Getting vs. Taking - Thanks Seth

Seth Godin is brilliant. I love his books and his blog. I almost always agree with him and I like the way he explains things.

Today he has a great post about getting vs. taking. The posting itself is short and sweet, so read it. But the jist of it is that so few of us take, most of us hope to get. We should be proactive, and take! Obviously this doesn't apply in all situations, but it is very applicable to education and career....and many other aspects of life (community service, etc.). We should all take as many opportunities as we can handle.

Take!

I'll end my post as Seth ended his - What have you taken today?

Pink Lady

My neice is 2 and already has a motorcycle. Kids grow up so fast these days. Go Z$.

Uncles

Here are 2 of BabyF's many uncles.

BabyF has lots to look forward to...and he may have some catching up to do in order to keep up with these big boys...

BabyF will probably be especially close with his handsome Uncle S...

Nesting With a Vengeance

According to the NY Times, I am not alone.

I hope our "little project" comes together before baby arrives.

Of course, my life is fabulous considering that this is what I am 'worried' about....we are blessed, life is good. And BabyF, if the internet exists in there and you are reading my blog...we are ready for you anytime!!! Can't wait!

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"Obstetricians have long observed a deeply felt urge among pregnant women to focus on preparing the home for offspring. As with many behaviors associated with pregnancy, this one seems caused at least in part by hormones — specifically, oxytocin, which is thought to be responsible for maternal attachment. (Without it, mammals do not bond with their young, or prepare nests for them.)

“Women are just dripping with this hormone in the last part of pregnancy,” said Dr. Louann Brizendine, a neuropsychiatrist and director of the Women’s Mood and Hormone Clinic at the University of California at San Francisco.

Typically, projects resulting from the nesting instinct have been small-scale affairs — a cleaning jag, a den converted to a nursery with a little paint and drywall, a changing station built into a laundry room. But lately, even as the housing and renovation markets have slumped, some pregnant nesters have been getting more ambitious, spurred on by the widespread home-improvement mania of the last decade and by the plethora of design-themed magazines and television shows."

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City Hall!

Baby F and I had a big day. We had a meeting at City Hall to talk about the Butts.

I think we generated some good support for the project in the Commissioner's office. My friend TC set up the meeting and I am so glad she did! Stay tuned.



If you haven't checked it out already, be sure to check out the Butt Hunt Website. I'm loving the new logo! While you are on the site, sign up...you'll get a Tshirt....

An Interesting Perspective

I recently discovered Penelope Trunk, and I think she is pretty great. In addition to having her own company, she maintains a very thought provoking blog with which I immediately connected.

Penelope's blog and biz is focused on the intersection of work and life - a tricky intersection to navigate and one that all career oriented people are familiar with.

I love her most recent posting. It is about the Spitzer drama (a saga I have been fascinated by for some reason). Like most of America, I have spent time thinking about obvious things like why the heck does his wife stand by him, and why the heck is he such an idiot, and how badly i feel for his daughters. I have not spent much time thinking about Ashley Dupre (a.k.a. "Kristen"). I certainly have not thought of Ashley as a wise career woman.

Penelope's post is witty and also insightful. I have paraphrased the highlights below, but you should check out the original post.

"Ashley Dupre, who was Kristen in bed, was no slouch in the career management department. Sure, her breasts are plastered all over the Internet, but don’t be so ignorant as to think you can’t learn from someone like her. Here are three lessons."

1. Invest $ in your career - Ashley invested in a $3000 boob job. She then started making $4000 an hour from clients like Spitzer. Good ROI.


2. Know what you are selling - Ashley was not selling her body, she was selling discretion; a very profitable "product" to a high profile married dirtbag like ES.


3. If you have 2 careers, make sure they have synergy - thanks to her "fame", at this point she has earned $200,000 A MONTH from downloads of her music from MySpace (can that be true???).

Obviously I am not in favor of Ashley's career choice. However, I really enjoyed Penelope's perspective on this bizarre situation. And more importantly, I am happy to have discovered Penelope at all.

Finally, this is a good (and funny) reminder that we can find lessons to be learned from all situations.

Other People's Homes

Looking for a distraction? Do you like to see other peoples homes? Check out this link, then opt to "View as slideshow"...

Some are fab, others are lame. All are fun to see.

Three for Three

Disclaimer, I hate long blog posts. Sorry in advance this one is so wordy....

In between nest uncluttering sessions (and some intense scrabble), we were out trying some new (to us) restaurants around town. We were three for three.

