Weekend Wonders

What a weekend! We sure know how to fit way to much stuff into those two days.
Friday night we decided to do the movies in the park at Silver Lake. Of course, the movie was Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. While this was fun, they kept having problems with playing the movie. First with the screen being set up wrong, then the movie stopped playing twice. We decided to just go home and finish the movie in the comfort of our family room, complete with hot chocolate. Mackenzie was in heaven.

Saturday Nick had softball down by Greenlake, at the Woodland Park Playfields. Although softball started a while back, this is the first game we, including he, as made it to so far. It’s been a busy summer! The game was lots of fun, they blew the other team out of the water.
Mack and I ran the bases of the diamond not being played on, and practiced catching and pitching (he’s got a good arm!!) with his new Aquasox baseball.

After the game, we got tacos and drinks on the lake and enjoyed some time with the team. Then we were off!

We hit up the Fremont Troll, which Mack had never been to. He thought that was a “pretty silly guy.”

Next up was the Ballard Locks, where the salmon were going crazy! Jumping all over the place and seals chasing them around. We actually went and sat at the lower steps, which were partly covered by water, and there was a baby seal sunbathing himself on the bottom step. We were maybe 10-15 feet from a baby seal, very cool. Having randomly decided to swing by the locks, we couldn’t have gone on a more perfect day.

Finished out the night with a movie and cozy time :)

Sunday was the big hike. We had planned on getting up early but completely overslept. My fault!! We ended up leaving the house at a quarter to ten. We started the Iron Goat Trail (just outside Skykomish) at 11:30 and didn’t get back to our car until just after 4:00. We put in about 7 miles, and really wore ourselves out. If you ever do this hike, I highly recommend doing the “lower grade” which has a ton of scenery and view points. This part of the trail is only 2.5 miles and is almost level. On this part of the trail, we came across seven or eight tunnels. Because the trail is literally where the Great Northern Railway originally stood, there are lots of train artifacts along the edges. There are 6.5 miles worth of walls built up to keep the hill side from falling into the track. But the tunnels are the most notable thing. These are dynamite blasted through granite from 1900. There are “newer” tunnels which were completed in the 1920s. Check out the pictures below, but it is definitely something you will have to see (and feel) for yourself. The tunnels are somewhat filled with debris from collapsed bracing, rock slides, and water seeping in from the granite. They are ice cold and dark as night. A little creepy, because several are long enough to not “see the light at the end of the tunnel” and go around corners. I can’t imagine riding a train through that and how scary it would be.

Once we got back to the car, we drove into Leavenworth to visit my sister and get some dinner. We parked the truck and stepped out into 95 degree heat, a good 10 degrees hotter than where we had been hiking. Hit us like a semi truck. We didn’t do anything in Leavenworth other than say hi to Steph and get some yummy dinner at one of my favorite Mexican restaurants (yes, Mexican food in Leavenworth is good). The drive home was pretty brutal, we spent almost an hour driving through Gold Bar. I really hate traffic. Especially when I’m that close to home and just can’t get anywhere.

While Nick and I were completely exhausted from carrying Mack, the stroller, and ourselves across the “upper grade” 3.5 portion of the trail, Mack was as full of energy as ever. As soon as we got home, he wanted to go to “his” park and ride his bike. I just couldn’t believe it! We did end up going to the park and swinging for a bit, but came home immediately and getting Mack ready for bed. As we were tucking Mack in for bed, we asked him if he had a good day. “I had a great day. I’m so happy!”

A perfect ending to a perfect weekend.

This week is going to be madness as well. Swimming tonight with Mack and my mom, I have an all day writing seminar on Wednesday that I’m really excited for, Steph and Hannah coming over to spend the night Wednesday and Thursday, Friday is movie in the park again, Saturday is Erin’s bachelorette party, Sunday is a wedding for one of Nick’s high school friends up in Bellingham. Whew!

Warm Fuzzies

Mackenzie turned three! As trite as it sounds, I really can’t believe how old he is and how much time has gone by. He really has turned into a little man, with so much personality and spunk that sometimes I have to stop and remember he is in fact, only three. He has the willpower and particular-ness of an eighty year old man. And I love him so much for that!

