Hank News

While talking to a friend of Ryan's family who is a vet, she mentioned to me that she thinks Hank has hound in him because of his ears. That got me to thinking because although we were told that he was a shepherd/malamute/shar pei mix other than the wrinkles around his shoulder, neck and face he has no other shar pei qualities. I started thinking about different hounds and came up with one that shares quite a few characteristics with our Hank. We all know hounds are good sniffers and Hank is top dog in the picking up random scents when outside. When he catches a scent all hope for having him listen to you is lost. He his mind focused soley on the scent he got in the air or on the ground. He astounded me the other day with his sniffer actually. He was in the backyard, when we had Arctic Blast 2008 happening, and started sniffing around the yard. He finally stopped and shoved his face into the snow and started digging. A few minutes later he came up with his tennis ball. This wouldn't be so amazing to me if it had been a few inches of snow, but it was 6 inches of snow, covered by 1/4 inch of ice, covered by another 6 inches of snow! He apparently did not like having his ball under all the snow the silly dog. Another key thing about Hank is his excess skin; it's only around his upper body, and not on the legs. He also has really deep set, droopy eyes and the loose skin under his chin resembles balls.

So, after thinking more deeply about hound breeds and doing some research I think I figured out what Hank really is. He is not a Shepherd/Malamute/Shar pei mix, in fact I believe he is only ONE of those breeds. His thick double coat, webbed snow shoe paws, love for snow and fear of water, and stubbornness can only mean his is definitly part Malamute. There is no doubt in mind about that. I feel that I can confidently identify that he other part of him, the hound part is......................................................................BLOODHOUND! They all have the chin balls, the deep set, droopy eyes, excessive skin around the upper body and can smell like no other. I read many descriptions of them and Hank fits the bill. If we really wanted to know we could do a DNA test, but I think it's more fun trying to discover it on our own and for now we have a Malamute/Bloodhound mix named Hank. I am going to put some pictures of Hanks droopy eyes and chin balls up, along with some bloodhound pictures so you can decide for yourself. It's a fun game guessing what breeds are in a mutt and that's part of the reason I love them so much. Let us know if you agree with our breed diagnosis!

Arctic Blast 2008 Part Deux

Another six inches of snow last night. That is on top of 1/4" ice and with another 6 1/2" underneath. For all you math whizzes out there you know that means over a foot of snow. We are expected to get 20" after it is all said and done. Needless to say, my car is almost completely covered on the street, my lighted penguins are covered, and we have to walk in the street when we take Hank out. We are hoping we can make it down to my family's for Christmas, but I-5 is closed as of now. Ryan's grandparents are snowed in at the beach as well. It may be in interesting Christmas, that's for sure. I obviously took more pictures because I have nothing else to do with my time so look and be jealous or relieved that it's not you stuck in it!

The Backyard

My Car...can you see it?

The Patio Table with 12 inches of snow on it

The Penguins After

The Penguins Before

Arctic Blast 2008

The meteorologists up here can't agree on the forecast. The newspaper said today we should expect 1"-2" of snow, while KGW News said expect up to 6" of snow. Well, KGW was right, we have probably over 6" of snow as of right now, 8:01pm. The snow started while we were asleep and has not stopped since. I love the snow and therefore am delighted. The only problem is the winds are averaging a speed of 20-30mph. This makes a windchill of -2 degrees.

I took a picture of our patio table right before I started blogging so you could see how massive this snow is. Tomorrow some weather folk are calling for freezing rain, but then again they said this storm wouldn't hit until this afternoon and be done by 10:00pm. I don't believe a word they say and I certainly hope they are wrong about the freezing rain.

I just measured the snow on the patio and read 6 1/2", I can't wait to see how much snow we have in the morning!

Snow Day! Again!

Today is our 3rd snow day this week and with what the forecast says it won't be our last. It is so exciting to get an extra week off from school right before Winter Break. As most of you know I sent out our Christmas e-card last week, so I thought it would be fun to post some of the blooper photos from that little photo shoot. Also, I took a few more pictures and a new video of Hank in the snow because he's just so cute.

