So I got tagged

Leah posted a few days ago about some things you may not know about her. Well, she got tagged by Christie, and lo and behold, I get tagged by Cathy. So, for all those who ever wanted to know........here are a few things you may not know about me.

1. My feet are stinky. Some people have "smelly" feet, but mine can be downright putrid at times. I think Leah said it the best that, "my feet smell like a sauerkraut and Swiss cheese sandwich." Maybe that is why she spit out the sauerkraut and Swiss cheese sandwich I made her? I blame it on work boots. I mean, my feet can't breathe in those, and once they get wet..........look out! I also have been wearing the same sandals for 3 years, which also leads to the increase of stank-i-ness. Leah also retired the same pair of sandals I wore for 10 years in a row. Talk about ripe, they were so nasty even Rocco wouldn't go near them, and he eats cat poop!!!

2. I like my wife's music. I have never really come out and admitted it to anyone. I mean, I ROCK! Punk, Hardcore, Indie, and Ska, I need to make sure my indie cred does not dissipate once I get older! I find myself enjoying the Indigo Girls, Emmylou Harris, Bill Mallonee, and Allyson Krause almost as much as my indie bands.

3. I hate typing. I do it all day, and I never want to do it when I come home. I will work the mouse and surf the net, but when it comes down to posting or returning an e-mail, I am the laziest person on the Planet. Same with phone conversations and returning messages. It is not because I don't like you, it is just that I am lazy. Pure and simple.

4. I haven't balanced a checkbook since Consumer Ed in High School (LTHS baby!). It is all in my head, and all online. You get into a bit of trouble with the Debit Card, but if I am too lazy to type, how am I going to be chipper enough to do Math!?!?!

5. I hate emptying the dishwasher, unloading the dryer, and folding laundry. Good thing my wife likes to do those things, or else we would be living in a pile of filth. I would rather clean the toilet, or clean hair out of a drain, than do those things.

6. I am slightly attracted to Joan Cusack and Kathy Griffith. I don't know why, so don't ask. It is just weird.

I Gradumacated!!! Part I

[Dan points out my name in the ceremony program]

[Afterward, proudly holding my fake diploma; I will get the real one in the mail after I pay my library fines.]

As for the video footage of my walk across the stage to receive my diploma, all you will hear is a bit of clapping for my name having been called, and then the name of the girl behind me and the girl behind her announced. You can't quite see me either, but it happens! Just really fast. Dan was in the bathroom when they started, so he had to scramble when he got back because they were announcing the English department grads. Instead of going in alphabetical order as indicated by the ceremony program (see above photo), they read the names in the order we just so happened to be lined up in. My flabbergasted husband wasn't ready for me to be called third!

I'm Back and I've Been Tagged!

I'm home from the Seattle trip/extended weekend graduation celebration and ready to blog it up!!! I have so much to share, but nothing organized yet to do so. In the meantime, Christie of Life at the Condo tagged me to list six random things about myself:

1. I don't know how to officially swim. This means, I grew up "fake" swimming; I had to plug my nose, I never learned laps. I CAN doggy swim or tread water to keep from drowning if necessary. Because swimming is one of the top recommended exercises for me, I tried to learn for real and took a beginner swimming class during my sophomore year at Goshen College. This was NOT a beginner swimming class because everyone in the class already knew how to swim except me. Immediately, the teacher blew the whistle and everyone who already KNEW how to swim raced. I tried to keep up and do what they were doing, and I ended up in the ER with bruised lungs. I don't plan on attempting to learn to swim ever again. I am proud to be one of those people who skip and bob and fart around with swimming boards.
   
2. I prefer everything that I come into contact with in my life to be small. I will make exceptions only for tall people who are really cool, flat screen TVs, and large dogs. I like small portions of food, small notepads, small cars, small houses, small jewelry, small kisses, small creations of nature, small everything.
   
3. I take 3.5 prescribed pills a day and I am working up to 6 prescribed pills a day in addition to a buttload of Ibuprofen. These are the sort of pills that if I do not remember to take one, THE WORLD WILL IMPLODE. I do not like this but it is what it is.
   
