Fedline

I'm so excited! I finally have a little girl! Yes, that's right.. a cute little girl named Fedline (fed-lean). She's from Haiti and will turn 5 in April. She's my compassion child and I'm so thrilled to have have her!

I've just started the process so I haven't exchanged any photos yet but I'm waiting for it! All I know is that her birthday is April 23, she likes to jump rope and she's above average in pre school. She lives in a small town (village) about 75 miles from Port-au-Prince.

When I travel back there next June, yes I'm going back, I'll have the chance to meet her. I saw her picture and just knew she was a special girl who needed a chance.

I'll keep everyone posted on my adventures with Feline!

xox
mel

It's not just a color, it's a way of life, Longhorn Burnt Orange

It's not just what you wear in Austin, it's everything. From socks to pjs, from ties to watches, from BBQ's to wine glasses, it's all about the Longhorn Burnt Orange. And everything is better with it. I love burnt orange, as well all know only too well. I mean let's be honest, how amazing would it be for me if I could bath myself, my home, my animals, my car, my computer and my cell? I could live out loud with my love of orange. In Austin it's not just a color, it's a way of life. What's the point of getting dressed your shirt doesn't have a longhorn stamp? Why would you buy a watch without the bull when you could buy one with it? It's like a sickness over here. The love of the horns, the pride in a school. And the bull is for everyone, you're never to young to have longhorns. Cooper, the UT Mascot is kid friendly so even the next generation UT'ers can be covered in longhorns.
It's hard not to get swept up in the whole UT pride. We went out to the dueling piano bar and I counted at least 5 people that had the longhorns on their shirts and not just a t-shirt but some guy had on a nice Tommy B style shirt and of course there were the horns. Crazyness. Today I wore my burnt orange shorts and I fit right in. I was just showing some Texas pride!
Another great reason to live in Austin. I could come out of the darkness and wrap my arms around the color orange! If anyone was made for spirit, it was me!
Peace.. or rather, longhorns..

Honkey Tonk Bars and Two Stepin'

Are you kidding me? I was made to be a Texan. I mean really. God, Football and Whiskey, it's what matters in Texas.
That and the color burnt orange for UT is pretty much everyplace you turn. I went to a honkey tonk bar last night, where Willie Nelson and Waylon J started out! I did the two step. Not well I'll have to admit but after a few spins on the dance floor I was getting better. Lucky for me Dane was sweet and willing to teach me. He did leave me alone a few times to go actually dance. Learning to follow isn't my strong suit. As Dane said "You need to move to Texas to find a Cowboy who will put you in your place" Nice, eh? The whole night I felt like I had just stepped into a movie. Not to many cowboy hats but a lot of country and a lot of fun.
Texas is slowly sucking this girl in!
Peace

Live from Texas, Austin that is

The adventures of Monica and Mel in Texas started the moment I step off the plane in Austin Texas. I arrive shortly after 6:00 pm local time. After a quick tour of Monica's work, OutYouth, we went and has us some collard greens, coleslaw and brisket at a cute little hole in the wall BBQ joint called Rubys. Then we came home, talked over a cup of coffee and settled in to watch 1980's hit flick, Urban Cowboy. What a trip! If you haven't seen it, it's a must! Debroah Winger and John Travolta are fantastic if not a bit abusive and whiney. Monica has a little dog name Darla who is a punk ass if I ever saw one. She barks every time I move! I'm hoping that tonight she gets use to me being here because she'd wake up during the night and start baking at my room! Needless to saw my night was a restless one. This morning we woke up and grabbed a coffee (at Starbucks no less) and then walked Darla at the park. It was a great stroll and Monica and I got to take in the morning and catch up. Tho, really what's there to catch up on, we talk a million times a day as is! We got home and had breakfast and now are getting ready to go out and explore the world of Austin. Tonight we're meeting up with Dane and he's taking us to a real Honkey Tonk! I can't wait!!!
I'll start snapping photos cause this place is super cute and I'm in love with it already! Monica lives in a two bedroom house with a laundry room and a very large backyard for, get this, 800 a month! Hello!
Peace

Faith

Is faith something we pocess or something we practice?

giving blood

if you haven't you need to. i'm doing that right now and i'm blogging with one hand. see how easy they make it!!

Silence is the voice of complicity.

