Nurse Tiff...

the only good thing to come out of U of O

2010-04-30T19:32:00.000-07:00

Dirdy Birdy

2009-11-11T16:10:00.000-08:00

This post is a thank you to John to introducing me to this race. I'm so down and excited. Who wants to join me? It will be even more fun since it is supposed to keep raining all weekend.

http://web.mac.com/oregonactive/iWeb/Site%2038/Home.html

Happy Birthda Mama!!!

2009-09-16T08:40:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Mom!!! I hope it is a great one because you are a great lady!!!

2009-09-02T11:54:00.000-07:00

I went to bend this weekend with Abby, Jenna, and Bre. It was a lot of fun. Check out Jenna's website for pictures and a synposis from this weekend. http://philandjennakelley.blogspot.com

Busy Saturday

2009-06-28T12:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was an incredibly busy day for me. So many things to do in one day, but it was awesome to catch up with so many people and celebrate so many good occasions.

1st up- Bella's 1st bday party. I've been horrible about taking any pictures, but at least I got a few.

1st cupcake

Birthday girl

Jenna and Emma

2nd up- A good high school friend, Michelle, got married at a beautiful wine cellar.

Michelle and Micah Johnstone
High school reunion- Caitlyn, Rennifer, Abby, me, and Amy...so fun to be back with the girls again.

Abby and Denny- lovers in love
BFF's together again

3rd- back up to portland for another party and of course i forgot to take any pictures.

Lesson learned on weight watchers...

2009-06-18T05:42:00.000-07:00

Being on this weight watchers diet, I'm suprised sometimes by how many points certain foods are. I guess i should know better, but i learned my lesson the hard way tonight. My friend brought red vines to work...yum.. and i figured they would be ok, you know they are fat free, right? wrong. i was good and limited myself to 10 sticks, thinking well hey that is better than the whole bag, which is what i really wanted to do. i figured i would be ok. i was just totaling up what i had eaten thus far for the night and was shocked. 2 sticks = 3 points x 10=15 points. especially, when i am allotted 28 points/day. i guess i will just eat this for the rest of the day. 0 points

Club Smaller Pants

2009-06-18T05:05:00.000-07:00

So I'm actually never planning on having legs or a waist this small. This is just not possible for me. I like eating. But I'm following along with Jenna's get fit for Club smaller pants and wanted to update everyone on how the weight watchers is going. So it has been a little over 3 weeks since I have been using the point system and i have officially lost 4.4 lbs. It isn't much, but i can already tell. My pants that didn't fit very well, aka muffin top and back fat hanging out, are fitting better and i dont' feel like i need to wear a bulky sweatshirt anymore. I'm pretty excited and it has been interesting using the "points method" for dieting. i have been able to indulge in some of my favorite items, and then i'm just really can't eat much more for the rest of the day. oh well. i guess that is where you learn to make healthy choices.

i've noticed that since i have been eating better and drinking a lot more water/fluids (which by the way gatorade- 0 points, diet snapple- 0 points) i have been doing better in the gym. Fancy that. It feels good to finally get back up to the intensity that i was at back in jan/feb. I had a lull there from march-may where i just wasn't doing well, didn't like going to the gym, etc. Part of that was related to not eating well (and i think i was just burnt out a little bit).

it is nice to be feeling more shape girl. I was partnered with Kara the other day (very fit/fast) and let me tell you i think i kind of held my own. I mean i was definitely dying in the end, but i didn't puke. so that is always a good sign.

alright, so that's the update for now. i'm trying to work on getting better at updating, but i forget. i guess working on one thing at a time.

Yep....

2009-05-31T22:22:00.000-07:00

So I know I never post. I just cna't find the time/I don't really have that much interesting stuff to say.

In response to Jenna's blog/fitness/wogging....I finally decided to I need to kick my health/fitness into a higher gear. Over the last few months, I have struggled with going to the gym, and eating unhealthy. I have puton some weight, my skinny pants don't fit well at all. I mean i can wear them, but I'm not okay with the muffin top. So it is time to buckle down and lose a little weight.

I have tried calorie counting, dabbling with the zone diet, over the last year, and none of it seems to work. A fellow trainer at the gym who also wants to lose some weight, said that she was joining weight watchers. I decided to give it a try.

Last Tuesday, I went to my first meeting, and I'm feeling very motivated. I forgot how much work it takes to keep track of what I eat. I have been good about eating at home too, which makes all the difference in eating better. My goal is to lose 15 lbs. So we will see how it goes.

PV

2009-04-03T17:37:00.000-07:00

so i{m an idiot and posted a new blog on my fitness blog....oh well. if you want to view it tiffanygetsphysical.blogspot.com

puerto vallarta is fun...who wants to join us?

Happy 18th Birthday!

2009-02-08T19:25:00.000-08:00

My brother turned the big 1-8 today. I came home for the weekend to celebrate. I can't believe he is that old. It makes me feel old (which I know I am not), but it just makes you realize how quickly time flies.

Happy Birthday Buddy!

Mom with her 3 kids.

Shanghai Tunnel

2009-02-05T22:35:00.000-08:00

Last Friday Jenna and Phil came up to Portland for a sleepover. They wanted to go on the Shanghai Tunnel tour. I have never done it in my years of living in Portland. We headed over to Hobos to grab bloody marys before entering the "Portland Underground." Shanghaiing refers to men kidnapping men to be used for helping on ships. They were kept in the underground until they were put on a ship. This was all told to us by our tour guide. I'll be honest, I was pretty scared. Apparently there have been many encounters with ghosts. Poor Phil had to deal with Jenna and I being fraidy cats the whole time. Oh well, we made it out alive.Jenna and IPhil and I

The three of us before entering the undergroungJenna is kind of scared

Going underground
boots of men who were captured

a trap door that was used to kidnap men

I was bad about taking pictures. Sorry.

Puerto Vallarta here we come...

2009-02-01T23:37:00.001-08:00

Look carefully at this picture, you should see Cristina and I sitting in the sand chairs soaking up the sun.

Did you look?

I guess we will actually be in that picture come April 2, as we are headed to Puerto Vallarta for a little vacation in the sun. I can't wait. We booked our trip today, 61 days to go.

Riu Jalisco, our hotel.

Superbowl Snowboarding...

2009-02-01T23:16:00.001-08:00

Instead of hanging out on Sunday watching the football game eating way too much food and probably drinking too much beer, I went to the mountain with some fellow Recreate athletes, David, Devon, and Aaron. It was an awesome day for snowboarding. We headed over to Skibowl where the snow was decent and the sun was shining. Aaron signed up for lessons and so the rest of us went off to take a few runs. We all did really well. I'm getting better at not being afraid of going to fast.

We then met up with Aaron and took him up the hill where he successfully got off the chairlift, as that always seems to be the hardest party. I still have lots of problems with it. Luckily I only fell once. I'm sure David will fill you in on the details of the rest of the trip as I am very tired and need to get some sleep before the gym tomorrow. I was very happy with how we did, good group of people to go snowboarding with. Next day I think is Friday, can't wait. Aaron hanging out at the end of his lesson

Snow babe Dev

(Sorry David, apparently I don't take many pictures. I'm counting on you to do some posting.)

Blazer game

2009-01-27T13:18:00.000-08:00

Saturday I went to the blazer game with my friend Ramy and her husband Ryan. It was good we were there cause we were holding the walls up for everyone. Yep, we were in the very last row. The seats were decent though and could see the court well. And the blazers won!

Snowboarding Day #4

2009-01-27T13:12:00.000-08:00

Katie and I headed up to the mountain after I got off work on Monday. I had some crazy whim. I don't know if I'm going to do that again. Anyways, we went for about 2.5 hrs. It was really cold. 10 degrees F I think with the wind chill. So towards the end of our day, Katie's lip was frozen. I guess this is a usual thing that happens to her when its cold. It was pretty funny because her lip was numb like she went to the dentist of something. Hopefully this picture does it justice. Look on the right side. Katie is probably gonna kill me for putting this up. But it's funny.

