Buoys along the shore
Very cool boat all overgrown in the forest
Beautiful pond I found while trespassing...
Next year's puzzle, I think!
Beautiful sunshiny day
Another fantastic year at Guemes. Looking forward to our next trip!
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Monday, November 19, 2012
Whew!
It's such a different experience this year. The whole hockey-playing-thing. I've actually had moments where I had to talk myself off the couch and into the car to get to practice. Maybe because some of it is coming easier?
The tournament was unbelievably fantastic!! Coach kept us in the same lines the whole weekend so we were working really well together by the final game. Our game times were not too early, not too late. I hung out at the rink a lot taking in some upper level games and getting to know some of our players better. And, I played some of my best hockey ever!
Our first game, Friday night, was great, we started the weekend with a win! And a pretty strong performance by everyone. We were pretty stoked! And our coach was pleased too.
The Saturday morning game was against a team with some more experienced players on it. Coach told us to go out, play our game and not worry about it. They won, but we made them fight for it. Coach was very impressed we held them off as well as we did. She had kind of set us up not to be disappointed, but to just do our best, and we did and we were all very pleased.
Game three on Sunday morning was .... well, we were prepared to take a beating. The team was from the University of Idaho, so they had youth and experience on us. (And, just to be clear, they should NOT have been playing in the novice division!) My defense partner had watched their game the day before and coached the D pretty well telling us to keep it away from the net, get them in the corner, ice the puck and to protect our goalie. U of I took 55 shots on the goalie the night before so we knew we had our work cut out for us. (I would say average shots on goal are around 25-30 per game.)
My D partner and I ended up sitting together at supper Saturday night, so we had time to come up with a plan for our defense, and it worked. Speaking of Saturday night, know what happens when you get a bunch of crazy lesbian hockey players, a few crazy straight hockey players and a lot of beer, wine and Fireball together? ... LOTS!!! What a party! There were a few people looking for puke buckets the next morning!
But I digress... back to Sunday morning; Coach warned us about the U of I team, to just play our best game, play what we know and not let them throw us. She admitted they are not a novice team, they creamed the other two teams they had played (4-0 and 6-0) and yes, they had taken many, many shots on goal so get it out of our defensive zone as often as possible!!! She coached us really well from the bench, we all kept out heads in the game and we performed so well against these guys! So! Well! We had nothing to be embarrassed about or ashamed of. They took only 38 shots on our goal (way to go defense!) but they did get a couple in (sonsabitches!) They took the game, but they didn't take the game away from us -- ya know?
As far as all the games go, I understood what I was supposed to do this time around, the lingo made sense, my job was clear and I did it to the best of my ability. My Honey even commented that my game was much improved. I might have taken a girl out too! Hell yeah, I did! And she was tall ... Really tall. I might also have gotten a taste of some pushing and shoving and that might be the next thing I start to work on, how to use my body to get some work done. So we lost our last game, but we did it really well. Turned out our advanced team played the other U of I team, guess what? At least THREE of their "novice" players were also on the advanced team. So we were cheering "GO BANSHEES! YOU CAN BEAT THIS NOVICE TEAM" from the stands. Shame on us, right? Hardly.
Anyway, no playoffs, but a hella good time and some great hockey playing by all involved. Looking forward to getting back on the ice next Sunday night.
Oh, and happy gobble-gobble day. We're headed to the Island. It should be .... windy and rainy. Total relax time by the fire!
The tournament was unbelievably fantastic!! Coach kept us in the same lines the whole weekend so we were working really well together by the final game. Our game times were not too early, not too late. I hung out at the rink a lot taking in some upper level games and getting to know some of our players better. And, I played some of my best hockey ever!
Our first game, Friday night, was great, we started the weekend with a win! And a pretty strong performance by everyone. We were pretty stoked! And our coach was pleased too.
The Saturday morning game was against a team with some more experienced players on it. Coach told us to go out, play our game and not worry about it. They won, but we made them fight for it. Coach was very impressed we held them off as well as we did. She had kind of set us up not to be disappointed, but to just do our best, and we did and we were all very pleased.
Game three on Sunday morning was .... well, we were prepared to take a beating. The team was from the University of Idaho, so they had youth and experience on us. (And, just to be clear, they should NOT have been playing in the novice division!) My defense partner had watched their game the day before and coached the D pretty well telling us to keep it away from the net, get them in the corner, ice the puck and to protect our goalie. U of I took 55 shots on the goalie the night before so we knew we had our work cut out for us. (I would say average shots on goal are around 25-30 per game.)
