Bedside

In keeping with my (cheating) practice of using old pictures, this was our bedside along the glorious Upper Missouri almost two years ago:
My old friend the camping/hiking/outdoor bug has been doing a slow burn in my little heart for awhile now, and Montana memories do not help :)

Free-as-bird Saturday

Do you know what I like about a Saturday that's completely free of plans and arrangements, even very fun plans and arrangments? I like the things that get accomplished.

For instance:
- Jan Michael plays early morning basketball.
- A vast amount of laundry is washed, dried, folded and put away.
- My underwear drawer is re-organized.
- We take a nap.
- I intrench myself more firmly in the world of Pinterest.
- We take a lovely late afternoon walk, slow and meandering, with the wind blowing and the sun shining.
- I do a hefty amount of jumping around in the garage to compensate for the bag of microwave popcorn and the six white chocolate macadamia nut cookies I ate the night before. Here is proof:
Fact: Tuck jumps are hard.

Something else I appreciate about a free Saturday is that I reserve the right to ignore certain things, like unearthing the kitchen counters from two feet of dirty dishes.

Now, about the photo challenge: Yesterday the topic was fruit, but all I could come up with was a really terrible picture of dried kiwis at the grocery store. Not dazzling at all. So, I'm cheating and using a picture from a few years ago, which to me is quite dazzling, what with the haze and the deer and the apples and everything:

Today's assignment is 'your neighborhood' but the fact of the matter is that our little neighborhood is nothing to write home about these days (too much winter & not enough spring, I think), and I'm sort of turning up my nose at not-so-pretty pictures lately. This means I'm going to cheat again, but this time it's really flagrant because for one thing, neither of us took the picture in the first place and secondly, this is nowhere near our house. It is, however, a neighborhood, and it's a neighborhood that Derek and Sara used to live by, and it makes me remember how much fun we had that night, the four of us with our bikes and our basketball, riding the teeter-totter and turning cartwheels in the grass as the sun set.

Marching in, an addendum

I've decided to sack the '30 Day Photo Challenge: Gratitude' project from Tuesday's post because the very first picture is supposed to capture my favorite food. Favorite food?! Does this mean I must pick one that I like above all others? I could not, would not pick just one, not in a million years. So, I'll work on this list instead:
'Up' is much more reasonable than 'Favorite food,' don't you think?

This morning was rainy and gray, but this afternoon the sun chased the gray away, and there were lots of billowy white clouds. This is what I saw when I looked up:

Also, when we flew home from California on the first day of February (one month ago already?! Yikes!), this is what we saw when we ourselves were up:

And one more thing: This has nothing to do with today's photo challenge, but it makes me happy, and maybe it will make you happy, too :) If not for my uncanny ability to wither any flower or plant with just a glance at 20 paces, I would skip right back down to our little grocery store and haul a truckload home in a heartbeat.

Happy March 1st to you! :)

Marching in...

I like lists and schedules, charts and calendars - all things organizational, really.

I also like the beginning of a brand new month - all shiny and bright, just waiting to be filled with goals and accomplishments.

So, look what I've found! Just the thing(s) to start March off on the right foot. Want to join me?

For my Valentine

Pirates and princesses and teacups, oh my!

Disneyland was the perfect end to our sunny adventure. And that's that.

Angela and Kyle were absolute troopers; I think Disneyland doesn't hold quite as much wonder to native Californians as it does born and raised Washingtonians, but they cheerfully ran around with us for 11 hours... and they said they'd do it again!




Kyle has proven himself to be one of the best coaster buddies ever. His riding stamina matches our own - 2 or 3 times in a row, no problem! - and he quite clearly makes faces that are fantastic :)

We foolishly thought we could get through California Adventure in an hour or two, and we were wrong. Some of the fun was already shut down for the night once we ran through the gates, and certain rides closed a little bit early because of the fireworks show at 8:00, but it's OK, and do you know why? It just means we have to visit again! :)


Of all the rollercoasters we've ridden, I think this is my very favorite. Corkscrews and loops and dips and turns, especially under a night sky with twinkling lights everywhere = faces that were sore from smiling and laughing and screaming :) And, Kyle strikes again! :)

3 good things, a reprise

More than three, actually, but all from the last couple of days -

1. Reading myself into an afternoon nap with The Fellowship of the Ring and the sun streaming in
2. A evening run for two under a beautiful sky
3. A nice, warm bath - just for one! :) - to chase away the post-run chills
4. English breakfast tea and Pinterest recipes
5. Bright, clear February mornings
6. A town so tiny that everything is just a walk away
7. A brisk, uphill walk on a bright, clear February morning in our tiny town while a million birds chirp out a symphony
8. Party planning for 6 lovely grown-ups and 5 precious littles

Knott's Berry Farm

Could we live in Southern California for almost two weeks and resist the pull of rollercoasters?

No, no, a thousand times NO.

California mishmash

Our trip south was actually work-related; Jan Michael had training in Tustin, and while he spent his days learning all kinds of new things and expanding his mind, I pretended to be a sloth at the hotel. Really, I'm surprised my muscles didn't atrophy. Anyway, after his training each day, we got down to the business of having fun.

