When Italian Parsley Gets Out of Control

We're Cookin'

Here I am making our first meal on the new range. (We heated up Papa Murphy's the night before, but I figure that doesn't count.) The electrician guys hooked up the hood today. The one in the kitchen held his arms under it and showed me how the suction pulled his arm hairs up, while the guy on the roof said it was like sticking your head out the window of a car at 60 mph when he put his face near where the air blows out. I mentioned that the men on our street like to play, "I've got the biggest/most powerful (fill in the blank)... - in this case "hood." They said they were pretty sure that we'd win that contest without much effort. There's still a way to go, but we're getting down to little stuff - faucets, glass tile, grout...

Tacoma Tigers are better than Portland Lions?

Thursday after dance class, I packed up the rugrats to go see the new Predators of the Serengeti exhibit at the zoo in Portland. Very nice, although somewhat predictably, the three lions just slouched around on some big rocks (I'm sure the wise baboon Rafiki - had be been around - would have told me that it was Pride Rock on which they were taking their repose.) However, one young couple there with their children did point out a muddy paw print on the window at just about eye level for Mags and Ellie. So, unless some zoo employee is walking around with a fake paw on a stick smearing mud, the lions have actually approached the viewing glass at some point. But, alas, even if I had had the camera, it would have been tough to get a good picture during our visit. BUT, talking about viewing glass and giant cats, I'll take you back to the zoo at Point Defiance in Tacoma over Labor Day weekend. We got to see a tiger that was awake and seemingly hungry. I'm pretty sure he was giving the eye to the girls in the same way I would, say, a freshly seared bacon-wrapped scallop right about now (not sure where that craving came from...).

I congratulate the zoo in Portland for using the same type of viewing method for the new exhibit. So often at the zoo there, the animals are so far away, on the opposite side of a concrete moat, that it's hard to get a good look at them (at least for my old eyes.) The tigers in Portland always look so apathetic and bored and disengaged. I want a tiger that looks interested. Even if it's in my kids - through a sturdy glass wall, that is. Because when the tiger's interested - so are the kids. See for yourself:

Thank God for the Laundry Rooms of Friends

The hardest part of the kitchen remodel, bar nothing, is the lack of laundry facilities. No dishwasher? We have a sink. No stove? We have a grill. No washing machine? We have...... a big rock and a garden hose? No, I don't think so.

What we do have is a short list of kind people we call friends who are willing to let us use their washers and dryers. Thank you, Jen and Garrett. Thank you, Neighbor Ric. And thank you, Robin, John, Nicole, Amanda and Tony. Thank you, thank you, thank you. We owe you, big time.

Today at Robin and John's, not only did they let us launder our week's worth of dirty underwear, they fed us brunch and their girls watched our girls as we lazed away a sunny morning, hot coffee in hand, waiting for clothes to dry. And, the girls got to see where eggs come from, kind of.

Love Thursday

Here's some love on Thursday. This was on the ferry from Tacoma to Vashon Island (which we took out and back, just because...) There was some tickling and lots of rain.

Here's the backstory: I read some mommy blogs. For a couple of years, I've read Dooce religiously. She's funny sometimes, and she takes good pictures and has cute pets and children. I know she gets alot of hate mail basically because she is so well-known and puts out so many opinions and often talks more about herself than some people really care to know. I am not emotionally invested in her blog, but I guess that many people are (for good or bad). Still - today she put up a link to all of the hate mail she gets and has blasted it with ads, in an effort to turn the hate into money. It's all just a little sad. I can't imagine getting all of the hate mail, but I also can't imagine putting it out there for all to see and to make money off of it. It's kind of an example of two wrongs not making a right.

On the flip side, I also read Chookooloonks. This is the blog of a woman/mom/wife/artist on a journey to bring more love, authenticism (is that a word?), beauty and truth into her life. Her blog is not read by as many people as Dooce, but she has fans - mostly those who also think that sharing and spreading love and beauty and truth are worthy goals. She is a lawyer turned artist, and she has some lovely thoughts. One of these is Love Thursday. When I checked her blog today, she had 24 Ways to Show Some Love in the next 24 Hours. I thought this was so much more the way I wanted my day to start off today, that I, too, decided to share a love photo and to maybe try one or two of the things she suggests. Sorry, Dooce.

Because Disemboweling Mousies is Hard Work

A Day in the Life of Happy Cat:

Dawn - 8AM: Get outside. Morning constitutional. Look for still-sleepy mousies - kill, if possible.

8AM - 8:30AM: Get back inside. Eat.

8:30AM - 5PM: Sleep.



5PM - 10PM: Interact with family. Visit neighbors. Stare at tall grass. Kill more mousies.

10PM - Dawn: Get into bed before Colleen. Snuggle into her pillow. Sleep. Reluctantly share pillow. Sleep.

Sunday Morning Quality Time

We are not a religious family. Jay and I both have a sense of wonder and awe when it comes to the world around us, but we have what seem to be similar skeptical views toward Religion and Church. We live in a county with LOTS of churches - especially the non-denominational Christian type that seem to be very into kids and reaching out to people in the community - even in the schools. I want my kids to be able to articulate their own philosophies regarding faith or whatever you want to call it, because I know that if we don't intentionally dig and then attempt to fill that hole in each girl, we will be leaving it up to the first friend they encounter at school who asks them to come along to church with them. We respect everyone's beliefs, but don't want to leave our kids' faith journeys in the hands of others - or leave those journeys up to chance.





So, this year, it is a goal of mine to figure out how we want to awaken their appreciation for the world around them, foster their sense of goodness, and define our Sunday mornings as time to spend happily and peacefully as a family. Maybe these mornings will someday involve some sort of something a little more structured, but for now, I like the idea of a walk in the woods, a spin on the merry-go-round and a stop to throw rocks into the Lewis River together.

Sleeping Beauty

Look How Happy These Women Are!

Brought the camera to share some photos from my weekend, and spontaneously was moved to snap one mid-song. This is why teaching Jazzercise is so worth it. Figured I'd better post in case there's a day when I forget and get all whiny about having to drag my ass over there. Not that that ever happens.

Demi-Plié, Relevé

So, um, do the kids look excited for their first day of dancing lessons this morning? If you think they do, you should have seen their mother. I was completely beside myself. We were even ON TIME.


Once inside, Ellie achieved a state of steely concentration most often witnessed during the all-around gymnastics competition in the Olympics. Nothing was going to take her off her game. Not even the fact that she was wearing a swimsuit, the result of an early morning leotard accident. No harm done. We'll just call her Shawn Johnson.

Well, so much for steely concentration. That is a long hallway with a cool carpet that needs to be run - or maybe she was pacing out the steps she'd need for some imaginary vault.

This photo includes Karen, the very kind, funny, well-postured proprietor and instructor. I know the photos are basically silhouettes, but you can see the positions so well against the light from outside, and I couldn't use a flash for obvious reasons (including a sheet of glass between me and the class). As a little kid, I would have thought this studio was the absolute best thing ever. Look at the barre!

Reaching for the stars.


Like a cross between a Degas and a Cassatt.


Maggie took this one...


Listening...


Maggie's turn in the older class. Time for some serious line-toeing.


...and barre work.


...and skipping one by one across the floor. I found out later that Mags was not happy being last.



...but she DID get a personal escort. We may have to do some skipping homework - not because it was assigned, but the girl needs to learn how to skip. I believe we got a book on that recently - from Aunt Bev?

This whole thing just melts my heart. I don't remember myself being quite so precious. Probably because we wore black leotards and shoes, not pink. Or, maybe because it was the '70s and was anything really precious in the '70s?

Yep, she likes it.