Are we there yet?

2012-01-29T09:36:00.000-08:00

So, I have always had sink protectors and my favorites were clear. I found these at Ross as bath mats and cut them to fit my sinks. They cost a total of $10 when the ones I have purchased before have been at least $10 each.
Everyone who saw them thought there was ice in the sink.

Chicken, Zucchini, and Prosciutto

2009-09-14T08:34:00.000-07:00

I got this recipe fromthe RealSimple web site. I have made it twice and it is really good. We had Pasek Cellars Blackberry wine with it, but only because it was open. I would have chosen a non-oaked Chardonney, my favorite being by Pasek, but gone for the season. I can't wait until next year to get more.

Enjoy!

Chicken, Zucchini, and Prosciutto

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 tablespoons (about 8 slices) prosciutto
3 small zucchini, thinly sliced into half-moons
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
1 lemon

Heat oven to 400° F.

Rinse the chicken and pat it dry with paper towels. Season the chicken with 1/4 teaspoon each of the salt and pepper.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken for 2 minutes per side. Transfer to oven and roast for 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a second skillet, over medium heat, heat the remaining oil. Cook the prosciutto until crisp, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.

Add the zucchini, garlic, and the remaining salt and pepper and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Transfer the prosciutto, zucchini, and garlic to the skillet with the chicken, squeeze the lemon over the top, and toss. Divide among plates.

Yield: Makes 4 servings

CALORIES 298 (27% from fat); FAT 9g (sat 2g); CHOLESTEROL 114mg; CARBOHYDRATE 5g; SODIUM 1,134mg; PROTEIN 49g; FIBER 1g; SUGAR 2g

Not Quite 50

2009-07-05T18:09:00.000-07:00

We had a fabulous weekend. We took the trailer down to the Thousand Trails campground just south of Chehalis on Thursday morning. It is my favorite campground. It has so many trees with moss and ferns and just lush green all over the place. They have added a dog park area which is great. We made kabobs with chicken, red pepper, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and baby red potatoes. They were quite scrumptious. For desert we had a mixture of strawberries, raspberries and loganberries.
On Friday, I woke up older. I am officially 49. I feel no different. We decided to go to some wineries and out to lunch. We went to Widgeon Hill Winery first since it was only about 4 miles from our campground. It is a small operation but has some good wine. Jodi, the winery dog, met us at the car while Rhett set up the wines in the small tasting room. He shared that his dad had started making the wine and when he passed a couple years ago, Rhett took over. He wants to stay small and since he has another job, he probably will. We really enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere of a very unpretentious place. We bought a Chenin Blanc, Tunupa Red, merlot, cabernet, and a syrah. We are both looking forward to some great food to enjoy with this wine.
We headed in to Centralia to get lunch and go to our next winery. We ate at the Olympic Club. I had a Smoked Mozzarella Sandwich with grilled onions, tomatoes, & pesto on grilled rustic bread. It was yummy. My folks had the bean soup which was different from what they expected, but they both enjoyed it. Steve had French quarter chicken sa ndwich Cajun-spiced chicken breast with blue cheese, lettuce, & tomato on a traditional bun. He ate it all so it must have been good.
We then walked a block to our final destination. Heymanns Whinery is not a spelling error. Bob Heymann was our pourer and he was great. Not only is the wine really good, he has wine and beer making supplies and books and accessories and gifts in his shop. He was generous with his pours. We bought his chardonnay, raspberry chardonnay, cranberry, merlot and syrah. We also bought a book and a game. The book, Wine Trails of Washington is going to be fun. We asked lots of questions and we got stories. It was great and I highly recommend a visit.
We drove back to camp and met Sydnee at the campground. We had a great dinner of marinated flank steak, grilled zuchinni, and yukon gold potatoes with sour cream. For desert we had brownies.
On Saturday, Steve went golfing and Mom, Sydnee and I went to the outlet malls in Centralia. We got incredibly lost but eventually ended up on the right road. Shopping took longer than planned (always) but we got back to camp so Sydnee could head home to her celebrations. We made dinner of pork tenderloin with cabbage steamed and dressed with a sause of butter, dry mustard, vinegar and salt and pepper. It was good. I like to sprinkle a little cinnamon on the pork before I grill it. Tasty. We had strawberries for desert. Mom & dad had them plain, we put ours on brownies.
It was a great weekend and we didn't starve.

How Sad

2009-05-28T14:48:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since I have posted and it isn't because of facebook. It is because I haven't been in the best mood and couldn't think of what I wanted to say.

The name of this blog is "Are we there yet?" and I know we aren't. The problem is I have no idea where there is, or even which direction to take. I think that is my problem right now. I don't have any projects to accomplish, other than cleaning out the garage and sun room. Yeah, I'll get right on that. I have planned a couple trips, but now I have to wait. Do I want to get a "real" job? Building up my massage business right now won't work since I am trying to find out what is going on in my wrist and I can't do too much there. I just don't know what I want to do.

I realize this is a luxury to be able to examine this in the first place and I am feeling like I am whining, which is why I haven't posted. Oh well.

Are we there yet?

Thai Massage

2009-04-07T06:49:00.000-07:00

This is some of what I learned this weekend at my Thai Massage workshop. This was developed about 2500 years ago by a doctor to the Buddha. It was started in India and traveled to Siam (Thailand). Its focus is on the energy of the body.
Some of the listed effects are releases stress and tension, increases flexibility and suppleness, increases vital energy, deeply relaxing, relieves pain and soreness, brings the systems of the body into balance, increases blood and lymph flow, releases emotional blocks, excellent therapy for common injuries and ailments, deepens the connection between mind, body and spirit. That is a lot. That is just for the receiver. For the practitioner it enhances meditation and concentration, awakens compassion and loving kindness, deepens the connection of mind, body and spirit.
This is a description about how a practitioner works:
“Intention is the hidden power behind each action. If the underlying intention or spirit behind the action is to help, to heal and to work with love and kindness then the work takes on a much deeper and more powerful effect. Working with mindfulness, awareness, loving kindness, compassion and joy throughout a session takes some practice, but when these energies are present within the spirit of the work being done, the massages given are truly healing, not only to the recipient but also to the giver.”
I must say that with every new technique I learned I thought, “Oh, the runners will love this”. I was able to give a treatment to Steve and he pretty much melted. You will have to ask him what he thought.
Remember some people are more flexible than others, so the pictures may show a person in a deeper stretch than you would go into. The pratitioner listens to your body and places you were you need to go. These are a few pictures I found that demonstrate just a very few of the positions.

Too Much Stress = Dis-Ease

2009-02-07T16:53:00.000-08:00

I'm sure there is a mathematical formula out there that represents the amount of stress (internal or external, good or bad) times the energy of resisting said stress is equal to the amount of dis-ease created in the body and the time it takes to recover.

Okay, so Robin has moved home and is taking the quarter off. It is for medical reasons, not grades. (not that it should matter, but...= stress) He was accepted into Pierce College for the spring quarter and is planning on trying to go to UW in the fall. (sick kid moving home from college = stress) Learning that I can't fix everything sucks (stress) and I have to let him learn what he needs for himself. (you guessed it, stress) Rearranging schedules and getting him settled into his room/sanctuary/man cave is a process. (hmmm, more stress)

After Christmas I decided that I wanted to cut back on my time at the Y. I was feeling a little depressed and felt I did a lot of busy work and I could use my time more effectively at home. Is that selfish? (stress) Then I had 12 hours of training to teach over 3 days in a week plus the organizing and planning, which I love, but that put me at almost 40 hours for a two week period, quite a bit more than normal and much more than I really wanted. How did that happen?

Last weekend I had a scratchy throat for two days and even though I was determined to have that be it, my body obviously wanted some down time. Guess who won? By Tuesday, I knew it wasn't going well, so I decided to get a sub for one of my three classes on Wednesday. After teaching the first class, I was so glad I had gotten my sub. Thank you Callie. I was to go back for a meeting to finalize the training paperwork, but it wasn't happening. I also had one last class but there was no way I was going to be able to teach it. I felt really crappy about leaving everyone in the lurch. (stress) Before noon on Thursday, I realized that Friday would be a no go for me and sent off emails to get a sub. When I didn't get an immediate response (I'm so patient) I called my supervisor to let her know where things stood. I think the fever of 102 had me a little off and I was a lead weight sinking into the couch. I really couldn't sit up for more than a few minutes at a time, and since I didn't have much voice I didn't think I could make any calls to find a sub. This is the first time I have ever done that (guilt, guilt = stress, stress) but the couch and an ice bag beckoned to my sore, achy body and head so strongly I let it go. While my classes got covered, one from an email I had sent, I still felt reprimanded that I had let them down.

It is now a week since the throat thing started and I’m still sick, but the fever is down. I will need to continue to watch my stress level to keep it at a manageable level (ha-ha) so I can heal. But, I’m not depressed and since that is my usual reaction to too much stress I’m pretty happy. Now it is time to think about what makes me happy and how that can translate into making a difference in people’s lives. I love the training that I have been doing. I have more learning to do, but that comes with time. Honestly, I am thinking I would love to teach Anatomy & Physiology at a massage school. So we shall see what happens.

Life is a journey. I have my journey to travel and I get to decide what things in my life that I can change if they become so stressful that they are counterproductive to my health. There will always be things I can’t change and must learn how to accept. I have to accept that my children have their own journeys to travel and while I can be there to support them or give advice if they ask, it is not my job to lead them anymore. I did that already and it is now their turn to lead themselves. And they are doing a great job of learning who they are and what they need in life.

Ixtapa Report

2008-12-14T18:56:00.001-08:00

I am sorry to report that there was no marathon involved in the making of this vacation. There was also no animal testing. We tested the beer and wine on humans. And neither of us had any tequila at all. Amazing.

Our travel day down was long. The flight time was about seven hours, but travel time was about 21 from the time we left the house until we checked in at the hotel. But it was fine. We had books and we just chilled in the San Francisco and Mexico City airports. We walked around and ate at both. But I must say by the time we ate dinner I was so exhausted I couldn't see straight and I only had two glasses of wine with my dinner. We chose our possibilities for the trip in San Francisco. We do this all the time, we think about how we want to experience our lives. I chose flow, fun and adventure. Steve chose connection and tranquility. This is exactly what we got.

Our room was fabulous. Here is the view from our balcony.

We immediatly suited up and went to walk on the beach. We walked by the massage tents. There were probably about eight tents set up. They all charged $20 for an hour massage. Monday, Wednesday and Friday were open on my calendar. My only complaint is they use mineral oil and by the time I walk back to the hotel I get a little burnt. But I learned from the last time we went to Ixtapa that I had to shower immediately. Sorry, I got a little distracted reminiscing. After our walk we changed clothes and went to look for a dinner spot. We found quite a few and everyone wanted our business. We chose but as I said earlier, we were so tired we had to go straight to bed. We were asleep by 7:30, it was great.

This is how most of our days went. Get up, go eat, walk on beach or at the market, have a beer and snack, go to the room to take our time getting ready and then go out to dinner. Steve ran Monday, Wednesday and Saturday mornings. This is the start of his first run from the 11th floor balcony. This is pretty blurry because I had to zoom in a long way. we got most of our shopping done and got signed up for a private tour of the country side on Tuesday. We saw crocodiles and bird, archeological artifacts, churches, markets, beaches, coconut candy and where they collect sea salt. Here are a bunch of pictures from the trip.

