Apparently I've fallen off the planet. With school I've been forcing myself to NOT update my blog as it leads to a very tempting distraction. I've got a week and a half left of classes and I'll update here then.
Also coming soon: A "new" blog. I intend on re-vamping my blog into one about me, my family etc and another for crafting-related topics.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
1st Official Sewing Project
I started my sewing class about 2 weeks ago. It's once a week on Mondays. The first day of class we did some small little sewing "drills" so that we could look at them whenever we forgot what a certain stitch looked like. The second class we started to cut out our patterns & material and some of us began sewing together our first project - aprons! Our instructor let us know that our third class we would be skipping due to the MLK Holiday and to get our aprons as far along as we could prior to our next class because we would be starting our second project then (a robe). I finished my apron a few minutes ago and it's so stinkin' cute. I WAS going to use it in the kitchen but I don't want to get it dirty cause of how stinkin' cute it is, so it is now my crafting apron. Hopefully I don't get any paint on it! (how silly is that, I'd rather get paint on my clothes than on my shiny new apron!)
I also bought some really cute material for two gifts I'll be making (can you guess what they'll be?!). So off I go to start making those gifts...
I also bought some really cute material for two gifts I'll be making (can you guess what they'll be?!). So off I go to start making those gifts...
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| Click image for larger view |
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Pay it Forward
Ok so I am not big on those statuses that go around on facebook where you're supposed to do something then copy/paste the status as your own. I don't so much care for the "spam" part of it and most of the time they are stupid wastes of time and I think they are annoying (to me, do what you please). A friend posted this one the other day though and I couldn't help but want to do it immediately.
Here is my list of people I am making something for, and who are making me something in return:
I commented on her status then posted it as my own and got a flood of responses and a bunch of my friends re-posted it as their own shortly after. I decided I just can't stick to making only five people something - especially if they are making me something. So I decided to do a trade - you make me something (anything) and I will make something for you in return.
Here is my list of people I am making something for, and who are making me something in return:
- Kallie Thorsen
- Roy Jackson
- Krystle Briese
- Karen Woods
- Jeremy Hustad
- Alexandra Smith
- Jimi Sepulveda
- Sheena Menard
- Candice Abellon
Friday, January 7, 2011
A crazy week!
This week has been crazy for me!! Okay -- to others who have been working or who have been going to school or been doing both - not so crazy. For me...whose been out of school for four years and out of work for at least six months (and off and on prior to that) this week has been crazy!! My schedule isn't really all that hectic to be honest but I am just not used to having to be somewhere at a certain time, navigating to and from my class locations (while lugging books and keeping warm), keeping up with housework and meals, getting homework/projects done and now working from home in the off chance I have a moment to do so (and the work is available). The week isn't even over yet and I already feel like I am falling behind!! To top everything off - Hubby is on a new diet so now I can't just toss some spaghetti on the stove and call it done, I've got to come up with some meals that he can actually eat. Granted, he did agree to cook one night a week *at least* as I just lack the chance to do so myself that particular night.
I will say that so far my classes are super fun! Monday nights I have my sewing class and it was the first time that I ever did anything with my NEW machine. Yes, I have a new sewing machine instead of the hand-me-down one that Craig's Aunt gave me. What's the story there? Well I took the machine (a Singer that was about 10-15 years old) in to get cleaned up, get the timing fixed and make sure it was in working order. The repair shop then told me it would cost more money to fix the machine than it was worth and suggested I recycle it - so I did. It made the most sense to go this route as just the cost to clean and fix it up was $104 and the part that was broken (a cam-shaft?!?) was difficult to get and costly to replace. A new machine with extra parts and in perfectly working order was $200. I added the stores 3-year maintenance plan for an extra $100 which means I can bring my machine in as many times as I want or need to over the next 3-years with no additional cost (base price to have it cleaned up is $84 and it's suggested to do so at least once a year), plus I get 20% off at the store in the event I need supplies during my sewing class (which coincidentally is at the same store.) The class is fun though - there are only five students in the class so it's easy to get one-on-one time with the instructor and no one should fall behind on projects. There is only one lady in the class who has never once sewn in her life but she seems to be a quick learner, the rest of us have sewn projects here and there and just want to get better at what we're doing. Personally - I just want to know my machine. I am super excited about the projects we'll be making and am also excited to start making gifts for friends and family. I have a huge list forming!!! I also talked with Craig and he thinks I should make an etsy account to sell handmade things - we'll see how that goes (as everyone and their mothers uncle has an etsy account these days).
My Tuesday and Thursday morning class is Environmental Ethics. So far it seems like everyday we'll hold a class discussion on "What is Nature?" and on our reading assignments - which is pretty cool except that I am not a big "discussion" person - I like to listen to discussion's and hear what others have to say but I am not much of a vocal person or one to share my opinion in public. I suppose it's my way of avoiding arguments. We'll have a few research papers to write, but overall I think the class should be pretty fun. Oh!! One really cool thing about the class is that it's locally based - meaning it's Environmental Ethics in relation to the Pacific Northwest - so we won't be talking about global issues or ozone layers or anything of that nature. I thought that was really cool because it'll be a great way for me to get to know the area better and I can do things on my own to help "save the environment" --at least, locally.
My Tuesday and Thursday evening class is Intro to Building Systems. I took a similar class at DISD but neglected to pay much attention and it was apparent when it came time to use the material at work. I didn't feel as if I knew what I was looking at sometimes or what my boss was talking about. So I decided to take the class again - I'm glad I did. This class is also locally based so I can get to know Oregon codes, zoning and the way the Oregonians do things. This class is also residential based - which is new to me so I hope to learn a lot more in regards to building and designing residential. I've only done assignments and work related issues in the commercial field so it's a welcome change!!
My Wednesday night class is manual photography - and it doesn't start until next week, so I will tell you all about it then!
As far as work is concerned - if you've read my past entries I mentioned my old job in CA asked me if I was available to do some Auto CAD work for them on an as needed basis. I told them I was willing and able to do the work and naturally-- the work started this week! I started on Wednesday afternoon and typically should be working Monday, Wednesday and Fridays and the weekend if the work-load allows. Also; because I have 3 hours in between classes on Tuesday's and Thursdays, I can work then as well. It'll be nice having the extra income and the work keeps me busy and motivated - yippie!
I will say that so far my classes are super fun! Monday nights I have my sewing class and it was the first time that I ever did anything with my NEW machine. Yes, I have a new sewing machine instead of the hand-me-down one that Craig's Aunt gave me. What's the story there? Well I took the machine (a Singer that was about 10-15 years old) in to get cleaned up, get the timing fixed and make sure it was in working order. The repair shop then told me it would cost more money to fix the machine than it was worth and suggested I recycle it - so I did. It made the most sense to go this route as just the cost to clean and fix it up was $104 and the part that was broken (a cam-shaft?!?) was difficult to get and costly to replace. A new machine with extra parts and in perfectly working order was $200. I added the stores 3-year maintenance plan for an extra $100 which means I can bring my machine in as many times as I want or need to over the next 3-years with no additional cost (base price to have it cleaned up is $84 and it's suggested to do so at least once a year), plus I get 20% off at the store in the event I need supplies during my sewing class (which coincidentally is at the same store.) The class is fun though - there are only five students in the class so it's easy to get one-on-one time with the instructor and no one should fall behind on projects. There is only one lady in the class who has never once sewn in her life but she seems to be a quick learner, the rest of us have sewn projects here and there and just want to get better at what we're doing. Personally - I just want to know my machine. I am super excited about the projects we'll be making and am also excited to start making gifts for friends and family. I have a huge list forming!!! I also talked with Craig and he thinks I should make an etsy account to sell handmade things - we'll see how that goes (as everyone and their mothers uncle has an etsy account these days).
My Tuesday and Thursday morning class is Environmental Ethics. So far it seems like everyday we'll hold a class discussion on "What is Nature?" and on our reading assignments - which is pretty cool except that I am not a big "discussion" person - I like to listen to discussion's and hear what others have to say but I am not much of a vocal person or one to share my opinion in public. I suppose it's my way of avoiding arguments. We'll have a few research papers to write, but overall I think the class should be pretty fun. Oh!! One really cool thing about the class is that it's locally based - meaning it's Environmental Ethics in relation to the Pacific Northwest - so we won't be talking about global issues or ozone layers or anything of that nature. I thought that was really cool because it'll be a great way for me to get to know the area better and I can do things on my own to help "save the environment" --at least, locally.
