anniversary #12

Our 12th anniversary fell on a Sunday this year. We decided a few weeks before that I would take the week off from worship team and we would do some stuff in Portland. We rarely go to Portland. Phil used to work downtown and once he came home, he didn't want to go back. We get the occasional concert or Christmas-y thing in, but for the most part, we stay away from the city. Well, I had read about this place called Off the Waffle and wanted to go, so that's where we went and had brunch. Seriously, the best waffle I've ever had in my life. It's some sort of special Belgium waffle that has sugar pearls that melt in the waffle iron and make the crust a little crunchy. Mine was covered in Nutella and sliced bananas and I got a side of some amazing maple flavored bacon. It was really good. I don't normally do sweet things like that for breakfast, but with it being a special occasion and all, well I did this time (and I would totally order it again).

                              

We walked around the area where the restaurant was and then we headed down to the Portland waterfront. It was the last day for the Rose Festival and it was very busy. We meandered through the Saturday market and then we headed to the Rose Garden where we got engaged, but it was packed and there was no place to park (sadness), so we drove further up in the hills to Pittock Mansion. I'd heard of this place lots of times, but we'd never been there. There was only a half hour left until the tours shut down, so we didn't go inside, but the outside was beautiful and there were nice flowers everywhere and a fantastic view of Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Hood.

I also pretty much took the day off from doing homework (the only thing I did was record my 1 minute video discussion board reply before we left) and it was so nice to just have a normal day again. We ended up in Sellwood and browsed some antique shops for a bit, then we had dinner at a little Mexican restaurant called Cha Cha Cha. We had patio seats and it was a beautiful night. I loved celebrating with my guy. I love him so much.

thirteen years ago today

Thirteen years ago today I nervously left my Uncle Joe's house where I had spent the night and drove to the airport in Columbus to pick up this guy, Phil505, I'd met online and had been corresponding with for 9 months. We started writing in July and it was all emails and letters for the first 7 months. Then he finally called me in January. January 17th, to be exact. We pretty much knew after talking that we had to meet. So he came. He took a red-eye out of Portland. I was running late, and he was waiting for me at the top of the escalator. And we kissed. My very first kiss, I might add. Then we went out to breakfast at Bob Evan's (after we finally found my car because I didn't pay attention to which parking garage I had left it in) where we sat across the table from each other. I was all googly-eyed and I smiled a lot. He held my hand and we finally talked face to face. We spent part of our day at some Conservatory in Columbus and visited the butterfly exhibit. I was too excited to think about asking someone to take our picture. Darn it. I wish I had one. But I have this one, from that weekend. 

This picture popped up in my facebook feed this morning because I had posted it last year. . . 12 years ago today. . . Another year has gone by and while he's still my internet boyfriend, he's been upgraded to husband status.

Love you, Mr. Bergland.

saying goodbye to an old friend

No, nobody died.

A week or so ago, we decided to put an ad on Craig's List to sell off the first piece of furniture we bought as a couple, our TV armoire.

I loved that thing. I was sentimental about it being the first thing we bought together. We actually got it when I was out here on a visit before we got married. It was a Fred Meyer special. Phil505 put it all together before I became his lawfully wedded wife. It was with us in North Portland at 7945. (Sorry, that was in our pre-digital days, so no photo.)

It got hauled up and down the steps of our first apartment (B-4) in Vancouver.

It lived in the living room of our rental at 8903

and it came with us to our first home here in Berglandia. (No Christmas tree shot, but I am so happy that ugly looking fireplace is no longer so ugly.)

Sneak peek of the new and improved fire place before the walls got painted gray. In case you were wondering, the dog was not included in the sale.

It housed my Christmas CD's, my Susan Powter-stay-in-oxygen step aerobics tapes, and Phil505's Panasonic collection. So much storage.

But, with our recent redo of the family room (aka Phil505's man cave), it was just too big and took up a huge amount of space, and we both knew it needed to go. So to Craig's List we went.

