Thanksgiving in Springfield

Happy Thanksgiving!  This year we hosted our first Thanksgiving not cramped in a tiny kitchen or shameless using our landlord's full size oven to cook a bird.  It was excellent.

Turkey Day started at 4:30am for Cliff and me.  I was off to work by 5:00am for the Turkey Stuffer 5K.  Cliff was awesome and got up with me to help load boxes upon boxes of bananas and pointsettas as I didn't want to leave them in the car overnight for fear that they would freeze.  After I left, Cliff rowed for an hour (as Thanksgiving is the first day of the Holiday Challenge!).  While I was at work signing in volunteers, setting up canopies, pumping water, cheering on runners, and doing other random stuff; Cliff was cooking a turkey, two pies, and generally making the house smell and feel cozy.

Despite the larger venue we had a small crew again this year.  Kathy and Jill went back east this year to hang out with family.  At this point, we have spent quite a few Friendsgivings with them so it was odd not to have Jill taking photos of food preparation and Kathy laughing at stupid things I say.  We missed them! With this said,  they were there in spirit as Cliff made Jill's famous chocolate pie.  There is no turning back for us.  Every Thanksgiving from here on out will include Jill's chocolate pie. 

We were happy as Brie made the journey down from Portland.  She brought a really amazing salad.  It consisted of roasted butternut squash over mixed field greens with tahini dressing.  It was awesome.  She also brought her newest craft items and we got to see her do some pretty cool needle felting. I think she could sell her creations at Saturday market.  I would buy one!  It is really wonderful to have family near and it is always fun to hang out with Brie! 

My rockin' coworker, Jana,  also came as all her family is back in Indiana.  She outdid herself. Despite working the crazy morning shift for the Turkey Stuffer she also managed to make a green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, and crescent rolls.  What?!  I don't know how she did it.  Several folks at work commended me on hosting Thanksgiving and cooking a turkey despite working that morning.  I corrected each of them and and told them that Cliff is the master cook/baker in our house.  We are all much happier because of it too.  I  pick the menu.  I buy the groceries.  Cliff does all the hard stuff.  I eat happily.  We are a great team.  

All and all we had the following: turkey with gravy, Cliff's homemade cranberry sauce, the squash and greens salad, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, rolls, wine, cider, sweet potato pie, and Jill's chocolate pie.  It was a feast.

Rudy also had a great time.  There were more people to pay attention to him and more food being dropped on the kitchen floor.  This photo shows his excitement.  Now just imagine him butt swishing and prancing like a show pony all around the house.  So good. 

After eating we chatted about family holiday traditions, looked at Black Friday coupons, and watched Wings on Netflix.  It was quite.  it was relaxing.  It was just awesome.  

The following morning Cliff and Brie went on a 7.5 mile run/hike up and around Mt. Pisgah.  I tried to take left over race food to a local food bank.  In that process I also found myself in Target finally getting my hands on a $6 copy of Pitch Perfect.  Victory. 

Gotta love Thanksgiving.   

October

Holy cow the past few weeks and months have been crazy.  Absolutely nutty.  October 2013 surpassed the previous craziest month of our life which was June 2008.  In June 2008 I completed my graduate research, graduated from grad school, had a fake wedding, moved across country with two cars and three lovely siblings in 10 days only to have Cliff immediately start grad school.  All of this took place in about 20 days.  So now imagine the nuttiness of this past October.  So many really amazing/stressful things happened.  I wish that I could dedicate more time to each event but instead I will present them as fast as they felt to me.  Get ready.

Mom and Pam Visited Oregon

I can't describe how happy I was to have these two wonderful women here for a week.  They visited the first week in October and did a little of everything Eugene/Springfield has to offer: eating out, shopping, bowling, exploring the mountains, visiting the coast, packing, hanging out, and the list goes on and on.  We celebrated Pam's birthday at the Timber Bowl then Falling Sky Brew Pub and four days later celebrated Cliff's birthday at the Falling Sky Deli.  I sadly wasn't able to take more than one day off from work but that ended up ok.  Mom and Pam explored during the day and we hung out at night.  On the weekend, we went to Saturday Market, drove up 126, had a picnic lunch after wine tasting at Sweet Cheeks Winery, thrift shopped, ate, and generally tried to do it all.   I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown the whole time due to the next event to be outlined and they helped to keep me sane, laughing, and well fed.  I love them and can't wait for them to come back.

We Bought A House!

That's right, we not only moved but moved into something we now own.  AH!  We had been looking at houses for a few months and had just about given up (seriously, we had to come to terms with throwing in the towel for another year when we found the one).  After seeing 50+ homes, we walked into an old homestead house in the Washburn and fell in love.  It honestly felt like our house the moment we stepped in the door.  The next day we put in an offer, two days later accepted a counter offer, three days later visited a mortgage broker, had an inspection, appraisal, and finally signed papers.  The whole time we were holding our breath and trying not to get excited as we know things go wrong with buying houses all the time.  We tried to keep a level, non-emotional head.  The whole whirlwind process took less than a month.  I discovered something about myself through this process. Apparently my body shuts down and sleeps when I am that overwhelmed.  Seriously.  We would meet with our real estate agent or mortgage broker and afterwards I would go home, stuff my face with something in our cabinets and then fall asleep to be dead to the world until the next day.  I did this several times a week!  I was not a good partner to Cliff in late September/early October as I was asleep for most of it.  Thankfully we are past that now.  We signed the papers on Cliff's birthday and moved in four days later with the help of amazing friends.

The date on the house says 1905 but the paperwork at the City actually dates it to 1890.  The home was once used as as a residence for mill workers and then a barber.  We are only the fourth owners of the home.  The lovely woman we bought the house from had lived here for over 35 years and did an amazing job keeping this old house in wonderful shape.  We are so incredibly lucky.

This is all you get photo and description wise as there will be more to come in the upcoming weeks.  We are 100% unpacked but only about 70% moved in.  When you go from a tiny cottage to a three bedroom house there are lots of opportunities for more furniture.  We are heading to Ikea next week to hopefully acquire a few last items that will complete the picture (rug, chair, bookshelf, etc.)  Then we will post more photos and stories.

Events at Work

Between October 12th and October 25th at work we had a first time community event, two park grand openings, a day long service project for staff and volunteers, and a major three day event.  Did I mention this was as we were moving into the house and trying to get out of the cottage?  Did I mention that my boss went into labor the morning of the major three day event making me the new interim Special Events Supervisor until March?  Did I mention that I love these events and that I was having a really hard time balancing my time between work, moving into a new house, and actually being a person? To top it all off, the weekend of the 25th I had a multi-day Board retreat for an organization that I am a part of up the coast.  Crazy.  I'm so thankful to be on the backend of the stress filled two weeks.

Cliff and I Celebrated 5 Years and I Paddled In A Pumpkin 

On October 19th, Cliff and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary.  Time flies by!  To celebrate, Cliff was amazing as we left our new house filled with boxes to drive up to Tualatin, Oregon so that I could participate in the West Coast Giant Pumpkin Regatta.  I lucked out back in March as I met the organizer and they let me take one of the spots for the event and since then I have been telling everyone I could about it.  I love pumpkins.  I love fall.  I love events.  I love my supportive husband.   This is everything I love wrapped up into one. You had to be dressed in costume so I bought a sexy bumble bee outfit from Value Village and like a sane person added black leggings and wool top to it.  The sexy bumble bee costume turned into a rational, normal person bumble bee costume.  I picked the outfit as it would allow me to be warm and swim with ease should I tip out of a 1,000 pound pumpkin in public.