My Tuesday and Thursday evening class is Intro to Building Systems. I took a similar class at DISD but neglected to pay much attention and it was apparent when it came time to use the material at work. I didn't feel as if I knew what I was looking at sometimes or what my boss was talking about. So I decided to take the class again - I'm glad I did. This class is also locally based so I can get to know Oregon codes, zoning and the way the Oregonians do things. This class is also residential based - which is new to me so I hope to learn a lot more in regards to building and designing residential. I've only done assignments and work related issues in the commercial field so it's a welcome change!!
My Wednesday night class is manual photography - and it doesn't start until next week, so I will tell you all about it then!
As far as work is concerned - if you've read my past entries I mentioned my old job in CA asked me if I was available to do some Auto CAD work for them on an as needed basis. I told them I was willing and able to do the work and naturally-- the work started this week! I started on Wednesday afternoon and typically should be working Monday, Wednesday and Fridays and the weekend if the work-load allows. Also; because I have 3 hours in between classes on Tuesday's and Thursdays, I can work then as well. It'll be nice having the extra income and the work keeps me busy and motivated - yippie!
Monday, January 3, 2011
New Year with New Friends
We hosted a New Years Eve party at our house to bring in 2011. This was the first time we have hosted anything at our house and we were super excited to finally have people over! First off it was nice having furniture for people to sit on and second our house was still decorated for Christmas and was the cleanest it's been in a while (which is always a good thing). We had about 10 people come over and most of us got pretty drunk - there was an over abundance of sugary drinks, jello shots, doughnuts, candy and cake so some tummies got upset. Next year we'll try and avoid so much sugar!! It was great to kick off the new year with our new friends - they are all such a lively bunch and we are so thankful to have met them.We look forward to getting to know them all even better and creating more memories in this next year.
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| Alex & Virginia (Gin is actually a friend of a friend from San Diego) |
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| Heather, Dustin & Katie striking a pose. |
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| Terri & Michael |
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| Mike & Anna (behind BJ's Head) |
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| Playing with our party hats! |
Sunday, January 2, 2011
A whirlwind "vacation"
We had such a fun time out in So Cal for Christmas this year! We tried not to over book ourselves so that we could have a moment to relax in between seeing everyone we possibly could and even still I think we over exerted ourselves! It was so worth it though! After a 95 minute delay for our starting flight we finally arrived in San Diego. Craig's parents were gracious enough to pick us up and we spent our first two nights at their house in Sun City. Our flight landed at midnight and we didn't make it "home" until about 2am and promptly went straight to bed.
Day 1: I spent the first few hours of our first day at my old work, visiting with coworkers and discussing some work that they may have me do from a distance. I am excited to get started working on one of the several projects they have going - mostly because it will keep me busy but it will also bring in some extra income, which will be nice! I am not sure exactly when they will have me start but they know I am available to start any time! After I got back from visiting with them I joined Craig and his Dad (my "FIL") as they put away and tried to organize their garage after their move. They literally moved the day before we arrived so the garage was a mess! My MIL had a doctors appointment so we visited as much as we could with my FIL and he took us out to lunch - MEXICAN FOOD! We then headed over to Craft Brewing Company in Lake Elsinore to visit four of our brewer friends (and whoever happened to be there). It was really cool to see how much this small micro brewery had grown! I am so happy for the guys there! After CBC we went down to the hospital to drop my FIL off and visit with my MIL for a little bit. We then headed over to Black Market Brewery in Temecula to see another brewer friend and any of the guys from the Temecula Valley Homebrewers Association (that we were members of). Fortunately we got to see some key friends from the group and hung out with them for a few hours. Unfortunately we didn't get to see everyone (sad face). Craigs best friend (my BF) and his girlfriend (my GF) Dasul and Eliza met us at Black Market for some drinks before we all went over to my SIL's house to check out the new paint and mini-redesign. Then the eight of us went to Texas Loosey's for a late Tex-Mex dinner!
Day 2:
The next day (Christmas Eve) we spent the morning slowly getting ready for the day - chit chatting and visiting with one another. Dasul and Eliza had stayed the night at the house and the four of us went out to see a movie, which didn't work out too well. We ended up just driving around town together until we got back to the house to get ready to go over to Craig's grandparents (Gramy and Grampys) for the traditional Christmas Eve dinner and white elephant gift exchange. I was beyond excited to see both of the new additions to the family, but only one was there. Sweet baby Hailey!
