Crickets...

Hi Friends!

It may be a little quiet around here for the next week or so. I will try my darndest to post a few tidbits here and there, but seriously I am in the home stretch of Spring Term and my to do list looks something like this:

Persuasion: complete 1 written and 1 visual "artifact" relating to my persuasion agency, topic and campaign, prepare a speech for the same, and write a paper for the same. (Due Monday).

Celebrity & Fan Cultures: complete 1 14+ page paper relating to my topic of choice (what is celebrity, its history and evolution), and 1 15+ minute presentation on same. (Due Wednesday June 13).

Native Americans in Film: I found out YESTERDAY that I need to create a 15+ minute presentation on the perspective of other countries toward Native American Indians, particularly through film. (Let me just add that after TWO hours of searching every possible combination I can think of to find information about this I have come up with exactly: nothing. My partner has also come up with: nothing. This is going to be a great presentation!) (Due: not sure? Next Thursday or the following Thursday...I sure hope he tells us tomorrow what day officially).

Organizational Behavior: Each week I have assignments that equal between 4-6 pages of essay-style answers to a variety of questions. Due Thursday of each week.

In addition, I need to fill out my capstone application and write a two page paper about my internship objectives as they relate to my communication education, I need to renew my drivers license, go to a meeting Friday night, do 24 hours of continuing education to renew my insurance licenses, walk ten miles (at one time), and I will be gone for 3 days next weekend for the half marathon in Portland (which means exactly ZERO homework will be accomplished), and all the regular day-to-day life stuff like feeding myself and my husband, the cat, bills, household chores, etcetera.

All of this to say that things might be a little quiet around here for the next couple weeks as I focus my energy on completeing all of these projects.

I'm tired already!

In the meantime, I invite anyone who is interested to join the #saladaday challenge for June instigated by blogger Angela Liddon at OhSheGlows. The challenge simply asks that you make the choice to eat a salad each day during the month of June. It doesn't have to be a huge salad, or special kind of salad. It is simply an effor to be conscious about getting more veggies in your diet. And what a great time of year to do it! June offers an assortment of fresh veggies coming right out of the garden.

If you would like to join, comment here, on Twitter with the hashtag #saladaday or hit me up on Facebook at my Blurb Column page. I will be posting my salads each day and often will be including a photo. I have already started the challenge because I have been eating a salad everyday anyway, but it officially kicks off on Friday.

My last couple of salads:

lettuces from the garden, dill pickle, tomato, shredded carrot, sprouts

lettuces from the garden, cucumber, tomato, yellow pepper, sprouts, feta and leftover smoked pulled pork

And just because she is cute:

Miss Roxie

Have a great week! I'll be back as soon as I can squeeze in a moment!

Weekend Rewind

What a lovely Memorial Day Weekend!

Rewind to Friday:

First thing Friday morning I headed out to get some training miles on my feet for the half marathon (that is happening in less than 2 weeks!!). The weather was gross. Cloudy, sprinkling and cold. But, I needed to get the miles done. So, I dressed like a crazy person and hit the pavement.

This is what dedication looks like.

Don't I just look thrilled to be heading out for what ended up to be 7.68 miles in the rain and cold? Ugh! Actually, I got really lucky because it barely sprinkled on me just a couple of times. About 30 minutes after I got home a big rainstorm came through and it rained for about 2 hours straight.

After that I jumped in the shower, got dressed and zoomed out to my chiropractor for a massage and adjustment. I hurt my neck on Tuesday and was so thankful to be able to get in. My neck isn't 100%, but it is feeling better.

When I was done there I had to run several errands that I had been procrastinating on, like buying cat food and going to the bank.

Later that evening Chris and I decided to head out to dinner. We didn't know where we were going, but ended up at The Jacksonville Inn. The Jacksonville Inn is a nice dining establishment. We had never been there before, but the food was quite good, they have an incredible wine list, and their desserts looked amazing. Forgive the picture quality, but I didn't want my flash going off in the restaurant.

We ordered a bottle of wine to share.

This was a local blend from the Applegate Valley. It needed to breathe a bit, but after that it had a very nice, full, somewhat spicy taste. It was a nice bottle, and relatively inexpensive.

Chris had the prime rib, which he said was good, except the mashed potatoes seemed like they came from a box. I had salmon with orange and fennel with double veggies. It was okay. I have made better at home, but everything was fresh and the veggies were not overcooked. Chris decided he needed dessert so ordered a white and dark chocolate mousse cake thing.

It was huge. I didn't have a single bite. Chris ate most of it but took the last bit home for later.

