stuff jen says

Jan. 27: IDCEAYWTPFriday

2012-01-27T20:47:00.001-08:00

I’m glad this week is over. So glad. Partly because Friday means that it’s time again for an I Don’t Care Enough About You to Write in Transitioning Paragraphs Friday post, or what I like to call SHIRTLESS PONCH, and partly because this week beat me all to hell and I was done. Thanks for all your suggestions about where Victor and I should go for our 15th anniversary! We heard from exactly

Jan. 26: Dr. Jen to the rescue

2012-01-26T14:10:00.001-08:00

Here's my recipe for curing a migraine: Wake up. Otherwise you're dead and the migraine won. Whine to no one in particular because your husband's on the early shift and isn't there to hear or soothe you. Keep whining. As Michael Jackson once said, don't stop 'til you get enough. Take a shower. It won't help the headache, but you smell like pee-sweat and last night's dinner. While still in the

Jan. 26: Thursday Thirteen

2012-01-26T10:03:00.001-08:00

In an effort to return to semi-regular blogging, I’m trying on some old habits again. Here’s a Thursday Thirteen, which I haven’t done in ages. Yesterday Jack came home with a National Geographic Kids Weird but True! 3 book—300 outrageous facts. I think they’re playing “outrageous” a little fast and loose here, as a lot of these facts are pretty dumb. A handful of the 300 are worth sharing,

Jan. 23: Beer me.

2012-01-23T17:31:00.001-08:00

One of my earliest memories is sitting on my Uncle Mel’s lap at my grandma’s dining room table, him with a can of beer in his hand, encouraging me to take a sip. I was about three years old. We were surrounded by other uncles and my older cousins, laughing at the scene, and I’m pretty sure neither my mom or dad were anywhere in the close vicinity. Yesterday I said that all of us Saltmarsh kids

Jan. 20: IDCEAYWTPFriday

2012-01-20T18:41:00.001-08:00

Time again for an I Don’t Care Enough About You to Write in Transitioning Paragraphs Friday post. Our 15th wedding anniversary is coming up next month. Vic and I plan to leave town but we don’t yet know where we’ll be heading. We’re thinking Oregon Coast, but maybe—to change things up a bit—a place on the coast we don’t usually go. It’ll be a Wednesday-Saturday trip. Suggestions?

Jan. 19: Welcome to Addington Place (it’s no Melrose)

2012-01-19T17:46:00.001-08:00

I took a screen shot of the Google Earth view of our house a bit ago to put on Facebook, and I also made a zoomed-out one because I don’t think I’ve ever taken my blog on a tour of my neighborhood. Wheeeeee! Oh, and it’s not so much a tour as it is a picture of our roofs and a few arrows that I added. Also some landmarks (stars) and notes. And don’t forget that instruction about Dina’s driveway.

Jan. 18: One year!

2012-01-18T23:40:00.001-08:00

Just a quick health update… Last week I went in for a CT on my chest/abdomen/pelvis. I’m still on the every-six-months schedule for post-cancer treatment, and was actually a little overdue on getting it done. Didn’t matter, though—everything looks great! We got the radiologist’s report that same day because I’m sleeping with someone in the CT department (don’t tell my husband). Yesterday I had

Jan. 17: Snow, snow long ago

2012-01-17T12:08:00.001-08:00

It’s been snowing in the Portland area for a couple days. Where we are—apparently the banana belt of the city—nothing’s really sticking so there’s school today and that means every kid in the district is bummed out. The forecast keeps changing but it says more snow is on its way. This is a big deal because Portland absolutely SHUTS DOWN when there’s even an inch of snow on the ground—no one knows

Jan. 14: Readin’ the funnies

2012-01-14T21:53:00.001-08:00

I have many funny things to show you. Sit down and prepare to LOL. Laughing is good. We should do it more. So says I.

Jan. 13: IDCEAYWTPFriday

2012-01-13T23:04:00.001-08:00

Remember when I used to do those I Don’t Care Enough About You to Write in Transitioning Paragraphs Friday posts? It’s been a long time. You missed shirtless Ponch, I bet. We’re supposed to get snow here tomorrow night. This does not make me happy. However, after a week of work, doctor appointments, meetings, and deadlines, I don’t mind having an excuse to stay home and do nothing. Bring it,

Jan. 7: Puzzling

2012-01-07T20:47:00.001-08:00

Someone gave us a somewhat complex puzzle a few years ago. We love it because it’s The Simpsons (duh) and it’s challenging but not in the every-piece-is-a-different-color way. It’s 1,000 pieces and usually takes a few days for us to put it together. Jack got a puzzle for Christmas this year and it got me in the mood. Puzzles are nerdily relaxing to me—maybe because they are such a quiet activity

Jan. 6: A view to kill for?

