a long awaited visit and the world's finest cookie

I just need to let out a resounding "WAHOO!!!" After six L-O-N-G years, my younger brother will be returning to the States for a visit. It's hard to believe it's been six years since he was last in here....so many changes have occurred during those years. To say he's been sorely missed would be an understatement. As I've gotten older, I'm so keenly aware that the only other person who truly understands what it's like to grow up in my family, is my brother. And oh, how I miss him! He'll be setting foot in P-town in 20 days...not like I'm ANXIOUSLY awaiting his arrival or anything. Except I am...desperately!

With Drew's arrival comes the returned delight of my favorite cookie in the world...the Tim Tam. These cookies are an other-worldly-good, insanely delicious, amazingly decadent marvel of perfection , heaven-come-to earth savory chocolaty crispy bundle of joy. Have I emphasized enough how much I LOVE this cookie? While you can purchase these cookies at an inflated price at 'World Market'...nothing beats goods from the source!

So, I'd like to make a cookie toast...here's to my brother's visit and the best cookie in the world. I love them both dearly!

Oh...and pick yourself up a pack of these overly priced cookies and let me know if you're addicted to them too! They are Divine!

26.2

So, yesterday some of my dear friends conquered an amazing feat...they ran AND finished the Portland Marathon...they have the medals, t-shirts and blisters to prove it! I'm completely awed and humbled! I cannot imagine training so long and hard for something that in-and-of-itself is something so long and hard. Running for 5 hours straight? Uh...my inner sloth is cringing at the mere thought!

The 19th mile marker is about 5 blocks from my house so I went out in the rain and drizzle to witness this colossal event and even cheer some people on! It is amazing to see so many different kinds of people on the race course. I was anticipating tall, lean and lithe runners outfitted in assorted shades of skin tight lycra...and there were some of those...but I was more shocked at the 'normal' people who were running. People of all ages, shapes, sizes and fitness levels. They were at mile 19...and they were still running! Could this be?

During my time at mile 19, I saw two of my friends pass by...I felt nothing short of giddy at their accomplishment. What does it feel like to train for so many months and then conquer 26.2 miles? I felt so inspired and excited...Maybe I should do a marathon too! Yes...I can do this! I mean, I used to be athletic...I used to run...It would be a great excuse to get in incredible shape...To commit to something and see it through. Yes...I could do a marathon! Yes, I'm GOING to do a marathon!!!

So, I spent some time online looking at all the local 5k races (we're starting small here people!). I clicked through on-line photo albums, read about races and even found one that I think would be a pretty good match for me...the Hippie Chick Half Marathon! Maybe I could really do this...

I checked out the race date...figured out how many months it would take to train...what gear I would need to invest in. Looked at some more races...Pasta to Pints- that's a race that sounds like me! WOW, I had no idea there were so many races in Portland! I should sign up for one, then I won't have any choice...I'll have committed...I'll HAVE to do the run!

So, I went and got a bowl of ice cream.

Baby steps here, people! Baby steps!

The first step is THINKING about it...


KUDOS to the marathon finishers!
You know who you are...Chad and Shannon!
You two are truly AMAZING!

R & R

As posted previously, Tre and I took off on the 6th for a 4 day/3 night anniversary trip up to Port Townsend (PT), Sequim and Discovery Bay on the Washington Penninsula.

We left late afternoon on the 6th and made a leisurely drive up the peninsula, stopping at several state parks and soaking up as much of the scenery as possible. We arrived in Sequim in the late afternoon for our first ever stay at a Bed & Breakfast. I've always been a little leery of B&B's because I really have no desire to share space with strangers and make idle chit chat over breakfast. BUT...the B&B was lovely, breakfast conversation interesting and enjoyable not to mention that the breakfast itself was AMAZING! So, with full bellies, we set out to explore the area via geocaches. (Now, I do promise to dedicate an entire post to geocaching but for space sake and reading ease, I will leave that for later).

We spent most of our first day down by the water collecting seashells, cool rocks and pieces of sea glass. At one of our stops, we even had our very own black lab to play fetch with...and play fetch we did! I'm convinced this dog could play fetch for hours without every tiring. We threw the stick for an hour straight and the dog was still wanting to play! Crazy! In the early afternoon we decided to check into our cottage in Discovery Bay for the next 2 nights.

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The cool thing about Jenny's cottage is that it's where we spent the first 2 nights of our honeymoon before ferrying over to the San Juans...six years ago! Although ownership of the cottage has changed, it's still the same quaint place we remembered...no t.v., no phones and no Internet. Just the beach, the wildlife and the quiet! I walked for hours on the beach while Tre kayaked for the first time. We built fires on the beach in the evening as the sun set and sipped wine while we watched the colors in the sky change and the moon rise until the moonlight lit up the Bay. We saw seals, sea otters and birds in the water and watched every sunset with amazement and wonder. It's such a spectacular place and so completely relaxing...it's so nice to feel everything else melt away and be able to focus on the nature around and spend time with each other without all the distractions of the everyday.

Our last day we went into Port Townsend with the goal of completing the few remaining geocaches Tre had looked up for us to do. We took a hike up-up-up into the forest outside of Fort Worden State Park, we walked through the lush Chetzemoka Park while looking out at the ships and fisherman in the Sound and got some ice cream in the shopping district downtown. It was with great reluctance we left PT to return home.

We feel so blessed to have had such a rest full, relaxing and peaceful time away. If only all of life could be as blissful as those 4 days were....

The Groveland Cottage B & B

The view of the gardens and creek from the private balcony off our room

Early morning coffee and tea is served at 7 AM. I took my cup of tea and sat outside on the deck, admiring the Olympics and the bliss of sunrise.

The Blue Hole quick stop market which sold an eclectic mix of beverages (including nice wines), local jewelry and snacks and also provided several seating areas to relax in while enjoying the company of a local furry resident.

On the beach in Port Townsend (PT) where we watched huge ships travel through the sound, looked out across the water to local islands and searched for shells and cool rocks on the shore.

The view of Discovery Bay from the porch on Jenny's Cottage. One of my all time favorite places in the world!

The wicker furniture on the porch at Jenny's Cottage...a great place to read, watch the water and sip on wine!

Tre kayaking at dusk in Discovery Bay at the beach by Jenny's Cottage...amazing, huh?

A sunset Discovery Bay style!

The fireman hard at work...starting a fire?!?

Happiness & Heaviness

Hello blog world! It's been a LONG while since I've posted something! I can't say that nothing has been going on, because so much has been, it's just that I'm just a lazy blogger...and remember I warned you about that when I first started this blog. So, I'm back in the saddle again...


HAPPINESS

While it hasn't been the summer of my dreams in terms of lazy days, camping, hiking, bike riding and all the other fun stuff I LOVE to do, I've gotten in a few weekends of relaxation here and there. Honestly, one of my favorite memories of the summer was a weekday I was cancelled at work and Tre and I went to throw the Frisbee at Vancouver Lake park. We were both barefoot, with lush cold green grass under our feet and when we got tired of chasing the Frisbee we laid down in the grass on our backs and watched the cottonwood fuzzies floating in the sky above and chatted about inconsequential things and told jokes. While I wish all days were as savory as that one, it was definitely a highlight in what has been an exhausting summer with starting a new job and the emotional load that comes with it...but more on that later.

Just last weekend I had the pleasure of meeting Claire Fortner. She's the new snugly family member who has turned my friends Jeff and Michelle into parents. She's almost 6 weeks old now and has begun her "fussy" stage. She's cute as a button and I really enjoyed meeting this new little soul! I took a few pics when I was there...to me, they are hilarious and pretty self explanatory! Ah, diapers! ;)


















HEAVINESS
I knew that my job was, at some point, going to become emotionally difficult. After all, I'm dealing with people who are battling cancer and unfortunately, cancer is still a formidable disease to get. For every one success story, there are multiple losses. While there have been many deaths in my short time at this job, in the last few weeks several of these deaths have become difficult for me to manage emotionally, due to my bond with the patient. I see many of the same patients week after week, I become a part of their life while they are receiving treatment. I hear about their lives, jobs, hobbies, hopes, struggles and I meet their families..mothers, brothers, sisters, children, grandchildren. In turn I answer their questions and share myself and my life with them. That makes it all the more difficult when I hear about a hospice referral or a demise of one of these patients whom I know, have cared for and have invested in. It hits my heart hard. I realize all they are dealing with...the goodbyes, the uncertainty and the fear of what lies ahead, knowing they will be leaving dear ones behind. It's overwhelming! And while I cannot change the course their disease has taken, answer the question of "Why me?" or take away the sadness and anger they feel, I can hold them in my thoughts and learn from the courageous way in which they fought for their life while keeping a smile on their face. I expected to grieve for my patients when I took this job and I know that while the emotional aspect will not change, my coping and processing of it will. As hard as this is for me right now, I know that I am doing what I should be doing...that I am meant to be the nurse for these patients.


MORE HAPPINESS
It's always good to use the "sandwhich approach"...happy, heavy, happy! That way you end on the upbeat! This weekend Tre and I are taking off to enjoy 4 days to celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary! I can't believe it's been six years already! And while our marriage journey has certainly NOT been easy, it's been enriching and gratifying. We're headed up to Port Townsend, WA...to the same little cabin we spent the first few days of our honeymoon in. We've planned some great geocaches in the area, a hike up Hurricaine Ridge in Olympic National Park and definitely some much earned R & R! My parent's were kind enough to watch our furry kids, so we're solo this weekend which adds to the bliss of it all! I hope to get a post-anniversary blog with pictures up soon after our return!

10 things I found in my fridge...and wish I hadn't

I get in these crazy cleaning moods sometimes.

I was in one this morning and tomorrow is trash day...perfect timing!

Today's obsession was the fridge.

I guess it's been awhile since I cleaned the fridge out. There were some strange findings!

1) 3 jars of buffalo wing sauce from 'Fire on the Mountain', purchased by Tre in late January-February, to imitate his favorite delicacy at home. Aforementioned 3 jars were gelatinous with a rock hard creme brulee- esque topping and the beginnings of 'fuzz'. Hmmm.

2) 1 jar of lingonberries, purchased by Tre to accompany his beloved Ikea meatballs most likely procured in early/mid January. Jar had been dropped numerous times before leaving the store and again upon arrival at home. Natural lingonberry red had shifted to a dark Merlot looking color. Probably not a good thing. Possible spoil date advanced by repeated dropping.

3) 1 jar of pear sauce, purchased by yours truly in March/April, hidden in the back recesses of the fridge guarded closely by 2 jars of pickles. Usual light yellow colored pear sauce was more a lime-green hue with a colony of red 'fuzz' taking over one side of the jar.

4) 3 left-over pork chops, prepared by Tre early last week. No suspicious color or odor noted, but dating made vittles seem suspicious and therefore ceremonially dumped in trash.

5) 1 small Gladware plastic full of broccoli, prepared by Tre early last week to accompany the pork chops. Pork chop suspicion = broccoli suspicion, guilty by association.

6) 2 Gladware plastics full of blueberries, purchased and handpicked by Tre, date unknown. Blueberries displayed various growth stages including young and light blue, plump and perfect, and finally shriveled old man raisin berries. While color remained mostly true blue, grey 'fuzz' had created townships throughout plastic holding.

7) 1 bowl full of left-over refried beans and corn, prepared by Tre possibly 10-11 days ago, for taco night. A minuscule amount of unidentified slime settling on the bottom and rank odor detected as plastic protective covering was removed. Gagging and nose wrinkling ensued.

8) 1 jar of Tostino's medium salsa, purchase date unknown, although jar states expiration date as 2-28-08. Jar had obviously been opened and user procured maybe one serving. Although contents retained original color, product had coagulated...yes, coagulated...and three rather large white 'fuzzies' created an island on both the contents and the lid.

9) Macaroni and tuna, prepared by Tre 8-10 days ago. I do not feel this food item needs any more descriptive narration. One can only use their imagination to give character and odor to this blessed concoction. 'Nuff said.

10) One carafe of homemade strawberry syrup, prepared by Leigh, circa late May. This little find gives new meaning to the word congealed, as contents were actually one solid jello-like block with a watery grey syrup on top.

Please do not judge me.

Please know that despite the contents of my fridge, I really am a clean-freak...I've just been busy lately.

Please note that substantial amounts of bleach were used to subsequently clean the shelving in the refrigerator and most Gladware associated with this experience has been recycled.

No organisms were harmed in the cleaning of the fridge, all aforementioned 'fuzzies', slimes and unidentified congealed substances were released into the wild (aka city dump) to further their species.

Wedded Bliss

My dear friend, Michelle (aka Kitten or Little One), who survived the tortures of nursing school with me, got hitched this past weekend! She and her fiance, Mike, have one of those amazing love stories that just makes you feel gooey inside...but that's a blog for another time. As with any wedding, it had its share of crazy times and drama, but overall, it was AMAZING! The wedding itself was so personal and heartfelt! Michelle looked so very beautiful and Mike so handsome. It was a fun party and I felt so very honored to be a part of it!

Some of the memorable moments of the wedding weekend:

* The day before the wedding the bride took her entire bridal party out for a day of pampering. Each of us got a manicure and a pedicure complete with our choice of nail color! It was SUCH a treat and oh, so relaxing!

* The day of the wedding, my friend Carrie (who was also in the wedding) and I picked up the bride (including wedding dress, veil and overnight bag for the honeymoon) to get her to the salon to have her hair done. Miracle #1: I arrived at the bride's house ON TIME. This may not seem like a miracle but trust me...this is no small feat for me as I am perpetually late...ALL the time. So, together we drove the bride down to her hair salon which happens to be on the outskirts of an area with lots of boutiques and swanky shopping. Miracle #2: I got a parking space RIGHT in front of the hair salon...a major accomplishment on a busy Saturday with lots of shoppers. At the hair salon we were met by another bridesmaid, Rosemary, who was in town from Portland, Maine with her 1 month old daughter, Caty. While the bride got her hair done and Rosemary fed Caty, Carrie and I raced around town stopping at Whole Foods to get the bride some lunch and schedule a nail appointment for the bride to get her nails touched up. Upon arriving back at the hair salon, 1 bride, 3 bridesmaids and a 1 month old piled into my car...along with 1 wedding dress, 1 veil, 3 bridesmaids dresses, a car seat, one small bag of luggage for the bride and Rosemary's suitcase and we headed off to get the bride to the nail salon. Upon arriving at the nail salon...Miracle #3: We got a parking place RIGHT in front of Aveda which is in a part of town notorious for its congested parking. While the bride got her nails touched up, Carrie and I went to grab her coffee while Rosemary put on make-up on in the salon. As both Carrie and I have NO idea about the whole make up thing...Miracle #4: two very kind make-up artists offered their services ensuring that we wouldn't ruin the wedding pictures! So, into my car piled 3 sensational-looking bridesmaids, 1 baby and a beautiful bride with amazing hair and freshly primed nails. Off to get married...

* Unbeknownst to him, I graciously offered up Tremaine's babysitting skills to Rosemary so she could leave Caty in capable hands while she performed her wedding duties. My diabolic plan was to thwart his persistence at starting a family by intimidating and overwhelming him with the work and care a newborn requires. Suspiciously, unlike many other men, Tre was completely unfazed by my offer to Rosemary and was actually pretty excited about the whole thing. I do believe his initial comment was: "If I do good with this one, can we get one of our own?" Hmmm....sly! So, Tre was outfitted with a baby Bjorn and a snugly, albeit fussy, baby Caty nestled therein. In keeping with good timing, she began to fuss louder and louder throughout the wedding party's processional and commenced with a good wail at the onset of the Wedding March. Needless to say, Tre missed the ceremony. On the bright side, baby Caty now has a good head start on naming all the herbs in the garden out at Edgefield under Tre's careful tutelage. Much to the admiration of all, baby Caty fell asleep in her baby Bjorn on Tre's chest. He was the talk of the wedding, dubbed the "Baby Whisperer"and I received more than a few comments on his capabilities. Drat! I was hoping to intimidate and overwhelm him...methinks my plan backfired completely! Grr!

A toast to the McLemore's: Congrats newlyweds! May your journey together be as blessed as the lives you have touched as a couple!


Michelle and Carrie enjoy some pampering before the wedding


The groomsmen enjoying some refreshments at the rehearsal dinner

Rosemary and Carrie...serious discussion?


The mother of the bride with baby Caty


The gorgeous bride in her elegant wedding dress!

The day after the wedding, my friend Carrie and I went to the park with our furry kids. Her furry kid, Molly LOVES to play fetch in the water, especially if it involves enormous tree-trunk sized sticks. While Molly waded in the water, retrieving thrown stick after thrown stick, my aquaphobic furry kids preferred the safety of the shoreline. After awhile, Tsavo got his little paws wet and even retrieved a few small twigs in a few inches of water and after while I coaxed Ellie to do the same. Despite their dislike of water, Tsavo and Ellis sure love Molly...and I sure love the company of Carrie so we were all happy campers! It was a nice end to a blissful weekend!

Tsavo was king of the hill!

Molly enjoying the water!

My dear friend Carrie!

Scooter clubs, Fireworks and Michael Jackson Impressions

No pics to go with this entry so you'll just have to visualize the tasty scenes I'm about to divulge...

Wednesday July 2 - I had a pretty awful day at work and as an unforeseen reward at the end of my day, Tre had scooted over to coax me into going out to supper and then joining him on a scooter ride with the St. John's Scooter Club. Honestly, the LAST thing I wanted to do after a horrific work day was scoot around P-town with a bunch of strangers. But after bitching about my day and snarfing down a panini, I was evidently in enough of a food coma for hubby to convinced me to join him. So, we arrived at the rendezvous and set off on our adventure with 5 other scooter enthusiasts. One scooter...the diesel one of the bunch...sputtered and died 10 minutes into our ride! But not to fear! The ousted scooterist got to ride bitch in the sidecar of our orange scooter and thus we could continue our journey! After being horribly embarrassed for the first 15 minutes of the ride (worried someone would recognize me amidst the noisy collection of odd people and machines) I realized I was actually having fun and so embraced my inner dork and enjoyed riding around parts of Portland that I have many times passed in my car and thus never fully appreciated. After much whining and skepticism...scooter club gets a thumbs up of approval!

Friday July 4- Independence Day...it's humorous and tragic to me that as Americans we take great pride in drinking copious amounts of alcohol and setting fire to things to commemorate our freedom from Britain. Alcohol consumption and arson do not seem to mesh well, but then I guess we've been doing things this way for a number of decades without annihilating our race so...whatever! We spent the evening with Tre's family just north in Vancouver, enjoying bar-b-que and conversation. Then we went to the parking lot of the local school where Tre, grinning ear-to-ear and giddy as ever, produced a grand fireworks display. He shot of a number of fireworks that are illegal in Oregon but by crossing the river, we can enjoy them without the threat of fines and police involvement. A fun night was had by all!

Saturday July 5- Tre and I hung out with our good friends Andy and Paige. Our first stop was to check out the "garage sale" at Rogue Brewery. Every year, Rogue has a sale on cases of beer, clothing and other merchandise. The boys shopped for tasty libations, sampling and reading about hops and malts while Paige and I watched them with a mixture of horror and awe. They boys settled on a case each, which were left in the car while we walked to the stadium to take in a Portland Beaver's baseball game. Now, I'm not a fan of baseball by ANY stretch of the imagination but I enjoy the company and people watching. Beers were consumed, some yelling occurred and fun was had by all. Next stop...find food! We ended up at the Deschutes Brewery where additional brews and some tasty vittles were consumed! With the addition of our friend Kim, we then moved the party across the river to Grand Central Bowling. This little establishment used to be pretty run down and eclectic but has since been renovated and now hosts several bowling lanes with enormous TVs at the end of the lanes which play a schizophrenic assortment of music videos. So, while we all enjoyed yet more beers, we strapped on our classy bowling shoes and bowled our little hearts out. At one point a Michael Jackson music video came onscreen and Tre began to dance and moonwalk while he bowled. Honestly, it was pretty humorous and I think the other bowlers enjoyed the free freak show which Tre was more than happy to accommodate.

And there you have a snapshot into our everyday lives!