Sooooooo,

Mr. Man was gone for three months (mostly, he came home every 29 days for a 5 week visit) and the Things and I were free to leave cupboard doors open and whistle whenever the mood struck us. On the other hand, the vast list of stuff that didn't get attention over the summer is... impressive. He is back now and organizing things with his typical drill sargent-esque charm.

We are almost to the end of summer and it is only a week and a half til the Things will be attending high school on a daily basis. AND, soon after that, very soon, I shall be heading to UW for my library science program, squeeeee!
I am excited about that.

Now I am off to yoga where I am learning to be flexible 'n stuff. Oh, also, I've lost 15 pounds since the beginning of July, so yay me~!

I love the smell of Bengay™ in the morning...

Since the beginning of July I've been doing water aerobics at the local pool. It's a good way to take it easy on my very messed up knees and still get some exercise. As it happens, I am typically the youngest person there by about 20 years. I love hanging out with the old ladies at the pool; they are awesome.
As a bonus, I've been working out for over a month and my knees aren't killing me, so SCORE!

Also, they tell great stories and bring up really fascinating bit of history and culture.



Retro fitness moment

Also, I've been doing yoga. That, by the way, makes me a (proto) yogini, which is fun to say.
The teacher has been very clever about figuring out how to modify things for me so I can do all the various poses and stretches with my bum knees. I've gotten taller, and richer, and generally more successful since taking up yoga (this has been a sponsored ad :p).

At the pool there is one woman who slathers on the Bengay after getting out of the pool. The one day she applied her cream and then, before dressing, when into one of the stalls. Shortly thereafter such language erupted as I have never heard from such a sweet little gramma type.
Which just goes to show you... something.

Lesson of the day? Go potty before applying Bengay.

Yesterday,

was free museum day in Seattle (first Thursday of the month).

By chance, it happened to be a day Thing One was headed to Seattle with one of his best buddies and their respective girlfriends. When he was discussing plans I reminded him about the free day and he and his pal added this to their plan of the day.

They hung out at Pike Place Market and the waterfront, went to the SAM, and then to the museum of flight, with a very traditional Seattle dinner of Dick's (link included to clarify that statement for the dirty-minded and out-of-towners).
Can I just tell you how happy it makes me that my son went to hang out at museums with his friends?
Love it.

In other news, Thing Two is not only taller than me, but he just keeps growing! He is headed to camp next week and quite looking forward to it.
Rabbit trail!
For some reason, lost to the mists of time and which doesn't even really make sense to my very odd family, my dad has been called Kwan Lee for years. This was started by one of my uncles, perhaps during the time when there were a lot of jokes based on his brother's (my eldest uncle's) inability to hear anything correctly (this also explains why if anyone at a family get-together mishears anyone else they are asked, "How's your urine?" since my eldest uncle answered this question at his 50 year old doctor appointment with a puzzled, "It's yellow; it's fine." The doctor stared at him for a moment then said, "I asked... HOW'S YOUR HEARING?" Still, it did rather answer the question).
As for the nickname, it rhymes with his name but other than that... who knows. Anyway, Kwan Lee has been visiting me for about a week now and he really should get an award as the best house guest ever. He helps around the house, and he requires almost no attention. He brings piles of movies which keep my children entertained for hours and is generally easy to get along with and pleasant to be around.

And that's the news from Lake Woebegone.

What's with you?