Things Portlanders Like

10. Multnomah Falls
9. Pedestrians
8. New Seasons (the "friendliest market in town" but I have yet to get a smile from a anyone in that store)
7. Ugly sandals (seriously, why??)
6. The coast NOT the beach
5. Stumptown coffee
4. Saturday Market (brings an all new meaning to "flea market")
3. Ugly hair cuts (let's see how short those bangs can be)
2. Ratty bicycles
1. Vegans

Life Lessons

Don't burn bridges, even the ones you would love to burn!

Who's Worse...

..The illegal alien who takes an under-the-table job...or the American citizen who exploits him?

A Bit of Silly

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

The Dresden Files

I am currently reading The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher. The series is about a modern day wizard named Harry Dresden and his work in Chicago as a private consultant to the SI (Special Investigation) section of the CPD. It's an entertaining, action packed series. There are wars with vampires, faeries, loup-garou (werewolves), demons, and ghosts...It's a fun series to read!

In the stories, magic and energy are dependant on each other. To wield magic, you must channel your energy and focus on your goal. I don't know that I believe in magic in this sense (although I am finding myself more and more open to the idea..why not?) but I like the idea of focusing energy towards a certain goal. I think that's a very real, positive thing to practice. So lately, I have been consciously focusing my mind and energy around positive things, like a prayer or a time of meditation. So far, it has improved my mood during those not so pleasant, stressful times. I highly recommend trying it! Oh and if you are into fantasy novels and aren't too scared of "things that go bump in the night", try The Dresden Files!

Life Lesson

Make sure you call ahead to see if someone is available for an appointment before you drive all the way out to meet with them. Duh.

Christmas is coming

I love this time of year and not just because this is the only time I let myself be as cheesy as possible! (Although that is a plus!).

Winter. I love winter and am constantly begging the sky for snow. I love being cold...well rather I love being cozy because of the cold. Brenden and I both love a crackling fire, hot chocolate, and a warm soup cooking in the crock pot with homemade bread in the oven. Heaven.

Giving. My "love language" is gift giving. It delights my heart to prepare (whether by making or buying) a gift for a loved one. I love to wrap and curl as many little bows as possible. It's so important to remember what is constantly being given to us (forgiveness, grace, salvation) and have a similar heart to giving (whether by sacrifice of time or money or both). Christmas is about giving and doing so in honor of Christ and His gift and sacrifice to us.

Food.Oh.my.word. I love food.

This weekend, Brenden and I are heading towards the mountains to cut our own Christmas tree (a wonderful tradition we started a few years back). We will spend the time listening to Christmas music, drinking warm hot chocolate or Starbucks pie in a cup coffee, smelling like pine needles and being merry and bright.

See how cheesy I am during this time of year?

Giving Thanks!

As I look back on this last year, I am so thankful for so many things!

1. Brenden! My husband continues to amaze me and the life we are building is more than I would have hoped for. I love and adore him, he is my best friend!
2. Job! I do not like every single second of my job (but who does) but it is a great job, steady, great benefits, fun people, etc. I am very thankful for it!
3. Family! My family continues to grow! We welcomed lil Jax and are soon to welcome a new niece/nephew. PLUS we get to spend Thanksgiving with my dad and his lady companion!
4. Health!
5. Bandit! I just love my little, wild puppy. He brings so much laughter to us!
6. Future! I am so thankful for the future that lies ahead of us. It won't be without its struggles but the joys ahead far out weight the challenges.

I could go on and on.....

My First Thanksgiving Prep

This year I am making my very first Thanksgiving meal! I feel so grown up! Ha ha. As I am mentally thinking up a fun menu, I realize that I need more ovens! I want to keep it simple, (there will only be four of us) and I am not so keen on leftovers (weird, I know). So I am thinking ham instead of turkey (Brenden and I don't care for turkey), seared green beans with pepper garlic and almonds, mashed potatoes with gravy, sweet potato biscuits, and a cranberry/blue cheese salad. Oh and pie (pumpkin and pecan)! Hm, maybe I'll buy the pies (shhhh don't tell).

Can't wait!

My Fav Quote from Brenden

"Why do lazy people always claim to be perfectionists?"

Camping June 10

There is nothing like camping in the PNW. We love it!

Hard Times

We've hit some hard times professionally. Financially, we are hanging in there but the down-turn economy is bearing its weight on us. I know that some of you will nod in understanding while others will thank God (or your karma or your lucky stars) that you don't understand. But I thank God for these hard times. It's through times like these that I see the strength of my marriage. It's through times like these that I realize how much I trust and love my husband. It's through times like these that my faith is strengthened. No, I will not thank God for what He has spared me, I will thank Him for what He was brought me through. It is an honor.

