Turning 30 = Glasses
Guess who turned 30 and had to get glasses for strain shortly thereafter? This lady did.
Glasses just came in today….So far, so good. Though, I haven’t worn them for any purpose yet except modeling.
Little Clara Conrad
This is the child I want to bear when I grow up; she’s so cute I can almost hardly stand it.
Reasons Why I’m Thankful
In preparation for tomorrow’s Thanksgiving Day, I am thankful for the following:
- My little Portland family which consists on one wonderful husband, two furry cats, one perfect dog and a whole lot of really great friends.
- My biological family and new, Burget-style family
- That I am lucky enough to live in a city that I love - a city that shares many of my values, supports my growth and keeps me entertained
- That, despite turning 30, I’m mostly healthy with the exception of mysterious boobie lump and increasingly less powerful eyesight
- My friends from home … I can’t imagine my life w/o any one of them in it. Each one, no matter how far away, has such a special place in my heart and has made such an impact on my life.
- Wine! Lots of wine.
And now for the less classic things I’m thankful for:
- That I finally found a pair of running shoes that don’t make my feet hurt
- That I live in a city flourishing with Democratic thought
- That our country finally has a non-white president
- That we have a lot of wine at our house
- That the Streets volunteered to take Newman during Brandon’s wedding
- That I love my dog more than anything pet ever
- That I love my husband more than any person ever
- That I get to see the KU v. California game on 12-22 at Allen Field House
- That we only have one car payment
- That I have friends who live all over the world – it gives us a good reason to go visit!
Show Photos
Aaron’s show was Saturday night and I thought I’d bring my camera along and see if I could get some shots of the band in action. I must admit that I’m pleased with my product – the lighting was really, really red, which made for an interesting challenge and also very low — not optimal… but I took the challenge head on.
Here are a couple of my favorites but you can see the entire shoot on my SmugMug site.
PS: The show was really good – probably the best one I’ve seen them play. A couple punk guys seemed to adopt the band as their FAVORITE BAND EVER and spent the show almost on the stage with the band. It was pretty humorous!
Aaron's band, Council Crest, played a show at the Red Room on Saturday night.
Lead singer and lead guitarist, Brian (left) and Rich (right).
Five Night Show Streak
Tonight is night #4 in a 5-night run of major shows or events. We began with an inspiring lecture from former VP Al Gore on Wednesday, followed by a wild and wacky night with the March 4th Marching Band on Thursday and an awesome Black Crowes show last night.
Tonight is a show by Aaron’s band, Council Crest and tomorrow night, possibly the most anticipated show of our year, Them Crooked Vultures. (OMG we’re seeing a for real member of Led Zepplin AND Dave Grohl! Holy crap!) I’m sure tonight and tomorrow night will be awesome, also… and Team Day-Burget/Burget will be exhausted by Monday.
The Portland-based, March 4th Marching Band played the Wonder Ballroom on Thursday night.
The Black Crowes paid an AWESOME show in Portland, at the Roseland Theater on Friday night.
Think Some More… Vote for Gore!
Aaron and I went to see Al Gore tonight, who was in Portland promoting his new book, Our Choice. I was SO excited to see Mr. Gore as I was totally blown about by An Inconvenient Truth, which Aaron and I watched several years ago. I really liked AIT because it explained global changes to me in a way that was not wonky… i
t was in layman’s terms… and when it comes to science, I need layman’s terms.
We got there and faced a varied crowd of protesters – everyone from PETA to random crazies who show up to picket things of this nature. It was actually rather intriguing – hard not to just stand there and take it all in. But alas, we had environment to learn about so rather than linger outside, we ventured inside where we were handed our copy of the new book, Our Choice, which came with the ticket price. (I LOVE free books – in fact, it’s the second free book I’ve gotten in the last two weeks: Kim and I went and saw Augusten Burroughs last week (also awesome) and got his new Christmas book with our admission price) Aaron and I were lucky enough to have stellar seats; orchestra center, about 20 rows back.
And while it would have been hard to give this lecture without some political alignment, I thought Mr. Gore’s speech did a great job of being party neutral. His focus was not so much on global warming or climate change, specifically, but the solutions that our country needs to embrace in order to solve these problems. In all, the biggest focus was energy. I found the event to be optimistic and hopeful and I found Mr. Gore to be surprisingly funny, predictably fascinating and wholly inspirational.
For our first political event as a couple, I think the Burgets could commit to giving Mr. Gore’s presentation an “A.”
