As You Wish

We made it safe to Montana on Friday night. I don't have much to say other than this is what has happened since leaving Reno Friday morning...

• I was stared down by a creepy 13 year old boy.
• I sat next to a smelly boy on the plane from Reno to Vegas.
• We stood in line for an hour and a half in Vegas to get our Allegiant tickets. Allegiant is the airline we flew on from Vegas to Montana.
• We ate at Fuddruckers. Awesome food.
• We saw the bearded lady at Wal-Mart. I kid you not she was a large woman with a full beard.
• And I know it might seem a little boring to some, but I have gotten to relax and take several naps since being here.

I am sort of annoyed at the fact that Andrew won't tell me what he got me for Christmas, but thankfully it is only day after tomorrow.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday. Take care and Merry Christmas!

Last night was our company Christmas dinner. We went to a nice, fairly new, Basque restaurant. I ordered the Lamb Chops. I hadn't eaten lamb before last night, so I guess it was time to try it. I told Andrew quite a while ago that the next time we went out to eat and lamb was on the menu I would try it. He called me on it last night and I was pleasantly surprised. There wasn't much meat to it, but the meat that was there was very good. I also really enjoyed the soup, beans, salad, and bread. It could have been the fact that I was so hungry by the time we ate that I would have been satisfied with just about anything, but it really was an enjoyable dinner.

A few of the topics discussed at the dinner table last night:

• Trucks
• An undisclosed man's buttcrack that goes on for days
• My boss's wife trying to sell everything he owns (she works in sales)
• Trucks
• Men sitting to pee
• My boss was bent down to tie his shoelaces and one of the guys said, "While you're down there..." How original.
• My boss's son ate all of the jelly filled doughnuts that did not belong to him. His response, "No name fair game." And, "They looked so good I had to have one and once you've had one...well...you have to have 5 more."
• Trucks (I'm not saying this to be annoying, this is really how many times they talked about trucks, which if you didn't know already I am not interested in.)

When Andrew got home from work yesterday he came through the front door which is a rare occasion. He usually enters the house through the garage. I greeted him at the door and he handed me an envelope that had been sitting outside. Our lovely neighbors Annie and Jim left us a Christmas card on the doorstep which included a letter inside. Jim wrote what I think is the quote of the year, Winnemucca is "the land that green forgot." What more can I say? I mean this is the epitome of greatness. If you live in Nevada, anywhere other than Lake Tahoe, this should hit home.

We are leaving for Montana tomorrow, so... Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year just in case I'm not able to write for a while. We will be gone until January 6th! I'm so excited.

The other night we went to the late show at the movie theater to watch "I Am Legend." It was a pretty good movie. We both agreed that the ending could have been better, but Will Smith is a great actor. I wish I could say that I was blogging to sing the praise of a good movie, but unfortunately I'm not. I am writing today to curse the rude little 13 and 14 year olds who decided to grace the theater with their presence.

Let me first say that "The Mucc" (Winnemucca) is not a very big town. There are about 15,000 people at the most. I think the rule is that if a movie is rated R you have to be at least 17 to attend the showing or be accompanied by an adult. Well...in "The Mucc" this rule does not apply because if they didn't allow people under 17 at rated R movies they would lose too much business.

There were about 15 of them sitting in the first 3 rows of the room. They obviously have not been taught silence is golden because not only were they talking, but they weren't even trying to whisper. We have encountered this problem before and let me tell you there is nothing more annoying at a movie than getting distracted by a bunch of teenagers talking and playing musical chairs.

I am very easily distracted which Andrew will attest to and I have missed way too much of a movie to put up with this shit. The last time this happened (same scenario) the kids were playing musical chairs (moving from seat to seat around the theater) and Andrew (my hero) leaned forward, got face to face with one of the boys, and said, "Sit the f*ck down." I can't help but giggle while I write this because let me tell you it was awesome. The boy apologized and kind of quivered back into his seat. You might be feeling sympathy for the boy. Don't. He had walked from the front of the theater to the back a handful of times, he was talking, and quite frankly being very annoying. In my opinion he deserved it. I mean it's not like Andrew sat on top of him and pounded on him...which is what I wanted to do.

Anyway...back to the other night. Apparently we weren't the only ones about to blow a head gasket because about 2 minutes into the movie the owner of the theater walked down to the front of the room, leaned over the group, and said, "If one more person complains about these 3 rows you are ALL leaving." I wasn't silently applauding at this point. One of the boys in the group replied, "Sorry sir." The owner whipped around and snorted, "Who said that?" One of the boys confessed and the owner leaned down right in his face and quietly scolded him.

Once again young people who feel entitled drive me crazy. If you decide to go watch a movie I suggest you watch the movie. If you feel like talking do it at home or at McDonald's like everyone else. And if you don't have a car or you aren't old enough to drive...please behave yourselves (shut the f*ck up).

I apologize if anyone is offended by my language here. I think I offended myself, but I was in the moment and that is how I felt at that point in time. I wouldn't actually talk to someone like this or even voice my opinion for that matter. In my mind on the other hand I can strangle rude people and be completely content with it.

Happy Thursday-Friday! Today is my Friday and I am so excited about having a three day weekend. I don't really have much to say, so I am attaching a video of Lacey and Kameron from So You Think You Can Dance. They are performing to the song, "Dancing" by Elisa. I hope you enjoy it. I know I sure do. I just can't enough of it.

I was reading my dear friend ALF's blog and it reminded me how much I hate going pretty much anywhere. I am over exaggerating of course, but sometimes I just can't stand going out into public. I don't know if anyone else feels this way, but I am going to go ahead and rant a little.

My rant for the day would have to go to Subway. First of all it is not my fault you work there. I didn't force you at gunpoint to fill out the application and get behind the counter to make sandwiches. Take some pride in your job, no matter what it might be, and do the best job you can do at it. Make sure that every sandwich you make is something you would be willing to eat yourself. Make sure that when the person who is going to eat it takes a bite, everything they ask for is tasted with each bite. I hate when I unwrap my sandwich and everything is spilling off the side of the sandwich. I don't think it would be that difficult to move everything over 1/2 an inch, so it is centered on the sandwich. When you ask what vegetables I would like don't act like it's an incovenience to you. Once again it's not my fault you work here.

I do have to commend the few people that do make a good sandwich. I don't know their names, but they usually work during the day. They are pleasant and take a few extra seconds to make sure the sandwich I order is put together so the only mess is the one I make because I am a messy eater.

I guess my real complaint is toward the late teens early twenties. I myself am in my early twenties, but I don't feel entitled to anything. Why is it that people my age are holding out for a management position, or something similar? I am lucky to be in a management position at my age. There are only three other people in the company I work for, but I still feel very privileged to be in the position I am. I have worked in retail, and as a receptionist and I think that is perfect for someone starting out their career. It takes years of hard work and dedication to get up the career ladder. We can't just expect right out of high school or even college that an amazing job is just going to be handed to us. We have to work for it.

Of course there are those lucky few that seem to have everything going for them and they have things handed to them. For those of us that don't fall into that category let's be happy with what we can get, work hard at whatever job we can get, and for goodness sake smile once in a while.

Side note: I spent the entire day baking yesterday. What is wrong with me?

I was going through my usual routine looking at different sites and I came across this. You might need a tissue. Seeing these two amazing people perform together really puts things into perspective. It's funny the things we take for granted.

So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) finally came on Friday, November 30. It was awesome to say the least. I really enjoyed the show. I don't know if Andrew would admit it out loud, but I think he enjoyed it as well.

My only complaint about the show would have to be I didn't know in order to get autographs you had to have a pass. Yes I wanted autographs... so what. I'm like a teenage girl when it comes to things like this. I don't go crazy over cute boys or make signs confessing my love to famous people, but I love dance. These people are amazing dancers (in my opinion) and I wanted their autographs. I asked several people after the show where they got their passes and they told me the dancers left them at dance studios in their hometowns. I will admit this information made me a bit depressed. I saw someone that looked like they were on the backstage crew, so I stopped him and asked if it was possible for me to get autographs even though I didn't have a pass. He told me that if I went around the back of the Events Center and waited by their bus the dancers would give me autographs while they were leaving. This, at the time, didn't sound like a bad idea, so we decided we would wait inside until the "pass people" got their autographs and then make our way to the bus. We decided to go get the car and move it closer to the building. We ended up parking at a shady motel across from where the bus was parked. It was around 11:30 PM when this all started and about 19 degrees outside.

We saw a group of about 20 people waiting by the back of the building, so we stood with them in hopes of autographs. I'm not sure how much time passed, but the bus left. It just drove away. About 5 minutes later a cranky full of himself security guard walked up to our group and said, "You people are going to have to move. You're in our way and you need to move. All the dancers were on that bus and now they are gone. I promise you they are gone now." What a load of bull that was. We weren't about to believe that.

Now it's about 12:30 AM and there was still no sight of the dancers. As we were sitting in my car trying to decide our next move we spotted two 15 passenger vans waiting at the corner. They had to be waiting for the dancers...right? We pulled the car closer to the vans, parked and walked passed the vans to wait. Don't forget that it is still about 19 degrees outside. We were all alone waiting on the side of the Events Center...just waiting. Freezing. I'm sure Andrew was not impressed with me, but he stayed with me; patiently.

I'm pretty sure we saw a drug deal go down at the corner by the 24 hour convenience store. A woman toting her baby in a hat and blanket came out of the motel across from where we were standing and walked to the corner where she met a man. He handed her something and then proceeded to follow her to the motel. Was this for payment? Maybe? Eew!

It is now getting close to 1:30 in the morning. Andrew decided to move the car to a spot closer to where we were standing and as he started to walk away who is that? Could it be? Yes yes it was the dancers. OMG! OMG! I walked calmly, sort of embarrassed, up to them asked if I could have their autographs. I won't name any names, but the guy closest to me said, "If it's quick because it's cold out here." REALLY? I had no idea. We've only been standing out here for like 2 hours in below freezing weather, so I could have you write your name on my SYTYCD scrapbook. Yes you read that right, I made a scrapbook or as Andrew so kindly named it my stalker book. Even though they were annoyed with the fact that I wanted their autographs they kindly gave them to me. Thank you SYTYCD dancers, I know you were tired, cold, and sad about this being your last performance on your tour. I really appreciate it.

On an unrelated note: Today is my one year anniversary at my job!

We spent Thanksgiving in Twin Falls, Idaho with my mom's sister. She is one of the most hilarious people I have ever met. She is one of those people that says warsh instead of wash and windel instead of window. While at her house I noticed she left herself a note on her refrigerator to go see the dermaloglist. When I asked her about it she informed me it says dermatologist. She corrected her speech impediment by saying that sometimes her tongue just adds letters. Apparently she isn't saying anything wrong it's her tongue playing tricks on her.

On a completely different note... On Black Friday my mom purchased a new set of cordless phones for her house because the old one is not working properly. The old phone is currently located on top of the microwave in the kitchen. I was talking on the phone with my mom and she told me she was reading the instructions for the new phone and it says not to put your phone near a microwave. I told her that must be the problem with the old phone. She said, "Probably...I think I am going to put the new phone in the refrigerator." We both erupted with laughter and Andrew asked what was going on. I told him what my mom said and he asked, "What did she mean?" She said she meant the living room. Sure... living room and refrigerator are pretty close to the same thing. Right?

It is so easy to complain. There are things constantly happening in life that make us upset, frustrated, angry, etc. and it never fails we can always find someone to complain to. Is it because we all claim to be good listeners or is it because when the time comes we want to complain too without feeling like a burden to the one that is listening?

Once again it is the season to give thanks. It's so easy to forget about what we have to be thankful for. Even the small things. It's an everyday occurrence to take those things for granted. I appreciate everything I have and am given, but I'll be the first to admit I take things for granted.

