SFO Layover

Currently on a 3-hour layover at San Francisco International Airport, waiting for a flight to SLC where I will meet up with my family! Chanel is driving to SLC right now, probably approaching Vail.

She had an absolutely horrible experience with the movers yesterday. TV dropped, bins broken, clothes spilled in the street...not how you want to spend your last full day in the state you have grown to love.

Looking forward to this afternoon!

I don't know the Bay Area too well, but I assume this sign is bad news.

Unbelievable!

Our Sherwood home is taking a bit longer to close than we hoped. We are not sure when the USDA will fund the loan, and with all of us arriving from our drive from Colorado on Monday the 2nd, our living arrangements have had us a little stressed. We asked the current home owners to rent the house to us until the home closes, and they agreed to...for $100 a day. We can stay in a hotel for $98 a day, so we declined the offer. In the meantime, Chanel suggested we contact the bishop in our new ward to see if anyone in the ward might have a bedroom we could all stay in for a few days.

We just heard back from the bishop. He has an entire HOUSE we can stay in!

A member of the ward has a three bedroom home on his property that he is going to lease to the mission program. The missionaries will not move in until September 10, so we can stay there until the 9th! 

So amazing. Such a great example of an answer to a prayer and a demonstration of the Lord's love.

I will FINALLY be with my family again this Saturday. In less than 48 hours we'll be back together, just as we should be. We have all been through a lot these past 40 days and 40 nights. I think this experience has made our love stronger. We certainly will appreciate each other more now that we know what it is like to live apart. 

I wouldn't say it has been hard as in challenging. Chanel has fixed the washing machine and set the sprinkler system and done countless other things that I would have taken care of if I was there, and she's done so very well. I've kept myself safe and my belly fed and my laundry clean. It's just been hard to be apart from each other. Apart we are completely capable, but together we are all that, plus happy and chill. 

Just Realized...

I've been at the Burn home for almost a week, and this is the first time I noticed they have a waterfall close by. So weird...I've run by it several times. I wonder how many other cool things are around me that I haven't noticed yet? Not just this neighborhood, but life in general?

Mac and Cheese

The Burns are treating me so well. This afternoon I received this text:

Of course I accepted the offer. It means my dinners are all set for the entire week! I don't have to buy any dinners for myself because I have two frozen dinners in the freezer at work (Thursday and Friday), a ward picnic on Tuesday (I pick the best times to attend wards and branches!), and a vendor dinner on Wednesday. I'm a cheapskate, but I ain't no dummy! Turning down a free meal is not a smart thing to do.

The Mac and Cheese was awesome. Green beans were served on the side. 

I am counting down the days. Four more days apart from the family! Saturday will be incredible.

Chillin' With The Burns

My one month lease in my deluxe apartment in the sky has expired. My buddy from Gates, Jerry Burn, and his wife have graciously offered to let me stay with them for 10 days until I fly to SLC to meet up with my family and drive to Oregon. 

Jerry lives about seven miles from Wieden + Kennedy. So I run to work in the morning along Cornell, and then take the train back to their house after work. As I type I am doing so in their home, at their dining room table, all alone.

They are currently at Hood to Coast, a nearly 200 mile relay race. Mrs. Burn is walking two legs of the relay race. An incredible feat given the fact she is about 70 years old. They will return on Sunday.

They are so generous. They gave me my very own room:

Such great people. Jerry picked me up from WK after work on Wednesday and took me to Panda Express, where we met up with his wife and son. Mrs. Burn then went to work at a hospital, where she is a delivery nurse. Later that night Jerry and I went to get some frozen yogurt. While we were at the yogurt shop his friend Randall arrived. Randall is on the left:

Turns out Randall is LDS, and he offered to take me to church with him on Sunday.

I am very comfortable at the Burn residence, so I hope that means this next will fly by!

