Weekend Rundown

Lately I have been a bit of a homebody.  Little Pearl and I hang out around the house most of the time these days.  By the weekend I am itching to get out and do something.  Thank goodness I had a ton of fun events to go to over the weekend.

On Saturday morning, Pearl stayed home with her daddy while I attended the Portland Bloggers Meet-Up with Becca and Lauren.  I didn't take any photos of the event, but Sara and Jenni have great ones on their blogs.  There was delicious food and fun craft projects to do.  I actually ended up making one of the hair accessories I had pinned on Pinterest recently.  Thanks to Jenni for bringing the supplies!

After the event, I ran errands on my own which is so much faster than with a baby.  It was nice to check all of those things off the list.
On Saturday night we took Pearl over to a friend's house for dinner and conversation with a great group of people.  This is Pearl and her new friend Charlie.  He was born just a day after her!

Sunday morning, Pearl and I attended Lauren's baby shower.  It was beautifully planned.   The theme was "Fern" which will be her name.  I'm super excited to meet her in January!  See more photos on Lauren's blog over at Babble.

via

That evening, Pearl went and stayed with her grandparents while Jeremy and I went to LaMarcus Aldridge's Rip City Basketball Classic.  It was so nice to watch a basketball game and get a little taste of the NBA.  The lockout is bumming me out.  The game was heavy on offense and very light on defense, but there were a lot of fun plays and it was exciting to see what guys like Kevin Durant can do up close.

It was such a fun weekend!
-Kira

Clyde

I come from a family of Trail Blazers fans.  My grandpa Vern was there when they won the championship in 1977 and my dad raised us to be fans.  We would sit in the 300 section as kids and take turns using dad's binoculars.

I know you are not all Trail Blazers fans so let me just fill you in here...Clyde Drexler is kind of a big deal. He lead the Blazers to the championship game in 1990 and 1992 (although we did not win).  He is historically one of the best players in the NBA.  Sure, he won a championship with the Houston Rockets and works for them now, but he always will be a Blazer around here.  One of the best.

When I was in middle school my mom, sisters, and I had a Clyde Drexler sighting at the Lloyd Center Mall.  We started following him around.  He was the most exciting celebrity we had ever seen in real life at the time, but he was shopping with his kids so we eventually gave it a rest and quit stalking him.

My friend Gina is awesome, but she is not a huge Blazers fan.  She was going through some old family things and came across a Bill Walton doll and a 1986-87 media guide.  She gave them to me.  I was excited, and when she started to walk off she mentioned there was a signature or two in the media guide.  And guess who signed the book?  Clyde himself!

I am so excited about this.  It is a really fun addition to our small collection of Blazers memorabilia.
-Kira

Denver Trip Post #1 Blazers vs Nuggets

Our trip to Denver was mostly to attend a wedding and visit some friends, but since we are completely hardcore Trail Blazers fans we attended their game at the Pepsi Center vs. the Denver Nuggets on December 28th.  Both of us packed plenty of Blazers gear for the trip.  We had our Brandon Roy "Rip City" jerseys, but since he wasn't playing we decided to wear our retro t-shirts instead. 

 

The first half of the game was good, but our team completely fell apart in the second half.  It was weird and annoying, but nobody hassled us about being fans of the visiting and losing team which was nice. 
The stands were nearly full, but their fans were so quiet.  The loudest cheer I heard was when one of the announcers at the beginning mentioned something about Tim Tebow who plays for the Denver Broncos.  I kind of felt bad for the Nuggets, but I think maybe it's just different in Portland since we don't have an NFL team.  It seemed to me that it is much more fun to be a Trail Blazers fan.

Even though the game was bad we got a kick out of the guy next to us who was clearly a know-it-all and kept yelling suggestions to their team on how things should be done.  At half time there was a juggler and the know-it-all was telling his friend about how he had been juggling for 15 years and was much better than the guy out on the floor.  The guy declared that if people were entertained by this type of juggling then "the circus is dead."  I found that quite hilarious and we have found many opportunities since to use our new favorite phrase.

After the game, like giant nerds, we went down to the floor behind Mike Barrett and Mike Rice and waved to the camera during the post game show airing in Portland.  Then we met Mike Rice after their broadcast.  He was really nice and commented that he hoped the wedding we were attending went much better than the game did.

Overall, even though we did not get a win it was still a fun experience.
-Kira

P.S. Denver fans - why do you love the Birdman so much?  He is so GROSS!

Decoupage, and a little bit of sports talk...

One of the Christmas projects I am working on involves using the decoupage technique.  I haven't done it since I was a kid so I thought before working on gifts there should be a practice run.  I bought two little white ceramic bowls at Goodwill and used scrap fabric.  One thing I would change for the next round is to use lighter or brighter colors, but it worked and nothing is falling apart so it was a success!  I will probably use them to hold spools of thread.  My sewing stuff is pretty disorganized.

