it's time...

When I asked my mom the inevitable question at the age of five, this is what she read to me.

From the New York Sun, 1897:
We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun:

Dear Editor—
I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, “If you see it in The Sun, it’s so.” Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?
Virginia O’Hanlon

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men’s or children’s, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby’s rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

a thanksgiving adventure

Ryan and I started dating in June of '05 and got married in June of '06. I spent Thanksgiving of '05 with my Aunt Bonnie and cousins Mercedes and Sean in the Bahamas at Paradise Island. (Which, I may add, was a fantastic way to spend a Thanksgiving.) The first Thanksgiving that I spent with Ryan's family was Thanksgiving '06. 

My family does Thanksgiving up big, and Ryan's family does, too. Some of the traditions are different, but for the most part the concept is the same: lots of family and lots of food. I asked Ryan's mom if I could bring anything, and she said, "Sure! You can bring anything you want. Maybe something your family usually has?" So I told her I'd bring greenbean casserole. 

Now, I don't know what I was thinking when it comes to the next part of the story, but I guarantee it's all true. I waited until Thanksgiving Day to go shopping for all of the ingredients. For some reason I thought the stores would be open. 

But they weren't.

I wasn't going to give up, though. Ryan and I hopped in the car and began to drive around looking for any open store. We went to Walgreens (two different locations) where at one we found Velveeta cheese and at the other we found cans of Cream of Mushroom soup. We went to three gas stations, where at the third one we found the green beans. But then the hard part came -- I still didn't have the crispy dried onions for the top. Those are my favorite part of the dish. We drove around a little more and I saw this very... um... sketchy store. I think it was called the 7/8 Store. 

I decided I was brave enough (mainly desperate enough) to go in and search of the onions. I made Ryan come with me. It was that sketchy. We walked through the door and immediately were confronted with some gentlemen's magazines and some adult toys. I'm not kidding; you can't make this stuff up. I took a hard left and made a beeline for the "food" section. (The whole place was dimly lit, so I was hoping I was heading for the food section.) Thankfully I was headed in right direction. Amid the expired cans of soup and stale chips and crackers I found what I was looking for. And I bought two cans of them. Even though they were expired. I paid a pretty penny for them, too. 

We went home and made the dish, and I think it tasted good. No one died that I'm aware of, and no one got sick, either. It certainly made our first Thanksgiving together an exciting one.

Happy Thanksgiving!

quirks

I’m quirky. I know this about myself. I'm alright with it. For the record, Julia Roberts was cited as quirky in Runaway Bride. I’m in good company.

Here’s the thing. For those of you who have had the opportunity to live with me or near me, you know that I’m not always the most organized person in the world. I think it’s my artistic nature to be scattered. I live better that way. I can’t really explain it. But, I am very obsessive about certain things. I organize the candies that I eat by number and color. This is odd. If I set a table, I need the silverware to be uniform in how it's set around the plates. I’ve been project manager for a couple of events at work, and at those events we’ve had three or four items to give away. I was perfectly obsessive about the way they were placed on the chairs. The position and angle had to be just so and also had to be uniform throughout the auditorium. You wouldn’t expect this from me, would you? I surprise myself sometimes.

So, my latest discovery is this: I need my to-go coffee cup to be perfectly aligned before I can drink from it.
*A siren is the creature in the Starbucks logo



I know what you’re thinking. Yes, I have issues. We all do. Love me anyway.

i'm a pc... and i'm a mac

It's true. I've got multiple personalities now. I really do feel conflicted. 

So, Ryan's computer caught a virus (or multiple viruses, which he blamed on me and my need to play computer games), and the fan in my old desktop fanned its last flame. "Hey!" we said to ourselves. "We've got money burning a hole in our pockets. Let's go blow some of it on a new computer!" (That's not exactly how the conversation went.)

Anyway, we headed to BestBuy, or as my father-in-law calls it, WorstBuy, and started to talking to the salesman about laptops. He said he is a PC guy, but for what we wanted a computer for (downloading songs, surfin' the 'Net -- basically nothing of signficance), he highly recommended a Mac. What sold us was the lack of viruses for a Mac. That and the fact that apparently Macs come with most of the software, where a PC requires purchasing additional software to even get it to run.

And so here I am. Posting my blog on a Mac. I must say, it's quite enjoyable. The screen is so clear -- love that. But, here are some of my issues:

1. (Delete Key) - You know, the one that allows you to place the cursor in front of the letters or words you want to delete instead of backspacing? I miss that little key. Is there anything that compares to it on a Mac?
   
2. (Right-clicking) - I keep right-clicking EVERYTHING to get details about it -- and it's not working. Blast. This could be harder to get used to than I thought.
   
3. (Microsoft Word) - Microsoft has convinced me that there is no program comparable to Word. When I need to write something, I keep opening Finder and looking for Word. Where are you, Word? I miss you. Please return to me.
4. (Built-in Camera) - Is it on now? Is it always on? Can you all see me right now? Worse, can you see the wretched picture I was forced to take of myself in the set-up process? Help!
5. (iChat) - When is this program on? Again, can people see me? Can they hear me? Will my vocal stylings soon be infamous? Seriously, help.
6. (Control + v,p,c,x, etc.) - Is the 'control + whatever' function no longer valid?