Lately, he has been waking up early. Usually I am already awake, but still in bed reading. He will come bounding out of his room, yell “hello?” down the hallway and then run into our room. Nick is already gone for work by this time, which is really too bad, because this time I get to have is Mackenzie at his finest. Mack crawls into bed with me and lies on Nick’s pillow. He’ll tell me about his sleep, the things he dreamt about (he knows I’m going to ask and usually beats me to it now). Then he’ll tell me stories, Goldilocks is a standby favorite, but he makes up his own tales as well. He is so sweet, so mellow at these times, that I just hate that I have to get out of bed and get ready for work. I suppose though, that knowing the time is short and will end makes me cherish it that much more.

For his birthday, Nick and I got him a bike. He looks so cute riding around on it, I’ll have to post some pictures. We took the bike down to Langus Park and he did really well riding along the riverfront path, I think we went about a quarter mile down the path and then turned back. This is short for us, since when we go, we like to do the full circuit which is just over two miles. It was the first time with the bike though, and that’s a long ways for Mack to ride. I’m assuming we’ll get there though! I can hear my dad in my head telling me to only go half as far as my heart’s content…because I have to come back! Those are my memories of Green Lake, which I still couldn’t make the full loop of. Smith Island and Langus Park will be Mackenzie’s Green Lake :)

Nick and I have taken on the project of clearing out the front lawn garden space. It has been a wreck for awhile and we’ve finally got ourselves motivated. We started building a brick wall to act as an end cap for the hill that comes down from our front porch. It’s looking much better already, but we have a ways to go. If anybody doesn’t have a yard, and wants to spend some time working in one, feel free! We could use the extra help. Although, I have to say, that working out in the yard with Nick is some good time together.

Looking at our summer calendar, we’ve decided that it would be fun to go on a camping trip. Really looking at the calendar, we realized that we have plans for every single weekend through the rest of summer, so September will be camping month. I was looking into state parks and wanted to find somewhere new, neither of us had been. Funny, because on the state camps website there was a link to Maryhill….which I just went to a wine tasting of Maryhill Wines…. I figure a camp area that has a winery nearby has to be a good time! After researching a little bit more, the campsite is right on the Columbia, has excellent crabbing (and higher Catch Limits than up here) and there is a replica of Stonehenge. We will definitely be doing this! I can hardly wait.

We’re planning on hiking Iron Goat trail this weekend, which is nine miles long and has an incredible amount of history. We’ll be sure to take lots of pictures. The guidebook, just for this one trail, is 76 pages long, which makes me think this might be a trail we do a couple times.

Much love!

A piece of my mind...

Respect. It’s something that we all want. The thing is, respect -- true, uncompromising respect-- is not an entitlement. It’s something that you have to earn. You don’t earn respect by being the loudest person at the table, or the person with the most “things” or the best “things” or the newest “things” OR for that matter, friends with the people with these things, or the child of the people with these things. I’m sick of people thinking they can talk their way into, or buy their way into respect.

Do something.

I’ll respect you a hell of a lot more if you at the very least tried something, even if you fail, than if you do nothing. Where does this idea that we can do nothing, be nothing, and yet have everything come from? Who sponsored this? And who is supporting it?

I just have absolutely no desire to hear another person tell me another story that is supposed to impress me, until I’ve seen the hard work and dedication go into what they want me to get excited about.

Isn’t the whole point that the reward is that much sweeter after you’ve earned it? Maybe its just me…. but I’m ready to see some earning take place.

Brown paper packages tied up with strings

The sun has finally decided to shine on Puget Sound, Everett, and ME :)
I’m happy as a clam. Loving the time with my little family, wonderful husband and fascinating kiddo! If you don’t get to spend times with kids, I’m pretty sure you have some unclassified deficiency; perhaps it’s like the vitamin D deficiency so many people don’t believe in/understand until we are in the middle of June and its still raining and their lives are miserable for no good reason. You don’t know what you’re missing until you’ve experienced it.
Don’t worry, you can always hang out with us and the Mack man to get your fix! Speaking of whom: that little monkey is bound to be in the spotlight for something in his grown up life. Whatever it ends up to be, he is just such an audience pleaser, and pleased by the audience as well. Cracks me up.

Anyway, that was my mommy rant. Moving on. I started reading The Girl Who Played With Fire. I am very excited because its been put in my path in so many random ways: first a recommendation by Amazon, second a friends recommendation, then, it being placed front and center on the shelf of the five day old coffee/book shop I’ve since become a frequenter of. Its meant to be for me to read this book! Since then, I’ve had countless people tell me how I need to read, “oh you already are, oh, you will love it” etc. Basically, if I end up not liking this book, I better not tell a single soul.

