It's been awhile...

Sorry about the long delay between posts.  It has been pretty crazy at work and in my free time I've just been trying to relax. I have been putting 60+ hour weeks in at work, trying to finish up the 2009 budgets. But I'm beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel, so my weeks are starting to get a little more manageable.

So this was supposed to be our first year away from Michigan winters, but last week it felt just like home. 

Portland had its second snowiest December in the city's history, and everything was shut down.  Most schools were shut down for the entire week and the Oregon Department of Transportation was requiring snow tires or chains on all cars in the Portland Metro area. It was pretty crazy, but the temperatures have warmed up and the snow is almost gone.  

This was also our first Christmas away from home. We were pretty much snowed in for the holidays, but it was still a good time. 

Mary got me a great pea coat, and we got a Nintendo Wii so we had a lot of fun with that. We also had an awesome Christmas Eve fondue dinner.

Anyway, now I'm back to work, and Mary is back in Michigan until New Years Eve. We'll try harder to update the blog a little more often. For a few more pictures of our December in Portland click here: DECEMBER 2008

Happy Holidays!

2 Weeks in...

Hey Everyone,

Sorry I haven't updated in awhile, and there aren't any new pics for this update. I just wanted to let you all know how my new job has been going.

First, the drive down to Salem hasn't been too bad.  Its about an hour drive there and back, but I am already feeling used to it, and it hasn't been bothering me. This week I just started car-pooling with one of my co-workers and I think it is going to work out well.

I've also been learning a lot at a fast pace.  I came in during budget season, which is the financial planning and analysis team's busiest time.  So everyone in my group is really busy and I have been helping out wherever I can.  I've been working closely with one of my co-workers, Shannon, who will soon be on maternity leave and I will be taking over for her. 

Finally, I really like the people I work with. Everyone has been very welcoming and helpful and I think it is going to be a great fit for me.

Another perk of the job is that a few times a month, my company has drawings for Portland Trailblazers tickets. I entered the drawing and won tickets for Wednesday's game against the Miami Heat! The tickets are in the third row, next to the Blazer's tunnel. So if you find the game on TV look for us.

Anyway, both Mary and I are looking forward to the 4-day Thanksgiving weekend and we will post pictures of our Thanksgiving dinner and the Blazers game soon!

-Ryan 

Job Update!

Well, two days after I received my job offer, Mary got a full-time offer too! 

She will get the details tomorrow, but she got a call tonight from the General Manager and they want to bring her in full-time when her internship ends. Anyway, we are both really excited and I wanted to update the blog and let everyone know.

-Ryan

Today Was a Good Day.

Hey Everyone,

So... not only did America elect its first African-American president, but I also got a job!

It is a Financial Analyst position for a company called Holiday Retirement. Here is their website: www.holidaytouch.com

The job is in Oregon's capital of Salem, so I will be commuting back and forth, but I am pumped for the opportunity. 

Over the weekend, Mary, Lance and I went on a 7 mile hike to the top of Larch Mountain (which is 4061 ft high!).

This is at the bottom of the trail at Multnomah Falls.

The moss is amazing out here.

Mary and I in the middle of the hike.

It was a pretty cool (and tiring) hike to the top. If you want to check out more photos of the hike, click here: LARCH MOUNTAIN CLIMB

Anyway, I'm really excited about the job and I will keep you all updated.

Hope all is well.

- Ryan

What a Great Day.

Hey Everyone,

Mary and I had a great day and we wanted to share the pictures with everyone. 

First, we went to Roloff Farm this morning in Hillsboro, OR to pick out a pumpkin. For those of you not familar with Roloff Farm, it is the home of the Roloff family, the stars of TLC's "Little People, Big World." They were filming for the new season while we were there, so if any of you watch it, you may spot Mary and me. For more pictures of our day, go to this album: ROLOFF PUMPKIN CARVING.

Later that night we started carving our pumpkin.

In honor of the Spartan's sixth victory today against Northwestern, we decided to go with this...

And here is the Spartan in green...

Go Spartans! 6 -1 record, undefeated in the Big Ten!

After the pumpkin was gutted and carved, we also roasted the pumpkin seeds and baked home-made pumpkin muffins. They are delicious.

Overall, it was a great day. Tomorrow we are going to watch our friends, Brett and Jessica, compete in a Portland cyclocross race. Again, if you want to see more photos, go here: ROLOFF PUMPKIN CARVING. So I hope all is well, and we enjoy hearing from all of you, so LEAVE COMMENTS!

- Ryan

The ocean and the green...

As promised, here are some pictures from Cannon Beach on the Pacific Ocean and golfing at Edgefield:

Lance brought his tripod. I should be posting his pictures...

Ascending seagulls.

The cold water didn't stop this surfer.

For more pictures of the ocean, click PACIFIC.

Quick Update

Hi all,

Sorry for the delay in between posts. We went to the Pacific Ocean last Wednesday, and I have been waiting for Ryan to upload his photos, but I figured I'd write a quick note.

We had a good time visiting Cannon Beach and Haystack Rock at the ocean last week. While it was 85 degrees that day in Portland, it was in the fifties on the coast. We warmed up with some hot chocolate and clam chowder and walked along the beach. Lance found me a sand dollar to add to my small collection of sea shells for decorating the bathroom.

On Friday, we went golfing. It was my first time. It was a par 3 course with 12 holes, which were around 40-70 yards to the pin. You only needed a wedge or sand wedge and a putter. Brett, Lance, Ryan and I all played. Brett got first with +5. While I came in 4th, I was very excited when I was on par for one hole. Even the boagie pleased me.

