Motherhood

Mother gator with her young.

I ache and yearn to hold my son, who will perpetually remain out of reach for awhile. I will get to see him, hug him and kiss him at long last this Sunday, so I am excited! :)

Beauty Prevails

Despite hardship, despite obstructions, life and beauty prevail.

What I like about this picture is how the fallen debris lend character and interest to the flower scene.

Ripples

Every action has a rippling effect

Embroiled

Inside noise

INSIDE NOISE

Shielding the me you don't want to see;
Reflecting to you want you want me to be.

Why must we keep the pains and the joys,
within these four walls -- such inside noise.

It's me, it's all in my head,
of how I perceive what's truly said.

A prisoner of my own mind is what I've become,
of the hows and the whys of my anxious kingdom.

A sigh and a shake of the resistance within,
must pull in the reigns of my inner demon.

Take down the shades that bind who I am,
or go on hiding and living a sham.

~Lita

I loved the look of this old, historically dressed window, and the slight reflection of the world outside.

Replenished

I met up with my girlfriend, Laura who I hadn't seen in too long a stretch. By chance, we happened upon this charming cafe, made more more so by the fact they do High Tea! Ah, how marvelous! I've always wanted to give High Tea a whirl, despite being served all the stuff my body will reject. It just sounds like the sort of uppity, sophisticated and fun thing to partake in ... just for the experience :)

Since it was packed indoors, we were ok with sitting outside, regardless of the heat. This was my view to the right:

The salad was delish. I forgot what it was called:



Scones are a weakness of mine. I was delighted to find it waiting for me when I came back to my table (but was not so delighted by the bloated feeling I got after eating it):

And I can't have a scone without hot tea (despite the warm weather) so I ordered a decaf, berry-flavored one:

Laura did me the honor of snapping this shot to help me document this experience. It took awhile to edit it, but I'm quite pleased with the outcome. :)

Anyway, it's been a fun-filled and replenishing day. I am happy!

In the mist

In the beautiful garden of mist, ye may but glimpse a slice of your future. Dare ye gaze upon the garden, with the risk of misinterpretation? Or would ye shy away, choosing blissful ignorance instead?

This photo was taken shortly after zip lining through the rainforest in Costa Rica. The mist brought such enchantment to this already wondrous garden ... It inspired workings of a fairytale, as sprinkled above. This was pretty much a straight-out-of-the-camera shot. I only cloned out a hint of the zip line.

I received a sobering nudge from my former self today. I forgot I sent it. At the promptings of a spiritual friend at the time, I wrote a letter to myself, over a year ago, at FutureMe.org, and requested that it be delivered today. When I saw it in my Inbox, I opened it with such curiosity and anticipation -- wondering what words I'd have to impart to my future self ...

When I read it, the portrait of the person I saw was someone laden with light, enthusiasm, drive and unyielding determination ... Were I to write to my future self again, I wonder how I would sound a year from now ... ?

Anyway, it was freaky to receive a letter from my former self. Here's a portion of it:

Dear FutureMe,

So you're probably wondering ... what happened on Friday, July 13th --- 2007? Well, I can tell you. You're feeling suffocated. By your job at >***<. You're dying there. You know there's a form of security there. But at what cost? Every second you're there, you're worried about the billable hours. Are you doing enough? What about all the work that's not billable and you're approaching the last hour and are nowhere close to the 8 hours you must bill that day. We're looking to kiss that world good bye. For good! You have plans with WWD. So 2 months in and you feel you've reached a plateau ... time is going by, you have to invest in leads and advertisement, but are you seeing any returns? Yes, the summer bonuses helped you break even, so you're not in the red. So be GRATEFUL that you're not in the red... Remember, you're a creative being. Plug into that creativity with this job. Who is even writing this? Is your Higher Self making that suggestion of being creative? I think so. Plus, you know there's light for sure ... Stay with the vibration of feeling secure, because all is safe. I mean the fact that you're healthy, beautiful, have a roof over your head with air conditioning, the coolest dog and cats ... I mean c'mon! You've got a lot going for you already! You have a whole support network of teams waiting for you to call on them for help.

You are a creator, choosing your creations. Focus on the color that you want.

Remember, you are a full being filled with well being and abundance. Open, Allow and Trust!!!!!

So, uh, wow ... So positive, trusting and spiritual I was ...

Anyway, as my current self, I deem the future only as distant as the next moment, as I know things can change on a whim ... in an instant ...

Melting composure

The fan whirs behind me, yet my skin is not cooled. It remains sticky with sweat and glistens, in tune with the stale, toasty and humid air. Little remains of my composure. Feeling uncivil, unfriendly and impatient, my caged temper is ready to explode. Yes, my air conditioning is still not fixed ... yet, anyway. But fortunately, help is finally on it's way - Yay!

It felt appropriate to upload these pictures of Volcano Poas at this time, considering the heat challenges I've undergone this week. These were taken while I was in Costa Rica this year ...

During our ascent, we smelled the not-so-pleasant sulphur air, but I still found it kinda' cool :). As you can see from these photos, this volcano is still active, yet relatively calm. I've always wanted to see a volcano, so feel blessed that my dream has finally been realized.