I took a million pictures, but I didn’t really take any of the best part, uh, THE MUSIC. I decided to dancedancedance with my two loves, soak up the sun, get all sweaty, and really LIVE in the juicy. Here are a few of the times I had a camera handy.

SB threw together this little video of bits he captured here and there. The song is “Primp and Prune” by Campfire OK, who were my favorites if I had to say.

No. Words. Or, I guess, a few super inadequate ones.

We should have a flash mob.

Of course. Of course we should. It is a testament to how tremendously well liked is my friend that so many people were game. From three different factions of her life! There was a college group, a work contingent, and her Seattle crowd as well.

After a not-even-that-extensive youtube search, I was able to find the perfect video of a group of educators doing a flash mob at a conference. It was ideal because it had dance moves performed by Actual People, there was a TUTORIAL video as well, and the song was fun and had a good message. We emailed links and instructions and whatnot far and wide and hoped for the best. I think we were all imagining the disaster this could be.

I have to admit that even though I was one of planners of the whole deal, as the event drew closer, I kept feeling all, gah! I have to go learn that dance. I had my own party to prepare for, fun houseguests, and there was always something better to do. BUT THEN. We all put the babies to bed, cracked some beers, hooked the laptop up to the TV, and got our groove on. You guys, it was SO FUN to learn a dance routine. As soon as we started, all I wanted to DO was practice.

This was the most fun I have had in a long long time. There are a couple of videos, which I’ll link, but none of them really get the Birthday Girl’s face. It was truly one of life’s greatest moments to watch her realize what was going on, how utterly delighted and surprised she was.

Maybe watch a few seconds of each of these, if you feel like it. I’m in the front in a blue dress.

This one has the best sound I think, but you have to forward it to about 1:40.

This one has the most reaction shots in it:

Late night drunken dance floor version:

People, if you get a chance to be in a flash mob, DO IT.

Last night we went to a bonfire concert featuring Ravenna Woods and people, I promise, it really was this spectacular.

picnic dinnah

Hey look! A photo of me!

dancin to the opener

Would you check out that boat and the heavenly light?

And with this sun flare, I am dead.

Seriously. I’ve seen some pretty places in this wondrous world, but the PNW wins first prize. It’s the kind of beautiful you feel in your chest.

(turn your speakers down, it comes in kind of loud)

Oh, how I love the Summer! Blogs are neglected and stories stack up in the mental To Write folder.

There have been many adventures I hope to get to soon. Most are related to the Busiest Weekend Ever, aka last weekend. There were THREE FUN PARTIES (one of which I hosted), friends in town from afar, and even a flash mob.

But first, let’s admire My Twinkly Passageway. I’ve been dreaming about hanging up these lights for a long time and the party made us finally execute. I LOVE IT. (Yes, my tall skinny Victorian is this close to it’s twin next door.) When my friend Brian saw it he said, “Oooh! It looks like Paris!” and instantly became my favorite person in the world. We put a sign on the front door directing people to come around the side of the house to the back yard. As each guest arrived, I’d demand compliments. It’s just so twinkly! I hope it makes you go, “Oooh, this party is gonna be fun!”

So! The party! The Kiss em Goodbye Kegger.

Our dear, dear, dearests are moving away for two years and we threw them a Bon Voyage. We called it a kegger and started it late, so there were no kids. There was a keg, a ping pong table, long forgotten drinking games, a polaroid camera, and a bag of dicks. (someone *may* have worked for a sex toy party company and needed to get rid of her extensive demo collection of gently used toys.) People, we were up until FOUR. AY. EM. It was a really good party. So many lovely* friends were gathered who don’t often get the chance to be in each others presence. It was such a special occasion to be silly without the split focus that happens when your kids are around.

So fun! I love love love throwing parties. I even had a team of minions the day of, with all the fun friends arriving from out of town. People would ask, “What can I do?” and I would say, “Um, can you mow my lawn?” AND THEY WOULD TOTALLY DO IT. It ruled.

Anyway, it was good fun. I refuse to get mooshy and sad here in this post about such a sparkly good time, as our Beloveds settle themselves into their new home on the other side of the world. But GODDAMN I wish the freaking International Schools would stop stealing my friends.

* It was so wonderful to see you ladies who read here. Each of your friendships means so much to me. xoxoxoxoxo

She is one of the most fabulous people, EVER. Doesn’t she look happy? She is SO HAPPY because it is her wedding day. Sort of. She actually got married in her dining room 6 months ago, but we were fortunate enough to get to fly out to beautiful Minneapolis, Minnesota over the weekend to attend her reception.