Around 10:30 the snow really started falling hard again and is still going strong. I am glad that the freezing rain did not hit like they were forecasting, but I still took Hank on his morning walk early in case it did hit. I love snow and I am so excited that we are actually going to have a white Christmas this year (especially because that's my favorite Christmas movie). I think today we are going to go play board games with Ryan's mom and brother to help pass the time. We also ordered Hank some all weather dog boots. Don't laugh, we got them because his paws are so big and his nails are long (we are slowly trimming them down) so they get snow caught in them. We figured they would be good to have for walks because the de-icer can make dogs sick and for when we take him to mountain to play it will help protect his paws from being in the snow for a long time. They should arrive soon and I hope Hank is excited about them. I think I am going to go watch the snow fall and eat some lunch, but enjoy the video and pictures.

Snow Day Fun

Hank is a snow dog, literally, he is Malamute. The snowy weather we had gave him the opportunity to showcase his innate love for the snow. We took some pictures and a video for you to enjoy. Our favorite Hank snow manuever is when he runs sometimes he'll open his mouth and drag it along the ground gulping up snow, much a like a pelican does with water. We did not get that on video, but trust me it's hilarious.

Dinosaur Bone

We bought Hank a new bone to chew on the other day. We like to get the real bones that are covered in flavor because Hank has jaws of steel and demolishes the fake ones. So, speaking of jaws of steel. We bought him a bone that was probably 10 inches long, and was a femur from some animal. He loved it, but apparently thought it would be a good time to eat the bone. He broke off the femoral head in one bite and then split the bone in half with another bite. I obviously took it from him and threw it away so he wouldn't choke. Ryan and I both felt bad for having to take his brand new bone away, so Ryan went out the next day to get a bigger version. Well, the next size up was apparently a femur from a brontosaurus. This bone is HUGE! Hank, of course, loves it and thankfully has yet to demolish it. Also, he doesn't chew on his toys when we're gone so I don't have to worry about him breaking off a chunk and choking while I'm at work, what a good puppy. Anyhow, I took some pictures of him working on this Dino bone because it looks silly. Enjoy!

P.S. We will be sending out a photo christmas card in the next few days via e-mail, so keep an eye out.

Oops Update

My phone works as of 9:00p Wednesday, so you can call me now! Yay for my self-healing phone!

Ooops....

I started my morning off with an oops. I dropped my cell phone in the toilet, rather it fell out of my pocket into the toilet. It was a clean, flushed toilet so I was able to reach in a scoop it out very quickly, but the damage was done. Whenever it is on, closed or open, it just goes crazy dialing numbers, setting speed dials, changing options, and taking pictures. I am also falling into the oops category because I realized I decided to not get the cheap $2 insurance that covers your phone in situations such as these...oops. So, I called Verizon and they said remove the battery and let it sit for a day or two and it should be OK, but if not I can activate an old phone. Thankfully I have my old phone, so if I have to activate I can. So, if you need to get a hold of me tomorrow, call Ryan's phone. If you don't have his number you can get it from Derek or Mom, I'm not dumb enough to post it on here. As of right now my phone is still on the fritz and I feel like there may be no hope for it, but we shall see. Well, I'm off to bake my praline pecan pumpkin cake (say that five times fast) for Thanksgiving tomorrow. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and remember what you're thankful for, especially during the hard economic times.

Second Post of the Day!

Well I think we have decided to maybe not get a new TV on black friday. It seems that all the TV's in the ads are not on a very good sale to begin with and most of them are not models we are interested in. This means we will be doing more research and more watching of TV's. We also decided that we would rather not drop a bunch of money on a TV right before Christmas. With the economy going the way it is, prices may drop after the holidays anyways, so we are just going to wait and see. Other than the TV debacle, we are doing well. I am pretty much constantly sick and have taken two sick days already this year, which sucks. I hate having to get a sub because they most often are not PE teachers and have no idea what they are doing. My last sub was terrible and I had multiple staff members tell me not have her back, which I won't. My first sub was great though, and I will request her next time I am sick...which will be soon I'm sure. The sickness comes with being a first year teacher though, all the new germs and especially in PE where I am touching all the equipment they touch. Ryan apparently has an immune system of steel because he's had one cold that lasted about one day and happened after he weakened his immune system with spirits. Ryan swears he won't call in sick once this year, but I'm sure if he keeps making out with Hank he'll catch something.

