Day 1: Eugene, OR

After a great farewell breakfast with my favorite Regence peeps (thanks everyone!) Tim and I went back to the apartment and finished packing and cleaning. After a minor freak out that we wouldn't be able to fit everything in the car, we hit the road for Eugene. We were looking forward to sleeping in a real bed tonight. On the way we managed to dispense with roughly 3 Voo Doo Doughnuts. Once in Eugene we checked into the hotel and headed for the University of Oregon campus. We were immediately reminded of Madison. We spent a few hours walking around and seeing the sights we had an amazing dinner at a cute little Italian Trattoria. Then it was back to the hotel to relax and plan out tomorrow's trip. Thankfully we don't have far to go so we can take our time. I'll leave you with the pictures we took on campus.

Bare necessities

For the last 3 nights Tim and I have been "roughing" it on the floor. All we've got is our sleeping bags, sleeping pads and pillows. Its been an adjustment but we're making do. I keep waking up in the middle of the night and am not able to get back to sleep. But at least we've only got a few more nights of this. Thursday we're back to real beds at the Holiday Inn in Eugene. Yay!

Primitive baking

Although the apartment is almost bare I've been in the mood to bake. Tim and I had packed all of the baking supplies with the exception of the perishable foods, so we weren't completely without the basics. After a quick run to Goodwill we had some mixing bowls and needed to find a recipe that would work with the few items we had. Luckily I remembered that we had some Baker's chocolate in the cupboard and went to their website to see what recipes they had to offer. A quick browse returned the Santa Ana Cookies. Simple. No vanilla, no baking powder. We could do this. So I whipped the butter and sugar by hand (measuring everything with a liquid measuring cup). Brewed some coffee in our french press and set the oven to 375 degrees. The first batch didn't have enough flour and turned out a little more like a muffin than a cookie. But that's an easy fix. The second set was much more solid and cookie like. Tim says they're great with coffee or tea. I just loves the simplicity and the fact that these are truly from scrath!

Tornado Alley

Last night Tim and I went to the imax theater at OMSI to see a movie about tornadoes. It was fun to watch and reminded me of the storms back home. I really miss falling asleep to the sounds of distant thunder.

The movie also made us realize how lucky our neck of the woods is in terms of weather (wisconsin that is). Sure we get some storms and a few tornadoes. And the blizzards can be treacherous, but we've usually got decent warning. It's not the same elsewhere. I remember a few months ago there was an earthquake drill at work. I couldn't fathom the idea of an earthquake. It's something I've never had a reason to think about before. And a few weeks ago when we drove out to the coast we encountered a number of "tsunami evacuation zone" signs. Living in Wisconsin has made me a little closed minded about dangerous weather. The year I've spent on the west coast sure has changed my perspective.

Farewell to Kitties

The boys are leavin' on a jet plane in the morning. Tim and I won't get to see them for a whole month. Tomorrow will likely be a nerve-racking day but we're hoping and praying for a safe trip.

Road trip!

Tim and I spent last night preparing for our road trip home. We finally have a full itinerary and I'm pretty pumped about the drive. It'll take us a full week to get back (assuming we can survive together that long!). We've made plans to stop in Eugene, Crater Lake, Northern California, Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, Four Corners Monument, Denver, and Omaha.

I'm writing this blog using the blogger app for android. I figured I should document the journey and this will be the best way to guarantee connectivity.

Only 11 more working days left and we're outta here!

Oh how time flies

Has it really been since before Easter?  I can't believe how much I've been slacking on the blogging. Not that I would ever consider myself a hardcore blogger, but I thought I could do better than this.  

 It's June!

And that means only 4 more weeks in Oregon. The cats are set to hit the skyways on June 19th and will be spending their time with Grandma and Grandpa Thornewell (my mom and dad) until Tim and I get settled. The moving company is picking up our belongings on June 24th and then just 1 week with stand between us and the open road. We're planning a little roadtrip back, hitting up Crater Lake, Las Vegas, and Denver before we finally hit Boscobel.

These last 4 weeks are likely to be rough - just because my brain has completely checked out already. If I could just bust out the last few projects I could be done with this, but that's easier said than done. I kinda feel like I'm trying to study for boards again - except I can't sit outside in the park enjoying the sunshine. Boo.

Not that I need anymore sunshine. Tim and I spent Memorial Day weekend camping at the Gorge and listening to the sounds of Sasquatch. It was an amazing weekend!  So many good shows, and such good weather. We had a blast and are looking forward to getting some more use out of our tent. Of course, the nice weather means that my nose is the color of Rudolph's. Despite many SPFs I just couldn't avoid the sunburn. Oh well. At least it's early in the season so this won't mess with my wedding look just yet.

Speaking of the wedding... MY DRESS IS IN!  And I just got a letter that the bridesmaid dresses are in too!  Looks like it's time for a double visit to see both.  I'm so excited.  And nervous - what if I don't fit in my dress. This can mean only one thing - diet time. Yep, I'm back on the diet wagon again (and after a weekend of beer and bad food this is tough). Keep your fingers crossed that I am successful.

Well, that's all for now. Sorry no pictures but I'm writing this from work. Shhh, don't tell my boss!