I blinked and Sufjan Stevens came out with a new album.
My new gym keeps its outdoor pool open all year. It’s 40° outside.
A tale of two children visiting Santa
The winter solstice is nearly upon us.
Here goes nothing.
Update: this site is currently being mirrored on an 11ty site. Things seem to have transferred really well, but I haven’t had a chance to polish the starter theme. I'm not sure what the advantage is to going the headless route when Ghost seems to be fine. I'll continue testing.
As most of us are sick this week, we didn’t do much this past weekend. So I’m looking back at last weekend’s photos. This is my favorite one from our visit to Zoo Lights at the Oregon Zoo. We all rode the narrow gauge train and had a lot of fun. A few friends J, H & K even showed up.
The holiday blues
I'm just not feeling the holiday spirit this year. Both my kids are young and I am trying to show up for them. I even saved up quite a bit of cash to pay for toys and gifts and take some of that stress off us, but I just can't get in the mood.
I think more than anything, I'm feeling tired of Oregon and feeling the pull to move back to Michigan. We’ve outgrown our house and feel trapped due to prices and interest rates. Looking at real estate back in the Midwest looks like a bargain. The pay isn’t even that different in my field, and we’d have a huge down payment if we sold our current house to buy there. It’s even more appealing to me also because my family lives there. But I can’t convince my wife.
Take for example this house:
It’s in an affluent suburb with good schools, in a major metro area with good jobs in my field. A house like this barely even exists in Oregon, and the ones that do would cost double what this one is listed for. Here in Oregon, we live in a tiny place in a less desirable location despite being in a higher income group. It’s crazy to me what is unavailable to us given our education and income levels. We worked so hard to get where we are and barely feel we can get ahead. Why people stay here is beyond me.
Holiday Festivities
We had a very busy but fun weekend with the kids celebrating the holiday season.
We went and saw Santa Claus in North Plains on Saturday, and then went to Steeplejack Brewing for pizza. Then, on Sunday, we went to the SHARC for swimming and later went to Zoo Lights at the Oregon Zoo.
Today was an interesting day. I got to tour our old jail, part of which is now empty, to hopefully repurpose it. Also made some progress on understanding the historic building in which I work, to hopefully rehab. Feeling good, but tense from the desk, so I spent some time in the hot tub and sauna:
Went to a ninja gym last night and it was a lot of fun!
For all the effort being made for alt text, how do I even read it in other people’s posts on Micro.blog?
My kids are growing too quickly
Lately, both of my kids have been learning so much and it’s intense seeing them grow before my eyes.
No. 1 is 4 and has known his ABCs and how to count for a while now, but he’s become so articulate, annunciating every letter perfectly (no elemenopee anymore). He’s also counting into the 40s and higher when reminded of the starting digit. Even more impressive are the questions he’s beginning to ask. Existential questions, and reflecting on complex topics, even accompanied by sadness and even anguish when speaking of loss. Wow.
No. 2 is 23 months and is saying short sentences and asserting her personhood by claiming ownership of things and not shying away from telling you what’s up, especially to “stop it” when something is bothering her. It won’t be long until she’s speaking in full sentences and becoming her own person, too. In addition to playing with the magnet tiles and more traditional “boy toys”, she’s dressing up and playing with dolls, unprompted or promoted by us, which is just so different from our son’s preferred toys, even though he had access to all the same things she does when he was her age.
Parenthood is a trip and I love it. Hard, yes, but awesome in all the best ways.
Lately, both of my kids have been learning so much and it’s intense seeing them grow before my eyes.
No. 1 is 4 and has known his ABCs and how to count for a while now, but he’s become so articulate, annunciating every letter perfectly (no elemenopee anymore). He’s also counting into the 40s and higher when reminded of the starting digit. Even more impressive are the questions he’s beginning to ask. Existential questions, and reflecting on complex topics, even accompanied by sadness and even anguish when speaking of loss. Wow.
No. 2 is 23 months and is saying short sentences and asserting her personhood by claiming ownership of things and not shying away from telling you what’s up, especially to “stop it” when something is bothering her. It won’t be long until she’s speaking in full sentences and becoming her own person, too. In addition to playing with the magnet tiles and more traditional “boy toys”, she’s dressing up and playing with dolls, unprompted or promoted by us, which is just so different from our son’s preferred toys, even though he had access to all the same things she does when he was her age.
Parenthood is a trip and I love it. Hard, yes, but awesome in all the best ways.
That high noon sun.
Thankful for this day.
Beautiful outside.
I had a lot of things in my Amazon cart that didn’t change in price at all today, but suddenly said 18% off next to that same price due to Black Friday.
My loves.
I have my in-laws over for Thanksgiving this year, so we had a full house and it was a lot of fun! My first time cooking a turkey…turned out pretty good. Now we are just drinking old fashioneds, eating coconut cream pie, and huddled around the living room watching football and playing with the kids.
Santa almost forgot to close up the attic.
Happy Thanksgiving, friends. I’m cooking this year, pray for me.
