The First Christmas

If this Christmas is any sort of sign of things to come, we need a much bigger house. Our presents (Josh's and mine) were reasonable--a couple CD's, DVD's, books (of course), and the fabulous orange Le Creuset pot to start off our collection (thanks, Mom!). As we have moved into a much smaller house than we previously owned, and are trying to get back into a simpler lifestyle that we enjoy much more, I really didn't want much for Christmas. However, all the stops were pulled when it came to Iris' gifts (I should have guessed). All in all, she has five new pairs of shoes (three from Mommy alone--you can tell what my fetish is!) several outfits, half a shelf of new books (yay!), and a boxload of new toys. I guess we don't have a choice on whether to get a toybox or not! They are now sitting in cardboard box in her room until we make a run to Ikea!
Christmas was fun and everyone loved to ooh and ahh over the baby. For our present, she gave us two nights in a row of eight hours of solid sleep! (She reached nine+ hours last night, but that was probably recovering from vaccinations!) Merry Christmas! However, Iris managed to sleep through all of the present opening, both on Christmas Eve with Josh's family, and on Christmas Day with mine. Next year I am anticipating even more fun with her. I can't wait to take her to pumpkin patches on Halloween, and watch her open Christmas presents and play with the boxes and wrapping paper instead of the gifts! (Unfortunately, we were so busy that we didn't get many Christmas pics, so I'm waiting for other people to send them to me so that I can post them later.)
Though Christmas is my favorite holiday, I am glad for it to be over. Having every weekend filled up with activities with family and friends can get a bit tiring. Now with months of no plans except our first vacation with Iris in January (Canon Beach-yay!), classes starting for me, and the Emerald Bowl tonight (go Beavs!), I can finally relax. Maybe even get some work done! New Year, new start. Here's to a great year with my new family!
P.S. I wrote this blog yesterday, but didn't post because I was waiting for pictures. Beavs won the Emerald Bowl last night (thanks to Iris, our lucky charm in her Beaver shirt), and Iris performed her first stomach to back roll this morning!!! Hooray for our strong girl! She's even about three-quarters of the way to rolling from her back to her stomach--we were watching her at Grandma's house the other day and thought she was actually going to do it! How am I going to keep up with her? =)

Stop with the movies, already!

I had to write right now, just to vent my feelings of frustration with Hollywood. I am so sick of them making movies based on literature! They never (well, almost never) get it right, and they never do the books justice. I recently found out that a movie of Atonement by Ian McEwan. A small thing, you may think? Then you don't understand how deep my love of literature goes. This is one of my all-time favorite books--one that moved me to weeping (not just tears), one of the most powerful books I've read in years. And now it's a movie. But that's not all. To add to the blasphemy, I just found out that Keira Knightley, one of my all-time most hated actresses, is playing one of the major roles. AAUUUGGGHHH! Wasn't it enough for you to ruin Pride and Prejudice? Why must you cut an even broader swath of destruction? Anyway, sorry. Had to get that out.
I had to include a picture of Iris to justify my rant here (that's why everyone visits my blog anyway!). Of course, she will grow up to one day love great literature and detest Hollywood's simplistic retellings. It is my duty to train her the right way. =)

The Eight-Week Appointment

Here is my little growly bear as we got ready for caroling with our small group. Could you ask for a cuter baby? Our little family has been so busy with Christmas events--city tree-lightings, caroling, Christmas dinners with friends, more than enough to keep us on our toes. I commented to Josh the other day (when I realized Christmas was 9 days away) that you know you are an adult when Christmas' impending arrival no longer excites, but rather stresses you out!
Today Iris went in for her two-month appointment--and that means vaccines. While we're not letting them bombard her with four shots at once (quite a lot for her little system to handle all at once), she did get two. It was much harder than I expected. As I held her and tried to comfort her, she looked up at me as if to say, "Mommy, why are you letting them do this to me?" It was completely heartbreaking, and I couldn't keep from crying myself.
Other than icky vaccinations, though, things are going well. I'm just a little nervous about going back to school in January. If I can't get everything done now, how much harder when I have term papers and tests? I don't know how people who work full time do it!

Getting back to work (sort of)

Ever since my six-week appointment, I have been trying to get back into the swing of work. Ha, ha, ha. On the two days since then that Iris has been on her regular schedule I got quite a good amount done online, but only wrote one new entry and finished maybe two chapters in my current book. Hmm. . .nice try. However, to help me get back into the swing of things, I ran across a free book contest on an author site I frequent for Jo Knowles. She then had links to other young adult author sites also having contests: Lisa Schroeder and Tiffany Trent. Maybe I'll get lucky! It seems like the start I need. However, I have been working on my writing at random times--it seems that lately things have just been coming to me out of nowhere. Maybe my creativity is finally waking up from the stagnation of California (apologies to all who are in CA. It's not that it is bad, but for some reason, I couldn't write there. For me I think it was more as Anne would say, that there was little scope for the imagination. Back on my home turf I seem to do much better). So, anyway, there was a deal with Jo Knowles' contest in which you would get another entry if you posted a ten-line poem. For those of you who know my writing, I'm not much of one for poetry. There is very little I even enjoy reading. But somehow, this just flowed out of me:

Giving up my time,
My lifestyle, my sanity;
I wondered: How can I do this?
Do I even have it in me?
How do I love and forgive
And have that much patience?
To give my life for cries and routines,
To exchange my clean house for a dirty one,
My restful nights for sleepless ones—
How will I cope?
But one look, the first touch;
The sweet smiles only for me—
The look that says: You are mine
And I am yours.
These have made it all worthwhile
And taught me that the greatest thing in life
Is to be a mom.

I know it's not great poetry, but it's a start. Josh is excited to have me writing again, so it was his wish for me to put it on the blog.
Josh and I had another date this past weekend, and we attended a house concert for David Nevue, a local pianist I love (though he was easier to see in California than he is in his hometown!). It never quite feels like Christmas until I've been to a piano concert, and the intimate atmosphere (there were only seats for 40 people) made this one exceptional! So now, let the season begin! If only I had time to decorate the tree sitting in my living room. . .

