http://www.karentoensfeldt.com/ Blog of a Newly Minted Housewife en-us 2006-07-19T14:27:59-08:00 http://www.karentoensfeldt.com/mt-archives/000103.html Last summer, James and I made a list of things (locations, restaurants, experiences) we wanted to share with each other, or that we'd wanted to do and figured would be better done together. We dusted that list off this summer, since we are both free, and have been doing one or two activities a week.... Interesting People and Places Karen 2006-07-19T14:27:59-08:00 http://www.karentoensfeldt.com/mt-archives/000102.html It was a warm day in Portland today - 88 or 91, depending on which news channel you beleive. I'm sitting on my back patio, enjoying the smell of grass being watered and jumping every time a late firework goes off at my neighbor's house down the way.... Cool Haps Karen 2006-07-08T21:42:23-08:00 http://www.karentoensfeldt.com/mt-archives/000101.html My new housewifey routine goes something like this: Get up after my husband, but in time to sit with him and have some coffee before he goes to work. Sometimes I also eat with him, but more often I hold off on food for another hour. Make the bed (sort-of - we just have a sheet and a queen-sized comforter on our new king-sized bed, so I just straighten everything to make it look neat). Do the dishes, which is mostly just putting the breakfast dishes in the dishwasher, but is sometimes also emptying the dishwasher or washing something by hand. Clean out the coffee pot. Watch the morning news shows. Spend way too much time reading my friends' blogs and checking the few writing-industry blogs I frequent. Somewhere in there I go to the gym and shower.... Karen 2006-06-08T08:08:30-08:00 http://www.karentoensfeldt.com/mt-archives/000100.html At the end of the day, it is extremely gratifying to be able to look at something and see how you made it different from what it was a few hours ago. Doing laundry and cleaning toilets just don't have the same sense of accomplishment, and sometimes cooking is frustrating when the result of an hour's work is gone in mere minutes. But with gardening? The results can be seen and touched and sometimes eaten for an entire season, or even for years to come. Karen 2006-06-01T10:31:44-08:00 http://www.karentoensfeldt.com/mt-archives/000099.html I've been having a lot of lazy time this week, but it hasn't all been pedicures and bon-bons. (Do people actually eat bon-bons anymore?). This week has been filled with visits from various contractors, mostly giving quotes.... Cool Haps Karen 2006-05-26T09:31:39-08:00 http://www.karentoensfeldt.com/mt-archives/000098.html Somehow, I've spent the past year slipping from "living a life less ordinary" to one of suburban normalcy. I am now, officially, a housewife. At least for the summer.... Cool Haps Karen 2006-05-25T09:59:57-08:00 http://www.karentoensfeldt.com/mt-archives/000097.html I really should have posted this a week or more ago, so I apologize off the bat for the short notice. On Mother's Day (yes, that's THIS Sunday!) I am participating in a fundraising walk for the Y-Me Breast Cancer Support Foundation. My sister Lisa and a bunch of my friends are also participating, spurred on by Stacey Meyer, a former soccer teammate, who works for Genomic Health. Genomic Health is actually flying me to California so that I can participate in honor of Mom.... Karen 2006-05-10T19:32:45-08:00 http://www.karentoensfeldt.com/mt-archives/000096.html I don't know how many people still read this blog, or have it on their RSS feeds, but I have some sad news to share.... Rantin' and Ravin' Karen 2006-04-05T19:32:28-08:00 http://www.karentoensfeldt.com/mt-archives/000095.html One month ago (OK, a month and a day...) James and I were married. It was a very small ceremony, and I know many people would have liked to attend. Since that wasn't possible, I hearby present the text of the ceremony and some beautiful photos. I hope you enjoy them!... Karen 2005-11-02T17:43:48-08:00 http://www.karentoensfeldt.com/mt-archives/000094.html Hard to believe it's been a year since I moved to Portland. The time went by so fast. And so much changed in my life! Just take a look at the past few months travels...... Karen 2005-10-16T15:36:51-08:00 http://www.karentoensfeldt.com/mt-archives/000093.html You are all (two of you? Or is it three?) probably wondering where I've been.... Miscellaneous Karen 2005-08-10T21:08:44-08:00 http://www.karentoensfeldt.com/mt-archives/000092.html Two weeks ago on Sunday, James asked me to marry him, and I said yes. Actually, I said, "Yes, of course!"... Cool Haps Karen 2005-06-17T21:19:56-08:00 http://www.karentoensfeldt.com/mt-archives/000091.html Have you ever had the feeling that circumstances of your life were snowballing, carrying you along whether you were ready to go or not? That's how I've felt that past two months or so. I have said time and again that moving to Portland was the best thing I ever did for myself, and that is truer today than it has ever been.... Cool Haps Karen 2005-06-05T22:06:45-08:00 http://www.karentoensfeldt.com/mt-archives/000090.html I am happier right at this moment than I can remember being in a really long time. There. I said it out loud and nothing bad happened. I'm happy. Seriously, I'm sitting here grinning, all alone in my kitchen. The sun is out, the weather is warm, Addie is laying on the floor behind me, and there is a good song playing through iTunes.... Cool Haps Karen 2005-04-22T12:47:46-08:00 http://www.karentoensfeldt.com/mt-archives/000089.html There have been a lot of good things going on in my life lately, but I'm not going to talk about them right now. Instead, I want to write about the fragility of life, and about how quickly things can change. This is brought on in part by the Terri Schiavo case (and isn't it terrible how we refer to a person as a "case"??). But there have been some bad things touching my life in a much closer and more personal way in the past month.... It's a Lonely Life Karen 2005-03-28T19:57:21-08:00