Our Adventures

A Little About ME

2009-02-10T20:54:00.000-08:00

The things on this list I've done are in bold.

Started your own blog – Um, Hi, you’re reading it.

Slept under the stars – I can thank my parents for many a camping trip when my brother and I were kids…we loved to spend at least one night sleeping outside the tent…plus we liked to camp in our back yard J

Played in a band – Does Jr. High Band count? I was first chair trumpet…if not, I’m sure playing guitar on Rock Band counts

Visited Hawaii – twice – once the summer after I graduated HS, we went to Maui (I had mono) and the second time on our honeymoon, we went to Ohau.

Watched a meteor shower – Curtis and I purposely got up at 2 something in the morning to see it…thankfully we could sit on our deck and watch from our backyard.

Been to Disneyland/world – DisneyLand once, in 1988…I think it’s time for another trip…our family was more into Magic Mountain and Great America.

Climbed a mountain - does a butte count?

Held a praying mantis – eeewww, NO.

Sang a solo - at church, when I was little, in a Nativity performance.

Bungee jumped – not so much with the heights.

Visited Paris – thank you Juniors Abroad.

Watched a lightning storm at sea – well I wasn’t so much “at sea” when we watched the lightening storm, but we were on the balcony of our hotel in Hawaii, watching a lightening storm over the ocean.

Taught yourself an art from scratch – does color by numbers count? I’m seriously NOT artsy.

Adopted a child – no, but that may become an option one day…

Had food poisoning – not that I can recall…but probably.

Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty – no, but I saw her thru my window on the plane as we landed in NJ on the way to Italy!

Seen the Mona Lisa in France – again, thank you Juniors Abroad…but since you never know which day the “real” Mona Lisa will be out, I could have seen a replica.

Slept on an overnight train – from Austria to Germany and from Germany to France…courtesy of Juniors Abroad!

Had a pillow fight – in Jr. High, at a sleepover

Hitchhiked – no, thank you!

Taken a sick day when you’re not ill – actually, no, I haven’t

Built a snow fort – since we live in snow land, I’ve built several with the neighbor’s kids

Held a lamb – at the petting zoo.

Gone skinny dipping - :)

Been to a Broadway show in NY – I’ve been to two in London…so I guess technically, it’s a No.

Ran a Marathon – ugh.

Been in three states at once - two, but not three I don't think…maybe someday I’ll visit the Grand Canyon and that place where you can be in 4 states at the same time…

Ridden in a gondola in Venice – it started raining…not fun

Seen a total eclipse - yeppers.

Watched a sunrise or sunset – watched the sun rise as I flew towards it on my way to Italy…but seriously, we visited Virginia Beach one summer and got up early to see it rise and I’ve seen plenty of sunsets at the Oregon Coast.

Hit a home run – does it count if it was with a fat bat and whiffle ball?

Been on a Cruise – going on one in a few weeks! Mexican Riviera!

Seen Niagara Falls in Person

Visited the birthplace of your Ancestors – some, but not all….still need to visit Sweden and Ireland.

Seen an Amish community – thank you mom and dad…it helps that my mom is a teacher…all family vacations had to be educational (mom’s requirement) and include some kind of roller coaster (dad’s requirement)

Taught yourself a new language – I learned several words and phrases in preparation for Italy, Austria, Germany, and France.

Had enough money to be truly satisfied – seriously, who’s going to answer “no” to this one?

Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

Gone rock climbing – no thank you…I don’t like heights.

Seen Michelangelo’s David – a la Juniors Abroad (I’m pretty sure we had the best trip that year, although the New Zealand crew would object).

Sung karaoke - :)

Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt – no, surprisingly, we never got to Old Faithful on a family vacation, or when I happened to be in Wyoming for Amy’s wedding (Marisa and I missed that day).

Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant – I was with our youth group once and we all pitched in and bought some food for a homeless lady from DQ.

Visited Africa – not yet…

Walked on a beach by moonlight - :)

Been transported in an ambulance

Gone deep sea fishing – no thanks!

Seen the Sistine Chapel in person – very, very cool.

Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris – very windy!

Gone scuba diving or snorkeling – just snorkeling…in Hawaii and will go when we’re in Mexico!

Kissed in the rain -

Played in the mud – I was such a tomboy when I was a kid…

Been to Grace Kelley’s grave in Monaco

Gone to a drive-in theater – There used to be one in Grants Pass, and of course, I’ve been to the one in Newberg.

Visited the Great Wall of China

Started a business

Taken a martial arts class

Swam in the Mediterranean Sea

Visited Russia

Served at a soup kitchen

Sold Girl Scout cookies – never a girl scout, but I like to purchase them :)

Gone whale watching

Gotten flowers for no reason – thanks, hubby!

Donated blood, platelets or plasma – twice, that’s all I’ve managed with my inherited phobia of needles and blood…ask me what happened to my dad at my birth! Not so much with the supportive husband…he fainted J

Gone sky diving - again, fear of heights.

Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp – yes, the Dachau “Work Camp,” in Dachau, Germany

Bounced a check – Poor college student.

Saved a favorite childhood toy – I still have a couple stuffed animals.

Visited the Lincoln Memorial – another educational family vacation…

Eaten Caviar - gross.

Pieced a quilt – again, not so crafty/artsy.

Stood in Times Square

Toured the Everglades

Been fired from a job - just once, not fun.

Seen the Changing of the Guards in London –

Broken a bone – broke several in my foot

Been on a speeding motorcycle – we used to ride minis when I was a kid (told you I was a tomboy).

Seen the Grand Canyon in person

Published a book

Visited the Vatican – very cool, we were there during Jubilee…

Bought a brand new car - they 2 I've owned have only been new to me.

Walked in Jerusalem

Had your picture in the newspaper – thank you high school soccer

Read the entire Bible

Visited the White House – a la family vaca 1996

Killed and prepared my own meat – NO WAY, even though the hubster tries to convince me I need to go hunting sometime.

Had chickenpox

Saved someone’s life – I used to be a lifeguard in high school and college…performed CPR once.

Sat on a jury - been called two times, but always have gotten out of it, even though I TRIED to get on once…they wouldn’t take me because I knew the detectives that investigated the alleged crime.

Met someone famous - nope.

Joined a book club

Lost a loved one

Had a baby

Seen the Alamo in person

Swam in the Great Salt Lake

Been involved in a law suit – a convicted child molester tried to enter the pool facility where I worked one summer…I was called to testify since I was the manager, but they never could get to trial since he skipped town!

Owned a cell phone

Been stung by a bee

I tag: anyone who hasn't done it and wants to.

Thankful

2008-12-18T18:13:00.000-08:00

Here's a rare occurance: our boss told us to close the office and go home at 2pm today! Since I've lived here, we've never had a snow day, only the occasional close early days. We got about 10 inches in 4 hours...that's a lotta snow!

It feels like Christmas out of a movie here. There is something about this time of year that draws reflection...reflecting on the past year, and looking forward to the New Year. Sadly, part of my job is notsofun – I see a lot of foreclosures come across my desk and I can't help but feel sadness for those families. A home lost, a dream spoiled. As I sit in my comfy, overstuffed chair, next to the Christmas tree, I can’t help but feel blessed. Sure, I have struggles and times when I can truly feel the weight of the world on my shoulders (good thing I have Curtis to rub out those knots), but I am one lucky girl. I have a roof over my head, a job to pay for that roof, a husband to share things with under that roof, friends to entertain under that roof, family to host under that roof, pets (who just want to love us and be ascloseaspossible) to keep warm under that roof, and memories to make under that roof.

My mind drifts to the Doxology:
Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Merry Christmas!

3 Degrees

2008-12-15T17:01:00.000-08:00

Yes, that was the temperature as I left this morning for work. My car didn’t even get warm enough on the way to work (and I was nice to her, let her warm up for 10 minutes before leaving). I drove to work on a sheet of ice…we were eating dinner at a local diner with some friends last night and the de-icer truck went by. Curtis joked that maybe they were spreading water to make it look like they’re doing something. J We didn’t’ get quite as much as the weather forecasters said we would (10-12 inches, we got maybe 3-4). I guess we were overdue for winter. I kept saying that all the nice weather was making me nervous for what it would be like when winter actually hit. Then, when I left work tonight, I'm pretty sure my car started spitting ice crystals at me out of the vents when I started her!

Yet again I’m behind on my blogging, so here is a bit of a catch up (sorry for the lack of pictures, the camera died a very sad death, involving stairs, and the new one hasn’t arrived yet…did you get that one, Santa?)

It seems like Curtis and I lead a pretty unadventurous life, we have friends we hang out with on the weekends, but we rarely go anywhere other than Bend. We’ve been having MarioKart tournaments (it’s a whole new experience on the Wii!) and Curtis is currently perfecting his pool game on WiiPlay.

