To Know and Enjoy

OK - so I've been silent for awhile

2011-04-10T20:08:00.000-07:00

But now, to my big announcement. I got a tattoo. For real. I can't believe it. It hurt. It's pretty. It's not finished. Ok... bed time :)

Slow & Steady Wins the Race

2010-06-28T22:00:00.000-07:00

Annie and I continue to progress with our run:walk intervals. A week ago, we did 10 intervals at 4:1... and then on Friday evening, we ran 5 miles at 4.5:1 intervals. Although, there were a couple of times when we took a 2 minute walk or 1.5 minute walk between - but nevertheless, it felt good to go 5 miles! She and I were discussing how quickly we lose our "in shapedness" when we slack off the running. It's unbelievable to me to think that just a few months ago (ok... so 8 months ago), I ran 13.1 miles - really ran it - I think I only walked about 5 minutes of the 2.5 hours of running... and now, sheeeeeesh. But, I feel like I'm making some really healthy lifestyle choices and thinking of this as being a slow and steady addition to my life that will be lasting.

In addition to running, I have also been riding my bike to work - not every day, but I've done it several times over the past week. It's about 3 miles each way. I admit, I am SLOWWWW. It takes me about 25 min. to ride, so that's like 8 min/mile, which many people RUN faster than that, but I am sure that with time, I will get stronger and faster. I got my gears fixed, which is helping quite a bit, too.

So, with the running and bike riding, I have also decided to make some food lifstyle changes. I am a total carb/sweets junkie and that does not do great things for the scale, which in turn does not do great things for the running. So, I have decided that rather than eat whatever I want (which is what I have been doing), I just need to cut down on the carbs/sweets and try to avoid super fatty foods. In practical terms, what this means is that I'm trying to only eat complex carbohydrates (I'm not counting fruit as a carb), and only one serving per day. To satisfy my appetite for my other meals, I am trying to add a lot more veggies - eating a lot of salad and whatnot. I am not going crazy with it, though. So, I still allow myself some natural fatty foods (e.g. olives, avocado), and I allow myself to eat cheese, although much of the time, I eat part-skim string cheese.

I don't have a clue where our scale is, so I don't know if it's actually making any kind of real difference, but I feel like I'm doing a "healthier" thing for myself, and I like it.

I give myself one "off" day per week, too, on which I don't really have to watch what I eat at all - although I do try to temper myself and not go totally overboard. I am not always successful.

Soooo.... now, if I could only force myself to get a little more sleep... so I'm off to bed.

Two Runs To Discuss

2010-06-07T21:38:00.001-07:00

Last Thursday, Annie and I did 10 x 3:1 run:walk intervals. It was easy for Annie. Really easy. For me, not so much. I am needing some more consistency. Fo' sho'. I was pretty sore on Friday, which is upsetting.... but oh well. On Saturday, we went for a short bike ride - about 2.5 miles. Now, it's Monday, and Steve and I took the dogs out for some exercise. I did 5 x 3.5:1 run: walk intervals and Steve rode his bike along side of me with the dogs. I was feeling like I could have gone further, but dinner was finished cooking at that point, so it was time to be done.

Steve actually let T-dawg pull him most of the way so that Trumond was TIRED at the end. It was wonderful. I think maybe we'll go for another run tomorrow.

Now, if we could just end the tick infestation, we'll be all good.

A Run of My Own... sort of.

2010-05-19T21:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I came home from work and asked Steve if he wanted to go running with me. He said "no," but that Trumond would really enjoy it and NEEDED it. I thought to myself about the last time I took Mr. T running and how I almost died because he kept trying to trip me up. Since then, though, we bought a harness for him... So, I gave it a try. And lo, and behold, it worked out. not perfectly, but we did 6 intervals of 3.5:1 run:walk minutes. So, he and I ran over 2.5 miles together, with some walking breaks. And he almost broke a doggie sweat. But, he did sleep pretty well!

Maybe I'll take him for another run tomorrow; if the weather isn't too bad.

Weekend of Activity

2010-05-16T22:35:00.000-07:00

So, Saturday morning, Annie and I went for a run - another 3:1 run:walk. We were only going to do 10 intervals, but we lost count and did 11. Then, we were a bit too far from where we wanted to be, so we added another interval and did a 12th. I admit that I was sucking wind by the end, but it felt good to run a little more than 3.5 miles, which is unexpected! I think the next step will be 3.5:1 intervals. Maybe we'll do that Tuesday.

Today, Jessica, Joonas, Steve and I went for a bike ride on the Portland Parkway. It was a lot of fun and made me interested in riding my bike more. I think I will try do that - maybe it will strengthen my knee, too.

I hope it doesn't rain too much this week so that I don't lose momentum.

Run last night

2010-05-13T10:11:00.000-07:00

Annie and I met at Grant Park and decided to run for 3 minutes, then walk for 1 minute, 10 times. That way, we ended up running 30 minutes and walking 10. It was a GREAT workout and at the end, I felt like I had accomplished something without being totally dead. (This was particular good, given that last week, I couldn't run a full mile without dying!) It's nice because on the interval training like this, we can run a little faster than we normally would. I think we'll keep up this for while, with increasing time running and reducing time walking. I'm thinking of perhaps doing something where during the week, doing 10 intervals, and on Saturday, doing 15 with the same run:walk ratio - then the next week, either increasing run time by 30 seconds, or decreasing walk time by 30 seconds. Then, on a third day in the week, trying to do a short run without breaks (start with 1 mile and maybe increase by 1/2 mile every week). Something like that - not sure exactly yet. My goal is to get to a place where we can walk/run the Butte to Butte on July 4 with maybe running 6-7 min. and walking 1 min. Who knows - maybe by that time, we'll be able to run the whole thing. We'll see. My longer term goal is to be able to run the Scandy fest 10K in mid August with Bronwyn at a 10 min/mile pace.

My even longer term goal is to run, again, the Run Like Hell Half, at the end of October, with my dad.

The only bad news = my left knee is giving me a little bit of grief today - stairs are particularly troublesome. I'm starting to do some strength training for my legs to try and stabilize my knee a bit. This is the knee that has been troublesome since I was in high school (and the reason I can't really drive a manual car on a regular basis - despite my preference for them). Ah well. It will get better. I hope.

Tonight, Steve and I are going to a benefit auction with some friends from church. Should be a good time.

2 x 1

2010-03-29T22:35:00.000-07:00

So, in the last 7 days, I have run twice. Twice I tell you. It's a miracle. I went about 1 mile each time. The first was hard and horrible; the second, not so bad! I am going to try to run again tomorrow. We'll see if I make it; I'm so tired.

Trial preparations are ramping back up. I had gotten spoiled with 2-day weekends there for awhile, and this Saturday, when I was sitting in my office, I remembered why the 2-day weekend is so much better! By the time Monday gets there, it seems like it's OK to go back... but with only Sunday off, it's so much harder to go back on Monday.

I took the dogs to the dog park twice this week, also. This makes for tired happy dogs, usually. But on Saturday, Parker was so obsessed with this guy who was throwing a ball (whose own dog was also obsessed)... Parker would run, full speed after the ball. One particularly fateful time, however, he was not paying attention to anything, and neither was the other dog - and they ended up pummeling each other at full speed. Parker flew through the air and did about 800 turns in the air (ok, so I'm not even sure he did any flips, but I think maybe he did). He is still limping around. Poor Parky.

OK.... off to bed.

I wonder if...

2010-03-10T21:55:00.000-08:00

... I will find enough motivation to run that I'll be able to run the 10K on April 12th that I agreed to run so many months ago.... I MUST GET TO IT if I'm going to do it!

A post not so much about running...

2010-03-02T21:37:00.000-08:00

I went running last Thursday. I think I ran about 2 miles total, since I ran to meet Annie, and then she and I ran together. Then, Steve and I walked home with the dogs. The run was difficult, but the company was sweet, and the time walking with Steve and the dogs much appreciated (even if Trumond can't be worn out... he just can't).

