SNOW DAY HELL!!!

So Yesterday on Dec 28th, 2009 I was in school and saw my teacher looking out the window, and I asked what are you looking at, her reply, "its snowing" it was very small flakes, nothing important, 5 minutes later it was an inch high on the cars.. it went from 0 to Hell in less than a half and hour, and the forecast was for rain. SO when class was over, I left, at 3pm, I didnt even make it home 5 hours later, I made it to my in laws home.. When I left I got on the freeway and headed home, its about a 30 minute drive to and from school, its all freeway and nice.. but since I was sitting with a quarter tank of gas, I knew I should get off, get gas, before traffic got ugly, to late.... it was ugly, the exit I took because it was a familliar one, turned into the worst winter driving night mare. So many people dont know how to drive in the snow where I live, its unreal, they think if you have money a sports car will do, but the logic doesnt work that way with snow and ice. So me in my 4 cylinder car, made it up and over mountains and hills, covered in snow and ice. I finally got gas after 4 hours of fighting stop and go traffic, more like stop, park for 30 minutes and move a bit. I wasnt scared, nervous, but worried a bit about whether or not the gas would make it. I finally got gas, the attendant said if I took this tiny street and down two more streets, I would get to where I needed to go, MY INLAWS. Just before my phone died, I called my boyfriend told him that I was headed to his parents house since I was near by. And I made it....

Returning to School...

i am nervous, excited and a bit sad all rolled into one. My boyfriend lost his job and so there is that bit of stress, but thank goodness for savings, stocks, and well, parents! But we felt that in order to get control of something better for us, we have decided to return to school. I will be working on getting my CMA license. And he will be staying with our son during the times I'm at school. I will miss him dearly, having spent the first 15 months of his life, never being apart for more than a few hours a week. So the one good part besides bettering myself. Is school is during the times that my son is at his best... nap times LOL :)

It will be an 8 month class and I am so excited for the hands on working.. drawing blood doesnt bother me, that is why I chose the CMA, because I think if i went for the LPN or R.N. i would have to see a bit more than I think I could stomach.. but all is good, like getting use to a babies dirty diapers, you just have to suck it up and get it over with..

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Google Reader

The more I have been working online, and using blogspot, blogger.com or Google. I have seen so many new things. Google Reader is wonderful, especially if you follow a lot of blogs, like I do. You can quickly skim thru your blogs, read the ones that you really want to. Or mark as read for others.. save them, delete them, instead of having to go to every single blog.

Portland Timbers...

I am a very big fan.. love going to the games when I have a sitter as my son is still to small to take to the games, YET! Next season or even better, when Portland joins the MLS in 2011, he will be ready for the big games.

Tonights game was against the Cleavland City Stars and you know, only one red card was thrown, and that was actually very nice to see. In some of the games, the opposing team gives some pretty cheap shots. I understand the frustration of losing, or almost losing, or the fact that they have better ball handling techniques, its no reason to kick a player in the gut or cleat them in the knee.. its just uncalled for.

The Timbers lost todays match, but you know, it wasnt from lack of effort, just the opposing team was better. In all the games that I have seen I have never once seen a Timber's player make a cheap shot. I have however seen teams help each other up, even in the heat of battle.

Once the Timbers become apart of the MLS, I proudly will sit in the beer garden in level with the field and cheer, scream, chant my guts out whenever possible.

If you have never been to a Timbers game, I highly recommend going to one. There is a section there, 107, that houses the Timber Army... a high energy group of fans. They cheer, scream, whoop it up, and encourage our men to win.. Timber Joey can be seen with his chainsaw getting the crowds rallied together.

If you are a family, you might want to steer clear of the TA section, sometimes bad language can be heard from this section, but nothing that doesnt happen at any other soccer venue. Britain has a very rowdy fan base. On Saturdays families can sit in the beer garden, its on the level with the field, but it is first come first serve, and you will see the same fans sitting there game after game.. granted, its not as rowdy as the TA section.. but nonetheless, enjoyable.

My first time attending one of these games, my mom and her friend and I sat in the beer garden and thus, there after. I was sitting at the table, watching the game with great enthusiasm, but not as much as my mom was into it. She was standing on her seat cheering, screaming, rooting for her team, and I was mortified, embarrassed, how could my mom be doing this to me.. and then I looked around... EVERYONE was standing on their seats.. it occurred to me then, My Mother IS a fan.... and thus, we started going to the games, and racing down to the beer garden to get our table.

