From Oregon, With Love

Perpetual Calendar

2011-08-10T10:33:00.000-07:00

This past Christmas, my sister gave me one of the coolest gifts ever: a perpetual calendar journal. I think I remember her saying the idea came from this, but she changed it up a bit and bought a nice little wooden recipe card box to keep the cards in instead. **Update, I've added photos** Check it out:

I started out so excited that I wrote something for every single day, though as time went on that got hard to do, plus I was writing silly things like, oh let's see...January 14th: "Watched movies all day". Ah yes, memorable.

So I started only journaling on days when something particularly funny, weird or exciting happened and I find I have at least two or three things per week to jot down. I'm eight months in and I can't wait to start reusing cards in January so I can take a little trip down memory lane. As my sis says, "the first year may be the least rewarding, but imagine the archive of special memories that you'll develop over 10 years. Eventually, it will be a daily treat to be reminded of what happened each day over the last decade."

This has been so fun to keep up with, and even as I sat down today I couldn't resist the urge to look back at days this past year and smile. One of my most recent (and wordiest!) entries was on August 2nd, when we spent the night at my sister's apartment in Eugene. The plan was to head down after Handsome got off work on Monday night, spend the night, and spend Tuesday canoeing with a picnic lunch. Here's how it went down (in shortened perpetual calendar speak):

"Day in Eugene started out disastrously. Set out in the AM to have picnic lunch canoe trip. First stop, Starbucks and grocery store. Get fixings for picnic lunch. Off to rent canoes. Canoe rental man nowhere to be found in usual riverfront spot. Not to worry, main canoe rental place is just a few miles away. Can our growling tummies wait a bit? Sure. Hmm, can't find canoe rental place. Have right address? Check G's phone- yes, should be right here. See sign out front, yes this has to be it. Only building in sight is surplus store. Well maybe they rent canoes. Walk inside...very scary. Stand in line quietly, occasionally glancing sideways at eachother with fearful looks. Boys think they have it figured out, rental place around back. Leave surplus store, relieved. That...was weird. Drive around back- no dice. Try pizza place back by riverfront- canoe place moved, not sure where. G finds updated address on his phone. New place just down the road. Drive down the road- again, no dice. What gives? Ok, let's call them. Phone disconnected. That can't be right. Call again- still disconnected. But website is functional! G discovers last website update was in 2010. Okay, perhaps they're not in business. Canoeing = officially out. What next? Open swim at nearby outdoor pool? Sweet. Drive by- place is INSANE. Lines out the door. Forget that. Stomaches officially eating themselves. MUST EAT NOW. Resort to picnic lunch on itchy dry grassy hill while discussing next move. Bowling? No fun, indoors. Mini golf? Blech. Drive to ocean? It's approximately 2:15- this would give maybe 1-2 hours at beach. At this point, sure why not. Start drive to beach. Make it five minutes, plans change again. G discovers indoor free swim with wave pool in next town over. Make 15 minute drive to pool, parking lot doesn't look too full! Could it be? Walk in, place looks awesome. Pay (cheap!), change (rapidly), RUN for pool. Spend remaining hour and a half soaking up as much chlorine as possible. Love. SO love. Day is saved!"

I have to say that most entries are ONE LINE in length, as to save space for the coming years. Well August 2nd is screwed already because this entry obviously took up almost the entire card. I couldn't resist. I'm still chuckling about this day.

Thanks for the awesome gift sis, I can't wait to read this card again in a few years!

**Oh, and if you can't quite see the text on the card in the photos- I have an interview tommorrow! Wahoo!**

Numbers

2011-08-09T14:59:00.000-07:00

290 The number of days since my last blog post. YIKES.

18 The number of days I have been "shredding". I'm not talking cheese here kids...I'm talking exercise. A couple weeks ago (19 days to be exact), I bought Jillian Michaels' "30 Day Shred" workout video and I'm loving it. It's just my style- only 20 minutes long. It's a great combination of strength training and cardio and after just 18 days I'm seeing a difference in both my mid-section and my energy. After nearly *ahem* eight years of no real regular exercise attempts and some serious added poundage, it's TIME for a CHANGE.

1   The number of months until my baby starts kindergarten. Cue panic attack and emotional breakdown.

6.5 The number of weeks until my best bud from childhood gets married! With my sis and I as bridesmaids, Sassy as the flower girl and the hubby and the sister's boyfriend as ushers, this is going to be one serious good time.

5   The approximate number of months until my best friend The Dish gets hitched too! You can see just how excited she is here. I have the honor of being a bridesmaid in her wedding also, and I am beyond excited to see what amazing things she comes up with for her big day. I could. not. be. more. PUMPED!!

2   The number of sodas I have had in the last three weeks. This, my friends, is amazing. Part of my whole "Goodbye couch potato body, hello fantastically fit mama" deal is giving up soda, alcohol and sweets as often as possible. I will admit that I am NOT strong enough to give all of these things up cold turkey, or even *gulp* forever, but cutting down hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be, and I take great satisfaction when I tell myself "no" and my self actually listens. If that made any sense.

48 The number of hours until Handsome's sister and her husband arrive from Minnesota for a week long visit! We have been counting the days for weeks now and we are so excited for some camping at the beach, have a growler or two of Ruby's at McMenamin's (I think I'll have to allow myself one pint glass), do some kite flying, tidepool exploring and lots of laughing!

7   The number of times Sassy-pants has come up to me during the writing of this blog post with some sort of imaginary beverage from her play kitchen. I am currently enjoying a nice "apple-chino" with coffee sprinkles and cranberries. Apparently. Next on the menu...blueberry frozen yogurt. And I'm being charged sixty bucks, she says. This better be the BEST imaginary blueberry frozen yogurt I've had in my life.

6   The number of weeks I have been unemployed. I have some seriously mixed feelings about this. Way back in May I was notified that I was being "riffed" due to my seniority level, and someone from another school (whose job was eliminated) was going to be moved into my position. This was not easy news to take. Especially since Handsome and I had, shall we say, very specific family plans which were effectively shattered by this news. It took some time, but I came to terms with my layoff and I made the best of my remaining weeks at work. It made it a little easier to know that I wasn't the only person in that position..there were actually four office staff members total who were going through the same thing. We also lost a large number of very valuable and hard working teachers, knocking the staff population down by almost a third. My last few days at North were very emotional, and I was overwhelmed by the reactions of my co-workers. I received countless offers for letters of recommendation, was informed by dozens of people that they were looking into any and all possible job leads for me, and I was showered with hugs and kind words. I miss North SO very much, but look forward to possibly volunteering a few hours of week once Sassy starts school next month, assuming I'm still unemployed then. In the meantime, I'm enjoying time at home with her, knowing that this will be my last shot at one-on-one time with her with school right around the corner. I'm also spending lots of time commiserating with my sister and her boyfriend, both recent U of O grads who have joined me in the work search. I feel grateful to have had so much time to spend with these guys! So like I said, mixed feelings about this whole "unemployment" thing, but I'm taking things as they come.

4   The number of "pleases" Sassy just threw at me to go outside and ride bikes. The sun is finally out, my happy-go-lucky kid is all smiles, and it's an opportunity for this mama to get some more exercise.

Feelin' good and SUPER happy to get back to blogging...see you again soon!

Happy Thoughts

2010-10-29T21:23:00.000-07:00

Every night we have the same routine in our household. Handsome brushes Sassy's teeth while I pick out her clothes and get her room ready for her to go to sleep. We all cuddle on her bed together and read a book. Lately, we've been reading "Five Little Monkeys". Like, at least the last seven nights. I'm dreaming about monkeys with head injuries.

Anyway, the last thing we do before we say our goodnights is to think about our "happy thoughts" to help us go to sleep. They are usually extremely entertaining, and tonight was no exception. Here are some of my favorite happy thoughts from tonight:

Petting fish that are soft.

Petting nice tigers.

Picking roses and flowers from your lawn.

Swimming in the pool when you're an adult.

Playing games with my sweet mommy and daddy.

Getting married (thanks Casey and Ty!).

...and my favorite:

Laughing loud like a princess.

Oh kid, you are forever making us laugh.

Weekend Fun

2010-10-27T16:27:00.001-07:00

Well, it's Wednesday and I'm just not sure I can survive this week...so I thought I would reminisce about last weekend's fun. Friday night we drove up to Sammamish, WA to spend the weekend with my parents, and started the weekend off with a marathon of "Just Dance 2" with one of my best friends. She is a dancing FOOL (and I'm basically just a fool), so she totally took us down. I woke up the next day sore EVERYwhere. Talk about making me feel old and out of shape...

