Girl(s) Friday

Friday's quote

"Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude."

Denis Waitley

Find: daydream poses

I stumbled across this blog via Design Mom.

Baby Mila is staged and photographed during her peaceful nap hours.

So sweet.

Overheard

I was in Whole Foods last Friday and overheard the following exchange in the Prepared Foods department:

Lady, talking to the Whole Foods deli employee: I have been to four plastic surgeons this week.
Employee: Wow.
Lady: I know... I have been all over town.
Employee: ...
Lady: Well, there is no way I'm getting Botox.
Employee: ...

I'm certainly not judging anyone pursuing treatment options, but rather the naivete. Isn't a plastic surgeon reaching for the Botox tool analogous to the dentist reaching for plaque removal tools -- kind of, I don't know, the first step? I haven't met with a plastic surgeon, but I would imagine it would be a matter of mere seconds before the world "Botox" passed over his/her lips -- just like I know my dentist is going to extol the merits of flossing.

In other words, I restrained myself from leaning in and saying, "Well, they don't offer up the fountain of youth until the third or fourth visit... and your insurance will not cover it.

Farm to table

This weekend we went to a local farmer's market in town, where they were participating in the Farm to Table tour, sponsored by Toyota. While there, we checked out local produce, galleries and shops. Gracie and Skip checked out some of the cars.



Although the heat index topped 105, the farmers were out with high spirits, although they look a little wilted.



The shops in the older, gentrified buildings are quaint... and very well air conditioned.





Gracie, behind the wheel:



This is one of my favorite buildings in the area:



This shop, The Red Cat, is adorable, but it was far too hot for coffee (or any hot beverage):





How was your weekend?

Snap

For a long time now, the girls have had a subtle way of letting me know when they are tired of having photos taken. They reach up and snap the flash shut. Sometimes they smear their index finger on the lens, but I've gotten a lot quicker with blocking.

Friday's quote

"Never look down on anybody unless you're helping him up."

Jesse Jackson

Big oil

I try to maintain a political-free zone here at our family website. In fact, I try to steer clear of any topic that could be potentially controversial. (For example, I tend to leave the politically themed books we read off the reading list, and I avoid commenting on gaffes and current events, no matter how tempting.) Skip enjoys a good political discussion, but I tend to hold my political cards closer to my chest.

The oil spill has probably been at the top of most American minds and especially those closer to the region. Talking about the spill has replaced discussing the weather. Just this week, an individual who was performing a repair here at our home calmly asked, "Hey... aren't you glad they capped it?"

Three or four (surely not five?) minutes later, when I realized my tirade was in full swing and, in fact, gaining momentum, it occurred to me that the question was merely conversational filler and not an invitation for me to launch into a "Meet the Press" meets Julia Sugarbaker-type response. I could imagine him looking at his helper, willing him not to ask anything further. Please, whatever you do, no follow up questions.

The below video clip is, therefore, timely, and I understand the anger the panelists reference. Every time this topic comes up in personal conversations, I find myself saying, "I can't talk about it... it just makes me so angry." Or, I lapse into the aforementioned tirade. I am always hoping for the former, but occasionally the latter happens.

Updated: I am linking to the video here instead of imbedding because I find the auto start feature offputting. Also, I apologize in advance for the advertising. They normally have the most innocuous Target ads, targeted (sorry) to moms; not sure what the new ads are about.

Keeping it real

I read something a few weeks ago about how blogs are a lot like vacation photos... in that we tend to only show the nicer, shinier parts of life.

So... in an effort to keep it real, here's a quick recap of my schedule yesterday:

1) 8:30am: I delivered our car to the shop to have the air conditioning problem addressed. A day or so after we returned from vacation, I was about to load the girls in the car when Skip reminded me that the air conditioning stopped functioning the day before we left. I had conveniently (and blissfully) forgotten about that little problem. Let's hope it is an inexpensive fix.

By the way, the high temp today was 98 degrees. I am expecting miracles from Bud, our mechanic... miracles that do not involve the word "compressor".

2) 10:00am: I met with a septic tank service company and oversaw the evaluation of our tank. Yikes. Didn't need to see ANY of that. There were no major problems so that worked out well. Still, I was traumatized.

3) 11:30am: I drove to the DMV to renew the vehicles. I agree with Jerry Seinfeld's assessment that the DMV is a leper colony. The people-watching is simply extraordinary! I even took a photo with my phone, but in the non-DMV-light-of-day I would feel horrible about posting it. Let me just say the look this guy was rocking was not good. Not good at all.

