Speechless...

Please read this. Shauna has done some amazing and powerful writing, and she also posted her latest test results.

Love to you all, 

Paris

Is this really Oregon?

I know I should not even type that... it will rain tomorrow for sure now! It has been absolutely gorgeous weather lately... Shauna and I have been walking every morning for almost three weeks and have only encountered about 3 raindrops. Amazing for February! Love it!

Nat has been able to ride Memo outdoors too! We are ready to get horseshoes put back on Memo so they can start conditioning on hills, etc. for cross country training (she usually does not have shoes on in the winter). They are both in heaven!

Today I will walk again, then hit the grocery store. We are going to celebrate Jim's birthday this weekend since everyone was busy the weekend after his birthday. I will make Jim's mom's yummy spaghetti sauce (takes 3 hours!) and a big spread to go with it.... antipasto plate, salad, bruschetta, and a chocolate ganache cake.

Then it is out to the barn for a lesson... I swear we live out there. I love every minute of watching Nat ride Memo though... they share a deep love for each other. Monday Nat was pulling the stirrup down before getting on Memo... Memo reached around with her ears perked forward to snuggle with Nat. Just warmed my heart. I always wanted Nat to have that kind of relationship with a horse. Incredible.

Friday will be a fun night. Nat has a birthday party for a school friend in Northwest Portland at NW Children's Theatre... that should be a blast. I guess over 30 kids will be there! Jim and I will sneak out to dinner at 23Hoyt. Can't wait. The chef there is one that did our Plate and Pitchfork dinner at a local farm last summer. We have always wanted to try his restaurant. 

Have a great weekend everyone!

A Brand New Day...

Nat is feeling soooo much better!! Still has a nasty cough but she is back to her old, chipper self again. So far Jim and I are staying healthy... knock on wood.

Somehow, she survived the Quiz Rally yesterday. She must have been running on adrenaline! This year she was on a Senior team and it was much tougher! She said her team was in third place at lunch time, but they ended up having a tough time in the afternoon and placed seventh overall in their division. All in all, they had a great time! Congrats CMPC gals!

I surprised her with homemade Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo for dinner when she got home. She finally felt well enough to eat something substantial so that was just what she needed.

Jim had a great time playing paintball... boy was he stiff and sore though! We compared welts when he got home but I won... I got allergy shots yesterday and my "pollen" arm was bright red and massively swollen. He did get a few doozies though! He took a blue paintball right through his face mask... this picture cracked me up.

Nat and Jim are heading to the barn after lunch... Nat misses Memo so much! The sun is out so it looks like they will get to ride outside today... what a treat!

I'm making the No-Knead Bread again today. I will also head upstairs to the (s)crap room... what a disaster area. Seems to be the room where everything gets left in... I could barely walk in there yesterday when I started cleaning it up. Yuck.

I have started working on a school album for Natalie... I can't believe how unorganized I have been about keeping stuff together. I'm definitely wishing I would have started this project before she was in 7th grade ;) I don't throw stuff away so it has to be somewhere... who knows where though! I was able to order a bunch of digital prints from years past... looks like we started shooting in digital when she was in 2nd grade.

Off I go... better get out of my jammies sometime today!! I sure do love lazy mornings though :)

Nasty Virus

Nat is down for the count. Tuesday night she started to feel pretty crummy. By Wednesday morning, she was running a slight temp and had a horrible cough... no school for her. Today she woke up at 4:00AM with a 103 degree temp! She was so miserable and hardly slept all night. Her cough sounded even worse, and her sore throat and earache were really bothering her. I gave her some tylenol and sent her back to bed. At 7:00AM she was still at 102 so I thought I should take her to see the doctor.

No ear infection. No strep. Just a nasty virus. The doctor told us to come back if she has a fever for longer than 4 days... I guess some kids have been getting pneumonia from it! Yikes.

Shauna and I have been still sneaking out for our walks. She brought Nat the cutest horsey notebook and cards... Thanks Shauna :) I'm hoping my flu shot will make me immune to the madness... no time for me to be sick. I've also been obsessive about washing my hands!

She is missing Memo terribly.... hates not being able to ride and go to her lessons. I know that Elise and Janice will take good care of her.

