I love Monday

I know it sounds crazy. In fact this morning I don't want to love Monday, but I'm trying to be positive so stick with me. Love is not always a feeling right? I'm just going to dig my heels in and love Monday even if it kills me!

There is just something awful about preparing a meal that tastes so good, and then waking up the next morning and feeling like you need to puke. That's how I felt today. I don't know if it was bad food, or dehydration from the sun, but I felt horrible. Have you ever seen the cartoons where the character gets out of bed only to literally drag themselves across the floor picking themselves up and falling as only a cartoon character can do? That was me this morning, just not as cool looking as a cartoon character.

It was a fairly good weekend. We saw UP. I loved it, but I love most Pixar films. Kaylie said it was the best movie ever. Of course she is three and anything in recent memory is usually the best. I believe there is also something wonderful about an air conditioned movie theater in the middle of hundred degree weather.

We spent Sunday at the water park. This has become a weekly ritual. Kaylie is slowly getting braver. She still has a tendency to panic in the wave pool, but she now goes down all the slides in the kids area. These are not the slides from the kiddy area I remember as a child. These are a lot bigger and a lot of fun. Sometimes we have to convince her it would be a good idea to go back to the kids area and ride some slides. Hey even adults can be kids at heart :) Micah isn't quite ready for all that excitement. His favorite passtime is crawling around the most shallow area of the kids pool, and chilling with momma on the lazy river.

Well it's time to get back to today. All this weekend fun has been brought to you brought to you by the paychecks from Thomson and Pavestone.

Water Garden Pictures

A week has gone by, but here they are.

Kaylie took this picture. A little bit dark, but I think we have a photographer in the making.
Kaylie and I are about to make the dangerous journey to the bottom. ha ha
I told Kaylie she needed to hold my hand for her own safety, but secretly it was to help me keep my own equilibrium.
Micah just wanted to sleep. Can you blame him in this heat?

Finally, an escape from the scorching sun.

Across the Ocean Seems So Far Away

My dad has been in Africa for over a month now. I knew he would be far away, but when you are a busy working mom you find that it's easy to pass the time by just living life. When I go over to their house it's often just like dad's at work or in the office. I haven't spoken to him much because of the time difference, power outages in Burkina Faso, and all the things that can make transcontinental communication difficult. I just happened to pick up the kids this afternoon, and mom was on the phone with him. We were able to talk briefly before his phone disconnected.

When I was little there were a few times my dad traveled without us, or we traveled to visit family without him if he was working. I remember hating the moment we had said our goodbyes and he turned to walk away. I dreaded those few moments knowing how much I would miss him and how far away it seemed he would be. I just wanted to get a good cry out so all those bottled up kid emotions could get out. Talking to my dad today made me feel that way again. Of course I am all grown up and I know I will see him again, but it's just the reality of how far away he really is.

I suppose no matter how grown up we get there is always that child in us that longs for the closeness of home, and not the structure. Instead the home we found or always wanted to find in the safety and security of our parents love and presence in our lives.

When you read this dad I love you and miss you. I know you will come home, but tonight across the ocean seems so far away.

Flash Flood

We are so close to building boats to float away. This may seem like an exaggeration, but it's not to far from reality when I can see the Trinity river from my front door. If you have never been through a true Texas thunderstrom it is a sight to behold. I remember my grandparents coming from Seattle one spring. We had a classic April storm. It was nothing too out of the ordinary, but my gradmother was scared out of her mind. I have spent the morning watching lightning bounce across the sky from my desk. I am still amazed we have electricity.
Last night was cool to watch. If only I wasn't so chicken I could have taken some good pictures. I'll leave that to the crazy storm trackers. I prefer the perceived safety of my own home.

Vacation

No I'm not going on one, but I sure wish I was. Unfortunately I have no vacation time until September 17th. Yes I have it down to the day. This warm summer weather has me craving a sunny beach If it wasn't for the economic mess and high cost of living, California would be my place to live.

