OMGTwilightOMG

On a lighter note... I just received this invite from Film Oregon Alliance

(Bend, OR) – The Sisters Movie House, Film Oregon Alliance and Sisters Art Works are excited to welcome "Twilight" director Catherine Hardwicke to Sisters, Oregon for "A Conversation with Catherine Hardwicke" and the screening of her romance/thriller "Twilight" which was filmed in its entirety in various locations throughout Oregon. The "Conversation" will be, Saturday, November 29th from 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. at the Sisters Art Works building located at 204 West Adams Street in Sisters, Oregon. Later Saturday evening, Ms. Hardwicke will be hosting a screening of "Twilight" at The Sisters Movie House.

The "Conversation" will include an in-depth discussion with Ms. Hardwicke moderated by Film Oregon Alliance Director of Cinema Arts Education Patricia West-Del Ruth followed by a Q&A session with attendees. There is no cost to FOA members to attend the "Conversation" event; however, donations to FOA are greatly appreciated. Seating is limited and you must be a registered member of FilmOregon.org to receive an invitation. Invitees must RSVP to reserve their seats and all seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Tickets for the screening of "Twilight" are expected to sell out in advance of Saturday, so advance purchase is recommended – visit www.sistersmoviehouse.com for details and ticket information.

Ms. Hardwicke had this to say, "I'm looking forward to meeting some of the filmmakers and other industry folks from the Central Oregon area. I love Oregon – you've got gorgeous locations! I wanna share my experience making "Twilight" with you guys – thanks to Lisa Clausen of Sisters Movie House, Film Oregon Alliance and Sisters Art Works for organizing this event. It's gonna be fun!"

You can register for a free membership at the Film Oregon Alliance website. I don't know yet if I can go... anyone want to come along if I do?

Electababble

I'm assuming that you've already decided who to vote for in the US Presidential election, so rest assured this post has nothing to do with that.

It's the rest of the elections that I am addressing in this post. In particular, I want to encourage each and every one of you to read the Voters Pamphlet. (If you don't have one for some reason, pick up a free copy from any post office or download one from the State of Oregon and Deschutes County.)

Living in Oregon, you'd have to be hiding under a rock to avoid the nasty negative ads floating between Jeff Merkley (D) and Gordon Smith (R-incumbent). Recently the Smith campaign also launched negative ads attacking the Constitution Party's candidate, Dave Brownlow. The ads claim he is "too liberal" and cite several of Brownlow's positions. However, I clearly recall an explicit vow in his candidate's statement: "End the senseless slaughter of the unborn." Whether I agree with this position or not... does that sound like a liberal viewpoint to you?

These candidate statements are important, people. It's like their job application, and they are telling you why you should choose them over their opponents. They are either written by the candidate themselves, or by someone running their campaign. Granted, most of their photos are scary mugshots, especially when printed at a low quality on recycled newsprint. Please don't base your vote on the photos alone. You should read the statements, and consider whether you think it is appropriate for the candidate to lead. And not just the words - take a look the style and formatting of the statement. DOES THE CANDIDATE SHOUT AT YOU FROM THE PAGE? Is the entire statement (or most of it) in bold? Or is it fairly well-organized? Does their statement portray them as educated, professional, and serious enough to make decisions for your city, county, state, or country?

Consider the following examples...

• Tell Greg Walden you're sick of his ship by jumping aboard "Noah's Ark"
• Occupational Background: a variety of jobs
• the burocratic (sic) processes
• 12th grade last grade completed.
• University of Oregon, Attended <1 year.
• Occupational Background: N/A
• University of Oregon; grade 16

Now, don't get me wrong. I am not saying that having a college education or particular work experience necessarily matters. I know MANY great, intelligent people who didn't attend college. But the quality of their statement should reflect the quality of the job they will do - which matters to me a lot. If they want me to take the time to vote for them, then they need to take time and care to write a quality statement (and then maybe have someone proof read it for them). Cute, meaningless slogans and misspellings are particularly unacceptable to me. Under education I think "Some college" and "High School Diploma" are fine - so why overburden me with a list of unfinished degrees? And what the heck is up with over-formatting? When you underline, bold, or bullet point every other sentence, those emphases lose meaning and make my eyes tear up.

