Theft for the sake of advancing one's self....

Thanks to my habit of stalking blogs of people I have not talked to in forever (and people I've never met), I have found some lovely direction in my life. Thanks to Amanda Hornibrook, whom I have met and love tons, even if we haven't talked in 7 years, for "shamelessly copying" the List Idea from Andrea, whom I have never met, so that it may also inspire me.

Andrea is a super fantastic photographer/mother/person who lives in Portland, and every year on her birthday she writes a list of things she hopes to accomplish before her next birthday. Big things, little things, fun things, all of those little things you always mean to do and never get around to because life gets in the way. I've decided I don't want life to get away anymore. CJ and I always talk about how hectic things are, how we never have time for the fun little things in life, and I don't want to look back in a year and think "Wow, I wish I had made it to the beach once this year." How can I be so busy that I can't make that happen ONCE in 365 days??? It doesn't make sense to me, and I don't want my life to be that hectic.

So I am composing my own list. I love the list, it makes me happy, it gives me purpose, and it's somewhere to be accountable to myself for the things I want to do. I've never been one for goals, and I've realized that's because I have always been too busy to try and achieve them! But I'm not going to be too busy for myself anymore! Stay tuned for THE LIST, it's sure to be exciting!

Thwarted...

So there I was, up early and ready to start my day. I had my list of errands to run (Jerry's, get the oil changed, etc) and then I was on my way north to visit my best friend and her fabulous baby girl. A few hours of fun girl time, and then I was to be off again, this time even further north to pick up my husband, do some fabulous shopping (HELLO Nike employee store!) and then back home....

What a great day it was going to be.....

Instead, I got up later than expected. Not good. But still ok, Oil Can Henry's and Jerry's both open at 8, and I can be there and done by 9, still on the road at a decent hour...

Oh wait. The car is out of gas.

Awesome. Head to the gas station. No worries, this only adds 5 minutes to the trip. Pull up at the Oil Can Henry's. Hello Oil Can Henry's man. What is that you're saying? You open at 9? Your website says 8. It's 9? Ok...

So I sit in the car and wait for them to open... can't just let the engine run without oil.

So now I'm waiting until 9, which means I won't be done until 915 ,and I still haven't been to Jerry's. So I decide to go to Jerry's tomorrow, not as productive as I would have liked, but that baby is waiting for me to come love her!

I say thank you to the Oil man, drive away, and realize I am starving. I will not make it an hour and a half up the freeway without sustinance. Hello Starbucks drive thru. One venti hot chocolate and a blueberry scone later, I am on my way again.

Hello giant fog bank that makes everyone go 30 miles an hour on I5. You're awesome. I will never get to CJ....

Oh look! People are driving the speed limit! I can accelerate! Well... I'm trying to accelerate... it's not working... why is my car going 40.. now 30... now 25... on I5? So I pull over. On I5. In a giant fog bank. In a grey car. This feels safe...

And now the car won't move at all... it's as if I have no clutch... this has happened before. On a high, narrow bridge, over the middle of a Great Lake, at the Canada/US border. We were stranded in Michigan for four days. With a foreign made car. In the US car capitol of the world. It took a while to find a mechanic who could fix a Mitsubishi....

So, after calling my dad to rescue me (Thanks again daddy!), and the tow truck guy to pick me up, I call CJ to tell her that I will not in fact be coming to see her. Because the universe hates me. And apparently my car. If I had known the car was going to die anyway, I wouldn't have worried about the oil change, and slept in a little bit more...

So now I will try and salvage the day, thanks to a loaner car from mom. I will pick up husband, and we will think about the fun we would have had shopping...

Did I mention my cell battery is about to die, and my charger is at work, and I have to go drive two hours up the freeway, again, with MY luck?

Today. Is. Awesome.

Veterans Day

Today is Veterans Day. It's my husband's day, and the day for many more of you out there, those of you who have served, and those of you who are still serving.



I can't begin to describe how proud I am of Sean. Duty and honor are a huge part of who he is, and his commitment to his country is both inspiring and humbling. After everything he has been through: the deployment, the stop-loss, and then his injuries from an IED exposion, he still wants to be out there, fighting the fight and serving his country. I am proud of his patriotism, and am grateful that he will pass that on to our children someday.


I want to say Thank You to him, and to the rest of our troops, who do what they do so that others don't have to. Especially in my thoughts are our 10th mountain friends: Jakey Hayes, Dan Steciak, Brandon and Tara Schneider, Eric Carr, and all the rest of you guys who are getting ready to go again soon. We love you and we miss you.

Lastly, because it is my husband's day, and it will make him smile, I give you Sean, gunner extraordinaire :

Alphabetical Ambition

I love reading. It's my favorite thing to do, but it seems like I never have enough time. So lately I've been reading on my lunch breaks at work and at night, and I am so much happier! It's nice to have some relaxing time. Last night Sean and I were unpacking all of our books (and that's A LOT of books) and I decided that I want to read all of them. The ones I've read, the ones I haven't, every book we own.

This. Is. Crazy.

We have a million books. It will probably take me years to read all of them. But I'm going to do it. I'm going to finish reading "The Echelon Vendetta," lent to me by my boss, because it's a library book. And I'm going to finish reading Pillars of the Earth, cause I promised to lend it to someone when I'm done. But once those are over, bring on the bookcases! :) This is gonna get out of control!

Location, location, location....

I'm writing this from my couch, in my fantastic new living room! I'm exhausted, and sick, but we have some rooms painted and a lot of stuff moved. A super huge THANK YOU to my mom, dad and brother for their help this weekend, and a shout out to my fabulous husband, who is working WAY harder than I am! The heavy stuff is for boys :)

Pictures soon!

KEYS!

In just a few short hours, we'll have the keys to our new home! The seller has moved out, it's empty and ready to be ours! I can't wait!

Did you know?

That in 2 hours and 40 minutes we will be signing the papers for our new house?

I did.

And that in 2 hours and 40 minutes the first polls close, kicking off our election party and an amazingly historical night for this country?

I can't wait.

Happy Election Day to everyone!