Sneak Peek

Just wanted to post a quick update letting you all know that we're home safe and sound from our vacation to Hawaii. We have almost 500 pictures from the trip to go through, but I wanted to get one up to show some of what we saw. We'll be putting together a big post with the stories and more pictures of the trip soon. Probably by the end of the weekend at the latest. We've been busy recovering from the trip and getting back to the reality of work and just haven't found the time to get pictures and a post up.

More soon!

-G

And...it's....a....

BABY!

You didn't think we'd come right out and say it, did you?

Everything looks good, lots of fingers and toes and all that. Even the calculated age based on how big it is came within one day of the previous prediction. Sure is an active little one, lots of kicks and punches while we were watching.

March Maddness

Those of you who, like me, love March Maddness check this out. I thought it was pretty funny.
What do you think of his picks?
-h

I'm too excited to sleep!

I'm sure I'll be saying that in a few hours. I've been excited all week! We've both been excited all week!
We go in tomorrow afternoon for the big ultrasound. Hopefully baby West will show us the "goods". But more importantly, I hope the baby is growing healthy. I can't wait to find out how things are going. So, check in tomorrow for an update. Thanks to those of you who voted! Looks like those of you who think it's a boy out number those who think it's a girl. Everyone at my work thinks we're having a girl. And apparently my niece Savannah thinks we're having a little girl too. Sorta fun to predict, and guess, but soon we'll see who's right. And who's wrong!
Then after that exciting news...we leave Friday morning (6am flight) for Hawaii! We'll be spending most of the week in Kona on the Big Island with some trips to the volcano and mountain. Being the planner I am, Gabe's shocked that I haven't planned out every day of this vacation. That's my usual way. But I've had so much going on and so much more on my mind these days. I'm sure we'll have a great time. I'm just looking forward to some sun and snorkeling! I would be looking forward to the sushi...but oh well. No sushi for the pregnant lady.
-h

What's your vote?

We find out next week!  So you have a week to cast your vote and then we'll post the true results from the ultrasound!  And of course I'll post the results from this very scientific survey.

        
Quizzes by Quibblo.com

Birthday Week is Over

Heidi let me know yesterday that my birthday was officially over at the end of the night. I guess having a full week of birthday is enough, even for a milestone birthday like 30. We had a great time last night at Hopworks, and then at the Pub at the End of the Universe. Good friends, good food and good beer made for a great evening.

As for being 30, well, I guess I don't feel like I'm that old. Does being 30 mean you're officially a grown up? I guess it does. That's kinda a bummer I guess. That's going to be what I'm going to miss about my 20's I guess. Not that I was an irresponsible youth or something, but I don't get to consider myself a young anymore. Not old, but definitely not young.

-G

Birthday Boy!

We're celebrating Gabe's big 3-0 today!
My family came over for a little party on Sunday since Tricia's birthday is tomorrow. So I made him the chocolate bourbon cake he requested then. Tonight we're making dinner and just laying low. Gabe wanted steaks with blue cheese. Big surprise!
Saturday is the big gathering. I reserved us some space at Hopworks to celebrate with friends. Gabe's really excited. I think he's tired of drinking alone! So, I'll have to get him on here Sunday to report about how 30 feels!
-h

Baby Update

I meant to get on here yesterday, but the end of the trimester is Friday and I've been swamped with projects to grade.
We went to the doctor again yesterday. I told Gabe he didn't need to come since it was just my monthly check up, and the doctor just uses the doppler to listen for a heartbeat. Well, I think he's missed "contact" with the baby because he insisted on coming with me.
Baby West isn't the most cooperative. I hope this isn't a sign of what's to come! At the ultrasound weeks ago it wouldn't give the tech very good views to get the right measurements. And then yesterday it wouldn't stop moving. It was moving around so much all we could hear were the loud sounds of it moving...the heart beat was just faint in the background. It was moving so much even the doctor got a kick out of it! I'm hoping the baby will be more cooperative in a few weeks when we go in for the "big" ultrasound. If I can't find out if the baby is a boy or girl I'm going to be one sad momma!
-h

Is it really Monday already?

