Kelly and Dylan

Diane Sawyer called my friend Tam...Tam!

2009-02-06T22:47:00.001-08:00

Have I mentioned how cool my friends are?!?
WATCH HERE

Did I mention...

2009-02-01T21:25:00.000-08:00

I went to Obama's inauguration? Cause I did. It was a wonderful experience. I am excited that I will get to look at History books when my children are in school and say, "your mom and dad were there." Here are some pics.

Me and Dylan at our seats. See the podium behind us? Yeah...we had good seats! Thanks Dale!

Did I mention it was cold?!? It was cold!!

Our view of the millions of people. In this pic a crowd of people are waving their flags.

Just a few old Presidents/Vice Presidents.:)

The family Bible that was used for Biden's swearing in was HUGE!

It was so funny when she jumped on her little stool. She looked around wondering why everyone was laughing which it even more cute.

The swearing in!!

Just after his speech.

Obama and the millions of people watching.

I Pledge

2009-01-23T14:27:00.000-08:00

MySpace Celebrity and Katalyst present The Presidential Pledge

I pledge to...
...use my canvass bags not only for groceries, but also for clothes, toiletries or any other purchases I make.
...get involved with helping cancer patients and finding a cure.
...get to know my neighbors better.
...help the children I work with to realize their potential and get them the services they need despite the enormity of day-to-day tasks.
...just try.

Christmas and New Year's

2009-01-01T14:06:00.000-08:00

We had a good Christmas. We stayed here in Portland and spent some time with my family. It was pretty mellow and low key. I loved it!

Opening Christmas Eve PJ's.

My niece and nephew.
Did anyone else always get PJ's on Christmas Eve?

Slippers too!:)

Kisses from dad.

Julian playing his new puzzle game. Smartypants.

Julian playing.

Dinner.

We spent New Year's with some friends from our church.

Our first pic of 2009.:)

Our friends. Funny that you can't seem to take a picture with noisemakers without actually blowing the noisemakers.:)

Happy New Year's everyone. I hope 2009 brings you health, happiness and peace!

2008-12-21T18:54:00.000-08:00

It has been a rough few weeks for me and for some reason I don't like doing posts about difficult times. That then prevents me from posting at all, not that I post all that much in the first place. So, here I am posting anyway. Not sure why, but I felt like providing an update.

As most of you know I work with children in foster care and their families. It can be challenging at times to say the least. It can also be very rewarding. 2 weeks ago one of the children I worked with passed away from cancer. Professionally (and personally a bit too) it has been one of the hardest things for me. She lived a short 2 years and had a rough life from the get go. That is hard. Then to get cancer so young. She was an absolutely adorable child and touched every person she came across. I try to remember that about her and not how she was in the end. While I love my work, it is hard not to be reminded of what happened all the time when you have to notify the court, produce narratives, plan and pay for a funeral and eventually close the case. I am grieving with a bunch a paperwork to finish.

In addition, a dear friend of mine from church is also suffering from cancer. Despite this crazy weather I decided to stop by yesterday and drop off a Christmas present. Turns out they were in need of some help. To make a really long story short we had to call an ambulance to get her to the hospital. Dylan chained both our car and theirs and we followed. She is stable right now, but things are not looking good. She is not going to make it through this, although timing is unsure. Knowing that is so hard. I had a small break down on my husband's shoulders saying that I am not yet emotionally prepared for this right now. Yet here I am.

Needless to say I have been a bit emotional as of late. I am here and I am healthy and I am grateful for that.

On a good note. It is Christmas and it is snowing. There is something renewing about the snow. A clean, fresh start. It is healing. Although I haven't had the motivation to put any Christmas decorations up, I am finally starting to feel the Christmas spirit. I may not get to putting up decorations this year and I am okay with that. Luckily I get to spend it with my family and watch 2 sweet kids open up presents Christmas morn. Nothing feeds the heart more than that.:)

On another good note. I am feeling pretty motivated to do some work for a cancer charity. I need to do some research on which one and what I would like to do, but I think it will be good for me to get involved.

Now I am off to wrap presents for the kiddos I work with. I actually enjoy wrapping presents so this is a good thing.

I hope you holidays are safe, happy and healthy.

Karaoke Fun!

2008-11-29T22:34:00.000-08:00

My uncle Mitch celebrated his 50th birthday yesterday. He was in town for Thanksgiving, so we decided to have make it special. We went for a dinner cruise on the Portland Spirit and then we sang some karaoke. It was so fun and funny!:) There is this new karaoke place in NW Portland called Voicebox. You have a private karaoke room for your party. Great way to not be completely embarrassed. I know some participated that never would have. Here are some videos to share.:)

My cousins Lindsey and Anthony. You gotta love the BSB!:)

My brother in law, Seth and cousin Anthony. It is all about picking the right song. This was the right song.

My uncle Mitch, the birthday boy, my dad and my uncle Doug.

If only my camera had not died. You would get a great video of my husband performing (notice I used the word performing and not singing...that was intentional) I'm Too Sexy...I'll say.:)

It's A New Day!!

2008-11-08T22:32:00.000-08:00

Couldn't Be Happier!

2008-11-05T08:04:00.000-08:00

A sigh of relief and a heart full of hope. Thank you America!

OOObama

2008-10-31T22:33:00.000-07:00

Did you see this?

2008-10-30T23:08:00.000-07:00

Vote

2008-10-30T18:27:00.001-07:00

5 More Friends

Locavore Living

2008-10-07T19:57:00.000-07:00

I am trying to be a bit of a Locavore. Don't get me wrong...by no means am I perfect, but I am trying. I have to say I am pretty happy with my results. Not only does my food taste better, but I am more excited about my food. Eating can be such a nuisance sometimes. I love to eat....love it, but sometimes I take it for granted. With this approach, I am appreciating my food in a whole new way. It is all local and organic and wonderful. Plus it is better for the environment because my food doesn't come from long distances. And think about how much more fresh my food is. A lt of times it was picked the day before I bought it at the farmers market. So tasty!

My bigger problem has been planning for winter. How do I keep up with my locavore living when I won't have easy access to the farmers market?!? In an effort to plan ahead...here is what I have done so far:

-I have canned (with my mom and sister) tomatoes, peaches and pears. Next we will can some applesauce.
-I have frozen large quantities of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, green beans, brussel sprouts, beats, broccoli and carrots. More to come on that given the space in my freezer.
-I was trying to freeze a lot of my meat that I get from the farmers market, but as it turns out I can get most of this year round. It is just going to take staying in contact with the meat dealers. I have cards for all my favorites.
-I get my dairy from a local dairy. I do this with my sister because I don't get enough each week to meet the minimum requirement, but I love it. The milk is delicious. As is the yogurt and eggs. Yum. This is year round, thank goodness.

On a side note: We still eat out sometimes. I can't completely control what is in the food from eating out. Although in Portland we are blessed with many amazing restaurants that serve only local food, sometimes it is pretty expensive. To try and help my own head with that a bit I am trying to only eat from little local restaurants. My husband has a bit of an addiction to fast food hamburgers. Here in Portland we have Burgerville, a local hamburger chain. He is just going to have to live with that....no Wendy's or McDonald's for us.:)

* Next year's goal...grow my own garden. I am a little behind the times with this one.

LAST DAY TO REGISTER TO VOTE!!

2008-10-04T10:39:00.000-07:00

In most states this is the last day to register to vote. If you are not registered....do it today. You can do it online. Pretty easy. Good luck.

Here is a little video to encourage you to vote.....well kind of encourage you.;)

Letterman

2008-09-25T23:12:00.000-07:00

Watch the whole thing....no seriously! I think Letterman is funny sometimes.

Interesting read

2008-09-16T15:09:00.001-07:00

This was a random email forwarded to me. I thought it was an interesting read.
______________________________

How Racism Works

What if John McCain were a former president of the Harvard Law Review?
What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his graduating class?

What if McCain were still married to the first woman he said "I do" to?
What if Obama were the candidate who left his first wife after she no longer measured up to his standards?

What if Michelle Obama were a wife who not only became addicted to pain killers, but acquired them illegally through her charitable organization?
What if Cindy McCain graduated from Harvard?

What if Obama were a member of the Keating-5?
What if McCain were a charismatic, eloquent speaker?

If these questions reflected reality, do you really believe the election numbers would be as close as they are?

This is what racism does. It covers up, rationalizes and minimizes positive qualities in one candidate and emphasizes negative qualities in another when there is a color difference.

- Kelvin LaFond, Fort Worth

PS: What if Barack Obama had an unwed, pregnant teenage daughter....

Election Thoughts

2008-09-09T22:27:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking a lot lately about Sarah Palin. It is somewhat wrong to me that she is being insulted for running for vice president with a young infant. Women are told that we can do and be anything. We push for equality and want to be given the opportunity to do it all. It is sad that if she were a man no one would think twice about her running with an infant son. Who ae we to judge? At the same time I have my own personal opinions about the situation and if it were me I would not put myself in the same situation. I would want to put my family first and to me that means not running for the second highest position in American government.

That being said. I am more concerned about this whole "Palin effect." The idea that people are voting for McCain because he picked a woman. People want to stand up to the idea that a woman/mother deserves the chance to be vice president. I agree that women have that right, but what happened to voting for the ISSUES!!!! I personally will not be voting for McCain/Palin becuase I don't agree with their politics. I don't agree with the direction that they want to take this country. In addition, McCain is not young and spry. Anyone that votes for him has to consider that his VP has a likelyhood of becoming our president. I do not want Palin to be my president.

