Lost in this moment with you.

Downsizing

2012-01-08T20:29:00.000-08:00

From a 3,000sf house to a 992sf apartment. What?!!! Please excuse me while I cry for a minute.

Okay, I'm back. And I'm excited. Really!

Our lease is up the end of February so Karl and I were already considering our options and a day or two after we started discussing, the friend who lives with us gave notice that she would be moving out the end of January.  HERE'S YOUR SIGN! (thank you Lord for making it so loud and clear!)

We could stay if we really wanted to but it's twice as much room as we need and it would not be the wisest financial decision as we are trying to save for a home of our own, hopefully in the next 9-12 months.  Depending on the housing market. And the election in November. Karl is keeping a close eye on both of those so we'll see what happens.

As much as I don't like packing, I do love the chance to purge the things we really don't need or use. I tend to get into the cleaning/purging spirit in January anyway so this is nice timing and feels like a fresh start for 2012. We're only moving the bare minimum and will put some stuff in storage and hopefully get rid of a lot of other stuff. Like my cookbooks which will go to storage.  I have already downsized to only 30 or so but with the ease of internet recipes I haven't looked at most of them in the last year.  I can't bring myself to give them away though, no yet. Maybe not ever.

The day after our roommate gave notice, I hopped on Craigslist and found a couple of units open at a complex in Wilsonville which is in the same development where we're hoping to eventually buy a home. Karl and I both got off work a little early to check them out and we ended up signing papers right then and we got the keys the next day. Their move-in special was amazing which is lessening the pain of having two rents to pay January and February so that seemed like another sign that we were making the right decision.

Even though we have until the end of February to move I think we'll try and do it within the next couple of weeks so we can stop using utilities at the house, it's expensive to heat 3,000sf! That means I probably won't be cooking much between now and then, but then it's on! That apartment kitchen isn't going to know what hit it!

So long nice house!

Apartment living, here we come. Again.

2011 -- The Highlights

2012-01-02T18:20:00.000-08:00

January:

Discovered Pinterest

Added a new member to the family:

February

It snowed

March

Went to a Once A Month cooking class with a friend and then found a great site called Once A Month Mom with lots of recipe ideas. I haven't jumped totally into it yet but there are certain things I'll make double or triple batches of so I'm slowly filling the chest freezer in the garage.

April

Discovered Jalapeno Cheddar Scones at Whole Foods - can't get enough of them!!

May

This Ultimate Dog Tease video make me laugh until I cried.

Fell on my butt in the Safeway parking lot thanks to cheap shoes and rainy weather.

Got flowers at work from Mr. K because he was thinking about the day we met - how sweet is that?!!

June

We checked out Red Ridge Farms in Dayton which is a winery and an olive oil mill - I didn't even know Oregon had olive trees!

We saw Mary Poppins at Keller Auditorium.

I discovered dessert nachos and homemade iced coffee which we drank the rest of the Summer!

July

The neighbors set off great fireworks. Koko hated them.

We spent a weekend at Lincoln City and took Koko on her first hike to Drift Creek Falls, she even has a little backpack so she can carry her own water and snacks!

On the suspension bridge over Drift Creek.

We took a quick road trip down to CA, stopping in Salinas, Cayucos, and Sacramento to visit some family. It was the first time we boarded Koko and we missed her terribly!

The Farm in Salinas

Had dinner at The Gilt Club in Portland after seeing it featured on a Food Network TV show where they highlighted the homemade pork rinds, it was pretty good!

August

We finally made it to the Tualatin Crawfish Festival. I stuck with the gumbo and chowder but Mr. K really enjoyed sucking the guts out of these little guys.

We had garage sale in August as well. The little cash bump was nice but it was a lot of work!! Don't think we'll be doing that again anytime soon!

September

We discovered the Tualatin Farmer's Market where we had tamales that Karl says are the best he has ever eaten

We went to Bend to celebrate our sixth anniversary. Karl had never been before and I hadn't been in a long time so it was fun to do something new. We stayed at The Oxford Hotel downtown where the valet guy gave us some great eating advice - Tart Bistro for dinner and CHOW for breakfast! We also hiked Tumalo Falls which was four miles in and four miles back out! I can't believe I hiked that much but it was worth it, there were so many waterfalls on the way up and the perfect little stream where we took a break and soaked our feet before turning around for the hike back down.

Dinner at Tart Bistro. He's so cute! I'm so pale!

October

Went to a pink kitty themed birthday party for my friend's little girl, Kylah, who turned 3! I had the amazing privilege of seeing this little girl being born and I can't believe it's been three years already!

November

I cooked my very first turkey which turned out really good! The gravy on the other hand... it was more like pudding, haha!

December

Holiday potluck at work which of course required some Cranberry Salsa!

Headed North to see some of my family for Christmas and ended up going on a hike Christmas Eve and got this pretty view of Mt. Rainier:

Taken with my phone, it looked a lot closer in person.

And now we're on to 2012...

(updated the recipe blog too!)

Koko Puffer Nutter

2011-07-17T21:51:00.000-07:00

Eight months old, up to 35lbs, and still super cute! She had just gotten a bath and was waiting for me to re-make the bed but she couldn't keep her eyes open. I feel the same way after a nice bath, don't you?

Koko!!

2011-03-10T21:38:00.000-08:00

This is the sweet little Aussie-mix that has been taking up all our time the last six weeks!

Koko Puff

Koko Bean

Koko Girl

Koko Loca

Kokomo

We brought her home the end of January...

And three weeks later we broke her! Rough-housing with Karl ends in four broken toes and a lovely splint:

She doesn't seem to mind it too much but we'll all be much happier when it comes off this Wednesday and we can finally got for walks again and we can start puppy training classes and go to the dog park and doggie day care and all that fun stuff!

We're got her a rain coat because they were on crazy sale at Pet Smart (haven't used it yet) and there were matching boots which were perfect for putting over her splint to keep it dry, much easier than the ziploc and rubberbands we were dealing with before!

And this would be her puppy centerfold, LOL!

New bed full of awesome smelling cedar chips, thank you Costco!

Green-eyed monster thanks to the camera flash, but she was pretty posessive of that paper towel tube.

We love her to pieces!

Cheap Artwork

2011-01-24T22:34:00.000-08:00

12 x 12 Picture Frame (glass) from Michaels - $6.99/each
12 x 12 Scrapbook Paper from Michaels - $0.49/each
Dry Erase Markers - already owned

Cute art on the cheap that you can change in an instant - Awesome!

The one on the left was perfect for writing on the glass with dry erase marker and the one on the right is just the scrapbook paper by itself. I love that you can change these up in an instant to match your mood, your decor, the holidays, a secial event, whatever! And the uses are endless... to-do list, weekly menu, shopping list, message board, hangman, tic-tac-toe... whatever you can think of!

Everyone will start calling you Martha but little do they know... you're just about cheap and easy! ;)

Fonts for Peas

2010-12-03T16:00:00.000-08:00

Check it out down below, I figured out how to add a cute signature!

The font is Pea Nicki from the Fonts for Peas section of one of my favorite blogs, kevinandamanda.com. She'll turn your handwriting into a font for free!! If I liked my handwriting I'd totally do it, but I don't so Nicki's will have to do. Thank you Nicki, whoever (whomever?) and wherever you are :P

Edited 1/16/11: I'm playing around with my blog layout and can't get the cool signature to automatically post so I'm just adding the link/code at the end of every post I make. Kind of a pain, but now it will show up after my writing instead of farther down after the LinkWithin widget like it was before.

I also realized I didn't post where/how I learned to do it, so you can find directions on the awesome Keving & Amanda blog here.

Oh {Christmas} Tree

2010-12-02T21:00:00.000-08:00

We're lacking a few skills in the tree-tying department so thankfully we're only about a mile from the tree farm. Here is how it arrived home, clinging to the car for dear life, although it had just been cut down so I guess it was hanging on for a slow death over the month to come. That reminds me, I need to go check the water. Hey, have you heard about those living trees you can rent for Christmas and then they're replanted? That's a swell idea!

Of course it has to go in the middle of the windows! And even though it's tall enough as is, we decided to put it on top of the coffee table so when Kimo and Kona are doing their doggy rough-housing in the living room they won't knock all the needles off.

Chairs on either side so Mr. K and I can pass the lights around to each other. We definitely have different ideas on how Christmas lights should be strung so I did some tweaking after we were done. They're still not quite the way I want them but I've moved on to other things.

Decorated with our Walmart ornaments ($15 for a pkg of 50) which match the color scheme going on in this house but I feel like they blend in too much. I'm also thinking I need some gold ribbon or something to wrap around the tree as well, it's definitely missing something.

There's nothing better than snuggling up with your sweetie by Christmas light! And the foyer light reflection in the window just adds to the romance :P

Wordless Wednesday

2010-12-01T20:42:00.001-08:00

A lot can happen in a month!

2010-10-04T19:31:00.000-07:00

For instance... we moved and I started a new business venture!!

We are now in a house in West Linn with a yard and a deck and plenty of room for us and our three new roommates. Three roommates?!! Yep, our good friend Sarah (from college and Great Harvest) and her two very cute and well-behaved Labradors, Kimo (chocolate) and Kona (yellow). It’s been fun so far and great to have so much space, I’ll have to post some photos soon.

As for my new business, you may remember my excitement about Ava Anderson Non-Toxic back in April? Well, I decided that wasn’t for me. I have nothing bad to say about the company or the product, and I still feel that toxins in the products we use is an important issue, but as a business for me it wasn’t the right fit.

So a few weeks ago my friend from work, Arika, invited me to a Thirty-One party that she was hosting for her future sister-in-law, Jessica, who just started with the business. I had never heard of Thirty-One so I checked out the stuff online and thought it was cute, but I honestly wasn’t all that excited about it and basically went so that Arika would have plenty of guests and I figured I’d buy something small. I’m pretty sure everyone can relate to that and I think that’s how a lot of guests get to these parties, but what good friends we are for being supportive, right? :) As it turns out, I fell in love with the products and bought more than “something small” and was immediately excited to host a party so that I could get even more stuff for free and at a discount, and the hostess special for October was (is) a good incentive as well!

Jessica was such a great consultant and after talking with her and Arika I decided that I wanted to give Thirty-One a try and I became a consultant as well! If you’ve never heard of Thirty-One, it’s a faith-based home-business company that was started in Ohio about six years ago and is now making its way to the Northwest.

The founder, Cindy Monroe, explains why she started Thirty-One:

"Six years ago I was working full time in corporate America, trying to live life with my husband and our two children, managing work, home, church, kids’ activities and still trying to find time for myself. On top of all that, I am a girl, and girls must shop, right? My busy lifestyle made it so difficult to find time to visit all of those cute little gift boutiques where the really great products are. I decided it was time for working mom’s, single women, and even grandmothers to get a chance to shop on their terms. I had a great experience with direct selling and knew of the potential behind owning your own business and prayed diligently about offering something that would help women contribute to their lives financially and the lives of countless others. It is from this passionate resolve that Thirty-One was born."

The company’s mission is to "celebrate, encourage and reward women through offering quality products and an outstanding opportunity to become successful business owners" and I am so excited to be part of that.

Check it out and let me know what you think!

My Website - http://www.mythirtyone.com/sarahpdx31

{Fall Catalog}....{Holiday Gift Guide}....{My Facebook Page}

My true love gave and then he took!

2010-09-04T21:14:00.001-07:00

But that's okay because he took some pretty pictures today at the Dahlia Festival! Before today I thought I loved Dahlias but I now realize it was just a crush. Seeing all the different varieties and colors today I realized I'm totally and madly in love with them! Sorry Mr. K!

Did you know that little 'ol Canby, OR is known as "The Dahlia Capital of America" and Swan Island Dahlias has been in business for 83 years? How cool is that! Thankfully they are so close because I'm going to need all the help I can get growing these things at our new place since I don't think I'll be able to live without them!

This is typically what I visualize when I think Dahlia:

But did you know that some of them look like this:

And this:

And all spiky like this:

And then there are these:

And these pom-pom type ones:

And these sea anemone looking ones which are huge:

They're all so gorgeous! Make your eyes happy by looking at these other ones Mr. K snapped.

Oh, and Mr. K would now like to be known as the photographer ~@ (tilde-at-sign). Oh boy...

For my 32nd birthday, my true love gave to me…

2010-09-02T19:07:00.000-07:00

My sweet, amazing, wonderful, awesome, thoughtful husband gave me the super rad camera above, it's a Canon PowerShot SX20 IS (<-- no idea what all that means yet).

It’s quite a step up from my Nikon Coolpix and Mr. K must be a mind-reader because I hadn’t even mentioned wanting a new, more advanced/technical one. I had even been drooling over these cute camera straps recently (which I found on this fun blog) but had no reason to buy one... until now!!! Mr. K's reasons for the camera were really cute:

1) “So you can take pictures of our garden” (we don’t have a garden yet but are looking forward to growing one at our new place)

2) “So you can see if I’m making funny faces when you take our picture” (see examples in post below)

I’ve always been into taking pictures and was always the one with the camera in school, on mission trips, and at camp. I wanted to document it all so I didn’t forget anything and I love looking back on those photos now and remembering those times. Since we’re hoping to start a family in the next few years I’d also like to have some camera skills ready to catch those cute kid moments that happen so quickly.

Being a varied blog reader you see a lot of gorgeous photos taken by everyday people who started out with it as a hobby (for example, The Pioneer Woman, who is kind enough to share her helpful tutorials). You see what they can do and it’s hard not to be inspired to try and do the same. I’ve taken a couple of pictures that I’m pretty darn proud of but in reality they were pure dumb luck so I’m excited to learn all about this new toy.

Hopefully I can find a class to take at the community college nearby which is good news for anyone reading my blog since you’ll be treated to much prettier pictures in the future. That's the plan anyways!

Taking photos with Mr. K...

2010-08-08T10:00:00.000-07:00

...usually goes something like this:

"Okay, smile."

"No, smile normal."

"Smile NORMAL!!!"

"Fine. Whatever. The joke is on you because I'm posting this on the blog."

Multnomah Falls

2010-08-03T16:30:00.000-07:00

After our Hood River Fruit Loop, it was early enough that we decided to stop at Multnomah Falls on the way back. There is a restaurant there at the lodge that I think we'll have to go back and try sometime. It only took me 14 years (holy cow!) of living in Oregon but I finally made it to the iconic spot and we even hiked the mile up to the top - 11 switchbacks and I didn't do too badly for being out of shape, it was actually a really nice little hike!

Switchback #7 ??

Looking down the waterfall... I think I see our car.

Stone stairs leading to the viewing deck at the end of the trail to the top of the waterfall (as seen from the deck looking back at the trail).

Meanwhile, upriver...

Aw, our shadows are holding hands! Mr. K thought I was crazy but I thought it was pretty cute...and clever...and creative...and cute.

"TO THE TREES!" Name that movie :)

Gotta love going downhill. What I didn't love was all the parents who let their children run downhill! The path wasn't all that wide and there's no railing. They probably wouldn't fall far with all the brush and trees but it certainly wouldn't feel good.

Someone was getting married! The second picture shown above is basically what the guests would have been looking at. Poor bride, it's kind of hard to outshine a waterfall.

Hood River Fruit Loop

2010-08-03T07:30:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday we were in the mood for some cherry picking and decided to drive out to Hood River and drive their Fruit Loop to check out all the different farm stands around there. It was a gorgeous day and we got some great shots of Mt. Hood. There was this one cloud just chilling out at the mountaintop all day long.

Views at Panorama Point:

My self-portrait skills need some work! I was trying to get the mountain behind us and failed miserably.

My video skills aren't that great either, but here you go... it was windy, and Mr. K makes a guest appearance :D

Hood River Fruit Loop from Sarah Koepke on Vimeo.

Some point later on down the road:

Stopped at Packer Orchards - they had lots of good food, pies, cookies, berry empanadas, ice cream, milkshakes, jams, jellies, etc., etc., etc.

The road to Mt. Hood... and its cloud:

Draper Girls Country Farm - this is where we wanted to pick cherries but we were turned off by the overprotective staff... if your farm is open to the public don't yell out accusingly at them when they walk around to check it out, and don't snap at the children who touch the antique scale you decided to put front and center. I was disappointed because I was really looking forward to this place, but maybe they were just having a bad day.

I didn't get pictures but we also stopped at the Apple Valley Country Store and had a slice of Blueberry Amaretto pie - so, so good!

Lavender Valley was my favorite place of all, and not just because of the lavender loo:

How would you like to live here? Yes, please!

Hello Gazebo!

I wish you could smell this, it was amazing!

They even do their own distilling and bottling onsite, and grow a few different varieties.

Yeah...

I could get used to looking at that every day!

Hey, Mr. K! We're starting a lavender farm, just thought you'd like to know.

Lincoln City

2010-08-01T21:29:00.000-07:00

So last Saturday, Mr. K got home from a computer job around 1pm, said "let's go to the beach", and ten minutes later we were in the car. I realize that not everyone can be spontaneous like that due to kids, pets, etc., so I am very aware of the fact that it's a gift and I don't take it for granted at all!

We typically eat at The Blackfish Cafe but we decided to try The Bay House instead and were very pleased! We both agreed that Blackfish is still #1, but Bay House is "#2 and that ain't bad". (name that movie!)

Gorgeous view from our table - I love the Oregon Coast!

Mr. K checking out the wine BINDER - not sure why his hand is over his mouth, I think it was a yawn, not shock over wine prices or anything like that.

Hello Mojito! Best mojito I've ever had, and you gotta love the orange slices in the water.

Steak Tartare starter, compliments of the chef. Mr. K liked it and I tried it but raw meat isn't really my thing.

We also tried a few other appetizers (we were hungry and splurging, don't judge).

Mr. K got the Ahi Tartare which he greatly enjoyed. I tried it but raw fish isn't my thing either. Or green fish eggs, although they sure are pretty.

Caprese Salad - there's really not much better than good caprese!

Mussels - Totten Canal Mussels, Chorizo Sausage, Lemongrass, Cilantro, Ginger, White Wine, and Bruschetta.

Pork Belly with Lentils.

For dinner...

I had the Pan-Seared Northwest Halibut with Sautéed Asparagus,
Roasted Fingerling Potatoes, a Fennel-Tangerine Salad, and a Toasted Tangerine Sauce - YUM.

Mr. K had the Roasted Superior Farms Rack of Lamb, with a Warm Cannellini Bean Purée, a Puy Lentil Salad with Red Onion, Arugula & Tomatoes, and a Sun-Dried Cherry Sauce. It was a thicker cut than typical but still very good.

And then there was dessert. Yes, we ate dessert too. No, we didn't share one, we shared two.

Marionberry Cobbler.

Vanilla Honey Creme Brulee.

Then we went back to our hotel and took a walk around the grounds and down to the golf course. If I had any idea what I was doing I'd try to lighten these in Photoshop or something, but I don't, so there ya go.

Then we went swimming at the pool and afterwards... I was starving. I had such a major craving for a turkey sandwich, you'd think I hadn't eaten all day instead of just consuming 4,094,338 calories a few house before. Mr. K was super sweet and we ventured out at almost 10pm and found Subway which is thankfully open late. I actually knew exactly where there was a Subway because my friends and I were attacked by a bee outside of it back in college. It was traumatic for some, hilarious for others.

And we haven't eaten since!

Vote for our friend!

2010-06-17T18:58:00.000-07:00

Our friend Melissa just submitted a video audition for "Your OWN Show: Oprah's Search for the Next TV Star" which will air next year on the new Oprah Winfrey Network. It's basically a reality show type competition and the winner really will get their own show! So check out her video HERE and vote as many times as you can, there's no limit!

Her story is basically LA girl moves to Oregon countryside and all the adventures that entails! I can't believe how much cooking, crafting, and gardening she gets done in a day, especially with a husband, a toddler, two dogs, AND two horses to take care of too! Oh, and remember those super cute wine charms I won? This is the same Melissa!

Be sure to check out her blog as well: http://www.deerparkfarms.com

My Bathtub is Sparkling!

2010-06-14T19:45:00.000-07:00

I've seen a ton of different "recipes" for cleaning products and I finally got around to trying one for a tub scrub and was blown away by how well it worked!

I couldn't remember the measurements exactly but I just got a bowl and squirted in some Dr. Bronner's Lavender Castile liquid soap, then 2/3 cup of baking soda, then a glug of white vinegar. Mix it up, scrub it around, rinse, and be impressed!

I actually hate recipes like the one I just gave... a squirt of this, a glug of that... I like precise recipes, the more details the better, but this one really is okay if you just eyeball it. However, I did read a tip about how you should never mix the soap and the vinegar together first because they'll neutralize each other (which is why you can use a vinegar rinse to get rid of soap scum).

So I put the soap in the bowl first and made sure it was covered by the baking soda then glugged the vinegar on top. It fizzes up but settles down quickly and then I just stirred it up and poured it into the tub. No more elbow grease needed than usual and my tub has seriously never sparkled like this before. And I had no need to worry about breathing in toxic fumes or absorbing them into my skin as I scrubbed without rubber gloves. And no gritty feeling the next time I got in.

I'm almost excited for the next time I get to scrub the bathtub and I never ever thought that would happen :D And in case you're interested, here are 51 more uses for baking soda!

Green Mommy Blog Giveaway!

2010-05-05T18:30:00.000-07:00

I recently read about Dr. Alkaitis Holistic Organic Skin Food on Kristen Suzanne's Green Mommy Blog, and now you can enter on her blog for a chance to win a travel kit and try out the products.

And yes, by posting this here I get another entry into the hat, but I figure some of you may also be interested in organic skincare - so safe it's edible, although they don't recommend actually eating it :)

On Pause...

2010-05-03T18:30:00.001-07:00

... with the Ava Anderson stuff. I'm just taking a step back and making sure it's something I truly want to be part of right now and realizing that it's been harder than I thought to try and work it into my already full schedule with the day job and all :)

This also means that my nontoxicpdx blog is going dark, although it may be back eventually even if it's not about Ava Anderson.

NON-TOXIC PDX

2010-04-11T11:50:00.000-07:00

I decided to create a separate blog just for my Ava Anderson Non-Toxic information - you can check it out at http://nontoxicpdx.blogspot.com.

I just posted my personal product reviews! :)

My thoughts on the MESSAGE of Ava Anderson Non-Toxic

2010-04-04T13:24:00.001-07:00

(Copy/Paste from my Facebook note.)

I figured I should share a little more so you can get to know me and where I’m coming from, so here are my personal thoughts on the first of three Ava Anderson Non-Toxic (AANT) missions:

“To educate consumers about the health hazards of chemicals in personal care products.”

When I first found AANT and discovered the EWG's Skin Deep Cosmetics Database I was shocked to find out about the lack of regulations in the cosmetics industry and the number of toxins allowed in the products we buy. I can understand the industry’s use of the argument that states the levels of toxins are too small to make a difference, but if you add up the small amounts found in the 10-20 products you use 1-3 times a day, and add that to the toxins we breathe and eat, those small amounts can add up over a lifetime. Just because deaths have no obvious and blatant links to cosmetics, doesn’t mean that the ingredients aren’t affecting us.

Why don’t we err on the side of caution and set standards like Europe? They have banned over 1,300 ingredients in the use of personal care products and have restrictions on hundreds more! How many has the US banned? Nine. For a US company to sell their product in Europe, they have to re-formulate to meet European regulations. You would think that re-formulating the entire line would be the easiest, but nope, they continue to sell the original formula with more toxic ingredients to their valued consumers here in the US.

With lax oversight and accountability in the industry, it’s hard to know who to trust, and even if you read the labels you feel like you need a degree in chemistry to understand them. Products that advertise themselves as “organic” and “natural” and “pure” are no guarantee either, so what’s a person to do?
That’s exactly what Ava Anderson wanted to know!

When Ava was 14 and just getting into makeup herself, she saw a report on a teen study that found numerous toxins in young girls that were linked to their cosmetics. This inspired and appalled Ava who began to research and look for safer options. Unfortunately there was no completely non-toxic brand to be found so Ava decided to start her own! With the help of her family and some contacts in the industry, in December 2009 Ava launched the first line of truly non-toxic products where ALL ingredients score a ZERO on EWG’s Cosmetics Database. These are products you can feel 100% safe using! They’re even safe enough to eat which means you don’t have to worry about your pets or children possibly getting into them. Not that I would recommend eating the products, even though they do smell delicious, but it’s nice to know that they’re that safe!

AANT’s mission is not to spread fear with scare tactics, but to promote education and awareness so you can be an informed consumer making an educated choice. With the false advertising and numerous recalls these days, it’s more important than ever for us to take control and show the industry what we want by spending our money on the safer options. Start standing up for yourself and demanding better because you certainly deserve better. Then ask yourself why the first person to provide a better option was a teenager? If she can figure it out, why aren’t the cosmetics giants already doing it?

I don’t know about you, but when I was Ava’s age I was just thinking about boys, and friends (boys), and homework (boys)! This girl has already accomplished more in her life than I have in twice the time. She is getting the message out and she certainly knows her stuff! Check out these FB videos from her radio interview back in January on WRPO in her home state of Rhode Island. I have been so impressed by her passion for this message and am truly excited to be working with her to spread the word and provide you with a safe, truly non-toxic product I believe in!

Now go check out your products on EWG's Skin Deep Cosmetics Database so you can be an informed consumer making smart and safe choices. Better yet, take it a step further and get involved – take action with The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.

Stay tuned for my thoughts on the PRODUCTS and the BUSINESS of AANT :)

Sarah Koepke
Founding Consultant (#2400)
skoepke@avaandersonnontoxic.com
http://www.avaandersonnontoxic.com/sarahkoepke

Ava Anderson Non-Toxic - Portland, OR

2010-04-02T17:25:00.000-07:00

For anyone that hasn't heard yet, I have recently become a founding consultant - the first one in Oregon! - for a new company called Ava Anderson Non-Toxic. I mentioned the company in a blog post below and after doing further reading and research, I just couldn't shake the feeling that AANT was meant for me. If you know me you know that in the last few years I have been trying to become an informed consumer and make smarter, healthier choices and AANT falls right in line with that as they are the first line of truly non-toxic skin care.

Some of you may think this new side job is odd since just last year I started Bella Joy Creations with my friend Megan. While I enjoyed our necklaces and I loved working with Megan, I decided that the business was not for me and I stepped out at the end of 2009. Thankfully Megan and I are still friends and I am glad she is continuing with Bella Joy on her own (you can find her on FB and on the web). The main reason I left BJC was because it wasn’t my passion and it didn’t excite me the way I felt it should in order to make the time and effort worth it. Ever since leaving BJC I have been praying that God would guide me to something I could believe in and be excited about, but nothing was jumping out at me until I discovered AANT.

From the moment I first read the company website, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I even signed up as a consultant before I had tried the product which I knew was a little backwards but I just couldn’t contain myself. When the product arrived I couldn’t wait to try it out and I can honestly tell you that my expectations were exceeded! I saw a difference in my skin within 24 hours and I haven’t looked back. My skincare routine has been pretty lax the past few years and now I look forward to washing my face morning and night! And the exfoliator!! Oh my goodness, soft skin for sure! And I’m completely addicted to the smell of the toner, seriously, I may need a toner intervention :P

As you can see, I could go on and on about the products and I do have a personal product review post in the works, but I'll stop for now because the product is not the only reason I’m excited about the company. This is a direct selling business, and if you know me, then you know that this is taking me WAY out of my comfort zone and I’m trying remember that is a good thing. Another good thing is getting in on the ground floor (the basement, really). This is a brand new company that just launched in December 2009, and with their mission I can only see them growing. They already have a bunch of new products in the works (cosmetics, bath/body, men's, children's), and word is getting out and momentum is building. Ava herself was just at the Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards getting her message and products into the hands of celebrities, and every day brings a new interview, article, or review.