That was after I was nearly killed by the thing hauling it out into the garage. Seriously, I saw my life flash before my eyes.

Do you know how many armoires are currently available on Craig's List? I thought it would never sell and we'd be hauling that baby to Goodwill.

We posted it once and had an inquiry or two, but no takers. We waited a week and posted it again. One lady wanted it for $15 less than our posting price, and we were going to sell it to her just so it wouldn't sit in our garage forever, but she never showed up. Instead, a very nice lady who wanted it for her costume jewelry collection came and got it. She brought her daughter and a little tiny pick up truck and off it went to its new home.

The best part of the whole thing is she didn't bring exact change, and we never carry cash. So we ended up making $5 more than our asking price. We made money. . . and it wasn't even a scam!

nine.

i think this is my favorite wedding photo. the first dance. all wrapped up in him. holding on for dear life because he was going to be the only one to hold on to.

it's hard to believe that we've been married for nine years already. where has time gone? in some ways it was just like yesterday. and in other ways it seems like so long ago. so much has happened in that time, yet so much remains the same. like, for instance, it took us all week and at least 30 minutes searching online this afternoon of where we were going to have our anniversary dinner. we have a hard time deciding.

hard to believe i've been living in the northwest for nine years. the other day i was driving to costco to pick up some stuff and i was driving down 1st street, jamming to k-love and minding my own business, when all of a sudden mt. hood just popped out in all it's snow covered glory. it was almost like i forgot i lived in the mountains for a moment. it still takes my breath away. people who live here all their lives tune out the mountains, but the transplants, well, we carry umbrellas and stare at the mountains. and i happen to have a husband who bought me an umbrella and drives when we go places so i can mountain watch.

happy anniversary, babe. thanks for nine incredible years so far.
i love you.

autumn sunset

This is the third day in a row that I've blogged. What is happening to me?

Last night we had appetizers {chips & fresh salsa} and a real fancy dinner {brats and mac & cheese.} Yes, the kind in the blue box. I was tired from canning salsa so don't judge. A bit later we went out to sit on the deck. The sun was warm and golden and it only got better from there.

Because there was kissing. Close your eyes if you can't handle the mush.

And then there was more kissing. Because Wilson always gets jealous when we kiss so he has to get in on the action. Crazy dog.

Off-topic sidenote: I can hardly stand looking at my hair right now. My highlights are so grown out it's not even funny. I thought maybe I'd embrace the natural mousy brown for a while, but I don't think I can handle it. It's making me go crazy! Tiffany, my hair girl, told me when I was last in for a cut that the grown out look is in style. She called it hombre. (Don't know if I'm spelling that right or not. Say it with a silent h and a long o.) REALLY? People pay money to look like this? Well, I've got news for her. When someone gets around to finally hiring me, I'm all back to the blonde.

Wilson will now demonstrate for you what blonde looks like.

The heavens declare the glory of God, people. Isn't that sky amazing?

And then a certain handsome someone I love got very very sleepy. And I made him go to bed.

The end.

a belated birthday report

Phil505 had a birthday way back on August 31st. Ya, I'm just now getting around to blogging about it, amazing wife that I am and all. He had a nice long weekend off work so we decided to celebrate it up real big, but cheap-like. We started off with breakfast at a new-to-us place, the Stardust Diner. I love having breakfast dates with my man. He leaves so early for work most days that breakfast dates, although I love them, are few and far between. Since the northwest is severely lacking in Bob Evans' restaurants, we usually go to Shari's, but he decided to change it up and picked the diner. Well, change can be good, because not only does this place look like a silver bullet, but it's jazzed up with mini juke boxes at each table so you can sing and dance to all your favorite oldies while you're waiting for your scrambled eggs. Would you find that at your local Bob Evans? I think not. We will definitely have to start using those buy one meal get one free coupons in the Clipper magazine because the food was really good. 

