we went camping. I don't know if it's coincidental but she seemed pretty unhappy when we were camping constantly whining and wanting to breastfeed.

Even after two weeks (going on three now), she is still pretty whiny. She's been sleeping a lot too. I am thinking that she is probably growing and teething at the same time. I know that she is probably in a lot of pain but it is hard on us too when we don't get any sleep and all we can do is give her Tylenol.

Our neighbors don't help either. I am getting pretty fed up with their b.s. Every week there is a fight with the woman throwing the man out. In the middle of the night we are woken by what sounds like bodies being slammed against the wall or floor. Stomping up and down the stairs, slamming of doors and the yelling and screaming. This also happens in the middle of the day like it did yesterday. My kids get to hear that and feel the negativity.

We moved out of a place because the walls were like paper and the neighbors upstairs would be awake 24/7 playing music, video games, movies, tapping, dropping stuff. It was constant, and when you have a baby that you are trying to get to sleep through the night, it doesn't really work. Especially when you are trying to sleep through the night and get woken up several times in one night.

So we move from the lower rent large apartment community to a smaller more expensive place in hopes that the type of people who could afford to live there would have a higher standard of living and basically be more respectful of their neighbors. But of course...we end up living next door to the crazy lady of the complex. It's our karma I guess.

I am just really upset that we have to live next to this woman and my kids are exposed to the sounds of the fighting. Last night I got so mad with the yelling and door slamming I just lost it myself and opened up the door at started yelling at her closed door saying WTF! I'm sick of their b.s. and slammed the door. After I did that I called up the manager and left a pissed off message. We've been putting up with this woman since we moved in. Never complained, came close to calling the police a few times. The first day we moved in there was a repo man asking US questions about the woman and telling us that he was going to repo her car. That was the first red flag.

Still, we put up with the fighting and the occasional sounds of them having sex because it really wasn't as bad as we had at the other place....but yesterday I finally reached my limit.

Sounds of movies, music and video games really aren't as destructive as hearing people not only verbally fighting all the time but physically fighting. I understand that people argue and have fights, but when you see a constant pattern that when certain conditions come together and you can count on it happening, I think it's time to make a change. That couple live for the pain it seems, they love to hate each other and all of the drama that it entails. Unfortunately it is a selfish way to live especially when you don't have respect for anyone at all, most importantly yourself.

My husband made a very good point. You can see how much they are suffering and it is really sad. It's like the snake eating it's own tail.

Being a Buddhist you would think that I would have more compassion and understanding for these people. I understand their suffering. I understand that they are grasping at anything just to be happy and ultimately it fails them. Life is suffering. I can only look at them like the Lamas look upon us students and feel sad for them that they are caught up in the cycle of suffering with no tools to help them. I think they are at a point where they wouldn't take the tools if they were handed to them.

I have tried to pray about it. Pray that their suffering ends positively. I know that we are connected to them karmicly and I can do my part by keeping my mouth shut in future and just pray for them. I just don't want my kids exposed to their negativity.

Anyway, that's my rant for the morning...

Oh did I mention that I was on auto-pilot this morning and spaced going to my departments off-site meeting near my house and drove down to work in rush hour traffic, not realizing what I had done until I pulled up into the parking lot and didn't see any of my coworker's cars anywhere!!! UGH!!!!!!

I'm beginning to really lose it I think...

Designer vs. Client

I am sure that most web and graphic designers have to deal with clients who have horrible taste and don't like what you create. Even though what you created was clean, professional, user friendly, perfectly aligned and pleasing to look at. Yet, the client thought it was boring and that it needed some clip art and clutter. I wonder how other designers deal with creating projects that are hindered by a clients poor judgement and taste, yet create something that you as a designer can be proud of. As it stands, I am feeling held hostage by my hatred of a current website I am working on because it is so freaking ugly. I couldn't put it in my portfolio. Is that the kind of work I want out there? What does a designer do? Tell the client flat out that their taste sucks and refuse to create crap that looks like it was born out of the 90's "Welcome to My Website" era...all it needs is a little gaudy flash animation to top it off. How about some dancing hamsters that scroll across the top too! UGH...

Smarty Pants

Georgetown, the forever up and coming district south of downtown Seattle, is dotted with gems as well as sourgrapes (remember CP Thai post).

I had happened upon a website for a funky restaurant in Georgetown named Smarty Pants. It's a bar that does lunch during the day and the menu of great sounding sammiches made it a must try. My coworkers had eaten there before and agreed that their sammiches were really good...and huge.

