Staycation Part 3 - Winchester Mystery House

 When we first moved to California, my mom started talking about taking a trip to go see the Winchester Mystery House. We never made it and then when she moved here, she wasn't in any space for long drives or walking any distance at all. It's far enough away to not be convenient, but not far enough to warrant a "vacation." BUT, it's the perfect daytrip to cap off a staycation! 

All five of us went and it was SUCH a fun day. So fun, in fact, that no one complained about the nearly six hours we ended up spending in the car. The house was super interesting and not cheesy at all, we had a really good lunch there, and there was something for everyone to really enjoy. I'm so fascinated by Sarah Winchester and we all have our theories on what actually drove her to build the bizarre house. I'm sure she was maybe "eccentric" but I also wonder if part of it was because she was making sure that she could keep her staff employed without appearing to be giving them charity. She treated them all so well it would be weird if that didn't motivate her, at least in part. 

Spooky basement where apparently a ghost with a wheelbarrow is regularly seen

Stained glass windows that survived the Great San Francisco Earthquake

Door to nowhere (one of many)

The most gorgeous indoor garden room 

Sarah Winchester's bed. She was 4'10" and everything in the house was built to those dimensions. It made a huge difference in things like doorways and handrails! She also had custom "easy riser" stairs in all of her areas of the house, which were nearly, but not quite, ramps. It was kind of a mind fuck to use them if you weren't careful. 

Staycation Part 2 - Go Touch Some Grass

While it wasn't a full blown camping trip, it was a day spent in the dirt next to water and that's about as close to heaven as I get. I packed poorly in the interest of "just get out the door" so I didn't have a book or my knives or anything, but I had my goofy sidekick and my favorite ride or die and it was as delightful as I hoped. 

This one is a little mountain goat with absolutely zero fear of slipping and falling into cold running water

And also a butterfly whisperer

 

Staycation Part 1 - Broadway!

Part of Averson's birthday present was tickets to go see The Six on it's tour in San Francisco. We got a great deal on a nice hotel literally across the street and got all decked out for a mid-week show. They've been listening to all the songs, but hadn't seen any of the choreography. I decided not to do any prep, so all I knew was that it was about Henry the 8th's wives. I was blown away. It was SUCH a good show and we had a great time just the two of us. Averson did my hair, helped me pick a tiara, and we ate a fancy dinner complete with a giant gourmet milkshake (not pictured but still appreciated) Afterwards we were the first to the stage door and Averson managed to get autographs from five of the six queens (including her favorite, Alize Cruz/Katherine Howard. 

Could they be any cooler?

The next day we got breakfast at a diner that I realized was the same one my dad took us to on our last trip together. Averson said the breakfast changed their life it was so good. Then we wanted to go thrifting so we hiked too far in a neighborhood that was...not family friendly. But Averson was a trooper and didn't even bat an eye after the third "don't step in that!" and was rewarded with some very cool new vintage t-shirts. 

 It was such a great trip and I'm so grateful that I got to have a solo adventure with this one. As it worked out, we're taking each kid to a show/concert solo this year and I'm pretty sure it's going to have to be a new tradition. 

Strongman Saturday

 At the end of last year, my gym had all of us right our goals on a board and they took our picture. My goal for the gym was to get a pull-up (still working on it) but I also had a goal that I didn't necessarily want to put up on the wall

And look what I fucking did this weekend!!!!! 

I promise it was harder than it looks. But also, when I got to the end the lady next to me said very decisively "You need to do two trucks next time." So I'm v strong, obviously

I was going to bail because I woke up Friday with a weird shoulder thing, but then I asked Averson on a scale of 1-10 how much they wanted to go and they said "7.5" So I pulled the truck and then played paparazzi while they did the rest of the fun stuff. (Averson pulled a truck too, and we did one together. It was pretty amazing and my mother would have been so proud) I don't know that I've ever loved a picture more than I do this one of Averson with the Axle over their head and the look of sheer joy on their face. Who knew that they'd love Strongman stuff? I'm obsessed and I can't wait to go back

Little things and big things and quiet things

I lost my stupid voice last week and after three days of not talking, I can't tell if I'm depressed or lonely or just realizing the fuckery of the world. Probably all of the above? I'm anxious to talk again and really over the squeaky voice/no voice/charades shenanigans. So let's throw it back to some rando happy things, shall we? 

We had the open house for my program! The CEO and several county executives came, and it was so fun to show off the building and my amazing team. 

