Lately.

Life has been a little hectic lately, but mostly in a good way. While there have been a couple of not-so-fun things consuming my time (work and a stupid online class to renew my teaching license), most of it has been fun. Here is my "Top 5" list of good things that have been keeping me busy lately:

5. Lil' Miss Housewife- now I know this doesn't sound fun, but after living without a washer and dryer for 3+ weeks (keep in mind Joe works in the woods and gets filthy every day) I was SO relieved to get these. You know you are officially an "adult" when you are excited by such purchases.

4.  The Most Wonderful Time of the Year- Just in case you are unaware, let me clarify one thing- I HEART Christmas-time. It makes me so happy- all of it. Decorating, shopping for/making/wrapping presents, the music, the food, spending time with family and friends, etc. It really is one of the best times of the year, and a bright spot in an otherwise dreary season.

 

(Aside from Christmas decor, our house is still pretty bare. Hopefully that will change when we officially close in January!)

3. Friendly Visits- A couple of weeks ago, some of our bestests came to visit and check out our new place: Mo, Blair, and Caleb. They brought beer, house-warming gifts, and best of all- good company. From Caleb: 2 over-sized wooden swords for dueling (I kid you not), and from Mo and Blair: champagne, party poppers, and this hilarious card (enlarge the photos below to read, it's pretty darn funny and if you know Mo at all this will not surprise you)

2. Family Time- We might not have a lot of friends down here, but we certainly have a lot of family around. The last few weeks has been a lot of time with Joe's parents, his sisters and their hubbies, and our little nephews and niece. Uncle Joe and Aunt Janelle have been earning their titles!

We hosted a birthday party for our niece Sinah's 2nd bday

Sinah loving the "baby" we gave her (I swear, her motherly instincts at the age of 2 are better than mine at the age of 26. She started feeding the baby like this all on her own as soon as she got it out of the box, crazy).

Watching our niece and nephews is not all fun and games... here Sinah and Tre are fighting over a box to play in. Ah, brother and sister love.

Just hanging out with Wyatt, pretty much one of the cutest babies ever. 

1. My two boys- The two great loves of my life: Jonas and Jack. I spend my days walking/playing with Jack, and at night I get to snuggle up with Jonas on the couch. Joe is so tired every day when he gets home from work he often falls asleep for a nap on the couch. Jack, being the super-sweet dog he is, cuddles up next to Jonas on the floor and naps with him. Makes my heart melt everytime.

A pretty good list, huh? I think so :) Can't wait to see what keeps me busy once 2010 rolls around...

Quite baffled, really...

How is it that breaks/vacations always end up being just as busy, if not more so, than regular work weeks?! Such has been the situation recently for yours truly... I thought once Christmas Break rolled around life would slow down, I'd have all of the time in the world to work on Christmas presents, sip hot cocoa, watch tons of movies, snuggle up with Jack, read, blog, etc. Well, that isn't happening so far. What has been keeping me so busy lately is a whole separate post on its own, so for now I just have time to say Merry Christmas and I hope everyone has a great holiday. As for me, I'm off to Sunriver with the Newton family for lots of skiing, food and fun. Lots of love to everyone, and I'll leave you with a few oober-cute Jack photos and words of wisdom for the holiday:

1. Relish your time off

2. Go outside and play

3. Don't stress about anything- just have fun!

Oh, the irony...

Since the day Joe and I met at OSU (almost 7 years ago, wow) he has constantly teased me about being a "city girl". I guess compared to him, I was. After all, I am from the greater-Portland metro area and he is from Roseburg, AKA the Dirty South. Joe introduced me to fishing (which I am awful at), I have still never been hunting, and big-ass pick-up trucks do nothing for me. Even more, I really miss the yummy restaurants, various entertainment options, and general civilization that a "big" city like Portland has to offer. Despite my love for natural beauty and the great outdoors, I guess I really am part city-girl at heart, which is why Sunday's debate over where to get a Christmas tree is so ironic to me...