Saturday we went out to lunch with my parents at a restaurant on the waterfront, which was really fun. We even snuck in a little garage saling because let's face it- my dad never passes up a garage sale! We spent the afternoon and evening carving pumpkins while my mom made beef stew, and Sunday was spent watching some serious football. (I LOVE FALL!) Here's a look at our totally awesome pumpkins:

Handsome's...

Mine...

And Sassy's!

I'm looking forward to a quiet weekend, with a little bit of trick or treating at North High for "Safe Halloween". Sassy-pants is dressing up as a princess AGAIN...not that I don't heart all the pink and sparkly things, but when will this phase end??

Blue.

2010-10-15T18:25:00.000-07:00

It's a sad day in fishy land.

Our little blue Beta fish has bit the big one.

He has been our friend for two whole years so we are really quite sad.

Sassy-pants does not yet understand the situation and wonders why he is just SO tired.

So. Apparently we are going to learn about little fishy heaven tonight. And maybe make a trip to Petco tommorrow.

The End.

Totally Random

2010-10-15T12:57:00.000-07:00

Well I haven't been as consistent with posts as I promised, and I'm seriously lacking creativity these days, so here is a totally random post about recently happenings in our lives. Enjoy.

This weekend is going to be the first quiet weekend we've had in weeks...I'm so looking forward to it! Though the past couple of weeks in particular have been SO MUCH FUN...

Two weeks ago I flew to Minnesota by myself (tickets were ridiculously expensive, so Handsome and Sassy-pants had to stay behind) to attend my cousin's wedding and my grandparen'ts 60th anniversary. It was a surprise to most that I was there and I was SO thankful that I was able to be a part of such an amazing weekend.

Last weekend, Handsome told me that our landlord was planning to stop by and take a look at the house, so I went into a cleaning frenzy to get ready for his visit. As it turned out, it was actually one of my closest friends from my neighborhood who drove down from Seattle for a surprise weekend visit. Best surprise ever! My sister and her boyfriend came up from Eugene and we spent a fun weekend catching up, laughing, and watching some serious football.

I am SO excited for Fall!! I can't wait to carve pumpkins, eat soups and stews, wear turtlenecks and boots, sit by the fireplace, feel the crisp cool Fall air in the afternoon...totally my favorite season.

I have baby fever. For real. Every time I see a little tiny baby or hear about a girlfriend or friend of a friend having a baby, I think about what it would be like for us to have #2. Sassy is going to make a FABULOUS big sister and I can't wait for the day that happens. Hopefully in a year or two, but we'll see.

Tommorrow, I am forcing Handsome to go on a shopping spree. For him, not me (bummer, right??). That man would wear basketball shorts and a Budweiser t-shirt 24/7 if it were up to him, so if I don't drag him to the mall, he'll never go....and he is in desperate need of some new duds. Perhaps he'll put on a fashion show for blogging purposes...? Ha, or not....

"Just Dance 2" for Wii came out this week and we are so super pumped to pick that up tommorrow too. Have you ever played that game? SO FUN! Just Dance 2 looks even more awesome- up to 8 players, dance offs...oh yes, we're excited. Here is a glimpse of Just Dance 1 at my parents (photos thanks to this girl)

I can't believe how much Sassy-pants has grown in the past few months. She is becoming her own self-sufficient little person and I love watching grow and learn new things. One of my favorite things to do with her is read stories, because there are a select few that she knows by heart and it is so funny to hear her "read" them to us. I highly recommend "The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear"...such a fun book.

Speaking of books, I have not read anything new in months and I am desperately looking for new reading material. The last book I read was last spring and it was "The Honk and Holler Opening Soon" by Billie Letts...it was a really fun read. Any suggestions for a new book? I'm not looking for anything super heavy, but I'm not too particular.

Well, that about wraps up this edition of "Totally Random"...I'm working from home this afternoon with a sick child, so I best get back to work. Hopefully I will find some inspiration SOON and post something a little more substantial next time.

6 Miles

2010-09-26T14:18:00.000-07:00

One of the teachers at the school I work for started a "Fall Fitness Challenge" this past week. It's a $5 buy-in, and for every four workouts you complete in a week you get entered in a drawing to win prizes at the end (the week of Thanksgiving). Plus, everyone who joined the challenge has their name on a board in this teacher's room, and for every workout you put a star by your name.

I decided to give it a whirl because I've been trying (unsuccessfully) for months to get into shape. So far, this challenge seems to be motivating me! I mean seriously- I would be so embarassed to have committed to this but not followed through, especially since (thanks to the star chart) all of my co-workers (and several students) would be able to plainly see if I'm being lazy.

So....I think in order to keep this momentum going, I should also be posting my progress here on my blog...however good or bad it is. This may sound boring, but I really think it will help me stay motivated! And now, as week one is ending, here is what I've done so far.

This week I:

Ran a total of SIX miles! Woohoo!! This may seem incredibly lame, but for someone who hasn't worked out in years, it's a major feat! I'm only "briskly walking" on the treadmill, not running...it'll take me a while to work up to running I think.
Resisted my usual Friday Starbucks treat- a grande caramel white chocolate mocha (holy calories, batman!). I'm not gonna lie...I only "resisted" because I got a late start out of the house and didn't have time to stop. Still, I think this counts.
On at least two occasions this weekend, I chose ice water with a lemon over a soda. That was hard. It's not like I drink a ton of soda (maybe one or two a week?) but when I get a craving for a coke, it's soooo hard to resist.
This morning I actually planned our meals for the entire week and put together a grocery list, and I'm planning to go grocery shopping after Sassy's nap. Usually our dinner plans are an afterthought. I end up stopping at the store on my way home from work, grumpily and exhaustedly wandering up and down the aisles looking for a quick and easy dinner idea. Then when I get home (completely starving and light-headed, I might add), I grab the first snack I can find- often a handful of potato chips or a cookie. This is not ideal for someone who is hypoglycemic.

I'm really excited to finally be working towards my goals! Speaking of which, my goals for next week: run at least another six miles, stick to the dinner menu, and remember to bring SNACKS to work so I don't have a mental breakdown on the way home from work from lack of nourishment.

Wish me luck and see you next week!

Chili Mac. It's Disgusting.

2010-09-20T19:23:00.000-07:00

I love my conversations with Sassy-pants on the car ride home from daycare. We talk about our days, what we had for lunch, and what we want to do when we get home (today we were super excited to go home and sit on the couch...talk about an exhausting day).

Today I asked her what she had for lunch, and her response was, "Chili Mac. It's disgusting."

I couldn't really argue that one.

That kind of got me thinking...I feel like lately the lunchtime menu at Sassy's school has been slipping. If it's not chili mac (uck, I can't even think about it without making a grossed out face), then it's pizza, or corndogs, or ramen noodles. These, to me, do not spell nutrition. Don't get me wrong- they do serve fruits, vegetables and milk with every meal, and thankfully SP loooooves her veggies and milk...but I'm starting to worry that she's not eating as healthy as she should be at lunch.

At home we frequently do fish, salad, veggies...we try to stick to wheat breads, milk or watered-down juice...and when we're at home, SP eats very well. So, my question is- am I overreacting, or should I consider packing a lunch for her every day? I am out of the house for work by 6:30am every day, so if I did pack a lunch I would have to SERIOUSLY be on the ball. And I can't really think of many meals I could send with her that wouldn't required much preparation on the school's part.

Still debating this and weighing pros and cons with Handsome...not really sure what we're going to do at this point. It's entirely possible that I'm overreacting because it's not as if she's at an unhealthy weight, has any kind of health issues, or is not very active...I just feel like maybe we need to make a change.

Until then, she and I are going to continue our strong disgust of Chili Mac.

Chatterbox

2010-08-24T17:55:00.000-07:00

My child is a motor mouth. She never ever stops talking. NE. VER. STOPS.

She wants to know what everything is, where it came from, why it's here now...she wants to know everyone's favorite color, who their mom and dad are, and where they live. She has to know what we're having for dinner as soon as I pick her up from preschool. If we're going grocery shopping, she needs to know exactly how many items we're going to buy...and then while we're shopping, she keeps count. She is so full of details, questions and statements, it's ridiculous.

