Chocolate and Vanilla

Conversation I had with my oldest son, who hates chocolate. It goes like this:

I am hugging and kissing him....

Me: I love you so much I could eat you up like chocolate!

JM: Mom, what does white chocolate taste like?

Me: Kind of like regular chocolate, why?

JM: Darn! I was going to say I could eat you up like white chocolate but I can't if it tastes like chocolate.

I've Been Elected.....Twice!

Okay, so one thing that you almost HAVE to be elected for to run for office is your precinct's PCP. PCP is Precinct Committee Person. Depending on where you live that is usually a few block radius of your house. You're in charge of it regarding elections. Getting literature to people, getting to know people, asking them to vote, etc. I was elected to that position when I ran for office. Since I was running for my district, as I look back now, I honestly focused more on my whole district than my precinct.

Now I've been elected to something that makes me more excited. I am officially the Secretary for the Multnomah County Republican party. We have new officers in positions, and I know who they are, and I am excited. We have a lot to do for 2012.

Fun stuff!

Once a year......

It happened again today, and I absolutely hate it. It doesn't happen very often, and it hasn't happened in a long time. I got a seriously bad migraine today.

I was just waking up this morning and I could feel a basic headached coming on as I got to moving around.

As the morning wore on, I kept having to stop for a few minutes until the severe throbbing stopped. Finally, I stopped. The migraine had arrived and the nausea had begun along with white spots. I postponed my entire day. School with the kids, business calls, and going out to dinner with my inlaws for my hubbie's birthday. Also, a meeting I should have gone to. Done. Non participation.

I laid in bed all day, snoozed a bit, and had those awful thoughts of "Am I having a stroke?" because it hurts so bad. The husband comes home, peanut butter and jelly for dinner, a science assignment was completed. I realize the kids did a great job doing some little assignments I gave them from bed and didn't kill each other. I thank them profusely.

I try going vertical around 6 pm, and the throbbing didn't start. I could move around and get my heart rate up without throbbing. I ate a little dinner. I got caught up on emails.

And tomorrow will be another day.....

I Am Back....

It has been several months since I posted, and I promise it won't happen again in the foreseeable future.

You might remember, or you might not at this point, I agreed to run for House District Representative in my home district. Election Day was November 2nd, and like most first time runners, I lost. I am not devastated, and I had my mind set that I would lose. I am tired, but fired up.

I thought I would share with you some of life's lessons along the way:

* We live in a great country. We live in a place where people give their lives to live.

* I was amazed and excited at how our country realized the path it was going on, and changed it's direction in one election. This all despite what the media, naysayers, name callers, and just plain dirty politics all said.

* I am amazed at how crooked ALL of our politics are. I am a conservative Republican. I won't hide that, although in my district it can get you assaulted. Any time I looked at a policy, a law, a bill, a proposal, etc. It's crooked. Truly all of us need to beware.....if someone says a bill is benevolent and meant for the betterment of mankind....peel back the onion and find out who is greasing what hand. There is no such thing. You truly do have to pick your battles, and you do need to recognize the powers in the room and who had a "dog in the fight".

* I am a more jaded, pessimistic, glass half empty person as a result of this process.

* I am fearful of our children's future. I am fearful of their ability to make a living and build a life for themselves in our current state of affairs. Unless the new Congress make strides to commit to a free market, principles our founding father's committed to that have made our country great for 300+ years that no other country has achieved....we are doomed to become just another socialist state. Ask Greece and France how that is working out for them.

* I am thankful to get back into my normal routine. It's been an adjustment. I have been breathing politics for over a year now.

* I am not done. I have our state's charter school law to continue to fight for. I have our legislature to continue to fight for to be more balanced, instead of the super majority it was that just whizzed through legislation without regard for consequences. We have broken that in our state, but it is tenuous at best, and we have a dolt for a governor. How do I know this? He served eight years, eight years ago, during an economic boom, and left office with an increase in unemployment of 65%....during a boom. Welcome to Oregon. Did I mention I am more pessimistic these days? I call 'em as I see 'em.

