{Could I BE any more corny with my post titles?}

As of tomorrow, I will have worked out five days in one week for the first time in months.  Woo hoo!  Go, me!

That’s right, fall rowing season has begun.  (Can I get a whoop for new blisters??  Love ‘em!  No seriously, they make me feel so industrious as they harden into callouses.)   Last fall, I raced once, at the end of the season.  This year, we’re jumping in with all 18 feet and going for it right out of the gate.  With head races.  Fall is head race season, much like it’s cross country season in the running world.  Spring is for rowing sprints and running around a track.

Head races range in distance from 4k to 10k meters.  Runners who regularly race 5k and 10k races will shrug at this…but I promise, it is difficult.  I don’t discount the difficulty of running – heck, I don’t run, because it’s hard, you guys, and it hurts.  But rowing?  Yeah, it’s awfully hard, in a totally different way.

This Sunday?  Row For the Cure.  Yes “The” Cure.  I, along with my teammates, am going pink.

 Wearing these in our hair during the race – too bad it’s not all the way to San Fran.  Or maybe it’s not too bad.  That’s a realllly long row.

Some of you know my mixed feelings about the foundation benefited by this cause.  Gosh, not about breast cancer itself.  I have family and friends who have fought…who ARE FIGHTING…breast cancer.  I hate breast cancer.  I get how important it is.  What I have a problem with is the marketing machine that has monopolized corporate giving toward this cause, to the detriment of many other, equally worthy causes.

I want breast cancer’s ass kicked, yes I do.  I really, really do, I promise.  However.  I also want to find cures for every other cancer and preeclampsia and epilepsy and Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s and diabetes and a thousand other diseases and conditions.  It’s endlessly frustrating when approaching companies for sponsorship or support for one of these “other” causes to hear, time and time again, “Oh, I’m sorry, we already support breast cancer charities.”  Period.  Goodbye.  I’ve heard that response a dozen times.

So, anyway, that’s off my chest.  Phew.  I feel better.

To get ready for this, I’ve been working.  Hard.  We all have.  5,500 meters is a long race for all of us in the boat.  The only person who will have raced a head race before Sunday is the coxswain, and while she has an important and difficult job, she’s not doing the physical bit.  That leaves all eight rowers as newbies to this aspect of the sport.  We’ve had a couple of off-day special practices, including this morning.

It’s going well.  It’s all good.  I’m only a little nervous.  I am choosing to push hard and sweat a lot and ignore the nerves.  (And the mixed feelings.  The mix had been nixed!)  (I do apologize for that.  I like rhymes.)

AND, because it’s a lot of hard work, AND because I want to kick breast cancer’s ass, I am embracing the pink of it all.  Not as much as these ladies, but still.  There are pink t-shirts, and flowers, and pink ribbon cheek temporary tattoos…and maybe more!  We will be PINK as PINK can be! (Minus the flamingos.)

If you are so inclined, here is our club’s fundraising site.  (Thanks!)  100% of the proceeds from Row For the Cure go toward local breast cancer support programs and breast cancer research.  This is from the Seattle Row For the Cure’s website:

Planned Parenthood endorses the event!

“We are delighted to endorse Seattle’s Row for the Cure, an event that raises important funds for breast health in our community. Keep up the good work,” says Christine Charbonneau, CEO of Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest, a longtime grantee of funds raised by Seattle’s Row for the Cure.

Since 2000, the event has raised over $500,000 for the Puget Sound Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure, who then carefully awards the money to local organizations that provide underserved women with breast health education, as well as cancer screening and support.

“Recent government cutbacks and a drop-off in the Komen Race for the Cure donations make fundraising events like Row for the Cure critical to meeting the needs of low income and underserved women. This is why we appreciate Planned Parenthood’s endorsement of Row for the Cure. With everyone pulling together, we can make a real difference,” says Cheryl Shaw, Executive Director of Komen Puget Sound.

I like that.  I like it a lot.

So, to sum up: Lots and lots of working and sweating leading to Sunday’s “quick” race…and lots and lots of money raised for a very good cause.  And – bonus! – the weather’s going to be beautimous.

“Exercise”

Ooh, please don’t worry; this isn’t a political post!

Unless, that is, you find plums political.

150 pounds of plums.  A Super PAC of plums?  A plethora?  Whatever you call it, it’s a lot of fruit.

Plum pickers.  (i.e., cheap labor.)

We have a single Italian Prune Plum tree in our front yard, and we spent last Sunday giving it our undivided attention.  Jason and I spent a couple of hours on it, and the boys even climbed the branches to help us reach some of the fruit.