I’m so glad we went! Not only did we have a wonderful time in Minneapolis, we got to spend a good deal of quality time with the lovely Bride and Groom. I was reminded how important it is, whenever you can swing it, to show up for the big moments in the lives of your friends. That’s what life is all about, really.

I have many adventures to relay. I’ll begin with the gathering of family and out of town guests at their new home. It was so fun! I got to see in person all the various famliy characters I’ve been hearing about all these years, as well as see Dahli’s house for the first time. It is just as beautiful and interesting and unique as the Bride herself.

Here we are enjoying the patio she made with her bare hands:

Which brings me to a topic that must be discussed, a major part of my Minneapolis adventure:

THE MOTHER. EFFING. MOSQUITOS.

I wasn’t even outside at night that much! Just this one evening, and maybe a walk on another night, and people, I WAS EATEN ALIVE. Those things are NOT fucking around. I’m still scratching like crazy and applying hydrocortizone left and right, and we’ve been home for two days. I’ve decided that in future visits to the Land of 10,000 Lakes, I would need something like what is pictured below. If I am to spend any time out of doors at night, I will need a full body mosquito net of some kind. I bet someone has invented something like this already, but if not, Tee Em, bitchez.

More to come!

You may recall, summer before last when SB and I participated in the ALS DoubleDay, an 85 mile bike ride to benefit the Evergreen Chapter of the ALS Association. I was all pregnant and extra badass for attempting such a thing. But I did it!

It was such a great experience in so many ways. The ride itself is beautiful, and we had a wonderful time with many of our friends who also participate. It also felt so good to be involved with a great cause, and to raise money for an organization that does such important work. They do more than just search for a cure, which can seem so nebulous, they support the families and improve the lives of people who suffer from this terrible disease. After the first day of the ride, there’s a spaghetti dinner where the direct beneficiaries speak about the difference this organization makes in their lives, and it’s so gratifying! So often, we never see the results that occur from our donations, but I can attest to how much good each dollar donated accomplishes.

This weekend, we’re doing it again and I couldn’t be more excited! I’m posting about this today to make one last plea for some cizzash. I’m almost to my fundraising goal, and if you have even a few bucks to toss my way, you’d have my undying gratitude. I’ll even send you a sweaty finish line photo thank you card!

Here is a link to my fundraising page. If you, by any chance, plan on fundraising for anything in the future, I promise to return the favor! Most of the folks who’ve donated to me already are people whose cancer walks or whatever I’ve contributed to. Tit for tat, you know.

I’ll be sure to post a recap of our adventures on Monday. Hopefully featuring no soaking wet photos like this one of me and my pal Tina at the finish line in ’08!

ALS stands for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. You can learn more about it here.

SB and I attended a formal fundraiser for the Zoo over the weekend. It’s a hoot! (Ha! I kill me!) The tickets are pricey, but it’s a good cause of course, and the food and drink and entertainment are pretty spectacular.

Something to take special note of, is the fact that I had an UP-DO. My hair has been too short for an up-do for 10+ years. (I hesitate to say that I’m growing it out, because that means I’m embarking on a 5-year process I’m unsure I have the patience for, but I HAVE been trying to obtain a little more length so as to have more options.) Anywho, my hair lady is an absolute wizard and I appreciate, how I can show up with a flower and be like, “I don’t know, make something pretty” whilst making vague swirling gestures about my head, and she’ll perform a miracle.

(Please forgive if you’ve seen these photos all over the facebooks and the twitters and whatnot. We don’t look this good very often.)

Friday night, I saw the Indigo Girls in concert. Though it’s been a few years, I’ve lost count how many times I’ve seen them. This time, they performed in my beloved hometown, however, and I couldn’t pass it up.

OMG, I am SO GLAD I went. SO GLAD that I spent good money on a seat in the 6th row all by myself. I’m not sure I can adequately describe what a great expereince it was. I was completely shocked, several times, as they began singing a song and tears burst from my eyes, flooding my face and my tissue-less hands.

They’ve been a part of my life for so long. I think I bought my first tape of theirs when I was 18. It’s as if they’ve been with me through the entire forming of my identity. Their voices seem a part of my consciousness somehow.