Country Western Bar

2009-01-27T13:04:00.000-08:00

Thursday night some of the ladies went out on the town. After going to green dragon we had the brilliant idea to go to Duke's, a country western bar way out in SE. It was fun, although we mainly just watched the country western dancing experts. We know now to go earlier and take lessons. So instead we rode the mechanical bull that they had there. I only have a few pictures because my battery died. Sad. Cristina is up

My turn

Getting props from the operator. I made it past the 8 seconds. Maybe I have found a new calling? Or not...I think i will just stick with nursing.

Lazy Sunday, Blazer Monday

2009-01-20T21:39:00.000-08:00

Cool faucet at the Tin Shed in NE. Great place for breakfast. Just make sure you dress warm because you sit outside and it can be quite cold. I was happy that Cristina and I had worked out earlier. That kept us warm... Later on Saturday I took my little and her sister swimming. I would have gone, but my nose was already super stuffy and swimming would only make that worse. They had fun, which is what was important.
Sequoia

Sequoia and her sister Sierra

Sunday was filled with doing a whole lot of nothing. I made family breakfast at my house for Cristina, Matt, Lester, and Katie. My french toast, eggs, and bacon were a hit. Then, it was a lazy Sunday. Later in the evening I went to Tex's birthday party. Fun times.

Monday night I went to the Blazer game with some friends from work. It was another great time. And the blazers won, which is always good. Greg Oden, or Groden as I like to call him, had his career high.

The ladies...Cristina is so excited for her first blazer game.

Cristina getting frustrated about the game

We were the second to last row from the back....It doesn't matter, we still had fun.

Lizzy, Alicia and Andy

Classic

Courtney Turned 30!

2009-01-18T15:13:00.001-08:00

Courtney turned 30 last week and to celebrate we went out to the Ambassador for Karoke. It was a great time, lots of music, dancing, music oh and pictures. Somehow I have 150 pictures from that night. Didn't feel like posting them all cause blogger takes forever, so if you want to see them they are on facebook. I think Courtney had a great time. Heck I even got up and sang Beauty and the Beast with my friend Matt.Birthday girl

Strike a poseDev and I

Something is funny

Jeanne and Cristina
Jenn singing, "I Kissed a Girl"

Beachhouse and Marky

Megan and Nadine
Jenn, Courtney, and I

Towards the end of the night

Snowboarding Day 3

2009-01-15T04:43:00.001-08:00

Last Monday I headed up to the mountain with my friend Beachhouse. We weren't sure how the weather was going to be. It was cloudy and rainy down in Portland, but once we got up on the mountain this is what we saw...Blue skies, absolutely amazing.... Katie getting geared up

classic chairlift picture

top of Mt. Hood, not the best with the iphone

Yep....I live near here
I don't know why I posted this but it looks interesting. Weird lighting and stuff...Katie was taking a picture of the beauty with her phone as well.

All in all it was a good day. Katie and I hit it pretty hard without taking a break. By noon we were pretty tired and headed home. That is the beauty of having a season pass. Can't wait for the next trip....although we could really use some more snow. Come on Mother Nature

New Years 2009

2009-01-15T03:57:00.000-08:00

New Years Eve was a blast. Megan, Trevor, Cristina, Matt and I went to the Crystal Ballroom for New Years Nation. There were two bands, a dj, dancing, drinks, champagne and a great night. It was fun to dress up. I felt like I was in high school again. Sorry the pictures are so late. There were a lot of random photos, not a whole lot to choose from. Megan and Trevor have better ones. The Ladies Matt and Cristina

Megan and Trevor

Don't worry, we ran into Jonas and his friendgood times

New Gym

2009-01-12T06:58:00.000-08:00

By the way....Our gym moved out of its tiny space on Friday into its new much larger home. The first workout on Saturday was so much fun. It was great to workout with so many people and some new faces. I can't wait to see what this new year will bring in the new space.

Check 1,2,3...

2009-01-12T06:57:00.000-08:00

Yes I am here. Life has just been so busy. Lots of updates and pictures to come, maybe even some videos from karoke the other night. Mom and Dad I'm alive. Alright, off to snowboarding today, updates coming soon.

First Day of Snowboarding

2008-12-30T21:44:00.000-08:00

So I headed up to Mt. Hood today with Megan and Trevor for the first day of snowboarding. It was a great one. It was somewhat busy, which can be a little frustrating. But I got over that because it was an absolutely beautiful day for snowboarding. It went well, "kicking the tires" it was Trevor said. I only had a few major falls, but I definitely got used to snowboarding again as it has been two years. I caught my toe edge with a decent amount speed on a trail and had a major face plant. Thank goodness I had a helmet on. It was hard enough that I actually cracked my goggles. Whoops. All in all it was a great day and I'm looking forward to the next one. Bright and early on the road....a little tired. I'm definitely not a morning person.

Megan excited for the mountainMegan and I on the mountain
Swedeens at lunch

Sad goggles with a crack. It was my lucky day because I got a pretty good deal on some new ones. (I owe you a new pair of goggles dad :) )

picture from one our last runs...so beautiful

Mountain here I come...

2008-12-29T22:08:00.000-08:00

So i'm going to the mountain tomorrow for the first time this season. I'm so excited. The weather looks good and it should be a good day.I'm no Leslee Olson, but i'm working on it.

I'm so excited, I don't know if i will be able to sleep. So i took some benadryl.

Now I am going to go and read some "Breaking Dawn" and hopefully get some sleep soon.

Pictures from the mountain to come later.

In other news, good workout at the gym. Hopefully it won't make me too sore for tomorrow.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T05:59:00.001-08:00

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas. I can't wait to get off work and start the trek down to Corvallis. Hopefully the roads aren't too bad.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Sad Day...

2008-12-24T06:15:00.000-08:00

So I had some downer news given to me yesterday...My mom called to tell me that they had decided to put down our cat Charlie. She has been in renal failure the last few days, and just not doing very well at all. My mom thought she might be able to make until Christmas, but that is just not the case. Plus, being a part of a family with a nurse and nursing student we just don't believe in letting someone/something suffer. So my cat died yesterday and it is a very sad thing. I think it is just hitting me now. She has been our cat for 13 years, that first day when she "followed me home," or more like I picked her up and rode her home on my bike. (That was probably the best lie I ever told).

I'll miss you Charlie.

(I might post some pictures later, but I don't have any with me at the moment.)

I'm dreaming of a White Christmas....

2008-12-20T16:05:00.000-08:00

Cristina and I pulling our friend Katie on the tire....It is a great workout. So this has been a crazy week with this weather. Even more crazy today...I don't think I remember the last time it snowed like this in Oregon. I feel like I am back in Idaho. My little Honda Cr-V is holding up well in this weather. For the first time I put the chains on my car today. You will be proud of me I did it right Dad.

So just a little gym update that I am super excited about...I did 19 pullups today and they felt good. I probably could have done more, but my hands slipped off the bar (it was a little scary for a moment). Anyways, super excited, and also excited cause Cristina got 15 pullups too.

Alright, well I'm going to go and sip some hot chocolate and watch Christmas movies on tv. I hope this snow stays around until Christmas, but not bad enough that it I can't drive home. I'm definitely looking forward to going home.

Happy Birthday Devon!

2008-12-15T14:16:00.000-08:00

So it is my friend, Devon's birthday. In true blogger fashion, it is only appropriate to post pictures up of her in honor of her birthday. Love you Devon, hope that you have a great birthday!

sexy lady

fun times dancing

remember that saying...."Good friends who workout together, wear matching shirts."

Elves of Recreate 2

2008-12-11T04:53:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Elves of Recreate

2008-12-11T04:31:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Holiday decorations...

2008-12-11T03:40:00.000-08:00

Cristina and I decorated our house with Christmas decorations on Sunday afternoon. It was a lot of fun and our house looks all festive and wonderful. We even started a fire and worked on a holiday puzzle (which still has yet to be finished).

I know these pictures are a little late. I had a big blonde moment on Sunday night and left my camera at Scooters (shout out to Katie). Thank goodness people are nice and didn't actually steal it. So here are the pictures.
This picture is kind of blurry, but you can see the lights better.

Yay for Christmas!

