Photo Copyright Stay N’ Alive Productions, LLC

“Stay”cations in my family aren’t just for vacationing near home!  This Tuesday, July 7, I’ll be packing up my stuff and heading on a road-trip with my family to Boston Massachusetts where my parents live to stay with them about a month.  The goal is to visit with family, see my new nephew soon to be born any day now, my twin nieces in New Jersey, and just to get out of Utah for a short bit.  Having lived overseas and out of state most of my life, I crave traveling so it will be a good trip.

While I’m out there I want to see you!  Thus far my schedule’s wide open.  On July 15 I’m told there will be a FriendFeed meetup (would that be called a Friend “Feed”?) at 5pm at the Cambridgeside Galleria Food Court.  I’ll be there, and you can RSVP by commenting on this thread on Friendfeed.  I’m also scheduled to meet a few SocialToo customers in New York, so I’ll probably take a trip out there while I’m visiting my Sister in New Jersey.  If you’d like to meet up in Boston, New York, New Jersey, or wherever I can go in driving distance, please let me know and we’ll see if we can get together!  I plan to be there until early August so we’ve got plenty of time to see one another (although I’m sure the time will fly!).  Also, please let me know if I’m missing your conference or you need a good speaker while I’m out there!

In the meantime you can track me starting July 7 via the Twitter hashtag, #staycation – maybe I’ll make a FriendFeed room out of it or something.  Plan on some great photos of Mount Rushmore, Niagra Falls, Chicago, and all the Boston and New York sites.  I’m excited for what should be a very fun trip!

I stepped outside today (gasp!) to get some weeding done and prepare our Garden for the end of spring planting I’m going to be doing and just couldn’t resist finding my camera and taking pictures of the Flowers. This is from the Weeping Cherry tree in our front yard. And yes Dooce, the Mormons are winning (You will be assimilated).  You can see more over here.

My 7-year old son comes to my wife, bringing this Mr. Potato Head doll, saying, “Look Mom – I made a Picasso!” I think I finally discovered the secret behind Picasso’s genius – he was just trying to invent Transformers and didn’t know how to do it right! Is it coincidence that Transformers came out nearly 10 years after his death? I think not!

The Stars at Night are Big and Bright…

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
like a Diamond, in the sky.
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
How I wonder what you are.

When the blazing sun is gone,
When the nothing shines upon,
Then you show your little light,
Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.

Then the traveller in the dark,
Thanks you for your tiny spark,
He couldn’t see which way to go,
If you did not twinkle so.

In the dark blue sky you keep,
And often through my curtains peep,
For you never shut your eye,
Till the sun is in the sky.

As your bright and tiny spark,
Lights the traveller in the dark,—
Though I know not what you are,
Twinkle, twinkle, little star.

–Jane Taylor

Original Photo (Jesse Stay)

From myself, my family, and for all my readers, Happy New Year 2009!  May you all have a Happy and Prosperous New Year.

Image Source (Jesse Stay)

(Dedicated to my Grandmother, born New Years Day, who passed away 2 days ago. This is JJ’s first Christmas Gift that he is wearing in this picture.)

The day after my mom died
Was Christmas morning
There were so many wonderful gifts
Under our tree.
We opened them peacefully
Mom would have wanted it that way.
She would have wanted
Her grandchildren to have a good Christmas.
I held back my tears
As each gift was opened
And that Christmas is such a blur,
But it is March now
And I still see the tiny patches of paper
In a corner of my dining room
That I carefully ripped from each gift
To look at later
Of all the love we got
That Christmas
Which was hard for me to see then
Through teary eyes.

Connie Webb

Original Image (Jesse Stay)
Poem Author: Connie Webb

Heart and soul, I fell in love with you,
lost control, the way a fool would do,
Gladly…
Because you held me tight,
And stole a kiss in the night..

Heart and soul, I begged to be adored,
Lost control, and tumbled overboard,
Gladly…
That magic night we kissed,
There in the moon mist.

Oh! but your lips were thrilling, much too thrilling,
Never before were mine so strangely willing.

But now I see, what one embrace can do,
Look at me, it’s got me loving you,
Madly…
That little kiss you stole,
Held all my heart and soul.

Original Photo (Jesse Stay)
Poem/Song Lyrics by Frank Loesser

Risk

And then the day came,
when the risk
to remain tight
in a bud
was more painful
than the risk
it took
to Blossom.

–Anaïs Nin

Original Image (Jesse Stay)

Poem Source (Anaïs Nin)

o, how i long for that kiss
the one kiss
that holds so much meaning
the one that can tell you
so much about a person
even if you’ve known them
all your life
the 1st kiss is as forbidden as the last
scared to start
becuz we are scared of how it’ll end
the forbidden kiss
that we yearn for
like adam & eve
the forbidden fruit
the taste so sweet
and then they were no longer blind
that kiss is just the same
take the chance
the forbidden kiss
full of temptation
‘let our lips do
what our hands do’
romeo told juliet to
take the chance
the forbidden kiss
might be just as sweet.

–Malika Giddens (A 13 Year Old!)

Poem Source (Malika Giddens)

Original Image (Jesse Stay)