We got some high elevation snow the first weekend of November, yes, higher than we are at 4200 feet, so Curtis and I, along with our friends, Scott and Star decided to take the quads up to the lakes and go for a ride. We went up past Little Cultis and rode the quads up to Irish and Taylor lakes. The boys got their fill of snow for a while and I, well, I got to bundle up in my snow gear.

Back in mid-November we said goodbye to a friend who was headed out to boot camp for the Marines. In proper form, we all played one last round of MarioKart and listened to Elvis and Ray Charles’ Christmas (2 favorites of the boys…yes, we listen to Christmas music over the summer).

Nov. 16 I drove over to Portland for a surprise party for Marisa. She was very surprised and it was so nice to see college friends again. After dinner, several of us went back to Hannah’s and played Rock Band. I am a TERRIBLE drummer! I could keep the rhythm, but couldn’t manage to hit the drums at the right time.

My friend Star and I have been reading the Twilight series (seriously, you need to read the series if you haven’t yet) and we went to see the movie on the weekend it opened. There were LOTS of girls there and a few board looking boyfriends/husbands who had obviously been forced there against their will. I’m guessing they would have rather been at the new Bond movie.

Thanksgiving: we hosted again this year, 14 people! My parents and brother came up for the long weekend (yea!). Also in attendance were Curt’s parents (Don & Martha), Curt’s cousins (Rick, Linda, and Ricky), our adopted “grandparents” Irv and Pat, and our friends, Scott and Star. The boys (Curtis and Scott) had decided they wanted to fry a turkey (yeah, I’m thinking it, too: BAD IDEA: boys, fire, hot oil…), but they did a really good job. We had plenty of turkey as I roasted another one in the oven “just in case.”

Friday we didn’t get up early, but we did go see the new Bond movie and wandered around Fred Meyer a bit. We had all been watching Food Network in the morning, as if we hadn’t eaten enough the day before, we had to watch people make more yummy food. Rachel Ray made Turkey Croquettes with Mushroom Rosemary Gravy, so mom and I thought we’d try our hand at them. We modified her recipe a bit….for the breading, we added chili flakes for some heat and we just used what leftovers we had in the fridge. They turned out pretty, pretty good!

Saturday mom and I picked up Curt’s mom and we hit some of the sales. I think we thoroughly wore Martha out. We made it home just in time for the Civil War to start.

Sunday my parents left pretty early…mom needed to finish her lesson plans and they needed to visit Grandma since she’s stayed home to visit with my aunt and uncle who came to visit from Virginia.

All in all, it was a great weekend, but I was exhausted! Monday rolled around and Alli emailed me to see if their visit Dec 5-7 was still on, yeah, sorry, Alli, I totally forgot you were coming! So, all week, Curtis was put to work helping me get the house ready for guests! We took them down to the big city of La Pine on Saturday night to watch the Trucker’s Light Parade. Basically, people decorate their trucks with Christmas lights and we have a parade. Lots of the local businesses get involved, so it’s lots of fun, even if it was about 30 degrees outside. There was much Wii playing and movie watching and good times. Well, except for the part when the dogs decided not to like each other. We love hanging out with them and the kids, they are so much fun.

All week last week we were gearing up for winter to hit. At about 1pm on Friday it hit. It’s a good thing and this year I found myself not really dreading the arrival of snow. I’m sure my tune will change when it’s May and I still can’t plant flowers, but hey, at least it’s pretty.

On Sunday, Curtis and I joined some friends on a Christmas Tree Hunting Expedition (we already purchased ours at a lot…it was for a good cause, La Pine HS Baseball). There was about 19-20 inches of fresh powder on the Cascade Lakes Hwy, but we all have trucks and just plowed our way thru the snow. Curtis and Scott brought their quads so they could take the kids on rides. We built a fire to defrost our toes and fingers after hunting for the tree, which was found, chainsawed down, and transported safely back to “camp.” Ike and his family brought a Coleman camp stove and heated up the homemade chili they’d made…YUMMM. So, after the kids were thoroughly and completely tuckered out, although I’m not sure who was more tired, the kids, or the dad who had to drag the kids around on the sled, we packed up and went home to warm up and relax and get ready for another work week.

Yikes!

2008-10-25T06:43:00.000-07:00

I have no excuses for not blogging for the past few months...well, maybe just one...after staring at dual monitors all day at work, the last thing I want to do when I get home is play on my computer and I can't do any posting from work.

So, without further delay, here is the big ol' update:

The remainder of the summer consisted of:

Visiting Crater Lake with our friends.

We hiked down the trail and the boys took a swim and the girls stuck their feet in.

A visit from our friends, Erik and Allison and their 4 beautiful children.

Watching the Olymipics. I heart my DVR.

Our 4 year wedding anniversary.

Visiting my family for Labor Day Weekend.

A visit to Erik and Allison's at the end of September. Reunificaiton with my friend, Faith. Playing at a park in Newberg with Allison's kids and Aj's kids.

The UCLA vs. Oregon game.

An impromptu trip to the valley to participate in cider making! That was a great trip, there was lots of reunification with college friends and their spouses. It was nice to interact with my friends and thier kids, rather than watching the little ones grow up over their mama's blogs.

I think I'm now officially ready for fall. I've been drinking cider, making baked goods with apples, and buring my Pumpkin Spice candle.

Floating

2008-07-16T21:03:00.000-07:00

Sunday afternoon was so nice that we decided to float part of the Deschutes near Sunriver. Seven of us packed up and headed out. The girls pumped up the rafts while the boys shuttled the cars to the take out point. There is a nice current going, so you don't have to paddle if you don't want to, and the river is still high and cold. There are no rapids to speak of where we were, but the float was nice and relaxing. Some of us are a nice shade of lobster, even though we bathed in sunscreen.

A side note: Curt's mom recently had a bone tumor removed and we just found out it is NOT cancerous! Praise the Lord!

Poor Maverick!

2008-07-16T20:58:00.000-07:00

Last week I noticed a boo-boo on our cat, Maverick’s arm. He’d been licking away and was creating a nice bald spot. I thought it might be ring worm (although, he is an indoor cat, so I’m thinking one of the dogs must have brought it in…I’ve been washing everything!), so I made an appt with the vet for Saturday morning. She took a look at it under the special blacklight and figured it is a mild case, so we were given some antibiotics to give him and this lovely accessory:

Poor guy has to wear the collar because he won’t stop licking it. He is constantly running into the walls and just looks so pathetic. If you sneak up on him and call his name he gets all confused because he can’t see you. I’ve been giving him extra treats because he just looks so sad.

Man, I’m tired!

2008-07-09T21:14:00.000-07:00

Where do I begin, I guess where I left off, eh?

I completely forgot to mention our celebrity sighting while we were at Belknap. Saturday night, we went to the Holiday Farm Resort for dinner. This restaurant/resort, as well as the local General Store, another restaurant, and an Inn are all owned in part by Kail Harbick, who just so happened to be on Big Brother 8 last summer. The bar tender/office manager called her to come over and meet us. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera with me, which I seem to be doing a lot lately!

The weekend of June 21 and 22 we spent in Grants Pass at a cousin’s reunion. Many of my mom’s 18 cousins on her dad’s side got together. I think there were 10 or 11 of the 18, which is pretty good! Saturday morning Curtis and my dad went to a classic car show at my parent’s church while mom and I headed over to cousin Jill’s house on the river. My mom is #3 of 4 kids and we were only missing one of my 8 cousins. We now have standing invites to visit Marsha in Kauai, and my cousin Emily and her boyfriend Steve in NYC! Our camera and my parent’s camera failed to make appearances at the reunion, but I’m trying to get some from my aunt and cousins.
My great aunt Nita is the only one left of her 4 siblings and spouses, so it was a great treat to visit with her. I’d forgotten how much she likes to talk! I haven’t seen her in years, probably since high school or college. When we used to take trips to Southern California, we’d always stop by aunt Nita’s and uncle Charles’ place in Oceanside. Nita’s son, Neil has been working on our family tree. He’s discovered that we have an ancestor that was one of the minutemen during the Revolutionary War. Then, when it came time for the states to ratify the Constitution, he voted “no” because he thought it gave the government too much power. But, it was approved on Feb. 6, 1788 and Massachusetts became the 6th state. This stuff is so fascinating. I think he’s gone back about as far at the 1300s.
Good times were had by all and there was even a pig roast (I may never eat pork again after seeing the little piggy on a spit with his little hooves tucked up under his chin-y chin chin.)