ROAD TRIP!! (One Month Countdown)
In just one short month, Aaron and I will be embarking upon our first official road trip as a married couple…. or, as a couple in any form, for that matter.
On 12-16, we’ll be leaving from Portland, Newman in tow, on a two(ish) day trip to Kansas City for the holidays and my brother Brandon’s wedding.
“WHY?!” This is what you’re thinking. I know this because it’s the same puzzled response we get every time we tell someone of our plans.
Well here’s why. For one, we’re going to be in KC for 10 days and boarding Newman for that long would cost a whole bunch of money – more than it will cost us just to drive there and back, in fact. So, we’re not only saving $ on airfare for us, but also on boarding for him. Our only expenditure will be one or two nights of dog-friendly motel and gas.
Aaron and I also really want to try out this whole road trip thing. When Tommy Day and I drove out here 4 years ago, we had the best trip ever… Aaron and I are hoping that our trip will be similarly successful and fun!
And to top that off, I still have a whole bunch of stuff left over in KC that I need to bring home and it’s too big to ship via UPS and too big to take on an airplace. So, a road trip was inevitable, I suppose.
I must admit, I’m very excited — our plan is to take Newman to daycare very early on departure morning to tucker the little smoosh face out. We’ll leave work sometime in the afternoon, go get him and off we’ll go. I’m hoping that we can get in 6 hours that night, which will leave us about 18 hours of driving to spread out over Thursday and Friday. (It’s a 24 hour trip)
And, we just got confirmation that Aaron’s parents, Shim and Mitzi will be joining us for the first weekend of our visit. How exciting!
Now we just have to figure out what we’re going to do with the cats that whole time…..
4 Years, 1 Day
On this not-so-spooky Friday the 13th, I realize that I have now lived in Portland for 4 years and 1 day. Dad and I arrived from our KC – PDX road trip on 11-12-2005, went to dinner at Jake’s with David & Paula… dad went home and Aaron came and got me… and as you all know, the rest is history.
Wow. I cannot believe time has passed by so quickly! I’m amazed.
So yeah… that worked out well!
I must say, from starting as the most impulsive and risky decision I have ever made, moving here sure turned out to be a good decision. Portland has become a land of opportunity for me; a network from which to build my photography business, the home of the love of my life and my furry family, a turn-key to new family, weekends with my wonderful new friends, career success. In short, I have it all in Portland… which sometimes scares me. Having it all only means you have something to lose… and mommy is not prepared to give up any of this.
No matter how great my life is here, I’ll never stop missing my KC peeps.. the convenience of having Tommy Day right down the street, dinners at Chili’s with Kelly and Kim….. Thankfully most of my KC relationships are still strong.. and I suppose maybe even stronger than they were before I moved. When you only have a couple of weekends per year to rely on, that time becomes pretty important and really fun. So, while I miss those people every day, some good has come out of not being around all the time.
Anyway, 4 years and 1 day down… many, many, many more to go. Thanks for having me, Portland.
Infection with Giardia is Called ‘giardiasis….’ A Tribute to My Cat
The vet called back today to follow up on Lucas’ stool sample results (dense-ass me, I had no idea they had even taken a stool sample, but I guess that while he was down unda they performed the works). Did I pay for that? Don’t remember it… but for $300, let’s just assume I did.
Anyway, so after yesterday’s visit and subsequent stool investigation, not only do they recommend a preventative flea treatment for another $50-$100 but Lucas, evidently, also has giardia… or, to be technical, giardiasis. And to be even more technical, the vet didn’t actually say he has it, but that he has definitely been exposed to it, which is apparently enough to cause concern… though, he has no symptoms except something showing up in his shat.
Here’s the poop… no pun intended… or.. rather, pun quite intended:
Yum. And the best part… our vet says he can transmit it not only to the other two, but to US!
Anyway, so I’ll be dropping on by my new home away from home, Northwest Neighborhood Veterinary Hospital, tomorrow after work, to pick up at least the new 5-day giardiasis meds… and since I see no fleas or signs of them… the flea treatment might be questionable. We’ll see how generous I’m feeling.
Sigh.
My Two (Furry) Children
Just got back from annual kitty vet visits. Timber’s went swimmingly and cost only $75. He was a complete angel, seducing every vet employee in his path, getting lots of love and snuggles.
And then there’s Lucas.
After last year’s incident….
…we decided it would be easier on everyone, including him, if we had him put under for this visit. Plus, he needed to be micro-chipped since he is now a man of nature. Plus he needed to have his mats cut out since he won’t let us do it. (We tried once and I still have a scar) Plus he needed extra, super, special, outdoor kitty shots.
