August is Drawing to a Close

This month of so much busyness is slowly coming to a close... We're heading over to a friend of mine's tonight to BBQ with her and her boyfriend, also allowing the gents time to watch football on TV and hopefully give us ladies time to chat openly. Its been a slow morning, which has been exactly what I needed after the past week. I'm pretty sure that hub's off hiking, which while I'm sorry to have missed the opportunity to go with him, I'm pretty sure that on this day he needed some time in the woods with just him and the dogs. Waking up to an empty house and no dog licks was just another moment of appreciation for the mornings when I do wake up to hub's and the dogs greetings.

The new job is going well although somewhat confusing. Its a new position without any groundwork really having been laid and with the potential upcoming displacement of control that some others have previously had. It has been and will more than likely continue to be an interesting transition of power, expectations, and assessment. I'm hopeful to be able to increase program development, but first have to bridge some of the lower-level issues and concerns. And somewhat related to this same topic: I just had the joyous opportunity of fielding the Army Reserve Recruiter at my front door, which left me in a position of attempting to network for my new job and also trying to communicate hub's disinterest.

The summer term wrapped up on Wednesday evening however and Thursday I finished grading finals and inputting grades. A portion of September will be used preparing for Fall Term, especially since I'm happily teaching double the load of what I've been teaching. The nice thing about my current jobs is that I feel (for the most part) that I'm well-suited for both of them, and ta-da, I have benefits on the way! Yea for again having health care! Not that we usually need it, but it's nice to have at least for emergency situations. Additionally the increase in finances will be nice. We can finally pay off the truck, save money for at least 4 months of living expenses, and I can start really hacking away at my graduate loans.

A few additional things as of late:

--I just finished reading a book suggested by my cousin, A Dog's Purpose. Hilarious and sad all at the same time, and an amazingly fast read. If you love your dog, it's a must-read.

--A week late, I finally finished The Help, with mixed reviews on my part. I felt the book could have been equally as good with at least 100 less pages, and many parts of it broke my heart over the fact that racism, stereotyping, and social injustice are still so equally practiced throughout our nation today. The fact that in some ways we have come "far," yet the reality that there is still SO far to go....is just so sad. Ironically the topic of judgment came up frequently during my trip home this month and it actually came up in separate conversations with very different people. I have a horrible habit of becoming much more judgmental of all others the more insecure I am in my own life, and somehow the older I get the worse I am at forgetting the "plank in my own eye" when I focus on the "speck" in another's. Definitely something for me to be working on, especially as I move into my new position, where stereotyping and judgment is very much practiced at times.

--Next month's book for club is Crossing the Heart of Africa by Julian Smith, if you care to read along. It was my pick and I hope it turns out to be an alright read. I found it originally at Powell's in the airport, always have a love for Africa, and its by a Portland author.

--Hub and I are in the market for a new bed. I know, I know....the environmentalist and non-consumer-oriented part of me feels incredibly guilty! Didn't we just buy a new bed a year or so back you ask? And unfortunately the answer is yes....and unfortunately I strongly dislike our Ikea bed and hub strongly dislikes our Ikea mattress, never mind the fact that the slats under the bed have had issues for over a year encouraging the mattress to fall through...... Ikea's cheapness we've come to realize is great for some things and was a great fast fix when we needed it, but it wasn't the smartest purchase I've ever made. Even though I'm ashamed to admit I fell into the buy and dump consumption, I'm not going to lie...we're ready for some quality AND I'm pretty positive we can sell what we have for re-use on Craigslist. SO...we're focusing on quality of products. I've been eyeing the Sumatra Pottery Barn bed for two years, and a new cheaper II version was released in the last year. When we moved in we received a 10% off coupon for PB in the mail, which I'd intend to use to further reduce the cost. The reviews on the bed are mixed (solid but soft wood--easily can scratch) and hub and I have made several trips to check it out. It's definitely more sturdy and of a style that should be fitting for years. Hub also got a coupon off the internet for a local mattress store. (My "green" focus tends to be health considerations, hub's latest focus is local.) The mattress is made by a local company, made from about 90% USA materials (including recycled components), is guaranteed for 15 years, and the box spring should be able to be ordered to specification. We tested them out last weekend....and seriously had fun flopping and rolling on about 10-15 different beds! ;) We still haven't made any final decisions or attempted any orders.....but my PB coupon is only good until October! ;)

