Tree Hugging and Dirt Worshiping

Flippin' for my Flip

2010-10-26T19:23:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend, we bought a Flip Camera. Here is one of my first videos. It is nothing special, but I am working on something bigger and better. I promise!

Triple Crown

2010-05-03T23:01:00.000-07:00

Rusty and I attended live horse racing in Portland on Saturday, which concluded with a simulcast of the Kentucky Derby. All I know is I need a bigger and better hat for next year!

Rain, Rain, Go Away

2010-05-03T22:45:00.000-07:00

April was a record-breaking month in Portland. It rained 26 days out of 30. One of the 4 days that were without rain, Rusty and I went hiked Coyote Wall in the Gorge. Here is the picture from the base of the trail.

Here is Rusty on the way up. I tried to get Mt. Hood in the picture with him, but it didn't quite work out.

It was an exposed trail and I ended up with a farmer tan from my t-shirt, which I am sure has since faded. Here is a view from atop the wall.

It was a little early in the hiking season for a strenuous hike. There may have been a few tears along the way, but it is always worth it in the end.

April Showers

2010-05-03T22:27:00.001-07:00

Lindsay came to visit for her Spring Break week, which was great for me. The weather was less than impressive, but spending time with her makes up for a dreary 10 days. After a few rain-soaked days in Portland we headed to Seattle for the day.

Here is my very artistic photo of some market goods. I think Lindsay and I both wished for some really fancy cameras that day.

We also decided to go up to the Space Needle. I love pictures of cityscapes.

For whatever reason, Mt. Hood does not like to show her face when Lindsay is in town. I think finally the last day she was in town, we caught a glimpse from our balcony.

I am so thankful to have had a week to spend with Lindsay. There were a million laughs, a few tears, endless raindrops and tons of fun!

Girl Talk

2010-03-31T20:52:00.000-07:00

Tonight Rusty ended up talking to Jenni and Annie at the same time on two phones. It was quite humorous to listen to the three of them!

Jenni is on the left and Annie is on right.

March 2010

2010-03-21T21:15:00.000-07:00

I am finally in the current month! Last week we headed to Grandpa Griffin's 80th birthday party in Earp, CA/Parker, AZ. Since we can't make anything easy, we flew into Vegas to see The Karrens. We ended up meeting with The Griffins and The Roysters in Vegas too.

I am pretty sure this place will never be the same after 8 adults and 6 kids ventured in for dinner. However, it was super cute to see the interactions of the 6 little boys!

Here are a few highlights from the trip. Can you tell these two are related? Not only do they wear the same shirt, they pose the same!

I pretty much have the coolest sister-in-laws known to man! I hope they don't mind me posting this goofy picture, but we really had fun at the pool that day.

To read full details about the trip please refer to Annie's blog or Jenni's blog, since I am a lame photographer.

The weather this weekend was beautiful, we decided to take full advantage and golf in the morning. It was really windy in the morning. I wish we would have scheduled an afternoon tee time. It was nice to finally put use the golf clubs I got last year. I am looking forward to a summer full of golf (after my 10-year hiatus).

Finally, I am done. I promise never to wait this long to blog again, because these catch-up posts are too much work. Also, I promise to take more photos. That's all folks!

February 2010

2010-03-21T20:55:00.000-07:00

We spent a day and a half with these dolls again.

She may have him wrapped around her little finger. It didn't take much!

Valentine's Day was up next. Rusty really wanted to see Avatar, so I planned a date day for us. We started with a first showing, since the movie was still selling out days in advance. We arrived 30 minutes before the movie started/the theater opened. This is what the line looked like.

This is what Rusty looked like.

Rusty got me tickets to the John Mayer concert on 3/30. Although he will probably look like this all night.

In my head, he will always look like this.

This winter in Portland has been really mild. We even got our first hike completed in February! Taken at the top of Multnomah Falls.

Here comes March!

January 2010

2010-03-21T20:00:00.000-07:00

As soon as we returned to Portland, I received a call about 3 week accounting position with a restaurant company. I took it and it turned into something permanent, which is good. Unfortunately, there are no benefits and it doesn't pay much. Oh well at least I am not bored!

I have absolutely 0 pictures from January, so I will showcase the month with images courtesy of Google.

I turned 31, which has been slightly confusing for me. Multiple times I have said and thought I turned 30 this year. I guess old-age is kicking in. Rusty planned a great dinner with friends at our favorite Cuban restaurant Pambiche. After dinner, we headed to Pix Patisserie, which is a fancy little dessert place. YUM! YUM! YUM! I promise to take anyone that comes to Portland to this little gem.

Rusty and I also made a few lifestyle changes. We started sleeping 8 hours every night, which has been fantastic! I am so alert at work and overall feel great. I am sure this will not last forever, but I am enjoying it while I can.

We are eating more on the vegetarian side. Some of my favorite things are:

Coconut Creamer

Almond Milk

Mexican Stuffed Peppers - I just made these tonight for the first time. YUM!

We also started using cloth napkins. Originally, I liked the idea of reducing the amount of paper towels we were using, but now I love it because it makes meals so much nicer. I would highly recommend fancy cloth napkins to everyone. We got these lovelies from Pottery Barn. I love that store.

Bring on February!

December 2009

2010-03-21T19:59:00.001-07:00

Our friend, Andrea, had her gallbladder removed, so we spent quite a bit of time at her house helping out with her kids.

Miss Yetta - Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the day she wore her purple fairy wings all day. She is quite the girly girl!

Mister Tassew - Such a sweet little man. He says things like "you can help with my homework today and tomorrow Rusty can help me." He likes things to be very fair.

Since this was the week before Christmas, we decorated gingerbread houses. Here is mine.

This is the one Rusty and Yetta decorated.

We headed to Chicago for Christmas, which was lovely. It was the first holiday we spent with my family. I was looking forward to a white Christmas and we almost didn't get one. When we arrived on 12/21 there was no snow. No snow?!?! We did walk Michigan Avenue, which is one of the things I miss doing in the winter and summer. Actually, I miss doing that all year!

In front of the John Hancock building with Mom & Jimmy.

We also got to spend lots of time with my bestie Lindsay! We even got to witness the engagement of Brooke and Brian, which made for a super fun night!

Seriously, I love these two! Whenever we get together there are bound to be shenanigans galore!

We also spent New Year's Eve at Lindsay's house.

Next up, 2010!

Slacker

2010-03-21T19:39:00.001-07:00

Hello, my name is Collette and I am a blog slacker.

Excuse #1: I started working full-time.
Excuse #2: I lost my memory card adapter, which means I was unable to upload pictures.

I finally decided to dig out the cords, so all of my pictures are downloaded. Unfortunately, they are not very impressive. I will follow-up this post with the Cliff Notes version of the end of 2009 and 1st quarter 2010.