One: San Felipe Taqueria:

Normally I don't crave Mexican...maybe the BabyF in me wanted it?! So, Friday night all I wanted for dinner was fish tacos. I poked around online and found this article (highlight below)...which made me want to give San Felipe Taqueria a try.

"San Felipe Taqueria’s specialty is the fish taco, the ubiquitous street food of it’s namesake, a sleepy fishing village on the Sea of Cortes. In a nod to the Pacific northwest, the fish here is halibut rather than shark, and the battered filet, topped with shredded cabbage and a slightly sweet, mustard-flavored mayo, is crispy outside but still moist and tender."

I was not disappointed. No frills, cheap, fast, and it hit the spot. The space was nothing to blog about...but it was cute enough and kind of made me want to throw a mexican themed fiesta (although I am pretty sure that get that feeling every time I walk into a Mexican joint).

Plus, added bonus, it was in the Sellwood neighborhood. I love it over there. Everytime we go we think that if we were not so in love with our own fab corner of Portland, Sellwood would be high on our list of possible hoods. Another pro, it appeared to be kid friendly (something we now notice, weird).

Two: La Buca:



Saturday night. We wanted pasta. Something cheap but good. The hilarious online reviews by the Mercury of La Buca (highlights below) seemed to convince us that we were crazy not to give La Buca a try.

"Fanfuckingtastic Italian", "rare find", "La Buca is my bff", "Why don't I go here more often?", "Delicious Italian minus the bullshit".

These people were right. For $25 bucks total, we both had amazing pasta dishes and a great salad. Loved this place. There were lots of new babies there too...that was good to see. La Buca is at 40 NE 28th, just off of Burnside - rad little neighborhood too.

Three: Gravy

I hear about this place all of the time and and it is nuts we hadn't been until this morning. Breakfast was fab. We went at 9 and have not eaten a thing since....portions are as big as our house. Being at Gravy confirmed that everything in the Mississippi neighborhood of PDX is awesome. I love it over there.

Next time you hit Gravy, order the hot chocolate and see if they will tell you what makes it so unique...they left us guessing. I think it is cinnamon and some kind of Cajun spice....it was really good!

I snaked the above Gravy picture from this blog. An entire blog focused on breakfast in Portland?!? LOVE it! Notice it has been added to my "morning routine". Check it out!

Love love love this city!

Unclutter

There seems to be a great movement towards de-cluttering. I am fully on board. A large chunk of this weekend has been dedicated to this concept. I am already collecting many things for baby and it scares me to think there will be more and more and more things that we "need".

In an effort to make space and simplify, we are really trying to purge purge purge as much as possible. Now is a great time to do it since we are mid remodel and we are not even living in the house.

This is a great blog dedicated to unclutter. I think I will add it to my "morning routine". Check it out and get inspired. Unclutter your own life!

I love to shop....but lately it feels better to get rid of stuff than to buy it...honestly. Going forward we are also going to try to be uber conscience of any new acquisitions....(items in my closet excluded!!). This is a greener and more simple way to live.

PS - if I was a bridesmaid in your wedding...the dresses are all off to Goodwill tomorrow...stop me in the next 10 hours if you have an issue with this. And, if you were one of my lovely ladies, I really hope you have already purged your silver number....if you haven't, do!

Flash Mob?

Have you heard of a Flash Mob? It seems to be a hip thing to be part of these days. I first read about it when there was one in Portland about a month ago (Feb 23) outside of Powell's.

The Oregonian published an article about the incident, excerpt below:

"The mob -- often strangers -- gather at one location at a designated time, drawn by announcements via the Internet. At a prearranged moment, they simultaneously perform some bizarre action, then just as suddenly disappear into the crowd.
Portland has seen pantsless flash mobs appear on MAX trains. Best Buy has been invaded by crowds of customers dressed exactly like store employees. And Grand Central Station has found itself in suspended animation when a New York flash mob froze in place."

My friend GS just sent me a cool link to the Grand Central Flash Mob - you should really check it out.

Checking out The Governor's Digs

Last Thursday I spent the day down in Salem, touring the statehouse and meeting some big dogs. It was a cool day. The highlight was when I snuck a photo op in the Gov's chair, thanks Governor Ted. I don't think that sitting in the chair was intended to be part of the tour, but I did it for BabyF....

Did you know the black and white marble in the foyer of the state house was imported from Vermont? I guess the "buy local" thing was not as trendy back then. I love that there is a piece of Vermont in the capital of Oregon.

Visitors

O's bro, who is stationed in Iraq, hosted some important visitors this weekend. Captain B you make us proud!