Life has been a whirlwind of late, with a trial that ramped up and was barreling full steam ahead and then all of a sudden, went away for a six-week postponement. I am not looking forward to mid-late March, knowing I have to get ramped up again.

The last three months have led to tremendous upheaval in my life, and I have not felt like talking about it, or really even acknowledging it until now. Even now, I guess I don't want to. I suppose I will just say that I feel like I am going through the motions at work, at church, in my family. I seem to be lacking spark, joy, passion; a pawn in a not-so-grand scheme. I am not excited about running (although I do like the idea of running); I find myself asking the question: Do I REALLY believe this seemingly far-fetched fairy tale story that is the Bible, and feeling (for the first time in over 15 years) like I am unable to give a definitive answer; I rarely see my husband, and when I do, we talk more about the logistics of our lives than the meaning of them. It is all very unsettling.

I wonder why my opponents are so abnormally unreasonable lately, why the neighbor is passive aggressive and leaves nastigrams instead of coming to speak with us about why he has a problem with where our friends park their cars, why the timing never seems right to sell our house in Eugene, why God has seen fit for me to be without a child, why the dog won't walk properly on a leash, and why I can't seem to do anything dependably except to be undependable. I am in a place of unanswered questions, and all I really want is some peace from it. Real peace. Not the peace of distraction, or exercise, or sleep. Until that arrives, however, I guess I will just have to settle for sleep.

A week goes by...

2010-02-06T22:26:00.000-08:00

... and all I have to show for it is 50 some-odd hours of billed work and a 4 mile run with Annie that left me with an incredible side stitch. joy of joys. Tonight, however, Brielle, Matt, and Ian came into town for tomorrow's Superbowl/baking party. I'm pretty excited about it. A full day, tomorrow, without having to go to work! HOOOORAY!

For now, I'm totally exhausted and ready for night night!

Increasing Mileage

2010-01-31T18:45:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Annie and I ran 5.5 miles in about an hour! It felt good to do it, although thre were times when it was really really hard! We ran from Annie's house up to Killingsworth and then around a big block and then up a HUGE hill at the end... oh my goodness, I thought I was going to die!!! But, I was able to finish pretty strong (the last two blocks, I kicked it up a notch) and it was nice.

Of course, yesterday afternoon and today my right knee is killing me, but I think that will get better. I'm really excited that we seem to be on course for getting strong enough to run a 10K, in April, in an hour.... We're already at the mileage (almost) so now we can concentrate on speed building. I will sure be happy if we can do it! We'll see.

I didn't work today, for the first time in 2 weeks. hooorah! but it iwll be back at it tomorrow.... and I know I have to work this coming Saturday - maybe Sunday too... I don't know. In any event, I'm tired and already wanting to go to bed (it's only 7 p.m.) but I"m looking forward to the week and to being productive.

I think I went running this morning

2010-01-26T22:33:00.000-08:00

At about 6:00, when Trumond was up and ready to go, but Steve and Parker were not... so, I got up and took him out for just under a mile run - then we came back and I gave him a bath because he smelled bad, generally (I figured out today that he piddled in his crate so he was laying on a pee-smelling bed for who knows how many nights - poor poochie... his bed is being washed now) Anyway... then, I went to work... and I came home at 10:15 p.m.... it feels like this morning's run was a year ago.

I don't mind working long hours, but I do hate the fact that of the 16.5 hours I've been awake, I worked almost 14 of them... it makes it feel like my day is just non-existent. I do have to say, though, that Steve is AMAZING!!! He knew I had to work late, so he prepared these two huge gift baskets for me of snacks and drinks and sent them to me at work - apples, oranges, peanut butter, caramel sauce, grapes, cookies, italian sodas, celery sticks, carrots, etc. It was awesome!

I think I'm going to try to sleep in until at least 7 tomorrow... that's my goal. we'll see how it goes. Maybe Steve will take early doggy duty. We'll see. Until tomorrow...

A much needed breakthrough

2010-01-23T18:00:00.000-08:00

So, it's been a hard couple of weeks of running, and today, when I got up and thought about a 4.5 mile trek I was about to embark upon, I was less than excited. But, Annie was excited. She said she'd been looking forward to it all week. I told her that her enthusiasm and optimism would have to pull us through. And you know what, I think it did! It was pretty hard toward the end, and I suffered a bit of stomach aching stuff, but my breath and legs were OK. I am now feeling encouraged.

While we ran, Steve walked Trumond and Parker around the water front and discovered that Trumond is quite the ladies' man! They ALL wanted to pet him. Poor Parker got the "sympathy we're not ignoring you pats" too, but I don't that he can tell the difference between genuine pats and sympathy pats, so I suppose it doesn't much matter.

I spent 5 hours at work today... not so fantastic for a Saturday, but we're in full speed ahead trial mode, so life is going to be exceptionally busy for the next 6 weeks or so.

I am eating a tasty dinner of pesto pasta, cheese bread, and a wonderful caeser salad with avocado, olives, and pickles on it - all that I put together myself with stuff we had here - I'm feeling healthy AND frugal... yay.

This day turned out kind of strange.

2010-01-21T21:08:00.000-08:00

Today started as most any other day; I woke up, went to work. I wrote some letters, read some case law, went to a conference, had coffee with Maureen. It was a pretty normal day (OK, so the conference part is not really normal, but it's not necessarily abnormal). Then, it all changed.

Steve called me and told me that the dogs had gone wild. I will spare you the details of what they did, but it was not good, and caused them to get very dirty, but he was running late to a job, and so he was just locking the dogs in the bathroom and he would take care of it when he got home. I went home around 4:30, though, so I stopped by Safeway, got some gloves and cheap shampoo and went home, put my germophobia out of my mind, and gave the dogs a bath (after which I scrubbed the bathtub).

Then, Trumond had so much energy that I just HAD to take him for a run or I knew he was going to get into trouble if I didn't. So, we ran about 1/2 mile. It was his first run, ever. He actually did pretty well on the leash; I was pleasantly surprised. I took Parker, too, of course, so he didn't feel left out. Then, I brought them home, fed them dinner, let them out to do their business, and then joined Annie at the track for a speed workout. We did 6 laps. The first, we jogged at our normal pace. The second, we ran fast and thought we were going to die at the end. That was the same for our third lap, as well. (We took a minute or so break between laps). Then, for our fourth and fifth laps, we ran hard on the straight stretches and slowed down to a job on the turns... For our last lap, we walked. So, I ran about 1.75 miles today, although not all at once. I think I'm still going to count it as 1.75 miles on my run log.

Our next run will be Saturday morning. 4.5 miles around the waterfront. I'm a little nervous about whether I'll be able to make it - I think I will make it, but I don't think it will be pretty. At all. Wish me luck!

My motivation is meandering away from me

2010-01-18T13:27:00.000-08:00

So, since I last posted, I have run once. This morning. I did not do the 3.5 miles I was scheduled to do today. oh no. I did just under 2 miles. 1.88 to be exact. I really need to get myself in gear if I'm going to run 6.2 miles in just 3 months. really. I mean really. It's been SOOO stinking rainy lately, and dark, that the thought of running just seems miserable. Last spring, I had such joy in it; now it seems like a chore. I am CONFIDENT that it will get better, but I need to find the motivation to get to the spot where it is better. Having a friend to go with makes the difference, I think, and this weekend, I was on my own.

Alright, well, I suppose I should get to work. I said I would go in this afternoon, but I've been having too much fun chatting with my cousin, playing with my dogs, and planning the road trip I hope to take in September. Really; I probably don't need to plan all the details just yet - but it's so fun dreaming about it!

I'm off.

