Reading

A book is not only a friend, it makes friends for you. When you have possessed a book with mind and spirit, you are enriched. But when you pass it on you are enriched threefold. --Henry Miller

Read any good books worth passing on??

I am reading Eckert Tolle's A New Earth. It fits where I am right now.

But I am ready for some lighter fair. Or maybe I need a heavier one.
I am open for suggestions.

Love and laughter to you.
cc

Angry, Hopeful, and Willing

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what I am worth to the world. Of course we believe that we are all divine creatures and we all have so much worth but is that really the case. Stepping back and looking globally and viewing the big picture makes me really wonder. In actuality most of us are merely waiting to die. We are raising children in front of televisions, carting them off to day care, school, summer camp. Supposedly getting them away from us and into the hands of people we don’t even know will give them the tools they need to “succeed”. We work long hours, throw ourselves completely into what we think will eventually pay off so that we can enjoy the “remainder of our years” which can be as few as 5 for many of us. We invest in bad food, bad comedy, entertainment that starves the brain instead of fuel it. We read books written by people we deem smarter than us simply for being paid for what they write and are therefore able to teach us something when in all actuality it is usually nothing more than common sense that we lost when our parents carted us off to the day care, schools, or sat us in front of the television designed to make us universally appealing to the masses. The purchase of “self help” books has increased 300% in the past 15 years! 300%!!! These books don’t tell you ANYTHING you don’t already know! What are we looking to confirm for ourselves? We’ve turned ourselves into what we think the rest of society wants us to be. We go to work, make money, buy things. I’ve never really understood why. For as long as I can remember I’ve watched people get into their cars and drive to work for most of their day and not get anything back in return except for money. What good is that? I’ve never really understood it. We buy our used sub-compacts, 2000 square foot homes, enjoy dining and dancing (unless you live in Fallon :o) ), entertain guests, and use up 42% of the worlds resources. That’s right, 6% of the world’s population uses up 42% of the world’s resources. Hmmmm. Seems to me we are a parasite. So that makes me wonder why I’m feeding into this idea of the “American Dream” where we work and work and work for a few years and make enough money to stop working and enjoy the fruits of our labor, i.e. travel, expensive homes, new cars, expensive hobbies, oh yeah, and maybe we’ll donate some blood, give a few dollars to the homeless, or participate in a little bit of charity work; really to just give ourselves a little pat on the back or clear our subliminal conscience for all the waste we produce. Years ago, National Geographic (my Mom has been subscribing and saving these magazines since 1990) did an article on the global impact of humans and what would happen if we were destroyed. It’s really sickening to see that all of our “progress” has led to the destruction of the world. I vividly remember seeing artificially constructed pictures of what New York, Los Angeles, Paris, London, looked like before we started reproducing like mice 200 years ago. I felt sorry for what we have turned it into. Remember what your Mom always said, “Always leave it cleaner than you found it.” We haven’t done that. I know there is a huge “green” movement which has done a lot of good in the past few years but I really don’t think that it is addressing the root of the problem. Why have we been tricked into believing that consuming goods will make us happy? You may be thinking to yourself, ‘Yeah, whatever Sara. This is just the way life is. If I don’t work I can’t pay my bills, feed my children, make rent.’ but is that really the way it is or are we just not trying hard enough? Go ahead and call me a hypocrite here because I am well aware of where I stand and I will be the first to tell you that my lifestyle does not live up to what I want it to, but I’m trying. Every day I am trying to make it better. Did the rest of you who have passed on genes feel this way? Did you have an uncontrollable urge to totally change the world out of fear of what you would leave behind? I’ve always been raised to care about everything. I come from one of the most empathetic group of people to ever call themselves a family and I guess the hippie earth child genes do pass down to offspring :o) I just never really felt this scared of everything around me as I do now. Every day I look around my house and think of what I can do to make it better. When I look around I see stuff. Stuff that I do not need, use, appreciate, or care about. Why do I have it? I am a minimalist at heart yet I have all this CRAP! I am not a better person for having it and it doesn’t add to my life whatsoever. Yeah, you are all telling me I could just purge and it would make me happier. I’ve done that and the problem is that I can’t possibly purge enough. The things that are supposed to make me happy don’t anymore. I don’t care about the latest crap to buy or style to buy in to. This just isn’t living for me anymore. If it’s “living” for you, more power to you. Be happy, that’s what life’s about. I’ve just realized that everything that makes me happy is sitting right next to me. I have everything I need to live a life I’m proud of right here. I don’t need anything. I no longer want to believe that new clothes, new car, new furniture, new audio visual stimulation, new new new new new will make me happy. I’m just over it. It’s time for me to get back to life and stop taking. I want to turn my life into a legacy of giving. I’ve been given so much and it’s not mine to take. My goal for ten years from now is for all of you to be able to think of me and say, "Wow, she really did it."

