100, 101, 102...

"Vun hundred, vun hundred vun, vun hundred two!" Tea and Honey Bread has just passed its first 100 public followers! Thanks so much, this is such an exciting accomplishment. Did I tell you I wrote this blog regularly for a year without a single comment?! Well, I did. If you're new to blogging and it's what you really want to do, just keep blathering and eventually someone..ahem, pardon, over 100 someones will join you!

Peace and gratitude

Shutter Click & Chat 3/29

Dancing!

Festivus 2007-Theme: World Peace & Music

These guys were a hit that night.

Dancing...more accurately kitchen dancing. A little history is in order here; one of my quirks is an inability to be positioned in the center of a room, any room. Since our living room is pretty open (3 points of entry) and sofa dancing isn't possible, for the past five years every party we've hosted has involved kitchen dancing, lots of kitchen dancing. I think it's pretty funny that no one ever questions it, they just join in. So, where is the craziest place you've gone dancing?

Shutter Click & Chat April 5th-April already?!

Rain or something rain related...galoshes, wellies umbrellas are all good.

Gone Fishing!

No, not me, Yael is going to the lake for the weekend with a friend's family. Yesterday was replete with questions about vegetarians and fishing. She's opted to just observe but does not oppose her friends, "fishing for dinner". I'm rather impressed with her stance considering she is just 9. My girl is alright! So, without further ado, let's kick it!

I'm not sure what I'll do just yet, I reckon I'll figure it out when I can stop this giddy dancing. Have a fabulous Friday all!

Peace!

This Thing Called Family

It's the middle of a mediocre week for me. Subsequent to the madness of last week, this week has been one of interesting observations and very deep, all consuming, introspective thoughts.

One recurring thought centers around this thing we call family and how the very core of its hardy foundation is exclusively contingent upon a delicate balance of dynamics; characters, roles and themes. I'm not really sure what role I'd like, but know that I'm struggling miserably to play the part in which I've been historically cast. Yet, the show must go on. Hmm...do you play yourselves in your families' performance of This Thing Called Family?

Shutter Click & Chat 3/22

Two

These are the dandelions at the edge of the path that made me smile amidst my terrible very bad miserable week. I fondly remembered picking them as a child and making wishes that I wholeheartedly believed would come true. I think some of them did. I left these in place because I wasn't sure what to wish for given the week I was having I thought it best I leave them be-you know watch what you wish for and all that. I did however return yesterday with my camera to snap a few shots in case someone came upon them with a wish ready for wishing. What would you wish for?

Next week's Shutter Click & Chat is Dancing

Last week, Kathy wrote and posted photos of her daughter's wedding. One was a photo of her dancing and it immediately made me smile. Dancing is something you just can't not enjoy! So let's see you (or someone else) cut a rug!

Peace

Spring

Gardens are a form of autobiography. ~Sydney Eddison

I shot this photo of Yael's watering can for Hey Harriet's Shadow Shot Sunday. For more great shadows or to forever change the way you see sunshine and shadows click here.

Go!

Image Credits

...and the Favorite Guy and I disagreed and the silence came and the silence sat and the children bickered and the cat vomited on the carpeted and the cat vomited on the carpet again and the phone rang too many times and bad news came and I tried to mop the nervous energy away and the mop handle broke and the children bickered and the nervous energy increased and the phone rang and my brother called, "Mom's on a BINGE" and my cousin called, "Your grandmother had a STROKE" (She's fine and back at home now.) and my head thumped and THUMPED and the phone RANG and the children BICKERED.

I took a long walk without the cell phone, smiled at a dandelion then at the sun, and at my son, and my daughter, and my Favorite Guy, and the cats. Then, I smiled at myself in the mirror where I brushed my hair and groomed my brows, put on some moisturizer, lip balm and my favorite raggedy tee and pants. I poured a drink-no rocks and sat in SILENCE for a spell.

I had one of those weeks that felt like it began without my knowledge or consent and it continued without pause, punctuation, or presence of thought. Like a freight train, it ran through here and me. I'm putting it all back together now and hoping next week- should it return, I won't miss my STOP. Ever have one of those weeks?

Pause for Peace

I did it...

I sold out! First it was vinyl for cassettes then, cassettes for CDs then, CDs for MP3s and now, I've really gone and done it; I bought my first audiobook! I haven't listened to it yet. Listened?! To a book?! I can hardly stand the perversion of it all.

I want so badly not to enjoy this junket to the literary underbelly, but the sheer convenience of it all dictates the likelihood that I may just love it. Or not. I choose close captioning when and wherever possible because reading makes television and film watching more enjoyable, so how can listening alone compare?

Well for one, I can still enjoy my "book" as treadmill induced perspiration burns my eyeballs. Then again, I could just stop tweezing my eyebrows and rid myself of that dilemma.

I could get more reading done in a shorter period of time. I could also do some meditation before reading. If I clear my cluttered 31.6 year old mind, remember what it is I've read and, not have to go back and reread a few pages, I'd still get more reading done! (Note: I'm 35.6 according to the NYS Department of Vital Records and my entire family, but the all knowing folks at Real Age beg to differ, and I aim to please therefore, I must concur.)

