Spring-ing

While we haven't gotten the raised beds ready for planting just yet, nor have we pruned back the marion berries, we do have quite a bit coming to life around the rental. We've had some COLD mornings (including 6 inches of snow on the coast!) with threats of snow again lately making this still an usual year of weather. Here's hoping we start to see some sunnier days with enough breaks to get out in the yard.

Rhubarb-coming up through the mulch/leaves

Garlic-just poking itself out of the ground

Asian Pear-buds just about to burst

Chickens-both are much broader and the 2nd started laying (I think). We developed into a regular routine now, we let them out at 7-7:30am and they burst across the yard happy to stretch their legs. They "free range" across the whole backyard and then put themselves to bed when it gets dark....and then we shut them in. They're out rain, snow, or shine---and for the most part during the last two weeks they've been doing alright. 

First spring flowers!

What's spring-ing in your part of the globe?

February Thoughts & Happenings

----The chickens are still making a racket multiple times per week. I'm thinking we'll be getting rid of them. The feed store owners (the mom of my gal N) said she'd re-home them if we want and offered new chicks, but I think I'm done til we have legit property one day. There's a good chance that hub would prefer to, um, eat them.

----We've offered hub's pride and joy old jeep to one of my vets who is in need of a vehicle. He's been hard pressed for months and as much as that Jeep is an extension of hub, these are the moments when I love hub's huge heart.....even when he tries to keep it hidden. However the jeep has its own quirky issues, is uninsured/unregistered/parked in the garage, so we'll see what happens.

----I don't know that this much TV has been on in our house non-stop and daily channel turning to MMA (mixed martial arts). We're still adjusting to four of us in the house but I'm oh so hopeful. My coworker has been looking at places and hopes to get a place in April. We have yet to discuss a timeline with hub's friend. My coworker is amazing though as a housemate. Luckily the guys and hub have been off enjoying themselves at the Newport Seafood & Wine Fest this weekend, so it's been nice for the doggies and I to roam the house freely.

-----My supervisor asked me to reconsider leaving my vet position, which I had a feeling she would. She also said I could re-create the job to better meet my and the center's needs. The pay is amazing and I actually found out that it bumps up my pay in my other job too.....but I'm still not sure I could do another year. There are pro's and con's to every thing---and honestly I keep hoping that something else might open for me to do a lateral transfer.

----Although I did "put the smack down" in the center last week, as mentioned in my clothing post. Ironically one thing I love about working with vets is a) some of them respect me more now because of it and b) they're so used to that sort of thing that most of them were back to being jolly and normal within two minutes......but for the most part, they DID get the picture and that's good to see.

----Book club was today. I was (sigh....) almost 30 minutes late....and yet this seems to be a return to hub's and my standard. We also were 15 minutes late to a joint vet mtg together yesterday....although in our defense, we were 10 minutes early to my work dinner! (Which work dinner went AWESOME btw!) Being late does make me feel bad...slightly. Only because I know that a lot of people that love me.....also despise being kept waiting. Anyway the gals also chose to go with Joy for Beginners---so we'll be reading that this month.

-----Today I was thinking of 3 high school gal pals and how much we've loved each other through different phases of ourselves. When I think back on all of our changes in 15 years.....it's amazing, and yet they've accepted me for me (almost) every step of the way. I love these girls because I can be any side of me and it's always okay. If I'm caring and idealist, withdrawn and needing space, or blunt and bitchy.....it doesn't matter. They accept who I am at each crossroads of life....and I am beginning again to realize just how much I appreciate it. I don't have to be anyone but me with them and I never have to worry about offending....and I seriously hope they feel the same way.

-----I have a weekend trip in April to San Antonio. I am beyond excited to see my gal....and in a total moment of irony, I'm seriously looking forward to being back in the south. Amazing culture/food in San Antonio AND 80 degree weather. Also on the docket: see my childhood friend again AND make it to Austin (definitely on the lifetime list)!