My D partner and I ended up sitting together at supper Saturday night, so we had time to come up with a plan for our defense, and it worked. Speaking of Saturday night, know what happens when you get a bunch of crazy lesbian hockey players, a few crazy straight hockey players and a lot of beer, wine and Fireball together? ... LOTS!!! What a party! There were a few people looking for puke buckets the next morning!
But I digress... back to Sunday morning; Coach warned us about the U of I team, to just play our best game, play what we know and not let them throw us. She admitted they are not a novice team, they creamed the other two teams they had played (4-0 and 6-0) and yes, they had taken many, many shots on goal so get it out of our defensive zone as often as possible!!! She coached us really well from the bench, we all kept out heads in the game and we performed so well against these guys! So! Well! We had nothing to be embarrassed about or ashamed of. They took only 38 shots on our goal (way to go defense!) but they did get a couple in (sonsabitches!) They took the game, but they didn't take the game away from us -- ya know?
As far as all the games go, I understood what I was supposed to do this time around, the lingo made sense, my job was clear and I did it to the best of my ability. My Honey even commented that my game was much improved. I might have taken a girl out too! Hell yeah, I did! And she was tall ... Really tall. I might also have gotten a taste of some pushing and shoving and that might be the next thing I start to work on, how to use my body to get some work done. So we lost our last game, but we did it really well. Turned out our advanced team played the other U of I team, guess what? At least THREE of their "novice" players were also on the advanced team. So we were cheering "GO BANSHEES! YOU CAN BEAT THIS NOVICE TEAM" from the stands. Shame on us, right? Hardly.
Anyway, no playoffs, but a hella good time and some great hockey playing by all involved. Looking forward to getting back on the ice next Sunday night.
Oh, and happy gobble-gobble day. We're headed to the Island. It should be .... windy and rainy. Total relax time by the fire!
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Game on!
Tournament this weekend!!!
Here's to playing hard, working as a team and .... maybe winning one?!!
Here's to playing hard, working as a team and .... maybe winning one?!!
Tuesday, November 06, 2012
Saddle Rock
The dog and I ventured across town and hiked Saddle Rock. It's quite an elevation climb, pretty- in a sagebrush, wild grass sort if way - and there are many, many trails! We made it to the top and then some. Total mileage was just shy of six, but it felt closer to 85!
Monday, November 05, 2012
It kind of looks like he's about to cry or something? We had just come down off the hillside after a near-three-mile hike and he stopped and asked me to take a picture of the way the hillside was formed. He thought it was cool. So I got him too. Lately hes not wanting to be in pictures so this is a treat for me! It was also a treat that he wanted to go -- he's almost eleven, you know.
He might be getting too old for hanging out with his mom ... :(
While on our hike, I wanted a picture of our feets.
He said "Cool, I like the way the colors contrast with the dirt."
In no time at all it will be wet and rainy or snowy or icy or all of the above so I am trying to enjoy our beautiful fall days before I start complaining about the cold.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Recover
I did yoga for about a year before Bubba was born and then off and on for the next few years until my instructor, Jen, was killed in a car crash.
Since then, I've tried a few classes but nothing really stuck; timing, schedule, child care etc.. But mostly I've come to think maybe I hadn't grieved her death, and accepted the fact that its okay to take a class and enjoy it from someone else.
I went to a yoga class Monday night that happened to be in the studio that Jen was remodeling and had plans to teach in before her death.
It was a bit emotional, but good. Really good. As we sat centering ourselves, I let a few tears fall, I reminded myself it was okay and I am pretty sure it would have been okay with Jen too.
The class is marketed as a recovery class for athletes who may forget to stretch or who may not get everything stretched real good. It's stretched real good now!
I'm glad I went. I'm going back Monday.
Since then, I've tried a few classes but nothing really stuck; timing, schedule, child care etc.. But mostly I've come to think maybe I hadn't grieved her death, and accepted the fact that its okay to take a class and enjoy it from someone else.
I went to a yoga class Monday night that happened to be in the studio that Jen was remodeling and had plans to teach in before her death.
It was a bit emotional, but good. Really good. As we sat centering ourselves, I let a few tears fall, I reminded myself it was okay and I am pretty sure it would have been okay with Jen too.
The class is marketed as a recovery class for athletes who may forget to stretch or who may not get everything stretched real good. It's stretched real good now!
I'm glad I went. I'm going back Monday.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Above it all
Once I got above the clouds it was beautiful on my walk today. Flooding predicted for tomorrow so I'm REALLY glad I got out today.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Judge ye not
Tuesday is pool night. My Honey plays pool and I watch. And have a beer. Or two.
