Tidbits from the life of B

My history with TIME magazine

2012-02-11T19:40:00.004-08:00

Today was not a very good day. It was the kind of day that kept going wrong, regardless of my actions. Frustrating. I would like to box it back up and ship it RETURN TO SENDER. I've decided to go to bed an hour early (i.e. as soon as I am done with this blog post), and look forward to a much better day tomorrow. If the baby decides to kick-start my day at 5:30am again, hopefully I will be prepared. (BTW, what is with her and waking up early on Saturday morning? There is no television with which to watch Saturday morning cartoons! Go back to sleep, crazy little bugaboo!)

Anyhoo, let's move on to something else...

I have a subscription to TIME magazine. From time to time (pun intended), I read an article in the magazine that arouses strong feelings, and I want to share the article and my reactions. This happened just a couple of weeks ago... although I can't remember the particular article. (How sad is that?) Nevertheless, I wanted to give fair warning that I might share some things from TIME as the mood strikes me. You might see a bit of my nerdy/analytical/economist self poke through on these occasions. Beware. :o)

So how did I become a TIME subscriber? Glad you asked...

Once upon a time (pun definitely intended) when I was a teenager, I did a bit of traveling. I racked up a fair number of frequent flyer miles. Not feeling that said miles were of much value for anything, I did not hesitate to trade in some miles when, in my freshman year of college, Delta made me a sweet offer. Get a free magazine subscription in exchange for.... flyer miles? What the heck are those things, anyway? Deal.

My subscription was good for a year. When it came time to renew, I had to pay money. What?! I liked the magazine, but I didn't like it that much. No deal. Goodbye, so long, I had a real nice time. (Yup, pun intended.)

A couple of years went by. I got a part-time job and got married. I was in my senior year of college and TIME made me a new offer -- one year for $30. Okay, not bad. A year was 52 normal issues, plus four bonus issues, which were all about seasonal fashion trends and were printed on extra large pages. I also got a cheap alarm clock thing. Good enough -- deal.

Another year lapsed. TIME stopped doing the seasonal fashion issues, but they offered me a pretty neat history book with my one-year renewal. Ehhh.... okay. I was working at my first post-college job and felt like I could afford to "splurge" on this magazine that I had come to enjoy.

Things got a little more interesting the next year. I was pretty busy when the renewal reminders started coming in the mail, so at first I ignored them, setting them among a stack of to-do items. And a funny thing happened: The closer I got to the renewal deadline, the better the offers became. A lower renewal price...a better bonus gift...an even lower price... etc. So I delayed my renewal right up to the very last couple of issues (maybe I even let it lapse for a month?) and finally they offered me three years for $30 AND a fairly nice duffle bag. I was mostly excited about the heavy discount on the cover price; when the duffle bag came in the mail, I was surprised by its quality. Deal? Heck yeah -- score!

My subscription is up this summer. They've started pestering me to renew... But I'm holding out for at least the same deal as last time (oh! pun not intended, but that was funny anyway).

Moral of this story? Do nothing and you can get everything you want. Or something like that.

Positively another 2012 goal

2012-02-06T20:52:00.000-08:00

We set a lot of personal and family goals for 2012. I didn't use to think much of New Years "Resolutions" and, well... I still don't! But I do recognize that January 1st, the start of a new year, is a good time to set or update some goals for oneself. So Nate and I chatted about it at the end of December and each decided that we would set goals for ourselves. After sharing, comparing, and discussing our goals, we recognized some common themes and decided to create a few family goals.

Related to this, I like to come up with a personal theme/motto for myself each year. (Several years ago, this is something I read about on a friend's blog, and decided to copycat the idea. Brilliant.) My first motto year was 2010, when I decided to do hard things. That was a phrase I'd heard in a church talk (stake conference), and it hit home. Sometimes doing the right thing also means doing something hard, or something that involves sacrifice. Like many people, I tend to shy away from challenges and look for the easy road. But in 2010 I wanted to work on that problem! I also knew that 2010 was, finally, the year we were going to try and "start a family" (I pretty much hate that phrase). The idea of being pregnant and having a child terrified me. So I knew that if I was going to take a huge leap of faith and get pregnant, I would have to do a very hard thing! It was a perfect motto for me that year.

Last year, in 2011, my goal was to pray always. Not much to say there, except that I needed to be more prayerful in my life. I was less successful with following that motto, probably because I didn't even come up with the motto until April or May. Arg.

This year, I want to become a kinder, more positive, more considerate person. As much as possible, I want to fill my life with good things. So my motto for 2012 is "Think Positive | Be Positive". I strongly believe that change starts in our minds and hearts, with our attitude! So if I want to be happier, friendlier and more Christlike, I better start getting my head in order.

I shared this motto with Nate, and he loved it. He decided to also set a goal of thinking positive thoughts and being positive. So we've started to work on it together, and oh! What a blessing it is to be a team on this one. We've been able to remind each other to look on the bright side and to always say nice things about others. I am looking forward to 11 more months of building and encouraging each other towards this goal, and growing together.

Well, I had hoped to share some of my other goals, but it's after 9pm so I have to get off the computer! Maybe I will find time for another post this weekend. :o)

Blog goals, getting things done, and (helping with) house hunting

2012-02-04T20:10:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned in my last post, I set a goal for myself in 2012 to blog more. To be specific, my goal is to blog at least once a week. The post can be as long or as short as I'd like. It can be on one topic or many. It should be positive; ideally it should be encouraging or at least uplifting. Knowing myself and my schedule, the posts will probably be written in the evening after the baby goes to sleep. I will most likely write on Friday or Saturday. For now, I intend to just talk about what's happening with me and my family. (And as I mention elsewhere, I will try to avoid politics or other derisive, divisive topics.) My blog posts should not come at the expense of journal writing. That is, I should not avoid the more important, more introspective and personal format of a journal in favor of a blog post. But if I sit down to write about something that could just as easily be a blog post, I can blog instead of writing in my journal.

There. Whew. I put my goal into specific, measurable terms and posted it in a public place, so it will be easier to be accountable. You can all hold me to it.... all of you, my readers... okay, my one reader... Hi, mom.

Now on to the updational portion of this blog post!

It is Saturday evening, a little after 8pm. Today I went to the grocery store, dropped a package at UPS to be mailed, dropped off some donation items at Goodwill, checked out a baby-clothes thrift store, made cinnamon raisin rolls, spent time with my parents, balanced the checkbook, helped limb part of the evil fir tree in the backyard, and talked to the neighbor. (Oh, and all the usual mommy stuff -- diaper changes, nursing, naps, playtime, kisses, snuggles, etc. :)

I need to make a chicken and rice casserole, which will be dinner tomorrow. I also need to sort and fold my white laundry. (Did I do the laundry today, or is it left over from yesterday? I honestly can't remember. I think it was today, so add that to my list.)

It's interesting how my definition of what's an accomplishment has changed during the last several months. It use to be that loads of laundry and grocery trips were just routine to-do items, and that I measured myself by the amount of yard work I completed, or my progress on a home renovation project (take your pick), or some other "big" thing. Now I measure myself on the routine things, celebrating if I can get two loads of laundry through the washer, dryer, folded and put away, all in one day. On Friday evenings I make a to-do list of all the possible errands and tasks (simple tasks, like vacuuming the office) that I could do on Saturday. Then I decide which ones are the most important, and which ones I will forgive myself for skipping if I can't find the time.

Such a change in perspective! I never thought doing laundry would make me feel accomplished!

Getting back to the topic of today's errands: I spent time with my parents. Currently, mom and dad live about 90 minutes to the north. My mom is retiring in a few months and so they have decided to sell their house and move closer to some of "the girls" -- meaning me and the baby, and also my sister (who lives about three miles south of me). They also want to stay close to "the boys" (my older brothers, who live closer to their current home), so they are looking primarily at properties north of town.

Thus the reason my parents came to town, as suggested by the previous paragraph, was to look at a couple of houses. The houses were both... how do I say this?... less than ideal. The first one had a beautiful, breath-taking view, but the house needed a lot of (primarily cosmetic) work. The land was also underdeveloped. The second house... there's no way to briefly summarize the experience. There wasn't really anything redeeming about the house or land, except maybe one of the out buildings, which was fairly large and appeared to be in good condition.

It's disappointing, not finding the right property. My parents have very specific criteria and no reason to rush the process, so it will take time. Nevertheless, I'm REALLY excited to have them move closer, and thus I'm REALLY impatient for them to find the right property. I honestly wish I could go preview some properties for them. I love looking at houses (do I get that from my dad, I wonder?) and it would save them some headache of traveling all the way down just to be disappointed.

On the bright side, with spring rolling in and summer soon to follow, more houses are popping up on the market. The perfect place might be listed next week, you never know! In the meantime, maybe I can convince my parents that they don't really want to live out in the country with a couple of acres... they want to live down the street from me :o)

Blog more, be happier.

2012-01-28T21:24:00.001-08:00

A post yesterday, and now a post again today?! What is the world coming to?

Well, the thing is, I set a goal for myself to blog more. I set this goal as one of several New Years goals, which Nate and I developed for ourselves individually and as a family. I tend to do a lot of journal writing, so when I have free time for writing, pretty much everything goes in my journal. I've found it to be an invaluable resource for working out my personal feelings and frustrations. It's also important to keep a record of my life.

But some of my record keeping can certainly be public. While I don't think blogging should be used to air one's "dirty laundry" or to thrust upon the world every thought -- particularly not the more inane thoughts -- or for whining, complaining, arguing, or otherwise spewing forth darkness and vitriol, I DO think it's good to keep people informed and to provide uplifting discourse, whenever possible.

(Side note: A couple of weeks ago I had a wonderful conversation with my "uber boss" in which we discussed the importance of using social media to be kind, uplifting, and show forth Christlike attributes. The boss described himself as "a bit of a pollyanna". I decided that I want to apply his "pollyanna principle" to my use of social media. Ahhh... I just adore the uber boss; such an amazing person to work for. I feel really blessed to be under his leadership. (I really hope he's not reading this.))

I anticipate success with my renewed blogging efforts, since I recently repaired both my laptop and my netbook. Sadly, my tablet is not a good tool for blogging. (Arg! Typing with ones fingers is quite the challenge!) I am somewhat hindered, however, by a new rule in our house: No computers after 9pm.

I've been very good about that rule, except not last night or right now, since I'm trying to reach my blogging goal.

Anyway, it's past my bedtime. (Ack! It's 9:40!!!) I need to feed baby girl and go to bed. So, until next time.... Goodnight.

An evening gone awry, and other updates

2012-01-27T21:09:00.000-08:00

This evening has not gone at all like I expected...

Nate is on a campout with the young men from the youth group. No surprise there. He came home at about 2pm (?), spent a couple of hours getting things together, and then left. Meanwhile, his mom watched the baby and I worked. A little after 5pm, I wrapped up for the day. I chatted with my mother in law while warming up some sweet potatoes for baby girl. MIL left, baby ate. I reheated some broccoli cheese soup for my own dinner. Baby got fussy while I ate (typical selfish little thing :o). We had some playtime, then she got a bath. I nursed her.

She was in her bed, asleep, by 7:15. Excellent. All normal, except for Nate's absence.

I started to write a blog post but couldn't think of what to say. I decided to ponder it while I finished up a project for New Beginnings. Down to the craft room with a week-old episode of Wait, Wait to amuse me. Sewing away efficiently, on target to quickly finish and then get some other things done before bedtime.

Baby girl abruptly awoke, screaming. That's not totally abnormal -- she sometimes needs a little extra burp after bedtime. I dashed upstairs, squeezed her burbs out, and put her back down.

That's when things started to slide off kilter. Usually she goes right back down, no fuss, easy as can be. It's bliss. But not tonight. She was very fussy.

Diaper change. Rocking. Attempted to nurse again. More rocking. A couple of 5-minute crying sessions (sometimes she just wants to be left alone, and she will cry for 2-3 minutes and go back to sleep; it sounds awful and I certainly don't like it, but sometimes that's what she wants). Turns out she was only content and willing to sleep if I held her.

Groan.

Of course I want to hold her. I love to hold her! And since dad is gone camping, I was going to have her sleep in our bed when I went down for the night. I just wasn't prepared for that to happen at 8:30!

So I shut down things in the craft room, closed up the basement, cleared the pillows from our bed, and brought the baby into my room. Where she fussed for 0.2 seconds and then fell asleep. I didn't have high hopes that she would stay asleep, but I needed to get myself ready for bed, so I just prayed that she wouldn't get too upset while I was in the bathroom.

Uhhh.... she didn't. She just continued to sleep. In fact, she's been peacefully asleep for an hour now. I guess this whole week of telling her, "You're going to sleep in our bed on Friday when your dad is gone. Lots of mommy cuddles!" really went to her head. :o)

So I sneaked around the house for about 40 minutes, first getting myself ready for bed, then getting the kitchen cleaned up, then starting a to-do list for tomorrow. Nate will be gone most of the day so it will be an all-day mommy/daughter date. Awesome.

