02-29-08

This weekend I was retreating. With a church that we moved away from ten years ago, but that still welcomes us back with open arms.

The definitions of retreat that apply are:
a. The act or process of withdrawing, especially from something hazardous, formidable, or unpleasant.
b. A place affording peace, quiet, privacy, or security.
c. A period of seclusion, retirement, or solitude.
d. A period of group withdrawal for prayer, meditation, or study.

Normal life isn't exactly unpleasant, but it is so wonderful to withdraw a few times a year. Some years its about the fellowship, some years its about the content, and this year for me it was about the solitude. I let go of the expectations and just let my body and mind rest in the quiet.

When I stepped in my room, the first thing I saw were the slippers laid out for us. Oh what joy to be so pampered!

02-28-08

I got a color analysis at the spa today.

She started by asking me what colors I normally wear, and I said "lots of reds, medium pinks, and some blues." And, ta dum, those are my colors!

First she had to figure out what season I was. I always thought I was a spring or summer, but I'm an autumn! Then we went through each color chip for autumn to see what hues I am. We threw out the ones that aren't mine. Two thirds of them. No yellows, hardly any greens (drat!), and not even white. I am rich and spicy. Deep colors, with a few brights I can pull off. She really liked the yellow beige and the peach and salmons for me. Not what I gravitate to, I'll have to take another look. Oh, and she suggested I shy away from silver and look for antique gold and copper metals instead. I laughed that the light green and deep orange on our downstairs walls are in my palette.

I can't wait to purge my wardrobe and redeem my "whine free" shopping spree certificate from Christmas. Now that I know that I am a rich and spicy autumn!

02-27-08

Another Wednesday night, another church dinner. Food for the spirit and food for the belly.

When we arrive, the kids go off and stake out a kids table, reserving spots by writing on the paper placemats. The teens stake out another table. Tonight Bruce and I staked out spots at different tables. That works too.

From left to right, we have Rex, Landon, Xander, Kaylina, Anastasia, Madeline, and Mariah.

Fear not, Earth! Be glad and celebrate! God has done great things. Fear not, wild animals! The fields and meadows are greening up. The trees are bearing fruit again: a bumper crop of fig trees and vines! Children of Zion, celebrate! Be glad in your God. He's giving you a teacher to train you how to live right— Teaching, like rain out of heaven, showers of words to refresh and nourish your soul, just as he used to do. And plenty of food for your body—silos full of grain, casks of wine and barrels of olive oil.
Joel 2:21, The Message

02-26-08

Today was my once a month day to get up at the wee hours and go to Aberdeen.

When I moved my office from Aberdeen to Longview almost four years ago, it was a gradual process. A few more boxes each visit.

I still have a skeleton of an office there in Cosmopolis. With a few personal items. The kids preschool artwork is still hanging on the wall there, for me to smile at.

The gorilla with earrings had to be Anastasia's, the fire truck has Alexander's name (from even before he could write his own name), and I don't remember who made me the adorable sea otter.

When the kids stopped toting home wonderful little art projects, it was a gradual process. I didn't take note. They just started packing home stories about dissecting owl pellets and flyers for book fairs instead.

02-25-08

Meet Rigging Ape.

He's been here as long as the building has been here, and he greets me every morning as I come through the front door.

Traditionally, the essential players in a logging crew are the hook tender, rigging slinger, choker setters and chaser. The rigging slinger instructs the yarer operator (who hauls the cabled logs to the log landing) to proceed or stop. They evidently have ape-like qualities; big and burley with long arms.

This statue was carved by a former employee. He creeps me out, but others are quite fond of him, and he is a huge photo opportunity for loggers traveling from other countries.

02-24-08

It's a gorgeous day, and what are we doing? Bowling! At least we didn't have to stress about reserving lanes for our church group.

Here's all the Longview Fischer's, don't we look stylin'?

Bruce has done a fair amount of bowling, he has his poses and execution down. Xander carries the ball so strangely that I worry about it jumping over to the next lane. Anastasia throws it like she doesn't care and half the time it zig zags down the lane ricocheting off the bumpers. And I was so far behind everyone until they put the bumpers up like I requested from the start.

02-23-08

It's a glorious day, let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Here's some follow-ups from earlier posts.

Alexander's tomb (see Feb 10th) is thriving, the grass has overtaken the crosses. Anastasia wants to manicure it like a Chia Pet, but Xander is indifferent.

My glass project (see Feb 15th) turned out cute. Actually, if you look closely, the middle color and the stems are different. The first one didn't turn out, so Anastasia and I made a replacement one last weekend. We happened to be at Totally Crazed painting when the glass came out of the oven, and my flower tile was stuck to the white tile base.

