camp

My favorite moments at camp so far:

Monday:

Tuesday: Mahalia prayed over Dan tonite before he spoke. We aren't entirely sure what she said (because it was VERY) quiet. But whatever it was, it was sincere. Then she announced, "I love to pray!"


Today: after riding the zip line (below: see my view from above), I was walking back up & Mahalia says, "Good job Mom!"

bored? nope!

Here's a rundown of the last 5 days:

Thursday morning: get a panic call from Dan's Grandma telling us Mom is being rushed to ERThursday afternoon/evening: pack & rush to Northern California/see Dan's Mom in ICUFriday/Saturday: spent in hospital with doctors & family trying to assess situation
Saturday afternoon: drive 5 1/2 hour trip home
Sunday morning: repack & redo Mahalia's hair for camp
Sunday afternoon: Dan & Mahalia leave for camp.  I stay & clean house for company (which, ironically, is quite relaxing & satisfying)
Monday morning: return rental car (yep, the shop has had our car for 6 weeks) & get gas

So when I sat down at the car wash (for 10 minutes) a guy walks by & asks, "Bored?"  I responded, saying, "Nope - just enjoying the quiet." 

a little levity

Dan's Mom was admitted to the hospital on Thursday.  Being in a coma & on life support, we quickly packed & rushed to Northern California - not knowing what to expect. 

Needless to say, the ensuing 48 hours were a bit harrowing.  One of the challenges is that the hospital doesn't allow children into ICU, so Mahalia never got to see her Grandma & was always "left out" - literally.

So while Dan was in the hospital visiting his Mom yesterday before we left, Mahalia & I had a "girls only date" to add a little levity to a long & hard weekend.  A little romp in the fountain (like a seal) and blue ice cream seemed to do the trick.

And Dan's Mom is off of life support - and doing much better. 
She has some tough choices ahead of her, but we thank God that she is stable.

daily progress report

Life has been feeling really "daily" lately: Wake up.  Breakfast.  Dishes.  Activity with Mahalia.  Laundry.  Dinner.  Dishes.  Bedtime.  Repeat.  Not so glamorous, eh?  So I thought maybe it might help to look back at my goals & see the good that has happened in the midst of the daily grind.


I've had a few hopes in mind for me & the family to accomplish by summer's end:

1. Get grass in front yard - DONE!!!
2. Even though Dan's not teaching, try not put anything on credit cards this summer - so far, so good!
3. Get my long-awaited couches - still waiting on them, but feeling hopeful (pending #2 by summer's end).

I also set a few personal goals for myself to accomplish by the end of summer.  We're officially mid-July, which means I'm only a few weeks from my target date.

1. I will continue with yoga to improve my form: have gone at least once every week.  I try to get myself right next to the corner mirrors, so I can see my form.  I am pleased to say that I'm much improved.
2. I will continue on my journey of health to lose a few pounds (& possibly feel more comfortable in one of those crazy outfits :-).  Did a 3 week cleanse & have cut out dairy, wheat & sugar.  Down 8 pounds & as of today, I think about 17 more to go.  And yes, I'll most likely be wearing one of those crazy outfits - see #4.
3. I will be able to do the splits by the end of the summer. (I envision myself ending a routine in the splits :-)  Been doing TONS of stretching - mostly because I can barely walk the next day (post-dancing) if I don't.  Getting pretty dog-on close to full splits, though I must say that I'm feeling my age.
4. I will begin to practice like I may one day compete.  Well - interesting news here.  I actually joined an all-ladies performance team.  We are preparing a routine & it's a huge challenge for me.  I've never been good at choreography, so I have to muster up all of my brain cells & courage, but it's great fun!

So while life has felt very "daily" I'm feeling good about the small steps of progress being made.  Here's to the daily!

couldn't resist

I was telling someone the other day, that I've been focusing on speaking things that are both kind & true at the same time.  I've often gotten one of the two, but it's pretty tough to do both in certain tricky situations.  Then as we continued the conversation, I realized it takes a lot of wisdom to be able to combine the two. 


So when I saw this, I couldn't resist this little $5 thingy I found. It now resides right in front of the hallway, so I see it 40+ times each day.  Good stuff!

tweety & buzz

Just a few fun pictures of adventures around town . . .

with Tweety in the Fashion District this morning right before it hit 95 degrees . . .

