SO PUMPED RIGHT NOW!!!!

I just watched this little trailer for the documentary about Hood 2 Coast. Oh my gosh, SO EXCITED FOR TO WATCH IT AND TO RUN IT (for the 6th time) THIS AUGUST!!!!

And you should know that every last word these people say about Hood 2 Coast is 100% true. And just like the guy says at the beginning, "I don't like Hood 2 Coast...but I need Hood 2 Coast."

Hood To Coast Trailer from HoodToCoastMovie on Vimeo.

Yep, I'm a total junkie for this, it's not even funny.

Double checking a text

I forget to do this all the time and get in so much trouble because of it. And I do love it when I get texts that clearly haven't been read over before being sent, kinda makes my day actually. :)

I just wrote a text to my man and what I wanted to say was "Hey busy boy." What I read when I was done texting was "Got bust not." Haha, makes me laugh every time.

I'm so easily entertained.

Last weekend

was the Cascade Cycling Classic in gorgeous Bend, Oregon. Scott was asked to officiate the whole weekend (starting with a race Friday morning and ending with a race Sunday morning). We went, he officiated, we saw, we ate, we drank, we laughed, we relaxed, we left. It was oh so much great fun. Seriously, I think one of my favorite things to do with Scott is come along when he officiates...especially when we do the driving kind and I get to participate a little bit). FREAKING LOVE IT! And I think I love it so much because I get to see him in his element, being a part of what he loves and enjoys. He lets me come along and never makes me feel like I'm being annoying or in the way. :) And there is something about seeing your guy in charge...not gonna lie.

Here are some pictures to show you what we saw and did.

Here are the racers (Category 4's) from Friday's race, turning a corner.

The view from Linda's sisters back deck. SO BEAUTIFUL!
It was definitely night time when this picture was taken (see last picture)...not sure why my camera was being dumb. Oh well, still a cute picture.
A racer turning around at the Time Trial(or TT). He's got himself a wheel that has a name that I can't think of but it's supposed to help with going faster, blah blah blah. All I know is that it is very loud because it's just a thin sheet of carbon (not metal, like I thought...because yes, I was corrected).
Here is my attempt at getting quick succession pictures of a guy doing the turn around. Can you see all his aerodynamic gear? Well, the only thing that I'd like to really point out is the helmet? I won't tell you what they call them in the cycling world, but it's not a bad description.



This is the view I had for about 4+ hours Saturday morning. We were sitting at the turn around, making sure every rider came through.

Here is a picture of the pro's racing Saturday evening. Specifically, this is a picture of a certain pro that had some doping issues a few years back and is now clean and trying to get back into the cycling world. Can't remember his name, though...maybe Scott will let us know in the comments.
Racer's lining up Sunday morning
Scott (the guy in yellow) giving the group the rules and lettin' 'em know who's boss (he can kinda sound like a drill Sargent, it's great)
Us and the duck, following the peloton...which, in French, literally means little ball or platoon
Jordan and I were asked to give out the medals to the winners of the kids races. They were so stinkin' cute racing their little bikes and trikes over the finish line...some with a little help from their parents (or we would have been there all day, seriously).
Okay, they aren't that heavy, it was just super hot standing in the direct sun on the asphalt.

This and That and then some...

I like today's quote from Real Simple:
“Always do what you are afraid to do.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson
Certainly something I can remember and work on.

Today is National Ugly Truck Contest day. Yep, I do believe the Chevy Avalanche is the ugliest truck to date...well, with exception to the hummer truck. Ick!


Today is also National Lollipop day. Lifesaver lollipops have always been my favorite.

I don't love that our new apartment complex 1) doesn't allow visitors to park in the parking lot, 2) doesn't even assign at least one parking spot per apartment, and 3) has gates all around and offers only the back entrance for you to walk through if you have to park on the street. However...I will say that my trek to the car through the mist on this fine Oregon morning was quite pleasant and a great little extra added exercise bonus before I sat in the car on my 30 minute drive to work.

Thank you Lord for the unassigned parking spots.
You gave me a nice peaceful walk that stretched my muscles and cleared my head for the day.