I went for lunch one afternoon with one of my coworkers ( the same person who experienced CP Thai with me) and it was busy. Loud punk music played happily in the background while an eclectic group of people chowed down on their lunch. Everyone from Polo wearing business guy to tattooed bass player dude filled Smarty Pants at lunch time.

The only table available was outside - it was cold. I put my hood up on my hoodie and grabbed a couple of menus while my coworker grabbed us a couple of glasses of water...it just seemed like the casual thing to do. Self serve anyone?

The servers were dressed in black with the studded motorcycle belt and boots. Mohawks hung wimpishly, probably from a heavy night of barhopping from the night before. And these were just the girls...The guys looked like they worked in an old school garage.

They took our order promptly then disappeared....

and disappeared...

was this going to be a repeat of CP Thai? NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, so I over react. It wasn't THAT bad. It did take quite a while to get our food but at least when it did arrive it was hot and so freakin tastey that it was worth the wait.

I can't remember what my coworker had but I had biscuits and gravy and it was really good. It was vegetarian with mushrooms (I'm not a fan), but it was ok, I just pushed them aside and ate the rest. Very tastey.

So we had a good lunch and went off around the opposite way from which we came to go around the other side of the block. There was a second hand shop that had some cute stuff outside and low and behold - what do they have outside? A vintage girl bike with a basket!!!!! I nearly wet myself. I thought, even if it's like $50 I'd call up my husband to see if I could buy it. I look at the price tag and my dreams were quickly dashed to the cracked Georgetown sidewalk. $375. For a rusty old bike. Give me a break.

I must have ADD or something...

Rigdzin Ling Trinity Alps Fire Update

As most people know, California has been dealing with several wildfires. One in particular is of personal concern for me.

The North American seat of Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche, Rigdzin Ling, is in the Trinity Alps where there's a few fires burning.

Candy has been giving all of the affiliated centers regular updates including some photos which I will share in this blog. I think that it is important to share these images and story so I hope that Candy will approve. I am sure she has more on her mind than dealing with an email from me asking if it's ok.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

July 21, 2008

Dear sangha,

We awoke this morning to a crystal blue sky and no wind, very favorable conditions for this fire at the moment on our side of the ridge, allowing it to slowly move down the mountain. The fire fighters have bull dozed and cut a tapestry of fire breaks on our hill that encircles the Gonpa like a protection circle, and their hope is that the fire burns down to these breaks, leaving all structures intact and removing the fire fuel from the forest floor. The fire gently encircled one small cabin that was above the line and left it intact. Some of our staff was up there in the night and when they looked into the structure, they found a note that said something like, "We've done all we can. God bless."

I watched a fire crew from Montana walk up our hill a couple of hours ago, all in a perfectly straight line, dressed in bright yellow, wearing hardhats and carrying shovels, maddocks, and other tools. It would not have surprised me to hear, "Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's off to work we go." resounding in the air as they marched through the forest. It was quite a vision. I found this same group of fire men and women gathered in front of the prayer wheels last night at the end of a long day, wanting their pictures taken, so we obliged.

The helicopter that was flying yesterday has transmission problems we hear and is grounded at the moment which is quite unfortunate, as the fire the other side of the ridge from us is more active. I've been told that the turnaround time for this helicopter from one load of water to the next load of water was two minutes. They call that "cowboy flying." It was quite stunning to see.

I have included a few photos again and have sent them in a smaller file which might be easier to access. You can enlarge them on your end. It will help give a visual context of what we are seeing from the Gonpa.

These next days are quite crucial. They are not going to be so relaxed with people coming and going out of the area now. Please continue to pray for all the people and animals in Junction City and the neighboring forest.

Love,

Candy

Mandela

Happy 90th birthday Nelson Mandela!

In His Own Words:

On reconciliation (on acceptance of the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize, shared with then President FW de Klerk):

"The value of our shared reward will and must be measured by the joyful peace which will triumph, because the common humanity that bonds both black and white into one human race, will have said to each one of us that we shall all live like the children of paradise...

"But there are still some within our country who wrongly believe they can make a contribution to the cause of justice and peace by clinging to the shibboleths [dogmas] that have been proved to spell nothing but disaster.

"It remains our hope that these, too, will be blessed with sufficient reason to realise that history will not be denied and that the new society cannot be created by reproducing the repugnant past, however refined or enticingly repackaged."

The Story of India

This BBC documentary was one of the most in depth programs I have watched on a country in a long time, yet it was engaging and left me wanting more.

