May-July 2016

This summer we got a 20'x20' community garden plot - our biggest and most productive yet! We grew more variety and things we've never grown before, so it was quite the adventure. We used the square gardening method and planned out the plot on zukeeni.com and did most from seeds, some from starts that we bought. We planted the first weekend in May. I love veggie gardening, getting dirty, and eating what I grow. It makes me feel connected to the earth and my ancestral roots. I don't think I'll ever get bored of the joy of pulling my own food out of the earth.

Get ready for garden progress pix!!

first days

initial seedlings

the master plan

first radishes in June

June progress

July getting crazier

zuch bread mmm

one of many "CSA" baskets dropped off at Jed's parents 

(my parents also got a bunch and I ended up taking 17 zucchini to work as well)

beautiful carrot twinners

lettuce bouquet

zuchs!

potatoes are a riot to harvest

huge harvest weekend in July

my first ever beans and peas! so much more delicious than store bought 

an entire salad I grew (and one of sooo many)

it just keeps going (there are a dozen of pix like this from each week)

Work continues to be challenging, though I am trying to get a better work-life balance and set better boundaries around work eating away at my personal time.. and general well-being. I did way better over the summer but having less clients helped a lot. Granted if I leave after 40 hours each week my paperwork stack keeps getting bigger because I literally cannot finish everything I need to each week. But I'm trying to keep to my new mantra of "It's enough. I've done enough. I am enough" (thanks Brené Brown! see book reviews at bottom).

Interestingly, before I started setting up these better boundaries, I got staff of the month in May. This is the first time I've ever received such an award so it's too bad I wasn't more excited but I just felt at the time like it was adding insult to injury as I felt so burnt out and sucked dry working 50-55+ hours per week. Regardless, I got awarded the golden boar to hang out in my office for the month. It came dressed up and I got to dress it for the next awardee.

when I got it

ready for summer

My mom came down for Mother's Day weekend and we played in the garden, ate out, went to the Farmer's Market, and walked Lacamas Lake.

Mother's Day is a bit rough for me so Jed bought me some nice things cuz he's a thoughtful sweetie.

We celebrated Jed's birthday in style .. going to his fave Japanese restaurant not once, but twice! (we're lushes) Jed's parents took us out for sushi one night and we got bento the next. He didn't want a big cake but I couldn't let him get away without some kind of cake-like object so I got him a mini personal cheesecake. :)

Jed worked for his parents doing some intense yard work in exchange for the 2007 Nissan Murano they were going to get rid of. So now we have a fully functioning vehicle we don't have to worry about driving! Thanks guys!

We have been working hard to learn how to cook more authentic (at least for Jed, mine is altered to be vegan of course) Japanese food and have gotten pretty good at making ramen, gyoza, and our new summer favorite: somen (refreshing cold rice noodles w/dipping sauce).

gyoza

somen w/mentsuyu dipping sauce, gyoza w/dipping sauce, and tofu w/teriyaki

ramen with lotus root, enoki mushrooms, snow peas, wakame seaweed, and tofu/egg

Along with culinary and cultural studies, we're also studying Japanese language. For Jed's birthday I got him Rosetta Stone and it can be downloaded to 2 computers so I've been able to start relearning too, along with the joyo kanji (2136 pictographs learned by 9th grade in Japanese school system and necessary to be able to read basic text, along with 2 phonetic alphabets, which we have both learned).

I'm also trying to work on my Spanish. I am trying to only use an interpreter at work when I feel I really need one for exact word for word translation, but even then I barely use them and they sit there for the majority of the session until I need to check a word with them or get lazy and just speak English. I have a good few Spanish-speaking parents of clients and bilingual kiddos so being able to speak is pretty handy. I know that in order to really improve at this point, however, I will need to make a dedicated effort to read, write, and work on grammar because I have hit a ceiling that conversation isn't covering, and I'm just not that motivated right now!

whenever I hear a word I don't know, I write it down

For Father's Day Jed had his parents over and cooked a simple meal. Note that the veggies are almost entirely from our garden. ^^ We also went to the Farmer's Market with them and got some goodies. I love Rainier cherry season!

Our 4th of July was fairly low key. We went over to Jed's parents' and ate, then set off a bunch of fireworks we've had stored at their place for years (can't shoot them in CA!). I love mortars and sitting on the back of pickup truck tailgates. That's mostly where my 'Merica-style patriotism ends though, lol. Nova does not like fireworks at all, poor thing.

Nova does, however, love many fruits, especially sweet berries. On one of our summer walks at Lacamas Lake, we taught her to pick off the blackberries at the bottom of the bush instead of patiently waiting to be offered them.

My dad stopped by 7/29 night on his way to Mt St Helens and ate somen, tempura, and tofu while we kept him up too late chatting.

The next morning my mom came for 2 days and we went to Beaverton Uwajimaya (Japanese grocery store) for their natsu matsuri (summer festival) and enjoyed some noms and taiko drumming! I love taiko and haven't seen it in years. It was Jed's first time seeing it live. Hung out, walked, and worked in the garden (that thing needs a lot of work) before she headed home.

Books: 

• The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown
• Daring Greatly by Brené Brown

You guys, this is the dawn of a new era for me. I'm not joking. I am learning how to reframe my shame, low self-esteem, vulnerability, and guilt over not being who I want to be or who other's want me to be so I can live more happily as who I actually am and feel that I am enough. Serious recommend Gifts of Imperfection to everyone.

      

Movies: 

• Zootopia: Liked it a lot. Thought it was a great commentary and conversation starter on prejudice for kiddos.
• Kung Fu Panda 3: Visually absolutely beautiful, plot was meh, message was great.

Games: 

• MarioKart 8: Always a delight. Especially while raging at the TV with your best friend.
• Pokémon Go: Way fun for a few weeks anyway and got us out for late night walks, which was amusing.