dependency

This weekend I'm enjoying some much needed rest and relaxation after what has been a flurry of activity for me. Two weeks ago I completed a full week of nanny shadowing, baby sitting, finished my phlebotomy class, "graduated",  and moved into my anticipated live-in nanny position. It was my third time moving in four months and God willing my last for at least a year. Last week I had my first official week as a nanny of a 7 and 10 year old. It was exhausting. Perhaps it was the failed pool adventure, or the hives, the tension of maintaining authority while desiring approval; maybe it was the rain, or the bickering, the constant saying "no" to video games and redirecting to another activity, but I was plum tuckered out by Friday! Being a part-time mom is hard and I feel an extra amount of thankfulness to my mom and psuedo-moms that drove me around, coordinated activities, time with friends, fed me, and still managed to find the energy to be patient and kind.

As this time of starting my job has drawn near I could feel myself relaxing in my financial stringency (read eating out more) and sadly my dependence on God and remembrance to be a good steward. It was a sad realization but one I had little external motivation to change. If you know me, you know I'm externally motivated. Now I sit on the porch of a lovely home, resting, and have realized that I have external motivation, it's just changed from a bank statement to two kids. While I may not be a strapped financially, I will still need to look to my Lord for energy, kind words, wise decisions, a tender heart, and my ultimate approval. (As I write this I'm icing my eye from an ultimate frisbee smack-down injury. I like to think that this was external motivation to stop me playing today and instead blog and learn how to drive a manual transmission...a stretch? maybe.)

Okay, enough of the contemplation. I know you want to see pictures of my escapades. Well, I posted them on Facebook so follow the links because I'm feeling too lazy to post them here too:

Edmonds Low Tide/More Pike's Place/Picnics and Parks
There was an extremely low tide back in my "old" stomping grounds of Edmonds which revealed huge starfish, their cousins, and sea anemones. I poked around in amazement along with many kids and their parents at bright colors and sheer size of them all. Sometimes I chuckle to myself when my inner 7-year old's curious delight comes out and this was definitely one of those times.

Steph and I met at Pike Place one day a few weeks back. She fed Anton, Moby wrapped him, and *poof* he disappeared. Not actually, but he was quickly asleep and I forgot he was with us. We enjoyed treats including my pastry nemesis as well as some DELICIOUS olive oil and vinegar pairings at a tasting room called Quintessential Gourmet. There were numerous flavor combos they let us try and if you visit I will more than likely be taking you there. It just has soo many sensual delights and frights that keep me coming back.

One thing that's hard to miss in WA is the amount of parks. They are everywhere! If you see a empty square patch of grass it's likely a park, named for a local conservator or frequenter of that patch on a lovely sign listing its amenities: play area, picnic lawn, natural habitat for grass, napping shade...you get my point. I mock it a bit, but it's actually quite nice how many parking options there are. Ooo, I just came up with a great pun: How does Seattle make up for the difficulty of finding parking? They build a park. Golden, right? Anyway, you will find pictures of me having an after church picnic at Volunteer Park, maintained by volunteers along with the Discovery Park pics I've already written about.

SVI graduation pics
Since SVI is a vocational school it caters to non-traditional students many of whom have not had any schooling passed high school and some who never even had the traditional high school graduation ceremony. So for the school's official ceremony they make a big deal and it was actually a lot of fun. It took place in Benroya Hall, a beautiful symphony hall in downtown, they had a jazz band with two excellent vocalists, and the main speaker was a popular TV news consumer advocate, Jesse Jones. The air was full of excitement and you could tell that each student had worked extra hard and/or overcame some tall hurdles to finish.

Perhaps it was due to a significant student population being black, or maybe because Seattle fosters a lot of jazz musicians, but I've never been to a grad ceremony with better music. Plus, the teachers got up to dance during the first musical interlude, yes, I said musical interlude. The second was the school's anthem: music of "I believe I can fly" but with the words scandalously changed to "I believe in SVI."  The only saving grace for this was the excellent female vocalist who fully got into the song, arms flapping like wings. Going halfway on this bad version of a cheesy song wasn't an option and she knew it. Even if our phlebotomy class had not finished before the ceremony, I still wouldn't have walked. It's a combo of having done it twice, only doing a 1 quarter program, and not feeling worthy to walk since I've had so much privilege in my life. I was so very glad I went to the ceremony though! We took our final the following Thursday and I passed the class with flying colors.You can see our awesome teacher, Mr. Walker, laughing at all the poor dancing going on in this video.

New Community Group silliness- see June 18th
For the last month I've been attending a community group (CG) connected with Grace Seattle church. It's been a lot of fun and I have felt very at home among them. They are a new group, all around my age, and aren't really very organized, but we chew on the sermon together, joke about starting a commune and talk about what it's like to be a Christian in a city that really doesn't like them. Here are just a few pictures from a game night we had. These were taken during a silly card game we retreated to after spending a few hours over strategies games with space/Star Trek themes. To answer that question that's forming in your head, yes, there are quite a few "nerds" in the group- two computer engineers and two architects, and myself.  We've taken a break for the summer, but I anticipate plenty of activities with these fast friends.


I'm thankful for many things at the moment. Even my business is refreshing, as is my rest. Here's hoping next week isn't as crazy, yet I still rely on Christ for my source! Oh, and that it isn't another month before I post again ;)