TRANQUILA SEEKER

Old friend, new locale

2010-04-01T12:00:00.000-07:00

This has been the month of visitors, here in DC. Not just because of the Cherry Blossom festival which brings hundreds of thousands of people into the city, but because several of my friends and family members have come to visit us in the last few weeks!

Aaron was in town interviewing for a job at the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT). In case you are wondering, no, it's not the same as the organization where I work - the CDA. Anyway... we got a couple of days with Aaron in DC around his big interview and tried to make the most of it before jetting off to New York. We took him to Good Stuff Eatery for burgers and milkshakes, took a long stroll on the Mall around midnight, and spent a pleasant evening introducing Aaron to a few of our friends at Buffalo Billiards. All-in-all a good time... though too short.

Fortunately, Aaron got the job!! So he and his fabulous girlfriend Amber will be moving to DC in August! This is fortunate for many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that I took exactly zero decent pictures of Aaron's trip. (That's one of his talents - avoiding photos.) But now we'll have ample time to remedy that situation.

On Broadway

2010-03-31T20:45:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I took a trip to NYC for a Broadway Weekend with a few of my girlfriends. Though it poured buckets of rain the entire time we were there, we managed to enjoy ourselves. We just had to stay inside more than we thought. This meant skipping Central Park, but ducking into several yummy restaurants and taking in two shows. Plus, my good friend Caris was in town from Oregon. The rain was not going to get us down! Even the crazy bus ride home didn't ruin it... but that's a story for another post.

Our first meal - Brunch at Sarahbeth's on the Upper East Side

Spotted this cutie on the street after Brunch

We took in the matinee of Chicago when the weather turned sour

Thankful for my rain boots and umbrella!

In the Heights! So, so good!

Inside the theater waiting for In the Heights to start

Spring vs. Winter

2010-02-22T08:45:00.000-08:00

The recent snow storms that struck the Mid Atlantic created great photography opportunities! When we moved to DC last Spring I took pictures of our view to show my family back home. And as the snow piled up over the last couple of weeks I documented how our view changed. As you can see the view last week was significantly different.

After reviewing the options, I choose Spring. Please come back soon!!

For more photos of the storms' aftermath check out my "Just a Bud" blog here.

Visiting Orlando – Top 10 Tips to Save Your Sanity

2010-02-21T08:33:00.000-08:00

Tim and I recently did a weekend getaway to Orlando for Valentine’s weekend (sunshine and roller coasters are much more enjoyable than a box of chocolates and a bouquet of flowers). During our time there we learned a few things and thought we would pass them on. These tips stem directly from our joys and frustrations on the trip:

Research the parks before arriving in Orlando. I mean, watching the hotel info channel at 1 AM the day you are going to go to the park is great, but… well, enough said.
If traveling without children Universal Studios is a one day adventure not to miss. Both parks can be experienced in one day, no matter what the guy at the gate says. Just keep moving and you’ll get it done. It’s a long day but well worth it. Every ride we went on was awesome.
If you are going to do Disney World, stay at one of the Disney Resorts. There are 22 to choose from, so I think you can find one you will enjoy and in your price range. Reasoning for #3 is explained in #4. Read on. :)
All transportation within the Disney complex is free and you will have to use it. Disney World occupies 55 square miles and over 28,000 acres. All transportation to the park from outside the complex is expensive, not to mention impossible to figure out. So save yourself the hassle.
Understanding Disney’s internal bus system requires a minimum of a college degree; a masters is preferred. (I still don’t know how it works…)
If you don’t want children invading every inch of your vacation, Disney is not for you. And we only did Epcot - the more adult of the Disney parks!
Even though the Hotel claims to be a mile from Disney, remember Disney is HUGE and 1 mile to the outskirts of the Disney complex can still mean 5 miles from anywhere you actually want to be. Walking is not an option, believe me.
The Epcot fireworks and laser show is worth every penny of the Epcot entrance fee. Even if that is all you see, its worth it.
This one is Tim's favorite: Make sure you look presentable at all times. You will end up in countless pictures taken by random Asian people rapidly darting about snapping pictures as if they are documenting the experience for National Geographic.
Michael Daley (of Michael Daley Destinations) is a pretty rad limovan chauffeur. For the same price as a standard cab he got us around and took care of us in his sweet ride. Visit his site here.

If you have the opportunity, I highly recommend you visit Orlando and enjoy all the area has to offer!

Life Saver

2010-01-27T09:00:00.000-08:00

I've said this a million times, and at the risk of sounding like a broken record I'll say it again. I absolutely love my husband. There are a zillion reasons why, but today I'll share one specific reason. He is, quite literally, a life saver.

Heading home from Christmas and News Years with the families in Oregon we had a layover in Houston. We grabbed dinner and sat together chatting while watching an NFL game we cared nothing about. About 45 minutes before we needed to head to our gate we decided to head that way anyway. As we strolled down the hallway we suddenly heard people shouting ahead of us. A man had just collapsed on the floor!

I tapped Tim's arm and pointed toward the man, "Tim, look, that guy just collapsed!!". Tim, being the cool-headed one of the two of us, calmly took off his backpack and set it down, stripped off his coat and set it down, then walked assertively toward the scene of the incident.

And... I collected Tim's belongings and got out of the way. Yup, I'm trained in CPR and First Aid, but somehow I just figured I'd better watch our stuff. Obviously Tim's more of a Good Samaritan than I am.

Tim took control of the scene. The guy was unresponsive, was not breathing and didn't have a pulse. Tim started compressions. Someone brought an AED from the wall and Tim and another guy got it hooked up. When they took his shirt off we saw that he had a large scar on his chest - evidence of previous bypass surgery. The AED advised a shock. And shocked him. His body shook and his arms and legs wiggled. I felt like I was watching ER.

After 15 minutes, the Paramedics finally arrived and by that time the man had a pulse and sporadic breath! He was still unconscious but there were signs of life which was encouraging. Tim stayed on to help with the transition of care, giving all the information he knew about the incident, what he had done to help and his contact information. And I stood back and secretly took photos with my cell phone.

Continental Airlines held the plane for us and we boarded still in a state of adrenalin rush. Tim felt good about using the skills he had studied and I felt extremely proud to call him "mine".

But we still wanted to know what happened next. The man was 64, of European descent and was traveling from Los Angeles. But that's about all we knew. He was traveling alone, so we imagined that if he regained consciousness he would do so without anyone by his side. We wanted to know he was OK and with someone he loved.

Two weeks passed. Then Tim got a call from a woman with a British accent. She said she was the daughter of the man whose life Tim had saved. This was the news we had been waiting for! The doctors had told her that only 5% of people who experience this type of cardiac event survive if the event happens outside of a hospital. But her father was one of the very lucky few. He had woken up two days after the incident with no brain damage and was going to be completely fine! They surgically inserted an automatic internal cardiac defibrillator (AICD) to help restart his heart in the event of a similar event in the future. The woman said Tim's quick action saved her father's life.

Pretty good reason to be proud of and love your man, huh?

Christmas and New Years

2010-01-25T09:00:00.000-08:00

One of the great things about DC is that if your job is at all tied to the federal government this place pretty much shuts down for the holidays. Every federal holiday. This means an abundance of 3 day weekends and the week off between Christmas and New Years.

So, we headed out West and spent Christmas and New Years in Oregon visiting family and friends. We had to fly on Christmas Eve, but we caught the same flight as our friend Anna so we at least enjoyed the company of a good friend all the way to Portland. And even the small child throwing up in front of us (and all over Tim's coat under my seat) on the last leg of our journey wasn't going to dampen our spirits.

We spent the first few days in Portland with Tim's aunt and uncle and got to see just about all of Tim's side of the family while we were there. And then we spent six whole days with our immediate families together on the Seymour ranch in Haines. It was a very low-key and enjoyable time together. There was lots of food, good conversation, card games, even some crafting. And it snowed!

AND while we were there, we celebrated the fact that my mom kicked breast cancer's butt!! She had her last treatment just after Christmas and just like that the worst of it was over! They just got back from Hawaii, celebrating and enjoying the warm weather. I'd say that's a pretty good way to celebrate making it through such an ordeal!

It was a little hard coming back to the fast pace of DC after such a relaxing time in Oregon. But in many ways our time there reaffirmed to us both that we are exactly where we belong right now, and exactly where we want to be. That's good to know.

There are far too many photos of Christmas and New Years to post here... but a good collection of them can be found here.

Halloween visitors

2010-01-24T11:50:00.000-08:00

This is Tim's aunt Cindy and her man Byron. They're pretty fun folks. And they came to visit us in DC! Granted, that was back in October and I'm just getting around to sharing the news now, but still. They came over Halloween weekend and we had so much fun!

We took them to Eastern Market where we ate yummy food, saw a super cute pumpkin-costumed dog and purchased fresh veggies for Byron's home-made dinner that night. Can I just say YUM?!?

We also walked out to Roosevelt Island and enjoyed all the Fall colors.

And went to the Newseum - my new favorite museum in DC!!

Then stopped by Ford's Theater and the house across the street where Lincoln died.

And stopped by the White House at sunset. We even saw the president's helicopter come in for a landing then quickly take off with the president inside and the other two decoy choppers. Pretty cool!

And every night we went to Capitol City Brewery at Byron's insistence. Gotta have that local micro-brew.

On our way to and from all of these places we naturally stopped by the monuments - Washington, Lincoln, Korean War, WWII, the Navy Memorial etc. And stopped in at the National Archives to see the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. For some reason we also have the Magna Carta at the moment. So we got three documents for the (free) price of two! Lucky us.

So, you're becoming Catholic?

2010-01-23T15:54:00.000-08:00

Shortly after we moved to DC, Tim began attending Mass at St. Peter's of Capitol Hill. It's this really beautiful cathedral between our flat and the Capitol. I loved walking by this beautiful, old building when I first visited DC in January. And now that we've taken up residence nearby, I love hearing the church bells when we have the doors open to let the cool, fresh air flow in.

But, for Tim, this place holds more meaning than a beautiful facade and the ringing of church bells. To him, it's a place of peace, faith and inspiration. He has long felt drawn to Catholicism, but recently decided to take action. For several months he attended Catechism classes on Saturday mornings among other activities. It's been really interesting and somewhat inspirational to watch him grow and find his place in the faith community.

So, a couple of days after I returned from El Salvador we had six of Tim's Catholic relatives in town for his confirmation. Our marriage was "validated" in the Catholic church on the 21st with Tim's cousin Joe and his wife June as witnesses, and then Tim was confirmed on Sunday the 22nd of November. We had a really great time with family in town and it was special to have them here for the Confirmation service.

Tim's cousin Mary Hellen, Great Aunt Clare, Grandma Barbie, Tim, Father Burn, Joe, Aunt Kat and June after Tim's Confirmation.

Much more could be said about all the discussions Tim and I had before his confirmation and those we continue to have now. But really, all that needs saying is that two people who love one another don't have to be identical in the ways I thought they did growing up. We don't have to believe exactly the same things; differences can spark important conversations and make us stronger. And I wouldn't have it any different. So, a big congrats to Tim, and here's to many more years of learning from one another as we change and grow.

The New Left and Jesuit Martyres

2010-01-22T18:56:00.000-08:00

Since I promised updates, let's start from the beginning of the months of silence and work from there.

In November I got to take my first trip to Latin America with my organization, the CDA. We took a small delegation to El Salvador to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Jesuit Massacres there. It was my first trip to El Salvador and I traveled with people who had been involved there during the civil war 20 years ago. Their stories and familiarity with the country brought a whole new life to our trip. Many of them had close encounters with death and were reunited with old friends for the first time since they left during the worst years of the war.

Our delegation participated in the official vigil at the University where the Jesuit priests were massacred, attended official government ceremonies and met with numerous governmental and community leaders to discuss the future of the country after the recent FMLN victory in the presidential election. We also traveled to the countryside to take aid to those who were affected by the floods which happened shortly before our arrival. It has been interesting to watch how the Funes government has responded to the needs of El Salvador - keeping an eye toward the poor and the helpless.

To see all the photos from our trip, click here. For the grouping of photos I whittled down for facebook, this is your link.

Just a couple:

LOVE this girl.

In front of the presidential palace.

The Alfombras commemorating the massacre. They are made of meticulously placed sand. This is on the campus of the university where the Jesuits were killed.

...New Post Here...

2010-01-21T14:09:00.000-08:00

At the urging of some of you, I'm jumping back into the blogosphere. November and December were really rough on me, mostly due to work but also due to my extremely hectic social life (*winks*). And Tranquila Seeker suffered. But no more! Check back soon for updates on what's been going on in the last couple of months - there's been a lot, obviously.

More soon.

Stair Fun

2009-11-04T19:08:00.000-08:00

I've been making a concerted effort to take the stairs whenever possible lately. It's my little way of adding a bit more exercise into my daily routine. And it feels good. Then I saw this video on one of the fitness blogs I follow and it made me wish my stairs, which I usually have all to myself, were like these ones!

What's YOUR Flu IQ?

2009-10-21T08:36:00.003-07:00

Dog's Leg Steals His Bone...?

2009-10-13T14:20:00.000-07:00

Don't you just hate it when your leg tries to steal your food from you?

Fall Reflections

2009-09-30T09:42:00.000-07:00

"Reflection Tree"

All you Summer-lovers out there who are still trying to eek out the last bit of use of your tanks, shorts and flip-flops... you might want to cover your ears (or eyes, as it were). 'Cause here's the thing... I LOVE Fall! I mean, I very much enjoy summer sun-dresses, water sports and barbecues, but I love everything about this season between Summer and Winter.

I love the fact that we don't sweat when we're outside. And all the cute sweaters and jackets. I love the crisp air that hints at all the changes yet to come. And the colors - ohhhh the colors. The changing of the leaves in Oregon was beautiful, and I can only imagine what it will be like out here, where the Fall Colors are 'famous'.

Every Fall causes me to reflect on the changes in my own life as well. And inevitably there are many. This Fall is no different...

The biggest change is a new personal passion that has recently come to my attention. As I've already discussed, I recently realized the extent of my photography obsession which has been growing for years now. With a little encouragement from my mother-in-law and husband, along with a dose of self-realization, I decided I might be able to do something with this obsession. I'm far from "doing something" truly meaningful with it, but at this point I am enjoying the digital photography and Photoshop learning process. There's just so much to explore! And you know what they say - Do what you love, and you'll never work a day in your life! That's a pretty good goal to aim for. You can follow my journey over at Just a Bud.

As I continue to reflect on the changes in my own life this season, I'd love to hear what the crisp air of the changing season has brought into your life!

Is that really necessary?

2009-09-15T09:06:00.000-07:00

It's noon, and I'm still mentally disturbed by what I saw this morning.

Tim and I had a nice little stroll to the Metro where he "dropped me off" with a kiss goodbye and the usual well-wishes for a good day at work. I snagged my daily Express newspaper (news. brief.) from my favorite Express distribution dude at Capitol South and headed for the escalator as usual. That's where the pleasantries stopped and the creepies crept in.

At the top of the escalator there was a man (I assume it was a man) dressed as the grim reaper. I couldn't see his face (does the grim reaper have a face?), but I could hear his evil laugh and I could definitely see the very large poster he carried. On it was a blown up image of a bloody fetus' head.

Are you disturbed yet?

