Flashback Friday - Family Vacation continued

I think flashback Friday was an ingenius idea and it makes me happy to dust off the old blogs to be read by new eyes (and some old ones). Be sure to go visit ScaryMommy. Here is part 3 and 4 enjoy...

Part III
We are on the ship. I truly believe when I die, I want my heaven to be a cruise ship. They feed you everywhere you go, they have Duty Free shops where the booze is way inexpensive, they have jewelry shops, and they have designer handbags! Seriously, what more could a girl ask for?

I am sharing a room with my brothers, there is one bed by the window and then basically bunkbeds. I am not sure how I lucked out and ended up sleeping on the top bunk...what the hell, I should have totally pulled the oldest child card. But by the time we had gotten through check-in, I was ready to just lay down for a few minutes and the thought of fighting over who slept where was just too much for me. Also, I was a little worried about sleeping on the bottom bunk with Alex on the top bunk. As Alex stated, he would have a broken arm and I would be dead. Alex is not a little dude.

The cabins are tiny but we have a window and we are not sharing with our parents. So overall it's pretty awesome. Tomorrow we stop in Catalina for the day, then it's on to Mexico. Although we are only in Mexico for one day.

I have found that I am a little lonely on the cruise. There is so much I would love to experience with Jen and Kelsey and Christina and other good friends. My dad and brothers just don't understand my excitement over designer handbags and my mom just tells me I could get the same type purse much cheaper. The cruise also feels a little like high school. I am just not sure where I fit in yet.

Sorry, nothing too exciting happened today. For the most part it was uneventful but stressful. We did have a life-jacket drill, that was interesting and there are several people I better get off the boat before! Oh, and you should know that yes, ships are still sexist, the sick, women, and children all get off the ship first. I guess that's good for me...not so good for my dad and brothers.


Part IV
Nope, karaoke does not improve on a cruise ship. People still suck. But I am have a pretty good time. Right now Sam and I are sitting in one of the many bars aboard ship listening to bad singing. Soon we will leave to meet up with the rest of family for a comedy show at midnight. Sam and I are giggling like little school girls as we watch four very large Samoan men sing All 4 One's "I Swear". It is hilarious and one just started dancing!

So, Sam has officially won the "Who can make mom cry first?" prize Today we left the ship for a an excursion to Catalina. Catalina is a cool little place where everyone basically drives golf carts everywhere. Well, my family decided to rent one for an hour. Ok, cool...no, not so much. My mom kept trying to tell my dad where to go and was just stressing everyone out. Sam, who is riding shotgun, turns around to face my mom, who is riding in the middle seat (Alex and I are being nerds and are riding in the backseat facing backwards, try not to be jealous), and he says, "Mom, shut up! You are stressing us all out and you have no idea what you are talking about!" Maybe tomorrow Alex can make her cry.


As Kelsey (Sam's fiance) says, "It's only funny because it's not happening at my house."

Catalina is obviously a tourist attraction and their economy is completely supported by cruise ships passengers. But I like it. It has a quaint little feel to it and I totally am down with driving a golf cart everywhere. I would pimp mine out, spinners and everything! Did you know that here are bison on the island. They were brought over for a film of a Zane Grey book but did not actually make it into the movie and ever since there have been several hundred head of bison on the island. It's a cool little place.

I am totally digging the evening turndown service on the ship and I am no longer sleeping on the top bunk, Sam now has that privilege...if he asks I will tell him it is his prize for making mom cry. They come and fold down your comforter, place a mint on your pillow, and they fold a towel into some crazy sea creature! Sweetness.

The ship has really been rocking lately and I have come to the conclusion that anyone who is actually walking straight, is drunk off their ass. Because all the sober people are lurching back and forth. They like to take pictures wherever you go, even if you don't want your picture taken. Sam and Alex where each accosted by the pirate lady...ha ha.

Alright, I must go. I miss you all terribly. I no longer feel so lonely but I still wish someone else could appreciate the designer handbags as much as I do!

