A Little Quiet Around Here

I know I haven’t been blogging much. I suppose I’m a little paralysed by the prospect of Thanksgiving and Christmas and everything I have to do over the next few weeks. Not that I’m doing anything about it. Usually having a deadline is just what I need to get things done but right now I feel incredibly unmotivated to do anything besides going to the gym.

Surprised? Me too. I think I just had to wait until technology caught up with my need to exercise. It makes it so much easier to stay on the treadmill when I only have 10 minutes left on the TV show I have streaming onto myi phone via Netflix. Right now I’m half way through season 3 of Damages, which I highly recommend for anyone needing a new addictive TV experience. I would appreciate recommendations for what I should watch next because, at the rate I’m watching these episodes, I only have a couple more weeks of workouts covered. Then what will I do?

It’s only Tuesday, but the weekend already feels like a distant memory. I think a lot of the blame lies with the Typhoon we’re currently experiencing in Portland – the one that makes me feel as though I must have moved to Japan because I know it rains here, but this is a little ridiculous.

Still, we had a dry weekend so I can’t complain too much (not that I won’t try). I spent most of it doing stuff around the house like cleaning before the cleaners arrive today (stopped myself short of scrubbing the bathroom), piles and piles of laundry (it was NOT a good week for the washing machine) and finally taking my car in to fix damage from when I was rear-ended in (cough!) March. Yes, it has taken me that long to do anything about it and I am only taking action now because my husband shamed me into it by getting the van fixed within mere weeks of his own accident. If your counting, that’s two rear-end accidents within the same year. How did we get so lucky?

In addition to all of the above, my husband took Thomas to a birthday party and came home with an extra child to stay the night (I shouldn’t let that man socialize by himself). Thankfully the child was Liam who is much better behaved than my own children and no trouble at all. Still, we decided to venture out of the house on Sunday morning to burn off a little pent up boy energy, despite the frigid temperatures.

I think these may be the last photos of autumn colors. The typhoon destroyed most of the remaining leaves and they’re now spread across our freshly raked lawn.

Liam was an absolute dream at the park and wanted to stay longer to play. My kids complained endlessly about the cold until I finally gave in to the whining and took them all home.

I have a rare day off tomorrow and plan to take Thomas and a friend to the Portland Art Museum to see the Japanese art exhibit (wish me luck). Then on Thursday we celebrate the holiday of eating with the traditional Ishida take-out Thanksgiving dinner. We have a few extra people this year, but the adults still outnumber the kids 6-4 so my plan to sit around and do very little except eat and drink still seems achievable. On Friday we officially kick off the Christmas season with a very special train ride. More on that soon.

Wishing a wonderful Thanksgiving to all of my American friends and, to my Aussie friends, I’ll do my best to try not to think about the fun you’re likely having sipping cocktails in the sunshine while I struggle to warm my hands with a hot toddy by the heater.

Wordless Wednesday: Practicing His Backstroke

Five Things Friday: Photos To Help Us Remember

Veterans day in America is called Remembrance day in Australia. As a child, I vividly recall my entire school stopping everything for one minute of silence at 11am on the 11th day of the 11th month to remember. Here’s my 2011 digital version of that same minute of silence – to remember men and women who served in wars past and present and to hope for peace in the future.

For more moving images, check out the LIFE gallery of 50 photos that brought the war home.

Don’t Call it Fall

After living here for eight years, I still refuse to use the word “Fall” to describe this season. It just doesn’t seem like an important enough word for the beautiful soft light that bathes the city and the the amazing colors dripping from the trees.

If I sound a little too upbeat about this season that precedes the impending doom of Winter, it’s because the sun is shining today. It’s amazing what a little sunshine can do to lift the spirits and almost make us forget that we have three months of overcast skies in our immediate future.

Of course I’d much rather be outdoors taking photographs than working, but I’ll have to make do with sharing a few quick photos that I managed to capture on a late afternoon autumn day a couple of weeks ago – before the time changed and we were plunged into darkness at 4:30pm. (It’s not all roses here).

Still, Autumn in Portland is beautiful. I’m going to try and enjoy it while it lasts.

Wordless Wednesday: Clouds Over Portland

Approximately 5pm. The drive home from work was a lot more pleasant while looking at a beautiful sky (and with my eyes on the road, of course).

Just Your Average Mild Mannered Reporter

I was cleaning up my desk at work yesterday and came across some toy glasses that had been purchased for an employee prank a while ago (long story). And of course when you come across a pair of black spectacles and you have a child who’s currently obsessed with Superman, you immediately consider how perfect they would be for the “Clark Kent” portion of his costume.

So I took them home and then spent the rest of the evening helping my three year old get in and out of his disguise. The Superman costume was underneath and, in the absence of a suit and tie, he wore the Fireman Sam costume over the top. Glasses can only be worn when the superman costume is hidden. It’s important to maintain the secret identity.

After his bath, he asked me to make a little curl out of his hair in the middle of his forehead. It lasted about 30 seconds before it dried.

He also went to school dressed as Superman for the second day in a row.

One of the fun details of our life right now.

Going Dark

I haven’t had much to say around here lately. Actually, I supposed I HAVE had stuff to say, just not the time to say it.

I still don’t have time to put together anything deep and meaning so, instead, I will share my stream of consciousness on a Monday morning. You’re welcome.

I joined the gym. Week #1 went very well (4 visits!) and I’m looking forward to quickly becoming addicted to exercise (hah!).
Autumn is definitely here – the leaves are falling from the trees and I’ve dusted off my winter coat. Our Summer was so short that it’s hard to get used to the fact that Winter is just around the corner.
Although I am still firmly in denial, the end of daylight saving over the weekend threatens to pull me kicking and screaming into the new season.
Sunset is at 4:50pm today. A moment of silence please.
Samuel woke up in a great mood today – maybe the end of daylight saving is not such a bad thing after all.
He went to school as Superman.
It hurts to laugh thanks to my Yoga class on Saturday. It’s a good hurt.
I ordered our takeout Turkey yesterday. Bring on Thanksgiving…
…but not before I get on top of a couple of Xmas gift projects. Suddenly feeling very far behind.
Thomas spent a good part of yesterday practicing his writing and drawing on the iPad. Moved a request for one of my own up to the top of my Christmas list.
Catching up on Damages on Netflix. Fantastic new favourite show that I can watch while running on the treadmill – for about 10 minutes anyway (I’m easing myself in…).
I hate ending a list on an odd number.

So I leave you on this Monday morning with a photo that is completely unrelated to the rest of post. Seems appropriate.

The theme for this week’s I Heart Faces challenge is “Black“. Because I had already exhausted my small Halloween photo collection, I had to go back a couple of months to find this photo that I took on the day we visited the Zoo right before Karin and Mayumi went back to Japan. I love how the sea lion looks like he has his own space in our family picture.

Happy Monday – here’s to being a couple of hours closer to Friday!

This is How They Win Me Over

Every now and then they cooperate for a split second and I am able to get a photo of them together. Then I give them candy… or a new superhero toy…

Autumn Fun Continues: Portland Nursery Apple Tasting

Last weekend we took part in a popular Autumn tradition – apple tasting at the Portland Nursery. Of course we didn’t realize just how popular it was until we found ourselves standing in line for 30 minutes just to get to the “tasting” part.

It was definitely worth it, though. I had no idea that apples and pears had so many wonderful flavors and, after tasting more than 100 of them, let’s just say that I was glad that we took notes along the way. We left with a big bag of Comice Pears and Honey Crisp Apples – the sweet crunch appealed to all of us and they can apparently be stored for up to 5 months, although I doubt they’ll last that long in our house.

I was only able to grab a few pics here and there because it was very important to maintain a decent tasting speed to keep the line moving.

Batman was there of course (best $20 spent on a Halloween costume, ever!)

After the tasting we spent a little time checking out the Scarecrow contest (my favorite below), listening to a couple of numbers from Boy and Bean, a band that took me back to the 30s (in the best way possible) and, of course, some running around the Nursery.

It was a fun, and healthy, way to send a sunny October day. I think we’ll add Apple Tasting to our list of annual Autumn traditions.

The First Annual Ishida Halloween Awards

Halloween is over for another year and there is now a big bowl of candy mocking me from the corner of the kitchen. While I do my best to resist the sugar rush, I’ll present you with a few highlights from last night courtesy of the First Annual Ishida Halloween Awards. There are no prizes, only special recognition… Oh, and the awards are limited to the things I was able to capture on camera. Sadly the low light and my very high heels prevented me from capturing everything… Now – on to the esteemed winners!

Most popular costume
Batman, for sure. Followed by Superman, Ironman and basically any other superhero you can imagine. I like that Thomas distinguished himself as the 60s TV show batman rather than the popular “Dark Knight”.

Cutest Superfriends

Best Halloween Investment (Ever!)
After three years the striped tights are still going strong – although the witch’s skirt is getting a little tight. Next year I’ll either have to lose weight or prepare a new costume. How’s that for some motivation to get fit?