Back In The Saddle

Hello! 

It's been almost 3 years since I've blogged.

I've missed it. 

I am learning that life is flying by me at a rapid pace.

The older the girls get, the faster it goes.

So here I am. 

I am jumping back in the saddle.

Or, sitting back down at the keyboard, or whatever,  but you get my drift. So yes, back in the saddle! 

I've been waking up in the night writing full blog posts in my head. 

I got a massage a couple of weeks ago, and do you know what I did the whole time? 

Relaxed and fell asleep?

Nope. No, I wrote 4 blog posts in my head so I wouldn't forget some of the stories I want to remember. 

If that's not a sign telling me to blog again I don't know what is. 

I am jumping in today with just a quick hello and I will be back to sharing Hass House happenings and other news on the regular so get excited! 

This last summer was fun and the older I get, the more I understand that the days are long but the years are short. Summer days felt longer than they do now during the school year, but either way, the years feel way too short. 

Mr. Hass turned 40 this summer and we celebrated in Big Bear with family and friends. We also celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary in July. We went to Temecula for some wine tasting and ate dinner at Ponte. 

These two seem to have grown and changed just since the start of the school year already. Hannah will be 12 in two weeks and Claire turns 10 a week after. They used to play with legos and spend hours playing outside. Now their days are filled with school, homework, and softball practice and games. The little one wants to make slime, watch YouTube videos and spend her chore money on anything with a unicorn/glitter on it while the older one wants to play Minecraft, redecorate her room and learn how to apply makeup. 

Each week it seems like we are stepping into new and uncharted territory as parents that we aren't completely sure how to navigate. It makes me want to write. It makes me want to share my experiences and hopefully be able to connect with others through them. So that's what I plan to do. Stick around, I hope you'll join me on the journey!

And before I go today, a few pics and random things from last weekend. You know I love to write about the randoms. 

Last weekend we packed up the Prius and drove to Mesa, Arizona to visit with Diane, my mother in law. She recently moved into a new place and we went to visit and help her hang some pictures on the walls and get settled in. 

On the way there and back we listened to multiple episodes of a new to me podcast by Lewis Howes. 

He interviews some of the world's most brilliant business minds, athletes and influential people to find out what makes them great and how you can apply their lessons to your life. We just bought his book and I can't wait to read it. If you are interested, check out his 5-minute Friday podcasts, they're short sweet and to the point. After a couple of those, I was hooked! Hannah really liked this one too. 

One of the episodes we listened to was an interview with Kobe Bryant. It was super inspiring and I had no idea about his passion for storytelling. I love to read and write and I love how powerful and inspiring stories can be. He wanted to tell stories that relay important messages that he wanted to teach his kids without sounding redundant and he was inspired to come up with the podcast called The Punies with a cast of unique characters to share his stories. Each short story teaches an important lesson in a fun and entertaining way.

So, of course, I immediately subscribed to the podcast and we listened to several during our road trip. They range from about 14 - 17 minutes and they're perfect for kids! 

After discovering how much we all liked The Punies, I googled the top 10 podcasts for kids and found the Dream Big podcast by Eva Karpman. This 9-year-old little girl is so well spoken and wise for her age. She has several episodes and they are all such great life lessons that inspired all of us. We listened to lessons on learning how to go with the flow, how to deal with haters, what to do when a friend lies to you, what to do when you get angry, and a good one about the famous Zig Ziglar quote: "You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great." One of my favorites was the interview she does with Simon Sinek. Let me know if you check them out! 

This last weekend, I also learned something else that I am still in disbelief over. 

Are you ready to hear what it is?

Hannah's legs are longer than mine!

Yup.

You heard me.

My soon to be 12-year-old daughter's legs are longer than mine. 

I am 5'9 and Mr. H is 6'4, so it's no surprise that she is tall. 

I guess I just wasn't prepared for her to pass me up just yet. 

I've still got a couple inches on her, but not for long.

I just don't even know how to wrap my head around it. 

I guess I can always buy some new wedges. Haha. 

