Wheres Katie?

Life Lately

2012-02-17T08:00:00.003-08:00

+ WOW Group Power class kicked my bootie @ a food drive fitness event. Nice shirt, right?
+ Trying to look like this beaver hat model. Failed a little.
+ My apartment in shambles... we have some flooring, some ceiling, and some siding. Still too early to say when it will be done.
+ You'll never go back to Hot N Ready, when you've tried their deep dish version. SO worth the extra moolah. Living on take-out, lately, which is not flame approved.
+ Scott looking a bit ghetto (and maybe about to sneeze) at an OSU Women's Rugby game v Stanford. That's right... women! It was an incredible demonstration of womanly strength.
+ Hiron's in Eugene fronts as a pharmacy, but is in reality the biggest gag shop you will ever find. If you're needing a funny story ask Scott about our trip to Romano's in Eugene!
+ Chaos inside, still a beautiful sunrise outside.

The Moral Matrix

2012-02-13T08:00:00.001-08:00

Have you ever wondered why Republicans and Democrats can't get along or compromise, or even say the word "compromise?" Jonathan Haidt, social psychologist, has written a love languages book for conservatives and liberals and he explained some of the psycology on Bill Moyer's show.

In Haidt's video on TED, he explains the moral matrix, with a blue and red pill just like the movie. At the end of his matrix revelation he says this:
"A lot of the problems that we have to solve are problems that require us to change other people. And if you want to change other people, a much better way to do it is to first understand who we are. Understand our moral psychology. Understand that we all think we are right. And then ... step out of the moral matrix... and if you do that, that is the essential move to cultivate moral humility."

I also love these quotes from Haidt's interview:
"Within the nation your side can beat the other side if you demonize, but it makes the nation weaker."

"Both sides are blind to evidence around their sacred commitments."

This last quote reminded me of how I want to teach my future children to have better open communication than their parents:
"If we could begin to see this in each other and even challenge each other and say, "Hey, you're demonizing." Disagree with them but stop attributing bad motives to the other side. So if ten years from now people recognize that and could call each other out on in, that would at least be some progress."

Scott and I don't demonize, by the way. Lately we've just been communicating through valentine conversation hearts - the opposite of demonizing, but less than effective.

Home Fiasco #6

2012-02-10T08:00:00.000-08:00

We didn't learn. It's been around eight months since our move to Lebanon, and last home fiasco. We should have known that karma (or whatever spurred this chain reaction of random drama every six months) had something in store. Maybe we were distracted by my 2007 Toyota Matrix computer dying. It was a red herring (which was fixed under warranty)!

It was a gloriously sunny Saturday, and I was dreaming of spring while baking some tasty homemade treats. As I was walking around the kitchen I heard a constant drip. It sounded kind of distant, like it was coming from upstairs or inside the wall. I checked the bathroom, thinking for sure I had a toilet leak, but when I emerged from the bathroom with a smile of no-drip satisfaction, I was quickly brought back to reality. A shower was starting to soak my dining room table and floor! The water was coming out of the sides of the sprinkler system in the dining room and kitchen.

I quickly placed a large bowl (and later three trash cans) underneath the spray, called Scott to rush him home, and phoned the apartment complex maintenance number in panic.

Turns out the apartment above us had a dishwasher problem, of sorts. They didn't catch it until their entire floor was flooded, which leaked through the walls to all the apartments below. Our apartment received the most water, but the apartment below us had a little dripage too.

Which formed a nice bubble in their ceiling.

I took a video of how the water looked in our apartment during peak leakage, but the lighting is bad. You can't see the water, but you can hear it. The domed light fixture is so full of water we were worried it would burst.

Luckily, since I was home, none of our belongings were damaged. We had to wait until the water stopped and the light fixture was removed before we were able to mop up the lake on our floor. I would say that it wasn't too much to clean, but it didn't end there. A carpet cleaner ordered by the complex came that night to soak up any water in the carpet. Then maintenance came by on Tuesday and tore up our floors and ceilings to expose and dump all the wet and damaged insulation. We are still living in just a piece of an apartment with boxes all around us.

As we mopped up massive amounts of water last Saturday, Scott and I reminisced of the time when our kitchen flooded in our first apartment because of rain. I do feel some satisfaction in the fact that none of our home fiascos were self-inflicted. Not much, though.

Stay tuned for our update this Fall. We'll be expecting it.

Aspen Iris

2012-02-08T08:00:00.000-08:00

I really do try to restrain myself when new babies are born are in my life until the parents have had a chance to blog or Facebook or announce however they choose. Hopefully I've waited long enough to introduce Ms. Aspen Iris Thornock to my blog. Aspen was born on February 3. We were at a friends house when we received the news that Christie, Scott's sister, was going into labor and entering the hospital. It wasn't long after that we received a picture text of Aspen's face!

Congratulations, Thornocks! She's beautiful. I can't wait to see Bree and Aspen together!

Arise in Yellow

2012-02-06T08:00:00.000-08:00

Last week we had New Beginnings for the Young Women in our ward. I was in charge of decorations, and the president suggested I keep it simple. I am really not the most coordinated person, especially when it comes to design. So when you see these pictures you should know that it is only by divine inspiration or intervention that this event turned out as cute as it did. I most definitely cannot take credit for the scrumptious food, which was prepared by Sis. Charley.

The theme for the youth in the church this year is Arise and Shine Forth. Our program was focused on the value of integrity, including having each young women share a specific scriptural story of integrity (PP #3) and having the moms of new beehives share a story when they personally showed integrity. At the end of the night, we challenged the girls to share their moments of integrity with us throughout the year. With each story, we will drop one of the shiney ornaments into the jar picture below.

With our theme, we decided to go with mostly yellow decorations. I forgot to take a picture of the table tops. I had the hardest time trying to find chinese lanterns in the Lebanon area. So I ended up making lanterns out of dollar section caddies and yellow tissue paper. Each lantern had a pop up, battery operated, light inside. So when the lights went down to show the theme video, all of the girls oohed and ahhed over the lanterns, that you really couldn't tell contained light before it went dark.

This was THE BEST new beginnings I have ever attended! The stories shared and the effort put forward by the young women to express the theme for this year was really outstanding and impactful. Our personal moments reflecting integrity, whether showing or lacking, are really something that stick with us our whole lives. I'm excited for the new year resolution to exercise my courage along with the young women.

The Return of Flat Stanley

2012-02-03T08:00:00.000-08:00

I'm not really sure what Flat Stanley sees in Lebanon, Oregon that would prevoke a second tour, but we gladly welcomed his visit from Sterling K's class.

During his last visit we hit up some typical Willamette Valley attractions, so I wanted to switch it up a bit for Stan. You may notice that Stan had some reconstructive surgery. He looks a bit different, but I didn't ask any questions.

We took Flat Stanley up with us to Portland one weekend, where he visted the Rose Garden, home of the Trailblazers. We didn't go for a basketball game though...

We went to watch a cheerleading competition. See how Flat Stanley energetically waves to this Tiny team? Hey ladies!

Then I most definitely took Flat Stanley to see all the sheep we have in this area. I thought for sure, with all the facts I've heard about sheep in church (of all places) that Oregon was the number one sheep grower state. Wrong! But we are in the top 10. Look how green the grass is, and it's February!

Then to top it all off we had Flat Stanley visit Scott's school again, but this time we had a little ceremony and inducted Stan as the first flat medical student at Western University - COMP NW.

The short white coat fits him so well!

Bye, Flat Stanley! So sorry you didn't get to visit France!

Yogurt With Us

2012-02-01T08:00:00.000-08:00

See this?! It's an open invitation for friends and family to Limeberry with us - especially parents!

I couldn't have been more excited when the girl at the Lebanon Limeberry register asked me if I wanted a punch card. In fact, she might have jumped a little, when I practically yelled, "You HAVE ONE?" We don't go very often, but when we do it's delicious and completely worth it! It meaning money spent, coupon clipping, calories ingested, insert any other questionable variable.

Swedish Twister

2012-01-30T09:00:00.000-08:00

Have you ever heard of Swedish Twister? I hadn't before the youth game night a couple weeks ago. Must be something counselors made up at EFY! No plastic color mat required for this game of twister. All you need is a group of people and their feet.

Here's how I understood the rules:
- The first player takes their foot and puts it down touching the foot of the person next to them.
- Then that player picks up the foot that was just touched, and touches THEIR neighbor's foot.
- You keep doing this, all while trying to maintain your balance.
- If you fall or place a hand on the floor, you're out!

I didn't play myself. I just watched from my station at Just Dance 3. Did I mention that I'm kind of in love with that game. It should be my new work out regiment, except that I live in a middle apartment and assume my dancing would be too noisy. I did get to play a few games when the kiddos were more interested in the ping pong, board games, or physical challenges going on in the church gym. One mother came up to me after the game night and said, "My son pointed you out while you were playing Just Dance and said 'See that lady, Mom? She has all the moves!'" Best compliment from a 14 year old, EVER!

All the while Scott was supposed to be studying and instead dominated with the other chaperones in a game (or three) of Blokus.

Be the Bieb

2012-01-27T08:00:00.000-08:00

Like I said before, Scott has always wanted long hair, but I think he's finally come to the lenth of his dreams. Scott's hair curls up around the edges when he's wearing a hat. It drips sweat when he's running on the court, like this guy. And when he straightens his hair, he kind of looks like my own little Bieber.

We chaperoned a church youth game night last Saturday and I straighted Scott's fluffy mane. Scott's asked for the straightener multiple times since, especially if he's deemed it a special occassion.

Flooding in Benton County

2012-01-20T09:29:00.000-08:00

We knew when we moved to Oregon that it would be rainy. Portland is known for rain, though not as well known as Seattle (not to mention Sitka or Ketchikan, but people only known about Sitka from The Proposal). Scott used to make comments that he chose Oregon to attend medical school, because he knew he would never be tempted by the weather to leave his study spot indoors. This is definitely true as of late, because it has rained so much that some of the streets have flooded over.

This may come as a shock, when you think that I just posted about morning campus closure for a light snow dusting. But you may have also heard of the BIG storm in the Northwest on your news. Have you? I'm curious if we come up on your news. I heard that Alaska, Cordova specifically, has had so much snow that they don't know where to put all of it. That amount of moisture has moved to Washington and Oregon in the form of rain.

Though the rain has not flooded our area of Lebanon, I have seen high waters and flooded streets in Corvallis. I heard the tragic story of a family in Albany who's car was sucked into a creek because of high waters in a grocery store parking lot. The radio cautioned that residents of Salem should be aware of flood levels and have their emergency supplies handy in case of evacuation or water supply damage.

Everyone is comparing this storm to a similar storm in 1996, though the rains and snow meltage haven't reached that year's record. OSU campus is closed all day today, though not where I work at the Foundation. I'm keeping my eye on the water report, because I'd really like to make it home this evening, and I forgot my canoe.

Snow Day at OSU

2012-01-18T08:00:00.000-08:00

On Monday a message was sent out on Corvallis area Facebook pages that OSU would cancel morning and late evening classes Tuesday due to inclement weather. It had flurried a little on Monday and Tuesday was expected to bring two more inches of snow to the mix.

That's right, two. Portland was slightly worse, - I heard 4+ inches on the news Tuesday morning.

This is how the student newspaper reported the cancellation of classes:

For those who didn't click on the photo, the caption says, "A glimpse of Monday morning's snow before it melted."

Granted, the roads are a bit more hazerdous with any amount of snow in the Corvallis area, because the county doesn't own a snow plow. They really don't do anything on the highways to make them more safe when roads are icey or snowy, though I heard a rumor they might use gravel if the snow piles much more. The thought of gravel seems more hazerdous than the dusting we received. Probably a good time to add comprehensive gravel coverage!

Facebook Video Friday

2012-01-13T10:43:00.000-08:00

I found these videos on Facebook this morning and couldn't help but share their awesomeness.

I love how just below the video on the College Humor site, it reads "Superhero princesses for everyone. Problem solved." So true, College Humor. So true!

I was that little girl, once upon a time... still am! And my boys will play with princesses and cabbage patch dolls if they so choose. There will be no pink descrimintation in my house. Sorry, Scott! Mother knows best.

And then we have a little broadway medeley.

Worth sharing, right?!

Joyride Sound

2012-01-11T08:00:00.000-08:00

On New Year's Eve I found this lovely video and blog post by Zoe Deschanel. Too cool for words! I was completely intrigued when I saw Zoe suggest a visit to Joseph Gordon-Levitt's website, hitRECord. BTW, I most definitely cannot call him Joe, and I have to say all three names. It's like Chad Michael Murray or Jonathan Taylor Thomas. I'm seeing a pattern here of crushes on three-named men.

Anyway, I was curious what kind of website Joseph Gordon-Levitt's resented, because I had imagined it to be a PR, biography set-up. I was surprised to find that JG-L's site actually offers a magical place where all the creative people of Hollywood can come together to make short films and collobrate one with another. I didn't take Joseph Gordon-Levitt for the producer type, but then again I didn't know he could play the guitar. So I asked my brother, Matt, resident sound artist of Burbank what he'd heard about this JG-L movement. He responded with his own collaborative effort. Check it out!

Sound by Matt of Cavanaudio

Looking the Part of Chaperone

2012-01-06T08:00:00.000-08:00

It may be hard to believe but my stories kind of petered out with the holidays! It was a relaxing, fairly uneventful couple of weeks. On New Years Eve, Scott was out of town and I had the responsibility of being a chaperone at a youth dance. There is no coincidence that Scott was MIA during the very month, no the very weekend, I had this responsibility. In fact, I think he may have prolonged his family trip to avoid dancing with me that night. Are my egg beater moves really that bad?

I've chaperoned dances before for high school or church, and EVERY time I've been mistaken for a student. Most of the time it's by a teenager who asks me to dance and then asks me what grade I'm in. It's flattering, in a way, but mostly awkward especially if that young man was nervous to ask me.

So this dance I tried my very best to look the part of chaperone. I wore a grandpa sweater an businessy skirt.

I looked in the mirror and thought, "I'm too cute and innocent!" Though my closet is not exactly trendy, it holds nothing that could add ten years to my face. So I added my librarian glasses.

It worked... sort of. All of the teenagers knew I was too lame to ask for a dance. The other chaperones were not as sure. Several questioned why I was wondering the halls and not enjoying the dance. Happy New Year to me - I look the same age if not younger!

Holiday Bowling

2011-12-26T08:00:00.000-08:00

Last week Scott and I went to Linn Lanes to bowl it up a little. It's not very often that I'm willing to go bowling with Scott, but with everyone out of town on vacation I thought we could use a little entertainment. Once we got to the bowling alley, however, we found that we were in for a whole lot more excitement than we had bargained for. Apparently we had interrupted the bowling alley's holiday party. All but two lanes were full of semi professionals clad in bowling wrist braces. Let's just say that our lane had the least action, though I was hoping we might win a door prize.

Scott and I played two games, and would you believe that I won both? Scott thought you wouldn't. We took a picture of the second round to prove it, because I won... in the last frame... by one pin!

Scott gladly took the picture for me, and then said, "Good luck convincing everyone that you are "H" (for Hon) and I am "S" (for Schnooks). Let's just be honest though - would I take a smiling picture of myself and the scoreboard if I had lost? Case closed.

SantaGram

2011-12-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

I stumbled across this vintage Western Union telegram from the North Pole when I was rummaging through my dad's family photo box. How fun is that?! It made me think of how thoughtful and kind Santa was to send a telegram to such very young children (my dad, the oldest, was only three at the time). I guess it wasn't Santa though... it was Rudolph!

Uncle Tim, Uncle Tom, Aunt Cathy, and my dad

Christmas, family photo circa 1955

Merry Christmas!

How's Your Flame?

