A busy week

This week seemed unusually busy. I worked on Monday and Tuesday and then on Wednesday I went to Portland with Maryanne. She took her State Licensing Test for insurance. 150 gruelling questions on the intricacies of liability, law & other fascinating insurance issues. And...she passed! Yea! Now she's "legal" to work in Al's office. As soon as she was finished we headed to California Pizza Kitchen for a celebration lunch. That night we had a family(& friends)celebration dinner.

On Thursday morning I led my Bible study for young moms. I have 10 amazing young women in my group and we study God's Word together, pray for each other and share what God is doing in our lives. Occasionally, I even get to impart some wisdom from my vast experience as a mom. I love these moms and look forward to every Thursday.

Thursday evening, our office staff, Al too, took Maryanne out for a celebration drink & dinner. Maryanne picked Red Robin as her spot so we ate onion rings and burgers and fish & chips and yummy salads. It was a fun evening.

Friday night Al and I and Maryanne & AJ went to The Roadhouse for dinner. We made it in time for Happy Hour and the 4 of us got out of there for $30. Al had a $25 gift card so we only dropped 5 bucks! Then we headed over to Jana & JJ's to see their new gas fireplace. JJ did a great job of picking it out and installing it...changes the whole appearance of the brick surround. It's gorgeous.

On Saturday, we all headed to Portland for a little shopping and then to Al's Dad's house for dinner. Al's niece Elizabeth and her 6 month old son Zak, along with Al's sister Darlene were here for a quick visit. We had a delicious meal and got up with the Central Cal leg of the DeBacker fam.

Today, we did nothing! Spent the day reading the papers & watching TV. Ahhhhhh.

Six of my ten Hearts at Home Moms


Patti, LaVerne & Maryanne at Red Robin


Al with Zak Batrum, Darlene's grandson.

JJ, Jana and Grandpa Ray.

Glady always feeds us well!

Super Bowl Sunday

Every year Al and I and the kids attend a Super Bowl party at our friends, the Warkentin's house. This year we headed out to see history made as the New England Patriots finished up their perfect season. Alas, it was not to be! Sadly the NY Giants beat the Pats in what was a really good game. But hey. Super Bowl parties are about so much more than a football game. They are about...FOOD! And we had some good eats. Enjoy the pictures

Saturday morning blogs

That's right! It is spelled "blogs". This is Al sitting here, the paper read, the emails sent, and now looking at the day. First of all you should know it is raining. So what's new?! The paper said it will be "heavy" rain. Tell me about it. I normally do not notice the rain. However, it is getting old. I want to work on my yard. I have roses to trim, places to dig, and my garden magazine says I need to fertilize some flowering plants if I want the big long lasting blooms this spring. Have you ever willingly worked outside in "heavy" rain, when your wife is inside sitting by the warm flaming gas fireplace reading? It is not a fun experience. So, what will I do. Open the back door curtains, work at the kitchen table, and wait for a thirty minute break in the clouds. Run outside, get mud all over me, get yelled at for dragging the mud around the house, and end my afternoon sitting at the kitchen table reading the paper again. So, that is why I call this the Saturday morning "blogs". Maybe I should spell it "blues"? Hope your day goes better.

A whimpy but fun snow storm

The snow finally came to Keizer last night. It snowed hard for about an hour and covered the lawn in beautiful white. Al and I stood outside and enjoyed the quiet as the flakes sparkled through the light of the streetlight. Our only concern was that AJ was 45 miles to the south at Oregon State. He started home at 8:00 and was home by 9:15 so the slow go added only about 1/2 hour to his commute. This morning, schools were cancelled because the buses couldn't get up the West Salem hills. Maryanne & I are headed to work so we'll see first hand what the driving conditions are. Family dinner tonight so I've got lots to do.

35th Anniversary

The Beautiful Arlene Schnitzer Theater

Dad & his new best friend...a cool trumpet player

Waiting for the show to start

Relaxing with coffee after a great dinner

In December of 1968 Al and I started dating. In January of 1973 we got married. Today is our 35th anniversary but we've actually been together for 40 years. If I didn't know better, I'd think we were really old.

Our celebration today was shared with my Dad. We went to Portland and saw the Oregon Symphony play an entire program of Nelson Riddle music. He was an arranger and conductor who worked with all the jazz greats so we heard some awesome music. My Dad had so much fun checking out the beautiful theater, talking with band members and taking in an excellent concert. He told us he's considering going back tomorrow night for an encore performance. We then took him to Portland City Grill for dinner. This is a gorgeous restaurant on the 30th floor of the US BankCorp Tower. Fantastic view of the city and yummy yummy food. We had a delightful time from start to finish.

