Happy Holidays!

The past week was a blitz of Christmas activities and a quick trip to Portland, but somehow I only managed to take the following pictures. I can't tell you exactly what compels me to take a photograph, but it's apparently random....and little strange. Here you go....

While shopping for an HBU shirt in the HBU bookstore, I came across this lone donkey in an HBU shirt. What. the. heck?. HBU's mascot is a husky. Why on earth was there ONE little DONKEY decked out in an HBU shirt?! Absurdities like this make me very happy. I bought it.

On Saturday, December 18, I flew to Portland, Oregon. They've been having an unusually dry December and that Saturday was gorgeous with clear, blue skies. The first thing I saw when I stepped off the (tiny) plane was a clear view of Mount Hood. Beautiful! The rest of my days in Portland were gray and cloudy, but it never really rained. I kind of wish it had.

My first stop, after picking up my rental car, in Portland was IKEA. Then I went to Petsmart where I found this adorable pit bull luggage tag! Which I bought. For myself. I'm much better at Christmas shopping for myself than I am for others.

I spent 3 nights in Portland, 2 of those nights were with Erin! And Leonard! Since I moved from Portland Erin and her boyfriend, Chris, moved into a new apartment in North Portland and got a dog (Leonard). Their apartment was so nice, it was so gracious of them to let me stay with them, and I had so much fun!

After church on Sunday, I came out to my rental car and found that I was parked behind an SUV with a TEXAS license plate! This excited me. Who goes all the way to Oregon only to be excited about seeing a license plate from the state they live in?!

At my favorite thrift store, Village Merchants, I found this fur purse. Of course I did. I had been eyeing one at JC Penny in Houston that cost $40. This one cost $8! Gosh, I love that thrift store!

On my last morning in Portland I ate a pumpkin bagel with cinnamon cream cheese and Stumptown coffee, while observing cool Portland people, do cool Portland things on their Macs. 

I also went shopping on NW 23rd and found this hotdog necklace. No, I didn't buy it. I'm not spending $22 on a hotdog necklace. But I did buy 4 sequined scarves (to give as gifts), an Eiffel Tower key chain, and a new collar for Henry.

My flight back home was crazy and annoying. When we landed in Houston one guy asked the flight attendant, "where do we get our luggage?". She looked at him like he was an alien and responded, "At baggage claim". That's just one example of the lou-lous that were on that plane.

My flight got into Houston at 12:45 am on Wednesday, December 21. That night we celebrated Christmas with my mom's side of the family and I made this veggie lasagna. I adapted it from this recipe.

At Powell's Bookstore in Portland I bought Henry's sister, Cali, this natural, organic, cotton-filled toy that was made to look like a stick. Before I had a chance to pack it up and send it to Georgia, Henry found it, chewed on it, ripped the tag off, and got it muddy. Merry Christmas, Cali!

My Christmas present wrapping theme this year was lime green and silver.

I received a gift on my dad's side of the family in this cat bag. At first glance I thought it was a lion dressed like Santa. Later I realized it was just a regular cat with a Santa hat on, but I loved it nonetheless.

Greg (my cousin's husband) gave me said gift in said cat bag. Here he's modeling one of the sequined scarves I bought in Portland.

My cousin Denise's baby, James.

I made these cinnamon rolls for Christmas Eve brunch. I made these for the first time in 2008 I think and now they've kind of become a tradition. I use the Pioneer Woman's recipe and they're really not that difficult to make. And they are honestly the best cinnamon rolls I've ever eaten. I half the recipe.

Henry receiving his Christmas gift.

Henry's favorite part of Christmas was playing in all the wrapping paper and with all the boxes. It brought my heart such joy to see him so happy.

Here's a close up of the collar I got Henry in Portland. It made from recycled neck ties and he looks sooo handsome in it!

Henry, modeling a scarf I received from my brother and sister-in-law. Isn't he dashing?

This collection of pictures in no way truly represents my Christmas, but it is what it is. 

Merry Christmas!

Crying it Out

When a baby cries, our basic, human instinct is to go to the baby and help it stop crying. I've heard lots of parents talk about the practice of letting their baby "cry it out". I don't know a lot about this theory and since I don't have any children I certainly don't have any experience with it, but from what I understand the idea is to allow the baby to learn to self soothe instead of relying on his parent for comfort.

