Winter in the rain...

Not that I'm complaining, but lack of snow is a little odd for this small town girl.  I'm used to having to start my car 30 minutes early, so that it can get a head start on the frost.  I'm used to checking outside so I know if I have to leave the house early to accommodate for the blizzard craziness.  I was told yesterday that temperatures in the 40s and showers off and on all day, is pretty typical of December.  Awesome.
So, it has been a fun filled and exciting fall/early winter.  Where to begin?  My co-workers and I have what we call 'Supper Club.'  Pretty much we go to different restaurants and all get something different, then pass it around the table.
 It's a lot of fun, and a chance to try local restaurants.  We went to a southern/cajun style restaurant for a co-workers birthday in September.  Oh my!  Yummy food. This is how excited Richard was for the Mac'n'Cheese.

 We met a fellow nerd couple at a comic book store event.  They are a lot of fun.  Seeing our awesomeness, they invited us to their Halloween party.  We karaoke-ed  smashed pumpkins and met even more great people.  It was more fun, since everyone else was drunk.  Drunk people and karaoke?  Good entertainment.

 This is the whole group.  As you can see, we went as Vampire Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton.  It was the scariest thing we could think of.  Richard has been slightly obsessed with how creepy Kenny Rogers is.

 This year, we had the opportunity to host Thanksgiving in our tiny apartment.  My mother and brother-in-law flew in for the long weekend and we stuffed our faces.  My mother-in-law, who is just wonderful, eased my anxiety and helped out tremendously.  It was a success.   We just recently got rid of all the leftovers.  There are just the two of us, and we really don't eat that much.  It was my first turkey, and it turned out so tasty and perfect. Even after eating it all week, it still made a ridiculous amount of turkey noodle(yes, homemade noodles) soup.  Now we have frozen soup.  Hopefully we don't forget about it...

It was a lot of fun to have them here, but it made me pretty homesick for my own family.  While they were here, we took them sight-seeing.  Well, more like Troy took us sight-seeing.  We went to a couple places that we hadn't gone to yet since we moved here.
We went to Astoria, home of the Goonies.  We didn't take pictures, because it was raining sideways and it didn't seem like a good idea.  My mother-in-law has some more pictures of their trip, but she is in the process of moving and we may not see those until she settles in.  Not to worry. =)  The day they left, we drove out to Multnomah Lodge and Falls.

Richard loves road trips!

As you can see, it was absolutely gorgeous.  It was so huge.  They have a bridge that you can hike up to.  We all hiked up, but it was cold and wet.  Totally worth it, for the view.

Since moving out here, I feel more and more amazed with all that the Lord can do.  What an incredible place.  We have beauty all around us, all we have to do is open our eyes.  I've heard that so many times before, yet until now, I don't think I ever truly opened my eyes to take in the scenery.  In life, we have to take the scenic route.  It takes our minds off of the overwhelming force of it all.  I have felt so blessed.  I know that moving here was the right thing to do.  The Lord hasn't stopped blessing us since we got here.  I am so grateful to have a husband that listens to the Spirit, and willingly(if not hesitantly), follows.  I'm eternally grateful that I was blessed with the faith to follow along.  What a fantastic journey we have embarked on.  I know that this is where we are meant to end up.  The people are incredible, the culture is wonderful.  I can't imagine a more perfect place to raise my family and build a home.

On another note, we had been having some car troubles.  So, we got rid of Richard's Sunfire, after the tree crashed into it. It was a sad day.  That car was his first and only car.  They went through a lot together.  The City of Portland paid us to not sue them, which was nice.  It was also a blessing, since I am the only one working at the moment.  It was an answer to our prayers.  We took the money and put it into our savings account. Well, not long after that, we were hit by an uninsured motorist.  We only had liability insurance, so there was no way it was going to get fixed.  It was just a fender bender.  The roads were wet, he slammed on his brakes and slid into us.  We were at a stop light, so all it did was dent our passenger side door.  Luckily we have a friend who was able to pull the dent out, so that we could open the door. Well, that is where it all began to go downhill.  After that, the security system started draining the battery at an excessive rate.  We would go out to go somewhere, and the car would be dead.  A couple in our ward let us borrow there portable battery charger.  We used it quite a few times.  Finally, we took it in to get it checked out.  The mechanic told us to stop wasting our money fixing the car over and over.  Well, as mentioned before, I am the only one working, so a car payment wasn't super feasible.  We did have some money in savings, thanks to the City of Portland and the move not being as expensive a predicted.  So, we set out to buy a car.

