Some Hawaiian Fun

This November, John Mark and I had a great trip to Hawaii with my family. Waikiki has done some great renovations in the past few years. I would recommend it. Wish we had more pictures to show the fun but the highlights include:

Sunshine, the beach, reading at the pool, hanging out with nieces, morning runs (minus JM not able to walk the last two days), Kona coffee, an island drive, the huskies winning their football game, shopping, yummy fish, and...
Of course the Mai Tai cruise! Here is proof the Mai Tai drinks were good.

Autumn

It's fall time in the Northwest with winter biting fiercely. Fall is a favorite season with it's cool mornings, dampness, color changes, and seasonal treats. It's not really those things I mentioned I like most about the fall, it's more the items you can use to battle those elements. Also, the tastes of those seasonal treats. Seasonal treat numero uno are these:

Pumpkin Pancakes. Kelsey and I made them one saturday morning. Then, when she went out of town, I was bored and made them for lunch. We just made them for family the day after Thanksgiving too. So good. Other seasonal treats, sticking with baked goods and pumpkin. Pumpkin scones. Pumpkin lattes are Kelsey's favorite this time of year. Butternut squash (Kelsey really loves these). Me...pumpkin cookies from Cougar Mountain...I love baked goods.

So, fall right. It's cold, wet, darker than summer. I love this time of the year to break out my beanies for my orange hair. I love wearing my ski jackets for the first

time, smartwool socks, and my boots. But, in all honesty I really just like racing cyclocross! From October to December...cyclocross unleashes it's 45 minutes (for me) of painful cycling pleasure. Once your done, you wash it down (your bike) with a garden hose and your pride (because you crash) with an IPA.

After doing this for 45 minutes it makes you want to do this:

Anyway, cross is wrapping up (kelsey is probably glad). So were getting ready for the Holidays. Their baked goods. Ginger bread lattes (I love these ones). Ginger bread cookies. Still wearing those ski jackets. Snow days. Ski days.

After a few of these:

I like to go to the car for beer and soup. Winter. Right around the corner.

Feeling like a monkey!

Monkey that did not eat her Wheaties!

For some reason I always get a good laugh out of this video. And this was about her fifth attempt!

Mysterious Lake

Mysterious Lake was one of the names they original thought of calling Crater Lake. It is mysterious but I like Crater Lake better.

Highlight of the Summer...Crater Lake!

I can't believe that it took me almost 30 years to finally get down to Crater Lake. I guess you could say, "A dream come true." We have been talking about this trip for years and finally due to John Mark's organizing and planning we made it! We started the drive early Friday morning (coffee in hand). We drove straight to Crater Lake so that we could start the afternoon with a great hike up Mt. Scott. The views were amazing- the closest we'll get to an overlook shot of the Lake. The hike took us under three hours and we ate our sandwiches at the top-yummy! Next we drove down to Diamond Lake where we were camped the first night. Great camp site above the water and had trees towering around us. Everything was wonderful except the millions of mosquitos that buzzed constantly around. Our dinner and s'mores were cut short due to not wanting to be outside for one more second. We woke early the next morning in anticipation to ride the rim. The weather was perfect; sunshine with a slight breeze. The ride was a challenging 33 miles with over 4000 feet of elevation gain. We were exhausted afterwards and eager to check out our second night accommodations at the lodge! We rewarded ourselves with beer, salami, brie, and bread! Our third morning consisted of a boat ride around Wizard Island and eating a snack at a beautiful view point before hitting the road back to Portland. Quick trip but extremely memorable!

Birthdays should never last for just one day...

John Mark took Friday off so we could continue celebrating his 30th birthday. Fortunately, his parents were able to join us on our adventure to wine country...well, the Willamette Valley Wine Country! We first met Mark and Chris at The Allison Hotel and Spa in Newberg. Beautiful but of course with a price. After drinks and appetizers we headed to Hotel Oregon in McMinnville. Hotels are not easy to come by during the summer season so we were thankful to get a spot. A family friend of the Baldwins recommended a great Spanish restaurant in town called La Rambla. Great food and fun atmosphere but don't expect to leave with a full stomach! Right Mark? We loved our wine and even kept the bottle. Of course, we never let an evening end without a few rounds of cards. The next morning we started wine tasting right away. Starting with with White Rose, next to De Ponte, then Archery Summit, ate lunch at Horseradish, and ended with a tasting at Elk Cove. You are probably wondering what our favorite winery was...I think we would both have to say hands down...Horseradish (yep, I know that is where we ate lunch-but honestly amazing!).






Next on our list for the birthday weekend was camping with the Christensens. As you can see by the photo with Meagan...our tent was not going to win any battles against theirs! We had a great time exploring the newly opened park, Stub Stewart. Unfortunately, there wasn't a whole lot to do there (great for families though) and the weather was overcast but you can't complain when you get to make a fire....right John Mark? Ha!

