Thanksgiving Break

I am in Arizona for Thanksgiving break. I decided to make a vacation out of it, so I am staying for a week. It's nice and sunny here with occasional bouts of chilly 60 degree weather. I flew in on Thanksgiving morning. Surprisingly Thanksgiving is a really good day to fly. My flight was full, but the airport wasn't very busy.
People were generously happy and even at times, goofy. It reminded me of the nation's happier days. It seems like there has been so much chaos about the TETs (tough economic times). Thanksgiving is the holiday when people are reminded of gratitude and appreciate blessings.

The ride home from the airport was eventful. First of all, Jeremy forgot which of the 9 levels he parked his truck. Luckily we only searched two levels before finding his truck. On the drive home, there was a wreck. The traffic was moving slow as we were going uphill through a mountain range. As per usual, we had the windows down and were rocking out to some music. Our new favorite song, Pumped up Kicks is wildly over played on the radio. We listened to that song two or three times. Imagine us with the windows down, in a traffic jam, busting moves, and occasionally encouraging other drivers to sync radio stations to ours for a party. We were having fun.

Then suddenly out of nowhere his truck starts to over heat. We were on the side of the road cooling down and one of our fellow drivers pulled over and gave us some anti-freeze. Thank you local citizen. We drove to the next exit which thankfully was a rest stop. Then Lori, Amanda and the kids had to come and pick us up. It was a 40 minute drive so Jeremy and I familiarized ourselves with the rest stop. I took some photos for a group of Taiwanese tourists; we met some dogs and their senior citizen owners; spotted honeybees, cattle, and birds; and we read some AZ trivia.

By the time we got home dinner was ready. The table was beautifully set with flowers and the feast. It was somewhat weird celebrating Thanksgiving away from home. I am usually in Utah. Amanda and Lori prepared the spread while Jeremy came to the airport to pick me up. As we sat around the table, I realized that we are all adults (minus Jadin and Ava).  Here we were eating Thanksgiving dinner, creating traditions, and influencing a new generation. We struggled as a whole about what rituals were to be performed before eating. We unanimously agreed to say at least one thing we were thankful for during our feast. We were all excited to be together and to eat yummy food.

Whether you spend the holidays with family, friends, or animals the uniting and joyful denominator is love. Love is all there is. We could have been stuck at the rest stop eating vending machine food with a bunch of seniors and dogs and that would have been wonderful. But we lucky enough to be in cozy house with many beloved family members and a feast. Hope your Thanksgiving was filled with love and gratitude, I know mine was :)

Halloween Make-up

First attempt

Thanks to a little site called pinterest, I decided to have fun butterfly make-up for Halloween. My first attempt was the worst, but still awesome. I was in a rush after work to make it to a fab Halloween party. I put on the make-up at work, by a lamp lit room, trying so hard not to make a mess. In my haste, I neglected to arrange for my wings, but in hindsight the make-up was enough.


Then, on Sunday, we had a little family Halloween get-together. Heather's kids wanted to show off their costumes. I also wanted to show off my new make-up tricks. Long story short, I got so excited that I somehow managed to convince Heather to let me do her make-up as well.

Boise

Dad, Mom, Lori, and I went to Boise last week. Here are a few pictures. I edited them on picnik and I am new to that so........ENJOY!

The Almost Encounter

I used to post so much. Where have the days of blogging gone? The thing is, I didn't blog about anything exceptional. I just said whatever was on my mind. It did help that I was stuck on the computer for 8 hours at work with little work to do :) Dishonest? No, my boss was practically blogging for me. Now things are different.

For those who still check blogs, here is a chuckle, called My Almost Encounter (and it's sort of graphic):

I almost crossed a big line. Almost. So this guy came into to get a massage and it started out pretty awkward because I saw him naked. I knocked on the door and said "all set?" All set, meaning that he had undressed and was lying on the table between the sheets. He replied, "all set." What he really said was "not yet!" When I walked in, he was scrambling: bending over, trying to find something to cover, and also looking at me like get the f out. I was just so taken aback. I have NEVER walked in on a client before. *Disclaimer: before you say 'you hear what you want to hear,' I did not want to hear that. There was a speech barrier. He was Mexican (really, he was from Mexico). He'd only been in the country for a couple of years. His accent was thick.

