Hot Stuff!

Look out Farm Chicks!!

Farm Chicks or Bust!

We had a blast!!! I am not sure what was more fun, the crazy ladies I went with or the sale! How can you not have fun when you have been riding in the car for 8+ hours hitting every Starbucks from Monroe to Spokane! Dana and Trisha came up with a great business plan for a all male espresso stand. How do you all think it will do? Hmmm I will keep my opinion to myself (for once) but it did make for some pretty funny moments.
More about our road trip to come...

Buddies

I have been on media blackout for 3 days now. I can't handle listening or watching any news source. I yelled at the radio on Monday, and I was not even listening to NPR! The media was just waiting to tear Bush's head off after his UN appearance. As he finishes up one of his best speeches to date, the media totally annihilates him, as usual. All of the predictable leftist minions rush to their press conferences to dispel what the President said.
Who will be the first to get a sound bite on CNN? Did they mention any of the positives in his speech? Of, course not!
One of the highlights of Dubya's speech was when he addressed the people of various nations that are having difficulties right now.
The saddest part about this was, with few exceptions many of these people will never be able to hear the President of our country addressing them. That is because his voice is censored out. Something that us as Americans know very little about, but the people of Venezuela and Iran live it out on a daily basis. Ironic?
Just a little..Due to speak just a few hours later President Ahmadinejad. Who rules a country that treats women as second class citizens. The UN council (and 60 Minutes) treat him like royalty! Applause, smiles, this is a very famous man!
Next up is Hugo Chavez...I would love to have a leader that could make such a rich statement as, "And it still smells of sulfur today."
Yes, this wonderful leftist idol launched right into his anti-American antics almost within his first breath of a statement at the UN yesterday. He stood at a podium in our FREE nation and called Bush a "world dictator".
I know this is a popular statement within the wack job leftist groups. But a bunch of college flunkies making this statement verses an ACTUAL dictator making it on our soil, is just so wrong!! Do a little research people, check out which nation has poorer people, worst women's rights, highest infant mortality rate, the list goes on and on.
Why don't you ask Ahmadinejad about gay rights, ask him if he is pro-choice!! I am SURE you would just love his answer!
Please... start putting your "bright upcoming minds" to use.
Could you let me know why we hold two people on a pedestal that do not believe that all people are created equal.
Why again are these men better than our own President?
You might be of the opinion that my thinking regarding this is "simple".
Maybe it is, but then maybe you can tell me how we can possibly make what is truly evil appear better and even superior. Go ahead and try and convince me that a certain race of people are subhuman. Try and convince the millions of Jews who lost family in the holocaust that it never happened.
Please stop just for a moment and think about what our country would look like if these men were in power here.
See, I knew I could change your mind.

Road Trip!!!

The kids went back to school yesterday!!! I even sent my 4 year old off to pre-school for the first time. Four whole hours all to myself, what is a Mom to do?
Starbucks here I come.
Well ...to celebrate my new found freedom I am dragging a couple of wild girlfriends on a road trip! Well... not like a "Rushmore or Bust" road trip, but a drive for 5 hours to go to a totally kick butt antique show road trip! (Way better than Rushmore).
We are going to a show that was just recently featured in Country Living Mag.
Of course you know the story... two clever ladies started putting on a show a few years back and they were discovered, now the two are contributing editors to the mag, people from all over the country fly in just check out their stuff ect..... It makes me soooo jealous!!! The small bank in town even stays open just for their show!!
They even have a cute name The Farm Chicks, you can check them out at www.thefarmchicks.com, it will get your creative juices flowing!
They are also featured in my new favorite book Mary Jane's Life Book. All of these ladies are what I hope to one day become. Entrepreneurial SAHM's who actual made a cool business work! Well it should be a awesome (long) day, I am not sure how Dad is going to handle the kids all day...welcome to my world honey!!

Our little Oasis

Even the cheesy sign makes me relax!!

Amber's-3 R's

Rest-Relaxation-Rejuvenation
That is the best way to explain my recent short stay at the wonderful Butterclam house in Ocean Shores. Our family has made this annual trek for the past 3 years. It always is a time of perfect lazy bliss for the family. Why do we need to drive 2+ hours to actually relax and spend time as a family? I am not sure. Why can't we relax here at our lovely home, close to everything? Well I think that might be part of the problem. There is nothing in Ocean Shores, no Starbucks, no Wi-Fi, you can barely get a cell signal. You should have seen us, we pull into town with our IPod/Laptop/Digital this and that. The locals must just crack up when they see people like us coming. Of course all of the locals look like they are about 65+ and are still bitter about the 2000 election. Anyways....I was just praying to get some sort of a cell signal and possibly get dial-up on the beach house phone line. No such luck. After about four hours of electronic detox, I finally relaxed. Zach and I need to be completely unplugged to truly relax, it is total madness. We have done this to ourselves, no wonder so many of us need to take Zolof to cope. What did people do before the electronic revolution?
Did people need anti-depressants then?
While we say that our blackberries/laptops/cell phones/ect.... make our lives easier, it really is just blurring the line between work and family life. Work only used to call home in case of a serious emergencies, now we get phone calls every night and that is after the 13 hour work day!
It was great to see my husband taking a nap, playing foosball and working stupid jigsaw puzzles until 1 in the morning. Did my kids complain that we did nothing for 3 days? No they loved it! For now they are just content to hang with the parents, spend time at the beach and work jigsaw puzzles with Dad. Did we go to Disneyland? No we drove to a small slightly depressed area that has no economy and just hung out for 3 days.
I have a friend of a friend who recently spent time in Ocean Shores, they hated it!!! Why? too slow, not enough to do. I must say, that is exactly why this girl chooses to go.
It leaves my husband and I with enough time to do what is important. Nothing.