As if that wasn't enough, Grim had some form of voice amplifying device that made it impossible to block him out. He was laughing the most evil laugh I have ever heard in my life. (Worse than Heath Ledger as The Joker or the laugh from MJ's Thriller. And, no, I am not exaggerating.) Once his sinister laugh dissipated he proclaimed, "Keep fighting for the right to kill your babies and I will reward you for eternity...." punctuated by more evil chuckles.

Can you see why I am still disturbed hours later?

Shutter Bug

2009-09-14T08:10:00.001-07:00

In this season of swine flu scares I feel it would be good of me to warn you... I've caught a serious case of the shutter bug and can't seem to shake it.

Saturday I took the plunge and invested in a quality digital SLR camera. After hours and hours of research, and years of yearning for a camera that made that dreamy shutter sound, I went with the Nikon D90 and am extremely pleased so far. Of course, anything of higher quality than my little point and shoot Canon PowerShot SD 750 would have me in awe I'm sure.

I spent most of Saturday snapping photos at every turn and playing with all the dials I've never had before. Fortunately there is always something to capture in DC, and if the cityscapes and public protests aren't enough, my husband, friends and kitty have been very patient "models" (so far). A word to the wise, however, if you'd rather not have a camera in your face I'd stay away from me for the foreseeable future, or the next, oh, 2 years at least. I figure that's how long it'll take me to learn most of what I want to learn about portrait photography.

And if you're interested in following my journey as I learn about photography and Photoshop ... among other things, I'm sure ... you can check out my new blog over at Just A Bud.

NYC

2009-09-08T13:29:00.000-07:00

I'd never been to New York and I guess I didn't know what to expect, but it was nothing like whatever I didn't know to expect. I suppose I had glamorized the city... Unbeknown to me, my imagination had created a vision of a clean, beautiful city where everyone was fashion forward and the air smelled of roses and cinnamon rolls and the streets were paved in gold. Ha!

A few eye-opening observations from my first trip to NYC:

- This city overwhelms the senses (and not in the cinnamon rolls and roses kind of way). It is a loud, dirty, smelly, huge city. Most of the time, except for Central Park and the MoMA, I felt like I couldn't get a deep breath of air. My lungs apparently knew not to take in that much fowl "air" at once. The streets are covered in litter and everything seems to be in disarray. Nothing is kind or gentle about this city. Everything is in your face (or up your nose, as the case may be). Times Square is the best example, of course. And that was our first stop after we dropped our stuff off at the hotel (which is another story entirely).

Times Square

- The Statue of Liberty is not nearly as big as the movies make her look. I thought she would tower over the city, but the skyline actually dwarfs her. Which just seemed so wrong!

- A dump of a motel is more expensive than the Hilton in Oregon. I'm not so clueless as to think that for $200/night on Labor Day weekend that we were going to get a stellar hotel. (or am I?) But what we did get was still a shock to the system. There were two double beds in our room each butted up against the wall, and there was almost enough space to walk between them. Nothing matched (see photo below). The bathroom had mold growing on the ceiling and along the tub, toilet and sink. All at once Laura managed to pull the curtain rod above her bed down on herself while trying to shut the curtains for privacy, Tim nearly fell through the rock hard bed (did they screw up and put the box spring on top?) in an attempt to fix the curtain rod, and I realized there was no TP in the bathroom (mid stream of course). That pretty much sums it up. I slept with my hands between my face and the pillow in an attempt to keep from breathing whatever was surely inside.

On the plus side...

- Central Park is as beautiful as one would imagine an 80-block green space in the middle of a huge city.

- The food is amazing! We planned our trip around Laura's favorite restaurants and other places recommended to us. The food might have been my favorite thing about the City.

- One can easily catch a cab at any hour of the day or night. This is in stark contrast to DC where you practically have to order your cab online in advance unless you're on Pennsylvania Ave. or at the airport.

By Labor Day even Tim was saying, "I can't wait to get home to DC!" Which is saying something for a guy who has no great love for DC (or any city with a population larger than 50,000). And upon arrival back in the District we were both shocked by how clean (sterile, even) our city felt. It was kind of refreshing.

I have to admit that I do not *heart* NY (does this make me un-American??). But I DO *heart* the view from the top of the Rockefeller Center!

Call me Uncaring

2009-09-02T13:17:00.001-07:00

I have a confession to make: I'm pretty sure DC has turned me into a B.I.T.C.H.

- Here's the proof -

I used to be an idealist. One of those annoyingly optimistic people who think they can fix all that is wrong in the world. After just five months living in DC, when I walk down the street between the Metro and my office I don't want to be stopped by people out to save the world. I don't want to be annoyed daily by people from CARE, Greenpeace, PETA, or those people who make Obama out to be Hitler. I most certainly don't want to be approached (and made to feel guilty for not stopping) by three people from the same organization while walking from my office to the post office two blocks away. I'm just trying to go about my life. I don't want you asking if I have a moment to save the planet, or a moment to help abused animals, or a moment to solve world poverty. Your incessant attempts to stop me on the street drive me crazy. I'd like to think that I'm just annoyed by their patronizing ways - treating me as if I'm not already doing my part to help make the world a better place. As if every person walking by is not already helping, but maybe I'm just completely uncaring and heartless.

Not only that, but I have become the most annoyable person I know. People who don't follow the "rules" of the Metro system make my blood boil. I have too many stories to share on this topic for the short time I've been using the Metro Rail system. And if I recount them my blood pressure will likely shoot through the roof, so I'd better not. But suffice it to say, people are crazy. And when you put them into small spaces like mass transit trains and tunnels they seem to lose all common sense and politeness that their mama's (should have) taught them. About once a week I leave work in a pretty good mood only to arrive home fuming. I've got to find a way to control this pent-up frustration. I can't control them, I can only control me. *deep breath* I can't control them, all I can control is me.

Birthday No. 24

2009-08-31T10:39:00.000-07:00

This weekend I celebrated my 24th birthday. I will soon have to start acting like a real adult, not just the pretend one I am currently. I assume that age (when I am expected to transition from pretend to real adult) might very well be 25, when I am trusted to rent a car without extra charges. So I've only got one year left of pretend adulthood. On the up-side, my birthday fell on a Saturday this year. So I took advantage of that timing along with the fact that neither Tim nor I were starting school on or around my birthday (which is usually the case), and we used the entire weekend to celebrate!

Friday Tim and I went out to dinner with two of my girl friends at a comedy club called DC Improv and thoroughly enjoyed the show! It was a low-key and enjoyable way to kick the weekend off right.

At DC Improv

Saturday started with a 90 minute massage. *sigh* Then it was off to the grocery store with Tim in preparation for the BBQ with friends at our place. Tim was, as always, the grill master working up yummy yummy hamburgers, hot dogs, BBQ baked beans, and grilled corn on the cob. He even put together and served appetizers as the guests arrived: cheese ball with crackers, chips and salsa etc. All very healthy and low in fat and sodium. And so delicious!

My dear friend Laura made birthday cupcakes which just made my day. She toted them all the way from her place near Georgetown on the Metro - a birthday fairy coming through the front door with shoe boxes lined with plastic wrap and filled with delicious individual desserts that spelled "Happy Birthday Kendra! YAY". You can see why I love her.

The BBQ stretched into the wee hours of the morning as we watched funny You Tube videos, danced to innumerable peppy songs (over and over), and just enjoyed hanging out. We started the evening intent on migrating to Cafe Citron for Latin dancing and mingling with strangers (that's what you do at Clubs, right?), but we lost track of time at "Club Seymour" and never moved on. I didn't mind.

The girls gather for a group picture at the BBQ

Sunday was more low-key. We girls went out for brunch at Founding Farmers (one of my favorite brunch places in DC) then saw Julie and Julia in Georgetown. A pretty perfect Sunday afternoon.

Founding Farmers Brunch

As it turns out, 24 is not so bad.

A Pacific Northwest Retreat

2009-08-20T13:05:00.000-07:00

We spent three days over the weekend camping at Lake Pend Oreille in North Idaho with Tim's family and mine. Our time, though short, was blissful. I didn't realize how much I miss the Pacific Northwest.

Tim's little cousin Kirsten instructing him on how to arrange our tent.

The weather was less than ideal, but nothing dampened our spirits. We spent two days enjoying a reprieve from the DC humidity and heat, bundled up in sweatshirts, jeans and tennies. And standing by a campfire felt oh. so. good. I think the majority of my time at the lake was spent just enjoying the fire.

Tim's sister and cousin jumping off the dock.

Our final day on the lake the weather decided to cooperate and gifted us a beautifully sunny and calm end to our Northwest retreat. The lake was almost glassy, coaxing us into a 6:00 AM wakeboarding run. All the boarding, tubing, skiing and boating that day took a toll on our poor muscles and Tim got pretty badly burnt. The physical effects of our day of boating fun are constant reminders of the fun we had. And it was worth it to play in the water and be out in the sun on the gorgeous glassy lake surrounded by green trees and a blue sky.

Wakeboarding. *sigh*

Like I said. Bliss.

Chandelier Obsession

2009-07-17T06:49:00.001-07:00

If you are a friend of mine on facebook you will have already seen my latest status: I have a thing for chandeliers.

I'm beginning to think I might have an obsession with beautiful light fixtures. And given that we live in a rented basement apartment with low ceilings, this obsession needs an outlet somewhere other than our home. That's where you come in: I'd like to share with you a few of the lovely pieces of chandelier artwork I've been drooling over for the last few weeks.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

2009-07-14T08:39:00.000-07:00

Last week Amber came to visit DC as the final stop on her 3 week East Coast adventure. She, Laura and I had a great time doing girly things and seeing the sights together. Here are a few pictures from the wonderful 4 days we spent with Amber:

View from the top of the Washington Monument -
you can see the Capitol if you look closely

View from the bottom of the Washington -
best view ever

Dance party at our place with Tim as DJ.
This was obviously a little Thriller.

Rocking out to our own private dance party.
I LOVE Laura's face in this one.

National Cathedral - absolutely gorgeous
(and it had great chandeliers!)

Paddleboats on the Tidal Basin.
You can see part of the Jefferson Memorial in the background.

Hirshhorn Museum of Modern Art.
This fountain was amazing.

Anniversary #2

2009-07-08T10:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Tim and I celebrated our second anniversary. My, how the time flies! We celebrated with a fancy, yummy dinner at The Source (by Wolfgang Puck). Tim also got me lilies and roses (my favorites).

There is a funny story there, though. I've taken to buying myself flowers so I always have something bright and happy in a vase waiting for me when I come home. Last weekend we were at Eastern Market and I wanted to buy a new bunch of flowers, but Tim adamantly said "no". I walked off pouting as we headed home only to realize maybe he had a reason for not wanting me to buy myself flowers so close to our anniversary. Low and behold, he was just planning ahead so there would be a vacant vase for the bouquet he would buy me. Good hubby.

Being the shutter bug I am, I couldn't go without taking multiple pictures on our anniversary date. So, here is your inside look:

Lovely smelling flowers!

"Here Tim, smell how lovely they are!"
His face made me laugh.

Appetizer

Free dessert. The sauce read: "Happy Anniversary"

National Holiday

2009-07-05T11:10:00.000-07:00

Our first Fourth of July in DC was much less touristy that it should have been. We should have gone to the Mall and listened to all the concerts, been blown away by the loud booms of the fireworks and overwhelmed by all the tourists swarming the green space between the Capitol and the Lincoln.

We, however, spent our afternoon at a barbeque with friends in Virginia then moved on to another friend's apartment where we watched the fireworks with a view of the entire Mall.

Though it was nice to not be so overwhelmed by the large amounts of people, it would have been fun to do the touristy thing for our first year. Especially since we could have walked to and from the Mall and not had to worry about the crowded Metro. Ahh well, live and learn I suppose.

Beach Boys - Spirit of America, BBQ and
Apple Pie (being made in the background)

Laura and I had the patriotic thing going on.
We clearly love our country.

Tim, on the other hand, thought it best to wear a GREEN
Ireland, Ireland, Ireland, Ireland t-shirt.
Silly Timmy.

Our view of the fireworks. You can see the fuzzy outlines
of the Capitol on the left, the Washington in the middle
and the Lincoln on the right.

Not funny

2009-06-22T18:48:00.000-07:00

Around 5:00 this evening two Metro trains collided killing at least 6 and wounding dozens on the border of DC and Maryland. I was not on either of the trains involved, but I did feel the effects on my commute home in the form of delays. It wasn't until I arrived home that I found out what had happened.

Funnies

2009-06-21T17:51:00.000-07:00

Lately, the theme around here seems to be humor. And I can't say that I mind! Allow me give you just a few examples:

- East Coast Flooding: A couple weeks back I was getting ready to go out to dinner for a friend's birthday and it was storming outside. I mean, REALLY storming. The rain was pouring, the wind was blowing, and the thunder and lighting was incredibly loud and bright. Tim hadn't gotten home yet and I was about ready to leave, so I called him to see where he was. As it turns out, he was standing on our upstairs neighbors' porch waiting out the storm rather than taking the time to unlock our door while getting drenched. Upon realizing I was home he jetted down the stairs while I held the door open to quicken his escape from the driving rain. After a rushed goodbye I decided to brave the storm in an attempt to get to the restaurant on time. I donned my trusty patent leather heels, grabbed my umbrella and threw open the door with authority only to realize that we had failed to notice something during Tim's rushed entrance (and my own an hour earlier). Our lower-than-ground-level stoop was rapidly filling with water!! The drain had become blocked by leaves and debris, and the pouring rain had nearly filled the entrance to overflowing - right into our house! Fortunately it hadn't overflowed yet, so I yelled hysterically at Tim to "get me something to bail us out"! Through fits of laughter, Tim (who had just stripped off his soaking wet clothes and was running around in his skivvies) rushed toward the bathroom. Thinking he was going to get towels (which would clearly do us no good), I shouted at him to get me a Tupperware from the kitchen (for use in my bailing plan, of course). At my request, he threw me a Tupperware container with which I attempted to bail us out. Meanwhile, Timmy had returned to the bathroom, grabbed the plunger, and met me at the front door laughing at my frantic attempts to keep our apartment from being flooded. Once I had realized that my plan was never going to work he stepped up and in just two thrusts sucessfully plunged the drain. The water was gone in seconds. Why hadn't I thought of that?! I am not so proud that I cannot admit his plan was much much better than my own. And, yes, we laughed about the situation for days.

- Politics and Baseball: A week or so ago Tim and I attended the 48th Annual Congressional Baseball Game. It's hosted at Nationals Park, and yes the Congress members play. It's Democrats v. Republicans and the Dems hadn't won for years. Tim got tickets through one of the offices he serves, so we got to sit with them and enjoy the hilarity. Though it seems like Politics and Baseball should not be mixed, the levity of it all seemed healthy, in a way. It serves as a physical and public display of the battle between the parties, and it gives everyone something to laugh about. I mean, the teams train and prepare for this game very seriously, but the spectators are in it for the fun. Unfortunately, many of the folks in the crowd were not so pleasant to sit with. We were chatted up by an annoying lobbyist, and the ex-Hill-staffers behind us could not have had more annoying and entitled conversations. Randomly enough, thought, Nancy Pelosi was sitting not far from us and she had something of a following - people attempting to get her autograph and snap pictures with her. Quite a sight to see - politicians as rock stars.

