I love business travel (because free stuff rocks).

I love that I got to see the beach on a whim when I wasn’t anticipating it (considering I’ve been land-locked since Jr. High).

I love that I’m entering a field with such friendly, amazing people (and I’m happy to know that I can have fun with strangers).

I love doughnuts with peanut butter and oreos on them (breakfast of champions at VooDoo Doughnuts).

I love that Portland has a store with the tag line “city of books” (see: Powell’s city of books–it spans a city block and has like, 10 rooms of books old-scho0l style)

I hate that I came to Portland during the heatwave of the summer (just my luck…)

I love no sales tax (even though I hear the income tax SUCKS for Oregoneons–booooo government)

I love the Portland Saturday Market (because who doesn’t like cheap art and asian food?)

I love free meals (food is so much enjoyable when you don’t have to worry how many hours I worked for it!)

Enjoy the pictures…I tried to capture the city but just as most other cities, it is just not capture-able.  The mysterious beauty of the beach was a little easier to capture on film, but my camera’s got nothing on my own senses

Of course my 1st picture in Portland is of a green toilet flusher. Push it up for #1 and down for #2 to save water. Tree-huggin' commies.... (just kidding!)

Yay free sephora bath products!

Just some of the cute down-townness I guess...Like I said, I just couldn't capture it. It was cute. You could see foothills and Mt Hood down some streets and the boutiques and flea markets were adorable!

Mmmmm, doughnuts...worth the line down the block (well, sort of)

Driving down the highway (well, I'm not driving...but I'm patiently riding on the way to the beach!)

Is this place for real?

Camera doesn't capture the beach either...so I took a panoramic video below

I would love to live here....if it got above 65 degrees...

So you're probably getting tired of beach pictures, but I just can't get enough!

AAAhhHhh! Jellyfish! (I later learned they don't sting here...so no worries)

Seagulls!

The best part about this beach (besides the beautifulness) was that it was so dog friendly.  Everyone and their mother brought a dog, so I had to capture a little bit of their joy on camera.

It was lots of fun and I’m so thankful to Ben’s family for having me!

I didn’t take nearly as many pictures as I should have, but here are a few for your viewing pleasure.

My favorite part....the jet skis!

Me n' Ben on the boat (pre-sunburn...)

Ben being much braver than me

I feel bad that I have neglected my blog for the past several weeks.

But to be honest, I haven’t felt very inspired by my life lately, at least not in a way that is worth writing about.

At first I was afraid that meant I wasn’t inspired by my job, but I don’t think that is the case.  I enjoy work–regardless of all the poop, pee, blood and slobber I have to deal with, I still get to play with puppies or kittens at least a few times each day.  Plus the satisfaction of knowing I contributed to making animals feel better is very rewarding.

There are the sad days.  Last week we had to euthanize a young dog that ate a sock.  It was a very exciting day for me at first.  We went into emergency exploratory surgery–a procedure I have never seen before.  Unfortunately what we found was dead intestines, which is not something we can fix.  I was glad it wasn’t my responsibility to deliver the bad news to the owners.

I have started planning/executing a few projects between my long work days, which makes me feel a little productive on my lazy days off.

One is the DIY I linked in my last post.  I have 6 horses so far (one is Stephen’s) and plan on painting a few more tonight.  It’s a nice relaxing way to mix colors, patterns, and materials, and it doesn’t require a ton of artistic talent, which makes it a perfect project for me.

Not the best picture but you get the idea...

But this project brightened my day.

I'm definitely going to try it (on a much smaller scale!) but I don't know if mine will be as cute!

And I finally get to skype with Ben!  yay!

The sandals featured in Real Simple May 2009

So, I was flipping through real simple last night and found a really cute pair of sandals in the “beach gear” article.  I decided I had to find out how much they cost, (just out of curiosity because we all know I’m poor and can’t buy anything) and was disgusted to find that they were SEVENTY FIVE DOLLARS.  

The Sandals actually on a person (with really nice feet)

Really?  Is that mark-up necessary in these economic times?  I decided to get into DIY mode and figure out how I could make them for less.  Once I had it all figured out, I went to bed, expecting to wake up the next morning to realize that my new “project” was the product of late-night idealism.

But it wasn’t.  With my mom and Aunt Sue’s help, I found an inexpensive pair of comfy flip flops at Target and a few fabrics at Joanne’s and with a little needle and thread, recreated the sandals myself.

Before sandals ($8)

After sandal!

Another fabric I got (but it isn't finished because it needs to be sewn into a tube so it doesn't unravel)

Sandal on my ugly foot

Side view--my Dad called them Jesus sandals. That's a compliment, right?

So in total, my sandals with 2 interchangeable straps costed less than 12 dollars and took about 45 minutes to create.  Now all I need is a pedicure…

You know how much I love my woodland critters...

"Birds of feather"....get it?

I love this one but I don't think it would look good against a white wall

Check out tons of other wall decals at Bilk Surface Graphics

“Time is a circus, always packing up and moving away.” –Ben Hecht

Packing sucks.  And so does leaving an apartment with three great friends (ok, leaving the apartment itself doesn’t suck that badly because we’ve all grown to dislike it, but leaving each other sure does).

Aaaaggghhh! It's like no matter how much stuff I pack up, the room looks just as cluttered as it did when I started tearing it apart.

As you can see, Hunter's had a rough day too...

Being a cat is TOUGH

Ben would not be proud of my packing techniques, but I totally made it fit

Valeria's sad empty room

Like I said...

An hour and a half later...

I don’t have much else to say.  I’m just kind of sad and lonely and this cheesy, but I have that feeling I always have when I watch the last episode of Friends.  I mean I know that Chandler and Monica are only moving to the suburbs, not Canada or anything, but you just know that things won’t quite be the same anymore.

But then I met Hunter (previously named Marmalade), and the fear someone else adopting him first combined with Ben’s incessant whining drove me over the edge.  So I took him home (after about 2 hours of applying to adopt, waiting in line, and going through his adoption paper work–they don’t make it easy, but it’s definitely worth it!)

One of his favorite napping spots...Under the papasan

 He smelled a little funky when I brought him home (spending the 1st 6 months of your life at a shelter leaves a stank) so I gave him a bath.

He actually started purring when I lathered him up!

He’s cute. He’s cuddly. He poops and pees in his box. He’s playful. He’s crazy.  Basically, he’s great.  Enough said.

A brilliant method of attack...

Oh, and he’s clean.

Caught licking the business end. He seems strangely comfortable in that position...

Quote of the Day:

There is no snooze button on a cat who wants breakfast.” - Unknown

(I’ve learned this the hard way)

I told everyone and their mom that I was going to sleep an hour and a half ago, but you know how that goes.

I just had to make a really quick post about this new artist I love (and want to buy from SO badly…13 bucks for an 8×10 isn’t too bad, right?  How bout 22 bucks for 4 5X7s?  Maybe when the wallet is a little thicker this summer)

He/she (its a mystery) even gives away a custom painting of a person’s choice every month (you just email him/her your favorite bird to be entered into the drawing).  Most people probably aren’t as tickled about this as me, since I’m kind of an animal freak, but I don’t think anyone would argue that they’re not cute!

Here is the etsy page and here is the blog.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!

“You save yourself or remain unsaved” -Alice Sebold

It has been months since I read Alice Sebold’s first book, Lucky, but the affect it had on me will be long lasting.

It is a hauntingly well-written book for anyone who is willing to try and understand what it may be like for the approximately 1 in 6 women who will be raped in their lifetime.

Personal safety is a heavy topic, but one that needs to be at the top of all of our priority lists.

I took a class this semester with Renata Mai0rino called Self Defense for Women (WGST 1100 for MU students).  It taught me to be a more assertive person, and how to put personal safety at the top of my priority list.

I want to share some of the simpler moves we learned in class so that (God forbid) if you are ever in a dangerous situation, you may know a few tactics that may help you escape.

Remember to ALWAYS USE VERBAL DEFENSES FIRST and keep using your voice to attract the attention of others who may help you get out of trouble!!

Also remember that all of these clips are in slow motion for teaching purposes.  These moves will need to be done much more quickly with a lot more force to be effective!

(I realize that an attacker may be male or female.  I however will be referring to the attacker as “he” and “him” in the following explanations for simplicity)

1. First, I assume everyone knows what a fist to the groin would look like, but some may not know what an elbow to the solar plexus looks like, so I would like to demonstrate what area that is and how to hit it with this video (I would also like to note how priceless our fcial expressions are in this clip).  You can feel the solar plexus at the bottom of your rib cage between the 2 halves.  Be sure to use your opposite hand as a trigger to give your elbow jab more pow. 

2. This video shows how to incorporate the elbow to the solar plexus in order to get out of an arm-over-arm from behind hold.  Pop your elbows up to loosen his grip.  Elbow to the solar plexus. Fist to groin. ESCAPE!

3. This is another simple, 1 step move that may help you debilitate your attacker so that you may escape to safety.  Strike the bottom of your attackers nose with a forward and upward force with the heel of your palm, like so:

4. This move is great if your arms aren’t free (or even if they are) and your back is facing your attacker.  Use the side of your foot to scrape the same side shin of your attacker (HARD).

5. This is one of the simplest and most effective moves (in my opinion) to get out of a choke hold.  Raise your arms to the side of your body, then quickly rotate your body 180 at a downward angle to break his hold.

6. This is another method of breaking a choke hold that will also cause your attacker pain.  (For ease of explanation, I will explain this using your left hand as it is in the video, but it can be done on both sides).  Use your left hand to grab his left hand and pull it over his right arm, twisting it backwards and bracing his elbow to cause pain.

7. You can use the following combination to get out of a headlock: Turn your chin toward his elbow and take in a gasp of air.  Pinch his upper-inner thigh.  Fist to groin.  Grab his wrist with your hand that is closest to the middle of his body and his elbow with your hand that more lateral.  Duck, step out of the hold through the back, and pull on his wrist while bracing his elbow to cause pain.

8. This is another very similar move to get out of a headlock:Turn your chin toward his elbow and take in a gasp of air.  Pinch his upper-inner thigh.  Fist to groin.  If he is weakened enough from the pain, grab the back of his shirt and pull him backwards as you push your upper body to an upright position.

The following 2 moves are a little more complex and you may injure your neck or back if they are done incorrectly, so I would not recommend you trying them just based on these videos.  They are fun to show off though

9. If you were pushed from behind, the shoulder roll may help you protect yourself from injury (if you know how to do it correctly!) and escape more quickly.

10. My favorite move is this backward throw.  It is only practical though, if your attacker is already in great pain.

I want to thank my actors and my videographer for helping me create this instructional clips!  I would also like to thank Renata, Jill, and all the other TA’s of WGST 1100 for teaching us these moves!

(Note: Despite the faces he made, Ben was not harmed in the filming of these clips )

See...he's ok!

My beautiful videographer

Stay safe and enjoy life!

Quote of the Day:

“Strength does not come from physical capacity.  It comes from an indomitable will.” – Ghandi