Other than that not much is going on up here. Soccer doesn't start until February, so I have been trying to get to the gym or take Hank on a jog instead of walk in the morning to get my exercise in for the day. It has been hard getting into a routine of working out though because I am sick so much. Ryan plays squash between two and three times a week, and takes Hank on a jog a night so he gets plenty of exercise. I don't have much to do up here and get bored a lot because I don't know anyone, but I'm sure I'll find some friends eventually. Anywho, two posts today! Yay me!

Oh, and my Christmas list will be finished soon. So be expecting it.

Hank Cuddles

Even though our dog is almost 90 lbs. he still loves to cuddle. He is a big affection whore. In the last few days we have snapped some pictures of our loveable mutt cuddling with us. Although he loves to cuddle he won't lay on us or "hug" us (as he is in the pictures with me) without our permission. Please enjoy the pictures of our boy!

Decisions....

We need a new TV. Our current TV is a 19", flat-screen (not flat panel). Although, it has worked great for me during the last two years I now have a normal sized living room and it is too small. In an apartment we were forced to sit within 5 or so feet of it and we had no problems, well now we sit about 15 feet away and can't see a damn thing. Whenever we are watching sports it's always a guessing game at what the score it, even for Ryan who has good vision. This has spurred a burning desire for a new TV. Now, I'm not talking any TV, Ryan wants a biggy. He's thinking between 42"-46" would be perfect. We are hoping to find a good deal in the Black Friday ads, but our dilemma is whether we should get a LCD or a Plasma. We went to Best Buy today to scout some out and the salesman was pushing the Plasma pretty hard, and made the LCD sound as if it were inferior in lifespan, keeping up with quick movements on screen, and price. I have read articles comparing the two on consumer reports, cnet australia, and other random sites and they all say they are pretty much comparable. The only suggestion they all make is that if you are getting smaller than a 42" go with the LCD due to price, and if you are getting a 50" or bigger get a Plasma due to picture quality. We want to get one right in the middle of those, so does it really matter? From what I have read the Plasmas don't get burned in images anymore due to new technology, and LCD had improved it's viewing angles, which were downfalls in the past. The Best Buy guy made Ryan scared to get an LCD, but I don't think it matters because they are equal pretty much. Our question to you is, what do you prefer, LCD or Plasma, and why? Please let us know cause Thanksgiving is in two and a half weeks!

We are alive

Surprise! We are still alive and well. Sorry about the lack of posting, we have both been staying busy and have not had the chance to post. Unfortunately, there is not really much to update you on. We have finished our first month of teaching, and are both enjoying it. My students are pretty well behaved, for the most part, and are fun kids. Ryan has a more challenging population to work with and is following a PE teacher who let the kids do whatever they wanted, so although he is enjoying teaching, some of his classes are a struggle. One of the benefits of being a teacher though is that OMSI has teacher open houses every so often, which means we get to see new exhibits for free! On Tuesday the 2nd we went to the Mindbender Mansion exhibit. It is made up of brain teasers and challenges that get you thinking and help you solve a puzzle so you can join the wall of fame. There was one really fun part which was a trivia/spelling challenge. There were a bunch of letters on the floor (like a giant keyboard...kind of) and on the screen a question would appear. Your task was to jump on the letters that spell out the answer, and you wanted to get as many correct answers as you could in 2 minutes. It was really fun to play and to watch. We bumped into a bunch of teachers from my school so we all did it together and had a good time.

