I'm going to Europe next week...

Next Week!!!!!

I know I run the risk of sounding terribly uppity...
I assure you I'm not...
Please don't mistake my enthusiasm for haughtiness!

But I am going to Europe next week! And I couldn't be more excited!
There is much to do...
Besides worrying over 2 weeks of lesson plans I'm worrying over deciding what to pack and what to not pack...

My mom and I pinkey swore we would go only with carry-on - which I think is a very good idea because EVERY time I have traveled internationally I have ALWAYS taken way too much stuff! Except my last trip to Peru I did carry-on but that was 10 days - this is 17!

As this is my longest trip...and it will be chilly at times so I can't just get by with shorts and tank tops.

But by far the majority of what I will be taking is my camera equipment...which probably weighs around 20lbs not including the tripod (which any professional photographer know is a must when shooting landscape - so I have read) Then there are the essentials --

• Passport! Thankfully light weight - not an issue
• iPad or no iPad?  Lighter than laptop - without it I won't have a way to view pictures I have taken - could download books and then not bring them - however, another expensive electronic to worry about...
• Shoes - sigh I have big feet - I think I have settled on just my running shoes and some flip flops - while I would love to take some of my much loved boots they would fill my entire suitcase
• Pants? - 17 days - cold, warm, comfy... how many? I do have some cool zip off pants they are definitely coming.  Pair of yoga pants, jeans? Capris? Would 3 long pants be enough?
• Socks, underware, 5 obviously doing laundry while gone...
• bra - sports, comfy, supportive? Forget the supportive! COMFY!
• Coat - rain or warmth? I feel I need to chose between my new raincoat (waterproof) or a super warm but not waterproof jacket - I think both would be to much. Madrid will be coldest the rest of the trip looks like mid 60s lows in mid 30-40 range...
• Cosmetics - pretty easy I'm not a fussy girl...
• Hair - I have an appointment tomorrow - do I cut this mop off and go short or keep it long and just braid/bun/pony every day?

Any wisdom out there? If so please share :)

Frychik

Bend

Sun River - Mt. Bachelor

After hearing my husband talk about how much he wanted to go to Mt. Bachelor for a ski weekend - for MONTHS - I finally said just do it already and he did.

Planning something like this makes me nervous because despite my best laid plans I cannot plan the weather!

And weather is KEY when planning a ski weekend!

We did this two years ago and it RAINED the entire time and there was ZERO skiing on our ski weekend...

But Sun River is a fun place to go regardless of the activity so we planned and hoped.

The weekend before the entire region was experiencing an inversion - which resulted in significant snow loss and significant depression to me trapped in a freezing fog bank in Meadowglade...

So it turns out we planned it perfectly because this weekend there was lots and lots of fresh fluffy snow for us to ski , or "shred the pow" as my husband loved saying just to aggravate our super cool boarder boys...

Needless to say the weekend was....

The boys were happy...

They play together really well when snowboarding is involved and it makes this momma so happy to see her boys bonding over something they share equal love for.  They are very different kiddos but when it comes to snowboarding and soccer they are united in their passion...

There were only moments of sun...I still have yet to ski off the top of Mt. Bachelor (my second time skiing there) The top was fogged in so the lift was closed.  But the cool thing about this mountain is that it is so big that there is plenty to do...

We skied until our legs burned and then we skied some more...

Then we went in and drank hot chocolate and then we skied some more...

 I absolutely loved that after finishing on the mountain we only had a 30 min drive back to our house! It was fantastic to get back in time so enjoy some of Sun River's beauty - we caught a beautiful sunset on Saturday...Of course the other side of that is that we didn't have to get up super early to make it to the mountain when the lifts opened...

I have come to the conclusion that in addition to my lake house...I also need a ski house and of course my beach house...

Is that too much to ask for?
I think not! :)

And Jeff and I found some adorable coyotes...I begged them to come closer I had visions of getting amazing shots where you could see the reflection of my camera in their eyes...but they just wouldn't cooperate!

After two days of skiing it was time to head home....

After a very snowy trip over Mt. Hood we entered back into the rainy side of the state...

Sigh...

I told Jeff we might need to consider retiring in Bend...

Man I'm getting old!

On another note...