I have to say, I didn't think that it would be quite this difficult to find time to blog! This entry alone took me two days. Thanksgiving was last week, and it's taken me this long to write about it! Anyway, the holiday went very well. This year we told everyone that we were having Thanksgiving at our house, and if anyone wanted to come, they could feel free. Of course, with the draw of a new baby, everyone wanted to come. So we fit twelve family members into our little house, and, even more amazing, around our table (we added a rubbermaid table to the end, but even so, I was amazed!). I had farmed out most of the food, leaving very little for me to do. Plus, with everyone else holding Iris, I lost the usual role that I've become accustomed to. Yay for being just me sometimes! However, much as I enjoy being a separate being from my baby, I was aching to hold her at the end of the night. So after everyone left, we cuddled and watched ghost hunter shows together (so much for the Christmas movie tradition!)
I really haven't had it that bad. I've determined that I'm going to be an out-and-about stay-at-home-mom. I rarely go two days without getting out of the house, and I've even had some girl time mixed in there--going out to Olive Garden with friends from high school, shopping with Mom on the day after Thanksgiving, and Josh and I even went out for a really nice dinner date together on Iris' one-month birthday! Having our freedom for five years really encourages us to cultivate our own relationship, as well as incorporating Iris into the life we've enjoyed. Plus, on top of all that, I start class again in January, and have been getting calls for jobs already. While I love staying home with Iris and would never choose to work full-time during her first year, these little things have been helping me to maintain my own life.
Iris has been going through a growth spurt this week (which basically means that our routine that was working so well flies out the window, and I am stuck in one place nursing her for what seem insanely long periods of time). However, this new phase of growth has brought with it some fun new developments. For one thing, her movements are beginning to become more coordinated. And, the most exciting for me, she's smiling at me. Though she began to smile at Daddy and Uncle Andy last night, she's been smiling at me and me alone for the past week. Now, these aren't those gassy smiles, these are the real deal. A big full-on, wide-mouthed grin. If only I could get her to do it for the camera! Everyone tells me that her first word will probably be "daddy", but hey, Mommy gets the first smiles!

Thank goodness for slings!

I have to say, if you have a baby and don't have a sling, you are really missing out! This wonderful scrap of fabric has the magical capabilities of making your child feel as though they are back in the womb. We had a couple of seriously grumpy days this week, but the sling is the savior of my sanity. For instance, Mommy had the bright idea this week of making sure that Iris is flexible with a schedule, and can live the happy-go-lucky life that Mommy wants to live, i.e. going out whenever we feel like it, rather than figuring out a schedule based on feeding times. This, obviously, resulted in an unhappy baby who got perhaps two hours of sleep during the day. Hmmm, smart, Mommy. The only thing that would calm her in the evening is being worn around in the sling. So the next day, Mommy was a bit smarter and scheduled her errands for just after feedings. Other than the fact that being strapped down in a carseat makes Iris very unhappy until the car starts moving and Diana Krall is playing (I wonder why feeling completely immobile and attached to a bulky seat would do that!), this was a good plan. However, by the time we reached the post office, Iris was still awake. Thus, I adopted the sling, which makes her go (usually) almost instantly to sleep. However, this meant that putting her back in the carseat after finishing in the post office would wake her up and make her mad, so we had a lovely jaunt around Downtown Corvallis, ignoring the "30 minute parking" signs, and visiting Daddy at work. All of which Iris slept through.
Now I am making dinner and cleaning, wearing a baby who doesn't want to go to bed, but who is perfectly happy in the sling! The picture is a mommy's-eye-view of the sleeping beauty. Thank goodness for slings.
Oh, and I forgot to say that Iris has had her first artistic experience last week. We went with Poppy (my dad) to a lecture by Bernard Malamud's daughter. For those of you who don't know one of Corvallis' most praised notables, Malamud wrote The Natural among many other novels, and was a professor at OSU for several years. Iris was quite good and listened intently, and I'm sure, is blossoming into a genius right before our eyes!

Happy (late) Halloween!

So I'm a bit slow on the uptake here, but it's pretty crazy with a new baby! Josh went back to work last Thursday, so I've had my hands full, quite literally. However, late as it is, I had to show off the picture of the cutest baby in the world. This was taken at two weeks (I can't believe she is three weeks old already. She's growing up too fast!), and her shirt (which, like all of her clothes, is too big for her) says "Mummy loves me". We got to spend the evening with Aunt Rachael and Uncle Andy, making cupcakes and cookies, and basically overdosing on the sugar. This time of year makes me miss our friends Chip and April, though. I miss Chip's excitement as he opened our door and handed out candy to trick-or-treaters. I'm just finding that I'm not friendly enough!
I keep saying it, but it's shocking how different life is for me now. I'm not someone who sits still well, and, up until I got into the nesting stage of pregnancy, I don't think I had ever had a day where I had stayed inside for the entire day unless I was sick. Now, however, I have been getting out about once every other day. It helps being in a house--for some reason there is so much more to do than in an apartment. But the hassle of getting out is still a little overwhelming. I know it will get better and feel more doable, but for now, getting out to see Daddy and take a walk in the park is quite an event. I've also noticed a change in what we listen to and watch. Not that we watched anything terrible before, but swear words certainly stand out in movies a lot more than they used to. And my Diana Krall and Reliant K standby CD's in my car (the two that seem to cover every mood) have been replaced by Raffi. They aren't bad changes (personally, I love Raffi, and drive Josh nuts singing Baby Beluga), it's just different. Even now I'm realizing that I have to wrap this up, as Iris' nap has bought me free time to get a couple of things done! My time is no longer my own!

The Newest Beaver Believer

I know, I'm a bit die-hard. But Saturday was Iris' first game day, so she had to be decked out in Beaver gear, even though it didn't fit her at all. In fact, she almost looked like a football player herself, with the shoulders of her outfit sticking so far out! But she brought luck to our team, and we, miraculously, beat Stanford.
So as she lies here on my lap while I take a few moments to write, I watch her sleeping face and almost forget about the difficult times this past week. Not completely forget, though. We were convinced when she came home from the hospital that we had an angel baby. She was sleeping through the night (we had to wake her up to feed her, and actually still do), only crying when she was hungry, and generally very happy. And then the second week came along. It's not that she had suddenly become something awful, but she has become more assertive. We're already training up a strong woman here. She has times some nights that she cries for two hours and we can't figure out what she wants. We've pretty much ruled out colic (it's certainly not extreme enough), but knowing that she's okay and not screaming in pain doesn't make her mommy feel much better. What do you do when you love someone so much and would do anything for them, but you can't figure out what it is that she wants?
Iris does, however, love her Nonny and Poppy (my mom and dad), and is somehow always on her best behavior when they come over. This fact made it possible for Josh and I to get out for the first time last night with some friends. It was such a relief to have a break for a couple of hours, to just be us again. Of course, I was asking Josh every five minutes if his cell phone was on, and I was shocked when I realized how much I missed her. It's amazing how much you can love such a small person! Even when she is screaming at 2 a.m., and all I want is sleep, my heart breaks for her. It certainly gives a different perspective to understanding God's love for us. As much as I wish I could, I don't think I could ever love other people enough to sacrifice my own daughter. Not to get mopey or solemn or anything, but my perspectives on life have changed drastically in the last two weeks.
Well, it is a beautiful day here in Corvallis, and we might take the opportunity for a jaunt in McDonald Forest. I'm trying to make the most of the two weeks that Josh is home from work--a rare treat! We're off to introduce Iris to the beauty of Oregon!

