we'll have the awesome blossom. extra awesome.

Tomorrow is Wednesday. I have high expectations for an awesome day. Getting to work early has its advantages, and I intend to make full use of them tomorrow.

My goal? To get three things done by 8 a.m. We'll see how it goes. Update to come tomorrow afternoon.

Also, only seven work days remain until we leave for Montana. That's not a lot of time; I have quite a bit to accomplish. I am excited to get to Montana, however. It's been far too long, and I have lots of people to see. Something about Montana will always make it home for me.

One more update: it looks as though a bomb has gone off in our apartment. I'm packing in an orderly fashion, which involves taking everything out of boxes to make sure it's organized correctly. Poor Ryan. I don't know how he puts up with me. Good thing we're both excited to move to our new place.

callie/miley... miley/callie

I've been putting off this post for awhile now, mainly because I wanted a current picture to post of myself. Sounds vain, doesn't it? I just wanted it to see if you guys agree with the comparison that has been made in the past couple of weeks.

Several weeks ago, my friend Beth and l exchanged text messages that read like this:

Beth's phone: ok... So has anyone ever told u that u sorta look like Miley Cyrus? :-)
Callie's phone: You, my dear, are the first. I did want to marry billy ray when I was younger... :o)

I chuckled, relayed the comparison to Ryan, and went on my merry way.

Fast forward two weeks. I walked into the gift shop at work and this gal working behind the counter just stared at me. It was a little awkward. Finally, she spoke, and our conversation when like this:

Girl behind the counter: Oh my gosh, has anyone ever told you that you look like that Hannah Montana person?
Me: (laughing) It's funny that you say that because no one ever had until a couple of weeks ago when one my friends said that I looked like her.
Girl behind the counter: It's crazy! You look just like her. You could make some extra money going around and impersonating her.
Me: (still laughing, and also getting concerned because it appears the girl behind the counter still thinks I may be Miley Cyrus)
Girl behind the counter: What's your name (inquisitively, because again, I think she still thinks I may be Miley)?
Me: Callie
Girl behind the counter: Oh, weird. Her name is Mi-ley (she emphasized the 'ley' aspect of her name) and yours is Cal-lie. Very similar.
Me: Yup, sure is. Well, thanks!

And I exited the store.

So, it's now up to you, dear readers. Am I Miley Cyrus? Should I make some extra cash on the weekends parading around 'tween girls' birthday parties, singing Hannah Montana songs? Should I start calling Ryan "Billy Ray"? The possibilities really are endless.... Watch for a 'comparison' picture of me, hopefully to arrive shortly.

what I said to Ryan in my sleep...

(Apparently) these are the words I muttered, clear as day, in my sleep last night.

"Shhh.... We need to have a meeting about the salad bar. We have to discuss the state of the cous cous."

I do not remember this. I do not understand this.

Thoughts? Explanations?

spring.

I’ve been lax in my postings again. Ah, imperfections. What can I say?

I have several topics to blog about, but just can’t seem to get them written. I’ve had several long weeks at work, and when I get home after those long days of communicating, the last thing I want to do is communicate more… thus the long periods in between my last post and this one.

I’m going to limit this blog to the loveliness that is spring. I went riding again last night, and saw the evidence of spring everywhere. My favorite confirmations that spring is here are the new babies! The mares are birthing foals quite often, and there was one newbie yesterday. This little guy can’t be more than 24 hours old. He was so wobbly and cute!



A new batch of kittens has also made its way into my heart. These little ones are so sweet! They’re just tiny, but very friendly. It was fun to watch them play, even though they too are very wobbly. Too bad they grow up to be full-grown cats. If they didn’t, I’d bring them all home.







Hope you enjoy the pictures. Stay tuned for an upcoming post about fame, Miley Cyrus and me.

efficiency is overrated.

My plan to get a lot done last Friday didn't work. Blocking off time didn't work. Too many things required immediate attention, or else things took much longer than expected. I may work on refining my methods of scheduling, but we'll see. Efficiency is overrated, right? :)

In other news... it snowed this weekend. But today is bright and sunny. I got in to work at 7 this morning, and am looking forward to a productive day. I've been successful at being productive so far. Three things are checked off my list. Count the other three things I checked off the list by working on Saturday, and I'm well on my way to completing my whole list.Maybe not well on my way -- but definitely on my way. I'm excited to go riding tonight, especially since the weather is looking beautiful!

Off to get more completed...

new tactic = increased productivity?

I’m trying something new at work today. I’ve got a few meetings scheduled, but outside of that, I’m going to actually schedule time to work on projects. (I’m usually in more of a reactionary mode because there’s so much going on.) And I’m going to follow that schedule quite rigidly. I think the first thing on my schedule (beside a brief five minute window for blogging) will be a half an hour to clean my desk. It’s a mess; it’s a royal mess. Post-it Notes are helpful, but they’ve left my desk looking like a desk at 3M hit by a tornado. Not good. I’m actually going to try and take before and after pictures. I’ll post them.





Side note: It’s only 8:30 in the morning and I’ve already had a grande coffee and could use another three or four.

grr....

I am frustrated. And I did not see this frustration coming when I woke up this morning.

I went to work as I always do. I have a lot of big projects going on right now that require some of my undivided attention. I worked for about three hours and realized that I was getting consistently interrupted; since I (miraculously) didn’t have any meetings, I decided to pack it in and work from home. This also worked out well since the weather is getting bad and it’s supposed to snow today. (BIG BLAH!!!)

When I got home, I walked into the hallway of the apartment complex to find my old dishwasher sitting there to greet me. “Hmm,” I thought. The manager had mentioned something about replacing our old dishwasher (finally – it hasn’t been getting dishes clean in over two years), but they hadn’t called to let us know they’d be coming. I walked inside and saw another dishwasher sitting in the living room.

“Knock, knock,” said I.

“Hello,” said a muffled voice.

“Great,” I thought.

"We’re just installing the dishwasher; it should be another 10 to 15 minutes,” said the man under the sink.

That was an hour and a half ago. I can hear my cat Rory meowing. He originally locked her in our bedroom, where she promptly tore up the carpet. I took her out and put her in her cage.

This is ridiculous.

it happened...

I can't remember if I blogged about this or not, but I know I've commented about it on my friend Beth's blog. (check it out here; also note my comment to her post.)

Yesterday, my friend Rebecca and I were enjoying our almost-daily jaunt through the skyways. We've passed Larry the singing man so often that I've started to expect him, and thus don't pay as much attention to him. (Though his lyrics still sometimes catch my attention.) Anyway, we were just past him, and I heard him stop his song and start singing, "Power walk, power walk; Ladies on a power walk," which is what we were doing -- power walking.

I turned around and looked at him, and he was smiling at us! Hooray! We're nearly famous! :)

I should also take this time to explain what we look like while on a powerwalk. Picture two professionally-dressed women, walking as fast as they can, dodging in and around other slow-moving people, wearing tennis shoes with their skirts and suits, and glistening. (We try not to induce a full-out sweat; that would be gross.) If you want to know what we sound like, it's usually a rant of some sort, broken up by gasps for air. Talking and speed walking isn't easy.

So, yep. Inspiring a song... Looking like a fool... these are all things that happen in a day in the life of me.

busyness…

I’ve been in an argument with myself lately about how much “busy” is the right amount of “busy”. I’ve always been someone who likes to have things going on. The past couple of years, I’ve gotten to be less of scheduled and more spontaneous. But sometimes there are still things that need to be scheduled!

So, I’m nearing the end of a couple of months that have been a dead sprint. Actually, it seems like the time from Christmas forward has been a dead sprint. It’s been work trips on weekends, changes with churches, volunteering with a non-profit, starting to ride horses again after the winter break, preparing to move in May, going to Montana for my sister’s wedding in May, making exercise a priority (which really takes a lot of time!), and having family visitors (which we LOVE!!!). Not only that, but there has been lots of new stuff going on at work – which brings great opportunities, but also a lot of work.

I’m feeling exhausted. I feel like I’m drawing the line with my work/life balance, but sometimes I feel guilty for actually drawing that line! (That’s a pressure I put on myself, I know.) When I feel guilty, it ruins my good night’s sleep. It makes me cranky with Ryan. It makes me lazy.

It’s all very confusing…. How much busy is too busy? How much busy is excitement, and how much busy is stress? What’s the right balance? Anybody have some good advice?

In other news – we’ve switched churches again. I know, I know. Please don’t lecture. But, we’re very happy about our new church. It’s called Grace Nazarene, and is in Inver Grove Heights. We learned about it through my mom-in-law and dad-in-law – it’s where they attend. The church is pretty small, which I think both Ry and I are ready for. The pastor and his family are young and vibrant, which is also good. And it feels like home. You can’t beat that. We’ve enjoyed the Bible study on Wed. nights and Sunday School and the service on Sunday mornings.

stuff to look forward to...

Yesterday was a crazy day at work. Lots of meetings, lots to do, and when I left work, I got stuck in the parking garage for a good 15 minutes without moving. All in all, it was very frustrating.

The good news is that today is starting out to be a fantastically wonderful day. Ryan and I got up early, ran to Starbucks and then headed on our separate ways to work. The weather looks decent, and I'm going out for a long-awaited horseback ride. It's been a couple of weeks, and I'm going through withdrawls.

I'm wearing a vest that I haven't been able to fit into for a good two years.

I've got a long list of things to do today, and I think I have enough free time to get most of it done.

It's Thursday; tomorrow's Friday -- jeans day. Sweet.

Hope you all have a good Thursday!

virginia is for lovers...

...but ryan had to stay home with rory.

(Note -- this was written while I was in VA -- I just didn't get it posted until today. :)

I arrived to Richmond on Friday morning, and met a colleague to drive down to Williamsburg. We arrived and checked into the hotel, and then set out to explore the town. I must admit, it was pretty neat. However, in order to go into any of the buildings, you have to pay a minimum of $45. And that's a lot of money. Needless to say, we just walked around outside and peaked in windows.

The rest of the conference went well. I went home on Saturday evening with Mom and Dad. We spent Sunday relaxing. My dad and I went for a walk by my parents' house. Apparently, when they were building the home sites, they found an old confederate burial ground. They died of dysentry and other diseases during the winter. It was forgotten because the soldiers who buried them then went into battle and died. It was very sad and very intriguing to think that all of that happened in my parents' backyard. We also walked to an old cemetery with people buried from the mid-1800's. I love history, and am glad that I got to see the site of the Battle of Bristoe Station, which took place on my birthday - though it was a few years earlier.

We went and saw the cherry blossoms today, and my little sister gave us a tour of the capitol. She's an intern for rep. Denny rehberg from Montana. It was neat to see her all grown up and in-charge of a capitol tour group. Now my mom and I are on the virginia railway express heading home.

My flight leaves at 6:00 tomorrow morning, so I hope I get out. Ryan said there's a horrible storm in Minnesota.

Until then...

changes, changes...

It has again been too long since I've posted. Life gets so busy. With visiting relatives, the Easter holiday and other spring happenings, time has gotten away from me. But, the lapse of time means I have a big(ger) announcement: Ry and I are moving!

We have been pretty dissatisfied at our current apartment for quite some time, and have been looking at purchasing a condo at Reflections for about a year and a half. Unfortunately, they're a bit overpriced and the association fee is killer. So, after deciding we weren't in a permanent enough place to buy a house or condo, we decided to rent, and found the PERFECT 2 bedroom/2 bathroom condo at Reflections. Very, very exciting. The move-in date is mid-May. We're on the 10th floor overlooking a nature preserve... I'm sure pictures will follow after we've moved in. One of the best parts is that I'll be right on the light rail, so won't have to drive in and pay for parking downtown. Yay!