Even now, as she's playing "quietly" in her room, I can hear her talking to her "friends" though that will only last so long before she's back out here playing "20 Questions" with me. And when she's not doing that, she's singing at the top of her tiny lungs. Yep, silence is scarce in this household these days...it's a wonder why my brain hasn't exploded yet.

Don't get me wrong, I've been waiting for this age since the day she was born- we are finally to the point where we can really interact with her, and I love being able to sit and have a whole conversation together. We talk about our days, what we want to do when we get home, the fun things we have planned for the weekend...and her goofy sense of humor and her ability to articulate her thoughts is really shining through.

It's amazing that not even two years ago, the most we could get out of her was this...

And now, all I hear all day long is this:

What a nut. I love my little chatterbox.

This chick...

2010-08-22T13:52:00.000-07:00

is BACK.

Yeah, that's right...

I've been trying to get back on the blogging horse (or whatever you want to call it) for MONTHS now, and every time I sit down at the computer, my mind goes completely blank and end up spending an hour (or three, ssshhh!) stalking my friend's blogs.

Anyway, I'm finally gaining some inspiration and energy and ready to rock it once more. Be prepared for some totally random posts as I make my blogging comeback.

We've got a busy few weeks coming up- next weekend is the Mariners/Twins game with my parents, the weekend after that we'll be up at my parents again to celebrate the recent engagements of THREE of my good girlfriends, then a Brad Paisley concert at the Gorge, followed by a weekend visit from Uncle Han & Auntie Steph (all the way from Minnesota!) in addition to our 5th wedding anniversary. And that about takes us to October! Umm, I'm tired already.

See you back here SOON! :-)

For real this time.

Serious.

If you haven't already...

2009-11-01T14:45:00.000-08:00

Check this guy out: http://travelswithsmee.blogspot.com/

He has some hilarious travel stories and a unique writing style...very entertaining! And feel free to leave a comment or two-- part of the fun in writing about his experiences is hearing people's reactions!

Enjoy!

PS- "Halloween in The 'Hood" party pics coming soon!

Sparkly Halloween

2009-10-26T17:54:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know just yesterday I wrote that I'm thinking about ditching the blog because I've lost my creativity...but I'll tell you who's found it...

Miss Sassy-pants! Last week her class held a pumpkin decorating contest- there were no rules, just be creative and have fun. Miss C and I spent an hour walking around Michael's looking for ideas...at one point we had in our hands a pair of googly eyes, a doll's wig, and a pack of stickers...then we decided maybe we liked the rainbow pipe cleaners and sequins better...then it was a Mr. Potato Head that caught our attention...in the end, the item that caught Miss C's eye the most was a container of glitter.

"What about a sparkly pumpkin, Mommy?" her eyes got wider, "A sparkly PRINCESS pumpkin!!"

That settled it. We bought a tube of glue, picked the best looking collection of glitter colors and made our way home. We had the most fun decorating our pumpkin, and Sassy-Pants loved getting to choose which color went where. She made sure we used every color.

We made a mess of the kitchen and got some silly looks from Daddy when he walked in the door...but Miss C was ecstatic to bring her finished product to school. She got "oohs and ahs" as soon as she walked in the door.

Everyone brought fun and interesting pumpkins to share. They all sat together in a row for all the kids to look at. Then last Monday, another class came in to vote. Each child got to pick their favorite- Miss C's got 7 votes! She was the grand prize winner and was so proud that everyone "clapped at her pumpkin". It was displayed at the front desk and she received a special prize from her teacher.

Here she is, tickled to show off her prizes:

Way to go Sassy-Pants!

We're taking our sparkly princess pumpkin with us to Nana & Poppa's for Halloween, it will go perfectly with the very special pink princess dress that Nana is making for her!

I got nothin'

2009-10-25T17:48:00.000-07:00

You know what I'm talking about...scroll down this page and read the dates on my blog posts if you're not sure. Pretty sure the last entry ON THE CURRENT PAGE was posted shortly after the arrival of Spring. As in April.

Every time I sit down to blog, I stare at the computer for a while, look through my recent photos, spend some time stalking my friends blogs....then decide I have nothing exciting to write about, so I log off. This has been going on for quite some time now, so I've started to wonder...

Why do I have a blog?

I do not know. I started this to keep friends and family informed on all the happenings in our corner of the world, but it seems like lately, not much has been going on. And of the handful of things that have been happening, I can't seem to use my creative juices to make an interesting enough blog post to share with everyone.

That being said...I'm thinkin' about ditching the blog scene. I just think it's kind of silly to keep pretending that I have a blog, when I never update it (except for the background that I just changed...I thought maybe a new background would spark new posts? It did not.)

Anyway, I'm going to think about it for a little while longer, but I think it might be time to give up. If anyone has any suggestions on how to build your creativity or thoughts on how you determine what to blog about (and how the heck to make it interesting!), I am all ears...

On the way home today...

2009-10-07T17:34:00.000-07:00

This is the conversation that Sassy-pants and I had:

Mom: "I missed you today, baby girl."
Sassy-pants: "Yuck."

Um, okay...not quite the response I was looking for...I'll try again in a few minutes.

Mom: "I missed you today..."
Sassy-pants: "I know."

Wow, shut down again. I'll give her another minute...

Mom: "Hey honey? I missed you..."
Sassy-pants: "Yeah. Can I have a pretzel?"

Man, I cannot win today! Let's try this ONE...MORE...TIME.

Mom: "I MISSED you today baby girl!"
Sassy-pants: "I missed you too, Mommy!"
Mom: "It's about time!"
Sassy-pants, in her sassiest voice: "Heehee, you betcha! I'm funny!"

Oh yeah, you are HILARIOUS, kiddo...

See ya, suckers!

2009-07-14T22:12:00.000-07:00

We're off for 4 nights and 5 days of this:

And this:

And some of this:

Be jealous.

Absurd.

2009-07-10T11:15:00.001-07:00

Sometimes I get totally ridiculous, absurd ideas in my head. And once they're in there, I can't get them out again. Take this week, for instance. Tommorrow, Handsome's sister arrives for a four day visit. On Tuesday, my cousin "The Dish" arrives for nearly two weeks. Wednesday we're leaving for a 5 day camping trip in Washington. What would one be doing the week prior to such events? Probably lightly cleaning house, doing some laundry, planning menus and grocery shopping? Sounds doable, right?

Well this girl had other plans. I decided it was a good time to completely spring clean the entire house (I realize it's July, let's pretend I did this months ago), clean the fish tank, go through each of our closets and thin out wardrobes, weed the entire yard, detail the cars, wash and wax the kitchen floor, clean out the garage, wash windows, and my latest and greatest idea...PAINT.

I was in the middle of tossing my kitchen upside down yesterday when I got to thinking about how gross our bathroom is, and then I got the urge to paint it. I looked at my "to do" list. I considered how far behind I was. My eye caught the Lowe's ad on the dining room table. Aha- paint is on sale! It's a sign, I must paint! Hmm, where will I find time to get that done? Well I suppose I could skip "organize DVD's by genre"...and maybe I could alphabetize our cd collection another time. I bet if I clean the guest bathroom after Sassy-pants goes to bed tonight (yeah right) and I get up an hour earlier tommorrow (hahaha) I could do it. Oh yeah, totally doable. Nevermind the fact that I'll probably waste at least an hour walking around Lowe's, paint in hand...

Now here it is, Friday at noon and I have yet to clean the fish tank, vacuum and clean bathrooms, take clothes to Goodwill, finish weeding, wash rugs and sheets, tape the bathrooom, and oh yeah- PAINT it. And I suppose we should set up the tent to make sure our air mattress fits in it...and I need to pick up Sassy-pants from daycare. And we're supposed to have pork tenderloin and au gratin potatoes for dinner. And here I sit, blogging. I love how my reasoning works.

And I wish I could say I don't always operate this way, but that's not true...last Thanksgiving the house still smelled like paint when our guests arrived, and I had to ask them not to touch the hallway walls, as they were still wet (what is it with me and paint??). And I am almost always washing the guest bed sheets when my parents walk in the door for a weekend visit. Me and organization, logic, and time management need to sit down and have a chat.

Stupid absurd ideas of mine. Stupid to do lists. Stupid to do lists full of absurd ideas. I need help.

Fireworks on the 4th

2009-07-09T09:19:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd share a quick clip of the fantastic fireworks we saw on the 4th...Sassy-pants LOVED them, and you can hear her very enthusiastic responses in the background :-)

And have you ever heard fireworks as strange as the ones in this next clip? They appear at about the 35 second mark. WEIRD!!