2011-12-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

After my CT scan in October, my doctors weren't sure why I had abnormal symptoms. Their analysis showed that my organ activity was normal, though my Crohns was inflamed and had spread slightly. I wasn't really feeling ill, but I knew that my body was trying to tell me it was time for change. The doctors recommended drugs with side effects. While those drugs are a good option for other circumstances, I didn't feel like it was right for me or right for me now.

While I was sitting in the waiting room of my specialists office, I noticed a table tent for their acupuncture clinic. A friend at work had recommended an acupuncturist in Corvallis when I first moved here. I had been to a Chinese doctor before in Salt Lake City. I was intrigued by the experience but it became difficult to make the commute for each appointment. So when I saw this table tent I was open to the idea of accupuncture and figured it would be worth investigating, especially if it meant no side effects. In the meantime, I also accepted a prescription for my usual Crohns medication.

Source

The philosophy of Eastern medicine is sometimes difficult for us Westerners to comprehend. I still feel like I need to study an "Acupuncture for Dummies" edition. My dad said he heard the difference in philosophies explained like this - Eastern medicine is like tending a garden to make plants grow. First you need to check the soil and make sure there are enough nutrients and the levels are right. Once your soil is good you can plant seeds and help them to grow into a healthy garden. Western medicine, on the other hand, is like a fire truck.

During my first visit to this practitioner of Chinese medicine, she explained how my central burner/flame (spleen-stomach) was not communicating well with the rest of my body. Also, she could tell from pressure points on my body and through feeling my pulse that my liver was also involved in this miscommunication. She explained how Chinese medicine is approached through herbs, acupuncture, and diet.

When she asked me what I ate on a regular basis, she was surprised. My diet, she said, was putting out my flame, at least that's how my Western mind understood what she said. She recommended that for my Crohns right now, I should try eating warm foods, drinking warm liquids, and eating things like sweet potatoes, cooked greens, and whole grains like quinoa.

For so many years I thought that avoiding iceburg lettuce, popcorn, and fried foods was "managing my Crohns through diet." This visit completely changed my perspective. I had avoided some foods that were bad for Crohns, but I wasn't focusing on foods that could help my Crohns. Since then I've been walking around talking about my flame, and people are giving me funny looks. "Sorry, my flame doesn't like onion rings." "Ooh, I really shouldn't have that alfredo. It may do bad things for my flame." "Honey, my flame wants oatmeal for breakfast." Scott has started referring to his flame as well, even though he has definitely not had an official flame evaluation.

While it's a bit unusual, I can tell that the process is working. I am more aware of body language, I feel a difference in my immune system, and there are times when an acupuncture visit or dose of herbs has immediate effect on the problems I'm seeing. The point is not to put out the symptomatic fires. Ideally I'm creating a happy qi garden, where my flame is rockin'. Maybe like the eternal flame at Arlington.

For a more kosher explanation of Chinese Medicine, you can visit this site.

Lost Video of Princesses

2011-12-16T08:00:00.000-08:00

I was looking through my photos and videos the other day and found this video from our New Year's visit to Burbank last year.

My nieces love to dress up and pretend, though it's obviously not too difficult for them to channel their inner princess. In this episode of Princess Academy, Princesses Mackenzie and Casey learn to share, curtsy, blow kisses, and say "Hello, everyone!" in royally sweet tones. My favorite moment has to be when Casey thinks I'm taking a picture and dryly says, "Cheeeeese." Oh I miss these adorable girlies!

Christmas at the Foundation

2011-12-14T08:00:00.000-08:00

One day at work I walked into the break room and it was filled with Christmas tinsel and ornaments. The foundation events team decorates the exterior, reception, and break room with holiday cheer every December. By the end of that work day the lights were twinkling and greenery was hung.

I love coming to work and the halls are decked with garland and wreaths. It makes December so much more exciting!

Weekend Review

2011-12-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

The Chandlers surprised us by coming up for the weekend from Sacramento. The main event and purpose for the trip was the Oregon City High School's rendition of South Pacific, where Scott's cousin had the lead role of Nellie Forbush... and of course we're here too!

We introduced them to The Original Breakfast and discovered their stuffed french toast with boysenberry preserves.

Yumm!

Then Martie and I were both introduced to ABC's new TV series, Once Upon a Time. LOVE! It would be fantastic as a movie, and I'm stoked that it's a TV series and I can enjoy it that much longer. If you haven't seen it yet, I would recommend starting from the very first episode. I can't wait to see where they take the plot. In fact, I'm pretty sure this show is going to replace many of the other shows I'd been DVRing. Priorities!

It was a whirlwind weekend and I definitely forgot to make a trip to the grocery store, but we had a blast!

Chilly Not Cold

2011-12-09T08:00:00.001-08:00

Source

To give you an idea for what our weather is like lately, here is a picture from a sharing site with our local newspaper taken in November. Nothing much has changed since then, though we did have freezing fog this week.

Doesn't that just sound like a super villan power? I can just imagine the Joker spraying something from his wrist (I know, that's Spiderman) that creates a thick fog, freezing everything it touches. I've heard a rumor that the locals "made up" freezing fog as an excuse for slowly delivered mail. However, I can be a whitness to the frozen spider web, like in this picture, that was in our work parking lot this morning. Though there are no other indicators, if that is the power of freezing fog then I'm a believer!

Many mornings I wake up and the fog is so thick from all the rain the days before you can barely see the barns on the side of the road. I hope to get a picture of that some day!

Bombs Away Cafe - Corvallis

2011-12-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

Image Source

By the look of that signage, what would you expect on Bombs Away Cafe's menu? Pizza? Video game themed burgers? Nope. Bombs Away Cafe, officially a taqueria, is not at all what you would expect. Unless of course, you're just expecting tastiness.

Their menu actually goes beyond just tacos and your normal Mexican fanfare. Bombs Away menu includes burgers and sandwiches, and probably my favorite feature is their $5 lunch specials.

The interior is very cafe like, with Christmas lights and small tables. In fact, space is pretty limited. So during their busy lunch hours Bombs Away Cafe uses their stage to house more seating. That's right, I was sitting on a stage! A stage where they host various local bands and performers on a daily?, weekly at least, basis. Again, not exactly what you would expect of a taqueria, but definitely capturing the cafe feel.

A couple co-workers and I visited Bombs Away Cafe on your average school session weekday, and it was fairly busy but we were served quickly. Luckily, my co-workers were not at all weirded out that I took pictures of their food.

Bombs Away is a great option for a casual lunch, maybe a party spot around dinner and happy hour, and not the place to go if you want to be classy. I'd say the only downside is parking, but that's the case with any restaurant you visit near the university.

How to Attend an Ugly Sweater Party

2011-12-05T08:00:00.000-08:00

This last weekend was the first Ugly Sweater Party I have ever attended. Prior to this event I had nary a Christmas sweater in my closet, much less an ugly one. So for those of you who are unfamiliar with Ugly Sweater Parties and how to prepare, I am happy to map it out for you.

Step 1: Get invited to an Ugly Sweater Party
There's one happening every year and most likely being hosted by someone you know. When we found out that fellow med school wife, Amanda, was anxious to throw a party this year, I made it known that not only would I attend, but I would be extra supportive of her efforts to plan. To be honest, my support was offered more in the way of enthusiastic phone calls, but that probably helped...

Step 2: Take a friend Ugly Sweater Shopping
The best place to shop for Ugly Sweaters is your local thrift store, and the best time is around Thanksgiving. You may be able to find something online, but it's likely that you wont have much time for shipping after you receive your party invite. Plus who really wants to spend $20 for a new UGLY sweater that you only wear once a year... or depending on how ugly, maybe only once!

I escorted my buddy and fellow attendee, Morgan, to the oh so eccentric Lebanon thrift store strip in search of Ugly Sweaters. Expecting Lebanon to be an untapped gold mine for particularly ugly sweaters, we instead found:

Strange figurines that could double as scary movie props,

unusually large, used basketball shoes,

and a variety of tree skirts, all of which were not large enough to wrap around as a skirt for our Ugly Sweater outfits.

It is important to be flexible in your ideas for Ugly Sweater outfits. You never know when you might find a bedazzled vest, elf hat, or dress length sweater that could pull your whole party image together. We found that the best thrift store for Ugly Sweater shopping in Oregon is Goodwill. Unlike Lebanon's stores, the Goodwill stores I visited were organized and had specific Ugly Sweater sections for browsing.

Step 3: While thrifting, keep an eye out for White Elephant gifts
Many Ugly Sweater parties have a white elephant gift exchange on their agendas. A typical white elephant gift is something unwanted or previously loved, whether from your home or purchased at the store. Clearly there were many items to choose from on our visit! The most popular white elephant gifts are the entertaining ones. While most people enjoy making a crowd laugh with their humorous gift, I would say providing the most fought over gift has it's benefits as well (especially if stealing gifts is allowed in game rules).

We happened upon this lovely pooch portrait with a stunning suede canvas in my favorite Lebanon thrift store. This homemade beauty was only $3!

Step 4: Don't be afraid to look the part
When preparing for an Ugly Sweater party, don't be afraid to match the personality of your sweater combo! Personality is key to making your sweater stand out as the ugliest of ugly. If you second guess your sweater choice, test it out at the local Walmart in December. You should get at least one compliment or see familiar outfits.

And there we have it. I hope these tips help you to have the ugliest of sweater seasons!

A Middle Way to Capitalism

2011-12-02T08:00:00.000-08:00

I thought about apologizing for overusing OPB as a source for my deep blog posts, but really I think you should be thanking me. This is good stuff! If you aren't listening to National Public Radio or changed the channel when the story about Herman Cain came on, you are missing out, because today All Things Considered ended with a great story on social entrepreneurship in India. The kind of story where I wait in my parking lot for the story to end before getting home for the day. The kind of story that reminds me why I want to study business.

Here's the 30 second run down - There's a hospital in India that is not a for-profit business, nor is it a charity. Surgeons in this hospital perform approximately 300,000 cataract surgeries each year. That's about 15 times more than the average US surgeon! AND half of those surgeries are free. It's worth listening to the story or reading to find out how any hospital can afford to provide services for free without outside intervention. Brings a whole new meaning to healthcare reform!

Twinkle or Constant

2011-11-30T08:00:00.000-08:00

My dad sat me down while I was in Medford for Thanksgiving to explain the ways of Christmas lights. Okay, so maybe I was already sitting on the floor. Maybe I was also testing every single light bulb in three strands to find the culprit of our lighting woes and spurred conversation.

My parents had successfully unpacked boxes and boxes of our Alaskan household and set-up their home to be functional before we arrived. I decided it was my responsibility to help their home have the Christmas spirit; because, let's be honest, after you've finished unpacking several boxes, cleaned the space, and organized all your belongings, you may be referring to your belongings as "stuff" or "junk" and really have no desire to set up a Christmas tree. And yet, it's really a necessary step in post-Thanksgiving digestion.

After debating multi-colored or white lights and twinkle or constant, my dad and I finally decided to use the classic constant white Christmas lights, with a note that optimal lighting consists of constant white with a twinkle overlay.

My parents house is now mostly Christmasified! Glad Scott and I could help, especially since it got Scott in the mood to Christmasify our home without any prodding on my part!

Discovering Memories

2011-11-25T08:00:00.000-08:00

Uncle Tom, Grandpa Cavanaugh, Grammy, and Great-Grandpa Cavanaugh

Thanksgiving, family photo circa 1954

Scott and I arrived Wednesday evening in Medford. My parents new home is SO nice! They are unpacking boxes and trying to get comfortable in their new homestead.

One of the boxes my mom unpacked contained family photos sent from Boston after my grandmother passed away. I'm in LOVE with this box! I looked through it all Thursday morning and am taking home more pictures to scan and love on. The box contains mostly pictures of my dad's family, but since my mom and dad met in high school there are a few pictures of young Nancy.

I hope you're having a wonderful holiday!

Giving Thanks

2011-11-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

This week I am grateful for all of our many, many, many blessings, including, but not limited to:

- The person inspired to implement paid time off
- Google's turkey doodler during the slow moments of my half work day
- Cool rain instead of freezing hail or frost
- Adorable rain boots at Target
- Parents who live closer than an airplane ride
- The 90% score Scott got on his most recent med school test
- The fact that I haven't hit a biker with my car yet in Corvallis
- The turkey dinner church gave us because they equate our student status with poor
- A cooperative liver
- 30 Rock is coming back in January
- Turkey bowl football games that suddenly organize whereever my husband visits
- Wonderful friends and family who have sent us their love, support, and cotton candy

We're off to help my parents move into their new home in Medford - setting up the Christmas tree and finding a fun restaurant for our Thanksgiving feast. Maybe we'll throw in a little Black Friday shopping as well. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Beaver Basketball

2011-11-21T08:00:00.000-08:00

We had a chance the other weekend to go to an OSU basketball game. The foundation had a few extra donor tickets available and no one claimed them by closing time on Friday. Yay for donors and my great job!

I was surprised to see that the arena wasn't packed (on homecoming weekend no less)! In fact, if you ignored the student section on the floor, there really weren't many fans there at all. Granted, we did arrive around half time.

But we arrived just in time to see OSU squash their opponent, 64-33. Fun times!

Laughing Planet - Corvallis

2011-11-18T08:00:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe that I have a new favorite restaurant (especially when you consider the predecessor), but Laughing Planet is worth the change! The flavors are amazing and the company uses all natural and many local (to Oregon) ingredients. On their website About Us page, they declare, "We are dedicated to making wholesome food accessible to regular folks with time constraints, keeping it affordable, fun, and socially responsible." I love stumbling upon socially responsible and tasty places!

Laughing Planet is very "Corvallis"... if that was an adjective. There are dinosaurs on every table, though the collection may be all on one table if there happens to be a five year old boy in the restaurant. Artsy pictures adorn the walls, and the place is packed with your typical vest wearing, peace sign sporting, organic farmer-types.

Why? Laughing Planet is a mostly vegetarian restaurant. Hear me out! My previous favorite restaurant was Burgerville, so it can't be too drastic of a change. For those of you who wont read on without some meaty incentive, LP's menu does give you the option to add free range, organic chicken to your dish (though, we joked that it must be a rare occurrence, because it took our servers an extra long time to bring out our meal).

I really enjoy meat, which is why when a vegetarian coworker recommended Laughing Planet to me I avoided it. Does anyone else get a really bland image/taste in their mind/mouth when you think of vegetarian food? My brain seems to ignore Indian food and skip right to raw vegetables and tofu. Anyway, after hearing so many comments about this restaurant and suffering a gigantic craving for a rice bowl, I convinced Morgan to go with me on a lunch break.

Oh my deliciousness! The flavors really are unexpectedly vibrant and the whole meal feels light, healthy even. You leave feeling full and completely satisfied. The prices are great too! My lunch was $7.

Don't worry, Dad! I'm taking you there the next time you come to visit.

Decorating a Cubicle

2011-11-16T08:00:00.000-08:00

When I moved cubicles this last summer, I was so excited! I hadn't decorated my old cubicle up until the move, because I knew I would only be working in that space for a couple of weeks before moving. My new cubicle is in an excellent location at the front of the building, below all the big windows. There is so much natural light and heat! It's lovely!

My cubicle is also directly across from some of the OSU archive photos hanging in the Foundation. It made my space feel a little more cozy, knowing that Scott's cousin, Josh, is nearby.

I'm positive the young scholar in the middle is a Chandler ancestor, because I can just imagine Josh standing there laughing at Benny the Beaver try to breakdance.

Also nearby, is Matt Damon from Goodwill Hunting.

How 'bout them apples? No... not really. It's a photo of an OSU student learning Russian. But I'm thinking that student would have had a great career in film back in the 1950's.

Decorating a large grey box can be so challenging! I wanted it to be personal, but I'd also walked around the office enough to know what I liked and what I didn't like. I wanted more color and I wanted consistency. Granted, I'm not finished. There are still so many missing pieces and more grey that I'd like visable. I'm getting closer, though.

I'm trying to become enthused about all things Beaver, so I used oranges, yellows, and whites. A true Beaver would tell you I shouldn't be involving any yellow, since that's a duck color. I had this fabulous mustard yellow vase, though, that worked better in my cube than it did at home. I'm also a fan of the recent grey/yellow combo.

To help my Beaver fever, I made this collage from extra Oregon Stater magazine photos hanging around the office.

I've had many comments on my excellent collage-skills, but I think it has more to do with how much they like orange and black.

I also made a few of these paper stars that I saw on a party blog.

You can't really tell from the picture below, but I made the stars using small white and medium orange paper bags. I may need to add more as well.

This picture gives a good demonstration of my attempt to decorate and still lack of substance. The stars take up the whole left wall. My desk wall has hanging clipboards and important information. I'm missing some critical elements, though - #1 a plant! SO necessary for any office space. Also, you see that big blank, grey space above the extra chair. I'm needing something there (a cuter chair would be a start). I was thinking an empty painted window or picture frame. Any ideas? I'm also missing personal photos. I have one picture (not visable in the picture above) of the future Dr. Chandler above my computer. More needed!

Honestly, I'm the last person you would want to ask about design ideas, but I'm pretty proud of how I was able to see what worked in a cubicle and implement elements that work.

Collaborative Healthcare with Western University

2011-11-14T08:00:00.000-08:00

The other day our friend Chase was featured in the OSU student newspaper, The Barometer, for participating in a collabroative health group with Western University DO students and a variety of OSU majors. In the picture above, Chase is the student with the faux hawk, or "fake mohawk" as our older coworkers like to call it.

Each group was given a problem and discussed how appropriate actions can be taken in the healthcare community to find a solution. For example, Scott's group was challenged with this situation (not verbatim):

A little girl comes to her dentist for a cleaning. The dentist notices that the girl is pretty frail and shows signs of cystic fibrosis, but her chart shows no record of the diagnosis. Should the dentist refer the patient to a specialist? What is the best way for healthcare professionals to work together in this situation?

I think there was even a vet med student from OSU in each group, and each probelm involved them. I'm not sure what cystic fibrosis has to do with animals, but there was some connection I suppose.

Scott and I went with Chase and his wife Morgan to an OSU basketball game this last weekend. It happened to be the weekend before a major microbiology exam. Scott likes to say that this first exam in "MCBM" (don't know what that stands for) is like combining five high level undergraduate courses into four DAYS of review and then having a cumulative final. Needless to say, Scott and Chase were studying every moment of the drive and game.

This is what Morgan and I had to listen to:

Scott: Okay, tell me everything you know about Novobiocin.
Chase: Novobiocin is a natural product that stops transcription of DNA. Fluoroquinolones inhibit bacterial replication by binding to topoisomerase II subunits, and topotecan, a eucaryotic topoisomerase I inhibitor, is used for cancer chemotherapy.

Let's just say that in order to ignore my inability to absorb any of that information, I spent a lot of time talking with Morgan about sitcoms, work, or contemplating other non-medical deep thoughts.

Appletree - Lebanon

2011-11-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

While my parents were visiting, we decided it would be a good idea to eat out for breakfast. The only problem was that Scott had a school service project on Saturday and I needed to leave mid-morning for an MBA group meeting. We decided to pick some place local to save on time, and I suggested we try the Appletree restaurant located in Lebanon across from Safeway.

I only knew a few facts about Appletree before walking inside. I had seen the weather-worn exterior and large parking lot when we first moved to town in May. Since it was Strawberry Festival season, Appletree’s outdoor advertising touted their strawberry shortcake special. I just realized, you really don’t have to say much for strawberry shortcake to sound delicious. I’m drooling and there wasn’t even a special description! Anyway, the only other thing I knew about Appletree was that they also have the Oregon State lottery available to play. Not much to go off!

So when my parents and I walked inside on Saturday morning, I really had no idea what to expect… and with no expectations I was pleasantly surprised. The inside has a homey, country diner feel. There’s a pie display case at the front and besides table seating, you could also eat your meal at the counter. The restaurant is decorated with country wallpaper and antique cooking utensils on display. You could tell the “usual” crowd was already there enjoying their meal by the time we walked in. The waitress could tell from memory, as she seated her guests, whether or not they would need a menu.

The back of the menu had all of their breakfast options. I didn’t peruse the menu much. I’m surprised I can’t even remember when Appletree stops serving breakfast. That’s an important thing to know! I must have been pretty hungry. In fact, we all were. The Cavanaugh’s don’t normally order a meal without needing an extra plate for sharing. We all chose our own meals at Appletree from a variety of classic breakfast options.

And they were delicious! My dad commented at how fast our food came too! He said it was as fast as McDonald’s but so much better. We also kept comparing our experience to The Original Breakfast in Albany, Oregon (since that was the last place we had all eaten breakfast together). Appletree’s menu was just as good and the location is much better for us! If you’re looking for a breakfast spot in Lebanon, Appletree is your best option! And if you go there often enough, I’ll wager they remember your name and order… maybe even have it ready before you come in.

Limeberry - Lebanon

2011-11-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

Picture by me taken of Albany's Limeberry

My parents new favorite thing is frozen yogurt shops. Maybe it's not their NEW favorite thing. My dad has always loved the soft serve ice cream machines, especially if you could build your own sundae. Well, since they have moved to the "Lower 48," my mom has developed a sixth sense for yogurt shops. She can smell them out from a distance. The first time she ever came to Lebanon, she made sure to tell me she saw that a Limeberry frozen yogurt shop was opening up this summer.

The Limeberry in Lebanon, Oregon opened up sometime before the school year started, I think. It wasn't until my parents visited again that we tried it out. It was SO tasty! They provide you with LARGE cups, which you may or may not want to fill all the way with your choice of frozen yogurts and toppings. My dad chooses to fill his cup up. Waste not, want not. I actually don't know what that means, but it sounds right.

Limeberry posts their frozen yogurt flavors on their Facebook page, as the flavors change often. We found that out the hard way when we visited TWICE in two days. Scott had a really scrumptious Wild Berry yogurt that we were both dying to have again the next day... only to find out it had been replaced by Island Banana. We will definitely be watching for more Wild Berry. Topping choices were vast, from berries, granola, and sprinkles, to candy, cookies, and even juice pellets.

Limeberry frequently has coupons to clip in the local Coupon Connections that comes in the mail (or can be found at Safeway). If you're in town, I would definitely recommend finding a coupon and a friend and heading over to the Limeberry!

Parents Visit from Medford

2011-11-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

I love having my parents so close! Scott especially loves it too. There have been a couple times already when he's asked if I thought it would be a good idea to invite my parents up for the weekend. Scott's motives are usually medically related, as I consider both of my parents to be well-qualified resources in all things healthy. This last weekend my parents came to visit and help Scott with a physical test he had this week.

It was a quick trip, but my parents were so helpful! Scott was able to get his physical down from 20 minutes to 11. We were also able to visit some restraunts in town that I've been meaning to see and blog.

Thanks for being our guinea pigs, Mom and Dad!

Chance to Photobooth

2011-11-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

I forgot to post this when we visited Sacramento for Trevor's wedding. I stole Scott from the head table and made use of the rented photobooth at the reception. We were warned in advance by Michellie and Erik that we had about three seconds between pictures to pose. We decided the poses before hand... and then later I saw everyone break out the props! Oh well, still a very fun momento to take away.

I was definitely wearing Scott's tux jacket as I was FREEZING! I know... it was California. I'm weird. Also, I didn't realize my tongue was so long!

Carving Pumpkins

2011-10-31T08:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!

Our apartment complex is having a pumpkin carving contest, so Scott and I thought we would participate. We were hoping to carve one evening with some of the med students I haven't met yet, but that didn't pan out.

We carved two pumpkins, one medium and one small. The milk jug in the middle is a Young Women's personal progress activity I did at church this month based on this blog post. The young women didn't want to keep this one, so I'm putting it out with our pumpkins.

Can you guess who carved which pumpkin?

Pumpkin #1

Pumpkin #2

Scott is going to be Waldo at school today. So excited! He really wanted me to be Wanda, but I don't think I look as much like Wanda as he looks like Waldo. Hence... no costume for me. I'll post pictures of Scott soon!

On the Crohns Front

2011-10-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

I usually don’t give Crohns updates, but the topic typically comes up every time I’m in a conversation with close family and friends. Since this is, after all, a newsletter about me, I figured I’m probably due to give an update.

I started this post a few months ago, when I realized that my last report on Crohns was over a year ago. When I started the post in August I felt great! I had gained weight, and while that sounds like a bad thing, it is a really good sign for me. In fact, I think it was the first time during my marriage to Scott that I came home with the happy news. He was puzzled.

About a month later I started feeling nauseous every day, an unusual occurrence for Crohns (No, I'm not pregnant.). I decided to make an appointment with a gastroenterologist here in Corvallis to see if he had any ideas. He didn't think it sounded like Crohns either and ordered some blood work to get initial clues. Note: The sign of a good gastroenterologist is the ordering of blood work. Not exactly sure why, but my favorite doctor's always have, and my least favorite NEVER asked.

My blood work showed a high level of liver activity, which is not something typically related to Crohns. It could be a sign that something else was malfunctioning, like my gallbladder. Without knowing for sure, my doctor ordered a CT scan, which I had done a couple weeks ago.

Now, don't freak out! Apparently CT scans are the new X-ray. It is a fairly common way for doctors to get a visual of what's going on inside without actually going inside (surgery or scoping). When I told family and friends that I was going in for a CT scan, many of them immediately referred to House or Grey's Anatomy episodes where a CT scan means imminent death. You should know, if no one's told you already, that House portrays an over exagerated, not to mention unethical, practice of medicine. Just ask Scott. He's had to watch episodes for homework... or at least that's what he told me.

The CT scan came back clean. My gallbladder's fine, by kidneys are fine, my liver looked fine. However, Mr. Crohns, in addition to where he's always been, has expanded his territory a tad. My immune system is still a bit overactive, meaning I catch every cold virus passed around the office or church nursery (even though I'm in Young Womens). But hey, the nausea stopped! I'm having discussions with my doctor this week about medicine. I expect that I will be able to get Mr. Crohns under control without any further references to popular television programing.

Notes from Medical School

2011-10-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

Life has been so busy that whenever Katie has asked that I blog about med school I've never had the time to sit down and write. She got tired of waiting and sat down to ask me questions for an update post. Here's the Q and A:

Describe your medical school schedule.
Busy. It's extremely busy. The content isn't that difficult, it's the pacing. If you had 8 years to learn all the material then anyone could do it. We only have two years to learn every little detail of the body before getting into the hospitals for rotations. It's been three months and we just finished studying gross anatomy, head and neck, and as of Tuesday began studying molecular and cell biology.

How is med school different from undergrad studies?
Med school requires more time and energy. In my undergraduate work I could attend class if I wanted to, complete the homework, and do well in the class. In med school I get up early to study, attend all lectures and labs, study more before going to bed. All to wake up and do it again the next day.

Does med school meet the expectations you had?
Yes. I felt well prepared. BYU prepared me well for med school. A lot of this stuff I'm already familiar with.

If you could go back in time and tell yourself one thing to better prepare, what would you say?
Take more biology courses.

What has been your favorite med school moment so far?
I enjoyed TAing. It put me in a good position for the rest of school - socially and academically. I have a lot of good friends coming from different backgrounds. It's the real deal.

Sunset Ceremony

2011-10-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

Groom walking his mother down the aisle

This last weekend Scott and I were able to get away for a day (with much preparation before hand) to attend the ring ceremony of his good friend, Trevor. Scott and his buddy Erik were co-best men. It worked out pretty well, especially for the maid of honor who was sandwiched between these men walking down the aisle.

Trevor and Ester were married in the Oakland Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A ring ceremony was performed by Trevor's uncle in Roseville, CA for friends of the couple who were unable to attend the temple sealing.

I liked the example Trevor's uncle used to explain how to approach a temple marriage and sealing for time and all eternity. He shared a story of a husband and wife who owned silver utensil set to be used on special occasions. The husband felt the tedious work of cleaning and polishing before and after each use, only to be packed away for another six months. He asked his wife one day why they went through so much effort and why they didn't use the silverware more often. She replied that "if you want something to last forever, you treat it differently. You shield it and protect it. You never abuse it. You don’t expose it to the elements. You don’t make it common or ordinary. If it ever becomes tarnished, you lovingly polish it until it gleams like new. It becomes special because you have made it so, and it grows more beautiful and precious as time goes by."

We really enjoyed our short, SHORT trip to Sacramento and only wish we could have spent more time with family. Now back to the nine to five... more like seven to six.

A Little Mario

2011-10-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

Scott is in a wedding this weekend. It is a welcomed break from studying and working! Even better, we get to see these little characters! So excited!

Spin Master HouseParty

2011-10-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

The Spin Master HouseParty was a success! We had six medical school families come to enjoy food and Spin Master games. There is no way all of those people would fit in our apartment, but luckily our apartment complex has an awesome clubhouse that is available to reserve.

Our guests enjoyed soups, breadsticks, chips and dip. I'm SO glad that Shaila offered to bring dessert because she brought these scrumptious pumpkin cupcakes and oatmeal cookies that were gone in a flash. It's hard to estimate how much to cook for such a large group. One very good reason I'm not a caterer. Somehow we still had extra food! The only thing I under estimated was everyone's love for seven layer dip.

With this group, you really don't need much to entertain. Of course the kiddos had a movie going and a few toys to play with. The adults however could have kept chatting away if we hadn't stopped them to play a couple games and bless the food.

As I described earlier, Quelf is a new game where cranium meets curses. When I first played Quelf, it took me awhile to get into the game. The activities they ask you to do are a little bit outside any adult's comfort zone, but I think the kid inside of us really wants to participate in a big way. By the end of the game everyone is going full blast and rolling on the floor with laughter. I had several party guests tell me it was their favorite.

The Quelf Hoe Down from Katie Chandler on Vimeo.

With moments like this, I'm not sure I could blame them. Though Most Outstanding Duo in a Quelf Series most definitely goes to our two pregnant mamas who danced cheek to cheek... and subsequently belly to belly! I think we all felt the sacrifice they made for the love of the game.

However, by far my favorite game was The Logo Game. The game tests your brand knowledge, and I would say is MUCH easier on the brain than a game of trivial pursuit. I thoroughly enjoyed, and was entertained, by the random facts about slogans and products. Scott and I played this several times more after the party was over, and sometimes he likes to just pull out a card to break the ice during conversation. His favorite cards to be quized on are of course the sports brands. My best performance was with food brands... go figure!

After a full weekend of partying and victory dancing for BYU, we are kind of warn out!

Logos, Quelf and More

2011-10-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

I was so excited to get our HouseParty package in the mail a couple weeks ago. It arrived so early, which is fantastic! I think HouseParty has really improved their system, because our first party through them almost went on without any of the supplies! Luckily that box arrived the night before, and we were able to party without a problem.

The HouseParty we are hosting tonight is sponsored by SpinMaster board games! As you can see the package included The Logo Game and Quelf, $5 off game coupons for our guests, napkins, drink sticks, magnets, and more. Scott and I made sure to test out the board games and learn all the rules before our party. We REALLY enjoyed the games so far and think our guests will have a lot of fun!

I planned out a pretty casual menu of soups and appetizers, since our party will be around dinner time and we are having potentially six! med school families over to play with us. The HouseParty Spin Master games have a suggested age range from12+ . We want this to be a family party, as we are one of only a few med school families without chil'en. So we suggested that families bring games that their kids would like to play.

HouseParty at the Chandler's tonight, and the OSU v BYU game in Corvallis on Saturday! We'll be sure to share the details!

Crafty Advertising

2011-10-12T08:00:00.001-07:00

I literally stopped and laughed at this comic that was posted outside a coworkers cube. Sometimes I take advertising too literally. I'm an ad analyzer, and usually I'm an expert when it comes to understanding the statistics behind ad statements. The other day... not so much. I most definitely went to McDonalds just for an apple pie and walked away with a large fry, apple pie, and a burger. Why? One word - Monopoly.

Have you seen the McD Monopoly commercial with Lebron James? Funny, yes! But do not take the 1 in 4 statistic literally. When I arrived at McDs I saw a poster stating that large fries have four monopoly pieces on the package. Of course, I think exactly what those crafty marketers want me to think... " With a 1 in 4 chance of winning, a large fry guarantees I'll get something free next time. So it's an investment." I won nothing and ate more french fries than any one person should in one sitting.

I almost misread and took THIS ad too literally. Luckily I corrected my mental misspelling, saw the logo, and breathed a sigh of relief for society before passing the billboard by on the freeway. It is good to stop and think about advertising. Avoid overthinking.

Raining equals Soup

2011-10-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

Having grown up in a rainforest, I am unphased by a little drizzle to even the hardest downpour. In fact, I love rain! I love the sound of rain outside as I'm sitting in my snuggie on the couch. I love the smell of the earth after it's rained. I love how rain makes my garden grow without requiring me to put in any effort. Rain was an almost daily occurance during childhood and is about to be again as the fall season is upon us in Oregon.

I didn't realize that Scott would have a different interpretation of rain. Sacramento doesn't have many rainy days, so when Scott was younger his family would celebrate the weather with bowls of soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Thinking that "we" will probably be craving a lot of soup this winter, I decided to try out these two recipes:

Curried Carrot Soup

Rosemary Bread

I highly recommend both for your next rainy day! Bon appetit!

Accounting is not Brain Surgery

2011-10-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

Classes started last week at OSU. Go figure my business professors are still trying to find funny intro videos. This BBC clip was shown before my accounting class began.

While accounting is most certainly not brain surgery, I am already starting to feel the toll of taking evening classes while working full time, magnifying my calling at church, and fitting in time with my student husband.

Even Cows like Jazz

2011-10-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

Of course, I suppose they are French cows... so they have more class.
You can read about this most random event on Deseret News.

The Moral Recession

2011-10-03T09:00:00.000-07:00

Conference was fantastic! I thoroughly enjoyed all the talks and was so excited when they announced that a temple will be built in Paris, France! How very exciting for France!

President Monson spoke on the current moral recession that we've lived in for quite some time without significant notice or study. He pointed out that up until 1960 we, as a society, upheld values or moral behavior that are now considered "old fashioned." Virtue is timeless and should never be connected with fashion or seasons. It is probably strange for friends and coworkers to hear of the values I hold and standards I keep. I'm determined to be more bold in sharing them!

President Monson's talk is available to view on the church website. They are so speedy to already have these talks in video format online!

A Conference Weekend

2011-09-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

Thank Heavens it's Friday, and for more reasons than one! I am so excited for this weekend, as we approach the 181st Semiannual General Conference! Conference weekend is the best. Not only does "attending church" involve my pajamas and usually a yummy homemade breakfast, but I am able to listen to the prophet speak. I've already loved all the talks shared in the Relief Society broadcast last Saturday.

To gear up for conference I read this story from a BYU devotional by the prophet, President Thomas S Monson:

On one occasion many years ago, while visiting the Indianapolis Stake, I remember President Low, who was with Purdue University there, saying to me, “Brother Monson, would you like to come out to my home and stay with us Saturday evening, or would you prefer to forego the 40-mile drive and stay here with my counselor in Indianapolis?”

I responded, “Well, President Low, it’s late at night, and, if it’s all the same to you, I’ll stay with your counselor here in Indianapolis.”

The next morning President Low greeted me at eight o’clock and said, “Brother Monson, you made an inspired decision.”

I asked, “How’s that?”

“Well,” he replied, “we have a son away attending the university, and our anticipation was that we, of course, would have you occupy our bedroom on Saturday evening. But unknown to us and totally unexpectedly, our son returned home from school at two in the morning, came in the front door, walked up the stairs to our bedroom, turned on the light, and yelled, ‘Surprise!’ ”

I’m not certain who would have been more surprised on that occasion had I stayed with the stake president—the student or me! I think it’s rather a good thing we didn’t find out.

I most definitely laughed at my cubicle imagining that scene!

The only downside to this weekend is that we don't have BYUtv at home. Still, I think we're going to try out streaming live on the internet this year. I'll let you know how it goes. Enjoy your weekend!

Willamette Valley Fruit Company - Salem

2011-09-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

I forgot to mention that Stanley made one more stop with us on our trip to Salem, Oregon - the Willamette Valley Fruit Company, which is located in between Salem and Silverton. I had heard about WVF Co from my young women at church. They told me about the AMAZING hot chocolate and smoothie milkshakes. They also mentioned that the cafe has a happy hour where most everything on the menu is $1. From their drool and googlie eyes, I knew that I needed to sample these local delicacies. I drug Scott along with me... He was not dissapointed.

We ordered a Forest Berry pie Frostbite, which is basically a milkshake with a slice of pie jumbled up. We were given so many options of pie to choose from, but decided on Forest Berry because it included blueberries, blackberries, and boysenberries. Mmm! Can't pass that up! We also ordered a turkey bacon ranch panini.

All the food was so delicious Scott didn't even mind that I took this rather unflatering photo of him. He kept saying, "Who was the genius that decided to put pie in a milkshake?" I tried to tell him that Sammy's in Provo, UT had that menu item while we were living there, but he didn't believe me until his cousin confirmed.

Another reason to visit the Willamette Valley Fruit Company this Fall is for their corn maze and Harvest Festival. The maze and festival don't begin until October 1, but it looks to be a rare treat. WVF Co is partnering with Salem-Keizer Education Foundation and Marion-Polk Food Share to help promote the NO Hungry Child campaign. A worthy cause! They even designed their maze this year based on the campaign logo, which you can see on the WVF Co home page. If you're interested in attending and live nearby, I have a $1 off coupon that I received at their cafe. It's all yours since we have a HouseParty, the OSU v BYU game, and other weekend appointments in October!

Flat Stanley Visits Oregon

2011-09-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

Our young friend Natalie, aka Natto, sent Scott and I a letter from her elementary class in California asking if Flat Stanley could come and visit us in Lebanon. Flat Stanley's been around... in the blogosphere, but if you haven't heard of him before here's the rundown: in the book, Stanley becomes flat, and his family decides to send him to visit cousins around the states. I haven't read the book so I can't be very specific, but I understood that Flat Stanley wanted to visit the non-international Lebanon.

I also understood that I needed to provide clothes for Stan the man, as he came without. Tsk tsk. The day that I received the letter, I brought Stanley to work with me, and of course, he became a Beaver Fan. The great state of Oregon is, after all, nicknamed the Beaver state.

It was necessary to then take Stanley to the football stadium. There was a light drizzle so Stanley came prepared.

Wherever we went that week, Stanley went also. Stanley visited Scott at the newest medical school in Oregon...

We went to Salem because Scott needed to visit a Mens Wearhouse and can you believe there isn't one nearby?! There wasn't one in Salem either. We had to go up to Kaizer. While we were in Salem though, we tried to bring Stanley to the state capital building. I figured the elementary kids back in Cali would eat that stuff up... but we couldn't find the building! I was looking for a dome. We didn't realize we should have been looking for an angel?!

Flat Stanley returned in a business envelope back to school. We hope that there he gives rave reviews of Oregon, with all it's sheep and berries... and beavers.

Sisterhood of the Traveling Sourdough Starter

2011-09-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

Sourdough bread is delicious! This fact was not always plain to me. I never understood as a child why my parents would choose sourdough, or rye for that matter, over white bread. There is something incredibly comforting about white dinner rolls. I would like to say that it is scientifically proven that when you're younger you only use a few taste buds, but I've never heard that from a published source. It has only been my experience that children are very picky, because my brothers and I were very picky eaters. Over the years I began to appreciate new flavors.

Now that I'm an adult not only does sourdough bread taste fantastic, but the process of making sourdough fascinates me - to think that natural yeast exists and can be cultivated and fed to produce a leavening agent and new flavors in baking! I've thought about having a sourdough starter at home for awhile. My first inkling of the idea came when I bought Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. The book explains about natural and store purchased yeast and how bread rises, as well as how to get that crispity crunch, like the European artisan bread, with very little effort. I highly recommend the book, though you could most definitely survive on just the basic recipe, or one page in the book. New sourdough ideas came after owning the book for awhile. My friend, Kami, posted that she was doing a sourdough class in Arizona. I wish I could learn from someone experienced how to keep a starter and make that sour taste!

I am an impulse buyer at times, especially when items are already on my mind. This was most definitely the case when I found a San Francisco Sourdough Flakes packet at a local gardening supply store. I brought it home this summer when I was bored and looking for new hobbies, and it has been bubbling and emiting sour odors happily since then. I read internet articles about sourdough and researched recipes. I fed my sourdough starter every day, which involved removing one cup and adding in a half cup of bread flour and a half cup of warm water. Some times I would use that one cup I removed to bake beautiful loaves of bread or attempt sourdough pancakes.

Most of the time though, the cup I removed went down the drain, literally.
I starting thinking of ideas for how to more fully utilize the benefits of my sourdough starter. I could bake bread every day and give it to my neighbors.... but that would require a lot of baking time which I didn't have. I could take that cup removed and give it to my neighbor to start their own sourdough starter at home... but then all of Lebanon would be in my same predicament. My best idea - share it!

So I started a group - The Sisterhood of the Traveling Sourdough Starter. A group of medical school wives I'm friends with share calendar access to schedule a week with the sourdough starter in their home. These ladies can bake sourdough breads and waffles and pancakes to their hearts content for a week, and then pass it off to someone else to feed and enjoy. It's only been a few weeks, but so far I'd say it's working quite well! I've heard that everyone is enjoying yummy bread in their homes, and when I pass along the starter at the beginning of the next turn it's still bubbly and stinky. All good signs!

Kitty Hunt

2011-09-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

We're going on a kitty hunt.
Gonna catch a fat one.
I'm not afraid.

This girls scout song was going through my mind on Saturday when I called my mom in Southern California, and she told me they were going on a kitty hunt. A Californian safari, of sorts. A few days ago my parents received a flier on their door saying that Jackson the cat had gone missing in their neighborhood. The owner was offering a $1000 reward.

Neither the cat part, nor the reward part really sounds like my parents cup of tea. I'm sure they just put the flier aside with a little laugh, thinking, "Poor Jackson needs his medication."

My parents frequently take walks in the evenings, and that particular evening they went walking around a university campus nearby. When they got to the fish pond, my parents were surprised to see Jackson, a big fat grey cat who had obviously found his food source. They recognized him from the flier and started to follow him. Jackson would run around the corner, and when my parents followed Jackson was waiting for them... only to run away again. Not only was Jackson full, but he wanted to play a little cat and mouse... where he was the mouse. My parents could never get close enough to nab the cat and return it to it's owner. So instead they gave the owner a call to verify Jackson's whereabouts.

That weekend, my parents had the grandgirlies over for a sleepover. They showed the girls the flier and the girls were more than excited to search for the cat the next morning, especially if there was a reward involved. So my parents made a game of it, and gave all the girls some cat food (Lucky Charms cereal) to nibble on and tempt the cat once they found him. They walked over to campus where my parents had last seen Jackson.

On their kitty hunt, Meghan, Mackenzie, and Casey found...

The fish pond where Jackson had been. There were turtles in the pond, but no kitty.

And a mushroom.

Sadly, they did not find Jackson on their kitty hunt. Though, was that really the point?

Halloween House Party

2011-09-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

Are you planning to throw a Halloween Party? HouseParty announced last week that they are offering a Monster Halloween HouseParty HouseParty... which means that it's a Halloween party to promote House Party as opposed to a sponsored product. I saw this announcement in my email last week and had to pass it on to all those who want to give their Halloween party a boost! I would probably have a Halloween party myself, except we've been accepted to host the Spin Master Board Game HouseParty on October 14! I'm so excited!!

Speaking of parties, today is my best friend, Maura's birthday! Happy Birthday!!

Trilingual Home

2011-09-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

Long ago when I was on study abroad in Paris, I attended church in the Versailles Branch with Maria Babin and her family. We loved attending the branch, walking past the chateau every morning on our walk from the RER. All the members were so welcoming to us students.

I recently discovered Maria's blog about life in France and her video from mormon.org about her trilingual family. Loved the flashback from my time in Paris! Take a look!

Touchdown, Scott Chandler!

2011-09-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

If there has ever been one thing my husband has wanted me to blog about, it is the two touchdown passes "he" received this last Sunday.

He tried, without adequate words, to describe the joy of hearing his name announced on national television as having successfully completed two touchdowns. His smile would not stop!

His favorite lines that night as he talked with family:

"I have a secret to admit... I'm not really in med school. I've been playing with the NFL for a couple of years, and I just couldn't keep it silent any more."

"I was on fire tonight!"

"Do you think my friends from high school will think I made it in the NFL?"

"Another touchdown by Scott Chandler!"

Scott is the proud owner of Scott Chandler's college card because his good friend, Doug, once gifted it to him. Unfortunately, Scott was not fast enough to pick "himself" up in Fantasy football after this week's scores. His uncle commented after the trade, "I know that you will serve me well."

Couponing in Small Town Oregon

2011-09-12T08:00:00.001-07:00

When we decided to move to Oregon for medical school I remember bragging to friends that our small town in Oregon would likely have very few coupners. I was so excited to rake up all the savings and have full shelves of products on promotion to choose from. I think I was also imagining a native coupon tree where I could freely grab local newspaper inserts on Monday.

Upon arrival this summer, I staked out my favorite coupon spots and searched for Oregon and Pacific Northwest couponing resources. As far as couponing goes Lebanon, Oregon is home to a Rite Aid, Walgreens, Safeway, Bi-Mart, Mega Foods, and Walmart as well as mom and pop stores. Oh, and an Ace Hardware. It was on my first couponing trip that all of my tiny Oregon town couponing dreams were crushed. It was Monday at a pharmacy, the shelves with promotional items were bare, and there was a lady standing next to me with the same coupon in hand.

I have come to discover that there are MANY couponers in small town Oregon. In fact, I even went to a garage sale one summer day where all the items being sold had been bought (or more likely were free) with coupons. The gall!

My coupon tree didn't exist either.Our local library receives a few daily newspaper subscriptions and has a bin for all the newspaper ads. I was so excited to discover this, but then shortly thereafter found that if I came after noon on a Monday that the inserts were gone. There are others who knew about the library resource as well. Newspaper subscriptions seem tricky for our situation. We live in a large apartment complex 15 miles from the nearest printed newspaper and 60+ miles from the nearest major printed newspaper. I don't really trust an accurate delivery, and newspaper coupons are where it's at!

Here are the best resources I have found for couponing in Oregon:

The Krazy Coupon Lady - These ladies post nation wide deals, and what I love most about their posts is their method for letting you know when there's a good deal!

Frugal Living NW - There are specific deals for Northwest stores that vary from nationwide circulars. This blog will keep you updated on those.

The Frugal Find - I use this blog for their coupon database and Winco updates. We do have a winco in Corvallis, which can be a convenient errand after work. I have yet to find a good resource for any grocery store besides Safeway or Winco.

