Packing Progress on Flanders Street

We spent last weekend packing our books and breaking down bookcases. By Sunday I was pretty tired and a little sore, but it was great to make such great progress. We have a few more book boxes to pack toward the end, but for the most part, they're ready to go.  As you can see, packing with a toddler makes for all kinds of spectacular chaos. All of those things that you normally keep out of reach on nice tall bookcases begin to spread around the house on any horizontal surface more than three feet high.

I also started packing up the kitchen, which is probably about half-way finished. We'll leave the necessities until the very last few days, but everything else will get wrapped, taped, and shoved in the corner of our living room where the Billy bookcases used to live. Little still has all of his toys at his disposal, but just give me a few days and some of those will start to get boxed up as well. He'll have to live like a pioneer baby with just a stick and a ball of string to occupy his time. Not that he really cares about his toys anyway, with screwdrivers, hammers, rolls of packing tape, and cardboard boxes at his disposal. 

He's taken to "decorating" our boxes as we pack. He calls it "art" and "painting". I call it graffiti. At least it keeps him from smashing all of the dishes on the floor. It gives him much pride to examine his masterpiece. He holds up his marker with a giant grin and says "did it! YAY!" I think the moving process is a little exciting for him, but also confusing. He walks around the apartment and says "house?" And I confirm that we are moving to that house we went to see several times and then he says "Matt?" (our real estate agent). I then explain that, yes, Matt will sometimes come to visit. And he nods and says "yep," as if he has it all figured out. It's amazing how much he understands at only 19-months (or at least he's really good at pretending). 


Only 21 more days until we close on the house. I can't wait.

Things I Will Not Miss (Portland Edition) #1: Blitz Bar

More specifically, Blitz Bar and their goddamn party bus that parks below our dining room window. I don't have anything against Blitz Bar, except for the fact that they opened a new location right next to our apartment -- only a few paces from our bedrooms. It changed the block, and not in a good way. We decided in December that we needed to get the heck out of here before its warm enough to open the windows (and before the drunken hoards take over the sidewalk for the summer season). God, I sound like a cranky old man (as I shake my fist out the window). 


The fact of the matter is that we've outgrown our space here on Flanders Street and we've also outgrown our neighborhood. So, we're trading in Blitz Bar and Pizza Schmitza's horrendous karaoke Thursdays for a Whole Foods and public library branch. And while we're definitely trading up, there are some things that we're going to lose. There are a lot of things about NW that I will miss a lot.

One More Move

Hopefully this will be the last one for a while. Our last move in Portland was just a few blocks down the road and we didn't have a ton of stuff. Now we have an entire basement storage unit full of baby stuff, twice as much furniture, and oh yeah, a 19-month-old who squeals with delight at the sight of boxes. 

Packing for this move should be interesting. We can't just start piling things up to the ceiling, because Mr. Little is a climber. It's going to be a careful game of rearranging, staging, and storing our stuff until we close on April 11th. Eek! That's just three and a half weeks away. Finding space to put boxes has been tricky, which is why we put Little to work disassembling a few bookcases. He's been very "helpful" as we start the packing process. It's pretty amazing to see him learn to use a screwdriver, but it takes about three times as long to get the job done.

I ordered our first round of boxes and will pick them up today. This weekend we are going to start packing up our books. They'll get boxed and stacked in the new empty space we've created. Prioritizing the things we'll need in the next three weeks will be key. And I assume there will be one last frenzied push as the end date nears to get things organized and move-ready. We will also have to make a little extra time to do some of our favorite things in the neighborhood before we leave. Of course, we're only moving across town, so it's not like we will never venture into NW again. But I imagine we will find new favorite spots in the new neighborhood and will see a lot less of the place that we have called home for the last four years.


Exciting (and hectic) times ahead!

More Space

In just under a month (provided all goes as planned) we will be homeowners! It's been a grueling two months of looking, and bidding, and hoping. Everyone keeps saying that it's a buyer's market, well, clearly they've not tried to buy a house recently in Portland. Inventory is super low, which makes the market a frenzied feeding fest on any decent house that pops up on the market in the close-in areas. This is the third house we bid on, and by far, the best. I can't wait to call it home.
 