Now a message to the Trail Blazers...
You are breaking my heart right now.  Six losses in a row?  What the h-e-double hockey sticks is going on with you guys?  Let's come together as a team, play defense, and make some shots.  It seems so simple especially for a team with as much talent as you have. If there is any positive from tonight it is that we at least have Joel Przybilla back.  Ok...seriously, pull it together.
And a message to the Oregon State Beavers...
BEAT THE DUCKS! If you don't win I will live, but seriously wouldn't it be cool if you won?  It would.

Have a great weekend!
-Kira

My lucky day

Yesterday was my lucky day.  We attended the Blazers-Nuggets preseason game for which the tickets had been sent to us for free! I assumed they would be the cheap seats which was fine with me because those are the seats we usually pay for.  But, they were really good seats!  It was also a great game.  I'm so excited for the regular season to start.  I just love my Trail Blazers.

I also won this amazing giveaway yesterday! Around 740 people entered and somehow I won!  I rarely win things so this was a huge surprise.  Thank you to Joanna Goddard and My Rocking Wardrobe!  I'm still not sure what to get.  I love so many things.
The women's product is so pretty.

But, the little girls styles are way too cute. I have to buy something (or maybe multiple things) for my niece Maleah.  I already gave Kara the disclaimer that if I have a girl someday the items I choose have to be given back to me.  The top items on my list are these: 1, 2, 3, 4.

 Won't this cute thing just look adorable in those outfits?

 This photo was taken by Kacy Kizer.  The family pictures she took for Kara and Tyler turned out amazing.

-Kira

Rudy, This is How I Feel

I will start off by saying that maybe I am being slightly irrational here, but I am very upset with you, Rudy Fernandez.  Let me tell you why.

I used to love watching you play.  There were so many exciting moments in the 2008-2009 season with the fun Sergio alley-oop plays, no look passes, and watching you run down the court with three fingers out after hitting those 3's.  Your game was fun to watch.  I bought a Rudy Fernandez t-shirt.  I had jumped on the bandwagon.

I defended you during the dunk contest.  I said the competition was rigged (ok, I still believe that) and I blamed Pau Gasol for not being able to pass the ball behind his back correctly.

I was so angry with Trevor Ariza when he committed that flagrant foul against you. I still don't like the guy because of it.

This last season you were in a funk after coming back from your injuries.  I gave you the benefit of the doubt.  I hoped that McMillan would keep playing you and that you would get your confidence back.  I was excited for you when you got your start in the playoffs.  I was pretty disappointed when you didn't show up, but I still defended you.

Then you do THIS!

I've had it with you, Rudy.  I don't want you back.  You have ruined your trade value and now we can't get anything for you.  I hope you have to sit there for two years thinking about the fact that you made a mistake and nobody values you as much as you value yourself.  You're not a starter in the NBA.  The way you're talking, you must think you're on par with Lebron or Kobe.  You don't have that game, but you apparently have that ego.

If you decide to come back to the Blazers I will cheer for you to do well because they are my team, but right now you are on my bad side.  We don't deserve this from you.  Get over yourself.

Go Blazers!
-Kira

My Favorite Season is Over

Many of you may know that my favorite season of the year is the NBA season.  I LOVE the Portland Trail Blazers.  Last night we went to Game 6 of the playoffs (Portland vs. the Phoenix Suns).  This year was not our year I guess, and although we had an amazing run in the fourth quarter to tie the game we ended up losing.  That means the season is over.  I am having a bit of a hard time coping with the fact that I will not have Blazers to watch until October when preseason starts up again.  But, I will make it and I bet my house will be cleaner and I will cook better dinners because of my extra time.

I just wanted to take this time to thank the team for all of their hard work this season.  Through crazy amounts of injuries these guys showed a tremendous amount of heart and I am very proud to call them my team.  I can't wait until next season!

-Kira

I Have Emerged

I am back.  I bet you didn't know I was gone.  I was away from my life for a while getting work done.  I think that whole life-work balance thing is important, but I'm still trying to completely figure that out.   For the time being though I should have my evenings and weekends back.  So, I'll take it!

I'm still trying to recuperate and I have the Blazer game to watch in a few minutes so I will leave you with this movie trailer.  Oh, Jeremy is so excited about this one:



Also, it's game 5.  The series is tied 2-2.  Brandon Roy is back! Go Blazers!
-Kira

Fun Baby Stuff

This weekend I attended my lovely friend Emily's baby shower in Medford.  She is having a little girl!  It was a long drive for one day (4.5 hours each way!).  But, it was great to see her and I was very impressed by the thoughtful gifts she received.  There were lots of crafty women at that shower!  There were two beautiful quilts, hand made toys, and a beautiful project done by Emily's sister Erica.  I took pictures of it and I really want to make one at some point, but I am not going to post my photos here.  I know she is planning on posting photos on her blog so you will have to check in there to see it.