2012-01-06T21:24:00.001-08:00

I’ve written about our neighbors before. You remember. The ones who chop wood? The ones who played one song on repeat in their backyard all summer? They’ve lived behind us almost as long as we’ve lived here and I used to think they were normal. I’m not so sure anymore. This recently popped up in their yard: According to a conversation Victor had with one of them, it’s an attempt at creating a

Jan. 5: I can see, and it’s a little disconcerting

2012-01-05T23:18:00.001-08:00

Right after my first chemo treatment in December 2009, my vision went all wonky. It was fine in the mornings, but got progressively worse throughout every day. I remember going to a holiday program at school and clapping for the wrong short, dark-haired kid because I couldn’t tell which one was Jack. My oncologist said my vision changes had nothing to do with the chemo, but I found all sorts of

Jan. 1: Bald guys and big books

2012-01-01T22:59:00.001-08:00

We here at the House of Manullang are a wee bit obsessed with Les Misérables lately. We got the 25th anniversary concert DVD for Christmas and have watched it at least once every day since. Watched it, like, AS A FAMILY, like, all four of us sit down for a sing-a-long. It’s weird and funny and way awesome that we have been doing this. You’re invited to join us anytime. If you’ve seen Bridesmaids

Dec. 27: Undecorating for the holidays

2011-12-27T16:04:00.001-08:00

My post-Christmas bummed-outedness is predictable only in that it is unpredictable every year. Sometimes I’m ready to tear down the tree immediately after gifts are opened on Christmas morning, and sometimes I want the holiday season to stretch way into mid-January. Much of this depends on when we put up our décor—which is NEVER before Thanksgiving—and whether we hosted any of the family holiday

Dec. 26: 2011 in review

2011-12-26T21:11:00.001-08:00

I used to enjoy Plinky, but then the site was sold to someone who thinks “What’s your favorite number?” is an interesting question. A Plinky prompt from last week, though, I can do: Summarize your 2011 with one sentence for each month this year. January: There’s nothing quite like being happy and feeling loved; visits with friends are the perfect pick-me-ups! February: It’s a busy month

Dec. 19: Giggles

2011-12-19T10:22:00.001-08:00

I should be finishing up our Christmas cards, but I don’t feel like it. So many steps, what with the CDs that go in some, the labels that go on the CDs, the other labels that go on the CD sleeves, the folding, the assembling, the sealing, the return address labels, and the trip to the post office because I chose an odd size for our cards this year and need special stamps. I’m a big dummy. Or

Dec. 18: Doggie updates

2011-12-18T19:34:00.001-08:00

I don’t know what happened last week, but suddenly I had a million things to do and hardly even turned my computer on. Part of the chaos was school stuff that needed to be done before Christmas break. The rest of it was the puppy, who came home to us on December 7. Internet, meet Lucy (shhhh… she’s sleeping): She’s a lover. She and Oliver are already BFFs, and they almost never stop

Dec. 9: Oliver has now been tutored

2011-12-09T13:17:00.001-08:00

On Monday I took Oliver in to get neutered. We’ve been meaning to do it pretty much since we got him, but just now got around to it. The fact that an unspayed female puppy is just about to join our family might have lit a fire under our collective arses, yes. It sounds so easy, doesn’t it? “Taking the dog to get neutered.” It was not easy. It wasn’t. Ollie pooped in the waiting room of the vet’

Dec. 3: So much Christmas

2011-12-03T12:43:00.001-08:00

We decorated the Christmas tree last night. It used to be fun, unwrapping each ornament, remembering its significance, and then finding the perfect spot for it on the tree. Now it’s a lot of I GET TO HANG THAT ONE NO IT’S MINE I WANT TO HANG IT YOU HUNG THE LAST ONE I HATE YOU CHRISTMAS SUCKS. And then the kids join in. Total bummer bringing out the Scout ornaments… we have several. It’ll be so

Nov. 29: A Manullang Thanksgiving

2011-11-29T19:27:00.001-08:00

Manullangs are known for gathering together and eating huge meals—so unlike every other American family, right? We don’t really need a holiday for an excuse to do this, but last week we used one. For Thanksgiving this year, Victor’s sister and her family offered to host. They’ve been living outside the U.S. for 14 years and I think this was the first Thanksgiving they were on U.S. soil in all

Nov. 23: Pictures and more pictures

2011-11-23T11:52:00.001-08:00

I’m excited about tomorrow. Thanksgiving is such a fun holiday—all the good food and togetherness without the stress of exchanging gifts. Ah. A bunch of Manullangs are gathering, including Sonya and her family—a big deal, since we haven’t shared a Thanksgiving with them in many, many years, the silly world travelers. We shall have fun and more fun! Yesterday I cleaned out my drafts folder and

Nov. 22: “Peeking at my drafts” sounds naughty, but it isn’t

2011-11-22T10:25:00.001-08:00

This morning I opened the drafts folder in Windows Live Writer—the program I use to write my blog posts, which is awesome because it makes curly quotes and apostrophes instead of those neanderthal-like straight ones—and I found a whole bunch of long-forgotten posts. Since I began writing them, they have lost all their “punch,” which is kinda funny because that suggests they once had “punch,” and

Nov. 18: Back in my day…

2011-11-18T16:09:00.001-08:00

Jack and I were leaving the grocery store this afternoon when he asked, “Did you ever think you committed a crime?” Me: “What?” Jack: “Did you ever think you committed a crime?” (Thanks, that totally clarifies your question.) Me: “What do you mean? Did I ever accidentally commit a crime?” Jack: “Yes.” Me: “No. Well, I walked out of a store without paying for something, but as soon as I