Fourth of July: My parents came to town and we had a blast. Thursday night we took them to our favorite Mexican restaurant for dinner. Friday we went to town and watched the La Pine parade, then everyone came over to our house for a BBQ (Curtis is perfecting his Tri-Tip, so yummy!). One of Curt’s co-worker’s dad has box seats for the Bend Elks (a collegiate summer team), so we went to the game and then they let us out on the field so we could watch the fireworks from Pilot Butte.
Friday we got up early to go rafting, just a quick trip through some great rapids – the trip is called the Big Eddy Thriller. I can’t believe we’ve lived here 3 years and this is the first time we’ve gone rafting. I’ve discovered a couple other places to float, and we have plans to do that soon. After rafting, we took a much needed rest and then met up with Curt’s parents and headed for the Crooked River Dinner Train. It was enjoyable, and we saw lots of nice scenery.
Sunday we went to church and then met up with Curt’s parents and headed into Bend to eat at Pilot Butte Drive-In. My dad had wanted to go there all weekend, so we made a special trip into Bend just for him. On the way home, we stopped by Lava Butte and did a quick “hike” to Benham Falls. I use the term hike loosely as it is pretty much just a walk down a dirt path. When we were coming back, we met several Sherriffs and Forest Service personnel. I figured something was up, and unfortunately, I was right: a local ER Doc drowned in the falls.

I think that just about catches you up on the latest Bauman adventures. Sorry for the lack of pictures, but there is lots of linky love. :)

Belknap Hot Springs

2008-06-17T19:44:00.000-07:00

Last year, Curtis and I spent the weekend at Belknap Hot Springs for our 4th anniversary. We loved it and had a blast. My parents surprised us at Christmas and gave us a gift certificate to go back, so we decided last minute to spend the weekend of my birthday there (my 29th birthday was on June 7th). Last year, we hiked up to the Blue Pool (as suggested by the firendly Forest Service man). We didn't make it up there this year, but a couple we met hiked up there and emailed us some pictures.

A little history: EWEB (Eugene Water and Electric Board) diverted the McKenzie River about 6 miles above the Blue Pool for electricity for Eugene/Springfield. At the Blue Poole, the McKenzie popped up out of the ground and started running down it's old riverbed. Last year this is what the Blue Pool looked like:

Looking directly at where the waterfall should be.

Where people would come out after hiking OVER the waterfall.

The view from the top of the waterfall.

This year, we've had such a wet/snowy winter, this is what it looks like:

We had a very nice time, just relaxing. It rained part of the time, so we watched PS I Love You - I haven't cried that much during a movie since watching The Notebook.

May Recap

2008-06-04T19:54:00.000-07:00

The first weekend of May, Curtis and I ventured over the mountains to Newberg/Dundee/Lafayette to visit two of my college roommates. The visit was a long time in coming, it was in celebration of one roommate’s insignificant, non-milestone birthday that was in January. Yes, it really did take us 3 and a half months to get together and we were literally in town for 23 hours. The girls ate at our favorite lunch spot, Rice Bowl in Tigard, and spent some quality time at Boarders in Bridgeport Village. The boys were in charge of watching the children and BBQ-ing. It was so nice to visit, I miss them lots!

Mother’s Day Weekend: Curtis and I hosted Mother’s Day at our home. Guests included Curt’s parents, Don and Martha; Curt’s cousins, Rick and Linda and their son, Ricky; friends Irv and Pat. The menu consisted of tri-tip, salmon, roasted veggies, salad, and pasta salad. We had to tear the boys away from the TV (obviously there was some sporting event on, basketball, maybe?).

We spent the next weekend fretting over the lawn…in 90+ degree heat. (Woo Hoo! for the warm weather – FINALLY). It isn’t coming back as quickly as someone would like...I think it is because we had a pretty harsh winter and this was the first winter that the grass had been planted, but that won’t stop him from obsessing over it. It’s looking a lot better now, but there are some patches that will have to be re-seeded. Thankfully, all our plants and trees have recovered and are blooming nicely.

On Friday before Memorial Day Weekend, we woke up to SNOW. GRRRR. Maybe I’ll never get used to the unpredictable weather here….anyway, after work, we packed up the dogs and headed for my parent’s home for the weekend.

Saturday morning we hung out for a while and then visited my grandma in her new home (she broke her hip a few months ago and her recovery hasn’t been that great, so she’s in a foster care home now, but she LOVES it). We drove through my brother’s work (Dutch Bros.) and made plans to see the new Indian Jones movie that night. For lunch, I got my second taste of Sonic (one just opened in Bend a couple weeks ago). We met up with my brother and his girlfriend, Carleigh for the movie. After, my dad had a hankering for Strawberry Pie from Sheri’s, so we went there for some dessert.

My dad took Sunday off from preaching and got a real taste of retirement will be like. He drank coffee and read the Sunday paper Sunday morning before church and kept saying, “Isn’t this nice?!” Sunday afternoon we went up to my aunt and uncle’s home for a BBQ. My cousins were in town from Tacoma and Portland, so it was great to see them and see how big their girls are getting.

Monday we visited Grandma one more time and headed to the river to watch the boat races. We took the dogs down to the river, too. They barked at all the other dogs and adults that walked past, but just wagged their tales at all the kids, wanting them to play. Overall, the weekend was lots of fun, but it went by way too quickly.

On Friday, May 30, the day before my 3 year anniversary at work (wow, that means we’ve been living here for 3 years), I received a promotion to Escrow Officer!

I leave you with this:

A Bad Day

2008-06-04T19:50:00.000-07:00

Somedays my heart echos this author's thoughts.

Shout Out Time

2008-04-14T20:05:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the world, little E!

Happy belated birthday to my hubby - he turned 32 on April 7. We BBQ'd in the snow!

Happy belated birthday to my grandma - she turned 87 on April 9!

We had friends over on Saturday before Curt's birthday....we had leftovers, so we invited our neighbors/friends across the street, and some neighbors/friends down the street over this last Saturday to finish up the food. This time, it was warm enough to pull out the patio furniture and eat outside. Somehow the mosquitos found us. I didn't think we'd been thawed out enough for mosquitos to have hatched yet, but I have several bites to prove it!

Bring on Spring!

Happy Easter!

2008-03-27T21:18:00.000-07:00

We spent last weekend at my parent's home celebrating Easter and my mom's birthday (March 25). It was a fast weekend, but, as always, nice to get out of snow land for a little bit. Mom and I shopped on Saturday while Dad and Curtis planted roses (hee hee). We watched "I Am Legend" on Saturday night and dyed Easter eggs and made a carrot cake. We had dinner at the parent's house on Sunday with my aunt and uncle, cousin, and brother after church.

It's been snowing off and on for the past couple days...the Spring Breakers in Sunriver are loving it - as long as they ski or snowboard.

Two weekends ago, we got together with some neighbors down the street for an impromptu BBQ. The boys decided we needed a bonfire since it was pretty chilly (I was wearing several layers and a heavy winter coat). What is it with boys and fire? There was no couch burning this year, but this BBQ was with different neighbors. I love that we have friends so close!

Jesse and Chester have now been part of our family for a year! We adoped them on March 24, 2007. Weren't they cute when they were babies?!

It's All a Matter of Perspective

2008-03-11T20:04:00.000-07:00

I mentioned that I went to a girls night this last weekend. While I had lots of fun, I did have a very enlightening conversation with one of my friends/co-workers. She and her hubby are trying to get pregnant and have been for a couple years. We were talking about all the stuff they're trying and how frustrating it all is. See, there isn't any medical reason she and her hubby can't get pregnant, they just simply aren't. She's given up her daily coffee, alcohol and made lots of other lifestyle changes. She's been poked and prodded and examined. He's been checked, too. We were talking about my PCOS and how I'm just not in a place, mentally, to subject myself to all this stuff that I know will come up when Curtis and I decide to start a family.

For the last 6 months or so, I've been in a funk....I think the reality of my condition finally was settling in. I look around me and see babies EVERYWHERE. I had a conversation with a very close friend last fall about my condition and the frustrations of wanting desperately to have a baby, but not being able to. She had suffered a miscarriage prior to having her two beautiful girls and she said something to me that really hit home. She said that even though she had suffered the extreme loss of a child, at least she had hope that she could get pregnant again. I don't even have that small hope. After my conversation this weekend with my friend, I realized how self-centered I've been. At least I have a medical reason I can't get pregnant, she has no reason she can't and it's devastating. So, thank you, Lord, for opening my eyes to my selfishness.

Catch Up Time

2008-03-11T19:41:00.000-07:00

Let's see, what have we been up to the past 6 weeks or so?

Feb 9 we headed over to Milwaukie for a funeral for a friend/co-worker of Curtis'. As we started down the west side of Santiam Pass, a smallish avalanche happened right before our eyes! 12 feet deep and it blocked the entire road. We were stuck for about an hour and a half.