The Oregonian - I've heard this is your best resources for coupon inserts in the Portland area. We have a local newspaper, but often the inserts are a bit on the slim side.

MyPoints.com - I use my MyPoints account to download available coupons from Coupons.com or Smartsource. All the same coupons area available through MyPoints and I receive points towards rewards by using the MyPoints printouts.

Though my utopia of small town quiet couponing was dashed, I still occassionally have some "Free" time!

The other day I bought three individual bottles of Simply juice and a Diet Coke for 2 cents at Walgreens! It would have been free or better except for Oregon's bottle cap tax, but I'm not complaining!

Dancing Oaks Nursery - Monmouth

2011-09-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

One day at work a VP from the Foundation came up to me cube to tell me he had found my blog. Ah! Sometimes I forget that my blog is traceable, even though I purposefully made it that way to share information. In any case, he recommended a few places he knew in the area that were "blog worthy." One of which was the Dancing Oaks Nursery in Monmouth, Oregon.

We decided to bring our friend's the Nelsons to Monmouth with us for a blogging tour with Burgerville's birthday and nursery visit. The town of Monmouth is not large at all, but the city limits spread out a bit, which we discovered when driving out to Dancing Oaks. The long roads surrounded by hay fields seemed never ending, and I was sure I was leading my husband to the middle of nowhere for blogging's sake. But finally we found the private road of the nursery and drove up over a mountain and into a hidden valley. Even then, when we arrived at the clearly marked nursery, we felt a bit like we had intruded on someone's home.

Dancing Oaks is a large garden set around a beautiful cabin, which is rented out to guests. It was an adventure even finding where the business part of the "nursery" began. We finally found the store front and were directed to some of the tourist attractions in the garden...

Like the giant leaves (thanks for posing, Chase!)...

and Jurassic Park

It was a beautiful garden, but I would say you'd have to be pretty passionate about plants to drive all the way out to Dancing Oaks. Luckily the Nelson's were there and my husband was feeling adventurous. They made a game of pronouncing the scientific names of plants and commented on how that must have been the inspiration for Harry Potter spells.

A Burgerville Celebration

2011-09-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

Happy 50th Birthday, Burgerville! Back in May, during my first visit to Burgerville, I saw a flyer announcing where and when Burgerville would be holding birthday parties. By coincidence, Scott's birthday will be the same day as the Albany, Oregon Burgerville party and I had had big plans to celebrate both birthdays together. Of course, I realized that was rather selfish of me AND it so happens that Scott will be out of town that day. So change of plans!

I quickly figured out where the next nearest Burgerville was located - Monmouth!

The retro menu with 1961 pricing was not as tasty as we had hoped, especially when we brought friends to introduce to Burgerville. We had fun, all the same! And now we can do something a bit more special than onion rings for Scott on his birthday.

Prineville

2011-09-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

We were able to spend a day and a half with Scott's family in Prineville as part of their yearly reunion to the reservoir. Scott and I had tentatively planned to go that weekend, but we were unsure if Scott would be able to get enough studying done ahead of time to justify the trip. He has been studying non-stop, and as an anatomy facilitator he sometimes feels like he never gets a chance to study ahead for himself. The week of the reunion Scott assured me that he would be able to get plenty of study time during the family trip by giving physicals to all his cousins, aunts, and uncles. As you can imagine, that didn't happen.

Instead, Scott successfully got up on the wakeboard. He was gone from dawn until dusk on the water. I was worried he would never come back to eat! In lieu of study time, Scott named all the muscles that ached from his boating adventures. After the winding drove home we both collapsed in bed from fatigue. What a great Saturday in the sun! We were mostly sad not to have more time to play with the fam!

Failure, Imagination, and Harry Potter

2011-09-02T08:00:00.001-07:00

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling's 2008 Harvard Commencement address | Harvard Magazine

"We do not need magic to transform our world. We carry all the power we need inside ourselves already." - J.K. Rowling @ Harvard.

My mother often sends me links to articles and videos. This one must have come from her, and of course I opened the link just after viewing the last of the movie series in the theater. J.K. Rowling would be happy to know that her words were remembered at least one more time by myself. Her commencement speech, given in 2008, was added to my inspiration list.

Cinna-What?

2011-08-31T08:00:00.000-07:00

The best darn cinnamon rolls you could ever consume is what! My good friend Melissa made these rolls like she owned a bakery when we were at BYU-Idaho. They were so delicious and she always had plenty to share.

When I saw on the mutual activity calendar at church that I was in charge of teaching a cinnamon roll class, I was a bit nervous. I don't own a cinnamon roll recipe myself. I don't think I'd even ever made them from scratch! This was an event that had been scheduled by the woman who had my calling just before me. Luckily I knew who to turn to and decided I would still put on the activity.

You wouldn't BELIEVE how easy this recipe is! I expected it to take twice the amount of time, especially for the dough to rise. Nope! Simple. To boot, it made two large pans of large yummy cinnamon rolls! No wonder Mel always had extra. My plan was to test out the recipe before the activity to make sure I could teach it to teenagers. We had SO many rolls from my test run that Scott and I couldn't eat them all! We shared them with all the LDS families in Lebanon that we knew in med school! All of them! The other thing I love about this recipe is it seems very food storage friendly. It uses yeast, regular flour, powdered milk, and potatoe flakes. I would venture a guess that the powdered butter and powdered eggs that come in food storage packets would work well in this recipe too.

I highly recommend you visit Melissa's site for the recipe. She posted it per my request! Thanks, Mel!!

Cutest Garden in the Complex

2011-08-29T08:00:00.001-07:00

I warned you that I was trying to have a green thumb this summer. My garden plot has been slowly growing, with new vegetables and taller sprouts. When my parents were in town for Scott's white coat ceremony they helped me build a trellis with inexpensive garage sale finds like fishing line, rebar, and plastic picture frames. My garden is seriously the cutest plot in Cascade Ridge, though surely not the most productive. Still figuring out where plants like to be for optimal light and water. I like to visit my plot and check on my plants. Maybe some day I'll sing to them and see if that helps!

My basil has grown so well that there really isn't any work involved except harvesting it regularly.

I made my own pesto a few weeks ago, and now it seems that I can't cut the basil fast enough. I could be whipping up pesto every other day, which is convenient because pesto is Scott's new favorite thing. In fact, he calls basil, pesto. "Oh, you're going to go cut the pesto." Yeah, hon. Just for you. Scott puts pesto on everything like my dad used to put salsa on every meal!

My newest green thumb quandary: how do you keep seeds when the season's over?

Project “Find Yourself”

2011-08-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

Have you ever found yourself watching mindless television programs that seem to be a complete waste of time, but you can’t pull yourself away. I try to avoid Toddlers + Tiaras for that very reason. Throughout the episode, I can’t help but gawk at the monstrously expensive glam gowns, coaching time, and attitudes of these babies. I shake my head throughout the entire episode at their tantrums and their obliging mothers, but can’t seem to get myself to push the power button until the credits roll. Thus I attempt to avoid shows like T+T that add no value to my life.

Most television today has only one purpose - entertainment. The Office is one of the shows I watch that probably fits into this category. Lately, I’ve had only a couple hours per week of discretionary time on my hands. So in order to justify watching an hour of television, not only do I use the DVR to eliminate commercials, but in some cases I make that time into a personal counseling session.

Take, for example, The Glee Project, which I started watching mid- summer. As I have admitted before, I am a Glee viewer and will probably continue to be until my discomfort with show themes becomes greater than the value of their music. Only a business major would resort to television economics! Anyway, this summer, when I was job searching, I set up the DVR to program new episodes of SYTYCD (Yay, Melanie), Drop Dead Diva, Lark Rise to Candleford, and Glee. Or so I thought… What actually began recording was The Glee Project on Oxygen.

The Glee Project is a reality contest where a group of teens sing and dance in competition for a guest role on the next season of Glee. Like Glee, the Project is pretty mindless entertainment with good singing and controversial issues interspersed. I watched a few episodes. Contestants were eliminated one by one, chosen to leave the competition by the director Ryan Murphy after he analyzed whether he could write for their voice/personality/body type/religion/sexual orientation. (Side note: if you don’t like Glee, there is a direct correlation to your potential dislike of Ryan Murphy.) As Mr. Murphy analyzed each singer, he would encourage them to figure out who they really were and then show him more of that person. Often I noticed that the singers, who obviously REALLY wanted to be on Glee and further their careers in doing so, would aim to please and readily morph into what/who they thought the directors wanted them to be.

Then Episode 7 happened. Contestant Cameron Mitchell is known for his song writing and guitar playing abilities. He rocks a suspenders/round glasses/bed head nerd look and sings like Chris Martin or an alternative Jamie Collum. In episode seven, Cameron was selected to be in the bottom three and perform for Mr. Murphy. He had struggled through the weeks in trying to be a competitive force to reckon with while still being true to himself and his religious beliefs. Cameron had chosen not to take some of the director’s notes, and because of the identity v. Glee struggle you could tell that he was less invested in his acting. By the end of his last chance performance for Mr. Murphy, Cameron admitted tearfully that Glee probably wasn’t for him. I hope I was not the only one who clapped for joy with Cameron’s discovery! He’s a born musician and will have a very successful career, but not with Glee. That just wasn’t a cohesive relationship! Mr. Murphy was disappointed with Cameron's loss because he felt like Cameron's personality and beliefs were not represented on the show and needed to be written. I have the greatest respect for Cameron’s decision.

So I thought: if I stood in front of Ryan Murphy and he asked me what made me unique, what would I say? A long internal struggle ensued, where I debated whether or not I would stand out in a crowd of talented people. Have I made a compelling story of my life? Do I live boldly and courageously? I'll spare you the whole conversation...

Conclusion: There are many things about me that make my story different and, dare I say, fascinating. Because of how I present myself I don't think I stand out in a crowd, nor do I feel as courageous and bold as I wish I were, especially surrounding my spirituality. Which is probably why Cameron's choice and self-awareness was so compelling. I think there's something so attractive about being confident in who you are, who you've become. It's definitely a value I'd like to develop, so I'm now collecting inspirational role models. Any suggestions?

Business Beaver

2011-08-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

When I first began at the foundation, I realized that they offered a particularly fantastic tuition benefit. I investigated and found that the foundation would pay most of the tuition and fees for seven credits each semester for full-time employees taking OSU classes. I have been pretty satisfied with my MBA experience with UMass, but I figured it didn't hurt to check out OSU and see if it was logistically feasible for me to transfer.

Oregon State University has a pretty new MBA program, and while they don't currently offer classes online they do offer on campus courses in the morning and in the evening. Actually, only one core class is offered each day, once in the moring and once again in the evening. Not a lot of flexibility in scheduling, but students have the option to fast track through the program in 9 months. The program and faculty pride themselves on their integrated business projects, which gives student the opportunity to work on real entrepreneurial initiatives in order to finish their degree at OSU. To prepare for this capstone type experience, MBA students take a series of foundational management classes that were fairly similar to those I was planning to take through UMass -Amherst.

I had chosen UMass' program a year ago when I applied because it is online, allowing me to finish wherever med school took our family, and it is a good fit for my career ambitions, providing a broad overview of management skills with no particular emphasis. That meant I could apply the skills to whatever non-profit organization I choose to join in the future. The program at UMass also allowed great flexibility in class scheduling and completing my degree. All core classes were offered each semester, classwork could be finished at any point throughout the week (though some professors were more lineant with their assignment due dates than others), and there was no limit to how long you stayed in the program. I had planned to finish my degree by December 2012. I had taken four classes (12 credits) through the UMass online MBA program, and when I checked with OSU advisors most if not all of those credits would transfer and be applied to their program.

I applied to OSU (didn't hurt to try) and was accepted! So I had a choice to make, and it was quite the conundrum for a couple weeks. To be an OSU Beaver, or not to be? In the end, I couldn't turn down the amazing benefit of taking classes in an on-campus environment and, of course, there was the financial benefit! I also think taking classes on campus will help to keep me focused on finishing while my husband is busy studying medicine. Starting in September, I am a Business Beaver! I will finish the program in two years (fingers-crossed and stars aligned) taking two classes in the evening per term. Wish me luck!

Original Mo's - Newport

2011-08-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

We visited the Original Mo's restaurant on the boardwalk in Newport at the beginning of August. It was a beautiful day and windows (read: garage doors) were open to let in the fresh air. We actually read in the menu that Mo's put in garage doors after a woman accidentally put her car in drive instead of reverse, and ended up in the restaurant front after a particularly filling meal. As the story goes, the owner put her arm around the woman and said, Don't worry! We'll just put in a garage door here so you can drive in whenever you want.
The Nelson's had recommended we visit Mo's on our trip to Newport, as they had visited before and had enjoyed every bite. Mo's is a family owned restaurant, a classic beach side fish and cowder joint. The restaurant is a nice, clean place and is pretty popular. We had to wait ten minutes before we were seated, but we arrived before the dinner rush. We were seated at the front of the restaurant, right under the garage door opening. So we got to watch the crowds enjoying their touristy walk and waiting for their turn at a table.

It was a perfect addition to our trip to the boardwalk! Scott and I shared (yes, we share almost everything) the fish and chips, which came with a cup of Mo's famous chowder.

I loved that the chowder came with a great, big slice of homemade bread! Delicious!

The fish (Alaskan Cod) was pretty good, though I'm still searching for a tarter sauce as good as my own.
The best treat of all, though, was Mo's marionberry cobbler topped with three scoops of vanilla ice cream! Oh, I am salivating just thinking of it. Of course, it was gone before I had a chance to even think about a picture.
My best advice - Share a meal at Mo's so you can heartily enjoy their homemade desserts!

Newport with New Friends

2011-08-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

Our first Saturday after orientation week for Scott, The Brinkerhoff's invited a group of LDS med student families to the beach! We knew this would be a great opportunitity to meet the people we are spending the next four years with, as well as enjoy Newport in the summer sun.

We met everyone in Newport and decided to head to Agate Beach, which is about a mile north from the beach point Scott and I visited on our first trip to Newport this summer. I HIGHLY recommend Agate Beach! Our first trip to Newport was cold and windy and we stopped at the first beach off of Hwy 20. Agate Beach had fewer crowds, warm water (surprisingly), very little wind, and beautiful, fine sand. There's a great parking spot by Roby's Furniture Store on North Coast Highway (101), right infront of Lucky Gap Trail that leads down to the beach.

For some reason, even though we were going to the beach, we had this aversion to sand. Didn't really want to get sand in our shoes or step in water if we weren't planning on it. We also had completely forgotten to bring a towel or beach blanket. Obviously, we don't go to the beach enough!

Meet the Nelsons! We picked up Morgan and Chase in Albany and they had to suffer through our stories, music choices, and Scott's cell phone calls on the ride to and from Newport. They came to Western University COMP-NW from Lehi, Utah.

Then of course, you may already know the Brinkerhoffs. Jarden, Maren, Eva, and Elijah have been buddies of mine since we first moved to Oregon in May. They hail from the Portland area, and actually Jared was a chiropractor before deciding to apply for med school.

We were also joined by Burrs. Devin and Megan also moved to Oregon from Utah for med school. They brough with them 5 month old S.J... our future hero!

Was it not a gorgeous day to be at the beach! I LOVED it! I loved the sand between my toes and how warm it was to sit on. I loved the smell of the ocean. Conveniently, the sun was shining on our stretch of the beach! I kept saying, "I am in love with this beach right now." Then we decided to go to a boardwalk storefront that we've never visited before, and I switched my phrase to, "I am in love with Newport right now!" It was a seriously great summer day to be at the beach!

Down at the boardwalk, we saw a bunch of sea lions. I mostly assume that they were sea lions because of their "bark." But I think seals are actually the more common pinniped in Newport.

