Happy Halloween

Nat snagged a 35 pound pumpkin at the patch this year! That is our rule... you have to be able to carry it! My goodness, she is so grown up these days. She carved it last night... with a pi symbol ... pumpkin pi... get it? Such the math geek ;)

Today we slept in... another in-service day for the teachers. I will take Nat to the barn so she can have some quality time there. Tonight she has a party with school friends. Jim and I are on our own to hand out candy.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Jim's college friend Jason today. He lost his wife to a heart attack on Wednesday. They have three boys between the ages of 8 and 12. It is just so tragic and wrong. 

Please treasure each and every day and make the most of it. You just never know. I have made a vow to walk again as much as I can (Jim and I walked last night), and I am on a mission to get rid of clutter in my house and life. I just can't keep putting things off. 

Happy Halloween to you all!!

I Can See Clearly Now...

I finally went to the eye doctor and got new glasses!! Actually, I got 3 pairs of glasses!!

These are my new distance glasses. I should be able to see a lot better when I am driving now... especially at night.

I hate pics of myself but I do like the glasses. They are red! More of a cranberry color, I guess. The temples have a vine-like pattern. I'm also digging that they cover up the circles under my eyes! Mostly ;)

I also had new lenses put in my old reading glasses. Hopefully the new RX will help me to not get headaches when I read.

And the third pair are prescription sunglasses. I have never had polarized lenses before on sunglasses. They are amazing!!

The eye place I went to is so cool! It is in Sherwood and called Eye Impressions. It has an espresso bar too... called Eye Love Coffee! How cool is that??!! The gals in there are super-friendly and they have a great selection of frames.  I highly recommend them!

I just got home from the dentist. Exciting. Not. This afternoon we are hoping to sneak to the pumpkin patch... didn't get that done last weekend. Keeping my fingers crossed that Jim can sneak home a bit early and go with us.

Our beautiful fall weather seems to be coming to an end. Today is cold and foggy. The sun is supposed to come out later on this afternoon though. The rain is supposed to be here just in time to go trick-or-treating on Friday night :( Ugh.

Sunday Ramblings

Had too much wine with dinner... feels so good unwind after such a crazy but fabulous weekend! This could end up being a very interesting post ;)

Had the BEST time with my dear friend Shannon and her husband Alan on Friday and Saturday. She is just one of the most fun people ever, and I am so blessed to have her in my life. On Friday, we had lunch together and then went to the Rose Garden and Japanese Gardens (if you have never been in the fall it is a MUST see!!). They also came over for dinner on Friday night... great conversation and lots of laughs! So fun to revisit the good old days of college and sorority life!

On Saturday, we went to Portland's famous Saturday Market (so great for people watching and eclectic handmade crafts). Had a fab lunch at Besaw's Cafe in NW Portland, then headed out to the Columbia River Gorge. Once again, the most spectacular fall foliage you can imagine. Stunning! We had such a fun day, and it was so sad to say good-bye to them.

Today, we had lunch with some more old friends! Our dear neighbors from when we lived in Minnesota, the Myhre's, are staying with my parents for a week. They came up to the barn with us to meet Memo, then I drove them downtown Portland so they could see some sights. It was so wonderful to get caught up with them again. If only I could see their daughters, Lisa and Stacey, too! Definitely need to plan a trip to Minnesota again :) Bumming that I forgot my camera!!

I'm in denial that tomorrow is Monday. Hopefully we can find some clothes to wear... I need to do laundry desperately!! 

Thanks so much for your concern for Memo. She is doing great, and was back to her sassy self today :) Such the drama queen she is!!

I will leave you with a pic of my little ninja.... this is Nat's choice for her Halloween costume this year. She will be off with her friends this Halloween night, leaving us to hand out treats on our own. I will try to see if I have a pic of Jim with his Halloween costume that he picked up at Saturday Market. He will surely scare off the kiddos... lol.

