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July Update (for lack of a better title)
Hello Summer! It’s time to report on what we’ve been up to.
What have you been up to?
We’ve spent a lot of time at the pool. Since tennis camp is over I’ve set up a strict schedule for the girls in the hopes of saving my sanity and my struggling business. The kids are allowed an embarrassing amount of Minecraft time during the morning when I usually get the most work done. After lunch they have screen-free time (which usually involves a lot of moping and complaining but eventually morphs into real play time) and then by three we are off to the pool.
We have an agreement. If it’s over 80 degrees and after three, we can go to the pool. This helps me a lot with managing my expectations. I never get much done when the kids are unplugged so I might as well accept it and get some reading in or even some swimming(!). And by reading, I mean a real book but sometimes I spend an embarrassingly large amount of that reading time on Facebook and Instagram. The kids do not fall far from the tree.
Nothing says summer more than lazy, sleeping pets. Or do they do that all year around? I don’t know but the hotter it is the more they stretch out and it’s funny. It’s like their bodies melt into whatever surface they find themselves on. They really do know how to beat the heat. Just sleep it away!
Not us though. We’re too busy for sleeping. Last week (technically the week before last week since we have the girls every other week) I took the girls to CatCon LA. It’s a convention for crazy cat people like us and we had a blast. We spent way too much money on Pusheen swag but it was totally worth the overdraft protection fees because you can never have enough Pusheen swag.
Bug has been talking about wanting a Pusheen-Minecraft party for her birthday. That should be a fun challenge. Good thing I’ve got a headstart to think up something. I’m trying to talk her into a Pusheen doughnut theme, that would be super cool and not difficult but I have the one kid in the whole wide world who doesn’t really like doughnuts. I guess I took her too many times back when we lived at the beach and used to kill time at the local doughnut shop.
My birthday was this week and I’ve been spoiled rotten with a homemade chocolate cake, a pasta maker attachment to my fancy mixer and a promised trip to Legoland this weekend! Yes, that was my choice. I’ve always wanted to go. I promised Bug a trip forever ago but never gotten around to it so I special-requested it for my birthday! I know. I am so spoiled. Payam is one of a kind crazy gift-giver and no, you can’t steal him.
I’m a big fat forty-four! FORTY-FOUR!! That’s like one more year until I’m halfway to fifty! Funnily, I’m proud of my age. Of course I’m looking at these pictures trying to determine whether my face is fatter or not but you know what? I really don’t care anymore. I’m really, really healthy (says the doctor) because of all my intense crazy-woman yoga workouts (to be explained later) so I’m just going to be proud of where I am at for a change. I’m in a good place.
It really is true that a lot can happen in a year. It’s a been a year now since we moved in with Payam and it’s turning out to probably be one of the best parts of my life. I’m a naturally anxious person and the happier I am, the more worried I am that something bad is going to happen. I think I was taught that too much happiness usually ends in pain so I keep waiting for the hard times to hit. Like that’s the price of being happy or something. It’s twisted but I’m slowly starting to believe that you really can be happy and stay happy. What a crazy idea. I’m really thankful. It’s good to be here.
And speaking of being here and now and enjoying the present happiness… (eye roll for that the obvious and clunky transition) I took my dad to see Garrison Keeler’s last Prairie Home Companion show for his father’s day gift. It was great.
First of all because I hardly ever do things with my parents, just me and secondly because the Hollywood Bowl is probably my most favorite venue ever, right up there next to the Santa Barbara Bowl. I love outdoor amphitheaters that allow alcoholic beverages. There really is nothing better than sitting outside on a warm summer night, enjoying a show (and the sunset and the stars…) while sipping wine from a plastic goblet. They aren’t stingy either. It wasn’t my most favorite wine but they poured it to the very tippy top so that I was actually a little bit stressed about carrying it from the vendor stand to my seat without spilling it on my favorite new white tank top.