What does our typical Saturday look like these days? Glad you asked...

We do a whole lot of running around. In the olden days, before the baby (we call this time in our lives "BK"), we would run errands any time, whenever we needed. But baby girl is needy and has her own schedule, so now we have to work around her. Plus Nate is currently the main person in charge of the young men in the youth group, so there goes two evenings a week. And I'm working part time. So the TO DO items pile up during the week until, finally, it's Saturday.

There's pretty much always a Saturday (usually morning) grocery store trip. We're trying to do a good job of planning our meals a week at a time, and making sure there are lots of leftovers. (This is all part of a broader plan to eat healthier, smarter foods -- but that's probably a whole separate post.) On Fridays we make our list of meals and compare the recipes to the food in our cupboards. Saturday we squeeze in a grocery store trip, usually between baby's naps. Sometimes we start cooking through our meal list on Saturday, but sometimes it doesn't start until Sunday. Either way, we're usually polishing off the assorted leftovers by the next Friday and ready to start the cycle over.

(Side note: Lately, it seems like our lives are nothing but one continuous loop. Every day follows a similar schedule; every week is nearly identical to the one before and after. Sometimes I lose track of time -- when someone asks me about my weekend, I have to wonder if my memories are from the current weekend or the one before! It makes me feel like an old person. :o)

A couple of weeks ago I finally had enough time on Saturday to make bread again. I haven't made bread since BK. I was probably 8 months pregnant the last time I baked bread. It was liberating to pop a couple of loaves in the oven again.... but it didn't help that Nate consumed all of it in about 5 days. (No joke.)

Hmmm....

It's my bedtime. I think there was more that I wanted to say, but I have to stop now. This bright screen is totally giving me a headache. So, rather abruptly.... The End.

Going old school with "20" questions

2011-10-21T20:23:00.000-07:00

Does anyone remember those old "20 questions" emails? They were pretty popular back when I was in middle and high school. I use to enjoy them. I always loved it when I would get one from my sister because she has this snarky, sarcastic sense of humor that totally cracks me up, and invariably she gave the best responses.

My sis-in-law Amy posted one on her blog a couple weeks ago "tagged" everyone. I promised her I would fill it out. She's had her baby since then, so I'm pretty sure she doesn't care anymore, but a promise is a promise. Here it goes...

Words you always mis-spell typing: None come to mind.

Words you don't know how to spell: Nauseous. I have to google it every time; drives me crazy. I also struggle with necessary and occasionally. Why does necessary have a single c and a double s while occasionally has a double c and a single s? Bah!

Things that really annoy you: Bad drivers!!! Probably because my mom is an exceptionally good driver, and thus the standard to which I hold all other drivers. No one else compares; only grandma even comes close.

What's that meal you can always eat over and over again? It changes. I go through phases where I really love one particular thing and want it all the time, then it gets old. Recent examples include Moroccan chicken, mango chicken, Thai food, and QBC (quinoa, broccoli, chicken). Now that I'm looking at my list, maybe I should just say "chicken dishes". :o)

Do you brush your teeth at night? Yup. Can't sleep unless I've brushed my teeth. I also brush after lunch and sometimes after breakfast.

Dumbest movie ever: Napoleon Dynamite. I hated it after about 15 minutes; I wanted to kill myself after about an hour. I'm not trying to be dramatic -- I loathed that movie.

What's a song that you would be embarrassed to admit you really like? Hmm. Nothing comes to mind.

Are you capable of eating an entire bag of candy in one sitting and not feeling THAT sick? I'm not. I would hurl.

Do you love sea food? I love a few types of sea food. I miss my bro-in-law's cooking for precisely this reason; he prepared salmon and halibut better than any other person or restaurant. Yes, even better than Tony Starlight's salmon.

When you fix meat, are you anal about what you've touched, and sanitize a lot? Yes. I try to make N8 take care of "the meat part" of meals because ugh... I just hate it.

Do you put your leftovers in the fridge after dinner in fear of it spoiling or can you wait? I've become a frequent reader of food-related articles the last couple of years and have consequently learned a lot about food safety. Things go in the fridge within an hour, staying out only that long if they need to cool a bit first. I get uncomfortable if food is out any longer.

Do you use a sponge or rag to wipe your counters? Sponge! They are super easy to sanitize in the microwave and do a better job clearing off surfaces (in my opinion). Plus, after a sponge gets a little old, I can use it to clean the toilet and then throw it away!

What's your favorite Holiday? Flag day.

What's your favorite pie? Apple, but really only if my grandma makes it. (Okay, my mom's is pretty close to gma's; I like it too.)

What's your favorite candy bar? It just depends on my mood -- sometimes I want caramel, sometimes peanut butter. But I always return to Snickers, so I guess you could call it my fav.

When you pick something up at the store and change your mind, do you put it away? Always. I think it's exceptionally rude to put things in the wrong spot, forcing someone else to go around and pick up after you. Sure, it's part of someone's job to put things away in the right place, but it wouldn't be if people weren't so rude and would just put things away themselves.

Do you like raisins in your Cinnamon rolls? Yes. But I prefer them un-raisined.

Do you shower every day? Every single morning. I don't feel awake until I've showered. Plus I shower after I work out, and sometimes in the evenings too.

Are your dreams scary? Sometimes.

Do you like scary movies? Love them. Psychological thrillers are my favorites. But I don't like gory movies.

Do you like roller coasters? Again, love them!

Do you have a fear of needles? Yes. It's pathetic. I get light-headed and have been known to pass out. N8 has to hold my hand.

What's your guilty pleasure TV show? Oh gosh, so embarrassing.... Vampire Diaries.

What is something you're really stuck up about? Keeping a clean house. I don't need other people's homes to be clean, but I need my house to be in order. ESPECIALLY the kitchen. I turn into a really scary crazy person when someone gunks up my kitchen.

When you're at a restaurant, can you ask questions about the food? I suppose I could, but I never feel the need.

Are you a lake or a river person? River. I like water that flows; I like to wade.

Are you a good swimmer? Nope, terrible. I can barely doggie-paddle to save my life. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that I basically hate swimming. We had a swimming pool growing up and my friends always wanted me to throw swim parties but I couldn't have cared less. Swimming does not appeal to me. (I don't even own a swimsuit.)

Do you like to camp? Yes but... again with the cleanliness and showering... I have a hard time with the fact that I get dirty when camping. A couple of years ago I camped on a lake, and was able to bathe in said lake on both days of our trip. It was freezing cold glacial water and there were mosquitoes everywhere, but at least I was clean!

Do you like rodents? Not especially. Some are okay, some are heinously disgusting. (Think: hamster vs. nutria.)

Are you afraid of spiders? I don't know if fear is the right word. They make me quite uncomfortable.... They give me the creeps, let's put it that way. When I see one I imagine it crawling on my skin, especially getting in my hair or on my face. Shudder.

If you could be an amazing singer or dancer, which would you be? Dancer. For the exercise benefits. Oh, and the flexibility, which I sorely lack. (Insert teasing from my mom.)

So now I'd like to TAG all of you! Especially Dianne (because she's always so funny) and mom, I know you're busy, so pick your favorite 5 questions :o)

Some baby pictures

2011-10-06T21:25:00.001-07:00

Amy, these are pretty much for your amusement. So...enjoy!

Dual surprised faces:

Dry tub? Why not!

She takes up more of her crib space than she use to:

Cute!...

Blue dress -- opinions wanted/needed

2011-10-06T20:52:00.000-07:00

Once again, I'm working on a project and I just can't seem to make up my mind!

I made a very pretty blue dress for the baby, and I sewed a white ribbon around the middle. Now I'm trying to to decide if I should add a white bow with ribbons hanging down, or leave it as-is. Personally, I think it's cuter with the bow, but I'm just not sure! So here are a couple of pictures. Please let me know what you think.

Without the bow:

With the bow (sorry it's not the best picture):

In case you're curious, here's the back:

A close-up of the back (I couldn't get the white ribbon to line up when I sewed it down -- arg!):

me as a baby : my baby

2011-09-22T14:20:00.000-07:00

During the past couple of weeks, several people have mentioned that our baby is beginning to look more like her dad. I can't really tell. I don't doubt them, but at the same time, my mom says the baby still looks just like me as a baby.

Anyway, these conversations reminded me that I've been wanting to share a pair of photos, for comparison:

(Somehow I managed to clone myself :o)

More Dress Pictures

2011-09-21T09:02:00.000-07:00

Below I posted pictures of some outfits (dress, hat, undies) that my mother-in-law made for the baby. There are four total, but I don't have the fourth one yet.

Now I know it would be nice to see the baby in each outfit, but I didn't particularly feel like playing dress-up with the baby (because really, she's not a toy, and we have better things to do with our time together). Eventually she'll wear each dress of course, and then I will take pictures. But for now, here are some shots of just the outfits:

I also just made her a dress.... sorta by accident. I had a dress pattern that I wanted to modify, so I got out some "scrap" purple fabric so I could test the modifications I wanted to make to the pattern. The dress turned out pretty decently (not perfect, but hey, I'm not much of a seamstress). As I was staring at the plain dress, I thought, this would look nice with a flower or something on it. So then I made a little flower (which detaches for when it's time to wash the dress! I'm proud of my cleverness on that point). Then I thought, this would also look cute with a little ribbon around the middle. So I added a ribbon.

It's kinda simple and it's not perfect, but I love it. I'm happy that I could make something for my daughter -- something unique from me, just for her.

(P.S. She wore this to church a couple of weeks ago. Somehow I neglected to get a picture of her wearing it... probably because we always throw her in her church dress at the last minute and then change her as soon as she gets home. Anyway, I'll have to get a picture next time she wears it!)

A picture (for Amy)

2011-09-18T21:39:00.001-07:00

I promised Amy I would put some pictures on my blog. I got out all of the items I am suppose to photograph, but I haven't yet had a chance to actually take the pictures (or upload them to my computer, or write a blog post). If my baby ever learns to take a nap, or if she goes to bed a little early for once (we tried tonight.... oh how we tried!) then I will get it done.

For now, here's one picture:

(Ames, this dress is the one I was telling you about; it's my favorite. Wouldn't you love to have the same thing but in a pink fabric? Marie did a great job!)

Maybe it was prettier before all the fancy stuff...

2011-07-13T20:31:00.001-07:00

I think that somewhere in the process of giving birth I managed to squeeze out several of the important sections of my brain, including the area responsible for decision making. Seriously.

As I'm looking at the "before" and "after" pictures of the baby's blessing dress, I can't help but think maybe it looked better before I added the red flowers and the ribbon. Am I losing it? Should I remove the extra frills? Someone help me...

Which way with the ribbons?

2011-07-09T18:10:00.000-07:00

Option 1:

Option 2:

Because Amy DEMANDED them :)

2011-06-14T16:05:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of pictures (details on FB, since this blog is public and I don't want to give any stalkers info about this bundle of joy):

She was born with the ugliest little hands you've ever seen and I just love them! They are kinda big, and right now they are really wrinkled and very pale white. They look like the hands of an old man, I'm not even kidding. But the winkles are softening and they are looking more like normal baby hands. :o)

A quick tour of the nearly-finished nursery

2011-06-12T09:30:00.001-07:00

Last night I created a video tour of the nursery. I actually just did it for myself, but N8 said I should share it with "the world". It's a silent video so I hope that's not too weird for folks (I don't like recordings of my voice).

The nursery is pretty much finished. Things left to do (which are not urgent):

(1) Put a dust skirt on the crib; I've got two on the way, in the mail (with thanks to Jennifer and to my aunt Lynda).

(2) On the wall over the crib that there's a bit of empty space. I've been thinking about buying and decorating wooden letters that spell out the baby's name (???) for that space.

(3) The closet is full of my clothes, which I need to pare down and organize (after I fit into them again, of course).

(4) Someday I'm going to reupholster the "kid chair" with the fabrics currently draped over it.

(5) Oh! And we need a baby! That would really complete the whole nursery :o)

Crib skirt?

2011-06-07T08:57:00.000-07:00

I can't make up my mind. Your opinions?

Option 1:

Option 2 (look at just the skirt and imagine the stripes are brown instead of blue):

My week, in pictures

2011-03-26T21:51:00.001-07:00

This use to be my bathroom:

This is the bathroom as of last weekend:

Halfway through destroying the shower:

Part of what use to be our plumbing system:

In progress...

Another pile of old pipes:

(By the way, removing old plumbing is a filthy, horrible mess.)

This is a good example of why the plumbing needed to be replaced: A drainage pipe, originally 2 inches in diameter, reduced to about 1/2 an inch of capacity due to build-up and rust...

In the garage:

Some of the new pex pipe (= AMAZING)...

The plumber, hard at work...