I hope she is feeling better by Saturday... she and her Pony Club friends are participating in the Regional Quiz Rally down at the Polk County Fairgrounds. They will be tested on their horse knowledge for the entire day! Nat loves this kind of stuff... she has been very inspirational to her teammates by emailing out a "Question of the Day" to help them study. I hope she can go and kick some horsey trivia butt!!

Jim is going with some guys from work to do paintball on Saturday. That should be a hoot and a good way to relieve stress :)

Update: Now she is throwing up and has a rash on her face!! Poor kiddo!!! Just ran to the store to get gatorade, sprite, popcicles and soup :(

Lazy Day Monday

I love holidays off from school and work.... I accomplished almost nothing and even took a nap! But I did make this...

It is called No-Knead Bread. I've been reading all about it for such a long time and just needed the time (and the cool red Dutch oven!) to make it.

I started it last night and let it rise overnight. Jim gave me the Le Creuset French Oven for Valentine's Day (what a guy!) so I gave it a shot.

I was convinced that I would goof it up, but it was pretty darn fail proof! The crust was nice and crispy and the inside was tender and soft. Best bread I have ever made.... not that I have made bread very much. I was very pleased :) Next time I will try it with half whole wheat flour so it is a bit healthier. I just love the idea of making my own bread so we are not eating all the added preservatives and nasty ingredients in store-bought bread.

And then I made cookies... sheesh. I just couldn't help myself.  Oatmeal Chocolate Chip. Oh are they yummy....

Thank goodness we are back on a normal schedule tomorrow... gotta stop the madness ;)

Art Chicks Do Math

Natalie and three of her girl classmates have been doing Math Club every Friday after school. They really have had a good time... lots of cupcakes and pizza are used as bribery to get fellow classmates to join them. Nat is a self-proclaimed "math nerd".

The culmination of all of their hard work came yesterday as they participated in MathCounts. They were tested as individuals and as a team in all things math. They were one of only 2 girl teams, and they were the only all-caucasian girl team.

We don't know their standing over all yet, but sadly they were not in the top 5. They pretty much expected that.... they work hard but math is not really their passion. After all... they do go to an art school ;) Some of the teams meet daily and it shows... very impressive. The team that won yesterday went to nationals last year.

I'm just beyond proud of them for participating.... and I'm so thrilled that Natalie finally loves math. It is finally being taught to her in a manner that is fun for her. Kudos to her math teacher Mr. Walker and her classmates Sarah, Genevieve and Janelle. Rock on art/math chicks!

My Valentines

I'm just about the luckiest person I know... I am blessed with the two best valentines I could ever imagine... Jim and Natalie.

They both mean the world to me, and I look forward to spending every minute I can with them.

Jim is just the best husband and father... he is patient, loving, smart, witty, handsome, caring, hard-working, and an all-around great guy. I really do not know how I ever got so lucky as to be his wife. 

Natalie is everything in a daughter that I could ever imagine... she is adorable, smart, creative, funny, happy, independent and dedicated. She is my little buddy.

I would love to continue to gush and gush about these two... but that would take all day. I am really just so blessed.

Happy Valentine's Day, Jim and Natalie... I love you both with all of my heart.

Go me...

I'm definitely on a roll... eating right, exercising, drinking water, not drinking gin and tonics, sleeping 8 hours a night. Who is this person??!!

I feel really, really good too.

It sure does take a lot of time to do all this though. A lot of stuff is not getting done... laundry, cleaning things up, work. I'm sure eventually I will get in a routine.

Looking forward to tonight... my annual birthday dinner with my friend Darcie. She is a fellow horsey momma from our old barn. I sure do miss seeing her smiling face every week.

I have known Darcie since our girls were under a year old. She invited Natalie and I to be a part of a play group she started. We have been buddies ever since... although I don't think she will ever forgive me for introducing them to the whole horse thing ;) We have been through so much together, and I am so grateful for her friendship.

Happy Birthday, Darcie!!

Sad News...

Natalie called me from school while I was driving home from dropping her off. The young man who was killed in a bicycling accident last night was an ACMA student. Evidently he was hit by a bus near the corner of Farmington and Murray. Just heart-breaking. Some of Natalie's friends knew him. Many people at school are sobbing. I'm sure it will be a very tough day around there. Please keep the school and his loved ones in your prayers.

