Are You Still Contagious?

Thursday morning, I noticed that G had a series of red scabby bumps on his left shin.

"What happened?" I exclaimed.

"I don't know," said G. "I think I got bit by some bugs when I was chasing Tater through the bushes at the park the other day."

"Weird," I shrugged. He put some hydrocortizone cream on his leg and went to work.

That night when we got home and he was changing into shorts and a T-shirt, he noticed that the bumps had spread to another spot. Now they were also showing up behind his right knee. This seemed odd to both of us so we dropped everything and when to Willamette Falls Immediate Care where we waited for two and a half hours for them to tell G to use bactine and hydrocortizone creams.

"Will that treat poison oak if that's what I have?" G asked.

"Uh, sure," the Doctor shrugged.

So we went home and he reapplied the hydrocortisone and added some Bactine to the mix and we went to bed in separate places, just in case whatever he has was contagious. The next morning we noticed that the existing spots looked just as irritated as before and that they had multiplied to new areas during the night. Puzzled, he reapplied the creams and we went to work.

During the day, we both did our own research and came to the same conclusion. G probably got into some poison oak or poison ivy. Confident in our self diagnosis, we went to REI for some relief. We collected one of every kind of poison oak/ivy soap and cream they had available. Then we went home and washed the dogs and all the laundry and G. He applied a poison oak/ivy specific gel and headed out to dinner. This morning some of his rash seems to be healing and other parts seem to be spreading so we're not sure what our next step should be. For now we'll try to keep him covered up and cool so it doesn't spread anymore. Whatever we do, I hope it keeps me from getting it!

First Sobriety Test

We've been having issues with the tail lights on our Jetta for quite some time now. They randomly go out for no reason. G will jiggle the wires back there and they'll usually come back on. However, it usually requires someone telling us that it's out and the last couple of times it's been the West Linn Police who have informed us.

Last night was our second experience with this. I happened to be driving. We had gone to sushi in Tualatin and then went across the street for cocktails at Hayden's Lakefront Grill. They happened to have some really great live music in the bar so we stayed and ordered a couple specialty cocktails. G had a couple of the cucumber martinis with cilantro, cucumbers and Rogue's Spruce Gin. (He ordered the second one with less cucumber for some reason.) I had the Pear Cosmopolitan with pear brandy, melon liqueur and white grape juice. It was delicious but strong so i just sipped it while we chatted and listened to the music for about an hour and a half.

On the way home, I slowed down to look at another restaurant we've been talking about visiting and that's when I noticed that there was a car on my back bumper. I started to resume the speed limit and that's when the blue lights began to flash. I was so nervous, I shifted into reverse when I brought the car to a stop. (Did I mention that our tags had expired? Fortunately G had gone to DEQ the day before to renew the registration, but the tags were still in the glove compartment.)

I handed over my license, registration and insurance information and that's when he asked me how much I'd had to drink. I told him I'd had one martini. He then asked how much G had guzzled. G mentioned that he'd had two martinis at home and then two more at the bar. That's when the police officer asked me to step out of the car so he could talk to me away from Gabe to see if I was really the one who reeked of alcohol. Next he asked me if he could check my eyes since I said I'd been drinking. I agreed.

This was the weirdest test ever. It was like being at the eye doctor, but I was standing out on the street. with this cop and the backup he had called in with my knees knocking together. So for a couple of minutes he proceeded to move his laser light back and forth and up and down while getting really close and staring into my eyes while I tried to follow it without moving my head. At one point I got so distracted by his face being so close to mine, I couldn't help but take my eyes off the light.

He let me go with a warning. It took me at least 10 minutes to stop the violent shaking that ensued after he let me go. Let me tell you, it's not easy to drive in that condition.

Now we're trying to decide if we should by a new car or just get the Jetta's electrical problem fixed. We can't afford to keep getting pulled over for the disappearing tail light. Eventually it's going to cost us.

Helvetia Half Marathon

I finished my first half marathon (13.1 miles) on Saturday, June 9 in 2 hours and 17 minutes and 8 seconds, which translates into 10:28 a mile. While I'm no Speedy Gonzalez, that pace was 1 minute per mile less than I normally run so I was pleased with that. (I hope to have a picture soon.) The PDX marathon is coming up on Sunday, Oct 7. Thanks to Portland Fit and their training program I should be ready!

New Laminate Flooring

Sheesh! It's been a long time since I've posted anything. I'm sure there have been lots of first between now and then, but here's a big one: we just tore out the carpet in our condo and put in laminate flooring.

The first two rows were the learning curve, but once we got it down it went pretty quickly. We're not quite done yet, but the main part of the room is. Next, we need to get some molding to go around the base of the walls.




Once we're done with the living room we're on to the bathroom. Due to some dripping under the bathroom sink, it smells kinda funny in there. Plus we want to replace the flooring in there with slate tile and Gabe wants to put in a new cabinet, sink and mirror. I also vote for some shelving and a new toilet seat!

Tater's First Birthday

We had a party for Tater's first birthday today at Lexi Dog Boutique on Macadam.

Some 0f his closest friends showed up to help us celebrate!

They went bobbing for hot dogs.

And Bailey busted open the Snowman pinata so that everyone could eat the treats inside.

Later they went hunting for pupcakes and played some more. Thanks to everyone who came and helped us have a great day! Hope your doggies are as tired out as ours are :)

Christmas Spirit for a First Timer

G is not really into Christmas trees, but I think it may be the most magical part of the holiday. There is something truly special about going to the lot on Wankers Corner and picking out the "one", cutting it down yourself, stuffing it into your car, taking it home, and getting it to stand up straight. G let me do it all myself this year.

I also love adding the twinkly lights, especially white ones because I think the add such warmth at this cold and dark time of the year. (Ugh! I hate the cold and the dark. So I really look forward to all the holiday decorations that brighten up the world for a few weeks.)

But my most favorite part is pulling out the box of ornaments from the garage, opening it up and unwrapping each one individually letting my memory take me back to the story behind each one. There's Jack from Cinderella, with his little whiskers and orange jacket, which I got from a McDonald's Happy Meal. I had really wanted Gus. Then there's the gold and red candy cane with my name engrave in it that my mom got for me in 5th grade. That was the beginning of the traditional annual ornament. I even still have the tea pot that says "Friendship is a special gift" that I got from Evie in 6th grade. There's Gabe's blown glass icicles that he insisted on buying a couple of years ago. But the one that really gets to me is the ceramic totem pole of teddy bears that my dad and mom carried with them to Paris in 1999. Each one marks a special stage in my life and it's fun to remember them and all the people who touched those steps along the way.

I Set it Up and I Made it Secure!

I acutally set up my wireless router last night! By myself. And that's not all! I even made it secure. Using WEP keys. The router didn't come with directions to do this, or at least I couldn't find them so I did a google search and got the instructions off the internet. I had to modify them a little bit to make it work for me, but I got it to work. Yahoo!

Wireless Router

I purchased my first wireless router yesterday! I'm becoming so high tech! It was a bit intimidating. Who knew there were so many kinds, but the guy at Radio Shack said it would work and my friend Johnny said that it was a good brand so we'll see. I have to hook it up now so I can use it at home.

Next, we want to get rid of our old desktop computer, but that requires saving all of our files to CD. A daunting task. I'd better get started!

It's Been Months

Most of you have probably given up on me. I'm sorry. I just got a new laptop with wireless and I can now blog from anywhere, so I'm back!

HTML Class

I started an online HTML class through PCC last week. Today we wrote our second simple web page using Notepad and HTML.

I never would have thought I'd be doing this! It's intimidating, but most of the stuff we've talked about so far I'm pretty comfortable with. I'm so used to being able to see what my creations look like as I make them, but this is so much different. You can try to imagine what the web page will look like as you type simple black code on a white screen, but it's hard for me to do right now. I find myself getting antsy, waiting to test my page in the browser window to see how the combinations work together.

Complaining Is the Best Conversation Starter

Have you ever gotten together with your girlfriends for a cocktail or a pedicure and before you know it you're all "venting." I find myself leaving these situations more depleted than when I went in and wondering "Am I really so pessimistic that I can only talk to her about the bad things?" Apparently I'm not alone.

According to Robin Kowalski, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at Clemson University, in a recent article on MSN.com "We use complaints as icebreakers. We start a conversation with a negative observation because we know that will get us a bigger response than saying something positive would." The article goes on to say that women use complaining "in a ritualistical way, as a means of bonding."

As such it seems that constructive complaining is an essential life skill. Some rules for performing the ritual properly:

1) Be up-front about your need to complain (rather than try to pretend you're just having a regular conversation)
2) Limit your kvetch time
3) Don't act as though your gripes trump everyone else's
4) Select an appropriate listener

The article goes on to say, "Bad complainers are annoying at best, depressing at worst. They spread negativity and give griping a bad name. But if you really need to complain, go ahead. Because for most of us, behind the grousing is a basic human need: We're looking for connection."

Overweight Babies? I thought that was a good thing.