Here is one last picture I promised Rick.

Sand to Snow

2008-12-14T09:34:00.000-08:00

This is what we woke up to yesterday.

This was today.

This is life

2008-11-28T07:54:00.000-08:00

We've been busy here, which is what life is all about. I have been working at the Y on changes we are making to the schedule. I also have been going to trainings. I will start training instructors in January. It looks like I will have one weekend most months that will be focused on training others. I like it.
Steve has been running events. He doesn't train a lot during the week, but gets in those long ones on the weekend. Tomorrow he is running Ghost with Robin and his friend Adam. Adam is a marathon virgin so it should be good.
Robin came home for Thanksgiving. It is great having him in the house. Everything gets busier. He is hopfully going to transfer from Western to UW for spring quarter. We are waiting to hear.
Family came over for Thanksgiving yesterday. It is so nice to have a house full of people. We had 11 at the table and four on the floor. Begging. We had Puck, Blossom, Safari, and Oliver hoping someone would drop something, anything. I'm sure none of them will start in the next few days. Puck and Blossom need to go on a little diet here pretty soon. My Mom and Dad came, my sister, her husband and two kids, and Sydnee brought Drew. It was great having him help prep for dinner. I had help from everyone it seemed and made the day go easy. After my sis left, Michelle and Wally came over for dessert. They brought Snickers salad. I know it sounds strange, but it was really good. I got the recipe.
Today my dear friend, Anne, is coming down. Anne, Mom and I are canning applesauce. It usually takes me forever to cut and core and cook the applesauce, but I think three sets of hands will make quick work of it. The time consuming part will be the canning. Six jars at 20 minutes. Did I mention we have about 80 pounds of apples. It's going to be great.
Mom and Dad will be taking the dogs home with them so Steve and I don't have to worry for the next two weeks and can enjoy ourselves. I am so thankful for them and their generous spirits.
I love my family bunches.

Massage Office Redo

2008-10-12T18:26:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of my new sanctuary. Actually it is my massage office, but I love it. My mom came up for the weekend to help me with wallpapering brown paper bags on the wall and then a watered down latex paint wash. We shopped two of the days she was here, went to an art show and saw the musical South Pacific. We also went to church this morning. We were busy.

Baker Lake 50K, Robin’s First Ultra

2008-09-23T14:10:00.000-07:00

Robin did great on his first 50K at Baker Lake. The Garmin had 31 and was short a mile or more all day to the course miles. SportTracks had the adjusted mileage at 33.5.

We did the early start at 7 AM and ran the first 20-21 miles with Michelle and Eric in 5:30 (15.46/mile), singing and hooting like Mad Monkeys. We got a lot of smiles and a few return hoots from the many runners passing back on forth. Michelle decided to take a short and well deserved break at the Aid Station and we were ready to move on. My kids amaze me, they run so well with very little training. He took the lead and ran steady and strong for the last 12.5 miles in 2:20, 11:18/mile.

The normal single out and back course was revised this year because of washed out bridges. Shawn (RD) and TC ran till 4AM to mark the trail section. Now that’s a dedicated RD and crew. Many thanks to Shawn, Tony, Arthur, Jon, Laura, and the other volunteers for their time and a great event.

The first 4 miles were uphill on gravel, then back down two on gravel to the main AS. Then began the two out and backs (14 miles and 10 miles) on beautiful single track trail along the lake. The trial along the lake was a mix of flat and rolling hill sections, mostly smooth with maybe a third narrow with roots and rocks.

James, Chris and the other elites were amazingly fast on the course. We got to see everyone multiple times in the three out and back sections. Michelle recovered well after her break and ran well for the last third. Robin and I hitched a ride back up the road and meet Michelle and Eric and ran in the last mile or so with them. Michelle and Eric finished in just over 9 hours, with Mad Monkey #2 carrying her across the finish line threshold for their anniversary.

We stayed a while to watch the last runners come in and chat with friends. Then, we changed into dry clothes, headed to Red Robin with Jane, and began the long drive home in the drizzle. Another wonderful weekend of running and friends.

Life is good. Hugs to you all and peace be with you.

What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas?

2008-08-25T15:19:00.000-07:00

I just got home from Vegas. Did I mention that I took my 22 year old daughter, Sydnee with me. We had timeshare points that we would lose if we didn't use them, so off we went.

We stayed five nights. We were really busy. We went to see what tickets we could get for shows, then we went to New York New York to ride the roller coaster. Sydnee doesn't like roller coasters, but since I was funding this trip she went along. She didn't really like it. Later we went to Stomp Out Loud. It was fabulous. We both enjoyed the music made only with percussion, and the humor without words.

The next day we went to the Hoover Dam in the morning, took a Stripper 101 class in the afternoon and went to La Cage in the evening. The Hoover Dam was impressive.

The Stripper class was really fun. I was surprised that we were the only mother/daughter group there. And just so you know, I don't want a pole. I get too dizzy spinning around. Luckily we learned a few other things. ;) Both Sydnee and I were disappointed in La Cage. Some of the humor was a little mean spirited for my taste.

Friday we walked about a mile to and around the Mandalay Bay resort and casino, then took the bus to the Outlet Mall. We went shopping and found some good deals. After shopping we took the bus to Margaritaville.

It was good. Pomagranite margarita may be my new favorite. We walked back to the hotel to rest and get ready for the evening. We took a free tour from the hotel to the downtown district. The Fremont area was okay. The light show was neat, but the casinos were really smokey. I guess we are spoiled here with no smoking in public places.

Saturday we went to the Red Rock Canyon and the Spring Mountain Ranch. It is a beautiful place and if it hadn't been 100 degrees, it would have been good to hike. Sydnee spent some time by the pool before we went to see Ka, a Cirque du Soleil production. It had martial arts in it and an amazing stage. Hard to explain, but fun to watch.

Sunday we walked. We stopped at the Flamingo, Venetian, Palazzo, Mirage, and Cesear's Palace. We then walked down to the Monte Carlo and ate at the Diablo Cantina. It was a good thing we had coupons for free margaritas. They were kind of small and okay and cost $9 each. Sydnee spent more time by the pool before we went to the Excalibar to the Tournament of Kings and dinner. We then went back to the hotel and packed and went to bed early so we could get up at 4:30 am (otherwise known as O'dark thirty) to catch a shuttle at 5. We ended up getting on an earlier flight that got us home almost 4 hours ahead of schedule.

Now I need to unpack, do laundry, clean some of the house and tomorrow I will go get the dogs.

What Happened?

2008-07-29T09:14:00.002-07:00

Okay, I haven't posted since Sydnee graduated and that has been two months. I'm not sure how that happened, but I do have a pretty good idea. Here is the deal.

The Saturday after graduation Steve ran the NB2V (North Bend to Vantage). I can't remember how far he ran, but Bob, Steve's dad, Sydnee and Michelle crewed and ran different parts of it. On Sunday, we went to see One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest at the Lakewood Playhouse. It was fabulous. We have had season tickets at this local theatre for a few years and it is so worth the money. We have seen some great productions.

The next weekend we helped move Sydnee from Tacoma to Puyallup. She now lives about five minutes away from us. We see a lot more of her and her room mate, Michon. It is really great. I am getting better at telling her I'm going to bed, lock the door on your way out. On Sunday, when we did the bulk of the moving, Sydnee and I went to a wedding shower for the first in my group of women that raised our kids together. Shocking that we have children old enough, I know.

The next weekend, Steve and Sydnee ran the Green River Marathon. Her second and she PR'd. I drove to Bellingham with Jenny to pick up some of Robin's things to move home. Well, we got almost everything in the Honda, which surprised me. On Sunday, I was honored to be able to observe egg retreaval for fertility treatment with some friends. I am a nurse and taught childbirth classes for seven years, so this was a very interesting thing for me to do.

The next weekend, Steve ran the Lake Youngs Ultra. Bob was here. We went to a graduation party for a good friend and then to an annual party to celebrate the Sound to Narrows run. Good times all around.

The next weekend Steve and I took advantage of some us time. We went to a campground near Monroe. We had a great time. We went to some wineries in Woodenville and bought some good stuff. It was nice to take the dogs and be by ourselves. It is so easy to forget to look into each others eyes and know why we are together. We came home Sunday in time to go to the Barnes for a barbeque to plan for the Rainier to Pacific relay. It is always fun to get with that bunch.

The next Saturday Steve golfed in a tournament put on by a Shawn Tovey's family. Steve and Shawn worked together for a lot of years and he had fun with a group that he hadn't golfed with for quite a while.

On Sunday Monica and Mike got married. We went to the wedding, it was lovely, and the reception. We had a good time with the running group, but we all decided it wasn't enough. So a bunch came to our house and we had margaritas and nibbles. It was great. I usually don't do spur of the moment things, but I stepped out of my box and nothing broke. It was all good.

Now came my birthday weekend. We met my parents, Bob, and Anne and Dave in Cresent Bar, Washington. It was hot, but great. We went to wineries and got more good stuff. We had good food, good wine and good company.

Now is the week that I started my new job at the YMCA. I am an Adult Fitness Coordinator. I work on newsletters, trainings and other things that I can so Lisha and Katie can do their jobs easier. I am working with a woman I just met, Doris, who has qualities that I don't, so it looks like we will work well together.

July 13th was my parents 50th wedding anniversary. They had a blessing of their vows at church Sunday morning and we had a cake and punch reception at coffee hour. Friends and Family were there to celebrate. It is very heartening to see a couple who still love and respect each other the way my parents do. I hope Steve and I can do so well.

Now the next weekend was the busiest so far. This was the weekend that Steve was running the Rainier to Pacific relay so he was gone from early Friday until Sunday afternoon. On Saturday Sydnee needed to go to a training for the Y so she could be certified to teach group exercise classes (Pilates). I went as a trainer candidate and taught three sections of the class. I passed as did Katie and Lisha, who I mentioned above. So now we can have more trainings at our Y in Puyallup and get more instructors certified. This was also the weekend of Jenna's wedding. It was so beautiful, she was so beautiful. This is how amazing my friends are. Anne catered the rehersal dinner for between 50 & 75 people and I heard it was fabulous. Her daughter Nicki is a baker and make the wedding cake which was beautiful and tasty. I can't wait to see the photos of this bash. On Sunday, Robin, Jenny, James and I went to the Tacoma Musical Theatre's production of Grease. We knew four people in the musical and they were all so good. Cody and Kirsten were Sonny and Rizzo and both were great. When I got home, Steve was cleaning My Yeti and now it is really clean and I appreciate his hard work.

We were supposed to go to Leavenworth with Rob and his wife, Jessica, but I got a call from my first best friend telling me her mother had passed away. I went to Kelso for the funeral and to support her. We got together with some other friends for dinner and had a really good time. Another friend wasn't able to join us due to an issue with her daughter. We went to visit her and tried to support her through some of this. It worked out best for us to leave them alone to do this tough transition in their way. My prayers are with Vicki and Carly.

