Midwinter break........

For some reason, our school district gives us a week off in February and calls it "mid-winter break." Some say it was created to disrupt the flu cycle, others debunk that theory. Whatever the reason, I'm not one to complain about a week off work, so I've thoroughly enjoyed my break that is quickly winding down.

While others were basking on a beach in California, I opened an esty shop here. I got a hankering to make some jewelry and I've kind of been on a roll. Most of what I've made has been supplied to me from my Buy Nothing group and I've purchased a few supplies as well. But I have not made a huge investment and I don't plan to unless I need to. As in, if anyone actually buys anything! I have sold one pair of earrings and one necklace off a Facebook page, so that's cool. Mostly I'm just having fun creating. I'm planning to add Jeff's leather bags (those take a bit longer to make!) and maybe some things the kids create. Either way, it's been fun and has occupied a good portion of my time off.

While others were eating shaved ice in Hawaii, I went on a hike. It wasn't a long hike, but it was fun and made me realize how much I love being outdoors. But not alone. Which is weird. But I don't like going for walks alone and I can't imagine taking a hike on my own. I think it's because one time a big dog charged at me while I was walking, and thank God I was with Jeff, who immediately stepped in front of me and charged at the dog, because if I were alone, I'd probably have cowered to the ground and been attacked. I hate mean dogs! And I'm just so BORED when I walk alone. So, as much as I'd love to be one of those people who wanders in the woods and contemplates life, I'm much more likely to be scurrying along a trail, worried about the psychos hiding in the bushes waiting to attack me with a machete. Yes, I watch too much "Criminal Minds" on TV.

While others screamed on roller coasters in Disneyland, I had coffee and breakfast with my best friends. And by that I mean we consumed some food but mostly we sat and talked for four hours each time. "Coffee" for us is a half-day event. We don't get to see each other often, so we make the most of it. We talk about kids and college and all the things that go along with our kids getting older and our houses being empty or near-empty nests and what we do with our time. We lament our lack of exercise and laugh at people wearing purple. Because purple seems to follow us everywhere we go these days.

While others took morning jogs along an Arizona desert highway, I logged less than 3,000 steps on my Fitbit most days. Ok, some days I only did 1,500. Basically I have moved very little. Even the hike didn't put me at the pinnacle achievement of 10,000 steps which I have only achieved once, ever, according to my fitness trackers. Take today, for example. I got up at an ungodly hour (ok, the same time I get up on a normal work day, which is oddly SO painful on a vacation day), took my son to get his braces removed, took him to breakfast and a little shopping, came home, sat in front of my computer, took a two-hour nap, sat in front of the computer some more, then sat and made jewelry for a few hours, then sat in front of my computer some more. Basically at this point, my butt should be the size of Africa. And while it's close, it's not quite there yet and I do feel badly for my lack of movement today but I also feel like I'm on vacation so what the hell? I deserve to relax, right?

While others took their kids on college visits, I watched my kids lay on the couch, leave teriyaki leftovers in styrofoam containers all over the family room, take an embarrassing number of selfies, let the dishes stack up until they fell over, and sleep on the floor because their beds were covered with laundry (ok, maybe that was just my son...). But, whatevs. I'm not worried about their futures. They will come regardless. And I have some pretty smart, talented, fun and funny kids. I know they will all do well in life, even if we can't afford multiple college visits or they take more than four years to finish college or they go to (gasp) community college. Because they're pretty awesome, this foursome I have. I love them!

And I meant to do so many more things - spring cleaning, workouts every day, writing....oh, the writing I was going to do! But instead life happened and I spent time surrounded by my family and I listened - to their conversations, to their interactions with their friends and significant others, to the sweet, precious sounds of their baby voices while watching home videos, to my daughter singing softly at age 6 in a school production that made me cry. And it was all good. And I was happy. And I am happy.

Wallace Falls

Today Jeff took us on another adventure. He thought it would be fun to take our mountain bikes and ride one of the "rail trails". These are old railroad trails used for logging and such that have been turned in to primitive hiking/biking trails. Today we went to Wallace Falls State Park, just outside of Gold Bar. We got the bikes prepared - me pulling the trailer (one of those ones you put a baby in, only we bought it WAY after we ever had babies, mostly just for pulling our crap in) and Jeff pulling Arlie on the tandem bike. She used to call it the "panda" bike, and has now dubbed it "Panda Express". We headed off. The book said this particular trail was steep and rocky. It didn't lie! Jeff has done many rail trails, but this was my first experience "off road" on a bike. I had to get my bearings - riding on rock, dirt and gravel is a lot different than a smooth paved surface. And going uphill on that surface is a different experience entirely. My heart was pounding and, since I had the good sense to wear my heart rate monitor, I noticed that when I hit about 161 beats per minute, I simply collapsed onto my handlebars, and flopped over them like a rag doll, gasping for breath, at which time I would decide to just push my bike and trailer up the hill. Off and on we did this for 2 1/2 miles. Now, mind you, 2 1/2 miles would take just minutes on a street. It took us over an hour on this trail! I forged ahead, willing my heart not to explode. We arrived at the trail head for the falls, which is for hikers only. We locked up the bikes, packed up our lunch, and headed off down the steep trail to the falls. Down, down we went and then up, up again. My short legs were no match for the ladder-like primitive wooden steps that were set in the steepest parts. Again with the heart - pound, pound. We finally arrived at the falls. We took a few photos. At this point, I should tell the horrible side story. When we set off on the ride, I had wedged a coffee tumbler full of water into the trailer. About 30 minutes into the ride, I realized I had not flipped the lid shut on the water and stopped to check it. As I suspected the water had poured out of the cup and was now pooling in the bottom of the trailer. Several things were soaked, among them my cell phone and my very expensive new camera! My cell phone was no worse for the wear after I dried it off, but the camera shut down after taking only two photos and would not start up again. I'm praying it was just the battery shorting out, and I'm recharging it now. If not, we do have the warranty. But I was heartbroken. And bummed to not have my nice camera to take photos on this glorious day. But I did bring my backup camera so I do have photos to share! Finally, after eating some lunch we headed back to the bikes. All the ups were downs, but all the downs were ups, so it was no easier getting back. Once we got the bikes, though, it was a whole different story! Wow! What a difference it made going downhill this time! It was like a ride at Disneyland - we flew down the trail, pounding over rocks, roots, and other hazards. Arlie laughed hysterically the whole time and I was having so much fun, I wish I had the guts to go faster (but let's face it, road rash is not pretty). At one point, Jeff flew past me and was gone. Alone now, I came upon a hairpin turn that I navigated quite badly! I tried to stop and stood up on my bike, but the trailer was too heavy and kept pushing me downhill. I skidded and slid and tried my darndest to stop and just as I was about to fall over the edge, I finally managed to get me, the bike and the trailer back on the trail and to a stop. Whew! That was scary. And Jeff was long gone, so if I had flown over the edge, it would have been a while before he noticed! However, having escaped certain death, I was now emboldened to go forward and thoroughly enjoyed flying down the path. We got back to the car in record time and stopped at the Sultan Bakery for dinner and a treat before heading home. What a fun day!