First Bites

This evening after work, J and I threw Little Duke in the backpack and headed down to the Deschutes Street Fare for beer, music and tasty food from top-notch food carts around town. The evening was a fundraising event for a local family services organization here in Portland, so on top of all of the above, an all around good night. 


Our first food and beer pairing was from Fuego de Lotus, which served up tasy arepas (a Venezuelan-inspired street food) paired with Deschutes Cascade Ale. The arepas -- white masa cakes filled with tasty goodness -- were fantastic. I got the chili chicken and J sampled the pork belly. Yum. We will definitely go back, because Little downed half of my arepa and was kind of ticked that I dared to eat the rest myself. Also, for those of you who are interested, their arepas are gluten free. 


Second beer and food pairing was from Perierra Creperie. They served up both sweet and savory crepes, but there was no question which one I would get -- the sopressata, brie, pear, and pepper flake crepe (when matched with banana and nutella) was the winner hands down. M gave it 10 fingers up. I said Yum and was inspired to create our next pizza with similar ingredients. The crepe was a revelation, but so was the beer pairing. Deschutes Pilsner was surprisingly good. I'd actually order it again, which is saying a lot, because I just don't think that many American beer companies can compare to their German counterparts. Well done, Deschutes.

And the final food and beer pairing was more for M than for me and J, Nutella sandwiched between two waffles from the Flavour Spot. The waffles were crisp, tasty, and delicious. M loved the carb/Nutella dinner and smeared it all over his face and backpack. He then rubbed it in his hair for good measure. Of  all the food carts that we sampled tonight, Flavour is the one that I'll most likely seek out, because I'm on the search for a place that can make waffles that even come close to the ones we had in Ghent. I'll need a few more samples before I can decide if they stack up! 


J stayed to listen to the live music and I headed home with M in the backpack. He bobbed and clapped all the way home, just as he did to music at the street fair. He was pretty tired when we came home and gave me hell changing his diaper before bed, but as I kissed him goodnight I got a whiff of waffles and hazlenut -- all was forgiven. 

July 4th Home and Away

The weekend leading up to July 4th was packed with activities. Friday night after a stroll in town, we stopped at REI and checked out the backpack style kid carriers. Along with another family (who had a toddler that was not very impressed by the backpacks) we peppered the sales associate with questions, had her help us get fitted and J walked around the store with Little harnessed in a backpack. We were a little worried about how he'd react, given that it was nearing bedtime and we were all a little tired, but felt a huge relief when J hoisted him up and he immediately called out "oooh oooh ooh!" For any of you who have spent even a small amount of time with Mr. M know very well that this was his seal of approval -- Little loved the backpack. After thinking about it for just a short while, we went back to REI and picked up the carrier as an early birthday present for J. Little cooed and shouted and smiled the whole way home. He loves sitting up high and having a great view of what's going on in the world. 

To really test out his tolerance for the new pack, we headed down to the waterfront for the Portland Blues Festival. It was a pretty warm afternoon, but Little bobbed along to some Zydeco music in the shade and really only fussed when we took him out of the backpack (notice how stoked he is while we pose for a family photo). Also, look at how long those legs are these days. Geez, he's starting to look more and more like a little boy.

As if one adventure wasn't enough for Saturday, we took Mr. M to his first Timbers game and sat right in the action with the Army. I was a little worried about the noise, but Little actually liked all of the waving flags, balloons, and chants (he even bobbed his head when he heard some familiar ones). Unfortunately, he only made it through the first 30 minutes of the game. However, if we didn't have general admission seats, we wouldn't have had to show up 107 minutes early and he might have lasted well into the second half. 

On Sunday, we packed our things and headed to Hood River for the night and spent the afternoon with friends and her family. Joanie's parents have two dogs, Sadie and Minnie, who were very sweet to Little. Sadie loved bringing him toys and Mr. M would grab on so they could play tug of war. Then, Sadie would give him a million kisses on his hands and face and in his ears. Little hated the ear licking and would run away, but then come right back and start the game again. It was pretty great. On Monday morning we claimed our spots in town and watched the Hood River July 4th parade and picnicked in the park afterward. Tired and full, we drove home Monday night and I crashed at 8:30pm. Little was pretty tuckered out too and slept nearly all night.