----I seriously love when Roxi comes running back into the house in the evenings and just careens into her cushy dog bed.

----I took a nap today and have been 100% lazy and it's been absolutely perfect.

----I found another awesome remix fashion blogger that y'all should check out: Putting Me Together.

----I'm still in my anti-social stage--I'm just not feeling it. I know I'm in a total selfish stage period---want my little moments with hub, want flexibility to spend lazy weekends grading and working out and running errands and flexible, and honestly I'm just not wanting to get too deep into thinking about life. I seriously love and missed my friends who care so deeply, but right now I'm just not there and it's hard for me to want to go there. I work with people who need a lot and who are hardened to the world in many ways....and well, I think it's rubbed off. My idealism is a whole lot more realism than I ever would have cared to have....and in a lot of ways I don't feel as much like talking about what could be or should be or thinking about how to make life better, etc ... it is what it is.

-----Hub aced both his bio exams this last week. He's such an academic rockstar---I'm legit proud of him.

-----The Air Force is supposedly recruiting for Public Health officers....I emailed the health professional recruiter for more info. Side bar: every 2-3 years I research and contemplate joining the Air Force or Coast Guard.... thus far it's never been the right fit. I still don't expect it to be the right fit, but it is interesting to say the least. However 5am and I have never been friends, and I'm also learning that while management might be an okay fit for me, I'm not sure it's my favorite.

-----We're headed into Week 8 of the term---although I'm headed to a conference in Salem on Thursday, so it's just two evenings of teaching this week. I'm thinking about trying to spend the night at Granny's and hopeful I can see one of my other gals who is pregnant and who I have only seen twice in the year we've been back.

-----On the docket this summer: two of my gal pals from high school and I are road tripping to our other gal in Arizona. We've been talking about a Summer 2012 trip for two years, and I re-arranged my teaching schedule within the timeline the other gals have available (K-12 schedule starts late August). One of the gals is in San Fran so picking her up is the perfect halfway mark, and it just happened to coincide with my 30th. (Three of us turn 30 this summer actually.) I'm seriously so stoked to be making this happen! And my parents deserve an award, because they're tentatively agreeing to swap the Sorento for their Prius---cha ching!

------On the docket in the next three years: potential opportunities for international travel, but I've been sworn to not mention any of it. Although I can tell you that one place would add a new dream continent, include potential mission work (my heart swoons), and get me that much closer to achieving my lifetime goal of traveling to all continents. The other trip would be a lifetime dream for a friend and would be an amazing celebration of her, of which I would feel honored to be a part. (And it's all of course dependent on what I do for work/finances in the next few years....and what all else life might decide to throw at us) Add on to this my heartfelt desire to buy hub a vacation, the fact that we currently have friends stationed in Italy, AND that in the next 9 years I legit need to return to Argentina. (Hmmm......when does hub start racking in the bucks?! :))

-----Have I mentioned my department head is amazing? He seriously recognized that I need a vacation this year and so allowed for me to plan my summer schedule to grant me most of September (to potentially visit my gals in Georgia) and to rearrange our original plan so my gals and I could make it to Arizona. He deserves boss-of-the-year award! And just in case you're wondering I'm teaching twice a week in person and two classes online.

----Tomorrow I need to run. Period.

-----But have I mentioned yet that at 10am today it was 39 degrees and slushing?!

-----And how totally bad a$$ is it that it's a Leap Year?!

And with my brain dumping successfully completed and you up-to-date (for the most part and only if you made it this far), I'm off to get teary some more about The Heart and the Fist....because damn it, I'm gonna read it first anyway! ;)

The First Egg & Other Awesomes

THEY DID IT!

Our first egg. I discovered it when I went out to check on the ladies this afternoon. It's itty bitty but it was there! There was a second attempt at an egg that was a thin membrane that had torn during "laying" and the yolk was spread out on the bottom of the kennel. So really there were two in one day. Pretty exciting! I didn't expect them to start laying so soon, so it definitely was a nice surprise. :)

We have a full bag of all-purpose chicken feed unopened in the garage, so now I'm contemplating going and getting an egg-laying feed to mix in. But I'm so excited. The irony of all of this is that we just bought 18 eggs yesterday at the store, because I've been eating eggs like crazy lately for the extra protein! ;) We'll see if they continuously lay or how they end up going....but I'm so impressed. As much as we don't think of our animals as our kiddos, I felt like a proud mama hen today!

Other awesome moments of today:

-SUNSHINE and 50 degrees!

-Wearing a skirt w/ bare legs

-Finished work-out day #38

-Happy hour with my cousin

-Hub & friend joining at end of happy hour

-Hub picking up the check :)

-DVR'd episodes of WNTW & Dear Genevieve

-Catch-up chapters from last month's book :)

-Text exchanges with military friends

-Avoidance of grading & work! ;)

-Monthly phone call with M&D

-Chickies out into the great outdoors

The Chickens & A Major Update

With the garage being cleaned out to create a work-out area, many of the "to do"s also got checked off the list. Hub donated our old king-size mattress & end tables to Goodwill (we didn't have any takers on Craigslist) and he's finally agreed to donate my old loveseat as well. Beyond that a few other things got donated and taken care of......and the chickens got relegated to a new home........out to the shed in back they went! ;)

Now if this was our house and not a rental, we'd probably just cut an entry hole in the side of the shed with a little ladder there on the right side. There are already shelves that line the right side that would be PERFECT for two little brooding boxes and we could enclose the right side off the shed with a built in chicken run area with wire, etc. However it's not our house and I'm pretty sure our landlords don't want chicken poop all over the floor of a corner of their shed nor do they probably want a hole in the side.....so instead, we just moved the kennel itself into one side of the shed.  

 This means the chicken poop is still contained and there's still electricity to plug in the heat lamp, but we can also open the kennel & shed door and more easily toss the chickens out. (If you can't tell the dogs are oh so intrigued btw!). I stood there for about 15 minutes hoping the chickens would figure out that if they hopped over the cardboard they could get to the outside oh.so.easily.....well they don't call chickens dumb for nothing....although I did stand there for 15 minutes, so I don't know what that says about my mental state today either (and ironically today I'm working from home.) ;) However, eventually, I reached back into the kennel and tossed each chicken out.

 The dogs were stoked to have their old friends outside and the chickens happily pecked around for about 15 minutes........with the dogs "cleaning up" after them.

Pure beauties aren't they? At this point I'm pretty sure they're full grown and they appear to be mid-sized birds. And while I don't have a picture of it, after about 15 minutes, the chickens are just like the dogs and start standing on the patio thinking they want in........sigh. Hopefully they'll just start being chickens and do a bit more clucking around the backyard!

 Major showed up inside at the backdoor looking out once I'd let the chickens out........

....but not to worry, so far he doesn't seem to want to eat them, instead he's just mad that he's still on a diet and his food bowl is empty. ;) Even though the cats survived off 1-2 small bowls of food a day while in Louisiana, they don't seem to be adjusting too happily to our attempt to return to daily food rationing!

Lady is giving her hunting meow out the back door as she watches the chickens, although anytime she's actually been around them she runs scared in the opposite direction!....And she's just now resigned herself to getting a piece of her own dry food daily ration. ;)

What's up with the animals in your neck of the woods?

The Weekend Post

Are you getting used to these weekend only posts? ;) I definitely have lots to say but just not as much time to write about it all. Luckily I took Friday entirely off of work since I'd already worked over my hours for the week and it made for a great three day weekend, although there's been grading of exams and prepping for this next week still going on. Hub's been in our hometown attending our high school's football game and going hunting for deer with his best friend. Beyond grading/prepping, there's been lots of enjoyment going on between the critters and I though! One of my favorite gals came over Friday evening until late, the dogs and I finally ran twice last week, and all around we've been enjoying fall. Here are some more fabulous things from this special season:

Two of my favorite indulgences of fall: hard apple cider and pumpkin beer. I've also taken a hankering to red table wines--especially the one by Middle Sister which my mom (who ironically doesn't drink alcohol) turned me on to....although it's definitely a bit more north of my typical wine price range....

