update . . .

so last night i met up with my lil bro ryan at the mash tun. it'd been ages since i'd been in so it was nice to catch up and hang at the old bar. we enjoyed some concordia cream ales and had dinner. he's coming over on saturday to buy my kegerator. sadly, i'm getting rid of it because it's just taunting me now that i really shouldn't be drinking beer anymore. i know .... it sucks but it was fun while it lasted.

got home around 930 and set up the cable box and made some granola. i found some gluten-free rolled oats with my food club so it was nice to make it again. mac got home around 1030 after a shopping spree at kohl's with her friend. she found some great towels & accessories for my bathroom now that it's got a whole new color scheme (thanks to her painting it, of course). she found some great stuff for a great deal. we sat and had a cup of tea before turning in for the night.

today i had lunch with ames. we hadn't had a chance to catch up in a few weeks and it was nice to get out of the office. we headed to henry's for the usual (sharing a wedge salad and a sandwich). we have been planning our trip to europe and are looking forward to the wild times i'm sure will happen in amsterdam. yay!

work is busy but good. have my first site launch on the friday before i leave for 3 wks vacation. yikes! i really am enjoying the folks i work with as well as the clients. i'm glad i made the jump. definitely feels like the right choice.

so today i'm thankful for . . . good friends and good co-workers

new beginnings . . .

so i'm on day 3 at the new job and trying not to be completely overwhelmed! the folks are very nice though and i have a nice office that i share with another sr. project manager and i can look out the windows out onto the pearl and the west hills. the office is very cool and well designed. the picture at left is in our main atrium as you get off the elevator ... cool, huh? i have been assigned an account and already have to travel to san francisco on tuesday for a meeting. suffice it to say, it's been a whirlwind.

my new office is only a few blocks from my old one and a 4 blocks from where mac works. so we've been carpooling and it's been very nice. on my first day, the folks took me out to lunch at mio sushi and as i got back there was a beautiful flower arrangement waiting for me from mac. it was so thoughtful and sweet. i am very blessed to have such a wonderful woman in my life.

last night, i met up with mac after work for a nice quiet dinner of tapas at colosso and then was off to meet up with my some former co-workers/buddies at the mash tun. it was good to see lara and todd and, of course, my lil bro, ryan. what's a trip to the tun without ryan? ;-) it was great to see them and catch up.

stopped for a coffee at the new café in my building this am. was nice to write in my journal and have a bit of time to myself before heading into the office. am reading eat.pray.love by elizabeth gilbert and am so sucked in. the book is great and so timely given the year i've had. i highly recommend it to everyone!

so today i'm thankful for ... new beginnings, old friends, and appreciating every day

weekend report . . .

had a crazy weekend but it was good. after my quiet friday night on the couch, saturday was a whirlwind. had a hair appt then met up with c for a wine tasting then headed over to the muddy boot festival to hang out with h and ran into some former co-workers and another lacrosse coach. got a call from sarah that she & her girl were going out and i should meet up with them so i did. we had a chill night downtown and ended up hitting a few different places before heading home around 130p.

sunday was planned to be a day of cleaning and getting the house ready for the family. as i sat in my backyard performing my usual sunday morning routine (breakfast & coffee outside while calling the fam), i got a call from star. she was calling to see if i wanted to hang out and go for a walk or something. it sounded like a great idea since i was completely unmotivated for my chores and i hadn't seen her in over a week. i got dressed and was off to pick her up. we ran a few errands and ended up down on hawthorne doing a bit of window shopping. was a nice couple of hours to just hang out and spend some 1:1 time. not sure how many more chances for that we'll have before she goes. (departure date is 2 weeks from today)

after hanging out with star, i stopped by anunce & mfp's place to pick some tomatoes from their garden and ended up at the florida room for a late lunch/brunch (ok, it was 3p but pancakes and a bloody mary still sounded good). got home around 4p and started cleaning up the yard and vacuumed the whole house. headed out to pop tart around 730 to meet up with star and her friends as well as my friend, geah, who was making her first appearance. had fun hanging out with folks and then the music kicked up and i couldn't keep still! ended up dancing with a very cool woman most of the night. was great to hear some mash up by some great dj's.

today i'm thankful for . . . unexpected fun and great music

calm and quiet . . .

been a quiet couple of days around the campfire. literally. been working from home, not really communicating with many folks as the wires seem to have gone quiet, not going out much . . . it's a friday night and i'm comfortably ensconced on my couch after a great dinner with jg. he was here getting the yard ready for the family visit when i got home from setting up my desk at my new office. we made some grilled vegetable pasta and salad and ate dinner outside. he was off with osha to a yemaya gathering. i opted out and am watching "what not to wear".

