Another one from the drafts folder. It seems timely, as so many at this time of year are either looking for fresh workout routines to support New Year's resolutions, or maybe just looking for more ways to "bring it" to the dance floor during their next New Year's Eve party; this video can help you do both! :D (This post has been sitting for so long and embedding has since been disabled for the video; you'll have to click through to watch it on YouTube.)
It's been three years since I complained publicly about it, but she went ahead and did it again, like she does every year; the nerve.
This cutie-turning-beauty made the jump over into 9-year-oldness two Tuesdays ago with her usual gusto and determination; apparently, she has long possessed a slightly rebellious streak:
But when you've always been that cute, really--who's going to argue with you?
*shrugs shoulders*
Oh, dear.
♥ I miss this baby. ♥
This year has served me many reminders of time marching on; I learn a little more each day about simply embracing it, and trusting that there is just as much goodness and joy for us in the future as there has been for us in the past.
Since celebrating Malia's last birthday as a Single-Digiteer, we've celebrated a few more in this family:
Well, there's nothing quite like the pressure to get my house ready for company to remind me of how vitally important it is for me to update my blog; funny how that works. :-p
It doesn't help that the weather this morning is my preferred "writing weather"--a misty, cool, raindrop-symphony kind of a day. The couch feels comfier, the coffee tastes better, my brain feels clearer on days like this; it makes you wonder how I functioned, growing up on a sunny tropical island. It won't surprise you to know the ocean has the same effect on my sense of well-being; perhaps I am a "water baby" in the truest sense: it's no matter, the source--just let me dance in it.
As I've already mentioned, we are making preparations for a full house; the family is convening for the wedding of Oldest Younger Brother. This will be a week of "firsts" for us: first brother to get married; first major life change since Mom's passing; first anniversary of her death. That's right, folks--Saturday marks a year. I know you've not been dwelling on it--it'd be kind of odd if you were ;-p--but it has surely been an ever-constant in my mind. I remember, in the days after Mom's passing, some of the random, sometimes irrational thoughts that came to me; the one that stands out in particular this week is, "We can't change; we all have to stay exactly as we are in this moment, because how can we become people Mom never knew us to be?" It's funny, the ways in which we try to cope with loss, the things that suddenly qualify as "sensible" as we try to keep rooted in a foundation that is shifting and crumbling and redefining itself all at once. It's not surprising that stagnancy would suddenly feel more like stability; but stagnant water is a prime breeding ground for all sorts of unhealthy...stuff, and so can our lives become, if we refuse to keep flowing, circulating, allowing the tides of time to move things in and out of our lives, as it has since this world began. It can be hard to trust that as we get older, and the "goodbye" experiences begin to outnumber the seemingly never-ending "hello" experiences of our youth. I have begun to struggle with that even down into the "littler" things: the scattering of the family as all return to their homes after this wedding; the sending off of my brother into his new life; and looking only slightly further down the road to the flight my own little birdies will take when they finally launch off into the wild blue yonder. :') Scary stuff. Looking inward and upward, trusting and growing roots deeper in Him.
Wowza. Well, I never claimed not to have issues. :)
Let me bring this back to happy, because life is good, and I prefer people to leave my blog with smiles on their faces. The following video fuels my happy on so many levels; I hope it does something for you, too:
I love watching the hesitant observers become willing participants. :)
Joy is contagious--go out and spread some.
(And may I one day have the courage to bust a move at the Silverdale library. :D)
Wow--it's been a big weekend. Celebrating my 13th Mama's Day, and the official induction into teenagehood for Oldest Daughter--{gulp}. I can hardly believe it. And I really wish I could whip up something like this birthday post from last year, but, alas, my writer's block has been insurmountable for the past 11 months. It'll come to me...
It was a happy weekend, complete with the coolest glow party this house has ever seen (courtesy of The Uncles, of course), and quiet moments of reflection and remembrance.
Let me start off with pics from the party:
This is *my* sweet, well-we-have-to-give-her-credit-for-trying-I-guess
contribution to the decorations. I'll just note that if you need someone
to hang decorations from the ceiling, maybe a 4-and-a-half foot tall
person will not be the best idea you've ever had.