Iron and Wine's cover of Such Great Heights is playing on Pandora. It gives me such a cool feeling. So much going on in my life with a new job, new environment, away from the family. So many emotions running through me, and this is just a perfect song to be listening to right now. 

First Live Work

We launched my first W+K project today: a very simple tumblr for Velveeta.

The next iteration, scheduled for release next month, will involve an outside vendor's help and will be more dynamic. But still, this is my first project. Pretty exciting.

Colorado and Oregon Running

Thought I'd start this post with this sign:

According to Bolder Boulder swag, "Sea level is for sissies." I certainly took pride in running more than a mile above sea level while living in the CO. I feel like Colorado runners are hard core because they train at altitude every. single. day.

And I remember running in Vegas or San Diego or LA and thinking it was easier than running in Colorado.

But you'll never hear me say running in Portland is easier than Colorado.

In fact, I'm going to come right out and say it: it's harder.

It's harder for two reasons:

1. It's unbelievably hilly. And not just for short stints. I'm talking hills that go on for miles. Steep hills that feel no need to level out just so you can catch your breath. These hills are beasts. But the reward of running them is the strength you develop. Not sure if I have become a better runner since moving here, but I am certainly a stronger runner thanks to these hills.

2. It's humid. You don't notice it when you are walking to work or to the store. But you do notice it when you finish running a 10k and your shirt is heavier than you are.

Both Oregon and Colorado offer beautiful scenery for runs. I loved looking at the Rocky Mountains when I ran in Colorado, loved running by big farms with horses and cows grazing in the fields. But I also love running in Oregon, with its incredible deep greens and trees that seem 1,000 feet tall.

Bottom line is I love running in both places. But I have a much deeper history of running in CO. Looking forward to my next phase of my running: the Oregon years.

Side note: be careful when you run by bushes in Oregon. Most are harmless, but a couple have caught hold of me.

Saying Goodbye To Portland

Strange post title. Makes it sound like I'm leaving W+K and Oregon. I'm definitely not. I'm just saying goodbye to living in Portland. This dawned on me as I looked out my apartment window as the sun was setting on a quiet and peaceful Sunday.

Three days from now I'll be out of The Wyatt, out of the Pearl District, and living for a week with a friend from Gates who lives near Beaverton. Then our family will be living in Sherwood, a suburb 30 minutes south of Portland. 

I decided I'd better get outside and walk around the neighborhood, as my time is running out.

I walked over to the Fields Park, a park I looked at often from my apartment. Just this morning there was a huge group Yoga class. At least 100 people. It was cool to see them all move around in unison.

I have those indescribable feelings you get when things are changing. That feeling of wanting time to just stand still a minute. I felt like this time would never come, I've wanted my family here so bad. Now I can't believe this time has come. I'll miss this apartment and its free cable and washer and dryer, but I'll be so much happier with my family. I never want to be apart from them for this long again.

Here are some random shots from my last Sunday in the Pearl. I really should have taken a photo of Portland's first doggie gym, just to prove that such a thing exists.

Multnomah Public Library

When I was in my mid-twenties I had a goal of getting a library card in every city that I visited.

So glad I outgrew that crazy goal.

But I still like getting a library card every time I move. Yesterday I decided to visit the Multnomah Public Library downtown and get my Portland library card.

I wasn't sure they'd let me get a library card since I wasn't technically a resident of Portland or even Multnomah County. When I lived in Colorado and wanted a Denver library card I was living in Castle Rock. They made me provide a credit card. But in typical, laid-back Portland style I was told I wouldn't need to provide anything but a photo ID. No credit card. No proof of residency. Just my out-of-state drivers license. That is so Portland. Rules are a drag, man!

The library is huge and has just about every book known to man. Seriously, the catalog is impressive. And I love libraries that are multiple stories tall.

I checked out a book about the former CEO of Coke, Neville Isdell. I want to learn as much about our clients as possible, just as David Ogilvy taught me.

