As of Recently & Late

Oh, life is crazy. Hence, the not writing hardly at all for this month. I started my practicum at the end of October, finished mid-way in this month. Now, the semester is ending and I am rapidly trying to get all my work done. I have been a little scatterbrained lately to say the least. Oh yes and I have subbed several days in addition to everything. And tutoring too....

In the midst of all the craziness, however, I have done some fun things.

This past weekend, the lovely long Thanksgiving weekend:

-- Thanksgiving, which I wrote about through pictures in the previous post.

-- Did some Black Friday shopping, but in the afternoon. No, I am not one of those crazy crack of dawn shoppers. I think consumerism is out of hand in this country, especially when you hear about someone pepper spraying a crowd all over wanting some THING. Disgusting.... Anyway, I didn't go out for anything in particular but if I found some decent clothes on sale then I planned to buy them. Sadly, no luck with clothing (and no patience for the Kohl's checkout line that was about 1.5-2 hr long wait). Went to several stores and did buy a couple of items; later that day I braved JC Penney's at the mall with a cousin. She found some boots but I didn't have luck with anything - oh well! While most of the shopping trips did not amount to much, I did come across one big success (drumroll please!): a laptop! Yay! I am so glad that I found a quality laptop and for the price that I did ($629 before I added on insurance). I am waiting for it to arrive in the mail.... Perhaps tomorrow ;-)

--Trans Siberian Orchestra on the 28th with a wonderful cousin! My boss at work gave my sister two tickets to the show because she was not able to go (guess they had won them through a TV station). About an hour before heading off to the concert my sister decided not to go, and so I had to find someone to take up the second ticket. I called two family members and one was available! My cousin had been wanting to go for a long time so it worked out perfectly. Free tickets and fab seats! Ohhhh boy, let me tell ya... that was one heck of a concert! The music was awesome and I loved how the Christmas story was told. Very powerful. I will say, though, that the light show that accompanied the music was kind of overwhelming. Overall, great show and I am glad I had the opportunity to go! By the way, "Carol of the Bells" was the bomb.

Past few weeks:

-- My sister's bridal shower on November 13th. A few of my aunts and cousins put together a very cute hot chocolate themed bridal shower. Perfect for my sister! We celebrated her future as a bride, and of course showered her with many gifts. As the Maid of Honor I had my duty of making the bouquet out of ribbons and bows. I am quite pleased with how it came together :) My sis got lots of great gifts and all of us ladies had a great time together.

-- While my sister was gone to see her fiance graduate, Mom and I had a fun adventure to the PDX Airport to do a little shopping and for the heck of it. We have been to the airport several times this year but have not had time to shop. So, we hopped on the MAX and browsed the stores. Found some Christmas gifts in the Made in Oregon, and got to finally see the spectacular The Real Mother Goose store. We had a delicious dinner at Standfords -- ceasar salad, onion rings, tasty cheesy bread, and fries. Whew, I was stuffed! As we ate dinner we were amused with watching people and the tarmac, though it was a very slow night. We also laughed about my response to the host as he asked if we were flying out somewhere, I said without thinking, "No, we have been out here lots of times this year and wanted to come back to shop." Uh, who does that?! haha My mom suggested to say that we were waiting for someone or took someone. Yeah, much better idea than the one that came tumbling out of my mouth ;-)

-- Went on a wonderful walk at the library and got two cheap books, with the B. On one gorgeous Fall day, where I didn't have much time, B asked me to come to the library with him so I could see the pretty trees and check out the books on sale (got two books for $4.50). Truthfully, I didn't feel like going but was glad that I did afterwards. Sometimes he surprises me with what I need vs what I think I need or want.

Last week of October:

-- Halloween: I was determined to make a fun idea off of Pinterest and it came out fairly well.  I will have to try it again- was delicious:

-- Corn maize: B and one of his co-workers and I went to the corn maze on Sauvie Island. We got pretty lost in the maze but had a fun time! B's co-worker is from India and his family still lives over there so it was nice to be able to take him out. I am sure that is hard to be separated like that.

