For The Love

Dictionary

2011-01-14T22:18:00.000-08:00

If Cohen had a dictionary it would read something like this.

Baba: 1. a bottle or similar object that is filled with liquid. 2. a bite of anything.
Ba-ba: 1. it's bathtime!
Ball: any sort of round object
Ballooooon: (said with tongue sticking out) 1. helium filled mylar
BbbbBbbb: (think blowing raspberries) 1. binky 2. blanky. 3. spoon or fork
Book: 1. anything with pages. 2. please sit and read with me.
Boppa: 1. Grandpa 2. Grandma
Buhbuh: 1. goodbye 2. it's time to leave. 3. please get me out of here.
Dada: 1. Scott 2. Socks. 3. Shoes 4. pretty much anything else he doesn't have a word for.
Dahg: 1. Zoe 2. any other dog
Ella: 1. my girlfriend at daycare
Eyes: 1. be careful, I'm about to poke your eyes out.
Hat: 1. a hat. 2. any other object that can be placed on your head.
Hi: 1. informal greeting given to everyone
Hot: 1. I need a reason to not put this food in my mouth at the current time. 2. the stove. 3. the curling iron.
Mama: 1. me. 2. figure if out already lady (if said in rapid succession)
Milk: 1. the stuff that goes in bottles.
Mmmm: 1. anything that tastes delicious. 2. anything that appears to taste delicious.
Moooo: 1. what a cow says
Nana: 1. banana. 2. Snack. 3. feed me now
Nighnigh: 1. please put me in my crib I need to sleep
Nose: 1. the thing in the middle of your face.
Nuhuh: 1. not gonna do that. 2. still not gonna do that.
Uh oh: 1. get ready, I'm about to toss something. 2. whatever I tossed just hit the ground. 3. Maybe you missed it, whatever I tossed just hit the ground, you need to pick it up.
Up: 1. pick me up. 2. put me over there. 3. now that I'm up, move forward, or backward or sideways.
Wawa: 1. I'm so thirsty, pass me my cup. 2. I would really love to go on a walk with the dog.
Woof: 1. what a dog says

Steps to Christmas

2011-01-08T16:45:00.001-08:00

**I need to take a class on computers. Really, I do. If this post could have taken me any longer I might have retired from blogging altogether. And my pictures didn't even come out the way I edited them. Next time I'll remember to skip the hours of cropping and so forth and put them in any random order and maybe it won't take me 3 months to blog again.

Without further ado, here's Cohen's steps to a memorable first Christmas (at least for his parent's anyway)...

We live in Oregon, that means you must go to a Christmas tree farm to get your tree and so that's what we did.

And then we decorated the tree but only the top half.

Did you say a red bulb or another green?

Upon arrival to Utah, a trip to see the lights at Temple Square

If only we had known the apple would be such a hit we could have saved ourselves a lot of wrapping.

And then spend the rest of the day chasing after cousin Jacob

until you can finally give him a hug.

I wish we had more pictures of Cohen with his cousins. He loved being around them and saying "hi" over and over and over again. It was a fabulous Christmas.

UNO

2011-01-05T10:49:00.000-08:00

This little peanut turned one.

Parenting tip number one: If it is your child's first birthday make sure the memory card in your camera isn't full before you sit him in his highchair and give hime his cake.

Or you might end up with these two lovelies and nothing else.

Cohen's cake is the little yellow car. He did not wish to partake. He ate a little of the licorice from around the window and that was it.

Can hardly believe he's a year.

At his one year appointment he weighed 19.1 lbs (but weighed 21 lbs a week and a half later, I think the stomach bug at Christmas had something to do with the 19.)

And was 29.5 in tall. Which puts him in th 10th and 45th percentiles.

Superman

2010-10-31T20:44:00.001-07:00

Super Baby...

He made a pretty awesome Superman, if I do say so myself.

He'll be 10 months tomorrow. He walks, he talks, he shakes his bum. We'll work on the flying part later. Maybe when he's 11 months.

the 'do

2010-09-07T16:13:00.000-07:00

Hair. Glad to have it. Here's a few of Cohen's favorite looks.

Straight (rare, very rare)

Time crunch.

Mohawk.

Windswept.

After nap.

The church 'do

Don't know what to call this but glad it never happened again.

Hard to believe the little dude is 8 months already. He gets comments all the time about his curly hair. And his teeth (all 6 of them.)

He's been crawling for a couple of months and I'm praying that he holds out awhile before walking although it doesn't look too promising. The kid is a daredevil. Love him to bits.

Slacker

2010-07-27T21:09:00.000-07:00

That's me. Slackin'. I thought about blogging the other day when I saw a lady at the grocery store wearing a scrub top with her jeans. That's one of my pet peeves. I don't know why but it bugs the tar out of me. Why are you wearing a scrub top? If you just came from work where are your scrub pants? But obviously you didn't come from work because it's 10 am and you are at the grocery store. So, just thought you'd wear a scrub top? What do you do for work? Do you work? And maybe that's why it bugs me because instead of focusing on picking out the best avocados I am worrying about her choice of clothing.

Anyhow, back to me being a slacker. I just haven't known what to blog about, and it's because when I started this blog a few years back I did it with the intention of proving that you did not have to have children to blog. I could have a blog and update it regularly and none of my posts would depend on the fact that I had offspring.

But now I do have an offspring, and I could post pictures of him everyday, I want to post pictures of him everyday. Yet I feel as that would be a betrayal to my former self, and somehow to this blog. Weird, I know. I can be fiercely loyal and sometimes it radiates into certain areas that don't require loyalty, like blogging.

So here's to freedom, here's to blogging about whatever I choose, especially if it's a face as cute as this...

Sleep deprivation

2010-05-04T20:32:00.000-07:00

Or at least that's what I'm blaming it on. Tonight I made dinner and thought it would be okay to use wax paper instead of parchment paper in the oven. At 450 degrees. Wax melts at that temperature. Whoops.

Here's what's keeping me up at night...

Impressive

2010-04-12T15:16:00.000-07:00

I would never have guessed that something this cute :

Could make a mess like this:

That's right folks, up to the neckline. Awesome.

March 7th

2010-03-19T16:42:00.001-07:00

Cohen was blessed on the 7th. Scott only got nervous for a bit as Cohen expressed his dislike of not being held closely. It was a great day and we are so grateful for all of our friends and family who were able to share in his special day.

Cohen on the blanket made especially for him by a good family friend. (Thanks Lee!)

Parents and Grandparents

Stats

2010-03-03T14:52:00.000-08:00

Stats. I didn't really care for stats in college. Here's some stats I like.

2 months

12 lbs. 2 oz.

22.5 in.

A perfect baby. (The doctor's words, not mine, though I don't disagree.)

