03-31-11

The sun was shining when I got off work today. Hurry up and go outside to soak up the sun!!!! Wish I felt better, I would have bought some flowers, grabbed the bush trimmer, and headed to the duplex. Instead I stood on the porch and looked up and down our pink blossomed street.

“Just living is not enough... One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.” -Hans Christian Andersen

03-30-11

Know anybody who needs a clean, safe, cheap one bedroom rental? We're getting ready to market our little duplex again. It comes with a cat living on the porch; is that a selling point or not?!?

03-29-11

We started our day at the wildlife safari in Bandon, and then started the long trek back home.

We had the place almost to ourselves. We got to check out the ferrets, skunk, opossum, baby Bengal tiger, donkeys, deer, and goats up close and personal, and several other critters large and small behind fences.

Xander decided that maybe he would like the job of taking home the baby tigers at night to bottle feed them. I thought Sherriff looked way too big to be out of his cage on just a leash and a prayer of being obedient to his handler mother. Especially since he clearly wanted to eat the nearby animals.

We went back repeatedly to buy ice cream cones full of feed for the animals that roam loose. The kids wanted to feed the smaller cuter goats, but sometimes it is easier to give in to the throng.

03-28-11

“Hello, ladies, look at your man, now back to me, now back at your man, now back to me. Sadly, he isn’t me, but if he stopped using ladies scented body wash and switched to Old Spice, he could smell like he’s me. Look down, back up, where are you? You’re on a sand dune with the man your man could smell like. What’s in your hand, back at me. I have it, it’s a kite at the ocean with a new wardrobe from the outlet mall. Look again, the kite is now a cave full of sea lions. Anything is possible when your man smells like Old Spice and not a lady. I’m on a beach.”

03-27-11

“Life experiences are like quarters – you lose both when you are sitting around on the couch.” -Jambaism #15

We knew that if we didn’t plan anything for spring break, the time would just pass with nothing to show for it.

We decided to plan a mini trip to check off two daytrip goals (Tillamook Cheese factory tour & Hollister outlet shopping in Lincoln City) and we ended up getting a bonus – exploring tidepools. Bruce and I also saw whales, but the kids didn’t, so doesn’t count.

I LOVE the two motel rooms that Bruce chose for our trip. Both were beach front, both had a separate bedroom for the kids to share, and both had features that made us grin.

03-26-11

I spent most of the day resting up – slept in, finished a novel, did some rental paperwork. I think I am feeling better; starting to feel cooped up is a good sign.

About dinnertime we drove around the neighborhood picking up more teens and headed to a hockey playoff game in Portland with friends. Winterhawks won!!!!

03-25-11

Hey, wow, our kitchen ceiling doesn’t look like it is caving in anymore!

New ceiling, new light, new weekend.

The kids are celebrating Spring Break with friends. I’m celebrating another 24 hours of rest before life takes off again.

03-24-11

Got out of bed today, but just barely. Bruce thought it was wise for me to take NyQuil during the day, what a trip.

Things I can still do in my jammies:
-Attend a webinar for CPE credit
-Make an offer on a property. Didn’t get the triplex, sights on a 3 bedroom now.
-Listen to contractors texture spray the kitchen ceiling. Living without a kitchen stinks!
-Rest, sleep, read, lay on couch, rest some more.

“Sickness is mankind's greatest defect.” – Georg C. Lichtenberg

03-23-11

Is 39 the year of the measuring utensils? I missed that memo.

My sister got me cool measuring cups and my mom got me really funky rooster measuring spoons. Fun, fun, wish I felt up to spending time in the kitchen. I decided I’m going to use my birthday funds to register for an on-line 'Get Great Photos with Any Camera' class, to learn how to use my new camera!

Hot dog, hot fog, hot diggety dog… a very catchy tune from my singing card.

03-22-11

Did you know that today is World Water Day?

I didn’t know about it, am not particularly passionate about it, but the date got my attention. So I found out that World Water Day is held annually on 22 March as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. Each year, World Water Day highlights a specific aspect of freshwater. The 2011 theme is Water and Urbanization.

