Adventures in a walking boot

If you haven't heard, via twitter or facebook or just my general complaining and pissiness, I am on crutches. Again.

Short version involves a rain boot and some swearing. X-rays, a fractured bone in my foot (though they can't actually find the fracture), a bad sprained ankle, more swearing. A walking boot. Pinched nerve in  hip, no more walking boot. Crutches and an appointment with the orthopedist. More swearing. Vicodin.

I'm sure that clears it all up.

Since I've been taking it easy and staying off my feet, we've gone to see the blue angles (from the coolest vantage point along the I-90 floating bridge), I've gone to a couple Sounders games, started coaching the teens soccer team, watched Motley Crue and Poison in concert (including the two mile walk back to the car because the light rail wasn't running AFTER the show) and spent 11 hours coordinating a beautiful wedding on a very big farm.

Apparently, this is why I developed the pinched nerve. And am now on orders to stay off my feet via crutches.

Hence the pissiness. And now I have to figure out how to transport three dozen cupcakes from my car to the venue tomorrow while on crutches. Any ideas?

I have been taking cell phone pictures through my adventures, and so I leave you with them.

Apparently the Blue Angels put the air show on just for her. Wasn't that nice of them? 

If you look closely at the pic of me on the bottom left, it is the only pic of me wearing the damn boot. Hopefully. Thanks to my friend Spicy for the pictures of the bands (yeah, she got to chat with Tommy Lee. Totally jealous!)

A sneak peak at the wedding last weekend. Most awesome wedding dress EVER. Look at the bottom, it was like stained glass. Stunning.

I wish you a happy weekend of rainbows and butterflies. And all that other crap.

Suburban Seattleite going even more green

Two cool things I've discovered to help with our recycling goals.


OPTING OUT
Just recently, living in King County, they've made it a little easier to opt out of all the junk mail you receive (here). I'm pretty excited about this, we get an insane amount of junk mail. And college literature. Damn that smart teenager.


LUNCH FROM HOME
I'm pretty stoked about these all inclusive lunch boxes. I first came across the bento box style at Laptop Lunches. 

Though I totally love the idea, the price makes me shy away a bit, as well as the number of pieces (we don't ALWAYS get the containers back when the tween takes them to school). I love that they all fit nicely in the box though, and it's a great style for the older of us in the house (me, hubs, teen). They have some really fun bag styles too.


I've been thinking about biting the bullet and purchasing one, but today I saw this post with a link to Go Green Lunch Box. The prices are a pretty similar, but mostly I love that the lunch container itself is one piece (as opposed to the several pieces in the bento box). Plus there is room for the (included with purchase) water bottle. Brilliant planning GGLB folks!!

There are different bag styles as well. I love their FAQ page, and the information about how much waste per school year it is for kids who bring lunch from home using plastic/disposable bags (yikes! 67 lbs a year?!!?!).


Overall, I think I am sold on the go green style for the tween and am excited to be cutting down EVEN MORE on our carbon footprint. I think this whole suburban Seattleite thing has finally kicked in. Next thing you know, we'll be buying a Prius.

Staying green at the movies

The tween and I love going to the movies in the park. There are a lot of them around here to chose from and we try to do at least one a week. It's our bonding time and I love it, one of the best parts of summer. Last night we went to see Shrek Forever After.

While are nestled into our beach chairs, reading our books, people watching and hanging out, they made an announcement that made me smile. This year, during the Bellevue Movies in the Park series, they are striving to be waste free. Rather than garbage cans spread around the area they had recycle and yard waste cans, as well as people manning each recycle station to help folks figure out which of the the four cans to put their items in.

Brilliant!

As a family trying to become more green, it fit in perfectly with our summer mission! And we didn't even have to think about it! So pass the word, and join us over the next few weeks as they wrap up their movies in the park season.

Giving back: Soccer for Everyone

I sit on the Board of Directors for our local soccer association. About a year ago, within the organization, I started a group called Soccer for Everyone. Based on a group from a nearby association, the idea was to collect gently used soccer equipment that families no longer needed, and pass it on to families who cannot afford to buy gear for the upcoming soccer season. Our little committee of four has been working hard this year to collect the gear to get this project off the ground.

Our little committee, plus one

It took about 30 volunteers to sort through all the equipment, clean and pair the shoes, deflate the balls and organize and pair everything else (including shin guards, socks, bags, and other soccer related clothing). Last Saturday we lined it all up and opened the doors for families to come grab what they needed. We had no idea what to expect, but were super excited for how many items we had collected.

And that's only part of the room!
There were a couple more rows of clothes behind the camera.

When all was said and done, we figure we outfitted about 25-30 kids (8 families) for the upcoming soccer season. Some of the families arrived with gear they had outgrown to add to the donation pile, which was pretty cool. One mom outfitted, from head to toe, her two kids and three foster kids. It was great to see all the kids so excited to try on shoes and pick out clothes. There were a couple little girls who were VERY excited and wanted to wear their new attire home (shin guards, socks and all). It was a great afternoon.


We still have a lot more gear we'd like to give away, and we are determined to collect more. With 5000 families in the NYSA community, I know there are a lot of folks out there who haven't even heard of what we are doing yet; I know there are families in need and families willing to help and we are determined to find them all. 

In a few weeks NYSA will be hosting our end of summer Jamboree and we plan to do it all again. We are going to bring all the collected equipment out to the fields, hopefully add to the donation pile, and offer up the gear to whomever is in need. I can't wait!

Having been a single mom, having struggled financially, I understand what it feels like to be in need. And I understand the relief and gratitude when you find a way to give your kids what they want and still feel good about yourself. It feels good to be able to pay it forward and I am determined to make this a lasting part of our soccer community.