Homework…

Going through some stuff on my computer and deleting, I found this. Alyx wrote it last year. I didn’t want to lose it, but can’t keep it on my computer anymore.

A Family of Love

                (HOOK) “Families are like fudge - mostly sweet with a few nuts.” (G.D.T) My family may be a bit crazy, but they care for me more than anyone can. They care for me and are on my side even if I am wrong. (Thesis) My family is important to me because they are always there for me, they show me what really matters, and we forever bond.

            (TS) To begin with, my family is important to me because they are always there for me. (1^st PT) First, when I am sick, my family always takes care of me. For example, when I had the stomach flu, my mom took a while off work to make sure I was not too hot or cold, fed, and comfortable. She went to the store multiple times to get soup and gadgets to entertain me. (2^nd PT) Moreover, My family supports me in sports. (EX) My mom, dad, and sisters went to every one of my soccer games to cheer me on, even after the many losses, they never gave up on me. Two days a week, for about four years, my dad has been at all of my karate classes, bought me all my gear, and supplies I need, and taken me to all the tournaments. (CS) My family means a lot to me because they stick by me.

            (TS) In addition, because my family shows me what really matters, they are very meaningful to me. (1^st PT) To start with, laughter, honesty, hope, and courage, are traits and ideals that really matter. ( EX) Through thick and thin, we have still had hope that we would get better. After a sad divorce, we still laughed and had courage to accept the new adventures in life. (2^nd PT) Similarly, they have shown me that sticking together is the most fundamental way of life. (EX) Through the drama of our daily lives, we are happier when we are together and support one another. We are each other’s best friends and support system.  (CS) In short, my family is important to me because they  show me the ideals that matter, and we stick together.

            (TS) Finally, family is the main idea because we have forever bonded. (1^st PT) One, we share many common interests. (EX) For example, my sister and I both do karate, and my family love music. Together we sing and dance. (2^nd PT) Likewise, we cook, bake, and hang out. (EX) Whether it is playing a board game or baking, we share laughs. For my sisters sixteenth birthday, we made a homemade cake and we messed up many times, but each time was a good laugh and memory. (CS) Thus, sharing common interests and hanging out with eachother makes my family very important to me.

            (RT) All in all, family is the central force because they are on my side, show me the ideals that are needed, and we share good memories. (Summary) Everyone needs someone to talk to, help them, love them, and always be on their side, and family has and does all of it. (Clincher) So why do family always care for you?

14 Years together

14 Years together, originally uploaded by Random and Odd.

At Fort Fungston in San Francisco, I captured this picture. I was touched.

Most Awesome Friday!

My morning started with Wendi calling me and telling me that were going hang gliding in San Francisco.

All day I have been sending her texts, “I am SOOOO excited!”

I had looked up hang gliding after I started skydiving. It was something I wanted to try, but it was another extreme sport and I was already getting enough shit for skydiving, mentioning wanting to try bungee jumping and my lifelong dream of scuba diving (in cage) with Great White sharks.

This morning, my best friend Wendi, Kara and I will head out for San Francisco to meet up with one of our skydiving friends as he pulls us into the world he has been a part of for 13 years.

I was thrilled that Kara was invited.  She’s the little sister in our skyfamily.

He said to bundle up because it gets cold where we are launching from, but I left my favorite sweatshirt in Oregon and I can’t find my DZ sweatshirt (Kara stole it!).

I sent Wendi a text last night, it would be the 5th text that she would get, “Have I mentioned that I am excited?”She sends me a text back, “No, this is breaking news!”Eeeeee!!!

My life ROCKS!

Moooommmmmmm….

I promise my mother whenever I do anything dangerous that I will let her know.  I usually call her seconds before and minutes after I am done, but don’t usually give her too much time to think about it.

Hey mom, i’m going hang-gliding this weekend in San Francisco!!

Don’t worry…I’m going to be fine. I’m going with Captain America.

