Loving Life

My relationship to the Man with the Glorious Mane

2012-01-04T23:54:00.000-08:00

There is a rumor going around that I really like men with long hair. Hahaha... just kidding, it's a known fact that I couldn't deny if I even tried. But why would I try? I really do! Hi, I'm Chelyse and I like men with long hair. Kinda long, really long, mostly short but not, curly long, wavy long, straight long. I often find myself doing double-takes when the guy isn't even close enough to really see his face! I have a problem... but I'm quite certain it's one I have no intention of getting over :o) But... there is a limit. That's what this post is about. I have had several occurrences lately that have made me analyze this attraction of mine as of late. There are more than a few people who wonder at how I could possibly be attracted to every long-haired man that passes into my field of vision. Well... here goes.

Let me start by saying that I'm not at all opposed to men having short hair. I'm quite perfectly content to date men with short hair, so long as it's long enough to put my fingers through. There are plenty of men who pull off short hair perfectly fine...and do. Some celebs that are easy to picture, with both long and short hair, are Matthew McConaughey, Leonardo DiCaprio, Orlando Bloom, Ashton Kutcher, Taylor Laughtner, Johnny Depp, that Jonas Brother, and David Beckham to name only a very few. I have to say though that in every case they look better with longer hair. With the only exception being (in my opinion) Taylor Lautner with his Twilight long hair... I think it looks like a wig.

First things first, a handsome man is obviously fantastic... but a handsome man with long hair... is way more attractive (haha, it doesn't hurt him to have incredible eyes too) Facial features make all the difference to me when it really comes down to it... it cannot be just the hair. This one is a gem!

As I was saying, a man with long hair... even great long hair, isn't for sure going to be attractive... though I am going to admire his hair... without question. His face could cancel him out in attractiveness quicker than anything. The thing is too, often times guys don't take care of their hair and it ends up looking mangy and disastrous. Because of that, I think that on some level I associate a man with good hair to be a man who takes care of himself. If his hair is beautiful he probably puts some quite reasonable effort into the rest of himself too. Otherwise it would be long, but not nice looking. Even if he's not particularly gorgeous, it's great when anybody tries to look the best they can, and I do like that.

Mom doesn't get it. She says, "How come you like men who look feminine? No, no, no, that's not it at all! There are plenty of men in this world who have long hair and they succeed in not looking feminine, it's more like a lion with a massive mane to me. How is a mane femine? It says something about being wild, free, uninhibited, and strength in the way he sees himself. There is definitely a difference between handsome manly long hair like his...

And men with long hair, who look like women. Not that I would say that Andrej Pejic isn't beautiful in his own right... just beautiful like a woman. I think he's fascinating, and delightful, but not attractive per se. His face is just too... feminine. That being said, I know of a certain cute blond girl in Texas with a stronger jawline than his, so maybe that's a bad example. She's probably just not quite as "northern European" as Andrej. This was the most manly picture of him I could find, but I think it illustrates my point... femine... not attractive as a 'man with long hair'

Some men look awesome with wild long hair... and it's a particular favorite of mine. I know, he as a person is not a favorite for a lot of people, but I think he looks Awesome... especially in this movie. Also, I really dig his accent and attitude. I know, I know, call me crazy for it, but I'm SO ok with that.

Some men look perfectly delectable even when they put their long hair up so it looks weird... (like I said, the hair just makes it better) I like when guys get it out of the way in any way other than a ponytail. Just because that ruins it so much. And Zac Efron, I mean, I have always favored the dark hair with blue eyes combo even in short hair so how could I resist this boy with longer hair? He's another one that could do no wrong with it.

So, yes, I do like men with long hair... I think I always have. I'm certain I always will. But, I must say... there are some men with long hair that should really just... not. Really. I know, surprising coming from me... but let's be realistic. Some guys want to jump on the long hair bandwagon because it's hot right now, or because puts the finishing touch on the particular look they want, or it's easier not to get a haircut, or it puts them outside the 'box' of social norms (haha... no it doesn't) or whatever their reason is. A couple words to them. Know your limits. PLEASE. Some guys are not cut out for long hair... I've known a few who have grown it because I make no secret of how much I like it, and I have to just say... it's not for everyone... not even hott everyone. Take this guy for instance... handsome, definitely. But whoa, his hair is completely killing his look. He would look a hundred thousand times better with short hair. Someone should tell him. I would...

Another one, and back to the idea of grooming playing a role in having great hair and whatnot. Dreadlocks. I'm gonna look, and I'm probably going to like too. But from a distance. A guy with amazing dreads is someone whose hair I'll admire, and I will secretly wish he would take me away to the drum circle on the full moon. Really though, in an everyday practical kind of way, I only like it because of the lifestyle full of carefree abandon that it represents to me. There is a part of me that is full-blown hippie and loves the colors swirling to the sound of bongo drums... so love it. But, I know it can't possibly smell good, and it can't possbly be anything reminiscent of soft, silky, and touchable. Oh, and don't ask me to touch it. It does not matter how unbelieveably beautiful the man is... I won't do it. I just like the idea of them... in my mind... that's all.

Along those same lines, when a good thing becomes a bad thing, there's too much of it. I know a guy with absolutely A-Ma-Zing hair. His hair fairly rivaled the best I'd ever seen. And I always told him so. Everyone did. He was obviously told he had amazing long hair a few too many times... and it went to his head. :o) He let it grow and grow and grow until he was always wearing it in a ponytail because that was the only way it was out of his face and maneageable. He liked the attention, but stopped giving it to his hair. The ponytails and lack of general care gave him really bad split ends. The gorgeous and coveted mane of gold became ratty and disheveled looking. The change in his hair totally changed his whole look from youthful and comparable to a greek god, to old and strangely awkward looking. That isn't even to mention how a constant ponytail kills the beautiful natural wave in hair. Ah well, beauty fades, such is life. So keep in mind, men with gorgeous long hair,... too much is too much and can just ruin the whole thing...

And those are my thoughts on the fabulous phenomenon of the maned man.

A Dream Come True

2011-11-12T14:29:00.000-08:00

I have really awesome dreams. They are often like movies, with vivid colors and plots. I frequently write them down or do something so I remember them. Usually, it stays in that form forever, just in my mind, as far as what I actually saw. About a month ago, I had a dream that didn't stay just a dream. It wasn't one of the more excitng ones, nor was it particular interesting except for what came from it.I was in a quaint little country town, going about quaint little country town activities, when I happened to pass by someone I know as I was driving along in an old blue pick-up truck. In real life this is a person I worked with many many years ago, and he is now a pilot. He is tall, slender, nice-looking, and always has an army style haircut. Maybe that's why he was in the dream. In it he was a soldier who had just returned from war. He was dressed in his military greens and was leaning against a low fence, with his big duffel bag on the ground next to him. I recognized him when I passed him, was surprised to see him, and doubled back to greet him. I asked him if he'd like to go to lunch, figuring he must be hungry, and it'd be a great chance for us to catch up. We went to a diner that was filled with people who looked like they were stopping in to eat while on a cross country motorcycle ride. They wore leather and had long scraggly hair. They were pleased to have a soldier in their midst and there was no shortage of lively conversation. When the waitress brought our food I asked her if she would take my card, as it was all I was carrying, and she said no, they only took cash. It was then that the bikers got strangely excited , seeming to know something was coming that we didn't. One of them said he'd take care of it, and conversation continued. When we were finished eating it came time to pay and that biker was nowhere to be found. The owner came over and told us that at their restaraunt they had an unusual way for people unable to pay to make it even. They owned an art gallery and would have anyone, unable to pay, paint for it and they would keep any monies made if it was sold. This enabled them to get many different skill levels, styles, and ideas into the gallery for profit alone. They were excited to see what the soldier would paint after all he had seen. And as an added plus to the establishment there was to be a contest later that same day that was expected to draw many people to come see and buy the paintings. What perfect timing. So, we got to work painting and the contest was held. Shockingly to me, my painting won! Iwas surprised because it didn't seem to me like it was any great feat at all, simple to see, but meaningful to me. I had expounded to the judges the symbolism and that is why it was selected. I was pleased with it and wanted to keep it for myself. They told me I could not have it, that it was their property and so I devised that I would study it carefully and paint another for myself. In my dream I was scrutinizing it, trying to remember every detail. It was on paper that was a brownish-yellow and in the center was a profile of a woman's head. That was divided in half by color, white in back to symbolize the purity of mind and thought, navy blue in front to symbolize integrity toward the world. From both sides were wisps of that blue reaching toward her, to represent the integrity of the world that she was recieving... the honesty and goodness in everyone else. Below was a white pyramid facing so that it appeared almost to be a square with an X in the middle, but turned just enought that a purple triangle could be seen on one side. It represented the climb to pure knowledge and the process of it. Next to it was a chinese proverb about courage. Below it, reaching across the length of the bottom was a triangle composed of separate triangles of every color in the rainbow pointing upward. That, by color, indicated each part of the person. Red for the physical body- the care given to make it strong and work to the best of it's ability. Orange for caring for others- giving life through your own. Yellow for the power within you- power to make yourself everything you truly are. Green for the heart- for the love going out of your own and coming in from others. Blue for the voice- for the truth you speak toward yourself and others. Purple for the relationship to God- for the pure connection to Deity and the knowledge and power given from Him. Again the triangle indicating the process of it and ending in the unification of all of them as being what is portrayed above, courage, pure knowledge, integrity, ect. I studied it all carefully, memorizing every detail. Then I woke up. Having just memorized it I sketched it and wrote what everyhting symbolized. I couldn't remeber the exact proverb though. The following day I painted it, and found a quote that seemed to have the same feeling as the one in my dream. On the painting it is translated to Gaelic because I liked the look of it. It says, "Courage is the Power to leave familiar things". So here it is, a dream come true, to have, keep, and remember.

Me + Them = Love

2011-10-24T23:41:00.000-07:00

You know how sometimes you think you have trials? ~ A girl I thought cared, and considered to be a close friend turns out was using me all along. I am trying to figure out how to forgive a third and most hurtful offense from her, but at this point I hope she does as I asked and never says another word to me as long as she lives. I know that sounds harsh, but I don't know if I could take it again. ~ The man I loved for years strung me along with flowers, gifts, time with me, time speaking to me, and empty words of love... and then got engaged to someone else... someday I'll write a long book about the scandal of it all :o) ~ Mom told me I can't trust anyone, and I wonder if it is wise or foolish to believe her implicitly. A dear friend is finding life extremely difficult to handle and won't listen to my attempts to ease the burden. ~ The boy I've had a crush on only occasionally knows I exist. These are my problems. These are the things that bother me.

But here's reality... that girl didn't care enough to care when I needed her to. She wasn't ever the true kind of friend, and now I am so blessed to know it. I gave so much of efforts, money, and my heart when she needed somone to care, and some assistance... and I got really stomped on. But I learned a lot about the kind of friend I am, and some red flags to watch out for in the future. Don't let someone be dependent on me alone for so many things. ~ That man I loved is happy with his choices so far, and because of that, I am sincerely happy for him and hope that he continues to feel that way throughout his life. He told me he could not make me happy, and in reflecting on the matter I can see clearly so many ways in which he was right. I know now that I don't want my life to go where he would have taken it, and the details of that life would have crushed my spirit, over time. I am so very grateful he never gave me the chance to say yes to a proposal of marriage. I would have happily accepted it and lived unhappily after realizing my folly. That is one of the outstanding blessings of my life thusfar. ~ I have a very good mother, who loves me and seeks to guide me to the best of her abilities. She has a knack for keeping me out of harm's way. I know she is just as dramatic as I am, and I appreciate that about her. As my mother, she knows me well, and knows how to direct, comfort, and listen. ~ The boy I have a crush on is just that. He is way deep down good. He is handsome and kind, gentle and masculine. But do I even know if we would be good together? No, not at all. We've only really spoken a handful of times. It's ok to admire those traits without having him specifically as my own. A man who is all those things will undoubtedly ask me out, and I will be very pleased to have him.

So I look at my problems, my trials, the things that I think are hard... and then I take a look around. I have been so blessed to be able to see. ~ One friend's wife is struggling against a dangerous health condition that is known to be quickly lethal. He is so positive. He is upbeat, caring, diligent, and hopeful. She is grateful, hopeful, and is quick to pray to a Father in Heaven who answers her humble prayers. ~ One woman has a solitary life without her family and loved ones. She is blind, and stays in her home because of it. She has the same routines every day for years, and yet she is happy. She loves visitors, and is a joy to be around. She tells stories and listens with joy to mine. She sees with eyes that are far better than physical. She senses everything eyes can't see. She is a gem in my life. ~ There is a friend who is tormented constantly by feelings of inadequacy. She thinks that she is not loved because she is not married, and cannot be loved because she hasn't been before. I have been able to see her make discoveries about who she is, and every now and then she sees her great worth. When she does, she knows she can be anything in life that she wants to. ~ I have a wonderful friend who has lived all her life with a medical condition that makes life hard for her in even the most simple tasks. She is so strong. I have never heard a single word of complaint. She has a good and pure heart, she is beautiful, intelligent, confident, accomplished, and the truest kind of friend I've ever seen. I admire her so much for all that she is. ~ Another beautiful friend who has lived with a physical disability all her life. There are few people in the world who are so full of life and vigor as she. She constantly and consistently looks outside herself and brings a smile to the face of all she meets. She has dried many of my tears with her kindness.

There are so many people I know of with trials much bigger than mine. Many people whose trials I only see in their eyes, and many people who have got to have them because they are human, though I have no idea what they are. As for myself, my difficulties change as do the degrees of the weather. I wouldn't wish even my smaller trials on anyone, but when I look around and see the heaps of trials all around me, I wish theirs could be so insignificant as mine seem to be, next to theirs. Instead, I am strengthened by them. I am comforted by them. I glean great joy from being around them. I love them deeply. I also hope that I may give strength, comfort, and joy to them through my love. I have learned that by repaying the love I have seen shown to me in life; by learning to have joy, trust, courage, and optimism; and by always relying on the Perfect Love and Wisdom of my Father in Heaven, I am more happy than all the darkness in the world has the power to cover. There is nothing in this world greater than Love. Nothing more important than Love. Let us love one another: for love is of God; and everyone that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that Loveth not, knoweth not God; for God Is Love. 1 John 4:7-8 Thanks for teaching me that one Mom. God Is Love. I always think of those words as interchangeable when I want to know if love is real. But that's a topic for another time.

Wow... What A Blizzard!!!