Overall, The Jacksonville Inn was a nice restaurant. They had live piano music and our server was very friendly and accommodating. The one negative is how I was greeted by the manager. You see, when Chris and I left we didn't have a destination in mind. I was wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt, jeans and my hair was pulled back in a headband, and I had no makeup on. I looked pretty casual, I will admit. When we walked in we were at first ignored and then eventually, after a couple of minutes the manager said "Can I help you?" while looking me up and down. It was immediately obvious that he disapproved of my attire.

Here's the thing: 99% of the time I am dressed well (better than a sweatshirt and jeans) but this time I wasn't. There is no good reason for a restaurant manager to look down on me so obviously for my dress. It isn't *that* nice of a restaurant, for one thing, and for another it is Southern Oregon (not a lot of dress-up happening around here - common clothing for outings is uggs/pajama pants/hoodie and a pony tail). In any case, the manager was rude to me right off the bat and questioned me later about the saying on my sweatshirt. I would say that was the biggest drawback to our evening.

I would go back, and I would take out of town guests there for a nice meal, I would just be sure to be a little more dressed next time.

Saturday was a very busy and awesome day, but I'm going to write a separate post about the majority of the day. We did go grocery shopping first thing in the morning and combined with a bunch of lettuce I harvested from the garden I was able to have a huge salad for lunch!

4 produce bags FULL of lettuces. Yeah baby!

Lettuces, cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, sprouts, avocado, turkey, tiny bit o cheese.

In the evening we went to Red Robin for dinner with some friends and then saw Men In Black 3 (in 2D). It was a decent movie. I didn't love it, but I did think that Josh Brolin did an amazing job playing the young Agent K.

A significant portion of Sunday was spent shopping and running around. More on that later! But I did get some new swimsuit bottoms to go with my several new swimsuit tops, so that was great! And I bought a new pair of jeans in a smaller size! YAY! Sunday evening we had grilled cornish game hens and salad for dinner. Delicious.

More salad! I ate about half a game hen.

Today we had a golf date with our realtor. This was our first golf game of the season and I, well, I totally sucked. Chris on the other hand was rockin' it! He was playing very well. The weather was a tiny bit cool and overcast as we got started, but the clouds broke up and we had a beautiful and warm round of golf! Such fun, even though I played horribly!

Our realtor, Eric.

We had a really great visit with Eric and enjoyed our time in the sun. The rest of the day was spent relaxing and we even took a nap! What else are 3 day weekends for? Chris smoked a pork roast that we then pulled and had for dinner with a side salad. It was really good, moist and flavorful

I hope you all had a great weekend, too! What kind of grill grub did you have??

Dear Abby

Happy Sunday Friends!

It has been a lovely weekend so far here at Casa Beebe. The weather started off a little icky yesterday morning, but cleared up and turned out to be a fairly sunny (although cool) afternoon. We spent most of the day running errands and doing projects and chores around the house. It feels good to have my house clean and the laundry and dishes "done." Not sure yet what is on tap for today, but the sun is shining!

Do you read Dear Abby, or another advice column? I do. I have for years and years. I also read Dear Prudence. I find them both to be an interesting insight into the world of people and what they think are problems in their lives.

I was reading Dear Abby this morning and woman wrote in to say she is getting married in two months and wanted some advice on how to have a lasting marriage. Dear Abby said never go to bed angry. That's pretty good advice, but it takes a whole lot more than that to have a lasting marriage.

I do get asked periodically how Chris and I have stayed together so long, usually by my younger friends. So, I thought I would share what I think are some *key* aspects to having a lasting relationship.

Love - The most important thing is to love each other, and yourself. There is more to love than infatuation or sexual attraction. Love entails wanting the best for the other, caring about their opinion, and supporting their dreams. There is so much to Love, but it is the basis: love yourself and each other.

Respect - You have to respect yourself and your partner. You can't belittle or demean them (or yourself). I think many people today don't understand what it means to respect someone, but you can't have a lasting relationship without it.

Communication - Okay, outside of love and respect, communication is number one. In fact, at times in relationships when the love and respect might be hard to find, communication becomes THE most important piece to keep the relationship alive. All relationships go through difficult times. Some in the early years, some at the 7 year mark (the 7 year itch is a real thing!) and some much later. Love and respect can be hard to find during those times, and it is communication (not fighting and hating, but truly trying to share feelings whether they be good, bad or indifferent) with each other that helps weather those rough patches.

Trust - Without it your relationship will wither and die faster than a plant without water. Without trust there is no relationship, even if you stay married for 40 years. If there is not trust you are just two people living in the same space.