This six-part series detailed the 10,000 year history of India with amazing stories presented by Michael Wood and imagery like the Taj Mahal pictured to the left.

The explanation of India's diverse religious history from Brahman and Buddhism to Hindu, Muslim and Sikh was enlightening and gave me a better understanding of how these powerful religions dominated the country.

After thousands of years, India is finally coming of age as part of the technology era. There is a strange yet alluring balance of both old and new. The traditions are strong and deeply ingrained in the culture which, for a Westerner, totally fascinates me, yet India is quickly gaining as a tech super power in the world.

It is exciting to see how a culture can lovingly hold on to the past as they run towards the future with complete confidence.

Danish Cargo Bike Culture

Zakkaliciousness has some great photo sets on Flickr, including the Copenhagen Cycle Chic and Danish Cargo Bike Culture sets that are used on the blogs Copenhagen Cycle Chic and Copenhagenize.

The thought of having a cargo bike to ride the kids around in only adds to my want of biking/living in a bike friendly Euro town like Copenhagen.

See what happens when I'm overly productive at work in the morning? I end up spending my afternoons dreaming of living in Copenhagen riding bikes!!!

I wonder how much a cargo bike costs....

Victoria Classic

My latest obsession! Why are my tastes so expensive? I love the Velorbis Victoria Classic and I really want it. Do you want to know how much it costs? Are you sitting down?

$1749

With that little reality check I stopped to wonder if what I am obsessed with is the groovy cool bike or actually the idea of the bike.

In all reality, where am I going to ride it? Up Hwy 99 to Top Foods? Or around the corner to the 7-11? Because, even though I live in Edmonds, it's not like I live in the really cute downtown area let alone a sweet little village where I can joyfully ride along without a care in the world. Can you say "urban sprawl"? And then I'd have to spend 10 minutes locking the damn thing up so that no one steals it! UGH...

So now I dream of living in a European town where I can ride my Victoria Classic that I bought at The Dutch Bike Co. in Seattle and look like one of those fabulous Danish girls with wind in their blonde hair, in heels and a summer dress on their way to pick up flowers and lunch.

Good thing I am a Buddhist who realizes the impermanence and dream-like quality of reality (to a severly limited extent!!). Otherwise I would truly be suffering right about now! 

So to be completely honest, I am perfectly happy where I am right now, it's just fun to indulge myself in the desire realm every so often. For my simple basic understanding is that it is ok to want or have really fabulous things. It's the level of attachment to the want of them that creates the suffering - Ah! Materialism, who'd have it!! I will! I will!

Copenhagen Cycle Chic

Being that my dad was from Denmark and my first name is Danish, I love this blog. I want a bike with a basket!!

How cute is this girl on her bike!

Java Bean - Luna Park

Starbucks? Na...
Tully's? Na...
Seattle's Best? Na...

The best coffee I have had to date is at Java Bean in West Seattle next to the Luna Park Cafe.

It was a "grande" (due to successful Starbucks terminology brainwashing) Cafe Molé. I know that probably just makes it a mocha but this was better than a mocha...it was a molé. Of course Mexican chocolate is to die for but honestly, the coffee flavor itself was so good that a plain old latte would have been just as good without any additional sugars.

As I am sipping my lovely Cafe Molé I turn to my coworker and wonder aloud, "why can't Starbucks make a coffee that tastes this flavorful?" and used the analogy of homemade cooking compared to fast food.

I think our society as a whole has lost their tastebuds to the numbing effects of a FAST FOOD NATION!

Celebrate Saga Dawa at Amrita

Avalokiteshvara Tsok*
Wednesday, June 18th, 7pm

Saga is the name of this fourth lunar month. Dawa means "month" in
Tibetan. Saga Dawa is the month commemorating three main events in
Shakyamuni Buddha's life -- his birth, enlightenment, and parinirvana.
The full moon of Saga Dawa is the most auspicious day of this powerful month: All actions, both positive and negative are multiplied 10 million times. Please be aware of this.

On this day, Wednesday June 18th, 7pm, we will be offering tsok and lighting butterlamps. Whether or not you can attend this tsok you may offer butterlamps during this magnified time. Please use our online form www.amritaseattle.org, or call and leave a message at 206 368 7974, or reply to this email with your dedication.

Lamps are 50 cents apiece. Mail your offering to: Chagdud Gonpa Amrita, 2223 NE 137th Street, Seattle 98125. Please mark "butterlamps" on the subject line of your check.