Last week I saw a gal walk in who looked familiar, but I couldn't place her, because that's how I am. Eventually, I heard her voice and realized it was Hannah's teacher. My first thought? "What is her first grade teacher doing in a BAR?!" Followed closely by "What is a first grade mama doing in a bar?" I was quick to judge. And quick to stop judging too.
Eventually she saw me and we had a little conversation about first grade teachers and first grade mamas in the bar and we decided it could be our secret. And I invited her back next week. Turns out her husband plays pool too.
Last week I saw a gal walk in who looked familiar, but I couldn't place her, because that's how I am. Eventually, I heard her voice and realized it was Hannah's teacher. My first thought? "What is her first grade teacher doing in a BAR?!" Followed closely by "What is a first grade mama doing in a bar?" I was quick to judge. And quick to stop judging too.
Eventually she saw me and we had a little conversation about first grade teachers and first grade mamas in the bar and we decided it could be our secret. And I invited her back next week. Turns out her husband plays pool too.
Mmmmmmm
So I might have been a stud and made this delicious quiche for dinner the other night. Or I might have stolen the picture. You will never know for sure...
Monday, October 22, 2012
Out and about
I had to travel to the county seat today. That's it. Right there. The whole thing.
Somehow, our address was marked as "no such number" so a new set of license plates were returned to the auditors office. No biggie, and aside from the rain, it wasn't too bad of a drive. Since I was headed to BFE, I thought I would take the dog and see if we could find ourselves some new scenery for a walk. We were successful, but had to cut it short because of travel time. So instead of a 4-6 mile walk, we only got 2. But it was COLD so I'm sure I burned twice as many calories, right? And we saw SNOW. Yeah. Stinking stuff. If the temperature continues to fall here in town, we could wake up to the white stuff tomorrow. WTH? It's barely mid-October. Oh well. Time to break out the cross country skis and/or snowshoes.
Poor little leaf. Surrounded by snow.
Monday, October 15, 2012
A quick word about hockey
Note to self 1: Sports Authority and Dick's Sporting Goods don't carry hockey equipment. Boo.
Note to self 2: Your game rocked last night!
Let's talk about the scrimmage, shall we? OKAY!
I spent the first half of the game playing defense (D) and I gotta say it felt pretty good --- well compared to last year and the year before. My game is coming along, I'm no intermediate player (far from it!) but I might be working my way to the upper end of novice. Half way through I changed to wing (RW) and I might have played pretty well there too. (For me, anyway.)
As D I think I was where I was supposed to be most of the time. In our defensive zone I was either defending my goal, or waiting to take the puck up the ice from my other D. I was playing on the right though, so every stinking pass was to my back hand. Not bad, it just needs work. I was trying real hard to skate to the puck, not just wait for it, and a couple times my other D and I had it together. Mostly we didn't, but it was our first time playing together. I'm not sure who is more unpredictable; me or her.
As RW I tried to stay close to the goal, took a couple shots. Nothing made it in. Once I was sure it was going in and when it didn't "SONOFABITCH!!! REALLY??!!!" might have been what I yelled at the goalie. We are good for a few laughs! I chased my offending wings down the ice like I'm supposed to, and I kept up with them(!). I think I was close to where I was supposed to be, I'm sure I could have been better, but I tried really hard. I did hear one of the other gals say she needed some new moves against me ... that's gotta be good, right? OH! My tight turns? ROCKED IT! Well, better than before anyway. Those practices are doing me some good :)
We played three iron man periods, which means no changes, since we only had the minimum of 5 per team! Hard work! But a great work out. At some point I expect the picture of us all sprawled out on the ice between periods posted on FB -- gotta love FB. Classic hockey, everyone lying (literally) on the ice resting between periods!
It was really good to get on the ice with my gals in a scrimmage! Totally looking forward to our tournament in November!
Note to self 2: Your game rocked last night!
Let's talk about the scrimmage, shall we? OKAY!
I spent the first half of the game playing defense (D) and I gotta say it felt pretty good --- well compared to last year and the year before. My game is coming along, I'm no intermediate player (far from it!) but I might be working my way to the upper end of novice. Half way through I changed to wing (RW) and I might have played pretty well there too. (For me, anyway.)
As D I think I was where I was supposed to be most of the time. In our defensive zone I was either defending my goal, or waiting to take the puck up the ice from my other D. I was playing on the right though, so every stinking pass was to my back hand. Not bad, it just needs work. I was trying real hard to skate to the puck, not just wait for it, and a couple times my other D and I had it together. Mostly we didn't, but it was our first time playing together. I'm not sure who is more unpredictable; me or her.