Feb 14 - we used my boss's reservations at Pine Tavern in Bend for dinner (he had to help his son study for a big test the next day.) We splurged and got Mud Pie for desert - yum!

Feb 16 was "seriously, we need to clean this house" day because it was my turn to host Bunco on Thursday, Feb 21.

Feb 21 - hosted Bunco!

Feb 22-24: took a quick trip to Portland to visit with friends. We were there for a surprise 30th birthday party for a friend's hubby....we tried to see as many people as we could because we don't often make it over to Portland. It felt like all we did was eat! I quenched my thirst for Chevy's margaritas (it was way too late to have fajitas, so a taco was second best). Thank you to everyone who agreed to meet up with us at the last minute - we had a blast visiting with all of you!

March 1 - Curtis dragged me to the Sportsman Show at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds.....let's just say, um, NEVER AGAIN. So boring. Why do I want to pay good money to look at a bunch of stuff that doesn't interest me and that I could see for FREE at the places where the stuff is sold? Plus, they sell beer there, so you have a bunch of rednecks walking around drinking and looking at guns and other "sportsman" stuff.

March 8 - I went to a "girls night" at Eagle Crest with a bunch of my female co-workers. Ah, good times: booze and highly stressed out women. It was lots of fun, we played rounds and rounds of Catch Phrase (I was told many times, "You're SO good at this!) and even a game of Pictionary. I think things finally quieted down around 4am (that's taking into consideration that we lost an hour in there). I can't remember the last time I was up that late, but it was a much needed girl time.

I can hardly believe it's March already - we've been enjoying the fabulous weather we've been having. Don't worry, we still have plenty of snow in our yard - mostly because we had the snow pushed off our roof. Here are the piles that will probably be there until June:

So. Much. Snow.

2008-01-31T19:12:00.000-08:00

Ok, ok, I know what you're thinking: "Great, another post of complaining about the snow!" But seriously, there is So. Much. Snow. 2 weeks ago we got just over a foot:

Then we had freezing temps (try MINUS 18 with a high of 12). It hurts to breathe when you go outside. Needless to say, the dogs couldn't stay in their kennel last week, so we left them in the house. My dear mother in law came over to let them out for a potty break once a day. They were so naughty. Let's just say it's a good thing the temps are back up and they can go back outside in their (sheltered) kennel.

It's been snowing pretty much all week, so now we have at least a foot on top of another foot, which is now ice on our roof. How much snow can these "snow-load" roofs hold? I don't think I want to find out.

I actually do like the snow - it's very pretty....until I have to go outside in it. Driving around here is terrible/horibble/no good/very bad. I know there is pavement under all that snow and ice...I used to be able to see it. Deschutes County - not so much with the plowing - I think they went over budget the week before Christmas. All this snow is giving me cabin fever, even though I leave my house every day. It just seems like the roads are getting narrower and narrower and the snow banks keep getting higher and higher. The poor dogs can hardly pee cuz the snow is as deep as they are tall. They're not very bright dogs - they haven't yet figured out if they go to where some trees are, the snow isn't as deep. But boy howdy, do they love to romp and play in it. It's kind of a wrestling/boxing free for all. Pretty hilarious.

Last weekend we went out with some friends. First stop, a charity event at the St. Francis McMenamins, then off to the Roadhouse for dinner. Finally, a stop by Sun Mountain Fun center for some bowling. It was the first time their kids had ever bowled (they are 6 and 3.5). I know you're wondering who won, don't worry - I won. I even beat Curtis who has his own bowling ball and used to bowl on a team! I'm not competitive at all :)

2007-12-30T10:40:00.000-08:00

We're back in the land o' snow. First, I should go back to where I left off: Tuesday, one week before Christmas:
The snow that had been falling since Sunday melted. When I left for work Wednesday morning, it started snowing again....it snowed ALL DAY LONG - in fact, it snowed for about 24 hours straight. When I got home from work, I decided that I should probably do some snow removing so I could actually get out of the house. So, I shoveled the walk way and contemplated getting on our quad and trying to plow the driveway (Curtis was not due to be home until Thursday night and I was afraid I'd be snowed in or out of the house by then). So, I found the key and started her up. I've watched Curtis do this before so I figured I could do it. Bless our dear neighbor, Jason, who clued me in to the fact that I kept getting stuck because I wasn't in All-Wheel Drive, just 2 wheel drive. They also have a quad with a blade on front, so we gave it our best attempt at plowing (needless to say, Jason is much better than I am). His wife, Heidie, asked if I would be fighting Curtis for who gets to do the plowing from now on. Yeah, right, like I'm going to fight him to do that. I did have fun, but I was cold and wet by the time we finished.

We left for my parents' home on Saturday morning, got to town about noon, fueled up and mom and I went shopping. We did so much baking and shopping! It was great! The 5 days went by way to fast, but it is always wonderful to be home for Christmas. We woke up on the 26th to snow! Now, snow doesn't happen very often on "the other side" of the mountains, and even less in southern Oregon, and even less at Christmas (if it showes up at all, it's usually in Jan or Feb). So, we met up with Curt's parents for breakfast and headed out of town by about 10am. By that time, the snow was melting. It seems like it's been snowing ever since we got home - little bits here and there, but enough to keep Curtis busy on the quad! We probably have a foot and a half. Speaking of snow - it's snowing right now!

We got to spend lots of time with family - my brother and his girlfriend - Karleigh; cousins - David and Craig; Aunt Janet and (briefly cuz he's sick), Uncle Randy. My grandma also joined us (she's the only grandparent Curtis and I have between the two of us). For the third year in a row, we fondued on Christmas Eve, after church. It's a lot of work, but lots of fun.

I took the rest of the week off and have been trying to get things cleaned up and put away. I couldn't stand to put all of the Christmas stuff away, so a few things are still out - snowmen stuff mostly, but I figure they'll fit in for a few more months. The cats are very glad we're home and the dogs are happy to be back to a place where they can frolick in the snow. Seriously, they love it.

Snow

2007-12-18T19:09:00.000-08:00

It's finally arrived. Sure, we've had a few days of snow here and there (like when that huge storm pummled the coast a couple weeks ago). But it's been snowing since Sunday night. We had about 4 inches until today when it suddenly got warm (and by warm I mean 37) and melted. I let the dogs out last night (cuz they go crazy when it snows):

I haven't been much in the Christmas spirit this year, but we do have lights on the house, a tree up, and my snowmen decor out (thanks to my wonderful hubby who'll do anything to cheer me up).

Speaking of the hubby, he's gone this week - in Grants Pass for work. He'll get back on Thursday and then we'll turn around and go back to Grants Pass on Saturday for Christmas.

Curtis and I did all our Christmas shopping in 6 hours on Saturday. Let me just say, there was extensive planning and a very detailed list. I had to be reminded several times to "stick to the list." It helps that we don't have lots of people to shop for.

Well, Christmas looks like it threw up in my living room, so I'm going to sign off and attempt to finish wrapping presents. Maybe putting in my favorite Christmas movie (Love Actually) will help inspire me to finish up.

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-04T22:26:00.000-08:00

I am a
Sunflower

What Flower
Are You?

Happy December!

2007-12-04T21:42:00.000-08:00

So, what's been going on for the last 6 weeks you ask?

We went to the beach (decided at the last minute not to take the doggies - maybe next time)

watched the Ducks beat ASU
Mom and my brother, Jeff:

my mom's brother, Bruce (joined us from Salem) and my dad

Curtis and me:

Hosted Thanksgiving at our home for 12 people (we used our china for the first time since it's spent much of the last 3 years in boxes). It was so nice to have a house full of family and friends.

Made fudge with my grandma while she was here with my parents for Thanksgiving. This was a special time for us since we always make a batch of fudge together at Christmas.

Now, the Christmas lights are up. We have a tree with lights on it and maybe one of these days we'll get motivated to put ornaments on it.

Here are some other random pictures:
What our yard looked like 2 days ago:

What it looks like now because the snow level went up to 8,000 feet:

Chester aka Mr. Hopeful:

Curtis playing with Jesse, who has his KONG toy in his mouth - he LOVES it:

Who Knew You'd Need WMD's to Carve a Pumpkin!

2007-10-16T20:29:00.000-07:00

On Sunday afternoon Curtis and I set off with some friends to the Central Oregon Pumpkin Co. for an afternoon of fun! There is a corn maize, lots of yummy, sugary (ie off limits for Shara, but I did manage to find a fresh squeezed lemonade stand that made my lemonade with Splenda) treats, hay rides, pony rides, a pumpkin shooter, and, of course, the pumpkin patch. Here is Curtis and me after going through the pirate themed corn maize.