For tsok, please arrive earlier than 7pm, if you, to help set up and prepare tsok and plan to spend a few minutes cleaning up afterwards. This would be both beneficial and meritorious.

Remember to park discreetly in the neighborhood and avoid parking on 23rd Place NE (east side of Gonpa) or across the street. Best to park at Bruce's on the east corner of 23rdNE and NE135th.


*empowerment is required.

Georgetown's Crappy Thai Place

I found this image on http://www.foundshit.com/ and thought it summed up a recent experience a co-worker and I had at a Thai restaurant in Georgetown.

I was given a gift card for CP Thai and was really excited. It has been years since I ate out at a Thai restaurant, so I was really looking forward to it.

We were seated and our order taken promptly even though it was quite busy. Unfortunately, we were seated right next to the cashier's counter and I was quickly becoming claustrophobic as people began lining up to pay right next to me. Can you say "personal space" people! The woman who was cashiering was also one of two cooks and was having a hard time multi-tasking and so the line of people wanting to pay grew and grew.

As we were chattering away the sound of an Asian man's voice yelling in a foreign language, I'm guessing probably Thai, boomed from the kitchen and I think something crashed too. We looked at each other and I said, "I hope that wasn't over our Phad Thai." We laughed a little then continued on with our conversation.

Our chatter of work and personal events began to fill with moments of dead silence as we realized that it had been quite a while since the girl took our order. We glanced around the restaurant as everything seemed to come to a grinding halt. My co-worker looked at me and said, "Maybe it was over our Phad Thai."

It had been thirty minutes since we ordered and people were coming in after us with called in orders having to wait. People were leaving without paying or just plain leaving because no one came to take their order after waiting 15-20 minutes. Remember, this is a lunch hour on a weekday. People want to come in, eat and leave within an hour.

I finally had to get up and ask a server where our Phad Thai was and that we had been waiting for over 30 minutes for our food. The poor girl was flustered. We had over-heard that she was new so I tried to be as nice as possible under the circumstances. She had found our order and yes it was still there and that it was coming. Ok....

So we waited another 10 minutes and in the meantime more people were coming in. We felt it our duty to warn them that we had been waiting for our food for 40 minutes and that people had left without paying. These brave people decided to wait it out and see what happened.

FINALLY our food came and it was the palest looking Phad Thai I had ever seen in my life. I have had my myriad of orange colored Phad Thai but I had never seen one look this pale before. At least it was hot and had some flavor resembling Phad Thai. My co-worker said hers tasted funny - too vinegary. Which was weird. Mine was ok, kind of bland but not funny tasting.

Anywho, to make this painful experience short, the girl gave us the receipt tray with two fortune cookies on it but no receipt. Was that a sign?

I put down my gift card and my co-worker put down her cash anyway. Honestly, I was thinking that she shouldn't pay for hers at all.

An hour and 20 minutes later, we finally leave our unsatisfying Thai food experience behind us only to rehash the story over several times to anyone who would listen!

Lama Tsering in Wenatchee

Finding Freedom in the Face of Social
and Emotional Turmoil
In these times of war, economic uncertainty and devastating environmental changes, how can we maintain our sanity?
How do Buddhist teachings on compassion and wisdom inform our choices and allow us to keep our hearts and minds open?

An Evening with Lama Tsering Everest

Tuesday, June 17th, 7pm - 9pm
Cascade Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
1550 Sunset Hwy, East Wenatchee
Suggested Donation: $20

Lama Tsering Everest is a Northwest native and resident Lama at Khadro Ling temple in Sao Paulo, Brazil. In 1981 she began translating for H.E. Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche, traveling extensively throughout the world. After completing the traditional 3 year retreat in 1995, she received full teaching transmission from Rinpoche, in which he also recognized her as an emanation of Tara.

Being in the presence of Lama Tsering is a remarkable gift. Her articulation of Buddhist wisdom reaches beyond religious designation, appealing to our common heart of compassion. She encourages us to go beyond narrow ideas and find what might be called "big mind", an approach to life that is inclusive and embracing. Her teachings are often humorous, profound, and filled with colorful stories.

Red Tara Empowerment and Teachings

Wednesday, June 18th, 6-9:30pm
program begins with Tara teachings followed by empowerment
Cascade Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
Suggested Donation: $20

Tara is the mother of all Buddhas. She represents the perfection of enlightened mind manifesting in feminine form. Countless eons ago, Princess Moon of Wisdom attained full realization. At that time, the monks considered the male body to be a superior vehicle for attaining enlightenment, and advised her to take rebirth accordingly. Moon of Wisdom, realizing all form, both male and female to have no inherent reality, made the commitment to always take rebirth in female form. Through practice of Red Tara, it becomes possible to reach a deep level of peace free of external circumstances increasing well being, quelling fear and anxiety, and ultimately revealing the true nature of mind.

