Sunday Funny

Our trash cans have been dumped over and the trash bags torn into a few times this summer. We thought it was skunks, but the most recent occurrence was definitely not caused by skunks.

I haven't yet met a skunk that could dent our trash can like this, and I wouldn't want to :)

We're pretty sure this was done by a bear, though we haven't seen any other signs. We're keeping our eyes open, though.

Our 2017 Halloween Costumes

I wrote this post last year, but didn't have a picture of Sunshine or Mr M and I in our costumes, so I didn't post it. With Halloween upon us again, I decided it was time to take some pictures and get this posted.

The past few years I’ve spent September and October making elaborate costumes for the family (Star Wars, Harry Potter, etc). I love the creative process involved in designing and making the costumes, but it’s a lengthy process that I just did not have time for this year.

River has a Captain America hoody with a built-in mask, so I found a Captain America shield and called his costume done.

Ocean didn't want his hood on, but it has a see-through Spiderman mask like River's hoody.

Ever since we watched the LEGO Batman movie, Ocean goes around saying “I’m Batman, I’m awesome” (though you have to be familiar with how he talks to know that’s what he’s saying).  I thought it would be super cute to dress him up as Batman, so I tried to find a similar Batman hoody for Ocean, but I couldn’t find one that was affordable. I was able to find a Spider Man hoody, so we got that and called it good.

I was talking to Sunshine about costume options, thinking she’d want to be a super hero as well, but she immediately suggested going as a Camp Half Blood camper (from the Percy Jackson books). I could have made the shirt, but it was easier and quicker to buy one on Etsy.

She was going to carry a cheap foam sword until I found a Wonder Woman sword on clearance for a great price. The Wonder Woman sword looks a lot more like what a demigod would carry than the foam sword J Sunshine finished off the costume by stringing some wood beads that we painted like ones mentioned in the books on a leather lanyard. She also covered a dollar store foam shield in foil.

We somehow missed getting pictures of her last year, so I totally took these pictures today :)

I bought a Wonder Woman shirt for me and a Super Man shirt for Mr M. Easy and inexpensive.

I was a bit sad not to be all dressed up, but honestly, not stressing about getting all the costumes done was totally worth the decreased effort this year.

Weekly Mileage #82 and Wood Badge #2

Wood Badge ax and log totem and the McLaren tartan

This last week was another busy one, but this coming one should be a bit calmer.

I took Sunshine in for a checkup. She needed an updated physical so she can get a couple more teeth pulled- they just aren't falling out and there's no space in her mouth. She's in the bottom 3% for height, which is lower than it was at her last appointment, which has the doctor a bit worried. She has to go in for a height/weight check in 6 months so we can monitor where she's at. She's at an age where we can do something if she's not growing as expected, but if we wait a couple years, that won't be the case.

I had an appointment with my orthopedic doc and he said I can start weaning off the boot, but only on flat, stable surfaces at first. I thought about bringing a shoe to wear at the indoor portions of Wood Badge, but just opted to wear the boot the entire time. I'd be tempted not to put the boot back on, but the camp is hilly and very rocky and not at all what I should be walking on without the boot.

We haven't been able to pinpoint any other reason for my constant exhaustion, so I was referred to a sleep lab. I had that appointment last week, and I now have an appointment for an overnight sleep study in December. Depending on what that finds, I may or may not stay at the sleep lab for a daytime narcolepsy study after the overnight portion.

Wood Badge prep continued last week as well. I worked on my ticket, fleshing out the details for each goal. I went grocery shopping for our food (we cooked our own meals this weekend, and I volunteered to do the shopping for my patrol to make sure everything was gluten free). I tidied up my uniform patches and re-hemmed my pants (they were too long and seriously bugging me). I packed all my gear. And I worked on the display for our group presentation.