4. Everyday around 4 or 5 pm my husband calls me to say hi and that he loves me and ask me what I want for dinner. I always sense when it is him, and many times I have been tempted to say something naughty when I answer, but I have NOT because he is calling me at work.
   
5. I graduated with an English Literature & Writing degree, but 3/4 of my education was spent studying Art. In a strange twist of fate, I reached the maximum amount of loans that I could borrow to complete my undergraduate degree, and quickly switched to ELW because I could finish the program within a year. I have never read Moby Dick, Madame Bovary, or the Epic of Gilgamesh. I would score very, very poorly on the list that Christie referenced from the NY Times, "1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die."
   
6. I do not wear my wedding band. After our first year of marriage, I gained just enough weight that the band became tight and uncomfortable on my finger. Getting the ring resized admits defeat, and I still wear my beautiful, antique engagement ring to symbolize my commitment to Dan. However, a jeweler recently shamed me for keeping my band in a box in my nightstand drawer and now I feel sufficiently guilty and have decided to get it fixed. Has anyone else had to get their rings resized?
   

T Minus = 34.5 Hours to Graduation

Dwight the Bobble Head had to stand in for Hobbes, who put up THE FIGHT OF HIS LIFE to not have his picture taken with my graduation cap on.

T Minus = 60 hrs to Graduation

There's a party Saturday afternoon. Our place, 2:00 open house til the sun comes up. Rocco's ready. Are you?

Meriwether's Restaurant

Last weekend we met Lindsay, Matt, Lorri, and Carmen at Meriwether's Restaurant to celebrate Lorri's birthday. Meriwether's is known for its "farm-to-table" philosophy, using fresh produce from its own 5 acre farm, Skyline Farm, in Portland. Skyline offers garden vegetables, flowers and herbs, and a growing flock of heritage laying ducks. Here's a few items we tried and loved from the menu: Chickpea fritters with harissa aioli, which Dan is attempting to recreate for dinner tonight! Goat cheese ravioli with assorted beets and wine sauce, grilled quail with mint peas and homemade bacon, and a seasonal soup that had white beans, cranberry puree, and bacon. Dan and I spent a good four hours there, from cocktails to dessert, and we highly recommend Meriwether's---but it's all the better with good friends.

Buon Compleanno, Rocco!

Rocco's birthday is today. I totally forgot. The only reason I remembered is because Dogster sent us an email telling Rocco 'Happy Birthday' and that he received 25 bones for his special day. Here are a few photos of some of Rocco's happiest moments:

[Sleeping. Can you believe he was ever this small?]

[Beach days on the coast with his girlfriend, Olivia]

[One crazy slumber party with 8 puppies.]

[Hanging out at Matt & Gayle's house with the kids.]

[Fishing with Daddy.]

[Lap time with EVERYONE and ANYONE.]

Logan's Birth Announcement

I was more than happy to design the Nef's birth announcement for Tom and Rachel, and lucky for me, I had this RIDICULOUSLY CUTE photo to work with! We had family photos taken while Dan and I were in Illinois, and little Logan posed up a storm. He was a total professional. We have more photos of him and I'll try to get those uploaded soon. In the meantime, you can click on his picture in the sidebar to go to our flickr account and see the Illinois trip photos.

This Is My Brain on Anthropologie

I had the recent fortune of receiving two generous gifts from my best friends, Megan and Hattie, that allows me a $XXX.00 shopping spree at Anthropologie. For the average consumer, this might entail a fun shopping spree, but I am no average consumer. I have been obsessing over the possibilities for weeks. When will I ever have this sort of spree again? I have to choose my items wisely, and this is far more complicated than one might think given the fact that there are so many ways to indulge yourself at this store; dresses, skirts, blouses, sweaters, handbags, jewelry, soaps and perfumes, rugs, dishes, books, lamps, linens...The list goes on and on.

After several "scouting" visits, I think I have formed my strategy...