Nov. 8: A list of things

2011-11-08T11:31:00.001-08:00

Randomness because my thoughts are anything but incoherent these days: The other night I watched part of that PBS thing in which Will Ferrell got an award. It was pretty funny. They showed clips of his performances over the years, and this particular one made me LOL fo’ realz. Blades of Glory is a stupid movie, but that one part kinda rocks, in that that-did-NOT-just-happen way. I

Nov. 6: Stupid & Clumsy

2011-11-06T21:55:00.001-08:00

Occasionally I go back and read old blog posts and I’ll cringe—usually at the wording I used or the fact that I thought the topic was worth blogging about. Sometimes the cringing even makes me a little sweaty and anxious-y, and I’m tempted to dig up the original post in Blogger and delete it. However, I don’t delete old posts because you’re not supposed to do that. Don’t you know anything? It’s

Nov. 1: I don’t get this.

2011-11-01T11:26:00.001-07:00

Between trick-or-treaters last night, Vic and I sat in the living room doing what we usually do when we’re together: playing on our phones. (You’re envious of how romantic our lives are, I know. Everyone is.) I read random headlines to him while he played Words with Friends and mostly ignored me. Me: “Kim Kardashian filed for divorce after ten weeks of marriage. Shocking.” Him, not looking up

Oct. 30: Note all of dad!

2011-10-30T12:44:00.001-07:00

Our new principal is big on translating all the flyers we send home and wants to hire people to make them in a bunch of different languages. Before we do that, I thought I’d try my own translations using Google Translate to see how well it would interpret the PTO’s latest flyer. Here’s the English version: Attention all dads! The PTO invites you to a special event that’s just for you!

Oct. 26: Indulge a proud mom, will ya?

2011-10-26T15:26:00.001-07:00

In sixth grade, Katie gets actual letter grades instead of the pluses and checks of elementary school. Her first report card came today and finally, all that effort teaching her her ABC’s a few years ago seems worthwhile. I’m especially pleased to see her math grade, since there’s a weird trait that runs in my side of the family in which we get 11 and 12 confused all the time. True story.

Oct. 21: That. Is. It.

2011-10-21T18:54:00.001-07:00

This week just about did me in. I’m so glad it’s over. Jogathon is also over (hallelujah!), and it appears that we’re a bit short of our fundraising goal (boo!), but there’s still time for that to change. I kinda lived at the school all week, and that’d be fine if I was getting paid for what I did there. I love the things I do for the school, but it all beats the hell out of me sometimes. I could

Oct. 15: Same old, same old. Also, I’m old.

2011-10-15T19:50:00.001-07:00

I’ve been totally, completely swamped with PTO beez-ness lately. Our Jogathon is Monday and if my kid didn’t ask you to pledge him, it’s because I wouldn’t let him. We all have our own kids doing their own fundraising, right? If you’re feeling generous, though, it’s not too late. The top fundraiser in the school gets the field named after them for an entire year. I think that might just be the

Oct. 10: Images

2011-10-10T13:04:00.001-07:00

I will introduce this post with the following image, which explains the source of this post and also why I have few words to share today. This next one’s for my dear friend Dina, whom I adore even though that is totally her in that picture. And finally, my favorite one of the bunch: Have a great week! Smell ya later.

Oct. 9: Like the (cobwebby) corners of my mind

2011-10-09T20:49:00.001-07:00

I got to see two of my best girls, Debi and Deanna, yesterday! We didn’t have a ton of time together, but we got a little bit caught up and had a lovely visit. They brought their daughters (both five years old) with them, and were planning to spend the rest of the day driving around town to show them where they grew up, went to school, all that. It got me reminiscing, and that got me Googling

Oct. 6: Thanks, Steve

2011-10-06T10:56:00.001-07:00

Like many, I was surprised and saddened by yesterday’s announcement that Steve Jobs has died. Our home has three iPhones, an iPod, and an iPad (which, given the Apple products available, is not much, I know…) so our gratitude for Mr. Jobs’ vision is acknowledged on a daily basis, without a doubt. But it’s his work with building Pixar to the giant that it is that’s really impacted our family.

Oct. 2: Going into hiding

2011-10-02T19:20:00.001-07:00

I watched last night’s episode of Saturday Night Live and thought the “taste test” sketch, in which host Melissa McCarthy chugged salad dressing, was pretty funny until I realized that her gross, ugly hair in this sketch looks EXACTLY like mine looks every day and now I’m not leaving the house for at least a year. FML.

