This blog was born when our daughter Quinn was born, February 2008 and Mr. Olsen and I are raising her in the crunchy city of SE Portland, Oregon.  While Mr. Olsen is a Portland native, I am what they call a “transplant” — but I have not come from far…  I was born in Burlington, Washington and moved to Portland in 1996.

25 random facts about me…

1. Born in 1976. The year of the centennial.

2. My parents divorced when I was 8 years old. My dad got custody of my brother and I. My dad remarried and when I was 10 years old, I became a big sister again. My mother remarried but we are her only children.

3. I’ve been married once before. When I was 21. For a year and a half.

4. I’ve been working full-time since I was 17 years old and just recently decided to be a full-time stay-at-home mom. In my 14 years in the workforce I’ve only worked for 4 companies. 8+ of those years was with my last employer, LP.

5. I love Mr. Olsen’s and my wedding song, Ben Harper’s “Forever”… I get a bit weepy whenever it plays.

6. Confession: When I was 17, I had my first “office” job at a law firm, where I was the file clerk. Our files were kept in the basement. The break room was also in the basement. There were a handful of times when I took naps on the couch in the break room when I was supposed to be filing.

7. My first car was a Oldsmobile Omega. It was burnt orange. The driver’s side door didn’t work. I nearly seized the engine while driving it once. I was on the freeway and heard a “click-click-click”. I figured I should check the oil-gauge and it was BONE dry. Some would say I was lucky, however for me, luck played no part in this, as I had to continue driving that junk-mobile for a number of more months.

8. I love a wide variety of music… but I’ve got a near and dear spot in my heart for folk music and Spanish guitar.

9. My first concert was Tina Turner with my Step-mom. My first CD was Guns-N-Roses Appetite for Destruction.

10. Between my husband and myself, we’ve owned 8 iPods… This includes the 2 iPhones we currently own. Most of our iPods were replaced because something went wrong with them. Yes, Apple apparently owns our souls, however I’m refusing to purchase a macbook.

11. We have remodeled our entire house ourselves, room-by-room. It’s taken us 3 1/2 years. We started with the bathroom and finished with the kitchen. Our final project is the landscaping which is nearly complete. Next decision… will we remodel our basement for more room or will we eventually move??? Stay tuned.

12. I am the designated “tile layer” in our household. I am also the designated “taper/mudder/sander” of drywall. My husband does not have the patience for these tasks.

13. My favorite vacation spot (to date) is Kauai. My second favorite is Costa Rica. Costa Rica is second because I got Montezuma’s revenge when I visited.

14. I once visited the doctor because an annoying eye-twitch would not go away. The doctor laughed at me and told me to put a cold pack on my eye.

15. The next time I’m pregnant, I’ll have a mid-wife and may not give birth in a hospital.

16. If you ask my husband, he’d say I’m addicted to social networking sites like, twitter & facebook. I say my use is completely within the realm of “normal” usage.

17. I am a fan of Howard Stern and subscribe to Sirius Satellite Radio. My husband thinks he’s rude & crude.

18. I am hooked on most forms of reality TV, however I have my limits… For example, MTV should stop reality shows and go back to music videos.

19. I love to dance… more specifically, I love African Dance. My heart is left on the dance-floor of Dishman Community Center where I took lessons from Habiba. She was an amazing teacher and unfortunately no longer teaches adult classes.

20. For the most part, I still ride in the back seat with my (currently) 9 month old daughter.

21. Unless it’s sunny out, the house being lit by “natural” light isn’t enough for me. I find a dark room depressing. I love to have the lights on in the house. This is a constant battle between me and my husband.

22. I find painting a room or painting anything for that matter, relaxing.

23. I can’t watch Elephant Man the movie because it still gives me nightmares.

24. I haven’t read a book for entertainment since my child was born 9 months ago.

25. I am terrible at flossing my teeth on a regular basis.