Friday, August 31, 2012

{Dear} Friday v.4

Dear Friday, well hello there.  I thought you might never get here, but you never fail me. You see I have finally resigned myself to your late hour, having made it through the day and the week. 
Dear Red Wine, yes you, I like your sassy bottle curves and your sneaky little smile.  Mmmm...  


Dear Billy Currington (double mmmm...), if you could only see me spinning around this big candlelit room with a glass in my hand, well, that voice of yours is always doing something right.  
Dear Sore Body, yeah, you.  You keep wanting to give up on me one muscle a a time, but surely and slowly we're getting it back.  No, no.  No more giving up and giving in.  We're both in this for the long haul.  I have to live somewhere, and it's not longer going to be a lazy garbage dump.  
Dear Lynn, Jill, Ashley, Gail, and Michelle, thanks for the nods, the emails, the kudos, and the encouragement this week.
Dear Aunt Liz & Uncle Tom, thank you for the invite.  Tomorrow's Cal v. Nevada College Football game is going to be quite amazing.  Somehow I have managed to make it to 31 never having been to a live College Football Game.  I think it's high time to do some jumping, shouting, and screaming!!  
Dear Summer, I am sad to see you go.  I feel like we were just getting comfy together.  I can't believe you're gone again.  Like another lost love...*sigh*, but I have hope you'll be back some day.  Hopefully sooner rather than later.  You know how much I love you even if I sometimes complain about how uncomfortable you make me.
Dear Family, we knew it was coming, let's make the best of our time with our blessed, sweet Uncle Mickey.  3-6 months isn't a long time, but it's an invitation to make the most if it and so many people don't get that at all.  Don't be afraid.  There's nothing to fear.  It's just going to hurt for a while.  Don't let it disable you from spending the few good days and moments we have left with him.  
Dear Louise, you didn't get a warning.  No one should ever outlive their children.  I can't think of the words to say to you to help be a comfort, other than you have my thoughts and my prayers. 
Dear readers, whoever you are.  Tell the people you love that you love them.  Whether it's the actual words, a kind gesture, a moment of time our of your day dedicated to thinking of them and simply saying that they're on your mind.  Do it.  Do it now, do it consistently, do it sincerely   



Hoping everyone has a great weekend!
XO, 

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Wednesday, August 29, 2012

{8} Fears

I'm running late today on this weekly entry so I'm gonna just lay it out there 
and try not think too hard about these. 

I'm just gonna type until my fingers are done
...cause right now, tonight, 
I think my heart and my head have some things to say.
A lot of things.

Lauren & Tiffany, you asked, here you go:
  First off, I wouldn't say that I'm a really fearful person. 
I'd say I'm kind of brave.
I do a lot of stuff on my own.  
I don't think it's a broken sense of security.

Quite opposite, in fact, I am pretty aware of my surroundings - more than most I'd say
 I think that's by being the oldest, by being independent from an early age, 
and by being in law enforcement for so many years.

I was raised in a family and by parents who had a strong faith in God and so do I. 
I have a solid foundation that doesn't forsake me even when I ignore it.
(Say it with an accent now) I am a God fearin' woman.  Yes, indeed I am. 
I saw this today and thought it was perfect for this week's 10 Day You Challenge

 {via Facebook}

I know who I am, I'm not afraid of making mistakes,
 I'm not afraid of learning things the hard way.
I'm learning a lot about myself lately.

This next picture is a few years old.  
A good friend of mine, who knows me well, put this on my locker at work one day. 
I read it and remember distinctly recognizing for maybe one of the first times in my short life that 
the way I carried myself, the things I did and stood for, they were noticed. 

I remember distinctly being proud that someone would think this of me. 
I remember not wanting to lose that label of fearless.
This is one of the best compliments I've ever received.


I haven't read any of the other girl's lists in the link up yet today.  
I didn't on purpose.  
I didn't want their lists to influence mine.
I wanted to really think about this. 

So here's my list of {fears}

1) Sharks
Seriously, do I even have to explain this one? 
Shark Week people.  
'Nuff said.
(but, guess what? a shark cage dive is on my bucket list.
I will confront this fear.
Someday.)

which leads me to...