Lucas’ day at the spa began at 7:30 when Aaron dropped him off, already angry (Lucas. Not Aaron). About 9:30 one of the vets called A to confirm that Lucas was, indeed, angry and would, indeed, need to be put under for the doctors to do their thang. So he was. And they did.
And for the bargain price of $300, I got to bring my charming Lucas home this evening… slightly less angry, definitely less hairy and certainly cleaner.
***sigh***
Dear Dad…
Dear Dad,
I know that you hate this bright yellow slicker that Mom got me for the rainy season. I know that you think dogs in accessories are the stupidest thing you’ve ever seen. You’ve made that abundantly clear to almost everyone you’ve ever met.
I am also painfully aware that you think I’ll “get used to it.” “It,” of course referring to the dastardly, miserable, cold and rain that we will now experience until June (ish). Here’s a hint from me to you, Dad… I won’t. I hate it. How does one “get used to it?”
However, please consider a couple things before judging Mom and I too harshly for deeming this accessory necessary to my life:
1) You don’t have to experience the indignity or discomfort of doing your… ahem… biz-nass in the outdoors. No, sir, you do not. In fact, I often watch (quite intently) where you “go” and it’s really rather warm and welcoming. You are not forced to stand there, cold rain pelting your skull, exposed to both the elements and the world. Please understand… this is neither relaxing nor comfortable for me. Sometimes, I just won’t do “it” if I’m too wet and too cold. “It’s” just not going to happen.
2) Dude. I’m a scrawny 40 lbs with a thin, Shar pei-esque coat. In fact, let’s not even call it a “coat.” It’s more like a thin jacket of light, short hair. Quite ineffective, I assure you. Bottom line: I’m cold. I have no control over the thermostat. And since you like to keep our condo about on par with Alaska, I get cold. I’m not Mae with all that beautiful extra blubber to keep me snug! So, when I come in from the outdoors, covered in rain and wet and cold, I’m miserable. And you know I can’t just turn up the thermostat because I’m neither that smart not that tall. It’s a problem. My slicker, however, helps to keep my core dry, which in turn, helps me to be warm! Another problem – SOLVED!
3) It’s not a Dog Snuggie. My little friend Cocoa Morris has a dazzling pink one but since I’m afraid you’d divorce my mother if she bought me that, I’m just glad that my slicker is simple, yellow and reflective. And… it’s not a Snuggie… just sayin’.
Happy Birthday, Little Linus!
On his 4 month birthday, Little Linus Newberry’s dear momma, Olivia, let me bring the camera in. Here is my favorite shot (note the dazzling blue eyes!):
Fall!
Congratulations, Kay & Jody!
The Daily Burget would like to extend a heartful CONGRATULATIONS to our dear friends, Kay & Jody, who finally met their little Jack this morning!
Jack was born at 1:01 am, Wednesday October 28, 2009. He is completely healthy, beautiful and weighs 8.5 lbs and is 20.5 inches long AND has a full head of hair! We haven’t been allowed to visit him yet (the hospital will only allow two people in the room due to H1N1 regulations) but we hope to meet him tomorrow after work when the Family Darling gets to go home.
We love him already!
Mama Kay is doing quite well, herself. She had not quite 12 hours between water break and baby birth — by far, she is the most efficient baby birther I’ve ever met!
#23 CHECK!
#23 Go to a vineyard I’ve never been to
Done.
For our friend Jeff and Susie’s wedding last weekend, not only did we make it to one vineyard we’d never been to, but we made it to two vineyards we’d never been to.
The first vineyard, Bethel Heights Vineyard, was the location for the rehearsal dinner, which was not only delicious, but also beautiful! Susie asked me to take some photos at the rehearsal, so here are some of my faves:
We lucked out and had no rain!
Looking out onto the vineyard.
Our happy couple!
Secondly, we got to spend the wedding celebration at Zenith Vineyard, which is right down the road from Bethel Heights. Susie and Jeff’s wedding was truly a beautiful occassion full of love, good friends and happiness. I must say, I felt particularly moved by Susie and Jeff’s ceremony because not only did it have a similar feel to ours, but I feel like Susie and Jeff are our parellel couple living in another world… they remind me of us, I guess I should say. I really respect the very evident love and affection and friendship they share. Congratulations, Morris’!
I got my hair all did.
Our new friend, Tom, was also a groomsmen.
Susie was a simply gorgeous bride!
Aaron and Jeff, caught dancing! Blaspheme!
Self! New (beautiful) friends Tom & Shannon!
Jennie's Flickr Photos
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