Freshness

Yesterday, Beth and I went for an early morning hike at Silver Creek Falls. And I am not kidding when I say early. I pulled into Beth's driveway shortly after 6 o'clock. We got our coffee fix at Starbucks and headed out!

We started at the North Falls trailhead and took the Canyon Trail in for a few miles, crossed over the river onto the Winter Trail, and hiked back to the trailhead uphill on the Rim Trail. We saw four of the ten waterfalls that are in the park. It was quiet and the air was incredibly fresh. We saw beautiful wildflowers, small wildlife (I even took a video of a chimpmunk eating a berry), breathtaking waterfalls, and heard cheerful birds singing. At one point we realized that the loudest sound was that of our footsteps. When we stopped, it was incredible. You could hear the faint sound of bubbling water and that was it.

Another fun part of the day was that I played photographer...taking myself back to the good ol' days of high school yearbook. I actually got a few shots that I was proud of. And I was inspired to read the manual for my camera because, in my expereince, knowing your camera and the settings is key to getting a really cool pictures. I don't know, I'm thinking about adding photography back onto my hobby list.

Canon Beach Tradition

Haystack Rock, Canon Beach

Every spring break, we take a day trip to Canon Beach. This year was no exception. Mom, Tim and I headed to the north coast, despite the rainy weather. We moseyed through the stores downtown- with a specific stop at the candy store for Tim's yearly taffy fix. Eating lunch at Mo's was a must and of course I savored every bite of my clam chowder. We unitentionally took the long route home, stopping in Manzanita- a small coastal town where my great grandparents lived years ago. We drove down Hwy 101 and admired the grey beauty of a rainy Oregon coast. It was one of those days that was just plain ol' good- a tradition worth keeping!

Mom, Tim, and I

In Mo's, obviously having good hoot about something...

Tim getting fresh taffy!

The best deli on the Oregon Coast...in my humble opinion.

The First Day of Spring

Today is the first day of spring and my first day of spring break. Ahhhh. It feels good. It's a break from the ordinary pace of life and a chance to just breathe, relax, and slow down. When I woke up this morning, I felt the calm of knowing I had no where to be at any certain time. That's a good feeling.

Then, I started to make a to do list for all that I wanted to accomplish this week. You know me and lists. It's an addiction. But, as I was writing, I started to loose a little bit of that "ahhh" feeling. As my list grew longer, the feeling that I could mosey through my day and my week started to fade.

So I made a decision. This week I am living list free.

Now, don't get me wrong. I love lists. Lists give me a sense of direction and accomplishment. Lists keep me organize and help me to use my time wisely and effectively. Lists aren't bad. Lists are good. But for me, this week, I want a breather. No pressure to cross off the items on a list.

Here's to a week off. A week of no to do's, to accomplish now's, to be done's. A week of sporadic, spur of the moment, enjoyment.

A year later...

A little over a year I ago, I blogged about my oven cleaning woes. I had quite the experience scrubbing my oven and was sore for days afterward.

Right now, as I sit here, my self-cleaning oven is hard at work tackling my dirty oven. I had to turn a knob or two, prop the top, take the racks out, etc. But that's it. No vigorous, painful scrubbing.

Life is good. My oven is cleaning itself.

My Momma

"My Momma- she's my favorite person in the whole wide world. Who's yours? You're Momma?"

Last week, a little girl, fresh from the deep south was a new student in my classroom. Her southern drawl and spunky personality brought a new dynamic to our room.

When she asked me who my favorite person in the whole world was, she already had in mind who I better say it was. In fact, it was quite obvious that if my answer differed from that, her opinion of me would drastically take a turn for the worst.

I assured her that my momma was one of my favorite people. I was confident that in saying this, she would be satisfied.

However, she immediately questioned me. "Then why is it that there ain't no picture of her in your office?"

There was no proof in my pudding. She tilted her head, put her hands on her hips, and waited for me to explain this to her.

I managed some sort of explanation, but it didn't matter what I said. I had no picture of my momma. We moved on, but I knew that I had lost a little bit of my standing with her.

But, I wasn't lying when I said my momma was one of my favorites. And here's the proof:

• My momma, she's the one that I can shamelessly watch Lifetime movies with.
• My momma, she's the one that has always laughed at all my jokes, even when I went through a knock knock joke phase.
• My momma, she's the one that always listens to me...and Lord knows I can talk.
• My momma, she's the one who has always told me that I accomplish anything I set my mind to and then supported me through it...even when it meant I thought I had a future in beauty pageants (I was 11.)
• My momma, she's the one who has celebrated every moment in my life from half birthdays to graduations to passing math. There's always a party to be had.

See? My momma is one of my favorites.