A few things I am thankful for:

• Love.
• Being there for someone no matter what the circumstances may be.
• Being able to quote movies with friends over and over again.
• Family - no matter how crazy they may be.
• Knowing that I am crazy, but there is someone who thinks the world of me.
• Hot water.
• Friendship.
• Work.
• Sleep.
• TV.
• Food.
• Telephone/ Cell phone - even though they don't always work properly, it's nice to have them around.

I'm sure there is more, but that is it for now. Happy Thanksgiving!

• Phone


• iPod


• Camera


• It has its own wireless internet.


• You can use Google maps as a navigation device wherever you are.


• It has a touchscreen instead of buttons.


• The touchscreen does not scratch.


• It was named Time's Invention of the Year
  

Now a list of reasons why it's evil:

• Homewrecker/ Widow maker


• Depending on where you are it can be slow to respond.


• I'm not allowed to play with it for fear that I might break it. (This might be a bit over exaggerated, but it's my story.)


• Andrew bought the iPhone for around $600 and about a week later Apple cut the price by $200. Needless to say he was a bit upset and so was everyone else that bought it at full price, so Apple gave everyone who bought it a $100 in store credit. Thank you Apple!


• I can't decide if this is cute or not...ok so it is cute, but this is in my list of "evil", so I classify this as animal cruelty. If you want, click on the cute little doggy and it will take you to the original story I borrowed the picture from.

Maybe I am just bitter toward Andrew's awesomely horrible new phone, but all in all it is a pretty cool new toy. When I am allowed to play with it (that is under strict supervision) I find it quite amusing.

Andrew with his precious iPhone.

I am still torn as to whether this phone is all it is cracked up to be or if it is the homewrecker I see it as.

Side note: I am slightly kidding about most of this; I tend to be sarcastic most of the time.

Over the weekend Andrew's parents came to town to surprise him for his birthday. They drove to Winnemucca from Great Falls, Montana. I think they are crazy for driving that far for such a short time, but it was so sweet of them.

My parents and I (Nancy and Bob)

Andrew and I

I don't know why, but everyone likes this picture but me.

Good morning! I just wanted to wish Andrew a super spectacular happy birthday! Hugs and kisses and the best birthday wishes!

This is going to be the first of many blogs about what I'm thinking, quotes, maybe some pictures, and any other random thing I feel like throwing in.

If you didn't know already I am a very random person. At the moment I have no examples, but take my word for it. I am very complicated at times, but I completely understand my own thought process. I am easily amused. I really like peanut butter and honey together. I think I am funny and that is all that matters. As long as I am laughing at my jokes there is someone that thinks they are funny.

I read a poster at http://www.allposters.com/ that says, "I know I'm in my own little world but that's ok, they know me here." I'm going to go ahead and say that is my motto for the day.

Will Ferrell and John Heder in Blades of Glory are hilarious. One of the best lines from the movie is, "Whoever invented rope is a real a-hole." If you haven't seen this movie yet I suggest you do. It's great.

That is all for now, but believe me there will be more.

Last night Andrew and I were sitting on the couch watching TV like we always do. I started to feel a little chilly and whenever I am cold instead of telling him I just put my hands on him to show him how cold I am. He hates that! He took the folded blanket off the back of the couch and threw it at me. I took the blanket and wrapped it around myself still folded. Andrew said I looked like I was wearing a sash and asked what I had just won. I told him, "Miss Most Beautiful Ever!" We both got a pretty good laugh out of it. Once I came back to reality I unfolded the blanket and draped it over myself the proper way.

My dad's mom has been living with my parents now for a couple of months and needless to say it is not the ideal situation. She is a nice enough lady, but I don't know of anyone that would want their elderly parent living with them. She moved here from northern California and I'm not going to say she is crazy, but... she is crazy! My grandma had 4 children: my dad, my Aunt Linda, my Aunt Susan, and George.

George is the baby of the family and he is far from being an infant. He is somewhere in his forties, but my grandma thinks he is still a little boy. I hate to be rude, but he is a horrible excuse for a human being. He is constantly broke because he wastes all his money on drugs and he mooches off of his mother who has been retired for many years now.

I am going to list some of the reasons he is a disgrace to this family:

• Drugs - enough said.
• Abusive - He beat my grandmother, which is one of the reasons she had to come live with my parents.
• He was late to is own father's funeral. (On a side note he has a different father than the rest of his siblings.)
• He has been in and out of jail.
• He steals from his own mother.
• Up until the point where my grandma moved to Winnemucca, George was living with her. Let me remind you that he is in his forties and still living with his mother; not so he could care for her, no...so she could support him and his addict friends.
• Homicidal - For reasons unknown to me he sat on top of my grandmother strangling her stating, "It'll be over quick."

I think that gives you an insight into this man's insanity. You may be wondering why he isn't in prison for attempted murder. Well I am going to tell you; his mother. She won't press charges against him for anything he does. He is her little boy and she couldn't be the reason he is put away.

I might sound bitter, but it is only because I am. She has no idea what a lunatic she is continuing to enable. No one can talk sense into her. George is her precious little boy that can do no wrong. WTF? George is still in California (thank God), but he is still making my grandma miserable. I don't know what he says to her over the phone, but I do know she is upset when she finishes the conversation.

Well...this brings you up to date, until today that is. Late last night, early this morning he was arrested again. I can't say I am surprised. You can read all about it at the Times-Standard Online. This situation sounds so familiar. I'm sure his girlfriend is not the most upstanding citizen, but no woman deserves that.

I am done with my rant for now, but there might be more later. For now I hope they keep him in jail. One less scumbag running loose.

Last night on our way home from a lovely trip to Wal-Mart I was involved in a very interesting conversation. It went as follows:

"You know...if I put my hands in my pockets they would be considered consealed weapons?"

"You're silly!"

"If silly means awesome...then yes I am."

On a completely different note...I think I am suffering from Wii elbow. It can be closely related to tennis elbow I'm sure because I was playing tennis on our new Wii last night. It is a ton of fun, but my shoulder and elbow hate me today. Yes we were playing video games, so what. I read here that senior citizens are enjoying the benefits of playing the Wii. We are far from being senior citizens, but we, like these geriatrics, know how much fun it can be to partake in game playing. I will be so happy if I can still move, let alone be alive, at the age of these people. I would probably play the Wii at that age, or better yet take out my old school Nintendo and play Mario Brothers 1, 2, or 3. Can we say Duck Hunt?