Sunday night Scott and I did some grocery shopping and brought home a new item to try. Now, I know you may want to judge when you first see the picture...but I'm telling you now: It is not bad, not bad at all. Especially when you realize that it's organic and has no high fructose corn syrup in it. Okay, okay, here is the item we tested out this weekend...Yes, Organic Batter Blaster. Seriously. No joke. We had breakfast for dinner and the pancakes were not too shabby. I tried to stick to the 4 inch size that they mention on the back and actually, they turned out very decent. These by no means will be the pancakes we'll make on a regular basis. I think we'll stick to my personal fave, Fiber One Pancake mix...yum! It is nice to know, thought, that we have options that aren't bad and aren't that bad for you...and that don't create any sort of extra dishes to wash. I sure do love taste testing. Maybe Scott will share with you guys what he thought of the pancakes in the comments.


And look how cute this little dude is...
Um...
Okay, look how cute he is now.

Jeff and Dawn's little boy, Brady, and our very sweet, precious nephew.


I think that is all for now. Have a great day everyone!

No title today...

Today, July 15 is … National Tapioca Pudding Day and Respect Canada Day.

I can definitely get behind both of these.
Tapioca pudding, in all it's strange textures and mouth feel, is quite delicious to me (plus that was a name the kids thought would be funny to call me back in elementary...not very bright, were they?). Here are pictures of two flavor combo's that I'm pretty darn sure my husband would start salivating over
Pomegranate & coconut tapioca
Thai coconut tapioca

And how can we not respect our northern neighbors up in the beautiful country of Canada? They are there, they aren't going away, they are nice folks and they are an officially bilingual country...not gonna lie, I think that's kinda cool.

Also, I've been collecting these great quotes from Real Simple and now I've finally decided to share them with you...

“Life is all about timing...the unreachable becomes reachable, the unavailable become available, the unattainable...attainable. Have the patience, wait it out.”

― Stacey Charter

“A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked.”

― Bernard Meltzer

“It’s good to have money and the things that money can buy, but it’s good, too, to check up once in a while and make sure that you haven’t lost the things that money can’t buy.”

― George Lorimer

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

― Howard Thurman

“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

― Maya Angelou

“You never know when you’re making a memory.”

― Rickie Lee Jone

National Nude Day.

Um...no thank you, I think I will pass on celebrating this day. Well, at least on the outside of my apartment. And all curtains must be closed tight...and the only other person around can be my husband, since we are married and all...

Sorry, that might have been too much info for you. But hey, that's me. :)

ARE YOU KIDDING ME???

Seriously? This is what we've come to? I'm actually very saddened by this. And grossed out. Seriously grossed out.



Is it a joke? It has to be. I mean, the more I look at this picture...they can't be serious right?

Local establishment

Scott and I love to support our neighborhood and the local establishments contained there in. We love to find new places to eat and new things to try and just being out and about in this great city. So, when Sunday evening rolled around we decided to began the sampling of what our new surroundings have to offer us. Before I show you the picture of where we ate, let me just say that this is not a place that either of us would ever normally desire to go. We were in a strange, beyond exhausted, not wanting to cook kinda mood and it was just right on the way home and yes, a local establishment.
It's true folks. We ate at HomeTown Buffet. I do not regret it...but I won't be eating there again any time soon. I don't care if the deals sound out of this world. It made for a fun memory...but not happy stomachs the next day.

New favorite, easy vegetable.

A few weeks ago I was at the Portland farmers market and decided that I would be adventurous and buy a vegetable that I had never cooked before. The particle stand that prompted me to make this decision had prepared some of their vegetables into nice little dishes for people to try and see how easy they really are to prepare. Well, I tried the sauteed Kale...and was instantly sold! SO GOOD! So I bought it right then and there. I took it over to my friend Rachel's house and we gave it a try together. It was so easy and quick to make, delicious too! I was even more adventurous the next day when I created this little delicious creation.

Chicken on a bed of tomato's, sauteed kale (with garlic), sauteed mushrooms, feta and a sprinkling of fresh basil.

Seriously people, this is so easy! And delicious! And healthy for you to boot!

We moved!

We did it in 2 days with the help of some amazingly wonderful people whom we can't even begin to thank enough. You know who you are and, seriously, we CANNOT show you enough appreciation. Without you we would have never been able to consider ourselves moved today. We'd still have tons of stuff at the old place and my new kitchen would not...well, just would not be.

Thank you! We love you!

So, yeah, 2 days and 95 degrees. Talk about choosing the hottest weekend to move. Sweat definitely dripped off my nose a couple of times and I think Scott had to change his shirt about 4 times. Can't complain though, I think I'd rather have heat than rain.

Moving on to pictures...

This is our dinning area...filled with all our kitchen stuffs.

Oh look, and there is the kitchen, also filled with our kitchen stuffs...we have a lot of stuff.

