Hiking and the Scandihoovian…

First let me preface the story with the fact that last Tuesday morning around 0400 I tripped on a flip flop walking from the bathroom back to bed and broke my little toe on my left foot…OUCH!

Sunday I decided it would be fun to go to Clark Creek Park in Puyallup to explore the trails. This park is HUGE! It's densely forested and has a multitude of trails to walk and bike on. The weather was drizzly but not cold. Which was nice because by the time the walk/hike/mudding was over, I had my coat around my waist and I was loving the rain falling on my face.

Around 1400, Chris, PugZee and I headed off to find the park and check it out. The first part of the hike was fine, it was a nice wide paved trail. It wound around through an open area with a playground and off leash dog park. Then it turned up into the forest. We walked along taking in the cool air and all the sounds of the forest. We came to a Y and Chris asked me, “Which way?” If we went right, it appeared to go straight up and if we went left, if appeared it would be a bit more flat. So I chose to go left.

As we walked along, the trail began to get smaller and muddier at times. There were quite a few hills and the trail was slippery, but being under the canopy of trees, it was quite tranquil. It was rainy, but you really couldn’t tell since the trees acted as a great cover for us. We came to another Y and Chris could hear a “waterfall” to the left so we decided to follow the sound of the water. This trail was not as used as the other ones we were on and it soon came to a big mud hole! There was a small tree down over the mud and Chris was able to walk across it, PugZee decided to go straight through the mud and was covered by the time he got to the other side! I on the other hand, really didn’t want to try to cross the fallen tree because my sense of balance is not so good and I envisioned me looking like PugZee when it was all done!

Chris went ahead with the dog to scout out whether or not I should even try to get across. All of a sudden, I heard him laughing and calling PugZee. I couldn’t see them so I had no idea what was going on. When he came back, PugZee was soaked! He had found a pond and didn’t realize that there was water on the other side of a concrete barrier and PugZee just jumped in! This was a good thing though, since it cleaned all the mud off of him. Chris also found several smaller branches and placed them across the mud and helped me inch my way across.

Next up, we found the “waterfall”. It was a culvert. The pond PugZee had jumped into was feeding the creek through the culvert. We were able to get across the slippery rocks on up to the gravel road on the other side. We were walking along and I heard a splashing sound coming from the creek below. I couldn’t figure out what it was so I found a trail and investigated it. When I reached the creek, I saw about 15 salmon! They were swimming up stream to spawn! They were big too! After watching for a while and taking a few pictures, we began walking the gravel road again. This led us to the Fish Hatchery. We were pretty sure we weren’t supposed to be there so we found another trail that led us back to the original trail we were on and we actually found our way out. This was a 2 ½ hour hike, not too bad on a broken toe!

What I have learned from this is that I need a good pair of hiking boots and we should take water, and maybe something to nibble on while we are out there. Hiking on an empty stomach is not a good idea. Here are some pictures from our hike…. Enjoy!

Foxy Fantasy Females! WOOT!

Short story.. I was invited to join an all female fantasy football league and since I know ZIP about football, I thought it would be fun! So far, so good.. Its been exciting and frustrating all at the same time. I am learning, VERY SLOWLY, about the game and I realized that it's not all about the TIGHT ENDS! LOL! Anyway, here is a clip from Inside NFL on Showtime. These are my team mates! Might I say that they fit the name FOXY! Thanks Jenn for making this happen!

Mall Shopping…… I hate it!

I have always said, “I hate shopping!” And it’s true… I’d rather poke 2 hot sticks in my eyes! So yesterday, I decided I needed to go to the Mall.. Why, I don’t know, I guess I convinced myself I “needed” pants and shoes. I’m flying to Medford in two weeks to go to a Moose function with my sista and my parents. It’s a big deal for my mom and she asked if Deborah and I could be there. So of course we will.

Mom told me this weekend that there will be 3 “doings” that I will need “outfits” for. Now understand, I only wear Jeans.. I have one pair of black pants.. My “Just in Case” pants. Just in case I need to look half way dressed up. Well there is a meeting, a banquet and another meeting.. And mom said that I shouldn't wear jeans to the meetings, it’s frowned upon… And I can’t wear the same black pants to all three events so off to the mall I go…… UGH!