I like drinks with umbrellas

For Memorial Day weekend I went camping. Now, before I say anything else, let me say that I had a good time. I had fun and did not hate any of it (okay except the part where I swallowed a bug, could have TOTALLY done without that). In fact I would even go camping again.

I just don't happen to be a camper, my family never really went camping. I don't take the initiative to plan a camping trip, I don't want to have to figure out the details. I don't own a tent or a sleeping bag. I only own a camping chair because I needed one for a birthday party out at a park. God help us all if I am in charge of food for a camping trip! Unless it's the s'mores 'cause I have that down to an art!

I don't really understand the appeal of camping. You pack everything you already have at home and head off into the wilderness where you will set up a tent aka shelter...which you had at home. Start a fire for warmth and possibly to act as your stove...have both of those at home. During the twilight hours you are fighting off bugs and spraying yourself down with toxins so you don't get bitten...yeah, if I was home, in my house - no bugs.

Birds wake you up at the freaking crack of dawn or small children with whistles, whatevs (oh, did I mention I am also not a morning person and I happen to be the lightest freaking sleeper ever). The nights are so cold you huddle around the fire trying to get warm and then the smoke blows in your face, awesome for asthmatics! Then you go to bed and the mere thought of getting naked to bump uglies makes you want to cry because your teeth are chattering so hard. I was in pajama pants, a long sleeve shirt and socks. I NEVER wear socks to bed.

And to add to the chill at night, I happen to be a nighttime pee-er. I typically pee 1-2 times a night. Not so awesome when you have to crawl out of your blanket cocoon, search for flip flops, try and get the flip flops on over your socks, and trek outside and decide if it is worth making the hike to the "toilets" (scary scary and smelly toilets) or just 'rough it' outside. Half asleep you have to pee without peeing on your pants (or foot) and then drip dry it is.

I also burn at the thought of direct sunlight and I don't like to swim in water I can't see the bottom of and that fish poop in.

People tell me that the appeal of camping is get away and hang with friends and/or family. That is great and I get that. I really do. But you can get away and hang with friends and family at an awesome resort with a fruity drink complete with an umbrella, shaded by palm trees, relaxing at the swim-up bar at the pool. There is indoor plumbing, meaning toilets AND showers. Climate controlled rooms, air conditioning for when it gets sweltering hot and heaters for when you start to feel the chill in the air. And real beds, not air mattresses that start to deflate during the night. That's the kind of camping I want to do ;)

But to quote my 5 year old camping buddy, Haley, when asked what was the best part of camping..."the chocolate". Now that girl has her priorities in order!

Flashback Friday - Family Vacation Part II

Scary Mommy does Flashback Friday. So here is part two of the family vacation that occurred in December 2007:


Last night I wrote a great blog about my day yesterday and when I went to post it, Myspace ate it. I was too frustrated and tired to try and rewrite. I will now attempt to match the greatness of the original blog, but I cannot make any promises.

The other night when I was telling everyone about the excitement of getting to Califormia I failed to mention the crazy waitress we had at the hotel restaurant. I was so tired, I blocked it from memory. Sam, Alex, and I all decide to head down to the hotel restaurant for some dinner, our parents were off somewhere shopping. We arrive at the restaurant about 8ish and there is no one there. This makes the 3 of us a little nervous but the server tells us to sit anywhere. We naively pick a table, having no idea what we have just gotten ourselves into.

Our server sounds like she has been smoking for 30 years and Sam likes to describe her as a female version of Joe Pesci...this is pretty accurate. She comes over to our table, hands us menus and takes our drink orders. After bring us our drinks she then takes our dinner orders.