It was a great show. I didn’t even care that we were so far away in the nosebleed section that we couldn’t even see Garrison Keeler’s face. It was just a really fun, sweet sentimental night. Especially because Prairie Home Companion is one of my dad’s favorite radio shows and it was Garrison Keeler’s last show AND because Garrison Keeler grew up “in the meeting” which is always interesting to those of us who share similar history.
Fourth of July was nice. We took the dogs to the pool at Payam’s moms house and it was the most hilarious thing. I don’t have any pictures of that mayhem because I need to buy a new battery for my waterproof camera and I wasn’t going anywhere near the pool with crazy dogs and my phone at the same time.
The girls and I splashed around in the pool with our amazing collection of giant snack food floaties and then Cody got brave enough to jump in. He’s naturally a water dog, being a Golden Retriever and all but we were a little worried he might betray his genetics because when we took him to the beach he was afraid of the waves. But the genes kicked in and he didn’t let us down! He swam and swam! He mostly just swam towards us putting us at risk of being scraped by his long dog claws but he seemed to really like it. He didn’t really get the idea that the steps were the way out but then he has the intelligence of a three-year-old so what do I expect?
Whiskey was having none of the swimming. At one point Payam threw him in and he can swim but he didn’t like it. I think he’s too smart and if there aren’t any ducks to chase there really is no reason to be floundering around in this wet stuff where there is no bottom.
Then we went home and had our classic fourth of July dinner that always includes my favorite German Potato Salad. That strangely no one but me really likes in this family?!! What is wrong with them? How can you go wrong with potatoes, bacon, vinegar and sugar?
About those crazy-woman intense yoga work-outs… I’ve been going for six months now. I am sorely disappointed that I do not have a chiseled yoga body that I thought I would have by now. I’m working against the age curve and the fact that I really like to (over) eat regularly so I think I’m perpetually fighting against myself and slowly becoming more ripped under a healthy layer of fat.
But I am hooked. I’ve started to really become attached to my yoga instructors. They work so hard to keep us motivated. I feel like I can’t let them down. It’s also a nice get away in the morning just for me so I’m keeping on keeping on.
That pretty much sums up summer so far besides the fifty other things I’ve probably forgotten.
Yes! I almost forgot to tell you about the time Whiskey jumped into the lake!
Yep.
I was walking the puppies to the lake like I usually do and Whiskey was pulling like a mad man because he is terrier and a natural hunter of vermin. There are always bunnies and birds and ducks that call out to him to be caught and it drives him absolutely batshit crazy. I was so tired of holding him back and feeling like my arm was about to be ripped off that I decided to let him go flying down a path that I thought dead-ended at the lake.
Little did I realize that he would think the waveless lake was a flat surface to run on and throw himself into it to try and catch a duck. Boy was that a surprise for him. There was a man fishing near by and we both cracked up laughing as soon as it happened. I know I should have expected this but I really didn’t. He’d never done anything like that before and we’ve been to the lake hundreds of times.
He didn’t like the lake that much and he paddled around back to the shore as quick as he could. He couldn’t quite pull himself up on the man-made shelf so I swooped down and grabbed him by his harness and pulled him out with a big splash that got me half wet too.
Then we continued on our walk with one really skinny puppy dripping and shaking all the way home. Payam was a little disgusted that we had a wet lake-water puppy but I thought it was a great morning adventure.
Never a dull moment around here! Happy Summer!
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Camping 2016: with kids AND dogs!
Summer is here and we are packing in the activities! Well, at least the few weeks have been packed so far. The kids started tennis camp today (on the hottest day ever–91 degrees in the shade and it’s only June!) and we went camping (with puppies!) the week before last. I feel like I can take the rest of the summer off we’ve accomplished so much already.
We were super excited to take the puppies with us camping but also dreading it because we really had no idea what we were in for. We can hardly handle them at home under controlled situations! But of course they loved it and it was a big, fat, dusty blast. When we came home our dogs were a completely different color than when we left. They got sooooo dirty.
My mom and dad came too and brought their dog, Speckles. It was a very dog-friendly affair.
The girls got their own tent and did really well. I thought they might get cold or lonely during the night and crash our tent but they faired just fine. Probably because they were so dead tired from having so much fun.
Camp cooking is always my favorite part. I know hiking and enjoying nature is the basic premise of camping but I’m perfectly content to stay at camp and play pioneer all day. I like to cook, eat and drink beverages while watching sunsets and admiring the trees. I have to say I’m so thankful to live in California where there are relatively no bugs. I probably wouldn’t love camping half as much if we got eaten alive like they do on Naked and Afraid. I love nature but dang, the bugs would get to me every time.
Bug and I did get a chance to take a little hike behind our camp while Payam and Joon went horseback riding. We had a really nice time following a rugged path through the trees searching for pinecones and just kicking the dirt while we discussed mother daughter things. At one point we thought we heard rushing water and we were so excited to see a waterfall or a stream. So you can imagine our disappointment when we rounded the bend and found a chain link fence protecting a water treatment plant. Denied! It didn’t even stink though. You’d think it would smell like sewage or something. But no, just green water being sprayed up in the air in a green pond.
Payam and Joon had a nice time on their horses. You might be wondering about now where we were camping. Where would they have such amenities as water treatment plants and horseback riding? We weren’t roughing it by far. We were staying at an RV resort park called Thousand Trails. We have some friends who live there who we were visiting. It was a good first camping trip for us with dogs since we didn’t really know what we could handle.
My mom and dad came too with their trailer. They’re old pros at RV camping.
Apparently RV camping comes naturally to dogs.
Dogs + Dirt = No problem! Just keep them cool and it’s all good.
Back to not roughing it. There were so many activities scheduled at this resort. There was an ice cream social, swimming, pine cone races, some kind of craft that we didn’t make it to and an organized campfire s’more making night. Actually, the organized s’more-making fire was because of fire danger. You’re not allowed to make fires in your camp (which was a huge bummer when night temperatures drop) because everything is really dry up there and the smallest little stray spark could cause a huge forest fire.
We listened to Cowboy Jack play some tunes and we had our designated one s’more apiece. It wasn’t so bad. In fact it was really cool because Idyllwild is very dog-friendly and they even had a designated dog sitting area in the campfire amphitheater. I’m sure a fire in our camp would have been nice but we probably would have gotten bored eventually and ended up either going to bed super early or playing on our phones.
The next day we went into town. Which is also very dog-friendly. Who knew! Need something fun to do this summer but you can’t leave your dog at home while you go on vacation? Take them with and go camping! There’s plenty to do in the great outdoors.
Not to completely mislead you… there was plenty of phone activity going on too.
The kids were missing minecraft pretty bad and took up Instagram to hold them over.
And then we went home! The end.
Actually, after we got home and shipped the kids off to their respective other parents, we took our dogs to the day spa and they came back a completely different color. Whiskey was a rusty brown orange and now he’s white!
The groomer cut off all his puppy fur! Or most of it. He’ll probably lose the black on his ears someday too. Good thing he looks super cute this way too. It’s so funny, we knew nothing about Soft-haired Wheaten Terriers when we got him. Joon just fell in love with this scruffy, teddy bear of a dog. I would have never picked him out, personally. I’m more of a big-dog-loving kind of person. I usually turn up my nose at small aka yappy dogs. But Whiskey is not that small and he has wiggled his way into my heart. He has sooooo much personality. He is smart and very playful. He makes Cody (who was my first choice in dogs) look like a big, lazy, stubborn oaf of a dog. Don’t get me wrong, I love them both equally for such different reasons. They are perfect and all-consuming and now I am one of those crazy dog people who can only talk about her dogs.
Sorry, not sorry.
