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. :)

Labor Day Weekend

Labor Day weekend is almost upon us, and I find it's a very bittersweet thought. On one side I absolutely ADORE the fact that I get to sleep in, and hopefully do anything but think of computers, and Excel spreadsheets, and football games, reports, flight arrangements, hotels, rental cars, gift agreements, statements of intent.... I could go on. Not only can I forget about these things, but I get PAID to do it. The sheer joy is mind boggling. It's almost sinful. On the other hand, I know what it means. It means fall is coming, nearly here (the leaves are already changing, something I'm trying to ignore....). Don't get me wrong, I LOVE fall. I love the gorgeous leaves, the crisp, cool air. I love pumpkins and squash, pomegranate. I love the way the sun light changes in the evenings, bathing everything in warm gold. But fall is fleeting, transitional, easing us slowly into the cold, bitter winter. Winter in Oregon doesn't mean snow softly falling, it means rain. Pouring rain, not accompanied by thunder and lightning, but fog. Maybe freezing fog or freezing rain. Winter in Oregon means no sun. It's a time when everyone burrows into their dens to hibernate until the end of JUNE, when the sun finally decides to show itself. When snow DOES decide to fall, it merely leaves a sprinkling. Possibly enough to barely frost the branches. This horrendous amount of snow shuts down the state.

So while I am excited for the weekend, deep down I know what it means, and so I am trying to enjoy the last remnants of warmth and light. Hopefully I will have some fun pics to post on Tuesday. Until then!

This is the snow that shut down a large part of the state. I know, I know, debilitating....

Paradise and Pirates

So we accidentally left our camera in Utah, and had to wait several DAYS to get it back. DAYS. Hence the late post about our lovely vacation. One cannot discuss the absolute beauty of Lake Powell without offering hard cold evidence.
Lake Powell happens to be my most favorite place on Earth. Where else can you cram all your family (and we have a big one!) onto one boat for an entire week, and not strangle each other by the end? Only there, the happiest place on Earth. A place where cell phones are out of service, work is a far off memory, and all the cares of the world are simply swallowed by a huge gorgeous lake, surrounded by deep red rocks. Isolated is one word that comes to mind, and in this context it is welcome, even enjoyed. As far as you know, the only thing going on in the world is boat rides, tubing, swimming, sleeping, eating..... In fact, we'd always joked that "the world could end" and we wouldn't know it. Well, we were in Lake Powell when 9/11 happened, and didn't find out about it until the next day as we were driving home. How odd, we thought, that the gas attendant at the lake informed us that they were all out of newspapers when we hadn't asked him for one. How odd, we thought, that the University of Utah decided to cancel their football game. It's the most beautiful, relaxing vacation, and I look forward to it every year.
We also spent the first part of the vacation at Caleb's parent's house with his brothers, sisters, and their kids. They decided to have a theme for the grandkids every day, and Caleb and I were in charge of "Pirate Day" with his brother and sister in law. We gave the kids bandana's, eye patches, and plastic swords, and Rob and Caleb led them on a treasure hunt. They even rowed them across the "lake of death" in their backyard to reach the treasure. We even had a treasure chest pinata, and I think all the kids had fun. If not, Caleb sure did!

Our lovely home for a week

A 30 foot hole we discovered, created by many years of constant rain dripping on the sandstone rocks

Caleb taking Emily on a wave runner ride

The pirates slowly make their way across the "The Lake Of Death"!

Caleb the Pirate!

Golden Fruit

Caleb and I recently returned from a two week vacation to our homeland, Utah. Rested, a bit sun-kissed, and slowly coming down from cloud nine after seeing family and friends, we were faced with reality - on Friday and Saturday we had the daunting task of re-stocking our tiny cupboard and fridge with food, because, you know, you get sick of subsisting off dry cereal and stale crackers. We successfully spent the most money at the grocery store than we've spent in the last YEAR of our marriage, (exacerbated by the fact that I was insanely thirsty. Did we really need nine cans of juice and a canister of Crystal Light?!). Saturday we went to Costco. Always a mistake. Why is it that you can't leave that wretchedly lovely place without spending at least $50 more than you intended to?! Cabe decided we NEEDED bacon-wrapped filet mignon and I conceded, because I found the ultimate prize. The insane, delectable, must-try-before-you-die gold kiwi. I've been craving the stuff ever since I left Australia, and this is the second time I've seen them in the States. Yes, I bought the 3 lb. box, and no, I felt no guilt. So while I sit in my stupid little cube, doing stupid little tasks, I can delve into my gold kiwi, and pretend that I am once again sitting on a public transport bus that is taking me on the most gorgeous ride, over the Harbor Bridge, past the Opera House, to the best job I ever had. A bridal consultant at my uncle's very posh, very famous "Abbey Bridal", right in the heart of downtown Sydney. And everything is okay for just a few minutes.

