this makes me smile-

My niece is now emailing pictures and videos. It has been said that she resembles me in my younger years, both in physical appearance and personality. I have pasted a few of the brilliant things she has sent me recently, including a video clip that captures the essence of brother/sister relationships. It is difficult to think about how old they are. Christian was born when I was in 9th grade! Again.. where does the time go?


In any case, check out my niece, Megan. She cracks me up.

Megan's email:

Dear aunty beth ; I I am so siked that you are already out of school. My school ends this friday!You are so lucky.Anyway I am reading the sixth Harry Potter.Have you ever gone on Youtube?If you have you will know it's got some funny stuff.Next time you go on Youtube tipe in "Potter Pals'' you will laugh your head off! How are baby and buta doing?Email me back! TTYL

SINCERELY' MEGAN

Megan's construction paper family:

I'm so proud of all my nieces and nephews! You guys rock!

Love, Auntie Beth

ps. How old am I? It took me 5 minutes to figure out that TTYL means talk to you later!

words for thought....

BOTTOM LINERS BEWARE:
there's another
set
of
books



A
linkage of lessons
and final exams

that some seem
to view as
unsupervised recess



IS THERE ROOM FOR YOU,
you ask-
there is more than room;
the need to spill
with purpose,
streams of tender
ribboning
time



Today I was working in the day program that I supervise and this book of poems was sitting on the table. I never have been into poetry, mostly because I haven't become comfortable enough with the English language to explore it by writing poems. These poems were taken from The Distant Siren, by James DePreist. He is a famous conductor who currently serves as director for the Oregon Symphony.

I just chose a few of my favorite poems from the book to share. I like poems.

Adventures of Baby and Me

Okay- so maybe the title is a bit over dramatic and grammatically incorrect, but the experience is worth mentioning.

Baby and I had an unplanned stop today on our way home from the Tri-Cities. I had noticed that my 'check gage' light was acting up a bit in Richland, but thought this was the next thing in my dash to go since the RPM light burnt out a while ago. No biggie.... right?

Well, after a few side trips, dirt roads and an hour of going over 70 mph, I exited with anticipation at Blalock Canyon. I figured this would be a fun place to explore/hike/take pictures/etc. When I exited, I looked at the dash and my car had most definitely overheated and the gauge was not capable of going any higher. "How long had it been like this?", "Was it overheating everytime the check gauge light was on?", "Oh my gosh is my engine ruined?"

Well, I decided to pull over and have a look under the hood, since I'm so not familiar with anything engine. I open the hood and my car is gyrating. It sounds a bit like a fan with the protective plastic out of place and you can feel the vibration as the fan uncomfortably rubs against the outer shell. This went on, without any particular pattern for about 15 minutes. I was kind of freaking out, but figured I could handle this. Goal #1: Chill out. So I took it upon myself to get water for Baby, look for a non-existent granola bar, take pictures of myself with my timer option, smell the sage brush on my fingers, gather empty Starbucks cups in my car for disposal.... I kept as busy as possible. Baby waited patiently.

After the noises stopped, I sat there for an additional 30 minutes. I then remembered how I handled this problem with my last Ford SUV(The Bronco II Rocks!...I see a pattern here!). I drove 45 miles to the Dalles with my heat on high. The engine was at about 90% of it's heat capacity and my body was at about 150%. It was ridiculous. But we made it. We found an oil change place that topped off my fluids and also changed my broken thermostat. All fixed. The Explorer will live to see another day.

They are dropping like flies!

Congratulations Sara and Trevor! Mr. And Mrs. Smith became husband and wife on June 21, 2008, despite the freak thunderstorm that moved the ceremony inside. It was still beautiful and the bride was STUNNING!!

Are you ready to see a picture of the best wedding cake I have ever had? Look below-

In this particular picture the aesthetic qualities are not great. However, this cake in my mouth was heaven. Moist, melt in your mouth, perfect amount of frosting sweetness good. Loved it!
Happy Pic with a happy friend and an even happier bride! Love you SARA!
I also was very fortunate to have an invitation to stay at Sara and Trevor's place. This meant I was allowed to spend time with their family... of loving animals. Two dogs, two cats. This little black and white puppy is a new addition. He was found wandering the halls of Sara's High school(she is a teacher) and somehow 'Moo' ended up at their house and is now happily bugging his big brother 'Powder'.
The following picture is of Powder and me on the couch. Honestly, I love Baby to death, but her skittish qualities do not make her the best snugglebug. This full grown Corgi let me snuggle with him and it was great (as you can see on my face).
To Sara and Trevor: Thank you for sharing your home, pets and special day with me. I can't wait to see how your family continues to grow, and I'm not talking about Moo! See you soon for camping in Oregon!

what's gotten into me?