First Outing

Yesterday, I had my two week check-up and realized for the first time that I should allot two hours of preparation time in order to get anywhere on time. I was given the choice of nursing Little (for a second time) and making it to the doctor's office at 10:30 or drying my hair, applying makeup (and possibly deodorant). I chose the baby with a full belly over my appearance. Anyway, I was given the all clear to resume some of my more regular routines, such as walking. Of course, I can't just jump right back into my two or three mile per day habit, but I'm looking forward to trying short walks here and there to build up my stamina again. Even though my incision from the c-section is healing well, I am not allowed to lift anything much heavier than Little for another four weeks, so I'll be limited to small trips to the grocery store and strolls to the park.

My parents are in town to visit with their grandson and to help out while I'm still recovering. Being cooped up inside for two weeks had me feeling a little stir crazy, so I jumped at the chance to get out for a bit last night. We drove over to a favorite sandwich spot, Kenny & Zukes, and then walked over to the Chapman School to watch a flock of swifts roost in the building's giant chimney. It only happens once a year in the first three weeks of September, so hundreds of people gather on the school lawn with picnic baskets and lawn chairs to watch thousands of birds swirl and dive in the chimney. 

Until yesterday, it had been warm enough to wear cute summer dresses and a cardigan, which were very comfortable on my still healing (and shrinking) midsection and sort of offset my otherwise disheveled appearance. However, an evening in the park necessitated pants and sleeves. So, with borrowed sweatpants, my now too large hooded jacket, and unkempt hair we went walking. I pretended not to notice my sad wardrobe state and enjoyed the fresh air and time away from the couch. By the time we got to the park I was pooped, but it was so exciting to watch Little stare wide-eyed at all of the news sights and sounds. I can't wait for our next outing.

New Strategy

Clearly this baby is stubborn like his mother and does not react well to ultimatums. Poking at his rogue feet while repeating "get out, get out get, out or else" is not working. Tomorrow he will be officially a week past his due date and I am going to have to start practicing some tough love if he doesn't decide to get things moving. 

It's not like we haven't tried to be nice about it. We've whispered encouraging words, J's been singing little tunes, and I've been eating awesome foods to try and coax him out. What? Those two ice cream bars and pile of cookies were totally for the baby. Yesterday I satisfied a major craving for a hearty Italian meal by making a giant batch of spaghetti sauce (with beef of course). We paired it with sauteed summer squash from our CSA. It hit the food craving spot so hard that we replicated the entire meal again for dinner tonight. What's not to love? 

In an attempt to get out of the house so I wouldn't go mad, we grabbed bagels for lunch up on Lovejoy, then walked down to Powell's in the Pearl to check out some children's books, and then strolled back home again. I even did a short sprint when I saw this guy driving down 10th Avenue. I jumped off the bench where we were resting and started running after the sort of creepy minivan yelling at J to "run to see the guy with the monkey!" J did not move fast enough in my opinion, so I yelled louder "the guy with the monkey" while pointing furiously in the van's direction. Luckily, the creepy clown caught a stoplight and J was able to witness the dude who drives around Portland holding a puppet while lip syncing to the radio. It was a pretty awesome afternoon.

Meat & Potatoes Gal

As my pregnancy has progressed over the past month, I feel like I have regressed at the dinner table. I keep having flashbacks of my first trimester woes and have become a pretty particular eater. My stomach is squished, so I can't eat very much at one sitting, which means I'm constantly low on energy. This leads to a somewhat constant nauseous feeling (either from eating too much or eating too little). Not only am I particular, but my cravings and dislikes have become wildly erratic -- last week I loved hard boiled egg sandwiches with cucumbers, cheese, and mustard, but now they equal death. Ugh, thinking about it right now makes me sick.

A few things haven't changed though, including my love for all things dairy. I still eat pounds of cottage cheese a week and send J to Trader Joe's every other day to replenish our milk supply. Oh, and red meat = euphoria. If I allowed myself to survive alone in the kitchen, I'd gladly crack out on a cut of beef or sausage and little else for dinner. It's like my body knows that meals are going to be meager, so it might as well make the most of what will little food will fit. 

