Bahiyyih

I just saw a great talk on Ted TV about creativity by Elizabeth Gilbert, author of “Eat, Pray, Love”. It speaks to the mental health of artists, and how not trying to own what we create can be a good thing, whether or not we believe it.

Check out this 20 minute talk on You Tube by clicking on the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86x-u-tz0MA

Here are some photos of sand taken at Goose Spit in Comox, Vancouver Island. I love how the sand has waves.

My friend Monti and I played a show at Whole Foods in the West Vancouver village last Friday. My husband took some pictures.

And here is a video of me singing my song “Promised Me”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNg0zFbf97A

Today I went to the annual Camp Howdy Junior Youth Camp in Belcarra. My friend Roya and I shared some songs and really enjoyed the energy and love of the group. I love being able to serve humanity through music.

Roya and I with the junior youth.

Folk rockers.

Beautiful BC

Iced tea with Maria and Roya.

What a day!

Just came back from a show at Victory Square in downtown Vancouver. This is an annual event put on by Vancouver Community College and Central City Foundation. There is free food and live entertainment, all provided by volunteers.

Here are some shots of my set and the park.

Me performing at the park stage.

It is a beautiful day to be singing outside. The crowd was great.

That's the old dominion building.

City scapes. These pictures were taken by my husband Josh.

My friend Beth and I were discussing goals and dreams in life. There are some things in life that we want to do, things we want to achieve and accomplish. Then there is another category of things that we must do. This yearning comes from a place somewhere between the heart and the gut.

For me, one of the things that I need to do is to learn Spanish (fluently) and to dance flamenco. To honour this dream Beth and I went to Kino Cafe on Cambie Street to see a live flamenco performance. They were wonderful. I love how the dancers, drummer, singer and guitarist all work together and encourage one another.

Here is a gorgeous picture I found on flickr.

Picture by greybeats on flicker.

Just click on the picture and you will be brought to his flickr page.

Buenos noches amigos.

Last night my husband and I went over to Commercial Drive (aka The Drive) for dinner. The weather in Vancouver has been beautiful and it’s a great place to stroll, window shop, and people watch. We chose Havana as our restaurant, a lively and funky eatery with a sweet patio, art gallery, and theatre. The food there is mediocre, but the ambience is stellar. Here are some pictures of the place that I got off of their website.

The sweet patio.

The walls inside.

This was our view from our booth.

So wherever you live, get out there and see the city!

So I am planning an Okanagan tour with my friend Beth (www.myspace.com/bethsouthwell). We were brainstorming tour names and came up with lots of ideas, none of which were any good. I think the funniests ones were “Fruiticious Bootilicious Tour” and “Sex songs and other ditties, the tour”. Don’t ask.

Needless to say we need your help. Any ideas? You know my music, and you can listen to some of Beth’s from the myspace link posted above. Post your suggestion(s) as a comment to this blog posting and we might just use your idea.

In other news, I am trying to make another business card because I ran out. I am thinking to use this picture for it:

Taken by Alistair Eagle: www.peopleshots.com I don't know how to rotate it.

I designed it on vistaprint.com but it comes to over $40 for 250 cards. I think I can get a better deal than that. Once I’ve got it made I’ll post it for you to see.

Thanks for reading and have an excellent May long weekend.

I have a history of being disappointed on my birthday. That’s not to say that I have not had some great birthdays. It’s just that I have great expectations for the big day and these seem to set me up for disappointment no matter how great the party is.

So my birthday wish for this year, and for my birthdays to come, is to expect nothing. I want to accept exactly what happens, and be grateful for it. I want to allow my loved ones to do the planning, and try not to micro-manage. Let it go.

So here it is, the beginning of a new birthday tradition. The “it’s my birthday and I will be happy with whatever happens” attitude. Wish me luck.

At my birthday last year.

Last night I made a delicious honey mustard blackened chicken with garlic. My husband made some french onion roasted potatoes to go with it, and my in-laws made a mixed green salad with cucumber and yellow pepper. It was a yummy dinner. I wish I’d taken a picture of it (as I often do take pictures of food I eat), but I guess I enjoyed it so much that it was gone before I thought about capturing it on film.

Here are some pictures of other culinary creations to make your mouth water.

This kinda looks like what we ate last night.

Our beloved cast iron pan doing its job.

Shortbread cookies with a cranberry on some. These were good.

Veggie burger extraordinaire.

I love going to weddings. There’s the love, the friends, the good food, and the dancing! I also love getting dressed up. I try to break the stigma around wearing the same dress twice. Here are two dresses that I have worn to two weddings each.

My husband Josh and I at my sister's wedding this past December.

This green dress is great and really comfortable.

I will be attending two weddings this coming May long weekend (yes two!) I found a lovely spring dress at a second hand store on Main Street yesterday. It cost $26 and I plan to wear it to both weddings. I can also wear it throughout the summer. I’m so pleased with my bargain! Here’s a pic of it sans moi. I will post a pic of me in the dress after the weddings.

The $26 second hand dress I bought.

And here you thought this blog would be about music.