Staying Cool

If you've talked to me, read this blog, or seen my Facebook since we moved to Oregon then you know that air conditioning isn't standard in homes out here. When I've complained to our apartment company about the intense, lava-like heat in our unit they say that air conditioning is only needed "for a few month a year." My retort would be that you only need heat a few months a year as well, but I'm tired of people looking at me like I'm crazy for expecting cold air when it's more than 90 degrees outside.


We learned our lesson last year and purchased a portable air conditioning unit on Craigslist before the weather heated up. The extension that the exhaust came with wasn't long enough, so I used painters tape and cardboard wrapped in tinfoil to keep everything in place. I'm proud of my ugly work! I had extra tape left over so I did a little decorating as well.

We used it for the first time when I had friends over for Cards Against Humanity. It worked well but turns out the unit has a drain in the back. The guy I bought it from didn't mention that key point. Our carpet was completely soaked and we used three towels to soak up the water then used a fan to dry the rest for the next few days. Brandt got a hose from Home Depot the next day and all was wonderful... for a while.

I came home on a particularly hot day and Brandt had created a "vortex of cool" on his day off. The unit was not cooling the large area and drastic measures were needed.

Ellie enjoying the vortex.

We ended up moving the ac unit into the spare bedroom/man cave/dogs' room. I used pushpins to hang a sheet I got at Goodwill to help keep the cold air in and we moved in the papasan chair. It's cramped but cold! I was able to get a free bucket from work (who knew that VooDoo Donuts sells buckets full of doughnuts?!?) Fortunately, it doesn't smell like doughnuts now and it has a handle to help lift after running on humid days.

The room is cramped but cold!

The ac unit also has a timer. It's nice because Brandt sets it to come on in the afternoon so the dogs aren't left sweltering in the dark. Plus, then it's cool when we get home. We close the door and sit in the dim, cold room in peace. It's terrible to leave to use the bathroom or get food but I'm thankful we have at least one cool room in our home.

Brandt's Half Birthday

**I tried to post this over a week ago, but the app on my phone didn't let me.**

It's been much too hot in Oregon and doing anything in our apartment is difficult. However, that didn't stop me from celebrating another half year of Brandt's life! I usually don't do a lot for his birthday, it being the day after Christmas and I can only think of so many gifts to get him set a time, so I celebrate Brandt's half birthday too.

This year was the big 30 for him so I made a big deal out of his birthday on December. This year's half birthday was a small celebration. I got him a card, a frying pan, and a real pepper grinder. I also continued the tradition of an ice cream cake. The apartment was something like 80-85° so the ice cream cake was amazing! We now have a portable ac unit set up in the man cave/dogs' room and we can all do more than just lay down and pray for death as we melt. I'm going to post about our glorious cold air machine next!

Happy 30.5 Brandt!

A Sunday in Seattle

My brother had a conference in Seattle over Memorial Day Weekend so Brandt and I drove up for the day to visit him and my sister-in-law. They were the first family we've seen in a year, excluding a lovely aunt who I had dinner with a few months ago. My brother and his wife were super sweet and got a room with an extra bed so Brandt and I didn't have to make the three hour drive back late at night. A friend watched our three monsters, and Brandt and I made our way to Washington.

Our first stop after the hotel was the Pike Place Market. It's along the pier and full of shops, food, and more. We had to go to the Pike Place Fish Co. while we were there. If you haven't seen any videos, they throw fish to each other, across the counter. Brandt, my sister-in-law, and I were fortunate enough to see it happen! I would definitely drop the floppy fish. My brother missed out because he was watching a somewhat perplexing interpretive dancer a few feet away. I thought Portland was weird, but Seattle definitely gives it a run for its money.

Another thing to see in the Pike Place Market is the Gum Wall. This is just what it sounds like. There's an ally near the market where people put gum all over the walls. It was disgusting. I couldn't walk more than a few feet in because of the smell. My brother and his wife ventured into the dark abyss of multicolored walls without us. I think they could stand it because they're dentists. I suggested they try to look for teeth impressions in the gum. It's something you should see, if you have the chance, but just thinking about it makes my stomach turn.

Brandt's artist shot of the gum.

That wall is covered in gum.

A braver man than I.

It's just disgusting!

Maybe the original Starbucks?

The last sight that we couldn't miss in the market was the original Starbucks. Even though they had a Starbucks in the hotel and we passed about three or four on the walk to the market, we had to see the original! Problem was, we couldn't figure out which one was the original. I took a picture of the one that we think is the original but who knows. We kept hearing different things from different locals. Either way, the signage and building were vintage.