Good day that ended badly... (w/update)

Nat had the day off of school for conferences. We started our day by sleeping in! Doesn't get much better than that. After lazing around this morning, we ran some errands and then headed to the barn. Nat and Memo had a lovely ride outside... gotta love the perfect fall day in the outdoor arena. 

While Nat was riding, I got the BEST phone call!! My dear friend Shannon from Chicago called saying that she was in Seattle! Just hearing her voice lifted me up. She and her husband had to make a quick business trip to Seattle. The cool part is that they are driving to Portland tonight!! We will get to see them tomorrow and Saturday before they fly off to vacation in California.

I have known Shannon since my freshman year of college. We spent hours together in the computer lab. So glad that I had her to suffer through Computers 101 together! I convinced her to rush my sorority and we have been friends ever since. A few years ago when I had to attend a convention in Chicago for work, we made it into a family vacation too. Jim, Nat and I had the best time touring Chicago with Shannon and Alan! Natalie saw fire flies for the first time ever at Shannon's house! She is one of those friends, even though you haven't seen her for years, it is like you saw her yesterday! I can't wait to see her again, and get caught up on her life.

Conferences went great. We were the only ones to sign up for a conference this evening so we had extra time with her home room teacher. He is a great guy and is genuinely concerned about Natalie's well-being at school. It was a very productive meeting.

And now for the bad part... as I was finishing up making a very late dinner, we got the dreaded evening call from the barn. Memo is acting all colicy tonight :( Jim and Nat scarfed down their meal and headed to the barn. Luckily, Nat does not have school tomorrow in case it is a late night. I hope she can come out of it okay without calling the vet. We definitely do NOT need another vet bill right now. Ugh. What a way to ruin a perfectly nice day. I'm on call to take the next shift if it gets too late. Ugh again.

Pretty please be okay, Memo. Pretty please.

Update:

Nat and Jim got home about 10:30. Not too late. They gave Memo some banamine and walked her around. Elise helped them too, and mixed up a really wet mash to feed her. By the time they left, she had been eating and pooping and didn't seem to be in pain. When she colics, she is in obvious pain and will not eat or poop. She also likes to lie down and you cannot hear any "gut sounds". It is really scary! The walking around usually gets things moving. The banamine gives pain relief (I believe). The mash is wet and oily to get things moving. If things don't improve with all of this, we usually have to call the vet. She has had to "tube" Memo a couple of times before... it involves a plastic tube running down her nostril to her digestive system with a water and mineral oil mixture to get her system moving. When that does not work, it can mean surgery. I hope we never have to do that!! We once had to haul her to OSU vet hospital but the trailer ride seemed to help her!! And there you have it, my version of a colic. I'm sure Miss Pony Club Natalie could give you a more accurate description ;)

Deja Vu

I'm sitting in the waiting room at the VW dealership. Wait a minute... wasn't I just here? Why, yes, I was. And I wrote them a darn big check too. Ugh.

Hopefully this will be an easy fix though. I have a headlight out. Jim tried to replace the bulb this weekend, but that was not the solution. Nothing is ever easy. Ever.

At least I have a comfy chair and free wifi. Whew. And it is postponing my trip to the allergist to get shots. That is a positive.

Our weekend was pony club mania. I survived the meeting in Eugene... but just barely. Had another meeting on Sunday but that went really well. It ran long though, so no time for our fall pics. Maybe next weekend... if the weather cooperates.

This morning is cold and foggy. I'd much rather be home with a hot cup of tea.

We are off to the barn after school for another lesson. Memo was in a MOOD yesterday! Haven't seen her like that for a long time. She was a PAIN and kept trying to rear up. Scares the crap out of me when she does that. Hopefully today will be better. Elise ended up getting on her to give her an attitude adjustment. It took awhile, but she finally started to cooperate. I wonder if the cold, windy, rainy weather put her in a mood? Hmmm. 

Nat has a short week of school... off on Thursday and Friday for conferences. I cannot wait to have some down time, and I'm sure she is looking forward to that as well. We have been going way too hard lately.

Tomorrow I am going to have lunch with Jim at Intel. We are meeting with the benefits folks about our health insurance, etc. Time for open enrollment and we want to check our options and double check some stuff. 