It was a fantastic last day of freedom for Scott and I! Scott started classes August 8 and we've been having discussions since then about prioritzing our time, daily chores to make our home run more smoothly, and how we are going to fit in more time to see and talk with each other. Our schedules are busy! Scott is busy studying and doing some pre-class study for more difficult lessons in the future. He also fits in basketball and friend time. I have Young Women's activities and planning, couponing, errands, work + commute, and school. But I'll talk more about that later! For now we'll just enjoy the awesome weekend we had!

Et Cetera Thrift Shop - Lebanon

2011-08-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

Main Street in downtown Lebanon, Oregon is one of the best places to shop thrifty. There's one section of Main that I'm particularly fond of and frequent once a week (or at least I did while Scott was away). Between Grant St and Maple St there are three stores that sell used goods: Et Cetera Shop (sponsored by the Mennonite Central Committee), Teen Challenege Thrift Store, and Buyers Market. Et Cetera is by far my favorite.

While it has fewer donated goods, merchandise is always good quality and resonably priced. The women volunteering in the store are so sweet and helpful. I've also been able to find most of what I need there for my kitchen, garden, or project. I've found citrus juicers, butter boats, crocks, felt, containers, cake pans, and flower pots all at Et Cetera for cents!

If you're looking for used furniture, however,Teen Challenge or Buyers Market are the places to go. I think maybe Et Cetera avoids furniture on purpose because they have a smaller shop (and maybe for quality reasons as well?).

Et Cetera has even less space than the other stores as half the shop is devoted to goods made in third-world countries. These are brand new decorating pieces that are beautiful, but priced to give back to those who crafted them.

Thought I would share this cute small town shop with you!

From Thug to Power Broker

2011-08-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

You know you’re getting older when you have the NPR news theme song memorized.

I, like my siblings, have returned to our roots of National Public Radio. I imagine this migration from “normal” radio broadcasting is like making your mom’s meatloaf recipe for dinner. In my mom’s case it would be Portuguese Stew, but the idea’s the same – comfort food. NPR is comfort radio. It brings back great childhood memories of riding in Mr. Jingles (our blue Toyota pick-up) with my dad to early morning jazz band practice or seminary. Or sitting idle on a Saturday morning waiting for Car Talk with Click and Clack to be over before going to the Coast Guard galley for breakfast.

When I knew that my commute to work from Lebanon to Corvallis was going to take about 25 minutes, I decided I wanted to use my time wisely. I didn’t want to listen to music and commercials, or rotate my six CD changer for the umpteenth thousand time. I considered books on tape, but Scott and I tried that once on our trip to Colorado and that failed miserably!

That’s when I rediscovered NPR, specifically OPB, Oregon Public Broadcasting. I leave it on almost permanently in my car now. I leave Lebanon in the early morning and listen to the local and national news updates, a fascinating segment maybe about Mensa or Oregon’s food desert, and comedic chimes from Steve Inskeep. I roll into work about the time I hear “Its 8:01… The news is next.” Not only does their programming schedule make me feel energized and enlightened, but I often find myself waiting in the car for the last 40 seconds of airtime to finish out a story.

One night I was enthralled by the most interesting story that I had interrupted in the middle (the title of this post). In the series, State of the Re:Union, a former drug addict was being interview for his grass roots development efforts in Miami. After going to prison three times for drug trafficking, he decided to take his “business skills“in a direction that would keep him out. He started working in a small grocery store owned by his mother/sister and in less than a year took the store to new levels of production. His neighbors started asking for advice and he began informal best practice forums on Sundays for community merchants. Leroy Jones is now the creator and Executive Director of NANA, a non-profit organization to improve economic development of Miami. You can download the full story, here.

Isn’t that inspiring?

To say the least, I’m pretty pleased with how I spend my commuting hours… even if it does mean I’m getting older.

Grandpa's Fresh Market - Albany

2011-08-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

In June, while Scott was away, I had lunch with a lovely Relief Society sister at Ixtapa. She was telling me about all the things I needed to check out in the area, including the farmers market... "Well, and then of course there's Grandpa's," she said.

'Your grandpa?" I asked. No! A fruit stand between Lebanon and Albany on Highway 226 called Grandpa's Fresh Market. She told me how they had wonderful home grown produce, and some u-pick deals. They always keep their website updated with what's coming fresh from the garden. She also mentioned that there are other orchards and berry farms in that area, with raspberries in July and peaches in the latter part of the summer! That was enough of a teaser to get me driving over to investigate. At the time I was still interviewing for jobs and needed a distraction. So after lunch I set out to find Grandpa's.

It wasn't difficult to find. I took the first fork in the road from Lebanon is Hwy 226 going towards Crabtree, and there's a big sign at the fork for Grandpa's Fresh Market advertising what fruit is in season. This was actually around the time I had gone strawberry picking. Remember that awesome deal I got on strawberries? Well Grandpa's had u-pick strawberries for 10 cents/lb less than what I had found, and their strawberries were also great quality. I decided then that Scott and I would need to return to Grandpa's come blueberry season.

Fastforward to white coat ceremony reception - we ate THE MOST glorious blueberries I have EVER tasted!!! I cannot put enough excalamtion points on that sentence. I could have eaten the whole bowl like candy. I suspect that they were "Legacy" blueberries, maybe from this organic farm in Lebanon. I only suspect that because of the wording on their website... I didn't actually ask Western or their reception caterer, so don't take my word on that. In any case, it started the craving for blueberries, and I knew it was time for a trip down Hwy 226. So Scott and I invited his new med school friend Chase and his wife to FHE at Grandpa's where we planned to get our hands and lips as purple as possible.

Mmm... the trip was a success to say the least! Grandpa's had SO many blueberries, and u-pick was only $1.25/lb! Scott's already said that we need to go back for more, even though while we were there he couldn't imagine how we could use a whole bucket full.

Once we got home and we had blueberry pancakes, blueberries in cereal, talks of blueberry muffins on the weekends, not to mention just popping a handful of blueberries... our bucket was depleted before we knew it! We will definitely be finding ourselves some more berries quick and very likely returning to Grandpa's to do it!

Friends in the Park

2011-08-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago I went with some friends to the City of Lebanon's Concert in the Park series. Every Tuesday this summer they have performers give us a taste of their work at a local park gazebo .

The city seems to get pretty into it. The park was full of camping chairs and blankets for families to sit on. Around the park were local food carts, farmer booths, and crafters.

The performer happened to be an old acquaintance, Hailey Loren. I was telling my friends that Hailey and I grew up together in Sitka, Alaska. I am a witness of her first solo performance at the Sitka Fine Arts Camp where she received a standing ovation from all. My friends asked me if I was close enough to know any embarrassing childhood moments. I'm afraid we weren't THAT close, but I can still claim some friendship. I wish I could say I knew her better. She is a fantastic artist!

The Brinkerhoffs, including adorable little ones Eva and Elijah

While I know her more as my famous Sitkan buddy, Halie was introduced as the "winner of the John Lennon Songwriting contest, "Best Vocal Jazz Album" award winner at the 2009 Just Plain Folks Music Awards, and as having just returned from a tour to Hawaii, Japan, and Italy. She will be back performing in Lebanon on September 9 as part of the Roots and Rhythms festival in town. You can listen to a rather windy rendition of one of her concert songs on my vimeo.

A True Campus

2011-08-08T08:00:00.001-07:00

Source

I've heard that Oregon State University can be quite magical in the fall. A surge of excited incoming students, football season, and leaves changing to match OSU orange may have something to do with that rumor. I recently took a tour of campus and discovered that OSU has the perfect college campus layout. Old brick buildings, classic architecture, gargantuan quads with plenty of grass space for several rounds of hacky sack.

When I walk through the halls of OSU I am reminded of combo sessions at The Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival at the University of Idaho. Walking around the trees and lawns brought back memories of a trip out east with my Dad and walking tour of Dartmouth.

Part of the perfect atmosphere is the prevalence of orange, from shades of brick to walker apparel. This school definitely wears it's pride! Students, alumni, visitors, and camp attendees alike were all wearing OSU's orange and black. Seeing OSU decorations out of context would make you think that Corvallis' favorite holiday was Halloween. In fact, I myself have mistaken a few ribbon ornaments for forgotten Halloween decorations and was tempted to throw them in the storage.

Of course, in the summer this euphoric collegial feeling is slightly interrupted by screaming (mostly with joy) children participating in summer camps. Though I'm sure OSU's campus is big enough for all of us to enjoy!

Pioneer Picnic

2011-08-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

Pioneer Day is celebrated in Utah on July 24, to commemorate the day that the pioneers first settled in the Salt Lake Valley. Of course, here in Oregon we don't have that official holiday, but there is definitely a history of pioneers. I almost feel like I have some share in that history by playing the old school mac version of Oregon Trails at Verstovia Elementary... No... Probably not.

The Lebanon Oregon Stake of my church celebrated the pioneer treks by holding a picnic at the stake center in Albany. Note to all LDS out-of-staters: Lebanon used to be the center of the stake, which is why Lebanon still has place in the stake name and our local ward chapel has a rather large basketball court and baptismal font. However, the stake center is located in Albany on Grand Prarie road. Don't try going to "the old stake center" off 28th, like I did. Look for this gogeous building above with massive field and pavillion area.

Even though Scott wasn't home yet for the event, I decided I should probably attend. I was even more motivated to go because they said they would be holding a bake off and I was determined to win a prize. Little did I know that the "prizes" were nominal awards... like The Best Carrot Cake award, that was rewarded to... the ONLY carrot cake entered into the contest.

Here's my entry into the bake off:

It didn't turn out as purty as I wanted it to, but I submitted nonetheless and won "The Gooiest" award. I also felt some pride in the fact that the cake was completely devoured by the time I gathered my cake dome to drive home! I used this recipe, that we first tasted at my friend Jandee's home!

A few youth from the stake played country music to entertain us, including the oldest Phillip's boy who helped us move into Lebanon when we arrived in May. They also had relay races scheduled for the kids, croquet, a water pump play area, and snow cones and cotton candy.

Have I mentioned that I have an unhealthy obsession with cotton candy? I think it's the fact that it is fair food, which always brings back positive summer memories. You could enjoy summer all year round, it seems, just by grabbing dollar section cotton candy at Target. I mean, look how radiant that fluff of sugar looks in the sun! How could you possibly say no to that?

We really love our ward! They have been so welcoming to all the med school families moving in, but I felt especially for us. Being without Scott the first seven weeks, I had more spontaneous visits and phone calls than I've had from church members maybe in my lifetime. Everyone was always asking me if I needed anything and making sure I was taken care of and safe. Not to mention the fun activities planned. What a great start to building our home in Lebanon!

Bailing Season

2011-08-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

Oh the dog days of summer! These days, as I've been driving through the Willamette Valley, this is the beauty around me!

'Tis time to cut down the hay and bail it up. Makes you want to go out and jump in those heaps... or just breathe real deep.

White Coat Ceremony

2011-08-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

Saturday was the convocation and inaugural white coat ceremony at Western University's COMP-Northwest in Lebanon, Oregon. The school year is officially in session now for the Class of 2015. The ceremony was slotted for over three hours of speaking, so we anticipated that we might need a crossword or newspaper to entertain us. Curtis began by attempting to identify all the doctors in the audience, including even naming a few (Finklestein, Curt?). Once the ceremony began though, we were happily surprised by the quality of the event and forgot all other intentions but listening!

The convocation began with a BEAUTIFULLY stirring rendition of our national anthem by a local trio of highway patrolmen (?). Western University also put together a short video to explain the origins of osteopathic medicine and it's history in Oregon. Though, the video reminded me a bit of an Indian Jones ride at Disneyland (Western U must have wanted to pump up the energy with their soundtrack), the history of osteopathic medicine in Oregon was really enlightening.

This new campus in Lebanon, Oregon is now the second medical school ever in the state of Oregon and the first to be built in over a century. So it's kind of a big deal! We heard from John Ktzhaber, MD and Governor of the State of Oregon. Amazing speaker and very genuine.We also heard from Alan Bates, Senator of the State of Oregon, the Chairman of the Board of Western University of Health Sciences, the most recent president of the American Osteopahtic Association, and the new Executive Associate Dean, Dr. Paula Crone, DO (those commas separate a group of speakers, if that's unclear).

After all the speakers, each of the 107 students in the charter class of COMP-NW received their white coats are recited the pledge of commitment.

Scott was in one of the last groups to have the white coat placed on them and is standing next to a few of his greatest friends in the program so far. He then received a black, classic doctors bag purchased for all students by the City of Lebanon. An amazing welcome gift to this charter class!

Congrats, Scott, on all the great work you've already put in to get to this moment! It may seem like a missionary farewell celebrating work not yet done, but for Oregon and for our family this truly was a moment to celebrate. Topping off the weekend, Scott and I had to give talks in our ward sacrament meeting. A busy few days, for sure! Thanks to Martie and Curt and my parents who drove up to Lebanon for the ceremony! More pictures are posted on my Facebook, if you're curious.

Preparing for Opening Ceremonies

2011-07-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

There has been quite a bit of construction going on at the Western University campus here in Lebanon. In fact it seems like something new is happening in that field every day. In one corner of campus, a gym/cardiac rehab center is being constructed. A few weeks ago the field of wild flowers was mowed down to the height of the green at a golf course. And just recently, large yellow Caterpillar contraptions have been seen spreading gravel in multiple areas of Western's massive campus plot.

The foundation was set for this -

Some local towns folk, who were unaware that Saturday is the open ceremony for Western University in Lebanon, thought the circus was coming to town. Some may still argue that it is... On Saturday the Class of 2015, where students will receive their white lab coats. Which means... SCOTT IS HOME! They should give me an award at this ceremony for surviving seven weeks as a med school widow!

Work Picnic

2011-07-27T11:56:00.000-07:00

I started work at the OSU Foundation at the perfect time. The fiscal year (read: mad rush) just ended and most staff are taking a breather or vacation (almost the same thing). So it was the perfect time for me to join and gather my bearings before school beings and really, before football season begins. You wouldn’t believe how much fundraising is done around football! You may have already known that, and it’s really quite logical considering as so many alumni really center their school pride in the sport. I am not that type of alumni, but that is a result of my alma mater and my sports passion.

In any case, the last month has been a series of training sessions and test runs. I am sure that two months from now I will have a grand report for you on my progress

Last week we had a company picnic for families. Luckily for me even though I was husbandless, there were others in my same boat (thought most of their significant others were just at work). There were lots of kids activities like pinatas, water play, and crafts. The event was catered by Pig Out BBQ, which was quite tasty. There was also a mini concessions stand with snow cones and cotton candy (of which I have become a connoisseur). Then of course there was chatting, raffle prizes and BINGO. Can't remember the last time I played bingo?

I was pretty excited! Even though I eventually lost, I still consider it a successful work picnic.

Linn Lanes - Lebanon

2011-07-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

A new calling was extended to me at church! Drum roll, please ... I am the new 2nd counselor in Young Womens! There are only a few young women in my ward, but I am pretty excited to join them. It will be my first time serving with the young women since I was in Young Womens as a teenager. A lot has changed over the last 10 years.
Then again, not that much! My first activity was a combined activity with the young men of the ward and we went bowling at Lebanon's premier (and only) bowling alley, Linn Lanes. I have to say that being a teenager hasn't changed much... in one corner girls are flirting and hoping that that special guy will attend mutual. The deacons are trying to make jokes to impress the older young men and the older young men are trying to look cool to impress the young women. Oh the wisdom that comes in only 10 years, younglings!