Iris!

It's amazing how quickly your life can change! I'm using what little down time I have to publish pictures of our beautiful baby girl, when I really should be using the time for other things. =) But this is much more fun. Iris Kate was born on October 17, and weighed 7 lbs, 6 oz. After a five and a half hour labor (yes, I know, I'm very lucky), she was born at 10:40 p.m. I was able to have her without an epidural (which was my goal), and am very glad that I chose to do so. Though it was a very intense time (with such a short labor, it's all hard labor, with no breaks), I would do it again in a heartbeat. I couldn't believe it when they set this beautiful little girl on my chest--at first I couldn't figure out whose she was! I'm not sure how we could be so blessed, but I'm so thankful for my little girl. When I have a bit more time, I will try to post more pictures, and maybe write a little more clearly instead of rambling. =)

Waiting. . .

Aaahh! Fall here is so wonderful! I'm sure you're sick of hearing that from me, but after so long of having the seasons go directly from summer to winter, this is so refreshing! Watching football on the weekends (though not so enjoyable this last weekend! We played the most pathetic game!), seeing the leaves turn colors, sitting in a coffee shop sipping warm drinks while the rain falls, yes, it's good to be back in Oregon.
So enough of my droning on. This is my 9 month(!) picture, taken in our church's outdoor amphitheater. Yay for moving inside next week! Plus, Pastor Chuck Smith is flying up to open our new building! But, anyway, we've passed the nine month mark, and getting a bit antsy. All of those projects that I procrastinated on all summer are getting finished in one week (who says it's hard to work under pressure?), and I finally packed my hospital bag. We just have to do our best not to have her over the weekend, as my parents are in Tennessee. But after that, break out the Raspberry Leaf!
We passed by a sign today advertising the annual "Great Pumpkin Run". Normally, it would sound like fun, but right now. . .well, obviously not. So I was being funny and I said to Josh, "Hey, I think I should do that!" My wonderful, sensitive, supporting hubby responds with, "yeah, you could be the pumpkin!". Thanks Honey.
I'm afraid that this is turning into a bit of a ramble rather than actually talking about news, but oh well. My new website is up and running, for those of you who check it, and we're trying to spread the word. Also, I'm working on photo albums of flickr, so that when the baby arrives, everyone can see lots of pictures, not just the ones I happen to post. Not a whole lot of "new" going on, just in that hurry up and wait stage.

Daddy's Present and My Website--coming soon!

Well, I may have mentioned it before, but having a girl brings out the soft side of Josh. He decided a couple of weeks ago that the crib we had inherited wasn't good enough for his little girl. Because of this we went on a spontaneous crib search, deciding to order one online. However, after a week of waiting, Babies R Us canceled our order, and we were back to square one. Then Josh found this beauty on Craigslist (our best friend) in Eugene. So we drove down to take a look. It was used by an obviously affluent family, very well taken care of, and right in our price range (new, this crib far exceeds anything we could afford). So, we loaded it up in our Fit (I love my car!), and now Daddy has is present for Iris.
It's odd, I've been noticing today that I am much less interested in taking jobs than I used to be. I am extremely picky about times, schools, and giving up my work days. For someone who always wanted to get out of the house as much as possible, this is a strange thing for me. I have a month left, and wouldn't mind staying home and working here for most of it. Is this normal? I'm hoping that it's the nesting phase, and that I'll be back to my go-see-do-be self a couple of months after the baby is born. After all, I'm planning to start classes again in January!
For those of you who check my website, the new one should be up sometime this week! As soon as Josh looks over some of my reviews, we're going live! It still isn't completely finished, and probably never will be =), but it looks great! In the future, I'm hoping to have a "favorite picture books" section (thanks to a friend's suggestion), but it isn't up quite yet. However, I have added LOTS of reviews, and, as I am now working on it full time, I average a new review every week day. So if you could spread the word, knowing people are looking definitely keeps me on my toes! I have a surprising amount of people watching right now, but we could always use more!

Good things about Pregnancy

As I am enjoying this lovely, overcast fall day (I went to my favorite coffee shop for an apple cider), I began to think that I feel like I complain a lot about pregnancy. So I've decided to list a few things that I love about it (We'll see if I make it to ten!).
1. After you get far enough along (it took me about 8 months!) people begin to notice that you are pregnant, and not just gaining weight in one location, and they begin to share your excitement (plus, I haven't dealt with strangers touching my belly yet!).
2. Presents! Even though they aren't technically for me, I'll enjoy them more than the baby will!
3. Special treatment. Though Josh says I haven't milked this one yet, I find that a lot of our friends offer it to me anyway. Things like letting me take the front seat in the car, retrieving things for me, giving me the first place in the food line, etc.
4. Probably one of the best parts is watching your husband pick out things for the baby--especially if you're having a girl. Josh decided over the weekend that the hand-me-down crib we had wasn't good enough for his little girl, so now we are buying "the" crib. Any time he gets stuck on something we see at a store or anything, I have to let him get it! I'm not discouraging him!
5. Feeling like I have an excuse to rest when I'm not feeling well. For some reason, I never feel justified normally to take it easy, but now, when I feel bad, the rest is for her as well as me.
6. The anticipation. The reality won't completely set in until we bring Iris home, so for now I have rosy thoughts about dressing her and taking her out, without the bad parts that I know will come with the good.
7. Organizing! Being the neat freak that I am, organizing her clothes and putting together her room is so much fun for me! And I love that we can take the time to really do her room up, and create a dream nursery for her.
8. Clothes shopping--for me. Though after about six months this lost its appeal (there is no way to make a pregnant belly look terribly flattering in those dressing-room mirrors), it was so much fun at first to plan and buy a whole new wardrobe in anticipation of my growing belly.
9. Books, of course! Now I have a reason to stock up on all those kids books I've always loved!
10. Imagining playing with my little one, and visualizing her around the house, playing with the dog, and bringing sunshine into our hearts. =) (Sorry, a bit sappy there, but hey, I'm hopped up on estrogen. It's allowed.)

