Happy Memorial Day!!

My brother was in the Marines for 4 years. He served through three deployments. Ben got out after his four years, but they made him into an incredible man. I love and adore my baby brother. He makes me so proud every day. He's a wonderful father, brother, son and friend.

Ben, thank you for fighting for our country!

Here he is with my sister, Shelisa. We are both so proud of you!!!

Welcome sun!!!

It is about 80 degrees outside right now and I'm LOVING it. I love the sun, I love summer, I love heat. We don't get much of those in Oregon, so I'm soaking it up today.


Since we got our patio furniture, I haven't gotten much of a chance to use it till today. So blogging is taking place outside under the umbrella that protects just a fraction of the sun. Which means it I'm still getting a tan, but maybe not quite as hot. :)

I've almost all the ingredient for a lovely day in the sun. My computer to blog with, my suntan lotion (ignore the spf if you are afraid of skin cancer), my cell phone in case hubby calls from work or some friends call with other plans, my big glass of iced sun tea I made yesterday, and the camera to record it all. All that's missing is a pool. ;)

The flowers provide lots of vivid color to my atmosphere.

I've got my feet up, relaxing, and working on my tan. It's a perfect day!

Happy Birthday!

May 8th was hubby's birthday. We usually have a party, though this year it was a little tough to schedule. I work late Friday nights, we both work Saturdays, leaving us Sunday off together and the Sunday after his birthday was Mother's Day. Now I'm not a mother, so it doesn't affect us, but most of our friends are any more so it makes it a little difficult to plan around. With all that in mind we had the official party yesterday, more than a week after his birthday. We had fun with a couple friends, grilling and playing games.

When we started to talk about a party, I asked hubby what kind of cake he would like. After some deliberation, he declared "Funfetti! With funfetti icing as well." 'Okay,' I thought, 'That's easy enough.' But I should have know, when it comes to cakes, I never take the easy route. I love to make cakes. I've even considered taking some cake decorating classes, though I'm doing fairly well on my own. So this last week I starting thinking of a fun way to decorate his cake. Wednesday I came up with a superb idea.... Those of you who know my hubby well, know how big of a fan of superman he is. I like to call him my own personal superman. Every holiday I try to get him a new superman t-shirt. I think the total is about 10 different t-shirts now. Anyway, that in mind I decided it would be fun to make him a superman cake. The problem became when I could make it. I work till 7 every night, not getting home till about 8:30. When could I make him the sweet cake? Friday night on my way home from work I stopped and picked up the mix (I don't make cake from scratch usually, that takes way more time) thinking I maybe could get it in the oven so it would be cooled for me to decorate on Saturday. That didn't happen. So Saturday I left work about half hour early (on Saturdays that means 5), got home and got started making cakes. Only I realized I was 3 eggs short! So while one was in the oven I ran to the store for more eggs and got home with 8 minutes left on the timer. Wheew! The cakes got baked, cooled, and then I started to decorate them about 9 o'clock. I am a procrastinator so I knew they would get done, just super late! :) The poor dog didn't get his walk that night and the house was cleaned by hubby when he got home from work. :)

Since hubby wanted the funfetti icing and I was going to use fondant, the sprinkles couldn't be on the top and sides of the cake. I decided what better way then to have the funfetti icing be the filling between the two layers! It turned out wonderfully. I stacked, cut, shaped, and got the white fondant on the cake! I wanted it to be blue, but I had a bad time dying the fondant when I made my bowling alley cake, so I bought icing dye that's spray on! I had to cover the area around the cake with paper, since it is basically a spray paint type stuff. It is the coolest stuff, got the cake nice and blue! Only it misted out past the paper and turned EVERYTHING in my kitchen a nice shade of blue, even the insides of our noses (allergy season, need I say more).

After that dried, I got to work creating the superman symbol. That was kind of a trial and error process, but finally it was completed! It was midnight, the kitchen was a disaster. It had been frustrating, time consuming, and a little ridiculous at times, but hubby LOVED it and everyone at the party was impressed. That made it all worth while. :) See what you think.