Sep. 29: In which I barely mention school

2011-09-29T22:36:00.001-07:00

I know I should post something just to say that yes, I am still alive. The problem is that I can only talk about school stuff right now and that means I will absolutely put you to sleep if you read this. Much as it might surprise you, I never intentionally set out to put you to sleep. So… here’s my effort to share things that are in no way related to school or school accessories: Vic and the

Sep. 24: Currently

2011-09-24T11:17:00.001-07:00

In an effort to get back in the habit of blogging regularly, I present the following very boring post. I am currently: Listening …to the original Broadway cast recording of Les Miz. It’s just about the only thing I’ve listened to for the past two weeks—I’m absolutely in love with this soundtrack. And after the disaster that was Shrek The Musical last week (ugh—terrible!), it’s good to listen

Sep. 23: Jen’s birthday came and went

2011-09-23T12:23:00.001-07:00

My birthday was last weekend and my friends and family showered me with delightful gifts. It almost made it fun to turn 43 years old. OK, nothing’s fun about being 43. But as my friend Carla says, “Every birthday spent outside the urn or on top of the grass is a GOOD birthday.” She is a wise woman. Still, the night before my birthday I pulled a muscle in my back while plucking grey hairs from my

Sep. 7: This ain’t cool

2011-09-07T09:34:00.001-07:00

Today is my kids’ second day of school. They both left wearing shorts. It’s 90,000,000° outside (I *might* have some extra zeroes there). The A/C already came on, promising the indoors will be a cool respite from the outdoors, even though having the windows already closed means the air will be stale and icky within hours. The car’s interior is seventh-level-of-hell-hot, and second degree burns to

Sep. 4: Yay! Grrrrrr! Yay! Grrrrrr!

2011-09-04T21:06:00.001-07:00

Last week was completely, totally, 100 percent chaotic. I’m not even going to try to share all that’s been going on, but I will say that it pretty much begins and ends with PTO. You’re shocked, I know. This is a crazy time of year for PTO—school starts on Tuesday and there is SO much to get ready—and while I have the most amazing team to work with, my brain just won’t shut off. Argh. I got the

Aug. 28: Weekend wrap-up

2011-08-28T23:53:00.001-07:00

The weekend is over. Vic goes back to work tomorrow, which bums me out almost as much as it does him—I do enjoy having him around during the day, and not just because he mopped in front of my friends last week. We’ve had a busy few days, but I shall try to catch up with the goings-on at the House of Manullang. PTO is going and going and going… it’s taking way too much of my time right now,

Aug. 24: Beach pics

2011-08-24T09:17:00.001-07:00

I promised a while back that I’d post pictures of our beach trip, and here, finally, they are: We started our day at Cannon Beach. That there is Haystack Rock, obvy. This is just the right level of crowded-ness for me. The other day, after the weekend’s beautiful beach weather was all over the news, I heard someone on their phone say, “We were in Seaside, and it took us and hour and a

Aug. 21: A-Z Jen

2011-08-21T15:45:00.001-07:00

Sherilee posted this meme to her blog and suggested we all answer it on our own blogs. She’s way bossy. A. age :: 42 B. bed size :: queen C. chore you hate :: dishes D. dogs :: two, Casey and Oliver E. essential start to your day :: coffee F. favorite color :: navy blue G. gold or silver :: silver H. height :: 5’8”ish I. instruments you play :: piano, flute J. job

Aug. 21: So there is a floor in there!

2011-08-21T10:20:00.001-07:00

We cleaned Jack’s room yesterday. It was a wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling cleaning; no drawer was left un-emptied, and no poster was left unturned. It took us the entire day, but the job is done and we are pleased with the outcome. Everything in Jack’s room is currently played with, worn, or read. Jack is thrilled—mostly because we pulled his dresser away from the wall and he was able to retrieve

Aug. 20: Decontamination

2011-08-20T09:42:00.001-07:00

It’s been at least two years since Jack’s room has had a major cleaning, and that’s mostly because I avoid his space as much as possible. The floor is covered in LEGOs, even after he has “cleaned” , and for some reason, his guitar and amp are always—ALWAYS!—in the doorway. Dresser drawers cannot be closed because they are stuffed full of clean and dirty clothes, papers, books, and LEGOs.

Aug. 18: More miscellany

2011-08-18T22:09:00.001-07:00

Life got a little overwhelming there for a while, but I’m back and I have many different things to show you. This first thing is sump’n I found on Pinterest, and it fits in the category of decluttering so I love it. What you’re supposed to do—or what I interpreted as the instructions—is fill at least one bag from each area with items that can be tossed or given away. Since I’ve been

Aug. 12: At world’s end (or Oregon’s, anyway)

2011-08-12T19:28:00.001-07:00

The four of us went to the beach yesterday, finally, and it was wonderful. Oregon beaches are beautiful but almost never warm, but yesterday there was sun and blue sky as far as the eye could see! I know! I could not believe it also! We felt fortunate to enjoy that very rare Oregon coast day. The kids had a great time and didn’t drive us totally crazy, which made me and Vic smiley all day long. ‘

Aug. 10: Gardening woes

2011-08-10T11:03:00.001-07:00

I’m mad at my yard. We redid the front yard a few years ago—with a few wins, a few losses—but this year a lot of the stuff is really looking rotten. Whatever do you mean? Is that what you’re asking? I’m sure it is, because I know y’all care sooo much about my yard. Here’s one of my favorite plants we put in, Euphorbia Tiny Tim, because it’s unique and quite beautiful. Here’s how it looked about

Aug. 8: Linky goodness

2011-08-08T21:42:00.001-07:00

This post is not so much “stuff Jen says,” but “stuff on which Jen thinks you should click.” My niece created this site: I Live Here: PDX. It makes me wish I lived in the city because then she would profile me but-cept then the site would shut down of boredom and that would make her sad. Anyway, if you live in Portland, Erin is looking for you. Contact her through the I Live Here: PDX Facebook

Aug. 4: More cancer? Sheesh.