Why do weekends have to go by so quickly, while the week days just drag on and on? I was really disappointed to wake up this morning and have to head to work. My wonderful husband did the dishes before he left to hang out with the guys...that makes the day a little more tolerable.
We had a fun and busy weekend. We took off right after I got home on Friday to drive down to Eugene. Gabe's old co-worker recently moved down there and he invited us down to go see the Modest Mouse show. It was an interesting show. I felt like I was back in high school. The never ending stage jumping and crowd surfing really was ridiculous. I was really glad we were sitting up in the balcony so we weren't in the middle of it. There's no way I would have made it through the entire show otherwise. It was a really late night...getting into bed at 1:00am isn't something I do much anymore! On our way home Saturday we stopped in Harrisburg and had brunch with Gabe's dad and Joanne. It was nice to see them. I absolutely crashed when we got home. I think I took a good 2 1/2 hour nap...Gabe took one too. I'm not sure what his excuse is!
Yesterday I had mother/daughter bunco with the girls. We've been terrible about getting together so it was nice to be able to hang out with them for the afternoon. If only our lives would just slow down a little!
Well, I've just managed to put off the work I brought home another 1/2 hour. Guess I should at least get it started before I completely crash. When is this 2nd trimester energy I've heard all about going to arrive?

Seattle

We're back, and we had a great time. From the picture above you can get a birds eye view of our weekend. The picture is from the viewing deck of the Space Needle, in it you can see the Experience Music Project, downtown and Lake Union. From the other side of the viewing deck you could see the rest of downtown, Elliot Bay and the Olympic range.

We spent Saturday getting to Seattle and settling into our room before heading out to dinner. We ate at 94 Stewart, it was good, not as good as I had hoped, but decent enough for having picked it out based on internet reviews. Sunday we did the bulk of our exploring. We hit Pike Place Market, the monorail, the Experience Music Project/Sci-Fi Museum and the Space Needle. On Monday we met up with my cousin Brooke for an excellent breakfast at Portage Bay Cafe near the University of Washington campus. From there we sought out some more interesting things around Seattle, including, of course, the Fremont Troll.

In our day with Brooke we also checked out the view from Kerry Park up in the Queen Anne neighborhood, explored the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks and sampled amazing chocolate at Theo Chocolate. It was good to see Brooke as the weather kept her up in Washington over Christmas break.

Overall, it was great to get out of Portland for a while and explore somewhere new, though not so new or wild that it was uncomfortable to visit.

-G

Isn't it Friday yet?

I'm really looking forward to this weekend.  Since it's a long holiday weekend...and because we have a fun getaway planned.  It really has nothing to do with Valentine's day!  I promise.  We gave up "celebrating" a few years ago.

We're going to a fondue feast at a friend's house on Friday night.  And then Saturday morning we're going to take off north to Seattle.  A few months ago, Gabe and I were talking about how we really wanted to get away for this long weekend.  He actually gets Monday off!  We threw around some ideas and decided on Seattle.  It's been awhile since either of us have been there.  Plus we always enjoy exploring a "new" place.  As much as we love Portland, sometimes we run out of new things to try.  It's sorta funny, neither of us has actually been up in the space needle!  The iconic Seattle landmark, and neither of us has actually been there in our many trips to our neighbor to the north.  So that's definitely on our list of things to do while we're there this weekend.

Time for our walk.  I gotta go get my shoes on before Gabe turns on 24 or Heroes and we get sucked into the couch for good tonight.

-h

Is this real life?

Gabe found this video today and it is hilarious!
Check it out and get a good laugh in today.

How to tell your family and friends you're pregnant...

We can't keep this secret to ourselves any longer!
Baby West is due to arrive on August 11th.

Things have been going well. All the first tests, and ultrasound, are normal. I go in again on Monday. This does explain a little of our absence from the blog. Bed time has been moved to 9:00-9:30 around here. I simply can't keep myself awake any longer. Almost every night I ask Gabe if 7:30 is too early to head to bed and he assures me that it is.
-h (and G)

Hangin' in the PC

This weekend we took off to the coast with my parents and Tricia. Since mom and dad spent the holidays with Heather's family in St. Louis and then Becky in Las Vegas, mom wanted to spend the time with the rest of the family at the beach. So, she rented a house in Pacific City for the weekend. I figured we'd be spending the weekend storm watching from the warmth of the house, or playing games, since January at the coast is usually a mess. Rain, wind, storms. Well, this weekend was beautiful. It was sunny, with barely any wind, and the temperature was close to 60 degrees!
It was a wonderful weekend to spend at the beach. We didn't do any storm watching but we did do some walking on the beach and some sitting on the deck watching the waves roll in. The house was right on the beach so the view was amazing! It was really nice to be spending time with family.

