It has been awhile since I have had time to update. Needless to say, the start of the term/internship/remodeling/work/life has been a bit overwhelming lately. I think I am finally getting a grasp on what my next month or so will be like but I am already looking forward to spring break, and even more importantly, graduating.

The remodel has experienced a few minor set backs, but we have faith that all will all be resolved. We spent a very long Saturday priming the lower cabinets and painting the bathroom. Currently, the counter tops are being tiled, and looking beautiful. I am hoping to spend some time this weekend working on painting the upper cabinets as well since when the plumbing is done (1/19) it would be GREAT to be able to start washing up some of the dishes and putting them away.





As for my internship...I realized that I haven't had a new job in almost 6 years and it is crazy to not know what I am doing again. That being said, I am having a great time. I have spent a lot of time reading literature and getting acclimated. Next week, I will start working on the communication and outreach plan as well as starting the evaluation for the EcoSafe Home class I will be working on. Last Tuesday, my hours were spent at a rally at the Oregon State Capital. I have never been to a rally before and I had a lot of fun. There was lots of energy and a bunch of politicians whom I voted for but have never seen in person.



Steve hasn't been doing a whole lot out of the ordinary. He took his First Aid, CPR class and learned how to use a defibrillator. I guess the videos were pretty graphic so he is glad he doesn't have to do it for another 2 years. He has been too busy with house stuff and Mario Cart to get much done on his cd cover but hopefully, that will be done shortly. Other than that, work as usual and getting excited about the crazy weather nationwide. We CANNOT believe how cold it is in WI.

Remodeling

Things are going to start happening pretty quick now in our kitchen. The wall guy is finishing up the mudding and priming early next week. The tile person will be starting our counter tops mid week. The plumber will be coming in a week and a half to hook up the sinks, dishwasher and toilet (so excited for the dishwasher!). Looks like we are a few weeks out still but I am finally starting to see the end of the work part...then comes the painting, washing (everything!!!) and reorganizing. Hopefully, we will be able to cook a nice dinner for Valentine's day in our new kitchen.


This is an area that is unusable with cabinets (due to where we wanted the dishwasher to go) so Pat is turning it into a little cat hiding space.


Our bathroom


Most of the cabinets are up now.

What Crazy Weather

This is by far the oddest winter weather year we have had in Portland. We had about 3 to 4 inches of rainfall last night. Our basement had a few areas of a little standing water. Steve ran around the house readjusting the downspouts and setting up cardboard to keep the rain away from the house. Around 1am, all that rain changed into a white out of snow. We woke up to beautiful blue skies and a covering of 1 to 2 inches of snow. Our basement is wet but not too bad.

The Estacada area (where Steve works) is having a bit of trouble with flooding and mudslides. There are a lot of road closures out there and for some reason, Sandy has lost all 9-11 services.

Crazy days in PDX, espeically since we are ill equipt to handle extreme weather.

Merry Christmas

We made it home safely from our first WI Christmas as a married couple. We had a great, and very busy, time while we were there. Brief highlights are the Bucks game (they won), shoveling snow, going to a graduation party for a childhood friend of Steve, watching an entire season of Weeds in one day, and Christmas in Chicago with Steve's sister, parents, brother in law and the kids. Christmas was spent eating a lot of good food and playing an incredible amount of games. Olivia and Ben love to play games, including the Disney Guessing Game which Ben wanted to play whenever we were sitting down at the table to eat. Additionally, Ben and Olivia got a Wii for Christmas, so we all got a bit of an uneven upper body workout. The flights weren't so bad... no trouble with the weather heading out but we were delayed in Denver coming home. We ended up getting home a little before 2 am. UGH! But we were grateful to get home safely without any cancellations. Plus we got to spend extra time at the Denver airport which is one of the craziest airports I have ever been too. The next afternoon we went over to the Gerlt house for a belated Christmas celebration. We exchanged gifts and ate pizza, mellow and relaxed. For Christmas, I made Margey a portfolio of all of the flowers she has done for weddings and funerals, which got a perfect reaction! It was great to be able to celebrate with both of our families and friends but we are glad to be home and look forward to the New Year.

Snowy Days

Portland has shut down recently due to a few inches of snow and ice. Steve was out of school Monday and Wednesday with a 2 hour delay on Tuesday. I have been picking up sessions here and there depending on the amount of hills the commute would involve. Overall though, Steve and I have been hunkered down in our bedroom, only venturing out to get food or be pelted by snowballs thrown by a 2 year old.




The remodel is going smoothly. We now have oak floors in our kitchen and our contractor is currently sanding them down, hoping to get one coat of the sealer on before he leaves. We still have cabinets invading our living room but what a relief it will be to have them installed when we get home from WI.


We leave Saturday afternoon to go spend Christmas in WI and Chicago. We are excited but a little nervous for weather related trouble at the airport. Hopefully, we will be out on time. I am not sure of the final plans but I do know we will be going to a Bucks game, heading up to Wautoma to see Ma and spending Christmas day with our niece and nephew in Chicago. I am hoping to have Steve's camera so we can get lots of pictures to show everyone when we get home.

Happy Holidays to Everyone!!!

Helicopter

Starting earlier this week, Lucas decided he was scared of Santa. When Margaret asked why, his response was that he says Ho Ho HO. He then began asking if Santa was there whenever the house settled or he heard a noise. Margey and I were talking and thought about how creepy it is that some man can climb down your chimney and enter your house whenever he wants to. Anyway, Lucas went to meet Santa this morning and was great. Santa entered the room and Lucas yelled HELICOPTER as Santa walked by. Later, he did a good job asking for what he wanted while sitting on Santa's lap.

Then, all the Gerlt children and their spouses went to hear my Mom's choir concert. Lucas was asking questions throughout but the best by far was "Where is Jesus? Is he at my house?" Funny kid!

Steve wrote his last song today for his next c.d. Next step is for him to draw the cover and do all the printing. Hopefully he will have a few done before Christmas so we can bring them to WI when we leave in a couple weeks. It takes a lot of work and he doesn't get any time off prior to us leaving. Time will tell.

Where did my living room go?????

Oh my goodness! The cabinets have arrived. Just to share with everyone the craziness that is our house, here are some pictures of our living room and dining room.



But the good news is that we finally have a lovely vanity counter top.

All that is left to do in our upstairs bathroom is for us to finish painting and to buy curtains. I am hoping to have this done on the 9th, right after my last final.

The next few weeks are going to be crazy with holiday events. Mom (Gerlt) is going to be singing in a Christmas concert with her church choir on Sunday, cookie exchange party on the 11th, Jason and Margey's Christmas party on the 13th, Nutcracker (girls only) on the 14th then we fly out on the 20th. When to shop????? We will manage, as we always do but no one can say the holidays don't bring a little bit of stress with them.