Bare It All

Today was another BEAUTIFUL day in Portland. I am so hoping these days will stick around until at least October. Is that too much to ask? I'm a little pasty and could use some Vitamin D.

David was on call this whole weekend and since the hospital was really busy, I barely got a glimpse of him, which means I was flying solo. I could not pull myself out of bed knowing that I had planned to do a long run, but I finally did it. I got up. I started the day out with a 12 mile run. I think the last time I ran that far was a half marathon last summer. Once I got going I felt okay, slow, but not tired. At about mile 6 I began thinking about how blessed I am and how incredible it is that my short legs will carrying me for miles on end. That is exactly the boost I needed along with the check at my time and the realization that I wasn't running as slow as I thought. I then turned back and headed home to get ready for the rest of my day.

I got a phone call from David a little later and he was able to break away from work for a bit to attend his co-fellow Erin's farewell BBQ. Knowing Erin is done in 3 weeks made me realize that David only has ONE more year as a Cardiology fellow, but then again, it's not the end end. Just the end of this chapter of training. I think we have at least one more chapter to go. But, the light at the end of the tunnel is getting a whole lot closer and brighter!

David's Co-Fellows and Program Director

Mike, Laurie, Amy, Erin and David

After the BBQ I picked up a friend and we headed to Cirque du Cycling, a street fair and bike race that is held every year on Mississippi. On the way over my friend described an interesting site she observed during her lunch, a conglomerate of naked bikers. I previously heard about the naked bike ride that occurs every year in Portland, but I have never sought out the details. Well, I didn't have to seek anything out this year either. This year, the necked bikers found me. Who knew that in broad daylight at a street, family-friendly affair, men (and sometimes women) would bare it all. And really, on a bike?! That doesn't sound comfortable to me.

Emily and I were walking down the street and I was talking to my dear 68 yr old friend on the phone when Emily shouted, "There they are." I had no idea what she was talking about so I looked in the direction she was gawking and sure enough, THERE THEY WERE. Riding right towards us. NECKED BIKERS. I quickly turned my back to the road and looked right into the open door of the shop I was standing at until the bikers were out of sight. A couple things ran through my head. First, thank goodness for handlebars! All I got a glimpse of was a couple of bare chests. Secondly, I was thinking, here I am talking to this sweet, pure elderly women on the phone and I have about 30 naked guys riding behind me on bikes. She might have died right then and there if she had seen them. Sorry, no pictures.

Then I watched the Crit. And, I saw more skin... What is with today?

If you look closely at this guy's right butt cheek you will notice that he's missing something... a little skin on his cheek. Ouch. And yes, he finished the race just like this. He won the race last year, but I think this little mishap threw him off a bit and he didn't repeat the win.

City of Roses

The Portland Rose Festival is in full swing. From the end of May to the second week of June Portland celebrates roses and we get to enjoy the festivities.

Last Saturday we had a perfect, beautiful, sunshiny day after weeks of gloomy weather, so I had to get outside. We headed to the waterfront to walk around the Waterfront Village and get a glimpse of the Sling Shot, but this year that's all we did, get a glimpse. I included a picture of the riders at the highest point anyways since last year I didn't have my camera.

(Look up to the left side of the picture. They look like ants in the sky.)

Later that night we traveled downtown again to watch the Starlight Run, where people are not only running for the best time, but also for the best costume. My favorite was the group of sychronized swimmers. I so wish I had taken a picture of them. It was 5 men wearing one piece women's swimsuits, goggles and a swimming cap. At certain points along the run they would perform a sychronized routine. Loved it!

Waiting for the parade to start.

After the race we stayed to watch the Starlight Parade. People came out in droves to watch the Parade and I decided that seeing it one time was enough. It ain't no Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade if you know what I mean.

Oregon Coast- One Beach at a Time

A couple of weeks ago our youth group from church took a trip to the coast. This is the 4th beach on the Oregon Coast that I have seen during a youth activity. Maybe if I stay in this calling long enough I'll get to see the whole Oregon Coast.

This last trip we went to Newport and stayed in a yurt. This is my style of camping. Although, since David came along I stayed in the tent with him. Oh well.

We had a blast. We made it to the beach just in time for sunset and made our own campfire girl scout fashion since the guys weren't there yet. Not too shabby for a bunch of city girls! Our hot dogs roasted and our marshmallows burned just right.