Yesterday I had lunch with my friend, Kimberly, at the cafe at the Oregon College of Arts & Crafts. Such a good place to eat... everything is homemade and yummy! So good to get caught up with Kim... it had been way too long. She always makes me laugh :)

Guess I will take advantage of my waiting room time and surf the net! Have to admit it is nice to have time to kill. That doesn't happen very often.

On the Menu

Here was/is my menu for the week:

Monday:

Burgers

Mac & Cheese

apples/pears

Tuesday:

Chicken Pitas

Greek Salad

Hummus

Wednesday:

Asian Noodle Soup

Spring Rolls

Thursday:

Homemade pizza

salad

Friday:

Tortilla soup

quesadillas

watermelon

Will wing it for the weekend. Loving the cooler weather so I can work soups into my menu plans. I could live on soup!

I did my grocery shopping at Winco (one of those bag your own kind of places) this week. So much cheaper than my usual Haggen (spoiled rotten yuppie suburban store). Still not so crazy about some of their meat and produce so I think I will still hit Costco and Haggen for those. BUMMED that I will not have my CSA box anymore. Totally pouting about that. I'm really on a mission to cut my grocery costs. I am pretty good about making things from scratch but I can do better. Wish me luck! I'm such a food snob!

Lots going on this weekend, of course. Friday night is a dance at school. Nat is bringing her horsey friend Sarah (not a boy, hurray!!) along so she can meet all of her school friends and see ACMA. Saturday I am going to Eugene for a regional Pony Club meeting with my friend Lori. Sunday is a PC unmounted meeting about cleaning tack the right way. Nat is helping to teach. We also want to sneak out and take some fall pics. That has turned into an annual tradition and the trees are so pretty right now. Unfortunately, I do not have my new glasses yet! I really wanted those to cover up the dark circles under my eyes ;) Oh well.

Speaking of glasses, I'm getting stronger reading glasses. I'm also getting distance glasses! My eyes are definitely getting worse, but she said they were not bad for a 41 year old. What is that supposed to mean?! Feeling so old these days! Ugh!

Off to do some work and clean my house!! Got a request for a catalog from Georgia yesterday. Kinda cool.

See ya!

Smokin' Hot Deal

Just heard about this on Slashfood.com!! You have to check it out. Don't forget to type in the word "EIGHTY" when checking out in the promotion code box. The deals are going fast so go NOW! You can get up to an 80% discount on restaurants in your area. I believe it expires tomorrow at 1pm. Unreal!! So excited!!

Last CSA Box :(

This week we will have onions, pinto beans (dried), Jonagold apples, beets, carrots, sugar pie pumpkins, ornamental corn and gourds. Our last box. Sigh. Will miss it so much.

Nat wants to dry the pumpkin seeds. The Pioneer Woman made these yummy pepitas. Not sure her pumpkin butter would be a hit around here though.

One of Jim's co-workers gave us a big bag of fresh tomatoes yesterday. They are like candy to me! Just love them! So nice of her!

I guess I will attempt to make chili with the pinto beans, but I can honestly say that I have never used dried beans! It will be a new experience for me. I'll let you know how it goes.

Jonagold apples are one of my faves. So yummy! Might need to go up to the local apple farm and get a bunch more to make caramel apples. Shauna, Teri, Kimberly and I had a big caramel- apple-making day a couple years ago. We dipped them in homemade caramel, then in chocolate. To make them extra fancy, we drizzled them with white chocolate. Just sinful!

I'm off to run a bunch of errands, and to get allergy shots. Oh joy. Catch you later!!

More Birthday Girls

We have two birthdays to celebrate in our family this weekend.

My mother-in-law, Hettie, has her birthday tomorrow. Wish we could be in Las Vegas to help her celebrate! It was so great to spend time with her in Idaho.

Monday is my sister Heidi's 40th birthday. We will be celebrating tomorrow at a German restaurant in Mt. Angel. 

Happiest of birthdays to you both, Hettie and Heidi!