This was at about 11:30, almost done! Do you see the superman t-shirt I'm working off of hanging from the cupboard. :)

Completed!!! Isn't it cool!?! The "S" wasn't quite right, but I couldn't seem to get it right without redoing the whole thing, and I wasn't about to do that! :)

And hubby loved it, which is all that really mattered! :) Happy Birthday love!

Another walk

Since Hubby and I got Oliver we have been taking him for two walks a day. Once in the morning right after we wake up and once in the evening before dinner. I can tell you, I have never walked this much. The other plus is this gives us a chance to explore our neighborhood. Since spring really has taken hold of Oregon, I've been thinking I need to carry my camera with me. There are beautiful flowers and gorgeous views everywhere I look. So on Saturday evening while Hubby was working, Olly and I took a walk with my camera.

I was excited that I have lilacs in my backyard. The bush isn't very big, so I didn't have a lot of blossoms, but enough for me to enjoy. Hubby is allergic so I couldn't cut any, but now all I had to do was walk out the back door to smell them.


I have a lot of flowers in my yard that I have no idea what they are. But the colors they are flourishing are astounding.

This one is in my front yard. Today when I went out even more of those buds are full, it's beautiful! Can anyone tell me what it is???

We decided to follow the path that originally made me fall in love with my neighborhood. Back in February I took a very similar photo, only with a lot less green. I love spring!

It was truly a beautiful day for a walk. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, and the birds were singing.

The birds singing on the ground were a temptation for Oliver. :)

I call this the "really Mom?" look. I get it a lot. :)

I find the view of a bench on a path just sort of peaceful. Especially when it's surrounded by budding trees and beautiful flowering colors.

"Everything is blooming most recklessly; if it were voices instead of colors, there would be an unbelievable shrieking into the heart of the night." ~Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters of Rainer Maria Rilke

Still alive and kickin'

Do you ever have those periods in life, where it all just gets away from you? Well, the last month and a half have been that for us. But, as I finally typed the last answer to the last of my 13 "Points of Doctrine" essay questions on the last page of my 13 page application for AMF, I feel that I can breath again. It seemed over the last 2 months since Hubby and I started this process, every time I sat down at the computer I was so over come with the sensation of needing to be working on that application that I would freak out, turn off the computer and walk away. Hence the lack of posts. But it's done!!!! We both sent in our applications at 6:36 this evening and even have the 1st draft of our job description in along with our preliminary budget. How crazy is that?



So, here's an update of the past month and a half.

• I got certified as an Activities Director. Thirty six classroom hours, 2 hours of studying, and an hour on a test - I walked away with a 100% on my test and my certificate. I'm still the Activities Assistant, but I got a pay raise! :)

• Ile (pronounced Illie) hit her 100,000 mile mark. I'll never forget the day I got her. I was so proud! She only had about 20,000 miles on her then. 5 years later, three trips half way across the country, and many happy memories later, she's still going strong. I love my Neon.

• Hubby and I decided to join Z&A on an adventure to a Daffodil festival. It was not exactly a daffodil festival (see http://littlebylittleonetravelsfar.blogspot.com/2009/03/daffodils-where.html). The next weekend we decided to join Dustin, Beth, and Eric for another Daffodil festival the following weekend, only to not find it! We gave up. No more Daffodil festivals for us.

• We got a pupper (thanks for the word Gram)!!! Oliver McGuffin joined our family on March 29th. He is a 1 & 1/2 year old cocker spaniel. We couldn't have found a more perfect match.

• We discovered that having a dog is kind of like having a child, yet not quite. It's easier in the aspect that he can stay home all day without a babysitter. Harder in that some people can't have pets in their homes - so overnight trips are a little harder to maneuver. In the same aspect as having a child, this dog is getting photos taken constantly, videos of the funny moments, and all his antics are told to friends (sorry, you get them too). He LOVES doggie tooth paste. He wants to eat the toothbrush as soon as he sees it and will literally climb Hubby to get it. He also doesn't like his feet wet - what a strange dog.

• Activities Day was celebrated at work with a trip to Bullwinkle's Family Fun Center. Corbetto, Stephanie and I played miniature golf together then shot at each other lazer tag style. And to cool down we rocked a little Guitar Hero!

