Sunday, May 31, 2009

Dry Run

We had a summer-vacation-type day today.

My Honey was gone golfing so it was just me and the kids. We fiddly-farted around for a couple hours then decided to grab a late breakfast and go to the park. We played around there until noon or so then went home for naps. I could get used to that kind of life for the next few months!

We didn't actually "fiddly-fart" around. I got up and went for a bike ride early this morning, then I came home and we did stuff outside ... I gave my least favorite bush a massive trim, I figure if I keep going shorter each year I can finally get rid of the dang thing eventually. Did some weeding, picked some peonies and put them inside (boy do I need a new vase!) I also cleaned out the boat which means we can get it in the water soon! I am so very happy about that. Its been quite a few seasons since its been in the water more than once, hopefully we can get it in the water on a regular (weekly) basis this year. I'm motivated enough that I want to learn to back the doggone thing in so we can make it happen.

Its the last week of school for Bubba so it will be a fun one. Field day, a Father's Day lunch and a first grade class picnic. That last week of school is so worthless! But sooooo fun!

And work. Well, lets just say I was right, I have not spent 40 hours at work all month! Yay for me. This past week I took Friday off to take my mom to Seattle for an Alaskan Cruise with LK and I am taking Wednesday off for ... hmmm, lets see, because an issue has become so convoluted that it takes an uninvolved third party to figure out who is right. Wish me luck.

After meeting up with my sister and getting them off on their cruise I took Miss I shopping with my Dad's wife. We had fun! Then we stayed overnight, she went horse back riding for the first time, I nearly crashed the car and then we fought (until she fell asleep) on the way home. It. Was. Great. Can't wait to do it again. Actually I did kind of crash the car, there just wasn't any damage. Gotta love it when you drive off the edge of the driveway in an AWD vehicle. It's not MEANT to do that, but it can tolerate it a time or two. Sheesh!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

We're back


Whew, what fun! Great food, good drinks and lots of s... sun!
Right next door to our hotel (the Hotel Valley Ho ... no kidding!) there was a great restaurant called Trader Vics, it was Hawaiian themed and the BEST food! I have forgotten what really good food tastes like. The hotel restaurant was great too.

On Monday I spent the morning by the pool, I couldn't help it, it was 90 degrees at 9am! But I was smart and put on sun screen. Kind of smart. I didn't get much color. I walked to a downtown area later and checked out some of the shops. It was nice to shop off season, not too many people there this time of year. One of the shopkeepers told me about a Botanical Garden nearby so I made a mental note to check it out the next day.

Tuesday after My Honey took off for his classes I took off for the Botanical Garden. WOW. I have never seen so many varieties of cacti! Amazing! And I lucked out because many were still blooming!


I saw a few kinds of lizards, a jack rabbit, many birds and butterflies. I spent a couple hours there taking pictures. There was an amazing Chihuly exhibit too.


Bright colored glass art interspersed throughout the desert! Talk about cool! All of a sudden you would be walking along and there would be this bright purple or orange or green thing or things in the middle of the desert. Very neat. It looked like they were lit at night too, but I didn't make it back to find out.

Later Tuesday I got my sun I wanted! I have a great start to my summer tan which was really my only goal for going to Arizona! And spending time with My Honey. We had a nice time. We got to take a walk in the mornings when it was cooler, sit by the pool drinking margaritas after his conference and eat delicious food someone else cooked and brought to us! Oh, and no kids for 3 days! What a treat. I will admit, it is nice to get home see the kids and get back to regular life ... sort of :)

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Miss you

We're getting out of Dodge. Going to Arizona! Just me and My Honey. Flying out tomorrow. YAY!!! I am really looking forward to the one hundred degree days by the pool with nothing to do and no one to worry about but me. Sure, I'll miss the kids, I may even miss work (hahahahahaha) but I can't wait to just sit around and take care of me in the way I like to; no one and nothing to be responsible for but me.

I think I have everything arranged, and I just got a great idea for getting Harry to Karate ... I was going to let him skip it next week, but I think I may be able to arrange it after all.


Today hasn't quite gone as planned. In fact, the whole week has been kind of that way. There are a couple of situations as a mom, as a wife and at work that have really shaken my confidence. Maybe some time away and some self-medicating will help?


Today I thought we had a soccer game. OOPS, wrong week. Fortunately that gives us an extra couple hours in the day! Just enough time to download all my cd's again. I goofed up the last time I bought some songs and erased my library. I didn't think it was that big of a deal ... Turns out it's really gone. Can't get anything I have purchased back. Now I am considering if it's worth the extra five bucks to just go buy my own cd's again? Then I have my hard copy and the lyrics too. I miss not getting lyrics. I know, I know, there are ways to get stuff for free, maybe I will look into that too. (I better be careful huh? Maybe the feds are watching...)

I had one great week of tri-training, but, as I said I had a couple confidence shakers and haven't gotten back onto the training wagon yet, plus I was thinking about VACATION so I got distracted.

My plan is to do swimming early on Monday mornings, strength training on Tuesdays and maybe throw a run in. Wednesdays I think I need to take off, I can't fit it in with all the other stuff going on. Thursdays I want to ride after work and run on Fridays after work. Saturdays, depending on the week, will either be a ride in the morning or after work, maybe a run. Or thats what I would like to TRY and do. I think its manageable, it works out when the kids (and My Honey) are otherwise occupied so I don't have any child care issues. Sounds workable....

