Category: Fun Pile

Happy Birthday to Ruthie

Yesterday was Ruthie’s 4th birthday so we threw a dinner party in her honor. We began talking about it several weeks ago when, with pen and paper in hand, I asked what she wanted for her party. It was funny how precise she was, and how reasonable. I had wondered what I would be getting myself into by asking her, thinking there would be much tears and drama if I could not provide ponies or bouncy machines or any other high expectations. As if she had been preparing for this conversation her whole life, she confidently rattled off the following:

“I want a cake with pink frosting and red strawberries, and red balloons and red streamers.”

First of all, there was no mention of Dora in her request, which made me want to check her birthmarks to see if she’d been body snatched. Second, what is with the introduction of red? My girl is a Pink Lady and wants nothing to do with anything that is not pink. I was really surprised by all this, but she stayed true to her requests for weeks, continually checking in with me to make sure I remembered the pink cake with red strawberries.

And what birthday celebration would be complete without a little mishap to end the night with? After many folks had cleared out and there were just two families left visiting with us, Ruthie came up from downstairs where we had a table set up with craft supplies for all the kids to create with. She had taken a scissors to her hair – a small chunk out of her bangs and most of her pig tail that was on top of her head.

Such is life. It happens to every kid, and I know it will grow back. I’m just glad she didn’t cut into some other poor kid’s hair!

(our flickr set is here).

Party Central

Wow. What a weekend. Talk about spontaneity! On Friday afternoon two of my friends and their kids just HAPPENED to find themselves at our house at dinnertime, so we lengthened our table to make room for four adults and four kids and had teriyaki pork loin with navy beans and a salad… YUM! We had a great impromptu party, and ended up watching a couple episodes of Firefly while the kids watched The Incredibles on my laptop in a corner of the room that Bryan set up with pillows and blankets. It was perfect.

And we had friends over for breakfast before church today, and this afternoon we got a call from Beth who wondered about joining us to watch the season premier of ’24’, and our housemate was home, and her sister came over, and the cocktails were flowing, and I just have one thing to say… JITTERBUG MARTINI.

Four, actually. Yes, I had four jitterbugs and I am a very happy housewife at this moment.

But aside from indulging in a very rich and lathery cocktail, I’m feeling happy to be home again in my own skin, having people over – both planned and at the spur of the momement. During my depression we didn’t do anything, we didn’t see anybody, people didn’t come to our home. But this summer we were The House of Barbeque, and now it seems we are The House of Games – or maybe the House of Cocktails, depending on who you are.

It’s good to be back.

Winter Wonderland (again)

Snow ball in the faceThe weather has been crazy this winter – first two snow storms around Thanksgiving, then a major windstorm knocking out power for up to ten days at Christmas, and now more snow. My friend Gayle, who is a middle school teacher, said that before this latest snow storm the school year had already been extended through June 26th! She was joking about the possibility of having a 4th of July assembly, but at this rate it may not be so funny!

Ruthie and Thomas get really excited every time it snows, but playing in it requires many stops inside for me to warm up their hands because their lame mother (who grew up in Minnesota, by the way) didn’t buy any snow gear after the first TWO TIMES it snowed this year. So, I’ve learned my lesson – I’m buying mittens and boots tomorrow, so you can count on it never snowing again once I do that. Murphy’s law and all.

One rarity for this snow storm, though, is that today is a beautiful sunny day. And the snow is of the wetter variety, so it sticks to the tree branches and glistens like jewelry – and makes for great snow balls!

IMG_5000Following our romp in the snow last night, the kids hunkered down for some hot chocolate – a favorite treat. I’ve finally figured out the combination of not-too-hot water, a not-filled-too-full cup, and a flexi-straw all work best for optimal toddler and preschooler enjoyment. As we sipped, Ruthie remembered the last time it snowed when we walked to the restaurant for pizza, and she asked to watch the movie we made. I thought that was very cool, and it made me excited that all these technical tools and toys are becoming a part of her every day experience.

Here are the snow pictures, and here are the hot chocolate pictures.

