yeah yeah yeah

What I Am Is What I Am

As much as I'd like to think that I'm a very spontaneous person, that is actually far from the truth. I'm such a creature of habit and a big fan of our Saturday routine during the summer - Dog park with Ari, Old Town Farmer's Market, Trader Joe's, home to put up groceries and Ari, lunch and then head to the Old Town Pool. If it is cloudy or raining we of course have to abandon our routine and find something else to entertain us other then the pool but I'd say we've been pretty lucky this summer with the weather and have yet to miss a Saturday at the dog park or the pool. 

So for the past few weekends I've been thinking about how baby Sunshine is going to fit into our lives, our habits and routines. Is is possible for her to fit into our daily routine or are we completely at the mercy of her schedule, wants and desires? I mean, in my mind it seems pretty practical that we simply load up baby girl and continue on with our Saturday as usual and she goes along for the ride. Am I naive to think that is how it will go down? Now I do realize that getting out the door will take a bit more time but it is still doable, right?

I guess one of my biggest fears of having this little baby girl is how much of our life we will have to change while adapting to her needs. It isn't like we are out boozing it up on Friday nights or filling the house with guests to entertain into the wee hours. We go the movies about once a year and can't afford to eat out like we would like. We try to catch a few lives shows when we can and do enjoy having close friends over for cooking-out but nothing that a baby girl couldn't handle. Hell, we've basically stopped watching TV these days other then a few things I TiVo. (Although I do like my routine of watching Rachel Maddow before bed). So our life is rather uncomplicated and for the most part Lance, Ari and I are pretty much in sync with each other and how our days and evenings play out.

I'm sure all of you mothers reading this are laughing and saying those days are over, right? And I'm sure you are right, but we will see what happens. It is just that Lance and I both have this really strong desire to not change everything in our lives once baby girl arrives. And not because we are selfish (or maybe it is selfishness?) but because we think we have a pretty great thing going and want her to be a part of our world. I don't know whether it is possible or not, but as a new parent it is certainly our goal to try and maintain some sort of simple life and daily routine of the familiar pleasures we enjoy. Pipe dream?

Religion is the Smile on a Dog

Philosophy is the Talk on a Cereal Box

 

 

Before I Get Too Deep

 

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Day Five: Takk

Day Five
Grindavík, The Blue Lagoon
November 27, 2008 - Thanksgiving Day

The Blue Lagoon is without a doubt the most touristy spot in all of Iceland. Bus loads of tourists pile out of excursion shuttles hourly and even on a cold November Thursday the place was busy. Busy, but not crowded. But not going to the Blue Lagoon while in Iceland would be like not going into a casino when in Vegas. It might be touristy, but it is amazingly beautiful, warm, relaxing and very different then any other place I'd been to in life.

The Showers
When we first entered the Blue Lagoon we paid the entrance fee and had to decide if we wanted to rent a robe or not. The Northern Light Inn had towels available for us to take to the Lagoon so we didn't need to rent a towel but we did rent a robe. Which was a smart decision. It is quite a bit more but well worth it. This is Iceland, it is freaking cold and just a towel isn't enough and a gigantic soft robe is very inviting in the freezing cold. So after paying the fees we were handed an electronic bracelet that operates the lockers and can be used at the snack bar to buy food and drinks which meant we didn't have to carry around money in our robes...quite handy, especially since every robe is exactly the same.

Then comes the locker rooms, showers, and changing area. Oh the rumors I'd heard about the showers. Because, unlike the US, the sign saying to take a shower before entering the pool actually means to take a shower before entering the pool. But this wasn't quite as traumatizing as blogs and rumors would lead one to believe. It is true that everyone is required to take this shower nude, no swimsuit. And it is also true that the showers are open but they aren't communal and each shower head is in its own door-less stall. And contrary to popular belief, a woman (a shower Nazi of sorts) does not walk around the stalls checking and verifying that people scrubbed their privates and it wasn't as bad as the horror stories I'd read. It was really no big deal. Each stall comes supplied with both body soap and conditioner. (I should have put the conditioner on my hair before even entering the Blue Lagoon and left it on for the day. But I didn't and consequently had straw hair for a few days). I brought my swimsuit into the shower with me so I could put it on afterward without having to do the nude walk to the towel racks, especially nice if you have a stall at the end, far from the racks. Being the only modest American in the area, I was the only one who seemed worried about getting a swimsuit on quickly... most others preferred to air dry as they casually walked to their clothes and towels.