Suprise...someone turned 29+1

Although he was dreading the day of turning 30...he at least was surrounded by friends and family. Fortunately for me, without having a job for the summer I could devote my day to organizing a small surprise golf tournament at Lake Oswego Municipal Course. I can't believe everyone was able to keep it a surprise and no major glitches (except for John Mark not wanting to put on his blinking 30 pin!). Thanks for all that showed up and supported his "plunge" into the world of thirties.

Exploring Oregon with the Aherns

Theta sorority sister (hmm, don't say those words often), Kelsey, and her husband Mike came out from Austin to explore as much of Portland as they could. They believe that Austin is "weirder" than Portland, so we were on a mission to prove them wrong. Highlights of the week include wandering around downtown, Saturday market, Hood River, hiking the Columbia Gorge, Mt. Hood and Timberline Lodge, bike pub crawl, wine tasting in the Willamette Valley, brewfest, home-cooked salmon in Lake Oswego, bubble tea, and my favorite slurping Huckleberry milkshakes from the Huckleberry Inn.

Penguins are Funny

And the classic....

First Anniversary Bliss

Traveling to Bend was a perfect way to celebrate our first year of marriage. Good friend, Stacy, spoiled us by flying us over to Sunriver (30 minute flight!). We started the anniversary by getting a couples massage to work out the "kinks and knots" of marriage! Then continued over to our proposal spot along the river at Drake Park. I think it even made John Mark a little nervous to revisit the spot, thinking of all his anxiety the last time. We ended the evening with a great dinner at Pine Tavern (ate lots of "donut" bread and butter). At dinner we exchanged our gifts...well our poems.

Our actual anniversary day, began with a round of golf at Caldera. After golf, the Baldwins treated us to breakfast at the Chart House.

Yummy, manmosa drinks!

This is how we traveled to the airport. Thanks Don! I think John Mark looks pretty good in it!

The crew and pilot. First time flying with Stacy and it was a breeze and so smooth. Best pilot (and best looking) I've ever been on board with!
And we are off!

Quick photo opt after our safe arrival. What a super fun weekend and even a little adventurous. Definitely memorable.

Schoooools out, for....SUMMER!

Can't believe how fast the school year went. What an amazing year I had. Great students that respected each other and were eager to learn. I feel so blessed to have a job that I enjoy! Looking forward to my fifth year of teaching first grade in the fall.

Spring Break 2010

I still haven't quite decided if I can actually use the word "break" for my week off of teaching. JM & I started the "break" by skiing up at Timberline...I'm not going to complain because we did have a blue bird ski day, however, we literally were doing groomed runs on the Palmer the entire day because the rest of the mountain was complete slush. I wasn't sure how the day was going to go for us, considering before we had even taken a full run John Mark asked if we could take a break when we got down. He said he was thirsty??? "Um, honey I just put on all five layers of my clothing...can we ski a few runs before we think about taking a break?" Here is a glimpse of our beautiful day, JM likes to show his muscles...

The following day I was off to visit the Jordans in Raleigh, North Carolina. Super excited to spend time with my sister, Ford, and Kealy...but most excited to meet my new nephew Grady. His sweet, calm demeanor is easy to fall in love with. Couldn't get over his quiet giggle and lovable smile.

People have said to really understand the responsibility of having kids you should start with getting a dog. Are you kidding me? Leaving a dog in a kennel while you head to work is nothing like feeding, loving, caring, changing, washing, entertaining, etc...a child! I had a blast visiting my family and I am confident in my decision of waiting a few more years to have kids. To keep it short- let's just say I need to get a lot more hours of sleep before I am rested enough to tackle having a child. Ha!

The fun continued as we met the rest of my family in Palm Desert to celebrate my mom's 60th birthday. Her fun spirit, devotion to family and friends, love for the Lord, and active life style doesn't show a day over forty. We had a great time and can't wait for our next visit.

Home Signature

People have signatures. The things that people do that set themselves apart. They're different from person to person. Usually they are for the most part good. For example the guy with his tongue hanging out while concentrating or competing…Michael Jordan. MJ, dang. He’s got a few right? The black and red knee brace that he actually wore on his calf for some reason (I emulated that one). You could go on with this guy. How about his “Jumpman” silhouette. It’s a brand logo now. I emulated that one too. On a 7 foot hoop in my backyard on a slick day as an 11 year old. I got my first concussion, due to some serious rim check.

How about in music, that guy, Angus, from AC/DC. He wears suit jackets with matching shorts. Little weird. Even in cycling. A certain cyclist always makes his hands like he’s shooting two six-shooters when we wins a race. Alright, you get it.