Dad just called and said that he has snow on the ground at his house. Nothing in Keizer yet...bummer! We'll see what the morning brings.

Red Red Wine

I am sitting here at my kitchen table with AJ, Maryanne, and Lori. We all have red faces. We look like we are sunburned. Now, it is 22 degrees outside, our heater hasn't turned off for two days, and we are all wearing long underware, so I doubt if we are sunburned. So we had this long discussion. Why are we all red in the face? Then we looked around the table for any evidence. And there it was! Four empty glasses of red wine. How simple!! Red red wine.

So, that is our excitement for a Thursday. Oh yes, we also are waiting for the snow to start falling. Its snowing just south of us, Corvallis and Albany. So, with our red faces pressed against the window we patiently wait.

We'll let you know in our next blog the color of our faces and the amount of snow that fell.

3 Courses and a baby

Wednesdays have become a busy day for me. I don't work at the office but I manage to stay busy. In the morning, I set the table and do a shopping list for the big family dinner I do that night. I do the prep and then head out to run errands. In the early afternoon I get all the courses going and get things in the oven. Then around 3:00 I go pick up Sarah Garlinger and take her to NW Kids Club. When you live in Oregon, you need a big enclosed area to play in. Sarah and I have a great time together. After I take her home, I head home and do all the last minute prep for dinner. At 6:30, the chaos begins! The laughs and noise are amazing! Enjoy some pictures of my day.

Catching up with friends

This weekend Al and spent time with old and dear friends. On Friday night we met with John & Sandy VanDyk at one our favorite restaurants, Rudy's at the South Salem Golf Course. We had yummy food, wonderful conversation and loads of laughs. We stayed out way past our bedtime. Then on Saturday night after Bible Study, we met our very special friends, Debbie & Ben Espinoza, at Marie Calendar's. It's such a gift to have friends that have known you for years and love you unconditionally. Debbie & Ben are friends of the heart and even tho we don't see them often, when we are together it's just like old times.
Today is Championship Sunday which means we are watching football all day long. We'll hang out here for the San Diego/New England game and then we'll head over to Jim & Paula Newman's for the Green Bay/New York game. Chips & dips, beer & diet coke, good friends and good football. Can you think of a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon?

Al gets to say something

Sat. 1.19.08 Hi just wanted to get my "two cents" in. I like this blog. My wife is so creative. I am off to buy a new washer and dryer. I just walked four miles, up-loaded my ipod, and now I am learning how to write in this blog. Then a 5PM it church, 6:30 bible study and then home. That is a normal Saturday. BUT, Sunday's a comin'! Green Bay and New York. I won't be bloggin' that day!!! Go Green Bay and New England!!!

January 8, 2008

Happy New Year! Al and I rang in the new year in typical Al and Lori fashion. When the ball fell in NYC, Al was sound asleep and I was nodding off upstairs while trying to keep AJ & Maryanne's maniac dogs from shredding the house. Around 10:30 the fireworks started around the neighborhood and the dogs went nuts! So to allow Al and a friend that was staying with us to sleep undisturbed, and to keep Lucy & Ellie from eating and/or peeing on all the rugs I trapped them in the den and turned on the TV. I stayed awake till about 11:58 and slept just till 12:05. Happy happy day!

Then on Thursday while @ my nail appointment, I suddenly got sick to my stomach and proceeded to throw up. Luckily I made it to the bathroom but everyone in the place got to share my experience...thin walls...tiny shop...typically wonderful bathroom accoustics. O joy!

Even tho none of us are easily depressed, everyone here is suffering with SAD. The whether has been horrendous! Rain rain rain. Hard blowing cold rain. Ugh! My poor Southern Californian Dad hasn't left his house in days. Thanks goodness he loves TV!

Currently, I'm getting the house put back together after all the Christmas stuff came down. Things were going pretty well till I realized that I had put 2 pieces of art, a painting and a piece of pottery, away for safekepping. Unfortunately, I can't for the life of me remember where I kept it safely. I've looked under every bed, in every box in the house, behind every piece of furniture, in every box in the garage, in every cupboard and cabinet, in every drawer, on every shelf. I'm sure I'll find them as I pack for my immediate move to assisted living.

Hope the first week of 2008 has been as great for you as it has been for me.
Lori