Linn Lanes is your typical small town bowling alley, though slightly larger scale than Sitka's 'Lane 7.' Their summer hours are 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM on weekdays and open until 1:00 AM on weekends. They have scheduled "Ballistic Bowling" hours with black and strobe lights, as well as a DJ. According to their concessions sign, they have the best burgers in town. But I didn't try those out on my visit for two reasons: One, the kitchen looked intimidating, to put it nicely... and two, I was there to chaperone the youth.

As we left there was a sign that said, "Top 10 Reasons to Go Bowling." Number one was, "Nothing sounds better than a strike," which made me think that the advertisement must have been written by a professional bowler. Gotta love a sport, where you can eat while you play it! Oh, and there will be many other chances to try their tasty burgers. I did, after all, buy a Groupon-type pass for Linn Lanes when the offer came around with the local newspaper. Scott is a big fan of bowling, and as Linn Lanes is the only bowling alley (read: entertainment option) in a near radius, there is a VERY good chance you'll see us there again!

All Aboard!

2011-07-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

Hidden in the middle of Lebanon is the old railway station. I discovered it one day after visiting a quasi furniture store. They don't sell hunchback furniture, they just aren't exactly an 8-5 establishment.

Anyway, the City of Lebanon has converted this old building into an office of sorts. I've found a couple similar railway stops throughout the area, which brings to mind all sorts of Avonlea-type scenes. I sat outside the station for awhile hoping I might see a train and wave enthusiastically as it went by.

I'm glad that Lebanon has had the good sense to preserve these historic buildings and even make use of them. The trains still go through the area, though they are mostly for cargo transportation now.

Frog and Toad

2011-07-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

Our apartment complex has garden plots for tenant use and I decided to put together a winter garden. While I'm waiting for seedlings to start, I decided to thin out some of the basil on my porch that is THRIVING! I'll keep some on my porch and some in my new garden plot.

So I came home from work and grabbed my trowel and basil. But when I grabbed the pot of basil, I found that I had a friend comfortably lazing underneath.

I'm not sure HOW he got up to the second story balcony deck, but I figure he wanted to wait out the rain under my basil pot. He lay curled up like that for another five minutes before the light woke him up and he clumsily hopped off to find a new home. I wonder if he has relatives in the area...

Brewster's Barn

2011-07-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

I was going to add a city location to that title, but honestly I'm not sure what city jurisdiction Brewster's Barn lies in.

Brewster's Barn is an antique shop that also hosts estate sales. The shop is literally in an old white barn in the country and finding it is tricky, even though there are signs every where encouraging shoppers to visit. If you travel down Hwy 20 between Lebanon and Albany, and take 226 past Crabtree, you will find a small sign indicating that a right turn will take you to Brewster's Barn. Then there are a few welcoming flags to let you know when you've arrived at the short country road that leads you to the store itself.

It's a quaint shop, the kind where you have to step over their golden retriever basking in the summer sun in order to reach a pile of goodies awaiting your inspection. Some of the pieces at Brewster's Barn are actually antiques, some are labeled "old" (like canning jars?) and priced higher on account of their ancientness.

Which reminds me, did I tell you about the time Scott and I visited a garage sale in Lebanon and bought a tent? I know perfectly well that I haven't announced that on the internet, but I will tell you that there we were invited by a boy of 7 to purchase his old toy dump truck. He had sacrificed the truck in the prospect of making some money, but he hadn't priced it.

"Do you have a kid? Or know a kid?" He asked. I replied that we had nefews, but no kids of our own yet. "Oh, well I'm selling that truck over there. It's $10... no $20. See, the price is a little higher, because it's old!" I laughed, but definitely didn't buy the truck.

Anyway, cute shop... Brewster's Barn. Bound to be some treasures in there, though the main treasure for me that day was the community-wide garage sale happening in Crabtree down the street. I bought a beautiful over-stuffed forest green chair for $15! Uh, yeah! Perfect condition, just needed a light cleaning. It's going in the office/guest room, which someday I will document.

Taco Bus, Taco Bus

2011-07-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, when I'm feeling particularly silly I will add new verses to this song. The Taco Bus in my town deserved a verse as I waited for my two (no adequate words to describe) awesome chicken tacos to be ready.

Taco Bus, Taco Bus
does whatever a taco bus wants
In the summer, I find them here
at the pawn shop

Yeah, they are definitely park outside of, and mooching electricity from, a pawn shop across the street from WalMart in Lebanon. But I have no cares for whence their utilities are found, only that their food meets my taco bus expectations. Don't worry, I waited a couple days after ingestion before I finalized the decision that the taco bus was indeed worthy of blog attention.

I guess it's not really a bus though... Taco RV? Taco Truck?

Emmons Meat Market - Corvallis

2011-07-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

Emmons Meat Market is located on Highway 34 in Corvallis, so it is something I see and now crave every day on my drive to work. I LOVE local butchers. Having butcher shops, and cheese stores, and bakeries reminds me so much of France where everything is made with quality local ingredients, daily. Emmons is no exception, though their meat really doesn't bring European thoughts to mind as much as Texan.

Emmons was first recommended to me by a colleague who frequents their lunch counter (open 10 am - 4 pm Mon-Sat). She told me that their pulled-pork sandwiches were divine. She didn't lie! You can choose between a half sandwich or whole, though half was not as small as I imagined. In fact it was what I had thought a whole sandwhich would be. They top the pulled pork sandwiches with coleslaw, and I even got to choose between sweet tangy bbq sauce and vinegar. I ate it up so fast, I didn't realize I hadn't photographed it until all that was left was my empty plate.

The lunch counter also serves exotic burgers... sounds odd. Teally they don't call them exotic, it just feels that way to me. Buffalo meat burgers or Elk meat burgers are options on their menu, as well as other sandwiches. And then of course, you have freezers of meet cuts and sausages to choose from and take home with you.

I literally salivate every time I drive by Emmons, thinking of the wonderful lunch my parents and I had there. In fact, I'm already planning my return with Scott because Fridays are Sirloin Tip sandwich day, and that does nothing but bring a smile to his face and tummy.

The Original Breakfast - Albany

2011-07-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

Business Card image, scanned July 2011

The Original Breakfast is something that I noticed on our first trip to Albany. Whether it is the bright purple exterior that caught my eye or sign that says it it World Famous for being featured on the Food Network, doesn't matter. Breakfast is one of my favorite meals, in fact I would dare say... favorite! There are so many facets to breakfast, savory, sweet, liquid. It's tastiness has no bounds! And thus visiting The Original Breakfast became a priority for me from the beginning of my Oregonian experience. When my dad suggested going out to eat on the 4th of July, I was ecstatic to know The Original Breakfast had holiday hours!

Breakfast was excellent! I am a pancake kind of girl, and the pancakes were scrumptious. They had crispy, crunchity edges and I've been racking my brain and wealth of Food Network knowledge to try and figure out how they achieved that. Butter, Paula Dean? And a less dense batter... that's my best guess anyway.

I wish I had taken a picture of their Red, White, and Blue Waffle special. It was there belgian waffle topped with a MOUND of fresh strawberries and blueberries over a cream cheese whipped topping. It created a stir in the restaurant and was definitely more than festive! They also had some impressive monster biscuits that should have been documented, but I didn't want to look like a stalker.

Instead I took this picture of my mother, who now may never pose for another picture by me. Sorry, Mom! Your presence and meal had to be documented.

I tried and tried to find the Food Network episode referred to on their sign (assuming Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives), but even this FN Restaurant Locator didn't have the reference. So we'll just have to take The Original Breakfast's word for it and trust that they are indeed "world famous." You can trust me, though, when I say that their breakfast choices were extensive and delicious. I recommend visiting The Original Breakfast if you are driving up I-5 (or visiting me) and have a hankerin' to break your fast.

Parents on the Move

2011-07-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

I mentioned before that my parents came down to visit me over the weekend. They have officially moved from Sitka, Alaska and are planning on relocating in “the lower 48.” Exactly where they will retire is yet to be determined. Temporarily, at least, they will be spending time in the LA area where grandchildren take precedence. It was so fun to have them in Lebanon, and luckily even though I just started my new job I didn’t have to work for the extent of their visit. Before their move, I kept a running list of things I wanted to do with them in town, and when my dad arrived he noted that most of them (if not all) involved food. Must I remind everyone that indeed my life revolves around my stomach? In any case, they obliged while requesting a couple stops of their own.

My parents wanted to see Corvallis, so I took them on Saturday to the grand Farmer’s Market. We ate fresh local raspberries and wandered through the massive crowds. As we neared the end of the row of booths, my parents realized that they have been in Corvallis before. A year ago while prospecting retirement locations in Central and Southern Oregon and they distinctly remembered the children’s water fountain in downtown Corvallis.

We shopped, and ate (I will post restaurant reviews next week), and ogled over this gorgeous farm home on the market in Lebanon. In fact, to see this home we had to drive just outside Lebanon through rolling hills and farm/ranch land. On the corner of the street where this farm home is located, is a quaint old school house. We couldn’t figure out why it was out in the middle of nowhere and guarded by a barbed wire fence, except that maybe it is pioneer era and they want to preserve it.

Can you see the painted story windows? We had to stop and photograph this historical building. In my mind’s eye I could see the children in their bonnets and suspenders walking through the fields to school.

We ended their stay by celebrating Independence Day with my sweet Relief Society president and her family. They have a country home outside of Lebanon with chickens and lambs. It was fun to celebrate the 4th with a BBQ and pyro-enthralled children.

We had a blast, and I get to see my again parents soon! At the end of this month they are coming back for Western University’s grand opening and Scott’s white coat ceremony. Exciting July!

My New Cube

2011-07-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to be working with the OSU Foundation. The foundation strives to emulate industry best practices, and by any standard they are very successful. So I am excited that I will be learning about non-profit management from the best... and I'm more than giddy to see my name on their cubicle and website directory.

Any ideas or links you may have for cubicle decorations would be appreciated.

I looked around at other cubicles in the building and found that adding color and wall hangings is essential to a peaceful feeling cube.

Luckily I have a head start, because the foundation family gave me beautiful orange flowers on day one with a gift card to buy Scott and I some Beavers gear. My closet has never held so much orange!

Happy Independence Day!

2011-07-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July, everyone! I'm lucky to spend the holiday with my parents, who are on the move from Alaska! How are you celebrating?

Overwatered

2011-07-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

Not only am I overwatered since leaving Sacramento, but I have managed to overwater my indoor orchid.

Note to self: excessive watering of an orchid plant may result in small mushroom looking fungi growing from the orchid pot.

As I have no knowledge of the care for orchids I took my plant to the nearest orchid genius. Harry, of Chula Orchids, happens to live just outside of town and he has 50 years of experience with these species. When I got to the location indicated on the website, there was no retail space. It was Harry's home. Somehow I was not very shy, though. Maybe it had something to do with the orchid mushrooms? He was gracious enough to tell me how to treat my plant. Two ounces of Clorox per gallon of water will help kill the fungus and wont hurt the plant, but he said my potting mixture was too soil-y. He told me to get some fir bark so that the orchid could breath better.

Orchids aren't used to receiving too much moisture, said Harry. Naturally, orchids grow by attaching their roots to a rainforest limb and are eventually covered with a layer of moss. The moss collects some moisture to give the plant sustenance, but the orchid doesn't need much. He told me that I need to let it dry out almost completely before watering it again. I thought I had... but apparently the visible area of dry space is deceiving. The orchid still retains moisture in the middle of the pot. Harry was impressed with my orchid's flower spike. So I must be doing something right.

As I traveled back downtown, I happened upon Central Bark. I walked into the office and asked if they sold small quantities of fir bark. They were more than willing to accommodate! I bought three small containers-worth of fir bark from their piles out front for $1! Way better for the plant than the Miracle Grow orchid mix I had bought at Home Depot, and less expensive too!

As I was leaving, the staff there asked if I had come all the way from Utah to buy their bark!

I had to laugh! That's probably a good hint that I need to think about changing my plates soon. The staff at Central Bark made sure to tell me to come back any time, especially since the drive isn't too far.

Temporarily Husbandless

2011-06-29T08:00:00.001-07:00

You may have noticed that my posts are a couple weeks behind. I've had so many stories to share about our first impressions of Lebanon and rather than bombard you with them all at once, I chose to stick to my usual posting schedule. Soon time will catch up with me, but it may take awhile because I am temporarily husbandless.

Yes, Scott has been and will continue to be away for a few weeks in Southern California. He is part of a chosen group of students participating in a condensed first year anatomy course at the main Western University campus in Pomona, called ISAC (Intensive Summer Anatomy Course). Western University offers a couple of summer courses that provide additional learning opportunities outside of the normal curriculum. We've been told that in the future these programs will be offered in Lebanon, but couldn't be this summer because the building is still in the final construction stages. These programs pretty much sealed the admission's deal for Scott. So far he's really enjoyed the program and the students he's met there.

You may be wondering why I didn't go with him. All along I've been planning to stay in Lebanon with the intent to job hunt. I'm glad I did! I've had the opportunity to apply and interview for professional jobs that may not have been available to me if I were still in Cali. But new (decent) jobs in Lebanon come about as often as sunny days here. So I've also spent a good deal of time in my apartment, bored senseless, creating new hobbies.

Exhibit A: Container Gardening

Remember that strawberry plant I bought at Newport's farmers market? Well I found this apple basket at a thrift store downtown that was screaming for a strawberry plant to be put in it.

I really haven't ever planted things before. When I was younger my dad and I would plant potatoes and snow peas in old tires in our backyard. Sitka doesn't exactly have gardening weather or terrain. Tire plots probably don't qualify as experience though since my dad and Miracle Grow did all the work. I just reaped the rewards. So what I'm saying is, I'm not going to post on my blog when these plants die.

I also bought an orchid on craigslist. I watched several YouTube videos instructing on when and how to repot and orchid. There wasn't any bloom when I purchased it, and it had dried roots coming out of every hole in the pot. I squelched boredom for an hour (or two counting videos and shopping) repotting this orchid. I will post another blog if this baby ever blooms!

My deck also features a lavender plant and SO much basil (thank you Target dollar section!). This occupied some time, but after awhile I decided I was spending too much time watching it grow and nit-picking. So I supplemented with another hobby.

Exhibit B: Cooking

Daily I'm checking couponing blogs for deals to snag. A few weeks ago I noticed that whole chickens were on sale for a great price. My sister-in-law Annie had made a fabulous roasted chicken in the crock pot when we visited for New Years, so I thought I would buy a couple small chickens and try it out. One for now as a tester, and another one for when Scott comes home. If he likes it I'll watch for more good chicken deals.

I used this recipe, and I think it came out GREAT! I may have overdone the salt and rosemary a tad, but that's why this was a tester.

I put the chicken in the crock pot in the morning, and by 5:00 pm it was falling off the bone. My home smelled like caramel! Not sure why, but it was giving me a nasty sweet tooth craving! I decided to add the red potatoes, but only added them about 90 minutes before I wanted to eat. Worked out perfect! I'll definitely do it again.

The only problem with my cooking hobby is that I'm the only one here to eat my creations. I also feel bad debriefing my culinary masterpieces with Scott during our nightly conversations. He's chosen to live off ramen while in ISAC, so I only share cooking successes if necessary.

Then there's blogging, blog READING, book reading, thrift store shopping, and Internet searching. This has pretty much been my life for the last little bit. But it was all worth the wait, because I got a job offer! In fact, I start work on Friday. Very exciting! I will update soon.

Good & Miner U-Pick Strawberries

2011-06-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

What to do on an overcast day in June? U-pick strawberries, of course. Good and Miner is one of the many local strawberry fields/stands in Lebanon. Oregonians are very proud of their superior strawberries. I was once told by a local that you couldn't find a better strawberry especially not in California, as Oregon strawberries are sweet and red to the center, never white in the middle. At $1 lb, u-pick, it doesn't get much better!