Work is going well, have I mentioned lately that I love my job? I really do. We’ve had some crazy stuff happen lately, but I think its only re-enforced the strong team ethic we have here. With some exceptions.

I thought I’d take a minute to be super girly and share some of my current favorite things. Other than my book which I’ve already mentioned.

The first thing, I stole from miss Stephanie. Covergirl (who I’m not a big fan of…) has these new little marker looking things that are lip stain. No gloss, no sticky, just color. It lasts really well and doesn’t get on my coffee cup (I HATE that!)!! Its called CG outlast lip stain and I got #415, whatever that means, I think it said plum.
Next up is John Frieda’s Root Awakening Smoothing Crème. Kennis, you need this. It smells like eucalyptus and peppermint and when you put it in your hair it sort of numbs/cools your scalp. I put it on before I straighten my hair even though you are supposed to use it in wet hair.
I’m also really enjoying fitness magazine. I used to get this sent to the condo and when we moved, something got messed up and I started getting some other women’s workout mag which was just trash. I just started getting Fitness delivered again, and it really inspires me to get off my butt (seriously, I usually can’t finish the magazine because I want to try something out or at least get out of the house).
I’m also loving water aerobics. If I could, I would put a pool in my backyard and get some of those foam weights and do the exercises every morning before work. I really feel the difference in my core and my legs, both of which are things I need to be working on -- hey Mackenzie.
Finally, this is a favorite that I’ve had for a while and should have shared long ago. If you go into Aveda and ask to have your chakras defined they will sit you down in a chair and have you close your eyes. Then, they will pass seven different scents in front of you, while coaching you through a few different breathing exercises. After that you tell them which two scents stood out to you the most, or were the most appealing. Then you can open your eyes and they will tell you which scents you chose and which chakra they correspond with. When I did it, the one I ended up getting is for the root chakra and smells very earthy (think patchouli...). Anyway, I got the spray and then they teach you a breathing exercise to do each time you use the spray. It’s an aromatherapy, and unspoken mantra. Very cool. It was really interesting to me because I don’t generally like that type of smell but at the time, I was working at Starbucks downtown still (Christmas time) and my life was incredibly hectic with the ever changing schedule and the frustration of commuting for a job so purposeless. The root chakra, and in effect the need to be grounded, was really identified in my choosing that Chakra 1 scent.
The funny thing is that if I get it out now, I am totally turned off by the scent and can’t stand the smell. My life is much more established, and grounded. The root chakra is not needing that focus as much these days. I’d really like to go back to Aveda and see what scent I pick out this time. I’ll keep you posted.
I hope you can enjoy at least some of my favorite things. They make me happy in the littlest of ways and I hope they do the same for you.

Anger Revisited

At Saturday morning yoga (a few classes back….gosh, I’ve been pondering this awhile), our instructor had a lot of little tidbits that touched me, but this one little phrase really got to me: “if you’re holding in any anger, frustrations, anxieties, just push that out and recycle that energy in to the earth, recycle that energy, renew that energy and transform that energy. Push it into the earth”

I can’t help but like this. Over the course of my, albeit short-so-far life, I’ve had several things happen to me, or that I’ve done, that have left me angry, frustrated, anxious. And I know it is not just me, think of all the things that we hold on to as we go through life. We hear the advice over and over again that we should “let go” and that it takes so much energy to hold a grudge, to keep being angry. But this, this is something entirely different.

The mantra is telling us to embrace that energy, but instead of holding onto the anger and letting it corrode our souls, we are to harness it and put it to use. I know for me, that when I am angry, I need to work out that anger in a very physical way. Cleaning the kitchen, the bathrooms, this type of activity. I always considered this as an “avoidance” technique, and that I was just giving myself time to cool off, time to think things over and collect myself. I think this is actually the first step in re-routing the energy of anger and frustrations.

Since I already work with volunteer groups, I’ve decided that the next time I feel frustrated with something/someone or myself that I will knuckle down, dig deeper into myself and apply that energy towards the causes that are important to me. It’s a win- win because it does give me that time to clear my head and rationalize my thoughts, but it also recycles the energy I’d be wasting in frustration or anger and allows me to do something not only productive, but something good.