2) large bodies of water
they're beautiful, but it makes me get all panicky and nervous knowing that 
I can't see or feel or know what is lurking, and swimming, and slinking about at the bottom.
Nuh-uh, not gonna dew it.  
Nope.
NO.
Negative.

also...I fear them because I don't want to 

3) Drown(ing)
also...do I have to explain this one? 
*shudder*
*cough*
*sputter*

4) Intruders
I live alone. I don't like the things that go bump in the night.
There's only so much a girl can do armed with a big dog and a cell phone. 
I think it's worse cause I know first hand the intruder stories. 
Meh.  Not cool at all. 
I've been thinking about my 2nd Amendment Rights a lot lately. 

5) Heights - that is a fear that seems to increase with my age for some reason.  
I don't like glass bottom elevators, I don't like looking over multi story balconies. 
I get sweaty palms and my heart races and I want to go pee pee in my pants.

6) Spiders...to an extent, seeing them I'm ok...
having them crawl on or around me, no, no, NO.

{story time} I had spider crawl up my dress once...I was sitting on the ground.  In about 1/2 nanosecond, I was up, I was screaming shrieking, I threw a pillow and I jumped up and down like I was a 3 year old in a bouncy house. I have a witness, he'll tell you it was true, but what he won't tell you and didn't tell me for like a year, is that he's afraid of spiders too. Ah-ha!!!!  
Chicken.
 
Ok, so can we get real for a second.  Like really, real? 

  7) and we shall label this <3?
I fear I will never be in love again.
Like puppy dog kind of, head over heels, mutual (key word), 
in love with your best friend kind of love. 
Yeah.  It seems like a ghost or a dream or a fable. 

and last, but most definitely not least

8) Settling
I fear that I'll settle and the thought of that damn near makes me ill.
Like physically sick. 
I see it all the time. 
Personally, professionally...it's an epidemic.

I don't wanna settle for good not great ~ Brad Paisley

This isn't me being judgmental, this is me standing in the midst of this shit storm we call society's take on commitment and relationships and screaming at the top of my lungs but feeling like no one is hearing me.

So... it's funny or acceptable to see people cheat, lie, and degrade each other?
It's ok to see people lie to themselves and not intervene?
Stop the train wreck.
I mean there's whole talk shows and "reality" shows that have that as the main story line.
Marriage is, what? A trend? A phase?



I guess it's a double edged sword, swing too far to cautious 
and  you risk never taking a chance on anyone and missing out on...your destiny
Eh. 
Swing too far the other way and you're in love every 5 seconds and it's cry wolf. 

Listen, I've been there,  on the other end of the phone listening to the stories scratching my head wondering what it is about love that makes people lose all sense of self and logic, then again in the bridesmaid's dress fully supportive on the outside while inside saying "noooo, don't do it!", and then finally with a shoulder to lean on and a spare bedroom to offer when it all comes tumbling down. 

Don't call me and expert by any means, 
but more often than not, the writing is always on the wall.  
They say when you know, you know.  
And well, if you're just still standing there guessing cause you think it's better than nothing, or it's comfortable, or it's been long enough so it's do or die...even when there's that nagging voice of doubt, well listen to it and don't.  
Don't do it.  Don't settle.  Please. 
Save you, save me, save us all. 
For the love of...LoVe. 
*sigh*
I read } this { recently and I really appreciated it.  

From a woman who lived and loved in a generation that made something of what they had, this is some tried and true expertise.  I don't know Grandma Carol, but I like her. 
Honorable mentions: 

There's a couple of things that came to mind that I realized 
don't frighten me and I wanted to mention them.
This is not a judgement on anyone else, 
this is just my life's opinion as I've experienced it thus far. 

I'm in no way looking forward  or hoping either  of these to happen,
but  if/when they might, I don't fear these and here's why: 

Losing loved ones - not because I don't love them dearly, but because I know that I tell them and show them on a regular basis.  I make the time.  I know it's precious.
I have an aging family, this is a reality for me every day.  I have embraced it.  
I can't be selfish enough to think that I can close my eyes and ignore it.

I am learning, damn near every day, to try again, to give second and third chances, to apologize, to make amends, 
and to tell people that I value them and want and need  them in my life.
I'm also learning when it's time to give up, give in, and let things go. 
That lesson is just as hard as swallowing my pride and mending fences.




Having a child with a serious or fatal illness - some of the strongest people I know have had children who have fought and won and unfortunately fought and lost  to cancer, Batten Disease, and other rare diseases that have no cures. 

 These children are every bit as valuable, precious, and worthy of love as any "healthy" child.  
These children are some of the bravest fighters I have ever had the opportunity to meet.
These children are warriors.  
All they know is fight, every breath is a struggle, but they keep going. 
They're resilient. They're an every day lesson in life and love. 

I don't wish it on anyone and I don't understand the unfairness, 
but I don't fear the ability to love unconditionally those who are different, sick, or "incurable".

So, loss, I don't willingly embrace it, but I understand it's purpose in life. 

I have said my goodbyes when the time has come, 
I have listened and watched for the last few breaths, 
I have felt the breathless sobs of the loved ones left behind, embraced the outstretched arms,
 felt the relentless tears roll down off of cheeks and soak through the clothing that drapes my shoulders.  
I've been there, felt it, comforted it, cursed it, denied it, and finally accepted it. 

And...if you're still here at the end of this long dissertation I just wrote, 
I will give more honorable mention to these other "non-fears" cause we need some levity! 

Financial ruin, credit card debt, body odor, running out of gas, passing gas in inappropriate situations, karaoke, public speaking, making a complete and total ass of your myself, having my heart broken, saying "I love you " and meaning it, stretch marks, acts of nature, flying, and ever increasing chin hair.   Yeah, whattadya gonna do?  Just roll with it!
Come on, we have got to get through this together!!!!

Next week...{7} Wants

I might, just might, go all Veruka Salt on you!!!

xOxoXoxOXoooX

XO ,

PS - I feel better now.  I do. 
Writing.  Makes some of the funk go away.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

{8} Mile

This ain't no Eminem story.  

As you might have read previously, back in March, 
I did my first 5k and since then decided that I would do some version of an organized run 
every month from then on for an entire year. 
I'm 6 for 6 so far.
Go me!

Why do a run a month?
  No.  
The question is: Why not?!
I like goals, but don't call them lofty just yet.
Well, 1/2 lofty.
5k is only like 3.2 miles but the way I see it, 
that's 5 more Ks than I have been doing previously ever and well, 
 if I'm ever going to meet that bucket list item of doing a full 26.2 marathon, 
I gotta start somewhere right? 

I never get enough sleep. 
 It's just how things are in my world and I'm learning to cope. 
When I do sleep and then it's time to get up, it looks like this: 
{ it's like my body is glued to the bed}
So Saturday I finally got out of bed and me and Lynn finally got going to Santa Cruz at 3pm.
{only 3 hours later than we had originally talked about leaving}
No biggie, there was no big rush.  


We talked a lot, we sang some songs (ok, I did most of the singing).
There was the mandatory Starbucks trip and then there was a wall of traffic which was just a reminder to turn the radio up and roll the windows & sunroof back. 
{sunshine, sunroof, good company = good times}

Dead stopped, We tried to get everyone else in the cars around us to sing "My Sharona" with us, but no one wanted to play in our Reindeer Games.  Their loss.
We finally made it into Santa Cruz, found our sketchy little Inn, where they store all the extra furniture and decor out front by the "office", which is actually just is just a telephone number to a confused person who told us they left the key to our room under the mat in front of the door to the room where there were no pictures on the walls.  The "second" bedroom was really a rollaway in the living room right by the front window, where the fire alarm was disconnected, and there were 2x4s holding up the couch - which was described as "velvety and comfy" and "will suck you in like an SVU marathon".  
Uhhmm................

Deciding to flee the Bate's Motel get dinner,  we opted to spend the next couple of hours at the harbor and on the beach right at sunset, soaking up the last of the day, scaling the rock wall levee (carefully, in flip flops mind you) and taking about 157 pictures between two of us. 
 After neither one of us slid into the Pacific, we stuffed our faces at the Crow's Nest (which was classy and comfy and sucked us in like a hungry moth to a BBQ flame) before heading back to get some "sleep". 
Sleep.  Remember that thing that escapes me?  Yeah. 
 Neither do I and neither did Saturday night. 
My August run was and ante-upper.  
An 8-mile trail run
That's the equivalent of a 12k.
I'll see your 5k's and raise you 7ks, muuuwhhhaahahahaaaa!!!

8 miles on no sleep, with very little preparation, but just enough advice from Lynn on what eat to keep my energy up and keep myself hydrated for what I hoped would be less than a 3 hour trek.
Running is not my forte. 

But you know what they say?
Go big or go home. 

