Please won't you meet Mr. Speckles :)

After 5 years of a catless household, we are pleased to introduce our first foster, Mr. Speckles!

He's a handsome, 2 year old domestic shorthair, who is white with brown tabby speckles (they're really more just like big circles, but we didn't name him!).  He was surrendered to OHS in January, then got adopted and returned because of a severe inner ear infection.  Along with the ear infection he caught a kitty cold, and the combination had him feeling pretty crappy.  He wasn't eating, had lost a lot of weight and was on a ton of meds (5 to be exact).  His adoptive mom

didn't feel that she could give him the proper care that he needed, so she surrendered him to us (me) and when his treatment is complete and he's doing better she will be redeeming him.  Bottom line: Even if I wanted to adopt him I can't!  Perfect 1st foster!

He transitioned to the new home environment pretty quickly, and he actually fits in very well right now.  He wouldn't eat at all at first and I was giving him subcutaneous fluids as needed, but after some TLC and a prescription for diazepam he's eating really well!

Marathon Training ~ May 30th 2015

It's Official! I'm signed up for my first FULL Marathon on the Oregon coast in Newport. I'm super excited and a little bit nervous :)  A coworker signed herself up a few weeks ago, but recently injured herself and won't be able to participate.  She wanted me to buy her entry but I wasn't so sure I was ready to commit.  By the time I psyched myself up for it we discovered that the race doesn't allow refunds or transfers, so I just registered on my own!  I'm doing the Shamrock Run Half next month on the 16th, and then my best friends and I are running the Rock n' Roll Half on 5/17.  Both races are perfect training for the big 26.2!  Since we just moved to St. Johns it's been fun to run new routes.  Cam and I did a test run (not literally) earlier in the week and discovered that from our house it's 1 mile to the St. Johns bridge, and once you get to the other side a staircase leads to a half mile steep trail to Forest Park.  This will be perfect for my long runs because I hate getting in my car to drive to go run somewhere.  I found Kara Gouchers "Worlds Simples Marathon Training" which is on schedule for the race in May. We'll be spending the night on the coast Friday night, and the race is at 7am on Saturday. Stay Tuned!!

"Starting in Yaquina Bay State Park at the historic "haunted" lighthouse, runners will head north along the ocean through some of Newport's picturesque neighborhoods. This loop through the city is primarily residential with a few short gentle hills and turns at street corners. Heading back through the starting area, runners will proceed downhill under the Yaquina Bay Bridge to the bayfront. Past shops, restaurants, galleries and a large fishing village, the course continues along the bay. Just past mile four, there is a short hill that rises about 40 feet then gently descends back to bay level where it continues for the remainder of the race. The course follows the Yaquina Bay and River estuary to mile 15 where it turns back toward town, retracing the same route. The gentle hill at mile four reappears at mile 26, and it's downhill from there to the finish.Along the course runners will be treated to a splendid variety of views and scenery, wildlife and shipping, fishermen and crabbers. It is a flat, very fast, and beautiful course that will produce numerous PR's. Our course is USATF certified and has proven to be a very good "first marathon" as well as an excellent qualifier for the Boston Marathon." 

Sunday is the big day!

A couple of weeks ago (literally two) our landlord gave us a buzz to let us know that he is selling the house we rent from him, and we had 60 days to move....YIKES!  Although our lease was signed through July of this year, we were aware of a clause in our contract warning us that this might happen.  It was very scary at first, but now that we are boxed up we can hardly wait to pick up the U-Haul!  This house has been kind to us, but to be honest the backyard was it's prize feature.  Our new place is reminiscent of a Portland version of our old home in Vegas, with vaulted ceilings, updated appliances, a kitchen island and hard wood floors and granite tile.  It even has a fireplace and a bathroom in the Master Bath...yay!! "his" and "hers" bathrooms again :)

Cam and I first met on Hudson Ave. in Albany NY (Go Danes!) and our new rental is on Hudson Street in a quirky little area of Portland called St. Johns.  It's a block away from beautiful Pier Park with a pedestrian bridge to a dog park, and close enough to walk to the main street but far enough from all of the hustle and bustle and traffic.  We'll have a nice yard that allows us to bring our lovely hens, and although they didn't allow dogs initially, after the met Slim and Stan we were given the green light!  Oh.  And they also allow CATS!  I've been needing a little feline furball in my life, and I'm curious to see who will take the place of Hailie after all these years.

Move in day is Superbowl Sunday, but tomorrow we start transporting our things to store in the 2 car garage (total upgrade from our dinky carport!).  We'll do some light moving on Sunday (well I'll be working but Cam and Poppa Bert will), watch the Hawks beat the Patriots and then head back to the house to spend our first night in our new home!  I took an extra day off work so have a 3 day weekend so we can unpack and do some "nesting" before Cameron heads out of town on a business trip to Vegas.  Busy busy days ahead....I better get some zzzzzz's!!