Freezing Cold. Nice and Warm
After the shower I met up with TL. The men and women's locker rooms both ended in a small lounge and snack area. Off to the side was the enclosed entrance to the Lagoon but it only seemed right for us to go for it the hard way -- off with the robe and a careful run a few feet in the freezing cold before entering the water. And it was freezing outside -- literally freezing. Cold, windy and freezing. Twenty seconds in only a swimsuit outside in the cold was brutal. But oh so worth it once my feet stepped into the hot geothermal waters of about 102°F. Very similar to a hot tub, but a huge hot tub. A 53,850 square foot hot tub. And the water was the most beautiful blue. A sort of milky, light aqua blue. We couldn’t see more the a few inches below the surface because it was so milky but it was such a beautiful color. It looked like a blue sports drink mixed with part milk.

Much to our surprise, the water isn't deep at all. Around the edges of the lava rocks it is very shallow but for the most part is is about four or so feet deep throughout the entire pool. Perfect for me. TL had to bend his knees to walk around on his knees so he didn't expose more then just his face out of the water. and with the cold wind blowing - our hair, eyebrows and eyelashes would freeze if you didn't go under every few minutes or at least splash water on our faces. We could feel your face freezing and I think my sinuses actually froze a time or two.

So imagine doing in an hour long in-water massage on this cold day... annnh, it wasn't so bad. The massage therapist laid a huge towel over us that covered our entire bodies so the only thing not warm was our face and he would dunk our bodies in the water every five minutes to warm up the wet towel and the massage was relaxing and nice. I would however recommend doing an indoor massage if it is freezing outside but since we had made our appointment weeks in advanced we couldn't change it. Oh, and I didn't laugh as she massaged my toes, which is huge for me.

After the massages we spent a few more hours hanging out in the water and saunas. As recommended by everyone at the Blue Lagoon, we put handfuls of silica on our face and lounged in water looking like freaks with white masks all over our faces, but everyone else looked like too. When we finally got out of the water, we were pruned, sleepy and hungry.

The Free Show
Too bad TL couldn't use the girls changing area... he could have seen quite a show. I will explain...
The changing areas in the locker rooms are very accommodating with plenty of hair dryers and mirrors so basically everyone visiting the Lagoon is using the changing area and getting ready before leaving. Which is great, it is too cold to go outside with wet hair. But, what I didn't understand was why, why in the hell did the 10 or so women changing in my area feel the need to blow dry their hair and put on their make-up with only their pants on? Seriously, why couldn't they at least put on their bra before prancing around the changing area getting ready? So annoying. Everywhere you turned you had someone's boobs all up in your face. I'm just saying, put on the bra before fixing the hair. Please!

Thanksgiving Dinner
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, Lance and I had a special dinner at the Blue Lagoon restaurant, Lava, and we couldn't have picked a better place to eat and celebrate Thanksgiving as a family. First off, we lucked out with a table right by the water with an amazing view that overlooked the Blue Lagoon. And since I'm obsessed now with Icelandic lobster, we ordered an appetizer of lobsters. They are smaller then that of a Maine lobster and they are oh so good. I think they just might be my absolute favorite of seafood. For dinner I had more Icelandic lobster, beef fillet, portabella mushrooms and potatoes all covered in a pepper sauce. Lance ordered the fillet of lamb with potatoes and both dinners were better then average and the best meal we ate in Iceland.

This was a photo of my dinner from Lava. It might not looks so appealing because I'm not very good at taking food photos but you get an idea of just how small the lobsters are. I could eat those lobsters everyday. Seriously, everyday. But the rest of meal was just good but not outstanding. I think TL and I are slightly spoiled with all the amazing places to eat in DC and Old Town. So although the dinner didn't blow us away, they were really good. Dessert, different story. The dessert that night was typical of all Icelandic dessert we experienced, not so good. Such a bummer to not find really good dessert in Iceland. But their candy bars, especially the Nizza with the candy chocolates in the chocolate, are freaking awesome. If you ever see a Nizza candy bar, buy it. 

