i don't get it

i'm so damn lucky. how does it happen? how is it that my best friends are the most funny, beautiful, loving, spiritually conscious, considerate, intelligent, artistic people ever?!?! man, this has been quite the EPIC month of hanging with the most EPIC of people in the pacific northwest a week ago and now, in southern california, where the light is solid gold, man.


if you're wondering if my pose is genuine, you don't know me. [just throwing that out there]:

MY GRANDFATHER'S MATRYDOM ANNIVERSARY

[THIS POST WAS TAKEN FROM MY LOVELY SISTER'S TUMBLR, I LOVE IT SO I AM REPOSTING IT] :

This is my grandfather, Kamran Samimi. He wore ascots. He was tall. He was a teacher. He loved to dance and listen to American jazz singers.

December 27th marks the 29th anniversary of his death. In 1981, he was killed by firing squad in Iran. His crime? He was a Baha’i. Baha’is believe in the promulgation of the unity of mankind, freedom of prejudice in any form, universal education, and equality of men and women. These are the things for which my grandfather was killed.

This is what the Iranian Republic has taken from me and my family. Right now, there are so many other Baha’is facing the same charges my grandfather faced.

------------------------------------

here is an article about me and my "Baha'i Family Legacy" in the rapid city journal. and here is an old post about the same matter. please remember to keep the Baha'is in Iran in your best thoughts & prayers.

all love.

the best gifts...

...are the ones that Nature gives us.

merry christmas to my dear ones that celebrate this holiday.

[i got my film developed from my AMAZING trip to seattle...]


[wonderment, awe, beauty, humbling]
a small side note - this is my very talented girl kelsey and her friend sabzi's new musical exploration project - MADE IN HEIGHTS. its amazing. [more Baha'is going OFF.] i really adore her and love their collaboration. claps, claps, claps dudes. download your own copy of their digital album here.

http://madeinheights.bandcamp.com/

i am extremie-ly proud of them.
xox

THE BEST-BEST, DAMN BEST:

i know it sounds cliche and/or passe - BUT... I LOVE MY LIFE.

how can one be more blessed?!?!?!?

[ELIJA DOUGLAS - who feeds so hard that he gets nursing "hickies", as my sister in law puts it = amazing!!!!!!!]
[VIOLA MARA]

i've been staring and tearing up, and staring, and heart bursting, and smiling, and staring and ooohing and aahhhhing all to myself for the last couple of hours at the sheer BEAUTY AND PERFECTION of my NEW niece & nephew. they are so utterly amazing, and peaceful, and perfect that i just cant contain myself.

how is it that i can have SUCH a beautifully, dynamic, and perfect family?!??!?
wowzahhhh.
my heart is so full it may, in fact, BURSTTTTTT.

pacNW

i know i am home in the pacific northwest when i check my bank statement online and the ONLY thing on my bank statement is espresso charges...after espresso charges...after more espresso charges.


no joke.

my family is amazing

here are some great shots i found recently that i thought would be fun to share.

i am so lucky.

MOST TOUCHING THING YOU'LL WITNESS ALL WEEK. HANDS DOWN.

WOW. AMAZING.
[VIA MY GIRL PATRICE]

REDEFINING HOME

with ALL the damn places i've lived in the last five years: olympia, portland, minneapolis, st. paul, brattleboro, rapid city and now los angeles, i have gone through growing pains and pangs like no other.

packing up, shipping out, saying goodbye, driving on lonely roads, discovering, exploring, shaking hands, making friends, gaining family members, documenting memories, making sense of it all with my photography, getting lost, laughing, running, leaving, crying, death, rebirth, fear, awakening, honesty, tests - mad tests, recognition, love, loneliness, craving, yearning, emptiness, fulfillment. LOSING. GAINING.

it was realllllllly hard for me (and he) to leave south dakota; i put my HEART AND SOUL in to that place, those golden fields, those clouds that were my pillows, those lakota warriors, leaving our beautiful house, our home..again & again...

...so my husband and i have decided to really redefine home. when i get sad, or impatient about when or where our next home will be and for how long and how i miss my old homes, like, i miss the pacific northwest, i miss wearing my hoodies in the mist, i miss the mountains that cover and comfort me in alaska, i miss the bonfires and endless laughter fests, i miss the endless pacific horizon, blah, blah, etc., etc., this song has been the soundtrack for our life for the last couple of months. it cheers me up like no other, it puts life in perspective for me. no joke - every time i hear it, i get goosebumps and feel so lucky and happy to have my husband right by my side, as my constant. as my home. always, everywhere, home.

IN THE NEXT 30 DAYS...

...i'll be going to the PACNW (home)/ Seattle for a nice fun-packed trip to see my homies and go for Mar's wedding, then going back to LA to hang with elise & rollie and go camping @ joshua tree, then off to ISRAEL to see my family for a month, then BACK to LA only to have amanda and her family living in LA for a month!!!

in the next 30 i'll be hanging with all these AMAZING cats - every single person in all of these photos, i'll be with. wow. i honestly think i just died, like, i'm seriously have heart palpatations, thinking about how i am going to see soooooo many of my best friends all in the same time period; HOW DID I GET SO LUCKY?!??!? honestly, i am thinking back on the last couple of years, especially when we were out in sodak - how isolated, remote and alone we were, away from all of our closest friends and family. i feel that is how its been for me for so long now. and then. all of a sudden a OVERWHELMINGLY amazing number of my nearest and dearest all happen to be able to be together over the course of the next two months. amazing. truly, amazing.

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON:

[amanda, viola & milo]:

[jay willow]:
[casey pee. james]:[a one kinda soon to be married, elise belknap, HOPEFULLY a one leili towfigh & one amanda kitchings]:

[one soon to be married, mar tansik (woot!!!woot!!!), with all of these aforementioned ladies as well]:

[the amazing painter, euro trashin' alaskan sister, kylie manning]:
[and i can't forget amanda's hubby, my dear friend, charlie - better known as cheebs]:

HAIFA, ISRAEL, THE BAHA'I HOLY LAND:

my amazing family MINUS FIVE - but i'll have my baby bro, my baby sister and my sister in law, shideen there to keep me company. yep, my older brother jorma and sister in law melinda, are expecting twins any day(!!!!!!!!!!) :

okay. more adventures soon, that's for sure.
hope every one in (not on) the interwebs is doing just great and is able to surround themselves with people who celebrate, cherish and honor you for EXACTLY who you are.

all love. signing off:
yours truly - extremie.
♥

*note: all the colored text means its hyperlinked to their respective sites. check 'em out!