The second session of Wood Badge was Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. We had to arrive even earlier this weekend, so I was up at 3:15 am, loading the car and heading out. We camped at campsites with tent platforms, but we provided our own tents and did our own cooking.

my little corner of our campsite

Since I was camping without little ones, I decided to give hammock sleeping a try. Of course, the forecast was calling for colder weather than we've had yet this season, so I had to make sure I was properly prepared. I had a mosquito net, rain fly, hammock quilt (hangs under the outside of the hammock, like a taco shell, for warmth), a sleeping pad, and my sleeping bag. As my troop guide said, it's an awful lot of gear for something that's supposed to be simple and easy.

from outside in: mosquito netting, hammock quilt, hammock, sleeping pad (not visible), sleeping bag. Not set up yet: the rain fly to cover everything.

I also brought my tent for my gear and as a backup sleeping location. This proved to be a very good decision, as Saturday night we were hit with rain, high winds, and temps in the high 30s. I ended up quickly grabbing my sleeping bag, pad, and quilt and running for the tent as the rain pelted down. If it had been just rain or just wind, I wouldn't have gone into the tent, but I decided my chances of getting wet  on a cold night were just too high with both wind and rain.

embers from our campfire, shortly before the rain started pelting down, driving us into our tents

It's been 20+ years since I last successfully went tent camping in the cold, but I stayed warm all night and slept pretty well. Mr M and I had an unsuccessful attempt at camping at the Grand Canyon in December a number of years ago. We froze and ended up sitting in the car, waiting for the sun to rise so we could take a few pictures before getting back on the road.

This weekend was much calmer than the first weekend, which was nice. We were still busy, but we also had more time with our patrols during meal prep and such, so our schedule wasn't quite as full.

Friday we did a lot of walking between our campsite and the indoor learning center. Combined with the very early morning and lack of sleep from not being able to fall asleep, despite getting to bed at a decent hour, and I was very tired. Not as tired as I was on Friday of the first weekend, but it was a close second.

I'm not counting hiking around camp as actual hikes, since the distance is broken up by classes and meals, rather than being uninterrupted. I am still counting the mileage in my tally, though.

Now that the Wood Badge training sessions are over, I can take a deep breath and get caught up on some of the things that got pushed to the back burner during the last two and a half weeks. I've got my plan of action for my 5 ticket items and should be able to have them finished by this summer, if not sooner.

My patrol, with our course director (in red), at the end of Wood Badge. I don't think any of us were truly warm all over until we drove home in our heated vehicles. It was a cold day!

Weekly Mileage
Monday- 2 miles walked around stores
Friday- 6.5 miles hiked around camp
Saturday- 2.6 miles hiked around camp
Sunday- 2 miles hiked around camp
total- 13.1 miles

22 hikes towards #52hikechallenge
2.14 kayak miles towards #365milechallenge

315.84 foot miles towards #365milechallenge
265.00 bike miles towards #365milechallenge
583.68 miles total

Sunday Funny

Ocean decided he'd rather sit than walk on a recent hike, and River coaxed him into getting up and getting going again.
too cute!

This summer I was hiking with the boys while Sunshine was at camp.

River made a comment about liking to toot. Ocean agreed with him. Then River said something about tooting in the water in the bathtub making bubbles, and both boys started laughing.

Apparently finding humor in bodily functions starts younger than I thought.

Weekly Mileage #81 and all the Glow Forging

totem etched on leather

We went home from Wood Badge with more homework than I anticipated: finish our patrol project, finalize my ticket (5 projects I need to complete in the next 18 months), make a patrol flag, meet with my patrol twice, meal plan and shop, and prep to plant a tree for the course service project. We're doing our own cooking this weekend, so we have to bring everything for it. Since I know what I need when it comes to being gluten free, I volunteered to do the food shopping. It's one more thing on my plate, but it means I won't have to worry about my food, so it's worth it.

pocket hangers with our totem

Needless to say, last week was super busy and I didn't get everything done that I needed to. Exercise didn't happen, other than walking around while sourcing. While not fast walking, it's tiring on several levels- walking up and down every aisle, the standing while scanning items, the very hard floor, the bright lights, all the different colors of packages, the noise... Those last three are all related to my being a highly sensitive person (HSP). Too much visual and auditory stimulation is exhausting for me, and is why I like things quiet and uncluttered.

smaller feathers for hiking poles, larger for patrol flag

I volunteered to head up making the patrol flag, and I was thinking about how I'd do it as I drove home from Wood Badge Sunday night. My initial thought was to use canvas, but then I realized I had leather and a Glow Forge. I could etch our totem on some leather and use that for our flag. I could also do some little dangly things with the Glow Forge. Then I got thinking about the pole for the flag, and I realized we had some wood that would probably work, so I wouldn't have to buy a broom handle. Then I thought, maybe we have enough wood to make hiking staffs (staves?) for everyone.