Monday, I began my internship. So far, it has been going wonderfully. My coworkers were very welcoming and have been very helpful. It's a young pr firm, so it's a great atmosphere. I've already had my hands on some great projects, including contributing to one of our client's newsletters and working on several research projects. The account I'll primarily be working on is USB, which has a lot going on, so it'll keep me busy!

As for Ryan, he has been applying for a ton of jobs. He has an interview scheduled for Oct. 3 with a healthcare company and has met with multiple headhunters. I'm confident he'l'l land a job soon!

Pictures of the ocean & golfing to come in the next post.

Until then,

Mary

Guess What?

...Mary has a job! It will be a 12 week internship with a PR firm in Beaverton, OR. Just wanted to give you all a quick update. And so this isn't a really short post...

...Here is a pic of good ol' Abe in downtown Portland. Enjoy.

Portland update

Hey everyone,

Here's an update from the last few days:

We now have an address of our own. We live in the Mt. Tabor district of SE Portland which is blocks from Mt. Tabor park.

View of downtown Portland from atop Mt. Tabor. This is a couple blocks from our apartment.

Our apartment is a 2 bedroom, 1 1/2 bath and we're really happy with it. I attempted to take pictures to capture our new home; however, the pictures don't really give you a feel of the place, so you'll have to come visit. :) Trips to Ikea, Target, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Wal-Mart and even Goodwill have been commonplace and we're close to having most things we need. We hope to get internet today, as we realize how these days, it's a necessity.

While we have been busy getting things in order at our apartment and job hunting (we attended a job fair today that was downtown at the Hilton), we had a chance to go to Mount Hood with Brett, Jessica and Vera. The mountain is about an hour drive from where we live. We also made it to Timberline Lodge within Mount Hood, which is where all of the outside shots of "The Shining" were filmed.

We also found the Oscar Meijer Weinermobile!

For more pictures of our apartment, Mt. Tabor park and Mt. Hood, please click this link: PORTLAND PICS.

Hopefully, we'll both be employed by the time the next post is published. I have a final interview with a pr firm tomorrow, and Ryan plans to utilize staffing companies that aid in matching candidates with appropriate jobs.

Take care!

-Mary & Ryan

We have arrived :D

Hey everyone,

We're writing you this blog entry from Powell's, the World's largest independently-owned bookstore, in downtown Portland, Oregon. It feels wonderful to be here and we're so thankful for all of the support from you all.

As you can imagine, we were tired along the way and also, wi-fi was not always available, hence the delay in between posts, but we're sure you understand.

Below are some pictures from Days 3 and 4 of our journey. Enjoy!

We were literally within feet of this beast. No camera zoom was necessary.


We had a great view of Old Faithful's eruption.

This was at Mary's Bay in the mountains of Yellowstone.

Artist's Point. Pictures don't do it justice.

You wouldn't believe how windy it was.

To see more picturesque images of Yellowstone, please click here: YELLOWSTONE.

Brett, Jessica and baby Vera are being excellent hosts for us as we apartment hunt. Yesterday, we spent the day researching units and traveling the city to find a suitable place. We've scheduled some viewings and will keep you posted. We can't wait to have a place of our own.

With Love,

Mary and Ryan

Day Two!

Alright, well we've made it through two days of driving cross-country! We started the day in Sioux City, IA and ended in Sheridan, Wyoming (about 20 miles from the Montana border).

We drove about 675 miles today, which puts us over half way to Portland!

Originally, we planned to stop at Mt. Rushmore, but there was a lot of traffic around Rapid City, IA and it would have taken us 70 miles out of our way. We did, however, see some beautiful scenery driving through South Dakota and Wyoming. Check out these pics below.

We stopped to fill our tanks and get some food in Sturgis, SD, where it was over 90 degrees, so Mary was pretty happy that she got her A/C fixed for the trip. We also saw about 1000 billboard advertisements for "Wall Drug," which is tourist stop in the middle of South Dakota.

So now we only have about 300 miles to Yellowstone! We are both really excited about getting there so we can take a couple days off from driving and relax. So we will be posting more pics in the next couple of days.

Thanks again for the comments, we love getting them!

Day 1

Ryan and I left Muskegon at 9:30 a.m. ready to begin our first day of driving. Saying our goodbyes to friends and family was the hardest part about leaving, but we were both eager to begin our journey.

We traveled 700 miles the first day, making it to Sioux City, IA, which for me was quite the accomplishment for the following reasons:

Prior to today, the farthest I drove was 120 miles. It was my first time driving outside of Michigan. Also, the longest I had ever used cruise control was a mere 5 miles on I-96.

For Ryan, it was a little more feasible. He has a drive from Austin, TX to Muskegon (with only 1 hour-long nap along the way) under his belt.

We traveled through Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and a little bit of Nebraska.



The drive has already been scenic and we're eager to head westward toward more beauty. We have some pictures of Iowa, which had a lot of corn, hills (which surprised us) and windmills. Gas was also in the $3.40-$3.50 per gallon range, significantly lower than the $4.00/gal that we filled up with in Illinois.







It's just past 11 p.m. central time here, and we're getting ready to rest up for another day on the road tomorrow. We are planning to stop at Mt. Rushmore, and some other sites in South Dakota.

Our next post should have some more picturesque images.

Thanks for all the support, and we appreciate the comments. Good night!