yoddeling is hard

It's monday afternoon and I have 3 huge tests this week. I didn't study nearly as much as I should have this weekend for some unknown reason. It's like I know I need to study but there's a little voice in my head that says "hey, no worries. You can study tomorrow". Aahh, where is that little voice coming from because I need to strangle it! The problem is I am already in summer mode. Remember in high school when the weather finally turned nice? The last thing in the world anyone was thinking about was school. Maybe it's some sort of brain chemical that senses a change in temp. and *poof* school what? I must rise above my chemical nemesis and march onward! Only 2 more weeks!

After school is out I'll be driving with my homies (zoe and kitty) back up to Boulder. I'm very excited about this. I think May will be a pretty cool month. Paul really wants to sell the house in Vegas and buy a condo instead (smaller, less upkeep) and buy a home in Colorado. I think this is a great idea. We both miss CO a lot and we both have friends we miss a lot. Paul was invited by one of the guys he often helps with poker to the Indy 500 race at the end of May, so we will be flying out there. So cool!!

I also just sold my motorcycle. I am happy to have sold it but also sad at the same time. Man that thing was fun!

Okay well, I'm off to study! Seriously!

Happy Earth Day!

My family and I moved to California when I was in 5th grade. We moved from Sacramento and to Sacramento from Oklahoma. Living in Oklahoma was kick ass! And when I say kick ass I'm speaking in little kid terms: catching polly-wogs in the crick, going barefoot EVERYWHERE, playing in the rain, building forts in the woods, swimming in lakes/large mud puddles, playing hide-and-go-seek in abandoned barns...basically doing whatever you wanted until the sun went down. When we moved to Sacramento I was absolutely lost. My mom wouldn't even let me walk the 10 block distance to my elementary school! We had a backyard the size of a bathtub and it never rained :( I was in hell! Thankfully we only lived there for a year.

We then moved to the mountains of N. California. Yay! More barefoot time! Anyways, I am providing all of this fascinating background for a reason..I promise. After living in a big city for a year and then moving to mountains I found myself with a new, almost unhealthy respect for the environment. I was absolutely in love with the outdoors, the fresh air, towering pine trees, lack of cars/traffic and crystal clear streams right in my backyard. So...as I child I had a very difficult time swallowing the fact that these beautiful trees around me were being cut down to build houses. I remember getting into very heated debates with my father over the dinner table about such things as hunting, logging, fishing, bla bla bla. Like I said, I was very young at the time and have since come to accept some of these things and change my view about others.

So one afternoon my friends and I began our daily walk through the woods to our favorite spot to build forts. But this day was not like other days. When we arrived to our destination we noticed the trees all had strange graffiti on them and little colored ribbons. From my previous experiences hiking around in the woods I knew this could mean only one thing.....the loggers had come. I honestly could not describe to you how upset I was. I thought my entire little world could just end right there. Anyways, after a little tree hugging my friends and I devised a plan to stop the evil loggers from destroying the pristine forest.

The next day we went out with signs that we had made that said things like "NO Loggers Allowed", "Turn Back Or Else", "Save the Trees", "Do Not Enter"..you know, stuff like that. We planted the signs along the road and some in the middle of the road. Then we went to a nearby dumping ground (there were a few places like that where people would go dump their crap so they wouldn't have to pay the Dump fees) and collected broken bottles and situated them in the ground on one of the logging roads so that they would get flat tires when they drove by. I think we even planned on standing in the middle of the road....you know, just in case all of our other fool proof plans didn't work. But we chickened out as soon as we saw the tractors plowing through and we ran away.

It took about a week of them coming in everyday chopping down trees until they were done. But when they finally were done the place was such a mess that we really couldn't play there anymore. It's kind of a sad story actually but my point was just to tell a kind of earth related story for earth day. I'm really glad I grew out of that phase. Honestly, caring that much only made me miserable. Kind of like being in the Bahamas and realizing the plight of the Conch.

