Comment envy

Fellahs,

You know how it is when you're looking for the perfect utility belt? You think you found the perfect one, that holds all your favorite tools, doesn't weigh down one side of your pants more than another, but still pulls your pants down the appropriate amount to show a tasteful amount of butt-crack and still get the job done, right?

Then you wonder if it makes you look fat, or if you could get a better price at Lowes (because of course you went first to Home Depot). It's such a pain, I hate shopping for ALL utility-type accessories. The belt. The gloves. The helmet. I mean, they only come in a few colors. And c'mon...

So imagine how I felt when I found this bad boy!! Fits awesome, and reminds me I'm a dude <Tim_Taylor_grunt_grunt/>



I wanted to buy every single pair to go with my matching work pants. You know how it is, right?



Okay....




Take this with a grain of salt. It's just a silly expression of comment-envy for my friend Mahina, who gets way too many comments for blog entries just like this one...

... Am I jealous or what?

Daylight changes, new to my wife...

So Camila marvels EVERY day at how much earlier it gets dark now. I told her to wait, in another month, by the time I get home from work it'll be completely dark.

This of course is no biggie to me. I've lived on or derned near the 45th parallel all my life. But Camila has lived near the equator all her life. To illustrate the difference between the two check out the image below.

What you see here is what happens to our sunrise and sunset throughout the year here in the northwest. The yellow in the middle represents the time between sun set and sunrise. The wavy lines represent the changes. The roman numerals along the bottom are the months (I = Jan, II = Feb, etc).

Now, hover your mouse over the image to see what Camila is used to...





See why she's a little amazed?

Have you stood up to cancer?

Camila and I stumbled onto the Stand up to Cancer (SU2C) broadcast on Friday night while looking for something to watch. I was immediately pulled in by the sincerity, the stories, and most of all the amazing breakthroughs that are appearing on the horizon.

I'm usually hesitant about donating to causes because I don't know how many of my dollars are REALLY going to the cause, and how many go to the pocket of the promoter. But we had no reservations donating to this cause.

Researchers are beginning to be able to analyze cancer cells at a level never before attainable, and isolate the very DNA genes that trigger the cancer. In the case of one woman, a fitness trainer in excellent shape, she got breast cancer that was so aggressive that she only discovered it after it cuased an open leasion on the OUTSIDE of her breast. Doctors gave her 2 months at the MOST.

She found, however, a doctor that had been able to isolate the gene that was causing her type of cancer. He was able to give her a series of injections that "disabled" the gene, and without a single round of chemo, she was completely cancer free within the two months that she was predicted to be dead.

You're thinking, "why should I donate if we're making all this headway?" The problem is the lack of government funding, which pits scientist competing AGAINST each other for research dollars, instead of working TOGETHER. The cures are close, closer than we realize. The SU2C organization believes that with enough funding, we can bring researchers and scientists together, and reach a cure in only 3-5 years. At our current velocity, we are probably closer to 20 years away from a cure.

The following video clip explains where your donation dollars go. Watch and decide for yourself if it's worth your donation. Then, if you feel like I do, go to the SU2C website and make one.

Camila is here!!

From Camila's first weeks in the US

Yes yes, she's been here for over 2 months, I know. But I think it's fitting to write an entry that states it categorically, to put a concluding chapter to our long and painful wait, don't you?

We've been having a blast since Camila got here. And frankly, I've been too busy to post. It's been newly-wed life and lots of adjustments. I've received a lot of concerned emails about my lack of posts, asking if we've fallen off the planet. Worried that things were either going really well. Or really bad.



I'm happy to put your concerns to rest... things are going REALLY WELL.

From Camila's first weeks in the US

It's been fun to see our world through Camila's eyes. So many things are new to her. I've taught her how to use the garbage disposal, the vacume, the ice dispenser, the washer and dryer, the car, the TV remote, the lawn trimmer, the electric can opener, the vacume again... A lot of stuff I didn't even think about because I take it for granted, she's never used before.

She's been pleasantly surprised by life here. She had heard that americans are closed and cold. On the contrary she's enjoyed meeting all the people in my life, and the folks from church, work, etc, and found most people to be warm and open. When we got to the house her first day here, our neighbors had left a gift on the portch with a big banner welcoming her to the US.

She heard our food left a lot to be desired. However there are many more things on her list of LIKES than her list of NOT LIKES. LIKES: french fries, Maccaroni Grill bread, seedless watermellon, pancakes, my special chicken sandwich, fajitas, sour cream, yogurt, avacados. NOT LIKES: Orange Julius, pineapple salsa, ketchup on eggs, thai food, and peanut butter.

Imagine what it's like to watch someone experience all this for the first time. It's cool. A special thanks to all my friends and family who have reached out to Camila and made her feel welcome. I totally get that has to be awkward and difficult when you don't speak the same language. But between her broken bits of english and my wonderful translation skillz, she has felt very welcome here and cared for.

From Our open house

We had an open house in July, where folks got to spend time talking with Camila, and seeing the progress on our home. THAT was a lot of fun for us both.

From Our open house

My parents came up for it and stayed with us for a few days. It was great having them with us. Dad was a life-saver with last minute prep work on the house the morning of our shindig. In exchange, I took him wakeboarding for his first time, which he may thank me for some day after his back soreness is a distant memory. I gotta hand it to him though, he got up in 3 tries, and rode that board like a pro! (pictures forth-coming...)

From Camila's first weeks in the US

We traveled home to Idaho Falls for the 4th of July weekend. We stopped here at Multnomah Falls on the way, which she loved!

From Camila's first weeks in the US

She got to meet the cousins...



And other notorious members of the family...

Then my sister Amy, who recently bought herself a Hogg, got Camila dolled up in leathers and we did a "Bad Girls of Biking" photo shoot.

From Camila's first weeks in the US

I have to say, I LOVE this rowdy side of my better half!


(* A note for the fellahs about my sister... she's just as hot as she looks in that pic, AND she's single! (she will no doubt kill me later))





We've since done some hiking (this is from Eagle Creek trail)...

From Camila's first weeks in the US

Spent time with friends (Corey, Lindsey, and Samantha)...

From Camila's first weeks in the US

And the Claridge family. I consider these guys my second family. This was at DJ's missionary farewell. DJ is the one in the middle.

From Camila's first weeks in the US

From Camila's first weeks in the US

And of course... We've done lots and lots of boating! Camila tried wakeboarding once and got up. But hasn't tried since due to back issues. But she loves being out on the river with me....

... doing THIS.