Mimmsical Creations

I wanted to share our holidays with you, even though they are well past! Mike's birthday falls right before Christmas. We had quite the crazy couple of weeks filled with celebrating and presents! Mike was very good to me for Christmas! Not only did he buy me a couple things that I had put on my "list" - he surprised me with other unexpected things too! Project Runway - Season 4 DVDs were on my list! Yay! Amazing, superb jewelry was a surprise!!

The gift wrap was also entertaining! Mike does not do gift wrap. I'm lucky if anything is even sort of wrapped. He sort of outdid himself with one of my gifts! It was wrapped in a brown paper bag (from a local restaurant) and "taped" with tape from a lint roller that he tore into strips. So lovely! And then right next to it was the lovely present that the jewelry store wrapped for him - what a contrast! We had a good laugh about that!

We enjoyed our low-key holidays. We spent a lot of time enjoying our new TV and blu-ray/playstation as well! I did a lot of cooking of recipes that I got from spending way too much time watching the Food Network - my new addiction!

Baked Garlic Cheese Grits - a little bit of southern heaven in a pan from Paula Deen. Yummy!!

And Brussel Sprout cooked with Pancetta - WOW! I can't remember which show these were on! But, man, were they ever good! I also made these hash browns from Tyler Florence. Of course, they weren't as easy as he made them look - but they were tasty!

And just because I have some really adorable photos of our cats, and I haven't shared any in a while - here are some great shots! :)

It's official! Mike and I tied the knot on Saturday! Actually, we jumped the broom if you want to get technical! :) Either way, we are officially married! We brought the paperwork to the courthouse today, and my name is now Tammy Dale Durham. (For now, my blog name is going to stay Mimmsical Creations even though Mimms isn't my last name anymore!) I have lots of paperwork to file to get it officially changed everywhere, but it is in the works!

I don't have many photos yet - we didn't get very many digitals. I turned in the film though, so should have them tomorrow night! I can't wait!

Everything went pretty smoothly. We had a hotel snafu on Friday morning. Our hotel had no hot water... problem!! They made excuses, but it was clear they had known about this issue, and rented us the rooms anyway... so when we also learned that our room didn't lock unless we were in it, we packed it up and found a room in a much nicer hotel. (And got a refund for the other one - I will not be staying in Quality Inns anytime soon!! Blech!) Thankfully this wasn't the day of the ceremony - that would have been really bad!

We got into our new hotel with plenty of time left in the day for me to arrange my flowers for the next day and we spent some time playing dominoes and exploring yummy restaurants! :)


The weather was quite nice, if too hot for my taste. Day of the event it was going on 90 degrees with humidity! Too hot! I hope I don't look all wilted in the photos! My dress was HOT! We had our close friends with us and our ceremony was very casual. Mike and I did all the talking and it was interactive - we didn't have a minister or officiant. Our friend Rebecca helped us out with some of our vows. I'll share them here - Mike's were Dr. Seuss inspired! :) We exchanged rings, kisses, and we had our friends each tie a ribbon to our broom with their blessing. They helped us jump the broom from our single lives into our married lives.

We finished celebrating with a yummy dinner at a Lebanese restaurant that we love.

All in all, it was a wonderful time. We had a great time, and think that our friends did too. It was simple, casual, and memorable. All the things we wanted it to be. Our families were mostly understanding about us not inviting them (thanks family) and keeping it to just a few friends. It worked for us. (In a way - we kind of eloped - with a bit of advance planning!)

Mike has a job interview... in Oregon!! YAYAYAYAY!!

The interview is via telephone on Tuesday. The job is in Portland - not our first choice of places to live/work, but it's about 22 hours closer to the ocean than where we are now! So... that works!!

Send Mike some good energy on Tuesday afternoon if you can! I'll keep you posted! Yay! :)

Mike surprised me with a dozen red roses yesterday afternoon! They are so pretty!! A wonderful, sweet surprise!

A lot is going on here, actually!

It's still summer and still hot... but it has been raining every afternoon so that it cools off! Open windows at night - ah, bliss!