Yesterday I went in to get my hair cut by my friend Tovi. I have known Tovi for several years and we always have a pretty good time when I go in to get my hair cut. I didn't know exactly what I wanted going in, so I cut several pictures from a magazine and took them hoping she could work with it. Apparently all my pictures were different in some way. Thankfully she knows me well enough that she didn't just go to town wacking off my hair. She did a good job of dumbing down what was going to happen and we came to an agreement at the end. I am very happy with my hair. It has been a long time since someone has cut my hair and I have been happy with the outcome. Usually I have to leave saying I like it knowing in the back of my mind that it is going to take me a while to get used to it.

While sitting in the chair, Tovi was cutting my hair and I was looking at a hair magazine she had on her counter. When I was done I thought I would be nice and put the magazine back where it belongs. When I did this I leaned forward pulling my cape off the back of the chair. I didn't think anything of it and I replaced the cape around the back of the chair. Tovi stood back watching me and when she saw I was done she said, "You know you just let a big chunk of hair fall down onto your back?" Of course I did. I reached behind me and felt the newly cut hair on my bare skin. My shirt came up a bit in the back exposing my skin making a perfect place for my hair to land. As I was wiping the hair away I felt it slip down my back into my buttcrack. Not cool. Not cool at all. Tovi being the good friend that she is took her blow dryer and blew the hair off of my back and she pulled my pants back and blasted my butt with air. I have to say I was not expecting that.

This has nothing to do with the previous story, but I have to say something about it before I forget. Last night Andrew and I stopped at a convenience store to get some drinks to hide in my purse to go to a movie. I know we are naughty, but that's ok. While paying for our drinks a lady with a tracheostomy came in. A tracheostomy is a tube that protrudes from your throat to help you breathe. As I was walking out I heard her ask for a pack of cigarettes. You know...if you have trouble breathing to begin with...why smoke?

No thanks to our anal retentiveness we finished painting. (Yes that's right I said anal. Let's take a second to compose ourselves...) Andrew and I each have our own way of being anal retentive. Andrew wanted to make sure every square inch of the house was doused in primer (excluding the roof of course), he made sure to do a thorough job with the base coat, and when he added the house numbers he had to precise. I really like doing the detailed work (the trim), although I probably looked like an idiot standing 2 inches from the house trying to make sure I didn't make a mistake. On the rare occasion that I did make a mistake (Can you sense my sarcasm?) I had to go back and fix it.

I know you may be thinking to yourself it didn't seem like it took that long, but really it only took about a month. (Only?!!) I am so happy to be done with it.

Here is a list of the reasons it only took about a month:

• Prep
• Weather
• Laziness
• Paint sprayer (Yet another thing I shake my fist at.)

I know it doesn't seem long, but when you are actually in the process of using the list it takes quite a while to complete. I didn't post any pictures because we are waiting for the "house jewelry" (lights) to arrive. We are hoping they will be here by the weekend or early next week. Once we get those hung I will take some pictures and post them.

Yesterday my mom turned 50 years old. Andrew and I joined my dad, aunt, and grandma over at their house for a dinner and cupcake celebration. It was full of laughs, snorts, and crying. Don't worry the only reason for the crying was because we were laughing so hard. (Yes I snort when I laugh...so what?)

Here are a few pictures from the fun...

At the end of the night she was sporting an awesome comb over.

It was a pretty good time. We enjoyed ourselves. Happy 50th Mom!

It is quite apparent that summer is coming to an end. The past few days have been a little colder and it has been windy. The wind has kept me from being able to paint since Monday (picture me shaking my fist at the wind). This is the part I actually want to do, I don't have to be carried outside kicking and screaming to get it done. Not to give you the wrong impression, Andrew hasn't actually picked me up and carried me outside to work on the house, but sometimes I over exaggerate. I just want the weather to behave itself long enough for us to finish our painting project. Is that so much to ask for?

It looks like the weather is ok right now, so hopefully later today when I am ready to paint I will be able to. I won't hold my breath, but I will keep my fingers crossed.

I'm not looking forward to the weather getting colder. Being cold is definitely one of my least favorite things ever. The only good thing about this time of year is the holidays and spending time with friends and family. Christmas is my favorite holiday by far and I am looking forward to it. Andrew and I will probably go back to Montana to spend Christmas with his family and friends. That should be fun...cold, but fun. I will be the one that looks like an Eskimo in all of the layers I will drag along. Who am I kidding I look like an Eskimo at home because I wear so many pieces of clothing. What?...I like to be warm.

Anyway...goodbye summer, hello winter. Now lets get it over with so we can get back to summer. I want to go camping again.

Painting is coming along very nicely now. We finally have the house painted we just need to finish the trim. This is my favorite part. I really enjoy painting and I can finally do something. The primer and the base coat were primarily done by Andrew because he used the paint sprayer, so I was not really able to do any painting. Now it is my turn.

Last night I got home from work, I put the primer coat on the shed, and then I started painting the trim. I like trying to be precise, I told Andrew it is like I am a little kid again trying to color inside the lines. Unfortunately, like when I was a kid, I make mistakes. Thankfully with the help of the base color it can be fixed.

I am finally getting to the point that I am happy we started this project. In the beginning I hated it, the prep was horrible and I was sorry I volunteered to do this. The other night I almost had a breaking point during clean up. I absolutely hate to be sprayed in the face with water, it doesn't matter who does it or if it is meant in fun...I HATE IT. I was cleaning the buckets and I sprayed the hose inside to clean it out. The water came right back up in my face. I don't know if I mentioned it before, but I hate that. I had to stop cleaning and attend to my soaked face. I walked into the garage and grabbed a rag from the car and wiped my face with it. At this point is when I realized this is the rag I wiped up some Mineral Spirits with. Mineral Spirits is paint thinner. It stinks and I'm sure it isn't good for your complexion. I felt my eyes welling up with tears and Andrew told me it was ok I should go inside and wash my face. He finished cleaning up my buckets and gave me a hug. I started to feel better and I don't think I completely lost it.

