Big Plans

I have always been the type of person to dream big. To conjure up crazy ideas, become wildly infatuated with them, made grandiose plans, and then move onto the next idea. I can remember back to high school when trying to decide what I wanted to "be" when I grew up that all kinds of ideas went thru my head. At one point I decided that I should be an aeronautical engineer because my dream of being a fighter pilot was impossible (not sure how being an aeronautical engineer was the next best thing).

Oh, wait. You didn't know I wanted to be a fighter pilot? Oh man, was that ever an obsession. During my late teenage years, say 16-18, I was enthralled with all things jet. Living in Southern California at the time, there were quite a few military air stations around and you can bet your bottom I went to every single air show there was. I even saw an F-5 jet crash once. Instead of having posters of the latest hunky heartthrobs on my bedroom walls, I had posters of jets. Seriously. (Have I not told you before that I'm a huge dork??) I read books on the subject, and picked the brain of anyone and everyone I came into contact with who was remotely associated with flying.

I remember once my sister went on a date with a guy that was a flight surgeon in the Air Force - I was living with her at the time - and they came back to her house after their dinner out, and I proceeded to monopolize the poor guy for an hour, blathering on about flying and jets and spewing out probably inaccurate facts and statistics about my obsession. I seem to remember the guy looking at me like I had a third eye the whole time we were talking. And I don't think my sister ever dated him again. Hmmm.

Anyway, I digress.

My point is that there is SO much out there that I want to do and try, and my brain flies from one idea to the next with frightening speed, that it sometimes appears that I have no "follow-through". Maybe I have no focus, or a touch of Attention Deficit Disorder, and I know that it's probably tiring to listen to me get SO excited and worked up about something, convincing you that THIS is what I'm going to do, when two weeks later, I'm onto something else. But, it's who I am. I have a passion for life and know that there is so much out there waiting for me to do and try, that I sometimes just don't know where to start.

Being the mother of two small kids has obviously been my focus for the last 6+ years, and I've done it willingly. But now that they are getting bigger, and more independent, and easier to manage, I feel the tug to get back to doing things. One of my biggest fears before having kids was that it would completely consume me, change me, erase who I truly was. And while that old Johnson & Johnson commercial is true - "Having a baby changes everything" - it didn't erase who I was. It erased how I used to look at things, how I prioritized things, but I'm still ME. I'm still the crazy, slightly ADD, energetic, "what's next?" girl. And I've decided that if I'm not going to be adding to our family, it's time to get back out there and continue exploring the world and all it has to offer. I want challenges and adventures and goals and spontanaeity and plans to look forward to. Life is too damn short to just sit around.

So. That being said, my first challenge is I'm going for a walk in June. A 13-mile walk. A half marathon. I am NOT a runner, never have been, and I know better than to fool myself into thinking it's something I'm capable of. But I've always wanted the challenge of doing something like this and the personal satisfaction of being able to say "I did a half marathon". My good friend Heather and I have signed up to do the Rock 'n Roll Seattle Half Marathon the end of June and we're both really excited about it. As soon as the weather cooperates and warms up above, say, FREEZING, we'll get out there and start training. We both have an online training program all set up and we're itching to get started. We're financially committed to do it, so there's no backing out or changing our minds. Plus, we have each other to motivate us and keep us going. Both our hubbys are totally supportive of this endeavor, which makes all the difference. We'll take the kids with us when we can, but there are gonna be some long training walks where it's not gonna be productive to drag kids along.

I don't know what else I'll come up with in this new frame of mind, but I'm sure it'll be something. It always is. :)

Go Fly a Kite

I've been kind of mired down with a snotty cold the last few days and combined with working until 11:30pm, I just haven't had much energy. Yesterday what energy I could muster went into folding the eleventy jillion loads of clean laundry that were threatening to avalanche and bury the nearest passerby (which was always ME since I'm the only one who apparently knows where the laundry room IS). I finally looked it square in the eye and said "FINE." And just to show it that I was serious, I even washed a couple more loads. I guess I showed it, huh? But I'm happy to report, our closets and drawers are now all full of clean and folded clothes. For the moment.

Today my empty cupboards were crying for food and my head screaming for cold medicine, so I packed up the kids and headed to Wal-Mart. Surprisingly, it was an uneventful trip and we made it home in one piece. While cruising the aisles, we came across some kites and I remembered what Zoë had said the other morning when we headed out into the wind to take Sam to school: "We need to get a kite, Momma." So we did. As soon as we got home and unloaded the groceries, we bundled up and headed out to try out our new flying tropical fish.

It was quite windy, which made for great kite-flying, but dang, it was cold! When we were in town shopping it had actually started to hail/sleet/snow so I knew the temperature was dropping.
We all took turns flying the kite and the kids had a great time. It was definitely windy enough to keep our fish afloat and Sam even managed to do a few loop-de-loops with it.