New Year’s Resolution: Finish What I Start

A good friend forwarded this hilarious email to me, and now I bless you all with these words of wisdom…

I am passing this on to you because it definitely works, and we could all use a little more calmness in our lives at this hectic time of year. By following simple advice heard on the Dr. Phil show, you too can find Inner Peace. Dr. Phil proclaimed, “The way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you’ve started and never finished.” So, I looked around my house to see all the things I started and hadn’t finished, and before leaving the house this morning, I finished off a Bottle of Merlot, a bottle of White Zinfandel, a bottle of Bailey’s Irish Cream, a bottle of Kahlua, a package of Oreos, the remainder of my old Prozac prescription, the rest of the cheesecake, some Doritos and a box of Russ ell Stovers Chocolates. You have no idea how good I feel now.

Birthdays and Weddings

This was a weekend for celebrating! On Friday night I took Bryan to a local men’s spa for a pedicure and massage as a gift for his birthday. It was a well-deserved respite from the stress of his work and all his efforts to keep our household afloat. He was so relaxed after the experience that he was a little heavy-lidded at dinner, and by the time we reached the car he was a drunken slur of words, incapable of telling me where the parking voucher was. Imagine trying to talk with your mouth full of cotton balls and your tongue numbed with Novocain – that’s what Bryan sounded like by the end of the night, and I gave him such a hard time over it that we both erupted into smoker-cough-sounding, pee-inducing laughter.

Laughing with your husband is great therapy.

Happy Birthday, Bryan! And don’t worry, 37 is the new 29.

Then on Saturday we attended what Robert Scoble is calling the Geek Wedding of the Decade – the union of Chris and Ponzi. Ironically, I was invited because Ponzi and I became friends through the Diva’s Book Club, but Bryan knew most of the people there because he actually works in the tech industry.

JenAs I make my way around the tech circuit, though – both on my own at Blogher and Mindcamp, and with Bryan when I accompany him to events and dinners – I am running across the same familiar and friendly faces. It was fun to catch up with Nancy again, and Liz (formerly a Diva before returning to NY), and Julie (who looked AMAZING), and Matt (who I met at a Gnomedex dinner and he introduced me to the last.fm feed you see in my sidebar), and Cathia, and Kim(a Diva who I first met at the Naked Conversations book release party when she told me she was studying Computational Genetics and I thought to myself, ‘that is a far cry from the day I spent finger painting’), and Beth Grigg (who has hosted our family for dinner in her home), and Maryam, who first introduced me to the wonderful Divas.

The music was beautiful, the dresses and flowers were beautiful, the ceremony was beautiful, and of course the bride was stunning. I especially enjoyed experiencing Chris’ family – they are people who know how to have fun and you can tell they are close. With family like that supporting you, a marriage can only grow stronger.

During a point of transition, as we walked down the hall from dinner to dancing, my feet slipped out from under me on the highly waxed floor and I ended up on my ass with a twisted ankle. Chris happened to be there when it happened and offered to get some ice for my ankle, and I said, “No, my ankle is fine. It’s my pride that’s a little hurt at the moment.” And he instantly flopped down to the floor next to me. The groom! What a guy – how could I wallow in self-pity after such kindness?

Congratulations to Chris and Ponzi – may you have many years of laughing until you pee!

Here is the link to the pirillowedding tag on flickr. Here are mine specifically.

Our Snowy Night

We’re going on our third day of WINTER STORM BLAST 2006, and once again the city is crippled by its lack of snow plows and sanding trucks. I’m a Minnesota transplant, and even though I’ve been here for 16 years I still marvel at how much damage a few inches of snow can cause these people.

When the snow began falling on Sunday night we had been planning to go Christmas shopping, and soon realized we had better stick closer to home. So we opted for a stroll around our neighborhood instead that ended in dinner at a wood-fired pizza place.

The memory that I hope will stick with me forever, is how magical the evening was as I watched my children become enchanted by everything they saw. A tree branch, a park bench, a fence post – it all seemed so new and fascinating under a blanket of snow.

That evening I felt blessed, like I was living in a fairy tale. My family was with me, large fluffy snow flakes were falling, and it seemed every reason that I love living in this neighborhood presented itself, including the passing dinner train.

I’m not always one to be living In The Moment, but that evening I was very present, and enjoying every moment. Here is a video of our magical evening:

Thanksgiving

I wish I could convince my children of the joys of slacking around on a holiday, but they are not easily catching on. And I have done a SERIOUS amount of modeling the appropriate slacking behavior in their lifetimes. Take now, for instance: it is 4 in the afternoon and I am still in my pajamas and have watched two movies. You’d think they would get it by now, but they still whine and whimper and hang on my clothing and beg me for food and water.

IMG_4476Damn over achievers.