Today, one in two people on the planet live in a city. Investments in infrastructure have not kept up with the rate of urbanization, including water and waste services. A big opportunity is increased recycling and reuse of water and wastes. I’ve been thinking about capturing rain water for the garden. But, only after our disaster kit gets built.

Happy World Water Day from my germ infested crummy feeling household!

03-21-11

My birthday approaches. It’s more of a birth week or birth month than a birth day. Tonight Bruce and I had dinner with Jeff and Shannon to celebrate.

Bruce dressed up in new duds; that’s part of the birthday. Maybe tomorrow we’ll hear if we’ve won our bidding war for the triplex and we’ll have another reason to celebrate.

But for tonight, I better get some extra rest to keep my sore throat at bay. Sick for your birthday will cut down on the celebrating for sure!

03-20-11

Things done today:

The normal:
· Too many rambunctious boys in Sunday School
· Sunday chores – plan clothes, plan meals, update honey do list, etc
· Too many plans instead of a day of rest

The unusual:
· Chased a coupon to a yucky Chinese restaurant
· Practiced Xander’s math skills on tombstones
· Chewed out the college neighbor boys for keeping me up half the night

The new:
· Explored Carrols and Rose Valley for the first time. There were some pretty pasture views, but mostly reinforced my love of living in the city.
· Realization that Easter would be the perfect day to observe a family Sabbath. Now starts the negotiation of what that really entails…

03-19-11

We made an offer on a rental property today. Now for the long waiting game…

Xander: How many placed do we have now?
Mom: 3 properties, 5 units. And if we get this one we’ll have 4 properties and 8 units!
Xander: So it’s a triple plex?
Mom: Yep, but most people call them triplexes.

In this photo I’m working on my checklist, tallying up the thousands and thousands of dollars of “TLC” this place will need. But we both like it a lot.

03-18-11

“went to the vegitarion/vegan potluck with my mom (food was acually pretty good)” – Anastasia Facebook update

Tonight the kids and I headed to Payton’s Produce for the second community potluck. I decided to keep to the simple side of vegetarianism by making a fresh fruit salad and a fresh green salad. Xander fell in love with a cucumber, tomato, and goat cheese salad. As I predicted, Anastasia stuck to the fruit and processed food.

A fun way to kick off a weekend… so excited to go house hunting tomorrow morning.

03-17-11

I learned from CNN this morning that it was St Patrick’s Day, so had to do a quick wardrobe change.

And I learned from the Christian radio station that St Patrick was a Christian missionary. I had never given it much thought.

I learned about the patron saint from wikipedia:
Two Latin letters survive which are generally accepted to have been written by Patrick., from which come the only universally accepted details of his life. In or about his sixteenth year, Patrick was carried into captivity by marauders and was sold as a slave to an Irish chieftan. Here, for six years he tended his master's flocks before escaping and returning to his family. After entering the Church, he returned to Ireland as an ordained bishop. Legend also credits St. Patrick with teaching the Irish about the doctrine of the Holy Trinity by showing people the shamrock, the central symbol for St Patrick’s Day. Saint Patrick's Day is observed on March 17, the date of Patrick's death. It is celebrated both in and outside of Ireland, as both a liturgical and non-liturgical holiday.

"I used to stay out in the forests and on the mountain and I would wake up before daylight to pray in the snow, in icy coldness, in rain, and I used to feel neither ill nor any slothfulness, because, as I now see, the Spirit was burning in me at that time" – St. Patrick

03-16-11

This purse caused a lot of people some inconvenience today.

A group of people in PeEll took time to figure out who it belonged to.
Debbie tried calling my cell phone to catch me en route to let me know I had left it behind.
Julie exchanged several e-mails with me on what a dork I am and how to get it back.
Brandy called me a few times with plans not working out to shuttle it back to Longview.
Wade brought it with him to a meeting at the DNR in Castle Rock.
Bruce drove me to Castle Rock to meet up with Wade.

Dummy, dummy, what a dummy! Won’t be the first or last time, I'm sure!

