Portland Day One

Before we went to Portland, I kinda had a general idea of what our week would look like and places that I wanted to go see. I tried to plan at least one place to see per day but then I had to improvise when I needed more things to do.

For Monday, my plan was to sleep in as long as possible because we had been traveling the day before. Timothy had other plans. He was up bright and early around 7:30 am. I got up and we went to eat breakfast at the hotel. The food was pretty good and it was complimentary. After we ate breakfast, I tried to find the nearest train stop to get to the Portland Zoo. We ended up taking the scenic route because I got a little lost.

Our hotel was in downtown Portland. It was also very close to the Willamette River.

After we took the scenic route, we finally made it to the train station. We had to take a 20 minute ride in order to get to the zoo. Timmy loved looking out the windows at everything that was going on.

Yes, You are correct. We are wearing matching shirts :)

The train took us to this place called Washington Park. It was really cool. Once we got out of downtown Portland, we went through a tunnel to get to our stop and then we had to take an elevator up to the top. In the Washington park area, there is the zoo, a children's museum, a forestry museum, and some other things. It was really pretty and scenic there. The zoo was also a really great zoo.

 Timmy really enjoyed seeing all the animals but he also enjoyed pushing his stroller throughout the zoo.

He liked climbing through tunnels.

He also liked getting up close and personal with the fishes.

Another favorite activity of his was to play with leaves, rocks, and such.

Along with all of those fun activities, there was also some more observing of animals.

All in all, we really enjoyed the trip to the zoo. It was Timmy's first time at the zoo so it was a lot of fun to take him there. After we were done looking at all the animals, we ate lunch at the zoo and then left. We made our way back to our hotel. Timmy took a very short nap which was tough on me because I would have loved to have slept for longer. My body was definitely aching since I got no sleep on the flight over to Portland.

After Timmy was done with his nap, we went back out again to take in all the sights. Chinatown was only a few blocks away so we walked over there. We just walked through the area and looked around. We then stumbled upon the 'Lan Su Chinese Gardens'. I decided we should go in. A tour was just starting when we went in so we listened to the tour for a little bit. After a while, I decided that a tour was just not very suitable for Timmy so we just explored on our own.

The gardens had some really neat buildings and water areas.

They also had a really cool walkway which was made up of carefully placed rocks.

 They had certain areas which were just filled with all kinds of interesting plants, bushes, small trees, bamboo, etc.

 In different buildings, they had certain displays. In one of the buildings, they had some really cool artwork. They also had another building that showed some great pottery. One of the other buildings held a tea room.

 In this building, they had a little set-up for you to try to write Chinese Calligraphy.

Below is a picture of what some of the buildings there looked like.

 Overall, I enjoyed going to the Chinese Gardens. It was so interesting to have the gardens set in the middle of downtown Portland. It was so interesting being inside the gardens and then coming outside of them to see all the tall buildings around.

After we left the gardens, we walked by the river for a little bit. In the area that we walked around, their were quite a few homeless/sketchy people around. The only non-sketchy people around the area were people who were biking/running/walking along the path by the river.

 We finally made it back to the hotel in order to meet up with Tom. Timmy played for a little while in our hotel room but then we was ready to go to bed. Tom picked up some dinner for us and then we just watched a little TV together. I also left to go swimming in the pool and hang out in the hot tub by myself. After a while, I was ready to go to bed too.

flying to portland

Before I get into our whole Portland trip, I would like to mention that it snowed today. It was just a light snow but it just made me realize that winter is coming! I am not really looking forward to winter. Haha.

Anyways, my husband went to a work conference in Portland, Oregon this year so my son and I tagged along. We had lots of fun but it was kind of tiring too.

For our trip, we flew out on a Sunday night. Instead of flying out of our local airport, we decided to fly out of the Boston Airport because tickets were cheaper and we could get a non-stop flight. Since we were flying out of Boston, we had to drive 3.5 hours to get there. We thought about going to church that day since our flight wasn't until late at night but we just decided to skip church and hit the road. On the way to Boston, we had to stop twice to change diapers for the wee one. Thankfully, we didn't really hit any traffic but we did have to go through a toll road. Darn Toll Road. Ha! Anyways, we finally made it to the airport. We parked our car and got all checked in.

We then let Timmy play in the play area.

After a couple hours of playing, it was finally time to take off. Our flight went fairly well. We were all able to sit together. The babe slept some although it was fitful sleep. He would sleep on us for a little bit but then sometimes he would move and start crying. Poor thing. It is so much easier to sleep in your bed than on a plane. Sigh.

Anyways, we finally made it to Portland. Grabbed a Taxi. The Driver drove pretty fast. Checked into our Hotel and then went to sleep.

cross stitch

Sorry that I haven't written in my blog in a little while. I was in Portland, Oregon last week and I did not take my computer with me. I definitely am trying to write more in here so I plan on blogging about my Portland trip sometime soon.

