Holiday 2010

A Gift wish list:

Your time & attention first, of course!
Otherwise:

Music:
Sting - Dream of the Blue Turtle
Tom Petty's MOJO BIRTHDAY PRESENT! I'm listening twice a day. Love it!

Books:
Any books by Dr.Gabor Mate (great brain stuff)
The Three Laws of Performance by Steve Zaffron & Dave Logan


Other:

http://www.arcteryx.com/Product.aspx?EN/Mens/Jackets/Venta-SV-Jacket
From John:
this is the one jacket I'm gonna be thinking of for the next
five years or so. It's made to layer with, so it's easy to wear the
raingear over it or adapt to many tempuratures or activity ranges.
Stupid durable, Special Forces types are their biggest customer
nowadays. I'd even not kvetch if I got the red one instead of the
black one...



a Mandolin- for slicing and grating vegetables
This wine decanter
A cover for my [Christy] iPod like this one

a chuck o' money to pay down our debt- the first student loan is going down in 2011




As always, this post will be edited as ideas come up! Love you!

Cooking

I used to really like food, and cooking. There was accomplishment, sensation, delight in discovery. Now I just want to not be hungry. To be nourished. To have the right mix of minerals, lipids, aminos, and carbs to make my body feel great later.

It would also help if said nourishing would help me stay in a single size of pants for more than 6 months at a time.

I'm tired. Tired of not knowing. Tired of trying. Tired of struggling.

I miss the days when food was an adventure, in the early days of my adventures selling fruits and vegetables in the city. I miss it. I'm going to mourn my delight in food, and then I am going to move on.

Life is too short to make choices based not in my current reality, but in my past self-image. Life is too damn short to miss out on what delights me NOW because I'm busy trying to maintain an old flame for tasty food.

Savoring

I really enjoy having a quiet little corner on the interwebs for my personal musings.

No audience, no pressure, just an itch to write-scratched.

Today's graphic is from Momentum Magazine: the magazine for self propelled people. It's delicious. Try it.

Maiden Voyage!

Finally! I just got in from Ginger's maiden voyage, really just a test drive to see what needs tweaking:

The seat will go back an inch, the back brake will get tightened, the front loosened, front fender straightened.

I am so excited! This bike (Eleckra's Amsterdam, in lustrous orange metallic) has been on my horizon since the mister came back from the tradeshow. The first iteration was lost in transit. All's well that ends well, though; this one arrived home on my birthday.

Like the great man once said, "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

Pres. Obama: Nobel Laureate

_ Myth: The prize is awarded to recognize efforts for peace, human rights and democracy only after they have proven successful.

More often, the prize is awarded to encourage those who receive it to see the effort through, sometimes at critical moments.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j1_QF_M_HvZAOpRa9UGcm5CbA-1gD9B7HDR80

I pray for our leader.

words of beauty

or one of the reasons I love my mister:

feline suppleness is a force matched only by water's grace and power

*sigh*

Birthday?

OK people,

the sister has been asking for a present idea list. The Bebe and I are still in consolidate and streamline mode, but there are a few glaring holes in our household accoutrement that I would happily recieve as presents:

A compost bucket: a nifty by the kitchen sink one that I empty every couple of days.

A not-plastic set of measuring spoons & measuring cups (dry).

The Body Ecology cookbook

**Update**

Sewing scissors

"Yoga as Therapy" by Doug Keller in 2 volumes http://www.doyoga.com/newbook.html


I have been trolling Etsy, finding fun vintage kitchen trays, spoon rests, mixing bowls, ect. I wouldn't trust it for clothes, but otherwise it is full of delightful-ness. I will update this post as I think of other lovely bits for you to consider.

Know that a handmade card is as pleasing to me as anything you could buy for me.

Peace & peonies,

Christyna

Christmas Update in August

I just heard that Bob Dylan is putting out a Christmas album this year. OH BOY! There is a special place in my heart for Christmas music. I acquire one new Christmas album a year.

This tradition began with Nat King Cole's classic my first year on my own. Last year it was a gift of one of Johnny Cash's many Christmas offerings. This year...my eyes are on Bob.

Yay! Whenever I need an infusion of childlike anticipation, I will conjure the thought of a new awesome, unexplored, Christmas music.



Ah, sparkly tinsel magic.

Homer & Jethro!

I've just rediscovered my cassette tape of Homer & Jethro's Jazz from the Hills! Wonderful musicianship and great energy for a Getting Things Done sort of day. Homer & Jethro predate Squirrel Nut Zippers by thirty years, but the music has the same energy with none of the singing or kitch.

Ah, cassettes! I have about 400 still, in neat boxes from IKEA. I rarely even look at them, and yet the collection has several treasures that I'm not sure I will be able to find online or on that other obsolescent media the CD. About half of the collection was my grandfather's. I love looking through them wondering what attracted him to the Mills Brothers, or what his favorite Sons of the Pioneers song was. Did he know Montana Slim?

