doing my part to keep things moving forward.

this week i'm...
working at my job-job a lot-lot.
painting over paintings.
doling out free legal advice at the neighborhood clinic.
sharing the yoga.
loving the sunshine.
om. shanti!

i'm on a marathon teleconference, darlings. i miss you!

love from the pink powder-room,

the best things.

dears, this week was full of the kind of things i like best:

early morning walks to the lake with my man and my pup.
lots of yoga.
big ideas.
inspiring challenges at work-work.
new knowledge on raising the capacity factor of wind energy.
the light.
wind.
recipes from the veganomican.
dessert from my sweet neighbor.

what did you like best about this week?

le week in review.

dears, this week has been a glorious whirlwind. {except for the part when some weird lady was in my backyard "looking for a plastic bag," ahem... casing my house, but i'm trying to forget about that.}

shyla-bear is on the mend.

lots and lots of bike-riding and yoga.

we have delightful neighbors who look out for us.

brian and i ate delicious dishes to celebrate our good fortune of finding each other.

oooh! and we are going to see sound tribe this weekend.

love to you all.

i'm still standing.

dears,
life looks like this.
mr. loves whales has some sort of poison oak-ish ailment.
i'm teaching every day this week.
work-work has reached a critical point of busyness.
i've been creating continuity in my work & life. it feels good.
this vegan life rocks. thanks to the veganomican.
my neighborhood is as crazy as ever.

right on. right on.

it's all good in the 'hood.

back on my bike. big hills last night.
yoga! meditation. good things, these are.
work. work. work.
ideas brewing.
signed up for two classes this fall. apparel design and drawing. i love school.
that's all for now.
peace.
love.

p.s. did i mention we are vegan now? it's an experiment for the month. i'm also taking a break from the sauce-booze-hootch. more on that later. xo

on my mind.

right now.

as the anniversary of this little blog draws near (Friday, to be exact), i'm growing a bit introspective about what i have accomplished over the last three hundred and sixty-five days and what i think i want to do with those still to come.

although when i started painting again a year ago, i never anticipated actually thinking about creating art as a full(ish) time gig. now, though, i am planning on how exactly to make that happen.

it's exciting, liberating, a bit scary, though deciding to make art, to do art, to be art seems completely natural to me. a lot more normal than so many of the decisions i've made, to be perfectly honest.

so, that is what is on my mind these days, dear-hearts: how to make it work.

i'm open to any suggestions.

loves.

sun in my soul.

the sun came back! oh yes it did. and i am feeling it. the weekend was lovely.


i
meditated.
rode my bike.
walked the dogs.
played in the garden.
cooked up yummy foods.
watched princess mononoke.
listed new goodies in the shop.
ate a boca burger with the kids next door.

bliss.

Dreaming.

Hi Dears,

I'm stopping in to bring you all up to speed on what's new in my world. First, the taxes are not going too horribly. My plan is to finish them this afternoon as best I can and then take them to the tax people to check my work and see if there are any additional deductions or credits I have missed. As strange as this might sound, I actually doing taxes. I like math, remember?

Also, I have some exciting new painting projects in the works. This week's theme for Illustration Friday is "choose," and I have drawn up a little illustration that just makes me smile. I'll share it tomorrow.

Still kicking out the yoga. It's a good gig.

Bis spaeter!

xo

kel

I love the weekend.

Dears, The weekend was lovely. Here are the highlights:

1. Umphrey's McGee was in town, playing at the Showbox. Our dear friend George put us on the guest list and we kicked it like famous people...sort of... the kind of famous people who drink virgin sea-breezes and get home early enough to teach yoga the next morning.

2. We CAUCUSED. It was crazy in an extremely claustrophobic, cluster-f&*&k-ish way, but I am so glad we did it.

3. A lovely walk around the neighborhood under a partially sunny sky! A. partially. sunny. sky! Seriously. It was amazing. Now it's gone.

I'm working on taxes today. Wish me luck.

Sometimes I crack myself up.

Dears,

Thursdays are a real treat for me. I teach two wonderful yoga classes and then fill my day up with all kinds of errands. Like getting a latte for my sweet husband who has been working day and night lately.

I have been really digging this Miranda July portrait I created earlier this week. I mean it is in a frame, hanging on my wall and I think I like it there. You know what that means: it's ready for the shoppe! Look out!!

In other news (and relating back to this ridiculous photo), I posted my 100th remix to the Wardrobe Remix today. While I was setting up the shot, I realized I had focused incorrectly, though my timer was already going off and I couldn't turn it off in time. I like it though. This is life, isn't it?

