June 13 | I was born

Friday, the 13th. A superstitious day. A dangerous day. And periodically, my birthday. Though I wasn't born on a Friday, I have had the pleasure of celebrating my entrance into this world on Friday the 13th several times (one of you calendar fanatics can do the math on how many times). I cross the threshold of my 30s today. I can no longer say I am teetering on its brink - I have officially dove into its deep waters and am actually okay with it. But I'll save a long soliloquy on my thoughts about my age, how much better/worse it is than my 20s, my hopes and dreams for the future and other such nonsense, for another darker day.

Because today, I'm feeling good and I have one person to thank for that - my niece, Lola. Her nearly 5-year-old squeaky voice welcomed me with morning with a phone call:

"Happy Birthday Coco! This is Lola."

She proceeded to ask me what I asked my friends to give me for my birthday and suggested I have a Blues Clues party before quickly changing her mind and deciding I should have a Princess Birthday party instead so that I could have princess plates, princess balloons, and pink and purple cupcakes. I had to agree with her, that would be a great party. We chattered on about playing outside, her new puppy, and her upcoming birthday party which she is VERY excited about.

Conversations like that I guess make you feel okay about time passing and things changing. New people like Lola get to come into your life that way.

What will you do with your extra .3 years?

The National Center for Health Statistics came out with tremendous news - we are all living longer. On average, the life expectancy of Americans increased to 78.1 years, that's a little under four months of extra time on this earth. Are we living that extra few months because we are spending its equivalent in the gym? Are American's sleeping more (highly doubt it)? The study attributes the longer life expectancy to a drop in deaths due to pneumonia, diabetes, cirrhosis of the liver and suicides, among several others. But one has to wonder if American's are using that extra time to live a more fulfilling life?

So, here's my challenge to myself (and anyone else who wants to follow along). Consider what you want to fill your extra 4 months of life on this earth with. Here's some things I will consider doing with my extra few weeks on the planet.

• Live in a foreign country for 3 months
  I'm thinking Scotland or Germany. I'll have to do some research


• Visit South America
  This is a "battle my fears" goal. Snakes are scary as are rainforests but I know parts of the country are beautiful and I should see it before I go if I have the means. I mean, who doesn't want to see Machu Picchu?


• Spend More Time With Family
  We all know we put this off. Our parents, our grandparents are who we are - I should take every opportunity to share moments with them.


• Get To Really Know Your Home Town
  I have a thing about making an impact in the community you are in, no matter how big or small. Unfortunately, I put doing it on the back burner. I should work this in.
  

Euro 2008 Alive In Portland

Just wanted to take a moment to let everyone know that I consider myself a Czech Republic fan. I spent one past Euro series in Prague with my best friend Celeste and fell in love with the city, its people and its enthusiasm for football. Gosh I wish I could do that again! Watching past tournament matches in a Frankfurt skybar with Tom (and a magic drawer full of beer) and in the Old Town Square in Prague with thousands of crazy fans leaves a lasting impression.

BMW Torture

One can only shed a tear.....

Umpqua Dairy Summer Ice Cream Flavors!

I was so excited today to see a print ad for Umpqua Dairy's summer ice cream flavor Lemon Cream Pie. It was such a major favorite for me when I was a kid. Being a 25 year employee of Umpqua Dairy, my dad never left us wanting for gallons of ice cream at home. He would bring home new flavors for us to try and old favorites that he knew would always be a hit (kids can't get enough of cookies and cream and mint chocolate chip).

While winter meant we pigged out on peppermint ice cream, summer marshalled in the availability of Lemon Cream Pie, Mountain Berry Revel and Strawberry variations. I've tried to tone down my ice cream intake since then, but I'll admit I struggle on a regular basis to not buy a couple gallons everytime I hit the grocery store.

So, as soon as the weather starts to actually act like it's summer, I plan to treat myself to a bowl of my favorite summer ice cream and have a moment of nostalgia. Then I'll throw the rest of the gallon carton away. :-)

Grokkers and Ninkasi at the Green Dragon

We (Ben, Sean, Corrie) caught the Grokkers at the Green Dragon on Saturday night as part of a trifecta of activities at the brewpub - music, beer, movies. In addition to the great music from the indie blues/rock band, Jamie Floyd from Ninkasi Brewing also came up from Eugene to share some of the breweries latest creations with the crowd (Oatmeal Stout -Schwag Lager - Total Domination). The Penny Jam, a non-profit podcast that features local bands, also showed two movies filmed at the Green Dragon - "Brave New World" and "Moving Picture Girl." The whole thing was sponsored by Ninkasi and Pop Tomorrow.

So what did I think - great time! The beer was great (the husband enjoyed himself a couple of thick, chocolaty oatmeal stouts), the music was incredible for that venue (picked myself up a copy of The Grokkers' CD which I have blasting through the home office now) and the films were a great introduction for me to what the Penny Jam is doing.

I love when great ideas come together on a Saturday night.

Epilogue: Found ourselves at the Montage again for late night mac'n'cheese, fritters and gator bites after leaving the Green Dragon. In true Ben fashion, he managed to walk into La Merde (adjoining lounge) and recognize the bartender as an old friend from Eugene who he had not seen in years. "Remember when" conversations ensued long into the night.

Appreciation For Food Drive Participants

Just a quick thank you and congratulations to everyone who participated in the National Association of Letter Carriers Food Drive that took place on May 12. Everyone in Oregon and Clark county that left a bag of food for their letter carrier to pick up contributed to a 3% increase in food donations compared with last year's drive. That may not seem like a huge increase but in these tough economic times, more and more families are using the Food Bank on a semi-regular basis.

In total the carriers picked up 1.65 million pounds of food on that one day. My meager couple of cans of veggies surely wasn't anything crazy but when we all pitch in to do a little, we can make some big differences in our community.

So, the downside - the group had set a goal for collecting 2 million pounds of food on that day. A lofty goal for sure but one that I think many would like to see met. So how can we help?

The next Food Bank sponsored drive will be at the Blues Festival July 3-6 down at waterfront park. With a daily donation and 2 cans of food, you will get to attend one of the largest blues festivals in the country. Keep this in mind as you look for ways to help around PDX.