Merry Christmas

O Christmas Tree

2008-12-06T21:37:00.000-08:00

Today was a great day for hunting....Hunting christmas trees that is. Cristina and I had a mission to get a Christmas tree. We decided to go to a farm where you can cut down your own tree. Being a child who grew up in a house with a fake Christmas tree (which now I understand why, it is so much work for a real tree) I have never had the experience of picking out a tree and cutting it down. Cristina and I headed out to Beaverton with Megan strolled around and finally found one. So of course I am going to have pictures to document this adventure.

I would say this was part two of our partner workout today. cristina started the sawing off

megan helping outmy turni'm almost done...i guess we should have timed ourselves to see how long it would have taken...i guess there is always next year

we did it...team double troublewatch out cristina....saws are dangerous

hmmm....new workout idea?....christmas tree around the block?

Tips from Nurse Tiff

2008-12-05T08:26:00.000-08:00

So you have a bloody nose or in my case my patient has a bloody nose. I tried and tried to get it to stop. It would stop, then she would cough and start bleeding again. Unfortunately my patient wasn't able to hold their nose and try and make it stop. I had to go into another room. So what is a nurse to do? Be creative. Apparently that is what tampons are made for. Yet, I put a tampon up my patient's nose so that I could go attend to another patient's needs. I went back into the room five minutes later, and low and behold the bleeding had ceased. So if you ever have a bloody nose, just stick a tampon in it.

(Clearly i have not slept enough. Sorry for the sleep drunk blog, but I figure i have those blog stalkers out there (I know who you are) who say i don't blog enough. So this is what you get.)

Gym update....

2008-12-01T22:06:00.000-08:00

I figured I would do a little update on what is going on at my "crazy gym" as my friends from home like to call it. The workouts have been very hard/intense. As much as I complain during the workout, I still like it.

I'm excited...Tonight i push pressed 115. I PR'd by 10 lbs. It felt great. I thought I might be able to pull 120, but not so much. Still trying to keep up with Melissa who did 130! She is crazy strong.

Last week, I did a benchmark workout Fran with Amanda and Devon. We missed it a few weeks ago, so we figured we might as well subject ourselves to that torture voluntarily. Fran is 21-15-9 of 65lb barbell thrusters paired with pullups. I was somewhat nervous, but just thought of it as another workout, so I wouldn't psych myself out. Well it turns out I did much better than my previous time in July. I went from 10:36 to 7:30. Three minutes off....I know kind of crazy. I was super excited about it. So I guess I am actually making progress.

I participated in the Kettlebell certification put on by Steve Maxwell. It was an entire day filled with lots of good information about movement paired with lifting the kettlebell. I have learned some great tricks and tips for others. My squat improved greatly after this cert too.

Finally, Tina created a video of a bunch of us women from the gym progressing in our pullups. I'm so proud of the girls I workout with and Tina for making this video. Hopefully, she won't be mad because I'm going to repost it, so people from home can see and maybe get motivated.

What have I been doing for the last month?

2008-12-01T21:35:00.001-08:00

1. Working lots and lots, maybe too much.
2. Attended a Kettlebell certification with Steve Maxwell...Learned some good information and went through an intense workout.
3. Went to a beaver game with Ramy, Ryan, and Cristina. Fun times.
4. Went home for thanksgiving.
5. Fun times at ground control.
6. Fun times with friends, as always.
7. Recovered from a pretty bad sprained ankle.
8. Who knows what else, but I have apparently been too busy to blog. Sorry.

the ladies hanging out

cristina and i at the beaver game

it was a beautiful day for the game....cal vs. osu....we won this time

strike a pose ryan

mark's excited

ryan and ramy

the ladiesthis is my good left ankle

this is my bad right ankle....damn danskos....its pretty much fine now, but it was not pretty at first

Thanksgiving weekend...

2008-12-01T21:15:00.001-08:00

So after working three tough nights in a row, I headed over to the gym for a morning Thanksgiving workout. Thanks to Nate and Tina for being flexible and accomodating client's request for certain aspects of the workout, i.e. (ball slams, wall ball, running..., it was a tough night at work). After that I was awake, packed up my things and headed down to Corvallis. The traffic was not too bad.

I took an afternoon nap, and then enjoyed thanksgiving dinner with my family. I love the holidays and being at home.

My sister, mom, and I braved the crowds on Black Friday, and did some Christmas shopping. It wasn't as bad as i expected. I came away with some good gifts too.

Saturday was of course the big day....game day. I was super excited. My friend Abby had a huge tailgate, and it was nice to see everyone from home/high school. I then met up with Katie at her tailgate and had fun there. I then picked up Jenna and went back my parents house where we watched the game at home with my Mom.

Let's just say it was a very sad loss, maybe even a little bit embarassing. But it is alright, I'm over it.
Sunday was fam time.
I headed back home today. It was sad to leave, but nice to back at my own house. Katie and I wore our matching shirts Thanksgiving morning.Siblings on game day Sisters...can you tell?

High school girlfriends....Amy, Abs, Caitlyn, and I Katie and I before the game....nice face paint, true beaver fanRyan and I

Gina and I

Gina and Bill

This was before the game, but I'm pretty sure this was Katie's face after the game. It's okay Katie, there is always next year. Go Beavers!

Stop and smell the Roses....

2008-11-29T11:27:00.001-08:00

At least that is what I believe the Beavers will be doing soon enough. I'm so excited for the game today. I'm decked out in my orange and black and ready to go. Go Beavers!

Great Day to be an American

2008-11-04T21:07:00.000-08:00

Finally...I am can proudly say I am happy to be an American. Last election was not the same. Time for a change. Time to celebrate...oh wait, I'm at work. I guess party this weekend, Obama style.

White Trash Bash 2008

2008-11-01T19:23:00.000-07:00

So Halloween is always a great time to be silly and get dressed up. For the festivities I threw a White Trash Bash. It was a great time and there were some awesome costumes. Mad Scientist David

Carolina and Mike

Garron, fabulous as always

Devon and Megan....nice costumes ladies

Miss Understood MonikaCreative costume goes to Trevor as the lumber jack o'latern

Devon and I
Hallie as a shop teacherCruela DeVilBritney Spears Baby #1 Lots of babies
Ramy and Ryan...Greasin' it up

What a lucky man Trevor
Courtney as an American gladiator

Mike and I

courtney beating up on the boys

nurses know how to have fun

Matt the mechanie and hte lumber jack o'latern

what a good looking group of people...we are missing a few

Who is ready for next year?

tiffany's tonsillectomy diet

2008-10-17T03:25:00.000-07:00

so I thought I would humor you all with what I have been eating. For those out there who think I get to eat all the ice cream I want that is not true. Dr's orders, at least not until Saturday. My mom is being a real good nurse and making me follow the
anyways here was my day yesterday:
Breakfast- strawberry Popsicle
Lunch- jello
Dinner- chicken broth
Late evening snack- jello
Middle of the night snack- broth
Throughout the day- drinking lots of water, Gatorade and juice

So far I have managed to stay well hydrated so that is good.

On a funnier note I finally knows what it feels like to have a little sleep apnea/snore. So my uvula and the back part of my throat are pretty swollen that if I sleep straight on my back without turning to my side then my darn uvula blocks my airway and I either wake up because I can't breathe or because I start snoring. It has been fun for my mom to see me wake myself up because I'm snoring. I've been reassured that it is no where near what my dad snores like.

So that was a random tangent. Starting to feel dopey again. My mom is doing a great job of staying on top of the pain even waking me up in the middle of the night. That explains why I'm up now. Alright I'm out.

~ dopey tiff

Just call me Dopey

2008-10-15T19:54:00.000-07:00

Here i am sporting the beautiful hospital gown...at least it is blue, cause that is my color.my momma looking a little worried, but its fine i did alright. So i recovered. I'm now at home. I'm pretty sure I proved the myth wrong that "nurses make the worst patients." At least that is what the nurses were saying, although they could be lying to me....because i know i have been guilty of that before.

