Heat, Denver & Strawberries

It was HOT in Seattle last weekend. Which is to say low 90s and "warm" anywhere else I have lived, BUT the difference is that in Seattle, there is much less access to A/C - like in our house for instance... So that was a big bummer. I had forgotten how much it sucks to sleep in a house that feels like an oven overnight. Not fun.

Steve was in Denver this weekend, so I held down the fort at home with the dogs. While he was in Denver, I found myself overly nostalgic for things I miss after seven years of living in Denver. Beyond missing my friends and co-workers there, I was missing some of my favorite restaurants and haunts (where for art thou Noodles & Co.? Einstein's? Texas Roadhouse? Las Fajitas?)...but mainly I was missing my damn air conditioning...and thankfully it has cooled down substanitially the last couple of days.

Of course as soon as I start to miss Denver - I take a drive, turn a corner, and Mt. Rainier reveals itself in all it's splendid glory. Or I take a drive along the marina, where the breeze is fresh and cool, and I get to go to my favorite fish'n'chips place (which is NOT a Long John Silvers!) and remember all the things that pulled me back to the Pacific Northwest (beyond my family of course). I guess there are pros and cons to every town. You have to take the good with the bad no matter where you land.

Speaking of loving where you land - I am reading "Eat, Pray, Love" right now and I am loving it! I relate to the author's story in so many ways. It also reminds where I have been, and how far I have come in the last five years. (I highly recommend this book if you have not read it!)

...but I still miss the cinnamon butter rolls at Texas Roadhouse...anyway - I digress...

So this weekend was the local Strawberry Festival, which reminds me of the super cute hand knit beanie that I got for Lia last week:



Do you LOVE IT? These hats are made by a local company in Seattle. They also do a - yes ladies - a Ladybug Hat (which is sure to be my next purchase...).

Hope everyone has a splendid holiday weekend!

Completely Precious!

For anyone who DIDN'T see this sweet little girl singing on "America's Got Talent" this week...you've got to see this video...she is absolutely adorable.

Father's Day Weekend

Time for my weekly check in...seems like I am lucky to write one post per week these days...life is just so busy!
A lot going on within my family and at work also...some good things as well as some challenges, but I'm trying to keep a positive attitude (because, really what is the point of getting cranky, depressed, or focusing on the negative? That's just more energy NOT well spent).
So here we go with the update (and pix):


...Hello from our Yorkie Killer by the way...

On Friday, Steve traded in the Solstice convertible (boo!) but after a lot of discussion and consideration, we realized it was a really "fun" car, but with no backseat it wasn't very practical, and for Steve at 5'10" it was not very comfortable to get in and out of, or sit in for very long...so he traded it in and got a used Acura TL sedan, which is comfy and cuts his monthly insurance payment in half...


Then on Sunday we hosted my family for a Father's Day BBQ celebrating my dad and Uncle Ray. As many of you know, my dad suffered a heart attack earlier this year and he has recovered amazingly! He has really stuck to his heart-healthy diet and cardiac rehab exercise routine (so much he has lost nearly 20 lbs since February) He looks and feels great! That's him in the middle enjoying some Seattle sun with my aunt (his sister) and uncle:


In REAL news...Steve and I actually took a photo together this weekend that we BOTH like (a rare occurrence...) so I thought I would share...

14 months

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Make Fortune Cookies at PrettyPixelsByU.com

Lesson of the Week...

In light of recent events, (i.e. my last post as a perfect example). I am continuing my work on myself - and how I react to things. Thanks to everyone for your supportive comments! I think we all spend WAY too much energy on the negative. I know from experience that the more you keep your mind open and your thoughts positive, the more great things that manifest in your life.

Yesterday we went to church for the first time since moving to Seattle. I needed a little "spiritual redirection". Today's message happened to center on "removing the four C's" out of one's life:

1. Complaining
2. Criticizing
3. Condemning
4. Comparing

Not a small feat. It's so easy to fall into these habits. Especially for me, the criticizing or the comparing. But I am going to make an effort. I am also reading, The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom, by Don Miguel Ruiz.

Now if I only could get every person in the world (particularly at beauty salons) to read it too...

...of course, I'm not criticizing... :)

Conversation of the Day

I went to a local haircut chain to get a quick trim today. Nothing fancy or exciting just a little maintenance . A little boy - probably around 3 years old, was screaming across the room because he didn't want his haircut. The following is the conversation I had with the hairstylist:

Me: Wow. He REALLY doesn't want his hair cut. Poor kid!
Her: My son's like that too.
Me: Oh? How old is your son?
Her: He's four. Do you have kids?
Me: No, not yet.
Her: No? Aren't you married?
Me: (getting uncomfortable) No. I was for several years, but we got divorced.
Her: That's too bad...
Me: (thinking...not really...what do you know lady?) Well, I have a boyfriend I've been with
for awhile now...over a year...
Her: Why don't you marry him?
Me: Long story...but we're OK with things the way they are...
Her: Doesn't HE want kids?
Me: (now really irritated) we do...it will happen.
Her: You'd better hurry up, before you get too old! Do you have nieces or nephews?
Me: No, my sister is younger than me, and she's single too.
Her: Your poor mom must be so disappointed...no grandbabies to love...

AAAARRRRGGGHH!!! Seriously? I wanted to grab the clippers and hold this woman down and shave her head bald... What the hell? Since when did the condition of my ovaries become everyone's business? I've gotten to the point that I don't bring up the adoption at all (since I mentioned it at my eyebrow wax and the woman asked "why? can't you have a baby of your own?") These conversations drive me NUTS! I would never, EVER ask these kinds of prying questions to a stranger. It seems like in these days of reality TV, everyone feels completely OK with prying into other people's personal business and then commenting on it! Unbelievable.

Yes, I realize I need to get used to these kinds of ignorant, prying questions if I am going to adopt transracially. I know the questions will only get tougher, and I will need to maintain my calm and remain composed in front of my daughter when people ask questions. I guess that is one positive about the long wait - I have time to teach myself how to maintain composure under these types of circumstances and let them roll off. Time to go read some more Deepak Chopra books I guess...Namaste.

Feeling better

Thanks for the well wishes. I did indeed have a 24 hour bug, because the stomach problems resolved really quickly, and I actually felt pretty "normal" today. YAY! I also was able to get my Rx's from the pharmacy today - FINALLY - hooray...so my allergies should get under control soon as well. Fingers crossed. They gave me some awesome nasal spray and some GIANT pills to take daily...holy cow...whatever...as long as they work!



We took the dogs down to the beach for a Sunday morning walk. It was kind of overcast and quiet (the way I tend to like the beach in my old age - lol!) - we saw a group of people sitting in a large circle in lawn chairs near the bathhouse. I thought maybe it was either a church group or a protest of some sort (you never can be sure in Seattle!) But as we got closer, we could hear some of what they were saying and realized we'd stumbled upon an AA meeting! Oops. Which caused me to ponder - is it really "anonymous" if it's out on the beach in the open? I found that kind of interesting. On the other hand, it seemed like a very serene, peaceful, spiritual place to congregate on a Sunday morning - so I thought that was kind of cool.

Later on, my mom brought over her church's choir robes to store in one of our extra closets over the summer. My dad is the Music Director for their church, and the church is remodeling this summer, so they needed someplace to store the choir robes. So I placed them in the closet in the "would-be" Lia nursery. I figured that room could use every bit of "God power" we can add at this point, and with referrals moving as slow as they are right now, we won't be decorating that room anytime soon... Steve pointed out that if we keep the robes until October, at the very least we have Halloween costumes! :)