Emily is planning on doing cloth diapers and I couldn't believe how heavy duty they looked or how amazingly adorable they are.  They also asked that people bring children's books as gifts to fill up the bookshelf.  What a great idea!  She received a ton of books that I'm sure they will be reading together for years to come.

I also had the opportunity to go to the dedication of my friends Jordan & Kelli's baby girl Lucy.  It was so great to see all of the parents committing to raise their family according to the word of God.  Hearing the fathers speak about their little ones was so sweet as well.  Lucy kept trying to grab the microphone while her dad was speaking, so cute!

Now I am waiting for the tip off of Game 1 for the playoffs Portland Trailblazers vs. the Phoenix Suns.  I am so nervous!  I really want our guys to pull this one out.

I hope you all have a great week!  I will be spending the majority of the week in my cubicle.  I have so much to do I think it would make more sense for me to just set up camp in the office.  But, things should be better once the week is done.

-Kira

*UPDATE - The Blazers Won! 

Good Weekend!

We had a fun weekend, but got nothing at all done on the house.  This is a quick rundown of what we did:

Jeremy has started coaching a flag football team on Saturday mornings.  I have been helping out with the concession stand, but got away for a few minutes to take some photos.  The league is pretty fun.  There are a couple of age groups that play and there are little cheerleaders too.  Don't worry though, girls are allowed to play flag football as well.  Before every game each kid runs through a tunnel as they announce their names. They make a big production out of it.  It's pretty great!

 We then headed to the PF Chang's at Bridgeport to meet my parents as well as Kara, Tyler, and Maleah. I thought it was pretty funny once I noticed Maleah was the only one using her chop sticks.  She was trying very hard and would not give up to use a fork.  After that Jeremy and I shopped around a bit.  Jeremy got himself a leather jacket at Urban Outfitters and some jeans at Levi's.

 Then we headed to the Rose Garden for the Nike Hoop Summit.  It was a lot of fun watching some extremely talented kids play.  It was also nice to sit in such great seats for once! We are usually up pretty high for the Blazer games.  The game was competitive and  the US and World teams were both exciting to watch.  Roeland Schaftenaar was sitting a couple of rows behind us.  That kid is super tall!  Jeremy was pretty excited to see him there.

 Today was kind of a lazy day.  I did a ton of laundry.

 I lifted some weights.  Below is what happens when Syd is let into the room.

 And, we watched the Blazers beat the Lakers on tv!  Now we are watching "Alien".  I bet you can guess whose turn it was to pick the movie.  I am gearing up for a really busy week at work coming up so I'm glad I decided to take the day to relax.  I needed it!

I hope you all had a great weekend!
-Kira

This Weekend

This weekend I...

• Went to Ikea with my mom, Kara, and Maleah.  I bought some really fun platters with birds on them and a vase.  While I was on the vase aisle a palette of glass vases fell over and broke behind me.  I was the only one on the aisle.  I swear I was like two feet away and it just happened to give out.  I don't know if they believed me.

• Went to YoCream with them also.  Maleah was more interested in the tiny sample she got than the giant cup Kara got for them to share.  I thought it was cute.
• We had our friends Kelli and Jordan over Friday night.  They brought their cute daughter Lucy as well.
• Had BBQ every night for dinner this weekend.
• Helped Jeremy install a window in our bedroom.

• Watched "The Dark Knight" then also watched "Thank You For Smoking".  I guess it was an Aaron Eckhart weekend.  My theory is that Katie Holmes got a little too close to Aaron in "Thank You for Smoking" so Tom wouldn't let her do "The Dark Knight" with him.  I don't care though, I prefer Maggie Gyllenhaal.
• Finished a book. 
• Went grocery shopping.
• Made chocolate chip cookies and made them a little too big.  Oops.  Not a terrible mistake though.

• Saw Ron Artest's new hairstyle on tv and thought it was hilarious. I love the crazy in him.

• Did laundry 
• Now getting ready to sit down and watch my Blazers play the dreaded Denver Nuggets.

Good weekend!
Kira

Best Christmas Gift

I love my Blazers! And the team I dislike the most (not counting the Lakers of course) is the Denver Nuggets. Last night we went to the Blazers-Nuggets game at the Rose Garden. I believe it may have been the best game I have ever attended. The Blazers won 107-96! Brandon Roy had 41 points, Steve Blake and Martell Webster were killing it with the three pointers, LaMarcus Aldridge had 13 rebounds, and Jerryd Bayless had some really awesome assists. Everyone who played contributed in a meaningful way. It was so exciting!
Read about it here. Or check nba.com, they actually have some great coverage from the game last night.

This is us, being excited!
I hope your Christmas was great too!
Kira