Hi everyone, here are some more photos from our honeymoon. Enjoy! More pictures to come from Thanksgiving in IL soon.

Fall in Portland

Good evening all,

I haven't posted anything for quite awhile, so I thought I would give you a brief update of what's going on in the Shemkus house. Lily is doing great, she just finished her obedience training, and loves her weekly visits to doggy daycare. She is really spoiled, as you can see from the picture below...

Fall in Portland has been beautiful (minus the rainy days). 

The picture to the right was taken outside on our balcony.

Michael and I are planning a trip down to Eugene this weekend to celebrate his birthday, Julia's birthday, and Pete's birthday-whew! Then we are off to Illinois for Thanksgiving! I am very excited to spend Thanksgiving with the Perley family--I will be learning how to cook a turkey this year--yum! 

Perley Visit Part II

Hi all, here are some more photos of when my parents were in town over Labor Day. They include: the Willie Nelson concert, our brunch at Beast (which I highly recommend!) and views of Portland from the Pittock Mansion. Enjoy!

Oregon - Scenic Style

This past Labor Day weekend was a wonderful vacation for me, as I had five days work-free! My parents came to visit, and here are some of the photos we took when we went on the Hood River Scenic Loop drive. We saw the Columbia River Gorge, Hood River, Mt. Adams, Mt. Hood, and stopped at a winery with a gorgeous flower field. Enjoy the pictures...there will be more to come of the Perley visit to Oregon soon!

Working Girl

It's only been a few months since I graduated college, but the hard reality of "the real world" has hit me-like a ton of bricks. I was so excited to get away from Lewis & Clark that I didn't take enough time to appreciate all of the great things about being a student: not having to pay bills, not having to work, having a flexible schedule, living with friends, etc...basically not worrying about boring, adult responsibilities. However after a few months of solid working 8-5 everyday, I'm beginning to miss college life more than I ever thought I would. Maybe I'm feeling particularly nostalgic because of my constant need for change, but it might be more than that. I find myself reading constantly, wishing I had the recommendations of the professors who assigned amazing books...reading the NY times for fun, instead of just for Foreign Policy.
Even though I constantly complained about classes while attending them, saying that college would much more fun if there were no tests or papers, I have begun to cultivate a great appreciate for my education, much more so than I ever could have while being a student.