Symmetry

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Originally uploaded by Noisypond.

I should tell you that my brother and sister-in-law are tidy people; this is just a momentary toy explosion that occurred, and frankly it was on my watch. But I love this shot because it makes me think of the seventies for some reason. Maybe because it's just classic behaviour.

(Incidentally, Reece is playing with a water bottle that has spiral pasta inside. It's a cheap toy, and a favourite one for both twins. I highly recommend it for other parents - not that I have any credentials whatsoever for making any kind of recommendation, but - you know.)

A special bond

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Originally uploaded by Noisypond.

My nephew the goof

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Originally uploaded by Noisypond.

He's half Canadian, after all ...

Feeding time at the zoo

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Originally uploaded by Noisypond.

Cottage cheese fingers

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Originally uploaded by Noisypond.

My niece

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Originally uploaded by Noisypond.

Adorable

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Originally uploaded by Noisypond.

Family fun

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Originally uploaded by Noisypond.

Here's a photo of the twins' favourite past-time. It's not really racing, as much as getting to see each other have as much fun as they're having. They LOOOOOVE this game. Lorelai in particular loves riding on someone's shoulders. The glee, folks ... it's pretty spetacular.

Supermodel in the making

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Originally uploaded by Noisypond.

Here's Lorelai, and make no mistake - she is definitely posing for the camera. How can I be sure? Well, whenever the camera is pointed in her direction, she scrunches up her nose and grins, often pulling one side of her lip higher than the other. It's soooo cute. Not photogenic, but darling all the same.

An armful o' baby

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Originally uploaded by Noisypond.

Baby hugs are the sweetest

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Originally uploaded by Noisypond.

Friends and Internet vagabonds, I apologize for my absence. Yesterday I flew to Seattle to spend time with my brother, sister-in-law, and my adorable niece and nephew. Today was spent getting to know the twins again (or, rather, letting them get to know me again), and also hanging out with their nanny, Courtney, while Joe and Lisa were at work.

Courtney is awesome, by the way - I couldn't be happier with the care Reece and Lorelai receive from her. But the big deal of the day was just relating to the babies in a way that wasn't possible when they were younger. They both now respond to me, and warmed up to me pretty quickly (Reece apparently is quite reserved with strangers). We played and read and cuddled and ate all day - but the hugs! The HUGS! are to die for, they are so meltingly warm and loving. If I could store this kind of energy in a bottle, we would have world peace, my friends.

Stay tuned for more ...

Sitting in the Flowers

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Originally uploaded by *Sakura*.

Gorgeous shot, again not mine, but still - I hope you enjoy it.

'Night!

So gross, sooooooo funny

Too good (bad?) not to share.

It's my second post of the day. Consider it a tip, or a bonus section. :)

Things that make me wonder

• scratches on the seats of public toilets (how do they happen????? do people have small metal spikes growing out of their buttocks????)
• the following searches that somehow led people to my blog:
• jelly booger (this from an Internet vagabond in Croatia ... [note to self: Croatians are weird.])
  
• cuckolded desdemona
• david suzuki's favourite chinese food
• economic environment for victoria secret
• great plumbing websites
• take my cpap to bali
• angelina jolie has affair with her bodyguard
• angelina jolie 94 pounds
• angelina jolie having affair with bodyguard
• angelina jolie at 94 pounds
• angelina jolie's affair with bodyguard
• how Kyla always has the coolest, most intriguing and suspenseful status updates on Facebook
  
• this story, which I just heard about because I was listening to a podcast from The Hour while at the gym
  

Random weekendness

Friends and Internet vagabonds, I have not been this unproductive for a weekend for a loooooooong time. I blame Kalisah for having a link to this blog, which I then spent half the weekend reading (seriously …)

True, I did go to the One of a Kind Show Friday night with Alison, and then to Roberta’s birthday party Saturday night (where I spent most of my time chatting with a friend’s fiancé, Joseph, who is such a great guy … I am so happy for Andrea), and I finally lugged my carcass to the gym late this afternoon, but I’m used to doing a lot more with my time, frankly. Oh well, hopefully it’ll just mean extra energy for me to haul my camera, laptop, and all my other worldly possessions to Seattle later this week.

When I was at the gym tonight, there was a figure skating special on TV – Kristi Yamaguchi Friends and Family show. I used to watch figure skating religiously in the ‘90s, and a lot of the usual suspects showed up – some of them with their kids. It was great. Here are a few thoughts that you can feel free to skip unless you actually care:

• Isabelle Brasseur was skating with someone who absolutely was NOT Lloyd Eisler - I guess this guy is her husband Rocky Marval, also a retired pairs skater, but she also had her/their adorable daughter Gabrielle out on the ice, and judging by the super-excited jumping she did when their routine was over, little Gabrielle enjoys the spotlight. I wouldn’t be surprised to see her in national competitions in a few years;
• Ekaterina Gordeeva skated, and she is one of the most beautiful, classy people I can think of. Her beauty radiates from within when she’s on the ice – absolutely amazing to watch;
• Ilia Kulik was mesmerizing – he is an incredible artist, even after all these years away from amateur competition;
• Viktor Petrencko, however, makes me cringe. I know he’s a gifted athlete, but there is just something so cheesy about his on-ice shtick that I can’t watch him;
• Jenny Meno and Todd Sand have two of the most adorable red-haired boys you can imagine. So cute.