That's all I got!
Be back soon.
Xo,
Genn

Big Bear, Recent Randoms, and Stepping Out of My Box

Two weeks ago our Labor Day was a 4 day weekend!!
Yahoo!!
Except Mr. H had to work on Monday, so only a 3 day weekend for him. 
But we made the most of it!
Friday morning we packed a few things in a bag and drove up to Big Bear.
The weather has been so hot and humid and gross here and we were so excited to get up to the fresh crisp mountain air!

This particular trip was a little bit sad though because my Grandma's cabin sold and this was our last time staying the night.  Womp womp womp. :(  
Mr. H and I sure would love to buy our own place up there some day.  
Regardless of that being a little sad, we still had a great time.
We took the girls to the Discovery Center, on the other side of the lake from where the cabin and my Dad's boat are.  It was fun to explore on that side a bit and the girls loved the Discovery Center.
We did a short little hike they have there, and picked up some information on some longer hikes that we want to check out our next trip up.

After that we scoped out a Mexican restaurant we thought we'd try for dinner.  BB isn't known for the best resaurants so I was a little nervous but it was pretty good.  We ate at Azteca, but first we went to Vons for a few grocery items, and also had our first pumpkin spice lattes of the season!!!  So very Fall.  

 I posted this picture on instagram with the quote "The bad news is time flies.  The good news is you're the pilot." -Michael Althsuler

The next day my parents were heading up to spend the weekend too.  While we waited for them to arrive, we went to Snow Summit and took the girls up to the top of the ski lifts.  What a view.  I've never done that in the Summer time and it was fun and the girls quickly got over their fear of the lift!

By the time we got back, my parents were at the cabin and we spent the rest of the day out on the lake with them.  Did a lil fishin', motorboatin' and might have even done some day drinkin'. ;)

 Clairey was the only one to catch a fish all day!

 We drove down the mountain that night because we had a lot of stuff we wanted to do around the house the next day.  Starting with our front porch.

 It needed some curb appeal.

 Big time.
The spot by the door has been empty since we ripped the bushes out that used to be there and I've been anxious to find something to plant there.

 We bought two jasmine plants but haven't put them in the ground yet because I'm not sure if they'll get enough sun in this spot.  So we are waiting it out to see.  Mr. H replaced our old dingy doorbell with a new bright shiny light up one.  Such a small little doorbell but what a difference.

 Hannah spotted the Welcome Fall flag at Lowe's so we got that, and a few hydrangeas to add to the front too.

Sundays I'm trying to get back into meal planning for the week.  The girls have homework that they can start over the weekend so it's nice to get a head start on that on Sundays too.

 Clairey and me waiting to pick up Hannah one day.  She recently earned 10 bengal paws and got to shop the teacher's treasure chest.  She was so proud of this bouncy ball and pink kazoo she picked out.

 Hannah's got such a great soccer coach this season.  Her practices are Mon and Wed, and since I'm at work every Wed evening, I am really glad I get to make it to her Mon night practices.  The girl above in the purple stripes is our neighbor and Hannah loves that they're on the same team.  

 Our first games were last Saturday.  Unfortunately Mr. H and I both work every other weekend.  So this day I was off to take the girls.  Although... both their games were at 10am!!! Bummer!  My parents helped me out big time and took Hannah to her game, and I took Claire to hers at a different field.  It was HOT HOT HOT but they were troopers and played their hearts out.  

Recently I stepped way out of my comfort zone to try something new.
I put together a resume and a cover letter, and I applied for a job to work from home as a part time stylist for Stitch Fix.  From the moment I heard about this company I was intrigued.  It is a women's online styling service and once a month you get a personal hand selected Fix with 5 items picked just for you by a stylist (the position I was interested in).  It's really fun and I've loved getting my first two Fixes so far.  

I sent in my resume the end of July and started to think I wouldn't hear back and that was ok because I already work part time in the salon, and plan to up my days very soon, and with school, soccer, and Girl Scouts, I thought maybe adding to my plate right now wouldn't be a good idea anyway.  

But the job sounded fun.  So fun that for me, if I got it, I think I'd like it so much that it wouldn't feel like "work".  Shoot I spend time daily pinning different outfit ideas for every season for myself on Pinterest anyway.  The idea of going over other women's Pinterest boards to see what they would like to receive in their Fix sounded like a blast.  

