Spring Fever at my house

I planted red tulips last fall and they're sprouting up all over. I'm surprised they're already blooming - it's not even Easter yet! I got the mondo-Costco deal. I think there were 20+ red tulip bulbs in one bag, so they're everywhere. I'm going to dig up my old bulbs that have been there for Lord-knows how long ...but you know when bulbs bloom year after year, they get smaller and smaller. Oregon is temperate enough that you don't have to dig up your bulbs to have them rebloom year after year - they just get smaller. So when the blooms die off this year I'll dig up my old and tired tulips and perhaps get another gigantuan Costco bag of them.

This area is usually full of folliage and flowers in the summer. We just planted 4 azaleas along the sidewalk (on the left) with vinca in between. (I won't mention that we shoveled into our underground sprinkler system pipe in doing this ... oops.) We also have climbing clemates behind the azaleas on a grid we have bolted to the side of the house.

Does anyone know what this is? It looks almost like honey suckle, but it's not. It blooms fine white flowers and it's pretty otherwise, but no one seems to know exactly what this vine-like thing is. It's a bit overgrown and needs a haircut...

Tomorrow we're heading to Portland to help my sister move into her new apartment. Instead of driving the 2hrs back (and who knows what condition Maysen will be in having no nap) we decided to just get a hotel room close by. We'll be able to get up Sunday morning and perhaps take Maysen swimming. So that will be a fun little get away. Have a good weekend!

2004 BMW 325i

Sorry this has taken so long ... as some of you have emailed asking for pics of the car. So we've had our car for almost a month now and it's still as much fun as when we first bought it. We still have our van and truck - but I had forgotten how fun a car is to drive. I love my van (lots of room for Costco shopping!) - and Nate loves his truck (handy for moving big things or hauling mulch) - they're both way to handy to have around. But man are cars fun to drive! I'm glad I have one again ...

Can you tell I love my new car? Even Maysen says "No! Take momma's car" and points when the possibility of taking the van arises.

Side view of the car. The ugly dirt behind it is where we're having concrete poured so Nate can park his truck there. Only the van and car now go in the garage.

Back end view of the car and ugly dirt pile that is to be concrete slab.

The inside still actually has the "new car" smell. Especially when it's warm. I thought it would be hot because of the black leather but no, it actually isn't hot at all.

..................................................................................

Today was beautiful ... almost 70 here in Oregon. The blinds guy should be here any time to restring 2 of my blinds. Then in about a half hour I'm on my way out to meet the new Monday babysitter. Will probably end up having dinner out and come home to an air-fresh house. I love spring ... I got out this afternoon and got some nice pictures of my yard opening up to spring. I'll post more about that later ... Happy Thursday.

Build it and they will come ...

This is the actual turnoff from Banff to the # 1 highway to Calgary, Canada. They apparently had to build the animals (especially the elk) their own crossing because that is where the natural crossing was and after the highway was built there were far too many accidents. It didn't take the animals long to realize this was their "road". I think the backward/sideways glances would cause just as many traffic accidents - it's not everyday you see 3984 elk crossing above you on an overpass.

To my husband ...

Happy 30th birthday today, honey.

We love you.

Momma & Maysen Bean

Growing up..

Ever since Maysen was born, he has always been watched by family only. On Mondays, Nate's mom watched him; Wednesdays and Fridays belonged to Nate's great Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Bob. Yesterday Nate's mom decided it was better for her and George (who is working 6 days a week now, and only day off is Monday) to scale back on watching Maysen on Mondays. That leaves us with no other option but to start him in daycare, which I've really wanted to avoid. I think we have a plan, though. Next month they start registration for Creswsell Christian Care Center, which is a pre-preschool and he'll be able to go there M,W,F. In a way this is a blessing in disguise probably, as it will enable Maysen to be around other kids his age and learn more things. So, that isn't until the fall ... and then we have a great 17yr old girl who will be able to babysit as much as we need her this summer. Now our only predicament is finding someone to watch him from now until Amanda is out of school for the summer. Oh well, we'll manage I guess. What other choice do we have?

So, above I mentioned Aunt Bonnie. Well, I mentioned a few posts ago about the auction my sis in law was doing to raise money for the Creswell Christian School. Aunt Bonnie is an artist and her paintings are absolutely amazing. She donated her time to do a portrait for the auction. Well, we bid and won a portrait by her. We're having her do a painting of Maysen - since they have such a bond and forever will. When the weather gets nice we're going to stage a photo for her to base the painting off of. It will be Maysen, in the grass, with overhauls on, barefoot with the pant legs rolled up ... no shirt on underneath ... with a baseball cap on holding a baseball. I have it all panned out in my head. Getting my sis to capture it (as amazing of a photographer she is) might be a challenge. But I'm sure we'll come up with something.

I just can't believe my little one will be in some form of "school" within a few months. Man ... were does the time really go? I'm hoping to find it someday in the dryer with all the missing socks.

Once was lost ...

... but now is found. So, remember me blogging about one of the reasons we got new rings? *click here* (Read the part about losing my wedding band) Well. Saturday night, I was giving Maysen a bath. I had put my rings and my bracelet up on the counter and as I was drying Maysen off and playing our usual "Where'd Maysen go?" and he reached up and knocked my wedding band off the sink, onto the floor, and it went right down the air vent in the floor. Horrified I just sat there as if any movement might cause it to be lost forever. So I call for Nate, who came in and was able to fetch it out. It was like a sign. *BAM* It hit me. I thought "I wonder if that, perhaps, could be where my old wedding band could have gone?" So, Nate runs to the other bathroom, takes up the airvent. And what does he find?? Well, first he found this: *click here* ... then he found my band!!! That and all kinds of wicked junk down there for the last few years. We're going to have the stones taken out and made into a pendant or bracelet. That'll be a project for Mr Man to figure out. I might get it for my 50th wedding anniversary.

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd I'm so sick of March Madness I could scream.

Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!

I hereby appoint Maury Povich to do the paternity testing over Anna Nicole-Smith-Whoever's baby. Why is it Jerry Springer, Maury Povich, Montel Williams, or any other 2nd rate talk show can have paternity testing in 24hrs, yet it's been weeks since Anna Nicole's death and we're still debating over who the father is? Seriously?

Company Time!

The day after Julie left from our wild weekend, my dad and my step mom, Jo, were here for a visit for a week. They're fulltime RV'ers and roam around the US managing RV parks. They just left Florida where they managed a park for 18mo. They left and took a few weeks off before they start their new job March 15th in Lake Elsinore, California. We had a great time hanging out. We went to Alton Baker Park, looked at manufactured homes (dad and Jo want to settle down sometime and are looking at them - perhaps moving onto part of our land we're going to buy), lots of driving of Mase's new toy from papa - a remote control truck ... well, we just had a good time. Just to be all together and not have "anything" planned was nice. The weather was amazing. It was supposed to be rainy - and in fact was sunny and 60+ degrees every day! What a nice surprise!

Dad and Nate worked on our "fence project" - which was tearing it down by our drive way and pushing it back. Andy is going to pour concrete there so Nate has a pad to park his truck on now that we have 3 vehicles.

We are going to California next month to visit them in their new park - and to go to Disneyland for a few days. So we'll see them again soon. And the fact that it might be a possibility that in a few years they'll be around regularly and close (on our land) is amazing. It feels good that I'll have some family back. Moving out to Oregon, I left "my" family back in the midwest. Jenn, my sis, moved to Portland so that's been great, but having my dad close will be even better.

My stepmom in law is in town for a week helping D get ready for her auction. I'm proud of her - she's the head of an auction raising money for a Christian School here in town to build their own building. She works so hard on it, seeing the $$ they bring in makes it all worth it.

Back to laundry ....

Start Over

You will notice that my total visitors started completely over. For some reason my Site Meter stopped counting, so I just restarted it. I mean, I know that I'm don't have a gazillion readers like some have, but hey. I do believe in the last year I've had more than 3 people view my site. So, stop by more so I don't feel so suck and unloved.

Old Time's Sake

I took the scrolling picture of our wild night off ... but I don't need to explain any of this. We had a great time. I am almost embarrassed to admit we drank Mad Dog 20/20 (Orange Jubilee) - but we had to to really capture the "For Old Time's Sake" theme of the weekend. I think that will hold me over for another 7 years!

Fight or Flight?

I totally stole that title from a post my sister did a bit ago. But it was too ideal for what I have to say. It's amazing how for periods I won't have anything to talk about. Then out of nowhere BAM! I have to keep a list of things to catch people up on. So far:

1. Pics of BMW
2. Report/Pics of my fun-filled weekend with Amanda and Julie.

Why this takes precedence, I don't know. Perhaps it was because of the emotional strangle it had and has on me. Last night while driving home I came upon a horrendous scene. At first I wasn't sure what was going on, as a few people in front of me turned on their hazard lights and stopped. I didn't see an accident ... nor were there any police cars or ambulances in sight. I did see people pulled over on cell phones and one guy ran up from behind my car in a hurry. I couldn't understand what the major concern was.

