Jim on the Tractor

Jim got home tonight from a trip to Jackson to see his parents and sister over the weekend. They now have all the tractors at the house, so they got in a little play time. They took some video, so I'll try to get some of that up. You can hear the cool tractor sounds.

The house was nice and quiet - except for Mattie's snoring, but I sure am glad he's home.

Snow? What Snow?

We apparently had some awful weather last night. There was ice and several inches of snow. Seems like North Portland didn't get hit. There was barely a dusting (the red car makes it more dramatic) here at the house. The roads around the house were completely clear. Good thing I am off this week. Over the ridge at my office it was a mess. Ahhhh.... dogs, pajamas, and wool socks.

The Wonders of Tulsa

Ok, so Skaneateles NY has the cleanest lake in the country. Toronto has the tallest structure in North America. Santa Fe NM has the oldest house in America. San Jose CA has the Winchester Mystery House. Quinault WA has the largest spruce tree. Oregon has the shortest lighthouse in America.

But.... Tulsa Oklahoma has the Center of the Universe. Yes. It is true. 2 people stand across from each other and one can hear the other person's voice echo, but not there own. Well Tiffanie and I got excited! It took us awhile to figure out how it worked, but a nice little passerby told us. If you stand there by yourself you hear the echo, but no one else does. It was in a very unassuming place downtown. They have built a bunch of pedestrian bridges over the railroad tracks as part of an urban renewal project. The center of the universe was on one of those bridges right next to the Tulsa Union Depot.

Overall I think Tiffanie and I took in the wonders of Tulsa, and we don't need to go back anytime soon.

Such a Mix of Architectural Styles

Boston Avenue Methodist Church

Hey! I'm at the Center of the Universe!

Impressive, huh?

This is it.

Center of the Universe, Oklahoma Style

Google maps never lies. Well... almost never.

Oral Roberts University

So I know it seems like Oral Roberts University is weird place to visit when you go to Tulsa Oklahoma, but it was kinda cool... and kinda weird. I had heard there was some pretty cool architecture there, and there was for sure. There was lots of "Sunsphere gold" on the buildings. We were fortunate that we got there late in the afternoon because the setting sun intensified the golden glow. I don't know what was cooler, the prayer tower or the praying hands.

The Praying Hands

The hands were VERY veiny - creepily so.

The Prayer Tower

It looks like a spaceship crossed with a carnival ride.

Oral Roberts University

I'm an Oklahoma Queen

Tif and got into Tulsa this afternoon. But unfortunately my luggage did not. We flew from Portland to Denver, then from Denver to Tulsa. Apparently there was not room for my luggage (as well as several other people's) from Portland to Denver, so they sent it from Portland to Chicago, and then it was going to be in Tulsa when I got there. Ummm. No. The flight it was supposed to be on was cancelled. Then the next one they put it on just landed. Grrr. Several of the guys from NY that are meeting us here were on that flight, so I got the inside scoop.

I just heard that my friend Jill in Knoxville is getting married!!! Yay! I'm so happy for her!

Sherman and his babies

We've started buying them at Ikea. They last longer and they are machine washable. Oh and they are his favorite. He loves carrying the octopus around and hitting things with the tentacles.

Me!

Well I have been doing the 365 project. I take a picture of myself everyday. This is number 19. It is getting hard to keep being creative with it. I have only so many ideas.

Bucky sent me this... bless him...

"Baby Got Back" covered by Jonathan Coulton.

I've been poked!

This afternoon I had acupunture for the first time. The woman I went to was really nice and made me feel really comfortable about it, I was scared to death when I went in there. She was a licensed acupuncturist, and she had a degrees from Portland's Oregon's College of Oriental Medicine. She also had an MFA in Photography from Arizona State University.

The whole process was kinda weird, but it made some sense. It didn't hurt at all... in fact it felt really good. It was very relaxing, too bad I had to get into my car and drive home in traffic afterwards.

Kitty Wigs

We just saw a bit about Kitty Wigs on the Graham Norton Show. Holy crap.... just when you think the world is an awful, scary, mean place you find something like this. People who have such an imagination are amazing. Please check out the website. It is worth it. The wigs are $50, but they give 20% to the ASPCA. They even have a Flickr photo pool of animals wearing the wigs!

On another note... things are going fine here. My first travel of the year is next week. I leave for NY on the 13th. I'm so excited I could make some lemonade {sarcasm}. I just hope there is no snow. At least this time Tiffanie will be joining me for part of the week. Then I will be home for a few days the it is off to Tulsa Oklahoma. I've never been there. Tiffanie and I are super excited. Please see lemonade comment above.

New Year's Resolutions

I don't normally do this, but...

Be nice to Jim (see previous post).

Be better about blogging. I need to do this not only for you guys, but I need to do it to keep a sort of history of the things that I do. Hey, I have a bad memory.

Concentrate more on my health and wellness. I'm not getting any younger... get off my ass.

Work diligently to keep up with people. I am horrible at this. I have lots of people I love that I have let fall completely from my life, or I have very little contact with. This makes me sad.

Take more pictures, and keep up with them better. Yes. I know I take alot, but I just got a new fancy camera!

Take part in the 365 project. It is where you take a photo of yourself everyday for a year.

Get my website and portfolio together. I need to be able to have a reference for my professional accomplishments.

Expand my mind. This may be as simple as reading more or as complex as pursuing another degree. We shall see.

Get a tattoo and/or additional piercing. Calm down. I'm pretty conservative about these things. I'm just entering a rebellious phase. Heaven help my mid-life crisis.

Work more on the house. I don't want to repeat "the Bexhill experience" which was live in a state of construction and finish the house right before putting it on the market - unable to enjoy living there.

Spend more time exploring Portland. It is a great city, and I should take advantage of it when I am not traveling.

Push my comfort zones. I'm too old to be afraid of things - I just need to roll with it and enjoy whatever situation I find myself in.

Not be so hard on myself. It is okay for me to not be perfect all the time, right?

I think this list might be a bit ambitious, but according to the last resolution I will try not to be too hard on myself about it. I feel pretty confident about it though. A) I have blogged it.

2008: The Year of the Jim

In 2008, Jim's birthday is falling on 08/08/08. So this has been dubbed "Jim's Year".

What does this mean for me, since it is ultimately all about me? Let's put this in perspective, shall we?

1994 & 1995: The years of being nice to Jim

1996 thru 1999: The years of weekly alternating between nice and cantankerous to Jim

2000 thru 2002: The years of being mediocre (mostly nice... debatable) to Jim

2003 thru 2005: The years of being completely hellish to Jim (grad school... it was hard for all of us)

2006: The year of downgrading to just being mean to Jim

2007: The year of not being mean to Jim (that was hard)

2008: The year of being nice to Jim

So far... keep in mind it is day 1... I am doing pretty well, but it is seriously creeping Jim out. What does 2009 hold for poor Jim? I think I will break him in slowly and just not be mean again.

Happy New Year!

Last night was spent roasting marshmallows (gelatin is not so vegetarian, but...) and tofu hot dogs which was kind of a disaster - they did not cook very easily over the fire. We had a roaring fire, some Newcastle, and plenty of babies. Poor Muldoone did not really like the fire, but you know he is the wimpy one. We watched South Park until about 2 and slept in front of the fire. All in all it was a nice, quiet evening.

I still have to finalize my resolutions. I guess I have all day to do that!