Joe: What do you want to do today?
Me: Go get a Christmas tree and decorate our house.
Joe: Ok, where do you want to go?
Me: Let's go to a U-Cut farm, drink hot cocoa and walk around with Jack. It's a beautiful day and it'd be  fun.
Joe: Really? Can't we just go to a lot somewhere?
Me: No, I want to go to a U-cut farm.
Joe: Why? It is really not that fun.
Me: Joe, I've gotten my Christmas tree from a parking lot the last 25 years of my life. If I am going to live in the "country", I want to experience the natural beauty of it.
Joe: Seriously though, can't we just go to a lot?
Me: No, it'll be fun. Stop being a Scrooge!
Joe: I spent my entire childhood growing Christmas trees. Every Thanksgiving growing up I worked all day on our Christmas tree farm. And now my current job is to maintain and grow trees. Seriously, can't we just go to a lot?

***See pics below to see who won this discussion ;)***

So much better than a parking lot!

Jack thinks so too :)

Cruising the property before we narow it down

Jack picking a fight with a plant... that's my dog!

 

"The one"

What a natural...

Joe: (in his best Janelle-mocking voice) "I want to go to a U-cut farm" :)

Hahaha... look at that face

Seriously, who's with me on the U-Cut vs. the parking lot? I mean really, what else were we going to do all day anyway?

Revelations at Autzen...

(Let me preface this post by saying there are four Duck fans that I know and love, and they break the stereotypes of typical U of O fans, who have been voted the most "unsportsmenlike fans in the Pac-10" in Sports Illustrated.)

First and foremost, I must admit- the Ducks just flat out beat us last night. It was an intense, exciting and amazing football game, but when it came down to it, the Beavers just didn't get the job done. I could sit here and make excuses for why we lost, but that is not really my style, or our style, to do so. We give credit where credit is due, and the fact is our offense didn't convert on enough crucial plays and our defense struggled to stop their running game.

That being said, the Civil War last night reaffirmed my pride in Beaver Nation. Yes, you heard me right. I am PROUD to be part of the school that lost, the school that is NOT going to the Rose Bowl. Now before you click to another website because you think you are reading the words of a crazy woman, hear me out on this...

Let's be honest. Football is just a game. In fact, all sports are just a game. (I know- shocker, right?) They are fun, they are intense and they are competitive, but sports are really not THAT important in the grand scheme of life. (Keep in mind, I say this as a woman who dedicated 18 years of her life to athletics and as the wife of a former Seahawk.) Yet for some reason, some people get so caught up in athletics that they often compromise their character and values. Or maybe in some cases, athletics simply expose a character that isn't so great to begin with. If you don't understand what I'm talking about, here is a glimpse into my experience last night at Autzen Stadium.

Example #1: I am walking to the game, by myself, looking to meet up with some friends at a tailgate.  Completely sober, walking silently, and causing no sort of scene whatsoever, I navigate my way through a crowd of Duck fans . I walk past a group of male Duck fans who yell "F*** off, and F*** the Beavers!" as I pass by. Really guys? Congratulations for being grown-ass men, drunk in public, yelling at a female by herself who was walking peacefully to an athletic event. Real classy. I wish I could say these were the only males who talked to me in an offensive manner, but then I would be lying.

Example #2: In the third quarter, one of our best defensive players, Tim Clark, got hurt. He was down for awhile before the golf cart came out to take him off the field. It is a well-known common courtesy for a team to take a knee out of respect to an injured player, which is what our team did the whole time he was down. But Oregon, losing at this point, decides to use this injury as a time out and huddles near the sideline, scheming and planning the whole time Tim was down. In addition, their cheerleaders were shooting t-shirts into a screaming student section, again, as if this was a timeout. It is unbelievable to me the lack of respect that was shown as one of our players fractured his leg. Again, no class.

Example #3: Apparently for some people, values do have a price. And for Oregon's football program, it is the Rose Bowl. The Ducks were heavily favored to win the Civil War, so I think it sent them into a bit of a panic when we went into halftime with the lead. Their answer in the second half? Let's play LeGarrette Blount, the idiot who punched out a Boise State player and was suspended "for the season", before being reinstated after Oregon lost to Stanford. Unbelievable. And did he play prior to the Civil War? No. They didn't need him to. They only played him when a trip to Pasadena was on the line, and sure enough, the guy scores the go-ahead TD and they continue to use him the rest of the game to ensure they hang on for the win. This is wrong on so many levels. Watch this video to listen to Chip Kelly talk about what the University of Oregon "isn't", and then he has the nerve to not only reinstate him, but play him for the first time in the third quarter when they are losing?! Nothing that program does should surprise me at this point, but I guess I had faith they would draw the line somewhere. Silly me.