Happy Belated 4th!!

She's Baaaaaack!!!!

2009-07-08T09:03:00.000-07:00

Just when you thought I'd abandoned the blogging world forever, here I am again! My very serious case of writer's block is starting to fade away and I'm finally feeling the urge to blog again. Sorry for the unexplained 3 month hiatus!

We've been keeping plenty busy here in Oregon (I'm on my 3 week summer vacation!!), and the next two weeks will be the busiest of the summer. We're counting the days until a visit from Handsome's sister and her husband, followed immediately by a 5 day camping trip along Bumping River in SE Washington with my bestest friend in the whole wide world...then another couple days of fun at the beach and a little exploring in downtown Portland. Needless to say, I am VERY excited and will have plenty to blog about!

Other news on the home front...Miss Sassy-pants is finally potty trained! What a difference it has made for us. She is more independent and VERY proud of herself, and we are enjoying the small pay raise now that we don't have to buy diapers anymore!

Handsome is doing very well at work, his branch just finished third in the state last month! He has been working very hard lately and is counting the days until his week long vacation. I am currently on summer break, which I am LOVING. It will be hard to go back to work on the 22nd, but nice to get back into a regular schedule.

That's about all I can think of for now, but I PROMISE I will stick around this time...really! Okay, I know you don't believe me...I suppose I deserve it after 3 months of silence. I will do my very best to win you all back!

Until I blog again...

10 Things I Love

2009-04-02T17:29:00.000-07:00

I love...finding good deals! I know I've mentioned this in past posts, but I really really love a good deal. My most recent impressive buys include a pair of pants and a sweater at Macy's, originally priced at $95 but purchased for $40, and a trip to Walgreens where I spent $16 but saved $18. My husband thinks I'm a nutcase because every time I find awesome deals while out shopping, I parade him through the house in the evening to show off every one of my purchases. Poor guy.

I love...having a child who LOVES sleep. If we had to, we could get Sassy-pants through her whole bedtime routine and happily tucked into bed in 5 minutes flat. Of course, we don't, because bedtime is full of cuddles, kisses, stories and tickling. All of which I also LOVE.

I love...surprising Handsome with one of his favorite meals ever- his reaction is so funny, he nearly trips over himself with excitement when he sees tuna noodle casserole sitting on the stove when he walks in the door at night :-)

I love...crossing things off lists. This is a little OCD sounding, but sometimes I make lists for the day just for the satisfaction of crossing things off. Makes me feel like I've had a worthwhile day, even if all I did was fold a load of laundry and watch an "America's Next Top Model" marathon.

I love...sitcoms. Nothing takes the stress of a crazy day away like laughing for 30 minutes straight. And usually the characters are getting themselves into much worse situations than you experienced during your hellish day, and it's always entertaining. I live for Two & A Half Men, Big Bang Theory, Rules of Engagement, New Adventures of Old Christine, and Gary Unmarried. Thank you CBS, for making my life better.

I love...SPRING. Although, where is it??? It's rainy, cold, cloudy and altogether depressing right now. I'm looking at daffodils in my front yard but bundling up in the morning like I'm going ice fishing. There's something wrong with this picture! I can't wait for warm days, sunglasses, sandals and trips to the ocean.

I love...having my very own parking space at work. It's the last parking space in the lot before the student section begins and often times I return from lunch to find some silly tricked out Honda Civic parked in my spot, but nevertheless- I enjoy the "perks" of being school staff.

I love...Sundays. Especially Sundays during football season! I love going to church as a family, driving around and looking at houses in the neighborhood afterward, and spending the afternoon relaxing and watching movies on the couch.

I love...vegetables. I could make a meal of just peas, broccoli, carrots and green beans. Cooked, raw, seasoned or plain, I LOVE veggies. Of course, to my husband, each of the above items is like kryptonite and he seems to think that he may actually DIE if he were to eat an entire serving of anything green. This is entertaining to me.

And lastly, I love...doing creative things. I have very little patience with myself and I get really irritated when the final product doesn't turn out quite like I envisioned it...but it's really fun to be creative. Right now I'm finishing up a scrapbook for my parents of their 2008 Hawaii/Vow Renewal trip. I'm also getting ready to make a felt storyboard for Sassy-pant's room, as well as some mini terrariums out of mason jars. Did someone say Martha Stewart?

And...thus concludes this week's edition of "Things I Love"....stay tuned for "10 Weird Things I Found in My Junk Drawer".

This just in...

2009-03-26T17:41:00.001-07:00

I am the worst blogger ever.

I am a meticulous list writer, and every day this week the first item on my list has been, "write a blog entry". I dutifully settle myself in front of the computer screen, position my hands for some "QWERTY" action, and then....I go blank. I mean I....got...nothin'. It's not like things haven't been happening in our corner of the world, I just can't seem to figure out what's worth talking about and how to make it interesting.

But, rather than despair over my inability to deliver our little family updates creatively, I'll just give you a list of a few random tidbits to keep you all from wiping my URL from your computer forever:

-For the first time in 8 years, I am on SPRING BREAK. That's right, two weeks into the job and I already have a week to rest. In my opinion it's the only way to work. Two weeks on, one week off. Definitely my kind of schedule :-)

-Speaking of which, the job is still going well. There really is A LOT to learn, but I'm slowly getting myself organized. I'm lucky to have very helpful and understanding coworkers and am looking forward to getting back to work on Monday. I think. I'm almost positive. ;-)

-I've managed to get a few things done around the house this week...for instance, Sassy-pants finally has stuff on her walls again! And the purple walls and pink ceiling are NO MORE!! We finally broke down and bought some paint, and I spent two afternoons ridding her room of glued on glow in the dark stars, and purple and pink madness (seriously). It's now a simple off white with all our favorite framed photos and artwork bringing a little color into the room. As soon as my camera is charged, I'll snap some pics to share.

-Sassy-pants has her first ever (very small) ear infection and I am super bummed. I've been forced to revise my long "to do" list for the rest of the week in order to keep my little girl comfy, which is difficult since she has a nasty cough, ear infection and small eye infection (not pink eye, thank goodness!). Despite all of that, during our three hours at Urgent Care today, she didn't complain once. What a champ!

-Along those same lines, we recently found out that Miss C will not be needing glasses (whew!). Some of you know that we've been a little concerned about the fact that one pupil has always been larger than the other, especially since Handsome was in glasses at age 3...but luckily after going to two doctor's appointments and hearing from an eye specialist in Portland, there are no concerns with her eyesight. We have a follow up appointment a year from now, and we can rest easy knowing that all is well.

Ok, to sum up- Spring Break, painting, ear infection and eye appointment. Really? That's all I got? I wonder why I've had such a hard time finding something to blog about lately!

Let's hope Spring brings warm, dry weather soon so we can get outdoors and find stuff to do. We have big plans this spring/summer to hike around some of the state parks, Yurt on the coast, and maybe camp in SE Washington...and we're counting the weeks until visits from Handsome's Mom, my cousin The Dish, and Uncle H and Auntie S.

Bring on SPRING!!

Dear Faithful Blog Readers

2009-03-10T18:34:00.000-07:00

I have been meaning to post something on here for WEEKS!! Things have been so busy and I have been so very tired, which has made it a tad difficult to keep up in the blogging world. I'll just go over the basics to catch y'all up to speed:

1) I got a job! This time it's FOR REAL! I started Monday in the front office of one of the local high schools. So far, so good- there's a lot to learn and it's a totally new environment, but I'm excited to be working again and I'm really enjoying everything so far. The best part: I work 7-3:30 and I have winter, spring and summer breaks off! Though I don't particularly delight in hearing my 5:30AM alarm, I sure love having the afternoons with Miss Sassy-Pants, and am happy to be able to easily put dinner on the table each night. Also, I can't help but be proud of myself for beating 91 applicants!

2) We were able to get Sassy-Pants into the dream daycare that I visited a few weeks ago! She started with two half days, and has been going full time since Monday. This afternoon I had to persuade her to leave, she was not happy about leaving "the girls and boys". I watched her for a few moments this afternoon and she was interacting with one of the other kids- it was so wonderful to finally see her playing with kids her own age! I can't wait to hear (and share) her stories each day. And as soon as she is potty trained, she'll start daily swim lessons!

3) We spent a week in Minnesota in February visiting family and friends- it was a blast but it went by far too quickly. I've got all kinds of pictures to post, but I'll have to save that for tommorrow's energy. It's quarter to seven and it feels like 10:00...how will I ever make it to bedtime?