And as "Buzz Light Year" at Swork with her friend, Alana . . .

new business cards

Thanks to Dr. Dan Deezee, here are my new & improved business cards!

Front

Back

photo shoot

So my fantastic & multi-talented hubby helped me do a quick photo shoot
for my new solo business cards. 
Here are the unedited shots . . . final business card will be posted tomorrow.

goodbye polar bears & hello monkeys

So our child pretty much lives in one of two states:
naked or with feety-pajamas on . . . usually not too much in between. 

She's had a pretty significant growth spurt in the last few months, so the polar bears no longer fit & the bottom of the feet are totally shredded (though the tops are still pretty adorable). 

So today, when I was at Costco - I saw a pair of bigger jammies that just might work.  I had them waiting for her when she got home from co-op this morning.

I held them up & said, "look what I got you." 

She gave a huge smile & said, "thank you SO much Mommy!"  It's one of those great moments as a parent - when you know that your child is truly grateful.

tired

I'm tired . . .

• of the constancy of parenting
• of waiting for the things I want
• of the daily grind
• from 4 hours of choreography class today
• of dishes
• of laundry
• of disappointment               . . . . . so I'm going to bed early.

passengers

Today was "blue zoo" day.  Mahalia watched something on Sesame Street this morning & by 8:15 had decided she just HAD to see giraffes at the zoo today.  So she picked out an all-blue outfit & off we went.

We were riding the tram on the way to the giraffe exhibit, when she asks, "Mommy, is this a freight car?"  I say, "No, sweets, it's a passenger car."  "What's a passenger?" she asks.  "Well, sweets, we're passengers," I reply.  Then she looks at me & says, "Silly Mommy - we're not passengers, we're girls!"

928 days later

We moved into this house 928 days ago.  Since that day, I've been asking (about every 6 months) for the owner to fix up the front yard . . . cuz PLEASE, it was HIDEOUS!

And yesterday morning I awoke to find a man in our front yard installing sod!!!  Then, by 4pm, it looked like this . . . . .

Last night we ate dinner with friends outside in honor of our new grass.

This morning, Mahalia & I added a few touches of our own - some potted flowers & a bright red butterfly on a post (cuz every garden needs a butterfly on a post, right?!)

I love, love, LOVE my new yard!!!  It finally feels like home.

bedazzled

My salsa friend, Katie, and I love being a bit over-the-top when it comes to our salsa fashion.  Bring on the bling, the sparkles & the fabulous flowers!  We constantly joke about bedazzling things, but have never actually done it.

Being the salsa addicts that we are, we go through shoes like water.  So yesterday, we made a run to our favorite "buy one get one free pair" place.  I found these great shoes . . . red even!  All the makings of a good salsa shoe - comfortable, double straps for support, the right height, leather (so they'll form fit to my foot), and nothing that will cause blisters!!!

However, they just didn't have that "pop" that I was looking for.  But after buying tons of uncomfortable, but fabulous shoes, I made a promise to myself - no more uncomfortable shoes.  So off I went, with my cute, but certainly not outrageous shoes. 

Then I hit the craft store.  And two hours later . . . . voala!

The perfect salsa shoe - red, comfortable & a bit too much . . . bedazzled!!!

comic relief & clarity

Been asking God for clarity about some things this week . . . and boy did I get it last night.  It was comedy.  Without exposing the "guilty" let's just say it's now one of the funniest, most pathetic, saddest, most poetic, most "junior high"/ridiculous and ABSOLUTELY clear experiences I've had in a long time.  I literally laughed out loud.

Not once.  Not twice.  But all night long.

The person who thought they were hurting me actually gave me a belly laugh, 100% certainty about moving forward - and the BEST story I've had in a long time.

Thanks, my friend . . . thanks for the memories!  I love ya.

fish

Today was Mahalia's last day of swim lessons.  We've got ourselves a genuine fish!  She has begged & begged for swim lessons this year & she lucked out . . . 3-1 ratio (3 teachers & just her).  Kinda nice, eh?

So as the last event of the series, they let her jump off of the diving board.  She was a bit hesitant at first, but then after looking at Daddy, got a boost of confidence.  Then she asked to do it two more times!