At the Congressional Baseball Game

-Live from DC, it's Saturday Night!: This weekend we had a little get-together at our place that turned into a bigger party than planned. We spent most of the night playing the game "21", a game where you make up the rules as you go along and have to keep track of them all. Anyway, as the night got later and later the game got funnier and funnier and we all ended up in fits of laughter:

Laughed so hard I cried

The boys and their chuckles

- Laughs on the Big Screen: Though we don't often go to movies in theaters ($10.75 per ticket is a bit steep!), I went to two comedy films this weekend with friends. The first was The Hangover which, though a bit crass, sent me into fits of laughter on multiple occasions. If you know me well, you know these kinds of movies (where humor stems from how messed up the situation is) drive me crazy. I usually spend the entire movie trying to figure out how to fix the problems rather than finding the humor in SNAFU. This film, however, was so ridiculous while remaining relatively grounded in reality that I couldn't help but laugh. The second film was The Proposal, which I attended with my new friend Laura (a friend of Amber and Aaron's who is now in DC and is now forced to be friends with me *winks*). While this romantic comedy portrayed a rather unlikely relationship, it was still a feel-good film with lots of laughs along the way. I was entertained, even if my mind was not in any way stimulated.

In other news:
- A still untitled film staring Paul Rudd, Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson and Jack Nicholson has been shooting in DC lately. The cast and crew spent two days on the street corner right next to where I work preparing for and then shooting a scene for the movie. I didn't get any photos of the movie stars, but was told on my way to Starbucks that I was in the shot and to "please keep moving". Who do they think they are, taking over our block then telling me what to do?!

- My little brother came to DC with his high school band last week and I got to see them perform (which was weird, given that I had never been on the audience side) and met up with them during their evening Monuments and Memorials tour. Daniel even got to stay with us one night! Man, has he grown up!

After the band's performance at the Old Post Office Pavilion
Two Thumbs Up for a job well done!

- My new friend Laura and I went to Georgetown Cupcake yesterday and stood in a long line to get my Key Lime and her Chocolate2. YUM! Expensive though they are, the flavor and presentation is worth every penny.

For more photos of the latest escapades in DC, click here.

Summer Song

2009-06-11T13:36:00.000-07:00

I've found myself listening to this song a lot lately. Among other things, it has served as a pick-me-up when I'm feeling a bit down (read: when I get soaked by the torrential downpour on my way to work), and a great end to the work-day on my Metro commute home. After watching the music video, I also feel it's a super fantastic summer theme song, and I wanted to share the joy with you all. So, have a little listen if you have a moment for a feel-good tune.

National Zoo

2009-05-30T20:43:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I spent nearly five hours at the National Zoo with two young ladies who had never been to a zoo in their lives! One of them is a friend of mine from high school who is here doing an internship with an Oregon Representative. The other is her roommate here in DC.

Aside from the fact that there were no penguins, polar bears or giraffes (my favorites), we had a good time!

The National Zoo - we had to pose out front, of course.

Our National Zoo would not be complete without our nation's "mascot"

A very playful "kitty"

Cute monkey

Giant Panda

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-24T07:30:00.000-07:00

It's officially the end of our long Memorial Day weekend, and boy did Tim and I enjoy ourselves. Here are the highlights:

Friday we went to the Nationals-Orioles game at Nationals Stadium. It's a pleasant 15 minute walk from our house, and on Friday nights they have fireworks! The weather was perfect, and even though we lost in the 12th inning we still had a lot of fun:

Nationals Stadium - Home Run Nats!

The four of us enjoying our Friday evening in the sun.

Senators Sausages, where we got our over-priced park food.
I have to laugh at the names places get around here...

Yummy Bratwurst! One for me, and one for Timmy, I swear!

Saturday we got up early and headed out to the National Aquarium in Baltimore.

the National Aquarium in Baltimore

Dolphin Show!! My favorite part. :)

Woah!!!

So cute!!

This little narcissistic guy cracked me up!
He loved the camera so I took multiple photos
and I still laugh when I look at them.

Beautiful jelly fish.
There was a new Jellies exhibit that opened the day we went.
We were the first ones in.

Kinda scary croc! Look at those beady eyes.

Lunch at an Irish place on the Baltimore Inner Harbor.

Saturday night BBQ at our place.
Tim grilled yummy burgers and Kielbasa.
Anna and I did the guac, veggies, and fabulous chips with mango peach salsa.

Sunday we went to IKEA to get Tim a new desk (since the moving company never found the major pieces of our desk they "misplaced"). It was pretty comical (after the fact, but not during) to see the difference between how men and women shop. Timmy went straight for the desks and within 10 minutes had decided which one to purchase. Then, in his opinion, we were done. Meanwhile I inspected everything, trying to decide what to get since I had all sorts of plans for the apartment. We compromised in the end and got him a desk and me a bookshelf, a bathroom organizer and two cool lamps. A big thanks to Anna's boyfriend Grady for taking us to IKEA in his truck and helping us transport our purchases.

We also caught the National Symphony Orchestra's National Memorial Day Concert on the west lawn of the Capitol Sunday evening with a couple friends. It was an enjoyable combination of vocal, band, and symphony tunes as well as speeches by famous people like Colin Powell and Gary Sinise. Even a pacifist like me enjoyed the military-focused, patriotic-chill-inducing ditties.

After the concert

Today our landlords took us on a road trip to Annapolis, MD, home of the US Naval Academy and situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River. We took a driving tour of old-town Annapolis and enjoyed the boardwalk for a little while before returning to DC.

Tim and our landlord Marc on the boardwalk in Annapolis -
enjoying the sun, the view, cool drinks and the live music.

Our landlady Dale and I enjoying another bench along the boardwalk.

This evening we saw the Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian in the Air and Space Museum IMAX. It was fun to see the film in one of the buildings where it was filmed, but the film itself was nowhere near as good as its prequel.

I think Tim was done having his picture taken at this point.
But here we are waiting for the movie to start.

And to finish the weekend off, we have been putting together our IKEA purchases. Sophie has tried to help, but has mostly just been cute while getting in the way.

Putting Timmy's desk together

Bathroom storage!! Or kitty storage??

I don't think I've had such an enjoyable Memorial Day weekend since 2005 when Tim professed his undying love for me and we began dating! (but that's another story entirely)

No Longer Unemployed

2009-05-11T19:11:00.001-07:00

Yes, folks, it's finally official. I've been offered the Administrative Coordinator position at the Center for Democracy in the Americas! And, after a little negotiation, I accepted the job this evening. I will be starting on Monday after a very full week of Temp work this week.

On an entirely unrelated note, I found this video of Obama fairly amusing. Our president has a sense of humor and can make light of a variety of people and issues even during these hard times. I enjoyed his "stand-up routine" even though it's odd to see him joke around through an entire "speech". And speaking of our president, he was featured on the controversial cover of the latest issue of Washingtonian Magazine. I first heard about this cover during my second interview at the CDA and subsequently saw it at the grocery store. I guess all I can say is... I'm proud to call him my "new neighbor" even if he doesn't really qualify as a "neighbor" since his house is nearly a three mile walk from mine. (Yes, I Google Mapped it.)

Around the World via Embassies

2009-05-03T15:58:00.000-07:00

On Saturday my friend Anna and I toured several Embassies through the Passport DC Open House program. We didn't make it to all the ones available to us, but we did enjoy several. Check out a few photos below:

Anna getting her Henna tattoo at the Bangladesh Embassy

Me getting mine done

Bangladesh Henna

United Arab Emirates - they weren't open to the public, but their building was the coolest.

See what I mean? Cool Building!

Malaysia, obviously!

Malaysia (they had a fun, cultural marketplace in their courtyard!)

Pakistan

Band playing at the Nigerian Embassy

Drummers at the Ghana Embassy

We also went to the Ethiopian Embassy and saw a traditional coffee ceremony, but I forgot to take a picture there.

I heard a rumor that the Embassy Open House tour happens on the first Saturday of each month, with a select group of Embassies opening their doors. I've not confirmed that yet, but I hope it's true, because it was a lot of fun - and it was free! I love my new hometown!

And speaking of my new hometown... we went to see State of Play on Saturday. Though I was not entirely impressed with the film, it was still fun to see parts of DC I have come to know personally on the big screen.

A DC Studio

2009-04-29T10:31:00.001-07:00

Our apartment is not perfected yet, but I've had people bugging me for photos, so here they are!

This is what you see when you walk in

Looking to the left after walking in the front door

Looking to the right

More to the right, almost looking back at the front door/entry area.
Bedroom/extra seating.

The entire living room and bedroom areas, looking back toward the front door from the middle of the apartment.

The kitchen. The table and chairs on the left are left-overs from our landlords. Once I nail down a full-time job we will be getting a new table and chairs that fits our decor.

Kitchen sink and the only plants in our house so far (thanks mom!)

Sophie's "room" and the backdoor out to the back yard (with large map of the Chesapeake Bay)

Speaking of Sophie, you can see she's taken over the house... and has adapted well.

Happenings

2009-04-24T08:12:00.000-07:00

To avoid an extremely wordy post, I've bullet-pointed a few highlights from the last week or so.

- MOVING TRUCK: Our stuff arrived on Friday (only two weeks late)! Only a few things didn't show up, and they only dropped off one box that wasn't ours. So, we're still waiting on pieces of Tim's desk so he can set that up, and we're filing a claim for damages to a few pieces of furniture. But, we are VERY excited to sleep in our own bed and to have all our stuff back! Pictures of our new apartment are coming. I am just waiting until we get our missing items and can finish setting everything up.

- TEMPING: Friday I began temping at the Stevens Institute of Technology's DC office, in the Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center- the second largest building in the DC area (next to the Pentagon). It has been a convenient commute, and a pretty good job temporarily. I'm also temping at Madison Marquette, a commercial real estate company with an awesome 10th and 11th floor office suite. Temping has kept me sane, helped us earn a bit more cash, and allowed me to be patient and picky in the search for a full-time perfect/dream job!

- ENTERTAINMENT: Last Friday night we went to Catholic University of America to see a new musical titled "This is Not My Life", written by a friend of a friend. It was enjoyable and provided lots of laughs. Look for it on Broadway! ;) After we got sort of settled, we had a couple of friends over on Sunday for a BBQ. It felt really nice to entertain!

- EXCITEMENT: Tuesday we attended a reception in one of the House office buildings for the University of Oregon's outgoing President, Dave Frohnmayer. It was his last visit to Washington before he leaves office, and we met him personally as well as lots of other U of O alumni. We also met a distant relative! Upon meeting this girl named Tahira, she and I really clicked. We were talking and hanging out, then Tim came over and I introduced them. She mentioned that she was from Tillamook, and he was going to ask her if she knew the Hayes' from Tillamook (extended family). But then he realized her last name was Hayes, so he asked if she knew the Hayes family of Bend (closer family), and she said "yeah", and Tim says, "Like, Joe Hayes?". At this point I'm nearly shrieking from shock and joy. And Tahira says "Oh my gosh, that's my cousin!" Anyway... it was all very exciting, and now we're BFFs. *winks*

Mark, Tahira, me and Tim at the University of Oregon reception for Dave Frohnmayer

- JOB PROSPECTS: I had almost given up hope, but last night I got an e-mail from the Center for Democracy in the Americas requesting a second interview next week! It sounds like I will be going in on Tuesday for the follow-up interview. I'm ready to seal the deal. ;) I also found out a couple days ago that I did not get into the White House Internship Program. Oh well...

- RUNNING: My friend Anna and I are training for the Capitol Hill Classic 10K. The race is May 17th and we've got a lot of training to do. Given that I hadn't worked out for over a month when we got to DC, it's been a big tough getting back into running shape. But we're doing it one run at a time. Getting up at 6:15 AM to run before work is half the battle!

- SMITHSONIAN TOUR: Yesterday we went to the Natural History Museum and the Smithsonian Castle and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Both were much less packed than the American History Museum, and more interactive and interesting. Even though I'm more into Political Science than I am into hard Science, I found the Natural History Museum much more enjoyable. I've included a few pictures from our Saturday adventure below:

My friend the Penguin and I (Natural History Museum)

At the beautiful Smithsonian Castle (dang I'm white!)

This is obviously the thing to do when you come across a circle thingy

I hope you are all enjoying the sun, assuming you have Spring Sun!

Good News!

2009-04-16T10:25:00.000-07:00

Since we now live in a studio, I thought it prudent to buy a covered litter box to control odor. After a long walk in the rain and some misinformation, I finally found Chateau-Animaux, a french boutiqe pet store with everything I needed (and more). Fortunately, it is just five blocks away on Barracks Row. I trudged home in the rain with my kitty treasures, set up the litter box and threw out the temporary cardboard box and trash bag we were using. To Sophie's dismay, however, the new litter box is much more complicated and perhaps frightening. See for yourself:

In the end, I coaxed her into the litter box by holding the door open, but her fluffy tail didn't seem to make it all the way in:

A very fluffy tail!

I think I have too much time alone in our apartment with my kitty!

On another more productive and less entertaining topic, I recently interviewed and tested at Track Services. They are a placement agency that came highly recommended to me and we are working on placing me at temp jobs to fill the void while they search for my full-time dream job. I scored well on all the computer tests (97% across the board on the software assessments, and 94 wpm typing with 1 mistake per minute). These scores have landed me a temp job with the Stevens Institue of Technology at 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. I start tomorrow and will be doing administrative support for their newly opened office 1-2 days a week for now. While this is not permanent, nor dream material, it will help fill my time and suppliment our income, which is certainly welcomed!

Lastly, and possibly most exciting, I got a call from the driver of our moving truck today! He said they will arrive tomorrow (Friday) between 12:00 and 2:00! Of course, the day I get a job they decide to show up. How ironic and poetic. Fortunately Tim will be able to meet them at the house when they arrive since he can walk from work.

As an added plus, the sun is shining again, so I am sitting outside at Starbucks writing this. AND we got our DirectTV box set up a couple days ago. Free DirectTV from our Landlords? Yes, please!

That's all for now!

Easter weekend

2009-04-12T16:07:00.000-07:00

This weekend we began our Smithsonian tour, the goal of which is to see one Smithsonian museum each weekend for the next four months. We began our tour on Saturday with the National Museum of American History. It was a rainy day and we stood in line outside for about 45 minutes. Good thing we had our trusty umbrella (thanks for sending it, mom)!

Almost to the doors!

The museum itself was quite interesting, though packed with tourists. We were not patient or energetic enough to stand in the long lines for the American Presidency, First Ladies, and Thanks for the Memories exhibits but we plan to go back right at opening time one of these days to hit those three must-sees.

After the American History Museum we Metro-ed out to Target and Bed, Bath & Beyond to get a few home furnishings. It was quite an experience Metro-ing and walking home with big bags! I was very thankful for Tim (who taught me about Waltzing Matilda ... as seen below)!

Timmy going "Waltzing Matilda"

We spent Easter Sunday morning at the Union Station location of National Community Church. It was interesting, but too showy, hyped and shallow for our taste. We walked there and home, which was nice given the sunny weather.

Tulips and Fountains

Model Pose - SPRING!

Stoic Timmy with the Capitol Building

This afternoon our landlords hosted what they had described as a "little brunch". As it turns out, it was a FEAST! And at one point Tim turned to me and said, "I think I'm the only person here who doesn't speak Spanish!" This was due to the fact that the crowd invited was the "Latino friends," and Tim's statement certainly explains the vibe of the afternoon. There were people from all over Latin America, and all were well-educated, bi-lingual, and professionally successful - a fun group to meet and chat with!