Stuff like this just tears me apart. Makes me want to keep Natalie home and safe in my arms. So hard to let her do her thing... I want to protect her and keep her safe. But I know I can't do that all the time. I know God has a plan for her.... but when something like this happens it is so difficult to understand how it could be part of a plan.... just not right. My heart is breaking for his family.

Off to start my day of walking with Shauna and eating right... I'm really off to a great start. One thing I will be careful of though... little treats will not be the end of the world. Can't imagine not baking and eating the things I love at least once in awhile. I will do my best to make better choices most of the time though...

Welcome Home

Boy do I love my family. I am so blessed. Walked in the door to the most beautiful flowers and nice note from them. Unfortunately, they were still at the barn but came home soon.

It was so fun to just hang out with them and get caught up on everything. Then we went to Stanford's for dinner. We were all just so grateful to be together again. 

When we got home we watched the third Indiana Jones movie together. Nat had never seen any of those until recently, so it has been fun to see them again.

Lots of laundry and dishes and stuff to catch up on but that is okay... just loving being home.

Good-bye Reno :(

We made it to the Reno airport, and survived getting through security. I'm pretty sure that Shauna will not make a run for it now but I'm not completely sure ;)

Really looking forward to getting home... miss my Jim and Nat. I hear that it is sunny and beautiful there too, so that makes it easier to go home too. Will miss the snowy mountains, blue skies, and sunshine here in Reno.

Looking forward to carrying my new healthy lifestyle home with me to Oregon. I really feel like I can do it now. Shauna and I can motivate each other.

So relieved that her cancer marker numbers are down. Sure hope the infection in her port does not get any worse. I'm really looking forward to hearing about the results from the German test, so she can see how to proceed from here. The doctor even mentioned the "R" word... remission. Bring it on!  Cancer sucks.

What a Day!

I had this great idea for a blog posting about our "do it yourself spa vacation" here in Reno. We are relaxing, eating right, drinking healthy tea, walking along a beautiful river, sleeping in... all the makings of a spa. But we are shopping and cooking all on our own, we are still doing our own laundry, and oh yeah... Shauna is visiting a cancer clinic everyday! But man has it been a good time for me. I needed this downtime and to see Shauna so much. It has been wonderful.

Today was an "interesting" day at the clinic. I'm sure that Shauna will fill you all in on her blog later on. Definitely a roller coaster with both good and bad things. I think after all that, Shauna is almost changing her mind about wanting to come home. I sure hope she doesn't just drop me off at the airport and then speed off!! ;) Her Simba doggie would be really bummed out... he misses her terribly I hear.

Tonight was great... we went to see "27 Dresses". What a cute chick flick. Lots of laughter was just the thing we needed. Had so much more that we wanted to do and see, but we sure did make the most of our time in Reno. And luckily... no tattoos or body piercings! Shauna did get another cute wig today, and I got a pony tail extension for Memo's tail! How funny is that??? The horse people want $200-300 for those extensions!!! She will finally have a tail befitting a princess for the upcoming Arabian dressage show ;)

I'm pretty wiped out... time to get jammies on and take it easy... Nighty night.

A Must-Read Blog Post...

Shauna and I had the best day... you just have to read her version of our wig-shopping adventure. Much more fun than last time we attempted it. She just looks darling in her new wig! Much better than I look in her wig... was fun trying it on though!

We have so much more to cram into this trip... the time is just flying by! The weather has been just beautiful... today we went on an hour-long walk along the river. We also went back to our new haunt: Seven Teahouse and Bar. What a wicked cool place.

Memo is doing well.  Nat had a good lesson on her today, I hear. She is back to her crazy, perky self ;)

Only one more full day in Reno... tomorrow we hope to walk again, go back to the teahouse, catch a movie, go ice skating, oh and I guess we should get her to the clinic for her infusion and maybe pack stuff up ;) We haven't even done the typical Reno tourist thing yet... maybe we should go drop a few nickels in a slot machine or get tattoos?? NOT!! 

Bright, Sunshiny Day

Day 2 in Reno is almost done and was awesome. Woke up leisurely at 7:30, had some oatmeal with berries and then headed to the workout room. Yes... I actually exercised and it felt good! It was pretty short and sweet, because we had to get ready to go the clinic for Shauna's exit appointment with the doctor.