As RW I tried to stay close to the goal, took a couple shots. Nothing made it in. Once I was sure it was going in and when it didn't "SONOFABITCH!!! REALLY??!!!" might have been what I yelled at the goalie. We are good for a few laughs! I chased my offending wings down the ice like I'm supposed to, and I kept up with them(!). I think I was close to where I was supposed to be, I'm sure I could have been better, but I tried really hard. I did hear one of the other gals say she needed some new moves against me ... that's gotta be good, right? OH! My tight turns? ROCKED IT! Well, better than before anyway. Those practices are doing me some good :)
We played three iron man periods, which means no changes, since we only had the minimum of 5 per team! Hard work! But a great work out. At some point I expect the picture of us all sprawled out on the ice between periods posted on FB -- gotta love FB. Classic hockey, everyone lying (literally) on the ice resting between periods!
It was really good to get on the ice with my gals in a scrimmage! Totally looking forward to our tournament in November!
Sunday, October 14, 2012
From this to that
Good riddance! We cleaned and cleaned and purged and purged yesterday. All. Day.
All. Day.
We now have closet doors that close, a kid-friendly-TV-room. We re-vamped the guest room/office and.... Well, lets just say its clean, organized and it was a lot of work.
It's amazing how this mess ...
Becomes these. My son can find what he wants in that hodge-podge and whip out a fly in just a couple minutes when he sets his mind to it. Ask him to clean it up tho and he goes into a zombie-like trance!
He's not the only artsy one in the family. My Honey made pancakes yesterday morning. This was Hannah's flower. Cute, no? She loved it. He also made an assault rifle and a fishing hook for Bubba.
Monday, October 08, 2012
Trying
I am trying to get a photo that really represents the hill the dog and I climb. This kind of does. But maybe telling you that my legs have not hurt after any hockey practice, nor have I been winded during practice will tell the story better? I hadn't realized what kind of shape I'm in until I started to play again.
We are climbing hills, people! Technically, we might be hiking ... We are! According to The Oracle that is Wikipedia, hiking is defined as: "walking outdoors on a trail for recreational purposes." Good job us!
I blame that stupid RunKeeper app for motivating me. About four weeks ago I set a goal to walk 130 miles by December 6. It coincides with a fitness something-or-other at work. As of today I have walked 39 of those miles.
We get thirsty, too. Back in June, maybe, I bought a hydration pack. I feel sort of dumb wearing it as I leave the house, but I'm usually really glad to have it about mile three. Of. Climbing. Hills! And I have to say the one I bought is spectacular! Its cut for women, narrower in the shoulders, has lots of chest adjustment for small (me), medium and large breast-es-'s, and its a 70-ouncer so it holds plenty of water. Pockets on each side and a small pouch in the back. I wanted to be able to carry my phone and stash a jacket if I needed to, so its perfect so far. It's by Nathan, and I love it!
Hmmm, again, I thought of much more stuff to write about while walking today, but its gone now. Later I will talk about my last two hockey practices, and maybe I will get into it about an online course I'm doing. Not sure. We shall see. But for sure I want to say I am loving the new P!nk album. I know, completely unrelated, but that's how I roll.
Friday, October 05, 2012
Different point of view
This is my usual road for walking the dog. It heads over to the right and then along that dark row of trees near the center of the screen and then, when we go really far we end up in the light-ish brown area above the dark row of trees. Yesterday we did 7.5 miles, today I wanted to hit a yoga class so we only got in 5.25 miles. And yoga was excellent. Totally worth cutting my walk short.
This is the hill across from where I usually walk. You can kind of see the trail near the top of the picture on the left. I saw what turned out to be a game trail on the other hillside so the dog and I traversed the canyon only to find the trail ended near an orchard. Good for the deer, not so much for us so we turned around and headed back the usual way.
I don't know. They just kind of looked cool.
I had hockey practice today too. According to one of those fitness apps I have burned damn-near 1300 calories today. Time to find me something to eat!!
Monday, October 01, 2012
Executioner
I'm a planner. I can plan, plan, plan. I can schedule a day to the minute if I have to, but I usually lack follow through. I'm not always great at executing a plan. I'm not sure if I can't handle the idea of failing, or succeeding, or if I just get it all planned and then I don't care anymore... Either way, gittin 'er done isn't usually my strength.
And that's all I remember about the fantastic post I was composing in my head on my walk yesterday. SEE! Great planner, poor execution!
