: : pac-nor-west : :

The Pacific Northwest According to Jeff Foxworthy

1. You know the state flower (Mildew)

2. You feel guilty throwing aluminum cans or paper in the trash.

3. Use the statement "sun break" and know what it means.

4. You know more than 10 ways to order coffee.

5 You know more people who own boats than air conditioners.

6. You feel overdressed wearing a suit to a nice restaurant.

7. You stand on a deserted corner in the rain waiting for the "Walk" Signal.

8. You consider that if it has no snow or has not recently erupted, it is not a real mountain.

9. You can taste the difference between Starbucks, Seattle's Best, and Veneto's.

10. You know the difference between Chinook, Coho and Sockeye salmon.

11. You know how to pronounce Sequim, Puyallup, Issaquah, Oregon, Yakima and Willamette.

12. You consider swimming an indoor sport.

13. You can tell the difference between Japanese, Chinese and Thai food.

14. In winter, you go to work in the dark and come home in the dark - while only working eight-hour days.

15. You never go camping without waterproof matches and a poncho.

16. You are not fazed by "Today's forecast: showers followed by rain," and "Tomorrow's forecast: rain followed by showers."

17. You have no concept of humidity without precipitation

18. You know that Boring is a town in Oregon and not just a state of mind.

19. You can point to at least two volcanoes, even if you cannot see
through the cloud cover.

20. You notice, "The mountain is out" when it is a pretty day and you can actually see it.

21. You put on your shorts when the temperature gets above 50, but still wear your hiking boots and parka.

22. You switch to your sandals when it gets about 60, but keep the socks on.

23. You have actually used your mountain bike on a mountain.

24. You think people who use umbrellas are either wimps or tourists. (I truly do...)

25. You buy new sunglasses every year, because you cannot find the old ones after such a long time.

26. You measure distance in hours.

27. You often switch from "heat" to "a/c" in the same day.

28. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit under a raincoat.

29. You know all the important seasons: Almost Winter, Winter, Still Raining (Spring), Road Construction (Summer), Deer &Elk season (Fall).

30. You actually understood these jokes and will probably forward them! (or blog them...)

: : whatever : :

I've lived in my condo since March of 2007. Since then, we've not had any neighbors in our building. We could be as loud as we wanted, park where we wanted, do whatever we wanted. It was a glorious nine months of solitude in our building.

Two or three weeks ago we came home to notice some lumber in our yard. "That's odd...," we thought. They must be building a fence somewhere. Hmmmm. Two days later there was a stack of concrete mix sitting on our patio. "What the heck?" we thought. The next night when we got home there were holes dug in our front yard. They spanned from one end of the building to the other and they were all of SEVEN FEET away from our patio. "Oh no they didn't!" we exclaimed! This is an outrage! How can they build a fence IN FRONT of our window without telling/asking/notifying us? So the next morning while Sara was still home before she left for work, she called our maintenance man and asked what the heck was going on...

"Well, we're putting a fence up. Why? Do you not want a fence?"
"NO! We bought this condo because it has a nice yard and a view and your fence is blocking it all."
"Well, you can still walk around the fence and enjoy the yard!"
"That's NOT what we want! Why are you putting it there anyways?"
"Your new neighbors wanted a privacy fence."
"New neighbors?"
"Yes, they're moving in tomorrow. They wouldn't buy it without the fence. I guess we could stop it before your window."
"Fine. That's good enough."

Turns out they could have stopped it one section earlier and not blocked any of our patio, but for some dumb reason, they didn't. Now a portion of my wonderful patio is blocked by a lovely (it is nice) seven foot tall cedar fence. Good thing it's not in front of my kitchen window.

These neighbors we were getting were already on our black list without ever meeting them. We expected them to move in the next day, but it turned out to be the next day of the next week. We never saw hide, nor hair of them. Just their car parked in MY SPOT. Really blacklist now.

The other night around seven o'clock, we're lounging around the house, watching TV at a normal volume and there is a knock on the door. I went and answered the door to finally meet the new neighbor. (she looked to be in her 30's)

"Hi... my name is Carrie and I just moved in next door with my mother, Myrna. I hate for our first meeting to be anything less than pleasant... but can you turn down your TV please?"
I'm a nice guy... "Yeah sure..."
"Thank you... if you ever need anything don't be afraid to ask."

What the??? My TV is too loud at 7:00pm? I could understand it if it was up at the half-way level and rattling the walls (as it usually is close to when watching movies). But we were watching "My Wife and Kids" and it wasn't even half way up!

Since then, we have not seen either of them once. I think they're hermits (maybe vampires) who are afraid of going outside. Their car sits in the same place all day, everyday. Do they go anywhere? Who knows... Do they work? Don't think so...

My thoughts turn to the title of this blog... whatever. What are they going to do? Complain to the landlord we don't have? I mean, come on lady. You bought a CONDO. You better expect to hear a neighbor every once in a while. Whatever.

We're going to try and sell our condo now. We liked the solitude and quiet. Now we have neighbors that complain about a not-very-loud TV. Being that I work for a home builder, we're going to start searching for a lot to build on.

Yippee!

scare

so there was a slight scare this weekend. I'll spare you all the details... but for those who have had a baby... there was a scare.

Sara is now at 11 1/2 weeks. 12 weeks on Wednesday... the end of the first trimester. hoorya!

well, after an unexpected/needed trip to the doctor, all is well. the heart beat was pumping away and I guess the little one was even waving to the camera, full finger flexing and all! now I wish I would have been there to see it! maybe next time it will wave at me.

anyhow... with trimester number one now being close to over, we are almost in the clear. (that's relieving) we keep praying (and would appreciate your prayers too) for a full term, healthy pregnancy and baby.

well, here's a kind of recent picture from the last ultrasound I was at from 10 weeks. enjoy. :)

I must be crazy

I must be crazy.
I watch movies, something happens, and it gets me.
I watch TV, something happens, and it gets me.
I see people with babies or children, and it gets me.
I think I’m officially becoming a dad, and it’s getting to me.

Lately all the things mentioned above have been getting me… choked up. I mean, really, I’ve always been an emotional guy. But, come on… I’ve never been one to get choked up over an emotional part of a movie or TV show.

Sara and I were watching We Are Marshall the other night. The scene where the player breaks into a closed door meeting to show the schools governing body all the students standing outside showing their support of keeping the football team going… well, it got me.

I don’t know whether it is the fact that I have a baby on the way and now everything in life seems to be a little more precious… or if I’m going crazy… or perhaps I’m starting to understand God’s love for me and for His people, because of this tiny gift He’s given us, and I’m developing that desire to feel the emotions other people are feeling. When one part of the body mourns, the entire body should also be mourning. When it rejoices, we all rejoice. It’s not an emotion I have ever felt before, but I sense it starting to overtake my being.

It’s crazy. It’s not normal. It shakes my inner core. Yet, it’s a part of me that I would never want to give up. I think I’m finally starting to see the world through the eyes of God and it’s difficult. But then again, when is anything in life ever easy?

So here’s my leaving thought. I will take this new level of emotion I’ve been experiencing and I will do my best to try and understand and deal with the things that God puts in front of me. Step one: learn how to be a loving, supportive, God-fearing husband and father. To my little one… I can’t wait to meet you and hold you for the first time! I pray you grow strong in your mother’s womb and come into this world knowing that you are truly loved, not only by your mother and I (and all the grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins), but also by God in all His splendid glory.