"Long Run" #1 - 2.5 Miles

2010-01-10T10:12:00.000-08:00

It's so difficult to imagine that only 2.5 short months ago, I ran a half marathon... 13.2 miles. This morning, Annie and I ran 2.5 mils and I thought I was going to die. I guess it's a lesson once again learned, that I cannot take 2 months off and expect to be able to come back to it as though I had continued running that whole time. i do hope it comes back more quickly than it took me to get here, though. I think it will.

When we had gone about 2 miles, my lungs were burning and I was completely out of breath. Annie was such a great support- encouraging me that we only had a few (e.g. 11) more blocks to go. Thankfully, it was only my lungs that hurt, not my legs or any other part of my body. I think that's a good sign; the lungs should develop pretty quickly back into what they had been. This is much better than having to develop lungs AND legs!

We have agreed to run a 10K in April, and Annie is going to run a 1/2 marathon in May. Perhaps I will do the 1/2 marathon as well, but it's difficult to say right now. We'll see how it goes - life sometimes is just too busy to train for long runs like that. For the 10K, I'm really hoping to beat my best 10K time, which is about 1:11... if I could get it down to under 1 hour, I would be stoked, but that might be pushing it a bit, so i would be content to just beating my best time. Thus, I'm going to be doing some speed work once per week between now and April.

This week, I hope to run at least two times during the week, and then 3.5 miles on Saturday. Annie will be in Sun River so I'll be on my own - maybe I can get Steve to go with me. We'll see. I'll probably take Parker on one of my mid-week runs, just to give him a chance to get out of the house. Jackie is here for a visit, which is great, but Trumond goes non-stop and that is difficult for both Parker and Jackie, I think. Right now, he's napping in my lap which is great - he's such a snugglebug when he's tired and i like it.

Now, it's time for church, so I'm off.

Goal Attained

2009-11-01T16:16:00.000-08:00

So, at the beginning of the year, I posted that I had a goal of running a 10K this year. I attained that goal on July 4, 2009, when I ran the Butte to Butte, in Eugene. Last weekend, I did something I never thought I would be able to do. With my dad, I ran a 1/2 marathon (13.1 miles) in just over 2.5 hour. The official average per-mile rate was 11:31. I am pleased with that time, and more than that, I am pleased that I finished. It was no easy feat. Believe me!

Since I last wrote, we have moved and love our new place. Steve is working his rear off. I am busy at work as well. Parker is happy, although he wishes his pack were around more.

My fantasy football team is terrible this year.

I'm about to turn 30.

Not much else to say; when you're working all the time, there's just not a whole lot to write about.

Moving Food

2009-09-06T20:20:00.000-07:00

Moving food is one of my pet peeves. Why do we buy so much food that we have to cart it from place to place as we change residences? Well, I have decided that I am going to do my very best to have to move as little food as possible when we change homes in 2-3 weeks. That means that even if it doesn't "sound good" at a particular time, if it's here and I don't have to buy anything else to make the meal work, we're going to eat it. What does that mean tonight? It means I at a microwavable thing of macaroni and cheese that Steve thought would be a good idea to buy about 8 months ago when he needed quick meals on the go because of his job at the time. After eating it, I can say with certainty that microwavable mac & cheese is NEVER a good idea. Parker might disagree. i should have given it to him.

Next, I think I will go for a PB&J sandwich. It's hard to go wrong with that, and I have all that I need for it. And it will get the nasty mac & cheese flavor out my mouth. blech.

Movin' on up!

2009-08-27T19:18:00.000-07:00

So, Steve and I are moving. Yes, again. This time will hopefully be the last for a long long time. We found this AWESOME house to rent in Northeast Portland - in a great neighborhood and I think it will suit us very well. Parker is peeved though because there is no doggy door at the new place and he's being downsized from a half acre to a tenth of an acre. But you know what I told him? I told him it would all be worth it because the place will be big enough for him to have his own doggie bed back - which, if you have been to our current place, you would know there is NO ROOM for a doggie bed. There's barely room for a people bed.

The landlords are going to grad school in southern california so they are looking to rent their place for a few years and then move back - which is perfect for us because maybe in a few years, Steve's business will have enough "history" to let us qualify for a home loan and we can just buy a place.

I will provide photos when possible.

New Year's Resolution Update

2009-08-23T21:45:00.000-07:00

This year, as you may recall, I resolved to live more in the moment and to take advantage of opportunities presented to me. I have to say that I am excited and astounded by the results I've received. I said "yes" to training with a friend to run a marathon (she's running the marathon; I'm participating in some of her training); I said "yes" to a concert with a friend I hadn't seen in over a decade; I took advantage of some last-minute Blazers tickets given to me by a coworker, etc. There have been a lot of really good spontaneous adventures so far this year. I am learning to enjoy and embrace the unplanned.

Running

2009-08-22T21:54:00.000-07:00

So... I made a resolution several months ago to run a 10K and I did. I ran the Butte to Butte on July 4. And I'm still running - with many thanks to my friend Annie, who is keeping me motivated. Today, I conquered a mileage marker I never thought I would EVER hit. Today, I ran nearly 11 miles. And I have a new goal: a half marathon on September 20. Going into this morning's run, I thought I was only going to run 8 miles and I was thinking there was no way I would ever be able to run a half marathon (13.6 miles), but it didn't work out for me to have an 8 mile route, so I ended up going about 10.7. I am feeling totally inspired after today's run - like I can do ANYTHING. I admit, the last 1.5 miles were miserably hard and there was no way I could have run another 2.5 miles, but I still have a month to get there. I'm feeling pretty awesome (aside from the lingering pain in my ankles and knees). Hooray.

No More Chiquita

2009-08-17T21:10:00.000-07:00

So, I'm feeling very inspired by the movie "What Would Jesus Buy." If you haven't seen it, I would recommend it. Know that it's super one-sided propaganda, but I am willing to be brainwashed! It inspired me to go to the website: www.responsibleshopper.org

Steve and I have decided we're going to make one change every week or so, and slowly change our consuming habits. This week, it's NO MORE CHIQUITA brand items (e.g. bananas). According to the website, Chiquita is responsible for so many human atrocities. I'm done with them forever.

Organic bananas, here I come.

Going for a 5:30 a.m. run

2009-07-30T21:27:00.003-07:00

And I'm EXCITED about it, but need to go to bed.

G'night!

Casualty of heat

2009-07-28T20:58:00.000-07:00

Well... Steve is gone and I came home to find the house so hot at 9p.m. that I just want to scream. But, I went out to make sure our animals have enough food and water. Parker is great (he has the kiddie pool to play in and drink from). Check. The chickens needed some water. Check. But all is not well. Liza has escaped from her cage. I try to catch her. She is not willing to be caught. Oh well, I think, I'll go check on Henry. Henry, however, has fallen victim to the heat, I think. He is dead. I feel terrible that we didn't do enough for him... he had water and the whole bottom of his cage is open and off the ground, but i guess that doesn't help when there's no breeze... it just wasn't enough these high heat days - to be in a cage. I am really bummed - but I admit, I'm not bummed that he's gone. We had already decided that we were going to post them on craigslist to give them away. I'm just bummed that we didn't do enough to keep him alive - like we failed. Ugh :(

This heat is really miserable.

Holy Moly - has it really been 6 months since my last post?!

2009-07-26T17:46:00.000-07:00

I suppose it has! Over the last six months, much has happened and it would take too long to post here. I will say, in one of my last posts, I indicated that I was going to start training to run a 10K - and i did it. Ran the Butte to Butte on July 4. It was good to do - and I'm still running regularly - mostly because my friend Annie is keeping me inspired.

I have gotten back in touch with a lot of folks from my growing-up years and that has really been a blast - forming new "old" friendships and whatnot.

Steve and I became official members of our church this month.

We have gone camping a couple of times this summer, and have few more trips planned - maybe even climbing the middle sister at the end of August.

All in all, life is pretty good. Maybe I'll post something more before another 6 months has gone by. But only if you're lucky. Very lucky.

February Has Gone By in a Blur

2009-02-22T09:02:00.001-08:00

I can't believe that February is almost over! I am so glad for it.

