Random Useless Info

Because I've already surfed the web as much as I can without using my credit card... I get to now use my blog as a means to pass time.

(Just copy and paste this to your blog and bold the ones that you HAVE done.)

1. Started your own blog - you're lookin' at it

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band - yay for school!

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland

8. Climbed a mountain - living in WA and UT, it would be a sin NOT to have

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch - I'm not artsy

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning - beef will do it every time

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train - well, kinda. It was a 5 hour train ride from Cinque Terre to Rome. Does that count? I certainly slept.

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked - not for real, anyway

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping - it was actually in the UVSC fountain. Scandalous!

27. Run a Marathon - maybe someday. I'm just barely working up to a 5K

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse - here's the lunar version. I've also seen solar.

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset - this sunset is of the Mediterranean Sea as seen from Cinque Terre

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person - this should happen soon!

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied


38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David - I saw the replica in the piazza at least, and then Merr shared her pic with me cause she paid to go in the museum to see the real one. I decided not to.

41. Sung karaoke - just not recently

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris - it's on my list

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie - Does Confuse A Catfish count?

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason - I can now say that I have! As of a month ago. YAY!!!

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check - being poor in UT sucks

68. Flown in a helicopter - does a gyrocopter count?

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial - see it almost every day

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car - MLEZ RYD, baby!

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper - Does the High School newspaper count? I was featured holding a tennis raquet.

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House - again, see it VERY often

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox - but not until I was 22!

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club - Oprah count?

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit - don't know if it will ever end. Probably will never see any of my money returned to me..

98. Owned a cell phone - can't go without one now

99. Been stung by a bee - actually fell right in to a hornets nest once. Had my butt on ice for a couple of hours.

Pumpkin Carving

Nothing gets me more in the Halloween spirit than carving pumpkins. Last night was a very quick 'let's get together and carve pumpkins!' event. Turns out only the boys showed up. Fine. I was prepared with apple cider in the crockpot, ice cream with caramel sauce, and pumpkin whoopies. YUM! I put on Monday Night Football - HD style -, and we were set.

My pirate skull & bones, Scott's 2-face, Dave's witch and Travis' spider:

Trav. Dork. :)

Pumpkins on display. Right between my GH guitars. Perfect.

Turns out I'm a little crazy

So, it's funny - looking back through events of my life, I see a pattern: -- when I'm in Happy La-La Land, I end up getting pudgy. If I'm annoyed or frustrated or angry, my outlet is the gym and I start getting in better shape - which ultimately makes me more happy about myself, which leads me back to La-La Happy Land somehow, and then me getting pudgy again.

This is a viscious cycle! I like being happy, but I don't like being pudgy. I don't like feeling frustrated or mad, but I really like the physical result of those emotions. So what am I to do? I think I'll just be an angry, skinny (hopefully) person who doesn't allow herself to overall feel happy because there will be pudginess and an eventual decline into frustration anyway. Better to be on an even keel than on a roller coaster (emotionally at least).

There can be happy moments - like when I am with my family or doing fun things or riding on real rollercoasters, but overall, I'll be with angst. That way I can stay in shape.

That's my plan!

Fall: Perfect for camping and football!

The last 2 weekends have been great! First I went camping with Julie and family up in PA - not far from Gettysburg. It was great fun! The days were perfect; in the 70s, clear and sunny. The night that I stayed it was pretty cold, but not miserable. It was fun to explore with the kids in the woods and along the creek, build campfires and play games. I hadn't seen Julie and family in a while, so it was really fun to see them again.

This past week I purchased a new road bike. I was really excited to ride, but I already had plans to head down to Charlottesville to attend the UVA vs UNC football game. It seemed that a weekend ride would most likely not happen. I invited my friend Dave to go to the game with me, and then I had the brilliant idea to take our bikes with us! We got to Charlottesville late Saturday morning, rode our bikes around for a couple of hours, then got ready to go to the game. I love my bike! It makes me excited to go on a real ride. The football game was pretty frustrating for the first 3 quarters. But then UVA picked up steam, tied up the game in the last few minutes of the 4th qtr, and ended up winning in OT! So it was a nice and exciting finish. Dave and I had a good time exploring the campus, walking along "The Corner" and getting in to the UVA football spirit. A really fun trip overall!

No Halloween Scrooge Here!

I decided that I should update the look of my blog, at least for the month of October. My friends starting asking me what I was going to be for Halloween back in September. I was shocked. Do people really plan that far in advance? I don't plan on dressing up at all. I always feel like a fool, so why plan in advance to feel like one? Some have accused me of being a scrooge. "Bah Humbug!" So to counter-act, I decided to change the background of my blog to a halloween theme. :)

I DO like a lot of things about Halloween; I think the little kids are so cute when they dress up. I love carving pumpkins, going to the pumpkin patch, the cooler weather, the haunted houses, candy corns, etc. So I'm not a COMPLETE scrooge about it. I do however think that the bulk of the halloween parties that are thrown are LAME. So this year I'm thinking of hitting up Kings Dominion to get the biggest thrill. Perfect that Halloween is on a Friday this year!

Birthdays and Pumpkins

This past weekend I was able to fly to St. Louis to visit my 2 brothers. Matt had his 19th birthday on the 2nd, so I was able to be there to celebrate with him. The plan was to go to this sweet go-carting place, but we found out that it is now closed on the weekdays. So instead, we went to Dave & Buster's for food and fun!

The next day Natalie, Matt, Cassi and I went to the park for lunch and fed the ducks. Cassi was so excited that one of the ducks ate the bread right out of her hand!

On Saturday, we all went to the pumpkin patch. It was fun to help the kids pick out their pumpkins. I was told that Zach was pretty obsessive over his tiny pumpkin last year, but this year he wanted a big one! So I told him that was ok. He was excited. The pumpkin patch was really cool! Lots of different displays and tons of pumpkins.

Out in the field they had some HUGE pumpkins for sale as well, and Todd and Matt tried to pick those suckers up.

Now it's back to real life. BOO. Vacation life is always so much better! I came home to still nothing done in my place. I wrote my property management a very nasty email and left a voicemail as well. They said that things would get done this week, so I am really crossing my fingers. In other news, I had to break down and find a primary care physician because my body is not feeling right. I've successfully avoided going to the doctor the entire time I've lived out here. It's officially been 4 years since I first moved to VA. THAT is crazy to think about, too. I didn't expect to be living here this long, as I got used to moving around a lot in my adult life. Sometimes I wonder about the future. Where will I be? At least I know that I will be here for at least another year, as my lease is that long. So I won't worry about the future for another 11 months or so. :)