When it comes time to fill out my ballot I might still vote for someone even if I find fault with their candidate statement. But at least when I fill in that bubble I will feel that I have done my homework and made a good decision.

I hope that you will make a similar commitment to actually read about the candidates and their views on the issues, and then cast your vote based on an informed opinion. And if you ever happen to run for public office that you will consider the voters - your potential employers - when writing your candidate statement.

What are you waiting for? Go vote... NOW!

Punkins

Just in case you were wondering, this is what 42 bucks will get you at the Central Oregon Pumpkin Company. But that's not including admission to the corn "Maize"!

It was a good day - though a little hazy. We could just make out the silhouette of the Cascade Mountains to the west. The peaks of Smith Rock State Park loomed over us from the North. We left home early and arrived at the pumpkin patch pretty close to opening time on Sunday morning. This was a good thing, since as we headed home it threatened to surpass my threshold for crowds. We bought our tickets and made our way into the "Maize". Did we get lost? Of course! Scott had picked up a bag of Kettle Corn as well, which sustained us during our adventure of wandering through loops and dead ends made up by the rows on rows of corn.

Eventually the kids made sure that we found our way out safely. After playing on the pirate ship (built from hay bales) it was time to find that perfect pumpkin. At first I told them all they could pick whatever they wanted - so long as they could carry it back to the car. That lasted until Stinky found a ginormous pumpkin that was "way cool"! Scott sent him for a wheelbarrow, and soon QP also had a ginormous pumpkin to add to the collection. Boo's little baby pumpkin (that she could carry without assistance) looked puny in comparison. But when it came time to scoop and carve, I think she was glad to have a smaller gourd.

It definitely took a LONG time for QP and Stinky to scoop their pumpkins. I was wondering if they would finish before dark. They did... but barely! Can you guess who carved each Jack-O-Lantern? (And if you guess me you're partly right. Because yes, I got to help a little with each!)

More pictures? Of course! You can check them out here...

Benign

I really wasn't going to blog about this. But most of you know about this and so many people are asking for updates... this just seems like the easiest place for it.

For those of you unfamiliar with the situation, here's a quick catch-up version. Boo has had issues with her parotid gland for the last two years. It's bothered her off and on, but since late this summer it's turned into a persistent issue and is very uncomfortable for her. We have been seeing a local ENT and he referred us up to a pediatric ENT at OHSU. Before her visit she had a face/neck MRI, and we took her to OHSU on Friday.

It was a rough morning! In preparation for a fine needle aspiration of her gland they put numbing cream on her neck and it looked like a big pus packet! So things started out a little goofy and funny. But then the Pediatric ENT looked at her MRI and came to talk to us. She was very shocked at how much the gland had changed since her last MRI two years ago. This is clearly something that has been progressively getting worse over the last two years. Not something that was coming and going, like we had thought all along. She really wants to talk with one of the Adult ENT's at OHSU and see what they think of the MRI because it is a very unique situation.

Next a pathologist came in to do the fine needle aspiration and biopsy. It took two needle draws for them to get cystic matter and it was really horrible. It is not supposed to hurt when they draw out fluid but it did, which really surprised them. They said that is actually a telling symptom and helps them with the diagnosis. Boo got to look at the cells in the microscope so at least that was cool. And for the rest of the day she showed everyone the "vampire bite" on her neck.

Because of the results of the biopsy we know for sure it's NOT cancer. We didn't think it was, anyways. But it's always nice to be totally sure. The doctor also thinks it's completely developmental and not related to any disease. But she is consulting with a rheumatologist "just in case" it's some weird immuno-suppressed condition (like Sjoengren's or HIV).

Unless the blood tests show something else, the diagnosis is that she has extreme calcification of the gland due to malformed or "kinked" ducts. Saliva backs up in the gland and gets gummy, then hardens. The gland responds to the irritation of the calcified saliva and cysts form then turn into benign tumors. Depending on how things are flowing the cysts can come and go. They confirmed that there is absolutely no infection in the gland, either.

And they can't do anything about it. The only option is to remove the entire gland and they don't want to do that at her age. They think that by the time she is old enough for surgery that she will have outgrown it or the gland will have "burned out" and either shut down or be working at a lower capacity and won't cause the problem because it won't get backed up.

