Goin' Road Trippin'

My Great-Full Life

You ever have those times in life when things aren’t really going your way, but you couldn’t be more grateful? If not, change your perspective.

Try finding the good in every situation, especially if you are stuck in rut and things aren’t they way you want them to be. My acid reflux kept me awake for hours last night, led to me thinking up this catchy title to my post, got me out of bed to write it and gave me some much needed clarity.

One idea, one thought, one suggestion… it’s amazing how one person can help change another’s life just by having a conversation. I would like to thank my friend Alice for giving me heartburn so I could write this post! What? You say. All right, so the story goes; during our travels I was introduced to this horrible discomfort they call acid reflux and was given Ranitidine. I would take it sporadically, as needed, but usually after hours of suffering, as I would try to let it pass on its own. During this time, our dogs got fleas and we were traveling in humid climates, so the random red dots that appeared on my legs weren’t much of a concern. Once we got home, my heartburn became more common, and after weeks of trying to live with the pain, I began taking the medication regularly. Slowly the rash appeared on my back, stomach and arms. I’d gotten an ointment from the doctor months before, thinking maybe it was the laundry detergent we used while traveling causing the irritation. Not until a couple weeks ago while talking with my dear friend Alice, who inquired about medications, did the “dots” connect. So long rash, hello heartburn! I am currently enjoying the chalky chewable tablets of Gaviscon to relieve my heartburn until I can see my doctor about an alternative medication. It didn’t work tonight though ….and thankfully so.

I’ve been spending so much time lately thinking about what I’m NOT doing, I’ve forgotten to embrace all the things I’m blessed to be doing right now. Usually, it’s not until you look back at a time in your life when things were good that you realize really how good it was. I say, see it now! Put life into a perspective where you are grateful, hopeful, and appreciative. For me, I want to soak up every day that I get spend with my Dad, cherish my wonderful husband and overly enjoy the loving adoration of our two adorable dogs.

I’m so thankful to have loving friends and family only a phone call away. I’m also thankful for my phone, for my fingers to dial and my voice to speak! The greatness of things is only seen by the grateful! BE GRATEFUL!

The dogs anticipating Mitch coming through the door from work. Pure love and joy

I keep thinking that I haven’t done enough in life, I haven’t changed the world yet, I need to be more, do more, and make more… Then I realized, I am doing, being and making, it’s just in a different way than I thought, and that’s OK because that’s how life is. I’m going to be more content in the moment, keep the faith, forever remain grateful and cherish my life just how it is, right now…. And keep on working toward that next dream.

dream big, dream always, dream until your dreams come true

A Whole New World

I’m now at a place in my life where I can go to a restaurant, ask for a table for one and not feel self-conscious. What a wonderful feeling! I couldn’t say if it’s maturity, finally not caring what others may think or the fact that with a slower metabolism at 40, so comes a newfound self-confidence?I went out to a restaurant by myself in my early 20’s and felt like a water buffalo in a birdbath. I tried again when I turned 30, which resulted in an internal argument of awkward suffrage that’s still indescribable.

If I were to be honest about what it really is, it’s the fact that the first two times I was lonely and alone in my life, and I projected that into my experience. Now, thankfully I have unconditional love and acceptance from my husband and it’s given me great self-esteem and worth. What a blessing to be married to my best friend!

The BEST chips and salsa around at La Cabana in Post falls — The BEST chips and salsa around is La Cabana in Post falls! A must go to if you’re in town!

X-BOX 360

For the last 5 years I’ve wanted to get a Wii with the interactive sports, and it all just seemed so fun. After talking with a gal at our local grocery store, hearing how she’s lost 70 lbs using the zumba fit on her Wii Fit, I was ready to just go get one. Mitch had heard that the X-Box 360 with Kinect was more advanced and you don’t have to hold controllers. So, on Black Friday we went on the hunt! Not only did we get the X-Box 360 with Kinect it also had interactive games with it.

My favorite racing game is Sonic All star racing transformed!

We played football, golf, baseball, tennis and skiing that first night, funny enough we were both sore the next day. Since then we’ve created a new level to our relationship that involves video games! Who knew they were so much fun! Happy, happy quality couple time during the cold winter days.

Pinot’s Palette

This is great way to spend quality time with friends or your significant other ( it has a bar so everyone must be over 21)

We’ve found the joy of painting lately by watching none other than Mr. Bob Ross. What an amazing man! After watching him a couple times on TV, he inspired us to sign up for a class at Pinot’s Palette.

We were the first to arrive for the class, as Mitch is never early, he’s early for early. We got to know both Mitch (short for Michele) the bar tender and Heather, the class instructor. Once others arrived, glasses filled with mimosas’ or wine, we all took our seats, and Heather got us started with the background.

Let’s get this painting party started already.

We started wth up and down strokes of watered down acrylic blue, then our next color was to be green applied with side-to-side strokes. We were all concentrating on our own work when the lady on the right of Mitch says, “hey, you’re getting your paint all over my canvas!” We look over to see what she’s talking about, and there across her whole canvas were speckled green dots from Mitch’s brush. Mitch was super apologetic about his overzealous painting technique and I couldn’t stop laughing. Then Mitch began to tell me about how he was hearing Bob Ross in his head about it being his own world and was just letting his creativity out. Then I really couldn’t stop laughing. The rest of time, Mitch was able to keep his paint on his own canvas and we had a wonderful experience.

Mitch's masterpiece — Mitch’s masterpiece

We plan to go again and maybe get our own paints and take more classes.

Papa was happy to hang my artwork in his place

More happy happy quality couple time for these cold winter days! Wahoo.