2011-01-10T17:08:00.000-08:00

This one's for me... feel free to read it and all, but I just need to write to think about things from a different perspective. I have been thinking about writing this post for about a week and a half now and today... I need it.
It's winter, it's freezing, and any precipitation comes as snow these days. Today the snow was very light and airy, the other night it was nice to look at but not fun to be in, and a couple of weeks ago... when this blog post was born in my mind... there was a huge blizzard. It was the worst snow I have ever been in. I'm going to liken the snowfall to the troubles and trials that befall us as often as a winter's snow. Some trials, hardships, and problems are not very bad at all. Sometimes they are barely even noticeable, nothing more than an annoyance, like a light wispy snow that brushes by for an hour and is then easily forgotten. Others are uncomfortable and very unpleasant at the time, but the instant you are directly removed from them they are not a big deal at all and can even be looked at as a beautiful thing in life. Still others linger for days, even weeks, slick on the ground and threatening your footing at every step. These ones don't let you forget about them quickly, they can hurt, and they just don't seem to ever go away. Eventually though, they do and they become just a part of life that you remember as having happened and thank God for getting you through to the other side. Then there is the blizzard. The snow that might start out as a flurry, or might be something you can see coming at you like a white wall wiping everything you know out of its place. However it starts, it is the magnitude of it while in the middle that distinguishes it. It is all around you darkening the sky, making the cold air hurt to breathe, and making every step and every turn very potentially dangerous... especially if you are in a car trying to get somewhere that can provide safety. The hazard then in a slide or a slip of a person close to you can be devastating or fatal. It is a scary situation to be in and one that demands humility in exchange for safety. Where am I going with this you may wonder? Well, I had a unique moment that put things into a new perspective.
A couple of weeks ago I was in Arizona enjoying the 75 degree winter temperatures, but excited to come back to the snow covered ground only 600 miles to the north. The trip was delightful in many ways but, as all trips must eventually end, soon the day came that it was time to return home. That particular Arizona day was rainy, but not cold. The sky was gray and it was impossible to tell where the sun was. On the way to the airport people were driving more slowly, being more cautious, aware of the slick roads and lessened visibility. I, being used to driving in worse weather, didn't acknowledge it much at all until my brother mentioned he was texting his wife his Last Will and Testament, and that because of it I was to not speak for a few minutes. Oh, my brother. :o) Not long afterward I boarded the plane, and as it leaped into the sky I was not at all concerned by the bit of turbulence I felt. I had experienced more violent storms in the sky and this was nothing to be concerned with. We climbed higher and higher and then broke through the clouds. I was amazed at the beautiful blue sky I was looking at. Sure, there were clouds below, but they were below and had no effect on the brightness of the day I saw. Where the light hit the tufts, the clouds were bright, and brilliant white. It was easy to disregard the darkness of the shadows for the brilliance all around them. I always love to see the clouds from the top and this sea of white was certainly no exception. The sun shone brightly and it came through the windows warming my skin with it's touch. The sun illuminated everything and gave what it touched a glow that made it seem more alive. I noticed that my cares of earlier in the day had dissipated and now they were far behind me now and far below as well. The day continued and I watched as the sun got closer and closer to the horizon of clouds. It was beautiful as it started to cast hues slightly more golden than the bright white. I enjoyed it immensely. Then the pilot indicated we would be starting our descent. I saw only the sky and it's blue, with the sun and its warmth falling onto the gentle white of the clouds below. Then, we entered the clouds. The plane shook, though not dangerously. The clouds were dark around us and it looked as though it were nighttime already. I could see as the snow turned to slush and streaked it's way across the windows. But that was all I could see. I was surprised at the contrast from what I had been experiencing only moments before. As we descended it got darker and darker and there was more and more turbulence. There was talk earlier of the plane having to go on to better weather and wait out the storm. I hoped we wouldn't have to. I was relieved not to hear that news as we got closer and closer to the airport. This darkness and stormy weather was so sudden and in such contrast that it hardly seemed real. As we continued our descent I wished I could tell everyone in the storm below that this blizzard was just a farce born of perspective. The day was really gorgeous, the sun was shining brightly, the sky was the perfect shade of clear blue. This day was peaceful, and the only clouds in the sky were harmless, beautiful things. It was only because they could not now see it that they didn't marvel as I had about the beauty and perfection of the day. As we landed there were many comments about the wind blowing sideways to indicate the horizon we could not see, the workers struggling against the winds, the blackness that didn't let us see what was not illuminated directly. I got off the plane and felt the gusts of sharp, frozen air. I was unprepared for this. I had on a thin t-shirt and a light jacket... more than enough when I got on the plane. I put more layers on, gathered my luggage and went out into the night. Well, that was the funny thing about it... it wasn't night, it only looked to be. A mere 30 thousand feet above me was a bright and beautiful day. Just 600 miles away there was no snow, only a reasonably mild rain. This that I was now experiencing seemed to be just that. Just something I was experiencing... not the way it was. It made me think... all these people bustling about grumbling about the cold bitter wind, and the dangerous roads, and the blinding snow were all correct in their view of what was going on around them. They were experiencing that, and so was I. There were people in Arizona doing the same grumbling about the inconveniences of the rain. I knew though that the day above the clouds, the gorgeous perfection of the day outside these bubbles of experiences, was correct too. So, because I could see it, I could choose to focus on which ever one I wanted to. I could have complacency the attitude of a drisly dark day of rain, misery in the wretched blizzard I had so suddenly dropped into, or joy in the beauty of the clear day that covered both rain and snow. All three were simultaneously happening. In the course of life we have tough moments, bad days, general downturns, and catastrophe's that rock our very core. During each of those life experiences there is an alternate view we can focus on if we but choose to recognise that it is there too. Regardless of the storms of our winters, the springs will come. Winter will come again too, and then be followed by spring. Storms will come along often and vary in the ways they affect us, but covering every storm is a bright, clear blue sky, with a warm shining sun, and a sea of bright white clouds. So, as I now contemplate the unexpected storm, whose duration and discomfort seems all to sudden for its intensity, I can see that I have a choice. I can choose now to see the bright blue sky outside this storm, and know that the discomfort is not all there is. This storm is not going to hurt in any way when spring arrives. In looking back on it in even a few short months I will remember that there was a storm, but I will not feel its sting. In years I will not remember that the storm ever happened... except maybe when I read this. Even then, I'm sure I will not remember the specifics of it. So, yes, it's cold, bitter, uncomfortable, and I don't like it a bit, but it's ok... it's just a blizzard.

Living via life's lessons

2010-11-23T22:07:00.000-08:00

I just got off the phone with Randon. Things are convoluted between us, and nothing is as it seems. Somehow, through all the garbage we are still the very best of friends. He knows me far better than anyone else, and I know him far better than anyone else. We have come to realize over the years that we need each other for our mutual understanding and love, and are obviously not willing to do without each other until there is an actual reason to do so... like a ring on some girl's finger. Like it or not, approve or not, that's just the way it is and obviously neither of us are willing to change it. That being said, that's not the point of this post. The reason I mention it is because tonight we had another long conversation, that was not about the things we had previously discussed discussing(which happens an awful lot lately. There is just too much to say), and I want to mention some things I have fairly recently discovered in conversing about our lives. I have been thinking a lot lately about finding the Life in life and loving it. I have tried over the last several months to figure out what really makes me happy and have found things that do and things that don't. Real vs. fake. Randon comes in here because he already knows what makes me happy and is always trying to encourage me in those things and discourage me from the things that make me unhappy. He has seen what course in my life leads me to both. He gives me constant encouraging, strength, and an endless supply of advice. Lately, I have found a greater measure of happiness and an increased love in life and for life. Something I have found myself saying frequently about various experiences, both good and bad, is this. I want to experience life... all of it. In Heaven there are many negative things we cannot ever experience. We cannot experience the pain of a skinned knee, a frostbitten nose, sweltering heat, being lied to by the person you trust most, being gossiped about, rejected, and many many other things we experience here. Those are only Earth experiences. Ones that through the duration of eternity we will never experience again. Going through them is often hard and are things I wish I never had to feel, but they are for here, for our experience, for us to experience. I try to remember that this is my chance to experience negative things, and try then to be grateful to have experienced the Life in life. Loving the bad parts can be harder in the moment than in hindsight. Sometimes in hindsight I can easily see how God was protecting me from something I didn't know to protect myself from. Something I would have run to with open arms, and suffered greatly for doing so.

Thank you

2010-10-20T18:33:00.000-07:00

You know how life throws you a curve ball sometimes? I feel like I'm at the batting range and they just keep coming at me. Well, that being said, I'm not entirely sure batting ranges have ball throwers that throw curve balls... but you get the idea. First, I would like to say thank you to the very good and dear friends in my life. A great big thank you to my family for always being there to talk to. A big thank you with all my heart to Randon, who is simultaneously the biggest cause of internal distress and comfort lately. Oh how I hate to love you. :o) Really though, thanks for always being there to talk for the hours and endless hours of just being there for me. I don't know why you still hang around, but I'm so glad you do. Thank you for looking past my weaknesses and the dumb things I do that hurt you. Thank you for saying the things I can't hear from other people. Thank you for being in my life and letting me be so a part of yours. Thank you for the little moments and for your consistency. Thank you also for letting me know I'm not the first... and that I won't be the last. Thank you for... everything I can't write in a blog. A great big thank you to all the people I have recently met who have left their good footprints all over my life... I really don't know what I'd do without all of you. Thank you for being good-hearted, kind, fun, uplifting, inspiring, and so different from the people whose time with me you are replacing. There have been many times that your kind words and your smiles and your allowing me into your lives has been the thing that gives me the strength for one more day. And lastly, thank you to those of you who read this blog from hundreds of miles away and don't leave any indication of it. I know who some of you are, though you don't know I know it, and I want to thank you too... just knowing you are there, though I'm certain I will never speak to you, is enough. Thank you for caring about the people you do.

Big Sky Montana

2010-09-17T17:19:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I went to Montana. I had five days off in a row and was dying to go surfing in California. Somehow I ended up in Montana. I'm really glad though... things always turn out well. It was so beautiful, and relaxing, and I didn't have to do anything but whatever I wanted. I traveled with a guy I have been seeing named Austin, and we stayed with my dear friend Marilyn, and her husband, Patrick. We drove up Thursday, and back Tuesday. Montana is beautiful country, but I don't think I'm supposed to say anything about it because the preference is for it to stay beautiful... and small town. So don't move there! ;o) The big fair was in town, and with it came the big rodeos. We went to two rodeos, and there ate delicious food, ate huckleberry ice cream, drank huckleberry lemonade, and played some games. I won an adorable little unicorn I named MoonBeam. One word, like Mom's name, with two capitals. I won her at a game of "Throw 3 balls and knock down 3 pins". I had to play it twice to get her, and between them was told the secret of how to throw hard and straight. The woman told me to think of a guy I was mad at, and viola!!! MoonBeam is mine! I won some other toys too, but didn't know what to do with them so I gave them to a little girl I passed. Marilyn, Patrick, Austin, and I went on some beautiful excursions where we saw wonderful things. We went to the river... which I really wanted to get into. There we saw osprey riding the wind, a beaver swimming circles in the river, a Bald Eagle chasing a wayward osprey out of his territory (Ahem America...), and some trout coming toward the surface at feeding time. We saw lots of animals the 4H kids had raised. That is such a great program, in my opinion. We went to another river and saw geese osprey, and Marilyn gave me an eagle's feather she found. She says it gives courage. I fell in the river, but I must say, cold spring water dipped straight from the source was sure lovely, and tasted very good. Marilyn said the water there is very close to perfect that way. Speaking of, or hosts were perfectly delightful! Marilyn made such delicious meals for us, and let us have fruit from her trees and garden. We went on a delightful hike up the mountain we were on, and when we reached to top I climbed a mossy tree that wouldn't have been scary but for the wind blowing so hard. I got to sleep in every day till ten, and one day, Austin brought me breakfast in bed! Oh, it was such a delightful trip I wanted to stay another four or five days!