I was really embarrassed to go back in that room. How could I? How was I going to break the ice? I was still laughing/giggling. I profusely apologized. Then, I apologized again because I had a case of the giggles. Anyone who has had the giggles knows that it takes awhile to calm down. Anyway, he was really cool about it. Unbenounced to me, he thought that I was really shy and flirting with him. In fact, he asked me if I was shy? As I was tightly securing sheet for modest draping, he said something like, "why all the modesty now, you've already seen me naked." So, that isn't okay, but again, I had the giggles- I was just trying to calm down. I remember trying to change the topic a trillion times like, "so how long have you been here?" Then pulling out the big guns, "do you have a work visa?" and "do you want to become a citizen?" Try as I might, it just kept coming back the naked encounter.

Finally the hour was over. Phew. Then, he paid and left. Then, I went to change the table over and he had left some unwanted fluid on my sheets! I was pissed. If you are going to be inappropriate at least do it on something that can be thrown away like a Kleenex. Damn the men who do that after massages on massage therapists sheets. Awhile later, I went to take the defiled sheets to my car, and low and behold he was sitting in his car out in the parking lot. I was very dismissive and rude. I left to make some copies and received a text from him. (phone number on business card- don't be getting any ideas). He was thanking me for the wonderful massage. In a moment of fury, I wrote back "I saw what you did to my sheets." Then there was abundant remorse and apologies. I didn't respond to his many texts for a few hours. When I did, the texts turned from apologizing to flirting. I just tried to wrap things up, but they kept coming. For the span of about a week, the texts kept coming. I would say really vague things and move on. In retrospect, I should have been very bold and blunt and said stop texting me rather than politely dragging him along. Admittedly it was a kick, to receive funny texts all day, until it wasn't. One night I got a close-up picture of his you-know-what. That was enough for me to stop texting back altogether. A few days later, after no response he was remorse and apologetic. Then like clockwork, it was hardcore flirting again, asking me for pictures of myself! Again?, I thought. He crossed a few lines a few times. As the adage goes, "It happens once shame on you, it happens twice shame on me." I wasn't mean, I simply said that I don't get to be treated that way. And it was over. Haven't heard anything since.

This brings up many questions: Does that work for him, sending naked close-ups of his manly parts? Do girls respond positively to that? If so, I am appalled and way out of the loop. People actually do that!?!(I do remember looking through my sister's pics on her phone and seeing some naked photos that she had of herself. I asked her- what? why? etc. She said that you never know when you are going to have to send one. So it's a good idea to have some on hand. Hmmm.)

Looking back, I shouldn't have giggled. I think that set it off. How do you control the giggling once it starts? Also, when a man asks you if you are shy, while you are massaging his body after recently seeing it totally naked, things are probably going in a naughty direction... It was a good learning experience, among others things. Given the right circumstances, I could've gotten into a whole lotta trouble real fast. Not to mention the legal complications, if something happened during the massage. But it's a good story. I hoped you enjoyed reading it.

Scrambled

My thoughts are scrambled. I have been in solitude for about 5 days house sitting- which has been very awesome. It has also made me realize how many rules I have for myself and how often I judge myself and how much I love food.

While house sitting, I have been cleansing and it sure is hard to cleanse. I haven't done a cleanse for about a 1.5 years so I decided to go hard core and am doing the master cleanse.

It would be really nice to be gentle on yourself 100% of the time, then again, maybe the contrast is what keeps us productive.

I have been writing an essay for my birth doula certification and I miss writing. It is more than a release for me, it is a vital part of my self expression.

I have been very into Adele's 21 album.

Also while house sitting, I have been watching movies, reading books, walking the dogs, bathing in an awesome jet tub, dancing, and gardening (well watering the garden and occasionally pulling out weeds).

Speaking of Weeds, don't start the t.v. series unless you are prepared to get totally sucked in. Luckily, like Dexter, all of the seasons aren't available on Netflix and so I have given up on them.

I am actively searching for an additional income. If anyone knows of a cool place to work, in the health and wellness world, then please let me know. I would love to exclusively be massaging and birth doula-ing but am also open to doing other work as long as it is in the same field.

I wanted to be the coolest Auntie in the world and take Jaxon to the swim park all day- so I did. However, I have paid dearly for it because I got a burn from hell. The worst burn in my life-seriously. Yes, all you nay sayers, I applied sunblock- it was even over-the-counter sunblock. Fortunately for me, my mom started making this phenomenal moisturizer- which I have been liberally applying to my skin. Heather says that mom's skin appears smoother and younger. Which brings me to a rant session about all of the crap people put on their skin in the name of beauty. Do your research people and stop buying into the poisons in your beauty must-haves. Still not done, how many people have to be medicated before we do something about our society's beliefs about beauty, health, and wellness? I am not talking about anorexia/body image beliefs either, I am talking about migraines, fibromyalgia, allergies, and depression due to over toxicity from your beauty products.

