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.

Safety Token

My work has a safety incentive program that involves giving people safety tokens when you notice them doing things that are in fact safe.  Well, I had a safety token and this week I cashed it in for one sweet deal.  We are getting close to the end of the program so once higher value items (3-5 tokens) are being discounted to get people with only one or two tokens (like me) to act.  I scored.  We are now the proud owners of a 15" Pampered Chef Pizza Stone!  How cool is that? 

The only problem...it doesn't fit into our stupidly small oven.  Ha.  Oh well.  We will save it until we move and get a normal sized oven again.  Squee!  I'm still really excited.

Also, to put a cherry on top, I have received two more over the last few days.  I think I have my eye on a P.F. Chang's gift certificate.  Keep you posted. 

Rudy's New Friend

Rudy had a very exciting morning.  He has a new friend.  Huxley, a lab/pit/rottweiler/etc. mix, is visiting the main house for the next few days.  Apparently Huxley might not totally be comfortable playing with other dogs so there was a littler nervousness when Rudy and Huxley first met.  In typical Rudy fashion he just ran away as fast as he could until he was sure Huxley wasn't going to attack him.  Within 15 minutes they were fast friends.  They ran.  They played.  They tired themselves out so much that they had to take to playing while lying on their sides and backs.  It was too stinking funny.

Perhaps the funniest thing was that Rudy has internalized how Cliff plays with him and is now using those skills to take down other dogs.  Cliff will try to touch Rudy's front paws when they play.  Rudy doesn't like it so he tries to kick them behind him.  Eventually Rudy just ends up going down on his front elbows.  Well, sure enough, our genius dog started going after Huxley's paws in the same way today.  Did it work?  Heck yes!  He was able to briefly best a bigger dog.  We think that made him happy.  It sure made Cliff and I laugh.

Amazing or Gross?

The other day Cliff and I were doing our grocery shopping in Walmart and as we walked down one of the aisles Cliff gasped.  Sometimes he does this when we go grocery shopping as he excited over the cost of rhubarb or sugar going back to a 5lbs. bag.  This time he waved me over excitedly to show me something in the peanut butter section.  I thought it was pretty cruel as there is never anything I can eat there.  The closest thing I have to peanut butter is sunflower seed butter and the only place that sells it is Trader Joe's.  And I love them for it.

Imagine my surprise when I see the words Biscoff written on the little peanut butter shaped jar.  My mind was boggled.  Why is Biscoff mixed with peanut butter?  I love Biscoff!  I bet that is amazing.  I hate being allergic to nuts!  So I grumped and began to walk away when Cliff happily let me know that no peanuts are involved.  Only Biscoff.  Once again I was boggled.  What is this new Biscoff stuff?  That's right....Biscoff spread.

I know I have already documented my love of Biscoff cookies on the blog (Biscoffs and Bravery).  They sersioudly make me really happy so of course we bought a jar of the crazy stuff.  I opted for the plain instead of crunchy as I needed to start with the must basic form of Biscoff spread. What is it like you ask?  It is like a liquid cookie.  Which is at one time simply amazing and yet kinda weird.  Oily goo spread isn't suppose to taste like my favorite cookie. 

I've eaten it on toast and on pretzels.  It is good but the texture/favor combo really kinda weirds me.  My brain wants to think it is really gross while my taste buds think it is awesome.  I'm torn.  What are your thoughts? 

Aldo,

Dad's Oregon Visit

Dad came to visit us this summer.  He arrived last Tuesday and left yesterday morning.  We tried to cram fun activities around our work and volunteer schedules. Dad spent Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday hanging around campus taking in the U of O scene.  On the first day he went shopping at the Duck Store so that he would look like a native.  He did a good job.  As you can see we now all have Oregon hats to sport (Dad with his new visor, Cliff with the trusty green hat, and my new yellow hat to replace my old trusty green hat).

After a few days of eating at local restaurants (Hop Valley, Off the Waffle, Track Town Pizza), shopping, hanging out on campus, listening to live music, and taking in a drive-in movie; the weekend started and we had three days to explore around Eugene. First stop, University of Oregon Football Fan Day.  We arrived and the line was super, super long so we went and ate fish and chips and hamburgers at Red Robin.  When we came back we were able to walk in and see what was going on.  The football players were signing autographs, the cheerleaders were posing for pictures and performing, Puddles the Duck was out and doing his thing, and folks were generally just geeking out to be standing on the field at Autzen.   Dad bought a four DVD set about the history of Oregon football.  Did you know that we use to be the webfoots?  Awesome.

 The next day we went and explored Fern Ridge Lake, Veneta, and areas slightly west of town.  Dad hadn't done the Oregon wine tasting thing so we went to Silvan Ridge and Sweet Cheeks.  My Dad doesn't drink so it was really odd to see him tasting the sweet wines.  Dare I say, I think he was even enjoying himself.  After wine tasting we went to go see The Campaign (what can I say,  I love Will Ferrell).   After the movie we went to Sonic for half priced shakes.  I got my usual chocolate malt but both Cliff and Dad decided to be daring and get a mix of pineapple, strawberry, chocolate, and hot fudge shakes.  It was called a banana split shake and it was delicious. 