I am deeply worried that what may decide our future president is the need for people to prove that women are capable and deserving of the position of VP. If McCain becomes president I want it to be because people voted wisely. They did their research, read the news, informed themselves on the issues and voted based on what they wanted to see for America. It is the reason we are a democratic nation.

I am encouraging any and all people to do their research. I have included links below to the perspecitve candidates and their issues. Read them. Know the reasons behind your vote. Vote wisely.

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/
http://www.johnmccain.com/Undecided/WhyMcCain.htm

_____________________________

With that said I got an interesting email about Palin. I am sure many of you have seen it. Some information about her from someone that has witnessed her work first hand in Alaska. I thought it was an interesting read. It gives goods and bads. I copied it below. Here is the link giving some validation to email and who wrote it.
http://news.bostonherald.com/news/2008/view.bg?articleid=1117551&format=&page=2&listingType=2008pres#articleFull

If anyone wants the email forwarded to them let me know. She includes her email on it, but I took that off since she doesn't want that stuff posted on websites. Happy reading!

ABOUT SARAH PALIN

I am a resident of Wasilla, Alaska. I have known Sarah since 1992. Everyone here knows Sarah, so it is nothing special to say we are on a first-name basis. Our children have attended the same schools. Her father was my child's favorite substitute teacher. I also am on a first name basis with her parents and mother-in-law. I attended more City Council meetings during her administration than about 99% of the residents of the city.

She is enormously popular; in every way she's like the most popular girl in middle school. Even men who think she is a poor choice and won't vote for her can't quit smiling when talking about her because she is a "babe".

It is astonishing and almost scary how well she can keep a secret. She kept her most recent pregnancy a secret from her children and parents for seven months.

She is "pro-life". She recently gave birth to a Down's syndrome baby. There is no cover-up involved, here; Trig is her baby.

She is energetic and hardworking. She regularly worked out at the gym.

She is savvy. She doesn't take positions; she just "puts things out there" and if they prove to be popular, then she takes credit.

Her husband works a union job on the North Slope for BP and is a champion snowmobile racer. Todd Palin's kind of job is highly sought-after because of the schedule and high pay. He arranges his work schedule so he can fish for salmon in Bristol Bay for a month or so in summer, but by no stretch of the imagination is fishing their major source of income. Nor has her life-style ever been anything like that of native Alaskans.

Sarah and her whole family are avid hunters.

She's smart.

Her experience is as mayor of a city with a population of about 5,000 (at the time), and less than 2 years as governor of a state with about 670,000 residents.

During her mayoral administration most of the actual work of running this small city was turned over to an administrator. She had been pushed to hire this administrator by party power-brokers after she had gotten herself into some trouble over precipitous firings which had given rise to a recall campaign.

Sarah campaigned in Wasilla as a "fiscal conservative". During her 6 years as Mayor, she increased general government expenditures by over 33%. During those same 6 years the amount of taxes collected by the City increased by 38%. This was during a period of low inflation (1996-2002). She reduced progressive property taxes and increased a regressive sales tax which taxed even food. The tax cuts that she promoted benefited large corporate property owners way more than they benefited residents.

The huge increases in tax revenues during her mayoral administration weren't enough to fund everything on her wish list though, borrowed money was needed, too. She inherited a city with zero debt, but left it with indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage the voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said she supported? The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a new library? No. $1m for a park. $15m-plus for construction of a multi-use sports complex which she rushed through to build on a piece of property that the City didn't even have clear title to, that was still in litigation 7 yrs later--to the delight of the lawyers involved! The sports complex itself is a nice addition to the community but a huge money pit, not the profit-generator she claimed it would be. She also supported bonds for $5.5m for road projects that could have been done in 5-7 yrs without any borrowing.

While Mayor, City Hall was extensively remodeled and her office redecorated more than once.

These are small numbers, but Wasilla is a very small city.

As an oil producer, the high price of oil has created a budget surplus in Alaska. Rather than invest this surplus in technology that will make us energy independent and increase efficiency, as Governor she proposed distribution of this surplus to every individual in the state.

In this time of record state revenues and budget surpluses, she recommended that the state borrow/bond for road projects, even while she proposed distribution of surplus state revenues: spend today's surplus, borrow for needs.

She's not very tolerant of divergent opinions or open to outside ideas or compromise. As Mayor, she fought ideas that weren't generated by her or her staff. Ideas weren't evaluated on their merits, but on the basis of who proposed them.

While Sarah was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire our highly respected City Librarian because the Librarian refused to consider removing from the library some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents rallied to the defense of the City Librarian and against Palin's attempt at out-and-out censorship, so Palin backed down and withdrew her termination letter. People who fought her attempt to oust the Librarian are on her enemies list to this day.

Sarah complained about the "old boy's club" when she first ran for Mayor, so what did she bring Wasilla? A new set of "old boys". Palin fired most of the experienced staff she inherited. At the City and as Governor she hired or elevated new, inexperienced, obscure people, creating a staff totally dependent on her for their jobs and eternally grateful and fiercely loyal--loyal to the point of abusing their power to further her personal agenda, as she has acknowledged happened in the case of pressuring the State's top cop (see below).

As Mayor, Sarah fired Wasilla's Police Chief because he "intimidated" her, she told the press. As Governor, her recent firing of Alaska's top cop has the ring of familiarity about it. He served at her pleasure and she had every legal right to fire him, but it's pretty clear that an important factor in her decision to fire him was because he wouldn't fire her sister's ex-husband, a State Trooper. Under investigation for abuse of power, she has had to admit that more than 2 dozen contacts were made between her staff and family to the person that she later fired, pressuring him to fire her ex-brother-in-law. She tried to replace the man she fired with a man who she knew had been reprimanded for sexual harassment; when this caused a public furor, she withdrew her support.

She has bitten the hand of every person who extended theirs to her in help. The City Council person who personally escorted her around town introducing her to voters when she first ran for Wasilla City Council became one of her first targets when she was later elected Mayor. She abruptly fired her loyal City Administrator; even people who didn't like the guy were stunned by this ruthlessness.

Fear of retribution has kept all of these people from saying anything publicly about her.

When then-Governor Murkowski was handing out political plums, Sarah got the best, Chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission: one of the few jobs not in Juneau and one of the best paid. She had no background in oil & gas issues. Within months of scoring this great job which paid $122,400/yr, she was complaining in the press about the high salary. I was told that she hated that job: the commute, the structured hours, the work. Sarah became aware that a member of this Commission (who was also the State Chair of the Republican Party) engaged in unethical behavior on the job. In a gutsy move which some undoubtedly cautioned her could be political suicide, Sarah solved all her problems in one fell swoop: got out of the job she hated and garnered gobs of media attention as the patron saint of ethics and as a gutsy fighter against the "old boys' club" when she dramatically quit, exposing this man's ethics violations (for which he was fined).

As Mayor, she had her hand stuck out as far as anyone for pork from Senator Ted Stevens. Lately, she has castigated his pork-barrel politics and publicly humiliated him. She only opposed the "bridge to nowhere" after it became clear that it would be unwise not to.

As Governor, she gave the Legislature no direction and budget guidelines, then made a big grandstand display of line-item vetoing projects, calling them pork. Public outcry and further legislative action restored most of these projects--which had been vetoed simply because she was not aware of their importance--but with the unobservant she had gained a reputation as "anti-pork".

She is solidly Republican: no political maverick. The State party leaders hate her because she has bit them in the back and humiliated them. Other members of the party object to her self-description as a fiscal conservative.

Around Wasilla there are people who went to high school with Sarah. They call her "Sarah Barracuda" because of her unbridled ambition and predatory ruthlessness. Before she became so powerful, very ugly stories circulated around town about shenanigans she pulled to be made point guard on the high school basketball team. When Sarah's mother-in-law, a highly respected member of the community and experienced manager, ran for Mayor, Sarah refused to endorse her.

As Governor, she stepped outside of the box and put together of package of legislation known as "AGIA" that forced the oil companies to march to the beat of her drum.

Like most Alaskans, she favors drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. She has questioned if the loss of sea ice is linked to global warming. She campaigned "as a private citizen" against a state initiaitive that would have either a) protected salmon streams from pollution from mines, or b) tied up in the courts all mining in the state (depending on who you listen to). She has pushed the State's lawsuit against the Dept. of the Interior's decision to list polar bears as threatened species.

McCain is the oldest person to ever run for President; Sarah will be a heartbeat away from being President.

There has to be literally millions of Americans who are more knowledgeable and experienced than she.

However, there's a lot of people who have underestimated her and are regretting it.

CLAIM VS FACT
•"Hockey mom": true for a few years
•"PTA mom": true years ago when her first-born was in elementary school, not since
•"NRA supporter": absolutely true
•social conservative: mixed. Opposes gay marriage, BUT vetoed a bill that would have denied benefits to employees in same-sex relationships (said she did this because it was unconsitutional).
•pro-creationism: mixed. Supports it, BUT did nothing as Governor to promote it.
•"Pro-life": mixed. Knowingly gave birth to a Down's syndrome baby BUT declined to call a special legislative session on some pro-life legislation
•"Experienced": Some high schools have more students than Wasilla has residents. Many cities have more residents than the state of Alaska. No legislative experience other than City Council. Little hands-on supervisory or managerial experience; needed help of a city administrator to run town of about 5,000.
•political maverick: not at all
•gutsy: absolutely!
•open & transparent: ??? Good at keeping secrets. Not good at explaining actions.
•has a developed philosophy of public policy: no
•"a Greenie": no. Turned Wasilla into a wasteland of big box stores and disconnected parking lots. Is pro-drilling off-shore and in ANWR.
•fiscal conservative: not by my definition!
•pro-infrastructure: No. Promoted a sports complex and park in a city without a sewage treatment plant or storm drainage system. Built streets to early 20th century standards.
•pro-tax relief: Lowered taxes for businesses, increased tax burden on residents
•pro-small government: No. Oversaw greatest expansion of city government in Wasilla's history.
•pro-labor/pro-union. No. Just because her husband works union doesn't make her pro-labor. I have seen nothing to support any claim that she is pro-labor/pro-union.

WHY AM I WRITING THIS?
First, I have long believed in the importance of being an informed voter. I am a voter registrar. For 10 years I put on student voting programs in the schools. If you google my name (Anne Kilkenny + Alaska), you will find references to my participation in local government, education, and PTA/parent organizations.

Secondly, I've always operated in the belief that "Bad things happen when good people stay silent". Few people know as much as I do because few have gone to as many City Council meetings.

Third, I am just a housewife. I don't have a job she can bump me out of. I don't belong to any organization that she can hurt. But, I am no fool; she is immensely popular here, and it is likely that this will cost me somehow in the future: that's life.

Fourth, she has hated me since back in 1996, when I was one of the 100 or so people who rallied to support the City Librarian against Sarah's attempt at censorship.

Fifth, I looked around and realized that everybody else was afraid to say anything because they were somehow vulnerable.

CAVEATS
I am not a statistician. I developed the numbers for the increase in> spending & taxation 2 years ago (when Palin was running for Governor) from information supplied to me by the Finance Director of the City of Wasilla, and I can't recall exactly what I adjusted for: did I adjust for inflation? for population increases? Right now, it is impossible for a private person to get any info out of City Hall--they are swamped. So I can't verify my numbers.

You may have noticed that there are various numbers circulating for the population of Wasilla, ranging from my "about 5,000", up to 9,000. The day Palin's selection was announced a city official told me that the current population is about 7,000. The official 2000 census count was 5,460. I have used about 5,000 because Palin was Mayor from 1996 to 2002, and the city was growing rapidly in the mid-90's.

Not trying to offend here...

2008-06-30T22:21:00.000-07:00

...but you have to admit, it's funny.:)

My Niece!

2008-06-23T22:57:00.000-07:00

Watch this video!

My favorite is the pig of course.:)

Crazy Concert Folk

2008-06-20T23:11:00.000-07:00

My cousin and I went to see a band called The Blow last weekend. They (which really is just a she) are local and I really dig her voice. We were pretty excited. Little did we know how much entertainment we were in for!:) The opening band was a group called Glass Candy. Heard of them? The Beat Box guy was pretty cool. The singer however?!? You be the judge. No matter what we had a good time and laughed A LOT!:)

Now, I don't want to take away from the woman we did go to see, so check out her music HERE.

Modern Conveniences

2008-06-19T23:32:00.000-07:00

It is shocking to me how many things there are in my life that I feel like I can't live without and in fact wonder how I ever lived without them before. Here are a few:

1. Cellphone. While I hate the idea of being available all the time...I love being available all the time.
2. Laptop. Computer on a desk, no way. I want it in my lap and I want to be able to take it with me where ever I may go!
2.5. I am throwing in Wireless Internet with that one. Again, kind of like having a portable system with me at all times.
3. TiVo. This one just makes us seem spoiled, but really, I love it. I can't tell you how many times we use the slow motion feature, especially during So You Think You Can Dance season.:)
4. Digital Camera. I can't believe how many crappy prints I had to pay to print before. Thankfully now I can take pictures over and over again just to get the right one.
5. Email. Enough said, however I would like to give an honorable mention to Google, Google Reader, Google Maps and well just about anything Google creates.

What about you? Any modern conveniences you can't imagine living without?

my nephews first movie!

2008-06-19T22:17:00.000-07:00

Well...kind of...it was in an old theater with a really small screen that is kind of more like a big TV. Either way, it was a new movie for him and on a screen bigger than his TV. He liked Horton Hears a Who and I liked that I got to go. Afterwards we played in the arcade a bit. He was getting pretty good at air hockey until mom got him good. Luckily he didn't care.:)

Spring rocks!

2008-05-06T22:51:00.000-07:00

Our Yard.

Flowers for my birthday.

From the tulip festival.

29 and over the hill!!

2008-05-06T22:17:00.000-07:00

I am not sure why 29 freaks me out, but I would rather be 30. I remember being a child and buying my mom a mug that said "29 and over the hill." And now...here I am...29!

Luckily, despite my old age, I had a great birthday! Guess how cool my family is?!? So cool they made me a barbie cake. I had one when I turned 6 or 7 and clearly I am still young at heart!:)

Look at her holding my candle for me...so nice!
Her skirt....frosting! Amazing right!

Dylan took me to the coast for a little birthday R&R. I love going to Cannon Beach! It is the best. I don't even care if it is raining....it is so beautiful and peaceful. Luckily it was beautiful weather and honestly, the timing could not have been more perfect!

Beautiful Haystack Rock!

We love walking around during low tide.

There were tons of colorful starfish.

Birds not being annoying and wanting to be fed. :)

Playing in the water!

Jump higher!This is my favorite spot. Watching the ocean, next to the fire & reading a book. Ahhh!

My view while watching the ocean, sitting next to the fire and reading a book.

Lovely sunset.

Thanks for the trip baby!

Anniversary!

2008-05-06T22:06:00.001-07:00

That is right folks....we have been married for 3 years. Well, we were married for 3 years in March, but better late than never to let you know about our festivities, eh? We went on a great snowboarding trip in Bend, OR. It was wonderful and we are already making plans to go back again next year.:)

Can you tell who's who?

Clearly we should have taken more scenery shots...so lovely!

Don't ask me why I think this is so funny?!?

2008-04-24T23:41:00.000-07:00

Obama in Portland!

2008-03-21T19:04:00.000-07:00

I know the last few posts have focused on Obama. What can I say? I really like this man, plus so much has happened that I can 't help but write about.

First of all...I saw him...in person...live...the future Commander in Chief of my home! I couldn't believe that I was honored enough to be in this man's presence. I laughed. I cried. I cheered. But more than anything, I felt hope. Hope for America. Hope for my niece and nephew. Hope for my future kids. Hope for the people I work with and go to church with. Hope. And, as it was so well put...."there has never been anyting false about hope."

Here are some pics.

Did I mention I was in the front row of the seated section?!? Cause I was.:) This was right before Bill Richardson announced his endorsement.

This was while Obama was speaking. I wanted to take more, but my camera was out of juice.:(

I took a little video too. Again, would have liked more.

There is so much I could say about him and his speech. Not sure how many people watch C-SPAN? You can see him there.:) Some points he made that I loved:

-When he talked about why he is running now he quoted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and said that "he believes in the fierce urgency of now." He explained that the need is now. I agree!

-He often brought up the point that we, America, need to be ready for change. That we need to stop talking and start doing. One of my favorite points that he made in regards to this was his plan for education. Particularly higher education. He has a plan to give college students tuition breaks...$4,000 a year. In turn, each student would need to give back through community service...local or international. I felt that he is trying to create a stronger sense of community. Have any of you read "Re-Building the Front Porch of America" by Patrick Overton? It is filled with essays about how people have moved from the public front porch, where they engaged in conversations with their neighbors and waved as people drove down the street, to the very private back yard. People now drive into their garage, shut their garage doors and walk into their homes. That connection with the neighborhood and community is being lost in America. We need it back! I believe that Obama wants us to get that back!

-He talked about healthcare in a way that seems possible. He talked about greenhouse gases and clean energy resources in a way that made sense and was realistic. He talked about the economy, jobs in America, appropriate tax breaks and the continued need for a free market. He talked about the war in Iraq and not just ending the war, bot the mindset that got us into war. He talked about our amazing Military the responsibility we have to take care of them.

Senator Obama mentioned that we are on the brink of something amazing right now. Our country is divided in so many ways and I believe he is the person capable of bringing us back as one. I believe in change! I believe in hope!

One last thing. In case you missed Richardson's endorsement, you can watch it below!

2008-03-18T22:30:00.000-07:00

click here

2008-03-18T17:28:00.000-07:00

So worth watching. Whatever your political views this speech is worth watching. He is a man of conviction and a man of hope. He is poetic and well spoken. Not only does he give me hope, but I respect him. I am eager to see what unfolds.

New Day

2008-03-13T19:27:00.000-07:00

Well folks...I am feeling so much better today. In fact I am feeling like a new person today. I still hurt, but I have had more energy and have felt more like myself. Yeah for me. I know I mentioned I had surgery in a previous blog, but didn't go into detail. I had my tonsils removed and my deviated septum fixed. It seems so small, but it has been rough. Luckily today was a new day. I am still on soft foods, i.e. mashed potatoes, jello, overcooked noodles, and soup, but the doc says I should be able to eat normally in 10 more days. And honestly....the nose was a breeze. As soon as they took the nose packs out and I could breath my nose didn't hurt so bad. It is my stinkin throat! Ouch! Thought I would pass along an update. Hope you are all healthy and happy!:)

2008-03-09T10:09:00.001-07:00

2008-03-08T06:52:00.001-08:00

I got these in emails and decided to post them here. I am usually not into these things, but I am home recovering from surgery and had nothing better to do.....so, enjoy:

Firsts...
Who was your first prom date?
Karl and technically it was the Christmas Dance, but honestly it was fancier than prom at my school. Prom would probably be Bridger.

Do you still talk to your first love?
Nope.

What was your first alcoholic drink?
Unfortunately, Beer...I think.

What was your first job?
Other than babysitting?!? My first summer of full employment included, working in a phone store, selling tickets for a local amphitheater and driving the beverage/snack cart on a golf course.

