Chillaxing at the hotel

Meet my traveling companion.  As I mentioned, I discovered Facebook, so I’ve been mostly dwelling there.  But, in the real world (sometimes it’s hard to tell), I’ve been traveling around Oregon and Washington for work.  This is spring workshop season, which means I have been working weekends, which means I have been staying at hotels lately.  So, where have I been?  Well – Spokane, Salem, Everett and Central Point/Medford.  I would have been in Boise too, but we were in the Bay Area for my cousin’s wedding.   

Because he knew I would be a little lonely staying at one Holiday Inn Express after the other, Fran brought home this cute/ugly doll oddly named Babo’s Bird (to read his fascinating/weird story, click here).   He made my travels a little bit easier, but I wish he could drive!

Fran really knows how to take care of this girl!

He surprises me with treats.  These flowers were waiting for me today!

He’s a great cook and makes dishes that I crave!

Some recent home-cooked meals:

Perfectly prepared salmon with lots of garlic

Tender, juicy steak with black beans and plantains

I dig his cool hats and scruffy beard!

He’s thoughtful, a good cook and handsome…what more can a girl ask for?

I can’t believe how fast this year is going.  We definitely hit the ground running!  There’s been so much going on and I’ve been wanting to post an update, but I never seem to get around to it.  Besides being busy, it may also possibly have to do with the fact that I have been obsessed with Facebook lately.  It’s so fun to find childhood friends…and students that are now in high-school and college!

For those interested (all three of you!) here are our January highlights:

We started the new year celebrating a new union.  Not to mention food that was to die for!  I would have taken pictures of the dessert buffet, but I was too busy sampling it all!  It was fun being with Portland friends in the Bay Area…Half Moon Bay to be exact.

Ministry Team Retreat at Breakaway Lodge in Gearhart, a quaint beach town.  I tagged along with Fran.  It was a great time of connecting with people from church – hearing their burdens, dreams and what God is doing in  their lives.  There was no planning, no “strategizing” – just a great time of fellowship, encouraging one another and getting away for a little bit.  A highlight was walking on the beach and scaring the birds away.  Sara took some “cute” pictures, but alas, I didn’t bring my camera.

Mission Connexion 2009.  This was a missions conference that we went to.  The highlights were attending a workshop on the International Justice Mission (I won a DVD!) and reuniting with Richard Twiss at his awesome workshop.  Again, no pictures – but you should check out the links.  While you’re at it, check out Richard’s book – “One Church, Many Tribes.”  Read it – I’d love to discuss it with you!   

LA Fitness – yes, we joined a gym!  And we’re actually going!  Chalk it up to my Type 2 diabetes…and the fervent desire to fit into my old clothes instead of buying new ones.  Definitely no pictures here!

Weekends – wonderful time together with Fran (the whole day!) and meals/coffee with good friends.

At Rimsky’s with Mandi and Brian (and my finger almost blocking the view).  

So, we’re in the thick of it again in this month of February, and I’m sure you’ll hear about it soon…unless I get lured by Facebook again!

“If God had told me some time ago that He was about to make me as happy as I could be in this world, and then had told me that He should begin by crippling me in all my limbs, and removing me from all my usual sources of enjoyment, I should have thought it a very strange mode of accomplishing His purpose.  And yet, how is His wisdom manifest even in this!  For if you should see a man shut up in a closed room, idolizing a set of lamps and rejoicing in their light, and you wished to make him truly happy, you would begin by blowing out all his lamps; and then throw open the shutters to let in the light of heaven.”

~Samuel Rutherford

You’ve gotta love it!!!

Do you like learning new vocabulary and helping those in need at the same time?  Click here.

…let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.

Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.

Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.

Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that:

Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.

From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

 Image taken from www.nba.com

Click here to check out Eunice

I hope you had a great Christmas season.  Ours involved lots of snow, lots of food and lots of family and friends.  I enjoyed myself too much and didn’t really take many pictures.  Nevertheless, here are the top 5 highlights of our vacation:

1) Arctic Blast 2008!  We really did have a winter wonderland.  Pros: fluffy snow, unexpected time off from work (due to bad traveling conditions), time together at home, taking walks in our ‘hood and seeing people with their skis, toboggans and sleds in the middle of the street.  Cons: cabin fever, church was cancelled and we didn’t get to see Portland friends before we went home.

We ended up getting about 18 inches of snow!  That’s a lot for people from California.  

At Whole Foods to get some essentials before the weather got even worse (and boy, did it get WORSE)!

Hanging out with K Dave (from SF) at Cafe Umbria.  Thanks for the coffee and snacks K Dave!

Fran in the middle of chipping away at the snow/ice on our car.

2) Going home for the holidays!  We were in the Bay Area for 13 glorious days.  We were so glad to spend Christmas and New Year’s among our nieces and nephews, sisters, brothers, parents, aunts/uncles and surrounded by the Bay Bridge, Golden Gate Bridge and Coit Tower.  

Getting stuck in the old phone booth after tea at the Fairmont Hotel.

Showing me their Judo moves

Mom taking a break from cooking our favorites and having tea together at The English Rose. I highly recommend the rumbledethumps!  

One of the many meals shared with family.  This one was at Cafe Cacao.

Her prayer for us before we left:  ”Heavenly Father bless Tito Fran and Tita Olive…bless this house so it will not be ruined or dirty.  Bless Tita Olive so she won’t have hiccups.”

3)  Connecting with friends over coffee, a meal or french fries (with sweet chili sauce).  We finally got to meet our friends’ baby boy.  We finally got to talk face to face instead of Facebook, IM or blog to blog.  We packed it in, but it was refreshing to meet up with friends and catching up.   I even got to see old friends from HCS.  The last time I saw them was 16 years ago!

Highlands ‘92 in the house! (actually in Hong Kong Flower Lounge)

 4)  Thomas and Donna’s wedding in Half Moon Bay.  It was elegant, heartwarming and such a joyful occasion.  

Glowing bride, exquisite dress

Two such as you with such a master speed cannot be parted nor be swept away from one another once you are agreed that life is only life forevermore together wing to wing and oar to oar.

Yes, we have our very own winter wonderland here in Portland.  Instead of just one picture, here are a couple for this week…

The view from our favorite seats at church.  You can’t tell with this picture, but the snow was really falling!

Lunch at isabel’s with some brunch buddies.   Good food, strong coffee and great conversation while the snow falls outside.

Making tracks in the snow!  Heading back to car…

Jamison Square Park

Our car

Our courtyard

Now it feels more like Christmas!