When Reality Steps In......

I had a dream last night.


Seriously.


It was a simple sweet long kiss.


Nothing more.....nothing less.
















The bad part was waking up and having my first thought be, "Dang, I'd better lay off the onions."

I should probably mention that this was thought with regret and mourning.....

Such is the life of a single girl who just happens to adore the onion.

On a high

Love this song and it pretty much sums up how I feel today. Yes, my back is still hurting and my car's bumper has yet to be looked to. I also have no real social life (outside of work and school) and live with a roommate, my three cats, her cat and two dogs in a verrrrrrrrry small house, but I am alive, the sky is gray with the delicious chill of autumn in the air and I have a wonderful family which I love dearly.

How can I not be happy when I truly have so much going for me? Its like this tune I had in my head yesterday from Morrissey where, essentially, it doesn't matter what all is going on around you and "Now My Heart is Full".

Its a nice feeling.

Duncan Sheik "On a High"

I'm on a high, I'm on a high
There's nothing more to it
We are the sea and the sky
And the blue that runs through it

And there are some who say there are
So many things I need
So I run or I fight and I crawl or I scream and I bleed I bleed, I bleed

(Chorus)
Well it's a lie, it's a lie-don't you believe it
If you're fine, then you're fine-it's all how you see it
Oh, there will never be no conspiracy of happiness
I'm on a high, on a high There's nothing more to it

I have the sun, it's a star
Why should I refuse it?
And there are so many reasons
I could give you why I should be down
There's not enough money or time and my love
You're not around Around, around

(Chorus)
You're alive, you're alive-what else could you give me
You are fine, you are fine-nothing's worth feeling
Oh, there never will be no conspiracy of happiness

I'm on a high, on a high
You are the sea and the sky
I'm on a high, I'm on high I'm on a high

Jack Skellington had better watch out.....

This morning St Nick came by my house....

He was driving a local elementary school bus.

I considered driving around the block to try and catch him on the other side 'cause I have some serious wishes to offer up (one of which was getting a shot of him behind the wheel!) but was going to be late for work if I did.

There's nothing like being first in line for the best prezzies! So what if it isn't officially even Halloween yet?

Blustery, Blustery Day

Gusty and the smell of rain is in the air. A bit chilly but you wouldn't guess that snow is on its way later this afternoon.

On my way to the car my bagel threatened to sail off the plate and down the street and you could have sworn that was Pooh Bear soaring past, rather than a forlorn and empty bread sack.

Wish I was out playing in it (the weather, not the bread sack....I wouldn't fit!)

For all fans of Castle or Serenity/Firefly.....if you missed last night's episode of Castle you need to watch the opening gambit of last night's Halloween episode. Hilarious nod to Nathan Fillion being our favorite Cap'n Tightpants...you only need watch the first couple of minutes and then it is deep into this weeks mystery/

Good Timing

Here is what the weather plans for the remainder of the week.....glad I was on vacation LAST WEEK and not trying to travel!

Tonight: Partly cloudy skies this evening. Increasing clouds with periods of showers late. Low 38F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%.

Tomorrow: Cloudy with rain and snow in the morning, becoming all snow in the afternoon. Cold. High 39F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of precip 70%. 1 to 3 inches of snow expected.

Tomorrow night: Variable clouds with snow showers. Low around 30F. Winds NNW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 60%. Snow accumulating 1 to 2 inches.

Wednesday: Variable clouds with snow showers. Cold. High 37F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 60%. Some snow accumulation possible.

Thursday: Snow showers possible. Highs in the upper 30s and lows in the mid 20s.

Friday: Mix of sun and clouds. Highs in the upper 30s and lows in the upper 20s.

Freaking brrrrrr......

Vacation Update

Okay everyone....I am back from my trip to Washington/Idaho (got home late Saturday evening) and still have about 8 jillion photos to go through. I had a wonderful time while I was there though the trip was not without mishap....along the way I rennovated the bumper on my car (tearing it up pretty good on a parking stop...but more on that in a later post) and then giving my back its own overhaul by throwing it out. Due to the back injury I headed home a day earlier than initially planned, and without seeing a few people that wanted to get together while I was up in "their neck of the woods".

I apologise to everyone who was left out and want to let you know that I plan to come to Washington again next fall.

It was pretty sad spending part of the trip in so much pain....so many gorgeous shots begged to be taken and take them I did. I am sure it looked perfectly ridiculous to anyone who happened to pass me who saw a camera sticking up out of the sunroof of my car, but I wasn't able to get in and out of my car a lot for a few days there.....this was the compromise my back was willing to give me. I could take all of the shots I wanted....so long as I did not leave the comfort of the car or wiggle about too much. Shot after shot would find me carefully pulling to the side of the road, sticking my camera out the sun roof and then quickly checking the finished product. Oftentimes I would have to stick the camera back out again and try adjusting a few milimeters to the left or right...taking far more shots than would have been necessary had my spine only been willing to let me out of the car once and awhile.

Oh well....such is life sometimes.

Sunday was spent in a slow mosey at the grocery store (all of my food in the fridge pretty much spoiled while I was gone) and then the rest of the day found me in the living room, attached to the couch and trying to let my back have a break. I was stupid enough to think that "hey, it feels a little bit better....lets go wrestle my duffle bag out of the trunk of the car"...oh yeah, I felt like an idiot after attempting THAT manuever! Needless to say by back is still sore, but the duffle bag is unpacked. Tonight I just may try to shuffle down to the basement and wash my dirty clothes. At least the dirty laundry is already downstairs....gravity helps when you have a bag at the top of the stairs and can just give it a little toss into a conveniently placed laundry basket!