I'm sure all of these questions are answered in a manual somewhere, but I'm much more of a try-it-til-you-get-it-right kind of girl. The only thing that would make me pull out a manual or two would be know you all could see or hear me. Right now.

You can't, can you?

subtle hints...

Some background info helpful for understanding this post:

1. I park in an underground garage at our condo (which is good, because it gets downright frigid in the MN winters).
2. The parking in the underground garage is assigned.
3. The person(s) assigned to the spot to the left of me likes to park on the line (as evidenced in this picture).
   

So, about two weeks ago, I pulled into my parking spot and noticed they were missing a hubcap. The next day Ryan happened to be with me and he also commented on the missing hubcap. Last week, I observed that a second hubcap was missing on the same side of the car, just a different tire. It makes me wonder where these people are driving/parking to lose hubcaps. Thankfully, I still have all of mine.

So, my dilemma – I’m debating leaving a note on this person’s windshield that reads, “Dearest neighbor: I appreciate your peace bumper sticker. I’m sure you’re a very nice person, and I’ve noticed your car is always impeccably clean. I’ll quit stealing your hubcaps if you quit parking over the line. Love, your neighbor.”

confessions

Quick, someone turn on Usher.

Here's the truth: I am afraid of being outside in the country in the dark. I know, I know. I’m 27 years old. I shouldn’t be afraid of such trivial things. But I am. And now that the time has fallen back an hour, I’m daily confronted with my fear of the dark when going out riding. The horses are in a big pasture, requiring me to walk around, getting close enough to each horse to see if it’s my horse – in the pitch black darkness. Sometimes Baron helps out and meets me halfway… but most of the time he doesn’t.

So, what am I afraid of in the dark? (This is where it gets a little weird. Don’t think less of me, please.)

I’m afraid of skunks, foxes, coyotes, bears and slipping and getting trampled by all the horses. Obviously some of these fears are irrational. Most of them are irrational. (I’m hoping that my public confession will help me overcome them.)

Many of these can be related to my childhood in Deer Lodge. Skunks and foxes were always getting into the chicken coop and destroying all of the chickens (a regular bloodbath). If they did that to a chicken, what would they do to me? There was a rabid coyote that got too close for comfort one day in Deer Lodge, too. The bear fear comes from watching Night of the Grizzly at a young age – an age when I couldn’t tell the difference between poorly constructed mechanical grizzlies and the real thing. And the whole slipping and getting trampled must have something to do with an icy slope and resulting broken collarbone in kindergarten.

The silver lining? Once I’ve actually retrieved Baron and made it safely back to the light of the barn, the adrenaline high lasts for a good 10 minutes.

I know; it’s a dangerous life I lead.

a little taste of mt…

…right here in MN. That’s right – The Clintons - or maybe I should say the Heartless Wench Tour version of The Clintons (John and Josh) – brought Montana to Minnesota on Saturday evening at Blarneys in Dinkytown.

Ry and I enjoyed the live show tremendously. Good music – a rock/country hybrid – combined with funny, clever lyrics. Think Brad Paisley on Grain Belt Premium. They played my favorites like Little Miss Perfect, I Make My Own Money, Alright Tonight and Hit Me Baby One Mor--wait a minute. That's not a favorite, but it was funny to hear them play it. I'm wondering if I Make My Own Money can stretch as far as buying a horse? I think it can.


Can it get any better?

Actually, it can get better – we got there early and I was happy to find John at the bar, chatting it up with a couple of other Montanans. So I marched myself over and said hey. It is so nice to talk to people from Montana. Seriously. Just talking to them made me feel closer to home. And Montana will always be home.

The only downfall of the evening – and I do mean downfall – was walking up to make a request and slipping on the way back to my seat. Ugh. Who does that? Me, that’s who. Some kind folks assured me no one saw. It’s funny to look around at the faces of those around you when you’re falling – it’s this sort of ‘oh my gosh, she’s falling’ look combined with a ‘glad it’s not me’ look and finished off with a chuckle. My ankle does feel better today – the swelling has gone down, and it’s not quite as bruised.

So, my parting thoughts:

• Check out The Clintons.
• Watch your step.
• Hug a Montanan.

decisions, decisions.

Do you ever have a moment when you realize you could completely change your life with certain decisions? I had one of those defining moments when I moved to Minneapolis. I was fresh out of college with no job and no Minnesota connections. I’d never been to the state before (except for a quick layover on a Virginia trip with my Nana in 6th grade) and the thought of moving someplace completely unknown to me was exhilarating and terrifying, all at the same time. I remember when I pulled over a hill on 35N where you first get a view of the Twin Cities. It was about 5 p.m. on a beautiful August day. And I thought to myself… ‘Self, this is the start of your adult life. What are you going to make of it?’ I remember wanting to call several people to share in my excitement and fear as I coasted into town, but I turned up the country music and pressed on with my thoughts.