Then I saw it. "..A deer in the road? Oh that's too bad, poor dear. No wait. Too big to a deer. A dog, perhaps? No, wait ..." It was a man; a man laying face down, legs grotesquely arranged. By now some citizen had started directing traffic around the body. I sat there, still. Looking at this man. No one was touching him. No one was looking at him. No one was helping him. Legally, as an RN I'm bound to help in this sort of situation. I had no one with me in the car, there was no medical attention nearby. But I froze. It was my turn to go, and I just .... went. It was evident that there was no one who had a clue what to do, medically. Was everyone afraid? Maybe. But what happened to me?

I loved my ER rotation during nursing school. But this was different. I'm a very confident nurse, so it wasn't the fear of not knowing what to do that held me back. But what was it? Perhaps the idea of knowing that there was probably nothing I could have done to save him? If that was my brother, father, husband, cousin I'd want ANYONE to try to help them. Yet no one, including me, was. I have never been put in that sort of situation before and maybe there was a reason I was put there. So I know how to respond next time it should arise. I always say (those who know me are rolling their eyes) "Every situation/experience has something you can learn from it. If you chose to not learn anything, then it's just a waste of time."

I had assumed this poor gentleman met his fate while changing a tire too close to the road, as there was a vehicle nearby and what looked like a tool box near him. Turns out he was 23, drunk, and had a fight with his mom. So he decided to make someone else take his life from him. That person was a young, terrified 24yr old in an SUV that will forever have to live with the memory of killing a person. Compassion sometimes is foreshadowed with reality.

Perspective:

I often talk about patients, special ones who have touched my life in one way or another. Then there is Jack. Jack is an elderly man in his 80s who would ride down in his scooter to receive an injection from me every week. Every week I could look forward to WWII stories, stories of love/loss, and stories of inspiration. One day Jack came in very sick and I got to meet his daughter, G, who was in a spinal neck brace.

It wasn't until Jack got better that I heard the whole story. He was living in his daughter's drive way in a old 5th wheel because his wife divorced him and he had no where to go. He was ailing and couldn't take care of himself like he should - and although she didn't have room for him, she could and did offer him to live in her driveway.

G has a son, J who has been disabled from birth with muscle-eye-brain disease making him completely reliant on everyone else. He can't move or breathe on his own, so his viablility relies on those who care for him including his parents and older brother. Jack does what he can to help, which wasn't much due to his own problems. G's house was in disrepair and the roof was leaking. This was making it hard for J to breathe because mold was starting to grow in their leaky attic. While trying to fix it, G's husband had a massive heart attack and underwent open heart sugery ... a few months later G had another spinal surgery. J's respirator was having to be run off of an extension cord that ran from the garage and through a crack in the bathroom window.

Where's Extreme Home Makeover when you need them? Well ... they applied for Extreme Home Makeover and was turned down. If anyone was deserving it was them, but I'm sure they get a gazillion applications for this kind of thing every day. (Man, I could never be the one who decides who is more deserving.)

So, the city of Eugene decided to step up. With the graciousness of the city, The HomeBuilder Association of Lane County built this family a brand new 3400 square foot house, complete with a "papa's hut" connected for Jack. I was at the "unveiling" yesterday (complete with limo and Marathon Coach bus) and it was a very emotional thing. To see such a struggling family get some much-needed relief. And to watch Jack look over his daughter and family with such contentment was rewarding. I'm lucky to have people/experiences like this in my life.

Read the whole story here: http://www.registerguard.com/news/2007/03/02/c1.cr.charityhome.0302.p1.php

Don't pee on Julie.

Well, we did it. We will be proud BMW owners tomorrow at 5pm. That's when we get to pick it up. I'll post more pics of it when we get it, but I'm just stoked that it has automatic windshield wipers that adjust to the heaviness of the rain. In Oregon, that's a must - you're CONSTANTLY turning them off, then warp speed, then mild. So that will be nice!