So we're pretty frustrated to be back pretty much at square one. I've heard there are other, "newer" ENT's in town so it might be worth a second opinion. But I'm also considering taking her to a naturopath or a witch doctor or something. It can't hurt, right?

Day

Mrs. G over at Derfwad Manor asked her readers to share a photo documentary of a day in their life. Here's mine.

It's always a little too early for me. So I hit this button. Sometimes I repeat this four or five times. (Hint: on Mondays it's usually more.)

While I laugh at the kids for having to leave for school at a ridiculously early hour, I catch up on email messages and read up on important stuff. Unfortunately for me, soon it will be too cold for them to ride their bikes to school. Which means I will have to drive them. But for now, I stick with laughing at them.

Time to clean up and get ready for my day. I recommend the toothpaste with the little minty strips. Mmm... winter fresh!

Halfway to work I get a call from the school because someone is having problems with their braces. So I turn around and we make an emergency trip to the orthodontist's office.

Eventually I get to the office. It's time to get to work!

But first I need tea. And if it's a good day, then I'll go to lunch with the girls. Or in today's case, I'll just sit at my desk and eat whatever Chef Stouffer is serving up.

Finally it's time to head home. It's rush hour so I have to watch out for a**hole drivers. And I keep my fingers crossed that I won't have to wait for a train at the railroad crossing.

The dog and the kids are so thrilled to see me! They run off to do kid things without me. Or just stand around and make goofy faces.

The RHPB usually gets home later, and we have a drink together. Sometimes it's beer. Sometimes I have a martini. Every once in a while he stops at Sonic and gets a Cherry Limeade for me. And sometimes if it's a bad day then we drink... lots of beer.

Then I am expected delighted to make dinner. Or we order a pizza.

The sun goes down. The kids are sent upstairs and we follow to threaten them if they don't go to sleep tuck them into bed. RHPB and I mysteriously turn into couch potatoes.

I crawl in bed, and usually manage to read a few pages before I just can't stay awake another moment. G'night!

Boot

Like many others in my circle of friends (both local and "virtual") I have been making an effort to get into better shape. Let's face it - I don't have the most active job. This summer I started walking on a somewhat regular basis with a group of friends. Now that it's cold and dark in the morning, it's getting harder and harder to be motivated to roll out of bed early for a walk.

In the meantime I also started hooping which is pretty fun. It's a great cardio workout and seems to be helping with my balance and coordination. Plus I can't help but smile like an idiot while hooping. It's fun! I think that's part of what brings me back to class, week after week.

I've also noticed signs and announcements - as well as overheard people raving about - Boot Camp style exercise programs. It's a group fitness class that generally meets outdoors and combines several exercise styles including stretching, cardio, abs work, calisthenics, yoga... a little of everything. Several people have told me I should give it a try but it was tough to fit in. Not to mention, it's a little on the spendy side to just "give a try".

So when I saw a note on Hack Bend that there was a Boot Camp offering a free class this weekend, I figured this was my chance. Of course I had to send a shout out to my Chubby Mommy buddies to see who was interested. And I was delighted when my friend Kate sounded interested.

Let me digress for a moment. Kate is my best "wild hare" friend. If I see something that looks interesting, she always seems game to try. She has fun ideas of her own too! We've been to some great events, like Ignite Portland. And we've laughed our way through some, er... interesting?... events like the Taste of Home cooking show. Thanks, Kate!

So this morning as I was milling around, we decided (via very official text messages) that we would give Better Body Boot Camp a try. I know how that name sounds... but hey at least it's honest! I have kids, so I'm not necessarily looking for more Adventure in my life. But who doesn't want a Better Body? There's always something needing improvement, right? It's just that in my case there's a lot that needs improvement.

Arriving at Drake Park, I saw a small group assembled down at the stage. The instructors looked awfully perky for so early in the morning on a VERY COLD Saturday. Whatever they had, they weren't sharing. Soon they had us stretching and I was quickly warm enough that I could shed my winter coat. Hat and gloves stayed on for most of the class though!

Let me tell you... Boot Camp class is HARD.

And the hour long session does NOT fly by.

I kept thinking, "Julie would tell me this is one of those Try, Not Cry moments."

