Downtown Portland Pearl District Safeway

We went to a new Safeway in downtown Portland’s Pearl District this morning.  It is literally right across the street from Bridgeport Brewing which is pretty cool.  They have a parking garage above the store and a stairwell down from the garage gives you a nice view of the store (pictured above).  It was actually pretty fun because I ran into two people I used to work with almost three years ago now in the store (Kathy Tribe and Melanie Carrol).  >> More on the store

Bob’s Red Mill

My mom, dad, nephew Evan, and I went to Bob’s Red Mill for breakfast this morning.  If you are ever in the Portland, OR area you should definitely visit and get some breakfast.  They opened a huge visitor’s center across the street from their mill which sells products they produce as well as serve breakfast and lunch.

Thanksgiving 2008

If you don’t already know I am up in Portland, OR for Thanksgiving to visit my family this year.  I left the house at 5:05am yesterday and was expecting to hit rush hour traffic in Sacramento but I guess it being a holiday week the traffic was really light.  I drove past Weed, CA where I normally stop for lunch and gas because at 9am I wasn’t hungry and with a Honda Civic I get great gas mileage.  In fact I didn’t have to stop for gas until Grants Pass, OR which is a whopping 392 miles.  Another bonus was I only paid 1.89 a gallon for gas so the bill came to $21.00.  Although I didn’t go to Weed I took a picture of the sign for you.  🙂  Being that I am traveling alone this year I didn’t have anyone rational to tell me they want to stop.  I’m always someone wanting to test my limits and decided stopping wasn’t an option and after filling up with gas (and a bathroom break) in Grants Pass, OR I drove the rest of the way to Portland.  I got into Portland at 3pm and was amazed that I still had a half a tank of gas left.  When I normally drive up to Portland I take a Saturn Vue which requires you fill up at least twice.  So that means I was able to get up to Portland on pretzels, corn nuts, water, and a little more than $30 in gas.  Since technology hasn’t allowed me to blog and drive at the same time (safely at least) all I could do was listen to my iPod and take pictures.

Once I got there my mom and nephew Evan were there to greet me.  They have been having Evan practice “Uncle Jeremy” which turns out to be “Meeemeee Uh Uh” when he says it which is the most adorable thing in the world if you ask me.  Evan is super smart and as soon as my mom told him I was the infamous Meemee uh uh he instantly associated me with that name.  I would leave the room and he would say “Meeemee uh uh”?  Of course then returning he would say Meeemee uh uh!  We went to dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory which is so awesome.  This morning we are going to Bob’s Red Mill for breakfast and I’ll blog about that later because it seriously can’t be beat for a breakfast place.

Brenden Foster

Boy shares heartbreaking last wish

If you need an 11 year old to tell you not to give up on yourself or others, here is a great video for you.

Favorite Quotes:
Reporter
:  What is the best thing about life?  Brenden: Just having one
Reporter:
What gets you sad?  Brenden: When someone gives up; don’t let anyone stop you

New Tyler Pictures – 11/23/07

Tyler After Eating Yummy Blackberries
Tyler Wondering If He Should Eat Another Bite Of His Banana

I have been “cameraless” for a few weeks so expect to get inundated with pictures and videos for a while until I can get it out of my system again OK?  I am so thrilled with the new Canon PowerShot SD1100 8 megapixel camera.  It was only $150 on Amazon and I picked up an 8GB SD card for $17.  The old camera was a 4 Megapixel Sony and had 128MB memory sticks so watch out world I can take all kinds of pictures now without any limitation.  It also has the ability to take 640×480 video which I am going to love.

Get Your Kids To Sleep On Their Own

My son Tyler hasn’t slept in his crib since he was probably five or six months old.  He is now 20 months old and I usually let him crash in the living room around 8-9pm and take him to bed with me when I get tired.  Tonight I did get him to sleep in the living room but he woke up and I was determined to get him to sleep in his crib.  I probably watched one too many episodes of Nanny 911 but I was like “you know what it is rediculous he doesn’t sleep in his crib”!  On Nanny 911 they tell you to put your kid in thier room and stand outside of it for 15-20 minutes and let them cry.  Trust me that isn’t as easy as it sounds but after him screaming for 20 minutes he went to sleep (pretty amazing).  If you have young kids give it a try.  It is tough love but you and your kids need your own bed for their safety and your sanity!  🙂  Score one for Dad…