24 years!

Yesterday marked 24 years of marriage!

Going-away bubbles were very popular in the late 1990s. 

Lots of adventures - and hopefully many, many more to come!

How old were we?!?!?!

Looking more our age:

❤

Happy Independent Bookstore Day!

Brad and I spent Saturday in Vancouver celebrating one year since MIL Donna's open-heart surgery.

Together with Donna and Steve, we ate lots of yummy food, watched Obama's nature documentary, chatted about all the important things, visited a brand-new See's Candies, and browsed Vintage Books. 

Vintage Books - at Mill Plain and Andresen - was new to me. We arrived to find chalk drawings announcing Indie Bookstore Day! 

That was a happy accident! The shop was busy, full of shoppers spending money at their local bookstore. 

While we didn't see them, apparently a couple cats hang around to greet customers:

The store was crammed full of books - new and used - of all genres. I was thrilled to find a used copy of Louise Penny's latest mystery:

If you're in the market for books, check out Vintage Books in Vancouver! I will definitely visit again 📚

A week of rest

When I envisioned my week off, I hoped to hike and spend time outdoors. As it neared, the forecast called for lots and lots of rain. I love rain, but I was disappointed conditions wouldn't be great for outdoor adventures. 

However, the rain provided a forced rest that I think I really needed.

I haven't completed any big home projects, and I spent minimal time doing "chores." Most of my week has been reading and binging Netflix (Clickbait and Pieces of Her). Gizmo again proved to be an amazing sabbatical buddy:

A rain break was predicted for Thursday, so I decided to do my weekly hill repeats at Angel's Rest.

It was an excellent run and outing - smiles the whole time:

Winter provides views unseen in the summer:

The plan was to drive the short distance to Lindsey's house in Vancouver, refuel with a hot chocolate while waiting for her workday to end, then grab a quick shower and enjoy Georgian takeout from Dediko. Well, traffic had other plans, and I spent the next 2 hours in near gridlock. Fortunately, Lindsey is way more chill than me and didn't mind the tardiness and change in plans. She ordered us a bunch of dishes to try, and we still ate really yummy food when I finally got there. (I was supposed to buy for her birthday month, so the next one's on me!!!!!!)

I was so glad to have an audiobook to keep me company in the car! Thanks, Phoebe Robinson, for the laughs 😂

Friday was another restful day trying not to feel guilty about not being productive. WOW. We are really, really conditioned to not allow ourselves rest. We're supposed to be going and doing and producing all the time. I think this week of rest was very valuable for me - and I plan to do it again next year when I'm allowed another five days of leave without pay.

Saturday was a long run in Portland with Kate. She is the perfect running partner, and it was a wonderful 10.5 miles.

I stole these beautiful pics from her:

Two badass ladies who easily knocked out double digits while our partners slept! 😂

Hot chocolate milk from Primo Espresso on my way home:

Sunday was an outing to Newell Creek Canyon Nature Park, another brand-new Metro park:

We ran all the pedestrian trails (some trails are bike only) for a total of 4 miles.

Then a stop at Oswego Creamery on the way home for some black licorice ice cream. Dad would be proud 😇

As my tiny, mini sabbatical comes to an end, I'm so thankful for this time of rest. And now this is my Monday mantra:

😂😂😂

I can do this.

Tiny, mini sabbatical

Like most everyone, I'm done... done with COVID, done with working in a school during a pandemic, done with global politics, done with local politics, done with the grind, done with people. I need a break. 

A while back, I saw someone post about using all your leave at work - vacation, personal time, sick time, even leave without pay. I don't remember the exact quote, but it encouraged folx to take all the time owed them.

This really stuck with me. 

I love my job, and I love helping my students. I make a tangible difference in these students' lives, and I think I'm really good at it. BUT... I can't take care of them if I'm totally burned out. And I'm feeling burned out. 

I do not get vacation time. Because I work just 211 days a year, I am not allowed time off during the school year. I get ample sick leave and two personal days per year (personal days come with lots of restrictions). But my union contract does allow for up to five days of short-term leave without pay. There are lots restrictions on those LWOP days, too, including planning way ahead. So months ago, I requested five days off. Those days are NOW!

(I also want to acknowledge the tremendous privilege it is to be able to take five days off without pay. I am very grateful that my situation allows me this brief respite!)

With everything prepped for my absence next week, I turned on my out-of-office e-mail reply and headed out. And before I even got out of the car at home, I deleted my work e-mail from my cell phone:

That was a bit anxiety producing! But I also felt it needed to be done.

Next up, some reading and snoozie time with Gizmo:

With a long run planned for Saturday, I took Friday as a rest day. But I did take a sunset walk to stretch my legs:

Did anyone else see that Saturday sunrise??

I set out to run at least 8 miles and ended up with 10. I worked hard to keep my heart rate low. It felt great!

Brad and I finished Inventing Anna. What a fascinating story!

Then it was time to celebrate Lindsey!!!!

We had a cozy fire while watched Waco:

And made this amazing birthday cake:

It might not be the most beautiful, but it was YUMMY!

Sunday I ran to Cook Park and joined Mom and Pa in their rainy walk:

Then we spent the day with Brad's parents in their ongoing search for housing in the Tigard area (maybe, perhaps, someday...)

I knew one day of the week would be a veg-out day. Monday's forecast was for major rain, so I declared Monday my stay-home day.

I had a fire the entire day, using every piece of firewood from the back deck supply:

And I did some inside straightening, including laundry:

And putting away the Valentine's Day decorations and snowy kitchenware:

I prepped a tuna casserole for Tuesday's dinner, putting away some in the freezer for Brad's lunches. And I watched the entire Clickbait series on Netflix. It was a perfect, restful day 💗

Tuesday was errand day. I started with a morning run, but was actually disappointed that sleeping in a bit meant I was on loud, crowded, traffic-y streets instead of my usual dark, quiet, solo runs. Last week was snow... this week is warm enough for shorts!

I was super productive and did all my running around before lunch. Then I stopped at the Tigard Public Library for a veggie sandwich and flan from El Cuadrilatero Cafe:

I didn't think watching the State of the Union would help my stress, so I read in the bedroom while Brad watched Biden's address. Not a very exciting No-TV Tuesday. 

Wednesdays we do upper-body weights. After, I walked to Primo Espresso for steps and for a refueling hot chocolate milk:

Sabbatical buddy:

I thought about doing a bunch of stuff Wednesday, but I didn't feel like it. This week is supposed to be restful, so I read and rested. And painted my toenails:

It's supposed to dry out after Wednesday, so maybe I'll do something exciting outside Thursday. We'll see😁

PS - Halfway through and I still haven't checked my work e-mail 🎉🏆

No-TV Tuesday: getting stuff done

No-TV Tuesday was all about getting stuff done this week.

After an Omicron-prompted hiatus from Wednesday Supper Club, we're back on! That means we need to get the house company ready.

First was a stop at Winco:

Then I squeezed in a short snoozy. Gizmo climbed right under the covers and curled up with me. She is the best snoozy buddy!

Then I got to work making dinner for Supper Club - Sally's minestrone:

I made a double batch so I could freeze some for later:

Laundry. There's always laundry:

I replanted a Christmas jade from Ma:

And this struggling guy. Thought maybe a bigger pot would help:

We'll see :)

A productive Tuesday!