We never did get the stuff up on the very highest branches, but I feel okay about that.  The squirrels are loving it, and after not realizing what we had last year (and therefore letting it all rot on the tree – gasp!), at least we took advantage of most of it this time around.

Yes, to the tune of one-hundred-fifty pounds.  Geez.

Bags and bags and bags of plums!

What followed this past week made me feel a lot like Bubba, of Forrest Gump fame.  We made plum chutney and plum sauce and plum pie and plum bread.  We pitted plums and chopped plums and sliced plums and boiled plums and canned plums and froze plums.  We gave bags of plums out to family, neighbors, teachers, office workers, therapists, coworkers, principals, and the exterminator.

My fingernails have been purple.

I feel so accomplished!

 Holiday presents – done!

It was a very successful week.  I had only one failure, when I tried to double a batch of plum preserves and burned the whole pot.  (Lesson learned!)  Our house smelled like a very large, burned marshmallow for about thirty-six hours.  I was more annoyed with myself than upset.

Soon to be a sticky, candied catastrophe.

Okay, in all honesty, I was too tired to be upset.  This was Monday night, after a full day of chopping, cooking, and canning.  I was simply glad at that point that Jason was home to help me clean up the burned, sticky mess.

A huge shout out to Mom, and thanks for all her help with the chopping, slicing and canning.  (And for taking one of the big bags off our hands and into her own kitchen!)

And for the four pounds of peaches, which today made it into jars as Spicy Peach BBQ Sauce.

Next…I’m thinking squash pickles…I figure, since I’m on a roll, why not keep going?

Teacher has given us an assignment - 

What I Did On My Summer Vacation
by AimeeWrites

This summer, I had lots of fun.  My family and I took a plane trip to St. Louis, where we rented a car and drove to Champaign, Illinois.  There, we got to spend lots of time with family, because one of Jason’s cousins got married!

Shirts and ties! I can’t even. {Note the magnetic earring Mr. Spiffy, Jr. is sporting.}

It was so much fun.  We got to see the cousins close to our age, who we know well and love, and we got to know the younger cousins, too, who are grown up now, even the one who was the little flower girl in our wedding almost fifteen years ago.

Cousins! {Okay, a portion of Jason’s cousins. I’m the only one here not related by blood.}

After the wedding, we drove to Bloomington, Illinois, to spend more time with family, and to see Jason’s Grandma’s house.  She moved there to be closer to some of her kids, and it’s a great home for her.

In Bloomington, with aforementioned ex-flower girl. She’s now in grad school. Yipes. One of her sisters says we look alike. As she’s adorable, I’ll take it!

After one night in Bloomington, it was time for a ROAD TRIP!!  It took a long time to drive to Atlanta, but it was worth it.  The weather in Atlanta was sunny and hot, hot, hot!  On one day, they broke a temperature record and hit 106F.  UGH.

‘The kid practices cute.’ That’s a book quote, but I don’t think a single person will get it.

Most of the time we were in Atlanta, we spent with Jason’s parents.  We get to see them so rarely anymore, we wanted to get as much time as possible with them.

We did fit in a few visits with friends, but, sadly, there was no way we could have seen everyone we wanted to.  We have so many people we love in Atlanta.  I wish we could have seen them all.

Who did we get to see?  Well, I had dinner with Becky.  We had, err, ‘fruit salad’.  In glasses.  With fermented grape juice poured over it.  There may or may not have been cheesecake.

Becky is tall. Tall is cool. Tall girls make better rowers.

There was definitely laughter.  And we decided our husbands would get along really well.  I told her she should bring him to visit Seattle.

I was able to spend a whole, entire day with my best friend, who I hadn’t seen in two-and-a-half years.  That is a very long time.

The only photo I got of us together is horribly unflattering to us both, so here’s some pie we ate. Remind me to share with you the effect cheesecake and pie have on weight loss.

We also had an evening with Jason’s high school friends, which was so much fun, and the next day was his high school reunion.  I met lots of people I didn’t know, and Jason was happy to see his old friends.  Kalen also had a playdate with his best friend from Kindergarten that day.

On our last day in Atlanta, we got to see Jason’s brother and meet his fiancee and her daughters.  It was nice to meet them and get to know them a little.

That afternoon we got to spend with my BFF and her family, playing games and going swimming.  Nicky and Kalen were so happy to spend time with their friends again.

Again: pictures unflattering. Please imagine happy people swimming and playing cards and eating pizza.

The next day, we flew home to Seattle, where it was still rainy and chilly.  It cleared up for the Fourth of July, though.