(To be fair, it was my idea. :-p)
Group shot on the stairs before admission
to the REAL party.
And, {there} you go.
Seriously, brothers?!?! This is how my brothers
subtly let me know that despite the fact that I am the older sister,
they are, and always have been, better than me at everything,
even the pretty, sparkly stuff.
Needless to say, the girls were {thrilled}.
A lighter shot, courtesy of the professional. :)
Does someone want to give me credit for this cool idea?
Okay, fine--it was Pinterest's idea.
These days, aren't they {all} Pinterest's ideas?
Opening presents.
She's gorgeous, no? :')
The grown-ups, seeking respite in the living room.
(And, a call-to-arms in support of the idea that Christmas
lights should not be reserved for Christmas only.)
As you can imagine, Saturday was recovery day, with clean-up and lots of naps involved. Sunday has been sweet, with lunch after meeting with the brothers, and Sean, and some sweet-parents-to-be; and then an amazing surf 'n turf dinner with the brothers--I have never eaten so much crab in my life, I think.
Now, close of day, and another first--first Mother's Day without *my* mama. Tonight, as I drift off to sleep, I will close my eyes, and I will see {her} eyes smiling back at me, and I will be made infinitely grateful again for lessons learned and impressions made during her short time here.
(Don't forget to hit pause on my playlist in the upper right sidebar.)
This was the slideshow Mom's sons created for her service; the opening track is a song our dad wrote as a teenager. The last 4 minutes or so of the slideshow were added later to include moments from our final farewell to our precious mom. I hesitate to use the word "perfect" to describe anything other than God's will for our lives, but I'll make an exception here; this day was a {perfect} tribute to her life. I miss her every day.
Checking in again, with thoughts more random and irrelevant than usual. Let's just jump right in, shall we?
Ain't Nothing Gonna Break-a My Stride
Okay--agreed: I'm a short person with short legs, making for a short stride. Throw in a usually laid-back personality, and you're not likely to find me first in line at...well, anywhere.
However. (And there is almost always a "however.")
Sometimes, you'll find me moving more slowly than usual--not by my own choice, but...(wait for it)....because the person in front of me is moving slowly. (I know--you're just so accustomed to blaming the short girl.) With that in mind, I just wanted to let you know: if you think that elbowing your way past me is going to solve your problem, I assure you--it won't. Often, that urge in you to "big-body" your way past me, creates an urge in me to stomp your toe, or stick my foot out to trip you as you ga-lump on by--none of you ever look graceful as you pull this move, FYI. Maybe these guys can help you improve your technique and style:
You have been warned; take heed. (And if you insist on continuing this way, maybe wear steel-toed boots until your situational awareness starts improving.)
I know; I'm such an angry elf. :-9
Keep trying, DoRe'
Made it to Zumba on Saturday morning; it was a full class, and after bumping elbows a few times with the lady next to me, I encouraged her to take the empty spot in the row ahead of us; she was the better Zumba-er, and I didn't want to embarrass myself dancing in front of her. There was a minor language barrier, but, before she took her place as Queen of Zumba Of The Second-To-Last Row, I'm pretty sure the gist of her (very sweet and sincere) response was that she, too, was not a very good dancer when she first started, but after coming for a year, she improved;I would get it eventually, she assured me. (For those that don't know me, I have been doing Zumba for a year. More, actually.)
Ouch--I think I'll file that one under "Reality Check." ;-)
And here's that picture again.....
It's been confirmed--I'm a rightie. :-9
Now, switching gears to the really interesting humans in this household....
Genetic predisposition
That would seem to be the case, anyway; all five Recaido granddaughters have performance and recording credits to their names. :) The girls put a few more under their belts this past week: Kiana and Mikela, with a piano and voice recital last Saturday; Mikela and Malia, with parts in their school's production of "The Emporer's New Clothes" (Miki on Tuesday, Malia on Friday).
"When You Wish Upon a Star..."
Getting ready to sing "Amazing Grace."
Performing "Beauty and the Beast."
Singing "Wind Beneath My Wings."
Baby Chorus Girl.
