Feliz NYE

Happy New Years Eve all!! I'm at work, which isn't all that bad considering this is the first New Years' Eve I have worked in...maybe forever. I was able to get some early (8:15 a.m.) jazzercise in before heading to spend five hours or so with Landon-my work for today:) Not too bad of a gig, starting work at 10:00 a.m. after a great end of 2013 workout, coffee and breakfast sandwich! Besides, tonight is the most important part of New Years' Eve anyways:) I will be off by 3:00 p.m. with plenty of time to get dolled up and fancy for an evening out with Adam, Sean and Tyree celebrating an important/exciting year for them as well as one for Adam and I:) Cheers to fond memories of 2013, love, laughter, good eats and tasty drinks to come!

Today is a pretty special day for another reason as well. New Years' Eve 1983 is the night my parents said "I do" to one another! That's right, today marks 30 years of marriage for my parents and I couldn't be more happy (or proud) of them:) I know it hasn't been all rainbows and butterflies over the past 30 years with five kids, too many pups to count, along with various other animals and many moves, but I can honestly say that my parents have put some great work in. They have managed to stay true to their vows and be there for one another in good times and in bad. I feel that they are stronger because of it. I have watched them grow together as the years passed and now that almost all the kids are gone and moved away, I am seeing them learn to be just them, together again:) It makes my heart happy to see them traveling together and investing in not only their kids, whom I know they love to the ends of the Earth, but also in one another. I don't worry about them being happy together for another 30 years.
So on this day I want to wish my parents the very happiest of happiest anniversaries with many more to come in the future! I love you, I'm proud of you and I want to thank you for setting such a good example for me to follow when it comes what it takes to make a successful marriage go the long haul.

Last Monday of 2013

Well Mondays, I can honestly say that I won't miss you and I'm super excited to be more than half way through the last one of this year. 2013 has been an amazing year in so many ways, but it was also a year of endings (most were for the better) as well as another year without a teaching job for yours truly. *Insert sigh here. However, I have high hopes for 2014. Optimism and a hopeful mentality are my saving sanity and keep me going, but I'm certain they will most likely be my downfall as well:)

The final days of 2013 have been both relaxing and full of big decisions. Adam and I both had Friday off of work including the weekend to spend together, a luxury we haven't had much during this last month of 2013. Back in September, we decided that we were ready to move in together and began looking for a place to call our own around SE Portland, which is where we love the most :) We found an amazing loft space on Belmont and have been first on a waiting list, but after a few months with nothing popping available figured we should branch out to find other equally impressive spaces. I would absolutely love to start 2014 together under one roof (I think we both would), but we may have to hold tight a little longer to find our perfect place. Adam is putting his 30 day notice in at his current apartment and will either move in with me or into a new place for us, so I guess I will be starting 2014 with him no matter what:) Positive note!

Adam and I have also been vacation planning for a 10 day trip in April and will hopefully have our trip settled and booked within the first few weeks of the new year :) We are sticking with our original song, "Aruba, Jamaica, oooooooh I wanna take you! To Bermuda, Bahamas come on pretty mama!" But since the timeshare isn't available for April in Aruba, we have almost come to an agreement on taking a trip to the Bahamas instead:) I'm equally happy with either outcome, naturally.

I'm officially excited for the start of 2014, but you better believe I intend to party out 2013 like a champ with the man who makes my days happier and two fantastic friends!!

Let the holiday parties commence!

IT'S CHRISTMAS EVE!!! Today has been pretty relaxing thus far I have to say:) I was up around 8:30 a.m. to make it to jazzercise class at 9:30, which was awesome! Now I don't have to feel as guilty for all the yummy holiday food I will be consuming this evening at the Gessler residence for our Christmas Eve get together and tomorrow when Adam and I have brunch with my parents and then dinner with his parents. Adam slept in because, well, he deserves it after the crappy work/sleep schedule he has had to endure this month. I am in full party swing! Bring on the eggnog, beers, wine, delicious finger foods, and what not! No jazzing for me tomorrow, but I can make it up on Thursday so I intend to enjoy myself at each of our parties, within reason of course, I don't want to be a glutton for punishment when I doooooo head back to jazzercise:)

The Beavers' play in their bowl game against Boise this evening at 5:00 p.m. so we will of course have to watch at least the first half before heading to Bridget and Brandon's around 6:30ish. I am really hoping they get ta win tonight! I know that's what Adam wants for Christmas:) As do many of our friends...GO BEAVS!!

 I am so excited to spend the next two days with both our families! We are lucky that we don't have to travel too much in order to do both. Even though many of our siblings are in different places, at least we can give both sets of parents some QT time :) I hope that all of you enjoy the time with your family and have a VERY happy (as Harry Potter would say) Christmas! I'm off to make some key lime cheesecakes to bring to Adam's parents tomorrow:)

Happy Christmas eve eve!

