Gingerbread House 2010

A good start to the winter break for the girls as we wrapped up a trip to Peacock Lane, a visit to Aunt Katie's house, and a sleepover with the Farleys! In order to make sure the kids got to bed on time we tried to wear them out by taking ours to the park (the Farleys went rock climbing) and we settled for Gingerbread House decorating in the evening with the hope that all of the girls will sack out come 9 PM. The beverage on the table is Susan's really.


The girls made quick work of the gingerbread house and some of the candy even made it on as decorations.The Christmas music was playing and the kids debated their favorite song. The consensus was Jingle Bells and we were treated to a rousing rendition when they could remember the words. The four of them did a good job of putting it all together and it was fun for us to take a listen. Maybe some caroling later in the week is in order.
The girls really took pride in the decoration of the 2010 edition, but perhaps it was just the sugar rush that was helping with the smiles on their faces. Abby's favorite part of decorating was "eating the icing" Katie liked the candy best and Lucy liked the roof. Amelia enjoyed the extra halloween candy that we broke out to supplement the provided provisions. There was Dots and Smarties that were from October but does sugar really ever go bad? Lucy really got into the action and it was fun to capture them all into such a project. I don't think it took them more than 15 minutes.

DC Prepares for Christmas

I travelled back to Washington DC for a FHWA workshop.
The travel took me back to the scene of one of the most exciting moments of my life (which I would prefer not to repeat). Walking past the GWU Hospital made me think back to the people that helped me during a time of need. I felt very small walking next to the Metro station and thankful that I wasn't taking another mode today.
If that wasn't enough to make one think deep thoughts, I walked past the White House on World Aids Day, with the red ribbon dorning the Obama residence on Pennsylvania Avenue.
A challenge of epic proportions which we can look across the globe and recognize that as far as we can go, there's a need to work together to meet our common foes.
My last stop in DC that was blogworthy was Union Station. I am always happy to spend a little time in this great monument to transportation and appreciative of the great things that we have done in this country that have made our world a better place.

Giving Thanks

A very nice letter from Mayor Sam Adams Giving Thanks. I hope he doesn't mind me poaching the graphic. It's so nice I thought it was worth posting.

I am thankful for family, friends, and our collective health. I am really grateful for so many things and hopeful to demonstrate my gratitude in my actions. I have been very busy but as the Mayor suggests, need to get into the spirit of giving. I believe it's really important to instill that in the kids and hoping to do that this season.

Off to Estacada to visit with family.

091214 Wet Carfree Peacock Lane

Peacock Lane is one of my favorite holiday traditions in Portland. My mom always would take us and drive through the neighborhood. I never liked that portion of the tradition, so for the longest time we would walk done the Lane.  
 
With a bakfiets, we have an opportunity to take the kids in the pouring rain and hit the streets. Tonight was the carfree night, so we had an opportunity to stroll through without the trouble of cars. The downside was the rain and the cold.  
Abby was super tired on the way home and either fell asleep or acted like it and was not wanting to wake up when we got home.
 

As we were biking there, Susan asked me if we were crazy. Maybe a little bit. It was cold, wet, and uphill to Peacock Lane, but hey why not?

On the National Mall

We drove down to DC on Friday to visit the National Mall. We took the Metro from the Rhode Island Station on the Red Line. It was a holiday, so we parked for free and took the quick ride into DC. I had a quick thought about the recent crash that occurred on the Red Line at Fort Totten that resulted in several deaths.

Abby wanted to see dinosaurs and animals, so we headed to the National Museum or Natural History. There was a special bonus because there was a special butterfly exhibit. The rotunda was an amazing spectacle and it was packed with people the day before the 4th as it was a special time in our nation's capital. There was a music festival going on and with a new president in the White House there was a buzz in the area on the day before Independence Day.



We enjoyed the National Mall and coerced the girls to walk almost two miles as we went towards the Washington Monument with the prospects of playing on the grass and rolling down the hill. The idea of going to visit the White House was very exciting for the girls as they wanted to go talk to Barack Obama and say hello.

We ended up making the turn from the White House north to K Street and we took the Circulator bus towards Union Station where we caught some dinner and then headed back to the car.

New Year, A Reflection on Life

Ladies and Gentlemen (of the class of ’99)
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience…I will dispense his advice now. Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not
understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded.

But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked….You’re not as fat as you imagine. Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing
bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday. Do one thing everyday that scares you Sing Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss

Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind…the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself.

Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how. Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life…the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t. Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.

Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…what ever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s. Enjoy your body, use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own.

Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room. Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them. Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly. Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good.

Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future. Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and
lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young. Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live
in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders. Respect your elders. Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund,
maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out. Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85. Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen…

http://www.lyricscrawler.com/song/3953.html

Christmas Music

'Tis the Season, it's that time of year for Christmas music. www.pandora.com is a great new find that is essentially internet radio without commercials. Pandora combined with the local radio station blasting out Christmas music is likely to lead to Christmas Music overload for us. I have hit the wall on a couple of occassions, so I recognize the need to pace myself with how much I am listening. Too much of a good thing, is seldom good.

The reason I like Christmas music is that there is such a diversity within a consistent theme. It's mostly good artists of all vintage with an occasionally bad song that makes me think about that era (if I remember it). It's about celebrating a holiday for the most part, something that I am not particularly good at, (the whole taking time off bit is still somewhat foreign because of my Dad) yet I recognize the interest in improving.