Wedding plans are rolling along. I go to the seamstress tomorrow for alterations on my dress!! I hopefully won't need much (definitely no big hemming!) so it won't break the bank! It needs to be bustled since we'll be outside. The train would be ruined! I found THE perfect wrap to wear over my bare shoulders (so I don't feel quite so exposed!) It was from David's Bridal and was only $20! Yay! It's the perfect deep red shade that I wanted. Now the search for red shoes. I enlisted the help of my favorite Red Shoe blogger, Deb! I hadn't had any luck finding what I wanted (and yes, I AM going to wear red shoes under my ivory gown!) She gave me all sorts of ideas! I took off running from there, and I found two pairs that I ordered (both were only $10 each on sale!) And there is a third pair that I'm going to order - not for the wedding, but I LOVE them! Thanks Deb!! I appreciate your help!

My shower, which I am looking forward to, is coming up in less than two weeks. Andrea has all sorts of fun stuff planned that she won't let me in on! I wish all of you, my blog friends, could be there! If you are in the Fort Collins area on the 23rd, let me know!! You're invited!

Mike and I are making solid plans to move to Oregon. He doesn't have a new job and prospects aren't good right now. So... instead of waiting for the job, we're going to plan the move anyway. He is saving a lot of money right now, so in a few months, he will have enough put away that he can live without an income for about 6 months. I will have my income since my job is portable! So, we're going to look at moving in the spring of 2009. We have to stay put until after the wedding and also because of the election. We have to have residency so our votes count! Moving in December/January won't be fun, so we'll aim for spring! Now that we have decided, I think this is a really good thing! He can find temporary work for sure, and once we're in the area we want to be, he'll have a much better chance at finding jobs. It's difficult since many of the jobs he has applied for were for local commuting area only. They won't even give him a shot since we're in Colorado and not Oregon.

So... we're going to find the town we like (I think Corvallis) and find a house, and move. Then he will start job-hunting there. I have my job to take along, and hopefully, it will be just the change we need! Corvallis is about 1.5 hours from the coast - so we can go every weekend! (which I know we'll want to do at least at first!) It is also kind of in between Eugene and Salem, so the job possibilities are bigger! It's going to be an adventure for sure, but I'm ready. I'm ready to move out of Colorado and to be closer to the ocean! Any tips for us as we plan our big adventurous move?! I've never done this before. I will be slimming down my posessions over the next few months for sure!

That's the news from here! What's going on with you all?!

Wow - it has been a couple weeks since I last posted. Time flies! Things have been busy!

First off - my wedding dress drama has been solved! I purchased the more "traditional" dress rather than the red Indian dress. I love my ivory dress - I feel pretty in it! That is a good thing for your wedding day! :)

Next - I HAVE to tattle on Mike. I caught him trying to be sneaky last night. As I mentioned in my last post, I am trying to not let him see my dress before our wedding day. I didn't bring it home with me when I purchased it - it's stored somewhere else! Well, he reads my blog now and then, and he decided he would "borrow" one of YOUR names (my blog readers!) and email me using that name to try and get me to send him the picture of me in my dress! Turkey!

Only thing is - he did this while I was home, and I saw him attempting to do it! I can't decide if he was really trying or if he wanted me to catch him at it - which I did! I'm glad now that I didn't bring the dress home - he said he wouldn't go looking, but now... I don't know! I foiled his master plan though! It was very funny to see him spluttering trying to explain what he was up to!

Let's see... other than wedding plans - what is up? Work has been extremely busy lately. I got a promotion! I'm no longer the business manager - I am fully web now - webmaster/web designer! It is a good change for me!

Mike is still looking for work other than his current (awful) job. There is a possibility in Corvallis, OR - send out some positive vibes for that if you would. It would be great!

My parents are home (in Colorado) for a couple of months. I haven't seen them yet, but will soon. Mom is going to help me do some shopping for wedding stuff soon too! That will be fun!

I hope all of your summers are going well! Don't give up on stopping by - I will post now and then! I am posting over at Friendship of the Fabulous Foodies more regularly, and my work blog too if you're interested - http://claypaws.typepad.com/.

I'm working on uploading photos! But, I took a ton, so it's slow going!!

The first part of our trip to Oregon was east of Portland to the Columbia River gorge! We headed directly for Multnomah Falls. It is truly a breathtaking waterfall!! I am blown away by it each time! It is 620 feet tall and the water just absolutely crashes down! It was running VERY full on this visit, so was even more impressive if that's possible!

