{12.29.07}

2008

1. Will you be looking for a new job? Weird, I just had a dream about this last night. NO.
2. Will you be looking for a new relationship? No.
3. New house? Nope.
4. What will you do different in 2008? Clean less!?! Ha!
5. New Years resolution? Oh so many…
6. What will you not be doing in 2008? Getting Married!
7. Any trips planned? Vegas, Hawaii and Maine.
8. Wedding plans? Done.
9. What's on your calendar? Stuff.
10. What can't you wait for? Baby RidRid.
11. What would you like to see happen different? Ownership.
12. What about yourself will you be changing? My choice of gum.
14. Will you be nicer to the people you care about? I'll try.
15. Will you dress differently this year than you did in 07? Hopefully, God willing!
16. Will you start or quit drinking? That depends on number 10.
17. Will you have better relationships with your family? I hope so.
18. Will you do charity work? It's my job.
19. Will you go to bars? Doubtful.
20. Will you be nice to people you don't know? Yes, of course.
21. Do you expect 2008 to be a good year for you? YES.
22. How much did you change from this time last year til now? A whole lotta.
23. Do you plan on having a child? Yes - perhaps two more!
24. Will you still be friends with the same people you are friends with now? Yes, for sure.
25. Major lifestyle changes? With any luck.
26. Will you be moving? Negative.
27. What will you make sure doesn't happen in 2008 that happened in 07? Moving!
28. What are your New Years Eve plans? Pending.
29. Will you have someone to kiss at midnight? OH YES!
30. Wish for 2008? That all my friends and family are blessed with a happy and healthy year.

{12.17.07}

deep breath

i can finally take some time to put my thoughts together. it's been a crazy few weeks and i'm happy to report the following accomplishments:

• 
  
  christmas cards - mailed.
  
  


• 
  
  gifts - all purchased and wrapped.
  
  


• 
  
  800 members - invoiced.
  
  


• my desk - i can see it again.


• getting adam to wear and attend an ugly sweater christmas party!!!

***

i just made the most fabulous list of things to get done before we leave on saturday. christmas in john day. six days with my family; my daddy's hugs, my mama's delish cooking, kids screaming with excitement, santa's cookies, sledding, bon fires and late night chats by the wood stove. i can hardly stand the wait.

***

why i love my job and the giving tree givers:

"a dresser"

this is all a ten year old boy wants for christmas this year. melt. my. heart.

{12.4.07}

horoscope and things

i must admit, i'm not the biggest believer in astrology. but i came across my horoscope today and it was dead on. dead on!

Your philosophical perspective helps you to detach from your emotions just enough to be healthy. You may be ready for all the changes that you see coming, especially if they offer you additional freedom. But if dependency issues arise, don't push them away. Facing your feelings can help you do even better.

so many awesome happenings to report...no mental energy to put them into words. i digress...to, perhaps...weekly mel...or monthly mel...or quarterly mel. one of these days i'll have more time...one of these days, very soon!

happy things: love notes from brenner. my mother's endless encouragement. going home for christmas. late night chats with my sweet julie. planning jen's 30th birthday celebration in vegas. maggie cogswell-kelly. reclaiming trust. odd numbers. the smell of christmas cards. *sweet confirmation.*

sad things: mr. charlie. tankers. my pantry. dwellers.

{11.28.07}

my radio debut

my house looks like christmas vomited projects all over my living room; i’m only half way through the membership billing for 2008 (due this friday) and kristie just gave her two weeks notice. groooooooovy.

last weekend the chamber kicked off what is promising to be a very busy and exciting holiday season with our annual starlight parade. i was a guest commentator for LITE 95.1 with the one and only dan dubay. i fought chunks from my very nervous stomach, but i survived and had a blast.

{11.21.07}

tu tu much rain

i don't even know where to begin. the torrential rain at tu tu? the drive? the room that didn’t have a TV or microwave? the RAIN? the rain at tu tu that trapped me in a small room for three days with a very active six year old child who had no desire what-so-ever to play with the specially prepared activities in his backpack? did i mention the rain????

fine. i’ll stop there and give you a visual showing what i did for three days.

i did have puuulllllenty of time to make a mental list of the things i’m thankful for this year, but i’ll spare you the sentimental gag-worthy list. i’m blessed with so much and hope you all have a joyful thanksgiving.

eat up and be happy!