One day last week I 100% phoned in getting ready for work, but then I noticed this gray STREAK in my hair! Not even just a little gray but a full streak and I love it so much

Before I got sick and didn't go to the gym because coughing and not talking in a shared space is a bad look, I lifted so much fucking weight. I'm at almost 200# for my back squat and I hit 125# for my bench press. AND I held a handstand for at least two seconds and did some cool jump rope stuff

I'm debating adding more to this tattoo. I want to give him a little friend, but now I'm worried it'll be too much. 

This lipstick is fucking magical. I ordered like five different shades. I put it on at 7:30 and it's still on when I wash my face at night. Once it's dry I don't even notice that it's on. AND it doesn't get all over my coffee mugs/water bottles/teeth/what have you. AND AND, it's less than $10

 

This cute little couple hung out in our pool and gave exactly 0 F's about Scout. I kind of hope they move in. 

Have you seen the posts going around about how women inject whimsy into their days? It's the cutest, most delightful use of the internet that I've seen in a while. In that vein, I've started calling my oatmeal/shake/coffee/whathaveyou my "potions" and it's made making sure I'm getting my protein/collagen/chia seeds/caffeine so fun. It's not a lunch bag. It's my satchel of potions 💗I just keep getting closer to my feral forest witch soul. 

Averson is twelve!

They're not quite a teen yet, but having a twelve-year-old feels very much like we've graduated from having "kids" to having Kids. Averson's birthday was lovely and perfect and exactly them. We kicked it off with birthday donuts (Eli was on a roadtrip so he remote-d in for the festivities) and Averson and I went to get fancy birthday nails. They wore their tiara and picked the perfect emo/grunge/fantasy style nails. It was so fun! For their birthday they asked to have a couple friends over for a sleepover and this group of kids is just the sweetest. They watched XO, Kitty (maybe from start to finish) and SNL, ate Costco sushi and ice cream cake, and slept in a pile on the living room floor. Averson's "big" gift was tickets to go see The Six in April and I've already called dibs since C got to take them to Hamilton. 

This kid is just the sweetest, most empathic, quirky little creature. They're super into media right now and all things video, they collect playing cards (the Greek Mythology and Noble Cat decks were a huge hit), and are constantly making bracelets for everyone. They're a gifted, and humble, artist and their make-up skills are INSANE. They started track this week and I'm so excited to see how that goes! It's been so fun to see them grow and mature this year and the next year is going to be even better. This kid makes my heart smile 💗
 

Balance and Nuance

 I flipped a stranger off in traffic this morning. I haven't done that since right after my dad died. Did this stranger deserve it? Probably not, and I pretty immediately felt shameful about it. Until he then proceeded to run a red light so blatantly that I questioned my sanity and ability to tell red from green. 

I think that pretty cleanly sums up where my mind is at lately. I am mad and rageful and feeling all of my feral, witchy-woman vibes. I want to rally the sisterhood and storm to Idaho. I want to scream in the face of anyone who voted for this asshole and is now shocked that things aren't getting better. I want to claw out the eyes of anyone who wants to "protect women" by banning trans athletes for the sheer ludicrousy of the logic (for instance, does anyone think about who the trans men, who have likely been taking testosterone for YEARS, are now going to be competing against?! Let's "protect women" by putting actual men in the division. So fucking dumb)

And then at the same time I'm feeling called to the idea of joy being the resistance and enthusiasm being the greatest form of social rebellion. I want to love everyone to satiety and create art and music and beauty to counteract all the outright awfulness that seems to be every-fucking-where. 

So I flip off the man in the car behind me who is gesticulating wildly for me to crawl up on the sidewalk so he can turn ten seconds sooner, but then I'm feeling bad about adding to the negativity, and then he goes and proves that it was warranted. I am Stevie Nicks wearing brass knuckles and carrying a basket of muffins. 

I don't know what to do. I shout into the void about all the things because I want to make sure we don't inure ourselves to all the fuckery. I have 47 art projects going on. I'm making food and loving kids and trying to keep my head up and my nails sharp and I'm actively trying not to "play nice" or "fly low" when people say they didn't understand the half-time show or talk about some asshole's "autistic enthusiasm" 

I don't know why I'm writing this. I guess because it feels like a lot and it is a lot and I wanted to put it out there plainly, but also because if you're feeling this way too, I wanted you to know that we're all here and we're all doing this and if someone tries to drag you out of a town hall, I promise to sit my ass in the aisle and be as heavy as possible.