Good news is that I got a walk yesterday. With the fires and inversion my valley has been filled with smoke for the past few weeks. It was very nice to get out! It's still kind of yucky, but nowhere as bad as it was!
And that's all I remember about the fantastic post I was composing in my head on my walk yesterday. SEE! Great planner, poor execution!
Good news is that I got a walk yesterday. With the fires and inversion my valley has been filled with smoke for the past few weeks. It was very nice to get out! It's still kind of yucky, but nowhere as bad as it was!
Monday, September 24, 2012
Balls On Ice
Ahhhh, sweet hockey season has returned.
Practice was great. We only had seven ladies so we got a lot of individual attention. It's supercool when the coach to player ratio is 1:2!
We worked on our tight turns to start. These are not so easy for me. Something about working on the edges of my skates that makes me feel like I'm gonna fall, so I avoid it. Well, maybe the truth is I try to cheat. I try to do them standing upright, because it... feels safer? Yeah. Funny when I follow the coaches instructions "bend your knees" it seems to go pretty well. Maybe they know what they're talking about?
It is my intention to really listen and try to follow their instruction this year. It's so hard to do though, for some reason I think I know it all, that I can figure it out and do it (anything) on my own. Know what? I don't and I can't. Know what else? I'm teaching my kids (especially that Girl Child) the same thing. I see her struggle every day because she thinks he knows how and/or that she can do it without help.
We also did some stick handling. This is good stuff and an area where I see so much improvement in myself since I started and even since last season. My aim is better, my receiving has improved and my control isn't too bad either. We worked with a partner for part of the session passing across the ice, then we worked together as we skated around the rink passing back and forth. A very practical drill, stuff we use in every game. And finally we did some work with a golf ball on the ice instead of a puck. Tiny, slippery little buggers!! Good practice though for control and finding the sweet spot on out sticks. Speaking of, my stick needs to be trimmed. Again, listening to my coach I'm gonna take an inch or so off and.. I'm going to ask My Honey to help me trim it do I don't screw it up.
See, Old Dog, New Tricks.
It can be done.
Practice was great. We only had seven ladies so we got a lot of individual attention. It's supercool when the coach to player ratio is 1:2!
We worked on our tight turns to start. These are not so easy for me. Something about working on the edges of my skates that makes me feel like I'm gonna fall, so I avoid it. Well, maybe the truth is I try to cheat. I try to do them standing upright, because it... feels safer? Yeah. Funny when I follow the coaches instructions "bend your knees" it seems to go pretty well. Maybe they know what they're talking about?
It is my intention to really listen and try to follow their instruction this year. It's so hard to do though, for some reason I think I know it all, that I can figure it out and do it (anything) on my own. Know what? I don't and I can't. Know what else? I'm teaching my kids (especially that Girl Child) the same thing. I see her struggle every day because she thinks he knows how and/or that she can do it without help.
We also did some stick handling. This is good stuff and an area where I see so much improvement in myself since I started and even since last season. My aim is better, my receiving has improved and my control isn't too bad either. We worked with a partner for part of the session passing across the ice, then we worked together as we skated around the rink passing back and forth. A very practical drill, stuff we use in every game. And finally we did some work with a golf ball on the ice instead of a puck. Tiny, slippery little buggers!! Good practice though for control and finding the sweet spot on out sticks. Speaking of, my stick needs to be trimmed. Again, listening to my coach I'm gonna take an inch or so off and.. I'm going to ask My Honey to help me trim it do I don't screw it up.
See, Old Dog, New Tricks.
It can be done.
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Lens
“You don’t see the world as it is. You see the world as you are.” ` anais nin
I was sitting here wondering "what kind of Mother am I that four days with my kids makes me so irritable?" Because I am irritable today, and it's day four of me and the kids. I can pretty much count on being sick of them by day four, but I really try to get through it. Not so much today. I feel really raw emotionally. Really wore out physically and I'm not sure what mentally.
The past two weeks have definitely taken their toll with the smoke in my valley. I was pretty fine until Tuesday when I started to feel the effects physically. My Honey had come home from work several days early complaining of headache, upset stomach and inability to concentrate. Although his workplace is right next door, his building is 100+ years old so their ventilation isn't very good, nor are their windows double paned, not only that, they have people going in and out the doors all day long (he works a the YMCA.) My building, on the other hand, is only seven years old, has pretty decent HVAC and we don't have anyone opening or shutting doors on a regular basis. Not only that, we are on the third floor so we don't get much outdoor pollution. But when it hit me, it hit me hard. Tuesday I felt horrible, nauseous, and just plain gross. Wednesday morning I still felt like crap, but figured I could make it part of the day so I went to work but ended up taking a couple hours sick leave and I made plans to get out of Dodge.