Not really sure why, but lately I feel like I have been stopping to smell the roses.... often. I don't know if it is because the summer air is finally here, or if it is because I just returned from the most amazing trip ever? Maybe it's the books I'm reading for fun, or it is maybe because I don't have the huge weight of my dissertation on my shoulders? I can't pinpoint it, I just know that I am really enjoying it. I feel compelled to bring my camera EVERYWHERE. I'm taking pictures while I'm driving 70 mph.... (see below). I'm taking pictures when I'm laying in a field..... (see further below).... and totally loving it. The pictures are nothing special, but when I take them I feel this rush of life. Can't explain it. Actually, maybe I can. You know when you are so busy feeling things? really feeling them with your senses.. smell, visual, touch? My senses are ultra sensitive lately. Maybe it's the motorcycle? I guess I'll stop thinking about it and enjoy it while I can. So glad summer is here.
Carpe Diem!

Round 8- Last PERU BLOG! I promise!

Hurry up and finish with these posts already!!! My Goodness!

Okay, just a few more things to mention about our trip..... After leaving Mancora(which was extremely difficult), we headed back to Piura for what we thought would be a boring, dry, dusty old town. We were so wrong. We found a nice, clean, affordable hotel fairly easily. Dropped off our stuff and ended up getting manicures and pedicures for about $5 a person. It was great. Then off to shop and see Indiana Jones. Not sure who saw this movie, and I don't want to ruin anything so look away if you don't want the details, but the movie was in Peru! Cuzco and Iquitos, which were the first two travel destinations on our trip. It was very cool to see Peru on the big screen in Peru! After that, we had some Bembo's( I will talk about that in a future food from Peru blog) and went back to the hotel for a comfortable nights rest.

Piura centre plaza
The next morning, (early around 5am morning) we headed to the airport, caught our flight to Lima, checked or bags in a locker and spent the day walking around Lima before our red eye back to the states. From the airport we caught one of the scariest cab rides I have ever had, and made it to the coastal area, which was much nicer than the inner city slums.

This touristy area was very cool because it was perched on these huge cliffs! We had a great meal on the cliff restaurant and watched the surfers from above. Very relaxing. We spent the rest of the day walking around and shopping for souvenirs. We were exhausted, but ready to fall asleep on the plane.
This picture was from the Atlanta airport. We were back and getting on different planes, Heather to LA then PDX and me to SEATTLE.
It was an amazing trip. Not much else to say.

Happy Father's Day DADS!!!

Today was father's day and unfortunately I had no contact with other fathers in the family except for a phone call to my DAD. This year was my first year without a grandpa. Grandpa Mel passed away this past year and I just realized how lucky I have been to have my grandpas in my life for as long as I did. I couldn't pass up this opportunity to post pics of my own DAD and the other Dad's in the family. This first picture was my first experience swimming in Puget Sound. Not sure how many of you have taken the plunge, but is really really cold. My face shows the chill that was overcoming my body. I think Dad was trying to keep as much of my body out of the water, but really I was just pushing him down. Good times. I loved our boat times.
This was the last pic of all the Chamberlin men, (well almost all-the two on the right are Phillips) before Grandpa Cliff passed away. From left to right: my Dad, Cousin, Uncle, Grandpa, Brother, Brother-in-law and Christian when he was just a wee little lad. He turned 15 yesterday! Where does the time go? I had to post a picture of my Grandpa Mel too. This was us at my high school graduation. That was what, 27 years ago? At least it feels that way. He was such a great guy!
Lastly, the fine picture above was my Dad's daily work attire. No, not really. This was his interpretation of miss piggy for Halloween one year. I'm pretty sure I was mortified. So mortified that I must have cut my own bangs that short.