We've sure taken a break from blogging so far this year. We haven't really been up to much in 2009. January is just one of those months when I think it's important to take it easy. After the bustle of the holidays it feels nice to just relax at home on the weekend. Plus, getting back into the routine of things can be a tough adjustment. We do have some fun things we're looking forward to this year. We won't be absent for good...
-h

Looking back at 2008

2008 was a year of...
*Lots of fun times spent with family and friends
*New experiences in foreign places
*Destroying part of our house and seeing it improved upon 110%
*Voting for a presidential candidate that I am both passionate and excited about (only 19 more days!)


I enjoy looking back at the year that's gone by. It was a great year! (minus the turning 30 part). I am excited for what 2009 holds in store.
-h

Post-Holiday

We survived the trip south to see Gabe's family for Christmas. I say "survived" because we got more snow on Christmas Eve morning and I was afraid we might not be able to make it out of town. We did make it out of town, but it took us WAY longer than it should have. It took over 2 hours to get from Portland to Salem. That's a trip that usually takes less than an hour. Driving down I-5 we'd get stuck in a lane because there were these huge piles of snow and ice separating the lanes. We saw cars get airborne when they changed lanes trying to get over those piles of snow. It was a long and bumpy ride. I'm very thankful that I wasn't driving. I had a bad enough headache as it was by the time we arrived.
We had a nice time visiting with Gabe's mom and the Johnson's in Oakridge and then a nice time with Gabe's dad and Joanne in Eugene. We even got to enjoy Tom playing a coffee shop gig. It was nice to see family that we don't get to see nearly often enough.
As for the rest of my week off...I'm taking the time to get things done that I just don't get the chance to take care of when I'm working. For example, the hair cut I finally got today. I got a new book from the library that I can't put down. So, I may not get done as much as I should this week!
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and enjoy what is left of 2008!
-h

Winter Wonderland....

Well, not exactly! When I want snow like this, I know where to go...Mt. Hood. Never have I seen snow like this except on the mountain. We have over a foot of snow here on the valley floor. It's amazing that at an elevation of 50ft we've gotten this much snow. These are some shots I took of the backyard this morning. I'm not sure they really do the magnitude of snow justice. You have to try and walk in it to truly "appreciate" it. We went on a walk this evening and its tough work. Some snow drifts are nearly 2 feet and since none of the roads around us are plowed there isn't much activity. We should have put our snow shoes on! Maybe we'll have to do that to go get some dinner. All we have to eat in the house is left over party food. None of it very good for you!

Amazingly, Gabe did get up and drive to work this morning (after taking nearly 1/2 an hour to get the car de-iced and out of the snow bank that is the drive way). He was there for about 10 minutes when they made the decision to close up and tell people not to come in. Why they couldn't have made that decision earlier is beyond me. He called their emergency line tonight and they've already called off work for tomorrow. Thank goodness. I really was afraid the car would get high centered in some snow and he'd be stuck. We don't have that much ground clearance in the Outback.
So, I'm not sure what our plans are going to be for the rest of the week. We've had to cancel so many holiday plans all ready. I was supposed to meet the girls on Sunday for "brunch" and Christmas gifts. We were supposed to meet Peggy and Paul for dinner on Sunday too. Both were canceled. We rescheduled with Peggy and Paul for tomorrow night but I'm not holding out much hope that things will change much between now and then. Tonight we were supposed to have Christmas dinner with Tricia since the rest of the family is else where this Christmas. We rescheduled for next week since we're still hoping to be able to leave town on Wednesday morning to head to Oakridge/Eugene to see Gabe's family.
I just can't believe that we have this much snow! It's incredible!
-h

When did Oregon get moved to Alaska?

Seriously. We're used to a couple days of snow during the winter. Maybe some icy roads, and even some freezing rain once in a while. At this point it's getting a little ridiculous. Everything around here is covered with 6+inches of snow, a layer of ice, and now more snow is falling. This doesn't seem like the Portland winters I'm used to.

Fortunately the weather isn't keeping everyone in their houses. We had a pretty decent showing at the party last night, especially given the conditions outside.

This was the collection of shoes at the front door. Everybody spontaneously ditched their shoes when they got in the house. I guess it was to keep from tracking snow into the house, or, so they didn't have to wear wet shoes during the party. We all had a good time, and everyone traveled to and from the party safely.

Snow, Snow...go away!

