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Tag: memories

Goodbye Swagger Wagen

Goodbye Swagger Wagen

The Jetta Sportwagen TDI was the first car we purchased. It was a magnificent machine. Gorgeous and incredibly well engineered, but in one particular way a little too engineered. We were hopeful that Volkswagen would come out with a fix for the car, but their deadline for finding a fix for our model came and went and we decided it was time to part with our smogmobile. (They did come out for a fix for some of the newest models, but…

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Ode to the Honda

Ode to the Honda

If Noel hadn’t caught the front bumper of the Honda on the fence of our apartment complex, our first date might not have ever happened. Because if he hadn’t been out in the parking lot that April afternoon trying to fix it, I might not have had the opportunity to flirt with him and he probably wouldn’t have asked me if I was doing anything that night and we never would have gone out to dinner. That’s how integral the…

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In sickness and in health

In sickness and in health

Just days after buying our new car, we got to take it on an unplanned road trip back to the heartland (aka Utah). My sister Vanessa’s husband, Chris, came down with a terrible bout of the flu that has been going around. Normally that would be a good reason not to go visit, but this was different. When I say the flu, I don’t mean he ran a fever, had a cough and a sniffly nose, and felt crummy for a…

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Miksi minä olen niin kaunis?

Miksi minä olen niin kaunis?

A few years ago I bought a t-shirt at a little Finnish shop in Astoria, OR. The shirt said, “Miksi minä olen niin kaunis? [Why am I so beautiful?] Because I’m Finnish.”  I’m 1/4 Finn thanks to my grandma; needless to say, she got a kick out of that shirt. My grandma was always kind enough to tell me I was beautiful and if being part Finnish had anything to do with it, she was fine taking credit for that….

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Getting Close to Nature

Getting Close to Nature

Screeeeech! Crash! I was torn from a restful sleep instantly. Whatever that was, it sounded heavy. It wasn’t someone tripping over a lantern on the way to the bathroom. Beep! Honk! Beep! Honk! Beep! Honk! Audrey stirred next to me looking a bit annoyed at the ruckus. We lay frozen in our sleeping bags listening to car horns blaring throughout the campground. After a few moments the car horns stopped and it was eerily silent. Outside the tent I could…

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Mud Run

Mud Run

The memory isn’t as crisp as I would like it, but it was back when jelly shoes were popular the first time.  I was five or six and had a pair that were orange and smelled as much like strawberries as a piece of PVC plastic could. When a downpour visited us one spring or summer afternoon, I slipped them on and stepped out of our apartment. The thick rain had quickly swelled the gutters and dips in the pavement….

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Last Minute Trip

Last Minute Trip

We went on a last minute trip to Las Vegas over the weekend, but it wasn’t for why most people go there. Noel’s grandpa passed away, so we were going for his funeral.  It was of course our duty to bring along the little people so we could remind everyone to laugh and smile. It was a little awkward whenever any fellow travelers asked, “So what plans do you have in Vegas . . . ,” but in spite of the…

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Time Goes Marching On

Time Goes Marching On

Time is funny.  It’s supposedly consistent with each minute only being 60 seconds long, but it rarely feels that way. Sometimes it forces you to count the seconds, other times it hurtles and you can barely hang on, and sometimes it just slips peacefully by.  Even in retrospect, the days that seemed like years and the months that flew by too quickly all get rammed together becoming timeless. Moments both long and short run into each other. Nine long months…

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Making It Ours

Making It Ours

I just realized that it’s been exactly one year since we got the keys to our house. I enjoy moments like this when I stop and realize how much we’ve done instead of lamenting over all the to-dos that haven’t been crossed off our list yet.* The little girl that lived here before us was quite the artist.  I’ve painted over her artwork in several closets and just last week I finally painted over her permanent marker signature on the…

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Brownie Bottom Cheesecake

Brownie Bottom Cheesecake

Well this post definitely isn’t about healthy food. With Cooper’s birthday coming up I’ve been thinking a lot about cake and the associations they create. Growing up I always chose the same cake for my birthday: cheesecake. My parents make a mean cheesecake. They’ve become quite skilled at this dish since they make at least twenty different kinds every year for the running camp they put on. (They coach the cross-country team at my old high school.) For over four…

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