I am typically turned off by the sales pitch of other direct selling home party businesses which is why I didn’t consider any of them in my search for something after BJC, but this one feels different. Probably in part because I pitched it to myself, but after signing up and reading through all of their training materials I am extremely happy with my decision!

I guess I’ll stop there and if you are still reading, thank you, and you can check out my AANT website and my new FB page for more information. You are also welcome to email me if you have any questions, are interested in trying the product, want to host a party, or want to learn more about the business opportunity. As you can tell, I’m excited and love to talk about it! And I'm the only consultant in OR so I need some help! :)

Sarah Koepke
Ava Anderson Non-Toxic
Founding Consultant (#2400)
skoepke@avaandersonnontoxic.com

The Price?

2010-03-22T19:01:00.000-07:00

My friend’s comment on the post below brought up the unfortunate point that it seems the safer a product is the more expensive it is. Of course you have to weigh the idea that the possible effects on your health could end up costing you more in the end, but that does not change the fact that you can’t afford the safer option today, so what’s a person to do? In addition to coupons, of course?

I would suggest (because I’m such a expert, haha) that you be as informed as possible and then “pick your poison” so to speak. At least find out how toxic your current products are and decide what score you can be comfortable with. Like the Crest toothpaste below, some people may be fine with an EWG score of 5, but my personal choice was to look for something lower. Or maybe there is a product you only use once a week and you feel okay with a higher score because of the limited use.

I would encourage you to stay out of the 7-10 high hazard zone for sure, and get down into the 0-2 low hazard zone on the items that you can. Some change is better than none, and until we as consumers take control by spending our money on safer products, other companies will continue putting crap in the stuff we slather on ourselves and our children. I realize that sounds all “power of the people” which is not my personality at all but it’s kind of true.

“Fun” Fact -- As of December 2009, the US has banned 9 ingredients in the use of cosmetics (and put restrictions on only 2 other ingredients). As of April 2008, Europe has banned 1,328 and put provisions on a couple hundred more. Apparently US companies are also known to reformulate their products in order to sell in Europe, but they care so much about their customers in the US that they leave in all the stuff Europe won’t allow. Aren’t we lucky! (I read that somewhere but am still looking for a source on the info.)

And don't fall into the trap of thinking products labeled "natural" and "organic" are automatically safe, that label is sadly no guarantee. It comes down to doing the research for yourself and making an informed decision as to what you are comfortable with for you and your family. Knowledge is power, as cheesy as that sounds, and to quote the amazing GI Joe, "...knowing is half the battle!" :o)

Fennel toothpaste... it'll do for now.

2010-03-20T19:06:00.000-07:00

I don't consider myself an alarmist or a conspiracy theorist or any sort of activist, so hopefully all of this EWG doesn't come across as wacky, but I'm definitely for education and informed choices and taking control/responsibility of your life, and if you can choose products that are less toxic, why wouldn't you? Going through all the different items in my bathroom and checking their EWG score is going to take some time, but I have made my first change and that's toothpaste.

I have been using Crest Fluoride Toothpaste Whitening Expressions Extreme Herbal Mint which has an EWG score of 5. That's not the worst score but there are plenty of other/better options out there and I just picked up some Tom's of Maine Natural Antiplaque Tartar Control Plus Whitening in the Fennel flavor which has an EWG score of 2.

(photo from Tom's of Maine website)

I have recently discovered a love for fennel, the vegetable, which is odd since I still have a definite aversion to black licorice. I used it as soon as I got home and.... it tastes a little too much like the licorice, but it'll do for now and at least I know it doesn't contain ingredients linked to cancer and changes in the reproductive system which is definitely a concern at this stage in life! I also like that their packaging and website list each ingredient along with its purpose and its source which is pretty cool and something I've never seen before.

A 2 is at the high end of the low hazard range, but for now it's better than a 5, and it's what they had at Fred Meyer. Here is a list of toothpastes on EWG with plenty of options in the 0-2 low hazard range. Crest, Rembrandt, and Marvis have some in the high hazard range so be sure to check out the rating of yours!

Some people may feel that toothpaste is only in your mouth for a few minutes and the tiny bit you swallow couldn't have any affect, but it's not the amount swallowed that you should be concerned about. Consider the way cocaine users will apply the drug to their gums, and how nicotine gum helps people quit smoking by delivering lessening doses of nicotine through the lining of the mouth. These are both methods of delivery to the bloodstream through oral mucous membranes. So while a little bit may not affect you, a little bit 2-3 times a day for your entire life could add up to quite a bit. So why not choose one you can feel safe using?

If anyone has additional info, even if it's an opposing view, feel free to comment!

What's on your skin?

2010-03-18T21:29:00.000-07:00

I recently saw this post on CoolMomPicks.com about Body Sense, "an online shop where every bath and beauty product sold is rated between 0 and 2 for chemical risk on the EWG's Cosmetic Safety Skindeep list". A 0 rating means the product contains ingredients with no known risks, and a 10 rating is just scary!

With the recalls happening practically every week, I've been trying to pay more attention to the things I put into and onto my body but it's not easy. Bath and body products are what I'm working on now so I'm excited to use the resources above to evaluate what I'm currently using and help me find products that may be better choices. And just because something is "natural" or "organic" doesn't mean it's safe. Hemlock is "natural" but you're not drinking hemlock tea with cream and sugar!

The EWG site is great! You can search by brand name or product type and see a list of ingredients and how they rate. Body Sense makes it easy because they list the EWG score of all the products they sell, and they only sell products with scores of 0-2.

I'm also interested in checking out Ava Anderson Non-Toxic. Not only is the story interesting, started by a 16 year old girl, it seems to be reasonably prices compared to what else is out there, and EVERY ingredient they use has an EWG score of 0. ZERO! That is something I'd definitely feel safe using, especially in the future when we may be pregnant and what I put in and on my body becomes even more important! This girl knows her stuff too, check out her videos on Facebook from a radio interview, and a segment on her local NBC news station.

If anyone has tried Ava Anderson I'd love to hear about it!

Obsession Fuel

2010-01-30T18:03:00.000-08:00

Great, just what I needed! ANOTHER food blog to make me drool and inspire new kitchen adventures. My jeans are not pleased!

First it was Pioneer Woman (butter is her BFF), and now it's Smitten Kitchen with things like Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake and Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter (<-- that's on the menu for this week!).

Come on people, you're killing me!! And you're broadening my horizons, so thank you. My hungry husband thanks you too!

If you're brave, you can follow along on my recipe blog, I KISS BETTER THAN I COOK, as I try new recipes and find my footing in the kitchen... finally! It has been surprisingly fun so far!

Look what I won!

2010-01-13T19:54:00.000-08:00

I, like most people, never win anything so I was super excited to win these ADORABLE drink tags from Melissa at Deer Park Farms! Seriously, look how fantastic they are:

Much better than the old school ones you have to get around the stem, and what about the drinkware that doesn't have a stem, what are you supposed to do then? Even if you're not trying to GPS your drink, you should start accessorizing it just for fun!

Sorry, my photography skills are pretty crappy and not doing these justice at all. To see better photos and more styles, check out her Etsy shop and pick some up for yourself, or some to pair with a bottle of wine as a spectacular hostess gift!

2010

2010-01-09T14:33:00.000-08:00

I like the beginning of a new year, and January 2010 is feeling very hopeful. What I don't like is looking back and realizing that nothing has changed since January 2009, and I don't want January 2011 to arrive and feel the same way.

So, in 2010 I resolve to:

Stick to the budget and live by my new motto - WWDRD?
(What Would Dave Ramsey Do?)

Take better care of my body (it's the only one I'm getting) by working out at least three times a week. No excuses seeing as how we have a treadmill, an elliptical, a Wii, and numerous work out DVDs. In the encouraging words of Denise Austin, "no more bra overhang!"

Only put good things into my body, more fresh foods and less boxed foods. When my grandmother found out that I was eating Hamburger Helper a few years ago, she said "I sure hope you're taking vitamins".

Remember to take my vitamins.

Be a better housekeeper and actually have it clean and organized so I'm not completely embarrassed when we have unexpected company. I wonder how much Merry Maids is? Shoot, WWDRD says that will have to wait.

Cook more so I can learn new things in the kitchen and avoid the boxed food mentioned above, maybe even take some cooking classes eventually!

In general, just be a better wife, daughter, friend, employee... Just try to be a better version of myself, while still realizing I am human and will make mistakes. Does that sound cheesy? Yeah, I know, but nobody is in control of my life except me and I have nobody to blame if January 2011 gets here and I'm still stuck in the same spot.

“Character is the ability to carry out a good resolution long after the excitement of the moment has passed.” ~ Cavett Robert

Recipes

2009-12-30T23:29:00.000-08:00

I have been inspired to start an additional blog just for recipes. I am a frequent visitor of the Deer Park Farms recipe blog (she is a long-time friend of Karl's), Clumbsy Cookie, My Kitchen Cafe, and there are a million others out there as well. The gal at My Kitchen Cafe mentioned that she started her blog as a place to compile her recipes so she could find them, and a light bulb (LED, of course) went off in my head!

You see, I am a serious recipe hoarder. I have a million Cooking Light and Everyday Food magazines saved because there are so many recipes I want to try. Every other page is dog-eared and even if I cooked and baked (there is a difference) every minute for the rest of my life I would never be able to make them all so I think it's time to throw them out and start from scratch. Let's face it, if I haven't gone back to try that recipe from '03 I'm probably not going to. But maybe...

And have you seen how many cookbooks I have? 65... and it takes every bit of willpower not to buy another every time I'm at Borders. Do I use these cookbooks? No. I think it's the idea of what's in them that lures me. I have grand dreams of being a good cook who is at ease in the kitchen and eventually being that mom that makes the great food so all my future kid's friends want to hang out at our place, you know? My favorite recipes are actually the ones that come from family and friends and I know they are used and loved and I can trust them. One of my favorite wedding gifts was recipes. It wasn't one of the 20 cookbooks I registered for, but a stack of hand-written and photocopied recipes from a long-time teacher of mine and they were their family favorites.

We have some family favorites and I'm always trying to remember where I put this recipe or that recipe so a blog is the perfect place to store them and share them. I already have a list going in my head... Cranberry Salsa, Cranberry-Orange Pie, Summer Trifle, Banana Bars... I'm not the kind of cook (yet) that can just create a recipe so most of mine come from somewhere but once I'm comfortable with it I will change it up a bit to suit our tastes and a blog will help me keep track of the "real" recipe and my version of it as well, and I can post new things I try out. That will help me remember what I have already tried so we can avoid things like the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie duplication that happened last month. Karl remembered, but I didn't.

Now to come up with a blog name that isn't taken...

Koepke Kitchen?

2009-10-19T18:13:00.001-07:00

Apparently I skipped September, so here's a recap:

9/5 - Bella Joy show in Gates at the Cascade Foothills Saturday Faire. This is the first year for this show and we really enjoyed the atmosphere and we hope to participate again next year. This was our second time at this one and it rained the whole time so that was "fun", but we're true PNWers so it didn't stop us. Megan and Brian knew someone that lived nearby so we called them up and borrow some tarps. I feel eternally grateful to those people because without those tarps it would have been miserable!

9/6-9/7 - Karl and I took an early anniversary trip out to Bonneville Hot Springs Resort. We weren't all that impressed with the resort itself (not much to do), although the food was good and the couples soak/wrap/massage was very relaxing! And we checked out the Bonneville Dam which wasn't exciting at all but since it's the only thing to do out there...

9/19 - My company picnic at a park in Wilsonville on the Willamette River. Tried to get a cute photo of us but once again he refuses to smile normal, I got him trying to frown while laughing so his punishment is me posting it on the blog!

9/20 - Trip to the Oregon Zoo to see the new Predators of the Serengeti exhibit and we also got some video of the cute baby elephant. Then we lunched at Joe's Crab Shack which was yummy and it was a beautiful day so we sat outside enjoying the Columbia River.

Long video because I just couldn't stop filming the cuteness, highlights are at 1:25 when he's scratching his back leg with his other foot, and then starting at 2:20 is some cute trunk cuddling and some chin and leg scratching.

PDX Zoo - 9/20/09 - Baby Elephant from Sarah Koepke on Vimeo.

And another video, much shorter, of him getting out of the water and the older elephant directing him where to go - or pushing him out of the way, it was hard to tell.

PDX Zoo - 9/20/09 - Baby Elephant from Sarah Koepke on Vimeo.

9/24 - HAPPY 4 YEAR ANNIVERSARY TO US!!!!

9/27 - Bella Joy show in Wilsonville at the Villebois Sunday Market. This was also the first year for this market and while it is still small I think it could be a great thing to be a part of as it grows. We froze our booties off but it was fun!

October update coming soon... you have Oysterfest and home-made marshmallows to look forward to :o)

Finger Schlichting Good!

2009-08-30T15:46:00.000-07:00

We went veggie picking again down the road in Sherwood at Schlichting Century Farm. We loaded up on cherry tomatoes, green beans, green peppers, and banana peppers -- I'm sensing a vegan dinner in our near future!

Lots of bees around the sunflowers!

Karl found a Praying Mantis hanging out on the green peppers.

Our veggie haul!

Koepkes do Seattle!

