Aloha Oe

Aloha `oe, aloha `oe
E ke onaona noho i ka lipo
One fond embrace,
A ho`i a`e au
Until we meet again

We are leaving in exactly 9 hours and I've gotta sleep and get ready to VAMOOSE! I will be thinking of you and holding you in my heart :) See you in December! Much Love, O

OTV Travel Tip

Here is another video (2:14) I made while packing for vacation while my Internet connection was down:

Love Rock Number Three: Be Brave (!!)

Here is a video (3:46) I made while packing for vacation while my Internet connection was down:




It is of some significant for several reasons. For one, Miss Porcupine makes a return appearance. For another, I didn't give my love rocks to the two repair guys (Internet and phone) who came today. One was truly a Repair Angel, and the other was simply a very nice guy. I chickened out! I shook the hands of both of them, and promised them home-cooked meals if they ever had to come out again. I thanked them profusely.

This forced me to see how being brave is a muscle, and my muscles have become flaccid lately from lack of use. I tend to use my vacations sort of like I suppose most people use mental hospitals after nervous breakdowns---I wait until I have no more resources to draw upon, then I go on vacation---where I relax, restore, and re-create myself. Right now I feel like a weak shadow of who I am.

I know better, but yet I repeat this pattern again and again. Neither myself nor LoveHubbie knows how to pace ourselves with well-spaced time for work and play. We work, burn out, keep working for many more weeks or months, watch our lives start to disintegrate, keep working, and then...off in the distance we see the vacation. So we have hope. We keep working but we now have a goal. Not just us, but the staff at LoveHubbie's office thinks, "If we can only hold on until then..." Then we get there. Finally. We go on vacation. Everyone gets a break.

We remind ourselves of who we are. We are in Hawaii. We talk about never leaving Hawaii. We decide to come home anyway. We BMW (bitch-moan-whine) about how hard re-entry is. And then we repeat the cycle.

Gosh, but I want to do this differently this time. I want to be brave enough to create the kind of life I truly want while I am in Hawaii. And to bring it back here. And to do things differently.

Your prayers and/or good, positive, creative energies are actively solicited...

See the Love Rock story here.

I'm Back!

Whoa! I've been caught in the netherworld for the last three days with no Internet service...but I'm back up now and recorded this video that I'd hoped I'd get to post---yippee! I'm saying goodbye in it, but I should get to post a time or two more if my Internet connection holds out :) This video is 5:27 long:

Today, This Made My Day

What can I do for someone else today? Here is a story about someone who made a difference.

Sacred Life Sunday: Be Gentle with Yourself (Love Rock #2)

I gave Love Rock #2 (Be Gentle with Yourself) to my local friend J., who is going through a difficult divorce. I went to dinner and a movie with her last night and almost forgot, then gave it to her at the last minute. I think it's important that she be gentle with herself, that we all be gentle with ourselves. There is enough harshness in the world, and there are enough harsh people. Let's be different.

See the Love Rock story here.

~Photo by Elizabeth F. via CuteOverload

The Election

Here are two positive articles I've found related to the upcoming presidential election:

One is from Lori-Lyn, called "Why I'm Voting for Barack Obama".

The other is from Jim Wallis, called "Be Not Afraid", which I found via Lori-Lyn as well.

I believe that both presidential candidates are fine men, and that we should make our choice based upon our values and upon what we want for our country. All of the negativity and all of the attacks are distractions from that. I especially appreciated these articles because they were straightforward and positive.

UPDATE: And here is a third, from Brene Brown, called "This I Believe...About Politics"! Amen to that :)

Love Rock Number One: Focus On What's Right

How important is this? It is vital to focus on what is right with our lives and to look at those things with gratitude. So, I gave away my first rock (video is 1:43):

Rock My World!

Kim Mailhot, the Queen of Arts, sent me ten rocks, to do with whatever I saw fit. Here and here is where she writes about the rocks. What a creative idea! A way of spreading love around...

So I made this short video (2:36) about the rocks. One thing I promise when you see it is that your hair will never looks worse than mine at the video's start...so you now need never feel like you need to look any special way in making a video. I've busted that myth forever. For-EVER!



For the next few days, I'm going to make little videos about what I do with the rocks. It should be an interesting journey.