This afternoon I get to go create with my on-line girlfriends at a scrapbook store in Olympia. What a blessing to have so many creative outlets in my life.

“The important thing is to create. Nothing else matters; creation is all.” -Pablo Picasso

02-22-08

Happy 18th birthday, Becca! Loved your purple Barbie cake, the slideshow of your younger years, and seeing you surrounded by friends.

I can't remember my 18th birthday. Can you?

A quote for the day:

And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count.

It's the life in your years. -Abraham Lincoln

02-21-08

I'm grumpy this evening. I had a fairly nice day at work, but things kind of went tilt when I got home. Everyone had too much energy for me, it felt chaotic after a slow few hours at work with my co-workers both gone. I cut myself and it still throbs. Anastasia slammed the front door with her coat in it and we couldn't get it out.

We live two blocks from church and drive by it almost every time we leave the house. Tonight when I was driving by to drop Anastasia off at ballet, I noticed how the church was list up and it looked so peaceful. It's always lit up like this, but tonight I needed that peace. On the way home I parked at church and wandered around in the dark taking photos. In the lulls between the traffic signals it was so quiet and... peaceful.

And then I was ready to go home and face the to do list and the noise again.

02-20-08

A nice photos of the darker haired night owls of our family. It was either this or a photo of Xander pretending to be a tree. Comical, but didn't translate to film well.

This was taken at church, Bruce and the youth were hanging out at the piano before our simple supper baked potato bar.

Bruce's fedoras often get passed around at church. Mostly by the teenagers.

Both of the kids were sent straight to bed as soon as we got home from church - Xander for stealing the hat repeatedly after being talked to, Anastasia whining about not getting to wear the hat.

Ah, another day in paradise.

02-19-08

I had a good hair day today, so I decided to capture myself on film when my trip to Seaside generated no blog worthy photos. The ironic part is that the photo I like best doesn't even show my hair! I think it is much more about the mindset and feeling pretty than what you actually look like.

Xander was kind enough to pause his StarTrek show on the TiVo and snap some photos, but his eyes started rolling back into his head when I asked him to cut off my bangs on purpose and just get half of my face. Ali Edwards he is not. But he's a good sport.

02-18-08

This Monday felt like a Monday. But with the holiday it was quieter than usual. I think it's a blessing that our hockey game in Portland plans fell through, I don't seem to have any energy.

As I drove into the log yard, the sun was shining on the logs decks and it looked so pretty. This was my view from my parking space at work. These douglas fir logs are export quality, likely headed to Japan. These are the same decks I measure with the auditors each year end... they go on forever.

But the bridge doesn't go on forever, isn't that cool?

02-17-08

One of the shots I got yesterday I liked only because it was a great close-up of my wedding ring. So I decided to focus on my hands today.

For the past 16 years, I have only worn two rings, and I will probably only ever wear two rings.

The first I got when I was 13. My father died in December 30th 1985 after a three month battle with brain cancer. I didn't know, but his favorite stone was the ruby. I have no idea how my mom was thinking clearly, but she always had a flair for the unconventional, so she went out and bought three similar but unique diamond and ruby rings. They were blessed as part of the funeral, and were given to the three gals he left behind - my mom, my sister, and myself. I've always loved the ring; the way it looks and what it stands for.

The second is my wedding ring. It is small, but I would never trade it for something bigger. It is a tribute to two college kids scraping by to set up a life together. Bruce proposed to me soon after he met me waiting in line at Mr. Toads Wild Ride in Disneyland (I thought he was joking!), and our actual wedding plans evolved gradually, so I got to pick out my own wedding ring. We went to The Shane Company in downtown Seattle and put it on layaway. I thought it was perfect, and I still do. I love the gold swoop.

I'm chairing a women's event at church next month, and the theme is hands. Here is one of the favorite hand related quotes that I've come across, perfect for a Sunday where the message to the little ones was that when we are kind to others, we are reflecting God's love.

“We are all pencils in the hand of God.” Mother Teresa

02-16-08

Here's Anastasia, up close and personal. Saturday's are fun, there is more time to linger and take photo's. We took a bunch today, there were lots to choose from. Bruce will say "you chose THAT one?", but he doesn't love the mega close-ups like I do.

I didn't know that she had three freckles on her nose. I did know that she has killer eyebrows. And a better fake smile than the guys. And lips that break out a little when she drinks juice without a straw. And hair left in a turbie twist towel until it is a mess. She works hard at refusing to blow dry her hair, I work hard at nagging her to get off the couch and finish getting ready for her day.

