SURPRISE!!

We had a surprise snowstorm today, and when I say surprise I mean it was partly sunny and then within minutes it was snowing, and no one predicted this beaut to head our way!

This journey started out incredibly normal. Mother and I drove to Portland to drop my brother off at the airport, the drive up was nice and clear, well clear enough to enjoy the splendor of Mt. Hood as a backdrop to the Portland skyline. We took our time to say good bye to my bro, it is always hard to say bye to people we love so much and only see once or twice a year…… oh sorry I digressed. Following our departure from the airport and before leaving Portland we made a quick pit stop at Ikea , the best home interiors store, check it out if you have not already, you will find the link to your right. When we walked out of Ikea it was snowing, yeah just like that clear and chilly 15 minutes later snowing and cold.

I am so glad I wore my patient pants again today because it took us 4 hours to drive 30 miles, yes you heard me correctly 4 HOURS, it was so crazy. I happened to have my favorite side kick SLR with me so I got a few pictures to document the largest surprise of 2009.



Check out how ginormous those flakes are!!



What an experience, gridlock for hours on the interstates, stranded motorist and cars abandoned in the middle of the highway. Yet it was so great to see frustrated drivers coupled with amazing humanitarians equaling people with an upbeat demeanor about a potentially discouraging event. Again it was a great day to be an American in a place where people not only take care of themselves but also lending a helping hands to their neighbors in need. I just love this place.

It is time for me to hit the hay; I will say good night for now. More fun adventures to share within the next few days…..I heard something about skiing in amazing weather, pool, bowling, and karaoke. Wow, sounds like some fun stories to come you way!

Jen

Happy Christmas from my home to yours..........

I am home sweet home in Corvallis, Oregon and I am absolutely positively loving being with my family. Boy howdy was it is a marathon of journey to get here though. As I dropped my bags off at the Tulsa airport yesterday morning for an early check-in, the nice gentleman at the counter graciously mentioned the following statement….“don’t miss your flight out of Houston to Portland, you won’t be able to get on another flight until Friday”. I thanked him and walked back to my car thinking “how could I miss my flight to Portland, I have an hour layover in Houston and the bad weather has yet to hit T-town, psshhhh I don’t have anything to worry about.”

Let me reiterate, this thought was prior to our plane being late, not boarding at 11:40 like intended, nor at 11:50, or 12:00, or 12:10. It was not until 12:15 that we began loading the plane. At which point I felt my heart beating a bit faster and my brow began glistening with sweat, as I listened to ice pelting the plane I was patiently sitting in wonderment as to when we were going to back away from the gate. Captain Tim announced the plane needed to be deiced and we would be on our way. Peace flowed through my body as I was thinking we were on our way, that peace was due to a lack of knowledge on how long it would took to deice a plane. My heart started racing when I realized it had taken 45 mins to deice …”what am I going to do, there is no way I am going to make my connection in Houston at this point”. I calmed myself down and realized there is nothing I can do right now, just sit back, cuddle in, get a little shut eye, and I will worry about the connection when I get to Houston. The piloting was extraordinary, they made great timing, we landed, I ran, and made it just in the nick of time for the 6 hour leg of my marathon journey homeward.

The flight from Houston to Portland was a hoot, I met a super fun Cuban from Miami (T.J.) and a super tired but upbeat banker from Atlanta (Matt), we had a rip-rowing time. I am pretty sure everyone on the plane were wishing they would have been sitting in our row, or wishing we were not on their plane laughing and caring on, but we won’t talk about that second option. T.J., Matt, and I laughed about everything from family, to jobs, to films, to what actors we would like to meet and have lunch with and those we would not. What a great way to spend a 6 hour flight.

As we were descending into Portland International airport our pilot announced we would be rerouting to Seattle due to a “low ceiling” in Portland preventing us from landing. I talked to mother while I was in Houston and she told me the weather was amazing, sunny and in the 50’s, so I found this odd we were not able to land due to “weather”. Although I was having a great time with my new fun friends I was ready to be OFF the plane and with my family. While on the ground in Seattle as our pilot was trying to get clearance for the Pentagon, CIA, and FBI to land in Portland, and as authorities in Portland cleaned up the mess caused by the crash of Santa’s sleigh on the runway we made the most of it. Played games, made fun of ourselves, talked about passions, Big 12 football and everything in between. Finally after an hour and a half on the ground in Seattle and another hour in the air in route to Portland we LANDED, the angles sang praises, and we cheered!!! Eight and half hours on a plane was enough for me I was overjoyed to see the ground and hug my family.