So, I know this probably wasn't the most exciting of posts, but at least it's something, right?

brian regan = favorite, too

I love Brian Regan. He's a great, decent comedian. Hilarious. I've been a fan for several years, thanks to my brother. And everytime I hear/see Mr. Regan, I laugh harder and harder.

Here's a sample:

ode to griff

I love my brother. He is visiting us for a few days after a training seminar he went to in Ohio. I'm very proud of him -- he's a civil engineer for the United States Forest Service and lives in Medford, OR.

We've been hanging out and talking about our childhood and growing up while he's been here. We used to have so much fun! Some things we remembered:

1. Going to Southa-Northa... (this game was born out of our family vacation to North and South Dakota, and consisted of us piling up blankets, coats, canteens, umbrellas, scarves, G.O.R.P. (good old raisins and peanuts), pistols and rifles, cowboy hats -- well, you get the picture; pretty much anything we thought we'd need on our trip, we packed. We'd put it on our horses and off we'd go!

2. Eep Hoop: This game involved the swing set that my dad built us; it was huge and swung out over a hillside, so it would feel like you were swinging really high. We made up a series of tricks for the swings, and then would put together a show, with one person making the calls. It was great, and I must admit -- we were pretty impressive at Eep Hoop.

3. Cowboys and Indians. This game was played in the pastures and old buildings at my grandma's ranch. Since it was right across the street, it was convenient. The game is pretty self-explanatory. I should note that often 'cowboys and indians' would involve us halter-training our calves. I don't know how we connected the two, but we did.

4. Bike Races. Enough Said.

5. Building a fort -- again, enough said.

6. Packing a picnic lunch and taking it down the Back Road. This was always an all-morning preparation activity. Nana or my mom would go with us, and we'd have such a fun time. I can almost smell the grass and water, and can here the birds and the far off sounds of the town. It was wonderful.

I loved my childhood, and Griff will always be one of my best friends. We also joked about how we didn't fight very often, but when we did, it got brutal and wasn't pretty. More on that another time...

top benefits of giving up pop

1. Saving approximately $2 a workday – that’s $520 a year.
2. No caffeine headaches.
3. Being one of the “healthy” people that asks for water at parties.
4. Using one Styrofoam cup a day, instead of three.
5. Eating out is cheaper – don’t have to pay $2.50 to $3 for drinks.
6. Clearer skin.
7. Sleeping better at night.
8. Spilled water is easier to clean up than spilled pop. And I’m a klutz.
9. Losing weight (hopefully).
10. Keeping my grandmothers happy – they’ve been warning me about diet pop for years.

you know who you look like? chandler.

Ryan and I went to work out today. The fitness studio was open, and it was pretty quite in there.

Warning!! Shameful confession: Sometimes I work out to the Dancing with the Stars workout video.

I went to see if the fitness studio (complete with walls of mirrors) had a tv and dvd player. Guess what? It did!

While looking at it, I said to Ryan, "It would be nice to have the mirrors so I can see if I'm doing the moves correctly," and then I did a couple of silly examples of the moves they do in the video.

"You know who you look like?" asked Ryan.

"Who?" said Callie.

"Chandler."

Chandler? Really? You really want to say your wife dances like Chandler? It's good thing I have a sense of humor. He even went further to say that I look like Chandler dancing at his wedding. Can't remember what that looks like? Enjoy the video.

couldn't you wait until you got home?

Two posts in one day... what is the world coming to?

The inspiration for this post comes from the man driving the Toyota Camry in front of me at the stoplight on the way home. He was shaving. While stopped at a stoplight.

It all went down so fast that it's hard to remember the details. I pulled up behind him, saw him glance at the cars around him. Apparently we weren't enough of a deterent, because the next thing I knew, he lifted up a razor and started shaving. Gross.

I told Ry this story once arriving home, and he didn't seem to think it was a big deal. His first question? "Was it an electric razor?"