I know I have been a terrible blogger and I don't know that anyone will read this...

But life is MUCH improved and I'm about to leave on an adventure and I "plan" to blog every day while I'm gone...

So if your interested stay tuned...

Frychik

2013

Once upon a time my children were small...

But then they grew and then they went off to school and we thought they were oh so very grown up!

I cried a tear when I said good-bye at the kindergarten door...

I was amazed at the year they would graduate...2013 and 2015!

It sounded like space age...

A distant time far far away...

Hmmmmmmmm

Happy 2013!

What a beautiful way to start a new year!

If you are so inclined...check out shellyfryphotography.smugmug.com for some new pictures...

I hope now that my schedule has eased up I will be taking more pictures :)

Oh and I'm excited because I can now say - I'm going to Europe and Africa next month! :)

Frychik



Vacation - Day 1

Today feels like a vacation day...
I'm sorry for those of you who are not on a school schedule and don't get two weeks off...
It is one of the BEST perks of my job!

While it is Wed and we are several days in today feels like vacation - and here's why...

1.  Received my final grade for my Masters class 94% - huge relief!
2.  No real agenda this morning
3.  Ran 2 miles and felt strong :)
4.  Went shopping with the boys and bought a few things just for me :)
5.  Ate Christmas cookies for lunch :)
6.  Bought two new books just because they looked interesting...Eight Girls Taking Pictures and A House in Fez - The first appealed to the photographer in me, the second the traveler and the fact that I will be in Fez, Morocco in just over 6 weeks!
7.  While I LOVE having Christmas at my house today all is quite and there is nothing to prep for...
8.  Tonight I don't have to cook dinner because we are going out to eat :)
9. After we go out to eat we are going to a Blazer game -
10.  Because for the first time in a long time I am setting the agenda and the agenda isn't setting me :)

I hope you have time for a deep breath!

Frychik

Happy feels good!

I'm happy...
The ball of stress that has been living in my gut since September has dissolved...
Today was a good day I had time to teach my one class, grade some papers, prep for tomorrow AND run some errands :)
No my current Master's class isn't over yet...but its very close and I have my paper written (rough draft) So I'm relaxing and I don't have that stupid voice constantly screaming in my head "you don' have time for this you need to be writing your research paper!" - Man am I sick of that voice!
And while we did accomplish getting a Christmas tree, it sits naked in my living room...no time to decorate it - hopefully tonight.

As I ran errands I made a last minuet unexpected stop at Trader Joe's - I never go there anymore it just isn't on the way to/from anywhere for me and the traffic in that area is a pain! But I was in the area and I decided I would stop.

There I met the loveliest woman!
Before we spoke I noticed her - full length tan coat with a belt cinch around her slender frame...
Beautiful blue eyes and snow white hair - on the top of her head at a jaunty angle a matching beret
I guessed her to be in her 80s - beautiful lines on her face but not many around her eyes which were sharp, focused...
I thought to myself "I hope I age as well"


We were in the coffee/tea section.  I was looking for Chai and anything else that caught my fancy
I twisted a can, noticed it was coffee and looked away...
She said Oh thank you! That is what I was looking for its my favorite!
She then proceeded to tell me how cute my outfit was...
I told her I was thinking the same of her!

She thanked me and told me her husband had bought her the coat in 1979 and opened it to show me it was lined with shearling and I could see how the sheep's wool had aged over the years around the collar - it was a beautiful coat! She could have been a movie start from the 40s.

We chatted for awhile - she's excited about spending time with her family who lives in Battle Ground...
She is a great-grandmother - which surprised me - she was so spry I didn't think she was that old and I'm still wondering at her actual age.

She said she has a bossy daughter-in-law so she doesn't see them too much.  She then explained that the bossy daughter-in-law trys to make her sit in the front seat of the car but she told me she has not intentions of sitting in the front seat she can sit in the back just fine!

I had to laugh at that! I have done the same thing to Jeff's grandparents...I told her so and mentioned that I think us daughter-in-laws were just trying to be respectful...to which she just scoffed!

She wished me a merry Christmas, told me she loved my outfit again and headed off...

I sincerely hope our paths cross again!

I hope your heart has some happiness in it today!

Frychik

Running Away from it all...try it you'll like it!