The last day I was 28... and preceeding events

2010-07-12T12:26:00.000-07:00

So, this summer... well seems like it has been a busy summer, but I haven't really gone anywhere... at least not compared to last summer. I gotta say though, on that note, I am so happy that my life has changed so much since this time last year. I am really loving where I'm at, and loving the people in my life. I feel happier and much more content with myself and my situation. Anyway, so this summer, so far, I went to Vegas for a couple days to meet up with Randon, who was there for work, and then went to Lake Powell for a couple days right after. That was a busy weekend. Vegas was fun, though we didn't do any of the normal Vegas stuff. We went hiking, and running, and had lots of good, needed conversation and quality time together. It was so wonderful to be with him, laughing, playing, having our relationship just like it used to be. I was very glad to have those few days with him. I've been getting to see him a little more often lately and it is always such a treat. Powell was a blast. I met up with new friends. Cory Mon and the Starlight Gospel was headlining a concert there so we got to be on a huge houseboat for the stay. I got to meet lots of really cool, fun, interesting and downright likable people there. When I got there most everyone had been there a day or two already, and had been having a wonderful time. We spent our time getting in and out of the water, I didn't need anything but my swimsuit and a towel to lay out on. It was delightful! The air was just hot enough to make the water refreshing and the water was just cold enough to not want to stay in for too long. We just played all day long! The concert that night was a lot of fun and afterward we all came back and made our beds on the top of the houseboat where we watched the stars and saw the moon rise over the lake. That was a magical moment... one that could not be captured by pictures or words, and was a perfect moment because of that as well. We drove home the next afternoon and what should have been 4 hours was a lot closer to 7 because we stopped to take pictures of every little thing and we got snacks and stuff. We sure had a great time though! That trip changed things subtly, but in such a good way. The following week I discovered a place that will be a favorite place as long as I am in Utah. It's called Pirate O's and they sell chocolate from all over the world. Devin and I spent 40 bucks on chocolate that day... hmmm... I just ran out yesterday. The party was fun and the food was great! A week and a half later my adorable niece came up to stay with me for 10 days. That little girl is so much fun and I am just loving seeing her grow up. She is such a good-hearted and sweet little girl. She is seven, and I lived with her until she was almost a year old so she and I have a special bond. She likes a lot of the same things I do, and I have no doubt that her excitement over sparkly things comes from when I would dangle my necklaces over her as a baby, and put enormous rings on her tiny little fingers. She loves doing super girly things with me and I just melt because she has such a perfect flair for it all. It was cute, when she first got here I asked her if she was hungry... she said she was, and I asked her what she wanted to eat. She said, "In Arizona there is a place called RA, do they have that here?" I told her no, and she said, "Well, is there a place here that sells sushi?" I laughed and said yes, but that we weren't going to have sushi for lunch. She was disappointed until I suggested In&Out. I could tell then that it was going to be a lot of fun... and pretty expensive. :o) After we ate we went shopping. She has a knack for finding me cute clothes I never would think to put together, so we had a deal. We'd each pick out an outfit for the other. She found a really cute pair of shorts for me... which I'd been trying to find for some time, and I found her an adorable outfit. It was a black, white, and gray shirt, with black cropped pants with little studs as fringe, a black sequined vest, and silver sequined shoes. She looked so stinkin adorable in it that when I saw that it was 5 times as much as my shorts I couldn't help but get it anyway. I told her though (it's all about life lessons) that if you are ever going to spend way too much much money on clothes you have to make sure that you can wear each item with lots of other clothes you already own. :o) The next morning we did the weekly rounds for meals on wheels and had a great time visiting with some of the seniors. One of the gentlemen gave her some flowers from his yard and some chocolates and she loved that! Later on she and I went to the pool and played mermaid... which I have not done in years!!! :o) It was fun, I was the Mom mermaid and she was the daughter and we pretended sharks were trying to get us. Later we went to the rodeo. Anaya loved the motor cross intermission. And she was not pleased that the cowboys were roping the poor little calves and knocking them over. After thaaaaat, just to round off the day we went to Velour to see Patrick's band play and then there was dancing afterward. She loved the fog machine and the colorful strobe lights. I loved watching how excited she was about everything. She was a blast and is such a little charmer! The next day she and I went to the Lehi Days Parade. She got gobs of candy and fun stuff, which I made her eat somewhat responsibly. :o) We had vegetables for lunch which she swore she was going to hate, until she took a bite... and then she ate them all. She made a huge fort for the puppy while I was getting ready for the day and did an exceptional job of cleaning it up when we were ready for that. I was impressed. I don't remember being that good of a fort-taker-downer when I was that age! We went to the movies and saw Toy Story 3 in 3D. I quite enjoyed it, and I just loved that she was all cuddly in the parts she thought were scary. After that we went to a huge carnival in West Valley City or something like that. We went on tons of rides and I realized rides I used to be fine with now make me sick. She loved the Fun Houses the most. We watched fireworks, and she was wiped out by the time we got to the car. The next day was Sunday. We went to church and then went to the Mt Timpanogos temple. We had a very wonderful experience there and I felt like I finally was able to do some of what she asked me to do. She asked me to teach her about God and Jesus Christ, and as we spoke she had so many questions and it was really an amazing experience for both of us. Then we went to "the big temple" as she called it and we saw as much of it as we could before it closed, but we could have spent a lot more time there. We had a really great spiritual conversation on the way home and I just felt so privileged to have been able to share it all with her. I was impressed at her understanding of concepts and her insightful questions. That was my favorite part of the trip because it was so special and I know that is the part that will last forever. The next day, Monday, we went on a picnic and she discovered that contrary to her former belief, she really does like chocolate milkshakes :o) She was a little apprehensive at my suggesting it but she sure came around after just a sip. Then we went to the Biggest dinosaur museum in the world... really, the very biggest one! It was fun and she loved getting to do the hands on stuff. When we got home she built yet another fort (I never saw so many forts in so few days) and she came visiting teaching with me. I had told her also that we'd get some frozen yogurts and that seemed to be a great time for it, so we ate them as we watched UP! The next day, Tuesday, we went to the Aquarium and had a blast there too! My favorite part was all the little seahorses and I think her favorite was when she found out you could feel the electric shock of the eel she hung around a while stopping everyone who came near and showing them how to do it. It was adorable! Afterward we went to go buy her a dress for a wedding reception. We found several she loved but only one that fit. I could spend a fortune shopping with that little one! The following day Wednesday, was pretty low key in the morning, just watching tv, then when the sun was debating whether or not it was really going to come out or not we decided we'd give it a shot and went to a big, colorful water park called Cowabunga Bay. We went with my neighbor and his little brother and we all had a great time even staying only a few hours. The wind picked up so we got some rainy day passes to come again when the weather was a bit better. We really had a great time anyway, playing on the slides and in the lazy river. She has such an imagination and a smile that is just so contagious! After the water park we figured we needed some Cold Stone, and we got the biggest size and that was a great treat! When we finished, we came home, got cleaned up, and met up with Aaron and his brother again and finally went for sushi! The next day, Thursday, we went on a hike to Bridal Veil Falls and hiked right up the front of it. Who needs a trail? I had her go first in case she fell I would be right behind her and she did really good! She did just what I told her and made it to the top perfectly fine. When we got up there she decided she wanted to go over to the side with all the mist and she was going to do it the hard way. I let her, and when she realized it was really hard that way I showed her how to navigate it and she did fine. It was colder there though, with the spray and being in the shade a bit, but it was fun because as we looked down we could see a rainbow in the mist. Anaya was so excited to be on the top of a rainbow and she was looking for a pot of gold. We didn't see one, but she said there was silver all over. As she went down a little ahead of me it almost looked like she was going to walk right underneath it. Too fun! After that we went to the Homestead Resort in Midway where we got to go inside the crater and feel the warm water. We went to Granny's on our way back and got the best shakes in the world! They really are, they must have more cream in them or something. She got cookie dough and I got mint chocolate chip. We saw two deer munching on someone's lawn in the middle of the day, which was quite a delight for Anaya, and when we got back home we headed right back out to Cowabunga Bay again, and we went on the slides and I got to sit out in the sun for a while, which I quite enjoyed. We stayed for several hours and then went home and Anaya set up a little nail salon in my room. We did her toes pink with flowers, and her fingers sparkly purple with swirls, and dots, a star, a heart, and other pretty designs. The next day, and last real day of the trip was Friday. We got up and delivered meals again for meals on wheels and this time we stayed and visited with a couple of seniors for several hours. Our last stop was at a couple's house where the wife just loved that Anaya asked for more flowers as she'd received last week. They had bloomed so nicely, and were so delightful! She had her husband take Anaya out to the yard and show him the ones she wanted. She came back with a bundle and the wife said she needed more. They went out 4 times until the grocery basket we had was stuffed full of beautiful flowers! Then Anaya played with her lovely figurines and snow globes and such till her hearts content. We all enjoyed it very much! When we got back home I did laundry and got Anaya's things packed, and did all the mundane stuff that has to be done at the end of a trip. She made forts for the dog and played all afternoon. Towards the evening we got ready and went to my beautiful co-worker's fabulous wedding reception. She looked amazing, the food was delicious, it was all picture perfect, and we had a lovely time, though we didn't stay long. We had gotten a late start and I misjudged the time, and we still had one more stop before she could get to bed! We headed over to Velour. Now, for those of you who have never experienced Velour, I would recommend it. This particular night, and for a few nights prior, Corey Fox, the awesome owner/operator had changed this hot-spot local music venue into a vintage flea market of sorts where you could find all kinds of fabulous things vintage. Anaya had no idea what all of that meant, but she had ten dollars and by golly, that was where she was going to spend it. I didn't have any cash on me, though I wish I had a record player, because if I did I'd have bought some records for sure! I ended up chatting with Corey while Anaya ran back and forth picking out things and coming to ask him if she had enough money to buy it. She came away with her hands full and a stuffed purse to show for it. I enjoyed that. Corey said to me, Wow, you coming here tonight is a lot different than when you were here before! I see you guys have been keeping very busy, and (basically) you look tired. :o) I was tired! I don't have the energy for non-stop all the time. I took that cute little bug to the airport the next morning where we met up with Gramma. She had brought most of the flowers from the day before with her and she was just the cutest happiest little thing bouncing along with her flowers poking out the top of her back pack, and her little cowgirl hat on her head. I was really bummed to get back in my car and not see the cute girl in my back seat. I had really gotten used to it, and really liked it. It was a wonderful trip, and I wonder as she gets older, what she will remember of it. I loved it. Later that day, I went to the Freedom Festival. We ran into Dustin, and met up with Corey later. It was a lot of fun, and quite good too because I learned of a political party that is pretty much aligned right up with my political beliefs... so i joined it. It's called the Constitution Party and if you've never heard of it... look it up. I was surprised to learn that it is a bigger party than the Libertarian party and though it is even so, still small, I feel good knowing that I can finally put my vote behind what I believe, not just the option that is closer than the other one. The next day, Independence Day, I was well on my way to being sick. Even so, I went with a bunch of people, to Park City to watch the fireworks. The crazy thing about that is it was 60 degrees! Ok, I don't know what kind of cruel joke Al Gore is trying to pull making half the U.S. population believe that the world is about to melt, but I have a feeling it has something to do with creating some kind of clout since nobody believed the whole 'I made up the Internet' thing. Who gives out the Nobel Prize anyway? I mean really... I'm going to ask them for one for MY significant contributions to to the world. Anyway, I was wearing a long sleeve shirt, another shirt over it, and a sweater and still was freezing half to death. The fireworks were nice, and within days I was diagnosed with bronchitis. I have been laying low in the last 6 days since. I have only been to the Modest Mouse concert, and a date. I know, I don't usually log about dates, but this one I should say a word or two about. We had dinner, went for a walk, (which I quite enjoyed) and spent the next 4 hours at the Draper City Cemetery. It was one of those nights I hadn't expected to happen, but thoroughly enjoyed. We found some really awesome gravestones and were there till about 2am. We layed on the grass for a good long while talking, looking at 'constellations' and just enjoying each other's company. After the week I'd had with not feeling well, not getting out, and with my birthday looming mercilessly, I really needed that. Tomorrow starts something new... it's the last birthday I'll ever have... or so I'm told. I'll be 29. So, today is the last day I'll be 28. Nothing is going on today that I particularly ought to write about, though there are a few things I could say about current events. They're not positive though and I'm sure in a month they will be forgotten. No need to remember. So 29 huh... Are there brakes I can apply for just a while to stop it from being just mere hours away? I'm not ready for it! I have things to do first, like travel, get married, and have a couple kids!

Awww, you Cooked...

2010-03-26T17:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Kenny's birthday. Last week in California he mentioned that he wanted Angel Food cake. Sure! No problem... right? Now, anyone who knows me knows I don't cook much, but I've googled recipes and made them successfully before so I didn't think twice before saying I'd do it for him. I found a recipe and happened to mention it to Randon when we spoke. "Uh oh" he said, "Maybe you should start with something easier than Angel Food cake." I asked why and he told me that I would need to beat the eggs just so, and then I would not be able to open the oven door until it was done and then I'd need to wait for it to cool entirely before I took it out of the pan. That would be ok. It's seems to be just as finicky as a cheesecake, which I've made a few times without any trouble.I found that I would have to go buy every single ingredient it called for, and a pan. So I went to the store and as I was looking for "cake flour" (is that a real thing?) I happened along the isle that has all the boxes of cake mixes and lo and behold there was one for Angel Food cake! Hooray!! That is just my luck, because really when was I ever going to use Tartar something-or-other, or Almond Extract ever again? So, I got it and went home convinced that what wasn't going to be thaaat hard, was now going to be super easy! So, I mixed the batter with water and whipped it for 30 seconds and then for a minute, then poured it in the pan and put it in the oven. It was the easiest thing ever! Well... that part was. About 5 minutes later I happened to look in the oven and Aaaaaaack!!!! It had a gooey bubble that was about 3 inches tall!!! Oh No!!! It was spilling onto the bottom of the oven and onto the heating irons! It just kept spilling and spilling like it was a scene in a movie! I could just see it, the oven bottom filled with cake.... and then bursting into flames and burning down the 12 condos in my building! So, I grabbed a cookie sheet and put it under, but if I just left it to cook, the cake would not get the correct amount of heat for the time it called for so I scraped of the bubble and let it continue cooking. A few minutes later, I checked it again and there was about an inch tall bubble, but it wasn't falling as quickly, so I left it and just watched to see what it would do. Just about ten minutes before the time was up it started to do something weird. It fell not only flat, but caved in!!! Well, what could I do about it then? When the time was up I took it out and turned it upside down on some cups so it wouldn't flatten more... and let it cool. I came back a few hours and it didn't seem to look much different. But it was cool. So I took it out, and cut it in half and then took a slice of it to put under the part that sunk in. It looked ok then, so I decorated it! I covered it in some cream I whipped up and then put some strawberries and blackberries on it! I put it in the refrigerator and then tasted what was left of the other one. Yum!!! I gotta say... for having really no clue what I was doing... sometimes I surprise myself! Now the fun part... bleh... cleaning the oven. :o)

Viva Las Vegas...Baby!