--The garden continues to grow although I, ahem, made the wrong choice on chopping the lettuce back and it died. We're also having issues with the zukes and pumpkin plants dying off, so I'm not expecting too many more of either category. The kiwi continues to go crazy, although without any fruit on it this year. The turnips will not be returning to the raised beds next year as they've taken over everything, and the tomatoes are just now starting to turn. Most our berries are done, the carrots are harvest ready, and Roxi decided to explore amongst one lower bed and flattened the rest of the onions.... Honestly we need to get to work on the rest of the actual yard....as it's starting to look like renters live here ;)

--This month also marked dropping money on two big but necessary purchases, which are some of the ones that I refuse to accept anything but quality: tires and bras ;) The car got decked out in 4 new 85,000 mile tires for a good price from America's Tire Company (cost comparison put these 85k tires at the same cost as 40k tires from Les Schwab, which is the company I've gone with in the past). And the "girls" got decked out in splurges from Nordies---now yes, $50-80 a piece is a lot to spend on one lil item of "clothing," but there's nothing quite like a legit bra that makes sure your boobs are covered and where they should be in perkiness and location! Honestly, a good appropriate bra especially with a proper fitting, in my belief, is the foundation for any outfit and only helps make sure that a gal looks her best. I'm sure my thoughts on boobs and bras, could be an entire posting in itself however, but here's an article on it from TLC Style. ;) Uh and awesomeness: have old still functional bras that you want to pass on? Send them to the Bra Recyclers!!!

I suppose that's mainly it, although Heather at Townsend House, just shared this blogger and I love her to bits: Keeper of the Home and she had this post Because Sometimes I Get Tired of Healthy, Natural Living  at Simple Organic.

Hope everyone has been well! Besos y abrazos!

And Full Swing Continues

At this point I'm pretty sure that June and July were months of hesitation because August was going to be packed! So many amazing things this month and also some incredibly trying times too.

Our whirlwind trip with our friends from Chicago was packed and full of minimal hours of sleep. It was amazing to have them here and our two hubs were seriously ecstatic to spend so much time together. Beyond floating the river, we also took them over to the family beach house:

Their week trip wrapped up with a trip to Multnomah Falls and dinner out at one of our favorite funky Cajun restaurants here in the PNW. They both appear to be PNW converts, even if they have to stay living in the windy city.

The week during their stay included a breakfast with another visiting friend and was the bridal shower for my gal N, which went off wonderfully well. The food, decor, guests, and games all intermingled well, and it was wonderful to see the bride-to-be feel the love and appreciation from all of us in her life. She's an amazing woman who gives so freely to others and has dedicated her life to helping other people improve their situations, thus it was a total honor to be able to coordinate an event to let her know how much people adore and respect her for who she is and for who she will become. That week also marked the completion of my online training.

The end of that whole week marked a difficult time emotionally for me, as several realizations about my own life situation and marriage took place. Somewhere in there I celebrated my 29th birthday, marked by an entire day of purposely doing just about absolutely nothing. Hub was wonderful due to the fact that amidst his own frustrations and hesitations, he did still shower me with respect and care. This year he made a carrot cake that included coconut maple cream cheese frosting and took me out to dinner for sushi. The year 28 transitions easily into 29.

After a few days in which I needed to be present in Portland still, I attended my volunteer training session for the Portland to Coast event, met up with my bride-to-be for some good conversation and wedding related shopping, and then stopped by Granny's for a few hours on my way out of town to my parents. And let me tell you---a few days on the coast attending church, socializing with some of my dearest high school pals, a further drive down the coast to visit with another like-family gal and her kiddos, and love and support from Mom and Dad is all enough to mend one's soul and strengthen one's resolve and pride. Late night conversations with two of my dearest gals curled up on a bed just like we were 16 again did much to restore my belief in life time friends and in the beauty, compassion, vision, and pride in myself. These are the types of moments that Hollywood lives for and that we're lucky to have appear in our normal existence. After four days at home, I headed back to attempt to make my own house again feel like a home.

