stupid lamb

it turns out that tina likes her men cold, dead, and blood sucking. my first night in vegas was spent at the cannery 21 and over showing of twilight. i had just finished the book the day prior as a promise to ashley that i wouldn't show up to town clueless. i really enjoyed the book, but i loved the movie. bonus points to the cannery for letting me drink beer while watching a teenage vampire love story. giddy about being in vegas with ash and slightly buzzed on bud light, i went girl crazy for edward. and since twilight was filmed in oregon and washington i remain convinced that there are more guys like edward in portland. so now i'm waiting for my pasty white mysterious man to show up.

i've now finished new moon and started eclipse. the books get better and better while edward remains perfect in my mind.

fashionable folds

i must have died and gone to heaven. these images from fashion week show 2009 couture inspired by the geometric shapes of origami. as if that weren't fantastic enough, the phi model on the right is wearing a necklace of paper cranes. tina loves irreverent runway fashion almost as much as she loves japanese paper folding. i can't help but gush when the two are combined. it makes me wonder what my frocks and britches would look like or be inspired by if i were a designer. it also makes me wonder if i could get away with that silly pink plastic headband on the streets of portland, oregon. i think the trick is to look gaunt and mean like the model wearing it so that people are afraid to judge you.

auntie loves her

i am, perhaps to the point of needing institutionalizing, psychotically attached to my niece amaya. every time i see her we go through the same little episode. i take one look at her and say “come to auntie right now,” then go completely bonkers and say repeatedly that she is the most perfect angel from heaven and that auntie loves her so much while resisting the urge to squeeze the guts out of her. she replies back,” i love you auntie tina.” it’s enough to make me want to throw myself in front of a bus. on top of that, she is at the perfect age where she just repeats everything i say. i taught her how to raise her glass and say “salut.” we overcame her original endorsement of ron paul and she now favors obama. i am most proud of taking her to kohl’s to introduce her to the affordable vera wang line at the age of 2. she needed to learn that “vera is classy.” she has wild curly hair, loves christmas carols, and engages my 18 year old brother in the most hilarious arguments. i can’t imagine loving a little person more than i love amaya. and from the pictures, surely you can see why.

walk through walls. live with intention.

the things i've been lucky enough to do in this life.

*survive a war
*serve 4 years in the US military
*present the flag to the next of kin
*be a part of a firing party
*sit for high tea at the empress
*be named time magazine person of the year-this happened a second time when we all became the person of the year, but was much better the first time when it was the american soldier
*make it to the big screen-go see major league or the imax movie fighter pilot
*pass a wilderness survival test
*sleep in a snow cave on mt. hood
*be a die hard fan-tattoo+29 concerts doth die hard fan maketh
*drink champagne from the bottle with a straw
*run a marathon
*be the best at something
*go night swimming
*watch a meteor shower
*belong to a food co-op
*volunteer
*join a search party
*own season tickets
*eat at genoa
*attend the professional bull riders world finals
*donate hair to locks of love
*leave the big tip
*dance in the rain on the side of a mountain
*attend a championship boxing match in vegas
*give a speech before an audience of 10,000
*learn cpr
*drink german beer in germany
*be interviewed on npr
*participate in a relay race
*ride a cable car in san francisco
*watch a newspaper being printed
*make up a great CB "handle"
*experience a true sense of belonging
*fly an airplane
*drive a golf cart
*jump off a bridge
*start a fire with 1 match in the pouring rain
*stay in a yurt
*live on an island
*live in the desert
*donate blood-every 8 weeks
*speak at a town hall meeting
*go to summer camp
*be serenaded