2010-03-01T18:06:00.000-08:00

January was quite a crazy month for me... because of guys... so the first weekend of February I went with a group of friends to Vegas and had a much needed break from it all. Brian and Heather's birthdays are the end of January and we had originally planned on going out the previous weekend, but things didn't happen then so we went out when we did. It was kind of overcast and drizzly when we were there, but nobody minded a bit. There was a group of 8 or 9 of us, but I primarily just hung out with Heather, Brian, and Spencer. We had such a blast! When we got there we changed and primped a bit and ate...and of course took pictures... then we went to this pub at the Monte Carlo where there was a girl and guy show called Zowie Bowie that sang covers all night. It was kinda funny cuz they would change their clothes based on the singer... like, when it was a Fergie song, the girl (Marley Taylor) would wear a hat, and when it was a Britney song, she'd take the hat off and dance like Britney, and the guy would do the same, with hats and bling and whatnot. Pretty early on Chris Phillips (the guy singer) pointed me out and was singing lyrics to me and whatnot, and after a while when he sang Sexy Back he pulled me up on stage and was like "She's bringing sexy back" as the lyrics. It was fun dancing in front of all those people. I didn't stay up there the whole song though... cuz really... it's not my show :o) It was such a blast dancing all night. I got up on stage again for the very last song, and waved goodnight to everyone with them. :o) It was so much fun. When the show ended I danced a bit more with this guy we met on the balcony earlier, and then as we were leaving we chatted with Zowie Bowie and took some more pictures. Oh, and when he hugged me, as he was pulling back, he kissed my mouth! Hahaha... I had to laugh. It was kinda awkward! Anyway, it was a total blast, and for what 5 or ten bucks, it was Totally worth it! Then Brian and I went and played in the street... hmm... I should point out that it was very very late at night and there weren't many cars around :o) I think we got home around 5am that night. We stayed at the Encore hotel, right next to the Wynn. It was so nice inside, and we were on the 21st floor, so we had a great view down the strip. We slept a few too little hours and got up to start the day. We went to breakfast and then decided to just wander. We ended up going first to the Bellagio where we first took pictures by this big horse made of mirrors. The boys' picture was hilarious, and it was so funny to see the expressions of the people around when they posed for it. Then we went to the garden where they decorate it according to the season or the holiday. Apparently, it was near Chinese New Year, and apparently this year is the year of the Tiger. Actually, much of Vegas was decorated for Chinese New Year. Oh, Chinese New Year is apparently a different day every year, and the Year of the Tiger starts on February 14th. Wow... I totally missed celebrating that holiday! We went out to the fountains, and played as we waited for the next song and fountain show. We met these ladies who were taking pictures of us and with us and we took pictures and gawked at the sights all around. It was lots of fun! After the show, we headed down towards Ceasar's Palace. We wandered around there just enjoying the hotel, and did some window shopping. I found some cute clothes and a really amazing art shoppe that was having it's going out of business sale. It really was amazing, and if I'd had gobs of cash I would have loved to buy some of it. It was right across from the statue of David, which is 18feet high and, did you know, an exact replica of the original? We went and saw this show Spencer had told us about where the statues talk! ...well, it's probably a much more entertaining show for kids. But, it was next to a really cool fish tank! We wandered a bit and took pictures of lots of things, and can I just say, I love the statues in that hotel. Everyone was like, "Chelyse, what are you going to do with pictures of statues?" and "You need to go see the real statues." I agree... that is a fabulous idea, and I will... but for now, I want to take pictures of these. We stayed there quite a while, until Spencer had to leave. So, we went back to the hotel and got ready for dinner. Heather didn't end up going, and we got all dressed up and went to... wait for it... Claim Jumper. I know, nothing exclusively Vegas, but I was outnumbered. I had the filet though so I was quite happy. It was like Christmas. Actually, all the food was very good. When we were deciding what to do after that, I wanted to go do something active... I mean it was after all Saturday night! Most of the group wanted to go gamble, but I have Zero interest in that, so we all went back to the hotel room to decide and regroup. I lay down on the bed as everyone is lazily doing this and that and nobody seemed in much of a hurry to do anything. Well, enough laying down and I fell asleep. Then Brian woke me up and told me they were going to the Hard Rock to gamble, so I just let them go without me, and changed into my jammies and went to sleep. Oh, also, let me mention that all through out the day I had been getting texts from my Mom. My sister Tish's baby was coming that day and I was being notified of Every event preceding it. It was funny, the texts she sent. So, late late at night, but before everyone got back, I got a text saying the baby had come. A few days later they named her Mia Jade, and she was born January 7th, at 2:34am, weighing 7lbs 2oz, and is 20.5 inches. This was the first picture I got of her. She is just beautiful, and I was so happy she's finally here. She is much anticipated... and Mom sent me a little sound clip of her crying. Awww... such a brand new little cry. I listened to it and promptly fell back asleep. The next, and last, day Brian and I decided to go off on our own because I wasn't really wanting to spend the day watching people gamble when there's so much else to do, so after eating, we went down to the Madame Tussauds wax museum and had such blast playing and taking pictures with the figures. I was a little disappointed that the two hottest guys... in my opinion, were the least like themselves... I guess you just can't duplicate perfection. Who you ask? :o) Obviously, Brad Pitt and (my personal favorite) Matthew McConaughey. But there were many other celebs that were great likenesses and we spent quite some time there just playing and having such a ball. Here's some pictures of them, and then actually there.

So, we eventually got all the way through, and then spent some time browsing the Venetian, and then went over to Treasure Island. That was fun, and I found the most unique ring there I almost got. I've never seen anything quite like it, but I don't have a picture of it, so it's probably useless to mention. We played with all the fun stuff in the gift shop, bought some eye patches, then promptly returned them, and eventually made our way over to the mall for some window shopping. We hadn't been there long when we happened upon the Betsey Johnson store. Now, I love her style, I think she is Such the Fabulous designer and I'd buy one of her dresses for Sure if I thought I'd wear it more than twice. They are so girlie and lovely, like something out of a book, but simultaneously modernized. I tried on 5 or 6 dresses I think, and was really torn about buying this one. It is perfection sewn. It's so cute and feminine and so much fun to wear! If it was more wearable than pink allows I may have bought it, however, the pink was rather perfect... hmm, anyway, I tried it on twice, oooooh and ahhhhhed over the piles of lace, and decided I'd better think on it a bit before just buying it. Good thing too, because since, I've found it on ebay for over $200 cheaper! Anyway, shortly thereafter it was time to head for home. It was a long and snowy drive and we got home very very late/early, but it was Absolutely worth the lack of sleep. Viva Las Vegas :o)

Love's labors lost... The story of Marc and Rosalind

2010-02-18T13:05:00.000-08:00

This story is based on the perception of the author of actual events, as well as the author's imagination. In certain cases incidents, events, characters, timelines, and communication have been changed for dramatic purposes. Certain characters, and the actions of said characters, and events, may be composites, or entirely fictitious. Any similarity to any actual event, person or animal living or dead is merely coincidental... just in case there is a Marc, or a Rosalind, or an Ophelia, or an Inigo Montoya, or a Hans Christian Anderson, or a flying pig named Sally somewhere in this world who might read this and want to sue said author for libel or slander.
It is after all, a story... a tragedy, a comedy even, and yes, definitely a drama. This story begins in a small town far across the ocean. It was not long long ago though. This is a story about love. Oh... but it's a tragedy... It's a story about love gone awry. Oh, and a comedy... I think I'll make it more of an ironic comedy. So... as I was saying... Once upon a time not so long ago in a land far across the sea there lived a boy. Let's name him... James... no... let's name him... Marco... hmmm... close.... but not quite right. We'll name him Marc. That'll do. This is after all, Not a fairytale. Now the girl in this story.... let's give her a Shakespearean name just to add the drama... which play.... hmm, how about 'As You Like It', that's a good one.... and the girl we'll call... Rosalind. Yes... that'll do nicely. Oh, and just so we're clear, she's not a princess, just a girl. Now, on to the story! Now, first things first you must understand that Marc is the kind of guy who likes to act well in most situations, and likes people to think he is a good guy. And why shouldn't they? Marc is a good guy. A good guy that has some very odd and socially unacceptable ways of showing his affection for those he claims to care most about... one of them being Rosalind. Marc wooed Rosalind for a time... wait... this is modern... they dated a while and (here's where it starts to get modern crazy) after a week or two Rosalind noticed that Marc was making a bit of a habit of going through her phone and reading her incoming and outgoing texts... a lot... but she didn't really care because she had nothing to hide and wanted him to know she didn't. Oh, I should add for added drama that Marc was also about a year out of a divorce at that point and it had given him some crazy trust issues. Rosalind knew that and tried to be accommodating. She thought that showing him there was nothing to fear would be helpful. (I didn't say this was a conventional story)... anyway, before too long, he and she started fighting... they started yelling fighting about every little thing. When Rosalind would talk to a guy or mention an old friend who is a guy, a fight always followed... but because she knew Marc had issues with trust, and she did have a lot of guys in her life, she let it slide. Her sister Ophelia told her that it was bad news that they were fighting so soon and encouraged her to end the relationship. Rosalind thought about it, but thought Marc just needed some time, and told Ophelia so. Ophelia agreed to support her sister, and without another word tossed her purple hair over her shoulder and rode away on the back of a white monkey. Rosalind took the consistency of the "debates" as Marc called them, into consideration and after a couple weeks of him going through her phone Rosalind told him he couldn't any longer… and he stopped. Then all of a sudden, her computer started getting hacked. (I told you this was a modern day tragedy didn't I? :o) Her e-mail and her popular social networking site were being hacked and everything that came in and went out was being forwarded to alternate e-mail addresses that were oddly similar to her own! The comments she made were being tracked, and she was being cyber-stalked! It was terrible! She changed settings and deleted several fake e-mail addresses, but she would frequently find new ones doing the same thing! She thought on it a while, and eventually figured it must be Marc because of the timing of it all, and after all, he had told her in one of the first conversations they'd had, that he'd hacked his ex-wife’s popular social networking site after she left him. Marc later denied it to Rosalind, when she asked him about it, saying he had known her password… and then she wondered why she would remember something he hadn’t said. But then, she had nothing to hide from him so she figured it would just calm him to have the access. She didn't really care if he read stuff... and then some time after that they decided they would probably not fight so much if they were just friends, so they decided to end the relationship. Rosalind was a reasonably pretty girl, and never had trouble getting dates, so... it happened that shortly thereafter, she went out with, and kissed, this guy we’ll call... Hans Christian Anderson... named after the famous story teller. :o) (Trust me this is going to be a twist in the plot later... it's pertinent) She told Marc truthfully when he asked if she'd kissed him, and she sure got reamed for it. Now, Marc and Rosalind were no longer 'together', but he thought it was too soon for her to be off forgetting him in a new man's arm... and ok... it was, so we'll call it a rebound. After giving Rosalind a thorough tongue-lashing Marc seemed to drop the issue. About a week or so later Rosalind got some very hurtful anonymous letters on her popular social networking site and had little reason to think it was Marc because when they spoke he was just as nice and normal acting as he’d ever been. About a week later, after having been hacked frequently and repeatedly for about 3 months Rosalind (who was getting quite sick of all of it by this point) went into her settings and, as was becoming routine, found that everything was being forwarded to yet another alternate e-mail address. She, in an almost jest, wrote the address back. She had done so before with no response and did not expect one now. To her surprise, she got one the next morning! It started out “Lololololololololol>>>>>>>>>and she caught on people>>>>>>” Initially she thought it was someone we’ll call Inigo Montoya (because he's a cool dude from Princess Bride whose name is stuck in my head). Inigo was known to always write letters with a gazillion of those '>'s between words and a string of lololololololololololols instead of just lol, or haha. Inigo had been Rosalind's 'non-boyfriend' earlier that year and they hadn't spoken in a few months and so when Rosalind thought it was Inigo, she was of course upset that he would take the time, effort, and interest to go out of his way to hack her… which was uncharacteristic of him, and something she never thought he would do for a second... until she read words that appeared to be so obviously him. Rosalind sent a letter back to the fake email address saying that she knew who it was and how she felt about it. Then she forwarded it to Marc... the guy she trusted... He said he was so sorry that Inigo made her feel that way, and expressed his concern for her sorrow. The very next morning she got another response that made it seem even more like it was Inigo, except this time it came with a threat against her. Now, Rosalind was the kind of person who had no problem going to the source and having a chat in person… especially with someone she knew well, like Inigo, and especially when a threat was involved. So.... Rosalind text Inigo and told him she wanted to talk to him over dinner. They talked for 4 hours as she listened for inconsistencies, and watched his every facial expression and scrutinized his body language. She came away with a lot of new information, but nothing definite. Even so, that night, when Rosalind came home she told her roomie that even with the letter that appeared to be from him, she trusted Inigo more than she trusted Marc and she said that she knew it made no sense, but she really felt that way. A few days later Inigo and Rosalind went to the library because Inigo wanted to help her, and she wanted to find proof that it was, or was not, him for sure. They discovered that it had to be either Inigo or Marc. With names like these, I think this all took place in a beautiful little town in Spain. Anyway, the same computer had accessed Inigo's e-mail account, Rosalind's real and fake e-mail accounts, and Marc's real and fake e-mail accounts. It had to be one of them. So, when Inigo got back to work and Rosalind got home, she asked Inigo via IM and Marc via text to send her their computer IP addresses... it's a kind of social security number for every computer, and allows all activity to be pin-pointed to a specific computer. Inigo handed his over without a second’s hesitation, as Marc simultaneously flipped! He started texting her saying she was such a bad friend for suspecting him and how dare she think he was involved after he had been nothing but good and kind to her the entire time he'd known her, and she was sticking a knife in their friendship over something Inigo had done, and how dare she believe his silver tongue and all this kind of stuff. At that point Marc became very very suspect in Rosalind's mind, and since she had no way to confirm anything to convict him or release him from suspicion by what he had sent her, she decided to confirm her thoughts with the one person she knew who would know the information she needed. Marc's ex-wife. Rosalind was unable to reach her directly, but did speak to her best friend. Rosalind asked her if she might possibly know for certain whether or not Marc was capable of what was happening. She told Rosalind she had just one piece of advice for her "Run Like Hell" and told her that he was absolutely capable and had done it multiple times in the past. That was enough for Rosalind. All she needed was to know he was capable because in carefully looking at things, she understood his motive, and it all fit together quite nicely except for his repeated claims that he didn’t know how to do such a thing. Rosalind decided to wait and see if Marc was going to come clean on his own… she set up times to meet together, and texts asking him to call her. He was strangely entirely too busy all of a sudden. He had nothing apparent to be doing all day long, but somehow he came up with excuses that filled the entire duration of the week! Leaving early in the morning, and completely unavailable even after very late at night! Rosalind knew she could use his belief that he was an honest person to get him to meet her, and so told him she desperately needed the money he owed her and he replied that a few days later would be the next time he would be able to bring it by… but very late… and he’d just leave it under the mat. Wanting to avoid further possible trouble, and knowing he just didn't want to see her, Rosalind told him she would be up waiting and to make sure he placed it in her hand. Late that Sunday night Marc walked through Rosalind's door and true to his word, handed her the money. See, he is a good guy... like I said in the beginning (in case you were starting to wonder why I mentioned that). Rosalind was less than warm and inviting, but it was cold outside and she wanted her answers so invited him in. She sat, and he across from her, and started the conversation she knew would lead to showing him the absolute proof she had gathered against his claims. Rosalind asked him some simple questions and they got harder as she continued. Marc sat across from her and lied to her face for 45 minutes telling her that she was wrong in thinking that way, and giving her stories of how he was the victim too because he’d gotten anonymous letters too, and there was an alternate e-mail address close to his name as well. Rosalind was not a dumb girl, as he hoped she was, and she wasn’t buying any of it. Her face showed none of the sympathy he was expecting, and he kept trying to making his story evoke some of that emotion he was sure she must have for him. The proof just kept playing through her mind like a tape on replay. Rosalind asked him things she knew the answers to and watched him as he lied to her time and again. Her expression was that of a parent who is annoyed that a young child is blaming the missing cookies on a purple dragon that came and stole them. Oh? Really? Is that what happened? Awwww, and you were scared of it? Awwww. Wellllll…. And then she got tired of hearing about the big scary purple dragon. She got tired of listening to the lies that kept pouring out, one after the next, after the next. It was now Rosalind's turn to pose a question she knew he could not explain away. The second letter she’d received mentioned that she had “kissed Christian and bragged about it” to her friends”. Well... that's what the hacker thought anyway. But that's not what really happened (here comes the part the hacker didn't think through very well). Some months before meeting Marc, Rosalind had taken a picture next to Hans Christian Anderson and her cousin had made a comment that the two of them “should hook it up” because he was so cute and this and that. Nothing happened between Hans and Rosalind until that night they kissed after she and Marc decided to be friends. Rosalind wrote her cousin a letter after the kiss saying something like “Remember that guy in the picture that you said I should get together with?” Rosalind's cousin would not have known who she meant if she’d used his name and so Rosalind didn’t because of it. Now, when Rosalind read from the hacker about "Christian", she thought it was odd, and the hacker had to be someone who knew of the picture, or of Hans, or of the kiss… someone who could have made that connection between the three. Then when she went to dinner with Inigo she mentioned “Christian” and he said “Who?” Rosalind said, “Hans Christian Anderson” He said, ‘Why did you call him Christian? His name is Hans.” That made her think more on that than she otherwise would have. To be sure of her hunch, she went to the source. Rosalind text Hans and asked him if he knew of anybody who calls him Christian. He said there was nobody he knew of that did. Then she knew it was just a matter of finding out if Marc called him Hans or Christian, because Inigo clearly didn’t. So, back to Sunday night’s conversation, after 45 minutes of hearing lies Rosalind led the conversation toward that kiss and she said “about that note that I kissed Christian” and Marc spoke at almost the same time and spoke in almost unison with "you kissed Christian. Rosalind, not wanting to have room for error, thought that could be misconstrued as leading so she let him continue the conversation and let him talk, (she had discovered that when he was nervous or lying, if she just remained silent he would just keep talking without any prodding and say things he hadn't thought through) he continued talking, and subsequently called Hans by "Christian" twice more in the following few minutes. “…Wow!” she thought, as her eyebrows raised and she leaned back in her seat to collect the fact that she was now 100% instead of 99.5% certain it was Marc. Rosalind let him finish and couldn’t help but laugh and shake her head in sheer disbelief and incredularity at the fact that it really had been him this whole time, and that lies were still falling so effortlessly out of his mouth. When he finished whatever it was he was saying, Rosalind decided to end the charade. It was obvious in her mind that he was caught and equally obvious he had no intention of coming clean on his own. So she said, with a barely contained smirk on her face, “Ok! Then riddle me this…” and she explained in some length and detail that Hans was never called Christian and that Marc had just referred to him by that 3 times not hesitating or thinking twice about any one of them. About then he started talking, saying “No, stop, wait, I have something to tell you!” Rosalind paid him no mind as she continued laying it all out for him, knowing he could not now deny it if he wanted to. He continued saying “Wait, don’t finish, please just stop talking, I want to tell you something! Wait, stop, it was me! It was me all along! I did all of it please stop!” Rosalind finished and then said… “I know it was, I have known it for days.” She demanded that Marc tell her everything from the beginning, how, why, how long, what on Earth he was thinking and what made him think that it all could have possibly turned out well! Marc told Rosalind what he’d done, and the screwy logic behind it. Marc said that he could tell that Rosalind was getting annoyed by his constant need of affirmation of their relationship, and so he thought a much better course of action would be to hack into her personal correspondence and find out for himself what she was saying to others about the relationship. That was what she had thought at first, and she was largely ok with it until he lied to her, tried to incriminate an innocent bystander who had no part in it, and threatened her. He said he did it because he loved her and he didn't want her to hate him for what he'd done. Marc wanted Rosalind to think it was Inigo and threatening her would make it more believable. Marc didn't know though that Inigo is not that kind of person, and that a threat is totally out of character for him. Marc also didn't know that love is not what he had for Rosalind because as anyone who has experienced love for another knows, love is not deceit, love is not underhanded, love does not attempt to hurt the object of it, love is none of the things Marc displayed to Rosalind, and she knew it. Rosalind didn’t make any of the process easier for Marc. She asked all the questions he didn’t want to answer and sat there glaring at him just taking it all in, listening to what he was now saying. She could tell there were some points he was trying to avoid and soften, but by the time he finished it was very late and he was not yet willing to confess to the things he didn’t “technically” do. What he’d skirted around still bothered her the next day, so she sent Marc a text telling him that she was giving him one last chance to come clean on the issue she knew he was still lying about and to stop thinking she was stupid. Rosalind got a text back a few minutes later from Marc, saying he did have something to confess about it. He said he didn’t write the hurtful letter that came first, but his friend did and he was standing there not stopping it and knew it would hurt her. Well, there ya go, Rosalind thought, mystery solved. Everyone told Rosalind that she should turn him in to the authorities for the crime he'd committed, but she didn't. She didn't want to have it put on his record and follow him around as a criminal the rest of his life. She thought she was doing Marc a favor. She thought she would spare him the embarrassment of some stupid acts. She later thought she might have been wrong in letting it go because he had already done it twice, to her knowledge and didn't seem to think there was a problem with doing so. They spoke about the situation at length and a few days later Marc asked her if she thought they might just "move past it" and continue on in their relationship. He told her she needed to focus on the good things he did... the positive in the relationship... That only further proved to show Rosalind that he clearly had no idea of the reality of what he'd done. The deception, the anxiety he had caused her, the loss of trust in 'the system', and the sheer depth of what he'd done was clearly unrealized. Marc maintained ever after that he came clean to Rosalind of his own accord because when she said 'Riddle me this...' his mind "went blank" and he "couldn't hear anything she was saying" and he "just knew he had to tell her", so "she should give him credit for confessing". Rosalind thought that was probably the most ludicrous and asinine thing she'd heard since the last time he'd opened his mouth. She was getting used to hearing some pretty ridiculous things come out of his mouth that he expected her to just take a s truth, but she never did. She attempted to give Marc a chance to make things right, and all heard was how he was "going to do something" and how he hasn't yet because she needed to decide if she was going to take matters into her own hands or let him make it up to her. After several weeks of hearing nothing but garbage come out of Marc's mouth she told him she was done and that he could keep his hollow words. So, the storyline boils down to this... Rosalind was duped. Marc sold himself as something good and she bought it... then he rotted. Marc thought that by Rosalind telling her friends what happened, and what he did was ensuring justice, exacting her vengeance, and going for blood. Several weeks later, Rosalind got a text from Marc and she called him about them because they made no sense, and he told her that someone was hacking him and he wants to know if Rosalind had anything to do with it. Well, Rosalind thought that was quite laughable. "Well, you know what they say", she told him, "What goes around comes around doesn't it" she said as she smiled and she searched way deep inside and found that she didn't feel even the slightest bit sorry for him. Rosalind then came to the realization that Marc's ex-wife, whom he had told her had mysteriously just left one day absolutely unannounced, must have been completely frustrated and stifled and trapped having to live with a man such as Marc day after day and year after year. Rosalind all of a sudden got it, felt relieved for that poor girl, and grateful that she had side-stepped that roaring semi, and felt a bit of sorrow for the next girls. She got off the phone and as she looked out the window she saw a pig with wings flying around outside the trees in the yard. It was a cute, fat, pink thing with little white wings that flutter as fast as a hummingbird's. She said hello to it and it came over to her and told her that her name was Sally. It was Amazing! Rosalind soon forgot about the pig, but not before she put the silly, immature, ever-the-victim, paranoid, psycho, posessive, controlling, imbecilic, ridiculous Marc completely out of her mind entirely. The End

