December on FB

PSA: cat cafes are scams designed to trick you into adopting cats. But we held strong and refused. 

Also, let me know if you need the address. 

Jason had foot surgery yesterday and I'm sorry to report that he has an inflated sense of how funny he is when coming out of anesthesia 😆

December 20th status:

Tree up ❌

Downstairs furniture ❌

Gifts wrapped ❌

Holiday meal planned ❌

Gifts purchased: TBD

There's still enough time, right? 😵‍💫

Is this sufficient for tomorrow?

Vote yea 👍 or nay 👎

My top 5 reads in 2025. What did you love reading this year?

My Digital Year in Review

 

November on FB

Should I be concerned that these are what Walmart considers my "Essentials""? 🤣 

IYKYK: Colorado edition

Hilarious! 🤣😂🤣

Recently, I put two sticks of butter on the counter to soften. After two days, they were not soft. In case you were curious about the temp in our house these days. But we got this from the power company, so it's all worth it. 😆

Show me you were scarred by watching the movie Soylent Green in middle school without telling me you were scarred by watching Soylent Green in middle school.

We don't usually drive 150 miles and stay overnight in a hotel to go to a concert, but when we do it is to see Michael and the concert was so lovely

I would like to recommend a new filter for all audiobook databases/catalogs: "Not Read by Wil Wheaton"

October on FB

Every morning when I read about what the current regime did the day before

Yet another NYT crossword fail. The answer is obviously "ABSOLUTELYANYTHINGELSE" but that doesn't fit. 

(I'm joking.... mostly)

I don't normally think that FB is the place to get/give relationship advice, but I am going to leave this right here....

New state motto for Washington State: The X-Files State 😆

If you aren't a 10yo who thought today was Halloween, have you even experienced disappointment in your life?

September on FB

Only Ben and Isaac are left after almost 3 hours of play. Isaac is unbelievably persistent in the face of Ben's holdings.

 

If I offer you tea or recommend you get a cup of tea, just know that I've been a lot of cozy fiction lately and and I'm almost convinced that tea IS the solution to all of the problems.

The difference a few hours can make

Hello Autumn, my old friend

I can see you've come again

Because the all the leaves are changing

Hoodies for tees I am exchanging

And the pumpkin flavors I can now obtain

Soothe my brain

Within the cooling weather

First Days

September 4th | Ben's first day of 11th grade

On the agenda for this year:

-AP classes

-SPSCC classes

-Swim team

-Solo and ensemble competitions

-Playing in the pit for the school musical

September 8th | Isaac's first day of 5th grade

On the agenda for this year:

-Starting band (flute)

-Battle of the Books

August on FB

 Playing lost and found at Mt Rainier

The park rangers asked us not to feed the wildlife. 

But I couldn't help it. 

I fed way more mosquitoes than I planned.

I threatened to get this as a tattoo but nobody at my house believes me

Probably not for much longer, sadly. 😣🤦‍♀️

Ben got his license on Friday 🎉 and I sprained my right ankle on Sunday 😫 so he's going to go straight into chauffeur mode. Welcome to being a licensed driver, Ben!

I have to say, at least all orthopedic braces come in a classic black color that goes with everything (though I had been hoping for purple)

11 days and counting until "read for 30 minutes every night" season begins!

What the hell, NPR?!!?! THIS is how you describe Taylor Swift? I'm not even a big fan, but "Swiftie fan Travis Kelce engaged to mega star Taylor Swift" seems more appropriate.

Thanks a lot patriarchy.

July on FB

Open letter to Democratic leadership:

We already have our villain. Now we need our hero. We need a leader to win the 2028 election, but we need that person now. We need something to work towards, not just what we must now work against. We need someone to lead with courage, compassion, and determination. We need someone who lifts others up, listens, and accepts accountability. We don't need another cult of personality. Our diversity is our strength and no one should be required to agree on everything. But we need someone to vote FOR. We need all leaders to be able to say they may not agree on everything, but they trust that they can work with the leader-hero and support them.

Many people in this country are doing amazing things right now. I am encouraged to see regular folks and politicians who are refusing to "go gentle into that good night" that is the death of our democracy. But working towards something is less exhausting than fighting against something. Please find us a "hero" to work along with us and for us to fight for. 

How awkward would it be if I wore all black today and only ate funeral potatoes?

We have a great photographer 💜

The driver's ed course covers driving distractions like texting and DWI/DUI. But I was thinking that more could be added to that list.

--Child talking nonstop about Pokemon/Minecraft in the backseat

--Large container of local berries in the passenger seat/within arms reach

--Sunshine in the PNW

--Songs on the radio that teens (in the car) think are lame

Any more ideas?

The faces of my child on our hike this morning

Backpacking | Dosewallips

As part of one of my poorly defined goals of getting more girls in the mountains, I invited one of Michael's friends to go backpacking this summer. She was enthusiastic and willing to try something new. Schedules being what they were, we ended up going just the two of us, so I took her to one of my favorite backpacking spots and we had a great time. 

She was a lovely hiking buddy and I am so glad we got to do this trip.

Lake Cushman

We took the day to have some fun in the sun.  

Family Fun with Jon!

Jon stopped by on his way to a cruise in Alaska. We had a lovely dinner and I grabbed a few pics since this is an uncommon occurrence. 

Ink

I have developed a set of recommendations regarding tattoos that I share with the boys when the topic comes up. 

1. Wait until age 25 when your brain has finished developing
2. Once you have a design you want, sit with it for a year to make sure it is what you really want
3. Start with one in a location on your body that can be easily covered

Then Michael went to Mexico with a bunch of friends. I should have seen this coming. I really should have. Alas and alack. 

Today Michael sent Jason a picture. So far, he has sent me texts more often than Jason. It probably isn't too difficult to understand why this one went to Jason. 

We were both surprised and not. But it did inspire us. Well, it inspired me and I roped Ben and Jason into my plan. I bought a tattoo pen (washable) a while back and haven't been able to convince anyone to use it. But, this was an opportunity I could not pass up. Part of the issue is that I have to have buy-in from Jason since I am a horrible artist. 

Here is the image Jason sent back after explaining that Ben was jealous when he saw Michael's picture:

Twins, right??

Car Museum in the Heat Wave

Holy heat wave, Batman!

We scored some tickets to the car museum in Tacoma from Doug and Cody. A heat wave seemed like a great time to enjoy cars and air conditioning. The museum was a mix of old cars, strange cars, super sweet rides, and interactive exhibits. The only drawback is that the museum closed today before the heat broke. But everyone found a car to swoon over and several cars to gawk at.