Among many other things, there was a lovely walk in the Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve, driving in our zippy rental car with the windows down and Def Leppard blaring (and other drivers rolling their eyes, probably), the very awesome Cirque du Soleil Michael Jackson The Immortal World Tour (cameras FORBIDDEN!), laughing to ourselves at people wearing earmuffs in 65 degree weather - wimps! :), evenings spent jumping between the swimming pool and the hot tub, gigantor ice cream cones, thanking our lucky stars that Seattle traffic is nothing like the mess in Los Angeles, and...

Celebrating Angela's birthday at Farrell's with sundaes and great fanfare:


Basking in an amazing southern California sunrise:


An afternoon at the dog park with Angela and our favorite schnauzzer, Abi:


Stuffing ourselves at Bruxie's, the most delicious waffle spot ever. Between us, Jan Michael and I ate two bacon, egg & cheddar waffles, one Brussels waffle with maple syrup, and one Creme Brulee waffle. Please imagine an enormous waffle stuffed with vanilla creme, burnt raw sugar and strawberries, and you will understand my lack of self-control. I will be in big, bad trouble if they ever decide to plunk themselves down in the Pacific Northwest - but I sort of hope they do!

South for the winter

Two weeks ago on Friday we slipped and slid our way onto an airplane to trade our frozen tundra for flip-flops and swimming pools.
We l-o-v-e where we live, and we're thrilled to be home again, but sunshine in the middle of January is something else!
More coming on our California adventure!

Winter wonderland in our own backyard

Snowy Sunday

Today we were chased by a sunset in the snow. How was your afternoon? :)

Today

Outside my window... I keep having to remind myself that we're smack dab in the middle of January; it's been so bright and clear! This is what we lived under just yesterday:



I am thankful for... a house that will soon - very soon! - be free of rats. The best exterminators ever prowled in, around, and under our house yesterday and reported things that made my naive little self cringe. But! By this time next week I will cringe no more!

I am learning... that taking high doses of iron on an empty stomach does not do me any favors. None at all.

From the kitchen... I can tell you what is missing from the kitchen, and that would be pop and dessert! January is the month of zero Coke Zero (ha!) and not one cupcake or marshmallow (even though we have a huge pile left over from the New Year's Eve S'more gorge). Damage control from the holidays, you know!

I am wearing... sweaty exercise clothes, an old fleece jacket with a missing zipper, and a blanket on my lap because I'm cold but too lazy to change. Look, though, at one of my favorite things to wear (when I bother to change out of sweaty exercise clothes) and while I putter around the house - my cozy Christmas slippers, from my husband the very good gift giver:


I am creating... lists. Lists and lists. A list of who might like to join us for a mud run in June (it's never too early to start planning for these things!), a list of what to make my Jan Michael for Valentine's Day, a list of house improvements as the new year gets underway (paint! a new gate!)...

I am going... to my dear friend Tonya's house tomorrow for a morning of crafty projects. Probably lots of tea, too :)

I am reading... There are four books-on-CD ready and waiting on my phone, if I can find it. I just used it yesterday; it must be around here somewhere. Anyway, I can't remember 3 of the 4, but one is Catch Me If You Can by Frank Abagnale.

I am hoping... that our friends Craig and Christina call us post-haste so that we can meet and love on their days-old baby. I suppose, though, that we are not quite at the top of their priority list just now :)

Around the house... are all kinds of things waiting to be put into the yard-sale box. Out with the old!

I am hearing... just the dryer working away.

One of my favorite things... about Pinterest is the recipes. So many recipes (lemon poppy seed pancakes, teeny chicken pot pies in muffin tins, for goodness sake!) calling my name!

A few plans for the rest of the week:
- Bible study
- A trip to Target
- Mopping our filthy kitchen floor
- Basketball for Jan Michael
- STRUGGLING through the 3rd workout of Jillian Michael's Ripped in 30 DVD - it's a struggle, but so fun!
- A teriyaki/sushi date on Friday, just the two of us
- A date on Saturday with our friends Isaac & Natalie

January valley

Yesterday I decided that today would be just the day for exploring around a waterfall. Jan Michael was agreeable, and this morning, off we went.
Our exploring turned into take-two-pictures-from-the-observation-point and go-back-to-where-we-came-from because the trail leading to the bottom of the waterfall is closed for maintenance until 2013. 2013! I pouted for a few minutes and then bucked up when Jan Michael said he would take me to a park on the way home. Sometimes it doesn't take much :)

I don't care what anybody says, winter is not all death and gray and yuck! Between now and spring, I'll do my fair share of grumbling - 'WHERE is the SUN?!!' but today - and lots of other days, too, I know - winter is quiet and peaceful and beautiful.

A New Year's Eve glimpse

First, I love this picture. Second, New Year's Eve is not New Year's Eve around here without pigs-in-a-blanket. What you see above is the very beginning of our wild goose chase yesterday morning in search of Little Smokies. Three grocery stores later & we found them :)

The party officially started when Eric, Tessa and Miss E arrived, and we commenced with the eating. There was a vast amount of cheese - enough to make a person lactose intolerant, I think; there were also White Christmas cupcakes (on my new cake stand!) and S'mores (in my new toaster oven!) with homeade graham crackers (so easy, and so much better than the old store-boughts!)



There were games and the mention of fun things in the new year and a good-night, sleep-tight to Miss E. And then, we decided to have a very serious discussion about very serious things:



Somewhere after the clock struck midnight, we hugged each other goodnight and the three of them rode off into the night while the two of us dragged our happy selves to bed.

And so 2012 begins... :)