Go ducks!

It is so refreshing to be back in Eugene, Oregon. We will be here about 2 1/2 days and it will be the longest time we have spent here in a year. It is so nice to see the University or Oregon stickers and the Duck icons all over. Really brings ya back :) Soon, and very soon, we will be sporting a bumber sticker of our own (and so will the Cramer's!). Go Ducks!

Tomorrow we get to go to a wedding of a friend of ours from undergrad. It will be like a big reunion with friends we haven't seen in a whille. We are very much looking forward to it. It has been a crazy busy trip with not a lot of sleep. So though it is nice to be away and on "holiday" it will be kind of nice to get home and be on a normal sleep schedule again. It's amazing that you actually get less sleep and relaxation when you are on vacation sometimes, it's a little ackwards I think. But, we will be home to Canada Sunday night and it will probably come too soon.

Clothes Swap

Quite possibly the best idea (especially if you are poor and a girl). Gather up your friends, have them bring all the clothes they don't want and then you pile them on the floor and go at it! You walk away with "new" clothes and it's a whole lot of fun doing it. Espcially after it's over and you are all just sitting around chatting or whatnot and randomly you see something you may not have noticed earlier in the pile. It's all very exciting. Oh, and don't forget the alcohol!

Mexican food in Vancouver?

side note: I have decided to change my font back to "normal size" instead of "large size" (sorry Grace) but it's just so big!
I swear there are like 3, maybe 4 mexican restaurants in Vancouver. It is a rarity indeed. However, you can walk down any given street and see about 100 sushi restaurants. Now, if you are into sushi, that's great for you! As for me, I would rather have myself a big burrito...mmmm! The other night Derek and I decided we would splurge and go out to dinner (another rarity). We were both craving mexican food. We looked up the 4 existing local restaurants and decided we would drive by them and see where we wanted to go. We found this great one called Las Margaritas on West 4th. It looked fun, it was packed and the appearance of it was pleasing to the eye. We parked a few blockes away then walked up and decided to check out the menu that was posted outside the door. Our hope was quickly shot when we saw that it ws around $15 a plate. Then you add drinks and tip and tax...you're looking at $45 bucks, at least. That was a no go. We decided instead that we would just walk down 4th and see what else there was. Alas, another mexican place..and it's upstairs..and it had a special going on that night for like $9 a plate. We were in! It was not quite the mexican food experience we had hoped for. Let me set the scene, we walked in, there were 2 employees and about 2 of the tables were full. The place looked old and Sex in the City was on the TV (hmmm?). We decided to give it a try. We ordered drinks (i think my Pina Colada type drink had been sitting in the fridge for a few hours) then we got our food. It was okay, but I could have done way better making it at home. Needless to say, I was kind of disappointed. Our big night out to dinner was a flop. However, the company was pretty good, so I guess I can't complain ;)
If you ever come to Vancouver...go for Sushi...apparently it's pretty good here.

Working at The Well

Working at The Well Cafe is an interesting thing. It has it's ups and downs...that's for sure. Mainly, I would say it is the people. The customers, that is. They really make or break a day for you. And honestly, all it takes is one person to be rude for no apparant reason and you're done for. You might as well go home and start the day over cause the day officially SUCKS! I don't understand those people who are rude for no reason. I imagine they must have had some experiences in life that have made them bitter and they deicde to take it out on the world. Somtimes...it hurts...and really makes me mad. I wish I could depict the stories exactly as I experience them, but writing them would not do them justice. You'll just have to trust me...I see some amazingly crazy people pass my way each and every day. I swear the Lord is testing me in EVERY way.
Honestly though, if it weren't for my great staff (of 3) there would be no reason to get up in the morning. I can't even call them "my staff" cause they are my friends and my source of entertainment that keep me from going insane each day. There's Audrey, Dane, and our new addition Jeff. Jeff hasn't started yet since his wife (ex-manger of the well) had a baby yesterday-yay! But I know he'll add to the team quite nicely. Audrey is my right hand, I am not joking. When we work together, not only does the time fly cause we are having so much fun but we are like a machine and communicate without even talking. She's also crazy and I love her. She is probably one of the funniest most sarcastic people I know and she has a story for everything. It's greatly amusing. Then theres Dane...silly Dane. He's freaking hilarious and I think his goal in life is to make people laugh. We have loved having him around and all I have to say...is our store is better than that other store over there on Dunbar. We ROCK!!! Yay for great people to work with.

Way too long...

Whoa...it sure has been a little while. I am so sorry to those of you who sit at your computer daily waiting for my next entry. Finally you get some excitement! Lucky you. Anyway, all is going well here during our first Canadian summer. We have been very much enjoying the sunshine and the beauty here. Today we went to China Town with our new southern friends, Chad and Ansley. It wasn't all it's hyped up to be, but we had a good time. Plus it was a beautiful day, so you can't go wrong.

What else is new? Well, I did go to L.A. last weekend for my sisters graduation from her Masters. I had a blast with the family. We were only there a couple days, but we did a lot of eating out, a little laying by the pool and a lot of time laughing and enjoying each other. It was a mini family vacation that I am sure to remember. Annie graduated from Azusa Pacific with her Masters in Psychology. Her and her husband have just recently moved back to Oregon and are now living in Eugene where Tony will attend University of Oregon and get his masters in Psychology.

As far as Derek and I, we are still puttin along. Derek is currently finishing up some papers fro summer school and I am just working my little tail off and enjoying the beauty of Vancouver. We've really been enjoying our friends a lot and have actually found lots of open times where we are all in town on the same days. It's been fantasic. Well, that's the little update. Sorry I don't have a more exciting life. But hey...what can I say?

By the way...I hope you have all had a chance to read Harry Potter 6 or least started reading the series. Since I finished reading the 6th book, I have become completely addicted and maybe a tad bit obsessed. I am rereading the book and once I get all my other books in the series back (they are loaned out at the moment) then I will reread the entire series. Oh man, I get excited just thinking about it....

HARRY POTTER!!!

Today is the day, it has finally come. July 16th, the day that Harry Potter and Half Blood Prince (the 6th book in the series) is released. Months ago I would have thought that at this very moment I would be curled up on my couch reading the long awaited book. But, just weeks ago Derek and I realised that if we bought the book in Canada it would not match all of our other books. So alas, we are waiting until next weekend where we are going to Seattle for a wedding. We will then get the book and dive right in. Though the next week will be tough and it will be hard to avert my eyes from online articles and news broadcasts about the much anticipated book, I know it will be worth it to have my fresh American Harry Potter book. Despite the controversy that is going on, I really don't care. the controversy is that the U.S. version is not printed on recycled paprer whereas the canadian version is on 100% recycled paper. But what can you do? I must have my U.S. copy of the book. For the last couple of months Derek and I have been rereading all of the books in order to prepare for today's release of the 6th. But instead of reading them, we have been getting them on tape from the library and have very much enjoyed listening to them together. We are still working on finishing up the 5th book on tape. So all in all it is a good thing that we still have one more week, cause we still have a little ways to go. Though it is fun to listen to it (actually it is amazing!) it takes a bit longer to get through because we have to coordinate our schedules and set aside "Harry Potter" time. But, if you get a chance, I highly reccommend listening to them on tape-or CD. They are perfect for road trips and you can check them out from the library. The guy who reads the books is positively wonderful. He is a delight to listen to, he does all the voices and has won numerous awards for his work reading the series. It's great! I hope that everyone now has their copy of the 6th book in hand and is enjoying it greatly. And, if you are still yet to get into the Harry Potter craze, I very much urge you to give it a try. Pick up the first book and just start reading, it is an easy read, very fun and interesting and is good for the imagination. You will soon know what all the fuss is about and once you get through the first 5, you will be on your way out to pick up your copy of the 6th. If you begin reading and you are not as into it as you thought you would be, then at least give it to the end of the 3rd book and if by that point you are still not convinced, then I guess it's just not for you. Which is sad and depressing, but I guess could just be the case. Hopefully you have not gone and seen the movies before you have read the books, it's just not the same to see the movies first. The 3rd movie sucks anwyay. Okay Harry Potter fans, what are you doing reading my blog when you should be reading your new book. Off you go...

Babies everywhere

Everywhere I go...babies, babies and preganant women. There must be something in the water here. One of my friends here just had a baby 2 days ago. A baby boy named Noah. So precious. It was long awaited (well 9 months) and now he's here. It's a pretty crazy and incredible thought that he is now out in the world experiencing life for the first time. There are a few more friends who should be giving birth within the next couple months. So litterally, there will be new born babies all over the place. With their new proud, glowing (yet tired) parents. I love it all. It's fun to oooh and aaaah over them but then know that at the end of the day you get to go home and sleep the whole night through. One day that will be us though and that is fine by me. I think it all seems fun and exciting.

Enjoy the sun Vancouver (yes it finally is here)!! Pray it lasts.

Long time

Wow, I have just noticed that it has been a while since I have written anything on here. What a slacker I am. This full time job thing sure keep ya busy, eh? That and the fact that my husband and I are now having to share a computer. All those things take a toll. So first off, let me just tell you how wonderful the summer here in Vancouver has been. Oh wait, did I say summer? Cause I think it must be fall eventhough the calendar says July. Yeah, it has been pretty crappy. Rainy and not too warm. Our first summer in Vancouver has so far sucked! I just want to go to the beach and get a tan. Is that so much to ask? We did have one nice day on Saturday, that was fun. My mom and Helen were here so the whole day was a huge blessing. We had a great time.
So, I am coming to a realization in my life that I am not getting any younger and really need to start focusing more onmy health. I need to eat at least a little healthier and need to do a little more physical activity. My question for you is this...how? How can I eat healthier but still be on this tight budget and cook in my tiny kitchen? And how can I get myself up off my butt and be motivated to workout when I have to be fully self motivated (no one will run with me)? That's my challenge for you all...to help me ;) Any encouragement, words of advice or nice healthy recipes would be greatly appreciated.
Okay, I have to work in just 8 hours so I guess I should at least start thinking about getting to bed (I guess I shouldn't have drunk that coffee). Goodnight world.

A quick thought

You know you are getting older when, eventhough it's your birthday, you are still ironing your husbands shirt while he plays video games. Hmmm...

P.S. I got a digital camera, so my photo page will hopefully have more pictures on it now. Be sure to check it out www.kbpics.blogspot.com

Hanging in Oregon

Here I am, at my parents house in Bend, Oregon and for the first time in a few days I get to actually sit down and have nothing to do. Feels good. After I got off work on Friday we drove straight down to Portland where we arrived around 10:30pm, we got to see our niece, Sophia (yes she was still awake) and we got to see our new nephew again who has grown about double in size since the last time we were there about a month ago. It was amazing. Anyway, Saturday morning we woke up and drove down to Eugene, we had not been to Eugene since the day we left over 9 months ago. Oh how we miss it. Our first stop when we got into town was, of course, ROMA!!! Derek was in heaven. It was nice to be back on the U of O campus where the sun was actually shining...for about 10 minutes. For lunch we met some friends at the North Bank McMenammins where we both had the ever famous 'Wilbur Burger' and Derek had a Terminator Stout. Again...in heaven. That evening we went to the wedding that we had actually come down for. Our friends Ben and Deanna got married. It was a sweet wedding and we litterally got to see ALL of our Eugene friends while we were at the reception. It was awesome and socially draining. We loved every minute of it. We couldn't quite get enough so after that we went again to McMennamins (this time it was the one on 19th) with about 8 of our friends. We got to catch up more personally and it was glorious. Needless to say, we were exhausted. We set it up, so we were able to stay out in Cook's Cottage at Camp Harlow. This morning we got up and went to breakfast (it just so happens to be counselor training right now) and again we got to see all of our camp buddies and close friends. Breakfast lasted a little longer than anticipated but we eventually got out of there, hopped in the car once again and headed to Bend. But first we stopped at Roma once again for some coffee for the road. Side note-we checked out 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire' on CD to listen to in the car and we have pretty much listened to it every chance we have gotten. Needless to say, we are flying right through it and hope to move on to 'Order of the Phoenix' soon. We got here to Bend around noonish and just knowing that we will not have to be getting in the car again anytime in the next 12 hours felt good. It is Father's Day so we have just been spending time with the fam. We went to a BBQ and it began to get a little chilly so we went inside and not even 2 minutes after we moved inside it began to hail like I have never seen before. It was coming down like pouring rain and lasted for about 20 minutes. It was insane. It is the middle of June and it's hailing. Who would've thought? I kind of enjoyed it. So, I am back at my parents and we are just resting and waititng for mom to finish her big surprise Father's Day gift for my dad. And in about 2 or so hours we will get to see our good buddy David Beach, so excited! On Tuesday (my big 22nd!) we head back over to Portland where we will get to see Derek's fam again and then Wednesday we head back home to Vancouver where we get to breathe :)

