Trabajo

So I got a new job.....which means I am back to work.  I had orientation Monday and very crazy training the rest of this past week.  I work for Providence Health Care in their corporate pharmacy services division as a specialized tech.  The job is very different from anything I have ever experienced before.  Everyone I have talked to who has worked the job 2 years received 4 months of training.  One of the newer hires had a 6 week training because they were in a bind.  Me?  I get 2 weeks with a week of implementation.  They are short 5 techs, they hired 4 new people including me, but 3 won't start for another week and an existing coordinator just had a baby so they are needing help pretty quick.  Training involves 8 hours of learning new programs and policies.  I basically have 12 applications running on my screen at any given moment in time and all of them interrelate to each other, I am supposed to learn what each one has on it and how to use it and what I am allowed to say or do on each of them.  Thus far I am semi familiar with about 8 of them, have 4 different passwords to keep straight, and still have 4 to go.  I keep being told to not feel too pressured, that it takes about 6 months to know what you are doing and 2 years to understand why you are doing what you are doing.  Seeing as I probably don't have 2 years with them, it isn't the most helpful advice.  So that is the story of what I am doing for work.

Astoria

For this weekend's adventure we drove up to the Evergreen State and hit Astoria & Seaside in Oregon.  The coast has been socked in with a nasty marine layer all week so I was shocked when we got to Seaside to blue skies and pretty warm temperatures.  We first went to the Astoria Column.  It was dedicated in 1926 and is basically a really tall column that you can climb 196 stairs to the top and have a neat view of Astoria, Columbia River, Oregon, Washington, Astoria-Megler Bridge, and the ocean.  The side of the column has different frames of Astorian history and is pretty cool.  You can buy little wooden planes in the gift shop and people will through them from the top of the column and watch them circle down (with kids anxiously waiting to catch them), they had a burial canoe, and that is about it.  It is kind of a random landmark, but it is worth going to, especially on a sunny day.  We then drove up to Washington and explored Cape Disappointment which has two lighthouses and a Lewis and Clark exhibit.  On our way home we stopped in Seaside to eat our fancy peanut butter sandwiches.  Before leaving we stopped in the candy shop, The Seaside Candyman, mainly because it was playing the Candyman song from Willy Wonka and how can you resist that?  It was FULL of salt water taffy.  When we have more time I definitely want to see what some of the 170 taffy flavors are someday.  It was a really fun day, I just wish we could spend time together like that more than once every 2 weeks.  The next activities should be interesting, we are going into territory where I have never been: Mt Hood & Sauvie Island.

The Orchards

We went to Bell Orchards today and picked some honey crisp apples.  Sadly, the peaches are all done and gone :( but the apples are delicious and I really like UPick Orchards, they are quirky and cheap.  It was a nice very mini break-it is owned by people in our ward here and is just down the road-from JD studying and I have been munching on apples all day.  Happy picking!

Cooper Mountain Nature Park

We live in an area with a lot of 'parks'.  While there are your typical soccer field and playground parks.  There are also quite a few nature parks which entails pieces of wilderness and trails.  We are right below the Cooper Mountain Nature Park, which has multiple trails.  We were walking the Little Prairie Loop Trail tonight and came across this: the little prairie.  At first I couldn't figure out why there was a sign and two benches looking at this field until JD pointed out that this was the namesake of the trail we were on.  It is a pretty funny nature park, I can't wait to see what the big prairie looks like.

On the Menu

I am not a fan of cooking....at all.  I never have been.  My sister, Emily, is a master chef.  She was the one willing to help with the entire meal when we were growing up.  I would peel potatos and book it out of the kitchen.  I don't like timing things, making a mess, cleaning it up, shopping for the ingredients, going to cook something and missing a single ingredient, etc.  It is just a hassle I don't enjoy.  Since moving up here, I have been cooking a lot more.  I have enjoyed finding new recipes and only one was absolutely terrible (I blame false imagery on the part of CrockPot because I rechecked and I followed everything exactly correct) but that hasn't taken away from the whole process that I loathe.  One thing I have done to help that has worked well for the first 2 months at least is preplanning my shopping list for an entire month making me grocery store free for 29 days of the month which I love.  One the menu this month: frito pie, swedish pork roast, parmesean chicken, southwestern chicken chili, tacos, chicken curry, and honey spiced glazed chicken to name a few.

Silver Falls

We had a blast at Silver Falls State Park yesterday.  While not doing the entire Trail of Ten Falls, we did do 5.5 miles of the loop and saw 8 of them. My gracefulness cut the trek a little short with a bloody knee and scuffed up ankle and hands-not bad, just not very fun. Silver Falls is a really amazing place though.  We loved walking behind the falls, looking at crazy trees growing out of stumps and fallen down trees, and driving through the Christmas Tree Farms on the way to the park (those are not grassy rolling hills in the pictures, those are full grown Christmas Trees, it is crazy).  We are definitely going to try and make it back when the leaves are on in a month or so.  Sorry there are so many pictures, it was hard to decide which ones to add.  I had fun (probably a little too much) playing with the manual settings during this hike, so there were a lot to choose from.  Just click on any picture to get a bigger view.

