Houston, we have a problem...

I seem to have a toddler on my shoulders.  Can you get her off?

This is not good.

That Getty Place

We enjoyed another beautiful day at the Getty Center this past weekend.  My daddy and I hung out in the gardens and took photos, while my mommy lost herself in the current exhibits, "Drawings by Rembrant and His Pupils" and "Drawing Life: The Dutch Visual Tradition".  Here are some photos my daddy took:

Who's on Sesame Street?

Check out who Elmo's been rocking out with.  Wish I was there.

Feist doing a Sesame Street version of "1,2,3,4"

Jason Mraz doing a Sesame Street version of "I'm Yours"

Car Seat

My daddy is sorta having trouble letting go of a particular baby car seat, so I'm going to dedicate this post to it.

It was a $20 car seat my parents got from the hospital for free when they were taking baby classes.

It was also the car seat they used to bring me home from the hospital.  I think I was too tiny for the regular car seat.  Can you find me in this picture?

It was also passed on to my Lola to use in case she needs to pick me up at daycare if mommy's running late.

Since then, I grew into a bigger chicky and had other car seats. Daddy had no trouble getting rid of the ones I outgrew.  This car seat gathered dust in my Lola's garage for probably a year and a half.  Then recently, Lola asked my mom if we wanted it back.  Sure, she said and planned to donate it.  She's tried a couple of times already to get rid of it, but daddy always wanted to hold on to it. The last time she tried was when we were cleaning out on the first day of the new year.  We went to the donation center the following day.  Daddy was hauling the stuff out of our car and this car seat was the last one to be taken out.  He paused with a nostalgic look on his face and asked my mom again if we should get rid of it.  At that point, mommy realized how sentimental the car seat is to daddy so she said it was up to him.  And car seat stayed in the trunk.  I guess there are just some things that are priceless.

A Sense of Renewal

We spent the first day of the new year detoxing our humble little home.  We cleaned every possible area and got rid of stuff that we've either outgrown or that no longer contributed to our lives. We are grateful that this year we are given another opportunity to live our lives right.

Simplicity, minimalism, calm, silence, renewal.  Calm and silence will be hard to achieve with me around, but my parents will try. 

"Man suffers because of his craving to possess and keep forever things which are essentially impermanent."   Buddha

"Possessions, outward success, publicity, luxury - to me these have always been contemptible. I believe that a simple and unassuming manner of life is best for everyone, best both for the body and the mind."   Albert Einstein