As we are waiting for our dinner a woman comes into the restaurant, obviously a co-worker or manager of our server. This woman proceeds to tell a story about a bad experience she had at Sam's Club. She thought the price of an item was $3.99 but when she got to the checkout the price was actually $19.99. The woman is talking very loudly and my brothers and I have already heard this story 3 times, while we were out in the lobby. The woman has completed the story with our server and heads over to the bar where we hear her begin to tell the story again to the bartender. The three of us all exchange eye rolls. All of a sudden our server is standing at our table, motions to the woman who just left and makes a talking gesture with her hand and says "yak, yak, yak." Um, ok, weird.

The next time we see our server she is bringing out our dinners. It is immediately obvious that one of the three plates is extremely hot and burning her. Does she put down the hottest plate first? No! She sets the scalding hot plate down last. What kind of crazy logic is that. The hot plate is Sam's, he ordered nachos and we assume the whole plate was put in the oven to melt the cheese. As she sets the plate down she turns to Sam and says, "That plate was hot!" We all nod our heads in acknowledgment but apparently that was not good enough. She says, "No, it was really hot! See..." And she presses her hand against Sam's cheek. The horrified look on Sam's face was PRICELESS! Now that she has traumatized Sam she turns her attention to Alex. He has ordered buffalo wings. She says to him, "Sorry, that took so long, we had to go kill the chickens. Just kidding we keep them dead in the back!" WTF!? The woman is crazy.

We manage to complete our meal, somewhat in shock. Then she brings out the check. She reaches in front of me and hands the check to Sam. She says "I don't know why I am handing this to you, but you are the oldest here and are probably paying." OH NO SHE DIDN'T! I am the oldest by 4 years and I was the one PAYING! After all of this we head back to our room where we all crash and try and put the memory of this night behind us.

Yesterday morning we awoke to our mother yelling, "I CAN'T HEAR HIM!" All three children bolt upright from a dead sleep, our hearts are pounding, thinking, uh oh that's mom's angry voice, someone is in trouble. Then our father calmly says, "Sue, you're dreaming." What the hell, she just scared the crap out of all of us! The rest of the morning continues uneventfully. We get dressed and head off to Disneyland.

The beauty of my parents having grown children and modern technology providing all of us with cell phones...we are not required to stick together all day long. Before we split apart we all ride the Indiana Jones ride and attempt to ride the Pirates of the Caribbean. We are almost at the front of the line for this ride when they experience mechanical problems and the ride is closed for several hours. Apparently when children do not get to go on their ride they begin to scream bloody murder in your ear...or maybe that was just the child directly behind me.

After this my brothers and I decide to go our own way and leave the parentals to do whatever it is parentals do at Disneyland. The three of us trek over to Splash Mountain. Keep in mind we have all been to Disneyland before, have been on this ride before, and know that there is a chance of getting somewhat wet. No, we did not get wet, we were drenched! The sign said, 'Caution, you may get a little wet on this ride.' Um, no, the sign should have said, 'Hey stupid, you will get completely soaked, there are no towels available at the end of this ride, and you still have the rest of the day to wander around Disneyland.' I have never gotten that wet on this ride, ever! Mid ride I had to move my phone and camera into my bra just to keep them dry. As I stepped off the ride my shoes were squishing. Alex was able to wring out his sweatshirt. We did however get an awesome photo of the three of us! When we got back to the hotel room at 10pm, Sam's sock was still wet, 10 hours after we went on the freaking ride!

The rest of the day passed without any mishaps. We all left Disneyland still speaking to everyone and we were tired but happy. Over all the day was fun and I have come to realize how much I enjoy both of my brothers. They are hilarious. There was a minor spat between everyone right before bed, but this morning it is all forgotten and we are preparing for the cruise portion of our adventure. I do have sunburn from Disneyland though, so much for fading freckles!

For everyone who has been monitoring the sleeping arrangements, I lucked out and Alex chose to sleep on the floor instead of sharing a bed with me. I am still not sure whether to be relieved or slightly offended! On the cruise, my brothers and I will be sharing a cabin and our parents are in another room, thank god. It will be nice to have a place to retreat when the family vacation stress level has just about made you snap.

I hope everyone is having a good and I will write again...more on the cruise part later.

