I lost my heart in........

Well, I'm off for a weekend of *fun* in San Francisco! I'm SO looking forward to NOT working tomorrow! Oh, and king sized beds don't hurt either....possibly a large hotel tub....not having to make the bed....room service.....need I say more? PLUS, I got the ultimate deal in hotel rooms. We're staying at the Cypress hotel in Cupertino, which is a Kimpton hotel, and it was only $109! I'm talkin' Aveda products people - delivered to my anxious hands each morning. What could be better? I ask you. Well, maybe some knowledge of the area....that's going to be interesting.

More on why in the WORLD I'm leaving my tiny little town for the 'big city" in Cali when I return....for now you can imagine me swooning in Tiffany's, West Elm, Nordstroms, ANYTHING besides the local Target....

Behold, my bed!

One small step for the Nelson's.....one giant leap for peace....cleanliness...order....

It was a small price to pay for sanity. Walking into a West Elm is like stepping into a nice hot bath...with bubbles....and a good book.....maybe some chocolates on a little plate. It's insane how lovely and clean the store is. I feel like I could just curl up on one of their bed displays and sleep for hours, knowing that everything around me was neat and tidy. Everything in it's place. SOMEDAY that's what my home will feel like! For now I can only dream and make hospital corners. The next big item on my Must Have For Sanity List is a bed / headboard, like this one, or this one...or this one...or even this one - anything but the 1970's wood one we've got now. It's great and all, but uh, it's falling apart - and by falling apart, I mean it's literally falling apart. The wood box spring is sitting on top of another wood box, and one side is bowing out so much that every time we get into bed I'm afraid that THIS is the night that it collapses and sends both Caleb and I slidding off. It's on his side of the bed, so at least I'll have him to land on and break my fall.

My favorite thing about my new quilt is that it's so versatile! I can buy MANY sheets, in many colors! OPTIONS! I did not have this luxury before people, and I'm pretty excited about it. Probably more than I should be. Deep fushia, orange, turquoise, canary yellow, lime....endless I tell you! That is the magic of espresso brown. I feel like shouting to the world "Come! Look at this! Isn't it beautiful?! Doesn't it look clean? No, uh, don't look too close...Isn't it magnificent?!" Then of course, I shouldn't, because they'd see that the bed is falling apart, and lo! The brown of the bed! It is hideous! Look away! Ah well. At least I'm not swallowing feathers in my sleep from my old comforter. I'd wake up coughing and spewing them like Sylvester the Cat would on the cartoons.......

Ceremonial Shaving of the Mutt

So we have an Australian Shepherd who naturally has long flowing hair, which I can't stand. Give me short, or give me nothing. So we regularly take him to be "groomed". Shaved really. Recently I decided that paying $50 for the dog to get his hair cut was ridiculous. Who spends that much money on their dog?! Repeatedly!? Not I, nuhhhh uhhhh. I don't even spend that much money on MY HAIR. I thought hey, anyone can shave a dog. People do that all the time right? So I sat down and went through the Dr. Foster and Smith website to choose my weapon. It finally came and we were so excited to use it that we let it sit on our kitchen counter for several days. Finally I decided I'd had enough. The dog's hair certainly wasn't getting any shorter, and I was ready to show off my mad shaving skills. Until of course Caleb reminded me of the last (and first) time I'd shaved anything. It was in high school, and he and his friend Tyler had decided to give Tyler a buzz. Cabe did his head as I watched in silence. After, Cabe asked me to go in the garage and trim his puny sideburns. I tried to display utter confidence in myself, but in reality I'd grown up in an all girl family, and shaving heads had never been a request. I um...slipped....and shaved a BIT too close to his head.... I was absolutely mortified, and Tyler was beside himself. The only way to fix it was to shave the rest of his head that way, and he ended up NOT with a cool buzz, but looking like he'd just got back from his last chemo treatment. It's a good thing his mother didn't know where I lived, because I probably wouldn't be here today. ANYWAY, I think Caleb was a little worried about what I was going to do to his most prized possession. He must have had faith in me though, because he let me start (here is where I should mention the length of time it took to get the dog NEAR the shaver, despite the fact that he's been shaved a zillion times in his mere 3 years, but I'll spare you the details and just state that our dog is a pussy). After only a few minutes we were both astonished at the amount of hair that was coming off - hadn't we JUST shaved him?! This was ridiculous! I had dog fur in places that dog fur should never be. It was all over my hands, arms, legs, behind my knees and all over my face. There was so escaping the itch. It was quite a process and took a lot longer than either Cabe or I anticipated, but we finally finished or, maybe more accurately, got sick of it and called it good. It's not perfect, but it IS short, just the way I like it, and hey. The thing's already paid for itself.