Excellent Reminder

"Keep life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have for He has said, 'Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.' So we have confidence to say 'The Lord is my helper, I will not fear.'" Hebrews 13:5-6

Homemade and healthy

Toppings: mushrooms, green pepper, tomatoes, and I used some spinach, basil, and rosemary from our own garden!

Whole wheat dough

A very curious pup!

Ready for the oven (I used fresh mozz, just love it)

So delicious!

New Project

Can't wait to get started! Stay tuned for the finished product!

More Sewing

I am trying my hand at writing my own patterns. I started with something simple like a bib with a crumb catching pocket for Jax. I made a set in an adorable elephant print.

I need to finish them with a Velcro fastener and then they are ready for Mr. Jax to try on!

Our Garden in the city

Who says you have to have a yard to grow a garden? Here we've planted various flowers, cherry tomatoes, spinach, basil, rosemary, and two types of lavender! I love spring :)

The Rare Post by Brenden

I sometimes wonder if the re-post or the copy and paste ability is making our culture less wise and more detached. I have noticed that we have this short cut system that sometimes (in my opinion more often than not) allows people to attach themselves to a system of thought or belief without actually going through the process of explaining why and what they believe, so instead of putting your opinion out there to be questioned or discussed we simply can post a link and add our short one liner to attach a positive or negative opinion of whatever (let's not even talk about the "like button")

The other aspect of this potential problem is the group or party name... now imagine if we didn't have short cuts to explain why and what you believe by simply saying "I'm a Republican" or "I'm a Democrat" or even the religious side of it with "I'm a Baptist" or "I'm a Lutheran".

I feel like we lose something in the cultural or personal relationship when we don't take the time relate our thoughts better to one another. For example my wife and I were talking the other night about infant deaths and aspect of the soul, this was turning into a wide reaching topic of discussion and getting into things such as baptism, predestination, and the nature of sin. I thought that this was a great conversation even though it took time to touch on its many aspects even briefly, it encouraged intimacy of relationship and understanding but also simple art of conversation. This short cut ability alienates and detaches us from one another to the point of not even having complete conversations with each other and relying on or preferring text messaging to actually talking.

Oh the wonders of our modern world... just think how connected we are because of them. We can can play video games with a friend without actually being with the friend. We can actually have multiple text conversation with people without the use pesky things such as body language or even complete words.... isn't tht gr8...LOL. We can find out how people are doing and what they are up to without actually having to ask them... we can be friends without actually knowing them.

I'm not saying all these things don't serve a purpose and a use on a certain level but what referring to is not the occasional complementary addition but more so normal replacement use of these things.

So when the situation allows... sit down have a conversation and try not to sum up what you believe by saying you are a "blank" or a 4 or 5 point whatever... just explian what you believe and why and if you are not so good at putting the words together to explain yourself then that's alright because the more you do it the better you will get at it.

Just some thoughts by Brenden Drew

Placemats and Cloth Napkins

I had made a cute little placemat for my nephew, Jax, and my sister-in-law loved it so much that I made her a set (with cloth napkins). The top is the pretty blue and the back is a bright yellow polka dot fabric. I just love the blue and yellow combination!

When I left

I was 19 when I moved away from home to attend college. My dad drove me from Iowa to San Diego, a city I'd never been, to drop me off for school. I was nervous but ready. My parents were heart-broken and not ready but they encouraged me anyway. They had raised me to be a responsible, capable adult and this was the first test. Would I make it? Would I be too homesick to branch out of the nest? I know a lot of people who would rather keep their kids at home as long as possible. My parents wanted me near them at all times too. But they knew it wouldn't be best for me. I was a growing adult and needed to grow on my own. And they took the hardship, knowing it was best for me. I am so thankful for them.

Flash Mob

Ever the performer at heart, I was shocked that I had never heard of "flash mobbing". Apparently, it has been a very trendy performance art in Europe and here in the States. A flash mob is a large group of people who gather in a very public place (train station, courtyard, etc) and perform a meaningless act and then quickly disburse. There are several various of acts, some flash mobs will freeze in place at the same time (200+ people), some will start one person dancing and then one by one, everyone will jump in and dance. Because it lifts my spirits so much, here is a video of my favorite mob performing a dance to "Do Re Me" in a Belgium train station. Hope you love it!

