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Tidbits About Us

BabyOregonian, Musings, Tidbits About Us

fourOregonians!

September 23, 2015

First it was just us two.

Then three.

Then our hearts broke when we thought four was certain…but life held other mysteries.

Now, sweet little four is due to join us in the short, cold days of winter, and we’re living in the joy of anticipation.

I’ve been so angsty these past four months: unsure of how to process, unsure of how to celebrate, unsure of how to share the news.

My heart hurts even right now for dear friends carrying the weight of bitter pain while I get to post this cheery note.

For every pregnancy announcement popping up, I’m acutely aware that another heart somewhere is stinging with loss.

For every pair of baby shoes joining the row of family sneakers, every gaggle of blue/pink balloons soaring into the air, every double line on a stick that was, let’s face it, involved in someone’s trip to the toilet, for every happy due date…there is another someone’s disappointing goodbye to the fertility specialist, a punch-in-the-gut ultrasound sending parents spinning into darkness, a purchased pack of pads for blood spilled much too early. Continue Reading…

Musings, Oregon, Portland, Tidbits About Us

Over the City and Through the Fir Trees

May 10, 2015

Full circle.

Back to the upper gardens of The Grotto…

My first visit: fall 2011, before flying away into a wild unknown. Most recently: late afternoon, in a tiny hollow of the week. Ted, relieved to take a break from finals. Me, momentarily disconnected from project deadlines and life juggling. Lucie, happy to walk and scamper on her own.

Sunbeams streaming low, over the city and through the fir trees. A stolen few hours awash in quiet calm… Continue Reading…

Food, Short and Sweet and Scattershot, The Little Peach, Tidbits About Us

Family Time + Dessert Before Dinner

April 9, 2015

It’s pretty nifty for us that Portland’s best little organic frozen yogurt sweet spot is just blocks from Lucie’s daycare… On sunny days like today, Ted calls mid afternoon and says, “Meet you at 5:30 for ice cream!” 

Lucie and her dairy-free frozen yogurt at Eb & Bean

Typically, Ted leaves his office in the Lloyd District and heads for homework and night class up in North Portland, and I’m usually finishing up a day of drafting and preparing to trek back to outer NE with Lu for an evening of controlled chaos, dinner time, bathtime, and bed (and then a post-kiddo-bedtime attempt at squeezing in a few more to-do list tasks before Ted gets home at 10:30pm). All too often, we three feel like ships in the night during the week. Continue Reading…

Money Matters, Tidbits About Us

Closer to Closing

September 23, 2014

For the past five weeks or so, we’ve been navigating a new path here in Portland, Oregon. I’ve mentioned it here and there, first as a flippant sort of “here goes nothing” over on Twitter (#twoOhomesearch), then again briefly on the blog, and now tonight, it’s official: after long season of preparation and a short flurry of real estate drama, we’re buying a house!

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I remember the trepidation of clicking “submit” on those first few purchases in preparation for our trip around the world. One way flights to South America. One way boat tickets across the Atlantic. Tying our finances to our dreams and hoping the deal would fly… Continue Reading…

BabyOregonian, Tidbits About Us

A Baby and a Border Crossing

August 6, 2014

Here we were, traveling north on Interstate 5 on the cusp of babyOregonian’s first border crossing, and I was fighting to keep my eyelids open.

Who’s terrific thought was it to wake her at 4am and hit the road from Portland, Oregon to Whistler, B.C. before sunrise?

Oh yeah, mine. Continue Reading…

Musings, Short and Sweet and Scattershot, Tidbits About Us

Oh, for Time to Spend Like Money

June 25, 2014

The internet brings me many tidbits, connections, and inspirations. It’s a time-waste and a treasure-trove.

I found this recent read thanks to Sarah Peck. (Side note: Sarah, too, trained and worked in landscape architecture. A definite kindred spirit.)

David Cain’s article, Your Lifestyle Has Already Been Designed, resonates soundly with the season I’m in right now: the musings over New Zealand’s flat whites and the ease of dropping dollars on coffees here at home, the loss of space for life-giving things that cost more time than money, and the real price of our current system of economics.

I started to share the article as a Facebook post but then thought better of it Continue Reading…

BabyOregonian, Canada, Destinations, Oregon, Tidbits About Us, Where to Stay

High Desert to Hawaii: Our 2014 Itinerary

February 8, 2014

And then there were threeOregonians, with new adventures ahead!

Ted and I managed Pacific Coast beach runs and northwest road trips in 2013, but last year was really all about returning from our journey around the globe, pioneering life in Oregon once again, and growing a sweet little girl from scratch.

This year, we’re pulling a few repeats, but we’re also branching out, braving border crossings, and attempting a few plane rides with a baby. (Speaking of border crossings, I need to get Passport paperwork done for the wee one.)

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While this current winter snowstorm pummels us here in Portland, I’m anticipating trips out and about to Oregon’s high desert and rocky coast, rural Texas, “Beautiful British Columbia,” and (!) out into the middle of the Pacific Ocean to the warm and welcoming Hawaiian Islands. Here’s a sneak peek of where you’ll be seeing us in 2014: Continue Reading…

BabyOregonian, Destinations, Musings, Oregon, The Little Peach, Tidbits About Us

As I Went Down to the River: Champoeg State Heritage Area

January 29, 2014

Our January days are flowing calm and quiet, one into the next. A bit like the Willamette River ambles through winter landscape when there isn’t excess Oregon rainwater to manage or riverbanks to break.

I’ll take it.

This rhythm.

Willamette River at Champoeg State Heritage Area

It’s different than travel: the go-go-go of new scenes and cities each day.

Different than work: tasks and client meetings dotted through familiar Portland and surrounds.

It’s a new sort of productive meander Continue Reading…

Destinations, Musings, Oregon, Photography, Tidbits About Us

In the Rear View Mirror: Favorite Trips of 2013

December 31, 2013

It’s an odd New Year’s Eve. I’d planned to post this collection of memories from our 2013 travels, but I woke up to two glitches: first, my web host’s servers were down and I couldn’t access my site, and second, the black and silver analog clock that hangs in the middle of my house was stuck all day at 6:45am.

It’s funny how time passes and how we choose to keep track.

Continue Reading…