Last weekend, we went to San Francisco for a wedding reception - a friend of mine from law school got married, and threw a big party. Both she and the groom are Indian and so the wedding festivities were in the Indian tradition (although, I have learned that they shortened the traditional 4-day event down to one evening). There was dancing, great food (the chicken Marsala was phenomenal) and it was great to see some of my friends from law school. I also had my first real henna experience, and I have to say, my skin doesn't take it very well - it looked more orange than brown on me, but that's what I should expect, being pastey white, instead of gorgeous brown. Oh well. Both Steve and I enjoyed ourselves immensely.

We also got to see Jessica and Joonas while down there, and that was fun. We played BUZZZZ which is a pop culture trivia game on the Playstation 3. (It was raining and COLD so going out was not the most appealing option).

We did have a chance to go to an aquarium and, of course, eat clam chowder out of a sourdough bread bowl. I took the photo posted below and I think it's AWESOME.

OK, Brielle... happy now?

Tonight, I got a fantastic surprise

2009-01-26T23:12:00.000-08:00

Stephen is always doing things to surprise and spoil me. Tonight, I came home and he made me stop in the entry-way and tell him what would make me feel like the Queen of Sheeba... then, he made me close my eyes and he walked me into the kitchen. When I opened them, there it was... gleaming and glistening in its wonderful newness. What was it you ask? It was none other than a perfectly round, perfectly non-stick crepe maker. Indeed. I am in heaven.

I may or may not have...

2009-01-22T19:12:00.001-08:00

... called and spoken with Dr. Laura this week.

The depravity of man

2009-01-21T14:16:00.000-08:00

This past week, I have been feeling overwhelmed by the depravity of man. My own depravity, along with that of our species collectively. I am deeply saddened by its presence all around me, and within me. How does God endure the heartache?

What could have been...

2009-01-17T23:30:00.000-08:00

I have realized about myself that I often look back at times, when they're coming to an end, and think "man, I wish I would have done that different, developed that relationship more, spent more time with that person, done more fun things with that group." It has, on more than one occasion, left me feeling like I've missed out- with regrets. Sooooo...I think my New Year's Resolution (a bit late I know) is to try to take advantage of opportunities that present themselves more often... and to make more of an effort to instigate opportunities, as well. I guess, I'm going to try to be more outgoing, in a way - less reclusive. Here's to a new year.

As it turns out

2009-01-15T22:13:00.000-08:00

One of those days turned into one of those weeks, and I have little hope for improvement tomorrow. Work has just not gone well this week - all except Tuesday. Tuesday was a pretty good day (I was in Salem for an 8-hour deposition that wasn't nearly as boring as most!) And then I worked for a few hours in the office, after everyone but Graham and Donnie had gone home. I closed the day by indulging in my guilty pleasure of American Idol. I admit it's true. Perhaps I shouldn't do so quite so publicly.

I really don't know what's going on at work, but it just feels like no matter how hard I try, it's not going right. Shelley recently told me that when she was a waitress, she would sometimes get a "nightmare table," where no matter how hard she tried or what she did, everything would just go wrong. I guess I feel like that this week.

My parents are coming this weekend for a visit, along with Kim, Fred, and August. I am happy about the visit. We will eat good food and play with a good baby and generally relax, I think (hope). OK... I'm off to bed. Maybe a bit more sleep will help tomorrow go better.

One of those days...

2009-01-12T20:53:00.000-08:00

So, today, I had a ton of work to get done. It really seems like with my job, it's feast or famine - or maybe it's just the result of me being a procrastinator, that I don't think there is stuff to do on my cases until there's a deadline pending - it's just not true and I need to be better at that. Anyway, it seems that this week has a ton of important stuff going on in many of my cases, so I knew I was going to have to work a long day today... which I did. What I did not know is that many things would go wrong, making my day even longer. First, my computer kept crashing; then my time-keeping program crashed - then the printer driver wouldn't install... and then, the ultimate UGH... I forgot to save something I'd been working on for over 2 hours and POOF, it was gone. It was my own stupid fault for not saving it as I went along, and so I have no one else to blame, but it was upsetting because then I had to recreate the document, and of course there is no billing the client for that mistake... So I lost quite a bit of time. I am feeling exhausted now. I am going to bed, hoping that tomorrow goes a little more smoothly.

Working toward a goal

2009-01-08T18:57:00.000-08:00

I ran two times this week, and will try to run again tomorrow. The first day was ROUGH, the second, not so bad... maybe third time will be the charm and I'll be able to increase my distance a little bit.

Last night, two of our renters stayed at our apartment after they flew in from their holiday vacationing and that was fun. We ate my new favorite food: crepes. First, we had savory crepes with chevre, spinach, basil and ham (well, turkey for Suzanna, since she doesn't like pig). Then, we had dessert crepes with Nutella and banana.... this is my learned phrase from Germany. "Bitte - einen crepe mit nutella und banane" - that's all you need to know to survive the Christmas market in Frankfurt.

We have not eaten dinner tonight because Steve is slacking and didn't make anything. I will go investigate.

Lazy-fest 2009

2009-01-03T12:09:00.000-08:00

Well, 2009 has officially begun, and the first weekend is being spent by Steve and me, at home, with Ian. Matt & Brielle arrive tonight for supper. It will be fun to have the clan here. We're spending our time lounging around, playing with the dogs, playing Age of Empires. I am soaking it up while I can, because I think I'm going to start getting back into 10K shape tomorrow - starting a new running schedule and workout routine. Of course, it will be a long row to hoe because I've let myself get so badly out of shape, but I would like to run the Butte to Butte this year again.

We had a good new years eve this year. We went to a church members home and mixed and mingled, and then we had communion, sang hymns, and prayed together, at midnight. It was a good way to start the year.

I am craving crepes with nutella and banana, so I think I will make that for a snack later today. With that, I think I will add my two favorite photos of Christmas 2008 and be off. Cheers!

Endeavor Rises Again

2008-12-29T21:01:00.000-08:00

Steve has decided to restart Endeavor Plumbing up here in Portland. Check out his new website. www.endeavorplumbing.com and spread the word to people you know in Portland :)

Back to work tomorrow

2008-12-28T23:12:00.000-08:00

It feels like I've been off work for a month. Oh wait, that's pretty much true. I head back tomorrow and I'm already tired, just thinking about it. Steve is sick (thanks a lot, Matt!) and so we've been taking it pretty easy today. We were both disappointed that we had to miss church again, this week, because Steve was just too ill to go - not only would his coughing and sniffling be distracting, we just couldn't subject the others to his illness. I hope he's better soon because he's miserable and I feel bad for him.

We had a good Christmas, although I could have done without the 4 episodes of Married With Children that my dad was so excited to share with the rest of us.

August is growing like a weed, and my sister was excited to learn that I had learned to knit so that I could make him fun things, even if I had to add onto the hat I made him. Twice. Because he has a huge noggin. OK... it's bed time.

Oh the weather outside is frightful

2008-12-22T20:12:00.000-08:00

But, the company is delightful. As most of you have probably heard, Portland is snowed in... and that means that Matt & Brielle's flight (which was supposed to leave Sat. evening) was canceled and they are stuck here until at least Christmas Eve. Although that is a bummer for them, and they wish they could be with Matt's family in Michigan, it is fun with them here. We're having Age of Empires games together, and taking the dogs out into the snow for fun play time. I've been able to walk to work, and that is working well... Here is a photo to show you what is going on here:

Starting Saturday morning, through tonight:

I win! I win!

2008-12-21T21:42:00.001-08:00

I just want you all to know that I won my fantasy football league tonight. Heck ya, I did. HOOOORAY.

The Vatican on a rainy day

2008-12-21T07:09:00.000-08:00

This is the wall surrounding the Vatican

And inside the museum.

And St. Peter's Basilica, from the outside.