2011-08-04T22:00:00.001-07:00

There will be another person wearing a purple “survivor” shirt at next year’s Relay for Life. It’ll be Mother Mary. During a routine mammogram she had last month, a teeny-tiny spot was found. It was biopsied last week and it is, indeed, cancer. Today she met with a surgeon to discuss treatment—which will be a lumpectomy, most likely followed by radiation. Surgery is August 26. Getting a cancer

Aug. 2: Wise words

2011-08-02T09:53:00.001-07:00

This Maya Angelou quote is cram-packed full of profundity, which is a decidedly un-pretty way of saying what it makes me think: WOW. Angelou is nothing but brilliant in her simplicity. I’m breaking up this long quote of hers by sentence so you don’t miss a tiniest bit of the wow. I’ve learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better

Aug. 1: Currently

2011-08-01T12:09:00.001-07:00

Happy August! Currently, I am… 1. listening As is typical on Monday mornings in our neighborhood, I’m listening to all the landscapers working very, very noisily. Sometimes they wait until after 8am to start up the power tools, like our noise ordinance says they should, and this morning I didn’t hear them until 9. Either they’re lazy sleeper-inners, or they had lots to do before they got to our

Jul. 28: Big day for Katie

2011-07-28T21:58:00.001-07:00

I’m so proud of my sweet Katie girl today. She’s been talking about getting her hair cut short, and this week she decided she wanted to donate it. We looked into Locks of Love, which makes wigs for children with alopecia or cancer, but she preferred the Pantene’s Beautiful Lengths program because it makes wigs for women going through chemotherapy. She liked the idea of helping someone like ME.

Jul. 27: Whine, whine, whine

2011-07-27T21:31:00.001-07:00

Alright. I have some stuff I need to get off my chest. I’m sick of Pandora sometimes. I don’t think it’s very good at knowing what kinds of songs I like, even though I tell it all the time. On my Broadway musicals channel, it plays an awful lot of Maroon 5. That’s wrong. Four times this week I have wondered if our house was on fire because my neighbors have fires going in their fire pits.

Jul. 26: Where’s my AARP card?

2011-07-26T15:25:00.001-07:00

You know what’s awesome about the Internet? It has everything. EVERYTHING. I can’t even begin to post links to all the cool stuff I find. Girl, you know it’s true. But—sad face!—today a site that I love called me an old lady. This is worse than the gas station attendants calling me “ma’am” or my kids yelling downstairs to Vic, “She’s asleep in front of the TV again!” That’s right, The Oatmeal,

Jul. 25: I need

2011-07-25T09:51:00.001-07:00

My Facebook status this morning says it: I NEED TO BE WITH PALM TREES. Do you ever get a feeling, one that supersedes all others in its urgency, that you NEED to do something? Sometimes it’s just a simple thing for me, like I NEED to rearrange the furniture in this room, or I NEED to bake something, or I NEED lipstick. Sometimes it’s bigger, like I NEED to cut my hair, I NEED a puppy, I NEED to

Jul. 24: Sleepy

2011-07-24T14:00:00.001-07:00

It’s hot out today and Katie and I just got home from shopping and I’m doing my darndest to stay awake. Unfortunately, blogging is not helping, so I’m off to take a nap. Never fear! I’m leaving you with a boring meme (because I’m off to take a nap, duh). Naps. Good. What’s the last movie you saw in a theater? Cars 2. What book are you reading right now? I’m in the middle

Jul. 20: Sincerely

2011-07-20T09:58:00.001-07:00

Here are some chuckles, and that’s all I have for you today because I’ve got a big to-do list to tackle and there’s no way I have time for you I love you. Dear Noah, We could have sworn you said the ark wasn’t leaving ‘til 5. Sincerely, Unicorns Dear Icebergs, Sorry to hear about the global warming. Karma’s a bitch. Sincerely, The Titanic Dear America, You

Jul. 19: Excitement!

2011-07-19T12:57:00.001-07:00

Have a terrific Tuesday!

Jul. 18: Weekend recap

2011-07-18T14:22:00.001-07:00

I’ve been talking about it for months, and now it’s come and gone. Relay for Life was this past weekend. Even if you weren’t part of it, I promise this post won’t be a complete bore. We had an almost entirely fabulous time, and you are about to feel like you were right there the whole 24 hours. Saturday morning started with a downpour and it looked like we were in for a very damp Relay. We set

Jul. 14: Ice ice baby

2011-07-14T22:11:00.001-07:00

I’m icing my knee right now. I tripped over a chair this evening and fell. There are three huge purple lumps on the side of my leg and it hurts a LOT. Oh, and I have to walk about 926 miles this weekend. Good timing, huh? This is just one more time I’ve injured myself before something important. In 2001, I was a week away from my first trip to Europe when I broke my foot. I was also five

Jul. 14: Relay for Life is almost here!