Yesterday was a success in all ways: we ate, we drank, and we played. And even though I’m a strict introvert, I get high off a good party – as long as everyone goes home, eventually, and lets me stay in my pajamas the entire day following.

Here is our Flickr photo set.

He’s Come a Long Way from ‘The Beach’

Have you ever planned an entire date around one drink? I think of that Kohler commercial where the lady sets a faucet on the architect’s desk and says, ‘Design a house around this.” I did that tonight. I designed an entire date around the Jitterbug Martini.

Tonight was our first date in many weeks due to travel schedules and a slight hiccup in our feelings of adoration for one another. October was a tough month so it was nice to get out and enjoy each other’s company.

Which is why I planned our entire date around the Jitterbug Martini. I just HAD to have one. Or two. I would have had more, but I lost the coin toss for driving the babysitter home.

Columbia City has a mom-and-pop type movie theater that just happened to be playing the movie we wanted to see, so you can tell how the Jitterbug was in the stars for tonight. We saw The Departed, and I think this may be the best damn movie I’ve seen in my whole life. You may think that’s the Jitterbug talking, but I only had two, and I was saying this before I’d even had a drop. It was so heart wrenching and suspenseful that I nearly had a nervous breakdown. In a good way. I definitely have an ulcer.

If you liked The Usual Suspects and L.A. Confidential, you will love this movie. Leonardo was amazing. This was no shallow blockbuster performance a la The Titanic or The Beach. This was ACTING. He had RANGE. During the movie I forgot he was Leonardo and felt compassion for Billy Costigan. And as Bryan said, it was also good to see pretty boy Matt Damon play a darker role.

Speaking of Bryan, he also thought The Departed was a good movie, but contends that it does not nudge the perfection of L.A. Confidential.

If you have a husband and you don’t go on dates regularly, you should. It’s a must. After sex, it’s the most important ingredient to a healthy relationship. If you can’t afford a babysitter, use the buddy system. Grab a friend and do a swap – an I’ll watch yours if you watch mine kind of thing.

And go see The Departed.

Things I Enjoy

I feel like this blog has reflected the darker side of my life lately, as I have used it as a way to process through some difficult thought patterns. To the outsider (read: those who do not know me outside of what I blog) it may seem worse than it actually is. Because of my Recovery process I’ve been unusually introspective, as most Recovery programs unravel things in that way if one truly dives in. I know I’ve said this before, but my writing is pretty boring or non existent when things are going well, or when good things are happening. These things don’t need flushing out, or interpreting, or dissecting. They just Are, like fresh air or a sunny day.

Bryan gets on me about that. When he does something nice for me he says, “Are you going to blog that?” It’s tongue in cheek, but it’s also his way of reminding me to reflect on the good times – in writing, so they can be remembered. Because if we are fighting it’s easy to forget that we really do love each other and have a lot of fun.

Many years ago when I was going through a period of depression (though I didn’t know it at the time; only recently have I come to realize this), my best friend and room mate, who is very visual, helped me map out the peeks and valleys of my life.

On a timeline she drew with crayons, blue lines were difficult times and yellow lines were good times. On the linear trail there were often peeks and valleys. For instance, during a blue-line period there may have been yellow-peek events, and during yellow-line periods there may have been blue-valley events. Seeing my life in the perspective of color-code was encouraging during a time when I could see nothing but blue.

As of late my life has felt like a blue line, but there have definitely been many yellow-peek events along the way. In the droning on of my woes, I don’t want to lose sight of those things that have brought me joy.

Good Times
For one thing, Seattle experienced a beautiful Indian Summer, well into October. The sun and the warm temperatures provided many opportunities to play with my kids at the park, get my fall pruning done, and take walks with my family after dinner. This is my favorite time of the year and I am taking full advantage of it.

Good Imagination
I’ve been enjoying the budding imagination of my daughter. She loves to play rescue, taking turns as to who is in trouble and who does the rescuing. She’ll dangle from the slide in our back yard, her toes only inches from the ground, and cry out with exaggerated drama, “Help me! Help me!” When her friends don’t understand (or care!), she’ll stop suddenly and say, “Noah, you have to come rescue me.”

The other evening while eating a gourmet meal of Wendy’s chicken nuggets, Ruthie stacked three on top of each other like a tower, then tipped her empty cup over and covered them up. “Ladies and gentleman,” she said in her best announcer-voice, waving her hands frantically around the cup, “you will now guess which cup these chicken pieces are hiding under…” and on she went with her magic trick.