Even though it was short-lived because of the cold wind, it was nice to be outside and let the kids run around and burn off some energy.

To say we can't wait for Spring is an understatement.

Help Me

My ovaries are twitching.

Winter, Part II

It's a frosty, cold, windy day here at The Red House. The rain turned to snow yesterday afternoon about 2pm and continued on all afternoon and night. Then the winds picked up and the temperature dropped. We get the northeastern winds blowing down out of Canada's Fraser River Valley and they are viciously cold. Weather.com says our temperature is about 18° but feels like 9°. I don't know about you, but that's too cold for me. With the snow and such, school was cancelled today and Hubby isn't going to work, so we're all home together.

Last night Josh and I started laying out and putting up the stone on our fireplace. I've discovered I have quite a talent for applying mortar to stone. I'd slather them up, pass them to Hubby up on the ladder, and he'd put them on the fireplace. This is what we've got so far:

Today, we'll continue getting the stone up and hopefully get it finished. I think it's going to look beautiful when it's all done. I think we'll put some gray slate tiles or something down on the hearth, and combined with the dark cabinets on either side (which are hidden by the tarps), it'll be a real centerpiece for the room. Even just having these few stones up makes the fireplace really stand out, so I can't wait to see how the finished product looks.

I'm being summoned to work so I better wrap up. I'll leave you with this picture I took out my back door this morning. Looks a bit chilly, doesn't it?

Like Peas & Carrots

All the cool kids are doing this so of course I'm jumpin' on the bandwagon! This is a little meme about Josh & I.

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What are your middle names? Mine is Rene, his is Jon.

How long have you been together? August will be 11 years.

How long did you know each other before you started dating? We met 4th of July 1998 and went on our first date about a month later.

Who asked whom out? I think I may have told him he was taking me out. We went and saw There's Something About Mary on our first date.

How old are each of you? We're both 37 although I'm 3 whopping months older, which he never lets me forget.

Whose siblings do you see the most? Probably my sister since she lives here in town and watches Zoë occasionally for us.

Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? Remembering to take time to ourselves, to work on our relationship.

Are you from the same home town? Nope.

Who is smarter? Hmmm. I'm no dummy but he knows way more about world events, politics, history...you know, all that "adult" stuff.

Who is the most sensitive? He is.

Where do you eat out most as a couple? Various Mexican restuarants.

Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? Geesh, not very far. Probably Ashland, Oregon.

Who has the craziest exes? Neither of us.

Who has the worst temper? Probably me. Somewhat of a long fuse, but a big bang at the end.

Who does the cooking? Me, because I enjoy it.

Who is the neat-freak? Me. I hate clutter. Although I've named Josh "Captain Throwaway" because he loves to throw away stuff.

Who is more stubborn?
 I don't think either of us are very stubborn, but I might have a slight lead if I had to choose.

Who hogs the bed?
 The cats. :)

Who wakes up earlier? Josh does. Always has, even before kids.

Where was your first date?
 We went and saw There's Something About Mary.

Who is more jealous? I don't think either of us really are.

How long did it take to get serious?
 I knew I loved him about 4.5 months after we started dating. It took him longer to admit his feelings.

Who eats more?
 He does. And the speed at which he does so is impressive.

Who does the laundry? Me. Damnit.

Who’s better with the computer?
He's better at fixing them and troubleshooting stuff. I'm good at using them.

Who drives when you are together? Unfortunately, I do. And that's only because ever since being pregnant with Zoë, I get carsick if I'm the passenger. So now I basically drive everywhere. And if he drives, I just go to sleep.

Sanctuary

The house is continuing to evolve, with tasks and decorating being done gradually and continuously. I've been working on our bedroom, trying to create a comfortable space for us to relax in.

My goal was to create a beach themed bedroom, with colors that reflected the water and sand. Initially, I'd planned on painting the bedroom blue but after putting the same color on the bathroom walls, I found I couldn't stomach that much blue. It was just too blue. (If you recall, I repainted the bathroom shortly after painting it blue.) So, at the 11th hour, I changed wall colors for the bedroom and was thrilled with the result. Even now, I lay in bed, look at the room and am really happy with my choice. I kind of wish I'd painted the living room the same color.

I still wanted some blue in the bedroom but decided that a blue comforter would provide enough color. I found this set on overstock.com and decided that the print kind of looked like sea grass or something. Whether it does or not, I like it. And Hubby has been surprisingly vocal about how much he likes the room, which I appreciate. I want us both to like our house, not just me.


There still are elements I want to add, and more beach prints to frame, but that will come with time (and money). I'm enjoying creating a space that we can retreat to, one that we are comfortable in and are proud of.

I'm really happy with the way it's turning out. And looking around at it, I again am reminded how incredibly blessed I am and how much I love this new home of our's.

Wordless Wednesday

Zoë & I enjoyed a rare afternoon stop at the park to take advantage of some winter sunshine and she found her smiles!

Happy Wordless Wednesday!