We arrived in Tualatin, ate hotdogs and hamburgers, drank fresh cider, and ate apple cider donuts (you can't find those often out here in the PNW!).  The event consisted of four heats: two were speed races and two were challenges.  I was in the last challenge heat and was so nervous.  By the time that I paddled to the starting line, the other paddlers told me that I needed a ball and a flag.  What?  So I paddled back and minutes later was given the items but not a description of what they were for.  As I paddled back to the starting line my mind was so focused on not tipping out or throwing up because of excitement that I missed the instructions on what we were supposed to do.  Whoops.  No worries as I kinda watched what others were doing and tried to follow.  I understood the rules to be take the ball and keep it in front of you as you paddle around a bouy in the middle of the lake.  To do this I would throw the ball for a bit, pick it up, throw it a little further, move it forward with my paddle a bit, throw it again, repeat.  I didn't come in first and I didn't come in last.  Just what I wanted.  It was amazing.  I was like smiley, dopey idiot happily paddling around in the middle of a lake.   When I got out, Cliff met me at the finish line and laughingly said "I like how you decided to cheat the whole way."  "What?!?  I didn't cheat!" is that my brain was yelling.  Cliff informed me that the rules were announced that once we did the initial throw we were not allowed to pick up the ball again until after we passed the finish line.  We were to juggle it with out paddle the whole way.  Get out?!?  I was mortified and felt really bad.  I don't like to be a cheater.  It took a little of the victory out of my step.  I felt so bad that I hunted down the event organizer (who so kindly gave me the opportunity) to apologize for my rude interpretation of the game.  He laughed and said it was totally good.  He in fact had not even noticed.  Whew.  Kathy and Jill, the wonderful friends that they are, drove down to cheer me on.  We hung out for a bit then we all went our separate ways.  Cliff and I topped off the evening with dinner at the Urban Hopworks pub in Portland for their happy hour and then returned home.  We ended the day with a 44oz Sonic chocolate banana milkshake.  It was an amazing Saturday and a pretty fun way to spend an anniversary.  For the next one, I need to support Cliff as he  geeks out and gets to do something fun.  I'm a lucky gal.

October was crazy but really wonderful.  In addition to the events listed above we also got to spend a morning with the amazing Katie (Schumm) McFaddin as she was in from Boston.  It was only an hour or so but it was so great to catch up!  We also celebrated our first Halloween in the house.  We have never had trick or treaters at our previous places but this year we had about 70.  It was interesting.  All in all, I'm thankful that I kept my sanity.

The Holidays in Oregon

First off, happy new year!  I hope that everyone's 2013 is off to a good start.  It is hard to believe that the holidays are over (although Cliff keeps telling me that they aren't over until this upcoming weekend when we take down the tree and decorations).  This was an odd holiday season as this was the first time we were away from the east coast and on our own for Christmas.

Cliff and I did an excellent job of getting into the Christmas spirit.  We went with friends to see holiday lights (see Coos Bay post), we watched holiday movies, ate chocolate, listened to Christmas music, decorated the whole house, and drank egg nog.  We were in good shape until Christmas eve.  We were really homesick and sad.  So we made dinner, chatted with our lovely family, watched "It's A Wonderful Life", and headed for bed.  On Christmas we finished opening presented (we snuck a few ahead of schedule) and packed up to head to Portland to spend the night with Kathy, Jill, and our friend Zoe who flew up from California.  We were actually supposed to go up to Portland before Christmas but postponed the trip as Zoe's flight was cancelled and she came in a few days late.  I'm really glad we changed our plans as spending time with friends helped to make a really nice Christmas.  Kathy, Jill and Zoe made a delicious lunch/dinner (ham, vegetables, bread and cheese, green bean casserole, stuffing, mimosas, and homemade cookies!).  We Skyped with our friends Sam and Steve in Pittsburg.  Afterwards we all went to the movie to see Les Miserables.  The theater was packed.  I love going to the movies on Christmas.  We all really enjoyed the movie and cried a lot...well....I cried a lot.  I get so emotional with musicals.  They are magical to me.  After the movie we opened presents and ate Chinese food.  It was a solid day.