According to a recent article on MSN.com the number of overweight babies has increase 74% since 1980. I was always told that being a chubby baby was a good thing and had no bearing on how much you would weigh as an adult. According to the article, it may actually lead to obesity in the future and all the related health problems. Yikes!

Mommy Wow! I'm a Big Kid Now...

I learned how to do something technical by myself. What I mean by that is I didn't ask our help desk coordinator or our IT department. I did my own Google search and successfully found my own solution.

The problem: I wanted Photoshop CS2 to be my default photo viewer, because usually when I veiw a photo I also want to edit it. However, I had some other viewer opening all my images on both my home and work computers. Not any more!

Yay for me!

I Can't Believe It's Been a Month

Summer time is soooooo busy, isn't it? Work is busy. Evenings are busy. Weekends are busy. I've been so busy, I've forgotten to read blogs let alone write my own.

Most of you know we just got back from a whirlwind trip to NYC a couple weeks ago. We had a good time. Saw a lot of the classics. (Pictures to follow.) I could shake the thought that I was supposed to be so excited and yet it was really just another city with another china town and another park and another metro system. Didn't really seem like the same thing I've seen in the movies. However, I did call my Mom as we stood outside Macy's on 34th street and Broadway. (I'm named after Natalie Wood who was the little girl in my mom's favorite movie Miracle on 34th Street.) And Times Square was pretty impressive. I got dizzy trying to look at everything.

Thanks again Paige and Ben for watching the doggies. We all appreciate it.

More About Love: A "New" Approach

I'm always interested in new theories that claim to create stronger healthier romantic relationships when implemented, so I was immediately drawn to this article on MSN.com. The basic premise is "The old paradigm is 'Oh, look at our conflicts and what we’re disagreeing about.' With Big Picture Partnering, there’s a totally different mindset: 'We’re in this together. What are we going to do about this?'"

More Proof That The Middle Class Is Disappearing

InmanNews published this article saying essentially that the middle class is on it's way out. In summation the article said, "'Suburban middle-income neighborhoods were replaced in roughly equal measure by low-income and very high-income neighborhoods,' the report states. In each of these 12 large metro areas, the share of middle-income neighborhoods shrank faster than the share of middle-income families from 1970 to 2000." Personally, I find this terrifying every time I read it.

Religious Right Republicans Ruining Faith

Finally, someone from the religious world is saying it, "this Religious Right Republican movement I keep hearing about is not very Christian." Without further ado, I introduce the article from NPR.

Suburbia Linked to Obesity

News flash: "Urban sprawl is a major health risk for Oregonians," according to the Daily Journal of Commerce (Portland, OR). People who live in wide spread suburbs are more likely to be overweight and get in car accidents than people who live in compact communities. While this may be simple "common sense" as C says, I think it's about time someone said it outloud. We need exercise. Obesity kills 1500 people in Oregon each year.

I've often marveled at all the traffic that commutes too and from Portland each day. I admit it. I commute 40 minutes one way each day by Max. However, this requires walking to and from my stops and often standing, which I feel is a little bit better for me. I've been wearing a pedometer off and on for a few months now and I find that days that I ride the Max to and from work I easily add 2,000 to my daily total.

If only we could all live in "walkable communities." That's one thing G and I miss from good old Forest Grove, walking everywhere. We used to walk to the bar, walk to school, walk to work, walk to the Laundromat. I weighed 30lbs less then. Go figure.

Doggies at Work

Tomorrow is Take Your Dog to Work Day sponsored by Pet Sitters International. Unfortunately, I won't be able to bring either Tater or Bailey because the company that manages our office building won't allow it.

However, a recent article in The Daily Journal of Commerce (Portland, OR) says more and more companies are going pet-friendly. According to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, the article said, "millions of Americans believe pets on the job lower absenteeism and encourage workers to get along."

Further, many companies are finding that having a pet friendly corporation can be a big bargaining chip in a competitive job market. It referenced a survey Simply Hired and Dogster.com which stated that "a third of dog-owners would take a 5 percent pay cut to take their pets to work, two-thirds would work longer hours and half would switch jobs."

Sunshine

G started his new job on Monday, which means he is now an office monkey like me and he works 8am to 5pm like the rest of us yahoos! Who ever thought normal would be so exciting?

I have to tell you, waking up with him in the morning and having him home when I get home is absolutely the best thing that's happened to me in a while.

I wanted to be a stronger more independent woman who didn't need a man, not even my husband to make me happy, but having him around is like a sunny day after the long rainy winter here in Oregon. And you know what? I'm ok with my new found co-dependency.