"Int-it-ot" (Hull Speak for "Isn't it hot")

Well, its 84 degrees F/29 degrees C in the Family Room ... blumin' boilin'! All the windows have been open on the shady side of the house ... all to no avail. I think I'm going to have to succumb to the fact that we need the air conditioning ON! Craig has been whining all afternoon about how much of a 'skin flint' (aka miser) I am. He's now getting hurtful ... comparing me to having short arms, deep pockets and also being as tight as a 'laggy' band (elastic band) around a cows backside ... monetarily speaking!

Back home in the UK insect screens weren't even an option. Instead, we had curly paper insect tapes to hang from the ceiling light and a plastic ribbon curtain at the back door - both in an attempt to keep the bugs at bay whilst keeping the house cool. Of course, bugs would get inside, and then there would be the fun with the newspaper - swatting, marking the wall with either newsprint or bug-guts ... and getting to the dead insect before the dog got to it!

Then, of course, there was the humidity ... sticky, sticky (always a bad hair day) kind of heat and the fact that all houses are brick built, which holds heat longer, so you don't cool down at night.

Bugs still get into our house here - we don't know how ... I blame the dog and her constant in-out-in-out-in mentality. She has a very short attention span (my son says she has ADD and I have to admit that sometimes, I think he's correct).

So, as I was saying, Craig is complaining about the heat. He watched his Euro 2008 soccer final between Germany and Spain with the fan pointed directly at him, shorts off, bottle of water ... looked more like he was playing the game. In his mind, he was playing the game ... and coaching ... and refereeing! He's exhausted now - he'd better go take a cold shower, and I'll put on the a/c and make his day!

Mukilteo Beach

Some graffiti is worth snapping! There's a young lady in my family who loves taking photos. This is the first of many fabulous shots she's taken this spring and summer. I'll share more when she can decide which ones she wants to share (honestly, we have hundreds).

Enjoy!

Living Simply

I strive to live simply nowadays. Haven't always lived like that - used to be @ 100 mph. Poor kids! We were always on the go - preschool, swimming, baseball, soccer, me at the gym, etc. Plus Craig worked L-O-N-G hours, and weekends. I kept my life with the kids busy because my home-life stank!

My life changed 9 years ago in a couple of ways. Firstly, I felt a calling to find out who Jesus is and what Christianity is truly all about. Secondly, I lost my father - suddenly and without warning.

My Dad was a good man. A good friend. I adored him. We shared a great relationship, dry sense of humour, pessimistic to the core he was! He was a tall, slim man, dark and handsome ... and my son has his eyes. I loved that man (and I know that he loved me) - I love and cherish the memories I now have of him.

It was his time to go ... but, how could I move on? Jesus was there to pick me up, superglue my heart and answer my prayers. Sounds simple now. It was messy - 9 or 10 months of being in a pit. I can't talk much more about this (still hurts me somewhat), I just never want to go back to that place of such sadness.

Since then, I've simplified my life - to give my children memories of having time with their parents. Its what my parents gave to me as a child and I look back now with such happy memories of baking, gardening, sewing, 16 mile bicycle rides, fishing, wood-turning, simply sitting in the backyard on a summer's day playing cards and eating home-made "ice-lollies" (popsicles), going to Beverley Westwood on a Sunday and eating "99" ice-cream cones and running down the hills :)

I don't do all these things I learned as a kid with my own, but we have new memories in the making: walking the dog to Starbucks, scrapbooking, making music together, toasting marshmallows and making s'mores in our backyard firepit and hopefully some more to discover over this summer.

There's s saying which goes something like "Don't be too busy making a living that you forget to make a life". I'm simply trying to live life so that I can imprint something positive and memorable on my children's hearts.

A Year Ago ...

A year ago we were on vacation. Back in our home town - Hull, East Yorkshire. Looking back, all I can remember is laughter, rain (flooding to be more exact) and the faces of my family.

We met new babies and toddlers who are now part of our family ... strangers to us. Our memories of them are frozen in time ... until the next time we see them. This is the one true regret I have - not being around to enjoy new life - a sure sign of a healthy family. I should have gotten used to it by now - 15 years away from 'home', but some things just don't get any easier with time.

A year ago, I felt happy that I'd lost 8 lbs for my vacation ... I gained that all back by the time I departed from the UK thanks to beer, chocolate, beer, fish & chips, beer, Indian, beer, Chinese takeout, beer, etc. I now weigh 30lbs less than a year ago, but I'll talk about that another day.

A year is no time at all. It's flown by! My daughter is about to become a teenager, my son is about to take his driving test, I'm now a whole DECADE older, I've loved my husband for EXACTLY half of his life.

Changes, changes, changes ... life is an adventure - I'm so thankful for changes, big and small. Some challenge me, some just roll off me, but they all change me in some way, hopefully, for the better.

Have a good day!

Almost 5000 miles (and 24 hours or so)

I've been wanting to do this for a while ... No, NOT travel the 4952.32 miles from Seattle to Kingston upon Hull again, but set up this blog.

My plan is for family and friends to be able to view photos of me and my family and keep up to date with our happenings, so that we don't feel so distant. And for friends over here, you might get to know us all a little better.

I hope to be entertaining, authentic and truthful as I blog my walk in this world with my husband, 2 growing kids and dog.

OK ... this is a great day to begin!