Every American (over 18) has been given this amazing freedom to express their opinion and VOTE. Every one of us has this beautiful gift, the chance to be heard and make a difference in our world. We might not always see the change right away but unlike so many places, there is a chance to make a change. We have the right and privilege and most of all, duty to vote. Voting doesn't just make a change in our country but it shows other counties how change happens and the results of freedom of expression. When we don't vote we're saying so many things about who we are as people and as a nation. We're taking for granted our freedom that so many people in this world don't have. We're throwing away this golden chance to be counted. When you say your vote doesn't count you couldn't be more wrong. It's all that counts.
So if you haven't voted yet, make sure you do. And if you don't know the issues or who to vote for, do some research. Or pick the one thing that's most important to YOU and vote with whomever agrees. But always remember that silence is the voice of complicity, if we we don't speak up then we should remember to shut up when things don't go they want we wanted.

Square One - A Review

The setting is simple, elegant and straight forward, similar to their name and motto of "seasonal basics". The place was well lit, offering a prefect balance between romantic glow and functionality.

Our waiter was educated on the menu, friendly and on top of things. Square One isn't a place to go if you're in a rush, it's the type of place where you sip your wine, rest in between courses and casually enjoy your dessert while lingering over your individual french pressed coffee. This is take your time and enjoy your meal dinning.

Before we started, the Chef (Jason Tuley) sent out three tiny samples of the Hamachi Crudo appetizer. Good things come in small packages. The hamachi (yellowtail) was sliced razor thing and touched with wasabi, greens and scallion oil. Also accompanying this yummy preview of things to come, was an expresso cup full of fennel soup, one word, yum!

After our introduction to what was sure to be a well presented wonderfully tasting meal, we ordered the Local Halibut Wrapped Kumamoto Oysters with a vegetable brunoise and tangerine agridulce. Wow. I have to admit that my only critic with Square One is that the menu is a tad pretentious. The three of us at the table are in the food industry, are accustom to eating well, and yet we still struggled with works like blue cheese espuma and salsify puree. With that said, the food is amazing, so let them be pretentious.

Back to the oysters, nestled on a bed of crushed ice were three beautiful oysters that tasted like prefect goodness, even someone who doesn't love oysters would have loved these.
After that we squealed in delight over the crispy sweetbreads with duck egg raviolo, scallions, black truffle and vermouth. Amazing. Again, another fantastic presentation. I know most people don't eat sweetbreads and the three of us at the table were for sure taking a chance and stepping outside the box, and boy are we glad we did. I'd order that again in a heartbeat! The duck yoke was nestled inside their version of a raviolo, which tasted like it was made from a crepe. It's apparent that everything is made with such care and attention to detail, the presentation of the food is just as good as the food itself.

For dinner we ordered the Duo of Chinese Duck which was a seared duck breast, BBQ steamed bun with some of the best sesame-basil long beans i've ever had. I'm a big duck fan and this was pretty close to being the best duck in the world. While I thought the duck breast was a bit chewy it was still amazing in flavor. The steamed bun with it's orange relish and BBQ'd duck was steaming hot and overflowing with wonderful flavors. The other item that was ordered was the Porcini Grilled Lamb Loin with Leek-Bloomsdale Spinach Fondue and Smoked Mushroom Gastruque, see, there they go getting all wordy again. The lamb was fantastically cooked to a med rare and the spinach fondue was both a fantastic match for color and flavor. It didn't seem to over power the flavor of the lamb.
The third and final dish ordered was the Red Wine Braised Short Ribs with Pancetta, Brussels Sprouts, Crispy Paprika Onions and Red Wine Jus. THis was the largest portion of the three main entrees. It was also the richest and is prefect for a cold blustery winter night. This dish, while very tasty, was the least liked and least artistically presented. And when I say least liked, I mean we all still thought it was delicious and would order again.

As if we hadn't eaten enough we had a side order of homemade (right there in their kitchen) vanilla ice cream and cinnamon ice cream along with a order of the apple fritter and creme fresh. The apple fritter was prefect as it wasn't too sweet, in fact it almost had a touch of savory to it.

The individual french press coffee was a nice touch to a very well executed meal.

I'm excited to see what changes spring and summer bring to the menu as I was told is changes with the weather and what fresh items are in season and available.

