The Cheese Factory

Like the adult version of Willy Wonka’s candy factory, the Tillamook Cheese Factory stands on the beautiful Oregon coast beckoning all sophisticated men and women to come and partake of man’s best creation - cheese!  It truly is a wondrous sight to behold.  What could be more fun than a giant factory producing 40 pound blocks of mild, medium, sharp and white cheddar, pepper jack, squeaky cheese and more!  Unfortunately, Jeff and I didn’t have time to wait in the huge ice cream line for a cone of the world’s finest ice cream, but luckily Tillamook ice cream is readily available at any grocery store in the Northwest – Marionberry Pie is my favorite flavor.  Still, the cheese samples and Jeff’s new found love for squeaky cheese curds were well worth the trip to the coast.  Not to mention, we had a pretty great scenic drive between Tillamook and Seattle.     

VooDoo Doughnuts and Whose Live Anyway

Whilst on our way to Powell’s Bookstore in Portland, Jeff and I spotted the all too famous VooDoo Doughnut shop.  Known for their maple bacon bar, the shop is one of the most popular spots in town (evidenced by the very long line to get in).  Jeff and I decided that, since we weren’t on a tight schedule this trip, we should see what all the fuss is about.  As I’m not really a doughnut person, I wasn’t as keen on standing in line for an hour and twenty minutes to get seven doughnuts closer to a heart attack, but I admit I was intrigued by why so many people would wait so long for doughnuts…so I waited.  We averaged one step forward in line every two minutes.  They had very unique doughnuts (see pictures below) which would make anyone smile, but Jeff and I both decided in the end – they’re just doughnuts with funky toppings.  At least we know we’re not missing out next time we skip the line and just keep walking on to Powell’s!

Notice the nails in the voodoo doll

Every person you see in this photo is standing in line at VooDoo Doughnuts!  That's good business!

Later that night we went to “Whose Live Anyway”, a live version of “Whose Line is it Anyway”.  Ryan from the TV show is in the group and is still the funniest one.  It was quite a kick in the pants – we had some really good laughs! 

All in all our trip to Portland was a great time and proved to be a great get away for the weekend!  Now for the doughnut pictures!

The Spread

The VooDoo Doughnut

Maple and Bacon

Peach Fritter - about the size of my face

Oreo

Butterfinger

Vegan glazed cake - best doughnut we got!

GIANT glazed - about 8" diameter!

The Sleeping Beauty

Jeff and I attended The Sleeping Beauty while we were in Portland celebrating our anniversary.  We weren't expecting much since it's a smaller ballet company, but it was our favorite ballet so far!  Of course, it helps that Tchaikovsky's finest compositions are found in this particular ballet, but truly the choreography, costumes, and sets were so delightful.  It was the most perfect traditional ballet performance!  Long live ballerinas and danseurs!

Side note:  I don't understand how people who enjoy classical music think they don't like the ballet.  You pay the same price to go to the ballet as you would to go to the symphony and hear the same beautiful music, but instead of having to stare at people playing instruments and pretend like it's an amazing sight, you get to witness the most skilled athletes performing moves most of us will never be capable of while smiling and making the movements appear effortless!  The only ballet that's not worth attending is The Nutcracker.  Although this is also one of Tchaikovsky's finest musical achievements, the story is horridly dull and written in a way that makes it impossible to choreograph in an entertaining way; I've yet to enjoy one production of The Nutcracker of the many I've seen.  End side note…and blog entry

We had an excellent Chinese dinner before the ballet - this is Jeff's "I'm excited for dinner" face

Me at the orchestra pit

Happy Second Anniversary! And 28th, 30th, & 51st birthdays!

Jeff and I celebrated our second wedding anniversary on the 15th, 16th and 17th!  I know what you're thinking - "You got married three times on three consecutive days?  You're weird!"  No silly-head!  We got married on October 18th, but the 18th fell on a Monday and everyone knows that it's better to celebrate on the weekend!

We headed to Portland to celebrate and, thanks to Hotwire.com, we stayed in a great hotel/spa right on the Willamette River!  Friday night we went to the ballet "The Sleeping Beauty", Saturday we saw “Whose Live Anyway” (a live version of Whose Line is it Anyway), and on Sunday we went to the Tillamook factory!  In between those larger events, we went to VooDoo doughnuts (an over-rated doughnut shop), the Saturday Market, and Powell’s Bookstore.  

It was a very nice weekend!  We both desperately needed time to relax and sleep.  Of course the trip felt too short – they always do – but it was a great celebration of our first two years as ridiculously silly husband and wife. 

A toast to us!  May the next two years bring more stitches of laughter, singing (instead of talking) to each other, and maybe even a winning lotto ticket!

P.S. I'd also like to make a shout out to Cielle, Ben, and Mommy for their 28th, 30th, and 51st birthdays which all fell within one week of our anniversary!  Happy Birthday - it was an exciting week for our fam!

Ace of Base

In order to keep ourselves entertained while painting our kitchen (blog post to come later once we've found new light fixtures), Jeff and I decided to listen to a little Ace of Base.  Although we have ample Ace of Base selections on our iTunes, we needed a little more variety.  This led to our greatest discovery yet...Pandora's Ace of Base station.  If you don't know what Pandora is, it's like customized radio on the internet.  You create a station by typing in an artist or a song and they play a continuous stream of similarly styled songs.

Go ahead - give the Ace of Base station a try!  You'll be dancing 'til the cows come home! 

General Conference

Every six months my church (the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or the Mormons) holds a General Conference where all of the leaders of the church speak on a variety of topics they feel are important for our time.  I equate it to if the Pope were to speak to all of the Catholics in the world at once.

Since our church is so large (approx. 14 million members), the conference is broadcast via the internet, satellite, television and radio.  Jeff and I never watch TV so we don't have the cable channel that carries it and usually just watch the conference via the internet while in our PJs, eating enormous amounts of food.

This year's conference was particularly wonderful.  Jeff and I have been struggling with several life questions lately and decided to write them down prior to watching the conference.  We listened intently to every talk through all four, two-hour sessions and received answers to each of our questions.  We were also strengthened spiritually and emotionally to actually be able to do something with the answers we received.  The conference is always good, but this was an especially good experience. 

Here is a link to one of my favorite talks given last weekend by President Uchtdorf.  I love his analogies of life and flying airplanes - I think he mentions flying an airplane in every talk he gives.