Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas. We had a white Christmas (my first ever) this year and it is only now going away - the roads are finally all clear and the only traces of the snow and ice is on lawns and what was pushed into piles from the snowplows. When I dug my car out of my driveway last Tuesday the snow was 18 inched on the roof! It was a lot of fun but I'm happy to finally be able to drive again. Of course Portland is never prepared for snow so the roads were not very drivable which put a damper on my Christmas shopping. We had a very cozy Christmas with our friends and family who are within walking distance. With the snow, some of my gift giving plans never really happened. It was nice to put gifts in perspective and realize that being with friends and family are what really matter most.

Holiday Happenings

I have not been very attentive to my blog. Graham and I have been busy - all good things - we're both doing well. Here’s a brief overview of what has been going on in the past two or three months. If I ever get my camera and computer together again I will also post pictures, we’ve taken some really great ones…A must see picture is of Graham and me on Halloween. Graham went in an original Star Trek uniform (we used one of his really tight bike shirts to pull it off - hilarious). Luckily we had a place to go, Ann and Jimmy threw a great Halloween party. November has been busy with work for both of us and of course having a puppy is a never-ending chore but Suki is well worth it. We had Thanksgiving with family and friends. Thanksgiving morning we had fun joining hundreds of other people at the Zoo and doing the Turkey Trot. My mom hosted dinner and Kylie and her family joined us and brought lots and lots of food – that’s the point right? Besides our holiday events we have been going on lots of doggie walks – Suki is over 50 pounds – huge when you realize she is only five months old. We are having lots of fun with her and even the cats are starting to accept her.

September is over?

Graham and I have been busy. Suki our new puppy is definitely responsible for keeping us very active. Also, I’ve started taking a Spanish class on Monday night’s with Rita. A weekend ago, we said goodbye to Ashley – my cousin – she is living in Ukraine for two years for the Peace Corps. Her parents held a nice open house to say goodbye. We are all going to miss her. I’m sure she is going to have an amazing time. I can't forget to mention Oaks Park's Oktoberfest - Graham just barely lost the sausage eating contest this year - of course we were remined that Matt did win two years ago! With October come all the holiday festivities to look forward to...including some very tasty food which I'm already enjoying! Graham and I are already planning out our pumpkin patch visit(s?) and scary movie watching to get us ready for Halloween.

Summer went to fast!

I can’t believe it is September. Graham and I had a very busy but also a very fun August. We celebrated Graham’s 30^th birthday with a camping trip out near Prineville with Ann, Jimmy, Rita and Matt, and their dogs. The following Wednesday I went with my Mom and sister, to my Dad and Xandra’s home in Gates and visited my Grandpa Francis who has come down from Alaska. I had not seen my Grandpa for years and years - it was wonderful to see him. Also, while I was there I fell in love with a puppy (I know, it’s not hard to do…) that Dad and Xandra had been taking care of for a few days and who needed a home. I couldn’t resist, so Graham and I have a new family member – Suki! The following weekend we jetted off to Milwaukee, WI for Clay and Katie’s wedding. It was a full weekend…we went to Katie’s parents cabin – where I tried unsuccessfully to water ski, we met Katie’s family at brunches and dinners, played with our adorable nephew Jack and I even made it to Milwaukee’s Irish Fest! The wedding was beautiful and also a lot of fun. They had the ceremony and the reception at the Milwaukee Art Museum, which is located right on the lake. The following weekend I joined my Mom, Rita, Ann, Sarah and my Aunt Adrienne, along with six other women and walked the Portland to Coast. It was a lot of fun but I felt seriously sleep deprived by the end. Finally, for the last weekend of August – Labor Day weekend – Graham, Suki and I, went on a camping trip to central Oregon. We spent the weekend relaxing and I think we finally caught up on our sleep.

July 4th's Weekend

Forth of July weekend was a very nice three days off...but when are three days off not nice? Friday the forth, we went with Kylie for a nice hike on Sauvie Island. We also made a stop at Kroger’s for fresh strawberries. Independence day dinner - we went to my Mom’s and devoured all the traditional 4^th of July staples. Afterwards we walked to the bluff to watch the Oaks Bottom fireworks display. On Sunday we attempted a hike on Sauvie’s again, only this time we went with my mom and Abby (Rita's dog). We tried a new hike to the lighthouse. It was a miserable hike involving a very poorly maintained trail, mosquitoes, blackberry bushes and rain. We eventually made it home but we spent the rest of the weekend recovering.

