summer so far

July 29th, 2009Tags: , , , , , , ,
| deeann, friends, fun, life, moving, outside, vacation, weather | chris | 1 comment


this past winter deeann and i decided that we were going to take advantage of this summer and get outside. i would say we have done a pretty good job of that so far. we have several trips already in the bag from the coast, columbia river gorge, backpacking to the tops of mountains, running trails, riding bikes, climbing, and enjoying friends. it has been great fun getting in the sites of the pacific northwest and even in this beautiful city of portland.

since graduating from culinary school at le cordon bleu, portland, i have worked with lovely hula hands (the restaurant i did my internship with) and lovejoy foods (a local catering group). this has been going well, although i’ve been trying to keep working to a minimum so we can keep fun to a maximum. i’m putting ideas together and trying to figure out what i will be doing in the coming months as the summer winds down.

deeann is back to work after taking three months off to rest and enjoy life a bit. she is working at immanuel hospital no longer as a traveling nurse, but on staff. so far, so good. we had such a great time during her three months off, but now look forward to having an income that actually sustains us. ;) thanks honey.

for now, we are enjoying our new home (stay tuned on this news. we moved … just a few miles though, don’t freak) and trying to stay cool as these hot days are boiling us without an a.c. portland has about a week and a half where the heat is crazy hot (around 100-105 degrees) about once a year. next week it should be livable again.

some pretty big news

January 21st, 2009Tags: , , , ,
| big news, family, friends, life, moving, news | chris | 3 comments

*no we are not pregnant, stop getting your hopes up

so at the end of this month is when deeann’s current contract comes due with the hospital she is with currently. it turns out, due to many different circumstances, there are no nursing jobs in portland. most every hospital is in a hiring freeze.
what does this mean for us? well as most of you know, deeann works very hard to support the two of us. i do not have a job, nor would i be able to find a job that would support both of us. i’m currently wrapping up my internship and i’m in a transition period in the next few weeks.
while looking for a job for deeann, she inquired with her recruiter if there were any jobs in phoenix or iowa. it turns out there is an opening in the very same unit at the university hospital in iowa city that she used to work in. the decision we’ve come to is that she will move back to iowa city for three months, hoping that something will open again here in portland at the end of that contract.
this has all been decided in the last week or two. we originally had a trip planned for an iowa visit in the middle of february. that trip is still in my plans, and i’ve decided to extend my trip to a month since i will have nothing to hurry back to here in portland and deeann will be working in iowa city.
the next few weeks and months have a lot in store for us. mostly, we’re both excited for a new setting and opportunity. hopefully it won’t be as hard as it seems it will be.

happy new year!

January 12th, 2008 | family, friends, good stuff, moving, portland | chris | 1 comment


heres our new years letter.

hope you all had a beautiful 2007! enjoy!

our new home

October 21st, 2007Tags: , , , , ,
| family, farmers market, fun, good food, life, moving, portland, road trip | chris | 1 comment

we are finally settled in(for the most part) to our new apartment. over the past few days of travel, back and forth from furniture stores, and just learning the city and public transit, we have really been enjoying our new home. many things are unfamiliar still but more and more we are getting used to the flow of our new lives.

yesterday was the farmers market, which is right outside our front door. we spent the morning squezing and smelling a lot of the local produce. everything was so bright and fresh, just thinking about it makes my mouth water.

today terra and pete will be heading out to take the long way back to iowa city. i think they’re going up through seattle, then across all the way to mineapolis, then down to iowa city. probably another three day drive. after they leave, deeann and i are going to finish bed shopping and go visit deeann’s hospital. she starts work tomorrow. (yikes)

here are some pictures from the city and farmers market. enjoy.

goodmorning nebraska

October 17th, 2007 | family, friends, fun, good stuff, morning, moving, road trip | chris | 0 comments

for those who didn’t know, nebraska is flat. that said, we are very excited to be leaving it behind today. yesterday we traveled the 680 miles through iowa and nebraska. to be honest, the drive really wasn’t all that bad. it took us 10 hours including a few stops. going through eastern nebraska was beautiful as we watched the sun set.

had a lot of time to think and chat. still can’t believe this is happening. as we finished putting things together and wrapped things up in iowa it was truly amazing how much our friends and family stepped in. i realized that these people actually meant it when they said “let us know if you need anything.” my parents and my sister coming monday night and doing a blitz clean/pack. thinking about it, i realized how much my family and friends want to see us happy. even though they don’t want to see us go they would rather see us happy. they take in our dog and go completely out of their way to make sure things work out for us.

we’re very grateful for the friendships we have in you all. thank you.

we have a long road ahead today. kimball, nebraska to ontario, oregon. last night we entered mountain time and today we will enter pacific time. so for all of you in the midwest, we will be two hours earlier than you. 11 hour drive today.

stay tuned. mountains, here we come.

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