Much more friendly skies!

As the title suggests, coming home from Oregon was much more successful. JJ partially slept on each flight. It was still a long day but we arrived last Monday after 11pm. Our time in Etna spent with Freda and Bob was wonderful. We didn't do much really but it was time spent together. On our last day there, Bob, who was a mountain guide, took us to the peak of the valley for a great view. We set foot on the Pacific Crest Trail (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Crest_Trail) and walked on snow. This was ironic since I knew back home Robert was in hot, humid weather. Northern California is very beautiful. Staying with Freda and Bob was very enlightening to me. They live a simple life and eat very healthy food. This observation continued in Portland. JJ and I ended up taking the short flight from Medford, OR to Portland to avoid the long drive. My friend Caroline from high school picked us up from the airport. She is a law professor there and also litigtes cases with the students. There was one nice day in Portland and it rained the other days. We mostly shopped. There is no sales tax there and there are many outlets for all the popular outdoor brands (a.k.a. Columbia). I got some great deals on clothes for Robert and myself. I went to a couple of grocery stores there and love how healthy the options are. It is a huge difference from the Midwest. All produce is organic and other choices lean toward a healthy lifestyle. I wish that kind of choice was available in our region. There are bike lanes everywhere and this positive way of life is mainstream there. That is not to take away from the many good things about where we live - just a noticeable difference. We were gone a total of 9 days. It was a long trip and we were glad to be home. JJ did great with the time change on both ends. He's so flexible! It took several days getting settled in here for me though. Robert did some great work on the garage and other organizing but clean the house he did not. Since being home I have tried to adapt a Freda-like diet into our home. My biggest revelation is how bad High Fructose Corn Syrup is for our bodies. I really want to cut soda out of my diet. That is enemy #1 with the HFCS. I feel safe to say at this point that I am training for a Sprint Triathlon here in Conway in September. Training daily and cutting out the sweets I have already dropped 5 lbs. I'm really excited about the challenge. It is a 500 yd. swim, 15 mile bike and 3 mile run. I can do each of those segments individually now but am training to gain the endurance to do them consecutively. I was reading a magazine in the dentist's office about this lady who did her first tri. I thought, if she can do it I can. The more thought I gave it I was sold on the idea. So that is what I do each day and JJ enjoys his time socializing in the playcenter. He is taking steps now in longer and longer stretches. He is not a full-time walker but so close. He continues to be such a joy to both of us. Robert left today for two weeks of training in Albuquerque, NM. Karen, his mother, is coming here Friday for a visit and to help out while Robert is gone. I think we will have fun together. Sorry for the long blog and distance between entries. Check out our trip pics on the Picasa album site. Be sure to participate in the poll on this page!