4) A quick note about Handsome- he was one of only three managers that were recently selected to speak on a conference call with all of the area managing staff (50+ individuals) about his recent branch success, and goals/tips for improving in the coming months. I think that's pretty great, especially in our current economy! He is always finding new ways to impress!

That's about all the updates I can think of for now, which is good since my energy is flagging considerably! I'm hoping that after a week or two of this new schedule, I'll find some energy and get into a good, restful routine. Thanks for all who have sent their congrats on the job, it's been a long road and I'm so happy to be working again! I'll end on a ironic note- I received the job offer on the same day that we celebrated exactly one year as Oregon residents!

Bear with me as I adjust to our new schedule, until then I will be the best blogger I can be!

From Oregon,

With Love

She's 3!

2009-02-23T16:51:00.000-08:00

Yesterday my baby girl turned three years old. I can't believe how much she's grown, especially in the last few months. It's been wonderful having the last year at home with her, watching her grow and learn. I can hardly wait to see what year 3 brings!

Just three short years ago...

And just last week!

Happy birthday baby girl! :-)

Love,

Mommy

Inspiration Needed....

2009-02-11T08:23:00.000-08:00

It's been a frustrating week.

As most of you know, I was supposed to start a new job with the courthouse on Monday. Unfortunately I received a call last Wednesday informing me that a hiring freeze has been put into effect and my job offer was no longer being extended to me. The call came in as I was walking in the door from finalizing plans for the daycare of my dreams. I don't think I've ever been more frustrated and upset, I can't tell you how disappointed I was (and continue to be).

I'm having a hard time with the fact that I have to start the job search at square one AGAIN and I can't put my daughter into the best daycare I've seen in a year of searching. For the first time since we moved to Oregon, things seemed to be going our way and working out perfectly and it was all reversed with that one phone call.

Though I've having a hard time staying positive, I'm thankful to be receiving such wonderful support of all of my friends and family. I continue to remind myself that everything will work out when it's meant to happen, and things could be so much worse. In the meantime I'm enjoying spending so much time with Sassy-pants and counting the days to our week long visit in Minnesota. I'm hoping to come home from our trip feeling refreshed and ready to start again.

Until then, I'm sorry to be such a blog bum. I'm hoping inspiration finds me soon so I can get back on track here. If you see any inspiration, or have any extra you'd like to donate, I'd love to have it. I'll trade you for it.

Rocking out to...

2009-01-30T14:43:00.000-08:00

Sassy-pants LOVES music. Like, LOVES it. I can barely get my seatbelt on in the car before a little voice shouts from the back seat, "Turn the music on please!"

And the only volume level acceptable to her is the "the people in the car next to us can actually feel this song" level. Of course, I don't allow the music to be quite that loud, for the sake of our eardrums, and those around us.

She likes just about any type of music, specifically soundtracks to her favorite movies. "Sugar Sugar" came on the radio the other day and I swear, two beats into the song (before I was even aware that the previous song has ended) she shouted "Mommy it's Bee Movie!"

We have a pretty wide range of music that is acceptable for a toddler to bop along to, but I do try to keep her music selection aimed towards kid's cds. Unfortunately, this means that I am constantly subjected to various renditions of "Twinkle Twinkle" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider", and particularly mind numbing versions of "Mary Had a Little Lamb ". And don't get me started on "It's a Small World".

Thanks to my parents (er, maybe it was Santa Clause) we are now the proud owners of "That Baby CD", which is actually pretty enjoyable! It does have it's slightly cheesy tracks, but overall I don't mind listening to this one. Maybe that's because rather than hearing "The Wheels on the Bus" and "Puff the Magic Dragon", I am treated to acoustic versions of songs by Neil Diamond, The Pretenders and Fleetwood Mac. There's even a song originally written by Jonny Lang (one of my favorite young Blues artists). Definitely a must if you are getting tired of the same old kid's songs.

Kudos to "That Baby CD", my eardrums thank you.

25 Random Things

2009-01-27T19:28:00.001-08:00

In sort of a MySpace/Facebook survey fashion (and inspired by a friend's blog), I am posting 25 totally random things about me. There is no rhyme or reason, these are the first things that came to my mind. Here goes...

1) In my family, there is an unspoken rule: no matter who is leaving the house or what the reason is, you must wave goodbye. It doesn't matter if someone is leaving on a trip, or running down to the grocery store, we always wave. My grandma started this and it has been carried down to my own family, which I love.

2) I cry VERY easily during movies. I am the biggest sap ever. My husband makes fun of me for it all the time, but I can't help it.

3) Since I graduated high school, I have lived in 3 states, 5 apartments, and 5 houses, and I have moved 10 times.

4) I want to go back to school someday. What for? Who knows...

5) I have discovered that I can vacuum my entire house using one outlet. At first this made me sad, but then I realized that I'm totally happy with the amount of space we have, and less square feet = less time spent cleaning :-)

6) I hate golfing, but it's my favorite game on the Wii. Plus, I worked at a golf course for three years. Ironic?

7) I have a serious fear of small spaces. I can't even watch scenes in movies involving crawl spaces, closets, or being trapped. Even thinking about it is making my palms sweat.

8) I would love to have a garden someday, but it is physically impossible for me to keep plants alive. I once had a small indoor tree that only needed to be watered once every few weeks, and it died. On the other hand, I remember to feed our fish twice a day and am fully capable of taking care of my family.

9) I hate following recipes. It's so much easier to just throw a bunch of stuff into a pot instead of having to stop every five seconds to double check a measurement or see what the next step is. It's more fun to guess, but consiquently my food almost never tastes the same as the last time I made it.

10) When I'm thinking really hard, I often twirl a pen in my hands without paying attention. Hours later someone usually has to point out that my hands are inexplicably covered in black ink.

11) I really miss MS-DOS programs. I was going through some old boxes the other day and came across a game that I used to play with my dad all the time- The Dagger of Amon Ra. It was a totally awesome adventure/murder mystery game about a reporter named Laura Bow. It got me thinking about all the other old games we used to play- Space Quest, King's Quest, Lemmings...anyone else ever play these games?

12) I LOVE rain. It doesn't matter if it's sprinkling, misting or downright pouring outside, it always puts me in a good mood. And I realize that's weird, but it's the truth.

13) I sincerely hate emptying the dishwasher. I would much rather clean my bathroom and wash windows than empty one load of dishes. I don't know why.

14) I love cheese but I'm very picky about the type of cheese I eat. I will only eat blue cheese, parmesan or EXTRA SHARP cheddar. And that's it.

15) I had three reoccuring dreams growing up. One involved being stuck in a moving vehicle that I couldn't stop, another was of my sister and I being chased by ghosts, and the third was about our house being robbed by men in white painter coats. Totally weird.

16) I took four years of Spanish in high school and I can't remember how to say anything beyond "Hola, como estas?". I really really wish I had paid closer attention, I would love to be bilingual.

17) I have zero tolerance for barking dogs. We are surrounded by dog owners, almost all of whom let their dogs bark at all hours of the day and night, and it drives me mad. My blood pressure skyrockets the second I hear a dog's bark.

18) Calvin and Hobbes is my absolute favorite comic strip. My dad has the entire Bill Watterson collection and I am so jealous.

19) I still listen to the Backstreet Boys. Don't judge.

20) I hate watching basketball. It's the most boring sport in the whole world to me. That even includes golf.

21) I can recite just about any scene from just about any episode of Friends. If someone is questioning what episode a specific scene is from, I can usually tell them which one it is. And I'm not bragging, I think it's completely ridiculous.

22) I was in seven car accidents with my first car (although one of those doesn't count- my car was backed over in a parking lot). I have been rear ended sitting at a stop sign twice, I have been rear ended while slowing for a turning car twice, and I have hit two deer. And I hit those two deer in a two week period. With the same car. On the same road. One on each side.

23) I am really good about not hanging on to things I don't need, except when it comes to clothes. I still have a pair of jeans from the beginning of high school. I will never fit into them again, but I just can't bring myself to throw them out. It's ridiculous.

24) I hate butter, mayonnaise, miracle whip, and ranch dressing. Yuck.

25) I really don't like talking on the phone. I am so much better at staying in contact via email, letters, texts...anything but the phone. Any daily tasks that involve calling someone (even if it's just to make an appointment) are usually pushed to the end of the list in the hopes that by the time I get to it, it won't need to be done. That almost never happens though.

