Gnome Sweet Gnome

***This post was initially written in August, 2008***

As I have learned from numerous giggle-filled stories, Jesse and his college roommates, Ian and Larson take practical jokes and general spleening very seriously. Now that they no longer live together, or even in the same cities, they have to find new and creative ways to keep the romance alive.

For the past few years, Ian and Larson have traded possession of a rather disturbing Ann Geddes baby doll that is dressed like a ladybug. I can't recall the details of how the baby doll trade began, but at this point in the game it doesn't really matter. Apparently, the doll was stowed away in Ian's luggage on his last visit to Santa Cruz and has been living in Sacramento for about a year. This past weekend we went to Sacramento to visit Ian and his wife, Mary, and were charged with a very important mission -- to transport the baby doll to Santa Cruz. In order to up the ante, we were also given a hideous, yet charming, gnome cookie jar (from Mary's grandparents' house) in which to stash the doll.

After waiting for just the right time to plant the gnome, an opportunity presented itself today (Saturday, August 30th, 2008). Jesse and I stopped by Larson and Serena's this afternoon to scope out potential hiding places. When we arrived, Larson, Serena, and their friends Tex and Rain, were all elbow-deep in gardening in the back yard. At that point, I knew we had to strike -- and quick! I poked around the living room and found that they have quite an ample fire place. Perfect, in my opinion, for gnomes.

I ran out to the car (where we had kept the gnome for about a week) and Jesse guarded the hallway to make sure I wouldn't get caught in the act of "decorating." I was so stealth that I was also able to snap a few photos to send to Ian and marvel at my brilliance before putting everything back in its place. We stayed for a little while to chat and it took all of my strength to not blurt out "Wow, it's kind of chilly! Maybe we should start a fire."

**Flash forward to November **

But I waited. And waited. Still, no word on the gnome. I determined that they found the ceramic jar and were waiting for just the right time to tell us -- like on Candid Camera. Now, almost exactly three months after our brilliant plant job, I cracked. I had been counting the weeks and days until we could finally stop by their house and have a hearty chuckle over their new beautiful cookie jar. Upon our arrival this evening, I scanned the shelves and tables to see where they had (prominently) displayed the treasure. I was disappointed to find that it was nowhere in sight. Being the skeptical person that I am, I immediately assumed that they found it and were hiding it just to torment my poor soul.

Apparently, the joke was on me because Larson and Serena never use the fireplace. The gnome was still hanging out in the ashes where I left it in August. Even though I ruined the surprise (that might never have even happened) I think they were still stunned. And stoked. It was a good night indeed.

On the Road Again With Snacks

If you are reading this post (unless you work the early morning shift) we are on our way to California to kick off the Thanksgiving festivities. It seems like we were just making the reverse trip way back in September to settle into our apartment in our new city. Thanksgiving seemed like an eon away and I still can't believe that it's already almost here. Yesterday, we spent the afternoon packing and planning the menu for our near twelve hour drive. Menu you ask? Well, yes, we have a menu and thought quite a bit about it. Jesse and I have traveled together enough to know that full bellies make for a happy marriage.

I remember the first fight we had at an airport when I refused to take off my flip flops (I forgot socks) at the security line and the TSA employee made me step into the plexiglass room to be patted down. Jesse was quite embarrassed and refused to talk to me for at least an hour. (For the record, it is not illegal to refuse to remove your shoes, you just have to go through the extra steps of having all your stuff searched and your body checked for explosives. I gladly chose the long route in lieu of a rare foot malady from the thousands of bare feet that walk on those mats every day.) Anyway, ever since we have packed lots of food, which usually consists of turkey sandwiches, nuts, fruit, M&M's for emergencies, as well as four mini-bottles of gin or bourbon for long layovers (all TSA approved of course). This time though, we won't have the turkey sandwiches.

Since we are driving this time, we left behind the bourbon shooters, but put together an array of snacks (both substantial and light) to fuel the trip. Last night we made vegetarian Runsas for dinner with plenty of leftovers for the trip. Nightrain was worried about the lack of meat, but they are actually quite hearty and delicious. The wild rice has a nice chew and the mushrooms make everything delicious. It took a lot longer to make the vegetarian version, since I had to cook all the veggies in different stages to ensure the right texture and prevent the ending mixture from being too soupy to be contained within the delicate dough. Unfortunately, I forgot to put in the cheese, but they are tasty even without.

In addition to the Runsas, we have Pirate's Booty, Cheetos, mixed nuts, bananas, apples, some seltzer water, and of course, we brewed iced coffee last night to make sure we got out of the door with partially functioning brains. In addition to snacks, we have over 30 hours of audiobooks on our iPod, so I think we're set. If all goes as planned, we should arrive in Santa Cruz just around dinner time!

A Very Productive Friday

This morning I have another case of the hiccups (the third time in the last day or so). They are the deep, painful hiccups that make my whole body jump. Luckily, I have been able to control them with measured breathing, but they're a major pain in the butt. Jesse, however, likes watching me squirm. And takes photos of me while I am suffering. How lucky am I that he's chosen to document my existence in such a glamorous state. A very thoughtful husband, indeed.

Today I am finishing up my resume and cover letter (see glamour shot above) for temporary employment here in Portland. This week, after my spell of incredibly productive behavior while Jesse was out of town, I realized that I should probably channel my energy and brain power toward something a little more engaging -- and more lucrative. So I'm chop chop chopping my resume to make it appear as though I have some marketable office skills -- other than laboring over the trends of second-wave modernism in our nation's capital. Jesse was impressed at my handy work. Maybe the agency will give me points for creativity. I am struggling with the cover letter though, I'm not sure if I can bullshit my way through "Hey, I really don't want to work for you and will likely not stay very long, but I am bored. Please hire me."

After I finish my resume materials, I will skip over to the insurance agency to finally transfer our car insurance from California to Oregon. I seriously don't know why I didn't do it sooner, it was incredibly easy and painless. It is also noticeably cheaper. Oh, also, by changing the billing address on our cell phones from D.C. to Oregon, we each save $9 a month on taxes and surcharges. That's $18 a month! I really don't miss D.C. and their surcharges just for breathing.

Anyway, following my meeting with the insurance agent, I will run over to the grocery store and pick up all of the necessary ingredients for dinner tonight. We are making french onion soup (for the weekend) and a batch of Runsas for Friday Date Night. Runsas are little yeast buns that are baked with a savory filling. The traditional recipe, which we have made several times, are filled with beef, cabbage, and cheese. This time though, we're getting fancy and are going to make a vegetarian version with mushrooms, cabbage, wild rice, and spices. I'm excited to try it out and hopeful that they will be just as tasty as their beefy kin. Apparently, Runsas were popular with Russian migrant farmers because of their portability and the ability to stick to your gut. Since we will be migrating toward Santa Cruz for the Thanksgiving holiday, I think I will make another half batch of Runsas Sunday night for our trek early Monday morning.

Yikes! Is it really almost Thanksgiving already? Time certainly does fly -- even when you're unemployed.

When the Husband's Away, the Wife Will....

...work like a dog.

Ok, ok, so I played a little too. J had a whirlwind business trip to Florida this week and I had the apartment all to myself for three days. I dropped him off at the airport on Sunday and had a "play date" with Carolina, a good friend of my friend Ann in D.C. Carolina and her husband moved to Portland this spring and she is quite the avid knitter and jewelry maker. We had an afternoon of crafting and I made quite a bit of progress on my cathedral windows blocks for the joint quilt that my Mom and I are making.

On Monday, I was still in the crafting mood, so I spent most of the afternoon finishing up that mystery project (the one with curved piecing) and working a bit more on the cathedral windows blocks. At the same time, I finished up season 4 of Grey's Anatomy and indulged in a few episodes of Dynasty that CBS is now streaming on their website. Dynasty has a warm spot in my heart, partly because I know the theme song by heart from listening to it as a child, but also because I spent one of the best Halloweens ever dressed as Mrs. Krystle Carrington. My friend Lauren dressed as Ms. Alexis Carrington (Krystle's nemesis) and we thoroughly enjoyed the spotlight. As a side note, it was one of Jesse's least favorite Halloweens because he said the red jumpsuit creeped him out. Whatever. I was fabulous.

I knew that the fun couldn't last and was determined to be productive around the house before J came home. I woke up early on Tuesday, had a nice hearty breakfast and got pumped to clean and organize. I was so busy yesterday that I never slowed down, hence the lack of posting. Aside from the the normal duties (like loads and loads of laundry, vacuuming, etc.) I also finally sorted through our pans and hung a shelf above the stove. It felt pretty darn good to step back and see everything finally in its place. J was quite impressed at all of the improvements and we are excited about having a tidy apartment again.

After his long trip, J needs a break. Luckily for him, instead of putting him to work washing dishes and making the bed, we can focus on something fun. Like finally making those holiday cards!

Friday Night, or Why I Am Not Hip Part 2

We hopped on the #20 bus to Doug Fir on Friday night and were chatting about the concert and our dinner and how sweet it was to get out for an evening. We sat in two empty seats near the back of the bus, right behind a plastic partition that separates the lower level and the stairs. Unbeknownst to me, my feet were wreaking havoc on a young man's soul as we enjoyed our ride down Burnside. Just as we crossed the bridge he ripped off his headphones (that were blaring music) and yelled at Jesse to stop kicking partition because he could feel every kick on his body and it was driving him "batshit crazy" (I think he threw in a fuck or two for good measure).

Ok, first, Jesse wasn't kicking the partition, I was -- the space was tight and I guess I was shuffling my feet around. Secondly, the jerk-face was leaning on the partition and lounging over four seats like a couch, so if he sat properly in his chair this wouldn't have been a problem. Finally, there was a bus full of empty seats that he could have moved to, but instead chose to yell at a perfect stranger. I didn't say anything, and neither did Jesse, because clearly he was crazy. However, I couldn't help tormenting him just a little for being such a little shit. We only had about four stops to go, so intermittently I would kick the partition really hard and would see his shoulders tense up. Then, as we neared our bus stop and stood up to leave, I made sure to do a drum roll with my feet. I know, I'm also a jerk, but it was fun.

As I mentioned earlier, my concert at Doug Fir was sold out so we walked over to the East End determined to have a fun night out. People watching was an experience. There were quite a few more dudes than ladies at the East End and they were all dolled up in their Friday night best. Clearly, I am no fashion expert when it comes to what the cool kids are wearing these days and was puzzled to find a surprising number of men walking around dressed as early 19th Century country gentry. If you swapped out the breeches for a pair of insanely form-fitting black jeans (tight to the point of possibly having to grease their ankles to slide them on) and cut off the tails on their waist coat this figure would be just about right. As a form of entertainment (for myself), I started imagining which A&E miniseries they would be most suited for, if I had full control of casting.

Most of the characters were not dashing like Matthew Macfayden as Mr. Darcy, but were more along the lines of A&E's version of Mr. Knightley -- complete with awful hat hair, but lacking the top hat as an excuse. I was pleasantly surprised when the lead singer of the second band turned out to be the guy I pointed out as Mr. Willoughby (good looking, but a bit of a cad) from Sense and Sensibility. I have no idea what he's like in real life, but in my East End narrative, he definitely will jilt Marianne (dancing seductively in front of the crowd) for a chick with a giant yearly allowance.

Since I am an old lady, around 12:30 I was ready to go home, but needed swing by the restroom before our bus ride back to the northwest. The line was insanely long and I found myself standing behind another "man of leisure" who was a dead ringer for Mr. Collins (the buffoonish clergyman from Pride and Prejudice). I think he caught me staring at him and he asked me if it was normal for four women to go to the bathroom at a time. This was as we watched a second group of ladies exit together from the single-toilet restroom. I shrugged my shoulders and told him that sometimes it helps to hold hands while you pee. He nodded his head (in earnest) and stroked an errant hair from my face. Really. He touched my hair. Mr. Collins then asked how I kept it so straight and shiny and complained about the little curls that were springing up around his ears from the humidity. I told him Static Guard. He adjusted his (popped) collar and seemed indignant about his styling product that cost a fortune, made his hair look unwashed, and yet would still not contain his boyish curls. I told him his curls were charming and he let me cut him in line for the bathroom.