I am feeling like a giddy kid today!! Well, actually I've been feeling all holiday giddy for a few days now:) I even let (made) Adam open a Christmas gift last night! He loved it...the me making him open presents part aaaaand the gift too:) There is just something...special about the holiday season. I have even stopped simply thinking about and wishing I had taken opportunities to give more to those in need and actually taken action to help those that are less fortunate to have a more enjoyable holiday season. This alone has made my heart feel full and is something I am planning on continuing.

The holidays are such a crazy, busy time where I feel like I am trying my best to get around to see everyone, which of course, is impossible, but I am making a huge effort and doing my best. Yesterday afternoon, I was able to spend some time visiting with Bernadette, the little I used to nanny, and her parents for Christmas drinks and munchies and it was such a wonderful few hours! I can hardly believe how fast she is growing! She is so smart, independent, kind, funny and one of my absolute favorite kiddos:) Afterward, Adam and I met up with my parents and Caleb to take in the lights, music and sights at The Grotto. It is really nice to do things together, but I especially love it this time of year:) The lights were awesome and even though it was a cluster fudge of people, it wasn't too cold and we had a lovely time. I enjoyed seeing my parents taking it all in, it was quite magical really:) I get my sentimental heart from both of them.

Today is my last day of work before Christmas and I'm spending a modest 6-7 hours hanging with Jack and Sam, who got me the cutest owl mini pitcher/coffee mug for Christmas! I intend to use it as much as possible:) I also got a great scarf from Sarah and James as well as a Christmas bonus. One of the great things about being a nanny is the relationship you form with the family and how much they appreciate you. It is enough to make a girl feel all mushy and loved! I'm lucky to work for two wonderful families like the Tycasts and the Shipleys:) They truly treat me like one of the family and make me feel valued, which is something that often gets lost in the work place...feeling valued.  

 

I love everything about this time of year, but I especially love that I am able to spend time with the people I care about most (or at least many of them) and also that I am able to help out those that have not been as blessed as myself or simply had a bad lot with some aspects of life.

Cheers to all and here's wishing you a very merry Christmas eve EVE! ♥ ♥ ♥

Deeeeaaaaar diary

A couple nights ago, I walked by the bookshelf in my room and realized how FRIGGIN dusty it was! Yeeeeaaah...I don't dust. I'm super tidy and neat, but I don't clean clean very often. This thick level of dust required immediate action...at 11 o'clock, on a Wednesday night mind you. As I proceeded to dust I naturally began looking through my old photo albums and such because let's face it, I'm easily distracted by shiny, colorful things:)

As I looked through old albums of college shenanigans, and Costa Rica travel, I came across an old journal with a few entries from my two trips to Italy when I was living in Thailand. That sentence alone makes me want to get off my butt and go somewhere, ANYWHERE. What a sweet and awesome traveling life I had for two years! I decided that I liked the idea of keeping a travel journal back when I took my first trip to a new country sans parents. The idea being that I would have a written record of my thoughts, experiences and all the feelings that I had while discovering a new place:) The first time that I kept a travel journal was when Leah, Lauren and I traveled to Costa Rica the summer before I moved to Thailand. At the end of every single day of our two week trek around Costa Rica I would sit on the bed, knees drawn up and hand write about the adventures we'd had that day. Leah thought this was hilarious! She in turn would say to me as I pulled out my travel journal, (a journal that I received from my bestest Jessie) "Deeeeeaaaar Diary!" It became an ongoing joke for the entire trip. Although they poked fun at me every day when I wrote in my travel log, I'm so so SO grateful that I took the time to sit down, reflect and record all the amazing things I was able to see and do while traveling around Costa Rica. The picture album I have is an excellent way to remember all that we did, but there is something about reading my own words, thoughts and actually being able to recall the feelings I was having at the time. I didn't do as great of a job recording my travels in Italy and Thailand, but I do have a few journal entries that bring back happy memories that take me back:) I encourage those of you who do travel to try writing in a journal, even if it is just a word or two to describe your day because having that tangible book to look back over is a wonderful way to relive fantastic memories! HAPPY TRAVELS!! ♥

It's more tingly than hot

That's right folks! I officially got my very first tattoo today! After four years of mulling over possible designs and spending the last few months hemming and hawing on a location on my body, size, tattoo shop and artist, I pulled the trigger today and could not be happier with the results:) Over the past month, I have had to reschedule (because of holiday/birthday conflicts on my side) with my tattoo guy, Adam, a time or two, but I made it in today at 4:00 p.m. with Adam by my side in case it hurt like a biotch! For the record it did not :)

I woke up this morning feeling confident and excited. I headed to jazzercise at noon after having a cup of coffee and it wasn't until my way home around 1:15 p.m. that I started thinking about what I should and shouldn't be doing on tattoo appointment day. Maybe I should Google it?? So I did and I found the following: lay off caffeine, eat meals, drink plenty of water, don't take any blood thinning meds like headache pills, and oh yeah...don't consume alcohol 2-3 days prior. Crap. I had wine last night while we were putting up the tree at Adam's parent's house along with a beer later on, woke up this morning and had two ibuprofen (on account of the glasses of vino :) before jazzercise, no breakfast aaaaand coffee! Off to a great start! I called tattoo Adam and asked if I needed to bring anything...my tattoo newbieness was showing:) All I ended up needing to bring was a copy of my design, which ended up being the one I presented originally to Adam, turns out it was already perfect and he could find no way to tweak it to make it better suited for me :) I made myself eat scrambled eggs and potatoes along with ritz and peanut butter and of course LOTS of agua in the two hours before we headed to my appointment. I was not about to be the fainting girl!