As if that wasn't fun enough fun, there was enough food for three Christmas dinners! Marc and Dale cooked a turkey, a ham, shrimp (on the barbie), sausages, turkey dogs, and hamburgers - and that's just the meats! There were also mashed potatoes, pasta salad, crackers with cheese, multiple fruit and veggie salads, deviled eggs, pastries and numerous desserts! Needless to say, we won't be hungry for a day or so... and they want to give us left-overs as well ... can't say no to that!

What can I say? We've got a pretty SWEET set-up!

Our Neighborhood

2009-04-05T11:09:00.000-07:00

My body is thanking me today for the 14 hours of sleep I offered it last night. Everything just feels better once you've caught up on sleep!

I thought I'd dedicate a post to a few photos of our neighborhood here in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of SE DC.

The view from our window

View of Garfield Park upon exiting our place

Looking back on our place. Ours is the blue door into the English Basement.

Our neighbor's yard. I LOVE the tulips!

Marion Park - a Kiddie and Doggie Park a block from our place

Public Library 5 blocks away from us

There is also a Results Gym less than a block from us, a Metro PD Substation 3 blocks from us, and a mini-mart 2 blocks away. Our neighborhood is full of parks and green spaces, which is also really nice! And last but not least, Barracks Row and Eastern Market are just 5 blocks from us!

Some of you have been asking how Sophie handled the move. She has done really well. It's been fun to watch her explore every aspect of our new home. She was especially enthralled by our front-load washing machine:

Sophie was glued to the washing machine throughout the whole first load.

Cherry Blossoms and Adjustments

2009-04-04T15:20:00.001-07:00

This morning we walked to Constitution Avenue for the National Cherry Blossom Festival parade - an enjoyable couple of hours in the sun watching various groups perform song, dance, skating routine etc. Several schools brought their bands from Washington State, which was nice to see. :)

Tim and I at the Parade

After the parade we made our way through the throngs of people toward the Tidal Basin to get a look at the famous Cherry Blossoms. But before we got all the way there we gave up due to massive amounts of people impeding our movement. So, we snapped a photo of us with a Cherry Blossom tree and the Washington memorial against a beautiful, clear blue sky and headed out to get some shopping done (read: walked 15 blocks carrying groceries... gotta figure out a better way to do that).

Us with the Washington and famous Cherry Blossoms... this could be a "more bars in more places commercial," I think

We're discovering that the masses of people are quite frustrating when you realize it's what you'll be dealing with on a regular basis. We're also learning which Metro stops are to be avoided at all costs. For example, the "Smithsonian" stop is just not worth the trouble. Entering isn't too bad, but exiting at that stop takes an eternity. Such are the things you learn when transitioning from small town Oregon to East Coast big city. All in all, we're doing well, but it's going to take some time to truly feel at home.

I've also posted some photos below of our Farewell Dinner Party hosted by Tim's Aunt Lisa in Beaverton. We had a great time with friends and family the night before we left for DC!

Tim's family all came to say goodbye! What a great surprise!

My mom and brother also surprised us with their appearance at our party! Sneeky April Fools jokers!

I love my "sister" Caris!!

My adorable "with-child" cousin Kirsten and her husband Tom came to wish us well

Hello, I live here!

2009-04-03T12:57:00.000-07:00

Tim, Sophie and I landed safely in DC last night around 10:00 PM. We flew first class from Seattle to DC thanks to an upgrade from one of Tim's frequent-flyer aunts! Sophie traveled well, and our landlords (upstairs neighbors) welcomed us with flowers, a made bed, and dinner at 11:00 PM!

I had an interview today (found out yesterday morning), and just got done meeting with them. It was with the Center for Democracy in the America's, an NGO that works to educate the public and policy-makers toward improvement of US-Latin American relations (specifically focused on Venezuela and Cuba). I think it went well. I'm currently sitting in the Washington Office on Latin America (using their internet thanks to a friend who works here). And I wanted to update you all!

This morning Tim and I walked around in our neighborhood and found the nearest grocery store which is called Harris Teter and it's A LOT like Market of Choice in Eugene! That made me really happy! We also found the gym (just a block away), and a lot of fun places to eat and hang out on Barracks Row. We paid a visit to the Capitol Hill Frager's hardware store to make copies of our house keys (a "we live here!" moment). Frager's was an experience. The isles were hardly wide enough to walk down and there were items stacked to the ceilings. Adding to the claustrophobia was the humidity and rain which made my already struggling lungs want to collapse on themselves and made my hair uber-frizzy! Tim looked at me after we had been walking for a while and said: "You're gonna have to find a new hairstyle"! Thanks for telling it like it is, hun!

Alright, that's all for now. Pictures forthcoming. No way to load them at the moment!

Sicky

2009-03-31T09:42:00.000-07:00

It happens every time something big is going on in my life. I get sick. It's as if my body can't handle what my mind dreams up for myself. And so it is with this move to DC. As soon as all of the big tasks are out of the way and I can relax a bit my immune systems also relaxes and I am now feeling the effects: congestion, headache, body aches, sneezing, watery eyes, chills etc.

I left work a bit early yesterday because I just couldn't handle being in the land of the living any longer. I went straight to the grocery store to get drugs, and once I took the drugs and changed into something warmer and more comfortable, Tim wrapped me up as seen below:

You can't really see me here, but I'm squished between the two air mattresses over there in the corner.

A little closer, but still hiding

There I am. Looking my best.

Our thermometer is on its way to DC, so I don't know if I actually have a fever, but the fact that I have chills and am freezing when everyone else thinks the room is too warm makes me think that I am feverish. I really wish my body would cooperate.

Beginning of the End

2009-03-30T13:23:00.000-07:00

Toward the end of last week my parents and younger brother came to visit and help us finish moving things out and cleaning. What a huge help! We had a lot of fun just laying around (literally, since we don't have any furniture in our place), playing cards, eating out (no kitchen-wares either), playing tennis and chatting. My mom was invaluable in the cleaning process, and my dad and brother helped a great deal with moving everything out and cleaning the cars in preparation for delivery to Tim's folks.

Laying around in our empty apartment...

Saying goodbye to my folks and Daniel just before they left
and took one of our cars to Eastern Oregon for us

Again with my parents and Timmy

We also had dinner with some ex-coworkers on Saturday and Sunday to say farewell and Tim's best friend Josh came to visit last night.

Dinner with Josh and my ex-coworker Randy and his wife Jen at The Lucky Noodle - yummy!

And I went to dessert at Nib here in Eugene with girl friends this weekend too:

This is what sugar does to us!

Our yummy "Chocolate at Three Temperatures"

Oh, and we also had an impromptu sleep-over on Saturday at our house with air mattresses scattered throughout our otherwise empty living room and movies projected on our bare walls. You might think this is juvenile or sick, but it was good clean late-night fun!

With the lighting you can't really see the movie on the wall... but it's there.

A pretty enjoyable way to begin saying farewell to Oregon and hello to our new adventure on the other side of the country!

SF (a follow-up)

2009-03-27T14:28:00.000-07:00

Some of you may have noted that "Gil" from Smart Furniture commented on my post regarding their website. He wrote:

Hey, Kendra -

Thanks for the shout-out about Smart Furniture! Congrats on the new apartment, and we hope that you can find something that goes well with your space. At any rate, if you need any assistance finding anything or figuring out what can fit in your space, give us a buzz and we'd be happy to help!

We totally dig the duck hamper... wanna trade for some Smart Furniture swag? At any rate, if you wouldn't mind sending us a note about where we could send you a little housewarming gift, let me know.

Thanks again! -Gil @ SF

When I saw Gil's comment this morning, I was shocked. What kind of company cares to thank you for mentioning their website on your blog? And then offers you a housewarming gift for doing so. I mean, that's just unheard-of! At first I thought it was a scam, but I followed up with a "contact-us" form on the Smart Furniture website anyway (what can I say, I'm a sucker for housewarming gifts). I got this response from Gil:

Kendra -

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly, and congrats again on your new place! We'll put a little something together for you and Tim so we can send it out around the time that you guys are all moved in and settled.

Have a great weekend.

Gil

I'm officially sold on Smart Furniture. A walking advertisement, that's me. I mean, I suppose it could still be a scam, but I highly doubt it. I think I've finally just come across a company who really knows how to treat customers (and even potential customers) very well.

Kudos, SF! (can I call you SF?)

Where the Wild Things Are

2009-03-27T14:20:00.001-07:00

I loved the book "Where the Wild Things Are" when I was a kid. Apparently they are making it into a movie?

Smart Furniture

2009-03-26T11:49:00.000-07:00

I recently discovered smartfurniture.com, and what a great discovery it is! The following are just a few must-haves for our new apartment, where space will be sparse.

Two-foot tall storage module. Perfect for the bathroom!

Sleek, concealed bookshelves

This display tower could be good in any space, but I'm thinking living room.

Leather hamper - a perfect replacement for the duck design we currently have (see below).

When everything you have is on display, even the clothes hamper needs special consideration.

Sweet design for a coat rack!

Entry-area organization at its best

SNAFU

2009-03-26T10:28:00.000-07:00

Saturday we loaded two thirds of our belongings into a horse trailer and pick-up and sent them off to Haines, Oregon with Tim's mom. Tuesday the moving company came and loaded everything else to transport to DC. What's left is an apartment full of echoes.

First-time experiences, like our moving across the country, tend to produce SNAFUs which, at the time, can be funny at best or panic-inducing at worst. Here are just a couple of our own memory-making moving SNAFUs.

1) Being a control freak, and not having much control over much of this moving situation, I meticulously planned out my wardrobe for the week between sending everything off with the movers and flying out to DC. I hand-picked each outfit, down to the socks and underwear. I kept just the right number of items, and the perfect type of outfit for each day we have remaining in Eugene. Apparently, Tim had done the same, though probably not as meticulously. Unfortunately, we both left all of our undergarments in the dresser which is now on its way to DC in the moving truck. Replacing socks, underwear, and sport bra (for tennis with my family): $77.

2) For The Move, the company we contracted to transport our belongings across the country apparently hires out their jobs. A company called "Best West Movers" showed up to load our things and demanded that we pay 60% of our remaining balance plus packing costs to them in order for them to load the truck. This was not what we agreed to, but being in desperate need of their service and with no other recourse we wrote them a check. I was not pleased that we had been given the run-around, however, so I called the brokering agent the next day to explain what happened. The agent apologized profusely, saying that there must have been some mix-up and that the check we wrote would be torn up. Demanding justice from the moving company: $278 savings.

3) We arranged to borrow an air mattress for the week from one of Tim's coworkers. When setting up our temporary bed for the first time, however, we realized that it was actually two twin mattresses. On the plus side, they are really nice, comfortable mattresses (as comfortable as an air mattress can be), which is especially good considering my "sneezy-back" issue. Laughing every night at the crack between us: priceless.

Looking Forward

2009-03-17T21:43:00.000-07:00

Amid the hubbub of the moving preparations - finding boxes, sorting out what goes and what stays, booking a moving truck, finding affordable airfare, tying up loose ends at work etc. - I am setting my sights on the White House Internship program. I follow the White House blog almost religiously to watch as Obama lives up to his campaign promises. Tonight, as I was working on my application for the internship I checked out the White House Blog and was met with this amusing image:

(The White House North Lawn fountain flows with green water Tuesday, March 17, 2009, in honor of St. Patrick's Day. White House Photo/Lawrence Jackson)

Now, that's a sense of humor!

Aside from looking forward to green St. Patrick's day fountains, I am excited about many aspects of our pending move to Washington. Here are just a few:

1) Peak Cherry Blossom week - check it out! Peak week is April 3rd - 9th. How handy that we will arrive in DC the evening of the 2nd. Just in time! Plus, in a gesture of extravagant hospitality, there will be a parade to welcome us to town!

2) Scaling back on our belongings. We are moving from a large two bedroom apartment, into a studio. Simplifying is going to be so gratifying!

3) Traveling 3,000 miles with a kitty. This is going to be interesting. Timmy doesn't want to have Sophie in the cabin with us for fear of being "those crazy cat people", but I put my foot down and insisted that she's getting her own ticket to fly under the seat in front of me. Have I really turned into the cray cat woman this quickly?

4) The job market in DC! It's got to be one of the few areas of the country not hard-hit by this economic slump. So far I've applied for two administrative jobs - one with the Presidential Protective Service (a branch of the Secret Service) and one with the Department of Labor. I've also applied for a Policy Associate position with the National Immigration Forum, and several entry level jobs with senators. Of course, there's also the White House Internship application which is due Sunday!

5) Living without cars. For a long time I've wished I could live close to functional mass transit so I could live without a car. Now it will be possible.

6) The location of our new apartment - a map is worth how many words?

I'll keep you posted as to the progress of the move and how fully my dreams are fulfilled. :)

Speaking of moving too fast...

2009-03-16T16:44:00.000-07:00

In case you haven't heard... Tim and I are moving to Washington, DC in less than three weeks.

Here's how it all happened, for those of you who are interested in "the rest of the story":

As anyone who follows my blog knows, I went to Barack Obama's Inauguration in January. What you may not know is that I came back inspired and with a great desire to move to D.C.! Almost immediately upon my arrival at PDX I was telling Tim about how we were going to sell both of our cars, and scale down on our belongings and move to Washington, DC to live the dream. I was pretty exhausted after delayed flights and a week of very little sleep, but I'm pretty sure Tim's response was something like: "What in the WORLD are you talking about, little miss crazy??"

Once he recovered from the shock, Timmy naturally realized that mine was a good idea. ;) We began discussing how we would make the DC dream a reality. Tim sent his resume out to a couple of Information Technology contacts I had gleaned from friends in DC and I began looking for jobs that were of interest to me. Shortly after Tim had sent out his resumes, we decided that moving immediately was not a very wise decision financially, so we aimed to save money over the summer and look into moving in September. Of course, in an ironic twist, shortly after we renewed our apartment lease through August, Tim got a phone interview with HouseCall IT in DC. Then a week later he had a video conference with the same company. And a week later (last week) he was flying out for a week long interview on The Hill.

Long story short, Tim loved DC and the job and has accepted a Jr. Systems Administrator position with HouseCall starting April 6th! He also nailed down an apartment for us. You can check it out here! We will be living just 5 blocks from the Capitol (where Tim will work, and hopefully where I will work as well), 4 blocks from one Metro stop and 5 blocks from another, and just 4 blocks from my good friend Anna (with whom both Tim and I stayed during our recent visits to DC)! It's right across the street from a park with tennis courts and room to frolic, too!

So, as it turns out, we have sold both of our cars, turned in our 2 weeks notice, and will be moving to DC the first of April - just in time for the peak Cherry Blossom season! A dream come true.

And we both live Happily Ever After!

Slow down, ya move too fast

2009-03-12T15:07:00.000-07:00

So, do you wanna hear a funny story? Of course you do! Anything to take your mind off the depressing news about the economy, right?

This morning I woke up and felt like the cold I had been fighting the last few days had finally gotten better! I was pretty excited about that, thinking - this is great! I'm finally past the worst of it and am back up to full speed! And I rolled out of bed to get in the shower and get ready for work.

I noticed my lower back was feeling a bit funny, but thought it was just the morning kinks. It was right about then that I felt a sneeze coming on. This had been a recurring theme to my cold. I would feel like I was going to sneeze, but I would only get the precursors and none of the relief that an actual sneeze provides. So, in the last couple of days, I have been celebrating full-on sneezes. Therefore, I got a bit excited when this sneeze started building (as excited as one can be through the early morning grogginess). And then I SNEEZE!!!!!!!