Anyways, I'm doing well. It hurts to talk, so sorry if i ignore phone calls, but i'm pretty good at texting. My momma is taking good care of me, definitely staying on top of those pain meds, which actually make me feel kind of dopey...it is kind of nice/fun, and all i want to do is sleep. I stayed up enough to see a part of the presidential debate. Only 19 more days to vote, crazy.

Sad but true fact....I'm sad i missed jackie today for the workout. I guess will just have to do it sometime when i'm feeling better.

random post....i'm sure there will be more to come. if you are bored and want to visit, let me know, i will just be here for like the next two weeks.

~Dopey Tiff

bye bye tonsils.....

2008-10-15T13:02:00.000-07:00

so i'm sitting here waiting to go to surgery. I've got my lovely hospital gown on and iv in so now I'm just waiting. No more tonsils after this. I would post pictures but I haven't figured out how to do that with my iPhone yet. Something I will have to learn how to do after this.

Last Supper

2008-10-15T11:00:00.000-07:00

Comfort food for dinner last night, pasta and salad. The last thing I ate before midnight because now i'm NPO as we like to say in the hospital. It was quite delicious and i followed it with a scoop of pumpkin ice cream just before midnight to hold me over for the 12 hrs that i can't eat or drink anything.

OSU Beavers...

2008-10-13T01:15:00.001-07:00

Saturday I had the opportunity to head down to Corvallis with Katie to see the Beavers play Wash. St. It has been a long time since I went to a game and it was fun getting decked out in OSU gear and cheering the team. I love college football. I was a little worried that the beavers weren't going to win by much, but luckily they got it together and beat the 30-point spread. It was a great time as always hanging out with Katie.

Thanks Mom and Dad for the ticket. You guys have great seats (50 yard line, third row back).Katie and I tailgating
Decked out in orange and black
Me, Katie's friend Katie, and Beachwood I was introduced to a game called flip cut....Katie and I take this game very seriously
Katie getting fired up about something I forgot what i was mad about

My brother Scott and I

Part 1 of Reser staduim....it's game time
Reser Stadium....part 2
Katie and I at the end of the game....66-13
posing by the ironman i think we might be fighting over the iron man

See you next home game....Nov. 1 i believe.

Dancing...

2008-10-13T01:03:00.001-07:00

So i'm a bad blogger...Now there is this pressure to frequently update to make sure that i stay near the top on the recently updated list on Recreate's blog...Last weekend i had a fun time hanging out with friends as always. I wasn't very good at taking pictures, except one night with Katie. For some reason Katie and I are good at taking pictures. Here are some pictures from last weekend...

nurses know how to have fun
Katie and i found some cool hats

Revenge of Curtis P's...

2008-10-08T06:42:00.001-07:00

Monday at the gym involved an exercise a move called the curtis P (hang squat clean, lunge each leg, then push press of course holding dumbells). Now, prior to Monday I liked this move because it was a dynamic movement, good in short amounts. However, this is not true now after Monday. The workout involved doing too many of these Curtis P's and now they are on the list of exercises I don't like, along with many other things.

Mainly why I don't like it is related to the fact that I have been waddling all night at work from my butt being so sore. It was bad enough that a fellow coworker pointed out the fact of my waddle. As well as how long it would take me to get from sitting to standing and standing to sitting because my legs are sore as well. Oh well, i guess it is all worth it for being physically fit. I am looking forward to using my foam roller at home. Maybe i should change the title of this post to "Thank goodness for foam rollers..."

The after party....

2008-09-29T13:16:00.000-07:00

So Saturday was quite an eventful day....

First off the workout at the gym was called Fight Gone Bad...I think the title is enough to scare you. The workout is three rounds of the following:

-Wall Ball, Sumo-dead high pull, box jumps, push press, and the row
There is a one minute break between rounds and each rep is counted, so in the end you have this total score of all the reps. So i scored a 247, which was 3 short of my goal of 250. Overall, it was an alright score. I guess next time i'll just have to get 250. It was a very hard workout mentally, but it was fun in a sick-sort-of-push-myself-too-hard kind of way.

That evening the owners of the gym had a client appreciation party at their beautiful. It was great food (nice work tina, i'm very impressed). She made these chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter which were to die for. I'm pretty sure i had a bite of heaven and i'm not exaggerating. Ask everyone else that was there.

Then after having some glasses of wine and beer some of us ladies from the gym went dancing. It was a great time as always.

yes we all workout together and go out dancing together back it up cristina
katie, sara, and I
Devon and Jenn
cristina and jeannie
Sarah, Devon and I

I think Megan is having fun?
Yep....yes she is

Laura, Katie and Devon

megan having fun #1
megan having fun #2
megan having fun #3 Devon busting a move

all of us having fun

the end of the night

Mike's going away party...

2008-09-29T13:07:00.000-07:00

A fellow coworker decided to leave our hospital and head off to his new manager position at a different hospital. So we of course celebrated with a nice dinner and some dancing at a place called Crush. Picutures to follow of course. Mona, Cristina, and I
Mike dancing Tracina, Mike, Monika, Cristina, and I....the nurses of 11k

Round 1 goes to....

2008-09-26T06:47:00.000-07:00

Todd....So the bad news is that i got my butt whooped on thursday night by Todd in the tire dragging race. However, there is going to be a rematch soon because there were some unfair circumstances on both ends that made for an unfair race. Rematch soon...i'll keep you updated.

The good news is I got my first dead hang pullup on Monday. I was certainly suprised. I didn't think that I would be able to do it for about a year or so. But i guess i just like to prove myself wrong. I think the last time I got a dead hang pullup was in elementary school.

In other news....Fight Gone Bad is tomorrow. The title alone is enough to scare one. We'll see how it goes.

Go Seahawks...

2008-09-24T00:18:00.001-07:00

So this last Sunday some friends and I went to the Seahawks game vs. the Rams (go Steven Jackson). Anyways the awesome part about it is we went with Eola Hills winery on a nice tour bus. They provided breakfast, snack, lunch, and well of course wine. It was a great time hanging out with friends and enjoying a NFL game. My first NFL experience. The weather turned out to be perfect seattle weather. To make it even better the Seahawks won.

I'm game for next year if anyone wants to go again.roommatesmark and katie
at the stadium

Ben the RN

qwest field...why i am standing like that i don't know? maybe cause cristina is short? or is it that i am just assuming the game stance position? or maybe i'm just too blonde...
qwest stadium
they must really like each other?

safeco field off to the left
puget sound to the right
katie and tiff picture....it took 6 tries on this photo
univ of Idaho marching band...pretty cool

i love the swedeens

clink, clink, clink, clang, clang
the bus ride home

i guess they like each other now

Denver....

2008-09-23T23:38:00.000-07:00

Remember how i went to Denver/Boulder a week and a half ago? Well i guess now it is time to actually update on my trip. For those that don't know I went to Colorado for a little weekend trip with my friend Mike, who lives in vancouver, and my friend Megan who now lives in Houston, but used to live in Portland.

We were happy she actually made it out because Hurrican Ike almost ruined our plans. We all made it safe and sound. Mike and I at PDX airport excited for the trip
Enjoying some good beer in Colorado....the microbrews rival portland's, but i think portland still wins
megan and imike, megan and I....we went out on the town in boulder. they have an area with a bunch of shops, restaurants and bars similar to 21st area in portland. it was a great time. we made some friends in boulder who showed us around that night.
we went to a country bar with a mechanical bull....i guess that is what you do you in colorado?
i know i'm falling off here, but i did pretty good...must be because i'm originally from north dakota.
megan's turn

of course we ended the night dancing

the next morning we went hiking in the rockies, or at least the beginning part of it. it was a perfect day.

pretty view

we made it to the top

After hiking we went into denver and hit up the local sports bar to watch some football. i know kind of lame, but there were some really good games on. we then met up with some of megan's friends and they showed us around downtown denver. mike at the cigar bar
the three of us again
megan's friend nick
nice pose mike

Overall, it was a great time. I wish that it could have been longer, but not all of my friends are nurses and they actually have to work five days a week. If anyone wants to go back and visit, I'm game.

Reposted video...

2008-09-16T21:35:00.000-07:00

i reposted the video from earlier. it should work this time hopefully. enjoy...i'll post pictures later from denver. i'm at my parents house and i forgot my usb cable for my camera, so i guess you will just have to wait.