Thursday, May 07, 2009

Try A Tri

Why the hell not? Me and some friends are gonna do it, you should too!

My cousin and I talked about it last fall, I think she is still on board, now there are even a couple gals from work that are gonna do it too. What can it hurt? Who can't take a short swim in beautiful Lake Chelan, (1/4 mile) ride a few miles (13 miles) and then take a little jog (5K)? We're gonna try, you should too!

There are a TON of training plans out there, just search something like "8 week triathlon training plans" and see all the choices you get! Contrary to popular belief, WINNING isn't the goal, FINISHING is. So what if it takes 2.5 or 3 hours? Then again, if there are age categories, I'm golden! Just kidding. Now, if I can get through training without breaking any bones!

What I did today:
Biked, uphill a lot against the wind 5.5 miles
Yesterday:
Ran, pretty puny run (1 mile) after a short aerobics class, but I did it

Tuesday, May 05, 2009

40 hours

I don't think I am going to work a 40-hour week this month. (No, that's not a complaint, just an observation!)

It wasn't planned that way, just worked out that someone or other is sick and I get to stay home. Plus we have a getaway planned around the end of the month, so a few more days off there. Oh yeah, there are those THREE 12-hour shifts Memorial Day weekend, I take it back, I won't work a 40 hour week until those 3 days!

Here's the deal. My Honey's dad had unexpected open heart surgery last week so we switched off who would work and when to make up for my MIL who takes care of the kids (except Friday - THANKS DW!!!) Now, Miss I has a stomach flu so I am taking tomorrow off, who wants a sick kid around when you've just had your chest cracked open? He's doing very well, out for walks every day since he was released on Sunday, but still, can you imagine puking after that kind of surgery? Me either.

Miss I seems to be doing a lot better this afternoon, but she seemed okay this morning too and then surprised us by puking up her breakfast! Talk about a monkey wrench in our day. I had scheduled Bubba to get two teeth pulled at the dentist, what am I to do with a puking 3 year old while he gets teeth pulled? Thankfully My Honey's job has some flexibility and he was able to take the morning off to take him to the dentist while I stayed home with the sickie.

Bubba has been a trooper! He's got these big huge gaping holes in his mouth where they took the teeth out, and hasn't complained about the pain one time yet. They had to pull a couple teeth to make room for the ones that are in to straighten out. I imagine this will go on for a couple years. Grow a tooth, pull a tooth. Bummer he inherited his mother's small mouth.

The weather has been wacky! We had snow at about the 1000' level last week, then 70+ degree days just in time for Thursday and Friday of Apple Blossom then it rained a lot of yesterday and last night. Now the wind has come up, hopefully this will be short lived and blow the WARM summer weather in!

Did I mention the concert at the park on Friday night? It was really fun. Fat Happy rocked da house! Okay, they rocked the park! My SIL and I had a lot of fun. Definitely a do-over when they play next year. I also read they are playing in June at one of the local coffee shops. That's a definite must-do too!

Saturday, May 02, 2009

Sheesh

I am so far behind. Its kind of a state everywhere! Not just here, in the blogosphere, but my house is falling apart (its dirty, dirty, dirty. Would someone please come to visit so I would have a reason to clean?) Work is picking up, and it was APPLE BLOSSOM!

I love the AB festival. I love the music, the smells, the sights, the parade, the everything! We watched the parade from downtown today, participated in the Fun Run, tried to eat lunch at the park, but it started to rain (unfortunately, everyone else had the McDonald's idea too so we ended up with grilled cheese at home) and then took a LONG nap, well Miss I and I did. Three hours. When was the last time I took a three hour nap? Sheesh.

We have also been full swing into soccer, karate and some medical things. My Honey's dad had unexpected open heart surgery(!) Yeah, I know! He's doing great and expected to be released tomorrow to go home. Apparently open heart surgery is pretty routine these days. They were able to do the surgery here in our hometown, he was up and walking within 24 hours, and he's being released just 4 days after the surgery. Amazing. The first time around (15 years ago) it was much different. I think he spent at least a week over in Seattle and they pretty much kept him bedded for several weeks as I recall. It was just a couple years into our marriage so I really don't remember much of it. (Those first few years are kind of a fitting-in time.) Anyway, he's doing well and we are all very thankful!

Back to Apple Blossom! One thing I remember, after over 30 years of watching parades is this: the motorcycle cops from Seattle! They are my favorite. Mostly because they were my Grandma's favorite. Seems to me she KNEW some of them somehow... Anyway, they would ride by where ever we watched the parade that year and she would just beam, she always seemed so proud. I don't have any idea how she knew them, but she loved them! And so do I. It's pretty awesome how they can maneuver those monster bikes around in such tight formation. Always very impressive.

What else? Oh yeah, the Fam Damily BBQ. Success! My brother cooked (he's welcome to come over anytime to do that) and there were about 20 of us here. My sisters, the kids, my step-dad, mom, my dad's mom (yeah, I know, my mom & step-dad who are divorced and my dad's mom ... weird) my auntie her friends that were in town for the weekend, my brother and his baby's mamma. What a blast! I had a great time, made even better since I wasn't cooking! I would do it again!

Oh and hockey! We went to two hockey games in the past couple weeks! Our Wenatchee Wild made it to some kind of championship game in Iowa and now they are in the finals tomorrow! Unfortunately they're playing a team that crushed them 6-0 last week, but you never know! GO WILD!