Fringe

I have always thought of myself as somewhat athletic. If not athletic, then at least agile. I dove competitively in HS and college and even had a brief stint with pole vaulting at SUU. I like to run. I like to hike. I like exercise. Because of these reasons, my thought to pick up the stretch bands and hand weights the other night when Lily went down early and Chris was at tennis did not, initially, seem like such a wild hare (or is it 'hair'?).
I dug the 8 pounders out of the cabinet and put on a sports bra and a new attitude. Upper body and abs shouldn't be out of my realm. I have an empty house, a couple of season premiers on television and some new motivation in the form of the excess movement around my mid section and thighs whenever I move quickly. It has been a little over a year and a half since real, sweaty, exercise has been a part of my life. As it turns out, the "use it or lose it" bit actually holds some water.
As I switch on the TV I start feeling even better. Just the idea of working out has edged the endorphins out of hibernation. I start bouncing to House's angry diatribe and punching the air in my kitchen/living room. I add a few kicks. My knee starts to whine and I remind myself to not get in over my head. I do a few more minutes of faux-cardio and then sit on a towel to begin the strength training portion of my work-out. I take the latex bands in my hands and wrap them around my feet that are outstretched in front of me. I pull back a few times. Ouch! That hurts. Maybe I should try something else. I remember something my mom told me about working out your chest muscles first so I fling the bands around my back and hold one handled end in each hand. I pull forward. ONE. Release. TWO. Release. THR--OUUUUUUCCCCCCH! The band suddenly rolled up my back and neck pulling the first two inches of hair at the nape of my neck with it.
So there I am. Stuck in a latex noose. Alone. Wearing a purple sports bra. I try to relax the tension I have on the cords but quickly find that it then entangles more hair in the evil, Chinese finger trap at my neck. I can't pull out further because, well, I am a wimp who counts walking to the mailbox twice as exercise lately and even if I could go-go gadget my arms further out it would only rip the hairs out of my neck. I try to quickly yank the band away from my neck, coming to terms with the hair-loss this requires. PAINNNNNNN! Unfortunately my hair density at the base of my necks is lacking. To pull the caught hairs would mean bringing the skin along. Frack.
I consider my options. Wait until Chris comes home. I can't imagine holding this position for another minute let alone an hour. My arms are engaged remember? I could call Chris and tell him to come home.
"Chris, come home quick I am tangled in the exercise bands."
"The what bands?"
"The exercise ones. You know the purple ones. Well, one is orange, you know they are in the cabinet with the- gah! it doesn't matter I am tangled, come home and save me."
"I am playing tennis."
"And I am dying a death of slow scalping! Am I on speaker phone?"

A little two much "The Injury" from The Office for me. plus, how would I dial the phone? This gets me thinking. Maybe I could get one hand out and then untangle my hair. I take my right foot and lift it as high as it will go: About three inches off the ground. I scrunch my back down, being careful to keep the tension even on my death trap. I slip my toes into the handle and take my hand out. AAAAAAH. I am rocking on my now unevenly placed butt cheeks, my leg not being as dextrous as my hand is not so good at holding a steady tension.
I really should have known better. Genetics was against me. It was only a matter of time until I encountered an embarrassing exercise incident. My mother once dropped a hand weight on her big toe. She couldn't walk right for weeks. She lost the nail, of course, but it was a complicated recovery full of ingrown toenails and frequent stubbings.
On a separate occasion, my mother once tripped during an aerobics class obstacle course. She was a little short jumping over a box of some sort, caught her toes, fell over a padded something and hit her nose on a mini tramp. Blood bath.
My father was once on the losing end of a battle with a broken kick boxing bag. No, that isn't true. I do feel like I am picking on mom a bit, though. Back to the story:
My hair! My neck! Who cares? What is that on TV? Scary images are flashing before my eyes! What happened to House? I could use him about now. Not some scary JJ Abrams X-files meets Lost! Felicity too tame for you buddy? I start ripping the hairs out of my neck one by one, still with foot in handle. I am just praying Chris doesn't bring his buddies in but also praying that he comes soon. I am stuck with a horror show in front of me and swiveling on my one grounded cheek to change the channel is out of the question. I tried. It hurt.
I finally get the latex monster off my back (or neck) and throw it (and a good chunk of my hair) to the side. Maybe I should stick to swimming. I am sticking to Felicity. Fringe was frightening.

A Song to Brighten Your Day

Check this guy out. Listen to the whole thing. I bet you listen to at least three more of his songs on YouTube.

Good Question

Angi brings up a good question, although one that that brought me to tears.

Should I change the name of my blog?

If you think, yes, then leave a suggestion for a new name.