Let the fun and adventures begin. Stay tuned for more heart racin’, fun lovin’, and joy seekin’ adventures over the next week.

Merry Christmas,
Jen

First of many holiday treats!!

Raise your hand if you gravitate towards all those scrumptious holiday goodies. You know the ones I am referring to…those treats that if we don’t watch ourselves we could devour enough to feed a small country in 5 seconds flat. I knew that would ring a bell with you and help me to realize I am not the only one that looses all self control during the Christmas season. I love busting out all of my holiday favorites from Cheesecakes, to sugar cookies, to Eggnog flavored taffy; oh I could sit here and name 100 of my “favorite” treats. However, I also love trying all the new creations baked by family and friends. Which leads me to the point of this post, a to die for plate of awesomeness……Winter Wonderland Brittle. Oh gracious, my mouth is watering just thinking about this delish combination of sweet and salty with a hint of crunch and a melt in your mouth almond flavor. Would you like to know how to make this chunk of heaven? Should I let the secret out………………of course, I love you all too much to deprive you of something so amazing!!

You will need:
1 can of Original Pringles
1 can of Roasted Spanish Nuts (salted)
3 pkg. of Almond Bark

The steps you will need to take:
Crush enough Pringles to make 1 cup
1 cup nuts

Melt the almond bark on low heat until melted. Continue by mixing in the crushed Pringles and nuts, stir until well blended.
Spread a layer of tin foil on your counter top or table. While hot spread the blended mixture onto the tin foil to about peanut height.
Let the mixture cool, break into large pieces and serve.




Thank you Cindy, for sharing this great Christmas treat!!

Susan G. Komen Ornaments

We lost a pillar of our family when I was in 3rd grade with the loss of my grandmother, Louise (Dabby) Drummond Fairweather to breast cancer. I have very few memories of a grandmother of whom I have been told was an extraordinary woman and that as I grow older resemble quite vividly. Loosing such a great women to such an awful disease has given me the passion to be largely involved with Susan G. Komen for the Cure. My involvement first started in college when I was introduced to Race for the Cure, through philanthropy projects our sorority (Zeta Tau Alpha) engaged in. After college I began volunteering for the Tulsa affiliate of Susan G. Komen and have been so immensely blessed through the people I have meet, the stories I have heard, and the strength I have seen in the women that have or had battled the disease. As a thank you for what the organization does for so many women, I made a few ornaments for the Tulsa office. Here are some pictures I took before delivering the goods, if I have to say so myself I think they ROCK!!

Blogging?

This blogging thing must be something, because here I am again today to type what would be consider by most to be a disorganized mess. After perusing many a blog in my short blogging life I have come to see a trend…everyone seems to have a purpose to their writing. There are those who share their passions for cooking, family, religion, parenting, or photography. Some that share joys of sports, films, cars, and such. And others still that provide well needed advice at least for me, on dating, love, work, and the list goes on. I, on the other hand, choose to make my blog about everything that makes my life go around. From my faith, running, baking, volunteering, being a mentor to extraordinary Jr. High students, attempting to date in a community which being single at 30 is often times thought of as odd, to photography. I am sure a few outlandish “Jennifer” stories will be added from time to time to provide humor due to my lack of intellect and clumsiness. However, over all I hope to provide people with a smile, a chuckle, and a satisfied sweet tooth with the recipes added.

Welcome to my ordinary life.....

Hi! My name is Jennifer (Jen). Welcome to my little ordinary life.

I have spent many months navigating around the world of blogging, being inspired, encouraged, humbled, and incredibly entertained. The wit and humor of some amazing blogging friends and perfect strangers have kept me in complete stitches. I am fully convinced that my mother will be the only one to read my blog. But for those souls who may also find themselves here reading about my wonderfully ordinary life, I hope you find the strength, humor, and joy that I have gained from so many blogs I have been blessed to read.