Peace, kiddos.

The week for moi.

Dears, Here is my week:

1. Teach 6 yoga classes,

2. Work on my portfolio,

3. Work (a little bit) at my desk job,

4. Try not to get too worked up about all of the crazy-exciting stuff that is happening,

5. Hang out with friends on Friday night,

6. Learn as much as I can about graphic design,

7. Rinse & repeat.

Cool, right?

La-la.

Hi Dears,

I write to you from the midst of an absolute flurry of activity here at casa de whale love: between my desk job, working on my portfolio, studying the math, and teaching a TON of yoga classes, I am trying to finally organize the studio and my book-keeping system. I must admit that I drank coffee today to help me speed-clean over my lunch break.

There is a slight bump in the road of my going back to school. I scampered down the hill to school last night for an informational meeting about the program I'm applying to, only to find out that they are removing the illustration component from the program. RATS! I think I'll still submit my portfolio, but I am pretty bummed about it. The program at the Pacific Northwest College of Art is exactly what I'm looking for. Stay tuned, kids!

Our trip to the Lou was so much fun and I have been dying to share some of the photos I took of the kids (ruggy, rat, scrappy and ruggy-fresh are our names for them). My absolute favorite part of the trip (okay, besides getting to catch up with everyone) was our outing to a place called Monkey Joe's, an indoor emporium of huge, inflatable slides and trampolines. We ALL bounced, slid and screeched our hearts out, and I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard.

As far as work on my portfolio, I have some new watercolor + pen & ink pieces I am dying to share with you. Maybe later. The light is great today and I'd love to get some shots of the new pieces.

Until later, be swell.

k

The spectacle. .

This could fall into the category of "too much information." Sorry. I just had to share this bit of crazy-ness with you all!

Here's where vanity will get you, darlings:

i quit wearing my glasses for a bit, because i thought i looked like a dork in them. (this is just me. i think everyone else looks totally chic in theirs. i always wanted glasses until i actually got them. oh, life.)

about two weeks ago, i noticed that my eyes and my eyelids were totally dry. then, my eyelids developed extreme, vertical wrinkle-cracks in them from the dryness. i tried to remedy this unsightly and uncomfortable scenario by rubbing all of my natural remedies on my lids: avocado, oil, and so forth. nothing helped. then, i read something about eye strain causing dry eyes and lids. shoot. the glasses came back out of their cases (these and my reading glasses-- that's right, reading glasses, too) and things are turning around for my eyelids.

that'll teach me.

The week for me.

I'd love to tell you all that I was the picture of serenity and efficacy this week, but the reality was more like low-energy jitters. The week began with the trappings of a cold. I couldn't run. Couldn't really do yoga. Didn't meditate. During these few days, I tried to make myself feel better with warmth: baths, tea, spicy food. Once I felt better, I was left with the feeling like something was going to happen, but I just couldn't get there. Frenetic jitters coupled with "can't get my tush out of the chair" energy level. Luckily, I found my way to my running shoes , then to the yoga mat and finally my meditation cushion yesterday afternoon. These three things changed the whole week for me. Oh, and I put on some pants. I had been wearing skirts only for the past week or so, and I put on these pants and felt instantly warmer, literally and psychically. Just in time for the week-end.

Self-portrait of the moment.

Here I am, looking all somber and sober, though I have scarcely had such a dreary moment in the last few weeks. When I posted this on flickr, I received the most fabulous compliments from Jennoit & Joules. What dear-hearts!

My list.

Things on my to-do or to-think about list (in case you are wondering):

1. Run at 3;
2. Iron dress to wear to the Flaming Lips show tonight;
3. Yoga after run;
4. Work-- first;
5. Paint;
6. Collage;
7. Sign up for Indesign class (?);
8. Make appointment for oil change [don't drive much, but it must be done every six months regardless!].

Selfy- self portrait

Typical outfit
Originally uploaded by Kelly Loves Whales

No one asked, but here is a random bit of information about me: if I find an article of clothing and love it, I will wear it constantly for years and years until I just cannot wear it any more. For example, I bought this maui shirt at least six years ago for about $15 and I have worn it at least (I'm saying at least so you can just extrapolate what you want from there) once a week since then.

And that belt! I bought it in 1999 and have worn it dang-near everyday since then.

Those pants and I go through phases. Sometimes I love them and wear them non-stop. Other times I think they look a little boy-ish and I trade them out. This is a prime example of what I can be found in on any given day. Do you feel like you've just wasted the last thirty seconds by reading this post? Me too.