02-15-08

What is it, you say?

Tonight was Connections Ladies Night at Totally Crazed. Connections is our young families group at church that I am social director for, Totally Crazed is our local ceramic shop.

The photo is of our fused glass projects in the kiln getting ready to be fired or fused or whatever the correct terminology is. I totally forgot to take any photos during the creative process, so I asked them if I could take a photo of them in the furnace. We had to put the pieces in there ourselves, because we didn't want to glue down the pieces, and they didn't want to take the risk of the glass sliding around. The flower design is mine, the square mosaic is going to be a ring holder for my pal Tracy.

We'll get to see the finished creation in a week.

02-14-08

Happy Valentine's Day!

02-13-08

Bruce: Why is the polar bear statue upstairs?
Michele: It's decorating the top of my stack of books!
Bruce: For how long?
Michele: Until I'm tired of it.
Bruce: Oh, that makes sense (shakes head and shuffles out of the room)

I saw this trick in Real Simple magazine. Now my pile of unread books looks purposeful and artful. I like it.

02-12-08

Bruce jokes that the mailman and delivery trucks hate me with a passion, but I love them. I have always loved getting mail. When I was about Anastasia's age I had over 100 pen-pals, I was mail crazy. Now that we are in the computer age, most of the fun mail comes in the form of packages.

I have spent almost $500 so far this year already on internet purchases - 13 used books delivered from bookins, Anastasia's American Girl Jackson tack box on e-bay, several clearance clothing finds from Coldwater Creek, 4 pairs of long and lean pants for Anastasia from e-bay, more return address labels for our snail mail, an order from American Girl on some clearance items including a babysitting kit because Anastasia wants to start babysitting, a Mary Kay order that magically appeared hanging on our doorknob, and posters for an upcoming church event.

We've been brainstorming ways to save money. Disabling my web browser would make a big dent.

In actuality all of my mail (and anything else Bruce doesn't want to deal with) land in my scrapbook room, but I toted the recent goods out to our entryway. Not even I want to look at my overflowing in box!

02-11-08

I try to bring my camera to work with me on Mondays, in honor of a new work week starting. And then I try to take photos without anyone seeing my camera. So they don't turn out very good.

This is one edge of my cubicle. I have a 10 foot by 10 foot cube, with walls on only two sides. I like the open concept (except during conference calls!), but I miss the extra space to stash things. And when my office is a mess, everyone sees it and comments.

On my workspace are my files for each major group I support, with the papers that need attention poking out. My hands free headset (a wonderful invention for multitasking!) is on the right. On my book case I have an Ikea table runner that matches perfectly, family photos, a Willow Tree that Bruce specifically gave me for work, my cup for cocoa (so far only one cup a day for Lent!), the book I read during my quick lunch break, and a few folders that I use often.

This side of my desk normally stays pretty serene. I can almost pretend like things are under control.

02-10-08

Xander had science rotation for Sunday School today, and this is what he made.

In his words, "Remember when Jesus died on the cross? That's the hill and the tomb." I asked him what the link to science was, and he had no idea, but then he added "it will look cooler when the grass grows, then it won't look like a hair thing or tights or whatever it is." And he told me how his shepherd "made" him add the flower, that he didn't want it.

Anticipation. I can't wait to see what sprouts up. With the kids, with spring, with this pile of grass seed.

02-09-08

Good-bye old friends.

I bought myself these oversized slippers on the day after Christmas. I think it was 2006, but it may have been 2005. I saw them when I was Christmas shopping and fell in love with them. I dropped a few hints, but they fell on deaf ears. I promised myself that I would buy them if they still had any during my annual after Christmas shopping spree to stock up on supplies for the following Christmas season, and pamper myself a little.

They were big and clunky, not very practical. But they were fun and they make me smile.

They are so worn through that I can feel the floor when I walk, so it is time to retire them. Now it's back to the frogs full time. Hasta la vista, Monkeys!

02-08-08

TGIF. The knowledge that I can sleep in tomorrow and have no real plans all weekend got me through the day. Being sick makes it so much harder to just do the normal every day things. Inertia takes over and I don't want to move. Don't want to pop up to grab the paper off the printer down the hall, leave the quiet bathroom stall, or even swivel my chair around to do simple filing. I imagine myself curled up in a warm bed. Ah, TGIF!

Before hitting the warm bed, we had family movie night at church. This time I was careful not to cuddle other people's children and spread my germs. Winco pizza and Pringles that the kids spilled all over the floor. Much better than the healthy food mom plans. Yep, TGIF.