4) 1:15pm (note the time gap; time at the DMV stands still): Dropped by the library to return books, pay fines (again) and check out more books.

5) 1:30pm: Stopped at the cleaners on the way home. How can dry cleaning expenses top three figures? HOW?

6) Home, at last.

All glamour... all the time.

Consignment

For locals, here is an outline of the consignment sales slated for fall.

Happy shopping!

Weekend update

The highlight reel from the weekend includes a trip to the zoo:



We saw the lions in a new exhibition, and the performance obviously wiped the elder tiger out:



We went to Chick-fil-A for lunch, and then returned home to play. After a minor hissy fit about how her hair was styled, Lauren had some quiet reflection in time out:



"...see, my hair just ain't gon' look right..."*

Then, we made home made ice cream:



Yummy!



Following church Sunday morning, Gracie made a few calls while Lauren flashed her pearly white smile:




While the girls spent some time with Grammy, we had an afternoon out:



*Blatant "Christmas Vacation" reference.

The cart

Vacation, signage and equipment

We vacationed at a ski resort, off season, for a number of reasons. Some of the more compelling pros of the trip include a) average temperatures that are 20-30 degrees lower than where we are now, b) enjoying a beautiful mountain range without making a trek to the Rockies, c) having great access to staff, etc., d) avoiding traffic and crowds and e) really excellent deals.

Some final sightseeing that we found amusing:







We arrived on a Sunday and left the following Saturday. The weekend had celebrations -- the 4th of July celebration and a chili cook off (don't laugh; they take this event very seriously) the Saturday we were leaving -- but the weekdays left the resort vacant, in a good way. Note the empty lifts:



The weather was so incredible that we had to really use our imaginations to envision a winter setting.



A unique feature of this resort is that it manufactures its own snow (when needed) by pumping water from the lake. Check out the snow cannon:



One of the main lifts, the Ballhooter:




We really enjoyed the restaurants. Even though they were periodically closed, presumably due to inactivity, we did not have a problem dining out when we wanted.

At The Junction, a young lady with long pink hair spent some time with a friend at the bar. Gracie was fixated and kept saying, "She has PINK HAIR, momma!" Because the restaurant was at very low capacity, her voice really carried. After each statement, I had to loudly say, "Yes, and isn't it lovely?!"



We were even able to have a bite of Chinese food when the craving struck.



The first day we were at the resort, we chatted up a lady in the parking lot to see how seriously security took the two-hour-parking rule. In giving us the lay of the land, she commented that she lives there. I was very intrigued... how exactly does one live in an isolated ski resort? Skip left the resort at one point to go forage for some supplies, and it was literally an hour plus commute (round trip) to find a grocery store, a Dollar General and a Rite Aid -- all sights for sore eyes!

Additionally, the mountain was practically devoid of WiFi, and cellular service was sketchy at best. I definitely had some symptoms of withdrawal, but it was nice to be unplugged for a few days. On a more permanent basis, I'm not sure I could manage it.

Friday's quote

"To forgive is the highest, most beautiful form of love. In return, you will receive untold peace and happiness."

Robert Muller

Vacation, the pool

Last week, we spent hours and hours at the pool. Each facility had a pool, but the main attraction was the below pool -- the most child-friendly pool I have encountered to date. The pool spans from the outdoor area to the indoor pool, is heated and is open year-round. The lifeguards regaled us with stories of how they guard the pool in the dead of winter, equipped with parkas and ski masks. Luckily, it was warmer during our stay, and it was incredibly relaxing to swim in a heated pool while enjoying the mountain air and scenery.

This pic also provides a great shot of the famous "blue slide," Gracie's stomping ground. She probably went down this slide several hundred times.



Our daily routine was to swim for a couple of hours, break for lunch and then return to the pool in the afternoon. Here we are on our lunch break:





There were also two hot tubs, or "hot dog tubs," as they were initially called. We finally cleared up the matter with correction, but the closest they came is calling them "hot tub tubs".



The outdoor pool was Gracie's favorite hang out, whereas Lauren preferred the indoor pool and its "red slide". This caused no challenges or arguments whatsoever (heavy sarcasm). Gracie finally consented to spending some of her time indoors and finally made her peace with the red slide fun:












We swam each afternoon until the girls succumbed to complete and total exhaustion, and then we made plans for dinner. Probably one of our favorite dinners was dining on pizza, outside, in the cool mountain air. Sooo relaxing:




See? The total picture of relaxation: