Friends of Trees

It's no secret, I love trees. Once I got a stable job out here, I began looking for a volunteer opportunity and I focused on the environment. I came across an amazing organization called Friends of Trees. It is their mission to "bring people together to plant and care for city trees and green spaces in Pacific Northwest communities.: I knew it was the place for me!

I signed up for Crew Leader training in the Green Spaces Initiative and went to training on Halloween. We met at Forest Park and spent the morning planting as our crews will and then the afternoon we were taught how to lead crews. Crew leaders arrive early to prep and when the other volunteers arrive, we break out into several teams. 

Everyone in the fall training before we got dirty.

It was fun being able to plant native plants in such a beautiful location. I learned a lot of fun facts, like: did you know that a plant's roots continue to grow in the same direction or configuration they started in? They taught us that if a plant's roots start spiraling, like when they grow in a pot, their roots will continue to spiral. This is a problem because the plant won't be able to stabilize itself or get proper nutrients. You can solve the problem by cutting the root just before the spiral starts, it will grow straight.

We learned many other techniques for digging, planting, and best practices while we lead teams. When we went inside the Audobaun Society's building, to begin learning the "classroom stuff," it started pouring outside. I was very thankful we were inside and not slipping around in the park. We'd gotten wet and muddy already but it was raining so hard it was like a waterfall shower head!

My first planting was the second weekend in January. I didn't want to take a weekend off from Target during fourth quarter, AKA the holiday shopping season. My memory was a little rusty but fortunately, we got a refresher before the other volunteers arrived. The location was in the middle of Beaverton, but it's tucked away near the MAX tracks. There were issues with erosion of a creek and they moved it over several feet. The city is in the process of building a walkway and we went in to plant trees and small plants to help prevent any more issues.

My group of volunteers was a 2nd grade cub scout pack and their dads. We then split into smaller groups and I ended up with three pairs of volunteers. The little guys were full of energy at 8 a.m. and had a blast digging the holes for our trees. Green Spaces doesn't normally plant large trees but this was a special project. It took two dads and me to move the trees into the holes once we dug them deep enough.

When we finished with our two trees and moved on to planting plugs along the slope of the creek. 

The terrain was a little rough in places but everyone stayed safe. There was one spot where I stood too long and almost got completely stuck. I'm glad for my boots because I had sunk so far, the mud was almost over them. I was able to pull my feet out without losing my footwear.

The tree the scouts and I planted.

It was a very muddy location!

Planting plugs along the bank will help keep the soil from eroding.

My second planting was at the end of January. It was a completely different area! There was a stream but we weren't near it. They had been working on this site for a while. In the picture below, you can see the ugly brown plants in the distance. They are an invasive, non-native species that completely covered the area before Friends of Trees began working in the area. While there was very little mud the ground is what I describe as "squooshy." It was mushy and my boots mad sucking sounds each time I took a step.

I had another scout troop and they were psyched to start digging. We planted shrubs this time, which was much easier for the kids. Basically, you put the shovel in the ground and wiggle it back and forth to make a pocket. Then you drop the shrub in, ensure the roots are under the ground, and fill in the pocket. It sprinkled a little and started really raining right when we finished cleaning up. 

I liked experiencing the vastly different locations that were both hidden in Beaverton. We only plant native plants and it's rewarding to see the land slowly changing back to what it's supposed to be. It's also rewarding to see the volunteers getting into the activities, especially the little ones.

You can't tell, but the spots without grass
are where we planted our shrubs.

We planted almost all the way down to those houses.

Goodbye 2015

Holiday Season

The end of 2015 was uneventful and that's just what we wanted. We finally spent our first Thanksgiving together without either of us working or in the hospital. Brandt made ham and plethora of other delicious foods and we spent the day together with the dogs.

We had a potluck at work again to celebrate winter holidays. I made adorable, edible spider webs for Halloween so I thought I'd try another creative dessert. I've been wanting to make melting snowman cookies for a while and gave it a try. They were a hit at work and also tasted pretty good.

A friend of mine had an ugly sweater party a few days before Christmas. I love to dress up but didn't need another ugly sweater. I wore the same ugly sweater I had a few years ago and added a twist. I found a sweet hairdo on Pinterest to up my game. I'm definitely going to use this idea again... I just need the right excuse and to figure out what other animals I can make out of my hair.

