Pink Heart Camp Video

Yes, I know. I have not posted since before I left for my trip. Honestly, I didn't feel the need to post. But, now that I have decompressed, I MAY start writing again.  Until then, here is the video of our Burning Man experience. As made by my friend Halycon.

<3

In two weeks....

Two weeks from now I will be on the playa. Setting up my tent and help set up the camp that I have only been a virtual part of so far. Mixed emotions going through me right now :) I am so excited and scared at the same time. I am such a planner, but out there I will be learning to let that go and just float.

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Pink Heart Beads

I just scored 300 of these beads....aren't they awesome! Now I need to find some leather or ribbon or something to make necklaces or bracelets with them! :)

Tent Taping

How to prepare a tent for the playa? Well, you must cover all the mesh.  I had been debating for some time about how to cover the mesh at the top of my tent. Furnance filters? fabric? Cut up the rainfly and hot glue it? Well, my cousin suggested we use duct tape. So, we did. I am hoping it will stick. I am leaving it up for a few days to see....

45 days.....

Well, I just lost two days on my countdown today. But, that is because I decided to leave 2 days earlier to go meet up with some camp mates in San Francisco and ride out to Burning Man with them, arriving to the playa on Saturday (early arrival). Part of this decision came from the hot hot weather this past week. We had a week straight of weather that was in the 80s and 90s. In fact, it got to 98 and 96 at my house twice last week.  During this time, I really realized how sensitive I am to the heat. And, the extra precautions I am going to have to take out in the desert at 100+ degrees.  I also starting worrying about getting lost, not knowing where to go and breaking down in the middle of no where! Typical me, attempting to plan and know everything that is going on. Yes, I know I am going to have to let that go. So, in an attempt to help keep my sanity, I reached out to a  camp mate in San Fran area and asked if her offer to ride with them was still valid. She was excited to have me.

So, here is the new plan:
* Leave my house in the morning of  Thursday 8-26
* Drive the 721 miles in approximately 12 hours and 5 minutes (according to google maps) to my camp mates house. Perhaps I may stop at my aunt and uncles house, in Silverton, for dinner or a nap. We shall see.
* Arrive there sometime Thursday night and hang out with camp mates.
* Leave Friday afternoon for Reno (about 4 hours away)
* Meet up with our camp truck and a few other camp mates for some last minute shopping, dinner, gambling and rest(?)
* Leave Saturday morning for the playa to arrive about 12noon to begin setting up camp.
* Have an amazing time for the week
* Leave Monday Sept 6th from the playa and head to Reno for a real shower, dinner, gambling and rest.
* On to San Fran Tuesday afternoon to unload
* Leave San Fran Wed morning on my way back to Seattle.

Everyone got that? Subject to change of course. :)

PLACEMENT!

Pink Heart Camp (and therefor me) was granted the requested space on the playa we wanted! We will be at 9:00 & Esplanade!

Below is the 2010 Map of Black Rock City! Being on 9:00 and Esplanade means we will be right in the middle of 24/7 thick of it! :) So amazing. Who needs sleep anyway, right!

Getting Creative...Again

Many of you may not be aware of this, but, I NEVER have been a crafty person. Not even in like elementary school. Hated art time. Always thought inside the lines and everything had to be perfect. I never was one of those kids who could take a big pile of stupid objects and turn it into a piece of creative art. NEVER. I would organize that pile of stupid objects into rows and sort them all out. My sister and others however, could see that same pile of stupid objects and create something of it.

As part of my new journey this year, I decided I would try to get more crafty/artsy. Letting go of "things must be perfect" and such. And just trying out the other side of my brain. Slowly working on it. As such, on a whim, I decided to volunteer to make sashes for our camp. Not have ANY clue on how I would get it done. I am not going to go into my whole process of how I decided on this, but, really it just happened because I was in the fabric store (on one of my many trips) and noticed this blanket binding ribbon stuff on sale. Looking at it more closely, its basically a 3 inch ribbon, that is already sewn on the sides, that is sold in 10 yard spools.  Looking at the label, it said it could be used with a glue gun. MAGIC! So, I bought a little and experimented with it. Lovely. :)

After obtaining all the pink in the Seattle area and requesting my fellow camp mates get some, I went to work. Here is the progression of the sashes and the final product! :) Go me!

