Life...

So, tonight, after a day of wine tasting with my girlfriends, we were sitting around the table, talking and for some reason while the conversation was going on around me and every now and then I was adding something to it, I was sort of trying to figure things out. Jess came over to a BBQ with some PDX friends and we were trying to convince one of my friends to try to move to Dubai. My friend asked Jess what here top 5 dislikes were about Dubai, and while Jess was listing off her things, I was thinking of what mine were, and for me it's the weather. Of course, we are COMPLETELY ignoring my job. I can't stand it that I can't walk to the mall or to Lulu's or other places that seem so close, without totally dying. I don't think it helps that I have about a 8 degree window of temperatures that make me happy, maybe 75 degrees to 83, then I'm way too hot to function. I can deal with it, but not like it, if I'm running, or at soccer, but it's when I'm trying to walk to work and feel like I"m going to drown in my own sweat that makes me annoyed. 

The thing is, I really like Dubai. When I'm here, I love seeing my friends and family, being outside, running, seeing greenery, walking places, well, I love just about everything. Then, I think about Dubai and I could list off a zillion things I like about being there too. I love the weather November through April and even part of May, the sporting events, friends, my soccer team and the running club. I love that I spend time in fancy hotels and gorgeous beaches and can travel all over the place. I guess there are worse things than loving two places. 

I have to leave in a few days, and I definitely did not have time to do all the things I wanted to do, see all the people I wanted to see or relax the way I was hoping too. But, I guess when does life ever turn out the way we think it will. Dubai? Seriously?

Wine tasting... my favorite thing to do...

Amy, Missy, Marisa and I

BBQing at Amy and Kelly's

Jess, Amy, Katie and Missy

Katie, Missy, Amy and I

I made my friends do a little photo shoot... I was trying to post them to my Facebook account, but so far no luck.

While I was over there I wanted to look at one of my girlfriend's match. com profile and as we were looking it over (aka proofing) I noticed that she only wanted guys 23 - 25 or something like that, we got a good laugh over that :-) Anyways, I was giving her a hard time and asking her if she lied in it or if she was being honest. I always laugh because whenever anyone is asked to write about themselves I can almost guess what they'll say, things like, drink 1 or 2 drinks, but only socially, like to be active, travel, have a steady job, looking for friendship first, blah, blah, blah. It's all the same. What people should write is what they really like, I was thinking, I'd write something like... My name is Lisa, I work because I have to. A perfect day would include: a long run, soy latte, an excess of good wine and time with friends and family. 

Notice there is no, I love to spend time reading, taking walks, enjoying the outdoors, volunteering, reading to the blind, love of animals or other random things that people always write in those things.  

It's way late and I should be sleeping, but for some reason I have not been sleeping at all, I think I'm all anxious about leaving and thinking about all the things I have to do and didn't do before I left and what state my place will be in when I get back and a whole long list of other things, what I should really be doing now is sleeping...

Whistler photos...

I had the best time in Whistler and Vancouver! I love the idea of getting up early, going for long runs, then deciding between the pool or walking around the village, I mean, the options really are endless! Soy latte before the skate park? or after? I can't remember if I wrote this already or not, but, while I am LOVING being home and up in Canada, but there is a part of me that is ready to not be living out of a suitcase and eating out for every meal...

Village Stroll

Mom riding up the Gondola     

View from the top

Wildflowers on the way up

Mom and I 

We spent hours watching the mtn bikers. Gavin loved it and Ella pointed out all the girls.

Gondola

Upper Village 

View of the mtn

Walking up to the upper village

Me at the top of the mtn

View from our hotel room

Village stroll, again...

I was a bit hesitant about my time up in Canada, I felt like it was taking away time from friends and family that I wanted to see in OR, WA and CA, and it did, I missed out on my CA trip, but thing is, if I had to be out of the US, there isn't a better place than Whistler and Vancouver with my family! I wish I could post the pictures of my family. The kids were unbelievably cute and I feel so lucky that my whole family took the time and spent their money to hang out with me! 