Deck the Halls

2009-12-04T21:22:00.000-08:00

Today was a super fantastic day! As soon as we finished breakfast, we headed out to do some holiday shopping and we are nearly finished. Just one more small gift and the finishing touches for another. I LOVE shopping this time of year.

Rusty got into the spirit with a peppermint brownie and a mocha from Starbucks.

After shopping, we decorated our house. Here is Rusty putting up our tree.

A star for the top.

What would this blog be without a self-portrait by the tree?

Our decorated living room, including our newly purchased couch pillows, garland and berries.

We finished the night off with a mug of sugar-free hot cocoa, which tastes just a great as regular (thank you Costco for selling it in bulk).

On a side note, Rusty tried on a sparkly hat (for New Year's Eve I presume) at Target this afternoon. He has been walking around with glitter on his face ever since and does not seem to mind one bit.

Random Camera Photos

2009-12-01T10:45:00.000-08:00

Two blogs in one day? Yes, I am playing catch-up.

The day after we returned to Portland from our honeymoon, Rusty left for 2 weeks for work. Boo! I used one of our free tickets and headed to Chicago to spend some time with Mom, Jimmy, Adam, Terese, Grandma, Lindsay, Seana, Jami and others.

Here is the only photo I have from my trip - Seana's baby Kamryn. We had a girls shopping day.

Here are a few photos I copied from Lindsay's Facebook. Lindsay and I at her Griffin Party:

Seana and Jami karaoke:

The day after we returned to Portland, we attended the Northwest Food and Wine Festival with our friends Nathan and Beija. One word - DELICIOUS!

Bill Simmons aka as The Sports Guy aka as Rusty's idol and man-crush is on a book tour that made it's way through Portland, so of course we had to go. I
do not despise him though, since he encourages shows like The Ruins and Jersey Shore on MTV to be watched in my house. I have an addiction to crap-TV that usually doesn't get fulfilled in my house, so I will take my fix any way I can.

Next, we were off to Utah for Thanksgiving. We stayed with Randy and Annie this time, which was nice because I feel like I got a chance to know Hank and Max. They are probably the people on the Griffin side that I have spent the least amount of time with, until now. Although the drive is awful, 12 hours in a car is 4 hours too many for my liking, it sure is fun to be with the whole bunch!

Once again, I do not have many pictures. Most of the pictures I took include photos of Max, since he likes to have his picture taken, look at it on the camera, and then repeat, over and over.

Rusty and the Griffin kids:

Me and Max:

Pie and games and Grandma and Grandpa Griffins on Thanksgiving Eve:

Rusty and his brothers:

Sorry there were not more pictures, I guess after the hundreds taken on the honeymoon I have been slacking.

Honeymooners

2009-12-01T10:05:00.000-08:00

We went on our honeymoon, which was F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S, minus the fact Rusty was slightly sick. Here are the highlights:

Spent a few days on a pre-honeymoon in Long Beach with our friends Kevin and Kelly. We rode beach cruisers, stand-up paddle boarded, surfed (Rusty), went to a comedy show and a dueling piano bar, and ate. We really miss having them as neighbors!

Next off was our Mexican Riviera cruise - Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta. We read out by the pool, ate, attended an ice show, ate, snorkeled, ate, kayaked, ate, hiked through the jungle, ate, attended an audience participation game show, ate, listened to some sweet entertainers, tasted tequilas, ate and then we ate more.

The biggest highlights of the cruise we being on the Love & Marriage Game Show similar to the Newlywed Game, minus it being newlyweds only) and I won $2,000 on my first pull at a slot machine! The game show made us cruise celebrities and the money paid for most of our vacation! Here are a few photos of the trip:

Formal night 1:

Cabo San Lucas:

Mazatlan:

Love & Marriage Game Show Night:

Puerto Vallarta:

Formal night 2:

$2,000 Jackpot:

Sorry for all of the self-portraits, but it is easy. Also, the one photo I have taken by a random guy has Rusty's head chopped off. Oh well.

#8 - Avocado Pulp

2009-09-25T22:33:00.000-07:00

Tonight, Rusty was preparing chicken fajitas for dinner and I decided to run to the store to get guacamole and corn tortillas to complete the meal. Usually we have avocado slices to go with fajitas, but guacamole sounded good. Since Rusty had already started cooking, I decided to look for some pre-made guacamole dip. I picked up a package of Dean's and decided to check the ingredients before purchasing. I was appalled and disgusted! Avocado pulp was the eighth ingredient listed. The other things that came before it were:

1. Skim Milk
2. Soybean Oil
3. Tomatoes
4. Water
5. Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (Coconut Oil, Safflower and/or Corn Oil)
6. Eggs
7. Distilled Vinegar

Something about this seemed very wrong, so I put down the dip and headed up to grab an avocado. We ended up mashing up the avocado (like guacamole minus the kick) and once it was mixed with the fajita seasoning and chicken you could not even tell.

12.2%

2009-09-20T19:36:00.000-07:00

Oregon's August Unemployment Rate: 12.2%*
U.S. August Unemployment Rate: 9.6%

As of Monday, I am part of economic statistic. I cannot say that I am sad that I had to leave that job. I was not very happy when I was working there and I did not love the people. To me it was always just some job and never a career. Most days, I was bored to tears.

It gives me some time to figure out what direction I would like to take next. The job market is pretty poor here, fourth highest in the country. There is not a lot to choose from, but I will keep looking. Until then, it will give me more time to focus on creating a happier home. For the last two months, I have been volunteering, so that keeps me somewhat busy.

*Actual unemployment rate is estimated at 14.8%, but 2.6% of the workforce have stopped looking for jobs, which excludes them from the statistic.

Two Month Anniversary

2009-09-13T20:06:00.000-07:00

It has been 2 short months since our wedding and my husband is truly the best. The weather was in the 90's on Friday and Saturday, so we decided to take full advantage of it. Saturday morning, after breakfast, we walked down to the waterfront. We rented a surrey and took it on a 3-mile loop around the waterfront.

Rusty taking careful direction about the operation of the surrey.

Photo op along the Willamette River.

Our token self-portrait picture.

There were dragon boat races going on all morning, so we stopped to watch them for a few minutes.

After our fun morning, we were heading back home and decided to grab lunch at the farmer's market. Yucatan chicken tamales and watermelon ginger limeade. Yum!

Thanks for the best 2 months (and a pretty great 4 years before that too). Love you!

Ode to Lindsay

2009-09-10T21:35:00.001-07:00

"People let me tell you 'bout my best friend,
She's a warm hearted person who'll love me till the end.
People let me tell you 'bout my best friend"

After weeks of anticipation, Lindsay arrived in Portland for Labor Day Weekend. It was a short, fun-filled weekend full of a million laughs and memories to last a lifetime. Before I get to the pictures, let me tell you some of the reasons Lindsay is so super-fantastic.