Well... what do you think of my story? Maybe I'll not pursue storytelling and stick to just telling what goes on in my day to day life. Hahahaha

D-Factored

2009-11-02T23:37:00.000-08:00

This post is just for girls... well, maybe guys could learn what not to do from it too actually. Have you ever heard of the D-Factor? I hadn't... until about a week ago. Here's what it is... it is a fool-proof and proven way for a guy to get a girl and keep her... without having to do anything decent or being anyone worthy of her affection. It is an actual method men are perfectly aware and content to be using. The draw-back to it is that usually the girl doesn't stick around very long... maybe a month or so, but the point of it for the guy using it is not to have a meaningful relationship, but to build and maintain an image of coolness and worth - if even only to himself. Men who don't use it don't respect a boy who does... it is clearly inferior. The D-man though, looks down on truly good men for their respectable methods of being acquainted with women. Now, be aware, this information was told to me by a guy who has been encouraged to use the D-Factor and has had detailed conversations about the method and efficacy of it with other guys... it's not made up... So, here's what happens. The guy doesn't have to be particularly handsome, or rich, or smart, or well-rounded, or cultured, or any attractive characteristics at all really, but he'll strike up a conversation and get your attention. Then he says something about some activity or party or something else you might be interested in, maybe music, or clothes. Anything. He establishes himself as just a friend, nothing wrong with that. If he thinks you find him attractive he may say you should do something sometime. At first he treats you really well, doing whatever you want to do, being interested in what interests you, saying sweet things, doing sweet things, and pretty much gives you whatever it is he finds that you want out of the relationship... for a while. He establishes himself as her source of getting whatever it is she is looking for. Now, according to D-Factor, after a while and because girls are emotional creatures she will become attached because the guy has made her feel appreciated and special. As soon as D-man sees that the girl is emotionally attached they put her on the rollercoaster that keeps her in his slimy fists. At this beginning point the girl is up... but if the guy is to maintain control of the relationship then according to D-Factor he has to make her vulnerable and make her feel like she could lose this emotional connection that has just been established so that she will stay with him. He then introduces something to make her feel threatened. Another girl works best because the process of the D-Factor can then be bounced between several girls, making D-man appear to do well with the ladies which makes him feel like he is looked up to and admired by other men. I've seen it done with 3 or 4 girls at a time. So, she feels that this new relationship/source she has become dependent on is being threatened and doesn't want to let it go. She might think that he is getting bored of her and she should do something to make herself more interesting and stand apart from the other girls, or that she has done something to drive him away and needs to do what he wants her to do, or that she needs to change something about herself to make him like her more and treat her the way he did before. So she would naturally put a lot of effort into the relationship on his behalf, doing things for him, buying things for him, padding his ego with her words, actions, and presence in front of other men, and making him feel like/look like he is her number one priority. He continues to treat her like garbage for a while... all the while giving her just enough attention not to bail. So after a while the girl is emotionally beaten and spent and comes to him in a last chance effort to recover the worth he has stripped her of, and then he changes it up. He tells her he didn't realize that his behavior was hurting her, and that he's so sorry he made her feel that way, and that he will never do anything to hurt her again and he feels terrible for not seeing it before, and he 'saves' her from all the pain and vulnerability and insecurities she has been experiencing. She sees him as the sweet, wonderful, albeit dense about the way a woman works, hero. He has just given her the drug she had been seeking, the natural endorphines that come with being treated with acceptance and 'love' and being valued by someone who is valued by her. So she was down and now she's up again. Meanwhile, now the other girl is down, but the girl who is up feels great because he chose her over the other... she is more important and more special and more needed and more loved, and more interesting and fun and pretty and the list goes on. Then after a while he takes it away again. She goes again from high to low... but this time it's different because the high is higher than the first and the fall is that much further. Again, she puts herself on the line, being a caring, hopeful, and loving girl. She gives him whatever she thinks might sway him back into her favor and he enjoys the benefits of it. He says he's not ready to commit to her and she allows that because she would rather have him at all than have him walk away again, than to feel that rejection again. He does anything he wants with any other girl because 'he's single' and she allows it because he tells her that she is the girl he will be with when he wants to settle down and have a girlfriend... after all she is the only girl he truly loves. The rest just take up his time when she is not there. She gives him her attention, affection, confidence, love, anything she thinks will either 'win him back' or 'win him over to her for good'. This pattern of up and down repeats itself until the girl looks around at the shattered pieces of the girl she used to be, having to look for the good and the worth that she used to easily see. She has by then been told a thousand times that she is everything anyone could want, and ten thousand reasons she is not good enough for anyone. By then her self value is a mere ghost of what it used to be and what it should be. I'm sorry, but exactly what the hell kind of crap game is that?!? Guys... few things are more devastating and deeply destructive than being played with like that. I know of several girls who are being D-Factored right now, and I know it's a really hard thing to get out of once you are in it because when the girl is up it really feels great to be needed and loved and all the things he says you are to him. It's All Farce. Not a bit of what he says is actually true, though he swears up and down that it is. I can say that with surety looking from the other side of it. It's a surprisingly hard thing to get out of because as soon as he sees her start to leave he exerts very large amounts of effort to regain and maintain his dominance in the relationship. I have heard and read so many stories and letters from the girls also involved with D-men. They all say the same thing... Why doesn't he treat me like he did before? Why was he so good to me and now I am left crying? What does he see in her that he used to see in me? I have seen them change the color of their hair, change the clothes they wear, the movies they watch, the things they found humorous, the things they found acceptable, their interests and goals, their language, and ultimately their confidence and self worth as they are repeatedly shown that they are valued and then worthless to the person they have invested their affections in. D-Factor is the most horrifyingly despicable and degrading thing I have ever seen a man knowingly do to a woman. It starts when a woman is vulnerable, and with someone she trusts/comes to trust as a true friend. After giving the D-man trust she is shortly repaid with the lowest and most hurtful form of betrayal he could give her. It's not blatantly obvious until you know what to look for, and once in, it is absolutely devastating. I have seen beautiful, shining, confident women reduced to hollow playthings. It's absolutely true... it works. Boys who use D-Factor tell their friends to use it because it really does work... it doesn't have to be specifically called that, but the principles are the same. Guys who use it can get any girl they want if they can just get in the door. It's absolutely disgusting and I have no respect, and no interest, and every possible disdain, dislike and distrust for any man who uses it. Women, learn and watch for the patterns, be aware of the deception and deep manipulation, and find the strength to be able to hate the action so much that you can easily walk away from it if you ever find yourself with a D-man. Any man who uses it is in my opinion a revolting, lousy, disgusting, vomit-inducing, lying, douche bag who deserves to die alone in a gutter somewhere and be left by all who knows him to rot there. Any man who knowingly treats women this way is a disgusting maggot of a man.