Another video to make you laugh...

2008-09-14T19:27:00.000-07:00

Hurricane Ike...

2008-09-11T04:28:00.000-07:00

So this hurricane Ike may be putting a damper on my plans this weekend. My friend Megan, Mike and I are planning on having a rendezvous trip in Denver and spend the weekend together. I haven't seen Megan since she visited in May, and that was only for a very short time. Anyways, i certainly hope Ike decides to slow down, so that Megan can fly out of Houston on Friday afternoon and meet us in Denver. I guess i will be watching the weather channel a lot in the next 24 hrs.

Oregon Surfing...

2008-09-07T20:45:00.001-07:00

Today i ventured out to Cannon Beach with my friend Devon and her friend Sue to go surfing. It could have not been a more perfect day to be at the coast, as well as being on the water to surf. It was great. I'm not an avid surfer, but i did take lessons one in Hawaii. I figured i might as well give it a try in Oregon. Thank goodness for wetsuits...It was a great day. Devon coached me through, and i actually stood up on my board 3 times. Now that doesn't sound very good, but it was a 9 ft board, which is shorter than what i learned on, and also fiberglass, which i was told was much more difficult to stand up on. I was happy to stand up 3 times. A girl can only take so much salt water in the face. While the other two were surfing at times I would hangout with their dogs, which was also a great time. (I think i need to get a dog, maybe?) perfect oregon coast

Sue up on her board
Devon coming in

Sue and her dog Moto
Devon and I at the end of the day....

Notice the red face, yeah apparently i didn't put on enough sunscreen. I'm pretty red tonight, hopefully it will wear off soon. Whoops.

When did summer end?

2008-09-06T17:15:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it is already Sept 6th. What happened to summer. This has been the busiest summer for me, which i guess is a good thing because i've been doing some many different things. So i guess it is time for some updates:

Labor day weekend:
My friend Mark had some friends in town from the east coast, so of course we got to show them around Portland. It was a fun time.

katie, cristina and i (the trifecta)
classic katie and i picture
mark's friend derek
good times

Sunday of labor day weekend, cristina and i had people over for a little pizza and beer. Cristina's boyfriend was in town from philly visiting, so it was sort of a welcoming party too, at least that is what we told him :) We had such a good time, i forgot to take pictures.

After my work week was over, some friends and i went to Portland Timbers soccer game. There are only two home games left, so I had to make sure to support my team (especially now that there are talks of a major league team, might as well go while the tickets are still cheap).
Meet Joan, fellow nurse on 11k...she is a real hardcore timbers fan
marz and trevor....
cristina and megan

katie and i (she refused to take a picture)

For marz's last night in town some of us went out to eat at Al-Amir, a lebanese restaurant. It was delicious and i absolutely recommend it for people to try. There was even a belly dancer.

megan give a "no thanks" to learn how to belly dance

the ladies dancing....not too shabby
pay up trevor
you too david

Today, i went to the Rose Garden with my little for Greg Oden's Summer Slam. It was pretty much a way to thank pepole who are mentors, as well as try and get more people involved in mentoring. It was cool. Good lunch, fun activities for us to do and of course we got to meet Greg Oden.

giving a little talk
my little and I
playing guitar hero with a little kid...i'm pretty sure the kid beat him, by a lot....guess you can't be good at everything
balloon flower

i just wanted to highlight the shirt...i think the people of Portland would appreciate it, right David?

Anyways, it has been a busy time. I think it will continue too for awhile. Tomorrow I'm supposed to go surfing with some friends on the Oregon Coast. Hopefully i don't get frost bite. Then, next weekend I'm going to Denver for a little rendezvous trip with my friend Megan and Mike. I can't wait to hangout with them. Then hopefully i can make it home for a few days and visit with friends i miss dearly. I guess that is all for now. Gotta finish baking some cookies before i go and watch a UFC fight...

Lazy Sunday...

2008-08-24T17:10:00.000-07:00

Today is one of those days. It is overcast, but still very hot outside or humid as some would like to say. I'm tired too. I slept in until 1230. I don't remember the last time i did that, like early years of college. I enjoyed a nice waffle from jace gace, then having been watching the olympics on tv. Plan for the rest of the day, maybe clean my room, or just watch more olympics and the closing ceremonies. Speaking of lazy sundays...

Olympic Hair...

2008-08-21T22:58:00.000-07:00

Do you like wearing your hair tight against your head with lots of bobby pins or hair clips along with a nice big scrunchie? Well if so, then you are in luck because that hairstyle will get you a free cupcake from St. Cupcake. Cristina and I love getting cupcakes, so of course we styled our hair as so and went in to get out prize. The at the store was confused, but we got it all squared awa..y. A little shout out to Jami for informing us of this awesome opportunity. I guess that means i have to do extra burpees at the gym. The cupcakes were delicious and well worth the silly hair. Although, with the olympic spirit i may just keep my scrunchie in...who knows. cristina's gymnastic hair
i think i need some of the sparkly/glitter hairspray and it would be perfect so good....

Crossfit Certification Day 2

2008-08-21T22:46:00.001-07:00

So i know this post is way over due...but it is better than nothing. That second day of my certification was good as well. It was nice because it was a little bit cooler outside, the rain came through. I learned some more new stuff, as well as a lot of review of the moves from the previous day. We split off into groups to practice different moves, and one station was the workout, which was 10 med ball cleans, 10 burpees how many rounds in 10 minutes (i did this workout again at my gym later this week, i think i'm done for awhile). It was tough, but not as bad as the previous day. Since i made it through both days without passing out i am now a certified crossfit trainer.

At the end of the day, some of the crossfit trainers were trying to get these heavy balls onto the stand. It was interesting to watch and also how crazy strong some of these people are.

And of course, my sister and i went out to celebrate. Margartia and some mexican food (i'm pretty sure it's zone friendly)

little sis....thanks for being a great host this weekend.

Crossfit Certification Day 1....

2008-08-16T21:58:00.000-07:00

Today i went to my first day of the Level 1 Crossfit certification...Let's just say it would have been much nicer if it was not 95 degrees outside. But i guess that is true crossfit. It was a bunch of lectures today, as well as practice the specific moves. My squat is much better now...The big anticipation all day is figuring out what the workout of the day (WOD) is going to be. Many of us were set that we were going to do one of the benchmark workouts, Fran. The WOD was similar to Fran, but a much longer version. They split us into groups of six, boys with boys, girls with girls. Then instructed us on the workout: 400 meter run, 500 thrusters, 400 m run, 300 pullups, 400m run. As a team you start the thrusters after everyone finishes the run, and then the goal is just to get the sets down by breaking it down anyway you can...My team of girls did awesome, but it was definitely the longest 41 minutes of my life. So yeah....i could barely move at the end of it. But i guess this is what i signed up for? call me crazy.

Just a little shout out to my sister who is letting me crash at her house while i'm attending this cert. She has to put up with my tiredness. Love you sis.

We'll see how tomorrow goes....I don't i've ever wished for it to rain or cool down more than i am now for tomorrow.

Happy Birthday Katie!

2008-08-13T14:58:00.000-07:00

The cupcakes say it all...

Hope you have a great one Katie!

Only at Recreate Fitness...

2008-08-13T14:35:00.000-07:00

Only at my gym could you get away with pulling a stunt like this off. Katie, Cristina and I thought it would be hilarious and fun to wear matching shirts. That then exploded into including matching headbands, sweatbands, and an playlist. I guess I just really have the Olympic spirit. At least we decided to not wear the white scrunchies, that might have been a little much. Go Team USA, Team Recreate, and Team Pinkie.

Olympics 2008

2008-08-11T14:06:00.000-07:00

So i missed the opening ceremonies and some of the events over the weekend because i was out of town, but i was in full swing of olympic watching Sunday afternoon after my kickball game. I forget how much i love the olympics. If I could, I would take 2.5 weeks off from work just to make sure i don't miss events. I guess i am just going to have to rely on others who have DVR and Tivo and the internet to get my updates. Did anyone else stay up until midnight to watch the showing of the USA men's team take the gold in the 4x100M relay? Oh my goodness. Cristina and I were cheering so loud at the end of the race that i'm pretty sure we woke up some of the neighbors....oh my goodness what a great race.