Dinner for three with two appetizers ($8-18), four glasses of wine ($9-11) three entrees ($16-35) and two desserts ($8) without tip was $200.00. I can't say this about every place I eat at in Santa Barbara, but Square One was worth every penny and I look forward to my next amazing. flawlessly presented meal. So many places don't keep in mind that people eat first with their eyes and second with their mouth, it was truly bliss both visually and culinary.
DG

Becoming Skinny

We're overwhelmed every day with images of skinny women and how they are related to by the rest of the world. It's proven (in tv and commercials) that skinny women get the man, job, money, cute clothes, they get it all.
But how many women are really that skinny? I worked with 5 other women and only one would be classified as skinny. Two are average and the rest of us could stand to lose a pound or two. When women start loosing weight are they doing it for the right reasons? What would your reasons be? Health or to get into your skinny jeans? Or do you think that once you loose 5, 10, 25 pounds you'll be a better mother, friend, lover, dancer, person? Are we loosing weight because of what we think will happen to us when we become skinny or are we losing weight to feel better within ourselves? I want to lose weight so I don't become a diabetic. If I end up fitting into skinny jeans, that's just icing on the cake (icing that I won't be eating). Our society is so interested in "diets" and not teaching healthy living. Eat a carrot but if you want have a brownie, just not two.
Everything in moderation, right?
peace

It all starts with your mind

“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”

How we relate to that.
You're sitting in a coffee shop and a person walks by who's not dressed to your standards and you think "what the F were they thinking when they got dressed this morning, don't they have a mirror"?
You're sitting in a coffee shop and your friend comes in and you see the same person walk by and you say to your friend "what the F were they thinking when they got dressed this morning, don't they have a mirror"?
You're sitting in a coffee shop and said person walks by and you laugh.. at them
YOu're sitting in a coffee shop and you're laughing at everyone who's not up to your standards and you're talking about everyone to everyone. And then the people you spend time with start talking about you and how ugly your personality has become/is. And now instead of just thinking to yourself a negative thought, your character is negative and your destiny is headed to a place where you're sure you don't want to go.

how do we fix it?
displine what you think. When you're mind goes negitive your hear is quick to follow. Instead kill the thought, replace it with a loving and kind thought. Think instead "what were they thinking" think "what creative style they have, how cool that they can express themselves in such a interesting way" and when your friends make comments change the subject. Don't let your words become actions unless those words are loving and kind.

Continue to grow, as my dad say's if you're not growing your dying! Let's not grow ugly, let's grow kind.
watch what you say, it will become who you are.
Peace

Coffee Shops - The office of Americans

Have you taken the time to notice how many coffee shops there are in Santa Barbara? Or in general across the country. How popular can coffee be? Is it really coffee that's so appealing or is it the idea of sitting in a coffee shop that is what attracts most people. Currently I'm in a coffee shop. It's called Finestra, translated means window. What's great about Finestra is that the wifi is free. This small Christian coffee shop has FREE wifi. So for the low price of a mocha latte I can check email, blog and listen to itunes all while looking out the "Finestra" on to a sunny day in Santa Barbara. I'm mobile only because I've stolen (or borrowed) my bosses macbook. What a great little computer, so light weight and easy to use. Anyway... it's interesting because when I was in Denver the only coffee shops I could find were Starbucks (so maybe they are sweeping the nation) and they had wifi, but you have to pay. Yes, pay. A company as big as Starbucks makes you pay to sit down, drink they 4.00 lattes and check your mail. They have t-mobile hot spots which for the low price of $12.00 you can go online unlimited for 24 hours. Or you can buy a one time membership for $39.95, which isn't really one time as they keep billing your card unless you remember to call and cancel. Or you can sign up for a year for $29.95 a month. That's a bit pricey I think. But there is a market for it. As I look around there are 3 people not including me who are busy typing away on their laptops. And when I was in Starbucks, each time, there were at least 2 people if not more who were checking mail. We work to hard, it's proven even in our coffee shops, places designed to ask us to settle down. Places where there are couches, calming music, food and coffee. Even in this setting we're all still working. Can we waste a moment of the day? When was the last time you did that? Truly wasted a moment. And I'm not talking about moments wasted in life, but wasting a moment, a moment where you could be working. Instead of wasting moments enjoying our coffee, being present in the experiencs, why not check mail? Why not do work? Why not pass up another oppertunity to waste sometime. We're so busying living life that I truly think we've forgotten how to live life. It's evident even in our coffee shops. Coffee shops are the new offices. We fool ourselves into getting out of the office. We say, I'm going to go and enjoy my coffee and be late to work this morning. But are we? Physically, yes we're late to work, but we're still working. I think we've stopped enjoying the small things in life. I know I have. Instead of reading a book while sipping my latter, I'm on the computer. I think I spend more time on the computer then I do doing anything else. How sad is that? I can type fast, so I guess that's something.
Peace.