So, in a way more boring, domesticated way. I have a signature in the house. But mine I’m trying to get rid of (the cyclist up above could get rid of his too). It’s one Kelsey has been so nice to point out. Even calling me at work once. I leave crumbs behind. Not all crumbs, I’m a clean person. But from my PB&J creations I make mainly. I make a lot of them, so the frequency of my mess could be or is high (depending on whom you ask). I’m working on it, getting them up right away that is. Below is an example, minus the rarity blob of jelly (Marionberry I think). It was just too perfect that happened when I went to take the photo.

Here’s the deal. We get up early usually. I’m in more of a rush than my wife (because I’m slower), so I swiftly have to make my lunch which is 98% of the time a PB&J. I love them you see. They taste good, they're quick to make, hold well (I actually ate one last Monday I made on a Thursday), and usually not too messy (again, depends on who you ask). I think it’s the utility of the PB&J I love most or it’s the Trader Joe’s peanut butter. So, it’s 5 am, making PB&J’s, it’s dark, I’m thinking about how cold my car is going to be, then I forget to wipe the crumbs up! But, here it is, the crumbs are same color as the counter! I don’t even see them to remind myself they are even there without my friendly signal, Mr. Blob of Jelly.

So, then my wife is making her lunch or breakfast after she gets back from the gym (it’s brighter out now remember). She says “Uh” are those crumbs? “Yes, John Marks crumbs” she says. “He did it again, leaving his PB&J crumbs again.” Wham. My household signature! I don’t mean too, honestly. I usually get those up 80 % of the time. But if I don’t, I could get a phone call at work or at least an email.

So there it is. It a very un-MJ glorified manner, my household signature. I bet I stick my tongue out when I slather peanut butter my bread though.

Foam Rollin

Looks harmless. Doesn't it. Foamy, squishy, comfortable. Those all come to mind when I see people on these things or when I generally think of foam. I got one the other week and rudely found out the real story.

This little ton of fun is a foam roller. I never really got foam rollers. I saw people in the gym rocking slowly back and forth on them before. I just though it was their way of being "productive" while not really doing anything. I was wrong. Really wrong.

Ever have a bruise that really hurt? The ones that you could barely touch. Or better yet, have a bruise that your wife or girlfriend/boyfriend pushed on asking "Does that hurt?" Okay, you get it. Now, image 75 percent of your of body weight balanced over the bruise. To cap it off, roll back and forth over the bruise and see how that feels. Thats what this little comfy foamy slow roller feels like going over my quads, glutes, and hip flexors.

Honestly, I dread using it, each day I dread it. Badly. It's wild how the body works, but using this thing on my quads is to help my knee. I'm not too flexy in my hips, so it tweeks my knee cap. So, my cure is this foam roller of pain. I would post pictures of the exercises, but they are really not very pretty.

I don't want to know what people think of me when they see me in the gym on this thing. I know what I thought of others on them. Making my slow motions back and forth working out my muscles. To make sure people know I'm "working" on something I make really mean faces, but the rude massage from the foam roller delivers those faces effortlessly. Don't be fooled by foam rollers.

Chicken with Baby Spinach and Couscous

After watching Julie and Julia, John Mark and I have been totally inspired. Half way through the movie I pulled out the only two cookbooks that I own and started tabbing every page that looked enticing. I'm experimenting and slowly learning but loving every step of it. I'm sure my hips and belly are not too thrilled. I have also enjoyed reading through other blogs on cooking and recipes- it's a whole other world out there. Here is a recipe my sister shared with me. Great for nights that you are hungry and have 30 minutes to cook. When I made it I accidentally added the whole can of broth. Oops!

3 T olive oil, divided
4 Boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded between waxed paper to
1/2" thickness
1/4 t salt
1/4 t fresh ground pepper
3 garlic cloves, chopped (about 1 Tablespoon)
8 oz baby spinach, about 8 c. lightly packed
2 T balsamic vinegar
1/2 c. low sodium chicken broth
1 c. canned no salt added chopped tomatoes, in their juices
2 c. hot cooked whole wheat couscous

Heat 1 T olive oil in a large skilled over medium-high heat. Season
chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Add chicken to the pan
and cook until browned and just cooked through, about 4 mins per side,
or until the chicken reaches an internal temp of 165 degrees. Remove
the chicken to a plate.

Add remaining 2 T olive oil to pan, add garlic and cook for 1 min. Add
spinach and cook until wilted (1-2 min). Season with salt and pepper,
then transfer the spinach to a bowl and set aside.

Add vinegar, chicken broth and tomatoes to the pan and stir, scraping
the brown bits off the bottom. Bring to a simmer and cook until the
sauce is slightly thickened (3-5 mins).

Divide the couscous between 4 serving plates. Top with some spinach,
then a piece of chicken and the balsamic-tomato sauce. Makes 4
servings.