We came back from Portland on Wednesday so that I could work the rest of the week.  Cliff and I were both looking forward to the weekend as REI was having their scratch and dent sale.  We really want to start backpacking but are missing a few essential items and we had Christmas money burning a hole in our pocket.  We got there 2 1/2 hours before the doors opened and we were about the 70th or so folks in line.  It was cold but dry and a friend waited with us so the time went by pretty quickly.  Once inside, Cliff did it.  He found the exact tent we wanted.  The tent sells for about $350 and we got ours for $70 because a non-essential zipper was broken.  Totally excited!  We also got a fuel bottle for our future stove and I got a fuzzy fleece jacket.  We were pretty proud of ourselves.  We put the tent up in the living room quite a few times that night.  Rudy was very confused.  We are now a few steps closer to our first spring backpacking trip.

Last night we went out to dinner with a friend from work and stopped in at our neighbor's for a get together.   The clock struck midnight as Cliff and I were going to bed.  We decided to ring in the new year with sleep.  This morning we got up and Cliff suggested that we climb Spencer Butte.  It has been dry this week (awesome) and the sun was out.  Everyone and their mom, brother, cousin, and dog was at the butte today.  We all wanted to take in the view and the sunshine on the first day of 2013.  There was quite a bit of frost and even some ice on the butte.  I took a photo of some as it was a cool shape. It was clear and we could see the Three Sisters and even up to Mt. Hood.  The whole hike was relaxing and wonderful.

I've failed to mention that Rudy had an awesome Christmas.  He got a new bed, treats, a long and leggy Santa monkey, a Rudolph rope/squeak toy (via Kathy and Jill), and a new tie (via mom).  He has been a happy camper.  He won't leave his new bed and when he does it is to either eat, go to the bathroom, or frolic with his new toys.  You can't see them all, but he is sitting on top of them in this photo.  He likes to snuggle with them.

As for the new year, 2012 was full of transitions for us and for the family.  We are looking forward to 2013 and the new challenges and the opportunities that await.  We don't really do resolutions but Cliff and I have a few hopes for the upcoming year:

• Spend more time outside
• Start backpacking (the goal would be once a month in the dry times)
• Be more active and eat healthier (we both have quite a big sweet tooth)
• Finally get the dog to walk properly on a leash
• Cliff wants to row another marathon before April
• I want to improve my ability to balance work and life

May the new year bring you all lots of love, laughter, prosperity, and happiness!  Bring it on 2013. 

November

What happened to November?  The whole month flew by.  Seriously.  Where did it go?  A lot happened in those 30 little days.  In addition to turning 29 years old (let the count down to 30 begin!) and the 2nd annual Eugene Friendsgiving,  Cliff and I also did a bunch of little things.  For example, we purchased quite a few end-of-season fall bulbs and planted them in end-of-season clearance bamboo pots.  Cliff really loves flowers. 

We retrained our dog where to go to the bathroom in the yard as apparently somehow he forgot after doing it several times a day for over a year. Cliff kicked his climbing into the next gear of awesomeness and I started swimming again.   I passed my six month mark at work and now have full health benefits!  This is a good thing as I'm pretty sure I need glasses.  I helped to organize a 5K and Cliff ran in it.  And I even got my first cold of the year.  We were productive.

We also received quite a few generous and awesome gifts in the mail.  Birthdays are fun.  First came the Virginia Ham.

Then, I received a super-cool Fascinator (one of those little hats that British people wear) from Mom and Pam for my birthday.  Awesome.  Mom, Pam, and I had a good time trying them on when I was in Maryland between wedding weekends.  Mom bought one as well and now for fun we wear them when we video chat.  Again, awesome.

Cliff received his birthday crock.  We can now make homemade sauerkraut and pickle anything we can get our hands on.  It is beautiful.  This week were are going to try our first batch after we buy two cabbages.  Let's be honest, the process will warrant a whole post so get excited.

We want to thank everyone for the birthday messages, cards, gifts, and love that have been sent our way over the last two months.  We are totally spoiled.

