And the storm continues...

Okay, on the left is Monday Dec 15, and on the right is Monday Dec 22. What a differance a week makes!

And yes, at this moment, it is still snowing.

I even took the opportunity to make a Dr Pepper snowcone! I know, only kids eat snow...but I couldn't resist!

I took another walk to the temple. (I just love that I can do that!) They were trying to clear as much of the parking lot and sidewalks as they could, but the snow kept coming down. They hadn't gotten to the sidewalks when I was there, so in order to get some of the photos, I was tromping thru over a foot of snow. It was up to the middle of my shins.

Christmas Miracle

Merry Christmas! This year I had resigned myself to the fact that I was not going to have a Christmas tree. First of all, I can't afford to go buy one. Then, I didn't want to have to lug the thing upstairs and set it all up by myself. My parents generously offered to buy me a tree, but I really didn't want to deal with it.

Okay, yep, that is a Christmas tree. Somehow, I entered myself in a contest on KOIN 6 news. (Yeah, not really sure how that happened) Anyhoo, somehow I won. (Editors' note, I normally never win contests, whether I purposely enter them or not.) This beautiful tree is a 10 foot Douglas Fir. Since it is so big, I had severe difficulty in making it stand up straight. So, I called in the cavalry. Abby and Alyssa, my best friends mom and sister came over to help me get all set up.

Finally! I pulled out all my tree decorations, of which I have many, and get the tree all decked out. Thank goodness for the 20 foot ceilings in our apartment. There just won't be any presents under this tree, cuz I have to leave them all unwrapped since I have am flying to Boise, ID for a late Christmas with my entire family.

Now that the tree is up, it makes the rest of the decorations we have up fit in better. Until tonight, these lights were all we had.

Yep, that is a real fireplace! No, we haven't built any fires yet. Jessie went and bought stocking hangers, so "the stockings are hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas would give more than their share!"

And last, but certainly not least, our kitchen counter. Seeing is not believing, Believing is Seeing! Apartment 2018 BELIEVES!!!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night!

Winter Wonderland Part 2 - the day in between the storms

This is our swimming pool at our apt complex. With snow all around it, I wouldn't even imagine going swimming, especially since there is ice all across the top!

The wind came up after the snow fell, and what leaves were left on the trees ended up on top of the beautiful white snow!

This is the road leading to the Portland Temple. It was absolutely beautiful!

And once again, the really awesome red bushes.

Winter Wonderland

Winter has finally come to Portland! I woke up this morning to snow, actual snow on the ground. And there was about 1 1/2 inches already. It was beautiful. So I decided to take a walk.

It was beautiful! There were quite a few people out enjoying the snow.

When I left my house, it wasn't snowing that much. But, as the walk went on, it started coming down faster.

The trees were absolutely amazing.

My walk took me by the temple. The road directly outside the temple is a little hill, and there were kids sledding down it. They looked like they were having fun.

The temple grounds were gorgeous, but the gates were locked, so I could only get shots from outside the fence.

And finally, this is how our deck looked tonite. It is so pretty with the christmas lights and the snow. Too bad Jessie isn't here to enjoy it with me!

6 weeks later...

Frankie is fixed! And she is home! Yay! I was so excited when the auto body shop called and said she was finished. She looks just like she did before the eejit ran into me, with the exception of the license plate, which was bent at a 90 degree angle, and they had to straighten it out. So, it is all scraped up. She drives really well too. 6 weeks in a rental car sure made me appreciate Frankie even more.

Here we go again!

So, a lot has happened since last month. First and foremost, I got fired! Yep, you read that right. Apparently, it took work 26 months to decide that I don't fit. Hmm, interesting. Anyhoo, so now I am looking for something else.

Frankie is still in the auto body shop. It took 2 weeks for the insurance adjuster to look at her, and then he left about half of the repairs off! He told me he had approved all the repairs, and that he had left a check at the repair shop, and all I had to do was sign it when I picked Frankie up. Well, then the awesome repair shop called me, and said that they noticed he didn't really approve ALL the repairs. So, they filed for a re-inspesction. Thankfully, that happened the very next day, and this time, they did include everything. Now we are just waiting for the parts to come in, and then I will get her back. That means I won't be driving my own little car until the middle of december. Aaaagh! a total of 6 weeks in this rental car.

On the headache front, still have a headache. Surprise, Surprise. I have been working with my dr's doing all sorts of not fun tests...CT Scan, MRI, a ton of blood work, several different meds, and finally a spinal tap (well, 2 of those). The current result is that I don't have any tumors, brain bleeds, serious infections, or any other major disease. As my neurologist put it...it's just a headache, albeit a bad one. But now we can treat it as such, without worrying that we are missing something big.

So that is me now. Not much fun, but it is my life.

Rear-ended!