... And that is life summed up in the past month and a half. I only included the bigger events as you probably wouldn't want me to explain all that has happened in that time-- my planner looks like a wreck. I should take a picture of it sometime. Writing all over the place! haha But that is just Fall in Full Swing! Looking forward to slightly less hectic December, at least without school... things will be bustling for the Christmas season and the wedding. :) Lots going on these days.

Hope your Fall has been delightful!


*yes pictures to come... am so lazy with this. Promise they will show up at some point!

Sauvie Island on Sunday

"There is nothing quite like a fall day. The cool crisp air, pumpkins in the fields, and playing in the leaves. The smile on your face can warm any chilly day." -- Unknown

I am falling so deeply in love with Autumn-- yes, pun fully intended. ;-) I am really okay with this season being here this year. I have had very little trouble transitioning from Summer to Fall. The only part I miss the most is the abundance of sunlight. The mornings are darker longer and the nights come faster. Ah... the changes. It is comforting, however, to know that while I am losing some sunlight, someone else in the world is gaining a few more rays each day. I hope they are soaking up every ounce of that happy sunshine! 

While the Southern Hemisphere is experiencing the opposite season, I am thoroughly enjoying everything that comes with Fall -- as I do every year: the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures. I feel like my senses are more engaged during this cozy season. Perhaps it is because it is the harvesting season. We don't have the abundant source of goodness anymore, but we have its products, the beautiful bountiful produce. 

On Sunday, the 16th, Leonor, Mom, Sarah, and I went to Sauvie Island to get our hands on some of these treasures, one of them being pumpkins. :) I was so happy to go out and do a Fall activity! Sauvie Island is a neat place located between the Willamette and Columbia River. On the island there are many farms, and one of them has a giant corn maze (this year's design featured the Portland Timbers symbol). We didn't have time to go through it and there were also tons of people out at this particular farm. We mainly went to see what we could see and to get some items from the produce store. We enjoyed walking around, saw the animals, went to the gift shop (of course- didn't buy anything though) and the store. It was a beautiful Fall day, the sun cast a nice bronzy look the land. Mmm.. Lovely day. I'm thankful we got to get out and about!

Visiting the animal barn - say hi to Cream Puff and Oreo, the sheep! I was amused with their names of course ;-)

You would pick us right?! ;-)

LOVE the big bins of produce! So colorful!

Check out these awesome gourds! We picked out a few for decorations. I love these quirky things!

Gorgeous red pears

Our pumpkins, such happy decorations.

Wonderful time at Sauvie Island - I highly suggest visiting there if you are in the PNW or are thinking of visiting in the Fall. I want to go back and do that corn maze!

Happy Fall!!

On a happier note...

I feel like I have a ton of blog posting to catch up. Lots of things have happened in the past few months and I have plenty of thoughts bumbling around in my head. I'm feeling a lot more upbeat these days-- I feel Spring in the air and it's great. :)

Sort of a funny post to put next to the ones about Minnie (not really how I wanted to do it but oh well, that's what I get for waiting so long to write!).... We have a new furry friend in our house.

After allowing ourselves time to deal with Minnie's passing, we decided we were ready for another cat. I guess that's how it happened anyway. We knew at some point we wanted another cat, but weren't sure when. There's a wonderful pet adoption place nearby and we visited it a few times in the end of January to February. In the few times we visited, we were just checking out the place, not really sure about a cat yet. We were also frequent visitors on their website.

My sister finished reading Dewey in early February and became focused on having an orange cat. I honestly had no idea what kind of cat I wanted next. I just knew we couldn't get another tortoise. She finally came across one orange tabby cat and had to see him in person. About the second week in February we visited the orange tabby boy cat. A few days later, on February 21st (President's Day) he was our boy!

Meet Cheese Puff! Our 16 pound orange tabby. :) He has lost some weight now because he's on a diet... haha His name at the adoption place was Cheese Puff and we thought it was appropriate and kept it. He's a great furry friend to have around the house. We've never had a boy cat before so it's pretty different. He also looks totally different than our other kitties. He's got a great personality!

Picture of him on his first day of his new home. Lots to love!

Checking out the house for the first time (Feb 22nd)... Hey Mr. Good Lookin'!

He doesn't usually get into this position because he's a rather large boy. I guess because he was on Mom's pants it called for a special type of sitting.