My Birthday Weekend

It’s been a year since I got my digital camera from Graham on my Birthday and I didn’t even take any pictures...thank you Rita, for being a responsible camera owner. Anyway, even without the photo coverage to prove it - I had a great birthday weekend. Now for the next 40 days Graham and I are the same age – so exciting! We spent our 100+ degree weekend, trying to stay cool. We went to the Kennedy School for movies on Friday – I love that place. On Saturday, Kylie, Rita and I got Mani-pedi’s – I got gold on both my toes and fingers for my golden birthday – 29 on the 29th. After that excitement, we went home and hid in the shade with the sprinkler on. Sunday, my actual Birthday, we went hiking around Trillium Lake on Mt. Hood. Although there was still snow covering parts of the trail it was a hot hike and Rita and I even jumped in the lake to cool off. I ended my birthday with pizza, homemade ice cream cake and pink Champagne with friends. It was a very nice weekend.

Manzanita

We spent a lovely weekend at the coast with Carrie, her boyfriend Thatcher and some of their friends and family. We stayed at Carrie’s family beach house in Manzanita and although the weather looked abysmal Saturday evening, we were rewarded with perfect beach weather all day Sunday. We went on a nice hike, a couple walks on the beach, Graham and I tried most of the coffee stores in town and of course we had some very tasty meals.

June Birthday’s

We celebrated my Mom’s Birthday, Wednesday the 4^th, with a nice dinner at her house prepared by Rita and Matt. After dinner we went on a very nice walk and ended up at the new Gelato shop and had dessert. I took the following Friday off from work and my Mom and I drove to the coast – trying to mimic the Portland to Coast route. I don’t think we were successful at staying on course but we did find a very nice Mediterranean restaurant outside of Vernonia – The Blue House - very yummy!

Ann’s Birthday was Monday the 16^th and we celebrated dinner with her at Marrakesh. I had so much fun. There were ten of us at dinner and if you’re not familiar with Marrakesh, you should know this is a very unique restaurant. Most of us had been there before, but a few people were new to the experience – I’m not sure if they will ever eat there again, but they were very happy to give it a try. Marrakesh is a Moroccan restaurant and you sit around low tables on pillows or couches and you eat all the meals, family style, without personal plates or even silverware. This is the only restaurant I know of, where eating with your hands is expected. I loved it when I was a kid and it is still very entertaining although I think the newbies were all a little shocked.

Happenings

On the weekend of the 16th we had 90+ degree weather. Graham and I joined Rita, Matt, Jake and Shawn (two of Matt’s brothers) on a camping trip near Estacada, to celebrate Matt’s 26^th Birthday. The campsite was about mile hike from the parking lot, so we had a bit of a workout getting there. We had perfect weather – it was way too hot to be in Portland but along the river it was great. Of course the very next weekend, Memorial Day weekend, we had cloudy, cool, “typical” Oregon weather. Graham’s parents came and visited for Sunday and stayed with us overnight on their way home from an Alaskan cruise. We had a lot of fun showing them around Portland. We went to Saturday Market, where Leslie gifted us a carnivorous plant - but only after checking that it would not eat any of our cats…We went up to Mt. Tabor so they could see our neighborhood a little more. And of course we ended the day with dinner and drinks at our house along with my Mom. Monday morning at the crack of dawn – I think Graham got up before 5:00am – we had a delicious eggs benedict breakfast made by Graham, and we drove his parents to the airport to say goodbye.

Mother’s Day

This Mother’s Day weekend was very relaxing. Graham and I spent most of the weekend bumming around our house, playing our new Happy Potter video game, and recovering from yet another cold. On Sunday, we had my Mom over for a lovely brunch and Graham out did himself again, by making the best Belgian waffles! Rita, Mom and I, spent the afternoon getting pedicures and then we headed back to our house (this time with Rita, Matt and Abbey) for a fondue dinner and dessert – so good!

Sunny Seattle

I can’t believe it has already been a year – it went so fast! Graham and I celebrated our first anniversary by taking the train up to Seattle for a four-day weekend. We stayed at the Inn by the Market, just a block from Pike Place. Our whole weekend was very relaxing. It was really nice to get out of town and spend time together. Our weekend vacation consisted of lots an lots of eating: hot dogs, tiny doughnuts, smoked salmon, room service, pizza, Wild Ginger and much more… so yummy! Still, you’ll be happy to know it wasn’t all eating. We saw a Mariner’s game Saturday night against the A’s and the Mariner’s won! We went up the space needle to see the 360-degree view of Seattle and lucked out because it was actually clear and sunny. We took the Underground Tour in Old Town and of course we did some shopping. It was a great time but now I think we need to take more vacations:)

BBQ season!

