a glimpse

I just thought I'd stick some pictures up - most are of my dear lovely Beesley bunny. There are two of a little girl... they're my favorite pictures. I wish I could pursue photography.






Eye'm watching ewe!

Day of the Dead

My cousin Derick was buried today. I'm not sure what to do with that. It's not the first time I've buried a family member. My general thought on death is that it is simply a part of life. I understand being sad and missing a loved one, but I am comfortable with death. I have been to 5 funerals in my life, the first one I remember being when I was only 5. I've even spoken at a funeral. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that death is not a foreign or removed concept. I have never been as rocked by a death than I was on Tuesday morning. Late Monday night, Derick Thomas died. While 4-wheeling, his vehicle got stuck and while trying to free it, Derick was crushed. He was 17. In the middle of restoring a 1970 mustang, a month away from graduation and planning to go to culinary school. Not anymore.
It still doesn't seem very real to me. I wasn't too terribly close to him... I just keep remembering him as a small child. Now that small child is dead. werid.
It really is the unexpected deaths that hurt the most.

do i really have to title this?

Alright, so I am, admittedly overanalytical. That is who I am. I over think things ALL the time. I am also paranoid. For a few years now I have been trying out a new tacic - keeping my mouth shut. I find that when I don't share ALL of my thoughts, people like me better. Do with that what you will. Then blogging came along and I indulged. It is the perfect medium through which I can share all my thoughts. But I don't. Why? Well, partially out of laziness and partially because I don't want to be "that" blogger. Every once in a while I will put something out there and it will flop. It doesn't help that I have about 2 inconsistent readers. Maybe if I put some words in here that will lure people into my trap.. Hmmm what's big now?
President Bush?
Brittany Spears?
Sanjaya?
Border Control?
Virginia Tech Massacre?
The Wiggles?
Yoga?
Don't get me wrong, I do have something to say about each of those things... but I have gotten waaaaay off topic. I came here to talk about a trend I have noticed and can't help but wonder the ramifications.
So here it is: People have become incredibly private and very stingy with their company. Time has become a very precious commodity. I know many people who are trying to do right by their families. In order to form strong bonds between their children and themselves they cordon off their evenings and weekends for "family time." And I get it. When thinking about how I would manage my time when I have children, that is in fact one of the things I had thought about - using the evenings and weekends to spend time with each other. However, I can't help but wonder if that practice will prove detrimental to the next generation of society. We have seen a lot of the parents who do everything for their kids and give them whatever they want are rewarded by having full fleged adult children living with them for ever and ever.
My thought is that perhaps spending family time ONLY with family will not provide a model for social interaction. Sure there's school, but it's a whole different situation there. I am a home-body, but we spent a lot of time at other people's houses, and having other people to our house, so I know what to do. I remember learning at an early age what things were not appropriate when we had company or were out at a friend's house.
I have always felt like I had all these great ideas about how my family would be - and I still, do, but the more I really think about the long-term consequences, I have to really give kudos to the old school parents. There are a few things that still make me cringe a little, but I think they know a lot more than I've given them credit for.
Mom, Rick, if you've found your way over here, thanks! I really appreciate my upbringing. you done good.

thus endeth this web log entry

Bunny breakfast, Honey pants and Cake cuts

Nothing too exciting to report - just a few "funny" things that happened today.

This morning I was sitting down to watcch the news and eat my cereal (a scrumptious mix of rice pocket, honey nut toasted o's, fresh banana and strawberries) when out of her crazy morning zooming comes Beesley Bunny - all two pounds of fluff and frenzy. She hops right up and.... directly INTO my bowl. Milk, generic cereal and fresh fruit commensed flying across my lap, the chair, the floor - and out of this mess emerges a milk-soaked bunny, happy as can be. As angry as I wanted to be, the sight of her, sopping wet, but oh so pleased as she ferociously began cleaning herself was just too cute.