2009-08-16T13:46:00.000-07:00

The other Koepkes (Kris, Tina, Katie, and Zachary) were planning a trip to Seattle from Sacramento for a wedding so we decided to meet up with them because who doesn't love Seattle, right? They stopped off on in Tualatin on their way up and we decided to follow them up that night instead of the next day, thankfully the hotel could squeeze us in (I highly recommend the Residence Inn hotels by Marriott - they have a game room!!).

On Saturday, Karl and I hung out by ourselves while the other Koepkes did wedding stuff. We explored the Woodland Park Zoo (we like Portland's better), and the Experience Music Project with Sci-Fi Museum (it was really crowded so we just breezed through).

He really is happy, he just likes to pout for the camera.

Then we headed back to the hotel to relax for a couple of hours before dinner at Dahlia Lounge which was so good! We gorged on dessert since they have three that they're known for and we just couldn't choose -- it's vacation, calories don't count! Creme Caramel was our favorite (like the insides of the best creme brulee ever), then the Doughnuts, then the Triple Coconut Cream Pie -- and that should tell you something because I LOVE coconut cream pie!

Sunday started off with complimentary breakfast in the lobby which was pretty good as far as complimentary hotel breakfasts go, and then it was off to Pike Place Market, of course!

Other Koepkes in front of the sign - Zachary was not loving it:

Flowers and fruits and veggies, oh my!

Check our our niece's stylish hat!

And there is the first Starbucks where you can still get the original naked lady (mermaid?) logo... if you're into that sort of thing (who isn't?).

Hom Bow for lunch (he's going to be so great with our kids!!).

Next it was off to University Village to check out Trophy Cupcakes (Triple Coconut was Amazing) and Fran's Chocolates (seriously good chocolate).

A Cupcake Casualty

Again with the hand on the head, so cute, asking for some chocolate covered figs.

Then, to walk off all those calories, we headed over to Green Lake. I hate to say it but I lived just across the water from Seattle for 10+ years and had never been to Green Lake. We walked the 2.8 miles around and even stuck our feet in for a while to cool off.

Again with the cuteness - Uncle Karl and Katie getting their exercise.

Lovely photo after a hot, sweaty, windy walk.

Super cute house I love:

Then it was off to dinner at Blue Fin at Northgate Mall. It's a crazy sushi/seafood buffet that was so good! Even if you're not into sushi you can chow down on the crab legs!

Hopefully we won't go a year + again before we can have another Koepke adventure!

The 2 Hour Doughnut Adventure

2009-05-31T16:47:00.001-07:00

So last night we're watching Man Vs. Food and he's eating this 14" diameter doughnut. Karl disappears into his office for a few minutes, I hear some tying and some clicking, and then he comes out and says, "let's go to Voodoo Donuts". So at 9:15pm on a Saturday night we set off to get some sweet treats.

Little did we know that a million blocks of Portland were blocked off due to whatever it was that was going on, so we couldn't get anywhere near 3rd street where our doughnuts were, and at this point we'd been thinking about them for a good 30 minutes so we had to get there somehow, but after fighting traffic for another 30 minutes trying to find a way around the blockade, and getting flipped off by an oblivious guy more interested in texting than driving, we decided to just head home.

But Wait! Voodoo Donuts has a second location!

So, per the demanding voice in our GPS, we got off the freeway and found our way to VD II, only to go inside and see a note on the display case that said "cash only". Lovely.

At this point I'm ready to just call it a night but Karl isn't ready to give up the doughnut dream just yet so we look around for an ATM, and not seeing one in the store or around the building, we drove off to find one a few blocks away. After retreiving some green, we went back to VD II and tried to decide what to order. Some of the names don't really describe what they are, and the display case didn't have any of them labeled, so I asked for ones off the board that sounded interesting, only to pick three that were not available, so the gal -- in a sleeveless top with hairy armpits -- points to the case and says "these are the kinds we have available". I say something like "that's nice but we've never been here before so I don't know them by name yet" and then, since I'm too tired to deal with it I settle for the thing I do recognize and like, a maple bar.

It was a good maple bar, but just like any other good maple bar, so I wasn't hugely impressed. I could have walked to the grocery store next door to us and had the same thing. And to top it off, there on the register, is a small little sign that says "yes, we do have an ATM". Lovely.

So we arrive home two hours after leaving, our doughnut craving satisfied, but I'm not sure it was worth it. Although now we have a doughnut adventure to fondly recall, and that's what memories are made of, so maybe it was worth it.

Blurb Blurb Blurb

2009-05-07T22:22:00.000-07:00

Blurb is the word.

It's a website where you can create your own book!
It could be a novel that you wrote, photographs you have taken, recipes you have collected, or a blog you wrote that you want bound for a keepsake.

I love the idea of turning a blog into a book! Not this blog of course because who would want to read this over and over again, but I'm seriously thinking about doing this in the future.
When we do start adding to our family I will most likely start another blog (probably a private one because the whole world doesn't need to be exposed to pictures of my growing belly and all the gory details that go with it), and that would be a blog I'd consider turning into a book as a keepsake for us and the child.

I guess it's the modern day version of hand-written journals our mothers and grandmothers may have had, only cooler.
No, cooler isn't the right word because no matter what form it comes in, reading a pregnancy journal that was all about you would be cool, this is just more high-tech... and you won't get writer's cramp.

Flowers, Food, and 848 Feet Up

2009-04-19T16:42:00.000-07:00

We attempted to go to the Tulip Festival in Woodburn yesterday but the freeway exit was backed up for five miles so we drove passed that and turned around at the next exit to get to Woodburn from the opposite direction which wasn't backed up AT ALL!! Things were good until we got about 2 miles away and it was stopped again. So we turned ourselves around and decided to go early this morning. We got there when they opened at 9am (no traffic) and took a leisurely walk through the Tulip fields in GORGEOUS weather. The festival has been extended due to the cold weather slowing the growth of the flowers, so they weren't as in bloom as normal but it was still beautiful!

After the flower fest we decided to try brunch at Salty's on the Columbia River. The food was definitely yummy and we were able to sit outside which was wonderful on a day like today. This is Karl's "stop taking pictures and let me eat" face:

While eating brunch and enjoying the weather we decided we should drive out to the Bonneville Resort and see what it was all about. We picked up some brochures on the natural hot spring and maybe one day we'll go back. On our way there we passed Beacon Rock and I remembered my friend Sarah blogging about it a while back so on our way back from the resort we stopped for a hike and I discovered just how out of shape I really am!

Beacon Rock is 848 feet tall (1.8 mile round-trip hike) and it is a apparently the exposed core of an old volcano which is kind of cool! This first part of the hike I was not fond of. Yes there is a railing but it still felt too open to me and it was actually bothering me. I don't think I have a fear of heights but this section was kind of freaking me out!

Once we were in the trees towards the top I was okay and the views were definitely worth it!

And a view from the bottom...

Lincoln City

2009-04-05T19:06:00.000-07:00

This weekend unexpectedly used up 3/4 of a freshly filled gas tank. Saturday started with Karl waking me up at 8am wanting to go to the zoo, so I rolled out of bed and off we went. We like to go early to beat the crowds and it was the first good weather forecase for a weekend in quite a while so we figured it would be busy. But, the weather hadn't quite warmed up by 9:30am so we were freezing but still had fun.

We took the little train ride around the zoo which was basically just the backs of buildings and piles of construction materials. We did get a good view of the wolves and the elk and the highlight was the baby elephant which was being closely guarded by the two adult elephants. They were standing on each side of the baby and crossing their trunks in front of him, it was so precious!

After that we walked over to the Forestry Museum. Not quite as exciting as the Zoo but interesting in an educational sort of way.

It was around 1pm by the time we left and the weather was sunny and gorgeous and finally waming up and we decided to go to the beach! We haven't been in quite a while so it was fun to get away. We ate at Blackfish Cafe which we loved the last time we went, but this time wasn't quite as great. Still good, not great. I got a pasta with smoked salmon and white cheddar which was tasty, but for some reason the smoked salmon tasted like lil smokies. Weird.

Inn at Spanish Head is fabulous and I highly recommend it.

And now for your viewing pleasure:

And this is Karl's "shoot, another picture" smile:

Jan/Feb 2009

2009-03-01T17:57:00.000-08:00

Hmmm, it's already March and I haven't posted since Christmas! Here is an update:

January - Our New Year's was pretty quiet but that's how we like it. We just rented movies and I think we were asleep by 10 or 11. We don't like going out and dealing with crazy drunk people making silly decisions so we just stay home. Once we have kids I'm sure we'll start the whole stay up until midnight thing again, but if we don't HAVE to be up that late, we won't be. I finally had my wisdom teeth removed at the end of January. They prescribed Halcion for me to take the night before and the morning of, I think it's an anti-anxiety type of med. When I took it the night before I had just eaten and I was up at least an hour before I started feeling a little wobbly and went to bed (slept great!). So the next morning I was supposed to take it again an hour before the appt and I did, but it was on an empty stomach and I don't remember anything after about 30 minutes from taking it. Seriously. The last thing I recall was putting on my shoes to leave and the next thing I knew Karl was putting me in bed with ice packs. I never gave Karl directions to the doctor's office so I'm not too sure how we got there but we did. Karl took great care of me too, waking me up ever four hours to take my pain pills. I only threw up once and he handled that well too, didn't even flinch or gag, haha! If anyone needs an Oral/Maxillofacial Surgeon I HIGHLY recommend Dr. Stacy Geisler in Lake Oswego, she was amazing! Her office and my dentist's office even sent flowers, how cool is that!

Not much happened in February that I can remember. Valentine's was low-key, Karl ended up having to work a lot. He wasn't supposed to but he got a few emergency calls and in this economy you don't turn customers away! In honor of Valentine's Day, here are 14 things I love about my husband and being married to him:

1. He is a very hard worker with a stronge work ethic.
2. He still likes to hold hands and cuddle.
3. He remembers the little things, like that I prefer to drink Pepsi in a to-go cup with a lid, a straw, and just a little bit of ice.
4. He sends me flowers at work and includes a box of chocolate for the girls I work with.
5. He lets me sleep in on weekends even though he's always up at the crack of dawn.
6. He likes to watch Jon & Kate + 8 with me... our kids will be way cuter ;o)
7. He fixes my computer for free when I unknowingly download junk.
8. He's smart about so many things and instead of making me feel stupid he patiently explains.
9. Even though he may not see or talk to them often, he is extremely loyal to family and friends.
10. He supports and encourages me in my ideas, especially recently with the start of Bella Joy Creations.
11. He is a super cute and funny guy.
12. He loves me even though I'm not the greatest cook, housekeeper, or most fashionable.
13. We have a lunch date almost every weekend to our favorite Vietnamese restaurant.
14. It's impossible to stay mad at him because he has this goofy smile that gets him out of trouble every single time.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T13:49:00.001-08:00

And it just keeps coming...

2008-12-22T17:51:00.001-08:00

Didn't make it to work today... Portland is basically shut down and chains are required everywhere, even side streets, and since we don't have any of those, it was safest to stay home today. They're saying this is the worst storm in 40 years! We did venture out around noon to clear off the car and see what we could do but we didn't get very far:

On top of my car... 6" snow + 1/2" ice + 6" snow

This is as far as we made it!

After that adventure I went on a snow walk and took 80+ pictures, haha! Here are a few and of course you can see all of them here: http://picasaweb.google.com/sarahsamara/ArcticBlast08Part2

Frozen Solid

2008-12-21T18:04:00.000-08:00

So, I thought I'd go take a new measurement of the snow but it didn't work. It's so frozen on the car that I can only get it in about 1". I think it's because of that layer of frozen rain from earlier but still, it's crazy! There is 11-12" on the bed of the truck parked next to me. I'll get up tomorrow morning and see how things are but I'm guessing I'll be staying home. Chains are required everywhere in the Portland Metro area and I don't have any of those. I'm hoping they'll close our office but I haven't heard yet.

And more snow...

2008-12-21T15:35:00.000-08:00

Not sure I'll be making it to work tomorrow... This is the current state of the freeway where I get on and off and seeing as how it's snowing again...

Baby it's snowing outside!

2008-12-20T18:44:00.000-08:00

It has been snowing ALL DAY LONG! We were lazy and lounged in bed until almost 11, and then Karl talked me into making breakfast...I mean breakfast for lunch.

After lunch we stayed bundled up inside watching the first two discs of season 4 of Lost, fast forwarding through the episodes we remembered from watching on TV. All the while it was snowing and snowing and snowing. After that I talked Karl into going for a walk. Why, you ask, would we go out in this weather? Well, basically because I'm addicted to caffeine and really needed a pop (don't judge, there are worse things to be addicted to than pepsi). But it's also fun to take a snow walk and of course I had to document Arctic Blast '08. And now for your viewing pleasure, and probably more to come tomorrow...

Parking lot of the apartments:

5" on top of my car:

Karl doing his usual... anything but smiling:

I talked him into a "normal" one:

Over the river and through the woods:

The nearby police station:

The skate park at the park down the road...I thought for sure there would be some teens out there playing around with snowboards:

Karl waiting for me to catch up and wondering why in the world I want to take pictures:

Shopping center parking lot:

Walking home:

The beloved Pepsi, headache be gone:

Our snow-covered cars:

Karl could no longer restrain himself and down I went into the snow where I decided to make the best of it:

Karl taking pictures with gloves on = blurry pictures:

Baby it's cold outside!

2008-12-15T17:59:00.000-08:00

The weather is currently 23 degrees with the added breeze making it feel more like 9 degrees! I will be the first to say that I was very skeptical about the forecasted snow. I wasn't going to believe it until I saw it and believe me, I've seen it! It started for us on Sunday morning and snowed most of the day. We braved the weather to go out and see a movie and then spent the rest of the day inside.