School Days, School Days

There's something in the air today that makes it feel like fall is here. Or, rather, something on the road--school buses! School started today here in Oregon, and everything feels right. For those of you like me whose lives seem to revolve around the school year (even though it no longer affects many of us directly), it's the time of year for memories. Crunching through leaves on crisp autumn days, running cross-country practices through fields of waist-high grass, sitting inside and sipping a cup of hot apple cider while curled up reading. Somehow, though, I never seem to remember the stress and chaos of school. Funny how that works! =)
Labor Day weekend was fun as well. It's always that last kickoff before school starts, usually hot with the anticipation hanging thickly in the air. Often we go to the state fair, but this year (for some strange reason that I can't figure out!) I didn't feel like walking in the hot sun for eight hours. Hmm, wonder why that is! Having a three-day weekend after a summer void of them was a refreshing break, however. Someone needs to schedule more holidays in summer! A three month stretch with only the Fourth of July seems a bit overkill.
The images above are of Iris' room. We're going for a classic Peter Pan look (sorry, Disney fans, the closer I get to being a mom, the more I dislike Disney), and luckily we know the right people. My college roommate (a graphic designer) came and painted the clouds from stillshots of the clouds in the new live-action Peter Pan (which, if you haven't seen it, is incredible). I thought she did a fabulous job! We have a little more work to do--mermaid lagoon (the closet) is being painted right now, and we still have a chair rail and baseboards to put up, but the end is in sight. Wonderful, as this has been quite the project! It began with retexturing the ceiling (just to give you an idea of what Josh has been doing) because we had popcorn up, but now it's looking wonderful. What a lucky baby!

Baby shower!

How wonderful my family and friends are! The shower last weekend was so much fun! I included my 32 week picture (I can't believe we're that far along already!) in a game we played where the shower guests estimated how large around they thought my belly was now, and I have to say, I was much smaller than most of them thought. =) One of my cousins, Mandi, guessed it exactly! After games we had some food and ate delicious cake made by Rachael's sister-in-law. Then presents. It's amazing how blessed you can feel by opening presents--just remembering that each one represents someone who loves and thinks about you! Anyway, we received a lot of incredible things. Iris is going to be one spoiled little girl!
I don't want to bore everyone with details of the shower, so I won't go on and on about it. But it was a lot of fun, and very special to me that Rachael put everything together so well! Right now I am enjoying a little more time off before school starts back up. Kids go back next week, and I have a feeling that the sub jobs will be a little slow. Oh, well, though. that gives me time to get a few more "summer" things done before launching into fall. If you are watching my website at all, it is going through some pretty major changes at the moment, and Josh expects to have something new and really cool up in about three more weeks. So I'd better get my act together and write more reviews. My goal is to have 50 up by the time the new website is active, and I think I'm going to make it! So be watching for that!
And, speaking of work, I'd better get some done today!

I just had to take a few minutes to gush a bit about how happy I am to be back in Oregon. Where else can you walk into a local hardware store (which is doing a great job competing with the new Home Depot) and buy pears fresh off someone's tree? This summer I've gotten a sampling of wonderful local produce, and there's nothing better! Last week I learned how to can peaches, and they are sitting there staring at me tempting me to eat them now instead of waiting until winter. We got to pick organically grown blueberries, and I can't wait to see if I can't find a u-pick corn farm. It's wonderful!
I'm also happy to be around people I know and love! I'm able to get my hair done at a salon owned by a high school friend (as you can see in my 31 week picture, I've gone red again!). It's a 40 minute drive still, but it's worth it! And my wonderful sister-in-law is planning an amazing baby shower for me this weekend! I can't believe how excited I am. I will be sure to post pictures up next week! Being close to family is so nice--just being able to call them up if we want to visit the new Ikea or go have lunch is such a blessing. We're even trying to plan a weekend trip around Christmas with my parents--something we were unable to do from California.
So, anyway, lots of sappy gushy stuff. Life is treating me well right now, though we're really busy. Some of you may have heard about my hospital overnighter a couple of weeks ago, but everything seems to be fine right now. Iris isn't giving us any indication that she's going to be born early (which is a good thing, as her room is far from ready!), and the doctor took me off my rest. I still have to take it a bit easier than I was, but now I don't worry about working around the house or going out shopping like before. Though I am becoming a bit disenchanted with this whole pregnancy thing. I feel ungainly, food doesn't usually sound good, and I wake up stiff every morning. I can't wait until I'm normal again! And then I'll be able to see Iris, instead of just looking at my big belly!

It's interesting that the bigger I get, the more I desire to do more traditionally feminine things. Not that I don't normally consider myself feminine, but some of the aspects that are often expected of women (i.e. wearing makeup), don't generally interest me. In many ways, they feel like a waste of time. However, at 29 weeks, I'm feeling so large and ungainly that I find myself spending time in ways that aren't that typical of me. Perhaps my lack of interest goes down to the earthy crunchy side of me, but lately it's become more important to me to do my makeup in the morning (those of you who know me know this isn't typically a very important ritual in my life), paint my toenails, wear dresses, etc. It's interesting to say the least, but I chalk most of it up to wanting to feel graceful and womanly, even though I have this enormous belly protruding out front. Reassurances from friends and family only go so far, as my personal feelings contradict what they say about me. Even my mom went on and on about how I was the smallest person there in my birthing class, but I think at this stage, feeling and being are two very different things. Luckily, I have people in my life who help me to feel pretty even though my psyche isn't so sure. Josh is very encouraging always and talks about how I keep myself in shape, my mother-in-law offers to paint my toenails, as it is becoming hard to reach, and my college roommate creates art on my belly. From my experiences, I feel so badly for those women who have to go through this whole process alone. It's not only about having a baby and having your life change in that way, but even your own body becomes unfamiliar and foreign to you, which I have found to be more difficult than I imagined. Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy to be pregnant--it fascinates me and I could watch Iris moving around in my tummy for hours--but it has its own blends of hardships that I wasn't quite expecting.
Some great (hopefully) news--I have an appointment this week to talk to an advisor about possibly starting in on my credentials. I've enjoyed the subbing that I've done and am looking forward to more of it when school starts, but have gained confidence and the desire to move toward having my own classroom. I thought that getting my Masters Degree was out of the question for a few years, but my mom pointed out the possibility of stretching out the program and doing one or two classes at a time. As you may know, I'm quite a nerd, and the idea of studying and going back to school, without the stress of juggling five classes at once, excites me. So I'm talking to the two local universities to see what the possibility of taking a long-term track toward my next degree would be. I think the intellectual stimulation of taking classes again will help me through some of the baby years as well. I want to be there, but at the same time, I need adult time as well in order to be a healthy mom. One or two classes a term would be a wonderful mix, as I wouldn't have to spend much time away from Iris, and I'd still be on track, studying something that greatly interests me. So, if you read this, be praying that something along these lines works out for me--I've been presented the possibility and am trusting God to work all things out!

Ahh, summer!