We also had gyros and gelato at the market. Both were delicious! However, those are two of my favorite foods so it's a biased statement. Walking all afternoon, coupled with a cold treat made us thirsty. We got water from the gelato place, only to discover it tasted odd. Turns out the new thing to do is add various foods to water to give it taste. What do I mean? Normally people add lemon to water (I'm not a fan). Now they add a multitude of foods to perfectly fine drink. This place had added cucumbers and my sister-in-law and I couldn't drink it. It just tasted funny. I guess we're not hip enough for the west coast drinking habits.

We stopped in a few shops here and there. My favorite was one with native-type art, including marble and tusk carvings. There was a tusk carving that was about four feet long with intricate carvings of a village and wildlife. My favorite was this little guy on the left. When I was young and we'd visit Beaver Lake, AR, my dad would float in the lake on his back. He'd scrunch up his face and act like an otter, which looked that much cuter with his mustache. I'm not sure if this is an otter, but it definitely reminded me of my dad!

On our way down to the waterfront from the market, we noticed some interesting lamps. These guys were completely parallel to the ground, holding bulbs. It was an interesting art piece along the stairs but what I liked the most was that this one's face looked like Harrison Ford.

We got a little lost but eventually found the Seattle Aquarium. I'm a fan of sea life and absolutely loved the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. While I new this one wasn't going to be anywhere near as amazing, I still enjoyed it. We played in the indoor tidal pools, touching weird things like sea cucumbers, star fish, and anemones. They had a variety of fish and crustaceans for viewing too. They have an octopus, which I love, and I fought my way to the front of the crowd to watch it. I have videos of the ones in Vegas moving across the glass. It's fascinating.

My favorite part was the sea mammals. This was my first time seeing a sea otter and I spent too long watching them swim around, below and above water. Below is a highlight of our pictures. Brandt and I love taking pictures and this is a small collection of what we actually took.

Probably the best mascot ever.

My sister-in-law enjoying the tidal pool.

I thought this guy was cute.

Possibly the best picture of the day?
Hard to beat a winking otter!

We stopped by a thrift store on the way back to the hotel and my brother hit the jackpot. He found a street sign with the name Blaine. The story is too long to tell but this was quite the find. I'm only including it because my family will appreciate anything related to the glory that is Blaine.

We finished our adventure at a classy sea food place. We had wine, enjoyed fabulous food, and laughed all night. I'd never had lobster, so of course, I tried it. I still prefer crab but everything I tasted was delicious. My brother got crab legs and although it was sad for me to see those poor legs strewn across his plate, those things were delicious. Below is a panorama that my brother took before the sun set. These kids and their crazy iPhones.

We stayed up much too late that night but it was well worth it. The restaurant gave us a free ride back to the hotel so that we didn't have to walk. Like I said, this place was nice! Dinner was probably my favorite part of the trip because of the time we were able to spend sharing stories with my brother and sister-in-law.

Trial by Fire

My new employer was eager for me to start working as soon as possible because they were having their first telethon. I jumped in and learned as much as I could in five days, including teaching myself Salesforce and Greater Giving. On Thursday, I was at the TV station by 4 a.m. and had quite a bit of coffee to keep me going. The telethon officially ran until 11:30 p.m. but unlike my super-human boss, I went home in the middle of the day and had a 3-hour power nap.

The stage, ready to go!

Overall, it went well! We raised funds for the military crisis lines, raised awareness about our services, there were no issues, and we all survived. Everyone I met at the TV station was professional and passionate about helping veterans and their families. Every segment went smoothly and the pre-recorded interviews were well done.

In fact, it went so well that I don't have much to report! It was cool to see how TV works behind the scenes. It was exciting when they aired something live (with a delay, of course) because the phones would start ringing like crazy. We met with the producers yesterday and they said everything went perfectly on their end as well, which is amazing to hear after an event.

Behind the scenes view of an interview with Kent Studebaker,
former Navy SEAL and father-in-law of
"American Sniper" Chris Kyle

I had the next morning off and went back to the office to begin the follow up for the event. Many people at work described my first week as "trial by fire." I laugh it off and say that I like fire any way. Someone retorted that fire scars and I replied that scars are just reminders of experiences. I liked jumping right in and having so many things to do. I'm afraid that every week going forward will seem boring in comparison!

My crazy week didn't end there. I worked an eight hour shift at Target on Saturday then Brandt and I drove the three hours to Seattle to see one of my brothers and his wife. They were in town for a conference and I'd been looking forward to seeing them for months. I had very little sleep between Wednesday and Monday so I was grateful that Monday was a holiday. When we got back to Portland, I took another power nap and still went to bed at a normal time.

Next post will be about our adventures in Seattle!

I'm Employed!