Then today at school I picked out a couple of books to read to the kids when we had our gathering, and then set them on a table while I greeted the children. I then proceeded to put one book on my lap as I read the other. Well, apparently SOMEONE didn't clean the table after having their tea, leaving globs of honey all over the table, which then got on the book and subsequently on my pants. Ew. Sticky pants all. day. long.

The other day Shaun and I splurged (doesn't that sound like such a naughty word?) on some fresh strawberries (who can pass up $3 for 2 cartons?) and angel food cake. As I tried to open the blasted plastic container the cake came in, I gave myself a nasy plastic-slice ... right across my index finger and it stings worse than any paper cut I've ever had!

comercials are weird

The Days Fly By

I can hardly believe it's been two weeks since I've blogged! And I thought I was doing so well at keeping up with this thing.
Oh well...
It's currently Sunday morning; there's freshly ground coffee brewing in the pot, a cute bunny zooming around my feet and a funny and wonderful husband by my side. What more could I possibly ask for? As much as I love going to church, it's just one of those days where I can sit here and feel God in my life....ahhh! (satisfied sigh, not a frustrated growl)

Last week was spring break; I only had to work a few hours in the morning all week, which was nice, since my sister-in-law was in town. She stayed with us for the week, which was different - not in a bad way at all... it's just that I'm not used to sharing all of everything, including my alone time, with anyone else. I never thought that being an only child affected (effected?) me much, or that I had (m)any only-child tendencies, but I'm finding more and more things about myself that probably stem from that experience. hmmm

I know there are a while bunch of things going on, but I'm going ot go soak up the lovin' here at home before we have to leave.

oh - go see Blades of Glory! It's pretty much mind-bottling!

Drugs = Funny

Funny man, Mitch Hedberg. Mostly due to the drugs, I'm sure - the same drugs that led to his early death. I don't condone drugs, but I sure do love the stupid humor that results.
For better or worse, here he is (well, sort of):

Potty Mouth

So I've been meaning to blog about this for a while... I recently (actually it's been a while, now) read somewhere - though I can't for the life of me remember where - that the majority of people in the US are scrunchers. That is, when preparing to wipe urine and/or fecal matter from their hoo-has and bum-bums they take a length of TP and scrunch it up into a ball. Now, can that really be true? Don't get me wrong, I've never been one to underestimate the stupidity of people, but come on?! It's not rocket science. Scrunched up toilet paper is directly correlated with feces-covered fingers. All those holes and such... Personally, I'm a folder. It's just superior for my anterior.

Anyhow... since we're on the subject, I've been slightly obsessed with poop lately. Mostly because my sweet bunny is afflicted with intestinal issues that require close attention to her stool (not to mention the incredible amount of it she creates!). That is to say, I have become somewhat of a fecal analyst. I should have business cards made. But I digress. In my endless google quest for information and insight into my new aquired pet's droppings, I came across this website: www.poopreport.com. Priceless.

I feel as though I've left something out.... Oh well.
Enjoy my "happy blog"

Addendum

Lovely word, by the way.

And, I'm in love with Naked Juice.

No end in sight

So, I have come to realize that I tend to blog only when I'm about to explode and have no other outlet for my anger/frustration/fillintheblank. I apologize to you, my million (or two) readers. Please understand that my disposition is not one of the Eyore ilk. I will do better. I will blog happy things. But not today - at least not right now.

I am at work. I want to die. I am not sure I will be able to make it through the day. (How's that for I-statements?) My only consolation is that somehow I survived the morning. I don't know how. I almost lost it. Part of it has to do with events that actually happened this morning, but a lot of it has to do with the fact that I am stressed. Plain and simple. I have been getting ill more often, I've had migrains (migrane?), I am not sleeping, I'm irritable... and I can't seem to do anything about it. I can't remember when it's been so invasive before. I've been stressed. But it's never been so overwhelming. Happy thoughts and hot baths and lots and lots of prayer are not easing my urges to squeeze the life out of something. Anything, really. My only respite from the stresses is Beesley the Bunny. And even then, I look at her and remember that there is some nasty parasite inside her body.
Anyhow, my biggest "beef" now is work. I am supposedly half way through my day, but honestly, there seems to be no end in sight.

