Bushwhacked

I love trees. Really I do.

But. I cannot contain myself. There is a tree that is not on our property, that has been hovering over our tiny postage stamp back yard for the past 5 years. It is an evergreen-type tree (I have no idea what kind). The reason I really dislike the tree is that it has hovered near our bedroom window and the disgusting yellow pollen has infiltrated our backyard every year since we have lived here.

Let me give you a bit of background. My husband never had allergies. We lived in Boston before moving to Portland and he was fine. We even lived in downtown Portland for a few years and he was fine. Until we moved into this house. That tree has made him swell, puff, tear, you name it. It has meant that we have not been able to have our windows open because of the thick yellow pollen dust that has coated our table, bed, desks, etc. It does not seem to bother me, but the moment Chris ingests that fine powder of pollen, the next week is hell. So we keep our windows closed. No fresh Portland air coated with yellow pollen for us.

Until. YESTERDAY. We came home and I looked in our backyard and I see all these pinecones on the ground and I think: Why are there all these pine cones? We just cleaned the backyard yesterday. Was there a storm while I was at work that I do not remember?

And. Then. I. Look. Up. AND. FREAK OUT. The tree is gone. That tree and four others around it. Many, many months ago, we were told that trees in our area had been affected by some sort of bug and that some would be cut down because of the damage done by said bug. We prayed that this horrible pollen infested tree would go. Each day that we would come home the tree would still be there. Until today. Months later we are given a gift.

I am still in shock. Our tree is gone, and while I would never be excited about killing a tree, I am. I am excited that maybe, just maybe Chris can breathe and BE in our backyard. I am excited for the sunshine we never had in our backyard.

It is the little things, right?

what is left of our tree!

Misty, Usain, Missy, And a Bit Of Spice

Posted by random olio

The Olympics are over and I am sad. Although I am grateful that I will be getting back to my normal sleep routine. I did not sleep as much these past few weeks because we kept staying up to watch more of the Olympics.

I wanted to share my favorite observances of the Olympics, in no particular order. Misty May Treanor is hilarious when she wins. She gets her face into the camera and spouts off random words of gratitude to people in her life. What I love most is that she always shares gratitude for the military and troops. She rocked the Olympics again and finished her career in golden style.

I also really enjoyed Missy Franklin and her natural and real happiness. Only 17 years old. She is my hero of this Olympics. For her real joy, excitement, and humility. Did you see the music video with her and the other USA Swimming teammates? If not, you can see it here:

Usain Bolt. I am in awe of his killer running abilities. I was, however, appalled at his attitude and overly exuberant confidence that he is a legend. When you watched many of the other runners you saw humility. Those that won medals, or broke records, and some that finished were grateful to be at the Olympics. Not Usain. He even said in an interview about Carl Lewis: “Everybody’s forgotten about him.” You can read more in this USA Today article. You have lost my respect Usain. You may be a runner that has broken many world records, but you need to work on humility. It goes a long way.

The Spice Girls performing in the Closing Ceremonies. I had to laugh, and do some online searching to remember their “Spice Girl” names, and the songs they sang back in the nineties. Other than the song “Wannabe” no other songs rang a bell for me. Now I cannot get the “If you wanna be my lover” lyrics out of my head. (That and “Call Me Maybe” from the Missy Franklin video.) By the way, what did you think of the bikers with the strange shaped helmets during the Pet Shop Boys singing “West End Boys?” I will miss watching Track & Field, Beach Volleyball, Gymnastics, and Swimming. Now back to more sleep this week.

What were your favorite Olympic moments?

The Pesto That Changed My Life

Posted by random olio

About 10 years ago, Chris and I had just begun our first stint at sharing a living space. We had a lot figured out in terms of keeping things clean and organized, sharing responsibilities, and roles in our home. One area that was not as clear was the kitchen. Chris loved to cook and had always been adventurous to try to recreate amazing food that he had experienced in restaurants in New York, and other cities he had traveled to around the country. Let’s just say he wowed me with what he could do in the kitchen.