Mom, watch this!!

Well worth the minute to watch.  I love my life, I love my friends!

Watch Video

What a weekend!

Bear!, originally uploaded by Random and Odd.

I had an awesome weekend…minus the whole ending up in 3 different planes just to get home.

My niece, Cassie, got married this weekend.  She’s (take a breath) 19.   I wanted to slap her in the head when I first heard she was getting married.   I can’t really say much because I was 20 when I married my first husband.

This post isn’t about her getting married, it’s about the plane ride there (and the most amazing welcome home.)

I meet the coolest people when I am in a plane.  Usually it’s a 15 minute flight to altitude before the door opens and we jump out, so the normal, ’soooo, where you going? where you from?’ isn’t really a good conversation starter.
On the way from Seattle to Redmond I met this amazing older lady.
She told me the story of how she ended up living on the big island and I was captivated by her being fearless as she boarded her plane when she was 19 years old and only turned back to tell her family and the man that proposed that she wouldn’t be coming back.  She told me of her adventures in Italy and showed me some of her artwork.
I told her of my daughters. She said I looked so proud when I spoke of them.

This woman was soft spoken and so I had to really pay attention to the story.  Falling deeper into her 3 months in Italy and hearing her voice almost change to Italian, I realized I wanted to be this woman. I wanted her fearless nature to just board a plane and end up wherever.  She told of the years she was married and was a step mother to five.  She talked of his affair and how she simply wanted her life back. I could relate and bobbed my head in agreement as she showed me her hands and what the artwork and given back to her.  She didn’t care they were gnarled. I didn’t either.

She said to me, “it’s not what life gives you, it’s how you accept it.”  That works with the good and the bad. She had cancer, she fought it with an attitude of happiness.
“Why would I want to bring other people down? If I am going to die, then so be it. If I am going to live, I am going to live. I’m going to make sure that I make someone’s live better just by being here.”
I want to be this woman. I want to be on a plane someday and this woman sits down next to me and says, “You headed home?” and I say, “nope, I am going somewhere new…” and tell about how I survived this life with grace.

Coming home was fantastic. 4 days with my family was amazing, but pulling onto my street and seeing my daughter’s Jeep and boyfriend’s truck in the driveway made the stress of the previous 9 hours melt away.  I soaked in his smile and laughter when I finally got out of the car, wailing about how much I hate planes and I never want to get into another one again.
“I HATE PLANES!” I couldn’t even find the energy to pull myself out.
“except for the next one you’re going to jump out of.” He laughed and helped me out, pulling me into a hug and telling me to shower.
“No, I hate that one too! I hate the sound of them! the smell of them! I hate propellers and jet fuel!” I whined in his shoulder.  He knew all that wasn’t true. I just wanted to be home.

The girls were already on the couch relaxing after their drive home from the wedding.  They drove and I flew and they beat me home. So wrong.
“I SWEAR I didn’t ONCE say, ‘ha ha, i’m flying and you’rrrrrrreeee not!”
“It’s just the fact that you got to fly and your children had to go in a car…Karma.”   Kara pointed out.

It was wonderful being home. The woman’s story still creeps into my mind and I wonder if it was actually the woman from Eat, Pray, Love that was next to me (I asked her if she read it, she did and loved it).  I’m reminded of the love on my nieces face when she was weeping through her vows. The way I felt so welcomed when I got home.

Today is one of those days where I am aware of the blessings I have in my life.

Bumper Stickers

I was never a fan of bumper stickers until I started driving a POS car…er..I mean, “sweet ride”.
My friend, Heather from  http://www.212degreedesigns.com/ makes all the coolest stickers.  If you’re a skydiver at Lodi you probably have one on your helmet or something on the back of your car…or you might find a few on the plane!
If you’re into Roller Derby you’ve seen her work… she’s ALL over the place. In fact one of her stickers is in a movie…and about 400 skydiving videos!