It never fails that I set out to achieve many things over a summer break, only to get to the end and realize that I have accomplished few or none of my goals. This year is only an exception in that I am realizing this fact a month earlier than usual. The books I have to read, the work I wanted to get done, the yard I wanted to plan, and the baby to get ready for, all have fallen by the wayside. Thus I have determined not to let this month pass with nothing to show for myself.
It seems that letting summer slip by is a bit easier to do here in Corvallis. With the beautiful weather (thought it seems hotter this year, as I am an oven myself), the concerts in the park, the innumerable outdoor activities planned with our small group, work and seriousness seem to fall by the wayside. Yesterday I planned to be good and work all afternoon, though I got a call from Josh's mom inviting me over to the pool. Guess which option I chose.
Gary and Christina came down for Da Vinci Days a couple of weeks ago--an annual festival here in Corvallis that it has killed me to miss the past four years. It's the time that Corvallis really celebrates its artistic side, a focus on science and technology blended with the arts. The picture of Josh above was while he was riding a bicycle-type machine that walked instead of driving wheels. The exhibit was machines that were the antithesis of efficiency, and quite entertaining. There was a chair that scooted itself back if you tried to sit in it, as well as several others. All in all, it was a lot of fun, and a great chance to show friends the wonderful area where we live.
Well, it's off to work! Keep checking my book site, as it should be changing into a really cool layout sometime soon!

So long in between!

I am really not as good as I like to believe myself to be at this whole blogging thing. Once again it's been a month since I last wrote, and an enormous spider in the garage prompted me to come inside rather than working on our garage sale (which, luckily, is about ready). I should have taken pictures of this spider, but it has to be the second largest spider I've ever seen. The first is the Hobo, which you have probably heard my stories of--as large as my spread hand. This was an ugly black sucker, easily two inches long, crawling around on the inside of our water heater cover. After standing still in shock and watching it, my mind went through the processes of what to do with it. I thought about taking a picture since I thought no one would believe me, but my first priority was to kill it. However, I didn't see how I could physically do so with just a fly swatter, even if I could get close enough to hit it. Josh is gone for the weekend, so I went to one neighbor, and then to another who kindly came over to help me out. However, after fifteen minutes of rearranging the garage (hard to do, as it is full of furniture right now), stripping off the water heater cover, and removing any place that seemed easily accessible, we still had seen no sign of the monster. Thus, I am inside, rather than out finishing up with the garage sale things. (I haven't told Josh the whole story yet--I don't want to worry him too much).
It seems like forever since I wrote last. I've been really bad about belly pictures, so I posted the two above pictures. The second one is at twenty one weeks, and the first at 22 (blogger seems to reverse the order). I'm now at 25 weeks, and people are beginning to notice, though most tell me I'm pretty small for 6 months. Funny, I don't feel that way!
We were able to take a real vacation a couple of weeks ago! We were gone for 9 days--the longest vacation we have ever taken together! We went up to Seattle, spent a few days in Victoria where we saw the Buchart Gardens, had tea at the Empress (a dream come true), watched a black bear walk across the road right in front of us(!), and just explored. Then we moved on to Vancouver and had a blast at Granville Island, watched one of the best Shakespeare plays I've ever seen (The Taming of the Shrew done as a western--this link will take you to clips of the performance), and saw the belugas at the aquarium (Josh is sick of me singing the Baby Beluga song!). All in all, we had a wonderful time. Pretty soon here, I'm going to put a flickr photo album together so that you can view all of our pictures. Watch for it! And here's hoping that my next entry won't wait for next month!

It's a Girl!

Well, as you may or may not know, we went in for our 20 week ultrasound on Friday. Normally, I would have posted a blog immediately, but, as we were in the middle of moving (busy day!), I haven't had a chance until now. So, here she is! The first picture is of her face (beautiful already!), and the second is a profile shot. I have to say, this came as a bit of a surprise for us! We really thought that we were having a boy! But it is a wonderfully sweet surprise--girls are so much more fun to prepare for! All the sweet dresses and girly things! Anyway, we're still thinking about names, and have some that we really like, but since everyone knows she's a girl now, maybe we should at least keep the name secret! =)
We moved into our house this weekend, and absolutely love it! It's in a wonderful, quiet neighborhood, with an enormous back yard! We're still in lots of boxes, and our young married's group is meeting here tonight, but we're having fun with it. So many plans, and this time, we're hoping to stay for a long time. There's plenty of room for expansion, so we hope to keep this house for several years.
So life is great for us right now, and we both feel like the world is our oyster! God has really blessed our little family (with a little girl coming soon!!!!!!)!

Well, that turned out a little strange! I wanted to share pictures from the Japanese Garden, and they aligned themselves in quite an odd way. Oh, well. I don't have a whole lot to say today, and have plenty of work to do, but I wanted to post these pictures. This garden is up in Portland, and is probably one of my favorite places around here. The second picture is my 17 week picture, taken in front of one of the two sand gardens. The third is of Josh and I (yep, that's us in the middle) on one of the bridges. Anyway, I'm sure I'll have more to write (and more time) next week, but this one's been busy and I have to go!

New weather, new car, new house!

Wow! We retrieved the summer clothes out of storage at just the right time! Not only is it sunny and warm today (and, man, it feels so much hotter when you're pregnant!), but it's going to stay this way, with only a 10% chance of precipitation (which in Oregon is actually still quite high)! So I'm sitting here, enjoying my after-school buzz (I think I had the best job ever today, and will be back tomorrow as well) in my sunny skirt and tank top, eating my Ben and Jerry's frozen yogurt, and just enjoying a wonderful day! But I wanted to take my few minutes of sanity and solitude--well, make a few minutes, rather--to let you know what God is doing in our lives.
As you can see, I got my car in last week. It arrived on Friday, and we decided to take my belly picture (16 weeks!) with it this week. =) I have to say, I am so happy with this car. I feel fun and sporty, and it gets great gas mileage (though it will be even better when the new car feel wears off and we stop driving it like a sports car!). Needless to say, we were gone the entire weekend making up for all that time that we couldn't leave town.
The other big piece of news is that we are buying a house. This was a bit of a surprise to us, as we were starting to lose hope that we would find anything we really wanted in our price range. We had a "fallback" duplex that we had first dibs on when it went on the market, but we weren't that thrilled about that option. Everything we could afford was two-bedroom, only a little tiny bit of land, and most often a duplex. But then, a week ago Sunday, we saw a house that looked promising on Craig's List, and it was in our ideal price range. We kept thinking, "What's the catch?", but decided to take a look. We were actually the first people to look at the house (which never happens in Corvallis), though the owner was getting constant phone calls about it. We noticed that the owner said that she and her family were "blessed" by this house, which made us think that maybe she was a Christian (a Christian-owned house in Corvallis is a real blessing, as the town has perhaps more than it's share of darkness in many respects). We continued to look through the house and really liked what we saw. Then, as we were finishing up, she mentioned that the fridge came with the house. I looked, and saw a wedding picture from one of Josh's friends from high school and his new wife. I said, "So, you know Tim and Sabrina." Her response was, "I'm Sabrina's sister." As it turns out, not only do we have all sorts of friends in common (through Tim and Josh), but she teaches at Josh's little brother's school, goes to the same church as our apartment manager, and is definitely a strong Christian. It was pretty amazing the way everything worked out. So we told Aimee that we would go home and pray about it, and let her know soon what we wanted to do, and she said she would do the same. I have never had such a peace about such a big decision. I felt calm and peaceful, and we prayed on the way home. Then we turned right around and came back to make an offer, which they accepted.
Those of you who know our stories probably know that big things happen every single move that we make. This was just another wonderful example of God's providence, and we are so excited to see what He has in store. So let me tell you about the house. It's small (which we expected)--just under 1000 square feet. It has a one-car garage (so we can finally get our kayak out of my parents'), but it's built on a quarter acre lot, so the back yard is unbelievably huge, especially for the town and the price. We have so many plans for the yard! It is a three-bedroom one-bath, with lots of room for expansion. Plus, it even had air-conditioning (very rare in Oregon), which I wasn't looking for at all, but thought would be wonderful during this nice, hot pregnant summer! God really had the exact house in place for us, and we are so grateful that we waited on His timing! I will make sure to post pictures as soon as I can! God is so good!

