What I did today

1. Started Packing for Hawaii

Yes, we are going to Hawaii this Friday for a week. The cat is out of the bag. Well, there wasn't really a bag, but a few days ago Jason and I realized that we were going and we hadn't told anyone about it. Our short list of United States that we have not visited is about to go from five to four.

2. Chose a text book for the class I am teaching at U of O in the spring

I'm teaching a class on Multicultural Literacy at University of Oregon this spring term. It's secretly stressing me out because, like...now I'm teaching a college class??? Mostly, it's reminding me of how much I want to be back in a real ESL classroom, with real ESL students. And, why didn't I appreciate it when I had it?

Sunsets on the Coast

When it's 70 degrees and sunny in Oregon in January, and the coast is only an hour away you must go. You must drop everything, leash up the dogs, fill a growler with your favorite beer, and drive. 

Drive the hour, walk down the beach, set up your camping chairs and watch the sunset over the Pacific Ocean. 

Fetch:

Beer and sun:

Edie, having a moment:

Edie, romping:

Edie, thinking about life:

Sunset yoga:

Beer selfies:

Dog selfies:

Sunset:

A very special day

Ten (can you believe that? Ten?!?) years ago today the sweetest dog to ever touch the Earth was born. 

For a few years now, I've been hyping up her 10th birthday. Promising her hikes, cuddles, naps, and a very special treat: a cheeseburger for dinner.

I'd say Edie had the best day a dog could ever have.

We hiked:

She napped:

And for dinner, a cheeseburger:

Happy Birthday, my sweetness!

Dear Sinuses, I hate you.

For letting this guy set up shop for over 3 weeks,

For giving me throbbing headaches,

For making it hard to hear,

and finally for tricking me into thinking I was all better a week ago, and then out of nowhere inviting this guy and his plus one back into my face

At least somebody has been productive this week.

Love,
me

A slightly more superficial goal for 2015

Yes, I want to be more present, appreciative of the moment, thankful, and content. These are all important things that I will strive for in years to come. 

However, I do think it's also important for us to set measurable goals for ourselves at this goal-setting, resolution-making time of year...like losing that last 10 pounds, quitting smoking, running a marathon, reading everyday, or eating more vegetables. Setting goals like this for ourselves has a direct impact on the deeper, dare I say more spiritual, goals. The two go hand in hand.

So, for my 2015 slightly superficial yet very important to me and definitely measurable goal is to get up into a handstand with out the support of a person or a wall and hold it for more than 10 seconds. 

It will look better than this (me, last year attempting to come away from the wall...I think I held it for a micro second):

Hmmm...

Bekah messaged me last night that I simply must check out a few apps that she read about that are centered around mindfulness.

I immediately checked them out and downloaded Balanced and Moment. 

Both are pretty neat. Balanced allows you to make cute little non-to do lists of things that keep your life balanced and Moment tracks your daily phone usage time and alerts you if you're on too much. 

But I'm haunted by this sense of how can there be apps for your phone that are meant to keep you off your phone and more present in the world but you need to have/check/be on phone to use it? I need to use my phone to know if I'm doing a good job not using my phone?

I think our phones ARE trying to kill us...or at least drive us crazy.

Speaking of books...

A surprise came in the mail today from my good friend, Wendi Love:

It's the Thug Kitchen Cookbook! If you don't know, Thug Kitchen is a hilarious blog that actually bitches you out with its health advice and delicious, plant-based recipes. Well, now they have a cookbook and I couldn't be more excited about it. 

"Eat like you give a f*ck!"

Don't mind if I do.

Books on books on books on books

It's that time of year again! Time for the 2015 tournament of books presented by The Morning News. Each year, 16 of the year's best books are selected (somewhat arbitrarily and not without bias) to go head to head in a March Madness style bracket. Jason and I have tried to read as many of these books over the past few years and participate to the best of our ability, which usually ends up with me reading 1 or 2 books and Jason reading 7-10 of them. Even if I don't get to all of the tournament books by March, it's a great list of recommendations for the coming year to slowly plow through.

Yeah, I'm a slow reader.

Remember when I was reading The Goldfinch (a contender from the 2014 tournament of books) back in September and October and November and December? Well, I finally finished it! I mean, it's almost 800 pages long. It was great, and then I moped around for a while mourning the loss of this book which had been through so much with me (like, literally from NC to OR).

Now I'm reading this

It's from this year's tournament list and it's a great little book. And, by "little" I actually mean small, concise, cute, and very manageable. It's handheld, like a little clutch, and only 176 pages long. That's quite refreshing after the 800-page spans of The Goldfinch. Don't be fooled though by its size; this book is deep.
Not only is Dept. of Speculation small and deep, but it's confidence inspiring. I started it yesterday and I'll be done by tomorrow! A great start to my tournament season reading.

On to the next one...

And Now I'm a Figure Skater

Move over Tanya Harding*...I will not be bashing in anyone's knees to get the gold, but I will be doing some serious spins on the ice.

Check it out:

*PS- Tanya Harding is from Portland, OR. How funny is that?

Never the Same Rock: A Guide to 2015

On our New Years Day stroll along the McKenzie River, I couldn't help but be reminded of a saying/story/idea/whatever you want to call it that I've heard a lot. I especially remember being told this ad nauseam at Bikram Yoga Teacher Training.

 It goes something like this:

A rock is never the same rock because every drop of water that passes over it changes it

I think there might be a story that goes along with this idea, something from the Gita, but I can't remember right now. 

Anyway, on our snowy walk I kept thinking about how I'd been on this trail many times and maybe even seen these same river, rocks, trees, etc... but that it was all different every time I'd seen it. 

In this way, we are just like the river rocks or even the river itself, changing and being changing by the things around us. In 2015, I want to remember this. I want to hold it close. Because if we are never the same rock or river or whatever, then every moment is different. Every moment is the first and last of its kind, and therefore should be noticed, even revered.

This is my guide to 2015, and 16 and however many 20-whatevers I get to have after that.

More fun from New Years

If you've been greatly anticipating my annual New Years reflection/looking ahead post, have no fear, it is coming.

But for now, more picture from when good friends come play for the new year.

We made a giant New Year's Day feast consisting of:

Fried chicken for health

Mac and cheese for good luck

Sautéed kale for wealth

Biscuits for happiness

And cobbler for kindness (yes, I realize that these are not the traditional New Year's Day foods, but it's what we wanted to make, so there)

We then drove an hour and a half to find snow and waterfalls:

It was a great couple of days. Yay for friends!

New Years Eve in the bag

I notoriously do not have "good" or "great" New Years Eves. Most often they are nights filled with questions of "what are we doing?", "Is it cool enough?" "Who's going to be there?", "When is it going to be midnight?", and "When can we go home and go to bed?"

This year was quite different and I must say I was due for a great New Years.

Bekah and her man-friend, Morrison (or James?) came up to Oregon and we all celebrated with hiking, tiny beers, tacos, arcade games, whiskey by the fire, Cranium, and some good laughs. I'm hoping last night was a foreshadowing of all the laughter to come in 2015. Quite a happy (and great) New Years indeed!

Bekah and her man friend:

Just kidding, this is Bekah and her man friend:

Bekah takes pictures of her tiny beers while I do:

Glasses: