jltitus » places we go

… a lazy Saturday

jltitus — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 23:14:23 +0000

Eric admiring the herb garden and drinking lavender lemonade.

Last weekend was AMAZING! Saturday was a beautiful day in Portland. It being a great day means you HAVE to enjoy the day outside. I mean it’s not often that good days come to Portland. After thinking about our options we decide to go out to Sauvie Island and just “check things out”. We’ve been out there before but never just cruzed around, checking out all the places there. So we decided to hit the road.

We drove all over the place and just explored. Of the many great places one that really caught my attention was the Blue Heron Herbary. I’ve never been to a Herbary so I wasn’t sure what to expect besides.. well herbs.There were a TON of them and the gardens were beautiful. I was blown aways by the hundreds and hundreds of herbs. There were several varieties of the same herb too. I think there were like 20 types of lavender. We bought a couple mint plants, just for mojitos, as well as lavender tea, pepper, and whole mess of other food items.

Kruger Farms for lunch!

After traveling over much of the island, we decided to stop at Kruger’s farm for a picnic. Eric had packed one before we left. It was so yummy. Eric made this great salad of jicima, tomatoes, cucumber, roasted corn, black beans, and I don’t know what else. Maybe he’ll post it on his website Grub n Glug. In any case it was terrific. The best was the avocados on it. After lunch we walked around the farm and checked out the place. I think we’ll go back when the berries are ready and go picking.

If you haven’t done so you should go to Sauvie Island! It’s super fun!

Where have I been? Hey there, Just loked at my blog today and realized it’s been...

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Where have I been?

jltitus — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 17:28:01 +0000

Hey there,

Just loked at my blog today and realized it’s been almost a month since I posted last. I bet you thought I dropped off the face of the earth. Well, no dice. I’ve been super busy… having fun. I spent the first week of April in Florida with Israel, Penny, Erica, and all their kids (Alex, Cade, Drake, Garbriella, and DJ). In any case, Eric and I had a blast. We went to several of the Disney World parks. Rather than tell you about it here are just a few of the pictures.

Disney World Animal Kingdom

Eric and I riding the rapids with the rest of the family in Animal Kingdom. Let me just say we rode twice and the second time I got SOAKED! Tons of fun!

We took a safari ride and came across this rhino. Such beautiful animals out there. I love that they have tons of room to roam.

This photo is a bit blurry but I have to say it was SO COOL to see a giraffe up close.

Medieval Times

Eric and I posing by a Knight before the show started.

Here's most of the group sitting in the green knight area ready to cheer him on in hopes that he wins. FYI, he was the evil knight.

The green knight sitting tall and waiting to strike.

Disney World Magic Kingdom

What a great start to the day. This is the entrance to Disney World Magic Kingdom.

Riding the tea cups is one of my favorite things to do. This is a shot of Israel, Penny, and Alex. I'm in another cup with Gabriella.

We were lucky enough to catch the parade and see Cinderella, Prince Charming, and the Fairy Godmother.

Sea World

Erica, Israel, and Eric off to ride the Kracken roller coaster. I decided to pass and just watch them.

I have to say this was one of my favorite things to do at Sea World. I could have stood there and fed the dolphins all day.

I loved the Shamu show. Watching the whales was amazing. Interesting too that the trainers don't get in the water with the whales anymore either.

Pirates

Much like Medieval Times but way WAY better. The pirates dinner was a blast.

Eric sporting his pirate hat for the show.

Israel got sucked in again, he's in the white shirt. He had to go on the pirate ship and walk the plank. Poor guy!

Disney World Hollywood Studios

What could be better than a picture with "the man" Mickey mouse.

Eric and I standing outside the Rockin' Roller Coaster. He was dying to go on this ride and got to go with Erica and Israel. Did I tell you I HATE roller coasters.

Loved this. They had a whole section that was a faux New York city with a skyline and everything.

The trip was a TOTAL blast and one I’ll remember for a long time. I had such a good time with the whole family. Can’t wait for the next adventure.

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Summer – Part II

jltitus — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 02:11:46 +0000

As if my last post wasn’t long enough.. here’s the rest of the story.. er… summer. Can you say busy?

