Tri Girl

Mai participated in her third triathlon today at the All Womens. She was fine...I was a bundle of nerves on the way to the lake. It seems that whether you are 6 years old, 46 years old, or 86 years old, the order of the tri remains the same.

Set Up.

Keep Warm.

Ready. Set.

Wait...wait...wait... For Your Wave...

Swim.

Bike.

Run To The Finish.

Refuel!!

Three Totally Improbable Parking Spots

I'm reading The Secret. Again. The first time, I just went "oh brother". Then I was at the library the other day when after a series of oddly coincidental events, I was led to the shelf holding The Secret and it jumped into my book bag. As the guy at the desk checked out my books, he stopped at The Secret, looked deep into my eyes and said "Dude...this book got me this job...and every one of my totally tubular parking spaces since, too."

I couldn't resist a big grin and off I went back home to read about the secret of The Secret in bed as Steve lay next to me telling me how utterly ridiculous it was. So, just to prove to him that good things happen to positive people, I told the universe that I believed a check would arrive in the mail box the next day. Yesterday as he was coming in from the mailbox, he simply waived an envelope at me and said "money".
REALLY??

I went to look...sure enough...a check.
But. It was an expected check from a client. Steve told me to be more detailed in what I wanted from the universe. I have. I'll let you know what happens.

But this morning, before the kids and I headed out to run errands, Mai and I requested of the universe that we expected ease and joy in today's chores and oh, by the way...great parking spots.

So off we went. Errand #1 - downtown Portland to pick up Mai's race packet. We got a spot exactly where we needed one to be - on the main street half way between FitRight NW and the deli where we would be eating lunch. Could not have asked for a better spot. Perfect.

Errand #2 - Winco for groceries. Pulled up and a car immediately backed out of the very best front row spot. SCORE!

Errand #3 - The gym. Drove up to the closest place in the house - it was open and waiting just for me. I seriously giggled throughout my whole workout.

Then we headed out for errand #4 - Dog walk. Came upon a nice little box on a neighbor's front yard with free zucchini - life is good!!

I always talk to God...I guess that's what the secret probably means when they say talking to the Universe. I think the secret to The Secret is ultimately to have a positive attitude and I think that's a great thing to remember in my own life and in teaching my children how to start their day and how to respond when things don't go so great or happily do go great. Either way, it's all for a good purpose in our lives.

Positive energy, not negative. Live it, Dudes, and have a totally tubular time with life!

Music In The Park

 
Steve took us to Tanner Creek Park last night to listen to some Jazz. He knew a couple people in the band (Patrick Lamb Band) and looked like he was enjoying himself.

Although we arrived late, we got a perfect spot right up front. There were a LOT of people there! Huge crowd!

Jack lounged on the blanket and finished a 280 page book that he started the day before!!! Mai ate a shaved ice the size of her head and turned her mouth blue.

I let the kids play on the playground with about 300 other kids and lost them for a good long time until I finally found Mai on the teeter totter where she said she had been the whole time - having a hair flying good time.

It was such a great time, I think we'll go back next week for The Touchables since Mai loves to dance to them so much.

Words Are The Strongest Weapon

A glance in the mirror catches the swing of my scraggly brown hair and against my will I am transported in time to 1988 as I hear my boss admonishing me to "do something with it".

A flood of memories rush up to cause a pit in my stomach and my throat choked. When did I come to realize that I wasn't good enough - that even my hair wasn't good enough? Twenty years of bleaching my brown to blonde, ironing my waves straight. Two decades of trying to make my hair loveable to other people.

Dragging myself out of hair fakery and finding the real me has been painful at times, yet mostly humorous. The words that came as weapons in my youth have given way to giggles and guffaws, although still an occasional comment will zing me, as I've followed this path of, as someone close to me has termed it, "mid-life crisis, Julie?"

Someone VERY close to me (can you try to guess who?) has felt that I am punishing them with cutting off my fake golden locks.  Another looked at me quizzically and said "Oh...? Oh...?? ...OH! I get it!" 

Really? You  "get" my hair?

Am I revolting against society's view of beauty? IS it a mid-life crisis? Have I completely given up?

No, I'm checking myself out - short scraggly brown hair and all - And I like myself and my new attitude, even if some people don't "get it". I think being in my 40s is WAY more than it's cracked up to be. I'm diggin' it.

Will I be blonde in my future? Probably...if these grays continue to breed and multiply. Will my flat iron ever again smooth these flyaways? Sure, the next time I want to look sleek and put together.