Time's Almost Up

I was walking home from the office and I realized that my time is almost up at the Wyatt. I have to move out a week from tomorrow. Thankfully my old friend from Gates, Jerry Burn, offered to let me stay at his house in Beaverton for the few days between my eviction and my flight to meet up with my family.

It seems like such a long time ago that I landed at PDX. I remember arriving at the Wyatt in my rental car and having absolutely no idea how to get into the garage. I circled the building a few times before I happened to see someone pulling into the garage, and then I followed them. Then it took me a while to find my parking space. But by the end of the two weeks of having the rental car I knew how to get around easily.

That's the big lesson: things are always scary and confusing when they are new, but you do eventually learn how to do things, and they actually become easy.

I'm going to miss this nice, cable tv-equipped apartment. It has been great to not have to worry about where I am living all this time. Instead I was free to focus on where our family will live when they join me.

It's a very nice apartment, in a very nice apartment building, in a very nice part of town. I especially enjoy looking out the big windows and seeing the immense I-5 bridge.

In eight days I'll leave the apartment for good. And 10 days after that I'll board a plane for SLC and meet the family! We are driving to Oregon instead of flying.

Today was the Producer offsite day, a day dedicated to celebrating, having a good time, and not working. Except Lori and I did have to work. We had a client call at 1pm, smack dab in the middle of all the festivities. But, as Pierre said, the work comes first. Lori and I joined the group later on for dinner at a great Thai restaurant. Here's Pierre giving his evening speech.

After dinner I walked the 1.5 miles home, rather than catching a cab. I walked over the Burnside Bridge and snapped this photo of a famous sign. The lighting is terrible.

Market Street Branch

Forward: This post incorporates a lot of LDS lingo, including:

Ward: A congregation defined by geographical boundaries. LDS people are assigned to wards based on where they live.

Branch: Similar to a ward, but the total membership of a branch is usually much smaller than a ward. Branches are formed in areas where the LDS population isn't dense enough to warrant a ward. 

Stake: A grouping of 10-12 wards or branches. Like a state that is comprised of several cities.

Institute: A place of spiritual education. Think Sunday school for people during the week. Institutes are typically close to universities.

I attended church at the Market Street Branch, which meets in the institute building across the street from Portland State University. I'm glad I had the experience of riding my bike downtown to get to church. I always love meeting with branches. True, I've only done it one other time (Long Island), and only for one week, but I really enjoy the eclectic people I get to meet. I can only speak for myself, but I think I get caught up in the traditions of family wards, and I get used to the homogeneous atmosphere. For some reason meeting with branches reminds me what the gospel is all about. It could be because the two branches I have attended both had newer members, so they were just learning things we take for granted, like how to sing hymns, and how meetings begin and end with prayers.

The branch president lives several miles away in Tigard, which I assume is an entirely different stake. I asked a senior missionary why the branch president lives so far away. He did an excellent job explaining the Market Street Branch:

Most wards and branches have boundaries. The Market Street Branch has no boundaries. Instead, it has a definition, and that definition is that we are the place people go when they don't feel comfortable in other wards. We have no young men or young women program, we do not have primary or a nursery. People attend this branch because they feel comfortable coming here.

The Market Street Branch is awesome. I really like the people. I was invited to attend a special barbecue at the branch president's house tomorrow night. Of course I am attending...there will be free food. It's either that, or come home to the bachelor pad and have pasta again. I need some protein!

I'll be sure to post from the Family Home Evening party tomorrow night. 

Decisions, We Think

Yesterday afternoon we learned the people who are buying our house in Colorado wanted us to replace a garage door panel and paint it to match the rest of the garage door. This is because we accidentally backed into it a few years ago when it was halfway up. It was dented. When it happened we had a repairman come out and realign the door. It has worked ever since.

The repair would be about $300. Not much when you consider the big picture, and that is the fact our house would sell and we'd be able to proceed with buying the house in Sherwood.