Thankfully my Dad and his wife are always happy to take us in. We headed there on Wednesday afternoon ... -ish. Now that's a story.
I picked the kids up from school at 3:10, we headed home to pack and then hit the road. I figured we could be headed out of town by 4. We nearly made it. I think we left my driveway at 4:10 and stopped for gas. Once we hit the highway I was relieved and looking forward to getting some much needed fresh air. I was thinking ahead to Thursday and what would we do? The Seattle area has so much to offer. Aquarium, Pacific Science Center, Zoo? Or maybe go to Tacoma to the Point Defiance Zoo, or maybe Puyallup?!! I bet the Puyallup Fair is going on. All these thoughts of fun things were on my mind until we hit the road block.
There are three ways to get there from here. Highway 97, US 2 or I-90. The route we use most often is Highway 97. Unfortunately the fires that are blanketing us with smoke right now also closed the highway down right before we got there. If only I had listened to that little niggler in the back of my mind that said "Take I-90 today" or the one that said "Check Face Book before you take off", I would have been an hour ahead of myself. But NOOOOO, I chose to ignore my intuition (which is rarely wrong) and do whatever else.
Since we were headed back into town anyway, I checked with My Honey to see if he wanted to meet us for dinner before we left town. We met, had dinner and we were back on the road just before 6. I'm not a natural blond anymore, but I can pass for one in a pinch. Or maybe it just comes naturally from being blond most of my life? For some stupid reason I had highway 97 on my brain (which is suffering from smoke inhalation, mind you) and I was caught up in conversation with the kids, so I exited onto 97 at Ellensburg. Damn near fatal error. Guess what? It is THIRTY MILES to the next turn-around. And then THIRTY MILES back to where you belong. Another hour wasted. So now its after 8, I have been up since 2am (is any of this sounding familiar?) and I am getting CRANKY. We finally reach our destination at 10. I have never been happier! We get our beds set up, and sleep. Ahhh, blessed sleep.
Thursday we did The Fair. I actually love the Puyallyp Fair. It has so much more to offer than my podunk small town fairs around here. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see what I wanted. I tried to make it a day for the kids. They had a blast! Hannah was all over the rides, Bubba joined her (!), they visited a few exhibits and had a pretty good time. More than once I was dubbed "the bestest Mom in the world" by Hannah. Even when I wouldn't let her do some insane ride called "Zero Gravity." In my days it was the "RoundUp." HELL NO! I didn't even go on it then, no way EVER am I gonna let her go on it!! As a peace offering though, I told her I would go on the Ferris Wheel (which I also hate, heights are not my favorite thing). Again, I was dubbed the "bestest Mom in the world!" as she clutched my hand. It really was a lot of fun watching them go on the rides and I realized it was a bit of the fair I have never seen. Something I have never experienced. I'm glad we did it.
Friday was chaotic. I was able to get a 2 mile walk in which was really nice in the fresh air and mist! And then I thought I would take the long way home (US 2) and hit the Cabela's in Everett. Since Hannah had so much fun at the fair, I thought Bubba would like a visit to Cabela's. It was a ... well, I don't know quite yet... an Experience, I guess. Hannah spent all her money at the fair and Bubba had about $40 to spend so I thought if I let him look for about 90 minutes he should be able to decide on a few things and we could be on the road by 4 heading home. Well ... after nearly 2 hours we were on the road alright, but not without tears and bad Mama behavior in the store! (I don't know who should have been more embarrassed me or him...) As far as shopping experiences go -- THE. WORST. As far as teachable moments go, WOW. We've been working on our budget, teaching the kids as we go along, as best we can. Bubba has learned quite a bit as evidenced by his savings and logic, "If I don't spend the money you give me for the fair, do I get to keep it?" Yes, he did. So he had money to spend but couldn't bring himself to part with it, "they sell stuff like this for half the price back home" was one of his revelations. Yep, sometimes if you put a name on it, it will cost more (Miss Me jeans, anyone?)
Finally, we headed home. No missed turns, just the stress of returning to the smoke infested valley. We stopped and picked up face masks on the way home which decreased the stress level about 100 times, but still.
Today we worked hard on cleaning the house, I was having a party so I wanted it just so. I have more to say on that; I love having a party, I just hate the cleaning and prep and worrying if anyone will show and is my house clean enough and do I have enough food and .... I am a total head case! Shocking realization, really!