So I Rode My Bike Like Lightning

First Bike
I spent a lot of time on my bike when I was a kid. My first bike was this old yellow, rusted, ghetto thing that just about ended all my bike riding fun for life. My very first bike, the one I attached my training wheels to, didn't have plastic over the handle bars. Just raw, uncovered metal. Which normally wouldn't have been a big deal had I not over estimated my bike skills at age six and took off down the big hill, post training wheels. About half-way down the hill I face planted it into a ditch and learned a valuable lesson in the importance of plastic hand grips on bikes. Well, I actually learned about 120 or so lessons since that was the number of stitches required to sew-up my upper lip. I also ruined one of my favorite outfits. Yes, at six I had favorite outfits and I happened to be wearing my favorite at the time. My yellow jersey knit Izod tank top with identical matching yellow shorts, Crissy from Three's Company style. Both sported a green Izod alligator on the front with white racing stripes down the sides. Unfortunately they were soaked in blood seconds after the crash. I must have screamed loud as hell because it wasn't but a few more seconds and my sister was racing down the hill to check on me. Considering she hated me most of my existence, her speed to save her blood gushing little sister was quite impressive. I walked back up the hill in total panic with my sister but once home, I tried to act calm and convince my mom that it really wasn't that bad, even though the skin between my nose and my lips on the left side of my face was barely attached. Needless to say, my mom rushed me to the emergency room and I have forever a scar on my face to remind me of my fearless flight down the big hill.

Second Bike
But the wipe-out didn't deter me from riding and I got a new bike shorty after my crash. My new bike was a brand-new Huffy banana seat bike. It was beautiful. The frame was painted a cornflower blue, the shiny metal handle bars were covered with white rubber grips and the seat, it was a banana seat decorated with a mix of stripes and butterflies of golds, browns and blues. And to top it off, a white plastic wicker basket. I thought it was the most beautiful bike in all the world. Luckily, my love for the new bike was greater then my fear of bikes and I hopped right on that thing and never looked back.

My sister, number four in line of five, was too old and too cool to hang out with her little sister so I played most days with the neighbor boys riding bikes. We would ride up and down the road for hours without a real destination. The road we lived on was like one long drive way. It was straight as could be and about 3/4 of a mile long. The Boys and I lived on top of the hill so if you wanted to go very far you had to head down. I guess I got over that fear quickly after the fall because I don't remember it being an issue of riding or not riding down the hill. I do remember how much it sucked to ride back up the hill after flying down with your legs off the peddles and brakes for over half the way down. Going up was a different story and admittedly, sometimes I got off and pushed it up.

We also found ways to entertain ourselves by staying close to the house and by the cul-de-sac. Sometimes, when we were bored and wanted to do something different, we would just ride around our driveways pretending that each car was a different drive-thru window. Although now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure we didn't have multiple chains in our little street of fast-food restaurants but just multiple McDonald's. I think we were obsessed with McDonald's. At the time, Claremore was just big enough for a Sonic and a Wendy's and if we wanted a Happy Meal we had to beg our parents to stop when were in Tulsa. Oh, what a cool kid you were in school if you had your birthday party at a McDonald's in Tulsa, especially the McDonald's by Bell's Amusement Park that had a caboose train in the front where you got to celebrate with the best cake ever. Anyway, like 98 percent of the kids growing up in the 80s, we were desperate to have a McDonald's of our own in our hometown. With our envy of the city kids for their anytime Happy Meals and playground time, us College Park kids had to create our own world of fast-food heaven. Sadly, this wasn't just a one or two time game. We played this silly game often. Trading off who would play the role of the window operator that took the order and the lucky person driving through for the food. I always thought it more fun to give the order then to take the order.

But I got to say, I think the most fun on the bikes was when we rode in our Underoo's. Playing superheroes on our bikes was nothing shy of pure awesome. We would ride from driveway to driveway dressed in our superhero underwear and talk about what we would do if we were indeed superheroes. We didn't really play superheroes as much as we just rode our bikes dressed up in costume talking about what superheroes would do in given situations and scenerios. It was like we were always writing the script or next scene for our heroes to act out but we never followed through with the action. I guess we were more of the idea guys then the doers, but all the same, we were entertained. And yes, my Wonder Woman Underoos rocked!

Well, I'd Buy You a Green Dress, But Not a Real Green Dress That's Cruel

Do you ever play the "If I had a million dollars" game? Of course you do. You would be less then human if you didn't or your last name is Hilton or Winfrey and you already have way too much money in the bank. TL and I usually start playing this game while in the car on a road trip. It typically starts by one of us noticing the unbelievable jackpot amount listed on some sort of flashy, horribly designed sign taped crockedly to the convenient store window. After pulling away from our pit stop in nowhere mid-America, the game begins...

