I want this.

This weekend I was lucky to actually be with my dad for Father's Day! It was fantastic, and the weekend was filled with as many childhood stories as you might expect. I was maybe feeling a bit nostalgic, because this bad boy stopped me in my tracks today.

When we were little, going to any shopping mall required a drive, and the way we'd distinguish between them was "the hippo mall," or all the other ones (lack of hippos did not make for memorable shopping trips).

The hippo mall had, as you may have guessed, a hippo.

This hippo was made of bronze (well, probably just something that looked like bronze), about 15' long, and had no legs. The lack of legs made it comfortably close to the ground, and possible for even the smallest kids to scramble on its back. I'd like to know who the first person was to decide this, but by the time the hippo was a part of our lives there was an understood order to it: you scramble up his back end, scoot yourself along his spine (surprisingly tricky since the bronze was shiny and slippery from said scooting), push yourself over his ears, and slide down the nose, getting a surprising amount of momentum. Over and over and over.

P.S. If Target ever makes a knockoff of this like they have some of his other animals, SOMEBODY PLEASE TELL ME. 

healthy (?)

I love that in my family, huge salads with more nuts, fruits, and vegetables than you thought reasonable are the norm. I love that there's always someone up for a walk or run or bike ride. I love that track is kind of a way of life for us (and that it means we're used to competing - and worse, waiting - in any kind of weather every day from February to June). I love that baby carrots and trail mix got us through those months. I love that saying someone looked strong and healthy were always the biggest physical compliments.

I also love that if someone says they want chocolate chip cookies, or hold-the-baking-let's-just-eat-chocolate-chips-from-the-bag, or cinnamon donuts (which I personally requested more than once this weekend), everyone agrees and no time is lost in acquiring said treat, sans judgment. Doesn't that just make sense?

[Thanks for the last minute donut run on Sunday morning, guys! I'll split a bag with you anytime...and walk laps in the airport afterwards. Because that's how we do things (and I love it).]

because I kept forgetting

There may only be four people who still care at this point, but I did in fact get Darcy a collar. I also talked to the company way too much, bought and returned another one, and asked for lots of pictures of the options before settling on this one.

Then I took a good hard look at my life and decided to use my time doing something useful. Like reading.

Anyway, after trial and error we went all-out girly. She seems to like it.

She also currently likes carrying her own leash at the end of walks, eating flowers, barking silently (it just sounds like forceful breathing, but may be intimidating to birds on the balcony), carrots, asparagus, onions, and really any food that somehow falls on the floor. And we like her.

UVA, UVB, and UVOwwww

In Michigan, it always seemed like the sun took its time warming up and summer didn't really (consistently) arrive until July or so. This gave your skin and the sun lots of time to get used to each other, and by the time it was really hot, you could have already gotten a little tan from riding bikes, reading outside, doing errands, etc. It was all very unconscious.

This swamp we've designated as our nation's capital is not like that. Dave and Jenna have an awesome rooftop pool, and I spent a few blissful hours up there on Saturday chatting and having great girl time. The breeze and refreshing water combined to trick me into forgetting that it was over 90 degrees, that I hadn't been in just a bathing suit in half a year, and that I should be required to wear SPF 75 for my first week in the sun. When I got home and watched my sunburn begin to "bloom" as the Leutheusers say (you have to come up with cute terms when dealing with fair skin and chronic sunburn), I quickly remembered all of these points.

Today has been spent slathering on aloe lotion and perusing J.Crew's 30% off swimwear sale. I probably won't actually pull the trigger, but these are on my wish list:

Last year's (actually two year's ago...or three?) hat is now sunbleached, crushed from weird packing jobs, and covered in paint speckles. Time for a replacement.

If I were wearing a cute tangerine and blue bathing suit I'd try not to look angry.

And I finally appreciate the importance of a cover-up. Mom, making me wear t-shirts in Florida actually paid off!

breather

Oops. Seems like I wandered away and forgot to come back! But it's been a pretty great breather - lots of walks, catching up with friends, stepping away from the computer, and reading a lot.  This book in particular gave me the feeling of transport I haven't had in a long time. I might write about it later, but for now I'm still in a pleased daze. 

It's also helped me remember that being busy isn't a virtue in and of itself. It seems like (especially in DC) if the answer to "how are you doing?" isn't "busy," people will assume you're slacking in some area of your life. And while hard work is important, so is balance, and rest. Plus, I'm ready to hear some actually interesting answers to that question! Hope everyone has a restful start to summer.

ramblings - 5.19.13

- Since the mostly-rainy weather all weekend put a damper (haha) on our outdoor adventure plans, we had to come up with something else. That something else ended up being lots of reading, lots of Darcy attention, lots of dancing [always say yes if your friend says she wants to celebrate her birthday at a club having a Madonna/Gaga/boy band night], lots of eating, and lots of Robert Downey, Jr.

