Delirity

I have yet to figure out how Jesse manages to have conferences scheduled for weekends when Portland gets really hot, but he’s done it a number of times. This weekend he’s up at the Semiahoo Resort in Washington in beautiful 80 degree weather while we work on hitting 100 here in Portland.

Fortunately, he did leave me with the air conditioner in the bedroom window and my new computer to get situated. I’m determined to keep the stuff on this computer nice and organized, so this morning I started working on that. Step one: move ‘my documents’, … to my D drive instead of C. Step two: modify save paths in files. Step three: rip all my cds (somehow I never did that on my old computer – only a handful of them). I’m dreading organizing all our old digital photos, but it needs to be done so that going forward there will be order. Somehow I have the feeling this will eventually lead me to creating an actual wedding album (I’m only a few years behind!).

The last time I wrote an “about me” post it was 4 years ago – I thought about simply redoing the post to update it, but it’s something I’d like to keep for posterity. So, without further ado I introduce you to the Nicole of 2008.

Name: Nicole
Age: 25
Location: Portland, OR
Job: Research Assistant/Project Manager at OHSU – working with seniors and technology to help people remain independent longer
Marital Status: Mrs. since April 1, 2006
Children: No
Pets: No

I’m still working on cultivating a love of the outdoors. Jesse and I have finally gotten into the swing of getting out into some of the beautiful Oregon areas, even if it’s just for a short hike or bike ride. I don’t think I’ll ever be a wilderness camper like some of our friends, but I do hope that one day we’ll go camping on occasion.

I still am focused on my health and wellbeing. The focus has shifted a bit because I’ve been working with a naturopath on dealing with my thyroid and adrenal issues. My exercise now is primarily running and yoga with some bodyweight exercises thrown in for good measure – this has all been a little shaky over the past 2 years due to some injuries, but I think I’m getting back on track again.

Something that has come up recently for me is shifting to a more sustainable lifestyle. We get our produce mostly from a local farm we bought a share at. We clean with basic ingredients like soap, water, vinegar and baking soda. I’ve started focusing on reducing the “things” that I buy and want – I’m trying to enjoy what I have and learn to recognize the things that really aren’t important to me.

Just as I was about to make a big transition 4 years ago with my first about me post, we’re gearing up for another one. Jesse will be finishing up chiropractic school in March 2009. For 4-6 months next year he’ll be in San Diego (mostly without me) to work with a chiropractor down there. Then he’ll come back up to the Portland area and we’ll work on the next phase of our life. It’s exciting, but it also makes me appreciate life as it is right now.

Jesse was at a conference over the weekend, so I had the whole weekend to myself. I had a little trouble figuring out to do with my weekend, especially since I’m not cleaning nearly so much on weekends. I wound up watching a few movies, enjoying the farmers market (with a little exploratory walk to the Springwater Corridor), shopping ( is it ok to admit that I bought a 12 pound bag of baking soda at Costco? It seems funny, but I use it for cleaning…), testing to see if I’m sensitive to wheat, making Kale & Potato soup, getting the laundry done, killing my computer, and if the weather clears up today I’m going to go read at the park for a bit.

It turns out that I can fill up a weekend when Jesse isn’t home… I just don’t enjoy it as much. I’m going to have to get used to it though – in January he’s heading down to San Diego for several months without me. I’ll get to go visit, but I’ll definitely have a good number of weekends at home alone (not to mention week nights – though in some ways that’s easier since a trip to the gym will fill up most of my time). What do you do on weekends?

I’ve found 2 new “games” recently that have been keeping me entertained:

1. Flylady cleaning plan – a little bit everyday, with weekends mostly off! I had gotten to the point where on weekends it felt like I could either have a clean house or have fun, not both. I’m hoping this will help. Of course, now I’ll have to find fun things to fill up my weekends – shucks!
2. Find as many ways as possible to use fewer paper towels – recent changes have included using newspaper for cleaning windows/mirrors and using large flour sack towels for underneath veggies after I wash them.

I know, I know… it doesn’t sound fun… but I actually enjoy these things, so major changes to the way I do things makes it entertaining.

We also just ordered some cotton produce bags for our weekly produce pickup (because if you aren’t buying produce at the store, you don’t accumulate bags in the same way!). I’m almost embarrassed to admit how excited I am for when they show up. It’s the little things in life.

This Monday evening we picked up our first share of produce from our CSA. We picked up Jesse’s parents’ share as well and I had just enough bags – and apparently it was a “light” week. I guess I need more bags for next time!

We came home with:

• 8 oz spinach
• 4 oz pea greens
• 2 oz garlic chives
• 1 lb braising mix
• 12 carrots
• 1 Principe Borghese tomato plant

This is a real test of my meal planning skills since I usually plan and shop over the weekend. Getting all my produce on Monday really throws a monkey wrench into things. We’re plowing full steam ahead though – tonight for dinner we had pan fried tilapia (seasoned with garlic, basil and cayenne), brown rice, and pea greens (recipe after the jump). It was really tasty and only took about 40 minutes to throw together.

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