Dear US Airways

2010-03-03T14:44:00.000-08:00

Dear US Airways,
We don't like you. Still. You're attempt to smooth out our relationship by giving us 2 $100 vouchers after our Paris debacle was marred by how difficult you make it to use such vouchers. Should I really have to spend 2 hours on the phone with customer service reps to book 2 one way tickets. I don't think so. Is to too much to ask that those customer service reps speak English? I don't think so. Should I have to pay $30 for every bag I want to check? I don't think so.
I'm not so sorry to say that we've booked our last flight with you and that's only because you wouldn't let us give those vouchers away and we don't like waste.
Sincerely,
The Paxman's

for my mom

2010-02-11T11:31:00.000-08:00

I'm thinking Aladdin...

2010-02-03T20:59:00.000-08:00

The Diaper Genie- sounds somewhat magical, doesn't it? As if you throw your diapers into some deep abyss and the Diaper Genie takes care of them for you. Wrong. There is nothing magical about pulling out and throwing away a 3 foot long plastic sleeve stuffed with a weeks worth of dirty diapers. Nothing magical at all.

Gaining and losing

2010-01-27T11:34:00.000-08:00

In three weeks Cohen has gained more than 2 pounds but has lost a good chunk of his hair. He's gone from fauxhawk to mohawk. Poor kid. There's still a hint of the Paxman hairline but I'm sure it will be gone soon. Here's a few pics from the last 3 weeks, in no particular order.

Perfection

2010-01-05T17:35:00.000-08:00

Perfection looks like this at the Paxman house.

John Cohen Paxman 7lbs 1 oz, 19.5 in.

Our little man apparently didn't want a Christmas birthday (or a tax break for his parents) so he held out until New Year's Day.

Cohen is doing great and we couldn't be happier.

We love every little bit of him.

And yes, Scott is changing diapers.

The Griswold's

2009-12-09T17:46:00.000-08:00

I did not marry Clark Griswold. Or at least I didn't think I did. It's not so much the lights, we have an appropriate amount on our roofline. But the tree, that's when I begin to question. There's that one scene in the movie when they are out in the middle of the forest and Juliette Lewis appears frozen as does the rest of the family as Clark finds the perfect, albeit slightly ginormous Christmas tree. I relived that moment in recent history. Minus being completely frozen because let's be honest, I live in Portland, and while it has been cold in recent weeks, it's not cold enough to frost your eyelashes.

Scott's idea of the perfect tree resembles that of Clark Griswold, the bigger the better. I like Christmas trees, I even like tall Christmas trees, I just have never thought that an eight foot tree would be considered shrimpy. This is the beauty that Scott and I ended up with. It's about 11 feet and somehow my husband feels like we should have gone taller, after all there is still a good 5 feet to the top of the ceiling.

Scott is 6 feet tall, just for reference.

Scott cut down our manly tree with an equally manly saw, or at least that's the story we're telling.

Then he strapped it to the Rodeo and we headed home, losing only minor branches and pine needles.

Merry Christmas.
love,
The Griswold's

Fall, Fetish and Fetus

2009-11-11T20:25:00.001-08:00

3 F's that really have nothing to do with each other. However, since my posting is sporadic I figure I may as well fit as many things into one post as I can.

This fall was a great one. Oregon provided beautiful weather for September, October and even the first week of November. It was better than I could have hoped for. Unfortunately, Scott and I didn't participate in too many fall activities but we did go to a pumpkin patch. Well, it was more of a big space that had pumpkins strewn about and some fun kid activities. We walked away without a pumpkin but with two bags of homemade donuts instead. We have our priorities straight.

I tried to match my belly to the pumpkins. Not too bad, eh? This pic was at 31 weeks.

On to the second F. Fetish, as in shoe fetish. Zoe's shoe fetish that is. Zoe loves my shoes. She will find them wherever they are in the house and then take them to her bed or wherever it is that she wants to lay down and snuggle with them.

This is what we came home to the other night, not a record but pretty close.

And yes, she just lays right on top of them.

On to the third F. My fetus. He's growing, and he never stays still and I love it. It's bizarre to sit and watch my stomach look like an alien is trying to pop out of it. I don't feel like I've been pregnant long enough to be done in six and half weeks. I'm sure I'm going to want to retract that statement in a few weeks but for now it's the way I feel. I've enjoyed being pregnant.

Because you asked...

2009-10-08T20:33:00.000-07:00

...here you go, a picture of me and my belly.

29 weeks tomorrow.

And just for fun, Scott and I were in Carmel last weekend

For Levi and Leah's wedding. It was beautiful.

Stay tuned for more posts, I'm going to try to turn a new leaf.

Mama's boy or Daddy's little girl?

2009-08-07T16:36:00.000-07:00

Pink or blue. Today was the day we found out. I've been dying to have this ultrasound done. Not only so that I can start shopping for this little bean but also to make sure that everything inside is in good working order. I had a slight panic attack on the way to the office and Scott was meeting me there. So, I called up one of my besties and she talked me through my moment of irrational thinking. And assured me everything would be fine. And she made me laugh. I love her for that. Thanks Miranda! You see, that's the problem with being a pediatric nurse. We know too much. My list of things to watch for on the ultrasound was more than just girl parts or boy parts. It went something like this. I won't name them all or you'll start to think I'm neurotic.

1. 4 chambered heart. check.

2. Intact diaphragm. check.

3. Enclosed spinal column. check.

4. Intestines inside belly. check.

5. Appropriate sized limbs. check.

Phew! We made it through unscathed. A healthy, growing baby. I feel blessed. We feel blessed. Life is good.

Oh-- and about those boy or girl parts. May I introduce you to our little man...

A first

2009-07-22T19:58:00.000-07:00

A momentous occasion occurred today. Well, you might not find it momentous but I will mark it in my book of firsts. Today I bought toilet paper for the first time since we've been married, 16 months ago. No, we have not been going without, Scott has just found it much easier to swipe toilet paper from his parents' year supply. And I am tired of cheap Costco toilet paper. So, today since our supply was almost depleted and Scott has not been up to TP thieving, I purchased a 12 pack. Of Charmin Ultra, my favorite toilet paper. Here's to wiping.

To be blunt

2009-07-12T16:09:00.000-07:00

Pretty sure this picture speaks for itself...

But feel free to call me with questions. :)

It's about time

2009-06-14T15:22:00.000-07:00

Well, we've been home over a week so I guess it's time I posted a few pictures. It's hard to choose just a few when you have more than a few hundred but here's a couple from each place we visited.

Here's a rundown of where we were. Hopefully I can get the pictures in the right order. We flew into Paris and spent 3 days there before heading south to Perigueux. After 3 days there we made a pit stop in Nice for a day before heading to the Cinque Terre on the Italian Riviera. We spent 3 days in the village of Vernazza before heading to Rome. 3 days later we were on our way again to Venice. After 2 days in Venice we took the night train back to Paris for what was supposed to be one last day. That day turned into 2 after missing our flight home. So on departure day 2 we actually headed home and made it back to Portland after a good 24 hours of airports and airplanes.

We had a blast and loved nearly every minute :o)

The Notre Dame cathedral at night

Scott outside of the Louvre

The Eiffel tower (this was actually on the last day of our trip.)

One night we took a boat ride down the Sienne

Why I love my husband. He makes a great pack mule. :o)

All I had to carry was a small backpack and handbag.

One of the little villages near Perigueux

Looking down from the village of Domme.

This little village is built right into the cliff.

The view from our hotel in Perigueux

The harbor side of Nice

The old town of Nice

One of the many staircases on the way to our room in Vernazza.

Vernazza from the south

On the way to Monterosso, one village north of Vernazza

Vernazza from the north

On our way to Monterosso

The Trevi fountain at night

The Colosseum

In the Vatican Museum

Venice

I just erased the other pictures of Venice and lack the patience to re add them. Maybe another time. For now, that's a quick synopsis.

Au Revoir

2009-05-16T18:03:00.000-07:00

Our paper chain is down to one link, our passports are in hand and we're nearly packed. Europe here we come!

That just happened

2009-04-16T21:00:00.000-07:00

It's 9 o'clock. I got home from work a little before 6. Scott just went outside because he thought he heard a car running. He did. It was mine. In the garage. Whoops.

Meet Jackson

2009-03-31T11:12:00.000-07:00

Jackson makes an entrance...

On the way to the hospital

Krystin looks good in labor. :o)

Krystin meets Jackson

First family photo

Krystin and Jackson

Bobby and Jackson

7 lbs 14 oz 20 in

Congrats Krystin and Bobby!!!!!

366

2009-03-23T19:54:00.000-07:00

366 days of marriage down. Eventually we'll stop counting.

In a year we flew 16,000 miles.

Bought a house.

Got 3 root canals.

5 crowns.

Gained a pound or two.

Lost a pound or two.

Screwed in 3000 C9 light bulbs.

Picked a few hundred blackberries.

Watched 32 episodes of the Office

Ate somewhere near 200 bowls of ice cream.

Gained a pound or two.

It was a good year.

We ended it here. At the Ocean Lodge.

We ate some of this.
And played on the beach.

Watched a storm blow in.

Couldn't be happier.

On my mind...

2009-03-19T20:17:00.000-07:00

In case you were wondering what's on my mind at this very moment:

Frogs. There must be a million of them outside our front door, I have yet to see one but I hear them, constantly. That in combination with the crickets. It's a chorus. Holy schmoly, they must be able to see what I'm typing, they just went silent for the first time in 72 hours.

Relief Society. Today I feel like a full fledged member. Even though my calling is in the YW. And I've been in the RS for a good 11 years now, I was even a Pres for a time. But tonight, for the very first time, I took dinner to someone who just had a baby. I think that makes it official.

Anniversary. I can't believe it's almost been a year! I'm so thankful that it was such an awesome year and not one of those, "the first year is the hardest" kind of years.

Laundry. I still have a large pile to fold on the couch. I hate laundry. Always have. But I do love to iron.

The frogs are back at it again.

Overheard

2009-01-11T22:50:00.000-08:00

Conversation overheard in the hallway at church.

Woman #1: Man, I've had something stuck between my teeth that I can't get out.
Woman #2: That's the worst
Woman #1: Yeah, I thought it was floss but I use green floss and whatever this is is white.
Woman #2: Hmmm...
Woman #1: I tried tweezing it out but that only got some of it, it's been in there since Friday, driving me crazy.
Woman#2: Hmmm, you already tried tweezing?
Woman #1: yeah, maybe it's cat hair.
Long pause.
Woman #2: Well, that's appetizing.
Woman #1: Well, I am around a lot of cats.

Cat hair?? In between your teeth??? Since Friday???? Disgusting.

Dang procrastintation

2008-12-21T21:25:00.000-08:00

I had high hopes of getting some quality posts in before we took off for Christmas but alas, it was not to be so here's some pics to let you know how December has treated the Paxmans.

If you haven't heard, Portland has been having crazy winter weather, the storms in the last week have brought more snow to Portland than has been seen here in 40 years. And it is quite the spectacle. "Arctic Blast 2008" has proved that Portland is not equipped to handle snow. At all. Not even a little bit. I think at one point we had around 12-18 inches. And then the freezing rain came, and then more snow. Good times. Don't even ask me about driving with all those yahoos on the road.

Here's a pic of our ice graveyard. All of the ice courtesy of our front lawn.

That may look like snow on the branches but it's actually ice. All of the trees ended up this way after the freezing rain. There are some ginormous (I realize that's not a word found in the dictionary. Or maybe it is now, they do update that thing from time to time. ) icicles all around as well.

Having fun in the snow.

This is the house after the first snowfall. Did I mention that church was canceled two weeks in a row. Yep, they cancel church here. Like I said, crazy.

Snow falling at night.

In the middle of all the snow Scotty had a birthday. Happy Birthday my love! And thanks to everyone who braved the weather to come over and celebrate.

Zoe wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas so here she is in her Santa Paws hat, Despite the look on her face, she is thoroughly amused and very excited to send you and yours a Merry Christmas.

So, there you have it. And now we're off to AZ, that is if our plane actually leaves.

Merry Christmas to all!!

Question

2008-12-15T22:01:00.001-08:00

Why are the chips at Chipotle so freakin' salty?

I have some theories:
Chipotle is getting a kickback from the pharmaceuticals that make hypertension drugs.
The same guy that made the guacamole is making the chips.
Someone misunderstood the directions on the bag of chips that said serve covered in salsa, they read it as "serve covered in salt"
If Chipotle can't kill us with their calorie packed burritos they'll get us with the sodium.

Just a theory.

notes on driving

2008-12-03T13:13:00.000-08:00

I've long said that Utah has the worst drivers I have ever encountered (no offense to my Utah peeps.) Their inability to merge is somewhat baffling, the rubbernecking is ridiculous and to top it all off they can be just plain rude.

That being said, I don't know if that is worse than the drivers in the good ol' state of Oregon. They are a different breed to be sure. To start with, the 55 mph speed limit on the freeway is usually strictly followed, in fact, most drivers feel safest when driving 5-10 miles below the speed limit. I am typically not a speed demon but have felt like one even when driving a mere 62. And while I appreciate the "no, really, after you" mentality, it can make one crazy when one driver decides to let everyone on the on-ramp nudge in before you. There is typically confusion as to which lane is the fast lane, it typically varies from the middle lane to the right lane. This is hard for me to get used to, I'm your regular, "left lane, fast lane" kinda gal. I'm sure most of you are aware that it rains in Oregon, a lot, which would make one think that driving in the rain would come as second nature. But you would be wrong my friend, it seems to throw the whole driving eco-system (is there such a thing?) into mayhem, pure mayhem. And then there are all of the bumper stickers. If you're not frustrated enough by the lack of driving aptitude you can spend your time reading the bumper stickers, every good Oregonian has one.

I will some day get used to the rain. I doubt I will ever get used to the driving.

Hey guys

2008-11-25T18:46:00.000-08:00

A few things I'm grateful for

1. This guy. I love him to bits and pieces and then some.

2. These guys. I have an awesome family.

3. These guys. I also have amazing in-laws. Lucky me!

3. These guys. How can you not smile at this picture?

Photo tag

2008-11-18T18:58:00.000-08:00

Random. Here's the 4th picture in the 4th file of my pics. This is my bro-in-law Bobby. We went to a corn maze a few weeks ago and here he is posing as a sunflower. Lovely.

I tag anyone wanting to post an old photo.

Sensitive stomach

2008-11-12T10:02:00.000-08:00

Poor Zoe. And poor Scott .
Poor Zoe because she must have gotten into something that gave her the runs. Poor Scott because he had to clean it up. And it was everywhere. Reason number 72 why I love my husband.

Announcement

2008-10-28T21:53:00.001-07:00

One of these couples is expecting a baby.

It's not us.

Congrats Krystin and Bobby!

The Unveiling

2008-10-21T17:32:00.000-07:00

TA-DAH!!!

Here's a picture of the outside of the OUR, very own house! It pretty much looks like this even though this is an old picture off of Zillow. That big tree is no longer there, I have no idea how long it's been gone and the rest of the plants/bushes are extremely overgrown and need to be dealt with.
I may post pics of the inside but not until we get a few more things done. We love it! Even though we have found some things that make us scratch our heads.
I'll post before and after pics at some point as well. I guess that means I need to find my camera.

I love your blog

2008-10-17T20:11:00.000-07:00

I have been awarded the "I Love Your Blog" award by Chrystal! So i get to try to answer these questions in one word. And since it's 3:45 in the morning and I'm at work waiting for a patient, now's a good as time as any to fill this out.

1. Where is your cell phone? locker

2. Where is your significant other? bed

3. Your hair color? brown

4. Your mother? bestest

5. Your father? hilarious

6. Your favorite thing? snuggling

7. Your dream last night? interrupted

8. Your dream/goal? millions

9. The room you're in? PACU

10. Your hobby? progressing

11. Your fear? loss

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? traveling

13. Where were you last night? dreamland

14. What you're not? slacker

15. One of your wish-list items? France

16. Where you grew up? Flagstaff

17. The last thing you ate? moosetracks

18. What are you wearing? scrubs

19. Your TV? HD

20. Your pet? Zoe

21. Your computer? off

22. Your mood? tired

23. Missing someone? Scott

24. Your car? parked

25. Something you're not wearing? pajamas

26. Favorite store? unknown

27. Your summer? fabulous

28. Love someone? eternally

29. Your favorite color? pink

30. When is the last time you laughed? today

31. Last time you cried? awhile

I award the following people with the "I love your blog award" and in so doing tag them to complete the above questions.
MiRanda
Shannon
StefStarSnow
Lohra
ShellsBells

Point well taken

2008-09-22T20:10:00.000-07:00

A conversation Scott had with one of his 5 year old primary kids.

Evan: Do you have a slow car or what?
Scott: Huh? What do you mean?
Evan: Well, cause you're always late.

We're working on that one. 9 o'clock church is hard.

House Dating

2008-09-12T13:03:00.000-07:00

What house hunting and dating have in common...

It's time consuming and all-other types of consuming
You're always looking at houses, wondering if it could be the one.
You actually find a few you want to check out more closely, only to go inside and realize it's just not what you were looking for.
You find a match-maker, someone to set you up with all available houses. You often wonder how well this person knows what you're actually looking for by what they find for you.
Most of the houses you really like are way out of your league.
Pictures are not always what they appear.
There's a lot of creepy, old houses out there.
You find a good house, one that will suit your needs, everything fits and then someone else puts an offer in right before you and it gets snatched away. You realize later it wasn't all it was cracked up to be.
Everyone wants to know exactly what you're looking for but you're not even quite sure yourself. You'll know it when you see it.
Everyone you know will tell you all about their house hunting/buying experiences.

And eventually when the time is right, you find the one you've been looking for. And it all works out. And life goes on.

Toothache

2008-08-29T18:17:00.000-07:00

If you know me well, you know how much I struggle with going to the dentist. I won't say I hate the dentist because it's not actually the dentist I hate, it's the whole experience. And we had plenty of experiences in the month of August. Scott unfortunately took the brunt of it, poor guy. Here's a rundown of our combined fun:

2 intial visits
2 full sets of x-rays
3 temporary crowns
2 permanent crowns
1 root canal
1 retreat root canal
1 root canal surgery
more xrays
palate ulcers
3 visits to file down high spots
4 prescriptions for clindamycin
3 prescriptions for vicodin
more ibuprofen than our livers are able to metabolize
1 prescription for decadron
36 hours of hiccoughs (straight)
Maximum dental benefits paid
Lots of dental bills

And they're still not done with us. How did we ever find each other?
Here's to a better month!

Apparently we'll be taking a ferry...

2008-08-20T20:31:00.000-07:00

Scott and I have been wanting to get up to Victoria BC for awhile now so last weekend we headed on up. We pit stopped in Seattle Friday and had a good time (minus trying to park downtown) hanging out in the city. We left Seattle early Saturday to get to Port Angeles and take the ferry over. Being slightly unprepared we were relying heavily on the directions on the Scott's iPhone. I was the navigator and Scott driving. The directions seemed pretty simple, take the 90 to the 104 and then to the 101. We kept seeing signs for the Kingston ferry along the same route we were on. Scott asked if we were going to have to take said ferry. I didn't think so, it looked like the 101 went from Edmond to Kingston, when Scott asked to look at the phone he enlightened me that white dots on a map over a body of water indicates a ferry. Oh. Apparently we were taking a ferry. And we had to wait two hours to get onto it. ugh. It slightly delayed us but by some small miracle we made the 1245 ferry to BC even though we didn't walk onto the ferry until 1. phew.

Here we are at Pike's Market in Seattle

This is the Victoria Harbor

Scott made a friend on the ferry

The Sunken Garden at Butchart Gardens.

Scott rode a horse.

I made friend's with a gardener

Taking pictures while driving at 70 mph is undoubtedly a wise choice.

Maharaja

2008-08-20T20:19:00.000-07:00

The Maharaja of Kapurthala

The Maharaja of Victoria

Spotted. The Maharaja. Scott and I were quite pleased to catch a glimpse of this rare public appearance in Victoria BC over the weekend.

More of our trip later.

Noxious Weed

2008-08-12T20:11:00.001-07:00

Noxious Weeds=Delicious Blackberries

We've been loving picking berries

Coneheads and friends

2008-08-07T15:43:00.000-07:00

It's been a tough week or so for the dog. She spends a good portion of her time with a cone on her head. Dang allergies.

Madeleine doesn't mind the cone so much.

This is one of Zoe's cat friends. She thinks she's a cat, the cats aren't usually fooled.

Spontaneity

2008-06-12T15:12:00.000-07:00

In case you haven't heard me complain about it lately, the weather in Portland has not been so great lately. The weekly forecast has included key words like this for what seems like forever: rain showers, mostly cloudy, lower than normal temps, expect warmer temps by the end of the week, rain showers, mostly cloudy, lower than normal temps, expect warmer temps by the end of the week. The "expect warmer temps by the end of the week" is what I believe to be a conspiracy theory to keep people in Portland, the extended forecast always has the 4th day getting warmer but the 4th day never comes. Well, enough of my diatribe on the weather, the important thing is we did something about it. We can't change the weather, so we decided at the last minute to change our location, at least for a few days. Last Thursday afternoon we booked a trip to LA for the next morning. Goodbye rain, hello sun! (I'm late on posting this trip was the weekend before last) and the weather did perk up a bit this weekend!

A few things we learned along the way:

1. The people dressed in costume in Hollywood around Sunset Blvd expect tips if you take their picture. We didn't tip.

2. Right off of Rodeo drive there is an awesome cupcake shop that far exceeds the cupcake shops found in Portland. Delicious!

3. The Grizzly River Run ride at California Adventures will leave you completely soaked.

4. Make sure when you book the trip you book it in your married name, not your maiden name. whoops.

5. An afternoon at the beach makes up for 3 months of rain, kind of.

We take the rides at Disneyland very seriously, as you can tell from this picture. I know, you are as confused as we are at the faces we are making.

What's in a name?

2008-05-09T15:17:00.000-07:00

"The name of a man is a numbing blow from which he never recovers." -Marshall McLuhan

While you may think this post has something to do with my new name, it does not. I am very pleased with my new name and have embraced it fully, although it sometimes takes me a minute on the phone to give the right name.

Rather, this post has to do with the names that parents choose to give to their children. I am constantly amazed at the seemingly thoughtless act of naming a child. This is their name for crying out loud, what they will be known as for the rest of their life! In Utah, the pattern seemed to be to come up with a "unique" spelling or creating a "new" name. (Now, some of you may be thinking that I, of all people should not discuss the spelling of names. But--I did not choose the spelling of my own name and I was also born 20 or so years before this craze came about.)
Now that I have worked in children's hospitals in 3 different states, it's evident that this problem stretches far outside of Utah. I currently work in the PACU (recovery room) and so we have an operating room schedule with every patients name on it. Typically we scan the schedule for names we may find entertaining. Today was no different but the amount of names was absurd. Here is a sampling.
This is not a joke. These are some of the names on the schedule today. All in one day. Jackpot. (that's not one of the names.)

Hooper
Drusilla
Ryen
Zayben
Declan
Favian
Shania
Anjulena

Seriously? Drusilla? Seriously? Now, this is not an attempt to offend anyone who may know a child with these names or maybe even named their child one of these names. It is just my own little brain trying to grasp what drives a parent to name their sweet little baby Drusilla or Zayben. Maybe you can help me understand. Please, anyone....

"People's fates are simplified by their names." -Elias Canetti

VIVA MEXICO!

2008-04-15T14:09:00.001-07:00

Viva Mexico indeed! Here's a few pics from our trip to the country just south of us. Our trip to Chichen Itza (Mayan Ruins)

Hanging out at the Aventura Spa Palace after enjoying a delicious smoothie.
After playing some frisbee (thanks, dad!)

Our favorite restaurant at the resort, I think we consumed an average of 5000 calories a day.

Scootering around the island of Cozumel

Best Day Ever

2008-04-06T20:45:00.000-07:00

Well, it finally happened! We got hitched! I am now a Paxman (not quite official, still have to change my SSN and get an Oregon license but I'm considering that a technicality.) We started the festivities off with a dinner on Friday night with lots of family and friends. It was held at the clubhouse in Heather and Matthew's neighborhood (Scott's sister and bro-in-law.) We had it catered by none other than Cafe Rio, delicious!

Saturday was perfect, the weather cooperated nicely and we enjoyed a beautiful day. Our sealing (marriage ceremony) was at 1pm but Scott and I had to be at the temple at noon. I won't tell you what time I got there but let's just say that Scott made it there first. No worries, I wasn't so late that we delayed the ceremony just late enough to make Scott wonder if I was going to show up. It was all due to some traffic in Sandy where I was getting my hair done, whoopsie! (Becky--I'm still getting comments on the hair! You did an amazing job!)

Once there, Scott and I had time to spend with each other, I have never seen Scott nervous until this point, he says it's equivalent to nerves before the big game but I don't know how anyone could perform a sport when they're shaking so bad!
The sealing was performed by a former temple president and he did a phenomenal job in giving us some instruction and advice. I wish I was more eloquent and had the ability of describing the sweet feelings of being in the temple, marrying the love of my life and being surrounded by family and friends, but all I can say is that is was the perfect moment, beautifully sweet and better than I could have ever imagined!

The rest of the day was amazing, filled with lots of pictures (thanks to Jen for her fabulous job), flowers and fun! We had our reception at the Alpine Art Center, kudos to Stef who did such a fab job on the flowers and centerpieces. Everything was just gorgeous! I loved every minute of it!!

As I was planning for this wedding, I had some fear that something might go wrong or that it wouldn't meet my expectations but I had nothing to worry about! From start to finish it was just as I had imagined! Definitely the best day ever!!

Musical Quandry

2008-02-14T12:54:00.000-08:00

Okay, blogging friends, I need your help. Scott and I are trying to put together music for our reception. I can sing along to almost anything but if you ask me the name of an artist or the title of the song, you will receive just a blank stare in return. So, here's what I need from you, some of your all-time favorite tunes; love songs, dancing songs, favorite 80's, whatever. I just need name of song and artist. We're going to try to compile something that has a little bit of everyone's taste. And, I won't even ask you to lip sync at the reception, maybe.

Whatcha doin?

2008-01-29T20:28:00.000-08:00

I know I just posted but Scott's sick and blogging is a good way to pass the time when you don't know what else to do with yourself. :o)

Here's a little bit of what we've been up to in the last month.

Portland Trailblazers vs. Utah Jazz game. I think Scott thought I was going to cheer for the Jazz but I was never really a Jazz fan, is anyone a Jazz fan that isn't actually born in Utah? That question is in no way meant to offend all of the loyal Jazz fans out there, it's just a question, I'd love to know if there are some un-native Utahn's who are true fans. The game was fun, even when we found out we were sitting behind the grumpiest man on the planet. Nothing that banging two noise sticks together can't help.
Snowshoeing at Trillium Lake!! The snow was pretty packed from the cross country skiers so the snowshoeing was easy but still a great time. FYI-jackets from the GAP are not made of breathable material.

Although some people may think that I want to torture Scott, this is just not true. Even if I drug him to Utah for wedding planning and then out to AZ to meet my entire family. And I do mean entire family. He even met relatives of relatives. While we were there my aunt Vicki took our engagement pics and they turned out great. Here's a few of us just having a good time. And yes, it was freezing outside.

Tagbacks

2008-01-15T17:15:00.000-08:00

Hmmm....I thought I was done with tag but as to not disappoint Laura, I will try to share six unknowns about Scott, which shouldn't be that difficult since only 3 of my friends outside of Portland have met him. That was quite the run-on sentence, I apologize and Scott-just remember, I love you.

1. If Scott and I were to have our own sitcom/reality show it would be called "The Nurse and the Hypochondriac." Scott has had a variety of maladies since I have known him: diabetes, spinal meningitis, pink eye, brain tumor, migraines, teratomas, enlarged heart, I could go on and on. Now, I guess to be fair he can't be classified as a true hypochondriac because he doesn't seek treatment but maybe that's why he's marrying a nurse.

2. Scott sometimes gets food obsessions. If he gets in his head something that he wants to eat, he can't forget about it, and he will crave it until he gets his fill. Some of his past favorites: Baja Fresh steak fajitas, PCG tenderloin satay, Chili's honey chipotle chicken crispers, Costa Vida pork tacos (it would be Cafe Rio but we don't have one here.)

3. Cheap shoes. Scott was recently prepared to purchase a pair of running shoes for $8. You may be thinking, "wow Kaydi, you found a bargain shopper" but if I tell you they were women's running shoes you may just be worried. :o)

4. Zoe loves Scott. I was afraid that my dog may not take kindly to Scott because she is very co-dependant on me. I shouldn't have worried. Zoe loves him, she likes to plop right on his chest when he comes over and always tries to give him kisses. yum.

5. Scott can relate anything to a Seinfeld episode. Just try him, he'll come up with something.

6. Just because this is about a TV show as well, I don't want to give you the impression that Scott watches a ton of TV, he doesn't, at all. But I think that Scott may be the only person to have seen every episode of Smallville. Who watches Smallville? :o)

Tag-schmag

2007-12-27T14:36:00.002-08:00

I-tag, cyber tag, tag-schmag. It's apparently okay to tag someone who is not even aware they are participating in the game, unless the mere fact that I have a blog unwittingly pits me in the playing field. As my competitive nature will not allow me to walk away and not tag back, I give you six unknown (or little known) facts/tidbits about myself. I think that's the game we're playing unless the schoolyard bully changed the rules. Here's to you Stef...

1. When I was little I always wanted to have a broken leg (or broken anything for that matter). Here's the crazy part--my family had a rickety ceiling fan in the family room. I would turn it on high and lay underneath it hoping it would fall and somehow break my leg. Jumping off the roof would have been the more sure bet but apparently I didn't want it badly enough.

2. Oral/nasal secretions (aka thick spit/snot) gross me out. Something about them gives me the heebie jeebies yet I get great satisfaction of sucking them out of small children's/babies noses. Weird. I know.

3. I learned how to drive stick on a tractor. On my 14th birthday I flew to Whitman, Nebraska and worked on a ranch for the rest of the summer.

4. I spent way too much time as a child playing Scrabble. One of the lasting side effects is that I continually count up how much words would be worth in my head. I also have a weird tendency to alphabetize words in my head. Strange idiosyncrasy. (21 points. acdiinorssyy.)

5. Before Fergie (Stacy Ferguson) was famous she was on Kids Inc. in the 80's and I loved her! I named one of my favorite stuffed animals Stacy after her. Don't love her so much anymore.

6. I love practical jokes. This is not an open invitation, I prefer to be the planner rather than the recipient.

I now happily tag Bethany, Kymi, Heather, Renee, Jami, Btittney. Blog away.

What the...????

2007-12-19T17:36:00.000-08:00

I have spent much of my twenties in awe of those people capable finding someone to marry. I mean really, how does it happen? The only explanation I can come up with is divine intervention. It really isn't possible any other way, I would still be floating state to state, lamenting about my 104th blind date, wondering how in the world there came to be so many socially awkward 26-30 year old men. But alas, just when you least expect it, BAM, divine intervention and I'm left wondering "what the....????" And I'm not just talking about the proton pack vacuum he's wearing on his back. Yep-that's him. Scott.

And I have promised a brief version of the proposal story (for those of you who don't know, I got engaged last weekend. Please pick your jaws up off the floor.)

My cousin Clint got married on December 15th in Salt Lake. Scott dropped me off at the airport here in Portland on the 14th and I was headed to the Mother Land. I arrived in Sale Lake and hit the ground running. I went straight form the rental car pickup to the LDS Distribution Center where my good friend Susan works and we headed off to lunch together. After lunch I made my way to Primary Children's to return some keys that I no longer need since I am no longer an employee there. :o( After visiting with some friends I made my way to Shannon's, co-conspirator #1. There I met up with Sue and Becky, co-conspirator #2. For weeks I had been looking forward to Friday night because I knew I would be partaking of some delicious, addictive pork from none other than Cafe Rio!! We met up with some friends there and as always had a grand time. One of the highlights was when Shelley held my hand for the picture. Classic. Cafe Rio was also playing some great music that night, right Shannon?

After enjoying some scrumptious Rio we made our way to Christi's for the annual Whit Elephant Christmas party. I was stoked to find out I would be in town for the party, it would make seeing my friends so much easier being that I was only going to be in town for 24 hours. It's always fun to see what gift will be fought over. In past years Brian's autographed picture, Nate and Kedrick's creations and the shrine to Brian have been highly valued gifts. This year was no different and I ended up with one of the night's hot items, the Chuck Norris, Nate and Kedrick t-shirt. Little did I know that the best gift was yet to come. As soon as the gift exchange portion of the party was over, Shannon let me know that it was time to run over to Becky's new condo to get a quick tour before Becky had to go to another party. We had planned on doing this earlier in the day since the condo was close to Christi's. We drove up to the condo and didn't even seem to notice how Shannon was hovering over me as she rang the doorbell. Don't stop reading, this is where it gets good. The door opens and What the...???? there's Scott standing in the door. I can only imagine what my face looked like, I have the propensity to make really ugly faces and being that I've never practiced complete shock and surprise in the mirror, I'm sure it was a good one. Before I could even ask what was going on Shannon was gone and Scott was leading me away from my rental car and over to his. He mentioned something about going to get dessert and as much as like dessert I was pretty sure he didn't fly from Portland to go get a sundae. We started driving and made our way to Memory Grove park. Now, mind you, it's almost 11pm and it's cold but we got out of the car to go for a little walk. The lampposts around the park still had their Christmas lights on and the snow on the ground made it light enough to see. We made our way around the path and came to a tree where Scott said something about seeing something in the tree. The first thought that popped into my head was "if he planted a ring in a tree, I'm never gonna find it in the dark." But as we got closer I saw what he was talking about. There in the tree were 18 roses. I went to retrieve the roses and when I turned around Scott was down on one knee and he proposed! I obviously said yes and we then made our way back to the car to try to defrost our fingers. :o)

So, there you have it. We'll be getting married March 22nd in the Mount Timpanogos temple in American Fork, Utah!! Holy Crap! I'm getting married!

Bring on the blog wars

2007-12-17T17:26:00.000-08:00

It has been brought to my attention that after a lengthy span of peace, the blog wars are resuming. Sad, sad day. Stef Star- I hope you are prepared for the onslaught that may ensue. Lohra- please don't disappoint, in my opinion you could be on the verge of victory. Shellinskaya- I'm asking that you take it easy on the rest of us, we are mere mortals.
Go, fight, win--Oh wait, is that football? Crap, we need a warcry.

Where Bees Come to Die...

2007-10-29T16:04:00.000-07:00

"If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man," said Albert Einstein.

I was quite intrigued this summer by all of the attention the disappearing bees were getting. Apparently we are on the verge of a "bee apocalypse" as one journalist put it. I believe the correct name for the phenomenon is "colony collapse disorder." Honey bees everywhere are not returning there hives, threatening mankind's very survival cue to their vital contribution to plant pollination. I spent my summer captivated by subject. Trying to learn more as to where the bees were going and how this would impact my life. Would I need to start a more vigorous food storage plan? I spoke with my friend Kelly who has her own bee hive (yep, she has her own bees) and she said that Bill the beekeeper (yep, Bill the beekeeper) had lost many of his hives this last year as well. There was an international summit held so scientists could analyze the problem and find a solution. In fact, they believe that "colony collapse disorder" may be related to a virus or parasite. Research continues.
I almost feel the need to hold a news conference. Because I know what's happening to the bees.

It goes a little something like this:

Bees enter house through window (we think)

Bees have unfortunate encounter with grease splatter guard

Bees Die.

More Bees Die.

Notice in the last picture there are 12 dead bees. 12. (it may look like 13 but one bee was cut in half.) That's a small number, in 2 days Krystin and my combined efforts resulted in the death of more than 30 bees.

4 short years, my apologies world. But we can't have all these bees in our house, especially when Bobby is ridiculously afraid of them. Although it is entertaining to watch him hide under covers and cower on all fours, it's just not okay. At least now we know where all the bees are going. Don't turn me in.

A Big Favor

2007-10-16T18:30:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: The transplant has been postponed until next week. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers!

This post will be quick and to the point. Next week my uncle is scheduled to have a kidney transplant, he will be receiving the kidney from my other uncle. It is a high risk transplant and my uncle could use all of the prayers he can get. If you wouldn't mind keeping him in your prayers my family and I would greatly appreciate it.

Gotta Get Ahead

2007-10-10T13:23:00.000-07:00

I have a problem. I have what some may call a competitive spirit. It doesn't always come out but when it does, watch out! This morning as I was getting off the tram I found myself practically racing a woman into the hospital. When I realized what I was doing, I took a big deep breath and then sped up even more. The best part about this was this woman was not someone I should feel the need to compete with. She was probably 60 or so with white hair and wearing a reflective vest and rain pants. But darn it, she was fast!!! I did claim victory however, well sort of, we were actually headed in opposite directions but I reached my turn first. Ridiculous behavior. Absolutely ridiculous.
I don't know why it happens and I can never predict when it will appear. Although I have noticed a trend when it comes to sports, board games, fast walking and anything else that could have a potential winner. What's my deal? I like to blame most of my negative character traits on the fact that I am a middle child. Not that I rely heavily on the analysis of birth order but I have to blame it on something and my birth order was completely out of my control.
So, I'm going to try to turn a new leaf. No more speedwalking with old ladies, and maybe I will let Bobby win at a game of Scattergories one of these days. I can't let him win at Scrabble but Scattergories I think I could do. maybe. and if not, please don't hold it against me.

Forecasts and wet dogs

2007-10-02T17:23:00.000-07:00

I like to think of myself as an optimist. Maybe this is why I am unable to believe the weather forecast unless it is predicting a nice, sunny 75-80 degrees with little humidity (that's really not too much too ask.) So, last week as I was packing for my trip to Salt Lake for my cousin's wedding I did not believe that Saturday would be 52 degrees with possible rain showers. I mean really, Friday was 75 and Sunday was supposed to be 72. How could the day sandwiched in between be so different? Did I pack warm clothing? No. Did I pack an umbrella? No. I thought the fact that I was traveling for a wedding would assure good weather. How can you have an outdoor reception if it's raining or snowing for that matter?

But alas, it was not meant to be. The forecast was correct. Well actually, it was a little bit off. The temperature never reached 52 and the possible rain showers turned into torrential down pours with intermittent snow. Perfect for a wedding.

Clint and I at Devin's indoor reception.

The forecast in Oregon has not been much better. It looks something like this: Monday-rain, Tuesday-rain, Wednesday-rain, Thursday-rain. You get the picture. I've been trying to stay positive about the rain. I keep telling myself- I love the rain, i love the rain. I'm sure it's going to start working any day now. It really isn't that bad but I never really gave much thought to what it would be like to have a dog, in Portland, in the rain. It looks a little something like this:

This is after a short walk, for those of you dog owners out there, you know that when dogs are wet for some reason their energy level is exponentially increased. So not only are the dogs wet and smelly, they are real contenders for the Shih Tzu 500. (I'm sure there is one somewhere.)

So, let the forecasts continue, I can take it. Wet dogs and all. It's gonna be great!

To Commute or not Commute

2007-09-25T17:31:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know, I work at Doernbecher Children's Hospital which is part of Oregon Health and Sciences University which will be referred to as OHSU from this point forward. OHSU is humongous and sits atop a lovely hill in Portland. The land was apparently donated because it sits along a fault line. Go figure, huge hospital and university perched atop a fault line on top of a hill, brilliant. This whole arrangement of massive buildings and lack of land means no real room for parking.

Here's the thing; I simply refuse to pay $10 a day to park at work. And this is not a good parking spot, this $10 gets you a spot in the farthest lot that is affectionately nicknamed the "get raped" lot. Lovely. At least a ten minute walk.

So- me wanting to save a buck or $30 a week, have been constantly scheming on how to avoid said fees. For my first contract I parked illegally in patient parking by rotating lots and making sure I beat the parking attendant. This was fairly successful until one fateful morning when I hit snooze one too many times and the parking attendant witnessed me getting out of my car, he must've been on to me. After two warning tickets, I got a real live OHSU Parking Services Parking ticket for $100.00. You gasp, but to me I was quite pleased, this was less than a third of what paying for parking would have been for the first 3 months.

This leads me to my second plan. There is a YMCA at the bottom of said hill. (Picture the bottom of Wasatch Blvd leading to the U of U hospital but worse and many more trees and bigger hills; maybe a bad comparison). Let's get to the point. My bro-in-law has a membership to the Y which entitles him to a parking pass there. Until today I was parking at the Y then hiking (this is not an exaggeration) to work. You may ask, what happened yesterday? Well, summer ended and daylight is sparse. I would continue to park at the Y but stumbling down a steep trail while gripping my pepperspray to ward off the homeless no longer seems like a good idea. And eventually the Y may catch on.

Here's where things start looking up. I am not the only one always trying to avoid paying to go to work and one of my coworkers has done much research on the subject. Said coworker found a lot close to the tram (multi million dollar project that connects downtown Portland to OHSU) that is only $3 a day, for the whole day! It's about a 7 minute walk to the tram (I timed it myself) and then I get to enjoy Portland in all it's glory. You can see all of the bridges and downtown Portland and it looks great in the sunrise. I had no idea what I was missing out on! And on top of that- the tram provides great opportunity for eavesdropping, one of my favorite past times. (Not in a bad, gossipy, nosy old-lady kind of way; more of a people are very amusing kind of way.) This morning I learned all about bad popcorn that sticks to your teeth, why we all work to get microwave ovens, Mr. Anderson and myriad of other interesting snippets.

So what if I have to leave my house at 0610 to make it to work by 0700, today it was well worth the hassle and the $3. I hope I feel the same way when the rain starts!

Let Freedom Ring

2007-09-17T09:46:00.000-07:00

In April I had a flight from Phoenix to Vegas. It was one of the last flights to leave from Phoenix that night. As I was waiting at the gate there was a lot of people gathering at the gate across the way and in the midst of them were a group of what appeared to be Junior ROTC members. They were junior high/high school age kids dressed in uniform. They formed two lines around the door of the gate. There was a general feeling of curiosity as to what was going on. Slowly more and more people gathered, including a slew of airport workers. I was beginning to wonder if some important politician was landing in Phoenix. As the doors opened and the plane passengers unboarded, it appeared to be any normal flight. No fanfare required. I thought that all of the passengers were off the plane as did the majority of the large audience. And then it happened, I heard something come from one of the young cadets and then saw an older couple coming down the lane, the crowd erupted in applause and I was still confused as I could not get a direct look and only saw their heads. The applause grew and then I could see; one of our troops was coming home, in a wheelchair, a double amputee. It was his parents whose heads I had seen earlier, accompanying their son home. I was touched. Here was a young man, probably not older than 23, arriving home to a life that will forever be changed because of his decision to serve his country.
Last night I watched the HBO special Alive Day. It can be downloaded from hbo.com. I can't stop thinking about these soldiers who have given so much for us to go about our daily lives free to live as we choose. I don't want this to be a post about pro-war or anti-war, I just wanted to pay my respect to those men and women who choose to serve their country and in doing so serving each of us. We have much to be grateful for.

Bird Lice and Fish Hooks

2007-09-05T12:15:00.000-07:00

Well, word is out that this blog exists. I'm sure there was much disappointment in the fact that there was only one lowly post. Blogging I have come to find is much like journal writing. You start with great ambition and then when you slack off and don't write for months at a time it is hard to start back up again because you know how much stuff has been missed. Do you just start fresh and forget about the months that were not journaled or do you do a marathon journal entry trying to remember all the details that have been neglected. This is why I should not have started a blog, I am a terrible journal keeper!

That aside- I will go on to explain the title of this post (I know the suspense is killing you.) I had a nice little break from work in Portland and had a chance to spend a week in SLC and some time at home in Flag (Flagstaff, AZ for those of you not up on AZ city lingo.)

The trip to Salt Lake was great!! Even if I did work 3 shifts at Primary's. However, here's where the title comes in, I got to experience what I like to call "random acts of Kaydi's life." For some unknown reason, things happen in my life that I swear do not happen to other people. I can not say why this is, it just is. Perhaps I will go into some of these events in another post. Random act this trip would be the fact that I got fishhooked, yes, fishhooked while floating the Provo River. Not by a fisherman with a nice, clean hook but by a rusty, disgusting, fishgut infested old fishhook. It's been more than a week now and behind my knee has healed up nicely with no sign of infection, this is a reminder to all to get a current tetanus shot!

The second part of my vacation led me to Flagstaff, after a quick stop in Portland to pick up Zoe. I mean really, who doesn't love to fly with dogs? The trip was going quite well and Zoe although not a fan of Chloe (my parent's lhasa apso) seemed to enjoy getting into everything. Everything, including a pile of bird droppings that just happened to be infested with none other than bird lice. Yep, bird lice. I did not know that birds had their own lice, now I do. Thankfully, bird lice can not live on humans or dogs (or as the vet put it, "shouldn't be able to.") However those reassuring words did not keep me from itching for nearly the rest of my trip. Zoe didn't seem to notice.

And this is how life goes, randomly and not as expected but at least it's something to blog about!

Seriously?

2007-06-15T13:45:00.000-07:00

So, here I am trying to blog and what do I do? Post an empty posting. Good job, way to go. I know that is impressive. Mind you, I did not mean to post a blank post, in fact I had actually typed something. But with my swift fingers I deleted and posted at the same time. The talent is mind boggling.
That aside, welcome to my blog! Anyone who knows me will know that me having a blog is a pretty far stretch and I think I may even hear distant laughing coming from 2910 S. Judith. Keep it down ladies.
Now, I'll be honest, I don't quite know what it is that I will be chronicling that could be blogworthy but I will be giving it an honest effort (for at least a good month.)
Here's a quick rundown of what's been going on in my life.
I moved to Portland (okay, okay, it's really Beaverton but no on would know where that is) in April. I took another travel nurse assignment out here. I work at Doernbecher's Children's Hospital in the PACU and am working on extending my contract until the end of November. My sister Krystin is the one who deserves the credit for getting me out here and I am living with her and her husband, Bobby. Kudos to Krystin!!
Portland has been awesome so far! It definitely exceeded my expectations. I was excited to live with Krystin but the city is fabulous and I've made some great friends.

2007-06-15T13:42:00.000-07:00