Help us fight MS

Travis, Cash and I will be participating in walkMS, an event that raises funds to support MS research. With 200 people diagnosed with MS every day, usually falling in the 20-50 age range, this is a problem any of us could potentially face. Please consider making a donation to "Team Thompson" to support our fund raising efforts. By donating to the National MS society you’ll know your contribution is helping to fund cutting-edge research, drive change through advocacy, facilitate professional education, and provide programs and services to help people with MS and their families move their lives forward.

Link to our page:

Team Thompson

My dear friend Lauren just got her website up and running and I wanted to share it with you. She has really blossomed into a great artist. Check out her work... (My fav are her sketches:

web.mac.com/lauren.glick

Brody March 5

Mom and I got to visit Riana, our newest Mother, and Brody on Weds.

Sweet Quote

Hi all,
On my quest to find inspiration to keep me motivated to be a better person, I found this website where I signed up for their free ezines. I've gotten two of them so far and WOW, great stuff. Here's the site: http://www.yoursuccessstore.com/
One of the ezines had a bunch of great quotes. Here is one of my favorites:

"An idealist believes the short run doesn't count. A cynic believes the long run doesn't matter. A realist believes that what is done or left undone in the short run determines the long run." Syndey J. Harris

Thinking about this in terms of every aspect of your life is quite staggering. I've been meditating on it. Inpiring for sure!
Love you,
Genevieve

We all want to be in better shape...

It's the end of February and I'm sure we all made some kind of resolution to be healthier, more fit and to eat better this year. I just got this video forwarded to me. Get fit while you sit. I don't watch tv anymore, so I never got to see the tv commercial for the chair that Ellen is using. Hope this brings a smile to your face. Laughter is the best medicine...Hope everyone is healthy and well.
Love,
Genevieve
Go to this website to look at it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHiqVygN-w0#
I'll have to ask Mom to give me a tutorial on posting videos to the blog. :)

If you're not growing...

As most of you know, I have been working on my goals related to my business. It's been a whole lot of fun. I recently listened to a book on CD called Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker. Holy moly, do I recommend this book! So many great ideas. One of the things he wrote that struck a chord went a little something like this:

If you're not growing, you're dying. Look at plants. If they aren't growing, then they are dying. The same is true of us. If we aren't learning, growing, bettering ourselves, we are moving toward death. It is critical that we never say the dreaded words: "I know". There is always more to learn, more to understand. The thoughts and ideas we have now have gotten us to where we are now. If we desire a better situation tomorrow, we must change something. Our thoughts are the perfect place to start.

I thought these were some profound thoughts and wanted to share them with you.
Love you all,
Genevieve

Just so you don't feel left out

I just wanted everyone to know that you got to enjoy yourself also...not just be the photographer : } a fun time for sure.(see girls, you can still be a little wild and crazy even when you reach ahhhhhhmmmmm.... the age of reason and maturity.