Anyways, I wanted to write a post about my latest crafty adventure. So, I don't know exactly why I started getting into crafting. Maybe it was pinterest or my sister-in-laws or just whatever. Whatever the reason, I have definitely become more interested in creating things and learning how to do creative things.

Last year, I was shopping at a local craft store and I came upon a little christmas cross stitch. I went ahead and bought it because I thought it would be fun to do and it only cost a couple of dollars. I looked at it a few times throughout this past year but I wasn't sure exactly where to begin. Just recently, I got together with some friends to have a crafting night. I decided to bring along my cross stitch. I worked on it a little bit there and finished the rest at home. At times, I looked on YouTube to explain more about how a certain stitch was done.

Here is my finished project:

All in all, I really enjoyed doing a cross stitch and I have already bought another one to do. I can't wait to get started on it.

pumpkin decorating

I'm back. Surprised to see me writing a post so soon? haha. I might just actually remember that I have a blog and write in it for a change ;  We shall see....

Like I said in my last post, I definitely did not want to carve a pumpkin this year. Last year, I got a special pumpkin carving kit and I even printed out a template for cutting out a certain design on my pumpkin. But, the pumpkin turned out pretty bad and I just gave up halfway through carving it. This year, I was perusing pintrest and saw some pumpkins that were painted. I decided that painting was definitely the way to go! I couldn't find the picture that I saw but it was of a white pumpkin with some design on it. I just knew that I wanted to have a white pumpkin.

I just happened to have some white spray paint on hand that I had just recently bought for another project. I took the pumpkin outside and just painted away. I ended up spraying the stem white too because I didn't tape it off so I just painted that black later on. The last thing I did to the pumpkin was attach a bat sticker that I bought at Michael's recently.

Without further adieu, here is my pumpkin....

I absolutely love my pumpkin and I am definitely planning on painting a pumpkin again next year. The neighbor kids are definitely loving my pumpkin too. As soon as I put my pumpkin outside in front on my door, one of the neighbor kids told me that it looked really cool.

After the wee one woke up from his nap, I got him to take some pictures with the pumpkin too.

In case you were wondering, I got his skeleton pajamas at Walmart. They even glow in the dark which is great for looking in on him at night in his crib. I can always find where he is without turning on the lights. haha. I doubt he will actually wear these pajamas on Halloween to go trick-or-treating because it will probably be too cold for that. We already have another costume in mind that someone gave to us. Score!

Here is another picture of the cutie

Next thing I know, the photo session is over as far as the model goes. Models these days...no manners. HA!

Good times!   Anyways, I plan on writing another blog post soon but I will just have to figure out exactly what I want to blog about ;

pumpkin time :)

Hi.

I have a blog. I have really neglected it. Can't you tell? The last time I wrote in it was 4.5 months ago. Oops. Anyways, my sister-in-law erika frequently likes to remind me that I should write in my blog. So this post is for you erika. Happy now? haha.

Now that the niceties are out of the way, I can get to the whole reason why I even decided to write a blog post anyways.

In case you didn't  know, it is September and next month will be October. October means Halloween, pumpkins, and all kinds of fall goodness. Even though it is only September, I have already gotten our pumpkin for Halloween. The reason I got it so soon is because I really wanted one and also because I wanted to take pictures at the pumpkin patch before it got too cold. That's right folks! I live in Vermont where it gets cold and it is getting colder as each day goes by.

Last year for Halloween, I bought a pumpkin at a local apple orchard who also happened to sell pumpkins. I tried to carve it but it did not turn out well. Instead, I just took pictures of Timothy with the pumpkin.

 This year for Halloween, I decided to not even attempt to carve a pumpkin but instead do something a little different. First, we had to go and get a pumpkin at the local pumpkin patch. I had never been to this pumpkin patch but I decided it would be fun to try it out. As it turns out, this was the first weekend that they were offering hay rides to the pumpkin patch. We definitely were not the only people there. Smart people think alike. Ha! I would love to show you pictures of us on the hay ride but those pictures turned out not to be so flattering of me so we will just skip ahead to the photos at the pumpkin patch part.

Timmy was very intrigued by all the pumpkins and enjoyed walking around. I also tried to get in some family pictures. That basically means that I brought our nicer camera and our tripod to the pumpkin patch. Ha! Here is a picture with the lil bambino and dada.

After the picture with dada, we then had to get a picture with the wee babe and me :)

Lastly, we got some family pictures too.

I think that this will be the end of this post. Next time, I plan on sharing pictures and talking about the actual decorating of the pumpkin.

Midweek Confessions

So, this is my first time doing  midweek confessions. Here goes nothing...

For a while, I thought that I would make all of Timmy's baby food. I bought the containers to put in the freezer and the labels for the container. I also bought a masher to make the food even more fine. I even made him some sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and bananas. But, I rarely ever fed him real food. So now, I finally bit the bullet and bought him store bought baby food. He loves it!