I said “cleared up,” not “warmed up.”

As you can see, we had so much fun on our vacation!  It was nice and long, and even with the hot weather, we had a great time.  The only thing I would change is to add a couple of days, so I could see a few more friends I miss so much.

“How I Spent My Summer Vacation”

Yesterday, I’d had it.

Oh, I know it’s natural for siblings to argue…and to grow apart as they grow older.  But yesterday morning and over the weekend?  They couldn’t be in the same room for two minutes without screaming at each other.

I completely lost my cool.  Thankfully, I quickly found it again, and I came to a decision.

“Boys, after our appointment this afternoon, there will be no video games.  You will spend the remainder of the day together, by yourselves, talking.  I don’t care if you’re in one of your bedrooms, listening to music and reading comics together, or if you’re outside building a fort in the back yard, but you WILL talk.  You WILL connect.  And you WILL have fun.”

I reminded them of when they were little, and I would look into the back yard to find them sitting in their “tree house,” talking about everything under the sun.  Neither of them remembers that time, so it’s past time to rekindle it.

We role-played a bit in the car on our way back to the house.  Nicky has turned into a mighty big bossy-pants lately, and Kalen has become extremely defensive in response.  Their conversations have boiled down to Nicky saying something which sounds bossy (whether he intends it as such or not), and Kalen yelling back at him.  I gave Nicky suggestions for other ways to phrase his ideas and asked Kalen to respond in kind.

The last thing I said to them, before they ran outside, was, “You guys have been best friends for years.  Now that Nicky is going to a different school, you will have less time together, you will have different friends, and you will have different interests.  That’s okay, but you need to take advantage of the time you do have together, and make it fun, just like Auntie Heather and I do on the rare occasions we get to spend time together.”

(I managed to stop short of saying, “Dammit, someday you might live a thousand miles apart and almost never see each other!” but just barely.)

It. Actually. Worked.

By the time Jason got home, the boys had built a “camp” in the back yard, using card tables (including the one Heather and I used for fort building thirty years ago), quilts, and a tiny, pop-up tent they haven’t touched in years.  They’d been out there all afternoon, chatting, laughing, and playing with Transformers and Jason’s old G.I. Joe guys.

I brought them Capri Suns and the leftover marshmallows from camping.  Yes, I absolutely rewarded their good behavior with sugary junk food.  Completely not my style, so let’s hope it had a large impact.  (Added benefit: I stopped snacking on said marshmallows.)

They ate their dinner out there and would have slept in their “camp” all night if we’d let them.  (If only they’d asked when it was warmer!)

I have no idea how the rest of the week will go, or what will happen once school starts next week, when they truly are more separate than they’ve been in years.  But at least they have a sunny summer afternoon as a memory and a reminder of what is possible.

It was a gorgeous weekend in Seattle – not too hot, not too cloudy, no rain.

In other words, a couple of perfect DIY days.

Jason and I both have projects that have taken us far too long to complete (or, in my case, start).  He’s been working on a large entertainment unit for the man cave for quite awhile, and I still had Kalen’s desk staring at me accusingly every time I walked through the garage.

Yes, this desk, which I was “not going to procrastinate” in making ready for him.  Oops.

 My make-up is ugly, but I have good bones.

Saturday, the palm sander and I spent several hours working on our relationship. Seriously, that thing is mean.  If it had a personality (and, of course, it does, since I personify everything), it would be loud and belligerent, but hard-working.

My hands are numb. My ponytail is weird.

I also managed to apply wood filler and get the whole thing primed and ready for paint.  I had planned to start painting Sunday, but a couple of other projects got in the way.  (Just wait until you see what we have planned for the dining room and the giant wall in the entryway!)

Jason had some quality time with a favorite tool, not nearly as argumentative as the palm sander –

Pew! Pew! Pew!

He loves that nail gun.  I’m quite admiring of it, too, but so far, it and I haven’t had any one-on-one time together.  I plan on correcting that issue within a month or two.  I have plans.

My fabulous husband also took on most of the parenting duties this weekend, which, seeing as we’re within spitting distance of the end of summer break, mostly consist of finding ways to keep the boys from getting on each others’ nerves.  I stayed out of the way and graciously let him bask in the joys of parenting.  I’m selfless like that.

A long day of parenting, sanding, priming, sawing, and power nailing calls for a reward.  I was thinking margaritas, but again, I got distracted.

Mmm…frosty beverages…

Mojitos, anyone?

Enough teasing.

Nicky and I went for tattoos today.

I am, like, the coolest mom ever.  Right?

Right?

