Blogging Matters

i need to dedicate the title to gapingvoid.com –he wrote a book about the freedom of blogging in your underwear… i haven’t read it but maybe i should.  i do agree, it sounds pretty liberating!

i am not an expert blogger, in fact for the 3 of you who read this blog..i appreciate it.

what i do know is that in my youth i scribbled random thoughts, lines of poetry and quotes on scraps of paper or sometimes in a notebook.  the thoughts were captured moments, floating through the air and when penned on paper became weightier, heavier, and a bit more real. most often these were read only by me. occasionally, very occasionally, they were sometimes shared with close friends but not often…as a shyness and uncertainty often overcame me. the sentences and thoughts remained frozen in time, static on lonely pieces of paper.

but today, when a thought unfurls itself and escapes, it is penned in a much more visible and permanent way. when i write a sentence, my random thoughts have a life of their own. they live and breathe in a digital space where they can be read, ignored or reflected upon.

sometimes my thoughts may delight, inspire or charm a smile. sometimes i’ll never know….and sometimes i will, when like-minded bloggers, readers, and writers like or comment on my post.

i believe blogging matters.

stumbling upon a story-teller who can impart wisdom or share a moment in time that beguiles and transports you to another time and space or way of thinking, is magic in its own right. sometimes it is the simple stories that invoke an interest, an out loud chuckle or unlock a sentiment deep inside that makes your heart do a flip-flop.  other times it is the extraordinary of an ordinary day that makes you smile, inspires you to impart a bit of sage advice, or perhaps salute your fellow writer with a h*ell yeah! whatever your experience, the written word by another, can close gaps and bring people together.  blogging recognizes the beauty and truth in words. to my fellow bloggers, let the words escape.

blogging is not a job, it is a hobby…it is a place for me to expound….

so for those of you who read, i hope you enjoy.

sun on my face, salt in my hair

i dipped my toes in my girlfriends everyday…and decided i wanted to jump…

flip-flops, gecko hunting in the bright yellow of the day and frog hunting under the thick fragrant black of night.  turtle spotting in the creek behind her house whilst sipping bold, rich and piping hot coffee. visiting the tide-pools after school and feasting on fish tacos, bok-choy salad and pineapple, mint ice tea. this is a life i could live.

1970s pool days–every day

sneaky  gecko hunting…

a surfer in the making…the hair proves it…

tossing 9-5–and embracing talent and the artist within

bathing suits from dawn til dusk.

and best of all..time..awesome, amazing, absolute time with my 4300km apart friend...

as the week comes to a close i will follow the sage advice of my rainy day Vancouver pal who also has a love affair with hawaii.

“always have a little sand between your toes and salt in your hair.”

it’s something to tuck in your pocket no matter the day. the ‘times’ we make, remember, and hold close to our heart are the moments, and the seconds that weave the tapestry of a good life.

xoxo,
m

the skinny on the ‘not-so-skinny’

so i lied. i promised i would abandon my quest for skinny jeans…but i just can’t.  i know they are out there somewhere…sadly i keep hearing the Moody Blue’s spurring me on.

 I know you’re out there somewhere
Somewhere, somewhere
I know you’re out there somewhere
Somewhere you can hear my voice
I know I’ll find you somehow
Somehow, somehow
I know I’ll find you somehow

last week i pinned my hopes on Red Engine Cinder denim–now these aren’t true skinnies but i opened up the criteria and elected to go for a straight leg. i have accepted my athletic legs rock  for a number of reasons but so far legs are alluding the perfect denim. i digress…back to the jeans–great straight leg jeans made for athletic legs BUT not a real skinny. i want a seamless jean tucked in my boots. but, if you are searching for a straight leg/skinny try them out…i am pretty sure you won’t be disappointed. eva longoria and jada pinkett wear them…so now i am considering their true skinny–the cayenne–it sounds hot.

skinny legs and all…they just aren’t me… but i’m still searching for the illusion.

am i alone in the quest for the perfect something…please tell me i’m not?

hold onto that mattress

do you have that one person that you end up doing silly adventures with? i’m not talking about exhilarating sky-diving or bungee jumping tales, i am talking about moments that conjure up their own unique blend of ridiculous.

how about driving with a mattress barely tied on the roof –thinking that your hands holding it will prevent a disaster? or buying an armchair on sale that sadly doesn’t fit through the front door? but the two of you are absolutely convinced it can, and will, fit through the living room window. i am sure you have that person…the one you sweat it out with in the only cab in the city, with non-existent air-conditioning–on the way to a September wedding. so you hike your skirt so high it is indecent! they are your  partner in crime, the only one you can  call when you need to do something that is just weird?  your go to gal who safely sprays SPF 50 whilst you are standing naked in the tub,  ensuring you avoid sun damage, but unknowingly creating a deadly slip and slide in your bathroom. they are not necessarily crazy just very convincing…they are the one that guarantees painting doors and mouldings can be achieved in only a few hours, over a few nights with bottle of wine…and it will be fun…

i have that person. our latest, and relatively tame adventure, played itself out in the mini-storage unit yesterday. the space that has her life contained in a 10 x 10 foot space perfectly placed and packed. as with most of our adventures in silliness there is usually a want not a desperate need that propels us on these missions. yesterday, the hunt was on for 3 throw cushions. every box was stacked neatly along the left side of the unit, labeled and all but two were easily accessible. the very bottom left hand corner had a few boxes that were a bit tricky to get to as parts of the bed literally ‘boxed’ them in.  we started the search, shifting boxes up and over like a rubics cube dismissing each–kitchen, fragile, bedding, kitchen, quilt…etc.  as our prospects grew slimmer and the box tower shifted we agreed the cushions and fates must be laughing at us. no doubt they had to be stored in the furthest, deepest, and clearly most unaccessible corner.  and so, with a box corner digging into my ribs and a very precarious lean, i carefully sliced the  packing tape open and felt the softness of a pillow. emerging like a phoenix from the ashes i pulled the first two out and reached for the third only to feel the cold edge of the cardboard.  what? i looked at her and started to laugh…really…you’ve got to be kidding me. and then, all of the crazy moments collided in my head and i realized these would soon be too far and few between.

that person. my person,  is my sister–she is so many things, but most definitely the person i have the strangest adventures with.  after 18 years or forced cohabitation, and the next 18 years  of living only kilometres away, she is going far, far away. from the west coast to the east coast, and further still, from Canada to the US. 5117 kms to be exact–49 hours of non-stop driving.

we will talk everyday, probably countless times but it will be unchartered waters for us. i am really not sure how i will fair? i’ll keep the crazy adventures in my heart  and with our history new ones are sure to unfold. but how do you hold on to your sister and your best friend, and let them go at the same time.?

after a bucketful of tears…and a few days i’ll let you know…..