That brings me up to date. This Friday, I go on vacation to Sun River, Oregon. Robin and his friend, Adam, will go with me. My parents, niece and her family, sister and her family will be there and Steve and Sydnee will come down on Wednesday. This was an annual tradition when the kids were growing up so it will be nice to get them down there again.

She Graduated!

2008-05-19T16:29:00.000-07:00

Four years, much money, many tears and lots of reading, writing, and arithmetic later, Sydnee finished her Bachelors with a major in Mathematics and a minor in Computer Science. It is a time of reflection for us,not of just the last four years, but of the last 22. All I can say is it has been an amazing treat to help guide this child into a young woman.

Sydnee wanted a graduation party because she didn’t have one when she graduated from high school. She worked all last week to get the yard cleaned up. She had her best friend, Jeff, help out on a couple of days. She also helped some with the inside of the house. She was open to do what I asked of her. Since Steve was out of town, she knew that her help was needed in a lot of areas.

I bought a lot of food because I had no idea how many people would show up. I made about six dozen cupcakes, leaving them unfrosted. I thought this way guests could choose what flavor cake and frosting they preferred. I even found an easy recipe for red velvet cake which I adapted to cupcakes. I’m somewhat surprised that they turned out because I added too much water. Sydnee said they were really good though. I think I went to the grocery store and Costco four or five time before I had everything I needed.

My parents came up for the weekend, Steve’s dad came. A lot of friends came to celebrate Sydnee. It was great. I didn’t get any pictures of the party, but here are a few from the ceremony on Sunday. It wasn’t near as hot as Saturday but it was still warm. There were over 700 graduates in black robes out in the sun.

Here we four are happy that we get to go home.

My kids have grown up well.

My parents, Wayne and Marilyn, with their second grandchild to finish college.

Steve's dad, Bob, was impressed that she was involved with the Mortor Board. (An honor society for seniors. This was after my mom told him "See, girls are smart too.)

She started her new job as one of three office managers at the Puget Sound Sailing Institute this morning. She will start her next round of classes the fourth week of June and start the Masters in the Art of Teaching program in September. She is going to be a high school math teacher.

Cheers to you Sydnee. We are incredibly proud of you. We love you bunches.

Living for love, health and learning.

2008-04-12T09:22:00.000-07:00

We first learned about “possibilities” in some Landmark courses we took eight years ago. Steve and I still benefit from the learning we did over about a year and a half. It truly changed our lives and our marriage, both for the better.
My possibilities have been a constant in my life, even before I experienced Landmark and new what a possibility was. Even if I wasn’t experiencing them, they were what I wanted. I feel very blessed to be able to know that everything in my life has prepared me for and led me to this perfect place of growth.

I am a massage practitioner but had to stop my business for a couple of years while I dealt with some physical issues. I have been slowly working toward building my business up again and it is now beginning to happen. An opportunity to retake a Reiki class came up and I jumped at it for many reasons. I took a level I class about three years ago and felt like it was a bud that was very slow to open. I had learned about energy work in massage school and was working with a chiropractor for about six months learning more and practicing energy work. I even used energy work on my family and friends. I know that it helped Robin’s wrist and thumb heal faster and my Mom’s ankle and knee heal faster. I loved sharing and I was ready for another level.

I took the class, level I & II, with my daughter, Sydnee, and her roommate, Michon. Our Master Teacher, Janet, was fabulous. She brought many of my own thoughts into our weekend of learning and relaxation. It felt like all eight of us were on similar quests for growth and development. Janet spoke of Eckhart Tolle’s book, A New Earth; Byron Katie’s, The Work and Loving What Is; Stanley H. Block’s, Bridging the I System and Come To Your Senses. Although I have only completed Tolle’s book, I feel these other books open up my possibilities even more. I’m excited about learning new things. I feel more focused and amazed at how Reiki feels to me now. I found this in a massage magazine article this morning:

In her recent book, Reiki: A Comprehensive Guide, Pamela Miles summarizes the research evidence to date, and her analysis suggests that reiki is associated with:
• overall enhanced well-being and vitality.
• decreased levels of stress hormones.
• improvement in immune indicators.
• improved blood pressure.
• decreased heart rate.
• subjective improvements in anxiety and pain.
• improvement in mood and functioning of depressed patients.

I am in the process of redoing Sydnee’s room to make it my massage office. She says it seems weird, but she understands my need for growth. I told her if she ever needs to move home, she is more than welcome to. But her stuff can’t. (hehe)

This post started out because I’ve been tagged. I also had seen a few bloggers who had been tagged and thought how hard a six word memoir would be, but what an awesome opportunity to look into your life. Well, be careful what you wish for. Thank you, Michelle, I am honored.

Here are the rules:
1) Write your own six word memoir
2) Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you want
3) Link to the person that tagged you in your post, and to the original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere
4) Tag at least five more blogs with links
5) Leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play!

I followed the trail back to a few different blogs. The trail ends at these three Araby62
Amylia
Beverly

I tag Craig, Darcy, Ricky, Eric, and Emily.

Living for love, health and learning.

The New Addition

2008-03-27T14:12:00.001-07:00

Here are a few pictures of our new little girl. I will share more later.Yes, her collar says BITCH and Puck's says STUD.
He weighs in at a hefty 12 pounds and seems huge compared to her seven.

A Day on the Loop

2008-03-18T11:13:00.000-07:00

From Steve:

The Pacific Rim 24 Hour is held at Lake Sacagawea in Longview, WA. It is a one mile loop around part of the lake on mostly gravel bike trail with some pavement. It is beautiful park in the middle of town with a nice neighborhood on one side and a school and soccer field on the other.

Rob, Michelle, Jamal, Jenny, and Cat showed up at 6 AM. Michelle rode with Cat and the rest us piled into the Yeti. I was taking the trailer so we would have a place to change clothes or sleep in when done. We made it to Longview at 8 AM and checked in. I spotted my Dad and chatted a few minutes before I went to got ready. He is running strong at 79, I can only hope to do as well. I had brought 10 pairs of socks, 12 shirts, 5 running jackets, 2 pairs of pants, 5 pairs of gloves, four hats and three pairs of shoes in case it rained a lot. You would have thought I was ready to do the Susitna 100 with Shawn.

I have run Pac Rim four times with my dad and once with Rob in the last 20 years. My usually approach was to train 10-30 miles a week for a couple months and then run 50K to 50 miles over the first 12 hours of the event with lots of breaks, then go sleep. This event is a lot different than our usual trail runs. There is an aid station and bathroom every mile, a port-a-potty at the half mile, and access to a trailer each loop. This can be good or bad at times.

Rob is the one who initiated this adventure and the rest of us joined in over time. Michelle and Jenny were planning on their first 50 miler. Jamal was going to run until he was done. Cat had plans for the evening, so she was doing a marathon and driving home that day. Rob and I wanted to go the whole 24 hours, hoping to make 100 as a second goal. My longest runs have been 100K last spring and 17 hours pacing Eric on the last 54 miles of his Cascade Crest 100.

Rob and I ran the first 24 miles in 4 hours, close to our A goal of 25. Cat was not far behind us and a little later finished her marathon, honked goodbye and drove off. Jamal, the fast one, had lapped us several times (ok, a bunch of times). Michelle and Jenny were moving along steady as always, Rob joking each time we met that they only had 44, 40, or 36 miles to go while we had 92 or 87 or 82… miles to go.

We managed 10 more in the next 2 hours, passing 50K and still near the A goal pace. Rob wasn't feeling great at this point (he recently completed 13 marathons/Ultras in 12 weeks) and decided to take a break. Jamal when he finally slowed down ran some miles with me. Jamal did great in his first ultra over 50K, running 46 miles and then he was done. None of our persuasion could convince him to go 4 more. Rob ran a few more with Michelle and decided that it was not his day to go long. Sometime during the day Wendy and Jessica arrived and joined the Lady Pack.

The hours and miles rolled on. I ran mostly on my own, listening to tunes, sometimes in pure silence, and once in a while running with TC or Willie for a mile or so. I slipped into a nice rhythm and felt relaxed and strong. For the next 10 hours I moved along in a runner's high, cranking out 48 miles and zoned in to moving steadily forward. It drizzled a little off and on, passing in refreshing waves, followed once by a beautiful double rainbow.

On a trail ultra, crews wait for hours at an aid station anxious for their runner to come in. Then there are a few minutes of restocking, chatting about how they are feeling, and off they go. Here you see them once every 12-20 minutes but for only a few seconds. Each loop, you check in with the counters, say hey, grab a cup of drink, a GU (one each hour), or a bite of food and move on. After many miles of this, Jamal would just say, “Hi Steve, Bye Steve”. I don’t talk much when I am focused on running but I really do appreciate the support of them being there.

I made it to 50 in about 9 1/2 hours and passed the 100K in 12 hours. After dark, Olga and Eric showed up. They had run the Chuckanut 50K and stopped to see how we were doing. I got a big hug from Olga and a way to go. Eric ran the final miles with the Ladies and then joined me for a mile. Michelle and Jenny did great completing their first 50 miler in less than 14 hours.
The next eight hours were pretty quiet. Most of the runners had completed their goals and left to shower or sleep. I slowed some but kept plugging along one mile at a time and then it was 80 miles in 16 hours. I was on a mission to get as many miles as I could to make 100 possible even if I had to walk the rest. The miles were wearing on me and I still had 8 hours to go (which was intimidating and very sobering). I decided my mileage was doing well (only 2 1/2 miles an hour could make the big 100) and I deserved my first break. I had run most of the first 80 loops with 20-30 yard walks at three little inclines and 30-50 yards at the aid station. I walked a full mile and then continued on with mixed walking and running for the next 20 miles.

Time and miles passed slowly, the good news was I made 100 miles in 21:50 with over two hours to spare. The bad news was my feet were thrashed by then. After the long miles of continuous running and fast walking on gravel they were bruised and I had two silver dollar blisters on the balls of both feet. A combination of faith, training, ego, stubbornness, fixation on goals, and encouragement from the others keep me going for the last 8 hours on very tender feet.

One big goal remained, to complete the 24 hours with as many miles as reasonable. I know what you are thinking, nothing about this was reasonable. That was a common thought of mine in the final hours of my quest. So after a little celebration (a 22nd GU and water) with Fred, the race director, and the two aid station volunteers (It's pretty damn quiet out there at 7 AM after 22 hours). I had been calculating the possible outcomes in total miles for the last eight hours (there is way to much time to think in 24 hours) with a re-occurring number of 105. Now, with 2 hours and 10 minutes left I believed I could make 5 and maybe even 6 at the pace I had been going. My mind was still game (no brain, no pain), but the body argued back strongly, led by the SPCF (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Feet). So I signed a mental contract to go for 105.

I tried to walk but that hurt my feet, I tried to run but the motivation and energy was gone. So I settled on a painful walk and completed the next two miles in 40 minutes, not too bad for a death march. I was glad I was still able to walk but I was actually rather upset with the pace. At that pace I had time to make four more miles, but I had only agreed to 105. Now it was my mind's turn to cop some attitude, I had 90 minutes to go three miles and decided to slow down and burn some time. An episode from Taxi with Iggy popped into my head. He was taking his drivers test and asked his friend Tony, "What does a yellow light mean?” He replied, "Slow down". Iggy repeats the question several more times, speaking slower and slower each time.