Sassy Zzzzz's

I got these lovely sheets yesterday at Target for only $20! Super comfy, and they'll look FABULOUS with my West Elm espresso quilt....when I get it. :)

This is where things start to get pricey, and I think of getting a new headboard, maybe a few fun throw pillows, drapes, art work.......


Caleb's not too excited about it being pink and flowery, but since he bought himself a new Stephen King book he's been dying to have, he relented and let me get my pink sheets. "They have sort of a modern chic kick" I tried to explain. This did nothing to appease him, until I mentioned they were his favorite kind of bedding material, jersey. We will soon be snoozin' in style!

Baby Owen

It's official - Baby Fever has completely consumed me.

This might be the most perfect baby - his little lips, cheeks, eyes, the way he LOVES to stick out his tongue... the way his chin quivers when he cries. Congrats Mark and Bridge! I'm so happy for you. Owen H. Solomon - that sort of has a general authority ring, doesn't it? :) Begging to come hold him starts in 3.5 seconds......

Signs You Have Lost Your Mind....

#341 - It's um, 3:30 pm and I just realized I don't have any mascara on........and I am at work. Totally was supposed to do that BEFORE I entered the building... Do you think if I put it on now, no one will notice that I DIDN'T HAVE EYES for half the day?!

Most Definitely a NEED....

Queen size, espresso, from West Elm. In hopes that if I get this, and can swiftly tuck in the corners, -"hospital style" always - my house, and therefore my life, will blissfully return to a clean and orderly state. No more stray down feathers floating into the air, as if they too are trying to escape, when I unceremoniously plop myself into bed each night (and let's face it, sometimes to bed each afternoon...). I do believe this will solve all my problems.......

Pet Peeve: Correction Tape

What's up with correction tape? Why is it that we can send men to the moon, but we haven't been able to come up with any kind of white out tool that WORKS!?! Your first option is liquid white out, which looks like you've smeared cottage cheese all over your document. The second is that silly white out tape, that never ACTUALLY comes out nice and neat the way it does on tv. Most of the time you can cover up half of what you need to, while the tape bubbles up, or rips, making it necessary to continually go over it until you've got 10 different strips trying to cover 3 words. By this point you might as well reprint, or risk looking like you've outsourced all your "document cleaning" duties to a three year old.

High-Brow Fashion Statement

Upon arriving home from Utah, Cabe went and picked up our mutt (he would have me correct myself by saying that "mutt" is a "loving nickname" I have given him, and that he is, in fact, a pure bred Australian Shepherd. I would correct him and say that "loving nickname" is pushing it....) and found the dog beside himself with excitement...and limping. At first we figured he'd just strained something, he had acted this same way nearly a year ago, and within a day or so had returned to normal. We couldn't pick out if it was a limb, or even his back, until a few days later. He went from carefully placing each paw, to favoring his front right. He didn't do much during the day but sleep, more so than he normally does when he comes home from being boarded. The first night he was so completely out, I had to poke, prod, nudge, call his name and finally shake him to wake him up....this is all I got.

We came home from dinner Saturday night, and found his paw swollen - so much so, that it nearly looked fake. We decided he'd probably broken a toe or something, and we'd take him in on Monday. Albany isn't exactly a metropolis, the nearest emergency vet was in Corvallis, 30 minutes away. However, when we came home from church on Sunday we found he'd already performed surgery on himself - there was a quarter sized HOLE in between his toes, and his entire paw was wet from either him licking it, or....(shudder) pus. Caleb of course FREAKED out, neither of us had any idea what the hole was doing there, so we dragged him to the car and raced out to the vet, expecting the worst. Thankfully, nothing was broken, he apparently had a Foxtail burrowed in between his toes. Normally this requires surgery, so for once I was grateful (as was my wallet) that I have an OCD dog, who licks every inch of himself 100 times a day to make his coat shine. We were given an entire pharmacy of drugs to give him (twice daily might I add) and my personal favorite, an E-collar. Short for Elizabethan, which is so totally appropriate. He was utterly humiliated to have to wear such high fashion, and immediately began shoving his now hugely-inflated head into walls, floors, our legs etc. It was absolutely, positively, the most hilarious thing I have seen in a long time. It took him quite a while to figure out that his relatively puny head was now the length of a Greyhound's, and needed assistance climbing stairs and rounding corners.

After moping a bit

He decided the best way to deal with it, would be to act as if it wasn't there.

Would you mind? There's nothing to see here......

Yo-ho,Yo-ho a pirate's life for me......

Have you seen my boyfriend? I went and saw his movie this last weekend......

What is it about men and eyeliner? How do they manage to pull it off and still be so masculine.....and sexy?!? I've struggled to put into words why Johnny Depp is so attractive as a pirate. He's dirty, no doubt smelly, dishonest, has facial hair, which I've never preferred, (no offense to those sporting the mustaches, beards, and soul patch or whatever - just not my personal "thing"... too itchy) and seems to run around with as many women as possible. Not your typical "must-have" qualities in a man. There's something appealing though, and surprisingly a lot of women agree. Maybe his character appeals to the "bad-girl" in all of us - or maybe it's the adventure that always seems to follow him. Whatever it is, it's there, and is probably a large part of the reason that the movie is doing so well. I highly reccomend it, though not to all the kiddies out there, as it's a bit scarier than the first. Oh, and make sure and pee beforehand - it's nearly 3 hours long. You wouldn't want to miss any telling details, as the end of the movie leaves you hanging.........and so we wait to find out what happens, until next Memorial Day.

Fruit of my labors.......

Most people that know me are well aquainted with the fact that I am a little less than thrilled to be living in Oregon. However, during the summer time Oregon attempts to redeem itself for the months and MONTHS (did I mention months?!?!?) of rain we get by producing the largest, most delicious fruit known to man. My favorite thing is to go to a "U-Pick" which is exactly what it sounds like. A large farm where a family has planted enough blueberries, or strawberries, or raspberries, or marionberries, or cherries, or apples......I could go on.....or sometimes a combination of any of these, that they simply can't eat them all. They then put up a big sign, and the public is welcome to come pick their fruit for a miniscule fee. Last summer I spent an hour or so picking blueberries for the first time in my life. I absolutely LOVE blueberries, and probably could have continued to pick all day long. When I first arrived, several containers in tow, I was told that they had five different kinds of blueberries. FIVE!!! They let me taste them all, and then directed me to the areas that contained those varieties. I picked four pounds all by myself. Four POUNDS of blueberries cost me $4.00. I don't even want to think about how much this same amount would have cost me at Safeway. The thought makes me giddy though.......
We just picked raspberries last week, and it was $1.00 / lb. I believe we brought home 5 or 6 lbs of fruit between three of us, which somehow, has nearly disappeared. Partly because well, we eat them, and partly because I made jam for the first time. Easy "freezer" jam, but wonderful nonetheless. You see, I am a self - confessed jam snob. I only eat homemade. So here it is - my first jam product. First of many I believe....I enjoy jamming.........

Flaws in my fabric

I recently read a quote from a book on Oprah's Summer Reading list. I know what you're thinking, and yes, I am one of those people - I watch her show, I applaud her charitable deeds, however I do not believe that every word that falls from her mouth is scripture (scripted sometimes?). That said, she does have a wonderful list of books. The book is "Lost Hearts in Italy" by Andrea Lee. I haven't read it so I can't endorse it, but this quote rung true with me.

"...we always belong forever to people who have hurt us badly, or been badly hurt by us."

I know this may not be true for everyone, but I know it is for myself, and have discussed this idea with several friends who have all hurt, or been hurt by someone at one time. I think initially you might think of this "someone" as just being a past significant other, but I think it can also apply to friends and family as well. I think this is especially true if the hurt is something that ends up changing your thinking, or perhaps even your life's direction. Little misunderstandings and arguments are forgiven and forgotten, but when something happens that truly affects us, it may be forgiven but is not forgotten. I think that is why we "belong" to those people. Their actions or words become woven into the fabric of our past and as I have found, un-picking what has been sewn can be a long and difficult process. Sometimes leaving the "flaw" is easier than unraveling the entire fabric and we are left to learn to overlook it, and perhaps one day learn from it.