Truth - Trust and truth go together because without truth there is no trust. You cannot lie. You cannot hide things. You cannot omit information. Without truth there is no relationship because without truth there is no trust. Lying to your partner means you have no love, respect or trust and you can't communicate with them. All of the foundations of a good lasting relationship are missing.

Friendship - It is really helpful if your life partner is also your best friend. You don't have to be identical, or have the exact same interests, but if you can find commonalities, enjoy each others quirks, personality and sense of humor (even if it isn't your own) these things help build a strong foundation for a lifetime relationship.

Have Fun Together - Find things that you both enjoy doing together. It doesn't matter what it is. But DO things together, have fun, laugh and build stories together. Be silly. This is where the lifelong bonding happens; this is where you build the relationship and bind yourselves to each other.

But...

Have Fun Apart, Too - Do not lose yourself in your relationship! Maintain or find your OWN hobbies and interests. You don't need to be a carbon copy of your partner, in fact you shouldn't be! You will be a much more interesting and interested partner if you have your own things to talk about and share. Don't give up who you are. And encourage your partner to maintain their own interests and hobbies, too. Support each other in your separate interests.

Have the Tough Conversations Early - You and your partner need to have common ground on a few really important topics like money, religion, and children. A significant percentage of arguments, and ultimately failures  in relationships are due to arguments over money, religion and children. Don't wait until the wedding day to find out what your partner thinks about these things. And, don't think you will be able to change their mind "after" the wedding or "later." These are critical components of a successful relationship: you have to be on the same page about these things.

Present a United Front - A combining of families happens when two people make a commitment to each other. This often (not always) creates conflicts with the in-laws or relatives. I don't know why this is, but it is common. Just like having the tough conversations early is critical, so is presenting a united front in the face of outside family challenges. If your family is critical or rude to your spouse YOU need to step up and say it won't be tolerated. This is part of the respect piece. Just the same if their family is rude to you, THEY need to step up and make it stop. If the family doesn't stop, it may require a removal of yourselves from the family or a minimization of contact. Here's why: Your Relationship Must Come First. Period.

Lastly....laugh together. Laugh at each other. Laugh at yourselves. Laugh at life. Share your laughter with each other. Don't take life too seriously.

Like the saying says: Live. Laugh. Love.

Did I leave anything out? Is there something you feel is critical to a lasting relationship? Share in the comments.

The Friday Five 5/24/12

1. What I'm Reading

A stack of books about celebrities and culture. I have a research paper and presentation to write and I am focusing on the emergence of celebrity as we know it today, starting with the Greek words celebritas and the original form of the word fame. Technology and literacy play a huge role. Very interesting stuff. I actually want to fully read all of these books but simply don't have the time...at least not by the time the presentation is due. I might read them anyway after.

2. What I'm Listening To

I head a song today that I loved when I was in high school. I touch myself by the Divinyls. Hahaha! Does anyone remember this song? No? Just me? Ok.  Great song.

3. What I'm Watching

Eh..not much this week. The films in my classes haven't been that great and my shows have reached the end of their seasons. I am kinda ticked because I heard that The Finder has been cancelled. I pretty much gave up on GRIMM. I loved the Monroe character, but the rest of it was just too far fetched for me. I couldn't buy in. The final season of The Closer starts in July, so I'm waiting for that. I am still kinda waiting to see how Bones handles the new relationship. I'm not sure I dig it.

4. What I'm Eating

Well, after a little more than six weeks of a pretty restrictive diet, I am starting to add back in foods like peanut butter, cheese and other things, but I am still minimizing carbs (outside of vegetables) and still avoiding all added sugar. I have to say: I am SO thankful to be able to eat peanut butter again!!

5. What I'm Looking Forward To

I just wrapped up week 8 of school! That means 2 real weeks left and then finals week! YAY! I'm super looking forward to being done and having a little break before summer term. Summer term is two online classes and my internship. I'm really looking forward to that.

Mental Health Day - Update

Blogs are an interesting thing. They are like a diary, but they are public. I know some people read mine all the time, others pop in periodically, and there is a whole group of readers that I have no idea who they are or that they are reading. It's okay, but I think there is a level of responsibility attached to that, too.

For example: last week I posted about a situation at school that caused me a great deal of angst and upset. I was quite vague about the who and the what and where and so forth because I am not about slandering someone or someplace. I feel I have a right to express my feelings and tell a story, but not at the detriment to someone else. I want to say here publicly that is why I didn't use names, etc. Yes, I was upset, but it still wasn't about demonizing someone else.

People close to the situation may have been able to put two and two together, but other people would not be able to, and that was kind of the point.