The middle of July Eric and I headed up to Deer Lake, near Spokane, Washington for a wedding. It’s a long story but Israel and Penny are pretty much like family to us. Israel and Penny have triplets and a onelet all 6 or under. My mom has been there for them and their kids, since the kids were born. The kids even call my mom “grandma Crosier”. Gavin is Penny’s son and it was Gav

in’s wedding that we were going to attend. Israel and Penny have a cabin on Deer Lake that Gavin and Heather, his wife, decided they wanted to get married at. I don’t think I’ve even gone to a wedding on a lake before. I have to say this one was beautiful. Israel, Penny and Israel’s family did such an outstanding job getting it all looking beautiful. When Mom, Eric and I got there they were wrapping the trees with white lights. It looked gorgeous at night with all those lights. I have to say it was a lot of fun being there. I got to meet more of Israel’s family and get to know them better. I think the best was seeing everyone all dressed up. The boys in their tuxes and the girls in their dresses looked beautiful. I can’t wait for the next time we all go up to the cabin for another visit.

Helping Steph move and trip to Saturday market

Stephanie, a friend of mine and Eric’s has lived in downtown Portland since February. She lives in this great new apartment building, Cyan with her two black labs, Frodo and Kelly. I helped Steph move in and even helped build the many Ikea cabinets she used in the place. Early this summer, when the weather was nice, Steph, Eric and I hit the Portland Saturday market. I haven’t been down there in ages. In some ways the place hasn’t changed at all and in others, it’s not even the same place. In any case… we all had a great day there. Later on in the summer, we helped Stephanie pack up a pod with all of her things. She was moving to Austin, Texas. I have to say I was really bummed that she was moving, Steph and I get along great, but I was happy for her too. It’s always nice to turn the page in life and start a new chapter. Now she’s in Austin, loving it and enjoying her new job!

July Relay for Life

This was my third year participating in the “Relay for Life” in my home town, Othello, WA. I love going back home and supporting such a good cause. We have a small team of retired teachers, Israel, Penny, and myself.. but we have a lot of fun every year. This year was no exception. It’s so much fun to walk to track seeing people I haven’t seen in years, supporting the community and raising money for the American Cancer Society. I think the best part is when they turn off the lights and all your see are all the luminaries lit.

Trip to the cabin at Deer Lake

Every year in July Eric and I spend a week or so in Washington state visiting my mom and his parents. This summer it finally felt like a vacation. I think the thing that helped were the four days we spent at the cabin with Israel, Penny, my mom, and the kids. It was so totally relaxing and fun I couldn’t believe it. I think we’ll have to do that every summer. Eric and I went Kayaking, I’d never done that before, rode a jet ski, and went tubing. The tubing was super fun! We were on this huge tube thing you sit in and it had handles to hold on. I just have to say.. Eric fell off twice.. and he’s been tubing WAY more than I. Every day was so much fun. I loved paddle boating with the kids.. and just relaxing. One of the other fun things was when the kids were all on the paddle boat playing Pirate and drenching Eric and Israel as they were in the kayaks. It was so cute and fun. Everyone got soaked.. but had a good time at the same time. I love hanging out with the family!

July vacation to Washington

After the Relay for Life and spending time at the cabin.. the next stop was Ellensburg to visit Eric’s parents. It also happened that Bruce and Kathy, Eric’s aunt and uncle, were going to be in town too so we got to catch up with them too. We only spent a couple of days but it was really nice and relaxing. Eric go to go golfing with his dad out at some new resort area but Roslyn.. and Julie and I got to hit the quilt shop. OH, the picture, that’s Eric mom, uncle, and aunt. We’re sitting in some brew pub Eric found online in Ellensburg. I think that’s some sort of sample there on the table.

August mom’s trip with kids to Portland

After a great summer mom brought the little kids; Alex, Cade, Drake, and Gabriella for a log weekend. We had a great time together. We started out at the Portland Children’s Museum Friday morning. The kids love going there to play grocery store, the water stuff and the stage. This time there was a whole set about being a vet. Banfield provided much of it. The kids loved it, especially Alex and Gabriella. They were all over the place taking care of the dogs, looking at x-rays and well…. Being vets. The boys headed to the air ball toy with Eric and played with

that for a while. The last stop was the building area where there were tons of bins wife all sorts of things for e kids to use toiled a house or structure. I was a little nervous because they gave each one of e kids a hot glue gun, but the kids did great. Each of them made a structure they were proud of. While the kids were here we also hit the Portland zoo, the water fountain in Beaverton, yes, that’s Cade in the water. I think the best was the trip to “Pump It Up”. It’s an indoor location that has something like 6 bouncy structures. We all got to play on them, even the adults. It was a total blast! Going down the slides you got going super fast. I was glad that they had a stopper at the end otherwise us adults might have slid right off onto the floor. The kids had a blast there too. I think the best for them was when they turned on the music, turned off the lights and turned on the black lights and disco balls. I was so glad they had a blast and enjoyed themselves. I think mom needs to bring them down every summer. There are so many things to do and see for kids here in Portland!