I had planned to start going through photos yesterday but couldn't suck it up enough to try to dig out my laptop and wrangle with photo transfer cables. I'll try taking a look at them tonight since I am sure due to volume alone this will be a several-day venture!

So was the trip worth it, considering injuries to not only myself but my noble chariot? Oh yeah....I am still happy I went and look forward to the trip next year (hopefully, without accident or injury this time!)

Hello Satan? Can You Hear Me Now?

My dad has the Devil's phone number on speed dial.

Seriously.

I was scrolling through his contact list, looking for my aunt's number when there it was in bold faced type. The Devil.

No, his number does not start with 666...in fact, in retrospect, I am pretty sure there wasn't a 6 in that number at all. When questioned dad couldn't recall where the listing came from....freaky!

Googling the number showed that Satan's cell phone was based out of Colorado....it was then that dad realized the number wasn't one that he had programmed in but one that a family member had entered as a joke, seeing as it belongs to the family member's ex-wife.

Hmmm.....I don't remember her with red glowing eyes or spewing out pea soup. There was that scent of patchouli about her, but it didn't seem to be covering the stink of sulfer. Guess I must not have paid enough attention.

So does this mean that I am damned by relation?

Credit Where Credit Is Due

Today is Columbus Day and I would like to take a moment to add my voice to the throng....though my ideas are hardly original here.

Why in the world do we even celebrate this holiday? Lets run with the cons first:

First of all he stumbled upon the continent rather than discovering it. He also wasn't the first to find Northern America since Leif Ericson hit Canada a good 492 years earlier (Leif was given his own holiday "Leif Ericson Day" on Oct 9th back in the 1960's but we have yet to see that become a National Holiday though he certainly fits the bill much better than good ol' Chris).

Columbus also had no idea about how far he'd have to travel to reach his actual destination in the first place (not reading known maps properly). His first response upon meeting the current occupants was "Hey look, natives! Lets turn them into slaves!" He then went on a bit of a rampage killing those who stood before him, torturing both the natives and his men in order to uphold "order" and, in essense, becoming quite the tyrant. He threatened death to the natives if they did not supply him regularly with gold (another threat was chopping off the natives' hands) and he essentially caused the extinction of several native tribes. He actually managed 4 trips to the new world, erroniously believing until he died that he was actually sailing time and again to the unknown side of Asia. He was eventually removed as governor of said colonies for being too much of a dictator....oh, and the spread of syphilis across Europe is now being accredited to Colombus and his men.

Pros: well, in spite of his lack of understanding about how far he'd actually have to sail (and some say his serious lack of sailing experience in general), somehow Columbus stumbled upon the trade winds and realized how they could facilitate a long journey...not only speeding the time to cross the ocean blue but how to effectively ride them back. He also was apparently pretty persuasive and willing to stay the course because he had to appeal the Spanish court for a few years before he finally received his royal patronage and was allowed to set sail. He also managed to (after a few failed starts) establish lasting colonies whereas the Norse abandoned Newfoundland. I chalk it up to greed rather than indominable spirit.

So why post this? Because I believe we have a false belief in heroes in this country. I remember in grade school hearing the praises of Columbus sung (that false story of everyone but Columbus believing the Earth was flat was still prominent back then) and thinking how brave he must have been, sailing towards the unknown. We have this tendancy to glorify the wrong people for all the wrong reasons because we want to believe that heroism still exists.

Real heroes build, and its not upon the blood, sweat and tears of oppression.

Anticipation....

is making me wait.anyone remember that old jingle from Heinz ketchup...the one so thick and rich you waited eons for it to finally pour from the bottle? In the end you were so frustrated that you took a french fry, shoved it into the bottle, wiggled it around a bit and tried helping the ketchup on its tortoise-slow journey onto your plate....

That, I fear, will be the next few days for me. A slow, slow, slow decent towards my road trip this Friday. My worry is that I have no proverbial french fry to stick into the week to try and wiggle it to a close any faster.

I am stuck, bottle held upside down, shaking, shaking, shaking the bottle and waiting for that delicious drop of vacation to finally land on my plate. As one online philosopher so bluntly put it, "anticipation is just another word for unbearable waiting".

The open road becons and while I am sure it will be all the more sweeter when it finally arrives, I am still left with one conviction.........waiting sucks.

Travel Plans (and mode of travel)

Okay fans....I have already received 2 queries about my shopping adventure last weekend and I think its time to post the blog.....




Yes, I bought a car.

I wanted to take some iconic picture of my car against a backdrop of aspens blazing in autumnal golden splendor, or perhaps on the jetty at Provo Lake, with waves crashing behind....... as I haven't driven to either location yet, you are stuck with a picture of my car in the parking lot here at work.

The car is a 1991 Volkswagen Jetta, its silver, manual shift, has a sunroof and was $2000 less than I had budgeted for (I swear this car could have been made for me since it pretty much filled what little "wants" I had for a car).

Ooh yeah.....what's not to love?

So, now that the vehicle has been secured the plan is set....I head North on the 16th for Spokane, spend the night at Lucie's and spend a chunk of Saturday with mom. Then its off to Sandpoint to spend a week with Dad. From what I hear we already have an excursion planned taking the scenic trainride from Ione to Metalline Falls taking in the fall colors (I am so excited....my first ever train ride!) The rest of the week isn't really set....I will wander as I will during the day and then be home in the evenings when Dad gets home from work. I admit I am really looking forward to spending some quality time alone with him. The week will pass and then its home again, home again (jiggety jig!) on the 25th.

To everyone hoping I will stop by.....I will try my best to fit you all in, but I make no promises. Email me (or wall-to-wall me in Facebook) your phone numbers and we can try to work something out......

Love to all!