What was your first car?
1979 Mazada 323 Hatchback. I had bumper stickers all over the back of it....it was lovely!

Who was the first person to text you today?
My sister.

Who is the first person you thought of this morning?
My husband and how badly I wanted him to feel rested.

Who was your first grade teacher?
Mrs. Black ( I think that was her name). She was kind of depressing. Her husband died over the summer and she would spend all our breaks crying in the reading nook of our room.:(

Where did you go on your first ride on an airplane?
I believe CA to go to Disneyland. That is the first one I remember at least.

When you snuck out of your house for the first time, who was it with?
I didn't really need to sneak out. There was one time when I went to my mom and told her I was home. I then left the house with my friend Jack and we went on a long walk in the middle of the night.

Who was your FIRST best friend and are you still friends with them?
My very first best friend was Robbie Traver. I don't keep in touch with her at all, although I would love to know what she is up to.

Where was your first sleep over?
Hmmm...I believe it was at my friend Delilah's house.

Who was the first person you talked to this morning?
My husband

Whose wedding were you in for the first time?
My aunt's when I was 5. After that a few cousins weddings that I sang in when I was in my late teens.

What was the first thing you did this morning?
Took my painkillers...I just had surgery.:(

First tattoo or piercing?
Earrings before I was one. Tattoo when I was 16.

Who was your first kiss?
Gabe

When was your first detention?
Never...go me!:)

What was the first state you lived in?
Utah

Who was your first roommate?
This girl named Jen. We weren't roommates for long. It was pretty bad. My rommies after her were much better.

Fours…
4 jobs I have had in my life:

1. Beverage cart girl on a golf course.
2. Driver of a 15 seater van for a teen mother program through the YWCA.
3. Tour Guide for the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games.
4. Social Worker in Child Welfare.

4 movies I've watched more than once:

1. Aladdin - don't ask me why. I watched this more times than I can count when I was in high school.
2. Little Women - love this show...still do.
3. Miracle of 34th Street - the newer unfortunately. I feel like parts of that movie are magical.
4. Legally Blonde - again don't ask.

4 places I have lived in my life:

1. Salt Lake City, UT
2. Tucson, AZ
3. New York City, NY
4. Portland, OR

4 TV shows I watch:

1. Grey's Anatomy
2. Ugly Betty
3. Amazing Race
4. America's Next Top Model

4 places I have been:

1. The Czech Republic and Slovakia
2. Luxembourg
3. Niger, West Africa
4. Morocco

4 people who email me regularly:

1. my sister
2. my mom
3. my brother-in-law
4. my supervisor at work

4 of my favorite foods:

1. Salad with homemade dressing.
2. Most things from the farmers market.
3. Enchilada's
4. Breakfast scrambles:)

4 Places I would rather be right now:

1. One month from today, no longer in pain and happy I had my surgery!
2. Kona Village, Hawaii
3. New York City, NY
4. On a date with my hubby, although he is taking really good care of me.

4 things I'm looking forward to in 2008

1. A trip to Alaska
2. Enjoying the blessings of this surgery.
3. My job...it is true, I like my job.
4. Fun little things here and there like hiking, biking, mini-vacations, going to the beach, snowboarding, my hubby and much more. I do love the little things!

Yes We Can!!!

2008-02-04T17:07:00.000-08:00

I love this man! He is very reminiscent of Martin Luther King Jr.

Holidays

2008-01-25T20:17:00.000-08:00

I wanted to post about our holidays and of course I didn't get around to it. Luckily, I know someone that did and better than I would have anyway.:) Enter the amazing blogger and sister-in-law Tara.

Viva Las Vegas!!

2007-12-11T21:17:00.000-08:00

I wonder how many blog posts are titled that?!?

Dylan had to go to Vegas for a work conference. It seemed like the perfect opportunity for me to tag along. Work paid for the hotel and my dad lives less than 2 hours away. We planned it a week before, so it felt so spontaneous. Spontaneity is harder for me these days with my job, but we did and I am so glad we did. We stayed on the strip for a couple days and then spent the next couple days at my dads. It was a great trip and I am glad we did it.

Our hotel....thanks to Dylan's job!

The view at sunset. Pretty nice for Vegas, eh?

Dylan got a new fancy camera. I am in ever shot because he likes to test the lighting and zoom and features. This is one of many from this trip. I really mean many...like 100 or so. I think I still look quite patient considering. He thinks not.

Top of the Stratosphere. It is the tallest building west of the Mississippi.

The Big Shot. It is the best ride ever and it just so happens to be on top of the tallest building west of the Mississippi. We did it twice!:)

The Bellagio water/light show.

I could watch for hours.

Ever since I was a kid I have been going golfing with my dad. I don't play all that much, although I have tried before, I am really good at driving the cart. I even worked on a golf course one summer. I was the beverage cart girl. I have many fond memories on the course with my dad. Now my hubby could join. It was nice.

My dad has a sweet swing.

My dad also gives really good pointers and I think Dylan played quite well.

They look so official. He made the shot.

Family

2007-12-10T21:07:00.000-08:00

I am lucky to live close to family. I like having children I can dote after. Plus my niece has taken a liking to me and I pretty much love it. She is in her mommy-itis phase of life and wants to held by mom all the time...unless I am around.:) My mom, her grandma, is a bit jealous, but what can I say?!? She is laughing and smiling and learning so much. I love this age.

There is a mirror on the other side of that toy. She is very intrigued by her own reflection.

SICKO

2007-09-06T12:27:00.000-07:00

I am sure at this point a lot of you have seen SICKO. Personally I am a Michael Moore fan, but it doesn't matter if you are a fan or not regarding this topic.

The movie makes a point that this is not a political party issue and I agree, this is a human rights issue. Everyone has a right to good health care. Everyone. For me this is especially true for children. I work in Child Welfare. If it wasn't for the fact that Oregon provides the Oregon Health Plan to some lower income folks and their children, I don't what would happen to the children I work with. A lot of them have been very neglected and without OHP, they would not be able to see a doctor. Parents would be given a second chance to care for their children, because being able to care for basic needs includes health care. It is sad really. At what point did we stop caring for our own? At what point did insurance companies become more obsessed with the dollar signs than the bottom line?

Did you know?!?

The United States is ranked #37 as a health system by the World Health Organization.

"The U. S. health system spends a higher portion of its gross domestic product than any other country but ranks 37 out of 191 countries according to its performance, the report finds." "World Health Organization Assesses The World's Health Systems," Press Release, WHO/44, June 21, 2000. http://www.who.int/inf-pr-2000/en/pr2000-44.html

Canadians live three years longer than we do.

The 2006 United Nations Human Development Report's human development index states the life expectancy in the United States is 77.5, and the life expectancy in Canada is 80.2. Human Development Report 2006, United Nations Development Programme, 2006 at 283.
http://hdr.undp.org/hdr2006/pdfs/report/HDR06-complete.pdf.

In a study of older Americans and Brits, the Brits had less of almost every major disease. Even the poorest Brit can expect to live longer than the richest American.

"The US population in late middle age is less healthy than the equivalent British population for diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, myocardial infarction, stroke, lung disease, and cancer. Within each country, there exists a pronounced negative socioeconomic status (SES) gradient with self-reported disease so that health disparities are largest at the bottom of the education or income variants of the SES hierarchy. This conclusion is generally robust to control for a standard set of behavioral risk factors, including smoking, overweight, obesity, and alcohol drinking, which explain very little of these health differences… Level differences between countries are sufficiently large that individuals in the top of the education and income strata in the United States have comparable rates of diabetes and heart disease as those in the bottom of the income and education strata in England." (See also Table 1 - for example, prevalence of diabetes among high-income Americans is 8.2 per thousand, while it's 7.3 among low-income Brits.) Banks, Marmot et al., "Disease and Disadvantage in the United States and in England," Journal of the American Medical Association, 2006;295:2037-2045.

A baby born in El Salvador has a better chance of surviving than a baby born in Detroit.

According to the United Nations Statistics Division, Population and Vital Statistics Report, the rate of infant deaths per thousand in El Salvador is 10.5. "Table 3, Live births, deaths, and infant deaths, latest available year, June 15, 2007." http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/vitstats/serATab3.pdf

According to the Michigan Department of Community Health, the rate of infant deaths for Detroit is 15.9 per thousand. "Number of Infant Deaths, Live Births and Infant Death Rates for Selected Cities of Residence, 2005 and 2001 - 2005 Average," Michigan Department of Community Health Web Site, http://www.mdch.state.mi.us/pha/osr/InDxMain/Tab4.asp.

In the U.S., health care costs run nearly $7,000 per person. But in Cuba, they spend around $251 per person.

United States health spending per capita is $6,697 per person according to Catlin, A, C. Cowan, S. Heffler, et al, "National Health Spending in 2005." Health Affairs 26:1 (2006). As with the number of uninsured, the number continues to increase and is projected to be $7,092 per capita in 2006, $7,498 per capita in 2007 and reaching $12,782 by 2016, according the Department of Health and Human Services Center for Medicare and Medicaid Expenditures, National Health Expenditures Projections 2006-2016,
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/NationalHealthExpendData/downloads/proj2006.pdf

The 2006 United Nations Human Development Report says Cuba spends $251 per capitaHuman Development Report 2006, United Nations Development Programme, 2006. http://hdr.undp.org/hdr2006/statistics/indicators/52.html) on health care. (

In Cuba, access to health care is universal.