I checked the shed, and sure enough, we had the wood I thought was there. We bought the wood years ago for a project, then moved and never built what we'd planned. Two moves later, we're still hauling that wood around, and it's time to start using it.

I met with my patrol on Saturday to put the flag together and discuss all the stuff we need to have ready for Friday. We finished earlier than I thought we would, so I took advantage of the fact that nearby was a Walmart and a Target across the street from each other that I'd never been to. I found some good finds to send in to Amazon, then headed home.

I still need to foam the owl decoy in place on top. It's been sitting in the shed for several years after serving its purpose of scaring woodpeckers away from our porch columns. We were spit-balling ideas for the flag and someone mentioned using an owl decoy, which reminded me that we had one. It's hollow, so it doesn't make the pole too top-heavy.

Weekly Mileage
Monday- 2 miles walked around stores
Wednesday- 4 miles walked around stores
Friday- .5 miles walked around stores
Saturday- 2 miles walked around stores    
total- 8.5 miles

22 hikes towards #52hikechallenge
2.14 kayak miles towards #365milechallenge

303.44 foot miles towards #365milechallenge
265.00 bike miles towards #365milechallenge
570.58 miles total

Sunday Funny

River has some pointy, expressive eyebrows that he likes to wiggle around and make faces at people with.  He used to be really good at doing angry eyes, just by drawing his eyebrows up into a point.

Unfortunately, we've talked too much about it and now he doesn't do it quite as unconsciously. It's still funny to look at though :)

Weekly Mileage #80 and Wood Badge #1

80+ degrees in October is just wrong, though it did make for a beautiful hike

Tuesday I rode my bike for 5 miles. I tied my boot to the pedal, and it worked better than I was afraid it would. Even better, as long as I was careful about how and where I was putting pressure on my foot, it didn't hurt.

Thursday the kids and I went for a short hike. I knew I'd be doing some walking over the weekend, and I wanted to get an idea of how it was going to feel. We only did just over a mile, and it didn't feel too bad. It didn't feel great (there was still some pain), but it was definitely an improvement over how it's been feeling. I was pretty slow though. It's awkward to walk fast in a boot that prevents you from bending your ankle.

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday I attended the first weekend of Wood Badge. Wood Badge is leadership training offered by the Boy Scouts. I've been trying to take it for the last 5 years, and I've finally managed it. The first time I could have taken it, River was born in the weeks between the Wood Badge sessions, so that was a no-go. Two years later (our council only offers it every other year), Ocean was only two months old and still breastfeeding, so another no-go. Last year I was registered and paid and ready to go, and then the council canceled the course two weeks before it was supposed to start because there weren't enough people signed up.

After the course was cancelled last fall, I decided I'd do it in the coming year, and I'd go out of council to do it. I tried to take it in the spring, but ended up waitlisted. I was able to find another course in a different council this fall that worked with our schedule (there were several that didn't work with our schedule) and registered for that one. After I broke my foot I contacted the course director, and he said I could still come- if I needed help getting around, they'd take care of me. It turned out that I was by no means the slowest person, and we have two people that have to get rides everywhere because of their limited mobility.

The first weekend was intense, Friday in particular. I generally don't sleep well and I had to get up super early to get to the camp on time, so I was tired from the get-go. We did a lot of sitting during presentations, but because it was a very long day there was also a lot of walking and a lot of standing. Doing that much in a single day was more than I'd done in the entire preceding month because of my broken foot. The walking would actually be better classified as hiking, since we were camping in the woods. Needless to say, my foot was killing me and I was exhausted. I slept better that night than I have in a long time :)

We slept on cots in canvas tents on platforms, but we ate our meals in the dining hall. I'd communicated with the course director about gluten free options and I was told they'd have gluten free options available, but I brought a bag full of food, just in case. I ended up not eating any of that food though, because the kitchen staff took good care of us. There was 8 gluten free people between participants and staff, so it wasn't like I was the only one. I missed out on a few desserts, but there were gluten free substitutions for everything else, and it's not like I need to be eating desserts. I survived the weekend without getting glutened, so that's definitely a win.

