End of the Year!

It has been a long time since I've blogged, but I assure you it has been because I have been so busy! Well, now that we are approaching the holiday season, real estate has slowed to a crawling pace and I have some free time! A welcome change-of-pace and a nice way to conclude a crazy year.

Originally I was going to write a month-by-month summary of what we've done, but pictures and collages are so much more fun!




And, of course, a video of Katie being an absolute dead-eye 12-gauge handlin' skeet shooter! Good job!



Unfortunately I've had a major delay in closing my first deal. I should've been receiving a nice check tomorrow, but instead we're closing on 1/16/12, assuming there are no other delays. Although this would've been a great Christmas "bonus," these things occasionally happen, and we are fully dedicated to making the most of our winter break.

In two days, we head down to California for some fun in the December sun! I mean that, too. Each year, we go to Dog Beach in Southern California on or around Christmas day and enjoy the nice weather. If we were to try that up here we would nearly freeze as our weather has been hovering around 35° for the past couple of weeks.

We'll start our trip with 3-4 days in Northern California with my family. We'll do a White Elephant gift exchange on the 23rd and a small Christmas on the 24th. On Christmas day we fly out of Oakland to Long Beach for a week with Katie's family! The time frames work out well because her family is solidly in Southern California whereas mine is disbursed throughout Northern California, Eugene, and Portland. We'll be on-the-go down there pretty much every day. Can't wait!

Ok, I'm out of time for now. I'll update later.

What I Do

I have found it somewhat tricky to describe my job in just a few words. Because the idea of academic coaching is still relatively new, it takes some explaining for people to understand what it is that I really do. Below is a link to a little cartoon that my company put out about my role as a Coach.

Click here for a little tidbit about my job!

Sister Visit!

I know I'm a few weeks late on this, but later is better than never, right?
My sisters and my dad flew out to Portland on the 10th of November. We stopped at Rocky Butte on our way home from the airport for a gorgeous, clear-skied night view of the city and then spent the evening hanging out at home.
On Friday we woke up early and started out on our drive to Eugene--with a nice long pit stop at the Woodburn Outlets, of course! We more than got our fill of clearances, sales and specials going on for Veteran's Day weekend--including 40% off everything at the North Face and Bass Shoes.
When we got to Eugene, we went straight to the Super Walmart (which could easily be its own town) and stocked up on Thanksgiving foods for our feast later that night.

Auntie Linda and Uncle Mike graciously allowed us to stay in their home, as they were out of town for Nick's cousin's wedding. We also got to watch little Bessie all weekend long--and she got SO much attention!

Due to my dad's desire to get a giant turkey (for leftovers, needless to say), there was a slight miscalculation in our schedule and we ended up eating pretty late into the evening! Nevertheless it was delicious, as were the sides that we each prepared. To keep us busy while we were waiting for the turkey to cook, we went in the hot tub, listened to Christmas music and played with the pups.
On Saturday morning we all woke up early for some good ol' fashioned shootin'. We drove further into the boondocks of Eugene and into the little town of Crow. After driving down a pot-hole-ridden road for a bit, we arrived at a nice clearing. We shot Nick's two 9mm handguns, as well as his .22 and his grandpa's .380. We each took turns shooting at our own targets, and it was pretty cool to see how accurate we got (or, er, didn't get ;).

On our way out of Eugene we stopped at our favorite coffee shop and enjoyed fresh pastries for breakfast. Then we headed back to Portland and walked around downtown PDX for a bit. It was super cold and rainy-- I think they got a very authentic Portland experience. For dinner we got a growler (how could we not?) and pizza from Signal Pizza--Nick's all-time favorite place in St. John's (ok, maybe it's tied with Plew's Brews).

Sunday, the last day of their trip, we woke up early and drove to Multnomah Falls. There were no crowds because we got there so early, which made for a very pleasant morning. The Fall colors were at their brightest, making the scenery that much more amazing.

It was very hard trying to cram so many sights into a few short days, but I tried my best to show them a little of everything. There are so many places that we did not get to, such as the alphabet district, Hawthorne, and the other side of downtown. I guess they'll just have to come back again soon. :)