-She is one of the most thoughtful people I have ever met. She is always giving me small gifts and letters that I truly cherish.
-Her laugh is infectious. Seriously, it is impossible to be mad, sad, angry, or upset when she laughs.
-She gets along with everyone and if she doesn't it is probably their own fault.
-She is ambitious and driven, although she does not always give herself enough credit.
-If you look up the word fun in the dictionary, you will likely find her photo there.

Immediately after picking her up at the airport, we headed to Kennedy School. This is one of our must visit spots in Portland, but since Lindsay is an elementary school teacher, we knew she would love it. We enjoyed lunch and some local spirits.

Honors Bar - It's where we belong.

Lunch - Setting up this picture was entertaining for the people at the surrounding tables.

A teacher from September - May and a poolside lounger from June - August.

We headed back to our house for the big BYU - Oklahoma football game. I think we transformed Lindsay into a BYU fan.

After all of that, we headed down to the local PSU bar for some karaoke.

What would karaoke be without a "Summer Lovin" duet?

Sunday, we had brunch at the Leaky Roof. Oddly enough they happen to be Lindsay's initials on the window.

We decided to go on a lovely drive through Oregon wine country. The tasting rooms were packed due to the holiday weekend, but we still had fun.

Here are a few highlights from the rest of the day:

Although this particular pair was for sale, we did see someone wearing these babies.

Who exactly buys wine bottles this size? Giants?

Two of my favorite people.

The bull with the giant neck tumor or just a standard bump - depends who you ask about this one.

That night, Rick came over and we played Cranium. Unfortunately, Rick and I lost by one question.

Monday, we headed to the coast. We got a late start due to the addiction to Bubble Bobble that was rekindled this weekend.

Shipwreck in Astoria.

Rusty and Rick walking towards Haystack Rock aka Goonies Rock.

Cannon Beach

Tuesday came and it was sadly time for Lindsay to head home. I guess the first graders at Grand Prairie need her too! Before we took her to the airport we stopped at Multnomah Falls.

This may be the exact moment when Lindsay realized she loved nature and was an environmentalist.

Rusty and his best-friend-in-law, Lindsay. This phrase was coined by Susie Miner, who is my second-best-friend-in-law.

All weekend the weather was manic. We never got to show Lindsay the view of Mt. Hood from our balcony, but we did get to see a rainbow and a full moon.

One last thought...Lindsay brought her Snuggie in an attempt to convince Rusty to let me get one. Here is Rusty testing it out.

If anyone needs to buy me a gift, please get me a micro-plush Snuggie from Costco. If you do, I will dedicate a blog to you.

Nephews

2009-08-29T21:29:00.000-07:00

I officially have four nephews. They are quite possibly the cutest things that have ever lived.

Dyson - This could be used as an advertisement for tuxes. He is so handsome.

Colby - He is a true artist. He was a big hit as our entertainment.

Hank - Cuteness! He was so cautious with the rings.

Max - Dancing the afternoon away!

Here are a few more.

Identity Crisis

2009-08-26T18:34:00.000-07:00

I think I am having an identity crisis. Currently, I am stuck in some weird transition phase and I am not sure how to deal with it. I graduated, which was fun. I got married, which was pretty super-fantastic! With these wonderful events, why am I so lost? The positive thing about an identity crisis is it allows for self-analysis and self-exploration. Hopefully this means I will end up a better person, which is a good thing.

We did it!

2009-06-15T22:46:00.001-07:00

Sometimes I can't believe it and I still don't think it has set in, but WE ARE COLLEGE GRADUATES! Since I have been working towards this for a decade, it is surreal that it is over, well at least for now. I should probably just register for some classes next year, as school is obviously some odd form of a security blanket for me.

Special thanks to all our visitors, you made the weekend one of the best we've ever had. Thanks Mom, Jimmy, Adam, Terese, Jeri, Griff, Randy, Rick, Miner, Susie, Cooky, and of course the Miner girls. Thank you for your love and support.

All we have left to do is put these babies on in 27 day! See you in Chicago!

How many months?

2009-03-12T21:37:00.000-07:00

3 months from today Rusty and I will be done with our BS degrees and 4 months from today we will be husband and wife! I cannot believe it finally feels like these events are happening sooner rather than later. Since commencement falls on Rusty's birthday, we decided to have a weekend bash for everyone making the trip to Portland.

We are still ironing out the fine details of the weekend activities, so things could change slightly, but here is a tentative itinerary for everyone attending:

Friday, June 12th
Pizza Party Dinner at Apizza Scholls

Saturday, June 13th
Commencement Ceremony 10am - 1pm
Luncheon at Widmer Gasthaus 1:30pm - 4:30pm
Bowling Party at PSU Lanes 6:30pm - 8:30pm

Sunday, June 14th
BBQ at Rooster Rock State Park

Both of us are truly excited for these very important events. We are happy that so many family members and some friends will be able to celebrate with us!

Have you ever had breakfast with a geologist?

2009-02-22T15:22:00.000-08:00

I have been meaning to post this for awhile. Rusty and I just happened to catch this episode when it aired a few weeks back. It was pretty random, since we do not watch the show regularly. Make sure you have your volume on for this one!

Winter Blues

2009-02-02T20:28:00.000-08:00

This last month has got me down! I cannot pinpoint the exact cause. Maybe it was being sick twice, a canceled wedding, an unwelcome birthday, feeling unfulfilled at work or some combination of these events. My mom laughed at me when I said I had the winter blues. The idea of winter blues in a place that rarely sees snow and has temperatures in the 50's pretty frequently is laughable. Usually, I would blame it on all the winter rain in Portland, but this year there has not been much. My boss even informed me today that the tulips in her garden are starting to grow. I just have not wanted to do anything. No cooking, cleaning, homework, exercise, nothing. I have been lazy.

With the passing of January, this phase seems to have passed too. Yesterday, I cleaned, did laundry and just felt great! Today I noticed the sun rises a little earlier and it sets a little later. For some reason, that makes me very happy. Even if the lame groundhog saw his shadow this morning and we have 6 more weeks of winter. I say, bring it on, I am ready!

Less than 6 months!

2009-01-20T09:00:00.001-08:00

We have a new wedding date and location. Sunday, July 12, 2009 in Chicago!

Mele Kalikimaka

2008-12-25T12:43:00.000-08:00

Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say
On a bright Hawaiian Christmas Day
That's the island greeting that we send to you
From the land where palm trees sway
Here we know that Christmas will be green and bright
The sun to shine by day and all the stars at night
Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaii's way
To say "Merry Christmas to you."

Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say
On a bright Hawaiian Christmas Day
That's the island greeting that we send to you
From the land where palm trees sway
Here we know that Christmas will be green and bright
The sun to shine by day and all the stars at night
Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaii's way
To say "Merry Christmas to you."