Well, now that I think about it, I did kind of practice "crying it out" when Henry was a puppy. We would put Henry and Cali in their crate and we knew they had just gone to the restroom and had eaten dinner, so if they cried, we tried to ignore it. Sometimes it worked and eventually they would calm down and go to sleep. For like an hour.

Anyway, oftentimes I'm realizing that God lets us "cry it out". I don't necessarily mean literal crying and I don't mean He's teaching us to self soothe because He's always with us. But I do think when we are plagued with questions, fears, and doubts and we beg God for answers, sometimes He doesn't answer because He wants us to learn that we already have everything we need. He has perfectly equipped us and prepared us for the lives He's given us and so we don't need to panic and demand an answer of direct and immediate revelation from God. We just need to have faith in His Presence, power, and love for us.

Not to mention the fact that we pray, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done. He doesn't submit to us; we submit to Him. When my mind and heart are spinning at top speed with questions of Why? and How? and When? and Why not?!?!, God seemingly remains silent. With time I am learning that He is doing a far wiser thing than answering my every fear-driven, faithless question. In His lack of a direct answer He is teaching me to submit to His power in my life and to choose to have faith in His goodness and love for me. In submission I have found peace, gratefulness, contentment, and joy in unexpected places.

But still, I have to learn this lesson repeatedly. Just as I am internally crying out to God in frustration with life, I remember that He is my perfect Heavenly Father and like a baby in its crib, I eventually stop crying. Comforted by His Promises and the Presence of His Holy Spirit, which never, ever leaves me.

The Hard No

I just read One Thousand Gifts and in this book the author talks about "the hard no". However, she is referring to when God says no to us. (Which, by the way, I highly recommend reading this book.)

Lately I have been thinking about "no" in terms of the choices I make. Maybe it's a people-pleasing tendency, but I find myself frequently wanting to say, "yes". In fact, it has often been quite difficult for me to say, "no".

I'm starting to think that more than it is people pleasing, it is a desire to be involved, to feel like I'm living, experiencing, being a part of things. Which probably isn't a bad desire. So, when is it appropriate to say "no."?

I heard someone once say that everytime you say "no" to one thing, you are saying "yes" to other things, and vice versa. I think that helps me say no.

Right now the Lord has put a vision in my heart of something like a runner (even though I am not a runner) facing a finish line or a lover gazing at the object of their love. Or if you're a dog lover (I love dog analogies), you know the way a dog will focus on food they want? Their eyes are just glued to that food, you can move it up, down, around in circles and their eyes stay stuck to that thing because they want it so badly. When a dog is that focused on something it's hard to distract them. Sometimes to mess with my dog I would get out his leash or make some kind of noise to see if it could break his focus on that food. It rarely did.

That's what I feel like: FOCUSED. Focused on what? On the Lord, on what He wants for my life. I could say yes to so many things, but then what would I be saying no to? And how do we choose what to say no and what to say yes to?

Saying no is not always easy. There are some things that I am sincerely interested in, but if I feel they are not what I am supposed to be doing right now, how can I say yes to them? Sometimes I am tempted to feel guilty when I say no to things or like I am missing out on something, but then I remind myself that saying "yes" to those things would mean saying "no" to something else.

Right now my yeses have been few as I feel God refines my focus and gets me more and more on the path that He has created me to walk. I want to say "yes" to things, I long to say "yes", but I'm learning that my yeses have to belong to the right things. I'm learning to discern and to trust the Holy Spirit's yes & no nudgings.

Just to make this a little more concrete, here's an example (unfortunately it has to do with dating. I'm sorry.): In 2011 I have been spending the majority of my weekends alone. I don't really mind it. I read, I watch movies, I take walks, I cook fun things, I clean, I listen to music and dance around my apartment, I do Bible study, I talk on the phone, I paint. I generally have a great time...but that doesn't mean I don't get lonely and that doesn't mean I wouldn't love a friend or spouse to spend most of my time with.

A couple of days ago a guy asked me out on a date for Saturday night. I've gone on a couple of other dates with this guy in the past and I just know that he is not what I'm looking for in a spouse. So, I was posed with the question: yes or no? It seems silly to say no when I have been lonely and longing for something fun to do with someone else on a Saturday night. But what would I be saying yes to? To a man I'm not interested in romantically. To a man who is sincerely looking for a long-term relationship when I know I don't want that with him. So, while a Saturday night out with a man who is interested in me sounds fun and sounds like something I should obviously say yes to, I knew that I had to say no.

