Delirity

I must have gone on a trip…

2010-08-31T03:00:31Z

… kind of like this little green bug who rode to work with me last week. He hopped onto my mirror who knows when and wound up holding on for dear life for 18 miles!

I’m sad to have to say that pretty much all the goals I set at the beginning of the year have been abandoned in one way or another. Probably the worst thing that I’ve let go of (and the first thing I absolutely have to get back) is being selfish: paying attention to and taking time for myself.

Life has been stressful in so many ways over the past 6 months. I’ve been doing what I can to keep my head above water, but somewhere in there I forgot that the point of doing that is so that I can breathe. Thankfully, Jesse and I had a great talk a week or so ago and have started instituting at least 1 hour of “meaningful activity” every day. Sometimes we spend the hour together (frequently playing cards – we’re attempting to play through all the rummy variations in the book we’ve got) and sometimes we use the hour as personal time (starting back at the gym, going for a long walk, or taking a much needed soak in the tub with a book).

This week I’m working on getting myself back into exercising regularly – I’m thinking 30 minutes 5 times a week would be an awesome place to start. 1 day down!

Hello July 2010!

2010-07-01T15:51:59Z

I’m not sure how we’re already halfway through 2010, but I’m loving the beautiful summer weather we’re having in Portland!

Jesse is currently battling allergies and a business plan in order to open up a chiropractic practice of his very own, hopefully by the end of summer. I’m juggling work, helping Jesse with business stuff, family stuff, and trying to maintain a somewhat clean apartment. Can’t wait to share more exciting news about the business once we get to that point!

Android Karenina & a Contest!

2010-06-08T13:27:32Z

To celebrate the release of Android Karenina, Quirk Classics is sponsoring a contest. Click here and mention my blog to be entered to win 1 of 25 Quirk Prize packs which has a whole bunch of awesome stuff in it, including several of their books!

I have to admit that I’m sort of in love with Quirk Classics. It’s brilliant – take a classic novel and modify it in a way that causes a resurgence of interest. I’m all for anything that encourages reading!

Somehow I’ve never managed to read Anna Karenina. Android Karenina actually got me fairly excited because I thought it would be an interesting opportunity to read a “revised” version of the story without having knowledge of the original (I had read Pride and Prejudice many times before embarking on the Zombiefied version).

I’m really loving the book. There’s the romance aspect that is requisite for all (or at least most) classics, though it explores different types of romances including adulterous relationships. There is definitely quite a bit of social commentary which is particularly interesting since I don’t have much background in Russian history. And then there’s the technology.

The technology throughout the book is really fun and inventive – a dance turns into a “float” where couples dance on puffs of air, going abroad means getting sent into outer space, and everyone in the highest social class receives their own humanoid robot upon coming of age.

I have to laugh at how appropriate this technology is given my own current work. I was just at a conference for work (International Society for Gerontechnology in Vancouver, BC) and one of the most entertaining things we saw was a humanoid robot that’s currently being used for all sorts of research. I’d love to have my own robot that would help me out throughout the day!

Busy-ness

2010-05-25T03:44:59Z

Jesse and I have been playing tag around the house. Sometimes he’s here. Sometimes I’m here. Occasionally we’re both here… but not too much (18 days in May and only 6 days during the first 3 weeks of June). Definitely an improvement from when he was working in Bellingham, but still not a full time thing yet (that should happen after the 3rd week of June).

When we are together, and even when we aren’t, a lot of time is currently being taken up by figuring out the startup of Jesse’s chiropractic office. We’re checking out locations, trying to get realtors to call us back (you’d think that in an economy where there are lots of vacant spots it wouldn’t be that hard to get a return call!), getting in touch with banks, trying to choose the perfect table, checking out other practices (to help us figure out what to do and what not to do), and Jesse is doing a lot of reading.

It’s exciting. And if all goes well, we’ll be in business by August 1st (or some point shortly thereafter). So much to do and so little time! Sometimes I wish I could help more, but sadly there are other things in my life to be dealt with at a higher priority (since Jesse really should take the lead on his own business). Wish us luck! It’s a super exciting, though very busy and stressful time.

Goodbye Grocery Store!

2010-05-22T03:47:38Z

Our local farm share started up this past week. For 24 weeks this year, we’ll be loaded up with fresh veggies and 2 dozen free range eggs. Fruit and honey will be coming from the local farmer’s market on Saturdays. I’m hoping that this means we can decrease our grocery store trips to every 2 weeks or so (for meat and bananas and whatever other random essentials we need).

We’re really hoping that embracing our farm share will help us to clean up our eating (there’s been just a little too much sugar involved recently!). When we did this 2 years ago we frequently had food that we never got to. Our goal this year is to consume everything (except fava beans)… we’ve learned a lot in the past 2 years and have a plan of attack:

I “process” all the fresh food immediately upon getting home. This goes something like: empty produce from awesome organic cotton bags, wash with veggie wash and filtered water, and put into the many vented containers we have. That means it’s really easy to eat stuff when we want it.
Anything we have a large quantity gets made into smoothies made by the vitamix we received last year for Christmas. This should really help with the huge amounts of greens we get – particularly during the first half of the season!

This week’s share (“small” since it’s the first week) contains mixed lettuces, spinach, mild mustard greens, pea greens, kale, radishes, chives, and a cherry tomato plant (which I’m attempting to grow on our back patio in a pot – cross your fingers for enough sun!). Since Jesse is out of town this week, it’s up to me to eat it all! So far I’m actually making fairly good progress on it. I’ve been making smoothies (with lots of greens mixed in!) and kale crispies (in fact, all the kale is gone now!). And, the radishes are actually mild enough to eat like a carrot!