I started at one store, outside of the mall and found nothing. So I parked and headed inside….. It was crowed and of course the stores I wanted to go to were at opposite ends of the mall. So I started on one end and made my way through the crowds to each of the stores I had on my list.

The mall nowadays is nothing like the old school malls.. You know the ones that had everything neatly tucked inside little cubbies on either side the of narrow walkway. Oh no, they now have XTRA wide walkways and what they call “Kiosks” all down the center of said walkway. The Kiosks are comprised of one of the following…. cell phones, sunglasses, cell phone cases, earring pagodas and Swisa Beauty Products!

These people who work in these kiosks must be paid on commission because they are very aggressive and they all have the same approach. Here I am, minding my own business, making my way down the walkway and I hear every few steps, “Hello there, can I ask you a question?” Here’s the trick… NEVER MAKE EYE CONTACT! Never look directly at them and walk really fast! That worked for me for the first few Kiosks, then I was distracted by a shinny thing…..

Yep, I was suckered in by a tall, brown haired, brown eyed Russian or Ukrainian beauty.. She was gorgeous and I was mesmerized by her eyes. She worked in the Swisa Beauty kiosks and she proceeded to explain to me why I should use the products. She used Sea Salt (from the Dead Sea) on my hands. My hands were so soft when she was done! Then she started in talking about the Face Peel. She took some of the concoction and spread in on my wrist.. she talked about how this should only be done once a week, you put it on, wait, then rub in small circles and it will exfoliate your skin. When she was done, she showed me how the pours on my left wrist were much cleaner than my right wrist.

In the next breath, we were standing next to the cash register and she was ringing me up! I couldn't believe it! Do you know how much she wanted to charge me for a 1.1 oz jar of face peel? $65!!!! Can you believe that! She did say it would last a year though, but still.. I said no. $65 was just way to much money to pay for face peel! Well she ended up giving me her “employee” discount and I promised to come back and bring a friend… yeah, as if I’m ever stepping foot in there again! She was cute but I can’t afford her! LOL!

I tried the face peel last night and I did enjoy the experience.. If it really lasts 365 days, it may be worth it, I will let you know...

Post Script:
I never did find any pants or shoes during my outting to the mall... guess it's back to internet shopping for me

Why didn’t she just say no…..

I’m not talking about Bristol Palin, I’m talking about her mom. Why didn’t she say, Thanks but no thanks to McCain? I just don’t understand. She promotes “family values” yet by accepting this, she has put her KIDS in the line of fire. Not just her and her husband, but her KIDS! I don’t have all the answers but I know if it were me and my 17 year old daughter was pregnant, I wouldn’t want to throw her to the wolves ie: THE PRESS!! I am Pro-Choice.. Bristol made her choice and I’m OK with that. I’m thankful that she had a choice. What I’m not ok with is knowing that her decision to keep the baby is now front page news all over the world. She’s 17!!! I’m not saying that they should keep her locked away either but come on… this is a bit ridiculous. I thought, we as mothers, were supposed to protect our kids as much as we can and I know they can’t be protected forever. But there has to be a point where your kids need to come first! Sarah Palin could have said, “You know what…. My family is the most important thing to me and I don’t think this is the right time. My kids need me and I need to be there for them.”
Here’s a new column in The Stranger… it proves my point….

The Stranger

Inspired!

I was inspired by Stephanie's blog today. She posted a BEAUTIFUL painting of her that she got for her 9th anniversary. You must check it out! It looks just like her, down to that mischievous twinkle in her eyes!
Here is my glamour shot from the early 90's! I look like a lion RAWR!


And here is the pencil drawing that a friend drew for me when he had some time on his hands.... What do you think?




So Steph, to answer your question.... You put it where ever you darn well please because its FANTASTIC!

"Why?"

