It's That Time of Year Again

Yes, it's almost March. Which means Spring. Which here in Kentucky means Tornado Season. It's that time of year that Gizmo and I loathe. I am glued to Channel 3 and www.weather.com, and Gizmo... well, Gizmo lives under the bed. I just sit, wait, and watch for the sky to turn this color:

I exaggerate. Where I am in Kentucky is actually very safe. I am tucked away in the hills of Ashland. We do get the occasional tornado warning here and there but from what the hubby tells me, if a tornado were to approach our area it would most likely hit one of the hills and go back up into the sky. He says flat areas are the more dangerous areas and the ones to worry about. He would know, he grew up here. We do have a basement (I have grabbed the dogs and hid in the basement like a tornado-newbie during a couple of those tornado warnings last year!) which are the safest places to be during a tornado.

We had some pretty good thunderstorms last night. If I hadn't already been up most of the night like a crazy insomniac, the thunder would have woken me up. A few cracks felt like they were right over the house. I don't think I could have pried Gizmo out from underneath the covers if I tried.

I've since gotten up and checked what the weather should be for the day, and while there are thunderstorms in the forecast for the day, there is nary a tornado watch or warning for the day. Gizmo should be thrilled. Speaking of Gizmo, the latest T-storm just passed and Gizmo has deemed it safe to crawl out of his safe place and approach the living room. All he gets is a contemptuous look from the brave dog, Haloti, who has not bothered to move from his post on the back of the couch :)

*Update*
I obviously should have knocked on wood, because about an hour after I published this post, the county we live in was put on tornado watch for the rest of the day. The hubby also informed me that this is very early for tornado season, it usually holds off until May/June. Hopefully this is just another blip in this very weird winter.

A Nice Slow Sunday

Ah, back to the blog! The hubby and I have spent the last couple of days relaxing in Cincinnati with his cousin and his wife. We had a fantastic time! It's been a long, long time since we have been able to get away and do some fun things so we made the most out of our time with family.
We drove up on Thursday afternoon and got to Cincinnati around 6:45 that night. The hubby's cousin and wife took us to an amazing Mexican restaurant. I haven't been to one that good since I left Oregon! We had baskets of chips and salsa and margaritas and stayed for quite a while. On Friday, while the cousin's wife had to work, the rest of us went to Indiana to ski. Yes, that's right, Indiana. While it sounds far, it was about an hour from the cousin's house.
Being from the Pacific Northwest, the only places I have skied are mountains. The place we went in Indiana, Perfect North, is a hill where they MAKE snow and use bulldozers to push snow over the hill.

Perfect North, Indiana

Very interesting, as I had never heard of this concept. Perfect for a horrible, beginner skier like me but it didn't seem to have much to offer for advanced skiers like the hubby and his cousin. They had fun though. 

Later that night, we met back up with the cousin's wife and they took us to dinner at the most amazing Italian restaurant near their house. It was one of those places that you have to know is there, otherwise you might just drive on by. Their food was amazing though, homemade and fresh! I am so mad at myself though, I wish I had been thinking clearly and taken pictures of our plates before we completely devoured them because they were gorgeous!. I ordered the Frutti di Mare, which was clams, mussels, shrimp, and scallops tossed in a spicy tomato sauce with linguine. Heaven! I will have to go back just to take pictures of my plates next time!

Stefano's Italian Cafe, Middletown, Ohio

We drove back to Ashland late yesterday afternoon and we are having a relaxing Sunday today. I still haven't decided if I am going to tackle the grocery shopping today or tomorrow. I have the ingredients to make Spaghetti Carbonara tonight, so I might just stay home and do the grocery shopping tomorrow. After all, I came home to a Cooking Light magazine in the mail yesterday!

My Sunday morning! Cooking Light and coffee :)

Starting my blog

Well, this blog has been a long time coming but I am finally there! Procrastination is in my nature which is always something I am trying to work on. One of the main reasons I want to start a blog is to keep in touch with my family back in Oregon and give them a way to keep up on what's going on in my life. A life-long Oregonian for 28 years, I am currently living in beautiful Kentucky which is about 2700 miles away from my family. Kentucky is a gorgeous yet economically challenged state. I'm learning to look past all the double-wides to appreciate the miles of rolling green hills and sun almost every single day! If you know Oregon, you know that sunshine is few and far between!
There is a lot to appreciate about where I am living right now. Having spent the majority of my life thinking I was born to be a "city girl", it only took me 3 years of living in Portland, Oregon to discover I was in no way a "city girl".  It didn't take me long to grow tired of the 24-7 traffic, wall-to-wall people EVERYWHERE, and the fact that houses are separated by sometimes as little as a foot. Not to mention that city life is expensive! Having spent my whole life within 2 hours of where I grew up, I was ready for something different. I wasn't sure what that was and I certainly didn't think it would involve moving across the country! Now that I am here though, I love that Ashland is the polar opposite of Portland. I love that I haven't seen real traffic since December! I love the sunshine! I love looking out the window and not seeing a 100 homes squeezed onto an acre of land (yes, that is an exaggeration). The people are wonderful here. Simple, warm, and friendly all the time.
That's not to say there aren't things I miss about Oregon, because there are a million things! What I miss the most though is my family and friends. I miss that I can't see my parents whenever I want or my brother. I miss my parent's dog and my brother's dogs! While I don't miss my job (yet), I do miss my cube mates and my boss. I miss my small circle of close friends who I also can't see whenever I want. I miss Whole Foods desperately as healthy eating doesn't seem to have caught on in the South yet. I miss Chipotle, Quizno's, Henry's in downtown Portland, Salvador Molly's in Hillsdale, and GOOD mexican food. People in Kentucky seem to have no clue what real Mexican is. And I am really going to miss attending Oregon Ducks football games in the fall.
All in all though, I feel extremely blessed at this time in my life right now and I don't feel like I have anything to complain about. I have a happy and healthy marriage as well as two happy and healthy chihuahuas. My husband's family has taken us under their wings and welcomed us with open arms and plenty of support. Things can only keep going up from here!