Listen to me - I sound so pathetic. I suppose I am. Oh well. I am okay with that.
I just have one question:
WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE!?!?!??!?!??!?!?!??!?!?!??!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?

With that I will sign off. Happier thoughts to come later.

A Case of The Mondays....

It's Monday. Again. Not that Mondays are inherently bad. They're actually quite nice, usually - with the exception of having to get up early after a couple of days of sleeping in. This Monday, however, started even earlier than usual.
There was, of course, the fact that Daylight Savings began yesterday, thus robbing me of one entire hour of my life. But I was even doing okay with that. What I wasn't okay with was being awake at 1:32am! I tossed and turned and finally realized what was happening. I made it to the bathroom just in time. After about an hour, I realized Shaun was moving around an aweful lot... turns out neither of us had been sleeping for a while. So we did everything we could to try and get some sleep, but we were both so uncomfortable and irritable and just not happy to be awake! I waited until 6am when I knew my boss would be getting up to call and let her know I wouldn't be making it into work. Promptly after that call I fell asleep and was able to get four full hours of complete unconsciousness. Bliss!!! Shaun had the day off, as well, so we kinda bummed around for a bit before hitting the housework.
You see, we have a problem. We both hate to clean. However, we realize that things need to be done, so we begrudgingly clean... but on top of our hatred of the dreaded housework, we both work and by the time we get home are thoroughly pooped. We have just enough energy to play with our bunny and then zone out in the living room - either with the paper, a book, or the tv (more often than not, lately, it's been the tv - it takes less energy). I just thank dear Lord Jesus we don't have children!
Anyhow, while folding laundry, we popped in a movie (The Librarian? It's horrible - don't even think about it. We may have ended up watching about 25minutes of it, total). A few minutes later I got a call from the vet.

Now, last week, being the responsible pet owners we are, we took our recently aquired baby bunny to a rabbit-savvy vet to make sure everything was ok (and, being the overconcerned hypochondriac I am, I was convinced she had about a dozen different diseases). Except for Dr. W savagely mouth-raping dear Beesley (yes, i realize that it was perfectly normal - and necessary, but it just looked so painful), everything went fine. He kept some of her poo to do a fecal analysis in order to double check that everything was working properly on the inside. He was impressed at how much we already knew despite this being our first bunny and said that we were doing a great job with her. The fact that she made it this long alive (she was taken away from her mother WAAY too early) was impressive, and she would be just fine.
So we've been slowly giving her a little more freedom and just really enjoying her bunny antics.

Back to today and the phone call. The vet had called to tell us that the fecal analysis had come back and that Beesley has coccidia - a parasite in her intestines (I actually knew what this was, as it was one of the things I had been convinced she had when we first got her). So we had to go get some medication, and she actually takes it quite well. The thing that really sucked is that we had JUST cleaned out her cage on Saturday, but because of the whole parasite thing had to dump all the new bedding and food and water that we had just given her. humph
Lucky, it doesn't seem to be too bad, as she is showing virtually no symptoms, and should be completely gone by the end of her 10 day medication.
And, with the extra day have been able to get a little more of the housework done. Yay us!

I suppose that's a pretty complete update on what's going on here.
Oh, wait... not quite.

My Father.
January-ish 2005 (Not sure, exactly when this happened): Girlfriend moves in (the 1st one i've ever liked!)
Christmas 2005: Proposes to girlfriend
Summer-ish 2006: Moves into new house in new town with fiance
Christmas 2006: Hasn't spoken to said fiancee since Thanksgiving
February-ish 2007: I receive email from Dad's fiance saying they have finally set a date!! 7-7-07 Destination wedding somewhere warm and lovely (prob. Carribean) so prepare for wonderful vay-cay!
Early March 2007: Another email from fiance saying that my father has called off the wedding.

Seriously?!?!?!?!

Okay, now that's all.