Crazy Hair

2009-01-24T10:01:00.000-08:00

I love cute litte girl hair. It's so fun to put silly bows and ribbons and bright colored clips in my daughter's hair, she look so cute. Unfortunately, Sassy-pants does not agree.

This lasted about an hour:

Then this happened:

"Mommy, I LOVE my crazy hair!"

(Sigh)...She's having her 3 year pictures taken in two weeks...what are the odds that she'll be okay with "cute little girl" hair?

You're Not Mommy.

2009-01-22T09:36:00.000-08:00

Sassy-pants and I went grocery shopping yesterday and found Shrek 2 in the five dollar movie bin. This was especially exciting for two reasons- One, it came with a baby shrek doll, which hasn't left our sights since it came home with us. Two, we broke Shrek 2 a few months ago after accidentally stepping on it.

If you know Sassy-pants, then you know that Shrek is one of her favorite movies of all time, and Princess Fiona is a favorite character as well. We've already watched the movie twice, and all morning, when she's needed something from me it's, "Hey Fiona? Fiona, can you help me please?"

"Honey, I'm mommy. THAT'S Fiona."

"Nooo, you're not Mommy, you're Fiona."

Ok...I sincerely hope I'm "skinny human Fiona", not "big green ogre Fiona"....

Dear Verizon

2009-01-20T15:29:00.000-08:00

I am interested in bundling my home phone, internet and cable television services with Verizon Wireless and have questions regarding pricing, installation, etc. I called the customer service phone number for Oregon and used the automated service to connect to someone who could answer my questions. That was 1 hour 40 minutes ago and I am still on hold.

I have tried to get this information online, but when I enter my home address, your site says the address "has been standardized according to the U.S. Postal Service records", which is a completely different street and city then my address. This makes it impossible for me to move forward on the site to have my questions answered accurately. I literally entered my address with one pointer finger, one…key…at…a…time, MULTIPLE times, just to make sure I wasn’t doing it wrong. I even asked my husband to confirm our address in case I was suffering from some kind of brain damage. And every time, it told me I was wrong.

I have even tried finding service information with the "corrected address", only to have it corrected again before it allows me to continue. This is pointless because it doesn't even resemble my actual address. On that note I have used websites such as Mapquest before, which also correct the address before showing results, and I have never run into a problem with this particular address.

Furthermore, after completing this online inquiry, I tried to send it, only to see that the "State" drop down menu had no states listed, which made it impossible for me to submit my email. I started the process of contacting Verizon via email again, choosing different settings before it finally gave me the option of choosing my state.

I was originally interested in Verizon services only because it would save me about $10 per month, which after nearly two hours on hold and countless tries obtaining the information online, is not looking worthwhile. Like, not even a little bit.

Needless to say I am extremely displeased to have lost two hours of my day just trying to get information on your product, and can say that I have never been more frustrated by a company’s lack of customer service and technical support. And that hold music? Appalling.

Regardless, if there is anyone available to email or call me with the information I need, I’m cheap enough that I’d still like to hear about it. I better get some extra channels out of this deal though…but not ESPN2 or ESPN News or ESPN Classics. One sports channel is enough.

I can’t promise that I’ll forgive you for sucking at customer service though…in fact, as soon as I get this kink out of my neck and stop humming your incredibly mind-numbing hold song, I may actually call my buddies over at Comcast to see if they can get me a better deal. Or a deal at all, since I still don’t actually know what you guys cost.

Thanks for wasting my cell minutes,

Ms. Irate

Rant & Rave

2009-01-19T22:03:00.000-08:00

I've been struggling with an idea for a post for a while now and remembered that while ago a friend posted something that I've been meaning to try myself. Apparently the Seattle newspaper has a section called "Rant and Rave" where people send in one or the other to share. They're fun to read and easy to think of, so here goes...

Rave: Pandora Internet Radio. For those who haven't heard of it, go to http://pandora.com/. You can search for an artist or particular song, and Pandora will play music by that artist and other similar ones. It's an awesome way to hear new music! Being a big Jack Johnson fan, I created a listening station with his music, where I heard great new music by Donovan Frankenreiter, Dispatch and Brett Dennen. I have a bunch of different radio stations to choose from depending on my mood and I've really widened my music collection. Check it out!

Rant: Potty training is the devil. It makes me want to tear my hair out. Sassy-pants and I have had an endless number of conversations about how big girls go potty in the toilet, we watched Elmo's Potty Time until my brain went numb, and we LOVE getting stickers and other treats when we do sit on the potty. Things haven't improved at all since my last potty training rant, which you can read all about here. We're doing everything the way the books tell us to, taking all the advice we can get...and we are getting NOWHERE.

Rave: I love love LOVE waking up in the middle of the night feeling extra sleepy and dreading looking at the clock, only to find out that I've only been asleep for an hour. It's a FANTASTIC feeling knowing that I have almost a whole night's sleep ahead of me yet!

Rant: People who leave their trash cans out for days after the truck comes by. I've noticed that one neighbor in particular has made their empty trash can a permanent feature of our sidewalk, which is so lovely to see every time I look out the window. I realize that dragging an empty plastic bin on wheels from the end of the driveway to the house is really quite physically demanding...what can I do to make it easier for you?

Rave: Coupons. Coupons are awesome. They are a total pain to clip out, organize and actually REMEMBER to use, and I'll be honest- being in line at the grocery store behind the lady with seventeen hundred coupons and a coin purse is truly maddening...but man, it's nice to save money! For instance, I found two coupons for a hair salon near our house- one for a free haircut (which Handsome used this past weekend, and his hair has never looked better!) and another for a haircut and color for just $35 (which I will be using in two weeks! yahoo!). If you've ever had your hair colored, you know this is a SWEET deal. Go ahead, be jealous.

Well there you have it...I don't think I could have been more sporadic with this post, but those are truly the first things that came to my mind.

What are your Rants and Raves?

PUT A SMILE ON

2009-01-12T13:26:00.000-08:00

Sassy-pants always seems to find the most inopportune time to need my help with something. I’m usually up to my elbows in soapy dishwater, buried beneath mountains of unfolded laundry, or right smack dab in the middle of making dinner. This morning her untimely request came while I was attempting to clean yogurt smoothie off the countertop, cabinets and floor (MAJOR spillage, you don’t want to know).

“Mommy, I need to play playdoh! I need to play playdoh!!!” …notice it’s “need" and not “want”, like this is a life or death situation…

I explain that I am busy but will help her in one minute. She then calmly repeats herself, emphasizing each word by drawing it out slowly, as if I misunderstood the fact that she wants my assistance. “I W-A-N-T….to plaaayyyy ….P-L-A-Y-D-O-H.”

In my most calm mommy voice, I explain again that I need to finish what I’m doing before I can get out the playdoh. She proceeds to demand AGAIN, this time raising her voice to that whiny “on the verge of a tantrum” level.

I muster up all the strength I can and take a deep breath. Through clenched teeth and in my most stern Mommy voice I simply say, “MISSY…”

She pauses, then utters a VERY over exaggerated sigh and rolls her eyes…”Okay Mommy, I will be patient and put a smile on”. Funny, I was trying to do the same thing, darling girl.

Are you there readers? It's me, Kirimi.

2009-01-08T13:37:00.001-08:00

Remember that time I promised lots and lots of posts because I had so many ideas and things to share and I was stuck at home and had all that time to post things and then I never did?

Remember?

Well please excuse the time lapse occuring between posts here, but you'll be happy to know that this girl is back online and ready to blog!

I think I'll use this post to share a little about our holiday season, which was wonderful. We certainly missed being near our friends and family in Minnesota, but it was an enjoyable holiday nonetheless. We drove up to my parents in the snow on Christmas Eve, which was a slow and slippery drive. We were thankful to arrive safely and thoroughly enjoyed Christmas with neighborhood friends and family.

Handsome had to drive back down for work the day after Christmas, so Sassy-pants and I stayed behind and spent some time with my family. We shopped until we dropped, wined and dined and just enjoyed each other's company.

New Year's Eve was spent with the usual neighborhood crowd at my parent's house. There were about 20 of us total, and enough food and drink to satisfy a small country. Handsome made the drive up again New Year's Eve night, but because of his late work schedule, didn't make it until 12:10am. Lucky for us, it was just an excuse to continue the New Year's Eve celebration until the early morning hours!