Yep, I got rearended tonite on the way home from work. Sitting on 217, at a complete stop, and some eejit runs into the back of me! Poor Frankie...now she has to go to the dr to get fixed. At least it all goes onto the other guys insurance. I am over the royally ticked off phase, and am now in the just mad phase.

On a happier note, my amazing niece and nephew are eating real food, and are still growing like weeds.

Aren't they cute?

Medical Misery

Just a quick update, lots happening. First, haven't been on for a while due to massive headache. Yeah, just one that won't go away. More to follow when I know more.

Also, I am moving again. Yeah, I know. No comments, please. I will put up my new address once I am totally moved. Sorry I don't have more than that. 

Introducing...

I would like to introduce you to Frankie. Frankie is my new car. She is super cute, and WAY fun to drive. She is an 08 Mazda 3. (yeah, i know, holy cow) I wasn't expecting to get a new car, just one that was more reliable than Antoinette. For those of you who don't know, Antoinette was my old car, an 1990 Toyota Camry with way too many miles on her. Anyhoo, now I have Frankie! Many many thanks to my dad, who is the coolest dad on the planet. He helped me get a great loan for her.

And without further ado, meet Frankie...

Simple gifts

It is amazing to me how the Lord works. He knows how we feel, all the time. He knows exactly what we need to heal (at least a little) our hearts and souls. This amazing rainbow was one of those gifts. The pure beauty brought, at least for the moment, peace into my life.

This was the view directly behind me...

And just a few minutes later...

And just a few minutes later...

Ok Really, This time... On the Edge

I have been trying to find a way to introduce a little bit of spice back into my life, and I finally hit upon a way. I can change my hair...again. A little while ago, I decided to chop my hair.. and go back to being a redhead. In all of my 25 years, I had never dyed my hair at all. But, it was turning into a not happy brown color... not that brown is bad, but when you are a true red head and then you are not, you miss it. SO, anyway, back to dying the hair. Those of you who have done this know the drill, you have to keep dying it, or major roots!!!!

I have an amazing hairdresser!! So amazing, that rather than find one in Portland, I will drive down to Corvallis every 6 weeks to get my hair cut. This weekend was the first "re-dying" after going back to red. I sat down in her chair, and told her I wanted to go a little more daring. I was thinking of thin strips of purple, pink or lime green. Fortunately for me, Barbara had a better idea. "NO!!" She said. "But, what about red?" I know, my hair is going to be dyed red with blonde highlights already... so what color red?

Fun, huh? I know, it doesn't look like my natural color, but that was the point. It isn't a ton, but enough to make me happy. And it is SO much better than a purple or other color. Anyhoo, a little way to add spunk!

On The Edge...

Memory Game!

This is a fun, tag-gy type game! So, play along...Here are the directions:1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

no, I haven't been slacking...

Well, in a way I have. My internet has been fickle lately, and I just haven't gotten around to getting my own service...you know, you use whoevers service you can hack into. Well, that trusty well dried up! SO, now I just need to get off my butt and do it!

Back to reality...

I had a fantastic vacation. So much so, that I did not want to return to the grind of everyday life. But alas, I knew I needed to attend to my duties.

I spent 8 wonderful days in Utah, visiting with friends and relatives, and being lazy. I decided to do some "Temple-hopping" while I was there, so while Tamara was at work, I made my way to the Bountiful Temple,

and to the Mount Timpanogas Temple.

I made plans to attend the Salt Lake temple with some dear friends of mine, but those plans were thwarted, first with double-booking, and then with the temple being closed for cleaning. So, we ended up at the Bountiful temple, again. I attempted to also attend the Provo Temple (did not have enough time) and the Jordan River Temple (it too was closed.) But, that is ok, I loved where I did get to go.

I spent time with my amazing niece and nephew...

and I played with friends...

All in all, it was wonderful. I got to "spend the day in the life of a senior missionary couple," tour downtown Salt Lake at midnight, attend the Arts Festival, see a true hippie dancer in Utah, go to Seven Peaks Water Park, have dinner with friends, drive a nicer car than I currently own, and luv, luv, luv those babies.

And now, back to real life...

VACATION!

Alright!! Woohoo!!! I am officially on vacation. Salt Lake City, here I come. I am going to spend just over a week with my Tamara!!! During which time, I am going to be visiting my beautiful niece and nephew. Stay tuned for pics of the babies!

So, while I am playing, here is something for you to enjoy. This is just a clip, but here is the Oregon Chorale.

.

OKAY.......

Oh sure, now it works...

ummmm

I think my lava lamp is broken. I just sat watching it, and it never got the bubbles going up, it only did the wavy thing at the bottom...

Failure...

