re-hijacked . . .

ok, weird title, but i can explain.

first off, this was my blog (i'm andy, stacy's hubbie) originally and stacy hijacked it from me.

secondly, the blog-o-sphere is a much healthier and happier place since she hijacked this one. and you all are certainly more enriched by reading her blog posts than you would be from reading mine - that is if i ever got around to posting anything to begin with.

and third, i'm re-hijacking this for only one day, then i'm giving it back. the primary reason behind this is that today is stacy's 30th birthday. that's right folks, she is 30 years old on the 30th of january. she has entered into her golden year and let me tell you, she was GOLDEN way before this year, so i don't know what all the hype is about.

hopefully this hatched little plan of mine doesn't blow up in my face. i'm crossing my fingers hoping that i don't screw something up.

so, in honor of stacy's 30th birthday and more specifically, in honor of her as a partner, friend, mother, activist, lactivist and so on . . . i want to blog about why i think she was golden before this year and why she will still be gold well beyond! i think the best way for me to get this message across is to list out some of the enriching experiences in my life that i would have otherwise missed out on if i hadn't fallen in love with this gal. here goes!

• got married @21 years old - very brave, but totally worth it. wouldn't change a thing
• traveled around the world together - twice in 10 years!
• became a regular at a local addiction recovery shelter for homeless men. this was not because i was particularly addicted
  
• i am father to an amazing baby girl that was born at home - never thought i would say that
• i will be a father to yet another beautiful baby that will be born at home - definitely did not "plan" on saying that . . .
  
• i live in a solar house - i'm some sort of neo-hippie-environmentalist that i used to make fun of
• i drive one car that runs on bio-diesel and another that i can sleep, cook, store soy ice cream, wash dishes and entertain a 2 year old in for hours.
• fought for women's rights and equality in a stuffy church meeting - and i fought gladly!
  
• i stopped eating meat after 7 years of convincing. yes, i can be abnormally stubborn
  
• i stopped eating dairy after . . . not so much convincing
• i became a stay at home dad and i love it
• i'm proud to say that i know what ROA means when it comes to pregnancy! for those of you who don't know, maybe you should get to know your local doula? ;-)
• i learned how to bake a cake - a vegan cake at that!
  

stacy has opened my eyes, softened and stretched my heart and heightened my awareness and consciousness in life. thank you stacy, i love you!

my apologies to the readers if this was way too mushy. i just couldn't help myself. :-)

to end this thing up, i want to share some amazing pictures of stacy with you all, that i think capture the beautiful, compassionate, sassy, silly and thoughtful person that she is. enjoy! there is both humour and beauty involved. i had to have some personal fun with this since it is her birthday and all . . .



a friend, a momma and a student. this is stacy with robin lim, famed midwife in indonesia and pretty cool lady in general.



for so many reasons, i find personal inspiration in this photo of stace




i think this is one of the most beautiful pictures i have ever seen! this on the beach in kuta, bali, indonesia




a fellow comedian. this is what we have found to do with our spare time and digital cameras over the years




man, she's cute. but, i'm trying to remember who would have taken this picture?




whoa - and still hot . . .




often posing as celebrity personalities in her spare time, i found her in the living room two days before halloween just standing like this?




this gal is one serious thinker. look at the brain waves just lightin' up the sky behind her





a trend setter no doubt, but a sunglasses designer - who knew?




a skilled teacher in the art of eating safely




a sassy momma, then multiply times two and all bets are off!




here we are. just setting the trend together. a lovely couple with a strong sense of style. i love what she did with her hair.




wait, that must be an original pair of the sunglasses there.





that lady does not have time to play. you can see why i fought for women's equality in a church meeting - there isn't really a lot of room for error. ;-)




talk about making friends and babies happy . . . i couldn't ask for much more in a partner!

Happy Birthday Stacy!