Bed and Breakfast... and so much more

2009-09-27T23:59:00.000-07:00

I'm a little late in blogging again, but I have been so busy with life, that I just don't think about it very often. Let's see, what's a fun story in the last month... Aha! Wells, Nevada... it's kinda long, but it's a fun one! So let me start by saying that ever since just about my birthday, I have been in the frame of mind where I want to do all the things I have not done before, provided they won't kill me or injure me in some way. So about a month ago probably, I spent the weekend at this fabulous bed and breakfast that my friend Dan's family owns. On our way there, we drove through Wendover, Nevada and stopped to gamble. Now, I, having never gambled before lost more than half of what I spent! I gambled away a dollar and seven cents of two dollars on the penny slots! Then, I met an older man named... well I'm not sure what his name was, but he asked me to come sit and chat with him and I had nothing else to do being that I wasn't going to spend any more money. He put some money in the game that was in front of me and told me how to play. It was the kind of game that requires no thought to lose at and as I sat there for a very very very long time, there went all of the 5 bucks he had put in. It was entertaining conversation though. He told me about his first crush... his little Queen Elizabeth as he called her. He told me all about their days in kindergarten and how he got in trouble for whispering in her ear when he shouldn't have been. He told me that I reminded him of her and spoke of her for a good hour at least. We finally got on our way and arrived as the sun was coming up. I went straight to sleep and when I woke and came downstairs I was told to go look in the fridge. There was a bag of freshly killed ducks! Danny said we were going to prepare them and have them for dinner. I figured ducks had been being prepared for hundreds of years and I'd never done it, so it was high time I do it! I let it boil for 5 minutes then proceeded to take out all the feathers and cut the meatless part of the wings off as well as the feet and then cut it open and... well it's gross but suffice it to say I cleaned it all out and took off the meat. I was told that putting it in salt water would draw the blood out so I did that... not wanting to eat duck blood. Then, Dan came down as I was finishing and made me a very yummy breakfast as I finished cleaning my mess. Everyone else was still asleep when we finished eating and so we went out to the pond in the back and rowed out to the middle and jumped in the water and played a while and tried out the rope swing. The pond has some parts that are warmer from a hot spring type thing, and that was delightful! Then, he had some things to do and I lay out on the grass enjoying the sunshine and the perfect weather as I dried a bit. Dan came back a little bit later and asked me if I wanted to go to a magical place where Indians used to have sacred ceremonies. Of course! We got on our bikes and headed down the road. Dan's bike was obviously a kid bike, and mine was about the same size, and was obviously new in the 1930's. It looked just like the one on The Wizard of Oz except that it was rusty, wobbly, the chain was held together by a yellow string, and I would swear the tires didn't even have a tube in them. Well! That explained the tire pump in the basket! We rode on a rock-filled dirt road for three miles and I (and Dan too, unfortunately) discovered just how out of shape I really am. All of a sudden I discovered why we had gone there. There, sitting on the side of the trail/road, was the car we had come up in... with a big puddle of oil underneath it. Dan said that when they had come up that morning they lost something when they drove over a rock and the car was dead. Well! That explained why I had 5 quarts of oil in the basket! I put the bike down and we went to the magical part of the excursion. Apparently, the land had been his family's until not long prior and his great-grandfather had discovered a hot spring that ran into a stream fed by glacier and had built a birm around the spring fencing it in so that there was a pool of sorts about 10 feet wide by maybe 40 feet long and at one part it still overflowed into the stream. He showed me where the water came out and told me that his friend had taken a garden hose to breathe out of and had gone into it when they were little. We spent a while playing and relaxing in the hot water, then the cold water, and the water in between. Eventually it was time to get going. We decided to see if we could find whatever broke off... about 2 miles further, but just as we got started my chain broke. Well! That explained why there was a roll of yellow string in the basket! Dan tied it back together but it broke again just a few feet further. So we loaded them into the back of the Jimmy with all the other stuff that hadn't been unpacked and decided that I would put a quart of oil in it and then jump in and Dan would drive as far as we could on it and then add another quart and see how far we could go that way with the 5 quarts. We made it through one quart and came to where the stream intersects the road. He stopped the car, we added another quart and the engine didn't even turn over. it was completely dead. It was around 3 in the afternoon by this time and we needed to get back. The others didn't even know where we were! Well, we had no other way to get back so we loaded up the essentials, the guns, some ammo, playing cards, speakers, a sweater, and the spices and proceeded to start walking back the 3 miles home. After just a bit we passed two people walking toward the spring... one was from England and the other California. A few minutes later, 3 guys passed by and two were from Australia. Then some girls from Russia and New York, some more people from Florida, Canada and somewhere in Asia. There was a bus tour that had stopped on it's travels across America to let the people hike to this obscure little hot spring in the obscure little town of Wells, Nevada. We passed two bus loads of people and by the time we got to the buses we were so thirsty, having run out of water before we had begun walking. We lay on the ground under the jug of water on the bus, and let the water chase impending death from us. Ok, ok, maybe that's little dramatic... we weren't going to die... we were just super thirsty. We walked the remaining half mile and I jumped promptly into the pond when we got home. Dan, trying to keep moral high about not having all our stuff told everyone about the people at the spring and how we all had to go back and party with them. Me, having just walked all the way back, did not care to 'show them where it was' and would have liked to just stay home... but... as Dan and Danny had to get stuff for dinner, I had to bring them back thereby providing entertainment. So, this time we drove about a mile of the way and walked the rest. It wasn't long before the people from New York passed us, and the girl from Russia, and the Australians, and the Californian... By the time we got there every last tourist was en route to the bus which left just the 5 of us. We got to the spring and I decided that I wanted to go in that hole where the hot water came from. I was able to go in far enough that they could just see the ends of my toes but then it was too tight and the air in my lungs wouldn't let me find a way through. Then we relaxed a while, and played a while and then decided we had better be getting back before the sun went down any further. We were supposed to wait for Dan and Danny, but it was just taking too long. about halfway back to the car we came upon them hiking in, and we all walked back out together. I chatted with Mellina most of the way and we got home a while after dark. When we got there, the ranch hand, Carl was there. He is an older man, probably in his early 60's, and was born deaf. His wife had died six years ago and he was living on the property helping out wherever he was needed. I understand some sign language, and can fingerspell reasonably well, so I became the translator for the evening. It was an absolute delight for me and it was great to talk with him. He was so child-like in his thoughts and at the same time he had such wisdom because of his years. He was just completely untainted by the world. He didn't ever watch tv, or never heard the radio. He was so good and kind. I asked him to teach me the proper way to prepare a duck and we spent the next hour preparing one each, he showing me what to do on his duck, and then me doing it and getting tips on exactly how to do it. Then, I showed Dan and Mellina how to do it and supervised as they did one of their own. Once it got to the part where you get their intestines and stuff out I opted to just let the boys do it. I know how, should I ever need to, but that would be the only time I ever would. With the ducks cleaned and our spaghetti dinner ready, we all sat at the big dining table and Carl was the guest of honor. As I ate, I watched with amusement as the boys tried to communicate with Carl using some form of charades, acting out every word and exaggerating every word along the way. Hahaha, come to find out he could read lips very well and was far more capable than we knew. He told us stories of his travels and things he had learned from the Indians. He said that he is a good hunter because he can smell the animals before they can be spotted and that at one point he was hired in Arizona to hunt rattlesnakes because of it. The boys were like entranced 5 year old listening to the hunting stories, and were amazed by all he had learned from the Indians. We stayed up very late talking with him and I was glad to finally be in bed when I got to it. Everyone else stayed up playing with the horses and shooting rabbits, which Carl had told us that most of the rabbits were diseased and that shooting them was ok to do. The next morning when I woke up, the sun was shining through the curtains and the day was calling me to it, promising fun, adventure, and new experiences. I went downstairs and breakfast was almost ready. As we were eating Dan asked who wanted to drive with him to pick up our rental car we would need to drive home. If it were earlier or later you could have heard the crickets. Nobody. I really wanted to enjoy the grounds and play and relax after spending so much of the previous day hiking, and the 4 remaining boys had been able to do that yesterday and stay up half the night as well. Some coaxing, still nothing. More coaxing, still nothing. Just as Dan was about to think that we were all extremely ungrateful for all of is efforts on out behalf, I volunteered to go with him. We left as soon as breakfast was over and drove to Ely, first stopping at the grocery store for some things for that night's dinner. We got to Ely and picked up an Explorer, which Dan drove back as I followed in Mellina's car. When we arrived back at home, about 3 in the afternoon, Carl had just come over. He and Mellina went to find some good sagebrush and we decided we'd go up to the lake at the very top of the mountain and go swimming. The 7 of us and Carl piled into the Explorer and took a quick detour to the old abandoned high school that looked as if it had never been finished. It was alone out it in the middle of the desert looking like old ruins from the 60's. It was quite a peculiar sight. As soon as we got out of the car, Carl told me that he smelled rattlesnake, but they weren't near, and so to not wander far. We took some pictures and were on our way. We drove up to the very top of the mountain and came to the lake. Now, even though this was the last week of August that high up, at that time of day, was quite cold. The water was low and the boys were skittish to jump in... except Dan. He jumped right in to prove that it was fine, but only 2 of the other boys jumped in and one only after being jeered at and being called a 'pansy' by somebody on the other side of the lake twenty minutes after he first started to attempt his jump. That was hilarious. He wasn't aware that the bowl we were in made it easy to hear every word from his perch. We stayed a while and again left as the sun sat low in the sky. By the time we got down the mountain it was dark and honestly, I was kinda tired of translating. Confined to the car everyone had lots of questions for Carl and he, sitting directly behind me, was not easy to communicate with. Dan, wanting to provide new experiences, decided to take us to tour one of the two working brothels in town... Bella's. That was quite the experience, and quite the arduous task to explain to Carl where we were going and why. I figured, there's one more thing I have never done before! We got there and rang the doorbell. A woman who looked like she played that role in a movie, answered the door and was surprised to see not only all 8 of us, but the two girls... myself looking rather young having somehow left all my makeup in Utah. She explained to us that we would be touring the place and that in a few moments would be selecting our tour guide in the traditional fashion. The tour guides presented themselves and we made our selection, which was weird... then it got weirder... and weirder, and more and more awkward as the tour went on. I took the tour with Dan and I was glad he was with me. What did I have to ask? I did feel kind of dumb at one point for asking an obvious question, but Dan was awkward too which helped, and then Carl joined our tour too which helped even more. Talking to our tour guide and another tour guide about some of the details of their occupation and how they came to acquire that job I tried to keep the look of shock off my face and really just felt sorry for them as I left. I must say, I have a lot to be grateful for, so very very much. When we got home, we cooked the duck on the grill and had a good dinner, again with Carl, but this time not a formal dinner. The did the packing, cleaning, and had an uneventful ride home. I slept almost all the way back. It was a very, very fun trip!!

Hawaii = Amazing

2009-08-09T13:32:00.001-07:00

So, all of you know by now that I went to Hawaii for ten days just a few days after my 28th (I know right) birthday! I could talk for hours upon hours about the fun we had there, but instead I am just going to give you some highlights, and say that if you ever have plans to go to Oahu, let me know and I will tell you some things that you absolutely shouldn't miss, and some places you've Got to go eat! Anyhoo... But, if you ever get the chance to go... DO IT!!! It was heaven! So, I just uploaded a bunch of pictures and deleted a bunch... I have too many amazing things to tell but I will try... We stayed at Wes' house just a few houses from the Pointe in Laie. It was gorgeous! We could see the ocean out the windows and the sea air blew in as often as we let it, and the weather was perfect. We got in late at night and Kanoe brought us some leis, which were so pretty, but then we just went home and straight to bed... hmm, this is already too detailed and would take 5 pages to tell. Let's try again... The beaches are obviously amazing, we went to Sunset Beach a few times, Turtle Beach (where we found a hammock to pass some of the afternoon in), a different beach where you can swim with sea turtles, three beaches near Kailua (where we went sea kayaking and sight seeing), Hukilau Beach (where we had a bonfire, attempted spear fishing, and I learned that kissing in the ocean is not nearly as romantic as I had imagined... not to say I wouldn't do it again), we learned to surf on Waikiki (which was awesome because my goal for the summer was to learn to surf and I ended up learning it in the place it was born!), <---- totally lousy grammar there but oh well... and went snorkeling at Hanauma Bay.

I made some new friends... I went with Richelle, and we met up with Kanoe and Maile, who introduced us to Wes and Micah, who through them met Rob, Sone, Shane, and some of Wes' family. Out in our adventures we met lots of new people... including, but due to my memory of names not limited to, Aaron, Shaun, Albert, Jennifer, Alex, Daniel, Zach, and I happened to run into Santa Claus on his summer vacation, I hope I'm not missing anybody :o)

The food was stellar... I think that's my new word for things that I expect to be good and then it exceeds my expectation :o) It was so stellar in fact, that I gained ten pounds in the ten days I was there! The people I've spoken to about that just give me either a "Good, you needed it!' or a sarcastic "Aw, you poor thing!" Yeah, yeah, and I was wanting to gain some but I was thinking more like 6 over a month or two! I had filet (with an amazing view of the Haiku Gardens... all you have to do is say you want a view and they give you the best seat in the house), poki, ahi, salad with more ahi, these cool purple potato kind of things, purple rolls, rolls stuffed with meat, poi (which actually tasted better than I remember) desserts out of a dream, a crab-bacon sandwich that rivals the filet if you can believe it, a strawberry smoothie in a pineapple, and an acai smoothie in a bowl with granola and fruit, Passion-Orange- Guava juice, chocolate haupia pie, shaved ice that was absolutely amazing, halibut, chocolate macadamia cake, macadamia ice cream with burnt caramel and fruit, crab rolls, a couple mundane things like hot dogs and fries, some fruit I found on the trail, and tons of stuff I have no idea what it was just that I could not stop eating it! I ate foods I've never had as often as I had the chance! Now, I don't take pictures of food, as a general rule, but it was soooo good I actually wanted to remember it too! Seriously, so not me, but so not mainland so it's ok! Aw, man, I'd go back just for the food alone! We did a lot of the touristy things like shopping at the big outdoor swap meet where everything is super cheap, went to the Sea Life Aquarium park and saw lots of the shows there, went to the Polynesian Cultural Center twice (where some of our new friends perform), oh, and about that... can I just say that Polynesian guys hold a new spot in my heart... they all have great bods, and genuine smiles, and are good dancers! :o) Anyway, we also went to Pearl Harbor (pictures of which could never in a zillion years portray even kind of adequately what the experience is), and went to the Temple (but it is being remodeled so we couldn't do as much there as we had want ed)

We went on 3 absolutely stunning hikes. The first was Maunawili Falls, then Waimea Falls, then Manoa Falls... pictures could not do this justice either. I tried taking pictures of everything, but the trees are too tall and scooting back makes them look smaller. The expanse of it all around was breath taking and awe inspiring. The sounds of the wind in the trees coupled with birds you've never heard before and the water rushing by made these hikes something you could easily, and gladly spend all day long doing. It was one huge rain forest where it felt like I was in the movie "Ferngully" all the time. It's amazing that all that stuff that I found so wonderful is just continuing on there with or without me. Seriously, that island is easy to fall in love with and I'm smitten! It's true what they say, that it calls you to come back... I'll answer again... and when I do you should Definitely come with me!