In the non-work related world we haven't been up to too much. Hank hurt himself again, so we had to visit the vet...again and he's on meds...again. He somehow cut his toe right on the edge of the pad and the inside of his toe and wouldn't stop licking it so it couldn't heal. It did not get infected thankfully, but we have to put a sock on his leg and tape it on so that he will leave it alone and let it heal. He was on pain killers for a few days, and had about 2 weeks of antiobiotics. We only have two more days of the antibiotics, and we will probably have to keeping socking him for another week, give or take. If he would leave it alone we could take it off right now because it's almost healed, but when we have tried he starts licking it and irritates it again. It's like having a child! But we still LOVE our Hanky.

Ryan has joined a squash league and plays about two nights a week. He is doing well and winning most of his matches and having fun. On October 18th he is playing in a tournament up here as well. We are both on a co-ed intermediate soccer team. Right now we are playing on Sundays in the late evening, most of our games START at 9 pm. We aren't super happy about the time, but the season is almost over. The next session starts in November and we plan on playing in a different league that is located closer to us (right now we play near Garden Home if you know the area) and will give us a more reasonable game time. I am really enjoying soccer because it's a great cardio workout and thankfully I'm pretty good too!

I saw that Derek, Alicia, and Jadon got some fishies recently. I have been thinking about getting some as well because Hank enjoys looking at them when we go to PETCO. Ryan thinks I'm a crazy animal lady, but I think he's just thankful I'm not pondering getting a cat. We looked at some fishies this last weekend when we went to get our free tennis ball (Yay for being a P.A.L.S. member) and I saw some pretty ones. Ryan will be out of town this weekend to run a half marathon with his mom in San Jose, so we will see what kind of trouble I can get in while he's away. Fishies or not, we shall see!

Beach Trip

On Saturday Ryan and I couldn't take the heat anymore and Hank wasn't enjoying it either, so we headed to the beach. We went up to Rockaway, which is just above Tillamook, and visited Ryan's grandparents who live up there. It was perfect there at about 60 degrees and almost no wind. We left before 9:00 am and avoided the crazy traffic that arrived a few hours later. We hung out at the house and let Hank roam around the yard and sniff and explore. He loved being off his leash and laying in the grass (which we don't have in our yard at home). After eating some lunch and watching Ryan help Grandpa with some yard work we leashed up Hank and took him to the beach. Our challenge at the beach was avoiding dogs who were not on leashes so that they didn't come say hello and get eaten by Hank. We were successful and had no encounters :) We took Hank down to the water to see how he would react because he seems curious but nervous about water at home. Apparently he had his superman suit on and just waltzed right into the incoming tide with no hesitancy. The humor came when he got distracted and didn't the see large tide come in which hit him about belly high. Once it hit his belly he wanted out and started to walk toward the beach, but then just sat down in the water and froze. It was such a funny reaction considering he wanted OUT of the water not in deeper. After the beach we went to dinner with the grandparents at a nice little place and then headed home. Hank was tired from his long day of travel and adventure and slept pretty much the whole way home. We now wish we had planned ahead and stayed overnight, but hindsight is always 20/20. I put up new pictures in the sidebar from the trip for you, enjoy!

Next Week

Next week Ryan and I officially start work. We both have to attend a week long "New Teacher Academy", mine starting Monday with all the new teachers meeting with the principal and then meeting with our Job-Alike-Mentors for a few hours. The Job-Alike-Mentor is a retired teacher from our content or grade speciality. They are going to basically help us get familiar with the districts curriculum, policies, assessment, etc. On Tuesday I get to sit through speeches by people I will probably see never again and through some mumbo jumbo on assessing literacy (which does not apply to me), through another benefits presentation (redundancy is this districts speciality apparently) and finally a discussion on legal responsibilities regarding TAG, ELL, SpEd, etc. I helped myself out for Wednesday though and took one of the classes today so I do not have to attend it then, which means my day won't start until 12:30, only 3 1/2 hours that day! Thursday is a "Diversity Summit" from 8am until 3pm....boy I can't wait for that. I am not sure of what exactly Ryan's schedule looks like next week, but I know he was not required to attend the Monday presentations for his district, so he obviously opted to not go. He will be going to a bunch of BS all day like me for majority of the week though, and I'm sure he will have similar sessions and speeches to mine.

