Greetings from Portland, Oregon!

We made it here safe and sound! And it's been raining ever since! It really doesn't bother me, except for the bad hair (thanks Sis. Layton for the heads up!).

We've been settling in the last couple of days, unpacking, hanging out with the neighbors, and even bought new couches! We've had this one green love seat (which I really like), but we couldn't find another couch to match it. We desperately needed more seating...it was always awkward when home teachers would come over--we'd pull out our office chairs or table chairs so everyone would have place to sit. Anywho, pictures will be coming soon.
Our couches are very similar to this set...just imagine it in couch and loveseat form.

I am really liking Portland so far. Our neighbors, who are also LDS and starting chiropractic school, are really nice. Several of them helped us move in and others even came knocking on our door to meet us and introduce themselves! I was impressed. Not even in Wyview, where everyone in the complex is in your ward, would people introduce themselves. They seem like nice people.

I have also been tagged, so here it goes!

10 YEARS AGO I...
1. was a huge trouble maker
2. thought every boy I liked could possibly be my future husband (thank goodness they aren't!)
3. spent more time on the phone than doing my homework
4. never matched my socks because I thought it was a waste of time
5. was first chair for flute in band (this matches so well with #1, huh?)

FIVE THINGS ON MY TO DO LIST FOR TODAY/TOMORROW...
1. unpack more boxes
2. job hunt
3. switch over the power to our name
4. feed Penny
5. feed Michael

FIVE SNACKS THAT I ENJOY...
1. grapes
2. cheese (NOT nasty cheese or cheese product)
3. Dove chocolate
4. Avacado sandwiches (toast, avacado, garlic, salt)
5. smoothies

FIVE THINGS I WOULD DO IF I WERE A MILLIONAIRE...
1. Buy a house (too predictable, huh?) with an awesome kitchen
2. Pay off our student loans we just took out (woohoo, we made it until post-bachelor's to take these out...) and pay for the rest of Michael's schooling
3. Visit Romanian orphanages for an extended period of time/change someone's life
4. Buy some llamas and sheep, of course...who wouldn't?
5. Go to culinary school

FIVE PLACES I HAVE LIVED...
1. Woodbridge, VA
2. Tokyo, Japan
3. Las Vegas, NV
4. Provo, UT
5. Thayne, WY

FIVE JOBS I HAVE HAD
1. Custodial for KBYU (seriously one of the funnest jobs I've had)
2. Jello's wedding photographer
3. Dad's "secretary"
4. Home builder (...doing random stuff on that house we built and sold in Thayne)
5. Invitation/Announcement designer

I tag you.

And His Name Shall Be

RALPH!

Michael sold his silver Jetta before we moved up here to Wyoming so we could buy and fix up Carolyn (Michael's sis) & Gerry's blue Jetta. Since, the blue Jetta is practically fixed (it runs, but not completely smooth) I decided we should give it a name. It's just too much to say "the blue Jetta". Here's the conversation we had...

Me- How about Ralph?

Michael-Ralph?!? That's a wussy name.

Me- Nah ah!

Michael- It needs something more manly...

Me- Okay, my car will be named Ralph. =)

Michael- (Laughs at my stupidity and the fact that I am so attached to the name Ralph) I had a bus driver once named Ralph

Me- Then you know how good of a name it is.

Deanne chimes in- But that's a boy name

Me- Yeah...

Deanne- Isn't it a girl?

I don't know when cars began to be boys and girls, but then again I've never checked under the hood that far. Anyway, my car will no longer be an '01 Corolla. It's Ralph. Maybe Ralph and I will go for a ride later on....

Liar Liar Pants on Fire

So I lied. We're not moving today after all. The 12 hour journey has been postponed to Tuesday, because we found an apartment! Hooray! We've been wanting to rent in the same complex as Devin (Michael's friend who's also going to WSCC) but nothing has been available. As soon as we made our plans to go up early, they call and change our plans! --For the better of course.

I also finished my quilt! Thanks to Deanne (mother-in-law)! She let me use her sewing machine to finish the binding. I made a king size one for our queen bed, because Michael tends to be a blanket hog (although he claims I give him the covers).

This is the front. I designed the pattern, which turned out to be a pain in the butt with the quilt being so big. It also makes an optical illusion that it's not square, but it's square--I promise.


This is the back. It's harder than you think to make something look random. I also mixed up a few blocks when putting it together and there ended up being three black squares right in a row! Grr. Oh, well. If I hadn't told you, you might not have noticed....