Dear Church,

Please do not label me. Do not put me into one of your "categories" in order to "properly" minister to me. Yes, I am a Young Adult - I am just 2 years out of college and am still figuring out this whole adult thing. Yes, I am a Young Married. It's been just over a year and a half and again, I am still figuring out this whole wife thing. Yes, I am a woman. I DO have a vagina and wacked out emotions and I cry for no reason and I like feeling loved and I'm still sorting out the stupid hormonal thing. Yes, I am a "mature christian." I chose to follow Christ nearly 14 years ago... and I am still figuring this whole devoted life thing out. Yes, I am a teacher... I spend many days, evenings, and even weekends trying my darnest to be a good example and to learn from those little ones who have so many things to teach ME. And I'm still figuring that out. Yes, I am a 20 something. I still enjoy doing goofy weird, juvenile things. Yes, I am an old lady. I love Jeopardy and crossword puzzles and crocheting and Sudoku. Yes, I am a pet-owner. I have a precious bunny and she depends on me, and I love her with all my hear, yet I'm still tyring to figure her out. I am child-less. My life is not consumed by diapers and bottles and play-dates.
I am all of those things, and more. Yet, those things do not define me - or the person I strive to be. How can I learn to be a good mother, if for those who have been successful in that area? How can I become a better wife if I don't have the example and advice of a veteran married couple? How can I grow at all, when this box you've put me in is so small?
Please, take a note from Jesus's life, his ministry - meet me where I am, all of you - and let God speak to me through YOU.... through your life and trials and victories, your eyes and your heart, even if - ESPECIALLY if - you're not in the same place in your life as I am in mine. I need that from you. Christ set up this amazing way for FAMILIES of believers to be that support to each other. I need your support, not your label. I am trying to do that for you, as well. Please let me.
Thank You

The New Kid

I passed a billboard today and it kind of forcecd me to really think about where I am in my spiritual life. I had gotten to a point where I was really comfortable with my relationship with God and my attitude of service. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't perfect, and know that there were quite a few things that I needed to work on, but I was really growing and acknowledging my shortcomings and really ... i don't know. My point is that I'm not really there anymore. I was forced to be uprooted from a church family that, while dysfunctional (what family isn't?), I was finally feeling involved and accepted and all that. So I found a family with which I really seemed to fit, theoretically. But it's been pretty close to a year, and I don't feel any closer to anyone there than I did my first Sunday. Granted, I have missed quite a few weeks, especially lately. Most of my absenses have been completely legit - I've been sick a lot, as has Shaun, and we have been doing a lot more traveling... but there are times when I've just "accidentally" slept in, decided there wasn't much reason for me to be there... and other excuses that I used to think were such lame excuses! Shaun and I would spend that time studying on our own - and do well, but I still lack true fellowship and the ability to learn from others. I had just forgotten how difficult it is to be the new kid. Especially in such a tight knit group of people. Not that it is in any way anyone's fault but my own... I just feel so awkward. Everyone knows everyone. Everyone else knows what to do and where to go and what happened in X's family and just what to say to Y... small talk is even different among people who know eath other well. There's not that awkward grasping for some common ground.
I just need help. Prayers and thoughts and good wishes.
Would you do that for me?
Thanks (or Thanks anyway if you decide not to)

Coffee, Tea & Vanity

So the wonderful little chillins at work have discovered tea and coffee making. This means that every morning when class starts I have a 4 or 5 year old asking, neigh begging me, if they could make me tea or coffee (even fresh-squeezed orange juice sometimes). It's been nice - they even grind their own coffee beans and then use a french press so it's nice and fresh coffee! They serve it to me on the "tea table" in a CUTE little Starbucks tea cup and saucer with a small tray of cream and sugar. And for some reason, one of the things that HAS to be on the tray is a little hand mirror. I'm not sure what that has to do with having tea or coffee, but every time they set the table, that little mirror is there. Hmmm... do they know something I don't?

Sittin on the Dock of The Bay...