Starbucks anyone?

You know those people who say Starbucks is sweeping the world? I'm here to say that's not true. In fact on my recent 22 hours drive from Denver to Santa Barbara we saw fewer Starbucks then I did in my two weeks in China, IN CHINA!
What a trip. We left Denver at 5:30 on Wednesday night with the snow quietly falling around us. My worry was that if we waited until morning then the snow would have already blanketed the city, where as by leaving at it was snowing, maybe we'd beat the storm. I was right. We drove for roughly 4 hours, 199 miles. It was dark and I was unfamiliar with the car so I went slower then normal. The roads were icy off and on and construction sites littered the highway. The great thing about cross-county or cross a few states is that you're typically only on one highway! We spent a better part of our trip on the i25.
We decided to stop (in what we thought was a booming town) in Trinidad. Which I found out from the desk clerk at our friendly Super 8 that Trinidad has population of 10,000 but is heavily visited by out of towners, for..... sex changes. Yes, we stayed in the Sex change capital of the USA! And in case you wanted to know, yes there were a few changers in our hotel!
With temperatures a brisk 20 degrees we hit the sack. We woke up the next morning at 6:00 and were on the road and in search of a starbucks by 6:30. We never found one. And trust me we looked. I even called a friend to google all the locations. Let me tell you, life without coffee is not a good life. Finally around 12 when we just couldn't take the road any longer we stopped at a Dennys for coffee and breakfast (I had a burger). We walked in and were surrounded by a meeting of the Red Hat Society. How excited was I to be around more really old ladies! After our lunch break we hit the road for another 10 hours. We drove though New Mexico with it's amazing adobe houses, red rocks mountains and lightly populated towns. What a beautiful state. Then we rolled into Arizona. I have to say that Flagstaff in the winter is amazing but not a place I ever want to drive though again.
Finally we hit Barstow and after 15 hours of driving I was spent. After a sleepless night we were on the road again. This time however we stayed right next door to Starbucks, the coffee house that is not sweeping the nation. Two states without a Starbucks and we drove right though towns!
Once in cali they were all over the place. Now I'm not a Starbucks girls but boy was it a sight for sore eyes.
Our final leg took us 3.5 hours with a touch of traffic. Home Friday by 12 to snuggle with the kitties and take a much needed nap!
Would I do it again? Only if I didn't have to get home. I would have like to made snow angels in New Mexico and visit the Indian shops in Arizona.
Of all the things I saw on my drive, welcome to California was the prettiest sight of all!
Peace




Getting Older

When was the last time you went though all of your stuff, your life, your junk? When was the last time you looked at those old photos and could name each person in the photo? When was the last time you cleaned out your card drawer, you know the one, the one filled with the cards you've gotten over the years. The cards you never read, cards from friends no longer friends?
When was the last time you did a clean sweep and tossed that newspaper clipping or postcard from London? Have you tagged your photos? Put them in a photo album or scrap booked anything? Have you done anything to keep your memories other then acutally keeping them? Have you done anything to preserve your past? Or will one day someone go into your house and start opening boxes with items that are moldy with age and dusty with neglet? Will your children go though old boxes of loose photos and wonder "who is this? or "what is this even of"? Will they take your memories and toss them life yesterdays paper into the trash? Will they stand in wonder in your bedroom surrounded by your most loved stuff and wonder "What the f?
Will they think you're crazy by looking under your bed, behind your shoes in your clothes or in some box stowed away under the sink? Will everything you hold dear now, be something that makes your family scoff? I wonder, do we all need the things we have? Do we really need the items in the shoebox from an old lover? Do we really need the photos of the first plant we ever grew or the matchbox from our first bar? Maybe we do and maybe we don't. Maybe keeping one to these things makes us feel better, makes us remember. Maybe knowing that that shoebox is there is good enough and who cares what happens to it when we're gone. I think that maybe it's time we all lightened the load. Maybe it's time we all went though our life like our children were going though it. Would they really want the things we're leaving behind or will it be more of a burden on them?
I love photos, i really do. But photos without labels or not in photo albums? What about those photos that have been in my hat box in my storage for the last 10 years? Will I ever really look at those? Really? I think it would be a great gift to clean out our lives, lessen what we have to pack. If life is a journey don't you want to travel light?