luvyasu

Ladies Night Out

A Beautiful day in Reno

Last weekend the three of us headed up to Reno for a little mini-respite. We had gotten tickets to see "Forbidden Broadway" at the El Dorado, and then had managed to get appointments on short notice for our annual appointments on Monday morning with the Dr. We arrived in Reno and got checked into Harrah's, never stayed there before and it was really nice other than the smoke that seems to be unavoidable anywhere you stay in that city. We had planned a small picnic in the room before the show but we had a couple hours to spend so we hit the riverwalk on an amazingly gorgouse sun filled afternoon. Wandered our way down to Idlewild park and that is where this picture is taken. The geese were standing on the ice and getting their drinks from the melting pond. On the way back we stopped along the river and got this shot thanks to my long arms. Yes...that is Kathy in the back with her new platinum blond bombshell look. It was a beautiful walk, the sidewalks were crowded with all the early spring revelers and we enjoyed every minute of it. Picnic in our room, and a great show rounded out the evening. Of course we had to hit Roxy's and try a couple of differant types of martini's!!!! it was a great evening. Next morning we get the call from Gen and Butch, seems we were captured on the Channel 2 news the night before, "3 Women Out For The Sunny Afternoon". A great time, had by all. What adventure lies next???? I am thinking we should try out snowshoes before it all melts, Sarah are you up for giving us some lessons? luvto you all, su.

(ps, is anyone else having trouble with the spellcheck on this program?)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Here's what we've been up to this week...

Picture journals are always fun to read so here is mine:

We got A LOT of snow last night! Yesterday was BEAUTIFUL; blue skies, no wind, felt like spring.... then... this:

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I turned off my TV this week due to Genevieve's inspiration and look what I created:

Yep... A quilt! It really is terrible when viewed up-close but I'm pretty proud of it. The last time I ventured in to something this grand was about 15 years ago. I also made an awesome baby sling since I think the ones in the stores are much too expensive for what you get. It turned out great but I haven't received the rings yet to connect it. I'll post again when those come in.
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Cash got to try tasty new "Big Boy" food that actually had to be chewed. Talk about nerve wracking for me! We're making all of his food now since my Mom got me the incredible "Magic Bullet" - a new kitchen staple that I recommend you all try. It's so great! You just put some of whatever you want, i.e. chicken, rice, veggies, yogurt, fruit, oatmeal (not all together of course) and presto! Food better than the canned stuff! It makes a mean Margarita and smoothies too!


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We bought Cash a Tonka truck to learn how to push. We didn't think he would learn how to stand on his own the first hour he played with it! I think we're in trouble. I've finally "baby-proofed" the first floor which was much harder than I expected. Once you get down to their level everything seems dangerous!



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Stepping in his Father's footsteps... I think flight is in his future!


We've had quite an eventful week. Cash managed to catch a cold somewhere. I have a sneaking suspicion it was at his playgroup. The symptoms didn't start until about 2 hours ago and now we are in a full blown nasal drip-cough-watery eyes-sneezy-cranky mess of a cold. So fun. I'm off to finish laundry and start dinner... till next time, this is me, signing off :o) Love you all!

I have conquered technology!!

Check out my newly updated website! It's got pictures!!
www.gchristie.myarbonne.com

We went to our first play-date today in Brunswick! I was super nervous because I'm not too good at stepping out of my box to mingle with other people but we ended up having a lot of fun! We got there a little late so we only got to play for about 45 minutes but Cash was great with the other babies. He did assume the role of "Toy Stealer" which was a little embarrassing. He was the only boy with 4 girls who were close to half his size but older. He's quick on his toes and hands now and the moment he saw a little toy that he wanted he barreled over there and took it. Someone has GOT to teach this kid some manners!!! hehehe After he inspected every toy he lost interest and then just wanted to visit the other babies. I think he had a really good time. I found play dates to be much more for the Mommies than the babies though! It was nice to get out of the house and interact with other people who have the same sort of daily issues that I do. Next week they are hosting a "Recipe Club" party which I might go to. I'm feeling so domestic! And it feels so good! Thank goodness for Women's Lib. which gave me the choice to stay home if I wanted to and be a domestic goddess! I absolutely could not imagine going to work now and missing all of this... It's just what I was made for.

Playing Games

Susan and I took our daughters to see Phantom of the Opera, way back when. Naturally we then spent the day shopping:) We both came home with Chat-A-Chini. A game of 300 questions, each written on a single strip that was drawn and discussed.

Susan's Chat has slowly disappeared, a favorite question going home with a friend, or that annoying question that keeps being drawn is finally destroyed... I still have mine intact. Why? Because I am a control freak, no question is disappearing on my watch!!!

Anyway, I randomly drew one and thought we should play a round.

First question:

If you were given 5 million dollars (Rapport graduates, show some enthusiasm here..) to use to help other people, how would you spend it?