Maybe Mr. Collins isn't such a boor after all. Weird, yes, but a perfect gentleman.

Friday Date Night or, Why I Am Not Hip Part 1

This was an awesome Friday. We had delicious food, good drinks, and great entertainment. I have to say that this may have been one of the better evenings that we've spent in Portland so far. Jesse and I made a pizza that was surprisingly good. We had drinks that were delicious. And we went to a concert that was sold out, but ended up at another concert that was pretty cool.

Despite how awesome I think that I am at home, tonight's concert venue solidified that a) I am old b) I am totally not hip and c) if given enough bourbon I can envision a rich fantasy world that nullifies both (a) and (b). But first, the part where I am a rockstar and my husband is a total dork -- in our own apartment making dinner.

I made the pizza dough earlier in the day and Jesse helped out by chopping onions, mushrooms, and olives for the topping. He then proceeded to make a killer pizza sauce while I figured out the Portland bus schedules (to get to our initial concert). His chopping technique is only intensified by his sense of style in the kitchen. Not a tear was shed over onions this Friday night.

In D.C., we often held true to our "pizza Friday" tradition by cutting out of work a little early and getting the happy hour special at Duccinis. Since we have yet to find such a deal in Portland, we decided to take a stab at our own version at home. Miraculously, the pizza dough turned out really well and I can't imagine a more fabulous tasting alternative. In fact, we have plenty left over for breakfast tomorrow. Both Jesse and I can't wait to go to bed so morning will come that much faster!

After dinner, Jesse prepared a little treat to keep us going through the concert -- two glasses of "Cunningham's London Fog." It consists of really strong coffee, bourbon and vanilla ice cream. Once given a half-hearted stir, it turns into a delicious, creamy treat. As we enjoyed our pre-concert beverages, we talked about the day and how I managed to convince Jesse into escorting me to an all-woman-singer concert.

Then, the night took a turn. We arrived at the Doug Fir to a sold out concert -- MY all-woman-singer concert. So, we walked down the street and ended up at the East End to see a band that Nightrain recommended earlier in the week. We headed to the bar, grabbed our drinks, and retired on a couch to people watch. It was at that point that I realized how much I missed in D.C. (in terms of the 'eclectic' hipster youth) and how un-hip I really am.

Look, I acknowledge the fact that I am an old man at heart, but seriously, I was out of my league this evening. I didn't have the right (Daniel Vosovic) hair cut, my jeans were not nearly tight enough (or awkwardly hung on my butt), I lacked a studded (and/or giant white) belt to hold up my non-tight/awkwardly fitting pants. Oh also, my face was not pouty, my feet didn't turn inward when I danced, my shoes weren't flat enough, and I was missing a bracelet (or fifteen) on my arms. Don't get me wrong, Daniel Vosovic rocks the coif, but it's not for everyone. And I do mean EVERYONE.

So, that concludes why Brasilliant is not hip Part 1. Stay tuned for Part 2, which includes: provoking a jerk-face on the #20 Trimet bus (in my own passive aggressive way), my comparative (and pictorial) analysis on hipster style and Jane Austen characters, and a colorful conversation from the bathroom queue.

Goodnight. And Happy Friday.

Cold Averted (thus no good excuse for lack of posting)

I have officially bumped the cold threat status to Code Yellow (or elevated). In these hostile times (November = cold/flu season) I feel hesitant to bump the threat down to blue (or guarded). There's plenty out there to fear, so I'm not putting away the neon drinks just yet. However, for this particular bout, I feel that the loads of veggies and garlic played a large role in pulling me out of my slump -- like Tuesday's leftover stir fry over an omelet. I'm convinced that the the curry and hot sauce was the nail on the coffin.