Because I'm stepping up the pace on my sourcing for Amazon, I'm doing more shopping, so my store miles are increasing as well. I'm not completely sure about the miles hiked around camp, but I'll try to be more accurate during the next weekend.

Weekly Mileage
Monday- 2 miles store walking
Tuesday- 5 miles on the bike
           2 miles store walking
Wednesday- 1 mile store walking
Thursday- 1.07 mile hike
Friday- 3 miles hiked around camp
Saturday- 2 miles hiked around camp
Sunday- 3 miles hiked around camp  
total- 19.07 miles

22 hikes towards #52hikechallenge
2.14 kayak miles towards #365milechallenge

294.94 foot miles towards #365milechallenge
265.00 bike miles towards #365milechallenge
562.08 miles total

Sunday Funny

Ocean and I making faces in the RV

Ocean still has some sounds he switches out, which sometimes makes it difficult to understand what he's saying. It also makes for some funny new words. A recent favorite:

Hup a hoootie = tough patooties

Even funnier? He was saying it to his older sister, mimicking what I'd told her.

September Mileage

cool wispy fog during the half marathon

My mileage for the month was not great, but when you consider that the majority of it came in the first week of the month, before I broke my foot, I didn't do too badly. I did two races back to back, which I haven't done for some time, and while we didn't do nearly as much hiking as I'd planned, we still had a fun vacation. This was my ninth half marathon, so yay me for doing all that training and all that running.

beautiful scenery during the half marathon

September mileage:

3 treadmill workouts + 2 hikes + 3 store walking + 2 races + 2 bike workouts + 0 kayak outings = 

40.87 miles

52 hike challenge: 21 hikes

365 mile challenge:  260.0 bike miles + 280.87 foot miles + 2.14 kayak miles

total miles: 543.01 miles

August mileage:

9 treadmill workouts + 4 hikes + 1 outside run/walks + 1 race + 4 bike workouts + 0 kayak outings = 110.23 miles

52 hike challenge: 19 hikes

365 mile challenge:  250.0 bike miles + 250.0 foot miles + 2.14 kayak miles

total miles: 502.14 miles

July mileage:

9 treadmill workouts + 6 hikes + 8 outside run/walks + 1 race + 3 bike workouts + 1 kayak outing = 90.43 miles

52 hike challenge: 15 hikes

365 mile challenge:  215.0 bike miles + 167.27 foot miles + 2.14 kayak miles

total miles: 381.36 miles

June mileage:

4 treadmill workouts + 4 hikes + 2 outside run/walks + 1 race + 7 bike workouts + 1 kayak outing = 102.12 miles

52 hike challenge: 9 hikes

365 mile challenge:  190.0 bike miles + 102.88 foot miles + 1.1 kayak miles

total miles: 293.98 miles

May mileage:          

4 treadmill workouts + 1 hike + 1 outside walk + 4 bike workouts = 49.95 miles

52 hike challenge: 5 hikes

365 mile challenge: 120.00 bike miles + 71.86 foot miles

April mileage:

1 treadmill workout + 1 hike + 1 outside walk + 6 bike workouts = 45.31 miles

52 hike challenge: 4 hikes

365 mile challenge: 85.0 bike miles + 56.91 foot miles

March mileage:

1 treadmill workout + 2 hikes + 1 outside walk + 1 race + 4 bike workouts = 33.43 miles

52 hike challenge: 3 hikes

365 mile challenge: 45.0 bike miles + 51.60 foot miles

February mileage:

0 treadmill workouts + 1 hike + 3 outside run/walk + 1 race + 0 bike workouts = 15.56 miles

52 hike challenge: 1 hike

365 mile challenge: 25.0 bike miles + 38.17 foot miles

January mileage: 