See what I mean about scrambled? It all started with a sunburn and turned into that.

Mother's Day Gift Certificates

                                           Thanks Heather for the designs!

My Hair After One Month of NO Shampooing

Leah, my grape friend, inspired me to stop shampooing my hair. After reading this blog and some additional online research, I was in both feet. For a month now I have been washing my hair with baking soda and rinsing it with either cold water or vinegar and essential oils. I do this every 2-3 days.

I have noticed that I have more body and that I spend less time encouraging the wavy locks because I have more curl. Yesterday Heather, my sister, told me that I had flakes in my hair, but I am convinced it was baking soda residue, as I don't have any flakes today.

The benefits of washing with baking soda as opposed to shampoo are as follows: Most shampoo is poisonous (fragrance, parabens, and SLS), most shampoo strips hair of it's natural oils causing hair to get oily and greasy the day after shampooing, and shampoo is packaged in plastic bottles so I am eliminating my consumption of two plastic bottles per month.

I am not really sure how to capture my hair- I got a new touch phone and every time I take a picture it's blurry. I figured this picture would be proof enough that my hair is still awesome- if not more so.  April, my hair care professional, told me that my hair looks very healthy.

This experiment has not been all sugar and sweets. I have had several days of my hair looking greasy and not cooperative to styling techniques. It takes a few weeks for your natural oils to balance. Because I was shampooing for nearly my entire life, I figured it is only reasonable that my hair might require some time to get used to baking soda and it's natural oils. If you are not willing to give your hair 2-3 weeks of adjustment time, then don't use baking soda. If, however, your patience and desire for healthier hair and less consumption are governing your overall choices, washing with baking soda is for you.

I have been using a lap top lately and loving it. It's not mine. I am sure going to miss not having one. As I write this, I am lounging. Awww, so convenient.

So a few cool things. I went to a meditation workshop this last weekend. I am already noticing my life improving. I never thought of myself and meditation being friends because my mind wonders. Now I accept mind wonderings as part of the process and have stopped judging it. I find that I enjoy meditation much more now. If you want to read more check out: thepeacefulyou.blogspot.com

I have a birth coming up the first part of March. I am quite excited anytime I get the opportunity to doula. Also, two of my sisters are having their babies in the spring. I have been there for Heather's last two births as a sister. It will be a new experience to serve a doula.

Last night I went to a benefit concert in an underground venue in Provo. It was so cool. The atmosphere was very chic and hip. Provo has a fun underground music and art scene. It would be nice to get more involved in some of the underground workings in Provo.

I've said it before, and I will say it over and over again, Netflix rocks. Recently I watched No Impact Man, The Gerson Miracle, and The Picture of Dorian Gray (I attempted the book, as it's a classic. The writing was very detailed and intense, but I may have ruined my desire to finish the book after watching the movie. Why?!) I would highly recommend both No Impact Man and The Gerson Miracle.

I hope the rest of you are finding fun ways to survive the end of the winter season. It is almost springtime. The grass is showing. The shift is coming and I am ready!

I resolve

Life is about mastering who you are, or some say, remembering who you are. We are all amazing beings with great power and we forget that because....because so many reasons. Reasons that are fed to you from 'the world', community, and family. There is a risk in remembering or mastering yourself and it's not failure. It is much easier to slip into the background and not follow your heart. I resolve to being more authentic. To reclaim who I am, to listen to my heart and then obey it. I resolve to let go of other people's opinions of me and close out the chaos that keeps me stuck in patterns and places that don't serve me. Lastly, I resolve to have fun, laugh more, and seek out joy.