As I mentioned above, today I went to a "class" about the e-mail and grading system we use in our district. Really, the only purpose of this class was to get your log on information, at least if you are tech savvy like me ;) For three hours the instructor took us through the e-mail program we use and how to do silly things like unsend an e-mail or attach a signature to your e-mail...I was sooooooooooooo bored. Then she took us through how to use the grading system, it's called eSIS, if you were curious. Although that information was important, most of it didn't apply to me because I am a specialist and don't do grades for multiple subjects and only 25 kids. The last two minutes of class she showed how a specialist would do grades for their subject. So, to summarize I sat in a computer lab for 3 hours, oh but she let us out 6 minutes early! Woo hoo! It can be frustrating being a specialist because most of the seminars and staff development we are required to do does not apply to us or it's computers 101 for dummies in today's case. After that wonderful waste of 3 hours of my life Ryan and I had to go to Target to exchange our Airwick Scented Oil warmer because it didn't get warm and then we headed to Petco (where the Pet's go, although Hank didn't go this time) to get the big guy some food and treats. We got a 32 lb. bag of food for $21, yay for Petco P.A.L.S. cards and we are hoping he will enjoy this new food better than the last. We decided to get the bulk treats so we could mix and match, and it was cheaper that way (He liked the "fruit loops" and "chicken leg" so far). When we finished there we walked down to La Fogata, a yummy Mexican food restaurant, for lunch. I got the chicken taquitos with rice and beans in place of guac and sour cream, and Ryan got the biggest burrito I have ever seen...and he still has most of it.

I concluded my running about by going to coffee with the music teacher at my school. I thought it was nice of him to want to chat and discuss some school stuff, and he bought my coffee! I also met the other secretary at my school and the evening custodian. I was planning on doing some inventory and organizing of my equipment room after coffee, but they are waxing my floors so I chose not to. The current layer of wax was dry and we could walk on it, but he was getting ready to put on another layer, apparently they are putting a trillion coats so my floor will shine. The rest of my day has been relaxing by taking a nap and taking the dog on a W-A-L-K. Now though, I will probably go watch some more Olympics. I can't believe that girl on the US gymnastics team choked on the beam AND floor and lost the gold for us, hopefully she'll be able to try again in 4 years, although she may be too old and past her prime at the point. Anywho, hope you're staying cool in the hot weather!

Hank Update

Hey everyone. I thought I would let you all know how our big boy Hank is doing.

I mentioned in the previous post that Hank was not wanting to eat and I was going to add wet food to his kibble. Well, SUCCESS! He obviously LOVES the wet food and scarfed all the kibble down and licked the bowl clean. We have since been reducing the amount of wet food and tonight I was able to get him to eat his kibble with no wet food. It took some persuading, but I think after a few more meals of dry kibble he will make a smooth transition.

We take Hank on at least 1 walk a day, but we usually get two in. He knows the word walk and gets excited and wags his giant tail ferociously when we ask him if he wants to go on one. He is also very good on a leash with minimal pulling, which usually ceases after the first block and he calms down a bit. We also play tug-of-war, fetch/chase (he's working on his drop command still), and then we just play with him by running around and play "boxing". After a long walk with Dad this evening he came home, got some water, and got his ball out of his toy basket and wanted to play! I couldn't believe this guy wanted to play so soon after his walk.

A few days ago we also decided to take Hank to the dog park and see how he reacted with other dogs because we had no history on his socialization. He always seems very excited when he sees other dogs and will sniff them, but then he starts to growl and bark. We believe that he was not socialized as a pup and he will need lots of positive reinforcement around other dogs, and to only be exposed to one dog at a time. He does well on walks when he sees other dogs and doesn't bark or growl, which is a good sign.