Rusty has been wanting a GPS navigation device for months, which I find strange because he does not drive very often when we are at home. Either way I got it for him because I knew he would use it every time we travel. Needless to say we have used it everyday here!

Rusty gave me the most wonderful earrings ever! They are three sets of pearls - white, pink, and black. I really wanted something I could wear everyday and these are just perfect. He is so thoughtful and wonderful and I am so lucky to have him in my life.

We are so grateful for our wonderful families! We love you all and wish you a great 2009!

Ghost of Christmas Present

2008-12-11T18:46:00.000-08:00

Rusty surprised me with tickets to see "A Christmas Carol" at the Portland Center Stage. He said we needed some Christmas spirit here. I love all holidays equally, but I really enjoy the hustle and bustle of this time of year. Although, this year has not been the same. I think the combination of finals, Adam and Terese's visit, and preparation for Kauai have thrown me into a holiday funk. Also, the weather has been pretty good this fall.

The play seemed to do the trick and all I want to do is go Christmas shopping now! It was a really great performance and a perfect date! I thought I would include a picture of our tree. It has a few presents underneath it now. I am still like a child and once I see a present I want to open it immediately. Luckily I have Rusty to keep me in line!

Go Cavemen!

2008-12-02T20:57:00.000-08:00

One of the many reasons I love Rusty is because he always expresses himself. He writes letters to his congressman when he deems necessary. He fills out comment cards and surveys every chance he gets. He even sends emails to ESPN about his fantasy football team.

He listens to ESPN's podcasts while working and last night decided to email the Fantasy Focus guys Matthew Berry, Nate Ravitz, and the producer PodVader. Today they responded to his email in ESPN's Fantasy Focus podcast. Click here to listen.

You can fast forward to 24:30 - 30:11 they refer to Rusty quite a few times in a little over five minutes. It is really funny and I know it made his day.

Flat Stanley

2008-11-02T18:51:00.000-08:00

We had a visitor for the weekend, Flat Stanley. He traveled to Portland in an envelope all the way from South Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He came from my cousin's daughter, Jordyn. Flat Stanley had a fun trip out west, but I think he is ready to get back to Jordyn. Here are the things we did with Flat Stanley.

Stanley went to school with Rusty and got to go to an outdoor lab. Portland State University is Oregon's largest university with over 26,000 students. Since it has been rainy here, we had to get a poncho for Flat Stanley. It may look like a plastic bag, but that is really his poncho.

They went to Tryon State Park to identify soil. Tryon State Park is Oregon's only state park in a metropolitan area. It is also an old landslide, so it is very interesting to geologists. While at the park, Flat Stanley climbed a tree.

On Saturday, Flat Stanley went to check out the goods at the Portland Farmer's Market. The Portland Farmer's Market runs from April through December. The sellers at the market have deep roots is Oregon and Washington, including farms, nurseries, bakeries, meat and seafood providers, cheese makers, specialty foods producers. We were going to the market to pick up some apples.

On Sunday, we took a trip to Multnomah Falls. Multnomah Falls is the second largest year-round waterfall in the United States. There are two levels to the waterfall that total 620 feet. While at the waterfall we even saw salmon in the stream.

After our morning trip, it was time for us to put to use the apples we purchased at the Portland Farmer's Market. We went to visit a friend in Vancouver, Washington to make carmel apples. Vancouver, Washington is less than 10 miles from Portland. The two states are separated by the Columbia River, which is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest.

Flat Stanley enjoyed a busy weekend here, but is happy to be returning to Jordyn in South Milwaukee!

More information on Flat Stanley: http://www.flatstanley.com/

The Death of Capitalism

2008-10-27T21:08:00.000-07:00

Capitalism in this country is dead. We are all socialists. The billion dollar bail outs have nationalized the banks. In a purely capitalist society there would have been no bail out and in no way would the government step in to avoid a recession, or even a depression. The banks and financial institutions would have just been allowed to fail and let the market sort things out. As I am sure all of you know the federal government has approved an 800 billion dollar bail out and they are looking for more bail out dough. Normally I would be excited about a move towards socialism but this bail out move has no benefits for the American people. This cowardly move somehow socializes our credit, but gives the tax payers supporting these subsidies nothing in return. Why do we get stuck with the bills of socialism but none of the social programs? In other countries utilizing a socialist government paying more money gets you more stuff. When I say stuff I mean insurance, education and public transportation. It is time to admit that capitalism has failed. When we as taxpayers are stepping in and propping up corporations, it's time to admit defeat and adopt a truly socialist agenda and give us the social programs that we are paying for.

Get over the American dream people. We have an aristocracy in this country that hordes all the wealth, steals from the middle class and is have widened the gap between rich and poor to the largest differential in the history of this country. Karl Marx said that workers in different countries have more in common than the class that rules above them. We have been brainwashed with nationalism that is somehow intertwined with capitalism and we are clinging to it as it destroys us. Let go of the greed and share the wealth. When discussing this with a myriad of people Americans don't like the idea of paying for other people. What they don't understand is that we are not the people paying, we are the ones receiving. We are the ones getting free health insurance and education. We are the beneficiaries of public transportation and medication. Why doesn't everyone see this? I guarantee that if you know me and are reading this post you are in the same shoes I am in and my parents are in and my grandparents are in. Middle class. Who is the last person you know who rose out of this middle class that you know? And I am talking about trust fund babies who donate buildings to large universities, not someone with a nice house and a Mercedes. Bill Gates and a few others made it, you will not. So please before its too late let go of your greedy dreams of wealth and embrace a new dream of a stronger more educated and even middle class.

$250,000 Insanity

2008-10-23T15:59:00.000-07:00

So, I was reading my future brother-in-law's blog and it got me all fired up. The nonsense of "Joe the Plumber", "Joe Six-Pack" and I don't want to forget the original, "Joe Blow", is driving me insane.

People are confused and this is leading them to miss a very important word, INCOME. Owning a business is NOT equal to earning an income of $250,000. One is an individual's income and the other is a business's profits. They are different! People need to realize that you can own a business that earns a profit and still not have an income over $250,0000. In my profession, I have had access to payroll records for 10 years. Here is what I have actually witnessed. The multi-million dollar companies have 1 position that made over $250,000 this was the owner/President/CEO. The small businesses are fighting to earn a profit and the owner/President/CEO did not make more than $250,000. In fact, one owner's income was $125,000. He was living in downtown Chicago and putting two kids through private school and living just fine! These businesses are all larger than Joe's "hypothetical" plumbing business!