Well, that was my summer. It was fun, it was busy, it was a lot of driving (thanks Eric).. but it was a blast! I can’t wait for next summer!

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Summer – Part I

jltitus — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 01:49:21 +0000

Isn’t it funny how fast time goes by? Honestly I can’t believe that the summer is over in Portland and I haven’t posted in ages. Ok, the posting thing not so much a surprise… but the weather… what-the-what? I noticed today that I only have a few people subscribed to my blog so I guess that’s a sign I’m boring or more likely, I’m not posting…. I’m living life. Because it’s been so long since I posted last I figured this would be a great “What did you do on your summer vacation” post. Warning this could be long and there are lots of pictures.

Farmer’s market

This summer was no exception when it cam to trips to the Farmer’s market. Eric and I went to the Beaverton market and Saturday market in Portland. I love the farmer’s market. It’s so nice to see all the things they have and enjoy great food and friends at the same time. Eric loves getting Morel mushrooms at the market. I love the food and looking at all the cool and crazy things people make. When Steph, Eric, and I went to Saturday market we saw one vendor had soaps that looked like little truffles. I could have almost eaten them they looked so good. That’s never a good thing.

Quilting projects

In the last year I have been doing more sewing and quilting. Earlier this year I found some great pictures of dinosaurs and figured I’d create a dino quilt for my neighbors little guy, Matthew. He turns three the beginning of November. Eric’s mom did all the quilting for me, I can’t believe it. I have to say it was a blast creating. The other quilt is one of the ones I’ve done for “Quilt for Kids”. They are a great group that sends me the fabric, cut and everything, and all I have to do is sew the quilt, provide the batting for the middle and then send them back. It’s a great way to give my time and do something that’s fun.

June trip to Oakland to teach Lectora

In June I went to Oakland to teach Lectora to several KP employees that are interested in developing web-based training. The class was full of students, like 15. I don’t know what I was thinking. In any case I did manage to really connect with a few students. This picture is of three of the students in the class. Denise is from MAS and has the best laugh and smile. Sean, well he reminds me of Calvin of Calvin & Hobbes. Carlo looks a lot like Wanye Brady to me. Devon took the picture so he’s not in it but he was another great guy. I had a blast with them all. I do have to say I’m going to miss teaching Lectora, but happy for the new challenges ahead.

Dinner out with friends

This summer I also spent hitting Portland with friends. Eric and I met up several times with friends downtown. One of our favorite places is Clyde Common. They make some awesome drinks there. I found out that I like Rye Whiskey. I never knew that. I always thought I didn’t like Whiskey. I mean I hate Whiskey sours.. but there’s something about Rye Whiskey that I like. I also had drinks with egg whites, that was anew thing for me too. All in all every trip to “The Clyde” was a good one. FYI they’re fries and sauce are to die for. In another adventure, our friends Jenny and Jessica hit Blue Hour with us. In this picture Jessica is posing with her burger. She’s got a blog, Jess Loves Burgers, where she posts about different burgers in Portland and why she likes, or doesn’t like them. Eric and I ALWAYS have a blast when we’re out with Jenny and Jessica. I think the night this was taken we did a crawl of sorts. One place for a drink and appetizers, another for drinks and a salad, another for our main.. and another for a drink and dessert. I can’t remember all the places we went that night, I’m not good with names, but I remember it was a lot of fun.

… That’s the first part of my summer. Busy and lots of fun. Stay tune for the second part….

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Signs of progress

jltitus — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 21:43:28 +0000

Driving to Othello today we passed this section of windmills. When I see these in the Columbia river Gorge it makes me sad. I can appreciate the need for clean wind energy but at the same time I find it man’s invasion into nature. I love the natural beauty of the Gorge and I feel that’s being lost. Make me remember that with every innovation comes consequences. The windmills as far as the eye can see is ours.

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Relay for Life

jltitus — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 02:01:00 +0000

For the last three years I’ve been taking about a week off the end of July and heading to Othello, Washington (my home town). I go and hang out with my mom, visit with friends, and just enjoy being there for a time. This time was no exception.