And who will be the first to respond???

Love, charma

The Wisdom of Mothers

I am in this glow of pride right now for finishing Brody's knitted baby blanket in time for Riana's baby shower. (I did cheat and use the knitting loom, but still I DID IT!) I saw a project through to completion and with in the deadline.
And now, I sit in my state of victory and wonder, "How did I do that?" And the only thing that I can come up with is that I followed a bit of Motherly advice and turned off my tv. That's the only explanation. I can't remember when I last sat down and watched a full television program. I didn't even watch the Super Bowl yesterday. I no longer have a set tv program that I long to watch. It's just so much better to wait until it's on DVD and watch the full episode without commercials.
Since this little piece of advice got me to such a great result, I've been trying to think up more advice that would help me. What do Moms always tell you? Chew your food, sit up straight.... Got any more? I want to really think about each, apply it, and see what happens. :) Another grand experiment.
~genevieve

Random Thoughts At Days End

Make a cup of tea, grab a cookie, get comfortable. Reading this may take awhile.

I attended Riana's baby shower yesterday. She was wearing this low cut black dress, that highlighted sexy breasts. I am amiss in not having a photo to share with you. She was beautiful. Is beautiful. Sitting here, thinking of her, I contrast that image with one of my own. Maternity wardrobe was baggy legged pants with stretch panels that made butts look bulky. Shirts were baby doll style with fluffy sleeves. We all looked like Weebles, on legs. It was all about yards of material, making us non-descript blobs, adding the appearance of even more weight than we were actually carrying. Today, maternity wear is finally being made by women, for women, to help us show off the beauty of an incredible time in our lives. I felt very sexy during each of my pregnancies. I liked the changes in my body, the way the shift in hormones made me feel during the different periods of the term. Then I had to dress to go somewhere and felt like I had put on a gunny sack. No sexy black dress. Ugly, ugly clothing. We've come a long way, baby.

I hadn't seen Kylie in such a long time. Gracie is what, almost 5? She is going to be a beauty, just like her mom, with those dark eyes. And Grant is going to be a knock-out with the ladies. What a charmer. He reached out for Genevieve's hand and when she took his, he layed his head down on his arm as if to say "now my life is complete". He already is capturing our hearts. I am excited to see what Brody Reynolds will look like. What traits will he take on from his parents? Like seeing Cash, how much he is like his dad, but in one change of expression, bam, he is Sara...

Standing in that room yesterday with mothers, looking at our daughters, and their children (born and unborn), I was filled with such love and admiration for our species.

Our Species. I say that because Butch and I attended Defending The Caveman in Carson last night. His story (delivered quite humorously)is that the caveman was the hunter, providing food and safety for his woman. The woman, the gatherer, discovers women bleed in cycle with each other according to the moon, and the moon cycle affects the growth of plants, she makes a calendar, she can predict the seasons. She is worthy of being protected, honored. She gives birth to new life. She is mystical.

For all that has changed, it all remains the same. Simply put, men are single visioned. They have their goal, to hunt, protect. And we are multi-tasking, gathering information, aware of our surroundings, the colors, the textures of the seasons. Providing new life. Not only by giving birth to babies, but by giving birth to ideas, words.

What has changed? According to the comedian, the honor we give to each other. We changed from honoring each species, and their special gifts, to trying to change each species, make men gatherers, women hunters --- it's like making cats take baths, they may tolerate it, but that doesn't mean they like it.

Genevieve came up with a "Parent Game" for Riana's shower. She asked Calvin questions about this pregnancy and videoed his answers. At the shower, Riana is asked the same questions and we viewed Calvin's responses. It was funny to watch what unfolded. Riana's friends and family all thought they knew what Calvin & Riana's answer would be. They shouted them out. They shared little insights they had gathered from being around the couple, coupled no doubt by their own thoughts and feelings. Then the couples answers came. Yes, sometimes they were what everyone had shouted out, but other answers were more insightful. What appeared to me were two people who love and honor each other. Two totally different species who came together for love, creating new life.

