Burt-Day

Ian planned a super fantastic birthday for me.  He didn't tell me anything in advance, either.

First we picked up our lunch from Sweet Pea (my favorite vegan bakery/delicatessen in town) which Ian had called in.  Then we drove down the freeway...  I had no idea where we were going, but we ended up at Multnomah Falls.  It was pretty fabulous.

Here are some pictures:

Perfect weather, lovely surroundings.

One of the things Ian got for me was this adorable owl apron.  This photo is so unflattering it makes me giggle.

You can't have any of Ian's sandwich... or soup.

Falls!

Falls!

Party photo!  I need to relax my face in pictures!

Ian ponders the falls.

Fall(s)!

This is what it looks like if you turn your back to the waterfall.

Mt.  Hood is naked.

After that we went to the Portland Art Museum (where I respectfully took no photos).  I think our favorite exhibit was Adam Sorensen's APEX.

Here's a picture of Sorensen in his studio from the Willamette Weekly:

We had dinner at Rob and Danie's where we watched the 1980's Transformers movie with Grant and Audrey and played "Imaginiff" (a board game).  It was a great ending to a fantastic day.

Good night!

Super-Awesome-Fantastic Sunday

(Remember, if it's orange, you can click on it...)

Yesterday Ian planned a sort of "pre-celebration" for my birthday.  First Amy, Ben, Ian and I ate lunch at the food carts downtown and then we headed over to OMSI, the Oregon Museum of Industry and Science.  The featured exhibits were Game On 2.0 and Narnia.

The Game On exhibit walked you through the history of gaming technology and culture and gave you a chance to play over 150 consoles.  It was pretty rad and Ian made some 11 year old boy cry when he beat him at Bomberman.

They did not have a VirtualBoy on display or for demo, so that was disappointing.  They were such a market failure, according to Wikipedia that only 800,000 units were shipped worldwide, making them valuable.  I wish I still had mine.  I wouldn't sell it.  I'd just play a lot of Mario's Tennis.

The Narnia exhibit was definitely more intended for small kids, but we still had fun playing around in it and looking at the costumes from the movies.

After OMSI we met Justin, Richelle, Phil, Charlotte, Heidi and Jesse and had dinner at Le Bistro Montage.  It's a trendy place with a sort-of Cajun vibe to the menu.  I had linguine with veggies (chopped collard greens in pasta!) and it was fantastic.  Ian had gumbo.  It was lively and fun.

Ben, Amy, Justin, Richelle, Ian and I concluded our evening over at the Kennedy School where we played pool and shuffleboard.

Here are a few phone pictures (forgot my camera) from throughout the day:

Ava's ears are clearing up and she's back to meowing at my face until I wake up in the morning.  Yay!

OMSI also had an exhibit on fetal development (oddly appropriate).  Amy was the same size as the model cut out.

Ben, Amy and Ian going through the fetal development exhibit.  The exhibit included a week by week growth timeline with plasticized human fetuses (whom all perished naturally or accidentally according to a placard).  It was done by the same folk who do "BodyWorlds."  It was intense, but awesome.

Killing time with a coin whirly thing between OMSI and dinner.

Montage makes your leftovers into animals and other fun things.  Charlotte got a giraffe!

Amy's baby belly prevented a decent shot, so she improvised.

It was a great time.  We had to say goodbye to Ben and Amy this morning, which was a huge bummer, as we completely adore them.  I'm still recovering.  But, we will see them soon.  And in a few weeks, there will be another Nanney!  Yay!

Good night!

Chewing Ice and Other Fun Past Times

It looks like I might be iron deficient.  Along with being unreasonably tired, I've found myself chewing ice.  Lots of it.  I actually had no idea that my new behavior could indicate anything other than boredom, but I stumbled upon one of those "5 things you didn't know..." article this morning and it happened to be on it.

So, I'll probably be going to get some blood work.  Eventually.

Ben and Amy (and Joey, their wee dog) are here!  Unfortunately, they leave for Medford on Monday.  Boo.  According to Google Maps, their new place is 258 miles from ours.  Further than our guest bedroom, closer than Korea.

Tomorrow we are going to OMSI!  I'm totally stoked.  I'll be sure to take lots of pictures.

Good night!

Inactivity

Motivation. Want to.  Energy. Productivity. Ambition.

Whatever you want to call it, I am lacking.

I am so tired all the time.  Even on "short" shift days I have a hard time doing anything before work.  I'm always thinking about getting ready to go and I feel too rushed to do much else.

Ava is feeling better.  She's more alert and interested in attention.  Her ears are still pretty red, though.  We give her treats after her ear drops to take the edge off.

We are watching C.S.A. The Confederate States of America. It's pretty funny, I recommend it.

Well, I don't have much else to post since I haven't written a sentence of fiction or otherwise.

Good night!

Poor Ava

I didn't do any writing today.  I also did not go for a run.

Instead, I took Ava to the vet.  She has an ear infection.

She's a pretty sad little girl right now.  Super mopey.  She did very well at the vet's office, though.

Twice weekly cleanings and four medicated drops in each ear twice a day and she should be good as new in a few weeks.

Sad Ava in her box waiting for the doctor.

I'm probably going over to a PCC campus tomorrow to take my placement tests (I'm trying to get into a Korean class at the community college), but I don't feel prepared.  I also don't want to have to take them, as I've graduated university... So, I'm not sure how much writing I'll get done.  My class starts on the 27th, so I'd better get these tests done soon, if I don't do them tomorrow.  I can't register until I take them.

Good night!

Goals!

I don't feel like I've done a very good job with this blog.  Posts are infrequent and random.  Now, I'm thinking it's time to use it for its intended purpose.

I'm out of practice and I've become pretty lazy.  Diary posts are easy things to bust out.  I need to write more essays, poems and stories.  So, that's what I will be doing.

Sure, I'll still write diary posts.  I'm hoping for one or two drafts of a fiction piece or essay a week.  I'll be starting an essay tomorrow.

Here are a couple of pictures from the Portland Saturday Market:

Pretty flowers...

The man in pink.  He dances around and hopes you pay him for it.  Ian said he ended up in front of Oasis one day.

The little owl that I got for my purse.  I haven't named him yet, but he was hand made!

Alright.  I'll have either a draft of some sort tomorrow.

Good night!

Mint Ice Cream

I love mint ice cream.  In fact, I could really care less about ice cream as a dessert until there's mint involved.  So, I was really excited when I finally found these at Fred Meyer:

The "Purely Decadent" coconut based dessert is about 10 times better than the "So Delicious" soy based flavor.  It's creamier and the mint is much more powerful.  All soy based ice creams have a soy undertone, so I tend to go with nuttier flavors usually.  You can usually taste the coconut milk in these products, too, but I didn't taste any crossover in the mint chip.  Both are made by Turtle Mountain, so proceeds go to helping endangered sea turtles.

Ian chose a color for our bedroom (and Ben painted it, because he is the world's greatest house guest.  He should have his own reality tv show...) and:

Instead of "yellow grass" like it was billed as, it's mint ice cream, too.  I still like it.