Ready for Spring

I dare hope that spring is finally here!?
The tree in our backyard is telling me "maybe"...

Ready for sunshine and walks on the beach wearing nothing but a t-shirt, shorts, and my trusty Keens.

Easter breakfast

Skott suprised me with an Easter breakfast:

Fresh, homemade english muffins (egg-shaped) with homemade whipped cream in various flavors such as grape, raspberry, almond, and orange.

Love Affair: Where there's a will, there's a way

About a month ago, we stumbled upon this at the bay:

It is a gigantic piece of burl driftwood which, as you can see, someone had already done some sawing on.

We fell in love

but alas, there was no way to haul such a giant piece of wood home (we couldn't even budge it) and we didn't own a chainsaw.

We visited our lovely piece of wood a couple times after that, each time, dreaming of what we could make with it...

Where there's a will, there's a way.

After about three weeks, we tried to move the big chunk again.  It had dried out enough that we were able to lift it together.  WooHoo! (and by "lift", I mean like getting it two inches off the ground).



But we still didn't know how to get it home :(

Flash forward a couple weeks:  We had a plan!

There is a small trail that runs along the edge of the bay.  We thought that if we could get the wood up onto a dolly, that we could drag it through the sand and to the car via the trail.  We told ourselves that if the chunk was still there on Friday, that we were going to give it a shot!  (I am really suprised no one had snatched it up in the meantime).

We were low-riding all the way home :)

But we made it!

The chunk is safely drying in our garage now.  Check back in a year or so to see what becomes of it!

Oh, and we also tried getting some more slices off the main trunk.  Mom, remember that big saw you gave me from Hat Creek?  -it came in handy that day!

Overall, it was a pretty eventful week!
Besides getting the wood, we got the garage organized from the move.  It feels good to have everything in its place.
We were also finally able to pick up my car after it being in the shop for the last 3 weeks.  Of course, there was body damage so we ended up paying the full deductible (instead of the glass only).  Good bye tax returns.
We finally found out what is wrong with Isabella.  -she has canine Cushings disease.  I'll admit, I am very irritated that it has taken this long to diagnose and it is still another two weeks (and another $400) until we can start treatment, as we have to wait for all the drugs to clear her system.  I will save this for another post, as I would like to share our experience over that last two months in hopes that we can help spare someone all the time and money, not to mention the frustration at seeing your dog completely deteriorate in such a short period of time and have no answers or solutions.



Rescue

Skott got me this magnet a couple weeks ago:



I love it!

One of the things I would like to do is become more involved with The Delta Society, specifically, pet therapy at hospitals, nursing homes, etc.  I would also love to train assistance dogs for people with physical limitations and handicaps.

After the death of our first rescued French Bulldog, Rori, I didn't think I would ever want another Frenchie.

She always faithfully waited at the window until I got home

But just 4 short months after her death, we received a call from the French Bulldog Village asking if we could foster a naughty puppy mill Frenchie that had already burned through two other foster homes.
Oh Isabella, what a challenge you have been!  But you have turned out to be a sweet little thing, most of the time...

stuck in my craw

I've had this horrible, annoyed feeling in the pit of my stomach since last night.
I can't seem to shake it, which makes me more mad.
So don't mind me while I vent for a minute...

So I dealt to this preppy-I-am-gods-gift guy on Friday night.  Skott had the "pleasure" of dealing to him last night.  He was bragging how much he had won the night before (about $6,000) but at the same time, complaining about his wife.  Apparently, he stayed out until 5am gambling while his wife was at the motel with the kids.  Well, he gets done gambling, comes back to the hotel just as the family is waking up, and goes to bed.  So his poor wife is left with the four kids and no husband. She takes them to the beach, to lunch, etc. by herself.  When comes back to the hotel that evening and he is still asleep, she is upset and wakes him up.  Stupid man thinks that going to the outlet mall and buying his wife a Coach brand purse will make it all better.  Nope.  She's still mad (and rightly so).  She tells him that if he goes gambling all night again, and sleeps away the following day without spending any time with her or the kids, that she will leave him sleeping and go home without him.
This arrogant prick was all upset at his wife for being so "unreasonable" and that "a purse wasn't good enough for her", etc.  He then went on to brag about how much money he makes and what a great job he has and how going to college was the best decision he ever made and how the problems with America right now all stem from the fact that everyone is too lazy to go to college.  Skott said at this point he couldn't bite his tongue any longer so he said "No, plenty of people go to college.  That doesn't mean there are jobs waiting for them when they get out."  This guy looks right at Skott and says "Well maybe they just aren't making the right choices or have their priorities in the right place.  Look at me.  Work is my #1 priority and I would say that it has worked out well for me."