Stress manifests itself in me in the following ways...

--Cranky, hair trigger
--Loss of any and all self-confidence
--Withdraw from friends etc
--Pulse racing, jittery, physically strung tight!

I was all of these times 100 when I got on Amtrack last Thursday

And then I breathed a huge, long sigh of relief...

Have you ever traveled by train?
It is delightful!
At least it was for me at 1:00 pm on a Thursday afternoon
I had the car all to myself, I kicked off my shoes and propped them up in the seat across from me
Spread my stuff out all over the table
and enjoyed the view!

The only thing that would have made it better would have been if I didn't  have an assignment due for my Masters class that day...
But regardless I was thankful to have 3.5 hours of uninterrupted time to work on it!






I was headed to Seattle for the 2012 NCSS (National Conference of Social Studies)
I was staying in the heart of the city and I was looking forward to some of the speakers -

Rick Steves!
Travel guy!
This man has made his living for the past 30 years by traveling to Europe 4 months out of the year and writing about it as well as filming a TV show...
Needless to say I admire him greatly! ;)

He was a very interesting speaker as well, sharing his insights after traveling the world for 30 years you learn a thing or two!

I was most excited about listening to Sandra Day'Occonor! She spoke about how she had to offer to work for free before a law firm would hire her! Can you imagine! If you don't know she "grew up" to be the first female to sit on the Supreme Court! She is funny and witty and not at all a stuffy lawyer!

The woman on the far right is Gerda Weissmann Klein - hands down the most inspirational! At 15 she was a young Polish girl when Hitler invaded her country.  She would lose her entire family and survive 3 years in a concentration camp before being liberated by the Americans even marrying the soldier who rescued her!  Her talk at an immigration ceremony where 20 immigrants were swore in as American citizens simply brought me to tears! And reminded me that we should be proud of America it goes much deeper than our politicians!

I don't remember the guy in the middle - he wrote speeches for Bill Clinton - he was the moderator.

In addition to listening to inspirational speakers I stayed in a lovely room on the 17th floor.  It was lovely because instead of someone making a mess behind me someone actually showed up every day and cleaned up after me!
Remarkable!

Another thing I loved was getting up at 6 am every morning and going for a run in the city...
I absolutely love getting up early -
No traffic, the vendors focused on setting up for the day, the lack of people...I love it!

Have you been to Pikes Market? It is wall to wall people, jam packed and frankly a bit overwhelming! This is what it looked like Friday morning at 6:30 am...

The same area 12 hours later...

I have a thing for pig heads...
I was thrilled to find this little gem! Complete with the fake eyeballs!
He looks so happy!


Tonight is the first night of Thanksgiving vacation...
It won't get any better than this moment
Tomorrow will be about running errands, getting ready for Thursday...

Thursday will be Thanksgiving...

Then the madness begins!!!!!!!

I received my first Christmas card in the mail today!
There is no stopping it!

Frychik

Me Time

The busier life gets the more I daydream about what I really want to be doing...
What I have really been wanting to do is have some time outside with my camera...
As I rush about I notice the golds are so gold and the reds oh so red and I just want to hit the pause button
and roam the NW with my camera...

This past weekend we got out and hiked...
It was a tiny baby hike
and it rained
so there wasn't much picture taking
but I did snap a few...

Two years ago the neighbors across the street abandoned their house.  They left behind this glorious tree...I would like very much to dig it up and make it mine...would that be wrong?

On our hike we went up to Multon Falls which I have been to about a bazillion trillion gazillion times...
I have NEVER been to the tunnel...I have been within 20 steps of the train tunnel and didn't realize it! So I was excited to explore the train tunnel...
It was drippy...
And dark...
And really gorgeous against the fall leaves and foggy valley...
I love the NW!

I love fall...
I think I have mentioned that...
I hate how quickly it passes!
One day I think oh I need to grab a picture of that...
and the next it is gone...
naked...
cold...
Then I start wishing for snow...
Then I start wishing for tulips...
Then I start wishing for a suntan...
Then I start wishing for pumpkins...

Yes, I'm wishing my life away...
But I always have something to look forward to!

Frychik

PS - Come to Fall Festival this weekend  6-9 pm Kody's game night! Its gonna be fun!  ( I hope!)