I Met Charlie Brown

Never thought I would get a chance to meet a Charles Schulz character. It is a relief to check it off the bucket list though. :) The visiting State FFA President from Flordia was none other than Charlie Brown himself. Defintely made me smile when I heard his name and knew I would have to get a picture with him. So here it is.


Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Great Motivational Song

You can always count on great music at the Oregon FFA State Convention. Here is my favorite from this year. Definitely going on my running playlist. Take a listen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9_yDuPdPSQ

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Shoes

About five years ago I mentioned to a friend of mine that it is difficult for me to find shoes because of my size 11 feet. She remarked that she too wore a size 11. Great converstaion, didn't think much of it.

Since that time, I have received 3 large piles of shoes from her. She is a professional woman, so these shoes have been stylish and very helpful to the newly- wed, college life style budget.



This weekend my friend surprised me once again with another set of shoes. It is interesting becuase it never fails that I will be talking about needing to get a certain kind of shoes, and this woman's pile will include that type of shoes I needed. Recently, Justin and I had been talking about hiking and I had thought, "Well, I guess I will need to get hiking shoes."



Once again my dear friend came through for me. There was a pair of lightly worn columbia hiking shoes in the bag. All I can say is the Lord truley does work through others to bless his children. Thank you Betsy for thinking of me over these past years. They have truley been a blessing.

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

I Sure Do Love Him

I was gone last weekend from Friday until Monday afternoon. This left my sweet husband with not much to do since we live in an apartment far away from both of our families. When I returned Monday evening, there was a trail of a dozen roses from our front door, down the hall to our kitchen table. Dinner was made and I found this sweet note with Reesce's Peanut Butter Cups (my faorite). I feel so blessed to be able to share life with this considerate, loving man. This is the first time he has given me a dozen roses (he has given me other flower combinations). I felt like I should have been the one bearing gifts since I was the one who abandoned him for the weekend. Love you Justin Blazzard.



Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Transitioning to Life in Oregon

Just an update of what life now consists of for us. It has been really strange not having to go to any classes or do homework every night. Somehow we have managed to still be happy without it. :) Justin leaves at 6 in the morning, so I get out of bed at 5:35, make him breakfast and get his lunch ready. Depending on the morning and my ambition I either go back to bed, or stay up and am productive. Usually the bed wins. Something I have really enjoyed about our new ward is that they do a workout group Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

It has been a great way to start my days off, get to know more ladies (outside of just church), and hold me accountable for exercising. I have even been motivated to exercise more becuase on the days we don't have workout groupI remember how good it makes me feel and then I want to keep working towards more endurance and stronger muscles.

After exercising, I check the internet sites for jobs, cook, read, pay bills, buy groceries, talk on the phone, complete job applications, and wait for Justin to get home. It has been extremely strange for us to be living in an apartment. The two homes we lived in before moving here had large yards and even a garage for us to go work in. This has put a limit on our gardening, crafting, and woodworking, so we are looking for new hobbies and saving our pennies for the down payment we would like to put on a home of our own with a yard and garage.

Justin comes home somewhere between 3 and 6 p.m. depending on the day. He LOVES his new job, essentially it is actually like him going and playing all day because of how passionate he his about the forestry industry. Evening consist of- well actually every night has been different since we got here. We got cable so a little bit of television (BYU NCAA game last night) and dinner.

Having all this extra time each day has been a blessing and a struggle. I am really enjoying not feeling rushed to get the things done I enjoy doing every day, but feel like I need a greater 'purpose' in life. As I have pondered, prayed, stressed, smiled, and run I have come to this conclusion- I just need to exercise my faith in the Lord and His timing. Enjoy the time I have right now, realizing it won't last forever, but don't quit trying to find a job and make the future better. I would have to say our Troutdale Adventure is off to a great start and many lessons we are needing to learn.

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Oregon Logging Conference

Justin went to the Oregon Logging Conference the year before we were married. It was like a huge toy box for him and his uncle. They have wanted to go back ever since then. Last year, we thought Justin was going to be able to attend, but because of a variety of reasons it didn't work out. This year, he went as an employee for one of the companies that is showcased at it. Crazy how life works out.