A quick breakfast on the way to carb up, we arrived at the start line about an hour early,  
grabbed our gear, stretched, hydrated, and I used the bathroom like 7 times!
At an all women's race, the bathroom was line was EPIC.  

Lynn was doing the half marathon, so she started 10 minutes earlier than I did. 
Which left me solo and with my own motivation.


Start time 08:55 am, I took my place at the back of the pack where I remained for the next 2:16 hours
I wasn't competing with anyone but myself. 
In my book, showing up, taking time out of my hectically busy schedule, I had already won. 

Of the family, my brother, who ran ACROSS the country last year for Batten Disease, is the marathoner.
I have always been the support driver, the finish line sign holder, the girl behind the scenes who didn't believe that she could step out of the sidelines and get INTO the race. 

Not anymore. 
Hell.  Highwater. Doubt. Distance. None of that was going to keep me from finishing.
Short of injuries, I was getting it done.
I don't know what took over, but I did a lot of thinking out there on the trails. 
I occasionally looked up at the break in the trees and felt the sun shining down on me as I kept a steady pace. 
I talked to Catie, who I dedicated my run to, who had the disease that my brother ran to raise awareness for. 
Catie was a fighter and now she's an angel.
I remembered how much she used to run as a child.
I thought of my brother and all the miles he put in over 4.5 months.
I smiled for all the times I skipped the gym or stayed in bed...today kicked the ass of all those days.
I thought of the people in my life with failing health.
I thought about a lot.
A steady stream of sweat reminded me that this was no stroll in the park.
Fire roads, steep trials with roots cut in that made their own natural steps, tripping hazards reminding me to keep my eyes on the ground and directly in front of me.
My pony tail pulling some kind of wiper blade action across my back, it stuck to me just enough to keep my arms stretched back behind me occasionally to adjust it. 

I played the same songs over and over again
this {one}, that {one}, this{one} again, this {one} really got me moving: 
Sometimes you gotta push 
Though all your obstacles...
No matter what the options are 
There is no lose , there is no fail 
LETS GO...
We were born to run

I kept going as my lungs adjusted, I remembered my yoga breathing, and paid attention to Lynn's advice, fuel up about every 20 minutes, take this for cramps, take that for hydration. 
Walk, run, walk, run, walk, run...the other ladies on the trail and the volunteers smiled and told me I was doing a good job, don't stop, you're almost there, you're doing a great job, keep going.

And so I did.  I kept going.  
One step at at time, 1/4 mark, 1/2 mark, 2 miles left...and before I knew it, I made it
Finished, the end, pulled out my headphones so I could hear them announce my name as I crossed the finish line. 


I texted my family, my mom, my best friends, and my trainer. 
"Done.  2:16 minutes, 8 miles.  I did it."

{this pro procrastinator did the damn thing!}
The rest of the day was kind of an exhausted, sleep-sick blur.  We made our way back to Downtown, grabbed a big lunch, bought a couple of beach towels, and then I laid out on the beach and fell asleep in 75* of sun beating down on me in the sand.  


Another long trip back and more great conversation, I got my mangled body home in one piece, calling off the early morning training session, got the back end of my shift covered, and slept for 17 glorious hours
...this is what straight out of hibernation looks like.
Sunburnt and sore as all get out, but rested and completely accomplished.

Today, just short of 48 hours later, my body hurts every where. 
I can feel that expanse in my lungs all stretched out when I laugh or cough.
I'm moving slow.  Real slow.
I feel it in my back, in my abs, in my obliques...its pain, but its good pain.
It's the kind of pain you earn...it's sweet satisfaction of doing something you never thought you were capable of. 





So I went from 5 to 8 and now...now, what's next?  
I dunno, but stay tuned...it'll be good whatever it is. 

Saturday, August 25, 2012

{Versatile} Blogger

"Ladies and gentlemen of the Grand Jury"

*ahem* wait...

"I'd like to thank the Academy..."

oh no...wrong one again...hold up: 

"Dear John, ..."

Ok, ok, ok...no really, I got nominated! 

For the  *drumroll* Versatile Blogger Award!

by Nelly (AKA PartyMom) at Mom With An Agenda to Save
{Nelly was my Grandma's name, gotta love it already!}

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This award is a fun way for bloggers to share their favorite blogs 
and to promote promising new blogs .
If you are nominated, you’ve been awarded the Versatile Blogger award.