~Erica

P.S. I thought California was supposed to warm? I have been chilled and unable to get warm since we arrived. Mexico better be warm or I want a refund!

Tag 8

Alright, since The Marvelous Mrs. E tagged me and I have nothing better to do...here it is:



8 Things I'm Looking Forward to:

1. Buying my first house

2. Buying a new car

3. Jen's wedding

4. Decorating my new house

5. My birthday

6. Big Brother starting in July (don't judge me)

7. Paying off my stupid credit cards

8. Getting my first horse (it almost makes me pee my pants in excitement!)



8 Things I did yesterday:

1. Got weighed - lame

2. Got blood drawn - lame

3. Got a speeding ticket - super lame

4. Cried - awesome

5. Celebrated Mike's birthday

6. Ate dessert

7. Watched the season finale of Criminal Minds *tear*

8. Talked to my mommy




8 Things I wish I could do:

1. Not say sarcastic comments outloud before I think them through

2. Travel the world

3. Lick my own elbow - hey, this would be a cool party trick. Speaking of cool party tricks...

4. Tie a cherry stem into a knot with my tongue

5. Sign Language - besides the message I am able to convey with one finger

6. Cook like my brother

7. Go horse back riding right this minute

8. Be invisible whenever I chose


8 Shows I watch:

1. Medium - or I did until NBC cancelled it, CBS better pick it up!

2. Criminal Minds

3. True Blood

4. Big Brother - shut the hell up!

5. Deadliest Catch

6. Grey's Anatomy

7. Private Practice

8. House




8 Tags:

1. A Life of Simple Pleasure

2. Lady Jane

3. Fidgeting Gidget

4. Alyssa (I know you like to defy the blog gods, but I thought I would try)

5. Miss Rosa

6. LiLu

7. PinkNic

8. Ella Everywhere

Imaginary friends are cool and all

Do you ever have conversations with yourself? In your head? And then wonder if it was all really only in your head or if you said somethings out loud?

Yeah, me too.

I often dictate emails or responses to IMs in my head before I actually write it out. I will play out whole conversations in my mind. Usually the conversations in real life don't come close to what I imagined. Now usually, all this takes place in my mind and not out loud where anyone can hear me and conclude that I am insane. But every once in awhile I wonder...

Today I was composing an email to this guy Kyle. I trying out different phrasing and what all I wanted to say. I hadn't actually sat down at the computer to type it out. I was still working out the kinks in my mind first.

While doing this I realized I had to pee.

I head into the bathroom at work go into a stall and do my thing. The whole time I am composing my email. I come out of the stall and start washing my hands and I realize that I am not alone in the bathroom. One of the other stalls is also occupied.

Great!

I start to replay everything in the last few minutes and try to determine if I said anything out loud. I am still not convinced that the whole thing only happened in my mind.

It is quite possible that my co-worker now believes I have an imaginary friend named Kyle.

You might be a douchebag...

if...

*You pull out in front of me on the street and cause me to slow way down and THERE IS NO ONE BEHIND ME! Asshole.

*You get into the passing lane and DON'T FUCKING PASS the car in the other lane. Asshole.

*You refuse to drive the EFFING SPEED LIMIT. Asshole.

*You throw a fit at the cash register because your Subway sandwich wasn't one of the $5 footlongs and you want the deal anyway. You picked the sandwich and failed to look at the menu board. Idiot.

*You talk to me like I am idiot while I am trying to buy golf clubs and don't know what I am doing and have actually asked you questions...SINCE IT'S YOUR FUCKING JOB!

*You deliberately park in more than one space so no one else can park too close and scratch you car. This makes me want to key your car!

*You drive a huge truck and insist on parking face out. And in the process manage to hold up the rest of us.

There are many many more ways someone might be a douchebag. These all happened today or in the not too distant past. Please add to my list below.