We also learned we've been saving 4x the amount of money we've been needing to for Nate's taxes. Nate is a software developer for Weyerhaeuser, but is contracted, so theoretically he's his own business. Which gets hairy because you have to pay taxes every quarter instead of once a year. And it's really just an "estimate" when you first start off because nothing is stable. Well, we'd been saving 1/3 of every check he had and putting it in a mutual fund collecting interest until taxes. We found an AWESOME accountant who got us a gazillion deductions including part of our mortgage for Nate's "office", mileage, cell phone bill, you name it! So, bottom line is we've been saving 4x too much money every month since June of last year. That's a nice bonus :-)

Julie, my old roommate from Kansas State University, is coming to Eugene for a conference Thurs-Sunday. I haven't seen her since before we left Kansas 3 years ago. Amanda, another dorm roomie/friend, moved to Portland Oregon 2 years ago. She is coming down Saturday and we're going to dinner/drinks. I haven't hung out with these two girls together since my wedding almost 7 years ago. So, that should be lots of fun. Julie has always been a party girl, the thought of marriage gave her hives so when I was planning MY wedding in our small dorm room she was going in and out of delirium. So, I'm curious as to how she's going to do staying 4 days at my house with my 2yr old running screaming like a banshee buck-naked through the halls. And if he pees on her ... well, we won't talk about that. Poor Julie. Now look at her! She's graduating from Columbia LAW SCHOOL in May.

I think that's it for now as I'll be super mad crazy over the next few days. I'll post pics this weekend.

To Buy or Not to Buy.

Ok - most of the time I believe I can give relatively sound advise. If someone were to ask me what to do, I'd say they were nuts. Why? We're considering buying a 2004 BMW 325i. Why? Because it's a really good deal through a private seller, we've both always wanted one, we're in a position to afford one (although one could argue that money could be going to more useful places ... true? Sure.), it would be nice to have a 3rd vehicle to lighten the load of commuting on Nate's truck and my van, not to mention cheaper in gas because my van and Nate's truck aren't exactly 28 miles per gallon vehicles.

The responsible part of me says I'm nuts because I could be saving $$$ toward a new house in acouple of years, or saving in general, etc. Now we have no car payments, but now we'll have one. But when is it time to splurge and have fun? Ever? Or when becoming a parent and growing up does that mean you can't do that anymore?

Missing Home.

If only I could fly over the rainbow and be here right now ...

There really is no place like home.

Land Purchase

November 2005 we purchased our house. When we bought it we were paying $1000/mo in renting a house and were tired of throwing our money to nothing. We bought under the assumption that we'd stay in this modest, but small (1381sq ft) house for a few years, but not forever. Afterall, it's a small lot and not going to be able to suit our needs once we expand. My brother in law, Andy, (Jurny's dad - see Jurny below - Maysen's twin almost) is a contractor and builds homes here in town. A few years back he purchased some acreage right outside town in the country and hills.

We've dabbled in the thought of buying some property from him. Today we went and looked - and have decided once Andy gets the "ok" from the county to divide, we're hoping to buy 1.5 acres from him. We'll keep it underdeveloped as you see above - and once we sell our house, etc we'll start to develope it. But it is so gorgeous up there. Very peaceful ... in fact the only sounds you hear is the rare car passing and the gurgling stream that runs behind the property.

I'm anxious to see how this pans out ...

Train Go Bye-Bye

Today has just been a ... weird day. It started off with a) the sound of flushing coming from our spare bathroom. I don't think much of this, because Maysen has been learning to do random acts, and I figure the sooner he learns to flush the toilet the better (and put the seat down, mind you). Well ... then out he walks saying "Da twain diawighewwwkdin fwush kdigheiwkhdg bye-bye!". Um. So I go into the bathroom and I see the rising swirl of toilet water. Yep. He had taken a toy train and flushed it. So, up came the toilet, a coat hanger jimmy-rigged into a train fishing pole, and 5min later we had retrieved (and put away) the train.

So, then we decide we'll go out for lunch, since b) it's unseasonably warm at a cool 67 degrees! We did errands, picked up dry cleaning (which we missed the dry cleaners closing by ONE minute, so I knocked on the door and they were gracious enough to open and give me my comforter, so I tipped her). Old Navy was having a sale on kids stuff, so Maysen got a few summer shirts, feeling in the spirit with the sunny/warm day.

We get home, and motivated Nate decides he'll mow the grass - since it was starting to look like a vacant lot. In Oregon it never gets too cold, so the grass stays green always and KEEPS GROWING. With my windows open and the smell of newly mowed grass, all was well. So I decide I'll put fresh sheets on my bed with my new clean comforter and so I do a load of laundry (I'm aware this is getting rather lengthy...sorry). So I heave my pants into the washer too ... I walk away, pick up various shoes/trucks/airplanes and then it hits me. c) MY CELL PHONE WAS IN MY PANTS. Um, by the time I got it out, it was doing weird lights I had never seen before and making "Mwwwwaarrrr" noises. Luckily I have a flip phone I got new and never cared for so went back to my old one - so I have the flip phone now...in hopes my old one dries out.