Day 3:
Dasul and Eliza were gracious enough to drive us down to my parents house in San Diego where we spent part of the day visiting with Craig's Grandma, Aunt and Cousins. We spent a few hours just chit-chatting and then went back to my parents where we had a great Thanksgiving-esq meal for Christmas dinner (my parents didn't get to cook Thanksgiving this year because all the kids were gone). After dinner we sat by the tree and opened gifts and then spent the remainder of the evening with our Niece Mackenzie.
Day 4: We met up with some of Craigs friends for lunch - we were so thankful that we were able to see them while we were out. We did not get to see all of them (as some were out of town) but it was nice to catch up and see one of the newest additions, Joey. After lunch we went back to my parents to visit some more before heading out to see our friend Garry's brewery: Manzanita Brewing Co. My parents and some other friends joined us there as well so that made it all the more fun!! Then on our way back to my parents house for the night, we stopped by my Grandmas house and were able to visit with my Aunt Sherry who was in from Colorado. Once we got back to my parents we had some more Mexican food for dinner (no complaints here!!)
Day 5:
This day was probably the most fun! We got to spend most of the day with our niece, Mackenzie! We told her that we got to watch her for the day and she was SO excited! I had her make a list of things she wanted to do, and that we could vote on which thing to do. All of her ideas involved staying home or going to the park down the street so Craig and I decided that she would probably LOVE to go a bit farther into town. We didn't tell her what we were doing until right before! We got to downtown San Diego and asked her what she wanted for lunch - Mexican food it is!! Then we headed over to the harbor to take the ferry over to Coronado. Mackenzie had never been on the ferry before so she got a kick out of looking over the side of the boat to see how fast we were going - initially she was afraid of going out on the sea because of sharks. We had to reassure her that the sharks didn't hang out in the bay. After we got to Coronado we just took a walk down to the Children's park (with Mackenzie on Uncle Craig's shoulders) and let Mackenzie play for a bit (and yes, Aunt Jojo did climb around the jungle gym with her for a short while). We took the ferry back to the harbor and then hopped on a peddle taxi to Seaport Village where our first stop was for ice cream!! Then it was a mad dash to the candy shop! Mackenzie got to pick out whatever candy she wanted (to a limit, of course) and we also nabbed ourselves a few of our own bags, too! Finally we headed home (snacking on candy of course). The best part of the day was when Mackenzie said "This is the best day of my life!" which was just after we got lunch and before we even did anything. We asked her why and she told us that it was because she got to spend the whole day with her Aunt and Uncle who she loves so much! Yea - I almost cried.
Once we got home we had to turn around and go out again to meet up with some more friends for dinner at Callihans. There were I believe about 15 of us - lots of great conversation and we got to meet some of the new significant others of our friends.
Day 6:
Flew home and curled up with our doggies on the couch. :-)
Day 1: I spent the first few hours of our first day at my old work, visiting with coworkers and discussing some work that they may have me do from a distance. I am excited to get started working on one of the several projects they have going - mostly because it will keep me busy but it will also bring in some extra income, which will be nice! I am not sure exactly when they will have me start but they know I am available to start any time! After I got back from visiting with them I joined Craig and his Dad (my "FIL") as they put away and tried to organize their garage after their move. They literally moved the day before we arrived so the garage was a mess! My MIL had a doctors appointment so we visited as much as we could with my FIL and he took us out to lunch - MEXICAN FOOD! We then headed over to Craft Brewing Company in Lake Elsinore to visit four of our brewer friends (and whoever happened to be there). It was really cool to see how much this small micro brewery had grown! I am so happy for the guys there! After CBC we went down to the hospital to drop my FIL off and visit with my MIL for a little bit. We then headed over to Black Market Brewery in Temecula to see another brewer friend and any of the guys from the Temecula Valley Homebrewers Association (that we were members of). Fortunately we got to see some key friends from the group and hung out with them for a few hours. Unfortunately we didn't get to see everyone (sad face). Craigs best friend (my BF) and his girlfriend (my GF) Dasul and Eliza met us at Black Market for some drinks before we all went over to my SIL's house to check out the new paint and mini-redesign. Then the eight of us went to Texas Loosey's for a late Tex-Mex dinner!
