I am...

I'm unabashedly an idealist with overly lofty goals but with a true undercurrent of purpose. I value the importance of early mornings when the light filters in through my living room window and hits my favorite overstuffed chair in the corner. I appreciate creative vision when I see it, and I admire those who push the status quo. I believe we all should take on an attitude of global citizenship, and break free from ethnocentricity and lukewarm, halfhearted opinions. I value the art of asking questions and understanding fully. I challenge myself to be a generalist in many things: politics, foreign affairs, health and wellness, extreme travel, anthropology, marketing, and sociology so that I can better understand how to give back to the world. I indulge in stacks of coffee table books. Currently I have set out: a passion for tea, a year of adventures, alfons mucha's prints, ansel adams, french dreams, a year in the south of france, and prague: city of light. I'm a subscriber of Vanity Fair, unbeknownst to my staunch Republican parents. Lately, I'm intrigued by historical accounts of the Middle East and Latin American poetry. I'm currently reading Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead and Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist. Next on my nightstand is Milan Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being. I'm most likely to...spend a rainy day creating an art journal and painting, be the friend that embarrasses you when I ask for the last free copy of the NY Times before Starbucks closes, make a bulleted and checkbox to-do list for each day of the week, be the friend that sends you Mozel Tov e-cards on your "Bar Mitzvah", never have enough flip flops, daydream over a REI catalog, be the friend that calls you up to plan another extreme trip to some obscure part of the world, study two languages at the same time, almost always charm my way into an airplane or ultralight, spend a free afternoon in an art museum with a caramel mocha in hand, volunteer every possible second of my free time, and blog about my amorous relationship with darjeeling tea

Restoring My Life: Post Finals

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...


Celebrating the end of ugly Finals week at Cheesecake Factory!

The Valley View/Riverview Project

Here I am with Art's absolutely adorable mother, Lucille.

For my Master's Program, we are currently working with a very low-income community with problematic crime issues. However, the people of this community are absolute gems. Today they held their quarterly Neighborhood Association meeting, and I was given the very impromptu honor of speaking on industrial development occuring in the community and what positive changes that meant for them. It put me on the spot a little bit, but I so enjoyed it!

These Winter Days

Sunset as seen from the drive down from Big Bear this evening.




My study nook at Big Bear Lake. December 8, 2006.






Now you know what kind of a sick person I am :). This was the mug my coffee came in at the Teddy Bear Restaurant in Big Bear.




Christmas cards that Heidi, Lauralen, Dave, and I made for the Children's Hospital during the holidays. Click for a larger view of them; they turned out so adorable and we had the best time making them!





What a Friday afternoon full of studying looks like...

Thanksgiving at Home

Miss Lindsey and I playing in the snow.

Time for "night-nights".

Mason meets Raz.

I love this boy so much.

Festive Thankgiving Design Courtesy of Jane Moore.

The lovely Jones ladies.

Pooky's favorite secret hideaway.

Taz's not so favorite secret hideaway.

Raz collapsed Taz's secret hideaway.

Precious Mason Carl (8 months) and I.

Jen and I doing some holiday shopping at the Medford mall.

Jen and I sitting at Mom's beautifully decked out "kiddie" table. Razz made a guest appearance and occupied the empty seat while eyeing Mom's slice of turkey.

Raz isn't purring because I'm petting him, but rather he's just spotted the turkey on Mom's plate.

Playing in the snow in the Warners.

Christmas Tree Hunting. Justin, Mason, and Lindsey

More Snapshots of the Everyday

Autumn Graphics

I'm still reveling in my autumn season and felt like making some graphics to fit my mood.

Coming to a Mailbox Near You Very Soon!

My Christmas Card Design 2006
Don't even ask me when I had time to whip this up... It must have been some very late hour in the past week that has been clouded over by very fatigued and fuzzy mental state as of late.