Clean in 2015

Handmade Soaps

Since moving to the great NorthWest, the hubs and I have pretty dramatically changed our lifestyle and it feels great!  We're constantly learning new things, and getting more in touch with nature and ourselves.  It was nice having a big house and new cars, but now that we've scaled back we find ourselves much happier.  Owning our own home again is one of our main goals but the new pad is going to be much different than the ones we've had in the past!  Our number one priority is lots of land to garden on and live off of.  We love knowing exactly where our food is coming from, and feel better physically from watching what we've been putting in our bodies.  
Over the past year we've also started watching what we've been putting ON our bodies .  I  learned how to make our own cleaning products such as laundry detergent, soap, floor cleaners, etc.  Vinegar, lemon, baking soda and essential oils are my new best friend.  It's amazing how simple stuff is and how beneficial things found in nature can be for us.  
To ring in the New Year I decided to take it a step further by "naturalizing" some daily beauty products.  My favorite new blog is Live Simply I learned so much!  I'm a wanna be hippie and started cleaning my hair with baking soda and conditioning with apple cider vinegar.  What is all the stuff found in my old products anyway? I've started cleansing my face with avocado oil, made a homemade astringent (apple cider vinegar, essential oil and water) and moisturize with a mixture of coconut oil, vitamin E, and lavender essential oil.  I even made my own "acne mask" using oatmeal, honey, tea tree oil and lemon.  My favorite part?  Having all the ingredients that I need already on hand!  Didn't even have to leave the house (which if you know me well makes me very happy!).  Why have I been using products with all these unnatural ingredients when I can just use 1 or 2 things that work great?  Since moving to Portland my face has been breaking out a lot, but my new regime has improved my skin greatly.  For the holidays I made some homemade body scrubs and they were a hit!  I'm super excited to ring in 2015 and see what other new "discoveries" the year has in store!

 

Warm Vanilla Sugar & Rosemary Grapefruit Salt Scrubs

How does your Garden GROW?

The best thing about having a garden is being able to step outside and enjoy fresh, free (ish) food!  It's been a busy weekend for Cam and I so we haven't been able to get some of the staples and our cupboards are running a little bare.  All I could muster up for my work lunch was cereal, rice milk, and a banana so I was pretty hungry when it was time to go home!  My friend gave me a ride home and as soon as I stepped out of the car I saw a beautiful radish!  We recently planted peas and radishes in the front of our house trimming the lawn and driveway just to see what would happen.  This was the first radish from that bunch and it was DEElicious.  I got inside, and though I knew what I would find, opened up the fridge and freezer and cupboards again to find nothing.  But as soon as I went out back I had access to a variety of beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, kale, spinach and of course....EGGS!  Since I'm not very creative I went on the internet and found a recipe for Cucumber, Tomato, and Avocado Salad.  It called for dried basil and oregano and I was bummed for a minute because we don't keep dried basil, but then I realized I could just use fresh!  It was such a delightful salad with all of the ingredients besides the avocado being home grown.  I love our herbs and garden and I really look forward to expanding our horizons!  This is our second year "on the farm" and though we learned a LOT in that short time I just know that we are going to continue to expand and learn.


Tomato, Cucumber Salad w/ basil, oregano, sunflower oil & apple cider vinegar

First heirloom tomato!

Homegrown Cukes!



Some of our first progress!

Stan watching me watch Cam garden

When we first planted sunflower seeds

Look at them now!  Towering over my 6'5 father!

Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon and 10k

Last weekend's race was a success!  What started out as a chilly, rainy, Sunday morning turned into the perfect day for running!  Portland is typically a pretty wet city but it was raining harder than usual which made me a little worried at first.  The race started at Waterfront Park so it looked miserable, but once we got started it felt perfect!
 

The Rock 'n' Roll was my favorite Half Marathon I've run so far.  Cam had a great time too, and although we didn't run together it was really fun to chat about all the things that went on when we were hanging out afterwards.  The first 4 miles of the course were the same for the 1/2 and the 10k, and went through the streets downtown.  At every mile there was live music ranging from rock n' roll, to jazz bands to banjo drums!  There were a TON of spectators too, cheering everyone on from the sidelines.  The support from the community was great.  Both routes ran across the Williamette over the Hawthorne Bridge, and then the 10k went left and headed back to the finish over the Morrison Bridge, and the 1/2 took a right.  We headed up (and up and up and up!) SE Hawthorne Blvd,  ran across Belmont to Laurelhurst Park, and then back to the finish over the Steel Bridge. My dad met us at the finish line and got to see both of us cross. I'm super proud of us both ~ we did great!

               

The race was followed by a special performance by G-Love and Special Sauce!  We were really excited and got spots right up front.  G-Love made eye contact with me but Cam thinks he was staring at him : ) We got to hear our 2 favorite songs while "enjoying" a Michelob Ultra (it was the free beer they gave away...gross) and then we made our way back to the MAX station and headed home to clean up and dry off!  Check out our G-Love video here!