Which was not easy. It is frustrating when you are asking God to bring good things into your life, things that you can joyously say "yes!" to and instead something comes into your life that you must somewhat wistfully say "no" to because it's not what you want, but it is a shadow of what you want.

I think learning to say no at the appropriate time takes wisdom (not saying that I am wise, but maybe that I'm learning) and a groundedness in your identity in the Lord and your call to obedience to Him.

I guess I am just learning to be much more intentional. Intentioanlly intentional :) Life is full of opportunities and experiences and we could run through it like a kid in a candy shop, grabbing at anything and everything that catches our eye or feels good, but I don't think that's the best way to live.

Instead I want to very simply ask the Lord what He wants, wait for His answer, obey, and then really, truly live His plans up to the fullest. Trusting His yeses and His nos and letting them be my yeses and my nos. Even when it's hard. Because He is good.

"Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14 NIV)

One Year Later

A year ago yesterday I arrived in Portland with the intention of living here for one year and then moving back to Houston. Well, it's a year later....and here I am. In Portland. I feel as though I should have some profound reflections about living in Portland for a year (well for 9 months), but I don't really... Instead I have some bullet points. For what they're worth...

• Today is a GORGEOUS, sunny, beautiful, wonderful day in Portland. Which really makes up for yesterday (and the past 6 weeks) which were gray, dark, dreary, cold, and wet. 
• I'm at Palio and the guy who looks like my brother is working; for some reason I find that very comforting. That's probably weird. 
• I still have my Texas license and license plates. And my expired Texas tags. I don't know what will finally motivate me to change that stuff. A citation maybe? Yeah, probably. 
• In one year, I've lived in SE, NE, and NW Portland, I've lived in 5 different homes and I've had 2 jobs. 
• I've only had Internet in 2 of those places. 
• My coffee consumption has doubled if not tripled. 
• I miss Texas. 
• I adore Portland. 
• My heart aches for Henry.
• I still miss AJ. 
• I love Erin, Chelsea, and my job. 
• I'm writing a book chronicling the last year of my life and how God has used it to change me; it will probably be more therapeutic to me than it will be beneficial to anyone else. 
• Today I was walking around Reed College and 2 guys were ranting about the poor grammar that is apparently rampant in our society. Well, one of them was ranting, the other one was just listening and agreeing. I hope the ranting one never reads my blog... I say things like "pairs of glasses" all the time!
• Trader Joe's makes my life complete. Their tea tree oil facial cleanser, organic frozen pizzas, cheap wine, and macaroons are why I live in Portland. I'm not kidding 
• It seems like there are other reasons I live in Portland, but now I can remember what they are...
• I joined Twitter...and now I feel like I'm friends with several celebrities. 
• I can't wait for Spring and Summer! 
• Portland has only made my love for 50's and 60's decor much, much worse. Thank you thrift stores. 
• If I see one more hipster I'm going to punch someone. Just kidding. :)

I guess I could wrap everything up in pretty much one (posssibly run-on) sentence: When I came to Portland one year ago my heart was fragile, frantic, terrified, insecure; now, a year later, completely due to the Lord and all in Christ's Power, you're talking to a woman who's heart is secure, strong, calm, and full of hope & joy. 

Before I moved to Portland I decided that On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand would be my theme song and it's so true! When I got here I was for sure standing on a foundation of sinking sand, but He has without a doubt become my Solid Rock and for that I am eternally grateful!

The Great Debate

Remember when cupcakes were really cool? Well, ok, maybe they still are, but for a while they were ALL the rage. For a few years I lived in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and Dallas was the first city in Texas to get a Sprinkles Cupcakes shop. My friend AJ and I checked it out about a month after it opened and we were amazzzzzed! We made several, special hour long trips to Dallas just for Sprinkles cupcakes.

Then I moved back to Houston and in Houston there was no Sprinkles. I was sad. Until my mom told me about Crave Cupcakes, a shop eerily similar to Sprinkles in a swanky part of Houston. We went and I was impressed, but I was still convinced that Sprinkles was better.