* I am looking forward to reacquainting myself with my family. Enjoy my dog. Hug my kids for moments longer. Having fuzzy cats warm my lap. Not wake up cranky and go to bed cranky.

I am thankful. We as Americans have much to be thankful for and to continue to fight for.

Stay-cation Relaxing Part III

So the next morning, after an incredibly quiet night of sleep, we headed off to breakfast. Our meal was served at the building next door, an annex sort of building referred to as the Bridge Inn. When we stepped into it, it was like stepping in the living room of Laura Ingalls.

So charming.

Except for the television, this felt like I had just stepped in a homestead parlor from 1870.

Yummy breakfast.....and one modern convenience I enjoy....that silver cylinder.

......two more national monument locations, plus a few extras, to visit......

......to be continued........

Stay-cation Adventure Part II

After departing the majestic Palisades of John Day National Monument's Clarno Unit, we were onto Fossil, OR.

Fossil, OR is very small. For this big city girl, it was shockingly quiet. It is actually one of the few towns in all of Wheeler County which is mostly government owned or vast ranch land. This girl enjoyed stepping out of the rat race. When I spoke to the Fossil Inn's proprietor, I knew it was a different pace of life when we discussed on the phone when we would arrive this afternoon and her response to me was "I need to go to a meeting a few towns away. I'll leave the door open, you just come on in and make yourself comfortable."

Honey, we're not in Portland anymore.....and we liked it a lot.

The Fossil Inn. This is one of two homes, you'll see the other in upcoming pictures. This is a B & B. It won't have a mint on the bed in the morning. It's a bit rustic. However, you feel like you just stepped in Aunt Bea's living room, dust bunnies and all. It was nice.

This was our "suite" entrance. We had a queen bed, twin beds for the kids, and our own entrance. No locks.

Stepping out on the porch first thing in the morning.

The word "city" is a stretch. My neighborhood is bigger than Fossil.
Look closely, only 17 points of interest.

Charlie certainly enjoyed our accommodations, and the inn was very accommodating to pets. She loved this trip and all the
walking and hiking we did.

Not much is it? What is this a picture of AMG?? Look hard. this is the back side of Wheeler High School located in Fossil, OR. So what?? Well, in those little holes and dents in the side of this rise in the horizon is a fossil bed that is open to the public. Just need to drop some cash in the self serve box as a donation, and each person can go dig (butter knife and a paint brush does the trick) and take home three fossils. This unassuming hill was the highlight of the trip.

Literally, fossils everywhere. Just need to find a favorite that has one of many leaf fossils on them. BH found some "electrified" wood.
Every time you pull away layers, there are fossils.
The abundance is staggering.

Once you have your fossils, turn around and look.
The sprawling countryside with Fossil nestled into it.

Then we went to a local eatery.....and do you think he's being grumpy?

Nah......just one of the many faces of BH.

.......to be continued........

Our Oregon Stay-cation Part I

A year ago, some friends of ours told us about going to Fossil, OR with their kids, and what a grand time they had. Fossil, OR is known worldwide for their amazing layers of fossils, from different eras spanning millions of years. We were also told how we could actually go dig our own fossils! Apparently, small town life exists! Behind Fossil's high school is a hill where the public can dig for fossils because they are so abundant, they just trust you to take only three per person and drop a donation in a box. We have wanted to go for awhile as you can imagine. When we ended our school year and had some free time for a few days, we made some calls to a Fossil, OR bed and breakfast, packed the van, and off we were! I hope you enjoy our adventures as much as we did, and I hope you think about going!

So let me give you some geographical layout. Fossil, OR sits right in the middle of a three part national monument, John Day National Monument. We did manage to squeeze traveling to all three. Our first day was to the Clarno Unit, which is marked by magnificent castle-like rock formations that are full of fossils called The Palisades. All the locations at every stop has a short hiking trail that we took the kids on and saw amazing things. Each stop had a small parking area, some great markers that gave a nice learning tour, and walking trails with great markers. All free.

We left home and drove to Fossil, OR and the Clarno Unit was on the way. It was perfect to stop and then head to our B & B waiting for us.

Hiking up close to the rock formations called The Palisades.
The kids were not happy. This was a long, upward hike
and it was warm and muggy.
The view from the top made it worth it.

Whew! That was a bit of a hike!

Then we look up and see the amazing little corner we are in.

That little cove in the middle is the final stop. You get to turn around and look out over the valley. You also can look up and see the huge formations above you.

After looking up in the cove, the view of the valley was so peaceful.

A panoramic distant view of the breathtaking Palisades.

Great educational markers along the way explaining the fossils embedded in The Palisades, the era of The Palisades and the volcanic activity that created the beautiful rock formations.

After a little drive past the Clarno Unit, we headed to our evening's final destination......


......to be continued.......

Thank you to all of our veterans, young and old, male and female, present and past. Fallen and living, but especially fallen. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for fighting for freedoms myself and my family enjoy daily. You humble me, and this day is to remember you.

Happy Birthday My Little Squirt

Our youngest son just turned five, and he has a really good sense of humor. So the hubbie and I decided that we would wrap up a tiny little something and hand it to him for his gift and then hand him the big kahuna. It was fun, he laughed, and had a fun evening celebrating turning a big five years old. Tomorrow we are off to see extended family and enjoy the festivities some more.

"Ummm...Dad....is this my present, what is it?"
He really was trying to hide his disappointment.

Oh! This is my gift!!

A bat cave!!
Sorry Child of God, the loyalties in our home have shifted from Spiderman to Batman.

Didn't know a five year old could fit in the box did you? Neither did we.

A Good Reminder in Our Lives to Lighten Up and Enjoy Things that Squeak

Our newest pet, Charlette or Charlie.

Thanks for the squeaky toy!

Right here, scratch right here.....look away from the laptop and scratch here!

Who is this newest little critter? Well after our great Clementine was lost, the kids wanted to go to the Humane Society and look at dogs. I took them one afternoon so the hubbie could get some work done.

We found Charlie, but with some serious reservations. She was classified as a very timid dog, and easily frightened. When she was brought into the visiting room with myself and the kids, her tail was invisible under her belly. The volunteer who helped us was great. I was allowed to walk Charlie in laps, the kids were allowed to walk her, and we also walked outside. The entire time, you could see Charlie relax, not be startled by the kids, and in general, mellow out. We liked her, a lot. We put down the necessary paperwork on her, my hubbie came to see her, all is well. We were coming back the next day to get her.

Until I met the dog behaviorist at the Humane Society who pointed out two things about Charlie from her intake. She is possessive of food and toys to other dogs and hasn't been around kids. However, the house she just left, Charlie was the victim of the other household dog that was instigating some pretty violent fights. So of course, she was food and toy aggressive with this other dog. So they were discouraging me from getting her. She discounted the entire afternoon we spent with her the day before, and tried to sell me on a huge, goofy lab mix. Umm....no. She came as close as she could to saying "no" to the adoption as she could. I stood my ground, I see a great dog in her and our kids are not dog stupid.

I brought her home on the huge lookout for aggressiveness over food and toys. Not even an issue! Nothing about food or toys was an issue.

What caught us off guard that no one could see coming? My husband. When he first approached her, she growled. The next morning, she growled and lunged at my husband. Not good! She had taken possession of me, and was quickly becoming hyper protective of me. He was quite mad at the whole situation and I made the call to the behaviorist again asking for advice. I also felt good to be able to say all the concerns she has were unfounded. I also asked what would happen to take her back if this didn't improve and we steeled ourselves for that possibility.

New plan, based on her advice and my love for the show "The Dog Whisperer". Charlie had bonded with the kids and me, but not my hubbie. So I had my oldest son walk her that same day, a lot. Like every hour or so around the block, and each time she strained the leash to come back to me. Nope! You keep on going! She was relaxed about it by the late afternoon.