So I'm sitting here in my clean house, with lots of yummy things to eat and drink, with this overwhelming fear that no one is going to come to our cocktail party tonight. It has literally been snowing all day. And since no one in P-town is used to winter weather like this, or really prepared for weather like this, it will probably be a small crowd. (or just me, Gabe and Jupiter) Which really bums me out. We really haven't had time this year to have people over. The summer flew by and so did the fall. I was really looking forward to seeing all of our friends. Can you tell that I'm really wallowing in disappointment?

another snow day?!

So here I am in day 3 of "Snow Day Extravaganza 2008".
Part 3 of the "Arctic Blast" was supposed to hit this morning at about 7am but here it is, after 11, and I have only seen some small snow flurries.
Last night we took another trip to the grocery store to get more baking supplies. I figured if I was going to be here another day...more baking needed to get done. I guess I wasn't the only one with that brilliant idea. The baking isle was empty. I'm not kidding. The shelves were empty! They didn't have the semi-sweet chocolate I needed. They didn't have the white chocolate I needed. They didn't have the marshmallows I needed. It was ridiculous. So I got what I could and I'll try to make it work.
Since I've hardly left the house this week, Gabe and I did go on a quick walk last night. It was quick because after about 10 minutes we couldn't feel our faces. We would have walked faster to get the blood moving, but with the risk of slipping on the ice, that wasn't really an option.
I'm not sure what I'll be doing to keep myself entertained today. Jupiter isn't much for company. All he does is sleep. I'm not really comfortable with all of this time on my hands! I didn't bring home very much work because I didn't know this would be a 5 day weekend. Any suggestions?
-h

Snow Day Part 2

Well, it's not snowing today but we still don't have school. I'm thankful. I was not looking forward to getting there on the ice rink which is still the street outside our house. I almost slipped right outside our house yesterday when I walked 2 blocks to the mailbox. Even with the snow tires, I am a true Oregonian and don't feel confident driving in bad weather. Especially when I can't even walk without slipping and sliding!

I sent Gabe after ingredients for cookies last night. So my plan for the day is to bake, bake, bake. Our holiday cocktail party is Saturday night (weather permitting...there's more snow in the forecast!) and I figured since I'm home all day I may as well get some of that baking done ahead of time. I'm making these and these. I was also planning on taking some treats to work. We'll see if that happens. 

I've been putting all this extra time off to good use!  I'm finishing off a book I've been working on for awhile, working on some scrapbooking and crafts.  Just staying inside trying to stay warm.
-h

Snow Day!

Well, tomorrow is the snow day, but today is the day we got the snow. That make sense? Didn't think so. To be more clear, it snowed today and then got really cold. That means that tomorrow Heidi has a snow day and doesn't have school. Unfortunately I think I'll be headed into work. The forecasts had been around for this storm for so long I fully expected it to not happen. To be on the safe side we took the Outback in yesterday and had our snow tires put on, and I'm glad we did. The snow didn't really get going until mid morning, but it stayed steady for most of the day. Out at Heidi's parents house they had 4" by this evening. All the roads are packed snow and pretty icy now. Should make for a fun commute tomorrow!

For those of you here in Portland, stay warm!

-Gabe

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!

Putting up lights on the house, attending my staff Holiday party, cutting down and decorating our Christmas tree...this weekend has been all about the holiday!
We didn't go out to the woods to get our tree this year. Our friends (Josh and Danelle) who we've gone with the last few years, had things come up that prevented them from making the trek out to the woods. So, we just went to a farm out in Oregon City. They had great trees to choose from, but sadly it was raining and muddy so we picked one out pretty quick. And it's a little shorter than I wanted. Oh, well. It still looks nice. Here it is!
Apparently, Jupiter wants to be sent somewhere special for Christmas this year. Any takers?I also wanted to share this picture. We had the most amazing sunset on Friday night. It was the most beautiful I've seen in awhile.
Sadly, the composition of the photo is terribly lacking since Gabe took it right out our front door. But he had to snap it quick before it was gone completely.
To conclude this holiday weekend we'll be watching the movie we traditionally watch on the day we get our Christmas Tree. The classic: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
h

All Done!

I just finished my last project for my class at UP! The project was to read an additional text about reading and/or teaching reading and present to the class. Well, I read the book this weekend...I know I procrastinated...and put my presentation together today.
I'm excited because I will also soon have my Monday nights back. Only 2 more weeks of class!

I am sad that this long and wonderful weekend is almost over. I had the chance to get a lot of things done that I've been wanting to do, but just haven't had the time. None of the grading I brought home was touched, but that's usually how it goes. Who wants to work on their vacation? Well, Gabe's making a batch of beer today. It's been a long time since he's had the time! We've both been busy this fall. I guess I'll get the Christmas cards finished while he's out in the garage. If I get them in the mail tomorrow that would be a record breaking event. The earliest it's ever happened!

