Cards

Once again we made our cards so we didn't send out very many - I apologize if you didn't get one. But here is what they looked like for both our Christmas and our Hanukkah friends.

Extended Family Christmas

This is my mom's family, 4 generations of us! Only one cousin was missing.

Tree hunting and birthday

Just some pictures from getting our tree and of birthday dessert.

Thanksgiving

Here are some pictures from our Thanksgiving in Sunriver. Chuck and Shannon joined us for the end of the weekend for some snowshoeing.Have I mentioned Lulu loves the snow?

9:45pm Tuesday Novemeber 30, 2010

My grandpa is now at peace. He left us just a few days after his 85th birthday. My mom called from her cell phone to tell me at 10:30pm Tuesday night and I knew it was probably the call. Even though we had been preparing for it, it still came as a surprise and it still hurt. I sat on the couch stunned for a moment, cried, hugged my husband and pets and then called my parents' house. I knew my mom had left to be with my grandma, but my dad was still home watching my niece. Bob, Lulu, and I headed to the house to watch her so my dad could be with my mom. I didn't want her to be alone. I spent most of Tuesday with my mom. We ventured out of the house to pick up my grandma and went to Cait's music program, which was cute and cheering - just what we needed. After wards the family came over to my parents' for dinner. It is occasions like these that make you happy your mom still buys frozen costco food to feed the masses. It was nice to see my cousins and uncles, but I wish it had been for happier reasons. I learned a lot in that one day though: Donating your body to science can be complicated and take a while, my grandpa's mom's name was Velvie, he was born in Kansas and he was the youngest of 12 kids. So rest well Grandpa, we'll miss you, we love you, and we'll take good care of Grandma.

Thanksgiving

This is Bob's favorite holiday and becoming one of mine as well. I take care of the food planning for 6 of us, for 5 days - and I love it! Bob and I do most of the cooking as well. This year the weather seems to be fighting us for traveling to our usual place, but we'll get there, just slowly.
I am very thankful for some things despite my lack of employment.
I'm thankful...
for my supportive spouse
for friends and family
for my house
for having great former co-workers
for my computer that keeps chugging after 8 years
for my pets
for my garden
for my cute little car
for unemployment checks
for internet job searching
for good health.

Davis

We returned from Davis last night. I even made it without crying, but knowing that it will most likely be our last trip down there was hard. Our trip to Ashland this summer was nearly perfect, but we needed to see a few more people and say goodbye to some dear friends one more time before they head off on their next adventures (Ecuador and Austria). The weather was amazing, the food yummy and the friends were awesome. From transporting us around to feeding us to great conversations and hugs goodbye, they were wonderful. Maybe it was easier to leave because I know that wherever they end up, be it spread out in the US or on 3 continents, we'll see each other again one day. But until then, thank goodness for the internet!

Fall

Fall in Oregon means...
beautiful colors












and this year it meant hunting for tasty mushrooms in the woods















and cider bottling.

Cozy Office

Bob and I are currently working in the same 12 x 12 room, our backs to each other. The french doors are closed keeping the rest of the house outside, the dog is on the rug behind me and the sun is pouring in the window. The buzz of our computer fans compete only with our keyboard tappings. He writes his dissertation while I simply surf for work. It was almost a picture perfect office until I mentioned that part.
I am grateful for spending time at home with my husband or with my nieces, in-laws and parents. I keep thinking about why I am unemployed, what the bigger picture is. Is it so I am compassionate for the less fortunate, is it to rely on something bigger to provide for me, is it humbling (yes, yes and yes) is it to discover some new potential (I hope), or is it something big in life will change and I will need this time (ie. a death or injury in the family is what I fear). then again, maybe I'm reading too much into this and it is just my turn.

I believe...

...only 60% of Americans vote and of that I think only 30% vote regularly and the other 30% are easily persuaded people that are upset (2008 democrats, 2010 tea partiers). Why doesn't everyone vote?
...health care is a human right, Pregnancy is NOT a pre-existing condition.
...the FDA and EPA need to have stricter standards.
...the wealthy should be taxed more, the middle class should be lowered.
...Clinton got us in trouble almost as much as Bush, but no one noticed because the economy was strong.
...the rest of the world is laughing at us because we can't fix our problems, yet we try to fix others.
...the next two years could be bad, but it is 2012 that really worries me.