Hank also has a little separation anxiety, but nothing serious. Being a stray, then having a home, then going to OHS, then to our home, it's understandable. He just wants to make sure we aren't leaving him. We tried leaving him in the yard when we went to run errands the other day and he whined and barked before we even left. He does fine when left inside though and doesn't chew on anything or sleep on furniture, YAY! We are working on getting him used to staying outside and he seems to making progress. Other than that though he is a gentle giant. He has found his voice in the last few days as well. If Dad comes home and startles him awake with the door he'll bark or if he sees something he doesn't like out the front door window (he can see out of it when he's upstairs) he will give us a good healthy bark. He actually saw my reflection in the door window the other night and was barking. I couldn't figure out what he thought he saw, then I realized it was me! It was so funny.

When we brought him home he did have kennel cough, but he has since finished his meds and we haven't noticed any symptoms so we believe he is cured. We have a vet appointment for him on Monday though, just make sure he's healthy. We think he may have hip problems, being a large dog it wouldn't be surprise, because after a big day of exercising he doesn't like to move much and pretty much refuses to go up the stairs. This could also be due to lack of conditioning. Due to his previous owner not being well we don't think he got out of the house a lot, and his muscles may not be in prime shape (maybe sore muscles?). We will ask the doctor about this though and check it out. Ryan's aunt has a friend who is a vet and she recommended a vet in our area for us, which makes me feel good knowing my pup is going to be in good hands.

Let's see....some interesting facts:
1. Hank is baffled over the heater vents in the floor. He truly has no clue whether to be scared or curious over them. The giant one in the hall doesn't bother him one bit, it's only the small ones.

2. Hank overcame his fear of the bathrooms and helped himself to a drink out of the toilet while we were downstairs the other night. Ryan did not find it as humorous as I did. He just wasn't sure if that was healthy for Hank or not.

3. Hank LOVES soccer. If we are kicking the ball around he will play monkey in the middle forever or we just play one on one with him and he likes that too. He can pick the ball up in his mouth!

4. Hank burps like a manly man AND his farts don't stink...yet.

5. If you lay or sit on the floor Hank will cuddle with you and love every minute of it.

Alright, I think those are the updates we have thus far. Here is a great picture of our Hankasaurus.

New Additions

We've been here for a little under a week and are mostly settled in. We bought a new bedframe and headboard and a new couch. In addition the the furniture we also adopted a dog from the Oregon Humane Society. He is big, but we fell in love with him. He is a German Shepherd/Alaskan Malamute mix, and we think he has some Shar-Pei in him because he has a ton of extra skin! He LOVES people and is very well behaved. He seems to be adjusting fairly quickly considering this is the 3rd place he's lived in the last week. He was a stray to begin with and someone took him in, unfortunately, that person got sick and had to go stay in the hospital so they gave him up to OHS. He was at OHS for just 5 days before we adopted him, so he's had a lot of change in his life lately. The only adjustment issue I am seeing is he doesn't want to eat on his own. I have to bring him to the food bowl and give him a few pieces of kibble out of my hand and then stand nearby while he eats (if I leave the room he stops eating). Even then though he only eats a little bit, but I am going to get some wet dog food to mix in with the kibble and then slowly remove the wet food to get him to eat on his own. Other than that he is a great dog, oh and he's 4 years old, and he's a great match for us!

Those are the big updates we have as of now. We plan to get a dresser that matches our bedframe at some point, but the large purchases are on hold for a little while since we just got the bed and sofa. Also, it seems that nobody on my side of the family will be able to make it for the house warming, which I understand and am not offended. I would though like for all of you to come up and visit, so maybe after the wedding we can figure out a weekend that works for everyone and do a BBQ for ya'll.

In addition we just wanted to thank MOM, STEVE, and UNCLE MIKE for helping us move! We would not have been able to do it without you! I am slowly adjusting to my new life up here still, it is just not the same as Corvallis!

We love and miss all of you and hope to see you soon! Enjoy the slideshow of pictures!

Brace Yourselves...

...a new, very big update is coming soon. We've been absolutely working our asses off up here, so we have a lot to share.