And although the house has been ripped apart, I can now confidently enjoy this, straight from the tap:

Office to Nursery: A remodeling story in pictures

2011-03-06T16:32:00.000-08:00

First, a tour around the room as it was when we first moved in. We originally used the nursery as our office. Then we turned the "front room" into our office, leaving the nursery available for its remodel...

Step 1 of the remodel was to replace the windows. This was actually pretty easy:

(From the outside, new window on the left, old window on the right:)

(Nate in the window!)

New windows:

We hired a contractor to do some of the work. He added insulation. We wanted rolls of insulation, not blown-in insulation, so he first cut out the old drywall:

(Nate helped:)

The insulation:

Our contractor, stuffing the insulation in the walls:

Then he patched the drywall:

And started mudding the drywall:

We then resumed control of the project. I used a texture gun to add texture to the walls, then primed them in prep for the new paint color:

Here's a shot of the new paint color. I started prepping the floors to be refinished:

A close-up of the floors, pre-refinish:

I sanded the floors using this awesome tool:

(Unfortunately the big sander doesn't get close to the edge, so I had to spend a few more hours on my knees with a small orbital sander to get the floors sanded all the way.)

Nate put the new coat of stain on the floor (too many chemicals in the fumes for me to safely do this work):

Stain finished, but not yet sealed:

Nate sealed the floor with polyurethane. It is also highly chemical, so again I couldn't help. I couldn't even be in the house. See how shiny they is? :o)

I gave my very talented mother some fabrics and some instructions. She made beautiful curtains for me. She asked if I wanted them lined and I said no... Then I put them up and changed my mind. So I added a lining and ironed in pleats:

And here's an around-the-room now that it is mostly finished and we've got the furniture in place. In the first picture below, the crib will go between the windows, next to the little chair:

And finally, here's video tour of the nursery in it's current state. About 40 seconds into the video I tried to show the space where the crib will go. Toward the end I show the blank wall behind the door; I'm going to put white bookshelves along the wall from floor to ceiling. (I'm very excited about the bookshelves!).

There are still quite a few things to do, but it will be a couple of months before I make enough changes to warrant additional pictures. Stay tuned!

Help name our kid

2011-02-27T13:16:00.000-08:00

Want to help name our baby girl? Here's your chance to give your totally honest, totally anonymous feedback on some of our initial name suggestions:

www.surveymonkey.com/s/G7BNTV7

Obviously we want to pick a good name for our kid -- one that we like and one that she won't hate us for. But there are a lot of other things to consider. For instance, is it a name that some bully could easily make fun of? Is it a name that people will call weird? Is it too hard to pronounce? I really like unusual names. But since I also really like my kid, I don't want to stick her with something awful...... and that's where you and your opinion come in.

So please, take the survey.

"Pickles" understands N8's frustration

2011-01-28T21:29:00.001-08:00

Hahaha! My mom sent me this cartoon today from the newspaper. This could seriously be me, Nate, and Jack. (Hint: If you click on the image you should be able to see a larger version.)

(Source of this image: http://olive.columbian.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VENMLzIwMTEvMDEvMjgjUGMwMjIwNw%3D%3D&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom)

Jack sits anywhere...

2011-01-23T19:37:00.000-08:00

This post makes it at least one too many "Jack and Nate" posts, but seriously, how cute is this?

Don't you love it?

2011-01-21T11:43:00.000-08:00

I love it. I would love to have a wall of build-in bookshelves just like this in my house. I think we'll add it to the list :o)

Nate and Jack

2011-01-03T20:48:00.000-08:00

I owe a longer post that this, but alas, all the posts I start only ever seem to get halfway done. So, for now, enjoy some pictures!

Cats curled up as they sleep? Always cute.

But here's the real "story" -- a continuation of a previous post: Jack really loves Nate. Jack will do anything and everything he can to be near Nate. Sometimes that means balancing precariously on the back of a chair:

He's constantly "asking" to be in Nate's lap. Sometimes Nate actually allows this:

And Jack's newest favorite thing is to steal Nate's chair as soon as Nate gets up.... but only when Nate is intending to return. Just a minute ago, for instance, Nate got up to go brush his teeth and get ready for bed. Jack did not steal Nate's chair. But earlier this evening Nate got up at one point to go wash his hands, and he came back 90 seconds later to find his chair stolen:

Dresser, final (more or less)

2010-11-08T12:25:00.001-08:00

Hey mom, here are the pictures you asked for. The lighting is not the best, but you'll get a chance to see it in person soon enough. I think it turned out okay. It will work well with the blue paint and the fabric for the curtains.

A passing

2010-10-14T13:00:00.000-07:00

Nate's grandpa passed away last Friday. It was a bit of a surprise (at least, it was to me). I was out of town for training all week, got home late Thursday night, and then Friday afternoon Nate told me that during the week his grandpa had gone to the hospital (congestive heart failure) and been sent home with hospice and morphine. We didn't know how long grandpa had left to live...

And we got the call late that night.

Amy wrote about this on her blog. She said it just the way I would have, so I decided to quote from her:

"We had the funeral Tuesday. It was a happy death, because he [grandpa] was 97 years old, and basically has been ill for years. He fell every other week, always breaking something, so we were all relieved and happy for him when we found out he died because we know he's now with his sweet wife... I'm glad they are together now and that he doesn't have to live in his awful sick body anymore."

What I remember...

2010-10-13T20:34:00.000-07:00

A year ago today, on an evening much like this one, I received a phone call. It was Amy. She and Mike had given notice at their apartment; they were moving out and needed a place to live. Amy and I talked at length about their options -- they basically had three, one of which was staying with us. During the previous two months we had discussed the possibility several times, but by the end of the phone call the possibility was reality. We had 18 days to get ready -- to clear out and clean up the basement, and to fix the downstairs bathroom.

Until that phone call, the basement was just a storage space. We kept all of our tools on the fireplace hearth, stored spare lumber in the middle of the room, and filled the shelves with miscellaneous boxes. The bathroom was the cats' room, and none of the plumbing fixtures worked. Our free afternoons and evenings over the next 18 days were devoted to cleaning, fixing, and remodeling. It was a tiring process.

But most of that is actually a blur. I have only vague memories of laying new linoleum in the bathroom, replacing the toilet, putting in closet rods, moving and reorganizing the tools, and so forth. Mostly I remember that first evening -- that phone call. How Amy cried, and I cried too.

When I got off the phone and went downstairs to examine the crap piled in our basement, I felt useless. Giving family members a home in our brown-shag-carpeted basement room seemed more like an insult than an aid. It did nothing to ameliorate the real problems; it did not provide them with employment and it certainly did not cure cancer. It was just a room -- a place to take temporary shelter while the storm raged on.

Don't get me wrong: shelter is important. We were glad to help. And in the end, the bigger problems were solved. But at the time, on that day one year ago, our simple offer seemed so very insignificant.

I also remember -- N8 and his folks will laugh when I remind them -- that I really wanted to build Shoji for the basement, so that the room could be tastefully divided into separate living and sleeping quarters. Not surprisingly, the task was impossible given the timeline and other items on the to-do list. I thought I could take just 3 of the 18 days and get it done; much persuasion from my family convinced me to give up. (Thank goodness!)

Nate wanted to add a mini-kitchen to the basement. In retrospect? Not a bad idea. But again, we didn't have the time. We also definitely didn't have the room or the finances for a second kitchen! And really, what would have done with all that now that it's just the two of us again? Ha.

These days the basement is back to being a storage space, but more thoughtfully so. There are several pieces of extra furniture downstairs (in part because we're soon to remodel one of the upstairs bedrooms, so things have been temporarily moved). The basement is also a great room for some of our bigger projects, including my occasional (large) craft project.

But every once in awhile I just stop and stare at the room, picturing what it looked like a year ago, and 9 months ago, and 6 months ago. Wow.

Awesome news!

2010-10-04T09:57:00.000-07:00

There are several things I miss about living in Portland. One of those things is Trader Joe's, which has the best-tasting soy milk of all the many, many soy milks I've sampled. They also have yummy chocolate-covered almonds and a host of other good-for-me-and-for-the-earth (hippy) foods.

So this article announcing plans for a Trader Joe's in Salem just made my day:
www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20101001/NEWS/10010345/1001

I'm a little impatient for the new store, which won't open until "sometime" in 2011, but I'm very excited that they've decided to locate on my end of town, near other places I visit (such as church, the bank, and our usual grocery store). I look forward to being part of the crowd during the store's opening weeks, and a regular customer thereafter.

Awesome!!!

Hachi and my "boys"

2010-10-02T17:47:00.000-07:00

Part 1: Hachi

Just finished watching the movie "Hachi" which is basically a story about a very loyal dog. I spent the second half of the movie crying. Stupid cute dog movie... how dare it make me bawl my guts out!

There's really not much to the movie; watching its trailer tells the whole story ("spoiler" alert): Man adopts stray dog, dog is loyal, man dies, dog continues to be loyal until dog dies. Doesn't exactly sound like the type of movie worth crying for, right? But mom, I'm certain that you would've cried the whole time, too.

Part 2: My "Boys"
Nate and I were hanging out in the office today (by which I mean our home office), watching the LDS church's semi-annual General Conference broadcast on the computer. As he usually does, Nate fell asleep during the two-hour afternoon session of the conference. Meanwhile, Jack (the cat) came in looking for snuggles, and found the sleeping man. The result is this:

...my two favorite boys, sharing an afternoon siesta. Cute.

New/old dresser: A work in progress

2010-09-19T21:42:00.000-07:00

Below are pictures of a dresser I just got from my brother Bill. My mom purchased it about 30 years ago for 30 bucks. I'm in the midst of refurbing it. As you can see, I got through the sanding and priming steps. I think I'd like to finish it by doing an antique paint style, but I need to do a little more research on antiquing. (Is that a word?)

For now, it's past my bedtime, so I will just share a couple of pictures and call it a night. I'll post more pictures when I have them...

I'm a geek, geek, geek, geek, geek....

2010-09-15T14:27:00.000-07:00

.... and darn proud of it!

http://oregonemployment.blogspot.com/2010/09/working-in-science-and-math-it-pays-to.html

There are no less than a billion pictures that support my claim that geekdom is awesome.

Added note (...since I failed to mention this elsewhere): My brothers and I are not the only geeks in the family. We come from a long history of geeks. And I'm quite proud of that history. GO JACKSONS!

The full article is at: www.qualityinfo.org/olmisj/ArticleReader?itemid=00007234
Or, for a limited time, from the main page of http://www.qualityinfo.org/

The latest and greatest...

2010-09-11T21:12:00.000-07:00

I'm behind on blogging. Aack. Here's an update... briefly:

• Today: Met with the youth group this morning to plan their activities for the next 6 months, then drove them to Portland and dropped them off at a conference called "Especially for Youth." They get to hear some awesome speakers, meet other kids from around the state, and go to a dance. I'm grateful for the opportunity I have to serve as a leader for the youth group right now. It's the highlight of my week. I love my girls.

• Last week(end): I celebrated a birthday. I'm really starting to rack up the years. My parents in law took me out to breakfast at my favorite place on the coast (on the 4th), then my mom came down with my dad (on the 6th) and she went for a long bike ride with me. She also got me the most beautiful little side table for my living room:

We went to Freddy's to get some tomatoes for lunch and I spotted the side table. I wasn't sure how it would look in the living room, but I liked it so I didn't really care if it matched or not. But now that it's in the room... I'm impressed with how nicely it all goes together:

Of course, it wasn't hard to beat the old side table, which most definitely did not match our newer furniture:

• Also for my birthday: One of my thoughtful co-workers taught me something new about what it means to have "friends." You see, "friends" are the people who buy you grandiose balloons, like this one:

...knowing full well that you commute to work on your bike, and that you'll be traveling home with "the bird" flapping behind you. In other words, picture me riding across town on this:

It's a good thing I adore the spotlight and can laugh at myself. Which I did. The whole way home. Bonus points? I made many children point, laugh, and shout with glee. "Look at the bird!" and "I love your bird!" That part almost makes me want to attach a balloon to my bike every time I ride.

Almost.

• Also last week: Nathan got his "boot" off. He's still gimpy. His damaged leg looks like a little chicken leg. But he's healing. Someday I might even get another piggy-back ride out of him.... I'm really looking forward to that day.

• Mid-August: I went to D.C. (again) for work. It was a wonderful trip. I would not mind it if my work asked me to go yet again in the near (or distant) future. I learned a lot, met some great people from around the country, and had just a little time to sight-see in our nation's capitol. I love, love, love Washington D.C.

• Late July: The young women in the youth group had their second annual hike in the Mt. Jeffereson Wilderness area. I can't begin to tell you how good the experience was for me. While we were up there I spent some time doing a bit of soul-searching. The content is too personal for this public blog.... suffice it to say that I came back a different person.

Panniers are here! Thanks Mom!!!

2010-07-31T19:39:00.000-07:00

It's been quite a long week, so I am going to keep this brief...

My awesome mother ordered an early birthday for me a couple weeks ago: bike panniers! They are beautiful. They come in pairs, but my things for work fit nicely into one bag, so I will use them one at a time.