We got back pretty late, after what was supposed to be a quick stop at the new Super Walmart in Redmond, but ended up taking almost 2 hours! So, tonight we decided to carve our pumpkin.

Mr. Pumpkin has pretty thick skin, so Curtis gave up using a knife and pumpkin carver and broke out the recriprocating saw (I love my hubby - there is a power tool for everything in life and YES, I knew the name of the saw and didn't have to ask).

There was one casuality:

Pumpkin with the WMDs:

We're not very good carvers, but hey, you try carving through 6 inches of pumpkin! Here he is, all lit up with a Pumpkin Spice candle:

Storm's a Comin'

2007-10-09T21:28:00.000-07:00

It seems like it was just yesterday that it was a lovely 70+ degrees outside and then, *POOF* in rolled the cold. Wait, it might have been last week that it was nearly 70 at the beginning of the week and then it snowed on Thursday (don't worry - God and I have a deal, the snow won't stick until Thanksgiving). The snow had melted by lunch, but it was still pretty. I'm posting this fact that the snow was pretty to me so in January, when I'm complaining and sick of the snow, I can look back and remember I liked the snow (at one point).

We had some fun tonight - a storm is rolling in and one of our trees decided to fall over. And land on our neighbor's garage. He wasn't mad (he just rents) and no damage was done because another tree softened our tree's fall. Ah, the joys of being a homeowner. Curtis has vowed to take out all the "stupid pine trees," which is what I've been saying since we bought our lot. But, I won't say "I told you so" because that's not nice. It is pretty tempting, though.

We've actually had a few storms roll through over the past week or so. Somehow, the storm clouds are comforting - I love the rain. Now, I don't love months and months of clouds with no break in sight and dreary winters. That's one thing I like about living over here - the sun comes out in the winter! Now, it is seriously cold, but hey, it's nice to see the sun come out in the winter.

Enough about the weather, from the way this blog is going, you'd think we live a pretty boring life. Well, we do have a pretty boring life, but sometimes that's a good thing.

The last weekend in September, my friend of 21 years, Brianne, her hubby, Tony and their 2 beautiful little girls, Camille (22 months) and Madilyn (6 weeks) came for a visit! We couldn't do much outside stuff because of all the rain, but we had lots of time to visit and play games. We did manage to drag the boys around Bend for a little shopping (the Carter's at the Bend Factory Stores was having a nifty sale - couldn't resist buying a couple things for the girls). Bre and I stayed up way too late on Sunday night just catching up on stuff (I think my head hit the pillow just before 1am). It was so nice to have them visit! I can't wait until the next time they come!

Last Friday I got to attend a 30th birthday party for my friend Hannah in Redmond. Her wonderful hubby, Ben, prepared a delightful selection of appetizers and played bartender. I know he was hoping we would do "girl talk," but how can that happen when there is a MAN in the room? We had a great time chatting and I met a few new people. I met Hannah through my friend Aj in college, so we got to tell funny Fox stories. I don't think everyone got them, but they were sure funny to Hannah and me!

While I'm thinking about it: most of the people who read my blog already know this, but I just wanted to put this out there. Please keep my friend Amy and her family in your prayers. Last Monday, October 1, Amy's dad died of a heart attack. My heart grieves for them and I think of them and pray for them often. I just can't seem to think of words that would accurately describe my feelings right now, so all I know to do is pray.

Well, the puppies won't leave me alone, so I guess it's time to take them outside for a potty break and then it's off to bed! And now the cat, Maverick, is trying to tell me it's time for bed.

TTFN

Status Update

2007-09-27T21:47:00.000-07:00

Is it really already the end of September? It is just me, or does time seem to slip by faster the older I get? It seems like we haven't been up to much, but yet there is always something going on.
On the 8th I did a quick one day trip to Beaverton for a shower for Grace and Hannah. It was so much fun to get to visit will college roommates and see other Fox-ians (some I'm sure I haven't seen since I graduated!).
My dear friend, Allison, made a quick one day trip over here on the 15th, so we had lunch and I showed her our home and we visited for a while before she had to return to her family.
Last weekend was the first weekend since July that we either weren't out of town, or didn't have guests in town. It was so nice just to have a weekend around home. I did a little shopping and (at one store) actually saved more money than I spent! That's so gratifying...I love a good sale. Plus, I'm now wearing 2, almost 3 sizes smaller than I was in April. Since I was diagnosed with PCOS, I'm supposed to be very careful about what I'm eating...my body doesn't process sugar correctly. No (real) sugar for Shara...just lots of fresh veggies, lean protein, some fruits, and whole grains (mostly organic), ooh and vitamins.
This week I've been trying some new recipies: Parmsean Tilapia (so yummy), Pork Loin w/ Orange Sauce, Cheese crusted chicken. I'm not much of a seafood fan, but I'm going to try a Chipolte Shrimp recipe since Curtis loves seafood and I like spicy food.
This weekend, my friend since 2nd grade (yes, we've been friends for 21 years, in fact, we met and became friends amost exactly 21 years ago - I think it was some time in October), her husband and their 2 daughters are coming for a visit! I'm so excited for them to get here! We don't get to see each other often enough, but when we're together, it's like we've never been apart. I've found I have a few friends like this, and they are such a blessing in my life. Sometimes life happens and we don't speak for a month or so, but when we do get to talk, it's so great that we just pick up where we left off. I probably don't tell them often enough that their friendships mean so much to me, so thank you, Aj, Alli, and Bre for putting up with me for this long. I love you all dearly and I hope that I can be as much of a blessing to you all as you have been to me.
One last note, I'm pretty sure my doggies are certifiable. They bark at nothing, fight over chew bones (they can only chew on one at a time, even though I give them each their own bone, they fight over one), think the living room is thier personal wrestling ring, lick their food, and make strange noises like Chewie from Star Wars.

These are the Cliff Notes of my life...

2007-09-10T22:28:00.000-07:00

Visited family in Southern Oregon over Labor Day weekend: visited with cousins, played with babies, confiscated keys from intoxicated cousin, was told by neighbor's mother at parent's church that we have the best lawn on the block, bbq, grower's market, picked blackberries in creek for fresh blackberry cobbler.

Back to work! Short week, yeah! Too much to do in short week, boo! Tried to recover from long weekend and do laundry and clean house.

Got up early Saturday morning, headed to Portland for celebration of birth. Visited Washington Square Mall, it's been far too long since visiting a "real" mall (note to self, visit real malls more often). Visited with college friends, ate Thanksgiving dinner, but food was "finger" food, catered by one of the hostess' hubby. Yum-o! Drove home.

Cleaned house on Sunday. Haven't been home or without guests on weekends since JULY.

Back to work, sigh. No more long weekends until Thanksgiving!

Nighty night!

Tag!

2007-09-10T22:06:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged and here are the rules:
1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.
2. Each player starts with eight (8) random facts/stories about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight (8) things and post these rules.
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight (8) people to tag and list their names.
5. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged and to read your blog.

On to the good stuff:

1. My least favorite Sesame Street character is Grover.
2. As a child, I used to eat my McDonald's French Fries in a precarious way. I would eat all of the fry except the very end. That is the tail, and you don't eat the tail! Sadly, I never grew out of strange eating habits. My roommates in college alwasy knew I was done eating when I would start playin with my leftover food.
3. I love lists. I make them often and for just about everything. Grocery lists, chore lists, honey-do lists, pro/con lists, things to do on vacation lists, itemized lists of my nail polish...
4. I was diagnosed with Poly-Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) in April. I debated for a while if I should even put this "announcement" on this list because it isn't very funny and I was trying to keep the list light and fun, but it does qualify as a fact about me, so....if you're curious, here is a link.
5. A short list of things I LOVE: the smell of freshly cut grass (love it when Curt mows the lawn), the sound of thunder storms (we had some really loud ones right before Labor Day), cleaning (I took a couple days off for my birthday and spent the entireday of my birth cleaning our house. Ironically, my mom could never get me to clean when I was a kid.).
6. My clothes have a particular place in the closet (no, it's not on the floor).
7. When I go to bed at night (as opposed to going to bed during the day), I find it hard to fall asleep unless one foot is sticking out of the covers. That's a nice change from how I used to sleep as a baby, with my patootie up in the air!
8. As I was driving home from a baby shower on Saturday, for the first time since Curtis and I moved to Central Oregon 2+ years ago, I found myself feeling like I was headed "home."

I tag:
1. Hannah B.
2. Hannah H.
3. Mandy
4. Faithy
5. Shannon
6. Amy
7. Marisa (now you have to post!)
8. Alli (um, hi, your last entry was in JANUARY)

Hello, Friend!