I thought I had slowed down on mile 103 but after 24 hours of focused motion my body wanted to finish and just kept moving forward in zombie state. As I was nearing the end of mile 103, I decided that three more miles was totally unreasonable. It's amazing how you think when you are tired and have already set a goal to stop. I was rationalizing out loud when Rob showed up and I asked him to walk with last miles with me. I felt like a six grader watching the clock tick second by second toward the end of the school day. It was great to have someone to share my final jumble of thoughts.

It was wonderful to have the running club members there to cheer me into the finish. I finished 105 in 21:30. It was my first run over 100K, my first over 17 hours, and my first 24 hour run. The PRs were rewarding but most of all, I was happy to sit down, talk with friends, and be done.

The EGO speaks

2008-03-01T09:33:00.000-08:00

I had started another blog but got distracted. My vote if you have to spend the day in the Emergence Department it is to be the patient who gets the pain meds and gets to sleep. I’m doing great and getting better every day, thank you but that will be a whole different blog.

My friend casually mentioned that someone who had taken my Pilates class told her it drove her nuts when I used the word Kegel. She believes that I pronounce it wrong and since she is a nurse she knows.

I could have let it go at this and I really don’t care if people don’t like something that I do. I have my reasons for the way I teach and the things I teach and I strive to learn more and to be the best teacher that I can be for my students. But my ego gets in the way. I have this thing about imparting correct information, my husband might say I like to be right. This is totally personal, but when I started teaching childbirth education, I was trained to have the most current and correct information to give to students. I told my kids if they wanted to be the ones on the playground with the correct information to ask me and I would tell them. It is an EGO thing. I recognize that.

I went to bed the night my friend shared this information but there was no way I could go to sleep. I have always pronounced Kegel with the first "e" being a long "a" sound. That is the way I was taught in nursing school and when I went through my training to be a certified childbirth educator. I hear people pronounce it with a long "e" for the first "e". I assumed it was a west coast/east coast, tomato/tomahto kind of thing, so I never worried or cared. Until that night. I had to get up, turn the computer back on and search for the pronunciation of the word. I found the correct pronunciation is both on Merriam-Wbster Medical Dictionary.

kegel exercises
(for some reason, the pronunciation won't copy here so do check the link if you want to see it)
Function: noun plural
: repetitive contractions by a woman of the muscles that are used to stop the urinary flow in urination in order to increase the tone of the pubococcygeal muscle especially to control incontinence or to enhance sexual responsiveness during intercourse
Kegel, Arnold Henry (born 1894), American gynecologist.

I include the definition because I believe that this is an important exercise, not only for pregnancy but for life. In seven years of teaching childbirth I taught many people these and I even went to class on Friday with an attitude and did a refresher for my students there. Also note that men have the same basic musculature with a few differences, and they benefit from these exercises also. If you don't know how to work these muscles, you can stop the flow of urine once, but do not continue to do this because it can set you up for a bladder infection. Once you understand the feeling of the exercise you can do it anywhere. Not that you care but there is specialized physical therapy that can included weights. So both men and women should do Kegel exercises, they are the exercise you can do anywhere, and no one knows you are doing them. I love being sneaky about it. If you really want a good explanation of these and how to do them go to this link on Healthline.

Back to the EGO, I am reading a fabulous book called “A New Earth, Awakening to your Life’s Purpose” by Eckhart Tolle. It is the current Oprah book club selection and it is really intriguing. It talks about the ego and our relationship with it, how powerful it is, our need to understand it is separate from us, and how to get that separation. I would highly recommend this book for anyone interested in being and the freedom that gives us. I recognize that it was my ego that got all riled up about someone being irritated that I pronounced something wrong, now I am learning how to let it go faster and easier. I’m getting closer.

Happy Kegeling.

The Book

2008-02-08T21:12:00.000-08:00

I’ve finished my book and sold seven copies.

I teach Pilates for the local Community College Continuing Education program and this is my third quarter. I started this summer not really knowing how I wanted this to look. I made a list of exercises and handed them out, taught the exercises and figured it was good. Well, the feedback was fabulous for everything except the list. I was asked to make a book, literally, by one of the students. Well, I took on the challenge and my loving husband, Steve, took the photos of me performing the various exercises that I teach in the class. I built a book around the photos.

My philosophy around Pilates is that it has made an amazing difference with my body. I have scoliosis and have had problems since my early 20s. I practiced Yoga on and off for years and it helped my back, but I still struggled. I started Pilates about five years ago and my problems diminished substantially. My back would spasm about every other month and hurt for almost a week. Now it will spasm three or four times a year and only hurts for a day or two. It seems like the spasms are spreading out further and further the longer I do Pilates. I am also able to do more with confidence, like get on a ladder and clean the gutters. I still have to be careful, but having the connection to my body helps me to be aware of how things feel and if I listen to what my body tells me, I will do great.

So, back to the book. I did not write it to make money, but I don’t want to lose money either. I will sell it for what it costs me to print it. It is really a companion book to go with the class. It covers the basics the way I teach them. I have had good feedback so far so I am pleased. I want my class participants to learn to safely strengthen their bodies in a functional way.

It is really amazing to me to look at what I am doing in my life right now and think about what I wanted to do when I first graduated from nursing school. I wanted to be involved in preventative medicine. That has influenced my choices in the nursing jobs I had, in my decision to go to massage school, and now in teaching Pilates. What is next?

When your body mind and soul are healthy and harmonious, you will bring health and harmony to those around you and health and harmony to the world not by withdrawing from the world but by being a healthy living organ of the body of humanity.

B.K.S. Iyengar

Waves

2008-01-13T08:39:00.001-08:00

There's no secret to balance. You just have to feel the waves.
-Frank Herbert

What an interesting thought. I certainly resist feeling them sometimes; while at other times I find it so easy. I guess that may be the point.
I had postpartum depression after my second child was born. I went on antidepressants and stayed on them for almost eight years. I went off of them after I went to an acupuncturist for treatment and haven’t taken them again. I do take some supplements from my naturopathic physician, but not the hard core stuff from before. Steve and I have talked a lot about that time in our lives and what we remember most is that the medication certainly took care of the downs, but it also flattened out the joys. It was and is our choice to deal with my waves in a natural way, with self care and supplements.
Taking or not taking medication is takes serious consideration, and the choice shouldn’t be made without sound medical advice. I saw psychiatrists, counselors and medical doctors before I made my decision. With Steve and my family’s support I work to take care of myself. I can’t play the martyr or the victim and stay healthy at the same time. I am the goddess in our family.
Everyone deserves self care. This is not a selfish act, even though some people view it that way. I see that if I don’t take care of myself I don’t have the reserves to take care of all the other people that I love and want to care for. I am also teaching those loved ones that it is not just ok, but very important to take care of one’s self. I always think about what flight attendants say at the beginning of every flight: “If you are travelling with someone who needs assistance, put your air mask on first so that you can then help the other person.”

Don't compromise yourself. You are all you've got. -Janis Joplin

A Garden

2007-12-29T15:38:00.000-08:00

My mind is a garden. My thoughts are the seeds. My harvest will be either flower or weeds. -Mel Weldon

This is an interesting thought to me. I truly believe that you will see whatever it is you are looking for. I remember going to visit Steve's family and pretty much every time I expected to have my feelings hurt and guess what? I did. It came down to how many times they would be hurt vs. if they would or not. That is one area I still have to be aware of. If we are going to be visiting with his family, I work to adjust my mind set. It has worked lately and I'm sure it will get easier the more I practice it.

This year has ended in a way that I really didn't expect at the beginning and I was feeling sorry for myself until I took a moment and really looked at all the great things that blossemed in our lives. Sydnee spent four and a half months in Wales with side trips to England, Scotland, France and Italy. Robin graduated from high school and is now enjoying Western Washington University. Steve has the opportunity to do contract work with his eye on early retirement. I have begun teaching more and looking at what other ways I can help others.

Our family is healthy and our friends are fabulous. Life is a garden of flowers.

Be Free,
Lorri

Timeshares

2007-12-12T06:45:00.000-08:00

I need to let you all know the reason I thought he was insane. When we bought our first timeshare, 10 years ago, it took four hours because he just wasn't convinced that it was a good deal. At the time I thought that it would force us to take nice vacations. It has, we have had some amazing trips in the last 10 years, not only with our timeshare. So I think timeshares are great. I just didn't see us buying more right now, so I expected that we would listen like we have in the past and leave. Steve listened much more patiently that I and when we were left alone, I really did blurt out, "Are you insane?" The look on his face was truly priceless. It was a real life reversal of personalities. But he thought it a good deal and so we bought it.

Such a Fine Sight to See

2007-12-09T18:13:00.001-08:00

Well, we are back and we survived. It was a fun and beauty filled trip. I’ll start at the beginning.

We flew to Phoenix instead of Flagstaff because the difference paid the cost of the rental car. Sweet. We arrived on time and got the car and headed north to Sedona. It was a beautiful drive. We arrived and checked in and immediately got scheduled for our timeshare appointment. Now I wasn’t sure if it was worth it, but Steve said ok, so we were on for Thursday.

Our room was fabulous. It was a one bedroom with a kitchen and a huge garden tub. I was in heaven.

Sunday morning, at the free breakfast, we were approached by a woman who had the paperwork to get into the Grand Canyon, but didn’t want to go alone. So we drove and she went with us. The Grand Canyon was spectacular. We started at the east side and drove west stopping at almost all of the view points and such. Here are a few pictures.

We walked quite a bit around Sedona and got what I consider some good photos. The next day we drove to the Petrified Forest. Along the way we stopped at Walnut Canyon, which are Indian ruins. Pretty cool stuff. The Petrified Forest was cool too, I don’t know what it is about science, but it makes me want to learn more. We hit the north edge of the forest and saw the Painted Desert. It was really beautiful too. It was a good thing we had unlimited mileage on the rental car, we ended up putting over 1100 miles on it. We stopped in this small town for dinner on our way home. You get extra points if you can sing the song.

Thursday morning and we went to the sales office. We listened to the reasons why we should buy a timeshare with their company and then looked at two different rooms. I don’t think Karen, our saleswoman, believed Steve when he told her the three bedroom suite with a den was about the same size as our house, but it really was. It was really nice too. So we trotted back to the office to look at numbers. At this time I am so bored and thought about texting the kids but I stayed respectful and polite. Karen told us the price and Steve was very polite. We eventually had a moment to ourselves when I blurted out, “Are you insane?” He was actually interested. We bought. It does sound like a great deal and I know we will travel more if we do this. So, we will be travelling.
It rained on our last day there and on the drive back to Phoenix, but all in all it was a great trip.

Breathe

2007-11-27T18:25:00.000-08:00

The thing that matters is not what you bear, but how you bear it.
SENECA

The oven worked fine for Thanksgiving. Hallelujah, it cooked the 18.25# turkey in no time flat. I may use the convection feature more often. But today when I turned it on, the fan started to make a rattling noise. I'm just not going to use it for a little over a week and then I will get it checked. I don't have time right now.

Plumber Steve is working on the bathroom sink. Robin pointed out this weekend that it wasn't working. Hmmm. Steve has taken it apart and accidentally broke part, so after he turned off the main water valve and cleaned up all the water, he took it apart again and we went to get the part that was broken. He has been working on getting it not to leak for a while, but plastic parts are kind of a pain. We'll see how that goes.