Salem Bound

We had an interesting time getting to Silver Creek Falls today.  We were surprised to find that we were stuck in pretty thick traffic on our way to Salem and couldn't figure out what was going on.  Then we started noticing a trend of very bedazzeled cars with PomPoms, duck feet, beavers, flags, magnets, stickers, etc.  The drivers were often in bright green and yellow or orange and black attire as well.  We later found out that both Oregon State and University of Oregon were playing, one in Eugene, the other in Corvallis, both of which require I-5 to get too.  It was fun people watching and I got some great car decorating ideas too.  We also stopped by the Lego Store on our way to get a surprise for our old upstairs neighbors.  I love looking at their displays.  The movie theater one was fantastic.  It is hard to see but you have kings sharing popcorn with Harry Potter, light sabers, maces,wands, and bows are all perfectly normal in a Lego Theater.

Work Stress

I have had a month off of no job.  This has not been a fun thing.  I go crazy when I am not working and it has been hard not having work.  I have been making fancy dishes in the kitchen and have cooked a lot more than I probably ever have over the past month to take up time.  So this week I got three job offers within a few days of each other.  They are all very different along the lines of work, pros & cons, how offers have been made (or the lack there of and still an expectation to take the offer).  I hate business in healthcare (I know in general it is bad, but healthcare is really bad).  I like when an offer is made that is fair and just there.  I don't like the well what are you looking for?  How much were you making?  What have your other offers been?  I don't like the politics and the stress it creates. Look at my resume, tell me what you think and if there are problems we can talk.  I just need a job that can help us keep our debt down a bit, one that I can do for a few years before JD does clinicals, and that will be a good fit for what we need.  At this point I honestly am not sure as to which job/s I will be taking.  So who knows where or what I will be doing?  I don't, but I will let you know when I know.

What I've Been Listening To

It has been awhile since I have been so excited about a new album.  I love this band, they have some Utah roots so I've known about them for a few years and it is really exciting to see them getting more attention, I even heard them on the radio here in Portland the other day!  It is a great album with some of their past works added to this one like It's Time and On Top of the World.  Check them out, see what you think.

The Navigator

Today was a big day.  I drove through Portland, across bridges, along OR-10, OR-8, OR-26, I-405 S, I-5 N, I-84 E, I-205 N, OR-30 E, OR-30 W, I-84 W, I-5 S, and I-405 N.  I did this alone.  I did this without a map.  I did this without getting lost.  I did this in great time.  I DID IT!  I love maps and I love knowing where I am.  Moving here has been a little difficult in that I couldn't look at maps when I was driving, and I didn't know where I was.  Today was liberating to say the least.  Having a GPS would be easier, but then I wouldn't have victories like today and oh how good they feel!

The Study Bug

JD studies super hard all week and by the time Friday rolls around he is a bit worn out.  The above picture took place about 5 minutes after he got home from school on Friday.  The one below is JD's desk.  I thought it was pretty clever how he came up with the idea of balancing my totes to create a nice desk.  My supply of crayons, markers, and colored pencils that I use for primary is readily on hand just in case.  I am grateful that he is such a hard worker, I know I wouldn't have the fortitude to go through the program he is doing.  It has been a good experience so far we are interested to see what else is in store.

Seaside in September

I love September 1st, it means the coming of Fall.  It is the day that I can officially pull out fall decorations and get excited about changing leaves, apples, peaches and all that wonderfulness that comes with autumn.  We went to Seaside and spent some time feeding harbor seals, looking at creatures in the aquarium, watching kites, and relaxing on the beach.  JD wasn't sure why everyone thinks seals are so cute, he refers to them as "Fat Floppers".  Personally I think they are adorable.  I love being so close to the ocean, and having fun places to spend time with JD before he gets back to studying each Saturday. 

New Feature

I made a new page that takes you to a photo gallery of sorts showing our Oregon adventures.  It is still under construction and I have more to add, but it is easier to keep it up to date starting now then play catch up and be behind all the time.

Portlandia

We explored downtown Portland today and had a great time.  We started at Pioneer Square which was having an Italian Festival complete with band playing songs like "Amore"-when the moon hits your eye like a big-a pizza pie, that's amore- we went to the Old Town Farmer's Market, walked along the Willamette River, saw China Town, and went to Powell's City of Books.  I love Powell's.  Today's highlights included a 1st Edition Adventures of Tom Sawyer and 1st Edition Stuart Little (that is the one I am holding in the picture).  There was also a book from 1512 with a $4,800 price tag.  I love walking through all the rooms and levels and seeing all the different books everywhere.  It is awesome.  We explored Jeld-Wen Field a little bit and enjoyed the sites and sounds of all the people, there is definately a reason that Portland's Motto is: "Keep Portland Weird", there were plenty of different things and people to watch.