The bags are waterproof and they latch onto the back rack on my bike. There are a couple of pockets built into the inside of the bag, which is one of my favorite features!

(Many thanks to Steve from my office, who loaned me a very nice pannier while mine were on order.)

Now I just need to get a seat cover that matches the rest of the red/black theme going on. If I were a more talented seamstress, I would whip something up. But since that's not one of my talents, I've just been avoiding the problem... :o)

Front deck

2010-07-25T16:38:00.000-07:00

We've been working on the front deck lately. It was a project I thought we would finish last fall, but an unexpected turn of events delayed our plans considerably. Nevertheless, we're back on task and the work progresses.

Here's a glance at what the front deck use to look like. As you can somewhat see, there was a wrought iron railing on the deck. If you look closely, you might be able to tell that the whole deck is slanting forward:

The picture below is from October. It shows the deck stripped down and leveled. The deck remained in this state from October through June. (Nine months. Ugh.):

Here's the deck again, with the new railing and lattice work. It has also been stained. We haven't redone the stairs yet, nor put in the railings for the stairs. Notice also the beautiful red tree:

Here's the deck from the front door. You can see a couple of solar-powered lanterns on a couple of the posts. These are the lanterns we've decided to go with, but we need to purchase another set of them for the rest of the posts:

I love the stain on the deck. I think it's beautiful. But the important thing is that the deck is level and it's safe!

Planter's Boxes

2010-07-22T21:24:00.000-07:00

Despite his temporary disability, my handy man make some planter's boxes a couple weekends ago. My parents in-law are building a new house and had a bit of leftover wood, which they generously gave to us so we could build the boxes.

Here are the boxes in the backyard, all set up:

The first box (below) is full of tomato plants. They also came from my parents in law. They were all "volunteer" plants -- i.e. they just showed up in the garden, unplanned. My in-laws do a lot of gardening every year and they plant a lot of tomatoes, so it's not uncommon to see some volunteers. This year they had a couple dozen tomato volunteers all around the yard. I took 16 of them home for my boxes; about 12 survived the move. I have no idea which kinds of tomatoes they are! Could be Roma's or cherries or early girls or golden or... you get the idea. Hopefully there's a variety:

The next box has several lettuce varieties (in the front) and some squash (in the back). The squash were all volunteers in our compost pile, so I don't know which kind they are, either:

(Sorry this third picture is at a weird angle.) The third box has another tomato, plus a basil and a cantaloupe. I got the tomato because we don't know which varieties are in the volunteers, and I wanted at least one early girl. I've never grown cantaloupe before, so it's a new experiment:

In the last box, I planted six squash seeds -- three yellow, and three zucchini:

The coolest part (so far)? I took those five pictures last Sunday. When I came out to water on Monday night, three of the squash seeds had suddenly sprouted into plants!

I am really enjoying gardening. The boxes make it much easier.

Damaged Goods

2010-07-02T09:36:00.000-07:00

N8 and I had our very first ultrasound last week! It was on Nathan's leg. His right leg, with particular focus on his Achilles tendon.

But let me back up...

Over a month ago, on a fateful Thursday night, The Bear decided to play a 9pm pick-up game of volleyball at the church building. I'm an old lady who goes to bed early, so I wished him a good time and got ready for bed. He hopped in his zippy little car and was off to the game.

Since I wasn't there, the following details are based on several eye-witness accounts of The Event: It was a busy night at the church building. There was a volleyball net and a volleyball, and a throng of people gathered on the court. The ball was served. Points were scored.

N8's team lost 3 games in a row, and was lining up to lose a fourth. All of a sudden, the volleyball sailed over the net, headed toward N8. He stepped back to volley the serve back across the net, and... WHAM! According to the victim, "It felt like someone kicked me in the back of the leg."

The ball fell to the floor. N8 started rubbing his leg and glaring at his teammates, wondering who delivered the blow. No confessions were made. (Future details would reveal that N8 had not, in fact, been kicked by someone.) The Bear continued rubbing, and when the pain wouldn't subside, he hobbled off the court. In the end, a friend had to drive him home.

I learned of the injury the next morning, when I woke Nathan up to take me to work and he informed me that he was unable to drive. Over the course of the next week, the signs of the injury became evident. His leg swelled from knee to toe, blood pooled visibly in his ankle, and there was bruising.

It was nasty.

Gentle nagging from his mom sent N8 to the doctor's office a week after the injury. The doctor diagnosed a tear in his calf muscle and sent him to the physical therapist. But the therapist disagreed, believing the Achilles tendon was damaged. She suggested an MRI. Bickering ensued between the doctors, the nagging (/hysterical) calls from mom increased exponentially, and N8 finally got an appointment with an Orthopedic specialist.

At the Ortho appointment last week, the PA and the surgeon also disagreed about the source of the injury. One said Achilles, one said the muscle. They scheduled an ultrasound of his leg. They also insisted on crutches and a boot for The Bear. (Insert small victory for the B-wife, who had been nagging about the need for crutches since week 1.)

Last Friday we went in for the ultrasound. Wednesday we sat down with the Ortho surgeon again. Results indicate a partial tear of the Achilles. Since it's not a full tear (called a rupture) N8 won't need surgery. But he will spent three more weeks with all these aides:

Then he will move to just this:

His boot has three risers in the heel which keep the weight off of the injured area. Over the course of six weeks, we will gradually remove the three wedges, and then the boot itself. After that, N8 will start a couple months (or more?) of physical therapy.

Thus it will be early September before N8 is out of the boot, and he will finish PT sometime around the holidays.

Endnotes:

1) The folks at Hope Orthopedics are awesome. Efficient, funny, very knowledgeable... Couldn't ask for a better Ortho team for my Bear.

2) I'm not worried about the injury. N8 is strong, healthy, and indomitable...

3) But I am worried about N8 getting back to work. His job will start again the end of August, when he will still be strapped into the boot and (technically) unable to drive. I can't drive him to work because (a) I don't even drive myself to work, and (b) his office is in Independence. So... ?!?!?!

4) N8 had a lot of goals for this summer, all of which are dashed to pieces. He's bummed. I'm bummed. Some goals were pure fun, like going hiking, and a camping trip with his best friend(s). Some of them were productive goals -- namely yard work and house work. A big goal for the summer was to remodel one of the bedrooms and turn it into a nursery. (The room needs new windows, insulation in the walls, and new drywall... In all, it's a complete overhaul. We have the funds to buy supplies, but not enough to hire someone else to do the work, hence frustration with Bear's brokenness.)

5) It's hard taking care of an injured boy and so many the household responsbilities.

Help me decide: Which tree?!

2010-06-19T17:05:00.000-07:00

N8 and I purchased two trees today. One of them will go in the front yard, the other will go in the back yard. I'm having a hard time deciding which tree I want to put out front. The two trees in the pictures below are the same tree, but in different colors. They are different sizes now, but they will grow up to the same dimensions.

Here's what I'm hoping for: Will you take a look at the pictures and let me know which tree you like better? I'm just looking for votes one way or the other. Thanks!

News from the Trip, Part 3: The Melting Pot

2010-05-19T06:48:00.000-07:00

One of the things I'm really enjoying about Washington D.C. is the diversity. Walking down the street, or sitting in a restaurant, or riding on the Metro (subway), or anything else, you pass people from all over the world. They are speaking all kinds of languages.

To some of you, that might sound kind-of annoying. I promise it's not. It's beautiful. It takes me back to the foundation of our great nation, when people came here from all over the world, shared their culture and their language and their experiences, and built this amazing country together. And now, today, we're still melting; there are still migrants coming from all over the world to build a life here.

As I mentioned a couple of posts ago, we went to Arlington Cemetery on Monday. (I need to do a whole separate post on Arlington, I know!) One of the things I noticed was all the different languages... even though it was a cemetery! There were tourists from many different countries who were visiting our nation's most prominent military cemetery. I passed a group of Asian youths admiring the Iwo Jima monument; a Hispanic family watching the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns; a Moroccan man enjoying the view from Arlington House; a French couple taking pictures at Kennedy's grave; and more.

You literally cannot walk down the street without hearing several different languages.

The workers at the hotel come from many different places. There are a lot of Indian people (not Native American Indian, but India Indians). In fact, of the dozen or so restaurants near the hotel, 3 of them are Indian food. The Hispanic people here come from a lot of different places -- not just Mexico.... so even the diversity is more diverse than at home :o)

So, my point is just this: As white people speaking English, we're part of the minority here, and I LOVE IT. It's educational and humbling. And it's beautiful.

News from the Trip, Part 2: Time Changes

2010-05-18T06:37:00.000-07:00

We flew in to D.C. via Detroit. Apparently Detroit is 3 hours ahead (I thought they were just 2 hours ahead), so when we arrived at 3am Pacific Time, it was 6am local time. And the sun was getting ready to rise. It was very weird to have a sunrise at that hour. We'd watched the sun go down around 8pm when we were at home, then 7 hours later it was back up!

My sense of time was already pretty screwed up from flying in the middle of the night. That, combined with the "early" sunrise, helped the shift into the new time zone fairly quickly.

But yesterday (Monday) afternoon, I stared thinking about time "back home." For instance, when we hopped on the subway at 5:30pm, I was thinking, "Back home, it's 2:30pm. My co-workers are still at their desks, perhaps thinking about an afternoon cup of coffee; it's nearly Tea Time for Graham. Everyone still have a couple hours of work to do."

And when we got a phone call last night at 11pm, I thought, "Well, it's only 8pm back home. That's not too late to call your buddy." Of course, it would have been nice if that "buddy" here in DC had turned off the cell phone before he went to bed :o)

When I woke up this morning I considered making a phone call, but then I realized, "It's 4am back home; the person I want to call isn't awake yet! And neither is anyone else I know!"

I guess what I'm trying to get at is this: I went through a couple changes in time zone on the way out here, but I didn't really feel it, so it's weird to me that I'm actually in a different time zone! I'm surprised every time I think about what you all are doing back in Oregon.

News from the Trip, Part 1

2010-05-17T18:01:00.000-07:00

Earlier this afternoon I told myself that I was going to get back to the hotel and blog about the trip thus far, in FULL detail. Seriously, the plan was to sit down for an hour or two and write, and upload pictures, and get all the great info out there for the world
(okay, and for my own records),
but by the time we got on the subway for the last trip home, I was very tired and getting motion sick, so instead I crashed on the bed for about an hour.

Now that I'm up, have eaten dinner, and am in my jammies, I don't really feel like writing anymore. Mostly I just want to watch Brothers & Sisters
(side note: Mom, I think you might like Brothers & Sisters; we should chat about this later)
and get a full night's rest.

Except here I am, and I've started blogging. So I will try to give a brief overview of the trip thus far...

The plane rides were fine. No trouble with timing or picking up the connecting flight, so all my silly worrying was just exactly that... silly :o) The first leg of the flight was a little annoying. I ended up next to a large, older man who stank of B.O. and felt that he deserved the elbow rests and the space (MY space) on the outside of the elbow rests. I was basically touching him the whole flight. Eeeew.

Plus there was a screaming baby, four times over. I didn't mind it too much
("That, folks, is why you pack earplugs!")
but the kid did wake me up two of the four times. At one point in the middle of the flight (aka, in the middle of the night), an old lady picked a fight with the father of the screaming kid, while mom was trying desperately to calm the boy. It was a tough situation for all. Everyone survived, but were sleep deprived.

I was exhausted when we reached D.C.; I think I got about 3 hours of sleep between the two flights. We figured out how to catch the subway and hopped over to the hotel. It was 10:30am and check-in wasn't until at 3pm... but our room was ready! So we managed to drop out bags and grab a nap before hitting the subway to Arlington Cemetery.

So... I think I will leave it at that for now. More stories and some pictures tomorrow, I hope!

Kinda finished house front...

2010-05-09T18:34:00.000-07:00

The front of the house isn't really done. The deck still needs some love (railing, sanding, staining), and we still have quite a few plans for the yard, BUT the front of the house where we replaced the window is done. Sealed. Painted. Window is trimmed. Attic vent is in place.

So let's all take a deep breath and admire the awesomeness before I launch into the next round of projects :o)

Baby Lucy's present!

2010-05-03T13:34:00.000-07:00

Our very good friends Adam and Paige just had their first kid! We're very excited for them. So excited, in fact, that I made a little gift for baby's bedroom:

There are holes at either end of the sign where it can drill it into the wall. These holes get covered up with wooden "buttons" -- as you can see in the picture below (sorry it's a little fuzy):

Now, before you give me too much credit for the awesome craftyness, I must give credit to my sister. She made a similar gift this Christmas for our new nephew.

In case you're curious, here's a little bit about these friends of ours: Adam and Nate grew up going to church together, so they've been friends a long time. They played paintball together in high school, and even lived together for a little while in college. Ironically, I first met Adam long before I ever met Nate, as Adam was my very first Home Teacher when I joined the LDS church.