Sittin on the Dock of the Bay...
Okay, so I'm not really sittin on the dock of the bay, but I AM wasting time:
(and yes, Tab I kept some of your answers.... they fit)

The Strange Questions Survey

Have you ever licked the back of a CD to try to get it to work:
not direct tongue-on-cd action, but... well, sorta

What's the largest age difference between yourself and someone you've dated:
Offially dated? about a year and a half

Ever been in a car wreck?:
yep

Were you popular in high school?
nah...

Are looks important?:
this question isn't very complete... I feel that the looks I give (and get from others) are important in how we communicate... and the look of my produce is also very important to me...

Do you have any friends that you've known for 10 years or more??:
10 years... 1997... since Jr.High? Sure, a few.

Does the number of people a person's slept with affect your view of them?:
depends on the person and his/her situation

"You and ME baby aint nothin but mammals, so lets do it it like they doit on the discovery channel"
ah, memories!

Have you ever made a mistake?
moi?

Are you a good tipper?:
i try. i think it's important.

What's the most you have spent for a haircut?
mmm maybe 15 bucks

Have you ever had a crush on a teacher:
yeah, unfortunately

Have you ever peed in public?:
in a bathroom...

Would you tell your parents if you were gay?
probably not... or at least not for a long long long time.

What would your last meal be before getting executed?:
ooh, good question - probably a weird mixture of my favorite foods - watermelon, okra, pickles, oranges...

Beatles or Stones?:
beatles.

If you had to pick one person on earth to die, who?:
i can't even bring myself to be that mean. i mean, i my head i can think of some people, but then when it comes down to it, i think it would be devastating for their friends and family, so . . . no one.

Beer, wine or hard liquor?:
mojito!!!

Do you walk around the house naked?:
come on now... do you really want to know that information? Because I'm not sure I want you to

If you were an animal what would you be?:
Sea Otter?

Hair color you like on someone you're dating?:
dark

Would you rather be blind or deaf?
well, i'm already awfully klutzy, so blindness may just be the death of me. On the other hand, there are so many things I love hearing. How about I'll not choose, and then deal with whatever comes my way when it comes.

Do you have any special talents?:
i think i can cook okay?

What do you do as soon as you walk in the house?:
usually look through the mail really quick before dashing to the bathroom

Do you like horror or comedy?:
yes, although i've been a little less keen on the horror and loving the comedy.

Are you missing anyone?:
yes! Carly and Nicole and Amanda and.... my family

If you could date any celebrity past or present, who would it be?
john cusak or zach braff or frank sinatra or benny goodman

What did you dream last night?:
I don't remember all of it, but i was bar hopping with a bunch of girl friends and my grandpa met us at a bar and then went home with like, 3 20-something girls. it was weird

What is your favorite sport to watch?:
football

Are you named after anyone?:
i don't think so

Non alcoholic drink?:
OJ

Have you ever been in love?:
have been and am

Do you sing in the shower?:
when am i not singing? (don't confuse this with an ability to sing well)

Have you ever been arrested?:
nope

Would you ever get plastic surgery?:
nah.

Have you ever caught a fish?:
YES! i LOVE fishing!

Off-The-Wall Questions:

Family member you most resemble?
my mommy

Do you own your own Bible?
yes

Do you wear deodorant?
when i remember to put it on.

Do you clean up nice?
not really. what you see is what you get

Where was the last place you slept besides your home?
my father-in-law's couch

What are you listening to right now?
my husband telling me about all the stupid people at work

Have you ever started an uncontrollable fire?
I think i've been able to contain most of the fires i started

Ever run out of gas on the road?
nope

What would you rather do, rake the leaves, or mow the lawn?
mow the lawn

What is the last thing you downloaded onto your computer?
some They Might Be Giants

Last time you swam in a pool?
ummm... probably the honeymoon

Have you ever been in a school play?
yep. The Secret Garden

How many kids do you want?
good question.

i don't know. maybe 2?

Type of music you dislike most?
not much...maybe some of that hard rap/nasty pop

Do you have cable?
no.