Adam and I showed up at right at 4:00 and got settled in while tattoo Adam drew out my design (he flipped it and made it bigger to fit the inside of my right forearm) and went out for a smoke...I peed TWICE (I'm an anxious pee-er and had consumed mass quantities of water beforehand mind you!) Before I knew it he was calling us back to get started! I sat right down in the chair and put my arm on the plastic covered arm rest. He had everything out and ready and you better believe I asked him and made sure everything was new, clean and sterile before we began! I also asked my Adam to tell me if he got any weird vibes when we walked in, but Anatomy Tattoo shop passed both our inspections:) Tattoo Adam put the stencil on my arm, I checked it out in the mirror, showed my Adam for confirmation and gave the thumbs up to start. Here we gooooooooo!!! I'm not sure what I was expecting it to feel like, but getting a tattoo was not nearly as painful as I was prepared for. I figured that because I have such a strong dislike for needles that I would need to hold Adam's hand and bite down on something to keep from crying or flinching! Adam sat by me, but I didn't need to hold his hand:) I watched as tattoo Adam completed the outline and began filling in my design. The three of us chatted easily about tattoos, life, and such and before I knew it we were finishing up! The whole tattoo took a little over 35 minutes to complete. I was also surprised at how little it bled. I think I was expecting crazy pain and lots of blood :) If I was to describe how getting a tattoo felt, I would say it was more annoying than painful and felt a bit like repeated stinging by a bee. I have felt much more painful things before. I'm sure there are other places hurt more than the inner forearm though.

All in all, my first tattoo experience was more than I was hoping for :) I was pleasantly surprised at how brave and able to withstand the needle pain I was and actually enjoyed the process. Uh oh...you know what that means... :) more tattoos in my future!

a stumble off my 'high horse'

I consider myself a fairly opinionated person. When I was younger, you know...back in the day, I didn't share my feelings as much. Now, as a grown ass woman I tend to share them even when they are not solicited. Yes, that's right, I'm that girl. Unsolicited opinions spew from me every so often and here's one bummer part about that...I have had friendships end over it. Apparently we were not that great of friends if all it took was for me to speak my mind, but still, a bit disheartening in the end.

I never thought that being opinionated (and sharing said opinions) would ever be a bad thing, but lately I've been trying to figure out a way to share less of what I personally think or feel regarding certain situations. This is especially true when it comes to my family and closest friends. I often feel like it is my duty to be honest (brutally at times) with them about choices they are making when it comes to their actions within their relationships, what to do and not to do while raising children (talk about a sensitive topic!) and general life choices. These are all things I should probably keep my nose out of, but with family and best friends...it.is.difficult! I should say that it is hard to sit back and watch some of the choices that are being made and not share my thinking. What makes it even more tricky is not coming across as an arrogant know-it-all, which I most certainly am not and don't want to be perceived as. Honestly, I watch and listen A LOT and when I see or hear things that are troubling, I feel like I should say something! Am I alone in this boat of open honesty? Maybe I just need a better filter for what and  much I say...

As far as healthy romantic relationships go, I am definitely no expert considering that it was not until I was 28 that I found myself in one. However, I am well aware of what red flags in relationships look like as well as what are the risky things a person can do to end a relationship before it has even had a chance to succeed, seeing as I have experienced many first hand. When I share my concerns with family and friends regarding their present relationships, it is not out of arrogance or thinking that I know everything or am doing things better, it is simply to show my genuine concern and highlight mistakes that I have made so no one ends up repeating the past. Again, most people don't view unsolicited opinions or advice as concern. It puts me in a tricky position, let my feelings be known or bite my tongue and let the chips fall where they may in turn disregarding the probable heartache and endless hours of crying that will possibly come to be if I say nothing. Heck, even if I say something this could still be the outcome, but at least I can feel a bit less guilty given my forewarning.