After I came back from the gym, I surfed the web even more so I could get the precise dates of the Canadian and World Figure Skating Championships in my calendar. Do you think it’s possible to rent a DVR for a week at a time? I don’t want to spend my time in front of the TV year-round, but these two weeks would be an exception. But who am I kidding – it would probably take me a whole week to get the thing properly cabled before I had to return it. LOL

Another random topic: I’ve been considering going to see the movie, P.S. I Love You when it comes out in theatres in December. I love Hilary Swank, and I fell in love with Gerard Butler a little bit while watching Dear Frankie, so I was keen. However, I actually watched the trailer tonight and now I’m not too sure. Will you watch it for me and give me your thoughts? Is it maybe just a DVD rental? And then only when I’m PMSing?

Speaking of movies, a woman at the gym today highly recommended No Country for Old Men. I think I would have a hard time sitting through that one, no matter how excellent the acting is. Has anyone else seen it? I know I did manage to sit through Eastern Promises, but I had my eyes covered for all but 0.0001 seconds of the steam room scene. And I have a hard time handling suspense.

Final parting links before I call it a night:

• Watch this if you blog or read blogs and understand the insanity that is the online world of commenting. If you do neither, you will totally find this stupid and random, which is what online comments are like sometimes. (Sorry, Mom, you will NOT get it, don't even bother. Love you though!)
  
• This blog post is cute for anyone who has a pet.

I think this might be my most-linked post ever. Clearly the Type A in me is coming out of hibernation. :)

So tired I'm touqued!

So tonight after work, my friend Alison and I went to the One of a Kind Show to do some holiday shopping. There was some good stuff to be found, but I was woefully unprepared for the exercise in endurance this kind of experience was. I will be better prepared next year, and don't be too surprised if I bring something with wheels to carry all the loot.

Now I'm at home and utterly pooped - just going through the long little-bit-of-food-at-a-time routine with the cats (trying to avoid gorging and vomiting as one of the cats is known to do). In fact, I'm so tired that my body is having trouble regulating my temperature - so I'm huddled in a flannel blanket and wearing a touque just to stay warm. Yes, indoors. Sexy, right? Does it help if I tell you the hat is made of wool and has ear flaps that become pigtail braids? I fancy that I look like a Norwegian princess - albeit a tired, chilled one. LOL

Great Point Beach- Nantucket

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Originally uploaded by Chris Seufert.

Chris Seufert's photography makes me want to vacation in Massachusetts (which is definitely not something I'd ever think I'd seriously consider a year or more ago).

I love this low-level shot. I feel like I am one of these stones or a piece of ocean debris, washed upon the shore - but looking out to the ocean waves knowing ... THEY'RE GONNA COME AND GET ME. Maybe it'll be scary, maybe it'll be fun, but from this perspective it's certain that I *will* be swept up. Kinda like life itself, no?

I've been thinking about life, change, and attitude a lot lately because of a book I'm reading. Change is not only inevitable, it is accelerating. Is this a threat? Possibly. It's more likely to be a threat if I'm not prepared to look for the opportunities, however ... So I'm working on my attitude and the disciplines that will prepare me for the opportunities when they come. I'm not there by a long shot, but I'm inching toward progress ...

My gift list

“The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” – Mike Lipkin

This year I turned 37. I have had many years to accumulate things. I have an entire storage locker in the creepy basement of my apartment building that is full of crap I probably don’t need and rarely use. Often the challenge of cleaning my apartment is how to organize all the stuff I have. It feels wonderful to go through it and decide that a bunch of it can be given away – it always feels as though I’ve been relieved of a burden when I do.

There are certainly other things that I want or feel I need (clothes are one thing, as I haven’t really gone clothes shopping since May 2006), and while I might want this or that book, CD, or DVD, my tastes are quite personal and specific. I would like to travel to Europe finally, but have gladly chosen instead this year to visit my niece and nephew in Seattle whenever I’m invited because I don’t want to miss any more of their babyhood/development than absolutely necessary. I’ve bought myself a version of that Vita-mix blender I was coveting (an older model, but apparently still brand-new), and one day it’ll eventually arrive in the mail and then I’ll have fresh veggie smoothies to boost my energy and nutrition.