 Meet our new 2007 Pontiac Vibe.  We haven't named her yet.  But I think we're in love.  And the best part is-we traded in my car as part of the down payment, so we don't have to worry about her either!  Yay!!
This makes me a little less worried to make the drive home for Christmas....

So far in Portland...

Another update from the West Coast.  We are so far very much enjoying this wonderful city we have moved to!  So much fun stuff available to us.  We were able to go to the Bite of Oregon.  They have it every summer and a lot of local restaurants and wineries set up booths and you can go and sample food.  We were able to eat alligator and some super yummy crab melts.  Richard preferred the shrimp melt.  Also delicious.

Also, we've been exploring the cultural opportunities available in the movie arena.  We were able to go and see Dead Alive.  A delightful horror movie.  They were showing it on a blow up screen on the rooftop of a hotel.
It was a lot of fun.  This movie is dear to me especially, because when Richard and I first watched it together, we likened it to our courtship....you'd really have to watch it to understand the humor.  =)

It was a ton of fun!!!

We were able to have some friends visit for a long weekend in August, and took them exploring.  We went to the beach for the first visit of the summer.  I think if we had realized it was so close, we would have been going all summer!  So, now we at least know what we will be doing next summer.  =)

 We took them to Voodoo Doughnuts....and other fun stuff too!!  So glad they drove up, we had a lot of fun!!

Richard and Cass at Seaside Beach.




Keith went and bought a pirate kite.  He was pretty excited about it.  It was fun to watch him have his first kite experience!!

 The past few weeks we have been going to the beach when the weather permits.  We went to the Tillamook cheese factory.  We sampled squeaky cheese and tasty ice cream.
Then we drove up the coast to Cannon Beach and enjoyed the beach some more.  We played in the waves and soaked up some sun.
Then we went to a seafood restaurant and had some fresh, delicious and delightful dinner

 Today, we decided to revisit Cannon Beach since we loved it so much.  We lucked out because the weather was gorgeous and the tide was lower than normal, so we were able to see some cool things that are usually on the bottom of the ocean.  For example, I had never seen a purple starfish before.  I thought it was pretty awesome!  Also, if you look closely, the starfish are surrounded by mollusks and barnacles.  Pretty cool.  We also were able to see a bunch of hermit crabs coming out for dinner.  It was kind of cool to watch them eat.
And we got to watch the sun set over the water.  As you can see, a beautiful sight!!

Another fun little side bit....last week on the way to work, our car had a tree fall into it.
Richard had volunteered for Rose City Comic Con, so he offered to take me to work, since it was on the way.  We ended up being a little early, so we decided to go park at the park that is a block away from my office.  I was going to get out and read until I needed to go to work, but Richard was a little early as well, so decided to stay with me for a few minutes.  Shortly after I closed the car door, we heard what sounded like apples falling on the roof of our car.  Then we heard a huge ripping sound..  Next thing you know, there is a huge tree branch in our windshield.  It was great! *sarcasm, sarcasm*
So we had to call the police and get someone from the city to come out and remove it.  These are the before and after pictures.  Richard was barely able to squeeze out of his door, and had to break some branches from the back door so I could crawl out.  Both the front and back doors on the passenger side were completely blocked with branches.  It was crazy!
I screamed when it happened, Richard was slightly confused.
So, we filed a claim with the city to see if they will pay for the damages.  I doubt that will work out in our favor. But keep your fingers crossed for us!!
Richard was going to comic con to make some professional contacts, and we both felt really good about it.  The way things worked out seemed like the adversary was working against us.  But he ended up taking my bus pass and going anyway.  It turned out really well for him.  He was able to make some valuable contacts that all offered to help in whatever ways they are able to get him on his feet as a writer.  It was a tremendous blessing.  It looks like the Lord knew what he was doing after all.  We spent the next day there as well.  I was able to volunteer with him.  I hope that I can help him make some contacts as well.  Mostly because I'm cute and likable!  hehe
Anyway, life in Portland has thrown many blessings at us....a definite confirmation that we're on the right track.  That always makes me feel slightly less stressed out.