Day 2:
The next day (Christmas Eve) we spent the morning slowly getting ready for the day - chit chatting and visiting with one another. Dasul and Eliza had stayed the night at the house and the four of us went out to see a movie, which didn't work out too well. We ended up just driving around town together until we got back to the house to get ready to go over to Craig's grandparents (Gramy and Grampys) for the traditional Christmas Eve dinner and white elephant gift exchange. I was beyond excited to see both of the new additions to the family, but only one was there. Sweet baby Hailey!Day 3:
Dasul and Eliza were gracious enough to drive us down to my parents house in San Diego where we spent part of the day visiting with Craig's Grandma, Aunt and Cousins. We spent a few hours just chit-chatting and then went back to my parents where we had a great Thanksgiving-esq meal for Christmas dinner (my parents didn't get to cook Thanksgiving this year because all the kids were gone). After dinner we sat by the tree and opened gifts and then spent the remainder of the evening with our Niece Mackenzie.Day 4: We met up with some of Craigs friends for lunch - we were so thankful that we were able to see them while we were out. We did not get to see all of them (as some were out of town) but it was nice to catch up and see one of the newest additions, Joey. After lunch we went back to my parents to visit some more before heading out to see our friend Garry's brewery: Manzanita Brewing Co. My parents and some other friends joined us there as well so that made it all the more fun!! Then on our way back to my parents house for the night, we stopped by my Grandmas house and were able to visit with my Aunt Sherry who was in from Colorado. Once we got back to my parents we had some more Mexican food for dinner (no complaints here!!)
Day 5:
This day was probably the most fun! We got to spend most of the day with our niece, Mackenzie! We told her that we got to watch her for the day and she was SO excited! I had her make a list of things she wanted to do, and that we could vote on which thing to do. All of her ideas involved staying home or going to the park down the street so Craig and I decided that she would probably LOVE to go a bit farther into town. We didn't tell her what we were doing until right before! We got to downtown San Diego and asked her what she wanted for lunch - Mexican food it is!! Then we headed over to the harbor to take the ferry over to Coronado. Mackenzie had never been on the ferry before so she got a kick out of looking over the side of the boat to see how fast we were going - initially she was afraid of going out on the sea because of sharks. We had to reassure her that the sharks didn't hang out in the bay. After we got to Coronado we just took a walk down to the Children's park (with Mackenzie on Uncle Craig's shoulders) and let Mackenzie play for a bit (and yes, Aunt Jojo did climb around the jungle gym with her for a short while). We took the ferry back to the harbor and then hopped on a peddle taxi to Seaport Village where our first stop was for ice cream!! Then it was a mad dash to the candy shop! Mackenzie got to pick out whatever candy she wanted (to a limit, of course) and we also nabbed ourselves a few of our own bags, too! Finally we headed home (snacking on candy of course). The best part of the day was when Mackenzie said "This is the best day of my life!" which was just after we got lunch and before we even did anything. We asked her why and she told us that it was because she got to spend the whole day with her Aunt and Uncle who she loves so much! Yea - I almost cried.
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| Not all of that is hers. Just the one on the right. :-) |
Flew home and curled up with our doggies on the couch. :-)
Friday, December 10, 2010
Our Christmas Letter
So, I neglected to write a letter to go along with our Christmas cards this year. When I sat down to do it, I just didn't know what to say and wasn't really in the writing spirit so I skipped it. The day I mailed the cards out, I received a card from some friends of ours updating us on their lives and instantly wished that I had written a letter (or that I mailed the cards out a day later so I could have re-opened them and put a letter inside). Oh well. Here is my Christmas letter - or rather a run-down of the past year.
We started off the year with Craig getting a new job in Irvine. He quit his previous job of 2+ years doing IT support and some programming for a construction supply company to move on to the new job doing mostly programming at a higher pay, but at the cost of a longer drive (to and from Menifee to Irvine 5 days a week yielded about 3+ hours a day sitting in traffic.) Needless to say it was difficult for both of us - I missed him and he would often times come home and go directly to bed. After three months at the new job, Craig's friend mentioned a job opportunity in Oregon - he basically told Craig that if he was willing to move to Portland he would most likely have the position. The opportunity to advance Craig's career was an amazing one and although it took some convincing, I couldn't take this away from him. After a few weeks of phone interviews, emails and waiting - we finally got the news that Craig had the job. He left for Oregon the first week of June and started his new career while looking for a place for us to live. I stayed behind to pack and get us ready for the move.