Lovin' Every Minute of It!

2009-06-25T09:08:00.000-07:00

Man! I was just looking at Sarah's blog and I saw off on the side of hers, that I have not blogged for 6 weeks! Sheesh! I don't quite know where to start. Let's see, in the last 6 weeks I went to Lagoon for the first time and had a super fun-filled day, a moustache party with funny pictures, a prom, a rodeo, and the zoo! The rest will get their own blogs because there is much more to say about them! SO first things first, the day after my last blog, I went to Lagoon for Jared's work party. He works with a lot of people we hang out with, so we had a pretty good fun group going. We left a little late, but still got there by like ten in the morning. Ok, so little side-tangent... right now my hair is kinda short and I hate wearing it curly at this length because I feel like I am right out of the 80's... so I straighten it just about every day. So, I straighten my hair before we left, knowing full well that it's going to get messed up because not only is Lagoon an amusement park, but it's also a water park. It was a little cloudy so I figured we'd wait till the afternoon when it got warmer before getting wet. Nope, the first ride went on was Rattlesnake Rapids... a "river" ride that involves plenty of water... and especially if you are sitting in just the right place at just the right time... which I was :o) Wellllll, there went my hair. We rode it a few times and then went wandering a bit before having lunch. After eating we decided to go to the water park Laguna Beach... I know, who goes to the beach right after eating lunch??? Yikes! Well, when we go there there were some of our friends there already and so we met up with them and had intended to play in the lazy river. Holy cow though, that water was freeeeezing cold. It would have been too cold to get into on a hot August day in AZ, much less May in Utah! I got in to my knees and the boys splashed me making me cold anyway so I went around the river with them once... and had my fill of it. The rest of the time I just relaxed out on the pool chairs nearby. We all did, and it was really nice and I could have fallen asleep except for applying and reapplying sunscreen to make sure I didn't get crispy. I like my skin, and I didn't have much of a base-tan at that point. About an hour before the pool area was closing we decided to beat the rush and go on some more roller coasters... the lines were long, but they were actually really fun. I have not been much of a roller coaster fan in my younger days, but I really enjoyed them! I'm cured! :o) We played for a few hours more and then we got hungry and left/ We went to outback, where all of us except Jared got fillets (he got a burger and fries... at Outback) and they tasted like Christmas! They are actually pretty reasonably priced there and that has been my favorite steak place since I had my first fillet there. That was pretty much it for the day, it was really fun!!!

A difference, of many, that I have noticed in the AZ/UT singles scene is this... in AZ people just like to get together in large groups and party till the cops come... which is absolutely a killer good time guaranteed! And also guaranteed to be filled with the same people you have seen at the last 50+ parties... but that means they are probably friends by that point so it's great! ...In UT, people like to congregate in smaller groups of 50 or so and have a party with a theme. I love themes, and I love small parties, and I think it's funny when people rave about how huge they are and how there is such an awesome turn out if 75 people show up. I am surprised by it though because I would have thought that this being a tight LDS town too, the singles would be like AZ. Anyway, both are super fun, it just depends on what mood I'm as to which I prefer. So, a couple months ago we went to a party where the theme was to dress up like a star. I think it was really supposed to be that you dress up as your favorite star... but I don't look like my favorite star... so dressing like her would have been useless... clothes don't make the star unless you're Marilyn Monroe or something like that. So... I was Lindsay Lohan. I am told I look like her a lot when I have straight hair. I looked up some pictures of her online before getting ready... She could be really cute if she'd be a little more normal and a little more natural. The super skinny druggie look is not only so last season... but totally nasty! So, I did my eyebrows thicker and dark and caked on the powder bronzer, just on my face and chest... as I noticed that she does... and dressed in her most conservative style that would be obviously her. I met up with everyone at Jared's house. He was going as Johnny Depp, Devin was M. Night Shamalayan, Ashley was Heather Graham, and Kim was totally my BFF Paris Hilton! But that was super fun then, and this is fun too, now. This party I just went to was a moustache party. Yeah... I know huh. For some reason people actually participate in the heinous and detestable 'Moustache March' and 'Moustache May' Ew.... so gross. I mean, maybe it's just me, but I think they look horrid! These boys grow out these totally gross moustaches and parade them around for a couple months like... well like I don't know what, all I know is they look sick... and by that I mean I want to vomit... as completely opposed to sic. :o) So my friend Brian invited me to go and I flatly refused it. No way was I going to a party encouraging gross facial hair, and furthermore that's the least appealing idea that's been presented to me in I don't know how long, but there was absolutely no way, I'd definitely rather stay home and go to bed early than ever even consider... hmmm.... unlessssss.... Ok... never mind... I'm a girl, I'm allowed to change my mind on a whim after such a decided rant... I said I'd only go if I had one to wear too. Ok then, that'll be no problem... so I got one, and went. It was actually kinda fun, because most of the people there had one and the silly fake ones kinda outnumbered the nasty real ones.
A lot of the girls wore fake ones and we had a BBQ, dancing, and karaoke. Inside we did a quick photo shoot... a family picture theme. It was funny to see a little baby, just a few weeks old with the nose, glasses and stash. Gladly, and against my first notion about it, it was a good time... and you know how I love those!

I have met some fabulous new girls in my ward from visiting teaching. They are good, fun girls, who love a lot of the same things I do. So, the first thing we all did as a group, was go to the Prom! It was called a Second Chance Prom and on the flier it said it was for people who didn't get to take their spouse to their high school prom (I only know of 2 people who did). This guy Ryan and I had been talking about going on a date where we get all dressed up and go do whatever, but we had been having some scheduling issues. This came along and we both had the day off, so it was the Perfect opportunity for it! And with new friends! So we got all dressed up... I wore the dress I made for Kanani's wedding, and he rented a tux. I told him I was wearing blue and he put blue in his hair... which you couldn't really see unless you were at the right angle, but I liked it. He got me a corsage too. :o) Anyway, so we went to dinner first at a yummy little eatery, and then met up at the Apollo Dance Hall. We got there just in time to sign up for the raffle and I won a prize!!! It was kinda funny... I won a $150 gift certificate to have some laser lipo something or other done!!! Me! Well, that's good, I know of some problem areas that will be very grateful. Anyhoo, then we danced almost every dance for the rest of the night! It was lots of fun, and the dresses were lovely! I have to say, I really love the dress I wore. I made it so that when I kneel down the dress with spread out in a perfect circle around me... and that made it just wonderful for twirling. I really love to twirl! Anyway, so we had a fabulous time! They played a lot of oldies type songs which was really fun because everyone knows them and not only can dance to them however, but can sing along to them too! So, after several hours of fun, I still got home fairly early, considering. I had to work the next day. What fun huh??? Oh, and I just noticed that in all of these pictures I was barefoot. I really wore shoes, but my feet only last 3 hours in heels... and then I took them off. It made me really really tiny next to 6'3" Ryan!

Just this last weekend I went to the famous Lehi Roundup Rodeo! Apparently it's the biggest rodeo in the area. It was pretty fun. Oh, kinda as another side tangent about my hair... I've been really having issues lately about what to do with the bangs I recently created. I wanted a change, and now I've got it, but I'm not quite settled on exactly how I'm going to sport them... so it's a good thing they are at a fairly versatile length. So, I decided to try out a different way to wear them... tell me what you think of it. So, Jared, Jesse, and I rode together to the rodeo and we got there pretty early and still had to walk a ways to get there. I wore those blasted boots that give me a maximum of what, 15 minutes sitting, and my feet were about to fall off by the time I got to my seat. Oh, but speaking of what I wore... my favorite part was my monstrous belt buckle that is so ostentatious that I can only rarely wear it. It was funny... even if only to me. So, anyhoo, on the way there we were momentarily held up by the train... which I think only added to the whole 'country' thing, I mean really, where and when in time did people wear cowboy hats and boots and absurd amounts of plaid in every color??? Back in the day when trains roamed the Earth :o) So, it was kinda cool to be standing so close to it as it rushed on by. So, moving along, we found our seats and had some time to kill.... so we took some pictures. I ran into a guy from AZ I know so we chatted a bit and then I was doing my lip liner and Jared laughs and pulls out his guy liner... and we took a pic. We are so opposite.... or maybe so similar... hmm. Anyway, shortly the rodeo started and it was a really good heart-warming experience as the colors were raised, some younger veterans were present who had lost limbs in the war, and the Star-Spangled Banner was sung. Then, about ten minutes later it started to sprinkle so the three of us put on our white trash ponchos... which coincidentally the MC guy was at that time mocking for being so-o-o-o ummmm "Alabama backwoods" :o) But the rain was getting harder and the wind too, and June isn't really very warm here when it's overcast. I didn't bring a jacket because well I'm used to warm air and warm rain and warm wind. Oh well. I lost a couple pounds probably as I shivered half to death until the rain let up about an hour later. Everybody around us was soaked! So much for all those cute fun outfits! Oh! Speaking of cute things!!! I think every hott single guy in the entire Utah County was sitting near me! Where on Earth are they under normal circumstances??? Jeepers! Anyway, the rodeo was pretty fun, we saw some pretty cool riding and some stuff i didn't even know cowboys do! For instance... why would a cowboy throw himself off his horse and onto a calf in order to grab his horns and flip him onto his back??? Isn't that what roping was invented for? Either way it was quite entertaining to watch. Then at about the 3/4 part, they set up some ramps and had some motor-cross type stunts for a bit... which were quite fab as well. :o) Funny thing about that though... it reminded me of the movie 'Hot Rod'... it was quite comical. But they did some really cool tricks and it was a good time! Gee, I really do have a lot of those! :o)

So THEN!!!!... The next day I went to the zoo! My friend Nikki invited me and when I got to her house I met Dan (in the plaid) and John (in the brown). The four of us went to the store to get some treats and then got some real food too. Then we went to the zoo... the long, getting lost way, and when we got there we played a bit until Skip (in white) got there. So then it was the five of us and we hit it off very well together! All of us love fun, and we sure had a bunch of it! Before Skip got there we decided we were going to speak in any kind of accent the whole time and when Skip got there he picked up his Australian accent as though he were born there. We all spoke in our accents for most of the whole time we were there! We tried on some safari hats and some animal head hat things and found some meerkat masks and played around a while before ever seeing the first animal. We were all having so much fun that nobody really minded! First we went to this Madagascar exhibit thing and saw some turtles and nasty-sick-and-wrong hissing cockroaches, and some other stuff, then we went and saw the monkeys. There were lots of different kinds, and it was kinda funny, when we came to one cage, there were four of them laying in the sun. One of them was just lazing about, another was sleeping all curled up in a cute little ball, and the other two, theother two were off spooning! I thought it was one big one at first, but then I saw a little hand gently caressing the other one's back, just lazily petting it. :o) It was too funny! Then we went on to see the elephants, and they were cute too. The boy elephant was reaching up with his trunck to get hay out of the basket, and when he did, lots would fall on the ground. and then the girl would sweep her trunk along the ground and pick up what fell so they both ate, she didn't have to reach up, and it stayed clean! :o) Then we saw the rhinos, and the first one we came upon was piddling... it must have a five gallon bladder at least! We stopped to take some pictures on this statue of the rhino... and I left my purse on the ground behind it! Luckily, I live in Utah and I found it hours later, safely at customer service. A little later we came to the giraffes. I never had much of an affinity to giraffes before, but they are soooo cute and gentle and have such loooong thick eyelashes! I think they were definitely my favorite for the day! We saw lots of animals though. Other than what I already said, we also saw a kangaroo, alligators, bears, penguins, and lots and lots more! Then afterwards, Skip and Dan had stuff to do so they left, and John, Nikki, and I went to my roomie, Carlee's family's house for their huge annual pig roast, which was very yummy!

Memorial Day?... I could never forget

2009-05-18T00:06:00.000-07:00

This last week has been really emotionally crazy for me. Highs and lows and almost all of them completely unexpected. Today I got knocked back into reality and I am really glad for that. Phew! As much as I'd love to go into more detail on all that stuff... I'm not going to. Instead, I am going to tell you about someone I love very dearly that has been on my mind today... and it's fitting because his birthday is this Memorial Day... which is even more fitting because he passed away in September of 2007. Last night I had come home and my roomie had stacked all my laundry I had left in the dryer on top of my bed in a huge pile. I was tired and feeling kinda low and I curled up with my scriptures and read until I fell asleep. At some point around 4 or so I woke up and closed the book and turned my light off... but I only vaguely remember it. I woke up in the morning from a wonderful dream about my dear friend Justin. I don't remember exactly what was happening in the dream except that we were both laughing hysterically. I woke up, realized it was a dream, laughed aloud and fell back asleep just overjoyed to be dreaming of him. I have wished he was near many many many times in the last two years. He used to tell me very frequently that "Friends are friends for life" and when he died I felt so alone because how could we be friends for life if he was gone? I was pondering this thought and grieving for my loss one day when these words came to my mind: "Friends are friends for life. Not just for my life, but for yours too". Those words have brought me so much comfort. He was always really good at being there for me whenever I needed someone to talk to, someone to talk through things with, someone to really understand me and what was going on in my mind. He got into Mixed Martial Arts and he was good at it. He made good money off it. This picture was after a victory. He was an all around really awesome guy :o) It was because of him that I broke off an engagement. It's kind of a funny story... I had been engaged to this guy named Jason for about 5 months (that's a whole different story) and he was the kind of guy who obviously came from money in California. he could spot a pair of Seven for all Mankind jeans from half a mile away and he was very well groomed and high maintenance. Justin scoffed at that kind of 'girly-man' being that he was a tough, sports-oriented guy who would bite the head off a rattlesnake if it came within his reach. So this particular night we went to this party at Rockin' R Ranch, which is a popular venue for the singles scene because it's outdoors, big, and far enough away from houses that you can stay out till late without the noise being a problem. As you may be able to deduce, being a 'Ranch' theme, there were horses and cows regularly on the premises. Well, Jason stepped in cow manure and got it on his shoe. He went to the car, put his shoes in the trunk and pouted for the duration of the party. I invited him to come mingle as we gathered our after-party group. he refused. Now, just to make sure we are clear on this, if it had happened to me, I would have whined loudly and thrown such a fuss that everyone in earshot would know how poor and picked on I was for having desecrated my shoe in that filthy, unfair, and revolting manner!... and then I would have scuffed it off on the gravel and gone effortlessly on with life with a smirk on my face. not the case with Jason. He kept it up all the way through the end of the party and spoke of nothing else when he wasn't pouting at Denny's with all of us. I was quite put off and he went back to California a couple days later. I was discussing this with Justin who thought the whole matter was quite hilarious as he openly mocked Jason for his absurdity and then he did it. He broke the camel's back. He said, "Chelyse, you don't want your daughters to learn to be prissy from their FATHER do you?" Hahaha, we all laughed, but in that moment something clicked! No! I absolutely didn't want that! The light went on and I was completely done with him. I went on a date with someone else the very next day! In hindsight I am so glad he said that. He had a talent for saying things how it was in often times very rude ways but it was absolute truth so you couldn't really be mad about it. The first time we met he said to me... over our dinner party, "Your heart is in a glass case on a shelf in your room." How dare he! At the time, it was absolutely true, but who was he to see it and tell me? And then when I indignantly turned away and pretended to be earnestly ignoring him, he took my phone from the table and put his number in as 'My True Love' Ugh! As If! Who did he think he was?! A matter of days later we were friends for life. Anyway, so today I was speaking with a new friend, Jesse, and in the course of our conversation he asked me if I wanted to see a picture of his ex girlfriend who had lived in Arizona for a short while. We were looking at the computer when he said that and he scrolled over a picture of the two of them. I thought she looked familiar and I asked her name. He said Deana, but she is no longer with us. I gasped, "No way, what is her last name?" He told me and I asked if she died in September a couple years ago in a car accident. He said yes and I asked if she had been dating someone named Justin. He didn't know and I asked to see the picture of the two of them. He pulled it up and it was her... the girl who Justin had been driving with. I'd know her face anywhere. I never met her, but I went to her funeral because I needed closure and Justin would be having a closed casket burial. Jesse had heard of her death 4 days after the funeral. They had been dating until two months before she died. Of course I attended Justin's funeral, and it was heart wrenching, but just as I'm sure he would have liked it. There was a lot of love and it was as light as a funeral could be. A couple days after the funeral Matthew and I drove the same route home that Justin and Deana took. Justin's brother had told us exactly where it happened. Just south of Payson on the 87 at the bend in the road just after mile marker 247. They would have been driving for 3 hours by that point and it would have been about 4am. We parked at the rest stop that was less than a quarter mile away (so like Justin to think he could make it the remaining two hours) and walked down the road. The sight of the grass flattened where the road curved and the car didn't will forever be etched in my memory. We hiked down and saw it. I won't describe it more than to say that it was very difficult to see because it was very obvious what exactly had happened there only a week before. While there, I found a few things and took them with me. Their families had been there already to gather what they wished, and what I found was really nothing... but it was his... and that made it priceless to me. I also found a rock, a small red pebble with a white vein running through it. I saved it and had it made into a necklace charm which I wear often, more than any other peice of jewelry actually, and was wearing today. I showed it to Jesse and I told him about Deana's funeral and the crash site and about Justin and some fun stories about the good time we had. I could tell you many stories about him. He was really funny and creative, extremely adventurous, absolutely fearless, and he had a laugh that you couldn't help but join in when he laughed. He was very sensitive and had a knack for knowing exactly what I needed. We confided in each other and trusted each other completely. I know I can still tell him anything... I just wish I could still have those long conversations and hear from him in return. Another story, or two... once he kidnapped all our cups... while all of us girls were home, he passed them out the kitchen window. There were something like 40 of them. We didn't notice for weeks. :o) He and his roomies went through a pirate phase for a while, saying Aargh at every chance and lots of inside jokes that were even funny from the outside. I used to never knock when I'd go over to his house and one day I walk in and I heard music coming from his room and boisterous boys, so I went back there peeked around the corner. It was the funniest thing, There were 6 or 7 guys all dressed in their underclothes dancing like pirates to the Flogging Molly song Seven Deadly Sins. Some were hopping around like they had a peg leg, some like they had a hook for a hand, and all of them saying Argh Matey, and hopping about like they'd been at sea so long they were delirious. I could barely stand to laugh quietly, but I stayed there watching, waiting for them to notice me there, and they were so involved that they didn't notice me there for several minutes! He said much later that they knew I was there but they were having so much fun they didn't stop. He might have noticed, but the way some of them scattered when I was noticed... they didn't all see me :o) Anyway, I miss him terribly, and this Memorial Day, as I am enjoying the weather and the company, I will also be remembering my Forever Friend, the one and only, amazing for so many Countless reasons... Justin Sessions.

Hare Krishna - Festival of Colors

2009-04-04T12:39:00.000-07:00

Wow, Can I just say, Life has been crazy-fun-busy non-stopppppp!!! I should really blog more because I just thought of 3 things I want to tell you about without even trying to think about what has been going on over here! Wow, and it's only been what, 3 weeks since the last time! Oh, first things first though, I have been reading a new book and I love it... and highly recommend it! It's called The Book of Joby by Mark J. Ferrari. If you are looking for a good read, this one is really fun to read and makes you see the world in a whole new way... it kinda gives you an eternal perspective. So, March 28th I went to the Festival of Colors. For those of you who have never heard of it, it is a Hindu custom that celebrates spring, commemorates various events in Hindu mythology and is time of disregarding social norms and indulging in general merrymaking. It was super fun! Before the festival Jared and I spent some time with his daughter, Aedyn, and I officially met his ex-wife... which was a teensy bit awkward. Anyway, so we got a late start but Jared and I met up with his sister, Catalina, and Ryan, Shane, and Brian. We drove until we saw the cars lined up on the street and then parked and walked for like half of forever until we got to the temple. When we first got there we watched a woman doing a dance... kinda like a belly dance but totally not... more of an interpretive dance. Anyway, I saw that a lot of the girls had these jewel things on their foreheads and I wanted one so I went to go find one. I was told that you could buy one in the temple, so I went in and the bottom floor of it was a gift shop with all kinds of fun things to buy. I got a dot thing and somehow I got lost from everybody else. They apparently went up to the second floor of the temple which was more decorative and had figurines and people dancing, and then from there they went down the staircase and into the crowd. A moment after I had stuck the little jewel to my forehead, and I had lost all of the group except for Ryan, we looked outside and people had started to throw the color a few minutes early. We ran outside and people were already pretty covered. We played a bit and got covered with green, yellow, pink, purple... and then began the countdown from 5. All of a sudden the crowd went crazy and colors were being thrown everywhere. It got thicker and thicker as I looked up at the sky the haze of color was so thick that the sun was dimmed as if it were behind clouds. It was a pink cloud that we were all inside and as I looked around you could see a stream of this color and then that stream up in the air as the bags were emptied by people in the crowd. I didn't buy any color, as it was sold out by the time I got there, but I didn't need to. There was plenty for everyone. Everyone was so excited and it was so much fun! Ryan and I eventually found ourselves at the bonfire in the middle, which has some kind of symbolism. It was kinda funny because as I was standing there, trying to gain a decent vantage point where I could look for the rest of our group, I looked around and I happened to see this guy, Dan, that I had dated briefly about 5 or 6 years ago! How crazy is that?! I'm in a crowd of 15,000 people in a different state and I fairly ran right into this guy... twice... and couldn't find my group for like a good 45 minutes at least! Ryan and I made our way through the throng of people and I got on his shoulders for a better view, which was fun, but useless, and then we danced and made merry on our own and came across several people I knew. Eventually we found Jared and Catalina and we went into the middle of the crowd. Now, it should be noted that this whole time there was a "concert" of sorts going on where music was played and the same chant was being said over and over with almost no variation. That might sound redundant, but it succeeded in making it so much fun because the entire crowd was constantly chanting along as the tempo and energy of the chant rose and relaxed. The chant goes like this: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare. It is a prayer to God for taking away all the sorrows, pains and shortcomings of the chanter and provide him bliss and joy. I didn't know that at the time, but y'know, you can google anything these days.
It was not long before many people were crowd surfing and the crowd was tight, but everyone was happy. By that time the four of us were in the middle of the crowd, just in front of a "lift-off" point for crowd surfing. I decided I wanted to do it being that I never had before, so I took of my shoes (they were being thrown onto the roof of the pavillion) and was off! It was pretty fun, but kinda scary too because after going around for a bit, people started bouncing me rather than passing me smoothly. After a minute or so of that I somehow found myself plopped flat on the ground. It knocked the wind out of me and, holy cow my back hurt like mad, so I'm laying there and this guy says urgently, "get up!" I could hardly even breathe but I reached out my hand and he snatched me up quickly just as the tight crowd filed right over where I had been. I was so close to being trampled! Jeepers! I sure do keep my angels busy! I thanked the guy for saving my life and then asked him to lift me up and send me back in the direction I had started from. I was back up and soon felt Jared and Ryan pulling me back down to safety. Today, a week later, it still hurts and some movements are rather incapacitating. So yeah, that was a one-time thing for me. We stayed in the middle, singing and dancing until the barrage of crowd surfers became tiring and then we moved toward the ouside of the crowd where we continued in our fun. The crowd started to thin as it got a little later but that just made it more fun with the added room. The crowd was able to dance more interactively doing circles with everyone interlocked by shoulders and train-type dancing through the crowd. It was such a blast and the energy there was high.
Catalina, Jared, and Ryan eventually got tired, but I wasn't ready yet, so I went to dance down in the front of the crowd by the singers until my feet were just too tired. Eventually we had it all out of our system and started back for the car. When we were about halfway back to the car some of the guys we had been dancing near offered us a ride on the sides of their Exterra, so we jumped on, and they were pretty funny and cool guys. We got back to the car, got some food, and drove to Catalina's house to get cleaned up for the bonfire we were already late for. The bonfire was in celebration of Kenny's birthday earlier that week, but it is a whole 'nother story, which I'll just have to get to another time because... I'm kinda tired of typing for now :o)

That's Why They Call 'Em Snow Bunnies

2009-02-18T08:32:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the first time I've ever gone snowboarding! First things first, the company was great! I went with two guys, Brad and Chris. Brad invited me and Chris came to teach us. Brad had never been before either. It's funny because all three of us have red hair. Chris had blue eyes, like mine, and Brad's are hazel. So, we probably looked like we were all out for a family excursion. :o) Chris is probably the 4th or maybeeeee 5th hott redhaired guy I've ever seen, and that was fabulous because really, it gives me hope for my boys. :o) Anyway, we went to Snowbird. So we get out there and Chris showed us how to work the bindings and walk in it and all that stuff. It was kinda uncomfortable walking with my foot turned in and I'm sure I looked terribly awkward at it. So we get on the lift and all is well right? Yeah, I was scared to death of falling all the way down the mountain... and I missed the part about how to get off the lift and totally face planted! Hello, mortifying! So then, I try to salvage a little dignity and got up and put my bindings on and started down the mountain. Well, my board would not move so I seriously scooted and hopped for like 50 feet trying to make it go. I was was hot and tired and then they realized because of the incline I was at, that it wasn't me... it was the board. So we went up to the little tower place and warmed it up. I guess there was ice on the bottom and it kept compacting it and making it unable to move. Once I finally was able to move, I did pretty good. That first run was probably hilarious to watch because I didn't have the "fall backwards" thing down at all and I face planted lots of times. It didn't hurt though because it had been snowing all morning and we'd sink quite a bit when we fell... oh, except for one time when I was totally getting the hang of it and was going pretty fast and didn't know which way to go for the trail and so fell. Oh man, my feet flipped over my head and I tumbled! Not gonna lie, that hurt. After that though I really got the fall backwards bit.The first run we went on was Gadzoom and it was definitley rough for me. I fell a lot for the first half and the flat parts killed my energy level, but Chris was really helpful and really patient showing me how to do it right. Then they were gonna try to start an avalanche so we all had to get back to the lodge. Funny thing is, I was taking forever and after a while the Ski Patrol came and after seeing that I wasn't dilly-dallying, gave me a piggy back ride back to the lodge. Then we sat at the lodge for an hour or so and went back out. This time we went on the Chickadee... the bunny hill :o) That was fine, but short, so then we went on the Wilbere and that was actually fun, I did really well, and enjoyed it a lot!!! I think part of it was that Chris brought in my feet an inch on both sides so I was able to handle the board better. Then he had to go. Brad and I went up some lift that just kept on going and when we got off, I was hungry, having not eaten all day and we plopped down to eat. It was fabulous, it was like falling into a pool, except I didn't have to move, and I didn't drown. :o) Another guy up there was a bit away from us and it was up to the tops of his hips, and all powder. I would have liked to have stayed right there and take a nap... but it wasn't long before it started to be cold. Me, being tired and hungry, was irritated that I was getting cold in my snow chair so I nixed the food idea and decided to go down and worry about food later. It was about 2pm then. My board would not pick up any momentum and when I got to a long fairly flat part, I spent the next 45 minutes to an hour hopping (literally hopping!) down that stinking hill. Seriously, I was so mad, and so tired, and so frustrated, I just wanted to cry. My legs were barely able to hold me, there was zero fun in it, and I was spent. I finally got to the part where it was steep downhill for quite a ways and once I realized I had no other way to get down except go off that blind ledge, I went for it and then again enjoyed the ride. It was steep and wide and very fun to go down. Once we got to the bottom we went to the lodge and got some water and hot chocolate, and chatted a while before heading home. All in all, it was really much harder than I thought it could be, but at the same time it was only my first day out and I did well considering, and it really was very fun! Today I'm sore all over, but will definitely go again soon!

Welcome To My World

2009-01-31T21:20:00.000-08:00

K, so for all of my wonderful friends, with blogs, that I haven't talked to in a while... you may have a few questions... no, I'm not married. No, I'm not engaged either. Nope, no kids, and no I... have no pets. Hahaha... Jeepers! What on Earth am I writing a blog for then??? Aren't these for updating everyone on my newlywed life or baby's first steps or at least look at my dog's new outfit? What am I going to tell everyone that might be somewhat interesting... that has coordinating pictures? Welllll, let me tell you! Facebook is so limiting! lol! Apparently, there are those who would like to be updated on 'How My World Turns'. I have been told that my life is actually very interesting. I know it is to me, but you can decide for yourself if it is to you. :o) It might be fun to have an online Journal of my thoughts and what's going on because, after all, pictures can only say so much. So, here's the deal, I'm not going to fill you in on the past much because really, I think we've all heard plenty of it, and I'll fill in pertinent information, for those of you who may not know, but this is just from today forward... well, maybe I'll write about yesterday, just cuz it was super fun and I have pictures! :o) Not that I know how to post them yet, but that's part of it right? Also, this might be really good for me. I am noticing that, in writing the way I speak, I sure have a lot of run-on sentences! So... welcome to my world (don't you love that song... by Dean Martin), and enjoy the ride!!!