i have been having the same nightmare
for years. the same theme, same feelings,
same disturbing discomfort in my mouth.

teeth. teeth. teeth.
it's always the teeth:
teeth falling out,
teeth covered in taffy,
teeth cracking,
teeth shattering,
single teeth falling out,
entire skull of teeth falling out.

O teeth, you cause me much anxiety.

i <3 sewing & making things.
tis the season to...
sew like crazy!

we're off
we're off.

"can you dress nice for tomorrow?"
"ya.."
"no santa cruz clothes, ok?"

-__-

i told myself i was going to sew an ornament &

that i wasn't going to bed till i finished it:

we painted glass ornaments with glitter glue!

help, eyelid capillaries are bursting.

"you see the world through beauty;
its kind of nice."

"one day they will declare a war,
and no one will come."

last night, i had another nightmare about research papers.

i woke up this morning, convinced i still needed to finish a paper.

winter break is the best. now i can draw pictures, bake cakes,
sit by the fire and make plans about sewing.
gypsy chicken!

let them eat [a lavender] cake.
*~the scent of stirring butter and sugar~*

exploring morning markets with my little

2nd cousin in shenmu, shaanxi.
she's the one in the yellow dress.
she insisted we hold hands the entire day,
so, we did.

airport adventures. its become a ritual
to purchase sushi whenever i'm there.

airport people always make me take
stuff out of my luggage because i go over the weight
limit by 1 to 5 lbs. last time, i had to lug around
a frying pan; this time it was my desk lamp.

i've been posting way too many pictures of myself.

i shall stop now.

day dreamin'
i sat there eating noodles with my dad,
uncle and cousin in yulin; shaanxi
while eyeing this man, trying to
figure out what he might be dreaming of.
he was looking somewhere off to the distance
with such longing for a long time.

there is so much sand in this town.
this was right after i took a "shower"
with a mini wash cloth & a bucket of scalding hot water.

the heart of china with a history of 3,100 years:
xi'an; shaanxi.

mops, you're my little dog now.
my sister and i got bored so we had a photoshoot.
all mops wanted to do was eat snotty tissues.

i took a walk today at sunset & picked
2 prickly pears in the preserves.

they were tasty but now my fingers are
covered in cactus splinters.
the sky looked like a blooming fuchsia lotus.

happy birthday nadya,
i've already told you this a few times,
but you are an amazing friend, an inspiring person,
and a fiercely strong girl.
you're going to change the world;
i know it & i will be cheering you on.