Good-Bye 2010. . . Welcome 2011

The holidays are such a wonderful time of year, but they can be stressful, too.  It is so much fun to go to the parties, galas, concerts, pageants, and events, but sometimes the events double timed me.  I’ve had to forgo a few things just because I can’t be in two places at once.   And my list of things that have to be done for the holidays got way shorter this year.  Like I didn’t bake cookies this year.  We don’t eat them anyway, so what’s the point.  And I didn’t put up all of my decorations. . .  I just did the ones I could in the time I had.  It is still all good. 

It isn’t about decorations or cookies or events anyway.  To me the holidays are about the people in my life – none of which missed the cookies or decorations.   I’ve even used paper plates for some of the meals so I’m not stuck working in the kitchen when I can be playing with my family.  It is the people who matter. . . not the food, decorations, gifts. . . just the people.

Some of my favorite memories from this holiday season are watching my gentle father tend to his little dog, Mini; meeting Daniel and Katelyn at the airport; shopping in Corvallis with mom, Jessica and Katelyn, dancing with Jessica in the hall at OMSI, dancing with Daniel at the Calapooia, watching my mom and dad put in earplugs at my church (LOL – yeah, it is a little loud), seeing my mom laugh at my dog Jack, movie time with family, the laughter and conversations at the dinner table. .  .truly these are the blessings of the holidays.  And they all have to do with the people in my life, not what we were doing or eating, just them.

So as 2010 ends and 2011 begins I’m taking these wonderful memories with me, deleting some things off of my obligatory “to do” list, and watching for times I can invest more in the people in my life.  Truly, the gifts in my life are my family and friends.

Things that made me happy this week

1.  Finding my car keys Monday morning.  LOL!
2.  The amazing chili from the kiosk at work.  (not for wimps, trust me!)
3.  Megan's laugh.  She has the best laugh ever!!!
4.  Scratchably pink bellies on my dogs.
5.  Wind chimes during an autumn storm.
6.  Colorful leaves everywhere I look.
7.  An invitation to do an underwater pumpkin carving contest.
8.  Getting to fly an airplane.
9.  Turning 51 with so many blessed wishes from friends.
10. Enjoying sleeping in on the weekend.  

Flying

I had a wonderful experience today.  I got to go flying.  My friend Tim asked me if I wanted to go, and before he got the question out, I was screaming YES!  It was so much fun.  He picked me up at the Albany airport and we flew at 120 knots over I-5 towards Harrisburg, OR.  I loved the flying, but more amazed at the beauty of the town I live in. 

Everyday while driving to work I marvel at the beauty of this place, but seeing it from the air. . . well, it just took my breath away.

Tim offered me the controls of the airplane while traveling over I-5, but I declined.  I needed to know more about what was going on in the cockpit, so I asked a ton of questions about the gauges, and what things were. . . then just watched him operate things while I took pictures.

We landed on a grass strip outside of Harrisburg where he learned to fly.  That was really cool.  The we took off for the Lebanon airport where Tim again offered me control of the airplane. 

My hands were shaking and my palms sweaty as I took hold of the yoke.  It wasn’t 2 seconds in before I realized that any movement I had, no matter how slight, made the airplane move and that I had to undo that movement. 

It isn’t like driving a car.

But, thanks to Tim’s patience with me, I eventually flew the plane for a few minutes alone and am still alive to talk about it. 

We stopped at the airport in Lebanon, OR where I got to meet the owner.  He was a very gentle man who only had wonderful, positive thing to say.  And he had an office dog.  So I liked him immediately.

After leaving the Lebanon airport, we hit some turbulence.  It made me laugh.  It was way better than a roller coaster ride, and I knew there was nothing really wrong with the plane. . .  just bumpy air.  Tim was happy that is didn’t upset me.  In fact, I was laughing.

Our ride ended way too soon.  We got to fly over my house (3rd pic ~ yeah, I live in the woods) and then we had to land and it was over.

But I know I will never forget the thrill I got from being in control, even for a short time, of an airplane.

Thank you, Tim, for that opportunity.

It is the people in you life that matter.

I just spent an amazing long weekend in South Florida with old and new friends.  After this weekend, I can promise you that it isn’t the place you at or what is going on in your life, it is the people in your life that matter the most.

My high school friend Charlotte planned this event for us and she did an amazing job.  It was both relaxing and totally fun.  How she managed to blend so much fun and so much down time so we could just chill is amazing to me, but, then Charlotte rocks.

It was our 50^th birthday bash with a bunch of friends from high school.  Yeah, we are all turning 50.  What better place to celebrate than on the beach with each other. .  . right?

We all stayed in the same hotel which was right on Hollywood Beach and the staff at the hotel was wonderful.  I felt so pampered.  And it was nice all of us being in the same place.  We ate together, and played together.

There were so many fun things that happened.  We went on a pub crawl one evening where we just walked the boardwalk and stopped in at the local venues.  Pubs, shops, ice cream, sand, music. . .  all up and down the boardwark.  It was wonderful.

Then there was a catamaran trip that was breathtaking from beginning to end.  The crew on the ship spoiled us rotten, and the views and sun and ocean spray just took away every stress and reminded me of how amazing this world is.  It was so fun to watch everyone play and relax.

I was only in Ft Lauderdale for 4 days, but I already miss my friends, and the new friends I met there.  I hope to go back soon. 

It was so nice to be reminded of my roots from these friends from 30 years back.  The people in you life matter the most.  Everything else is just noise.  

Invest in the people.  

Hugs to you all. 

I am a WARRIOR

OMG. . .  I did the most amazing race this weekend.  Check out the Warrior Dash.  What a COOL race. It was supposed to be with friends, but they all backed out, so I ended up at the starting alone without friends but with 100 other WARRIORS.  I made some connections pretty quick, though.  

The race started with fire belching out of the starting line which actually helped.  By this time I was shivering and fire warmed me up while I waited for my turn to cross the timing mat.  The first 200 yards were nothing but a normal race with some of the steepest hills I’ve ever done in my life, but then I ended up at a pond with five logs 4 feet in diameter in 45* water that was chest high.  I had to scale all five logs. .  . and I did with help and giving help to several other warriors.

Then  onward up a muddy boggy slope to another obstacle….easy one this time.   But the next one was difficult.  It was called the wolfs spider web.  It wasn’t hard except that it totally screwed up our depth perception.  We could see that something was there, but it was difficult to find them without getting tangled in them.  Then a few more climbing challenges, several rope challenges that were difficult at best, (splinter galore and lots of mud) then more steep hills.  And when I say steep hills that we had to climb, the event organizers understood that we were in mud and may need some help.  They had ropes dangling down so we could actually pull ourselves up these horrible, oxygen stealing hills.  Or repel ourselves down them, whatever the case may be.  I actually just sat on one and slid down on my behind.  

THEN, we came to these tunnels.  Okay, no big deal, except once in them. . . . everything was pitch black and they went on for eons.  I was crawling, running into other racers, have other racers run into me.  We couldn’t see ANYTHING.   But once outta that we only had a few more obstacles to go.  

Next was the fire pits.  I was fine with what I saw in the intro videos, but what I had in front of me was WAY bigger.  So I stopped and watched a few others do it first.  Those flames were waist high.  But I ran and scaled them all.  I could feel the flames but didn’t get scorched.  

But the last obstacle  was a mud pit however it wasn’t too deep at first, but it varied.  There was  a lot of barbed wire across the top.  I had to crawl through this mud pit, under the barbed wire. . . . and it was long and scary.  But I made it to the finish line covered in mud, totally proud.  

I am a WARRIOR.   I even have a viking hat to prove it!

Wanna do the race with me next year?  It is amazingly fun, totally challenging and NOTHING like you’ve ever done before.  See you at the starting line.

Summertime in Oregon

I wrote this last summer, but it still rings true today. . .

Summertime in Oregon slows us down. We linger longer on the porch with that first cup of morning coffee, we take more walks enjoying the brisk, beautiful air, and we wander through the farmer’s market picking out berries and freshly grown vegetables, visiting with neighbors, and talking to the vendors about the beautiful flowers. I think we all just are happy the rains have stopped and we feel the blessing of sun, friends, community and the beautiful bounty of Oregon.

Our driving also slows down during the summer. This has nothing to do with our attitudes of bliss. It’s because the road crews are out in force fixing up the potholes and tackling projects that weren’t possible during the rainy season. Flaggers wave cheerfully as they direct us to slow down just a little bit more. Bright orange signs warning us of upcoming road projects sprout along side the roads with the same abundance as blackberry bushes taking over the gardens. But this is a normal summertime event which we all just take in stride.

Driving also slows down because of the tractors and combines traveling from barn to field. Driving time increases as we become part of the parade of necessary farm implements some of which take up 1 ½ lanes so passing is impossible. John Deere green fills the view in front of us. 


Oregon’s colors really are orange and green, but during the summer months that has nothing to do with the UofO Ducks and OSU Beavers. The ODOT road crews and John Deere machinery carry the Oregon colors for the summer.

My Cinderella Garden

There’s just something about sunflowers and pumpkins that means summertime to me.  I used to plant a full garden every year with tomatoes, corn, beans, melons, lettuce, strawberries. . . and sunflowers and pumpkins.  Gardening is a lot of work, and I love it for the first few weeks.  Then it becomes a chore.

I discovered that I enjoy shopping the farmer’s markets better than gardening.  The selections are amazing, even more than I would have grown, plus I get to visit with neighbors, colleagues, listen to local musicians and enjoy the community that is the farmer’s market.   It is a nice way to spend a Saturday morning.  I love strolling from booth to booth, talking to the vendors, sampling the various types of fruits, trying out homemade breads, sniffing the marvelous floral varieties, visiting with friends I haven’t met yet, and friends I’ve known for years. 

As an accountant I’ve figured this is cheaper than the cost of hours spent in the garden, tools, supplements for the plants, and, OMG, the cost of watering. . .  so, if no other way, I can justify my lack of desire to have a full garden as being cost efficient.  Yeah, that’s it.  It is cost efficient.  And I’m supporting local farmers.  So it’s all good.

But, I can’t live a summer here in Oregon without growing my own sunflowers and pumpkins.  This year instead of the mammoth sunflowers which I love growing, I planted dwarfs which I can keep in pots on my porch closer to me.  They are so beautiful. . . golden heads haloed by deep green leafs nestled in burgundy ceramic pots.

As far as pumpkins go, I normally pick smaller varieties that I can use in cooking.  But this year I changed it up.  I bought some smaller ones, plus the Jack-o-lantern variety.  This should be fun.  I love how their vines sprawl across the dirt, orange flowers open to the sun and evolving into gourds that will become my pumpkin chariot into autumn.

Oooo, I better go shopping for some glass slippers.  I wanna be ready when my pumpkins arrive.