Luckily, I have J around as the voice of reason (coupled with the bounty from our CSA), so I do eat a fair share of vegetables. However, I think he felt bad about the last few meals that we cooked together because they left me less than satisfied. So, last night he encouraged me to design a menu that would make me blissfully happy. And this, folks, was my heavenly menu: marinated beef, potato salad, and as much watermelon as I could fit in my belly. I was pretty excited that the potato salad was made almost entirely from items from our CSA, including three kinds of potatoes, the spring onions, and eggs. I hear that watermelon is supposed to help with swelling. I can use all the assistance I can get in that department, since my feet look like little ham steaks at the end of the day. Oh pregnancy! You are such a joyous and venomous beast. Only two more weeks until my due date!

Exciting Weekend

The camping trip this weekend was great. We enjoyed the cool weather, played croquet on the beach, and ate s'mores by the campfire. The sunset Friday night was pretty spectacular and did I mention the cool weather? I was so happy to escape the 90º+ temperatures that plagued Portland and came home to a much more pleasant July. Sunny and 70º is much more my speed, especially since I am now carrying around a 5.25 pound baby who really has no consideration whatsoever for my personal space.

We had some very disappointing BBQ on Saturday afternoon while the rest of the group went hiking, but really, that was my only complaint.  I have to say, sleeping on the ground wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, although being in my own bed again on Sunday night was nice. However, being in my comfortable bed Sunday night convinced that I was going into labor was not all that great. And yes, I'm pretty sure it had nothing to do with our camping trip. 

I called the midwife this morning with my symptoms -- lots of pressure and pain with "practice" contractions about 10 minutes apart -- and she scheduled me for a visit about an hour later. Her diagnosis over the phone was that I probably had a bladder infection, but wanted me to come in to rule out other things like the dreaded pre-term labor. I shuffled to my appointment, had the appropriate tests and an exam. She determined that there's absolutely nothing wrong with me except that I have a very active baby. My determination? John Braxton Hicks is an ass, because his "practice" contractions do in fact hurt. I think when the midwife saw the look on my face that read "you've got to be shitting me" she explained further. 

Apparently, Baby G is now settling in a little lower in my pelvis and since he's still pretty wiggly he's putting a lot of strain on the ligaments and joints and organs down there. In fact, I had a contraction on the exam table and she noted how he actively fought against it with his knee or elbow. In other words, my baby is all "Oh I'll see your Braxton Hicks and raise you two elbows right in your damn round ligament." I am effectively experiencing a fetal smackdown that will not relent until this child is out in the world. But he better not get around to that for at least another two weeks!

In an attempt to alleviate my disappointment (that there's no real fixable reason for my pain) and my aching belly, the midwife suggested that I get a maternity support belt that will help distribute some of the weight. I drove immediately to Babies 'R Us and tried on the most hideous contraption right in the middle of the aisle because there are no dressing rooms (as if pregnancy couldn't get anymore awkward or genuinely unattractive). It was like a Christmas in July miracle. I seriously thought about wearing it around the store over my clothes until I was done shopping. While it hasn't eliminated my pain completely (and the baby truly hates it), I can once again walk upright without taking pauses to catch my breath and renew my will to live. I am also relieved that there isn't really anything wrong with me and that I will be able to survive the next 5-ish weeks without having to spend most of it laid out on our couch. 

Week in Review

Holiday weekends are the best. They give you an excuse to get together with friends, eat lots of delicious food, and lounge around without guilt (recovering from all of the friends, food, and activities). On Sunday, we went to a July 4th BBQ at Joanie &  Dan's house in Sellwood and walked over to watch the fireworks after the sun set. I got to test out my new camera in the dark, and I have to say it's not bad for a point and shoot. I realized while taking the photos that I really need to play around with it a lot more so I'm comfortable taking pictures on the fly when Baby G arrives. 

On Monday, J and I were generally lazy and watched movies in bed and didn't get out of our pj's until almost dinner time. At that point, some of my crazy pregnant lady hormones kicked in and I freaked out because we hadn't done a thing all weekend to get the baby's room more prepared. J looked at me like I had three heads, nodded, and got right to organizing. He's such a good sport. In the end it paid off, because good friends of Larson & Serena stopped in for a couple of nights on their month-long trip across the country and back. It was great having them around. I'm so excited that our guest bed is getting lots of use! 