Our first BBQ of the year…we used Matt’s graduation as an excuse, but the summer weather definitely helped. Based on heavier drinking days, we over estimated the size of the keg we would need... the good side of this was that everyone had an endless supply of beer. And it made a nice gift to Matt when the evening was over. It was a lot of fun. It was nice to welcome in the BBQ season with a bang.

Easter weekend.

What a great weekend. Saturday evening we had a pre-Easter dinner at my Mom’s with Matt and Rita and dyed eggs in exciting Neon colors…Graham and Rita entertained us all by inflating surgical gloves on their heads. Easter morning, Graham and I went back to my Mom’s for homemade eggs benedict – sooo good! Since Rita had to work, we visited the VA hospital for the first time. We got to hear lots of compliments from her co-workers while we were given the nickel tour, which included a 1920’s picture of someone who looked just like me - weird. Afterwards, Graham and I were dropped off at the yellow and blue tents of Cirque du Soleil, for Corteo. The show was fun, but Graham and I disagree on the best part – mine was when they pulled Graham from the crowd, shined the spotlight on him and pulled his sweater up to his head, revealing his stomach and chest to the entire audience – what a show!

A weekend away

Graham and I spent Saturday night over at the coast in Long Beach, WA. It was really nice to get out of town and do something new – Graham had never been there before so that was extra fun. We got in a little late, but we found a nice little cabin type hotel with breakfast included. We went to Marsh’s and saw “Jake the Alligator-man,” went out for dinner and walked the very long boardwalk before going to bed, embarrassingly early. On Sunday, we drove all the way up the peninsula to Osterville. Very lucky for us, it was sunny, and we were able to walk the old historic town along with buying some very delicious oysters. On the way back through Long Beach, Graham convinced me to go on the Go Carts – an all new experience for me - I’m pretty sure Graham enjoyed them more than myself…overall it was a great time!

Girls Night!

We celebrated our second "Girls Night Out" this weekend. Five of us (Kylie, Rita, Ann, Sarah and myself) rented a room at the Benson in downtown Portland, Saturday night. Sarah was a new addition to our annual/semi annual tradition. We had a blast. We went out to eat at Park Kitchen and after much prepping we went dancing at Betty Ford’s – where we succeeded in closing down the bar. Earlier Saturday, Graham and I went to Kori Dille's Baby Shower, which was very cute. The expecting parents received many great gifts although they both looked a little nervous. Over all it was a nice weekend but I’ll need another full weekend to recover.

Winter Falls

It has been a cold winter for Portland. Of course now it’s back to daily rain. Last weekend was freezing. Graham and I attempted to drive up the Gorge to see Multnomah Falls. I’ve always wanted to see the waterfall covered with ice. Unfortunately there was too much ice and the roads were closed. We didn’t get to see Multnomah Falls but we did get to see some no name small falls that were still pretty impressive.

Lobsters

Thanks to Clay for our Lobster Gram, Graham and I had a delicious and very rich dinner at home. We certainly splurged...surf 'n turf with salad, clam chowder, wine and dessert. I don't know how we finished it all but we did. I'm not sure when I will be cooking lobster again but it was a great dinner.

Happy New Year’s

We kicked off New Year’s Eve, at Kris and Sarah’s. I had a blast shooting off confetti poppers – I was just thankful it wasn’t at my house. New Year’s day was a lovely lazy day. Graham and I watched movies and I made a BIG batch of Hopping John. Hopefully, I’ve helped to set us up for a lucky new year.

A Second Christmas!

Graham, Rita, Matt and myself made the journey out to Gates Oregon, to have Christmas with my Dad and Xandra the weekend after Christmas. We had a nice overnight visit and in the morning we even had a dusting of snow. Xandra made a delicious turkey soup for dinner and we helped them eat most of their remaining holiday chocolates (even some of the ones we had brought with us). It was great to see Hannah again and as you can see I really couldn’t get enough of her. In fact I realized later that I only took pictures of her. Sorry family, I guess I really like dogs…