Playing hooky

Me, Anne, & half of Mike's face

Well, not really....is it only hooky if you're not supposed to be gone from work? Trask & I took a vacation day on Tuesday and spent the day exploring the Oregon coast with Anne & Mike, who were visiting from San Francisco. We started in Tillamook where we visited the cheese factory and had ice cream before lunch. Then we took the beautiful drive up Hwy 101, stopping in Cannon Beach at Mo's for a clam chowder lunch. When we arrived in Astoria we hiked about a mile uphill to the famous Astoria Column. We had a great time, but only realized I was carrying my camera once we were in Astoria so there are no pictures to document the delicious bubble-gum flavored ice cream from earlier in the day. A sad fact, but true. We did our best to try to convince the Californians that they need to move up to Portland so we can see them much more often. All in all it was a beautiful day and we had a great time. Miss you guys!

View of Astoria Column from the waterfront:

View from the Column to the water below:

A family of ships heading out to sea:

Taco Tuesday: It's A Small World

My fabulous friends Robin and Chris have embraced the well known pastime of "Taco Tuesday". For those unfamiliar with the concept, it's where you have tacos...on a Tuesday. I know, right?! So crazy complicated.

At last night's meal, graciously hosted by Chris at his cute & efficient apartment, we had great tacos (duh) and I got to know two of Chris' friends I hadn't met before - Wes and Brett. As we ate our tacos and drank our margaritas in the cool grass of the underutilized apartment courtyard, our conversation revealed that:

- Wes' lovable and crazy aunt Suzie is the president of the HOA in our condo building.
- Brett's older brother Darren is one of Trask's best friends from high school.

Meeting new people is one of my favorite things to do; it really ruffles me the right way if you know what I mean. And the experience is even better when you make those unexpected connections that reinforce just what a small world it is.

It's free Slurpee day!

Get yo' sweet ass to a 7-11 and enjoy some brain-freezy goodness!

One hundred push ups

I've been running a lot more lately, gearing up for Hood to Coast at the end of summer. Maybe it's because I've been a runner since I was about seven; motivating myself to get out & pound the pavement is usually pretty easy, and I always feel good about doing it.

Strength training on the other hand...ICK! Don't love it. Boring, complicated, annoying. Very difficult for me to push myself into doing it. I got pretty good at it a few years ago when working with a trainer, but these days I'm diverting my money to other priorities so that's out. I know it's important, so I'm always on the lookout for good ways to get excited about it.

Here's a fun(?) challenge I found recently: a plan to build strength & endurance until you can do one hundred consecutive push ups. I've decided to give it a try. I did my initial test last night and can currently do 10 in a row. I'm going to follow the program and my goal is to do 100 in a row before the end of 2008!

What IS "ruffled"?

When I debuted this site to my husband, his first reaction was "why do you want to write a whole blog about things that make you angry?" Well, I don't. I had to explain the when I get ruffled, it can be for any number of reasons: I'm excited, anxious, passionate, interested, amused, worried, baffled....about anything. So please don't expect a laundry list of my pet peeves in this space. Ruffling is a good thing, for the most part. It just means that something has moved me enough to dedicate a little mental energy and web space to it.

Today I'm ruffled up with excitement for my friends who are celebrating today:

Happy Birthday to my lifelong friend Jami - born on 7/7/77!
Happy Anniversary to Sara & Jeremy - married on 7/7/07!
Happy Anniversary to Lynette & Tom - also married on 7/7/07!

All those sevens best be bringing some luck my way. C'monnnnn Powerball!

Many clucky returns to you all. :)

Ruffle status: low

It's a family thing - we used to call my mom a "ruffled chicken" when she'd get all aflutter over silly little things. My brothers liked to tease her to see if they could ruffle her up over nothing. All in good fun, of course.

I think I'm becoming more like my mom every day (I consider this a good thing), so this blog is created in her image. I've tried blogging before but I think my last blog suffered a bit from lack of focus. This one may have a similar fate...but I'm giving it another go anyway.

Stay tuned for my thoughts on anything that ruffles my feathers in day to day life.

Cluck cluck,
Kari