Race Day!

11th Annual Shipwreck Beads Modified Nationals

Grays Harbor Raceway

Elma, Washington

My father-in-law used to race modifieds out on the dirt track for years up until he hurt himself a few years ago.  His business, Shipwreck Beads, is a huge sponsor of the race and we got to enjoy booth seats for the race this weekend. Steve and I have been going to the races for years, since we first started dating. Goose has gone a couple times this year and she loves it! We got to throw beads over the balcony to fans, sort of a promotional thing. Goose had a blast tossing them over the edge to the eager hands of the greedy kids below (who went so far as to hide their many strands of beads, and would then plead with you to throw them one because they didnt have any *greedy little bastards*)!

My Hometown

I love this place.

Normalcy

Today is my first official day back to work in 10 days...

Gotta say, it was a wonderful vacation.  Just what I wanted and needed.

And now its time, unfortunately, to get back to normal. 

Work. Blah.

I am feeling super invigorated by getting away.

On July 26, my dad, Goose, Hubs and I packed the cars and headed out for Lake CHelan.

It's about a 4 hour drive from home, but its practiacally a world away.

This state never fails to amaze me.

There we were, sitting on a lake in the middile of the mountains.

80 degrees and you could still see snow on the hill tops.

How could I be so lucky to live this close to lakes, mountains, the ocean, and snow...

There isn't a more beautiful place (well, Oregon if you ask Hubs.)

I have been camping in Lake Chelan with my family for as long as I can remember.

Every summer from 6 months to 16 years... when being a bitchy teen got in the way.

I love camping. Wearing only a swimsuit and sunglasses.

No makeup. No heels. No blow dryer.

There was lots of talking, reminicing, contemplating...

drinking. Ugh... tequila is bad news!

Goose did pretty well. She had a ton of fun!

And boy does that girl tan.  I had her slathered in SPF 50 and she still got dark.

I feel like both Goose and my husband got to know my dad a little better.

My dad is so cute with Goose.

And he is still very much my "DAD."

His advice is much easier to take now that I am an adult though.

I have many more posts in progress. 

I took over 400 pictures while camping, not to mention 4th of July pictures.

Which are all on my facebook, by the way.

Expect more camping photos and stories this week.

And next week, back to normally scheduled programming.

Whatever that means.

Postlapsaria

Postlapsaria:

after the fall/after the destruction

You will find beauty is still possible.

I borrowed my title from Keiko-Lynn.

I thought it was fitting for the photos.

We Sleep on Couches

I got a call early on Monday morning.

It was a woman's voice, calling from the Fire Dept.

She wanted to know if we were okay.

Our house was on fire.

Not our new house.

The one we just moved out of.

That very weekend.

Sunday night had been the second night we slept there.

Steve had just told Goose that she never had to sleep in the old house ever again.

We even made the news.

Although, not for any reason I would have liked.

Looking in the front entry, into the living room.

The side of the house, also looking into the living room.

There used to be a second story... its now in the living room.

This picture and the next one haunt me most.

They are the bedrooms.

What if we had been there?

What if?

What if?

So many "what ifs"?

We still had not moved our beds, the big screen, or the computers.

There was still lots of stuff in storage in the attic.

Everything in the kitchen and bathroom was lost.

There are no more magnets or artwork on my fridge.

But the scrapbooks are safe.

And so is the camera.

And most importantly,

Steve, Goose and I are safe.

We weren't there.

Everything lost was just stuff.

(I am still devastated, I even have an "In Memoriam" post planned.)

But we are blessed. We got SO lucky.

I have been counting my many blessings.

Hugging my daughter tighter.

Sending love to everyone I know.

Because they have all stepped up to give us a hand.

I feel so very lucky.

Except for the fact that we will be sleeping on our couch for a while.

Countdown to Moving Day

T minus 31 days until we move.

I couldn't be more excited!
We will be downsizing, sort of.  The house is smaller than where we currently live, but the space is used so much more efficiently.
There is more closet space in the master bedroom of our new house than there is in our current house (yes, the whole house.)
There is a linen closet.
And a coat closet.

It's got a pretty small yard, but there is still enough room for my picinic table in the back and room in the front for a strawberry patch.
I might even plant some flowering shade plants under those trees to the left.

It's charming!
The bedrooms are double the size of what we have now.
I'm so excited for Goose! She will actually be able to PLAY in her room!
There is a cute little nook for the kitchen table.
And the landlord said I could paint!
Yes, paint. With color!
::sigh::
Wonderful!

Another perk is that its within walking distance to pretty much everything.
Downtown.
Several parks and the best little burger joint ever!
Target...
JoAnn's...
It's closer to work for both Hubs and I.
Closer to daycare.