2011-07-14T12:58:00.001-07:00

If you’re not on my Relay for Life team, you have my permission to ignore this post. My blog is just the easiest way to get all this info to my teammates. Date/time: Saturday, July 16 10:00 a.m. through Sunday, July 17 10:00 a.m. Location: Clackamas High School. Look for the bleachers and you’ll find us. When you arrive: The best place to park will be behind the school. The front

Jul. 12: Some things

2011-07-12T10:44:00.001-07:00

I’m a little scattered right now. Don’t judge. I spent what seems like the entire day in the car yesterday. It was actually only about five hours of driving, but it felt like forever, maybe because I was getting important texts the entire time and could not respond to them appropriately. “Appropriately” is using proper spelling and punctuation, duh. Once I got home, it was more than an hour

Jul. 10: In which Jen yells a little

2011-07-10T12:45:00.001-07:00

Vic and the kids are at Great Wolf Lodge this weekend, and I opted to stay home for a weekend to myself. I love GWL, but since I’m not a swimsuit-in-public kind o’ gal, it’s not the most practical vacation for moi. If I could justify it for a weekend of playing skee-ball, though… I’d sooo do that. So how am I spending my two days alone? Yesterday I went for a short, brisk walk and decided I need

Jul. 7: Justifiable neighborcide

2011-07-07T14:50:00.001-07:00

The family who lives behind us is pretty much the perfect kind of neighbor—we’ve never had any conflict with them, and although we don’t know them well, they seem like nice people. Last year the guy built some weird, very tall wind power thing that was mysterious/ugly; otherwise they all seem normal. Wait, there’s that goofy wood-chopping thing, which still happens regularly. That’s still weird

Jul. 6: Pinterest finds

2011-07-06T13:28:00.001-07:00

I’m busy today, so instead of writing a deep and meaningful post like I usually do, I’m posting some of my recent Pinterest finds. You don’t mind, do you? Happy Wednesday, y’all.

Jul. 4: Currently

2011-07-04T10:24:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July! I’ve been doing a Daybook post semi-regularly for a while now, but half the time I can’t think of anything to write and I delete sections and then forget to add them back in the next week and basically, I’ve totally farked up the Daybook as it was meant to be. Today, I’m giving this variation a try. I found it on Pinterest (of course). Currently… 1. listening I’m listening

Jul. 3: July 4 par-tay-ing

2011-07-03T12:37:00.001-07:00

Much to the kids’ frustration, we’re not throwing a 4th of July party this year. We did one last year and to Katie and Jack, that means WE DO ONE EVERY YEAR WHY DO YOU HAVE TO WRECK EVERYTHING MOM NOW WE HAVE NOTHING TO DO ALL DAY LONG AND WE’LL BE THE ONLY ONES NOT DOING FUN STUFF AND WE’RE RUNNING AWAY FROM HOME BECAUSE DID WE MENTION YOU WRECK EVERYTHING. Argh. Victor has to work tomorrow,

Jun. 30: Online handles

2011-06-30T14:03:00.001-07:00

My bloggy friend Jen E, of MommaBlogsALot fame, posted this link on Facebook yesterday. It’s about our discarded Internet IDs of yore. I loved reading the last part of the article, in which a handful of people explained their first online “handles.” It made me feel old, though, because many of them mentioned that they first started using the ‘net in middle school. The first time I ever used a

Jun. 29: Diana at 50? Really?

2011-06-29T11:49:00.001-07:00

Is anyone else horrified that a respectable (?) news magazine would publish an issue with this Photoshopped cover? The article is somewhat interesting; who hasn’t thought about what Diana would be doing were she still alive? I like to think she and Kate would be BFF’s, but mostly that Diana would be HAPPY. The strangest part of the article was suggesting she and Charles would be confidantes.

Jun. 28: Read between the lines

2011-06-28T13:04:00.001-07:00

Here are a bunch of things separated by lines. This is pretty much exactly how I feel right now. We watched The Hangover the other night. Val told us we were the only people on earth who haven’t seen it, and she loaned us the DVD and we watched it and it was funny and now I want to talk about it but nobody wants to talk about it because the sequel is out now and everybody’s talking

Jun. 27: Relay for Life is almost here!

2011-06-27T23:25:00.001-07:00

The North Clackamas Relay for Life is only a couple weeks away. It’s gonna be tons o’ fun, and I’m getting really excited! Our team, The Hoe-Downs, is still in the top spot for fundraising, thanks especially to the hard work of Mark-Antonio Grant. There’s still a lot more fundraising to do, though, so keep at it! July 16-17, 2011 Clackamas High School stadium What is Relay for Life? The

Jun. 27: Monday

2011-06-27T10:28:00.001-07:00

Bring it, Monday.