I became friends with Paige in college. In fact, it was at a church gathering in her apartment one fateful Monday night when I first met Nathan. (This was back when he was a loud mouth, sported massive facial hair, and wore coke-bottle glasses.)

Adam and Paige have a really awesome marriage, founded on their mutual love for all kinds of gaming. Oh, and it probably helps that they are some of the nicest, most upbeat folks you could hope to know.

Congrats you two!!!

I kinda think the Duggars are strange...

2010-04-13T08:02:00.000-07:00

...so I enjoyed this MSN article on the parents (http://tv.msn.com/mom-pop-culture/what-the-duggars-are-doing-wrong/story/feature/?GT1=28137).

Can someone explain my cats?

2010-04-04T20:33:00.000-07:00

There's fresh water in a clean dish for the cats. I exchange it regularly, I promise. Yet Abby really likes to drink from the faucet in the bathroom. In fact, here's her latest thing: When I wake up (early) in the morning to get ready for work, Abby appears and starts meowing at me, begging me to turn on the faucet so she can get a drink.

Anyway, I think this is too cute not to share... even if the only person who bothers to watch it is my mom:

Jack, who is bigger than his sister and better than her at almost everything, has been trying hard to mimick her skills at the bathroom sink. Alas, he's pathetic and unable:

Ah, babies.

2010-04-01T15:15:00.000-07:00

Wondering when I was going to dive into the murky waters of blogging about baby talks? That post has arrived. (You betcha!)

All of you who heard about the recent Facebook "oops" already know this, but N8 and I are sorta talking about maybe trying to have kids someday. It's, like, a huge step forward. As soon as I mentioned it to my sister, she said I need to start taking prenatal vitamins (even though we're only kinda thinking about the possibility of the eventual future addition of a small-sized person, who grows, to our household). At her insistence and with her guidance -- and after accidentally over-exciting my mum -- I've started the obnoxious process of adding yet another something to my daily routine. A daily vitamin.

Really, it's not all bad. I could definitely use a multi-vitamin anyway. It just feels a tad weird to be ingesting a prental vitamin every morning when we're many months away from concievably converging on the concept of attempting conception.

(Have I mentioned that alliteration is one of my favorite literary devices? I'm a....... nerd.)

So now that I've rambled, THERE IS ACTUALLY A POINT TO THIS POST:
gDiapers (www.gdiapers.com)

I was reading Oregon Business Magazine for work today, and there is a lead article on a Portland-based business called gDiapers. The g stands for "green." If you groan at green, I agree. It's abused. But diapers are one of the few items where I think "going green" really, really, really matters. (Hey to the baby-makers, you could actually change the world.)

But it's not the eco-friendly angle that first attracted me. That's just a huge bonus. What's really got me hooked it that gDiapers has come up with a much cleaner, easier way to do cloth or disposable diapers.

For the disposable fans, less garbage piles up.
For the cloth lovers, it's quicker and easier to clean.

PLUS you could quite easily do both cloth and disposable. You don't have to own/pack a whole bunch of different stuff to make it work.

I already feel good about gDiapers, and I'm only maybe-kinda-sorta thinking about the possible possibility of perhaps trying to actualize the concept of kids. I love them so much, you can feel free to send me some inserts -- either kind.

www.gDiapers.com

My Testimony

2010-03-15T10:44:00.000-07:00

For those of you who are not LDS, a quick note of explanation: In the LDS church, we often talk about our "testimony." Basically, it's a way to talk about the faith we have in things; having a testimony of something means to know of its truthfulness. For instance, if you believe in Jesus Christ, then you could say you have a testimony of Him. (Make sense?)

One more note of explanation: Once a month at church, on the first Sunday, our full congregational meeting is called a testimony meeting. There's about 45 minutes of open mic time, when people from the congregation can get up and share their testimony (i.e., talk about their faith).

Some background, briefly: As I was sitting in the testimony meeting in February, I realized that the anniversay of my baptism into the LDS church was at the end of the month. It got me to thinking about the last seven years of my life, and next thing I knew, I was scribbling notes about what I've experienced and what I've learned. I spent the rest of the meeting writing... and the rest of the week polishing my thoughts. I didn't know why, but I felt a very strong urge to write it down, and to write it well.

All last month, I wondered if I should share this written testimony at the March testimony meeting. I didn't feel a particular urge to share it, so I thought maybe writing it down was just meant to be an exercise for myself. Besides, people don't usually prepare anything for a testimony meeting, so it might be weird of me to share.

As I sat in the testimony meeting this month (March) and partook of the sacrament (also known as communion in many other churches), I pulled out the sheet of paper I had so carefully worked on. The sudden, terrifying pounding of my heart told me, in no uncertain terms, that I was suppose to get up and share it. Groan. Is there anything more terrifying than public speaking? I didn't want to get up.

And so I sat, wrestling with myself, knowing that after we finished the sacrament (communion), I had to make a decision. Would I get up and follow the very clear prompting of the Holy Spirit, or would I deny the Lord?

The choice was obvious. A few nice words of introduction were forming in my head; I scrambled to write them down on another spare sheet of paper.

Then, with trembling hands, I slowly rose and walked to the pulpit. The testimoy I delivered was something like what follows, although I didn't read it word for word...

And now, my testimony:
Seven years. Wow. It's hard to believe sometimes that it has been seven years since I joined the church -- since a very dear friend took my hand and led me into the waters of baptism; seven years since an Elder in Israel placed his hands on my head and confirmed me a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Seven years. It seems so long ago - almost like a different lifetime. Yet it also seems very short.

Much has happened in seven years...

I finished high school. I went to and graduated from college. I got married and started a "career" and bought a house.

Three of my siblings graduated from college. Two got married. One had a baby. Two went back to school.

My neice moved to Ohio, and moved back. My dad's Parkinson's got much worse. My grandfather died.

In seven years I've lived in three different cities. I've moved six times. I've been in six different wards.I drive the same car I did seven years ago, but I've added about 50,000 miles to it.

Thankfully, my car is not the only thing that has endured the last seven years. My testimony has endured, and grown. I still love my Heavenly Father, and I love my Savior. I have come to understand, perhaps not fully but certainly very deeply, how valuable it is to be a member of the Lord's True Church. Knowing the Gospel -- the Good News of Christ -- is one of the most important gifts in life.

Sometimes it's hard to believe that I deserve the blessings that Heavenly Father gives me -- that the Almighty God; the Father; the Ruler over all Creation, could love little old me, one simple person, among His billions or perhaps trillions of children.

Yet He does love me. The Lord knows me by name, and despite all of my faults and my mistakes, He loves me. Every day He shows me that love through His manifold blessings. Every day of the last seven years He has shown me His love.

I am grateful for that knowledge. I am grateful for my testimony. I know that Christ lives; that He atoned for our sins; that the Church is true; and that the Book of Mormon is true scripture. That knowledge has been the most important thing in my life these last seven years, and I pray that it ever will be,
in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I dedicate this post to an old friend of mine. I figured, for once, I should be the one sending a nice message in honor of my bbday. To RNC: Thanks for everything.

Big fat cat and some journals

2010-03-11T14:45:00.000-08:00

Cats
My mom requested a picture of the cats, since they've grown a bunch. So here's one of Jack:

He's definitely not a kitten anymore. Not even a kattin. Pretty much, he's just a cat. Don't get me wrong; I still love him! He's great for company. But he's not an adorable little snuggly buddy anymore. He's a fattening lap dominator.

I'd love to produce a picture of Abby for you, but she's been difficult the past few weeks. I think she knows I want her picture and she's not going to let me have it. Whatever, fussy cat.

Journals
Okay, this is actually pretty cool. For Mutual (that's what our weekly Youth Group activities are called) a couple of months ago, the young women made "church journals." They each got a composition notebook and then had a ton of fabric they could use to decorate it.

Well, since I'm addicted to paper, I thought, "What if I decorated mine with paper, instead?"

So I took mine home and did just that:

(It has my contact information on the cover in case I leave it somewhere, but I blotted that out of the picture for obvious reasons.)

Well, there were a couple of extra notebooks. Since we were missing some of the girls that night, I figured I might as well decorate the extras and then everyone could have a cute notebook. So I did:

I'm pretty proud of myself for the crazy awesome craftyness that I created!

Follow Up: Bag Bill Dropped

2010-02-12T11:46:00.000-08:00

For those of you who read my post (i.e. rant) about the bill on plastic bags that was proposed in the Oregon legislature this month: An article in the Oregonian today confirmed that rep. Hass dropped the legislation.
(www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2010/02/oregon_state_senator_drops_att.html)

So.... no worries! (For now.)

This is Just Riddiculous

2010-02-02T09:23:00.000-08:00

I'm a big supporter of the environment and I have serious concerns about global climate change, but sometimes, I think some things qualify as "going too far.”

I was reading an article in the Oregonian today. Apparently, for consideration during February's 1-month special session of the Oregon legislature, Representative Mark Hass of Beaverton has introduced a bill to ban the use of plastic grocery bags in Oregon.

Talk about ridiculous!

Much as I hate plastic bags,
And I wish that stores would stop using them,
I don't want legislation on the use of plastic bags!

In my mind, this kind of thing goes well beyond the purview of government. To borrow a phrase from N8 -- a phrase that usually irritates me -- I don't wants to live in a "Nanny State". I don't need my government to protect me from the evils of plastic bags! I am an informed citizen, and I know how bad the bags are for the environment, and I choose not to use them. I would love it if other individuals would also choose not to use them, and if stores would choose not to supply them.

Ideally, I'd love it if stores went to a European system and charged people for each bag they use. (They already do this at Ikea stores here in the U.S. It's another to LOVE Ikea.)

For now, I think we have a great system in place. People have the option to choose paper, or plastic, or re-use a bag. And MOST STORES give you a DISCOUNT for each bag you re-use. Some stores will also give you a discount if you don't use a bag at all and just carry out your items. I think it's a great incentive-based system. It leaves people the freedom to choose, and keeps government out of areas that, frankly, I just don't think are in their domain.

Now, in all reality, the bill probably won't pass. The legislature doesn't have time in their short session to get into the whole plastic bag issue. But I still don't like that that our government, that my government, thinks it is okay to legislate my grocery bags, even though I hate plastic bags.

"Oh my gosh, it's beautiful!"

2010-01-18T09:47:00.000-08:00

That's the phrase I expect to hear when you see the results of our latest remodeling project.

But before you can say that, you'll want to know the story...

There's a room off the front of our kitchen. We've generally referred to it as The Nook. I don't mean to indicate a dining nook, as it's too narrow to comfortably fit a table; rather, it's just an extra room. A cubby-room. A nook.When looking at it from the kitchen, it use to look like this:

And when standing at the end of the room, looking down the length of it, the room looked like this:

Disgusting elements I would like to point out:
- Dark wood paneling
- Dark, unattractive, stinky-smelling cabinets with old-school hardware
- The light fixtures. omg.
- Permanently stained carpet (which was baby blue and matched nothing)
- Wood shutters for...
- The completely mismatched windows.
In fact, from the front of the house, you kinda felt like the room was winking at you because of the funny windows:

One thing you can't see in the pictures of the room is that the floor sloped. Over the 8-foot width of the room it dropped 1.5 inches (which is a pretty drastic, obvious slope).

So the floor needed to be leveled, and everything in it had to go. We wanted to use the space as an office for now, and someday turn it into part of the kitchen. BUT the project wasn't a priority - just something to work on in our (ha!) free time.

Meanwhile, Nate moved his computer into the living room so we could slowly demolish the Nook. No big deal... until Mike and Amy moved in, and Mike's computer desk (et al!) was added to my living room. Suddenly the Nook remodel became priority #1.

So we set to work. Leveled the floor. Replaced the two crazy windows. Paint. Trim. Carpet.

I should have taken more in-progress pictures. I've got quite a few good ones. But I will spare you...

The outside of the house, which is not quite done, now looks like:

And the INSIDE of the house, in the room formerly known as the Nook and hereafter called the Front Office, now looks like...drumroll please...

O Christmas Tree

2009-12-13T13:07:00.000-08:00

Well... we finally did it. Our fourth Christmas as a married couple and have our first (and last! ha!) tree. Here it is:

The ornaments on the tree were gifted from one of my great aunts. (I can't remember which one, as they came to me through grandma; my mom hypothesized that it was aunt Sharon.) They are in very good condition and I'm grateful that I don't have to buy my own this year, since I've already spent my "decorations allowance" for a few other items. But I would like to buy some ornaments. The current ones don't feel like they are mine (mostly because they are not my style).

I was at Walmart with Amy recently and I noticed that they have packs of cute, matching ornaments. At first I fell in love with the blue and silver ones. While they are still my favorite, I think I would rather have red and gold ornaments for my tree. They would match better with my living room! (Target has similar packs of ornaments.)