Glad tidings

Last year I decided to write a holiday letter on the blog. I had fun doing it, so I am doing it again, only different. Here are excerpts from my journal. Enjoy my chaos!
January:
Hooray my new journal! I bought this journal in hopes that I would be on a cruise ship in Hawaii. But alas, I start this journal in my parents basement...Haiti was struck by a huge earthquake 1/12/10. The death count is up to 50k..Awesome news about Esther: she is probably delivering at a birthing suite rather than the hospital. I am selfishly delighted. I have never helped with a birth at a birthing suite. I feel it is more appropriate for them anyway...-I know one thing for certain, I have been blessed with friends-GOOD friends. I wish to be a better friend...I went (alone) to see Avatar. Oh my! I absolutely loved it... Last night, I fell upon a new discovery, Melissa is logged on to Netflix on mom's computer. What does this mean? It means that I watched Motorcycle Diaries last night.
February:
Aubrey and I went up to the Sundance Film Festival we had the perfect day. I didn't go up to see any films, I went up to go to cafe music.... Last Sunday 1.24.10, Esther had her baby, Eve Satareh Vasefi. I am not sure on the middle name spelling, but it means Esther in Farsi. I was there for the birth. It was the most beautiful and fantastic experience...I am reading a book called Ask and It is Given by Ester and Jerry Hicks. It's about the law of attraction- mostly about the law of allowing. It is hard to allow blessings and goodness into my life....I had a small conflict whether or not to go to the V-day party. I opted out because I was tired after work, didn't wear deodorant, and my hair looked greasy. I regretted not going because I want to be more social.
March:
This past weekend, Feb. 27 thru today I have been traveling...Oak Creek canyon takes you down the mountainside. Then comes the beautiful city of Sedona. I was in awe. The homes, the vortexes, the red rock, the forests, and the colors. I saw all the colors and knew I had entered a special place...It was nearly dark the lighting and temperature were perfect. We went into the canyon and spent time listening to silence and reminding ourselves that we are peace. It had recently rained and the air was crisp and clean. We loved being alone together and with ourselves. Sometimes the best therapy is a nature walk.
April:
Here I am sitting naked in my parent's basement doing laundry at 11:30 p.m., four days until my 25th birthday...My birthday celebrations this week have been unreal. Palm reader, massages, new hair, night on the town with Heather, and family celebrations on Sunday...Wed was the full moon. I was anticipating the birth with the moon in mind...Her breathe slowed and her face changed. The world started spinning again and the next push Violet was here!
May:
Here I am in San Antonio, TX. I thought I would never make it... Becky is my oldest friend. We know each other so well...Acupressure points to induce labor: ...How to put a woman into full labor: ...We extended, or rather bought a new plane ticket home. I am now leaving on June 8th.... Becky finally had Hazel. She was born at 11:56 a.m. on the 28th after 85 hours of ACTIVE HARD labor.The nurses were generally nice. Kate by far was our favorite. There was an untouchable gentleness about her...We had to be each other's strength. We can all remember times when we lost it.
June:
I am home now and back into my old familiar routine. Since being home, I want to cry at least twice everyday...I got some new music from Ashley today: Jack Johnson's new album and Florence and the Machine. There's nothing like new music to get me jazzed. I also made my first purchase from Amazon.com I bought Sophie Uliano's newest book.
July:
Something cool happened yesterday. I was working on Scott and he asked me to read his energy. So I turned on the Reiki... I believe I am blessed with the gift of healing-at least to some degree....
I am starting to feel doubt creep into my soul. Jesus and God help me through. Where did the magic go?....
It's amazing how moods can change. I am in a really good spot in my life...Baby James is here! It is amazing to know the nature of a baby when he/she arrives. We all knew James was happy, calm, lovable, and beautiful.
August:
I drove the Nebo loop today- which I've never done before. I did it for a few reasons: to experience the weather shift and to finish the Birth of Venus (book on cd). To me, it was a book about revolutions and liberations and the consequences thereafter. I was totally drawn to it. I've been experiencing my own revolutions...Recently my eyes are changing. I see control, fear, and additional teachings.
September:
I went to Cheryl's house today. I was very surprised, grateful, and saddened by my visit. She did something very unique, she started the session with a prayer. The prayer was unlike any prayer I have ever heard, very sincere and personal...I miss having grandparents. I wish GJ were here. She would make it feel better.
October:
I had another session with Cheryl today. I am certainly glad that I went to see her. I am going to give myself credit. I am brave. It is scary to go to someone and find out your past and sort through the details.
November:
The challenge of life is overcoming your human nature. God judges us according to who we are and not what we do. Understanding this distinction brings me to another realization: Who you are are vs what you do: For example, a man can steal a penny and another man 10k. It's not the amount that matters to God, both men stole. What is in their hearts to make them steal?
December:
I massaged a man last Saturday and he read my character. He said: 'You are kind, compassionate, and you love what you do because you love helping people. Many people may not view you as smart, but you are very smart and you are also wise which is an unusual combination. You are very forgiving- except right now there is someone in your life who you want to ring their neck. You have many friends who love you. You are a good listener. The best compliment is for someone to call you a lady.' That is all I remember. He was eloquent in speech. I misjudged him at first. I guess everyone taps into the pool of consciousness...I went outside around 2 a.m. and it was silent except for the herd of deer across the street...The wind was strong today-it's blowing in something big...Huge snowstorm. I went out around 12 a.m. to see the silence that a good snow cover brings. I made snow angels, and a heart on the side yard. I was 5 again.

