Divine Meditations

I'm taking another stab a blogging, now that I am starting to get a glimpse of what I'm doing at Stevens-Henager College. In my short time with SH, I have learned that I am a creator, and an enthusiastic one at that. I have created a graduation at the Capitol Theatre, a Teacher Orientation, an improved Student Orientation, rumor has it, the funnest class on campus, PSY101, the Psychology of Success, and finally, I have come around full circle to create a new blog!

My favorite part of my job is watching students discover the love they have for themselves and others. It's been such an incredible experience to create the activities and provide the sacred space within which this evolution of self-love occurs.

I am no longer teaching PSY101- I have handed the torch to Swede- and this week he experienced his first taste of what it is like to see that "ah ha" moment in his students' eyes.

I am finally immersed in my position as Director of Student Services now, but I still want to communicate wisdom to my students' subconscious minds, and I want to reach more of them at one time. For this reason, I have created a blog From the H[e]art of Student Services dedicated to my students at Stevens-Henager.

Healing H[e]art Yoga

I am little by little building the foundation of my yoga teaching practice here in Utah. I'd like to focus on Yoga as therapy, as I within the last few months have been urged to take on role of healer by some deeper part of me. Another one of those universal conspiracies that I'm feeling a little clumsy with right now, but am trusting myself to go ahead and accept the challenge.

If you were to ask yourself what you wanted to be in your freshman year of college, what would it be? Is that what you became? What happened along the way? Well, I thought I would be a doctor, then a medical illustrator, then a microbiologist, then a nurse, and well, here I am, a teacher, helping people become respiratory therapists. The calling to go to nursing school still rings in my heart.

But, I am more drawn to the type of healing that happens on a very personal level, and although there is no proof that yoga actually cures or heals, I don't need proof to know that connecting with my source is the ultimate therapy. It's purely experiencial.

Swede's sister, Paula, treated me to my very own photo shoot, and this is my favorite by far. I am using it on my website, which for now is a blog- but who knows... maybe with time, I'll actually have a full-blown website and clients who have experienced the healing powers of their own hearts.

P.S. does anyone know how to get rid of the double spacing? or is it showing up single spaced for you?

V-Day, B-Day & Emergency Landing

Swede returned on Valentine's Night at about 8:30pm from his interview with Delta Airlines. I had purchased a carne asada chimi for him and a chili rellenos pour moi, and as planned, we ate our V-Day meal together in the airport... HA! We had an area of seats near the entrance all to ourselves, and another fella came up with his sack lunch and joined us in the eating section.

Then Swede's birthday was Friday. He just did what he wanted all day and I minded my own business. That's our idea of a gift to each other! Since we are flat busted broke, we don't buy gifts, nor do we expect them. Dinner together with Mom and Dad was the gift... did I mention Julia, our Spanish waitress at the Olive Garden in Provo, UT. She has waited on Swede since he was five years old. We had a 30 minute wait, but when Julia saw us, she cleared a table herself and told the hostess where to put us. She has a beautiful accent, "And you, mi amor, what would you like? I will bring you a beautiful salad and a beautiful zupa." She could bring us crap on a scure and we would love it. "Take your time, enjoy life, mi amor." She loves us. What a gift!

Well, I forgot to mention a few technical difficulties at the airlines. They already posted a video on it, so brace yourselves for what you are about to see:

The Canyon

Yesterday, I accidentally went down the wrong trail and ended up in someone's back yard. It was a wonderful treat, though, because all the Mallard Ducks had settled in this river and I was the only one around to see them. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera, and returned today with my camera to see if I could catch them; alas, they were no where to be found.

This cute little squirrel had quite a set of lungs. I don't think she was pleased that Roxi was snooping around her stores.

Here is one of the houses in this fenced off neighborhood. It looks to be abandoned.
This is where Hillary and I would like to live.

Back on the right trail, we first have to cross the old iron bridge, which was recently sandblasted and painted for our enjoyment. It's an interesting combination of power lines and nature, but it works.
Yesterday, Roxi chased four or five deer out of their hiding spot up onto the sides of the mountains. I was a bit worried about her, but she does have a sheparding instinct, and I figure she was born for this, why should I deprive her? Up the mountain they went, and then down they dove through the thicket reaching the base in seconds flat, with Roxi hot on their tails. It was beautiful!
I am reading Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, which I recommend, a non-fictional account of an author's travels in search for self. She is with an Italian friend who explains "in a mixture of English, Italian and hand gestures, that every city has a single word that defines it, that identifies most people who live there. If you could read people's thoughts as they were passing you on the streets of any given place, you would discover that most of them are thinking the same thought. Whatever that majority thought might be--that is the word of the city. And if your personal word does not match the word of the city, then you don't really belong there."

I feel so at home in this place.

What is its word?

What is my word?

What is your city's word?

Does it match your own?

Impotent Videos on YouTube

Ok, so I have lost count of the days. I must say, I am enjoying the winter immensely! It has snowed every day! It snows now. Camera batteries dead, I didn't think I'd be posting today, but Swede has given me some material.

He is applying at University of Utah for his Masters in Music Composition and Theater Production. He's still not sure how they'll accommodate him, but we are hoping they'll figure out a way for him to do everything.

