Saturday, July 26, 2008

Slowly getting back to reality

Though we wish we could have stayed in Maui forever, it just wasn't meant to be. Troubling as it is, we do have to work. I know, I know; work - schwork. We had a blast, and isn't that what vacation is all about? Enjoying your time in a location so much that you wish you could stay forever. Then when you return to "life", you realize that your ideal place to live probably has issues too. If I could live as a tourist though, Maui would be a bad spot to do it in. Y'all should try it some time.
Zachary has started waiving this weekend, and has really become quite the ham. Several times today he would throw himself on the carpet, bed; wherever he happened to be and then sigh. After a couple of seconds, he would look over at us to make sure we were paying attention. When he saw that we were laughing, he giggled. I'm sure that this is the reason why Zachary continues to perform this little act. Quite the Drama King.

Our summer trips are now over, and there are only 3 more weeks until the end of summer. :(

Here is a little picture that I thought you would enjoy.

Ciao

Monday, July 21, 2008

Trip to Northwest

Sorry that i haven't posted anything on here since I have gotten back from my vacation. I have yet to have a day off and have been working a ton of hours every day.

I had a blast on my 9 days off, really enjoyed both Oregon and Washington. I couldn't have planned anything any better. I really had a great time not having anything in particular to do. I got to see a little of Portland, and absolutely loved the area and the weather. The 30 degree weather change may have had something to do with that, plus the lack of humidity definitely helped. I was able to also start running again which was great with the cool mornings.

While I was in Seattle I got to get out and see some things in Washington that I didn't know existed. Rich took me out to Saquamie (spelling?) Falls which is quite impressive. We were out there walking the trails and trying to find the most difficult and shortest distance to scale the rocks and boardwalk. It was a lot of fun, and a good change from the mundane days that I normally have outdoors. It's a little tough to do anything in Houston outdoors when it's 100 degrees and humid...We also had some great food while I was out in Seattle, in addition to the great places that Martha mentioned in her post. We even got a chance to bbq on the Sunday before I left which just topped off the vacation perfectly.

Thanks again Martha/Kevin and Brooke/Rich for putting up with me in your homes for a while. I really had a great time spending time with everyone. i can only hope that soon I will get an opportunity to end up out there permanently.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Voodoo Doughnuts

Oops! Forgot to put the link for Voodoo Doughnuts in here so you could see the size of the "Tex-Ass"

http://voodoodoughnut.com/

Kyle comes to town



Kyle arrived in Portland right on time Sunday evening. We took him out for dinner at one of Porland's many brew pubs. This one was McTarnahan's, part of the Pyramid brewery family. After that we headed home taking the scenic route over the hills of west Portland. Mookie barked at him a bit, and then remembered that he rather liked Kyle the last time he saw him and decided that he could sit on his lap!
On Monday, Kyle went for his first run in a while and was able to make it back to the house without calling for help!! So I let him take a shower and then he and I headed downtown on the TriMet Max train. Stopped in Pioneer Square, otherwise known as Portland's Livingroom, and started a little walking tour from there. Headed off to the Niketown for a little comparison shopping. Kevin met us there and we went down the river where Kevin took our picture with a view of the Hawthorne bridge behind us. Then we headed off to Voodoo Doughnuts!!! They are a quirky little Portland landmark that we have been to just a couple of times now. I am really wanting to try their maple bar with bacon, but they haven't had it when I went in. I guess you need to get there early for that!! But Kyle decided to try the biggest doughnut they had, appropriately called the "Tex-Ass". Little did we know he would soon be the center of attention. They have a little contest when they sell that big ol' doughnut. If you can finish it in a minute and 20 seconds, it is free plus you get a pin that says you won the "Tex-Ass" challenge. Well, who could resist that!!! Kyle did his best, but left a bite on the plate before time was up. Better luck next time......
We went to lunch at another Portland hot spot, Kell's Irish pub. Had a good lunch, but not beer. Came home and took Mookie for a walk, then to the vet. On the way back, I drove Kyle around the Nike campus and then went in search of the Nike Employee store. Once we figured out where it was, we went back home and exchanged Mookie for Kevin and went back out! We made quite the killing there!!! Thanks Kyle!!! We had just gotten our IRS Stimulus check so we did our bit to stimulate the economy. At least Nike's part of it anyway!!
So after all that shopping we worked up an appetite and went to another area brew pub (seeing a pattern here yet?), McMenamins. They have brew pubs & wineries all over Oregon and parts of Washington, some with hotels, movie theaters, concert halls and other such fun stuff. Plus they make a pretty good selection of beers!! We go there pretty frequently for dinner, not having beer every time though. Last night I had a Ruby Red ale, which has a slight hint of raspberry to it. More like soda then a beer!!
Today we headed out to the Woodburn factory outlets. Why? Why not?!?! Had to do some more comparison shopping. Kyle wasn't that impressed. But I managed to find another shirt at Nike and then a shirt and pants at the Columbia outlet. So I had fun anyway.
Currently Kyle is schmoozing at Nike. He got invited to a softball game after they show him around, so I'm not sure when he'll be back. Hopefully he will make some good contacts here at Nike corporate. It would be cool if he ended up moving here!! But he, like the rest of you is ALWAYS welcome to come visit!!!

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Heading out to the west coast

Just wanted to give everyone a heads up, I'm heading out to Portland/Beaverton tomorrow the 6th of July and then heading up to Seattle from there. I will be returning to Houston on the 14th of July. I am extremely excited to visit the NW and very happy about being able to see Martha and Kevin and Brooke and Rich...it's a much needed opportunity to get out to Nike WHQ as well so that I can start networking my way into corporate!!! That's the hope at least.

Sorry that I haven't been in contact with everyone a ton. I've been trying to get everything in order prior to going on vacation. I have a feeling it's going to be an interesting work place by the time I get back.

See you all soon!!!