My Son, The Tomato

The other night I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of the pouring down rain. My first immediate thought was, “my poor tomatoes.” Mackenzie and I have been growing tomatoes from seed since the beginning of March. We finally planted them in the garden outside (waiting of course, until after Mother’s Day, the supposed trick to growing strong tomatoes). And here it was pouring down rain, probably beating our tomatoes down to nothing. Sure, there’s a little framework covering them, that will at some point, hopefully, act as a stake for the larger tomato plants I’m hoping we’ll get. I laid there in bed, literally, forcing myself not to go out in the middle of that rain and pluck up the tomatoes and bring them back inside to safety. But here’s the thing, their planted. It’s a done deal. And I have to trust that Mackenzie and I grew strong enough starts to get through not only this rainfall, but the next, and the next….

I laid there for a long time, and my thoughts turned to Mackenzie. He’s much like the tomatoes out in the garden, although right now, he’s more like the little seedlings that we had growing in the house, in a container, protected and nurtured. Thing is, Nick and I are doing the same thing with Mackenzie that Mack and I had done with the tomatoes. We are caring for him, holding him up, literally acting just as the stakes for the tomatoes. And at some point, we are going to plant him outside, of course I mean to say that at some point, he’ll be on his own. At first, we’ll put him in the ground with a little stick to prop him up. This is probably elementary school, when there are teachers and we’re still very involved in his life, choosing his afterschool activities etc. Next, he won’t need those stakes, but he’ll still have the larger support, high school, he’ll have a lot more freedom to grow and reach out, but still within the general confines of that A-frame (high school) trellis. He will have his own personality, which may at times become unruly and need to be trimmed back, that trellis acting as a guideline for both him and for us as parents to gage his growth by.

Next, he won’t need that trellis anymore, he will have strong roots, a strong stalk and lots and lots of branches to support his own weight. Of course, just like Mackenzie will, a tomato can never really be without a support, but it gets lesser as the season goes on, and much often is just there and not really carrying the weight.
But here’s the real similarity. Just like I had to trust that my tomatoes would make it through that storm, we’re going to have to trust that Mack will make it through his, and not just when he moves out, but all along, and really as soon as he starts school. We can’t be plucking him out of his dirt every time the rain comes, to bring him back inside to safety. The stake, that final stake is always there to support him, but even so, that doesn’t make the rain stop, it doesn’t keep the storms from coming. That’s the biggest thing that I learned from my midnight tomato soliloquy; everything that Nick and I are doing now, is the caring, the nurturing, the preparation of strong and healthy roots, so that once he is out in the world and growing on his own we can trust him to remain strong in his roots. Even though the rain will come, and sometimes not enough rain, that he will still survive and succeed, and just like a tomato produce (not children necessarily, but have a life which brings forth). The key is that his roots are strong, who he becomes above those roots is up to him and what path life takes him down….I don’t get to decide what my tomato plant grows to be. I know it will bear tomatoes, and not apples, but I don’t know how many leaves it will have, how far it will spread, the exact point it will decide to fruit….

I think sometimes parents, and I’m not speaking as a parent now, but as a child and an individual, I think sometimes they get so caught up in supporting their child, that they keep the seedling inside for too long, the tomato never really grows beyond that original planter because it’s never given the opportunity to do so. Its potential is never fully realized, never becomes self sufficient, because it has had its water and nutrients brought to it for so long that it doesn’t know how to glean from the soil, to establish roots to reach out and obtain the things that it needs. Just waits for someone to come along with a hose, or a water bucket and provide for it. You see this with people all the time. Grown adults who rely on anyone and everyone but themselves.

Of course there are kids who are raised the hard way, their seeds are put directly into the bare soil. There is no incubation period where the seed can emerge in safety and security of a greenhouse container. Some, if not most, of these seeds die of very quickly. Anyone who has planted seeds outside has seen this. But do we recognize it in people, sure. We say, they had a hard up-bringing; they were left to fend for themselves, etc. We almost apologize for their behavior because of the challenges they faced at the start. The interesting thing is that the seeds who are planted in the bare soil, and who manage to stay alive, are often the strongest, because they have survived through so much. We see this all the time, saying “he’s a self made man” and the like. So the opportunity to fail then, and the rising above that, is a key to success.