Sidenote: First of all, Coach Riley would not have "suspended" a player for this stunt, he would've kicked him off of the team. Second, even if he did suspend a player, he would NOT go back on his word and reinstate him, because sometimes there are things in life more important than winning a football game. Like honor, for example. Third, Riley doesn't recruit idiots who would do this in the first place, so it's not really an issue...

Example #4: After the game, I was running back to my car (it was really freaking cold!) and as I am running I see two guys with t-shirts that read "My Dickson, your Beaver". Again, real classy but nothing surprises me at this point of the evening. These guys actually paid someone to make these shirts. What the hell does this have to do with school spirit? Or supporting Duck football? Nothing! And you didn't even spell his last name right! Either you spelled it wrong on purpose, in order to be more vulgar, or you really are that dumb. Either way, it shows you have no class, and the fact that you talked sh*t to me after I ran by proved my early judgements to be true. After he yelled some obscenities at my back, I turned around and yelled "Good job for yelling at a girl who is by herself, real classy guy". He kinda just went "uhhh" and stood there speechless. I mean seriously, are there no boundaries anymore? What kind of grown-ass man talks trash to a girl who is alone? I do not know ANY Beaver men who would do such a thing unprovoked, yet I encountered many UO fans who did just that.

OK. I feel better now to have gotten these things off of my chest. All things considered, it was still a great football game last night. It's been a long time (if ever?) that the Civil War has been played for the Rose Bowl. We might not have won the game, but how far we've come in the last decade is pretty amazing and I am super proud to be a part of Beaver Nation. Being a "blue-collar" school to me is not an insult, but a compliment. We may not be fancy, or have multi-million dollar locker-rooms, or 2,347 different uniform combinations, but we do have this special little thing called class. And to me, that is something Phil Knight's money can't buy. 

**********************************************************************************

 Beautiful night for a showdown 

Highway to Hell

I know you can't read it, but this guy's sign said "Oregon is the Paris Hilton of college football". Couldn't have said it better myself.

Marching downfield after recovering a fumble

Red-zone offense going to work

The Beaver's final TD

Beaver Believers for life!

Up by 9, time for Blount to make an appearance...

Battling it out for Roses

A beautiful, but chilly Oregon night for a football game

A smorgasbord of fun.

Last weekend was a busy, crazy, wonderful weekend.  First of all, we hosted Thanksgiving (less than a week) after moving into our new home. Luckily, our families are super awesome and aren't people we have to "impress".  While I have several friends that would give Martha a run for her money, our Thanksgiving was pretty basic- good food and good company, without any time for cute decor. However, it was a great time for everyone and fun for us to host so soon in our new home. Joe is quite the sous chef as well, and I am lucky to have a hubby who helps his wife with the cooking on Thanksgiving :)

Friday it was off to Portland for lots of catch up time with friends. Friday night Joe had a man-date with Blair (Lexus club-level tickets to the Blazer game, nbd) while Mo and I met up for dinner and drinks. Top it off with some bowling at Hollywood Bowl -a very classy venue- and a new bowling PR/victory for me (I bowled a 158, what the crap?!) and I'd say it was a great night.

Saturday we spent a lot of time with my brother Brian, my cousin Cathy, and her hubby Aaron. They are pretty much the coolest people ever. We tried an awesome restaurant in SW Portland before making a stop at the "beer shop", where we purchased some special items for some of our besties. Can't wait to have them all over soon so we can bust out the goods! (Stay tuned for that post, it is probably going to be awesome). For dinner we went to Portland City Grill to celebrate the marriage of one of my old friends from high school, Alex Schaeffer. He got married in Bolivia but had a reception here, and it was so nice to meet his lovely wife and see so many old friends from high school!

Sunday included a huge breakfast prepared by our wonderful hosts, Cathy and Aaron. Lots of bacon and hashbrowns, so yummy. Then we watched the Seahawks beat the Rams on tv, which was awesome. It was a beautiful, relaxing Sunday and it is always nice to see our friends on the Seahawks get a victory.