And last week I received an email asking me to do a video interview.
I was SO excited.
And SO nervous.
And SO unsure about what to wear!!!!!!!!
So I did what any girl would do,
after work one night I tried on just about every shirt in my closet...

 and then finally decided on the outfit in the bottom right.

 The interview was only three questions, and you had 1 minute to answer.  The good thing was you could re record your answers until you were satisfied with it.  I thought about my answers to each question, and I was satisfied with my responses given the limited time I had to reply.  Of course I could have gone on but I didn't want to talk too much.  

A few days later I got an email that I did not get the job.
Womp womp womp.
Big sigh.
I didn't realize how excited I would start to get about the possibility of the job, and I was more let down than I thought I would be.
Of course I spent days analyzing my responses, and wishing I had said something more so maybe they got a better idea of who I am.
I thought that I could do a really great job as a stylist.
But, C'est La Vie I guess.
All things happen for a reason and I'm still trying to remember that.

It's like Tina Fey says, "Do your thing.  And don't care if they like it."

It's been a long time since I applied for a job.  I've already been doing hair for 15 years!!!  That sounds crazy, but I was 18 when I started.  I learned a few things by doing this, and I was proud of myself for pushing my comfort limits and stepping outside of my introverted box I love so much.

And today I read Gina's blog at The Fitnessista, and her I Will What I Want video really struck a chord with me.  And so did ballerina Misty Copeland's.  I've watched Misty's several times. So inspiring.

Anyway, I better run.
We've got soccer practice tonight.
But first, have you guys heard of this nail polish yet???

 I got it at Target and it is Ahhhhhhh-MAZ-ing!  It's a fast drying top coat but I swear it makes your polish feel like gel polish!!! My polish stays for days with this stuff on!!!  I love it.  Already on my second bottle.

I've got a WIWW post in the works too so hopefully I'll have that up on Wednesday.

Go do your thang my friends.
And don't care if they like it.  ;)

Thanksgiving Week in Boise: Day 1 & 2

Well,
the big day is just one day away now.
So I figure I better blog about Thanksgiving before Christmas happens.
So here goes...

We had a flight to Boise that left the Monday before Thanksgiving.
We left Ontario at 3pm, and flew to Phoenix.

All went pretty well.
It was funny that seated right behind us on the plane was a mom that I recognized from seeing at the girls school.  Her son is older than Hannah so she didn't know him, but they were very nice and I am always surprised when things like that happen and at how small this world seems sometimes.
Only glitch was that our first flight ran late.  We landed in Phoenix at 5:58pm, and our connecting flight left Phoenix for Boise at 6:02pm.  Everyone on the flight was worried about missing their connections, but we were told that the next flights knew we were late, and just to get there as quickly as we could.  So just imagine this if you will, Mr. H and I trying to tell our girls, "Ok, as soon as we get off we have to RUN!!  Carry your own backpacks, and RUN!!!"  And of course our next flight was so far away from where this one came in.  Mr. H had Hannah by the hand and I had Claire, and we were running through terminals, pulling the girls behind us, running past people on the moving walkway, trying to say excuse me as we passed, and as we were running , we heard the announcement "Last call for Hass party of 4 to Boise, last call for HASS... party of 4..."

Gulp.  For a quick second I panicked and thought about what a nightmare it would be if we really did miss our flight and had to find somewhere to stay the night in Phoenix.
But Mr. Hass left the girls with me and sprinted ahead of us to get them to hold our plane.
And as he ran away, us girls were kept running behind him (with carry ons and backpacks flapping in our wake), Claire starts to cry and scream "DADDY!!" "Daddy, WAIT!!! Daddy don't LEAVE us!!!"

The poor girl.  Maybe she really thought that he might hop on that plane without us.