Flashback Friday - Family Vacations Part 1

This was originally posted in Dec 2007 on Myspace. We were on a family vacation that would include visiting aunts and uncles, disneyland, and a cruise...Enjoy!
And yes I know it is really Saturday, but I work on Fridays and couldn't quite get it done yesterday.

Part I
As many of you know, I am currently on a family vacation. This family vacation consists of my parents, my two younger brothers (22 & 17), and myself. To say I was a super excited for this trip would be a little less than the truth. I was excited but also a little scared. Traveling in the best of circumstances can be stressful, but traveling with my family, especially my mother, can be one of the most trying experiences ever!

Our journey was supposed to start at 8:30pm from the Eugene airport where we would catch a plane to Las Vegas. Our adventure did not start so well...apparently there were some weather issues in Las Vegas and no planes were taking off or landing there. This meant our flight was not leaving Eugene as they did not want to clog more air-space over Las Vegas. From Las Vegas we were supposed to catch a flight to LA and then on to our hotel room. Eventually our plane did take off at 12:45am, putting us in Las Vegas at around 2:30 am.

Once in Vegas we had to go to the ticket counter to be rebooked on another flight to LA. Unfortunately for us, the next flight to LA did not leave Vegas until 8:00am. Not what we wanted to hear. After being rebooked, we had to contact the hotel and rental car agency to make sure they held our reservations. And then...my mother decides to go gamble, just to kill time, ok, no biggie, until she breaks the slot machine! Yes, I did just say that she broke the slot machine. They had to call maintenance to come fix it so she could cash out her money. It is now 4:30am, our plane doesn't board until 7:30am and we have all lost our sense of humor.

My brothers and I decide to go to the gate and try and get some sleep. You can only get so much sleep on the, oh so comfortable terminal benches, fortunately we were able to find ones without armrests. Shortly after, my parents join us. We all sleep fitfully until about 6:30 and then we wait to board our plane. There are no more delays at this point.

We finally arrive in LA at 9:30am...a full 8 hours after our original arrival time. As a group we all trek down to the baggage claim and hope our bags have made the entire journey with us. They have. As we wait for the bags to come out on the carousel, two men in USC apparel start to comment on my t-shirt. I am wearing an Oregon Ducks tee. I have now been up for more than 27 hours, I am in my clothing from the day before, do you really need to start hassling me about my t-shirt and my team? P.S. My team beat your team, so there! I originally thought I would be arriving at 1:30am and had planned on a whole different outfit for this new day! Needless to say, this did not improve my mood.

After getting our rental car we hit the freeway on our way to the hotel, only the hotel is more than 45 minutes away. Bedraggled and exhausted we arrive at our final destination for the this leg of the journey. Keep in mind, my Aunt Kerry has a big BBQ planned at her house with all of my dad's family, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. for 2pm. First thing my mother says when we enter the room...don't forget we have to get to Kerry's by 2pm. All we all want to do is kick off our shoes and passout on a real bed.

My brothers and I manage to squeeze in a few hours of sleep before my mom is at it again...wake up, you have to get ready to go to Kerry's. Sam was NOT happy with our mother and basically told her to not speak to him. Ah, family time. We all miraculously manage to get showered and changed and over to Kerry's house by 2:15. It was fun to see family I haven't seen in years. And I am glad we did go over there, but by 7pm we were all crashing.

I am now back at the hotel room, oh and, all five of us are in one room with 2 queen beds and a sofa bed. I get the lucky privilege of sharing a bed with my youngest brother and if he tries to spoon me....! ;)

I am off to bed, you have no idea how excited that makes me. And tomorrow my mom has mentioned going to Disneyland, "The Happiest Place on Earth". Please wish us luck. I am going with the thought that all traveling has its mishaps and hopefully our mishaps all happened at the start of the trip and it will be smooth "sailing", wink wink, from here on out.

Good Night!

Hungry and Cranky make me fabulous to be around

Thursdays suck in the afternoon because I am so hungry I could eat an elephant. Not that I WOULD eat an elephant. I mean, they are endangered and are extrememly intelligent and recognize death and mourn their dead and bury their dead and have fascinating social networks consisting of matriarchs...

