Staycation Day 1

For years now, Brent and I have generally taken separate vacation weeks in the summer to avoid daycare costs.  This week is my turn to be on Staycation with the kiddos.  Time off is time off...even if you aren't traveling to explore some fantastic foreign city or beach.  It is nice to spend lots of time with the kids here at home...and a lot less expensive! I am grateful to have a fair amount of time off from my job to experience a little work life balance when the sun is out.

Lisa

I am grateful for my sister, Lisa. She makes family gatherings fun and my kids think she is the best thing since gummy bears.  I love her boys, Lucas and Miles, so much I can't help but cover them with slobbery kisses each time I see them.

The hood

Our neighborhood is quirky with an eclectic group of folks that we call neighbors. Our house being in the center of the main block, we tend to be the place that gets lots of attention from the neighbor kids. Our bunnies that generally live on our porch attract folks too. Today a preschooler and her toddler brother from a few houses down showed up asking if they could pet the bunnies. We pet bunnies, our cats...and here is a photo of them huddled out front with Mr. Pancakes, Dom's hamster, in his wheel.

I am grateful for our neighborhood...as I know we are lucky to have it.

Summer Lilies

I have had these lilies growing along our back patio for over 7 years, and they come up every summer without fail.  Perennial bulbs are my kind of gardening...low maintence to the nth degree.  I love these flowers, so full of color and some of them stand up as tall as me! 

Life Doesn't Frighten Me

After the recent passing of Maya Angelou I went out and found a book I had heard about a long time ago, and knew I needed a copy. The poem is fantastic...full of strength and grace.  The illustrations are works by one of my favorite painters, Basquiat. This book makes me happy.

Basil

He is one of my favorite cats of all time...but it's complicated.  We currently have 3 cats. Sugar stays inside, Midnight goes in and out...and Basil moved out.  After we adopted Midnight, Basil just decided he was happier as an alley cat. We see him hanging around in the alley on the side of our house but sometimes weeks go by and no sign of him.. Sometimes we get lucky and he visits us. Today, he did just that...and we showered him with love, treats, and catnip. He is scraggly and skinnier than usual, so he spent some quality time at the food dish.  Here he is rolling around on the kitchen floor...grateful to have some Basil time today.

Sum sum summer time

 Even though I have to work each day this week, it still feels a little like vacation since Brent took the week off to spend with the kids. It's my turn to take vacation next week...and until then I will just appreciate that it is "keeping the front door open" weather and evenings are lazy, and free of homework or super-early bedtimes.

The art of the exhale

Grateful for the way an exhale can rid my mind of the stress and pressures of work or every day stuff.  To breathe out is to expel the unwanted energy, leaving space for a simple inhale of renewal.

The bluest blue

I have been collecting blueberry bushes for 3 years and planting them in one of my raised beds on the back patio.  They have done well, getting nice bushy greenery on its branches each Spring/ Summer.  This year, however, I managed to grow BERRIES!  What wonderous globe-like purple miracles have appeared, dangling from the branches ?

So exciting...I actually plucked a ripe one and popped it into my pie hole. Delicious!

Grateful to get a glimpse of how lots of work and nurturing can sometimes pay off.

Gotcha day

We finally had a chance to celebrate Gotcha Day with one of the families we traveled with to China 9 years ago and share an adoption story with. Ava is Teresa & Doug's daughter and she lived at the same orphanage as Alice for their first year. We have kept in contact with them,  getting together 3 or so times a year.  Today was simply the perfect day to meet up for dim sum in Chinatown, then spend the afternoon at Jefferson Park on Beacon Hill.  How wonderful to celebrate our adoptions together...so thankful for this friendship!

Birthday boy

I am so thankful for this sweet 8 year old boy that is my son, and friend. Dominik had an unusual way of making a home in my uterus...growing and thriving for 8 1/2 months before I even had an inkling that he existed.  He's a special kid, sensitive and at times challenging.  He has the biggest heart and he loves his mama! 

Me, Myself...& Sugar

Brent took the kids to the beach for a few days and since I had to work, here I am. I sit in a very quiet house with only a few pets to keep me company.  I must admit it has been mighty relaxing!  I miss them of course, but grateful to have some Lola time to hear myself think.  

Better than candy

I can honestly say I have not tasted a fruit I didn't enjoy.  That is one reason I love summer so much...fruit is in abundance!  

So many to choose from...and I always reach for the nectarines. The perfect blend of sweet and tart...nectarines are better than candy. I don't say that about many things. I am thankful that in the summer months, healthy food choices are only a watermelon, cantaloupe or a nectarine away.

Practice makes perfect

Tonight I am grateful that I began this blog over 3 mos ago.

Several years ago I had to make a choice...think positive or else.  I chose to think positive and for the most part I live with a positive outlook.  But, before beginning  this blog, I didn't really know how to practice gratitude. I think I am getting the hang of it, though. To find myself faced with that daily question, "what am I thankful for today?", really has become a way of thinking for me.  It is habit, or ritual, or routine perhaps.  It takes practice...and with each day it is becoming easier to consider myself a grateful person.

The graduate

I found this photo today of me holding my niece, Melissa, shortly after she was born.  2 days ago Melissa graduated with a degree in European Studies from University of Washington...where does the time go? I am really proud of my neice and I am certain that she will be a smashing success at whatever her future holds...

Bob

Bob Ridgley is my dad.  I am grateful for that. As I grew up, the times spent with my dad were mostly under the hood of a car, hiking in the woods, clearing trees from the land, or standing on a shaky scaffold as we worked on building our home. We split wood together and built bonfires in the backyard.  He is hands down the most hard working individual I will likely ever know. I like his creativity, humor, desire to help others and his light-hearted outlook.

This is the day he walked me down the aisle 15 years ago.

Strawberry fields

I tend to have a hard time convincing the kids to join me in the activities I enjoy. They don't like to take walks much, and they don't understand the concept of meandering around downtown window shopping...or spending several hours getting lost in the aisles of a used bookstore. This morning I was delighted that they wanted to go pick strawberries with me...and they loved it!  Good fun and oh my, the sweetest, juiciest berries we have tasted in quite some time. 

Grateful to have made memories with my son and daughter today.

Summah time and the livin' is easy

Picked up the kids today from their last day of school and after celebratory Frostys from Wendy's we ran errands. At the Nature Center in Tacoma we signed Alice up for three weeks of summer day camp in July. The place is awesome...in the middle of the city, 71 acres of woods and wildlife including a small lake. Today, the kids had to stop and climb around on the playground area (that has a river running through it). Thankful for so many great city parks in Tacoma!

You didn't make me clean the snail

Today was the last full day of school before summer. Alice's super-cool teacher had the students go around to each classmates' name and write something nice about them. The first one on Alice's' sheet is "you didn't make me clean the snail" which was pretty random, but nice. My favorite one reads, "you like to help out those in need".

Thankful for my Alice.

Ting Ting

I have forever loved a breeze...especially when I can hear a light movement of wind brush by and rattle my wind chimes.  The deep toned sounds coming from the chimes have the most pleasant & restful effect on me.  This evening I sat on the porch doing nothing but listening.  The perfect way to relax after an arduous day. 

Lucinda

One of my all time favorite singer/songwriters is Lucinda Williams. I spent several hours of the work day today listening to her amazingly rich, honest and rough-around-the-edges style of folk-rock.  She is an original...an artist I have had a chance to see perform live a few times now and she just gets better with age.

Eating my way out of the trash can

My food choices for the last 6 mos have truly joined forces with the dark side. I have been eating trash and now I am feeling like garbage...hmmm, must be a connection there.  Sunday night I made myself some udon soup, added vegetables and put it into Tupperware for the week. I am grateful I took the time to do this, as I really enjoyed my healthy lunch at work today.  This was one of my first steps in taking back control of my food choices and portions. Life is good!

Cause for celebration

Today I had the chance to celebrate with my nieces, who are both graduating from highschool this month. Maria and Elena  were born to the same mother in Romania and adopted when they were toddlers by my brother and sister-in-law. It has been wonderful to watch these two lovelies grow up. I remember vividly each of them getting off the plane once they arrived in Seattle many years ago to start a new life with their forever family. Today they are two successful teens ready for the next step. Elena will attend Boise State and Maria will begin a transition program in the Fall. I love these girls!  In photo from left is Janine (my sis-in-law), Maria & Elena.

Dominik times three

For his birthday, Dominik got to invite two friends to the movies and to pizza. It was a fun day.  To watch Dominik be himself with his two best friends really was very entertaining. They talked CONSTANTLY, made each other laugh, told jokes, compared magical powers of Pokemon cards, wrestled around and were simply three 8 yo boys.

Great kids!

The big screen

It has been way too long since I have seen a grown-up movie in a theater.  Today circumstances  presented themselves and I found myself sitting alone in a little old movie theater downtown. It was wonderful! I saw a quirky brainless film called The Grand Budapest Hotel. So grateful to have a chance today to do something I used to love to do before becoming a mom. So often I forget those little things that filled my young single life!

Possibly a perfect pickle

I fell in love with these tiny pickles a year or two ago and my life really hasn't been the same. Despite having a name that I am sure would not top the charts of the most politically correct, they really do make a lovely snack.  This morning I had to smile when I heard my 8 yo Dominik ask from the kitchen, "mommy, can you help me open the pickles?".  It was 7am, and he was looking for breakfast...

Crumpets

There is a fairly new cafe near my office in Seattle that is called Queen Bee. This super cool joint not only serves homemade crumpets many different ways...it also has fantastic soups, sandwiches and coffee.  But, my favorite thing about Queen Bee is that 100% of their profit goes straight to local charities.  Wow!  I was grateful to have a chance to stop in there today and grab a few crumpets to go.

Rub-a-dub-dub

Tonight I sit on my porch and the neighborhood is so quiet I can hear the breeze rustling the tree branches in our yard.  A few moments ago I was being thoroughly entertained by a robin stopping to use my birdbath.  He stood dipping, splashing and fluffing up his feathers for quite some time.  When my cat, Midnight, appeared on the porch the robin quickly vanished. Thankful for peaceful evenings when the big things in life don't matter.

tinybuddha

I've had worry and anxiety for the last two days...nothing specific, just an overall feeling.  Today I looked up one of my favorite blogs, tinybuddha.com , and scrolled right to this...a nice affirmation for the rest of the day.  I am thankful.

Birthdays

Thankful that my sister, Karrie, opened her house to those family members that could make it today.  We celebrated a few birthdays, enjoyed some backyard time in the sun and ate fantastic food.