The rain really started coming down when we got back to the house, but that didn't stop us from going to the Annual Kenton Neighborhood Street Fair on Denver Street!  There wasn't quite the turnout as the year before because of the weather, but we still managed to buy a few things, reward ourselves with a couple beers, and have a fun afternoon. 

There are more races in our future....Stay Tuned!

Slimmie's 1st (and 2nd) Seizure...

Slim after his follow up appt. today!  What a champ!

After a couple of scary days, Slim is back to his normal self, resting comfortably with me on the bed.  It all started on Saturday when I left work early because I felt under the weather.  I was laying in bed with Slim and Stan when I noticed Slim shake and saw a lot of drool.  I thought it was weird but didn't really think much else of it and dozed off.  A couple hours later as I was sitting up reading in bed when I noticed him drooling again.  I just watched him closely as he started what I thought was trying to get something up, like if he had a popcorn kernel stuck in his throat.  He didn't stop though and he started foaming at the mouth and I knew something was off.  I said "Hey Slim, are you okay?" and when he turned to look at me his body tensed up and he started having a seizure.  I was so scared.  I yelled to Cam and ran from the room...some great motherly instinct I have!  Cam stayed with Slim and made sure he didn't fall off the bed as I fumbled with my phone and tried to call for help.  After about 45 seconds he was done convulsing but still limp and disorientated (post-ictal would be the term I would soon learn) and we took him in the car and drove to Dove Lewis, the 24 hours Emergency Room vet.  I drove as Cam held Slim, and about halfway there Slim snapped back to reality - Cam said he could see the change in his eyes.  I think he thought we were going to the dog park because as we crossed over the Fremont Bridge he started yipping and looking out the window and trying to get on my lap!  By the time we got to the waiting room you would've thought he was entered in the Westminster Dog Show, prancing and high-stepping and looking happy as can be!

The staff at Dove Lewis was great.  They were super busy and we were there for a long time, but they were thorough and kind.  The doctor spent a lot of time with me (in my bright green "Irish" hoodie, purple cow pajama pants (no unders!) and gardening shoes!) and we decided the best thing to do was take bloodwork to make sure his sugar levels were normal.  She suggested I keep him the night, but of course I wanted to take him home and when his bloodwork came back ok we were discharged.  She told us if he had another seizure withing the next 24 hours to bring him back, but that sometimes a dog will have a seizure for no reason. 

Slim was so great on our way home.  He ate a big hearty meal when we got back, and even grabbed his toy and was playing tug-o-war!  I texted my dad and some friends pictures of Slim to let them know that he was home and back to normal.  It was already pretty late so we curled up and turned out the lights.  Not 5 minutes later I knew he was going to have another one.  I called to Cam and he came and turned on the light, but this time I stayed with Slim while he had his seizure.  So sad and scary to watch something you love so much go through such a traumatic event.  It seemed like forever and Cam offered to take over, but it ended and we packed back up to head to the vet again.  I was holding Slim after the seizure but he became squirmy to be let down, so I put him on the ground as I put on some pants.  He ran into the kitchen and hid under the table and didn't even recognize me.  He was afraid of me :( 

Before his 2nd Seizure

This time at the vet we knew that Slim would be spending the night.  He wasn't as alert as he was the time before.  He was still "Slim" but a tired Slim.  The doctor spoke with me and Cam (and Stan) and we decided to start him on an anti-seizure medication called Keppra.  They also placed an IV catheter so they could give him medication quickly in case he had another seizure while he was there. After we signed some paperwork and paid some bills, we were allowed to say goodnight to Slim.  The cutest/saddest part of the whole trip was that he had on his green turtleneck sweater with a little collar with a bell tied to it!  This way if he had a seizure the staff would be sure to notice right away. 



Stan was confused without his brother home :(

We picked Slim up the next day, Easter Sunday, at 4pm after he had had 3 doses of his medication.  He was just as Slim as Slim could be!  I imagined he would be a little wobbly and woozy but he looked great!  We brought the staff an Easter Basket to say "Thank You" for taking such good care of our little man.  What would we have done without them?  He had his first seizure at 6pm on the Saturday night before Easter.  It would've been way scarier if Dove Lewis wasn't there.  Slim had a follow up appointment with our regular vet today and he is due for some bloodwork in a month after he has been on his medication regularly.  One thing that both doctors have made clear is that although the medication reduces the chances of the seizures occurring it doesn't stop them completely.  So we just need to be prepared for more seizures in the future and just make him as safe and comfortable as can be.  You're a trooper little Slim!  You may be tiny but you are a CHAMP!  MY champ!

"Happy Easter!  From Slim & the rest of the little peeps you help today!"

Besties and their Babies :)

This dog mom is worn OUT.  Love you Slim.