Driving... the modern meditation

(this was written several days ago... I was just able to get around the internet where I can publish it)

I came to Birmingham on March 6th. The day after my birthday. I arrived at 8:30 pm after an all-day adventue of flying. Luckily, this time, I was able to fly out of Jackson Hole Airport. On Thursday, March 5th, 2009 William Reynolds Ireland, Sr left his body, and this earth in seek of the heavenly and divine.

I've been in a whirlwind of family and friends of my grandfather. I have been proper and eloquent to those involved, I have worn heels for three days. I am exhausted. I haven't wrapped my mind around the whole thing yet. There was some time of preparation, where I pretty much knew it was coming. When I got the phone call on Thursday night, I already had my plane ticket to leave on Friday- I had been moving into my house and not had a day off to do it. I managed to get a little reflection time in on the plane- but for the most part the anticipation of being home and being with family that I just KNEW I was going to burst into tears when I got there. I squeezed out a tear or two as I peeked out of the plane window into the clouds. Then I landed. I literally, hit the ground running. Not a tear. I have been surrounded by people I love. I felt great. We laughed and giggled, told jokes, told ancedotes of old. Everyone is leaving tomorrow. Most left today, things are about to calm down. I am fortunate enough to get to stick around.

I can't say that life is "getting back to normal," like one would normally feel after a major time-consuming event in our lives. . Things aren't ever "back to normal." After the death of a loved one, nothing is ever the same again. No matter how far away you are from someone... when they aren't there anymore, well, it's just not normal. But I am looking forward to some reflection time. And I'm at home to do it. I made a break for it this evening, to go spend some time with a non-family member that means a lot to me. We did nothing, but watch some sitcoms on television and hung out and talked... it was very nice. Then I started home. It's late, so there were very few cars out and about. Plus it's a Monday night. My route home is one of my favorite drives in the country. Even though it was dark, I could see grass and trees along the road the whole way. There's one stretch of road that is reminiscent to a canopy- the trees are so grand and close to the road that they reach up high, to hive five their buddies on the other side. I have been conditioned to watch out for wildlife on the roads; I am a very cautious driver. There's something therapeutic about driving. When you Meditate, you are supposed to concentrate on your breathing to the point that you can't think of anything else, forcing your mind to clear itself. For me driving does the same thing. By concentrating on keeping my speed at 55 miles an hour, keeping my car in between the lines and listening to music. My brain is forced to to chill out. There's so many things to keep track of in there! And sometimes it just goes into overdrive, because memories get recalled and shoved into the conciousness. I get caught on a runaway train of thought, and have no idea how I have manged to THINK of so many things, in the matter of 5 minutes.

Aside: I often have a very hard time blogging because of these things. I know that my stream of consciousness style of thinking often rubs off into my blogging- because I'm generally just digitally thinking then I blog. SO I TRY really hard to not write in stream of consciousness- becuase I think it might be too confusing for the reader. I am actually typing this in word (styaing where this is no internet) I will save the blurb, copy and bast it onto my web site, no doubt edit it for spelling, and then I'll sit down and rearrange the paragraphs making the jumbled information from my head, appear to be coherent thoughts for you to read.

Anyway, tonight was a night where I noticed how memorizing driving can be. I actually stop thinking. I concentrate on nothing but driving, and in turn, clear my head. It is possible to do this with other people in the car, but it is a more advanced form of driving meditation, that I have not entirely reached- I will let you know when i become a driving Yogi.

Snowmen and Trampolines

Today I played with Oliver Kimmel while his Mommy was out running errands. We got all bundled up in our snowsuits and went outside to play. I played on the trampoline and built a snowman...

And for an added treat, here is a picture of Elu's favorite activity.

she loves to run along side (or rather in front of) the car on the drive to Lola's place.

Lent

Minutes until Ash Wednesday.  I sit here, in bed, typing and chowing down on a Turkey Wrap.  In 15 minutes I will put down the Turkey Wrap and the Bacon Cheeseburger and the Sausage Pizza and the Steak Sandwich for 40 days.