Great example, the restaurant company I worked for that was sold last year for $100 million dollars had 2 employees over $250,000 (both were owners) the 50 person management team made between $100,000 and $200,000. The remaining 2448 employees made under $100,000. For those of you that need percentages that breaks out to:
Employees over $250,000: .08% (No, not 8%, but less than 1%)
Employees over $100,000 but under $250,000: 2%
Employees under $100,000: 97.92%

My last point is one the first $250,000 they would be taxed the same. The tax only increases on the $250,001 dollar. So if you make $255,000, you would only be paying extra tax on $5,000, which is less than 2% of your total income! End rant.

Does this mean I need to change my blog to Letty Rants Rusty Loves? It just doesn't have the same ring to it!

Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!

2008-10-19T19:59:00.000-07:00

Here it is folks an actual picture of my ballot.

For the third election in a row a vote for Nader is cast. Over the past 12 years I have received quite a bit of criticism for my Nader votes, so I thought I would take this opportunity to explain myself to my reading audience.

First of all, I know that Nader will not win. Others need not point this out to me. I do not have any crazy ideas that Nader will be sworn in as President. That being said, I feel like I need to vote for the candidate that resembles my views on politics. That candidate is Nader. More people need to vote for candidates that actually stand for their views. Not the candidate that resembles most of your views, but the one that represents your actual views. This is nearly impossible in this country. Each election pits two idiots against each other and no other candidates are considered. Nader himself does not think he is going to win. He tells people in swing states to vote Democratic. His plan is that states whose outcomes are already decided (which are all the states I have ever voted in namely Utah and Oregon) left minded voters should choose Nader. The idea being that in one of these elections Nader can get 3% of the popular vote and thus earn the green party or whatever ticket he is running on a chance to be part of a presidential debate. This would begin to bring about the end of the two party system allowing more views to be represented in the presidential election, and perhaps more importantly, reduce corporate influence on the White House. So please, before you criticize me or vote for Obama in Utah or McCain in Oregon, think about the big picture and vote for the future, which is a voting for Nader.

My name is Rusty Griffin and I approve this message.

The best thing about Portland

2008-10-04T21:05:00.000-07:00

The best thing about Portland is the farmer's market. This takes place every Saturday on the South Park Blocks at PSU. It runs every Saturday from April to December and it is the best thing about Portland. Although we have walked through it en route to other destinations, last weekend was the first time we walked completely through it (thank you Griff for that request). I had some fantastic organic oatmeal with walnuts and raisins for breakfast and the boys had Italian sausage sandwiches. This has become my new must see destination for any future visitors, as long as it is running. The picture above shows today's finds, which include the lovely fall bouquet, an eggplant, a zucchini, two onions, and red and white peaches.

Engagement Photos

2008-09-25T19:17:00.000-07:00

A local Portland photographer and a friend of ours through our ex-neighbor Kelly, Andrea Lorimor shot our engagement photos. Here are a few.

This one is in honor of our upcoming wedding at Gardiner's Tennis Resort

My Gram

2008-09-16T13:01:00.000-07:00

I recently had the pleasure of spending a lot of time with my Grandma. She was in Montana for the summer so we caught up with her on our trip there and then she accompanied Rusty and I to Madison. She was there to keep me company while Rusty worked all day. We got to do fun things like lunch, shop, and just hang out together.

There are so many things that I adore about her. She is nearing 84 (or 48 as she may tell you) and she is on her third ipod. The first one was not large enough to hold all of her music. It is so fun to hear her signing along and see her dancing around the room. She has such a passion for music and dancing. I think that along with her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren really gives her a zest for life.

There are too many great memories to share them all, but here are a few good ones.
*Going to visit them in Florida most spring breaks and Gram would always make chicken wings and tasty baked goods.
*Sleeping in a twin bed next to her and jabbering away, sometimes past 2 a.m., but I love hearing stories about her life from childhood until now.
*Taking her shopping for winter clothes when she moved back to Wisconsin. She thought she was six sizes larger than she is so we had some good laughs when she tried on her first outfit.
*When she met Rusty for the first time she gave him a shot of Polish vodka(she is 100% Polish). It was 10 a.m. and he had just flown in on a red-eye flight to meet my family and had not even had the chance to shower yet. I think that was the beginning of the beautiful bond between Rusty and Gram.
*Watching her and Rusty pick out songs on the computer to put on her ipod. She adores him and he is so patient with her lack of computer skills.

I truly cherish the times I spend with her.

School's over, so why are we so busy??

2008-08-19T20:29:00.000-07:00

I have spent the last 8 weeks in school, with the last four being especially intense. I was counting the days down until August 14th the last day of Summer school. I could not wait to be done and just relax.

Well, I guess I did not realize how much I had already planned. We leave tomorrow 8.20 for a 5 day trip to Montana to visit my Grandma who is spending the summer with my Aunt & Uncle. We will be going to a MASH-themed hospital fund raiser and hopefully hiking through Glacier National Park. We have visited Glacier one other time, but it was March and there was a lot of snow still, so not much to see. It will be nice to spend some more time with Grandma, so Rusty and I can fight over who she loves more. He thinks it is him and I know it is me!

We get back to Portland on Monday and get to work all week, but then Saturday morning we leave for Utah. It will just be a short trip to Utah to get Rick and Amanda and bring them back to Portland. It sure will be nice to have some more friends here, since the departure of Erica and Landon and our neighbor Kelly. We miss you guys much here! We will leave Utah Sunday morning in the caravan so we can get back to Portland with minimal Labor Day Weekend traffic. If anyone has ever been in car with Rusty during traffic they know it is not pleasant! He is such a passionate person and I love that about him, but baby it is traffic and sometimes you just have to deal with it. No one likes sitting in traffic, trust me!

We will again be home for enough days to complete a full week of work and we are off to Chicago on 9.05. Rusty has to go to Madison, Wisconsin for work and we are flying in a day early to see my family. It should be fun to spend a few days in Madison. Portland reminds me of Madison, so we will have to see if what I remember is true. We return to Portland on 9.11, which gives us two and a half weeks until school starts!

I hope these next few weeks do not fly by too fast, because I have lots of wedding details to work out. I figure as long as we are out of school we can get some of the vendors booked. We will be making a trip to Carmel in December to finalize a few more things for the wedding and then we are off to HAWAII for Christmas! That is courtesy of Rusty's work! I swear he has the best job. We get to see my family and go to Hawaii for the cost of my airfare. I hope they have palm trees decorated with Christmas lights! I used to think I needed snow for it to feel like Christmas, but somehow I think palm trees will compensate just fine! I will post some pictures when we get back.

Farewell to Favre

2008-08-06T21:07:00.000-07:00

Brett Favre is trading the gold for the white and is on way to the Jets! Currently, Brett Favre has not signed off on the trade, so it is not official. Also, the Jets need to make some moves to fit Favre's $12 million contract within their salary cap. It seems for all intensive purposes that these things are just formalities at this point.