I added a frog to one of the lilies, just a little wink to my mom

Hope everyone has good quality time planned with loved ones this winter season! Maybe you’ll even try one of our experiences.

If Only

The phone rang at 10:09 Sunday night November 16^th, Mitch and I look at each other wondering who could be calling so late. I walk over to my phone and see that it’s my Aunt Karla, and instantly I knew it wasn’t good news. Hearing her voice confirmed my fear; she could barely speak through her sorrow as she told me that her son Justin had died. Unfortunately because of his life choices, it was an overdose of drugs. The hope we’ve kept lit for him to come out of the world of drugs, instantly went dark.

Justin was the cool one when we were kids, he had an Atari, the adoration of our Grandparents and the older cousins always included him in their outings. It’s been said he had the world by the tail, especially in sports, as he was a natural athlete. When I was 7 my family moved to the other side of the state, but through the years I would hear how great he was doing in school and later that he had a full college scholarship for football. Then it happened, the drugs… I don’t know who started him on them, when it really began, or for how long it had been happening, but his addiction became bigger than his life and he quit college. So began the long decent into the rabbit hole, time in prison, family interventions, marriage to an addict, rehab and relapses resulting in an untimely death. He leaves behind a little boy, 5 years old already being raised by Karla. If only he feared drugs, avoided people who did them and said NO. where would he be now? He was the one with all the potential, the good looks, the world was his oyster….. I know in life it’s all about choices, I just wish he’d made different ones.

I am going to give you a horrific visual that may deter someone from ever taking drugs in the first place. Addicts are like the coyote that is lured in by man, blood poured onto and around a razor to attract the animal. When the coyote starts licking up the blood he begins to cuts his own tongue on the razor, not realizing its his own blood he keeps licking and bleeds to death, all from that first taste of blood. Never try it to begin with, be afraid, very afraid! This story about the coyote has haunted me since the first time I heard it, it’s disturbing, graphic and inhumane but to get the point across, so too are drugs.

Hopefully Justin’s death will save someone else life, prompt them to get help and enjoy their life not yet lived. It is NEVER to late.

The sorrow a mother must feel to know her son is lost in the world of drugs, unable to make them choose a different direction has to be a suffering beyond explanation. Only when the Lord has taken him home can she feel a strange sense of peace, knowing that no longer will she have to worry. May his son Tristan have his father’s strengths and good qualities, there were many.

If you would like to share your condolences please go to Advantage Aurora Chase Chapel and sign the guest book.

Proverbs 3:5

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

The Good, The Disturbing and The Unforgettable

Years ago I got my 15 seconds of fame, yes I know that it’s normally 15 minutes, but for me it was seconds. As an extra on a few TV shows I quickly learned that I would much rather watch shows than to be in them. I was amazed at how long it took for one scene, all the waiting around and how quick people are to bark orders left and right. Honestly, I felt as if I were back in basic training, being yelled at and ignored at the same time, what an unwelcoming environment. After seeing a couple of actors in person I began to have a true sympathy for them, their lack of privacy, never able to just be.. Always hunted and endlessly pursued. No thanks!

Now with that being said, Mitch and I love movies. We love to get lost in the story, to feel the characters joys and pains, to be sucked into the whole experience. I’ve been wanting to share a list of somewhat recent movies that have stuck in my head after I’ve watched them that you may find interesting to see.

Just so you can get a feel for what kind of movies I like I’m going to give you a list with 10 well-known movies that come straight to mind as some of my favorites.

1. Joe Dirt

2. Fried Green Tomatoes

3. A River Runs Through It

4. Never Been Kissed

5. Sleeping With The Enemy

6. The Long Kiss Goodnight

7. True Romance

8. Forest Gump

9. Dances With Wolves

10. The Book of Eli

Now, of course I would recommend all the movies listed above if you haven’t seen them, but what I am going to recommend to you, are movies that weren’t super famous, didn’t get rave reviews, but really made an impact on me after I watched them.

A Little Bit of Heaven (2011) with Kate Hudson

I saw this movie when it first came out on video and was quite bothered with Kate’s character , but loved the ending and it stuck in my mind. I just re-rented it today, finished watching it for the second time and cried so hard I could barely breathe, actually really enjoyed how true and flawed she is as a person, and loved this movie 10 times more than the first time I watched it. Yes, it’s a sad love story that is so well written you feel like you’re in her life.

Mitch and I watch tons of movies.. Some, we get just because of the actor in it, big mistake usually! Some, because we’ve seen the previews and know it’ll be good and lots of them we watch because we’ve already seen all the other ones. The Divide was just one we grabbed one day because we’d seen most of the other movies out on the shelf.

The Divide (2011) with Rosanna Arquette

This movie is disturbing, graphic, awfully realistic and haunts my mind. I would never choose to see it again, but I can’t forget it. It is human nature at it worst, primal and raw. It’s hard to accept how people in a certain situation can become the worse version of themselves, but I have to admit that it really made me think. It’s the one movie that I’ve felt as if I could almost smell how bad it was in that room! Definitely NOT for the faint of heart.

The Other Guys (2010) with Mark Wahlberg

You know the kind of movie that you watch over and over and it STILL makes you laugh? This is that kind of movie! Beyond funny, yet not the kind where they are trying too hard and it’s forced. Love, love, love it. Ooh, I think we’ll watch this one on Thanksgiving!

The Brave One (2007) with Jodi Foster

After seeing this movie I couldn’t get out of my mind how senseless and tragic her experience. Once the prey and now the predator, she pursues her own justice. It’s a vortex of emotions throughout the entire film that still never erases the awfulness that begins the war.