I started high school with a lot of excitement, fear, and hope. I had made it through junior high alive, despite the humiliating and oft times tumultuous years of early adolescence. The changes in my body, the braces, the pimples... I had mastered these and I was determined to prove to myself that I was worth something. I had made our high school's dance team, and was sure that this would give me an "in". It wasn't more than a few days into the first week when I developed a crush on a boy in my English class. He was a sophomore officer, funny, and seemed to be friends with everyone, the life of the party. Obviously way out of my league. Much to my surprise however, I found he liked me as well, and we started "going out" (ah, high school terms....). I had never had a boyfriend, never had a boy LIKE me before, so you can bet I was on cloud nine. He introduced me to the popular world - parties, dances, and (gasp!) my first kiss. It was all so new to me, and I was soaking it in. People would tell me that he bragged about dating me. It seemed things were perfect - he was kind, considerate, funny, and (here comes another high school term) HOT - until one day when we didn't see each other. He didn't call that day...or the next....or the next. I finally mustered up the courage to call him and ask him what was going on, and a giggling girl answered the phone. I immediately knew something was up, but when I talked to him he said things were fine, he was just really busy. Naively I believed him. A few days later however, my best friend told me in the girl's locker room, while applying her mascara, that he simply "didn't have time for a girlfriend right now". I was devastated. All that went through my mind was that obviously I wasn't good enough. He must have discovered I wasn't as popular as he had first thought. I think the worst part was that I hadn't seen it coming. Of course looking back, I realized that we really didn't have a relationship - more your average high school fling really. It lasted two months and I barely knew a thing about him. I can see and understand that now, but at the time it was all because of me. I dealt with it the only way I knew how, to put on a brave uncaring face, and let it fester inside. I went about reassuring myself that I was worth something by becoming a fabulous flirt. Fiona Apple and Alanis Morissette became the soundtrack to my angry-girl look on life. To make matters worse, somewhere in the midst of starting high school and making the dance team, I began watching what I ate and soon just stopped eating altogether. Of course being dumped only added fuel to the fire, and I began a long journey down the road of deprivation, self hatred, and control.

I am now happily married, and in a much better state of mind. He and I eventually became friends, and wrote many letters to each other while he was on a mission for my church and I was in Australia. So while I have forgiven him, those events were a major turning point in my life, and cannot be erased. They are a flaw in my quilt, and therefore cannot be forgotten. I still care about him, he was a good friend, and will always hold a place in my heart, or "belong to me". I think that for some people this could be a weakness, but for me, it is not. I think because of this whole experience I am a stronger person. Someday I will have children of my own and it is my goal to empower them with the knowledge that their self worth isn't measured by who they are dating, or how popular they are.

Lucy Mae

Isn't she pretty? Again, there must be something in the water, because EVERYONE I KNOW is having a baby!! Congrats Rob and Lindsey!

My, your eggs smell lovely today!

It's been a while since I posted something regarding scientific studies. I came upon this one today, and felt it HAD to be blogged about....

So apparently some researchers have discovered that sperm can smell. They actually have "features that are similar to the human nose". I had always wondered how in the world sperm knew where to go, but the thought that they can smell had never crossed my mind. They actually have olfactory receptor proteins (like those in your nose, for the lay-person...) with little "sniffers" as they call them, on the outside that can smell "ovarian scents". My eggs have their own perfume?!?!? We should bottle the stuff! Sell it to all the single ladies out there. I'd call it "Heat"..... My favorite part of the article was the opening line - "Like a man who whips his head around to follow a whiff of perfume, sperm cells turn their heads when they detect even the faintest of sexy female scents". They suggested that they can smell these ovarian scents even when they are diluted 100,000 times! That's a pretty good sniffer I'd say. So basically these sperm are mindin' their own business, when they suddenly detect - GASP - "Is that FEMALE I smell!??!" and off they go, headed toward this lovely odor, an unsuspecting, completely oblivious egg. Little does she know she's the cause of such a stampede. Researchers also discovered that sperm virility declines as men get older, and they suggest that just as our sense of smell diminishes as we get older, that sperm's sensitivity to smell declines as well. The scientists haven't discovered exactly WHAT chemicals are producing these scents, but you can best believe they are trying (I'm sure all the men are REALLY interested...). What do you want to bet that some idiot out there starts marketing pills to change the scent? Plumeria, Freesia, White Tea and Ginger....Though I DO wonder if this could turn into some kind of new birth control. Just change the scent of the egg, and the sperm won't know where to go. I also wonder if these findings could help with certain types of male infertility. Maybe some men's sperm sniffers are broken! Similarly, if a woman's egg wasn't producing these chemicals, they could bottle the scent, inject it somehow in the woman's egg, and then the sperm could find it. OH THE POSSIBILITIES!!!!

