Eavesdropping

I must preface this by saying that I did not catch the entire story, nor the context, so I may have my facts wrong. But the other day in the airport I heard a woman describe how she had to throw herself at someone's mercy, who graciously put her up in a room that they use for employees. It was huge room with two bathrooms. And it was filled with snacks, awesome snacks, which they refilled every day. I can only assume that she was blissfully draining the honor bar every evening, on someone's gracious dime.

Who Hates Graduation Ceremonies??

We do, we do!!

Ok, it wasn't all that bad. We stayed in a very classy hotel, drank some good drinks and ate some good food. Not to mention spent some quality time with the fam (My sister didn't make it to any photos on my phone, but I promise she was there. She was the one graduating, after all.)

However, we WERE in Tacoma. Photo justification for my opinion - signage below reads

"Prostitution & Drug Dealing Prohibited - Photo Enforced," which should have indicated what to expect at the liquor store later. Alas, can't share on a public site - it's a rather un-PC story.

THEN came graduation. The ceremony was only about 3 hours, but tack onto that the hour we arrived in advance. Waiting in the bleachers. In the cold. No booze (which was our fault really). All to have Kerry confess that she did doze a bit during the ceremony herself as they read the names of the ENTIRE graduating class, including the graduate students. I would have given most anything to be one of those families with kids on the lawn, laying in the sun.

But, like all moments of misery in life, it eventually ended. Kerry is now a college graduate (living in our guest room ironically...) and we made it home to Portland. I scored a cruiser bike

that was left by an old roommate while we helped move Kerry out, and we all scored some family brownie points.

Fortunately, now we can cash in our favor for a short wedding ceremony some day!

Lame Branding Tactic

Mitchell rolled his eyes at my out-of-context reference when I mentioned the Palm Springs "Spa Resort Casino." Clearly it had to have a more specific name than that. I proved him wrong, but I'm really not sure how you build brand equity with a name like that. I suppose it does set you up for what to expect when you get there!

Science Experiment

It was an unintentional Easter surprise. Look at these crazy purple tulips!?! They all started out the same length. The stems still start at the same spot at the bottom, but the purples just kept growing. I always had a hard time selecting science experiments in elementary and middle school. But this would be a good one. Anyone have any idea why the purple are so hearty?

Awake from a Rest

Hello to all my loyal followers. I know there are so many. Life changes and fun times aplenty, and I begin again after a bit of a hiatus with an important update. Mitchell and I now own Vibram Five Fingers shoes. Jessica Heintz and I recently completed the March of Dimes walk through Downtown Portland. We cracked up after seeing two men at separate times run by wearing these essentially barefoot shoes. Their feet slapped on the sidewalk and we were prepared to ask the next gentleman that we saw, what on earth possessed them to run, essentially barefoot. We didn't see anyone else in the shoes. But, that can't be good for you, right? Wrong. My husband, shortly after hearing our funny report, came across an article on said shoes. Apparently this company make a wide variety of these shoes for multiple functions - at home, running, in the water..... So, we made a mad dash for the REI that weekend. Two different stores. Only to find that one didn't carry the shoes, and the other was completely out of "small" sizes, which was anything below size 13 mens. After an internet hunt, we found the house slipper version in both of our sizes. I selected the purple so we could tell the difference. You measure your feet in inches instead of normal shoe sizes, so I wear only one size smaller than Mitchell. They have reported benefits, such as not restricting your foot and exercising muscles that are not normally used. Verdict's still out. They're pretty comfortable, but I'm not sure what the accomplish more than wearing durable, expensive socks. And they look a little silly, too.

Sewing 101

My friend, Megan, has wanted to take up sewing, so I agreed to join a class with her. Whatever techniques may have been missed while learning to sew a pink corduroy lip-shaped pillow in middle school home economics, or from what my mother managed to instill in my crafting repertoire, I will now learn.

Our first class was last Wednesday and I can only liken it to a community college class. There's this slightly under-funded feeling about the place, but where else could one learn such intrinsically valuable skills? There was a shocking 4 men in our 10 person class. Of the hodgepodge characters in this class are ones that you would like to spend some time with and would never have otherwise had the chance to interact with. Then, there are others that you hope you don't end up having to share a table with. All-in-all, not a half-bad group to spend four 2 1/2-hour sessions with.

The sewing project we will be working on for this class is an apron. Megan and I have already completed the overwhelming task of selecting fabrics for our first project. There are SO many cool fabrics at the Fabric Depot that choosing the best combination felt something like committing to your first born's name. But, we were finally able to convince ourselves that this would just be one of many projects and we were going to have to decide. I found a cute little leaf pattern and a vibrant orange fabric and am quite satisfied with my selections. Can't wait to share my technically correct, finished product!

Small Victories

I finally figured out how to get the stupid knot and plastic stopper on my blind drawstrings to hide (for the most part) within the decorative wooden toggles. There was nothing more frustrating than grabbing the end toggles to pull the rather heavy blinds up, just to have the wooden pieces slide off the knots and into my hand, with no motion of the blinds. Now that I've figured out how to properly install those plastic buggers, that's one window down, nine more to go...

Before -

After -