Work! (finally)

I finally had my first day of work today! (For those of you who don't know--or if I didn't mention it earlier on my blog, I'm a substitute Educational Assistant, though I haven't had any jobs before today.) It was really quite exciting--I literally had to hit the ground running. The time that I was told that the job started was the time I would be meeting with my first kid--so I was very glad I showed up early. Though a bit intimidating at first, I felt like the day went well, and that the staff liked me. At times it really seemed as though I was in my element, though still a bit nervous and uncertain about the way things usually work. Yay for doing jobs in the field I want to work in! I have a surprising number lined up already for the future, too. Hooray!
So, I was meaning to post weekly pictures of my belly, and have completely forgotten about it most weeks. So this is a picture of me at week 14. Though I feel giant, when I look at the picture, I don't feel like I'm doing too badly. I just don't like the whole weight gain part of pregnancy! When we went in for an appointment last week, we were able to hear the baby's heartbeat. Talk about exciting! There's a part of me that always worries that something's wrong (since I can't feel anything yet), so the confirmation of the heartbeat really set me at ease. It was interesting to see the way both Josh and I think as well--for example, he heard a train (the heartbeat), while I heard a washing machine! Interesting, huh? Considering that Josh loves trains, and I associate sounds of washing machines with comforting feelings (a childhood thing), the sounds we each heard made sense. We also have scheduled the ultrasound for June 1st, and, yes, we are going to find out if it is a boy or a girl!
Still don't have my car yet! Waiting, always waiting. Hopefully I will hear something this week and put pictures up!

Pregnancy in Corvallis

Thanks to a comment by Charlotte the other day (thank you very much! I love hearing from people back in California!), I was thinking about all the things available to pregnant women now, and what it's like to be pregnant in Corvallis (which is, surprisingly, very different from other areas). I have been fortunate enough to find several little "cheats" that are working really well for me (to share my experiences with some of you who can use them in the future). First of all, my mom recommended something called "Preggie Pops". These are suckers (you can get just lozenges, as well) that are naturally flavored--ginger, mint, sour lemon, etc.--and help to ease nausea. Though I had my doubts, I was shocked at how well they work. I would be just on the extreme edge of morning sickness in an inconvenient place (such as riding in the car), and would pop one of these in my mouth and begin to feel better almost immediately. The other fabulous product I have found is the "Tummy Sleeve" by Motherhood Maternity. This is simply a nylon spandex band that fits over your tummy and the top of your pants, so that when your waist no longer fits in your pants, you can still wear them unbuttoned with no one the wiser. In fact, it rather looks like you're simply layering. In the eleven-week picture below, I am wearing one. I have to say, I love the styles right now--they work so well with pregnancy! I've already gotten a couple of non-maternity shirts that are perfect for letting me grow. And my mother-in-law bought me my first maternity shirt the other day, and it's one I can wear from now until much farther along.
And now, for my musings on Corvallis. I never really thought about it, but I'm rather a minority here. There are perhaps a handful of people my age that are pregnant. It's nothing like Roseville, where people almost seem to go there to have kids. Rather, it is often difficult to find things available to pregnant moms around here. I have looked for water aerobic classes and other things, but the only pregnancy resources available are through the hospital. This is actually because it is a small college town. Because there are very few jobs available to those who graduate and want to remain in Corvallis (at least, very few well-paying jobs), most students leave right after college. Those who do return do so only after having children. On the other end of the spectrum, it seems as though the more educated the population, the higher the age of the parents when they have children. Having an enormous number of professors in town means that we have quite old parents. My doctor even made a comment on how people in Corvallis have children abnormally late. But when you have such high education, no one wants to let their schooling stagnate while they have kids, so they go into their field immediately and establish a career before having children. This does mean, however, that there are many activities going on for small children. So my kids will be highly stimulated, but I may have a hard time getting on with 40-year-old mothers of infants (and yes, I am absolutely serious). Oh, well. At least that means that I get more attention at the hospital. Without so much competition, I get great service! And, being the only one in our group of friends to be pregnant, I get lots of attention! (Who, me?) So, maybe this will be a boring post for those of you reading it, but it was an interesting time of musing for me!
P.S. For those of you wondering about my car, it's supposed to be in any day. The dealer called 10 days ago and said a week to 10 days. I'm having a difficult time with patience, though. I feel like praying and saying, "Lord, didn't we do this patience thing already? I'm okay--I don't need more of it!"

