I was so bummed out yesterday when we hiked all the way up to Mt Tabor park for my stage performance debut and not a soul showed up. I mean I know it’s been cold and rainy outside, but I thought Portlanders were rain warriors.
p.s. Your comments on any post that you view on my photog are Welcome. Do you see the welcome mat? It says, “Leave a Comment”. 
yep…..
…still totally obsessed with Mt. Hood. I can’t wait to take a road trip up to see the mtn up close. We’re making plans with our friends to go snowboarding or tubing or sledding. Yah, I think tubing or sledding is more my thing. I’ve signed up to take ski lessons in years past at Heavenly, and was dumb enough to try the bunny slope before I actually took the lesson. That didn’t work out so great. I ended up making speed -up to what felt like 100mph on skis that I didn’t know how to control other than “pizza” now “french fries”…..
Yep. I bailed out, passed out, and was taken down the mountainside by the mtn patrol. A few months later, I made another trip to Heavenly (now that I think about it, I think I was cursed on that mountain) and took snowboarding lessons. Yah, I ended up being the adult student in the class that the bitchy blonde haired, blue eyed, snow bunny Tahoe queen picked on for the entire hour. “No, Trina. A falling leaf. Watch the others. Look. They’re doing the falling leaf down the hill on their boards. Now you try!” I thought it was quite entertaining since the moment I rocked myself upright onto the board and proceeded to barrel straight down the hill and practically taking out every person in my line of path.
I do have to say that the Heavenly ski lodge makes delicious hot tottie drinks. 
On Monday afternoon, I did volunteer work for Step It Up, Inc. I was asked to go to Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt’s (2nd largest law firm in Oregon) employee workplace giving campaign kick off luncheon and present on behalf of Step It Up, Inc. I thought. Easy. Piece of cake. This was my job at the American Cancer Society in Charlotte. I would love to do this volunteer job today!
Little did I realize that Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt’s office is on the 19th floor in downtown Portland across the street from city hall. Way cool! Of course, I was totally distracted by the incredible views all around the building.
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.
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!
I’ve been trying to capture this storm that is passing through the west coast. This shot was taken looking east fom the city of portland, oregon. Just about mid-center of this photo is Mt. Hood. By the looks of the clouds over Mt. Hood, it’s getting some serious weathering over there!
This shot was taken looking west – into the city of portland – over Hawthorne. 
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.
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.
I stumbled upon this sweet neighborhood rose garden yesterday. The garden had almost every color and variety of roses planted. All were in perfect bloom. It’s no wonder the city of roses is so serious about the flowers. They are truly gorgeous!
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.
I have a new found obsession. My obsession is with the views of Mt. Hood. I feel so lucky that almost anywhere I go in Portland it is almost guaranteed that I’ll have a perfect view of Mt. Hood. I can’t seem to get enough of how enormous is it. And, dare I also say peaceful? I’ve noticed that since the season has turned to Fall that there has been recent snowfall over Mt. Hood which inevitably creates a brighter, whiter – more distinct cascade over the eastern side of Portland.
Maybe Mt. Hood is also a new representation of where I consider to be my place of home. It’s quite comforting.
I went to the pumpkin patch on Sauvie Island in search of the perfect pumpkin. Okay, maybe two pumpkin patches. One just wasn’t enough. The day turned out to be the most spectacular Northwest Fall afternoon. The sky was perfectly blue. It had Portland-swooshing clouds. And, the color palate of the farms was incredible from juicy orange to foliage green to sunshine yellows. Yum. I had another sensation today of wanting to eat it all up in one captured moment.
When are you going to find your perfect pumpkin?
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