My time on the lake, after the injury

Floating on an inner-tube! Not too shabby, huh?

My foot felt the best when I was in the water. No resistance, I guess. Its actually started feeling worse since we got home and daily tasks have kept me busy. How long are you suppose to ice? I thought it was just the first 24 hours. But i started icing again tonight and it feels slightly better.

Saw Mamma Mia today. Such a fun movie! Totally corny, but I loved it!
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The Girls

The girls came up with Steve (my BIL) and family for the week of Camp Retz. They were a lot of fun, helped out with the boys, and were very adventurous, too!
Day one on the tubes, Elton can't stop grinning.

Within a few minutes, she standing on the moving floatie...almost like surfing!

Her big sister, EllyMae takes her turn.

And of course, she's standing within a few minutes, too.

Back on shore, the adventurous girls do a bit of cliff jumping.

I have to admit, I was biting my nails from afar. But Steve was in the water spotting for them, making sure they were jumping into water that was deep enough.

All 5 kids and Steve in his boat.

Elton was able to kneeboard on her first try, too, just like my oldest nephew.

The two sisters striking a pose, just before they tried to knock each other off the floatie.

And ending the day with smores on the deck, all 5 kids on a sugar high, just before bedtime.

Jimmy called them "Elton" and "EllyMae" all week, which is perfect since I don't like using kids real names on my blog.
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Big Brother

At seven years old, big brother R shows his little brothers what water sports is all about.
Not only could he stand on the moving floatie...

he tried knee boarding for the first time and...

not surprisingly, succeeded on his first try!

The rest of the week, he rode the high-speed tubes with the girls.

They wanted to go as fast as they could. It was Jimmy's goal to try to knock them off, taking sharp corners and going up to 30mph in the boat.

We had one day on the 'slow' lake. No tubing permitted and speed limits enforced.

But cliff jumping is allowed. Just watch out for your little brother below!

A day on the slow lake gave big brother R some time on the canoe with Uncle Jimmy.

And night time smore makings seemed to be Big Brother's forté. After 3 years at Camp Retz and 1 full year of Cub Scouts, Big Brother R knew exactly how he liked his smore: burnt to a crisp.

He's showing off his prized smore with the girls and his younger brother. A great way to end the day.
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The Middle Child

Middle J, at 5 years old, is oh so much braver than he was last year. It's so amazing to watch these boys grow up from year to year.
Last year, he would walk into the water up to his knees, but upon his own will, that was the furthest he would go. This year, he was constantly in the water and up to silly little antics that a middle child would be up to.

This year, we couldn't keep him out of the water.

He even did a bit of cliff jumping. You go Middle J!!

Middle J is my photography protégé. He's telling "Elton" to move closer to me so he could take a quick snapshot.

Even though he loved being in the water, still, one of his favorite things was being in the canoe with Uncle Jimmy.

A supah cute snapshot with his friend "EllyMae". Yup, his mouth is full of oreos, just like his little brother.

Middle J, with his older brother R, watch for their baby brother in the canoe with the girls.

Middle J is a little better at keeping the food in his mouth during smores night. Just a bit of chocolate under his nose.

This is our proudest moment with Middle J. He actually got on the floatie being pulled by the boats for the first time this year. Brave Middle J, yes he is! Can't wait to see what he'll be up to next year!

And he's becoming a helpful spotter for his Uncle Jimmy, too. He plays a very important role, making sure that Jimmy knows when the person falls off so they can pick them up. He has the orange flag in hand, ready to put it up if the person falls.

Middle J and Uncle Jimmy, the dynamic duo.
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The Youngest Nephew

Little D is the youngest of the nephews, but at 3 years old, he strives to keep up with his big brothers.
For the first few hours, he was content throwing rocks into the water.

And eating oreos. Similar to last year.

But soon, he was swimming in the lake with his daddy, happy as a fish.

By lake day #2, he was diving in: his version of cliff jumping.

Here's little D taking a swimming break with his friend "Elton".

A quick snapshot with his mommy and daddy.

Riding in the canoe, feeling the water, with his friends "Elton" and her sister "EllyMae" (Jimmy's nicknames for the girls).

Time for smores! Little D didn't like marshmallows, but loved graham crackers. As you can see.

Little D relaxing on the big floatie with his Uncle Jimmy.

This little boy can strike a pose, don't you think?

I can't resist one last photo of a his precious cheese-face!
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Camp Retz: Year 3

Hurray! We have fast internet connection at the hideaway!! One of the best bday presents to someone who is totally addicted to the internets. But quite happily, i have not had 15 minutes to be able to enjoy it. The family came on Monday, the same day the internets arrived and each day has been so full that by 9 or 10pm, I flop into bed exhausted, then when I wake up, we're off and running right away. Extremely fulfilling.
Here I am sitting with the nephews. Does it look like we're just chatting, enjoying the view? Oh how I wish. Not 30 seconds before, I twisted my foot and fell. I think I actually screamed. Both of them came over and sat next to me to make sure that I was ok. They both looked at my ankle, made sure I wasn't bleeding, checked out my scrapes on my foot and elbow, and just, once again, poured out the love. So now you get another reason why I love my nieces and nephews so much. Look at 'em...sitting next to me, giving me comfort. I'm so glad Jimmy caught this moment w/ the camera. Great kids. And, if I don't say so myself, I picked a mighty nice place to twist my foot, don't you think? Look at that view! The foot is feeling better, much icing, much elevating, much resting, much compressing. I may not be able to tube or jump off any cliffs for the rest of the week, but I won't have to sit alone at home. I have to capture as many moments with the nephews as I can.
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I love being an Auntie!!!!