I left at 6:45 this morning for work and it only took me 25 minutes so I was nice and early. Did a little fishtailing but nothing major. The freeway wasn't too bad but I couldn't believe some of the drivers. Seriously! Do you really need to get somewhere so quickly that you're willing to risk your life? This was my lovely commute:

Someone left really cool tire tracks at work, it looks like two hearts, but I can't figure out how in the world they made them. I've been trying to picture how they pulled in and pulled out in such a way to make them and I just can't figure it out:

Wish me luck driving tomorrow!

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-11-30T18:05:00.001-08:00

Due to a last minute change in plans Karl and I were able to have Thanksgiving dinner but we didn't want to travel so I got to cook. We were both pleasantly surprised that everything turned out good, and somehow I had everything ready at the same time which doesn't even happen with a normal dinner so I'm not sure how I pulled that off. I'm really thinking I should have burnt a few things though because now Karl wants Thanksgiving dinner every month. I'm not sure our waistlines can handle that!

I cheated on a few things, but it still turned out pretty darn yummy!

And this is why we have no decent pictures of us since the wedding...

I let Costco handle the Pumpkin Pie but I made the Cranberry Orange!

And then the next day I put up our tree. Yes it's fake and yes it's only 3' tall but we're in an apartment so I'm scaling back. I do have about five boxes of Christmas decorations in our storage out back but I'm keeping it simple this year.

I hope everyone else had a wonderful Thanksgiving as well!

Ba-nay-nay Cupcakes

2008-11-12T19:21:00.000-08:00

So I get this great (free) magazine from Kraft Foods, you can sign up for it yourself here. In the latest issue they had a recipe for Banana Sour Cream Cake and I just happened to have some bananas lying around that I needed to use but I decided on cupcakes instead. Since it takes a box mix I just used their suggested baking time for cupcakes instead of the 9x13 and they turned out great. Oh, and I also added a cup of chopped nuts into the batter. What's the point of having nuts if they're just on top! But if you're allergic -- hi Carrie :o) -- then you can of course leave the nuts out and off. Karl says they're yummy and I took them to work and got rave reviews. I'm not trying to toot my own horn because really it's just a good recipe and no reflection of my baking skills, but I love when I make something that is good and gets to go in the "keep pile".

I like how the background got black in this picture, it looks like zombie cupcakes coming out of the night... yep I'm a dork, I know, but that was really my first thought, haha!

And here's the recipe but you can follow the link above and it will print out much nicer for you!

Prep Time: 15 min
Total Time: 1 hr 45 min
Makes: 16 servings

What You Need
1 pkg. (2-layer size) yellow cake mix
3 eggs
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3 bananas)
1 cup BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream
1/4 cup oil
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 pkg. (16 oz.) powdered sugar (about 4 cups)
1 cup PLANTERS Walnut Pieces, finely chopped

Make It
HEAT oven to 350°F. Beat cake mix, eggs, bananas, sour cream and oil with mixer on low until moistened, scraping bottom of bowl often. Beat on medium 2 min. Pour into greased and floured 13x9-inch pan.

BAKE 35 min. or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cake completely in pan on wire rack.

BEAT cream cheese and butter with mixer on medium until blended. Gradually add sugar, beating well after each addition.

REMOVE cake from pan. Carefully cut cake crosswise in half using serrated knife. Place 1 cake half, top-side down, on plate; spread top with frosting. Top with remaining cake half, top side up. Frost top and sides. Press nuts onto sides. Refrigerate leftovers.

Sarah's Notes: I used 1/3 cup measure to fill the cake cups and I got 24 cupcakes. I added 1 cup of chopped nuts to the batter and probably chopped another 2 cups and then I dipped the top of the cupcakes into the nut pile. I baked the cupcakes for 21-26 minutes at the same temp.

Cheese Me!

2008-11-05T20:54:00.000-08:00

I finally made enchiladas with the left over chicken from the soup. Karl says you can never have too much sauce so I doubled the recipe for the filling. But it helps to remember to save some to put on top as well. I sort of forgot until I had about two spoonfuls left so I figured I'd just add another can of Cream of Chicken, but the only one I had left had spices in it... Italian spices. Karl says they're great. I didn't tell him they're Italian Enchiladas, maybe that will be my secret ingredient.

It seems like the grosser it looks, the better it usually tastes!

Trick-Or-Treaters failed us this year, again. We didn't have a single one! There are a lot of dogs in our apartment complex so I even got all natural dog treats in case they came out with the kids. So now we have all of this to deal with, and trust me, it's more than it looks like!

Which means... the treadmill has re-entered the building!

So, Karl surprised me and got home early from his business trip to CA but that meant I didn't get anything else done on my "vacation". I only got 85 pendants made although I still need to finish the backs and add the bails. That will be this weekend's project and hopefully I'll get another 80 started. Fingers crossed!

My Productive (w/out as much cooking) Tuesday

2008-10-28T22:21:00.000-07:00

Today was mostly about cleaning and organizing! Scrubbed the tub, vacuumed, organized my desk and work area, took five bags of garbage out, tried to take the pop cans to the store but the machine is out of service, filled out my flexible spending paperwork and will mail that tomorrow, and I looked over a few voter's guides so I'll probably try to fill out my ballot tomorrow. Oh, and I also did my Halloween wreath... what do you think? It's my attempt at creativity :o)

And because I know you are all interested, here are the before and after pictures of my desk/work area... now I can get down to some serious necklace-making tomorrow.

And of course I had to make something... so here it is (Marisa you HAVE to try it!):

I was watching the food channel yesterday while I worked (aka procrastinated) and there was a guy on some Paula Dean show who made this Work-A-Holic's Hot Chocolate. Well, I immediately went to the website but the link wasn't working but I figured I could try it w/out the official recipe since they listed all the ingredients on the show and I saw basically what he did. Well let's just say I'm glad the link was working today because it wasn't exactly the way they showed it and I'm not sure what I was planning to do would have turned out. And I'm not sure the recipe is totally correct... it says cook time is 8 minutes but to get milk to simmer on low heat... I let it sit for 30 minutes before I bumped it up to medium. Anyways... the end result was worth it, I can't even finish this one glass, it's so thick and rich, I don't even want to know what the calorie count is!

Look at that stick-to-the-spoon thickness test! This ain't no sissy-la-la swiss miss hot chocolate, this is the good stuff, not for the faint of heart!

With all of the extract flavorings out there and all the new kinds of chocolate chip variations, there are a ton of things you could do to change this up!

On the agenda for tomorrow... making necklace pendants, my goal is 100 but we'll see. For those who haven't heard (because I haven't shared it with many people -- the less people that you tell means the less people you have to tell when you fail... pessimistic, I know), Megan and I are making glass tile necklaces. We have had such great feedback from family, friends, and even strangers, that we are going to try and sell them. We are going to have a booth at America's Largest Christmas Bazaar , which has been at the Portland Expo Center for the past 26 years. It will be two weekends which are too quickly approaching, 11/28-30 and 12/5-7. Some days I feel like we could really make this work and we'll sell a bunch of them, and then the next day I'm terrified that we'll only ever sell two, besides what our moms buy of course, but moms don't count as customers, they're obligated to buy :o) Just kidding, we love the support from our moms! For those wondering, here is a sample...

I'm also really hoping this works out because if it does, we'll probably start talking babies so the quicker it works out the quicker that will happen as well! Speaking of babies, Megan just had her baby girl last week, Kylah Joy, so on top of us getting ready for this show she has a newborn and a 2-1/2 year old. So we'd appreciate all the prayers we can get!

My Productive Monday

2008-10-28T15:49:00.001-07:00

For some reason, the moment Karl left for California I turned completely domestic. That seems a little backwards. I guess I've been feeling like a very bad, no-cooking, wife lately so now I'm trying to make up for it by stocking the freezer with soupy goodness for those Fall evenings when soup sounds great but I don't want to spend forever making it. So... is 2-1/2 gallons enough? I started by turning my chicken stock from Sunday into Chicken Noodle. To be honest, I don't really know what I'm doing but it seems to turn out okay :o)

Sauteed the onions and celery...

Got my stock boiling... (had to boil it for two minutes before adding to the soup)

Added the chicken to my onions and celery... (I kept the chicken in big pieces, I thougth it looked more rustic that way)

I added the stock after that and some carrots and shell noodles... and I ended up with five quarts!

After that it was on to Olive Garden's Pasta E Fagioli with a little help from Top Secret Recipes.

Got all the stuff together...

Sauteed the onions and celery...(little bit of deja vu)

Cooked up the meat... (the recipe calls for ground beef which I find kind of boring unless it's smothered in Taco seasoning, so I usually use sausage instead, typically the Italian kind but all they had at my store was plain pork sausage which still tasts better than just ground beef in my opinion)

Added all the ingredients together...it's so pretty!

After simmering for an hour, adding the pasta, and it thickening up, it's not quite as pretty but still very tasty. And what do you know, a double batch yields five quarts.

After that my freezer was FULL but oh no, I wasn't done yet. I've been craving Black Bean Pie and I had all the stuff so I figured I could eat that this week while Karl is gone. It's so boring to fix dinner for yourself and much too tempting to just run to Carl's Jr., so I figured this was a better option. And it's super yummy as cold left overs! So I gathered all the stuff...

Sauteed the onions and green pepper... (seriously, does everything start off white and green?)

Added the beans, salsa, chilies, and spices...

Simmered for ten minutes...

Got my fake (but yummy) crust into the pie pan and added some cheese...(recipe calls for a total of two cups, but if you're like me it'll end up being closer to four cups)

Added 1/2 the bean mixture into the pie pan, another layer of cheese, the rest of the bean stuff, and a last layer of cheese...

Then put the top crust on, trimmed the extra off the edges and wrote something fun on the top with it...

Baked for about 45 minutes...

I know, it doesn't look very appetizing but it really, really is! I used mango salsa this time and it turned out good, I think I have a peach salsa in the cupboard for next time. I like to mash it up and cover it in salsa and guacamole but that looks even less appetizing so I'm sparing your eyes.

Stay tuned later in the week for more of Sarah's Kitchen Adventures. Coming up...Chicken Enchiladas! I don't have room in the freezer for them so I'll have to make them when I know Karl is coming home. I'm loving this week of vacation with nothing to do but everything I've been putting off. Although this blogging is a nice procrastination. Off to clean up my office area. If you're "lucky" I'll post before and after pictures :o)

How much do I love my husband?

2008-10-26T19:27:00.000-07:00

Now that it is finally turning into soup weather, Karl has been dropping hints for Chicken Noodle Soup. So since he is currently out of town, I got serious and actually made homemade chicken stock today. Here it is in progress:

It's still on the stove but should be done soon. I'll have to put it in the fridge overnight to solidify the fat to remove it and then tomorrow will be soup day. I'll be freezing it for future dinner usage. Whole cooked chickens are only $6 at Costco, by the way.

I also made these today:

A gal at work brought them in this last week and I had to have the recipe. They are called by a few different names, the one I like the best is "O.M.G." which happens to be the most common exclamation upon a person's first bite. The recipe from my coworker is below... the middle of mine didn't get completely done so you might need to bake a little longer depending on your oven.

½ cup butter
½ cup brown sugar
Bag butterscotch chips
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1-1/2 flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Bag chocolate chips
2 cups mini marshmallows
1 cup chopped walnuts

Melt butter in saucepan, add and melt brown sugar, add and melt butterscotch chips.

Make sure you are melting at a low heat. (if not your chocolate chips will melt into the batter)

Dump in mixing bowl. Temper eggs then add into mixture, add vanilla, flour, baking powder, and salt.

Then stir in chocolate chips, marshmallows and nuts. Spread/press into buttered 13x9 baking dish. Line it with parchment paper for easy removal.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Make sure they are completely cooled before cutting.

Mmmm, Cookies!

2008-10-06T20:39:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip! (click here for recipe)

I used a large tablespoon and got about two dozen and they turned out mighty fine. But not your typical cookie texture, more muffin/bread-ish but oh so yummy!

They look more like piles of you-know-what instead of cookies, but I assure you they are edible!

And I baked them on my trusty silpat w/ perforated baking sheet which I bought through a co-worker who reps Demarle. I highly recommend all their stuff! I mean, come on, look how perfect the bottom of that cookie is, and it came right off the sheet. No more scraping cookie bottoms off the cookie sheets for me! Once you go Demarle you will seriously never want to go back to normal cookwear. I swear I'm not a rep, but I know one if you're interested :o)

Finally, an update! I know you've all been waiting...

2008-09-28T16:06:00.001-07:00

Let's see, what's happened the last two months... Well, I turned 30! It happened during the week so it was pretty uneventful but that was okay. I don't feel any different, I'm actually happily anticipating my 30s... hopefully they will involve starting our family, getting into a house, and starting a business... lots to look forward to!

We also went to WA one weekend and saw Phantom of the Opera in Seattle with my mom and Michael, and our friends Dean and Hye Young. They had never seen it before so it was fun to see their reactions to it. Karl took me when it was in Portland a few years ago so it was my second time and Karl's 9th time! He's seen it in quite a few countries and he never gets tired of it.

The rest of that weekend was spent at Hood Canal where Karl got his fill of fresh oysters (yuck!!).

Step #1 - Find the perfect one... or one dozen, then rinse & shake.

Step #2 - Open with limitless Koren Jedi Ninja strength (knife not pictured).

Step #3 - Horseradish, Cocktail Sauce, Lemon Juice, or whatever else you like.

Step #4 - Down the hatch! (while your wife looks on trying not to gag) And don't forget to give one to Yoda!

We went to the Portland Zoo on Labor Day Monday and we saw the new baby elephant, they named him Samudra, Sam for short, which is Hindi for "lord of the ocean" which they decided fit well since he apparently loves his baths. Who doesn't?! But I'm glad I'm not an elephant, they're pregnant for two years and then give birth to 286lb babies!

