forecast

sunny

shoot your dishwasher

And I don't mean that nice young man working in the back of your kitchen. I'm talking about that big shiny energy-and-water guzzling machine that's taking up your valuable cabinet space. Drag it in the back yard and take a bb gun or a sling shot and shoot it repeatedly.

Why, you ask?

Well, recently we moved into what I consider to be our dream home. But when we were looking at said dream house, we almost passed it by because of the fact that it didn't have a dishwasher. I mean, we are a family of five. Our dinner dishes alone fill up a counter or two. And that doesn't include those other five meals in the day. So why would we even think to do this to ourselves? 'Cuz we're crazy, that's why.

But what I've discovered in the last month and a half of doing dishes by hand - every day. Sometimes multiple times a day. In a sink that doesn't even divide so I'm constantly regulating my water levels and controlling the fluff of my bubbles - is that it takes me to a bit of a zen place. I know that sounds nuts, but it's true. And here are a few reasons why:

It's mindless. I spend all day thinking about what needs to be done, how to get it done, when to get it done, and what I'll do after it's done. For once I have an excuse to spend a good half an hour of my day just washing. And scrubbing. And rinsing. It's not hard. It's just totally mindless. Sometimes you just need that.

I enjoy the view. My kitchen sink looks over our new back yard. A back yard that needs some major love. And that major love has been coming from my husband on many a hot evening. Without his shirt on. So I gaze out the window and watch his rippling biceps gleaming in the hot summer sun. Occasionally he peeks over at me and of course, I look away as fast as I possibly can. But when we finally do make eye contact, I get the sweetest smile from that man. Sometimes you just need that.

It's a sense of accomplishment. There's something about good clean work that just feels damn fine. And sometimes you just need that.

It's environmentally friendly. And you know this, man. Most people who use a dishwasher go ahead and wash their dishes before loading them into the washer. Hmm. Really? In this day and age do we really need to use that kind of energy to wash our barely dirty dishes - twice!? It's called conservation. There are people in this world who don't get a glass of water a day. Sometimes they just need that.

So please, load up your dishwasher with your favorite candy. Lug it into the backyard and string it from a tree. Then take your old baseball bat and whack that pinata until it blows.

slip slidin' away

I have a question for ya. And you should take a minute to think about this. Because although it seems like the easiest question in the world - it shouldn't be that simple.

How old are you?

My natural answer to this in actual years is 31. 31!! In dog years that's 217! I can't believe it myself. But yes, 31 years ago I was borned into a world of shag carpeting, soft rock and feathered hair.

Now ask me again...

This time the answer is 7. I pick seven because this is an age where I know my name and address. I know how to hold it until I get to the bathroom. But I still know how to have fun without caring what others might think. And yes, occasionally that 31 year old pops in there and likes to argue with the 7 year old girl (31 year olds are not too old to argue) about how maybe she should comb her hair before going out to play. Or that she has to do the dishes at some point between the fun stuff and that she should probably pay bills before buying candy. And yes, those points definitely trump anything the 7 year old could say. But when the chores are done, the bills are paid, and the kids are taken care of... I like to play. Outside. And laugh. And be a nerd. And dammit, I like to slip and slide. It doesn't matter if I'm fully dressed and it certainly doesn't matter if it's not my slide. The thing is on the ground and full of water. I own it.

new focus

For anybody who has been reading this blog at all, you know that I've always focused on my life and how damn lovely it is. I am a lucky girl and daily I found myself wanting to scream it from the mountain tops. And whether this was anything that anybody else wanted to read didn't matter to me. My lovely life is what mattered. And still does...

But a big focus for me right now is getting myself to good. And by that I mean in my career, and as a parent, a friend and a wife. I'm trying to make decisions that are good for my body, the people I love, and for our world - so that my kids (and someday grandkids) can sit back and rave about their lovely lives. You could say that I'm basically trying to stop and smell the roses a little more often - and in a way that doesn't harmfully impact the beauty around me.

So this is your warning that my blog may have a little bit of a different tone going forward. Maybe. It really isn't entirely planned out yet. But this way you can't say that I didn't warn you. :)

i'm back, bitches!!

Wooo!!

I'm back! And after playing outside (a lot) and drinking beers (a lot) and margaritas (also a lot), I'm ready to go ahead and start writing again. I just needed a little bit of a break.

So, here's a short list of what's been happenin':

• we found a house and decided to move - to Tacoma!
  
• the kids finished school and are now officially starting 4th grade, 10th grade and 11th grade. Damn, I'm old!
• the girls went to Montucky to visit with the fam
• we packed our house and everything we've known for nearly four years
  
• we had a righteous garage sale where we sold half of the aforementioned stuff
  
• we moved (with the help of our fabulous son, fabulous daughter's boyfriend, and fabulous parents - of the John and Eileen clan)
• we blew up Tacoma (literally, with fireworks - as my husband got reprimanded from the neighbors and police in our first official week of living here). Who knew it wasn't legal?!
  
• we said to heck with the boxes and headed to Montana as well
  
• we played, hiked, relaxed, fished, ate and danced the nights away
  
• we learned how to play spoons
  
• Mikey ran a m a r a t h o n - yeah, you heard me - a marathon. Stud.
  
• back to work, back to boxes, back to making a new love nest and exploring our new 'hood (here is where I will briefly mention how rad our new 'hood is and how much I love making this new nest)
  
• we whooped it up at the nostalgia drags
• we rode bikes
• we rode bikes
• we rode bikes
• we cut ourselves off from our much loved meat wrapped in meat diet. But not to worry, we still get one meat day per week.
  
• we kept on playin' in Tacoma
• we took off to Seaside for the beach volleyball tournaments where we camped, drank, and also whooped it up.
  
• i decided to bring back the blog

So you see, it hasn't been a totally wasted summer. I haven't been neglecting you to merely sit on the couch and eat bon bons. No, I was working on living.

So can we please start right where we left off and pretend we never had this little falling out? Good. 'Cuz I'm really going to need your support if I'm ever going to get rid of this beer belly I've acquired in the last couple of months... And I may have learned a few things. So stay tuned for my next post on why it's imperative that you hit every slip and slide you come across.

above: whooping it up

on sabbatical

I'm officially claiming this blog to be "on sabbatical". Hopefully it's only for your standard two to three month period until all of the craziness simmers down - just a little bit - and I have the desire to sit on the computer again.

So please don't give up hope and be sure to check back in at the end of the summer for lots of fun!

In the meantime, take comfort in the fact that I'm out playing. And I'm probably dirty.

Happy Sunny Days, all!

tomorrow i will blog

I totally promise I'm going to. It's meant to happen. I've even made a tidy little list of things I need to blog about. I just need to actually sit down to do so instead of creating a quiz on Facebook. So here's a list of things you can look forward to reading about:

The blanket I made
The yard work we did
How the beer is good
The 30 miler I rode alone
Our dirty space costumes
My frickin' fantabulous Mother's Day
My new tat (and how I'm so hard)
The veggie dispute (strike that - I actually did a draft and it was pretty bad)
My sweet pinch pot collection
Mackenzie's birthday
and last, but certainly not least....
My husband's butt (and how I like to touch it).

Okay, maybe not the last one. I might keep that to myself.

But I promise if you come back soon, there will be much fun had by all.

So while you wait, please enjoy this really talented dog...