Little Georgia Noel

I am a sucker for babies with binkies. The baby fever is RAGING...... Congrats Katie and Josh! She is beautiful!

Separation Anxiety

The second Caleb leaves the house this is where Bear is, keeping a silent vigil until he returns home again.



The wet nose marks turn the glass a sickly opaque color. Thank you Windex, for always keeping me sane.

3 weeks, 1 day....

Until I get to see THIS adorable little girl.........

It makes my heart hurt, and my birth control seem SO much less appealing........

My Own Wringer....

By about 10 pm last night I was thinking to myself, "This has been a pretty fabulous day" - work went by fairly quickly, (which is always a plus when you can hardly stand your job), Caleb had actually WANTED to go to the gym.... We have a goal to hit the gym at least 4 or 5 days a week, but Caleb isn't exactly a "gym rat". I usually have to bribe him with cookies or something to get him there, and then he realizes it's not so bad. He's now getting to the point that he likes it, which makes going a lot more fun. After we returned our sweat-drenched bodies home, Caleb surprised me by pulling out some salmon he'd already prepped with this fabulous rub he found - seriously, it's amazing, and this coming from someone who used to swear off all seafood. Add some lovely homemade potato wedges and carrots, and we had ourselves a wonderful healthy meal. I was getting ready for bed after a hot shower, when Caleb suggested we settle into bed and watch a movie we'd rented, "The Ringer". It's the one with Johnny Knoxville, where he pretends to be handicapped? He'd seen it, and thought it was hilarious, and I'd heard from a few others (Liz!) that it was as well, so I agreed - what a lovely way to end the day, cuddling up with Cabe to watch a funny movie. Little did I know that I would endure the most painful hour and a half of my life. I didn't say much during the movie, as I was desperately trying to fall asleep - but after the bloodshed was over, I had to know, why in the WORLD Caleb would put himself through something that horrendous not once, but TWICE?!?! I have a small list going of the worst movies ever made ("League of Extraordinary Gentleman" and "Mr. Deeds" anyone?!?!), and this one definitely lands near the top. I am sure the movie-making process is a lot more complicated than I can even imagine, but I often wonder how it is that something like this can get a stamp of approval from enough people that it actually makes it to the big screen. Not to mention all the money that some poor fool gave to make it possible. It was your typical B rated film - a horribly far-fetched plot, which moves along quickly without a whole lot of explanation, cheesy lines and predictability. I always wonder if the actors themselves know it's a "B" movie. I would hope that I would realize, but I guess one never knows. One lingering thought on my mind though, is whether this is supposed to be considered a step up, or step down for Johnny Knoxville....

Thankfully our trip to Blockbuster wasn't a total bust - we also rented "The Producers" which I enjoyed thoroughly. I laughed so hard I skipped my ab workout for the day.

If the world were perfect....

He would be mine.....

...and my bra would cease to squeak like an old woman's hips. It is REALLY time to part ways with the thing, as good as it has been to me. Victoria's Secret Sale anyone? I'm sure she's having one....