Giving kid advice to parents is really never taken well, no matter what the reasons or motives behind it. I pretty much always get the same response..."You are not a parent so you have no idea how I should be raising my child." This is usually said in a nastier way and is a bit like a smack in the face every time. Sure, I don't have kids of my own, but I grew up with younger siblings, spent my entire young adult life caring for and working with children and oh, you know, only devoted around seven years (and counting) learning everything I could about teaching and caring for kids from birth to adult. That's clearly not the same though and I should probably just shut my stupid non-parent mouth for even suggesting that yoooouuuur method was possibly not the best one. I get it, sensitive subject, but all arrogance aside, I do know stuff about childrearing and development. Actually, lots of stuff. I listened, participated and studied like a crazy person all through university, so yes, I like to think that I am qualified to offer useful and knowledgeable advice. Perhaps if I ever choose to have kids of my own someday I will understand first hand why parents take such offense when offered any unsolicited advice or opinions, but until that time I am going to work on holding my tongue a bit more than I would like and not necessarily sharing aaaaall my feelings, concerns, or actual experience, whether theoretical or practical with the people I care about. More offense seems to be taken when I am really just voicing genuine concern. Consider this my dismount from my apparent "high horse." From now on I will try my best to offer blissful support and encouragement. And hey, if I can't manage that then I will just smile and keep my mouth shut :)

My grown up Christmas list

Twelve days of Christmas? Yep:D Here are my 12 reasons for L-O-V-I-N-G Christmas and the holiday season :)

12. Multicolored lights and decorations on and in houses as well as in yards and stores.

11. Brainstorming and coming up with the perfect gift for everyone who matters the most

10. Feeling (and being excited) like a kid again :)

9. TONS of time with family singing, eating, laughing and loving!

8. Keeping old traditions alive and beginning new ones:)

7. A time for introspection, appreciation and giving

6. Finding the perfect Christmas tree and decorating to holiday tunes while remembering where each and every ornament came from or what grade it was made :)

5. How my mom's house smells ♥

4. Dogs wearing sweaters and laying by the fire

3. The possibility of snow and a white Christmas (even though we live in Oregon;)

2. Wrapping gifts while watching Christmas movies

1. Setting new goals to strive for in the new year (or revamping previous ones)

 

What's your grown up Christmas list? ♥

 



Recuerdos felices

This weekend at the beach Adam and I made a few more special memories to add to our ever growing repertoire:) I hope that we never get tired of making time for one another and taking fun, little weekend getaways full of silliness and laughter! ♥

 

 

                               

 

There's that smile that won my heart :)                               teaching Adam about elevator pics ♥

 

I love feeling like his little parrot!

 



                               

Didn't even see Santa sipping his Paps!                                          Our life is a bit like a beach :)




Singing Christmas tree in town!

Sunday morning breakfast with this really, really, ridiculously goooood looking man ♥

 



Tricky surprises

When I found out that Adam was working twelve hour nights shifts the entire week of his birthday and wouldn't be putting together an outing to celebrate with friends I decided I wanted to arrange a surprise bowling and beers birthday for him :) This turned out to be MUCH more complicated than I ever intended it to be. The way I saw it, there were two possible options for planning this surprise: IF and only if Adam could get his weekend shift of 12's covered, Saturday and Sunday, then the party could be Saturday the 7th. However, if he couldn't find someone to cover, the party would be the following Saturday, December 14th which would be on the same night as another party most of our friends were invited too. Fridays were not an option seeing as he works swing shift now and doesn't even get home until 11 p.m. and let's face it, our friends do not start nights out at 11 p.m. Pushing the surprise party any later into December and it is Christmas. I found out pretty quickly that the 7th of December was not going to be an option and decided on the 14th even though there was a graduation party planned for 8 p.m. I figured it wouldn't be a big deal for our friends to do both since Adam's wasn't until close to 10 p.m. and it is the holiday season aka the season for party and gathering cramming.

Long story short, most people couldn't be there to surprise Adam because they would be at the other party and many didn't think they would show up at all. There were a bunch of people that never even responded to the invite at all. RUDE. I was pretty disappointed to say the least and cancelled the party last Tuesday seeing as it would be a pretty lame surprise party with no one there to yell surprise. I spoke with my mom and was able to book a last minute room at our timeshare in Seaside for Friday and Saturday night, thus opting to surprise Adam with a birthday beach get away instead. Was I hoping that Adam would be able to celebrate with his friends for his birthday? Yes. I just wanted him to have a fantastic birthday and feel loved since he has had a pretty shitty month working 12 days straight. He deserved better for his birthday month.

 

Since Adam wouldn't get home from work until close to 11 p.m. Friday night, my parents were going to head to Seaside and use the timeshare Friday since driving to the beach around midnight didn't sound super fun and I had my tattoo appointment scheduled for Saturday at 12:30 p.m. Adam and I would leave around 2 p.m. Saturday for the beach. Friday came and my parents both weren't feeling well and decided not to go so instead of losing a night we were already paying for, I changed my tattoo appointment and got Adam on board to spontaneously leave after he was off work Friday night and spend the whole weekend there:) He is a trooper and was just excited to find out where we were going! We hit the road for Seaside, he was driving and I was giving directions without revealing where exactly we were going, and we made it to Seaside at around 1:30 a.m. The drive wasn't too bad, just some bad spots of fog where the areas are clear cut. Got all checked in and headed to bed. Turned out to be quite a different weekend than I originally planned, but all in all I'm just happy to have been able to give Adam a great birthday surprise and spend some time together. What better way than to enjoy a few days on the Oregon coast :) I love you babe, happy 31st birthday!

