Good Times, Better Friends

An old roommate from BYU-Idaho and his wife visited us from Idaho this last week. I'll refer to them as A and S (just in case they want to remain private with their names). A and I became roommates during my 3rd year at BYU and at first we butted heads a bit. We had a few things in common but not much more than that. As time went on we became really close and our personalities started to mesh really well.

When A met S I was there every step of the way; getting the details, giving advice and watching their relationship grow. When T and I went on our first date we were actually with A and S.

At our wedding, A and S were right there to celebrate with us and encourage us as we started our life together. They continued to date and A and I kept in touch, though it was different not chatting every night and playing "Would you Rather" until the wee hours of the morning (he knows what I'm talking about).

Eventually, A and S took the plunge and got married. T and I were there to do as they had done for us and we couldn't have been happier for them. Watching them get sealed together was a blessing for us as much as it was for them. The the best part of all was they moved in right next door to us. Many a boring nights, for T and I, were livened up by going next door unannounced and hanging out with them. T took extra advantage of them by going over and asking for movies to borrow, music to download, and candy to eat...often interrupting their private life (if you know what I mean).

They were the last people we saw before we left Idaho for good and since we left we have been begging them to come and visit us (along with other friends, you know who you are).

That's just a taste of how close A and I became while we were roommates.

Finally our wish came true and they visited for a few days. We wanted them to stay longer but A had to get back home for a FBI interview. While they were here T and I tried to show them as much of beautiful Oregon as we could in hopes to persuade them to move here when S is done with dental hygiene school.

T and I are honored that they came. It is a long, long, long drive from their house to ours and for them to come all that way just for a few days really shows how much they care about us.

We love you guys and wish you well until the next time we hang out.

PS- We didn't take a single picture of them while they were here...we're idiots. But I did take this picture and it is awesome. So here you go.

Chef Validation

I know I shouldn't brag but I need to validate T's blog about me cooking. This last Friday a club on campus sponsored a chili, corn bread, and cobbler cook off. I decided to enter into all three categories. I got out of school early Friday, so I slaved away making chili, corn bread, and blackberry cobbler.

My corn bread didn't place, the cobbler came in second (the first place was given to an apple crisp...not even a cobbler...oh well), and the chili came in first. I actually thought that the cobbler had the best chance of winning, and the chili was hit or miss. It was a lot of fun and I'm super excited to actually have taken home a prize for my home cookin'. With both prizes I got $70 to spend at our bookstore.

Winner, Winner, Chili Dinner

Second Place Cobbler

What a Weekend...

...and I mean that in a good way! It was a well needed break for both of us!

I know I'm a weekend late but that's just how it's going to be while I'm in school. I should be studying for a neuro anatomy exam but I really couldn't be bothered right now.

About the weekend. It started last Friday when T and I attended the Portland Beaver's games with some other students from my school. The Beavers are a Triple A baseball farm team for the San Diego Padres. It was fun, not because they are good because they're not, but because we got seats in the box suites. Along with a great view we got a ton of food and food makes every experience better. T and I did what most poor students do with free food...we pounded it down like it was going out of style. The Beaver's were going to get beat but they ended up tying it up late in the game so it went into extra innings. T is not a big baseball fan so we didn't stay to witness the outcome. The trip home that night was interesting as well. We parked outside of downtown and took the light rail train, the MAX, to the stadium. I'm going to post a separate blog to describe our trip home on the MAX so stay tuned.

Saturday, I played in a school Golf Tournament while T took a trip to the beach with her sister. Golf is my new addiction so I play with every dollar I get and any time I can. It was a 4 man best ball tourney, which means all four members hit their own ball then you choose the best stroke. Then all 4 members hit again from the chosen spot and continue until the ball is in the hole. It's a really fun way to play golf because you work together as a team and it's easy to shoot low scores, which makes you feel your golf game is better than it is. I played in the Fall tourney my school had and I wasn't very good. My team still tied for second though. Since than I've gotten my new clubs and have played a lot and in my opinion have improved remarkably. This time I was with a slightly different team and I played my best golf yet. We used a bunch of my shots and I came in 3rd in the long drive competition. In the end my team tied with two other teams for first. The tie breaker was determined by which team played the hardest hole of the course the best or in the least amount of strokes. The chosen hole was a par 5 and thanks to two amazing shots and a good putt by one of my team members, we eagled the hole, meaning we made it in three shots. SO, WE WON! A group of professors from my school have won the tourney for many years and to see the look on their faces when they realized they got beat by a bunch of underclassmen was priceless. Here's a picture of the final postings.