have a fun day planned tomorrow. will be doing the farmer's market in the am, a hair cut in the afternoon, then off to the muddy boots organic festival to see my friend who works for sequential biofuels, will be meeting c for a wine tasting at vino vixens, then off to see a co-worker's band at the hempstalk festival at sellwood park. who knows where i'll end up after that.

sunday i'm due to meet a friend, geah, and go dancing at tart. should be fun. star says she's not going. guess i should start getting used to not seeing her out. can't believe she's leaving so soon. i'm gonna miss her. just getting to know her has been a blessing. she's very cool.

today i'm thankful for . . . friends both new and old.

long weekends . . .

today i'm thankful for . . . good friends

i know i've been thankful for them before but i could say that every day and absolutely mean it. this weekend has been full of good friends and i'm so grateful for my *crew* - all the different facets of it.

the weekend started with an amazing show by rodrigo y gabriela at the oregon zoo. if you don't know who these guys are ... go look 'em up. better yet, get to a show! just do it! trust me, you'll never be the same again. if someone told you that two mexican kids that used to play heavy metal then moved to ireland and all they play are acoustic guitars, you look at them and laugh. i understand. it's exactly what i did the first time someone told me about them. then i saw them and it was all over. amazing! it's the only word i have for it. what a way to start the holiday weekend.

saturday was spent with the masses at lowe's (returning unused concrete), home depot (buying the mini-fridge for the kitchen project), and the rebuilding center (looking for a used cabinet i could modify so i didn't have build from scratch - more on that later). i was successful in all places albeit unexpectedly at the rebuilding center. i didn't find a cabinet to modify but i did find a used sink and faucet for $10 - score! got home with the loot and then met up with abs to work on the evite for anunce's 40th bday party. ended up at the eroom with star and jenmc. it was the fob after-party and the place was *packed*! music was great and i danced for hours. was a great time. my friend kim even came for a bit despite her aversion to lesbians - never mind that she *is* one! ;-)

got up this morning at 10a despite going to bed at 4a - no good reason really. just got home and couldn't sleep so i started to watch a movie i'd tivo'ed. got moving around 11a when my boss came over to borrow some boxes for her move. sucks to have to interact with the boss after a night out and little sleep. met up with a friend for coffee at fuel cafe and then headed back to lowe's with c to buy the lumber for the outdoor kitchen. i wasn't able to find a cabinet to modify so i'm going to have to *build* one from scratch. oh, well. i tried. at least i found a used sink & faucet!

there were several bbq's being hosted this evening due to the long weekend. i made it to one - never quite made it to the other one. it was way across town so it was just too far to drive after a cocktail or two. was fun to hang out in the backyard on a beautiful summer night. the stars were out. it was quiet. home by 10 and am now hanging with the dogs on the couch. yes, multiple dogs. i'm dog-sitting this weekend for z and dk's dogs. they went camping to the coast for the weekend and always take suki when i travel so i have their 3 for the long weekend. crazy to have 4 dogs in the house. they're great and it's nice to be *surrounded* by snuggling dogs.

tomorrow i hope to actually build the cabinet. i now have all the materials and tools i need so i really have no excuse *not* to do the work. just got a call from jg - he's gonna come help me in the morning cut the lumber and then i can just build in the afternoon. shouldn't be too hard. it's going to be a simple cabinet - no drawers and just one door in the middle. i'm excited to finally have this thing done. will need to go back to the old house tomorrow and pick up the black granite i haven't picked up yet so i can use that on the countertop of the outdoor kitchen. i think it's going to be the best bet given the cost ne. so w (as in, i've already spent almost $500 on this thing. i've really don't want to spend a fortune more on a countertop. so whatever i choose has to be *cheap*.).

also tomorrow luscious, the former owner of this house and good friend of mine, is coming over to help me work out the plumbing and my friend sarah will be coming by to help me work out the electrical. i've decided to make this a full fancy outdoor kitchen. i even got a recommendation for a place just 3 blocks up the road that will make my awning that will cover the kitchen when it's done. i'm getting very excited to have this done. i know that time is limited for how much longer i'll be able to use it this year. but i know i'll be so grateful for it next summer when i'm remodeling the kitchen. after living through lea & finn's kitchen remodel, i understand how important it is to live without a real sink and fridge.

