A day in Portland...

Another play day - this one in Portland. I like Portland - people are super friendly, hippy, colored, edgey and earthy. Today was a big day and we did a lot of stuff!
Are you familiar with man vs food? He highlights a doughnut shop called VooDoo Doughnuts. Really a unique place with very different kinds of doughnuts.



We got a dozen which included bubblegum, pudding filled, fruit loop, coco cake and nuts, sprinkles, cinnamon sugar with caramel glaze, coco puff cereal, and white cake with mini m&ms! GOODNESS. The bubble gum was actually one of the best. And the environment of the store was so fun and awesome to see were Man vs food was (again!) OH yeah.

Next we went to Saturday farmers market at the University of Portland. I love farmers markets and this one was so great! I love the smells, the freshness, and the visual beauty.









Isn't it beautiful!! We bought a little box of strawberries, a small cup of goat cheese with pesto (wow!) and mint lemonade. (I don't really like lemonade - but there is something about fresh cold lemonade out of a straw at the market..... love love love it.

There was lots too see at Washington Park. Though we didn't know what... first we pulled into a big historic mansion.
We spent a good amount of time at the Washington Park Arboretum. Ben was excited about the trees and could tell me about all the different kinds. And it was really nice to get out and hike through the trees after VooDoo.


Next was the Yarn Garden! In our Portland guide I found an article about a shop that was described as 'the mother ship' of yarn shops. WHOA. We are going there. And. It. Was. 4 rooms of yarns, patterns and gear. I got some yummy sock yarn.



Finally - we went to a little dive called Pine State. Highlighted by Guy on Drive Inns, Diners, and Dives. I got the McIsely. Fried chicken, pickles, whole grain mustard, and HONEY on a yummy biscut. The honey was the craziest part. It was dripping in honey - a honey swimming pool - and i was concerned how much there was. It WAS SO AMAZING! Really - one of the best dinners i have had.
We also did a load of laundry, watched Iron Chef America, and got locked out of our apartment 4 times (because our card key stopped working - blah) and will be to bed early.

What we did today...

Long time no blog.
Big things going on here. I've had trouble to find spare time to blog. But! Right this minute I'm sitting with Ben in Portland Oregon at The Viking Motel. A comfortable little place for $50.
I'd like to show off just what we did today... though the pictures won't be in order.


Last night, we stayed at Mary Hill camp ground. Different from Utah camp sites with manicured lawns and showers and such. But we found a nice corner spot I nick-named the brier patch. Wasn't too crowed either.

Camping breakfast is the best. This morning was sausage and pancakes. (look mom! using your plates!)


The entire day was spent along the Columbia river gorge. IT WAS BEAUTIFUL. Green and cool weather - and rained . A lot - off and on.
Me and Ben looking down on the gorge.


I am proud of my packing. Every morning I repack the lunch box.... in order to save money and I'd say it's working!
Beautiful green. We wanted to walk down a trail head but got a little lost - and ended up by the train tracks. I was thinking as we walked along.... what kind of crazy state makes a trail head along railroad tracks??... we just made a wrong turn.

Beautiful falls. There were several falls to visit along the way. Awesome!


I like the mossy walls
Holy crap. Look at this slug. HUGE. I think it's a banana slug. Longer then my pointer finger.
Brrrrr.
View of the gorge.

Having a good time! Another week to go!
Oh! And did I tell you? That we found a place to stay in Wenatchee. A cute little blue house, enclosed fence, washer and dryer, 2 bed rooms, a peach and plum tree, garage, on a dead end corner,... I. Love. it.

Chickens like Yogurt.

Yeah, I'm totally serious.
We learned this week that occasionally some plain yogurt does a chicken good. And they totally loved it. I loved their little yogurt dipped beaks. :)

This particular Red likes attention. I know that if I told you that chickens have personality - you won't believe me. But I'm telling ya - this red has to be the center of every picture and always poses the best...In other news, Ben leaves for his 3rd week at the Super 8 in logan tomorrow morning. T-minus 4 weeks to Graduation!!! Holy moly I can't believe it's already here. So, I'm spending a lot of home time cleaning, packing, sewing, knitting, and cuddling with Reg. He is actually good at just snuggling when you need a good snuggle. I have attached a car air fresher on his collar .... that really helps.



The weekends are filled with games (got the new Donkey Kong Country), shopping for 'I'm about to be a for-real pharmacist' attire, just hanging at home.
This particular weekend Ben got onto a cooking kick. He made homemade Lasagna with home made meat sauce, Indian Pudding, this Bavarian Cream desert...


...and Chicken stock. Homemade, boiled chicken chunks, veggies, etc, and drained for the juices. THEN frozen into cubes for easy use. Yeah - that's chicken stock serving size!


The coolness of Ben also got me these AWESOME flowers - so I can 'remember he loves me through the week'. He's so great! Aren't they beautiful?!


Finally, I have come to the realization that my heart beats to Reggae.
So - here's the Reggae song of the week. Go ahead and let it play as you check your facebook page :)

Update

Well. I was asked the other day why I don't blog any more. First off - WOW. Someone noticed?! :) Second - My lap top died and I think it would be near impossible to blog from an ipod.
However, I do feel that an update is in order.
I feel as though we are standing on the edge of an abyss. A deep yawning chasm that has been waiting down the line for several years. We have anticipated it's arrival and now that we are WEEKS from graduation the tension is making me a little crazy.
Mr. Sharples graduates from the University of Utah with his PharmD the first friday in May. At which point we may either go to a residency or look for a job.
A few weeks ago we went to interview at Central Washington Hospital in Wenatchee Washington. It was several hours long and Ben says he walked away feeling pretty good about it.