Thanksgiving was great and I think I'll be enjoying the last of the pumpkin pie here in a little while! Hope this weekend was restful and enjoyable for everyone.
-h

We're looking forward to...

going here for Spring Break!
We got our plane tickets earlier this week and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it ever since.
I can't wait!
Good thing I have making pies to keep me here in the moment. Plus, we're heading out with our friends in a few hours for the annual night before Thanksgiving celebration.
-h

not much

is going on around here. Just the same old, same old.
I had a really terrible week. It was horribly terrible. Thank God it's in the past. I don't think it's possible to have one any worse, and if I ever do have one worse, at the end I'll be writing my letter of resignation. It's been a really difficult fall and that somewhat explains my absence on the blogging scene. I've never wanted this blog to be a place where I complain about the difficult parts of my life and since I haven't had much of anything positive to be sharing...I just haven't been sharing. Not that I have anything specific to write about today either. I've just been feeling like I need to get on here and do an update since it's been awhile.

I'm really looking forward to Thanksgiving. It's definitely my favorite holiday. What's not to like? All my favorite foods, time to spend with family, and 4 days off. We aren't hosting this year, my mom is, so that makes it even easier! I won't have to do the 5 sink fulls of dishes that end up being created. But I guess I can help my mom with a few! Gabe's mom is coming up and we'll go over to my parents for dinner, taking the pies and green bean casserole with us. If you want the best green bean casserole recipe in existence you should email me. It's 1000 times better than the recipe you find on the fried onion label!

We've spent most of the weekend getting things to make this years holiday card and cocktail party invitations. We also bought the first Christmas gift of the year. We aren't the sort that plan ahead on that, so it's a huge deal that we have a gift purchased before Thanksgiving. Most of my family is not going to be in town for Christmas so we won't be buying the quantity of gifts we have in the past. I'm relieved. I hate shopping...especially at this time of year. Not that I don't love giving gifts but...do we really need more stuff? I'd rather just be able to spend time together. I guess that's why I love Thanksgiving!
-h

Gone Fishin'

So I got up at 4:45 this morning for this little fish? I don't know how the real fisherman do it. Maybe it's that they are out there more, so they catch more stuff.

As you can tell, I was out fishing today. I went out on the Willamette with Josh to do some sturgeon fishing. He wanted to try a new spot that was recommended by a coworker of his. The spot wasn't bad, we just didn't catch any keepers. The biggest fish we caught was in the 2' range, they have to be 42" to keep. Although, I did have fun, and that's what really matters I guess.

-G

Here It Is

Here is the big purchase that Heidi was talking about last week. I finally got it home from work on Friday and just haven't been able to blog about it. It's an engine and wiring harness from a 2003 Subaru Impreza WRX that I'll be swapping into my 1999 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS. When new, my car was rated at 165HP, and now with 147K on the engine, I'm sure it's much less than that. This new engine is rated at 227HP, and only has 45K on it. It's something that I've wanted to do since I bought my car. It'll be combining two of Subaru's best products, the 2.5RS, and their 2.0 liter turbo engine, the EJ20. In the US, the two were never available together. You weren't able to get the turbo engine until the WRX came out in 2002, but that was a heavier, and uglier car. It's going to be a ton of work to get it done, but I'm really looking forward to doing it.

-G

VOTE!!!!

Gabe and I filled out and delivered our mail in ballots on Friday!
Don't forget to vote tomorrow...your vote matters!
-h

The Simpsons...

made an appearance at our house this weekend. We really had a hard time thinking of costumes this year. It definitely wasn't our most creative...but it did take me quite some time to find just the right green dress.

We didn't do much on actual Halloween. I had conferences on Thursday and Friday and was completely exhausted! So we went out to dinner and watched Beetle juice. I'd never seen it! We were terribly not in the spirit and didn't even hand out candy...last year we only had a dozen tick-or-treaters so it doesn't really seem worth it. Last night we went to Aaron and Marie's yearly costume party. As always there were lots of games, and great costumes. Sonya won the best female costume as one of the wicked witch's flying monkeys. She looked great!

I hope everyone enjoyed their Halloween...I guess we'll put our costumes away for another year.
-h
PS...Gabe made a big purchase this weekend that he's really excited about. He'll have to share and tell you all about it later this week. That is if I can get him out of the garage.