What a whirlwind

Summer Salutations
Is it just me but this summer has been speeding by? Ours certainly is but not without some very festive moments. Probably the biggest event of my summer was turning the big 4-0. Yikes, am I really that old? (I guess it is better than alternative)



Last week I said goodbye to my thirties with a good group of friends. We did dinner at one of my favorite restaurants Stanley and Seaforts. If you live in the south sound region you really should try this place. It is a bit chichi, but go for happy hour and get the appetizer tower. Super yummy. Not to mention the view of Tacoma and Commencement Bay is gorgeous.


Last year, my buddy Holly took part in a local triathlon (the Federal Escape) as member of the Olympic distance relay. She, her sister and her sister-in-law each did one of the three legs. Holly did the 1.2 mile swim. It was so inspirational to watch her as she came out of the water. I thought maybe I could do that too. So last August I began to train. Now it certainly wasn't anything intense or scary, it basically meant getting up off the couch (or away from the computer) and start moving. The first time we ran I was able to run about 2 blocks and the thought of an actual triathlon was just no where on the radar. However, I stuck with it and on July 25th I completed my triathlon. It was so hot and I wasn't able to run as much as I had hoped but I finished and it felt really good. It also helped that a group of us did it together and we were there to cheer each other on along with friends and family.

That night I celebrated competing the tri and turning 40 with a good old "back in the day" spodie. The combination of good food, friends, drink and the exhaustion of earlier in the day kind of put me out of commission for a few days, but it was worth it. I never felt so loved by my friends. You know you have good friends when they will stand over hot stoves and cook for you when the temps are in the 90's. Joj did a great job of pulling it off and I was so grateful to everyone who helped him do it.
Other than that our summer has been pretty lazy. We have been a semi-permanent feature at the pool. However the last few days have been HOT. Now us W. WA folks don't do HOT. It is supposed to hit 103 today. We have A/C but is broken. I'm sitting her waiting for the repair guy to come out and hopefully fix it. (I'm hoping we won't have to sell both kids to pay for the repairs, but it is in the 90's and we need our A/C) At least with the heat I haven't been baking as much. I bought a cherry pitter to make some cherry pies, but my kids ate the prepped cherries and now it is just too hot. I did make a Lemon Chiffon Pie today and that was good, nice and cool and very refreshing.
Speaking of baking, I was featured on Jesus Loves a Casserole over at Timi's blog. She is such a hoot and I was so jazzed she picked my little Rhubarb Bars. If you like Rhubarb, or have a bunch of it and don't really want to make a pie, give this a try. Super easy and pretty. It is a great change of pace from lemon bars. They are sweet, but somewhat addictive.
Well, that is about it for now. I'm hoping that my blogging mojo will return with the cooler weather. Hope you all are having as much fun this summer as we are.
Happy Wednesday Everyone!!