The VBA Rules: 
  •  Thank the person who gave you this award. That’s common courtesy.
  •  Include a link to their blog. That’s also common courtesy.
  •  Next, select 15 blogs/bloggers that you’ve recently discovered or follow regularly. 
  •  Nominate those 15 bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award.
  •  Finally, tell the person who nominated you 7 things about yourself

 I am paying it forward and nominating these ladies (I have 16, shhh don't tell!): 

Mellissa @ Kitchen.Garden.Love
Jennifer @ My Not So Glamorous Life
Lady A @ Anonymous A
Ashley @ All Things Ashley 
Angela @ Just a City Girl with Tractor Envy 
Erin @ Shades of Gray and a Pinch of Pink
Jill @ Ernestine Edna and Her Really Big Ideas
Sippy Cups and Pearls
Jodi @ Jod a la Mode 
Lauren @ Tennessee Honey
The Divvy Spot 
Michelle @ All That Glitta & Blang
Kayla Lynn @ Simple Bliss
Tanya @ Knowing Tanya
Jessica @ Where Simplicity Meets Complexity 
Elizabeth @ Port of Thoughts 

Ok, so for 7 things about moi: 

* I am the oldest of 3 kids, my brother who ran across the country
and my sister who is in school to be an RN
* I am a 911 operator /Police/Fire dispatcher
* I am Fillipino/Irish/German/Swiss
* I really love salsa (well good salsa that is)
* When I was in high school, I loved the Fugees, 
so for about 6 months I spelled my name Lauryn after Lauryn Hill 
* I bought/live in the house I grew up in
* my hair right now is the longest it's been probably since I was a kid  
and I <3 it !

Friday, August 24, 2012

Friday's {letters} v.3



Dear earliness of Friday, it's almost 4am and I have managed to paint the entire wall that's been on the to-do list for weeks now, hang the curtains with the IKEA wire thing I bought 5 years ago, and moved the big desk from the back room to the big room all by myself.  Dear injuries, yeah, welcome, that's what I get for doing everything by myself and after being up allll night long. Dear Sleep, you found me and seduced me two days in a row.  You seductress, I could not resist you and I'm glad I didn't.  I needed you like flowers need the rain. Dear Hot August Nights, I love you.  Dear Wildfires, I know that you're hot and scary, but I think you're beautiful and since I know the good folks that knock you down and keep you from harming people, I can sit and stare in awe of your colors and your smells.  It smells like late Summer to me!!!  Dear Sunday, well now, the 8 mile trail run that I signed up for, here you are and I am totally (completely and totally) unprepared   Well, I guess I shall run, walk, and crawl and even if it takes me 3.5 hours, I will finish!!!  Dear Hot Yoga, I know you've been missing me.  I've been missing you - a lot, in my heart, in my muscles, and in my mind. We will be together soon.  Dear SheReadsTruth, I'm behind, but I'm digging the Proverbs Lessons this go around.  I'll catching up slowly.  Dear Ashley, thank you so much for this honest post.  It was a good mirror read for me and I needed to see it more than you probably ever realized while you were writing it.  Dear Life, one day at a time, huh?  You're still teaching me lessons about all kinds of stuff aren't ya?  One day it'll all make sense. Thanks for the  comedy band aids on the hard days.  They're just what I need.   


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Thursday, August 23, 2012

bad days & {band-aids}

Aaaahhhhhhhhhhh....
I just need to take a breath here to start with. 
Things are a little bit funky around here. 
and I ain't talking about the dishes or the laundry. 
I dunno...these things happen. 
I'm just feeling kind of defeated lately. 
Not enough time in the day. 
Gaining weight rather than loosing it even though I'm trying more lately. 
Got some other relationship schtuff going on. 
It's the end of Summer but I feel like it just started.
I miss...things, people, amenities...
Meh. 

Somewhere around 1am Wednesday,
 a call came into work  about some dogs howling like they were in distress.
The neighbor thought it was my dog and me in some kind of trouble.
Can't be...the dog was at my sister's and I was in the dispatch center until 0600. 
Sent a couple of patrol guys over to check things out. 
Yes indeed, there was a little dog behind the fence at the vacant neighbor's house.
Lemme give you a little preview of the all-night serenade:

By the time I got off, the little yappy cute thing had dug a hole over into my yard 
and was hanging out on my side of the world.  
And there was not one, but two of these little guys!