I was flabbergasted that seemingly over night my toddler has turned into a real person who pretends that all the world is her stage. I am proud of her imagination, and pray that I never do anything to squelch it.

Good Humor
The other day I took my friend’s ten year old son with me to the dog park while Ruthie was in preschool. He has a very mature sense of humor, and I was looking forward to my day with him. While sitting at a stop light and the car was quiet with my own contemplation, one of those double dump trucks passed by, the ones with the long metal rod that connects them. After it drove past, Tony deadpanned, “Sometimes I wonder, why are they so long?” Maybe you had to be there. Or maybe you have to know Tony. But his timing and tone of voice were beautifully funny, and he made me laugh.

Good Music
This has been Year of the Concert for the Zugs. We have seen Over the Rhine, The Mountain Goats, Matisyahu (me only), Bruce Cockburn, Paul Simon, and Sufjan Stevens. I’m sure there’s more, but I feel so decadent just naming these. I have come to love discovering new music that inspires me or helps me cope. I made a ‘mix tape’ of songs I listen to when I miss Gordy, and one for road trips, and I’m about to make one for worship. It’s exciting to see someone perform live, because they are who they are. Most of the music I love now was introduced to me by Bryan. You might say he rescued me from the mediocre Christian pop culture.

Good Friends
I am surrounded by people who ‘get me,’ and who have history with me. As I’ve been meeting other mothers at preschool and at the park, I am realizing how isolated the average mother feels. I am blessed with many friends who are in the same stage as myself who understand the trials of raising small children. And because we help each other out, I rarely pay for babysitting. I came across a quote once by Shakespeare, “I am wealthy in my friends.” I feel I am the wealthiest of them all.

Good Husband
He may not believe me what I say this, but I really do like Bryan. It’s because of him that I write, that I have more confidence in my art, and that I appreciate good music and good movies. He knows how to have a good time, and most of our evenings are filled with wine, and loud music, and dancing. We dance while making dinner. We enjoy our life in ways that many married couples forget about. He has continued to ‘woo’ me even after we’re married.

Things are looking up. I feel as if I’m climbing out of a hole. After yesterday’s initial disappointment, I did manage to have a good afternoon in spite of myself. I wrote an essay while the kids napped, we went to the park, and we walked to the store. I was bitter at first, but after writing about it and getting over it, I actually had a great evening. Cari is right, I am slowly breaking free of my vices. And it feels good to feel like I’m starting to deal with life in a healthy way.

Surprise Revealed

It’s been a quiet, cozy weekend – just me and my little family. The last two weeks have been crazy, and Bryan has an extra week of travel this month, so I drew my little family in close to me this weekend and turned off the computer.

On Friday Bryan revealed his Big Birthday Surprise, and I have to confess that I am impressed by his ability to juggle all the variables. I was CONVINCED Friday was not the day since we already had so much going on, which of course made me even MORE surprised.

We had dinner at a Queen Anne restaurant called The Melting Pot. I didn’t know fondue could be so swanky. Bryan had called ahead for reservations, so we had a cozy little table for two on the second level in the back. Alone. We ordered a bottle of wine and talked as we ate the different courses – first the cheese fondue with bread and fruit, then a salad, then a vegetable broth fondue with meats and vegetables. We had pieces of lobster, and steak, and pork, and chicken, and prawns – OH MY!

We topped off the meal with a milk chocolate and Bailey’s fondue with cheesecake, brownies, strawberries, and pound cake to dip. I also had my first Port Wine – very tasty.

It really was an elegant affair, lasting two hours or more. It could have ended there, but no. There was more. After dinner we walked over to Seattle Center to see Paul Simon in concert. I nearly died.

Thank you for a great time, husband. I love you.

(I have pictures of the whole evening – the dinner, the concert, everything. But my camera’s memory card is not letting them go. Hopefully I can get it working, because I also have the cutest pictures of Ruthie helping me bake pear bread.)

Help! I’m Being Kidnapped!

Sonsabitches! All of you who keep secrets from me are sonsabitches!

Bryan’s been bragging about a big surprise event he’s whisking me away to for my birthday (I know! Again with the birthday talk…) but he wouldn’t even tell me when it was happening so I could plan around it. This afternoon he told me to be dressed and ready to go by 4:15.

“But we have an appointment at 3:15. We’ll never be back in time.”

“I rescheduled it.”