We start talking about what we would do if we won that lottery. Usually the game starts off with us winning some ungodly amount of $500 million or so. And of course we take the full payoff with penalty. Who even accepts the yearly payout?

So here is our plan. First we pay off all debt, pay off the house and buy a few other modest houses. Not some "I'm rich with new money houses", but truly modest, 2,000 square feet or so, homes. One in the Rockies, one on the Gulf Coast, a town house in New York City and Old Town and something nice, but simple, in Oklahoma. Probably Stillwater so we have a place to stay for ball games. We also buy a practical, non-gas-guzzling car and of course throw the dream party.

Ahh, the dream party. We usually can plan the dream party for about 30 or so miles on the road before getting bored with the subject. We start with the guest list, which is intimate. Only close friends and family. We don't want people to only like us for our money, so we gotta keep it real. Then we move on to venue planning. The party takes place over several weeks and usually the adventure is overseas and involves several legs. Almost always we include a night of party somewhere on a remote island, then continue the fun on a super party-boat sailing the Mediterranean followed by a few days of skiing the Alps. We would then do a Jolie/Pitt stop (adopting babies optional) in a remote country and build some sort of Oprah like school for the poor. After working hard to help others we end with a night or two in Amsterdam. Hey, we realize not everyone can just take off work to go gallivanting around the world with us. That is why we would insist on giving those on the trip a decent amount of money so they didn't have to work for a few months and could instead just have fun with us. We would of course fly first class but I don't see the need to own a jet. That seems a bit over the top.

After exhausting ourselves from the whirl-wind celebration across the planet, we would settle back into a sort of real-life routine, so that the money didn't go to our heads. TL, who is one of those rare people that gets paid to do something he absolutely loves, would likely start-up a design firm of his own. Maybe branches in several major markets. We would also make small investments by giving business loans/gifts to family and friends so they too can open their American Dream; be it restaurants, bookstores, camping shops or knit shops. So long as everyone is happy, working and making money too. We would also share our money with charities and give a large amount to our Alma Mater. Not a T. Boone amount but large enough for a building with our names on it.

And then TL and I come back to reality and realize that we aren't likely to win the $500 million lottery, especially since we didn't even buy a lottery ticket at that last stop and we just crossed the state line and into a non-lottery state. So we finish up the game with what ifs. What if we won just $10 million or hell, even a million. We could easily pay off debt, eat a few fancy-pants dinners, and I wouldn't have to work...
if I had a million dollars.

From Sea to Shining Sea!

Happy Fourth of July
Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays, believe it or not. Which is kinda surprising considering that for starters I don't wear my patriotism on my sleeve and more then once I have wished to move to Canada. Hearing Lee Greenwood's "Proud to be an American" can sometimes induce vomiting and I think our current president is a joke. I don't feel privileged because of my American roots and I don't agree that we are the best people in the world. I think the "land of opportunity" and the "American dream" are about as real as Disney World and I don't think it is fair to believe that we will always be a powerhouse country and Wal-Mart isn't the answer to all that is right in world.

However, I love my family, my friends and my life and all that is here in the grand ol' US of A and because of that I love my country. I am not my country and my country is not me but I respect the beautiful land we get to occupy and I respect those who fight for us to keep our freedom. America is beautiful, for it is home, and from the Lubec, Maine fog to the Seattle, Washington rain it is my country.

I remember growing up as a kid in the 80s thinking how sorry I felt for people who didn't live in America. As if, because people weren't living in America they were by-far less happy. They did a good job during the Cold War of brainwashing us into believing our superiority above all others. I grew up, went to college, denounced Nancy Regean's war and was lucky enough to travel a little overseas. All of these experiences lead me to realize that we are all people no matter where we live and it isn't our proximity or country that makes us great but rather what we do in our country. "Ask not what your country can do for your but what you can do for your country."

Now that I have explained (although it sounded a little like defending) my patriotism I want to tell you about my favorite Fourth of Julys.

College Park Road
Fourths on College Park use to be one of the greatest days of my young life, maybe even more fun then Christmas. The day started with swimming. All day swimming at my parents house. Sometimes family friends would join us other times we joined the neighbors but always, the Fourth on College Park involved lots of food. BBQ, baked beans, deviled eggs, potato salad, watermelon and my favorite, homemade ice cream. Yummy!