Anywasted, I am so hungry. But I refuse to eat anything after lunch because I have weigh in for Weight Watchers. And seriously, who wants to have the burrito they ate, weighing in on the scale with them? NOT ME!

Don't get me wrong, I don't starve myself. I eat breakfast and a reasonable lunch and sometimes when I am feeling super daring, I even eat my afternoon snack on Thursdays, total rebel, I know.

It's just that I am used to eating dinner around 6ish. But Weight Watchers doesn't even start until 6 and then it goes until 7 and I don't get home until 7:30. I am ravenous by then. But again, I don't want to eat right before I weigh in. I will empty my bladder and strip down to my skivvies and remove all jewelry before I step on the scale, but so help me...I will not eat right before I weigh!

Did I mention I am so hungry right now? I have been super 'good' this week too. I tracked everything I ate and stayed within my points. I don't want to mess up my weigh in.

Oh, and being hungry also has the tendency to turn me into an angry momma grizzly bear who just had her cub messed with and is looking for someone to take it out on. Just saying.

Do they make pull-ups for 27 yr olds?

I almost wet the bed this morning. No, seriously. I am almost 28 for crying out loud! Besides I was never the bed wetting kid. I was completely potty trained at 1.5, that's the only reason they let me into the preschool before I was 2. My mom and I were on a site visit and as the owner was showing us around I turned to them both and said, "I have to go potty." The lady was so impressed she allowed me to start before I turned 2...BECAUSE I WAS EFFING POTTY TRAINED!

I have been feeling less than 100% the last week or so and this morning I just couldn't do the whole "Get up and go to work all day" thing. The alarm went off and I told Mike I just couldn't go to work today. My whole body ached and my throat was scratchy. I remember thinking, I need to pee, I'll get up in a minute. Then Mike left.

The house got quiet and the dogs settled back down and I passed out again. Several hours later I remember dreaming and in my dream I was searching for a bathroom at this party I was attending. I was searching everywhere for a bathroom and finally I found one. I felt immense relief in my dream.

I headed into the bathroom, pulled my pants down, sat on the toilet and started to do my thang. I remember thinking in my dream, "Why does that door look like particle board?" When suddenly my consciousness kicked in and was all, "WHAT THE HELL?!" I wasn't in a bathroom! I was still in bed.

I jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom. I made it, but just barely. But seriously a few seconds longer and I would be washing some bedsheets today. Not cool. Not cool at all!

Yeah, it's about me :)

Adrienne straight up called me out. Now I have to do it because I can't look like pussy! Hey Adrienne, do you still dislike the word MOIST?! AH ha ha ha!

"If your reading this, pretend I've just run up to you, shouted "tag your it" and punched you in the arm so you'll do this on your blog too. Booya." (I totally stole that line from Adrienne but she did such a great job of stating it the first time. Why mess with perfection?)


1. What is your occupation right now? Overpayment writer for the state of Oregon. Basically I review food stamp and medical cases and call people Liar Liar Pants On Fire or LLPOF (la-poofs) and make them give the money back to the state if they weren't eligible for it in the first place.

2. What color are your socks right now? Dude, totally not wearing socks. I was earlier, but then I got hot (not that I am not ALWAYS smokin' hot!) and decided to wear flip flops :)

3. What are you listening to right now? Mike and Little Jon talking about putting together a computer and using power tools (insert Tool Time grunts)

4. What was the last thing that you ate? Oatmeal and coffee. I am getting back on the Weight Watchers Wagon because I keep getting fatter and that doesn't make me happy.

5. Can you drive a stick shift? pssh, yes. It is super awesome when you are learning to drive and your little brother is hysterically crying in the backseat and telling your dad that we are all going to die. Yeah, no pressure.

6. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Um...oh, my mom. We are going to look at a house I might buy this afternoon

7. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Yes, I miss Adrienne, she always made me smile.