Here is he begging Caleb to Please Make Her Stop, She's Shaving Off My Manhood.

After the massacre, Bear decided he rather liked his new haircut, and spent several minutes prancing around. Here is His Majesty, ruling over with his ginormous prized tennis ball.

HOPE

I wasn't going to hit on the obvious subject of today. I actually decided when I started this blog to avoid political talk. However, I felt compelled today - like I needed to. Probably just to rid my mind of these thoughts and feelings and hopefully remind myself what I believe in.

On September 11th I wasn't even aware of the changes that were happening. I was safely tucked away in remote Lake Powell, UT. My family and I returned the following day to discover that while we were gone -enjoying ourselves, relaxing - America had been turned inside out. Our peace was shattered, our sense of security, vanished. It was unprovoked and blatant. So many people lost their lives that day, and in the days that followed. Mothers lost sons, wives lost husbands, children lost parents. No one can dispute how awful it was, how completely heartbreaking. Something wonderful happened though. Our country banded together, the American Flag popped up everywhere. It felt like we were all one - in actions, feelings, and resolve to bring justice to those who had perished. Soon after, we declared war on the terrorists that had done this to us, to our people. I look back with sadness because of the many lives lost, but also because that feeling has long since faded in such a short time. It's been replaced with anger, accusations, and a division that is becoming increasingly large every day. I understand that people have different opinions and feelings. That's fine. But where is the unity we felt? Where is the desire to band together, help our fellow Americans? I get so frustrated and so sad when I hear people complain about our president, our government, accusing them of the problems of the world. Expecting THEM to make the difference. One person complains that we shouldn't continue to be in Iraq, to seek those who murdered our own. Another complains that our government didn't do enough when Hurricane Katrina hit the gulf coast. There is so much anger and accusations, when we should really remember 9/11, what happened that day and what it means, and the way we felt. We should resolve again to continue to fight for our safety and freedom. We should busy ourselves with doing all that we can to help those people who are still suffering from the damage that Katrina left behind, instead of throwing angry words at "the government". I am not trying to suggest that I am perfect. Far from it. I'm just throwing these thoughts out into the ether, and hoping that they'll hit SOMETHING, SOMEONE. No one is perfect, not me, not my husband, friend, next door neighbor, mailman, or even the President of the United States. We shouldn't hold this against them, focusing on their faults and all those things that we would like them to do to be better in our eyes. Blame and "ceaseless pinpricking" isn't going to do anything but hurt our country and it's morale. Instead I believe we should focus on the common goal - to better secure our country, and our security. To try and spread that security and freedom that every single American enjoys, to those in the world that desire it. To help our fellow men in every way we can. The hatred that is so rampant in our society today, the hatred that people believe is going to change things for the better, is going to be the thing that breaks us. I am afraid for what will happen to our beloved America, if this hatred continues.
I love my country, I am so grateful for all the wonderful opportunities that are available to me. For the things we all take for granted every day - a warm place to sleep, food and clean water, and a future that is molded only by what I desire it to be. I am so grateful for the many soldiers that are serving our country right now, here and in the rest of the world. They sacrifice so much for their country, despite the fact that so many Americans don't support their cause. They fight for what they believe in, and I am proud of them. I know not everyone shares my point of view. I just hope we can remember and realize how blessed we are to enjoy such wonderful freedoms, such comforts, and to help those who desire these things as well.

The Fruit Loop

There are times when I grudgingly admit that Oregon is a beautiful place. A nice place to visit. For a weekend or something. Anyway, this weekend was one of those.

Abby and Brian and Caleb and I drove up to Hood River on Sunday and stayed over night at an old hotel along the Columbia River, and THIS was the view from our deck. It really is that gorgeous. We hung out that evening (we got there around 8 ish) playing cards and relaxing. Maybe getting a bit crazy at times.....

But mostly just enjoying ourselves. Monday morning we got up and started driving along The Fruit Loop - a 35 mile loop in Hood River with over 30 "pit stops" along the way with fruit stands, U-Pick's, lavendar fields, alpaca farms, and old country stores. We stopped at several of them, eating fruit, sampling home made soda and jam, (we bought a jar of Vanilla Pear jam....really amazing....) and just generally enjoying the beautiful surroundings.

We stopped off at a fruit stand, bought a few Elberta peaches and sat ourselves on the tree swing to enjoy them, and watch the dogs play. Little did I know I was about to sink my teeth into the most amazing peach I have ever tasted. Honestly, I don't know how else to describe how delicious it was other than ethereal.

See the smiling, happy faces? That's what happens after eating such amazing fruit. You can't help yourselves. Even when you realize you're still in Oregon. :)