But now, I want to follow up on that story. Because I think it is a great example of why I really love the art of communication. It is a great example of what people who know how to communicate can accomplish.

I said last week that I couldn't believe my situation went so poorly because both parties involved are communication people. And at the time, that was true. But here is the interesting thing about communication: it doesn't always work the first time, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't work at all.

The other party and I both had the opportunity to gain some space from the other. We both had the opportunity to really evaluate the situation, *both* of our perspectives, speak to mentors who were able to provide some additional clarity and hope for the situation and then sit down together to try again to communicate.

The first part of our conversation was facilitated by a third party whose job was to really just make sure we were both slowing down the communication, listening, and really hearing what the other person was saying. The facilitator helped guide the conversation and made sure that we stayed on track and that neither person was feeling attacked or slighted. This part of the conversation went quite well, but we had a deadline as the facilitator had another appointment. At the end of that time I didn't feel that the situation was fully resolved.

Here's where it gets good, though!

The other party asked if I would like to continue the conversation right then just the two of us.

Now, had we not made fairly significant progress with the facilitator I would have said no. Or, quite honestly, if I felt like I was a less adept communicator, I would have said no. However, I felt that not only did the first part of our conversation go pretty decently, but also that I was a) no longer super angry - so wouldn't be inclined to fall back into that trap and b) that I could hold my own in a conversation with the other party skill level wise.

We ended up talking for another hour. It was *very* valuable. There was a great deal of clarification, perception explanation, motivation explanation and clarifying of roles and goals. Part of the conversation included enough information from the other party that I could comfortably remove the feeling I was harboring of having been personally attacked. That was key! I think without that piece the situation could not have resolved as fully as I feel it was (for me).

We each reiterated our level of respect for the other, the others rights and positions, and what our motivations were. We each were able to accept our own role in the breakdown of earlier communication (it takes two to tango! There were no "innocent" parties in this) and share some back history with the other about the baggage our lives have created that we carry with us each day; that baggage (we all have it!) creates who we are and much of how we perceive things. This piece was also very important to create understanding between us.

Our conversation ended on a very positive note. I felt that authentic understanding had been reached. I also felt appreciative of both the facilitators willingness to help and the other parties willingness to communicate openly and honestly.

We are both in a much better frame of mind toward the other and I think we are both genuinely relieved to have the tension removed from our relationship dynamic.

THIS is why I love the art of communication. We went from a place of anger, hurt and frustration to a place of understanding and willingness to work together. I would even say we created a level of respect that was not there before, and perhaps a kernel of friendship, in as much as could happen in that time frame and situation. At least, that is my perspective.

So, to the other party I say I apologize for my role. I say thank you for your apology and your willingness to try again. I was not optimistic when we first met, but am thankful that each of us were willing and open to trying again.

In life, in all relationships, communication is the key. That is my belief and I am so happy to be a communication student and be able to (hopefully) one day share those skills and knowledge with others.

Sunday Recap

Ah Sunday!

Sunday's are probably the best day of the week, or the second best. Saturday might be *the* best. But often, Saturday's are filled with projects and chores, while Sundays are more for relaxation.

As you know, our favorite mode of relaxation involves a big lake and a fun boat!

We hit up our favorite lake again, Lost Creek, and promptly met up with the local marine Sheriff patrol. It was cool; they were just doing safety inspections, looking for required equipment like life jackets and fire extinguishers. The Sheriff that did our inspection was very nice and normal.  Too bad all LEO's aren't like that!

After passing the inspection we dropped the boat in the water and headed out to try and find a good fishing spot!

Last weekend we spent the day out on the lake, fishing and sunbathing, but we never got a single nibble. We only ever saw ONE fish jump!

Sunday started out pretty similar except that there were trout jumping everywhere! We fished for an hour, changing lures, moving the boat, changing lures. Then BAM! We got a bite! And then lost it. Then BAM! Another bite...and lost it. BAM! Another...lost it! This happened about 6 or 7 times.Then...total silence. No bites.

The boat was just drifting and I was getting frustrated with fishing. I decided to put some power bait on my line and just hang out.

Chris decided to go with the powerbait for a bit, too, but used the steering wheel to hold his pole for him. 

We never got any bites off the power bait. I did get a nice shot of my toes though. :-)

 It was getting late in the day and Chris decided to grab my pole and try for a fish. He said "Just 5 casts is all I need!" Well wouldn't you know it...first cast he lands this little beauty!

We could never get another bite. Crazy! We did enjoy the little trout for dinner, along with some salmon and veggies. But, even a bad day fishing on the boat is still a good day on the boat!

