The weather in Portland has finally turned. I think. This week it’s been rainy one day and overcast the next. I realized how quickly I’ve already acclimated to being a duck in the northwest when I arrived at the Sacramento Airport yesterday. I think I about melted as I waited outside on the curb for my mom to pick me up. Wow that Sacramento Fall sunshine is warm.
Category Archives: daily life
pumpkins.
There is nothing like seeing the excitement in a child’s eyes over something as simple as a pumpkin. I got to experience that feeling this weekend after spending the weekend with my sister and her family out at the Oregon coast. On Sunday, we caravanned back to Portland to spend another night together. I had the best time playing with my nephew and experiencing the newness of life and words with him. It made me chuckle each time he’d run over to the pumpkinand worty gourds displayed in my living room and say, “PUMPkinssssssss!” I’d respond to him, “Yes, boo…that’s a pumpkin.” He’d smile big showing me all his new teeth and then run off into the living room to find more new things to play with.
My cup runneth over.
determined.
Sprina amazes me. She never stops. This look I was able to capture is what I think the essence of Sprina. Determination. This year alone, Sprina planned and organized her own wedding, she is currently going through Grad school, she’s working for a local designer in the northwest, she is the current board president of Step It Up, Inc., and she is involved with her family & local community. Every time I talk with her Sprina has a new project up her sleeve. She never stops.
I enjoy witnessing the fire inside of her that drives her to achieve her goals and dreams.
elephant’s
I had my first event photo shoot last night. The event was for a non profit that I’ve been volunteering for called Step It Up, Inc. It was held at Elephant’s Deli on 23rd and NW Burnside.
Capturing the faces and event was a bit challenging because of the night time, indoor, low lighting. I think I was able to grab a few.
It’s funny how I once was a ham in front of the camera, now I’m a geek behind the camera. Love it!
ducks.
I’ve been told that after a few months into the Oregon rain season everyone basically turns into ducks. I have heard from a lot of people that the rain seriously never goes away until May or June. This scares me in a way. But, on the other hand, I’ve lived in wet climates previous to Portland. They haven’t been as wet as Portland, but I’ve experienced the duck-syndrome.
I am commited to seeing the silver lining during this season. Cuz, I’ve got to tell you the Spring and Summer here are friggen fabulous!
lifestyle.
I can’t get enough of the skyline these days. This storm passing through has been incredible to watch. If you didn’t already know, I have a fascination with the sky; the clouds and the shapes that it creates. I think this bike scene is the epitome of the lifestyle and culture that Portland embraces.
I think I’ve made a real storm chaser of myself.
fiber
The acorn squash that I made last night turned out pretty good. I do have to say that if you’re looking to make a meal that is *packed* with fiber, then I’d highly recommend acorn squash.
squash
Wish me luck. Cuz I need it. I am baking acorn squash for tonight’s dinner. It’s actually pretty easy to make. I used a hefty knife to cut that mother in half. I gutted the seeds and goop. I scored the bottom of each mouth. I sprinkled brown sugar inside each of the mouths. It called for butter, but I don’t have butter in my fridge. I know. My mom would be so disappointed about this. I decided to squeeze some honey inside each mouth to add to the sweetness of them. I’m not sure how this will taste. I poured water in the bottom of the glass pan and heated the oven to 400degrees.
And there you have it. Acorn Squash. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
compassion
In September, while touring my mom throughout Portland we stumbled upon two monks from the Mangyal Monastery (home of the Dalai Lama) – who were creating a Compassion sand mandala for 2 days at a store in the pearl district called Cargo. The Venerable Ngawang Chojor (on the left), is a senior monk who apparently was in Seven Years In Tibet with Brad Pitt. What I found most amazing is that once this mandala was finished, there was going to be a dismantling ceremony as a metaphor for impermanence of all things. It is believed that witnessing the creation of a mandala develops ties within the people in attendance and that it also strengthens community.
Have you ever witnessed a mandala being created?
transform.
I am thankful for all of this free time that I have right now. I feel like my life has transformed once again; doing yoga, volunteering my skills to a local non profit, click click clicking at everything I see. This time has given me the chance to slow down. I look for and appreciate the beauty in every moment I breathe. Kinda like witnessing the sunrise this morning after dropping Kari off at work.
I am thankful that I have the opportunity to make smart decisions for myself without being so hasty all the time.
hiss
We’ve got this neighborhood cat that comes to our front porch almost every day. Meeeeech and Trudi don’t like him much. He comes to the window and meows to come in. All they do is hiss and attack the window with their paws to scare him away. I really feel bad for the cat. He’s cute and even cross-eyed which makes him even more adorable.
Would it be so bad if I left out some food on the back porch for him?
angels
And there I was with Sprina and her mom hitching a ride across town to where my car was parked at the Step It Up, Inc. office. Just as we turned the corner – just a couple of blocks from the parking lot we drove over a metal plate and Sprina’s left front tire busted flat. We carefully pulled over to an open parking lot. The three of us women got out of the car to check the tire. Yep, it’s flat. As if we all knew how to change a tire we walked to the trunk and started to pull out the spare and the flat kit. As if we had any idea how to prop the car up or to use the jack – we sure tried. As if there was anyone else in sight to help – there wasn’t. We each took turns trying to prop up the front end, crank it up. Crank it up. Nope. We sure didn’t know how. I heard Sprina’s mom call to someone in what seemed to be the darkness of the night. “Excuse me, honey. Can you help us here. You see, we’ve got a flat and we’re trying to fix it. Can you help?”
I looked over and this little ole man – a security guard for the tall building we were parked next to had walked around from the other side of the building. His name was Dean. He confidently explained that he was the last person to try-n-fix a flat tire but he was sure he’d try. Dean was able to crank the car up half way until the jack fell over and the car rolled out from under. “This is going to be a long night.” I thought to myself. With all of his might and confidence Dean was finally able to jack the car up, pop off the old tire and swiftly assemble the new tire to the car. Phew. We all stood up and sung his praise, “You’re an angel! You’re an Angel!” Dean looked at the three of us with an awww shucks kind of expression and said, “I’m still working at my age. I aint gonna retire until the day someone throws dirt over my face.”
What a moving experience I had being part of a team like that and witnessing someone helping at the time of need.
