Quick Abs Workout

Those of us who don't do sit-ups can just laugh our way to washboard abs:

Too funny! 

I usually do pretty well with keeping my giggles in check at the gym, but if I ever see something like this, I will probably lose it. 

The guy in the orange shirt is my favorite. :)

Happy Monday!

Loose Ends

Lot of little stuff:

• First, a glimpse at the stuff that shows up in my email:

Nice.

               Apparently, it's working.  But I won't be back. 

 

 

Now, moving on.....

• It was a happy Turkey Day at the brothers' house, with the baby brothers.  We chose not dwell on the fact that we were not with the rest of our family; this was made easier by the company we kept on that day--thanks, Hemmings and Robinsons. :)  (But, no pictures! :-6)

• Totally irrelevant aside: Marvin Williams of the Atlanta Hawks was hanging out at the Bremerton YMCA on Thanksgiving morning.  I Zumba-ed with his mama.  He is 6'9".  No fair.

• "Helped" the Hemmings move to Kingston.  I didn't really do anything, except clear my husband to go over and donate his muscle power.  Oh--I guess I watched their kiddos.  But I do that every day, so what? :-9  Their new place is right on the water--YES! I don't know why the thought of sitting in the living room of one of my best friends in the world, drinking coffee, and watching the ferries come and go is so appealing, but it really, really is.  Kingston's about to become my 2nd home.          

I don't really know why they're so cool; they just are.

• The girls got it in their heads that they wanted to go Black Friday shopping this year--ugh.  I agreed to take them out, on condition that I could call the thing off without complaint if I deemed the situation unsafe.  Hm...let me think about this...what about this wouldn't be unsafe?

1. Walking through dark parking lots in the middle of the night.      
2. Standing out in the freezing cold for hours on end without adequate cold-weather gear.      
3. Entering a building with frenzied masses willing to whip out the pepper spray if you can't figure out where the end of the line is.

(What is up with this formatting?!)

I went in my pajamas, confident that once they saw the lines, and the distances from the car

to the line to the door, they'd be over it; they did not disappoint. (Sigh of relief--my pajamas are ugly.) :-p

Well, there's more, I think, but it's past this girl's Saturday night bedtime.  

Happy Saturday-turning-into-Sunday!

        

Thanksgiving for Dummies

This might be my favorite one yet.

They're a tough act to follow, so I won't even try. :)

Happy Turkey Day!

Rambling (Again)

Be you a planner or a procrastinator (I'm somewhere in between), Thanksgiving is upon us.  Yay!

Yay! for time with family and friends.
Yay! for delicious meals.
Yay! for tryptophan-induced slumber parties in the living room; just find a comfy spot on the floor.*

*I am aware there is some debate over the whole tryptophan-sleep connection; for the purposes of this post, however:

  1. I like the word "tryptophan," and
  2. I like the idea of being able to attribute my desire for an afternoon nap to some legit-sounding amino acid, versus plain old pigginess and overeating.


But, first things first: grocery shopping.  (Seriously.  Again?!?)

Yesterday was a rainy Monday morning (of course), so Shilani and I threw on our raincoats (and snorkels and masks and fins), and set out in search of the perfect turkey.  I guess we got confused about what turkeys look like, and came home with these:

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Dancin' shoes.

That's right; we both got these.

(To be fair, I spotted them first.) 

Now we're matchy-matchy Zumba twinsies.

(Hm.  I typed that with heavy sarcasm, but it kinda has a ring to it, no?)

Look at these:

Some sassy boots I found on Sunday.
They are still in the box in the hallway, as I try to decide whether I
will ever have enough attitude to pull off wearing such a thing.
I'll keep you posted.

Speaking of sassy boots, check these out:

Littlest Daughter. 
Proof that, sometimes, it's just a matter of finding the right outfit
to go with the shoes.

Middle Daughter, workin' those sassy boot covers like a rock star.
Or Supergirl, as it were.

Oldest Daughter, in her sassy boots.
I swear I just took this pic last week,
but date stamps say it's been closer
to 10 years.  Wha--?!

(Because it never feels like a proper post without mention of the cutest people in this household. :D)

Happy Tuesday!

History in the Making

We turned 12 yesterday.

It's pretty exciting stuff. :-D

Seriously, though, "We" did. 

(He's always been way better at the whole card- and gift-giving thing. :-p)

Mr. & Mrs. Arnall.  It's the best we could do, early on a Sunday morning. :p

I'm sorry to have this sort of effect on him some days
(it's just one of those things that happens when you decide to
live in my world of crazy...)...

...but I think he kinda loves me. 

 As I've said before:

"...And he will love her, and protect her, and annoy her, and forgive her, and hold her, and make her laugh, and give her a life sweeter than her bratty self deserves, and she will understand a comfort, and have an unfair advantage, that comes in knowing there is almost nothing she can do to make him stop loving her (I haven't figured out what quantifies the "almost," and I don't plan on finding out.). And she will love him more than even she knows..."

 And it is (still) so.

Love you, Daniel Wayne.

Happy Monday! 

Promises

It was one of those days yesterday. 

Should I clean house, or go grocery shopping?
Take a nap, or go to the gym?
Put my left sock on first, or my right?