Mom's Day

Appropriately, I've been thinking a lot about my mother lately. For a lot of reasons, and yes, one of them being it was Mother's Day this last Sunday. I also had to give a talk in church about mothers, and in preparing for my talk I did a lot of researching and reading, and of course, thinking about how great my own mother is. I was thinking about how ironic it is that we don't fully appreciate our mothers until we get married and move out. Of course you love them, and are grateful for all the things they do for you on a daily basis, but you don't realize the incredible sacrifices they must have made for you, most likely without you even knowing. When I was little, I took for granted that dinner was always on the table, and my clothes magically reappeared in my closet, clean once again. I figured my mom had it easy - what'd she do all day while I was busy with IMPORTANT stuff, like school? I'd leave in the morning, dishes in the sink, scattered paper, toys, books lying around, and come home to a clean house, with my mom calmly preparing dinner. I probably figured she sat around most of the day enjoying the sun and reading magazines. Hopefully she DID do that, but I know that most of the time she was busy keeping the house from falling apart. When I got married and we moved up here, I couldn't find a job for several months. You'd think, and I definitely thought at FIRST, that I would have hours of time to relax, paint my toenails and get a tan. I quickly realized however, that keeping a house running smoothly took a lot a work! That no matter how well you cleaned it, it was always going to get dirty again, and no matter how well you kept up with the laundry, in a few short hours there'd be more. Perhaps I'm a little OCD, but I remember actually being UPSET when I'd look in the dirty clothes basket and find a sock or two - are you kidding me??!? I just spent 3 hours doing laundry!!!! And vacuum lines - haven't kicked that habit yet. I am OBSESSED about vacuum lines. If the world were perfect, no one would walk on the carpet for at LEAST 24 hours after it's been cleaned because dang it, I spent at least 10 minutes vacuuming and there's nothing to show for it if the dog tries to make his way to his water bowl from the corner I've put him in (the dog drinks more than humanly, or I guess I should say canine-ly possible). He knows I like vacuum lines, and he LOVES to mess them up - or so it seems. Anyway, I digress...mothers...right. I guess my point is, that I now realize why my mother would get upset when, after a full day of cleaning the house, her kids would come home from school and let their school bags fall to the floor, and create a pile of shoes and socks and papers and...even now I'm getting antsy. I used to wonder why she cared so much - and now I know. I wonder how things would be if I knew then what I know now. All I know is that I am grateful that she continued to put up with us, and that she's still sane after all these years. :) I don't know how she did it! She is a great mom, and a wonderful example. I have a lot to live up to. I see these new moms (Kjersti, that's you!) and soon-to-be's, and hope that they find comfort in the fact that in say, 20 years their children will finally understand a little about how much they did for them. :) I also think I've only scratched the surface - that the minute I hold my first child in my arms, I will again realize how much sacrifice was made for me, and again be overwhelmed with gratefulness. So Happy Mother's Day to all the mother's out there - it's the most important work you will ever do.
My mom's FAVORITE part of my wedding day - lacing up the dress....

Picture me rollin'......

All I have to say, is that THIS (see above) is MUCH BETTER than THIS (see below).

In more ways than one, but the biggest would have to be our bank account. Though we are insanely grateful for the series of events that led us to purchasing this $1 beast - because without it Caleb would have had to get up EARLY every morning to take me to work, or worse, I would have had to learn stick, and we would have been a one car family - we are even MORE grateful for this lovely new Corolla that we have. It is my favorite color - gun metal gray, and the gas mileage alone makes me want to shed tears of happiness. What?!?! You mean cars don't need to be filled up every other day?!?! You mean they actually TURN ON EVERY SINGLE TIME?! Our prayers have been answered, and a big thanks must go out to my Dad, who "accidentally" purchased it on Ebay. I love it! I don't even mind trekking out to Corvallis every single day of my life...(okay, I still do, but my mood has lifted since it's Friday). Now we just need to work on getting the hole in Caleb's dashboard filled in...preferably with some type of stereo.