We also saw a tiger, a giraffe, a rhino, some moneys, a sun bear, and then my camera died:

And there was this scary creature as well, he was so cute I brought him home with me:

That pretty much brings us to this weekend. We went for a long walk yesterday which was fun and felt great to get some good exercise. We were gone for 90 minutes and we went at least three miles but I think it was probably closer to four. There is a park near our apartment that has trails so we did some exploring. Apparently there is a trail that goes all the way up to Hwy 8 in Beaverton and it's 10 miles one way. Maybe we'll work up to that someday.

We got to see Oregon's first commuter rail on a practice run. It's supposed to open this fall and there is a station right by us so Karl is thinking of taking it to work.

And this is us! Karl decided to be goofy but I'm posting it anyways!

Portland Marathon

2008-07-18T23:19:00.000-07:00

I feel like such a bad blogger but we're really not that interesting. I'm sure I'll have more exciting things to share when we decide to expand our family but for now you're stuck with boring... if you're even still reading.

So I'm going to put this out there because if I tell people then it's more likely that I'll stick with it... I want to do the Portland Marathon next year! I'm trying to get back into running, or at least walking, and I discovered Portland Fit which is a running/walking club that basically trains you with the PDX Marathon being the end goal. It's great because they put you in groups with people who are at the same level as you are so if you're slow like me you don't feel pressured or intimidated by the super athletes who make it look so easy. I figure I have eight months before the next season starts so that should be plenty of time to get into a little better shape so I don't completely embarrass myself! Anybody want to do it with me?

Check it out: Portland Fit

Fiesta Pot Pie!!

2008-07-18T23:09:00.000-07:00

(aka Black Bean Pie, but that doesn't sound quite as yummy)

I know I emailed this to some of you but I'm posting it as well because it's just that good, and so easy, and so good eaten cold the next day! This is the vegetarian version but you can easily add meat and change up the salsa and extras in there to whatever sounds good to you. I'm looking for a cornmeal crust recipe so if anybody has a good one feel free to share.

-------------------------

1 tbsp olive oil
1 c onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 small can green chilies, diced
2 (15 oz) cans black beans, drained
1/2 c salsa
1 1/4 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp black pepper
3/4 tsp salt or Adobo seasoning
2 pie shells, unbaked
2 c shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 325. Heat oil in large pan. Add onion and green pepper, and sauté until tender. Add chilies, beans, salsa, and seasonings. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer 10 minutes. Place unbaked pie shell in deep dish pie pan. Sprinkle 1/3 of the cheese mixture on bottom. Pour in 1/2 of the bean mixture. Top with 1/3 of cheese, and pour in rest of beans. Cover with remaining cheese and pie shell. Place into oven and bake 45 minutes, or until pie crust is golden brown. Allow to cool for a few minutes before slicing and serving. Great with some sour cream, salsa, and/or guacamole.

-------------------------

When I made this I used the leftover crust pieces to make a K on the top crust. Bad idea... Karl thought that made the whole thing his, but I set him straight :o)

We did our part...

2008-06-09T18:13:00.000-07:00

...to stimulate the economy! We finally got our memory foam mattress from Costco this weekend as well as a bedframe from Ikea!! No more sleeping on the floor! We always have so much fun assembling Ikea furniture together. We never get every step correct so there's is always lots of teasing and laughing going on, and I'm glad we don't take it too seriously and don't get upset and frustrated with eachother. The bed is so comfy but definitely different. I think it might take some getting used to for me but Karl fell asleep within ten seconds like usual. And it is noticeably hotter than a regular mattress but not unbearable, nothing a fan on at night won't cure.

Other than that not much is new with us. It's Monday which means we walk to Haggen's to have salad bar for dinner. It's healthy, quick, cheap, and I don't have to cook or clean so I love it :o)

PSA - Carseats

2008-05-24T19:30:00.000-07:00

Please forgive my PSA but I felt this was important information to pass along. I have been reading some interesting things on carseats recently and maybe some of you know this or have seen the video, but I was completely unaware so maybe some of you are too and I would never forgive myself is something happened and I hadn't shared this.

Apparently it is customary to change a child from rear to forward facing in their carseat at 1 year of age and 20lbs. That is the legal MINIMUM age/size requirements for forward-facing but please consider waiting until the MAXIMUM age/size limits are reached. Due to spinal development it is much safer for them to remain rear-facing as long as possible.

Here is a great site with a lot of information and links: http://www.car-safety.org/rearface.html, and here is a video which illustrates better than words why it is safer (warning - the crash test is a little disturbing): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2DVfqFhseo.

So that is my PSA in a nutshell. If you want more information or more links I can get them for you, I just didn't want to overload you. I know it may not directly apply to all of you at this moment, but perhaps it's something you will save for future reference or maybe you know someone who you can pass it along to. If anything, I hope I have opened the door to something you may not have been aware of and we can all be better educated on a very simple way to keep children safer.

Edited to add: I also know there are some safety considerations for booster seats... 5-point harness carseat vs. a booster seat with an adult seatbelt... when to move to no seat and just use the adult seatbelt...

All kids deserve parents who are willing to do the research and make the safest decisions for them, so please take the time to check out the options and make an informed choice. The website posted above has great information with a lot of links!

I know we don't have kids yet so this might sound random coming from me, but I never knew there were so many things to consider, so if I help enlighten even one person and their child is safer then that's good enough for me!

Cockawho? Cockapoo!

2008-05-07T20:05:00.000-07:00

The more I research these, the more I love Cockapoos! I was sure Karl would veto is because of the name alone but he hasn't. Since we have to look at dogs under 40lbs for our apartment we stumbled across these and I think they are just the cutest! They are a hybrid of a Cocker Spaniel and a Poodle. They don't shed and they are good for people with allergies and they are intelligent and good with kids (thinking longterm here) and they don't need a ton of activity so they should do well in an apartment. Of course we'll exercise him/her but since we both work all day we need a breed that is a little more mellow and can be home alone at times. And seriously, how can you not fall in love with this:

We are hoping to get ours from Derby Canyon Cockapoos which is near Leavenworth. I emailed them for some more info so we'll see what happens!

Mosque Eat Ohs

2008-05-07T19:54:00.000-07:00

Have you ever played Mad Gab? Well it's a game where one team says a string of random words and the other team tries to guess what it sounds like. For example, if I said the words "used ink" you would have to tell me what you thought I said... the answer to that one is "you stink". So try this one I just made up: "mosque eat ohs"...(answer in paragraph below)

We have discovered one drawback of our new apartment but it's not a dealbreaker. We're kind of in the middle of a wetland/nature preserve/water mgmt area and our unit backs up to the wetland part so it's a nice private view but there are millions of gnats and some MOSQUITOS (yeah I know, it was pretty easy) and I'm sure it will only get worse the farther into Summer we get. So I'm looking for natural repellants. Someone suggested Mosquito Barrier which is supposed to be all natural and uses garlic oil, so I think I'll get some of that and see how it works.

We're still sleeping on the floor in the living room because our bed is still at the old place but I think we're just going to get rid of it now, it's getting so uncomfortable. So the saving begins for a new bed but I do need to make room for one. That means I need to go clean up the room that will be our bedroom. Right now all my clothes are in a big pile in the center of the room because I want to go through it all and get rid of everything that doesn't fit and that I don't wear anymore. Now is a good time to do it because I'm in a purging mood. Karl is playing his video game so maybe I'll start that tonight... I'll get to it after this next post :o)

Home Sweet Home

2008-05-07T19:51:00.000-07:00

We're in our new apartment, woo-hoo!!! We love it so much! And it's not like it's the greatest apartment ever but it's so much better than where we were! And now we're thinking about getting a dog but due to the apartments size restrictions we have to think of something under 40lbs but that's fine with me because the dogs we are interested in need way too much activity for us to own while we're living in an apt and both working full-time. So we're currently looking at Cockapoos. They're smaller and supposed to be fairly mellow but still needing some exercise of course. I worry about the house training and everything but a friend at work actually brought her dog with her when she first got him and kept him in his kennel in the car and she took a few breaks to let him out and then walked him at lunch so I guess that could be an option maybe. If not, I do have an hour for lunch and can come home and take him/her out for at least a half hour and then again at night. I figure there are tons of people in apartments that work that have dogs so why not us, but I still feel bad at the thought of leaving a dog along most of the day, how boring is that! So we'll see, we're still thinking about it.

We still have the old place until the 13th so we're moving the last of our stuff this weekend and then cleaning that place and then I have lots of organizing to do around here but I love it! Going through everything and throwing stuff out and organizing it all, it's so much fun! I think we'll be giving enough stuff to Goodwill that it might be worth documenting for taxes...if I'm not too lazy to write it all down and take pics.

Moving!

2008-04-15T18:26:00.000-07:00

Not very far, just two exits North but we're so excited! It's just a nicer apartment that is a little newer and a little bigger. We get it on 4/26 but we had to give 30 days at our current place so we're stuck with it until 5/13 but that's okay. The move-in specials were really good and the location in town and in the apartment complex are great. Did I say we're really excited? We can't wait!!

I love Pho Bo!

2008-04-13T20:55:00.000-07:00

So, Karl has been taking me to this Vietnamese place in Beaverton, Pho Van, for a while now and we always get the same things. Karl gets Pho Bo (a noodle soup), I get Lemongrass Pork & Shrimp, and we usually get the Salad Rolls for appetizers -- I wonder who first thougth that shrimp and peanut sauce would go well together? Well, when we went there a couple of weeks ago for Karl's birthday, I tried his Pho and I LOVED it! So we've been there every weekend since and now I get it too, but not with the tripe and tendon, just the round steak and flank. It's so yummy and now I want it all the time, I guess I'll have to learn how to make it. There are worse things to be addicted to, right?

Littleput Books

2008-03-18T21:45:00.000-07:00

I found this Etsy site, Littleput Books, through Portland Picks and I am in love with it! She is in the Portland area and I like supporting local artists, and she makes the cutest necklaces out of old Scrabble tiles and they are so affordable! Check them out!!

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you about the adorable little tins they come in. Remember those old lip gloss tins where you slide the top? Well she covers those in the same kinds of paper and they are so cute, it's like getting a sweet little surprise because you're just expecting the necklace and then it comes in a great container as well, and everyone knows it's all about the packaging!

I said "shoulder length"...

2008-03-18T21:05:00.000-07:00

I found a new place to get my hair cut, and that is a scary thing if you have curly hair! It's a cute place in Portland called Dirty Little Secret Salon and she only charges me $30 which is a steal for a good women's haircut these days! My hair was getting way too long and it was time for a few inches to be cut off, but she went a little shorter than I expected. I'm still getting used to it and I think it needs some shorter layers thrown in so I might go back. Karl definitely likes it longer so I've been disowned until it grows out :o)

(Please forgive the no makeup paleness, I can't wait for summer!)

Flat Melisa

2008-03-18T20:58:00.000-07:00

My friend Marisa is a 2nd grade teacher and apparently there is a children's book called Flat Stanley where a little boy gets flattened and his parents send him around the world in an envelope. So she has the kids in her class make flat versions of themselves and send them to someone they know out of state. Well one of her girls didn't know anyone so she sent it to me. I got to take Flat Melisa around Portland and show her the sites and write in her travel journal. It was fun! Here is Flat Melisa at Cannon Beach:

I had to get them...

2008-03-10T19:25:00.001-07:00

Just one more...

2007-12-27T20:21:00.000-08:00

I love Cooking Light magazine and made this cake for my friend Megan's baby shower a couple of years ago. It was so easy and so good! I had to make Karl one this last weekend for when I was gone at Christmas and I was surprised there was any left when I got back! I've never actually made the Mocha Cream frosting that goes on it... I ran out of time at the shower and just put cool whip on it and it was great although I'm sure the Mocha Cream is wonderful!

One Bowl Chocolate Mocha Cream Cake
(Cooking Light magazine, January 2006)
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=printerFriendly&recipe_id=1141976

Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour (about 9 ounces)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 cup hot strong brewed coffee
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
Cooking spray

Mocha Cream:
1/4 cup boiling water
1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
1 (7-ounce) jar marshmallow creme
1 (8-ounce) container frozen light whipped topping, thawed
1/3 cup light chocolate syrup (such as Hershey's Lite Syrup)

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare cake, lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 6 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl. Add mayonnaise and oil; beat with a mixer at low speed until well blended. Slowly add brewed coffee and vanilla; beat with a mixer at low speed 1 minute or until well blended. Stir in chocolate; pour batter into a 13 x 9-inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.

To prepare mocha cream, combine water and coffee granules in a large bowl; stir until granules dissolve. Add marshmallow creme; beat with a mixer at low speed until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Spread mocha cream over top of cake; drizzle with chocolate syrup. Chill until ready to serve.

Yield: 16 servingsCALORIES 315 (23% from fat); FAT 8.1g (sat 3.2g,mono 2.6g,poly 1.9g); PROTEIN 2.6g; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 46mg; SODIUM 390mg; FIBER 1.8g; IRON 1.8mg; CARBOHYDRATE 60g

Speaking of Recipes...

2007-12-27T20:08:00.000-08:00

My Aunt Sherrie made this a few Christmases ago and it's been at every Christmas since! I make it for potlucks at work and get-togethers with my girlfriends and it usually gets rave reviews and people ask for the recipe!