2 treadmill workouts + 0 hikes + 4 outside run/walk + 1 race + 3 bike workouts = 47.61 miles

52 hike challenge: 0 hikes

365 mile challenge: 25.0 bike miles + 22.61 foot miles

Weekly Mileage #79 and the String Art

sunrise just before the start of the GSM half marathon

Monday I dropped the boys off at preschool, then dropped Sunshine off at co-op. Then I went and walked three miles around Target and Wal-Mart, doing some sourcing. Q4 (fourth quarter of the year) is just about to start and it's the most profitable time of the year to be selling on Amazon, so it's time to step up the pace of my sourcing. Sitting on a chair with my foot up is not the way to do that, and I've been chafing against the inactivity.

Let's just say I over-did it with the walking. Initially I was able to walk without too much of a limp and very little pain, but my foot was not happy by the time I finished and went to pick up the boys. Add in a bad night's sleep, and I was exhausted.

I actually went back to the doctor this week to get more blood drawn for more testing and a referral for a sleep study. My last bloodwork came back looking great. Seriously- I was surprised at how good all my numbers are. And discouraged, since I'm so exhausted all the time and I really thought I had low iron or a bad thyroid.

This week was a lot less crazy than the week before, so I actually had time to sit and rest my foot, which it still needs. It still hurts, though not as bad, and I'm using the pain as a reminder not to try to do too much too soon. And sitting gives me time to write for my websites, so it's not like I'm not accomplishing anything.

sunrise just after the half marathon started

Saturday was the craft day where I taught some ladies from church how to do string art, based on the samples I made a while ago. That was fun, but it's also nice to have it done and over with. Now to focus on the next big activity: Wood Badge next weekend and again two weekends later.

I did a little more sourcing after the craft activity, but didn't last nearly as long as the first time around. I was already tired and I didn't want to make my foot hurt worse.

My foot doesn't hurt too much when I go to bed, but sometimes it aches a lot when I wake up. Those are the days I know it's going to be wet. I didn't think the arthritis pain would hit right away, but the doctor said that's normal, and could take a year or more to clear up. Fun for me, especially since it's been so wet all summer with no real signs of letting up. So. much. rain.

Weekly Mileage
Monday- 3.08 miles walked around stores
Saturday- 1.63 miles walked around stores    
total- 4.71 miles

21 hikes towards #52hikechallenge
2.14 kayak miles towards #365milechallenge

280.87 foot miles towards #365milechallenge
260.00 bike miles towards #365milechallenge
543.01 miles total

Sunday Funny

I sat on a bench while Mr M and the kids explored the gift shop and visitor center

Before we headed home from Great Smoky Mountain NP, we stopped to turn in River's Junior Ranger packet at the visitor center. After he got his pin, Mr M took the kids to look around the gift shop.

Ocean found a stuffed elk (they've been rebuilding the local herd of Smoky Mountain elk), held it up, and exclaimed "deer!"

Mr M: "no, it's an elk."
Ocean: "no, it's a deer!"

Mr M commented that Ocean would fit in well with the Japanese. In Japanese, elk is "big deer." Back when we were in language school he had a big discussion with one of his teachers about what an inaccurate statement this is, but it didn't change anything- there is no word for elk other than big deer.

Weekly Mileage #78 and Very Busy Week

little boys being silly while I sit with my foot up. yes, I'm using a cooler- it's just the right height :)

Last week was a super busy week. All our classes started and we had multiple doctor appointments scheduled. Thankfully I have some good friends who generously drove us around to everything.

Monday a friend and I dropped the boys off at their first day of preschool, then dropped Sunshine off at her co-op. A couple hours later another friend and I picked up the boys, then later in the afternoon, Mr M picked up Sunshine.

Tuesday Mr M drove us to and from music lessons.

Wednesday a friend picked us up, then dropped Sunshine off at nature class, then drove the boys and I to my orthopedic appointment. Then she drove us to Ocean's hearing test. She also picked Sunshine up from her nature class in the afternoon.

Thursday the friend who drove us around on Wednesday drove us to Sunshine's orthodontist appointment. Yes, she is a saint.