• Easter came and with it the joy of dying Easter eggs, which I quite thoroughly enjoyed with my residents. They can dye a mean egg.

• Hubby and I took our annual Easter picture.

• Then attempted many with the dog who won't sit still.

• Easter was also spent catching up with old friends. We headed up to Portland and got to hang out with our old small group and then a couple from seminary. It's always nice to be with friends. During the time with the Searights we discovered that while Oliver is scared of adults and will bark and bark; he's really GREAT with kids. Their 10 month old was able to pull his paws, take his toy and just generally chase him around with resulting kisses and a new best friend (which also may have to do with the fact that while she got dinner, he got the droppings).

• Since I work on Saturdays, my husband has started taking the dog on garage sale tours during their morning walks. I now have a recliner that was purchased for $10 and a patio furniture set ($35) that needs a little bit of TLC. I can't say I'm complaining though. I was very excited about the patio set. :)

This has been a productive post. I hadn't realized how much had gone on in the last two months. It's a good thing I take pictures or I never would have remembered all that. I've decided to leave you with a video of our crazy dog. Enjoy!

Being in the ear of an Activities Assistant

Yes, I said ear. :) Now that I am an activities assistant I get to hang out with residents so much more than when I was receptionist. Along with that comes even more hilarious stories.

Part of our job includes MDS's (Medical Data Sheets). Within 5 to 7 days of a resident entering our facility we must get basic information from them that will help us better serve them, hence the MDS. Last Friday night I kept trying to get the information from a certain resident but she wasn't available the couple of times I stopped by. Finally I caught her as she was going to bed and the nurse said it would be okay for me to chat with her for a while before she went to sleep. That being said, she had just finished a VERY busy day and was extremely tired so I assured her my questions would be quick. We were flowing through them quite smoothly until we came to the section on daily routine. Upon being asked if she attends church, synagogue, or temple she informed me that she use to but no longer does. The following question is a strange one that is hard to ask of some residents, but I need the information, so I asked her if she finds strength in the faith that she does have. Upon that question she burst into tears, telling me that she just doesn't know with everything going on. As I let her express herself I prayed that God would just bring peace into her life. After she had calmed herself down, we continued on with the questions. The very next question was if the resident has animal companions, which I always phrase "do you have pets at home?" Upon hearing this she gave me the strangest look and said, "Darling, I have nobody at home to have sex with." It still cracks me up to go over that scene in my mind. I quickly said "PETS...DO YOU HAVE PETS AT HOME?" in a much clearer voice. She then laughed, reminded me that she was very tired, and said she did have pets at home. The rest of the questions went by swiftly and with no complications. Afterward, I told her to have a good night and rest well. As I left her room, her roommate laughingly said, "So nobody to have sex with?" and I closed the door on a burst of laughter from both ladies. I was glad that I was able to make her smile before leaving her for the night.

Hence the joys of my job. I might complain about the drive and hours, but there are times that I wouldn't trade my job for the world.

Spring

I saw robins in a yard on my way to work this morning...spring is on it's way.

I've realized just how much I've missed spring in Oregon, not the rain but the beauty the rain brings.

The flowers,

the colors,

and the new life.

Psalm 113:1-5
"Praise the Lord!
Yes, give praise, O servants of the Lord.
Praise the name of the Lord!"

"Blessed be the name of the Lord
forever and ever.
Everywhere-from east to west-
praise the name of the Lord."

"For the Lord is high above the nations;
his glory is far greater than the heavens."

"Who can be compared with the Lord our God,
who is enthroned on high?"

Psalm 66:1-5
"Shout joyful praises to God, all the earth!
Sing about the glory of his name!
Tell the world how glorious he is.
Say to God, 'How awesome are your deeds!
Your enemies cringe before your mighty power."

"Everything on earth with worship you;
they will wing your praises,
shouting your name in glorious songs.
Come and see what our God has done,
what awesome miracles he does for his people."

Psalm 66:20
"Praise God, who does not ignore my prayer
and did not withdraw his unfailing love from me."