For More Information, Please Contact Karen: 509-687-1911 or Sharon: 509-670-0883

**info copied from a flyer**

Cupcakes and Karmapas and Starbucks, Oh My!

June 1st was truly an amazing day. Firstly, it was Baby's first birthday which we celebrated in the early afternoon with Cupcake Royale Babycakes and tea. Friends and family joined us for the occasion in which Baby received lovely gifts of clothing fit for a Fashionista. As well as books because my baby is an intelligent fashionista of course! Grandma also gave her a spinnie toy that thankfully has a shut off switch.

Secondly, once the birthday festivities came to an end, Baby and I had to ready ourselves for a once in a lifetime event (hopefully it will be more than once). We were going to a children's blessing by the 17th Karmapa in Seattle. A friend was so kind as to give us a spot for this event; I am not sure how to repay her.

We arrived at Nalanda Bodhi West and waited in the dining room that was packed with other parents and kids before heading up to the shrine room. The wait took a while because the Karmapa was being interviewed by PBS and they had to keep reshooting it because the parents and kids below were too noisy! How ironic. It was so hot in the dining room as well, with all of the people and no open windows for ventilation. I could tell my cheeks were red as I was beginning to sweat. How lovely I know, but I was burning up!

Finally the interview was done and we were all lead up to the shrine room. As we were making our way up the stairs, a person behind us was carrying a bouquet of flowers. He thought that Baby was so beautiful that he gave her one of the flowers that looked like a large white daisy.

Once we made it into the shrine room, we sat down on chairs and waited for the Karmapa to come out. I saw David Curtis who is a Tibetan translator and founder of The Tibetan Language Institute whom I met a few years ago at Tulku Sang-Ngak's land in Montana as well as having taken a Tibetan language class by him with some of my other sangha friends when he was in Seattle. We talked for a bit before the Karmapa finally came out.

I was in awe. I couldn't believe that I was in the presence of the 17th Karmapa. The announcer had said before he came out how it will all happen. The Karmapa will give the blessing and then after he leaves we can come up and take the blessed pouch and if we want to make an offering we can put it in a bowl. To use a British term, I thought that was a bit pants. But, I wasn't going to complain because my goodness, here I was in the presence of the Karmapa! Something I thought was not going to happen.

But as usual, impermanence reared its head and changed things up a bit. The Karmapa came out and sat down. He looked around then told us that he had talked too much already today (he had given teachings and an empowerment earlier in the day) and that it would be best if we came up to him and he would hand out the blessing pouches to each child. I was over the moon! I couldn't believe that we were actually going to be able to approach him and touch him! But as every good Buddhist knows, be prepared because anything could happen. And I was...

I pulled out my katag and the envelope with an offering inside and waited patiently for our turn. I held Baby in one arm while holding the offering and katag in the other hand. I was shaking.

Finally it was our turn. I walked us up to the Karmapa and he smiled as he gave Baby her blessing that she happily took from him. I gave him the offerings and he put the katag around my neck. Baby held up her flower to him and I put it in his hand which he gently held out on his lap. I gazed up at him and he looked at me as I smiled and slowly backed away to let the next person have their turn. I walked away sweaty and trembling like I had just run a marathon.

We returned to our chairs but remained standing until he gave the last blessing and left. I was blissed out - I'll never forget this day.

Luna Park Cafe

It's eclectic, funky, and just a fun place to mix it up from the usual office humdrum. Their food is down home industrial size cooking that satisfies the comfort food craving. Besides, who doesn't love being served by beautifully tattooed girls?

The walls are covered in vintage memorabilia that distract the eye from your companions and the singing barmaid makes you look around in dismay wondering if it's for real or just some crazy person who came in off the street for lunch.

The history of the area is kind of interesting too. It used to be an amusement park, built in 1907 on the Duwamish tide flats and closed in 1913. If you want to learn more about the area and the cafe you can go to www.lunaparkcafe.com.

Secret Desire

I have been trying to keep a lid on my secret obsession of late...I want a simple used manual film Nikon from like the 60's or 70's. I really miss my film camera that I gave to my sister after buying a digital one. Don't get me wrong, digital cameras definitely have their benefits, but I've been wanting to go old-school lately.