"Cuban dissatisfaction with their personal lives does not mean they are negative about the revolutionary government's achievements in health care and education. A near unanimous 96 percent of respondents say that health care in Cuba is accessible to everyone. Gallup polls in other Latin American cities have found that on average only 42 percent believe health care is accessible." Gallup/ Consultoría Interdisciplinaria en Desarrollo, "Cubans Show Little Satisfaction with Opportunities and Individual Freedom Rare Independent Survey Finds Large Majorities Are Still Proud of Island's Health Care and Education," January 10, 2007.
http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/articles/brlatinamericara/
300.php?nid=&id=&pnt=300&lb=brla

Cuba has a lower infant mortality rate and a longer average lifespan than the United States.

The 2006 United Nations Human Development Report's human development index states the life expectancy in the United States is 77.5, and is 77.6 in Cuba. Human Development Report 2006, United Nations Development Programme, 2006 at 283. http://hdr.undp.org/hdr2006/pdfs/report/HDR06-complete.pdf.

According to the United Nations Statistics Division, Population and Vital Statistics Report, the rate of infant deaths per thousand in Cuba is 6.2 per thousand, and in the United States is 6.8. "Table 3, Live births, deaths, and infant deaths, latest available year, June 15, 2007."
http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/vitstats/serATab3.pdf

I am all for socialism....we have socialized libraries, emergency services and public education to name a few. I would love universal health care, but that is me. I know that is completely realistic right now. So, can we at least have insurance companies be not-for-profit? I have never really understood that anyway. Why are insurance companies, who are supposed to be protecting us, in this to make a profit? Did you know that some doctors can get very large bonuses from insurance companies for denying procedures? Pretty sad that someone may die from that denial and the insurance companies don't care.

My advice would be to vote for leaders and policy changes that will ensure every persons right to medical care.

That is my two cents.

2007-06-24T17:49:00.000-07:00

What a week. Our old washer was on the fritz. We had someone come look at it and it seemed better to get a new one then fix the old. That meant a new dryer as well because our previous one was attached to the washer. We have a small house and the laundry room is actually a laundry closet.:) So this is what we got.

It also required an electrician to come in and add another plug to make it work. Our cute little house is small AND old. We love it though. Mixing a little new with the old.

We were so fascinated by it when we first got it we both sat and watched it wash the first load. What a way to spend a Saturday night, eh?!?

So I guess that is how I will be spending my week...watching the washer. Dylan is in China until Saturday.:( Just kidding.....wanna hang out?!?

marriage

2007-06-24T17:35:00.001-07:00

It is amazing the things you will do with someone when you have been living together for a few years.

2007-06-08T21:56:00.000-07:00

I don't have much to write actually, but I am regularly picked on for not updating this thing.

Remember that dreadfully long training for work?!? It is done. Thank goodness. Although I am starting to learn there are trainings all the time for my work. I am actually okay with that. I like learning and there is so much to learn in this field. It is the long ones where I have to drive large distances that bother me.:)

Dylan and I recently enjoyed a little camping vacation. Although it was short it was delightful and we decided to try and camp more this summer.

I have decided I really miss rock climbing. Does anyone in Portland climb and feel like they could use a climbing buddy? If so let me know. My hubby doesn't climb and all my climbing friends have moved. Sad me.:(

Where to start?!?

2007-04-25T22:17:00.000-07:00

So much has happened since my last post and posting is not so much a priority these days, so here I am late, but happy to report.:)

My sister that was about to pop did in fact pop. She gave birth to my beautiful niece, Eliot Anniya, on March 14th. I was able to see the birth. It was completely amazing and totally different than I thought. She is really beautiful and fills all my baby fixes. I am good to go.:)
Here are some pics, so you can judge for yourself!

Just born!

Me with the newborn.

Around a week or so...I think.

My nephew with his sister....he took awhile to warm up to her, and now he can't stop kissing her. Pretty sweet.

Good stretch.

Continuing on.:)

So after the birth of this lovely lady Dylan and I enjoyed our 2 year anniversary. So weird that we have been married for 2 years. Feels like it should be longer and feels like time has gone by so fast....all at the same time. Well we whisked ourselves away for a weekend to Hood River. I know....not so far in distance, but really fun and simple. We stayed at the Columbia River Gorge Hotel and relaxed the whole time. Then on the way back we took the Old Highway and enjoyed all the waterfalls and scenery we have somehow missed living in Portland all these years. It was a perfect anniversary.

Here are some pics of that too.

Look at our measly little 2nd year. We decided we are going back for our 50th.:)

The view from our room. Lovely place!

The delicious treats they leave on your nightstand....yum!

Pretty waterfall...I am wondering why I am in all the pics.:)

Then after our lovely anniversary I started this really, really painful training for work. I love my job and the student in me loves trainings, but this one is painful. It is 5 cumulative weeks of training stretched out over 7 weeks. So there are 2 random weeks I am back at the office, but the bulk of my time is spent in Salem. For those of you non-Oregonians that is our state capitol and about an hour south of Portland. Factor in traffic and you are looking at 1.5 hours of travel time...on a daily basis....for 5 weeks. My bum gets numb and then I have to drive home. Ugh. I am learning a lot so that is good, but I will be happy when I can get back to my job.....in the end of May.:)

No pics to share of this.:)

And lastly, last week was my birthday. I am 28 years old. I remember when my mom turned 29 because we got her a mug at Hallmark that said "29 and over the hill." My mother....and now I am one year away from that. Age doesn't scare me, but for some reason it feels surreal growing older. Anyway. I had dinner with my family the weekend before and had to work on my birthday, BUT, in a week I am taking a day off and hanging out with my hubby. We are going to spend some time at the beach and I am getting a massage. That is my real birthday. I am pretty excited.

Pics to come on this one.

So there you have it. 2 months in a nutshell.

old friends, new lives

2007-03-01T22:18:00.000-08:00

I just read blogs from some friends from high school. They are all well and happy. Married with kids or kids on the way. It is so weird to remember who we were in high school. Actually we were all quite different. But they have stayed more true to me than the folks I did hang out with.

I do think it is funny that once you have a kid your blog is all about them. In fact having kids actually gives you something to blog about. Since I am lacking in that department I will post a new pic of my nephew. I should note that his sister will be joining us very soon. My poor sister is about to pop!:)

Big Girl Job!

2007-02-07T22:11:00.000-08:00

Well I got a new job. It is a bit of a risk on my part, but I am pretty excited about it. I am a Child Welfare Caseworker for the state. It is pretty overwhelming so far and I feel like there is a 10-year learning curve, but I love it all the same. I am helping kids and that means a lot to me. So, there you have it. Big job to go with my big girl life. I don't remember the exact moment I grew up.

2007-01-11T16:50:00.000-08:00

Create your own friendquiz here

2006 part 2

2007-01-11T13:46:00.000-08:00

What did you do in 2006 that you’ve never done before? Learned to snowboard, visited my husbands favorite summer vacation spot, received my Master's degree, lost my cell phone, started volunteering with my dream job in hopes of it becoming my real job.

Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions and will you make more for next year? I am not much of a resolution gal.

Did anyone close to you give birth? several friends

Did anyone close to you die? Yes.

What countries did you visit? Does Utah count as a foreign country?!? Just kidding!:) I love my Utahans.

What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006? A big girl job!!!

What date from 2006 will remain etched in your memory and why? March 22nd. One year wedding anniversary!:)

What was your biggest achievement of the year? Completing my degree and starting to learn to say no.

What was your biggest failure? I am sure I have had many. Hopefully I learned something and was able to move on.

Did you suffer illness or injury? Nothing major.

What was the best thing you bought? My degree, my video iPod, my Palm Treo.

Where did most of your money go? Education and travelling.

What did you get really, really, really excited about? Quality time with my hubby. Seriously!

Happier or sadder? Happier

Thinner or fatter? Same

Richer or poorer? Who knows?!?

What do you wish you’d done more of? Spending quality time with my hubby.

What do you wish you’d done less of? Dealing with technology problems. The plagued 2006!

How did you spend Christmas? At my mom's.

Did you fall in love in 2006? Over and over and over again.

What was your favorite TV show? Grey’s Anatomy, Studio 60, Heroes, Ugly Betty

What was the best book you read? Night, Working Poor, Long Way Down, the first fun book after finishing school...I don't even remember the name, but boy was it nice to read something for fun again.

What was your greatest musical discovery of 2006? KT Tunstall, Wailin' Jenny's, Imogen Heap, and I rediscovered Bonnie Raitt and Shawn Colvin

What did you want and get? A degree

What did you want and not get? A job....not just any, my dream job.

What was your favorite film this year? V for Vendetta, Casino Royale, Failure to Launch, Nanny McPhee, Inconvenient Truth, and so many more that I can't remember.:)

What did you do on your birthday? I had dinner with my husband and my mother.

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Travelling more.

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006? Whatever was on sale.

What kept you sane? My husband and my mother.

Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Barack Obama

What political issue stirred you the most? The war, global warming, OR state elections.

Who did you miss? My niece and nephew.

Who was the best new person you met? The person that allowed me to volunteer with my dream job in hopes of it becoming my real job.

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2006. Learn to say no and try to be more patient.

*thanks tara...again!

2006

2007-01-11T13:45:00.000-08:00

JANUARY
1. Where were you on New Years Eve? St George, UT
2. Did you have a new year's resolution this year?I am not a resolution gal!
3. Does it snow where you live? Sometimes.
4. Do you like hot chocolate? Of course!
5. Have you ever been to Times Square to watch the ball drop? Nope.

FEBRUARY
1. Who was your Valentine? Dylan
2. When you were little, did you buy valentines for your whole class? Yes I did.
3. Do you care if the groundhog sees its shadow or not? Uh..not so much.

MARCH
1. Are you Irish? Nope.
2. Do you wear green on St. Patty's Day? Something small.
3. What did you do for St. Patty's Day in 2006? Worked and went to class.
4. Are you happy when winter is over? Usually.