Ever prank call anybody?
yeah! i used to do it ALL the time

Would you go bungee jumping or sky diving?
yeah, if i had the money

Do you have a garden?
well, we just moved so I haven't established anything here yet... but i'm totally stoked for springtime since we have a lot more yard!

Bath or Shower?
shower to clean, bath to relax

Best movie you've seen in the past two weeks?
Winter's Passing

Best pizza topping?
pep, olive and shroom

Popcorn or Peanuts?
kettle corn

Orange Juice or apple juice?
orange.

Chocolate Bar?
anything dark dark dark (pref. 65 - 75% cocao

When was the last time you ate a homegrown tomato?
last summer @ work

Ever order anything from an infomercial?
I LOVE infomercials

Sprite or 7-Up?
Sprite. or ginger ale

Have you ever had to wear a uniform to work/school?
no way

Ever thrown up in public?
not unless you count the church bathroom

Would you prefer being a millionaire or find true love?
finding true love with a millionaire would be nice

Believe in love at first sight?
nope

Who was the last person you visited in a hospital?
ummm... I don't remember - either Grandpa Charlie or Grandma Grace

What do you think about most?
myself probably

Favorite form of travel?
any kind of travel as long as it gets me somewhere and i have fun doing it!

If you could have one magical power what would it be?
to move things with my mind. then my house would always be clean just by me thinking about it

SOME STRANGE QUESTIONS:

Something purple within 5 feet of you:
candle

The sexiest item of clothing you own:
uh - no thanks

Is your hair long enough to chew on:
yep

Least favorite color?
pink

Ever have Dippin' Dots?
yeah, weird

Ever play an instrument?
b flat and bass clarinet

Ever been to a palm reader?
no . . . but it would be interesting

Did you have a good weekend?
yes :)

How is today going for you?
better now that work is over

Any plans for tonight?
yeah, it's tv night - the office, scrubs and grey's anatomy

Ever photograph something that was dead?
dead rat. freshman o.

Are you ready for the holiday season?
if you mean the next holiday (valentine's day) . . . not really.

Ever given someone a full-body oil massage?
yes.

I'm back

Alright, so here I am! I'm all hooked up to the internet, sittin in our not-so-fancy but oh-so-comfy new chair... yes, life is good here.
Okay, so my last update post was in August, so here's a recap of the past few months.

September: I officially began my new position at work and I officially hated my job.

October: Well, honestly, I have a sneaking suspicion that most of October didn't actually happen. One day it was October 5th, and then it was Halloween.... weird.

November: We were REALLY busy at work - the kids were preparing for their Thanksgiving Feast (they cooked/prepared the entire meal - it was pretty awesome). For Thanksgiving we (Shaun and I) were invited to spend the weekend with some in-laws. About a week before we were to leave we found out that our Thanksgiving dinner would be eaten at Sizzler. Yes, Sizzler.
So... we head out Thursday morning so we can make sure to be at said in-laws house by the prearranged meeting time of 12:00 noon. We arrived in town at about 11:30am. Shaun was delivering some wood and had planned to meet his customer at a Safeway parking lot at 11:45. Since we were early, we stopped at in-law's house to say hi and all that..... except noone was home. So we went and sold the wood and then went back to in-law's house at 12:00. Still, noone home. And noone was answering their cell phones.... A little worried, and a little put off, we went to another in-law's house and kinda crashed their Thanksgiving... they were more than generous, even though we ended up not eating until 7pm. We finally got ahold of the people with whom we were supposed to have met at noon, and they told us that they had wanted to "beat the rush" and so went out without us.
hmmm

December: What a fantastic month this is! Fun work Christmas parties, deliciously cool weather, making homemade hot chocolate mix, making decorations for our christmas tree, and getting ALL of our christmas shopping done in one afternoon! In the interest of keeping this post not super long, I'll tell you about christmas later. It was great

And now here we are in January. I went back to work (which I discovered I no longer hate...I'm not sure when that happened, though) on Jan 2nd... then had Jan 8 off for my birthday... then it snowed that week! It was so beautiful and wonderful. Then it went away.... and then it snowed again!!!!!! and a LOT! Because Monday was MLKJ day, we ended up having Mon, Tue, Wed & Half of Thursday off, which was fantastic. Except when I got to work on Thursday.
I walked into our classroom and felt that something was different, but dismissed it as just not having been there for almost a week.
Well... I wasn't the only one who hadn't been there for that long - the lead teacher had forgotten all about the class birds. That's right - 2 dead birdies.
The kids were great... they buried the birdies and had a nice little funeral.