And that's about it. Did I mention the part about being a bad Mom? What kind of mom is sick of her kids after spending every hour with them for the past 4 days???? Please, someone tell me I am not the only one .... Which takes me back to the quote I forgot I posted to begin with .... “You don’t see the world as it is. You see the world as you are.” ` anais nin I related that quote to photography. Lately I've taken a ton of pictures of - my kids. Maybe I'm not all bad?
I was sitting here wondering "what kind of Mother am I that four days with my kids makes me so irritable?" Because I am irritable today, and it's day four of me and the kids. I can pretty much count on being sick of them by day four, but I really try to get through it. Not so much today. I feel really raw emotionally. Really wore out physically and I'm not sure what mentally.
The past two weeks have definitely taken their toll with the smoke in my valley. I was pretty fine until Tuesday when I started to feel the effects physically. My Honey had come home from work several days early complaining of headache, upset stomach and inability to concentrate. Although his workplace is right next door, his building is 100+ years old so their ventilation isn't very good, nor are their windows double paned, not only that, they have people going in and out the doors all day long (he works a the YMCA.) My building, on the other hand, is only seven years old, has pretty decent HVAC and we don't have anyone opening or shutting doors on a regular basis. Not only that, we are on the third floor so we don't get much outdoor pollution. But when it hit me, it hit me hard. Tuesday I felt horrible, nauseous, and just plain gross. Wednesday morning I still felt like crap, but figured I could make it part of the day so I went to work but ended up taking a couple hours sick leave and I made plans to get out of Dodge.
Thankfully my Dad and his wife are always happy to take us in. We headed there on Wednesday afternoon ... -ish. Now that's a story.
I picked the kids up from school at 3:10, we headed home to pack and then hit the road. I figured we could be headed out of town by 4. We nearly made it. I think we left my driveway at 4:10 and stopped for gas. Once we hit the highway I was relieved and looking forward to getting some much needed fresh air. I was thinking ahead to Thursday and what would we do? The Seattle area has so much to offer. Aquarium, Pacific Science Center, Zoo? Or maybe go to Tacoma to the Point Defiance Zoo, or maybe Puyallup?!! I bet the Puyallup Fair is going on. All these thoughts of fun things were on my mind until we hit the road block.
There are three ways to get there from here. Highway 97, US 2 or I-90. The route we use most often is Highway 97. Unfortunately the fires that are blanketing us with smoke right now also closed the highway down right before we got there. If only I had listened to that little niggler in the back of my mind that said "Take I-90 today" or the one that said "Check Face Book before you take off", I would have been an hour ahead of myself. But NOOOOO, I chose to ignore my intuition (which is rarely wrong) and do whatever else.
Since we were headed back into town anyway, I checked with My Honey to see if he wanted to meet us for dinner before we left town. We met, had dinner and we were back on the road just before 6. I'm not a natural blond anymore, but I can pass for one in a pinch. Or maybe it just comes naturally from being blond most of my life? For some stupid reason I had highway 97 on my brain (which is suffering from smoke inhalation, mind you) and I was caught up in conversation with the kids, so I exited onto 97 at Ellensburg. Damn near fatal error. Guess what? It is THIRTY MILES to the next turn-around. And then THIRTY MILES back to where you belong. Another hour wasted. So now its after 8, I have been up since 2am (is any of this sounding familiar?) and I am getting CRANKY. We finally reach our destination at 10. I have never been happier! We get our beds set up, and sleep. Ahhh, blessed sleep.
Thursday we did The Fair. I actually love the Puyallyp Fair. It has so much more to offer than my podunk small town fairs around here. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see what I wanted. I tried to make it a day for the kids. They had a blast! Hannah was all over the rides, Bubba joined her (!), they visited a few exhibits and had a pretty good time. More than once I was dubbed "the bestest Mom in the world" by Hannah. Even when I wouldn't let her do some insane ride called "Zero Gravity." In my days it was the "RoundUp." HELL NO! I didn't even go on it then, no way EVER am I gonna let her go on it!! As a peace offering though, I told her I would go on the Ferris Wheel (which I also hate, heights are not my favorite thing). Again, I was dubbed the "bestest Mom in the world!" as she clutched my hand. It really was a lot of fun watching them go on the rides and I realized it was a bit of the fair I have never seen. Something I have never experienced. I'm glad we did it.