But this sneeze is not one to rejoice over like the ones of the last few days. This one shoots serious pain down my lower back and the pain is so intense that I can't stand back up straight.

Instead, I fell to my knees and then realize I couldn't stand back up.

Oh yes, it was THAT pathetic!

I could hardly move! I made it to my phone and called my chiropractor, only to learn from their answering machine that they aren't open on Thursdays. Perfect. On top of that, Tim is out of town so I called my good friend Kristen who graciously got me phone numbers to other chiropractic clinics in town then took me to one on her lunch break.

Yup, I sneezed in the shower and threw my back out so bad that I'm laid up for two days, and had to go to a new chiropractor. The new chiropractor (at The Chiropractic Healing Center) said it seems to just be major muscle spasms, not a bulging disc, which is good! I should be up and running in a couple of days as long as I stay off my feet, use ice/heat therapy and lay in the appropriate positions.

So, it's sad, but it's kinda funny. This silly incident forced me to let my body rest and recover from my cold completely, and take a much needed break from work. So I'm listening to my body and taking it easy. Plus kitty and I are enjoying our time together taking cat naps, reading and blogging...

Office Before and After

2009-03-05T18:22:00.000-08:00

Lately I've been obsessed with Before and Afters. Like this foot stool and this dresser.

So here's one of my own. My office at work, before and after. It's nothing grandiose, and I'd still do a lot more if I had a larger budget and more freedom, but let me know what you think!

BEFORE:

View when you walk into the office. I love the hardwood floors, but really nothing else.Looking at my desk from the client perspective. Not a pretty sight.

Another angle on the desk and window. Gotta love that clunky monitor and the fan.

The awesome bead curtain "concealing" the server "closet" that resides in my office.

AFTER:

The view upon walking into the office.

View from my side of the desk.
Note the much nicer monitor and much more concealed server room.

Side of the office.

Client view - looking out the window.
Note, new chair - much more comfy and stylish.

This side of the room is still very cluttered, but I'm not authorized to move those files, so I just added a plant and photos on top in an attempt to distract from the clutter.

New shelf set-up, including a real, live pet fish.
Meet Frederick VII.

Ahhhh, tidy desk with nice set-up.

So, what do you think? Obviously it's FAR from perfect, but it's much more workable now than it was to start with.

Tutu's message to Obama

2009-02-18T17:01:00.000-08:00

This article from BBC News, "Obama, don't lose goodwill - Tutu", pretty well expresses how I feel about Obama's presidency. I have high hopes for President Obama, as does the majority of the world, but I refuse to delude myself in thinking of him as the savior of the world. No single man can solve the world's problems in the way some people believe Obama could. As usual, however, Archbishop Desmond Tutu's caution to Obama is insightful - and hopefully advice that the President will follow.

Weekend with my Valentine

2009-02-16T16:20:00.000-08:00

Tim and I spent Valentine's Weekend on the Oregon Coast with his grandparents, Grandma Barbie and Grandad Don. Since we didn't leave until after work on Friday most of our drive to Oceanside was dark. I would have never known we were at the ocean ... if it weren't for the sound of the waves on the shore when we got out of the car. But the sunrise Valentine's morning brought a beautiful view of the Pacific Ocean from the third story of the house. It was so calming to just watch the waves crashing in on themselves as we sat cozy in a warm house and ate bacon, eggs, pears & cream, and orange juice fixed with love by Grandma Barbie's hands.

Morning Stroll

We took a stroll on the beach in the morning... it was so chilly Tim and I borrowed some of our grandparents' clothes to bundle up. But even with the brisk weather it was still a joy to walk on the beach, taking pictures of the natural beauty we so seldom see.

Tim in Borrowed Hat, and I in Borrowed Coat and Hat

In the afternoon we watched some old home video from when Tim's dad was little, and then from when Timmy was little. It was quite an experience, especially since several of the people who were in those videos are now dead - people I never met (and one that I did) that are talked about so much by the family they left behind. Following the home videos, we saw Grandad Don in one of his early plays in his younger days. Then it was onto the video from their recent trip through the Panama Canal along with the hilarious and ironic Nova documentary about the making of the canal. I worked on a small art project while we watched the movies, then transitioned to conversations about recent happenings.

We took another stroll on the beach at sunset before high-tailing it back to the house to catch the end of the sunset from a better vantage point.

Silhouettes

Surfers at Sunset

Sunset from the House

Dinner was at Roseanna's - a quaint restaurant in Oceanside with delicious food! I had grilled halibut with a yummy strawberry feta salad, asparagus and grilled potatoes. To top it off, Tim and I shared a yummy Marrionberry cobbler a-la-mode. YUM!

Roseanna's

End of Dinner - Marrionberry Cobbler A-la-Mode

We spent the evening chatting about the future of the ranch in Haines, got up for Mass on Sunday followed by French Toast breakfast put on by the Tillamook Sr. Class to raise money for several "causes".

The drive home was lovely - much better in the light of day - and a great way to top off a splendid trip.

After Dinner - Happy and Full

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY
EVERYONE!!!

Decorating ideas for renters

2009-02-13T13:27:00.000-08:00

I recently found this great slide show of great decorating ideas for renters at the Domino Magazine website (unfortunately March is their last issue!). For those of us who will be renting for the next few years, these tips can make our time as non-homeowners much more enjoyable!

This is one of my favorite ideas:

It has come to this

2009-02-06T09:17:00.000-08:00

The story discussed in this editorial disturbs me. How is it ok to treat people this way (afterall, these are people) - some of whom have done nothing wrong but cross a line drawn in the sand seeking a better life? I think it's important to note that many people who enter the country without papers do not have any way to enter legally. It's not that they choose to enter illegally rather than going through the propper process. It's that there is no process for them because they have no US Citizen family, or they are not Olympic Atheletes, or they don't have their M.D. and are not sponsored by some specialty hospital who has the money to cover their immigration process. It seems to me that we treat convicted felons better than we treat undocumented immigrants! What upsets me the most, I think, is that this spectacle reminds me of photos I saw at the Holocaust Museum last month. I pray that we are not going there with our overzealous, xenophobic enforcement of immigration law.

I was there!

2009-01-28T17:02:00.000-08:00

I traveled to DC for the Inauguration last week. Needless to say, it was very inspiring and historic. I could write a book, but I'll let a few pictures speak for the experience. To see all three albums on facebook, these are the links: Inauguration Day, DC Part I, DC Part II.

In front of the Jefferson Memorial

Jumping for Joy at the Jefferson

By the Washington Memorial

At the Lincoln Memorial

This guy was dancing to some impromptu music on the steps of the Lincoln. He was TOO cute!

Night on the Mall - this photo was taken by a freelance photographer and writer who I met in line and who happens to know several of the people I met during my study abroad in Latin America. It was quite an enjoyable and serendipitous night!

Ice Skating at the National Art Museum Sculpture Garden

4:45 AM on Inauguration Day - coming out from the Metro with a million people. EXCITED!

Dawn at the Capitol

Friends we just met - all trying to stay warm, but filled with excitement

Feeling patriotic and proud to be an American. A good moment.

The reason we all gathered in the freezing cold for hours and hours. President Obama!!

The huge crowd behaved itself but left a lot of trash. :(

Getting warm again at the Hawk & Dove - Cheers to the next 4 years!

Girls Weekend

2009-01-12T08:35:00.000-08:00

This weekend I visited my friend Caris in Portland. Somehow I didn't take one picture the whole time I was there... but we had a great time. Friday night I had to ref a basketball game in Junction City, then met up with Tim and friends for dinner at La Perla in Eugene. By 8:00 I was finally on my way to Portland.

On Saturday we went to brunch at Pambiche, a Cuban restaurant in NE Portland. The food and atmosphere were truly authentic and very enjoyable, as was the company of course! Then it was off to bowling at Hollywood Bowl. I scored over 100 twice - quite an accomplishment for me! But Caris still beat me both games. After bowling we hit the theater and saw Gran Torino - such a surprising film! I highly recommend it.

We rounded out the evening with split pea soup (my first ever - YUMM!), and the Blazers game at Caris' parents' house on their huge HDTV. It was so fun to see how much the Blazers have changed in the last 5-10 years. They are selfless on and off the court, and they really work together as a team. Such fun to watch!

All in all, a fun time! Thanks for a great weekend, Caris!

Cameron & Christina's Wedding

2009-01-06T22:47:00.001-08:00

So, I went to Estes Park, Colorado for my cousin Christina's wedding. I discovered I should be an event/wedding coordinator as I had so much fun pulling everything together in the last few days... Here are some photos:

Sisters - my mom, aunt Lura (the cake miracle worker) and Aunt Lesta (the mother of the bride)

Daniel and I dancing at the reception

Tim and I at the reception

The sweet and serene father-daughter dance turned CRAZY! :)

Cutting the beautiful cake

Family

Beautiful bride and groom

I played guest-book/program/gift table girl - and matched the theme too!

Steaming out the wrinkles in the wedding dress

White Christmas

2008-12-29T10:57:00.000-08:00

This is my Christmas at Home in a few Pictures:

A Snowy Barnyard

Barn through the Trees

East Oregonian

The Boys in a Blizzard
(Daniel, Dad, Ben)

Parents in a Drift
(Mom, Dad and Mannie)

Snow Bunnies
(Tim and I)

Warming Up Inside
(Mannie and I)

Snow - the ups and downs

2008-12-17T14:44:00.000-08:00

It snowed 4 inches in the Willamette Valley. Apparently this is a crisis. No one knows how to drive, and almost all the schools have been closed for 2-3 days. This is craziness in my mind. The temperatures have been anywhere between 0 and 32 degrees the last few days.

I got an e-mail from my mom yesterday saying "so far the weather here (currently zero degrees, and about one foot of snow) is not hampering too much." Now that's the Oregon I know! Who would have thought that one state could contain such diverse peoples from East to West? Oregon is just like that, though. And I love it.

The snow is beautiful to be sure. And I enjoy laughing at all the people who cannot drive in it. Those people with lift kits on their huge trucks that think they can speed and turn sharply in front of people without any consequences. Dumb. And then there are the poor people walking on the street who can't take a step without thinking they will slip and fall. I witnessed a woman in her 30s or 40s trying to walk down the sidewalk and hopping from not-so-slippery-looking-spot to not-so-slippery-looking-spot. She eventually couldn't find any more not-so-slippery-looking-spots apparently, because she got this trapped look in her eyes and just couldn't move any further. I vacillated between laughing at her and feeling sorry for her.

The downside to the snow is that all my reffing gigs thus far this week have been canceled. Dumb. That was Christmas money!

Oh, and we went to a "Holiday Sweater" party at our friends Kim and Alex's place this weekend... I think Tim won hands down. Bestest Holiday Sweater. See for yourself:

Inauguration Vacation

2008-11-20T16:16:00.001-08:00

After thinking about it since November 4th, and constantly searching for affordable airfare, I finally purchased a round-trip ticket from Portland to Philadelphia for Inauguration week 2009. A ticket that had cost $480 on Monday, cost just $280 on Tuesday. It was a sign. *winks* I will be spending five days in DC this January, touring with my cousin Allyson and her husband Tobin and staying with my good friend Anna near Capitol Hill. I couldn't be more thrilled.

The only sad part is that Tim was unable to come. While I REALLY wish he could come with me to experience this once-in-a-lifetime trip, he encouraged me not to pass up this opportunity just because he couldn't come along. What a good hubby.

Anyone know of any great things I MUST do while in DC?

Sophie!

2008-11-02T22:10:00.001-08:00

Big news everyone! Tim relented and let me get a kitty! :) I went to the Humane Society on Friday, picked out an adorable kitten named Kylie, and was working through the paperwork in the Cattery to adopt her, when this little gray kitten hopped up on my lap, curled up and started purring. It was done; she had chosen me.

As all the pictures indicate, I'm already quite obsessed with our little 3-month-old baby. Her given name was "Little Girrrrl" which was one too many "r"s for me. Sophie fit much better, and I think she agrees. She seems to be a bit more enamored with Tim than with me for the moment, but I have a feeling she will come around.

Her favorite perch - the back of the couch.

She also loves the windowsill

Napping on my leg - precious.

She wasn't too sure about me when she first came home.

He might look like a tough guy, but he's really just a big softy.

Debt

2008-10-08T22:12:00.001-07:00

Did anyone else see this? Opinions vary on whether or not national debt is detrimental to the US as a whole. But with our economy tanking and this year's election drawing to a climactic close, it's certainly noteworthy that more zeros are necessitated to tally our nation's indebtedness to others. It will be interesting to see where our new president takes us, and and how long it will take individual Americans and our nation to dig out of their respective debts. The end of unwise debt, sadly, does not seem to be in sight. And individual Americans are not likely to see $700 billion thrust our way if we fail to manage our money wisely.

Thinking about NOT voting??

2008-10-01T21:36:00.000-07:00

Check out this video... (but only if little ones are not around).

Glory Night

2008-09-30T22:23:00.000-07:00

Apparently, many-a-year-ago, long before I joined my co-ed soccer team, our team was comprised of many more players. Somewhere along the way there was a nasty breakup between two of the team members, and the ex-girlfriend happened to not get along with the team captain, so she (the ex-girlfriend) took most of the best players and formed her own team in the same league - the Llamas. Over the last couple of years the two teams (The Llamas and The Green Team) have met multiple times but The Green Team has never managed to beat their arch rivals, The Llamas.

Last night, my 3rd soccer game ever, we faced off against The Llamas for the Civil War 2008.

No-one scored in the first half, though we went back and forth intensely the entire 45 minutes. The Llamas pulled ahead in the second half with two goals scored by men (in co-ed ball, men's goals count for 1, women's count for 2). 2-0 Llamas.

Then, about twenty minutes into the second half a miraculous thing happened. I was at the right place at the right time, Stephanie passed me the ball, and GOOOOOOAAAAAAALL!!!!!!! Game tied. (There may have been mild amounts of screaming, jumping, high-fiving, hugging, squealing, chest bumping etc.) Seeing the ball off your foot into the net is quite the addrenalin rush! Ten minutes later our amazing Norwegian soccer feind Toralf scored a goal from about 35 yards out (wow!), putting us up by one.

In the end, we managed to keep The Llamas from scoring again and won the game 3-2!

But, readers, what's important to note here is not the exciting and historical win for our team... what's important is: KENDRA SCORED HER FIRST GOAL! (just making sure we were clear on that.)

Go Green Team!!

Scars

2008-09-24T18:54:00.000-07:00

I had my first adult bike wreck this week. It was all because of my foolishness. I was wearing impractical (yet very attractive) shoes and a pencil skirt, and was riding in a construction zone. Not the smartest thing in the world to do, right? To top it off, I tried to jump up onto a curb while paralleling that curb, something my biking instructor (Tim) told me explicitly not to do. As I was about to attempt the parallel-curb-hop I was thinking, "I really shouldn't do this; Tim said it wasn't a good idea...SHOOT!" CRASH, SKID, BRUISE! Fortunately I fell away from traffic and only sustained scrapes, bruises, a small gash and some road rash on my knee. I felt like such a child, limping back to work and cleaning my owies.