In the near future my son will join us at the games..just waiting for the moment that he will watch the games with us and not get scared of the noise!!

Go Timbers!!

Use Condoms!!!

Riding A Whale Shark

Adam riding a Whale Shark Video by ♥ _Monique - MySpace Video

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This is my cousin.. he is very bold, i guess its common thing in the gulf, to jump aboard a passing whale shark and ride away!!! They are very gentle and curious animals..

Farm Town...

you know who you are... your the one that wastes hours at a stretch plowing, harvesting, and other wise, tending to your fabulous farm. I took a break from FT and wow, lots of changes, I have been planting pineapple every three days, and after reharvesting etc, i get about 150,000 coins from it.. so far I have a little over 600K, I dont think I'll use the money for the Mansion when I level up. But its nice to have it just incase there is something I really like. This was an addiction of sorts... I love gardening, but being in a small home with no yard, we cant wait to get our own home, but playing for endless hours took its toll, I finally had to pull the plug on FT, but now I am back for a bit, but what is the addiction for you? Its also a great teaching tool... teaches kids that there is a lot of hard work involved in farming.

Portland, Oregon to Helena, MT with a one year old

The drive is between 10-12 hours long, seems like it takes longer to get there than it does to get home.. maybe because we think there is plenty of time to get there if we leave around 8am, but nope, usually people are waiting up for us, and we have to hurry. Over the weekend we drove to Montana, where my boyfriend is from. But this trip, I was going to get to meet almost all of his cousins, I do believe he has 14 first cousins, and all of their spouses and children. Crazy Fun!!


I love sitting in the passenger seat taking photos and just looking at all the beautiful scenery. This photo is just about 25 miles outside of Helena, MT, its near McDonald Pass, the sun was setting, and I was able to get the camera out and take this photo.




Our son loves being in the car, the only time he gets fussy is because he's wet, or wants a drink.. when he was real small, if he cried, he was preparing to fall asleep. He is such a trooper.. when we would stop for either him or us, we would let him get out and walk.. He has only been walking about a month or so, so the legs are still like that of a new sailor.. now that he's older and taller, he can look out the window and see the scenery, sometimes he even laughs, not sure at what, but only he knows.. maybe when he's older, he can tell us. Coming home, he was even better, the ride was about two hours shorter, mainly because we didn't stop as much.. once we got him into the house, i let him play for a few minutes, but when i picked him up and told him it was snoozy time, I showed him his bed, and laid him down in it, i never heard a peep out of him until about 5am.... what a great trip

The Picky Eater

The question was asked of me, what do I feed my son.. who is one, I feed him whatever I am eating, unless its spicy. Patrick gets a lot of veggies, steamed or raw.. also the same with fruit. Some Kids are picky eaters, some only want to eat one color of food, just gotta find what works and not give up... I give that advice to myself...

Breakfasts... small bowl of cheerios with blueberries, applesauce, or pear sauce, toast, oatmeal,

Lunches sandwiches, usually rye bread, lunch meat, cheese, mayo and mustard, then I smoosh it, and cut into small bites, and give him two at a time.. ravioli that I make, he loves spaghetti and red sauce. Red Sauce is usually green, red, yellow and orange peppers diced, olives, mushrooms, tomatoes and a bit of spice.

Snacks-- sliced cheeses, grapes cut and quartered, sliced pickles also quartered, olives cut in half, more blueberries, we live next door to an organic blueberry farm... wheat crackers broken into fourths, or Annies white cheddar crackers ( his fav.)bananas, peaches, pears, cooked carrots served after being in the fridge, peas, soft stuff

Dinners- last night he ate two turkey meatballs with red sauce, didnt care for the spagetti, even though it most mostly veggies, he likes sauteed red and orange peppers, when we make us taco salads, we take a bit of the meat out before we add the hot stuff, and sprinkle some cheese on top,

we dont give him juice, its either 2% milk or water and nothing else.. Hes off the bottle, so each meal and snack he gets a cup of milk wth a straw,

I know that im doing good now, but what about later, both myself, and two of his uncles were or are still very picky eaters, so i am going to get Jessica Seinfelds book, Deceptively Delicous, some of her recipes are wonderful... like sweet potato fries, or pumpkin pancakes...

