overdue update

Happy Holidays Everyone. Sorry I haven't been posting in awhile. I was kindly confronted by a faithful reader who was wondering what has happened to me as she was following my blog, so feeling guilty, i have decided to get back to it, and am happy to. I just got lazy.
Since my last entry I have been settling in at work and feel that I have been building positive relationships with the staff and students. I really enjoy working with high school students and all that comes along with working through the adolescent years, most of all reminding me that thankfully I never have to go through that again.
The big deal here in Portland was the SNOW. I had a snow WEEK! Even though we only started out with about 3 inches everything was shut down. Portland only has 35 plows in the city and they use gravel instead of salt....so you can imagine the roads. I spent the week knitting, watching movies, and cooking. This was much needed. After returning to IL for the holidays i heard that PDX received snow measuring in the teens and was reporting a state of emergency and the national guard was coming in to help with the roads. Here in Chicago we have the same amount...but things are running as usual.
I have also been climbing a lot at the gym and have made a couple more trip out to Smith Rock. Thanksgiving weekend it was 60 degrees and sunny out there. check out the picture, just amazing!
Don't want this to get too long, so i will sign off for now and will try to keep this more up to date. thanks to my loyal readers for being patient with me. I will post more pics when I get home.
If you are looking for some good reads, check out Glass House, just finished it and have started reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance which i also recommend. it has been a while since i have seen a good movie though.

old places, old friends....new memories

This beautiful weekend was filled with reconnecting with old friends in a place full of memories....of course i am speaking about Smith Rock. Two nights of camping and one cloudless day of climbing. Even though I had been there countless times in the past, this time I got to be there for Alex's first time, which also was one of his first experiences climbing outside. He reminded me how important it is take in the view when you get to the top of a climb...check out the photo. My friends Shannon, Nate, Matty, Nathan.....and can't forget the cutest of them all, LuLu were there as well, which made the weekend complete. Nate and Shannon have just moved back to Oregon as well so it has been awesome reconnecting with them. Got mostly butt shots of climbing...so stand by until my next trip for some more action photos.

a brief catch up

After arriving in Portland my priorities were to find a place to live and to get ready for work the following day. After digging through my car to find appropriate clothing and accepting a bed for the night from some very gracious friends, I felt somewhat content and fell fast asleep dreaming of what adventures would come my way as I settle into this new environment. Since then I have started work at Banks High School as the Youth and Family Counselor. I started the first day off with a list of kids ready to be 'fixed' as the principal refers to it as. The staff and teachers have been very helpful and great to work with. It is a small, agricultural community about 25 miles west of Portland with 1400 residents, making my work at the school manageable...415 students and I see about 10% on a regular basis. Here is a link to the school homepage. http://www.banks.k12.or.us/?q=taxonomy/term/1

After an exhausting housing search, thanks to Craig's list, I found an ideal living situation. I have 3 roommates, 2 guys that live in the basement, whom I rarely see....Nana, don't worry, they are good guys :) and I share the main part of the 2 bedroom house with a girl, Kelly, she comes with a friendly black lab, Lucy. Kelly and I have quickly become good friends and bonded over our love for the White Sox!! Our house is on an acre of land where there is fresh fruit and veggies to be picked and a pit for a warm fire to be had. And as of last week I was able to get my room put together with all the necessary furniture, yay....getting closer to that settling feeling.

As far as getting out and about, I have been camping on the Clackamas, rafting down the McKenzie, meals with old and new friends, visiting my alma mater, shopping at local markets, and frequenting coffee shops of course.

Next stop...where the buffalo roam

Our next stop was Yellowstone, WY where we spent a very cold night in a secluded campsite, finally (meaning NO RVs and more than 10 feet between campsites), and we spent a relaxing morning catching up on sleep, reading and cooking before entering the park where we spent the day driving around trying to spot as much wildlife as possible. The bison buffalo were definitely a highlight.

the road out west

Me and my faithful car under the farewell banner that my very loving neighbors hung to send Alex and me on our way to our first stop of the 2,230 mile journey, the Badlands, SD.

Starting Out

I am needing a break from facebook and want to keep people up on what is going on these days, that is if you are interested. if so....read on...i will try to keep things short and sweet as i know how attention spans are short. I have been Portland, OR now for about 4 weeks but would like to take a quick look back at the adventure of getting out here.
Before leaving there was a series of 'goodbye parties' :( Here's the fam and my very dear friends! what a good looking bunch.