Someone, somewhere asked, is Calvin ready to settle down and be a dad. Woa! Who ever thought being a father required "settling down"? And who is ever READY for anything we undertake? Life is a journey. A big adventure, kind of like going to the amusement park. Some rides allow us to sit back and enjoy the view while others leave us vomiting with our heads spinning. But we all seem to agree on what fun we had.... I, for one, do not wish Calvin to settle anything. I love his uniqueness, his passion for life, his quirky humor. Why shouldn't he be in the backyard with his son, setting off G.I. Joe's with firecrackers??? Atleast he could offer some safety tips, from experience. Children keep us young, in heart and spirit. Seriously, when was the last time you played "velcro hug" with your women friends? How glorious to see what Brody will become with his chosen parents.

We joke about, complain and criticize our spouses to our family & friends, but when the truth is told, we honor them. That was so clear listening to Calvin & Riana. They know each others strength. They accept their own weaknesses. You could see the love they have for each other and the excitement they have for this new stage in their lives.

My thoughts go to this: If a woman recognized her spouse for who he "is" and stopped trying to make him more like "her", could she honor him daily, face to face?
Would it matter?
Ah, the revelations of a caveman!

I rather like the idea of the men being cavemen and us women being gatherers. And with the use of current technology, this blog, matka-mae-anya-maji, allows us to share the gathered information, knowledge, wisdom, pain, confusion, no matter how close or far-away we are physically. Spiritually we are connected here. Always have been.

So, when your caveman comes home today, honor him for completing his daily goal. If it seems like he is not honoring you, remember, you are the reason he set that goal in the first place.

Yours in love and respect, gathering up pom-poms, putting em in my basket.....
Charmaine

Raining Ice

Cash and I were running around the house playing "Velcro Hug" (we run from room to room trying to unstick ourselves from each other which elicits outrageous giggles from both of us) when it sounded like a giant television turned to static all around our house. For a brief moment I wavered between alien abduction and losing my mind as reasons for the strange noise. Then I looked outside and saw the strangest site. Imagine the sky pouring out tons and tons of "Sonic" Ice. For those of you unfamiliar with "Sonic" ice it is the small kind that crunches so good on a hot summer day. I suppose you could go ahead and call it hail but it was very unlike any hail I have ever seen. The strange part was that the earth was much warmer than the sky so as soon as it hit any surface it would start to melt but then another piece would fall and attach to the previously melting piece, refreeze it and form icy stalactites and stalagmites on every surface. Apparently this is what causes the worst disasters up here because it puts undue weight on trees, power lines, and slicks the roads like none other. Needless to say, we are not going anywhere any time soon. Good thing we are stocked up with cheese, sourdough, and tomato soup! Just another crazy New England phenomenon to be enjoyed!

Here is what happened in 1998. Let's hope it doesn't happen this year!!!!



Oh yeah, Cash got his second tooth today!

Nature .. nuture

Today as I was opening the back door to the gift shop to let Harriet out, she stopped in her tracks and froze....I looked up to see what had startled her, and there in the perrinial area munching away quite nicely on some over wintering plants were this pair of beautiful creatures. I ran for my camera and by the time I got back outside they were headed home, to the brush on the river. Every once and awhile they would stop, turn around and look, and then keep walking. I truly felt that they knew I meant them no harm and so they didn't take off in a dead run....just sauntered along..enjoying the view. When I looked over to my left by the pond area there were six more, just chewing away. Them I startled, and off they ran across the river.

When my Mom & Dad first moved into the house behind the nursery it was the biggest thrill for them to see the deer out back by the river. Remember, we were city folk, and the fact that these gorgoues creatures would just wander up from the river and start munching on the rosehips gave them such a thrill. The phone would ring up at the nursery and it would be Mom, talking ever so softly into the phone, "Try and sneak over to the back and take a look, here they come again, our rose garden in filled with deer". I would come in through the front door quietly and walk over to where she stood at the big window in the living room and we would stand there....ever so quietly....and just look...in awe. Over the course of her last winter here she got to where she could pick out the ones that she knew had been coming back every year. One had a hurt foot, one had some scars on his back. I haven't seen very many of them over the last couple of years. I chalked it up to dry winters, they were moving up the river...not really knowing where they had gone. Or maybe it was just that I never got the phone calls anymore. But today, they were back. Pleasant wonderful memories came with them.


luvya all su.