This past summer, after much anticipation, Houston got its very own Sprinkles, and within only a few minutes of Crave. The plot thickens.

Sprinkles was my first experience with "gourmet cupcakes" and I have been very loyal ever since. I have tried other cupcake shops in Houston, Fort Worth, San Francisco, and Portland, but I've always held fast to my declaration that Sprinkles are the best.

Since they seem so similar anyway, tonight I decided to put Sprinkles and Crave to the test. Earlier today I was in that part of Houston anyway, so I stopped by the respective shops and purchased one red velvet cupcake in each. I chose red velvet because supposedly it is Sprinkles' best selling flavor. Then, in a blind taste test, I had myself and two other individuals taste the cupcakes and choose their favorite of the two (we cleansed our palates in between cupcakes with coffee). So here we go...

Sprinkles vs. Crave

They both cost $3.25 for one cupcake.

Sprinkles came in a brown bag. Crave came in a box. I think the box is classier and for such a pricey cupcake, I deserve a box.

Both shops had really friendly cupcake sales people, but Crave was definitely much busier.

Crave employees wear Texas symbols on their shirt or jackets, which I like.

Surprisingly (to me) the Crave cupcake was bigger!

Sprinkles has that dot thing on the top and I'm not sure if it's edible. Crave has a similar dot that has the impression of mixer on it and is made of fondant, which is definitely edible, but not all that tasty.

Interestingly the cake in the Sprinkles red velvet cake was much more red than the cake in the Crave red velvet cake, which could be good or bad depending on your thoughts on red food coloring... The icing on the Sprinkles cupcake was slightly thicker.

The verdict? We all three agreed that the flavor of the Sprinkles cake was better than Crave, but I thought the Crave icing tasted better than Sprinkles. Overall (icing and cake together), two of us thought the Sprinkles cupcake was the best, but one of us preferred Crave (me! of all people!).

Henry said he would be really happy with either...

Happy Birthday Henry and Pitt Bull Love

my Texas man in the Texas bluebonnets

Yesterday was my baby boy's birthday. I think. I adopted him on December 21, 2008 and calculated that his birthday should have been approximately November 16, so that's when we celebrate it.

Henry (that's his name) is some sort of pit bull mutt (heavy on the pit bull). When most people here that, they kind of bristle and say, "pit bull, huh?" like I said "man eating pirrahna". And I use to be one of those people. Before adopting Henry I definitely bought into the pit bull stigma that the breed by nature is vicious and dangerous.

So how did I end up with a pit bull? The answer is: I didn't mean to! My uncle told me that his friend had a box of abandoned puppies and since I was in the market for a dog/puppy I decided to go check them out. I took one look at these faces and I was sold. I picked one out for my best friend AJ and one for myself.

Henry & Cali

I took them home and was on cloud 9 until my dad casually said, "Melanie, I think these might be pit bulls". My heart suddenly felt like it was full of cement. I quickly googled images of "pit bull puppies" and was shocked to see that my puppies did indeed look exactly like pit bull puppies. Honestly, I was scared of them after that, they were tiny puppies and I was already reading aggressiveness into their every move.

See how vicious?

But then I decided to do a little research about pit bulls (and I also asked our vet) and quickly discovered that pit bulls are not, infact, inherently mean, evil, highly dangerous, killing machines. They're just dogs. They are strong and they are strong-willed and they do have a lot of energy (all of which could be harnessed into a fighting dog), but they are no more aggressive than any other dog. They're just dogs. And any dog can be dangerous. My senior year in high school I was bitten by a miniature daschund!

Here are some important facts about pit bulls that I found on this website:

Myths


Pit Bulls have locking jaws. Pit Bulls do not have locking jaws. The fact is they have very strong jaws in comparison to other dogs which make them more powerful; they are stronger than many other breeds. A Pit Bull's body composition is comparable to a body builder and an average person. Just because one person enjoys body building and is therefore stronger than another person, it does not mean that that person is any less gentle or friendly

Pit bulls are inherently mean and vicious. Pit Bulls by nature are not mean and vicious-they are very sweet and friendly. They are easily trainable and respond well to commands which can change their happy go lucky personality into something monstrous. Their desire to please, paired with their strength, high prey drive and malleability make them a great candidate for use as guard and attack dogs and in fighting rings.