1.) Personal. Today, I picked up a pair of sunglasses. (Practical? Maybe. I didn't even look at the UV protection. Mostly, they make me feel like a movie star). In terms of personal clothing or accessories, I felt my purchase would be most fruitful when put toward an item or items that I truly need. Other considerations: Earrings that can go with everything, a nice cardigan sweater (always practical and I adore the handmade "grandma" look of designs by brands like Ric Rac, Little Button, or Guenievere), or one of those cute little change purses--or, preferably the longer glasses purse, which I would use to contain my ridiculous plastic pill case. [After all, my philosophy is when you loathe something, find a way to make it a.) pretty or b.) smell good. I learned this from Megan, who lived for several years in her first house without a dishwasher. To coax her consciousness in a place of greater peace during washing dishes, she bought wonderful, fragrant soaps, fun and pretty tools, and set up a mini TV on the counter.]

[Damn, is she a movie star or what?]

2.) For the Home. This is my greatest difficulty because I want my house to look perfect and I have absolutely NO budget to do anything to achieve perfection. Not to mention I am absolutely addicted to obsessive decorating mania. There is no rest for someone like me. (My husband stands by watching in disbelief and confusion.) My strategy is to divvy up the purchase power of my store credit between rooms. I've asked myself, what does each room need? What would tie it together or add a sense of character? Well, unfortunately, there is no gift card with a great enough amount to meet the needs of our home. It just doesn't have good bones. It's a typical, cheap apartment built in the 70s with no character or architectural details. And those added by the owner before us don't quite add up. (Have I shown pictures? Bizarre.) I've considered wallpapering the bathroom or kitchen, a new rug for the living room, new bedding for the guest room, or accents for the kitchen and dining area, to name a few. There is only so much I can do, so it's come down to this room or that room. Today, I bought some clearance glasses for the kitchen. They're the small childlike glasses with single letters and graphics silkscreens. Dan and Hobbes broke the last two I had. I bought "H" for Herzing, "L" for Leah, "D" for Dan, and "E" and "F" for my favorite future-baby names. Call me crazy--I don't care. Next, I plan to purchase a tablecloth, hardware for our bedroom, wall decor for the living room, and a few accessories here and there. I had to let go of the wallpaper idea because Dan about had a coronary over the idea of applying wallpaper to the kitchen. I hope to have actual photos of our place soon. I always promise and then don't deliver because I am a perfectionist and nothing is ever good enough to photograph and share.

[Dan, Ezra, Fern, Herzing, Leah]

Turnips

For the most part, Dan and I try new recipes a lot. We are always searching for a new "favorite" to add to our weekly menu. Last week's favorite was Curried Potato and Vegetable Soup, which I have to give Dan major props for cooking because it included (eek!) summer squash. I convinced him that he would never know it was in the soup because of the heavy curry seasoning, and I was right. Despite the fact that the soup had 1 of his most detested foods (others include sweet potatoes and eggplant), it was YUMMY and we plan to make it again.

This week, we were both willing to try a vegetable we'd never had--turnips. Dan put a Scalloped Turnip Bake together and while it cooked in the oven, we had wonderful, chunky salads and a bottle of red wine. As the smell of the bake permeated the whole apartment, our mouths watered. I became even more excited with anticipation when we looked up turnips on Wikipedia to find out their nutritional value: "Turnips are high in Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, Folate, Calcium, Potassium and Copper." How could something so nutritional smell so good? Well, as it turns out: it doesn't. What smelled good was the butter, cream, and onions. Neither Dan nor I could finish the scalloped turnip bake. Those turnips had such a bite to them that I felt the back of my throat gag as I tried to finish my plate. Dan tried coating his in parmesan cheese, to no avail. We were both totally dissappointed, but Rocco loved it. But Rocco also eats poop.

I have to wonder, Did we have bad turnips? Do they truly taste that bad? Does anyone have a better recipe that is more complimentary to that bitter taste? I'm not sure if we are willing to try them again, but for their nutritional value, I feel we should give it a shot. Any suggestions? Or does everyone else loathe turnips, too?

Urban Nursery in Chicago?