i couldn't have made it through weekend (and i still haven't) without my friends. nor would i have wanted to. i am so fortunate to have good friends. from the ones that i can hang with at the zoo for a great outdoor concert to the ones that will go to lowe's on a holiday weekend to help me haul lumber to the ones that host bbqs and just want to hang out to the ones that want to dance the night away. i'm so so blessed.

impromptu dinners . . .

last night i had the pleasure of having an impromptu dinner with a dear friend of mine.

after driving all of her daughter's friends home, star came over for dinner. we got some yummy mexican chopped salads from aquí mexican cafe and sat in the backyard. it was a nice time. we just hung out and talked and sat quietly for a bit.

so today i'm thankful for . . . impromptu dinners with a good friend

reconnections . . .

so i found an old friend/co-worker/business partner on facebook the other day. hadn't talked to her in years and when we did it was like we'd never lost touch. such a nice feeling to know your bond with someone is so deep and strong than when you find them again it's like you've always been there.

so today i'm thankful for . . . social networks that allow me to find & reconnect with old friends.

a new tradition . . .

decided this morning as i sat in the dentist chair (yes, it was a lovely way to start a monday morning!) that i had a lot of things to be thankful for. so i decided that i should start a new tradition on this blog. every day (even if i don't write anything else) i'll post something i'm grateful for ... starting today.

today i'm thankful for . . .
the wonderful friends i call my family. each and every one bring something to my life that i know adds so much richness and love that i'd miss it dearly if it weren't there.

calm in the eye of the storm . . .

a peace has fallen over me in the last few days. a part of me has realized that i am finally comfortable with the fluctuations of my life. i have always been one to be rigid about how things are *supposed* to be. i am learning to embrace the uncertainty of life and to enjoy the surprises that get thrown at me by the universe. this whole weekend has been one full of little surprises. friday we had one of our monthly long-ass meetings that the whole company should attend. we usually drink heavily afterwards due to the fact that we've all been sitting in a windowless room for 5 hrs and listening to the oratories put forth my many members of our organization. blech! we have 2 new staff members that needed to be indoctrinated in our post-func tradition! had a few cocktails then headed home. on the way home, i got a call from jg. we made plans for a meeting that evening about some yard work and some hangout time. he was sweet enough to bring dinner over. we had a lovely evening of lounging by the fire in the backyard and drinking while we discussed the yard work and what should be done first. we hopped in the hot tub later in the evening to cap off the evening. was like old times when we'd end up hanging out for hours on some odd evening that he'd shuffle across the street in his slippers with the cordless phone. it was great to just have a quiet evening at home with a good friend.

saturday morning i got an early start and ran out to do some errands. had to pick up my new pants at the tailor, pick up a package at the post office, and go pick up a 1/2 barrel of lost coast great white i'd reserved a week prior. i went to the farmer's market with uma and ran into a friend i hadn't seen in awhile. we exchanged numbers and made a plan to hang out. it's nice to run into people from your community and reconnect. i had plans to go see storm & the balls play the wonder ballroom with some folks i was introduced to by an old friend from grad school in athens. it was their last show together for awhile. great to see a local band do so well and draw such a crowd. had 2 opening acts before the main event. one of them was fronted by an amazing female performer. the band was kleveland and the lead singer was named stephanie. she was so incredibly sexy and fierce. was a fantastic set and i'll definitely see them again.

headed over to outlaws to meet up with star and jenmc who had been to the rose city rollers (our local roller derby team) match that night and were at the after-party. it was lame there and we all wanted to dance. star got a call about a house party back in my 'hood so we headed there. it was fine but we didn't know many folks so we decided that we had time to make it to the eroom for a bit of dancing before they called last call. the music was good and it was fun to dance. was good to blow off steam. turned into a late night but well worth the loss of sleep.

today was productive but still a bit spontaneous. i spent some time planning the outdoor kitchen. drew up the plans and started a materials list. it's exciting to get planning on it. i really want to finish this project before my folks come in september. i've got a month to do so. i think i can get it done. keeping busy will keep me out of trouble. ;-) got a call from sarah and went shopping with her. bought a cool new shirt and flirted with a cute sales girl. might have to shop at diesel more often. went over to a bbq with a few of the sunday night girls then over to the bonfire to meet up with some friends for a quick cocktail. got home a bit ago and am chilling on the couch before heading off to bed.