Christmas was also uneventful and wonderful. We both had the day off and enjoyed more of Brandt's delicious cooking; this time a roast. We watched Elf and A Christmas Story while opening presents from each other and love ones. Brandt's birthday is the next day and we ate the traditional ice cream cake. He even got the day off and did a little shopping with gift card money.

Giving Back

I ended my year by giving back a few more times. First, I stopped and made an in-kind donation the week after Christmas. I had a lot of socks I didn't need, a comforter with white in the design that needed to be washed too often because of our dingy dogs, and other items. I was going to take it all to Goodwill, like I always do, but then a coworker mentioned that the homeless shelters always desperately need socks. I hadn't considered that before and took everything they'd accept over there. I also donated a few old pillows as well as toiletries I'd never used and probably never would. The best part about stopping by Transition Projects was when the guy opened the closet to add my donations. The closet was absolutely stuffed. It made me happy to see that they had so much support. I can only hope the closet is that full all year, not just around the holidays.

I also donated blood for the second time since we moved. The Red Cross brings a bus by work a few times a year and has a mini-blood drive. I was in and out in just 30 minutes, when it normally takes an hour. It helps to be the last person of the day! They also had free shirts, which I'm always a fan of.

On my way to work the day before New Year's Eve, OPB (Oregon Public Broadcasting) was running a one-day, year-end donation drive. I'd always meant to donate to KPB when I lived in Kansas and I knew I should quit putting it off. I became a sustaining member and they're going to plant a tree in my name. I was able to support two things I love at once!

Hello 2016

I chose to stay in on New Year's Eve and end the year calmly. Brandt and I played our 3DS's and cuddled with the puppies. I went to bed before midnight and it was another perfect holiday.

2016 began much more eventfully than 2015 ended. We got snow and ice! It was our first winter weather event since we moved out here in 2014. Oregon is woefully unprepared for ice: no salt allowed on the roads and very few snow plows. I spent my first day "back" at work, at home. I worked from the couch with three personal space heaters, AKA the dogs. Cedric loves the snow and I will end this posting with a picture of my snow puppy.

Halloween Shenanigans

OMSI After Dark

I started off my Halloween celebrations by attending OMSI After Dark. It's a monthly 21+ mixer at the science museum and this one was Halloween themed. The first thing I did was get my face painted! The guy used an airbrush, which was a weird experience. It reminded me of the puff test at the eye doctor. Every time he moved to a new section of my face and started the airbrush, I'd jump. I wore my bat costume (made from a hoodie with an umbrella I sewed under the arms). I decided to continue the theme with bat face paint as well.

Along with the Halloween theme, they offered spirits throughout the museum. My friend participated and got the sweet shot glass pictured. She shared some of the drinks with me as we walked around the museum. and we had fun playing in the exhibits. Eventually, it got very crowded and it was difficult to walk around.

Bat costume when I made in in 2013.

Face paint!

We hid in the exhibits to avoid the long lines and enjoyed playing around. We sat and did some weaving for a while and it was more difficult than I thought it would be. I continuously mixed up which thread went where so I moved to an easier pattern.

I found out that this was their most popular After Dark. It was almost double their normal attendance. Knowing that, I may go back for another. I plan to volunteer for OMSI events in the future so I may even be working a few.

Halloween Potluck

Conference room

The next day was our staff Halloween potluck at work. We decorated the front desk and the conference room early in the month. I'm proud of our work! (pictured to the left) Traditionally there was a costume contest and office decoration contest. They also carved Jack-O-Lanterns but this year, we decided to decorate sugar skulls instead. There were just two of us on the committee so we tried to keep it a little more simple and much less messy.

My office

My coworker got sugar skull molds and we made them ourselves. It was quite easy with just sugar, meringue, and water packed into a mold. A few people were sad about the lack of carving but after we started decorating, we all had fun.

Our Marketing Director passed away suddenly in early October. He was a fan of Halloween so we decided to have an 80s themed costume contest this year. Why 80s? Because he was the radio guy in the movie Howard the Duck. I haven't seen it but I'm told his part was a small one. We all miss him dearly and this was a fun way to celebrate his life.