The rest of the week is mostly a blur, with frantic spurts of work in between some pretty hot and uncomfortable days. Portland's weather went from a lovely 65º to nearly 100º in a matter of minutes. I would have liked a little more time to ease into summer, but I think it's just a short hot spell and we'll be back to the normal high of 80º by next week. The heat has been a test of the new apartment and I have to say that it's passing with flying colors. While uncomfortable in the afternoon, it doesn't feel like I'm roasting in hell like our old place on 19th Avenue. 

Luckily, we're escaping the heat by going to the coast with a few friends for a weekend camping trip. It feels like we get a July 4th weekend repeat and I couldn't be happier! J's parents think that I'm nuts to sleep on the ground in my very pregnant state (they may very well be right), but I see this as maybe a final hurrah before Baby G arrives. It's only for two nights, we have pretty decent camping mats, and I fully plan on relaxing on the beach and at the campground. If only I didn't have to go in to work this morning. I'm pretty excited to get this show on the road!

Bounty and the Belly

Last night we needed a quick weeknight meal before heading out to at Timbers game. Since we still had quite a bit of beef leftover from our salads a couple of nights ago and a boatload of baby bok choy from our CSA, J and I threw together a quick Asian noodle dish. It was a pretty basic, but tasty recipe from our Cooks Illustrated Best Recipes cookbook -- a basic sauce with soy, oyster sauce, garlic, and ginger. J was the wok master while I diced fresh spring onions, garlic, and scapes. We threw it all over a package of Chineese egg noodles and it was insanely fast and tasty.


I'm now nearing my 34th week, so the baby has taken over most of the space where my internal organs should reside. By Monday, Baby G will weigh about 4.75 pounds and will be nearly 18 inches long. As a result, this portion was way too huge and I couldn't finish all of my noodles. The Timbers game went into 30 minutes overtime (tied 1-1) and ended in defeat after missing two of their five penalty kicks. I had to ease my sorrows (and my aching belly) with a PGE park hotdog. It was awesome. All I have to say is that Seattle better watch out for next year when we're MLS. The timbers are going to kick butt!

Summer Bounty

J and I first arrived in Portland in 2008 at the tail end of summer. The weather was gorgeous and the farmers markets were exploding with fruits and veggies. As soon as we settled in, I immediately started looking into local community supported agriculture (CSA) programs and was surprised to find quite a few. After doing a bit more research, I decided to go with the 47th Avenue Farm because their summer share season was by far the longest -- May through September. Also, given that they're an urban farm here in Portland, our food literally only travels a few miles to reach our table. The farm grows at a couple of sites in Portland, with the biggest plot out on 117th Avenue and another in Lake Oswego, which is about 10 miles south of the city. All of the crops are grown sustainably using cover crops between vegetable rotations, certified organic fertilizers, beneficial insects, drip irrigation, and conservation tillage techniques.

One downside of getting your CSA share from a local urban farm is that there is limited space, which leads to a very long waiting list! When I got the exciting email in April to notify us that we'd made it to the top, it had been a little over a year since we first signed up. I gladly sent in my check for a half-share of vegetables and a full share of fresh eggs. Every week, we drive over to SE 47th Avenue and pick up our veggies along with a dozen eggs. The eggs are unlike any I've seen, with such golden yolks that when scrambled they look almost curried without having any spice at all. Until last week, our share consisted mostly of early spring veggies like garlic and onion scapes, leeks, spring onions, green garlic, and a small amount of mixed field greens.

This week, however, I feel like were just starting to get a taste of summer! We had a mixture of fresh lettuce, radishes, baby bok choy, the last of the scapes, spring onions, and fresh cilantro. In order to enjoy our nice fresh greens to the fullest, J and I made a simple salad and topped it with marinated beef and a perfectly ripe avocado from the grocery store. I love summer!

World Cup Mania

Since the World Cup started two weeks ago, J and I have tried to keep up with the many matches in group rounds. We mostly stream the games on our computers while hovering around J's work desk or in our living room (hey the car seat is proving useful even before the baby arrives). As you can imagine, watching all of the games with internet streaming quality on a 14" screen isn't exactly ideal. So, we've visited several venues over the past couple of weeks to catch some of the more exciting games. When J's parents were in town, we rolled out of bed to watch the 7am Argentina vs. Nigeria game. Later that day, we stopped in at the Mission Theater (one of our favorite second-run movie houses) to see the USA vs. England game, which was really fun and exciting.