Major's been spending nights cuddling up between hub and I during the week. Usually we don't let the cats sleep with us, but he's been so still (and cold!) that we've let him just hang out curled up in bed while we sleep.

The leaves are changing colors everywhere and its completely gorgeous!

I spent an afternoon mowing the lawn, reseeding some grass, raking pine needles, and putting one of our raised beds "to bed," so the chickens had the opportunity to finally free range. The dogs love following them around the yard, but man were those ladies difficult to catch this go around ;) Took me 15 minutes of chasing them before I finally had both of them back in their home!

Hub and I headed downtown to one of our funky favorite breakfast diners on Friday. It was neat to enjoy some delish breakfast together and led to a conversation about how we both, at times, wish we lived closer in. Even though we live 8 miles from my work, it takes 30-45 minutes of driving in order for me to get there and it's an hour commute for hub to get to campus downtown using public transportation. We love our rental and usually don't mind the 'burbs, but if we end up staying longer than I'm envisioning in the Portland area (it's definitely where the jobs are and hub could potentially have a grad program to go to after his undergrad degree.....) then we will probably want to re-evaluate where we are living in relation to my job and to downtown.

When hub and I got married as quickly as we did, we didn't really have the finances nor time to really think about rings. At the time I bought a simple white gold band that I wore and then added another ring about a year ago that symbolized my family when I was gifted a family ring with a unique stone from Granny. In my mind I always assumed that someday I'd get a different ring and after watching Blood Diamond (& getting into sustainability/simplicity), I've been against the idea of buying a new ring/diamond for myself. Hub and I hit some rough spatches this summer and one thing that came out of it all was my realizing how much I want us to have at least a few of the more "traditional" things, ie rings, dishes, etc that we didn't really do due to our chosen marriage route. While hub doesn't want to wear a ring (don't ask....), I've had it in mind to find a more traditional ring for myself. Yesterday I took my baby cousin (who actually just got engaged to her high school boyfriend who is training for the Army) to one of my favorite areas downtown. After looking at a couple other cutesy stores, we went into Gilt, which is a vintage and estate jewelry store. There were two rings that I equally liked but the one I chose felt more like a lifetime ring and I have to say....I LOVE IT! I love that it already has history (it's from the 1950s) and I love the swirl. While I usually try not to be too attached to things..it seriously makes me happy every time I've looked at it in the last two days......

The bedroom still isn't done but I thought I'd finally at least post a picture, as I don't know that we'll decide what we want on the walls anytime soon. I love how cozy it is and that it's a mix of new, organic, and old. The paint is low-VOC and is sort of a taupe color. The bed itself is the Sumatra II from Pottery Barn and the low footboard is perfect so hub's long legs can hang over still, the new mattresses from BedCo continue to be amazing, and we purchased the bedside tables for $20 a piece from our local Bimart. The lamps are ones I've had for years now that I got for $6 at Goodwill. The four panels of curtains are some I got on clearance at the evil store (Wal-Mart) and they were in our living room in Louisiana. Hub doesn't like extra decorative pillows so we only have regular pillows and we almost always have two down comforters. The patterned duvet is organic cotton from West Elm. Since we haven't really turned the heat on yet, I've got one regular sheet and one flannel fitted sheet on the bed currently ;)

I hate to admit that I haven't really cooked or baked in.....months. Yesterday morning I made banana french toast, and then this morning I made baked oatmeal using a recipe sent out by Two Frog Home via her newsletter.

