Things have been semi-boring on the blogging front as of late, so I threw together a fantastic picture of my afternoon walk. If it looks like Maggie is floating it is only because there isn’t a fancy way to draw our backpack and she was a crucial part of the walk! I held back from putting a crown on her head, I felt like Syd might get offended.

Anyhow, I took the hooligans on a walk today and it was a workout.  Sparky would be a perfect dog if there were NO OTHER DOGS ON THE PLANET. It wasn’t so bad, but I found myself wishing that that pesky snow would return so he’d take another chill pill. But did you see that sunshine in my drawing? Yep, it was out in full force today. We came home and stayed outside for ages….Maggie even took her coat off and frolicked with the dogs. Yippee!

Maggie found the frisbee and it turned out that Sparky was a little more than excited to see it. I like how Sydney is a little bit confused about Sparky’s aggressiveness. And then Sydney and Maggie basically switch places with Sparky once again kind of being a bully about the frisbee.

Since I have now started to do an entire post about Syd and Sparky, I think it is time for me to shut this baby down and go do something else. I’ll leave you with this parting shot of Maggie enjoying one of her favorite books:

I’ve been in a bit of a writing rut since the first of the month. It seemed I was so excited when December arrived and things have just taken off from there, but I just haven’t been able to catch my breathe and capture my thoughts without sounding like I’m full of it or complaining. So I’ve just decided to let it go….

I really like having a blog and writing, but sometimes I find myself second guessing my words because they might give too much away or be over-sharing. But then I read stories written by other women that I admire and see images that inspire me to take more photos in my own life, and I let it go. Because when we started this blog (way back in 2005!) when Barry and I went to Australia for a number of months, I never thought that I’d still be using it as an outlet in 2011 and I certainly never thought that there were so many other women out there like me….telling stories of their own.

I’m gathering myself up and finding my words again, they seem to have escaped…perhaps with the golden glow of our Carmel trip? I’m thriving on the glow of our Christmas lights and all the preparations that come with the season. We wrapped gifts last night and Maggie hauled them from the den to the living room with her handy, dandy Radio Flyer cart. She hasn’t quite figured out that the presents are for opening and she’s content to haul them from here to there now.

Last weekend we escaped to Kirkland and only left our hotel to walk around town and meet up with Greg and Linda for Snowflake Lane.  We watched the boat parade on Lake Washington and listened to the booming Christmas music coming from the floating line.  We ordered hot chocolates and walked the streets, talking of our Christmas tree back home and shared interest in finding good sushi. We did indeed find sushi and Maggie slept through the whole lunch, it was scrumptious and being able to talk with Barry uninterrupted was an added bonus.

In the lobby of our hotel were piles of newspapers for the guests and you better believe that I scooped one of each up. We poured over the paper each day that we were there and traded tit for tat on different articles. I passed him the business section and he passed me the comics….not sure what that says about our relationship.

Saturday night we bundled up and hustled to meet up with Greg and Linda for dinner before heading to Snowflake Lane in Bellevue. Aside from getting lost, we had an enjoyable time. Since we were late and had already eaten plenty of Trader Joe’s dunkers, Barry and I decided to share a plate.  I ordered Camarones  Rancheros knowing that it typically is a delicious shrimp platter with tortillas and other tasty sides. Well. It was that and certainly more because I somehow missed the part of the description that mentioned that the shrimp would be wrapped in bacon.

It was delicious, but I wasn’t expecting to see bacon on my plate! Snowflake Lane did not disappoint and both Barry and I were glad for it because Maggie was a CRAB POT before and after the extravaganza. Thankfully the dancing penguin was fascinating enough to distract her along with the drumming and guy on stilts.

Anticipating the start felt a bit like waiting for a big parade, with people angling for the best spot but nobody really knows where the entertainment will come from. Greg and Linda scored a great spot and we ended up having tons of  characters stop by and high-five Mags or pass her candy. We also were in full view of a couple drummers; however, the BEST drummer was directly across the street from us. He was bustin’ a MOVE!

We were those people with a screaming child walking back to our car. We were also those people that thought we had a tired child, but really she just wanted to play a bit.  So we ran up and down the hall and organized the sugar packets and coasters before conking out.

There you have it. Last weekend….and me working myself out of a writers rut.

We had a few days while we were in Carmel that we were packed up and practically loaded into the car and we made a split-second decision to change plans and stay close to home and lounge on the beach. The days we did that were fruitful and we never once wished that we’d gotten into the car and gone elsewhere.

The days on the beach were the days that we’d make Mimosas and sip on them while reading our international bestsellers and scooping sand into our pail. The smell of sunscreen and PB & Js were mixed in with the smell of kelp. We got to watch divers enter and exit the water with great skill and took many strolls on the pebbly sand.