Creamy Whipped Brie with Mer's Cranberry Salsa
(Seattle Times, 12/18/02, Salsa recipe from Merrilee Wong)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/PrintStory.pl?document_id=134597540&slug=brie18&date=20021218

Salsa:
2 cups fresh cranberries
3 medium green onions, finely chopped
1 small red (or green) jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced (I recommend using gloves or plastic bags over your hands when chopping the jalapeno. The first time I made it, it stayed on my hands for days and that's not the best thing when you wear contacts!!)
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
1½ tablespoons lemon juice
1½ tablespoons peeled and finely minced fresh gingerroot

Whipped brie:
¾ pound brie cheese, room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Crackers

1. To prepare the salsa: Pulse the cranberries in a food processor until very finely chopped. Transfer to a bowl.
2. Stir in the green onions, jalapeño, sugar, salt, cilantro, lemon juice and ginger (I just put all this in the food processor after doing the cranberries and I process it all together. It ends up looking like a runny pesto. To save time you can use the jarred ginger.). Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours. Stir occasionally.
3. To prepare the whipped brie: Remove the rind from the brie and put the cheese into a food processor with the cream cheese, pepper and lemon zest. Process until very smooth. Transfer to a serving bowl. Cover and refrigerate. (This can be made 24 hours in advance.) Bring to room temperature 1 hour before serving. Serve with crackers and the salsa on the side.

I made a pie!

2007-12-27T19:47:00.000-08:00

I took a pie recipe with me and I think it turned out pretty well for my first pie attempt:

It's a recipe Mrs. Bunn used last Thanksgiving and I have been wanting to try it ever since. It even got the Karl stamp of approval.

Here is the recipe if anyone is interested. It's cranberries, but it's not too tart or too sweet... very refreshing and so yummy and something different than the usual pumpkin/pecan/apple. It is out of a cookbook but I don't have the name of it.

Cranberry Orange Pie

3 1/2 cups fresh cranberries (about 1 pkg.)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, preferably unbleached
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons minced or grated orange zest
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 egg, lightly beaten, with 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream for glazing
Granulated sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 450

Combine first seven ingredients in large bowl and pour into cooled pie shell (I cheated and used the pillsbury pie crusts, just make sure you grease the pie dish). Cut the remaining pastry circle (rolled to 1/16" thick) into strips, 1/2" wide. Moisten the edges of the pie shell with the beaten egg and criss-cross the dough strips to form a lattice design over the cranberries. Press the edges of the top and bottom crusts together; pinch off any excess dough and smooth the edges with your fingers. Brush the top of the pastry with egg glaze and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 10 minutes then reduce heat to 350 and bake until the crust is golden brown and the juices are bubbly, about 45 minutes longer.

Makes one 9" pie; serves 6-8

Christmas 2007!

2007-12-27T19:37:00.000-08:00

I went up to Hood Canal to visit with some of my family which was fun, I don't get up there as much as I'd like to so it was good to see everyone. And it snowed on Christmas day and stuck a little bit which was perfect. There are no small children in the family at the moment so I was wishing there were some kids running around. It would have been so fun to see their excitement about Christmas and the snow. Maybe Karl and I will have to think about solving that issue soon :o)

Here's a picture of the house in the snow. It was snowing at that moment but you can't really tell.

Starve a Fever, Send Flowers to a Cold

2007-12-01T17:43:00.001-08:00

I was sick a couple of weeks ago and felt miserable but really had to go in to work. So just before lunch time the receptionist tells me to come up front and this is what was there:

Karl had delivered some flowers to cheer me up! Boys are so sweet sometimes!

Rule No. 1 - Do not disturb the gamer!

2007-12-01T17:35:00.001-08:00

Karl got this "Do Not Disturb" sign (in one of his gaming magazines I think) so he attached it to the back of his head the next time he was playing. Boys are so silly sometimes!

Most Boring Blog Ever!

2007-12-01T17:15:00.000-08:00

Sorry Leah N., I know you like the updates :o) I'm actually procrastinating right now because I'm trying to write up our Christmas letter and I don't feel like anything that interesting has happened this year (hence no blog posts since April). Way back in March I had the idea to write down a few things every month so that when it came time to do this I'd remember things to share with our friends and family, but I never did it, I thought for sure I'd remember. I'll be starting that list in January!

Thanksgiving was good. My mom and Michael came down to Oregon and we went out to Lincoln City. They were celebrating their anniversary that weekend as well. The weather was gorgeous and we had a good time but it was a little odd doing something different on a holiday. The hotel restaurant was serving Thanksgiving dinner but none of us thought it looked that good, so now I've been craving it ever since. That's too big of a meal to cook for the two of us so I'm thinking we'll have to go to Marie Callendar's soon so I can get my Thanksgiving "fix". Here are a few pictures from the coast:

Teavana

2007-04-21T21:57:00.000-07:00

I am in love with Teavana!!! I had seen the store a few times but Karl and I finally went in a few weeks ago and we're hooked! We've only tried a few different teas so far but I'm loving brewing the loose leaves. Their Earl Grey is perfect and their Jasmine is so yummy! I could sit and smell either of those all day long. I've actually been thinking of making some potpurri-like sachets with the loose-leaf tea, they just smell so good. And did you know that Bergamot (in Earl Grey) has been known to help with depression? I thought that was interesting and I loved it before but I love it even more now. And if you like Jasmine, Peet's finally has their Tea Breezes (?? Tea Coolers), Hibiscus and Jasmine Lime. I highly recommend either one of those!

Portland Picks & Seattle Picks

2007-04-21T21:47:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share two great sites where you can sign up for their Friday email newsletters. They write about all the hip happenings, restaurants and shops in Portland and they just started one for Seattle as well. Even though I hardly make it up to Portland to check out the places they review, it still makes me feel like a classy city girl knowing what's going on in PDX.

Portland Picks & Seattle Picks

Zafu

2007-04-21T21:33:00.000-07:00

I had the "pleasure" of shopping for jeans this weekend. I know all of the women out there can relate to that pain so I had to share this site with you: zafu
It takes you through a series of questions and then calculates the right jeans for you! It's amazing!!! I'm not sure I would buy online based on their suggestions alone, but at least you will have a list of brands to look at when you're at the mall so you can try them on and find the ones you love. They do tend to have the more expensive brands, but I'm at the point now where it's worth it to spend the money if I find a pair that fits well and looks good. Just like bras, but that's another post altogether!

Black Onesies

2007-04-21T21:22:00.000-07:00

Black onesies are almost impossible to find! We had a baby shower for a gal at work and we call her our Goth Girl because she always wears black so I knew I had to find some black onesies but it took some serious looking! I finally found them at Zoey's Boutique and they are great! You never know what you'll get when ordering online so I was very pleased with the great quality of the fabric. They're 100% cotton and thick like a nice t-shirt, not paper thin like some brands of onesies/bodysuits out there. And the customer service was great so I highly recommend them!

The above picture was taken at the shower. Onesies on a clothesline is my standard shower decoration, but really, who doesn't smile just looking at baby clothes. They're so little they just can't help but be cute!

Omelet Awesomeness!

2007-04-21T21:12:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm going to brag. Sorry, I have to. As most of my friends know, I'm not the greatest cook in the world. I like to try new things but they don't often turn out like I want. I can handle the basics (mac & cheese, grilled cheese, chicken & rice bake, spaghetti), but much more than that and I'm always shocked if it actually turns out. Well, over Easter weekend I got an omelet lesson so I tried it on my own the other night. I made mine first because I was sure I was going to screw it up, but it turned out so amazing that I had to call Karl into the kitchen to see it and then I had to take pictures! Silly, I know, but it may never happen again!

Clean House Clean Planet

2007-02-24T22:54:00.000-08:00

We (well, mostly me) have been making some lifestyle changes. We are trying to eat healthier and be more aware of where our food is coming from and what is in it. This has also lead to researching natural ways to clean around the house. At the suggestion of some online acquaintances, I am reading the book Clean House Clean Planet by Karen Logan (yep, that title should be underlined, but the only options it's giving me is bold or italic). It's all about cleaning your house "for pennies a day the safe, nontoxic way". I never knew that baking soda and distilled white vinegar could be used for so many things. Those are the main ingredients in most of the "recipes" in the book and they're so cheap!! I went to Costco and got a 12lb bag of baking soda for $3.75 and a box of two 1-gallon jugs of vinegar for $2.50. Those will last for quite a while and when you think that one bottle (and if you look under your counter I'm sure you have 3-4 different ones) of a chemical cleaner costs anywhere from $2-5, you can already see that you'll be saving money. Not to mention that you won't be surrounding you and your family with harsh chemicals anymore (nothing for baby to accidentally get into, so no need to call poison control).

I made some of the all-purpose cleaner (like 409) tonight and did some cleaning and it worked great. It calls for some liquid soap so I used Dr. Bronner's peppermint scented one and instead of smelling nauseous chemical fumes and having to turn the bathroom fan on while cleaning, I was smelling a fresh peppermint instead. And did you know that plain club soda is a great mirror/window cleaner?! Karl thinks I'm a little bit crazy but he's not complaining :o)

As I think towards the future, I want to make sure our home environment is as clean and as natural as possible, for us and our children. I'm becoming more and more aware of what I put in my body, on my body and in the air that we breathe. It's kind of scary how ignorant I was before. And it's not like we're making huge lifestyle changes, they're very small and don't require any more time or effort. Hmmm, maybe this means that I can shop for more organic stuff now that we'll be saving money by not buying chemical cleaners :o) If anyone wants more information or a cleaning recipe (all purpose, antiseptic, air freshener, laundry, car, carpet, drains, floors, furniture polish, bug spray, brass/copper/silver, rush, oven, kitchen, bathroom, etc.) just let me know! Hey, maybe you'll all be getting some homemade cleaning products for Christmas :o)

Zoom-Zoom-Zoom

2007-02-05T12:47:00.000-08:00

Check out our beautiful new baby!

Christmas Letters!

2007-01-27T19:49:00.000-08:00

Well, I finally got our Christmas/New Year's letters out! I don't like to think of them as "late", it's more like they're just making a surprise entrance. Oh well, maybe next year I'll be more on top of things. Although I was rather annoyed when AFTER I finished stuffing envelopes I realized there was a spelling error (after having read and re-read it a million times) and I realized I forgot to actually sign them. So I apologize, I hope nobody felt like it was too generic, I really did think about each friend/family we were sending them to! If you're reading this and you didn't get a letter, I probably don't have your address, so email it to me and I'll put you on our list! It's kind of sad the we are so far from most of you and our contact is a letter once a year, but we do enjoy hearing from you and we hope you enjoy hearing from us too!

Not sure what's up with the pictures below, I'll try to fix them.

Shame on me!

2007-01-18T20:23:00.000-08:00

I'm such a bad blogger, but there doesn't seem to be anything very interesting going on lately. Christmas was good, we went to Hood Canal to visit with some of my family. First we went up to Bellevue to meet up with a couple of my girlfriends from high school for breakfast, and then we drove out to Hood Canal. It had actually snowed out there early that morning which was fun. We built snowmen and Karl built a snow throne! Most of the snow melted by Christmas morning but the snowmen stayed around a week or so. We had a really good time, now let's see if I remember how to post pictures...

Karl building his throne:

The snow gang

The pretty airport in the snowy fog. The airport diner has the best fish & chips ever!

Away in a Manger...

O Christmas Tree...

Nope, the pic isn't backwards, our NOEL angels never actually say N-O-E-L

Yoda helping Karl read his book

My poker face

Karl's poker face...he was just upset that I was winning :o)

No soup for you!

2006-12-06T17:43:00.000-08:00

Because we ate it all! I must say I am quite impressed with how it turned out, and I think Karl was even surprised :o) I'm not trying to gloat but I'm not the greatest cook in the world (not yet anyways) so I'm just glad my first attempt was even edible! Although my yummy soup may have gotten me in trouble...now that Karl thinks I can cook, he wants Vegetable Barley this weekend. Is soup success two weekends in a row even possible for a beginner? :o)

Real fruit and chicken stock.

2006-12-02T22:09:00.000-08:00

I have been starting to research healthier, more natural/organic, eating and we have started doing most of our shopping at the new Whole Foods or Wild Oats. The biggest difference I have noticed so far is the apples! The first time I got Fuji's from Whole Foods they actually looked like they had come off of a tree! They were all different sizes and shapes whereas at Safeway they're all the same size, same shape, same glossy color, etc. And the taste...oh my, it was SO delicious! I was actually shocked that I could tell such a difference, but so happy at the same time. It feels good to eat good! Which leads me to chicken stock...I'm making some for the first time right now. The homemade turkey noodle soup we had in Salinas inspired me, so I'm making the stock tonight and we'll have soup tomorrow. It's making our apartment smells great right now so hopefully it will make great soup for dinner tomorrow! I'll let you know :o)

Thanksgiving 2006

2006-12-02T21:40:00.000-08:00

And so it begins...the alternating between families for the holidays :o) This Thanksgiving we were able to drive down to Salinas and it was so much fun! We got to spend time with Mr. and Mrs. Bunn as well as Michael and Jodi and their kids who are home from Brazil for a while. I met Michael and Micha when we went to Salinas for Christopher and Jessica's wedding, but it was so good to meet Jodi, Ben, Megan, Mattias, and Lucas. Karl says we won't be having five kids but I think it would be fun!

We left Wednesday night and made it through the pass before it got too snowy and we stayed in Red Bluff. We made it to Salinas the next day just in time to sit down and eat and everything was so yummy! I have to admit that I was a little worried it wouldn't be the traditional Thanksgiving food since the family is very good about eating healthy and natural and usually vegetarian, but there was turkey (and NOT tofurkey!) and all the usual stuff. It was definitely made more naturally (no stovetop stuffing or canned sweet potatoes) but it was sooooooo delicious! After eating we all took a walk around the back property to work off some of those calories and then we spent the afternoon playing games (Take 2 Scrabble, Kings, Jenga). The next morning we drove down to Cayucas to see Chie and she made us homemade gyoza (like potstickers), and I got to see some pictures of Karl's school days - he was such a cutie (still is!) :o) We made it back to Salinas for dinner (homemade turkey noodle soup from the leftovers) and then got to enjoy Michael's guitar playing and some singing. The next morning we headed out of town but not before stopping at The Farm (see my links) to see what was new. We stopped in Sacramento for lunch to see Kris, Tina, and Katie, and then we got home around 11:30 and crashed into bed. It was so good to see everyone and I wish we lived closer! Here are some pictures:

There is a little glare from the sun but I think this picture is cute. If I look a little pale it's because I found out that morning (leaving Red Bluff) that I had left my make-up at home! Not that I wear that much of it, but this is the au natural look for me :o)

JENGA!