It was a good weekend. We made the mistake of going to downtown Fort Worth Saturday afternoon. We walked from Sundance Square all the way to the Water Gardens behind the convention center. The walk there was not too bad. Kaylie loved the unique fountains and pools. I recommend checking it out if you are ever downtown. It really is an amazing piece of work. Unfortunately the temperature really started to heat up and we had a long walk back. We were all dragging the whole trek back to the car. Saturday night Chris and I went on a date. We had some wings at Buffalo Wild Wings and then coffee at a new shop called Roots. It was a cool little shop in North Richland Hills. The decor was aweseom and the coffee not too shabby. My only complaint was the people were not too friendly, even after I attempted to engage one of the baristas in conversation.

Sitting in the coffee shop made us realize once again what a great desire we have to one day open our own coffee shop. It has been a dream of mine since I was a teenager, and Chris just happens to share that dream. We spent the rest of our date brainstorming and crunching numbers. It was fun to converse about something we are both so passionate about. Hopefully that dream will be fullfilled in the near future, but more on that later.

Sunday was a relaxing day. We had lunch with the family at Saltgrass (so very good). After lunch we took the kids swimming for the remainder of the afternoon. It was quite enjoyable. As usual I did not want it to end. I will post some pictures later this week from out trip to the water gardens.

Time to sign off. Until tomorrow!

Cup,Slurp,Identify, & Describe

Close your eyes for a moment. When was the last time you really experienced something? Was it the taste of a delectable dessert? Was it the sweet morning air? Perhaps it was a song that captured your ear and brought you back to a moment or place in time.

During my tenure at Starbucks my absolute favorite activity was the coffee tasting. It was something that was drilled into me from the moment I walked through the doors. We did coffee tastings for everything:meetings,first days, parties, and just for the fun of it. The point of it was to get the partners as well as customers involved in understanding the complexities of coffee. We usually paired it with a dessert that complimented the flavors in the coffee. Nothing delighted me more than when I would conduct a partners first impressions. We would always start with a tasting. I favored a French press of Kenyan coffee for the first day, and usually paired it with a lemon bar. I loved to watch as an ordinary cup of coffee was transformed in front of them. It did not matter if the partner was a coffee drinker or not. I always got a reaction once they made the connection between the flavors of the coffee and the pastry.

The basic steps were to cup the coffee and get a good whiff of what you were about to taste. The next step was to slurp. This had a two fold purpose. The first was that it cooled the coffee down so that you could actually taste, and the second helped to spray the liquid across the pallet so a true flavor profile could be assessed. After getting a good taste you could then identify what parts of the tongue were affected by the flavor. Last but not least we described what we had tasted.

I may be losing some of you who don't love coffee, but bear with me. The reason I loved this practice so much was not simply because I enjoy coffee. It really was the experience of awakening the senses to something deeper than the eye can see. Too often we resort to hyper drive in our fast paced society. We inhale food, ingest millions of bits of information, and simply run through life without stopping to allow our senses to catch up. There is something pure and wonderful about stopping and allowing the senses to soak in the experience. I promise the price of time will be well rewarded.

Never Take for Granted

Tonight was one of those nights. A night where I came home and just needed some quiet. The kids were loud. Micah wanted to be held all night. Kaylie wanted a snack, to go the the park, to play, and to interrupt any conversation I was having. I know every mom can relate to what I'm talking about. Sometimes you just want some time for yourself. Time to feel like you are more than just a cook, nurse, and maid. I finally put them to bed, and decided to pull out some old notebooks full of my writings over the years. I came across this poem I wrote the night after I found out I had miscarried our first child.

October 18th
October 18th I found you were not there
My heart was broken, nothing seemed fair.
To know I would not see you
Or get to hold you to my heart,
My soul was devastated.
Will time ever heal this tear?
I am so sad.
I miss you so much now.
In just a few short weeks,
God has given you so much to endow.
You opened my heart is so many ways.
Slowly I would give up my selfishness,
For this love so great.
Baby, God wanted you to be with Him.
So once again I cannot be selfish.
I will give in.
I will always love you, my very first.
I'll keep your little snoopy,
To always remind us of you.
I love you, goodnight,
Until we meet again.

Reading this brought back a flood of memories. My children are my babies and I can never take them for granted. In those times when I'm tired, or feel I can't listen to that song one more time, I remember how precious these gifts are to me. These times are but a moment, and in a blink they will be grown.