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Did I mention we had an awesome trip? Wow. Fantastic. One of the best overall Montana trips I’ve ever had. We always had something to do, someone to see, and somewhere to go, and good things happened to us the entire time. Good things like:

• Craig’s camera was sitting at our table when we returned to the wedding reception praying it wasn’t long gone.
• We sat and watched a fantastic thunder/lightning storm race across the Montana sky one night for at least 45 minutes.
• We got 2 of 3 items (a disc golf disc and a baseball bat) out of the tree we got them stuck in in Pioneer Park in Billings.
• We ran into the friend we forgot to get ahold of before we left.
• We saw Old Faithful erupt at sunset.
• We set off about $350 worth of fireworks after an awesome Rumble in the Vally 100th Anniversary display without incident.
• We saw the moon rise over Yellowstone Lake in Yellowstone Park.
• George’s surgery went well, and he has recovered quicker and better than anyone expected.
• We got the last campsite at Mammoth Hot Springs.
• We saw either 2 wolves, 2 coyotes, or one of each.
• I saw a bighorn sheep ram in the Columbia Gorge.
• Yellowstone National Park was absolutely beautiful – lush and green and full of wildflowers – because it has been so rainy this year.
• We pulled into Jiffy Lube just before 4 other cars, so we were done in 25 minutes instead of 45.

There’s so much more…but I’ll leave it for another post.

Busy. Summer is busy. Last summer we were caught up in home improvements; this year, going places, and much via Prius power. This month we went to Nevada and I to California. Next month: Montana, *wince* Wyoming (but only for Thermopolis and Yellowstone National Park), and probably back again to Montana. August: Nevada again. September: If I’m lucky, Chicago.

In between all of this, there’s the normal stuff like keeping the house clean as well as ‘returning home’ stuff like cleaning up the car and the camping gear. And softball. And gardening. And exercise. And video games! And going to the movies. And creating websites. And my real job.

I enjoy all of these things, but they’ve all hit me hard simultaneously and I’m feeling a bit winded from this whirlwind of activity. My free time interferes with my productivity and my productivity with my ‘me-time.’ Mostly I need more hours in the day!

As many of my facebook loyalists know, I’ve been eating veggies lately, which is really weird for me. For several years now, I’ve been on a “at least 1 serving of fruit or veggies per day” diet (hey, you gotta start somewhere) and I have been very good at keeping or beating it…but mostly with fruit(s). I’ve come to really enjoy my apple, pear, banana, pineapple, cherries, strawberries, or orange juice every day, but I still rarely eat vegetables, mostly because I don’t like many of them. Like, rarely; think of the last time you ate vegetables. Now add at least one week. I started adding onion to my hamburgers, though (I don’t count corn or iceberg lettuce as any nutritional value). Rarely veggies…I think you get it.

So, the big news is that in the last two days I’ve had a bowl of salad. With our garden I have plenty of spinach and lettuce but nothing (yet) to put on them, so I went to the store and bought cauliflower, snap peas, a carrot, a cucumber, and dried cranberries (the ones without added sugar) to make my leaves more interesting. And that they were. I can’t say salad holds a candle to pot roast or pizza in the taste department, but calorie-wise and nutritionally they are off the charts. For me anyway.

Oh, and I must add: thanks to all my supporters (Jen, Jas, Tara, Linds, Paco Taco)!!! They have all been pushing me (gently) toward better health through a more nutritious diet and a wider variety of foods, and without them I still wouldn’t know what garbanzo beans are! Love and hugs to all of you, and a big round of applause!

Now for the more random bits: Earlier this week I also ate tomatoes in Tara’s pasta sauce instead of delicately pushing them aside. I ate my first home-grown strawberry – it was delish! I also cut my first few scallion out of the garden…it is soooo fragrant! Mmmmm!

About 100 things are happening simultaneously in my life right now…

The “premium bedding mix” and stepping stones have been delivered (in the rain) and are eagerly awaiting placement in the garden. Currently they are occupying the driveway into our back cement slab (in the rain).

This last weekend we went camping (in the rain). It was great as usual…we went to our “normal” place because we had a larger group of people and we all arrived at different times (in the rain). We had lots of good food and celebrated my roommate’s 29th birthday around the campfire (in the rain).

I’m supposed to be buying off of craigslist NCIS: Season One for a coworker, but I keep not being able to make it to the guy’s house in south Salem. I was supposed to get it last week, but then my headlight went out and I went to Toyota instead. I was supposed to drop by Sunday, but with the returning from camping and the volunteering at the Humane Society, I totally forgot. I asked to come by Wednesday, and I’m dearly hoping my brain remembers on my way home from work. This would be great to write on my hand.

Tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo and the pot luck at work. I agreed to make Mexican Wedding Cakes, which aren’t cakes at all but rather delicious cookie balls made of powdered sugar, flour, butter, vanilla, and finely chopped walnut goodness. I made a double-batch for Eric and the roommates lest they complain that I never make them anything.

I think there are other things too, but my brain is tired (and sick of rain). It’s time for bed. Goodnight!

Havok, Sean, Handsome, and I went to the beach on Saturday, and it was just fabulous. We went to our “usual” spot just north of Newport, Oregon, and the weather was absolutely wonderful. We strolled along the beach and found crustaceans buried in the sand, jelly goo eggs, shell fossils, beautiful sand patterns, and crab shells. The sun was shining, a nice chilly breeze blew through the air, and it was perfect. I got some wonderful pictures! Check them out on flickr!

We’re home after a whirlwind 3-day trip to Montana to sell our Grand Am.

Such. A. Long. Drive.

Until I post on Valentine’s Day #10…

Things I have done during my lifetime:

() Gone on a blind date
(x) Skipped school
(x) Watched someone die
(x) Been to Canada
(x) Been to Mexico
(x) Been to Florida
(x) Been to Hawaii
(x) Been on a plane
(x) Been on a helicopter
(x) Been lost
(x) Gone to Washington, DC
(x) Gotten an autograph from someone famous
(x) Swam in the ocean
(x) Cried yourself to sleep
(x) Played cops and robbers
() Recently colored with crayons
(x) Been to the top/BOTTOM of the Empire State building
(x) Sang Karaoke (I did with a live band ~ it was awesome!)
() Paid for a meal with coins only
( ) Been to the top of the St. Louis Arch
(x) Done something you told yourself you wouldn’t.
(x) Made prank phone calls
(x) Been down Bourbon Street in New Orleans
(x) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose & elsewhere
(x) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
(x) Danced in the rain
() Gotten into a fist-fight
( ) Eaten Frog, Pig snout or Rattlesnake
(x) Written a letter to Santa Claus
() Been kissed under the mistletoe
( ) Watched the sunrise with someone
(x) Blown bubbles
(x) Gone ice-skating
() Gone skinny-dipping
() Been deep sea fishing
() Driven across the United States
( ) Been in a hot air balloon
( ) Been sky diving
(x) Gone snowmobiling
(x) Gone para sailing
( ) Lived in more than one country
(x) Lay down outside at night and admired the stars while listening to the crickets
(x) Seen a falling star and made a wish
(x) Enjoyed the beauty of Old Faithful Geyser
(x) Seen the Statue of Liberty
() Gone to the top of Seattle Space Needle
(x) Been on a cruise
(x) Traveled by train
(x) Traveled by motorcycle
(x) Been horse back riding
(x) Ridden on a San Francisco CABLE CAR
(x) Been to Disneyland
(x) and Disney World
(x) Truly believe in the power of prayer
() Been in a rain forest
(x) Seen whales in the ocean
() Been to Niagara Falls
() Ridden on an elephant
(x) Swam with dolphins
() Been to the Olympics
() Walked on the Great Wall of China
(x) Been in a parade
() Played ding dong dichum
(x) Been water-skiing
(x) Been snow-skiing
() Been to Westminster Abbey
(x) Been to the Louvre
(x) Witnessed a Miracle
(x) Been to a Major League Baseball game
(x) Been to a National Football League game

I had a crazy experience at WHS today – well, yesterday now (Saturday). I was in a kennel socializing with Braxton (golden lab mix), one of my favorite dogs. Bennet, a Boxer mix, trots up to Braxon’s kennel and the two of them start barking and jumping on either side of the kennel door. I backed away from them in case things escalated out of control, and yelled “Loose dog!” expecting someone (ideally, the one who accidentally loosed him) to come running.

No one did.

More dogs started barking. It was like a prison when something’s up – everyone goes nuts. It’s loud. I yell “Hello?” “Hello? Anyone?” and I can barely hear myself over the din of 5+ big dogs barking.

I wait. Nothing. “Hello? Anyone?” Much more barking. No humans. I’m not really sure what to do at this point. My only idea is to climb up and over the 8-9 foot kennel into the empty adjacent one, exit, and return Bennet to his kennel. (The kennel is about 5 feet of cinder block, with a metal fence the next 3-4 feet.)

I make it up to the top of the kennel. Yell again. No response. So I carry out my plan, and it works beautifully. Once I come out, leash in hand, Bennet looks at me with a knowing “I’m not supposed to be here and I know I’m in trouble” look. He was relatively easy to harness and return to his kennel, and by the time I get him back to his kennel, the head of the dog department comes in. We can barely hear each other, but we realize that Bennet’s kennel was padlocked incorrectly and the latch was never fully locked, so all he had to do was push at the door and it popped open.

When we finally kennel him and leave the dog area, I relate the story to her and she’s totally blown away that I managed such a feat. *beams a little*

I totally saved the day.

Cabo San Lucas (Mexico) and Christmas tree pictures are up!!!

Things are starting to fall into place:

• Living arrangements – check!
• Key to living quarters – check!
• Trip food – check!
• Check weather conditions in the passes – check! (dry roads all the way)

But others still need doing:

• Pack
• Make bed
• Finish web projects
• Clear desk at work
• Clean bathroom counter/tub

We leave tomorrow around 1:30pm…gotta run!