While many people are sick of the daily Favre updates, you can hardly put the blame on him. Yes, he changed his mind. Get over it, people do it all the time. The media totally blew it out of proportion. Maybe the folks at ESPN took a vacation this summer and it is all Stuart Scott could come up with on his own. The Packers management did not help the situation either. Maybe if they would have kept their mouths shut when the questions rolled in, the media would not have been like parasites on their every word. The management obviously feels like they have something to prove with Aaron Rodgers. It is like Ted Thompson has a man-crush on Rodgers since he was his first. It seems odd because the management should be about winning and to do that you want the best players at each position. Well, for my love of the Packers, I hope that the irrational thinking of the Thompson/McCarthy duo pans out for the team.

Maybe this is something others do not understand because the Packers do not have an owner. The team has always been portrayed to us cheeseheads as "our" team. Well, there are not many of "us" that would have ran Favre out of town. From the time I was old enough to watch TV, we watched the Packers every Sunday, even in the Majkowski years. It is just what my family did, it is what everyone I know did for as long as I can remember. The last time I cheered for the Packers without Favre at quarterback I was fresh out of grade school. I will be 30 in a few months, so to me that is a long time.

Well as an era in Green Bay ends, hopefully a new one begins for Brett Favre with the Jets. It is funny, for the last year, I have been telling Rusty that I want to be a Jets fan and now I have a reason. I happen to enjoy the J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets cheer! I hope that Favre fits into Mangenius' plan to dethrone the Patriots in quest for world domination.

California

2008-07-13T23:03:00.000-07:00

We finally set a date! August 8, 2009 is only 389 days away and I will be Collette Griffin. My mom, her best friend, Mary, and I took a 2 day getaway to Monterey and Carmel Valley. Just a little girls weekend away that was so much fun! Although the trip started off on a sour note, with two and a half hour delayed flights, it was very worth every minute I waited in the airport. We did some wine tasting, lunched at a quaint cafe, spent five and a half hours at the wedding venue, had an excellent dinner on the Pacific Ocean and most importantly enjoyed each other's company. I vote for a girls weekend every year!

Here is a picture of the smoke from one of the Californian wildfires rising above the clouds as visible from the airplane!

The venue! The gazebo in the right corner will be where the ceremony takes place with a dinner and reception poolside.

Just us girls!

Mom and Mary with Monterey's Cannery Row in the background. This picture was actually taken in the dark, so my apologies for the clarity.

I love wildlife in the wild. Notice there are two starfish the orange one and a purple one.

I wanted to take that sea lion home because he was so darling.

One last item that is not related to the trip to California, I had ordered two of the dresses that were pictured below and they were horrible. Neither had cap sleeves or any other sleeves of any kind. One did not have the pleats on the upper half of the dress as clearly pictured below. So I am back to searching. If anyone happens to come across a dress similar to the one's posted below, please let me know. Here is the only thing I have found recently and would love some opinions!

Pink or Red?

2008-07-07T18:08:00.001-07:00

So, apparently Collette wants a pink wedding. This would be fine if she was a 16 year old on an MTV reality show. I feel that when a young woman passes the age of 19 they graduate from pink to red. Not "holy crap that dress is red!", but Boston Red Sox red or American Fork Caveman red. Of course, Collette tried to convince me that pink can be classy, so I am asking you all who read this blog which should be the wedding color? Please vote knowing that I am against pink and Collette is against red. So compromise is not an option because the dresses happen to come in two colors only, pink and red.

The Oregon Coast.....I'm Over It

2008-07-01T21:02:00.000-07:00

Rusty and I decided to beat the heat this weekend, so we drove out to the coast for the day. Before we left I checked weather.com, which informed me it would be 77 degrees and partly cloudy. Sounds pretty perfect for a day of napping, reading, and listening to our ipods on the beach. When we arrived it was overcast and cool, about 60 degrees. We headed into Mo's for some chowder, or chili in my case. Towards the end of our lunch the sun began to peak out from the clouds. We grabbed our beach blanket and headed to claim a plot of sand. The sun and clouds started to alternate and it was definitely warming up. The next hour seemed to be the highlight of the day as the weather started to decline. Well, it never reached 70 degrees, let alone the predicted 77 degrees. It was also mostly cloudy with occasional sun and a strong cool breeze. This agitated me slightly.

The first time Rusty took me to the coast it was 85 and sunny, which I thought was pretty standard. Congrats, you fooled me! Since that memorable day, we have been to the coast a few times and no matter what time of year it was it has been between 50 and 65 degrees, foggy, rainy, windy, and cool. It just seems so unfair! The coast looks so pretty why can't the weather be nicer? Lately, the weather in Portland has been on my nerves. We had such a long winter. It was cool and rainy until June and then it was 107 degrees 3 weeks later. Rusty has a simple solution for my constant quest for perfect weather..."Move to San Diego!" Ahh, I can only hope that one day we will be able to. Rusty could have season tickets for the Chargers and life would be good. I heard rumors of beaches that have nice weather and I can only hope that what I have heard is true. In the words of Ron Burgundy "Stay classy San Diego!"

Poll: Which dress do you like the best?

2008-06-25T13:59:00.000-07:00

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

Sweet Home Chicago

2008-06-12T08:22:00.000-07:00

We are going to Chicago today, so that means finals are over! I am so excited and I think we are both looking forward to a break. Only one more year of this and we are done. We will have commencement on Rusty's birthday next year, so we will have a lot to celebrate. The good thing about school being done (well sort of, I am taking two classes this summer and Rusty is taking one) is I get to start making actual wedding plans.

Waiting

2008-06-10T17:20:00.000-07:00

Here is a list of things I am currently waiting for:
-Work to be over for today
-Finals to be over for this term
-Our trip to Chicago
-Rusty's birthday
-My tooth to get fixed so we can have engagement photos taken
-To choose a venue for our wedding
-The sun to come out in Portland - It has been a dark, cold Spring!

I am sure there are many more, but at least now I am waiting a little less longer than I was when I began this post.

Back off man, I'm a scientist.

2008-06-10T16:37:00.000-07:00

So yesterday at dinner Collette and I were talking about the flood at Lake Delton in Wisconsin. If you don't know about it yet here is a brief synopsis: After receiving copious amounts of rain in a relatively short time span a reservoir overran its banks spilling water around the dam eventually causing the dam to collapse. As you can imagine, a lot of water was released and a few homes were destroyed and carried away. There was quite a bit of video footage of the erosional forces at work and it was pretty spectacular how quickly the soil was removed undermining the footings of these summer homes and eventually destroying them completely.