03-15-11

Tonight my big plans were to go to the Dollar Store to buy some poster board, and make some posters for the Chili Feed fundraiser.

All of us on my Longview team are going to bring a crock pot of chili and see if the hourly crew will enjoy it enough to donate money to Relay for Life.

As I was painting (with my 15 year old nasty dried up craft paint!) American Cancer Society called and asked for a donation; I thought that was kind of ironic!

03-14-11

I’ve been hanging out with educators at a baby shower tonight, so here’s my synonyms for tired: beat, burned out, dead on one's feet, dog-tired, done for, done in, drained, drooping, droopy, drowsy, empty, fatigued, finished, haggard, petered out, pooped, run-down, sleepy, spent, tuckered out, wasted, worn out.

I spent some of my ergonomics breaks with my eyes closed swaying and almost asleep. I imagined myself curling up with Ducky for a long nap.

Part of it is past deficiencies – not sleeping Friday night, out of bed too early for too long (no sleeping in all weekend). But a big part of it is knowing what lies ahead of me this week. One day at a time. Tomorrow: depart the house early for a long drive. Set the alarm for 4:45am, which will feel like 3:45am…

Sometimes I just wish I was the duck…

03-13-11

The centerpiece of our day, after church, was a neighborhood watch potluck.

I like to use potlucks to try out new recipes, especially ones that the family may not care to eat. Today was whole wheat pasta with asparagus and snap peas. The funny thing is, look at the photo on the packaging of the whole wheat pasta! Same recipe!

Used the last snap peas from my garden; time to replant if I could work the ground to get it rototilled!

“Can’t we just take Doritos like everyone else?” - Bruce

03-12-11

The theme of the weekend is tired and traffic; I’ve seen plenty of both. But I’ve also seen a lot of love and grace.

6,300 of us met up again in the morning. Beth Moore took a special offering for the Japanese earthquake and tsunami victims, and her term “hilarity of giving” was an understatement.

Beth talked about us as a culture of people not willing to yield. She encouraged us to be with people when we are with people instead of buried in an electronic gadget. She pointed out that us stepping back can allow others to use their gifts, that God doesn’t value security and sameness the way we do, and that we often have to hold strong about people who think they know God’s will for us. I loved that she pointed out that there are nine times more “go’s” in the Bible than “stops” – our God isn’t the God of don’ts.

Also enjoyed birthday brownies and a great visit with G&G before the long trip homeward…

03-11-11

Friday I took off work early, had a relaxing dinner en route at Taco Bell & Starbucks, and then fought traffic to the Tacoma Dome. Beth Moore was speaking, with her awesome praise band. This was my second time seeing her live, and hopefully not my last.

She is a ball of energy, has challenging ideas to present, and is so inspiring to me on my Christian walk. The talk this weekend was on signs leading us, from Jeremiah 31:21. She discussed stopping, yielding, and going.

Beth talked about how the seasons of faith change and are often circular. And I loved her observation that times of milk and honey are rarely also the times of signs and wonders.

Taking home a word in Tacoma…

03-10-11

OK, I need to get serious about shopping for a new camera. Not sure why this is so grainy.

It’s been awhile since we had a family photo. I’m reminded why, because it is such a pain to get everyone together and listen to all the bickering. But ta da, here we are!

03-09-11

Tonight was parent/freshman orientation at the high school. My mantra for several months now is “how can I have a kid going into high school?!?”.

The school is RA Long, RAL for short. Their Emphasis is Respect Achieve Lead… RAL. They seem to be proud of their record of graduating 75% of students on time.

We toured the campus, learned about the make-up of the 22 credit requirements,

I also learned that the school has a population of 900. The school is pretty cool – it was a gift to the city of Longview, Washington in 1923 from Robert Long. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic places.

And fun new adventures begin.

03-08-11

Last time I saw Grampa he asked me how many miles my Scion has now. I told him I have absolutely no idea. So here you go, Gramps, about 70K miles.

I noticed my gas was getting low, but tonight on my trip all the way to Kelso the gas light started flashing, so I stopped for gas on my way home. I could probably tootle around townt he rest of the week on empty, but I draw the line when it starts flashing at me.