But we said no. We didn't want to fix something that was working properly. We understood they could back out because of this, but we held our ground thanks almost entirely to Chanel. 

It was stressful to wait for them to respond. Would we lose the sale? Would we lose the house in Sherwood? Then, after a while, it became un-stressful. In fact, we hoped they would back out so we could back out of the Sherwood house and instead rent in Beaverton. 

Later in the evening they said they weren't happy, but they would sign the contract anyway. So we saved about $300.

But we still contemplated backing out of the Sherwood home, thinking that it'd be easier and cheaper to rent in Beaverton. I went to bed shortly after doing research and finding a handful of houses for Chanel to look at online.

Then I woke up this morning thinking the Sherwood home would be the best option for us. Chanel and I discussed it for quite a while this morning, and decided to check out the rental homes in Beaverton we found. Turns out none of the landlords or rental management companies got back to me. Some of the companies aren't even open on the weekends! We decided to go with the Sherwood home, and we feel good about the decision. 

I'm hoping this is a repeat of the Firestone home. When I asked Chanel if we should get it she said in a very unenthusiastic manner, "I guess."  We didn't love it at all. And now it makes us sad to leave it. 

I bet we fall in love with this home, too. Because it ain't the house that matters, it's what happens inside it with your family and friends.

Bike Repair

My bike needs a tune-up. I am cheap, and I've been searching for a free bike tune-up event. Should be easy to find in Portland, right? Like trying to find a free dog vaccination clinic. Everyone in Portland has a bike and a dog.

Anyway, I found a free bike clinic earlier this week that was part of a Levi's special event, but the line was too long so I left. I found another group that offered what I thought was free bike tune-ups Saturday mornings, so I went this morning to Bikes for Humanity PDX. Turns out they don't offer free repairs per se, rather, they have you volunteer at their bike restoration shop, and in return for every two hours of volunteer work you get one hour to work on your bike in the shop.

I really like this concept. I know nothing about bike repair, so I decided to volunteer and earn some personal repair time. Steve gave me an excellent overview of the shop's workflow, then put me to work cleaning an old-school Schwinn cruiser. I had a great time, and learned a little about brake systems in the process.

When my two hours were up Steve let me put my bike up on a stand and we tackled the gear shifting system. Turns out it was a hot mess, but Steve fixed it! He explained every step to me in hopes that I'd retain the info and help others. I must admit...not much stuck. I don't know why, but I have a hard time retaining mechanical information. 

I was so happy I earned my bike's repair. It feels good to work. I certainly got more out of the experience than a free repair. And I got much more than I would have if I simply dropped the bike off at a shop and returned a few days later with my credit card. 

You can check out the group's site here.

Thursday Night

Portland is having an unbelievably nice summer. It has only rained once since I got here nearly three weeks ago. It has been sunny every day. It has been warm, but never really hot.

The first two weeks I was here I was frantically searching for a house every night. (BTW: We'll know tomorrow night if the Colorado buyers are going to actually buy our house. At that point we'll also know if we are going to buy the home in Sherwood.)

Tonight I had some free time, so besides doing the dishes, taking out the trash, and ironing some clothes I decided to take advantage of both the nice weather and the free time and ride my bike up to Portland State University. I also wanted to get some exercise after eating an entire Trader Joe's frozen pizza all by myself. Here are some photos I took on my journey.

 I love the name of this church: The Old Church

 This is some guy's pet. To me that's different.

 Inside joke alert: Chanel, they really did remove the center panel of one of the doors!

I want to remember how cool it is to have my own apartment in downtown Portland. I also want to remember that at times it can be a little boring. I don't want to spend any money, so shopping is out. And I run almost every morning, so I get my fill of the great riverfront and beautiful forestry nearby. I really miss the kids and can't wait to be back with them again. Then I'll wonder what on earth I did with all my free time while I was a bachelor in downtown Portland!