2007-08-26T15:36:00.000-07:00

The sun has come back out to play! YEAH! I was getting worried that it had made it's exit for the summer. It's always around in the winter, but it's not so warm, just bright and shiny.

Curtis and I had a great time this weekend at Belknap Springs Resort. We both took off work on Friday so we could take out time getting over there. It's only about 100 miles from our house to the resort, so it was a quick drive. We were going to take highway 242 out of Sisters (the "scenic route") but we saw a sign that said that the highway was closed 20 miles ahead. But, before we turned around, we stopped by the nature preserve because there was a HUGE herd of cow Elk! One had even wandered over to the sprinklers to get herself a drinky!
So, instead of driving the 20 miles to see if it really was closed, we decided to take highway 20 over the Santiam Pass to highway 126.

Once we arrived and got checked in in, we decided to wander through the beautiful gardens.

There are so many flowers all over the place and I'm sure Curtis was delighted that I kept naming all the ones I knew (which was quite a few, thanks to my mom, the gardner).

Here are some shots from the Secret Garden:

Here is Curtis in the "Heart Garden" being goofy:

Saturday we decided to go for a hike, so we drove to the nearby Ranger Station to get a recommendation from the experts. The very cute ranger man suggested we hike up to "Blue Pool." He explained that about 6 miles above the Blue Pool, the McKenzie river was diverted into the Smith Reservior for the Eugene Power and Water Board (something to do with electricity). Then, it gets dumped back into the Trail Bridge Reservior. However, downstream from the Smith Res., the McKenzie river suddenly bubbles back up out of the earth about 2.5 miles above Trail Bridge Res. Cute Ranger Man (CRM) said it is the most clear-blue water you'll ever see. So, armed with a map and some water, we drove up to the trail head and started out. It was fun for a while, until we stared meeting mountain bikers coming down the trail. I serously don't know how they were biking on that trail, it was very rocky. After about 2 miles, we come upon the pool. It was one of the most beautiful things I'd ever seen.

I think there might be forest fairies that color the pond blue every morning :) It sure was worth the 4 mile round trip hike. We live in such a beautiful world. Sometimes I can't believe how creative the Lord is. People diverted His river, so He created something amazing!

Once back at the resort, we hopped into the hot spring pool. There are two pools at the resort and both are heated by the hot springs. Kind of like a gigantic hot tub, except with lots of little kids yelling about how hot the pool is. After dinner, we just laid around the pool some more. There aren't TVs or phones in the rooms (which was actually very nice), so we spent more time talking and laughing. Here is the view from our room: it looks out over one of the pools and over the McKenzie River

Curtis and I figured we haven't been this relaxed since going to Hawaii 3 years ago and, we are definatly going back! There is so much to do and see and explore!

Now, it's back to reality. I think the laundry is calling my name :)

Busy, Busy, Busy

2007-08-23T18:40:00.000-07:00

It seems like the summer has just flown by, but that could be because our Spring/Summer starts about 6 weeks after all the nice weather starts on the other side of the mountains and ends sooner, too. This morning when I left for work, the fog and crispness in the air reminded me of OCTOBER in the valley. Sigh.

Anyway, 2 weekends ago my mom and I had a girls trip to Tacoma for my cousin's daughter's first birthday. We had lots of fun visiting and watching Luci smear cake all over her face! On the way home, we stopped at the new IKEA in Portland. Boy was that a mistake, I think all of the Portland/Vacouver area were trying to get in the store. They even had people directing parking like at the county fair!

Last weekend my parents brought my grandma up for a visit. This is the first time she's been to our new house. We had lots of fun visiting with her and showing her central Oregon. We got to do lots of things we don't normally do because we live here. We took her to the top of Pilot Butte where you can see all of Bend and get a great view of the mountains. We also took her to the top of Paulina Peak on Sunday, but it was too couldy to see anything.

This weekend we're off to Belknap Hot Springs to celebrate our 3rd anniversary (it was 8/21.

Oregon Jamboree

2007-08-06T17:52:00.000-07:00

We spent this weekend at the Oregon Jamboree in Sweet Home, OR, and although I'm not a huge country music fan, (well, let's face it, I probably know 5 country music songs and that's because I know who Carrie Underwood is...) I had a good time, but don't tell my mother in law ;)
I'm tired, sunburned, and I ate way too much food I shouldn't have, but enjoyed myself.

We haven't been up to much over the last 2 months, but boy has time flown by. We've been doing lots of yard work and enjoying the wonderful summer weather with friends and family:

My cousin Kurt's son Randall Paul (RP) and my other cousin David's daughter, Grace playing in my mom's pond.

Maverick and Patch peeking out from their very tall kitty tree where they like to sleep.

My mom and dad over Father's Day weekend and their 35th wedding anniversary! They celebrated by taking a trip to New York! My dad fulfilled a life long dream and got to see a Yankee game in Yankee Stadium!

The new flagstone thingie Curtis built for me off of our back deck.

Flower!

More flowers!

Jesse napping at my feet as I blog.

Chester trying to get in my lap as I blog.

Seattle, Portland and Grants Pass

2007-06-04T15:27:00.000-07:00

We had a very nice Mother's Day weekend in Seattle, lots of yummy food, good company, shopping, and baseball! It is a VERY LONG car ride from LaPine, but we made the best of it. 5 of us in dad's 4-Runner. Jeff, Mom, and me in the back seat. It's a good thing we all like each other....and that we all showered!

I had a meeting in Portland the following Thursday for work and decided to stay an extra day and hang out with a couple of my roommates from Junior year of college. We had some much needed girl time. I have new appreciation for stay at home moms - they wore me out, and I was only there for 24 hours!

We went to my parent's house over Memorial Day weekend. Some of my cousins were there - I got to play with baby Luci, my cousin Jon and his wife, Erin's 9 month old. We watched the parade on Saturday, bar-b-qued on Sunday after church, saw the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie, and watched the jet boat races on Monday. We took Jesse and Chester with us, and discovered 2 things - they do NOT like long car rides and loud boats.

This last week our well started making some cha-chug, cha-chug noises....and over the weekend we started losing a lot of water pressure! We used as little water as possible and did laundry at Curt's parents' house yesterday afternoon. Today, the well fix-it man came and fixed it. Thankfully, it wasn't anything major and I can now wash my dishes. Ah, the joys of home ownership.

2007-05-09T10:39:00.001-07:00

Let's see, what have we been up to lately?

We stained and sealed our deck - it was finally warm enough (above 70!). Then, 5 days later, it snowed (May 3 & 4).

Jeff, my brother, came for a visit last weekend! He enjoyed a day at the mountain and then a Cinco de Mayo dinner/bonfire we had with the neighbors. No, there wasn't any burning of inappropriate items.

We finally got an outdoor doggie kennel for Jesse and Chester - they are much happier to be outside during the day.
Our cat, Maverick ran away for about 4 hours the other night. He finally came home about 1am and scratched at the back door and meowed until I woke up and let him in. Here he is keeping the puppies in line :)

I've been trying a bunch of new receipies from this great blog my friend told me about: http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com/

We had dinner with some friends and then took a nice stroll along the river in Drake Park.

We're going to Seattle this weekend for Mother's Day and Jeff's birthday. We'll be enjoying shopping, brunch, and a Yankee/Mariner game!

Curtis planted some grass and it's finally starting to grow! I love spring!

Happy Birthday!

2007-05-09T08:22:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my younger, taller bubba, Jeff! He was born 25 years ago on Mother's Day and Mom had always said he was the best Mother's Day present she ever received. I've yet to figure out a better gift, and believe me, when I was younger, I tried!

Snow in April?

2007-04-13T18:29:00.000-07:00

It snowed off an on for a few days over the last week....so I let the puppies out to play! They slipped across the deck trying to get each other. Then, Jesse was so tired, he fell asleep with his little head hanging out of their bed!

Thankfully, the snow only stuck around for a day and then melted away.

Introducing....

2007-04-03T19:41:00.000-07:00

The two newest members of the Bauman household: Jesse and Chester! I had a momentary lapse in judgment and decided to adopt a puppy for Curt for his birthday (April 7 - he'll be 31!). When I showed Curt the picutres of the two puppies left at the shelter, he thought it would be a great idea to get them both. So, on March 24th we took a trip to Madras and picked up our puppies. They are cute (when they're sleeping) and fun (when they aren't trying to chew everything they can find), and they had managed to wiggle their way into our hearts by the time we arrived home (after a quick stop at the pet store to get supplies).

I'm sure you can image our kitties are less than thrilled. Maverick just sits around an glares at them and occassionally whaps them on the noggin. Patch won't leave our bedroom (it's her "safe place").