It is all slowly paying off and I'm happy we decided to paint the house ourselves. By the way our house looks like a giant chocolate milkshake. Our color choices, in my opinion, were great.

Just a quick update of our progress. We were finally able to start painting last night. Unfortunately we weren't able to make it the whole way around the house before dark, but we will be able to finish the primer tonight. After we finish we have to go to my parent's house to help set up for a yard sale they are having tomorrow. Yay yard sale! Making money is never a bad thing, but parting with all of our good junk is.

After the yard sale we will have to pack everything up and return home to start the base coat. I think things are finally coming together and we just might have this house painted before winter. Once again I am not holding my breath, but it is starting to look good.

Quick story: the other night Andrew and I went to my parent's house and my aunt is in town to help with the yard sale. She is hilarious and I really enjoy our visits when she is in town. She asked Andrew what color we are painting the house and he told her in all seriousness, "Purple with orange trim." She sorta cringed and said, "Really?" Andrew replied, "Yeah why not? I think those colors go quite well together." He then looked at me with my aunt sitting right there and said, "I think she really believed me for a second."

We are currently in the process of trying to paint our house and it really makes me want to rip my hair out. It was going to cost way too much to have someone else do it, so I told Andrew I would do it myself. Well...I think he thought I was trying to make him feel bad or something, so he said we would both paint it.

I don't know if you have ever attempted painting a house, but it involves so much more than just grabbing a paintbrush and going at it. You have to prep the house prior to beginning which involves pressure washing, scraping, and taping off anything you don't want painted (windows, doors, etc). We were finally to the point where we can paint last night and I was actually a little excited because I like to paint. It has taken us about 2 weeks to get to this point and this is where the problems started.

After Andrew and I finished preping the sprayer we are going to use for painting he stirred the paint, I closed the garage door, he put the paint sucker hose in the bucket of paint, and he tested it. It didn't work. WTF! Apparently the plug in tripped itself turning the power to the outlet off. Don't worry though that isn't it. The garage door is somehow connected to this outlet and the outlet is on the other side of the garage door that won't open now and the front door is locked and covered with tape and paper. We are now locked out of the house. So...we cleaned up all of our painting supplies because it is quite obvious we are going to spend the remainder of daytime figuring out how to get in the house and we didn't get any painting done.

We were finally able to get back in the house with enough light left to drag our stuff back in the garage and laugh at how silly this situation was. I won't hold my breath, but hopefully we can get some painting done tonight. Cross your fingers for us. We will definitely be leaving the door unlocked while we are outside now, but we better not have to worry about that.

I will post some pictures of the house when it is done, if it ever gets done.

Has anyone ever sat on top of you and held down your arms and legs? Has anyone done this while letting the drool drip down toward your face just far enough that they can suck it back up into their mouth? You are very lucky if this hasn't happened to you because it is so disgusting. I'm sure Andrew will be happy I am sharing with you the fact that he has done this to me. Amazingly enough he is still able to hold me down with all of my frantic kicking and screaming and not shower me with spit. Have I mentioned yet that this is so disgusting?

Anyway...my mom invited us over for dinner Saturday to have spaghetti. I love my mom's spaghetti, it is so delicious. After dinner Andrew and I sat in my dad's computer room and talked with my mom. I'm not quite sure how this conversation started, but somewhere in the middle this is what went down:

Me - "Andrew you should sit on my mom's lap and dangle your drool in her face."
Mom - Laugh laugh laugh. "Wait til I tell you what I thought you said." Laugh laugh laugh. "I thought you told him to dangle his jewel in my face." Pause. "I don't know how that would be possible if he was sitting on my lap."

After we laughed hysterically for a few minutes I explained that I said dangle his drool (not jewel). When I say "we" laughed hysterically I can't be quite sure because I was crying, but I don't think Andrew thought it was that funny.

Just for the record I don't really want Andrew to sit on my mom and dangle anything...but it sure is funny to think about!

Andrew and I went on my very first camping trip in Tahoe. Lake Tahoe is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. The trees, the lake, the weather, and the company were awesome.

We arrived in Tahoe on Friday August 17, set up our tent, got out our chairs, and so my first camping experience began. We decided to walk to the beach that was across the street from our campground to check it out. It was beautiful looking out across the water from the 30 feet of rocky beach our campground owns. Right before we left to go back to our camp the bats decided it was feeding time, so we got to encounter them swooping through the air to catch flies. Ah...how romantic.

When we got back to camp it was getting dark, so we made a fire. (When I say "we" I really mean Andrew, but I think I did a pretty good job of observing.) We roasted hot dogs and smores and then enjoyed what little fire we had left. The first night went pretty smoothly without anything too exciting to blog about.

We got up the next morning (Saturday) and Andrew made a very delicious hash brown, sausage, and egg mixture. We relaxed for a little while and then decided to take a drive with the plan of going to Vikingsholm Castle. We got to the D.L. Bliss entrance which is not far from the parking lot for Vikingsholm, but we decided we wanted to go to the beach for a little bit before our hike down to the castle. The beach is two miles from the entrance of D.L. Bliss and we were told there should be a few spaces available at the bottom. Half way through our drive we got to the ranger station where you have to pay to get in. The little ranger girl with shorts up to her nose told us there were no spaces available at the bottom so we had to park right by the ranger house and walk a mile to the beach. That isn't a big deal right? Wrong. We are out of shape, it was hot, and when we got to the bottom guess what...there were TONS of parking spots. (Picture me shaking my fist in the air at Ranger Shorts.)

We laid on the beach for a while, ate our lunch, and Andrew noticed that there was a fire in the same area as our campground. We decided we should head back to camp to make sure we still had camping gear to sleep in. It turned out they were blocking the road right after the entrance to our campground and thankfully we survived another night without burning to death. Yay!