 

Friday the 13th

I've never been too superstitious regarding Friday the 13th. I don't imagine bad things are more likely to happen to me today verses on another day. I actually think it is pretty cool when a Friday the 13th rolls around :) Instead of it being deemed an unlucky day, why not consider it a lucky day since we hardly ever have one? Maybe I'll even buy a few lotto tickets today...goodness knows that I never buy lotto tickets:)
Today is a fairly normal work day for me...I did have some time to customize my future mini cooper;) Which is exciting! Adam stills needs to teach me how to drive a standard, last time I attempted to learn was back in high school, but I'm having fun looking for my next car!

Getting a new car, aka my mini, has been in the back of my mind all this year, especially with Adam getting a new car. However, it was brought to the forefront of my mind yesterday when I picked up a nail in my front jeep tire and had to get it fixed at America's Tires. The guy who helped me mentioned that he was in the market for a jeep to take to the mountain and asked me if I wanted to sell mine. I laughed at first and then said, "maybe!" Don't get me wrong, I loooooove my jeep. Shoot, I love jeeps in general, but I've been contemplating what it would be like to have a newer than 1997 vehicle. As of now, it's still a pipe dream, but hey, sometimes a girl needs a dreaming day :)

I'm excited for this weekend as well. Tomorrow afternoon I have an appointment to hopefully get my elephant tattoo, as long as I like the design that my tattoo dude, Adam, has come up with. I'm stoked to see it! This girl could have her first tattoo tomorrow:)
I was also SUPER disappointed to have to cancel Adam's surprise bowling and beers party for tomorrow night. I won't get into it too much here as I have been upset about all week. I made other surprise plans for Adam instead :) I hope he likes them! I'm glad we have the weekend together seeing as Adam is switching shifts again next week. Bummer for him and for us, but we are trying to deal with work stuff as it comes. Hoping for a new and better things at work for Adam in the new year. I will post some pictures from what I hope will be a fun-filled Saturday :)
Happy Friday the 13th friends!

Aruba. Jamaica. Oooooh I wanna take ya!

After much contemplating, flight searching and chit chatting, I think that Adam and I have finally decided on a travel/vacation destination for the end of March/early April! Originally, we were thinking Fiji. I mean who doesn't have Fiji on their must travel to list?! My parents even have a timeshare there we can stay depending on availability. It is NOT cheap to get to Fiji. Fiji is faaaaaar. After coffee and breakfast, we spent some time this morning looking up flights around our idea travel time and actually found a few decent deals. However, seeing as Fiji is so stinking far, honestly I would rather spend that kind of money to fly to Europe and travel around there for a few weeks, in the end we opted to choose a closer destination (flight wise). Adam was looking through the timeshare location book and came up with Aruba :) I said, "Sure! Why not Aruba?" So what is my job today? To check out flights to Aruba! I spoke with my mom this afternoon and she also mentioned checking out St. Thomas... Hmmm...either way it seems like a vacation win to me and a sunshiney, awesome little ten day get away in the works for Fetrina! :)

Champagne for my real friends

How you can truly tell who your real friends are? Your real friends are the people that genuinely make an effort to make time for you. Over the years I have gone back and forth with friends in my life and the one thing that I have come to learn is that the people who truly value me as a friend will always, always, ALWAYS find or make time for me. Friends in your life that are only around for the good times, but are scarce in the difficult times are not really friends that you can rely upon in the long run. I can probably count on one (and a half) hands the friends in my life who fit this description and when I am let down by others in my life all I have to do is remember these friends, take a deep breath and be grateful for those in my life who never let me down. 

 

The last few weeks have been frustrating and emotionally draining dealing with friends not being able to make or take some time. I was so glad to end today on a happy note with two friends who never fail to be able to make time for me and me for them. It means so much more than you know Leah and Katie and I love you girls mucho for making our friendship a priority in your busy lives.

the other half of my heart

I have been missing my other half like crazy bonkers over the past week! Adam and I have barely seen one another with our opposing work shifts and him working twelve hour nights and boy, have I realized something...I would never want to have a long distance relationship. There are some couples that are perfectly happy having separate lives at times and actually need time away from one another to make it work. Adam and I are not one of these couples. It's not that we are dependent on one another, but rather both our days seem more complete and happy when we get to spend time together. Thus, this week has been very difficult and trying. I've never been in a relationship where my partner missed spending time with me as much as I missed being with him. It has always been one sided. Not with Adam:) He does his best to keep communication lines open when we aren't together and actually tells me that he misses me. I don't think he realizes how much I love him for that. He really is the other half of my heart and not having him around to share in the little moments good and bad in daily life is no bueno. I will be a much happier lady when he is finished working twelve hour night shifts and we can go back to having our little bit of time every night after the day is done to just.be.together. I'm pretty sure that's what love is :)

(PUNNY since Adam makes Oreo cookies at work;)

good ol' fashioned marathon

 