First BBQ of the Season!

2007-03-19T15:38:00.000-07:00

It's been SO nice here the last week! We're talking high temps in the 60s! Woo Hoo! Heat Wave! Anyway, our neighbors across the street invited us over yesterday afternoon for a BBQ. Another couple and their 2 boys came over as well and we all enjoyed the warmish weather, yummy food, and watching the kids be wild. I'm just going to say that fire + big boys (as in adults that should know better) = burning things that probably shouldn't be burned....like old pleather couches....good, hot times.

Happy March!

2007-03-01T08:42:00.000-08:00

So we finally have some snow around here. It started snowing on the 19th and has been snowing pretty much all the time since then. This is the most snow we've had all winter!

My parents came for a visit over President's Day Weekend. Mom and I did some decorating (pictures to follow one day) and shopped! She helped me pick out some curtains for the front room....they're RED, but don't worry, our walls are Walnut Cream, our couches are cream, and the carpet is brown, so the room needed a little color ;). It was so nice to have them visit. They were our first official overnight guests. They even left a small tip for the maid in the guest room. Guess I'll have to give it to her, oh, wait that's ME!

Not much else is going on....work has been crazy busy, but that's good. We're still loving our home!

2007-02-04T13:18:00.000-08:00

For those of you who have been requesting....here are pictures of Maverik and Patch enjoying their new home and of the front and bank of the house.

2007-01-23T21:40:00.000-08:00

We've Moved

2007-01-23T21:14:00.000-08:00

We must have picked the coldest weekend this winter to move, but we did it. Last Friday (1/12) Curtis' dad picked up our U-Haul (we rented one incase of snow and/or other wintery type weather) and Curtis, our friend Brandon and I spent about 2 1/2 hours loading our stuff out of storage. This way all we had to do was move our stuff from the in-law's house and unpack the U-Haul. Everything went smoothly on Saturday and we had everything out (we had the biggest truck PACKED full) by mid-afternoon and most everything out of Don and Martha's house. The kitchen is usable as are the bathrooms, washer/dryer and we have TV (thanks to our across the street neighbor, Jason who is a whiz with electronics - hey, he works for the cable company). Our clothes are unpacked and there are sheets on our bed. I finally got the computer unpacked this past weekend and have been working on re-arrainging the furniture in the living room. I think the next room I'll tackle is the guest room - the bed is in, but the sheets haven't managed to make it on yet.

I tend to take my time unpacking boxes - some haven't been opened since we left Portland just over a year and a half ago. I found all our wedding cards and some souviners from our honeymoon in Hawaii. I'm down to 1 1/2 rooms that still have unpacked boxes in them, but I think that is pretty good. Here are some pictures now that we're moved in. Dad, I've included 2 pictures of the refrigerator - THANK YOU!

A Light at the End of the Tunnel

2007-01-02T09:03:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year! We had Christmas with Curt's parents on Thursday before Christmas and left Friday after work for my parent's house. We had a great time at my parent's house for Christmas - we fondued after the Christmas Eve service (I think it is starting to become a tradition - 2 years in a row!). My cousin, David, proposed to his girlfriend....I hear wedding bells!

There is something that has been on my heart lately and I want to share it with my blog-friends. In the morning at work, I listen to a radio show out of Texas and they do this thing called "Breaking and Entering Christmas." Basically, people write in about someone they know who, for whatever reason, doesn't have enough money for Christmas. The listeners donate money and gifts and one of the morning show hosts goes to the house (conveniently, the family is not at home) and sets up a tree, presents and fills their fridge with food for Christmas dinner. This year the family of 6 was living in a travel trailer (much like the one Curt and I have been staying in for the past 7 months) because their house was destroyed by a tornado sometime in November. They have 2 storage sheds they use for "extra" living space. It hit me that I have been whining a lot about living in the trailer at my in-law's house. We are so lucky because, in a few weeks, we get to move out of the trailer into our brand new house. This family's lives were interrupted when their house was destroyed but their attitudes were that of gratefulness because nobody was killed (several family members were injured).

So, I prayed a simple prayer asking for forgiveness for my ungrateful and whiney attitude and I let my in-laws know how much I appreciate their generosity these past 7 months. They opened up their home (and trailer) to us not knowing exactly how long this process would take. I know they are ready for their space and daily routines to go back to normal (my mother-in-law had a moment of honesty the night before we left for Christmas saying they needed a break from us just as much as we needed a break from them), but I'm sure they will miss having us around when we move out.

Today is our walk through - the day we get to point out all the things that we think are wrong so they can be fixed (like the big hole in the drywall under the kitchen sink from the finish carpenter). We still don't have an exact move-in date, but I've been told about 2 weeks!

Frozen Hair, Car Doors That Won’t Shut and Frost on the Inside of Windows

2006-12-19T12:38:00.000-08:00

That’s what I’ve been dealing with the past 2 mornings! I opened the window shade in the trailer only to discover frost on the INSIDE. My cat, Patch likes to hop up on the table and lick the condensation off the window (yes, she has issues), but had a very surprised look on her face when she licked the frost. I immediately laughed and had pictures in my head of her tongue sticking to the window, so I closed the shade to prevent her from injuring herself. I won’t bore you by complaining that it was -2 Monday morning and how when it is that cold the heater in the trailer doesn’t so much like to work. Funny how that is…

We got all our Christmas shopping done this weekend…YEAH! As I was baking some cookies Sunday evening, my Bubba (my brother, Jeff) called to get some recommendations for gifts for the parents. Watch out, Mom and Dad, your kids have been cahooting, or is it ‘in cahoots?’ Anyway, Curtis and I will be heading to Grants Pass for Christmas on Friday!

In other news, our countertops and cabinets have been installed! The carpet and other flooring is being installed this week…I LOVE my red wall in the nook. Curtis likes it too, but he won’t admit to it.

Merry Christmas!

A Little Fun...

2006-12-14T16:57:00.000-08:00

A - Available/Single? Married.
B - Best Friend? I have several…luckily!
C- Cake or Pie? It depends…I love a good chocolate cake and marrionberry pie, but not together, unless it is marrionberry sauce drizzled over the chocolate cake :)
D - Drink Of Choice? ½ decaf, double, tall, sugar free whatever, nonfat, extra foamy, latte (hey, I worked at Starbucks for too long…I like to choose drinks that fill all the boxes J).
E - Essential Item You Use Everyday? The Internet…hey I have to keep up on celebrity gossip. Their lives are far more interesting than mine…thankfully.
F - Favorite Color? Shara-cotta (see recent post about painting our house).
G - Gummy Bears Or Worms? Worms.
H - Hometown? Grants Pass/Merlin.
I - Indulgence? Anything chocolate.
J - January Or February? Well, by January, I’m sick of the piles of snow, so I’ll say February – we’re getting closer to the snow going away!
K - Kids & Their Names? We have 2 cats…Maverick and Patch.
L - Life Is Incomplete Without? My family.
M - Marriage date? August 21.
N- Number Of Siblings? 1 – Fluffy (Jeffrey).
O - Oranges Or Apples? Oranges.
P - Phobias/Fears? Heights, but I did get up on our roof to paint the trim on our house!
Q - Favorite Quote? I don’t so much have a favorite as I have one for every situation!
R - Reason to Smile? I have a loving husband, supportive parents, and great friends – I’m a lucky girl!
S - Season? Fall – before it starts snowing (yes, it snows here in the fall).
T - Tag 3 or 4 people? 3 people – you know you want to!
U - Unknown Fact About Me? If you know me, you pretty much know everything about me (“Hey, that’s MY exit!”)
V - Vegetable you don’t like? Lima Beans.
W - Worst Habit? Biting my fingernails – I’ve done this since I was a small child…
X - X-rays You’ve Had? Are you asking how many? (At least 1) Or what’s been x-rayed? (I broke my foot when I was 6).
Y - Your Favorite Food? My mother-in-law makes mean fried chicken.
Z - Zodiac Sign? Gemini.

Always Get a Paint Sample

2006-12-11T07:56:00.000-08:00

We're one step closer to moving into our house....the inside is painted. Curt's friend John came out Saturday morning and we started about 8 and finished just after 2. We almost had a disaster: The Mohican Mist color I picked out, which I thought would be a lovely purpley-grey was PINK! If you attended our wedding, you know that the bridesmaids wore pink. If you are my mom or friends, you know I like pink. I definatly DO NOT like pink on four walls of a bedroom. John was going to paint over the pink with the Walnut Cream, but he let me try to tint the pink with some tints he had. I added some Venician Red, Burnt Sienna, Brown, and Black in hopes it would come out a shade of Terracotta. It turned out great! It's not as orangy as Terracotta, it's more red. The new name for the new color is: Shara-cotta! So, the lesson for this weekend is to ALWAYS get paint samples. Don't depend on the little color stip to be an accurate representation of the color. I didn't get any samples for the other colors and I really love them, but it's better to be safe than sorry!