As a budding scientist interested in fluvial processes, and especially erosional forces of rivers I reflected on the the engineering and geo-technical research that would have been necessary to build the dam that eventually burst. Surely the geologist and engineers knew the limits of the dam (especially when the height of the water was higher than the dam itself). You don't have to be an engineer to realize that your dam isn't high enough when water is pouring over the top. Anyway, since Collette is taking an in depth statistics course we talked about the probability associated with these types of storm events. You may or may not know this but all engineering decisions are based not only on the science of what has happened in the past but the probability of things that are going to happen. When the Lake Delton dam was built (or the New Orleans dikes for that matter) the engineers most likely designed multiple bridge strengths for different rain events. These rain events were then assigned some number relating how likely such a large storm would be. Of course building a stronger dam, or dike, or bridge costs more money. The cost would then be weighed against the probability of catastrophe, and then some non-scientist or engineer would decide which dam to build. That's right some politician or lobbyist or whatever (probably a know nothing lawyer) would decide how much money there was to spend and choose the cheapest dam. Now I understand that over engineering our infrastructure would not be a good thing to do, but I feel that too much of our infrastructure here in the U.S. was built by the lowest bidder with minimal safety in mind. No way should the dikes of New Orleans have failed during a category four hurricane. The area routinely gets category three hurricanes... didn't you think a four was just around the corner?

Now I know you all think I am going to go off on another capitalist rant here but I am not. I will not bring up the fact that capitalism ruins everything. (ha ha too late) What I will say however is that building permanent cities is dangerous business. Just think of all the environmental alterations necessary to make a permanent settlement. For example rivers are supposed to flood. That is what they do. Problem is a flooding river is hard to build houses next to. So we build a dam. Is your harbor filling up with sand and you are worried about getting your fishing boat out to sea? Worry no longer as the Corp of Engineers is here to dredge the bottom of the bay so your boat can still get in and out. For thousands of years the Mississippi River has meandered freely back and forth creating the Louisiana delta. It no longer has this ability as it is dredged and concreted into place. Why? To keep a steady flow of ships, and ultimately money coming into the south. Are you living in a desert? Where is your water coming from? Reservoirs, depleting of ground water? Either way stressing water supplies has caused droughts all over the U.S. and the world. I could go on and on. So where should humans live? In what type of setting could man exist that wouldn't completely screw up the surrounding ecosystems yet support a few million of us? You guessed it...man should exist nomadically. Hey it worked for thousands of years, why not now? Think about it. No more problems with water - just wander where it is raining. Too much rain? Walk a few degrees south in latitude and blamooo... sunshine. Need food? Just follow the bison west during the spring and summertime and we are all living like fat cats. Humans are hunter/gathers and it seems we have forgotten who we are with all this city building. So...what say you men? Who is with me? Who will gather their tepee, saddle their horse and throw off the bonds of civilization?
No one?
I figured as much. I just hope that the probability of disaster is low enough and the inexpensive infrastructure survives until Madden09 comes out. It will be so sick. Good Luck.

Parrallel Universe

2008-06-03T10:42:00.000-07:00

Have you ever executed a google search of your own name? It is pretty creepy. Also depressing. Maybe if you actually got a return of yourself it would be exhilarating. Unfortunately when you google Rusty Griffin you get a huge list of people with my name that are not me. For instance, did you know that some guy named Rusty Griffin is a sheriff in Texas? Or how about this Rusty Griffin in Colorado who has a wife named Holly and just got back from Mount Rushmore? He seems like a typical American. I found people with my name that were writers, politicians, advertising executives and some guy who owns a chain of lakes. A freaking chain of lakes? I hope to one day own a chain of ponds myself so I felt some sort of connection to this particular Rusty Griffin.

After googling myself I decided to check out a few more things. My home network here is called GrifWorks and if I were to ever start up some sort of business that would be the preferred name. So just for fun I typed www.grifworks.com. Guess what? Some dude back east who has a computer degree in HTML programming already has my address. Does that mean I will have to be a dot net or a dot org? This is crap. So I read on and the guy's name is Ryan Griffith and all of his email addresses begin with rgriff@! So this the guy that steals my username. I knew it wasn't Randy or Rick. So it must be this Ryan clown. Hmmm. Pretty lame.

Collette always complains that her name is so long and hates spelling it for everyone. Type her name into google and the first return is this blog. I have searched for most of my friends and family on google here are some results:

Randy - boxer penalized for a low blow, suspended in 2003. Searching with UT found the real Randy's phone number and insurance info.
Jenni - photographer of some sort. Searching with UT found real Jenni's phone number and links to different blogs.
Rick - artist, actually a really good artist. Also a professor at UVSC (didn't the real Rick graduate from there) Couldn't find the real Rick on google.
Mom - Google wanted me to change the spelling to Jerry. Couldn't find the real mom.
Dad - first return real estate in Blanding. Nice job Griff. You exist.

Strange that someone else could have your name. I wonder if they were called Crusty Rusty like I was. Hopefully they all are named Russell and I am the only true Rusty. One thing for sure, I am the best looking of the group.

Have fun wasting the next two hours googling yourself. Late.

Wedding

2008-06-02T20:08:00.000-07:00

This weekend we went to Chicago for the wedding of my friends Jami and Mike. Jami planned an extravagant wedding down to each perfectly monogrammed detail. I think it was good for us to see how a wedding can be done and decide how we want to do things.

This is Rusty and I before the rehearsal dinner, which of course was amazing!

Here is a picture from their ceremony. Yes, Mike is 6'8" and Jami is 5'4", which made it difficult to get a good picture with both of them.

This is Rusty and I at the dinner reception! It was in a lovely botanical garden called Crystal Gardens at Navy Pier. It was magnificent and the greenery really set a fantastic ambiance.

This was their first dance. It was sung by the most amazing opera singer who was blind. I do not think there was a dry eye in the place, including ours. It gave me chills up and down my spine. The phenomenal music continued all night with a 10 person band who sang every genre of music perfectly! We had so much fun dancing!

Here is a picture of the maid and matron of honor. Notice the lush greenery all around.

We are both exhausted from our trip, but it was so much fun. We got to eat some fantastic food at the wedding, but most of all in my old neighborhood! I forgot how much I miss Italian food! I feel so lucky that we get to return to the Windy City in 10 days! It is always nice to visit Mom, Jimmy, Adam and Terese.

Snaggletooth

2008-05-13T22:11:00.000-07:00

I hate the dentist. It is not the actual person that I despise it is the situation. I hate that my mouth is open for what seems like an eternity (although my dentist has a lovely tooth pillow, which props your mouth open). I hate that it dries my lips out. I hate the sound the tools make. I hate the smell of the tools. There is nothing more that I dislike doing. I think if I had to go every 6 months for a cleaning and that is all then I would be fine, but every time I visit the dentist they tell me I need something fixed, replaced or upgraded. When does it end??? I get it I have less than stellar teeth. Always have and always will! It never mattered what I did as a kid I always had cavities, sometimes needing crowns and even root canals. I am sure it drove my mother nuts!

