The video doesn’t do the vision of our hike from our steading to the Balfour estate any justice. Nature is just far more beautiful. However, please enjoy.

… and Happy New Year to you and your loved ones.

Here’s a tease: World Freerunning & Parkour Federation

So, for friends not on Facebook, here’s the list I provided.  I called it Here It Is: Those 25 Things About Me:

1. Whoever said that a woman over 30 had a better chance of getting hit by lightning than getting married was wrong. The greatest day of my life was Oct. 4, 2008 when I married the cute Scottish boy I met when I was only 17 years old (And I’ve never been hit by lightning) 

2. On September 11, 2001, I thought that I could never celebrate my birthday ever again. Now it seems that 9/11 has become a “Patriotic” holiday.

 3. I used to be a cat person until my allergies took away that pleasure. 

4. I thrive on the creative process. The arts that I do – dance, acrobatics, writing, acting and more – give life meaning. The arts I observe – music, painting, poetry and more – make life grand.

5. Dan Millman (Peaceful Warrior) thinks we were soul mates in a former life. In our current lives, we are both former FIT World Trampoline Champions and good friends.

6. I competed with the flu when I won my first FIT World Trampoline Championship title.

7. After I shaved my head for GI Jane, I woke up every morning for weeks thinking it was a nightmare refusing to touch my head to find out if it was true. Then I’d look in the mirror … Disappointed each time. Argh!

8. My husband gave me a tattoo for my (last) birthday: a fleur de lis on my right foot.

9. I have an obsession with fleur de lis’, stackable rings from Raffinity (in Santa Monica), my computer and my adorable dog, Nicholas.

10. Even though my features reflect my Irish heritage, I am also of Native American decent.

11. I used to live in a Sikh ashram. My spiritual name is Har Har Hari Kaur given to me during a Kundalini meditation by Siri Singh Sahib after he read my numbers to learn about me. It means “God God Creative God.” Yep, that’s me: God! ☺

12. Travel has enriched my life immeasurably. The over 20 foreign countries I’ve been to range from Egypt, Hong Kong and Russia to Australia, Venezuela and South Africa as well as the typical tourist spots like France, Germany and England. 

13. I wish my French was better, but I rarely try (even though one of my closest friends is French!)

14. My father and I are the only Father-Daughter inductees in the United States Association of Gymnastics Hall of Fame (Dad was inducted in 1997 & I was inducted in 2007)

15. Two months before I was inducted in the USAG Hall of Fame, I walked the red carpet at the 2007 Taurus World Stunt Awards as a nominee.

16. I know how to knit, crochet and sew (although I rarely put them into practice).

17. I was a Republican until Reagan’s second term, thanks to the Iran-Contra scandal and “trickle-down” (voodoo) economics.

18. I’ve concealed my age ever since I got wise to the fact that I would hit 40 one day and women over 40 in the stunt business are considered DEAD! Now that I’m comfortable with my recent milestone birthday, I’m afraid that people who always thought I was younger than them will be pissed to find out.

19. I have a form of dyslexia that makes reading incredibly laborious. This is very, very frustrating for me.

20. I’m an athletic quick study, my ace-in-the-hole of both my athletic and stunt careers. However there are two things that kick my butt: running marathons and riding a unicycle!

21. When I do high falls for the movies, I would rather view the airbag from the perch than from the ground. It just looks closer.

22. I am so fortunate to absolutely love everyone in my husband’s family – and that everyone in my family absolutely loves my husband.

23. I’ve had so many surgeries that I can’t remember them all, but I know most were knee surgeries. Both are reconstructed.

24. I’ve moved across the country several times: from Lafayette to Austin, to Washington, DC to Los Angeles to Miami back to Los Angeles. And now, my husband and I consider Los Angeles, Scotland and Louisiana home.

25. I used to hate church and religion until guilt drove me to walk into Foundry United Methodist Church near my apartment in DC one Easter morning. The minister and congregation taught me two important lessons I hadn’t learned in the Louisiana churches I grew up in: 1) The bible is interpreted countless ways and 2) God is love. Church became enjoyable (but now I have to drag my husband to go!)

TAG!  YOU’RE IT!

(Leave your list either here in the comments or on Facebook – Thanks!)

The moment that recently reappeared again reminds me to appreciate achievements.  Here’s a little achievement that I am eternally grateful: athletic ability and fearlessness.

Dad taught me to stand in his hand balancing on one foot as a toddler before I could even walk.  This is one of the earliest memories of my life.  I actually recall performing for visiting guests one day.  I can still see my tiny feet in my father’s palm. I remember him telling me what to do, “Now, lift your foot,” and I was scared.  I was scared, but I trusted him.  He wouldn’t drop me.  So, I slowly and apprehensively lifted my foot.  People in the room cheered and it was fun.  It was easy.  I could feel my Dad’s palm grip my standing foot tight and his weight holding me up.

The trick only lasted a few seconds before it was over.  It was a good experience.  I achieved something really cool and it made me happy.

… And then I became an athlete and a stunt performer.  Taking risks was a lesson learned at an early age.

That said, it’s time to move forward.  For weeks/months, I’ve been focused on my wedding on October 4th. Since then, I’ve been obsessed with the election.  That’s done and it’s time to focus on the smaller world: mine.  Back to work. Back to dreaming. 

To get “forward” started, I’m posting Imagine, by John Lennon.  My brother, Jeff, read it at my wedding.  The hopeful, peaceful lyrics mean a lot to family members and resonate today, which I think was made clear on Tuesday.  So, here it are the lyrics:

IMAGINE

Imagine there’s no heaven

It’s easy if you try

No hell below us

Above us only sky

Imagine all the people

Living for today

Imagine there’s no countries,

It isn’t hard to do

Nothing to kill or die for

And no religion too

Imagine all the people

Living life in peace

Imagine no possessions

I wonder if you can

No need for greed or hunger

A brotherhood of man

Imagine all the people

Sharing all the world

You may say I’m a dreamer

But I’m not the only one

I hope some day you’ll join us

And the world will live as one

Here’s what happens: