Hold Dear

12 of 12 March

Hola! It's been a long time since I joined in on the 12 of 12 action! This is a project that Chad Darnell came up with. To see more 12 of 12ers for March, go here.

The premise is on the 12th day of the day, show your life in 12 pictures. It's a fun exercise because it gets me to keep my camera handy and take pictures in situations I wouldn't ordinarily even THINK to take pictures! You'll see what I mean in a minute...

First order of the business for the day is to feed the meowing cats...we currently have three. Here's the newest cat, Baghera. We thought this was gonna be a foster cat situation but I'm suspectin' this cat is ours for good.

 

Next, I gave Miranda a ride to school (this is our usual Thursday morning routine). It's a good chance to just chit chat and grab a coffee with my girlie.

 

Headin' into the office with all the other morning commuters...(note the bicyclist in the rearview mirror!)

 

Not long after I arrived at my office, I had a phone call from a very dear friend in Utah that I had just spent some time with. TOTALLY made my day!!! :-)

 

Found myself at the post office today at lunch...seems like I'm always there! Good thing it's a gorgeous building with lots of interesting things around it! This pic was taken from the front door.

 

While I was out and about, I took a pic of another fabulous Portland landmark...Portlandia...

 

A sneaky shot of a co-workers cube...

 

A picture of my poster that is hung up around my company...the text is about how I'm taking advantage of my company's tuition reimbursement program and pursuing my lifelong goal of getting a degree. :-)

 

Afternoon snack...

Ah...the glamorous life...

 

In the restroom at school. I don't think I have ever taken a picture of myself in a public restroom. Maybe once to take a "before" haircut picture. But that was of my hair and not me. I should thank Jane for planting the seed to take a pic of myself in a restroom for this project. :-)

I got to the campus a bit early so I dug in tried to squeeze in some homework...

 

Heading home after class...

 

Okay...I'm off...time for tea and some kind of snacky. Thanks for visiting and hope to see you next month!!!!

September 12 of 12

Hi ho...I'm a little late with my 12 of 12 for this month. I was real good about taking pictures during the day but in the evening, I just faded. I had some dinner, put on my jammies, curled up on the couch and just stopped doing things. It felt great! I really didn't think I'd have enough pictures to put together a 12-pack o' pictures, but I did!

To see more 12 of 12 action, go on over to Chad Darnell's blog. You'll be glad you did. :-)

My day in 12 pix...

Woke up to Mr. Cutie. He usually cuddles under my neck but lately, he's been sleeping at the foot of the bed.

It was already a beauty of a day and Mr. Tubbo Bubbo was so anxious to go outside that he was hanging out at the sliding glass door in our bedroom. We don't let him out of this door but if, by chance, he stays out all night, THIS is the door he comes to. It's upstairs and to get to it, he has to climb on the roof! What a fuzzy doofus!

This is the view from our bedroom (just outside the sliding glass door mentioned above). Our bedroom faces the front of our house and has a deck that runs across the front. We live at the top of a cul-de-sac so we get this gorgeous view of the neighborhood trees. And can you see that hint of color in the trees?! Fall is on it's way, my friends!

I had to put this picture of me up. Can you tell that I have new glasses!? :-)

New glasses? Yep, new glasses. I have a little story for you. If you just tuned in for the pictures, you may want to skip through all this blabbity bloo boop. :-)

Thursday morning before I left for work, I decided to add a quart of oil in my car (per Mr. G's recommendation). The box of oil was in a cupboard in the garage, and when I went to pull it down, it fell on my face! My face was fine but it totally ker-twangulated my glasses! I went to the optometrist on the way home from work and after discovering that my frame style was discontinued and no spare parts could be ordered, the optician suggested we find some frames that my existing lenses could be popped in to. Well, the lenses fit into a total of ONE frame! I'm very thankful they were a style I probably would have picked out and not some dorked up number! Oh and the best part? After first being told that I would have to pay for the new frames and just get a discount, after all was said and done, the optician told me that she decided she wasn't gonna charge me...at all! I tell you, that was some good news!

Okay...back to the 12 of 12! I had to stop for gas on my way to work. How wrong is it that these prices are considered "good?"

I had to take a package to the post office at lunch, which is inside the Gus J. Solomon Courthouse. The courthouse was built in 1933 and has some exquisite Art Deco touches. During the building's construction, some bottles were unearthed and are on display in the entry. So gorgeous!

I love the font on this sign!

And here are the windows at the post office. I just so love the Art Deco influence! I've gotten a lot of inspiration for doodles just standing in line right here!!!

Next week my team is moving to a new building (still downtown) so I had to pack up my office. Here is my empty cube and my entire work life on a cart.

