I think one post a year doesn't quite suffice...so here's another

Okay. Okay. Okay. I know. I know! It has been "forever" since I have last posted on my blog. But in my defense, I just don't have one, so there! And to those out there that think that I lead such an exciting life that "of course you have stuff to write about" well, you are wrong. My life is actually quite boring; I work, my husband goes to school and we have a dog that I take for walks 1-2 times a day. That is my life. Now, yes, there have been some changes since I last wrote, but I will tell you now that my posts will never be regular. I don't have much to say, but when I do and my siblings have been reminding me for months that I have something to say, then yes, I will eventually get around to writing on my blog. :) I do have a goal to write each Sunday, but that was set two Sundays ago, and seeing as how I didn't write last week, I don't know how well that goal is going to work out for me. With that said, here is what has happened to the Logans in the last 11 months.Well, Clinton graduated from PSU last June and his parents were able to come for his graduation. It was so nice to see them. We went berry picking, toured downtown Portland and accidentally took them to Pride Fest instead of the Rose Festival...I think we got the dates mixed up :) Anyway, we had a really great time with them and look forward to seeing them soon.

I'm sure this is old news, but we have in fact, moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. We moved here last summer, and before the festivities were over, we happened to make it to the state fair and tried some of the famous chocolate-covered bacon. Here's what we thought of it!

We also ate enormous creme puffs

I have now lived through a mid-west winter, and they are COLD! Not as cold as where my husband is from, but cold enough that I don't know why any reasonable person would choose to live here. And the WIND! Blah. It is rather pretty here though.

This is Door County, it is about 3 hours north of us, however, our fall looks very similar here

I love to take Peter on walks near our home along Honey Creek Parkway. There is a creek that runs the whole stretch of that road and the trees and shrubbery along there are always so pretty.

This is a junior high built in 1913 that has since been converted to a retirement center, it's on the parkway

Our neighborhood is very nice. We live in a retired/grad-student town. I feel very safe here. There are enormous houses all around us and the architecture on these houses reminds me of the types of houses that you only see in movies. Most of my walks consist of looking in peoples' windows to see what they have inside. Do they have a grand piano in that bay room? Are there bookshelves full of family photos or antique books? What kind of chandelier do they have in that tower of an entry-way? Overall, there is much to see just in my neighborhood and the nearby neighborhoods to keep one busy peeping for quite some time!

I started out working at a restaurant when we first moved here. I have always wanted to work in that industry, but soon discovered it was not for me. Perhaps it was the restaurant I worked in, Mr. B's Steakhouse. Don't let the name throw you, it was a very expensive restaurant with the best rated steaks in all of Wisconsin. However, there were only two types of patrons; those who could afford it on a regular basis so they treated you like slave you were to them, and those who visited for a very special occasion and were so thankful to just be there. I really hated it there. The hours sucked, I worked every night and every Saturday. So, the first job that came up that gave me normal office hours -- I went for it!I got a job at a home health care agency and loved it for the first couple weeks until my coworkers became comfortable-enough around me to start showing their true character. I had one coworker that I love and still talk to on a weekly basis if not more than that, and there were a couple more that I would call friends, but there were others who were just plain rotten. The gossip there was unstoppable, literally, I, as well as several others, went to my boss to complain and yet nothing was done about any of it, ever. It was a very negative work environment and soon I began to want to get out of there. After about 5 months of working there, my friend Kelli told me about a job that was opening up at the medical college.

It took me about 6 hours to complete the application process, I had a couple phone interviews, received an email that the position had been offered to another individual (it actually was for a position I had applied for about 5 months prior, within the same department but a different title and I just thought it was the same, but weird timing eh?) and then I received a phone call asking me to come in for an in-person interview. I couldn't believe it! Needless to say, I did get the job and I really do love it. I work in the department of Pediatrics/Hematology/Oncology/Bone Marrow Transplant at the Medical College of Wisconsin. I am the administrative assistant to the six oncologists, two psychologists and other various staff who work in oncology specifically. I am very busy, but I really love it. I am gaining so much experience, and for the first time in my life I feel like I'm working in a grown-up job.Clinton is about a month and a half away from finishing his first year of medical school. He says he'd like medical school a lot more if it weren't for the exams. They are tough and it sounds like they only get worse next year. I keep reminding him though that there have been thousands of other students who have been through it and survived just fine, so he just needs to take it one day at a time...and so far, he's survived!

This is Clinton and I at his white coat ceremony...doesn't he look handsome?