We got some more wood and Andrew started another fire. We roasted hot dogs and smores and then I put everything away in our bear locker. If you do not know what a bear locker is, it is a metal locker that you are required to put food, coolers, etc. in so bears don't eat your stuff. I have been told that bears know what coolers look like and they can smell food from a mile away. If you leave a cooler in your vehicle and the bear looks in and sees it the bear will tear your car apart to get to the cooler. That is why the campgrounds provide bear lockers.

As we were sitting by the campfire I told Andrew we shouldn't have to worry about bears because our campground was surrounded by people's houses and it was a populated area. The wind was blowing the smoke from the fire right in our eyes, so we moved our chairs around to the other side and about that time I looked toward the bathroom. (The bathroom was right up a little hill from our campsite.) I saw what I thought looked like a person coming out of the women's bathroom. I didn't want to shine my light on the person because I thought that might be rude, so I just watched. The "person" looked like they were hunched over or crawling and huge, and coming toward us, so I decided to shine my light on whoever it was. It wasn't a human...it was a BEAR! A very big bear I might add. Without any emotion I said, "Shit...there's a bear." Andrew thought I was joking and looked over where I was shining my light and said, "Yes there is." He also shined his light on the bear and I think we spooked it with our lights and it started to back away.

I decided to be a good samaritan and tell our camping neighbors about our new friend, so I walk-ran over to them and said, "I don't mean to scare you, but there was just a bear at our camp." There were only 3 out of about 10 of their people there and they said, "Are you serious?" Come on people why would I come over here not even knowing who you are and tell you there is a bear. I told them, "Yes I'm serious." Without even a breath they were all in there SUV watching their campsite.

I ran back to Andrew and asked where the bear was, but he didn't know. About that time the bear was climbing on the table of our neighbors where I just ran away from. He was hungry and he was determined to find something to eat at their camp. Our neighbors must not go camping much because they had all of their stuff scattered everywhere. It took the bear a while to find the cooler, but when it did he opened it up and ate all of their cookies.

This whole ordeal probably only lasted about 15 or 20 minutes, but the whole time we had our lights on the bear watching for its next move. Our unlucky neighbors decided to go tell the ranger that there was a bear and see what should be done. When they returned the rest of their group was with them. I won't go into detail about how dumb they were, but believe me they were not made out for camping.

After the bear scare was over we sat back down at our fire and tried to relax. Of course Andrew was calm, cool, and collected the whole time, but I just knew the bear was going to come back. Fortunately he did not return, but I was on edge for the rest of the night. Every little noise set me off and I had to scan the entire area with my flashlight.

We could hear everything our neighbors were saying partly because they were drunk and they must be deaf. They were right next to each other and they were using their big voices to talk to each other. I know I said I wasn't going to go into detail about why they aren't made out for camping, but here are a few reasons:

• Leaving their food and coolers out all day and night.
• Wearing high heels.
• Leaving their bags of trash in the bathroom on the floor for someone else to clean up.
• Burning a 4 foot section of tree. The campgrounds in Tahoe had a rule that you are not supposed to "disturb" nature therefore you are not allowed to cut down trees or take wood, branches, or anything off the ground to burn. They provide bags of wood for a fee that you can burn. Not our neighbors, they just took the "tree" they found, laid it over the top of their fire ring, and set it on fire, the whole log.
• Going to Starbucks early in the morning to get coffees.
• Parking in the driveway of other people's campsites.

I know this was my first experience camping and I might not know the "right" way to camp, but these people just didn't seem like they knew what they were doing.

All in all it was a fun experience and I can't wait to go again, as long as we don't have idiot neighbors. Oh and one more thing...if I say there is a bear, even if it is said without emotion, I'M NOT JOKING!

Andrew and I made a trip to Reno this past weekend to buy supplies for a camping trip we plan to make in the near future. I have never been camping, so I am super excited. It took us so long to decide on the equipment we wanted, but we finally decided on a tent, sleeping bags, footprint, rain jackets (you never know), etc.

We also went to see a movie, "Hot Rod." To sum it up it was very stupid, but still quite funny. After leaving the movie we walked outside to see a police helicopter hovering over the area we were in, and several scattered police cars, police bikes, etc. We were curious, so we ventured closer to the area that was being spotlighted by the helicopter (in the car of course). We saw a motorcycle cop and I rolled down my window to ask what was going on. Apparently it was Hot August Nights in Reno and that was the worst area to be in, so they were evacuating the parking lot. He said everything was fine, but we didn't believe it. There were already cops surrounding the place and as we were pulling out of the parking lot they were bringing in another 15 passenger van full of officers.

We also went over to Lake Tahoe to check out campgrounds for our camping adventure. We are a bit discouraged because they are booked until the end of August, but we aren't giving up just yet.

Ok so I was looking at cards the other day and I bought one for my friend that said...

"The internet says that if you don't have a last will and testament you should tell a friend in writing what your wishes are. So, because you're my friend I want you to know that when I die I want a viking-style funeral. Nothing extravagant or anything - just push me out to sea on a wooden raft with all my shoes and have someone shoot a flaming arrow at me. Ok? Thanks."

I thought that was a great card and it warranted adding to my blog. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did, but I doubt it.

Winnemucca has several fast food restaurants including: McDonald's, Burger King, Arby's, Subway, Taco Bell, Taco Time, etc. We finally opened a Jack in the Box yesterday. For those of you who don't know this is a very exciting event. We have had the same fast food places for several years now and Jack in the Box is awesome. They serve breakfast all day long for crying out loud.

Andrew and I were so excited we had to go there for dinner last night. We both had the heart attack burgers, curly fries, and sodas. It was so good and so bad at the same time. We ate way too much like we always do and went home complaining about it (like we always do).

The opening of something new always brings out Winnemucca's finest. I do not mean the police department when I say finest, I mean the weirdos. I mean the people that should just stay home, the people that delivery was made for. Please excuse me if you think I am being rude, but it is true.


So should you ever be traveling through Winnemucca we now have one more choice in fast food for your pallet.


Bon appetit!