On my way to work today I contemplated calling her and having her make me a new one; “Get off my ass or I will slam on the brakes and take the risk of you slamming into the back of me! I don’t care anymore! I will stop this car, get out and pull you from your car and beat the living hell out of you, you fucking idiot rat bastard!”

Yes, I realize I will need a pretty small font.

I drive to work every day and usually I do pretty good.  For those of you that don’t remember the anxiety thing I battle, I still have it, but I keep it managed. UNTIL SOMEONE RIDES MY ASS ON THE WAY TO WORK.

I calculated the last year of driving to and from work comes to about 480  hours.  How in the world haven’t I killed someone yet because they pulled up too fast behind me, followed too close or was just a straight up ass behind the wheel?

Baby Steps, Dr. Marvin have turned into RUN FOREST RUN moments.   I’m getting better!

I could use that bumper sticker though!

DROP THE OAR!

What a fabulous weekend!

Decided it was time to get out all the gear and head up to the lake.   It was  a good choice for a weekend get away…EXACTLY what was needed.

Did some fishing…caught nothing but some sun.

At night I could hear something moving around in the woods and since that something wasn’t carrying a flashlight I knew it had to be an animal.
“Look, can you see the eyes?” I tried to show Lester.
“Nope.”
A couple of nights before we went camping we were running around the school trying to get a picture of a skunk so it wasn’t out of the ordinary that we would go investigate what made the loud sound.
I put the flashlight back out to where I thought I saw the eyes. Lester said, “No, to the left a little. Closer the bush that looks like antlers.”
The bush ended up being an enormous 8 point buck. He wasn’t alone either, with his 8 point buck brother. It was amazing to watch them just chilling out there, somewhat unafraid of us humans.

The second night was relaxing as well.   He started building the bonfire at 11am and kept looking at me for the okay to start it up.  I caved in around 6pm.

In the morning we were like a well trained packing team and got the truck loaded up and back on the road and headed for the nice hot showers at home.
Ten minutes of scrubbing my feet and washing my hair about 3 times did the trick.

Good memories.

You know when…

You know when something shitty happens between you and a friend, or boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife or coworker and you’re going through it…your friends always say, “it’s not you, it’s THEM.”  and that’s spose to make you feel better?
It never really does make you feel better because as natural humans we figure it has to be something we did, said or just is to have caused it to happen in the first place.
You go through all your faults with a fine tooth comb and think of everything you did that MIGHT have caused the other person to get weird and not be your friend, boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife or coworker that was once cool to you, but now isn’t.
I went to the umptenth degree of analyzing what I could have done that caused me to get to where we were…thinking it was the new set of TV shows I had added to the Tivo.  Yes, THAT HAD TO BE IT. Maybe that show was the one thing that set that person over the edge.
Crazy, yes…but that’s what someone does. It’s what *I* did.

Then you hit the next phase…maybe it WAS the other person.  In the back of your head though…you still think it was because of something you did…because that person seems to be alright now.

HA!  Let me just say this…when someone says, “it’s not you, it’s them..”  BELIEVE THEM.

I am finally free of all those doubts because I got the validation I needed in an text today!

I am moving on with a clear head and knowing that there wasn’t a damn thing I could have done or been to change the outcome!

THANK YOU JESUS, HOLY SPIRIT, KARMA GODDESS or whatever higher force it was that brought it.

Pork Roast with Carolina Gravy!

Today sucked so I decided to do what my sister does when she has a rough day. I pulled up a recipe I wanted to try.  Money being tight I went with Pork Roast.   Yes, meat…I went about a month before I caved.

Kara and Shea decided to help me out.  We turned on the music and began cutting up the onions, leeks and garlic.  After we finished reducing it all down and put it in the dutch oven, Shea helped me core the mushrooms so we can stuff and bake them.

They turned what was a crappy day into something fun with my girls.

For the recipe CLICK HERE.