Ten Three

October 3, 2004 I moved to Maui. I am not a brave person by nature so making such a drastic move was terrifying. I remember talking to Erin on the phone after being here a week or two. I hated it. I was lonely, missing Blithe, and felt completely uncomfortable. I don't handle change well.
Months later, I had made new friends, met some of the most amazing, giving people I had ever known, learned to surf, eaten lau lau, been put in the Young Women presidency and found a job. I was a part of the island. I belonged.
October 3, 2006 our first child is due. Although she didn't come on time, that date, the third, sticks in my mind as I repeated it, stared at it on the calendar, and told it to people over and over again. Exactly two years after I stepped foot on this island, I was to bring another person to it.
Now, as the two year anniversary of Lily's birth approaches, four years after I moved here, I am feeling incredibly nostalgic. I have changed, I think in mostly good ways. I have learned so much from the friends that I have met here and from the island itself. It is amazing what you have time to notice about life and nature without the seasons to distract you.
I have never been subject to such beauty and generosity as I have here. With groceries 30% more expensive than the rest of the nation, you wouldn't expect to be invited to dinner 5 nights in a month, or to have a potluck at church three weeks in a row. Even the snacks at nursery are full meals!
I love Maui and I can't wait for the adventures that wait my family in the next two, four, or forty years to come.




Chris has accepted a job with Sherwin Williams in Sandy, UT. We move October 3, 2008.

I've Been Dreaming. . .

"Meg, you look just like Giselle. If your hair was longer, and red, and if you got a facial."

~Johnny Kirton. Age 6

Dance Baby Dance

Lily loved the live music at the Farmer's Market in Bend.

Bend 2

The house we rented in Bend was so sweet. The young couple that owns it really had gone over the top to restore the little one bedroom gem. The slate floors, salvaged barnwood and corrugated metal accents were amazing. There were a lot of little accents like this lamp (below) that made the place so cool. I thought I took a picture of the kitchen, but I guess not. They had green drawers and cabinets that were so cool with the whole decor. My favorite part was the sliding door to the bedroom. The bedroom had a huge, maybe 8 foot wide doorway trimmed in barnwood. They had made a sliding door from the barn that was amazing. It slid on the old slider thing (what is that part called that a door slides on. . . I want to write 'castors' but that is the chair wheels right?) and had the corrugated metal on one side and bamboo on the other. Sweeeeeeeet. Really, it was awesome. Again, where is the picture I took of that? Oh yeah, the big screen tv wasn't that bad either.


I would love to live in Bend, in one of the restored arts and crafts style houses. I could just imagine myself hooking Lily up in the bike trailer and cruising down to the park for a little picnic. Or maybe we would take a little float down the river and feed some ducks. I daydreamed like this the whole time we were there. I even started feeling a little sense of urgency like "we MUST move here. . .NOOOOOOW" but today as Chris and Lily and I walked down our street and I looked down at Maalaea harbor with the sun setting behind the West Maui mountains, I realized there is no rush. We love it here too.

A Bend in the Road

Although I loved Portland there was one, serious, downfall. I had the worst headache in my life. I have only had one other headache of this proportion and it lasted one day. This one started two days before we left and the stabbing pains and debilitating nausea lasted eight full days. Ironically, or maybe not, the only time I wasn't clutching my head in agony was during a dinner with my dear BFF, Claudia and her hubby, Adam. They were so sweet and treated us to an amazing German meal in a darling neighborhood of craftsman houses that would make you drool even if the spatzel didn't get you. I really think her friendship cured me. After that dinner my head slowly improved each day. Later that night, at about 11:30 pm, Chris and I were lying in bed with Lily between us (that is squishy in a queen, let me tell you) and I realized something. It was our anniversary! Although the overall purpose of the trip was to celebrate our 6th anniversary (and the super cheap tickets Chris found) we had both forgotten about it that day. During the course of our busy day (and my headache turning me into super evil Meg) we had both forgotten that this was the actual day. So I turned to Chris, thirty minutes before our special day was over and I said "Happy Anniversary". It really had been a great day. Thank you, Claudia, for helping us celebrate. I really love Claudia so much.
I was sad to leave Portland, especially because another BFF, Beverly, was on vacation and didn't get back until we were 300 miles away. Dang you, fate.
We did have to leave the City of Roses and although my headache was starting to fade, we had another hurdle before our trip was over. We booked a night on the coast before heading to our second leg of our vacation. Unfortunately, we booked through hotels.com and they, despite taking our money, neglected to book us a room. On Labor Day weekend. In a small town. With a toddler. Remember the headache? It came back.
No one at hotels.com would help us. In fact, they hung up on us twice. We were stuck in the lobby of a hotel that does not have our reservation and has no rooms. On top of it, the room that we were supposed to have, didn't actually exist (two beds, ocean view, breakfast. . .this hotel only has one bed, no view, no breakfast). The manager of the fake hotel was so nice and even yelled at a hotels.com person (poor guy, I think he was in India and no clue what was going on) for us. She let us hang out, use the internet, use the 'potty' and she even found us a room. She had a friend who is starting a B&B out of her home. I guess she hasn't really started it yet, or something but she had a room open. I was really not excited since she said it was in a house with a SHARED bathroom. I was thinking it was going to be disaster. I pictured some hick with an extra room trying to earn a little money for her fake flower arrangements and yarn for the sweaters she knits for her 87 cats. I pictured sharing a bathroom with a greasy vagrant just strolled in from town on his way to his sisters for the holiday. I was afraid. I was mad. My headache was back with a vengeance.
As it turned out, the house was clean, right on the ocean, big, and nice, albeit decorated with a lot of silk flowers. We didn't see our host except for the wonderful tour and when we came back from dinner and she offered us a plate full of homemade cookies. Really, this woman was so excited to have someone stay with her, it was a little endearing. In the morning we awoke to a huge breakfast of fresh melon and fruit, pastries, bagels, juice, milk, and more. It was so perfect (except for paying twice for the room). Lily could run around outside in the fenced yard, or inside in the spacious living room. She even got to watch Cinderella.
Lily has been somewhat obsessed with Cinderella for the last week or so. I bought a Cinderella book at a yard sale and read it to her on the plane, we have been singing the songs (or the first two lines of each that I could remember it) and listening to the audio tape (yes, tape) that I took from my parents' house in January. She had never actually seen the movie, but was very familiar with the concept. Well, I think I was more excited that she was for her to watch the actual movie. Lily loved it. Okay, she loved the songs that we fast forwarded to. Well, the ones that actually featured Cinderella. The rest of the trip she would request 'Cinderelly song' and the she and I would sing and dance to "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" it was very cute. Chris even was persuaded to dance with her once. Oh! I almost forgot. Once she started dancing to my rendition of the classic Disney tune and she stops turns to me and says "Me. Dress! Dress Mama! Dance dress!" Translation: "Mother, I need a dress. There is no way I can possibly perform a suitable dance interpretation of Cinderella without a dress to twirl in!" This has been a requirement ever since.
Off we were to Bend. This is my favorite (and pain-free) part of the trip. This town is amazing. It is the high desert and through some of the most gnarly mountains I have seen. The Deshutes River runs right through town and the whole city is kept up so nicely. We rented a small house blocks from downtown, numerous parks, shopping, etc. We only got in the car once the whole time we were there. It was amazing.
Here are some shots from Bend:



On the boardwalk on the way to Bend.

Snuggling

Hanging out at the park

Testing out some kayak skills at the children's museum

Rose City

We went to the OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) expecting to be intellectually stimulated with history of the city and science. This expectation might have come in part from my current reading of Bill Bryson's A Short History of Almost Everything. This is my second read of this awesome book. Really, if you love history or science or just a great story telling then this is the book for you. Anyway, at the OMSI we discovered it was more of a children's museum. We were pleasantly surprised by how many fun things for kids there were. Really, the whole museum is geared for school age kids. There is a huge room for preschoolers that Lily could have lived in. She had so so so much fun.

This guy had ONE HAND and he could play! This was at the portland saturday market. I thought it was going to be a farmers market again (even though Chris told me we have been to this market before so I should have known) it was more arts and crafts. I was disappointed but we did buy some really amazing batik reproductions from a local artist. That was a good find.


"rock a baby" . All concerts should be outside and should have rocking chairs available.

More Portland

Nothing like a little spin to get a smile.

We got to go on a hike to Multnomah Falls. It is the second biggest fall in the United States. Very pretty. Chris and I came to Oregon while we were dating and we did this same hike. Chris and I have a picture of us in this same little cave. And look! Lily is LOOKING AT THE CAMERA AND SMILING. Really, this is a miracle. Don't believe me? Look back through the pics. There is maybe one other picture that fits that criteria.


Boo! Having a little fun at Ikea. Chris had never been to Ikea. Now, he is dead set on living in 590 square feet and getting the most out of some Scandinavian storage.

The Beaver State

Oh sweet Oregon! How I miss you!
We had so much fun! With minimal set-backs which will be discussed, our trip was fantastic. It was the perfect balance of sight seeing, relaxation, a little splurging and outdoor bliss. We had a great time spending time as a family and exploring new territory. I am not really sure the best way to document our trip. The travel log style, although fun for me to read, seems daunting to me. I think I am going to post the pictures and ramble about them as I go. Yep. That is what I am doing. Here I go!

Farmers Market in Portland. There was so much good food here it was insane! We had an artichoke and cheese tamale, lamb pita, golden raspberries, blackberries, tiny apples, cucumbers, carrots, melon, blueberries and homemade chips. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!! Lily had fruit all over her. People were commenting on her face and shirt swimming in blackberries while she chomps down on a half a cucumber in one hand and a fistfull of golden raspberries in the other. I think she could have been the market poster child. It was so cute.


Dang it! I still can't get the pictures to stay rotated unless I export each pic. I am way to lazy to do that so I guess we can all just rotate our heads. Lily sure enjoyed the sites and sounds of the big city. She thinks every building of four or more stories in "mama doctor" because my doctor has his office in one of only three tall buildings in Maui.

Chris at Voodoo donuts. See previous post for the 'splanation of this one.