02-07-08

Anastasia earned her American Girl loot for keeping her room clean (see 01-30-08 post). I thought for sure she would immediately revert back to her old ways, especially since she had a friend over yesterday, but it still looks pretty picked up. In fact, it looks much better than mine! I have a bad habit of being too tired at night to put my clothes away, so it turns into a weekly task.

02-06-08

Happy Ash Wednesday.

I have never been a big fan of Lent, but my heart is softening. I'm even thinking about giving up my second cup of cocoa at the office. But does it count as a sacrifice if I really need to do it anyway because of the calories? On these cold days it sure feels like a sacrifice. I seem to always be under an air vent.

Did you know that Lent is 40 days prior to Easter, but excludes Sundays? Did you know that Easter is on my birthday this year? Did you know that the ashes used on Ash Wednesday are supposed to be the remains of the palm fronds burned from the previous Palm Sunday?

Tonight we had a very meager dinner at church. We all go different directions during our Wednesday nights at church, but pastor made his way around to all of us to put ashes on our forehead. I stayed for the service, and he challenged us to go all the way home without talking to anyone. That is just too big of a sacrifice.

02-05-08

He's back on his feet (though you can still see the bags under his eyes).

Back to school. Back to hogging the computer. Back to cracking jokes. Back to saying "no more pictures!".

Welcome back!

02-04-08

Cyber pal Lynette gave us photo bloggers an assignment for February. Photograph a project around the house or scrap related that you keep putting off doing.

I have many to choose from, and several that I could use a kick in the pants to complete. But, I finally decided on creating and releasing travel bugs, since it was on my new years resolution goal list for 2007 and I never got to it.

Travel bugs are items that you attach a dog tag to and release into a geocache and have it travel around. People log their travels as they move about. They normally get lost (one of ours got vacuumed up at a car wash, another got buried in an avalanche), but it's still fun. In the last six months, two of our 25 previously released travel bugs have moved. Simpson's in Springfield, a Lisa Simpson figurine who wants to visit different Springfield's, is currently in a cache 2400 miles away in New Jersey. Geopian, a collection of pet pet zipper pulls who want to visit other geocachers who also play neopets, is currently in the hands of a geocacher near Connecticut.

I have three dog tags to attach an object, create a goal, and find a worthy cache to release them into. I'd like to drop the moose during our Yellowstone trip and see if he can find his way home. Dora can go explore something. I like the bible figure, but can't think of a good quest. Decisions, decisions...

I enjoy geocaching and especially love travel bugs. I'm hoping we will spend more time on this family friendly hobby this year. Right after the weather improves!

02-03-08

This is the shelve above the kitchen sink. I call it the junk shelf. I try to convince Bruce that stuff doesn't belong there and that it would be a great place to put a decorative rooster. He's not buying it.

He thinks that his junk does belong on the shelf (and other shelves throughout the house), and that we don't need a rooster. He says I don't spend enough time in the kitchen to choose a decorating motif. And he's probably right.

But, guess you can tell what's he's been up to this weekend! Xander is at least keeping the meds down today, but I'm not sure he's moved off the couch all day...

02-02-08

I had plans to get an outside shot today, but it was cold and snowy. I did step onto the porch and try to get the big white fluffy snow coming down, but it looks like rain in the photos.

Bruce kept asking me all day if we were going to do something. Not in a million years. Xander is coughing and throwing up, I'm trying to slow down on my shopping, and baby it's cold outside.

So the focal of our day was a long game of UDubopoly. Anastasia won. She only had two properties, but they each had rent of $1300.

02-01-08

What's in your fridge?

We don't keep our fridge very stocked, but you can always count on my salad dressing collection!

I crave salad if I don't have it often enough, but I love the fun stuff to put on top even more.

I love to hang out in the salad dressing section of the grocery store, Bruce either keeps me away from it or says "I'll come back in 10 minutes". I get salad dressing in my stocking, and it makes me happy (much better than the tuna and toilet bowl cleaner).

Today you can find cranberry, mango, raspberry vinaigrette, Asian Silk spritzer, two kinds of ranch (for Bruce, I dislike Kraft and Hidden Valley. Uncle Dan's and Marie's are yummy.), honey mustard, poppy seed, spinach (not just for spinach!), and Italian (gross on salad, but wonderful marinade for chicken).

What dressing do you order at restaurants? Honey mustard. Very hard to find in southern states, and Canadians only use it for dipping. What is your favorite dressing? Poppy seed. What do you put on your salad at home? Raisins, dried cranberries, various chopped nuts, or crunched up tortilla chips. What do you put on your salad at the salad bar? Beets, shredded zucchini, carrots, sunflower seeds, and bacon bits.