Michael and I stayed a few days up in Vancouver after my sister and her family left. We walked, a lot, ate some great sushi, hiked up Grouse Mtn (way harder than I thought it was going to be) and just basically hung out. Did I already talk about Michael's feet? It was the most hilarious thing ever, well to me anyways... we literally walked between 12 - 15 miles every day. Somehow, Michael's feet got all hot and sweaty and gross and sweat and dust combined and pooled into little puddles of black between his toes, it was the most hilarious thing I have ever seen and he was kind of freaking out. I laughed, as all good sisters would. 

My mom planned a family dinner for us the night we got back, which was awesome to see everyone at once. My cousin's little boy was so cute, I hadn't seen him since March, he's the same age as Dane and they just change so much! I also went and saw my dad a couple times, he was pretty hilarious. It was really good to see him. 

Today Linds came out from HR, we hung out, went shopping, out to dinner, it was great! Tomorrow I'm heading out to the Willamette Valley for a day of wine tasting. The idea is that we'll BBQ at Katie's that night, but we'll see how motivated we are after a day of "tasting"... 

Law and Order

I'm not sure how or why, but I am recently obsessed with TV. I'm not sure if it's because I don't have TV in Dubai and I know I'm not going to be able to watch it or what, but I can't seem to get enough of Law and Order, Numbers, CSI, Without a Trace and any other police or law drama. Maybe it's because I like rules? Or maybe it's because I like it when the good guys win? Who knows. I'll sort out some pictures of the rest of my time in Whistler and Vancouver and post them soon. I'm clearly very, very, very busy. I really do have about a zillion things to do, but, am choosing to spend my time downloading new music onto my computer and watch TV...

Lovin it...

I'm still enjoying every second up here in Whistler, we've been doing nothing and everything all at once. I was thinking about posting some pictures, but b/c of all the crazies in the world, I refuse to post pictures of my niece and nephews and that's pretty much the only thing I've taken pictures of. It's been awesome to see my brother, it's been way too long, and just hang out! I've been on some really great trail runs. Today I got a bit lost and went a few extra miles, but it was so gorgeous that I almost didn't notice. Almost. If any of you know my sense of direction, I'm sure you're not surprised I got a bit lost. As I was running back into the village, I thought I had figured out where I was, I realized I was coming in at pretty much the exact opposite part of town that I thought I was going to be. Oh well, I did eventually make it back. Last night we ate at this awesome Sushi place, today we just ran around town, Kristin and I went out and did a little shopping, went out to dinner then Michael and I went out for a drink. Good times. Tomorrow I'm going to watch the kids while the others go and do the zip line... should be interesting! I never, ever, ever want to leave!

Maybe the 35 day rule isn't so bad...

Oh Canada...










So, I will admit, I wasn't totally excited about my two weeks in Canada, but once my mom and I flew into Vancouver, unpacked our things and headed out for a walk I was loving it! We were staying right on the waterfront and spent four days walking along the seawall, shopping, eating and laying by the pool. I also went on amazing runs around Stanley Park and my mom and I walked about a zillion miles every day. About every two seconds I was saying something about how Kim (a friend of mine who was living in Vancouver before Dubai) was right, or, how did she ever leave this place, or this is like a HUGE version of Hood River. Everything about this place is awesome! Kim also sent me an extensive list of things to do in Vancouver, I'm pretty sure we did them all...The weather has been great, the mountains are beautiful, the water... I could just go on and on! So, I will.

My Mom along the Seawall












Views from the hike we did up at Grouse Mountain



















Granville Island Market



















I was obsessing about the fruits, vegetables, flowers, fresh seafood and pastries available.































After we wandered through the market, ate some delicious bread and sat outside for a while, we decided to walk down to 4th Avenue and Kits Beach. We had another great meal, wandered along the seawall again and then looked at a map and decided to walk home, or until we got tired, then sort out the bus situation. Speaking of... we used public transportation and figured it out on our own, impressive for us! And, the system actually seems to work here. On our walk home, we passed the largest pool I have ever seen in my life! I was thinking there was no way that I could swim the length of it, but all my crazy Dubai swimmer friends, would love it!