Well, now that I have internet at home I should be updating this more often so I'm just going to leave off here.
I hope that everyone has had a wonderful year thus far and I'll be seein' ya!

mindless babble

Yep, I'm still alive! It's snowing and beautiful in Portland... and I'm at work. We're on the Portland Public schedule for closures, PPS closed for the day, and we are open - make sense of that! Sheesh

So there was a little guy (about 4 yrs old) getting lined up to go outside. He then asked one of the (male) teachers, "don't you wish your girlfriend was a freak like me?"
So funny and so incredibly sad all at the same time, though that's a rant for a blog that I actually have time for.

quick vent

It's been too long. Plenty has happened in the last month and a half, but I don't really have time for all that. Or the energy. I am SO frustrated with work right now... it's been one of those days and I want to jump out the window. Unfortunately, our center is halfway below ground - so there goes that idea. Please pray for me. I am feeling very smug because of something bad that just happened, and that's never good.
oy vey
help

Jessica's July

Hi there. I have been pretty busy lately, and have had some neat experiences that could be used as blog fodder, but have not had the time to sit and write anything. I can hardly believe it’s nearing the end of July already. I’m now sitting in my little apartment with my husband, father in law, 15-year-old sister in law, and 7-year-old half brother in law… and we are all melting. It’s 10:16pm and the thermometer’s needle is still hovering around 91 degrees. Our only hope at any relief is a small fan that is only pushing around the dense, moist heat and a large bucket that we have filled with cold water and some ice bricks. We have been taking turns sticking our feet in the bucket at last ditch efforts to keep our bodies from melting into large puddles of human ooze and irreplaceably damaging the couch/chairs/carpet… thus assuring that we would never get our deposit money back. How sad.
Anyhow, other than the triple digit heat that has been steadily attempting genocide of our country, I’ve had quite a few noteworthy experiences.

At the beginning of the month, my dear friend Nicole graced us with her presence for a whole week!!! It was SO much fun! We wandered downtown and hit all the “typical” landmarks … we even witnessed some quite INdiscrete sexual action behind the waterfall at Keller fountain, of which there is still debate over the genders of the participants (the consensus is female – for both parties). The best part of that particular experience was the FOUR other couples who excitedly walked towards Keller Fountain with the express intent of getting it on behind that waterfall… and their quick turnarounds and disappointed faces when they found “the spot” occupied. Who knew this was Portland Metro Make out Pointe? Not me, that’s for sure. There was one guy who seemed to know said spot well. He came to the fountain and found a good vantage point from which he could see the action behind the wall… and he just stood there and watched with such intent and pleasure… I honestly have no words for what was going on that evening. Later on, though, we walked down by the waterfront and got to hear some pretty awesome music coming from the Blues Festival… and then we got a nice lightning show! We finally started making our way home, stopping at Tonali’s Doughnut Shop. While Nicole was here we also went to OMSI and Bullwinkle’s, and Powells … overall, it was a fun week.

