in the midst of a walkathon

this week was superb. it was a glorious week in the land of minneapolis...i brought my work with me and worked here for the week, with some creative brainstorming sessions at night with a good friend on some business adventures we are brewing...more on that later...

I was able to make it to the porch's gathering sunday night...it was so good to sit on the couch, see so many familiar faces and catch up with a community i miss so much. it snowed and was cold, but then i realized that i missed the FIRST BIG SNOW IN PORTLAND...i wish i could have been there. i bet it was beautiful with all the evergreens!!!

i got up early for my flight this morning, but didn't make it. whoops. i'll catch another one at 2 this afternoon. i guess i won't make it to the community dinner tonight!!

what to do with several hours before my next flight...so i decided i would come to MOA so i could go to my beloved H&M, i thought i could hang out in a coffee shop until the stores open up, i know, i'm whacked...so i take the light rail, enter the doors to a huge crowd of people. (mind you, it is 7:45 in the morning and the mall doesn't open until 10) and i can't get away from the mobs...they are everywhere...all wearing different walk for diabetes tshirts...

and now people are walking laps around all the levels of the mall (quite slowly, i might add.) i guess that's what you do to pass time in minnesota...you walk laps in the mall of america. so much for a quiet morning at the coffee shop. owell, it is entertaining!!

so hopefully i'll be home sweet home by midnight tonigt!

snow

what?!? is that snow i see outside. you can hardly call it snow, but i'll take it!!

talking to people from other parts of the country, they assume that portland, being north, must be cold. and they always hear of oregon getting snow, so they just assume that includes portland. nope! quite the contrary, my dear. it snows at mt hood and rains in portland. i'll take it! the winter hasn't been as dark and gloomy as people say...but it's not over yet!! and we'll have officially been here a year in february. what? i can't believe it. it was around this time last year we were finding out that we would moving to the great nw!!

voodoo donuts

of all my experiences in portland so far...this one takes the cake. how have i not heard of this place before?? last weekend we experienced voodoo donuts in old town...bizaar!! this is no ordinary donut shop by any means. this is definitely worth the experience, whether you get a donut or not! i'm not much of a donut eater...i've never joined the band wagon for krispy cremes...but this voodoo donuts in portland is amazing!! i felt like i saw a side of portland i have never seen before. maybe it was the oh-so-young nightlife that i am not part of...maybe the eclective crowd...whatever it was, it was quite a trip.

the donuts were displayed on an old turning jewelry case. donuts with coco puffs and captain cruntch on the top..very creative. and the people that are packed in this little place for their midnight muntchies were so eccentric. i think i could just stand there all night and observe. travis picked the donut called "old dirty bastard" with oreo cookes and peanut butter drizzle. he said it was amazing. he gobbled it so fast, i didn't get a bite...there's always next time.

skyline and forest park

rain or shine, travis and i went hiking in forest park yesterday. absolutely beautiful. and there is just something about hiking in the rain with the canapy of the trees over our heads...

and then we tried out the skyline restaurant...a 50s diner that we pass on our way to NW. they're known for their burgers and they were pretty tasty...my favorite was the woodpaneling walls.

i have the rest of this week off...a nice holiday break. and i'm LOVING it! I'm actually getting some stuff done around here...with plenty of time to play!

the true and the questions

happy 2007!!



here's a great book i just got. it isn't new, but i love sabrina's art and thoughts....

christmas in oklahoma

christmas was great in oklahoma, but nothing close to a white christmas. travis and i were able to see both of our familes while we were in oklahoma. he just had a few days off, so it was a mad dash around oklahoma, but it was fun. here's a pic of my fam.

oh, night divine

many thanks to sufjan stevens' christmas album...it has guided me into a wonderful christmas reflection. his songs are amazing. it was just what i needed today to focus on God this season. o holy night, come thou fount, holy holy holy, joy to the world, and o come o come emmanuel are the ones i found myself listening to continuously. superb

i'm in oklahoma!

i made it to oklahoma, with luggage. it's a miracle!! and with no broken glass in my luggage...wahoo!!

call me crazy, but i love the airport, i love flying. it's very relaxing for me. even with all the hectic people around me...i get in my own world, listen to my ipod and enjoy the day of waiting. i love sitting there with nothing to do, able to catch up on email, organize things on my computer...do things that i don't seem to find time to do otherwise. so, that said, i made the best of my day at the airport. i didn't see it as a wasted day.

the most wonderful time of the year...

over the last few weeks, i've had fun exploring all the wonderful neighborhood boutiques for our christmas presents. it has been so wonderful to support the local businesses instead of the big man this year.

and yesterday i finally road the bus...after becoming comfortable with MAX and the street car...i finally ventured out to the bus system. (i just had to get that one last gift in the hawthorne district...it was a strong motivation to figure out the bus lines.) and it was so easy...it will open up a whole new world for me.

but today, i pulled probably my most moron moment...

i carefullly packed all of my fragile presents in my carry on luggage...i didn't want the wine, jelly, and honey to spill out all over my checked luggage. I took my little zip-lock bag of liquids out of my backpack, went through security...and little did i know that EVERYTHING in my carry-on suitcase was LIQUID. so i had to go back to check my suitcase, missed my flight...and now i'm waiting on the next flight that won't leave for another 7 hours!! this day has started out superb. at least i can laugh about it.

there is nothing sentimental about him...

another beloved quote by nouwen:

...wherever he goes, whomever he meets.
he is able to see and hear something beautiful.
something for which to be grateful.

he doesn't deny the great sorrow that surrounds him
nor is he blind or deaf to the agonizing
sights & sounds of his fellow human beings,
but his spirit gravitates toward
the light in the darkness &
the prayers in the midst of the cries of despair.
his eyes are gentle.
his voice is soft.