And finally, the purported tomb of St. Peter, on which the whole church was built. Apparently, Peter was the first pope, according to Catholic tradition.

A few more from Rome

2008-12-19T14:55:00.001-08:00

Here we are at the Colosseum,

and on our way to Pompei, on the coast
south of Rome and from the train.

Let's try the Rome pics again

2008-12-19T14:47:00.000-08:00

Steve and I are currently baking cookies because work was slow for me today. While some bake, I thought I'd try to post the Rome pics again.

The first is the staircase that surrounded the elevator, pictured in the second photo. It was tiny - there was room for me and two bags... and I couldn't turn around so Steve pushed the buttons and then ran up 4 flights of stairs to meet me at the top and let me out again!

The third picture is me in front of a fancy hotel. Not ours. :)

Ugh - Technology

2008-12-19T11:14:00.000-08:00

I've been trying to post more pictures this morning, but for some reason the computer isn't letting me do it. How irritating.

A few photos from Pompei

2008-12-18T19:12:00.001-08:00

I'll add some more pictures of various parts of the trip, but I'll start with these, since they're the first ones on the particular memory card that I've got on the computer right now... so, here you go (the last one is a little bit morbid, but I also think it's incredibly fascinating, the futility of the struggle, and the timeless preservation... so I've included it):

Whirlwind Trip!

2008-12-14T02:15:00.000-08:00

Wow - since last we wrote, we have traveled to Normandie, spent time in Paris, went south of Paris to Claire's house for supper, arrived in London, spent time with Michael and Bronwyn, then went to Rik's pirate party. We saw Les Mis on the West End, and this morning, we're getting ready to fly back to Frankfurt. We plan to go to a Christmas market tonight and then get ready to fly home tomorrow. We're having a good trip, but we're ready to get home and sleep in our own bed!

Barcelona and Paris

2008-12-06T15:56:00.000-08:00

We traveled from Nice to Barcelona on Thursday and met a young couple from South Africa: Cameron and Johanna, who we ended up spending our time with in Barcelona. When we arrived, we went to the ocean and walked around, then took a taxi (at the advice of a Frenchman, who spoke English, and had moved to Spain to work in the hotel industry) to the Olympic stadiums. It was really beautiful and fun to see something that is a part of modern history. We took a cable car/gondola type thing up to the top of the hill and toured around an old castle with cannons and a moat and whatnot. It would have been great fun except that I had to go to the bathroom very badly so it was hard to concentrate on much else. We have not had the best of luck finding public toilets, and particularly ones that are useable... I am awestruck at how dirty things are, generally, when it comes to bathrooms here.

We tried to catch the overnight train immediately to Paris that night, but it did not work out and, so, we stayed at the same hotel as our new friends and then caught the morning train to Paris. When we arrived, we were able to meet up with Anne and her parents, who are wonderful! We just missed Claire and Fabrice and their children, which was disappointing, but it is how things go when you do last-minute plans.

Being back here reminds both Steve and I of how much we love Paris. We went to the Champs-Elysees tonight, where they're having a big Christmas market and had mulled hot wine and waffles with chocolate and this wonderful garlic cheese potato dish that was kind of sticky - it was delicious. It's great to be here and I'm really looking forward to tomorrow, but must go to sleep now.

Yay for France

2008-12-04T04:13:00.000-08:00

Well, we lost big at Montecarlo - I lost 20 in the slots (video poker) and 10 at the craps table. I went and changed my money into chips and then they told me the table had a 10 minimum! I only played one round. All the signs at the other tables had a 2 minimum so I assumed craps was the same, but it was not! I felt pretty stupid. Steve lost 20 also in the video poker - we were not at the big famous casino because it's only for fancy people, apparently and it cost 10/person just to go inside! And it had a dresscode, so we decided it was too rich for our blood.

We stayed in Nice last night at a pretty cool little hotel for less than we expected to pay here in Southern France - and today, we're doing a load of laundry and then going to head to Barcelona. From there, we may go to Paris or up to Normandie. We're not sure yet, exactly.

We're having a good time and we have decided that of all the places we've been so far, on both our trips, France is by far our favorite. It is clean and the people are friendly - I'm not sure why it gets such a bad rap for being rude - we haven't found that to be the case at all.

Our electrical converter was faulty and has fried our laptop power cord, so now we're stuck using internet cafes - i don't know how often we'll have time to get to one between now and when we come home, so i'm not sure when i will have the chance to write again.

Nice is Nice!

2008-12-03T04:04:00.001-08:00

Well, we arrived in Nice today - we weren't going to stay here, but when we got off in Monte-Carlo, they told us that Monaco forbids luggage lockers (what the damn?!) so we had to go to Nice to drop our luggage - and we got here and decided it was BEAUTIFUL so we decided to stay. We're going to head back to Monte-Carlo tonight to rub elbows with the elite of our species, and then either tomorrow or the next day, we'll move on to Barcelona - depends on how much we like Nice tomorrow. It's sunny and brisk weather - my favorite - and right on the Mediteranean. Can it get better?

We are glad to be out of Italy. We were strangely surprised at how dirty it was there - it was not our favorite and we probably wouldn't choose to go back, at least not to Rome. We did go to the Vatican, though, and that was pretty cool. I'm keeping a travel journal and I think I will re-create my posts online when we get home so people can read more details about our trip, but our power converter is fritzy and I don't want to use too much of the battery at this point, so I'm going to sign off.

We'll check in again later.

All roads lead to Rome

2008-11-30T03:52:00.000-08:00

Steve and I arrived in Rome last night and are wandering around today. I am trying to figure out why our capital one card is not working... ugh. the joys of traveling, eh?

Tomorrow, we are going to Pompeii and then, on Tuesday, will go to the Vatican and then we will be off to Nice, France.

Last night, we ate in a great little restaurant. Steve had pizza with sausage and spinach, and I had a calzone with several kinds of cheese and salami. it was all very good. I cannot write much, as I only paid for 30 min of computer time, so I need to email my parents and then be off...

Hope all is well state-side.

Coming Together to Depart

2008-11-24T00:19:00.000-08:00

This weekend was a host of things. Friday, Steve and I made our way down to Eugene, via Monmouth, where we picked up my sister and nephew. She's staying at her in-laws' home there for the time being, because her father in law is very ill and not expected to live much longer. I didn't see him while we were there because he was sleeping but Kim says it's interesting to be around him because he's not afraid to die, at least not on a conscientious level. I admit that despite my faith in God, and the promise of glory in the hereafter, my mortality scares me.

Dinner was scheduled for 7. My grandpa didn't show up for my birthday dinner that night, and it had us all worried. Almost 6 hours later, and with the involvement of police, he finally arrived back home. He was confused and got lost and then couldn't find his way home. Although it's been something we've noticed for awhile (his mind slipping), this was the first real sign that things are changing. I guess I had fooled myself into believing that although he was slipping, that it was never going to get "bad." I guess I need to be prepared that it might get bad. And once again, my own mortality is thrown in my face.

The weekend got lighter at that point, though - Saturday, Brielle and I had facials (a long overdue birthday present from last year) and we had "Christmas dinner" since the family members are going in many directions this year. And this morning, Christmas stockings and church.

Steve and I are getting ready to depart - for Europe. We leave on Thursday morning. I am very excited - and I hope to have opportunity to make some postings while we're gone. I'm bummed that we're going to miss Jessica's reclamation of "craftiness" - as I am learning a new crafty skill at the moment, but I'm sure it will be fun for those who are going.

Parker is telling me that it's time for bed; he's giving me the stinkeye right now - so I'm off.

Crabby-pants

2008-11-17T19:19:00.000-08:00

So, for the last couple of weeks, I have been crabby. I try to push through, but I'm just a crabby crab monster, and I can't, for the life of me, figure out why. I do have moments of joy and I'm sure that I'm a pleasure to be around during those times, but my overall mood is tired, sad, and crabby.

