how Portland does snow

It's no secret that I harbor a measure of derision for Portland's "snow" days. Coming from a place where I had to go to school after two feet of snow fell overnight, it's hard for me to muster excitement for school children who get a snow day for frost. But that's just the way it is here, and even after 8ish inches of snow fell last week, I have yet to see that one snowplow Wilsonville allegedly has.

Snowfall like this comes to Portland about once every five or so years, and I'll be honest: I loved it. With legit snow being so rare here, it was nice that the whole area shut down. Josh came home early from work Thursday and Friday, and I did lots of baking and cocoa drinking. On Saturday we drove to Josh's parents' so that Asher could sled down their driveway, and on our drive we saw people out everywhere. Not many cars were on the road, but there were kids and adults alike bundled up, carting sleds, throwing snowballs, and building snowmen.

Snow comes so regularly to Denver that it rarely produces such a communal thrill. As a kid of course I'd have my mom help me with my snow pants and parka and boots and gloves and hat just so I could play in the snow for 20 minutes. We made snow men and even went sledding a time or two. But life had to go on, otherwise our whole winter (and a good chunk of spring and fall) would be snow days. Here in Portland, though? Life is paused for a time, and even this Rocky Mountain girl will admit that's pretty fun.

So yes, I may never stop scoffing at the minimal amount of weather it takes to constitute a Portlandian "snow" day, but when those snow days are real snow days? Portland sure knows how to do them right.

that time I had a birthday

I had a birthday last year. I'm sure you were wondering, because I never blogged about it, and if you don't blog about something can you be sure that it even happened? But I did have one. My birthday came four days after I had Asher, so my body was a mess of hormones and pain medication with my mind reeling in the exhilarating wake of new motherhood. All of my siblings-in-law were in town, and they made my birthday delightful. Think macaroni and cheese made on the grill and the most amazing pesto lasagna you've ever had plus cupcakes with cookie-dough centers plus loving on a newborn all day plus a small nap thrown in.

Josh's gift surprised me. He gave me a gift card to a spa, something I didn't even know that I'd want. I was excited at the prospect, but knew that I wouldn't be able to use it for a while. With a babe who nursed every three hours and didn't fall for the bottle, escaping to the spa for an afternoon wasn't on my radar. Then I kind of forgot about the gift certificate. Then I kind of lost the gift certificate. But when I remembered it I was determined to find it, because dammit, I deserved that spa day. So I found it, and I used it.

I went last month and because of a coupon enjoyed a manicure, pedicure, and a facial. Did I mention that the pedicure was 80 minutes long? Because it was. And it was heavenly. On top of all that pampering, I got four hours all by myself. I love my husband, and I love my son, but I also love time to myself that doesn't involve one ear paying attention to the baby monitor.

When I got home I promptly informed Mr. Wilson that every time I have a baby he has to give me a spa day, regardless of how close or far away my birthday is. That's the new rule.

snow day

Remember what constitutes a snow day for Portlandians? I'm sure you can imagine my delight at the snow that started falling last night and continued through today. While all the Denver locals are lamenting this spring snow, my snow snobbery relishes the snowfall—this is the most snow I've seen in three years!

We've commemorated the weather with cocoa, Wreck It Ralph, and cinnamon rolls, and we might venture out later this evening to the outlets for some more shopping. So far this trip has been perfect, and this bona fide snow day has been the cherry on top.

an early weekend

When I woke up today, I decided that I would stay in stretchy pants all day, a luxury I haven't allowed myself for some time. I said to myself, "We're starting this weekend early!" And by we, really I mean me, because Asher's days are more or less the same, and Josh has to go to work so he can support me and my early weekending. As far as I'm concerned, though, this weekend starts now.

{my almost-finished cocoa and almost-finished blog post}

There's so much that I could do today: read, nap, sew, bake, lounge. I might do all of it, or I might do none of it. And that is totally okay, because today is a stretchy pants kind of day, and I'm allowing myself a little lazy.

last week at this time

Last week at this time I had just tried on all of these clothes as part of my birthday present of a new fall wardrobe.

Last week at this time we had already gone crazy at Fabric Depot, bought new shoes at Marshalls, and found needed organizational tools at IKEA.

We had already organized and purged my closet.

These days had been preceded by a weekend with my mom and dad, which included a trip to the Rose Gardens

 

 

and which culminated in Asher's baby blessing at church.

We were still looking forward to unpacking my dishes from Grandma.

Plus we still hadn't had dinner at Nicholas's, lunch at the California Pizza Kitchen, and another lunch at Fir Point Farms. We still hadn't found those perfect tweed slacks for Asher at Gymboree.

We still had Bernie and War Horse to rent from Redbox and at least three more Big Gulps to consume. We still had half a season to watch of Parenthood and so many more grandma-Asher snuggles to enjoy.

 

Returning to life sans Mom/Grandma has not been my favorite, but I will just say that those nine days with my dad and mom were pretty much the best stay-cation ever.

running away

Last Friday, I picked up Josh from work and we ran away to the coast for a night. It was bliss. We spent Friday night in Seaside.

Josh finally got to fly his new stunt kite.

See his kite way up in the sky?

Then we spent Saturday in Arcadia and Cannon Beach.

We took a walk along the coastline and named some of the features we saw. This was Seagull Rock (there were lots of birds on it that you can't really see in the picture).

And this is Lone Tree framed by Parabolic Rock. (Josh says the rock looks like a fourth-order polonomial--math nerd).

The weather was sunny, in the 70s, and very slightly breezy, so pretty much perfect.

We laid out our beach chairs and I read for a couple hours while Josh dozed.

Then we went to downtown Cannon Beach to our favorite fish market for fresh Pacific cod fish 'n' chips.

After some boutique browsing we ate huge, delicious crepes. Mine had Nutella and bananas and whipped cream.

We headed home a bit earlier than we would normally, because the beach was getting pretty crowded, and we knew that we wouldn't be able to get another parking spot. So we skipped the crowds and headed home with a giant bag of salt water taffy.

Like I said, it was pretty much perfect.

recuperation

Here's a prescription from me to you in case you end up working until 10:00 one night and have to go back into work at 6:00 the next morning for store inventory, like I did:

:: Do everything in stretchy pants
:: Treat yourself to lunch at your favorite sandwich shop
:: Rent a chick-flick at RedBox
:: Catch up on your TV shows
:: Talk to your mom and sister on the phone
:: Spend an hour online looking up Hey, Girl memes
:: Make an easy dinner that your man incidentally loves, like meatloaf
:: Book a room in an oceanfront hotel for not this weekend, but the next weekend, thereby satisfying your desperate need for some coast time

{via}

If you do even some of those things, I promise your recuperation will be well underway--especially if you book the room at the coast.

the birthday, round 24

The morning of my birthday I ate my a bowl of my birthday cereal Froot Loops and settled down to watch more of season seven of 24, and get this: I watched the 24th episode of 24 on my 24th birthday. Unplanned. If that isn't a good harbinger for a birthday I don't know what is.

I did something adventurous: rock-climbing with Karen and our cute friend Marie.

I know, it's like you don't even know me anymore.

I ate delicious food. For dinner we went to our favorite restaurant, Manzana's, and got rotisserie chicken sandwiches to-go (with extras of their to-die-for chicken gravy).

And then we ate them at a park.

Then Josh gave me one of my presents, Sof-Bocce ball. We played, and I won. Obviously. I mean, it was my birthday.

I Skyped my family after we got back, and we had a good time conversing with them via video chat.

The next day I made two birthday cakes: my traditional yellow cake with pink fluffy frosting, and this chocolate peanut-butter cake. Would you believe me if I admitted that I forgot to take pictures again? I know. I guess that means I'll just have to make more cake so I can photograph it, right?

My birthday cake from 2009, incidentally the last birthday cake my grandma made for me. That cake is only two layers, guys. It's my dream to bake high cake layers.

We had several of our friends over at Jeff and Karen's for a little party, and it was lots and lots of fun.

For my entire birthday weekend I felt loved and special, exactly how you're supposed to feel on your birthday.

So far, 24 is a pretty good place to be.

DisneyLand highlights and other noteable mentions

We spent three full days at DisneyLand and took the parks by storm.

:: I ate pavement before I even stepped foot inside the park and doctored my knees and hands with Band-Aids and Neosporin religiously throughout our stay. Now I have another three-and-a-half-inch cosmic bruise.

:: We waited in lots of lines. (Isn't that a so-cute picture of Estee and Jeremy?)

:: But it was so worth it, because we got to ride lots of rides like Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Grizzly Rapids.

:: We rode roller coasters like Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, and California Screamin'.

:: We even had a couple of character run-ins, like Jeremy's with Brer Bear. (Um, terrifying. This encounter had us all in fits of laughter.)

:: We also ate a lot. Like, a lot. I'm talking deep-fried Monte Cristos here. Heavens. And don't forget the turkey legs.

:: Oh yeah, and the ice cream for dinner.

:: After riding Star Tours eight times (I joined him for only three times), Josh customized his own light saber.

:: My top-three favorite rides are the Hollywood Tower of Terror (I was surprised too), Thunder Mountain, and Grizzly Rapids.

:: I really like this picture of Josh and Nicole.

:: Can I just say how impressed I am with the overall cleanliness of DisneyLand? Because I am. I wasn't even grossed out in the bathrooms.

:: We came home yesterday with sore feet and smelly clothes, and we were oh so glad that we got to spend this time with our family in the best amusement park ever.

:: Really, I'm not a big amusement park kind of girl, but DisneyLand proves the exception. So if you're like me when it comes to lines and rides and crowds (meaning you almost always avoid them), give Disney parks a shot, because they're awesome. I mean, I even liked the roller coaster that threw me upside down. I know. I had a blast, readers. So. much. fun.

:: You should check out Estee's recap of the trip. And don't forget to watch the video. Seriously, watch the video. 

the airport bag

By the time this posts, I'll be in California ready to soak in the rays and the magic of Disney Land with the Wilsons. As I'm writing this I have about four and a half hours before I have to wake up to go to the airport, so most of my packing and preparation happened tonight.

When I travel I make sure that my carry-on is replete with satisfactory entertainment. Remember when I forgot to bring the second book to work? Same principle. Thus, my airport bag contains two books, two embroidery projects, and one iPod. For a two- to three-hour flight. I'm totally ready.

the ultimate setup

Pretty much this is the setup I've been enjoying every afternoon all week. Not pictured is the television in front of my dining-table-turned-sewing-table, so I've been polishing off season seven of Gilmore Girls and the movie Mansfield Park.

Since becoming unemployed my computer time has reduced to a mere fraction of what it used to be, resulting in over 200 unread blog posts in my Google Reader and no pinning for days. This computer break is kind of nice, really. When I hit the job search hard again, though, I'll inevitably spend more time on the computer and will hopefully return to blogging regularly and commenting and pinning.

And when I hit the job search hard, I'll have to confront the looming threat of the professional life crisis that's been hovering over my mind and emotions, the crisis that will force me to define what I want and what I'm going to do, the crisis that will very likely compel me to take some risks. But for today, I'll ignore the crisis cloud and transform the dining table into a sewing table and continue watching Downton Abbey on Netflix.

a long awaited Friday

I haven't had an official day off since Christmas. Not Martin Luther King Day. Not Presidents' Day. But Good Friday I have off. Tomorrow. A three-day weekend.

I've been planning out my Friday all week long.

Outlet malls, sewing, Big Gulps.

I have waited a long time for this. Freedom!

whatever-you-want Saturday

Yesterday we had a whatever-you-want Saturday. We didn't have any real obligations, so we did whatever we wanted all day.

We slept in longer than usual. I wasn't fully ready or dressed until after noon. Josh didn't change out of his pajamas all day. We played as much Super Mario Galaxy as we wanted and didn't care to count the number of 30 Rock episodes we watched.

I went to Joann's to take advantage of the 99-cent pattern sale and bought the maximum amount of patterns allowed. I sewed for the rest of the afternoon while Josh alternated between playing on the computer and watching TV with me.

And at 8:30 when I thought that chocolate chip cookies sounded especially good, I whipped some up. Just because I wanted to.

We concluded our whatever-you-want Saturday by falling asleep while reading in bed.

I'm a big fan of the whatever-you-want Saturdays.

26

Over the weekend, Josh had a birthday. He's 26 now, and that sounds older than he feels. We had a seriously fun weekend, though.

We ate pizza and cake on Saturday with friends.

And then played a competitive game on a pool table the rest of the night.

On Sunday we went to stake conference (Josh said that earlier, only-two-hour, no-lesson-preparation church was one of the best birthday presents). In the afternoon we headed to Jeff and Karen's where we enjoyed burgers and {more} cake with friends and family.

And we also played games all afternoon. Games like Bang! {the exclamation point is indeed part of the official game title}

And Pandemic.

We watched a movie and napped and watched bits and pieces of the Oscars. Then Josh and I headed home for some more birthday relaxing in stretchy pants.

It was a wonderful day, and I hope Josh enjoyed his birthday as much as I did. Really, I just get excited that I get to celebrate Josh's every birthday from here on out. It's lots of fun. For real.

the honeymoon: Puerto Vallarta

The last city we visited was Puerto Vallarta. Josh and I woke up early to catch a catamaran for the day.

We stopped at an area where we were supposed to be able to snorkel. We tried a little snorkeling (my first time), but Josh told me it was not an ideal snorkeling experience: the water was murky and freezing and choppy. Not a good mix for snorkelers.

We continued on, however, to a small, secluded beach, where we anchored for an hour or so. When we arrived we had to wait for another catamaran to make its way out of the area. This vessel was playing pretty loud music and, upon closer inspection, we observed that most of the cruisers were male and wearing exceedingly tight Speedos. We concluded that the neighboring catamaran was, in fact, a gay cruise.

Our hunch was confirmed when we noticed the rainbow flag flying proudly in the wind. We found this very entertaining--they were very friendly!

Josh and I went with a few other people on a short hike through some of the Puerto Vallartan jungle. Knowing my utter lack of athletic know-how, I actually impressed myself.

Josh was more adventurous than I and climbed up further than I dared to go.

After our jungle hike we returned to the beach and went kayaking. I contemplated kayaking out to sea. {False. But I did quite enjoy going out into the cove.}

The catamaran had an open bar, which most of the people enjoyed just a little too much. On our way back to the cruise ship, our host, Jorge, wanted to help us celebrate our honeymoon by having us take tequila shots. Josh tactfully took him aside and explained that we don't drink alcohol, so could we take a shot of Sprite or something. Jorge looked at us as if we were from another planet. He then proceeded to announce in incredulity to the entire catamaran that we don't drink alcohol and asked the group at large if they should make us drink a shot anyway. At one point he said, "If you don't drink, why are you even in Mexico?!?"

Thankfully, we had some supporters who let us off the hook. So Jorge and his associates shook our hands in honeymoon congratulations instead. While most people still gave us funny looks, we had a few others validate our stance. The whole experience was pretty funny.

On the way back, Josh wanted to avoid getting any more sun. His solution made me laugh.

Puerto Vallarta was fabulous. We loved it.

Now do you want to know about the actual cruising? Done. In the next honeymoon post.