"It was not," I replied. "It was a black bic razor."

"Sick," said Ryan.

"I know," said I.

It kinda makes me gag when I think that all of that guy's whiskers flew into the upholstery of his car. What if he was shaving on his way to pick up his date? She'd have no idea that she was about to sit on a pile of whiskers. Blah.

Moral of the story? Don't do anything in your car that may make someone blog about you.

HOWEVER, in light of my previous blog posting, he is "still a guy".

still a guy...

Not me -- I've never been a guy. But I do have a fondness for them... especially Ryan. :) Here's another ode to Brad Paisley -- One of my favorite songs. I love real men.... Just listen.

When you see a deer, you see Bambi;
And I see antlers up on the wall.
When you see a lake, you think picnics
And I see a large mouth up under that log.
You're probably thinking that you're gonna change me.
In some ways well maybe you might.
Scrub me down, dress me up, ah, but no matter what
Remember, I'm still a guy.

When you see a priceless French painting,
I see a drunk, naked girl.
You think that ridin' a wild bull sounds crazy;
And I'd like to give it a whirl.
Well love makes a man do some things he ain't proud of,
And in a weak moment I might
Walk your sissy dog, hold your purse at the mall
But remember, I'm still a guy.

And I'll pour out my heart,
Hold your hand in the car,
Write a love song that makes you cry,
Then turn right around knock some jerk to the ground,
'Cause he copped a feel as you walked by.

I can hear you now talkin' to your friends
Saying, "Yeah girls, he's come a long way,
From draggin' his knuckles and carryin' a club
And buildin' a fire in a cave.”

But when you say a backrub means only a backrub
And then you swat my hand when I try,
Well now, what can I say at the end of the day,
Honey, I'm still a guy.

And I'll pour out my heart,
Hold your hand in the car,
Write a love song that makes you cry,
Then turn right around knock some jerk to the ground,
'Cause he copped a feel as you walked by.

These days there's dudes gettin' facials,
Manicured, waxed and botoxed.
With deep spray-on tans and creamy lotion-y hands,
You can't grip a tacklebox.
Yeah with all of these men lining up to get neutered,
It's hip now to be feminized.
I don't highlight my hair.
I've still got a pair.
Yeah now honey, I'm still a guy.

Oh my eyebrows ain't plucked.
There's a gun in my truck.
Oh thank God, I'm still a guy.

rag & bone

Jack White is a genius. For real. So, remember when I said that Ryan commandeered us a new TV? This 52-inch HDTV is a beauty. I’m enjoying watching American Idol on this new contraption with great sound! But anyway, I had to laugh when I was listening to this song on the way into work today. So much of what we have in our apartment is hand-me-downs. We’re essentially Jack and Meg. Ryan and Callie. Too funny. Just listen to the lyrics.

On a totally unrelated note, I found a gray hair on my head two days ago. It was traumatic. I pulled it out (don’t they say that’s the worst thing to do?) and closely examined to see if it was just ultra-blond. It wasn’t. This is the first gray hair I’ve ever found. I’m getting up there in years.

Finally, I’ve been pop free for three and a half days. I just may be successful at this endeavor. Fingers crossed. And if you have any pop you want to give away, you know, if you’re not going to use it, well don’t give it to me. It’s one thing I won’t accept.

two and a half days…

On Saturday night while hanging out with my fab sister-in-law and her husband, we discussed diet pop and the (apparently) negative effects that it has on a body.

My grandma has been warning me about these effects for several years, and now with the additional prodding of others, I’ve taken the bold step to give up pop. I will be transparent and say that I’m trying to drop another couple of pounds before my sister’s wedding, and cutting out pop will be a factor in attaining my goal.

So, it’s been two and a half days without Diet Coke. I did have a bit of headache today, but a little bit of coffee chased it away. It somewhat sad, but like I said, I’m feeling motivated. J I wish lattes were cheaper – I’d drink those as often as I used to drink Diet Coke. Blah.