Where's Waldo?

The 80s are back!

Elliot from ET and Mork

My spiderweb dessert

Sugar skulls!

Finally: Halloween!

Halloween was just a few days later and I went all out this year! Brandt and I were going to go as Kevin and Russel from UP (the bird and the boy). I cut out feathers from fabric and sewed them to a pair of spandex. I mixed the colors in a similar fashion to Kevin's feathers. Then I added some teal feathers as sleeves. I was going to make Brandt's costume but ran out of time. He isn't a big fan of parties so wasn't upset that he didn't have a costume to wear.

I really wanted to paint my face this year and I found a great YouTube video to show me how. It took much longer than I thought but I'm happy with how it turned out. I also painted whiskers and a nose on my friend's face before we left for our first party. We went up to Vancouver and enjoyed drinks, food, and a trivia game with friends. We also went to a party with some of our Target coworkers afterward. The costumes that night were fairly impressive. Others had face paint, there was a great Cruella DeVille, and my favorite was Meg from Family Guy.

My finished face paint

One of the best drinks ever!
Plus, it's candy corn colored.

Full costume

Had to add a photo of Dave being creepy

Hello October!

October is finally here! We started the month off by supporting the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. A few friends, Cedric, and I walked about three miles in support of raising awareness of suicide. It is an epidemic in Oregon and part of the mission of Lines for Life, where I work. Cedric did well and loved everyone he saw. He didn't even act tired after all that walking.

That night, we went out to celebrate a friend's birthday and my birthday. We went to Ground Kontrol: a sweet bar in downtown Portland with vintage video games. Plus, the entire second floor has pinball games. We collected all the quarters in our apartment and headed our for a night of fun. We played four person Pacman, raced in an arcade version of Mario Kart, and played crazy versions of pinball. The tables were all lit from within and a little trippy. One of my favorite parts was the bathroom; crazy, I know. The floor is tiled Pacman and it's lit only with black lights surrounding the sink. There are some pictures below that I've borrowed from the internet. None of the pictures I took turned out share-worthy.

We had a small celebration at home on my actual birthday. I opened presents from family and Brandt. He got me a new bag that I absolutely love. The white Yoshi bag he gave me when we started dating is looking pretty sad from five years of use. Now I have a nice dark bag that can withstand the travels to and from work.

After starting off the month that way, we've been taking it easy. I've spent most of my spare time making my Halloween costume. If you know me, or have been reading this blog since at least last October, you know I love Halloween. There will be a very picture heavy post after Halloween!

The only other interesting thing to happen so far this month happened while I was working at Target. I had an 8 a.m. shift and was only semi-conscious most of the day. I was working in Seasonal with all of my favorite Halloween things. As I was putting away abandoned items, I saw a Toothless dragon doll on the floor. I didn't pick it up and figured I'd get it on my next round of pickups. I had completely forgotten about it when I was at the service desk sorting items until a lady and her two boys approached. The six year old had lost his Toothless doll. I told them where I saw it and they were going to look for it. I was still re-tagging items when they returned without the toy. I felt terrible for not picking up the you and went back to help them look. The poor thing was nowhere to be seen. I got her name and number to put in the lost and found book.

Just a few minutes before my shift ended, I was walking past a shelf and saw the small black dragon. It was nowhere near where I'd seen it but I was excited I found it! I called the mom and she was thrilled the toy had been located. I left a little note on the toy, as a little way to make up for not rescuing the dragon in the first place.

Celebrating Love

My trip to Kansas City was instigated my by lovely friend, Sarah, getting married. After sleeping in to recover from family day, I went downstairs to hang out with the bride and my other friends while they were getting ready. It was wonderful to see my friends from college! It doesn't matter how far away we live or how long we go between talking, we pick up right where we left off.

The wedding was beautiful and the reception was a blast. I was at the table with my bridesmaids friends and their significant others, as well a few other college friends. The new couple was gorgeous! We had Joe's BBQ, which was amazing since my sandwich from the day before was inedible.