Milwaukee has a fair bit to see and we got a chance to see the Milwaukee Art Museum,

the Bio Domes
and now finally, we went to see Chicago!
(videos coming soon)

We live about an hour and a half from there and in the eight months that we have lived here, we have been once (other than trips to the temple). I asked Clinton to take me overnight for my birthday and it was really nice! Clinton scored an amazing deal at The Hyatt right in downtown Chicago. Our room looked like one of those you see in a magazine and the view was FANTASTIC! We were on the 21st floor and could see the river and the lake from our window. The weather had been about 65 degrees all week before we got there and the temperature went from that to about 30 degrees over night. We walked the Magnificent Mile (a mile of all the stores you could possibly think of all lit-up and fancy in the middle of downtown.) We ate authentic deep-dish pizza and LOVED IT. Even Clinton, who would rather anything than pizza, liked it. The dough was like sweet biscuits. Really yummy! Anyway, the next morning we woke up to a snow storm, so we decided to pack up our bags and head up the lake front on our way home. The homes were GIGANTIC! The only solace I had in looking at the homes was knowing that the first real earthquake or down-pour -- those homes were going down. I don't know what those people do for work, but I think it pays a bit too much. However, they were really fun to look at!

My parents just came for a visit a couple weeks ago. The weather had been so nice leading up to their visit, and as it usually does, got horrible the moment they walked off the plane. We got a chance to eat out (a lot), go to the zoo (they have a really awesome zoo here), sight-see and play some cards, and rest. It was hard to see them go, but I'm glad to know I get to go home again this summer for a bit and see them again!
What else?? Ummm...I think that may be it. Oh, I cut all my hair off again! Here are some photos.
Anyway, otherwise, we both miss our families horribly, and we are both certain we will not want to stay here when Clinton's schooling is complete, but in the mean time, of all the places where we have to live far away from family, Milwaukee really isn't a bad place to do it in.

Memorial Day

In typical, non-memorial fashion, Clinton and I spent the day outside enjoying the warm sun and less of the quiet contemplation of those whose lives were lost for the sake of this country. Well, that isn't completely true. I did try to think (while I was paddle-boating) of the freedoms I was able to enjoy that day (well, not exactly "free"...it cost us $11 dollars), that have become available to me because of the men and women who stood tall for our country. I actually felt proud as I walked around and smelled the b-b-qs roasting hot dogs and hamburgers, that there was such a large group of different people coming together at one park, in harmony to enjoy the holiday. It was peaceful, relaxing, and beautiful (except for the pantyliner we found floating in the water.) Anyway, I have included a couple little videos and some pictures from our Memorial Day.

(As sarcastic as all that sounded, I really am thankful to all the veterans out there. I have had many people in my family serve in the armed forces and I in no way intend on belittling the importance of this holiday.) Thank you vets!

Beautiful day!

Shh! Don't wake him! He just had too much fun.


Funfact: Some might be surprised to know that I actually don't turn to dust when I go into sunlight.

Who was smart and wore sunglasses? Hummm?

Still sleepy.

What is that I see? A bird, a plane? No, a pantyliner!

Did Somebody Say Cheese?: Take 2

I think the biggest news that I have is that we are moving. Remember that post I made about Clinton's interview at the Medical College of Wisconsin?, well, we are moving to Wisconsin! We are leaving Portland around the 20th of July. I've been through a myriad of emotions, and am now a little more excited about it. We have finally discovered where we are going to live, where I am going to school and how we are getting there. I have been so stressed about all of this, but am finally starting to feel some peace about it all. I don't know how everything is going to work out, but I know that it will. If I could bear my testimony about one thing, it would be the blessings of tithing and fasting. We have been led and directed to work, an apartment, and our schools from over 2 thousand miles away. The lord really does watch out for us and I am so grateful for him. Anyway, I have attached photos of our new place, which I will update when we move in and decorate, but at least this way you can see where we'll be living. I've also attached a photo of my school. Enjoy!!

This is the outside. We have only one neighbor, a back yard, a garage and we are only 2 blocks to Clinton's school and only 2 miles from mine.

This is the dining room. The kitchen is to the left.

This is the view of the living room from the dining room.

This is the living room again. I LOVE all the windows!

This is the master bedroom and its closet.

This is another view of the master bedroom. Don't you love the ceilings?

This is the bathroom. Isn't the green tile cute?

This is the kitchen.

This is the basement.

This is my school.

This is Clinton's school.

Anyway, we go through various forms of depression and anxiety regarding this move, but we are excited too. I'm looking forward to getting over being sad about it and overcoming my home-sickness! We have only heard good things about Wisconsin, and plenty of jokes about "Hope you like cheese!" or "Are you going to wear one of those cheese slice hats?"...but we have also heard that the people there are wonderfully friendly. We will miss all of our friends in Oregon, but thanks to technology we can easily keep in touch. We'll be having a farewell party in July, I'll post the information later, but we'd love to see as many of you as we can. Love you all!

Much needed update

Okay, so I saw Allison Ebert at Winco last week and told her that I was going to update my blog by Sunday so here we are, 8pm on Sunday. I don't think this will be too interesting, but at least you can all be updated on my life (no matter how boring it may be:)

Well, for my birthday (back in March) Clinton bought me a ticket to go see Wicked! I've seen it once before but it was tons of fun to go with people who hadn't seen it before. I love that musical!!!

Later, after the show, we made a trip to Papa Haydens for some delicious desert. Three of us ordered the same $8 dessert and mine was a little misshapen, so they gave it to me for free!! So, I paid for the $5 fries instead ;)

(Christine Partna, Becki Brallier, Heather)

(me & Daya)

A couple months ago Clinton and I went up to a "cabin" in Government Camp. It snowed over 2 feet that night and we actually had to dig ourselves out the next morning. Here are some pictures of the "cabin".

Looking outside the window

This place was AMAZING!! It had 4.5 bathrooms, 2 fireplaces, a wrap around balcony, a ginormous living area and 2 beautiful bedrooms upstairs and about 4 bedrooms downstairs. We had lots of fun and snow there!! Here are a couple videos that might make you swoon a bit:)



Anyway, this place was gorgeous! I had a video of the whole place, but I can't seem to locate it. I'll post it when I find it.

Okay, so on May 1st my best friend from forever ago went to the temple and was sealed to her husband and daughter. I was so glad to be able to be there. I know she and I have been waiting for this for so long...maybe her more than me, but boy was I excited for them!!

Melissa, Andy and Bailey

Well, I have one more post that I'll be doing after this, but I think this kinda catches me up for the last few months since I posted last. Anyway, Allison, here ya go!

Funny things

Okay, so yesterday was a pretty hilarious day. The morning started off just fine. I got to school and made it through my first class with no funny business. Well, after my first class, as I was walking down the steps on campus I apparently forgot that I had one more step before I was on the ground...so that's where I ended up...on the ground. One little mis-step and I totally fell on my hands and knees...in front of students just leaving the building in front of me! This one girl (of course) comes up to me and asks me if I'm okay to which I mumble..."Uh, yeah. Thanks." So embarrassing, but hilarious!

My next class was Spanish and we had to present a family tree to which our partner would ask us questions about our family members...simple right? Well, I seem to always get partnered with the person who has not taken any preparation time and has no idea how to pronounce the words, or even what the words mean. So, one of the questions was about my parents...(in spanish) "where do your parents work?" Both of my parents work at my brother's office, so I said, "Mis padres (my parents) trabajan a la oficina de me hermano." (Padre is the word for father, but if it is pluralized it means parents). Well, my partner asks me (in english), "where does your mom work?" I reiterated, "Mis padres....", she said, (in english), "Okay, but where does your mom work?" Again, "MIS padres...." and she said, "Oh!", "Oh?" She thought I was saying "my dads"...oh, man! I can't get it down accurately on paper, but her expression was hilarious!! She thought she realized what I was saying, so she was excited, but then when she thought she understood WHAT I was saying, she was shocked! I clarified, (in english) "Padres means parents. MY parents..." It was soo funny!

Well, while I was in that class, and with the same classmate, we were talking about what our siblings do for work (and I'm proud to say that all of my siblings are very intelligent and successful). She asked what I was doing for school so I told her Cosmetology. She got an incredulous look on her face and said, "Why?!" I told her I liked it, it made me happy. She said, "but your family is so smart and successful, and you're going to do something like Cosmetology?" I responded, "well someone has to make them look good, right?" She was floored. Can you believe her? If she thinks I'm stupid for going into cosmetology...perhaps she should question her own intelligence. "MIS padres"....Who's not smart now?

LOL! It was such a funny day. A weird day, but funny!

Trip to the Falls!

I just thought that I would post some photos from our trip to the falls.  It was soooo cold there--it was snowing!  Anyway, Clinton was in charge of the camera, so hardly any pictures were taken and none were taken of either one of us.  However, I took a picture of Peter as we were sitting in the car in the Albertson's parking lot while Clinton went in to get some water and plastic bags for Peter (ahem...if you know what I mean.)

Anyway, it was (as usual) very beautiful there and I thought I'd share the memories!  Enjoy!

Infertility Blog

Hello all,

I just wanted to let you know that I have opened up my infertility blog for all to see (misc. cheers!) Anyway, it is personal information, but I need all the input and advice I can get. I've started on a new path of discovery...the path to discover ME! I still struggle with wanting a baby, however, I am trying to realize that it is okay that I don't have one and that I am being blessed with time for ME.

I'd like to say that I'm sorry to anyone I have annoyed/frustrated/hurt/or made uncomfortable during this time in my life. I hadn't realized the impact of my woes to those around me and I want you to know that I am trying to improve myself and just enjoy the journey. It is a process, but I already feel tons better!

I know that many of you already have children (AND THAT'S OKAY!), but I'd like to get any words of comfort, advice or whatever from as many people as I can as I try to become ME again.

Read as far back as you'd like on the blog, it may help you see where I've come from.

I love you all!

Love,
Dani

www.infertilityirritations.blogspot.com