Then we went home, packed up a picnic lunch, got the dog, and headed to the beach for the day. Not much has changed since the last time we took Wilson to the beach (well, maybe he has grown quite a bit and this time he didn't puke all over the jeep, thank goodness). He still likes to ride with his drooly head on my shoulder, so you can imagine what that does to my shirt sleeves. Despite the spit marks, have I mentioned lately how much I love my puppy dog?

 

Phil went off the beaten path a little bit and we went across this one-laned covered bridge. Turns out there was a park on the other side. Good thing, the poor dog needed a moment, if you know what I mean.

 It all felt so very Little House on the Prairie-ish.

As we were getting ready to go, a couple pulled in to the park. A little Asian lady got out of the car and you could tell she was a little flustered. She looked me in the eye and said, "That wa vewy scarwy. Is so dark in there." She made me laugh.

It was a beautiful sunny day. Phil got to help not one, but two ladies who decided to drive in the soft sand and get stuck. Actually, one of the vehicles was a church van full of women and he saved the day. He's my hero! Then we sat on the beach in our 8 year old (wedding gift) lawn chairs and enjoyed the view. 

We tried to get a self-portrait, per our tradition, but we weren't doing so well seeing how all you get is one small portion of my head and a bit of my shoulder in this next picture.

 The next one is a little better although my eyes are a bit on the squinty side.

And that was the first day of my B's 46th year. One for the record books. Or scrapbook, whichever you prefer.

#8

Yesterday was our 8th anniversary. It rained, just like it did the morning of our wedding. Lucky us. Cause you know that's what they say, rain on your wedding day brings you good luck. Not that we needed luck. I think God had a little something to do with bringing us together after all that almost two year internet romance when we were 2,000+ miles apart.

Funny side story: my grandma Kline was a little confused about the whole "Wendy meets Phil online" thing. She used to tell people that I met my boyfriend on the TV. That still cracks me up!

So where have those 8 years gone? Phil asks me that a lot. Where has the time gone? I usually tell him to check the scrapbooks. So I dug them out today and took a peek at our history. We've had. . .

• four addresses - three rentals, one of our own
• four vehicles - I still miss you, little green Saturn
• four jobs (and still looking) for me, one for him
• two churches
• two leap years
• countless trips to the beach
• one whale-watching excursion
• two Mariners games, one Seahawks game, three Timbers games
• one surgery/near-death experience (certainly not a favorite memory of mine)
• one trip to urgent care for stitches
• 608 blog posts
• one dog
• numerous scrapbooks, Phil & Wendy Volume I, II, III, and currently working on IV. But should be at about VI or VII.

I'm sure the list could go on and on.
Phil505 brought me home a big bouquet of roses. A dozen red. A dozen and a half white with pink tips (my fav.) I got him a bottle of port (his fav.) I looked for a vintage 2004 bottle (the year of our holy matrimony), but there were none to be found. You can't really see it in the picture, but I used my cricut to cut out a bunch of 8's and I scattered them around on the table. I made the tag on the port too. So crafty, I know.

We went out for dinner to Billygans. (our fav.) Yummy steak place. Peanut shells on the floor. Homemade rolls with honey butter. Before we left I set the camera up on the opening between the dining room and living room and snagged a picture of us with the self-timer. Sorry about cutting off the top of your head, Babe. I guess I didn't have quite enough Bibles stacked under the Canon.

So for those who may have doubted whether or not internet romances work, here's eight years of proof that they do. I love you, Babe, you hardworking, handsome stud-muffin of mine.

fragments of sunriver

much needed.

a weekend getaway for two.

in sunriver.

just past bend in central oregon.

groupon deal (score!) booked way back in october or november.

b.w.

(before wilson.)

and, of course.

no dogs allowed.

(insert sad puppy dog eyes.)

wilson boarded for the first time.

it's true.

i went through withdrawal.

