Today

My Grandma Anne joined her adoring husband, Granpa John.
It is sad to have Grandma gone, but I am thankful she is not struggling in her earthly body anymore. I know Granpa was waiting for her with a huge smile on his face. It makes me so happy to know they are together again.
I left work a little early & headed up north to check on my little sister, as this is the first grandmother she has lost (& it's so difficult to lose the mother of your mother). We headed out into the bright afternoon & took a walk in the grass with Tillie.

It's such an affirmation of life to see the next generation (especially when the next generation carries the name of the lost loved one, Tillie Anne). With the loss of many elders recently, Boo & I have had many discussions over these losses & our responses to them. One reoccurring reaction we both have is a surge in the desire to have our own children. Perhaps a response for the continuation of our family, of the species, of life, as one generation passes, we both feel a increased desire to introduce the next generation. It was comforting to watch Tillie, the next Hagopian/Hearn/Maier generation, run & laugh in the sunshine.
I need my remaining three grandparents to be with us for a while longer--I'm not quite ready to provide the next generation.

Lately

I'm going to make some changes--starting tomorrow. :)
With the realization of certain things, especially how crazy work is going to get in the coming months, some priorities need to be shuffled.
--less time on the computer when I am home. Lately, after spending most of the day working on a computer, I come home & automatically turn it on again. Sometimes it's work, sometimes not, sometimes a combination. But this is time I could be on a bike ride, visiting friends or family, reading, making dinner,spending time with Levi, just simply being out enjoying the summer & not tied to this laptop.
--more care in what I eat. Lately, I've slacked off a ton in this area & go for what's most convenient & not necessarily healthy. I haven't been making enough time to visit the farmer's markets to really enjoy the amazing produce that's available. It's important to me that I support local growers & not buy my produce at Safeway & I haven't made this enough of a priority lately. With Levi & I waiting to switch to a house till next year, I hope to then commit time to growing some of our own food.
--my mind, my heart, my time. Lately, not enough of these three things have been committed to the people & activities I love the most. For whatever reasons, I am the type of person that lets myself get caught up in the aspects of life that seem to need me (or that I think I need), when the truth is that none of these things truly need me, & instead I find I have neglected those that I need most--my family, my dear friends, time for bike rides & hikes, for reading & creative endeavors, for supporting causes I believe in.
All of this becomes that much more complicated when combined with my job & the fact that it crosses over many of these categories. Heifer International is one of the causes I believe in very strongly & my work for them supports the important work they do around the world. Therefore, there are times that my job will get the best of me, to the neglect of other areas in my life. I am quickly learning that this is the joy & hardship of working for something you believe in--which also happens to be a non-profit with limited staff, stretching the time & ability of those of us lucky enough to do this work. So, as I muddle through & seek to rearrange my priorities & become more efficient with my time (vital!), I ask for patience from those closest to me. The coming months are going to be crazy--a test of patience & abilities for me. And I'm going to need patience & support from you. I have chosen this as my life's work & while I will not allow it to become my life, there are times it will require a great deal from me.

Anybody have any tips for time management & efficiency?

Here's what has been happening lately that I love:
Mountain biking the top of Galbraith Mt. in Bellingham.









Being silly with people I love.








My beautiful Momma & Auntie Beth at a fun bridal shower for my cousin.









Taking Tillie on her first bike ride (in a trailer).












My silly niece in the pool.









Rafting with my co-workers.








A weekend with Levi--spending time with his family, meeting old friends at his reunion, riding our bikes together, catching a movie.









Good thing I said I'd start these changes tomorrow, cause now it's 10:30pm & I've spent much of the evening on the computer. Sweet dreams & priorities to all!

Measure of America

I'm very excited to get a copy of this--the first report to measure an industrialized nation on human development. Read more here.

And we're doing fine over here. :) We head off this afternoon to spend the weekend in Spokane--Levi's 10 year reunion is tonight.
Enjoy your weekend!

For Aaron

As promised, the link to our photos on the new camera (not all were taken by the digital SLR, but the majority).

G-paw

Last weekend was a memorial of sorts for my Grandpa Bruce who passed away in November.
After returning home, the thought of blogging about the weekend seemed daunting & overwhelming to me. I'm sure part of it was because there are so many photos to choose from, but more significantly because I had jumbled up feelings of frustration & loss & did not want to tackle that here on this virtual journal.
Those feelings seem to have settled into a deep missing of my G-paw & the acceptance that some aspects of last weekend can never be explained in words.
My G-paw was very involved in the Portland Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden for many years & it was here that we gathered family & friends, dedicated a tree in his honor, & told stories about his life & passions.
After a humid afternoon filled with constant heat & occasional thunder, it started to rain as my sister & I walked the last pathway together out of the park. The drops were soon falling fast & heavy & we both welcomed the cooling wetness, laughing with tears in our eyes because we knew it was G-paw.