I keep thinking about when I took my photography class a couple of years ago and borrowed back my Canon Rebel from my sister and it was so much fun. I think I took my best photos ever during that time and since then I have really been missing it. It's only been this past week that I have really been secretly obsessing over where to buy a used camera. I know of several places like Kenmore Camera or Ballard Camera, the only real issue is that I don't want to spend the money! Why do hobbies have to cost so much?

Baby Feet

So cute and adorable, you just want to gobble them up. Those little pink toes are so tempting to tickle. Sweet little baby feet toddling around the house, learning balance and grace. Oh how they look so innocent and sweet.

How is it that they can be so punishing in the middle of the night when they kick you in the head and chest as they spin around in circles as though attached to a Whirling Dervish.

Maybe it's time for baby to have her own bed...

The Karmapa Hits The Big Time!

The 17th Karmapa has come to America for the first time and is making big news. How amazing is that? Who woulda thunk it. I have been practicing Tibetan Buddhism since the early 90's and I am so happy that such prominent teachers within my tradition are making such an impact on the western world. Maybe our karma is changing and the seeds that have been planted are finally flourishing.

Here are two stories that have made the news since the Karmapa's arrival:

NY Times: Young Spiritual Leader Arrives in New York Ready to Teach and Be Taught

Time magazine: The World's Next Top Lama

Boy that Time magazine article title is a bit too trash-tv for my taste.

Perks of the Job

So while my last post was a bit of a whiny bitch rant about an irritating part of my job, I really can't complain too much because of days like today.

Once a week my department, which consists of 5 women - one is currently on maternity leave, has a standing meeting in the afternoon. Typically we have that meeting in one of the meeting rooms, but every so often we have an "off-site" meeting and go somewhere like Trophy Cupcakes and Party as we did today.

I had the triple chocolate cupcake and I have to say that it was better than Cupcake Royale. Not sure if I am changing my allegiance, because Cupcake Royale makes some damn good coffee, but strictly on cupcake alone - Trophy Cupcakes would win in a cupcake competition.

Websites & Their Owners

I have been working at my company since the middle of February. My job is to help the one other web designer in developing websites for a number of enterprises that our company owns in order to get their info off of the main site in hopes that it will result in better SEO and to redesign the websites that already have independent sites (because they are horrendous in design!).

We have timelines, but no one involved in the enterprises seem to understand that. There is no sense of urgency with these people! Only one website has been launched since I started and that was almost done when I started. Two sites so far should have been launched months ago and only one is in the process of being launched today.

I am trying to keep a new website project on target but it's like pulling teeth trying to get approvals by the deadline! I suppose this is normal? I feel like I am getting behind, but it's not my fault!

The one nice thing is that hopefully I will have two sites launched this week that have been severely delayed due to other's slow approvals +other things out of my control!

Have you seen the price of gas?

I don't usually like ranting about this kind of thing because honestly, I think we are the most spoilt nation on the planet but I am really getting fed up with the price of gas. Regular, the cheapest option, is now almost $4/gallon. The $200 a month that is coming out of my children's mouths is going into the oil company's record profits. This is wrong - plain and simple.

Do we not have a conscience anymore? It seems as though the divide is growing and our children are the ones who suffer it. The rich seem to be so checked-out living in their cushy plastic bubble that they can't truly see how us ordinary folk struggle just to get by.

I don't need a 5 bedroom house looking over the Puget Sound (though it would be nice), a simple 2 bedroom cottage would suffice. I don't need a slick sports car or a super SUV, just feeling like I can actually afford the scheduled maintenance on the used car I do have would suffice. Why shouldn't I be able to feed my family fresh organic food so we can be healthy instead of the cheap prepackaged meals that are full of hydrogenated oils, fructose corn syrup and enriched flour that make our kids obese.

I thought our government was supposed to speak for the people but I guess I am wrong. Let's hope that we make the right choice in November and begin to see a real change for the better.

A Little BSG Geekdom

Every once in a while I reveal my true geeky nature...

BSG: Join The Fight

Pizza...

Pizza round,
sauce with cheese

Pepperoni if you please

Ham and pineapple,
that's my favorite

Tasty yum isn't it

Burnt my mouth
happens every time

Now that skin hangs as I whine

I knew this would happen,
the things that i do.

And don't think you're better,
I'm as stupid as you.

We eat our pizza pie,
Burn our mouths and cry.

A society of lemmings,
Repeating these things.

It's all happened before, and will happen again.
We burn our 'ickle mouths, and make boys out of men.