Every year since my brother, Caleb, has had a big kid job, he asks me what I want for my birthday:) I think it's sweet that he wants to get me anything at all. I'd be good with a hug from my baby brother, who is now much taller than me:) I gave him some gift ideas aka movies, shows and other odds and ends I'm into right now and he did what Caleb does...he bought me all four seasons of Modern Family:) Now that Modern Family is on like Friends, every night for about three hours straight, I've been watching a ton of this crazy, awesome families' shenanigans and loving every minute. The place I was house sitting/pet sitting at last week didn't have cable so I brought my Modern Family collection over and made it through two in a half in less that a week. Now that I'm back in my own casa and have had endless amounts of time just hanging around not feeling well I am now on the fourth season:) This show is one of the best newer shows out. The blended family and storyline consisting of diversity of lifestyle within one family makes for a quirky, eccentric and realistic look into what a family truly is. Families aren't perfect. Sometimes life within your family is messy, but when it comes down to it, family is there for you, loves you through it all and will always give you another chance. This show is relatable, which makes it a winner in my book. I can see myself watching Modern Family like I watch Friends...anytime it is on, no matter the episode. So thanks little brother for all my Modern Family episodes to watch while laughing hysterically and thinking about our family :) "When life gives you lemonade, make lemons then life will be all like whaaaaaat!?" HA! Thanks Phil Dunphy



Schmadam's 31st birthday

Today, the love of my life, Mr. Adam Sapina, turned 31:) Since this is the first birthday that we have spent together and actually been in town for, our first year together we were on a Mexican vacation with a bunch of friends and last year we celebrated his 30th in Las Vegas, I wanted to make it extra special. He also has had a pretty crappy birthday week working twelve hour night shifts at work and he needed something to celebrate. I did my best to make this happen :)

My super secret squirrel birthday plans for Adam included: making him mini cheesecakes-6 since his birthday is on the 6th of December:), I also made him a turkey bacon weave (he is trying to be heart healthy;) that I cut into a heart, and decorated his house with birthday streamers while he worked all night. Needless to say that he was quite surprised when he walked into his house at 6 a.m. :) I think I was successful in making him feel special and loved today, which was my whole intention after all. After he woke up for the day around 2 p.m. I brought him a coffee and let (made) him open his gifts! I love, love, love giving gifts! Adam is so fun to buy for too. Before he had to go back to stupid work at 5:30 p.m., I took him out for a sushi dinner at Sushi Mazi on Division and 22nd around 4:30 p.m. This was our first time eating here and let me say that we were impressed! We splurged and ordered a lobster roll that was A-mazing!!! Seriously, if you go eat at Sushi Mazi order the lobster roll :) Adam even had some left over pieces of our four rolls to take with him for his mid shift dinner later, bonus!

All in all, under the circumstances of having to work almost 13 hours of his birthday I think Adam enjoyed his special day :) I know he loved hearing from friends and family through out as well. He is a very loved 31 year old! Happy birthday babe, you are amazing and deserve the best :)

Timber sighting (a player, not a tree)

I'm a Portland Timbers' fan, no getting around it. I went from being absolutely positive I would never be a soccer fan after baseball (aka the minor league Portland Beavers) got kicked out-pun intended;) by major league soccer (aka the Portland Timbers) back in 2010 to having my mind and feelings about having a local soccer team drastically shifted by one, passionate super fan (aka Adam Sapina:) It didn't even take Adam a whole season to help me see just how beautifully awesome and skilled the game of soccer is. I'm glad I was able to change my mind about having and supporting a soccer team in Portland for two reasons: (1) I love having a local sports team in addition to basketball because I'm a sports enthusiast and (2) things probably wouldn't have worked out between Adam and I since he is such a footy maniac! Seriously, this guy lives and breathes soccer. I would have been the MOST frustrated girlfriend :) It is SO much better this way, as something we can share in together!

Keeping in mind how big a fan of the Timbers I have become...you can imagine my giddiness when Sam and I walked into Gymboree class, (something I was NOT thrilled about given the fact that I'm still feeling blah and the people that run these classes tend to annoy me to no end) take off our shoes, stuff everything in the tiny cubby holes provided and are waiting for class to start...we were 15 minutes early, when who should I see chasing their little daughter out the class door, but Timbers' midfielder Jack Jewsbury! It was an odd feeling of recognition at first, I glanced up, my brain made a facial 'a ha' connection and I started thinking, "where do I know that guy from? Did we go to high school together?" and then CLICK, connection made. That's a Timber standing right there in front of me in regular clothes doing regular "cool" nanny kid funtivities like me! I sat on the bench with Sam wondering if it would be rude to say something to him for oh, about three seconds where in I made eye contact with him- he was now sitting on the purple bench across from us trying to wrestle his toddler into her shoes and jacket, and said, "You guys had a fantastic season this year! We are big fans!" I know what you are thinking..."Rachael, that is astute and well thought out!" lol. What!? I was thinking on the fly and honestly this is the closest to a celebrity or professional athlete that I have been where I could actually try to facilitate a conversation! He looked at me and replied, "Thank you, and yeah, it was a great season. Shame that it came down to that last game and we just couldn't pull it together, but I was pretty happy with how this season went." Yep, Jack Jewsbury talked to me. I proceeded to tell him that overall the season felt like a huge win for Portland to which he said that he was excited to see what next season would bring. With that he was up and chasing his daughter again and out the door shortly after before I could say nice to meet you, thanks for making my day, but at least I flashed my pearly whites during conversation, so hopefully he already knew that :) What an interesting turn of events in the "exciting" world of being a nanny on the Westside HA! This would never happen on the Eastside:) I should have asked him for a handshake, a hug, or even a picture or autograph! Oh well, the memory and my blog thoughts will have to suffice :) Maybe we'll see him at Gymboree class again someday! GO TIMBERS!