The hardest part? Hearing "hey you're almost there!" and then doing what felt like a million more reps of whatever brutal activity we were practicing. Some were harder than others. Others were even fairly easy in comparison. But even those were more difficult the second (or third, or fourth) time around.

Yikes.

Even though it was really hard, there was some fun along with the suffering. In my heart I feel good about doing something nice for my body. I don't know if my muscles and joints agree yet. Maybe my body would have been more thankful if I had come home and treated it to a nice long soak in a hot tub. But since we don't have a hot tub, I don't think my muscles were getting their hopes up.

After class we toasted our survival and warmed up with a large pot of tea at Townshend's. I was so happy to have something hot to drink!! And the shower that I finally took (after coming home and going straight to spreading bark and otherwise "winterizing" the yard - before it snows again) was probably the best shower. Ever.

Am I cut out for Boot Camp? I'm not sure. Maybe I should decide depending on how sore I feel tomorrow? As I told Kate over tea, I think I would definitely enjoy something more in line with Flip-Flop Camp.

Let me know if you see a poster for Flip-Flop Camp. I'd love to give it a try.

Snow!

Yeup...

It's SNOWING!



Is it really that time of year, already? Wow...

Hey...

I don't know these people. But they are pretty clever, make funny faces at each other, and can carry a tune...



I'm going to hum this all the way to Election Day.

Link via my friend Aaron.

Thirteen

Where does the time go? I swear, a few days ago this big gangly dude was just a little peanut. When I cradled his tiny head in my hand, his little feet didn't even reach to my elbow.

Lots of changes since then. Now he talks back. He has braces on his teeth. I don't even try to beat him at strategy games. He's attended college. And his feet are bigger than mine. (And that is saying a lot... I have pretty big feet!)

And now he's thirteen. That's years, not months. I remember when I used to count his age in months... but now that would make him 156. No wonder I stopped keeping track!

He's funnier now - in both looks and personality. (I can only say that because I love him so much!) When he arrives home after a long day at school, he calls me so that I know he is available to start working on chores safe. On his birthday, the first thing he said was, "You're ruining my life!" I had to think about it for a minute. No, there was nothing recent that came to mind that I had done that seemed that bad. So, I gave my standard intelligent answer... "Huh?" His reply?

"I'm a teenager now, Mom. Figured you might want to get used to hearing that."

Oh. Okay, then.

I still get hugs, now and then. But only when people aren't watching. (No, that's a terrible lie. Teenage boys don't ever hug their Mom. Forget you saw that!) He isn't "too cool" to spend time with me yet. But I think that has more to do with his expensive taste in food (sushi) and toys (Wii) than anything else. But he at least tries to make me feel cool. Nice kid, I guess! Smart kid, definitely!!

He smells pretty bad, too. I thought it was bad a few years ago, but it's getting worse. Nothing seems to wash that smell away. Someone should invent a special "anti-teenage-boy-smell" soap. I'd buy it. And I know lots of other mom's that would too!

For his birthday party we went to InClimb, which is a local rock climbing gym. Several of his friends came to hang out. It was fun, but Scott spent most of the party chasing the boys away from Q.P. (who happened to be the only girl). So I guess that's another thing to look forward to... yikes!!

To Stinky... I love you, dude. Stay weird and geeky. And please, solve the energy crisis by finding an alternative fuel SOON so that I can start saving money on gas. I know you can do it, buddy. When you do, we'll go to Mio to celebrate. Deal?

Vote

I was just called out by Jack Leblond (@Web_Guy) to make sure I was registered to vote; Yes, Jack, I am. I registered to vote the day I turned 18, and have kept my registration current ever since. One think I have never done? Voted at a "polling place". Since I was an out-of-state student I registered to vote by mail. When I moved back to Oregon, the state started conducting all elections by mail. I have, however, hand-delivered my ballot to the County Clerk's office and picked up my "I Voted" sticker on Election Day. It is, after all, just across the street from my office.

Check out this great video, it’s not only entertaining - it’s informative too. Enjoy!


And since this is a meme, of course I am tagging some folks. This isn't about WHO you are voting for. This is just about voting, period. Are you registered to vote?
* Occidental Girl
* Ann Poff (@starrchhk)
* PolyGeek (@polyGeek)
* Collin (@cjgraphix)
* Carrie (@simz_girl) and Simeon (@simBateman)