Last weekend was an exciting weekend, too… it was Shaun’s and my anniversary. We had originally planned on going to Seattle Friday night – Sunday night, but I ended up working until 6:00 that evening and we didn’t want to drive up so late. So instead we met up with some friends and had yummy Thai food for dinner and then went and saw the neat sand sculptures downtown. Afterwards we went to a late showing of Pirates of the Carribbean II. It was a good movie, but it didn’t start until after my normal bedtime, and it had been a CRAZY day already, so there are a few parts that I missed due to my eyelids’ lack of willpower.
Then Saturday morning we got up early and headed up to Seattle… hung out at the Pike Place Market for a bit, wandered through a few parks and then headed to the grocery store before heading back to the hotel to relax in a nice air-conditioned room.
Sunday we checked out of the hotel and then went over to Lake Union where we got to see some neat boats and stuff… then we took a free sail boat ride around the lake – it was SO much fun! We even got to see the houseboat made famous by Tom Hanks in Sleepless in Seattle. Pretty cool! Our plan was to then go have lunch at one of our favorite little restaurants, but sadly it was gone! So we settled for Red Robin, which was still pretty neat – we have a little bit of history there (I’ll explain the great Iced Tea adventure some other time).
All in all it was an amazing weekend!
And now my sister in law is here for the week… so I’m looking forward to another week full of adventure and resourcefulness as we try to keep cool in this horrid heat.

There you go – the month of July thus far.

Ciao!

a trip back in time

So this is a blog that I actually wrote almost a month ago. For kicks, pretend it's May 27th (it's a drizzle-y Saturday).

What a day today has been! I was up twice in the “wee” hours of the morning due to the enormous amount of liquids I have been consuming in preparation of a speedy blood donation that was scheduled for early this afternoon. Finally around 7am I got out of bed and found my husband on the porch cutting wood. And no, that’s no euphemism for anything – he was in the process of building something – a shelf, I think. Anyhow, as he sawed, I moved on toward the kitchen for some more water and then started making peach pancakes to go with the yummy butter pecan syrup I purchased on a whim (and against my better judgement) yesterday. Then Shaun headed off to his job maintaining an apartment complex, and I picked up my crocheting (I’m working on a baby blanket for my friend’s sister and I’m so excited – it’s only the second project I’ve ever undertaken). During this time I grabbed my phone to put next to me so I could keep an eye on the time. The problem was that I couldn’t see the time because there was a big message that said I had a voice mail. It was some of my friends that wanted to hang out – COOL! I love hanging out with them. So I called them back and got no answer – so I left a message and went back to my blanket. A bit later I checked the time again and again – I couldn’t do it, because of a voice mail. It was them again. So I called and got the answering machine. So I left a message and again went back to the blanket. This continued for the remainder of the morning… then I realized I had my phone on silent, which is why it didn’t ring while sitting next to me as I was crocheting. Finally we managed to get ahold of each other and got together around 5:00 – yes, that is how long it took for us to get together! Then we spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out what to do. We finally decided on a movie at The Kennedy School (V for Vendetta – which is SO fun to say!). So we dropped Shaun off at home so he could finish building that shelf. Then after standing in line for what seemed like EVER we settled down into a cozy couch with popcorn, milk duds and a pint of brewsky… all of which were consumed rather quickly. As the movie progressed, my eye lids became much heavier and more difficult to keep open. Finally about ¾ of the way through the movie, I was wondering why I was SO very tired. I began going over the events of the day when I realized that I had donated blood just a few hours ago… and then, somewhere over my right shoulder a little bubble appeared with the nurse’s head in it, going over the post-donation instructions – no heavy lifting, good meals, lots of liquids, no alcohol….. that was it! I just downed a pint of Ruby. So then as this is going through my mind, I’m getting more and more comfortable on the couch… sorta melting into it, when it hit me –

I donated one pint of blood.

I just drank one pint of beer.

Hey – I’m 1/8 beer!

This was very funny.
So I made it the 8 blocks to my house so that my dear sober husband could drive my friend home.




The next day
Although everything is fine and there really were no repercussions from my little episode, I would NOT recommend replace a pint of your blood with beer. Ha ha ha!

Yay for good things!

Hey! So I just found out about this place called GoodSearch.com. It's like Google, except every time you search for something, they will donate some moo-lah ($$$) to your chosen charity or school. It's prety neat! It's not a HUGE amount - something like a penny per search, but if we can get a lot of people to use this, then it can potentially add up to a lot of money for some really good causes! So check it out - www.goodsearch.com