Jun. 26: Daybook

2011-06-26T20:58:00.001-07:00

Today… Outside my window... it’s absolutely gorgeous. I’m not going to go on and on about it because Mother Nature might hear and change her mind. She’s kind of a bitch, and that is something she would totally do. This weekend, I… worked in the front yard, pulling weeds and grooming plants. Turns out I have some muscles I haven’t been using; I’ve been achy and waddle-y ever since. Ouch. The

Jun. 24: But they’re our little freaks

2011-06-24T11:26:00.001-07:00

Cassie and I played the “take a penny/leave a penny” game yesterday with the kids. She and Erika took Katie, and Jack and I took Alec and that made for two pairs of very happy kids at each house. We moms were so thrilled to have a new kid at home, and so full of plans to keep them entertained, that within 15 minutes we ran into each other at Blockbuster. Yes, Cassie and I are both of the “games

Jun. 22: Recital Day prep

2011-06-22T16:46:00.001-07:00

Katie is such a girl. Not in the I-can’t-get-dirty way (yet), but in the stressing-over-accessories way. Actually, it’s not just accessories. It’s her occasional concern with head-to-toe attire, and it absolutely drives me nuts sometimes. When it becomes a constant concern, Momma’s gonna lose it. Pretty sure. I’m not, even for a second, suggesting that I was not once this way. I know I was. In

Jun. 21: Photo Tuesday

2011-06-21T11:19:00.001-07:00

Today I need to run some errands, there’s an SVU marathon on, I need to finish sorting through boxes, and I have to work. But there’s a beautiful blue sky outside and Portland’s first deliciously high temp forecasted, so what am I doing? Sitting indoors, blogging. I know. I don’t get me either. I started to do a Post-it Note Tuesday, but then decided that since most of what I have to share are

Jun. 20: How ya like my time machine?

2011-06-20T13:57:00.001-07:00

Along with my 1994 journal I found the other day, I also ran across a very interesting (read: totally raunchy) letter I’d saved. While it appears to be from a partner in a law firm in Tillamook, it was actually written by an employee of that firm. I’m quite sure the attorneys had no idea that three pages of their letterhead and a pre-stamped envelope were used for such depravity. They’d probably

Jun. 19: Happy Father’s Day

2011-06-19T13:48:00.001-07:00

Happy Father’s Day to all you dads out there! Today especially, I’m grateful to my husband for being the good dad he is to our kids, and I feel fortunate to have a kind and loving father-in-law. This holiday is different now that my own dad is gone, but there are still plenty of special people to honor, so we celebrate BIG in our house. Like, soooo big: today Vic is doing laundry, I’m organizing

Jun. 18: A trip back to 1994

2011-06-18T22:35:00.001-07:00

In my continuing effort to get rid of things I no longer need or use, today I worked on my office closet. I went through files and discarded, shredded, and for the things worth hanging onto, put them in the new/appropriate places. But I’m at a loss as to what to do with my old journals. I kept a journal from high school through the late 90s. I did it because writing was a good way to record my

Jun. 16: Birthday cake fudge sweat

2011-06-16T10:49:00.001-07:00

I’ve mentioned Pinterest, haven’t I? There are so many fabulous things to be found there, and it’s a total time-suck and I love it so much that I almost hate it. Every time I realize I’ve wasted an hour searching and pinning and repinning and liking, I curse Sherilee’s name a little. She’s the one who introduced me to Pinterest and that means she’s a very, very bad influence on me and my new way

Jun. 15: 6-month follow-up

2011-06-15T13:57:00.001-07:00

The major component of the follow-up care since getting my clean-ish bill of health in December is that every six months I have a CT on my chest-abdomen-pelvis and a huge amount of blood is taken on which a number of tests are run. This was done last week and yesterday, with a mammogram thrown in for kicks. Victor and I met with Dr. O to review the results. And the results were good.

Jun. 12: Fuzzy memories

2011-06-12T22:08:00.001-07:00

The following things may or may not have happened over the past four days: On Thursday, Tina and I hosted a last-day-of-school party at our houses and 72 people (half kids, half adults) showed up. Likelihood that I am making up the number of guests, on a scale of 1-5 (5=extremely likely): 1 We prepared recipes from the e-book 100 recipes for whipped cream vodka for grown-ups. Likelihood

Jun. 8: I’m not the only one messin’ with Fancy Lori™

2011-06-08T16:07:00.001-07:00

I’m just gonna come right out and say it: Fancy Lori™ is a word Nazi. We totally love her ‘n stuff, but it’s true. She loves to point out when non-words are used in conversation. Actually, she doesn’t love it; upon hearing a non-word you will often then hear her screech “THAT’S NOT A WORD!!” You can imagine, then, how much fun the rest of us have with this sometimes. It’s hard to describe the

Jun. 7: Honoring Dad

2011-06-07T13:14:00.001-07:00

We lost Dad six years ago today. He’s been on my mind a lot lately because I spent the weekend painting an armoire he built for me. Painting always makes me think of Dad, and painting something he made is even more special. A little more anxiety-inducing, too. Here are many of the ways I would have disappointed him with my project: I painted the armoire navy blue. Although I like the way it

Jun. 5: My Drunk Kitchen

2011-06-05T20:52:00.001-07:00

If I did an Internet cooking show, this is exactly the one it would be, but-cept I would say ILOVEYOUANDILOVEYOUANDILOVEYOU. I would also giggle a lot, and possibly disrobe. (Warning: not for little ears.)

Jun. 1: No! No Facebook!

2011-06-01T11:11:00.001-07:00

Yesterday morning I opened my laptop to find this note from Katie, in which she argues yet again about us not letting her have a Facebook account (click for a larger image or read the transcript below): Here’s what it says: DO NOT THROW THIS AWAY!!! [underlined three times] Dear Mom, Of course you know I REALLY REALLY want a Facebook account. One reason is because I’m too young.