It just doesn't get any better than this.....

Up next tonight....more swimming and men's gymnastics....can't wait

Playoffs...

2008-08-11T13:29:00.000-07:00

So Team Zossi had a playoff game yesterday. It was intense. We got up 3-0 in the first inning, which was a great way to start. There was great athleticism for both teams. It went back and forth in leading the game. Unfortunately, we lost by three runs in the end. That's okay though because we had a great time. We will get them next season. mark, cristina, mitchell and kris in the their ready positions
mark getting ready to kick the ball out of the field (see mark, i didn't forget you)

cristina, ready for the lady bunt
mitchell hanging out on second base
mark....superb job pitching

not that good at taking pictures, mainly because i was too involved in watching the game....it was definitely a good one, we gave them a run for their money

of course after any game it is time to cool down and grab some food...

win or lose....a nice cold glass of beer makes things better, at the usual after game spot, thatchers
mark and katie
lester
schauf
cristina and i

see you next season

camping

2008-08-11T11:40:00.000-07:00

This past weekend i took off to the Mt. Hood National Forest and went camping on Lost Lake. It was a fun time, despite the weather. It was somewhat rainy on Saturday, but that didn't stop us from having a great time and even hiking up Lost Lake Butte. It would have been nice to not have clouds and actually see the view, but i guess that means i just have to come back next time. I actually survived camping, can you believe it? our watchdog Moose...very big dog, earns his name
katie and i

katie and martin during a game of cards

mark, katie and martin....cards again, oh wait we played them all day nothing like a noon dance party....

kim and katie
katie, smokey and me....teaching us how to protect forest fires
the men....making sure we have wood for the fire
nothing like uno around the camp fire
beachwood....

there were others, but they bailed on saturday morning because of the cold. the five of us were strong and nothing could bring us down....well almost nothing, right katie?

Team Zossi!

2008-08-06T02:36:00.000-07:00

So we won our game this last weekend, which put us into the playoffs. We have a game this Sunday. I'm so nervous already. Hopefully we win.

Bad blogger award goes to.....Me

2008-08-02T03:26:00.000-07:00

So you know you are bad at blogging when the quiet guy at the gym asks you why you haven't updated in awhile. To make it even better, i get called out on being a bad blogger on someone else's blog, http://www.i8u.org/blog/?p=1799. (You're not getting your five bucks Todd).

In other news, work is work.

I went to the ear, nose, and throat doctor today to talk about getting my tonsils out. Let's just say, I'm ready to have them out, but nervous about surgery. At least my momma will be coming to take care of me.

Last kickball game is this weekend. Hopefully we can win and then we will have at least one playoff game. I'll keep you updated.

I'm up at 330 in the morning because i went to bed at 930pm last night. For some reason, I'm so tired. Maybe because my little sister and I (big brother, big sister program) went to see Kung Fu Panda, and for some reason watching movies wears me out. Funny movie by the way.

In gym news, we did a benchmark workout this week, Fran. It consisted of 21 thrusters (55 barbell squat with overhead press), 21 pullups, 15 thrusters, 15 pullups, 9 thrusters, 9 pullups. Goal this time around: do all the pullups no matter how long it took me. Guess what, I actually did all 45 pullups! I surprised myself. Of course there were battle injuries, torn hands, but i still finished.

Alright, well time to go to bed now. Workout in the morning and then lunch with my mom. I'll try and update more.

Warning: Lots of pictures to follow

2008-08-02T02:27:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday a bunch of friends and i headed out for a night on the town to celebrate my friend, Monika's 30th bday. How do you celebrate a 30th bday? Well by being hauled around town on an drunk bus. We signed up to ride this bus that would take us to 6-8 different bars, karoke bars, and dance clubs. What a brilliant idea...We started the festivities around 530 and ended around 2am. It was great time, and i think Monika celebrated in style. Here are pictures from the event... Monika in front of the bus...that's right, we are route cool

Everyone had to have a bus buddy and each time we got back on the bus, we had to make sure our bus buddy was there....so here is katie and i starting the night off as bus buddies
bus buddies: the henderson brothers
bus buddies: monika and anniebus buddies: kat and courtney (trevor and megan were the other bus buddies, but for some reason i didn't have a picture of them...sorry guys)
megan showing off her pool skills at the 2nd stop
2nd stop...i'm pretty sure we are all regretting this

cool artsy photo of mark and joe playing foosball
megan and monika

megan, trevor and kat dancing it up

this was monika's new best friend on the bus
courtney sang at one of the karoke bars...that girl can sing
annie and i

having the time of our lives

happy birthday mona!
strike a pose courtney recreate girls...i think this is going to take a lot of burpees to work this one off

end of the night with my bus buddy
happy birthday mona....what a great way to celebrate

Birthday Bash....

2008-07-21T23:09:00.000-07:00

So i finally started feeling better and celebrated my birthday on Saturday night at my friend Monika's house (she has an amazing deck/backyard). Anyways, it was a BBQ with good eats and good times. Megan and monika
my friend devon, mike, and i (telling a story apparently)
todd, nate, and mark from the gym
nice close up david, courtney and nathan almost have the same pose
joe, tina, and devon

me and mona just hanging out on the deck eating burgers
katie, mona and cristina
devon and i
courtney and cristina...having fun in the kitchenmona and trevor hanging out...notice the pirate stash, nice trevor (p.s. i couldn't upload the bday video, sad)

then, it was time to hit the club and go out dancing in true birthday form
here we are all ready to dance...katie, courtney, cristina, me and monika

having fun roomies
the crew plus fellow nurse jeanne...don't worry, she just has a purple wig on
towards the end i was getting tired, so to wake me up the girls did a nice little dance
such good friends i have....

all in all it was a good way to end the week of the illness....

best birthday present ever

2008-07-17T13:38:00.001-07:00

so i got the illness for my birthday. yep, strep throat again. (i think it is time for my tonsils to come out). so i'm just trying to sleep to get stronger. today, i went back to the doctor to get some numbing stuff, so that i could numb my tonsils, so i could actually swallow. that's good because i lost 4lbs from yesterday afternoon until the morning. luckily i have the backup of my roommate who if i really need to can put an iv in me and get me some fluids. oh to be a nurse.

i'm already feeling better this afternoon now that i could start drinking again.

sorry this is kind of a downer post, but i figured i would share how the birthday went. it should be better on saturdya for my bday party. also, sorry to those who i haven't texted back or called back. i've been out of it.

Weekend Activities...

2008-07-13T20:41:00.000-07:00

This last weekend I went to Jack's First birthday. Jack is my friend, Kim's kiddo...He is so freaking adorable. He had a great time with the birthday cake and getting down and dirty. What a way to start his next year.

unsure of what to do

getting down and dirty...(ignore the knife in the picture, they were getting ready to cuut pieces of the cake out)
then, some girlfriends from work went out dancing at bettie ford. It made for a great time.me, cristina, crystal, and katie
dancing the night away
katie and i
the end of the night after we closed out the bar

Another kickball game today. Unfortunately Team Zossi lost 5-7. It was a close game. We will get it next time. Cristina and I ended up staying and playing for another team who needed more female players.

Here is a pic of cristina getting ready to kick.

At the end of the day....it was certainly a hot day
Good weekend. Looking forward to next weekend. Hope you guys had fun in the sun!