PS - sorry for the lack of pictures. I'll add some once we're moved in and I have high speed internet again.

Christmas Time is Here...

2006-12-04T15:08:00.000-08:00

I'm sad because we don't get to put up a tree this year....I just don't think it will fit in our trailer. So I thought I'd try something new this year: I decorated a Gingerbread House. My mother-in-law was kind enough to pick up one of those nifty kits from the store. It was fun for a while, until the roof wouldn't stick. My icing decorating techniques need some serious work. I don't think I'll be making this a new tradition.....

My company Holiday Party was this last Saturday night at the Deschutes Brewery....Good times! The food was yummy and desert was delicious! Chocolate Lava Flow cake w/ Kahlua Ice Cream. Everyone got to draw 5 cards for their poker hand and, after dinner, the person with the best hand at each table got to pick or steal (from someone who had already picked) a prize. Curt had the best had (3 eights!) and he was the last one to pick a present. He ended up stealing a snowman dressed as a cowboy that came with a sign that reads "Believe" in fun glittery letters for me. That means we're two for two on winning prizes at my Holiday Parties (last year we won a portable DVD player from a raffle). To think, I almost didn't go so I could attend the Trucker's Light Parade in LA....humm....Standing in the sub-freezing temperatures, or winning fun prizes and eating yummy food?

In other news....We're almost done with the back deck. Hand rails are up, holes have been picked/dug for the support system for the step, and boards have been cut for the step. All the boards are down for the main part of the deck and it is beautiful! Many grateful thanks to Curt's cousin Erik for being the whiz he is at building things and to his wifey, Krimsen, for letting us borrow her hubby on the weekend, again. Now we just have to finish the step in the back and do the front, which Erik says should only take about 6 hours.

We finalized our paint choices: Walnut Cream for the main living area, hallways, bathrooms and kitchen; Leaf Rust for my accent wall in the nook; Drops of Dew for our room (it's blue); Morning Sunshine for bedroom 2 (which my mom has dubbed the baby's room for her future grandchild); Fraser Lake (green) for bedroom 3; Mohican Mist for the guest room. I believe we're still on track for painting this weekend!

I've decided to do a bit of Christmas shopping tonight....Only 3 weeks until Christmas! I think I need to watch "Love Actually" when I get back to the trailer tonight!

Second Chances

2006-11-17T10:31:00.000-08:00

Last night I attended a "Girls' Night Out" with my mother-in-law, Aunt Linda, and some other Bunco friends. The functions are once a month and have a new theme each night. Last night was a tea party and we learned proper etiquette when you attend tea.
The second speaker talked about second chances. She asked us to list 5 things we're thankful for. Then, she gave her life story, which included having a baby girl at the age of 16 and being sent to a home for unwed mothers (this was in 1965) where she was forced to attend "services" and hear all about what an awful sinner she was and how God could never love such a bad person. She was also forced to give up her daughter for adoption (they let her hold the baby for 3 minutes). Years later, in her late 30s, she and her husband started attending church and ended up adopting 2 boys (one whose mother dropped him off at the train station in Seattle at the age of 7 and told him she didn't want him anymore). She said how happy she was to figure out that she wasn't the only sinner in the world! What I took away from it was how she struggled to forgive herself for her past sin. She had this incredible guilt, and even though she knew she was a new, clean person in Christ, she just couldn't let go of that time in her life. I can relate. Some things are hard to let go of. But when you finally do let go and let the Lord heal you, it is the most freeing feeling. You will always remember that mistake, but the hurt has disappeared. I'm so thankful that I have second chances in life!

I've been promoted! & 2 more months in the trailer

2006-11-10T12:49:00.000-08:00

I am now an official "regular" player in my bunko group as opposed to a "sub" that plays just about every month. The lady I've been subbing for just couldn't commit to another year, so they asked me to take her place!

Some house news....our expected move in date has been pushed back to sometime in mid January. Boo....At least we have an actual goal that seems realistic. They will start the dry-wall on Monday and need 13 working days to complete, so with Thanksgiving in there, we're looking at them being done the first week of December, then a week to paint, and then all the fun stuff arrives on Dec. 13, all our carpeting, cabinets, fixtures, etc. They said they need about 3-4 weeks to complete all that and have us do the walk through so they can fix any problems and then we can move in! Guess it'll be Christmas in the trailer....I wonder if we can fit a tree in there?

It's Snowing

2006-11-09T08:07:00.000-08:00

I thought Curtis was just trying to get a reaction out of me when he looked out the window and excalimed "IT'S SNOWING!" For some reason I didn't believe him, until I looked outside and saw these pretty, white, fluffy flakes falling from the sky. All I could think was, "great, it's snowing and we haven't put my snow tires on the car yet and the stupid road maintence guys won't get the highway de-iced until AFTER I get to work and I'm going to get in a wreck on the way to work in the morning..." I know what you're thinking - wow, someone forgot to take her happy pills. I do like snow, but what I don't like is driving a 4-door car in the snow when EVERYONE else in Central Oregon is driving a 100-ton jacked up diesel truck thing that's wheels are bigger than my car. It's scary, especially because they drive fast and have no regard for us little cars on the road!

Anyhoo, the road guys did get the highway cleared before I left for work and I had a very uneventful drive. I think it' supposed to snow off and on for the next 5 days or so, but I see blue sky out my window!

PS - Mom and Dad, hope you're ready for a white Thanksgiving :)

I LOVE apple cider!

2006-11-03T15:27:00.000-08:00

Our office served apple cider on Halloween to the cold little trick-or-treaters. We had some left over, so I've been drinking it EVERY DAY! Although, today I think I may have had one too many mug fulls today, because I'm feeling a bit of a sugar high. (Ok, a big sugar high.) The weather here has been perfect for cider drinking, too; it's been raining since yesterday. Apparently someone up above heard my cries for some west-of-the-Cascades type weather. It's been warm enough to keep the rain in rain form, rather than snow form. Thank you! Now if I could only find some time to get to my friend Amy's house, maybe she would share her cider with me. I'm not sure she has enough to go around, though. :)

House update: We have a garage floor! They poured the cement on Tuesday! The electrician is hooking us up to power and water is being connected to the house! We are on the schedule for insulation next week! Slowly but surely our house will get done. I should have stopped praying for patience... Wow, that was a lot of exclamation points, I must be excited for our house to be done or something...

Game Time!

2006-10-27T16:43:00.000-07:00

Some pumpkin carving fun for the kid in all of us (and a lot less messy)!

http://www.cubpack81.com/images/carve_pumpkin.swf

My high score is 175!

http://www.itsga.com/fun/cat_new.swf

You can smell it in the air!

2006-10-26T08:21:00.000-07:00

SNOW! I can smell it in the air, it's on it's way! It has already dusted the peaks that surround us. I'm ready for you this time, Mr. Winter. You may have taken me by surprise last year by dumping so much snow that it pilled up so high that I couldn't see out my front window....but this time I won't be in shock when that first snow flies and doesn't go away until April.
PS - I won't be upset if you decide to give us a cold, but not so snowy winter ;)

Bunko?

2006-10-19T13:23:00.000-07:00

If one gets bummed out because her bunko night was postponed until next week, does that make her life sad?

It's Been a While

2006-10-17T16:42:00.000-07:00

Curtis and I were in the Portland area this past weekend for a baby shower...is everyone I know having babies?

Anyway, it's been a quite some time since I've been to Portland since moving from Beaverton Memorial Day Weekend, 2005. As we drove through the Chehalem Valley to my friend's house in Lafayette, I realized how much I miss fall. See, where I live, in La Pine (which is approx. 30 miles south of Bend in case you've never heard of it, which I hadn't until my in-law's retired here), we don't have fall. The seasons change from summer to frickin freezing. The majority of the trees here are some form of pine, be it the coveted Ponderosa Pine, or the stick like lodgepole pine and they stay green through the year, unless they are covered in snow, then it's like I live in a black and white picture. This morning the temp was somewhere in the upper teens or lower 20s, but when it's that cold, a few degrees doesn't make that much of a difference. Time to break out the winter coats!

We had a good time visiting with friends and wandering around the newly remodeled Washington Square Mall. We had to leave earlier than I would have liked so we could get back to L.A. Pine (my dad loves when we call it L.A.) and finish painting the trim on our house (less than 2 months *hopefully* and we'll be moving in!).

So, this blog is dedicated to my dear friend, munchkin mama, who told me when we moved a year and a half ago to start blogging!