May 30: Awesome thing #234

2011-05-30T12:21:00.001-07:00

Sometimes I have to post the day’s awesome thing from 1000 Awesome Things to my blog. Today’s: #234 3:00am conversations with your best friend I love where I am in life right now, but there are moments in my past I look back on so fondly that I almost wish I could experience them again. Most of the 3:00am conversations I’ve had happened in college. This was one of the best things about

May 29: The weekend

2011-05-29T11:16:00.001-07:00

This is the first morning of the last six that I have not awakened with a pounding headache. It’s good to feel normal again. Yesterday Val and I saw Bridesmaids. I’m pretty sure we were the only people on Earth who hadn’t already seen it. It was as hilarious as I had heard, but there were a few surprising parts that were total bummers—like, suddenly my laughter tears were super-duper-sad tears.

May 24: The Post-its tell everything you need to know

2011-05-24T22:18:00.001-07:00

May 22: Daybook

2011-05-22T21:33:00.001-07:00

I think the Daybook is supposed to be a Monday thing. Meh. Today… Outside my window... there are things happening about which I’m not complaining... much. We had a beautiful few days of weather, and today we had some rain showers. ‘Tis okay, as long as the sun promises to return. Our yard came alive with new blooms last week, but it’s still got a long way to go. Come back, sunbeams in the yard

May 21: Bravery from Katie’s point of view

2011-05-21T22:41:00.001-07:00

One of Katie’s writing assignments this week was to tell about the bravest person she knows. What she wrote says so much about the sensitive girl she is, not to mention the person her father is. I am so lucky to have these two people in my life. Transcribed: I think my dad is the bravest person I’ve ever met because even though he cried, he was strong when Scout was put to sleep. He’s not

May 19: Mean people suck

2011-05-19T12:22:00.001-07:00

I need something to take my mind off the people who are mean for no reason except to be big fat meanies oh my buddha I hate them so much I get all stabby and twitchy-eyed and I just know my day is about to become a Lifetime movie because I’ve got a lighter and a lot of flammable liquids in my pantry. That image is of someone yelling, sure, but it doesn’t even come close to how I feel. I feel

May 15: All the busy-ness

2011-05-15T14:46:00.001-07:00

I’m more than a little bit surprised that I made it through this week in one piece. It got pretty crazy there for a while, with work and PTO thangs and fundraiser parties, oh my. Yesterday I spent most of the day relaxing and recuperating. I was so glad not to have a deadline for an entire day. The weather was nice, so I decided to wash the winter filth off my car. Only in Oregon does a person

May 9: Total misrepresentation

2011-05-09T21:12:00.001-07:00

Katie is on the student newspaper staff this year. For the April issue, her assignment was to report on Rex Reader, an annual PTO-sponsored reading program. She thought it’d be a cinch because she’d interview the closest PTO officer (me) and be done with it. I find just a few problems with her reporting skills: I was not aware I was being interviewed that time she plopped down on the floor by

May 8: Sunday things

2011-05-08T17:57:00.001-07:00

Happy Mother’s Day to all you moms out there, including mine. Pretty sure my mom’s better than all y’all’s, so… y’know… neeners. I don’t have much to say. This week mostly sucked. I miss my Scout. School stuff was fun. We did a bunch of Teacher Appreciation things all week. We tried a new thing called Send Your Teacher Packin’, which let kids/parents purchase $1 raffle tickets to enter

May 4: The terror of being a parent

2011-05-04T10:29:00.001-07:00

How did you find out about Osama bin Laden’s death? I’ve read that a lot of people heard about it on some type of social media; I was one of them. I read something jokey about it on Twitter and went straight to the Associated Press app on my phone (which reported nothing yet), then flipped TV news channels until I found a station that had interrupted its regular programming. Like many, I shared

May 2: Bye-bye, Little Miss Scout

2011-05-02T22:39:00.001-07:00

Today was a rough one. We had our sweet beagle girl put to sleep. Scout was 14 years old and in recent months had lost a lot of weight and energy. In the past week she stopped eating and drinking. It was time. Indulge me, please, and let a proud dog momma share some Sweet Baby Girl Scout stories and pictures (hover over the pics for caption goodness). Before heading out to choose our puppy

Apr. 30: The F’n wedding

2011-04-30T16:59:00.001-07:00

Last night was the much-anticipated F’n wedding: Kimberly Felkley Nelson and Eric Wick got married! The wedding was held at Willamette Valley Vineyards, and because I wanted some of my favorite companions with me as much as possible, we rented a swagger wagon to carry us to and fro. Squeezed into the van were Chris and Val Fukai, Chris and Sunshine Buzo, Chris and Angie Devitt, and Chris and me.

Apr. 29: Etsy find

2011-04-29T10:27:00.001-07:00

I’ve bought a lot of fun and amazing and beautiful handmade stuff on etsy, but this might just be my favorite thing yet: I mean, how handy is this little black book? I plan to take it with me wherever I go, so I can refer to it always. Yep, it’s kinda like a bible. In fact, if it were up to me, it’d be called “Jen’s Holy Book of People She Wants to Punch in the Face.” Then maybe people would