I don't really have much to be crabby about, really. Life is going pretty well - I still like my job, I like the church we're going to, Steve is doing well (albeit, he is about to be unemployed, which I'm sure doesn't help my mood much), Parker is as happy as ever... I really don't want to ruin our upcoming vacation, so if you're the praying type, please add my attitude to your prayer list. I need a jolt to my system, I think - or a 40 hour nap. Maybe that's it. Maybe I just need a self-imposed time out!

Oh yeah - and a moment of bragging

2008-11-12T22:46:00.000-08:00

I'm No. 1 in my fantasy football league going into week 11... and I'm number one both in record and total points for the season. Hooray for the Fighting Badgers. Rah Rah.

Change in Mentality

2008-11-12T22:09:00.000-08:00

It's all relative, right? Well, living in the great Pacific NW, that's what we learn from the time we're old enough to sneeze (I'm not sure if a fetus sneezes, but if it does, this time frame still applies). During various stages in my life, I have learned to love and hate relativism, but this month, I'm loving it. Not about things such as ultimate Truth (you know, the capital T- Truth), but I'm learning that when it comes to every day life, the ups, the downs, it really is all relative.

Up until this month, I thought that billing 6 hours at work constituted a "good day," and then I went to Dave Ramsey and remembered that the more I bill, the sooner I get to kick Sallie Mae out of my guest room. So now, billing 8 hours constitutes a "good day." And, going in with that mindframe helps me stay more productive at work, and makes me not loathe or feel anxious to get out of the 8+ hour (boring as you can imagine) depositions that I'm sitting through this week and deal with nothing but whether certain types of flashing and waterproofing materials were properly installed on some buildings here in town. Although excitement does not abound, the hours do, and that makes me happy. It's strange how changing my outlook on what constitutes a "good day" has really changed a lot in my life - 6 hours seems so easy now, and even 8 isn't bad.

Steve did something bold today and he will be separating from his current employer in two weeks. A year ago, even a few months ago, I think I would have really freaked out - and while I admit I feel anxious about this, I am not stressing out. Is that what it means to have maturity in faith? I don't know, but I guess I feel like there's no sense in worrying since who by worrying has added even an hour to his life? Another change in mentality - I sure hope this change is permanent. Of course, it could just be that he did the laundry and dishes today so I can't be too upset with him :)

I am now going on a ramble, so I will stop. Good night.

We're not dead

2008-11-07T00:10:00.000-08:00

... just really busy. That's why we've not been posting. There's so much to say about what we've been up to but I"m too tired to talk about it much. So, imagine I'm speaking in the really fast voice like the guy in the old micro-machines commercials - the past two weeks in our lives:

* BB's bday party
* Dinner at Emily & Charlie's
* Dracula, the ballet
* Mark & Shelley came to visit
* Dave Ramsey Live
* Bought Eurail tickets for Italy, France & Spain
* Met a new young couple at church who is coming to dinner tomorrow
* Worked a lot. A LOT.

That about sums it up.

Crazy Bus People

2008-10-22T20:26:00.000-07:00

So, today it was my turn.

I ride tri met to work and back home at the end of the day. I've so enjoyed it with it's community feeling. Granted, most of my fellow bus mates use the bus from necessity. Haunting DUI's restricting their movement. But I love the camaraderie. The faintest smell of two days ago beer spilled in the frenzy of imbibing. But I love the avoidance of traffic and parking. The slightly deranged drug seeking bearded woman asking if she can borrow someone's cell phone to call in a prescription. But I love the watching the other people on the bus try and find a response to the query. I love the interaction between the commuters and what I have affectionately deemed the bus "lifers".

Well, today was my turn. A slightly deranged chinese man got onto the bus and sat right next to me on a half full bus. He had three boxes of cigarettes and could not resist asking me over and over again to confirm how beautiful the yellow was on the boxes. Even though I did emphatically answer "Oh yes, they ARE so beautiful" each time I was quarried. I just thank God I was only two stops away from home.

They did a great job!

2008-10-20T21:24:00.000-07:00

Websites with testimonials are never to be trusted. Well, almost never. When you have testimonials like this, you know the person who put together the website is top notch.

http://www.blackcatplumbing.com/clients.htm

Separating Accounts

2008-10-19T23:32:00.000-07:00

Holli and I have figured out how to separate our accounts so we can post individually to our blog and to make comments on other people's blogs. This is kind of a test post.

Weddings and Pirate Fests

2008-10-19T20:25:00.000-07:00

This weekend, my friend Jessica married Joonas. Well, they had their ceremony anyway. It was a very nice event, and it was good to spend time with Jessica and her family. It was also fun to meet Joonas' family who flew in from Finland, and Jessica's friends from other times in her life whom I've heard a lot about but never met.

Over the weekend, I also had a chance to go shopping for costume. So, as I've mentioned, Steve and I are going to Europe - the instigation for that trip is our friend Rik is turning 40 and 1.5 years ago, he invited us to his birthday party and we said we would go - so we're going.

We got our official invitation in the mail and it's awesome, so I wanted to show you all.

That's Rik's face on the parrot. heh.

Both Steve and I are very excited about this party. hooray for pirate parties.

I got to see August this weekend. It was fun. I made a new game with him. I had him laying on the couch next to me, and I would pretend to ignore him. then, when he was sufficiently fooled, I would look at him and start poking his rib area with my pointer fingers and going up to his armpits - he would laugh and laugh and laugh - then, I would start with the ignoring again. He liked it. He's getting so big - 15.5 lbs now. whew!

Parker had a close call this weekend as well. He was outside playing with my dad and chewing on sticks. He got a small one caught in his throat and he couldn't get it out. Steve had to pin him down and reach in and grab it out. I was freaked out and I almost started crying - but I'd already had my makeup done for the wedding so I held it in. I thought he was choking on a ball and couldn't breathe at all.

It was scary for all - but he is fine and to prove it, he wanted to show you what a good dancer he is. So with that, feast your eyes on him and me dancing tonight and have a good day!

Top 10 new things Steve and/or I did this week

2008-10-15T22:55:00.000-07:00

10. We tied furniture that we bought at IKEA to the top of our car and drove home with Steve holding onto the furniture through the sunroof so it wouldn't slide off.

9. We went to Winco, which is kind of like going to a different country because no one speaks English and everyone acts as though the beef is going to run out if they don't push you out of the way first. It reminded me of standing in the ticket line at the train station in Paris - and the woman behind me felt like she was going to get her ticket faster if she crawled up my bum during the entire 45 minute wait.

8. We stayed in Portland for the weekend. Okay, that's not entirely new, but it's been a long time.

7. I sang with the choir at the church we've been attending.

6. I became mildly addicted to fantasy football message boards trying to figure out who to start on my roster this week.

5. We made it to bed before midnight every single night this week. This one's kind of boring, but I'm running out of new things that we did...

4. We had lunch with Graham and Donnie from my work on Tuesday, and bid Donnie a fond farewell as he headed out to Egypt. Yes. Egypt. As in the Nile. and Cairo. Egypt.

3. We finally got the last of our books put away on shelves, instead of being stacked behind the couch. That's new, right?

2. I gave Steve a haircut. Really. And it didn't suck too bad.

And the #1 new thing Steve and/or I did this week...

1. I told a woman at church that Steve's sperm is bad when she asked when we were planning to have children. In front of the pastor.

When you're hot, you're hot.

2008-10-08T21:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I scored several good things. The first was a free pizza lunch at work. Of course, to get it, I had to sit through a guy from our firm's 401k program yak at me about "staying the course" and not pulling my money out of my retirement program. Of course, little did he know, I've thwarted the whole system and don't have a retirement account muhahahaha.

