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.

My New Office

My first job out of college came with an office! It was a decent size, had a door and a desk, but didn't have a ceiling. It made for easy talking to the President and Education Manager. I even had a name plate!

I had two offices at my next job. My first was huge (meant for two people, really). It also didn't have a ceiling but the ceiling was another floor above. It could be quite dark and lonely but also loud from all of the kids having fun. My coworkers were great and would pop in to make sure I was still alive!

I eventually moved upstairs to be closer to my boss and made a cubicle my new home. It was also loud but I loved listening to the educators spout random science facts or plan camps about blowing things up. I guess I didn't really have a ceiling there either...

Now my new office is all my own and has a ceiling! I have the only office with no windows but that's OK because it can actually be very sunny in Oregon.

The view when entering my office.

Here's the view to the right.

And the view from my desk.

I'm loving my dual screen monitor. Of course I have had several sweet backgrounds. If you couldn't see in the pictures above here's my current background:

Zoom! Zoom!

After driving the same car for almost 11 years, I am the happy new owner of a 2012 Ford Focus Hatchback!

My new toy!

My Honda

I got my 2005 Honda Civic new in October 2004. It was a huge upgrade from my first car, which often had pieces fall off and smelled like mold when I ran the defrost. Oh, and I had to run the defrost all the time because the windows always fogged. My first car was also a manual. No fun to drive in a small town!

When I got my Honda, I requested that it be an automatic, have electric windows, and a clicker (to unlock/lock from a distance). I got all three! I loved my Honda and took very good care of it. It was coming up on 100,000 miles and needed too much work to keep it running well.

This crab was in my Honda from the day I got it.
So of course, it's new home is the Ford.

I found these in my central console when cleaning it out.

Car Shopping

This was my first time actually car shopping (last time I just tagged along with my parents). Brandt was immensely helpful and I couldn't have done it without him. I felt overwhelmed with what kind of car to get and how to judge which was the right one for me. He made two lists of 10: crossovers and sedans/hatchbacks. I couldn't afford a crossover that didn't have 150,000+ miles on it and I was not about to trade in a car for one with more miles! I settled for the second list.

A hatchback?? Ugh!

Brandt assured me that I'd love a hatchback. I thought of those cars from the 90s with wood paneling. It wasn't until I saw one in person that I knew he was right. He's often right! I loved the hatchbacks I drove and I'm excited to take the pups for a ride with the back seats down.

My Beauty!

Now time for pictures! Old vs new. I'm in love!

 Goodbye little Honda!

My new dash is electronic and has blue tooth. Oh and the seats are heated :)

So much room for puppy activities! The back seats fold down for more storage and for the dogs. 

To thank Brandt for the all of the help, we went to Firehouse Subs. We love their sandwiches but they're too expensive to eat there all the time. I also bought him some of their fire sauce that he loves.

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.