So many updates, where to start?

We made the move to Portland.
Got a roommate.
Parted ways with the roommate.
Got pregnant.
Bought a house.
We had a baby girl.
I quit my job and transferred to another department. I am no EPIC certified.
Jeremy is a 3/4 stay at home dad and loving it.
Renovating and remodeling the house in almost every room. Ugh!
Traveling for work. Getting ready to go to Alaska. In October it will be Spokane.
Um.. Jeremy is taking a refresher in CAD. He's getting ready to transition into his career field.
Zoey is almost a year old and getting ready for daycare. If we can find one.

I think I'll go not more details in another post so I can document some of the little things and some of the big.

Back home in PDX- June 2011

It has been quite awhile. I obviously am not a full time blogger. Have never made claims to be nor aspire to be. That being said... Graduation went well. We had a great party at the house and fun was had by all. Well all except those who were hurting the next day. Jeremy did his keg stands so that must mean college is finally over. YEA! The move was interesting with the 3 cats and goldfish in tow. LOL! we felt and probably looked like the Beverly Hillbillies.

We are back in Powell Crest and it's not the worst thing in the world. We have Matt for our Roomie for now. I'm hoping that the rent he pays will help to put a down payment on a home much sooner than later.

We've not really had a chance to get out and do much at all. Just working at the hospital for me. Jeremy is beating the streets putting out resumes and dropping applications like crazy. We made the trip North to see the Norton family and stopped in Centralia to have a pint at the Mcmenamins Olympic Club weekend before last. It was fun to see yet another of our favorites. We had our first company this last weekend. Chrissy and Mike stopped for the weekend so Chrissy could go to Dr. Sketchy. I discovered I'm not much of an artist but I do appreciate charcoal a lot more now.

We've been eating out entirely too much trying to over come the feel of food deprivation we experienced while in Moscow. It's been very tasty and rewarding. There are these marvelous street vendors everywhere in Portland. You would think they would be cheaper eats, but that is rarely the case. Most are high end cuisine chefs that have been displaced in the current economy. They can sure cook up some excellent street food!!!

Something crazy we noticed about Portland. The coffee industry turned pompous and ridiculous! We stopped in the shop next to Stumptown. They were having a tasting and spitting out the coffee. I consider that just short of sacrilegious. While I understand it, I don't agree. That my friends is America.

Oh I could go on... tea party politics, bad parenting, Female Thai PM in the news, shits fubar everywhere. As it should be due to RAPTURE. LOL!

Anyway... A few updated photos.

Another chapter

128 more days in Idaho and we'll be heading back to Portland. I'm so excited I don't think I can contain myself. I'm jumping out of my jammies. LOL! I'm not looking forward to working in an office again. The drama, the commute, the constant chaos of people and activity is going to drive me crazy! I'm seriously not looking forward to that again.

I've enjoyed my time the best I know how here in Moscow. I think even Jeremy (old man) architect has found a small niche. We're really going to miss the Doroshenks. That's a shame! I do hope they'll come visit us sometime.

One thing I'm sad about is not having a place to garden. There are only about 800 p-patches in the Portland city limits and there are like 1500 people on the waiting list. UGH! Having such easy access to fresh food, herbs, meat has been an unexpected bonus to living in the middle of a wheat field. We've certainly gained a new appreciation for fresh products and I'm not sure we can go backwards again. I'll make it a priority to visit the farmers markets and shop there when possible.

yep- it's time for the next chapter. What will come in 2011? will we continue as DINK's? Have a baby? Go back to school? Who knows...

Reminiscing about Summer 2010

We really had a lot of fun this summer. Between the lab,the pottery studio and Jeremy's summer school physics class, we managed to squeeze in a little fun here and there.

Camping at Moose Creek- Jeremy and I rigged our own fishing gear out of scraps found in the reeds. Kelly thought it was pretty weird and slightly disgusting but I was having some good fun.

Watching or friends run- We joined the masses for Moscow Madness on Moscow Mountain. John and Kelly ran the marathon and we cheered them on. Kelly came in 3rd in her age group. YEAH Kelly!!!

The Garden- The crops this year were pretty funky and a major disappointment. We got a zillion tom's and that was about it. We only got like 5 zucchini's. How weird is that? The tomatillo's were a sham. Empty paper sacks with no fruit : ( We grew a bunch of other goodies for the J&K but we don't do beets, mustard and Kale in this house LOL. Even the peppers were sad for the Norton's. Oh well!!! There is always next year in Portland.

hmm... Blue Mondays were fun. We boycotted most other places to eat out and decided that Nectar is the place we wanted to frequent for Feel Good Friday. It's local food, good beer and nice owners. it's a small mom and pop place and has fantastic mac and cheese.

We did not however fulfill all we were wanting to do. We didn't make it to see the laser show at the Grand Coulee Dam, we didn't take the Doroshenks to the Edgefield, we weren't able to make it to the hot springs YET. We'll see.....