Sometime during the day my dad would give me some money (and honestly, he wasn't stingy with the fireworks money), and drive me to the stand closest to the house and I would buy as many fireworks as I could. I loved the Parachutes, Roman Candles, Chinese Sparklers and Smoke Bombs. Hated the Whistlers, Bottle Rockets, M60's and Tanks. But my ultimate favorite, when it worked right, was the Chinese Lantern. Of course you had to find a tree to hang it on and cross your fingers twice that it wouldn't burn down the neighborhood. When the Lantern started spinning in circles, you never quite knew if it would catch a limb on fire before dropping into a crepe paper lantern so pretty (or I thought at the time) I could hang it from my ceiling in my bedroom.

So after the fireworks were purchased and the sun FINALLY started to set (which of course took forever on the Fourth) we would all head up to the cul-de-sac with our bags of fireworks, punks and lighters and start the show. It was beyond amateur but our parents would ooh and ahh as if we were in DC but then again, maybe the Crown improved the show! After the show was over we all went back home, finished up some left over BBQ and went to bed knowing that our Dads would get us up at the crack of dawn the next day to pick up every single firework debris left in the neighborhood. Sometimes you got lucky and you found an unlit firework.

Coplon Fourth of Julys
After us kids on College Park got too old to put on the fireworks show the Hills shifted their celebration to my sister's house. The day usually played out the same, swimming at Mom and Dad's, followed by BBQ for an early dinner at my big sisters with, of course, some homemade ice cream. The fireworks show took place on the Coplon's land and from the view in their back yard you could see firework displays from as far as Sand Springs. Once  Z, S and A were old enough to do their own fireworks their dad would let them stock up on a variety of firecrackers and their Grandpa, always liberal with the firecracker money, never hesitated to donate some money to help increase their stash. Ball team friends and their parents came over too, each bringing their own bag of tricks and coolers of beer. Equipped with OFF all of us too old to light firecrackers (or more interested in the contents of the cooler) sat on camping chairs and watched the show. And these Fourth of Julyers didn't mess around with their fireworks. You see, next door was a church and they had a Fourth of July show too and those at my sister's house felt the need to outdo the churches production. Sometimes the Coplon and Friends team won the battle other times the Christians were the big winners. Needless to say, these displays went far beyond that of our days on College Park but all the same it was time spent with family and friends.

D.C. 1998
TL and I spent our first Fourth in DC long before we actually called the Nation's Capitol home. We were visiting our best friend DRock who at the time was living in Old Town, Alexandria. The day started early and beer started just as early as the day. We went party hopping of sorts in areas I now believe to be South Arlington but at the time it was all foreign to me. After meeting a ton of new people, convincing them that Oklahoma wasn't some far away place with cowboy and Indian fights, and drinking even more beer - dusk finally arrived and we headed to a high point of Arlington for a view of the show. I think we were some where around 395 and the Pentagon. Basically by this point TL and DRock were more entertaining then the fireworks show. As the DC sky lighted up with huge displays of color and peace signs and American flags, TL and DRock were body slamming fences, trees, anything they could stumble into. After DRocks attempt to swim on top of a fence and a few minutes at the Lizard Lounge we finally ended the night with TL literally picking up DRock and dropping him onto a new baby tree in DRock's friend's yard. It was a hell of a night to say the least! One of TL's and DRocks finest moments, although the clean-up crew at the Lizard Lounge may disagree.

Fourth of July Present Day
Once again we are in DC spending the Fourth but this time it is here in our own house in Alexandria. And like many of my Fourths we will spend it cooking out and spending time at the pool. Unfortunately the pool is the community pool and not my parents great pool. But much like College Park, I anticipate the neighborhood kids taking to the street at dusk with their bag of fireworks, punks and lighters and putting on a neighborhood show. This is our first Fourth to spend in our house and I don't know if the neighbors pull out the camping chairs and watch the amateur show or does everyone trek into the District? We plan to stay put with our sparklers and smoke bombs eating homemade ice cream from the new ice cream maker.

So this is why I love the Fourth. Happy Fourth to you and much love to my family and friends and know that I wish we were all together today creating more special memories.