One thing, already interesting, is that one of my rocks is a BE BRAVE rock. I don't know if Kim knew how much the BE BRAVE project means to me. Here is my BE BRAVE summary from the first season of BE BRAVE, and my first post from the second season of BE BRAVE. That second season has languished lately, and I've realized that I'd forgotten all about it. Not just the second season, but about being brave. I have indeed moved into survival...again. So this rock was a great reminder. When I saw the rock in the video, I "misread" it because I "mis-saw" it, thinking it said, "Be Here". I'm all for being here, for being present, but I also want to be brave. So guess who is going to get that rock?

Here is one of my favorite BE BRAVE posts, the Libby Sauter video, one I've watched again and again and again. If you haven't seen it...or even if you have, watch it now:

Wellness Wednesday: Nordic Ski Walking at 95

This is a picture of a woman named Agatha Nordic Walking at age 95 originally featured on the Nordic Walking Blog. That inspires me, for sure. I still Nordic Walk, it's just that my distances are limited by my foot problems. However, you'll find me on clear days going up and down, up and back, over and over again on my driveway.

I also wanted to mention (just for the sake of silliness) Japan's Banana Diet Craze. It is Wellness Wednesday. Let's have some fun!

LoveHubbie just got back from an out-of-town trip, so I've been taking care of pre-vacation things here by myself for the last two days. The whole two days of his trip went by, and I'm at a loss for what I did except for errands and things like getting my car fixed, sending off a departing employee, helping with some minor office problems, handling an insurance problem, doing some banking, handling some business on the phone with various doctors, getting my rings cleaned at the jeweler, etc. Stuff that you need to do but that you don't have a lot to show for at the end. Except for that nice feeling that stuff got done and the pile in your head of undone things is a bit smaller.

So this is one of those posts that you post when you really have nothing major to say, but you just want to stay in touch. And I thought Agatha was a great poster woman for wellness, too. Makes me feel like Nordic Walking is a life sport that I'll hopefully be able to continue until I'm 95 as well :) Happy Wellness Wednesday evening!

Reading, Kindle, Book 2.0 and Ludic Reading

On Friday Oprah promoted the Amazon Kindle, her new favorite gadget, something she says has changed her life. One of the exciting things about this ebook reader from my perspective is that the type of screen and the ink used to display on the screen are actually easier on the eye than a real live book. And you can adjust the font size for your reading pleasure and perhaps read without reading glasses. In addition, before buying a book for the Kindle, you can read the first chapter for free, then decide. I'm pretty impressed! FYI, Oprah is offering $50 off the pretty steep $359 pricetag for 5 more days.

In addition, here is an article from Newsweek by Steven Levy called "The Future of Reading". It is in this article that I first read about what the author calls "Book 2.0"---what comes next after we evolve past printed books into the post-Gutenberg era. Right. When I first heard about this, I thought "Never!" and then I spent some time looking into it. Readers and writers, this is information you'll want to know. Here is a quote from the article:

"'The key feature of a book is that it disappears,' he [Jeff Bezos] says. While those who take fetishlike pleasure in physical books may resist the notion, that vanishing act is what makes electronic reading devices into viable competitors to the printed page: a subsuming connection to the author that is really the basis of our book passion. "I've actually asked myself, 'Why do I love these physical objects?' " says Bezos. " 'Why do I love the smell of glue and ink?' The answer is that I associate that smell with all those worlds I have been transported to. What we love is the words and ideas."

Long before there was cyberspace, books led us to a magical nether-zone. "Books are all the dreams we would most like to have, and like dreams they have the power to change consciousness," wrote Victor Nell in a 1988 tome called "Lost in a Book." Nell coined a name for that trancelike state that heavy readers enter when consuming books for pleasure—"ludic reading" (from the Latin ludo, meaning "I play"). Annie Proulx's claim was that an electronic device would never create that hypnotic state. But technologists are disproving that. Bill Hill, Microsoft's point person on e-reading, has delved deep into the mysteries of this lost zone, in an epic quest to best emulate the conditions on a computer. He attempted to frame a "General Theory of Readability," which would demystify the mysteries of ludic reading and why books could uniquely draw you into a rabbit hole of absorption."---Steven Levy in "The Future of Reading"

I'm going to leave you hanging---it's a great article, so please read the rest if you are interested. If you do, you might be as excited as I am about going "down the rabbit hole"! It's mind-blowing...