My nieces and nephews bring me some of my greatest memories and joys. I love them so much it can bring tears to my eyes. I just had to share the sentiments from one of the cards I received today:

Aunt,
role model,
family connection,
and good friend
all combined in one amazing woman.

Everything an aunt should be-
no question about it-
you are.

~~

See why my heart is just bursting over with love?
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Hit It!

That's what I did today! Hit the big 4-0! Wow, it feels exactly like 38.

Thanks to all my loving friends and family who called, left messages, dedicated a blog post, left comments, mailed cards, sent text messages and emails. You all expand my heart.

Tomorrow, we are hideaway bound for over a week.Lots of fun, lots of water, lots of family and friends to continue the celebrations. We're hoping to get faster internet connection at the hideaway, so I may be able to do a post or two. That'd be an amazing birthday present!

The day may be over but the love I received will last me forever.
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This girl

Is coming to visit today! Can't wait to see her and her sweet daughter!

We've been friends since the 9th grade. She was my maid of honor. She's seen the bad and the good. She held me when I was at my weakest. And she'll be here to celebrate my 40th birthday on Friday!

Check these old photos:
1984 baby. The last few days of our sophomore year.

What were you doing in 1984?
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"In a world of six billion people, it only takes one to change your life"

Saw an accident happen in front of me today involving a semi-truck. I have to give props to the semi driver because he skillfully avoided hitting the 2 cars in the lane next to him on the left, avoided jack-knifing his truck and rolling it. From what I could tell, a car in the slow lane (going fast) cut him off and probably hit the semi or the semi clipped the car when the car cut him off. The semi slammed his brakes and served into the left lane (the lane I was in, behind the 2 cars directly next to him). Amazingly, he didn't hit the cars next to him and they didn't hit him. We were all going around 60 mph or more. It's insane how fast the dialog in your brain happens: "WTF is happening?? Brake! Don't hit the car! Semi, don't roll! OMG, there's gonna be a pile up. Is that car behind me gonna hit me? Can i move into the left lane? Move into the left lane!" And all this dialog is happening in the other 10 cars around me, too. Thankfully, both the semi and the car drove to the shoulder and no one visibly looked injured. Crazily, as everyone passed the incident, they all zoomed off, seemingly unfazed. Me? I moved over to the slow lane and counted my blessings.

On another note, I watch the movie "The Visitor". Possibly the best movie I've seen this year. Coincidentally, hit on topics of:
-Listening to music you don't understand
-Noticing the workings of power and privilege in your culture
-Learning people's history
-Assuming that many others share your dreams
-Know that no one is silent though many are not heard
and
-Watch films with subtitles
although this film didn't have subtitles, I believe that it's in the style that would help global awareness.

Here's a trailer (there's one in the link above, too. It's the same.):

See if it you can.
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Choose Curiosity over Certainty

I was reading Andrea's blog this afternoon and she wrote about how her friend had a postcard about How to Build a Global Community. It lists some ideas on how to be more globally aware. I had to write it down. But writing them down wasn't enough today. Within a few hours, I made this album with a few of the tennents that resounded with me the loudest.
Think of no one as "them"
Honor indigenous cultures

Question consumption
Choose curiosity over certainty

Visit people, places and cultures

Learn people's history
Never believe you have a right to anyone else's resources

Pledge allegiance to the earth
Question nationalism

I encourage to you check out the entire listing.
Thx A for the inspiration!

I painted outside today and this critter kept me company, gathering and eating nuts from our walnut tree.
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Random

Thanks for all the feedback on the restaurant. I'm staying clear for quite a while if not forever. I'll miss the coffee and the friendly faces. I mentioned to Lorenzo the Llama that perhaps I should write a letter since I like them and don't want to see them doing poorly much less be infested. Should I do it anonymously or be brave and sign my name?

In other news:
-Look ma, no cavities.
-The temperatures have dropped below 100 degrees. Today's high was a warm but comfortable 85.
-I spent $0 zilch nada on craft supplies this week!
-Still reading Eat Pray Love. About 1/2 way done. Lots of great quotes I need to write down.
-7 weeks before a 5k that I have not trained for one bit. {Biting nails}
-Lovin' summer fruit.
-Staying local this weekend.

Happy weekendz to all!
I'm Outtie.
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I have a problem and I need your help...

I was sitting at one of my fav restaurants, minding my own business, reading a lovely book, finishing up a chapter before leaving. I had already finished eating a better than expected Louie salad. It was delicious...the shrimp and crab were tasty, the lettuce crisp. I was engaged in what I was reading, but out of the corner of my eye, something moves on the seat next to me. Yep, from the photo above, you guessed correct...a cockroach. I watched it for just a moment, hoping it would scurry into some crevice, but instead it sauntered up the seat, closer to my face. Of course I moved away. It still would not crawl into a crevice. No, it continued it journey towards me with its antennea moving frantically. I quickly stood up, grabbed my bill, book, purse then paid and left. Feeling like the creepy crawlies.

