Monday, July 30, 2012

Lil Liger Is Getting Married


Anne is getting married and I can hardly wrap my mind around the fact that six years ago we were just two little ligers who loved wine and Lost.  Not a lot has changed.

Phoebe generously hosted an all girls bachelorette retreat in Massachusetts.  That entailed mostly this:



Combined with a lot of binge eating:


 And sexy underwear:


I brought every nail polish I owned, which, during packing, seemed excessive, but obviously turned out not to be:

And then there was the night where we took a limo to Newport Rhode Island which was an utterly confusing experience for all us New Yorkers and we ended up getting in multiple fights with locals.  The good news was the limo was done at midnight, so we were whisked away before too much damage could be done.  Newport, RI is a SCARY place full of wasps and sailors and competing bachelorette parties.




And of course, nothing could be done with my bang-grow-out hair situation that alternates between looking like a hair piece and a combover.

Anne! Congratulations girl - you and Trevor are bound for decades of happiness.  Love you guys!


Monday, April 16, 2012

Have It All! Be A Monk In Laos!


The luckiest men in Laos are the monks.  They have priority boarding on airplanes, they don't have to wear pants and guess what they get twice a day? FREE FOOD.

At five am the monks walk down the streets of their town with alms bowls and you sit with sticky rice on your stairs.  When the monks come you grab a handful of rice and place it in their alms bowl.  No words or eye contact is exchanged.  That is breakfast.  For lunch Laotian people will make a lunch and bring it to the monastery for the monks, but the cool thing is - you don't make a meal you think the monks will like, you make a meal for some one deceased.  For example, our guide, who's father had passed away, would make noodles and chicken every day to bring to the monks because noodles and chicken was his dad's all time favorite.  So basically you offer the departed their favorite meals via the monks.  I like the idea of honoring your loved ones with food, and the idea that the monks have the happy job of being the vehicle for the offering.


 

There is a Buddha for each day of the week.  These include Reclining Buddha, Alms Bowl Bhuddha and Meditation Buddha.  If you are born on Saturday (which I was) your Buddha is Buddha Sitting Under The Naga Hood - which is basically Buddha surrounded by serpentine dragons.  If you are Naga Hood like me, people in Laos will treat you like a king or queen.  They say Naga Hood people are the most special and powerful and after our guide found out I was born on Saturday, whenever he said my name, he would make a gesture using his open hand to sweep over his head from back to front to represent the dragons circling my head.  It was really weird, but I felt like I deserved the recognition - FINALLY!


Above are the seasonal looks of the Emerald Buddha.  At top and the most under dressed (like all the waitresses at Five Leaves) is obviously summer Buddha.  The bottom Buddha is sporting a winter look - fully cloaked in a GOLD BLANKET.



Above is a fortune telling system for monks.  You pick a stick out of a cup which has a number on it - then you pick a fortune (all those little papers) with the corresponding number.  Predictions/numerology/astrology = endless hours of contemplation.


Marigolds are the color of saffron which is the color of the advanced monk's robe.  The monks in training wear a deep red.  Nuns, which are female monks, wear white robes.  Nothing looks more comfortable than what these people wear.  From what I can see there is no waist band and for the women - no bra situation.  HEAVEN.






This is the cave of four thousand Buddhas outside Luang Prabang.  This is one of the most spectacular places I have ever been.  The cave started out as a hermitage for monks and then became sacred, so they started hoarding Buddhas in there.  Once a year, they take the Golden Buddha from the palace in Luang Prabang up to the cave and wash it and apparently everyone from the city gets in their boats and goes to watch.

All additions to the cave must be approved by the head monks of Luang Prabang, but if you're bad, you can sneak one in without anyone noticing.  I wanted to sneak in my birth day Buddha, but thats just not what people born on Saturday do.  



I could blow up this post with about twenty more pictures of giant Buddhas like this one but I won't.  One of the coolest things about these huge Buddhas is that they build the statues first and then the building around them - its hard to tell from digi cam pics, but the statues are enormous in comparison with the structures that house them.  Also there are enormous Buddha statues on hillsides and high ways sides that you can see from airplanes.  

Nearly every boy spends at least a year or so in a monastery - which is of note.  So many countries have mandatory military assignments but the only obligation you have in Laos is making sure you understand the tenants of Buddha and the austere yet spiritual livelihood of a monk.  At first I thought it seemed extreme when I saw the little boys up at 5am for alms, but by the time I left I was pretty convinced that everyone should spend some time in a monastery.  

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Something For Yourself



Do yourself a favor and go see this.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Liz's Snack-Based Bday


i didn't expect this, but as the snacks started rolling in, i realized that obviously the only theme party appropriate for liz is a snack-based theme party.  This is the snack conga line after only a couple of guests had arrived.  


and it kept growing.....


and growing....


and growing....


liz also brought fifty balloons that i rounded up in put in the corner the next day.  party ratio - one balloon for every bag of chips.

happy birthday liz!

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

some good news in 2012 - I GOT ANOTHER CAMERA

this is literally like, my seventh digital camera.  why do they make them so small and easy to lose?

here we go! xmas in seattle!!!!!

theres two places my mom sits in her house...this is one of them and below is the other one.  we call it "the thrown."  here chris has stolen it.



 the entire time we were in seattle, chris complained about my mom's tv being too small.


these are the langdons and this is right before we stuffed our faces with tomatoes filled with cheesy rice and shrimp.  sounds weird but literally was one of the best things i have ever eaten.

then on to dads where the real party started:

not every day you get a private concert!  my dad, his brother and my cousin put on quite a show for us and we did a lot of singing along.  some notes: i need to work on my voice before my next visit and maybe need to practice the tambourine.  being the only person NOT participating in a sing-along sucks.


instagrammin' (killed born tired).


this candle's story is an epic odyssey.  its literally like forty years old and used to belong to my grandma.  I'm pretty sure its from my dad's childhood even.  anyway - now my dad has it and he gets it filled with wax every now and then so the tradition lives on and on and on.  its pretty cool and basically represents christmas spirit in the krause family.

yay!

Sunday, December 18, 2011

I'm Guided By A Force Much Greater Than Luck






Today I will offer myself to Rex Manning.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Some New Techniques Being Deployed


Positive Thinking is part of this new phase.  Some bullets:


  • Take care of yourself.  As you begin to follow a healthier lifestyle, you are giving yourself the message that you are worth taking care of.  Even if you’re not sure yet if you believe that, you’ll soon start to feel better physically, and that will help you feel more positive.  Exercise several times a week, eat healthy foods, and learn some relaxation techniques for when you need to take a stress break.

  • Surround yourself with positive energy.  Make sure that the people around you are optimistic in their outlooks.  Nothing is more contagious than negativity, so try to banish it in your environment.

  • Spot-check your attitude.  Several times a day, take a moment to analyze what you’re thinking.  Are you being positive or negative?  If the latter, try to reframe the situation in more positive terms.  By becoming more self-conscious about your negativity, you’ll learn to curb it.

  • Use positive self-talk.  Encourage yourself by giving yourself positive affirmations; e.g., “I am a self-confident individual who has much to offer.”  Avoid the use of “could-a” and “should-a” messages to yourself. Change what you need to change, and try not to beat yourself up in the process.  Allow a little humor into your talk.  Laughing at yourself and at life does reduce stress.