Head Up High

It's been a difficult few weeks. Work is beginning to become work (honeymoon is ending). The potential buyers of our Colorado home are having second thoughts. I need to find a place to stay from August 21-29 because my corporate housing expires and I'm flying to Colorado to drive to Oregon with the family on the 30th. Things are stressful. 

Last night I just wanted to give up. I closed my eyes and prayed that this was all a dream, and that I'd open my eyes and be in my bedroom in Firestone. I'd go back to life before Portland. I opened my eyes and I was in my apartment. I considered just quitting and returning home to Firestone and searching for a job in Colorado. I knew it'd be career suicide to leave a job 2 1/2 weeks into it. I knew I'd have a ton of money to reimburse WK and that I'd probably never get a job at a big shop again. I didn't care. I just wanted to be home and with my family again. I went to bed.

This morning I woke up and decided I would try to make things work out. I prayed for help. Then I got this simple email from my dad:

Hold your head up high and stay focused buddy !

That is the entire email. He had no idea I was having troubles. But that simple email provided me with such peace. It helped me realize that everything would be just fine, and that I couldn't sit around feeling sad or overwhelmed. I need to hold my head up high and stay focused. 

And that's just what I'm going to do. And everything is going to be awesome. I will be with my family soon. Work is going great. I'll find a place to stay for that super small amount of time. If these buyers back out of buying our home we'll just rent it out and rent a house in Sherwood and we'll be fine. I have so much going right for me, and the best part is it's only going to get better.  

It's going to get better! And I'll be much stronger, humbler, and more patient after going through this trial. I love my life. I really do.

Here are a couple photos to remind me of what it was like to walk to the grocery store and walk back to my apartment. Number 1104 at the Wyatt in the Pearl District, downtown Portland.

Monday Evening Bike Ride

Chanel's Visit / Random Thoughts

Chanel flew in Friday for a weekend visit. While I was waiting for her in the arrivals section of the PDX she sneaked up behind me and scared me big time. I yelled so loud I made the woman standing next to me jump. It was pretty hilarious. Any time I scream like a little girl on a carnival ride it's pretty hilarious. I can't explain how HAPPY I was to see her, to hug her, to be with her. She looked absolutely beautiful.

We drove back to the apartment and I gave her a quick tour. Then we drove down 13th Avenue and she dropped me off about two blocks from the office so she could hop on the freeway and check out the house in Sherwood.

Chanel did not instantly fall in love with the Sherwood house or neighborhood.  I didn't fall in love with Sherwood, either. We are not convinced that we are going to love Sherwood or even Oregon. The problem is Colorado spoiled us. It is, in our opinion, the best place on earth to live. If we are going to be truly happy in Oregon we're going to have to find a way to stop comparing the two places. And in regards to Sherwood, we need to keep reminding ourselves that we chose Sherwood because of the great schools and very safe neighborhoods.

This will be particularly important to remember when we write out a mortgage check that is much higher than the ones we wrote while living in Firestone.

Firestone. It is so bizarre that we love that tiny town so much. We despised it when we first moved there. About two days after moving in we went to a carnival in a field next to Safeway. We each got about 500 "goatheads" stuck in our shoes and feet, and some of us even started bleeding. We have never been able to keep our bike tires inflated for very long thanks to those goatheads. We went to a "honey bee" festival at the junior high school and it made us so depressed. The town smells like cow poop at least 75% of the time. There is virtually no shopping there, and very little to do other than visit the small rec center or hang out at the library. I honestly don't know why we love that town, but we do. We truly do. We love the ward, we love the elementary school, we love walking through the neighborhood, we love our park, and we love our house...the same house that we didn't even love when we bought it.

And at the same time, believe it or not, I am looking forward to our new life in Oregon. I can't imagine having a better job, and I'm looking forward to watching our kids shine at an excellent school. I'm looking forward to making our new house our home, meeting neighbors and ward members, shopping at Trader Joe's, going to the Portland Temple with Chanel, driving to the coast, riding our bikes to the movie theater...I just know we are going to have a lot of fun here.