Oh ya, and I made the collage too! Look at all the new stuff I am learning how to do this year. Proud of me yet?

Pillows Pillows Pillows

Part of being part of my theme camp is that we are creating a lounge on the playa. That means we need to bring in comfy things to sit on, cuddle with, etc. Obviously I can't fit a couch into my car, but, another thing we need are pillows. Everyone in camp is being asked to provide at least 5 pillows (or stuffed animals, etc) to the camp. Pink of course. Well, I have gone a little pillow happy. I keep getting pillows and have the fabric to cover them. But, I realized yesterday that there is no way I can bring all these pillows with me down to BRC! HELP! So, I think I will be mailing some pillows down to my camp mates in california for them to load on the truck. But, please, for now, if you see me buying more pillows, spank me!

Update on what is going on!

So, I have been sick this week. Not to bore you or give you all the icky details, but, I have been doing ALOT of sleeping and NOT alot of eating. Not alot of computer time either. So, I figured I would catch up quickly while I am feeling a tad bit better at the moment.   So, this post is a little of everything rolled into one!

My cats LOVE my new bed.  Emeralde (black one) lays with me all the time on it.  Anytime I am in it, so is she. Safire (grey one) actually has been sleeping with me too.  She used to only sleep with mom.  I have found that she likes a certain spot and if Emeralde is there, she will kick her off. Kinda funny actually.  Yes, I am becoming that cat lady!

I will be finishing my Ten Days to Mental Health before the month ends, I promise. :)

The pizza party for the acting group went well. Squishy was a great help in getting everything and all the kids loved it. I have a tendancy to do over board, but, Squishy was good about telling me to keep it simple.  Only thing that I would have done different is the type of pizza. More cheese & peperoni!  See, my daughter is weird and LOVES vegetables. So, I have just gone through all the kid years with that.  Well, in ordering pizza, I ordered how I would for her and her friends...but I should have just gotten cheese and pepperoni! Oh well.  I did get a very lovely email from the woman in charge thanking me. Which is nice. I look forward to helping out more with this group.

Squishy has a dance performance tonight. I love watching her do what she loves. And, this dance is something she has not done a whole lot of: pair dancing! I will make sure to let you know how it goes. Hopefully I will make it through it sitting up right!

I must say that I am happy and sound in my decision to change camps.  The people I am talking with in the new camp are wonderful. So inviting, full of information and caring. Some of my friends and family don't understand why I don't find a camp of people more local. But for me, this makes sense. Hard to explain, but it just does.  Deep down, I am a shy person and talking to these people online is easier for me.  Yes, there is a community of *burners* up here, but so far, I have not racked up the courage to go.  In time I will. Baby steps.

The raffle for my Burning Man camp is coming together quite nicely.  I am still looking for a grand prize, but, it will come.  We are going to have some awesome prizes! :)  We are also progressing on our water bottles! Stay Tuned!

I have started to think about what I should do with my hair while out on the playa.  I am trying to grow it out again since cutting it short.  But, short may be better with all the dust and wind. Unless I continue to let it grow out and then maybe put it in braids for BM.  I never have had braids, so it would be different, but hey, that is what it is all about, right!  So, right now, I am leaning towards mini braids with maybe some fabric in them for color.  But, I may change my mind. Who knows. I need to talk to Cindy, my hair lady to see what she thinks I suppose.  But, my hair is so thick, I don't want to have to deal with it out there!

That is it for now. I am going to post a story a friend of mine wrote here shortly, but I wanted that to be in a different post.

Pink Heart Camp Fundraiser Help Needed!

As part of our fundraising efforts, we are putting together a raffle.  Most camps do events, but, we are trying something different!  We are currently looking for Burner Based businesses who may be willing to donate prizes for this effort.  This is a GREAT way to gain a little more exposure for your business and help bring people to your business both before and after Burning Man this year. 