APRIL
1. Do you like the rain? I live in Portland, OR...what do you think?!?
2. Did you play an April fool's joke on anyone this year? A really lame one on my husband.:)
3. Do you get tons of candy on Easter? Nope.
4. Do you celebrate 4/20? Um...no.
5. Do you love the month of April? Hello...my birthday is in April.

MAY
1. What's your favorite kind of flower? Purple Tulips.
2. Finish the phrase "April showers": Are the perfect excuse for wearing cute rain boots (thanks tara)
3. What is the first color you think of when you think of Spring? Yellow

JUNE
1. What year do/did you graduate from High School?1997
2. Anything special happen to you in June? I graduated.

JULY
1. What did you do on the Fourth of July? Had a BBQ with the fam.
2. Did you go on any vacations during this month? I think I went to NYC.

AUGUST
1. Did you do anything special at the end of your summer? Visited Palmyra, upstate and Ashburn.
2. What was your favorite summer memory of '06? Water-skiing
3. Did you have a sunburn? Nope, I was a good.
4. Do you go to the beach a lot? Yep.

SEPTEMBER
1. Did you attend college in 06? Yes.
2. Who is your favorite teacher? So many. My 4th and 6th grad teachers, my 8th grade science teacher, my high school humanities teacher, my undergraduate choir professor and writing professor, my graduate nonprofit management professor.
3. Do you like fall better than summer? Yes. Most definitely.

OCTOBER
1. What was your favorite Halloween costume? I was a human pompom once. I won $5!
2. What's your favorite candy? Bottlecaps
3. What did you dress up as this year? Um...a candy passer outer.:)
4. Carve a pumpkin this year? No.

NOVEMBER
1. Whose house do you go to for Thanksgiving? I was at the beach with my family.
2. Do you love stuffing? Not as much as all the other stuff.
3. What are you thankful for? My husband, my family, my opportunities.

DECEMBER
1. Do you celebrate Christmas? Yep.
2. Have you ever been kissed under mistletoe? Yep.
3. Get anything special? A video iPod, rain boots, a new cooking pan, tickets to see 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
4. What did you want this year? See #3.
5. Do you like cold weather? For the most part.

*thanks tara:)

Blogger and slide shows

2006-11-06T12:43:00.000-08:00

I don't know why I haven't been posting. Not much to say I guess. Plus why am I posting anyway?!? I think the blogger fascination has now passed and I am moving on. Who knows? I could change and want to post more later. For now that is where I stand.

I did make this cool slide show recently. You can enjoy it as much as I do. If only there was music to play in the background as well!

Get Your Own! | View Slideshow

Friends

2006-09-01T10:41:00.000-07:00

I have the coolest friends. I really do. My dear friends live all over and do the most amazing things. Seriously! Here is just an example of what some are working on right now:

National release of musical album.
Business start-up through the web.
Writing for Good Morning America.
Saving lives as a nurse.
Mothers and fathers.
Completed or completing advanced degrees in medicine, dental, business, law, etc.
Designing.
Writing books.
Working in dream jobs.
Starting nonprofits.

Can you believe I know such great people?!? Me neither actually. They make me proud and they are such great examples to me. I only hope I can accomplish such great things in my own life!

I love you!

2006-08-27T16:32:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TARA!!!!

We love you!:)

Wanna see where I have been?

2006-08-13T21:26:00.000-07:00

create your own visited country map

create your own personalized map of the USA

create your personalized map of europe

wow....

2006-06-28T22:09:00.000-07:00

.....almost 2 months. i am horrible. i just don't have much to say. things always seem the same for me lately. although, since i last posted i went to nyc for my sister's graduation, then soon after i went to my own graduation. who's the master now?!?:) i have super busy with the young women at church, i am looking for a full time job, and well.....that is it. but ya'll knew most of that already. so there you have it. 2 month update in record time. i will post pics at some point.

dreams

2006-05-08T09:57:00.000-07:00

I am not someone that always remembers my dreams. In fact most of the time I forget them. I wake up all excited that I just remembered my dream and then an hour later it is gone. I guess that is why they recommend dream journals. Write it down while it's fresh. Sometimes when my dreams scare me or they are sad I remember. Lame, right?!?
Well, I remembered my dream last night. Which means it was either scary or sad. This one was scary.....at least to me. There were bees in my bed and Dylan was trying to get them to go away because I was so scared. I don't know what that means, because I don't know anything about interpreting dreams. Anyone else know?!?

Oh and by the way...I blame my sister for my intense fear of bees!:)

Life

2006-04-26T14:27:00.000-07:00

I discovered yesterday that a friend of mine from my undergrad passed from cancer away this week. We weren't very close, but we were involved in a lot of the same student groups. He was always kind with a smile on his face.

I guess the saddest part to me is the fact that he was 27 years old. He was married and they have a little boy. I know he is in a better place, but I can't stop thinking about his poor wife. Widowed at 27 with a child. I can't imagine how to begin grieving over such a loss.

It scares me a bit. I am completely in love with my husband and can't imagine living life without him. I have already made plans for us when we are 70 years old. I can't go changing those now.

I am not afraid of dying, but I am afraid of losing someone.

So, I am going to try and live here and now. I am going to try to appreciate and be grateful for the blessings I have. I never want to have to grieve in that way, but I also want to be grateful for what I have and have had.

An ever better update

2006-04-22T14:01:00.000-07:00

I try so hard to keep up and seem to not pull it off. I updated you on Vegas and now...Cannon Beach.
In celebration of my birthday and graduation, as well as our anniversary Dylan and I went to the beach. It was beyond perfect! We stayed at Tolovana Inn, which I highly recommend! The rooms are ocean front and have kitchens. It is so nice to be able to stay in or hang out on the beach the whole time. Talk about a vacation.:) The weather was perfect. Sunny the whole time. We slept, read, walked on the beach, slept some more, played frisbee and football, enjoyed the sun and relaxation. It was the best vacation. Thanks baby!:)

us enjoying the view from our balcony above and the beautiful sunset below

late update from vegas

2006-04-20T21:59:00.000-07:00

So we went to Vegas 2 weeks ago for my dad's 50th birthday. Very exciting. My family is fabulous and pulled off the surprise perfectly! Here are some pics from the party and dinner.

dad, sister, nephew and me just after the surprise.

my aunt and cousins.

my cute grandma. she won the dance contest at dinner!:)

"we are family. get up everybody and sing"
(okay so that was a bit cheesy, but that really is my grandpa's theme song for the paluso clan!)

papa and me, cuttin a rug.

It was a great party and my dad was completely shocked. He had no idea we were all coming. Dinner was great. We went to a comedy club that was great. Then we even stayed a couple days in the warm sun. You can't beat that.
Have I mentioned how fabulous my family is?!?:)

I'm spoiled!

2006-04-11T21:55:00.000-07:00

Quess what I just got for my birthday?

That's right folks....Netflix! I told you I was spoiled!
Thanks Van Atta's!:)

oh boy oh boy

2006-03-30T18:49:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting to post for over a week. So much has happened.
Last week Dylan and I celebrated our one year anniversary. Crazy eh? It is amazing how it feels so short and so long all at the same time. I am completely in love with my hubby and so grateful for him in my life. I have pictures to post and I will....soon. In the mean time here are some pics from our wedding....cause I love sharing those!:)

Next, I just finished my internship. That means that all I have to do is complete my paperwork to get the credits I need and I am DONE!!!

Lastly I am heading to Vegas for my dad's 50th. Pretty exciting. I will post more when I get back!

2006-03-20T17:47:00.000-08:00

Just submitted by last paper for graduate school.

April Showers brings March Flowers!!

2006-03-16T19:48:00.000-08:00

Apparently I love our house no matter what the weather conditions are! Aren't the daffodils lovely?!? They make me excited for spring and sunshine and more flowers!!!

our house

our daffodils

Last Round!

2006-03-11T20:30:00.000-08:00

I am swamped with school lately. Finals are coming up and I have a bunch of papers due, plus my event for my internship is next week. Lots to do. Thankfully however, this is the last round. That is right. This is potentially the last time I will have to go through finals.....unless of course I decide to get my PhD or JD!:)

Reunited and it feels so good!!

2006-03-06T16:10:00.000-08:00

Dylan is home and I am home and we are home together. Thank goodness. I actually slept well last night. You know the phrase home is where the heart is? I always used to say home is where my mom is, because I felt my heart was with her. Now, don't get me wrong here, I love my momma and she will always have a part of my heart, but I am progressing and in turn realized something....home is where my husband is. My heart is with him, so my heart has been in China and it just came back to me.

good things

2006-03-01T09:52:00.000-08:00

so as ya'll know dylan is in china. sad for me right. yeah well guess what....as if computers and the internet weren't enough...someone went and made skype.com. you go to the site, you download the FREE software and there you have it. you can im and talk for free. i really mean talk. like you are on the phone, but it is free and clear and there is no delay. i love skype. it is my new best friend.
we have talked a couple of times now. with the 16 hour time change it is hard, but we always seem to work it out. and let me just say that talking to him calms me. it makes my day better. it makes me think i can get through until he comes home.
so, i am doing okay.
now i just need to get over this nasty cold!:)

my blog cloud

2006-02-26T20:45:00.000-08:00

I got this idea from my sis-in-law, Tara. Wanna make your own? Go here.

I'm depressed!!

2006-02-25T17:44:00.000-08:00

I am alone and sad and I hate it! Dylan left me today. He is gone to China for work and it totally sucks. I avoided coming home after work because I didn't want to come to an empty house. I don't want to be the needy wife....but I am. I am addicted to my husband!