On Monday we drove (with the dog in tow) to Portland so that we could be ready to go early in the morning to get him to the airport.  We decided to head out to Multnomah Falls.  I always forgot how quickly the city fades away as you head east on the Columbia River Gorge from Portland.  The landscape is beautiful with the Columbia River, the tall trees, the rocks, and the lack of development.  

When we arrived at the falls we hiked to the bridge and then ate hot dogs and ice cream cones.  Rudy even walked up to the bridge with us.  Dad was pretty impressed with the scenery and who can argue.  It is one of my favorite places in Oregon.  In case anyone would like some facts about Multnomah Falls, the lower falls come in at 69 feet and the upper falls are 542 feet from top to bottom.  Pretty awesome.

The photo of Dad on the bridge might be one of my favorite photos of him ever.  So good.  To follow up on one of my favorite photos I will also post one of the funniest/most non-photogenic photos ever.  Cliff captured us as we really are in real life.  Also so good but in a totally different way. 

After the falls we drive back towards Portland and ate at Salty's on the Columbia River.  It was a really fancy seafood and steak restaurant.  There were all kinds of fun salads, really good tomato bisque, and seafood for all!  Cliff got sturgeon (the daily special) with some absolutely fantastic vegetables.  Dad got a combo of coconut fried prawns and crab cake.  What did I learn at the restaurant?  After years of not being able to eat shellfish the jury is still out for me on some things.  Baby shrimp?  No thank you.  Clams, crabs, and prawnes?  Yes, please.  We topped it off with two really decadent deserts.  The best part is that we got one for free as we used a card from our hotel.

Airports are tricky.  One of my favorite things to do in the world is pick up people at the airport.  I love looking down the gates waiting to catch a peak of loved ones as they come off the plane and out of their terminal.  On the reverse, I really hate taking people to the airport.  It is so hard to say goodbye.  I hope that Dad had a great time.  We didn't get to do everything on our list but it will just help feed the need for the next Oregon adventure. 

Lyddanes in Oregon

Two weeks ago the Lyddanes landed in Oregon for a week long vacation.  We tried to jam pack every day with all of the things we love about this place.  As a result, we ate a whole lot, traveled to the mountains and to the coast, picked fruit, listened to live music, hiked, swam, got up early and stayed up late, and generally just had the most amazing time.  Five flew back after a week and Stephen stayed out an additional week to hang out.  This resulted in more hiking, swimming, picking fruit, baking, canning and pickling, and generally just frolicking around town.  Because it would be hard to put everything into words I am going to have to rely on photos.

After we picked the family up from the airport we went to a Lebanese restaurant to meet Brie.  It was so nice for everyone to visit.  The food was really great.  Look at those happy faces!

 

The meeting also gave us an excuse to take the first of many group photos to come. 

The next day we went climbing at the climbing wall, ate at Sonic (a must anytime you see one) and then went to Detering Orchards to pick peaches, cherries, and other goodies.  It look a bit of team work to get some of the choice fruit but it paid off.  Sadly we were there late in the day so we missed the time to pick rhubarb and blueberries.

The next day we went to the coast as Stephen and Nicole had never seen the Pacific Ocean.  Everyone was a little shocked at how cold the water was.  The Oregon Coast is a far cry from East Coast beaches: not as developed, fewer people, colder water, etc.  The coast is so beautiful and we were excited to show it off.

Second opportunity for a group shot.  The lady who took the photo complimented us for wearing complimentary colors.  She asked if we planned our outfits.  We did not.   Oh, little did she know that we do have matching outfits and that we were going to unleash Team Lyddane t-shirts later in the week.

On Tuesday night we went to a Yanni concert.  That's right.  A Yanni concert.  Actually, Mr. and Mrs. Lyddane went to the Yanni concert and the rest of us set up shop outside of the amphitheater to listen to the music, play board games, and relax.  Everyone was excited.  The Lyddane children grew up with Yanni so Andrea and Nicole just couldn't contain themselves when their favorite songs came on.  They just had to dance.  It was very free spirited.  It was impressive.  It was hilarious.  All in all a very good night.

On Wednesday, we were all over the place on a "do your own thing" day.  Cliff and I had long days at work.  Mr. and Mrs. Lyddane drove to Crater Lake. Andrea, Joe, Stephen, and Nicole hiked, went to wineries, visited chocolate shops, and went climbing again.  We all ended the day at 9:30pm with some delicious Track Town pizza.

Thursday was our trip to the mountains day.  We started the day off right with a trip to Dutch Brothers.  With so many different sugary coffee options to choose from everyone was a little overwhelmed looking at the menu.   It took us a little while to get our order straight. Everywhere we went people made comments about how we were having a party in the mini van.  It might have been because we were all sporting our matching Team Lyddane t-shirts. 

