Silly Schnauzers

 Mom, that flash sure is bright!

I woke her suddenly, so silly looking!

 She sleeps like this all the time, even at night

 Not fans of the rainy weather, but they sure are cute

 Professor Lily

If there is a blanket, Trudy will be there

Happy Valentine's Day

Lily and Trudy wish you all a happy Valentine's Day. Hoping you had a great day with your sweeties!

New Burn Notice Video

I have been working on a Burn Notice video over the past few weeks. Since Hubby had to work late last night, I was able to finish it sooner than expected. My video making process is slow mostly because I try to fit a clip with the lyrics, so sometimes an entire day will go by and I only added one 4 second clip. This video begins my desire to have a more professional video editing software, there was so much I wanted to do but was limited by iMovie 11.

I also posted a better quality version on Youtube.

Evergreen Air and Space Museum

Hubby and I went to Evergreen Air and Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon on Sunday (before the Super Bowl). It is located about 40 minutes away from us but I loved it so much I am going to apply to be a volunteer.

 Evergreen is the home of the "Spruce Goose" -- largest plane made of wood

B-17, similar to the Memphis Belle

 This is the tenth Mercury capsule which was never used because the program was scrapped for the Gemini project.

Gemini capsule

 The capsule hanging from the helicopter is a replica from the Apollo 13 movie.

 Hubby landing the lunar module.

There are three buildings all together, this one is the indoor waterpark. Patrons climb up into the plane and get down thru several slides! This museum also has its own vineyard!

Room 2: Guest Bedroom

I haven't been feeling well recently, so I haven't had the gusto to work on the house. Today I was feeling better, so I finally finished the guest bedroom. It is my "girlie" room, the one room where I can go crazy with the feminine stuff. :)

View from the doorway 

 The hurricane lamp and tortoises are from my mother

The doily was my great grandmothers (I think she made it)

The placard is from my good friend Jenna

The flowers and vase are from my hubby (who bought them for me because he is allergic to real flowers)

 Our library -- condensed down from two bookcases into one

 The Amidala poster is from my sister, she framed it
herself and signed the back

The Star Trek animals are from my hubby

The graduation bear is from Grandma Eileen

The quilt was hand-made by hubby's great aunt for our wedding

The mirror was my mother's when she was a little girl

The candelabras are from my Grandma Newton 

The total cost for this room was $0.00, I decorated with only what I had. I am thinking about hanging a set of powder blue curtains I have but don't want the room to feel too cluttered.

Rose City Cats

One of the first things Hubby and I did when we got to Portland was find a way to watch the Arizona basketball/football college games. Last night we met up with the Rose City Cats Alumni group @ Macadams Bar and Grill to watch the basketball game vs. Washington. We lost 69-67 but it was a heart stopper!

A little piece of home

Thank you Hubby for taking me to the game despite being sick. :(

Nice People!

I don't know what it is about Tucson (the heat!) but people aren't nice there. At all. Heck, I will admit it, I wasn't particularly nice. Whether you are at the grocery store, bank, school or convenience store, everyone has a general displeasure about them. Not in Portland! Everyone I have had the opportunity to speak to has been extremely nice. Everyone who works in a customer service position has been kind and talkative. Everyone has been helpful and smiling. It is so foreign to me, I don't know quite how to react, I just smile dumbly at them with a look of confusion. :)

In addition, they don't have recorded messages or call routing here. When you call a utility company (electric, gas, cable, trash) they pick up the phone to speak with you. When I called the DMV a polite woman answered on the first ring! When we called the electric company regarding a problem, they had a repairman out here within 20 minutes! The service in Portland is outstanding!

Snow Day!

I awoke to snow this morning! Not much, but enough to get excited about. It is supposed to snow even more tonight after the sun goes down and is also expected on Monday and Tuesday.

Updated @ 1:00 in the afternoon:

 View of the backyard from the master bedroom

 View from the guest bedroom of the front yard

 Front yard: Japanese Maple

 Front yard

 Front yard: Our Giant Christmas Tree

 This one is for Bruce: the Garden Gnome

 The girls love the snow!

 Trudy always poses so nicely...

 Lily does not!

Time to warm up in front of the fire.

Oregon Museum of Science and Industry

Hubby took me out to OMSI for lunch and a fun day at the museum! OMSI is a terrific museum to bring young children to since there are so many hands on activities and stations, however, as a couple without kids (and germaphobic) it wasn't as enjoyable as we had hoped. We are both looking forward to visiting the planetarium, submarine and the theatre next time we visit. :)

 Gloomy day in Portland

 Bridges that span over water, that is new to me

 USS Blackback submarine

 Finally inside an Apollo capsule (good thing I am "child" sized)

Room 1: 1/2 Bath

While I have begun some preliminary job seeking, for the moment I am focused on making our house look nice and feel cozy. One thing I know for certain is that once I start working the momentum to decorate the house or do chores will vanish. So, while I am home, I thought it would be nice to show you pictures of the rooms as I complete them. I started out small with the 1/2 bath located at the foot of the stairs.

First and foremost you should know that Hubby and I haven't ever really had a decorating style. I have always joked that our style is "frat boy chic". We have only purchased a few items ourselves, the rest are hand-me-downs from friends and relatives. I don't see that changing in the near future, so what I have focused on is creating rooms which are full of things we love AND have a story behind them!

The framed poster on the wall is signed by the entire 1994-1995 Arizona Wildcat Basketball team including Lute Olsen. I acquired these autographs myself at a practice session @ McKale Center.

The two magazines on the wall are the only two times the Cats have been on the cover of Sports Illustrated (as far as I know).

The total cost for this room was $15.00 (two red hand towels and a navy blue soap dispenser). Everything else I already had.

The Story of Our House

Our home was built in 1987 by the students of Tigard High School. There are a few things around the house that make a lot more sense now that we know this home was a school project. :) The previous tenants had lived here for 12 years. When the housing market bottomed out, they decided to purchase a home. They were smokers and thus explains all the updates (paint, carpet, linoleum) that were completed before our tenancy. The city of Tigard is divided into zones or neighborhoods. Our house is located in the Cook Park Neighborhood. Apparently, the Cook Park area is highly sought after as it hosts the largest park in the city, Cook Park (duh), which spans 79 acres and borders the Tualatin River.  Cook Park is just a half mile away!

Pros and Cons Regarding Oregon

Pros:
1.  Absolutely gorgeous scenery (there are trees everywhere!)
2.  Big backyard with an outstanding deck
3.  Area for a garden
4.  Fireplace
5.  People are friendly
6.  Neighbors are quiet
7.  All kinds of new wildlife and domesticated animals (crows, squirrels, chickens, roosters and goats)
8.  You can drink water straight out of the tap and the water is soft

Cons:
1.  Constantly wiping wet, dirty puppy paws
2.  Colder than I am used to
3.  I get lost easily and have no idea where I am most of the time
4.  Nothing ever dries: hair, towels, or puppy feet

The "Kids"

Well, as you can see here the "kids" are adjusting well to the new house, new yard, and new stairs. I think the dogs are tired of the stairs, however, as Trudy required me to carry her down this morning and Lily is running up and down a little slower than before.