Constant Entertainment for Our Restless Minds

How do we entertain family (or people that are practically family) when they visit us? We take them to Top Golf, but of course. Let me explain to you the beauty of Top Golf. First and foremost, it is a driving range. Now I'm not a super fan of the driving range and nor can I golf to save my life, but Top Golf isn't your ordinary driving range and you don't have to have much golf skill to enjoy it.

The Bay
For starters, you and your group of people get a bay either on the first level or the second level (I do not like or play on the second level because I feel like I'm going to fall off onto the green). At each bay you have your own tee, small dining table, a couple of chairs and some extra room to stand and watch and wait for your turn. Wait-staff is available and fairly attentive to your food and beer needs. They serve a basic sports bar menu and have a handful of beers on tap and in bottle. Of course the front of the bay is open and extends into the driving range but behind you is the pro shop, bar and a nice outside deck. It is a pretty sweet set-up for a driving range, but again it isn't your typical driving range.

The Game
TL and I call it a cross between Golf, Skee-ball and Bowling. Let me explain:

1. Golf (duh) is the obvious comparison because it is a driving range, you use golf clubs and the object is to drive the ball down the green (? I think it is called a green but I'm not all that sure but by green I mean the astro turf that goes out for 265 yards).
2. It is like skee-ball in the fact that you are aiming to hit big holes in the ground and the closer to the center of the hole you land your ball the more points you rack up. You also get more points for distance, as long as it goes in a hole.
3. The bowling comparison is a stretch, but it reminds me of bowling because the bay gives you a feeling of your own ally and the beer is a flowing and the food is fried.

So each game is 20 balls. We usually go in four rounds of five balls a turn. Here is cool part, the balls are fixed with an electronic chip and they are registered each time you play a ball by dropping it in a plastic hole at the tee. Each ball is registered to the individual player and a computer at the bay keeps track of everyone's score so you don't have to count or do math. Once the ball is registered you hit it. The goal of course is to get the most points possible and just driving the ball far doesn't always equal a higher score, but it doesn't hurt either. If you drive the ball to the back fence you pretty much always get 10 points, even more if the drive is on a "ball counts double" shot. The highest score in our group yesterday - 78, I think. Not by me, no way. Or TL. He had an off day.

I tried my luck with an iron a few times and it was an utter failure and then moved on to the driver. The driver was my friend. My form was hideous and nothing shy of just pure comedy but I did manage to "sail" a few balls about 87 or so yards. Not too bad considering the first times I played I could barely get the ball in the air and when it did get enough upmh to travel it would roll for about 15 yards and drop into the first red flag hole. My ball now actually goes up in the air, travels straight and sometime travels almost 90 yards. Watch out Tiger!

The Conversation Finds Its Way To Catching Fire-Flies Out in the Backyard

I love Summer Solstice.
In celebration of the longest days of the year we spent a lot of time outside this past weekend. We ate some good homemade cooking on the porch, spent some time at the community pool and at dusk watched the fireflies come out. Not too far off from the days back on College Park with swimming pools and fireflies.

Swimming Pools
When I was a kid we would spend hours in the pool. My parents had a pool and my next door neighbors had a pool. Some days we were at my parents pool or some days we were at their pool, but often we would go back and forth so many times in a day I think it maddened our moms. To entertain ourselves we would make-up games to play in the water or play the tried and true games of Marco Polo or Sharks and Minnows. One of my favorites we played was one that we called Categories. I'm not sure if we made it up or what, but it involved jumping off the diving board and shouting something that belongs in the category before you hit the water. For instance, if I was the "caller" I would yell potato chips. As the "jumper" was going off the board they would have to scream Frito's (or any kind of chip) before going under. We would play for hours, and I guess the goal was to prove who knew the most name brands. Oddly it was fun and it took a lot of categories before getting too bored.

We also played a game about a wolf and colors? Something about only being able to cross the water if the wolf (the person in the middle of the pool trying to tag everyone else) said the color you were thinking. But you had to tell someone else your color so you didn't cheat. Basically the person in the middle treads water listing off every color they can think of until they finally say your color and you dive in the water, usually swimming as deep as you possibly could so the wolf didn't catch you. I think our colors were actually the color of imaginary eggs we had and the wolf wanted our eggs. Something like that but it made a lot of sense when we were kids.