Tim calls my road rash "Reminder Burns". Not to get all philosophical or psychological, but our scars and road rash, whether physical or emotional, do serve as reminders of past mistakes and foolishness. I, for one, will not be attempting the silly sideways curb jump anytime in the near future!

Elsewhere in the life of Kendra ... work is going great! We have hired a person to take over the front desk/general office duties, and I couldn't be more thrilled. I am now moving into my office upstairs! I have several cases of my own, and am retaining several new clients every week. I think it's fun that I have clients from all over the world, not just Mexico. So far I have clients from: Nigeria, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Thailand, The Philippines, Peru, Laos, and Mexico. I love it! Now I'm in the process of turning my new office into a welcoming and professional space. Truth be told, my office needs to be on a home/office makeover show. But I'll see what I can pull out of my bag of tricks without the help of professionals!

Drawing to a Close

2008-09-17T10:57:00.000-07:00

There are many indications in the valley that Summer is drawing to a close and Fall is rapidly approaching. This week our dorm-like apartment complex has been overrun by large trucks, U-haul trailers and parents galore. The school year is about to begin.

The Country Club pool closes for the summer today. While Tim's pool staff is thrilled to be done, I am sad to see the fun at the pool and on the tennis court go away. Just another indication that the beautiful Eugene summer will be gone before I know it.

Though the mornings and evenings are getting cooler, the 80 degree weather we had this last week gives me hope that all things summer are not lost. We've squeezed in a few boating trips, a hike up Spencer's Butte, and morning jogs in the last couple of weeks. My biking trips to work in the morning are getting rather chilly, but Tim is riding to the Honors College now too, so we can commiserate. Soon the evening bike rides home will be as cold as the morning.

But there is a lot to look forward to as Fall approaches. Tim won't be working crazy hours as the manager of the Country Club Aquatics. He will have regular hours at his part-time tech job and late hours only a couple days a week at EMT classes. I just started a fall co-ed adult soccer league with practice one night a week and games every Monday. I've never actually played soccer, but this league has been quite fun already. They keep asking me if I played rugby... does that mean I'm too rough? ;)

Eugene Celebration

2008-09-14T17:55:00.001-07:00

I just got back from the Eugene Celebration with two of my girlfriends. It's like a big hippie fair, and it was soo fun! I had a very tasty Gyro with falafel, and we got some "drinking chocolate" (YUM!). There was plenty of live music of all sorts to enjoy, and people dancing in the street. If you enjoy people watching like I do, this is the place to be.

We also got free "Women for Obama" symbols painted on our arms. A good day.

Life is Beautiful

2008-08-19T18:45:00.000-07:00

Without free time at work, I fear my blog is feeling neglected. There's just so much to do now that I actually have to work at work! There never seems to be time for everything I had planned to accomplish.

My bike ride home from work remains one of my favorite parts of the day. There are always people out and about, and I ride across the beautiful Willamette river. Today it was just beginning to sprinkle on me as I rode home and it felt so refreshing. Mmmm, I love Eugene.

I recently found this great park about two blocks from work where I can eat my lunch. The park has both covered and uncovered areas with tables and benches, great for rainy days and sunshine alike. I think my favorite part is that on Tuesday and Thursday the Farmer's Market is hosted in this park, just the next block over. So, there are lots of great vendors selling fresh flowers, fruits, veggies, and home made wares. I love how close work is to this fabulous local market!

My Spanish is improving by leaps and bounds, though I'm still far from satisfied with how far I've come. One of the partners in the firm overheard me speaking to someone on the phone and complimented me on how I was sounding. That was sure a boost to the 'ol confidence!

Aside from work... I recently went to a friend's wedding back home and enjoyed seeing several of my friends from high school. What a fun night!

At Lacy's Wedding with Julie, Adie, Ashley, and Jackie

Tim and I also got to see the progress made in the barnyard at my parents' place. My how far it has come! I'm so proud of all the work my parents have done. I'm excited for the first couple who decides to get married at the Winn Homestead. It's going to be such an amazing venue!

We also made a quick trip to Portland on a Thursday night for my cousin Forrest's wedding. It was great to see my mom's side of the family, if only for a few hours.

At Forrest's wedding with several of the girl cousins!

Last weekend I kayaked the Rogue River with some friends, just relaxing and having fun; then Tim and I went boating with friends, and I got to use my wakeboard for the first time! I also tried wake surfing for a second time and I actually got up and surfed the wake for quite a long distance! For anyone who has not tried it, I highly recommend wake surfing. I think it's my new favorite water sport.

I think that's all for now.

I can never tell what Tim is doing...

We've Only Just Begun

2008-08-05T19:02:00.000-07:00

I remember my mom singing that line from The Carpenter's - "We've only just begun......" throughout my childhood and it perfectly describes how I feel this evening.

I've now spent two days at Hecht & Norman learning the ropes, and there is A LOT to learn, as I expected.

So far:

Biking to and from work has been great. I have a fantastic little 15 minute ride each way on the South Bank bike trail to work. It's been super warm on the way home, and I will be dealing with rain when summer ends, but I have vowed to not let the rain or the heat dampen my spirits!

I have learned how to answer and screen calls in Spanish and English based on whether the person's case is one we handle. This task truly scares me. I have only been shadowing for the last two days. Tomorrow I will begin taking calls and attempting to direct these people correctly. Thankfully I’m not allowed to give out legal advice (which I know nothing about)! ☺

I laughed out loud when I heard that the person in charge of installing our new phone system is Bob Vance **Vance Refrigeration, my mind added**! (Those of you who know The Office will appreciate that.)

I attempted to memorize what seems like millions of acronyms, names and numbers of forms, filing systems, what each of our attorneys do and what their quirks and preferences are etc.

Thankfully, tonight I am less overwhelmed than I was last night. This is a good sign. I also consider this feeling of being in over my head a good thing. I have a lot to learn and room to grow here; just where I need to be at 22 going on 23.

In other news, Dean Barnes (Tim’s old youth pastor) was in the area last week and stopped in on Sunday night for a wonderful visit!

Foiled!

2008-07-30T11:51:00.000-07:00

My body is trying to sabotage me, but I am determined to beat it into submission.

Come Monday, I'd like to march into Hecht & Norman completely on top of my game in every way possible. My immune system, however, seems to think this week is a good time to let down its guard and allow any number of bugs to attack me. But never you fear, I have no intentions of letting these little buggers win. I've thrown my arsenal of natural defenses toward my immune system, hoping it will utilize all the help I'm sending its way. In the last 20 hours or so I've pulled out all the stops: loads of Airborne, zinc lozenges, Vibe dietary supplement, Waiora Natural Cellular Defense drops (thank you, Livia), and Jamba Juice with the Daily Vitamin boost. Not to mention gallons (it seems) of water, more sleep than normal, and pain pills when I just can't take it anymore.

Am I ridiculous or what?! No one can accuse me of not doing my best to avoid being sick! On the plus side, it seems to be working. With any luck (knock on wood) I will be running full steam long before Monday!

Florence, Oregon

2008-07-20T18:55:00.000-07:00

I whisked Tim away for an afternoon trip to Florence, Oregon today after church. It was nice to get away together - just the two of us. Our lives have been so hectic lately with me on two weeks of vacation by myself and Tim working very hard at the Eugene Country Club.

We enjoyed Mo's clam chowder and walking along the boardwalk in Florence.

Then drove out to the Sea Lion Caves.

Sea Lions galore! Man they sound funny.

And on our way back home we stopped in at Three Rivers Casino, but after spending a dollar on a game we had no idea how to play, we decided to take some "free" soda, walk around and gawk at all the people playing their money away and head home with our money still in our pockets. It was a splendid and relaxing afternoon.

Heceta Head Lighthouse - purports to be the most photographed lighthouse in the world... and I helped it along.

In other news:

- I turned in my two weeks notice at work on Friday! That's a first for me, so it was a pretty exciting day!

- We saw The Dark Night when it released at midnight on Thursday, and I was not as impressed with it as I had hoped to be. I will not include any spoilers in this post, but suffice it to say that the philosophical/ethical content and superb acting were all there... it was the length of the film and how much Christopher Nolan tried to cram into it that ruined the experience for me. But then again, maybe if I hadn't been so exhausted I could have enjoyed it more.

It's the Little Things

2008-07-17T11:12:00.001-07:00

That saying about "the little things in life" being "what really matters" ... it's true.

I'm discovering this more and more. A few examples:

- Yesterday I was amused by the man in the cooler at Albertson's. He got a chuckle out of startling me, and I enjoyed his accent as we chatted about the pros and cons of his job ("it's great in the summer, but in the winter it's not so fun.")

- The last couple of days, my mom's blog about the Winn Homestead project my parents are doing "back home" has brought me joy and pride. Check it out, you'll see why.

- Last night Tim and I played "keep-away" and "sharks and minnows" with a friend and some little kids in the Country Club pool while Tim "supervised" his staff. I had so much fun pretending to be a 10-year-old again, playing water games in the summertime.

- Even my morning surprise - no water in our apartment - is amusing to me now. I had to pack up and go to my gym to shower in their locker rooms before work! I was not amused at the time, but it is pretty funny now.

- And today my after-work activities have me all excited: reffing two YMCA women's league games, watching Burn Notice, and going to see The Dark Knight at midnight with 3 other couples!

It's decided. The little things in life make everything worthwhile!

Vacation Week II

2008-07-14T10:04:00.002-07:00

So, it's back to the daily grind after my second week of vacation perfection. I arrived back in Eugene around 1:00 yesterday afternoon, and it was good to be home even though I had enjoyed my two weeks immensely.

A few highlights from my trip to California:

- A guided tour (thank you, Aaron) around Berkeley, including UC Berkeley where Aaron is attending Law School, during which I witnessed Code Pink's protest of the US Marine Corps recruiting office.

- Traveling by BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit), Emery-Go-Round, and foot (more than 20 miles walked in the 4 days I was there.)

- Shopping with Amber all afternoon in San Francisco, and finding my new favorite store: H&M.

Amber and I in front of a bell in Dolores park - and at Aaron's apartment

- Touring Pixar with Reid! I loved all the life-sized characters, and the WALL-E paraphernalia (even though I have yet to see the movie).

- Meeting a TV celebrity at Victoria's going away party that Amber and Aaron threw. Anyone else watch Beauty and the Geek and know who Ankur is from Season 2?

I didn't know he was fake kissing me until I saw this picture later...
Seems kinda backwards - the celebrity "adoring" the fan... ;)

- Touring San Francisco with Aaron, and actually getting him to take pictures with me!

Arm wrestling at the Musee Mecanique - Aaron and I with the San Francisco skyline.

Aaron and I in front of Alcatraz - hanging off a Cable Car

- FOOD! Pie in the Sky Pizza, Senegalese, Indian, Thai, and good 'ol American BBQ potluck.

At Bissap Baobab - yummy Senegalese food

First Anniversary

2008-07-07T15:40:00.000-07:00

Tim and I celebrated our First Anniversary today. It was nice to be home between my two vacation trips, and we kept it pretty low-key. We played a lot of tennis, ate a lot of good food (at the Country Club and Ambrosia), and generally enjoyed each other's company.

It's hard to believe that one year has passed since we said our vows, but really a lot has happened in the last year. We have both grown a lot in our own self-discovery and our relationship to one another. It's been a wild ride of a year, and we are both (obviously) looking forward to many many more!

Vacation Week I

2008-07-06T12:49:00.000-07:00

Not to brag, but I just had the best week of vacation a girl could ask for. My train was two hours late, but after 8 hours sitting next to a very large wheezing lady, I arrieved in Seattle!

I stayed with Tobin and Allyson Sunday night through Thursday morning, then spent Thursday through Sunday afternoon with Julie before I caught the train back home!

Highlights from the trip:

- Professional massages with Allyson.

- Lunch at Agua Verde (best Mexican food I’ve ever had, seriously), and kayaking at Agua Verde on a beautiful, sunny 80 degree day.

Kayaking between Lake Washington and Lake Union

- Cooking and eating yummy food out of Simply in Season.

- The Ballard Locks - we watched the boats go through the locks, saw trains and airplanes, watched the fish climb their ladder and had a picnic in the grassy area.

The Kids at the Ballard Locks

- Shopping all afternoon in downtown Seattle with my bestfriend Julie.

At Pikes Place in Seattle

- The Farmer's Market in the community where Tobin and Allyson live.

- Seeing a Bear in Leavenworth!

- Relaxing and recreating on Lake Chelan (soaked in the sun, swam in the beautifully clear lake, rode in the boat, learned to wake surf, played games, ate yummy food, and enjoyed the fireworks show).

Julie and I tubing - before we broke the handles

Learning to Wake Surf

- Chopstix - a dueling piano bar in Belltown (Seattle).

At Chopstix

- Church with Allyson ad Tobin at Wallingford United Methodist Church (the first time in quite a long time that I have felt more positive leaving church than I did going in).

Here is part of the liturgy I loved so much.

Prayer for Our Giving:
“O God, through the offering of these gifts may we become a more open people…
open-minded in hearing your word and wisdom,
open-hearted in healing a broken world,
open-handed in heeding your call for charity and enacted love.
With thanks for all good gifts,
We present a portion of our substance and the whole of ourselves. Amen.”

and...

Prayer of Confession:
“Creating and Sustaining God, your great commandment in Christ is that we love one another as Christ has loved us. We confess that we fail to embrace your liberating love. We divide where you would unite. We exclude where you would embrace. We choke the breath from your Word when its truth does not accommodate our fears. Forgive our hardness of heart. Mend our broken human family. Breathe into us the living Word of all-inclusive love. We ask in the name of your Child, our Brother, Jesus, the Healer of our souls. Amen.”

The church also had “Summer Choir” which invited anyone who desired to join, to go to the front, pick up the piece of music, divide into sections, and sing for the congregation. As Winn girls, Allyson and I naturally went forward to join. What a fun and interactive way to worship!

I arrived back in Eugene tonight, and it was great to see Tim again. We’re not as good at long distance as we once were.

Two Weeks of Vacation!

2008-06-25T15:51:00.000-07:00

Starting Friday I have two weeks of paid vacation! The only downside is that Tim will not be able to take time off, which has changed my plans slightly. We had planned to go camping with his family in North Idaho, but that will not be happening now. Tim and I are leaving for a wedding tomorrow evening (Tim is the best man), and we will return Sunday in time for me to catch the train to Seattle. I am still visiting my cousin Allyson for a few days, and Julie and I will still spend the days around the fourth of July together in Seattle and on Lake Chelan. Then I will return to Eugene for our first anniversary (where did the time go?) on the 7th. But rather than go to North Idaho during my second week of vacation, I will be taking the train (15 hours overnight each way) to Berkeley to visit Aaron and Amber! I will also hopefully meet up with Reid while I'm in the Bay area and get to tour Pixar, where he is interning this summer! Needless to say, I am very very excited about the next two weeks. I am feeling the need for a significant amount of time off, and this is the perfect remedy!

I will post pictures after my fabulous two week hiatus.

Graduation Weekend & Father's Day!

2008-06-17T10:41:00.001-07:00

Tim Graduated from the UofO with a B.S. in Business Administration (minor in Economics)

With my family - I just love them!

With Tim's family - I love them too... but I look like a midget!

We also celebrated Father's day with my dad while he was in Eugene. The weather was beautiful all weekend, and we got to play tennis (dad's gift from Tim and I was a new racket, something he hadn't bought in something like 25 years)! And we went out for lunch, took naps, played cards, watched a movie... just had a great relaxing day together. (see more pictures of the weekend here.)