OMG! OMG! I know I am a loser, but I absolutely love watching So You Think You Can Dance. It is another reality show on tv about dancers and it is one of my favorite things on right now. The show has a tour of the top 10 dancers and guess what?... It is going to be in Reno November 30. Tickets go on sale August 11th at 10 am and I am pretty sure I will be the first one to buy tickets. I am so freaking excited right now I am stumbling over the letters on the keyboard.

Andrew's birthday is in November so guess what else...Happy Birthday to you Sunshine!

After my last post I was reminded of another story about my precious letter opener.

I believe it happened sometime last week when my boss was sitting straight across from me at my desk in silence. He noticed he had some unopened mail and instead of using words to ask for what he wanted he just slid his hand over the top of the envelope as if he were opening it and made the noise "sssshhhick." For some strange reason I understood what he wanted and handed him my trusty letter opener.

Maybe I am just easily amused, but I found this quite funny. Speaking of easily amused, I have another quick story to tell. The door that goes from my office to the shop only opens if you turn the knob to the left. It never fails every time my boss goes to open that door he runs into it before realizing he must turn the knob the other direction. Every time!

Gotta love the little things in life.

So once again...you know I'm crazy right?

If you were not already aware I am a very jumpy person and I guess you could say I am also a little paranoid. Even the littlest things will get a good 3 foot jump out of me. For example I know Andrew is in the house because I just stopped talking to him to go to the kitchen. Not even a minute later he "sneaks" into the kitchen behind me and pokes me or says my name. This is always followed by a jump, scream, and a pain in my chest. Don't ask me why, but this is what happens. It used to bring tears to my eyes when something would startle me. It wasn't necessarily crying, but more along the lines of watering.

Whenever I have to stay at home alone overnight, or anywhere for that matter, to be comfortable I need to have a sharp object somewhere in my vicinity just in case. Occasionally Andrew has to go work in Carlin and he stays overnight which leaves me home alone. One of the first times I had to stay by myself I will admit I was a little nervous, so I decided to keep something sharp by the bed. My "weapon" of choice happened to be a pair of scissors. I forgot the scissors were there and when Andrew came home he questioned them. I explained to him my paranoia and he replied, "How are you going to protect yourself with a pair of dull scissors?" The right answer (or at least the answer that would make sense to Andrew) would have been "it just makes me feel more secure." The answer I actually give is "I would stab or cut the intruder." Thinking about this now it does sound silly, but it made sense at the time.

My most recent encounter with needing a sharp object was yesterday at work. I was alone (which isn't new because I am at work by myself quite often), so I made sure all of the doors to the shop were locked. A couple of hours later I heard a noise in the shop, so instantly my instinct to think the worst kicked in. I decided I should probably go check it out, but first I needed some kind of protection. I looked at my desk and saw the letter opener which has a pretty good tip on it and I stuck it in my pocket. Of course there was nothing out there and I didn't have to use the letter opener, but at least I was prepared.

When I told Andrew about my ordeal he once again asked the logical question, "What would you do if you came in contact with someone?" (Note: my memory is horrible, so these quotes may not be word for word.)

I answered, "I would stab the person."

Andrew - "What if they had a gun?"

Me - "I would run, its harder to hit a moving target."

Andrew - "What if they had a knife, would you have a knife fight?"

Me - "If they are close enough to stab me I would stab them."

Andrew - "Where would you stab them?"

Me - "In the eye."

So...if you are ever thinking about sneaking up on me be careful because I might have a sharp object (or something of the sort) in my pocket and I might have to stab you in the eye. You have been warned!

I have lived with Andrew for a while now and as far as I know he likes having me around. The thing he doesn't like is my hair. Let me rephrase that...he doesn't like the trail of hair I leave behind.

A few places you will find my hair:
When I wake up in the morning there is always hair on my pillow and along the entire bed (including Andrew's side). When I take a shower my hair comes out in handfuls and clogs the drain. I have to clean out my brush at least three times every time I brush my hair. I'm sure there is more to tell, but I will spare you.

I think the breaking point for Andrew was last night. While he was helping me with laundry he held up one of my shirts and just stared at it. When I noticed what he was doing I looked to see what he was looking at...it was a piece of my hair wrapped up inside my shirt. He is amazed by the fact that after going through the washing machine and dryer the hair is still intact. The major issue here is this is not the first time this has happened and it will definitely not be the last. He has found my hair in his clothing tons of times and I think he has a phobia of loose hair. When he sees my loose hair in random places in the house it invokes his gag reflex. Don't worry though he has not thrown up yet.

Thankfully I have thick hair and I have some to spare, but it is still quite annoying. Just to clear things up Andrew does like my hair but "only when it is attached to my head." So...the next time you see me if I am bald it is because I finally lost it all or Andrew couldn't handle it anymore and he finally shaved my head.

For the past 3 days the a/c hasn't been working at our house. Do you know how much it sucks to be in a house, in Nevada, with out a/c? Well I'm here to tell you that it is no fun at all. We had a couple of fans to blow around the hot air, but really it didn't help. So for the past 3 days Andrew and I have been a sweaty, sticky, grumpy mess. Thanks to Andrew though the a/c is now working again and the house doesn't feel like a sauna.

On Saturday the furnace was making a disgustingly loud metal on metal noise which made it difficult to lay in bed and relax. We went to investigate and came to the conclusion that the motor was shot and it was going to need a new one. I know what you may be thinking, "Why would you be using a furnace in the middle of summer?" Apparently it does make sense because the furnace is hooked to the central air and you need the motor in the furnace to make the central air work. After talking to the hardware store about getting a new motor they said it would have to wait until Monday because the guy that takes care of these things only works Monday through Friday. Well of course that is how it would work because things only go wrong on weekdays, ha! (I was being sarcastic just then if you couldn't tell.)

Monday came around and we got a new motor, took it home, hooked everything up, turned it on and...the horrible metal on metal sound came screeching from the furnace again. WTF? Andrew took it all apart again and figured out it wasn't the motor at all it was the gerbil cage (or whatever it is called) that houses the motor that was making the noise. We went back to the hardware store to see about a new squirrel wheel (also known as a gerbil cage) and thankfully I knew the guy that was working and he gave us a different one in exchange for our piece of junk one. Once again we went back home, put everything back together, and to our anticipation it worked. We will no longer be baking ourselves. Yay! Not that being in 95 degree heat inside the house was a big deal (sarcastic), but I would much rather it be cooler in the house than it is outside.