When we got a little older we had a ton of fun with "Jump or Dive" and sometimes a brave one would play "Jump, Dive or Flip" which usually ended in a belly flop. The neighbors and I always had the dream that our parents would buy a trampoline and we could jump from the trampoline into the pool. Needless to say we never go that trampoline. I think the parents got scared when we started thinking of ways we could jump from the building to the tramp and then into the pool.

Fire-flies
After we would exhaust ourselves swimming and got some dinner in us, we would head back outside at sunset and catch fire-flies. Except we called them lightning bugs. And we weren't very nice to the lightning bugs. As I recall, there was some de-glowing of the lightning bug. We would take off the light part of the bug and stick it on our fingers and hands and oddly the glow part of the bug would stay lit despite its detachment from its body. Gross huh? What a horrible thing we did. We also competed on who could catch the most in a jar. Our parents would bring out an old Mayonnaise jar and The Boy's dad would cut holes in the tops of our jars with a pocket knife and we would see who could catch the most before it got too dark to find them. I don't recall ever winning, but it was fun. Summer on College Park was a lot of fun.

This picture is actually my attempt to catch a fire-fly with my camera. It is harder then it sounds and the little yellow dot is the bug.

It Brought Peace to My Mind in the Summertime... and It Rolled

It is hard to believe that summer is here and in full swing. I'm looking forward to spending many afternoons at the community pool in Old Town but the damn thing is only open to the public on the weekends until June 20th. That is half the summer I miss laying in the sun poolside, reading and swimming some laps. I want to go the pool right now, damn it!
I actually went on Monday and I walked in at 5:15 when they opened the gate, found my chair, put on a ton of Suntan Oil 15 SPF and got comfortable in the sun reading Blonde. It wasn't more then 45 seconds after I had covered myself in oil that the life guard came over to tell me that you the pool is only open to swim team. I was furious. A.) Where was the damn sign that pointed out the hours. Or better yet, why didn't they post pool closed to the public. B.) Seriously, couldn't she have said something before I freaking doused myself in oil, with no way to wash it off since I couldn't get in the pool forcing me to head straight to the car, dripping in oil becoming a large human dog hair magnet. C.) She ruined my next planned 15 days of summer. I am working from 8:30 - 4:30 in June and July specifically so I can have more pool time, at a pool that doesn't open to the public until after June 20th. D.) Do I really have to go buy a Mr. Turtle Pool to layout by at home... hmmm, that might not be such a bad idea if I could guarantee a mosquito wouldn't end up eating me to death.

So other plans for summer time fun include:

Travel
With gas already over $4 and it is just the first week of June, I don't know how much travel outside of the Metro is feasible, but we are going to give it a shot.

1. Several good friends that I worked with recently moved to Charleston, S.C. I would love to drive down there for a long weekend and spend some time on beach and hang out with the girls and baby boy.
2. We had plans to meet my sister in Seaside, FL this August but had to cancel due to a ball tournament. Instead we are going to take that week and drive home to Oklahoma and spend time with the family. I'm also hoping I can get my sister and some friends a cabin for a night or two on the water somewhere in OK. I think if we don't spend sometime on the water we will feel like it wasn't much of a summer vacation.
3. We have good friends from back home that are spending some time in New Jersey for work. We will go and meet them for a weekend but I'm hoping to talk them into coming to see us. We have a lot more to offer then some town in the middle of the Garden State. We will see.

Friends
I'm super-duper excited that BFF, husband and the pup are spending a weekend with us in July! We have lots of ideas in the works but haven't nailed down any concrete plans. On the list of ideas = Harper's Ferry, Shepard's Town, High Hill Pie Co., Water Taxi from OT to GT, lots of good meals, Cake Love, cook-out, card playing and beating the boys at Trivial Pursuit. We might not cross off all on the list but I bet you we make it to Cake Love and finally destroy the boys with our sober knowledge.

Knitting
It's a Boy!
BFF is having a boy and I better get my knitting on if I plan to cover that boy with my knitting love. One projected started and a long ways to go. He will be worth every knit and purl, oh shits and damns and tears. There could be tears. The pattern look brutal. 

Concerts and Shows
June - moe. with Rusted Root @ Wolf Trap
          Avett Brothers @ The Birchmere
July -  Ani DiFranco @ Wolf Trap

We would like to add a few more to this list, including an August trip to New Jersey for an encore performance of Radiohead.