Yesterday it poured for just about 10 hours again, but I was feeling cooped up and needed to get out of the house. I initially wanted to go on a bike ride with J, but we decided that getting soggy on the way to any destination would be a total killjoy. So, we took the streetcar downtown to the Portland Art Museum for the afternoon and then picked up a book on hold at the library. I was excited about the art museum, but ecstatic about the book. I love side dishes and finger foods and appetizers. On our way home we stopped at the Pearl Bakery to get a snack and a coffee and I perused the book for things to cook this weekend.

Today was exceptionally beautiful and we got to take that bike ride after all. We had lunch with one of J's high school friends, David, and his wife downtown. After lunch we stopped into Stumptown Coffee to chat with Anna (who was looking quite cute today with a new haircut). She's nearing the home stretch in her pregnancy and seemed quite upbeat in spite of standing on her feet all day.

We woke up today and designated Thursday as our "clean the apartment day," but J and I have managed to avoid any cleaning tasks until now. J's conquering the dishes while I type and I'll take over the kitchen floor after dinner. I just heard him yell "Oh god! A secret-hidden-bonus-banana," which is never a good thing. I should probably get in there and mediate.

Fighting Back a Sneeze

For the past two days I have been feeling like another cold might be creeping up on me. The last cold I had was not even a month ago and it knocked me out for a solid week. I am mighty pissed at this near-cold and am doing everything within my power to nip it in the bud. My meals revolve around neon-colored fizzy "germ defense" drinks, lots of veggies, shots of orange juice, and dashes of Tabasco for good measure. I'm trying to smoke out anything that might be lingering. After struggling with a pounding headache all day yesterday (I never did make it out to run my errands) I finally gave in and went to bed early.

This morning I woke up feeling pretty good. My headache hasn't reemerged, but I'm not yet back to normal. That didn't keep me from running errands though, and spent most of the late morning at the fabric store and Target. Luckily I found a patch to fix Jesse's coat and also an 8-10 year old boy with this haircut. Seriously, his honest to god hair was cut like this wig -- only slightly less symmetrical. It looked like he may have started to cut it himself and then his mom finished up the rest, but then got distracted and just stopped. I was horrified and yet mystified. I actually had my camera with me in my purse, but thought it rude enough that I stared as much as I did, much less take a photo. The mom was also kind of burly and I'm pretty sure she would have kicked my ass.

So, now I'm back and will be mending Jesse's jacket and tending my cold for the rest of the afternoon. It's a good thing that I have plenty of indoor activities today because it is dreary and cold outside!

Holy Dude! The Second Weekend in November is Gone!

Geez, how did that happen? Last time I checked we were just settling in Portland and now it's nearly Thanksgiving. I have failed to do several things so far in November, like submit my resume to that temp agency and get the car inspected for emissions. However, I am in the process of being hired as a part-timer at an environmental firm to do some research/writing. Their goal is to have me working by November, so any day now things should be starting up. Seriously, I'm not a total slacker.

This weekend was pretty mellow. The weather has been cold lately and neither Jesse or I have had much motivation to leave the house for long periods of time. We did go out to the grocery store to stock up on veggies for the week and experimented with tofu on Friday night to make some kick-ass fajitas. Oh, and we picked up Sarah Vowell's The Wordy Shipmates at the library, which I have been dying to sink my teeth into. I'm having a bit of trouble deciding whether to savor each chapter over the course of a week or two, or just go wild and finish it in a day.

Also on the agenda this weekend was a new sewing project (as if I needed another distraction). Like the holiday cards, it will have to remain a secret project (I'm not sure if the recipient checks in on my blog from time to time). One thing I can say is that it involves curved piecing, which was tedious and difficult to conquer at first. As you can see, my first session necessitated a wee glass of bourbon. However, I sailed through several more this weekend and am quite happy with my progress. Curved piecing is still not my favorite thing to do, but I feel good that I managed to overcome a long-time fear. I think it will make for quite a few more interesting quilts.