They all did well, as expected. :) I mentioned on Facebook my delight at realizing my littlest chorus girl had memorized and was singing along to every song, including the solos. :D She did sing quietly, but had a much harder time controlling the expressions on her face--she always speaks volumes with her eyebrows. (Which makes her a pretty fantastic storyteller. :D)
Well, I was hoping to have one more segment here, but I'm having a hard time working it out; guess it'll make its way into a post another time. Before I go, look at this:
It's good for me to see that hair in all its glory;
as her personal stylist, it definitely has its challenges. ;-)
Hi, all; long time no see. :) Thought I'd attempt to check in here; I'm experiencing a very minimal level of guilt over being MIA for the last few weeks, as I see I'm not the only one. ;-)
Summarily:
We're doing well. Anticipating the arrival of summer, horrendous seasonal allergies aside. Keeping busy with school, work, swimming, ballet, piano and voice, and hula. Well, then. No wonder I feel like I'm always going somewhere.
Randomly:
National Public Radio: Cooler Than it Used to Be
It's official: National Public Radio is about to become one of my radio station presets; am I really old enough for that? If I had to describe NPR's primary listener demographic, I'd say, "A more mature audience of people who are, like, my parents' age, and stuff." But do you realize that that would also be my daughter's response to the same question? And we'd both be right, but how weird to think my children think I'm old "mature." (!) I have no right to be offended; I vividly recall being 6-years-old, and thinking that my 28-year-old mother was so pretty, despite being positively ancient. :) Funny things, perspectives.
Speaking of NPR...
So, I love NPR--we've cleared that up. Their programming is very diverse, covering a wide range of fascinating topics (well, most of the time, anyway). I am constantly amazed at the ideas presented, and just at how smart people can be; the expressions of intelligence I hear every day, well...some days, it just blows my mind. By the same token, I am also reminded that there are a lot of dummies "intelligence-challenged" people out there, and that eloquence and intelligence do not always go
hand-in-hand; just because someone can articulate their point well, does not necessarily mean that they have a good point, and vice-versa. This brings me some relief, as I lack eloquence in the spoken word; if intelligence was judged solely by how well we speak, I'd be wearing a dunce cap. (Remember those?) If you suspect that this may also be a veiled admission that my eloquence in writing is also not an accurate reflection of my intelligence, you would be correct; so I may or may not be as smart or unsmart as you or I thought I was. Got it? :D (If all else fails, confuse 'em.)
Our Daughter Almost Ran Away From Home Last Week (And It's Not the Daughter You Would've Expected It To Be)
This is a mildly surreal experience, to realize that your child:
thinks things have gotten so bad around your house that wandering off into the wild gray yonder (this is Washington, folks) with only the shirt on her back and last week's allowance would be an appealing option; and,
that she has reached an age where she actually believes it is a distinct possibility that she could survive on her own without you, particularly because I'm not sure I'll ever really feel that way. But, seriously: as far as I understand, the idea of being apart from Mom for more than a day is, for Youngest Daughter, the stuff of nightmarish fairytales; not so for certain others of my offspring, apparently.
All's well that ends well; once she reached the end of our (very short) driveway, she could not decide whether she wanted to go left or right, giving Daddy enough time to convince her to make the (very short) trek back home. :) Interestingly enough, this experience inspired confessions to the fact that her sisters had, on separate occasions, also entertained the idea of running away from home, but ultimately decided against it, as they did not want to deal with the hassle of packing their stuff. I'm conflicted--am I relieved or ashamed that it was essentially a poor work ethic that kept my children from running away from home? I'll get back to you on that one.
I Know How Elephants Kiss, and Other Little Gems
This is the kind of stuff Youngest Daughter thinks about; our lives are full of very random and generally unverifiable bits of trivia she serves up daily. She shares this wisdom, in full Technicolor detail, with such sincerity and conviction, putting to good use her huge brown eyes and funny little lisp; you really can't help but consider the possibility that what she's saying is true. It's things like this that broaden my horizons, open up my world, and cause me to Google things I would have otherwise never thought to Google. (There are videos on YouTube of elephants kissing. In case you were wondering.)
It's "Eat Korean Fried Chicken" Day
Okay; it's not. Technically, it's Noah's 20th birthday--hau'oli la hanau, Baby Brother! April and May are busy birthday months around here--Mom, Dad, Uncle Rob, and others of my mother's siblings are April babies, plus Miki's 1/2 birthday!; Noah kicks off the May birthdays, with Kiana, Terry, and quite a few of our close friends following after.