We spent an hour or more just taking it all in! We got quite soaked from the spray from the falls! It was a very hot day (95 degrees+, very unusual I guess!) so the spray was welcome!

We then headed a few more miles down the gorge to The Dalles where we stayed for the night. We found a Mexican restaurant where we had eaten on our last trip - really yummy food!! (They had actually moved, so we couldn't find them right off, but wound up there!)

The next morning we headed back west (making our way to the coast) and took the time to drive the gorgeous Historic Columbia River highway! This takes you back along the hills and several other waterfalls! We saw Horsetail Falls, Wahkeena, and we hiked the short way back to see the Bridal Veil Falls. It was so amazingly gorgeous the whole way! All of the falls were spectacular. We timed it right! They were running pretty full and fast because of the spring run-off!

Then we made our way to the coast - I believe we met the ocean near Astoria. We stopped at several places we remembered from our first trip! It is so beautiful no matter where you stop and look! I absolutely do love the Oregon coast! (And it wasn't stinky this year - there were dead jelly fish last time because of a storm and it was smelly!) We stayed the first night in Lincoln City. We had an amazing dinner here - recommended by our hotel. It was a restaurant with an ocean view where I was able to get some truly yummy fish! (It was halibut encrusted with macadamia nuts, on top of garlic mashed potatoes, smothered with dungeness crab and parmesan cheese, and a sherry clam sauce. Wow! So unique and totally yummy!!!)

I'll continue with the story tomorrow - if you want to see more (MANY more) pictures - I'm uploading them to my flickr. There will be more, but I've got a good start at uploading them!

And in other news!! Mike is eligible for the job in Salem!!! WHOO HOO!! We're hoping he'll hear more news tomorrow. If he gets this, things are going to move at a whirlwind rate - like we'll be moved in six weeks! Yikes!! I'll keep you posted!

More stories and photos tomorrow!

No - it's not about Mike's job. Still no word there.

We haven't talked details at all at this point. I'll keep you posted! I was so shaky last night I could hardly walk. And today, I'm so distracted I can hardly focus on anything!!

So, I'm still not feeling like writing much. There is a lot to share, but as stressful as life has been recently, I sound whiney even in my head, and I didn't want to put that out there!

What I DO want to put out there is our Plan B. Since the job we were really hoping for fell through for Mike, we've been discussing (I almost wrote disgusting...) every possible option. Options like Mike quitting right now, taking about 4 months off while he looks for something else. Options like Mike looking for lower grades than his current one (he is a federal employee and they use a grade system for pay scales) ... Mike flipping burgers, etc.

The option that we are going with (and makes the most sense) is this: (thanks to my sister Mary for planting the idea in my head - blame her Mom!)

We had a trip planned in mid-May to California. We were flying into San Francisco where we would see Mike's brother Jeff. Then we'd drive down the coast - taking several days to reach the LA area where we'd head east to Desert Hot Springs to see my parents for a couple days. We'd fly home out of LAX. (This two city flying trip wound up costing BUNCHES not in airline prices, but in rental car charges. Did you know you can't go one-way without huge fees?! I did not!)

Well, timing of this trip wasn't good. Mike is job-hunting (here in Colorado, all over WA and OR, and in NC). Here we were trying to figure out how to get ourselves moved, and going to spend a bunch of money on a vacation. Well, timing is also such that it feels really good - what we did instead! We made a change to our itinerary! We are now leaving on May 17 and flying to Portland, OR instead. We'll take our week of vacation and look at Portland, Salem, coastal towns, and Mike can actually look for jobs. We'll look at the towns as potential residents instead of tourists.

This feels right! The airline ticket changes totalled less than the rental car would have cost in CA! I will miss getting to see my folks, but I talked to Mom before we ever decided for sure. She understood and agreed that this was a good plan. So that helped cement our decision!

If you can spare a thought - send out some energy. There is a good opportunity in Salem, OR that Mike is working on. If it were to come through, we might know something BEFORE our trip! If that happens, our trip could be a house-hunting expedition instead of a job-hunting one! I'm not setting all my hopes on this one job this time, but I am hopeful! It is a downgrade, but it is a handleable one! (Is handleable a word?) Downgrade = Less Stress for Mike, and that is WAY more important than money. Cost of living in Salem is less than here too.