I had to put the newsletter for our church together last week. Our pastor was really sick, but I didn't know that so I just used what info I had and shortened it from eight pages to six. Good enough. The printer at the church didn't have any cartridges, so I couldn't print it on Sunday. Plan foiled. I checked the price to have it printed at Kinko's and it was going to be over $70. Next plan foiled. It wasn't going to happen. Then Pastor Abby needed to add something that had to be in the newsletter and since I hadn't printed it yet, we got it in. She also got the cartridge so I walked her through merging the newsletter with the data base. I guess I really learned how to use this function in Publisher well enough to walk her through it. I was going to be irritated that it didn't work out the way I had planned, but I learned something and that is a good thing.

Dinner is cooking and the wine is breathing. All is good.

Be Free,
Lorri

I've been tagged!

2007-11-19T06:56:00.000-08:00

I remember when I first saw someone tagged and I thought it looked cool. Now I'm wondering. But thank you Michelle, you are forcing me to think.

Here are the rules:

* Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
* Share 5 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
* Tag 3 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs. Let them know they are TAGGED by leaving a comment on their blog.

1. I love to sew, but gave up my sewing room 10 years ago to do massage. I have made swim wear, lingerie, tailored a wool coat in high school and a blazer for Steve, designed clothing pieces, made drapes. I am starting it back up, I've missed it.
2. I love trivia, my son calls me the queen of useless knowledge.
3. I am quite insecure around people I don't know but I'm not sure it translates that way. I have been told people are afraid of me. I don't get it.
4. I love to do anything that is creative. I love paint and color and decorating.
5. I am basically lazy.

I tag Shari, Darcy, and Craig.

Have fun and be free,
Lorri

Good vs. Bad

2007-11-17T07:29:00.000-08:00

I am not a baker. I love to cook because I can make things up. You really can't do this when baking, you must measure things. I made apple bread on Thursday. It turned out ok, but I didn't put enough apples in it (because I didn't measure them)and if I had it would have been three loaves instead of two. Then it would have cooked in the amount of time it was supposed to have cooked and wouldn't have gotten so dark on the top. It tastes great, but it is a little dark on top. Yesterday I made pumpkin bread using fresh pumpkin. Did I mention that you have to measure everything when you bake. I eyeballed the pumpkin and I should have measured out 3 1/2 cups. It didn't bake right and when I tried to put it back in the oven to try to cook the inside some more (knowing that it probably wouldn't work, but what the heck, it was ruined anyway) my oven made a hum and then a pop and it smelled like burnt plastic.

Oh joy, we thought an element had burnt out, but they both got red when we turned them on, so today I get to test the oven. I will turn it on and preheat it to 350 degrees. If there is no problem, I will turn it off and then make more pumpkin bread and apple bread to bake. Did I mention that I am cooking Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday and if my oven doesn't work (breathe) I will survive, I have alternatives.

Ok, I have ranted for the day and enough is enough. Life is grand.

I just finished up my second quarter as a Pilates instructor for Pierce College Continuing Education. I got excellent evaluations. It makes me feel like I have done what I set out to do when I am told that they enjoyed the exercise and feel stronger and it didn't hurt. I really don't want it to hurt. I also feel that it should strengthen a body in the position that we use it in.

One thing that a lot of people mentioned were hand-outs. Right now I hand out a list of the exercises that we do. They have made it clear that while this is nice, they don't get a lot of use out of it because they don't connect the name to the exercise. So I have asked what the protocol is around my making a booklet of the exercises for students to use at home. Of course, I would have to charge enough to print them, but this idea excites me. Students wouldn't have to buy the book, but it could be an option. Then my mind spins off to all the details and I have a project.

"Why not try and see positive things, to just touch those things and make them bloom?"

THICH NHAT HANH

Home Alone or Not

2007-11-11T12:46:00.000-08:00

Ok, I thought I was going to get a couple days alone. Just me, Puck and the computer. I was looking forward to catching up on this blog and reading those of my freinds, because since Steve is home he is training and is on the computer a lot. It is good that he is training so he can get a consulting job, but it has changed my routine.

Well, Steve left pulling the trailer to go camp with his dad for a couple days. He was gone about an hour and a half. He called to let me know something was seriously wrong with the Yeti, but he was going to put oil in it to see what that would do and he would get back to me. He did and we had to get it, and the trailer, towed to the dealer in Sumner. We will find out tomorrow what the diagnostic tests tell us.

Here us a picture of the Yeti on a flatbed truck which was pulling the trailer.

Lessons learned: How to ask for help? Patience? We really aren't in control of anything? Gratitude that such a thing can happen at a not so bad time.

Oh, and instead of getting a couple of days to myself Steve is here and his dad just came up here instead of camping. So I get the two of them together. What can I learn from this?

Be Free,
Lorri

Happines is a Conscious Choice

2007-10-18T08:20:00.000-07:00

Happiness is a conscious choice, not an automatic response.
-Mildred Barthel

This speaks volumes to me. Life at our house has gone through many changes in the last month. Steve being laid off brought up an amazing set of questions. He has the opportunity to really look at what he wants to do going forward. With my trust in God and the universe, I am sure he will get what he asks for. It is all about the wording and the energy.

Robin is settling in at Western. He came home two weekends ago for a play his friend was in. It was great to see him and it gave him the opportunity to have his list of all the things he didn’t know he would need taken care of. We power shopped. It was pretty amazing and very fruitful for him. He is coming home this weekend for Homecoming. I imagine that his trips home will become further apart as he finds more things to keep him busy in Bellingham and makes even more friends than he already has. From what he has told me, he is keeping up with his classes and has called his sister a number of times for help with his math homework.

Sydnee seems to be settling in also for her senior year of college. She is working at a few different jobs and seems to be keeping her schedule under control. She also has a social life that is tied to her church. I hope that she can expand the social part while keeping her beliefs intact, it can be quite the balancing act. She has sent her application to UPS for the Masters in the Art of Teaching, and has a few pieces to follow up on including three tests. I know she will do grand and will be receiving her Master in 2009. YEAH Sydnee!!

I am taking this time to look at my own opportunities and choices.

Be Free,
Lorri

Transitions

2007-09-27T13:21:00.000-07:00

If you let go a little, you will have a little peace. If you let go a lot, you will have even more peace. So wherever you are attached, let go of that and come back to the center. Learn to see all movement of life with balance and openness.

ACHAAN CHAH

Ok, I haven’t felt well since I got home from Boston. We all seem to have gotten some sort of stomach bug, but we will be fine.

But, what I have noticed since we moved Robin to Bellingham is that with the house quiet, I am fealing mellower. I know that some of this is due to the energy of our house. It is a great house and the energy has always been loving and comforting, but now it is something else too. I guess maybe it is serenity, a feeling that all is good in this space. I think the dog even feels it, he has been sleeping really well at night, and so have I.

It is a shift to think that if something needs to be cleaned or picked up, it is because Steve or I got it out or made the mess. It is just different.

I think that Steve got laid off for a couple different reasons that have nothing to do with his companies budget changes. I think he needed a change and he wasn’t moving fast enough, so God/the universe gave him a little push. I also think that I needed him home to help with this transition. And he has helped. I figure about the time I get used to having him home, he will get a new job.

My mom told me once that she married my dad “for better or worse, but not for lunch”. I totally understand what she meant, but since Steve takes on the chore of cleaning up whatever mess I make when I cook, I don’t mind cooking more in a day. It is really good for us to eat at home and eat the good organic produce we get from Terry’s Berries in our farm share. My new favorite way to cook a lot of veggies is to roast them. Simple and so flavorful.

I start new Pilates classes for Pierce College this week. My Tuesday morning class has six participants and it is so exciting to be able to really teach the proper technique to them all. We stop and feel what each move is and why we want to do it. I make sure they are doing it properly and even though we didn’t make it too far though the list of exercises, they could all feel what they were supposed to be feeling and felt as though they had worked. This is the way teaching this should feel. It is too bad that the YMCA has the open door policy on their Pilates classes and I have so many different levels in each class. I remember Anne would take people upstairs to give them an individual help session with some of the moves. I never did that, but I wish I had been asked. I may have to figure out how to include that for the class participants.

I also need to do some thinking and experimenting with the collection of exercises that I do in the class. I tend to go much slower than Anne did, but I like the mind/body connection that that affords. But I feel I need to have more variety, so I guess I will be working for my money.

Life is great.

Be Free,
Lorri

He's Grown Up

2007-09-22T10:10:00.000-07:00

Ok, we got him to Bellingham and into his dorm. I wanted to stay until he was ready for me to go. I was really good about asking him what he wanted me to do and not just doing what I thought needed to be done. He has discovered a few things he forgot already.

The first, as he was trying to get comfortable in the yeti to take a nap, her realized that he forgot his pillow. We discussed the merits of buying a new one vs. a folded sweatshirt. He didn't want to buy a new one. When his stuff was in the room, he realized he forgot the lock for his laptop. Then he couldn't find the keys to his bike lock. And the remote to his stereo. Apparently you can't set it to the sleep mode, and a few other features, with out the remote. He received a message from a friend who is moving up to Western on Sunday and he called her to ask if she would mind bringing the few items he forgot, she said yes and she just stopped by the house to pick them up. I feel relieved.

What I am feeling guilty about is he has a cold. Now, I know I didn't give it to him and there is really nothing that I can do, but my baby can't breathe through his nose. He used the nasal spray in the car on the way and he emailed me last night, around midnight, that he couldn't find it. His roommate, Lucas pictured on the right with Robin, is going to go buy him some today. The second save of the day.

The house is very quiet. Steve has been home, and I have been trying to find him projects to do. Well, he now gets to clean and detail Robin's car so we can sell it. Do you know anyone who is interested in a '98 Ford Contour?

Be Free,
Lorri

The Big Day Friday

2007-09-19T07:29:00.000-07:00

Steve and I will be driving to Bellingham this Friday to take Robin to college. It hits me every once in a while that he will be there and not here. Although I don't see him very much when he is here.

I am feeling very worn out after the trip so I am wondering if I am a little more sensitive to change and "stuff" than I would normally be. Probably not, but it is a valid excuse for being what feels crazy to me.

Boston was fabulous!

2007-09-18T10:26:00.000-07:00

We flew US Air into Philly and found out our flight to Boston was canceled. They bumped us to a flight 30 minutes later. No problem, our luggage will get on that flight, right? They said yes. Wrong. It didn’t come in on that flight and the next two flights were canceled. I called at 1:30 in the morning to see if it had come in on the last flight and was told that it didn’t and that I should call in the morning. I called and they told me it had arrived and would be delivered. I, of course, asked when. They said by 10:30. There was a message on the hotel phone that I hadn’t seen and when I called they told me our luggage was in the lobby. They brought it up after I asked them to. Yeah, we were set to vacation.

We took a trolley tour that was ok, but not great. We got to see all of the sights, but they wanted everyone to be quiet so you could hear about the history. It was kinda strange to be told to be quiet, but we also did want to hear the history. The problem was we thought the first driver wasn’t too funny but when we got back on after checking our Fenway Park, the driver was worse. But we had a good idea of where everything was and what we wanted to go back to see.