I am going to try and make the best of it. I rented some movies, I am going to my friends house for dinner tonight, I am going to do a serious cleaning number on the house and today in order to avoid coming home....I shopped. I am sure I will attempt some more of that.

So there you have it. I miss my hubby. Ugh!!!

RECYCLE!!!

2006-02-18T09:02:00.000-08:00

I recycle.....do you?!?

Read this

smell the roses

2006-02-13T17:26:00.000-08:00

The sun was out yesterday. Did you see it? I saw it. I loved it. I took a long walk with my hubby in it. I enjoyed it.
And now....back to the rain.
It is funny how I am feeling overwhelmed by this case memo paper I have to finish for my law class. Have you ever read legal briefs? They are complicated and filled with jargon. I have to read four of them for this assignment.
I got sidetracked
I have a point.
The point is that I took a break yesterday. I didn't think about briefs and case memos and all that jazz.....I enjoyed the sun and I enjoyed my husband.
Today I am back in the grind, but yesterday I took a moment to "smell the roses."

Things I don't understand...

2006-02-08T22:07:00.000-08:00

I don't understand why they can't make TiVo so that you can watch one channel and record another. I mean seriously. This back and forth between Lost and the Grammy's is buggin'.
Grammy side note: Okay....make fun of me all you want, although I know Tara is with me on this, but I think that is one of the best live performances I have seen by Kelly Clarkson. I admit it, I like her. And why does Mariah Carey have to use her own bejeweled microphone?

I don't understand why and how gardening can make me so sore. I can understand the back being sore, but the legs, specifically the hamstrings. It seems so silly to me that I am as active as I am and yet a day of gardening has made it so I can barely walk! Our yard looks great though!

I don't understand why we can't just be stressed by one thing at a time. Things get stressful at work which of course means that things have to get stressful at school and my internship at the exact same time. That is just how things go, but I don't get it!

I actually don't understand a bunch of things, but that is what I have for you today.:)

Numbers

2006-02-02T22:16:00.000-08:00

I am addicted to this blog. I have no idea who writes it, but I like the idea. Maybe you will enjoy as much as I do.
http://numericlife.blogspot.com/

Choices

2006-01-30T19:16:00.000-08:00

Life is about choices. Some are easier than others for me. Right vs. wrong.
Loving someone...right. Killing someone.....wrong.
Spending time with loved ones....right. Spending time with mass murderers not yet convicted....wrong.

There are the day to day choices that I could spend way too much time thinking about. What to make for dinner? What movie to rent at the video store? What outfit to where? Like most, I struggle with these choices, but I seem to get through.

Then there are some choices that you make knowing they will have an effect on your future. What effect they will have is unknown, but they will. These are the choices I can't seem to make. Do we buy a smaller home in an area we love or a bigger home that is more family friendly in an area we don't love as much? Do I apply for a certain job that is something I am passionate about, but doesn't pay enough or hold out for a higher paying job so I can be a better contributing member of our household? Where is it best for us to invest some of our savings? How long? How much do we need?

The thing is....I used to be okay at stuff like this. Make a list of pros and cons. Research. Figure out what feels best. The usual processes in decision making. What changed? I am not just "me" anymore. Every decision made doesn't just effect me. And not only is it the decision made, but the process taken to get there. My process may be different. My pros and cons are different. What feels best to me may be different. Everything changes when one becomes two.

The truth is I am not used to this. Sometimes I say the wrong things and my ideas are incoherent or not well thought out and frankly....I just don't know what is best for more people than just myself. How selfish does that sound?!?

I am learning. I am more thoughtful and becoming more and more thoughtful in a different and new kind of way. I wish I could learn faster, but I am trying to learn. Luckily, I have a patient and kind other half who tries to overlook my selfish decision making ways. As much as I struggle and get frustrated in the process I can't imagine going through the process with anyone else.

Talk about ending on a cheesy note, eh?

I heart wireless internet!

2006-01-21T13:40:00.000-08:00

It is everywhere. I have it at school, at coffee shops, at home. I just open my laptop and wait to see who will provide me that all important wireless access I need to the internet. I all the sudden feel connected. I can check my email, look at blogs, read the news and play games. My boredom is gone!

Diet Coke, Necks and Baby Talk

2006-01-15T18:30:00.000-08:00

Giving up this little addiction of mine is harder then I thought. I have had a bunch a headaches and even some that turned into migraines. I hate migraines! I know it will get better though! It already is...I just need to be patient.:)

Dylan and I went snowboarding again on 2 days ago. I was much better this time. Of course when you get better you go faster and then you fall harder! I fell pretty hard once and my neck is still so sore! I was pathetic last night. Everytime I rolled over in bed I moaned in pain. Then I would wake Dylan up and he would ask if I was okay. It is amazing how you don't realize how much you use your neck muscles until you injure you neck. You use them all the time!

My sister left me the cutest message on our machine today. My nephew was talking....you know 8-month-old talk. My sister says to Julian say I love you and...no joke...he says "wuv ooo." Coincidence yes, but a pretty funny one. Dylan and I laughed for awhile!

2006

2006-01-11T17:34:00.000-08:00

I like New Year's. I think it is the person in me that is addicted to closure. I blame my mom. There is something to thinking about the last year and everything that you did or didn't do. Then thinking about the next year and all you want to do or not do. Don't get the wrong idea. I am not someone that is convinced of the concept of resolutions. I think we should always be looking at ourselves and what we can be doing better...not just at New Year's.

2005 was a good year for me. Bought a home, got married, enjoyed the birth of my nephew and the relief when he was finally a healthy baby. I traveled, met new family, completed 14 classes towards my graduate degree, participated in my church with the Young Women. I learned how to snowboard, flew to the East Coast 7 times, help to remodel our bedroom, kept 5 plants alive, and got an iPod. I read a lot, watched a lot, ran a lot, spent a lot of time with my hubby and enjoyed a lot. I had a great year and it makes me all the more excited to start 2006.

Hopefully 2006 will bring more snowboarding, teaching my hubby to rock climb, more reading...maybe even some books for fun, long walks, going to the coast a few times, graduating, spending time with my family and friends and a possible trip to Europe. I am also giving up Diet Coke and hope to get a fish!:) Exciting, eh?

Holidays

2006-01-08T21:44:00.000-08:00

I know, I know. I am a little slow here. The holidays was a very busy time for us and I didn't really have access to internet that much. Better late than never....right? Who am I kidding. The people that read this thing probably already know about our trip anyway!:)

Well you already know our trip was delayed due to weather. We left on Tuesday and had a lot of snow on the way. Nothing we couldn't overcome though. It was late, but we made it to SLC. We stayed at Dylan's aunts house and had a chance to meet some of his extended family there.

However, since I lived in SLC for 10 years, I have a bit more history. Most of the trip was spent touring my past, catching up with high school and college buddies and of course...family. My extended family lives there and most of them have not met Dylan, so it was fun to have him feel connected to the fam!

After 4 days in SLC we headed to Teasdale. Beautiful country by Capitol Reef National Park. We spent Christmas there with my mom, step-dad, nephew, sister, her husband and his mom (she is the one that lives in Teasdale). We had a wonderful time. We relaxed, read, slept, ate and enjoyed the down time. We did a beautiful hike in Capitol Reef, went to Goblin Valley and enjoyed a great narrows hike in Wild Horse Canyon. We also went horse back riding. It was a perfect time.

Next we headed down to St. George to spend some time with my dad. I couldn't believe how warm it was. I loved it. We headed down to Las Vegas on New Year's Eve to drop my sister and her family at the airport. We ended up spending the day there shopping and hanging out. We spent New Year's watching some great fireworks from my dad's balcony. It was a great ending to a great year and beginning to an even better year.

The next day we headed back to SLC, stayed the night and then made the 12 hour trek back to Portland. Did I mention this was all done via vehicle....it was. We logged over 2800 miles in two weeks. Pretty crazy right? Needless to say we were excited to return home to our normal and boring lives!:)

Weather delays

2005-12-18T22:49:00.000-08:00

Looks like Portland weather is going to slow us down. We are supposed to leave for Utah tomorrow and are going to have to wait. Portland snow is actually sleet and icy rain that only looks like normal snow. It deceives you! So with the ice keeping us indoors we are delayed for at least a day. I am bummed, but also glad to have another day to get everything ready for the trip.

I must admit even Portland icy snow looks pretty on our cute little house!:)

Owen Meany

2005-12-14T09:46:00.000-08:00

Has anyone read A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving? Good book. In the book there is a Christmas pageant scene. Most things that could go wrong do and it turns out to be a sad yet hilarous pageant. Apparently somone felt the pageant was so funny they turned it into a play.

We saw it last night and it was the perfect Christmas treat! I highly recommend it if you are looking for a fun Christmas play. Although I think it might be better if you have already read the book!

Thanks mom!:)

Snowboarding

2005-12-13T16:54:00.000-08:00

I am a skier who married a snowboarder. Lucky for my husband there isn't much I wouldn't try. Since he started snowboarding he has been excited to go with his wife and I was happy to oblige. He was a great teacher. He was kind and patient. He picked me up when I was too tired to get myself up. He stayed with me the whole day, even though he probably wanted to go do a real run by himself. He was the best and I have to admit it was quite fun. I think I did okay too.:) Don't get me wrong, I am still a better skier then snowboarder, but who knows what the future will bring.

Relieved, exhausted and excited!

2005-12-08T15:24:00.000-08:00

Another term done! Pretty exciting eh? I was up most the night finishing my last final, but I am done and couldn't be happier. This was a tough term for me. Not just mentally, but physically and emotionally as well.

