March Madness

Trinity asked me the other day why it is that I like sports so much. Last night gave the answer. Did you see those games?? They were crazy exciting and offer a surge of adrenaline that one just doen't get to experience often, unless it's in a near-death barely-missed car accident.

Trinity (parroting a commercial): March Madness!
Connor: March Madness? What's that?
Trinity: It's the best night of basketball all year!

Dominant Duke knocked out by the "Big Baby" and LSU. West Virginia tied the game with a great three-pointer, leaving just five seconds left on the clock, only to have Texas match with an equally amazing three-pointer to win at the buzzer. UCLA hammered the entire game, down by as many as seventeen points, to come back and, with an acrobatic steal, win by two over Gonzaga and the ever-present Morrison.

Good stuff!

Oh, Happy Day!

I was looking on my student loan web site to get some tax info (yes, I'm still putting together our taxes), when LO and BEHOLD!! it shows a negative balance!! I ended my days as a student at Harding on May 25, 1994, and I am today, almost twelve years later, free from the shackles of bondage that have been my college student loans! Hallelujah!!

Restless Leg

For someone who has trouble keeping her eyes open during parts of the day, it makes no sense to me why nighttime sleep sometimes alludes my body. It is 2:45 a.m. and here I am on my computer. The culprit? Restless Leg Syndrome. Ever hear of it? Although I have experienced it a lot before, especially during pregnancies, I didn't know that this annoying trait had a name. Basically, it is a jittery, crawling sensation in one's legs, kind of like having an electric current running through them. There is an overwhelming sensation to move one's legs or get a massage (sometimes a tall order at two in the morning), hence the name. So here I am, reading up on another weird pregnancy symptom to see if any relief is possible. It appears that there may be a link between RLS and iron or folate deficiency, so I need to get those vitamins down each day! In the meantime, I think I'll shake a leg [har, har].

Meet Sprout (21 weeks)

What's That?

My husband brought me a beautiful bouquet of flowers: Happy International Woman's Day! How'd you celebrate?

Highway 224

This week I had the great opportunity to go for a long drive with one of our PUMP families. I could quickly tell as we left the city for more remote areas that they were passing some invisible barriers - social? economic? - that have kept them primarily within Northeast Portland. It was fun to see a world that is familiar to me through the eyes of the teens in particular. Did you see those llamas?!...which led to a family argument about whether it is llamas, goats or camels who spit on people. Look, sheep!...Did you see all of those cows?...As we drove out highway 224 we passed the Christmas tree farm where my family has had success two years in a row (that is more amazing than you know!). Passing through Estacada I was reminded of the camping trip where Pearl and I had to come into town to get pizza for everyone after a terrible scorched stew incident. As we climbed the steep mountainside outside of Estacada, I reminisced about a frustrated Greg as the Metro van stalled on the way to a fishing trip (don't make Greg miss a fishing opportunity). We made it all the way past Indian Henry campground - a family favorite (I have fond memories of a frantic search for nephew Austin, a young toddler, in the forest) and where some of my friends and I celebrated my thirtieth birthday. Did you see that waterfall?...Look at that ocean river thing - that is tight...Indeed.

photo by Ryan Stormer