So recently, I decided to get my lower tooth fixed. I was hit in the mouth with a baseball in 1993 and it broke my tooth in half. My childhood dentist, aka "the butcher", fixed me up with a lovely temporary tooth that lasted me until Monday. One would assume that after 15 years the temporary tooth just gave out and needed to be replaced, but No it was my own vanity. Although the tooth looked ok, you could see a green wire in one of the corners. This was not noticeable until brought it to one's attention, but I guess I had enough. So,the plan was to go in on Monday and have my tooth prepped and fitted for a permanent crown, but while my custom tooth was being created in the lab I would be stuck with another temporary tooth for 3 weeks. At the beginning of my appointment I express my reluctantcy, since we were planning on having our engagement photos taken next week. So I make it through 2 and 1/4 hours of my biggest nightmare and what do I end up with? A snaggletooth. There are so many tings wrong with this tooth. It is too wide for my mouth and pushes against my neighboring teeth. It is too fat and rubs against the inside of my lip. Worst of all, the tooth overlaps my gums! This looks HIDEOUS! So needless to say I postponed the engagement photos until I have my new tooth not a snaggletooth!

Taxation Without Representation

2008-05-09T14:35:00.000-07:00

So the other day I decide to write a letter to my congressman. Oh yeah, didn’t I tell you? I write my congressman all the time. His name is Gordon H. Smith and his stamped signature looks really authentic. Anyway, I wrote this particular letter in regards to the state of health care in this once proud nation, and how the community would be better served as a whole by providing some sort of national health care program. Now I didn’t go into specifics of how I would bring about this plan, but something needs to be done and someone smarter than me or George W needs to figure something out quick. The kind and generous senator then took the time out of his busy schedule to ask his secretary, who asked her assistant, who farmed some work to a letter writing sweat shop in Taiwan, and had a nice form letter, complete with a blue stamped signature sent to my house. (By the way the blue ink didn’t trick me Gordo! I know it was supposed to look like you signed the letter with a blue pen in a different font, but I know it is just color ink from a printer. Good try there pal.) How nice of him. And to think that it only took him 4 months to get this whole process done. This is government efficiency at its best.

The senator opens his letter thanking me for taking the time to write him. Whatever. Just like this is your real signature? Liar. He then restates my question giving me statistics that back up my claim that America needs some sort of health care reform. Thanks a lot. I know what I wrote to you. You don’t have to repeat what I just said. This is like all reality tv. When they go to commercial the next 2 minutes after commercial are the same two minutes you just watched. Why do they do this? Are there that many people going to the bathroom that need to be caught up? Just keep the show rolling. I can follow the storyline. The next two paragraphs of the letter inform me of all the great things that he [Mr. Smith] has been a part of in ‘fixing’ the health care problem. That’s who to blame for all this crap. Gordon Smith. He gives me the dates of acts and legislation that he has drafted and even more elaborate schemes that he is in the process of drafting. I am then assured that health care is a huge concern for him and he is on it. The kind senator ends by wishing me “warm regards” and uses a blue ink to forge his own signature.

I can’t believe that this is how informal our government is. I know that Mr. Smith is probably a really busy man and does not have time to answer all the letters he gets; but come on. At least try a little. Maybe? I think if I had wrapped my letter in a check for $100,000 he would have sent me a personally signed letter. Perhaps if an upscale call girl delivered my note he would have paid it more attention. But alas, I am but a commoner with no representation in this so called democracy. For the third time in twelve years I will vote for Ralph Nader in November in hopes that one day a third party will be allowed to participate in the election process. There are more than two views in this country, why are there only two choices in political policy? Maybe I should write a letter to my congressman about this.

What a Difference a Week Makes

2008-05-03T19:04:00.000-07:00

So last week I was preparing to spend the summer alone. Rusty was preparing to accept a job in Alaska this summer for 14 weeks. He completed a wilderness first aid course and gun safety. Although it was the best move for our future, I was totally bumming about spending the summer alone! The summer in Portland is the best part of living here. So he decides to talk to his employers this week and let them know he intends to leave mid-June. To our surprise they decide to promote him from GIS Specialist 1 to a GIS Specialist 5! So no more Alaska (whew what a relief). Later that day, Rusty was elected as one of two coordinators to the Geology Club at PSU. It is even a paid position. So now he has to plan some fun geological activities for the club.

Rusty left this morning for a class field trip and this is what he looked like. If this is not Rusty in his prime I do not know what is!

Blah

2008-04-29T20:51:00.000-07:00

So after hours and days of begging and pleading I have decided to post a rant. Apparently it is important that I blab on and on for the sake of the blog title.

How does a cake match your freaking personality? I am watching some stupid wedding cake show (I wonder who is in charge of the remote control) and some dumb couple is wringing their hands and pulling out their hair trying to decide which layered cake best encompasses who they are. Are you kidding me? First of all, who gives a crap. Second of all how in the hell are you turning this into a one hour show designed to sell me something? Please. Can we please turn the channel? Come on. Guess what people, there is no cake that completes you. You will both be dumb and ugly even with your 10 layer wedding cake with the blueberry truffles. Oh by the way, you suck too. Want to know which cake completes me? Jello cake. The end. Show over. Now be a good capitalist and go buy something.

Speaking of non-capitalists, I was listening to a version of Stand by Me that was recorded by John Lennon and I was thinking how cool it would have bee to hang out with that dude. I bet it would have been sweet. Probably a lot sweeter than watching this freaking refuse that they call television. If I wasn't so lazy I would be doing something different.

Late.

PS. This blog was censored by one Collette. My first amendment rights have be compromised. Kjemp imot.

Rings!

2008-04-25T22:16:00.000-07:00

We got the ring design from the jeweler today and I am excited. Here is the history of the ring. The ring originally belonged to Rusty's Great-Great Grandma and it was passed down to Rusty through his Grandma Griffin. Since the ring is around 100 years old, the band was quite worn and there was some damage to the setting. We decided to have a jeweler replicate the original setting and transfer the original diamonds. We dropped the ring off at the jeweler's a few weeks ago so he could work on the replication. We promptly rushed to Target where Rusty purchased the finest ring that $14.99 can buy. I have been wearing the fake bling for the last few weeks. The high quality sterling silver is beginning to wear and a nice copper color is showing through. Finally, we received the design pictures today of the replication ring and we get to go see it in wax tomorrow. I cannot wait to see it. Enjoy the photos.

The Original Ring

The Fake Bling

The Replication

Blogs Aren't for Everybody!

2008-04-20T19:45:00.000-07:00

It's true blogs are not for everybody, but we thought we would give it a shot! Rusty needs a place to rant about the day-to-day things that drive him nuts and Collette needs a place to post wedding details and other things about our lives. Hopefully, these two blogging styles merge into one coherent piece of art.