I'm thankful for the wonderful people in my life!

Moving Forward...

2008-06-04T13:33:00.000-07:00

Even as Barack Obama moves forward after the final Democratic primaries this week, I move forward in my job search. Though my life is really no comparison to Obama's - I feel like I'm on cloud nine right now, as I'm sure he must have felt when he clinched more than the needed 2,118 delegates to secure his nomination as the Democratic candidate for President.

What I'm getting at is ... I got the job at Hecht & Norman Immigration Law Offices!! I will start as a Legal Assistant on August 5th. This is good news on so many levels.

First of all, I get to quit this boring and mind numbing job for something much more challenging, inspiring, and interesting! Also, I will be able to take at least eight days of paid vacation before I have to turn in my two weeks notice. I'm hoping I can use a day or two of vacation time (combined with a weekend) and slip up to Seattle on the train to visit my cousin Allyson and her family, and also spend some time with my best friend Julie at their cabin on Lake Chelan. Tim and I will take a few days to camp at Lake Pend Orielle (in North Idaho) with his family in July. And I can take that trip to San Francisco/Berkeley to visit Amber and Aaron the first few days of August before I start the new job. I will spend June and July reading up on immigration law and refreshing my Spanish. I've downloaded long lists of podcasts in Spanish, and will be doing my best to listen to them as often as possible - surrounding myself with the language in hopes of soaking it in and pouring it back out on the job.

Though I will be stressed beyond belief for the first few months, will take a slight pay cut, and will be without health insurance for three months, I am oh so excited about this job change. It seems that all the applying, interviewing, and hoping for jobs that I didn't get in the last several months has prepared me for today. This job is, by far, the best fit of all the jobs I've applied for. The timing is perfect, and the people seem to be enjoyable, intelligent and quite cosmopolitan, really. Just what I've been yearning for. And, most importantly, this job pertains to something I actually care about, and it's a job that could turn into a career...

Truth or Consequences

2008-06-03T11:30:00.000-07:00

As I may have mentioned in previous posts, I love Thomas Friedman. This recent Op-Ed column he wrote reaffirmed my admiration. I have recently been contemplating what stance a wise presidential candidate should take concerning oil and gas prices and our energy policy, and then what do you know... Friedman addresses the issue. What if we did as Friedman proposes, then focus the revenue generated from the gas taxes to improve, expand and provide more subsidies for our public transportation throughout the country? Sounds like a step in the right direction to me. Any thoughts?

Interview with a Female Polyglot Lawyer

2008-05-29T19:56:00.000-07:00

I had an interview today at Hecht & Norman, LLC. I interviewed with Hecht - the founding partner of the firm. She speaks 5 languages fluently and 3 semi-fluently. Needless to say, I felt like a nobody. Furthermore, I learned that every person employed by this law office speaks at least Spanish and English fluently. I felt a bit out of my league. But I walked in there like I owned the place (thank you, Amber) and showed them what I've got.

What I've got:
-A degree in International Relations with a minor in Philosophy (not bad for an immigration law office)
-Spanish language skills which I haven't used in 2 years (a good base, but not immediately accessible)
-A desire to be involved in law and help people
-A deep interest in immigration
-A desperate need to find a job I care about, which requires me to use my brain, and does not bore me to death
-Job experience that does not directly pertain to this position

What they've got:
-A job with a purpose in which I am very much interested
-Great on-the-job training - by the time they're done training me they said I would know as much as they do, meaning I can be a vital part of helping immigrants wade through the bureaucratic red tape that is our naturalization process
-Room for upward mobility and a supportive attitude toward further education
-A location that is close to home - I could bike to work!
-A cosmopolitan team of fun women - yes, I would be going from an all male workplace to an all female one

Needless to say, I feel very intimidated, but excited about the prospect of this job. My Spanish was very very rusty, and my interviewers recognized that (obviously). But I also fooled them into believing that I was their top candidate out of all their interviews and resumes thus far and they said I would fit the job very well. They perceived me to be intelligent, passionate and an enjoyable person who would fit in well with the team. This is all good news. I have them fooled! I wouldn't start until July, if they offer me the job. Hopefully I will find out within the next two to three weeks if I got the job or not. Things seem to be looking up in the job prospects part of my life.

I would be very challenged in the first few months (or years?) of the job, but it would be very rewarding both personally and professionally. It is right up my alley and would certainly get my language back up to par! The ladies all speak English and Spanish to each other, so I would pick it up again pretty quickly (I hope).

It's strange how my excitement and intimidation can live simultaneously inside of me. I'm scared of the job - whether or not I would be up to it, but I'm also excited about the challenge and actually growing rather than shriveling up in boredom. I mean, reading news and facebooking at work is fun and all, but there comes a time when I need outside challenges and stimulation.

I will keep you all posted.

In other news:
-I started reading Eat Pray Love yesterday. I'm loving it so far.
-I bought some amazing Cole Haan black patent leather Nike Air peep toe pumps this weekend. Amazingly comfortable, and hott!!
-Tim and I got to see Stomp at the Hult Center in Eugene last night and they were fantastic live.
-Julie, one of my very best friends, is coming to visit this weekend and I can hardly wait!

Where to go next...

2008-05-22T15:51:00.000-07:00

I have never been thrilled about my current job, but recent on-the-job happenings have made me even less excited to go to work in the morning. Getting up at 6:00 in the morning to be to work by 7:00 requires a drive, a desire to do the work that awaits me. I have no such drive for this job. I seem to go through feast and famine times here. Sometimes I have lots to do - even some creative projects that require my intellect and my imagination. But most of the time I have very little (or nothing) to do. I just can't handle the boredom.

So, I am, yet again, on the hunt for a new job. Just this week I have applied for an Executive Assistant position at Options Counseling Services in downtown Eugene. This job would be close enough to home that I could ride my bike, and I think I would feel more fulfilled being part of a group whose purpose is to support people through their dark times and help them come out the other side stronger and more prepared to take on the world.

I've also applied for a bilingual Office Assistant position with Hecht & Norman Immigration Law. This would also be much closer to home, and is close to my heart - serving immigrants. I have an interview with them next Thursday, and will be receiving a call sometime this week from a woman who will test my Spanish skills. So, I've been brushing up on my Spanish while I'm bored at work this week. I've learned about heart transplants, car wrecks, sun screen, wine, being too full, and most importantly job interviews in Spanish. Hopefully this little refresher course will pay off. It has at least required me to use a part of my brain that has lain dormant for a couple of years. I was almost surprised to learn that I was assesed as an Upper Intermediate by the site. I guess I haven't lost it all.

Finally, I applied for an Administrative Assistant position with the biotechnology firm Invitrogen, a company I have actually interviewed with before.

We will see how all of this goes. I would be sad to leave Grenzebach right now, since I have been saving up my paid time off for summer activities and I would lose all of that if I left. But I really feel like I will be happier and more fulfilled in a job change. I have managed to stay in this position for nearly a year now. I'm ready to move on.... and I know Tim is ready for me to be less grumpy when I get home from work!

Happy Mother's Day! I owe you, Mom...

2008-05-11T16:46:00.000-07:00

A little something that came through my e-mail box this week: (I added the last one, as it was something I always internally laughed at when my mom would use it.)

1. My mother taught me to APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE:
"If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning."

2. My mother taught me about RELIGION:
"You'd better pray that will come out of the carpet!"

3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL:
"If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"

4. My mother taught me LOGIC:
"Because I said so, that's why!"

5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC:
"If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me."

6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT:
"Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."

7. My mother taught me IRONY:
"Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about."

8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS:
"Shut your mouth and eat your supper."

9. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM:
"Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!"

10. My mother taught me about STAMINA:
"You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone."

11. My mother taught me about WEATHER:
"This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it."

12. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY:
"If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!"

13. My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE:
"I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."

14. My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION:
"Stop acting like your father!"

15. My mother taught me about ENVY:
"There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do."

16. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION:
"Just wait until we get home."

17. My mother taught me about RECEIVING:
"You are going to get it when you get home!"

18. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE:
"If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way."

19. My mother taught me ESP:
"Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?"

20. My mother taught me HUMOR:
"When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."

21. My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT:
"If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."

22. My mother taught me GENETICS:
"You're just like your father."

23. My mother taught me about my ROOTS:
"Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?"

24. My mother taught me WISDOM.
"When you get to be my age, you'll understand."

25. My mother taught me about JUSTICE:
"One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you!"

And finally, one of my own (just for you, mom!).
26. My mother taught me about ANATOMY:
"Stop standing there with your teeth in your mouth!"

One Year Down

2008-05-06T10:22:00.000-07:00

I graduated from college a year ago today. I only remember the precise date because it was a cool one, 05/06/07, followed by a cool wedding date almost exactly two months later, 07/07/07. Digression aside, today's marking one year of post-baccalaureate life seems impossible. Have I really been out of school for that long?

This realization brings many questions to mind. In much the same way as Amber reflected upon her life since graduation, I ask myself what I have done with the last year. I suppose a lot has happened; I mean, I married the love of my life, moved to a new city, started (and kept) my first full-time, year-round job with benefits, made new friends, traveled to Georgia twice, learned to referee basketball, became a member of the Red Cross volunteer team, bought my first furniture, joined my first gym, started and maintained my first personal budget etc. It's been a VERY GOOD year!

But is my life heading in the direction I had hoped for it? Am I any closer to getting my Masters degree? Closer to working for an international aid agency? Closer to making a real difference in the world? Have I used my degree this year?

I suppose I consider this year a transitional waiting period in some ways. I'm not actually in a job that has anything to do with what I want to do with my life. But I'm gaining work experience and showing that I am dependable and skilled. I've got another couple of years to work while Tim finishes starts and finishes his Paramedic degree and then I'll go back for my Masters, so I guess I'm a year closer to starting my Masters. I guess I have used my degree this year in dealing with an international company and the challenges that come along with it. This is not how I had hoped and dreamed I would use my four years of university education, but it's a start. And after I get my Masters, four years from now, I will be a huge step closer to working for that international aid agency I hope to be a part of - thus making the type of difference in the world that I hope to make.

One year down, four years to go in my five-year plan.

In year number two, I will:
- Visit my cousin and her family in Seattle
- Grow my job skills and get at least one more raise and bonus
- Change jobs for one that offers more interaction with the public and more job responsibilities
- Go to Tim's family's summer vacation in North Idaho for the first time
- Use my wakeboard as much as possible
- Cook a new recipe once a week
- Visit Amber and Aaron in California at least once
- Get together with Julie at least once
- Go sky-diving for our first anniversary
- Float the Willamette River
- Stay fit
- Bike more
- Pay down my school debt - hopefully down to half its original amount by May 2009
- Plan a trip through Europe or a cruise through the Mediterranean for 2009
- Make new friends

Kingdom Patriotism (and other side news)

2008-04-28T11:15:00.000-07:00

It is as though Jesus is Lord of the Spirit but Uncle Sam is Lord of the Flesh.

Mark Van Steenwyk at JesusManifesto.com wrote a post titled Onward Christian Soldiers yesterday that is absolutely fantastic. Aside from a couple of typos, his post eloquently describes and addresses what I have also experienced when discussing pacifism with those who consider my leanings unpatriotic and "disrespectful to those who fought in wars for the freedoms I enjoy". I mean no disrespect to those who gave their lives fighting for our country. I simply believe there is another better way - the way Jesus calls us to live. As Van Steenwyk writes: "Unless we are ready to die developing new nonviolent attempts to reduce conflict, we should confess that we never really meant that the cross was an alternative to the sword . . ." I desire to be as bold as Mark is in actively taking steps toward peace through pacifism. Please read the full article for the full effect.

On a completely different note, I spent two days in Georgia this week celebrating Grenzebach Corporation's 20th anniversary of business in the United States. We had lots of great food (German and Southern), drank thousands of dollars worth of German and American beers and wines, heard many politicians speak (including Governor Purdue, of Georgia ... woopee), and listened to the company band (flown over from Germany for our entertainment). Aside from missing my 6:00 AM flight out of Eugene Wednesday morning, the trip was relatively enjoyable though exhausting.

Also, congratulations to Josh Bailey who graduated from George Fox University (and got a girlfriend *winks*) on Saturday. It was great to see you, Josh.

The UN on Agriculture, Biofuels, and Rising Food Prices

2008-04-15T08:28:00.000-07:00

This BBC News article came out this morning, and I thought it very fitting with the topic I've been discussing here in recent weeks.

"The UN body describes the need for action as urgent, warning that staple food prices are likely to continue to rise because of increased demand from countries like China and India, and the alternative use of maize and soya beans for biofuels."

What was I writing about yesterday? We need to continue exploring biofuel options other than those that consume staple foods, so as not to adversely effect those who already struggle to feed their families.

A follow up

2008-04-14T20:54:00.000-07:00

It has taken me far too long to follow up on my last post. Thank you Amber for nudging me back into the world of the blogging.

The day after I posted I discussed the issue with my father the agriculturalist, educator, and small-scale biofuel producer and came to some not-so-surprising (but interesting nonetheless) conclusions which I will share with you.

- It is not "greedy" of the United States (or the rest of the so-called 1st world) to use corn and other grain crops to produce biofuels. Granted, we may not have considered the unwitting side effects that would be detrimental to the poor of our world. However, I do not consider it "greedy" for us to produce a fuel that is better for our environment and actually costs those who use it more than regular petrol.

- Semantics aside, according to my very knowledgeable father, it is not possible for the globe to produce sufficient crops to feed the world AND provide biofuels (from edible agricultural crops) to the entire world. Obviously our usage of grain crops to produce biofuels does effect the amount of food available to the rest of the world. Thankfully there are other options for producing biofuels. For example, scientists and agriculturalists are currently experimenting with algae for eco-friendly fuels - a very sustainable option which would hopefully not be as detrimental to the poor and starving in the world. There are several other agricultural-esk options currently in the works, but I can't remember the specifics of them all. The important point here is that we can move away from using edible crops for fuel production, and toward capturing what would otherwise be waste and turning it into a solution for our fuel-thirsty nation.

- The production of biofuels is certainly not the only, or even the main, reason for food price increases. The cost of fuel in general has risen considerably in recent years, making the transportation of food more costly. Farmers did not have as high of yields as expected worldwide - some areas of the agricultural world were hit hard by drought, others by severe storms. This drove yields quite low. These reasons and others have caused the soaring food prices that hit the poorest of the poor the hardest.

Any further thoughts on this topic from all you other knowledgeable and thoughtful people in my loyal blog readership?!

Biofuels: "Greed Overtaking the Common Good"

2008-03-26T12:16:00.000-07:00

BBC News reported today that Indian Finance Minister P Chidambaram "has said that it is 'outrageous' that developed countries are turning food crops into bio fuels."

As I read the brief article, I was caught up in the complexity of the issue. In an attempt to decrease carbon emissions (thus lessening our damage to the environment) and our dependence on foreign oil, we have managed to create an even worse situation for poorer countries. With 20% of corn crops heading for biofuel production (along with other grains, sugar cane and soybeans), food prices have soared. Did we not consider this before beginning such vast biofuel production? And are there not more corn, grain, sugar cane, and soybean acres being planted to make up for the difference? I don't actually know what the statistics are, but it's tragic that our efforts to decrease our carbon footprints have had such a negative immediate effect upon our own food prices, and that of poorer countries. We are interconnected and the byproducts of our choices effect many.