In the end, it all worked out.  
Mr. H arrived at the gate just as they were closing the doors!
And Hannah slid in right behind him on her knees (Home Alone style) shouting "We're HERE! Don't leave! DID WE MAKE IT???!!!"
Everyone got a good laugh out of that.
After boarding the plane, we sat on the ground for a half hour before the pilot announced his apologies for the delay, and that we were still just waiting for the last 4 bags to make it to the plane before we can take off.
That's when Mr. H and I slouched down lower in our seats, hoping to avoid the stink eye from the rest of the people on our flight.  
So I guess it wound up being a lucky night for the Hass family.
Lucky that we made the connecting flight, and also lucky that our luggage made it safely to Boise as well.
Phew.

We arrived close to 9pm and my mother in law Diane was ready and waiting for us right outside the airport.
Once we were in the car on the way to her house, the heater was running full blast because it was 20 something degrees out, and Hannah sniffs around and asks "What's that weird burning smell?"
We were laughing as we explained that was the heater in the car.  I guess she's not really used to that where we're from.  ;)

The girls didn't quite sleep in like we had hoped the next morning.
But that's ok.
They ran right outside into the backyard to check out the frost on the grass and to giggle about being able to see their breath.
After breakfast we got dressed and headed out for some adventuring with Diane.

First we stopped in at the Audiology Center where Diane works to check it out and say hello.  She showed me the really neat sound proof room inside and I said I sure wished houses came with one of those.  I'd love a sound proof room somewhere in my house to just go hide in those moments of craziness with the crazies!  Maybe have a glass of wine, and then come out when I'm good and ready.  Hahaha.  

Right around the corner from her work is the first house that Mr. H and I ever had together.  So of course we had to go stop by and see it.  It's been 10 years since that was our home.  It was such a cute little place and it was fun to go see it again.

Next stop was the Boise Town Square Mall.  Diane had been wanting to re pierce her ears a little higher, and we thought that would be a good time for the girls to watch her and see that it's no big deal, and for them to get theirs done too.  They've both had them pierced before but they've let them close up.

Hannah was very brave and couldn't wait to get it done.

She got a little nervous, but Dad held onto her hand and she did great.

She was so happy.  Grandma even bought her another pair to wear after she can change them out.  

Claire Bear decided she'd pass on the piercing.  So she picked out a bear and a Sophia doll.  So very Claire.  :)

After leaving the mall we headed into downtown to roam.  First stop was lunch at a little brewery called Bittercreek Ale House.

It was a neat place.  Fun atmosphere.  Food was just so so.  Maybe a better place to go for beer.  ;)

We popped into The Chocolat Bar and that sure was fun.  We each got a truffle to enjoy.

Then Diane took us to BSU so we could check out the stadium and show the girls the broncos blue turf.

If you've been reading my blog for any amount of time, you know that Mr. H is the biggest BSU fan.  I think it was almost painful for him to be that close to the field and not get to see a game.  They were playing that Saturday too but we had to fly out on Friday.  Sorry Mr. H!

 After checking out the blue turf, we walked around inside and got to take an up close look at the Fiesta Bowl trophy from 2007.

 Such a big game for Boise State against Oklahoma, and so exciting that we were there!!! Mr. H often says things to me like, "You know that game will go down in history as the best college football game EVER.  You know that right?"  
Yes honey, I know that.  :)

After that we left BSU and headed back to Diane's.  It was getting cooler and darker, and we had to stop at the store and pick up a few things for dessert because we were having some old friends stop by for a visit after dinner and we couldn't wait to see them.
Mr. H's friend Dale from pharmacy school and his wife Molly live in Boise and we have kept in touch with them over the years.  We've even had a couple of fun trips where we met up with them different places, but it had been a while this time.  Their beautiful girls are both just months apart from our own girls ages too so it was really fun.

After Mr. H and I started dating and I began to meet some of his friends, Molly was one of the first girls that I got to know and I have always really liked her.  I remember sitting next to Molly at Mr. H's pharmacy promotion/dinner just days before his graduation. We watched Jake and Dale accept their copies of the parmacist's oath that night.  It's crazy to think of how much we've all grown and changed since then.  We had such a fun time catching up with them, and our girls played so incredibly well while we visited.

Claire and Noel became fast friends.
Such fun on our first day.
I'll be back with the rest of our trip soon.
For now I'll leave ya with this little bit of Thanksgiving humor...

Is that not hilarious???
I am still laughing.