Planting, paddling and pedaling

I just love summer- being able to go outside and feel warm, and eating peaches and berries- it all just makes me feel so healthy and alive. It's been sunny and HOT. Really, really HOT. I've been sleeping with just a flat sheet and I'm still sweating my butt off because all the heat gets trapped up in my room and I'm too scared to sleep with the windows open for fear someone will break in. Seriously, I'm not kidding. I sleep with an air soft gun that looks like a real gun, a tactical flashlight, and a pepper spray gun, all neatly tucked under the pillow next to me every night. So don't sneak into my room in the dark because you will either be shot with a pellet, be heavily disoriented or get pepper sprayed.

Anyway, I was reading something the other day about how there are 100 days of summer (I actually googled  it later- there are 93) and encouraging people not to waste them. I started thinking about all those days during winter where I just so wished that the weather was better so I could go outside and do something, so I am deciding not to waste a single day of summer. I've been busy having a bunch of fun this week which started with getting new house plants. Kathie and I went to Fred Meyer's and spent probably an hour going through their parking lot which had aisles and aisles of plants. We were super conflicted about which plant to take home and attempt to grow (and very possibly kill) because honestly, we wanted half of them! I ended up with a low growing succulent and some Cuban oregano, which is this furry little succulent that you can smell from a mile away. I'm not very confident in my ability to keep plants alive, but I was told recently that to get a green thumb, you have to kill a lot of things first.

Good luck little babies!

Another fun adventure I finally got to doing was going stand up paddle boarding! I've been meaning to go for years, but I just never got around to it or I kept making excuses or something... But I finally did it and I can't wait to go again! I went with Victoria, one of John's best friends, who had never done it before either, but we watched Surf Ballard's newbie video and threw ourselves in there. Standing wasn't too bad, and I eventually got pretty comfortable, although my toes were clenched so hard on the surface of the board that my toes all kept cramping. It was almost 90 degrees that day, so I thought were were going to fry, but with the water and the breeze and lots of sunblock, it was actually really relaxing. Plus, I woke up sore all over the next morning which is always a good feeling. 

Look at those trees! Absolutely beautiful.

Yesterday, I also caught up with my good friend Alison at her swanky apartment on South Lake Union. I picked up my previously abandoned bike from my parents' that morning and I debated biking to her place from mine in Seattle, but it was peak traffic time, and I thought maybe it was a bit too ambitious for my first bike ride in a year. So I drove my bike to her place and we biked around the lake on the paved paths where we'd be safe from cars. It was beautiful and wonderful and, again, I can't wait to do this again either. But next time, I'll bike to South Lake Union. As soon as Kathie gets her bike back from her friend, I'm gonna ask her to go on biking bakery dates. Oooo, that sounds like a fun blog venture.

Hella sail boats

Our blue twin bikes!

Looking like super nerds. You know what's not funny? Safety.