After that ordeal was taken care of Andrew and I put together our new table and end table. It only (sarcastic) took about 3 hours for us to put both of the tables together, but it was worth it. Is it weird that I am excited about tables? Oh well I don't care, I know I am crazy and I am ok with it.

Now maybe Andrew will let me paint inside the house...

I read this on Anna's blog and it reminded me that my mom is just as silly.

Several times while I was still living at home with my parents my mom would say, "Allison will you put the dishes in the microwave?"

Me - "Sure...then what do you want me to do?" (All said in the sarcastic tone that children have toward their parents.)

Mom - "Oh you know what I mean."

If you haven't caught on this means that she wants me to put the dishes in the dishwasher. My mom says things like this all the time, but I still love her.

We are still alive! We went outside today and the fires are almost gone. There are still a few spots on the mountain that are burning, but for the most part the skies are clearing up. Andrew and I went to lunch with my mom and it looked like the firemen were doing a pretty good job handling our fire situation.

After lunch Andrew and I drove up by my bosses house to take a look at the damage. Thankfully his house was still standing! The fire reached the fence of his backyard and stopped there. Some of you may have heard of the fire that terrorized Tahoe just a week and a half ago...well my boss also has a house in Tahoe. He was a very lucky man twice because the fire in Tahoe was just down the street from his house and the fire in Winnemucca was just behind his house. After talking to him briefly he told us that a couple of houses down from his a barn burned down and the fire went over the man's house and burned the trees in the front yard (the man's house didn't burn at all).

So...Winnemucca will live to see another day. Hurray!

I'm not sure about the rest of Nevada, but we arrived back in Winnemucca around 7:00 pm Pacific Time and the fires were ablaze. The sky was covered in dark smoke from all of the fire that was around our poor pathetic town.

My boss and a friend live in one particular area of town and it isn't looking good for them. They are both on vacation, so they are not around to enjoy the bonfire (I know, that was a bad joke). When we got into town we drove toward where they both live and the roads were blocked off, so we couldn't see how far the fire had gotten. The mountains along one whole side of town were burning.

We got home and decided cooking was out of the question, so we decided to order pizza. I called Round Table and the boy on the other end of line told me, "Um, I'm sorry but we had to send our delivery drivers home because they are being evacuated out of their houses because of the fire. We won't be making any more deliveries tonight, but you can come pick it up." Um...I don't think so, if I'm too lazy to make my own dinner I am definitely too lazy to go pick it up. No worries though because Pizza Hut delivered and we did not have to starve. Yay!

I will post an update later as long as I am not scorched during the night.

As some of you may know Battle Mountain, NV was named the Armpit of America several years ago by a man who writes for the Washington post. Battle Mountain now has an Armpit Festival every year to celebrate the fact that their town stinks and it is sponsored by Old Spice. This is not the point of the story, but I figured I would give a quick prelude to my story.

On Friday June 22, 2007 Andrew and I drove through Butte, Montana. I was informed by Andrew that Butte has a copper mine in the middle of town that has a giant pit. This therefore makes Andrew believe that Butte truly is the butthole of America. Also a direct quote from him states, "Butte is a shitty place to live."

On Friday we arrived in Great Falls. This is where Andrew was born and raised. Since being here I have heard about the people roaming around with ankle bracelets and the restaurant that was closed because they were caught cutting cocaine in the kitchen and selling it out the back door. I'm not quite sure where he has brought me, but here I am and I won't be back to sanity (Winnemucca) until the end of next week sometime.

Keep me in your thoughts and prayers... Andrew is going to show me more of Montana in the next few days and I am a little scared.

Every Thursday night at one of the casinos in Winnemucca is comedy night. They bring in comedians from all over the country wanting to make it as a famous comedian someday.

Rules for going to comedy:

• Do not sit in the front row.
  
• Do not stand out in the crowd.
  
• Do not draw attention to yourself (e.g. do not get up to go to the bathroom).
  
• Do not heckle the comedian.
  
• Turn off your cell phone.
  

One particular Thursday night my friend Julie and I decided to go to comedy, have some drinks, and go home to bed because we both had to work the next day. The headliner for the evening was Claude Stewart, a funny little man with spikey hair. Unfortunately when we arrived we had to sit in the front row. If you haven't already read the rules for going to comedy back up and read them now.

Thankfully for Claude he was funny, so we were laughing quite hard. About halfway through his time on stage Julie couldn't hold it anymore and had to go to the bathroom (once again reference the rules), so she stood up and walked right in front of Claude catching his attention. He stopped whatever it was he was saying and asked Julie where she was going. She told him she had to go to the bathroom, so he started singing a song about her having to go poop. When Julie returned from "pooping" she sat back down with me and Claude returned his attention to our table (in the front row). He joked about Julie going poop and noticed me laughing. Apparently when I laugh my boobs shake; Claude was ever so nice to point this out and directed the attention from Julie to me (not cool).

After a few more jokes and a lot more boob shaking Claude once again pointed us out and gave us our new names: Poopy and Booby. Lucky for us the lounge was full that night, so people we knew and didn't know now knew us by our new names.

Poopy and Booby aka Julie and Allison

Wouldn't it be awesome to take a year off from whatever it is you do and travel? Take a look at the following link and see how to make that possible.

Take a Year off to Travel the World

I am the Office Manager for a small company; let me give you a rundown of what goes on here. I as the Office Manager take care of all office duties including, but not limited to: answering the phone, invoicing, collections, accounts receivable and payable, HR, shredding paperwork, and making sure my bosses head is on straight. Our other two employees (not including my boss) weld, machine, and occasionally use their mechanical skills. We have a shop which houses my office and a decent sized area inside and outside to weld and machine. In the area behind our shop we have a few service trucks, forklifts, trucks, dirt, weeds, etc.