Craziness

Isn't life just crazy? I have to say so. Especially when summer hits, lives just fill up and more and more things are filling the day planner. I thought summer was supposed to be a relaxing time of peace and quiet. I guess we just take advantage of our so called "peace and quiet" and we fill our schedules with trips, guests and fun activities. Therefore ultimately summer is just as busy, if not more busy, than any other part of the year. It's all craziness I tell ya, just craziness. Take time to stop and enjoy what we all hope will be a beautiful summer. Congrats to all my graduating friends from U of O and of course OSU too. I am so happy for you all!

Stupid moment

So last week I was making....something with ground beef. I had let the ground beef thaw that day but it did not thaw all the way so I put it in the microwave for a couple minutes to defrost. Anyway, when it was done I took 1/2 of the ground beef to cook with and put the other 1/2 of the beef back in the freezer...though I thought. A few days later, litterally a few days, I went to cook something in the microwave and it turns out that I had put the other 1/2 of the beef into the microwave instead of the freezer. Needless to say we had to throw that out and it did not smell too good in the microwave. Silly me!

P.S. Derek got a job...woohooo...but he works all day Saturdays, so we had to change our coffee shop hunt to Sunday afternoons. We went to a place called Higher Grounds on Sunday and it was alright. Cute little place, okay atmosphere, small seating area. But they serve Cuppa Joe coffee, so that's always good. :)

For the love of a coffee shop

Derek and I have a thing, you know, a thing that we like to do, that makes us us. I think that thing is coffee shops. To us, there is nothing better than a good coffee shop (and yes, there are bad coffee shops). Whether we bring a book to read, do the daily crossword puzzle or just sit and chat, we absolutley love it! We have been to loads of coffee shops in our day and have begun the search for the good ones here in Vancouver. We have seen all the ones in our surrounding area and neighborhood so this morning we headed East and traveled all the way over to Commercial Drive where we went to one of the many JJ Bean Coffee Shops. One thing I love about Vancouver Coffee Shops is that a lot of them have big front windows that completely open up like garage doors. So though you are enjoying your coffee with a roof over your head, you are practically sitting outside. And on a day like today when it is 25 degress out (that's about 75 degrees for you Americans), it is so incredible. Gosh, such a passion for coffee shops. Derek and I could Coffee shop hop all day long and be totally satisfied. We are going to begin exploring a new coffee shop every Saturday morning and I will let you know what we find. This morning was JJ Bean on Commercial Drive, next Saturday...only time will tell.

