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Not as Gone as I Hoped

by Lucky Red Hen on July 12, 2008

So we didn’t leave today as planned. And I am really bummed about that because I wanted to go to church and see my friends tomorrow in Utah. But I’m REALLY bummed because of the REASON we didn’t leave.

And this is it…

I’ve ALWAYS been extremely fair in the sunburning/tanning department. I burn in 10 minutes, and I know better (even lathered Piper up with spf 50 before she scooted off to play at Jetty Island yesterday and sent Jack off to Scout Camp in the morning wearing a bandana around his neck to keep his already burned neck area covered – sunscreened him too). As a side note: Jetty Island with my friend and her kids was a really fun place that I’ll go to again WITH SUNSCREEN.

In high school, I went with Elisa Griego and her baptist church youth group to a lake in New Mexico. We drove down in a couple of 10-15 seater passenger vans. I so desperately wanted to get a yummy tan like the rest of the girls so I joined them in their yearly ritual.

Next to the LAKE.

On TOP of the van.

With BABY OIL for suntanning lotion.

For longer than my body should’ve EVER THOUGHT of being there.

By the time we got back to Elisa’s, the damage was already showing and I was in extreme pain. Her mom ordered me to stand in the bathtub and strip down to my undies. I was shivering from the burn. She came in with a jug of vinegar and began to drizzle it all over.

It was a breeze of heaven in my depth of hell.

I may have smelled like a pickle for the next several days, but that homemade treatment took the initial sting out and brought the pain down to a level I could handle.

But that burn wasn’t like this one. Now that I’m older (a stiff reminder Tiffany gave me on the phone today), my body doesn’t handle things as well as I’d like. This time it’s not so much the surface of the skin that hurts, except when the kids walk by and touch it to make sure, but underneath in the swelling, muscles and veins when I stand up to walk or when I sit down. They seem to be better when I’m horizontal and when I’m on ibuprofen. Last night I took a pain killer to get some sleep from the stinging, shooting pain.

I’ve been sitting at the computer now for an hour and a half to see what condition they’ll be in when I stand up so I have an idea if we could leave in the morning. Should I try now and tell you all about it? Okay, good idea. I need to potty anyway.

Alright! Good news! Potty break went well (I’m sure you wanted to hear that) and the legs didn’t give me shooting, piercing pain as I stood up. The bigger problem was my thighs being peeled from the vinyl office chair in this hot house. The resting and ibuprofen might be working! Yay!

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Gone Baby, Gone

by Lucky Red Hen on July 11, 2008

On my way to Utah tomorrow with my kids for some summer fun!

Wish us well for a safe trip there, during and back.

If you’re in UT and want to see me/us, feel free to treat me/us to lunch or dinner (or both).

Any group get togethers, anyone?

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Boy or Girl

by Lucky Red Hen on July 9, 2008

I stole this off a friends blog because it’s funny (her kids antics crack me up) but I don’t know if she wants links to hers (will change it if she doesn’t mind – and I’ve taken out her sons name to protect the not-so-innocent)…

The other day at Target (our usual destination) my son asked the somewhat masculine female checker:

“Um, excuse me? Are you a boy or a girl?”

I got wide eyed and shushed him, yet he persisted.

“I’m curious if you are a boy or a girl cuz your hair is like a girl, but your voice is like a boy.”

Luckily the elderly checker was hard of hearing (or maybe just polite) and did not appear to hear him.

As he opened his mouth yet again to repeat his question, I ripped open the bag of tootsie rolls that I was buying and popped one in his mouth.

“YUM! Candy!”

…he cheered and not another word was said about the mysterious she-man checker at Target.

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No More Cell Phone

by Lucky Red Hen on June 30, 2008

Guess I won’t be using my cell phone anymore. Seems that the only time I DO use it is when I’m driving :o\

Maybe I’ll break down and try a hands-free headset…

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Julie Steiskal 1978 – 2008

by Lucky Red Hen on June 27, 2008

I had never met Julie (29) in person, but her spirit on the photography forum we belong to was always uplifting and sweet. She is no longer with us, having died on Wednesday in a river trying to save the life of a girl. Neither survived the swift current.
Scott Bolster put together this image of Julie…

“we need a renaissance of wonder.
we need to renew, in our hearts & in our souls,
the deathless dream, the eternal poetry,
the perennial sense that life is miracle & magic.”
e. merrill root

Julie’s bio from her website:
when i was six, i walked into the empty kitchen, looked behind me, stretched my arm as far as i could and borrowed my mother’s camera for the first time. and when i was done with it, i quietly slipped it back on the counter and went back to my book with a smile on my face. today, as then, i find beauty in the eyes of those i love, in the details of God’s creation, in laughter, in light, in wonder.

i like my garden. i like my front porch and my little old house. i like knowing my neighbors and i like crossing my street to get the mail. i like a good book, a movie that makes me laugh, a song that makes me sing. i like food. i like thai restaurants, good pasta and the tacos that come out of my kitchen. i like the smell of the grill on a warm summer night and i like my mother’s cheesecake. i like the water. i like the smell of rain, the sound of a creek, the infinite possibility of a lake and the dampness of dew. i like falling asleep and waking up to thunderstorms. i like the sound of my nephew’s giggle and the feel of his brother’s hand in mine. i like that my family includes some of my best friends.

my life is both simple and complicated. it is a peaceful spring morning, it is a commute surrounded by people i don’t know. it is finding the quiet in the chaos, it is knowing how to be alone in a crowd.

i think you, your child, your dreams are beautiful. i know that time is quickly passing. i want to help you capture the moments of your life that you never want to forget.
this is what i bring. this is who i am.

Life is precious.

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< 3 days

by Lucky Red Hen on June 11, 2008

The Host, latest stand-alone book by Stephenie Meyer
(author of Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse & Breaking Dawn)

Did I say that right… ‘less than’ three days? Don’t make fun of my math. It’s about as stellar as my geography.

Wasn’t keeping track, but I think I downed this six hundred and nineteen page book in less than three days flat.

How’d I do it? I’ll give you a hint: I didn’t do any laundry, vacuuming, dinners, dishes, sweeping, washing or child raising (even though they were here most of the time). I DID attend three hours of church on Sunday. I DID have a lunch meeting at my house yesterday, but that only took away a couple hours. And I DID take my daughter to-and-from preschool. Other than that… nuh-thing. I actually redirected one of our canned lights to aim right into my favorite chair and left the cozy, vintage quilt there, even though it doesn’t match the decor (quelle horror).

Am I pathetic? Maybe. Were my kids harmed in the process? I don’t think so. (Don’t they say the best way to get kids to love books is for them to see YOU reading them?) Would I do it again? I will in August ;)

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Good News

by Lucky Red Hen on June 10, 2008

Really, it’s Good News, the musical! Our friend, Tanner, was in his HS play and I went along with my camera. It WAS a phenomenal performance by ALL the actors; very impressive! They swept their WA competition and received Top Honors last night from the 5th Avenue Theater. UPDATED EDIT: Two of my favorite pics were featured in the Woodinville Weekly newspaper this week!

Here are some of my favorite pics…

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Back of My Hand

by Lucky Red Hen on June 9, 2008

“I know it like the back of my hand.”

Am I the only one that doesn’t know the back of my hand? I mean, when I look at it I know it’s mine, but if I had to, say, draw it without looking, I’m pretty sure I’d fail. Looking at them now, I can see that there ARE distinctive markings that probably aren’t the same as someone else. Here, I’ll take a picture (it’ll last longer) and we’ll break it down.

On my left hand, my middle finger nail bed is funky from a meat slicing incident, Halloween 2000 (may it rest in peace). Luckily my nail grew back so I don’t have to sport a snaggle-nail. Then I imagined ever since I was a little girl, that the backs of my hands pressed together in utero in a way that gave me those triangle freckles (little girls think of the craziest stuff sometimes).

Speaking of little girls… Piper calls her freckles her “beans,” even though she knows they’re actually called freckles. Here’s one of her “beans” and B.A.C.A. tattoo…
Then on my right hand I have a 6cm pink circle that’s magical. When pressed, it disappears for a short while. No, it’s not melanoma, just a funny little blood spot that I can use to amaze the gullible.

Even though I’ve taken pictures and explained, in detail, what the backs of my hands look like, I’m still not sure that I KNOW them enough to use the phrase correctly.

Q: How well do YOU know the back of your hand?

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