Dan had a poop-tastic day at work and upon arriving home, he eagerly opened up his first informational mailing from a nursing school-Lakeview College. We learned that, not unlike all other nursing programs, Lakeview's second degree program will only accept former coursework completed within the past five years, and Dan graduated from ISU long before 2003. When he read this, his face looked like a deflated balloon. I'm wondering, Does this small hitch really matter? If Dan has to repeat Chemistry and other necessary prerequisite courses, wouldn't it be worth it in the long run? Accelerated nursing programs only take two semesters, and a semester or two of prerequisites would only tack on another year, right?

But Dan is disheartened, and I don't blame him. Something must be said for having acquired two degrees and facing getting yet another one.

His first degree, in Education/Biology, prepared him for teaching. He spent one year as Mr. Herzing at a high school in Bloomington, IL, and promptly moved back in with his parents and went back to school for his horticulture degree. He was interested in plants and had an intuitive and creative side that perked his interest in design. But Dan never pursued a design path in the landscaping business. Because he's good at anything he does, he's moved up the ladder into a top area manager at a local landscape company, dealing with customer service and sales.

Dan abandoned teaching partially because he was young and disinterested in a real job, but mostly because he didn't especially like teaching teenagers. He has detested his work in the landscape industry because he works too many hours and deals with adult customers who act like teenagers. Dan is stuck in customer service hell and his creative instinct and passion for plants isn't a part of his work.

My proposal? (And Dan is mulling this over...) We start our own business. I've been telling him this for years. I've always wanted my own store or business, but the concept has always scared Dan. But I say to him: You can take care of plants. You can design. I'll handle the rest. What I envision is something along the lines of Pistils Nursery in Portland. There used to be a company in Seattle, Urban Mulch, featured in an article here, that focused on urban residential potting, but I can't seem to find them online. My plan involves setting up shop (or online shop) in Chicago, which means we'd head back to the Windy City. I honestly can't say I have ever been interested in moving back to Chicago, but the thought of this business is nestled in Chicago for whatever reason. And I believe we are meant to have a business like this. It is perfect for the both of us. Can anyone in Chicago tell me if there are similar businesses? Check out Pistils Nursery and let me know...! I'm inspired and ambitious...Is there any better combination?

Summer of the Memoir

Dan recently mentioned that his two goals for this summer were 1.) Play the drums in Rock Band on level medium and 2.) catch a steelhead. I have decided that I would like to 1.) complete a puzzle and 2.) Read a variety of memoirs. Does anyone have any suggestions? So far I've picked out:

June Artist(s) of the Month: Marylhurst Senior Thesis Students

This month I am happy to feature fellow classmates who have senior thesis work on exhibition in The Art Gym at Marylhurst. I took classes with many of these folks, and I'm so happy for them and their accomplishments! For those of you who never studied fine art, the time and effort both physical and emotional put toward research and studio work for a senior thesis project is tremendous. To see the end product of all of your hard work installed in a gallery and viewed by the public is one of the most gratifying moments I can imagine. How inspiring! I can't help but wish I had completed my BFA and was taking part in the exhibit. Giving up my art degree was never easy!

Anyway, enjoy reading about the Senior Thesis students here, and don' forget to take a peak at the slide show, because I have only shown a few photos here. The 2008 group of students represent a variety of mediums: painting, photography, printmaking, and sculpture. My heartiest congratulations to Nathan, Rhonda, Kathy, Sarah, Peter, Claire, Sharon, Reiko, and Christy!

Rieko Warrens.
Orange Pigs, 2008.
Acrylic on canvas.
40 x 30 inches.

Christy L. Weigel
It’s Hard to Tell Which Is, 2008.
Oil, solvent ink and oil pastel on canvas.
36 x 36 inches.

Sarah La Du
Oregon City Marina 2, 2008.
Archival inkjet print.
15 x 15 inches.

Kathy Gredzens
No Girls Allowed (detail), 2008.
Acrylic on wood, fabric, yarn, metal, paper clay, plastic.
78 x 48 x 48 inches.
Photo credit: Aris Gredzens

What's in Our Fridge

From the What's in Your Fridge? group on flickr.