Here was the plan that worked. My husband called me right before he would drive up. I sent the son off to yet another spin around the block and armed my husband with a baggie full of cheese chunks. So my husband met my son and Charlie with treats, gave her a treat, grabbed the leash and walked her. No growling. It was right out of "The Dog Whisperer". My son did a great job of helping me to disengage her from me in terms of protectiveness. All yummy treats and toys come from others in the family besides me now.

Every day she gets more relaxed, more playful and more calm. New people and new situations get her timid, but as we show her that she is safe with us, she calms down. We take her on car rides a lot just to get her used to going into new scenarios all the time.

Also, we had a babysitter yesterday afternoon. Babysitter, kids and Charlie all went to the park together and all had a great time.

She is kinda fun. We so miss Clementine. She is ever present with us and it's hard not to compare the two very different dogs. Charlie is the beginning of another era of dog ownership for us, and so far it's been quite enjoyable.

I Might Be Pushing Some Deep Buttons

It has been yet another whirlwind week for our family. It hasn't been easy at all.

On Easter Day, six days ago, we noticed a slight limp on our dog. She is an older dog, and so I thought to myself, "She is showing her age. We should probably start looking at arthritis meds." I took her to the vet Monday afternoon and left her there so they could anesthetize her and take comprehensive xrays of her hips. My husband picked her up later and got the diagnosis that truly none of us expected. She has bone cancer in her hips and it's a progressive kind. I had him bring her home so the kids could have some time with her.

And it's been a hard week of saying goodbyes. Enjoying her. Crying. The kids have definitely grieved in their own way, and always at what seems like strange times to me. But I understand that deep down inside grieving is incredibly personal and intimate.

So last night, as a family we took our final heart-wrenching trip to the vet. Incredibly, she has responded to pain meds all week and of course was bubbly and jumpy when we got there. I hate it when pets don't seem sick but you know they are--and you have to sign that piece of paper.

So I am working on a photo album of our most wonderful dog. She has been a faithful companion, couch potato, cat toy, protector, and slobberer for five of her eleven years in our home. We are honored to have been able to walk with her in her golden years.

As I took the picture I just posted with her leash and collar I had the most strange thought process. It's all factual, and trust me, I know someone will get offended, but at this point in my process I don't care.

For some odd reason it reminded me of slavery. We have all seen pictures of the leashes, collars and shackles that slaves endured. We have all heard the stories of how slaves were documented and considered property just like pets and livestock. We all know there were good and bad slave owners just like there are good and bad dog owners. Did slave owners grieve when their "livestock" died? Did they grieve like their slaves were people or their slaves were livestock? I try to put myself into the shoes of slave proponents and I can't do it. Maybe it's because of my kids but I don't think so. I can't make myself think of someone as a pet when they can talk, follow orders, work, think, reason, etc. I can't do it.

I still miss my dog tremendously and we will move on. I would be suicidal if one of my kids were to perish.

Easter, Step by Step

Our Easter this year has been fun so far. We have done eggs, church, hunts and right now, working on the ham dinner. Hope your Easter has been blessed and reflective as we remember, the death and more importantly, the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Went to the store, and no Easter egg dye kits! Ugh! Guess what, for pennies you can do eggs without a kit using food dye and vinegar. I know this is how it was done long before Paas kits, but I had forgotten.

The Easter bunny came and of course Tyrone had to check out the prizes.

Easter egg hunt spoils.

The beginnings of scalloped potatoes..

Literally, less than a minute later. I seriously still use my Salad Shooter that I have had since the first year I was married. It makes short order of thinly slicing potatoes.

It looks icky now. The potatoes with a butter white sauce on top, but give it an hour in the oven.

Honey glazed ham, waiting for its turn in the oven. This is the first time I have done a spiral cut, glazed ham. It's a little involved, so here's hoping!