Facts

People cause Pit Bulls to be vicious. In most cases Pit Bulls are vicious and dangerous because they were trained to be. The training methods used by dog fighters cause the dog to be indiscriminate about what it attacks. Trainers will starve, beat and harass these dogs in order to make them aggressive. A dog does not understand that it may only attack other dogs when it is in the ring. The saying 'Guns do not kill people, people kill people' can be applied to these dogs: Pit Bulls do not attack people, people attack people. Pit Bulls are used as a weapon. Furthermore these dogs are most often grossly abused themselves.

Some Pit Bulls (not all) tend to have a high prey drive. A high prey drive means that an animal has a natural inclination to chase and possibly attack other animals that they see as food. Though we would like to think that domestic dogs are civilized, they are still animals and instinctive behaviors are difficult if not impossible to eliminate. This fact means that responsibility, vigilance and knowledge are imperative on the part of the owner of a Pit Bull as with any dog.

Dog fighting has been around for centuries. When most people think of dog fighting they envision thugs in rough inner-city neighborhoods with drugs, guns and seething, drooling Pit Bulls. In the 1800's Pit Bulls that were used for fighting were trusted with children and seen as their nannies. Dogs that fought by night would be left alone with children by day to guard and protect them.

Pit bulls are not the right breed for everyone. Although Pit Bulls do not deserve the reputation they have gained they are not suitable for everyone. These dogs can be difficult to handle due to their intelligence, energy and power. People who are considering owning a Pit Bull should research the breed in order to ensure an appropriate life for the dog as well as a duty to public safety.

Responsibility and education are key in destroying the undue prejudice and stereotypes associated with this wonderful breed.

And I can attest, my pit bull is a wonderful dog! He is not remotely vicious, he is sweet, gentle and loving. The only thing he's ever even come close to attacking is his stuffed animals and he's passionately in love with an 8-pound cat that he treats with the utmost care.

Henry and his one true love: Olivia

Henry, I love you!

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus...

I was in school from roughly 1986-2008, that's 22 years, the vast majority of my life. I always really liked being in school and especially when I was in college, I was never really eager for it to be over, maybe that's why I immediately went to graduate school. To me, being out of school kind of feels like a fish floundering on dry land, longing to be back in the water. Of course I love learning and all the nerdy aspects of school, but I think what I really loved was the structure. I didn't have to wonder what was going to happen next, I knew. All the classes I needed to take were listed and all I had to do was follow the path. Every semester the professors explained their syllabi and I knew exactly what was expected of me for a whole semster. And as soon as that semester and sense of accomplishment was completed there was always another semester to begin, endure, and complete. I liked that.

Honestly, since graduating in 2008 I've been floudering a bit, not exactly sure what to do with myself and longing for the structure and focus of school. I've even contemplated, more than once, going back to school. I think I have a problem. Last night I was thinking about all this and was trying to think about how God sees my life so differently than I see it. I'm like a frightened animal, not sure which way to go and not comfortable in new situations, but He is like my all-knowing, all-powerful, in-control Master who loves me and cares for me and I just need to trust Him and focus on Him.

It might seem like a ridiculous analogy, but if you've ever trained a dog you know the goal is to get them to focus on you. If they're focused on external stimuli they'll go crazy, but if they learn to keep you their focus in any situation they'll remain calm, obedient, and happy. That's what we're like! I am so easily overwhelmed by the external stimuli in my life - new job, living in Oregon, missing my family, wanting to get married, wondering which church to join, etc. - and a lot of it frightens me because I don't understand where it's leading or why it's happening. But if, like a well trained dog, I will just focus on my Master, the external stimuli wouldn't freak me out so much because my focus would be on The Source of all good things.

Yesterday my devotional featured these Scriptures:

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: "Everyone is looking for you!" Jesus replied, "Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come." So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons. (Mark 1:35-39 NIV)

In a very tender moment, this line hit me: "Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come." This is totally just my interpretation, but I just felt like Jesus said to me in my heart that He knows what it's like to be me, to be human. I read the above line with a little bit of resolution in Jesus' human heart, like maybe He was submitting to the Father, but was really struggling a bit with this whole being a human thing. It's very human to struggle and Jesus was afterall fully human. I don't think it's farfetched to think that maybe Jesus went away to pray and say to God what I often feel like saying, "Father, I don't really like what's happening and I wish things were different, but I know You have a plan and that I am here for a reason and I submit, I will do whatever you want me to do." I feel like maybe Jesus was thinking, gosh these disciples are annoying sometimes and people don't understand me and always want something from me, but Father I am here to do what You sent me to do, so let's do it, let's go to another village and I will preach the Good News, because that's why I'm here.