Noah, being closer in age to his eldest nieces than he is to his eldest sisters has, in my mind, sort of served as a bridge between the generations. Having a teen-aged brother somehow made the transition into my own "grown-upness" a little easier; I feel like I get to linger in my own youth a little bit longer because of it, even as I take on the responsibility of raising my own children. Funny, eh? I'm going to take a moment here to get mushy, and my sister will join me in this simple and inarguable sentiment: we have THE BEST brothers. I cannot convey the depth of gratitude I have for these young men, and the love and care and interest they show to us, and our husbands, and our children; the love and enthusiasm their nieces have for them is indicative of the time and energy they put into being present in the girls' lives, and for this, I am thankful. (In case you're wondering, my sister and I have established between ourselves that our brothers could not ask for better sisters; voting on that issue is now closed. :-9)
Well, I think I need to wrap this up; time marches on, and I've some chicken to prep. More writing later, maybe, as brain cells allow.
Before I go, check out this pink unicorn:
Love the green hoofhands.
The unicorn looks a little oppressed in this shot
Ooohh....THAT'S what the horn is for.
In case you hadn't figured it out:
it's the Mikster. :)
:)
It's Aloha Friday!
Have a GREAT weekend!
February 1, 2012
Ah....
New month, new blog background. At least, I think that's how this will work. We'll see; I'm notoriously flaky at this sort of thing.
Just another day here in DoRe'ville...
The sky was a brilliant blue when I took the girls to school this morning; the kind of blue that makes Pacific Northwesterners feel a little feistier than usual. I rushed home to finish my chores (!), and by the time I headed back out to the gym, the blue had surrendered to a nice little cloud cover--oh, well. It was exhilarating while it lasted. :)
In other mundane news, I finally got around to loading the Photoshop I got for Christmas; moved all our photos over--I think it said there were 15,000+ of them? I can't wait to go through and start organizing them, like I've always said I wanted to. No, really. I'm totally excited about it. Okay, no, I'm not. BUT. I did find some oldies but goodies, and then I saw this vid I uploaded to Youtube a while ago, but didn't share, I think?
I just hope she doesn't do the same thing during the Kohala concert. (That's next week Saturday, by the way; got your tickets yet? :D) Dad arrives in Washington tomorrow night, and--wait, scratch that. Charles Recaido arrives in Washington tomorrow night, and then I expect the guy we know as "Dad/Papa" will be showing up in a couple of weeks, after the tour is over. :) This is serious business, and will require absolute one-track-mindedness focus; you don't become an award-winning guitarist any other way, I suppose. :) We just stay out of his way. :-D Love you, Dad.
Well, all for now; it feels like bedtime.
Happy Wednesday!
December 28, 2011
Needless to say, the last week has been busy, crazy, and altogether lovely. My brain is in recovery mode, so I'll just post Noah's and Mana's latests and greatests. :)
The first is a video they created for Josh, to go along with the Old Spice they gave him:
The second is just one of those things they do when they're bored, I think:
Included in an email I received recently from one of my nearest and dearest:
I love it, 'cause it's totally going to be like that. :)
Funny. :D
Off to the races again today, but let me share this vid of little Max, partly because his aunty thought I would have already posted this, but mostly 'cause he's so stinkin' cute. If I didn't have the good fortune of making babies that look like this,
then I'd hope they'd look (and sound) like this:
It's the weekend (and the start of winter break for this household)--smile!!!
My husband found this particularly funny; am I concerned that he and my 19-year-old brothers (yes, you, too, Mana) share a similar sense of humor? Sorta, yeah.
Looking for something? You may find it here. (Then again, you may not.)
Thought for Today
“Your children are not your children. They are sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They come through you but not from you. And though they are with you yet they belong not to you. You may give them your love but not your thoughts, For they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday. You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth. The archer sees the make upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far. Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness. For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He also loves the bow that is stable.”
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
Marianne Williamson, "A Return to Love"
Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant with the weak and the wrong. Sometime in life you will have been all of these.