Luckily I have a whole month off! All I have to deal with for now is work! Then we are going on vacation so I get to see my family and my friends. I love the holidays!:)

My sweet Young Women decorated a gingerbread house for us! Aren't they the best?!?

I know it's early.

2005-12-07T17:31:00.000-08:00

My sister and dad got us a pretty cool gift for Christmas...a Tivo. Although Dylan and I weren't completely convinced we were Tivo people, we were stoked all the same. It is something we would never buy for ourselves and everyone I have talked that has one loves it. Record only the shows you watch, fast forward through commercials, pause live TV, etc. So now we are getting pretty excited about the whole thing....right?

Problem. We have cable, but it is the beyond basic plan. Basically it is good coverage of your standard free channels and we only have that because of cable internet. Apparently internet is a big priority for us.

We decide to upgrade our cable plan. 71 channels of television bliss. Or should I say 2? Ever since the cable guy left Dylan has been going back and forth between the 2 ESPN channels. I wonder how long this will last?

Lucky for him I have a paper to finish, so I won't be forcing a channel change.

Lesson: Husband + fancy cable = ESPN

Unfortunately the Tivo doesn't come until Friday, so I can't yet talk about how much I love the recording and pausing and forwarding through commercials. I will keep you posted though.

So my question is this....why can't ESPN come with the 120 channel plan?

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

2005-12-02T23:13:00.000-08:00

At least in our house it is.
We will be gone for the holidays, so I didn't want to do too much. We got ourselves a mini tree, some mini ornaments, lights and a whole bunch of wrapped presents. Beautifully wrapped gifts for those that we love. I love wrapping gifts, which is probably why they are already wrapped and it is only the 2nd of December. Can I just say...it is all about the bows? Pretty bows can make any gift look better.

Thanksgiving!

2005-11-24T20:45:00.000-08:00

I am late at this post, but luckily I can change the date on here and pretend like I was right on time.

I love Thanksgiving. I think it is one of my favorite holidays. It is all about family and being thankful. This year was special for me. My family, the whole family, has not been together for this holiday since I was in high school....this year we did + 2. It was all so perfect. Too perfect really.

I am thankful for so much.
My husband Dylan. His unconditional love and support keeps me sane and makes life better.
My family. I don't know what I would do without them. Seriously. I have the coolest family ever! This includes the in-laws. I pretty much lucked out all around.
My nephew. He is happy and healthy and completely adorable.
My home. It is ours and I love it.
My education. Even though I get stressed and often complain, I love being in school. I love learning and I am so thankful for the chance I have to continue my education.
My friends. I have the best friends in the world. They are smart, funny, beautiful, kind and a constant in my life. I love each and every one of them!
My life. For me it is perfect and I would not change a thing.

2005-11-20T17:57:00.000-08:00

1- Go to www.google.com
2- Type in "failure" without the quotes.
3- Instead of hitting "Search" hit "I'm feeling Lucky"
4- Look at it and enjoy!
5- Feel free to pass on the information as well.

I am tired!

2005-11-17T22:32:00.000-08:00

I really am...exhausted actually. Lately I feel like I don't ever slow down. I am overwhelmed and stressed. School, professors, work, calling....life. Life is busy and just when you think you can slow down there is something else. I find myself going from one thing to another everyday. I need a break. I need to be done. More importantly though, I need more time. I had a break down last night. Honestly, it felt good. There is something so peaceful about heavy crying, the sobbing kind.

Ultimately, I am okay. In 3 weeks I will be done with finals and this overwhelming stress will seem like it never happened. Besides, I'm not the only one, right?

Family Home Evening

2005-11-14T21:35:00.000-08:00

Every monday we get together with 2 other couples from our church to do Family Home Evening. We do it at a different house every week and take turns on what couple is in charge of the lesson, activity and snacks. It is always a good time and helps us stick to our FHE committment. This week the activity was "Chubby Bunny." You know where you see who can put the most marshmellows in their mouth and still say "chubby bunny." I always find the drool to be my biggest obstacle!:)

Homework Procrastination!

2005-11-11T11:52:00.000-08:00

I must say being a student has made me a professional procrastinator. I have a bunch of homework! Papers to write, books to read, presentations to finish, etc. I got up at 7:30am this morning and it is now almost noon. That is 4.5 hours of precious study time right? Especially since I don't work on Fridays. Here is what I have done so far today. Got the window strip on my car fixed, gone to the store, cleaned (down and dirty cleaning, in areas that probably didn't really need it), went running, talked to my sister on the phone and now....write in my blog. Pretty good, eh? At least I am being productive. Maybe I should change the title of this to
Productive Procrastination!

Bubble Gum Fun!!

2005-11-05T18:02:00.000-08:00

Dylan and I found some Big League chewing gum today at the store. We had a little bubble gum blowing contest. Let's just say Dylan is better at blowing bubble gum bubbles!:)

Almost there when it bursts and then...the winner!

My winner! Not too shabby, eh?

Kissing bubbles!:)

What can I say? We are pretty good bubble blowers!

Happy Halloween!

2005-10-31T16:08:00.000-08:00

I love Halloween. I have dressed up in some pretty cool costumes before! I have been a rock, a plant, whitney houston, raggedy-ann, a human pom-pom (I won some money for this one) and my personal favorite...a quaterback (tape a quarter to your back and you can be one too)! Better yet however is watching a child's first halloween. The fun and excitement of it all. My nephew, Julian, just experienced this. Granted he may be a little young to remember, he still has the groovy costume to prove he was apart of it all. Enjoy it with him, eh? I give you...Julian the frog!
PS...the costume is thanks to his grandma. Not my mom, his other grandma!:)

Happy Birthday to Dylan!!

2005-10-26T12:37:00.000-07:00

7 Months!!

2005-10-22T23:44:00.000-07:00

It is official. My husband and I have been married for seven months today. I know, I know it is not that long. I am happy to report that married life is grand. We have an old kind of love, you know?!? Anyway. The wedding was a small event, so for those of you that missed it, here are some photos.

Just Married!!
Manhattan, New York Temple

The wedding guests...our families!

Lincoln Center Fountain

Belvedere Castle, Central Park

Riding the subway. This is one of my favorites. It looks so old. Plus there is something special about riding the subway in wedding attire!:)

2005-10-21T16:35:00.000-07:00

JAZZ GAME!

Apparently I married well.:) Dylan's cousin, Spencer Nelson is currenly playing for the Utah Jazz and better yet, we got to see him play. We headed to Eugene for a pre-season Blazers/Jazz game and I am happy to report...the Jazz won, 92-73!

I have been a Jazz fan for as long as I can remember. I was there at 2am when they came home from the airport having just won the Western Conference finals. I was there when they retired Hornacek's number. I was there when Larry H. Miller got in a fight during a game. I have been there for alot, good and bad. I also used to work for the Jazz. I have been to more games than I can count. While I am not the most basketball savvy gal, I am and probably will always be a Jazz fan at heart. With that said, this was one of the best games I have been too! It was fun watching Spencer play. He played the last 5 minutes, made a fancy reverse shot and gave us a shout out when the last few seconds of the game were counting down. My favorite part however was watching Dylan. He was into every second of the game. He loved seeing his cousin suited in NBA apparel and chatting it up with his fellow NBA players. Really though, he just loves basketball. I almost feel bad that I have been to as many games as I have and Dylan...has...lets just say he hasn't been to as many as me.:)

It was a enjoyable time and we will continue to root for Spencer's success!!

PS...considering the last post I talked about carrying a camera around you would think I would have some fancy pictures right?!? Wrong. I forgot to put it in my purse.:) Soon though. Pictures are coming soon!

Oh, the dilemmas of a blog...

2005-10-19T15:03:00.000-07:00

...and those who like to tell me what to write!!

Don't get me wrong. This is all sorts of exciting. Go Blogs. Here is the deal, now that I am talking about my blog to folks, they are advising me on what I should write. Here are some suggestions I have recieved so far:
knitting
my nephew
life being married to dylan
nonprofits
nothing
portland life
shoes
my daily eating habits

While I love all of these suggestions and I am sure I will be writing about each one often (except for maybe knitting since I don't knit), I think everyone that has an opinion on blogging topics, should start there own blog! I'm just saying is all.

One thing I have decided....I will be carrying around my camera more often. I want to have fun and interesting pictures on here. Plus, I used to carry around my camera because you never know when you want to take a picture. I stopped for some reason, probably because my purse is full enough as it is. Regardless, pictures are coming.

Do you like how I am still writing about the concept of blogs and have yet to tell you anything really cool? The person who had the suggestion of writing about nothing.....you win!:)

Look at my fancy blog!

2005-10-18T14:57:00.000-07:00

I would like to say it is all about me. My blog is brought to you in part by the amazing, html writing, ftp using, photo hosting, Tara.:) Check out the fancy link to her blog on the right. Hers is even better than mine....if you can imagine that. Here's what I like though, there is a bit of me here. Above, we have the woman who wears too many hats (or shoes). Did you notice her fabulous legs?!? My legs are not that fabulous and I would never wear a skirt that short, but I still like it. Then we have the pics and fancy links. Some fancy website person is laughing their head off right now.....stop it! It is a good blog. With this promising start and all that said, I promise more and better posts are coming!

ps..Happy Birthday Andrea!!

Me and my Hubby on our wedding day!

2005-10-11T15:28:00.000-07:00

I am practicing pictures.
Plus he is so darn good looking....I really just wanted to show off!:)

Here I am posting on a blog

2005-10-10T16:21:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the 21st Century, eh? I found the concept intriguing, so I am trying it out. Who knows, maybe I won't have much to say, but maybe I will. Let's all hope for the latter and see how it goes.:)