Which brought this Scripture to mind:

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16 NIV)

I found it deeply comforting to think that Jesus KNOWS how I feel, He can sympathize, and really we're in this together. All of creation is longing for real, true life in Heaven with the Lord and Jesus felt that tension and longing when He was on this earth, that feeling of something just isn't right here, there's got to be more, and I can't wait to be there. I just find the beauty of Jesus' divinity and humanity overwhleming, no human could of invented something so perfect and truly glorious.

So, at this point in my life my faith has become like a very simple garment that I just choose to put on. I can't overthink it (my favorite activity), I can't control it, and I can't figure it out. I just have to choose to trust it, believe it, and hold fast to it. I do not understand life, what happens, what doesn't happens, when things happen, why things happen, or how things happen, but I do know that there is a God, that He is good, that He loves us, and that He has everything under control. In the middle of the seeming chaos of all the external stimuli in my life I will choose to focus my eyes on Him and hopefully I will remain calm and at peace. Like a well-trained dog :)

Marc Antony and Olivia

This is Olivia the cat. My friend AJ and I got her when we lived in Fort Worth and to make a long story short we ended up giving her to my parents. Olivia is a tiny cat, very petite, and rather feral. My dad calls her "8 pounds of dynamite" because she's packs a lot of personality in a tiny little package. With claws.

This is Henry the dog. He's my dog and since I'm living at my parents' home right now, Henry and Olivia live together. Henry is not a small dog - he's not too tall, but he's thick, bulky, and strong. And sweet, sweet, sweet. Words cannot explain.

I am not exaggerating when I say that Henry adores Olivia. I have never seen a dog act the way Henry does with Olivia - he whines and cries for her and stares at her longingly and lovingly. I'm not really sure what he wants from her. When he gets close to her he either nuzzles her, puts one of his massive, rough paws on top of her, or chases her up a tree. Maybe they're star-crossed lovers, maybe Henry will never get over the fact that he is not a cat or Olivia is not a dog and they will never truly understand each other. Who knows? All I do know is that the dog LOVES the cat.

I'm pretty sure this cartoon accurately describes Henry and Olivia's relationship.

My Life in Portland...so far...

I had originally intended to update this blog about my life in Portland much more frequently, but it just didn't happen. Partly because, in almost 4 months, I have yet to have Internet access in my home. Every time I want to get online I have to go to a coffee shop. Not that I'm complaining or anything. I love coffee shops. Also, I have multiple journals - this one, a friends-only Live Journal, and a private, hand-written journal. I kind of go in phases as to which one I write in more frequently. While I've been living in Portland, it's definitely been the private, hand-written journal.

So, let's do a little recap of my time in Portland thus far...

January 21 - I arrived in Portland and moved into a house in the SE. I almost immediately became great friends with Erin. My love. She cracks me up.

February 21 - Exactly one month after arriving in Portland, I was employed! Erin helped me get a job at the restaurant where she works as "support staff" and I really liked it.

Mid-March - My family came to visit and brought me my dog, Henry. Sadly, chaos ensued. One of my roommates and I got in a disagreement about Henry's disposition. He is the sweetest dog on earth (many can attest to this), but for some reason she was genuinely afraid he was going to maul her children. I somewhat hastily moved out...and into my landlord's home....

April - Living with my landlord did not work out. My schedule and my dog annoyed their family...so I moved into Erin's basement/studio apartment. Meant for one person. This was my favorite part of life in Portland. It was strange and stressful, but I had SO much fun with Erin. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard. And Erin is an amazing, giving, understanding friend. I could not have survived without her.