So, my question to you is this: would you go back?

Things to considering:
-I've eaten there for 5 years and never saw a cockroach. Actually now that I think of it, I don't recall even seeing a fly.
-It's a clean establishment. By my standards at least. Which I'm not anal about but I'm not big fan of greasy spoons.
-The restaurant/building has been there forever, at least since the 60s, maybe even the 50s. That's a guess tho based on the other establishments around it.
-It's popular.
-It wasn't a very big cockroach. Not like the photo, which is from the zoo in an enclosed display.
-I live in a big city, the most populated city in the Bay Area. But it's not like SF or NYC where you kind of expect to see them. Do big cities just equal cockroaches?

So, if you wouldn't go back, would you consider getting take out?
Or is the ick factor too much?
Or the vision of those damn antennea looking like they were zeroing in on me?
Aren't they suppose to hide in the cracks where we don't see them and can pretend that they don't exist???

And local friends? Sorry, but I won't tell you which restaurant this was. Mostly because if I take you here if i decide to go back, i'd fear that all you'd think about is cockroaches...what was that crunch in your salad? A candied pecan or ??? -edit-ok i lied. I told local friends who've asked. Cuz I don't want them to eat any "candied pecans" when they don't have to.
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July, You've Lost Your Charm.

more at icanhascheezburger

Well, my affection for July has officially ended. It's over 100 degrees outside. When I'd rather be at the air conditioned dentist office than at home sweltering, it's gotta be pretty bad. Actually, I have to admit that I don't mind going to my dentist. They give you a hand paraffin wrap while they're cleaning your teeth. Soft hands and smooth teeth, what more can you ask? Ever heard of Spa Dentistry? Well, it helps take the stress off of going to the dentist when you're pampered while they're torturing your gums. In addition to the paraffin treatment, they also offer a lavender shoulder and neck wrap. I don't like lavender so I declined. And if you're in for a longer appointment, you can watch DVD's or listen to music, or receive a warm or cold eye relaxation mask, or even sit on a massage mat. It may sound shi-shi...ok, it is. But it's Worth It. Love my dentist.

We spent the 4th of July with the parentals and my youngest SIL.
Not the greatest photo but it'll do. I've said this before, I'll say it again: My Mother-in-law is the best cook ever! She made baby back ribs, oven-fried potatoes, corn on the cob, a fresh green salad. And homemade strawberry ice cream for dessert!
These are flowers on a tree that's blooming in my MIL's yard. They kinda look like fireworks, don't they?

Afterwards we headed to the hideaway and stayed till Monday. Puttered back to the bay area, car troubles. Again. But since we were late coming home, we got to see this crazy sunset as we got back into town.Smokey skies. Those wildfires you may have heard about? Nasty buggers. But the sunsets are beautiful.
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Phin bot this butterfly punch several weeks ago and inspired by her fun artwork, I had to get it also! Of course, with my 50% off coupon. :)

Liberty

“Liberty is the possibility of doubting, the possibility of making a mistake, the possibility of searching and experimenting, the possibility of saying No to any authority--literary, artistic, philosophic, religious, social and even political.” - Ignazio Silone
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Here's something fun to try: In iTunes (or wherever) create a playlist search of "America". These are the first few songs that came up on my search:

"Voice of America" by Asia
"Peaches" by The Presidents of the United States of America
"American Idiot" by Green Day
"Give Me Novocaine" by Green Day from their American Idiot album
"Feelings" by Offspring from their Americana album
"She's Got Issues" by Offspring from their Americana album
"Kids in America" by Kim Wilde
"America" by Yes
"Young Americans" by David Bowie
"America" by Simon and Garfunkel
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Bird Bath

Jimmy captured this bird getting ready for a bath in the neighbor's yard.
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Girl Cracks Me Up Like

Monica and I instant message every day. She always cracks me up where I am literally laughing out loud. We have our own IM language and carry on full conversations just with smileys.
Photo is from last fall when her and her family came to our hideaway for a few days.
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Hello July

Hello July, you very well may be my favorite month. Despite the your typical hot days, you surprise me with uncharacteristically cool days, like today for example. It's almost 10am and it's only 58 degrees and breezy. Which is great because with all the wildfires your neighbor June gave us last month (over 1400 when I checked yesterday), it's been mighty smokey in these regions and your breeze helps me breath better.

Well July, here are another few reasons I love you so much:
-I is an American and I loves me some fireworks on the 4th of July.
-We celebrate 3 family birthdays: My BIL Steve's, mine and my MIL's.
-3rd annual family and friends week extravaganza at our hideaway.

I know July, that in the past I've made claims that the summer months are oppressively and agonizingly hot, but this year at least, you are starting out in the lead. That is till November rolls around. But right now at this moment, you're my favorite.

Daylily in my neighbor's garden at the hideaway last July.
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