Anyone have any success stories for giving up pop?

what a difference the sun makes....

I slept a lot yesterday. For some reason I just couldn’t stay awake. It made waking up especially easy this morning. And nothing was better than walking outside into the sunshine. Even though it was a bit chilly (9 above), the sun made all the difference for my mood. This Monday might not be so bad.

I’m having lunch with a friend and going horseback riding tonight. It’s shaping up to be a good day. Hopefully a good week…. There is one factor that could make it a tough week. I’m giving up pop. I usually drink diet pop, but have recently heard from my sis-in-laws and my husband that the diet pop ingredients aren’t very healthy, and I’m not willing to get the calories from regular pop – so, I’ll probably be a bear for a few days with my withdrawals from caffeine, etc.

Note the new song playing… it’s to encourage spring.

P.S. Paula, I watched the end of the NASCAR race yesterday. :)

"must-do" fridays

I love Fridays, I really do. But there is always a moment on Friday mornings after I come into work, buy my coffee and get some water, and then take a multi-vitamin (taking it at work is the only way I remember to take it) that I realize there are lots of things I need to do before the weekend. And I realized this morning that it has become routine in those moments to make a “must-do” list before I leave for the weekend. I think it actually makes me more productive… and I sleep better on Friday night.

On the list for today? Too many things to get done in nine hours. But I’ll give it my best shot…

maybe you should buy two tickets?

Have you guys been waiting for my traumatic story about my trip back from Houston? I think I can finally talk about it -- or at least write about it -- without getting too angry.

So, Sunday morning in Houston started out splendidly. I got up early, checked out of the hotel, drove to Katy to see Paula and co., grabbed coffee at Starbucks, went for a walk and then left around 10:30 a.m. to get to the airport. I made it to the airport with a comfortable amount of time to drop off the rental car, get checked in and then get through security. But then, the plane was about a half an hour late. We finally did get on the plane (and I was one of the last on because I'm not a fan of waiting in line), and as I was walking back to my seat, I saw a huge man. I thought, "With my luck, I'll end up in the seat next to him." Guess what? My seat was right next to him.

So, I got sat down and was smooshed against the wall, only to find out that something was wrong with the fueling mechanism and we didn't have air conditioning. We sat on the tarmac for 45 minutes without AC, me sweating up a storm, feeling the man's leg sweat on my leg and having his arm rest on my rib cage. I think my spine is curved from sitting for so long at the angle I was at. Worst thing is, every seat on the plane was full so I had to stay that way for the whole trip. Ick.

This doesn't sound as horrible on "paper" as it was in real life.

I realize I'm risking sounding snotty, and I felt sorta bad for the guy, but come on. Give me a break and don't make both of us miserable on the flight. Next time, get two seats. I'll take a later flight.

home again, home again...

I spent the last couple of days in Houston, Texas for work, but also had the joy of spending some time with my sister-in-law and her family. It was all most enjoyable. The training session went well, and I met some interesting people there, and was thoroughly entertained.

My grandma left after her six-day stay with us on Thursday evening, and I was back at the MSP airport to fly out a mere eight hours later. When I got to Houston, the temps were cooler, and I kicked myself for not bringing warmer clothes! We went to the Katy, TX rodeo on Friday night but left disappointed at the extra-winded announcer and rodeo clowns. Only in the rodeo can you pray before the event and then tell off-color jokes about your fat wife. We did get to see the kids do a stickhorse race and mutton-bustin'. It got too cold for our underdressed selves, so we left before the good stuff got going. I am happy to report, though, that a Montana cowboy kicked all the Texas cowboys' butts at calf-tying. Gotta love that.

Saturday was spent working, and then I went back to the hotel room with a horrible headache. Slept the rest of the day, and got up early this morning to spend a little more time with family... Which included a NASCAR race with matchbox cars with my nephew and a walk with my sis-in-law and Cookie the dog. All very fun.

