Seaside

Tim and I are heading out to the beach early Sunday morning for a few days of R&R! We were given a Worldmark trip to Seaside, for 2 nights from Tim's family, thanks Mom and Dad! We are so excited to get away...and this place is on of our favorites too. Beautiful views, oceanfront, swimming pool that looks out onto the ocean...I can't remember the last time I was at the beach. I think it was in September. We'll post some pictures when we return. Bon Voyage!

-H

Got Sand... I mean snow?

Well, for the locals, you know that things slowed down last week with an unexpected snow dump. They predicted a "big snow" the week prior and it barely spat, so this prediction was "a few flurries" that ended up being 3 inches on our doorstep, ice on our windshields and packed snow causing people to slide down our hill!



Heidi and I had some time off work and walked up that treacherous hill to get pizza at Godfather's. We saw several cars sliding down the hill, not to mention the gravel truck sliding as well!

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We took some time Wednesday to make snowmen (a snowTim and a snowHeidi as well as a snowFreckles)They only lasted an hour as someone knocked them down.






Thanks to Robert, Heidi brought home his racing track after she had watched the girls. e had some fun evenings racing cars and building elaborate tracks. I will try to post a video later of Snickers reaction to the cars. Quite a hilarious video if I might say so!



Well, Here are some photos to enjoy until I can post the video.

Odds & Ends...

It's been awhile! First off, thank you for your prayers as I've been exploring, struggling, and looking for answers regarding my pituitary tumor. Tim and I were fortunate enough to be able to see a Naturopathic Physician two weeks ago who gave us excellent clarification, and direction! The bottom line is that I absolutely have no other choice than to take my Bromocriptine prescription. I stopped taking it for a week due to some icky side effects, but have since resumed, and all praise to God, I am doing fine. The Dr. suggested that this type of tumor is capable of going into other parts of the brain and even effecting some of my vital organs, if left untreated. She also said that we will more than likely struggle with infertility, even with being on the medicine. She talked some about diet, and though, Tim and I eat healthy, we are now more than ever committed to our organic meats, dairy, and produce. The added Estrogen and other hormones aren't what I need at all, and will only be harmful in the long run. The only "natural" thing she really was able to suggest was incorporating fish into my diet 3x a week, as well as seaweed 1x a week, along with a calcium supplement. She added that I, unfortunately, just have a bad case of luck, and that there was nothing I did to bring this on. She even suggested I may have been born with this, it's just been manifesting itself over the past couple of years. So, the Bromocriptine is going well. I started it back up gradually, and am now at my full dose. I will be seeing an Endocrinologist one of these days to talk more about infertility (of course, we aren't looking to have children for quite awhile) for the future, and more specifically my current conditon. Thank you for your prayers, these past few weeks. Tim and I are so thankful we were able to get a second opinion, and relieved we did so quickly! I have another blood test done in March, to check my levels again, and adjust the dose. Besides this, we've had tons of other things happening too...we celebrated our 4 year proposal anniversary this past Saturday by dining at our fav restaurant, Boccelli's in downtown Gresham...along with our 5 year dating anniversary the day before! :) We finished painting our dining room, kitchen, and have gotten a great start on the bathroom remodel. We also switched our bedroom around, and moved it across the hall. It feels like a luxury to have a larger bedroom now...we are loving the change. Tim is enjoying his evening job at Sunnyside Counseling Center, and I am enjoying my night class at Mt. Hood Community College. Despite it being a math class, it's going well so far. We even got snowed in this past week, though I will let Tim share pictures in his blog. Hope all is well whereever this may find you...

-H

Blues...

For those of you whom we've told about our After Christmas Blues Party on January 20th...well, Tim and I are calling it off. We were sick this past weekend, colds, flu, etc. and aren't going to be able to catch up enough before this party date. So, we're sorry, as we were really looking forward to having everyone over! Tim and I will have a gathering this summer of some sort, promise. Or, better yet, you'll drop in sometime when you're in our neck of the woods!
-H

Priceless... um Peerless

"J" style Peerless bathroom faucet with Lowes 10% discount coupon.....$52

Decolav white porcelain under counter sink basin.....$40

Brown, white, tan and black speckled Corian counter top.....$0 (given to us from a friend's boss)

A good friend to install the countertop, fix the leaky faucet, find the cracks, be there for support after a crazy day and be a true friend.....Priceless

There are things money can buy, but there is nothing like fixing up a house and doing it with friends. Thanks to McKenzie for his hard work and his friendship (also for the help fixing our washer!)

Here are the before and afters, we'll be fixing the wall and hanging a mirror soon. (and replacing the ugly toilet, amongst other things)
-T

New Year's Weekend

Happy New Year! Tim and I enjoyed our second 3 day weekend in a row together. I think Christmas and New Year's Day need to fall on Monday's every year! I guess Friday's would be allright too :) Here are a few of the highlights:

1. Waking up at 5am to head to the REI used gear sale. (After hitting Dutch Brothers for FREE coffee of course)!!
2. Midnight shopping with Tim at Walmart...hey, it's the one time of year I can actually justify going into that store! (You would too if you only knew the Christmas clearance sale items that are practically give-aways)!!!
3. Playing Apples-to-Apples with our college group Sunday night and on into Monday morning.
4. Snowshoeing Monday afternoon with Tim
5. Trying out my new shoeshoes that we bought last year for a third of the cost, and realizing they are 10x easier to put on then my older ones.

Tim and I are looking forward to new beginnings this year! A few changes already...Tim's started his new job; I'll let him expand on this one. I'm cutting back my hours at the end of March, and probably returning to school 5 months earlier than expected. More to come on this new development....
I've decided on going the "natural" route with my medication, after having some icky side effects last week (fainting!). I have an appt. with a Naturopath Physician in SE on Saturday. I have also started some new supplements along with my others that I am confident will help. Tim and I feel this is a better decision at this point, and are looking forward to this new plan. 2007, here we come!