The firsts

It's hard to decide whether you like your new home when you move into it. At first everything is very strange. The rooms, the refrigerator, the shower, and even the light switches are just all wrong. Or maybe not wrong, but different. However,  once you hit a few milestones and do all the "firsts", the new place begins to feel like home.

First glass of water.

First shower.

First night.

First time filling up the fridge with groceries.

First time cooking a meal.

First time watching a show on the couch.

First time blogging from your living room.

Hawaii (Part duex and beyond!)

Little did I know that after my previous post, I would be struck down by the worst food poisoning/stomach virus/tape worm/amoeba/I don't really know what the hell it was sickness that I have experienced in a very long time. I'm talking serious nausea, dizziness, retching, stomach cramping, diarrhea, the whole nine, ya'll. It was real. It lasted about 2 and a half days and yes it did cramp my vacation style just a bit. However, between trips to the bathroom and sad naps, I did manage to do and see some pretty awesome stuff around Gennie. By Thursday I was back to 80% Blaine, at which point we road-tripped up to the north shore, did some stand-up paddle boarding, and ate some pretty delicious food.

Now, we're back. I'm 90% Blaine on the health front and yet 10% Blaine at heart because, seriously you guys, Hawaii is the best place ever and if you want to really shock the senses go to Hawaii and then go to Oregon in the winter. (like my run on sentence?)

Here's some more pictures from the trip!

Yummy acai bowl for breakfast on the beach

Beach!

So beautiful!

Chickens everywhere!

Alan Davis jumping plank near Makapuu Lighthouse

Gennie jumps off...I'm still thinking

Still thinking...

Loungin'

Jason soaking it all in

Sea kayaking

Triangle pose on Lanikai Beach

Standing bow pulling pose

Bonzai pipeline, half moon, tattoos

Huge waves at Banzai Pipeline on the North Shore

Testing out the SUP

Here we go!

It was super windy

Down the canal

So much fun! I want a SUP!

Paniolo Burger at Kahuku Grill at the North Shore

Coconut Macadamia Shrimp at Kahuku Grill...world famous

Tree Pose, a banzai tree, blue skies

Toe stand on a little table

Hawaii!

That's right, we're in Hawaii. Here are a few pics from our first 2 days here. Check out Jason's blog for some cool pictures from our big hike yesterday at Olomana. I didn't take many hiking pictures because I was too concerned with not plummeting to my death.

Our chariot:

Jason learns how to work the top of our convertible

I got lei-d:

A Hawaiian thing

Beautiful scenery

On top of a mountain, Kailua below

Sweat in my eyes

New friends, fun/scary/beautiful hike, best day

Jason showing off

under the tree selfie

Gennie Goo and I

Jason tries to shred some gnar

Breakfast on the beach this morning, Acai bowl, yum

Warm ocean, sand, us

Morning beach walk

Stay tuned for more! It's only Day 2!

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?

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...

Stillness

I've been re-reading a great yoga book lately:

Yoga: The Spirit and Practice of Moving into Stillness
By Erich Schiffman (1996)

My favorite longtime yoga teacher, Ti, read this book to us during class over the course of a year. It's a great yoga philosophy book. One to savor. One to read again and again.

I'm rereading it now through a new lens, finding old and new nuggets of wisdom.

Here's one from today's read:

Stillness is not the absence or negation of energy, life, or movement. Stillness is dynamic. It is unconflicted movement, life in harmony with itself, skill in action. It can be experienced whenever there is total, uninhibited, unconflicted participation in the moment you are in--when you are wholeheartedly present with whatever you are doing. (p. 3)

Chew on that, ya'll.

Shroomin'

And by "Shroomin'" I don't mean eating hallucinogenic mushrooms and chasing unicorns in the woods. I mean hunting for mushrooms. This is a thing that people do in Oregon. I don't eat mushrooms, and quite honestly I think people that do are weird. However, hunting for mushrooms is super fun! It's like hiking but with a purpose. Think grown up Easter egg hunt in rugged OR woods.

Yesterday we were looking for chanterelles, which are big, orange, gnarly mushshrooms. They like to hide under green stuff, dirt, sticks, and anything else "woodsy".

i spy with my little eye

a big one

We got a lot!

fungal booty