So much to think about. Sigh. Oh, what "book" did I purchase? McSweeney's Field Recordings Vol. III. You can read the... sniffle, sniffle, lip tremor... l-l-liner notes here. Book and experience review coming soon!

Peace and Change

Shutter Click & Chat 3/15

Green, glorious green...

My NEW! athletic sandals, I'm pretty psyched about them. What do you think? Green is probably not really a practical color for footwear, but I'm hooked. This is my fifth pair of green shoes! Show me the green!

Next week, which is the 22nd. (Did anyone else catch last week's weird date? St. Patrick's Day obsessed much?! ) Deuces wild!

Shutter Click & Chat 03/22: Two
Show me a couple or pair of anything you deem shutter click and chat-worthy. Chuckles at the possibilities...

Peace

My Confidante

The reality of the other person lies not in what he reveals to you, but what he cannot reveal to you. Therefore, if you would understand him, listen not to what he says, but rather to what he does not say.

~Kahlil Gibran

This is Blu. Blu is deaf. She can not hear but, she understands.


To participate in Hey Harriet's Shadow Shot Sunday meme, click here.

Peace

The Brooke Factor

Award Design by Cathe Holden

I read a lot of blogs about as many things, but this blogger stands out to me as having a certain je ne sais quoi. Every time I visit Jewelry Rockstar I smile, I nod in agreement; a vibe, a sentiment an expression resonates with me and, I feel inspired.

Brooke covers it all from self empowerment to the healing power of gemstones. She battles, copes and clears toxins with polymer clay, she's all about it. She's got the Brooke Factor. I promised I'd pass this gorgeous award on and I could not think of a more deserving recipient than Brooke Hull Brimm, Blogosphere Rockstar!

And, Brooke is not just a force on the interwebs, if you read her comments, often you'll see her partner in advertising and love, the equally inspired Craig Brimm cheering her on right along with us!

Peace

A watched pot doesn't boil...

but, a pissed off one does! (Image Credits)

Oh humans why do you trouble me so? Here is my latest people suck adventure, I have a friend who pretty much calls me daily for everything ranging from minor annoyances (mail in the wrong box) to major dilemmas (dating married men). Those of you who follow Tea & Honey Bread know I am neither afraid nor ashamed to speak my mind. Tea & Honey Bread is almost 2 years old and we have been friends for more than 20 years; clearly, she knows when a verbal walloping is imminent. Or so you'd think.

Yesterday she calls me with the most preposterous child rearing issue. There is no choice in the matter; decision A will take some hard work and dedication, but decision B should (but probably will not because the system sucks) result in some hard time in the pen! She goes on with her jeremiad, blah, blah, blah, and then she says, are you ready for this? She says- at the end of her wrong as two left feet speech, this fool says, "right?" Right? Right?! Are you crazy?! No, I didn't ask if she was crazy because years of marriage counseling and other random bouts of therapeutic haranguing have taught me to choose my words carefully and avoid hyperbolic speech in heated matters. Instead, I say, "Not right." Followed by a bevy of open-ended questions designed to guide her towards her own recognizance without pointing it out accusatorily. Her response, "I have food on the stove and it's boiling over." Dial tone. Let's just say my deaf Siamese Blu got an earful behind that; the dial tone for Tameka is tantamount to the corner for Baby Houseman, a no go!

I called her today and she didn't answer. Each time my home phone rang I lunged forward like a mongoose in waiting of serpentine delights. Still, nothing. I'm thinking this-coupled with last month's disagreement on why it is wrong to sleep with other people's husbands even if you don't think they will find you and kick your whole asshole out, has not only boiled her pot, but cooked her goose; friendship reevaluation is in progress, again. Sigh.

Please tell me something nice about your friends or friendships lest I go mad.

Peace, please...

The Cool, The Bad and Some Uncertainty Part III

This is the final in my series meant to stall my readers...er I mean, well yeah-stall my readers. In case you missed the other parts, here is part one and here is part two. And, now for some uncertainty: I've got all of my material ready for my first zine and can't decide whether I will publish on paper or digitally.

The Favorite Guy says both, I'm still not sure. I want to be mindful of waste. I had even considered a limited run, leaving a space at the back of the zine where it could be recycled; addressed and passed on to another reader.

Then, I found this site and fell in an immediate and, not quite well thought out love with the digital concept. Yet, I keep going back to wanting a piece of something tangible for my efforts; something I can store away, share and read again and again even in times of technological trouble. Your thoughts?

The Cool, The Bad and Some Uncertainty Part II

Collectively, these movies have usurped a minimum-this doesn't include time spent wondering what the hell, of 4.82 hours. I'm fairly generous when it comes to giving credit for artistic expression even when the content doesn't appeal to me as a viewer, but these three just couldn't hold their own in any of the areas I feel a film needs to reel me in. Pun not intended, although it is fitting.

I caught the tail end of this film one evening on IFC upon which I saw William H. Macy and Bokeem Woodbine engaged in a prison love scene and I just had to see it. Both are fine character actors and I thought, how peculiar-this ought to be interesting. So I stayed awake to watch it the following evening and have since lived to regret the decision. This film, despite having an all star cast and a familiar storyline; mild mannered guy gets pushed beyond the brink of sanity-see: Falling Down. Edmond completely and painfully misses the mark.

The language is gratuitous, even for me. The characters- while fine actors, fail to build credible relationships in their on-screen interaction-Julia Styles goes from co-ed diner waitress into a wild sex/slasher scene with William H. Macy! What the?! Ultimately, the film takes an unfortunate, unintended comedic direction. It was so poorly made that I couldn't turn it off for fear that I'd miss a detail in trashing it in a later blog post.

Towelhead...hmm. It's taken a while for me to get my head around what it is about this film that I just could not take. It is based on a critically acclaimed novel-which I have not read, but the description of the novel is enough for me to deduce why it would work in print but sadly enough, it does not on screen.

Towelhead is a coming of age tale of a young Lebanese girl who is sent to live with her father because her mother feels she has, is, ugh-well was seducing her beau. The film follows Jasira, through the transition from life with her aloof mother to one with an overbearing, controlling father. There are some very minor (In screen time, certainly not importance.) cultural identity crises which arise during the film, but not enough to warrant the title. (Which lured me in-another reason I feel like such a fool). In short the film played- for me, like an unfunny, more offensive, culturally exploitative, female character led version of Porky's and the like. (Harsh, huh?)

Chop Shop...sighs-when bad film happens to great actors. I wanted to like this film so badly, I really tried to find some deep metaphoric excuse, er um meaning to the mundane madness, but could not. Alejandro Polanco, Isamar Gonzales are uber-talented young actors; well cast in their roles as homeless, parentless children hustling the streets of an Eastern Queens,Willets Point-also known as the Iron Triangle. Not even the nostalgia and mystique of an area I am familiar with could make this film work.

Chop Shop attempts to weave the tale of siblings, Ale and Izzy as they feverishly and with as much futility try to overcome the short hand they've been dealt. Ale works the chop shop whilst Izzy serves up Latin dishes, and an occasional act of prostitution. The two are trying to raise enough funds to convert an abandoned truck into the mobile food service empire that will change their lives. That's it-they work and sweat and live and love through nearly 2 painful hours. This movie and their lives take off like a car on cinder blocks.

So yeah, these are the worst films I've seen this year. Have you any duds you wish to warn me of, or have you seen any of these and think I've got it all wrong? I'd love to hear from you.

Peace

Shadow Shots & Shutter Clicks!

I've been a bad blogger lately but, here's to imminent redemption. Below are some shadows shot just out front of three young trees beginning to show some springtime green for Hey Harriet's Shadow Shot Sundays.

Here are some wind turbines borrowed from Tree Hugger. Could you believe there were no photo-worthy winds captured in AZ this week? Imagine that. Smiles. And you, whatcha got?

Shutter Click & Chat 3/17

Show me some green...wait, not so fast-no trees, shrubs, grass or plants. Put your creativity cloaks on, y'know they're like thinking caps, but better!

Peace

The Cool, The Bad and, Some Uncertainty: Part I

Look what I got in the mail yesterday, courtesy of my girl, Yvonne over at The Rest of Yesterday! Paste magazine highlights the "signs of life in music, film and culture." What else is there? Huh? How cool is she? (If you don't know go here and follow.) How cool is this magazine which comes with a 19 track FREE CD? I am over the top excited with my gift and the overall cool factor of my blog buddies! Thanks so much for thinking of me Yvonne, you rock!

Next up, bad film reviews- I bet some of you were thinking are there any she doesn't like. Oh are there ever and I'll tell you all about them, in my next post! (That was so Ryan Seacrest of me, wasn't it?)

In other semi-unrelated coolness- Idol peeps did you see? Anoop 'Noop-dawg' (I'm from NYC) Desai is back in the house for one more try; as are Matt Giraud and Meghan Corkrey! My top 12 list is starting to look pretty damn good, I'm telling you, I'm. all. over. it. Blows knuckles and rubs them on chest. So, dish-what's cool with you?

Flagstaff at a Glance

I'm back! We had a wonderfully relaxing time, and I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to don socks and a coat-even a hat! There were crisp clear skies and sunshine for all of our days which made for some great photo opportunities. I won't bore you all to tears with my millions of nature shots, but here are a few of my favorites.

When I wasn't out with my camera, Favorite Guy and I were doing what all young, good looking couples do whilst sipping wine and cozying affront the fireplace, we watched History channel! Well, that and occasionally shouting, "knock it off" down the stairs where the fruits of our pre-digital television labors lie.

All in all, great times and perfect timing. The new environment made way for the birth of some new ideas. Now if I can just get my body to get on board with my mind. "Hello, vacation is over, body". It's true what they say about a body at rest and all. How about you, my friends ? What's new and exciting out there in the blogosphere? Besides the new follower widget! Growls and raises fist. I feel violated; it's like someone moving your furniture around or changing your window treatments without your consent. Sighs and grimaces.

Peace and motivation