"When you come to the end of a good Scout's day
And you sit in the campfire's light
And the peaks are lit in the sun's last ray
O'er the shade of the coming night
And you think what the end of a good Scout's day
Can mean to us comrades true.
When the bugle blows and the flag comes down
And the stars shine in fields of blue,
Well this is the end of a good Scout day."

NW Girls in the South

The girls of our NW office (which is the whole office, except for our boss) headed to our Little Rock headquarters this week. We had a great time--heading out on the town, touring LR, meeting folks at HQ, & enjoying a quick trip to Heifer's Ranch.
Here we are, enjoying the beer sampler at a brewery on the Arkansas riverfront.

Great fun, but I am looking forward to boarding my plane in a few minutes & being back home!

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads...

especially my own.

Weekend

Great weekend, we're all tired, quick update.
Saturday was the annual trip to the Museum of Flight for Father's Day.

Friends from DC came into town & we headed to the Ms game with a whole crowd of people.
Here's Eric & Levi & Nick, all Spokane boys.

Our wonderful weekend guests, Eric & Nicole.

Seagull view from the top of Safeco.

Sunday we headed up to B'ham, hiked Oyster Dome & enjoyed dinner & beer at JP & Elyse's house.

Hope everyone got out to enjoy the sunshine...finally!

June 10 on 10

Today was another round of the 10 on 10 photo journal. While I love participating in this, I've come to grips with the reality that I am not a great photographer & I get much more pleasure seeing the amazing photos from the other participants. See them yourself here.
I also hope that July 10th holds something more exciting for me, as I had a hard time coming up with interesting topics while working from my desk all day long!
This month, I decided to take photos of things on my right--I recently had an optometry appointment & my awesome doctor fitted me for a new contact lens that will give my right eye (my bad eye) almost 20-20 vision again! Hence, the perspective from my right side.
My day starts off with Calvin, who is almost always at my side, right or left.

To my right in the car on my way to work.

I am outgrowing my small, though thoroughly appreciated, office space & now this is on the floor to my right--our global map & the milk & egg cartons I use for visuals at elementary presentations.

And of course, my mouse. I am left handed, but after using shared computers so much in college, I am now more comfortable with the mouse on the right side.

The beautiful roses I pass on the right side of the street on my walk to the Tangletown Market. They smell so good!

Mug of tea for my right hand while I look up a project in Romania for a donor interested in funding work that directly benefits children.

My treasured Betty LaDuke print, Peru: Tree of Life, on the wall to the right of my desk (Sidenote: I will hopefully be heading to Ecuador next spring to visit projects!)

A note from my delightful co-worker & fellow Elfquest fan--this sits to the right of my phone where I can glance at it often & laugh.

Holding my shopping list in my right hand as I head home.

Meatballs for dinner!

That's June!
Looking forward to seeing everyone else's 10 on 10.

I heart Ballard

Much of my weekend was spent in Ballard, the Seattle neighborhood I grew up in. Friday I was thrilled to have an afternoon with my cousin who just moved back from Colorado. We hit our favorites--Ivar's, Gasworks, coffee (from Cafe Fiori) & Shilshole Beach.
Saturday was Demolition Day at my mom's house. We took down the old garage in the backyard, which was built in 1930 when the house was going up (the first owners likely lived in the garage while the house was being constructed).
As we were watching Bet wield the chainsaw, sawing through the beams all rough & tough, Boo comments: "This is the same guy who likes bubble baths." :)

The final wall is down!

It's amazing how much this changes the backyard--my mom is very excited to expand her garden. The ground apartment next door will be razed later this year (as well as the house behind it) & townhomes will go up--the view from the back alley will likely change dramatically by next spring.

We uncovered all kinds of bugs & spiders during demolition, which was fun for me. We found possibly the biggest European House Spider I have ever seen. Testing out the macro setting on my camera, here's a nest of newborn spiders making their way into the world (Elyse, skip this photo).

And I couldn't resist climbing the apple tree again. This tree was my access to the top of the garage. As a little kid I used to pack a backpack with a snack & a couple books, climb the apple tree, & "run-away" to the roof of the garage.

After much accomplished at my mom's (but more to do), we headed to downtown Ballard for the Second Ascent Twilight Crit--always a great series of races. Here's the mens Category 1 coming down Salmon Bay at around 32 mph.

Today I biked to church & then met Levi at home to go check out a cruiser off Craig's List (yes, I want another bike) & looked at a few open houses along the way.
I hope everyone had a great weekend--hopefully the next one will be sunny & warmer!