Kiss My Tulips

On Saturday Caleb and I went with Mark and Bridgette to the Tulip Festival in Woodburn, OR. Apparently the farm is owned by a family in our stake, they also run a fun Corn Maze during Halloween. I don't think any of us were expecting much, but we were all pleasantly surprised. It was a lot bigger than I had thought it would be, and the flowers were absolutely gorgeous. I loved looking at the different varieties and reading their names. Not that I can remember any, but it was fun. :) We took lots of pictures, some pretty (I even tried to get a bit artistic...) and some silly. As always, there were many people there with their dogs in tow - Oregon is a very dog friendly environment, I've seen people bringing their dogs into several nice stores at the mall. Most of them are larger, although there is the occasional tiny-dog-that-goes-perfect-with-every-outfit. Bridge and I weren't prepared to see some girl carrying her cat though. A cat?!? Cats don't like to be hauled around, especially not when it was as windy as it was. I'm surprised the girl didn't have claw marks all over her face from the cat desperately trying to free itself. Cats (and yes, I am generalizing here) like to be in charge. They make the decision of where they feel like going at any given moment. I highly doubt that kitty (from the look on it's face) was very pleased by the pretty tulips. Later on we went to the outlet mall, and then up to a VERY nice new mall in Tigard. It was heavenly! The Container Store, Crate and Barrel, Urban Outfitters, Design Within Reach (who we are now boycotting because of their horrible rudeness)...and lots of tiny expensive shops. My favorite was a toy store / baby supply store we went in. We found this...THING....that's stretchy and squishy that you can make do different things. I quickly realized it's potential and told Caleb to hold very still.....it's a classic picture. His face (in case you couldn't tell) exactly depicts: "Please take the picture - I am dying of embaressment" - which he was. I don't know what his problem was......we were all laughing. :) He was definitely a good sport. We finished the evening by discovering our new favorite Italian restaurant, Pastini Pastaria. It was absolutely amazing food. The ambiance was that of a much more expensive place, but everything was under $9. We all got something different, and were all equally impressed. My favorite part was that the food portions weren't huge - just enough to fill you up without making you feel stuffed. We also split a dessert and wow....divine. Now if we could just get them to open one in Albany........

It's more like water hole talk......

You know what I can't stand? "Office Politics". Maybe it's because I've been sheltered my whole life, never really being in a large office. Maybe it's because the LAST office job I had was such a great one. Maybe it's because I was never a "popular" girl. I don't really know, all I know is that it is ridiculous. I've been working here (at this office that shall remain nameless - don't want to be dooced do I?!?!.....Or do I?) for over six months now, and I'm just realizing how insanely petty this whole place is. I think because I was new, people either didn't trust me with their gossip, or I was just too reluctant to join any circles of people. I've never really felt like I belonged in any of them, at office parties I usually talked to the people around me, and then ducked out. It's just been in the past few weeks really that I've become privy to all this office gossip - and I don't enjoy it. Not that I care when people vent to me, I welcome it really, keeps people sane. You just start to see a new side to people that you didn't think existed, not in them, and not in the "adult world". Honestly, it feels like I'm back in high school or junior high, except that these bullies can get me fired, which is a lot worse than the usual snub. There are actual clicks here. There are some high end people that pick on other employees that they don't like, and don't even get me STARTED on all the "alliances" here. We could make a show called "High School Survivor: Corvallis, OR". The sad part about all of this, is that people actually buy into it. Some people even THRIVE on it. Such a waste of their time and energy. I am so glad I have stayed out of it, and hope to continue to. I just can't understand why some offices, or maybe it's just a few people, care about when other people take their lunches, or if they decide to leave at 4:30 because they had a short lunch, or came in early or whatever. Honestly people! Mind your own business! Not that I've had any repercussions from it, but I've seen others who have, and it's totally unfair. All I have to say is that this office is going to be losing a lot of people if something doesn't change...

"Stead of treatin', we get tricks...

I read somewhere about some great ways to "torture" a dog. Slab some peanut butter on top of their nose and let them have at it - of course I had to try it. I wouldn't call it torture, the mutt just had to work extra hard to get his treat. He absolutely LIVES for peanut butter. I wish I could upload the video on here, it's so much better to hear the slapping of his tongue as he tries to reach his nose. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time.......

Let Them Eat Stroganoff!

Despite his worthlessness as a guard dog, we decided to let him try some beef stroganoff I made the other night. Since it was after dinner was over, the stroganoff had set, and was pretty thick - without the aid of water, it was like trying to suck down a spoonful of peanut butter. I had no idea my dog was an anteater, and tried to take a picture of his ginormous tongue sticking out, trying to swallow it. Needless to say, he got a lot more stroganoff that we had intended, as I tried to capture it on camera. This is the best we got. I wish my camera took pictures when I asked it to....rather than thinking about it for 5 seconds before it grudgingly agreed. Please add at least 5 inches of tongue to get the real effect.......