Ten

1. I count myself blessed to have a husband who actually encourages me to buy new shoes. Tennis shoes, that is. But tennis shoes are to this jeans and t-shirt gal as Manolos are to my sister. Need I specify the sister to which I am referring? :) I love me some cute running shoes! Here are my new kicks, which will be leading me on my 1st half-marathon come October:

They even have a pink paisley design on the inside - how cute is that?!

P.S. - ASICS ROCK!

2. Am I the only one completely confused with today's fashion trends? Is it grunge? Is it maternity? Is it see-through? And its not just women's fashion either. One of the first observations Justin shared with me after his recent Seattle business trip: "Babe, all the men over there were wearing skinny jeans!" Which naturally leads me to visualize my hubby wearing skinny jeans. Hmmm.... nope, never gonna happen. But seriously, I'm ready to boycott clothes shopping for a few months until someone actually starts carrying some realistic clothing that doesn't scream "80's!" and that won't be out of style again by summer's end.

3. I love Disney movies, and I love quoting lines from movies; hence, a new touch to my weekly Ten blog is a "Name That Disney Movie" challenge. Here is the first (easy) one:

"...you have been called forth to the summit of Mt. Wannahockaloogie to join with us in the fraternal bonds of tankhood!"

Think you know the movie? Show me your true Disney knowledge - and its not fair to google it either.

4. Last week I had a dream that I was enjoying a delicious piece of hard candy (sugar addict that I am), and then I awoke to find that it most certainly was not candy, it was my infamous $$$ (insert "cha-ching!" sound effect here) mouth guard! Can you imagine if I had swallowed it? Yeah, let's not go there. I've either got to start wearing this thing regularly enough at night that I stop "eating" it or hiding it beneath the covers in my sleep (is my subconcious trying to tell me something?), or I need to nix the guard altogether before I choke on it in my sleep. Think I could sell it on craigslist and make a couple bucks back?

5. OH. MY. GOSH. This just in: Brad Paisley will be in concert (w/ Darius Rucker, aka "Hootie", and others) in Spokane on September 9th. I suppose I need to update my Age 30 Bucket List to include "see Brad in concert". Brad and I are on a first name basis you know.

6. We took Kendry to the beach on the Snake River this weekend.

A boy and the sand - its a beautiful thing.

After eating a few handfuls of sand, he braved the chilly waters and waded into the river with Daddy.

Mommy (with her new hairstyle) showing Kendry how to scoop water into his sand bucket. What is even more fun than sand? MUD!

7. White capri work pants + a rough & tough toddler = disaster. I never make it to work without a spot or stain on my outfit. Why do I even bother?

8. T minus 4 days until we leave for Alaska, and we embark on our first flight with a toddler in tow. I'm not too worried about the 1 hour hop to Seattle, but the 3.5 hour stretch from Seattle to Fairbanks could be interesting. Please, Lord, let us be patient, the flight not be full, the fellow travelers be understanding, and the kiddo be sleepy.

9. The sunrise in Fairbanks today was at 3:05 a.m. The sunset will be at 12:43 a.m. (tomorrow!) I can't wait to enjoy all that daylight!

10. Kendry did his first sign last night at dinner. I have been signing the basics like "more", "thank you", "please", "all done" and "drink" for some time. A few weeks ago he started clapping when I did the "more" sign to him, so I manipulated his hands to mimick my signing. Sure enough, last night I said and signed "more" and he mimicked me perfectly. I told you my kiddo was smart!