Ah Lent. Honestly, it's my favorite Religious Observance.   The Episcopalian observance of Lent (because that's all I've ever practiced) is the act of giving up something in your life that you love, or do on a regular basis- a sacrifice if you will.  More often than not it is a food.  I assume mimicking the Fast that Jesus was on while in the Wilderness.  (FYI just finished the Turkey, so although it may be past midnight when I post this, it is now 11:49pm) So, this year I am giving up Meat.  For 40 days I will be a vegetarian again.  

 I am also embarking on a spiritual journey involving mind and body in the form of a cleanse.  The Cleanse that I have opted to go on is 30 days long.  So I will start Lent by simply being vegetarian.  After ten days of no meat, I will then cut out most dairy, refined sugars and wheat.  In addition to a limited diet, I will be taking fiber, mineral and vitamin supplements twice a day.  The goal is to get rid of the toxins in my body from processed foods and meats.  The Cleanse will be a test of my strength.  I will need to seek help from a Higher Power.  I might be a little mean to people =). But I am confident that I can do it.  This Cleanse has serious benifits to one's health and emotional/spiritual well being.  When the body is toxic, energy cannot be released , and no energy can be received. The soul then starts to feel stagnant and trapped.  It's like having a fish in a dirty fish bowl.  Then when you flush out the murky water, the fish is free to move about and breathe.  

I look forward to clearing blocked energy.  In addition to the dietary changes, I will be meditating daily.  It is, after all, a time of somber reflection.  

new post below...

We have hit...

...a little bump in the road.  Sarah, my coworker who was going to move into the Cabin with me, decided not to move in.  So, I now have to find a roommate. But my soon-to-be landlord is super cool and told me not to sweat the other half of the rent.  I will pay my half, like normal and look for a roommate. When I get one, he or she will pay the other half, pro-rated.  :::SIGH of relief inserted here:::

I move in Sunday. It's a darling little house, and I'm super SUPER excited about the location.  Location, location, location!!!  And I have also wanted to live in a log cabin since I was a little girl playing with my Lincoln Logs.  I have done a little shopping for the place, but so far I've only actually bought a large tapestry for the curtains in the living room.  The house is partly furnished. The precious tenants are leaving two couches (they are leather so I'm going to need slip covers- leather is just not comfortable to me),  a desk and four dining chairs.  Leaving very few things to aquire.  And a very limited budget.  Here's what I'm thinking:

Furniture I need:

1-dining table

 I hope to find something of the appropriate height, a tree trunk perhaps, and nail a piece of plywood to the top.  I would love to find something that looks really cool.  I am envisioning a knotty pine, but I'm not so sure how easy that is going to be to find. It might have to be an old pillar that I find at the Thrift Store. We shall see.  So, If I find something cool, I'm going to cover the ply wood top with a funky tapestry, but tie it back so you can see the "leg" of the table.  However, if lameness ensues and I cannot find a cool table "leg," I can just cover it with an extra large tapestry or table cloth

2-coffee table

I live in Wyoming. Why not be totally stereotypical and get a SPOOL for the coffee table. hahahahha!! How great would that be if I could find one... But I really want to find an old trunk.  A piece of furniture that is both stylish and functional.  I can store blankets in the trunk so in the winter I don't have to get up from the couch to put a blanket over my feet. And I can take it with me when I move, as it will be a box for moving things!! 

3-book case

I'll know it when I see it.

The Habitat for Humanity Re-Store has some really cool stuff! I am going tomorrow to see what's there. They tend to be a little pricey, so hopefully I'll get lucky! 

As far as everything else goes: I'm good. Nothing really to report.  I did get some babysitting gigs, so I've got extra money coming in on the side, I think I'm going to go back to 40 hours a week at the Grocer (yay!!) and, uh, yeah, that's it. 

Why it's going to be awesome to live on the westbank

Moving again...

Okay, so I know I sound like a crazy, antsy girl> but I'm moving again.