- I didn't ever think this would be important, but I'm so glad I married someone who would be willing to do an Iron Man hat trick. We watched 1 on Friday night, 2 on Saturday afternoon, and saw 3 in the theater today. I think this is what it means to be a grown up?

- We're eating a lot of homemade pizza around here. And we discovered today that using Trader Joe's various ciabatta flatbreads means you can be eating it much sooner, which is only good.

- You guys, I bought bright white heels. The salesperson was so enthusiastic that I tried some on, and was walking out in them 10 minutes later. [On a related note, if you're ever feeling down and are in the area, go to the Nine West in Alexandria. Those people just barrage you with compliments.] Three hours later, I walked back in, realized that I'd overcommitted, and bought these instead:

...white (tipped) heels I'll wear all the time. Success!

mother's day

I know this is late, but sometimes it takes a few days to get your thoughts in order. And sometimes you realize it could take a much longer time to get your thoughts in order, but a Mother's Day post in July wouldn't make sense.

Mother's Day could have been a very, very hard day. I was sort of expecting it to be. What I didn't expect was the amazing community of mothers who wished me a happy day and freely talked about Joseph - though I should have. They know what motherhood is. I didn't expect the wonderful women I've gotten to know through our common loss to send their own quiet wishes to each other - though I should have. Their strength and faith have been an inspiration to me. I didn't expect the public acknowledgement of the mothers in church to be followed by special prayers for those who have lost a child - though I should have. Our Blessed Mother knows that pain better than anyone.

In my Bible study last week we were talking about how Mary's sinless nature meant that she had the capacity to love more completely than any human, but that she would also then feel pain more deeply. That, coupled with a discussion about how Jesus did not start his ministry until she told Him to (gave Him permission) at Cana, stopped us in our tracks. I had never thought about that story as if He were telling her they could put off the painful ending a little longer ("My hour has not yet come"), and she instead voluntarily stepped out of the happy, safe childhood and adolescence they had had together and into His ministry. She could have tried to put it off, and to protect both her Son and herself. Instead, she continued to courageously trust God's plan. 

To love perfectly is - while we're on earth - to suffer great pain. But the suffering doesn't lessen the love in any way, and should then not be feared. 

Let's love boldly.

wishes

Confession: I forgot to make a wish before I blew out my birthday candles yesterday. Completely forgot. I got nervous and distracted by the goal of actually successfully extinguishing them all!*

Raspberry-lime cake by Alice. That girl is good.

But when I realized my mistake, I wasn't too upset (and that's coming from someone who's very superstitious, and like to make the most of her birthday wishes). The whole day had been filled with reminders of the wonderful people I have in my life - and for the record family and friends, you guys really are wonderful. If I had had to make a wish, it might have just been to keep all the goodness around me - I'm a lucky girl! 

*At least there weren't a full 25...I think I would have given up.

punkstars

I've decided I'm a huge fan of the Met Gala having a serious theme. I think that overall the night was way less attractive than usual, but come on. We've seen all of these people in the same pretty dresses often enough. It was kind of fun to see who actually went for "punk" and who you just imagined saying "OMG what if no one else is wearing punk and I just look like a weirdo get me the usual princess dress and I'll wear extra eyeliner".......I mean, just for example.

I think she probably did fashiony punk best, but she bugs me for some reason so I don't want to post her. Here are my other runners-up:

Definitely the most high-fashion take in my opinion. Sort of a fun punk version of Gwyneth's 2012 Oscar cape.

I couldn't find the picture with her badass face, but this one is so cute.

January Jones loves playing dress-up...she's just usually the only one doing it on the red carpet. She showed she was a pro though with her eye makeup, where most were doing smoky eyes.

I seriously can't look at this without laughing. But it's awesome, she committed, I think the dress is actually pretty, and it all led to this photo:

Because of course Jennifer Lawrence looked at SJP's mohawk and was like "I need to touch that."

ramblings - 5.6.13

- After a weekend of beautiful weather - perfect for the first wedding of the year! - this week promises cooler temps and lots o' rain. Fortunately, I found a pretty great tortellini soup recipe. Well I tweaked it a little...I don't trust crockpots still so I did it on the stovetop in less than 40 minutes, I skipped the cream cheese (because that just seems unnecessarily unhealthy), and then I added a little heavy cream (because the healthiness was a facade and I just don't like cream cheese). And it was dang good.

- I also made a little Texas sheet cake for no reason yesterday. What is a mini Texas sheet cake called? A Rhode Island sheet cake?

- Many people who have not been eating any-sized sheet cakes will be at the Met Gala tonight. If there are enough prettay prettay dresses, maybe we'll do a roundup tomorrow?

- Speaking of fashion, I pinned these paintings during the Downton season, and then forgot about them. Fingers crossed that Lady Mary wears something pretty tonight...I was kind of into her short gloves last year.

[That last dress is this Oscar de la Renta that I (and the rest of the world) fawned over as soon as it hit the runway...I think it's so cool that the artist could convey it without much detail.]