I am finally employed full-time! I started my job at Lines for Life today as a Development Associate. I will help raise funds, plan events, maintain the donor database, and more. It is very similar to my previous work at Exploration Place.

So what exactly is this place that I'm working for? Lines for Life (formerly the Oregon Partnership) is a non-profit dedicated to preventing substance abuse and suicide. They have crisis lines for people to call in and they act as an advocate in the community/state. The advocacy includes lobbying and visiting schools. Their crisis lines receive approximately 35,000 calls per year. There are lines for substance abuse, suicide, military, and youth. Most of the people answering calls are highly trained volunteers and there are treatment  professionals helping as well. They are able to deescalate 98% of the 13,000 suicide calls they receive each year. Quite a great number!

One aspect I like is that people calling the youth and military lines can speak with peers. I know it can be reassuring and much easier to talk to someone who knows where you're coming from. Both of these lines aren't exclusively about substance abuse and suicide either. They are available for any issue these people may be having. The youth line also includes texting! You know how those kids are always texting... including me. Another aspect I like is that family and friends of people suffering from these issues are welcome to call and receive support.

I started my career in museums because I love learning. I wanted to help educate others and share my passion. I'm taking a new path with this position and helping the community. I've always wanted to make a difference with my life and in my career. I loved advocating science education (especially in young girls!!) and knowledge in general. Museums don't necessarily have a huge impact on individuals' lives,however, but Lines for Life does. I'll miss hearing crazy science facts or teaching kids about dinosaurs but I'm looking forward to this new direction and where it can take me.

I'm an Official Oregonian!

I went to the DMV and got my driver's license today. It was different than my first time, when I was 16 and went to the one at Strother Field. My test was on a touch screen computer rather than paper and pencil. It's been more than a decade so that didn't surprise me. The wait was longer as well but not terrible. All in all, it was quite uneventful.

The lady that helped me was born in KC and lived I'm Wichita for a while. She was so excited when she saw the address on my KS licence. We chatted about the differences between living in each place and she was super cheery. I didn't exactly expect a DMV employee to be in such a wonderful mood. It definitely made the experience better.

Now I'm working on getting my car registered here, plates (Oregon requires front and back), etc. I'll update with that saga once I've survived. It's a pretty penny to do all of this!

Brandt is a much better citizen than I, and did all of this last summer. Hopefully mine will go better than his experience (KS was quite confused on what to do with his electronic title). More on that later.

A Vegan Adventure

On a boring afternoon, a friend and I went out for a walk through one of the neighborhoods in Portland. We had Salt and Straw ice cream and she attempted to get me to join the vegan lifestyle. I was hesitant, especially since there was a Kansas City BBQ food cart nearby and I'd been craving pulled pork. However, we'd visited the spot for her favorite vegan food cart and I was going to give it a try.


Sampling the Food: The vegan food cart was barbecue but I still wasn't convinced. My friend got the Smoke Temphe Platter, which looked like the vegan take on ribs. I got the Slosmomofo Sandwich: Smoked Soy Curls on a grilled bun with Maple-Bourbon BBQ sauce and Chipotle Slaw. The sandwich and fries looked and smelled good. My friend assured me that the soy they used felt like meat when you ate it. She was correct but it definitely didn't taste the same. Nothing tastes quite like real beef/pork/chicken/insert delicious animal goodness here. I ate most of it since I was hungry, spent money on it, and don't like to waste food.

I got an Arnold Palmer to drink but that tasted funny. I think they used some organic lemonade or weird tea. I'd hoped at least the drink would be familiar. Good news though: the fries were delicious!

The Aftermath: Before I went to bed, my belly started rumbling. I could tell that my body had no idea what to do with the fake pork and not-so-tasty Arnold Palmer. I woke up in the middle of the night with terrible acid reflux. I used to have the same problem in high school but it was so bad I ate tums like candy. It made for an unpleasant night but I was able to get some sleep.

Conclusion: I gave vegan food a chance and it went as suspected. I don't like the taste and my body doesn't know how to process it. I've agreed to go to the vegan bar with my friend but I'm going to stick to real food such as veggies, nuts, and the like instead of soy masquerading as something else.

Moving Forward: I understand the vegan/vegetarian lifestyle. At the same time, I know that peoples' livelihoods depend on raising the animals. Farmers and ranchers are great people who work hard. I'm thankful for what they do because I couldn't eat a steak if I had to kill the cow or prepare the cut myself. There have been times I've considered becoming a vegetarian. I can't eat my food thinking about it having once been alive, which is why I stick to burgers or chicken breast. The real thing keeping me from changing to vegetarian/vegan lifestyle: I love eating meat! It's delicious, it helps farmers, I need the iron, and did I mention that it's delicious?