Personal donations will be accepted to, if you have skill and are willing to donate it for a prize (making a costume, a piece of custom jewelry, etc!)  Prizes for things that are local will be accepted as well (massages, spas, etc.), just please be sure to tell me what city it is for!


Anything that you, or your business, are willing to donate, will be used as raffle prizes for a fundraiser towards our camp expenses (lounge area, fur, truck rental, water bar, generator, etc).  Please email Plumeria with any questions or donations at by CLICKING HERE. by May 31st!  Look for raffle details starting June 1st!

Fabric!!!

 Squishy and I went to the fabric store this afternoon in search of great deals.  We had a blast!  Here are some pictures of material that I got.  I am thinking some will be good for pillows, maybe flags, who knows what else.

The purple with butterflies I am going to make a top or something out of!  The animal print will probally end up as a dress, but, nothing is set in stone! :)

Theme Camp Decision....(long)

Lately the universe has been pulling (or pushing me!) into new directions. I believe that the universe has a plan for us and gives us the tools to guide us in certain ways.  Whether we listen to those or not, well, that is what makes this ride we call life interesting.  These past few months have been full of soul searching, research, back on my medication, organizing and more things. Part of this direction was to make the decision to attend Burning Man this year and actually commit to it.  Once I make a firm decision, you really can't talk me out of it and it is all about logistics in making it happen.  That is where I am with Burning Man right now.  Seems like daily something pops into my mind.  One of the major decisions to be made was whether to camp with a theme camp, find some friends or go it alone.  Well, after really thinking about me, my resources, skills and needs: both physically, mentally and what I have to offer; I decided I wanted to join a theme camp. It will allow me to go with some veterans to learn from their experiences, pool resources and offer something new to them in return. Admittedly, it also eases my mind a bit that if something should happen to my mom or daughter while I am gone, being at a placed theme camp will make it ALOT easier for someone to get ahold of me, if need be. (Not that anything is going to happen, but, that is the planner in me!)

In doing some research I connected with a few different people, spoke with them and made a decision to camp with Zifra and the Lazy Lizard Lemonade Lounge.  In speaking with her, she is most definately someone I would enjoy camping with.  With only about 15 people, it is a smaller camp, which would be serving lemonade (and my favorite, vodka!) through out the afternoons, as well as other various activities.  Through the yahoo group that Zifra set up, I met a few camp mates and started talking with them who also seem really awesome people.  But, in my heart, something just was not there.  Something was lacking (for a better word). And, I could not put my finger on it. But, in trusting the universe, I knew things would work out and really was not stressing about it much.

Remember when I said earlier that once my mind is made up, I am a planner and do anything to make it happen? Almost to an obsession point for a short while. Well, in my research for and about BM, I came across numerous numerous sites, information, videos, people, etc.  Some good, some not so good.  Some a good fit for me, some not so good.  As part of all this discovery, I came across another theme camp called Pink Heart Camp.  In getting to know some camp mates, plans, etc., I was starting to think maybe I should be with them out on the playa instead. But, I had already committed to the other camp.  Try as I might, I could not shake the feeling that I should be part of Pink Heart.  Now, being the type of person I am, I didn't want to go back on a promise I had made and hurt anyone's feelings.  But, then I remembered a promise I have made to myself: put yourself first for once. (Please don't think I am being arrogant or not thinking or serving others.  But, after years and years of putting others first - and having it take its toll on me both physically and mentally, this year I made a promise to do things for myself.)  But again, I really just shook it off. 

Until the universe sent me about four signs within a span of 24 hours pushing me into the direction of Pink Heart.  I am not going to go into detail about what they are. But, they were really strong signs for sure that could not be ignored.  There are things the camp needs that fit my skills and things I am passionate about.  I feel more at home being with this camp than I have with the other one. I know that sounds weird, since its mostly all been online. But, that can mean alot.  And, it is important to me to feel at home, at ease and feel like I can be of use.

To my new friends at Lazy Lizard, please know this was not a decision that was made lightly.  Some of you have really become dear friends and I do hope to *meet* you out on the playa. I promise to stop by and invite you to visit us.  To my new friends at Pink Heart Camp: we are going to have a blast for sure. Now....I bet I can sneak in some purple! :)