As dedicated fans, yesterday morning we set the alarm for 6am and shuffled over to a local divey sports bar to see the USA vs. Algeria and the England vs. Slovenia games. Bars all over town have been opening early (some even open for the 4am games) to cater to the crowds of Portland soccer fans. Most even throw together some sort of special breakfast menu, you know, to help soak up the pitchers of beer they're pouring just after sunrise. This bar was no different. J and I ponied up to the bar right in front of one of probably two dozen flat screen TVs, ordered two Vuvuzela specials and two coffees. The kitchen started slinging eggs, bacon, and sausage right away and waitresses spent the morning carrying armfuls of breakfast plates, delicious looking bloody marys, and pitchers and pints of beer. It was awesome.

One of the announcers during the USA game said that "Americans must be dying a thousand deaths over and over," which pretty much summed up the feeling during the nail-bitingly close match. When Donovan scored that goal in the first minute of stoppage time, the bar erupted with cheers, bar stools fell over, beer splashed in the air, and everyone started chanting USA! USA! USA! J and I walked home excited, yet exhausted.

Later that afternoon, I was thinking about how quite a few of my pregnancy books have stressed that the baby can hear noises. Certain familiar sounds that he hears in utero might be soothing once he's born, like my voice, J's voice, or certain beats from music. One even went so far to suggest that babies who are read to in the womb might even show preference to those books once born. If that truly is the case, then we're going to have to purchase a vuvuzela track (or a swarm of angry bees) as white noise, since that is probably the most consistent external noise he'll hear for most of June and July.

So Sore

A friend of mine passed along an email earlier this week that a local fitness studio was having a Mother's Day special of free prenatal classes in the Pearl District. I emailed to reserve a spot and was surprised to find that they still had room (in D.C. if you signed up for anything free you had to do it within 5 seconds of a public posting or you were out of luck).

It was a beautiful day yesterday, so I took a nice stroll to 10th & Marshall, not knowing exactly what to expect. I've taken yoga classes before, which never really seemed to do it for me, however I realize that I've not done any strength training at all during my pregnancy and am feeling pretty soft these days. Barre3 intrigued me because it boasts that it's "where ballet barre meets yoga and pilates," and that's exactly what I got from the class. It totally kicked my butt (in a good way). We stretched and strengthened nearly every muscle in my body with exercises modified specifically for pregnancy. I left feeling totally spent, but not exhausted.

This morning I woke up very aware of every muscle in my body, but I can't wait to sign up again for next weekend!

(photo from Barre 3)

Photo Update

Yikes! The last time I updated was over two weeks ago! The lack of posting hasn't been for lack of good material, but I've been super busy (and without a functioning camera). So, here are a few photos (taken exclusively by others) to get you up to speed.

Chicago was amazing. For once I brought good weather with me on vacation. I had such fun catching up with Lauren and exploring her neighborhood. We stopped in for the afternoon at the Chicago Botanical Gardens and admired all of the early bloomers.

This variety of Ranunculus were absolutely gorgeous. Definitely on my list of must have garden items when I get that patch of grass someday.

J's parents were in town for the weekend and we caught the first Timbers game of the season. It's a good thing we got there early and secured good seats, because the Timbers won to a sold out crowd. I celebrated by inhaling a giant hot dog. I can't wait for the rest of the season!

On Sunday, we all took an epic hike up to the Japanese Garden, then on to the Pittock Mansion, and back down to the city through Forrest Park. I'm guessing it was in the range of 6-8 miles (with lots of uphill climbs) and we were all happy to land at the final destination, St. Honore's Boulangerie for sandwiches and pastries.

I had another prenatal group meeting with the midwives yesterday and all seems to be going well. I got to hear Baby G's heartbeat again, which is always a nice treat, but not without some difficulty -- he kept kicking the dopplar before the nurse's aid could get an accurate count. Finally, he played nice and let us document the 150 beats per minute. He then settled down for the afternoon, but started up again right around bedtime so J could feel his bumps and rolls. J's finally been able to understand what I mean when I say "the baby is going nuts right now."