After scoring the free pizza, I also scored a pair of Trailblazers tickets for that night - my name was drawn out of a hat. HOORAY. So, Steve and I went. It was not fabulous but it was definitely an interesting adventure and different. And, our friends Emily and Charlie have season tickets so we were able to get in touch with them and meet up at half time. Emily is my current hero because she just ran the Portland Marathon. Several years ago, apparently I talked her into running a 10k after I had run the Butte to Butte. Of course, after I ran my 10k, I stopped and haven't been able to get back into it. She stuck to it and I'm super impressed. Steve and I said something casual about doing it next year. I don' t know if it will happen, but maybe we'll get back into 10k shape, eh?! Anyway, SCORE for seeing friends.

We took the bus. It was the first time Steve and I had taken public transportation together. It was very good. I got a ticket to the Rose Garden and got a transfer ticket. That way, when we left (at half time), I was still able to use my transfer ticket and didn't have to pay a second fare. SCORE again!

Yesterday, I was pretty hot.

This morning, I went to court first thing and was pretty successful with my motion hearing. I'll take it!

Our road adventures.

2008-10-05T20:49:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, after driving back to Portland and nearly dying when a car decided that it had taken the wrong fork of a Y and just decided to stop IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FREEWAY, until traffic was clear so it could do a clever driving maneuver and get on the correct fork of the Y. Thankfully, Steve's adrenaline assists him in helpful ways and he was able to bring our car from 60 to 0 in no time flat. Really, I thought we were done for. But we made it. Barely. And we continued on to our apartment

Our apartment building is pretty darn swanky. It's got its ups and its downs... but we like it and we're happy to be here for a year. It's 10 blocks from where I work, close to downtown, right next to the street car, walking distance to the train station... you really can't get a whole lot better. Except the parking. It's outrageously expensive to get parking here. So we didn't.

After our near death experience on the freeway, we were pretty happy to get home, park on the street just outside of the side door to our building (our favorite spot) and went upstairs to go to bed. It was, after all, very late.

We got up the next morning to go to church and walked outside. When Steve looked at our car and said "what the ____?!" I knew something was terribly wrong. At first, I thought our car was gone because I couldn't see it from where I was standing. But no. It was not gone. Rather, it had a dent the size of a saucer-sled in the hood. I kid you not. It was HUGE. After using our keen skills at logical deduction and reasoning, we realized that someone had dropped a ginormous water balloon on our car. Don't believe me? Check it out for yourself.

You can't see the details all that well, but those orange things that look like leaves... They're not leaves. They're pieces of orange rubber, with a big ol' knot tied in one end. Yes, they are pieces of a water balloon. Needless to say, I was none to pleased. We reported the incident to our apartment manager and she was mortified. She said she would investigate and in the meantime, she would pleased to provide us with a parking spot in the garage, free of charge, for the remainder of our lease. SCORE. So, off we went.

A few days later, she called me back and told me that someone had fessed up to the stunt and was offering to pay for the damage. And we still get our free parking spot. Can you say HALLELUJAH?! I sure can.

So, onward we go.

This weekend, we went to Sunriver with my parents, Kim, Fred, and August. It was a nice weekend, with some hiking, some football watching, hot tubbing, and good eating. On our way home, we drove through Government Camp, and just before reaching there, some fellows on bikes cut out directly in front of us. What is it with people doing really stupid things. Steve, again, with his cat-like reflexes slammed on the brakes and narrowly avoided the collision. The car behind us nearly slammed into us and there may or may not have been a lot of "I HATE YOU" honking going on.

I kind of wish the guy would have hit our car and then it would match in the front and the back and we'd have a good excuse to actually get a new (different) car. But alas, we were not so fortunate. We made it home uneventfully the rest of the journey.

I hope we have no more road adventures for a long long time.

Good night.

If Jessica can talk about it, so can I.

2008-09-17T15:26:00.001-07:00

So, Jessica's blog has talked about poo this week, and tonight, I had a poo experience. Parker has been very particular lately about where he will go... and today, he would not go when I took him out in the morning, or in the afternoon. This evening, he didn't want to go either. But, I was persistent and after about 10 minutes of walking him to a variety of poo-spots, I took him to an area that is quite suitable for pooing and just stood there. After about 3 minutes of just standing, he finally went. And went. And went. It was unbelievable - I almost could not get it all in the bag I had with me. So, there you have it. My poo story.

Will life ever slow down?

2008-09-17T15:26:00.000-07:00

I think it's been 4 or 5 weekends in a row that we've gone to Eugene - and it looks like it may be several more before we can have some respite. Although Idon't seem to mind the drive anymore, it does nothing for my ability to keep the apartment clean and laundry up to date (which is not my strongest suit anyway).

Steve is mega-stressed about getting the jobs done in Eugene that seem to be tightening a death grip around us. In fact, he had to leave work at noon today to drive down to Eugene to try to fix some things - and he HAS to be back here at 11 tomorrow... then, he may drive down again tomorrow night and stay through the weekend, leaving me to come down on Saturday.

Our car is in the shop so he had to rent one. That kind of stinks, but we'll deal with it.

I feel like I am really fighting my pessimistic urges and really trying to trust God in this, but it's hard not to try to carry it all myself. It seems that Steve and I have made such mistakes when it comes to his business, and that it might all be coming back to bite us in the bootie right now. It's hard not to fixate and worry - but really, what will that do? Perhaps I just feel totally helpless because I can't help Steve - when he calls, I don't even know what to tell him except that it will all work out in the end. It will, right?

Sooo.. I'm trying to work hard at my job, and do what I can in that regard - and really, what's the worst that can happen? The absolute worst is that the company would go bankrupt -and that we, somehow, would be drug into that... and well, there ARE worse things in life than bankruptcy, right? Of course, I think this is a very very improbable outcome... I think it's more likely that we'll just have to eat some of the business losses... which is not great, but not the end of the world. I'm such a spoiled brat that maybe it would do me some good.

Anyway, I best start doing a bit more work.

Later.

Idiots in their cars

2008-09-07T20:33:00.000-07:00

Today, I was driving in Springfield and saw some woman who was a passenger in a minivan. in the front seat. She was holding and bouncing an infant on her lap. What is wrong with people?! I mean really. And of course, being the concerned citizen that I am, I called the police. Unfortunately, I'm sure there was no way the cops could find them, but I feel I did my civic duty.

I just don't get it.

On a happier note, my fantasy football team kicked bootie this week.

Keep on Keepin' On

2008-09-07T08:53:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, we went down to Eugene for it seems the 80th time this summer. Steve did a bit of work and then we were off to the coast for Buck's wedding at Heceta Lighthouse. It was a perfect day for an outdoor evening wedding at the coast - not too windy, only slightly chilly. In Oregon, you can't ask for much more than that. I admit, I was crabby most of the weekend, but you know, we all have our moments and I can't be bright and bubbly all the time; I just can't.

The day after the wedding, we went back to Eugene where Steve did some more work and on Monday, which was labor day, we went back to Portland in the evening. The next day, Steve had to do the same trip over again - Portland to Eugene to Florence to Newport to Eugene to Portland... all in one day. holy moly. He took Parker with him and at the end of a day in the car, Parker was one unhappy camper, but it made him very happy to see me and to be home.

The work week passed fairly quickly, although both Steve and I started feeling under the weather. I had some depositions this week and as part of my illness, I sneezed during one which caused a bloody nose - that, my friend, may or may not have been the best moment of my life. On Friday, we were both feeling pretty run down so Steve took the day off from work to rest and try to get better. I had too much work to do so I pressed on.

Once again, we came down to Eugene - I'm currently sitting at my in-laws' computer typing this post. Steve is trying to wrap up some projects here and I brought work with me to do over the weekend. I've not been getting as much done as I had hoped, but that's pretty typical for me.

We just found out that we're not going to Africa this winter, afterall... which means we will have 2.5 weeks in Europe. We're not sure how we're going to spend all of that time, so I'm going to start doing some internet searching. Feel free to leave us some suggestions.

Until next time....