there is nothing sentimental about him.
he is a realist, but his deep faith
allows him to know that

hope is more real than despair,
faith more real the distrust, &
love more real than fear.

it is this spiritual realism that makes him such a joyful man."

a visit from a friend

this past week one of my best buds from college came to visit me before she has her baby in february. it was so great to show her my world and just hang out like old times. we went to the coast on sunday. (my favorite, of course) i love the coast anytime of year! the sun even came out for us!

i had so many things to show her! it was a little rainy (rainy? portland?)while she was here, but we made the best of it...finding fun little boutiques to go to. and of course we went to stumptown. not only did i get to show her some of my favorite places, it was also fun to explore new places with an old friend. and it was just good to hang out.

here is a pic of us at the waterfront downtown.

the garage

trav decided to build cabinets in our garage. and oh, they look so nice!

skiing!

with skiing just an hour away, travis and i just had to buy ski gear! i had to work, but travis went out to test our equipment and enjoy a day at the slopes!! it is just beautiful!! we're planning a trip after christmas for us to go together. i can't wait!

our christmas tree

over the thanksgiving weekend, travis and i went to find our very first live christmas tree. we went to an oregon tree farm and picked it out! it was very exciting and i just love the smell in our house!

choosing joy

i'm a doubter. a pessimist. a realist. a "should've been" thinker. i question everything. i'm indecisive. a worrier. full of anxiety.
full of fear that leaves me idol and not moving forward. wallowing in my own self-pity. a perfectionist in a strange sort of way.

but deep down, there's a dreamer, a hopeless romantic. a cheesy lover of life. an idealist. a making the most of the opportunity, carpe diem kinda' person.

and i teeter toter between the two. the two seem to wrestle and fight for my thoughts.

but recently, more and more, i've wanted to be the "izzy" instead of the "christina" (in grey's anatomy terms, that is) i would rather see things as they should be, rather than how they are.

i would rather be easy pleased, easily entertained, easily satisfied. not picky,stoppnit-picking...and just enjoy. it seems like life is so much better that way. the perfectionist in me is sliding and the lover of life is taking over.

national corduroy day!

that's right! 11/11...the date that most resembles corduroy!! so wear it proud!

the corduroyclub
blog on corduroy appreciation

lovely rain

it's been raining harder the usual lately and i love the sound of the rain hitting my office window with mellow music in the background...the perfect work environment. and i have snuck outside for a walk when i saw the sun peeping behind the clouds now and then. i've been getting up earlier lately with the time change and i love it. i just love mornings. i'm starting to have a rhythm of life...a little more schedule of things. and i'm actually not working past 5, which is so wonderful. working during normal hours?!? who would have thought that was possible with freelance. (and of course i'm sneaking any traveling i can.)

back into blogging

where have i been? i realized how long it has been since i blogged!! i need to make up for lost time...

what have i been up to lately? well, last weekend i went to the wonderful city of minneapolis. i stayed with my bud lauren and we had a grand time. it was so good to see friends at the porch and go to the gathering on sunday night. i miss church on sunday night, i have to admit. our church here meets on sunday morning and i'm still trying to get use to it, (after 4 years of sleeping in, it still makes it hard to do the church thing in the morning.) and over the last month or so, i feel like we are meeting more people at evergreen. i just love the community, it is full of great people. i've especially enjoyed getting to know more of the girls (i mean women). with the great party that linda threw and the weekly shin-dig on thursday nights...i'm starting to feel a little more settled in more and more.

fall is beautiful and it seems to last longer here. there are still reds, oranges and golds everywhere. i love the leaves all over the ground and the colors all over the hilly land! it is great going over the bridges towards downtown and seeing the colors all of the over the hills!

we enjoyed the last bit of sunshine before the rain hit...with bike rides and days downtown and by the river after church. and now the rain is here! i love the feeling of rainy days, they make me happy. it makes me feel all cozy in our little house. i actually cooked a delicious soup yesterday. (i have a hard time using recipes, they are just too much preparation for me.) but i finally did it, yippppeee! maybe this will be the beginning of something very good for kobie.

oh, and over the last month i turned 28. i was a little sad to let 27 go...i don't mind getting older, but i have a thing for the number 27 and i was hoping that 27 would be the year that great things would happen. and looking back 27 was a very exciting year...a great experience in minneapolis where i learned to enjoy the present moment,even though the future was unknown...travis getting a new job the day after he was furloughed...moving across the country to the land of green bliss...living in 3 states (minnesota, a short stay in WA and now oregon)...buying a house and settling in to a place we hope to call home for a long time. so i can hardly call being 27 a disapointment. I woke up on my 28 birthday with an excitement for the year ahead. i started reading one of my favorite books (see previous posts) about enjoying where you are at. and i look with excitement on this year.

on being present

"to live in the present, we must believe deeply that what is most important is the here and the now..." [nouwen]

joy

i picked up one of my favorite books, Here and Now by Henri Nouwen...

"joy does not simply happen to us. we have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day...it is important to become aware that at every moment of our life we have an opportunity to choose joy...

"there is an intimate relationship between joy and hope. while optimism makes us live as if someday soon things will go better for us, hope frees us from the need to predict the future and allows us to live in the present, with the deep trust that God will never leave us alone but will fulfill the deepest desires of our heart

joy is this perspective is the fruit of hope. When i trust deeply that today God is truly with me and holds me safe in a divine embrace, guiding every one of my steps, I can let go of my anxious need to know how tomorrow will look or what will happen next month or next year. I can be fully where I am and pay attention to the many signs of God's love within and around me."