Weekend Fun

I mentioned earlier that our friend Ed was in town for a few days to do a couple of comedy shows. J was excited because he had a drinking buddy for the weekend and a very willing concert partner. I was excited, because Ed cooked us french toast and indulged with me in cupcakes and cookies after every meal. Thursday night, we went to see Ed's opening act for a friend, Wyatt Cenac, who was doing a stand-up show at Reed College. Any of you Daily Show fans might recognize Wyatt, who is a writer and a news correspondent.

After the show, we attempted to take them out for an evening in Portland, but ended up first at a bar that was closing up for the evening (at 10:30 on a Thursday night) and a gay bar in Old Town. Clearly, J and I are not as familiar with the downtown night scene as we are with our own neighborhood -- I certainly hope he doesn't hold this against Portland. Next time, we'll do a much better job of hitting the hot spots.

Since we stayed out until 2am, sleeping in was on the menu for Friday morning. Pine State Biscuits was also on the agenda, so we rolled on over to the east side and waited in line (in the rain) for a delicious breakfast/lunch. This is Ed's selection, a biscuit with fried chicken, egg, and cheese. I had a special menu item, which consisted of a biscuit, fried chicken, bacon, cheese, and apple butter. It was amazing. I had a hard time deciding between the special and the Reggie (bacon, fried chicken, cheese, and homemade sausage gravy). The sausage gravy smelled so good that I'm pretty sure we'll have to go back very soon so I can give it a try. After Pine State, J and Ed took a long walk around town while I passed out for a couple of hours in a food coma.

Even though Ed had been to Portland a couple of times before, he'd never really ventured outside of the city limits. So, he packed up his suitcase, threw it in the trunk of our car, and we headed out to Multnomah Falls for the afternoon before dropping him off at the airport on Saturday. It was a beautiful day in Portland, sunny, but still a little cool. The falls were spectacular and the moss was electric green because of all the rain that we got on Friday. I probably should have worn one more layer, but I always forget how it's usually 10 degrees colder than at home in the city. We didn't hike up to the top, because none of us were really dressed appropriately for the temperature. Also, we had delicious sandwiches waiting in the car (and I was starving)!

It felt great to have a guest in town again. It's one of the things that I truly miss about D.C. -- we always seemed to have visitors. I can't wait for the next couple of months when we'll get to have lots of friends and family visiting, which will make Portland really start to feel like home.

** Thanks, Ed, for taking a bunch of great photos this weekend!

Finished!

Yesterday was my last day of economics class (hallelujah)! It's not that I didn't enjoy it most of the time, but Monday, March 15th was a day that I had been dreading for a while. I had a final paper due in addition to a final take home exam, and to top it all off I had to give a presentation on my paper topic. Needless to say, I've been off the grid for a couple of days trying to finish all of the work. Because having a doozie of a Monday in terms of schoolwork wasn't quite enough, last night the organization I work for part time was hosting a lecture. Basically, I was at work by 9:00am and didn't get home until 10:30pm with class and stuff in between.

The day actually wasn't as horrendous as I imagined it would be and that's due partially to scaring myself shitless into finishing all of my work ahead of the absolute final deadline. This was a first. (I also convinced myself in that fury to finish my work Sunday night that I had somehow killed our baby, but that is an entirely other neurotic story.) I woke up early on Monday morning starving, with the baby thumping and poking around -- probably waiting impatiently for an energy rush from a giant bowl of cottage cheese.

The weather outside yesterday was unusually nice, which made being chained to a desk at work even harder. That is, until I looked up and a little sign was glowing. "Open Windows." It's not like I hadn't noticed the sign before. I just assumed it was something for fire code that meant the windows were operable. However, this was the first time I had ever seen it glowing. So, I turned around and asked the nearest person what it all meant.

Prepare to be wowed.

Apparently, a few feet below that sign is a high tech fancy weather meter. It calculates the outside temperature and humidity and when the conditions are just right, the sensor shuts off the HVAC system and flips on the light. It quite literally means "open your windows right now because it's beautiful out and you will love the fresh air." I looked around and nearly all of the office had the windows cracked, even if just a bit, and were basking in the gorgeous weather. The architecture firm that currently occupies the floor renovated the space, which is the top floor of a historic building. They're really into taking sustainability seriously and have done as much as humanly possible to advance their efforts -- there are even food scrap bins for composting in the shared kitchen area.

I have to say, this idea wouldn't work everywhere. I think there would be about 3.2 days a year when the weather would cooperate enough in Washington, D.C. to warrant turning off the heat or air conditioning in favor of fresh air. However, Portland has an abundance of really nice weather, so why not take advantage?

Today wasn't quite as nice, so I wasn't sad to be inside finishing that one final paper. It's done now and I can breathe a huge sigh of relief. Spring break officially begins.....NOW.

Snow Snow Snow!

About 2 months ago, a rock hit our windshield and created a little itty-bitty starburst down near the passenger side windshield wiper. After watching a late night infomercial on a giant hotel TV in D.C., I discovered the wonders of windshield repair. I sat, slack-jawed, watching the magic that took place and vowed to get our windshield fixed as soon as we returned home. Well, the holidays happened and I never got around to it. As it turns out, one of our headlights just burned out and we need an oil change, so my job this week was to focus on the car. I guess the Mazda decided that I wasn't really going to live up to my promises, so on Christmas Eve she got all uppity and decided to crack the windshield nearly in two as we were driving home from picking up some packages. I guess I shouldn't blame this entirely on the car, since it was about 18 degrees out and we were blasting the defroster at full speed. But come on? Really?

Yesterday, I spent a large portion of the morning on the phone with our auto insurance company and local glass shops because driving around with a cracked windshield is terrifying. Also, we were having a stretch of unusually dry weather, so I wanted to take care of the problem before we had a soggy interior to deal with as well. I was feeling a little gloomy about having to drop off the car, take the bus home, and then haul my butt over to the repair shop again in the afternoon to pick it up.

Around 2pm, Jesse sent me a text message -- It's Snowing! I didn't believe him, because while it's been bitterly cold (and dry) lately, when there is precipitation, it always comes in the form of rain. Lots and lots of rain. I was so delighted when I looked out the window to find big puffy snowflakes pouring down on 21st Avenue. I quickly put on my coat and walked down to the bus station so I could pick up the car. I lucked out and got home just in time -- the roads looked like this just after I parked the car. Over the next hour or so, they continued to get worse. Jesse rode his bike home and came back looking like an ice monster, coated from head to toe in wet, dripping snow.

We walked over to one of our favorite happy hour spots to get nachos with a friend and by 4pm there was probably about an inch on the ground. It was beautiful and white (with the sounds of spinning tires in the background). I don't think a lot of people were prepared for the rush hour storm and ended up abandoning cars on some of the main roads leading out of Portland. They're calling it the worst commute in 20 years. I'd like them to rethink that declaration, since I personally experienced the worst commute in the history of the world last Christmas, but I will concede that a 25-mile backup on I-5 is pretty harrowing.

Today, the snow is almost all melted and we have a 10-day forecast of steady rain. That's how Portland winter should be, but I'm always happy for a snowy afternoon to break up the monotony.

I'm a Popsicle

This was Portland's weather status as of 6:45pm this evening. I'm officially a Popsicle.

In short, it's insanely cold here in the Pacific NW. Tonight, the low is supposed to hover around 15º and not really get above freezing tomorrow. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, this happened last year too in December. I seem to remember that it didn't last very long, except it was coupled with monumental amounts of snow. This time around though, we're just getting a terrible arctic breeze that cuts through every layer of my clothing. After walking around this afternoon, my skin feels like it was given a good sanding and is absorbing lotion like a sponge.

As a result of the arctic air mass hovering over Portland, I have spent a great deal of time jumping from room to room, closing the door, and blasting the heater to keep warm. The rest of the apartment has been sacrificed to the cold -- I don't even want to go into the dining room and kitchen, as I'm sure it resembles the ice palace scene from Dr. Zhivago. I never thought I'd say it, but I sure do miss having those radiator pipes pumping constant heat through the walls and keeping the apartment a balmy 78º during the winter. Is it so wrong to want to walk around in a tank top in December?

I've already gotten votes of "Alexander the Grape" and "Strawberry Short Kook" for favorite Otter Pop flavors. I haven't decided, but I think I'll go with "Little Orphan Orange" in honor of my multiple layers of clothes, wool socks and slippers, and the oh-so-attractive static-cling hairdo. What's your favorite ice pop flavor?