Poor David and Joe (male leaders to keep us safe... David did tell everyone they had to fight off bears all night) had to listen to a bunch of girls squeal and giggle all night in the yurt. David says it's good birth control.... I don't think I'll be inviting him along on another young women trip!

The next day we headed to the beach to fly kites and play bocce ball. Then on to the Yaquina Lighthouse, the Interpretive Center and the little town of Newport. The girls had so much fun, and quite honestly, so did I. One of the perks of having a small youth group is getting to take these mini trips.

Sweets Free

As a leader in Young Women's I felt it was only fair that I worked on personal progress along with the young women, so the past two weeks I have been working on the word of wisdom focusing mainly on my sweet intake. As many of you know, I LOVE sweets. So, it is a major sacrifice to cut desserts and candy from my diet for a day, let a lone a couple of weeks.

Let me give you a breakdown of a normal day in the life of Gina:

Eat a meal

Crave sweets

Eat Sweets

Decide I need an extra helping of sweets.

Eat the extra helping.

Eat a meal

Crave sweets

Eat Sweets...

You get the point.

I have officially gone almost two whole weeks without any sweets (as long as you don't count the first couple of days when I was finishing off my Fiber One bars with chocolate :) ). I am debating on extending this journey for a whole month, but I'm not quite sure if my body can take it. I think it has gone into shock. I might actually have gained weight during this experiment. Is that possible? David said my body thinks I am starving, since I do not ever skip sweets, so it is starting to hoard whatever I take in.

Surprisingly I am doing much better than expected. I have been been at several activities/parties where others have been devouring desserts and have not felt even so much as an urge. I guess miracles do happen!

But let's be honest, I am not giving up sweets for ever.

David vs. The Con Artist

I have often heard David tell a story about a con artist that was baptized in his ward in Philadelphia and was eventually arrested in Utah. Then today during Sacrament meeting David turned to me and said, "I am 98% positive that the guy sitting with the missionaries is the con artist I told you about from Philadelphia." Prior to Sacrament meeting when he spotted "Nick" in the foyer, David started doing a little detective work by asking him a few questions about himself. The most important, but common questions...

D: Where are you from?

Con-man: Ireland

D: When did you come to Portland?

Con-man: 8 days ago (ummm... weren't there no flights from Ireland because of the volcano)

Today happened to be fast and testimony meeting since the following week was Stake Conference. To our surprise, "Nick", acting as an investigator, made his way to the stand to bear his testimony. He introduced himself as Nick O'Connor, from Ireland. He told a highly suspicious story of his wife and son being murdered in Los Angeles six months ago. Yet, there was not an ounce of emotion. As he was speaking, David was texting a friend from his ward in Philadelphia to tell him about this guy (I promise, David doesn't normally do this during church, but felt it was rather important to find out info about the con-man from Philly). Alex, happens to be a genius with a photographic memory and he texted back the fake name Nick used in Philadelphia, Nick Grasso, as well as his real name Norman Loren Hill.

After Sacramento meeting David decided to go to Gospel Essentials so he could keep an eye on Nick. There are a couple more things that Nick said that contradicted each other, so David pulled one of our missionaries out into the hall and asked him how much they knew about Nick. David told him that he believed he was a con man. The Elder then said he did think it was odd that when Nick was in the hospital everyone kept calling him Norm and his medical records said Norman Hill. David's suspicions were confirmed with this final piece of information.

David then asked another friend of ours to go with him to confront Nick. As Nick came out of the bathroom the following interaction to place:

Snap. David takes a picture of our visitor. (I know, pretty gutsy.)

N: What are you doing?

D: We take pictures of all of our visitors.

N: No, you don't. Don't take my picture.

D: I know who you are. I lived in Philadelphia. I know what you did there and I know that you were arrested in Utah. I also know your real name is Norman Loren Hill.

N: I don't know what you're talking about.

D: This is a place of worship. I think you should leave.

N: I'm not leaving.

D: I know who you are. I'll be watching you.

N: You guys are weird.

Norman then left. Information about the con artist was then quickly spread to the stake president, to other stakes in the area and to the area security department along with the photo above.

I guess this is now the 2nd known con-man that has made their way to our ward. And honestly, our ward would be a prime target with all of our widows. But seriously, what are the chances that this same guy would show up in David's ward in Philly and then all the way across the US in Portland 6 years later? It was a definite blessing.