Long story short, he has posted a few videos on YouTube and I thought I'd share them here. He's pretty good! Yes, I know, an understatement:D


Seis Preludios Cortos (Six Short Preludes) by Manuel Maria Ponce in our old living room on 1204 S. Maple Ave. in Tempe, AZ

Sonata for Oboe and Guitar Jeremiah Lawson in the Organ Hall at Arizona State University

This has a lot of repeat footage, but if you are interested in hearing Swede discuss where he got his start, that's what this one is all about. The ending is pretty silly, but the rest is good.

Update: I went to Smiths, the local grocery store, and purchased make-up for my big interviews coming up. This will be the first time wearing make-up in years - no I did not own ANY! First impressions are impotent (yes, I did say impotent- it's an inside joke), and I can show the granola girl side later!

Guy goes to the doctor. He comes home and his wife asks him why he brought a brand new Cadillac and a new suit. The guys says, "Well, the doctor told me I was impotent, so if I'm gonna be impotent, I'm gonna feel impotent."

Day 3 in Utah

I am the first to wake up and notice that it has snowed several inches during the night, and I am eager to go outside to explore. Roxi loves this about me. So, I sneak out with my camera, dressed in my Arizona's best. Attire-wise, I am clearly not prepared for Utah. No boots, and since cleaning out the closet for the move, I only have one pair of blue jeans. They are dirty, so a skirt and yoga pants it is. Winter coat complement of Buffalo Exchange. Traded in some clothes and paid less than $2 for it:D

I am about to find out if my theory is correct, but I don't think that the Utah winter is as harsh as the Michigan winter. My theory is that it's not surrounded by lakes and it gets more sunshine. There are many varieties of plants which do not lose their leaves, and I don't recall many of these in Michigan, though, I may not have been paying attention.

My camera seems to be a little off center, and I just kind of have to guess where to point it. I tried to center this trunk about 8 times, and this was the best I could do. There was quite a bit of symmetry to the markings on the trunk that would make a beautiful wall paper print.

OK, holiday... snowday... hmmm, what can I do besides apply for jobs? I know! Knit! Inspired by my cousin, Lesley, I have taken up knitting. I wanted to go to Stitch-n-bitch, but didn't feel worthy until I actually had something to offer the group. So I picked up numerous books from the library and just started practicing different patterns. I never did figure out lace, because I kept adding and decreasing stitches. My friend in Tempe had this cute scarf that she had ordered from Thailand, so I drew a picture of it and made one at home.

This is actually the second of its kind that I have made, and I have been meaning to crochet the loose ends and sew on buttons.

I love these buttons. I have held on to them for about 13 years, because I knew they would be perfect for something someday. I made this for my Mom, so I am glad the buttons are going to her.

Knitting project No.2: Finish the other glove!

I got a pretty good start on it this morning. These gloves are for Swede. I thought the ultimate in knitting would be to make my own gloves, hat and scarf set. I started with a pair for Swede first so that I could iron out all the wrinkles on him! They are huge, and fit him perfectly. I have a pretty good eye, although don't be fooled, I traced his hand and measured the circumference of all his fingers, palm and wrist, created a swatch to guage my stictches with, and had to figure out how to knit with four needles and alternate colors. It's actually a lot easier than it seems, but there is a lot of planning involved for a project like this.

And since I am showing off, I thought I would document the scarf that I made for Wyatt, that he accidentally left in our car when we were all crying and saying our goodbyes. He wanted a fishing net scarf, so here it is.

We'll probably get more use out of it here than he would have in Phoenix anyways!

BTW, can anyone explain to me why sometimes the lines are double spaced and sometimes single?

I Love Surprises!

Swede and I drove up the Coast of California, enjoying a short stay with Gary in Salinas. Gary escorted us to Santa Cruz. We parked our car and hopped into Gary's. We visited the UCSC campus, which was nestled in the Redwoods on a mountain overlooking the Ocean. People were riding their bikes everywhere.

We went downtown, and Swede checked in with the Music Store. It was cold. One more stop, the beach, complete with roller coaster and boardwalk. But... we didn't feel a connection. A bit too 420 friendly, cramped and conjested for our taste. We envisioned expansive and spacious Redwood and Ocean living, but quickly realized this place could not provide what we had hoped for.

The highlight of our trip was meeting Mike Shaw in Willits, someone we admired for many reasons (extremely kind, funny, a strong leader, player of guitar, owner of an ancient Katana and teller of stories of his parents' adventures with the military). He shared his home with us and was encouraging.

On a crispy frozen morning, we packed up the car, and headed for home... Swede's home... Utah. It was his first choice, but he was kind enough to entertain my wild ambitions to live by the Ocean. On the Utah border, we stopped at this teeny tiny town and Roxy and I enjoyed a nice walk together in the fresh snow.

I started to aclimate to the idea of four seasons again. Well, my spirits were high, because already people were engaging in my favorite winter sports: sledding and building snow men and women!

Thanks to Aunt Ruth, I have been given new eyes to see the winter as something enchanting and decadent.

Every snow flake, every shadow tells a story.

Sure, there are some parts of winter that I will hopefully maintain a sense of humor about. I am feeling OK about it. I am a little nervous and scared. Four months is a long time to wait for warmth.

But, if I continue to see the world through the eyes of a child, I should enjoy this unexpected surprise.