Resuscitation - gasp!

I've been told my blog is on life support.

So... it's time to bring it back to life! I don't have the same time I had in the previous year to post about the day-to-day happenings here, but I'll do my best to at least do an update now and then. Here's a quick run-down of life these days:

1.  I took a new full-time job. I am now the Associate Director of the program I taught for last year. I really enjoy the work I am doing, but unfortunately it means I commute for an hour-and-a-half each day and I sit in front of the computer for many hours a week. I'm still trying to figure out how to balance the longer work hours with the day-to-day chores of making dinner and exercising.

2.  Ted and I have taken many small trips over the past few months. Since returning from summer vacation we have travelled to Colorado for a mountain wedding, D.C. for Ted's workshop at the Holocaust Museum, Hocking Hills for a friend's birthday party, Chattanooga for my mom's Iron Man triathalon, and Indianapolis as chaperones on a field trip with 40 Chinese college students. Phew! We are coveting our weekends at home these days. Here are a few photos from our various outings:

COLORADO:

Beaver Creek, Colorado

WASHINGTON, D.C.:

Maze exhibit at the National Building Museum

OHIO:

Hocking Hills State Park, Ohio

This pose is called "The Meer."
(Hocking Hills, OH)

TENNESSEE:

Mom and her teammates at the Iron Man starting line
in Chattanooga, TN

Ted's favorite site in Chattanooga

INDIANA:

Indianapolis Motor Speedway - home of the annual Indianapolis 500

3.  I've been doing a few little updates around the house when and where I can. I haven't finished or photographed all of them, but I will share one little photo wall with you:

I printed some square Instagram photos and hung them (along with other
things like wedding invitations and birthday cards) on leftover
picture frame hanging wire.

I also picked up these cute placemats at the
Crate&Barrel store in Indianapolis.

4.  Coming up:  

a)  This Saturday is our 2nd Annual Dia de los Muertos party. Today I am getting my Day of the Dead candles and decorations out of the basement and decorating the house. Later in the week I'll make the sugar skulls and the pan de muertos (bread of the dead). 

b)  In November Ted and I will travel to Puerto Rico for our friends' wedding. We cannot wait for this mini-vacation, although I have to admit that I will miss cooking a turkey and hosting Thanksgiving, as has been our tradition for the past several years.

c)  In December we will travel to Virginia for Ted's dad's birthday, and we will travel to Oregon for Christmas. I'm glad we'll get to see both families, especially our new niece/nephew (coming in November!) and my grandparents.

So that's my life for the past, present, and foreseeable future. I'll try to get another blog post in next weekend - I promise.

Central Oregon

Tomorrow we begin our long drive back to Ohio. It's been a great visit here in Oregon! Last post I shared some photos of our time in the Portland area. This post is all about Bend and central Oregon - a very different place though it's in the same state.

Bend is high desert whereas western Oregon is an evergreen rainforest. The climate here is more similar to Boulder than to Portland. And the smells! Warm volcanic rock... dry juniper... wood smoke and pine sap. I make sure to stop and take a deep breath from time to time.

The purpose of coming to Bend was to spend some time with my grandparents who have recently moved out of their house and into an apartment. We watched a lot of World Cup soccer with Grandpa and took a walk down to the river with Grandma. My mom and I played a little piano concert in the lobby of their building, and Ted and I drove my grandma to Sisters where we had lunch and visited the fabric store.

Ted and I also did a couple hikes - one above Tumalo Falls and the other around the Newberry National Volcanic Monument near La Pine. Our cats have been getting to know their 'cousins' - and fighting through the sliding glass doors. We've also observed lots of wildlife, from deer in the backyard and raccoons stealing cat food to lizards running over lava rock and quails skittering across the road.

Like I said, it's been a great trip, and we're already looking forward to the next time we can be here...

an excellent restaurant, if you're ever in Bend

inside Spork

curry, chilaquiles, and thai noodles - all superbly delicious

Grandpa enjoying my mom's piano playing

Grandma bought us lunch in Sisters

Our cats feel right at home here:

kitty cousins, George and Figo

backyard denizen

sky, sky, SKY!

poppies

and more poppies!