Christmas Blues

I was having a big case of the Christmas blues because my parent's didn't have any decorations up this year. We had our Christmas party on Sunday and my mom borrowed a little tiny tree from her work for the party. It isn't the same when you don't have any of your own decor, or rather any decor up. My mom's new slogan this year has been, "It's still Christmas even if the tree isn't up." Bah hum bog! I took matters into my own hands. I got a real tree, thank you Ashley, and had it delivered last night. My parent's were busy watching Psych on the computer so they didn't see the deliverey. Another factor on my side is my parent's bed time. They go to bed before 9 pm. They were fast asleep by 10 pm and I was setting up a real Christmas tree all by myself, which was really fun because I got to choose all of the ornaments and such. My mom was smelling the pine in her dreams and couldn't believe her eyes when she awoke to a Christmas tree. Lots of questions were entering her mind: when!?, how!?, what!? My blues are gone and I don't know if it's because I got a tree or because I surprised mom and dad, but I am certainly happy about it. I take the saying 'if there is a will there is a way' very literally. Merry Christmas!

I won an ipod touch. Thank you Bank of the West. I am still figuring out how to use it . If I could say something without judgement from anyone, I really wish it had a camera, Oh well. I have been manifesting an ipod for some time now. Who knew I would get a brand new one, let alone a sleek ipod touch.

I am still behind in getting into all things merry and Christmas. I haven't stepped into a shopping center all month. Time is running short, but that is how I roll with almost everything- last minute. Anyway, I don't really believe in participating in the consumerism of the holiday. Maybe one day when I have to be Santa I will be different.

I had a birth last week. It was beautiful. More details to come.

I got bangs. Wahoo. They are really fun. I have noticed something unpleasant though, my forehead breaks out now. The breakage outage is mostly around my hair line which is better than mid-forehead, but still unsettling. Pics soon.

Lastly and perhaps most exciting, both of my sisters are bringing girls into the world Spring 2011. Congratulations to Shelley (baby number 1) and Heather (baby number 4). Joy is errupting from every vessel of my body.

Clean air please

It can seem insignificant to reduce, reuse, and recycle- ESPECIALLY because Utah makes it so diffucult and non-friendly. However, maybe if everyone rallied together and did just one thing we could go from red alert to yellow alert for the next 6 months. I kind of want to be able to breathe and the air outside is discusting. Damien Rice jokes about bottled air but I don't think it's too far off.

Many people, including my dear parents, think that environmental issues such as global warming is conspiracy and when debating it turns into an 'it's God's plan' argument. In response, God via Jesus created this world with tlc. Therefore, do whatever you want to it? No, consider the lilies of the field. That field is on it's it way to being a toxic waste facility. 

p.s. Christmas is the time of ultimate consumption. Please, for the sake of everyone, be responsible for your footprint.


p.p.s I am as damned as anyone. I don't write this post from a place of superiority, I write this post from a valley with trapped toxic air :)

Attention Santa

Dear Santa,

Thank you for being jolly, wearing red, and encouraging Buddy go to New York to find his dad. Here is this year's wish list.
-Counter top bathroom vanity filter unit from ewater.com
-Aria diffuser from Young Living
-Products from Young Living: Core Supplements, Animal Scents shampoo, Feelings Kit, Dreamcatcher, Awaken, and Sacred Frankincense.
-An Alaskan Husky puppy with both eyes blue
-A PC laptop
-Sonic Care electric toothbrush
-Sunset Bronzer from Mineral Essence
Thanks SC.

Love,
Stacie

Inner Child

Here I am having a blast in the leaves on Sunday. Thank you leaves because I will soon resent you when I am hauling you away with my dad. 

p.s. leaves provide a lot of warmth. maybe that's how mary ingles survived...