In my baby book, Toddler 411... we graduated from Baby411, it says that it takes up to ten times to introduce a new food to a small child, but most parents give up after 2-5 times.. it also said that depict a childs small list of menu items they will eat, they will get all the nutrition,

another is pedisure, talk to your Doctors, and see if Pediasure could be added to your list... If you need any other ideas, i have lots of other foods that Patrick gets... today for lunch we had a sandwhich, I made me one, and he ate several pieces.. i had a salad, but he had the goodies that went with it, radish, cucumber, stuff that he can eat, he has 8 teeth, and does real well with them..

Find A Grave

seeing as how i dont get a chance to volunteer or help out with charities that really inspire me, I have been thinking of something to do to give back. I just happened to be working on a little research for my genealogy, and came across this little website, its nothing fancy, but it has 34million grave site photos. http://www.findagrave.com I am soon going to be walking the local cemeteries and taking photos.. Great exercise, great nature walks, and plenty of photos in the hopes of helping out my fellow genealogists. Usually when you have a person to research, you find their last known whereabouts, i.e. their grave. A photo is worth a thousand words, and in this case, a date of birth or a year, etc. If you are like me, and have just a few spare hours, or several to spare and want to get out and about, take your camera to the nearest cemetery and take photos, then upload them to the site. Also, if you need a photo, you can download it, and have it as your own, there are even celebrities listed there.

Facebook this...

Its funny how day after day, the morning ritual of turning on the pc, and signing on to facebook has become a norm for me and my fellow bookers. I sign on almost weekly and there is always someone new from my past, usually from school. But most recently, i was looking for people, and came across several distant cousins that I had met on a trip with my Grandma. This trip took us to every place she or a family member had lived in the last 100 years. And sure enough, on Facebook, there are my distant cousins, and so super happy to see them, and to catch up and see how we all turned out. I tried myspace, but that got boring and on a moment of boredom I checked out FB and became hooked. Totally hooked i tell you. I play a few games, Farm Town, wow, what a crazy addictive game.. we call it Farm Crack. I enjoy FB very much, I can easily see who is doing what, where, when, and if there is a little lunch get together with a few friends, then I am there. My longest standing friend, Lynette, she and I have known each other since Kindergarten, and we have been having lunch together, with other gf's from the way back, and it is truly wonderful.. We were in school together for so long, but then parted ways when we went to different high schools, its just amazing how we just picked right back up like there was just no separation... very grateful for FB.

The King of Pop is Gone..

As a young girl of about 7, I heard Michael Jackson for the first time.. and then my mom heard him, and she told me about the Jackson 5. I was very interested, and we started to buy his music, and we played it all the time.. we were great fans of his. I remember one winter, I got gloves just like his for Christmas, and my grandmother making the comment of me only having one on, and she said, thats just like Michael, so even older people knew about him, not just pre-teens who gobbled up his music, the records, the tapes, and eventually the C.D.'s. We wanted it all no matter how it came about. He is the King of Pop, and for my generation he is the biggest music icon in the world. If you go to Japan they know who he is, you go to Africa they know him, and the same for South America, and the world over. No matter where you were, everyone knew Michael Jackson, and now, this King has left a huge legacy behind. He will live forever thru his music, and the videos that were made.

When my mom was growing up, Elvis was the biggest thing, and he passed away and brought great joy and then saddness to the world. My generation is saying Goodbye to Michael Jackson today and its very sas, to suddenly say goodbye to this great artist.

Despite his troubles, he brought musical ideas to the table that just amazed the world, not only could he dance and sing, but he could sell his music. I have been watching the news, and one thing is for sure, so many people love him. I hear so many stars of today saying, he inspired them to go out and try. He will truly be missed, mostly by his children, family and friends, but also by his fans...

Peace be with Michael Jackson's family...

Spa Pedi...

If you have never indulged yourself in a spa pedi I highly recommend it. Dont know what one is? I will fill you in.. if you are male, you dont need to pick a toe polish color, unless you really want to, but that is the first step, second step, take off your shoes and put them in the filling pool of water for your feet and sit in the best leather massage chair ever. I immediately put my chair on massage and vibrate and wow, tension is leaving my body. I am soaking for a few minutes, they put bath crystals in the foot spa and the bubbles start to perk around my feet in the hot water.. MMm total pleasure. The lady comes and sits at my feet, another offers me water or tea, I chose cold water because soon my feet are going to be hot. She starts scrubbing my feet, and then cleaning my toes, and trimming them, and just working them real well.

Then the best part comes in, she rolls my pant legs up to my knees and takes this gritty bath salt/ lotion and starts to massage my legs, calves and feet, then toes, and just works the sea salt all the way over my legs.. first one then the other.. Mmm

Then I get a hot towel, which for me was way to hot, but she let it cool down, and wraps my legs up in them, leaving out my toes, time for a paint job. She checks them over, to make sure she got everything filed down just perfect, and the skin is nice and cleanly trimmed. Most massaging, this time my toes, and wow, she does a great job. Then she leaves me, and comes back with two baggies with hot wax in them, and she puts my feet in them, and just lets them soak in the hot wax until it firms up around my feet. She removes them, and my feet feel so silky!

I picked a fuchsia color for my toes, seeing as how I have this great new bag from Vera Bradley, that I just had to have for my birthday. She gently applies the toe-polish, taking care to get it just perfect. And they are so nice and pretty, almost like having new feet.

She puts them up to dry, removes the hot towel, and pulls my pant legs down, and helps me on with my flip flops, those are mandatory if you get a pedi, so you don't ruin your polish... and she gets me another glass of water, and I sit there and let them dry, and once I am done, she helps me up out of the chair, not helped, more like courtesy... so wonderful...

My mom is going to babysit for me next month so my boyfriend and I can go together, and get a treatment, it will be his first time, and you know what, I think this will become a together thing for us.. you know how couples have her things, his things and their things to do, I know this will move from my thing, to our thing, because once you go, you cant stop, especially when they pamper you. In all my total treatment was 1 hour and 30 minutes!!!!

Photos from the Passenger Seat

This is Devils Slide... I love rock formations, wish I had had time to climb a bit of this, but since I was moving cross country, there was just no way, but I did catch this photo at 65 mph. I wasnt driving... There are several of these formations in Idaho along the way into Oregon, but this was the first time I seen it with snow. Beautiful. I have traveled all over the U.S.A, I have seen the big cities, the little towns, and the unknown hot spots where locals gather. It never amazes me what one finds boring another finds fascinating.


Just near the Colorado border while in Wyoming, headed home to the Pacific Northwest, I got to see the snow of the Rockies, more in the melting form, this is Elk Mountain, very impressive. So high up but no worries of bad ice or snow on the road, it was a perfect chance to move back to my home area. I was almost 7 months pregnant while moving back, and it just felt good to have all my possessions and in the direction of North West..





We drove late into the night on two nights when it seemed there was no traffic near the bigger cities we were having to travel thru. This is the last night of driving late, and this wonderful sunset photo was taken somewhere near Nebraska/Wyoming border. You just dont realize how high you are up until your ears start to pop when you come down a bit off a small hill, or climb higher into the foothills of the Rockies.






I never did find out what this building was, but I think at one point it served as a stopping point in Wyoming, and now its some ones home. But regardless its neat, I have never seen this before on my travels, but glad that I had the camera ready to take a picture of it. Its like a lighthouse out in the middle of a sea of sage brush and tumbleweeds.

I have so many photos of my travels from here and there, just as so many other bloggers share, but these are mine, simple, and true, we all have a path, it just depends on the person in how they want to share it, or maybe not..

Building Up... again

So we started back to the gym today after a one month hiatus. First we were in Montana for a week, then my mom was in the Caribbean and brought back a flu bug. So once she got over it, my son got it, and so now that everyone is all better, she, my son and I started back and the gym. Our favorite kids club person was there, Megan, we adore her and Patrick adores her, but today upon returning we discovered blond Megan was now red-headed Megan and Patrick wasn't sure what to make of her.

He made that little frowny face as if to say I'm not so sure about this, but we got him signed in and we left, and as soon as we walked away he was crying, but I left anyhow, and said I'm sure he wont last 15 minutes.

In all he lasted about 30 minutes which gave Mom and I the chance to just get a little sweaty. I am on the leg press, with 100lbs on the stack and I hear my name over the P.A., so we get our stuff and walk into kids club, right when he saw me the mild fake cry turned into a huge bawl!

Each day we go back and get him use to being with the kids club, we hope we can get back to our hour and a half workout.

the untolds of pregnancy...

When I found out I was pregnant, I was so shocked I had to take the test multiple times because I just couldnt believe it. Got to the doctors and they confirmed it, and my due date was set for July 4th, 2008. Well thats a good day to be born, going thru my pregnancy was actually met with minor complications, nothing wrong with him, but I had developed gestational diabetes. I took a one hour GTT ( glucose tollerance test) and boy that stuff is gross, it was confirmed that I had a glucose problem, but I needed the longer test. The three hour GTT, which is actulaly 4 hours, and five blood samples. I felt like a pin cushion, but it was all for the great good of my child. Then the results came back, I had Gest. Diab. I had to go see a Gest. Diab specialist and she had things for me to read and start doing. It started with dietary modification, here it is almost summer and I have to give up fruit and only allowed to have one piece after Noon. And I had to limit my milk intake, it was a total bummer, but alas, I made the best of it. My sugars weren't where they wanted them to be, so they put me on Glyburide which is a drug that helps with sugars but safe for pregnant moms to take, and that with the diet wasn't helping, so the last month I was pregnant, I started insulin, and well that was a shock, I'm not one for needles, granted I'm not a whimp or one that carries on, I just dont like that initial poke, but since this time, I get to do it myself, it shouldnt be so bad, since I can control the pace and preasure. I came out successful. A few brusies since I had to inject daily, but moving around a pregnant belly was quite colorful, and my belly button as the bullseye, and luckily for me, mine stayed an innie. LOL

I knew that I was going to have a C-Section, my son had grown to be quite long, but wasnt the weight they were predicting, they were figuring somewhere around 11 lbs, but nope, he was 9lbs 14 oz. The C-section was wonderful, I had no complications, other than the annoying itch from where my staples there, finally they were removed and I felt so much better. So much has been written about experiences of Mothers and pregnancy and birth, that I feel this is just a waste of time, but you just never know, it might help someone else who is facing similar complications.. I was going to the doctors twice a week, in the end, well, the last two months, every Tuesday and Friday, it was a total pain, one appt was for me, and the other was for the baby, just wish they could have gotten us in on the same day LOL But the nice thing was, I got to have weekly visits with my son on the inside, so it was like a mixer, but instead of getting to know a man, I was getting to know my little boy, who eventually will become a man. I got my date set for surgery, and it was set for the 7th of July, and it was a walk in the park, I couldnt believe that the spinal block didnt hurt, it felt more like a void, I have been asked so many times but its so hard to explain, but it sure is trippy when you look down and cant feel your toes LOL and then your legs, then up your waist and then stopping at your breastbone. They were playing James Taylor and my surgeon was singing and they were having a great time, and then when it came time for the operation, the music was turned off, and they got down to business, and he was brought out, all wet and crying. I got to see him for a few minutes, and then he and Daddy went with the nurses to get weighed and a proper bath. 21.5 inches 9lbs 14oz. I was in surgery for another hour while they closed me up, and then brought back to my wonderful suite where my whole family was waitng with our little guy. I finally got to hold him after I got situated in my room. My mom was amazed that I looked so great, but I felt great too, just that damn pinching ... but it finally subsided, or I just blocked it out after I got to hold my son. I unwrapped him, and looked him over, and wow,what a cutie. The three days in the hospital were nice, granted I would have much rather had them keep up on my meds, I wasnt in a lot of pain, until the first time I got out of bed... 5 hours after my c-section I got my cathedar removed and then finally got to go to the bathroom, and then thats when I felt my staples, it felt like Frankenstein, I counted 16 staples, and the ones on the ends itched, but I put a bit of vaseline on them and wow, felt so much better. I had a drain tube put in so that had to go with me, and damn, that was annoying. But that was removed that night, granted the Doctor had to cut my skin because I had already started to heal over it, but everything was removed, and I could finally take that first shower, and BOY that was a real treat, until I got into my hospital big girl pants, and you ladies you all know what i'm talking about. My mom warned me to take plenty of pads, I hadnt warn a pad in YEARS, but the hospital had Gigantic pads, and well, they werent bad, I hardly noticed but it sure was funny the first time trying to pee after my cathedar removal, I sat there and sat there, and then got back into bed cause there was nothing, and then about an hour later, POOF, i gotta go, well I couldnt hurry out of bed, but I got there, luckily I have great bladder control LOL and triumph... I got to go.. Did you know that for the first 6 weeks after delivery you leak everywhere??