Our first official stop on the mountain tour was Terwilliger Hot Springs.  Cliff and I love going to the hot springs so we really wanted to take the family.  When we got there we found that they were not open yet as the pools were being drained and the rocks were being cleaned (who knew that happened?).  No worries.  We made our way down to the reservoir.  Cliff, Andrea, Joe, Stephen, and Nicole swam to a little island in the middle.  Apparently it was really cold but really awesome. 

After about an hour the hot springs opened up.  I love going there.  It is so relaxing.  The hot water, the minerals, the sound of water falling from one pool to another.  We were all riding on a relaxing, hot springs high when we got back in the mini van and headed up McKenzie Pass.  

  

The hot springs high did not last long as McKenzie pass is long and really windy.  Two of us get car sick so we sat up front.  Even sitting in the front seat my stomach wasn't happy.  Andrea and Nicole were in the back and kept yelling as they thought they were going to fall over the cliff edges as we went back and forth up slow switchbacks.  It was a stressful (yet pretty ride) to Sisters, Oregon.  We stopped at the lava fields for another group photo.  

I think this is a great time to talk about the matching t-shirts.  They were a surprise.  An awesome surprise. They had made Oregon 2012 team Lyddane t-shirts.  On the front was a color version of a Lyddane drawing where a cartoon rabbit exchanges carrots with a cartoon squirrel who is offering acorns.  Adorable.  On the back is your number that corresponds with when you entered the Lyddane family (ex: Mr. Lyddane 01, Mrs. Lyddane 02, Andrea, 03, Cliff 04, Stephen 05, Nicole, 06, me 07, Joe 08).  They are awesome.  We sported them with pride all over central Oregon.  It was amazing.  Seriously.  Cheesy amazingness.

We stopped at a watch tower at the summit of the pass.  It was so beautiful.  You could see the north sister and the middle sister, Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Washington, Black Butte, and several other peaks.  Andrea's camera has our group shots from the tower.  You bet we took a great photo of all of us showing off our numbers.  The Lyddanes were in central Oregon and everyone knew it.  After the photos, we ate lunch in Sisters and headed back home.

On the way home we stopped at Sahalie Falls.  I have a hard time explaining how beautiful it is.  As you walk down to see the falls you feel the cool mist, the sound gets louder, and you can't help but be in awe of mother nature.  Honestly, so much water falls every minute of ever day.  It's spectacular.

Sahalie Falls gave us one final opportunity for a group photo.  Our green shirts help us blend in with our natural surroundings. 

We got up bright and early on Saturday morning (4:00am) to take the crew back up to the Portland Airport.  It was so sad to see them go.  We had such a great time.  I hope they all did too.

Saturday started Cliff and Stephen's fantastic adventure.  We stopped at the Danner boot factory so they they could try on shoes (in preparation for their big labor day sale).   Back in one of our first posts, we mentioned that Cliff got over a $300 pair of boots for $50 at their labor day sale.  He loves them and wears them all the time.  When we go back up this year we will be on the lookout for some boots to send home as now we know sizes.   Look at those two!  Honestly it is pretty ridiculous how alike Cliff and Stephen ended up.  They could sit all day and talk about boots, orchards, gardens, dog training, bird specifies, and pretty much anything else.  They even wear matching colors without planning.  Really, its pretty funny.

I talked them into taking a "quick" drive down the coast.  I wanted to go to the Tillamook Cheese Factory, Rouge Brewing, and see if we could find one of those cool outdoor  fireplaces that are shaped like animals (I'm on the lookout for one for our house and they have them in Newport!).  We stopped at the Tillamook Forest Center and learned how the Tillamook Forest burned down several times and how tree planters are responsible for every single beautiful tree that we see today.  It was a really nice center with pretty impressive interactive, kid-friendly exhibits.  Nice work Tillamook Forest folks!

When we got to the Tillamook Cheese Factory it was packed.  It was overwhelming so we quickly walked through, got our ice cream, and headed outside to escape the crowds.  We headed south on the coast for hours and finally ended up in Newport.  We visited the Rogue Brewery, their new distillery (Cliff got fancy spruce gin) and saw lots of fisherman cleaning and gutting huge fish.  Let me tell you, it was smelly by Rogue because of all of the fish cleaning.  I tried breathing only through my mouth and it still didn't work.  The smell infiltrated my senses.  I couldn't walk fast enough to get away from it.  Besides the smell, Newport is pretty solid. 

Cliff and Stephen spent the next week hanging out all day and doing fun stuff (climbing, hiking, picking fruit, etc.)  Because of their efforts I got to eat three different crisps/cobblers over the last five days (peach and rhubarb and two blackberries varieties).  We also now have canned Oregon blackberry jam, refrigerator pickles, and blackberry infused whiskey.  We will have a little bit of summer each time we open one up this winter.  It's exciting.

We dropped off Stephen yesterday morning (another 4:00am day), ate breakfast with Kathy and Jill (to catch up on the wedding) and then drove home to take a nap.   We had a really great time with family.  I hope this is just one of many trips to Oregon.