8. How old are you today? 27, but I look about 16 and in 37 days I will be 28...plenty of time for you to get me an awesome present

9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV? Totally nerdy, but I love watching the Tour de France...LOVE IT!

10. What is your favorite drink? Coffee, beer is a close second and I also like diet pepsi, but I am trying to stop drinking soda because it is bad for my teeth and really does nothing for me nutritionally.

11. Have you ever dyed your hair? Yes, I usually die it a more chocolately brown than I currently have.

12. Favorite food? French fries and cake...no idea why I am fat

13. What is the last movie you watched? I just went and saw "Taken" last night. I really liked it. And I am excited to see the new Star Trek movie too! Don't even think about judging me, yo!

14. Favorite day of the year? Thanksgiving. I mean really, it is a whole day dedicated to eating as much as you can, taking a nap and then eating some more. Did I mention I am a total fat kid?

15. How do you vent anger? I get super snarky and I will talk mad shit about you with my friends and I will clean and eat and then I won't be mad anymore.

16. What was your favorite toy as a child? My little ponies and my brother Sam, I took him for 'show & tell' at preschool.

17. Cherries or Blueberries? Dried or frozen, I prefer blueberries. Fresh and nummy, cherries.

18. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back? Well if I email them first and I know they read my email then yes, I want them to email me back.

19. Who is the most likely to respond? I expect you ALL to do this!

20. Who is least likely to respond? I'm not sending this to anyone. C'mon you stoopid questionnaire... get with the program. (word, what Adrienne said)

21. Living arrangements? I live with my BF - Mike and all our crazy animals. But I am hoping to buy my first house this summer. SUPER EXCITING!

22. When was the last time you cried? Like really cry? And for like, sad stuff? Um, I cried yesterday (at work, awesomeness) because I am coming to realize things aren't going to end up the way I was hoping.

23. What is on the floor of your closet? shoes and Mike's dirty clothes...apparently it is really hard to get the clothes in the actual clothes basket, even though it is RIGHT THERE!

24. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending this to? I am not sending this to anyone. But my oldest friend is Mellie Jean, I have known her since I was born and she calls me Perky or PerkyErky :)

25. What did you do last night? Read a book and went to a movie. 'Cause I am exciting like that.

26. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers? Cheesy yumminess in my tummy please.

27. Favorite dog breed? We always had rotties growing up so I am kinda partial to them.

28. Favorite day of the week? Thursdays, except for the part in the day where I get weighed at Weight Watchers, but otherwise Thursday because it is almost the weekend and there are good shows on that night.

29. How many states have you lived in? Just the two, Oregon and Idaho.

30. Diamonds or pearls? Yes please. Pearls are my birthstone, wink wink. And Diamonds are sparkly, I like sparkly.

31. What is your favorite flower? Roses and Lilies. So pretty.

The Gremlin named Jackie

This is Jackie the Jack Russell, doesn't he look sweet and innocent

No, I did not name him. Jackie was found running around outside my work on a busy street. He was so adorable and friendly and just so full of life and it was obvious he normally wore a collar, even though he wasn't wearing one now. I put an add in the local paper and on craigslist and then a few days later I took him to the vet and they discovered he was microchipped! I was very excited because he was such a sweet little dog and I just knew someone had to be missing him.

I tried contacting the owner on his mircochip and when the number didn't work, I sent a letter to the address. Nothing. Slowly it dawned on me that someone had abandoned him and was not trying to find him.

But he had wormed his way right into my heart and I knew if no one was looking for him he had just found his new forever home (even as I type this he is snuggled between my calves).

He loves to play with Shadow and sometime poor Shadow is worn out and just wants to be left alone...Jackie only has an on or off switch and when he is on, he is a little ball of energy.



He is an excellent squirrel spotter and once he spots one he gets Shadow in on it too. They are convinced one day they will actually catch one of the squirrels and the squirrels love to taunt them mercilessly.