Complete and utter failure. Yup, you read that right. My first attempt at charcoal grilling ended in failure. My folks got me a small grill for birthday, and I wanted to try it. Apparently, I know nothing about grilling. I thought I could, but nope. I got these beautiful steaks to grill, and once I cooked them up on the stove top they were great. Maybe I need to find someone to give me grilling lessons. Oh well, I will try again later!

Slacker Me!

Okay, I am a slacker! I admit it. I have really done nothing this week. Work, come home, sleep and do it all again the next day. I did trim my hair this week, and asked her to go a little shorter in the back. So, we did! My hair is now just at the bottom of my ears. Of course, I drive down to Corvallis cause I absolutely love my hair dresser!!! She is the best. So, headed down friday night and back on saturday. Came back in time for my friend Keegan's 4th b-day party. What a party! Go Mom!! I finally found time to get into the pool...actually, hot tub first. Very nice...I think I should make this a daily habit.

Still no keys, I will be having my locks changed this week.

Happy Fathers Day to my dad! My dad is, without a doubt, the most amazing dad ever! (Sorry, your dad will never be cooler than mine!) He is such an example of perserverance, love and patience.

Still no keys!

Yup, you read that right. Still no keys. They have disappeared off the face of the earth. The good news is that the complex will change the locks on my apartment for me. I am still hoping to find them somewhere.

lessons learned...

Okay, have to share this, even though I will probably never live it down. SO, here we go. Long day at work, head to straight to babysit the k's. Get home around 11:15 pm, pull out my keys, and... no keys to my house!!!!!!! I have all my other keys, but not the ring with the house keys and mail key on it. So, you know the drill. Empty out your purse, search your car. Retrace your steps the last time you remember having them...meanwhile, trying really hard not to pee your pants. No keys. Check near the mailbox, no keys. Check near the front office, no keys. Call the emergency # on the office door, leave a message. Call home, rant and rave, still try not to pee. The whole time praying that you really aren't losing your mind but they are actually gone. Throw in the prayer that you either need to find the keys, or lose the need to void! Call a friend (by this time it is 1145) ask to use their bathroom. Drive back over, race up the stairs, ahhh, RELIEF!!!! back downstairs, dump your purse on the floor. Still no keys. Then... Brainstorm! Maybe the living room window is still open. Hopefully I didn't actually be responsible and close the windows. EUREKA!!! Two windows are open, just have to pop the screen, crawl in, and viola!

So, what did I learn, you ask? well, 2 things. First, there is a really prickly bush outside my window. and it really hurts when you butt is in it. And 2nd, breaking into my apartment is pretty noisy! That is a relief. At least if someone breaks in, I will hear it! (I figured if a cat can break into my apartment, then I can too.) A few weeks ago, I really had a cat burglar. A cat managed to paw out a corner of a screen, and crawled in. Freaked me out, early saturday morning, got out of the shower, and there is this cat! He is a pretty cat, but a little disconcerting to have him break in. Oh well, that is story for today!

It's Official!

Okay, today it is official! I turned 25! I have a confession to make... I have been having a hard time with this b-day. My best friend termed it a "quarter life crisis." However, now that I am actually 25, I have been blessed with sudden wisdom. Okay, not really, but I have been thinking about this for the past several weeks. I think part of the reasons I have been struggling are that my "plan" for my life has really not happened. But, in my moments in between freaking out, here is what I have realized:

In my 25 years I have:
* been a nanny
* worked for Walt Disney World
* been a first responder, CNA, EMT-Basic and dispatcher
* lived in somewhere over 15 different houses
* become an auntie
* lived on my own, with roommates, and with family (and those I count as family)
* made friends
* kept most of those friends
* learned how amazingly cool my parents actually are
* and much more

Most importantly, however, it is not what I have done that makes me who I am. No matter what, I am a daughter of God. I have a loving Father in Heaven who knows me... really knows me. Better than I know myself. awesome.

Anyhoo, as far as my actual birthday went, I spent the day at work (I know, not so fun) then ran over the tech rehearsal for the chorale. Our concert is coming up next weekend, so we sang for 3 1/2 hours! And let me tell you, it is fun to have a choir sing Happy Birthday! I got a grill from my folks (yep, I get to learn how to grill) and all the accoutrement's needed.

So, chalk it up to another year!

Thistle & Shamrock

Well, it is that time of year! End of season concerts! I have joined the Oregon Chorale. Our final concert of this season is coming next weekend. We will be performing 2 nites, Saturday and Sunday evenings.

Saturday June 7

7:00 PM

United Methodist Church

9845 Sw Walnut Pl

Tigard, OR

Sunday June 8

St. Matthew Catholic Church

447 SE 3rd Ave

Hillsboro, OR

You are all welcome to attend! We will be performing music that the chorale will present on their tour of Scotland and Ireland this summer. And no, I will not be going with them. Any questions, feel free to call me, or email! Hope to see y'all there!

Pics of my House...Finally!