Live list-Portland Art Museum

Joe and I visited the Portland Art Museum this weekend.

My favorite exhibit was the Ganesha, it is the newest edition to the museum. It is a stone sculpture depicting the Asian diety of beginnings and obstacles. It is beautiful, full of lore and history, enigmatic, and has an unending layering of eastern symbolism.

Joe's favorite was a Modern piece by Sanford Biggers titled "Blossom". It is a piano that appears to be growing within a tree. The piano actually plays music.

It's truly amazing.

The art museum doesn't allow camera's, so Joe and I took a few pictures on the doorsteps of this beautiful church next door.

I love him. We had such a good time. I am becoming so pregnant. Seven months next Saturday and a little over 20pnds.
But still sassy.

Feeling Sentimental

Joe and I moved into our new place yesterday, we've settled in, we even took Cosmo for his customary "smell everything" walk around the neighborhood. I feel so blessed to have Joe in my life. The love he has brought to my life has forever changed my very being. Our life together is so beautiful, every day I look into his eyes and am reminded of how very lucky I am. I am so proud of everything he does and am even more proud that he is mine.

Glee

Joe says this is way too much like High School Musical, but it made me very happy. Check it out, it's from the new show "Glee."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zf47ZaI_6j8

Humility, humanity, and speculation.

When one looks up the word humble in the dictionary, an array of different definitions pop up, ranging from unpretentious to weak and abased. This was curious to me, that one word , could have such opposite meanings. The english language is full of these types of idiosyncrasies. It seems that it's impossible to decide if humility is a weakness or a strength. If you humble someone, it is using the word negatively, if you yourself are humble, that's generally a positive thing. Isn't the act of humbling the negative. Anyway, that's besides the point. What I was really thinking about was what does humility look like? When we say a person is humble, what are we describing? I know that humility is not one of my strong points, but I wonder, have I really witnessed it in others? Life is funny like that. How can our views ever be unbiased, it is really possible to see the world humbly? What does this take? Don't we all believe that, to some degree, we know best? Do not all of us believe, we hold truth at our very fingertips? Is this not an act of pride in itself? If we think we are humble can we really be humble? How does one become truly open? The problem, I believe, lies in ever thinking we know, at all. Basically, human's are complex. I would love to meet someone, like Mother Theresa, and spend a year with her. To learn what it takes to label someone a saint. I wonder what she thought about herself? And Ghandi, what was his self-esteem like? I wonder, will I know, when I no longer need to know, and if I no longer need to know, how will I know I know? Anyway, this is why I called this blog the meanderings of a wandering mind. My point or purpose is to say, I would like to be more humble, I don't want to need to be right or find it necessary to compete. I don't want to know it all or compare myself to the successes of others. I want to experience the world, my way, using my senses, without judgement. I don't want to spend my life believing I know best, because I don't, I'm always learning too. So, when I began to hear the judge and jury in my head, I will silence them, it is not my place to label others, but it is my desire to love them.

To China

Saturday Joe, Emily, and I visited China (the China room at AC Gilbert House). These are pictures from our adventure.

"Ni hao." "Huan Ying."

We dressed in authentic garb and enjoyed tea in the gardens.

After tea, we went for a walk to visit the great wall of China. Where Emily spotted a dragon! Excuse the blur, Joe was pretty scared.

If that was not bad enough, the dragon was headed right for us!

We got away but we were really lucky. It was a lot of fun and I can't wait to bring my little girl to China, and next time I'll be ready for the dragons.

Pregnancy weight and the lighter side.

I was looking in the mirror across from my bed this morning, and couldn't help but saying, as I was looking at myself, "Ho Ho Ho, Hans Solo." With all my pregnancy weight, there is beginning to be a resemblance. How I love my little Ella. I am thankful that instead of crying this morning about my round appearance, and extra chins, I could laugh. Progress, this is definitly progress. It's all so worth it.