As you see, coffee is not only important to us, it is a way of life and we are so happy to live in a world full of it! Get into it if you aren't already and I encourage you to find the best coffee shops in your town ;)

It's begun

I am officially in week two of my new manger position at The Well. Besides a few fun and not so exciting dramatic events last week, all is going well. This week things are going much more smooth and I am actually enjoying it. It really doesn't feel much different or anything, I just have to be a little more responsible and I can no longer say "oh, just ask Lara". But the hardest things for me has been having to work at 7am 3-4 times a week. I just can't seem to get myself to bed early enough in order to actually get a good amount of sleep. Needless to say, I am dragging and I am pretty tired. Things will get better and I will get used to the schedule and the most important thing is that I do my job well. So watch out world...I'm in charge!!! ;)

P.S. I am sad to report that Jennifer Garner and the movie crew has moved onto a different location to continue shooting and I was never fortunate enough to actually see her. My life is over.

A movie

So, the cool thing is that they are filming a movie just 2 blocks from my house, litterally. It is starring Jennifer Garner and it's called Catch and Release. Now, the crappy thing is, that everyone has seen Jennifer Garner just hanging out on the set, everyone except me that is. I have walked by, driven by and basically becomea crazy stalker, but nothing. Afterall, I am the one who lives right by this set, why can't I have some excitement here! Anyway, I will keep you posted. I think they are going to be here for about a month. It is all quite excititng actually. I guess there are some good things about living in Vancouver afterall.

Kingdom of Heaven

Last night Derek and I went out and saw 'Kingdom of Heaven' starring Orlando Bloom and directed by Ridley Scott. We both really enjoyed it and would highly reccomend it to anyone, except maybe small children. Orlando Bloom, playing the role of Balian, is an amazing actor in this film and Ridley Scott is brilliant (however, look for Gladiator-like tendencies). Set during the crusades of the 12th Century, it is a battle for Jerusalem and of Religion. The fight it on! There is deffinitly a good amount of violence, but nothing that closing the eyes for a few seconds can't fix. Anyway, get out and see this movie. It's great!
P.S. Grace, is this font size better?

Our Trip to Oregon

This past weekend Derek and I decided to take a little adventure down to Portland, Oregon. We went mainly to visit our new little nephew Alejandro. What a beautiful baby boy he is, a full head of dark dark brown hair, perfectly round little face and cute and tiny as can be. Barely 3 weeks old, you truly realize what a precious gift from God children are. We also got to spend lots of good time with our 2.5 year old niece, Sophia, who is having a difficult time sharing mommy and daddy with baby brother. We got to give her some much needed extra attention and see how much she has grown up. It amazes me that I can sit down and actually have a full and real conversation with this girl. She is amazing and so stinkin smart. Overall, the time with the fam was great and we really loved being there. It made us wish we were closer to home (not that 6 hours is much of a drive to get home, but still).
While in Portland though, we were able to do what seemed like a million things. We rolled into town Thursday evening and Derek and I went to McMennamins where he met with Dan and I met with Jess. We went our own ways and took the time to catch up with our best friends. It was wonderful to see Jess, I hadn't seen her since Christmas and it is always wonderful and a blessing to be with her. There is no one else in the world that I can talk to so easily and comfortabley. It was just wonderful to see our friends. The next morning, Friday, we spent with Sophia at the park giving mommy a break and a chance to get out of the house. That afternoon Derek and I went to TARGET, it was glorious, we love it and always make sure we make at least one visit while in the states. I love Target and must say that they are doing a pretty good job keeping up with the current fasions. Makes my heart happy :)
Friday night was a big event and something Derek and I had been looking forward to for weeks. Meeting Dan's new girlfriend, Amanda. The four of us had dinner at her house and later went out for some dessert. It was so great to finally meet this mystery girl who we had been hearing about for months. She is a sweet and wonderful person and I am so excited to get to know her more and more. Dan is truly in love and it is so neat to see the guy so happy and satisfied. Seeing your friends happy brings a joy like none other, and that's what it was. Dan's life is completely different than what we all would have thought it to have been a year ago. The U of O architecture grad moved to Portland to pursue architecture and wound up finding a great job in the city. However, just a few months into this new career, he decides that he hates it and wants to pursue his real passion, middle schoolers. dan has since decided to go back to school and become a Middle School Social Studies teacher. He will begin classes at Portland State in just a month or so. He will still work for the firm until he is done with his Masters though. So between that and this new wonderful girlfriend, things are just way different for Mr. Dan. We are so happy for him and proud of him. Enough about Dan.
Saturday morning we met with my sister, Mandy, at World Cup Coffee. We sat for a couple hours and just chatted. It is always such a great thing to get together with her. The conversation is always good and she is one of those people that is just real. Straight from there we went around the corner to have our hair done at the Hair Lounge, which is where Derek's brother-in-law works. Like always, we are so impressed with him. Derek decided to go with non-haor look and chop it all off. While I decided just to go a bit lighter blonde. Good times. Then we went downtown and met our good pal Adam. We walked around, got smoothies and just had a fun time catching up. We miss you Adam! ( in case you can't tell, I am rushing through this day because I think this entry is already on the lenghtly side). From there we went back to Derek's sisters house and later went out to dinner with Derek's dad and stepmom. We went to this little itlian place called Piazzo Italia. OH MY!! So good and truly authentic Italian. We had a great time and ended up staying there for about 3 hours. Phew..Saturday is over.
On Sunday Derek and I met Dan at his Church, Imago Dei. We had been looking forward to going to this church for a long time and it exceeded our expectations. It was just incredible. Everything about it. Plus, we ran into a couple unexpected friends. A big shout out to Katy Latterty...so good to see you! And Derek ran into his buddy Josiah, who was his Crusader about 5 years ago at Camp Harlow. That was just crazy. After church we went out to lunch at a little pizza place and then had coffee at a fun coffee shop, called Crema. The rest of the day we spent preparing a yummy dinner and spending time with Derek's mom (it was Mother's day afterall)and family.
Okay, that's about it, we drove home Monday morning, listened to Harry Potter on CD during the drive and got home safe and sound. Sorry that I didn't elaborate much on some parts of the trip, but you get the idea. We did have a wonderful time and we miss Oregon very very much. But we will be back in a month for Ben and Deanna's wedding and I can't wait!!!

One school year down

So as of last Friday Derek has officially completed his first year of Grad school at Regent. I just cannot believe that one school year is already complete. I still feel like we just moved here. Derek will still take a couple classes in spring and summer, but it will not be as intense as the past 8 months. At this rate, in order for Derek to complete his MCS, he should be done December 2006. He is estimating 2.5 school years. Derek is currently going to be looking for a summer job and he will look forward to serving on Student council next school year, helping out with the student forums.

Sunshine

Why is it that sunshine is THE most wonderful thing?! I mean really, it makes everyone happier, the days are longer, there are more people outside. It is just down right stinkin amazing! It also makes the lazy people want to get up off their butts and get outside and do something. It truly is great. I have found myself walking to places that aren't even that close and just yearning to be outside after just 5 minutes in my darn little dark basement suite. Especially in Vancouver when you are surrounded by beauty such as mountains and oceans and even the view of downtown is breath taking. When the sun comes out, everything is beautiful (except maybe the pre-tanned legs and thighs that are out there). I just had to comment on the sun, because we are being very spoiled by it here up north. I mean it is getting into the 20's here (celcius that is). The best part is, is that is is only April and we still have the rest of Spring and a whole summer ahead of us. Gee...it's fantabulous!! Enjoy the sun...wherever you are.

Just call me miss manager

Well, this afternoon I finally accepted the manager position at the coffee shop. I think it will be good. Yes we will be poor, but hey, what's new? All in all, it is slightly better money than what I am making now between all my jobs so I guess that's good. The ability to pay rent with just one pay check will be amazing (I get paid bi-monthly). The dream of having a savings account is slowly fading but I guess you gotta do what you gotta do, eh? Now, if Derek could find a part-time job, life would incredible. Keep your fingers and toes crossed and pray pray pray! My new job will officially start on May 16th and in the meantime I will be training and phasing out my nanny job. I will admit that I am slightly nervous just because there will be a lot to remember. But I think after a little bit of time, it will become second nature. We'll see. Wish me luck as I take on my next adventure!!!!