I was fortunate enough to have been called back to my previous job (with a pay raise) last December and worked there until the end of June at which point I joined Craig in Oregon. The weekend of the 4th of July, Craig flew back to So Cal and we loaded up the moving truck and headed out on our drive to our new home in Portland! Fortunately Craig's Dad and Uncle helped us immensely, by driving the truck while Craig and I took my little car with the dogs. Overall the move took us a weekend and we somehow had the energy to unload the truck the day we arrived at our new place (after about a 9 hour or so drive). I know to most of our friends and family the news of our move was rather sudden - hey it was sudden for us too! We wished that we had been able to say our goodbyes (or rather, see ya later's) to everyone before we left but it just wasn't feasible.
So far we have been in Portland for five months and the time has flown by. We very rarely drive our cars and Craig takes the bus every day to and from work. The transit center is only a 10 minute walk from our front door and Craig's company pays for a monthly bus pass. Our monthly gas bill has dropped from $400 a month down to about an average of $30 a month for BOTH of our cars. It's great!! Craig enjoys his job (especially the commute) and I have been looking for a job to no avail. Because I have not had much luck in finding a job here I am going to take some classes this coming winter semester at the community college. Starting in January I will be taking a photography class, sewing class, and two classes toward a certificate in sustainable building (intro to building systems and environmental ethics). I am excited to get out of the house more often and am hopeful that it will keep me busy enough during the days! I also recently received an email from my previous employer about doing some contract drafting for them, so far I don't have enough details to confirm having the work yet but I am hopeful!
The summer weather here is amazing and just doesn't compare to a San Diego summer. There are a few days where the weather went over ninety during the summer and since most homes in Portland don't have air conditioning (there isn't much of a need) it was a less than pleasant experience but overall the summer weather was perfect! The fall weather was definitely much cooler but still bearable and once we got into the winter weather we actually got some snow flurries (just one day) which I had never seen before so I really got a kick out of it (actually Craig was laughing at me running in and out of the house to check on the status of snow in our front yard)!! So far I would have to say that it doesn't rain here as much as I expected it to. Sure the sky's are gray and cloudy, there is moisture in the air and you'll get rained on at random times but it's not that bad. I have been warned that February is brutal though.
We spent our fourth wedding anniversary in Seattle, which was really fun! Seattle is only a three hour drive away so now that we've walked the city it is great for little weekend trips in the future. This year was the first year we missed having Thanksgiving with any of our families - we made the best of it though and I cooked my first turkey dinner, complete with my Mom's cran-jello goodness (I don't know what to call it, so that's it's name now). We made sure to call our families and wished them a happy Thanksgiving. It was weird being on this end of those phone calls though. We have; however, made a few new friends up here and are having a "New Year with New Friends" party for New Years Eve at our house. I am excited to have people over for the first time (and if you know me you know I love to entertain). Our new local friends have invited us to several outings which has helped us to combat missing everyone in So Cal.
Our dog's are loving it here too! Both Ginger and Bender have lots of room to run around in the backyard and they are loving all of the time they get to spend indoors with us because of the cold and wet weather. Portland is a huge dog-friendly city and practically every park and hiking trail allows dogs (some leashed and some off-leash). We have found a few great hiking areas to take the dogs to and Bender has gotten noticeably exhausted after just a few miles. Ginger could keep running forever though!!
We are looking forward to the next year and are hoping to take a long vacation to Ireland, England and Scotland in October. We are still working out the kinks in our travel plans but are staying really hopeful (and we'll keep you posted on our plans)!
We hope you all are doing well. We love and miss you all and hope to see you when we are in So Cal for Christmas!!
Love,
Craig & Josie Gardner
(Ginger and Bender, too!)