Okay, fine, no tattoos, but a tattoo parlor was involved.  I discovered the hard way not to trust my earlobes to the young ladies at the mall with their ear-piercing guns, so when Nicky decided he was ready to take the plunge into the land of pierced ears, I decided to take him to someone with a lot of training, a lot of tattoos, and a lot of sterile gloves.  (And an autoclave.)

Enter Josh, super-duper piercing guy.

… I’m ready for this, I’m ready for this, I’m ready for this…

Nicky confessed while we were waiting that, between the paintings on the walls and harder-core-than-he’s-used-to music, he found the environment of the tattoo parlor distinctly uncomfortable.  By the time we left, however, he’d nonchalantly asked Josh how it feels to have your earlobes stretched (“Weird, but not painful.  It takes a lot of patience.”), heard one song he knows (“Tighten Up” by the Black Keys), and had a conversation about the various Batman franchises.  Kids are adaptable, even moreso than they realize.

 No tears, and only one “ow” at the end. High-five for the kid and all the occupational therapists over the years who made this moment possible!

The decision to have an ear pierced is not one Nicky made lightly.  He bought a set of magnetic earrings at Claire’s last spring and wore them pretty regularly through the end of the school year.  He loves the look, but he does not love losing the earrings (they pop off easily) or that he can’t wear them all day without discomfort.  The realization that, once pierced holes heal, you can no longer feel the earrings, made the decision pretty simple for him.

While we were there, I joined the piercing bandwagon and got my long-awaited second holes.  I had them done at the mall when Kalen was a baby, but they were badly done and became infected quickly.  And they were uneven.  Bah.  I let them close up.

 I was trying to get the shop in the picture, too.  Doh!

Now, however, as you can plainly see in the above photo (great planning, Aimee!), I’m sporting titanium barbells in my new second holes.  Can’t wait until they heal and I can wear the little anchors Heather bought me a couple of years ago!

Coming back from Seattle, we hit the 520 bridge while it was drawn up.  I pushed aside my annoyance and decided to make the most of the view.

Dude is the epitome of nonchalant.

The question of the day is this — how did I end up with such a freaking cool kid?

Tomorrow morning, Nicky and I have a date at the middle school.  While he meets with his mentor group, tours the school, and has his school portraits taken, I will join the other seventh-grade parents in a meeting with the principal, learning about programs, being recruited to PTSA committees, and the like.

Although Nicky’s excited to begin his middle school journey, and I’m enough of a dork to look forward to this sort of thing even when I’m not the student, Kalen’s [understandably] not in a position to care one bit.  So, this afternoon, we dropped him off at Grandma and Grandpa’s house for twenty-four hours of art projects, movies, and [I'm sure] much fun, both of the goofy and non-goofy sort.

At which point, Nicky and I had an hour-and-a-half to kill before his trumpet lesson, so we hit the stores for some back-to-school shopping.

 Curse you, too-large Perry the Platypus hat!

It seems somewhere over the course of the summer, all that eating resulted in a growth spurt.  The size 14 jeans I bought at the end of spring are now too short.  These are size 14 slims, which are still much too large in the waist.  The 16 slims he tried on today fit perfectly…as long as he doesn’t mind looking like he’s wearing a diaper on under them.

Needless to say, we did not purchase them.

I’m at a loss as to what to do.  Skinny jeans?  They’re still too big around the waist, and they don’t put adjustable elastics in those ones.  Plus, they’re $50…which I suppose wouldn’t be out of the question if he weren’t going to outgrow them in 4.325 days.

Anyone out there have any brands to suggest?  It would make life a whole lot easier for moms of human pole beans if the jeans companies would start sizing by waist/inseam once they get past size 10 or 12.  I think Nicky needs a 24×28.  If you have an “in” with the denim folks, pass that on, will you?

I seem to be whining about outfitting this kid a lot lately, don’t I?  Apparently, he’s in an awkward clothing stage.  Tomorrow, however, we head into Seattle to buy him something that’s more one-size-fits-all.  It involves, if you can believe it, a trip to a tattoo parlor.

And I have his permission to tell you all about it…

(How’s that for a teaser??)

Um, no.  I refuse to believe August is nearly finished.  It cannot be.  It means school is right around the corner, and dammit, school just got out!  I swear it was last week.

The summer, it has felt rushy.  Between rowing and swim team, we’ve been going, going, going.  I wouldn’t go back and reverse the decision to do either, but I must admit to missing the lazy feeling we had during last year’s summer break.

Now, swim team is over, and school is back in session in only two weeks.

