Anastaya's birthday party

Anastaya  turns 12 in a few days and this year for her party we did a "spa" day.  We had an elegant selection of girl foods: fresh fruits, assorted cookies, a chocolate fountain to dip everything in, and strawberry lemonade punch.  The night before the party Anastaya asked me, "Can we have one of those big bowls like they have in the movies with a dipper, even if we just fill it with water?"  I thought of the trusty punch bowl in the cupboard and it worked out perfectly.  Anastaya left a half hour before the party to pick up a friend and when she got back, she was so surprised to see the finished food area.  By the end of the party, the girls had eaten everything (1 pineapple, 1/2 honeydew, 5 oranges, 3 packages of cookies, one entire cake) with almost everything dipped in melted chocolate.

Sheri and Janice came over to do nails for the girls, complete with a parafin dip.  There were lots of squeals from the girls as they dipped their hands but they loved the hand massage at the end.

Each of the girls got her nails done with a base color and fancy flowers.

My friend, Paula Shepherd who sells Mary Kay, came over to teach the girls about skin care and proper make up application, stressing subtle application and accent.  Anastaya loved being the center of attention as she received a facial and makeup.  Once she was done, each of the girls got the chance to get eye make up put on.

Last, it was time for birthday cake and gifts.

Anstaya and her friends had a great time.  She said it was her best birthday party ever.  It was pretty easy to pull together too.  It helps to have great friends who are willing to help.

Another Great Saturday

We started off the day with the produce co-op and I was so happy because we had 50 baskets (my goal!)  The truck was late and lots of people came early to help so it was a bit of controlled chaos.

Luckily, not everyone came early so there was room for people to park.

I told Dode we need to keep growing and he thinks I'm crazy.  I'm just so excited to get so much delicious produce for such a great price.  I want everyone to know about it and get the chance to participate.  If you have a bountiful baskets co-op near you, you should really give them a try.  If you try it once and hate it, try it once more in case it was just a bad week.  There is no committment beyond the one time.  Here is the basket from this week, it was a nice one.  I don't have any experience with eggplant so I found a few eggplant recipes at Cooks Illustrated that I want to try.  I love Cooks Illustrated because they will make 100 versions of a recipe to get to the best one.  I'm not sure what to do with the mango, besides slice it up and eat it.  Roasted cauliflower is my new favorite.  I can eat an entire head!  I always buy two baskets so this is only half of what we got.

After the co-op was done, Dode and Isaac took off for Isaac's scout activity at an indoor rock climbing gym in Everett.  Dode knows how to belay so he was a "belay slave" all day, holding the rope in a safe manner that would stop the boys from falling if they lost contact with the wall.  This picture is oriented correctly, Isaac is hanging like a monkey from the wall.

It was time to get Miriam new shoes so we went to Target.  I got her one pair of practical tennis shoes and let her pick a fun girly pair.  The choice was between two different kinds.  She had one of each on and I asked her which was more comfortable.  She told me, the ones with the butterflies because they're more prettier.  Vanity starts so young!

We were watching Seth so Sheri could work on painting Sharon and Lynn's house.  He started running around with these dress up safety glasses, hamming it up, and it was too cute.  Of course, when the camera came out, he put his serious face back on.  He seems to enjoy being over here and has no problem holding his own.  It's something to hear him bossing the other, older, children around.  We're probablly turning him into a monster because they think it's too funny.

Confessing my addiction, exercise!

I love to exercise!  I love the way I feel when my heart is pumping.  I love the little bit of soreness the day after a hard workout.  I love the mental boost it gives me.  In fact, if I go too long without it, I get really grumpy.  (I don't know if it's exercise withdrawl or crazy days that do that)  Once upon a time, I had a membership to the YMCA but it was a half hour away.  I'd drive there, drop the kids in two different childcare areas, wait for a machine (30 minute exercise limit), do some strength training, get the kids, drive home.  It took a lot of time and it's hard justify all that time when I'm homeschooling.  Also, it cost around $70 a month so if I didn't get down there frequently, the times I went felt really expensive.   So, I started building my home exercise collection. 

Workout videos were the cheapest option and I've worn out quite a few.  Collage video was my go to place to find good workouts and I've been getting their catalogs for so long that I remember when VHS was the only choice!  The biggest problem with workout videos is that as soon as I'm stepping along and getting into the workout, a child decides they want to exercise with me and soon I'm sharing the step and trying hard not to step on little fingers.  I also often felt quite on display as the kids sat on couches on either side of me and watched the entire workout, giving helpful comments like:  you're not keeping up mom, you need to jump higher.  So, I started looking for cardio equipment.  I'd used an elliptical at the YMCA and loved it so I bought one off craigslist and hated it.  It was not the same by any stretch of the imaginiation.  The movements were jerky and the stride length was too small.  Hooray for craigslist, I sold it for what I paid for it.  I wonder how many times it will cycle around?  If you want one, this one is available right now for only $100 off the Seattle Craigslist site and there's lots more just like it.  Maybe it's my old one.

Next I got a stairstepper that was my new best friend.  It cost $25.  It was a great workout.  I could read a book while I worked out, all was well.  Except one small problem, due to a design flaw in the machine, over time the cable that connects the two steps together would wear down and eventually break.  I'd be stepping along, imagining I was climbing the Statue of Liberty or Washington Monument and suddenly I'd sink down to the ground.  Breaking thick steel cables is not the best for a girl's self esteem.  I've worn through three cables to date!