Deschutes....here we come

2008-07-06T23:11:00.000-07:00

40 people of the Gartner Family went white water rafting on the Deschutes River. I have never been and it was so much fun, scary at first. Mom and Dad excited for rafting

My Aunt Jen and cousin Hunter

family on one side

family on the other side
my sister and brother's boat

my dad and mom's boat (my dad is front left)
my mom is in the back on the right
my boat going down a class IV rapid (i'm in the middle left)
so fun....i think this is after we hit a huge hole
scary, but fun

it was a blast...i need to go again soon

Hiking in Bend

2008-07-06T23:02:00.000-07:00

Some of us went hiking at Paulina's plunge/lake. Part of this park included an old lava flow. It was fun and beautiful. I could see Mt. Hood pretty clearly, which was awesome. the obsidian rock

there was still snow...just a little cold
Paulina's lake and the tops of Mt. Hood and the South sister
my cousin sarah in the snow
the family without me

Review of Gartner Family Reunion

2008-07-06T22:21:00.000-07:00

So i have been busy for a long time and haven't been able to update about the reunion until now. (also, my camera broke, so it took me a little while to fix it and get pictures.) it was a hell of a time. i went hiking in the snow, white water rafting, ate lots of delicious (german) food, and probably drank way too much bud light. all in all it was great to see family that i haven't seen in like 5-10 years. the siblings
all of the cousins on the reinke side (minus 2)

my cousins katie and megan matching cowboy hats....you know you are from north dakota when you buy a cowboy hat
my dad and hsi sister barb (i supposedly look the most like her)

cousin steph, me, and my brother scott my cousin sarah at paulina lake
nicole and i with steph's boyfriend kyle
cousin hudson, such a freaking cutie! (this is probably what my kids will look like one day, in the very distant future)
aunt naomi, uncle bob, and aunt mary

scott with cousins hunter and hudson (cool shirts)
all of the Reinke's
all of the second cousins at the reunion

my dad's brother and sisters. back row- tracey and my dad, second row- barb and naomi, front row- mary, bob, and cam baby cousins hudson and lexi....how cute

Isabella Joy Bain has arrived

2008-07-01T14:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Isabella entered this world at 7 lbs 14 oz at 2:54pm. She is 1.5 lbs bigger than her sister Betsy, but certainly looks like her. I was able to drive down to Corvallis (even after a grueling workout) to meet the new baby. The labor went well and Abby did great, as she always does. Denny did great as well. So here are some pictures.

what a proud grandpa
proud mama....she looks great for delivering 6 hrs ago
mama and papa

proud daddy

good expression abs

nurse tiff loves holding babiesabs, jenna, me, and mac in the hospital

Baby Bain #2

2008-06-30T09:47:00.000-07:00

is on its way...Good luck to Abby during her labor...Can't wait to meet the new baby...

I climbed a mountain...

2008-06-29T19:20:00.000-07:00

That's right, I did it. Some friends from the gym and i went hiking at dog mountain in Washington today. Let's just say I'm glad to be alive. It was a sad sight, and i was definitely team DFL, but i gave it my best effort, thanks to my cheerleader Devon.I'm pretty sure i will not be able to move tomorrow, but it was worth it. Hood, St. Helens, and Adams were visible at the top, absolutely stunning views of the Columbia gorge, and of course the chance to say i climbed a mountain. It was a much better activity to do outside, then sitting in the miserable heat at home (don't worry, i am going to buy an ac tomorrow at Costco). i sure hope this heat wave is over.

at least i wasn't worn out too bad for my kickball game. Don't worry our team won, but it was a close one. 7-6. I was pitcher, which was really nerve wrecking, but we pulled out the victory.

Alright, i think i'm going to go to bed. Even if it is only 730 and still light out. I'm pooped...

(i plan on posting pictures from the reunion, but my camera isn't working, so i can't get the pictures, sorry)

WOD

2008-06-26T11:05:00.000-07:00

Today my cousin Sarah and Aunt Jen joined me. It was fun to have some company.
We did:
6 rounds
100 meter sprint
10 squats
10 push ups
10 sit ups

It was a short workout, but good.
Alright time to go and make some german soup.

WOD

2008-06-25T17:59:00.000-07:00

so my workout today was tough...i slacked off yesterday and drank more margaritas then i should have, so i had to make up for it (that means running).

it is the benchmark workout "Susan" but i adjusted it and made it a little more difficult.
5 rounds
400 meter run
10 squats
10 pushups

Let's just say the running killed me. cristina should be so proud.

After that my uncle and cousin went hiking around Paulina lake in two different spots. I think we hiked a total of 5 miles or so. It was tough. I'm just getting ready for the 7 mile hike on Sunday.

p.s. cristina i am so proud of your 3 pullups. they look great!

WOD

2008-06-23T11:59:00.000-07:00

just a little workout update. this morning i ran for 20 minutes, then did 100 squats, followed by 4 rounds of 10 jump ups, 10 push ups, 10 sit ups. I know it is not much, but at least i'm moving a little to make up for these extra carbs/calories i'm eating/drinking. luckily my family likes light beer, good old bud light.

TEAM ZOSSI!!!!

2008-06-22T23:07:00.000-07:00

That's right my kickball team won their first game today. I was so sad I couldn't be there, but i was proud they pulled out the victory. I think it must be our team shirts, baby pink. I can't wait for next weekend...Good job team!

60 people

2008-06-22T23:06:00.000-07:00

All i have to say is there are at least 60 people that have shown up to our family reunion. It is crazy times and fun times as well. We were all hanging out in one house too, even more crazy. It is great, but i tell you what at the end of this week, i might become a hermit for a little bit.

Gartner Family Reunion 2008

2008-06-22T09:13:00.000-07:00

So it is official. We are going to be heading from corvallis in about 20 minutes to go over to Sunriver where the family reunion will begin. These last two days at home have been great. My dad's brother and his family are over and we have been having a great time with them. Let's just say a 6 and 2 year old boy can certainly keep a cousin busy.

I got to see my very pregnant best friend (you carry it well abs) and her little girl. I also go to hangout at the Kelley's house in philomath with friends who i haven't seen in months. Good BBQ jenna. It was fun to reminisce of old times.

I will post pictures soon, although it may be a little while because i don't have my usb cable, so i'm going to have to figure something out.

Don't worry i made sure to get my workout in, 10 rounds of 10 push-ups, 10 sit-ups, and 10 squats.

Alright, off to sunriver. sorry for the boring post, but i guess it is better than nothing.

Happy Father's Day Dad!

2008-06-15T22:57:00.001-07:00

I know this is way late, but i just come home now. Thanks Dad for everything...Sorry no pictures, cause pops doesn't really like having his picture taken.

Say what....

2008-06-14T15:34:00.000-07:00

I deadlifted 180 lbs yesterday...it wasn't the best form, but i did it, and survived. It was a big accomplishment for me...

Recreate takes on Angel's Rest

2008-06-11T21:44:00.001-07:00

So i figured i had to do a separate blog about the hike (you know Nathan/Tina. in case you want to post the blog on the wall).

at the top of the gorge
david, devon's husband, our fearless leader
i can't believe i made it
what a good looking group...we must workout
devonlynn resting/soaking in the rayscristina, devon, and me
nathan sunbathing

The busy last weekend....

2008-06-11T17:41:00.001-07:00

Last weekend was very eventful for me, in fact i think i'm still in the process of recovering.

* First off on Friday night at the gym i hit a pr with the deadlift, 160. I was excited considering that we hadn't deadlifted in a long time.

*I hung out with my good friend Willesha who hadn't hung out with in forever. It was a good time.

*After going to the gym, my little and her family invited me to go fishing with them in the afternoon. It was free fish day. I have never been so i was excited. We headed out to the gorge. Their family owns a lot of property in that area, so we went fishing at a random stream. After about a 1.5 of trying without catching anything, we decided to move to a different pond/lake. We tired there for an hour, again without any luck. We went home without any fish, but i still learned how to fish.

*Saturday night my girlfriends, Monika, Cristina and I went out dancing. It was a fun time, although the places we went to did not have a whole lot of people. We still had a good time as always.

*Sunday morning, Cristina and I met up with some people from our gym to go hiking out in the gorge. We went hiking at Angel's Rest. It was a 4.6 mile moderate round trip hike. It was a lot of fun, and really brought out my outdoorsy/adventurous side. Or at least, i'm trying. Even though i got some blisters i still powered through. Afterwards, the group grabbed lunch at edgefield. The other car went home, and our car decided to grab another beer. This may not have been the best idea cause this turned into grabbing beers until 9pm. Oh well, it was worth the fun times.

