people, this is happening

oh how i love (and sometimes loathe) pinterest! today, i came across a pin that relates to my life list: swimming with manatees. sure, most people envision swimming with dolphins or whales--and i wouldn't oppose either of those opportunities--but i have always had a special affinity for the sea cow.

pinterest led me to this article in the new york times. apparently november - march is the season for manatees to swim up rivers in florida in search of warmer water. guess what? november - march is also the season lindsey thinks about getting the heck out of this frigid place i currently call home! fate? i think so.

hopefully i can swim with the manatees in kings bay before PETA outlaws this opportunity!

how can you not want to gaze into those little eyes?

picture via 

the progress continues (in photos)

this was our kitchen until about a month ago.
the cupboards, ceilings, and walls were multiple shades of greyish-lilac. 

the counters were a 60's style formica with gold flecks.

---

it has been a work in progress, but here are some photos of the journey our last month.

chaos, eh?

getting rid of the not-so-cool retro counter.

we used a heat gun to strip the paint off the cupboards.
i'm sure it wasn't entirely safe, but the 5 layers of paint had to go.

testing out the fit of our butcher block counter before
brandon spent a week and a half sanding, staining, and sealing it.

we painted the inside of the cupboards a sunny yellow and the outside pewter grey.

the lighting here is horrible, but we were very happy to install the counter.
brandon also reworked the center bank of cabinets and installed an outlet inside,
so we could get the microwave out of sight.

i was the fearless (yeah right!) tiler and brandon was my lovely assistant.

this best captures the color of the tile and countertop.
hopefully i can get some more photos in the daylight tomorrow.

the fruit bowl becky got us ties in so nicely with the penny tile!

i really love how it is coming together!

grey cabinets, walnut-stained butcher block counter, cobalt tiles, and blue cabinet knobs.
i love the combination!

we have a few cabinet doors and drawers to finish plus the crown molding to reinstall,
but phase I of the kitchen remodel is reaching the point
where we can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

for comparison's sake. yeah, it's getting much better!

i did it!

remember my intention for february? 

Do things without always knowing how they’ll turn out. i did it!

last night brandon, heath, and i were at our favorite local pub when i notice a man come in wearing a coat with st. charles embroidered on the chest. throughout the rest of our time in the pub i debated about approaching this guy and the woman he was with. i didn't want to be creepy, but i also just had a feeling that i should at least say hi. you know, show them some wyoming friendliness?

i swallowed my fear and decided to do something without knowing how it would turn out. after the initial, "how do we know you? oh, we don't" confusion, they were incredibly kind and got very excited to meet someone else from central oregon. we chatted for less than five minutes but i immediately felt like i had known them forever. 

they were in town because their daughter just had their first grandchild. their daughter works at the hospital i work at here in town, only she works nights in the emergency department, so i haven't met her. the woman insisted that her daughter and i would get along great and hopes we can meet. 

when i told them i was a social worker at the hospital, the husband cracked up laughing. turns out the woman is DIRECTOR of social services at st. charles! 

i still get tingly thinking about how that risky situation turned out so gloriously! i'm pretty sure i've got a good "in" should i ever apply to a social work job at st. charles. i am going to get in touch with their daughter and maybe set up a time to go out to coffee. 

isn't that small world incident refreshing? 

making it up as you go

"Take wrong turns. Talk to strangers. Open unmarked doors. And if you see a group of people in a field, go find out what they are doing. Do things without always knowing how they’ll turn out. You’re curious and smart and bored, and all you see is the choice between working hard and slacking off. There are so many adventures that you miss because you’re waiting to think of a plan. To find them, look for tiny interesting choices. And remember that you are always making up the future as you go."-Randall Munroe

i tend to be quite safe. a planner. brandon is a lot more comfortable with letting go and seeing what happens. we are good for each other in this way (among many ways). 

the photo above is not my own, but when i came across it on a photo blog i follow, i was immediately taken back to this incredible trip brandon and i went on in our first year of marriage. before the demise of the washington coast (as a result of the tourism twilight has generated) we trekked from seattle west to forks, where we met some of the saltiest people on earth before we set out on a 17-mile backpacking trip down the coast. we climbed up and down suspect ladders and ropes, from sandy beaches to the tops of ocean-side cliffs to washington rain-forests.  in the middle of march, we had 2.5 days of sunshine in the rainiest place in the US (hoh rainforest). it was glorious and unpredictable and invigorating. 

months later we read in backpacking magazine that the worst storm in the history of the area, which killed a backpacker on the exact same route we completed, occurred the night we left the trail. this has always rattled me a bit, in a "it could have been us" way. but it also points to the fact that while plans are important, they can be made in vain.

my intention for february: 

Do things without always knowing how they’ll turn out. 

life list

a great friend of mine, brenna, has this lovely list of things she wants to do before she dies. some of the items are grand and some are more everyday, but she constantly references this list and she inspired me to make a list of my own. i find myself telling brandon about the things i want to do "one day," but i don't have a place i really keep track of these things, so here goes...

life list
1. X-country ski in the Methow
2. Backpack through the Cinque Terre
3. Visit South Island of New Zealand
4. Become a transplant social worker
5. Get my LCSW
6. Learn Spanish
7. Ride a gondola in Venice
8. Get published in an academic journal
9. See the Northern Lights
10. See the Lion King on Broadway
11. See the Book of Mormon on Broadway
12. Stay in the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel
13. Stay at a ski-in/ski-out slopeside condo
14. Buy a strangers’ meal
15. Kayak in the bioluminescent bay of Fajardo, PR
16. Raft the Grand Canyon
17. Adopt a child
18. Become a mom (see previous)
19. Own fainting goats
20. Go Orca whale watching
21. Own a cabin or lake house
22. Go to Disney Land without kids
23. Go to Disney Land with kids
24. Take our children on the Polar Express train
25. Send out family Valentine's Cards (instead of Christmas cards)
26. Visit Yosemite National Park in the summer
27. Master a head stand in yoga
28. Run a 10K
29. Do a mountain bike yurt tour
30. Go sailing, preferably in the San Juan Islands
31. Train Harvey to walk on a leash
32. See a show at The Gorge
33. Go to Telluride Bluegrass Festival
34. Swim with manatees
35. Vacation in St. Lucia
36. Keep bees
37. Go on a wine tour through Napa with Sara & Kem
38. Attend a Blazer’s game with Alex
39. Live on a ranch in the Gallatin
40. Establish a scholarship fund for first-generation college students at SPU
41. Have a French Bulldog
42. Attend Sundance Film Festival
43. Attend the Ellen Degeneres show with my mom
44. Eat GF cupcakes from BabyCakes
45. Walk or bike the Pilgrimage de Santiago
46. Eat at an Alice Waters restaurant
47. Vacation in Hana, Maui, Hawaii

the remodel begins

we've been widdling away at phase 1 of our multi-phased kitchen remodel.

here are a few details:

the penny tile backsplash we ordered today!

we originally bought a very "safe" and bland tile from home depot. as we were buying it i felt uneasy, but attributed the feeling to dropping lots of money. however, once we got the tile home and displayed it in the kitchen i could not stand it. i spent a few hours online and found the penny tile above on overstock. overstreets buying on overstock? its gotta work! hopefully this risky move turns out looking amazing once it is installed!

pewter grey cabinets with walnut stained butcher block counters

built-in dining nook to come...

i'll post more pictures of the process, which are messy and show just how much work this has been, but i needed a little reminder of the goal and thought folks might like to see our "vision."

how to love the gluten-haters in your life.

via jules' GF

the biggest challenges of eating GF are getting people to 1) believe me and 2) understand what eating this way means. being home earlier this month really highlighted how challenging this can be, even though people who love me really want to do the right thing. so for those of you who know people with foods they can't eat, be it gluten, dairy, whatever, i propose the following guidelines to make the whole food interaction a bit easier for everyone.

1. never, ever say "oh, it's all in your head." (if possible, don't think that either.) i get horribly sick if i eat even a crumb of gluten. a crumb people. 

2. don't ask me to "cheat" by suggesting i try just a bite of your incredibly delicious dessert/bread/beer. i can't have it and i am already mourning that loss, so don't add guilt into the mix. and try not to get your feelings hurt if i can't eat what you so lovingly made.

3. this is not some "health kick" or "fad diet" i am trying out. unless some miracle drug comes out, and maybe not even then, i will be eating GF for the rest of my life.

4. going to restaurants is tricky business. please try to be mindful. i know we all get a little hangry and it can be hard to be considerate of other people's food needs when you just-need-to-eat-right-now, but i likely have the same uncomfortably grumbling hungry stomach and i have to comb through the menu quickly to determine if there is anything i can safely ingest. if i get the nerve to speak up and say i don't think i can eat at a specific place, please don't make me feel like a kill-joy for asking us to try elsewhere. i want to enjoy your company over a nice meal, not ruin both of our nights by eating something that is going to take me out of commission for the next 24 hours.

5. i apologize in advance if i "go elsewhere" mentally when we are first handed our menus while eating out. i also apologize for pulling out my phone at the table to consult the interwebs for tips on what to order at said restaurant. and i apologize if i embarrass you by imposing an all-out inquisition on the waitstaff about the possibility of cross-contamination of their mayonnaise. i promise i will resume normal activity once i can rest assured that i won't get glutened.

6. save packages so i can check the ingredient list. there are a lot of things that are actually glutenous that may seem innocuous to the untrained eye, but i have been diligently honing my GF-detection system.

7. if you can, make the GF things first. for instance, if you are whipping up a bunch of sandwiches for a group, get out all of the ingredients and make the GF version first so you don't have to wash your hands in between. set the completed GF sandwich aside and then launch into making the others. 

8. if you are eating something around me that i can't have, please don't try to play down how much you are enjoying it. i don't want or need people to deny themselves in order for me to be ok. i enjoy my food; please don't hesitate to do the same around me. 

this list isn't to point fingers or suggest that anyone has done anything wrong, it is just a working list of things that can make loving people who can't eat gluten a little easier. 

---

on a side note, since eating GF, i have seen substantial improvements in my coordination. for instance, my reflex time has improved demonstrably and i can now actually catch things. this may seem asinine, but this small change has vastly improved my life. whenever i catch something brandon tosses to me or quickly react to a collapsing pile of laundry, i yell out "gluten free forever!" (which is part of why i loved the poster above, from galloway's).

this one time...

...we moved our chicken coop. remember that sweet chicken coop we built earlier this year? yeah, we decided it was in the wrong place. whah whah. 

once i mindlessly uttered the words "wouldn't it be nice if the chicken coop was over there?" it was a project that could not be averted. luckily i have a husband that takes those mindless utterances of mine and makes them into a reality.

between the garden and the chicken coop, all we had left for a yard was a thin strip of grass, so we opted to move the coop to open it up a bit. once we started the move we had to finish the move THAT day, since the chicks had to have somewhere to sleep that night.

brandon literally scratching his head about how we were going to make this work.

foundation laid, ready to rock and roll.

the critical tool brandon had to buy for this project was a hand winch.
and it was the best $14 we ever spent! 

no chickens were harmed in this move (surprisingly). 

we had the coop jacked up for the move, forgetting that the chickens would need to lay their eggs. being creatures of habit they ignored our pleas to stay out of the coop and crawled right in, laying their eggs while we hoisted the coop along.

frankie screeched at me most of the day for disrupting her home.

almost there.

i'm fairly certain the chicks thought we dug this trench just so they could clamber in and out all day. the tasty worms they found at the bottom of the trench only served to reinforce that notion.

the post-disaster aftermath. 

this picture makes me think of families searching through the ruins after a tornado. 

the coop all settled into the new corner.
the other motivation for this project was to allow brandon to tear out his
least favorite plant on the property: this lillac that was in the center of our yard.
he battled this bush from the day we moved in.
in fact, he has an incredibly gnarly scar. from a lilac. he is so hardcore.

although we only moved this 10' long building 12' to the east, it was a bit of an ordeal. on the plus side, it was completely worth it! i can't wait for spring to roll around so we can make something of our open, expansive backyard.

storytelling

october and november were grueling months for me. basically, i did not leave work prior to 6:00PM for two whole months. add to that a lot of travel time and the encroaching darkness of these shortened days and you have one "crabby patty," as we say in our family.

on the upside, i got to see my godson and his glorious family, my lovely friend tiffany, the lincoln memorial, and one of the smithsonian's. those highlights were fantastic, but overall i've felt pretty dark.

one of the pieces that has been missing from my life is a good book. (to those of you that don't read voraciously i can imagine that last sentence sounds like a pathetically lame complaint, but i know the readers out there can relate.) i need another world to delve into each night--a story to get lost in--otherwise i find myself bumbling and fumbling through the real world with a nasty attitude. i've begun reading an anne lamott work of fiction and that has bouyed me, but it isn't fantastic. (btw, any suggestions for a fabulous work of fiction that is not mythology or fantasy?)

i've been dwelling a lot on the idea of stories. i think part of why i came into social work is that i enjoy hearing people's stories. when i meet couples i want to learn how they came to be. i love hearing birthing stories (although they do scare me a wee bit sometimes). when i work with people at the hospital it is natural for me to find out far more about their life in a matter of minutes than other care providers find out in weeks of taking care of them. when i think of people i treasure in my life part of the thing i admire most about each of them is the way they tell stories and see connections. 

brandon and i recently discovered a major difference between us: i can't listen to music without listening to lyrics and dwelling on these stories; he has to be quite intentional about hearing the words because generally he finds music to just be about the sounds. in other words, he sees the vast forrest while i see the detailed bark on the trees. i think this is why music has never been soothing to me when i am in a dark place. a lot of music is melancholy storytelling and i get drawn in; i can't not hear the stories, as much as i try. so in the past few months of stress and chaos i have come to discover that music can sooth me--provided i have no clue what the words are. my solution: hawaiian music. my hawaiian radio pandora station has seen a lot of play time lately. 

so there is this strange push and pull: i need a good story at the end of the day, in fact i love stories, but i can't always handle hearing them because of my intense investment.

these are just some random thoughts rolling around in my head, but i thought i would share my small solution in hopes of it helping someone else. mahalo and aloha...

brandon is a YouTube star!

i think most folks know that brandon spent a couple of weeks in greenland this summer with a huge research project coming out of ucla. he was actually there during the biggest recorded melt in written history, so that was a big deal.

he was rubbing elbows with people from NASA (even people who had to skedaddle back from greenland in time for the mars rover launch because they were operating equipment on the rover!)  and riding in helicopters. it is strange to conceptualize this huge event in brandon's life and to not have any relatable experiences. i guess i have gotten incredibly used to doing things together.

anyhow, recently ucla got a video out about their work there. it is a bit propaganda ish and i cringe at the statement made at 1:40 on the video because, from the sound of things, it was far from that simplistic. never-the-less, this gives a sense of the work brandon was doing and the incredible scenery he saw.


you see a good shot of brandon launching the drone boat at about 1:28.

golly, isn't he swell?!?