The weather has been so beautiful. I can't tell you how great it is to see the blue sky and sunshine. Changes my whole mood. What a great break from the dreary clouds and rain.

Shauna's visit to the clinic went really well. Still haven't gotten the test back from Germany yet, but the doctor was so optimistic and encouraging. 

We hit Whole Foods to get stuff for dinner and went back to the condo. Then we went to see the movie Juno... what a great flick. I really enjoyed it! Can't wait to see it again with Jim. Definitely a few songs from the soundtrack that I want to get for my iPod.

We had a really yummy dinner... made organic black bean beef "tacos" with romaine lettuce leaves. Really yummy and pretty darn healthy with all the veggies we added. Now we have been chatting on the phone with our families and having a cup of tea. I stayed up way too late last night, so I will be hitting the hay earlier tonight.

Looking forward to another great day tomorrow. Just feels so good watching Shauna taking such good care of herself. So proud of her.

Memo update: she is doing lots better.... a little cranky about her food amounts being lower but she seems fine. She and Nat had a great lesson today. Sounds like Jim and Nat are surviving too... sure do miss them.

Reno Rocks!

I survived the flight...even without a drink to get the courage to get on the plane ;) LOL It was bumpy out of Portland, but not so bad after that.

It was so awesome to see Shauna. I had missed her soooo much!! We headed to Wild Oats to get juices and lunch, then to the clinic so she could be infused. I was in a comfy chair next to her, and read lots of magazines and visited.

The condo where Shauna has been staying is just the best set up for her. Nice and quiet, and so cool to have a little kitchen. It was so fun making dinner together. We were a good team.

Before dinner, we took a walk along the Truckee River. The weather is great... cold but sunny. The mountains surrounding Reno are covered in snow... so pretty. Shauna took some great pics of us, so check out her blog to see them. We found a really cool tea bar, and stopped by for some organic teas. It was a really awesome place, and we can't wait to go back.

Of course, the trip is not without drama though. Memo decided to get colic symptoms today. Jim and Natalie ended up heading to the barn after work. The vet came out to check her out, and luckily she is doing okay now. No more trips to the OSU vet hospital, I hope. Poor Memo. Poor Nat too... she has a ton of homework due tomorrow! I bet she will have a late night.

So happy to be here with Shauna. Means the world to me...

Here I go again...

Back from Seattle, now I will head to Reno tomorrow. I'm sooooo excited to see Shauna!! Shauna and Dave renewed their vows this weekend in a cute little chapel. Check out wedding pics on her blog. Awesome! What a great idea!

Seattle was great, but we are really worn out... especially Natalie. She has been going really strong, and she finally hit a wall yesterday. Nothing that a nice hot shower and a good dinner couldn't fix though. She was a new person last night. We all slept really, really hard last night too.

We learned so many new things at the conference... Natalie is excited to try polocrosse, a bunch of mounted games, and fox hunting (they don't hunt a real fox anymore... whew!). Not sure what Memo will think of all this though!! I think she would love the fox hunting as it would be like endurance riding in a way, but the polocrosse would freak her out! The pic above is Nat with a polocrosse racket... now imagine her with that on Memo with 5 other horses! Craziness.

Today I have so much to do... I guess I better get rolling. I will try to post later on from the airport or Reno.

What the heck is Tetrathlon?

"Tetrathlon - a competition combining cross country riding with running, shooting and swimming."

That definition is taken right off the US Pony Club website. I guess it is an olympic event! Learn something everyday ;)

At the regional conference we are attending this weekend, they are having clinics all about tetrathlon! A whole new world for us! I guess there will be a competition up in Washington this summer... sounds like a kick for sure! I hope we will be able to attend. 

Looking forward to this weekend... will be so nice to spend time with my horsey gal pals Lori and Michele. Nat will be hanging with her friends Cassie and Emma. And a special treat... Sam will be kidnapping me for dinner on Saturday! I can't wait to see her... it has been too long!

I have my "Dukes Equestrian" logo fleece vest on for advertising, and printed out a bunch of tear off flyers to hang up around the conference center/camp. Maybe I can write this off as a business trip ;)