So, while I intend to grow my kid with the best support system that we can give him, I’m also expecting that any mistakes we make (and god knows we will), or areas we fail him in, that he can overcome. The only thing I know is that I need to let him have to opportunity to fail. The weakest plants are the ones who have everything given to them, then when that giving is no longer available (with the plant, someone goes on vacation or forgets to water it…) (With a child, adolescent, adult….the provider can no longer provide, or some other change of course..). These are the plants, and the people, that fail immediately, because they don’t know how to be on their own, don’t know how to provide for themselves, hold themselves up. They’ve never been given the option and so, those muscles have never been flexed.

In my counseling training with DVS, “advocacy based,” we learned that doing something for someone is the same as telling them “you can’t do this yourself.”

Of everything else, I need to make sure that Mackenzie knows “he can do this himself.” Even if that means he has to go through hardships, sometimes unnecessary, I need him to know that he can do it alone (he will always have our support, but we won’t always be there for support) I hope you can see what I am saying…and what the difference is here.

And while most of you don’t have kids; the idea still applies, think of the people we do this for, its our friends, its our family… who do you need to give the opportunity to fail? I honestly think that giving the space for that is one of the greatest acts of love….

Just think about it.

Let's Play Ketchup!

Let’s catch up a bit here. I’m obviously terrible about the weekly, let alone daily, posting that I had intended to be doing. I can’t feel terrible about it, since I’ve been out there living, to busy to write it all down. But now’s the time, to get it out on paper, reflect a bit myself, and share a piece of my life with you.
Where to start?
Italian is over, I finished the class with a 4.0 and am eagerly awaiting the next quarter (which I’ve discovered has been pushed back a bit). I guess I’ll be going back to Rosetta Stone for a bit and also, back to SCYPN, whose meetings coincide with Italian section meetings.
Ah, SCYPN. A truly interesting catch-all of young professionals here in Snohomish County. I’ve somewhat stepped back from my position on the AC, given the time constraints and the fact that I have a job (hello! young professional here!) and all the meetings now take place somewhere between 9-5. Anyway, I’ve been working to coordinate the SCYPN members with volunteer groups and non-for-profits here locally to give SCYPN more of a back-bone and also to keep people in contact whether or not we have a speaker/network event going on. I feel like this is a multi-tasking purpose in that A) committing to the volunteer portion of SCYPN requires much more leadership than just dropping in at the networking events, B) we’re giving back and building up the community in which we’re all working and C) we get more visibility for our group and the groups we’re volunteering with.
Right now, the big push is to get a continued relationship with Cocoon House here in Everett. I’ve personally started working with Cocoon House and am helping with the auction coming up in October. I’m very excited about this group. I went to what they call “Butterfly Graduation” a few weekends back and was really inspired by the product of all the work that Cocoon House does. You can read about the graduation here: http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20100614/NEWS01/706149955/0/news01
Other than that, my goal right now is to be a “better person.” Better in so many different ways. A big one: being a better friend. Which for me right now, means making friends; and then being a friend. This is something that doesn’t come naturally for me and is something that I find to be quite the challenge. I’m great at talking to people in groups and meeting people, but not great at keeping up with their lives, staying in touch, etc. Kindness: Seeing the good in people, not pointing out flaws (which I do to myself also), etc. I’ve never been great at this, and its so easy to just stop trying when I have a husband and son at home, two people who love me, no questions asked. I find myself thinking that is enough. And while they are great, I don’t think that really is enough. Everyone needs friends.
Other aspects of being a “better person” include making more time for my family, seems ironic following what I just said, but its true. Coming home from work and cleaning the house, or watching tv, is not family time. While it might count for something, it too, is not enough.
The final aspect of the whole thing is being healthy; working out, eating better, sleeping through the night…
To accomplish all this, I’ve made a point of reconnecting with old friends, and reaching out and allowing myself to make new friends. I’ve also spent a significant amount of time researching the parks department and various activities for me and the fam to do together (which won’t spend every last cent that we’ve got!)
Here’s what I’ve got going on. We’ve started taking Mackenzie to the swimming pool. Again, this is playing double duty since it is a bit of a workout, and its great family time. Plus, let me tell you, if you spend two hours in the pool with a three year old, you will definitely sleep through the night!
I also signed Mackenzie up for SOCCER!! Yay! I’m a little jealous because Nick will be the one going with him, but still very cool.
I’m also set up to do water aerobics, yoga (two different classes actually), along with my lunch break workouts at the gym.
So, I’m getting there…but, as always, it’s a work in progress!
Stay tuned! I’ve got another post in the works, which will be “My son, the tomato” (don’t act like you’re not excited!!)