Rent is going to be relatively the same, but this location is SO much better.
I really hate our current house.
The space is just all wrong. Bad energy.
And I really like our new landlord.

So this weekend (and the next few weekends) I will be packing.
And cleaning.
And cleaning and packing.
And moving.

We get the keys to our new place on the 15th of May and we will be out of our old place by the end of the month. 
I'm a little freaked out.
We've lived in our current house for five years.  And we have never attempted a move with a child in tow.  This should be quite the adventure.  Luckily, the chaos should only last a month and then we can settle into a new routine in our new house.

Wish me luck.  Oh, and if any of you know where the laundry fairy is, could you send her my way? I could really use all the help I can  get!

Thanks!

Kisses!

Craft x NW Recap

Craft x NW can be described in one word:

DISASTER!

BUT...

Now I know what I need to do next time. 

Cuz there will be a next time.

Hubs was (and still is) sick, and I was having a bad week.

All this stress with moving and the craft fair really got to me.

So already things were not looking so hot for me.

I was a man down AND my IL's took the canopy/tent with them.

(How dare they!? It only belongs to them. ;"P)

I was supposed to get downtown to set up at 2 and I didn't get there until a quarter to 4.

The fair started at 4:00 pm!

Then, 

it started to rain.

So there I was...

by myself...

with no tent...

in the rain.

I set up my display and started to get soaked.

People walked by and looked sorry for me.

I wanted to cry.

Then I got my first customer. 

:)

And realized that the $20 in change I had brought with me was no longer in my pocket.

:(

$!@#%&!#$!!!

It rained harder.

I couldn't take any pictures.

I cried.

Then a wonderful girl took pity on me and invited me into her tent.

I was literally seconds from leaving when she stopped by. (And it was only 5!)

Her name was Molly.

We carried my displays through the rain and Molly and her friends (Emily and Emily, the "Deer soap" girl) graciously made space for me in their tent. 

Piel de Miel. That's the name of their business.

They don't have a website yet or I would link you up.

Molly and Emily make lip balms and face scubs and other body treats with organic and local ingredients and Emily makes (deer) soap.

All three of them were beautiful and amazing! And I am so so very thankful they took pity on me. I really couldn't have done it without them. 

I didn't make it the whole night. I only stayed until about 7:30 and I was supposed to stay until 9 pm. 

I tried to stay as long as possible but by the end of the day I was spent.

I made about $30 though. And my booth spot cost $30, so I broke even on that.

(Unless you count the $20 I lost...)

And despite feeling like a complete failure, I feel like I owe it to myself to go back and do this again.

I can't give up!!!

The organizer of Craft x NW is planning to do this every second Saturday of the month from June-September.

I don't know the cost yet, but I hope to be able to participate. 

Now, I know what I need to do to be prepared.  

And it shouldn't rain as much this summer.

AND

I will be investing in a tent!

WIWT - Casual Friday

I love my job.

I love the dress code at my job.

I work for an attorney but it's just my boss and I and he is pretty laid back.
We "wear our uniforms to Court," and since we "take what we do seriously" we don't have to dress that way all the time.

So really, for me, everyday is pretty much Casual Friday.
But personally, I like to dress up...
So most days, I get up early, shower, make-up, hair.
I usually have my outfits picked out in advance.
I have been known to plan out all my work outfits for the entire week on the weekend.
No joke.

Anyway, 99.9% of the time, out side of work, I am a jeans and tee kinda girl.
I like cardigans, jeans, and camisoles.
Hoodies and yoga pants could be lived in... if I never left the house.
The "mom" uniform, ya know?

It's versatile, easy to fall into... I get it.
But I also try to remember that I have to get dressed everyday,
I might as well dress in something cute.
Right?

And...

No matter what, I always wear earrings.
A little promise I made to myself when I was preggo.

And... if you haven't noticed yet, I shop alot of sales and second hand.
I want to be an example to other moms that you can still dress cute (and be comfy!)
and not go broke.

A *new* version of my "Other Mother" necklace!!

I played around with the concept and think I really like this!

I'll have them for sale at my booth at Craft x NW!

Sweater: Steve & Barrys, $8

Shirt: Funk Junk, Vintage Lee, $10

Jeans: Macys, Grane, $25

Shoes: Target $10

Hat: Target $10

Jewelry: KelsyC-made

Sunglasses: Target, $5

OMG! Craft x NW!

OMG! OMG! OMG!

I'm gonna be a vendor!

Oh CRAP!

Now what???

This will be my first time participating in something like this.

And I couldn't be more excited...

And nervous!

More details to follow!!!

Check out Craft x Northwest for more details!

Spring in OH-lympia!

What a PERFECT day to play outside!