Most men just dont know about it, or just havent gone thru it with their wives, gf's etc, but my bf and I got a crash course in leaks.. not only from our son, but from me, and you just feel like a terrible mess. Breasts are leaking because your baby cries, or you get emotional because you are coming off the biggest hormonal high of your life, and leaking everywhere. I had pads all over me, to help with the leaking, but in all, wow, it wasn't that bad, trying to get on a schedule, and then after a few days of being home, things started to come together, nursing was easy, I had a great nurse that taught me well, and a lactation consultant on call, so I felt totally sure that we could do this. And after the first few days, we did, every two to three hours, and as time passed it was more amounts and less often. I was pumping every few hours, and then waking up in the middle of the night to pump so that Daddy could give him a bottle before he went to work, and it was nice, but about 5 months of age, I noticed I wasnt producing as much, and it quickly just stopped, I was a bit hurt, but then started him on formula, and we were fine. It wasnt what I wanted to give him, but he didnt seem to mind and actually loved the stuff... Once my leaking got under control, his leaking picked up, Jeff Foxworthy says it best.. " you look like condors have been landing" if it wasnt spit up on your shoulder, or lap, it was in the form diapers.

I have been around babies my whole life, but when they are your own, you are in for a whole different perspective. Everyone thinks they know what to expect, but you dont, not til you deliver, and get sent home, not just the daily care of your baby, or the daily care of you or lack there of because it always seems like your busy with baby, making bottles for baby, doing diapers if using cloth, or laundry, laundry, laundry, or just relaxing and prepping to nurse, there is just no time to relax that first month, and then poof, a nice rhythm sets in and you just keep chugging forth. He is almost a year, and we still have a routine, it just keeps getting modified, sometimes weekly, but the leaking has stopped, and not once have we had a leaky diaper of number 2... so that is a great feat, either that, or its the great diapers.... gotta love Costco!! LOL

Genealogy..

This is one of my many hobbies that I love, but also the one that can drive me to stay up really late full well knowing that my son will be waking me up at 5am-6am, its amazing how sucked in I can get with documents from the 1800's or books that are available on Google that I'll read into the late night looking for any information that I come across regarding my family and the ties that bind. My Grannie, she gave me all of her work, and I have been adding to it, either photos that I find, and print out, and link them with files that I have or she has, and compile it all together, no I'm not going to write a huge book about my family, but it will be nice for future generations to see where my family has been, what they have gone thru. So many people know the basics of their families beginnings, but how maybe can trace back to the 1200's and found the direct line to the lineage? I get sucked in, and usually I wait til after my son goes to bed before I start dragging out files. I have learned that if you cant trace your roots back past 200 years, its because you probably weren't a royal, or a noblemen. Records weren't kept far back in certain areas of the world, so someday I hope to find a church with records past 1700 in Germany, you just never know, eventually everything will end up on the internet. The current project that I am working on is my maternal Grandfathers side, because that is the one that has all the roadblocks, and its a challenge, and I love a challenge...

The Morning Ritual..

So this morning Patrick, notices that I'm getting dressed and not staying in shorts, or pajamas, and he starts squealing, why you ask, because he knows he's going to be getting dressed soon as well, and that means car ride or stroller ride. He's very funny, starts tugging on my jeans, and I'm trying to put on my socks, and he's right there, my shadow, how wonderful it is to have this little blessing I call son. So we are all ready, we are headed to my Mom's, Patricks birthday is almost here, he'll be the big ONE, so its to Party City for all the 1st Birthday stuff we can find. It's not going to be a huge production, but there will be lots of food and lots of family and friends. The day goes off like a hitch, after the store, we head home, and like a sweet lamb, he goes down for a nap... not to busy of a day, but busy enough.