Shadow and Light

Last week my daughter and I were almost killed. Or worse... paralyzed and/or our bones splintered into 1000 tiny shards. When it happened, every single cell in my body was on heightened alert and supercharged with enough orgasmic electricity to power a float in an electric light parade. I've never felt anything like it. Course, I've never come that close to death (well...except for the time I tripped and nearly tumbled off the edge of Waynapicchu)

We were on a lone stretch of freeway driving home from Las Vegas. It was a wet, moon-starved night. Suddenly, in front of me was the dark silhouette of a UFO (unidentified freakin' object). At freeway speed, there wasn't time or prudence to slam on my brakes. I sharply jerked the steering wheel at the last possible millisecond....sending our car into an uncontrollable swerve. We BARELY, (and by barely....I mean my eyebrow hairs could almost touch it...)  barely missed hitting the UFO. Only now I identified the unidentified object. Sitting stone still, camouflaged against the inky ebony sky, was an inky ebony car...without lights or reflectors or orange warning triangles. It sat, stoically, at a 90 degree angle, blocking the entire lane.

After getting my car back in control, my arms and legs mimicked the car's response by going into uncontrollable swerves. But they somehow managed to steer us home. Crawling into bed that night at 12:30 am, the gravity of the situation hit me and I melted into a puddle of sobbing spaz. I had a real, honest-to-goodness freak out! After which, I recovered with a profound reverence for the power of our mind-body connection.

Since then, I have had several playbacks seeing myself on the brink of my own erasure, only to be acquitted at the last moment by some divine combination of luck and arrangement.  Now, in grateful reflection, the shadows have given way to a broad expanse of time stretching out before me like a flower-saturated landscape.

Field of poppies in Tasmania. Photo by Artie Photography

Now...
It is not the nearness to death that gives me pause. 
It is my second chance at life.

What have you done with second chances?

*Editor's note: At the time, I didn't even have the wherewithal to call the police and report the deadly hazard SITTING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FREEWAY! Although, there was a police car with lights and sirens speeding toward our location. I assumed it was coming to the UFO. I can only hope.

Top Photo by Spiritual Blue

Only Four

You may have heard this little verse....

Something you want

Something you need

Something to wear 

Something to read

Each year, we use this to decide what to give our kids for Christmas. It has simplified gift-giving and helps me keep perspective on outrageous consumerism of the holidays. The other day, I was sort of reviewing Christmas and thinking about the new year. My mind was overwhelmed with the hundreds of things that I need to work on. Then, suddenly it hit me. Why not approach my New Year's resolutions using the same idea?

So first things first: I set a goal to take my own advice. Check. And then, for my New Year's Resolutions, I chose one goal from each category.

There probably isn't a soul alive that doesn't already do each of the basic things I am determined to do. But let's face it....well...actually let's not. I don't want to get into the particulars of my lackluster discipline. Besides, this blog is supposed to be family friendly.

So here are my goals for 2010. Officially in writing. So I can't officially cop out.

want to be a better mom
I pledge to make a hot, homemade breakfast at least once / week. (Sounds easy, but this is going to be a killer. I tell you....a KILLER)

need to be better hydrated
I pledge to drink at least 6-8 glasses of water at least 5 days / week.

wear a countenance of joy
I pledge to do an act of service once a month for someone besides my family. (My mom does this daily...and I'm hoping for once a month. Oh the shame.) I loved what my friend's father used to say: If I give, I will always have it to give. 

read the scriptures and memorize poetry.
I pledge to read from the Old Testament daily and memorize two poems.

That's it. Although, it will provide me with an uncomfortable stretch. Especially since I'm taking Statistics and may soon not have any fingernails. Or hair. I may be wearing a bald countenance of joy.

Good luck with your resolutions!

Dream Big

Photo credit: Justin H.

For those of us wanting to do a little more, be a little better, try a little harder in 2010...
here is a song to inspire.

Good luck with your goals.

Dream Big

The Giffords did.

CornDog

I need to clarify this recent post.

To begin, I will define my new word:

Surflogging [sûrf·lŏg-ging] 1. The haphazard exploration (surfing) of blogs of interest other than your own    2. The practice of riding a dead tree limb in the swell of the sea.

So when I said that my surflogging activities will soon decrease, I meant that I won't be reading other people's blogs as often as I would like. But I still hope to keep feeding my own blog. The fishbowl will be active.

Secondly, unlike I might have led you to believe, getting a doctorate degree is not an impulsive whim. It has been my intent for several years. I completed my Master's Degree in May 2009 but that was merely a rest stop and not a destination. I remained in school and will graduate in Dec 2010 with a Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP). It is similar to a PhD, but more practice than research oriented.

And finally, Mrs. Olsen....I'd like to try to answer your brilliant question:

"Who are you people?"

The answer my friend, is blowin' in the wind. And can't be answered definitively until we all reconvene in utopia and ask my Grandfather Gee. I blame him.

Meanwhile, may I offer this answer to tide you over.

Who are we...my crazy sibling and I....you so bravely ask. Well...theology aside, we are....

CORNDOGS

1. We are corny on the outside, with just a tease of enough sweetness to be palatable
2. We can withstand a dip in the 'refiner's fire' and emerge unbroken and better than before
3. Any dough we acquire is gobbled in an instant
4. We like oily things such as empanadas and Willie Nelson's hair
5. We share a similar body shape
6. We (mostly me) like 400 degrees (pun intended)

And finally, we all know how satisfying and therapeutic a meaty corndog can be. So it is with us. We have an innate drive to heal. To please. To be the county fair for mankind's soul.