In the early eve, I go visit my sweet peas. Still blooming...

And lastly, a shot of our neighbors sunflower. Can you see the bee at 4 o'clock?

So that's the end of September's chapter of 12 of 12! Hope you had fun...and hope to see you next month!

august 12 of 12

Another fabulous 12th day of the month so in between my Art in Ashland sharing, I'm gonna squeeze in a 12 of 12 post. This is a project created by Chad Darnell. To visit more 12 of 12ers from all over the world, go here.

So here's my day in 12 views...

Grouchy bunny waiting to be fed...

Stopped at the bushes by the creek on our street to check out all the berries. We know for a fact that our neighbors have been picking and sharing and then Glen went down and picked a big bowl on Saturday. What marvelous abundance!

I slept just a bit too long this morning and so I had to drive in to work (instead of catching the bus) since I had an 8:30 am meeting. This is the view of Portland I see just as I'm coming out of the tunnel.

My sad, pathetic food for the day. Still on softish food since it still hurts to chew (from braces installed last Friday). The little container is full of mashed potatoes.

When I went to go put my sad food in the refrigerator at work, I saw the mural painted on the wall adjacent to the break room and took a pic...

Later in the day, I took a break and worked on some charms for a Viva Mexico charm swap...

Random picture of the elevators in my office building... 

Gorgeous day in Portland, OR...

After work, I wanted to go to Dava Beads so I offered my sweet friend Heidi a ride home since she lives real close to Dava.

Like candy I tells ya...

The drive back home wasn't very fun...

About 3:00 pm today, Miranda called me and asked if I wanted to go see Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. We'd been talking about going since we both loved the first movie and loved the books so I jumped at this! The movie was super cute. Corny and all that, but I loved it! :-)

Lastly, I'm settling in for the night so I pulled out my bag of dental acruments for taking care of ye olde braces. My mouth is SO achey! Ugh. No wonder young kids start drinking earlier and earlier. If they wear braces, they are IN PAIN, people!!!! Thank you to my friends for their empathy and good thoughts...and thanks to Gina for mentioning Baby Oragel! I went and bought some gum pain reliever and it helps! Thanks Sweet Cheeks!

 

Okay...thanks so much for the visit! Take care and see you next time!!!

july 12 of 12

First...oh my soul! Thank you SO much for taking the time to leave such sweet and thoughtful comments about my new fun do! You flatter me SO much!!! Here's a little advice to you...if you EVER need or want a morale booster, post a picture of yourself on your blog! I'm quite overwhelmed by the response and just can't thank you enough for your kindness! You're the best!!!

Okay...July's 12 of 12. This is a fun thing that Chad Darnell came up with. To see more 12 of 12ers and Chad, go here. I actually spaced that it was the 12th until Andrea called me! I was out garage sailing (saling just doesn't look right!) and so as soon as I got home, I pulled out my camera and started taking pictures! Thanks Andrea!

So it was friggin' HOT in Portland today. When I got home from my errands, I went through the house to close the windows to put on the air and while I was upstairs, I took a picture from our bedroom balcony. I don't think I've ever taken a picture of this view during the summer. In the Fall it's fabulous because lots of the trees change color.

Next, had to make sure there would be iced tea for later!

Then I plopped down in front of the computer. GGGGRRRRR! I am so mad at Miranda! She showed me playlist.com and now I can't stay away from that thing! It's like when we first got The Sims -- I wake up thinking about my list!!! :-)

Next up...I went through the bounty of gorgeous fruit I picked fresh from today's garage sale tree! That cool scale? It was marked $5.00 but since today was the last day of a family's sale, everything was 1/2 price! Yep, I got it for $2.50. Please don't hate me. :-)

A bonus picture so you can get a close up of some of the sweetest bits! :-)

I stayed inside the house most of the afternoon since it was so hot (did I mention it was friggin' hot??) Once the sun went behind the house though, I headed out to water our raised beds. Just look at those tomater plants!!!

 

Needed to do a bit of grocery shopping for some fresh produce (couldn't go to the Farmer's Market because I went to garage sales!) but I just HAD to clean the refrigerator first. I don't know if it's an oddity about me but I tend to stick better to healthy eating when the refrigerator is clean and organized.

Of course cleaning one thing always leads to finding other things to clean. So in the midst of cleaning the frig, I started on the kitchen windowsill and I noticed how gorgeous our little neglected the African violets are. I pretty much ignore these plants and yet, they thrive!

