H/P clan comes to visit!

Wow, I cannot believe it's December already... and I've officially been practicing for one solid month.  Crazy!
Today I woke up early to enjoy a cup of coffee and a skype date with one of my BFFs before work.  It was such a wonderful way to start my day.  She is a new mom and also trying to wrap up her NP degree... she's amazing.  I feel so fortunate to have such wonderful girlfriends in my life, just makes me so sad that most of them are so far away.

Last weekend I had quite the crew come to visit... my brother and his family plus, their 4 month old Goldendoodle.  Needless to say my cat with special needs Midge, hid under the dresser for the majority of the weekend as a very fluffy white ball o'fun ran around the house.  Portland has many culinary delights and Friday night we went to Dick's Kitchen which is a healthy take on a diner.  I had been there before and immensely enjoy their "not-fries"- potatoes that are baked in a convection oven making them super crispy and delicious and their malts... ooohh emmmm geee.  But Friday night it was right out of a Portlandia episode...  our smiley waitress came to the table to take or order.  She begins by asking if we had ever dined at DK's... my answer was yes, but it's their first time, pointing to the Haws/Packard Clan.  Which sparked the following monologue: "Well, here at DK's all of our meat is local and grass fed and we make sure to use only local vegetables.  Plus we adhere to a Paleolithic diet, meaning low salt and low gluten... so any one of our burgers can come naked (wrapped in lettuce) or you can try it on one of our gluten-free buns!"  I was watching my SIL from across the table very wide-eyed, biting my lip because I was about to burst out laughing.  I am not kidding, this really happened... no joke... it was incredible.  And WTF? Who's ever heard of a Paleolithic diet?  And excuse me, does a vegan hotdog qualify as Paleolithic? Because I'm pretty sure tempeh wasn't available during the Paleolithic era.

I treated my 9 year old niece to go see Cavalia for her birthday... it's a Cirque du Soliel with horses.  It was quite good, well the first act was a beautiful grey and by the end of the act I was bawling my eyes out.  In a previous life I was a very serious equestrian and the horse reminded me of my since passed Ascot... tear.  The rest of the show was great and I think Emma had a great time.  The remainder of the weekend included lots of shopping... the H/P clan wanted to take advantage of the no sales tax... followed by a pizza and cupcake party for the 5 of us for Emma's birthday.  The pizza at Dove Vivi is incredible btw.  We finished the weekend of food gluttony at the Screen Door... whoa. we. whoa.  First of all, we arrived at 0915 to find an hour long wait... but it was well worth it.  Apparently the fried chicken and waffles is their specialty (not for this kid), but they serve grits and I heart the grits and they were amazing.

An impetus to start this blog was to help me process my new experiences in Portland and in a new career... but more importantly,  to also find my 'ness'.  A phrase coined by my dear friend with whom I skyped with this morning.  Meaning my AwesomeNESS.  I have for a long time lost sight of my 'ness'... a broken heart and some weight gain can do that to a gal... and just an overall feeling of defeat.  But, I am trying hard to get back my 'ness' or recreate it I guess.  Sarah and I spoke about our 'ness' this morning and currently I am directing my efforts on this:  for as long as I can remember, I have always put other people first, no matter what the consequences may be for me.  Now, I am really being cognizant of the decisions I make, and am trying (I mean... this is a real work in process) to make decisions and choices that benefit ME.  For most this is probably commonplace, but for me, it takes great effort and well... ah di try-o!

So on that note... I want to say thanks to my loved ones who could always see my 'ness' even when I couldn't or rather wouldn't.  I also am thankful today that my friend Kate safely arrived home from India... not that I had any doubt, just makes me sleep better.

It's cold here.  Time for bed.