Later, when we got home we were super excited to be in a location with clear skies so we could watch the annular eclipse! We used our sunglasses paired with Chris' welding helmets to watch the moon move in front of the sun. It really was a spectacular sight! The light got dim, almost like a storm. It seemed grey and filtered. Really an incredible thing to see and so beautiful!

We tried to take some pictures, but they didn't really show what was happening. I have said before and I'll say again: I am no photographer. Other people took some incredible photos and they are beautiful. Ours are beautiful in their own way. Here are just a few samples:

These were all taken through the lens of the welding helmet. So pretty in their own way!

Did you get to see the eclipse? What's your favorite day of the week? Are Sundays for relaxing?

Getting Back to the Swing of Things

It was time. Yes, time to get back to the swing of things.

Chris and I headed out to the driving range yesterday afternoon to brush off our rusty arms and see how we could do with a bucket of balls.

This is actually Chris' second trip to the range this year and my first. He is getting ready for a golf tournament in 21 days. He is participating in his company golf  tournament the same day I am doing the Helvetia Half Marathon in Hillsboro. For once things worked out! His golf tournament is held in South Western Washington. Convenient!

While I must say that Chris' swing and consistency were much better than mine, I will say that after I started to work the kinks out I was hitting straight and over 100 yards. Not to shabby for a total novice!

I just want to say that I have terrible form and that I only started golfing late last summer so don't be too hard on me! It is a fun thing for Chris and I to go do together, and it is close by and inexpensive. With Chris' on call schedule limiting where we can go and what we can do, this is a good solution.

Have you made it out to the links yet this year?

Outstanding Woman Student

Today Chris and I got dressed up. This never happens on the weekends. For one thing Chris isn't comfortable getting dressed up. He says he feels like he is in a cage because he can't "do" anything (read: get dirty). For another weekends are usually reserved for fun stuff like digging in the dirt and going on the boat. But today we had a very special brunch to attend.

The Ashland Branch of the American Association of University Women held their annual awards brunch this morning. The brunch honors award recipients from within the various departments at SOU, and also scholarship award recipients from both SOU and RCC.

Why did we get dressed up and attend this brunch you ask? Well...

I was nominated by my communication department professors as the Outstanding Woman Student in the Department of Communications at Southern Oregon University for 2012. The American Association of University Women awarded the certificate of achievement to me, and the other department recipients, this morning at the brunch.

Chris and I at the brunch.

(Partial) Group photo of the winners to be published in the newsletter.

Being introduced.

Giving my acceptance speech.

Accepting the award.

Yay!

Roxie is proud of me, too. :-)

I am quite honored (and was very surprised) to be nominated and awarded this certificate. It feels really wonderful to be recognized for all the hard work and effort I put in to my education, being a good student, and a good participant in the communication department.

It feels really good.

And now we are home and Chris is back to shorts and a t-shirt, so he is happy, too.

Happy Saturday!

Hot In S. Ore

Last weekend we hit 85-90  degree weather here in S. Ore. It was glorious!! I live for summer-time sunshine.

We spent Saturday out in the garden and yard all day planting and enjoying the weather.

Sunday though we took the boat out for our first real all day boating session of the season. Our last trip was more of a shakedown to make sure everything was running okay and no issues.

This time we took our fishing poles, wore swimsuits, brought lunch and planned for a whole day on the lake.

We went to Lost Creek again. It really is our favorite place down here.

It was HOT. It is only May people! Whew!

The fishing was horrible. Ironic because Chris stopped at Sportsman's Warehouse the other day to check out the fishing report. It said that 25,000 trout had been stalked or stocked (thanks brother for pointing out the spelling error) the week before, and that they were biting mid-morning on power bait and wedding ring spinners. Okay, so that is exactly when and with what Chris and I were fishing with. We got nothing. Not one single little maybe-kinda nibble. We only ever saw one fish jump! It was a lame fishing expedition. Oh well, we had fun regardless.

After we got tired of fishing we did some sunbathing. (With sunscreen people!!)

Look at that! Gorgeous weather, gorgeous lake! Gorgeous! It was a fabulous day. My favorite place to be.

Plus we have new cupholders on the boat!

I took a couple pictures of Chris' new paint job while the boat was on the trailer and we had a bit more room to maneuver. The photo's he tried to get at home in the driveway didn't show it all that well.

Ignore the fact that the suburban is dirty. :-) The boat looks damn good for a backyard paint job. Chris likes it because it looks stealthy. This is temporary until we do a bit more work and get an entirely new paint job, but it works for this year.

You can bet that I am 100% planning on being back out on the lake again this weekend!

Do you like to go boating? Some people are just not into it...I love it! It is my most favorite thing to do to relax.