So, today was an unexpectedly good day. Not really because the whole day was good, but, rather, a lot of little things. Things like driving across the railroad tracks and being the last car before the gates began to go down. And walking down the street and having a bum (yes, we have a few homeless people in Corvallis, though they're easy to get mixed up with the college students) stop me to tell me I had a beautiful smile. Then, music wise, my turn signal kept time with the radio at one point, they played a Reliant K song I loved (they certainly don't play enough of them), and then a Red song (which they never play)! So, anyway, it's been a fun day in Corvallis, where even the bums are friendly!
We finally started taking pictures of my belly (as you can probably tell from the picture). This is at week 11, and I'm just starting to show. Before, it was just that my waist had thickened, but now there is a small but distinguishable bump (Josh assures me that it doesn't look like I've gained weight, but rather that I am pregnant). The problem is that most of my clothes actually go to my waist, and now they aren't fitting right, as my waist is expanding! If I had longer shirts, I'd be fine with normal clothes for quite a bit longer, but as it is, I'm going to have to buy some long shirts. At least I can still wear those later!
Josh and I are starting a couple of classes this week. I knew I wouldn't last long in a college town without taking some. It's simply strange to be back in Corvallis and not be in school. However, I forgot how expensive it was! We're not in California anymore, Toto! We're taking the classes (a baby sign language one and a Spanish one) through the community college here, and that helps with the price. Not only that, but they are zero-credit classes. If we were to take a three or four credit class at OSU, it would be around $500 each! Even at the community college, it would be around $300 for both of us. There was a reason I never complained about tuition hikes in California! So, we compromised and chose the zero-credit classes, especially since they wouldn't help either of us with future schooling. But we're looking forward to them. The Spanish is great, because there has been mention of sending Josh and I to Barcelona for a few weeks to work with the team there sometime. Sounds great to me! World travel, here I come!

It's Really There!

What a day! We had my first prenatal appointment today, and it was actually exciting. I wasn't expecting it, but they did an ultrasound already. There's something unreal about pregnancy until you actually see the baby and watch its heartbeat and little legs and arms moving around. If the ultrasound was any indication of personality, we will have a real show boater on our hands! The baby didn't move until it was in full view and clear on the screen, then it moved its arms and legs in what reminded me of Josh's happy dance (and if you haven't seen that, it's pretty cute)! If you have trouble making out the image, the baby's head is pointing down, and the light spot on the left is an arm. It's hard to see the rest at this size, but we could see arms and legs, and even watch the heartbeat. I actually feel pregnant now! Before, it kind of felt like there was just something wrong with me, with nothing to show for it.
Josh is so cute! Not only is he overprotective of me--the doctor did the normal female test, and he hadn't realized what it actually entailed, and ended up a little mad at the doctor--but he is obviously excited about the baby. He started his own blog (I'll put a link on the side of my blog), and he swears that I'm showing now. It's true, my waist is thicker and I can't suck my tummy in at all, but I've only gained half a pound!
In other news, Corvallis has been its wonderful springy self lately. (Okay, side note--just an example of how forgetful I am lately, I just had to look up the difference between it's and its--and I'm an English major! How pathetic is that?) The sun has been shining, the trees are all in bloom (especially the tulip trees on campus--I'll put in a picture of those later!), and the air smells fresh and fragrant. But today, the rain has returned. After a week of sun, it's not too bad; it just turns it into a movie day rather than a go out and conquer day. =) Well, I'm off to enjoy some ice cream--a reward for me for my minuscule weight gain, and a reward for Dante for his acrobatic dance.

Six More Weeks

I am six weeks along today, and I thought I was having a relatively easy first trimester. Apparently more hormones (as if I didn't have enough of those mood-changing buggers floating around my body already) are flooding my system, and I'm becoming more forgetful, and more sick. Okay, yeah, I suppose my first indication that I was pregnant was bashing the truck into a pole, but it seems to have gotten worse. I left the house three times this past week without my purse, not realizing it until I arrived at wherever I was going. And worse yet, I've made it inside several stores, but left my money in the car. This is especially bad when grocery shopping. What do I do, park my cart and hope it stays?
But I think the worst thing at the moment is the morning sickness. I have to admit, I've still had it easy. But before, as long as I stayed away from sugar and dogs' denta-bones (go figure), I was fine. Now it's become a battle of whether or not I eat all day, since nothing sounds even remotely appetizing. Josh, in his attempts to help, asked what it was that I can eat--what things do sound good. I only have two things: anything potato, and banana bread. So, guess what my diet consists of! But I can't even make the things that do taste good, because cooking (and this is about torture) sounds even more repulsive than eating. So Josh is going to get his cooking experience (he offered!), and we may be eating out a lot, if I can find some healthy things (with potatoes, of course)!
I don't mean to simply complain--there is actually a lot about pregnancy that I do love. I love the attention (who, me?), and I love watching the pictures of how the baby is growing (especially the one that reminds me that my baby now has more brain cells than Paris Hilton--their words, not mine). I love planning the nursery and buying things that we obviously don't need yet, but are so excited over that we just can't wait. There is a lot that I love about this, but there is still that thing called pregnancy that we have to get through. Just six weeks until the first trimester is over, I keep reminding myself. Just six more weeks.

My Valentine

So I haven't had a chance to write about what Josh did for me for Valentine's Day. The last couple of years, he's scored a lot of brownie points! This year, he gave me a card with a riddle in it (four lines of things we were going to do) and had me meet him for lunch. His first line sent us to a florist, where he had a bouquet of Gerber Daisies waiting for me. Then we walked to a downtown store to pick up a beautiful necklace he had gotten by an artist I have long admired, Michael Michaud. The necklace had a beautiful Eucalyptus leaf on it (Josh's favorite tree). Then his clues sent us down to a local tea shop for a seven course Valentine tea. It was wonderful (even though I was battling morning sickness)! His last clue was for the weekend. My love surprised me by taking me to Newport for a night on the Newport Belle, a riverboat B&B. We had luxurious accommodations in the bay front, with the Newport Bridge right out of our window (I'm still trying to figure out how to post Josh's pictures of it). I felt so spoiled by my Valentine!
So we spent our weekend touring the coast, ending up in Florence before heading back for home (the picture of us is from the Florence bay front). I also purchased my first piece of "fine art" (not including, of course, those pieces which have been created for me--I didn't purchase those). It is surprisingly delicate-looking metalwork figure called "Summer Novel"--a woman in a long dress and had reading a book in her lap. Again, I have to figure out how to post the pictures!
I feel as though my latest blogs have simply been an attempt to catch up with things that are going on with me, so I apologize if I have been droning on. Now that things seem to be leveling out again (it's amazing how much pregnancy can disrupt your life at times!), I will have to continue with the day to day, and put a little more personality in it. But for now, happy rainy day! (It's Oregon's liquid sunshine!)

Our News!

Well, I feel like a bit of a putz. It's been almost three weeks since my last entry. I have an excuse, I really do. Well, actually, lots of them. But anyway, I have a little too much to say right now, and not much time to say it in. So I'll start with the important stuff first, and then I'll try to catch up next week!
We're pregnant. We found out about a week and a half ago, and my doctor confirmed it today. We found out a little early, due to my brain lapse--I hit the pole of the carport with the truck and made a nice dent in the bumper. Added to my week of simply being out of it, and a bit of nausea, Josh was a bit nervous for me, so he made me take a test--and it was positive. So now we have a truck with a bent bumper and a nice little story to tell our child! =) We're pretty excited about the whole thing (we already bought a baby sling), and so are our families, so it's a great situation all around!
I hate to make this entry so short, but I have a horribly messy house, and plans for the weekend. The Friday bug has bitten me!

