Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Cheers to a happy, healthy(ier) 2011!

Food Matters is an excellent film, and it's kicked me in high gear.

This week, we're off to do some healthy shoppin' and put an end to all this crazy-pie afterlife existing in our fridge and inevitably in our bellies. :)

Food, Inc. is another good one to see.

It's about time we smarten up. Seems our priorities have been shuffled around for quite a while... and the consequence is sickness and doctor bills. I'm fed up, figuratively and literally. If we really want to live luxuriously, we should save our money for better food to go in our baskets, know where it comes from (and how it was raised, if you eat meat!) and not new leather seats to sit our cushy butts on, right?



Cheers to a happy, healthy 2001! xo
Jentri

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Happy Holidays!

Jentri (to neice, Izzy): "Love you, IzzyBear"
Isabelle (to Aunt Jentri): "My name's not IzzyBear, it's IzzyBelle."
Gabri (Jentri's sister): "Is she calling herself Izzybelle again, or did she say Isabelle?" :)

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Anoo Dat Blue


Good things come to those who wait... until you give in. :)

Monday, November 22, 2010

I love being Aunt Jentri.

Jentri gently massages her 4-year-old niece, Izzy's tired head, slowly running her fingers through her thin blonde hair. Izzy begins to drift off to sleep with chocolate still laced around her mouth. Beat. Jentri laughs, and Izzy's head lifts. Her heavy eyes refocus on Jentri.

Izzy: What are you laughing at?
Jentri: You're just funny.
Izzy: But I wasn't even making a funny face...?
Jentri: I know. You're beautiful.
Izzy: You were laughing at me because I'm beautiful?

:)

Thursday, November 18, 2010

The Big Empty

Big Empty - what I try to stay away from. It's the big void in my heart when I'm not creating - writing - making a picture come to life for the screen. Sometimes it's the in between. It's the space that feels hollowed out and dark if "not in use." Pretty similar to the feeling I've had a few times in my life: 1) when we lost our dogs/house 2) when my mom moved away (temporarily) 3) when someone close to me passed. It all aches the same. Sure, they're all different circumstances, but doesn't pain feel the same, no matter what causes it? Sure, there are different levels, but when it's bad, isn't it just BAD?

So, how does one crawl out of the big empty?

The only way I know how to do it is to replace those feelings with other ones - better ones. Ones like, "This IS temporary." Or hug on my dogs and kiss their faces until they start to pull away. Or listen to music while writing a story. Simple diversions seem to help.

In this vast monstrosity we call life, what's the point of hanging on to bad images or sucky people that can damage our goods, or create more big empties inside us?

There is no point.

Let go of the things, negative images, words, ideas, and expectations... and remember the experiences, friendships, laughter, love and reason why the big empty exists to begin with.

It's there to make us better than we were (before). We are beyond the physical bodies we see. We are beyond the (many) realities perceived. We are capable of being more than we can imagine.

And when we have more questions than answers...?

"Mother Earth will not undress for us," he said.

I feel you, my friend.