NO, I'm not coming back home.  I'm staying in Jackson.  Only moving to Wilson.  The "cool side" of the Hole.  The country. By the end of the week (God willing) I will have the lease on a log cabin.  My friend and coworker, Sarah found this place and we went and saw it today.  It's precious. A little run down, but with character! It was built in the 1930's as part of the first family homestead in Wilson.  Our landlords and neighbors live in the big house, next door.  The house that we will be renting was built when the daughter moved out and had babies of her own.  As more babies were born, another room was added on.  It's three bedrooms and one bath. There's a mud room/gear storage area and two entrances.  The house sits right on Fish Creek, so in the summer we'll be able to tube from our house to "downtown" Wilson in about 15-20 minutes (by river, it's about 1 mile from downtown via roads). 

Anyway, trying not to count any chickens... but this place is sweet! and we just have to give her deposit and sign the lease and it's ours. lalala! Can't wait to live in a house with just ONE other person!! 

A weekend update

LE SIGH!

What an eventful few days I've had. Friday night was the dogsled races, as shown below, which was amazing! After the races, Sarah and I headed to Pica's (a Moe's-like place but a little more upscale) to meet up with some friends of hers from the ski school.  We ate and drank margaritas while discussing the night's plan. We decided on the Stage Coach (aka "the coach") to hear Steam Powered Airplane.  The Coach is out in Wilson, about a 15 minute drive (closer to where I used to live).  So, I agree to be the sober driver.  The Coach is GREAT!!! It's got a Bailey's (We miss you ole girl) to it.  It's a dive bar like the best of the dive bars.  The two pool tables are free to play, and have a slight lean to them.  Drinks are relatively cheap, they serve PBR in a can, and the bathrooms could use attention.  I think I may have to move to Wilson.  The band was great! Sarah's friend Mark was cute, I won three games of pool, and I was back in town at a decent hour.  All-in-all the trip to Wilson was worth it.  I took Sarah home and started to go home myself, but Jeff called, wanting to watch a movie.  I had Elu with me, so I figured why not. By the time I went to sleep it was nearly 4 am.  

Saturday I woke up with all intentions of going to the Village and getting a few runs in, but by the time I got to Lola's it was noon.  We could have made it, but neither Lola or I were feeling it too much.  So I let Elu run around her old stomping ground and chilled on the couch with Lola.  One of her friends came in town later, and we ate some dinner. Home, in bed, early, on a Saturday night~ I'm the most exciting 20-something single you'll ever meet

BUT SUNDAY!! I was up at 7 am, ready to roll! Lola and I ate a fantastic breakfast at Nora's  and headed to the Village.  Watching Lola ski and me snowboard (without any instruction from people who know what they are doing) is HILARIOUS!!!  The first lift up, Lola and I asked them to slow down the lift, but they slowed it down too much and I didn't get enough speed coming off the chair to coast out of the way.  I had to skate (which is just like riding a skate board, only one foot is strapped in to the board but not really at the right angle.  You're having to push one foot on the ground while the other is perpendicular to your body and it's overall not easy- for me at least).  SO anyway. I'm trying to skate off the chair and I fall over. I don't mind falling, it doesn't hurt me. But it sure hurts my pride. After the chair lift debacle, I get out of the way and begin riding down the hill. Lola falls, so I go on ahead, assured that she will catch up to me in no time, as I will fall again.  I side slip down the hole mountain, falling on the regular.  But I made it down! and I was able to control the board the cast majority of the time.  It was fun! We repeated the scenario a couple more times (only I mastered the chair dismount for the rest of the day) and called it a day, it was the Super Bowl.

I went to town, picked up Jeff and got fixings for burgers.  We headed back to Lola's to cook dinner and watch the game.  Upon arrival, we start cooking and turn on the TV.  The satellite is not working. We waited and waited hoping it would correct itself.  Nope. Never worked.  SO as soon as we gobbled down some burgers and french fries, we headed back to town to catch the second half at Jeff's.  The game was pseudo-interesting. Good, close game, but I failed to pick a team prior to the game so I was uninterested in the outcome.  

Game over. Weekend Over. Back to the grind.