Jackie is a crazy Gremlin impersonator and he is convinced he is as big as a 100 lb rottweiler. He has a knack for nailing all guys in the balls as soon as they walk in the door. And he is utterly fearless. And he is also the best little snuggle bug ever. I adore him.

Here are my boys looking like they aren't up to anything and as pretty as can be.



I love Shadow too!

May Day

Yes, it's May Day, but more importantly...it's my BESTEST FRIEND'S BIRTHDAY!

Her mom likes to tell her it was the one and only time she was on time for anything. May 1st being her due date. I would have to agree with her mom, but I love her anyway. She just operates on Jen-time.

She is also a smidge irked that she missed diamonds as her birthstone by one day. One freaking day! But emeralds aren't too shabby either.

I taught her how to drive. She would talk for me in large groups because she knew I hated it. I killed the moths and she killed the spiders. I am happy to let her turn a year older a whole month and half before I do so, she can tell me how she likes it and I can decide if I really want to do it too :)

Jen and I met a week before our sophomore year of college. She was the Resident Assistant and I was the Hall President (anyone who knows us now, knows this was destined to be the ultimate pairing leading toward world domination). And we were not impressed with each other. I had just driven 500 miles in 8 hours, a large portion of it on one lane highways stuck behind slow truckers. I was tired and cranky. Jen had already been in the dorm for a week prior to my arrival and I think was going a little stir crazy. The only people in the dorm that would house 50+ girls in less than week at that time were Jen and the other RA and now me.

Jen was new to the dorm and I was a "returner". She began asking me all kinds of questions about the house (our dorm was actually a co-operative and while still technically a dorm was in a house, similar to a sorority only totally NOT a sorority). She wanted to know all the house traditions and what was the cook like and how did it all work, etc etc. I just wanted in my room so I could start unloading my car. All I could think was, "Will this girl ever SHUT UP?!" and she thought "Wow, this girl is a total bitch!"

After school started there is an annual competition for all the residence halls aka dorms. It is called GDI (God Damn Independent), it was the counterpart of Greek Week on campus. We were "independent" of the Greek System. Each dorm competes against the others and a winner is named at the end of the week and gets a trophy and, more importantly, bragging rights for the year. GDI was the week Jen and I really bonded. We were both EXTREMELY competitive and determined that our dorm was going to win! P.S. we totally did!

The rest my friends is history. Jen and I lived together for 7 years from the time we first lived together. Sometimes people say you can't live with your best friend without ruining the relationship. That wasn't the case for us. We lived really well together, there was never any disputes over what belong to who, everything was just "ours".

After school I decided to move back to Oregon and Jen decided to move with me. She didn't want to stay in Idaho and I told her she could live with me. We moved back to Oregon and lived with my parents for almost a year. Then we got our own apartment. Along the way we acquired 2 kitties and a crazy scottish terrier.

Then Jen met Brad, the love of her life. It was hard for me to relinquish my spot as her number one. I had always been her other half, she was the Jen in my JenErica and I was the Erica in hers. No mere boy had ever come between us before, but Brad was different. He was "the one".

After two years in our apartment, Jen moved in with Brad. Those were some of the hardest times in our relationship. Because after 7 years of everything being a certain way it was all changing. Even though it was logical and we knew it would happen eventually it was still difficult. There were tears and fights, but we came out the other side, our friendship still solid and going strong.

This august Jen and Brad will be getting married and I am so excited for them. I am also lucky enough to get be by Jen's side as her maid of honor. This august will also mark 9 years that we have been friends.

We turned 21 together, we graduated college together, we turned 25 together! We even work together (how sick is that?!) I am excited for us to experience marriage and babies and grandbabies and retirement together. Because I know that is how long Jen and I will be friends.

So, today on her birthday, I want to wish her the happiest birthday yet and I know there will be many more to come!

Happy 28th Birthday, Jen! I love you!



Best friends

No we have NOT been drinking! Why do you ask?

We love the 80's!