The Good Stuff

After kind of a tough week, I thought it would be fun to reflect on the good stuff that has happened lately.

I had so much fun with my scrapbooking friends when they came to Oregon from all over the country. I was so thrilled to show them some of my favorite places... especially the Columbia River Gorge and Multnomah Falls. I am so grateful for their friendship.

Last weekend, my friend Sam and her daughter, Tawnee, came down from Gig Harbor for a visit. It was so nice to hang out with them. On Sunday, I got to have coffee with my bestest (yeah, I know it is not a word but I like it ;) buddies... love you Sam and Shauna!! Having you both together just made my day!!

My girl has had the worst cold. She is a trooper and went back to school today. Luckily, she has tomorrow off. Hopefully she will get some much-needed R&R and feel better soon. This year, they put her school portrait on a CD so I thought I would share it with you. What a stylin' kid, eh?

I had two coffee dates this week... Wednesday I met with Robanne and today with Darcie. It was so good to get caught up with them... I treasure their friendships :)

Nat and I are cozy here at home for the rest of the day. I am sipping on a cup of decaf green tea, listening to the wind blow and the rain fall. Autumn is definitely here in Oregon. Love it!

Should be a fun weekend. Nat is meeting some school friends at the mall in the morning/early afternoon tomorrow. She has pony club up at DevonWood in the evening. Saturday is a sleepover birthday party for her friend Logan (and it could be date night for me and Jim!! Yahoo!). Sunday we will be celebrating my sister's 40th birthday... more on that later :)

Bummer of a Day

It was pouring rain when we got up at 6:30AM and the day has gone downhill from there.

My kitchen sink is clogged up, and Jim tried to fix it this morning before leaving for work but no go.

I had to get allergy shots, and they surprised me with a flu shot as well. Goody. Turns out, I was supposed to be going every week for shots but they forgot to tell me. I was supposed to do that after my last anaphalaxis. Oops.

I stopped by the grocery store to get a few things, and when I got home I got a call from Natalie. She has been fighting off a cold and it was just too bad to stay at school. She is so miserable, poor girl. So she is home now, just took some cold meds and will climb in bed. No riding lesson for her today. Guess I will be making chicken soup for dinner.

I'm pretty wiped out from my shots, so maybe I will try to catch a nap this afternoon too. Yeah, right. Like that ever happens ;) I just might though!

Oh, and I am still in mourning over the bill to get my car fixed yesterday... $1800!! Great timing, eh? Ugh.

When it rains, it pours. Here's to some sunshine and a brighter day tomorrow.

Happy Birthday, Ginger!

Happy 7th Birthday to my dear sweet Ginger bun. Okay, I know I told some of you that she was 9. I was wrong. I had a senior moment ;) She is still really dang old for a bunny.

Both girl and bun are pretty small here, eh?

Bun has always loved me best :)

Nat did 4H with Ginger for a few years, until bun developed a cataract. Plus her darn ears like to stand straight up and not go down all floppy-like. Not suitable conformation for a Holland Lop. She is special... but we love her :) Nat even won a costume contest with Ginger at the Washington County Fair one year... they were both cowgirls and even had their pic in The Oregonian. You haven't seen "cute" until you've seen Ginger in a cowgirl hat. Nat looked pretty darn cute herself :)

Love this pic of her in the backyard.
These days she prefers sprawling out under the computer desk in the office. Nice and cozy and warm down there.

But most of all, she loves cuddling in her mommy's arms. I kinda like that too :)

A birthday shout-out to my sis-in-law Alison too! Hope you are having fun on your cruise!! Happiest of birthdays to Ali and Ginger!!

Well no wonder she bucked...

So Memo was evaluated by our vet yesterday. It is always a good idea after a horse experiences trauma (lesson learned after Memo and Nat fell at Inavale) to have them looked at by a vet. That little incident when the horse and rider crashed into Elise and Memo at Nationals did her no favors. She could tell exactly where the impact happened, and how Memo twisted and turned so she would not fall on Elise. She was really out of whack! Poor girl.