I hope I can get some of the cute ones on sale after Christmas. I know I'm being cheap, but I figure, since I already have ornaments that were free, I can use them for this Christmas and maybe I can buy some I really love after the holidays for a little less cost. Worst case scenario, I buy some next Christmas when I have more decorations allowance.

Also, one last note about ornaments... (Are you bored yet? Are you still reading? :o) ... my mom has decided to downsize her collection, so she's going to bring her ornaments to our big family Christmas and let me pick out some of them for myself. I'm actually very excited about this. I would love to have some of my childhood ornaments on my tree!

Anyway... that's enough about ornaments! ttfn!

YW in Excellence: Follow Up

2009-11-19T08:04:00.000-08:00

Sigh.

Last Wednesday was Veteran's Day, meaning I didn't have work and the young women at church didn't have school, so I took the opportunity to schedule some extra practice for YW in Excellence. Instead of spending 8 hours in the office, I spent 8 hours at the church building, meeting with each one of the performers in the afternoon and then all of the girls in the evening.

Thursday morning I woke up feeling just a little ill. Next to me, Nathan woke up feeling a lot ill. I decided to stay home from work and take care of my house. Mike promptly swept Amy in the car and took her away so she wouldn't catch anything from us. All good decisions, as it turns out. By Thursday afternoon I was full-blown sick. Fever. Aches. Fatigue.

Yuck.

The illness persisted. I did work from my bed or the couch, and I continued coordinating YW in Excellence. I firmly believed I would recover by Sunday and thus still perform my role in the awards show.

I was wrong.

My fever broke by Sunday, but a cough and a sore throat developed. My loving fellow leaders in the YW program noted that this development made me "sound like a man." They weren't wrong, but I definitely didn't need to hear about it. Especially because it meant the death of my acting career.

So when Sunday night came, one of the other leaders filled in on stage for me, and I hunkered down behind the scenes, plotting how I could write this tragety into the script for next year.

Oh! And even without my sparkling presence on stage, the show was awesome.

Young Women in Excellence: Baby, Look at You Now!

2009-11-09T11:58:00.001-08:00

Some background: Our church has a very active youth program. Nate works with the young men (YM) and I work with the young women (YW). Kids in the program are age 12 to 18.

Both the YM and YW have a program to help them develop spiritually. The programs are basically a series of goals; things like reading scriptures, doing acts of service, learning new stuff, etc.

The young men's program is called Duty to God; for the YW it's Personal Progress. Once a year, the young women have an awards ceremony as part of Personal Progress where they receive awards for completing their goals. The name of the awards ceremony is Young Women in Excellence. This year, our ceremony has the theme "Baby, Look at You Now!" We've decided to do a fancy ceremony -- dresses, glitter, dangerous shoes, cake, black table cloths... all the works! I'm pretty excited about it (and not just because it's an excuse to get fancy, although I totally love that part).

Somehow I managed to end up being in charge of the script, and by association, apparently I'm directing a lot of the activities. It wasn't my goal to run the thing; I just had some ideas I really wanted to use for the program. But, alas! Be careful! Sometimes you get more than you bargained for!

So far my responsibilities have included a lot of writing, hand wringing, hair pulling, a few nighs of tossing and turning...
Sharing my closet of gorgeous gowns, going to the dry cleaners, doing some sewing, borrowing stuff from my mom and grandma...
Printing reams of paper, buying folders, sending emails, setting schedules, making more phone calls...
And on and on!

Do I love it? Absolutely.
Will the young women love it? Oh man, I hope so.

There's more to come on this topic... probablly after it's all said and done.

My mom has a blog!

2009-11-09T11:55:00.001-08:00

My awesome mom reads my blog and my work blog, and sometimes she leaves comments on them. She left a comment on my work blog last week, and I happened to click on her user name. (I was trying to figure out if "Julie" was my mom or someone else named Julie.)

Lo-and-behold, clicking on her name led me to a blog. To her blog! Apparently my mom has a blog! And there are two, not-quite-an-actual-post posts on her blog.

So, world: Go visit my mom's blog. And encourage her to use it.
www.JulieBike.blogspot.com

Mom: Blog!!!

Making a dress?

2009-11-02T16:36:00.000-08:00

My mom is pretty cool.

A few weeks ago she emailed me some dress patterns to get my opinion. Apparently she went shopping at the department stores, couldn't find anything she liked, and decided to make something for herself. She's a great seamstress, so she'll whip out a fabulous dress in no time. I admire the way she can just shrug off the store and do her own thing.

I was in the fabric store last week and saw some great fabric that was on sale. I knew it would make a cute dress, and I had an idea of what kind of dress (although I didn't have a pattern). So I got the fabric, and now I've got to figure out what dress I want to make. Granted, it's not going to be nearly as well-done or creative as my mom's dress, but I'm pretty excited about it!

So here's the fabric:

Obviously you can't tell from the picture, but it's stretchy and light. I have a dress out of fabric like this, so I already know that I love the way it feels.

Here are some patterns I am considering:

I think the first pattern is my favorite. I like the design on the left; I'd use black around the neck/waist/sleeves. I might also add a black trim on the bottom, like the picture on the right.

But I also like the waist and the tight, 3/4-sleeves on the other two patterns.

Hmm.

On Economics

2009-10-27T09:59:00.000-07:00

I'm an economist; it's what I do and what I love. I know you might be surprised, since I never talk about it here on my personal blog, but now it's time to have that discussion. Specifically, I want to say something about the Housing Bubble.

(Insert groans; I know that everyone is sick of this topic.)

I listen to people talk about our current recession quite often. They talk about how and why we got here, where we're at, and where we're going. I get a lot of questions about it, too.

Here's a phrase I often hear from other professionals, at conferences, and read in the paper: No one saw this crisis coming. No one could have predicted it.

Is that a total load of crap, or what?

Whenever someone says that, I can't help but think s/he is an idiot. Seriously. No one could have seen this coming?! That's completely inaccurate, and here's two reasons:

(1) People did predict the problem. Smart people. They gave presentations and wrote memos and sometimes kicked and screamed, BUT they were poo-poohed or shushed or ignored.

(2) I predicted it.

Okay, I'm over-inflating myself. I didn't know just how bad the problem was or how severe the effecrs would be, but even I could see it coming. I heard my peers in college classes talking about their crazy mortgage loans (adjustable rates? paying only the interest? what?!); and I knew that if a college kid without a job could get a mortgage loan, there was a problem with the system.

Nathan and I also have a tradition of going on the Tour of Homes every summer. We first went in 2005. In 2006, as we walked away from a particularly swanky, supposedly middle-class, brand-new subdivision, we said to each other, "The pace and price of housing construction is not sustainable. Our society can't keep doing this. We're in a housing bubble, and it's going to burst."

I had crunched some numbers, and I knew it was true. But Nate? He's not very good with numbers. He hadn't "crunched" anything. He simply looked around, saw what was happening, and he knew.

So when I hear some Tool telling me that "no one saw this coming; no one could have seen this coming," I always secretly whisper,

Bull---t.

* The image in this post is taken from the website http://www.steadfastfinances.com/
I am in no way affiliated with that website. I do not directly endorse, support, oppose, or otherwise have an opinion on their goals and viewpoints.

Heavenly Father always knows

2009-10-15T13:06:00.000-07:00

Those of you who read Amy's blog already know this, but here's the news for the rest of you: Nate's brother Mike and Mike's wife Amy are going to move in with us. Mike lost his job recently and it has been difficult to find a new one; Amy is battling cancer (and kicking cancer's butt!). We've talked about the possibility of this move for a couple months, and then this week I got the call from Amy.

So now I've switched into my typical moving mode: slighty stressed, brain in overdrive, planning every last detail... etc. All the things that I'm use to, since Nate and I move 5 times in 4 years. It's kinda funny, actually: since we've moved into our house, I tell everyone that I am NEVER MOVING AGAIN in my life. That much might hold true, but apparently that doesn't mean I can avoid being a central party to a couple more moves. So, after Mike and Amy move in here and back out, I can add two more moves to my list, keeping up my one-per-year average. Too funny.

But you're probably wondering about the title of this post and how it relates to what I'm writing. So I should get back on track...

After I got off the phone with Amy on Tuesday, I went into the basement and started analyzing the space. I made a mental checklist of what needs to be done. I've done this plently of times since we started discussing the possible move, but this time I felt like I was looking with a whole new set of eyes.

For instance, I really looked at the windows this week. We were blessed to find a house with HUGE windows. They are massively helpful for my s.a.d. because they let so much light into the house. Which is also their pitfall. Lots of light at night. Plus less insullation against the weather. In the basement, there are no curtains for the windows. None. But the pully system for curtains (what is it called?!) is still in place, so I can just make/buy curtains and put them up! Realizing this, I started going through my fabric collection to see if I had anything that might work for the windows.

Lo-and-behold, I had fabric that would work. Great fabric. Perfect fabric, in fact...

Three years ago, when we were house-sitting and living in Eugene, I went fabric shopping more often than I do now. On one such trip I came across some great discount fabric. $1 per yard for this heavy, sage-green fabric. I had no use for it. Not even a plan for a use. I didn't really want it, since I had no use for it, but I purchased it anyway. I actually felt a complusion to buy it (which made me worry I was turning into a shopaholic or something... thankfully I haven't!)

Flash back to the present: I still have the fabric. Haven't used it for anything. I've pulled it out a few times over the years and thought about using it, but every time I felt like I was suppose to put it away. And then Tuesday night came, and I took it out once again, and I held it up to the giant windows in my basement.

It's exactly the right size. Right length, right width. Nothing extra, nothing lacking. Perfect.

That moment was a lightbulb to me. I had this overwhelming sense that Heavenly Father knows. He knew we would buy this house; He knew Mike and Amy would come to live with us. I know it sounds mundane, and not like something an All-Powerful Creator would be concerned with, but I think God cares about the little things -- even about having fabric to make curtains. He knows. He knows us, and He loves us.

And I'm grateful for that.

The Evolution of My Front Yard

2009-10-07T20:25:00.000-07:00

The only "before" picture of my house, which unfortunately doesn't show the ugly front tree very clearly. It was impressively yucky, so you're not missing much:

After the tree was cut down and some of the shrubbery was removed. This work was done last spring (2009), within the first couple of months after we moved in:

We mostly took a break on the yard until August, when we started puttering around. We needed to re-seed the lawn, and the picture below shows the front after we took out the little patch of grass that was there. It also shows part of the old plumbing system, which was a BEAST of a job to remove:

(Turns out there were two old plumbing systems under there. We've named them The Old System, and The Old Old System.)

N8bear, trenching out the lines for the new sprinkler system:

After all the lines for the new sprinkler system were trenched /dug:

THE NEW FRONT OF MY HOUSE, WITH A TREE!!!!

Grass seed is planted, but hasn't popped up yet. We're expecting to see some sprouts this weekend. I can't wait to post another picture this spring, when the grass is in and the bulbs are in bloom!

I also need to finish the front deck. I took off the old, metal railing and I raised the deck so it's now level, but I need to put on a new railing.

My Kitchen!

2009-08-24T20:46:00.000-07:00

It's amazing how a two-sentence exchange with the neighbor who lives across the street could lead to so much stress...and joy! Here's what was said sometime back in June:

Me: I hate my kitchen -- it's boring and looks old-fashioned.
My neighbor: You know, a very simple and inexpenisve way to solve that is to paint it and put in new hardware.

That got me to thinking (which is rarely a good idea when it comes to house projects, I know). I made some mental calculations. I figured for about 200 bucks I could do a pretty decent makeover of my kitchen. Add new paint and hardware, but leave the rest alone.

So I went to the store and got a paint sample. Nathan hated it. We debated. Then I bought some more paint samples....
The paint-sample part of the story goes on for another 12 colors, so let me sum up by saying that eventually I found both paint colors and hardware that I LOVE, so after about 1 week of long hours (2 days of which were very intense, and my wonderful mother came down and was a tremendous help), I have a beautifully facelifted kitchen. Just look at these before and after pictures:

There are still a few little things to do (small spots that need a paint touch-up, plus I'm planning to replace that picture over the stove with a big spice rack... from Ikea, maybe?), but isn't it beatiful?!

Kitten Post for My Mum

2009-07-30T11:03:00.000-07:00

I feel like a new parent.

Even though they've been with us only a couple of months, it's beginning to feel like Jack and Abby have always been with us. Nevertheless, I am constantly finding reasons to grab my camera and snap pictures of the kittens playing, sleeping, hanging out, etc. Everything they do is cute!

For instance, here's Jack, who is always adorable:

And here's Abby... (I woke up from a nap one Sunday afternoon and found her next to me, sleeping like this. Oh my, so cute!)

Jack again, this time sleeping on the desk next to me when I was working at my computer:

This picture of Jack cracks me up. When I walked into the living room, he popped out from behind those pillows on the couch, yet he's the one who looks surprised!

Abby again, with N8:

She LOVES Nathan. (She also loves Marie, my mom-in-law... so maybe it's a Winegardner thing? In any event, at least Jack is "my kitten"...)