Easter Weekend

My dad came to visit for Easter weekend. We took him up to Mt St Helen's which was so snowed over, the park rangers pulled us over and advised us not to drive any further. We ignored their warnings (very politely, of course) and had an amazing (and scary) time off-roading through the snow. Later we wondered upon the best bar and grill in Cougar, WA. The burgers were great! We will be returning!

Brenden and Dad smoked pipes outside the barred "gift shop".

Bandit loves Brenden

Here is Bandit, waiting for Brenden to come home. As soon as his car pulled up, he was practically doing flips and jumping at the front door. So cute and so smart!

His Plans

" 'For I know the plans I have for you', declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.'"
Jeremiah 29:11

There is always hope.

Keen for Cobian

I lived in Southern California for about 5 years before making the move to Oregon. I've only recently started seeing signs of shredding my SoCal tendencies and embracing that which is Pacific Northwestern. As we were getting ready for a day at the beach yesterday, I immediately went into my closet in search of my Cobian flip flops only to pass them up for my Keen hikers. I dressed in layers (and was very glad for it) and didn't even think of sunscreen. I pointed this out to my husband who laughed and added that I no longer associate the beach with a swimsuit or crowds of tourists.

We hiked along the shoreline and climbed over logs and rocks and marveled at the beauty and fierceness of the ocean. There were no crowds, little sun, and natural scenery. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Indian Cauliflower Soup

I made an amazing cauliflower soup this weekend! It is seriously so yummy that it is on my top 5 best foods list! I'd be happy to share the recipe with anyone! And it is Vegan!

Sushi Night

Our great friend and sushi extraordinaire Mike came over to give us a lesson in sushi making. It was amazing fun and yes, we did prepare raw fish :)

The ingredient box!

The rice is the tricky part

Brenden cutting the raw tuna...yummm

While the rice was cooking, we prepared noodle miso soup with fish cake

Mike's rolls, they look so perfect:


My sushi! I called this the Texas Roll:

Brenden's sushi, he prefers raw tuna and rice

What a great night!

Thoughts

I've been thinking a lot about contentment in my life. I struggled with where to live (Iowa vs Oregon) and can honestly say that I have total peace about our decision to stay in Oregon. My questions/prayers were answered in a powerful and obvious way and I have been at peace ever since. We've recently moved into a home that we love, in a charming neighborhood that suits us well, and have been building our home and future growth.

Contentment is a funny thing that is not changed by circumstance (although momentary happiness can change on a whim). It can only be changed and strengthened by effort (painful at times) and choice. Pure, Godly contentment surpasses money, job, relationships, worldly fulfillment (even those that are good) and creates peace. I pray that I can have this kind of contentment, whether or not I have enough money, a job, health, children, or a home. All these things dim in the light of Christ. And He promises to provide the things we need.

Just thinking :)

Made by Brenden

Brenden is making us a new coffee table out of wood and slate. Yay for having a handy hubby and original furniture pieces :)

Moving, part two

I am so excited to move! Our new home is bigger, cleaner, and one mile away from our places of employment. We have brand new hardwood floors and a brand new full size washer/dryer set in our finished basement. There is a wood burning fireplace (something that Brenden REALLY wanted) and LOTS of windows (with a view of the Mt). Our current place seems small now as there are boxes everywhere. I've never seen it so messy! Of course, with a new home and a new layout, I really want to shop!

Laura's wish list:
1. Area rug: We haven't had wood floors before so we need something to keep our feeties warm.
2. More chairs: We need more seating so we can have more people over :)
3. A storage bench for the front door (for shoes and little things and more seating)
4. A kitchen chalk board (I love the idea of writing down recipes or lists in chalk)
5. Curtains! Oh my, we have so many more windows!

Too bad we are sooo broke! Maybe I'll open a credit card :)

Moving!

The Drews are moving! Stay tuned...

Aix En Provence

I am dreaming of Aix en Provence today with the warm sun, the sweet sounds of the Marche des Puces, and the smells floating out of the boulangeries and the patissaries.

Here are some pictures I found online (none of which are my own). If only I were rich, I would retire in Aix.

Bandit news.

Our puppy is growing into a fine dog! He is so playful and so smart. I was in the living room the other day and Brenden was in the kitchen. I looked at Bandit and said "Bandit, go get Brenden, I need Brenden!" and he BOLTED into the kitchen and jumped at Brenden! It was so cute!

Jax!

Welcome to the world, Jaxon Sheppard. I love you so much and am so proud to be your auntie.