The long view

We are getting ready for our “vacation”…which it isn’t really, as much as it is a flurry of flying, driving and saying goodbyes. This is dh’s block leave, and while we still do have some time before the deployment begins I am feeling suddenly like I can see the summer slipping away before it’s even begun.

I think I will be able to blog while we are away, although it may be more of an issue of time than internet access, just so you know. But I am going to see my in-laws, which always gives me something to write about!

I hope to come back with lots of photos, and the Holga and film are travelling with me. After getting this last roll of film developed I think I need to get it out more. The picture above was taken in late May and the view is from the Shrine of Sun (which ABW and I ran to the top of not too long ago). The view is pretty spectacular, although slightly more enjoyable after you’ve ridden up there in a car as opposed to hoofing it.

Have a good rest of your week, and I’ll see you when I see you.

An oldie but a goodie

I just love this old photo… taken way back when he had just come home on his midtour leave. It’s not the prettiest photo I’ve ever taken, but it’s the moment I want to remember. Being a daddy still felt kind of new back then, since he had left when the dutchkid was an infant.

I am so thankful for the fantastic father he is.

Happy Father’s Day!

Word to the wise

Do not attempt to re-register your vehicle on post, change your driver’s license and have your fall college advising appointment all in the same week. It is far beyond the threshold of waiting/frustration/jumping through hoops that one person can take. I thought I was going to strangle someone who worked for the state of Colorado this week.

Also, do NOT under any circumstances allow your dh to tear up half of your dead/dying lawn so that you can rake it all up, re-seed and lay down straw mulch over it.

Trust me on this, your enjoyment of summer will be exponentially higher, the more you can minimize these events.

In other news: we have peas!

Don’t worry, we will be back to our regular summer programming of popsicles and cherry limeade in short order.

Do you remember this?

The other day, while we were sitting on the couch, my hubby pulled this gem up on his iPhone (hey, I just thought of one positive thing about the upcoming deployment ~ I get the iPhone!)

I don’t really remember this video, although I do remember hearing it on the radio. Dh actually remembers where he was when he heard it the first time. I was shocked at how the advice still resonated with me… and really what good advice it is.

My favorite: “Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life…the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t.” It’s probably my favorite because at least if I can’t figure my life out, I might be interesting!

And the truest: “Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.”

So as I sit here on an idle Tuesday, do you remember this? Did you think it was dumb (maybe you still do) or do you think it’s good advice?

Happily humming along

There is just something about eating in the car with the windows down, in your swimsuit, that speaks to my soul. Well, that and the cherry limeade.

As we were eating our aprés-swim lunch today, I remembered that I said I was going to be back here this week with some sewing to show for myself. My machine has been busy lately, only I forgot to take pictures of most of it! I do have this one, though:

I made one of these pool robes last year for the dutchkid, but I don’t think I ever mentioned it here. This year I wanted to modify it just a tad and add a hood. It worked out pretty well. You can find the original tutorial here via Sew Mama Sew. I just used part of a matching tea towel for the hood, and my sleeves are shorter because I accidentally bought the wrong size towel (oops). Only now I kind of like the short sleeves.

I won’t tell you how long this has been on my “To do” pile (I think I may have moved with those towels?!) but I’m glad I finished it just in time for swim lessons. It comes in very handy to have something that doubles as a coverup and prevents the carseat from getting wet on the way home.

Here’s my unwilling-to-have-her-picture-taken model:

Please pardon the wrinkles, it’s seen a lot of use lately.

And in other news, we have a deployment date around here.  I can’t decide if I’m glad since now I can plan around it, or if I would have rather continued living in denial.  Finally having it does make the summer seem all the more precious and short-lived, though.  So go and make the most of your weekend!  Hope you have a good one.

And the labor of love produces

So there I was… in the middle of making dinner. And dh caught me outside with the camera. Shaking his head, he laughs, “This is going to make the blog, isn’t it.”

Why yes, yes it is.

The very first baby lettuce from the garden. It looks like a real garden now, even though you can’t see it from that angle. Carrots, tomatoes, squash and even a watermelon plant against my better judgment (according to some things I’ve read, the nights stay too cool here for them to ripen, but we’re going to give it a try anyway).

Mostly I’m dying for a fresh tomato sandwich, but that lettuce tasted pretty darn good. We had a fantastic weekend all around, a little hiking, the dutchkid’s dance recital (where all photography was prohibited, boo!) and a relaxed birthday party with friends. Perfect.

I’ll be back with some show and tell sewing projects this week, hopefully you had a great start to yours!

Awards and such

Someone recently was kind enough to give me an award, and it made me remember that someone else gave me the same one but awhile ago and I completely forgot to mention it.  So thank you Dawna of Hiccups In Time and Melissa Sue of A Wonderful Life, I’m honored that you thought of me.

You are supposed to share seven things about yourself, and if you are curious I wrote thirty-three things about myself not too long ago so for my regular readers,  I will spare you the repetition!

Sadly I am sort of a dork about awards, mostly because I dislike tagging others… I’m not sure why.  Sometimes it’s because I don’t want anyone to feel left out if I don’t tag them, but a large part of it is probably my in real life shyness somehow coming out in blogland.  (It manifests itself in other ways too, sometimes, particularly in the who/how/when I comment on someone’s blog, but that’s an entirely different post!)

So I will be breaking the rules here and not passing it on, but I didn’t want to not say thank you!

Let’s get it started

Well, that was no way to start the summer.

And as you can see from my new header, (unless you’re reading this from your feed reader) summer really has finally arrived around here. My mother-in-law left yesterday and by the time she left we made our peace. Or maybe I should say, I just finally let it go. Sadly, though, I spent the week in a lot of pain. I have trouble with neck pain from time to time and this was the most pain I’ve ever had. My own mom suggested that maybe now that my mother-in-law is gone that the pain would subside. As usual, she’s right. This morning I woke up feeling good enough to tell dh that I thought I would go for our weekly 5K run with him. It is really scary to me how stress can manifest itself in that way.

So after all the general yuckiness of last week, I’ve been doing some thinking about what I really want to savor about this short season.  I have one word for you: popsicles.  It’s at the top of my list.  I’m taking suggestions, too, what things do you love the most about summer?