When they took the stage, I felt like I was seeing old friends. I would have run up and sqeezed them if I could. And of course, they put on a fantastic show. I guess I went into it thinking, “this’ll be a pleasant evening,” but left the show high on life.

I just love them. LOVE.

I did something super cool this weekend. I attended a beginning photography workshop for women put on by Me Ra Koh, who is a total photgraphy celebrity and happens to live in Tacoma. She does these workshops all over the country and I’ve been waiting and waiting for her to do one locally.

You know that I love photography and that I have a good camera and whatnot, but honestly if I ever take a good picture, it’s an accident. Before this weekend, I had no idea WHY a picture would be good, WHY the background looked all nice and fuzzy sometimes, or whatever. But now! NOW I understand ISO and aperture and shutter speed and metering! I understand what makes a picture good! I know what I need to do to take professional quality pictures! (That would be practice, and buy some expensive lenses.) I AM NOT AFRAID OF MY CAMERA ANYMORE!!

Not only that, I got to meet and hang out with a great group of cool women who I think, the local ones anyway, might actually turn into friends. And of course I got to meet and hang out with the lovely and talented Me Ra Koh, who previously I have only blogstalked and secretly stared at at the Y. Now I can I say hello!

The first day, we learned about our cameras and then a group of moms and babies came and we got to practice on them in various lighting conditions throughout the lovely B&B where the workshop was held. It was such a great exercise. I went from super frustrated to elated and back again. I learned that my current lenses won’t let me do what I want, that it’s the lenses, not me. How cool is that? There’s something so empowering about understanding the problem.

And look what I did! Doesn’t this look like a REAL photographer took it?

I’m so excited to have my own little subject to torment!

Anyway! OMG! SQUEEEEEE!!

Firstly, I didn’t even realize how hilarious this is until she arrived to pick us up, but SB had plans and we didn’t want to hassle with parking, so my mom totally dropped us off. Sweet.

You guys, it was probably the most fun concert I’ve ever been to, and I’m not even kidding. It was like nothing I’ve ever experienced. It was absolutely UNREAL to be surrounded by thousands and thousands of women in their 30′s, all giddily LOSING. THEIR. SHIT. Seriously. Everyone stood the WHOLE TIME. The screaming was nearly non stop, the volume level nearly painful.

They put on a really good show! They looked and sounded great, tight dance moves and whatnot, big lights and screens and fireworks and the whole shebang. I think they must have worked with some kind of adolescent female psychologist or something to know exactly how to best whip us into a frenzy. For example, they’d be singing an oldie, you’d be on your feet screaming and dancing, and then on the big screen would be a choice clip from a video that you haven’t seen in 20 years but you saw approximately 1 million times back in the day, and then you’d COMPLETELY lose it. There they are, walking in slow motion up that hill in Boston with the subway in the background….EEEEEEEE!!!! I cannot use enough caps or exclamation point to convey the crazy flashback-to-budding-sexuality/childlike glee this concert inspired in me and everyone around me.

Truly, it seemed like the T-Dome was sprinkled in some kind of magic fairy dust of happiness. Perhaps they say this to all the cities, but they kept commenting on how great the crowd was, one of the best they’d had. And it seemed like they were having so much fun! At the end they were jumping around and hugging eachother!

It was everything I wanted it to be and more. They really did impress me. Jordan is still my favorite. He sang “I’ll Be Loving You Forever” in the original key, I’ll have you know.

Other funny/interesting observations and quotes include:

- I have never in my life seen such a crowded merch table. There were women clutching money stacked 20 wide and 20 deep after the show. Are these guys brilliant, or what? They’re like, let’s have a comeback when all our fans have cash! More than just babysitting money to spend this time around.

- Donna: After screaming our heads off throughout the first song, “I think I taste blood.”

- At one point I glanced over at Tiana and she looked sort of dazed, staring glassy-eyed at the stage. I thought to myself, maybe she wants to sit down or maybe she’s not having fun anymore. Then she leaned over and said, “I can’t stop looking at Donnie. He’s such an good dancer! He’s just a little bit thug and I guess I like it! If my husband could move like that, we’d have 10 kids.”

- Single, 30-something, guy friend Chris before the show: “That sounds like a target-rich environment”

- You know how when you buy something from iTunes, it asks you if you are SURE you want to buy it? I’ve never found that offensive until I was buying the NKOTB greatest hits. I was all, “Um yes, iTunes! What are you trying to say?!”

Thanks for such a great time, ladies. I hope they do this again in another 20 years!