Here are some things I learned on my Texas trek:

E-85 isn't the only kind of fuel that can go in an E-85 gas tank (thankfully, or I would have missed my flight).
Not everything is bigger in Texas. I paid over $4 for a latte that didn't have more than eight ounces of liquid. Un.real.
It's not always warm in Texas. Sometimes it's downright cold.
When you leave your husband home for a few days, he sometimes commandeers items of values. The item this time around? A free 52-inch flat screen HDTV. Nice work, Ryan.

I shall write of my traumatizing airplane ride home at a later date. It’s still too fresh to re-live at the moment.

Oh, and as for the answer to my last blog -- I just let the phone in the elevator ring. I'm boring like that. ;o)

if a phone rings, should you answer it?

When I got in the elevator in the parking garage this morning, one of the phone in the elevator was ringing. I had several thoughts about what it could be, and what my course of action would be. Here they are:

1. Look suspiciously around the elevator at the other business people, pick up the phone and whisper, “Not now. Too many people.”
2. Assume it’s a bomb, get out immediately and take the stairs.
3. OR assume it’s a bomb, throw open the case where the phone is, and tell everyone to stand back! (John McClain-esque)
4. Ignore it.

Guess which one I did?

strange moment of the day... yesterday

Yesterday was Sunday, and my grandma, Nana, is here visiting so we decided to head down to Minneapolis to show here the bridge that collapsed. We say it, and some of the new construction they're starting to rebuild it, and then headed back home.

A few hours later, we heard on the news that there was a car-to-car shooting on the same road we had been on. If we had been just a little later, we could have been close. That's too close for me... yikes!

things i love.... frivolous and non

What better day than Valentine's Day to make a list of things I love; it's not exhaustive or in any particular order.

My husband.
My job.
New shoes.
Visitors.
Country Music.
Disney Movies.
My in-laws.
Patrick Warburton.
Traveling.
Rodeos.
Tina Turner.
My family.
Live theatre.
History.
Montana.
Dave Barry.
Friends.
Christmas.
Frosted animal cookies (of the pink and white variety).

this is not a good sign...

My apologies. I haven't blogged in awhile. As I mentioned in my title, this is not a good sign. I promise (should I really be promising this?) to be better.

Speaking of not good signs, has anyone else read or heard about the worst Valentine's Day gift ever? First, Ryan informed me that one of top Valentine's gifts is plastic surgery. I don't know where he read it, but apparently he read it somewhere. I was skeptical at first, but while driving home last night, I heard a similar ad on the radio. It said something along the lines of (and I'm not exaggerating), "Not sure what to give your Valentine this year? Get her a gift certificate to the dermatologist. She'll feel as sexy as she did when you started dating."

Uh, okay. Really? The dermatologist? I would KILL Ryan if that's what he got me for Valentine's Day. There's nothing that says, "I love you just the way you are," like pointing out a person's skin flaws. On Valentine's Day.

Men, a word of advice. Don't give your girlfriend/fiance/wife/mother/sister/grandma/niece/aunt/basically anyone plastic surgery, a trip to the dermatologist or anything that may point out certain... er... less-than-perfect body issues.

And don't install this, even if it does bring you closer together. It's not a good sign.

Nothing better...

In my opinion, there is nothing better than riding on the back of a horse. Something about it just makes life better. I found this quote online, and I think it says it all.

"All I pay my psychiatrist is the cost of feed and hay, and he'll listen to me any day."

Horses keep me sane.

friday niceties…

I drive underneath approximately four overpasses on my way to work everyday. It’s not uncommon to see people holding signs or signs tacked up with messages about various causes – usually the war, politics, civil rights, etc. I usually find these somewhat obnoxious, because I’m not sure what they really expect the signs to accomplish – but whatev.

Anyway, today there was a sign that had to be the best one I’ve seen. It read, “You look nice today.”

I smiled and decided it was going to be a good day. Thanks to whoever posted the sign; I’m sure you brightened several days. And to the readers of this blog, I'm certain you look nice today, too.