Oct 27th 2009

It's pumpkin carving time! Shamara and Derek invited their friends Larry, Christina and their daughter Jayden, over to carve pumpkins.



Liz didn't carve a very big opening to get her pumpkin guts out. Dig Liz, dig!



Jayden was everyone's little helper. She insisted she knew how to clean pumpkins properly - here she is helping Shamara. How nice of her!

Oct 25th 2009

It's kind of a big deal when Derek does household tasks. According to him, he needs to "be in the mood for them" which only happens once in a blue moon. He installed the mirrors in the master bath. Shamara had been doing her makeup in the dark for the past MONTH, which explains a lot... Kidding!

Oct 23rd 2009

Who doesn't enjoy getting surprise flowers? It's been overcast and rainy, so this was a bright spot in an otherwise dreary Oregon day.



I love you too, Richard! (and the lady at Roth's Grocery store Florist Department)

Oct 21 2009

Today I baked delicious banana muffins with Shamara. Recipe can be found at www.catcancook.com . Absolutely scrumptious.



We also took Maggie on a nice long walk. Autumn in Oregon is really really pretty - so many bright colours :)

Oct 20th 2009

So happy to be picking out pumpkins a local farm :)



There were a LOT to choose from, but I think we chose wisely.



Shamara's on the left, mine in the middle and Derek's pumpkin on the right.

Oct 18th 2009

We gathered at the Thornton home to celebrate (albeit a day early) Liz' 14th Birthday! Here's me with the birthday girl, who is wearing a sweater very similar to one I just bought. She has great taste, in my opinion.



Happy 14th Birthday Sista!

Oct 15th 2009

Mags and I getting boozed and hanging out on the couch. This picture is terrible because my lips are PURPLE, but I don't often get to have cuddle time on the couch with Mags since she sheds like a mofo.

Oct 15th 2009

Shamara and I saw this dog wandering around the neighbourhood.... It was very gross as it seemed to have some sort of BODY PART hanging from it's belly. Our first reaction was, "OMG look at the gross dog balls!" but then realized it didn't quite look like balls. We later found out the dog has a hernia and the owner's don't plan on getting it fixed anytime soon. She eventually wandered into her own yard and presumably proceeded to lick her hernia. BARF.

If you enlarge you can kinda see the hanging red sack I'm referring to. YUCK.

Oct 13th 2009

To Red Robin we go! I had never been to this restaurant before. It was pretty good - they had a decent Garden Burger that I ordered, so I was quite pleased. Upon leaving the restaurant I noticed........



For those that don't know - McGrath is my maiden name. I had no idea my family owned an illustrious fish house. Well, wait... that's not true. When I told my husband about this place he said I have seen it before and he's told me about it numerous times. For those that do know me - you know my memory is a piece of crap.

Oct 10th 2009

Family dinner at the in-laws!

From L to R: Grandpa Wally, Jason my Pop-in-Law, Sandy the Moms-in-law, on the phone is Sista-in-law Amber (yes, we share the same name) who I have yet to meet, then we've got Sistas-in-law Shamara & Liz, Shamara's husband Derek to whom I am deeply connected as we're both GINGER KIDS, and Grandma Lois.



Poor Moe-Moe wasn't able to get in on the family portrait, so he got an extra special photo with me. Isn't he cute?

Adam Shankman Is My BFF

So, those that know me know I love Twitter and am always on it. They would also know I love celebs (see my George Clooney entry) and any contact, either in person or online, with a celeb makes me giddy and giggly.

Well, I was on Twitter before bedtime when Adam Shankman, who is a So You Think You Can Dance judge AND director of one of my favourite movies - Hairspray - was offering to do a quick 10 mins Q & A via Twitter.

I couldn't think of anything but wanted to write to him quickly so I would be one of the first messages he read....and it worked! Read from the bottom UP of the left hand column.



After saying thank you and goodnight I got a little greedy and thought I'd ask another question, regarding filming in Toronto. Hairspray was shot here and it'd be sick if another musical was filmed in the T Dot... and he wrote back AGAIN:



I know I'm making this more exciting than it sounds, but you can ask Shamara and Derek.... Today I played the Hairspray soundtrack really loud this afternoon and of course sang right along with it... I love this movie... so this is a big deal for me. A BIG deal.

Night!

Oct 8th 2009

In Lincoln City, Oregon. A lovely little beach town.



MASSIVE spider Derek spotted while walking to the beach - click to enlarge (if you can HANDLE it)



Shamara and Derek said we could eat lunch at Moe's. I started flipping out, thinking they were taking me to Moe's Southwest Grill since I LOVE their burritos. It turned out to be a seafood restaurant, even the salads had seafood. After being seated we decided to eat somewhere else... so we literally got up and left the table after ordering our waters. What-evs.



Foggy day at the ocean. We were only out for a few hours, it was pretty cold by the water. Derek attempted to catch ocean fish while Shamara and I had a Photoshoot. After she edits my imperfections out (Oh hello Mr. Zit on my chin) I hope to post my favourites.



On the way back to Salem. Ta-ta for now Oregon Coast.

Oct 7th 2009

Beautiful Oregon sunset. Click to enlarge.

Oct 6th 2009

Maggie is a high energy dog. This quiet moments are something to behold.

Oct 5th 2009

Great hair day.

Oct 3rd 2009

Enjoying the heat of the fire at one of Shamara's friend's house.



Sistas!

Oct 2nd 2009

Sleepover with the Biz.



Maggie is too young to watch Sweeny Todd, so she napped during the movie.

Oct 2nd 2009

My room in Salem Oregon



Plenty of room for my clothes!

Oct 1st 2009

I may be far away from my cuddlebug of a dog named Dooley, but at least I know Maggie is willing to take naps whenever the need arises.

Portland Day 4: Sept 30th 2009

Today wasn't particularly happy. I had to say goodbye to my mumkin, who was flying back to Toronto. We enjoyed our last meal together, for the time being that is, at Bijou Cafe in Portland. My Tofu Scramble was absolutely delicious!

I had a great time with you mom : ) Now, on to Salem Oregon to chill with my husband's family.

Portland Day 3: Sept 29th 2009

Pittock Mansion is a big tourist attraction in Portland. It's like a mini-Casa Loma if you will. We picked a good day to go and see it as it was raining really heavily that morning.



Pittock sits over 1000 feet above Portland, so there are amazing views from the surrounding gardens & from the majority of the home. We couldn't see that far our due to the overcast, but you can just imagine what it looks like on a good day.



Except for all of the old timey appliances and furniture, I can definitely see myself living here.



After Pittock Masion we did some shopping before meeting up with Shamara and Derek. My mom had tried on a few pairs of boots at Nordstrom's and accidentally left the store stocking on all day. She pulled it out of her boot at the end of the night. GOOD ONE SHEILS!

Portland Day 2: Sept 28th 2009

Day One in Portland began with a jaunt by the waterfront.

We went on a quick walk of the city. Sheila passed by this newspaper, stopped immediately and grabbed a copy. Little did she know it’s Portland local Gay paper. She’s here and queer, apparently.

Not pictured: Lunch at Pazzo’s Restaurant, Shopping (again) and late night drinks/snacks at Kell’s Irish Pub, rated very highly in the city guides but pretty “meh” in our opinion.