But today, I'm brown and a little scraggly and I feel good about myself. My hair shouldn't matter to you and how you feel about my hair shouldn't matter to me. Now, I'm not saying I don't understand the confusion a new hair cut can cause. After getting through the tears that busted out when my dad cut off his beard when I was a child, you would think I should not possibly have been so incredibly disturbed when my mom's friend cut off her long beautiful locks in what appeared to me to be unreasonably short. I didn't "get" it and I didn't understand it and probably would have voiced some concern if that youthful me would have been given the chance.

I must commend the children in my life, as my own kids didn't seem to notice as I gave up my long blonde "hot mom do" (as someone pointed out to me) and it became what is logically now a "NOT hot mom do".

What I know from kids is that they love you for you, not how you look. Two of my favorite short haired little girls smiled a conspiratory smile and said they liked my look and one little boy not only said he liked it, but he gave me a hug and told me I smelled good. One of my top hugs EVER!

So, today, I let my scraggly brown hair fly and I feel free to be me and that, my friends, is a fantastic feeling!

Happy Birthday Fun, Happy, Goofy Girl

Babies Birthdays

CAN. NOT. Believe that my children are so old! I tell them I'll still be calling them my babies when they're 60 years old. Mai got her ears pierced and spent some of her birthday money from Grammy and Grampy on cute hair bands.

We had their combined birthday party at the house yesterday. I was kept so busy by the demands of all these 6 and 8 year olds, that I barely got to snap but three pictures.

It was in the 90s so it was all about the water: slip 'n slides, water balloons, and the pool. I've never seen kids get so excited to get into a 3 foot pool that wasn't even filled up all the way :-) They were oh so polite waiting to go down the kiddie slide face first to cool off.

So many kids and so little pool turned it into a hot tub, but they didn't seem to care.

After they left, I hopped in the pool myself and then took a little unexpected nap on the grass. Drowsily, we headed out to Milwaukie Daze festival down at the river with Grandma and Grandpa for some fireworks and dancing to wake us up.

Mai and Grandma Did The Hanky Panky.

And then I got pulled out by the dancing fool, Mai, to Shout, but I was wearing my sloppy shorts and I'm sure the audience saw more of me than they wanted to. Jack even asked me about the mole half way down my backside.
Speaking of moles...
I'm about 100% sure this spot on my left lower leg is going to come back as more cancer when I get it checked out next week. Awesome.

Nice stubble. Reminder to shave. Camera really gets a good close up - my skin looks awful!

Happy Birthday Sweetest Boy

A Lunch Date With Heaven

We came back from camping a little early in order to keep a lunch date Mai made with Heaven. She asked me to do her hair for the first time in forever and packed her new summer bag from Aunt Jenny with the important things she would need and we headed off down the road for a nice summer walk to Heaven's house.

We arrived to find one excited little girl and a table set for a king by her grandmother, Pam.

While the girls splashed around and trampolined, Pam and I talked each others ears off while we ate the most wonderful turkey salad sandwiches and PB No Bakes and iced tea.When it was time to go, the girls couldn't handle parting ways, so we took Heaven back home with us to play in the pool while I did yard work.

These girls had just the sweetest day...

...and I made a new friend in Pam. We didn't ever stop talking and we just had a really good time. I love making new friends...especially ones who throw such a magnificent lunch party!

Our Own Episode of Animal Planet

Camping in Tyee was kids' paradise as usual.

We caught some waterdogs...

...a caterpillar...

...dead crawdads...they're the easiest to catch, ya know... (Mai is doing her own version of a push-up - "the crawdad kiss")

...a lot of fish...

...and even a turtle...but I didn't have the camera with me.

Waking up to a cracklin' fire is the best!

Jack eating breakfast: 4 major food groups this trip...baked sweets, salties, oreos, and icecream. There were some fish in there, too. Mai eats her haul, but Jack is more of a catch and release type of guy.

 Grammy got a geat upper body workout hauling these two all over the river for fishing.

Lots of swimming...

Playing board games with Great Gran (watch out Jack...see how fast she moves her hand?? I don't think you stand a chance ;-)

And another great one of these two getting down and dirty with Connect Four before we moved on to Scrabble. Oh, by the way, G'ma... "ell" is a word. My bad.

My two rootbeer float girls winding down after a long day on the river.

And my sweetest boy.

Grampy took us on a river drift on his new 17 foot ocean kayak. The kids spent most of their time hanging off the front...

or dragging their faces over the side...

and then the Captain and his First and Second Mate went overboard. I think you can tell by the look on their faces that they were very pleased with Grampy's trip down the river. It was truly beautiful!!...and fun to take the kayak through a couple riffles...with only a wee bit of trouble (namely...one big rock...whoops!)

The following pics say it all...these kids are true fishermen!!