{11.13.07}

tu tu retreat

technically today is my monday and tomorrow is my friday in the office. right on! thursday thru sunday adam, brenner and i will be staying at the amazing tu tu' tun lodge for gl suite's yearly manager/family retreat. mmm...in-room massages...fireside chats with the wives...breakfast in bed...we're totally going to wreck the tu tu'.

check it out!

{11.9.07}

when the natives get restless

{10.31.07}

doh moment

those who know me very well know that i don't like to cook, so i'm not a wanna be martha, you'll get over it, i did. anyhoozits, i just got home from a busy day at the office stuffing my face with the wicked evil chocolates that my boss brought in this morning and didn't feel much like making popcorn or slicing cheese to go with the baked not fried chex mix for dinner (i can't imagine why i'm 15 pounds overweight) so i opened my freezer door to find this:

and because we're eating healthy i pulled out the breaded tilapia (ooooooh fancy). after reading the back of the box for the cooking instructions i hit a mental wall, hard. did i have a conventional oven or a convection oven? no i'm not kidding you. it was like when you write a word down but then question the spelling because it doesn't look right...yeah, like that. i swear to god i almost called my mother but like oprah gaining weight, it soon came back to me. so after making a gourmet salad that wasn't from a bag, dinner was served. my poor husband.

i'm off to start some laundry and pack for our mini beach vacation in newport with phil, julie and paige (or as brenner says: jhil, pulie and p-pants).

{the doorbell rings}

my scary skeleton child and his 80's dad. let me show you.

happy halloween.

{10.30.07}

halloween partees

party #1: hosted by lauren (jive turkey) and nathan (disco man)

adam and i went as "computer code" and "static cling".

party #2: hosted by rich (the bun maker) and christen (little red riding hood/bun in the oven)

{10.24.07}

p-patch with friends

all 34 bones in my vertebral column are perfectly healthy, my thyroid is in good working order and my hormone levels are right where they need to be. with the results of my blood tests and xrays my doctor said i was good to start running again, lose the weight i want, get pregnant and be happy. his exact words. so no more late nights worrying and googling the symptoms of perimenopause OR wondering if i have an underachieving thyroid. i'M HEALTHY AND THANKFUL.

LAST WEEKEND JEN, CHARLA AND i PACKED UP ALL SIX KIDS AND Carpooled TO THE CENTRAL OREGON PUMPKIN CO. AND THE DD RANCH. THE KIDS had great FUN playing hide and seek, GIVING US PANIC ATTACKS WHEN we would stop to take roll call. not funny.

{10.19.07}

leadership redmond

(day 2) : personality analysis board training

prior to class yesterday all 22 students took an online personality profile survey by prep profile systems. it truly helped us understand ourselves better, gain understanding about other's personality traits, motivations, strengths and weaknesses and how to work with them in a group setting. the coaching project was my personal favorite.

instructor at 9:00am - energetic

students at 4:00pm - exhausted

***

in unrelated news: this is what my kitchen looks like with a broken dishwasher and unless i'm on my death bed or just gave birth you'll never again see my kitchen in this condition.  

{recent annoyances}

• 
  
  getting my blood drawn by the lab technician from hell.
  
  


• 
  
  the crater-size potholes on hwy 97.
  
  


• dramallamas.


• the size of my prenatal vitamins.


• unwelcome visitor(s). go away.

{10.15.07}

p-patch with family

so we braved the crowds at the central oregon pumpkin co. on saturday and we couldn't have asked for better weather - it was theeeee perfect sunny/warm/colorful/yummy smelling fall day.

walking the plank on the pirate ship...

watching the pumpkin launch...

waiting in line for 45 minutes and still beaming with excitement...

3...2...1...

chillin' with the g-parents and barclay...

thirsty barclay...

the pick of the patch...

going home.