I got to visit my friend Cyndee and her family. She and I had a great girls day in Tri-Cities while Ryan and Daniel went to the Puz’s so Daniel could play with his friend. Cyndee and I went to Tri-Cities and got a pedicures. It was so much fun. It’s not often that I get pedicures so it was a nice treat.

I think after that we ran around to a few other places and then headed back to Connell to work on dinner. Once we got back to Connell Cyndee and I chilled and chatted about everything from what’s she’s doing now, to old teachers we’ve worked with, and more. I miss being closer and visiting her more. I’m so glad she’s lovig her job and working in Connell. It’s great too that Ryan is working there iin town too, so much better than the trips to Walla Walla.

We ended up BBQing for the night. It was so much fun! Cyndee was running the grill while Daniel and I were playing on his swing set, trampoline and soccer. Daniel is such a cutie pie and so full of energy. After dinner we headed to the pool so Daniel could go swimming. I decided I wasn’t going to goo swimming so no suit for me. I was so surprised with Dainel. He’s walk up the four flights of stairs to the top of the slide. He’d then slide down. I couldn’t believe it. he’s only 5 years old and he just does it by himself. I would be totally freaked out if that were me. He’s just fearless! It was an awesome visit! Now I just need to convince Cyndee to bring Daniel down here for a visit. I think he’d love the Children’s Museum, the Zoo, and OMSI.

Friday July 24th was the annual American Cancer Society Relay for Life. I’ve been going every year for the last three years. Our team is a bunch of teachers, friends, and family. I love the relay it’s such a great community event. Othello is a small town, about 6K, with a lot of heart. There are so many people that come out for this event every year. I’m always surprised at how many come out. I think we started out about 7pm with a few words from people that have survived cancer. One of those that talked this year was my mom’s friend, Kristi Spohr. She was actually my French teacher in high school. She did such a great job talking about her experience in finding out she had cancer. I stood there listening to her tearing up and thinking I should really go and get my mammogram done soon. After the talks those that have survived cancer did the survivor walk. It’s the first round around the track and done by those that have survived cancer. It’s really cool because you see a sea of purple shirts walk the track. It’s neat, and yet bitter-sweet to see all those survivors. I know so many of them too. Some are even people I’ve gone to high school with. I’m so glad they’re survivors.

Every year we raise money and every year we try to do better than the last year. This year we raised $1,700 from our team, the Studs and Duds. I was so happy we’d done so well. I’m always happy if we make more than 1K, maybe next year we’ll make 2K. This year was a ton of fun too because “the kids” (Alex, Cade, Drake, and Gabriella) got to spend the night with us. I think they had a great time! I was proud of myself too because I walked 13 miles straight in the relay. I could have walked farther but I got a blister on my foot so the last 3 miles were hard.

Once the relay was over mom and I headed home. Saturday was a day of sleeping and relaxing since we’d not slept the night before. It was so nice not to do anything. Saturday night we went out to Penny and Israel’s place to have dinner and visit with the kids. I love hanging out there with them. The kids are so full of energy and just fun to play with. Cade had recently gotten a new goat so we went out to the pasture to see his new goat and everyone else’s goat too. We also got to see the new chickens.

Monday I headed to Ellensburg to visit with Eric’s parents. I think it’s so great that we have such a great relationship. I love my in-laws, they’re the best. Tuesday I got to go with Julie to her book club luncheon. It was so much fun. I love Julie’s friends. We all enjoyed a great potluck luncheon and chatted about all things from books, to movies, to computers, to potatoes. I can’t remember everyone’s names but here’s a picture of everyone in attendance at the lunch. A bunch of great ladies.

Later Tuesday night Greg, Hollie, Miles, and Beth came over to Bob and Jullie’s to visit and play for a while before we headed to dinner. I can’t believe Mile’s is going into 2nd grade this year. I think Beth has one more year before she starts school. I just can’t believe how much time has flown by. It seems like just a bit ago when they lived up the street from us and we saw them more often. I really wish we saw everyone more often but that darn work just gets in the way of it all.

I had an amazing vacation! I actually extended it to include Thursday and Friday so I could spend time with Eric. I was go glad I took the time off.