And here's one of my most favorite pictures in recent history:

Can you find the sleeping kitten? (It's Abby, btw.)

Other cute things:
I don't have pictures of all of this stuff, but Jack and Abby have a couple of new toys they LOVE...

1. Fake mice. Nate pulled a couple of them out of a desk drawer the other day, and the kittens were instantly enthralled. They've sinced destroyed both fake mice, so I will have to find and buy more. Jack especially loved his mouse. He would pick it up in his mouth and trot around the house with it, then drop it somewhere and smack it across the room so he could chase it.

2. Fabric. I had a big square of spare fabric on the couch the other day. For whatever reason, the kittens pulled it onto the floor. They then discovered that it makes for a fabulous toy, and now they like to wrap themselves up in it and run around the living room.... Sometimes while also playing with the fake mice.

Overall, I'm a pretty happy "mommy". I love my kittens!

Our Wall-to-Rail is Nearly Done!

2009-07-30T09:31:00.000-07:00

My mom hinted (not-so-subtly) that I needed a blog update. She asked for kitten pictures, and I have at least 1,000 new pictures I could share, but I've been meaning to talk about house stuff for quite some time. So I'm going to do house stuff now, and do a kitten update in a few days (I hope).

We're nearly done with the wall-to-rail project. The railing is constructed and in place. There are only minor adjustments remaining, including a little bit of sanding, some painting, and attaching the floorboard trim.

What's interesting is that, as I pass the railing every day, a diverse series of thoughts go through my head. I start by feeling a little annoyed that it looks somewhat home-grown and not perfectly professional (even though it is very nicely done). And because of the way we framed the new railing, you can definitely see where the wall use to be. I worry that people who've never seen my house will walk in, see the railing, and instantly know that it use to be a wall.

BUT THEN I imagine what it use to look like -- the solid wall, blocking the window over the staircase. Sometimes I even go back and look at the pictures of the wall. As soon as I remember what it use to be, I suddenly have a lot of love for what it now is.

In sum: I love the new railing.

Before I reveal the new railing, here's a couple of pictures of what it use look like (when it was just a wall):

And here's one of the construction pictures that I haven't shared yet (I love this one):

Finally, here's the new railing:

Volunteering

2009-06-29T14:55:00.001-07:00

I'm writing a brief article for work on volunteering. I decided to open the article with a quote that expresses the greatness of volunteering, rather than me blithering on about its greatness. In the process of searching for a quote, I found a webpage with the very best ones imaginable. I think I know which one I want for the article, but I still feel a need to share a few of the others. I don't know if any of you love quotes as much as I do, but here are a few that touched me:

I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.
Edmund Everett Hale

Everybody can be great because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love.
Martin Luther King Jr.

Service to others is the payment you make for your space here on earth.
Mohammed Ali

Never before has man had such a great capacity to control his own environment, to end hunger, poverty and disease, to banish illiteracy and human misery. We have the power to make the best generation of mankind in the history of the world.
President John F. Kennedy

I shall pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.
Mahatma Gandhi

I was taught that the world had a lot of problems; that I could struggle and change them; that intellectual and material gifts brought the privilege and responsibility of sharing with others less fortunate; and that service is the rent each of us pays for living, the very purpose of life and not something you do in your spare time or after you have reached your personal goals.
Marian Wright Edelman

We make a living by what we do, but we make a life by what we give.
Winston Churchill

In case you love these as much as I do, here's the link to the list I pulled them from.

More About Kittens

2009-06-27T21:22:00.001-07:00

I'm at risk of talking too much about the kittens, I know. But I took this cute series of pictures today and I wanted to share.

First, as Nate was "resting his eyes" in his favorite chair, Abby decided to curl up in his lap and sleep....

Nate moved over to the couch to work on his church lesson, and both kittens surrounded him. (Abby is on the left, Jack is on the right.)

While Nate was working, he fell asleep. The following pictures ensued...

Too cute, am I right?!

We Have Kittens!

2009-06-19T19:57:00.000-07:00

I pass a store on my commute home every day that has a big banner with the words "We Have Kittens!" I must say, this sign and the store have tormented me for quite some time, as I am an unabashed cat lover. Especially now that we have a house, I find myself thinking that there's no reason we can't add a pet to the family. We certainly have plenty of space. There are time and financial costs, of course, but these are manageable.

So, after months of driving past the sign, I finally decided to stop by last week. Just to check out the place... or so I told myself. But the cats and kittens were all adorable! I felt attached to a certain white, Siamese kitten. His name was Bear.

So I went home and told my Bear all about the little kitten named Bear. I wasn't trying to get anywhere with it - I was just telling N8 about the kitten. To my surprise, however, N8 was agreeable to adding a feline family member!

I went out the very next day to get a litter box and food. Then back to the pet place for Bear...

except that the kitten was already adopted! I could have cried! Despite visiting with the other cats and a trip to the Humane Society, there were no other siamese kittens available, and so I was not content.

Now, before you get to thinking I'm being overly picky, let me explain: N8 has allergies. This has been the big delay in our ability to get a pet. Recent headlines about the Obamas and their dog, however, have shown the world that people with dog allergies have ways around the problem, so I did a little research to see if the same was true for cats. Sure enough, there were some tips on the internet. One was to start with a kitten because they have less fur and the allergic person (N8) is more able to adapt. Siamese also tend to cause allergic people fewer problems. Thus I developed specific parameters for my feline search.

I learned last Thursday that the cat store expected new kittens on Friday, so I stopped by Friday. They had not arrived yet but they knew what was coming in: four siamese! I asked them to call me the moment they arrived.

Two hours later, I was back in the cat store, purchasing a pair of siamese kittens, who I've named Abigail and Quinn Jackson...

...or just Abby and Jack.

Abby (who is a little whiter and whose coat is nearly pure) is on the left. Jack (who has some light stripes in his fur) is on the right.

A Post for My Mum

2009-06-18T20:20:00.000-07:00

My mom and dad came down last weekend to run an errand, visit with us, and help out around the house a little. My mom took a picture of me replacing a light fixture and not-so-subtly said that I should blog about it. So here's the picture my mum took:

It's a great shot because she got the old chandelier in the picture, as well as the new fixture, so you can see both of them at once! Good choice, mom.

We took out both chandeliers in the kitchen, plus both of the "lanterns" in the hallway. The new light fixtures weren't particularly spendy (about $10 each -- so $40 for all four of them), but they are nice and match well with the fixtures we put up in the bedrooms when we first moved in. Now I've just got to figure out how/where to sell the old chandeliers. Several people have said that they could probably fetch a pretty good price, maybe even more money that we paid for all of the new ones. That would be neat.

Replacing the light fixtures was one of a few projects last weekend. We also continued working on the wall that we took out. N8's parents helped us frame the area about two weekends ago. (That was a big project. I'm very glad it's done!) Now we have to put casings on the new header and support beams.

Can't figure out what I'm trying to say? Here's a picture of the new beams (in place):

You probably can't tell from the picture just how ugly they are, so trust me... they are ugly! That's why we bought wood to put around these beams (to "case" them). Then we can do the drywall (and taping and mudding... and sanding, mudding, sanding more... etc.). It's still a few weeks worth of work to finish this project. Hopefully we can get back to the Nook around mid-July, with enough time to finish it and the front deck (and the front yard) by the end of summer.

Of course, "the end of summer" now means the end of September... obviously! :o)

Update!

2009-06-09T18:41:00.000-07:00

It's pathetic how long it's been since I did an update. I mean, it's not like I lack a functioning computer or internet connection at home. The world would probably forgive me if I could claim one of those excuses.

No, I'm afraid it's just good ol' fashion laz.... er.... busyness. Yeah - that's it. I've got too much on my plate to blog as regularly as I a should.

Anyway, I was reminded how long it was today when Craig stopped by to pick up the key to his beach house. Which made me think, "It's been quite awhile since that trip." And thus quite awhile since I've posted anything!

So here I am. I'm... um.... posting. I posted. That was my post. Now back to whatever other time waster I was working on before I wrote this very special update.

At the Beach

2009-05-16T10:17:00.000-07:00

We're at the beach!!!

A good friend of ours recently emailed us and asked if we wanted to stay at his BEACH HOUSE for the weekend. After a very careful analysis of the invitation - we spent at least 10 seconds discussing it - we accepted the offer. I mean, what else could we say to our buddy except YES, of course we'll spend the weekend lounging around your huge, beautiful house on the beach (for free). It would have been rude to decline the invitation! :o)

So here we are, lounging around! I'm surfing (the net), and Nate is upstairs somewhere, watching TV. It's kinda cute, really... If we go somewhere and there's TV, Nathan almost automatically plops himself in front of it. Watching TV is a vacation thing for him, since we don't have one at home. As for me... I can hardly live without the internet, so I'm deeply grateful there's a high-speed connection available here!

Not sure what today's plans entail. We arrived mid-day yesterday, unpacked, and then went into town to buy N8 some swim trunks. We continued to lounge when we returned to the house. The only "vigorous" activity yesterday was a walk on the beach! Otherwise it was movies, food, the hot tub, and lazing about.

Now, before you think we're selfish for having this fun all to ourselves, I want to mention that we invited lots of people to come join us! We were bailed on by all four of the couples we invited! Could they see the place now, I think they would re-consider.... but oh well!

Spare Bedroom Closet

2009-04-30T21:00:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post...

Here are some pictures of the closet in the spare bedroom. I didn't take any "before" pictures because there wasn't much to see; it was just two wooden dowels that went all the way across the closet. About a month ago Nathan and I picked up some finished plywood from Home Depot, then two weeks ago I finally started cutting the plywood into parts for the closet. I also built the closet two weekends ago, but had to wait to paint it until last week. I (finally) finished it Sunday night -- touched up the paint spills, dropped in the drawers, and hung things back up. Although the drawers still need a little work (long story), it's pretty much done. I think it looks pretty nice!

Why am I destroying my beautiful house?!

2009-04-26T10:14:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't already know, Nathan and I bought a house this winter. We've been in it for three months now! It's an older home that is spacious and beautiful.

One of the things about buying an older home, however, is that it needs a lot of work. We've already done a lot of landscape clearing and assorted replacements throughout the house (including the garage door, water heater, and the upstairs bathroom toilet). Pretty much anything downstairs is fair game to demolish, as it's severely outdated and poorly designed. You can see our progress in this picture:

And in this picture:

But until yesterday, the downstairs was really the only area subject to demolition. While I've built out three of the closets upstairs, it's generally been the "hands-off" part of the house. Maybe because it's the really pretty part, with its soft yellow paint and honey-colored wood floors. Sure, the doors are warped and some of the window panes are cracked, but asthetically, I still love the upstairs pretty much the way it is!

And yet....

Yesterday I sectioned off the upstairs hallway by taping painter's plastic over all the openings around the hallway. Then I put on baggy pants and a dusk mask, grabbed my new sledge hammer, and turned this hallway:

Into this pile of rubble:

And all the while I was thinking: Why am I destroying my beautiful house?!

I have to say, it was much harder to demolish a part of my upstairs than it had been to rip things out downstairs. I was even a little panicky as I knocked out the wall. ("Why, why, why am I doing this?")

The thoughts and worry persisted for at least ten minutes... Until I began to knock out the far side of the wall. At first I just took out the drywall on the hallway-side of the wall; but I also needed to remove the dryall on the staircase-side of the wall.

(In case you haven't been to my house, look at the picture below. On the left is the staircaseside, and on the right is the hallway side.)

Hopefully that clarifies it.)

When I made that first, big hole in the staircase side of the wall, I was suddenly blinded by bright afternoon sunshine flooding through the window over the staircase, and I remembered exactly why that wall needed to go!

So even though the hallway currently looks like this:

I am happier because there is now more light coming into the house. The hallway went from being dark, like this:

To being lighter an more beautiful, like this:

I guess that's why I am destroying my beautiful house!

Calling Nathan "Nathan"

2009-04-15T15:28:00.003-07:00

I realized as I was writing my last blog that I have a habit of referring to my husband as “Nathan” when I am talking about him to other people. This habit of mine is a little bit strange. In my conversations with Nathan, I call him by one of my myriad of (admittedly dorky) nicknames, such as Neighbor, Bear, Little Bear, Bearbala (bear-bah-la), etc. To the outside world, Nathan is known as “Nate”. This is what his friends call him, how he introduces himself to people, the name he signs on papers, and so forth. To the outside world, he presents himself and is known as Nate.

Yet, despite this, I still usually call him Nathan when talking to other people or when writing about him. Kinda weird, huh?

The only explanation I have for this is that it's a “wife phenomenon”. I’ve noticed a few wives who have this same habit. For instance, Nathan and I had friends in school for whom this was also the case. Cathy always called her husband David, but to the rest of the world he was Dave – it was what he called himself and what we called him! So all I can conclude about my use of “Nathan” is that it must be a disease that afflicts wives…

An Update on Nathan's Caves...