And yes, I've had caffeine.

Brothers?

So, I watched my nephew on Thursday. He's 11 months older than Maysen and believe it or not there is no blood relation, meaning he is my step sister-in-law's son. Believe me I think of him as my blood nephew - but what is astonishing is how close these two look alike. They both have a dirty blonde hair and crisp blue eyes. And considering there isn't much difference in size when one would streak by I wasn't sure which one it was, except for the different colored shirts (which happen to match, by the way). AND - I've never been more productive! When it's just Maysen and I ... I'm the only source of entertainment. When Jurny was here - forget it! Maysen followed him EVERYWHERE! I did, however, ask Maysen if he was poopy and of course I get the head shake and the "no .. no!" then he literally looked at Jurny and says "Jurny poopy?" Already tattling on one another. Ohhhh, can't wait for the football games and wrestling matches to start. Maysen watched in amazement as Jurny climbed my up my counters for the suckers in the cabinet. I could see the wheels spinning ...

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I hope that everyone (guys and girls) got to feel special today. If it hadn't been for my INSANE day today, it would have been perfect. Let's just say this. Hadn't peed from 6am until 4pm. Ouch. Bladder goes "HUH?" after awhile. It was nuts. But I got home a bit after 7pm and had roses and some perfume I had picked out at Macy's awhile back. It's Gucci's Envy Me. Lovely peony and jasmine, YUMMY. At that time I had a hard time with either picking that, or Gorgio Armani's "Mania". I went with Armani's Mania, but ended up with Gucci for my present :)

My boys got books (Romantic huh?) but Nate's been wanting the new Robert Jordan book, and Maysen always loves new Dr Suess books.

Since I'm half comatose right now I'm heading to zzZZzz land to dream about Controlled Med Agreements on PC Shorthand. Yea ... don't ask. Night.

Hungry Hungry Hippo

Remember that game? That's total blast from the past! So, granted, I'm not the smallest, most petite person in the world, but MAN DO I FEEL LIKE HER. Gee, could it be that in the state of Oregon from October until March it's raining almost 24/7 and you don't see the sun at all? After awhile you never want to leave your house, becoming more like a hibernating bear just wanting to sleep and have your belly rubbed. I have, however, been a bit optimistic with how the weather has been over the last few days. My daffodils and tulips are starting to come up, which motivates me to get out in my yard and prepare for the beauty to come.

Ok - gotta talk about it. Anna Nicole. A) It's amazing to me that people are so wrapped up in HER and now her death B) Pretty coincidental that Mr Lawyer Boy was around close by when Danny Boy died ... and now this; which leads me to YIKES that he has custody of that baby girl C) Do we really need toxicology reports? That woman was so drugged up she never knew what planet she was on. If I was doped up on meth, or "Trimspa" every minute of the day, I bet I'd lose a gazillion pounds too (Hmmm ... that's a thought). D) Reports claim the day before her death she ran a 105 degree fever, so her "private nurse put her in an ice bath". Hmmmm, 105 degrees will cook your brain ... not that she had much to begin with but! Her "private nurse" should have taken her to the hospital instead of putting her in a bathtub to bring it down. Bringing a temp that high down so quick is just as physiologically harmful - you're supposed to bring it down gradually as to not shock your body. But hey, what do I know? I'm not getting paid $200,000/yr to be a private nurse to Anna Nicole. Let's just throw that hag in a bathtub of ice. Yea.

So there's the thought of the day. I'm betting one of two things. She either a) drugs *ding ding* or b) some sort of pulmonary embolis from a recent hush-hush surgery no one was supposed to know about and we'll rule it "natural causes".

SIDE NOTE: Yes, I'm "supposed" to have John Mayer "Daughters" song/video playing when you open my site. I've been told by some that they hear the creepy YAHOO-OOO logo being played instead of the music when you open my blog. I'm told that this Yahoo logo is played for those who have mondo firewall protection, because most of my readers can hear the song and see the video at the bottom of the blog with no problems. For those who only hear YAHOOOO-OOOO, no I'm not a weirdo and just like to have that randomly play on my site. Love ya, BC.