At the beach, T and her sister's family enjoyed a day at the Tillamook cheese factory and climbing Cape Kiwanda at Pacific City. Cape Kiwanda is a huge sand dune that is tough to climb but awesome to run down. She had to carry her 2 year-old nephew all the way to the top. Luckily she's a personal trainer because I wouldn't have been able to do that.

Sunday, after church, we went with T's same sister and her family and climbed Multnomah Falls. It's the tallest free falling water fall in the United States at over 600 feet. The climb is straight up but only a mile so it doesn't take long. This time T and I switched off carrying her 10 month old niece up the trail. It was a little taste of what it will be like when we have our own kids. Here's a picture of Multnomah Falls.

On Monday, we took the opportunity to go on another hike to one of the most beautiful places in all of Oregon, Silver Falls state park. It's a park with 10 different waterfalls and if you go at this time of year they're the biggest due to the snow melt. Plus all the trees and flowers are in bloom so it's amazing. We did the longest hike which is about 8.5 miles and you see all 10 waterfalls. I didn't take pictures of all the falls but quite a few of them. One of the pictures is from behind the falls because the trail takes you behind three of them or so. After the hike I decided Silver Creek Falls is my favorite place in Oregon. By the way all these photos were taken with my cell phone, not bad for a phone huh?

Fun In Seattle

Well it has been a long time since we have blogged. I guess I am going to have to start doing a lot of the blogging because J is getting so busy with school. You will have to bear with me because first off, I am not as creative in my writing as J, nor am I as funny.

Anyway a couple weekends ago we went to a Seattle Mariners baseball game with J's family. They did a special "We Are Family Night", for all families who have been involved with adoption or foster care. J's oldest sister adopted her two boys so that's how we found out about it. We even got a shirt and hat that said "We Are Family". It was so funny to watch J walk into the stadium and look down at the field. He had a huge smile on his face. You could definately tell he was obsessed with baseball. I enjoyed myself for the first hour of the game, but then got really bored and started reading. I am sure the people around me were like what in the world is this girl doing reading, at a baseball game. Let's just say I am not a baseball fan myself. I did however enjoy being with J and his family.

The next day we spent walking around downtown Seattle and going to Pikes Street Market. The weather wasn't the best, but we still had fun. It is always a good time with J's family.

Chef Boyardee

My husband has never been number one in anything, but he excels at just about everything he sets his mind to. For example, a while ago he posted a blog about his delicious pizza. Since then he has been trying to perfect that pizza little by little. This last Saturday he may have made it as perfect as its going to get. On top of that he made his first cheesecake and it turned out pretty darn good for his first attempt. Just take a look at the pictures. All in all I am pretty impressed how he manages the kitchen. For crying out loud, I should be the one in the kitchen. But it makes sense. In the two and a half years we've been married I've realized cooking seems to run in the Sajovic blood. J's whole family seemed to have inherited the cooking gene. It all comes so natural to them, unlike me.

Do you know what I was doing while he was whipping the pizza and cheesecake together? Talking to my sister on the phone. What a great husband I have who will cook a fabulous dinner when I am not in the mood.

Not only is J a great chef, he is also great in so many other different ways. First off, he is the cleanest person I have ever met. He has also inherited this gene from his mother which I am extremely grateful for. I am also amazed at how well he has been doing in Chiropractic school. When I hear the alarm at 6:00 every morning I think to myself I feel so sorry that J has to get up that early. He does that every day of the week and never complains. He is so responsible and never lazy. He works so hard in school and is constantly studying, unless there is a Mariners or Blazer game on. Can you blame him? All in all, I am so proud of J, and I am so lucky to be married to him.

Here's a few pics to enjoy.

PS- you can also tell J's taken a few photography classes in his day.

I look really cute enjoying the cheesecake...ha ha!

Watch out Papa John, Little Ceasar, and Papa Murphy,

J's got a pizza here that will give you a run for your money

Yummy!

Dr. Sajovic...

...OK not officially yet, but I got my doctor bag from school and in it contains all kinds of gizmos and gadgets. It's about time since I've been paying for it for the last three terms (and it wasn't cheep).

T says I have a long ways to go before I am finally a DC and it proved to be true when I tried to take her blood pressure and totally fouled it up. She knows more about the toys in my bag than I do because of her health screening job. She basically gave me a crash course on how to do everything...that was embarrassing since I'm the one in school.