I went out to do some grocery shopping in the cool of the day. When I left the market at 9:30 pm, there was still light in the sky. I LOVE this time of day! The ride home would have been completely perfect if I had put on Wilco's Either Way. (Click on song #1 Either Way -- the guitar solo in that song makes me weep!!!)

Miranda had raspberries on the grocery list and when I saw these, I thought "freezer jam!" They're gorgeous!

Before I left for the market, I made some coffee specifically to have an iced coffee tonight!

Lastly...squeeze in a morsel of craft time! I'm finishing up some pendants to donate to CAT's Vintage French Flea Market, a fundraiser for the Sherwood shelter on August 2. If you're a local, be sure to check it out!!! (I'll be showing you more pictures of these pendants later!)

That's it for now, all you groovy kids!!! Hope you have a fab rest of the weekend! See you next month!

June 12 of 12

Another 12th of the month and another chance to join Chad's 12 of 12 party. To see who more 12 of 12 party goers, visit here. :-)

The story of my day, in 12 pictures...

I got to the bus stop about five minutes early and I didn't want to get out of my warm car just yet. Sigh...I think my car driving days are numbered with gas prices the way they are, I think next week I need to bite the bullet and start getting up the necessary half hour early so I can walk to the bus that will take me to the bus that will get me into town. Oy!

I usually get off the bus at the PSU stop. It adds another two or three blocks to the walk to my office, which is a good thing, and it's also makes for a lovely start to my day. Especially this morning with the roses in full bloom along the South Park Blocks.

And it also takes me by this Portland icon...

Snack time at my desk...

Oh! So since it's Thursday, you get to meet a few members of the Taco Salad Gang! :-)

 

Then for break, I met up with my cute friend, Melissa, also a member of the Taco Salad Gang. I FINALLY passed to her a circle journal from a group that we're both participating in.

BTW, the tall glass of Heaven sitting there is my crack in a cup Red Cane Cola from Seattle's Best. Sugar-free, no whip, splash of soy...SO GOOD!!!!

When I got home from work, it was SO gorgeous out so I thought I'd stroll outside to see what was going on, garden wise. I took the wild animals with me (Bastian and Atticus), thinking they'd just hang around me. Wrong! They immediately headed straight over to our neighbor's yard...you know, the one doing the landscaping with all the rocks and big machinery? The dangerous one? Yeah, that didn't last long.

I'm guessing that tractor must have run over a mouse or something. So once I wrangled the cats back inside, I spied around the garden a bit. The raised beds are starting to come alive...

 

Dinner time...Chinese Chicken Salad, hold the chicken but then add the faux chicken. Ridiculous, I know...but the faux chicken makes such a superb delivery mechanism for the salad dressing! I caint resist!

Laundry...ugh...

Okay...once I got a few chores done, I was able to do what I've been waiting for all day...CRAFTS! Tonight I finished up a jewelry organizer that I started Monday night. I saw this cool chick make a Halloween Inspiration Board back in September and I thought that would be a perfect way to display, ergo, organize my jewelry. I totally LOVE how this turned out!!!!

And lastly...glorious tea time which means I am DONE for the day!

Hope you enjoyed your visit and hope to see you next month. Cheers!

12 of 12 May Style

Whoops...gotta boot, scoot and boogie and get my offering for this month's 12 of 12 up! To find out more about Chad Darnell, father of the 12 of 12, and to see posts from other 12 of 12ers, go here! :-)

First up...checking when the next bus arrives. Trying to ride public transportation as much as possible these days...

Waiting for the bus...gloomy Portland day...

On the bus...we haven't hit the stops with the school kids so it's not crowded yet.

Plugging away at the office...oh the exciting life of a Technical Writer...here's a glimpse of how I make my little home away from home cozy...

I went for a walk across the Hawthorne Bridge at lunch. A few shots...

Gotta love Portland! :-)

When I got home, I was very happy to find that my Jenni Bowlin kit had arrived.

Bastian watching me watch him watch Glen mow the lawn...

Oregon's Primary election is May 20th so we worked on our ballots. I NEVER get tired of seeing my husband's name on a ballot! And it's cool that Glen knows a lot of the people on the ballot! I'm SO proud of him! I'm also pretty jazzed that on Election Night, Glen and I will be attending Mark Hass' Election Night Party! That is just gonna be super premium!

Dinner...a flatbread with fresh tomato and mushrooms and a salad of greens with a balsalmic vinegar/Spanish olive oil/tangerine juice dressing with chopped marcona almonds. This is perfect for me but Glen also had a porkchop - he usually has some kind of meat about once a month or so.

And then lastly...when I went to go wash my face, Senor Tubbo Bubbo was in the sink...

Bonus picture...

He was in there again today...he likes it in there. :-)