After a New Year's Day fondue dinner, we spent the rest of the weekend staying up way too late and squeezing every last drop out of our mini vacation. It was hard to leave, but our bodies needed rest and regular schedules again.

I've spent the last couple of days putting away our Christmas decorations and returning the house to it's normal organized and clutter free state. I think I'm finally back to a normal sleep schedule, and ready to dive into the new year! And yes, I realize we're on day eight already. No laughing.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from this season, and now that we're all caught up, I PROMISE to keep this thing updated!

These next three are a few of my favorite photos from our holiday/family photo session:

This one makes me smile:

This one is going on the wall:

Mom and Dad's Christmas card:

And a few from New Year's Eve:

The most fabulous crabcakes ever made (just one of MANY tasty appetizers):

Having fun with sparklers:

My favorite neighborhood ladies:

The 'hood:

Happy New Year to all!

From Oregon,

With Love

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-24T09:06:00.000-08:00

For those whose address I don't have, I'm sending you our Christmas card virtually. Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas!

PS- Special thanks to T. Little Imaging for taking this totally awesome Christmas photo for us.

Winter Wonderland

2008-12-23T09:52:00.000-08:00

We are still enjoying Mother Nature's wintery goodness, and we just heard this morning that another 2-3 inches are coming tommorrow morning. I've really enjoyed it and we've been taking advantage of the snow every chance we get. We were goofing around outside well after Sassy-pants's bedtime last night.

This is the most interesting snowstorm I've ever seen out here...having grown up on the West Coast, I'm used to getting small amounts of snow and watching it disappear again in a matter of hours. These past few days I have been waking up every morning prepared to look outside and see green grass, but all I see is more snow!

While I am really enjoying all this white stuff, it is seriously jeopardizing our chances of making a Christmas Eve drive to Washington as planned. I am so hoping that the main roads will be clear enough by tommorrow afternoon but only time will tell. In the meantime, I'm thankful that we are safe and warm here at home, and not one of the hundreds of bus, plane and train passengers stranded along the coast.

I've been a little camera happy with all this snow around, so here are another handful of my favorite shots around the neighborhood:

Before and after of our tree...it shrunk!

Snow does pretty things to trees:

Ice does NOT...this poor guy is barely hanging on:

"Mommy and me" snow angels:

Handsome and Sassy-pants:

I think she's praying to the snow gods:

Loving the snow STILL:

Finally got a decent shot of the house. There's a sidewalk in there somewhere...

Stay tuned, more posts to come soon! Being stranded at home and unable to get my Christmas shopping done has providing me with plenty of time to think of things to post. Be on the lookout for more of our family Christmas pictures, photos of homemade Christmas gifts, some interesting family factoids I've recently run across and (thanks to Lisa), a "Rants and Raves" post.

Happy Sing for Nana

2008-12-22T10:17:00.000-08:00

A birthday song for Nana:

Happy Birthday Mom, we love you!!

Snowman Sweater

2008-12-19T10:49:00.000-08:00

We got snow last night! It's only an inch or two, but it's so pretty to look at, and perfect for snowman building! This was the first snowfall that Sassy-pants truly enjoyed- last year she wanted nothing to do with it.

This time around, she couldn't wait to get out the door and explore. I showed her how to make a snowball to throw....BIG mistake. I was pelted with snow for a solid twenty minutes before she lost interest.

We built a Sassy-pants-sized snowman, which she appropriately named "Snowman Flitter"...which comes out as something like "Snowman Sweater" when she says it.

Here's a few shots around the house, along with a few of Miss C and her new pal "Sweater".

Having fun in the snow

Tasty!

What's with the crabby face?

Our new friend, Snowman Sweater:

Now that we're both about thawed out, somebody is begging and pleading to make a friend for Snowman Sweater. Any suggestions for HIS name?

Trees, trees, trees and cookies.

2008-12-17T15:04:00.000-08:00

We're pretty much all set for Christmas (we better be, did you know it's NEXT WEEK?!) so I thought I would take some pictures of the fruits of our labor. (Side note- half these pictures are not actually the fruits of MY labor, but that of my mom's). I just wanted to show off her beautiful trees since my goal is to someday have as many trees as she does (six, not counting the little lighted one outside with the reindeer).

I have two this year...maybe I'll add one each year.

Our big tree:

This little guy is usually on the front porch, but he got cold:

One of six trees at mom's house- this one is flocked with fake snow, though it's hard to see here:

This is my favorite tree:

A close shot of my favorite tree:

The table top tree in my room:

The "American Girl" tree:

The "scary lights" tree...LEDs aren't always the way to go...

And the 11 footer! My dad, Handsome and I picked this guy out ourselves and had a fantastic time getting it inside (note the subtle sarcasm). The boys did the lights, which was also no picnic.

While the boys cursed over broken light bulbs, the girls made these tasty creations:

Our best batch ever!

There is snow in the forecast for the weekend, so I think I might use my indoor time to destroy the kitchen with sprinkles and food coloring. It's been an interesting winter so far, I forgot how things shut down on the West Coast when there is even a whispering chance of snow! Having spent six winters in Minnesota, it's hard not to chuckle when snow hits here and panic sets in. It sure is making us feel at home with some white stuff on the ground though!

If I can slip slide my way across the street, I'll snap a picture of the house with our Christmas lights up...it looks very festive!

Merry Christmas!

Happy Hikers

2008-12-16T14:17:00.000-08:00

I've been sorting through pictures on my digital camera and figured I would post a few of my favorites to let you know what we've been up to lately. For Handsome's birthday a couple of weeks ago, we spent the afternoon hiking around Silver Falls State Park in Oregon. We soaked up the sunlight and enjoyed being out in the cool, crisp air. Immediately following our return to the parking lot, we hiked our tired butts to Applebees for some happy hour appetizers and comfy chairs. :-)

We had a blast and are looking forward to heading back when it's a little bit warmer out! Here are a few pics from the drive to the park and the hike:

The fantastic view from the park entrance:

I would like to get my Christmas tree HERE next year:

At the top of the falls:

Walking behind the waterfall:

In amazement over the water:

Christmas pictures coming soon!

The Search for the Perfect Background

2008-12-13T21:02:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post to announce to the world that I am SORRY for the constant color and background changes to this blog- I cannot find a color combination that I love (I'm not sold on the current layout), so I continue to experiment.

Stay tuned, and stay patient.

Dryer Sheets and Ketchup

2008-12-07T13:56:00.000-08:00

Today is a big day. Something major happened. Something I've been expecting for quite some time, and really, I'm surprised it took this long. This is big, people.

I ran out of dryer sheets.

I know this doesn't seem like a very big deal, but for me it is. Why, you ask? Because in my 3+ years of married life, I have never had to buy dryer sheets. I have been working on the same stack from the first load of laundry I did after we were married. I have not purchased a single package of dryer sheets since then.

You're probably wondering if I have really strict standards for the level of filth our clothing must attain before I deem it necessary to do laundry, but I don't. I do laundry once a week like most people I know, and I always throw a dryer sheet in with each load. I don't reuse them. I don't keep a stack in the bathroom to aid in managing flyaway hair. Or hang them on my porch to keep the mosquitos away. One sheet per load.

It truly does amaze and entertain me that I have never needed to replenish our supply of dryer sheets. And it makes me laugh because we actually had a similar problem with ketchup at the beginning of our marriage. When we moved in together we each brought kitchen condiments from our respective houses. He had one bottle of ketchup, I had two...we had a family gathering after our wedding so we bought one of those Costco sized bottles....(that would bring the tally to 4 bottles in case you weren't following...and keep in mind, neither of us really love ketchup to begin with). It took us hundreds of french fries and a cross country move to get rid of all that ketchup.

The dryer sheets accumulated in much the same way. He brought his supply to our new home, I brought mine. I received samples of some "environmentally responsible" cleaning products and there was a box included amongst my sample gifts. We also received a package or two as part of a wedding gift.

So, for three years I've been plugging away at them, waiting for the day I would run out. Today is the day!

Married folks- anyone else have an abundance of ketchup and dryer sheets at the beginning of your marriage? Or was it something normal, like coffee cups?

Giving thanks for a great Thanksgiving!

2008-12-02T15:26:00.001-08:00

WHAT a Thanksgiving it was this year! I just don't even know where to start! We certainly had a full house- 8 of us crammed into our tiny house for five days, and we had 9 total for Thanksgiving dinner. We had a fantastic meal cooked in my very own kitchen (this is a first for my little family). It was a wonderful weekend of food, games, Christmas movies and fun.