Speaking of T, I might as well mention it since she never blogs. She's doing extremely well at personal training. A few months ago she had the highest amount of personal training sales in the Oregon/Washington region for Ba.lly To.tal Fit.ness. And lately she's signed a few more clients. She's really helping the clients she has lose weight and better their health and she has received many comments by people who have been watching her and have been impressed by her work. I hope she knows how proud I am of all her hard work and her success.

Are you Serious?

I have got to have the worst luck when it comes to getting the cars registered/re-registered in the State of Oregon, and it all has to do with my bad luck at the DEQ. I'm not sure if all states have a DEQ so I'll explain what it is. DEQ stands for the Department of Environmental Quality. The purpose is to make sure your car is running in such a way that it falls under their standard and has a minimal effect on the environment. Basically, it checks to make sure your car does not pollute too much.

When T and I first moved here we had to register the Ford in Oregon and to do so it has to pass the DEQ tests first. A day or so before I went to the DEQ I noticed the "check engine" light had come on. I didn't really think anything of it (mainly because I didn't know what it meant), so I took it to the DEQ and, of course, it failed. The guy, kindly pointed out that the "check engine" light was on and hinted that I was an idiot if I thought it would still pass with the light on. I really had no idea what the big deal was until I got home and read the car's owners manual. Apparently, the "check engine" light is an indicator that the emissions in the car are too high. (Should have read that before I went and saved myself the awkward moment with the DEQ attendant.) At that point I was pretty annoyed because waiting in line at the DEQ is no short event. It always seems to take forever; and on top of that, I would have to get some one to fix the car so it would pass DEQ. How much was that going to cost?

Plan A: Pay out the butt to get the car fixed and get it passed at the DEQ so I could register it.

No thanks!

Plan B: Take the car to an auto store and get a diagnostic tool, plug it into the car, and erase from the cars computer system whatever it was making the "check engine" light come on.

Success!

Second part of Plan B: Take car, now with the light off, back to DEQ and see if it will pass. Good plan right?

Failed! As I was pulling into the DEQ the light came back on. I dropped a few expletives and turned the car around not allowing the embarrassment of going though the DEQ with the "check engine" light on, again...I've learned not to do that again.

Plan C: Wait and see if the light ever turns off and get that beast into the DEQ ASAP.

Success! About two months down the road T tells me one day, "Did you notice the 'check engine' light went off in the car?"

"What? When did that happen?" I didn't even wait for a reply before I was in the car on my way to the DEQ. Oh yeah, it passed...with flying colors.

So, that's just the first bad luck story, trying to get the Ford through DEQ. That was all around Christmas time. Just recently I got the form in the mail letting me know it was time to re-register the Honda. I was sure this one was going to go much smoother because I check every possible problem and found nothing before I took it in.

The morning of I went to the bank because the DEQ only accepts cash these days. Then I headed to the DEQ. Of course, I waited in line. As I neared the front of the line I notice an oil smell but figured it was the big truck directly in front of me. And then I noticed the oil light flashing on my dash. My first thought, "Are you Serious?" Because I was already in line I might as well finish the test; if you don't pass you don't have to pay, so what the heck. I pulled into my assigned bay and got out of the car (a typical procedure so the attendant can look around the car without you in the way). I could still smell the oil but I acted like nothing was wrong so I didn't give anything away.

The attendant went through the test and somehow the thing passed. When it was over I was out of there. On my way home the light was flashing like crazy and I knew something was wrong. I pulled over in an LDS church parking lot and referred to my Honda's owners manual (this seems familiar). This indicator light means the oil pressure in the car is low. If the oil pressure is low that usually means the oil is low. Funny thing is, I just had the oil changed 3 days before. I finally got out of the car and looked under it. Yep, a big 'ol puddle was forming.

Let me clue you in on how ironic this situation is. Here I am going through the Department of Environmental Quality and my car just happens to spring a oil leak...and a big one for that matter. As in, big enough to drain 4 quarts of oil in a matter of a few minutes. And this had to happen while at the DEQ. So, the place that is supposed to stop all pollution against the environment from automobiles is totally covered by the oil from my Honda. Luckily I got out of there before I was busted. I guess that's pay back for not passing the Ford the first time a few months ago.

Just so you know, the Honda broke a pretty important seal on the side of the engine and it had to go into the shop. It's back now and driving as good as ever and without any other pollution to the environment. Sorry DEQ.

Oh, and PS-the "check engine" light has yet to come back on in the Ford...weird!