After the game we had a long drive back to Roseburg, which gave us lots of time to just talk and reflect. And I realized, instead of complaining about living in Roseburg and missing my friends in Portland and Seattle, I should just be grateful to have such awesome people in my life and be happy I live within driving distance. Some people I know do not have that privilege. And even though Roseburg is not perfect, it really is a decent place to call home. Plus, I have an amazing husband, awesome dog, and a cute little house, all happy to have me there. And for those things, I am very, very thankful :)

Avoiding Thanksgiving Day Disaster #1... a frozen turkey

Ahhh... much better

Carving it up

Kathy and her yummy homemade rolls

With our creations- turkey for me, mashed potatoes for Joe

(who looks like he just wants to eat at this point...)

With two of our favorite people at Alex's reception

Love her! (Classy bunny ears Matt)

Wow, Jessie and I are two lucky ladies... look at how classy our hubbies are ;)

Finally...

we have a home. I have been craving a house for a long, long time. I've been longing for a house like most girls my age long for babies. Maybe it's because in the last 4 years of my life, I've moved 9 times. (That is NOT an exaggeration.) In fact, after living in the same house for the first 18 years of my life, I've moved 13 times since leaving for college. Joe and I have moved between Oregon and Washington more times than I care to recall, and it seems like every time we start to get settled somewhere and really begin to like it, it is time to pick up and leave again for one reason or another. I have been subbing for the last THREE years because of this instability, and all I want is a place to call home and know that it's worth investing in a community because we'll be around for awhile.

Well, I finally got what I've been wishing for. Joe and I recently put an offer on a house in Roseburg and it was accepted. We moved in and are "renting" it until we close. We are so close to owning our first home and it is SUCH a great feeling and relief. A lot of people have been asking for pictures, so I decided to post one here. I haven't taken very many yet since much of it is filled with boxes and very unorganized right now. However, here is a little preview of our new home. Man, it feels so nice to finally be able to say that :)

Super Proud...

of my Beavers. My former team is making OSU history by playing in the NCAA Sweet 16 tomorrow night versus Notre Dame. I couldn't be happier for Linus, Morgan, the girls and OSU. Hopefully, our girls can take care of business against the Fighting Irish the way our football program has in recent years! (Sorry Danielle, if you are reading this ;) Speaking of, it is also a great time to be a Beaver for football fans... Can't wait for that Civil War, GO BEAVS!

The Bright Side...

As you probably know by now, Joe and I recently packed up our lives (once again) and moved from Issaquah, WA to Roseburg, OR. For those of you who may not be familiar with "The Burg", it is Joe's hometown in southern Oregon and has a population of about 20,000. The town itself is actually not that small, it's just that there's really nothing around it within an hour's drive except country and even smaller towns. The closest big town is Eugene, an hour north, and Portland is a whopping 3 hour drive. It's funny- everyone I know back home (and by "home" I mean Portland) is excited to have us back and "so close". Yet Roseburg is actually just as far from Portland as our home in Seattle was. But instead of being 3 hours north, we are now 3 hours south.

I must be honest- I have had mixed feelings about moving to Roseburg. On one hand, Joe has a good job down here (he got a forestry job with Lone Rock Timber), we are back in our beloved state of Oregon and we are closer to (his side of the) family. In addition, it is much cheaper to live here, the weather is warmer, and we no longer have to plan our days around traffic. However, there is also "the other hand". For me, I am really missing our friends in Seattle, the endless variety of amazing restaurants, the more varied culture, the beautiful mountains on every horizon, and simply having more "to do". Although we didn't often venture into downtown Bellevue or Seattle, it is nice to have the option. It was also nice to live in a town that had a Costco, Trader Joe's and Target nearby - the closest around here is Eugene! Now I know what you are thinking, "How can she do it? This must be her breaking point"... BUT, I told Joe I am going to give Roseburg a fair chance and be open-minded, so I am trying.

To highlight one of the good points, it has been really nice to spend more time with family. For example, last weekend we hung out with Joe's parents, his sister Jessie, her hubby Luke, and our new little nephew, Wyatt. Here are some pics from our hike last Sunday. The weather was amazing for a November day, the sights were beautiful, and it was very peaceful out in the country :)

There might not be any skyscrapers around here, but it sure is peaceful..

I heart Oak trees.

Checking on Wyatt to make sure he's happy

                      

It's not often the Newton fam looks so little...

             Joe racing Jack and Kenai to the top of the hill

 Still climbing...

 Jessie's first baby, Kenai

 No, these are not Jack-prints. They are bear prints. And they are fresh. We basically live in the wild.

Pray for us.