I came prepared with a vessel to transport my strawberries back home, and Good and Miner provided the buckets for picking. When I grabbed my bucket, the man at the stand made sure to tell me that I should be testing the crop as I went along! Bonus pounds of strawberries were definitely ingested onsite! Though I wasn't prepared with knee pads, I still managed to pick six pounds of strawberries (not included the ones I tasted) in less than an hour.

This particular strawberry field is huge, with many rows of unpicked strawberries. They also had a stand open if you'd rather just pick up a box of pre-picked specimens. But where's the fun in that? The Good and Miner stand is located just down the street from my apartment complex. It's just off of South Santiam Highway, and actually right on the other side of the cemetery.

A little too close in proximity to our deceased loved ones, but I'm willing to overlook that with how wonderful these strawberries tasted! I spent the afternoon removing the stems, then froze three pounds whole for future smoothies, two pounds sliced in a little sugar for future desserts, and I ate berries and cream for lunch! Mmm.

If you ever are visiting me in June/July (strawberry season) I promise to take you to get strawberries. Picking is a fantastic way to spend an afternoon, especially if you have some mini-me helpers to fill your bucket!

Lebanon Public Library

2011-06-24T07:00:00.001-07:00

Picture taken by me June 2011

Lebanon's Public Library quickly became one of Scott's favorite places in Lebanon. Western University has it's own reference shelf there with all sorts of biology and chemistry books. Our first few weeks here as Scott prepared for his intensive summer anatomy course, we visited the library DAILY! Scott would spend his time reading the reference books (and said it was "fun") and I would peruse the library's collection of novels, cookbooks, magazines, and videos. Conveniently the library is located two blocks from the medical school. So Scott can come study here any time he wants.

Can you tell that Scott was concerned at my taking pictures inside the library? It wasn't like I was talking loudly on my cell phone! I had to show you what a beautiful interior the library has to match it's serene exterior. The library building is rather new, though I forgot to check the plaque outside to see the dedication date. It has beautiful stained glass windows above, giving plenty of natural light. Then there is a lovely fireplace area with leather chairs for relaxing while you read magazines.

The library also has a space for it's many newspaper subscriptions and a bin where the library discards all the advertisements. You know what that means, ladies! I limit myself to one set of newspaper coupons, out of courtesy. I know that others are using this resource as well because when we've visited the library at the end of the week I noticed that all the other sets of coupons were gone.

I have a good feeling that the library will be a frequent destination of ours, especially when the weather takes a turn for the worse.

Weekly Curb Appeal

2011-06-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

I see this house weekly and I think it is the cutest home with serious curb appeal. I had to "drive by shoot," so sorry for the photo quality.

I heart:

-the rustic lincoln log fence
-street lamp
-front porch (I'm a sucker for porches, especially those that wrap around)
-massive mature tree to frame the corner
-how they put red flowers in front to add a pop of color
-the symmetrical lamps in the front windows

What's not to love?

Need A Bubble Break

2011-06-20T07:00:00.028-07:00

Tell me if this is old news to you... I saw this public health commercial for the first time when I rented The Secret Life of Bees from our public library. The commercial is a production of California's Tobacco Free campaign. The music is available on their site for free download.

I had to laugh at the thought of a stressed out employee needing to take a "bubble break" possibly in the sectioned off bubbling area. The world would definitely be a better place if there were tubes of bubbles instead of packs of cigarettes and there were spare bottles in the car to blow bubbles at happy, healthy toddlers.

102 Annual Strawberry Festival

2011-06-17T07:00:00.065-07:00

The first full weekend in June marks the Strawberry Festival in Lebanon, Oregon. You know a city is great when it has a festival to celebrate the strawberry! The festival features a carnival and country fair, running races, organization sales, and Lebanon takes it one step further by making the World's Largest Strawberry Shortcake and marching it through the town in a grand parade.

We enjoyed the two-hour parade with some of the faculty and future students of Western University's Northwest campus. The theme for this year's festival was Strawberries in Paradise. Most of the floats and race contestants were decked out in grass skirts, flowers, and other tropical accessories. Here are some of my favorite moments from the parade:

Pictured above are Western University faculty and future students participating in the one mile and 5K race that preceded the parade on Main Street.

A video clip of the World's Largest Strawberry Shortcake and the Dean of Western University from Pomona

Animal Shelter puppies!

We had the great pleasure of sitting next to the parade announcers and radio show and enjoying their commentary and local insight on all of the floats and participants. One of my favorite announcer moments during the parade was the introduction of this participant, "Look ya'll another tractor!" Welcome to Lebanon, blogland.

Cute dance group, over the rainbow theme (note the strawberry clouds)

THE American Hero, literally on top of his carpet cleaning van making muscle poses without the assistance of a holding bar! So awesome!

Horses and cowgirls

Apparently clowns Patches and Ginger and their doll car have never missed a Strawberry Festival parade as long as the announcers could remember.

Astoria clown playing an organ (instrument has a special clown name, which I completely forgot) on the back of the clown car

Mini strawberry car

And the greatest, most laughable moment in this parade... the float "Labor in Paradise" sponsored by a local hospital birth center. I'm pretty sure that woman in the hammock was not in labor nor actually pregnant, but she was convincing enough that I was concerned for her welfare!

The tradition is that the after the parade travels through Main Street, the world's largest shortcake is sliced up and served to locals until it has disappeared. We actually didn't get to enjoy this healthy tradition, since it required traveling through the parade route to the carnival grounds at the other side of town. But if the strawberry shortcake was anything like what I've tasted at Burgerville, then I can only imagine that it was scrumptious!

There you have it folks, our first Strawberry Festival in Lebanon, Oregon.

Downtown Corvallis

2011-06-15T07:00:00.021-07:00

There are farmer's markets in all the nearby cities, but Corvallis is home to the largest of them. It spans two or three (wasn't really counting) blocks of 1st Street downtown.

Downtown Corvallis (30 minutes away, and pictured above) looks very similar to downtown Albany (15 minutes away). A tree-lined street, where old brick buildings sport antique hanging signs or strategically placed sandwich boards out front. Another commonality between Albany and Corvallis is the plethora of quaint furniture stores and bike shops. Not to mention, the typical overcast sky.

Ixtapa in Lebanon

2011-06-13T07:00:00.001-07:00

While my mom was visiting and helping us move in, we decided we would venture to a local restaurant, where the parking lot was always packed - Ixtapa. After surveying friends and family, we found that Ixtapa is not a Spanish word for external coverings, but rather a city near Puerto Vallarta in Mexico. It also happens to be a chain of Mexican restaurants in Oregon and Washington.

We had heard excellent things about the Ixtapa in Lebanon! The manager at Chase bank told us he highly recommended the place. He also mentioned that the restaurant has been newly renovated and now has double the space it used to have. On the day that we visited Ixtapa, the crew was making finishing touches to the new landscaping outside.

Sorry, photos were taken on Scott's phone

We were greeted, sat down to order, and enjoyed our chips and salsa. The menu is full of great options, though the menu pictures are old and not the best quality to stir one's appetite. My first order of business was to try Ixtapa's guacamole. A guacamole test has to be the truest method for Mexican restaurant validity. The guacamole was PERFECT! The avocado had such a pure taste that wasn't drowned out with spices. It was creamy and fresh, almost a palate cleanser after a bite of spicy salsa.

Before my hair cut... have I mentioned how much I love my new haircut?

I'm pretty sure that picture was taken after I had already devoured half the guacamole. It was GoOod! Our orders arrived, and the portions were much larger than we expected! We each had a large plate of food, even Scott who had just ordered an ala carte burrito. It was most definitely the size of an entree, rather than a side... which would explain why Ixtapa didn't put the "side" burrito in the extras section of their menu. Mmm! All the food was delicious and completely fulfilled my Mexican food cravings. We were stuffed!

But to top it all off, our waiter stopped by with the check and a complimentary dessert!

We each enjoyed a fried cinnamon chip with fresh whipped cream drizzled in strawberry sauce. We managed to fit that in! Heavenly, really. The perfect end to a great meal, and just another reason for you to come visit us in Lebanon!

Fish and Chips

2011-06-10T07:00:00.056-07:00

Ever since moving to Oregon, Scott and I have seen signs and advertisements to visit the coast of Oregon, specifically Newport. Newport happens to be a straight shot west from Lebanon, and only an hour and half drive. So after seeing this display of Oregonian humor on television I decided that Scott and I should take a trip to Newport for Memorial Day weekend.

Strangely, the commercial gave me a strong craving for fish and chips. I felt secure knowing that the fish selection in Newport would be fresh, practically Alaskan. The halibut was probably on it's way up to Sitka anyway.

The drive to Newport was lovely! The scenery here astounds me! It doesn't feel like anything I've really seen before. The rainforest reminds me of Sitka. The farm lands remind me of Utah, and yet there are rolling hills and so many beautiful barns and cottages that seem out of place in any of the other states we lived.

Then we arrived at the coast and Scott was memorized by the waves. He kept commenting on how much bigger the waves appeared here than when we vacationed in Maui. The beach and lighthouse reminded me of Maine, but everyone walking along the beach wore winter coats. The end of May and it was still quite cold, more so because of the wind.

The woman who took our picture came from Eugene. She said, like Lebanon, Eugene had been raining that morning when their family left for the coast. The local saying though, is that if it's raining inland, Newport must have great weather. And it was beautifully sunny!

Of course we stopped off at a little fish and chips hut that was recommended on the internet. We had the halibut and chips. It was good, but I think Gaby Chandler's homemade recipe that I've stolen is better.

On our way home, I begged Scott to stop at the farmer's market! I can't avoid a good farmer's market, and Newport's did not disappoint. There were probably fifteen booths total, but the area was well represented. There were crepes, fresh squeezed lemonade, grilled pizza, a bakery, and lots of little plant and craft booths. As we were walking around I saw a couple selling strawberry plants for $1.50! A steal price! I didn't even think about it... just had Scott hand over the money.

I'm hoping to transplant into a strawberry pot someday so this new addition can build a family! Overall it was a very fun and successful trip to Newport!

A View from Behind

2011-06-08T07:00:00.002-07:00

This is a shot of the backside of our apartment complex from the highway into Lebanon. No, not the small white shed. We live in one of the larger two buildings behind that shed. There are six buildings total in our complex. Cascade Ridge Apartments are located on the western edge of Lebanon, just off South Santiam Highway that leads downtown. Kind of gives you an idea for our view from the sofa chaise, not to mention a snippet of what Lebanon looks like in the summer.

Our back porch view at sunset

Burgerville

2011-06-06T07:00:00.093-07:00

Where have you been all my life, Burgerville? My mom, Scott, and I chanced upon Burgerville on our first trip to Albany (about 15 minutes west of Lebanon). We were hungry, looking for a place to stop and eat lunch, and Burgerville happened to be the first fast food restaurant we saw. It was destiny!

First a little background: Burgerville is a chain of restaurants in Washington and Oregon, which would explain why I have never seen nor eaten here until moving to Lebanon. Burgerville's mission statement really says it all "Fresh - Local - Sustainable." All of Burgerville's packaging is recyclable/recycled materials. Ingredients are sourced locally and efforts are made for sustainable farming and eating practices. Burgerville is also very involved in local charities and environmental causes. With a mission like that, and good tasting food to boot, I began to wonder how many tree huggers have turned carnivore under Burgerville's roof.

I knew we had hit gold even from the parking lot, where there were signs for fresh Alaskan halibut (not farmed, they were specific), farm fresh salads, the season special featuring local strawberry desserts, and Tillamook Cheeseburgers. Even though I was already professing love based on the advertisements, I decided I would take a bite first before blogging about the place. I saw, I ate, I blogged. Fantastico! They even show your order's caloric intake on your receipt (mine reported minus 17 calories for requesting no ketchup on my Tillamook cheeseburger)!

I can't say enough good things about Burgerville! At our anniversary Burgerville lunch Scott said to me, "I don't know why you like this place so much. The burger isn't much better than Burger King." Blasphemous! He said it had to be mostly psychological due to my great love and bias towards Tillamook. He continued to think unreasonable thoughts, all the way up until he tried their fresh strawberry shake. Better than any he's had before, he said. He even liked it better than my fresh strawberry shortcake, topped with nonfat frozen yogurt.

Is your mouth watering yet? Though the meal will cost more than the typical fast food restaurant, Burgerville's spread is definitely worth the visit. It is my new restaurant of choice when eating out in Albany! And Burgerville is celebrating their 50th anniversary by having parties throughout the summer and fall at each of their restaurant locations. Albany's party is scheduled for October 22. Happy Birthday, Scott! We're going to Burgerville!!

Visiting Our Neighbor to the North

2011-06-03T07:00:00.002-07:00

Almost as soon as we were unpacked, we left Lebanon for a trip to Kennewick, WA to visit Scott's cousins. We had been preparing this trip since we went to Hawaii. Kennewick is so close, only three and a half hours from Portland. As it worked out, we were heading north anyways to drop off our Budget van and give my mom a ride to the Portland airport (no functioning airports near Lebanon) after her trip to help us get settled. We'd also been aching for a couples haircut and we knew that Kyle's beautiful wife Bridget was our go-to-girl! Bridget recently graduated from beauty school and is working at a salon in Kennewick.

When we arrived we found that Kyle and Bridget had an adventurous game plan for our weekend. We had the spa treatment from Bridget, with a round of eyebrow waxing for everyone and hair cuts for Scott and I.

Since Kyle knew about my debut as a high school theater critic, he arranged for us all to see a play at Hanford High in Richland. We ate multiple breakfasts out, including visiting Cavanaugh's Landing, Sharis, and the Food Network featured Spudnut shop.

And of course, we went four-wheeling and played games.

How do you like our new dos?

We had a blast! Thanks, Westovers, for planning such a fun vacation from our move! We were definitely in need of a break!

Photo Wednesday: Apartment

2011-06-01T07:00:00.002-07:00

I know this is what you all have been waiting for! Actually, I know that because I've received texts and phone calls saying, "Send pics of your new place!" So here's a little tour:

This is our living room. We recently purchased new furniture at Lebanon Hometown Furniture on clearance (highly recommend visiting the store). We LOVE our new couch and chair! Made in Oregon, even.

You may notice our walls are a little bare. We discovered after moving all our belongings out of boxes that there's a good chance we left a couple tubs of pictures at Scott's parents house. Oops! Sorry, Martie.

But back to the furniture... I'm particularly found of the sofa chaise, as it has a very tranquil view of the grassy field behind our apartment. Scott likes it because it has a great view of our TV, now installed with cable.

Here's a glance at our kitchen from the dinning room and entry way to the apartment. Amy, my sister in law, once told me that saying the word "cozy" was code for small. I wouldn't go so far as to say that my kitchen is cozy. More like quaint, and in need of a pantry.

As I mentioned before our apartment is L-shaped. So in the above picture you can kind of get an idea for how the dining room turns into the kitchen and kitchen turns into the living room. We're a fan!

Just in case you were wondering, we had zoom for breakfast that morning.

The dining room. We love the bar stools my mom got us at Walmart! (Yes, I can admit that I now shop at Walmart as it is one of my only options here in little Lebanon.) In fact, I think we use the bar stools more than our table and chairs. Definitely no eating allowed on our beautiful furniture, yet.

The guest bathroom, located as you first enter the apartment. We've rented a two bedroom, two bathroom apartment here at Cascade Ridge. It's lovely! Come visit us and you too will enjoy this space.

This is where you glimpse the other half of the apartment, the two bedrooms off the entry way. Unfortunately for you, they are not yet picture worthy.

And here is our shrine to all the family we miss! If you're not on my fridge, then Scott and I don't own a picture of you (or it's in those Sacramento bins). But if you email me, I'll send you my new address and you can be on our wall of fame!