Escaping the Heat

We are sick of how friggin' hot is has been the last few days. No matter what steps we take to keep our apartment cool it still finds away to match the temperature outside. As I type this though, our apartment has cooled down nicely tonight thanks to the colder temperature and the wind. Anyways, to escape the heat of today we decided to make a trip up to the coast. We took off after lunch today and headed up to Newport. Little did we know the forecasted 60 degrees was actually a chilly 51 degrees when we rolled into town. Neither of us were smart enough to wear clothes that would keep us warm in that temperature so we stopped at Freddy's and picked up some warm clothes off of the clearance racks (Ryan returned his after we were done on the beach, sneaky sneaky).

After making our purchases we decided to find somewhere we could access the beach and found Agate Beach. Thankfully soon after getting out of the car the coldness started to burn off and it warmed up nicely. The sun came out and the wind wasn't horrible. The beach was very hilly, as in mini dunes, which I have never seen before and was kind of cool. We found a log to sit on which gave us a view of the ocean and just enjoyed watching the waves and people with dogs or kites. It started to get really windy after probably a half hour so we decided to walk to the parking area and sit in the sun while being protected from the wind. We found a nice little picnic table and enjoyed the warmth of the sun.

When we were done sunning ourselves we walked back to the car and head up to Depoe Bay and Lincoln City so we could take the long way home and enjoy our time away some more. We stopped in Depoe Bay so I could browse all the shops on the bay front and I discovered to stores tucked away in a corridor off the main sidewalk which had some really nice stuff. When I say nice stuff I mean not tacky beach knick-knacks, more stuff you would actually decorate your home with. I found some really cute stuff that I would have loved to get, but being the beach it was way expensive. After Depoe Bay we drove up through Lincoln City without making any stops and headed home.

Although we didn't go out and do something exciting and super interesting like skydive, we both really enjoyed our trip, escaping the heat, and just getting to spend some time together outside of the apartment.

For the rest of the week we are finishing packing and doing some cleaning and making sure everything is in order for the move. It's only a week away! It's hard to think that I won't be living in Corvallis since I have lived in the area for 16 years. At the same time though I am excited to start this new adventure in my life and I look forward to the changes.

I hope everyone else is managing to survive the heat, although I imagine most of you have A/C...If you don't, take a trip to the beach! We took a few pictures which I have put in for you. There's only like 5, but enjoy anyways.

Commenting on our Blog

Alright, so I have had a few people say that they cannot comment on our blog and it got me thinking. Well, all that thinking led me to figuring out I had to set the settings to allow anyone to comment. Now anyone can comment on our blog! Yay!

HUGE Week!

Wow, this week has been absolutely fantastic. I don't even know where to begin.

Our Duplex
We officially have a place to live in Beaverton! On Monday, Jennifer and I signed the papers and paid rent for our place. No joke, it was very exciting. Our move in date is the morning of the 23rd and that is also when we get the keys. They also accidentally set our rent at $1275/month instead of $1300, so we of course didn't say anything and just signed the papers.

My Job Hunt
I had two interviews this week in the Metro area and both went fairly well. To make a long story short, I got offered the North Clackamas job yesterday (Tuesday) and will officially accept it sometime today. It's a 0.8 job and it's about 25 minutes from our place, but it felt like the best place for me. This is the position where I get Tuesdays off, which is exciting. This will allow me to sub in Beaverton on Tuesdays if I want to make some extra money. The other good thing is that it will turn into full time teaching next year, which is very exciting. Oh, and I only have around 325 students, where Jennifer has around 540.

That's about it right now, see ya.

The Trip To Beaverton

Jennifer and I went up to Beaverton on Monday to look for places to live once our lease is up in July. After numerous Craig's List postings and ads in the Oregonian, we went through an absolute ton of places. After looking all day Monday and in the morning on Tuesday, we only found one property worth our time, which was a 3 bedroom duplex in Beaverton in a pretty nice part of town. To put us at ease, we both hoped the duplex was decent.