No Bad Days

I am soooo not ready for back to school. I am not ready for the grind or the rain. Why do I live in Washington state? To be honest I am beginning to think it is only because there is a Starbucks on every corner.
This is my ~Ode To Summer~ blog.. All of my favorite things about summertime..
My garden-Spring comes and I stand out in the poring rain and I plant hopeful little seeds. Then if we are lucky enough to get some sun before the 4th of July, little green heads make there way out of the dirt. It seems like a mini rebirth for me every year. It brings hope of brighter and sunnier (who am I kidding) days ahead. Then at the end of the season I get to reap what I sow. Tom's, cukes, beans and of course fresh flowers. What a reward for all of your hard work!
My kiddy pool-If you have read any of my previous blog's you might have noticed that I did not get out much this summer. This made my kid's pool a real luxury!! I spent a little too much time lounging on a floaty working on my tan and the latest book from the library. A SAHM never had so much free fun!
Getting a tan-I know, I know I should be careful about skin cancer.... But vanity wins out everytime. I like being tan. Not fake tan, but real sun tan. It empowers me somehow. I think I am so vitamin D deficient from living in WA state that I just go stark raving mad when I get a good tan!! Also as my sister so eloquently put it. "Tan fat looks better than white fat." Thanks sis
Summer Food-Especially when blueberries start coming on (after the 4th) that is when I really kick it up a notch..Fresh produce, fresh herbs, fresh fruit. Is there such thing as too much peach cobbler, too many rhubarb pies. No of course not, but there is such things as too many calories and not enough time at the gym.
Open Schedule-I am sure that many of you are like me, every second of every day is so tightly scheduled that if we stop for even one hour to say..blog, it could mess up our whole week!! So for me to look at my handy calendar and not see one thing written down for like two weeks makes me leap for joy!!! It gives me more time for the kiddy pool.
Friends and Family-Due to my more open schedule...I get to be with the people that I love most more often. We play softball, BBQ, hang out and just have a great time. Life just feels more carefree and the little things seem less important in the summer. Like I said I am not sure if it is the vitamin D or all the Corona's everyone is drinking.. but it brings me back to what is really important. Spending time with the ones I love, enjoying life.
How can you not love summer.

Age

If 40 is the new 30, then what is 30? And who decides that anyway? Hollywood?
I'm sure, land where plastic surgery reigns.
So what is 30? I think about 2 years before I turned 30 I started to loath it.
I have never been nervous about age, but 30.
It's just so.... I don't know, average.
It's just so normal, just so blase. Just so suburbia and Oprah.
It started to dawn on me at about 28, I was looking into a "young adult" conference. The website said that it was for people between the ages of 20-30. Then I started thinking, what about the 30 years olds? Are they not "young adults" anymore? No they sure the heck are not. They do not get to attend the "young adults" conference. So what conference do they get to attend?
"How to hold onto your 20's"
It hit me, 30 is just plain BORING. Why don't they have conferences for 30 years olds? Because we would all need to be in bed by 9. Not out bar hoppin or going to cool all night coffee houses. Nooo we want X-Files reruns and our comfy jammies.
You see, in your 20's people have a little bit more sympathy for you, they are like "oh she will grow out of it." Or "as soon as she gets out of college she will get a good job."
Well what if you are in your 30's and you never got "the good job" and your bumper sticker reads "World's Best Soccer Mom." People stop having sympathy for you real quick.
So I have like 7 or so years before I get to the new milestone of 40. Say it with me... OOOOH.
At 40 your wise, at 40 your sexy, at 40 your blah blah blah. Come on!! I want all of those things now, and I want all (maybe just some) of the things I had when I was in my 20's (my butt for sure).
This was so obvious to me the other night. We went to a wedding for my husband's co-worker. She was a adorable young thing, with a attractive circle of friends. You saw all the cute young couples at the wedding. Many of the girls were pregnant, some were just married themselves. All very sweet, sure I remember those days like 10 flippin years ago.
Then there were the empty nesters. They were free wheelin and loving life.
Did they have to worry about the babysitter burning down the house?? Nooo the kids are gone, no wonder they drank so much. So here were Zach and Amber, we were the only 30's there. And to make matters worse we were a "work" invite. We would not be in this couples circle of friends. And why would a young 20 something couple want to be in our circle? Do they want to go to the first showing of every new Disney flick that hits the screen? I don't think so!
So we were total outcasts.
We used to be cool!! We used to have the attractive circle of friends!! (this is me holding on)
But now we ask ourselves who do we sit with? Who do we talk to?
Really if I did talk to them, I think that the 20 year olds would say they want to be in their 30's. The thirty year olds would say they want to be in their 40's. And the forty year olds would say they want to be in there 30's.
We can't get our youth back, and we fear the future. Go figure.