My friend's husband is in the Air Force, stationed in Japan. It was fun to see my married friends try to play wing man for my single friends. I'm not a talented dancer so I abstained but my friend's husband eventually dragged me onto the dance floor. There was a photo booth and the shenanigans were only increased because of it.

Less than a day with my college friends was tough. I wish I could have seen them longer and had more time to talk, with the bride especially. The new couple will be living in Japan for the next year and I hope to go visit.

Home Again

Over Labor Day weekend, I made a quick excursion back to Kansas/Missouri for a good friend's wedding and to see my family. I spent the first day enjoying Kansas City with my family. We met up at the Crown Center for lunch. While waiting for everyone to arrive we listened to Irish music for the KC Irish Festival. We didn't go in but I loved that they dyed the fountain green.

We went to an adorable place that served our lunch from trains running around the room, near the ceiling.

Part of the family.

The rest of the family, minus my oldest brother.

After lunch at Fritz's we went to the Kansas City Puppetry Institute. I found them through Googling fun family activities in Kansas City. I was trying to find something beyond the obvious for us to do. The kids have been to the zoo, Legoland, and all of the other obvious places. Plus I was excited to do something crafty and that we could all enjoy.

My oldest brother and his lovely family with their puppets.

We were given a tour and then the painting began! Everyone but my youngest nephew, who was napping, and my sister-in-law, who was with him, made a puppet. It was fun to see the little ones being creative and the "big kids" had a blast too. After we painted, they sewed on the bodies, and the kids put on a puppet show. Even my sister, two bothers, and I put on a show!

Siblings!

My sister and I with two of our nephews.
One is the master of the photo bomb.

The kids had so much fun putting on plays.

At one point my niece may have been a little "over it."

I mentioned how much I miss BBQ so our next stop was back on the Kansas side of KC to Joe's. It's an amazing BBQ place in a gas station. As Brandt described it, some of the best BBQ places are in odd spots. The line went out the door and half way around the first side of the building but we opted to wait any way. At times, the line can literally wrap around the building, so it really wasn't all that long. We took the opportunity to chat, play with the kids, and crave a delicious meal.

We were able to fit almost everyone at a table and chowed down. It was everything I dreamed it could be and more. I only ate half my sandwich and took the rest back to my room in the Hilton President. Turns out, even though it's an expensive hotel, they don't have a fridge or microwave. I was none too pleased.

After we finished eating we let the kids run back and forth in the back of the parking lot. We kept them out of traffic through the rule of staying in the no parking stripes. My youngest nephew loves to dance and we played some tunes for him. He was hilarious. The older kids raced and the grown ups chatted. It was an absolutely wonderful day with my family.

Out of the Darkness

Suicide is an epidemic that no one talks about. The number of suicides in Oregon is almost double the number of homicides and car accident fatalities. These statistics continue to baffle me. I knew the suicide rate in Oregon was above the national average but numbers this high need to be addressed. People are scared to talk about suicide. They avoid talking about mental health at all costs. These numbers reflect what happens when you ignore a problem because it's unpleasant to think about.

The mission of Lines for Life (the organization I work for) is to prevent suicide and substance abuse. In the last four months I have heard people with no hope who are ready to end their lives, call desperate for help. I've heard stories from people whose lives were saved. I've seen the ramifications reverberate through family and friends after a desperate person ends his/her own life. This is my first step to actively make a difference.

On October 3rd, I will be participating in the Out of the Darkness Walk to benefit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. They are "the leading national not-for-profit organization exclusively dedicated to understanding and preventing suicide through research, education and advocacy, and to reaching out to people with mental disorders and those impacted by suicide." You can read more about the Lines for Life team and donate here.

This is the first walk I have participated in and it's something I care about deeply. I would appreciate any donation, even just $5. What I'd like more than donations would be for people to seek help and learn about mental health.

Suffering from mental illness can be literally debilitating. Without physical symptoms, it's often shunned or people are told to "man up." It's my hope that reading this post will cause some of you to look into how mental health affects all of us. Postpartum depression, alcoholism, eating disorders, bipolar disorder, and more are often hidden from others due to the stigma associated with mental illness. By learning more and accepting these illnesses for what they are, an actual illness like cancer or the flu, we can make a difference. Who knows, maybe you could even save a life when you reach out and accept those around you with mental illnesses.