The neighbor's AC was on too. Suspicious. 
Squatters.  That's a possibility. 
Yeah, this neighborhood is getting all rolled up in a nice little hand basket for a 1-way trip somewhere here real soon.  Real soon. 
So I put in a call of my own and request for a house check
and headed off to canvas the neighbors. 
Said foreclosed on neighbor disconnected all his phones, 
so there I stood in my driveway trying to track him down via Twitter at 7am.  

FTW is going on?  Early morning emergency tweeting? 

Of course, I was almost late to my gym appointment like I am nearly every morning. 
I dragged in like my shoes were covered in cement.
This time it was like when you tell the teach that your dog ate your homework. 
Well, Trainer D, I'm late cause I was waiting for the po-lice, my very own partners to come do a security check on the empty house next to me for squatters. 
He just shook his head as he placed a barbell across my shoulders, 
resting at the back of my neck. 
You got squatters huh?  
Well get to squatting. 
A small scowl crossed my lips as I realized there was not getting away with anything.
As it should be. 

60 sweaty minutes later I was on my way home and on the phone with animal services. 
Checking over the fence to see my new little friends, I gave them a couple of treats, and then saw a number on their collars.  
Before I could make it in the house to call, a van pulled up and a window rolled down.
A series of questions about the dogs the AM disturbance, were they mine, etc, etc...
"oh you work for the police department, lemme ask you a question."  
6 questions later and having to defend both the Constitution and local law enforcement while standing on my front sidewalk still in gym stank clothes, I was finally released from Q&A.
Dog retrieval was a success after getting a hold of the owner (an out of town firefighter just getting off work), the pound is called off, I made it back in the house for a second time this time with a grateful handshake and a smile. 

Fastfoward to 4pm, got some sleep, (like alllll day sleep),
 but woke up totally dehydrated and sore. 
It was a draw.
Figuring that a few errands would help me feel productive, I headed out. 
I needed a pick me up and fresh flowers and some Zac Brown Band, well there ya go.  
insta-mood-lifter
Well kinda...there's some lyrics in some new songs I've heard this week, 
they just kinda got to me. 
I'm telling you, sometimes a good cry is all you need.
So I did. 
I was just having a good ol' cry and let-it-out session by myself in the house.

It was short lived 'cause then 
my sis dropped by and we got to chatting about...I dunno, sister chat stuff.  
"I want a Mcflurry," she says, "you want one?"
I don't think I spoke, I just grunted "Oreo"
Yeah...see that funkiness I droned on about in the beginning of this saga?
Yeah, Mcflurry ain't on the clean eating list folks!
It's not rocket science why I'm not loosing the weight!

Soo...elbows deep into planting some new flowers,
 my sis headed off to McD's for some treats. 
15 minutes later the phone rings. 
"My car broke down in the drivethru."
(short pause)
"Did you get the Mcflurries."
> ha-ha!<
10 more minutes later, I'm on my way to save my ice cream from melting pick up my sister. 
An hour later, it's not the battery, it's some other mechanical dilemma aaaaand we're I'm laughing.
{Briana is not amused by my picture taking, as you can well see...Not.Amused.At.All.}

{This is Briana again, calling Bubba, the mechanic while I make faces in my camera phone.  Picture 2, me listening to Briana's impression of Bubba, and finally picture 3, me laughing hysterically and Briana still talking like Bubba wathching her car get towed away.  I died a little.  Died of laughter.}
And I repeat she said, "All I wanted was a McFlurry!!!"

Poor thing broke down in the drive thru, four cars behind her, had to be pushed out of the way by an employee, after she just put $600 into the car last week for some other stuff after breaking down on some sketch road in the Bay Area, and she has a last minute 4-tooth wisdom teeth removal next Friday.
Oh yeah, and we're going to Vegas in like 3 weeks and all of her fun money just keeps going down the drain. 

{if, for the life of me I can figure out how to upload the audio clip of her impression of Bubba, I swear, I will find  away to put it here.  check back...it is hilarious, sweet death in the McD's parking lot kind of funny}

Listen, these things...they make me laugh.
Stray howling dogs and Mcflurry rescue missions. 

I swear, even on bad, funky days, Life (see: God) has a way of patching up the rough spots with some funny schtuff. 
 A good ol' comedy bandaid was exactly the right treatment. 

You know what they say: Laughter is THE best medicine.