Dr. Kelly, my friend and Financial Systems professor, introduced me to the music of Homer & Jethro. They were the stage band for the Grand Old Opry. Usually they played parodies of current country & bluegrass songs. The funniest part was the exceptional production values given to all of their work.

Back to productivity for now. Just sharing my bliss.

Zest!

Today's lunch requires me to cry out!

I took the basic quinoa salad I've been eating all week (quinoa, parsley, tomato, flax oil, salt) and added 101 Cookbooks blog's simple cauliflower (seared w/garlic) and lime zest. It is so good! My belly loves the good fats, the light filling meal, and my mouth is in love with the zing of the zest. All the other flavors blend well, then the zest tickles rightat the end of the bite.

Yum-MY! Thanks 101Cookbooks!

Fried Hot Dogs wrapped in Tortillas

Last night I had hot dogs wrapped in corn tortillas and fried in an iron skillet.

I've been hearing about this 'delicacy' for almost two years. My life partner's Dad would make these for the family on fun weekends. I was skeptical.

Fried food is delicious! Sharing in my Bebe's happy memories was wonderful. dipped in soy sauce and mustard, mixed generously.

I don't want to eat this every day, but happy food is good food. Now for quinoa with parsley, peppers, and chives from my garden. More happy, sunshine food.

Life 3-D

I have several friends and colleagues who are consciously shifting their time online. Suzanne said, "I was spending so much time on social networking via the computer, that I missed out on real world community building". I applaud these efforts to find a balance and choose more experiences that engage the body and all the senses.

I also appreciate the ease of Facebook and blog following, for staying connected with my far-flung friends & family.

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

I'm playing with my cat and remembering how everything is related. Her tail is part of her spine, connecting all parts and conveying subtle data, below consciousness.

purrrr

Not Raining!

Ug! The weather has been miserable, mostly because of the high contrast this cold wet spell has from the week before. I had just given up on my 'winter' wear (you know, sweaters & long sleeve shirts) for the season and packed it up, when this cold Northern swept in Wednesday.

It has been difficult to keep up with my scheduled events. I made these plans when warmth was not percieved as a variable.

Moving!

My husband and I are moving this weekend! I am so happy to finally be consolidating our things and getting space to wiggle. We have been doubled up in his bachelor pad for six months. It's exciting, but also stressfull.

The funniest part is we keep brainstorming where to place things or how to solve storage issues, separately, that are the same ideas! I guess we are both in the right place.

Well, back to lifting with my legs!

lv, christyna

Christmas

All I want for Christmas is peace in my belly. I feel so unsettled! Things have to mellow out for me soon.

Seriously (cough, Mom) neither I nor my husband need anything.




OK OK I hear you! Here are a few little things we would enjoy if buying little things for us makes your holiday sweeter:

Membership to the Organic Consumer Association

A slotted spoon. Seriously, we want a metal slotted spoon, just the size for serving green beans from the soupy bowl for a table of three to six persons. Not a 12'' long monstrosity.

Cowboy Bebop DVDs
Princess Bride DVD
Firefly Series DVD

SmartWool socks Christy sized!

Rechargeable AA, AAA, C Real Goods has some nice ones
hand-crank combo radio, light, cellphone charger

CDs-
Sting Dream of the Blue Turtle

Currency- we are on a big debt payment kick. Our goal is to be debt free in 24 months. We can do it, but it is going to be tight. Your monetary gifts will give us a bit of wiggle room without jepordizing our goals.

goodies!

I got a digital camera for Christmas!!!

and an external hard-drive (they really seem to go together) ;-)

Flickr, here I come!

I am excited about all the possibilities this Winter season has provided me. Now I only need to budget my time & resources to maximize my fun fun fun.

I hope you are doing well and getting into the swing of this new year!!

She's back!

This has been a large, large year for christyna.

I am hopeful that all my rich experiences will result in some interesting ponderings here.

The most interesting piece of late is that I have met someone who is so much fun! He challenges me and invites challenge back. He is thoughtful, passionate, and committed to his own growth as a human Being.

Also, expanding my musical tastes.

I will keep you posted. hehehe

Economics!

I have been revisiting my core philosophies lately, many of which are economics based. I realize that they are so with me, and usually unexamined, that I would have trouble explaining them to anyone in a coherent way.

This state, for me, is problematic. I believe that if more people shared my worldview, more people would be happy, empowered, and quirkily makng their own way in this world (and THAT means more fun for me, because my favorite people to meet are happy, empowered & quirky).

So I am very excited to find this book reviewed at a fellow bloggers site:

http://www.press.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/hfs.cgi/00/191215.ctl

Economics for Humans. Fantastic! I am a human! I will let you know how it goes after I pick it up from my fav neighborhood bookstore.

Blessings & Berries,

Christyna

a moment of remembrance for victims of violence everywhere