Lots of love!
Ciao
Dickey & Jaks

Teensy Weenie update...

Just thought I would update(mostly because I need to keep up with 'Big Mama'(<--big sis).  Unfortunately, I don't have any new pics.  So far we are still loving Portland.  We have been on the hunt for good restaurants to replace our 'usuals' in Idaho.  We have a great diner not far down the road, we have a pub down the block that has tasty burgers.
  I am loving my new job.  I have great co-workers and work for a couple really fun lady doctors.  I miss my old office, but am excited about the new adventure I have begun.
  I am working with someone in the AOA to get a Paraoptometric Section set up in Oregon, because there is none.  I'm hoping I can get some others to want to participate!!
  Richard is still on the job hunt.  We've decided that he is going to get a part-time job and try to write full-time.  We've met a few contacts to help him get started with self-publishing and such.  So we're hoping all goes well with that.
  I want to say good luck to my big sister!  3 more weeks!  I really excited for you and wishing I could be there!!!  Love you both!

Portland

Hey all,


Just thought I would send an update and some pics of our new place! So, I have had 4 job interviews and one job offer in the week we've been here. It was for Lenscrafters, so I was trying to hold out for something better. And I will hopefully be working in Downtown Portland at the Eye Studio. www.the-eyestudio.com


I'm pretty excited, I think it will be a great job! I have gone in 3 times for interviews and 'training' to see how well I mesh and how fast I learn. Now they just have to check my references and do a background check, and I'll be in. I'm really hoping my murderous past doesn't come out in the background check. I think the prostitution won't be a problem.


The Dr. I would be working for pretty much told me I had the job as long as everything looked good from my references and such.


Hopefully, I hear from her this weekend and can start work next week!!


We have been working on Richard's resume and he's applied for a couple part-time jobs, that we're still waiting to hear back from. One of those jobs being at Powell's bookstore, which is huge and beautiful! We explored the other day, and I was blown away. So far we are loving the area and getting to know our surroundings. It's been fun to not be working for a couple weeks. I've been working for the better part of 6 years, and some downtime has been welcome.
 We went to the zoo and Rose Gardens on Monday.  The gardens were gorgeous.  I have the pics from the zoo on our camera, but we need to get   a cord for it, so they will have to wait.

You could see Downtown over the trees.  This is the strangest and prettiest city I have been to.  It feels like you are far away and in the mountains and then all of a sudden you are in the middle of the city.  It's crazy, and I think it's helping me not to feel so overwhelmed.

 We took this at Powell's bookstore, they have a whole section on this stuff.  It's great.

 Living Room

 Kitchen/Dining area.  I don't have a lot of counter space, but I have a huge pantry, so I've accepted that.

This is my lovely and spacious pantry.  As you can see, the shelves are already filled.  Yeah....that was all the food we brought with us... 
This is our patio and our new little charcoal grill.

                     


 Halloween corner and best doughnuts ever!  They are tasty and they put cereal and stuff on them.  The one in the left corner is covered with M&Ms, the middle one is cocoa puffs, and the bottom right corner is bubblegum.  The good thing is that they

are in Downtown, the bad thing is that they are open 24/7.  We are going to be poor and fat....if it weren't for being able to walk most places, that would probably be true.  =)

  This is our artsy wall.  Bed room with very large closet/mirrorEntryway

Bathroom

Belated Halloween Pics

Just for you mama.... 

 Patients 1 and 2

Some space dude....I don't remember

Leather Face 

One of the Henchman from Venture Bros.  Cassidy made his entire costume.  Props.

Linda Blair from the Exorcist

Cat Woman