Saying that this place was decent would be a huge understatement: this place was amazing. 2-story, 1800 sq. ft. duplex with walk-in closets in almost every room. The property also accepts dogs, has a fenced backyard and overall is just really nice inside and out. The catch is that the rent is $1300/month and while it is a little more than we wanted to spend, we could not pass it up after looking at some of the other suspect rentals in Beaverton. The landlord of the place is also really nice, constantly maintains the property and lives about 10 minutes away, which is really good for us. After little debate, we are currently in the process of applying for the duplex and will be well on our way to getting it! The current renters will be moving out July 22nd, so the anticipated move in date would be around the 24th of July. Overall, the house search went very well and we are both stoked to be moving up and getting settled before the school year.

For the first time in a long time, I actually have good news for me on the job front. I got a call from an elementary school in North Clackamas about a 0.8 (1.0 = Full Time) position and I also have scheduled an interview with Cedar Park Middle School in Beaverton for a 0.75 position up there. My interview with Clackamas is on the 30th @ 10:30am and my interview with Cedar Park is July 1st @ 9:30am, which means I'll be back up in the Metro area for a few more days. I would be thrilled to take either of those positions pending any major flaws and I have two other jobs that close on the 30th, so we'll keep you posted.

Green or Brown or Somewhere in between?

So Ryan and I are perfect for each other in many ways (duh!), but one of those ways is our taste in B-a-n-a-n-a-s (cue Gwen Stephani). I was just reminded of our Nanar connection this evening when I waltzed into the kitchen and Ryan says, "The last banana is yours" with a disdainful look on his face. So, I peek at this 'last' banana to see that it has developed spots, of the brown variety. I was like, "Hey, pass me that banana, I will eat it right now. It's perfect!" I then enjoyed my sweet, easy to peel, banana. If you haven't picked up on it yet, I'll lay it out for you.

Ryan=bananas that still have green on them
Jen=bananas of any color, but prefers some brown spots

I think that bananas that have some brown on them are delicious because of the sweetness the banana has developed on its path to rotting. Mind you I prefer more yellow than brown, too much brown and it becomes banana bread. Ryan thinks that they need to have green on them when we buy them and likes to eat them that way. This is why we're perfect for each other. We never waste bananas! If they're too ripe for him, I eat them and if they aren't ripe enough for me he eats them.

Anywho, the point of this was to poll my reading audience of like 5 people because I was curious if I am the only over-ripe banana eater I know. I have placed a poll on the side of the blog for you to vote, so please inform us of your preference. This could be good ammo for a banana dispute we may have some day ;)

Good Day!

Alright so we caved and decided to join the blogging world. The purpose of starting a blog is to keep you all updated on our lives since we will be moving away soon. We decided by doing a blog we can reduce the number of e-mails we'll have to type and we can answer all of your questions in one place.

Ryan's Job Search:
No, Ryan doesn't have a job yet. The good news though is that he has applied to 4 jobs in the Beaverton School District and we're crossing our fingers he gets interviews for ALL of them. He also has an application with North Clackamas and Sherwood, but they have yet to contact him. If he got a job in Beaverton we would be ecstatic. Three of the positions he has applied for are full time elementary positions, and the other is a 0.8 middle school position. If he were to get the middle school position he would teach 1 sixth grade class, 2 seventh grade classes, and 2 eighth grade class and he would have Tuesdays off. That is all the news we have on the job front though. The positions all close in the next week, so hopefully he'll have interviews next week.

Moving:
Our lease is up at the end of July and I start work mid-August, so we are going to begin looking for places to live in the Metro area on Monday and Tuesday this coming week. We will probably have to pay double rent for half of July most likely because we want to get moved by mid-July so we have time to unpack and get settled and get a doggy!!! before I start work (and hopefully Ryan too). We are going to look at houses because I am sick of living in pretend houses (apts, townhouses, etc). We also want a yard and a fenced backyard so our dog has somewhere to play and hang out. We will keep you posted on the house hunt too.

Other than that we have just been hanging out and enjoying having NOTHING to do. It is starting to get a little boring, but I am totally okay with that. We both have started working out everyday because I have obtained a Pillsbury Doughboy physique during the last year of hell (AKA grad school) and we just want to get back into the routine of working out daily.

Feel free to enjoy our blogging at your convenience!