Mom and I wanted to shop. We wanted to go to Filene’s Basement, Macy’s, and DSW (a huge shoe store). We made it to DSW the first day and I got a pair of cute shoes, but then went back to the hotel to get ready to have dinner. We found out later in the week that Filene’s was closed and wouldn’t open for a couple of years (boohoo) and we did get to Macy’s, but we weren’t too impressed. We did end up getting Mom a pair of flip flops at Payless Shoe Source.

On Thursday we walked part of the Freedom Trail. Boston proper is not very big and we stayed in the Financial District which was very central. It was a 10-15 minute walk to the North End, aka Little Italy to those not from Boston, and a 10-15 minute walk to Beacon Hill. We saw graveyards, Paul Revere’s house, the famous “one if by land, two if by sea” church steeple, the Boston Commons and the Public Gardens. It was a very relaxed vacation and it was great to spend the time with my mom and my sister.

We listened in at one graveyard to a tour leader talk about Sam Adams. She told us to look at the picture of Sam on the beer label. It isn’t him. I guess he was “butt ugly” (her words, not mine) and that the picture is actually Paul Revere. Compare these photos.

Paul Revere by Copley

Samuel Adams

We got to see the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum, had lunch at the Museum of Fine Arts, and went to Harvard Museum of Natural History and the Peabody. We took a very short harbor tour and saw the USS Constitution and the beautiful buildings of Boston from the harbor.

I am glad to be home and now I get to help Robin finish getting ready to move to Bellingham. We take him this Friday. I’ll let you know how I hold up.

Be Free,
Lorri

The Dog Days of Summer

2007-09-07T07:44:00.001-07:00

We camped last weekend at Mayfield Lake. We were with a group of dogs who were kind enough to bring all of their owners. The dogs run and play. We had a couple puppies there and all sizes. Here are a few pictures.

This is Puck showing Nico who is boss.

Here are Biggles and Nico.

Sandy, Nico and Biggles.

Puck and Sophie. There were more dogs there, but these were the ones who we played with.

This was the most challenging cork screw that I have ever encountered. Kudos to Ron and Dave for getting the bottle open, notice I didn’t say figuring it out. We definitely achieved corkage. We also ate really well. We had biscuits and gravy with a hashbrown casserole, fajitas & margaritas, a sausage hash with eggs, tri-tip roast with coleslaw and corn on the cob and then breakfast sandwiches on Monday. We ate well and it was all greatly appreciated. It is really a neat system with this group. Everyone is in charge of a meal, you choose what you want to make and then you are done cooking for the rest of the weekend. It is so much fun and the variety is fantastic.

I know Steve and I had a great time and look forward to the next time.

Timing is Everything

2007-08-29T13:50:00.000-07:00

Or not. We had decided that we didn't need a new car. We needed to pay for our children's education. That is our choice and we feel strongly about it. That said, we had told my parents when they were ready to get a new car let us know and we would buy their Honda. We thought this would happen in a couple years.

I got a call from my Dad bright and early Monday morning. He told me Mom had found a car that she really wanted, would we be interested in the Honda. I couldn't answer with anything other than I would talk to Steve and call him back. I talked with Steve and we decided that it wasn't a good time to get a car loan. My Dad understood completely. (When I talked to Mom she was surprised that dad thought she wanted it so bad, she told me she said she really liked it, yes, but didn't need a new car.)

Steve called me Tuesday morning within three minutes of leaving the house because he missed me so much and he had thought about the Honda. He asked how I felt. I could go either way, I could see the great deal we would get, but I could live with what we have. Well, we are getting a 2004 Honda Accord 4 door sedan. It has less than 20,000 miles on it and my Dad is great at taking care of cars, so we know it is in great shape. We will probably pick it up this weekend.

My parents would have driven their new 2007 Ford 500 home yesterday right after they test drove it, but Mom forgot to put the checkbook in her purse. Oops, but they probably are home with it this afternoon.

I'll post pictures later. (Oh, Steve informed me that this is his car, just for the record.)

Great Day, Except

2007-08-23T10:22:00.000-07:00

All in all yesterday was a great day. I got ready to go to the YMCA to teach my Pilates class and before I leave, every other Wednesday, Ruth comes to clean my house. YEAH!!! It makes me happy when she comes. This is partly because she cleans, and partly because I pick up to make it easier for her to clean. I know this is when Steve says, why do you clean so she can clean? Well, if all of our “stuff” is picked up and put away, she doesn’t have to move it to clean under it and it takes her less time and she can get more done in the time she is here. Steve really likes it when our “stuff” is put away sothis isn’t a complaint from him, just a comment.

I had a great class. After working with Michelle a couple weeks ago, I got some ideas of ways to keep my classes from being, I hope, too boring. I try to mix it up a little. Sydnee was there so we did Swan Dive, a more advanced move, just for her. My stretching class had about 11 people in it and I always love stretching for 30 minutes and relaxing.

When I came home, I went to my office and started to get things ready for Brenda to arrive. Brenda is my massage practitioner and I am her massage practitioner. We are also friends, so we both really look forward to every other Wednesday. Well, everything had not been put away after the floors were installed, so I was getting the room straightened up and ready. Steve had moved my stereo onto the top shelf of my bookshelf that is on the wall, and he had unplugged it. Well, I got it down, got the cord and was looking at the wires to the speakers and wondering why they were in front of the shelves…Oh well, I’ll move them later. I needed to move the dresser away from the wall to plug in the stereo and when I stepped to the side of said dresser I ran right into the shelf. Smacked my forehead but good. This stopped me in my tracks for two reasons. First, the shelf has been there for almost 19 years and I have never ran into it and secondly, it hurt really, really bad. My first thought was “That is going to leave a mark”, and it did leave a little knot that is sore. But, I have to laugh at myself, because I did worry about the floor guys running into the shelf but not me.

The day progressed wonderfully from there. The only problem I had during my massage was that it hurt my head to have my face in the face cradle, but I adjusted my position and was able to suck it up and enjoy my massage. Sydnee was here and we had a great dinner of roasted veggies; potatoes, carrots, radishes, garlic, cauliflower, green beans and corn on the cob with some grilled chicken on the side. Yummy. And our Bible study was rewarding as always. We are reading Anne Lamott’s “Traveling Mercies”. I like it and I like her style.

So, yesterday was a great day, except when I hit my head. Today I get to put away more “stuff” that Steve brought in from the garage. He wants to park in there again, so bags and boxes crowd around a few pieces of furniture. Oh well.

Be Free,
Lorri

Floors Only, Please

2007-08-20T16:58:00.000-07:00

Please look only at the floors, the counters and table tops are full of things that need to be put away. Thanks, I knew you all would understand.

Be Free,
Lorri

Independence

2007-08-20T07:54:00.001-07:00

Ok, the floors are in and most of the furniture and “stuff” is in place. It will still be a couple of days before all the dust settles back into a nice homey feel. But, the floors are beautiful, and I look forward to seeing them darken over the next six months.

The reason all the furniture is not in place is Robin is working at a camp in Stanwood and we picked him up Saturday morning to go to Bellingham to Summerstart. The campus is beautiful, Steve and Robin noticed that there were not only more girls to guys, but most of the girls were pretty. We picked up our respective packets and Robin got his picture taken for his Western ID card. He started chatting with a cutey in line. He is going to be fine.

He had a little trouble registering. He had to get an over-ride code for his accelerated Calculus class; he didn’t apply for the Honors Chemistry because he thought he could just register for it. You can’t. He will apply, but in the meantime he registered for an ancient civilization class and an anthropology class. He had 15 credits from Running Start at Pierce College, 10 of which satisfy GUR’s and he scored a 5 on the AP calculus test which explains the accelerated calculus class he will take this year.

We took him to the camp he is working at so he could show us and then we went to dinner with the couple that he is staying with. Joe is going to introduce him to the person who runs the challenge course at Western.

I will add pictures of the floors later today.

Be Free,
Lorri

More Day Two

2007-08-16T13:39:00.001-07:00

They are done for today. They will return tomorrow morning and finish the floors, put the baseboard back up and finish anything else that needs to be touched up. YEAH!

Day Two

2007-08-16T11:13:00.000-07:00

Here are pictures from the morning of day two, I'll add more later today.
Be Free,
Lorri

Floors In Progress

2007-08-15T16:47:00.001-07:00

Here are some before pictures and in progress.

The guys: Jeremy, Mike, Jason, and Tyler are so nice and they are very careful about doing a good job. It is refreshing to have a craftsman doing the floors. The cool thing about the Brazilian Cherry is that it will darken for about six months, so the color it is now is not the color it will be. COOL!

I’ll keep you posted. (Megabitch is on the way out)

Nerves

2007-08-15T16:44:00.000-07:00

I am so nervous. The floors are going to be started today. I am stressed from all the moving. I need to clear some things up. I have not moved EVERYTHING. There are a lot of big pieces that Steve moved and some he had help from Robin with. There are even a few things that the floor guys are going to have to move. While I stress about it Steve has been so patient with me. I become the “Megabitch” when I get stressed and let me tell you she hasn’t left the building yet.

I admit to having a hard time with change and excitement. I tend to deal well until it is gone and then I crash. I survived Bob being here, but dropped after he left, only to get cranked up to move the house into the garage. I expect after it is all done and moved back, I may crash. BREATHE.

Update on Bob: He had surgery on his knee to repair a ruptured quadriceps tendon. He is in a soft cast and using crutches for two weeks until he goes back to the doctor. He is taking Tylenol with codeine, so I imagine he can rest with the meds on board. He said when they wear off, he hurts. He also thought he might need a personal trainer and a therapist.

Moving

2007-08-12T09:24:00.001-07:00

Ok, we aren’t moving, it just feels that way. The time draws close for Jeremy and his guys from Barker Homes to come to the house and install the hardwood floors. Even though I knew this, the realization that I have to remove EVERYTHING that is on the floor in the kitchen, dining room, living room, office and hall is totally overwhelming. I have dug in my heels and I am resisting big time. Why? Because we (I) have a lot of stuff, most of which is in the garage right now. I have a couple more days to move the rest of it.

I admit it, I tend to make piles of papers/stuff. I recognize this and have worked on decreasing the size and number of said piles around the house. I still have work to do. As I was moving something from the office my first inclination was to put it in the dining room, and then it dawned on me I would have to move it from there too. So instead of moving it twice, I found a place to put it with its friends from the office. It is safely stacked or piled or in a bag in the garage.

My biggest concern about this process is my computer. In addition to being tied to my email I am the editor of our church’s newsletter and it will need to be printed this coming Sunday or Monday. Usually I don’t have all the information until Friday and put the finishing touches on it on Saturday. My office will be packed in the garage until the floors are done and (a big and) we make the time to put everything back into the house. We will be busy on Saturday with Robin doing college prep stuff, so…

Ok, let it go….breathe…. relax your shoulders….it will all work out. This is my mantra for the week. As they say, “resistance is futile”.

Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.
-Anonymous

Be Free,
Lorri

Hearing vs. Listening

2007-08-02T17:44:00.000-07:00

Steve and I have talked about this many times. We hear differently. I think the filters we all have from the experiences in our lives are very different for Steve and I. I know I go into an automatic mode when we talk sometimes, so I hear what I expect to or I interpret it as if it we speak different languages. I usually hear things as a negative about or towards me. I’m not sure if Steve hears things in a consistent way or not.

Last night the doctor’s office called regarding the results of Bob’s MRI. They asked that he come into the office today to talk about them. The nurse told him to stay off his leg and they could have a wheelchair available when he arrives. I interpreted that and stated “there must be something that needs to be fixed”. Steve heard me say “there must be something really wrong”. I suspect he was concerned something is wrong with his dad’s knee, but I didn’t speak those words.

I guess since we are humans, we won’t listen. I am focusing on thinking about what I am hearing to determine if I am really listening. I am listening from “hear” on out.

Spreading the Joy

2007-07-31T20:48:00.000-07:00

OK, I admit it. It was fun to work the aid station at the PCT 50miler/50 K run. I think that in part it was because of the great people crewing with me. Michelle and I were the coco”NUTS” babes, Steve and Eric were there helping for the morning and then swept out of site to sweep the trail. We also shared our duties with Craig, our fearless leader, his wife Lori, Megan and her husband and Brian (I think) All together there were three massage practitioners (well two were therapist because that is what they call us in Oregon) and I think I was the only non-runner.

We were a Hawaiian themed aid station, so that explains the coconut bras and grass skirts. Most everyone else wore Hawaiian shirts and leis. The other Lori is half Hawaiian and she had beautiful music that we swayed our hips to. She could hula, we pretended. We also had to make a few runs into town to get some supplies. We spread the joy of the coco”NUTS” there.

I normally am pretty reserved (scared to look foolish), so I was quite proud of Michelle and myself that we went into town in our outfits. At first I was muttering to myself “I don’t know these people, I will never see them again”, but with Michelle by my side I soon was laughing at the responses and then forgetting that we actually looked different. It’s all about growth. We also talked the entire day and “bonded” like the YaYa Sisters.

We had a great weekend. We got to see my folks for a few minutes when we dropped Puck off, and have lunch with them when we picked Puck up. And we got spent the weekend with two fabulous people. We laughed a lot. Steve can be very silly when he is around Eric and Michelle tells me that is the way he always is out on runs. Who knew, no wonder he likes to be out there, it is very freeing to be silly.

It is amazing to see the different personalities of the runners. I didn’t know anyone so I had no history of who they were, how many runs they had done, how good they were. They were all just people and it was great.

Be Free,
Lorri

Elder Care?

2007-07-23T17:42:00.000-07:00

How do you care for people who want to be independent and take care of themselves? My father-in-law is here and because he hurt his leg on a run, he can’t drive well enough to be safe. So, he is stuck here with me. I know he is an independent and perfectly capable person, but when you are using crutches to get around, you may need a little help every once in a while.

He has been very good about accepting the help that is offered, and I have worked on not offering too quickly or too often and we are getting along fine.

It makes me wonder, how do you parent your parents? I think it is a slow transition, but it is a shock when you realize that is what you are doing. But to what extent are we parenting and where will it lead? Will we care for them in our home or will they go into nursing homes? Then it brings to mind the big question of what will Steve and I do as we age, will we expect our kids to parent us? Will we have a choice? I heard you should be nice to your kids, they pick out your nursing home.

So, no answers, just the questions for now. I am living in the joy that our families bring to us and focusing on doing what needs to be done with grace and love. And wine, or is that whine?

My Very First Race Report

2007-07-16T15:30:00.000-07:00

It really wasn’t a race, it was a walk. It really was more of a stroll. My friend, Danette, asked me to walk the Toyota Tacoma Narrows Bridge Run/Walk with her. I agreed, even though I am nervous about heights. The walk was yesterday, so here is my official report.

Since Danette and I are both nervous about being late, we were to meet up at Pepper’s salon, where Danette works, at 6 AM, and of course we were both early, so after we got gas and coffee we were on the road by 6 AM. We parked at Tacoma Community College and rode the shuttle to the Living War Memorial Park and picked up our packets. We didn’t have anything else to do so we walked down to the start and looked around. We were there for just over an hour before the start. By 8 AM, when the race started, the area was packed. I have never seen so many people in my life. There were over 10,000 participating in this event.

It took us 10 minutes to cross the start line and we really could only stroll for probably the first mile. The race crossed the Narrows Bridge from Tacoma to Gig Harbor and up almost to the new toll booths where it turned around and we went back. I even looked over the edge and took this picture. I know it is hard to believe, but it is true. Although, I think am going to have to get a notarized affidavit from Danette to show my mother.

We finished up and walked up to the park and retrieved our jackets and got in the huge line for the shuttle back to TCC. The best part of the day was when we left TCC we went to Trader Joe’s and I stocked up on wine. If you want to come have a glass with us, I’ve got wine.

Be Free.

Family Planning?

2007-07-14T12:45:00.000-07:00

I came across a DailyOM from DailyOM.com on Family Planning. Now, I know what you are thinking. Steve and I are old and we can’t be planning on more kids. You are right, we are not planning on adding to our family (until grandkids in the future, at least five years please). This was about planning the qualities you want to foster in your family's growth.

Since I am not in a position to mold my children much, if at all anymore, I was thinking about what I did do. I know for a fact that I wanted my kids to love learning. I stated it many times as they were growing, I modeled it and we lived it. Well, Sydnee will be going for her Masters in the Art of Teaching so she can be a high school math teacher. Robin is thinking about teaching science. I think I accomplished that goal.

That was the easy one, what else was there. “No name calling”. I always believed that you believe what your hear, even if you don't want to or know better, whether it is positive or negative but the negative carries more weight. I have worked hard to overcome some of the things my siblings said to me, so I was adamant that my kids not do that to each other. I’m not sure if this one worked, you would have to ask my kids, but I believe that they are very sensitive in many ways(and would have been anyway) and they are affected by what others say to and about them, like us all. They are also aware of the effect their words have on others. But other than the occasional “poopyhead”, I would say they spoke well to each other. Did I contribute to their sensitivity, I don’t know. Do they have or did they have problems because of it. Yeah, maybe. But they may have had those issues anyway. We will never know.

Steve believes that travel is important. He talked a lot about his backpacking trip to Europe as a 21 year old. We traveled with the kids, taking them to Mexico, California, on a couple of cruises (including this cruise to Alaska with both of our parents)and camping a lot. They love to travel and I see that being an important factor in their lives. I don’t know if Sydnee would have chosen to go to the University of Wales for a semester if this hadn’t been an important belief in our lives. Robin also plans to study abroad.

These are what I remember "planning" for our family. I wonder what I would have changed if I had seen this DailyOM before I had kids. Oh, well, I’ll never know.

Be Free.

Maintenance

2007-07-07T09:21:00.000-07:00

We tend to be really good about maintenance on our cars. We try to change the oil every 5,000 miles or so and get the checks and tune-ups when scheduled. We know that they run better when we do this and since we don’t buy new cars very often it is important to keep the ones we own running well.

We also do this with our bodies. We eat healthy foods in appropriate portions, we exercise, we have a spiritual life, and we try to talk when things are bothering us. This has worked rather well for us, we have been dating almost 29 years and have been married for almost 23.

Where we have slacked off on this is our house. We do the minimum when it is necessary. Neither of us are real lovers of yard work and while Steve is very handy, he is also a perfectionist. So he does things really well, but they take time. He feels he would rather pay for someone to do a job, because his time is precious (there are too many summits to be conquered or golf courses in the past). This has worked for us but now we are both beginning to think about the state of affairs. Our house is 19 years old. Some of the weeds are 19 years old. The carpet is 19 years old. I wanted to replace it a few years ago, but the dog was old and the boy was in high school. I didn’t want new carpet to get ruined. But now the boy is college bound and the new puppy is housetrained. It is time. But it was the beginning of summer and the grass grew.

There is a snowball effect in place. I think it may actually be an avalanche. First, we hired someone to come clean up the yard (we have an acre and a quarter with not even half landscaped) and since we paid more than it was worth and he wanted to charge too much to come back for maintenance, be decided that we could do slightly more than the minimum (the minimum being nothing) and keep it up ourselves. The problem is the moles and the back yard. We have a problem and have had for years. The back has never been seeded with yard grass, it is just field grass. This was great when the kids were little because they thought they were hiding in the grass, but now I can’t push the lawn mower that I received as a birthday gift about 10 years ago through the hills and valleys back there. So we bit the big one and for my birthday this week, I got a new Craftsman riding lawnmower. Now everyone wants to mow the lawn.

To get rid of the field grass we need to borrow or rent a rototiller to dig up the grass and blackberries and re-seed both the front and back yards. This is a beginning of fall type job, so it makes sense to wait a bit for that. We also need to look at what types of plants could line the perimeter of the yard and would be low to no maintenance (see a theme here?) and native to this part of the world. Salal and rhododendrons are all I have thought about so far. Planning, one of my favorite activities.

While the house is 19 years old, we designed and built it and we love the location in the woods. But a lot of things in the house are 19 yers old. The carpet is 19 years old. I wanted to replace it a few years ago, but the dog was old and the boy was still in school. I didn’t want new carpet to get ruined. But now the boy is college bound and the new puppy is housetrained. It is time.

I have chosen Brazillian Cherry hardwood floors for the kitchen, dining room, living room, office and hall. Steve didn’t want to put it in the kitchen and dining room, because about six or eight years ago we had Pergo put in there. But the Pergo next to the hardwood would look really bad and then in a few years when the i would need to be replaced, we wouldn't be able to connect it with the hardwood, so it is being replaced now. It just makes the most sense. The new carpet for our bedroom is a neutral green and it has been ordered. So my job today is to start the painting of the bathroom and closets, since I can’t move the furniture and my moving man is out conquering summits. I have to paint before the new carpet is put in, I just have to.

We won’t be putting new carpet in the kid’s rooms because all those years of clothing on the floors protected the carpet for the most part and it doesn’t look near as old as it is. Who knew the kids were saving us money all these years.

So this is my avalanche. I’ve heard horror stories about this and I'm sure there will be more posts about this adventure.

Balancing Expectations

2007-07-02T08:27:00.001-07:00

Change your thoughts, and you change your world. Norman Vincent Peale

I'm a planner while Steve is more spontaneous. There is a balance between us. I'm thinking about this summer and camping. Steve would like to go to Leavenworth. That works for me, when? Also throw two adult kid's schedules into the mix and the dates are even more unpredictable. Here is what I am thinking about today: If I have a set expectation or plan, can I still be open to whatever happens? I would like to say "no problem", but in reality when something doesn't go as planned I hesitate and then can go with it.

There are other times when I can easily let things work themselves out. If I don't have a certain outcome that I expect, then anything that happens is ok. And most of the time this is where I sit, but when reservations need to be made for a campsite or a hotel room I get a little wiggy. I like to know where I am going to sleep at night.

So, I continue to work on changing my thoughts to those of someone who is more spontaneous and I will be more spontaneous. I also look for the joy and wonder of everything around me. Life is fabulous!