it's like that camel always says

How many of you thought this post was going to reference Joe Camel in some way? Hope I'm not the only one who still remembers that cigarette smoking camel that was such a good role model for young impressionable minds :) Wait a tick...no. That's not right is it?

However, Joe will not be the topic of discussion today. Instead, I'm referring to the camel from the hump day commercial on the telly :) British folks have much better words for everyday things than we do, on a completely unrelated note. The camel from the commercial is everyone's favorite fuuuuunnny camel. If you can watch that commercial and NOT laugh, I applaud you. Not really, but you can imagine I am. For those of you who haven't seen it, crazy as that may seem, the whole commercial is a talking camel that walks through an office of workers calling out to them and asking them what day it is. It's ridiculous. Oh and awesome. Youtube it.

Today is Wednesday, also known as hump day because for most this is mid-way through another long week and just a hop, skip and a jump to the weekend! Those who work the weekend probably don't consider Wednesday to be 'over the hump day.' This is true for Adam this week. *Sigh. Working night shift and twelve hour shifts is no bueno. Especially on his birthday week! I'm still bummed that this was the week he had to take a turn filling in for lack of numbers. He is a trooper though (and so am I :) well, for the most part anyway.

I have been sick for a week today. I am not one of those people who gets dragged down easily when they are sick. If you work with kids, you are simply not allowed to get sick, let alone show you are sick or take a day off! Heaven forbid!! Even more so as a nanny, I have to literally be on my death bed to attempt to call in sick. Parents gotta get to work to make that cheese! (that's cheese as in slang for money, I don't work for actual cheese makers, that would be AMAZING though!) Normally, I just get your common cold, but this cold has and continues to hit me hard and directly in the face day after day! My only small window of non-awfulness is in the middle of the day when my Dayquil is still in full force. I'm still taking vitamins, trying to rest and not overexert myself...I'm still jazzing, but not as super high impact as I normally do due to the wheezing that commences. I'm eating when I feel hungry, which is not often. Signs Rachael is not feeling up to par...she has little to no appetite. I hope you're taking notes;) I did get to sleep in my own bed and be back in my own house last night with my bunnies, which felt amazing and cozy. It's funny how much I missed being back in what is familiar after only a week away. I'm pretty sure Falcon and Panda had fun at my parent's house, but were happy to be home as well. I'm sure I looked hilarious on the drive home with my jeep packed full of bunny cages! I just want to feel better enough to celebrate with Adam for a few hours in the middle of the afternoon on his birthday Friday before he has to work. Outlook not looking bright on that front:/ I should probably make sure I have plenty of Dayquil on hand to make sure I'm in good girlfriend birthday form.
I hope your hump day is progressing well friends!

Just one of those days

Today, I am having a "what the heck am I doing with my professional life" kind of day. I do not enjoy these days. I probably have one at least once a month give or take the time of year. These days come more frequently during hiring months for teachers. It's December, not so much a huge hiring month unless a teacher is leaving for maternity leave or retirement. Maybe it's an early-thirties-lack-of-job crisis. What ever you want to call it, it is bumming me out today.

In the past seven years since I finished my undergraduate education at WOU, I have had about two years 'official classroom' experience. I've substitute taught on an off during these seven years as well, but apparently substitute teaching does not equal classroom experience. Wouldn't it be nice if say two or even three years of subbing was equal to one year of 'official classroom' experience?? I would be sitting pretty then. SEVEN years is along time to not have a classroom job of my own.

I guess that if I break down the seven years it looks something like this: substitute taught as well as taught fitness (added PE class for the masses as I like to call it) for the first year, moved to Thailand and taught English to students of varying ages, levels and abilities for the next year, pretty much full time substitute for the next year and a half while I attended grad school, landed a part time temporary ESL instructor job for half a year during this time, went back to subbing yet again (not voluntarily, still trying desperately to be hired on fulltime) and realized that I couldn't take the stress of unguaranteed substitute work any longer so I became a part time nanny to supplement my income for a year, became absolutely exhausted, frustrated and a bit disheartened to answer the same question as a sub- 'Still haven't found a teaching job yet Rachael? I'm glad we still have you for a sub' that I had to step away from subbing except in the rare pre-planned case with teachers I call friends and took on another family to nanny for during the seventh year. I feel better when I lay it all out like that. It makes me look like less of a giant failure.