That night we went to Yaletown and I ordered a fancy drink and this amazing seafood selection of Sea Bass, Shrimp and Wild Salmon. Amazing. I love vacationing...

The next day I got up and did my long run, this week was actually all long runs because it was just too beautiful to not just run forever, then we went to this organic coffee shop that we had walked around the night before that I wanted to try. I found it very irritating that the person taking our order didn't understand or speak English. Normally when I'm traveling that doesn't bother me, but when I'm in an English speaking country, I find it annoying. I did have one of the best scones I've ever had in my life, so I guess that makes up for it... We went back to the hotel, packed up and waited for Kristin and Eric to arrive to whisk us away to Whistler. We had time for one last meal, so I splurged again, a glass of B.C. wine and crab cakes on an outdoor patio. Vancouver, it's been a rough ride.

The drive to Whistler was unbelievable! We missed the turn off the bridge and somehow ended up following Marine Drive through gorgeous neighborhoods and overlooking mountains and waterways before we made it to the Sea to Sky Highway. I'd like to think of it as a fortunate mistake. We arrived to Whistler yesterday afternoon, I can't believe how beautiful it is and am already convinced that this two weeks will not be nearly enough time to see and do everything, shocking. My brother arrives later this week and he plans to stay up here with me after my sister and her family leave. I'm guessing we'll go back to Vancouver, I think he'll love it. Especially the $6 Sushi lunches...












Canada, loving it...

Home at last... really?

So, I've been back in the states for a little over two weeks and it feels like I haven't been in any one spot for more than a day or two...










Lex, Lindsey and I at 10 Speed in Mosier

This was us enjoying the zillion degree weather at an unairconditioned coffee shop in Mosier. It's funny because everyone thinks because I live in Dubai I must be used to the heat, but I'm not sure that's the case. There are no places that don't have air conditioning and I avoid being outdoors as much as possible when it's hot. After HR, I headed back to Portland for a few nights before I went to Gearhart to meet my sister for the week.










Erin and I at Noble Rot

Erin and I went to Noble Rot, my favorite wine bar in Portland. It was very hot out, so we drank bottles of white wine... and then had Mac and Cheese for dinner, I think we were there for about 4 hours, there was a lot of life to catch up on. We solved most of the world's problems.

The next day I drove out to the coast. It was beautiful!









Linds and I at the beach










My mom and I at the beach













Proud to be an American...









The beach house









Kerosene Dreams









We were out at the coast for just under a week. The kids ran around all day long, every day, playing every sport imaginable. We were at the tennis courts, playing golf in the yard, jumping in the waves (well, they were anyways), riding bikes, etc. Almost every morning we would wake up, hang out for a bit, head to the coffee shop, sit around some more, it was amazing! 4th of July is also Gavin's birthday, he thinks all the decorations and fireworks are just for him. It's so cute! On the 4th the kids were in the 4th of July parade, of course, it's Oregon, so right as it was about to start, it just started POURING down rain. Oh well, it was fun! Another friend of mine was also staying right down the street, so it was fun to see her and meet her new little boy also. One night we went and saw Kerosene Dreams, this band I used to love listening to when I was in high school and college, so that was fun too. We did some bowling, shopping, all kinds of good stuff. Gavin was hilarious on his birthday, he was in the wagon while we went on a walk after dinner and he just started screaming, Happy Independence Day! Happy 4th of July! It's my birthday! It was so cute, I have it all on camera and now downloaded to my computer, it will be perfect to watch when I'm missing them when I get back to Dubai. Right as I was leaving the beach I got a call from a friend of mine and found out one of our friend's boyfriend was in a mtn biking accident and broke his neck, so I drove in and spent the day up at OHSU. He seems to be doing great! It's amazing! Then I met up with some friends for dinner and drinks. It was such a fun night! This morning I went out and saw my dad, he seemed to be doing really well, which was great! I also went by this car dealership place to have him look at my car, it was pretty hilarious. Used car salesman, enough said I guess!










Rob, Marisa, Missy and I at Henry's