Post Summer update

All is well in Idaho. Summer is officially over! We had an excellent extended fall. It's been in the high 60's, low 70's for weeks but there is snow in tomorrows forecast. UGH! I'm not ready for it.

That's why I'm here reminiscing about this summers fun and frivolity. What first comes to mind is Glacier with John and Kelly. What an amazing adventure for me. For all of us really, but I am so proud of what I accomplished. We hiked 20 miles over 3 days time. We hiked mountains, glacier ridges, along Two Medicine and upper Two Medicine lake to Pompelly Pillar, up to Dawson's pass. We didn't actually follow the ridge along the mountain side- THANK GOD! it was very windy and J got a little nervous. The gusts were pushing 80 mph and made it very difficult to even stand up. Along the trail to get up there, we eye spied mountain goats and a few lady big horn. One of the most exciting things in my life was about 10 minutes into the adventure when we spotted our very first moose. There is even video of it! Ask and I might let you see it. It's not flattering for Jeremy or myself. Somebody dropped an EFF bomb and somebody else just about peed herself. LOL!!!

I was certainly pushed beyond what I thought I had limits. Apparently I am stronger and healthier than I ever could have imagined. Jeremy, John and Kelly had no problems at all. They really enjoyed themselves on the trail. I think the few beers they packed in made it all worth it. LOL! I have to admit that I could have used a cocktail on day two. In fact I could have used multiple. That's why I packed the painkillers. They are certainly lighter on the overall weight of your pack and due twice the duty! : )

I think we'll do more hiking in the future. Even though I'm not looking forward to winter, I am looking forward to trying out snow shoeing again. I was a disaster the first time but I am keeping the faith that I can do it. Jeremy really is itching to get up on the mountains again and I hate to disappoint him. Besides, it's basically free entertainment. I can't gripe about that!

Summer time and the livings easy....

um, not so much!

j-dog tore a ligament while hiking in the Olympics with John and Collin. OOPS! So he's essentially laid up for the next 3-6 weeks. No work, very limited modified play time. This kind of sucks! he's probably off his bike for good because the fixie pulls so hard on the knees. I'm very sad for him. He's feeling very old and broken this week but I don't hear the complaints coming from the hammock as I fetch him his beer. LOL!!! Most people would kill for a forced R&R of this caliber. I know I would.

This weekend we helped the doroshenks prime the house. Even Jeremy helped. Lord knows we couldn't keep him down. he's such a busy bee.... After a quick push to finish the job we sat in the yard drinking mojitos and planning our next big adventure. It's going to involve mass amounts of dehydrated foods and a 4 day trek over Labor Day in Glacier. Lets hope Jeremy's knee and my hip is feeling better by then. Otherwise, we might be car camping the whole time.

The garden is coming along and the first tomatoes are starting to turn. YEAH!!! we've already gone through one batch of radich and we're all burnt out on lettuce, spinach, mesclun already. I pulled an onion last weekend but they don't look ready quite yet. Our plot is the envy of the garden. It rocks!!!

When I'm not at the garden, I'm painting at Wild @ Art. It's my part time job a few days a week. It's been fun! I miss being artistic sometimes.

Cousin Earl popped in for a quick visit. That was fun, festive and unexpected. I wish more family would make the drive.

That about catches you up...

Outside changes- insides the same...

It's been a while since I touched base with my thoughts, emotions and fuzzy warm stuff. It's crazy that I'm down almost 100 lbs. I feel fantastic and I've rediscovered my body again. I'm so close too Onederland (199) I can taste it. I want these last 6 lbs gone NOW! but my body is not having it.

Jeremy is loving the new me. I'm moving more than ever, riding bikes and what not. I can almost keep up with him. This last winter we snow shoed and hiked a bit. This spring we enjoyed the Trail of the Hiawatha with our friends. I can't believe I survived 3 hrs on my bike. It was nice that most of the ride was down hill. I loved that part!

The garden is coming along but I don't have as much time to work it as I would like. I'm working a part time job on T/W/TH evenings down at Wild At Art and it's taking up a lot of my spare time I would normally donate to my flowers and veggies. It shouldn't really be a problem if I think about it. They are all in the ground, they just have to grow so we can harvest and rejoice in the Summer of Salsa! I'm going to teach Kelly D to can the veggies. She's got a dehydrator to so we will see what we can come up with. It should be fun.

We are starting to make plans and clean/downsize the house in preparation of a move back to Portland. I'm so excited to move back to civilization. Thank goodness I have my job that has allowed this move and the move back. it's also allowed J to continue with his schooling and THANK GOODNESS that is almost over. I'm anxious for him to start working and contributing to the household budget. It's been too long that we've been surviving on one income and the occasional part time work. It's a shame the plasma donation place went under. That was great easy money while it lasted.

We are seriously contemplating trying to get into Linda's house. I'm anxious to build a home with J at this point. We are trying to have a baby and this is a really exciting time for both of us. It feels like we have so much on our plate. Work, Move, Baby, House, more work, WLS, finances... can you say STRESS? both good and bad. My head is spinning just thinking about it. I am thankful Jeremy and I have each other to lean on.