CNN has had a daily gas price update since it has been going up so fast, this morning it was $3.52. Tonight I paid $3.33, after the $0.20 Safeway club card discount. I used to be able to fill my tank for $20, but today was $34.

"A pedestrian is someone who thought there were a couple of gallons left in the tank." ~Author Unknown

03-07-11

Kind of a weird day.

Froze to death all day at work, but that isn’t all that unusual.
Bruce met with a Home Path banker today, maybe we can start peeking inside houses again soon.
We had our consultation with the contractor for our kitchen facelift, but more questions than answers for now.
Trying to get through an audio book this week, but my CD player seems to be broken.

Pounding head, must be a Monday…

03-06-11

One of today’s tasks was going to Home Depot and Lowe’s so I could photograph the ideas I have and products I like for our kitchen make over. I figure I’m not very good at describing what I want, so a picture is worth a thousand words.

Bruce and I aren’t exactly having a meeting of the minds, but hopefully we can meet in the middle. I’m thinking blue, yellow, and warm gray walls with terra cotta counters, a mosaic or copper backsplash, and black accents. He wants more black. But a stainless steel fridge instead of black…?

I don't mind shopping for the rentals, but it is way more fun to shop for our own house!

03-05-11

Tonight Bruce and I spent 3 ½ hours (!) at the Republican Lincoln Day Fundraiser Dinner.

I enjoyed hearing freshman Jaime Herrera speak. I didn’t realize hers was the only seat on the west coast to switch to Republican. Her current priorities are stopping the spending, eliminating duplicate programs, and breaking down red tape that’s preventing job growth.

The event included a dessert dash, where this adorable Republican giant rice krispie treat was one of the choices. Our table grabbed the black forest cake instead, which was divine.

03-04-11

Friday night took us to Portland for a hockey game. We realized as soon as we arrived that something was different. It was mascot night! Anastasia and her friend Bethany took photos with tons of the characters, it felt like Disneyland.

The Seattle Thunderbirds didn’t put up much of a fight against the Portland Winterhawks; figuratively and literally. But it was a fun evening with family and friends.

03-03-11

Some interesting news from a weekly e-mail feed I get from Corporate Executive Board:

Despite unrest in the Middle East and rising oil prices pressuring world markets, a survey of more than 400 senior executives in finance, sales, supply chain, IT, and HR shows that the world's business decision makers are cautiously optimistic about prospects for 2011. Revenue at many companies is back to prerecession levels, which suggests companies may start adding equipment, factories and, eventually, workers.

Let’s pretend that the United States is a corporation – with a negative $44 trillion net worth, rare profits, and huge off-balance sheet liabilities. The U.S. can fix its problems, but only with direct acknowledgment of its shortcomings and aggressive efforts to manage costs. To remain competitive against rivals, U.S.A. Inc. would do well investing in R&D, infrastructure, and education.



The education theme again. And we discussed rising gas prices at our mission trip meeting this evening. We Fischer’s are cautiously optimistic that the rent money will keep coming in…

03-02-11

I’ve been hearing a lot about Read Across America Day and Dr Suess’ birthday today, have you?

In the morning I jog on the treadmill while I watch the news on CNN, but in the evening I like to go at a slower pace and read a good book. Today another land lording book arrived; it’s hard to not drop everything and read that. But my quest to read my Jane Kirkpatrick books historical fiction collection this year continues…

Happy Reading!

03-01-11

Bring on March! ‘Tis the month to tint food green, to celebrate my birthday, and to hopefully see signs of spring instead of school delayed two hours and snow clumps still in the yard.

I think we can change the world with education, better housing, and better nutrition. Greg Mortenson thinks we can change the world by educating girls, talking to our elders, and immersing ourselves in poverty instead of arrogantly prescribing solutions from a distance.

Anastasia and I both got to see and hear Greg Mortenson of Three Cups of Tea today. I love his photos and video, his spin on military politics, and his vision to take the time to build relationships.