And the living room. Told ya we have a lot of stuff.

This is the guest bathroom...notice the double sinks? Love it!

Here is our bedroom, not that exciting...yet.

the second bedroom (yep, you read that right, we have a second bedroom). We called this the staging area for dressers.

Scott enjoying our new hallway and starting the laundry using our new large, non stacked washer and dryer...that have their own closet!!

Next day, looks like we've gotten a little more work done...only one dresser left.

And we really do have a living room under all that stuff. Check out that fire place. :)

Oh people reading this blog, it is so nice to be in a place that we picked out together and that finally fits all of our wedding gifts and all of our stuff...and us! It has so many things that we wanted and things that we didn't even know we wanted. Just to put this fantastically fabulously great apartment into perspective for you (because you might be wondering why I'm singing such high praises), our old apartment was my apartment: a 1 bedroom, 575 sq ft postage stamp that I had lived in for about 3 and half years before Scott joined me...this August would have made 4 years in one place for me. That is a VERY long time for this military brat. I mean, really, it was more than time to move on. And who better to move on with than Scott, that handsome guy doing the laundry.

SO...this lovely apartment that we are blessed to call home is 915 sq ft, 2 bed, 2 bath, fire place, closets all over the place, ceiling fans, a small storage closet on the patio, a huge kitchen with black countertops and double sink...wow...I mean, wow! We have a dinning area that has more than enough room for a table and that we can actually use for a dinning area instead of being overtaken by all of Scott's clothes and bike stuff. We now have the privilege of eating our meals at the table now, instead of on the couch and in our laps.

AND did I mention that its OURS? WE picked it out TOGETHER.
I just LOVE that about this place!!

More pictures will come as we make more progress. :)

In the couch

So, a few weeks ago I got ambitious and decided to vacuum out the couch. As in, shove the nozel into all the crevices and everything...something I personally haven't done since the couch was put into my own personal care 4 years ago, and which I discovered hadn't been done since 1999. Wanna know how I figured that out? Take a look below.


Yep, this is a Michaels receipt from 1999. Needless to say, Scott was a bit disturbed by this. (not me though, I just thought it was pretty hilarious). I also found a few candy canes and a mechanical pencil - no change thought, bummer.

The first weekend of June...

Now that June is over, why not start blogging about it...right?

FRIDAY
Friday night my bro got himself hitched. My dad did the wedding, Scott was the "ring bearer" and my sister and I gave her away (her family is all back in the Philippians). It was a lovely little ceremony. Then we had dinner and cake and champagne at Shenanigans at the Red Lion.





SATURDAY
Saturday morning/day I accompanied Scott to the Mount Hood Cycling Classic and went along for the ride while he officiated...

About 9 miles into the 90 mile race, these two guys broke away from the pack...and we stared at their rears for the next 4 hours.
Here's Scott doin' his officatin' thang...
and me doin mine...I'm so helpful.
just havin some fun...did you catch the part that we were in the car driving around Mount Hood for 4 and half hours? Actually, it wasn't bad at all. Loved it. Beautiful day, wonderful view, fantastic driving buddy...can't complain.
After the race, we drove home and got all ready for a fun date night out on the town. We started at Noble Rot where we had some yum cheese and wine. We were so hungry and it was so tasty we didn't even have time to click the camera before it was almost gone...oops.
Hey, Scott, look at that beautiful view! And is that basil?
Oh, can you bring us some of that lettuce on your roof? Yep, at Noble Rot, they grow and sell lettuce right from their roof, and they use other fresh grown goodness in dishes on their menu...love that place!
awe, ain't we precious...
Then we found a restaurant downtown called Candy that we'd never been to (we love trying new places) and had a lovely dinner as the parade marched by...we'd forgotten about the Starlight parade...which made parking 1) not easy and 2) no where near where we ate) It was a lovely night, we love walking and there were lots of Portland people out and about to watch.
On the walk back to the car we ran across a fun looking gelato coffee shop. We just to go in, ya know, to end our date on a sweet, tasty note. I got this yummy little sandwich cookie (the cookies were from Trader Joes!) and Scott got two scoops of gelato...of which I cannot remember the flavors. Ps. I just remembered that I enjoyed two sandwich cookies, not just one...and the other had chocolate cookies.

And honestly...I can't remember what we did Sunday...wow, the mind is already going...we probably slept in...went to church...I bet Scott had a softball game that night...oh sheesh, I'm done trying to remember...