Leaving A Mark

The January theme of the month is "Leaving A Mark".

Home Again

Back home, and back to the cold and snow - 8 inches of snow/sleet/rain today. Not looking forward to shoveling tomorrow. Already miss the warm Vegas days.

I love JetBlue - my absolute fave domestic airlines. I lucked out with 3 empty seats each way - and it really was wonderful on the red-eye back. Actually got some sleep, though every time we hit turbulence, I woke clutching the arm rest - does not make for good dreams.

Am catching up on my sleep. My nieces wake up at 5:30am - inhumane time for little kids. The alarm goes off, and Bella (the oldest) starts yelling, "WAKE UP! WAKE UP!". And just in case I did not hear her, the 3 mouseketeers come into my room and make sure I'm up :-) Had a wonderful time.

Le Reve @ Wynn

The shows in Vegas are enough to keep one coming back. Last night went to see the show at the Wynn - Le Reve. The theater is smallish for a fixed show, and there are really no bad seats in the house. It's an aqua show - so if you are in the first row and on the aisles near the 3 entrance ramps, expect to get wet. Our discount tickets were 4 rows up - perfect. The show is simply stunning, though not as good as Cirque du Soliel - it is the creation of their former creative director. Towering waterfalls, angels, demons - essentially the stuff of dreams.

The skill, strength, flexibility and artistry of the cast is breathtaking. And there was absolutely zero body fat on any of them - am green with envy - though not enough to work at it as hard as they do.

Riddle

I recently ordered a kids magazine (Ladybug) for my ns. Have had fun reading through it with them here in Vegas. Here is a riddle from it:

I weigh less than a feather,
But you can't pick me up.
I can dance but I can't sing.
Without you I am nothing
What am I?

Vegas delight

Got in late last night, and what a delight it has been so far. Here are some of the highlights:

1. I love JetBlue - a direct not full flight, so I had the row to myself
   
2. It's shorts weather out here - simply wonderful after the bitter cold at home
3. My nieces are the cutest - been on school patrol - the girls are in first grade and kindergarten
4. Did homework this evening - they can all read! When did that happen?!! Such adventures await them - cannot remember a time I did not read
5. A nice change to catch up with my brother and sis-in-law

President Obama is in the house!

Not sure that I have ever actually watched the inauguration proceedings on TV all day. This has been an emotional day. What a moment in history this is for our country. We have come a long way, and still have much further to go. Yet, today I feel hopeful that together we can create a better world.

Check out this video for more inspiration.

Visual Journal

Here are some recent pages.

Play Dates

It's a common misconception that only kids have play dates. Not true. As a matter of fact, I think adults need them more than kids do. Yesterday was one such day. Babes and I explored the MFA (ah.. Japanese woodblocks, love the new Herb Ritts gallery) , had lunch at Betty's (not as good as the last time), and took in a concert at the BSO (Mozart, Haydn and Handel - wow). We lucked into rush tickets, sat in the 2nd row and got a close up view of the guys who played the base cellos.

It was a frigid day out here - temps barely made it up to 15 degrees (F), but I came home all aglow. If you cannot remember your last play date, make one for next week.




































Additional pics from the BSO can be seen here.

BRR!

We are having frigid weather - yes that decimal is in the right place.

Updated: 3 min 6 sec ago

1.5 °F Clear

Windchill:	1 °F
Humidity:	66%
Dew Point:	-7 °F
Wind:	Calm

Trackers

When Luke and Jonah spent the day last weekend, we went into the back yard to see what animal tracks were left behind in the snow. Deer, coyote, and rabbit tracks were some of the ones we found. The trackers then decided to use the recycling bins as sleds. Great fun. More pics of the expedition can be seen here.

Recent Reads

1. The Gingerbread Cowboy
This is a book that Luke picked at the library for our Saturday together. He loved it. You had the feeling as you were reading that things were not going to end well :-)

2. The Loop
This is the first book I've read by the author and I liked it. Not particularly a gripping tale, but kept my interest.

3. The Zen of Seeing
Loved this book. Here is a quote from page 13:
"It is no accident that Zen is being discovered in the West at a time of realization that we are fast becoming strangers to our inner life, and that we are all too easily confused about what is real and authentic and what is phoney, about what we truly like and what we think we must like because it happens to be required."

Malbecs

I sure do like the Malbecs from Argentina. They have cool labels too - though the labels are real tough to remove without ripping.

Quote of the Day

Fish quake at the mention of my name.
- bumper sticker.

When I'm near the end of a book, I need to sleep in the same room with it.
- Joan Didion

Winter light

Love the color of winter light. In my study it changes from a bright white in the morning to a warm rust in the late afternoon. Beautiful.

Recent Reads

1. Mexico
This is a book that I dragged out as long as I could - think I read 5 other books in between - just to keep it from ending. Finished it this evening, and loved it. One of those grand epics that got me in its grip and would not let go. Simply delicious. There are really tough topics - inquisition, human sacrifice, bull fighting, slavery, etc - but these are an essential part of the story so add to the drama.

2. An Illustrated Life
I love looking at people's sketchbooks - it's like getting a private view of what goes on in their heads, and this book does just that. Loved it - if you keep a sketch book, you've got to check it out - really inspirational. I've had several dreams of wonderful colors and drawings after reading this one.

3. The Art of Travel with a Sketchbook
Another delight that I read this past week. Simple tips on how to keep a sketch book while traveling with examples from student pages.

Visual Journal

Visual Journal

Visual Journal

Here are some of the final entries from the 2008 journal - well at least one of them.

Quote of The Day

Tolerance is far too precious a possession to be confused with indifference or laxity.
- Andre Comte-Sponville

Night at the movies

I continue to be disappointed by movies that Hollywood puts out. In the last month saw 2 that I was really looking forward to and found both disappointing.

The new Indiana Jones movie - how could that team create such a woofer? I heard from my inside man in Hollywood that they had gone through various scripts before they picked this one. Huh? That was the best one? I'm sure that there are loads of very talented writers out there who could have created a much better story - oh right, I am rather old school in that I like a movie to have an actual plot. So very glad that I did not spent my $10.50 at a theatre.

Then there was the new Pacino movie - I sit here shaking my head as I write this - I think even I could have come up with a better script for that movie. I do believe we are seeing the demise of Hollywood. All the talent seems to be on the indie circuit.

Needless to say, I pooled the money that I saved and bought me a couple of books - but that is a story for another day. In the meanwhile if you run across a movie you love, please, please, do pass it along.

Hello 2009

A new beginning, a new start - not different than any other day of the year really - but for some reason, it's a nice clean demarcation that is easy to plan around - saying goodbye to the old and hello to the new.

I stopped making resolutions a couple of years ago - in some ways they seemed too limiting to me, and how many times was I really going to have "loose some weight" on that list? Boring. So instead of resolutions I choose a word as my touchstone for the new year. Last year was actually 2 words - Health & Wealth. Here's what happened - almost all decisions were made based on my theme for the year. And so I ended the year both healthier and wealthier (in all the ways these words would apply). Very simple, yet incredibly powerful.

This year my word is Passion.