A very informative video about reading, the future of publishing, and the Kindle can be found here. Page down to "Hear Jeff Bezos, Bestselling Authors, Charlie Rose, and Martha Stewart discuss Kindle" and click on "Hear journalist Charlie Rose talk to Jeff Bezos about Kindle on the Charlie Rose show" to the right of the video. The conversation of Charlie and Jeff will be interesting to all readers, ebook or non. They discuss "improving" on "the book". Wow.

Sacred Life Sunday: Recreating Eden

Today I had a very special Sacred Life Sunday reading Rick's wife's book Recreating Eden. I was a bit nervous about reviewing it, since Rick and I are friends...but knowing how he appreciates honesty, I went ahead with it anyway. Fortunately it was a fantastic experience. Rick's wife is Julia Rogers Hamrick, and Recreating Eden is a truly amazing book. As a former life coach interested in spirituality, I've read a lot of self-help books, personal growth and transformation books, and books about all types of spirituality. Recreating Eden is a keeper---and unique in the genre.

The experience of reading the book is itself an "upper". Positive energy emanates from it. Really. Really! As I read it I just felt GOOD. I spent the last two days reading it and am left with a feeling of limitlessness and bliss. The last time this happened for me was when I read Ram Dass' "Remember, Be Here Now" in the late 70's. Wow. Who else remembers that one? Come on, 'fess up.

So then I reviewed Julia's book for Amazon and joined the crowd of rave reviewers there.

You know how there is a perfect time for each book you read? Well, this was the perfect time in my life for this one.

If you'd like, read my review here.

For Writer Bloggers

This article by Andrew Sullivan is provocative---it's about blogging as an emerging literary form---and will be of interest to those of you who are writers. It's rather lengthy, but worth the time.

When I have something like this, something that requires time or thought (like Chani's posts), I enjoy printing them out and reading them in a quiet place when I have time...or even sticking them in my purse in case I get caught with unexpected waiting somewhere.

Enjoy.

19

Amazon has changed its reviewer ranking system. Their new system is based upon the overall helpfulness of your reviews, and removes some of the quirks of their past system. People apparently would do all kinds of things to beat the system and pad their votes---things like opening new Amazon accounts just to vote for their own reviews and forming groups for reviewing---now all of this is eliminated in computing the new ranks.



I've been reviewing for Amazon for over 11 years, and have over 1300 reviews; previously my rank was in the top 500, which allowed me to get lots of free things from Amazon, including advance copies of books, lots of free published books, free merchandise like my video camera I use for videos here, a whole year of Seventh Generation's incredible laundry detergent, lots of teas, and more. All the free stuff only started when I cracked the top 500 though...which took about 10 years. Before that, and now, I did it just for the fun of sharing my opinions on various products and books with people who were trying to make buying decisions.

So today, my rank jumped from 313 under the old "classic" system to #19 (which is my favorite number). It is also the day of mine and LoveHubbie's birthday. And under the new system, Amazon keeps track of "fan voters", who are "people who consistently appreciate the author's reviews"---and I have exactly 19 of these. Hmmm...



I'm still in a bit of shock about my jump in the ratings. I guess it will mean more free stuff...and thus, more fun for me!



In the scheme of life, this means very little, of course, but for me it's something to remind me that things can change very quickly in our lives---in all areas---the BIG areas too---very quickly. Someone changes the rules, things shift...and sometimes for the better.

I am keenly aware of the fragility and downside of life, of how things can be going great and then whammo---surprise---you're kicked in the gut---but I'm used to having to work very, very hard for good things. So today I was just thinking that I want to be even more open to good gifts coming from unexpected places. Just in general. To be looking around every corner for nice things to happen.

First I win some love rocks, and now this. Two days in a row. I'm on a roll.

~Photos that are not screen shots were taken at Amazon in Seattle by LoveHubbie Mark

I Won Some Rocks from the Queen of Arts!

I, who (until today) have never won anything online, have won some rocks from Kim Mailhot, whose blog is Queen of Arts. So it was my lucky day! The picture above is of her creations, including some of her bamboo tile necklaces. For a "Rocking Tutorial" on how to make the painted rocks, please see Kim's post here. You probably have most of the supplies already. And it's fun to pick out the rocks. I am also going to experiment with this technique.

Especially interesting is how Kim uses the rocks in her "Rock My World" love campaign. Read about it here.

Anyway, thank you Kim, and I'll let you all know when I get my rocks and what I do with them :)

~Photo from Kim Mailhot via her blog Queen of Arts