It was such a freeing time. I didn’t have a care in the world – everything was a possibility. I had nothing to lose and everything to gain.

And now I look at my life and some of opportunities and decisions coming up and wonder what I’ll decide. Some require money, some require time, some require confidence, all require humility – and all of them require change. What happened to the girl who moved to Minneapolis over four years ago? She grew up. She faced her adult life and all its responsibilities. She made a living and got married. She found some things that could be lost. She experienced loss. And that changes every decision.

tonight's the night...

… I’ve been looking forward to for about a month now. The CMA Awards, with our host, Brad Paisley. Yowsa. Can life get any better? (I should note that Carrie Underwood is also hosting, but in my mind, she’s not that important – even though I did pick her to win American Idol back when she first auditioned.)

I have to run out to the barn tonight to see Baron, but you can bet my DVR is set to record and I will be tuning in as soon as I get home.

retired and renamed

Yesterday was a sad day in the world of bullriding. Justin McBride, arguably one of the best bullriders ever, retired at the age of 29. Additionally, bullriding-great Adriano Moraes also retired – he is 38.

Justin McBride was one of my favorite bullriders to watch. He was consistently good, with a good attitude. Seemed like a genuinely nice guy. I’ll miss watching him.

Here's Justin riding a bull named Chicken on a Chain.

In other news, I’ve renamed our cat. Formerly known as Rory, her new name is Troubadour Chicken on a Chain, in honor of two bulls – Troubadour and Chicken on a Chain.

green sprees

When did green Sprees start tasting like green apples instead of lime? Green apple is a gross flavoring that leaves a bitter, icky aftertaste and makes a person’s breath smell bad.

Lime, on the other hand, is sublime. It’s refreshing and enjoyable.

These are just some thoughts running through my head today.

vote for… Ross Perot?

I went and voted today. I exercised my right as an American citizen. I was torn about voting today. I didn’t really care for either candidate… and thus I was concerned that I wouldn’t have the motivation to go stand in line and go through all of the rigmarole. Because, my friends, I haven’t changed the address on my driver’s license from our move in May – and I pay all of my bills online, so no electric bill to show proof of address.

So, at 7 a.m. this morning I decide I’m going to go vote. I go to the old precinct where I used to be registered to vote (and that corresponds to the address on my driver’s license) to place my tally next to one of the candidates – only I find out that I’m not registered there anymore. Stupid post office change of address forms. After waiting in line for 45 minutes, I tell the registration people that I’ll have to vote later, because I’m not going to lie to them and tell them that I currently live at the address on my license. And I’m not going to commit voter fraud.

I hop in my car, drive to the DMV, and get my license updated. Then I drive to the polling place that corresponds with my NEW address, and get in line to vote. Thankfully the line was short, and a mere 15 minutes later I was on my merry way.

While voting, I had a couple of observations:

Observation 1: It would be very easy to commit voter fraud and vote twice. I thought of several ways I could have done that today. But I didn’t. I hope no one else did, either. WE EACH GET ONE VOTE! :)

Observation 2: While waiting in line at the first voting place, I overheard three loud young men discussing their dislike of both candidates. Then one said, “Dude, I wish Ross Perot was running.” To which his friend said, “Yeah, he’s definitely who we need. The only problem is that he was rich and was all concerned about his oil. But he could dig our economy out.” I wanted to respond with, “Seriously? Ross Perot? That’s so 1992.” But I bit my tongue.

Observation 3: Voting for state supreme court justices takes a really long time. And I have no idea who I voted for. Is this really a good use of our democratic process? I was tempted to write in Ryan's name. Maybe in 2012.

Observation 4: Voting facilities for the rich are a lot more pleasant than those for the poor.

it's been 23 days since my mom left...

I’m back. For some reason I needed a break from blogging. It was too much pressure to try and come up with something interesting and zippy to say on a daily or bi-daily basis. (Is bi-daily a real measurement of time?)

So, quick updates:

1) Had a great time with my mom. We shopped, ate, shopped, giggled, shopped, saw Baron, and shopped some more. The weekend came to an end though, when she had to fly home on my birthday and I got sick.
2) My old roommate, Kasea, came to visit the following weekend, and it was great to spend some time with her and my friend Rachael Ramy. We went to an apple orchard where they tried to rip us off by charging $35 (yes – thirty-five dollars) for a normal-sized bag of apples. Ridiculous. Rachael and Kasea also go to meet Baron, which was fun.
3) I’ve been avoiding the political scene as much as possible. Is it just me or is this election worse than previous year’s? Wish there was a candidate that I liked; sadly, I’m not fond of either.

The rest of my time has been spent with the new love of my life, Baron. (He’s a close-second to the first love of my life, Ryan.)

I can’t believe Thanksgiving is almost upon us. I’m looking forward to the holidays, but am also a little melancholic when I remember that Nana won’t be there this year. Can’t wait for the time when we’re all reunited.

Look for more regular posts coming soon... :)