The Work Weekend...

Dad and I went up to Camp Namanu this past Saturday. It was the Spring work weekend - and we had a lot of fun. Geoff had one final request before he left for his mission: please burn my old work clothes.

Working at Haggen, Geoff had to wear a white shirt and tie and black slacks every day. And he didn't invest a lot in those shirts, because they got so gross and dirty during each shift. Once he had finally quit his job he put all of the clothes in a pile - and hoped that one day a large fire would appear that would allow for the proper retirement of the items.

It's as if you were burning them yourself, isn't it?

Spring: I honor thee

In a bizarre twist of meteorology we've had a 66 degree day here in Portland. It has been glorious. And to honor the warm and the sun and Springness I did the following:

I wore a short sleeved shirt and no jacket

I had a personal picnic in the Park Blocks at PSU, sitting at an outdoor table and being amazed/scared by the street corner preacher who was arguing more than preaching

I had a venti Tangerine frappuccino. If you haven't had one, you should...right now. It means Spring is here!! (FACT: they sell tangerine frappuccino's all year round)

I went out of my way to share the sunshine in my soul with those around me

I sat and listened to the lawn mower symphony in my neighborhood.

Folks it's a good day. Tomorrow will bring more rain and that can be a good day too. But you could really tell that today was a good day!

I'm down to a week and a half of this winter quarter - so crazy to think that it was just Christmas...it WAS just Christmas, right?

Now it's time to start getting a Spring wardrobe together...

Fastest week ever...

It's crazy to think that a week ago we were flying to Utah and now we're back and I've got a cold. YEAH! If you want to stay caught up with Elder Taylor, go to his mission blog

Not a lot of news or anything really going on here in Beaverton. The Oscars were fine - more fun because Eric was over at the house watching them with us. We're finally getting back into a routine. Being sick doesn't bode well for a normal week - especially because I've called in sick today!

I'm sad because Studio 60 is on a very sketchy hiatus which looks like the show's been sent to a farm where it can play with other shows just like it. I am way behind in my TV watching and with all my school reading - don't think I'll be caught up any time soon.

It's been snowing here today - but still to wet and just warm enough for it not to stick. I'm going to have to venture to the store for a keg of orange juice.

It's a done deal!

Oh - I cannot tell you how relieved I am to be at this end of the day! So much worry about so many things - and now we're all done and the relief is amazing!! We had such a great experience dropping Geoff off at the MTC today. We got to the MTC about a half an hour early and got to enjoy their well oiled machine. The great parking guys helped with getting the bags unloaded and then into the lobby, to get the meal card and have Mom put his name tag on for the first time. (Someone should have warned us about THAT!!)Actually, this is loading the luggage from at the hotel...

Getting an explanation about how the meal ticket works and wearing the orange dot...

The sister with the seam rippers - opening the pockets of hundreds of new suits

He's official now!!

After a few final pictures, we walked down the hall and found our assembly room and sat and waited. Man, does the MTC crowd love their LDS "Isn't it about time" commercials, which is what they show while you wait. Then the meeting began with one of the fastest renditions of "Called to Serve" I've ever heard. It would have been great if I could have sung - but the tears were too much! Ah well. After the Mission President and his wife spoke, they showed us the "Called to Serve" video, which is 20 years old, but still a tear jerker. Then a prayer was said, and we said our final good-byes. Tears were shed, but we were not sad or wishing we could take him home with us. He's where he's supposed to be and is going to be awesome.

Of course we're still worried that he is eating well and sleeping well and that he's got a good companion and...and....and...but we're good. And I'm sure he's good too.

This is it...

The morning has arrived - and we're in Provo...we've had breakfast and are slowly getting ready for the day. Taking our boy to the MTC today will be quite a challenging experience. Our travel thus far has been great. 1:00 p.m. is the final moment...and then...that's all she wrote!

Pack it up, move it out!

We are just about there. The farewell is done. The open house is done. We've washed one gazillion white shirts. Good-byes and well wishes have poured into our home. Monday is the day of last minute shopping and then at 9:00 p.m. he will be officially set apart. (Which means we won't be able to watch Studio 60 until we get home from Utah.)

We love our boy and are so excited for this next adventure for him and for us! It's hard to think that at 3:00 a.m. he won't be up playing golf video games or coming home late from work. Wednesday will be rough - but we know how great these next two years will be.

How's the serenity?

I've seen a lot of graphic design and a lot of really cool websites...but my new favorite is Jonathan Yuen's. Wow. The music is serene and his graphic narrative is short and elegant. I would love to steal a picture from his site to display here, but it's all part of the effect on his site, so go...go there now!

A new love for Valentine's Day

My newest love is StumbleUpon. This cool program adds a button to your browser tool bar and based on your preferences will find great websites they think they'll enjoy. This button brings a whole new level to killing time surfing the Interweb. I love finding new websites - things I never would have searched for.

Now of course adding the StumbleUpon button to my toolbar meant getting a new tool bar. I am also SO in love with Firefox because it actually works with Blogger like nobody's business. I am so grateful for Design Mom who so willingly shared her tech savvy with her faithful readers. I don't think I would have had the courage to update my computer on my own without her tech guide. Yes, you should totally get them.

Costello, the reflexologist

This morning I went to my friend Carene's foot reflexologist, Costello. We've heard a lot about Costello over the past few years, but it's always seemed like voo-d00 witchdoctory and so we've always just listened and that was the end of it. But at my dad's birthday party last week, we were talking about different physical problems and things, and I decided to make an appointment with Costello.


Some things you should know about Costello:
- he is from Romania
- he sounds like he is after moose and squirrel
- he lives on Sundew Drive
- he can rub and hold your feet and tell you all kinds of amazing things about your body

I got to his house and was put into his anti-gravity chair and he started working on my feet. He worked on all kinds of points and pushed more blood through all the systems of my body. He worked on my feet for almost two hours and it wasn't any kind of foot massage. I was very impressed and it was not any kind of voo-doo. He is very logical and explained that every problem in our bodies is just an imbalance and a problem with a blockage in some part of a bodily system. It was awesome. And my back doesn't hurt anymore. YEAH!

The Not-Farewell Farewell...

This weekend some of our dear family came and visited to attend the Sacrament meeting where Geoffrey would speak for the final time before his mission.

My Grandma and Grandpa Siple. Aunt Connie and Uncle Don Berg, and Brent and MaryKate Berg arrived on Saturday and we stopped at Lloyd Center to visit Dad and play a little "jewelry store." Then we trekked home and had a nice lunch and spent the rest of the evening visiting and eating and visiting and snacking. Eventually the out-of-towners headed over to the Marriott Courtyard for the night.

That evening, back at our house, there was some pretty intense discussion (while I was trying to watch a DVD and/or sleep). For details of that discussion talk with Geoff and Mark. All's I'll say here is that it was a powerful and life-changing experience. I was also very grumpy that they had to keep talking SO LOUD from 10pm to at least 12:30am. I was grumpy.

The next morning we all had a wonderful breakfast of pancakes and bacon and Lil' Smokies and cinnamon rolls and chocolate dipped strawberries (a gift from our visiting teacher!). Stuffed beyond reason we lounged until our family photo shoot. Here are a few highlights:







Then on to church - we had quite a crowd of just our own family and then plenty of other folks who came from other wards. The rest hymn was provided by my senior Primary kids who sang an arrangement of "I Hope They Call Me on a Mission" and "Army of Helaman" written and performed by Eric D. Snider. The kids sang great and Eric played beautifully. After that number, Geoff began his talk and it was wonderful...but again - for details you'll have to talk to someone who was there. But I will say this: Geoffrey is going to be a wonderful missionary.

We're now down to being a week away from the MTC...

Sweet Little Buttercup...

Oh Valentine's Day...hooray!

This was the ad placed in the Portland Mercury by my valentine...

♥ Boobs; mother-in-law Dear Judy: Our fake marriage was the greatest 6 months of my life! Bottoms up! Love, Jackie

Has anyone been more wooed?

End of the month...

It's so bizzare to think that January of 2007 is over. Didn't we just ring in this new year? These last two weeks have been crazy busy full of school, appointments, special classes, and missionary prep business. To make sure I'm getting all my stuff done I have made agenda/itineraries for each day. It certainly is OCD but it's getting the job done. It's been such a busy time I'm way behind on spending quality time with my TiVo...sad.
I think today is devoloping into a much more me-day than I'd intended...I'm getting a haircut and only going to one class today - and only spending an hour doing research for the Dean's office. Yee-haw! AWSHUM!!

A crazy awsome dream...

This morning I had a dream about going to a restaurant with a couple of friends. In my dream I was at a really lovely restaurant but couldn't find the rest of my party. I did see that some guy from high school was working there - which would only be funny to people I went to high school with - and then I discovered the bar upstairs. The bar had a special arrangement with Ikea. You paid a flat rate for the meal - and you sat on beds from Ikea - and each "booth" was decorated with Ikea awesomeness...and when you were done - you took the whole setup home with you!! The furniture stayed - but then all the accessories and decorating items were yours. But I realized it really was a dream when the flat rate was $35.00. Sweet Dreams!!

Quiet in the library

First I want to say that I fully support the quiet in the library policy - always have. But where did it come from? Was it the monks who were too chatty when writing out the texts and so a vow of silence reaches across time so that librarians spend their time "keeping it down" all over the library? Seriously. And who doesn't understand (when there are signs everywhere) that a quiet floor means we should only hear the pages turning and notes being taken and to turn off the freaking cell phone - and for the love of all that is holy - don't answer it and talk!!! It's like lighting up under a no smoking sign...seriously.I like being quiet in the library. Because then it means I can get all huffy and sideways glancey when dumb girls answer their phones on the quiet floor. It's hard to read Therese Raquin when you'd be happy to murder the frat boy on his phone behind you. Art imitates life, yes? YES.

What a great night!

(no this isn't us!)
Dinner with the fam - and then hot tubbing in the snow!! How better to relax after a snow day than in the hot tub? There is no better way. I did have to run in the house, losing a shoe in the snow...and THAT friends was cold.

Oh...and they've cancelled school tomorrow, too! YEAH!

Snowed in...

Hip-hip-hooray! We are snowed in here in Portland. Schools are closed, roads are treacherous, and I'm in my bed (heated mattress pad ON) reading and watching TV.

The first week of school was so busy and action packed, that I'm really glad the three-day-weekend turned into a four-day-weekend!! Classes are good and my assistantships are fun so far. Last week I started two new jobs and some new classes, went to a fun game night, saw a not-so-great production of The Heidi Chronicles, gave a talk in church and tried to use Maori sticks in Primary. But now we're into a low key week that will be short and sweet.

Back in class!

Yesterday I went back to actually sitting in classes. I am getting so much more done now that there is so much more to be done. It's amazing how busy people get so much more done in the day. I'm a writing assistant for a class that I took last year. I'm also a research assistant, hunting down really old alumni for the College of Fine and Performing Arts. It's a pretty great gig - except for my boss. I'll call her the Fish.
The Fish is only about 4 months old in her fundraising job with the college. And she is so not technically savvy AT ALL. But because she's a schmalzy fundraiser, she makes it sound like she invented Google, all by her lonesome. And the great part of this project is that so much of it is computer based. So, yeah. Every other person in the office is super nice and super helpful...but the Fish kind of makes me want to grab her ear and twist.

In totally other news, I started my aquatic aerobics classes last night. This morning, my shallow water class has left my upper arms just sore enough to remember how bad they hurt at the time. That Keith (this morning's instructor) is quite a motivator, since I would never work that hard on my own...for reals
School is real good. I had forgotten how much I love routine and schedules. And that I'm a mess.

Jury Duty

This morning I reported to the Washington County Courthouse for my first ever jury duty. While I was a little bugged, it was a very exciting process, mostly. I arrived a little after 8:00a.m., which is when the courthouse opens. And they have the most rinky dink security operation going on there. I stood out in the 34 degree morning for 25 minutes waiting for my turn through the metal detector. That was not awesome.

But once past the Wonder Team Security Force I was down to join the rest of the jury pool. I really was surprised that so many people were there, but it quickly clears out as the cases are being heard. I was called in the first group - for a harassment case. The judge was very explanatory and kind of funny. The tooly lawyers asked some questions, and one of the first six jurors was dismissed and then the jury was final. Which meant that I was excused to go back to the waiting room and, well, wait to be called to another case. After another hour, I was dismissed for the day!! I left the courthouse about 11:30 a.m.

I had taken plenty of books and my laptop to keep me busy while I waited - which was good because I got caught up on my e-mail and stuff. Some dopes hadn't even brought a book with them - but there were lots of puzzles in the juror waiting room, so whew!!

I really was disappointed to not be called to serve on a jury. You'd better know that I'm going to follow up on the case I almost served on!! Gavel, gavel!

For future reference...

I was just wondering about sweetmeats - and what they were. Here is what I've found.

The most traditional sweetmeats are Turkish Delight, taffy, toffee, tablet, and candies made with marzipan. Anything with sugar helping to preserve could technically be considered sweetmeats. A sweetmeat would not have chocolate.

So there you go.

Sweet Meats...

2006 was a roller coaster year. I am excited for 2007, knowing that it will bring much change and new adventures. I've really enjoyed ringing in the new year at the Malleys, one final vacation before jumping back into a full school and work routine. This year is going to be rockin'!

Working on a new look...

2007 is a step-it-up year...and I'm very excited about it! Starting with these:


Picture from Crystal Shades

And a few of these

Just in case it gets cold...

Need some of these trousers

These tops...

You'd better not pout...

What a wonderful Christmas this has been. We had our traditional Christmas Eve Nachos and opened gifts. Geoff and Dad were exhausted from working all day. Mom and I were exhausted from working all day. We were in bed by midnight with visions of sugar stuff...and stuff... This morning we went renegade caroling which involves speeding from house to house and singing and practically throwing our gift at the recipients. Super fun!! At our last stop we were invited to stay for a breakfast buffet. Now we are home and enjoying the restfulness...and togetherness. Merry Christmas to ALL!
The family before we open our gifts
Mom getting more gear to support her "boy," Peyton Manning
Perhaps you've seen the Little Giant Ladder System?
Geoff was the stealthy elf getting Mom a new TV for her room
And now he's worn out from all his holiday stealthing!
Mom's beautiful new ring...WOW!!
A "caroling" stop at the Maxwell's. Who is already dressed at 8:30 a.m.?!
A stop at the Boland's house. Hopefully they hear from their Peru missionary this afternoon!
The Grahams were waiting for us...scary, right?!
Speeding through the streets of Beaverton, squeeling tires and everything!
The Boersmas were so great to host an amazing and festive breakfast
Dad and Don Nelson have a handy trick for dealing with their pant legs that are a little long.