Vision, 2011

Photo by Elaine Noble

Last Sunday, I got to do one of my most favoritist things ever! For the past three years, on a Sunday early in the year, my friend Lauren gets together a group of women and we sit down and create Vision Boards

We meet, we bring a brunchy-type dish to share, we eat, we all bring magazines, and after the food, we converge on the stack of magazines and begin to cut out images, words, and concepts from the magazines assembled. The goal is to create a collage that's representative of what you wish to manifest in the next year. It's pretty amazing, and each year is different as there is always a slightly different group of ladies that participates... This years group was amazing, and I felt this year like there was a special energy between us all. A couple of years ago, I met this lady named Kim. Her manifestation goal, as an advocate of young adults, was to create a book that would help kids learn with practical knowledge things that they aren't often told before expecting to somehow intuit this information. This last year, her book was published and she was nice enough to gift me a copy. Here is her book:

Her website is here, and I haven't read the book yet, but I very much believe in the cause. We have all come to the conclusion that putting energy and revisiting and thinking constantly about what our goals are throughout the year is magickal and something that is worthwhile. This is absolutely true for me. Here are some more pics from this awesome and inspiring day:

Photo by Elaine Noble

Photo by Elaine Noble

Photo by Elaine Noble

I am so thankful for the quality of people I have in my life. On days like this, it is great to be me =)

Peace.

Nearly a year....

has passed since i've updated this blog. i like writing here, but find that i am too scattered, and really enjoy having my own space. i pay for that space, but i know it's mine...

so, without further ado, i don't think too many people read this anyway, but things about my life and hobbies and stuff i do can now be found here:

dgali-nv.com

Happy New Year everyone, come see me there!

reflecting pool...

such weird times

hurt, dying, transition

life altered, forever

in the blink of an eye

the flash of a moment

what does it all mean?

the grant is submitted, the final paperwork done, now i am just waiting for the judgment. how worthy am i and my cause?

why do i feel invisible?

kinds words and what-if's

working for the man

end of holidays, yay.

peace!

In Mourning...

some days are just like this, aren't they:

 the above photo is from the new AMC series "the walking dead". i'm here to tell you, this show is the best thing to hit TV in, like, forever. who can resist the zombie love?!? their first season just ended, and i have to say, it seems to me that seasons should be MUCH longer than six episodes. that's a season of what? a month and a half at one weekly? MORE! must have MORE zombies!!

this is my new favorite tv...and i heart it because of dvr, which largely also makes it commercial free. 

today, that is all.

peace.

thanksgiving, 2010

this was a good year. as mentioned in the last post, holidays leave a lingering tinge of sadness now, as the specter of missing mom is always in the back of my mind, but i guess i am beginning to feel like every successful and loving holiday we have pays homage and honors her because so much of what i am is attributable to her...

the kids came over...david and brianna, with their respective love interests. we had dave's lady annette and her two adorable littles, mathis and lindsey...and larry came over after dinner to visit. bri's friends flor and julio, and ashley were there, dan's friend chris, and joy and her man, mike. it was festive! here's photographic proof, photos taken by mike:

This was the BEST GRAVY EVER!! Seriously, that I'd ever made...

Bri Bri and her Larry

Getting the full on...

Funny thing is, he didn't really event eat. When Thanksgiving attacks =)

Gramma Joy. 'Nuff said =)

Bear Bear sitting ON Joy's phone...

Seesters, working together to make it all happen...

SO FULL...

Joy getting funky with the taters.

Mashin' taters and makin' gravy

When Dave was little, if you asked him to smile for the camera, he smiled and closed his eyes, so a good pic could never be taken. History repeats itself =)

Bellied up to the table, in the midst of the feast.

The crew, lounging around and visiting before we ate.

My gorgeous turkey!

new technology...

so....my honey bought me a kindle.

 

that's what it looks like. i can't believe how tiny and thin it is. the fact that this little device can hold all my geek joy amazes me. truly. like, i can't believe how much it amazes me. you can debate the pros and cons of these sorts of reader devices, but in the end, they are all pretty much the same. kindle is somewhat proprietary, but there are ways around that. they require a small investment of time to convert files and figure out, but for an enterprising geek family like me and mine, it doesn't seem too bad.

there's some stuff i need to play with and learn about this kindle thingie, but i am excited, in general.

i've been saying for at least ten years that print books are a thing of the past. the joy and knowledge that comes from people WRITING books is something tangible that will arguably always exist, but the resources used in printing them, printing a specific run with no thought of how many will sell, and then reading the book once and then having to do something with it seems like an awful waste. this seems so much more efficient. now i wish textbook technology would catch up! purchase your kindle-education! and get all your books through that. huh....interesting thought =)

in other news, we have a new baby. dan can't conceive of having a bird not named fred, so this bird has been dubbed fred 2.0. here he is:



he is an amazingly sweet little baby. he's about four months old, and it's obviously a he. fred 1.0, we discovered posthumously, we believe might have been female. this guy has a really deep voice, and he's super smart. he seems to have picked up the sounds of many of the other birds he was with at the pet store. he doesn't make a lot of sounds yet, i think he's still figuring things out, but he makes me very happy. he's a total cuddler.

thanksgiving was last week, and the holidays still suck. i approach them now with a tinge of sadness, but no lingering ire. i cannot believe my mom's been gone almost four years. we fondly remembered her last thanksgiving while eating this year. "leg? what leg, i want some pie!"....sad, and yet, good memories.

i am going to post thanksgiving pics in their own entry.

peace out, yo.

morbid anniversary...

today is the 47th anniversary of the assassination of john f kennedy, the thirty-fifth president of the united states. prior to the lives lost on 9/11/2001, my generation had nothing of comparison that defined that generation, who all used to utter "i remember what i was doing the day kennedy was shot..."

my mom was of that generation, and as the anniversary of her death approaches, i find the need to relay stories about her that seem significant. sort of as tribute, or perhaps just to remember her...

as i went back into my little brain to search for that memory, i remember her saying, i think, that she had just gotten her hair done that morning. i think she worked at the time at the riverside, an old-school casino famous in reno when "the rat pack" was around. based on other pictures from even later than the time the assassination occurred, which was about six years before my time, the hair was probably some variation of bouffant...

she mentioned walking old-school downtown reno. on the corner of 1st and virginia streets, there used to be this woolworth's that had a lunch counter like the old style one's did. up until past the time that i was a teenager, that woolworth's and lunch counter remained there. she heard people screaming out in the street, and started to walk down the street. she passed a store front with tv's in the window and listened/watched the news of kennedy being shot:

 

i visited the area where he was shot quite by accident a couple of years ago, while attending a wedding in dallas. i didn't realize where we were until we were driving through the area. then i saw the x on the street, and the book repository. it was creepy, to stumble through a place of historical significance and not realize it until you are there. there is no preparation, it just sort of hits you.

wow. i seem to remember her mentioning walter cronkite. he passed away in 2009. guess i am feeling a tad somber today...but i did want to get my mom's story down.

peace.