Today, I'm off to the fabric store to find some sort of patch to try and mend Jesse's jacket. I mentioned Wednesday that in his excitement to get home from the bar following the elections, Jesse managed to rip a hole in his new (but not terribly expensive) coat with his thumb. He didn't rip a seam, which would have been easy to remedy, but a nice 4-inch tear in the fabric. You'd think he was skipping around with a box cutter from the size and location of the tear. I was prepared to give up on the darn thing, but he insists he still wants to wear it. Hopefully I'll find something that isn't too noticeable -- like a puppy dog patch with rainbows and hearts.

Seattle

Jesse had a job interview in Seattle, WA on Wednesday, so we decided to drive up together since neither of us had ever been. The interview was weird (and rescheduled to meet almost 2 hours early), which left us both sort of scratching our heads when it was all over. Anyway, since we weren't supposed to have very much time in the city after the interview, I didn't bother researching cool things to see -- my mistake.

Jesse finished up around 1:30pm and we didn't really have any plans until dinner time when we were meeting up with his good friend, Allicia. We decided to drive around a bit to see if we would stumble on anything fun. We found Pike Place Market and walked listlessly around ogling the giant fish and great-smelling food. We also drove by the space needle, but decided not to get out and walk around. That morning I dressed for Portland weather (rainy and chilly), but Seattle was at least 10 degrees colder and I was freezing. After stopping for coffee and a snack, we regrouped and decided to drive down closer to Allicia's house, which is near Tacoma, WA.

Then, as we were driving out of the city we saw the new Seattle Public Library. Jesse parked the car on a crazy hill and we took a quick walk-through (or rather a jaw-dropping roam). The library was designed by Rem Koolhaas and opened in 2004. It is probably one of the more stunning public spaces that I have seen in a while. Even on the rather grey day, people were bustling around and lounging in the many areas for reading, surfing the internet, and just relaxing.

Every level is a new experience -- varied flooring, colors and textures -- that is punctuated by the steel and glass skin. Each corner provided a new vista of the city. The vast interior space was definitely designed to feel comfortable on the human scale with nooks and reading areas tucked away in the stacks and along corridors invisible from the ground floor, but it was also meant to be appreciated from multiple viewpoints and levels.

I'm not sure if the neon yellow escalators with the weirdo eyeball art installation will withstand the test of time, but travelling from one horizontal space to another was quite exciting. I somehow managed to not take a photograph, but the freestanding escalators took on a sculptural form that was quite nice. The glowing yellow encasement also provided a view of the inner workings, which was kind of cool too.

Even though I tired easily of the yellow transportation tubes, I have to say that the use of color and supergraphics (both inside and outside) provided a certain softness in what could have been a very mechanical and cold structure. In sum, awesome building.

After touring the museum for almost an hour we decided to leave Seattle (for real) and head down to Tacoma. We arrived in Tacoma around 4pm, took a scenic drive to Point Defiance Park, and wished that we had come straight to Tacoma after the interview. I was sad that we didn't have time to take in the Museum of Glass, or the Washington State History Museum, or the Tacoma Art Museum. Dinner with Allicia was great and I'm so glad we stayed around so I could finally meet her.

Needless to say, we'll be back to Washington, probably sooner than later, because there's so much to see and do!

Scenes from Election Night

I'm pretty beat, but decided to share a few photos from our evening at the Bridgeport Brewing Company. We went there to participate in the election fever, consume tasty beverages, and have some delicious food. Also, we don't have a TV, so we needed a big screen. And they had a GIANT screen blasting CNN starting at 4pm.

Shortly before leaving for the bar, I had a moral dilemma; my favorite track jacket is red, but I was definitely going for the blue last night. The closest thing I could find to "democrat" blue was my favorite scarf. So I sported it with a neutral white shirt. J donned his red, white, and blue snap shirt that he purchased in the "true America" (Houma, Lousiana). Quite fetching don't you think?

I brought my camera to the bar with the hope of capturing key moments in the race. I got this idea from our good friend, Larson, who loves to take photos of the television screen. We spent most of the night at the bar texting friends and family while cheering on the CNN correspondents as they ushered in the great news. It was difficult to capture the full screen in such dim lighting, but the excitement was there. Trust me. We also relished the moment when the Tuesday night trivia guy packed up his bags and left after the entire bar decided not to play his game. Seriously, I love trivia, but not on such an important night!