“But what about Jenny? She was watching our kids.”

“I IM’d her this morning and canceled.”

“But what about J & C? We’re supposed to watch their kids tonight.”

“They found other arrangements weeks ago.”

SONSABITCHES! ALL OF YOU!

Okay. For real, I’m actually very excited and curious. I know nothing, other than I am to be REALLY dressed up. And that we got into a small argument about what a dressy shoe is. Can I hear from my ladies that big, brown, clunky shoes with a big, thick, chunky sole and no heal is NOT considered a VERY DRESSY SHOE???

I have 15 minutes left to get ready for my surprise, so I’ll let you know what happens later!

Peeps

My first JitterbugI know I’ve talked about my birthday FAR too much than anybody should on the internet, but it’s been celebrated in bits and pieces with various people – much like Christmas was for me with divorced parents and heaps of extended family.

As I stated last year, I like to spend my birthday with The Girls, because even though I’ve made many NEW friends in the sixteen years since landing in this city, the day still symbolizes the beginning of Steel Magnolias-type friendships in my life.

Previous to attending college I was the only girl amongst a pack of guy friends, finding that girlfriends were high maintenance and catty. But once I was dropped into the middle of a girls’ dorm for two years, I found a smattering of kindred spirits.

I’ve always thought it was Providence that brought me to Seattle, since I insisted to my parents that I move here, applied to only one college in the area, and had no logical reason for any of this to happen. I even dropped out of college eventually. But it was through my college experience that I met my lifelong friends, and subsequently began a journey of growing up in my Christian faith.

Over the years those first girlfriends have taught me how to be faithful through disagreements, compassionate through struggle, patient through wandering, and joyful through tears. And as I make new friends, I’ve learned that the pieces of me that I shared with only a few actually multiply like fishes and loaves as I offer them to others, and I become full in the bounty of friendship.

The other night I went out with many of The Girls (click on the photo above). Not all could make it, but I know they were there in spirit. Jenny wrote about it here, and for the record, mom – I was NOT drunk.

Dot Com vs Lake Wobegon

IMG_3723We spent Labor Day with my dad and step mom at their new vacation condo on Lake Whatcom in Bellingham. We had told Ruthie we were going to visit Grandma and Grandpa’s new house on the lake, and when we got there she asked them if their old house was broken.

It was classic – reminded me of the time she asked if our burned-out hall light needed new batteries.

It was a perfect, lazy afternoon, spent sitting on the patio, sitting on the dock, sitting in the grass, and eating ourselves into a disgusting state of shock. My dad has an endless supply of potato chips and French onion dip, and it even follows him to new homes in new cities. The dip stalks me whenever I visit him and I can’t resist it.

But I digress.

My step mom was talking about the single family home values on the lake, how people were buying up little shacks or smaller older homes and tearing them down or gutting and adding on. I looked around the lake and saw large, modern, mansions.

Bryan’s college friend grew up on Lake Sammamish East of Seattle, and his parents still live in their small cabin-like home while all the houses around them have been torn down and rebuilt as big white boxes that stretch the entire length and width of their lot.

I asked Bryan why he thought this happened, why the lake front properties in Western Washington seemed to be reserved for big city executives making six figures. I come from Minnesota where it seems like everyone has a cabin on a lake or knows someone with a cabin on a lake, whether it’s one room with a wood stove, or a house with rooms and a kitchen. There’s always somewhere for the common man to go fishing for the weekend, even if it’s a small motel resort along the highway.

Dot Com vs. Lake Wobegon, he said.

It’s true, I guess. Here, it seems the Lake Life is for the privileged few, while in Minnesota, it’s as much a way of life as the ‘hot dish’ is a way of life, and eating dinner at lunchtime and supper at dinnertime is a way of life. At least that’s how I remember the remote, quiet lake on which our cabin was located. There, Lake Life was decadently simple, and slow, and relaxing. It was where we read books, and took long walks, and listened to the loons, and watched deer crossing the field.

IMG_3748I love my dad’s condo on Lake Whatcom, and I suppose even in the absence of wildlife, his lake home is just as relaxing at the cabins of my memory. It’s a beautiful home, and will be a fun place for the family to gather. I loved the lapping of the water against the retaining wall, the sound of the speedboats and the kids screaming from their inner tubes, and smelling the familiar lake smell.

My children will have grand memories of visiting grandpa and grandma at the lake, and I guess fond memories are what’s important.