*To top of the fun weekend, on Monday i decided to give into my desires and bought the wii...So far it has been a lot of fun playing. Since i am already bad at blogging, I am probably going to be even worse now. Oh well.

So that was my weekend, it was great. Here are some pictures.

My little Sequoia fishing...
Her sister hangingo ut fishing
Monika and Cristina at McFadden's
Don't worry, we were right next to a couple that got engaged at the dance club....yeah, i know a dance club, what a romantic
the three of usroomies

No way...

2008-06-10T23:03:00.000-07:00

I bet this kid is really good at Rock Band...

I think is five years old...

blonde moment #2

2008-06-09T22:11:00.001-07:00

2008-1990= 10 years....

somehow in my head that is what i figured out...i think i need to go back to school or something....sorry, correction to previous post, nkotb have come back after 18 years...(thanks kim)

I'm five again...

2008-06-09T10:32:00.000-07:00

I have so much to blog about from this last weekend, lots of stuff done, but i just had to post this video. This morning i was waiting for cristina to get ready before we headed to the gym, so i turned on the tv, and it was on vh1. to my suprise the video was New Kids on the Block- summertime video. I felt like i was five again. My favorite part is at the end when they are doing their dancing. Crazy flashbacks....Is it sad that i think it would be fun to see them in concert? Relieve my childhood dreams?

Who would have thought a band could come back after 10+ years later?

My sister and me....

2008-06-01T09:38:00.000-07:00

On Friday i headed up to Tacoma to help me sister move/organize her room. She just finished her junior year of nursing school, yay for nurses. I haven't been up to visit in a very long time, so this was a past due trip. We spent the day organizing her room and figuring out where to put everything. Then we headed over to the mall to do some shopping.
A pic of us driving in the car...i'm pretty sure i was singing, or something...we had dinner in downtown tacoma...we went to a glass museum in the area. it was pretty cool. i wasn't very good at taking pictures, so this is all i got...sorryUs in front of one of the glass sculpturesThe next day we decided to go to the zoo. I haven't done that in forever. First stop was breakfast at this delicious diner in Tacoma. Good choice Nicole, it was deliciousNicole and I at the zooNicole's favorite was the penguins
Mine was the walruses'

so big...i think this walrus weighs 3300 pounds don't forget the elephants....my second favoriteself photo in front of the elephant

tiger Monkey
another monkey....love the monkies (i think that is the plural version of monkey)....they are so entertaining
this animal just looked weird, i forgot what it was
my sissmall owl

oh know....not the sharksshark alert....
weird looking fish
a nice little adventure with my sister...
thanks for the fun times nicole....we will do it again soon

Blonde moment....

2008-05-20T05:34:00.001-07:00

So i have had my fair share of blonde moments in my life....I figured i would share one with you....Sunday, my friend Megan and i ventured out to Kelly point to enjoy this nice weather that we have been having. I used SPF 30 to make sure i did not burn. They are not fun. Megan and i are just relaxing by the river, watching the boats go by, and reading out books. It was a nice time. I got back home and took a quick nap before going to work. When i woke up i noticed in the mirror that my back was bright red/pink. Blonde moment....i forgot to put sunscreen on my back. I thought it was pretty funny. Thanks goodness i have spray on aloe cause my roommate is out of town and i don't know what i would have done. It is not the funniest blonde moment i have had, but it definitely is up there.

It's official....

2008-05-16T23:24:00.001-07:00

I have man hands....Man hands you ask, well yesterday at the gym i tore my hands for the first time doing pullups. This picture shows the broken skin as well as my calluses. I guess it is worth it though to be physically fit. Yesterday, during the workout i did a total of 36 kipping pullups, instead of using the band, which is like an assisted pullup. So there is an update for ya'll about how i'm doing at the gym. Picture from the workout doing pullups with the boys...

I had to move to my own bar near the ladies...a girl needs her space to do her thing, and when it is kipping pullups, i need a lot of space... I guess this might justify a manicure :)

Scott Reinke.....golf extraordinaire

2008-05-16T11:10:00.000-07:00

Or at least kind of...I just wanted to give a shout out and a congratulations to him. Last week my brother played in districts and qualified for state. On Monday and Tuesday he played in state and did pretty well considering this is his first appearance at the state tournament. His team took 3rd in state which is great. Here are some actions pics...
the crescent valley golf team

this picture was from districts the week earlier Good Job buddy....i'm proud of you!

Who loves the sun?

2008-05-15T21:43:00.000-07:00

I do....So guess what the sun means? Barbecue time. That's right barbecue Saturday night. It would be at my house, but i don't have a barbecue, so that raises a problem. Solution: the barbecue is at Megan and Trevor's house in SE Portland. Who's invited: You....reading my blog in the portland area...i'm going to assume this is mainly people from the gym and work. So give me a call or leave a comment and i will give you the details. It will start around 530 on saturday. it is a BYOB kind of thing. Trevor is going to be preparing some delicious food. if you feel like bringing a side dish that's cool. Let's enjoy this weather.

P.S. i will be at the gym on Saturday for those folks who need some details.

Guess who came into town?

2008-05-13T01:56:00.000-07:00

My best frriend Megan had a quick/spontaneous trip to portland for the weekend. Unfortunately i was working (boo), but we still got to hangout briefly. Megan, myself and our friend Mike had breakfast. As short as it was, i was still so happy to see her. I certainly miss that girl. I guess I'm due for another trip to Houston.

classic pose for these two....

Happy Mother's Day!!!!

2008-05-11T07:11:00.000-07:00

Hey Mom....Thanks for being awesome!!!! Love You...

Wine Country....

2008-05-09T11:25:00.000-07:00

last post about the road trip i swear....we visited wine country and so i gotta post some pictures. we went to Viansa in Sonoma county....it was an italian winery. this place was awesome. You could choose from a large selection of wines to try, i guess it is cause we are in the real "wine" country. (in previous experiences, i have only been able to drink the set flight of wines, not picking and choose based on what i like.)monika and cristinai still need to work on my swirling technique next stop....domaine carneros in napa valley (thanks for the suggestion devon). this place specialized in sparkling wine....i loved it.
cristina and i enjoying our champange
monika with her cracker, cheese and figwhat a good way to end the road trip

San Fran Day 3...Cinco de Mayo

2008-05-08T15:54:00.001-07:00

For our last day in San Fran we headed down to Pier 39....there we got convinced to rent bikes for the day and ride around San Fran....

The three of us taking a quick stop....i don't know how to keep my eyes open apparently the four of us near crissy field
another bike stop
nice monacool bridge
mona and megan
cristina and i demonstrating our biking skills
riding on the bridge

before riding over the bridge....this was after we biked up a steep hill, hence taking of the jackets even in the windy weatherafter riding over the bridge we coasted downhill, i would at times about 25 mph to sausalito...

there we locked up our bikes and had lunch.....

i love this picture....how many nurses does it take to lock up a bike?lunch time
then we caught a ferry back over to pier in san fran....this is the backside of alcatraz

that night being cinco de mayo and all we thought we would hit up the town....however, for some reason the part of san fran that we were in was kind of dead.....we hit up a local bar and enjoyed some beer and of course margaritas...

cristina and i enjoying our margaritasbreakfast at local diner at 1 am...perfect way to end the night

all in all...it was a great trip. i'm glad that we stayed in san fran and hungout....it is a great little city. i would consider moving there except that it is super expensive....oh well, maybe travel nursing?

San Francisco...Day 2

2008-05-08T15:35:00.000-07:00

The next day in San Fran, we slept in of course, and then headed near union square and went shopping. First stop, H&M. I loved it. I had to use some self control and only bought a few items.

Cristina waiting for us outside H&M.

Waiting for the cable car...
Riding on the cable car, we took it down to Fisherman's Wharf where i got to exprience eating crab straight off the shell for the first time....let's just say it was messy
The view of Alcatraz at the top of a hill while on the cable car
Being women, we had to make a stop at Ghirardelli Sqaure and try some chocolate...
the golden gate bridge is off in the distancei thought this was a funny/artsy picture of the three of us waiting for the cable car to go home

That night we went into chinatown to a local brewery and enjoyed a good microbrew...we still love our portland beer though