I would like to suggest that attitudes like his are what's wrong with America.

I admit, I am very sensitive when it comes to the whole "get a degree and your future will be taken care of" theory.  I made TONS of sacrifices while attending school and hmmmm, none of them seemed to pay off like I had hoped.
But you know what?
-they have paid off in ways I couldn't imagine:
I have confidence in myself and my abilities
I have different ways of approaching problems
I am more creative
I can spend time with my husband, family, and friends
I learned more about subjects I love, such as plants and ecology
I made many new friends

I know things happen for a reason.  I don't regret the time I spent in school.  I do, however, regret the fact that this ignorant man's attitude has been bugging me all day.  Sadly, he will probably never realize that the true priorities in life have nothing to do with money.

and after this guy won another $4,000 he tipped Skott $2.50 and told him to "go buy yourself something nice".  Ha!  Guess he didn't appreciate Skott's comments.  I'm proud of Skott for saying what he did though!

What a week!

The worst weather of the winter hit us the day my sister Josie was coming for a visit from Boise.  Her and her boyfriend, Rob, were driving.  I was really nervous about the road conditions, as I was at work and hearing all the horror stories from the guests that were slowly getting stranded as roads closed.  Josie and Rob literally JUST made it before the last road in/out of town closed.  They stopped by the casino to say hi before heading over to our place.  Unfortunately, when they pulled into our driveway, this is what they saw:

(taken the following morning afer the snow was melted)

Luckily, we had the keys to our new place (aka:  empty garage) so we drove the car over there and parked it out of the elements until the insurance claim is processed.  The entire back window shattered and there are also more dents.  My poor car.
This is Skott expressing his "joy" when we got off work and went outside to see all the snow:

The yucky, stormy weather hindered our plans a little but as always, still had a blast!  Poor Skott got hit with bronchitis but managed to hang in there and have a good time... and still cook delicious food!

We went to the Tillamook Cheese Factory one evening:

This photo brought back memories :)

Unfortunately, we arrived too late in the day for Josie and Rob to see the actual making of the cheese but we still enjoyed delicious ice cream and between the four of us, managed to purchase over $100 worth of cheese.  hahaha  It is so good though!

We went to Newport the second day.  It was very windy and slightly rainy, but not a steady downpour so we were grateful for that. We stopped in Depoe Bay for a few minutes:



and then went to the Historical Bayfront in Newport.  Josie and Rob went to the Undersea Gardens and Wax Museum and then we all four went to Ripley's Believe it or Not! together.

Wax Museum, Ripleys, etc on bayfront

We also stopped at Nana's Irish Pub for some of their delicious spicy chicken tenders and Strongbow cider.

On our way home we stopped and looked for fossils on the beach outside Newport. 

We also stopped by the Siletz Bay on our way home to look for "shee-shells".  We didn't stay long, as it was very cold and windy.  We did find some neat shells, fossils, and sea glass though!

We made a trip to the outlet mall here in town.  We had lots of fun entertaining ourselves :)

We had to re-visit the yellow bus

Josie picked out fabulous outfits:

While Skott entertained us trying on shoes:

notice he's hanging on to the shelf to steady himself! haha

Lots of laughs!  Good times!
Thanks for coming Josie and Rob!

Recap: First week in March

I can't think of anything super exciting or eventful to title this blog.  It was a good week, it was a bad weekend at work.  People were very mean!  I swear, the full moon makes people crazy or something.  I am getting better at "shaking off" the yuckies from work, even if that involves spending my entire break outside in the freezing wind and hail, listening to the waves and trying to calm myself.

I finished  crocheting a scarf for Skott and learned the valuable lesson of having, and using, a gauge.  First off, I made it too short.  It was a vertical striped pattern, so I had to improvise to lengthen it.  After I was finished, I realized my improvisations were glarringly different in width.  He wouldn't let me cut it out and redo the end so it is what it is.  I am too embarassed to take a picture of it right now, maybe I will get one of him modeling it later.  Some people at work like to make fun of me for crocheting on my breaks.  I tell them it calms me and prevents me from jabbing a crochet hook in stupid peoples' eyes (and while I am saying this, I am thinking of them.  How dare they make fun!). Ha ha

Yesterday we went for a walk.  There was a VERY bitter wind.  I saw this pattern in the sand next to some rocks and it reminded me of a tree:

The sunset was incredible last night:

Today it is supposed to get up to 61 degrees so we are going to head to the beach.  Have to take advantage of days like this.... we have rain in the forecast for the next week.