Friday another friend drove us to and from what I thought was Ocean's more in-depth speech evaluation, but was actually just signing the paperwork to do all the evaluations (ahh, the joys of working with the public school system). Afterwards, Mr M dropped us off at a local park for , and another friend drove us home.

Saturday I realized we needed a few things from the grocery store, so I decided to drive to the grocery store a mile away and see how it felt. I took the boot off to drive, then put it back on when I got out of the car. My foot felt fine, but walking around was tiring. Mr M was at drill Saturday and Sunday and not able to drive us anywhere.

I had arranged for a friend to take us to church on Sunday, but after Saturday's little outing I decided to just drive myself. Moving car seats in and out of vehicles was getting old. Taking the boot on and off is much easier.

The results from our various appointments:
It took an hour of waiting in the orthopedic doctor's waiting room before we could go to the exam room- why tell me the appointment is for 10:15 if I don't get seen until 11:15? The boys did great, but they were getting very restive towards the end, which I totally didn't blame them for. The x-rays showed that my foot is healing, so I've got the boot for at least 4 more weeks. We'll see how things are then, and go from there.

Ocean has fluid in his right ear still. His speech receptors are a little low in his left ear, but lower in his right ear. So his hearing is still muffled and he probably can't hear if we whisper in his right ear. We go back in 6 weeks to re-test everything and see if there's any changes. Based on those results we should be able to move forward with tubes if he's still got fluid in his ears. Re-testing establishes a baseline of what his ears are doing.

Sunshine needs two more baby teeth pulled. She's got some very stubborn teeth that just won't fall out, which is making her crowded mouth even more crowded. I'd hoped she'd be ready to finally get braces, but no dice.

The boys loved preschool and it even inspired Ocean to be more motivated to use the toilet. This past week he's been wearing underwear with fewer accidents, which is nice. We potty trained back in December and January, and he has no problem pooping and peeing in the potty, but he just couldn't be bothered to stop what he was doing to use the toilet.

The boys only go to preschool one morning a week, which gives me a couple hours to get some work done all by myself- writing, sourcing, whatever I need to get done. I'd wanted two mornings, but by the time I realized I needed this, there weren't any openings on Wednesday mornings. Even just a few hours is nice, though, so I'll take what I can get.

No mileage again last week, but I want to try riding my bike this coming week.

Weekly Mileage
    total- 0 miles

21 hikes towards #52hikechallenge
2.14 kayak miles towards #365milechallenge

276.16 foot miles towards #365milechallenge
260.00 bike miles towards #365milechallenge
538.30 miles total

Sunday Funny

While on one of our road trips earlier this summer, I was getting gas in the RV and the car was hitched behind on the dolly.

A random guy stopped to ask if the car had front wheel or rear wheel drive.

Me: Front, I think?

Him: If it’s rear wheel, you’re still adding mileage to your car.

Me: And???   <the lady next to me and I just looked at each other, confused>

I’m towing a sedan behind an RV, I'm not trying to avoid adding mileage- I just wanted a more maneuverable vehicle to drive while camping. Maybe he thought it was up on the dolly just to avoid adding mileage on the odometer?

Arrow of Light Award made with the Glowforge

When I bought the Glowforge, one of the projects I had in mind was to use it to make Arrow of Light awards. I've been cutting them with a scroll saw, which is time consuming and fiddly, and prone to mistakes. You can see them in this post and this post.

After a lot of time (more than I really had available) experimenting, this is what I came up with. I'd intended to cut all the way through the wood, like the scroll sawed ones, but the wood is too thick for that to work efficiently. I like the cutout look, but I like this engraved look as well.

I've used pine in the past, but I used oak this time. I was working under a time crunch, so I didn't have time to try it with pine. I'll have to do that next time. I'm not convinced I like the oak on pine look, but it's not awful.

I only had a few minutes to photograph the award, and the light was fading fast, so the quality isn't quite what I'd like, but you can still get a good idea of how it turned out.

I do love the texture that resulted from the laser repeatedly passing over the grain of the wood.

Anyone in need of an Arrow of Light award?