We started off the year with Craig getting a new job in Irvine. He quit his previous job of 2+ years doing IT support and some programming for a construction supply company to move on to the new job doing mostly programming at a higher pay, but at the cost of a longer drive (to and from Menifee to Irvine 5 days a week yielded about 3+ hours a day sitting in traffic.) Needless to say it was difficult for both of us - I missed him and he would often times come home and go directly to bed. After three months at the new job, Craig's friend mentioned a job opportunity in Oregon - he basically told Craig that if he was willing to move to Portland he would most likely have the position. The opportunity to advance Craig's career was an amazing one and although it took some convincing, I couldn't take this away from him. After a few weeks of phone interviews, emails and waiting - we finally got the news that Craig had the job. He left for Oregon the first week of June and started his new career while looking for a place for us to live. I stayed behind to pack and get us ready for the move.
I was fortunate enough to have been called back to my previous job (with a pay raise) last December and worked there until the end of June at which point I joined Craig in Oregon. The weekend of the 4th of July, Craig flew back to So Cal and we loaded up the moving truck and headed out on our drive to our new home in Portland! Fortunately Craig's Dad and Uncle helped us immensely, by driving the truck while Craig and I took my little car with the dogs. Overall the move took us a weekend and we somehow had the energy to unload the truck the day we arrived at our new place (after about a 9 hour or so drive). I know to most of our friends and family the news of our move was rather sudden - hey it was sudden for us too! We wished that we had been able to say our goodbyes (or rather, see ya later's) to everyone before we left but it just wasn't feasible.
So far we have been in Portland for five months and the time has flown by. We very rarely drive our cars and Craig takes the bus every day to and from work. The transit center is only a 10 minute walk from our front door and Craig's company pays for a monthly bus pass. Our monthly gas bill has dropped from $400 a month down to about an average of $30 a month for BOTH of our cars. It's great!! Craig enjoys his job (especially the commute) and I have been looking for a job to no avail. Because I have not had much luck in finding a job here I am going to take some classes this coming winter semester at the community college. Starting in January I will be taking a photography class, sewing class, and two classes toward a certificate in sustainable building (intro to building systems and environmental ethics). I am excited to get out of the house more often and am hopeful that it will keep me busy enough during the days! I also recently received an email from my previous employer about doing some contract drafting for them, so far I don't have enough details to confirm having the work yet but I am hopeful!
The summer weather here is amazing and just doesn't compare to a San Diego summer. There are a few days where the weather went over ninety during the summer and since most homes in Portland don't have air conditioning (there isn't much of a need) it was a less than pleasant experience but overall the summer weather was perfect! The fall weather was definitely much cooler but still bearable and once we got into the winter weather we actually got some snow flurries (just one day) which I had never seen before so I really got a kick out of it (actually Craig was laughing at me running in and out of the house to check on the status of snow in our front yard)!! So far I would have to say that it doesn't rain here as much as I expected it to. Sure the sky's are gray and cloudy, there is moisture in the air and you'll get rained on at random times but it's not that bad. I have been warned that February is brutal though.
We spent our fourth wedding anniversary in Seattle, which was really fun! Seattle is only a three hour drive away so now that we've walked the city it is great for little weekend trips in the future. This year was the first year we missed having Thanksgiving with any of our families - we made the best of it though and I cooked my first turkey dinner, complete with my Mom's cran-jello goodness (I don't know what to call it, so that's it's name now). We made sure to call our families and wished them a happy Thanksgiving. It was weird being on this end of those phone calls though. We have; however, made a few new friends up here and are having a "New Year with New Friends" party for New Years Eve at our house. I am excited to have people over for the first time (and if you know me you know I love to entertain). Our new local friends have invited us to several outings which has helped us to combat missing everyone in So Cal.
Our dog's are loving it here too! Both Ginger and Bender have lots of room to run around in the backyard and they are loving all of the time they get to spend indoors with us because of the cold and wet weather. Portland is a huge dog-friendly city and practically every park and hiking trail allows dogs (some leashed and some off-leash). We have found a few great hiking areas to take the dogs to and Bender has gotten noticeably exhausted after just a few miles. Ginger could keep running forever though!!
We are looking forward to the next year and are hoping to take a long vacation to Ireland, England and Scotland in October. We are still working out the kinks in our travel plans but are staying really hopeful (and we'll keep you posted on our plans)!
We hope you all are doing well. We love and miss you all and hope to see you when we are in So Cal for Christmas!!
Love,
Craig & Josie Gardner
(Ginger and Bender, too!)
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