So many decisions, so many things to think about, even the weather couldn't make up its mind.  And while my indecisiveness generally leads to a complete lack of productivity, the weather's indecisiveness sometimes leads to rainbows. :)  

This is not the rainbow I saw yesterday.  If it was, it would
have been super cool, though, 'cause that would mean I
was on a boat in Hawaii.  :-D

When I see a rainbow, I think, "an optical and meteorological phenomenon that causes a spectrum of light to appear in the sky when the Sun shines on to droplets of moisture in the Earth's atmosphere."

Or something like that, anyway. (Thanks, Wikipedia.) 

My reading yesterday morning gave me pause for a minute: "I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth." 

I often forget this.

I forget that it's a reminder of one of God's promises, made and kept since the days of Noah.  (How's that for honoring your word?)

Reminded of a poem I came across a few weeks ago, on the blog of a friend of a friend. :)


The Devil's NOT In The Details
The details are holy.
Wholly
life-affirming,
life-saving,
attitude-adjusting.

How can you not be recharged by
constellations marching
sun glinting
blue skies blazing
trees changing
hawks soaring.

The details are holy.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2011

Thankful.

(Oh, and Happy Friday!)



The Good Life

Last time we had weather like this, I kept a stiff upper lip, and braved the gray  in pursuit of sustenance.  (In other words, I went grocery shopping.) 

Today, I went the self-indulgent route, which led me straight home. :)

Much cozier than a Costco warehouse.

Crackling fire, steaming cup of coffee, fluffy comforter, the Good Book, laptop. 

Nap. :)

And because The Good Life is often full of laughter, enjoy this with me:

Happy Wednesday!

Veteran's Day Assembly

On Friday, the girls participated in Pearson's Veteran's Day assembly, their first since returning to public school.  Malia was so jazzed, she tells me she spent the bus ride home wishing she could "make the time go back, and just do the assembly all over again!"  There was a huge parent turnout, many of them dressed in uniform--very fitting for the occasion.

A few of our favorite performers, all dressed in their red, white, and blue:

Abby, suddenly feeling bashful.

Showtime!

Malia, scanning the crowd.  She spots Dad, uncles, and Bethany, but four-
foot-six Mom was a little harder to detect. :)

Singing her heart out.

Miki performs with her choir.

She sounded about 24-years-old when she took the mic; proud mama.

A classic Miki smile.

All of the kids did a great job with this musical tribute to honor our veterans, and those who continue to serve and protect; we thank you. 

Happy Saturday!

:)

I just got a kick out of this one and thought I'd share:

Happy Tuesday!

Quick Post

On Saturday, Shilani and I packed up the girls and headed to the land of all things pink and pricey--the American Girl store at Alderwood.  This has been a much-anticipated event in this household, since receiving the invite to l'il miss Aurora's birthday party at the Bistro, located in the store. :)  (Sidenote: We're not new to the brand, but I never fail to have the wind knocked out of me whenever I glance the price tags; someone should tell them that printing the prices in tiny little font on tiny little tags is not fooling the rest of us. :-p) Still, despite the recurring bouts of hyperventilation, it's hard not to enjoy yourself in this wonderland of pinky happiness, where everyone floats about smiling bubbles and sunshine, and my daughters, full of wonder, are thankful again to be made of sugar 'n spice, and everything nice. :)

Birthday girl!

Smile!

Special guests. :)

She thought this was pretty cool.

Rory's mama, Arica. 
She makes the Favorite People in the Whole Wide World list.

Happy Birthday, Rory!

Group shot again.

After lunch, a visit to the doll hair salon. :)

A few shots from the Hemming girls' (mom, too) first ferry crossing...(thanks, Kiana) 

Watching train from ferry--very cool.

 Mount Rainier in the clouds;
reminded me of home, and seeing Maui in the distance on our drives home from Kona.

She keeps this smile well-hidden. :)

Abby Cadabby!

Happy Monday!

Dual Citizenship

Papa is homeward-bound again. 

I suppose that could be a matter of opinion; after several extended visits here, Washington is starting to feel a bit like home to him, as well.  So, maybe "returning to our roots" is a better expression.  It's a tricky thing, having your heart in two places at once; being "here" often means wishing I was "there," wherever "here" happens to be at the moment.  But there's a certain comfort in always knowing you're going home, no matter the direction in which the plane is heading.

We gathered at the brothers' house last night to spend the evening with Dad, and drown our sorrows in (more) sushi and poke.  And portugese sausage and rice.  And chocolate chip cookies.  (It's hard to be sorrowful after chocolate chip cookies.)

My favorite pic of the evening:

They love their Papa...

It will be an adjustment, not having him around for a few months, but I'm definitely getting warm fuzzies picturing the moment he and my nieces lay eyes on each other; there will be lots of running, and hugging, and soulful looks from Kawena as she absorbs the fact that her papa is really home. :)  *Happy tears* 

Happy Thursday (again)!

Stolen Effects

Yet again.

I would love to know what kind of effect these productions are having on the vehicles that drive by during filming.  :) 

More from my brothers here.  If you like what you see, subscribe, like, watch; they really need friends. (And 2nd jobs :-p)

Happy Thursday!

Hello Wean Fairy

My brothers are at it again. :-p  

My husband found this particularly funny; am I concerned that he and my 19-year-old brothers (yes, you, too, Mana) share a similar sense of humor?  Sorta, yeah.

Happy Tuesday!