Fantasy Football and Goals

2008-08-28T22:02:00.000-07:00

Last night, my office had the draft for our fantasy football league. Steve came, with Parker, to the party and it was pretty fun. I was lucky and got the #1 pick. We'll see if it helps me at all this season. I have a feeling I'm going to lose, big time, but what the heck - it's fun to talk trash and pretend I know what I'm talking about.

We paid off our discover card today - HOORAY! One step closer to debt-freeness. At this point, we now only have three credit cards with balances (two of which are pretty small) and I think we'll get one more paid off in September... and 7 without balances!! YAY. That means we are super close to paying off our wedding, honeymoon, trip to Europe, and the furniture we bought for our new apartment. Steve and I have not, generally, been the best about money - day to day living, we do OK, but we tend to make some big purchases. We're trying to curb those (although we are planning a Europe trip for Thanksgiving time) AND be better about the day to day. It's pretty exciting to actually see a light at the end of the tunnel. We almost have the Volvo paid off, too... so, in a few months, we should be down to no consumer debt! All we'll have left is our house and my student loans. That's pretty impressive, if I do say so myself.

Dave Ramsey is kind of inspiring us lately... I want to be able to call his show and scream that we're debt free.

Steve is snoring on the couch - it's 10:15. He's a tired boy. I'm going to put him to bed.

Our "New Church"

2008-08-26T21:09:00.001-07:00

Another weekend come and gone. . .

2008-08-25T18:25:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, Steve woke me up at 7:30 and after getting over being pissed at him, I rolled out of bed, brushed my teeth, and climbed into the car. We were on our way to Eugene to help the Bandstras with their sewer problem... well, Steve was on his way to help. I was on my way to visit Jessica, John Spencer, and of course, Kate.

For being a work-day, it was actually pretty relaxing - I took a few cat naps throughout the day and got to see my parents for awhile - it was the first time I'd seen my dad since the beginning of July, so that was good.

We went out to dinner with my mom and grandparents and then watched the finals in men's platform diving before heading back to Portland. It was a long night and I was, once again, not too thrilled when the alarm clock went off, reminding me that it was time to go to church.

We spent the balance of Sunday afternoon cleaning and cooking (after my 2 hour nap)... and Steve went to work for about 5 hours.

Today, I had to head down to Salem for a couple of hearings in one of my cases. It was nice to be back in the courtroom - it reminded me of how much I like motion practice and being in court for non-evidentiary hearings - and it also struck me at how good my colleagues are, generally, at their jobs. I like these kinds of days.

I think I had bad breath at the hearing though - ick... I need to carry gum or tic tacs for such occasions, really.

Now, I'm off to make corn bread to go with the beef stew we made for dinner tonight, which is simmering in the crock pot. I admit it does not smell delicious, but corn bread makes everything better, right?

Canonball

2008-08-22T22:30:00.000-07:00

So, we went to the Brandi Carlile concert tonight (if you're unfamiliar with her, check out her webpage at http://www.brandicarlile.com/

About 2 months ago, Nat introduced me to her music and I was hooked... He said that she sounded just like her albums in concert and I didn't believe him. I was right.

She is *better* live, which is a pretty amazing thing to say. I would describe her as kind of a cross between the melodic and quirkiness of Sarah McLaughlin, coupled with the incredible power and raw emotion of Janis Joplin. Steve said it's the best concert he's ever been to, and I have to say, I might agree with him - which is saying quite a lot because I've been to a number of Alison Krauss concerts and well, she is very good in concert... but there's no rawness there.

Many people like her song The Story the best - it's a good one (and recently featured in a GM commercial, which she explains on her website) and displays her incredibly rich and crisp voice - but there are better ones... and she does a great rendition of Alleluia.

Before the concert, I made bbq pork sandwiches with the leftover pork from dinner the other night. It was tasty and even Steve didn't mind eating left-overs.

I had to take Steve back to work after the concert - and we're headed to Eugene tomorrow. I get to see John Spencer for the first time so that's pretty exciting. I will also get to see KatieKateKateKate.

I'm feeling lonely tonight - so perhaps I will go to bed now.

Emotional Rollercoaster v. Even keel

2008-08-21T22:47:00.000-07:00

So - Steve and I joined a group of movie goers from Craigs List tonight - the group is called "movies and meaning." We went to the Sensation of Sight. Steve didn't like it; I found myself identifying with it quite a lot. It was interesting in that it brought out some realizations for me - that my relationships are emotionally charged and my relationship with God is like the image of the woman kicking and screaming and finally succumbing into the embrace of the man waiting to comfort her, but only after intense emotional exhaustion. Steve, on the other hand, is more even keeled. Sure, he has his moments of emotional outburst - but they're never directed at God. He just KNOWS and is at peace.

On a lighter note, Steve and I had a very good parmesan encrusted sole for dinner. . . part of the new recipe/menu program we joined. I can't believe that WE can make dinners that taste that good for pretty cheap! Exciting stuff.

We're going to a Brandi Carlile concert tomorrow. That should be fun...

Steve wants everyone to know how much he wants a new Mac laptop - airbook or some nonsense like that. I'm putting my foot down on this ridiculousness.

Steve didn't have to work late

2008-08-20T21:26:00.000-07:00

Tonight, Steve went to work around 5:30 and said he'd be home around 10, he hoped. At about 7:30, the apartment door opened and it may, or may not, have scared the peewaddlings out of me. It was Steve. hooray. The only bad part is that instead of wanting to watch the Olympics tonight - he wanted to watch Family Guy. The only funny part of that show is when Stewy laughs hard, it sounds just like Steve when he's laughing hard... which makes me laugh. In case you didn't know, Steve is a guy who really really knows how to laugh. Really.

Tonight, for supper, I made this apple/sage pork roast that was very tasty. Very tasty. I'm pretty stoked. I'm not the most creative cook and I often find that recipes don't turn out as well as you hope - but this recipe did not disappoint. Of course, I overcooked the veggies ... bummer.

I read a good book last week - Steve read it this week... Rik had recommended it to me - called The Shack. It was a unique book and is full of a lot of truth; I need to read it again, though, because when I was reading it, I was reading for the story and because I needed something... the book didn't really give me what I needed (of course it didn't) but it pointed me in the right direction. After many angry outbursts and tears, I feel like maybe I'm back on the necessary path... the path of freedom - after all, it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. I would recommend the book. It was the first book I'd read in quite awhile - I think I need to read more - it's relaxing and edifying. So... I'm off.

Oh yeah - and Shawn Johnson won the gold on balance beam last night. I was happy.

And We're Back

2008-08-19T22:40:00.000-07:00

It has been forever since either Steve or I have blogged. There is not much point in trying to summarize the last 3 years, but here we go:

April 2006 - We got married and went to Costa Rica for a honeymoon

July 2006 - We adopted Parker, also known as "schmarks" and "parky-pants." He is a very good yellow lab/australian shepherd mix.

January 2007 - Steve officially kicked off Endeavor Plumbing

April/May 2007 - We went to Europe. This trip was full of ups and downs.

July 2007 - Steve turned 30 and we went to Disneyland to celebrate.

August 2007 - I started two new jobs, including a teaching job at the University of Oregon Law School.

May 2008 - We started our three-month process of moving to the Pearl District in Portland; I started yet another new job.

June 2008 - We become aunt/uncle and godparents for the first time - to our nephew, August.

July 2008 - Steve started a new job, in Portland.

I guess those are the biggest events. It is so difficult because although those are the most exciting, the day to day life is what makes us who we are, but there is no way to plug all those things in at this point.

This past weekend, Steve's whole family came to visit, as Jose Luis and Diana were in town. It was a fun weekend but exhausting.

The Olympics are on tv now and Steve is working late. The balance beam final. I hope Shawn Johnson wins gold. We'll see.

So the name of our blog... although we fail at this every day, we desire for our desire to be to know God and enjoy Him forever - to have relationship with the Father. One day, it won't be so difficult.

I guess it's time for bed. I will see how I can do about writing on daily basis. We'll see how good I can be at that.