Continuing with the topic of store bought baby food.....my husband likes to try each baby food that he gives Timothy. He says the fruits are good but not the veggie/meat stuff. He keeps asking me if I want to try it but unfortunately, I will be declining.

I have never owned a home before but now my husband are selling one home and renting another. Yay for things you didn't want to inherit!

On that note, I feel really young talking to real estate agents and real estate lawyers. But, I guess it is time for me to put on my big girl panties.

I have been watching 'the Voice' this season. At first, I liked it but I am not so crazy about it anymore. I now realize that I prefer watching 'real' shows instead of singing competitions. Yet, I will not stop watching it because I at least want to finish the season. ha.

That's all I can think of for this week :)

11 Questions

I don't blog that often because I am still on the fence about this whole having a blog and writing in it. haha. But, recently  Erika tagged me in this little questionnaire thing. I will answer the questions but I won't tag anybody. HA!!!!

Rules For Bloggers: (you must repost these and modify them)

1. Post these rules.

2. You must post 11 random things about yourself.

3. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post.4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.

5. Go to their blog and tell them that you’ve tagged them.

6. No stuff in the tagging section about ‘you are tagged if you are reading this.’ blah blah blah, you legitimately have to tag 11 people! 

Section 1: 11 Random Things About Myself

1. I never thought anything about the state of Vermont until I moved here a year ago and I still keep wondering how I ended up here.

2. I have never had a dog before in my life and I do not plan on getting one anytime either. In fact, I do not plan on getting any pets in the future. 

3. I live in a village. 

4. When I was a kid, I loved 'Tickle Time' with my daddy. It was one of the best memories of my childhood.

5. My favorite teacher in school was my 4th grade teacher, Mrs. H.  I don't remember exactly what she did to be so great but I was really sad when she moved halfway through the school year.

6. I enjoyed going to the dentist when I was younger because I got to read 'Highlights' magazines while I waited and I got to pick out a toy when I was done seeing the dentist.

7. I love to read books. 

8. One of my favorite things about going to the library when I was younger was playing the game 'Oregon Trail' on the computers.

9. I want to learn how to knit.

10. I watch TV on occasion but I never really watch a show for the entire season. Right now, I am trying to watch 'The Voice' , 'Celebrity Apprentice', 'The Biggest Loser' and 'The Firm' for this entire season. Wish me luck!

11. One of my favorite smoothies to make is a banana smoothie. Yum! 

Part 3: My Questions for YOU
1. How many pairs of shoes do YOU own? (I need to know if I'm normal)

      I own 25-30 shoes but I don't wear them all. I should probably give some of them away but instead I     shall hoard them. And I share call them 'my treasures'. 

2. If you had to have one type of plastic surgery done (and it were free), what would you pick

    This is a tough call. Growing up, I would have had plastic surgery on my ears to make them not stick out so much. Today, I would choose between a tummy tuck, a stretch mark remover surgery, or a tattoo removal. 

3. If you could have one exotic animal for a pet, what would you choose?

      I have a strong anti-pet belief system. So I would have a Piranha stuffed animal instead.

4. What was your (first, most memorable, lamest, you pick) AOL Instant Messenger screen name? When did you stop using AIM (or DID YOU)?

     I had one AIM screen name but I cannot remember it. I hardly used it except to talk to some random  boy in Alabama. 

5. If you had to move to another country tomorrow, which country would it be?

      I would move to somewhere with a warm climate, like Puerto Rico. I would live by the sea and have an awesome tan :)

6. If you had to enter the Witness Protection Program and get a new identity, what would you choose as your new name?

     I cannot imagine myself ever being in the WPP but if I was, my new identity would be Amelia Bedelia.

7. Do you believe aliens could (or do) exist?

     Nope.


8. What's your favorite book?

    Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers 


9. If you could be on a reality show, which one would you choose? (All are fair game: trashy ones (Temptation Island?? Haha), contest ones (Survivor, The Apprentice), as well as stuff like House Hunters)

      I just recently have started watching 'the Nate Berkus Show'. It comes on at 2 pm during the day which is usually when Timmy is napping. During the show, they have a section called 'house proud'. Basically, people show Nate their home and tell them how proud they are of all the work they have done on it to make it look it so wonderful. I would love to have a house to be a proud of and show it on there. Until that time, I will need some help from the Nate Berkus show to make it look good. Hahaha. Or maybe I will get another show to remodel my house and then show it on the Nate Berkus show in the house proud section. hahah. 

10. If you had to live in another era, which one would you want to live in?

       I would live in the 50s because I am sure that life was pretty 'PG' back then.  Also, I really like modern conveniences and would not want to give them up. 

11. If you were going to invite me over for dinner, what would you serve?

     I would make some Mexican food.