Small World

JD & I went to the Portland Temple yesterday and decided to check out the Visitor Center before heading back home.  I love how the backgrounds change behind the Christus statue depending on where you are!  In Los Angeles there is ocean, in Portland a lot of trees and waterfalls.  While we were wandering around, a van pulled in and a bunch of girls piled out of it, we saw that they were sister missionaries and when I looked even closer I recognized Ally, the daughter of one of my coworkers!  It was fun to see her even though we don't know each other very well, more just passing by while she was running errands for her mom or bringing Deb's glasses to her at work, but still super neat.  She was so happy doing what she was doing and the only complaint she had was how fast time was flying by.  I love how small the world really is.

Long Distance Relationships

I love technology!  It is so nice being able to Skype my sister in Wyoming while having my mom in Utah on a speaker phone at the same time. It is pretty neat if you ask me.   

 

Phineas & Ferb

JD has been studying super hard after long days of class.  This usually entails him coming home in time for dinner and then studying after dinner until bedtime.  I am so grateful he is dedicated to school and wanting to do well, but sometimes you just need to break up the day and relax a little bit.  This week began what has become one of my favorite parts of my day.  After we clean up dinner we sit down and watch an episode of Phineas & Ferb.  It is a good chance for JD to relax, and it is a great time for me to cuddle and watch a fantastic cartoon.  This has turned into our mini daily date night-dinner and a cartoon.  I love it!

The Speths

International Rose Test Garden

It is still so strange to me that we can drive to downtown Portland in 20 minutes.  After a long week, JD and I went to the International Rose Test Gardens for a change of scenery before he spent the rest of his Saturday studying.  It was overcast and cool, a very welcome change from the 100 degree sunny weather we have had the past week.  We had fun walking around taking pictures, sniffing roses, and looking at the names of all the different roses.  They have everything from Fragrant Cloud to Betty Boop to Ketchup and Mustard.  I was a fan of the Octoberfest Roses (second ones down on the left), and that was even before I knew what they were named.  It was a quick get away and it was fantastic.

Mi Casa

My mom really wants to see pictures of the apartment, so while we aren't done with everything, and some things have already changed from when I took these this is the overall gist of where we live!

Top Left: Dining Area

Top Right: Bedroom

Middle Row: 1 & 2 Second Bedroom, acting as JD's library/study area/office

Middle Row: 3 & 4 main bathroom and master bathroom

Bottom: 1 & 2 Living Room, wall cutout looks into the kitchen, Right: Kitchen

The couch faces out onto our patio that is a lovely view of a bunch of trees.  We are so happy here and it feels more like home every day. I will post more pictures when I finish some projects up.

Olympic Withdrawel

I love the olympics.  I think they are wonderful.  I love watching the athletes do amazing things.  I love muting the dumb commentators.  I love that once every two years political agendas can be pushed aside and that athletes can compete for the love of sport despite wars and grudges and all of the crap that goes on.

The olympics this year have been a bit of a lifesaver for me.  While I was packing I was able to follow the events during the day.  When we got to Oregon and JD started classes three days later I had something to preoccupy my time.  Now they are over and I am in trouble.  I went from being a full time graduate student working two jobs to only having to worry about what to cook for dinner.  I need a job, and a hobby, and a project or I am going to go crazy.

So, thank you London Olympics 2012, for keeping my sanity a little bit longer, for inspiring, for taking up my time, and for just being the cool thing you were.

Portland Temple

We made it to the Portland Temple yesterday and it was wonderful!  Per the usual standard here, it is surrounded by trees and forest, so it was hard to get a full picture of it because of how big it is and the trees all around, but it is beautiful.  With Ogden closed we have had a minimum 40 minute commute to a temple this past year so it was really exciting to find that we were only 20 minutes away.  We are very grateful to have a temple so close and for the blessings that come from these sacred places.

White Coats & Badges

JD had his white coat ceremony this evening.  It was a pretty neat event, personnally I am glad that they started on time and that it didn't last forever.  So now he is as official as he can get until he passes his boards in three years and can have fun studying, testing, and working at clinicals in the mean time.  We are super excited and are looking forward to what this experience has in store.

Exploregoning

We were able to get so much done yesterday we had the opportunity to sightsee a little bit.  We took Jeff and Dad to see Pacific University and the Hillsboro campus where JD will be going to school.  The campus was half college half botannical gardens, the grounds were beautiful.  We then drove out to the coast.  We went to Cape Meares, ate extra sharp white cheddar cheese at the Tillamook Cheese Factory along with icecream.  We drove up the coast to Cannon Beach and enjoyed the ocean until heading back home.  Again we are so grateful for all that our dads were able to do to help us and we had such a great time with them while they were here. It was fun showing them where we will be the next while and to enjoy this beautiful state with them for a few days.