2009
My life in Pics!
Winter:
*****************
January's Backyard Balloon Releasement Ceremony...heart-lifting
and soul-shifting.....an exercise in letting go and letting love....
Our Marshmallow Madness Sleepover at "The Courtney
Ranch"......(aka bunk-bed heaven).....in celebration of
Denver's (my musician friend) big gig......
Beware: There is a sleepy teenager hiding under
there.......
Hikes through the woods....making ripples on the pond...
singing and laughing by the campfire...under a starry
night with my musical friends......
Sweet treats that I made for Valentine's Day........
All lined up and ready for the anxiously awaiting
kids to tear into the goody-filled bags....
Pretty Pink Orchids from a special cupid....
Our 8th-annual family Valentine's Day dinner at
Collina's ('cuz spaghetti tastes better on red-checkered
table cloth, a la Lady and the Tramp)....
The day the light came pouring in...and my heart and soul
would be forever changed......
A very special cupcake.....a symbol of light, love, hope,
healing, and grace.........
Getting jiggy with it for Go Texan Day/Rodeo Day at RCE....
You put your right foot in....you put your right foot out....
(I love me some Hokey Pokey!)......
Treasuring each and every moment in the last months of
my Grand~Mother's life...most especially because we both
knew that she would soon be getting her wings...
Art Therapy to soothe my growing soul...
Along comes Spring:
Beautiful Bluebonnets during a drive to our Lake-house...
and an impromtu side-of-the-road photo shoot
with my new Nikon big-girl camera.....
Debbie Ford & I at Unity Church....what a gift she is!
Sexy...spiritual...and delicious...(in her own words!!!)
My new toy, errrr I mean laptop....because every blog
surfing queen needs her own throne.........
A happy medium after a magical day at the office....
complete with thunderstorms....sparks....and
big, healing hearts.......
A sweet surprise awaiting me at the door of
my suite.....a rose in many colors....with many more
to soon follow.....
A Spring-time cleanse....with juice, juice, and more juice...
and a serious love of Greek food.......
Really, I could very well turn into a rolley-polley chick-pea
if I don't stop eating so much yummus-hummus.....
hmmmmmm.....Fadi's or Niko Niko's....what shall it be?
Flowers in my backyard beginning to bloom...
and where my Angel Trumpets sing to me...
Some of my other favorite Fairy friends...
My sweet little love-bug, Ayla...
Hanging out after her show in my meditation spot...
(aka my other office)
because it's my favorite place to book appointments...
My Allie Cat, as the Belle of the Ball...
Holding my Grandmother's hand as we prepared to say
"Until we meet again"...
My sad little ballerina, Ayla, having a hard time preparing
for her Great-Grandmother's death...
A Rainbow of hope I saw on one of my tougher days ...
Doing my best to find my happy place......
And then comes...that much needed laugh...
A love-letter that I wrote to my Grandmother that she
gently taped to her hospital bed.........
and a rose that I placed at her bedside the day before
she died........
A ladybug who visited me just hours after she passed, to
let me know that she had indeed arrived safely in Spirit...
On my way to her funeral, where I tucked her note & my angel card
atop her casket (she was always so proud of me & LOVED
those little cards!)........
The "Tree of Spirits" where she now lives...
After her passing, we had a balloon memorial with the kids...
so that each grandchild could write her a special note and
attach it to a balloon...
and then we watched our love-notes go up, up and away...
floating ever-so elegantly into the blue....
After we saw our balloons dance into the sky, we sat
under "The Memory Tree of Nanny" and told sweet
stories about her larger than life Spirit......
Then it was time for me to rely on heaven-sent friends
to help me heal my heavy heart...
attending Ava's Art Car Parade and end of the school
year play.......
I stayed busy in and out of the office with Girl-Scout
Camp-outs & fun in the soon-to-be summer sun...
I was swamped with dance recitals...securing
perfect ballet buns and fastening tiny tap-shoes...loving
all the little girl-twirls...
"Boogie Down Brittmore" means summer is here....as a
last-day of-school tradition for all the neighborhood kids
(& parents, too).....
Our annual water balloon fight, celebrating
the 5th-grade class of 2009......it's a get-your-wagons
filled-with-water-balloons, who-cares- if-you-get- your-
tee-shirts-soaked and tennis-shoes squishy-wet kind-of-fun.....
Sweet Summer:
A quick jaunt to Paris in June....Europe in Flip-flops =
Dreams Coming True...A 10th wedding anniversary
dinner atop the Eiffel Tower...French carousels and crêpes..
..THE Mona Lisa up-close...and late-night club
hopping on Champs-Élysées .................