Her Recipe is this:

Baked Apple Oatmeal

• 2 Cups Oatmeal
• 1 Cup Peeled, Cored, and Chopped Apples
• 1/3 Cup Chopped Nuts
• 1/4 teaspoon Ground Cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon Ground Allspice
• 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
• 1 1/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
• Pinch of Salt
• 1/2 Cup Unsweetened Applesauce
• 3/4 Cup Milk or Milk Alternative
• 1/3 Cup Sesame Seeds
• 3 Tablespoons Sugar

--Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9" Pie Plate
--Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, mixing until thoroughly combined and well moistened.
--Pour and spread into prepared pie plate. Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, the oatmeal will have puffed and be browned on the edge.
--Serve with extra milk/milk

I substituted dried cranberries and dried cherries for the apples, flaxseed for the sesame seeds, and I used shelled sunflower seeds for the nuts. It was a bit drier than other varieties I've tried but I liked that this version doesn't use eggs, and I ate it with organic vanilla yogurt so it was great!

 

The dogs have been pretty cooped up in the house and yard the last few weeks since we've been so busy so this weekend not only did I make sure to run them, but they got to go on several car rides. We drove the back farm roads looking for farms that would have decorative gourds this afternoon and then made a couple other errands the last two days. They always LOVE IT!

And I'm stoked because today I got to indulge in one of my favorite fall looks. :) Ballet slippers, beat up old jeans, tank, hoodie, and my poofy down vest.

LOVING FALL and hoping you are too!

Foggy Fall Falls Fast

It's fall! Being that it's Oregon we've had quite a few days of showers already and quite a few days starting at 50 degrees with 80s reached by afternoon. The type of weather that makes dressing in layers necessary, evening fires desired, and cuddly down comforters on beds a must have.

After working 60+ hours last week between covering gaps in staffing in the center, teaching my fall classes, and handling the admin, lesson prepping, and email responses that new jobs and terms requires, I am more than looking forward to two things. The first thing that I'm looking forward to is the end of week three of the term, which is when I'll have the center staffed by students, the term will have regulated, and Fall 2011 will be much more routine. The second thing I'm looking forward to is Christmas, when Fall 2011 will be completed and there will be a week or so of vacation hopefully, beyond the usual happy celebrations of course!

Lots of good things have been happening as of late:

The House:
A few weeks back I painted two rooms in the house. I'd intended to write a whole post on how awesome it was to add color and to cover up the horrible off ivory paint in some of our rooms, but obviously I ran out of time. I actually got a good deal on paint by using our Chinook Book coupon for low-VOC paint, and the upgrades they've made to the new low-VOC paint has paid off because I didn't have any real issues with coverage and the smell was very minimal. Hub and I made a great painting team. He taped which I hate, and then I painted the whole thing, which he hates doing. We both helped clean-up and we borrowed most the painting supplies from my aunt & uncle, so all we shelled out was for the paint and a drop cloth.

The finished dining area in green.

The other big news with the house is that we got our new bed & mattress. Ironically hub kept telling me that it didn't matter what our master looked like cause we just have our eyes closed while we're in there. Well, well, now that we've got new paint and a comfortable bed and mattress....guess who is starting to spend more time lounging in there? That's right folks! We still want to add some art work and when it's all said and done I'll post pictures. (Plus I've got two more rooms and the entry I'd like to tackle with fresh coats of paint too!)

The Chicks:
So far they're continuing to grow and thrive. Hub upgraded their perch a few inches, we've swapped the heat lamp for a regular bulb and lowered it back down, they demolished the first pear placed in their home last night, and their beautiful feathers are filling in. They've gotten to wear they want an adventure each day and they enjoy the moments we put them in the raised beds to root around. The other day hub called them from the sliding glass door and they amazingly came right in to him! I've had a few concerns about potential health issues, but so far they seem to keep making it alright. Not sure these pictures will do their feathers justice, but the one is starting to look just like the original picture I'd found on the internet:

And Weddings:
My gal's wedding was yesterday and while rained forced the wedding & reception to both be held indoors, it was a beautiful affair and the venue was perfect. Everything went off fairly well--no major fiascoes. The ceremony went smoothly, food was tasty, the wine was delicious, laughter and love flowed, mingling occurred, and now two of my favorites are off enjoying a week to relax and relish in their love! I have to give two thumbs up to my gal who not only looked beautiful but who kept it simple, relaxed the week before because it was all already organized, and who rolled with the punches the day of. A more beautiful and simply elegant bride one rarely gets the chance to enjoy these days!

