Christmas tree is up!

Scott and I splurged and got our first Christmas tree! (Shhh, don't tell anyone in Oregon, but it's artificial.) It is GE's "Fresh Cut" model which actual looks somewhat real (well, if you squint your eyes and are a little drunk). We didn't want to deal with needles and disposing of a dead tree.

Here are Scott's photos:

Red Ornament, originally uploaded by sweber4507.

White Ornament, originally uploaded by sweber4507.

Ornament Reflection, originally uploaded by sweber4507.
See Scott in the reflection.

Scott's beautiful fall pics

Scott has been taking these beautiful fall pictures:

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Japanese Garden
The colors at the Japanese Garden are unbelieveable. I can't believe I've only been to the garden this year.

Japanese Garden, originally uploaded by sweber4507.

IMG_2488.JPG, originally uploaded by sweber4507.

Japanese maple at Japanese Garden, originally uploaded by sweber4507.

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Silver Falls State Park
We drove down to Silver Falls State Park south of Salem a few weeks ago.

One of the falls at Silver Falls, originally uploaded by sweber4507.

Another falls at Silver Falls, originally uploaded by sweber4507.

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Laurelhurst Park
Beautiful Laurelhurst Park in the middle of the city.

Laurelhurst Park, originally uploaded by sweber4507.

Geese, seagulls, and ducks at Laurelhurst Park, originally uploaded by sweber4507.

Pond at Laurelhurst Park, originally uploaded by sweber4507.

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Downtown Portland
Scott discovered these scenes of fall around Downtown Portland.

North Park Blocks, originally uploaded by sweber4507.

IMG_9660.JPG, originally uploaded by sweber4507.

Rainbow from our window., originally uploaded by sweber4507.

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There are many, many more beautiful pictures on Scott's Flickr account.

Special Election 2007: meh

Just for the record, I vote last weekend in yesterday's special election. Annoyingly, the two state measures are goals the Democrat-led legislature and governor were unable to pass, so they referred the measures to voters.

OR Measure 49: Modifies Measure 37; clarifies right to build homes; limits large developments; protects farms, forests, groundwater.	Voted Yes. Measure Passed
OR Measure 50: Amends Constitution: Dedicates funds to provide health care for children, fund tobacco prevention, through increased tobacco tax.	Voted Yes.	Measure Failed

kitty cartoon

Ugh. I caught Scott's cold and feel miserable. However, Sheena sent me this cartoon which made my day. Scott and I experience this cartoon every day at 3:00 or 4:00 a.m.:

2007 scary movie day

Scott and his friend Paula have an annual Halloween season tradition in which they screen a day's worth of bad and awful scary movies. Sheena, Scott's co-worker Heather, and I joined the festivities. I'm not a fan of the horror/thriller movie genre, but I'm all for laying around all day. Here's the highlights of the movies we saw:

• Andre the Butcher: Amateur slasher movie starring infamous porn star Ron Jeremy. It was a funny self-effacing movie which blatantly included many of the standard teenage horror movie cliches such as gratuitous breasts, a lesbian scene, and ill-timed sex etc. It was a good, poor quality movie to start the festivities.
• Green River Killer: Another bad movie that was really bad in the worse ways. We thought the movie would be scary since it was based on the real Green River Killer; however, the production was so poor that it was painful to watch. The sex scenes were too long, graphic, and uncomfortable to watch -- especially offensive and exploitive considering the scenes were based on real victims. The movie was so unwatchable, we turned it off after 40 minutes.
• The Gingerdead Man: A short and cute movie starring Gary Busey. This movie was bad in all the right ways. A ridiculous premise -- a vengeful 12-inch gingerbread cookie -- just wasn't very scary.
• Detour: I took a nap and missed most of this movie. However, it seemed like a good average horror picture.
• SLiTHER: By far, my favorite movie of the day. It starred Nathan Fillion playing a witty, guile-less hero, with country slang -- very similar to his character in Serenity. The alien-invasion movie had a lot of humor and one-liners.
• Vacancy: A recent thriller starring Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson. Although the movie started off slow and lacked humor, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Elizabeth: The Golden Age: C

Elizabeth: The Golden Age, originally uploaded by nojam75.

Scott, Sheena, and I saw Elizabeth: The Golden Age on Sunday. Meh. Beautiful costumes and setting, but I'm not sure what the point of the story was.

sunrise from our window

IMG_8293, originally uploaded by sweber4507.

A few days ago, Scott and I noticed this incredible sunrise.

"WE'RE GOING THE WRONG WAY!"

I. Can't. Wait.

(Hat Tip: Galactica Sitrep)

The Simpsons Movie: A

MaggieVsMrTeeny, originally uploaded by nojam75.

Last night, Scott and I watched The Simpsons Movie at The Mission. It was great! 'Best episode ever!'

whirlwind OR tour with Scott's sisters (updated)

(Now that my computer is back, I'll try to catch-up on what I would have previously blogged about.)

Scott's sisters visited us for a long a weekend, so we packed nearly everything possible in that four days.

Hope at Multnomah Falls. Originally uploaded by sweber4507

Lacy in classic Charlie's Angels pose. Originally uploaded by sweber4507

FRI 09.14.2007
COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE AND LOST LAKE

Columbia River Gorge from Crown Point Originally uploaded by sweber4507

Multnomah Falls (lower) Originally uploaded by sweber4507

Lacy wading into Oneta Gorge Originally uploaded by sweber4507

Oneta Falls Originally uploaded by sweber4507

Trail around Lost Lake (aka the endless death hike). Originally uploaded by sweber4507.

Somehow this hike and 90-minute drive back to Portland, Scott and I managed to make an appearance at his company's huge beach party fundraiser shin-dig in The Pearl. Although we were too tired to really enjoy it, the party was amazing.

Lost Lake just outside of Mt. Hood. Originally uploaded by sweber4507.

SAT 09.15.2007 DEPOE BAY

Cute Depoe Bay harbor seal demanding fish scraps Originally uploaded by sweber4507

Somewhere in the Pacific. Yes, we finally had a successful whale watching cruise, but unfortunately no pictures. Originally uploaded by sweber4507

Sunset from Boiler Bay. Regrettably, I didn't accompany Scott when he took this picture. Originally uploaded by sweber4507.

SUN 09.16.2007 YAQUINA HEAD LIGHTHOUSE, NEWPORT, HECETA HEAD LIGHTHOUSE

Weather beaten, nautical bench at Cape Foulweather.Originally uploaded by sweber4507.

Yaquina Head Lighthouse. Originally uploaded by sweber4507

Yaquina Head Lighthouse. Originally uploaded by sweber4507

Watching the sea lions at the Newport bay front., originally uploaded by sweber4507.

Big creepy Japanese spider crabat the Oregon Coast Aquarium. Originally uploaded by sweber4507	Jellyfish at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. Originally uploaded by sweber4507
Sea anemone at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. Originally uploaded by sweber4507	Aucklet at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. Originally uploaded by sweber4507
Lacy and Hope on the beach below Heceta Head Lighthouse. Originally uploaded by sweber4507	Rocks below Heceta Head Lighthouse. Originally uploaded by sweber4507

Heceta Head Lighthouse, originally uploaded by sweber4507.

Kitty outside of the lightkeepers house. Originally uploaded by sweber4507

Lighthouse trail. Originally uploaded by sweber4507

Heceta Head Lighthouse, originally uploaded by sweber4507.