"Hellooooooooo little box!" A special trinket and treasure
from Van Cleef & Arpels given to me as a sweet surprise
on the plane ride back home. It was a fantabulous ring
that I had fallen in love with at a shop in Paris. I think the
whole plane might have heard me squeal with delight.....
My Art/Dance Studio; Before& After...
Some of my silly art doodles......."My Salvation lies in
your love"..................
"All My Heart Can Handle".........
"She Held Her Head High".........& "She Flew into
her Dreams"...............
Lake:30...with family and friends....
'Bout to get my wake on............
Got miracles? I do. :-) Moments after finding my lost wedding
ring at the bottom of the lake. Seriously, one of the most
unforgettable moments of my life. Thank you, Angels!...
When wedding bells rang...
Cupcake Kitty (aka me) visiting Hey Cupcake! in Austin,
simple road trips with friends, Katie's mad painting skills,
sweet memories of batting cages and lemon-aid stands,
and lots of "Sunday-Family-Night-Dinners"............
Welcoming Home Handsome Beau...A magical
fellow, indeed.........
Yet another Picone Pizza Party to watch a UFC/Boxing
fight.......with a house full of family and friends......
Demi's First Birthday. A precious 'lil possum...so
bubbly and sweet! A true "Princess Tiny Toes".......
Mermaid me....under golden summer skies...splashing
in the ocean, swimming with dolphins and turtles...and
three sisters by the sea............
The Turning of the leaves brought Fall:
First Day of School.....Pencils are sharpened and backpacks
are filled...hearts are fluttering...and "Our-Back-To-
School-Night-Spaghetti Dinner" tradition awaits.....
Music and Coffee in Seattle...Pearl Jam in their home-
town....I heart Eddie! Little Miss Colbie Caillet as
a sun-kissed musical goddess of beauty and sound.....
A New Soccer Season for the girls, Allie learning to drive,
& celebrating Halloween under a bright Harvest Moon...
Hanging out at the Celebrate Your Life Conference in Scottsdale,
Arizona....surrounded with many wonderful enlightened souls,
magical bunnies and the desert night sky...........
Neale Donald Walsch (author of "Conversations With GOD")
& one of my all time favorite poets, Em Claire)...
Elizabeth Lesser & I (author of "Broken Open" & Founder
of the Omega Institute)............
The ever-colorful and super sweet Sonia Choquette (author
of "Trust Your Vibes" & "6th Sensory Living").......
Medium x 2. (John Holland, author of "Born Knowing")....
Me and My girls who I haven't seen in fo-ev-vah! (The incredibly
gifted Robyn Nola of Robyn Nola Designs, and Shankari,
THE creator of the most elegant, powerful, and beautiful
jewelry of all time)...............
Celebrating my 33rd spin around the sun.......
More Sagittarius Birthdays, Red-Velvet Cupcakes, and
wide-eyed, gift-giving galore...
A blessed Thanksgiving dinner near a candle's flame...our
hearts (and bellies) feeling full....football as the lullaby....
and fluffy pillows to create the space for some perfect
sleepy-time zzzz's............
Six. Years. Old. Really??? Happy Birthday, Ava Elizabeth...
Little Miss Mini Me.........
Snow Bunnies making snow angels....sticky fingers from
Christmas crafts and parties at school...caroling in the
neighborhood...making heaps of hot chocolate and
gooey sm'ores......
Merry and Bright....was my heart and home....on The Eve
of Christmas, our stockings hung with care....family, friends,
magic, food and fun, twinkling white lights, angels dancing,
and lots of mommy-daughter hugs....
A sweet and special Christmas Dinner.......
Me in my comfy pajama pants working on this
long, picture-filled post....creating, drifting, dreaming,
in a quiet corner of my own.....then sharing a toast
with some bubbly for a Haaaaaaaaappy New Year in our
loving circle of family and friends.....
Thanks for taking the time to take a peek at my life in pics! It was a brutal, but yet beautiful year and best summed up in Galadarling's words....
Thank you two-thousand-&-divine — 2009 — for all that you have been.
Thank you for your lessons & challenges, your blessings & beauty.
Thank you for your introductions & endings, your magic & surprise.
Thank you for holding us close as well as letting us sprint off into the distance; thank you for simultaneously wrapping us in cotton wool & giving us a swift spanking!
Thank you for your protection & love.
We jump into two-thousand-&-amen — 2010 — with wide eyes, racing hearts & blazing visions.....
And so it is.
XOXO,
That was so lovely to read! Thank you for sharing your year with me :-)
<3
Posted by: Marissa | January 14, 2010 at 08:37 AM