After leaving California, I was headed to Oregon to spend time with my mom and sister. Now that I'm a student again, I had 3 weeks off and spent almost 2 of them in Oregon. Here's the list, pictures, and recap of my time in Oregon.
Fringe.
My sister got me hooked on fringe this season. So I caught up on seasons 1 & 2. Yes friends, that's about 26 hours of TV watching. Yikes, but soooo good. :)
Christmas Eve.
My sister's church held a Christmas Eve service at the Portland theatre downtown. It was a wonderful celebration of the birth of Jesus, very authentic, very real worship. I also enjoyed the hot drinks and cookies provided in the lobby. :)
Christmas.
Christmas is no longer a wake up early, run downstairs event. In part, we don't have stairs. After a slow moving morning, we opened presents, had two lovely breakfasts, and hung out around the house. One of my favorite gifts, that I accidentally left in Oregon but should be on it's way back to me is a necklace my sister got me. There's a long back story which I will save you all from (this post is already going to be long). But the necklace is this cute little heart and on the front it says, 'I love that we're sisters'. Ahhhh. Sweet. Right. On the back it says, "And I love that there is nothing you can do about it'. Now that's more like my sister. Ha.
Reading.
I got a couple great books for Christmas. I enjoy reading, but frankly with school I haven't done much fictional reading. Well, I made up for that this break. A friend in Athens recommended the 'hunger games'. The book, which turns out to be a trilogy, is young adult fiction about...well, the premise makes the books sound awful, but that couldn't be further from the truth. I read the first on Christmas day and had to run out and get the second and third...which of course I read in two subsequent days. Best piece of fiction since Harry Potter. Amazing.
New Years Eve.
I think New Years Eve is kind of a bust of a holiday. Don't get me wrong, I stay up til midnight and 'celebrate', but I've never really understood why such celebration occurs over the flipping of a calendar page. If you actually still use a paper calendar, it happens every midnight. It is however an excuse to get people together. My mom, sister, and her roommate spent the night playing games. It was a relaxed and enjoyable time! Oh...and I made a new settlers convert. ;)
McMenamins.
The McMenamins are a family who take local historic or old buildings and convert them into hotels, movie theaters, breweries, and restaurants. Not having ever experienced one, we went to see the movie Red. The theater has all couches and tables, and you can order food, beer, or snacks while the movie plays. It was a fun experience. Next time, I'll make sure it's a movie I really want to see.
Home videos.
One night my sister, being her sneaky self, brought out some old home videos. Of course, she primarily brought out the old videos of me singing. Oh yes, all my grade school performances were taped. Watching these videos brought back wonderful memories and tons of laughter. Here is one of my favorites of my sister in a Christmas musical from church.
Snowshoeing.
I love hiking. I love snow. So why not love snowshoeing?! Well, since I had never been, I couldn't have an informed opinion. But now, I know I love it. My sister and I went up to the foot of Mt. Hood on some 'trail'. It was a beautiful trek with the view of Mt. Hood ahead of us. The trail was about 3 miles long and many miles wide. The snow covered trees were a sight! I enjoyed the time with my sister AND the time in the snow!
We're excited about being in the snow!
My 'trek' picture was actually taken on the way down, but the view this way was much better!
Yay for snow!
There were many more highlights from the trip including my sister discovering the brand of her favorite bed at Macy's (after practically climbing under the bed to find the name plate) and dessert at Papa Haydn's; the time was precious and I returned to Athens rested, rejuventated, and ready for the next semester!
End of Book.