The Beauty of Food

2007-06-27T06:24:00.000-07:00

Last night was one of the very few times I turned down going out to dinner with Steve. He called and asked if I wanted to go get something light for dinner. We have a share at Terry's Berries and Tuesday is my pick up day. I have some veggies left from last week that I haven't been able to eat, so we ate at home and had fresh sauteed spinach, fresh spring beets roasted in olive oil and balsamic vinegar and a pork chop. It was topped off with a Blue Moon Belgiun White beer. It was better than any date just knowing how fresh and healthy the food is. And since Steve helps with the dishes we get to spend extra time together.

We have had a CSA (community share in agriculture) for three or four years. It is great to go to the farm and leave with a basket of incredible, fresh, organic produce that was picked that morning. I highly recommend this to everyone who is interested in eating well for their health and their community. Check out IdealBite as a resource for going "green".

Yesterday I picked up asparagus, peas, spinach, lettuce, salad mix, greens, spring onions, beets and summer squash. Terry's has full share and sample share options. We have always gotten a full share, but this year we only have two people eating at home regularly, so we may have too much food. I am going to give it my best shot to have at least two veggies at dinner and more if I make a stir-fry or soup. I love cooking this way, I get the food and then only have to choose the meats or other sides that we want. Eating seasonally is interesting and we have tried and liked a lot of things that we wouldn't have tried on our own.

This picture is of artichokes at the farm a couple of years ago. Robin took this photo and it is one of my favorites. The sunflowers are also from the farm. There are many different photo opportunities there. If you have an opportunity to visit a farm near where you live, I say go for it.

Really Alone

2007-06-23T10:32:00.000-07:00

I am home alone. Puck is with me, but I'm not sure he really counts. Steve is with Eric, Michelle, and Rob in California for the Western States Endurance Run. (I haven't learned how to make this a link, but you can find it on the web at http://www.ws100.com/) Steve is going to run the last 40 miles as Eric's pacer. He left yesterday morning with Rob and they will come back Monday. Steve and I aren't apart very often so it is really strange to have him gone.

Robin just left for Lazy F. He is meeting Sydnee and the rest of the site staff to raft on the River. He originally was to go over tomorrow to learn how to facilitate the ropes course. He is hoping to spend time at camp this summer both volunteering as a small group leader and a facilitator of the ropes course and as a camper. So far he has four weeks scheduled there, but I am sure there will be more. The first year he volunteered he went as a camper and then was there the next two weeks as a small group leader to fill in for empty spaces. The camp is a special place in my kids hearts, it fills their spirits.

My plan for today is to clean the house. Boring, but necessary. My housekeeper had surgery and can't come to work until the end of July. She only comes every two weeks, but if it isn't cleaned before she comes it will be pretty bad. I talked with Robin about where he wanted me to put the things he needs to sort through. There is a lot that I think he can trash or recycle. Which reminds me, his friend, James, came to the house last night for Robin's fire pit party. He brought a huge stack of school work to burn in the pit. We probably should have made it more of a ceremony, but he felt better after it was burned. Some of his stress was relieved. I hope some of Robin's friends will still come to visit us after he moves away, it is going to be awfully quiet here if they don't. Some have told me they already plan to visit and I really hope they do.

Back to my plan. Clean house. I love having a clean house, but I think I have ADD when it comes to cleaning. I get so distracted that I am all over the place as one thing triggers me to move to something else and I have to work hard to get everything finished. Ok, I'm going... really I am.

Ciao, ciao.

Adults

2007-06-21T07:31:00.000-07:00

We have four adults in our family. Our youngest, Robin, turned 18 in March but graduated last Saturday. Now that he is done with high school it seems he is really an adult.

I have been shifting in my own thoughts about who I am. I have been a stay-at-home mom for 21 years. I quit working as a nurse in a doctor's office when I was pregnant with Sydnee. I have worked part-time off and on since, but my main concern for all these years has been to take care of my family. Now I get to look at who I want to be when I grow up.

I am an RN, but I haven't worked in that capacity for many, many years. I would have to do some training to feel competent since medicine has changed some in the last 20 years. I am a licensed massage practitioner, but physically my wrists and hands can't do deep work and a lot of people want that. I would try to accommodate them and might end up hurting myself. This would not be good. I taught childbirth classes and while I loved it, I am not sure I would want to get back into that. I am teaching Pilates and stretching right now at the YMCA and as continuing education for the local community college. This is a great fit for right now since it keeps me exercising (Pilates has helped my back pain tremendously) and involved with people. I definitely need to be around people.

I also need to have a creative outlet. I used to sew. I sewed for years and have made everything from lingerie to tailored suit jackets to swim suits. I have a strong desire to make retro aprons. I would love to make them for moms and daughters or sons and help kids get into the kitchen. Maybe this could be a web-based business. I also make unique wine glass stemlets, so there could be a few items available. I don't know. Right now, I have a couple projects for churches that I need to complete and then I can get started with something else.

I know I will be fine, life always works out. I don't know what it will look like, but since I raised my kids to not keep looking at a closed door waiting for it to open while there may be windows opening behind them, I will keep an open mind to all the possibilities.

The Big Night

2007-06-16T07:26:00.000-07:00

Robin graduates tonight. We celebrate with family, not a big deal. He, on the other hand, had a party last night. His affairs are very low key. I found out about this one on Thursday, I believe. We have a fire pit in our backyard that Robin made a couple years ago. Very simple, bricks layed out in a 2 1/5-3 foot circle, stacked 3-4 high. It works. We had some work done on our yard this week and got all the blackberries cleared, the lawn mowed, and some trees cut down. It looks great and makes it easy to get to the fire pit.

So, yesterday afternoon, while I was sewing curtains in my new studio, he was cutting wood to build benches around the pit. He was working for a while and I asked him when people were coming. He told me between 6 and 7. I let him know it was 6:30. Five minutes later a couple girls drove up. He took a quick shower and as more kids arrived they played on the swing in the front yard. This is a rope swing that he built on our huge old maple tree in the front. Our driveway slopes down so when you swing around the tree you get some good air. You just need to be aware when you come around not to run into the tree.

They eventually landed in the backyard and Robin started the fire. I heard a commotion and looked out to see Robin about 15 feet away from the fire and laughing somewhat hysterically. My mom radar went up and I went onto the deck to observe what whas happening. I found out he used gasoline to start the fire. He jumped that far from the fire when it flared. Why he thought this was a good idea, I don't know. I had a little talk with him and he immediatly realized how lucky he was that he only singed the hair on his arm and didn't seriously hurt himself or someone else. (I could be all indignant and appalled at his actions, but it won't change what he did, I hope he learned a lesson and I thank God that he didn't hurt himself or anyone else.I certainly hope the other kids there also learned that this is not a good way to start a fire.)

I try to keep this philosophy in life. It is done and you can't change it, let it go. Learn from your mistakes and maybe the mistakes of others, apologize when needed and move on. I need to work on my feelings getting hurt, but I have really imporved in this area also.

The whole point I started with is he is 18 and a responsible adult, with a new lesson under his belt this morning. I can only hope that most of the lessons he will learn will only singe the hairs on his arm and he learns them well before he really gets burned.

Beginning

2007-06-14T15:58:00.000-07:00

Life has gotten a little quieter around here. Sydnee is off to camp to work as a site staff member for the summer. She will get one day off a week, and I hope to get to visit with her at the half-way point. We got everything accomplished that she needed to do before she was gone for two months. There are still a few things that I wanted her to accomplish, but I would be pushing too hard if I insisted. There will be time when she gets back. I get to use her old room as my studio, but it will take a while to get it set up the way I would really like it to be.

Robin is graduating from high school Saturday. I really find it hard to believe that we are done with the K-12 public school system. I know that I learned so much and gained so much from all the people that I met over the last 16 years, and I look forward to seeing some of those people at the ceremony. But this paragraph isn't about me. Robin doesn't spend a lot of time at home. He comes and goes pretty much like the wind. I learned when they were young that by the time they turn 18 they need to be responsible for all their decisions. I think we have accomplished that quite well. I always ask Robin when he will be home, but it is just so we know when to worry. There is no threat of punishment at this point. If he ever screws up big time, then the car is our Ace of Spades and he could lose that. He is a really responsible young man, so we don't really worry about that threat. Next week, I will start pushing for him to finish his thank-you cards to the people who have sent him gifts for his graduation.

I am starting a new class this evening. It will be a beginning Pilates class and I am looking forward to being able to really focus on teaching the basics and techniques at the start. In the fall, I will add a continuing Pilates class and will be able to build the participants skills there. The class is full with 15 people. I am nervous and excited. After class, I will go to Starbuck's to meet up with Steve and the Y Run group for coffee.

Pushing

2007-06-08T08:47:00.000-07:00

Ok, I admit it. I am pushing. I try not to, but I do. Since I know this I try to push in a nice way and not as hard as I could. I know that if my daughter doesn't move her stuff before she leaves for camp, she won't be moving it. I will clean off the desk and put everything in a box if she doesn't make time to do it herself, but then she has no say in it. I think that is what she wants. She did say that it probably would have been better to get an apartment after she got home from camp instead of moving her things out of her childhood bedroom less than 24 hours after returning home from being in Wales for 4 1/2 months. But this was her choice.

I admit that once I started living with the idea that they would be gone and I would have the house to keep as Steve and I want it, I started to like it. Once I wrap my mind around an idea, I tend to be like a dog with a bone. There are things in a 19 year old house that need changing and I am going to make this house the way we want it. After all, we are the ones who will be living here.

I have also been asked if I would consider teaching Pilates during the day for the local community college. I am starting an evening class next week, and already they want to add more. I wondered what I would do when the kids were gone and I had less commitments with them. Be careful what you wish for.

Empty Nest

2007-06-02T20:33:00.000-07:00

emp·ty [ émptee, émtee ]1. containing nothing: not containing or holding anything, 2. unfed: hungry or lacking food, 3. unoccupied: unoccupied or uninhabited, 4. with no passengers or load: without passengers, a load, or cargo, 5. meaningless: without value, meaning, or purpose, 6. dull: devoid of vitality.

nest [ nest ] 1. bird or animal home: a structure that birds and other animals such as mice build to shelter themselves and their young, using available natural materials such as grass, twigs, and mud, 2. community of animals: the community of animals living in a nest, 3. cozy place: a cozy, protected, or secluded place.

They don't have "empty nest" in the dictionary. These are the definitions that I found for empty and nest. There are many possible combinations that work as an explanation of what I expect in the coming years. Years? Yes, I believe that this is a process that takes years.

My example, our daughter moved out of the house into a dorm three years ago this coming August. She moved things home the next May and back out again a month later. She was in that house with other students for 18 months and she moved home for two months before she packed her bags and went to Wales to study for four and a half months. I thought it was very funny that she came home this last Sunday evening and moved back out on Monday afternoon. She has been here for her meals since and I expect this to continue for the rest of the week and we get all the supplies and "things" stocked up for her. I'm not sure she will ever move home again. Although I did tell her that if she needed to she could. My dad told my sister that he wouldn't break her plate. Funny, he never told me that.

Our son is a busy senior and comes in to eat periodically and to sleep every night, so I don't see him very much now. I guess the experience of an empty nest is coming at me in bits. He will be moving to his first dorm room in September of this year. I expect that there will be a few moves back and forth for him also. His adventure is just beginning.

For Steve and I the adventure is in the journey.