Been a while

Sorry it has been a while, but here are a few updates.
Still looking for work, but staying busy most of the time.
Attic work is slow. I've done some painting with the help of my mother in law, Bob has put up lights, and we might get to the backerboard in the shower tonight.
I've been volunteering with the Kitzhaber and Schrader campaigns and calling voters is hard. 50 my first day and then 38 today.
Went to a class with my sister and dad last weekend about land management, garden pests, composting toilets and trees and much was learned.
I might be my professional board's (AIA) president elect next year. I've been secretary the last two.
I'm enjoying Pilates on Tuesday and Thursdays and hope to swim with Cait on Monday's.
This week I'm looking forward to a lecture Thursday about whales and critter cams that are attached to them and a tour of the State Hospital on Friday.

Willamette National Forest

Pretty falls and tasty mushrooms while the boys mountain bike.

Attic goes on

Even though I am unemployed, we have decided to continue moving forward with our remodel. We already had most of these costs figured into our budget, we'll see when it comes to the next step though. Here are the most recent pictures!













Future Bedroom!














Future Bathroom, Closet area, and a little helper!

Driving him Crazy

It has been a while since Bob and I were both home and shared an office for more than a weekend. This is day 3 and I already think I'm driving him crazy. I promise, I am very quiet, but I think even my footsteps or typing cause him to sigh in frustration as he tries to focus on his work. Dude, does he think about what he sounds like to me?

My turn...

I had tried to avoid it, I even moved firms at a risky time, but I've now been laid off. The real bummer isn't the missing paycheck it is that I actually liked my job. I liked my co-workers, the quirky bosses and even the love hate relationship with the developers we work with. I felt I was fitting in which I definitely did not at my last office (you may remember: boys club to the extreme). I know most firms in town have laid off, the state isn't hiring, and the Portland market is even worse. I'm not sure I can handle a bad firm or a bad job and I can't afford to do something i love that pays in beans because my unemployment check is a better deal. So help me brainstorm, help me dream because sometimes it is hard to think when you really need to.

Bob and I went to visit my grandparents last night and I wanted to snap this photo, for me and for my grandma. This is what love is.

Cider Making

A Friday night spent squeezing apples. Bob and I were there too, but behind the scenes I guess. Now we wait for 2 months...

I saw him sitting there, but I didn't want to believe it was him. He was bent over in a chair and looked so small. My grandpa has Alzheimers and he has for a while, but now he is slowly dying. I see my grandma more often, probably because it is easier, but it had been a couple weeks since I visited him. So we went into the dining room, sat down next to him, and tried to get him to drink a protein shake. He is down to 125 lbs, his skin is dry and bleeds easily, his hair is almost gone. Sometimes he answers you when you ask him a question, but mostly he is quiet. The room had nurses running around and other people eating, but he was by himself. I was aware of everything around me and knew this isn't what anyone should go through. He drank the strawberry shake for me only because i kept asking over and over while Bob tried to just tell him things we were doing because we can't sit there in silence. I teared up several times as I am now. Where is the strong man who always had engine grease under his fingernails? The man who told us to go play in the freeway when we were little (lovingly of course and we thought this was hilarious), who smoked until he had a heart attack (even a triple bi-pass 20 years ago didn't slow him down much), who sucked on cough drops like they were candy? Where is the man that told us if we were behaving we weren't having any fun? I hate this disease and I feel for my grandma more than anything. It is hard on me to see him like this, but she sees him everyday and sits with him even if he doesn't say anything. When we left him back in his room and told him grandma would be there soon, I had to be okay that it might be goodbye.
We lost my mom's real dad to cancer when I was in high school, long enough ago to forget how hard it is. These caring individuals are there for you from the beginning and it is hard to think of life without them, hard to remind yourself as you grow up, they grow old.

Camping with Davis Friends

This last weekend we met some graduate student friends down in Ashland for camping and the Shakespeare festival. It was hot, very hot. But so nice to see everyone before they head off on their adventures this winter (moving to Vienna and Ecuador). Goodbye was hard because we never know when we will get to see each other next.

Bob's b-day Mt. Biking

We celebrated Bob's birthday throughout the weekend, but here are some BBQ at a camp site pics. And his birthday cheesecake!

Summer nights

We got a bunch of people together for a baseball game and we celebrated some August birthdays!











I had to take another shot since Bob had his eyes closed in the first one, so this is the face he made.

Attic Update

We've started building walls, the rough plumbing is done, and we have a ridge vent! Plus my garden doesn't look too shabby either.