If anyone is still visiting my little blog, I will keep you posted. Thanks for thinking of me! Some day this stress will subside - sooner rather than later! Luckily, my work is NOT stressful! (And my work comes with us - I have a job to bring along!)

On Friday, Mike got the news that he had not qualified for the job in Oregon. Needless to say, I am very disappointed. He took the news better than I did - perhaps because he has worked in the gov't system for a long time and understands better what it takes to qualify.

I had definitely set my hopes high for this one. It was the "perfect" job - because of location mainly.

So... now we move on to Plan B. We don't really have a plan B as of yet, but we're trying to figure out what we should do. Both of us long to move to the coast, so that's still where we're focusing.

Things have gotten worse for Mike at work... everything is still settling after a big reorganization, so we'll see what shakes out for him. Last week was VERY rough. If it continues along those lines, he will need to get out of there for his health's sake (and mine! I had a horrible migraine on Saturday.) Sometimes, I truly think we should just pack it up and head for Oregon, job or no. I am extremely lucky in that my employers will let me keep my full-time job with them even when we move! So, we have one job to move on! Now we just need to figure out a job for Mike! Anyone know of any openings on the southern coast of Oregon?

Keep thinking ocean thoughts for us! We'll get there - just later than I was hoping!

In other news - I'm still having trouble wanting to post and write here. I think that things are sufficiently stressful right now that I am withdrawing a bit and being my introverted self more than usual. I still visit all of you and I hope you'll still stop in here even though my posts are few and far between!

I set my intentions earlier this year and the biggest one was to move closer to the ocean (like within a few miles!)

I need to put this back out there in writing. I want this to happen - feel like this WILL happen - this year.

I know I have mentioned again and again job opportunities for Mike and so far, they have not happened. Well, this one came along on Monday and I'm very hopeful, very excited that this is the one. Maybe the reason all the others have fallen through even!

It is a government job, a transfer for him, a pay raise, and relocation is covered. AND... this is the amazing part - it is in Coos Bay/North Bend, Oregon. This is one of the places that we fell in love with when we traveled the Oregon coast about three years ago! We truly loved the area! Our favorite beach from the whole trip is about 30 minutes away! (Coquille Point - near Bandon, OR).

We think that Mike's chances are good for this one because it is such a small town, and it seems that they may be having trouble filling the position. It is 2.5 hours to a "large" town (Eugene) and it is 4 hours to Portland. Otherwise, there isn't much nearby except the Bay and the Ocean! Coos Bay and North Bend combined have about 25,000 people.

Monday night, Mike and I spent three hours talking about it, looking up stuff on the Internet, looking at potential rental houses, etc. It was fun to dream a bit, but it also felt really real. We won't know anything for a bit yet, of course, but I'm telling myself this is the one. I'll deal with the disappointment later if it isn't, but for now - it IS.

Please send some good vibes our way as we hope for this opportunity!!

As you know, Mike and I are hoping to move to an ocean this year. His job is very stressful, and he has been looking for other jobs for quite some time. Well, today, he found out from his current supervisor that a job in Portland, OR called to check his references!! He knew he was a candidate for an interview, but hadn't heard anything more than that.

SO... still no set interview, but hopefully, we'll hear that news soon! This is the closest he has come to an actual, possible job somewhere else! It's exciting. I'll keep you posted as we hear! Portland would be a great place for us. We both love the Pacific Northwest! Send some good "interview" vibes to Mike!

Below is my next Creative Life Mosaic - Bookshelf! I had fun with this one. I love books - and have way more than fit on my current bookshelves. (In boxes in the basement!) I also have a lot of "stuff" on my bookshelves - pictured here too!

2/10/08

Join in on this project if you can! It really is a fun idea!! Go visit Kelley! :)

Friday night:

Saturday - 1/5/08:

(Google the "Flying Spaghetti Monster" to find out more about the emblem Mike is installing on his car...)

Sunday - 1/6/08:

Beginning of my day:

Looking out our bedroom window - Mike took this shot of the sunrise. Look at the blue line on the horizon - clouds vs. clear sky.

End of my day (well, almost):

1/3/08

Coming home to my guy cooking dinner for us! He is making Chicken Curry - yummy! (He took the week off so he vacuumed yesterday, cleaned the kitchen today, and is cooking dinner as we speak! I could get used to this!)

1/1/08