Of course to be thorough, I must include the two ways we are NOT corndogs:
1. We don't brown
2. We have more debt

That's our story and I'm STICKIN' to it!

By the way...here is a list of possible songs / artists from the Corndog iTunes...taken from here:
Kielbasa Me Softly
Corndog Twitty
Please Relish Me (Let me Go)
Fry Me to the Moon
The Wurst That Could Happen
We Are All Weiners

And of course: THIS

Trouble with Comments

Dear Readers,
Some of you have told me you couldn't comment on this blog. And I've fussed and fidgeted and still can't solve the problem. So I've resorted to adding a non-Blogger comment form (see below in the turquoise box). A nice feature of this comment widget is that you can comment on other people's comments. It's like Facebook in a blog!

Would some brave soul try it out? (Lols...I'm hoping this means you) I am anxious to know if it works. Thanks so much. And thanks for swimming by. It is always great to hear from you.

Have a great week!
-Ms. Fish

Keds Never Looked so Good

Yesterday was my brother's birthday. He had about 2,000 birthday wishes on Facebook. That's because it only takes meeting Justin once and he's hooked you for life...you'll want to be his friend forever. Justin is a so good at making and keeping good friendships. He even says 'Hi' to Strangers. His example reminds me that relationships are the most meaningful acquisitions.

Every year on Justin's birthday, friends and family gather to celebrate. The admission ticket is an original limerick...written for him and / or about him. Last year, my parents and I attended the lyrical festivities with our limericks in hand. It was great fun. The prose posed as legit poetry.

A fantastic writer himself, Justin provides rich subject matter to write about. Whether in a suit or blue jeans, he is always sporting his signature Keds and wit quicker than a hummingbird high on honeysuckle.  He has great taste in design and savvy business sense. And most of all, he is a dedicated father and the kind of husband who sweeps the kitchen floor. Justin is a good, good man. I love you bro.

Here is a limerick just for you from your big sis Ms. Fish:

Justin is a fine man who would
try to get away with all that he could
    he frequently flashes
    he shoots things in batches
and even makes a negative good!

PS: Big cool news. Justin is one of the speakers at this year's Altitude Design Summit. Check it. Here.

Seduction

I have never been interested in polygymy.

Until now.

Somewhere between Spago and Luis Vutton, intoxicated by the glitz and glamour of C's Palace, I fell under his spell. My actions are not justified but they are understandable. Afterall, he knows exactly what he is doing. He is a Genius. His fruity titillations proved irresistible and....

I invited him home with me.

His name is Jean Francois: JF for short. He's French. And he knows all about photos and archiving and shortcuts and command keys and space-bar tricks. During our conversation, my head was spinning with possibilities.

The respectable part in all of this is that I came clean and admitted it to Mr. Fish. About my invitation. To Mr. Fish's credit, he just laughed and agreed that having a Genius around would be handy. I think Mr. Fish is also secretly tempted by the Apple.

In the end, the Genius declined my invitation. Rude.

However, once I left the magnetic forcefield of Steve Jobs' behemoth, I came to my senses and decided that Mr. Fish and I are perfect. Just the two of us.

Well....the two of us plus Snow Leopard.

Surflogging

I'm saying this next sentence in hushed tones. Just so I won't really hear it very well. In five lightning speed days I'll be back in school. And back to work as a teaching assistant. This means endless hours on the computer typing, researching, crying, reading, thinking and headaching (not necessarily in that order). When that rigamarole begins, I will have little time for blogurfing. Or surflogging. Yes I just made those words up, but I'm sure you get the idear.

My friend Heide hates blogs. And in a yoga - s  t  r  e  t  c  h  i  n  g sort of way, I can see her point. But I admit. I gain great strength and inspiration from them. And find out about important family news (such as my third great great cousin twice removed just got a Wii for Christmas).

People are so marvelous. And marvelously creative.

Their sharing feeds my deep well of senses. I read those things that make me want to be a better person. So for now, before my life is sucked into zombie land (in 5 short days...did I mention?), I have had the opportunity to reconnect with some of my blog favs.

One of them is the The Tiffany Window, written by Tiffany Gee, a popular columnist for Meridian Magazine (and luckily...also happens to be my cousin!). She is a wonderful, dedicated and creative mother and writer. And she comes from a one-of-a-kind family...with all the talent of the Osmonds, the glamour and beauty of the Kennedy's, and the closeness of the Ingalls. Tiffany muses about raising four boys and is every bit as insightful and eloquent as C Jane, but without the narcissistic distractions.

                                       Photo from: The Tiffany Window

Another simple, yet inspiring blog on the beauty of life can be found here.

In 5 days....maybe it's down to four now this post is so long....I will no longer fully partake of all the blogging world has to offer. Until I have another break in May.

It's all because of the New Year's Resolution I came up with while registering for school today: to graduate with a doctorate degree by year's end.

Speaking of resolutions...I may as well share my other more important one: to make breakfast for my kids before school. At least twice. (I realize this is an outrageously high standard...but I'm almost going to be a doctor. It's time to push myself). And when the breakfast miracle happens, you can be sure, I'll blog about it!

PS: Look for my new upcoming book entitled: How to Make New Year's Resolutions Which Were Going to Happen Anyway and Make It Seem As Though You are a Brilliantly Ambitious Accomplishee. Also look for my companion title: How To Make Up Any Word You Want. 

New Year's Day Play

We live in the desert....but still remember how to have fun in the snow.