 Tumalo Falls area:

this photo is unedited, just FYI

Newberry National Volcanic Monument:

Grandpa does NOT do selfies, thankyouverymuch.

And that's it! Tomorrow morning we shove off, leaving all this gloriousness behind us.

Western Oregon

Before heading out to Oregon for summer vacation, I made a list of the things I wanted to be sure to do:

1. Spend time with family and catch up with old friends
2. Eat at Burgerville
3. Fly a kite, eat pizza, and buy fudge at Cannon Beach
4. Hike the Gorge's Eagle Creek trail up to Tunnel Falls
5. Drink a huckleberry milkshake at Government Camp
6. Visit Grandma and Grandpa in their new home
7. Walk/Run/Bike/Kayak/Hike in the sunshine around Bend

These are some of my favorite things to do in Oregon, and I'm happy to say we've hit them all during our visit!

The first four things on the list occurred in Western Oregon (Portland, the coast, the Gorge, and Mt. Hood). Here are some photos taken along the way...

Old friend, New baby

Parents, waiting for pizza!

Haystack Rock

Lest you think this photo was spontaneous and easy (well, it was spontaneous, but it took a few tries), here is the sequence of photos that led to this one great shot.

First attempt:

Crooked horizon, bad timing

Second attempt:

We hit it this time, then I almost face-planted in the ocean. Thankfully my brother did not assume I was trying to tackle
him, and he actually saved me from a cold, wet fate.

Brother and I waiting in line at the fudge shop... we find ways to amuse ourselves.

Eagle Creek Trail, Punchbowl Falls

I'm fairly confident I don't have to explain to you why I wanted to do this hike! The pictures speak for themselves, and while we didn't actually make it all the way to Tunnel Falls (6 miles in), it was a beautiful day to walk in the woods!

I did not get a photo of the huckleberry milkshake, so instead I'll share this
photo of the most delicious strawberry milkshake in the world. 

That covers a lot of the Western Oregon portion of our trip.  Later, Central Oregon!

Road Trip!

Whew! It's been a while since I've posted, eh?

Ted and I have been in Oregon for a few weeks now, after driving here from Ohio with our two cats. The drive went pretty smoothly, with the cats resigning themselves to their fate and sleeping most of the way. We had to free them from the cage on the 3rd day in the car, when Minnie decided she was just not having it anymore.

I mean, can you blame her?

She was basically Milo's pillow for three and half days.

Driving cross country can be both exciting and tedious at the same time. The first day went by quickly as we left Ohio, crossed Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and entered Nebraska. We were tired at the end of the day, but we felt like we had made a lot of progress.

The second day, not so much.  Day 2 was like:  Nebraska.... Nebraska.... Nebraska...  Oh yay! Finally! Wyoming! ...Wyoming.... Wyoming.... Wyoming.... more Wyoming... Oh god when will it end?? Wyoming.... OMG! Utah! Utah! I can't believe it! Utah!

It was beautiful, but it felt like it took forfreakingever.

Anyway, we were tired of being in the car by the end of Day 2, so we made a last minute decision to stop in Boise on Day 3 rather than drive all the way through to Oregon. There we met up with some old friends who put us up for the night and showed us around town. We love Boise!

Please excuse my road-weary appearance and focus on C. She looks cute.

We peeked inside the capital building (yes, we are nerds), and I got to try out the panorama feature on my phone for the first time.

After that we did more normal things:

Well, semi-normal.

We hiked up this huge hill (in our flip flops) in Camelsback Park in the Hyde Park District. 

The views were awesome. 

On the final day of our trip (Day 4), we drove from Boise to Portland. And my heart swelled to 10 times its size when we crossed the border!

Ahhhhhh..... :)

This may look dreary to you, but it looks like heaven to me!! :)

In the next post, I'll put up some pictures of our adventures here in Oregon. We'll be leaving to head back to Ohio by the end of the week, so we're doing our best to enjoy it here while we can!