{10.10.07}

dear brenner

mommy is sorry she gets frustrated with you in the mornings sometimes. i guess waking up at 5:45am to go for my only "me time" walks, making your school lunches, laying out your school clothes, making sure your ovaltine is just the right temperature, starting a load of laundry or finishing one, making breakfast that you never finish, making the beds, spending too much time figuring out what i can wear that still fits, making coffee that i'll maybe get two sips of before rushing out the door at 7:40am gets to be too much for mommy sometimes. i love you, i'm proud of you and i'm sorry. 

mama

*** 

brenner's medal for the most laps at his schools annual walk-a-thon.

{grab a tissue...}

dear mama-

i push you. a lot. i do it because i can count on you to push back and i know that you're going to still love me. a lot. i love you because you are the ultimate multi-tasker and the reason i always have a packed lunch. sometimes i forget that you're the center of my family and i act up, but only because i'm 6 and i forget lots of things that don't involve legos, video games, or riding my bike. i'm well cared for - i've never had a dirty face in public, no skinned knee has ever gone unloved, and only you actually know the perfect temperature for my chocolate milk.

love, brenner (and adam)

{10.8.07}

random obsessing

this weekend between brenner's soccer game, molly's baby shower, strolling the streets of bend at the fall festival, dinner with julie and phil and hosting desperate housewives girls' night, i spent gobbles of time putting together new banner designs for the website. i obsess.

So i got my wedding dress back from the cleaners, where they shipped it to Portland to be cleaned, preserved and boxed. you don't even want to know the cost, let's just say that my daughter (yes, we will try until I get one) will wear this dress on her wedding day. note the condition of the dress when they received it - "Poor". ha! every grease mark, drops of bubbly, and smudged lipstick was worth every penny.

 

 

{10.3.07}

western swing

the newest bronze sculpture for redmond

is this really necessary?

nothing says "welcome to redmond" quite like this.

{9.26.07}

raising a six-year-old boy

i've learned:

1. every cool bug must be captured and cared for properly with help from ehow.com.

2. ranch dip should never ever go in school lunch bags...even in tupperware!

3. plan and budget for school fund-raisers and donations...um...weekly?!

4. girls are gross one day and girlfriends the next.

5. good haircuts matter.

6. private nakedness also matters.

7. adam's expensive cologne is no longer just adam's.

8. yelling "I have to go number 2" in the store is necessary...and fun.

9. tissues are for storing boogers that have already been picked.

10. buying "baby" hair and body wash is no longer acceptable.

sniff...sniff!

{9.24.07}

visuals

you know it's time for a haircut when...



***

fall soccer, 2007

{9.13.07}

dreams

i rarely remember having them anymore. i remember as a little girl i would wake from a bad dream and call for my mama, knowing she would be right by my bedside in a blink of an eye to calm me down.

last night i had a very strange dream - a dream that actually had meaning to me.

it starts with ladybugs. someone very close to me is carrying a long flexible tube full of live ladybugs around her waist for many many years without anyone knowing. a reminder of her past. i told her i would take them from her to free her from the burden and pain. she only agreed if i promised to wear the tube around my waist as she did for many years. a part of me was excited to help but the other part of me was upset, why should i want or need to carry around someone else's burdens and keep them alive - shouldn't the past stay in the past? 

the dream ends and i wake up.

here's where it gets creepy. after researching ladybugs online i found that the seven spots are considered a symbol of the seven sorrows of the virgin mary. hmm...

{9.10.07}

just add water

i don't do stress well. under my terms only do i work great under pressure, otherwise - forget it! today as i was taking our annual dinner dance and auction (that is this friday - central oregon sucks for promptness) rsvps via email, phone, co-worker and walk-ins, i FOUND MYSELF making THESE MINI HIGH PITCHed SQUEALS TO HELP DEAL WITH THE CHAOS, and I didn't think anyone heard me until Kristie burst into laughter. awesome.

I did score a fabulous dress on ebay for the event...and it fits!

last friday night we had julie, phil and sweet baby paige over for dinner. this picture was taken by brenner with his very own camera that he's oh so proud of.

 

last night we drove out to papa george's new place at sunrise village in bend where we spent some greatly needed down time by the pool.

 

{8.31.07}

barclay

my mama's new puppy.