The vet said what a good horse we have, to have performed so well for Nat after that happened. So proud of our Memo girl. She is such an athlete... to keep going through the pain. Wow! She also said how it helped that Memo was in such good shape... all the hours in the saddle really made a difference.

Memo and Nat are quite the team. They always overcome so many obstacles together, and they truly love each other. Hopefully Memo will be much happier now after her treatment. Nat will go out and spoil her with treats, do some stretching, and give her some horsey tylenol for a couple of days. Then they will be back to work... what they both love best :)

Happy Saturday, everyone!

Just do it...

It is important. Vote. Your country depends on it.

Crazy Morning Already

Jim was up at 4:30AM to get ready for his 6:00AM flight to Santa Clara for work. Elise has been borrowing my car (long story) so she came and took Jim to the airport. Very nice of her. Would have been hard for him to take his motorcycle... especially now that it is raining.

After Jim left, I kept having dreams that I was already up! So weird! Luckily the alarm went off and I came to my senses. Got Nat going for school and we were off... to sit in traffic! There was a traffic light out on our route... cars backed up forever! Just barely got Nat to school in time... literally with 2 or 3 minutes to spare. Hate that!

Poor Nat is still frantically trying to get caught up after missing a week of school. Tonight she has a 3-5 page research paper to do for science. From start to finish. Elise will have to ride Memo today, I guess. 

Jim will be home tonight. I will pick him up from the airport around 5:15. What a long day for him. Love that Intel has the shuttle right out the Hillsboro airport though. Makes life so much easier than flying out of PDX.

We are looking forward to a fairly quiet weekend. Sam and Tawnee will come down from Gig Harbor on Saturday morning. I told her that we were planning on sleeping in, and that Nat has lots of homework. She was fine with just vegging around the house for the weekend so that is good. 

I'm having a second cup of tea... hoping that helps to wake me up so I can get going with my day. Still so much to do around here. I'm still unpacking! Ugh... will it ever end??!! I got distracted with some work stuff... had an order, did a catalog for people who do not like to order on the internet, and got one last ad done for the holidays. Now I am looking forward to LOTS of holiday orders :) Pretty please!!

Can't wait to have coffee with my bud, Robanne, tomorrow. Then we will head to the barn after school to see Memo. She is getting evaluated by our vet to make sure that little crash didn't mess up her last chiropractic treatment (oh please...no more vet bills... keeping fingers crossed!!).

Tea is done... off to continue my crazy day. Toodles!!

CSA: Week 16

Just a couple more deliveries to go. Will miss it so much :(

This week we received onions, potatoes, acorn squash, tomatoes, Gala apples, peppers and carrots. The carrots are gorgeous with long green leaves. Will have to save some of those for Memo. I LOVE acorn squash, cooked with some butter and brown sugar on top. The apples look just perfect... it will be a struggle to decide to eat them plain or make an apple crisp. I swear, there is just nothing better than a garden-fresh tomato. I haven't made baked tomatoes yet this season... I cut them in half and add some bread crumbs, Italian seasoning or fresh basil, and some parmesan to the top. So delicious. I'm a big fan of tomato/basil bruschetta too!

This week so far we have had:

Tacos/rice/beans

Philly steak sandwiches/crash potatoes/nectarines

Tonight is chili/cornbread/salad. Will probably just wing it the rest of the week.

Still dealing with the aftermath of our trip. I think the washer and dryer have been going 24/7 and I'm still not done with laundry. Ugh. Today we will get all of Memo's stuff back to the barn and Nat will do a quick ride. We gave Memo a couple days of vacation to recover from the long trailer ride. I still have a bunch of "piles" sitting around that need my attention too. I really just want to crawl back in bed. Pretty darn tired still. We all worked so hard!!

Natalie worked on homework for probably 7 hours yesterday, trying to get caught up. Feel so bad for her. She still has a 3-5 page research paper for science due by Friday that she hasn't even started. Lots of late nights ahead this week, I'm afraid. She said that it was all worth it though :)