How did I forget to tell you about Miracle Fruit? A fruit was discovered that changes your sour tastebuds to sweet ones! First we tasted a lemon to make sure it was really sour to begin with, and then we took this tablet that you dissolve on your tonge (we thought it tasted like tea or dried fruit) and then when we tasted the lemon again it was super sweet and you could eat it without puckering at all! It was so cool!

Can you say "Baby Fever"?

2006-12-02T21:29:00.000-08:00

Well I sure can! We had a baby shower for my friend Carrie (see The Reichelt Family under my links) a couple of weeks ago who is due on December 15th. Well, she WAS due on the 15th but Caleb got impatient and decided to arrive on November 27th! He was 8lbs 4ozs but still considered a preemie. He was working hard to breath so they kept him in the NICU at first but never had to hook him up to anything but monitors. Thankfully he was able to go home the same day as Carrie and they are both doing great. And he is just as adorable as his brother!!!

Needless to say, with this baby and a few other friends having babies, I have a serious case of baby fever! I'm so ready to be a mom but then I feel like it's never going to happen. I need a new car, we'd like to be in a house, and we'd like me to be able to stay home so we're trying to get prepared for that so when the time comes it will actually be possible. I know the time will fly by and I just need to be patient, but it's still hard. I guess I'll just have to get my "fix" from my friends for a while longer. Not that I'm not enjoying this time with my husband, just the two of us, but I'm definitely ready.

So far so good!

2006-11-12T21:21:00.000-08:00

I'm loving the job so far. I'm part of the Inside Sales Dept but I'm not selling, it's really just customer service and placing orders for people who call in needing parts. Needless to say, winter is our busy season so I'm starting at a stressful time but it's going really well so far. I am not on the phones yet but hopefully I'll be able to at least start listening in on calls this week and do that a little bit before doing it on my own. My commute is only 2.5 miles which is really nice (which means I'd be able to come home at lunch and let a puppy out to go potty if we decide to get one which was a big worry), it's 8-5 and then 7:30-4:30 on Fridays (and we can wear jeans on Fridays too!). It's a small office and everyone is really nice and fun to work with and I actually look forward to going to work now. Not that it's any easier to get out of bed (I don't think I'll ever be a morning person), but it's so nice to enjoy what you do. And it's not even that I'll enjoy the job itself so much, but the people I'll be working with make it a fun place to be, and if you're having fun you could do just about any type of job. I'll technically be a temp for three months but that's okay. The pay is better that I was expecting so hopefully our plan for a new car around the beginning of the year will work out (crossing my fingers).

Awww, so adorable!

2006-11-04T21:17:00.000-08:00

Like I said, super cute! A Carebear for Halloween

More Pics:

2006-11-04T21:02:00.000-08:00

Kris, Katie and Merry Bear at the Japanese Garden

Aw, what a cute family

The rock garden

Tina and Katie

Japanese Garden waterfall

Pics:

2006-11-04T20:57:00.000-08:00

Karl and Katie going down the slide

More sliding

My super cute niece :o)

Workin' 9 to 5...

2006-11-01T15:04:00.000-08:00

Well, it's actually 8 to 5 but that's okay! So I interviewed with a temp agency last Monday because I saw a posting for a Customer Service/Order Entry job in Wilsonville. The interview with them went well and I did all the usual testing (typing, data entry, 10-key, Word and Excel) and Karl was shocked when he found out I type faster than him :o) I spoke with a few people from the agency during the week which lead to an interview with the company in Wilsonville on Friday. The interview went great and I enjoyed the two people I met and was looking forward to hearing from the agency. They called me on Monday morning to say that the company wanted to hire me and that all my references were glowing and I was a "dream placement" for them (yep, I'm bragging!). So I start on Monday and I'm so excited. It's a company that works with heating/cooling equipment so I'll be getting calls from people when their boiler breaks and their heat isn't working. They didn't have a problem with me being a girly girl and not knowing the first thing about boilers :o) They said they prefer it that way because then they can train me the way they want to and they have so many products I'll never learn it all anyways. It seems like such a fun office and they think like me, that it's more about the fit than past experience. So I can't wait for Monday and I can't wait to start bringing a paycheck home again! And the dress code is business casual (jeans on Friday!) so I won't have to spend lots of money on dress work clothes which is good. Technically I will be a temp for the first three months and then they will decide if they want to keep me on. I'm really looking forward to Monday, although I'll have to hit Starbucks on the way since I've been able to sleep in for the last month, it'll be hard to start getting up early again!

Family!

2006-11-01T15:03:00.000-08:00

Kris, Tina, and Katie Koepke came to visit us this last weekend and it was so good to see them! After arriving on Thursday evening, we took them to dinner at Karl's favorite Korean restaurant, it was so yummy but rather embarrassing -- my four year old niece is better at using chopsticks than I am :o) Karl had to work on Friday so I entertained that morning by taking them to see Karl at work and then we hit the mall because it was too close to pass up! Kris and Katie checked out the play area and Tina and I did some window shopping. Tried some stuff on but didn't find anything we couldn't live without. After that we had lunch at an amazing Greek place nearby. Then it was back home so I could change for a job interview!!! Karl got off work early so when I got back from the interview the boys decided to go see a scary movie together and us girls were going to go to the park but Katie zonked out in the back seat before we could get there so we drove up to Bridgeport where we were going to eat dinner. We did some more window shopping and Katie got to run around in the play area while we waited for the guys to meet up with us. Dinner was at a yummy Italian place and then it was home to bed! On Saturday we went to the Japanese Gardens in Portland. It was fairly chilly but thankfully it wasn't raining, and the colors of the trees were amazing, I'll figure out how to post pics so you can all see, Tina got a great one of the sun rays coming through the trees, it's beautiful! After that we drove around the Pearl District to find a place for lunch and then walked around town for a little bit. The guys played some video games when we got back while us girls chatted about ideas for a baby boutique. We decided to order in and had pizza because we were too tired to go out so it was a low-key evening, and then they left the next morning. We tried to talk them into moving up here so we'll see :o)

I love this one, it doesn't even look real:

Me and my cheesy-grinning husband:

Exercising for... Burgers?

2006-10-17T22:19:00.000-07:00

So Karl and I actually went to the gym tonight. We went last week too. Once a week is better than nothing, right? The problem is that every time we work out I have a craving for a burger. And not just any little burger either, I want a huge, two hand, everything on it kind of burger. So basically the calories I just burned were replaced (and then some) by the burger I ate afterwards. Karl was good and got a salad. I'll get that next time... maybe :o)

Yea, Fall is here!

2006-10-15T17:29:00.000-07:00

Finally, it feels like Fall is here! Today is 56 and rainy and I am loving it! I'm even going to make soup for dinner. Karl will be shocked :o) I've been neglecting my dinner making duties lately but now that Fall is here I'm hoping I'll feel inspired. We'll see...

Where is Fall?

2006-10-13T18:06:00.000-07:00

So the leaves are turning beautiful colors but people are still out in shorts and tank tops! Where in the world is my rainy, cold Fall weather? I love this time of year when it gets rainy and stormy and you can come home and curl up on the couch with a cup of tea and a good book. It's even better if there is a fireplace, but maybe one day we'll have one of those. It just doesn't feel like Fall yet but hopefully that will change soon so I can break out my sweaters :o)

Oysterfest 2006

2006-10-13T17:58:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was Oysterfest 2006! We went up to Hood Canal to visit some family and binge at Oysterfest. Karl enjoyed himself but I stuck with the crab and shrimp, no oysters for me! Not that I haven't tried them, I just haven't acquired a taste for them yet. It was a very nice weekend and so relaxing to be on the water, hopefully we can get up there more often!

Home Sweet...

2006-10-13T17:56:00.000-07:00

Well, we moved into our new apartment at the end of September. My family came down from Seattle to help us which was a great, we couldn't have done it without them! Our new place will do for now but we aren't too impressed with it so far but we are making the best of it. The housing market is supposedly going to drop in the next year so we will hopefully be in a house by the end of next year which will give us time to get to know the area up here a little better and figure out where we would want to buy. I'll try to get an email out soon with our new address, the cell phone numbers are the same though!

One year down, forever to go!

2006-10-13T17:41:00.000-07:00

Well we made it to our one year anniversary! Overall I wouldn't say that the first year of marriage was too difficult. I know we had some disagreements but I can't remember any of them so they must not have been too terrible. We celebrated by going to the Coast like we did for our honeymoon. It was nice to get away and relax for a few days. We found a yummy restaurant, Blackfish Cafe, that has been there for a while but we had never tried it. It's a fancy place but you don't have to dress fancy which was a good thing and the food was amazing! We had been eating all day long so next time we aren't going to eat at all so we can really enjoy dinner (and dessert) there!

Ape Caves

2006-10-13T17:38:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, I'm the worst blogger ever! Let's see if I can catch up... We did get to go hiking over Labor Day and we went up to Mt. St. Helens and hiked the Ape Caves which is one big natural lava tube. We hiked the harder upper cave and Karl was fairly impressed with my hiking abilities but I kept seeing these little kids and figured that if they could do it then I could too! The cave alternated between flat, easy walking to crawling over boulders which was a little more difficult but still fun. It was very cold in the cave and so dark! They had lanterns at the ranger station but Karl had his head lamp and I had a little flashlight so we could see and I can't imagine having to climb over those rocks holding a big lantern at the same time! I had to keep stopping to remind myself to look up and around at the cave because I was mostly focusing on where to put my feet so I wouldn't slip or twist an ankle. We did both slip at some point along the way but Karl says his slip doesn't qualify as a true fall because he didn't actually hit the ground like I did :o)

Bad Blogger!

2006-08-28T14:57:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry, I can't believe I'm neglecting our blog already!! Not much is new with us except that I'm getting older :o) I turned 28 on the 21st. We would have gone out to dinner to celebrate but Karl decided to share his cough with me so I got sick over the weekend while I was up in Washington, and Monday was the worst of it. We're both feeling better although this cough is trying it's hardest to hang on.

We did go up to Portland this weekend for dinner and a movie and some birthday shopping but I didn't find anything which was very sad because we were at Ann Taylor Loft which is my favorite! I was looking forward to some new work clothes but there wasn't anything that I just loved. Don't you hate that? When you go shopping for something specific and can't find anything at all!!

Our apartment is pretty much set in stone so I should have a new address to give out within the next couple of weeks. The new place allows pets so we are thinking about getting a dog. Karl's preference is an Australian Shepherd but they need way too much activity to be an apartment dog, so I think we're looking at Boxers. They are on the Top 25 list of apartment dogs and they're big enough that I would feel safer if Karl were ever gone. They are also good with kids so we are keeping that in mind for the future :o) I know quite a few people (online) who have them and they all rave about them. Once we are in a house we will probably look at getting an Australian Shepherd too. If I can remember how to do it, I'll post some pics so you know what kind of dogs we're talking about.

My ten year reunion is coming up in two weeks!! I can't believe it's been that long already! I still keep in touch with my close friends but it will be fun to see what everyone else has been up to. There were only about 75 in my graduating class so it's small enough that you pretty much knew everybody which was nice. I'm a little nervous about going (what will I wear?!?!) but I'm sure I'll be glad I did when it's over.

Karl and I are considering hiking at Mt. St. Helens this coming weekend. He says it's 14 miles and I told him to have fun without me :o) Of course I would go with him, but even when he's out of shape, he's still more in shape than I am. He's going to have to drag me up the mountain! We've actually been trying to go hiking all Summer and it just hasn't worked out. If we don't do that we may head to the Coast, we haven't been there since last year. Or maybe we'll do both!

We hope all is well with you, our family and friends, and we'd love to hear how you all are doing!

A new address - TBA

2006-08-08T19:52:00.000-07:00

I had the lovely job of apartment hunting this last weekend. It actually wasn't too bad since there were only three on my list because we would rather not pay more than we are now. The first one was too small, the second one didn't have anything opening up when we needed it, and the third one was juuuuust right (hmmm, is anyone else getting a craving for porridge?). There will be a little bit of overlap which is nice so we won't feel rushed to get out of our place and into the new one all in the same day. I will send out our new address as soon as everything is finalized. Other than that, it's just life as usual. Karl is still enjoying the job but not the commute, and I am doing a little bit of job hunting online. We are toying with the idea of me moving forward on plans for an online baby boutique that I have been dreaming of, but it would be in addition to any other job I do get. That way when we do decide to start our family, I won't be entirely out of work and by then it should be up and running smoothly. So we'll see, I am mostly just collecting information right now, but if anyone has an idea for a store name, let me hear it. Karl keeps vetoing most of my ideas, but he's a guy, what does he know :o) Well, he actually knows a lot, so I guess I'd be wise to listen to him!!

Relay For Life

2006-07-29T23:45:00.000-07:00

Well, we survived our two hours of walking for a good cause, and it was pretty fun. It was cooler than expected so we ran a lap to warm up first. Karl left me in the dust after the first hour so his boss and I strolled at a slower pace and chatted for the second hour. Then, at 12am, I was craving Taco Bell!! We had to settle for McDonalds but that's okay because your metabolism is higher just after exercise so that's the best time to eat, right? Right?? I imagine we'll do this again next year too!