Then, 8pm (PST) rolled around and we had enough beer for the night, so we settled our tab and headed back to the apartment to catch the concession/acceptance speeches -- which both turned out to be quite gracious. Jesse decided that we weren't walking fast enough and made me run half way home from the bar. Somehow he also managed to rip a giant hole in his jacket with his thumb. I guess that's a small price to pay for hope...even if the jacket was barely a month old.

Tenuous Tuesday

In terms of weather, today isn't bad at all. It's beautiful and sunny with a cool breeze. But it's not the weather that has feeling fragile today (even though it poured rain yesterday for no less than 8 hours), it's the election.

Yesterday, I tried to keep my mind busy with projects around the house. I played around with some fabric and rearranged the bathroom medicine cabinet. I also cut my hair. As you can see it's pretty darn short. Unfortunately, I'm sporting a terrific case of pillow hair -- I forgot to photograph it yesterday while it still looked combed. Also, I haven't seen that part of my neck in a while. Hello neck, welcome to winter. The highlight of my day, however, was dinner with our only friends in Portland, Brian and Anna. We went to this Thai restaurant not far from their house and had a pumpkin curry dish that was out of this world. Then, we went back to their place and sat by the fire with hot cups of tea and watched SNL's Presidential Bash.

Which brings me back to the election. I voted last week, but since last Wednesday I have been on the edge of my seat waiting and waiting for today. And now it's here. This is my first time voting in Oregon (and on the West Coast for that matter), so I get to experience the first polls closing over happy hour. Brilliant! Jesse and I are going to head to a local brewery and hang out for a few hours as the East Coast scrambles to count their votes. We'll probably hang out until about 7pm and then head home and stream the election results on our computer.

We printed out a map of the United States and plan on devising a point system so we can hedge bets on which states will turn blue or red. I'm not sure what the prize will be, but it will make things a little more exciting this evening at the bar. I pulled out the crayons and will color code our decisions this afternoon. Since we both read the same literature, our guesses will probably be pretty similar. To offset this fact, I think we'll have a coin toss and alternate picks.

I don't really care who wins our betting game, it's merely another distraction from the bigger voting "game" this evening.

** UPDATE** 3PM PST

We compiled our predictions and have agreed on the rules. Our bets will revolve around three categories: Toss-up States, "Leaning" McCain, and "Leaning" Obama. Any of the "safe" states will not be considered, except for the Wild Card Bonus State (see photo for the detailed rules). For us, the "leaning Obama" category is effectively a wash because we predicted the same outcome across the board. However, the toss-up states could be interesting (and are clear indicators of Jesse's optimism vs. my skeptical nature). The status of the states' standings were based on a CNN Electoral Map Calculator.

Weekend Update

This weekend was rather uneventful. We didn't make it out for Halloween this year, something that has not occurred since we both moved to D.C. It was a little sad not dressing up and going out with all of our friends, but we don't really have many friends in Portland yet. It was pretty cold and a little rainy, so I was very happy hanging out in our warm, dry apartment watching an old movie.

We did start thinking about our holiday cards on Friday night and by Saturday afternoon we had finalized a design and started production. I'm not going to give away much, but these are some of the tools that we used. I convinced Jesse to come with me to the Paper Source to pick out colors and supplies. We did a test run yesterday and I am pretty excited about the results.

Since we moved this year and never managed to send out new address cards, our holiday cards will have to suffice. For this reason, our list of people is surprisingly large. Starting to make holiday cards on November 3rd probably sounds a little crazy, but I think we might actually need the entire month to complete them all!

I woke up this morning and was all set to get our car inspected for emissions again (Oregon will not accept our 2-month-old inspection from California). We need the inspection in order to register our car and get Oregon license plates. Oh and also, our car needs a "VIN Inspection" were we get to pay someone $21 to look at the VIN number on our car and write it down on a piece of paper. Anyway, I went online to find the nearest inspection station only to find that they aren't open on Mondays.

Oh well. I guess I'll just have to work on other fun projects today.