But sometimes the beach just didn’t feel like it was going to be enough for us and we’d head out the door with our bags packed. (Here I write this in November and now, one month later, I’m wondering what the heck was wrong with the beach that I needed to leave it???? Jeesh!)  We went to Monterey, Big Sur, and Santa Cruz on our adventure days…..avoiding long car rides unless a nap was involved.

We discovered that the Santa Cruz boardwalk really didn’t involve much fun, at least if you wanted to drink, walk your dog, ride your bike or skateboard. Instead of bemoaning all the wrongs of the ‘no fun’ sign, Barry bought Maggie some cotton candy and we were all happy.

When we origianlly decided that we were going to spend a few weeks in California, we set our sights on Santa Cruz becuase of everything that we’d read about it suggested that we’d like it. After spending the day there, which I am glad we did, we came to the conclusion that it wouldn’t have been as good of a fit for us. Our little Carmel beach cabin with all its funky charm was a perfect fit.

We’re not huge shoppers and our version of going out on the town is picking up a couple bagels and smoothies and finding a park to enjoy them in. Plus, we really like to have Sydney with us and it makes us sad to either leave her at home or keep her cooped up in the car.  Although I was somewhat jealous of all the beach volleyball courts set up  and I know we would have rented beach cruisers for the duration of our stay, I felt pretty good about our decision not to make our base camp in Santa Cruz.

We also spent plenty of time in Monterey….Barry rented a SUP and we took Maggie to the aquarium. We also rented bikes and rode them along the shore from Monterey practically through the Pebble Beach Golf Course. Neither Barry or I had done much research about the area of Carmel and so when we discovered that we were practically staying on the 18th hole of Pebble Beach, we both wished that we were fancy golfers for a day.

But even if we were super fancy-pants golfers, what would we have done with Maggie? Had her be our caddie? We would have been something else out there….probably would have been kicked off on the 1st hole.

We rented bikes and rode through a few holes and discovered a beautiful sandy beach loaded with tons of surfers. I’d take surfers any day over golfers, so it worked out for the best. Maggie hated her helmet and kept kicking Barry’s butt yelling for me. Meanwhile, I was trying to keep up with Barry’s massive triathlon legs and take pictures at the same time. Suffice to say, I only snapped a few images.

Nearly every single day of our trip involved water and us being in close proximity to it. I give Barry a hard time about how much enjoys all things water, but in reality, I feel the same way. Whether we were just out front of our cabin, on a hike or walking the boarwalk, we were always near the water.

Our days always ended with a s stroll down our favorite path. Tonight before it was night-night time for The Mags, we strapped on our head lamps, bundled up and headed out for a walk in the cold, stormy weather that November brings the PNW.  It was cold and wet and I wondered silently to myself if snowflakes weren’t too far off in the future. I also thought about how just a month ago we were strapping ourselves into our car because spending another day at the beach was just too much to handle. What the heck?

Most days I love being home with Maggie and Sydney, we easily keep ourselves busy and are often on the go. Even though I know that Sydney loves that she now has a nearly full time companion, I can’t help but feel sorry for her just a bit. Gone are the days that she had the whole house to herself. Gone are the 8 hour mega naps that she’d fit in while Barry and I were at work. Now she’s lucky if she can squeeze in an uninterrupted nap at all throughout the day and she rarely gets the house to herself because where we go, Sydney goes.

Before I get too far into how much of a lucky dog Syd is, I have to remind myself that her new life with me home also includes getting hit with puzzle pieces,  pinched and poked constantly by Maggie.  If it weren’t for the fact that Maggie is almost always sharing her snacks with Syd, I’d feel sorry for the poor pup.

** The above photos are from a recent day when was changing the sheets on our bed and Syd wouldn’t budge when I asked her to get off. Instead of waiting for her to eventually move, I just wrapped up the comforter and pulled the ball of bedding onto the floor. It wasn’t until I went to put her harness on that she finally woke up.

Without really trying, our weekend decided to get awesome. It all started on Thursday night when Maggie and Sydney were invited to have a sleepover at Camp Janet and we decided to go to dinner and a movie. Things got better when I got to do a quick trip to Anacortes, because you know I love goin’ to A-Town and seein’ some of my peeps. Phil and Genevieve came out to my parents house and we swapped stories around the table.

Things took a turn down Awesome Lane when Jeff called us on Saturday to see if  Barry, Mags and I wanted to come over and help to eat some salmon that he and Kurt had caught that morning.

Umm…..let us think about it.

Yes. Of course. Without a doubt we’ll be there.

When Jeff called, we were on the brink of making some final decisions about what the rest of our night would entail, none of the options included our great friends and fresh caught salmon. We’re glad he called. Maggie enjoyed entertaining Allison, Bahl, Kurt and Debbie, and did a pretty good job of pushing every single button on Jeff’s remote and entertainment station. Thankfully he thought it was as funny as the rest of us.

A date with Barry and fresh caught salmon with our friends was all good, but the true icing on the cake for me was when we went to Richmond Beach as the sun was setting Sunday evening. We’d started a miniture home improvement/art project and were literally waiting for the stain to dry. Richmond Beach is only about a 10 minute drive from our house and we go through phases of picking it as our destination. Based on the frequency of recent trips, I’d say we’re on a big Richmond Beach kick right now. Maggie likes to wear her boots in the waves, Sydney likes to get off leash and Barry and I like to be near the water. It all works out.

I love weekends full of spontaneity, especially when everybody’s happy. Things just sank into place this weekend. It doesn’t always happen this way, and when it does I can’t help but be amazed. Barry and I both got to work out, we each had special time with Maggie and we got tons of time all together. Sydney also got plenty of attention; however, I think she felt the bath after she got home from the beach was a bit undeserved.

Sometimes not having a plan is what makes the best plans fall into place, right? I’m going with that line of thinking right now because not having a plan led me to a weekend that I’d do over again and again.

* Photo credit goes to Maggie Mae

We took Maggie and Sydney on a little bit of a hike today and it was fun to be nearly the only people on the trail because it was a bit rainy and apparently everyone else was busy watching football. On the way  down Maggie was a trooper and was happy to yell orders from the backpack, but eventually she wanted down. On the way back up, she was happy to trudge along and wear Barry’s hat.

Barry was trying to take a few pictures of us and Maggie suddenly became really interested in the camera….so she allowed her to take a few shots. I’d like to think that she was going more for the artistic angle on the one of me above. That’s my girl, right? We eventually made it to the beach and took an awkward family picture with the self-timer.

We went through a tunnel and Sydney did some sprints on the beach….and then the most awful thing in the whole universe happened. (okay, maybe not the universe, but MY universe today)

My camera fell into the sand while the self-timer was on.

This is the final shot: (ignore the double chin, thanks)

I’m pretty sure my camera will survive, but as I told Barry a piece of my heart broke off when it happened. He said he was shocked that I didn’t dive to catch the camera as it fell off the log it was perched on.

He’s right, I should have dove head first as if I were catching a football for a touchdown.

Dang.

Then I could have done a touchdown dance instead of deciding never, ever to take my camera to the beach again.

Double Dang.

Sydney is on vacation from HBHQ for the week and visiting Camp Janet and we sure do miss her around here. Maggie keeps trying to drop bits of food from her high chair and looks around waiting for Sydney to come charging out with her tongue out. The two are the very best of friends, but I’m sure it is nice for Syd to get a break from Maggie’s powerful pinches and kisses Last I heard, she was basking in the sun on the front stoop letting Sparky do his own version of relaxing, which really means digging in the field next to my parent’s house.

Last week while we were up in A-Town both Erin and Suzanna brought their kids out to my parent’s place to play for a few hours and it was so much fun. Suzanna’s son, Daxten, has the most edible legs right now and he was right at home rolling on the grass and munching on some treats. I could seriously take a bite out of him right now…

Erin and her family have FINALLY moved back to WA and it has been so much fun to get to know her little guys beyond the quick visits that we’ve become accustomed to over the years. Gavin is roughly Maggie’s age and has the exact opposite hair-do of Maggie, which is pretty funny.

The MagSTAR is up from her nap and so this is the….end!

We’re off to find the best possible popsicles and dig holes in the sand at the beach!

And tonight we’ve got a fierce, fierce dog to guard our house.

She barks at the sound of every single firecracker….because she is rough and tough.

We’ll placate her by popsicles and frolicking in the sand until the fireworks start.

Sydney considers this one of her busiest days of the year, guarding against fireworks and all.

Popsicles and sand, wahoo!!!

Barry has become a training machine these past weeks: swimming, biking, running, swimming, biking, running. When he comes home, Maggie and Sydney follow him around waiting for a few hugs and pets, letting him know that they’re glad he’s back. Maggie instantly starts babbling to him about her adventures and Sydney usually finds a toy or two with the intent of getting a game going. He always listens and always gives in to the game.

Trying to keep those two away from him is nearly impossible, they adore the guy. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel the same way. As he continues to train (and work on some super awesome tan lines) I have no doubt that Maggie and Sydney will perfect their cheerleading moves to encourage him in the coming weeks. I’ll have to see if they’ll let me in on some of the action, but between the two of them there isn’t much room.