"Why?" was the response I got when my mom saw my newest tattoo. When I got out of the pool last Saturday she said, "Did you get another tattoo?" and I said, "Yes, isn't it pretty!" She answered my question with a question. LOL! Now don't get me wrong, my mom is pretty easy going and doesn't care what other people do, but I am her daughter, so I'm fair game! Really, my parents have supported the decisions my brother, sister and I have made over the years, even if they didn't agree, the one thing we could count on is MOM and DAD! They were always there, and I appreciate it so much!

But the one thing my mom doesn't understand is my tattoos. Why would I want one, or two or the NINE that I have. My reasons are all over the board, really. My first one is a small rose on my right shoulder blade. I got it 17 years ago with a friend. We just decided to get tattoos! There was really no thought involved, I just knew I wanted one. At that time my mom was a bit distressed and said, "Where are you going to get it?" I promised that I wouldn't get it in a place where I'd need to "get to know" the tattoo artist first! She was relieved when I got it on my shoulder blade. I had that tattoo for years and really no one ever saw it, unless I was swimming. The next one I got on my right calf. I think it was 1998 or 1999. It's a star with a Yin Yang symbol in the middle. I call it my "break up" tattoo. I was seeing a guy who was against me getting any more tattoos so when he was finally gone, I got a tattoo! Tattoo number 3 is a sunflower at the base of my neck. I have no special reason for it, I just wanted one. Tattoo number 4 is some vines around the sunflower, that part was completed about a year after I got the sunflower. Number 5 is one that I have no excuses for, except maybe one too many Margarita's.. It's a bear claw on the right side of my neck, up high near the back of my ear. My boyfriend Christopher has the same tattoo in the same place. He thinks that makes us married. On to number 6. It's on my neck (right side) and it's some vines and a flower. Tattoo number 7 has to be one of my very favorite tattoos!! It's on my left wrist. It's astrological sign for Sagittarius and it's beautiful! Christopher got the Pisces symbol on the same wrist on the same day. Number 8! This is one that starts on one side of my neck and flows around to the other side. It is a dragon fly of sorts with flowers that trail off as if it was flying from the flower on tat number 6. I like this one a lot as well. Levi, my son, drew it for me! And last but not least is the most recent one. NUMBER 9! It's on my left calf and it has a vine with flowers as well as a Celtic Motherhood symbol. It sports a blue dot right in the center that represents my son. I think it's beautiful! I think secretly my mom thinks it's beautiful too! Right mom! :-)

Back her question, "why?" Because I think they are beautiful. Because I like being different. Because I can! I'm 42, I can do what I want! The best thing is that I know I don't have to worry about my mom and dad not loving me because I have tattoos.. I know they will always love me no matter what! I love you Mom and Dad!

Here are a few pictures, I won't bore you with all nine pictures!

The Joys of Gardening

This is the first time EVER in my adult life that I have had a GARDEN! Woot! Woot! Ok, so I didn't plant it, nor did I tend to it in any way.. Chris did it all.. Oh wait, I think I watered it once! Chris has done a great job growing all the pretty green veggies! So far everything is green, but soon, then Maters will be ruby RED! YUMMY! I remember having a garden in the house we lived in on 95th St. in Vancouver, WA. I love fresh carrots and tomatoes.. I seem to recall tomatoes growing through the fence.. Hey mom, were those tomatoes ours or did they belong to the neighbors.. Oh well, I ate them anyway!

So here is our garden in the beginning.



And here is the garden NOW



We have 4 ft tall lettuce! Is it supposed to grow that tall? We have MATERS! They are still green but they look super fantastic! We have eaten several dinners that included fresh peas! The corn is getting pretty tall and I saw a cucumber! Funny story about the carrots... They have looked great, the tops are all green and really tall.. Chris pulled one up a little over a week ago and it was about an inch long and white! He ate it anyway. Is that normal? Last night he pulled up another one and it was ORANGE! YAY! But it looked a bit deformed.. Like it had a parasitic twin. For those of you who do not know what a parasitic twin is, click
here
Yeah, I watch too much Discovery Health!!

Chris planted pumpkins and onions too. He hasn't said much about them so I guess the pumpkin won't be entered into the fair this year. :-( Here are a few more pictures so ENJOY! And I recommend that you all plant a garden!