Artemis at the Louvre

I just came across an article that made me reminisce…

Back in 1999, I had the pleasure of going on exchange in college to England. One of the many adventures I took during that three month stay in Great Britain was hopping an overnight bus, that got on a ferry which crossed the English Channel, departed the boat and drove directly to Paris, France. My travel mates and I were only in Paris for maybe three days time, so we made it a point to visit the Louvre.

Of course, my favorite part was the Greek/Roman section. There have only been a few moments in my life that I have truly become overwhelmed with awe and seeing this statue of Artemis in-person was one of them. I literally felt compelled to fall to my knees before this image of Artemis. I felt like I was in the presence of the Goddess herself, and I was overwhelmed with emotion.

I remember closing my eyes and feeling the air thicken around me. I was somehow momentarily transported to Her hunting grounds. The air swelled with the scent of a mossy riverbank, and I could hear the fierce drum of the doe’s hooves as it fled across the forest floor. On the other side of the river, I could see the Goddess herself poised and watchful, observing the activity with a feverish grin. Suddenly, She took off after the doe, running through the brush and around the trees with the speed and grace of a true forest denizen, barely rustling her quiver of arrows strapped to her back and her bow balanced across her chest. In a blink, I was back at the museum, kneeling before Her idol. She gave me just a glimpse of Her realm, but I was breathless with awe.

To this day I have never had a deity take me into their realm without intentionally seeking it out myself. As you can imagine, it was an incredibly powerful moment. This is just one of the many reasons why I have devoted my spiritual path to the Olympians. I feel that they have chosen me, and I am honored to accept my role as their Priestess.

I snapped this photo (which I later cropped out some tourists and scanned) after composing myself, and luckily it wasn’t very crowded in that area so no one eyed me with anything more than a curious glance at my oddly reverent behavior.

Here is a link to the museum website that describes this statue of Artemis. And, this is really cool – if you want to take a virtual tour of this section of the museum, check out this link. You can pan 360 degrees in each room’s picture and their are 9 rooms to look at. They didn’t have this on the web back in 1999

Second Ultrasound - 8/10/2010

Check out those feet!!

Second Ultrasound - 8/10/2010

Just a cute as Mommy! LOL

We were even able to record the ultrasound! We’ve decided not to post the video on the web, but it is so cute and also hilarious. We were trying to get the baby to move into different positions so they could take measurements, so it was wiggling around and having a fun time

Blankie

Isn’t this just the cutest blankie you have ever seen?! I have a thing about giraffes, so when I saw this blankie, I couldn’t resist it’s super cute charm! Totally scored this at TJ Max for about $6!

I don’t know if any of you have been to Borders bookstore in South Portland recently, but they have a huge stuffed giraffe toy in the children’s aisle. I can’t help but pet it every time I see it. It’s about 4 feet tall and looks just like this:

Huge Giraffe

Crazy, huh?! I love it!

Bad news – a lovely new symptom is creeping up on me. I’ve had several spells of feeling so faint I’ve nearly passed out! I was walking around in a store this evening, and I thought for sure that I was going to hit the floor. I managed to make it to a water fountain and a chair so I could pull myself together. It was kinda scary!

I think I am going to throw some granola bars into my purse, because I think my blood sugar dropped too low which caused the fainting spell. I really need to keep a water bottle with me all times, so I don’t get dehydrated while I am running errands, especially in this heat.

Alligator hooded towel & washcloth

So what is the deal with the alligator? Well, I have a soft spot for alligators, because one of my favorite childhood stuffed animals was Allie the Alligator.

My brother, dad, me and my alligator

Oh, and I should probably also mention that one of my favorite books growing up was about an alligator, but for the life of me I can’t remember the name…hmmm…hopefully it will come to me eventually.