refreshed

our little family spent the holiday weekend in manzanita on the oregon coast. what an charming little town! there is something about the beach and the ocean that leaves you both relaxed and in awe. we'll definitely be back again this summer (hopefully when it warms up and we can lay out in the sun)!

here's a shot of chad and fife playing in the pacific ocean. doesn't this look idyllic?

the thing i'm grateful for today is summer heat and sun! we hit 87 today - the highest temperature so far this summer. it's supposed to be in the 90's tomorrow. i say BRING IT ON!!!!

blue skies... smiling at me...

nothing but blue skies... do i see...

yes, that's right, we haven't seen the rain in oregon for several days now! yippee! in fact, i even put shorts on yesterday. yes, shorts at the end of june - crazy thought, right?

it's amazing how good you feel when the warm sun hits your face. i think that's the good thing about spring and all the rain. it makes you appreciate the great weather so much more when sun finally comes your way, and not take the sun for granted. this logic could be applied to a lot of things in life, as i'm sure we've all experienced.

this week was quite something. i got a lot done:

i signed up as a monthly donor to the un refugee agency and am currently filling out a volunteer application for global soul international.

i met with the panel members for the new zealand vs. oregon pinot noir "faceoff" tasting i'm organizing to raise money for ¡salud!

i celebrated my 1 year anniversary at adelsheim - and therefore could finally become a responsible adult and sign up for a 401k.

we made a decision on packaging changes for our wallace brook label. (yay! forward motion!)

we started making plans for the winery's 40th anniversary next year - quite the event line-up!

coming up:
i'll run 9 miles in the morning with team in training!! then i'll be helping on saturday, sunday, monday and tuesday with oregon pinot camp!

on monday, chad and i will also be attending a lecture called "food, labor and immigration," which should be extremely interesting - especially given chad's work as a viticulturist managing a non-english speaking all-hispanic crew.

all this while the blue skies keep smiling! :-)

what i'm thankful for today - seasons. winter and spring make you really appreciate summer when it finally makes an appearance! fall is simply gorgeous.

summer tunes

i walked through the cellar today and the guys were all jamming to Fat Freddy's Drop, a favorite new zealand band of mine. chad and i saw them in concert at Peregrine Wines during my first summer in nz. in fact, we took in a cooler (aka "chilly bin") containing cans of red bull and a bag of ice. when the lady at the gate asked us if we had vodka in our bag of ice, we just awkwardly laughed because, well, we actually did. thankfully she let us through anyway - which made for a fun night, lol! at any rate, this band is one of my favorites, especially for sitting out next to the bbq on a warm summer's evening... or just for listening to at your desk, which i'm doing as we speak.

you can find them here on itunes.

in other news, i promised yesterday that i'd try to keep a "things i'm thankful for" list going. here is day 2:

i am thankful that i have a healthy body which allows me to do things like run a 216.6 mile relay! t minus 5 weeks and 3 days until the cascade lakes relay. i see LOTS of hill training in my near future...

summer is... here?

well, here i sit on memorial weekend watching my husband assemble a bbq grill and my dog dig holes... while it is raining. i am in long pants and sweater. this is not the way it should be! we weren't living here last may, but we hear this is not normal for this month. only time will tell.

at any rate, here is a photo of the new grill and of our pooch contemplating all the juicy steaks that will be cooked on it...!