My mind then wonders - is there a viable solution to this problem? Can't we produce enough of these necessary crops to keep food prices at a reasonable level (for our sake and the sake of those much less fortunate), and at the same time produce these renewable fuel options that are less damaging to our planet? My father the agriculturalist educator and small-scale biofuel producer probably has some light to shed on this topic... Maybe I'll discuss it with him in search of answers. Anyone else?

Obama in Eugene!!

2008-03-24T08:29:00.000-07:00

Senator Barack Obama made an appearance at McArthur Court (known as"the pit" for how loud and intimidating it is for opposing teams playing the Ducks there in basketball) in Eugene Friday night, and I made sure to be there! I had Friday off in observance of Good Friday, so that allowed me plenty of time to stand in line for hours with friends as we awaited our chance at seeing Barack Obama speak live and in person.

We were not disappointed. I was impressed and inspired by Obama's "A More Perfect Union" speech last week, as were many ministers around the United States who apparently spoke on the same topic during their Easter sermons or homilies this Easter Sunday. And I was not let down by Obama's Eugene speech. I was inspired by his vision for education - from preschool to college and beyond, and his vision for restoring America's morality by helping other countries gain access to clean water and appropriate housing. I was impressed by his compassion for those who are less fortunate, and for his desire do teach our young people not just to be good at science and math, but to be well-rounded and well-informed citizens of the United States. I am impressed that he has not financed his campaign on even one dollar of from special interest groups, but has rather raised all his campaigning dollars from over 1 million people across the nation - and he has raisd an un-precedented amount of money for his campaign!

Obama has convinced me that he is able and ready to take on the most challenging issues our nation and our world have to throw his way, and to do so in a way that I can be proud of.

You can check out a slide show of professional pictures with audio here, and see the whole Eugene speech here. And you can click here to see more pictures I took at the rally.

Tim and I - still waiting in line... (and pointing to my Obama '08 sticker)

OBAMA!!!

Kissing babies...

And shaking hands...

Eighty

2008-03-10T12:20:00.000-07:00

This weekend Tim and I traveled back to Eastern Oregon for my grampa's 80th birthday celebration! I love my grampa dearly, and enjoyed spending time with him around his special day. My grandma was also in the hospital following her knee-replacement surgery, so we got to visit her in the hospital too!

I baked my grandpa's birthday pie - mixed berry in the shape of a heart - and made my first lemon meringue pie too! The lemon pie came out beautiful (that's me pulling it out of the oven) even though the crust was a bit too hard. My mother and aunt Kathy made the meal, which was delicious, and the company was precious.

Grampa got to visit with a small group of family and friends around dinner and dessert. He also received a bundle of letters, cards and birthday greetings from family and friends who have known him throughout his life. These were very special to him, as he cherishes the written word - especially from his family and friends. After dinner he shared with us a poem sent to him on his birthday by one of his favorite professors at Blue Mountain Community College. I love the look I captured of him reading from the poem his professor sent. He really gets into his poetry reading!

Grampa's 80th birthday was definitely worth the long (though rushed) trip back home!

The Fluidity of American Religious Affiliations

2008-02-28T11:44:00.000-08:00

A recent study by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life shows that more than 40% of Americans are willing to, or have already, switched away from their childhood faith. Furthermore, Americans are showing less and less affiliation with Protestant and Catholic churches altogether. Oregon is being called the "most secular state in the union" because of a significant rise in those "unaffiliated" with a church or religious traditinon altogether. The percentage of Oregonians who are "unaffiliated" is recorded as 27% compared to a national average of 16%.

You can read the NPR story, Brian McLaren's perspective (on Jim Wallis' blog), and interact with the results yourself at the Pew Forum website.

So why is this the trend and what can (or should) be done about it?

Proof, for you Doubters

2008-02-18T11:42:00.001-08:00

Proof that I can stand on a long board and sweep my bangs out of my eyes at the same time...

And, proof that I can look like a surfer on a long board.

I swear, I really can ride this thing!

Not for the faint of heart

2008-02-14T14:37:00.000-08:00

Long boarding and this post are not for the faint of heart.

Tim and I went long boarding yesterday evening before dinner. He decided that it was time to actually go on a ride, instead of just riding around in the Autzen parking lot. So, we started out and rode down one of the bike trails. Tim is much faster than I am, so he boarded ahead while I dallied behind, enjoying myself, but trying to push myself a bit faster beyond my comfort zone so I could keep up. We came to the foot bridge that crosses the Willamette River and stopped halfway across to rest on a bench there. We talked and gazed at the rushing water for a few minutes. Before we took off again, Tim warned me that the bridge had a pretty good slope to it, so I would pick up quite a bit of speed coming down the other side. On top of that, there was a lip at the bottom of the bridge that would require me to lean back and keep my weight on my back foot to keep from crashing. All that I could handle - I thought...

Tim had been a careful teacher - warning me of what was to come but letting me test my limits so that I could get better at boarding.

The problem is, my board is pretty wobbly (it's supposed to lean side to side so that I can turn, but I'm still not stable on it yet). And Tim forgot to mention that when one gets going fairly fast, one can get what is called "speed wobbles" a perfectly descriptive name for what happened to me as I came down the slope of the bridge. I managed to get over the lip at the bottom of the bridge, but the speed wobbles took over and sent my board into the bark dusted shrub area beside the concrete bike path. Naturally, physics took over and as my board slammed to a halt, I flew off the front of it onto the concrete in front of me, doing my best to tuck and roll and avoid serious injury.

I managed not to hurt myself too badly. I hit my hip, tore a button off my pea coat (not a very "skater" thing to wear), and cut up my hand enough to make it bleed. My first long board crash. Hopefully the first of only a few. (I won't kid myself and think that's the only crash in my future.)

So, I learned that long boarding is not for the faint of heart. Last night's crash hurt. And today my calf muscles aren't sure why I'm torturing them so, but it sure is fun riding my Valentine's Day board around with Tim in our recent Eugene SUN!

Two Germans and a Longboard

2008-02-13T08:56:00.001-08:00

Last night Tim and I had the opportunity to hang out with Dirk, one of Grenzebach's German interns who has been here in the US for the last 5 months, and Hendrick a friend of his. We met them at the North Bank McMenamin's for dinner, and had a great time talking with them about where we all grew up, what it was like etc. Dirk is 27, and is studying to be a Mechanical Engineer - which is what he has been doing with Grenzebach (the company I work for) for the last few months in Newnan, Georgia.

At one point during dinner I mentioned that for Valentine's Day Tim had gotten me a longboard and skate shoes (see pictures below) so that we can go longboarding together! I know, we kinda jumped the gun, but we got the board and shoes yesterday rather than waiting for Thursday.

I'm pretty excited about being able to go boarding with Tim now that the weather is getting a bit warmer and more sunny. I also love how stylish my board is, and how the shoes go back to my Scottish roots with the red tartan accents that match my board. :)

Anyway, I mentioned the long board and Dirk told us that he does street luge in Germany, which is somewhat similar to longboarding, except you're laying down. This is him doing what he does:

Pretty fun, eh? He invited us to come to Germany and street luge with him. Sounded like fun to me!

After dinner we were walking out of McMenamin's and Tim and I both stopped at the basket of mints to snag a few. We offered them to Dirk and Hendrick, but they declined. Dirk said: "I don't understand why you guys have those all over the place here." I replied: "Well, it's for after dinner - it settles the stomach." He immediately and very mater-of-factly said: "Oh, we have Schnapps for that." Tim and I both laughed so hard we nearly cried!

We decided to take the longboards out for a spin with the boys, so we headed to Autzen Stadium and boarded around for a while. Then ended up in our living room learning all sorts of interesting facts from Dirk and Hendrick.

We learned:
-That in Germany Dirk and Hendrick were required to either go into the Army for 10 months or do a year of civil service. They both chose the Army, but were quick to explain that it was not like our army - their army is like a "fun army". There are a few drills at the beginning, but that's all. Besides, after WWII Germany can only have a defensive army; they cannot attack another country. Dirk found it odd that some US leaders have wanted Germany to help attack Afghanistan, even though we were the ones who helped restrict them to begin with.
- That German news is different from American news. Each German has to pay a fee per TV or radio they own, and that money funds public news channels and stations. One of those TV news stations is Germany's most-watched news because there is no one telling the newscasters what to say or report - the news is not tampered with. Dirk and Hendrick said they felt like the US news is more like a movie, and German news is more like a documentary.
- How glass is made. One part of what Grenzebach does is makes the machinery that makes glass. Dirk told us all about the process - how it is mixed, melted, shaped, scanned for imperfections, cut, stacked etc. It was really quite interesting to learn what that part of the business does.

At the end of the night, Dirk, Hendrick, and I set up our cameras on the bar, set the timers and each took a picture by which to remember the enjoyable evening we had spent together. Dirk hopes to come back to Oregon when he finishes his studies - I certainly hope we will be able to hang out with him again in the future.

Dirk, Hendrick, Me and Tim

Our new place - in pictures

2008-02-11T08:01:00.001-08:00

View from the entry - into the Guest Bathroom.
(Guest Bedroom is to the right, the rest of the apartment is to the left.)

Guest Bathroom
When you come to visit, you'll get the great honor of using this room! ;)

Guest Bedroom
When you come visit, you'll get the pleasure of sleeping in this bed!

View from living room, through dining room, into kitchen.

Living room.

Fireplace, and prominent artwork painted and given to us by
Tim's elementary school teacher.

Kitchen with lots of counter and cupboard space.

Hallway from living room past kitchen to front door, guest bedroom and bathroom. Washer and dryer are tucked away to the left in the hallway (yay for the ability to do laundry in our apartment!!)

Master bedroom - nice and large!

Master closet

Master Bathroom

Test Drive

2008-02-04T08:28:00.000-08:00

Between church and the Super Bowl yesterday Tim and I decided to stop in at a car dealership to test drive a MINI Cooper S - the car we've been eying for quite some time now. (Isn't it cute!?) And Tim let me take the test drive!! With me at the wheel, the salesman in the passenger seat, and Tim crammed in the back seat, we went for a spin. We knew from the get go that we didn't want to go into debt for the car, but it sure was fun to drive it for a few minutes!

Moving and Snowing

2008-01-28T08:55:00.000-08:00

Well, folks, we've gotten completely moved into our new place, in large part due to help from friends and family. We moved on Friday - a beautifully clear, but chilly day. The weather couldn't have been more perfect. It didn't even rain on us! Two of my coworkers brought a race car trailer to haul all of our stuff in and numerous friends helped us move all of our things into the new place. Our moms and two of Tim's siblings came from Eastern Oregon to help us out too! The moms cleaned the old place on Saturday until it shone and completely set up our new kitchen for us - what a blessing! Then we woke up Sunday morning to snow, both on the ground and falling steadily from the sky! This is pretty exciting precipitation for Eugene when such moisture generally falls from the sky in droplets rather than flakes! :) We got about 6 inches by the end of the day yesterday. As I look outside I see it is trying to snow again this morning! I love the snow, but I sure am thankful it held off until Sunday when we were settled in and ready to enjoy it!

Please Tell Me It Isn't So

2008-01-16T15:01:00.000-08:00

Is this guy for real?! Christvertising?
Let's commercialize Jesus a little more, shall we?
How about that prosperity gospel!!

New Year - New Post

2008-01-16T14:16:00.000-08:00

Ok, so we're well into the new year - 16 days to be precise. But this will still be titled "New Year - New Post". So there! And, yes, I realize it's been 39 days since my last post...

To update ya'll, there have been more changes in the life of Kendra lately:

- I traveled to Newnan, Georgia for a company Christmas party in December and quickly realized that I see no future for myself in this company. They pay me well and I don't have to do much for it, but I'm nearly always bored at work and I feel no desire to stay in the veneer and gypsum industries for any longer than I have to (read: until I can find a more fulfilling job).

- So, I'm currently applying for new jobs! Two of note, both at the University of Oregon and both Office Specialist 1 positions: one at the Law School, and one in the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. Both sound like great prospects to me since they will allow me to ride the bus to work, give Tim (and I) very cheap tuition for any classes we take, and fantastic state benefits! Also, both jobs are in areas that actually interest me in some way, and there is opportunity for advancement once you get your foot in the door! But I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much 'cause getting a job at the U of O is apparently very difficult - I've yet to even get an interview for any of the jobs I've applied for there!

- Our first married Christmas and New Years was a flurry of activity - traveling to McMinnville, Portland, Baker City, and Weston to see innumerable family members and friends. It was really great to spend time with so many people, but by the end of our holidays it was really good to get home.

- Speaking of home - we're moving to a new home January 25th! Ok, well it's not exactly "new", and it's not exactly a "home" as in "house". It is a newer apartment that is much larger - 2 bed 2 bath to be precise. It is closer to campus so Tim can ride the bus easier (and if I get a job at the U of O we can ride the bus together), and most of our friends live within a block of our new apartment! Also, we are within walking distance of Autzen stadium, so our friends and family who come to the Duck football games can come stay with us (in our GUEST BEDROOM) and walk to avoid the crazy traffic and parking conditions. Not to mention we will be more able to entertain our beloved friends and family! Very fun.

- I discovered something new this year! I took two weeks off for Christmas and New Years and GOT PAID FOR IT!! This is an amazing thing for a person who has never had a full-time job for longer than 3 months during the summer. Paid vacation! Wow! :)

- I've continued my new habit of reading lately. The Time Traveller's Wife and Life of Pi are fantastic (thanks Allyson for the recommendations). My aunt and uncle also gave us a subscription to Relevant the magazine for Christmas. We got our first issue and LOVED it! I read it front to back at work one day.

- If you're laughing about my reading a magazine at work, that's not entirely normal (I mean my reading at work... your laughing would be entirely normal) On Wednesday my work computer died completely and the solution that they came up with at our headquarters in Georgia was to ship me a laptop to hold me over until I got a new computer. But it took them four days to ship me a laptop they had in stock. So, I sat around and read for 4 days rather than taking time off and wasting vacation days.

So, it's a new year full of new changes... though it certainly does not take a new year to bring about change (it does somehow seem appropriate to discuss change as our calendars flip to a new date.) I feel as though the last eight months or so have been crammed full of changes. Bringit on, change... I embrace you fully.

Housewifery and Basketball

2007-12-08T09:39:00.000-08:00

Some days I feel much more like a housewife than others.

Last Monday night was certainly not a housewife night. For those of you who had not heard, I reffed my first basketball games Monday night! Both games were seventh grade girls, and they were highly entertaining in a boring game sort of way. *grin* I remember playing ball in seventh grade; we were quite clumsy and unsure of ourselves and these girls were no different. As a referee I had to choose which violations to call, because if we had called every last violation and foul each game could have lasted four hours! In the end I think we did a good job of keeping the game clean enough to be safe and fair, but still allowing the girls to play, learn and have fun. I certainly learned a lot Monday night, and I have a long way to go before I will be a great ref. I had two more games this week (both 8th grade girls) and will have three next week - including my first high school game! The extra income will be greatly appreciated, and I enjoy the job so far! I will be traveling all over Lane County, visiting all sorts of schools and interacting with lots of kids. Hopefully sometime in the near future I will get a picture posted of me in my ref uniform. I've even got the cheesy black ref tennis shoes!

Make Something Day!

2007-11-21T11:34:00.001-08:00

Check this out - and do something constructive rather that destructive on the day after Thanksgiving!