(he did too.)



a drive up to pilot butte.

snowy peaks of the central cascades in a big long line.

so beautiful.

finally found south century drive.

headed up to mt. bachelor.

busy day on the mountain.

which is really a butte, not a mountain.

but whatever.



so many skiiers.

i thought about skiing.

and how i'd for sure kill myself should i ever try it.

maybe i should put skiing on my bucket list.



our condo slept eight.

but it was just us.

sunlight pouring in.

a respite from all the rain we've put up with.

hgtv.

so quiet. so peaceful.

long walk on the trails.

a little shopping.

cheesecake.

humungous hot tub.

time together to reconnect.

thanks, babe.

i love you.

because you all probably want to see easter pics.

Our old point and shoot has a self-timer. You set it and ten seconds later it takes three pictures. Our new DSLR (?) camera also has a self-timer. You set it and ten seconds later it takes pictures like the paparazzi. We were sooooooo not expecting that on Easter morning before we left for the annual church breakfast. It was quite hysterical. So I, being the good blogger that I am, decided to share a few of them with you. Not all of them, because some are so awful they just aren't meant for viewing outside these walls.

You'll notice that Phil505 is again wearing his Jesus tie. It's as much of an Easter tradition as me buying separate bags of Jelly Bellies at Winco because I only like juicy pear and mandarin orange while he likes a wide assortment, including licorice. Yuck. And I very well could be wearing the same lilac blouse I wore last year, or the year before. I know it goes back sometime.

So here we go.
Oops. . . I wasn't ready. I was trying to text my Uncle Joe.

OK. We're at least looking at the camera at this point.

And it was about this moment right here that we realized our camera was going to take like a million pictures of us.

And it made me laugh hysterically.

And then I thought, why not be a cheeseball and pull out my best red carpet poses?

And now Phil looks good (mind you, his head is cut off), but my hair is in my eyes.

Finally, one I love and think is facebook profile worthy.

rituals of berglandia

So I mentioned a few weeks ago that my wedding ring broke. As in the whole bottom of it just fell off. Weirdest thing ever. Well, yesterday Phil505 picked it up from the jewelry store where it was made whole and new and shiny again, and last night, he put it back on my finger where it rightfully belongs. And now all is right in the world.

As he slid it on my finger he said, "Amen."

That would be because at our wedding, we had to say something like. . . "in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen." at the ring part. I don't remember exactly. I only know that whenever we take off our rings and put them back on each other, we always say "Amen." It's a ritual.

Phil's other big lines that day included,

"Yes."

"Yes."

"I do."

"I do." 

He was so afraid that he would forget them.

I'll never let him forget.

Amen.

he's a fan

So ya, the Ducks won the Rose Bowl yesterday. Phil505 was just a little bit excited about that. I'm so happy for him. Now he can hold his head up high and wear all 5,287 of his Ducks' t-shirts with pride. I watched like 15 minutes total of the game. I was busy scrappin' Christmas of 2009. The December Daily that I posted about here and still haven't finished. I am getting closer though. Quack. Quack.

our fall photo shoot

A couple weekends ago, we met up with Paul Smith, father of one of my former 2nd grade students, Emma, in a little park in Washougal, Washington. The weather was perfect. The light was great. Paul has a super amazing camera and an eye for great shots. I was thrilled when I got to see the proofs. I've wanted fall pictures of us for forever and these did not disappoint. Not one little bit. Let me share a few. . .

This one here is my current facebook profile pic. Like how we matched our clothes to nature? ha ha

Phil smiled! He never wants to smile for me.

This is usually what I get. Mr. Idontwantoshowmyteeth.



Ya, we had a couple kissy-poo pics. I kept telling him not to mess up my hair ;)

I wanted one in front of the monument. I liked the color and texture. And I love it. Squinty eyes and all. (Blonde Korean, anyone? That's a flashback to my college days.)

You can't tell, but we were up on top of the playground structure in this one. No, I did not go down the slide to get down.

Now I have to pick out which ones I want to order. Choices, choices, choices.