(NOT A POSED picture of Ben getting ready for his interview. Really, he always looks that professional. )

Wenatchee is cool. Though, it's difficult to judge a city's value in the dead of winter. One of my favorite parts is that the city is nestled between 2 middle mountains with the big Columbia river running through it.


We should hear if we are going to Wenatchee Wednesday March 23rd. Cross your fingers and toes.

2 dogs are good.
I know I told you that we taught Reg to shake and I was totally convinced that he was the brains while Tally had the looks. Much to my surprise little Tally has surpassed big Reg in her abilities to learn new tricks. Reg seems to be stuck on 'the shake'. But it's turned in a pathetic looking act of attention. Any time you might have a treat or goodie for him - he raises his little paw high in the air ... like LOOK!!! I'M DOING !! PLEASE NOTICE ME!!!
Watch Reg. ...



I did worry a little --- but the chickens made it through the winter with flying colors. We had to occasionally wrap the coop in a tarp or leave the heat lamp on over night... but for the most part they were just fine. Laying one egg every 25 hours per chicken.




Now that the grass is up they are crazy about getting out for some vegetation.



Good chicken.


And me? oh me. Other then going just a little crazy with anitcipation for what lies ahead.... just peachy. Mostly. I'm trying to pack up and make sense of our things. When through some massive changes at work - from good desk area I've been in with co worker/roommates I've been with for 4 yrs... now in a different room. That's hard!

But! A really cool thing happened today. Middle of the summer last year, I listened to an NPR story spot on Women for Women International.
Kinda hard to explain - so....



... okay. I'm going wait for a minute while you go get a tissue. :)
That same night I signed up to be a sponsor. It's like $30 a month. No biggie. The first couple of months I received some cool stuff about where my sponsor sister is from. Her name is Vestine, she is 24 and is from Rwanda. They sent materials about what is going on in Rwanda, the kinds of classes Vestine would be taking. They also said that in a few months I would receive word on how my sister was doing and her progress. That was in August. Several times a month I got emails about fundraisers and donation requests - but nothing about Vestine. Now.... I work in the non profit field. I know the need for a strong development department - and with out that program does not exists. However, I started to loose hope about hearing about my 'sister' in Rwanda and loosing that -even little bit of personal connection and 'sisterhood' - would be sad because it was what attracted me to the organization in the first place.
Then.
Today in the mail I get this.

On the left is Vestine in Rwandan (or whatever language that is --- they did tell me she can write). On the right translates - "Dear Sharples Kim. My dear sponsor, I write greeting you. I just want to hear how you are doing. I thank you for accepting to be my sponsor. Thank you."

Wow. Renewed.
Check out how to be a sponsor for Women For Women International HERE.

Dirty Job

Dear Mike Rowe and the Dirty Jobs Crew;
I love your show. I have every episode queued up in my netflicks. Not only is it funny and informative - I appreciate your efforts to praise the concept of hard labor and dedication to get the job done....even when it's dirty.
At the end of every show you ask us for dirty job ideas. This last weekend I came up with one.
A 70 lb bulldog with the stomach flu.... and all that that implies.
Regards,
~KimIsn't that a sad picture?!
Good news is that it only lasted 3 days and we are now in the free and clear.
Today we went to Kim's favorite park -Sunnyside- near the U of U. I like it because no one is ever there and I can let Reggie be the leader and follow him around. He prefers to stay on the side walk.

... with the occasional side trip.

Tally just runs every which way - all with in 15 feet of me. :)

In other news - Ben and I ventured over to try a new doughnut place in town. BEYOND GLAZE. Ben got this maple bacon one! It was so - so. But my blue berry torte was pretty awesome. I would recommend them :)


Finally, I got such a kick out of tally's sweater project (and was not pleased with reggie's previous sweater) - I whipped up this thing for Reg. He's more a challenge to knit - because of his weird shape.
Horizontal stripes are cute but not slimming.
Reggie, Can you shake?

Just a fun day off

# 12 of "To Do" is to hit up 15 on the "Where locals eat" list.
I was surprised when Bruges didn't make the list. It's a VERY small place - but was people were lined up out the door!
We spotted this place while watching Man Vs Food - Salt Lake City version. (this is the second time we've followed Adam to his recommended food destination - first one at Dinic's in Philly)

Watch the episode here -( jump to 5:50). Yes, this show is all about 'pig out' comfort food spots... which is okay to have in moderation. :) right? There are only like 2 things to have one the menu - but they are really really good 2 things.
Namely...

THE MACHINE GUN SANDWICHDon't worry we split it. But it was so so good! Yummy comfort food and always fun to try new places.
Go check them out. BRUGES.

This week is a 20 miler week - 3 times a week. Today I did the mileage at the parents. Work off the guilt of a 'machine gun.' :)

Yesterday I finished another craft project! Isn't it so fun to FINISH projects??!! Tally is still kinda bald and it's still kinda cold and she's kinda ruined her only sweater.
So I made her this new one!
The coolest part is that I totally just made it up. No pattern! And it's all one piece done on circular needles. Cute huh.