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Wild winter weather

jltitus — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 21:09:56 +0000

The last week here has been…. well, CRAZY! We’ve gotten a huge dump of snow here in the last week. I think we’re up to the fourth snow storm coming in the next day or so. Today marks day 9 of being stuck at home, except for a brief amount of time on Friday, when the weather cleared and we had time to get Christmas gifts. We now have 8 inches for now and a 1/2 inch of ice on top of that snow here in Hillsboro, Oregon. I can’t believe it’s this bad. I’m pretty sure that this snow storm is worse than the storm of 2003/2004. I mean already highway 84 has been closed several times and chains have been required for all cars around town for days.

When this crazy weather started I was excited at to prospect of a white Christmas but now, it’s looking like it’s gong to be a small affair for Christmas because the snowy weather is supposed to continue for the next week which will mean bad roads and I don’t want my mom and Eric’s parents making a treacherous trip like that. Like I said… this is day nine and I’ve got cabin fever so bad… heck, even Eric has cabin fever. We’ve played video games, watched movies and tv.. for tons of hours. We’ve even broken out a puzzle to do… that’s how bored we are. We’re both sick of being home and getting bored with it all. I’ve taken some time to make some holiday caramels and I think here in a bit I’ll make some sugar cookies. I think the other thing that stinks is that this isn’t much of a Christmas break, because we can’t go anywhere, or do anything. In any case, I’m hoping the weather improves so we can all have a wonderful and safe holiday.

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Snow weather

jltitus — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 00:03:00 +0000

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Today has been snow, and snow, and snow.

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Mission accomplished… almost

jltitus — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 03:51:00 +0000

Today I did it. Nope, haven’t gotten a job yet but I did something that I’ve been wanting to do for about two years now. I love our house and I love our kitchen the only bad thing is the tile in the kitchen and more specifically the grout. Whoever decided to put cream tile and light cream grout in a kitchen was nuts. Ok, it HAD to be a man. Anyway, Eric and I are avid “foodies” so we like to cook a lot which means the kitchen gets used A LOT which means, stains on the grout even when you’ve sealed it.

Today the solution was implemented. I re-grouted most of the kitchen (just have the counter with the wine frig on it and the counter between the stove and the pantry left, oh and the bar) with this stain-proof grout from Home Depot. I’ve been wanting to do it forever because the kitchen always looks dirty even when it’s clean because of the grout. I thought it was going to be a pain in the but and take forever but it didn’t. To do most of the kitchen took about 3 hours which wasn’t bad in my mind at all. Now the grout is curing and looking wonderful. Every couple of hours or so Eric walked up while I was finishing and commented that it looked great. I can’t wait until it’s all done and then the problem is solved.

Hey, Julie… Want me to come up and do your kitchen while you’re on bed rest and I’m still looking for a job? I’d be happy to do it.

Off to bask in my accomplishments for today and a big drink of water. Tomorrow I’ll tell ya what’s up with the weight-loss and eating better. Hint… it’s going well.

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Life in the dark

jltitus — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 07:19:00 +0000

Don’t know if you’ve heard but the weather in Portland tonight is NUTS!!! We’ve had crazy rain and wind all night. In fact, Eric and I just spent the last 5 hours in the dark, OK, well not in the total dark, we did have flashlights and candles but in the dark pretty much.

About 7pm tonight the power went out in our whole development. I called PGE and found out the there are more than 45,000 people without power tonight. I’d watched on the TV earlier in the night and learned that there were several roads closed because of downed power lines and blown transformers so i wasn’t super surprised when we lost power. What I really didn’t like was that Eric was in Lake O taking a final and I was home alone, in the pitch black with a dog not sure what to make of things. I managed to grab the camp lantern (battery powered) and some flashlights and things and made myself ad home and started reading my book, anything to get my mind off the fact that I was home alone, in the dark and only had my cell phone.

Eric got home a little later and then headed to the grocery store for batteries for the radio, a battery powered alarm clock and a cheap phone. We have phones but they, like most people’s require electricity to work. When Eric got back he offered to make me some Chai tea. I mentioned to him that we didn’t have a way to do it. he reminded me about the joys of a gas stove. He turned it on, used the BBQ lighter to light it and in no time we had hot water for tea. YEAH!!!!

Although tonight was sort of not fun, missed some of our favorite shows, it was a lot of fun. I had lit a whole bunch of candles so we weren’t in the dark. it was nice to have some quiet and just relax a little. Eric got to play his new game on the DS while I read my Jodi Picoult book. It reminded me that we need to sometimes just turn off the TV, shut out the world and just be. I mean it was so nice to just sit together in the same room and just enjoy our hobbies without the whirl of the world.

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