What did you have for breakfast? – A day in the life as a swim teacher.

What did you have for breakfast? – A day in the life as a swim teacher.

Summer. A time for barbecues, pool parties, camping, and of course…swimming. I’m pretty sure I taught myself how to swim when I was about 7, by stepping 4 inches away from the wall and then doggy paddling for my life back to safety. My skills did improve over the years but long distance lap swimming was never something that interested me. The pool is for relaxing and cooling off…not for strenuous activity. Imagine my surprise when I would grow up…

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Never have you ever?

Never have you ever?

Remember that game, never have I ever? You know, the one where someone names a ridiculous thing they’ve done in their past and if you have committed that act, you put a finger up? I think in my time it was called 10 fingers. First one to get to ten was the loser. Or was it the winner? So for example, “Never have I ever peed my pants after sneezing.” If you’ve given birth you’re silently chuckling because you know…

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Can I get some extra ranch please? – Top 3 favorite dips.

Can I get some extra ranch please? – Top 3 favorite dips.

One time I went to a Jack in the Box in Anaheim and they had a ranch dressing dispenser. Yes. You heard me correctly. In my sheisty town you have to pay 50 cents after two microscopic packages of ranch. But here? Here you had access to a free flowing lava of ranch, perfect for two monster tacos and a large curly fry. At this point you have either 1. Read enough of my blog posts to chuckle at my…

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Can I have your forever? – An anniversary love note.

Can I have your forever? – An anniversary love note.

I’m just gonna make this short and sweet… About fourteen years ago, I met a young, handsome, recently enlisted Army man at a wedding. When the wedding ended, we went our separate ways. One headed to Alaska to continue his tour, the other back to Fresno to finish college. Life happened. Heartbreak happened. Then magic happened and we crossed paths again. Five years ago today, I walked down the aisle to my best friend. We listened to the top ten…

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Can you chop? – Quick and easy chicken salad.

Can you chop? – Quick and easy chicken salad.

It’s almost Monday, so if you follow my blog, you know what that means! Back to the gym and a new diet! Well, not necessarily a diet, but back to low carbin’ it. While my taste buds love white flour, sugar, and all things on the carbohydrate level of the food pyramid, my body does NOT. I’ve been asked twice in my life when I was “due” when I certainly was in no way pregnant. I attribute those embarrassing moments…

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Who’s your favorite teacher? – A tribute to my mama.

Who’s your favorite teacher? – A tribute to my mama.

When people ask you, “Who was your favorite teacher?” how do you respond? Was it the kindergarten teacher who dressed up on Dr. Seuss’ birthday? Was it the third grade teacher who was patient while you learned to read? Or was it the college professor who taught you how to think and express yourself?  My favorite teacher is actually someone whose class I was never a part of. My favorite teacher is my mom. My mom is the kind of…

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How hot is it gonna be? – A recap of my Scottsdale business retreat.

How hot is it gonna be? – A recap of my Scottsdale business retreat.

I’m sitting on a plane as I’m writing this (although it probably won’t actually get posted for several weeks), thousands of feet above the air, flying over the beautiful Sonoran Desert in Arizona. I’m exhausted. I smell like a strong mixture of chlorine and sweat because I went straight from the pool to the airport. I haven’t washed my hair in several days. I miss my babies. But my heart is full. So incredibly full. Two years ago, I would…

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Do you like yours spicy or sweet? – My favorite homemade rib recipe.

Do you like yours spicy or sweet? – My favorite homemade rib recipe.

It’s summmmmmaaaaa time! Can you guess what my favorite part about summer is? If you’re thinking super cute bikinis, hot days in cutoff shorts, tanning by the pool, and cocktails on the beach. You’re wrong. Except for maybe that last one. While I do love summer, I in no way want a swimsuit within 100 yards of me. Wearing cutoff shorts gives me a rash on my thighs from them rubbing together when I walk. And while I get tan…

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Mom, can we come here every day? – G’s first trip to Disney.

Mom, can we come here every day? – G’s first trip to Disney.

If you want to see what absolute, pure, unfiltered joy looks like…take a kid to Disneyland for the first time. Ryan and I agreed to take each of our kids on their first trip to Disneyland all by themselves, so that they could enjoy our undivided attention for the entire trip. Besides, two parents on one toddler is always a better ratio when it comes to sanity. I have had a lot of people tell me they were looking forward…

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What position does your kid play? – Toddlers and organized sports.

What position does your kid play? – Toddlers and organized sports.

What is it about parenting that instantly makes us ponder questions like, “I wonder what sport they’ll play”, or “I wonder what instrument they’ll play”, or “I wonder what disease they’ll cure?” And we’re serious about these questions. Especially when it comes to sports. It’s like, before they have even learned to feed themselves, we’ve drafted them onto the 2035 roster for the Seahawks or we’ve had Giants replica jerseys made with their last name and future number stitched to…

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