Here are a few pics of the day. Hopefully this will give you a better idea of what Justin will be doing for his new job.


These are a couple of the products his company sells. They are called grapples and are used for picking up wood and moving it around.


The Grappel Processor or the GP.This is the brand new product that Pierce Pacific is releasing this Spring. It combines two processes into one. There was a lot of hype about it at the conference. There hasn't been very many new products released in the forestry industry for a long time. This created some excitement at the conference. Justin is currently learning the ins and outs of this product in preparation to sell it.


A big log loader.


A booth at the conference was selling these wood logging models. Very cool and precise.




Chainsaw Art.




This is called a Skidder.



Also, I saw many real life loggers. I recognized them by the resemblance they had to Paul Bunyon. Maybe he was there ancestor? They wore flannel shirts, suspenders, jeans that were cut off at the top of their boots, and logging boots. They also had beards. It was rather entertaining. Great conference, lots of wood- we felt at home.



Justin and Ruth Blazzard

The Big Move....

Wow- what a process it is to move across state lines. I haven't had internet for over a week so this post may be a little long. The move really began right around Valentines Day. Our original plan was to leave the following Monday on President's Day, but it was going quicker than we had planned for and there was a snow storm coming. We moved quickly and left Logan Saturday at about 12 p.m.

We couldn't have made it without all of the help of others. Our good friend Chris helped us load boxes. Justin's family came and helped load the larger items and took us to dinner. My sisters helped clean and wrap up the loose ends. My dad drove the truck and horse trailer to us in Logan and from Ontario to Troutdale. The members of our new ward helping us unpack. I felt very blessed and loved when it was all over.

Another challenge that came on during the move was my eye. The day before Valentines, my right eye started to droop. The next morning it wasn't any better and was actually getting worse. I thought that I had a stye, and went to the optometrist to see if he could work some magic. He told me he saw a little Giant Papillary Conjunctivities or GPC developing and a little stye.

"I could give you a steroid to clear out the GPC, but I'm not going to. It should clear up on its own," He said.

He further recommeneded to wear my glasses and heat pack my eye. I tried to be hopeful and returned home to carry out his instructions over the next couple of days. Well, it progressively got worse. As we made the trek from Logan to Ontario, my left eye began to hurt and burn and feel like it had dirt in it. The next couple of days were not fun as that feeling only progressed.

When I arrived in Ontario, my six year old niece informed me that I look funny wearing glasess. (My glasses are from high school.) Thanks Megan. :) My other six year old nephew didn't even recognize me.

Luckily my mom has a good friend in the community who is an eye doctor. This woman opened her eye practice doors special for me on Presidents day. Her diagnosis: No stye, just a bad case of GPC. She put me on eye drops and within a couple of hours my eyes were filling soooo much better. I am so grateful for her kindess and skills.

Now that the eye problem was getting under control it was time to brave the weather and make the next six hour drive to our new apartment. We only saw rain on our way to Troutdale and arrived with plenty of time to spare before our help would be there to unload.

Our apartment is on the third floor. This meant quite a good workout that afternoon. Several people from our church showed up to help us unload. I don't know if we would have made it without there help, those stairs were killer.

It took us two full days to unpack and get situated. It was exhausting, but it has been well worth it. We are loving the area, Justin is loving his job, and we are loving the people. I am looking forward to the experiences I will have in this beautiful part of Oregon.

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Valentines Day

I tried making these little beauties for my wonderful husband Justin. However, I killed the yeast (right after I got off the phone with my sister and my mom both warning me to be careful not to). While they may look cool, they were a bit dense. Next year will be better- hopefully.

Justin made my Valentines day exceptional. I got an eye infection the night before Valentines and that put a damper on the day. He brought home my favorite mexican food for dinner, and bought me books instead of flowers. My man knows the true way to my heart. :)



We topped the evening off by watching a logging themed movie called, "Sometimes a Great Notion." Comical-yes, romantic- not at all. In the end the guys wife leaves him and he doesn't even go after her. We had fun.

Justin and Ruth Blazzard