2009-04-15T15:28:00.001-07:00

…and the house, generally.

Just this last weekend, Nathan said to me, “I’ve realized that I don’t really like how my painting room is so far away from everything else in the house.”

I saw this statement as a golden opportunity to get a little house remodeling done and get Nathan out of one of his caves. So I offered him a deal: If he will help me do some remodeling in the Nook, we can get him a table for painting and move it in, right next to his computer.

He eyed me suspiciously. “What kind of remodeling? What do you want to do to the Nook?”

With a light tone I explained: “Oh, rip out all of the wood paneling and the cabinetry, then sand down the paneling glue on the walls – or maybe just put in new drywall.”

Nathan didn’t really agree to it, but he also didn’t disagree! For the time, I’m assuming his non-response indicates a willingness to help me with the proposed projects, which I know will do a great deal of good in that space. It’s possible that we could add some insulation in the walls, if we have to take out the drywall. In my dream world, we’d fix the windows while we had the walls ripped out (by replacing both of them and putting in one new window, right in the middle of the room). Heck! We could even take up the carpet and see about leveling that darned floor!

But for the time, we can at least make it less dark and scary in there.

As for other house projects…

Things we are currently working on:
Building out the spare bedroom closet with shelves, drawers, and multi-height clothing rods. The materials are in the woodshop, I just need to measure, cut, and install!

Demolition continues downstairs. We’ve reached a tricky point in the utility room, where we have to carefully rip things out so as not to accidentally electrocute or drown ourselves. I’ve made a TON of progress under the staircase, where almost everything has been removed. I still need to bash down some drywall and figure out how to get the floor panels out of the closet

Future projects:
I may turn my sights on the downstairs bathroom very soon. Everything needs to be ripped out of it because it’s going to be a mudroom (someday). Right now I need it gutted so we can easily run all the plumbing to the new upstairs bathroom.

I found out yesterday that we don’t need a permit to replace the front deck because it’s less than 30 inches tall, so it can definitely be replaced before the end of summer. (Hooray!) Nate will take the lead on that, hopefully with Dave helping him. I think they can get it done in just a day or two, so long as the weather is nice.

We got our tax refund, so we’re about to embark on several projects. We’re having a new garage door opener installed on Friday, which means we will no longer have to do the ghetto running-underneath-the-door-to-close-it-because-we-don’t-have-a-remote thing. A new opener also means we won’t accidentally kill someone’s cat or crush any small children.

The whole plumbing system will be replaced, probably by a real professional (not just Nathan and his dad!), and we’ll remodel the upstairs bathroom. I’ve already started clearing out the bathroom so we can take a sledgehammer to the walls.

The last stimulus-funded project on the list is removing the hallway along the staircase and putting in a wood railing. I’m a little worried about how stable it’s going to be, but I trust that Nate will work it out! I know it’s going to be beautiful when it’s finished.

It’s exciting to think what the house will look like six months from now. Better yet, what we will accomplish in the next year! It’s going to be really beautiful, and then we’re going to fill it with babies, babies, babies…

Hair(style) Blog

2009-04-09T16:06:00.001-07:00

This post is for Amy, to whom I mentioned this topic weeks ago. I'm only just now following up on it... Sorry...

I am going to cut my hair. Short.

Of course, I mean chin-length short and not pixi short. You'll have to agree than even chin-length is short for me. I want to go for something roughly like this:

Or maybe kinda like this:

Possibly with some bangs, like this:

BUT I'm not going to cut it that short right now. I think the chin-length change is a summer look, and I'm not ready to go that short this summer, so it will be next summer (June 2010, maybe?) when I cut it. Prior to that, in the spring or so, I think I will cut it to my shoulders. Something a little bit like this:

I'm not always very good at handeling change - especially not in regards to my hair - so I think having an in-between step will be an easier way for me to progress toward short hair.

At this point, you're probably wondering what the fuss is about and why I'm teasing you with all this information. I have a point. I am now getting to that point...

One thing I'd really like to do before I "go short" with my style is to try a perm. I think. Truth be told, I'm nervous about perming it! I worry that (a) my hair won't take a perm because it's so riddiculously straight (thanks mom :o), and (b) what if it looks terrible on me? I mean, a perm is a hairstyle that can look incredibly bad on a person!

Anyway -- setting my fears aside for a moment: I've collected a bunch of pictures of different "perms" that I like. Some of them are just barrel-curled hair, but are still along the line of what I want. In general, I want to do large curls (I don't think small, tight curls would look good on me). One of the things I'm unsure about is just how loose/tight to make the curl, and whether or not I should have bangs (long or short) and whether to perm the bangs or keep them straight. To illustrate my point, here are a whole bunch of pictures...

This one has fairly loose curls without bangs:

This one also has somewhat loose curls, but with a litter layering in front:

This one is more of a texture and not quite as "curly". It also has long layers in front:

This one has moderately tight curls with straight, shorter layers in front:

This one has fairly tight, large curls and is all about the same lenght:

And finally, this one has tighter, slightly smaller curls and medium layers in the front:

WOW, I know there's a lot of options there. And they are all pretty similar. I don't want to bias you with my opinion, so I won't say which one I'm leaning toward! But I'd love to know what everyone thinks.

All pictures came from www.TheHairstyler.com

The website has a fabulous collection! Check them out!

"Blogging Is Stupid"

2009-04-08T13:03:00.000-07:00

I kid you not -- the title of this blog is exactly what Nathan said to me this weekend. I can't remember what he was reading or why he said it (it has nothing to do with the fact that I started this blog or any of our friends of family); I think he was just surfing around on the internet and came across a website or blog that bothered him. Or maybe he just read something about blogging that irritated him. In any event, I wandered into his "cave" while he was on the computer and the next thing I know he says to me...

"Blogging is stupid."

"Oh. Soooo... you're not planning to ever post anything to 'our' blog then, are you?"

"Umm.... Not really. I guess."

"Do you think it's stupid that I started a blog?"

"Well...ummm..... No. Of course....not. I...uhhhh....."

Yeah. Uh-huh. Doghouse on that one. Way to stick his foot in his mouth! In retrospect, it's funny and kinda cute. At the moment, though, I was surprised and maybe a little sad.

Nate Has a Cave... or Two

2009-04-06T16:17:00.000-07:00

You know that book (which is also a common saying), "Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus"? There's a section of the book that talks about the need men have for "caves". When they get angry or sad or scared (i.e., emotional), their instinct is to retreat; they want to find a "cave" to hide in while they sort out their feelings. The concept makes sense to me, and my mom made a great joke this weekend...

But let me back up.

Nate recently re-located his computer desk out of our shared office and into the "nook" off the front of the kitchen. It's a horrible little room -- slightly long but narrow, with dark wood paneling and darker cabinetry. The lights have 70s-style stained glass, the floor is a layer of dirt on top of pale blue carpet, and the room slopes downward (by 1 inch per 4 feet, or about 1.5 inches from end-to-end). Ugly, weird, uncomfortable, horrible.... These are all words I almost-affectionately use to talk about the Nook.

Anyway, as I mentioned, this is where Nathan has set-up shop. His desk is there and I donated a bookshelf to the space, plus he moved in an easy-chair.

While he was sitting at his computer Saturday morning and I was working on breakfast in the kitchen, my mom wandered in and was talking to me. I wish I remember all the conversation, but it boils down to this: I commented that Nate was hiding from the house guests (my parents) in "his" room, and my mom replied, "Well, you know boys... Sometimes they need to retreat to their cave."

I looked over at the room and, as though seeing it for the first time, realized that the Nook was absolutely cave-like! Dark... dirty.... horrible.... Oh yeah. Nate has a cave.

As I thought about it a little more, I realized that it's more accurate to say that Nate has another cave, since his new painting room (downstairs) is also quite cave-like!

And I love my Caveman. :o)

Multitasking at Work

2009-04-02T15:34:00.000-07:00

I am currently at work, in a web meeting with a co-worker in the Bend office. I'm training her on how to do employment estimates... except that I'm obviously not! I'm blogging, and watching her screen in the background as she shuffles through the various estimation tools. It's fun to see her click away, knowing that I will soon be free from this monthly task. Honestly I'm a little sad to see the end of estimates. It was a nice way to kill a few hours every month, it gave my job a little more structure, and sometimes I got paid extra, too. But the department has finally hired a real person to do the task, and I am back to my normal job description.

Besides blogging and overseeing the newest edition to our team, I'm also on a conference call. And I'm eating Goldfish crackers -- the salty, irresistable little treats that I have fallen in love with only after reaching this, the semi-grown-up phase of my life.

I wouldn't mind doing some real work while I'm suppose to be doing real work, but all of my files are back at my desk, on my normal work computer (and not here in this quiet, comfortable conference room). True, I could leave my web meeting and phone conference to go get said files without anyone noticing my absence, but then I would have to feel guilty about being so far away from my real work. At least with the blog open on top of the real work, I don't have to feel bad about leaving my work alone!

Anyway, I've been goofing off about 15 minutes now, which is all the time we get for an afternoon break... So I better get back to watching and listening to real work.

Twilight, The Movie!

2009-03-25T21:42:00.000-07:00

Twilight just came in the mail today (via Netflix), so I watched it. Twice. The first time hardly counts because I was sewing for most of the time, so really only listened to the movie. The second time I hunkered down in my comfy green armchair and watched intensely.

I have to say that, surprisingly, I liked it. I heard some so-so reviews of the movie and, as an avid fan of the book, I was concerned. Now that I've watched it, though, I can officially give it one thumb up. I see how someone not familiar with the story would get lost, plus I think the acting leaves a lot to be desired, but the movie has some strong points. The way the actors portray their emotions, for instance. You really feel the conflict, the uncertainty, and the passion in the story just by watching their facial expressions and body language.

The other positive note about this movie is that the sequel has almost nowhere to go but up!

Anyway, if you haven't checked out Twilight, BUY THE BOOK. Then, if you want, see the movie.

It's Our Anniversary... (but shhhhh!)

2009-03-24T16:19:00.000-07:00

Sure enough, today marks four long years of martial…er… bliss…?

Well, maybe it hasn’t exactly been an “easy, breezy” four years, but there have been a lot of blessings along the way. We’ve also had our share of “opportunities for growth”. And, after all this time, we can proudly boast that we’re still together, making it through one day at a time, with a bright future ahead of us.

Now that I’ve got the sentimental blahbitty-blah out of the way, I should probably explain the title of this, my very first blog post. After all, it probably seems strange that I am “shushing” in regards to our anniversary – a day which most people greet with exclamations of joy and celebration. You see, Nate and I learned fairly early on that our anniversary is bad luck. Take our wedding day, for example…

No, I’m not kidding. Our actual wedding day was mostly a train wreck. The delay in our ceremony caused by the perpetually-late group before us was exacerbated by one of our own guests. We had asked a dear friend and former bishop to attend our wedding and sign the marriage license as one of the witnesses. Apparently this friend forgot that we were getting married because he never showed up! We endured perhaps half an hour of waiting before someone finally told us that he was missing, at which point we quickly replaced him and moved forward, but not without a great deal of frustration and disappointment.

Jump forward one year in time. Nathan and I were still in our first apartment together, both going to school full time and both working. I decided to make Nate an exceptional steak dinner for our anniversary. We hardly ever ate steak, which was a painful transition from Nate’s former life, so dinner was meant to be a very special treat... especially because I wasn’t big on cooking. Thus, a little while before he was due home for the evening, I went to work on dinner. About ten minutes into the meal, while some olive oil warmed in a frying pan for me to sauté vegetables, I stepped away from the kitchen. I can’t remember why I was gone or for how long, only that the loud scream of the smoke detector brought me right back to the kitchen…

where the olive oil had become a pan fire, and the room was filled with smoke. Suffice it to say that Nathan came home to me, standing on a chair in the living room and cursing at the still-screaming smoke detector, with a char-broiled steak in the oven, a frying pan covered in flour on the stove, and frozen vegetables on the counter.

We had Burger King for dinner.

Our second anniversary is a much less humorous story. In short, Nate was working at job he hated; I was mentally fatigued and depressed from school, where I was finishing up my bachelor’s (which included writing a thesis for my honors class); and we were only slightly above water with our finances. I didn’t feel particularly celebratory, Nathan wanted to make the best of it, my grumpy mood made him grumpy…and we slept in different bedrooms that night.

In retrospect, that suddenly sounds a lot more humorous!

When our third anniversary rolled around last year, I had the good common sense to put all celebratory plans on hold. The phrase “Happy Anniversary” was strictly taboo on March 24th. In the end, we had a very nice, normal day, and went out for a fabulous dinner the next night. There were no tears, no fires and no fights.

Since last year our “anniversary” was such a smashing success (relative to prior years’ failures), I am re-instituting all of my former rules. The phrase “Happy Anniversary” is NOT allowed until tomorrow, nor are any special activities – not of any kind!

So, on that note… Have a nice day, everyone.