And then this next weekend we'll hit up one more wedding and help one of my favorite MPH gals celebrate the official joining of her love to her man!

Other News:

Hub started his official entry back into college on Monday of this last week, which means it's busy, busy for both of us around here. He's taking a legit full load of classes and seems to be enjoying most of them after week one. (In fact, I'm slightly jealous---he's taking a sign language class!) Add onto his courses the regular volunteering he started this summer (he's part of a program that matches new veterans with older and/or disabled veterans who need transportation services across town to medical and shopping appointments, etc), and he's definitely got quite a bit on his plate.

Given that both our schedules are a bit crazy and we're dealing with transportation to get places etc, we headed to Costco this last week to try to stock up on food, including things that would be quick, simple, yet still fairly healthy to make in the evenings when we get home or when we're on the go.

I've got lots of great "plans" for the yard, and I'm hopeful we'll get the bigger items done in the next month. We have the Asian pear that we need to get planted still and a few other gardening plans to help prep for next summer. The most recent gardening section of the paper, helped me develop some additional items we need to accomplish (mulching, planting, etc), but with our current schedules and rain I feel just lucky when we even get an hour out in the yard. Today we were able to do some raking up of pine needles, hub cut down the rest of the old diseased apple, and we picked the pumpkins and cleared out more of the raised beds. We stacked the wood from the tree in the shed to cure for the next year, and hub chopped and brought in the rest of our old wood for fires this week. And we'll have to hope that the rest will get done as it can. ;)

Having distracted myself enough today, I'm off to eat some pizza and finally finish my planning for class tomorrow, and to light the living room's candles and stoke the fire. Hope you each are relishing your moments and enjoying the changing season into fall! Layer up, burrow down, but let your autumn heart swell and continue to give!

Chick Update

At the one week marker of having the chicks in our home, we lost the smallish one. My aunt had come over to meet 'em and announced that Pip Squeak didn't look like she was doing too well and sure enough when I got up the next morning she was stiff. We'd tried to do some research and do what we could to help her, but she must have been too far gone by the time we noticed. Sad day for Pip Squeak, but luckily the other two seem to have really bonded and are thriving for now. The other plus side is that losing Pip Squeak got hub on board a bit more and he's been a fabulous help throughout the craziness of the last week. So here are the two survivors, pecking away at the area rug in the office:

 Hub built a perch and they've come to absolutely love it! They've also been upgraded to our mid-size dog kennel so they have even more room when they're "cooped up." :)

Major has stopped caring as much about the chicks. He still hangs out in "their" room most of the time but he's back to his regular lazy self.

It took Lady a week to even notice the chicks since she's in the house much less than any of the other animals and really only ventures into a few rooms in the house. She is the huntress and is fascinating by these chirping creatures that are behind bars. ;)

And ironically Anna continues to LOVE them. If they squawk and she's across the house, she comes running to investigate. If their cage is open she wants to be right there to keep watch and "help." First thing in the morning she runs to make sure they're still there and doing alright. We're continuing to build their relationship as we hope it will transfer outdoors--in case there start to be any critter issues, hopefully Anna will protect them.

We also are trying to make sure that we take them out of the dog kennel and give them time to run around free every day. Last week we alternating evenings running around in the office with sunny afternoons outside. Additionally, I introduced them to our raised beds a few days ago and they absolutely love them. They're fluffing their feathers and burrowing, plus are able to get some good grit from the dirt, etc. It's highly entertaining to watch and the dogs are constantly whining at the injustice of the chicks getting to be in the raised beds even though the dogs aren't allowed. ;)

To say the peepers are "cheep" entertainment is hardly even giving them full justice. ;)