We’re gonna be so healthy

A Spontaneous Reunion

2010-05-22T03:13:39Z

I’d like to thank the LA traffic for a spontaneous reunion that will be occurring tomorrow. You see, Jesse was supposed to be getting back tonight from a trip to LA and I was supposed to be leaving for LA in the morning (different purposes and he booked his tickets before I booked mine). However, due to the wonder that is LA traffic, we’re now on the same flight home on Tuesday!

I’d like to thank our awesome friends Jenni and Dave for rescuing Jesse from the Ontario airport and giving him a place to sleep tonight… the best part is that I had been planning to visit them tomorrow anyway and the visit will be that much better since Jesse will be there too! It’s been far too long since we’ve all been together (maybe since their wedding almost 4 years ago? or at least a few Christmases ago).

Now if only our flights get delayed for a few more days due to weather or something we’d be in town for my college reunion…

The Hunt for Girlie Magazines

2010-04-15T05:16:33Z

I was planning to get better about writing while I was on vacation. And then life kicked in and vacation turned into a family emergency (someday I’ll explained how this was always fated to happen). Most of my non-vacation was hard and exhausting, but I did have quite the adventure trying to hunt down some girlie magazines for my great uncle.

My non-vacation occurred in Lake Geneva, WI (the home of my great uncle Rex) – a southern Wisconsin resort town which is quite small and seems to exude Midwestern sensibilities. So, when I asked Rex (who is now stuck in a nursing home, mostly in bed) if he wanted me to get him some magazines to read, I was expecting him to ask for a Maxim and maybe a People. Instead he requested a magazine “where they show some skin”. It wasn’t too surprising once I thought about it. He may be 87, but he spent the bulk of his years as one of the maintenance men at the Playboy Club in Lake Geneva.

My first stop was Walmart (don’t judge – it’s a small town and there aren’t too many big stores). I could have sworn I had at least seen censored magazines behind the cigarette counter at a Walmart once before (hey, I was curious what kinds of items wound up stored behind a counter), but perhaps I imagined it. I asked a teenage boy working in the entertainment section if they carried them, or if he knew where I could find one, and cause him to turn red and let me know he wasn’t from the area. His co-worker suggested I try the gas station next door. So, I picked up a Maxim (just in case I couldn’t find anything else) and headed out the door.

Mobile (or at least that particular station) didn’t have any magazines and suggested the Walgreen’s across the street. Again, no luck, but they suggested the Piggly Wiggly or the video store in downtown. On my way to the Piggly Wiggly, I stopped at the liquor store. The guy working there looked at me like I was crazy and told me he didn’t have any idea where I could find a Playboy.

Before I made it to the Piggly Wiggly, I stopped at a local pub to pick up a polish sausage for my uncle. Thankfully, my mom suggested I ask the bartender if he had any ideas. The guy laughed at my “story” about needing the magazine for my uncle, but let me know that I could probably find what I was looking for at the gas station store a few doors down. Thankfully, Shell did in fact have a whole rack of girlie magazines! Realizing that 1 playboy wouldn’t last too long, I also grabbed a Hustler and made my way back to the nursing home…

Apparently I’ve lead too sheltered an existence. Blame it on my being female. I HAD NO IDEA HUSTLER WAS SOOOOO RAUNCHY! And of course, that magazine turned out to be preferable to the Maxim & Playboy, so I fear there are going to be more Hustlers in my future (or perhaps I’ll just get him a subscription so I won’t have to buy them on other trips). My mom and I looked through it to pass the time and I had to laugh at how many times my mom’s jaw dropped (she didn’t know how bad it was either).

I’d like to tell you how scarred I am from the whole experience, but in fact, it was pretty funny. I don’t like the idea of pornography, but if looking at a couple pictures brightens an 87 year old’s day, then so be it. I say good for him for still being interested

Happy 4th (or 9th) Anniversary

2010-04-01T18:52:22Z

2001 – Winter Formal, Freshman Year of High School
4 years before dating, 9 years before wedding

2005 – Prom, Senior Year of High School
Just started dating, 5 years before wedding

April 1, 2006 – Wedding!

Today is our 4 year wedding anniversary. 9 years ago on St. Patty’s day was when we first started dating. And about 14-15 years ago his name was scribbled on my converse. Thank you to a wonderful husband and best friend. And thank you to all my good friends throughout the years that have gone through my many Jesse phases with me.

Admitting to my drinking problem

2010-03-14T23:10:44Z

It turns out that I have quite a problem (part of it seems to be that when I’m sick I can never remember that I have more echinacea tea in my little storage area). Today I went through all my tea and made up 2 boxes to take to work and condensed what stays in my cabinet and what goes into my storage area. What finally wound up going back in the cabinet:

Too bad tea season will be over soon!

Tea & Chocolate

2010-03-13T00:01:14Z

Two of my favorite things. So far, the best pairing I have ever found is Lindt’s Intense Orange chocolate bar with Twinings Lady Grey (decaf!) tea. The next time you’re in Cost Plus (since this is where I normally get my fix), think about picking the combo up since it’s amazing.

I’ll be enjoying these delights tonight along with The White Queen now that I’m starting to feel better. What a delicious Friday night all the way around!