This is not meant to be a poor Rachael post. Honestly, I just feel better venting my frustrations about not being hired as a classroom teacher in Portland every once in awhile. Helps to get rid of negative-down-on-myself energy. Last year, I was offered two jobs teaching in Vegas, but the year had already started (it was October) and the timing just didn't seem right. Some days, I think that I should have taken one of these. I've been offered a few teaching jobs at smaller schools locally, but these jobs would have been hardly different than what I am doing now, working with infants, for less money. Thanks, but no thanks.

When ever I'm feeling bummed about not having a teaching job, I try to list out all the things I DO have and when all is said and done, I'm thankful for what I have in my life:) I'm lucky that I have my health-since I still don't have health insurance, for a family and boyfriend that loves, supports and makes me feel as though I am anything, but a failure-it means more than you know, for enough money to have a roof over my head, a car to drive, and the ability to live my life mostly how I would like, for two rabbits who let me snuggle them on bad days, and for regular work and paychecks so that I don't develop an ulcer due to stress. I'm pretty lucky I guess :) Maybe it is just going to take me a full decade to land my dream job...I guess I can try for three more years. After that though I'm embracing a nomadic life or moving away again to teach in another country :)

week long blogging hiatus

I've worked so hard to keep up with my daily blogs since September. However, over the last week I've been house and doggie sitting in Milwaukie for some neighbor friends and frankly, I've been without an internet connection. Apparently it is quite hard to maintain a daily blog when I have no internet connection and a week away from work. I often blog while kiddos are napping :) I'm just about finished house and doggie sitting (I'm presently at Adam's house spending some time with him before he starts a crazy work week) and ready to get back on my blogging!

Last week was kind of a blur. I slept away from my own bed, home and even my rabbits, who stayed at my parent's house down the road from where I'm house sitting. I also started feeling sick Wednesday night, lame :/ I'm still currently trying to kick this head/chest cold.

Thanksgiving was a wonderful day:) I really have so many things in my life to be thankful for. Adam and I got to spend time with both of our families on Thursday, which we haven't gotten to do the past two years, so that was a bonus. We spent the early afternoon with my mom and dad and the early evening with Adam's mom and dad:) Good times were had by all and we ate two delicious meals prepared with lots of love :) I can't wait for our parents to get a chance to meet, I really think they are going to get along famously :)

                                      

Adam and I both had Friday off of work so we got to sleep in and enjoy the morning together. Then I headed to jazzercise, even though I still wasn't feeling stellar, while Adam ran home and started prepping the meatballs we were bringing to the Civil War party at Kasey's house later that afternoon. Watching the Civil War between the Beavers and the Ducks turned out to be much more exciting than I thought it would be! There were quite a few of us that made the trek out to Kasey's house in St. Helens: Adam, myself, Greg, Andrew, Keli, Joe, Missy, Charles, Scotty and Bowlsby. Everyone brought a yummy dish to share while we cheered on the Beavs in the final game of the season. If you weren't watching, boy did you miss out on a close game! It came down to a nail biting end with the Ducks winning by only one point. *Sigh. Would have been a great win for the Beavs, but I was happy they showed up to play and even brought a running game! Who knew they even had a running game??!! Sure didn't have one during the season:)

I spent Saturday being sick, lazy and napping on the couch with Adam taking great care of me while we watched game after game of close and amazing college football games! Seriously, every single game we watched came down to the end and was within a point or two. Fantastic football Saturday. That evening, I was able to rally enough to shower, put real clothes on and walk up the street to attend Martha's annual Hottie Toddy holiday party with Adam and my parents. We had a few hot beverages, some food and good conversation with neighbors and then bid our adieu. It was a fun time :) Adam and I also had plans to meet two friends for beers at Cascade Barrel House a little after 8 p.m. On our way there, we had a bit of trouble with a duck fan with MAJOR road rage, but Adam was able to handle the situation without it resulting in me calling non-emergency 911 or having to throw down. This guy seriously had issues. I'm very glad it didn't come down to a face to face confrontation. The sour beers and fun company at Cascade made up for the duck douche trying to man handle us off the road with his car. Thanks Veronica and Matt!

Sunday was another day spent lounging and relaxing trying to kick this cold. Adam has been amazing! He has taken such good care of me. I'm so lucky to have such a caring and loving boyfriend :) I'll be spending this month treating him even more awesome than I already do since it is his birthday month! In fact, it's his birthday week! Adam turns 31 this Friday :) Unfortunately, he is working twelve hours night shifts at work for the entire week. MEGA LAME. I will be doing my best to make sure he has a wonderful birthday week (and month;) despite his awful work schedule. Happy 4 days until your birthday babe!!!

Cheers to being back on the grid and back on my blog!