So far that is what we have planned. We are playing around with the idea of hosting a summer solstice party with a few of the neighbors but that is just in the "talking about it" stages. We do think it might be a good way to break the ice and actually get to know some of those in the hood, or they might just conclude we are the worlds biggest dorks trying way too hard.

Summertime Rolls!

Turned Around Maybe One Day You Were All That Was There

I picked up the June Issue of Real Simple and one article hit very close to home. The story was about finding/keeping friends when you are a married, happy and spending too much time with your TiVo. Yelp, that would be me...
TL and I stay at home most nights. Cook dinner at home. Order take-out or delivery if we don't want to cook. If we are feeling the desire to throw back some beers, we do so in our screened in porch. For stimulating and entertaining conversations I depend on BFF's phone calls (which I love!) or TL will humor me with some chill time by the Teki Torches. It is pretty damn sweet, actually. Money is saved and the Crocks can be worn. If only we could step things up just one notch and throw neighborhood friends into the mix.

Okay, so I will admit it -- I'm SO jealous of my neighbors. We have a group of four to five houses on the street and they are all the best of friends. Sitting one another's porches, tossing back a few beers and just hanging out. Old school hanging out. The kind you use to do in college but can't so much any more because you aren't "just hanging out" when it takes two weeks of emails with a friend in an effort to arrange a time and date they can come over for a cookout. (And we had such fun with Fish and Hen on Sunday. Thanks for coming out to the burbs - you two rock!). Then neighbors hanging out looks very spontaneous and often. Usually four or so nights a week. I want to be part of their cool kids club. I want to just hang out and shoot the shit on the porch or front yard with the neighbors. I want. I want I want.

So the logical thought to all this is, "Hey dumbass, why don't you try and make friends with the neighbors."  Yeah,  yeah, yeah, I hear that loud and clear but it isn't that easy. We have tried. Genuinely tried these past nine months to get noticed. We walk the dog down the street and give a big ol wave and hello every time the gang is circled around the out door fire talking up a storm, laughing, having so much fun. We get a hello back and a growl from a dog or two ready to chase us home. In an effort to impress the hippie neighbors, I always pull out my most Phish concert worthy outfits to show them that I'm cool like them. We mow, clip hedges, paint the fence, anything that puts us out in the front yard ready for the hello from two houses down. Waiting for that invite to hang out. TL talks with one of cool kids pretty regularly. TL gets more then just a wave from this neighbor. They stop and talk a few minutes. Usually about the dogs or upcoming shows and music. In our desperation... we are making a CD for the neighbor. Undoubtedly they will love the Avett Brothers who are playing in town in June.

Oh my god it sounds like I'm a 22 year-old on the dating scene. Seriously, the stalking, wearing cool clothes that scream "I'm like you, I really am", throwing ourselves in their view at every available option and now a mix tape. Holy hell there has to be a better way. I just want to hang out with the cool kids.

I Live on Highway 1, 12 Hour Drive

A pigeon flew into our apartment today. It scared the shit out of me. Holy cow, I jumped a mile high when I saw that bird just sitting on a stack of empty boxes in the front room. Do you suppose he flew in to help us pack? We didn't accept the offer. I ran into the bedroom for protection and shut the door while TL shooed him out with a broom. It was scary and creepy, but I so wish I had gotten a picture of that fat little bird.
So, TL and I finally started packing and yeah, it sucks just as much as I thought it would. Maybe worse. Nothing like packing to make you realize how much junk you hold on to for no apparent reason. Sadly, I think I do this with friends too. Yeah, I know, that sounds like a horrible thing to say but it is true. I need to simplify my life. Get rid of the old junk, better organize bills, sell old furniture we don't use and focus on the friends that are actually in our life now and stop trying to bring back old friends. Damn MySpace for making it too easy to reconnect with the past.

You know, I'm a pretty lucky girl. I have two best friends, TL and BFF and Magnus' Daddy is always there for us (except this weekend when we move). BFF lives about five hours from here so I don't get to see her all that often, but we make up for that with phone calls galore. The Fish and the Hen are amazing friends from both our past and our present and they keep our social life in tact. I have an awesome and huge family with a Big Sister that is a true friend,  my co-workers are pretty great and everyone needs the love of a Crazy Train.

So, moving allows you a chance for new beginnings of sorts. I think I'm going to start focusing on getting rid of the clutter in my life. No point in trying so hard to keep in touch when the only common thread in life is the past. Time to focus on the ones I got in the here and now and nourish the bond we create.