Wanting to cross train, I bought a treadmill off craigslist and while I've used it, it's just not fun.  I've tried really hard to like it but I feel like a hamster in a wheel.  The poor thing sits unused waiting to be recycled on craisgslist.

My next find was a classic nordictrack off freecycle.  It came in a close second to my stairstepper.  I loved that as I got fitter, I was able to increase the resistance and slope.  Dode built me a special book shelf, and I spent many hours "skiing" while reading.

But I just kept dreaming about an elliptical and after doing my research and watching on craigslist, I invested in this beauty that totally dominates the bedroom.  The hand rails actually hang past the sliding glass door which makes going in and out of the door difficult but is great for air conditioning when I get too hot.  It weighs a ton (not quite but almost) and about killed my back when I helped Dode and Jacob get it up the stairs to our room.  But, it is true love.  I haven't touched any of the other equipment in months.  My new favorite toy actually gets a lot of use.  We don't have tv service but I'm not against letting the kids watch tv while they exercise.  Through the magic of hulu.com or blockbuster, they are able to enjoy their favorite shows and work their heart.  There is someone on it probably 3 hours a day 6 days a week. 

I'm trying to brainwash myself that I love strength training just as much as cardio, but to love strength training, you have to love pain.  There's the lovely burn deep in muscle when it's shaking and you're trying to crank out one more rep.  There's the delayed onset muscle soreness made worse by a small child elbowing you in the thigh as you sit beside them in church, there's the pain of stubbing your toes on the weights you were too tired or lazy to put away.  I know it's good for me, but it's too easy to convince myself that I'm just too busy to get to it and will do it tomorrow.  Unfortunately, tomorrow I just put it off again.  I've tried to divide the big bag thing up into manageable chunks and have told myself I'll do 20 minutes a day alternativing between upper body, lower body, and abs/stretching.  So far, I've made it a week!

My addiction to exercise also extends into my dates with Dode.  No dinner and a movie for me, I want to sweat.  We've: cross country skiied, snowshoed, rock climbed, mountain biked, hiked, paddled, explored abandoned mines, and circumnavigated the Arlington Airport too many times to count.  My ideal date includes one of the above with a picnic lunch packed from home and a sinfully rich dessert from an outstanding bakery (sometimes it's the Stephanie Dickson bakery).

Here we are snowshoeing near Stevens Pass.

Upgrading the hall

One of the dangers of blogging is reading other people's great ideas.  That happened to me with the hall.  I was reading Thrifty Decor Chic Molding Idea and thought it would be perfect in my hallway.  We have a long hall that runs down the middle of our house.   Here's the before pictures.  You're facing towards our "front" door (long story for another time).

Here's the view from the front door down the hall.  Kitchen is on the left, living room on the right, firepole is the brass tube you see on the right (another story for another time!).

Her step by step instructions sounded easy enough for me so I made a trip to Lowe's and bought everything I needed, including a nail gun which made life so much easier.  I wanted it done NOW but faced a few set backs along the way.  #1, a friend had borrowed our power saw and never returned it.  I decided to cut the molding by hand which didn't work so well so I had to do the ackward thing and call up and ask for it back,   #2, the nail gun did not have the correct adapter to fit our air compressor.  I found an adapter that would work and after much use of miscellaneous hand tools and frustration, got the adapter off another tool.  #3, our air compressor had a small hole in the tank which did not allow it to build up enough pressure to drive the nails.  #4, I'd already purchased a new air compressor for Dode's birthday and it was wrapped up in the closet.  I had to give him his present early.  #5, I was scheduled to get my one and only wisdom tooth out in two days. 

Dode was a great help but of course he came at the project with his male brain that wanted everything done correctly while I was willing to fake it.  I'd wanted the wall colors to be different below the molding and when I painted it was disappointed because there was really no difference, one the molding was up though, it looked much better.  Here's the big reveal.... before is on the left and after on the right.

Happy New Year!

We had a great end to 2009, start to 2010.  We started off with a family party here at our house.

The adults played games, and so did the kids.

The little children were entertained by watching the popcorn popper

There were also laser tag games, lots of trips down the firepole, and eating of tons of "not good for you" food.  Dode was the life of the party...

The next morning, after a fortifying breakfast of pancakes, sausage, bacon, eggs, and OJ, we went out for our annual polar bear dip.  Randy & Lisa's kids, as well as my friends Margo and Elise and her kids joined us at Lake Goodwin.  It wouldn't have been very cold if not for the 20 mile an hour winds.

These girls were ready for some fun.  The dock we jumped off of is in the background.

Three wild and crazy ladies!

Notice the choppy water, here's the crowd getting ready to jump.

Invigorated by the plunge. 

The water was "take your breath away" cold.  It seems crazy to a lot of people that we do this but I absolutely love the screams, cheers, and laughter when everyone climbs out.  There's no lukewarm response about it (something we seem to get too much of from our teens and soon to be teens).  The kids run laughing and screaming out of the water and are so alive.  I love to share the experience with them. 

 

We'd brought two heaters to warm us up but the wind kept blowing them out.

The kids were able to warm up in Aunt Janice's hot tub, where we'd gone for a party New Year's Day.