has been a weekend of pleasant surprises and unplanned fun. it sounds like i haven't stopped in weeks (and i really haven't) but i feel remarkably calm despite all the activity. i think i'm starting to hit my groove and be comfortable with what my life is like now. i am active and that's ok because i like it. the lack of sleep is worth the friendships i'm cultivating and the experiences i've missed out on for the last 8 yrs. i am constantly surprised by the new people that have become such a part of my life in the last 7 mos. some are brand new like star & sweets while others i knew before but hadn't really spent a lot of quality time together like sarah. my life is so full of wonderful experiences and fantastic people and i feel blessed. i feel so much love and joy and am so content that even on my worst days i can still find something in my life to smile about. sometimes it's my dog and the way she's snoring on the couch next to me. sometimes it's a txt message from a new friend asking how i'm doing. or it's having a conversation with a new friend and just instantly *getting* each other. i am excited about what the future holds for the first time in a very long time. at the same time, i'm not tied to any particular future as long as i can find contentment. i used to live life by the book ... all planned out. now i just need to be sure to put some safeguards in place and then i'll be able let myself take some chances. i'm scared and excited all at the same time.

another roller coaster day . . .

things have been pretty up & down for awhile but yesterday was particularly so. being up so early and getting some exercise started the day off well but by mid-afternoon i was fading and frustrated with some work and personal stuff. then i received a call that got me all amped up again but i still had a low-level of sadness all day. had a few errands to run after work and then had plans to meet up with sweets & fifer around 7. ended up having an impromptu dinner of corn dogs & tater tots at the florida room with sarah and had a good time catching up. got the call from sweets that we were meeting at lucky's at 8ish so i headed there after dinner. was great to see those guys and hang out on the patio on a great portland evening. was a great evening and i didn't smoke at all despite being around smokers all night. wasn't even craving it. but . . .

on my way home, i cracked ... i admit it, i had a smoke. felt pretty bummed with myself. starting over again today. i can do this. i can do this. i can do this.

the whirlwind is over . . .

the last few weeks have been a total whirlwind. the trip to nashville and cincinnati was fun but i wasn't in any one place for more than 2 days so it felt a bit more crazed than a 7 day trip should have felt. am so glad i worked on the plane on the way home. made my 1st day back at the office much easier than it could have been. i had a few hours to myself after work to clean up the house and have dinner before i picked star up after her class. she had a little time to grab a cocktail and catch up. was a really nice time. i love talking to that girl. could listen to her for hours.

thursday the whirlwind became a hurricane! i left work at 1230p and picked up robyna at the airport. after a quick stop at the store for lunch & munchies we headed to the house. we had lunch in the yard and i logged back into work for a few more hours. after i was done working, we took a walk through my 'hood and headed down to the mash tun for a few beers. hung out for a bit chatting with 2 of my favorite bartenders and listening to leonard cohen on the jukebox. robyna's a big fan. i still can't hear an lc song and not think of her. headed back to the house and watched a movie. stayed up way too late but had some good catching up to do!

friday i had a day full of meetings at the office while robyna slept in and took the pudge for a walk to the park. i got done with work around 3p and we headed to the store to get ready for the bbq we had planned that night. was a lovely evening to be outside and we took full advantage of it. was great to have my local friends meet my old friends. had a ball, killed the keg, and finally doused the fire at 2a. even the dog had given up & gone to bed by then! ;-)

saturday was full of shopping - literally. a couple of my friends wanted to take me shopping because i've been saying i needed a new *look*. i generally hate to shop for myself but if a cute girl (make that 3 cute girls) want to pick clothes out for me to try on, i'm down for shopping anytime! got some great finds including an awesome black motorcycle jacket! robyna got some hot sandals. we headed over to the party at star's around 630p. had a good time - again another opportunity to enjoy a portland summer evening. we headed outta there around 845p to go get ready for the big girl4girl dance party going on that night. party was a little lame so we ended up at the e-room. hadn't been there in years but had a great time listening to some karaoke (some really good, some painfully bad). was chatting with jenmc and kc and robyna just had a great time. was getting checked out constantly and her drawl was definitely drawing attention! we closed the place down and robyna & i headed home. had another drink when we got here and finally crawled into bed around 3a.

took her to the airport this am. she had an 1115a flight back to atl. was so fantastic to see her and talk to her and drink with her - some of my favorite things with one of my favorite people. am finding it hard to get motivated to accomplish the 3 major things on my to do list for the day. am hoping to see star tonight or some night this week for dinner and some good company ... we'll see if the stars align for that to happen. (no pun intended)

i think i need a nap .... till later.