Friday was chaotic. I was able to get a 2 mile walk in which was really nice in the fresh air and mist! And then I thought I would take the long way home (US 2) and hit the Cabela's in Everett. Since Hannah had so much fun at the fair, I thought Bubba would like a visit to Cabela's. It was a ... well, I don't know quite yet... an Experience, I guess. Hannah spent all her money at the fair and Bubba had about $40 to spend so I thought if I let him look for about 90 minutes he should be able to decide on a few things and we could be on the road by 4 heading home. Well ... after nearly 2 hours we were on the road alright, but not without tears and bad Mama behavior in the store! (I don't know who should have been more embarrassed me or him...) As far as shopping experiences go -- THE. WORST. As far as teachable moments go, WOW. We've been working on our budget, teaching the kids as we go along, as best we can. Bubba has learned quite a bit as evidenced by his savings and logic, "If I don't spend the money you give me for the fair, do I get to keep it?" Yes, he did. So he had money to spend but couldn't bring himself to part with it, "they sell stuff like this for half the price back home" was one of his revelations. Yep, sometimes if you put a name on it, it will cost more (Miss Me jeans, anyone?)
Finally, we headed home. No missed turns, just the stress of returning to the smoke infested valley. We stopped and picked up face masks on the way home which decreased the stress level about 100 times, but still.
Today we worked hard on cleaning the house, I was having a party so I wanted it just so. I have more to say on that; I love having a party, I just hate the cleaning and prep and worrying if anyone will show and is my house clean enough and do I have enough food and .... I am a total head case! Shocking realization, really!
And that's about it. Did I mention the part about being a bad Mom? What kind of mom is sick of her kids after spending every hour with them for the past 4 days???? Please, someone tell me I am not the only one .... Which takes me back to the quote I forgot I posted to begin with .... “You don’t see the world as it is. You see the world as you are.” ` anais nin I related that quote to photography. Lately I've taken a ton of pictures of - my kids. Maybe I'm not all bad?
Friday, September 21, 2012
The Great Escape
We left the smoke for clearer air. I pulled the kids from school for two days and drove them west to visit my dad.
The plan was a success. We had a nice day outside at the fair yesterday and a couple good nights sleep. Sounds like I'm gonna leave them here for two more nights while I return home for a previously planned party. Yay!
Most notable are the blue skies, but here are a couple highlights from the fair:
The plan was a success. We had a nice day outside at the fair yesterday and a couple good nights sleep. Sounds like I'm gonna leave them here for two more nights while I return home for a previously planned party. Yay!
Most notable are the blue skies, but here are a couple highlights from the fair:
Monday, September 17, 2012
Hazardous II
Hazardous
The outdoors are off limits.
10 days ago we had a severe lightening storm and ever since, fire crews have seen working round the clock to save homes and put out the wildfires.
There's only so much they can do. A lot of the fires are burning in terrain that is pretty impossible to put people into so there are helicopters, tankers and retardant planes flying.
But it's close. Very close to home and due to all the smoke in the air, all outdoor activities have been cancelled. No recess, no soccer, no nothing. I haven't even taken the dog out. The air quality has been rated HAZARDOUS. It's as though a winter fog has descended on the valley but didn't bring any cold, fresh air with it so it's kind of a mind f*.
There have been moments of clearing the past two days so we took advantage. Saturday we caught the tail end of our local harvest festival. Yesterday I took the dog on a walk. You can kind of see the haze in the picture. And that's a good day. Other days we haven't even been able to see the hills and the air is thick. I'm
Not sure how people live in places like LA where smog is an everyday thing. No way Jose!
And my boy. Little Davy-Huck-Sawyer. Adding feathers to his hat wanting to take his homemade bow and arrow with us so he could practice his shooting while I walked the dog. Cute, huh?
10 days ago we had a severe lightening storm and ever since, fire crews have seen working round the clock to save homes and put out the wildfires.
There's only so much they can do. A lot of the fires are burning in terrain that is pretty impossible to put people into so there are helicopters, tankers and retardant planes flying.
But it's close. Very close to home and due to all the smoke in the air, all outdoor activities have been cancelled. No recess, no soccer, no nothing. I haven't even taken the dog out. The air quality has been rated HAZARDOUS. It's as though a winter fog has descended on the valley but didn't bring any cold, fresh air with it so it's kind of a mind f*.
There have been moments of clearing the past two days so we took advantage. Saturday we caught the tail end of our local harvest festival. Yesterday I took the dog on a walk. You can kind of see the haze in the picture. And that's a good day. Other days we haven't even been able to see the hills and the air is thick. I'm
Not sure how people live in places like LA where smog is an everyday thing. No way Jose!
And my boy. Little Davy-Huck-Sawyer. Adding feathers to his hat wanting to take his homemade bow and arrow with us so he could practice his shooting while I walked the dog. Cute, huh?
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