The highlight of my weekend was absolutely the surprise guest who appeared on my front porch- my BEST FRIEND (slash cousin), flown all the way in from Minnesota! How my parents managed to keep her visit a secret for two months is beyond me, but I couldn't have asked for a better surprise!

I handled the surprise quite well, pictures coming soon...once the tears subsided and my breathing returned to normal, we kicked off a holiday weekend like no other! We feasted on a fantastic Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, ham and cheesy potatoes on Friday and a Mexican Fiesta on Saturday! In true Kirimi-Tricia fashion, we even managed to eat out in the midst of these feasts- twice in one day! We actually went from one restaurant to the next, which is oddly not that unusual for us :-)

We played all the usual games- Cranium, Apples to Apples, Bananagrams and a couple of card games...we watched a half dozen different Christmas movies and even snuck in a photo session in the park while we had the master photographer on hand. Here's a sneak peek picture:

Overall it was one of the best Thanksgiving celebrations I've ever had and I can't believe how fast it went. This weekend reminded me of how thankful I am for such a wonderful family. I'm also thankful for the beautiful weather we had, the delicious food and the fact that we had an abundance of leftovers to share amongst ourselves all weekend. I am also INCREDIBLY thankful for our new dishwasher- kudos to Handsome, Mr. Money and my dad for sucessfully installing it just in time for Thanksgiving dishes :-)

I hope everyone's Thanksgiving was as fun-filled as mine, and I'm looking forward to Christmas (though I'm still sitting here willing my calendar to turn back a few weeks...is it REALLY December?!)

Happy Holidays!

Yeah Veggies!

2008-11-24T17:13:00.000-08:00

I made one of my favorite casserole dishes for dinner last week, knowing that it probably wasn't going to be very well received. It's got rice, cheese (lots and lots of cheese), and chicken with rosemary...SO GOOD! It has another ingredient that my husband REFUSES to eat and my daughter has always spit back out. I can disguise any way I want, they aren't fooled. I, on the other hand, could live off this stuff...it was my #1 craving while I was pregnant!

BROCCOLI.

Who doesn't love broccoli?! I'll eat it raw, cooked, plain, with cheese...doesn't matter to me. It's good stuff! Anyway, I made this casserole to feed my family knowing they probably wouldn't eat it anyway...but I didn't care, I NEVER get to eat broccoli!

I dished up a plate for Sassy-pants and sent a prayer to the vegetable gods. At first she seemed to be avoiding the green stuff, but she finally took a bite (might have been by accident). She stopped chewing and looked at me...

"What's this Mommy?"

"It's broccoli, sweetheart. Broccoli is good!"

"Ohh...okay. Yeah! Broccoli is GOOD! It's really REALLY GOOD!"

She finished her whole plate. She asked for seconds. She couldn't stop talking about how GOOD the broccoli was. I had to get it on video.

It cracked me up and I had to share :-) Oh and Handsome tried the casserole when he got home from work. He dished up and I got him something to drink. He dumped all the broccoli while my back was turned. Such a baby.

I'm nervous...

2008-11-17T14:46:00.000-08:00

...because I have a job interview this week!

I've been asked to interview for a position with the school district and I am SO excited! I've applied to several openings with the schools and I'm thrilled to be considered for one of these positions!

And...

I've been asked to participate in the next step of the application process for another position that I applied to. This Saturday I'll be taking a test to evaluate my math, writing and grammar skills...if I pass that I will be invited for an interview!

So everyone keep your fingers crossed for me and wish me LUCK!

Put your body on the potty

2008-11-11T13:13:00.000-08:00

My daughter is a bright, happy 2 year 8 month old little girl. She can count to 10, sing her ABC's, and put her shoes on by herself. She knows more about the functions of our digital camera than my husband and I combined. She ALWAYS wants to do what the big kids are doing, and enjoys doing things for herself- putting her shoes on, taking pictures, getting the mail, unlocking the house when we get home...she's a "big kid" for sure.

If she can do all of this happily and successfully, why oh why doesn't she have the slightest interest in potty training? We've been at it for months. We've read all the books. We sent away for the Pamper's potty chart. The Dora "You're a Star!" potty crown. We have M&M's on hand at all times to reward her for being such a big girl. Our house turns into a ticker-tape parade every time she does use the potty. When it happens, she screams for everyone within earshot to come running, FAST. We all throw our hands in the air and congratulate her, and she gets a "special treat" from the kitchen as a reward.

Some days it happens every few hours, she stays relatively dry and our throats are hoarse by the end of the day from celebrating so much. Other days it doesn't happen at all. Not once. She shrieks protests at me for even suggesting that we try to go potty on the toilet.

I'll admit, we've done some things to set us back . We moved to a new town, into a new house, twice in a six month period. We followed some advice from a parent newsletter that turned out to be disastrous. One day I read something about putting the (rhymes with soup) from the diapers into the toilet to show your child how the process works. I highly recommend NOT following this advice, because now she thinks she can do her business in her diaper and follow through with the next step (heavy sigh). Major setback.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not in a huge hurry for my baby to grow up. I'm just sick of diapers. And I know we shouldn't rush this, she'll get there in her own time...I was just kinda hoping that time would be now :-) We're putting this whole mess on the back burner for now, we'll dust it off and start again in a few weeks maybe.

In the meantime, it's diapers and wipes for us! The Dora crown will have to wait.

Anyone have any good tips or funny potty training stories to share?

Yesterday...

2008-11-07T12:27:00.000-08:00

...was a bad day.

I don’t think it’s a big secret that things haven’t been easy for us so far in Oregon …yesterday was no exception. I have days like yesterday every now and then when things collide and I can’t handle them on my own. I’ve been looking for a job for nearly nine months and have not had good luck. (To illustrate my point: when we moved to Oregon in March I bought a pack of resume paper, which had 100 sheets in it. Last week, I ran out). *Ouch*

There’s nothing like putting your absolute best out there only to be rejected. Again. And again. And AGAIN. A few weeks ago I was the “runner up” for a great state job that was just five minutes from our house…it felt great to come that close. But “close” doesn’t pay the bills.

(Speaking of, what’s with those things anyway? Do they seriously need to be paid EVERY month?! No one told me that. I’m sure I would have remembered if someone told me that).

Anyway, back to my bad day. So far, we’ve survived (miraculously) on one income. It’s not easy and we haven’t exactly made it on our own the whole way, but we’re still here.

Things got a little overwhelming yesterday which prompted me to think about our current situation. We are somehow getting by while I continue the wearisome task of finding a job. We don’t own the house we’re in. We don’t have any friends here yet. We’ve needed to lean on those close to us for support, which is hard to accept and frustrating to do (to me anyway).

Yesterday all of that got to me and it became too much. Lucky for me I have an amazing family. They’re always there when I need them and they always know what to say. They reminded me that while things are very difficult right now, they could be worse. They could be so much worse. We have a roof over our heads (with a beautifully painted front door, which we did ourselves. Pictures coming soon). We have our health. We have each other.

Though I’m sad that we don’t have friends here yet, we still have our old friends. And we are working on finding a church to call home, which will help. And as for leaning on family for support- though it isn’t easy to do and I wish we didn’t have to, I am so very thankful that they are there to lean on. And someday, we will be there for them the way they are here for us now.

And it’s okay that we don’t own this house right now, we might someday! For now we have a really great setup. So far we’ve helped our landlord by replacing some bathroom fixtures and repainting the interior…there are more changes to come! It’s been so much fun learning how to do these little fix it projects and seeing the results.

And lastly, I am trying to remember that while this economic crisis is most definitely affecting us, we are not alone. And our country has faced this before, and survived. It will most likely take years, but we’ll get there. For now, we’re holding on.

So thanks to my family for being there for me yesterday. And today. And all the other days I have. And thanks to everyone else in my life for being a part of it!

Today is a much better day, especially since this is what I get to hang out with:

Positive posts in the future, I promise!

From Oregon ,

With Love

Ready, Set, BLOG!

2008-11-05T16:55:00.000-08:00

Well here it is folks, my very first blog entry. I've been following the blogs of several friends/family members and thought it might be fun to take a stab at it. I figured it would be another great way to keep in touch with everyone and provide some of you (especially the Minnesotans) with some fun CHARLOTTE updates! Plus I know you've all been DYING for an up close and personal look into life as a housewife (don't deny it).

Anyway, follow along if you'd like, more to come soon!

From Oregon,

With Love :-)