You guys, two weeks is faster than the blink of a mosquito’s eye.  So fast.  It’s going to be gone before I know it, especially once we factor in back-to-school shopping.

Breathe, Aimee, breathe.

Today, I heard giggles in Nicky’s room and came across this when I walked by his bedroom doorway:

 Origami Yoda is a funny guy.

So, we’re applying the brakes, but gently.  I have one more rowing practice in the morning; then I’m off for a couple of weeks.  We’re lazing around, reading, playing some Xbox (why, oh why, did I ever start building that lighthouse in Minecraft?), doing a few chores, shopping for sneakers and folders and pencils.  A play date here and there (both in person and over the Xbox), a few dates with Grandma and Grandpa, but nothing huge.

Speaking of shopping, Nicky’s feet have officially surpassed mine in size.  Attention, shoe-making companies — you are missing a huge market: sneakers with non-marking soles, in smallish adult sizes, which will not fall apart after twelve wearings, and (here’s the kicker) which don’t cost anywhere near $100.  $92 for shoes for a kid who’ll outgrow them before Thanksgiving?  I think not.  Thank goodness for Ross.

At least I have tons of fodder for blogging once the kids get back to school.  Rowing, trips, more camping, dinners with friends (both bloggy and not).  So much to which we can look forward!

Oh, and I might even be able to sit down at the computer and read some of your blogs, too.  I have missed my bloggy friends.

…because I’ve taken the gold!

What so proudly we knit…  (Image Credit: Kalen!  Not half bad, eh?)

I finished my Color Affection with days to spare, and I’m thrilled with it.  Not only is it beautiful; it’s squishy and soft and oh-so-fun to pet.  It also keeps my shoulders warm.  (Surprise!  Who would’ve thought that of a shawl?)

And what did I earn for my hard work?  Well, besides the awesomest of shawls, I also have a gold medal:

Totally worth the effort.

Happy 2012 Olympic Games!!!!

(Oh, wait, am I allowed to use the O-word on my blog?  The various committees are a little prickly about that.  Let’s assume I am unless I hear otherwise.)

Anyway, although I’m a bit ho-hum regarding most sporting events, I am an avid fan of the Olympics.  Summer, winter, I love them all.  I may scream and yell for Team USA, but I root of the rest of the world just as hard.  I love the heartwarming stories behind the athletes, especially the ones without sponsorships and multi-million-dollar training facilities.  Especially the ones resulting in women competing for every participating country for the first time in history.  (Finally!!)

I love the world coming together, even if it is a competition.

I love the pageantry and the spectacle of it all.

I find the whole experience fascinating and exciting.  I will watch whatever event is on, although I’m somewhat apathetic about basketball and soccer.  The only long, team events that hold my interest (baseball/softball) are out, so that’s kind of sad.  And this year, it’s all happening in London.  Oh, what I wouldn’t give to be there.  I love London so very much.  I know I’ll be quite homesick for it over the next two weeks, but that’s okay.

The big bonus for me this year?  It’s the first time I’ll be watching the Olympics from the point of view of a bona fide athlete.  (In no way am I comparing myself to any of those amazing people who compete, but it hit me a couple of months ago: I train three+ days a week.  I compete.  I am, truthfully, an athlete.  The mind boggles.)  Although I haven’t been through the grueling training they have, I do have a very slight idea of what those rowers are doing out there.  And about a hundred times more respect for their dedication, strength, and skill.

Anyway, I plan to spend many, many hours on my couch over the next sixteen days.  (Thank goodness for rowing and the exercise it will necessitate!)  I will be giving my hands and brain a workout while I watch all my favorites events (gymnastics, swimming, diving, track & field, equestrian, archery…and, no surprise, ROWING!).  I have entered the Ravellenic Games (the new name of the knitting competition referenced in the article linked above) in the Shawl Sailing event.  I’m a member of Team Final Frontier, a collective (ha) of Star Trek geeks who happen to enjoy yarn-related hobbies.  Thousands of us will cast on, set hooks in motion, warp our looms, and start the wheels and spindles spinning at 1pm PDT today, as the Opening Ceremonies begin in London.

It’s even softer than it looks.

I’m using Madelinetosh in ‘fawn,’ ‘thyme,’ and ‘envy’ to create my first Color Affection shawl.  You can sort of see it in the photo of the pattern, but it doesn’t do it justice.  Click the link to see a couple examples.  The goal of the Ravellenic Games is to challenge yourself.  Completely a five-foot-long shawl in sock weight yarn in two weeks is definitely that for me.  Wish me luck!

And oh yes…

Go, World!!