This last week has been filled with date-like moments with the hub among a whirlwind of other events. We hosted our neighbors for dinner. Wednesday was the last teaching session of the summer and this Wednesday is the final exam. Thursday I interviewed for the new part-time position, was offered the job on Friday, and I start training tomorrow. Thursday evening was the first book (& wine) club and it lived up to every bit of my hopes and expectations (even if I didn't quite finish all 500 pages of The Help). I am loving this group of gals and hope that the ties continue to grow over the coming months. Friday the hub and I spent a great afternoon downtown together which included buying him new (locally produced from Keen) hiking boots, checking out potential new beds and mattresses (Ikea was not a good idea on that account), and concluded with happy hour at Jake's Crawfish (AMAZING drinks and cheap, delish food). Saturday was filled with a full day's float down the Clackamas River with my family, hub's friend, and another couple friends of my cousins. It was a BEAUTIFUL day (we just finally broke 90 degrees for the first time this summer), and I ended the day with a girls dinner out with a visiting friend and her other Portland gals.

Amongst the craziness, my visit home left me restored and for the first time in a long time, I went to church two weeks in a row. Hub and I attended a new church last evening with my cousin and her husband. Spiritually he and I are in different places, but for the first time in a long time I walked out of a new church service feeling like I could be at home there. One thing I've been coming to realize is how difficult it can be to remain steadfast in the midst of uncertainty and newness, yet there are definitely some places I'd like to get back to, even if they are just places and values that are deep inside of me. I'm constantly in awe of God's provision this summer, as each time we've started to feel any sort of a pinch financially, a new financial opportunity has presented itself. Amongst the uncertainty I keep remembering to give and it seems that God continues to provide. I've started to pray again, a bit more regularly, and while I feel that my life is maybe in a period of editing and revision, I am hopeful that some of my old tendencies and beliefs will be returning. Especially as life heads even more into a period of full swing.

If there's one thing that most of you long-term readers have probably noticed, its that my blog gets really quiet when my internal life and thoughts become uncertain. So much for authenticity, eh? :) Although that's probably as authentically me as possible--pull it in and pull it home til it greats straightened out again. Please know that all of you regular readers (that I'm aware of) and friends, were definitely crossing my heart and mind in the interim---hope that y'all have been well!

Life is in Full Swing

So much for those weeks with hints of dissatisfaction about life feeling too slow. The last two weeks haven't had much "free" time whatsoever, but much of it has been pretty enjoyable! So until I have time to officially write a legit post, some pictures and quick updates:

Granny's Officially ONE HUNDRED!

Party went off fabulously and she had over 100 people come by the open house to greet her. She stood for about three hours in the reception line and was still going with more energy than most of us even after the family BBQ that followed her official party. :) Other highlights to her birthday included a tour of the OSU Beaver football stadium and a meet-n-greet with their head coach (she's an avid sports fan!), and a trip to the beach house with family and her visiting prior exchange student who is here from Costa Rica. No doubt all her celebrations will continue throughout the entirety of this month. We are so blessed to have her!

On Tuesday afternoon I had an amazingly perfect afternoon visit with a friend of mine from high school who I have remained in contact with off and on. She just had her second baby and lives within 20 minutes of us, so I headed over with a few things for her and the kiddos. The visit and her girls were amazing---no facades, just us, catching up and being ourselves. It was the perfect afternoon.

On Wednesday hub and I picked up his friends from Chicago. It's been a whirlwind trip so far but one highlight occurred on Thursday afternoon when we floated the Clackamas River:

A few other escapades in the days since then and many to-dos crossed off the list. The to-do list is finally almost under control however :) On my heart and mind the last few days: the 31 lost lives in the helicopter crash in Afghanistan yesterday.

And now I'm off to host the bridal shower!

Hope y'all have been well!