ABC Me

I saw this on someone else's blog, so I copied it

A = ADVOCATE FOR: eating lots of chocolate whenever you feel like it
B = BEST FEATURE: um I like my ears?
C = COULDN'T DO WITHOUT: back massages and nice socks
D = DREAMS AND DESIRES: have kids and get over my fear of how that thing comes OUT, own my own business (however small or big), climb Mt. Fuji, and have someone name their kid after me
E = ESSENTIAL ITEM: cranberry-raspberry juice
F= FAVORITE PAST TIME: making stuff, whether it be food, crafts, or art
G = GOOD AT: cooking and organizing
H = HAVE NEVER TRIED: streaking or skinny dipping
I = IF I HAD A MILLION DOLLARS: I would totally buy some llamas and sheep
J = JUNKIE FOR: food and books that I never end up reading
K = KINDRED SPIRIT: what? oh, probably Michael. We're both tied blue-whites (Color Code personality test). I would say that's pretty rare.
L = LITTLE KNOWN FACT: I like the smell of bell peppers, but I don't like the taste of them.
M = MEMORABLE MOMENT: When we missed our own wedding luncheon because we decided to check into our hotel early (upon request of my parents so we wouldn't have to wait in line late that night after our reception) and there was tons of traffic on our way back. Everyone thought...you probably know what everyone thought...anyway. And for the record, nothing happened.
N = NEVER AGAIN WILL I: check into my hotel early on my wedding day
O = OCCASIONAL INDULGENCE: Buying new shoes while Michael is out of town
Q = QUOTE: "O be wise, what can I say more?"
R = REASON TO SMILE: when you've been caught...looking innocent goes a long way
S = SORRY ABOUT: buying new shoes while you where out of town
T = TAG SOME FRIENDS: that's dumb
U = UNINTERESTED IN: extreme fighting, doing the dishes, and fake nails
V = VERY SCARED OF: going to the bathroom in the woods...at night...alone
W = WORST HABIT: having the best intentions of doing something and forgetting
X = X MARKS MY IDEAL VACATION SPOT: somewhere I haven't been and especially somewhere where there's not a lot of people (I like camping...)
Y = YESTERYEAR DECADE OF CHOICE: 40's, they had cute shoes
Z = ZODIAC SIGN: Leo

We're Moving

Again. For the third time in four months. Portland, Oregon here we come!

Michael is going to Western States Chiropractic College for his Doctorate, and I am going to...well, I don't know yet! I am looking for a job (hopefully in the graphic design area)...so, if you have any suggestions on where to look that would be greatly appreciated. I have been looking on Craigslist, but my only problem is so many places want people with tons of experience, something I am looking to get.

We haven't found an apartment/house yet either, so we're going up a week early (we're leaving on Thursday and orientation is the next Thursday). We've been looking for the past 2 months or so, but can't seem to pre-pay for something we've never seen.

Besides getting ready to move again, I have been making a quilt for our bed and taking random pictures (which I would post, but the connection here is too slow for so much picture uploading). I got my quilt back from being quilted, and the only thing I have left to do is bind it (woohoo!). Too bad my sewing machine is no longer in operation. I only have a little more to do and it pooped out on me! hmph. It's at a "repair shop" right now (if you can call a 96-year-old man's house a repair shop). I am hoping it can't be fixed (or is too expensive to fix), because I already have one picked out that I want to get.I should really be more worried about my laptop that still doesn't turn on, but I'm not. I am kind of angry with it and want to leave it outside for a skunk to poop on. That'll teach it a lesson. I sent it in to get it fixed, just for it to come back in the same condition.

Thank you for letting me vent. I'll let you know when we've moved into our super-cute apartment, and I'll tell you about my super-awesome job. Till then, toodles.

Fearing the Inevitable

I just got back from tying quilts with the Thayne Ward Relief Society. I have never felt so young and able in all my life, but at the same time I am really not looking forward to getting old! The whole time all I heard was "Oh, my arthritus"..."My bones are killin' me"..."I have got to keep usin' my hands or else I'm gonna lose'em"..."So, how did Dorothy's hip replacement go?"..."If I sit for very long I can't move!"..."Well, the great grandkids..." AH!

Someone please find the fountain of youth or kill me before I have to wear diapers.

Summer Stuff

We're in Las Vegas right now, melting away in the 110 degree weather. Kevin, our newest nephew, had his baby blessing last Sunday.
As you can tell, Michael enjoys Kevin. He really likes babies. The pressure is on...and from more than just him... Who knows, this could be us in a few years.

Michael can't wait to go back to Star Valley and get out of this heat, but I'd rather stay here. Hmph...compromise compromise. My parents have had him busily working on the Harry Potter room (he cut through a wall into some dead space and made a small storage room under the stairs) and both of their cars.

Here's some random pictures from this summer for the lack of anything better to post.

Olivia enjoying the water from the hose (as she sits in a puddle that an electrical cord is running through..)Fatty sandwich for such a small girl. This was at SevenPeaks a few weeks ago. Michael worked for the guy that owned the place so we got free tickets and took some family.
My birthday! With my awesome cake I made. A lot of people think it's sad that I make my own birthday cake, but for me it's sort of a tradition...I have been doing it since I was 12.

My license also expired on my birthday, and we didn't have a chance to renew it until we moved back to Wyoming. On our move up, Michael was exhausted and we were afraid he was going to fall asleep, so we switched drivers. I was driving for all of 5 minutes. The first time I have ever been pulled over I had an expired license. Great. I wasn't speeding, but my window tint is illegal in Utah (but not Nevada where it's licensed). I guess he figured he may get a drug bust or something with the suspicious dark tint and a paranoid driver that brakes around cops. He only found the two of us, and we were totally upfront about the license so he was nice and let us go!
And the newest addition to our family...Puinea! ("penny") Our guinea pig. She really enjoys grass hay, lettuce, carrots, back massages, and long walks on the beach. This was a bit of an early birthday gift for me. I have wanted a guinea pig for so long. While I was visiting in Las Vegas when Kevin was born, a family in my parents' ward was giving away this darling thing for free! Cage and all.Playing around with Jared's kids...




Shooting with Dad. I got the 10 (bullseye) at 10 yards. Don't try to rob our house!



The end.