Oh, did I mention that Cliff also grew a mustache and soul patch for Movember?  Cause he did.  In case you have been wondering what is up with all of the mustaches running around town, men are coming together to show support and promote awareness for men's health issues such as prostate and testicular cancer.  They are doing it the best way they know how...by growing facial hair.  Many of the male teachers at Cliff's school decided to take the plunge and see what their faces looked like with a 'stash.  Cliff shaved after the official Men of Movember celebration on Thursday but I think we are both curious now to see what he would look like with a full beard.  Hummmm...do I sense a winter break project?

Lots of love to all and happy December!

Turkey Day

Happy Thanksgiving ya'll!  I know it is two days after turkey day but better late than never.  We were really lucky as we got to celebrate with Kathy, Jill, and Brie. So much food.  It was glorious.  If only I could have taken one photo that wasn't blurry or missing part of someone.  Whoops.

 Hope you all had a great day!

Life Is Beautiful

From September 28th - October 9th Cliff and I were lucky to be on the east coast to celebrate the weddings of two great couples and spend time with family and friends.  It was amazing.  Lots of smiles.   Plus, I got to dance.  Sometimes I even got to dance with Cliff.  It was a pretty epic week.

Part I: Sam and Steve's Wedding

We took the redeye out of Portland on Thursday night so that we could get into Pittsburgh with enough time to join into some pre-wedding activities.  We didn't sleep at all.  Maybe two hours of bad napping at the most.  We did get quite a few Biscoff cookies so that helped.  Kathy and Jill lovingly picked us up at the airport. What did we do first?  Cracker Barrel of course!  We don't have them around here and I miss then dearly.  We ate biscuits, hash browns, gravy.  You know all the essentials.  We stocked up with cheap candy and went to go get our nails done.

Cliff went with the boys to run errands and Sam and the bridesmaids got manicures and pedicures.  How girly!  It's been a really long time since I've had a pedicure and I was really ticklish.  Also, it was pretty funny as in college Kathy, Jill, Sam, and I were together all the time and never once was getting our nails done a considered activity.  Was not on our radar.  I think it was more fun because it was such a foreign group activity.  Also, BIG thank you to Jill who is letting me steal some of her photos to post as I only took one Sam and Steve wedding photo the whole time we were in Pennsylvania.

The wedding was at this beautiful farm (pond, donkeys, rolling hills, geese, silos, awesome barn).  The best part is that the bridal party got to sleep onsite in one big house. Slumber party!  Sam and Steve grilled out for all of us at the rehearsal dinner.  It was really nice to be able to hang out with everyone.  With very limited sleep, Cliff and I still managed to stay up until 10:00pm.  When we woke up the next morning we felt like new people.  Seriously.  It was like Cliff and I had finally arrived at the party.

The wedding was so beautiful.  I cried a whole lot.  Sam and Steve are wonderful together and we had all been waiting for the day when they finally got married. Sam was glowing and Steve was a dressed up version of his amazing self.  The setting was unbelievably beautiful and the food was super tasty.  They did a family style dinner with brisket, chicken, grilled veggies from the family farm, mac and cheese, pumpkin tortellini, mashed squash, and roasted potatoes.  I ate like a pig but who's really surprised.  We also got to see a real life cookie table in action!  We heard about this PA/HH tradition at our fake wedding back in 2008 as our co-couple was from that area.  Well, let me tell you.  I'm totally sold on cookies tables as they are amazing.  Sam's aunts baked thousands of cookies in preparation for the big day.  Thousands!  I sadly didn't get to eat any (so many of them hand nuts/touched nuts) but Cliff said it was the most consistently delicious array of cookies he had ever had.  And that's a compliment.  As if the day wasn't already good enough, THERE WAS SO MUCH DANCING!  I love to dance.  I'm kinda bad at it but that night I didn't care.  I danced like I was back at Emerson as a freshman at Hand Me Down Night.  I was a dancing machine.  Dancing. Machine.  I was sore the next day.  I had so much fun.  The best part, Cliff danced with me for two and a half songs!  We didn't dance that much together at our own wedding.  We hadn't danced together that much since junior year of high school (after which Cliff knew I liked him so he stopped wooing with dancing as he really hates it).  The whole night was magical.

Oh, there was also a photo booth.  That was pretty fun too.

Part II: Time with the Family

The next day we dropped Kathy and Jill off at the airport, rented another car (a Ford Focus), and drove the five and a half hours back to Maryland.  We ate our take home caramel apples at a rest stop someplace about an hour north of the PA/MD border.

The following day Cliff flew back to Oregon as he had work and I got to spend time with Mom and Pam.  It was really wonderful to spend quality time with them.  Over the next four days we played slots at the new casino at Anne Arundel Mills, installed a new front gate on Nanny's fence, drove to Virginia to eat lunch with Dad and Grandma, visited Arlington, shopped, ate Sweet Frog frozen yogurt, and celebrated Pam's birthday at the Gaylord Hotel.  I didn't take nearly enough photos but look these happy faces!

I also got to meet Mom's new dog, Sam.  He is a big guy (about 150lbs) but is really sweet.  He just wants to lay on the cold bathroom floor and be pet.  Weanie and Wibble are falling in line and you can tell that they like him too.

I wish there had been more time but it was really wonderful just to hang out and talk.  Next time we will need to go on an adventure.  I'm trying to talk them into coming out to Oregon.  My fingers are crossed.

I also need to mention that Mom and Pam saved the day quite a few times by lovingly taking three trips to the airport.  Thank you!

Part III: Andrea and Joe's Wedding

As if the trip wasn't already awesome enough we got to celebrate another fantastic couple.  Andrea and Joe got hitched and we got to be a part of it.  Sweet.

Nicole and I got to see Andrea and Joe's new apartment (nice work guys), get our nails done, and help put together the wedding flowers.  Cliff took his second redeye in eight days and got back into town just in time to put up directional signage and be apart of the rehearsal dinner.  Cliff did a reading and I was lucky enough to be a bridesmaid along with Nicole and Andrea's fun friend Cat.  I sadly didn't take any photos leading up to the wedding but Cliff took a few shots from the front row during the ceremony and then various folks used our camera to document the day.  Score.

Andrea looked beautiful.  Joe was so handsome.  It was a little cold (in the low 50's after being in the 80's and 70's all week) but that didn't matter.  We are all really happy to have Joe officially apart of the Lyddane clan.  The day was so much fun.  We got to see family that we haven't seen in years.  Plus, there was more dancing.  The Wileys and the Minters really know how to break it down.  Even the Lyddane men got into the action.  And I got to dance with Cliff yet again (thank you Stephen for documenting!).  Dancing makes me so happy.  Oh, we all also got to hear how Stephen has the most amazing, beautiful hair ever.  Seriously, both women and men were jealous.  I heard several conversations.  It was awesome.

Once again, the food was delicious.  We seriously lucked out.  For the rehearsal we got Beefalo Bob's BBQ (I miss BBQ soooooo much!).   For the wedding, there were tons of appetizers (crab drip, artichoke dip, various bruschetta, zucchini fritters, and something with tuna).  I sampled them all except for the tuna as I was never able to corner a waiter while they still had them on their tray. That was just the beginning as we also had salad, chilean sea bass on grits, and filet with mashed potatoes.  Best filet ever in my opinion. And the cake was chocolate and raspberry (very Andrea).  I ate two pieces plus several chocolate covered strawberries. Also, I got two shirley temples.  Always a good day when you have a shirley temple.  Apparently I like to eat like a pig at all weddings.

I was really sad to leave as the trip had been amazing.  I had a smile on my face almost the entire time (hey...a girl has got to eat and sleep).

It is hard to believe that four years ago yesterday Cliff and I got hitched.  Weddings make me happy.  Being married rocks.  Seeing friends and family also rocks.  Life is beautiful.