We are in a tough transition period right now. I still don't know where I am going to live on August 21, which is when my corporate housing expires. I don't know when I will see the kids again, but I know it'll be soon. Lots still up in the air, but I believe these issues will be solved this week.

Friday afternoon I gave Chanel a tour of the office. I was especially excited to show her the free Coke vending machine. After work we walked to a Japanese restaurant and had a great dinner. Then we drove to Trader Joe's in downtown Portland.

On Saturday we went for a run along the Willamette River on our way to the Portland Saturday Market. The market was still being set up, so we ran to Powell's and picked up some books for the kids. After Powell's we went exploring and came across Mother's Bistro & Bar. It was packed with a 40 minute wait time for seating, but we figured it must be good if people were willing to wait for so long! We put our names down and killed some time by walking to Voodoo Doughnut. Neither of us are huge doughnut fans, so we didn't wait in this line very long:

We headed back to Mother's. I want you to understand what I am about to type: Portland has the best food in the world, and Mother's has the best breakfast in the universe. We were so entirely blown away by our amazing food that we still can't stop talking about it. We both had omelettes and potatoes, and we simply could not believe how great they were. Killer. This meal made us very, very happy.

 Chanel is so wonderful and so beautiful. Looking at this picture makes me so bad wish she was here with me right now.

After Mother's we headed back to the Saturday Market. It was cool, but we decided it'd be more fun with the kids so we walked/ran back to the apartment, cleaned up, and drove down to Sherwood and checked it out some more. We walked around the outside of the grade school and found it nice and spacious, with lots of fun stuff for the kids to do during recess.

After our visit to Sherwood we went to the Nike Store in Beaverton.

Nerd

We picked up some stuff for us and the kids (and ourselves, of course), and then decided to drive to the coast. When we realized how long it would take to get to the coast we instead drove to Salem and checked out the capitol building. Then we drove back towards Portland and made a pitstop in  Lake Oswego, where we had dinner at Chevy's, a place we haven't eaten since our early college days in Vegas. We loved it and totally pigged out on chips, salsa, flour tortillas, and our dinners. Muy bien!

Perhaps you didn't know this about us, but you have probably picked up on the fact we are huge Trader Joe's fans. We are thrilled that there is a TJ's in LO, about 15 minutes from our house. Here's a photo of Chanel flexing her bicep in front of the store:

We came back to the apartment and watched the local news. We got up super early and went to the airport for Chanel's 6am departure. She's home now with the kids. It was pure heaven having her here.

After going to church in Sherwood I had to return the rental car. I am going to miss that car, but I am looking forward to riding my new bike around town. I felt this sign in the elevator of the rental car return epitomized the extent to which people in Portland try to be nice. A simple note simply would not do.

New Bike!

I found a great road bike on Craigslist last week, but at that point I was still trying to sell my mountain bike in Colorado so I didn't buy it.

This afternoon someone bought my mountain bike. I checked Craigslist and the bike was still available! I was shocked and excited and literally ran almost 5 miles to the person's house after work. I fell in love with the bike and bought it. It's an Orbea Cabestany. The guy I bought it from said he picked it up while he was traveling in Malaga, Spain.

The best part? The guy had dropped the price $40 since I saw the post last week!

The bike is a classic road bike, and it rides smooth. Here's a shot of me at a stoplight as I was riding it home.

Things are working out so well for us. Things are falling into place so smoothly. We are so blessed. I can't wait to take this bike out for a long ride. Maybe I'll ride to Eugene next weekend! It's only 128 miles...one way.

House Hunt Is Over...We Think

We sure had an exciting beginning to our week.

On Monday morning I drove out to Sherwood and looked at a four bedroom house. It was definitely the nicest house I had seen in Sherwood. Chanel and I decided to put an offer on it. We were aggressive and asked the seller to cover all the closing costs. In the contract we told the sellers they had until 5pm Tuesday to get back to us. 

