Where Have You Been All My Life?

Have you ever read a book and thought, "where have you been all my life?"

I am not a big proponent of self help books. I prefer fiction; a mindless escape from reality. Once in a while, however, I find a good book that makes me think- makes me evaluate my approach to living, because lets face it, I have a lot of potential evaluating that can be done!

Today I have gleaned this little gem: Focusing on the "bright spots" in our lives is to pose the question: "What is working, and how can we do more of it?". This is a radical shift from seeing a problem and trying to find a solution that problem. Find the bright spots, and then try to clone them in other areas of your life! Focus on what works instead of what is broken.

Like I said, "where have you been all my life?" !!!!!

if nothing else ...

If nothing else …

Be silly. Laugh. Dance in your room with the music turned up too loud. Eat cake for breakfast. Pick up litter. Plant flowers as well as tomatoes. Read books that make you happy. Change your hairstyle but not who you really are. Ride a bike. Do cartwheels. Eat fresh strawberries. Ignore glamour magazines. Tell the truth. Make silly faces at yourself in the mirror. Learn a new language. Keep your friend’s secrets. Ignore clocks as much as possible. Find yourself before you try to find true love. Tell knock-knock jokes. Recycle. Be the kind of friend you would like to have. Go on a road trip. Run through sprinklers. Have a favorite everything. Drink plenty of water. Build things. Create things. Sing as loud as you can and as often as you can. Buckle your seat belt. Wear lip gloss for more than just chapped lips. Help others and yourself. Love who you are.

(a little excerpt from a book I'm writing for Larkin)

Father's Day Festivities

I love an opportunity to celebrate what a wonderful father Scot is! It was a busy weekend of fun and family time! Here is a snapshot of the "agenda" from the weekend ...

Friday Night:

Visited dad at work and dropped of a Father's Day card to kick off the weekend

TV time for dad to kick back with a DDP ... can you say movie marathon

Saturday:

Dad went to see a movie

Walked to the park and played

(Girl's Camp shopping ... it had to be done)

Visited the strawberry stand to pick up a flat of strawberries for dad

Sunday:

Father's Day breakfast and gifts (Scot got a laptop for school and some supplies to sew a quilt for Larkin, which he has been wanting to do since before she was born)

Church

Dinner with friends (I did a waffle bar so that Scot wouldn't have to cook dinner on Father's Day ... he still ended up helping in the kitchen)

Dessert with family

Dear Scot,

I am grateful for the wonderful father you are. Your eagerness to love, your realness, and your imaginative spirit are just a few of the things I loved about you when I first met you, and they are just a few of the attributes that make you a great father. I am proud to raise children with you. I love you!

:)

Surfs Up!

Scot and I decided yesterday that we needed a mental health day. (This is an idea I lifted from my good friend Emily, and use in my own stressful life from time to time) We headed to Bodega Bay to spend a relaxing day outside with waves, and sand, and seagulls, and family.

We played and played and played ... Larkin had such a great time. The sweetest moments of my day always include Larkin and Scot.

This summer, in addition to our summer soundtrack, we made family shirts for our summer adventures. We went together and tye-dyed matching shirts for each of us ...

(Larkin was so bugged about having to hold still for a photo ... but she really did have a good time, I promise! )

It was a great day. We came home covered in sand and feeling refreshed and exhausted all at the same time.

I declare this mental health day a success!

Bonks and Booboos

And that's an understatement!

Today marks the first two major head injuries of many I'm sure. It was incredibly tragic for everyone! We went to Sac State this evening to walk around the campus. Larkin's favorite game right now is being chased. I was chasing her and she bit it HARD! Forehead meet pavement, pavement meet forehead ... Hello goose egg.

And if that isn't enough to make your stomach flip and lurch, after we got home and gave her a bath she was running around in the kitchen and face planted right into the corner of the wall! The girl just can't catch a break!

One sad, banged up baby!

Moral of the story: Walking feet are happy feet, It's all fun and games ... and all that

Thoughts on Past, Present, and Future

We celebrated our anniversary this week. It was a very low-key day. Scot made crab for dinner.

I would like to personally thank the person who decided a long time ago that it was a good idea to crack open this spiny crustacean and dip it's meat in butter to sustain life. Genius. Probably ahead of his time.

We started our marriage with a big box of crab given to us by Scot's brother and sister-in-law as a wedding present. We rationed that box that whole first year of our marriage so that we ate it for every special occasion at our house that year.

I cannot eat crab without thinking about sitting around my in-law's dining room table in Kodiak two months after our wedding. We were shoulder to shoulder with family sitting on milk jugs so that everyone could gather around. We talked, and laughed, and shared shears as we stuffed ourselves on crab. Such a wonderful memory.

It was Larkin's first time to eat crab and she kept grabbing the claws and chewing on the whole thing, pokey parts and all! Once she watched us crack them open she went to town until she succeeded in getting to the good stuff all on her own. She is the definition of will power!

Happy Anniversary to us! I am excited to spend the rest of forever making memories with these people.

PS: I am still working off that dinner at the gym!

Welcome June!

Top 10 Things I LOVE about June

10 ... Popsicles! I love lime or strawberry. I am in love with home made popsicles this year. Yum!

9 ... Water Parks! I am a sucker for an inner-tube and a little h2o, okay, a lot of h2o!

8 ... My Anniversary! Yep. June 2nd. Best day ever!

7 ... Camping! We always take a trip out to Bodega to camp in June. I love this tradition.

6 ... Father's Day! I love any excuse to show Scot how much he means to me. We waited a long time to be parents, and Scot is a killer dad!

5 ... Did I say Water Parks??? WATER PARKS!!! I love them so much they get two slots in my top ten!

4 ... Skirts! I wear them all the time starting in June!

3 ... Movies in the Park! I love this almost as much as water parks. Cities bust out their movies in the park starting in June and they usually go all summer

2 ... Farmer's Markets! I am such a sucker for a good farmer's market

1 ... My Birthday! I love being me most days! Why not take a day and celebrate who I am :)

(I don't know about you, but every day in my life isn't roses and unicorns. Scot came into our room the other evening and I was curled up in our bed. He asked if I was tired (it was only 6pm) ... I told him, "No. I'm just trying to adjust my attitude." And I am. I am starting June with a little attitude adjustment. I am grateful for my crazy, dysfunctional, pieced-together life. So just in case you think the snapshots you see on my blog are the whole story, and my story seems like it reads better than your story, don't be fooled. My life is good, but some days are lame. I am grateful for the good days, and grateful that the lame ones don't last forever. Happy June to the two people who read my blog! :)