Aren’t my cousins just so lovely! We see them here, after a fun weekend of playing games and laughing way too much, sporting Arbonne skincare and makeup on their faces [of course :] and my little babies – my jewelry creations! Sparkling crystal, fresh water pearls and turquoise are all part of my sterling silver collection that I am launching in my etsy shop (coming soon!) Thanks for being my models for etsy – I love you cousins! (And if any of you would like to get $700 worth of Arbonne for only $350 like Mel did, email me! I will totally hook you up.) I am rushing to refill my jewelry supplies after almost being bought out on the weekend (which is a good thing – I love that people are loving my creations!) I made THE most beautiful crystal and fresh water pearl ring for myself today… I think you may all be jealous and want one too, so I shall make some more!!
I can’t stop crying. This was the absolute last thing I was expecting from a politician in a position of power when I watched the President’s press conference from yesterday. I reluctantly clicked the link, expecting the typical transparent excuses so often heard from the lips of politicians regarding real healthcare reform in America. I have written letters to every congressman in the state of Utah and also to the President and had grown so discouraged by standard political response, I had to stop talking about healthcare change. It was too painful to see and hear ignorance all around me. It filled me with complete hopelessness feeling like I was one of the only ones who could see what was really happening with US healthcare. I felt thoroughly discouraged. I had to stop sharing the struggle that we face on a daily basis having sick children and living in America. It is too real of a topic to us and until congress had walked in my shoes, I felt there would never be change.
As I sat on the couch this afternoon, looking out the window and wondering how on earth we were going to make it here in the US with already more than $100,000 in medical debt [and having just received a facebook email from someone vehemently against 'becoming communist' (eyeball roll)], I noticed a message from Obama linked to his press conference of yesterday. After 15 seconds I began balling and continued for the other 54 minutes. And I almost didn’t watch it. I was sure there would be no good news for us in there….. oh how I was wrong. Thank you Mr. Obama. Thank you for reading the letters we send you and for actually listening. Thank you for being open minded enough to review the facts, not the fears. Thank you for rising above the ‘Ignorant American’ stereotype. Thank you for being smart enough to distinguish HMO propaganda from reality and for not buying into the Republican back lash. Thank you for putting us ahead of your career – something very rare in politics despite it being the job description. Thank you for lifting some of my despair. Thank you…. for standing up for those of us who are too sick and too tired to have a strong voice. Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you… xox
Another gorgeous day at Bear Lake. I started taking photo’s of my jewelry for my Etsy Shop today!! Princess Fifi and my sister Candice were my gorgeous models (with Fifi sporting a beautiful tutu she just received from her cousin Kyiomi in Australia – thanks Kiyomi!!) Watch this space, my Etsy Shop is so close to being open, I can almost taste it! I am so excited about my new Coco Collection, inspired by my mother. It is all gold, crystal and pearls. Very classy. Very high quality. Just like my mum :) I am also excited to share with you all my beautiful Sterling Silver creations. And I will, soon, I promise!
Isis and I have been singing this sing for MONTHS! It is stuck, no seared into our grey matter. You know that song that is so awesome it just never goes away? haha This is it!
It is comforting to hear some serious public talk in agreement of how I view the broken US healthcare system. Please watch this segment of Bill Moyers Journal and then pass it along to everyone you know who has bought into the falsities Insurance Companies have fed us for decades regarding the US healthcare system. Educating ourselves is the only way to bring about real change in this country. I feel so discouraged at the attitudes surrounding me at times. I have received letters from Congressmen that mirror Insurance Company verbage – we need to hold our congressmen accountable. They need to be educated as well as we do. Our congressmen also need to not give in to the threats given to them by the Insurance Industry, for supporting change. It is too important of a topic to be pushed aside. Please watch this and let me know what you think.
Do you notice anything different about this performance? Other than the amazing quality of the musicians? No-one, not even the conductor, has any music. They are all playing by memory – this allows so much more feeling and passion to be expressed into the song. There are no distractions of reading the notes, dynamics and following the conductor. The music, being memorized, has become a part of each individual and is so much more powerful as a result. So powerful. So passionate. Notice too how beautiful everyone looks in their individual gowns. Oh to be a part of this performance! This music makes me happy and gives me tingles, so I wanted to share. Thank you mum for emailing this to me :D
Isis, my seven year old son, loves to draw. He always has. And he sings under his breath while he does it. He could sit there singing and drawing all day, and be perfectly content. Yesterday he drew a Warhammer Space Marine (and a Borg from Star Trek… and some random chopped-off heads… and a beautiful picture of a pencil…) solely from his imagination. His ability to remember the fine details even days and weeks after seeing an image blows me away. His Space Marine (above left) has almost every detail! I have painted many of these miniatures for my husbands nerdy hobby in the past and the most detail I recall is the big shoulder pads and winged emblem thingy on the chest. I love how, not only is his Space Marine extremely detailed, but his arms have blown off in battle, and the blood is dripping accordingly. Haha! He is such a boy! In a few short years, if his interest persists (which I have a feeling it will, as the urge to draw seems to inherently course through his vanes), his drawings will surpass my own and his fathers (they already do in many ways), and he will be up there with the Games Workshop artists (like above right).
The bubbling lights and splashing of colour were mesmerizing and quite magical. Isis and Phoenix couldn’t decide if they were going to die or not initially, but once they realised that they weren’t going to explode – loved it! Both were very good at ‘taking turns’ choosing which explosive to ignite next. (It kind of made my stomach churn seeing them holding things with TNT written all over it….. but I took a deep breathe and relaxed, knowing that Nick was the one with the lighter, not the children :)
Some of the explosions were very noisy!
But so pretty. Granpa came over to share the fun. Granma is in Scotland having a photographic adventure at the moment, so I think Granpa was glad for the company – and the children were so happy to see him.
Fireworks are an amazing invention. As I watched colours pop and explode, I thought back to ancient China and wondered how on earth and who on earth created these wonderful things!! A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!
I can’t stop crying. This was the absolute last thing I was expecting from a politician in a position of power when I watched the President’s press conference from yesterday. I reluctantly clicked the link, expecting the typical transparent excuses so often heard from the lips of politicians regarding real healthcare reform in America. I have written letters to every congressman in the state of Utah and also to the President and had grown so discouraged by standard political response, I had to stop talking about healthcare change. It was too painful to see and hear ignorance all around me. It filled me with complete hopelessness feeling like I was one of the only ones who could see what was really happening with US healthcare. I felt thoroughly discouraged. I had to stop sharing the struggle that we face on a daily basis having sick children and living in America. It is too real of a topic to us and until congress had walked in my shoes, I felt there would never be change. 