Since I am a bit competitive (okay very competitive), I wanted to show him I could cook too. I decided to make pasta with pesto for dinner one night. For those that read my blog recently, I spent many summers learning how to bake (and follow a recipe). I was not a complete cooking novice, but some of you may agree with me, that following a recipe for cooking can be different from following a recipe to bake something. I made a mistake that altered my future forever. Although some may say it was a good mistake, it has meant I no longer make the main courses for meals in our home. I am the sous chef or the baker and dessert maker.

My mistake: adding an entire head of garlic to the pesto I was making rather than one CLOVE of garlic. Chris was an angel. Maybe it was because he was balancing the boundaries and newness of the beginnings of a relationship, or maybe he just is truly an angel. HE ATE THE PESTO…and, smelled like garlic for days. I did not want to be near him. I wanted to create something for him in the kitchen, made a mistake in the ingredient, and lived to smell it for days.

What it did to us? He started doing all the cooking. I learned to just let him alone in the kitchen. If I try to talk to him while he is cooking, and I bring up our conversation later, he will have no recollection or remembrance that the conversation ever took place. So. We altered life. He cooks. I go into my writing world while he cooks. It all works out. The way I balance this wonderful gift in my life is to occasionally bake breads and yummy desserts. I would do it more often, but while the sugar goodness tends to do nothing to Chris, it tends to add wobbly bits to my body. He will have to be okay with occasionally.

My mistake made 10 years ago = a gift.

…the beginnings of coconut creme pie…

Bump to Pay App

Posted by random olio

How many times are you out with a friend and they say I am covering this, and you say I will pay next time. When the next time comes you realize you do not have your credit card and about enough cash for a small coffee. Your friend covers to pay for your dinner, but you are adamant that you are paying her back. Now you can, right away! No need to send her a check in the mail, wait until you see her next, or send her a check through your checking account.

You can now use the Bump to Pay app on your phone (iOS devices). The app uses PayPal for the transaction, so you need to have a PayPal account set up that will take money out of your checking account. You can then select the amount you want to share with a friend and Bump your phones to make the money transfer.

As long as it is truly secure, then it is definitely an app individuals will use. Hopefully they will expand to other smart phones. For now, anyone with an iPhone has no excuse for not covering their own tab.

Has anyone tried it? I always like to hear what others think before I use apps that require connecting to my credit card or checking account, but it does sound convenient. What else will they think of?! What apps have you thought of that do not yet exist?

Giggles In Heaven

Posted by random olio

On Monday I wrote about the book: “It Sucked and Then I Cried: How I Had a Baby, a Breakdown, and a Much Needed Margarita” by Heather Armstrong in this blog post. The blog I wrote was more on the funny and painful aspects to motherhood. Today I wanted to share the awww moments of motherhood. The parts that make you cling to your spouse with gratitude for this little life you brought into the world.

“The best part of my day was when Jon carried Leta back to the changing table after her bath, and she’d lay there wrapped in the towel, her hand shoved as far as she could get it into the back of her mouth. He’d lean down and pretend to eat her neck, causing her to laugh. And she laughed for him like she laughed for no one else, a full-body laugh that shook her belly and caused her to let go of her hand for a second. Her giggles would fill the house and echo through the baby monitor into the living room and out to the street. I imagined that those echoing giggles were what the background music in heaven sounded like.” Page 159

Aww. Giggles in heaven. I love the laughter and absolute uncontrollable giggle of a baby or toddler. You can continue to repeat what you are doing over and over again to have that same gut laughter continue. It. Is. The. Best. Thing. Ever. And then Heather talks about the love for her spouse, Jon:

“In him I’d found the person whom I knew I would never get tired of, even in the most monotonous of times, even in the routine of being together every single day. I never thought I would find that.” Page 237

This is how I feel about Chris. Even if he is on the iPad dreaming about our future, and I am pounding out my next blog post on my laptop, while watching Michael Phelps swim the last Olympic event of his career, we are hanging out together. We look up and smile at each other and go back to our respective activities, my legs sprawled out on top of him. Aww the life. Can you tell how addicted I am to my husband? We live our life with giggles and laughter and maybe one day we will share those gut deep giggles with a little one. (Can you tell I am thinking very seriously about it!)

Again, I say, read Heather’s book. It is worth it. Okay I am done touting her book. You will not hear another peep about it.