Aaahh, Corvallis

It's days like this that make me remember why I wanted so badly to return to Corvallis. The sun is shining, and it's a bit chilly (Yahoo says 36 degrees), but everyone is outside. I visited the Co-op today, and the smell was so comforting. I remembered days during college of waking up in the living room on Saturday mornings (we slept in sleeping bags out there on Friday so we could be woken up by the sun, which didn't come into our bedroom), heading out to the farmers' market and then off to the Co-op to get a yummy bread that would last us all day during studying, though the search in itself was an effort to put off the homework as long as possible. I can't wait until tomorrow, when Josh and I are planning to go hiking in the area. The weather makes me go into my hippie mood, and I want to throw on my sarong and head out to the garden!
We discovered a couple of places around town that are new since we were last here. The first is the Soup Shop on Monroe (for those of you who live around here). When we walked in, I felt for some reason that I was in a place in Berkeley. It definitely had the college grunge feel (but was certainly not dirty, by any means), and, like so many places in Corvallis, emphasized their organic food. We ordered chicken noodle soup and clam chowder--normally rather boring soups, right? But the clam chowder was heavy on the herbs and very low on the cream (very delicious), and the chicken noodle was the heartiest I'd ever seen. Definitely very different and highly recommended.
I've been going through Jamba Juice withdrawals since moving here, and, to my good fortune, a new smoothie store just opened up. It's called North Shore, and is located at the bottom of what was formerly Campus Inn (now G.E.M.). Wonderful place! Good prices, friendly owners, and several selections that DON'T CONTAIN BERRIES! What a thought! Hooray!
And now, Josh's personal favorite (I got him hooked last night): Peanut Butter Mochas at Bottom's Up (next to Bare Naked Tanning on Monroe, where the campus Book Bin used to be). Again, small hole in the wall, but was that drink ever good!
So yes, we've been having fun cruising around campus and the rest of the town. Tomorrow, it's off to tour the contryside. Here's to a sunshiny Corvallis weekend!

The Orange Dream Machine

I came up with a name for my car today--The Orange Dream Machine. I'm not trying to copy Jamba Juice (though it is my favorite smoothie there), but it seemed quite applicable to this car. Besides, there aren't that many Jamba Juices in Oregon--the closest one is in Salem. So Josh and I are going to start looking around for window cling lettering to put up in the back window as soon as I get the car. I can't wait!
I have to say that I am currently loving my job. The sun came out for a few minutes today, and immediately, I was out on my front porch soaking it up and working (yes, that translates as reading. Like I said, I love my job!). Of course, the comforting warmth lasted only thirty minutes or so, but it was nice while it lasted. There's a reason that people come out in droves when it's sunny in Oregon--it just doesn't happen that often! I think when spring finally arrives, I'll take Bunny over to campus and lay out in the Quad and read just like in the college days. But for now, I'll soak up all the Vitamin D I can get! I'm reading Inkheart by Cornelia Funke for my reviews right now. It surprised me that I'm having a bit of trouble getting through it--it's simply taking longer than I realized. The way the kids rip through it, I thought I wouldn't be able to put it down. It is good, however, just not quite as engaging as I had anticipated. I did find out that the author is German, however. Go Germans! =)
Anyway, just wanted to share a bit of my sunshine!

What will I fit in my Fit?

I have very exciting news (well, at least I'm very excited about it): I'm getting a new car! We went to the car dealer to order it on Tuesday. Due to the demand for the car (though you rarely ever see one), every dealer is completely sold out. Only the lot here in Corvallis held on to one model for test driving. So, in a couple months, I am going to have my new, ORANGE, manual, sporty little Honda Fit! If you haven't ever seen one (which I'm actually betting on), here is a look: click here. Now, you may know that Josh and I were in the market for a family car, and looking at a Passat Wagon. However, due to the astronomical price and horrible gas mileage, we began to look elsewhere. The more we looked around, the more I wanted a sporty car, figuring that I have plenty of time to get old and drive a sedan, or even a Subaru. I was in the market for sporty. But try matching up "sporty" and "family", plus "room for dog", and there is very little out there. So, anyway, the Fit fit our budget and lifestyle, gets great gas mileage (which I feel ever more guilty about with the truck, due to gas prices and polution), and is sporty and cute. If I'm going to be a mom someday, I'm going to be a fun mom!
So Corvallis is still under snow! We had a pretty bad ice storm up in Portland, and we got enough of it here that hardly anyone went into work at Josh's work on Tuesday. Most worked from home, and of the handful (quite literally) who tried to make it in, at least two or three ended up in small accidents. No one was injured, but I was glad Josh had decided to stay home! On the news they showed very entertaining (only because no one was hurt, just stupid) videos of people trying to drive down Salmon Street in Portland--when it obviously wasn't driveable. It was a little fun, I have to admit, to watch people who believed their SUV's actually were made for inclement weather, go spinning gracefully, or perhaps not so gracefully, down the hill. But we all know how much I love SUV's, anyway! If you want to see the video, here it is: Portland weather. The firetruck that comes in at the end to close off the street was later hit by two more cars.
Well, that's the news here. We're beginning to thaw out, and I'm grateful to have a little more warmth. I'm not used to this cold after the California sun!

My new goal--and SNOW!

It's been awhile since I used this blog for anything. Now that I have an outlet for my original goal (in www.bookmom.net), I can now feel free to use this as a creative outlet as well as keeping in touch with everyone back in California.
I've been enjoying my time back in Oregon, getting to spend time with family and friends again. I've also loved rediscovering all my old haunts around school and the whole area. So this will be my way of staying in touch and showing my love and rediscovery of my beloved Corvallis.
Well, it snowed again in Corvallis, for the second time since we've been here. This time, however, we had more and it has stayed for longer. With the excitement of snow, I had to share it with those who would love it as much as I do: the kids. So I called up Josh's mom and she brought the kids over. The four of us, and, of course, Bunbury, walked to Walnut Park (10 minutes from my apartment) and played in the snow. We got to go sledding, have snowball fights, and make a snowman. And talk about your faithful dogs! When I let Bunny off leash, he was excited to see all the other dogs there, and would barely obey me for his excitement. However, he climbed the hill with us every time, and whenever I went sledding, he would run alongside all the way down!
So I am loving Corvallis covered in snow, and loving the festive atmosphere it brings with it. Tonight, I'm off to my college roommate's house to watch scary movies and tell each other ghost stories just like the old days.