So Tuesday afternoon rolled around and we hadn't heard anything. We assumed that meant they weren't going to entertain our offer, so we decided to check out some houses in Vancouver. We found a HUGE house and decided that since the Sherwood people never got back to us we'd pursue the Vancouver home. Later that night our Oregon Realtor told us we'd have an answer by Wednesday morning. We said fine, but we were all set to buy the Vancouver home. 

On Wednesday morning our Washington Realtor said she heard two other offers were coming in on the Vancouver house, and one of them was for full asking price and zero closing costs assistance. If we were to match that offer we would have had to bring a lot of money to closing. The bonus with the Sherwood home was the fact it qualifies for a USDA mortgage, which requires zero down.  

Also on Wednesday morning we were told the Sherwood owners countered with a very acceptable offer: raise the price of the home a bit and they'd cover closing costs 100%.

We chose Sherwood. Later in the day our Washington Realtor told us the other offer on the Vancouver home fell through, but by then we had decided to stick with Sherwood, even though our mortgage would be a bit more.

What a relief! We finally found a home. What an answer to several prayers, offered by us and several friends and family members.

Yesterday our Realtor provided us with an inspection report done on the home in early July. Some of the findings freaked us out, the most troubling was the fact that raccoon had found a way to get into the crawlspace! Wow, that really freaked me out. We heard today that their entrance point had been sealed up. That's a relief.

This morning I signed the mortgage paperwork. Next Wednesday the inspector is going to do a follow-up report for us. We also have a mold specialist coming in to make sure there is no mold in the house. 

It has been a busy couple weeks, but everything is falling into place so nicely for us! We may even be able to rent the house we are buying in Sherwood until our closing is final. 

Now my focus will be on Chanel. She is flying up for a weekend visit, and I am crazy excited!

Sold!

Our house is now officially under contract. A family walked through it on Saturday and immediately put in an offer. We countered with minor changes, and they quickly accepted. 

What a relief! It feels so amazing to have the house under contract. It lifts so much stress off our shoulders. Now we are concentrating on finding a home in Sherwood. Chanel found a great house that I will walk through tomorrow at 8am. If we like it we will immediately put in an offer. 

I attended church in Sherwood today. The people were very nice. If we buy the house I am looking at tomorrow we will attend that church. Again, I wish I could read my future posts!

Yesterday I went on an amazing run through the Portland neighborhood I am currently living in, up to a forest area, and along the Cherry Hill path. At least I think that's what it is called. It was a very steep trail run, which was hard both going up and going down. Trail runners are pretty amazing.

I decided to reward myself by making a fancy dinner: tacos. I ground up two frozen turkey burgers, and threw in some green pepper. I used Trader Joe's salsa, Trader Joe's taco shells, and cheese and made myself this awesome meal. I ate five tacos, plus I used two broken shells as tortilla chips and dipped them into my salsa jar. Aside from eating out at lunch for work, those tacos were the best things I have eaten since I arrived.

Since I arrived. 

I was reflecting today on how crazy it is that I have only been here a week. It seems like so long ago that I got off the plane. I have experienced more in this one week than I think I have ever experienced in the same time frame. I've been to Portland, Battle Ground, Vancouver, Oregon City, Sherwood, and Beaverton. I've been to work, walked the streets of downtown Portland, went to the Portland Temple, and attended church in Sherwood. I've used an entire tank of gas in a Nissan Versa. I've done a lot, and I'm looking forward to doing even more.

Portland Oregon Temple. Good thing I got there when I did...
after Saturday it closes for a month for cleaning and maintenance.

I miss my family. It's hard being here all alone. I'm typing in an apartment all by myself. It is a great apartment with spectacular views, but when you have no one around it's just not as special. I can't wait for Chanel to get here on Friday. And I really can't wait to see the kids again.