Thankful.

I am thankful this year.

Ok, that's an understatement. 2010 has been a monstrosity of a year for Mr. & Mrs. Wendling. We became just that (among a million other things). But I think the way we spent our weekend really summarizes all the things that I am thankful for.

I am thankful for my husband and his smoking skills. Check out this turkey and T-giving spread.



Well, my skills are also important, yes? I mean who else can drink (chug?) wine and pull off a pink and paisley apron?
That last picture leads me to my next point. I am thankful for this amazing adventure that we are on that allows us the opportunity to explore beautiful places like this:
Seriously, that is not a stock image. We visited this vineyard among others on Friday as the local wineries have "barrel parties" over Thanksgiving weekend. These left us with an overflowing wine rack - oops!

And finally we explored Seattle by foot. We both finished the Seattle Half-Marathon. And I am so thankful that we are both healthy, able-bodied individuals who can complete such a feat.

Andy did great at his first race of this distance and I did ok all things considered (I had that broken toe 6-week ago - ughh!). And though I don't have photos of us running because, well, we were running. I do have some cool photos of Seattle so enjoy!

I look photoshopped into the above photo, I know. But how cool is the market at Christmas?


Can you spot the Space Needle with a Christmas tree on top?

Final thoughts as I wrap up this lengthy entry.

1. We are ever so thankful for our families and for those friends who are like our families. We miss you like crazy. Every. Single. Day. But thank you for letting us have these adventures and we promise that one year soon we'll be home for all the holidays!
2. Happy Anniversary to my husband! 6 Months already!
3. Welcome to your 20's, Mags. Live. It. Up.

P.S. If you are ever in Seattle and need to carb-load. Might we recommend Il Bistro? Not sure there could be a cooler atmosphere. (Ok, maybe in Italy.)

Tell it to the Judge...

For this Iowa girl, waking up to this scene - barely a trace of snow on the ground - beckoned no description of Winter Wonderlands or exciting Snow Days. It mirrored more the familiar inconvenience of travel, desperate attempts to keep hands warm enough to type and worry about getting to the gym later.

Until I caught the glimpse of this guy out my window. Try telling him that this is no winter wonderland and all the sudden my apple cider is warming on my stove and the gym is no where in sight. It's a holiday week after all and this guy's started early and with much more excitement!

It really is about perspective, isn't it? I am thankful for you, joyful sledder in a bright yellow coat!

Happy Veterans Day!

"So we live out in our old van
Travel all across this land
Me and you

We'll end up hand in hand
Somewhere down on the sand
Just me and you

Just as free
Free as we'll ever be
Just as free
Free as we'll ever be

We'll drive until the city lights
Dissolve into a country sky
Just me and you

Lay underneath the harvest moon
Do all the things that lovers do
Just me and you

Just as free
Free as we'll ever be
Just as free
Free as we'll ever be"

Past the Proverbial 'Bump in the Road'

And running again.

*It should be noted that this is not a stock image.

In Oregon they literally let you know when to expect bumps in the road with oversized sans serif typography. Wouldn't it be nice if these letters were scattered so literally elsewhere in life?

Wonderful, wonderful weekends!

There are no words for the emotions I feel toward the weekends these days. As blessed as I know I am to have the flexibility of working from home - my days are often lonely and offer little excitement but when the weekend comes it feels like the whole world (or city) is ours to experience.

This weekend began with a knock on our door. Andy and I literally looked at each other startled and puzzled - this knock was surely meant for someone else as the two people we know in Portland were sitting in our bedroom. Andy headed down and was pleasantly surprised to meet our neighbor - Bill. Bill, as we quickly found out, was hosting Bryon Friedman for a quaint show in his living room and invited us to come over.


This was such a cool experience and a fun way to meet a few of our neighbors (plus the band!). I recommend anyone who likes Jack Johnson, The John Butler Trio or even Dave to check out this guy's music.

On Saturday we had big plans to hike and wander downtown but they were cut a little short by the amount of wine I consumed on Friday - oops - and the calling we had to go watch the Cyclones once we made it downtown. Andy can still be heard randomly announcing "God damnit, Cyclones" thanks to that game.

Sunday began with two equally pleasant surprises. 1) It was sunny and 2) Daylight Savings. This meant we were out our front door by 9 am and ready to see what the city had to offer. First, we found the hike that we had missed on Saturday.



From the hike we stumbled upon a new oasis of fun - Nob Hill. This is literally a mecca of all things I love - shoes, clothes, food, wine, beer, kitchen gadgets! We literally wandered this neighborhood for hours and then the rain that we expected at 7 am found us. Like true Portland-loving pretend natives - we endured the rain sans umbrellas until we finally headed home.


CHEERS!!