May - I had to find another place to live that would allow Henry. I found it, in NE Portland, but then at the last minute they decided they didn't want Henry to live in the house. STRESS. I had no where to live...and what am I supposed to do with my dog?! I came to the conclusion that he has to go back to Texas...but how to get him there? Fly him? Not cheap and kind of scary - I don't want my baby in a cargo hold. Drive him? Longgg drive and with what car? My car and drive back? Rent a car and fly back? All of these options are expensive too. My brother's wedding is May 22, so I'm going home anyway for that, but how do I take Henry with me?

Stay tuned to see what happens next in this Portland saga...

Happy Birthday Henry!

Last Monday, November 16, was my baby's estimated birthday. I actually got him on December 21, 2008, but my best friend (who adopted his sister) and I estimated that our pups' birthday was the 16th. So there you go.

It's been a neat experience to raise a puppy; it was much harder than I thought it would be, but it's also very rewarding to know that you trained your dog from the start. The last time I had a puppy was when I was 11 years old and my family adopted a beagle puppy, but of course my parents did the brunt of training him and cleaning up his messes. Then when I was 18 my family adopted a full-grown lab mutt from the pound, so we didn't really have to train her much.

Henry was my first dog. He's all mine and I remember every moment of house training. He's really grown into such a sweet dog, he really is a gentleman and a so handsome too. And since he's a pitt bull mutt I really feel like I have a watch dog (I never meant to get a pitt bull). Not to mention the "in" that I have with my 3rd ward students.

So here's how it happened: Last November my best friend and I had moved from student housing to a duplex with a full sized, fenced in backyard. We knew that one of the first things we wanted to do after Christmas break was adopt dogs from the Fort Worth animal shelter. We both LOVE dogs.

Well, on December 21, my dad's side of the family was celebrating Christmas when my uncle Barry casually mentioned that his neighbors had a litter of puppies that had been abandoned and they were trying to find homes for them. Of course that caught my attention and I decided to just go "look" at the puppies. (I knew in my head that if they were at all cute...I was going to take one home). Meanwhile my best friend was in South Carolina celebrating Christmas with her family. So, I called her, told her I was going to go "look" at some puppies, and asked her if she trusted me to pick one out for her. When we got there, the first puppy I saw was a black and white speckled - which is exactly the kind of dog my best friend had been wanting. I was already sold. Now I just needed to pick one out for myself. Henry was the only male out of the litter and I had kind of been wanting a boy, so it was a deal! I went home with 2 puppies!

Here is what the past year looked like:

December

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

Happy Birthday Henry and Cali!

Bad Dogs

Henry thinks he is a human (that pillow was not meant for him)...

and Cali is not supposed to get on the couch...

Things You Don't See Everyday

I work at an elementary school that is located in inner-city Houston - as in the skyscrapers of downtown Houston are in walking distance. It is a very urban area of town. Not a place that you would expect to encounter livestock.

So, I was really shocked one morning this past week when I turned down Trulley Street in Houston's Third Ward and saw a horse. Yes, a horse. I think I did a triple take and of course I had to take a picture. Evidently someone in the area keeps horses and it looks like this one escaped. He had a big gash on his back leg, so I'm guessing he either hurt himself in the escape or he was abused. As I was gawking at the horse, I saw an HPD officer driving down the street. I'm assuming he got the horse some help because it wasn't there after school. So weird.

For Labor Day weekend I flew to Atlanta to drive back to Houston with one of my friends who had been visiting family for the past couple of weeks. On our drive back we decided to spend Sunday night in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (originally we wanted to stay in New Orleans, but that's another story).

This morning we ate breakfast at Another Broken Egg Cafe - which was delicious! They were understaffed and somehow they lost our order, we had to wait forever, but then they ended up giving us our breakfast for free! We were so excited and hadn't even minded waiting at all. I love it when businesses have great customer service - it's so important and it makes me want to be a loyal customer. If I lived in the Baton Rouge area I would for sure be a loyal patron of Another Broken Egg. They were also nice to my friend's dog and let the dog sit with us in their outside dining. If you live in or pass through Baton Rouge, you should check out Another Broken Egg, they also serve lunch. Their website says they have other locations as well (none in Houston though).

The funny thing was, my friend ordered the pancake - on the menu it said "1 large pancake" and they weren't kidding! This is the biggest pancake I've ever seen. I never thought I'd see bigger pancakes than the ones they serve at the Buffalo Grille, here in Houston, but this one wins for sure. My friend could only manage to eat about a fourth of it. I was so tickled by it!