I’m not totally down on material things – I know they’re necessary sometimes and contribute to our pleasure and well-being (I do consider pleasure a necessity, in moderation). But I also think that there are other things that are sometimes more meaningful in our society of excess. And the last thing I want, for the love of muesli bread, is some gift that is just going to end up in some landfill somewhere.

Fortunately, if you are thinking of buying me a present for the holiday season (though I’m not suggesting that you should) Foster Parents Plan Canada (a non-religious, non-political charitable organization) has the perfect solution – Gifts of Hope. Ranging in cost from $15 to $2000 CDN, you can give me (or anyone else you love, for that matter) a gift for someone who needs it more. You could buy me:

• books for a child in Sierra Leone (something my mom gave me last year that I found very exciting and rewarding);
• books for a “Library in a Box” in Haiti (yes, I know that’s books twice, but I’m a bibliophile, what can I say??? I can't imagine life without books!);
• tree seedlings in Benin (helping people AND the environment – wooo hoooo!);
• mosquito nets in Uganda (according to a recent edition of the Globe and Mail, mosquito nets are dramatically reducing child mortality in sub-Saharan Africa);
• farming tools for Niger (ooh, independence – how important is that??? AND it goes back to my roots growing up on a farm!);
• training for health workers in Bolivia (I get a little miffed when my doctor’s phone line is always busy – can you imagine what it must be like to have no trained medical assistance available at all???);
• literacy training for women in Niger (ah, the sweet opportunity to help my fellow women become more empowered! I can’t stand it, it’s so exciting!!!);
• protecting trees and water in El Salvador (can you think of two things that are more important physically, aesthetically, emotionally, spiritually???).

There is a whole bunch more – Plan’s done a great job widening the selection and creativity of the solutions they are offering this year. I might just have to go and buy myself a few holiday presents!!! (Oh, and let's not forget to mention that these gifts are tax-deductible!)

In the end, this post is NOT about what to buy me for Christmas. It’s about doing what really matters with one’s time and resources. I know you’re doing the same thing in your own life – why else would you have read this far??? Feel free to use the comments to tell me what you’re planning or already doing to make a difference and how you are bucking our materialistic society’s dictates. I will cheer you on (and also feel very proud to have such enlightened readership)!

Fallen leaves

One of the reasons I love photography is that it’s made me more observant and appreciative of the world around me, even when I’ve left my camera at home.

The last few days, there has been an incredible carpet of gold and greenish-yellow leaves on the ground in front of my apartment building. The overcast weather (i.e., no glare) resulted in super-saturated, gorgeously rich colour that was both uplifting and restful as I bolted past it on my way to work in the mornings. The leaves were raked today, unfortunately, so I can’t take a photo for you to enjoy, but I promise next year I will.

Question for you: what "mundane" or "ordinary" things have you found beautiful or extraordinary lately? Tell me all about it! :)

Being Angelina Jolie

Sometimes I think about what it must be like to be Angelina Jolie.

I purse my lips when I look in the mirror and imagine I am one of the world’s sexiest women. I think about jet setting around the world to bring media attention to worthy causes and I think about being to adopt needy children and being able to donate one third of my income to charity … I don’t think about Brad, because he does nothing for me. However, one of Brad’s closest buddies is Mr. George Clooney, who fortunately does a LOT for me. Rrrrrowr!

But back to Angelina … I’m really concerned for her this week. Recent magazines tell me:

• she is having an affair with her bodyguard;
• she also shared a kiss with a co-worker that went “too far” and that Brad is furious;
• the family of her adopted daughter Zahara wants her back;
• Angelina was pregnant but miscarried and that, heartbroken, she continues to lose weight off her 94-pound body (illustrated by a photo of a flabby concave belly);
• Brad’s mother has invited Brad’s ex Jen to the family Thanksgiving weekend, and Angelina has thrown a fit and accused Brad’s mother of being “sneaky” (the same magazine also suggests that Brad told Angelina that what his mother does in her free time is her own business, but I’m not sure that Brad is that smart – are you???).

Wow. That’s a lot to deal with in a really short time period, don’t you think? I want to give her a hug or something … she must be absolutely [sob] falling apart!!! Job of the Old Testament had nothing on the trials and tribulations of Angelina Jolie!

Now don’t tell me they just make stuff up. These people are journalists. They have integrity. And long zoom lenses. And they chase after celebrities to try to get away from honest, sincere people who just want to know the truth. And really, when you become famous, you give up your rights – and those of your children – to privacy. Besides, it’s totally possible that all these things are going on in Angelina’s life all at the same time!

Okay, in all seriousness, I love Angelina, but could the media please just stop hounding this family??? As long as we buy their magazines, these vermin will continue its deplorable behaviour towards two people who no doubt are just trying to make their way the best way they know how.

* No magazines were actually bought for this blog posting; in fact most magazines were not even lifted from the stands next to the cashiers.