After I did a little investigating I learned what a horrible situation they are facing and the most probable outcome for them is that they won't be around much longer. It made me so sad and yet, could I do anything? No. Except not eat any myself. I even told my fellow Bahamian travelers but I saw it did not upset them nearly as much as it did myself and they really didn't even care enough to stop eating it. I realize that even today I take environmental issues to heart quite a bit more than most people so. I'm sure no one else on that trip laid awake at night worrying about the conch :) It sounds incredibly silly, I know.

Maybe this is why people are so unwilling to change their habits. I think all of us in the Bahamas were thinking "well, I'm not going to save the world by turning down the conch salad". Its very unfortunate that most of us think that way but I think that the best thing we can do as intelligent individuals is to stop thinking that way.

http://www.publicaffairs.noaa.gov/releases2003/sep03/noaa03116.html

Alone Time

When I first moved to Colorado I was checking out a lot of rooms for rent in the Boulder area. It was difficult because it was kind of a bad time of year to be looking for such a thing seeing as how school was starting only weeks away. Since Boulder is primarily a college town, rooms for rent can be difficult to find.

I finally found a place that I really liked. The roommates were all fairly close to my age and they all seemed really nice. When I interviewed with the guy who was responsible for giving me the "thumbs up" or the "thumbs down" he said something that initially I didn't pay much attention to. He said that he wanted a roommate that would be around a lot because the other girls in the house complained that no one was ever home to "hang out" with; and he made a fairly big deal about it.

So....the reason for my post today is that I was thinking I must be kind of weird. Personally, I love spending time alone and living in Vegas there have been times where I have gotten to do an awful lot of that. First of all, I have always been this way. I have lived in a lot of places and with a lot of different roommates and I can honestly say that in those situations I always enjoyed having the house to myself. Maybe this is because I have never lived alone. But very contrary to what I just said...I don't think I would like living alone. See? I'm weird.

Anyways, what made me think of these things is that since we have moved to Vegas I sometimes end up alone for days or weeks because of Paul's schedule. I have "a" friend in Vegas but she works a lot. So for most of the time that Paul is not in Vegas it's just me and my peeps (Zoe and Kitty) and I was thinking that maybe because I am really ok being by myself that this isn't has big as a problem as it could be with some couples. Don't get me wrong. In my current living situation (which is living with my wonderful boyfriend Paul) I am much happier when he is home. :)

I think that there are a lot of people who just don't like being alone or they get bored easily or maybe feel like they are missing out on something if they're not with someone. But I think there is a lot to be said for being comfortable enough with who you are to just be.

Ok, peace! Gotta get ready to go out!.............haha j/k.................or am I? :)

Ode to a Zo

Well I guess pretty much everyone else has posted about what an awesome dog Zoe is. It's time for me to give my 2 cents.
Zoe is not just a dog. She is THE dog. The phrase "mans best friend" was created for her. She is a perfect dog in every way. Just when I think I just couldn't love her any more than I already do, she does something that proves me wrong. When I first met Zoe she was merely a blur of blackness right on heels of Paul as they both came running down a dirt road and into the woods. Into the woods because having a dog where we where at the time was a big No NO. It was to be day 1 of a 7 day rafting trip down Desolation Canyon. The thought of having a wet, muddy dog along for the ride didn't seem too enticing at first. However, I have to say that it took only mere minutes for me to see that this wasn't just any wet, muddy dog. Zoe's personality is so unique that within the first 5 minutes of having her on my raft I was hooked.

Zoe seemed to fit right in from the moment we launched the rafts. She fit in so well in fact that most of the time we didn't even know she was there. Not until we heard a big splash off the back of the raft every few hours. There are not many dogs that you can take ANYWHERE and be fully confident that they will mesh. Zoe is one of those dogs. Wherever she goes with Paul or me we never have to worry about her.


Not only is Zoe the greatest traveling companion, she is also a kick ass guard dog. Those who know Zoe can vouch for her sweet and mild nature but not many have seen her darker side. When Paul and I first moved to Vegas he was out of town often. I wondered if anything ever happened while he was gone, would Zoe have it in her to protect me? Well, I think I can now answer that question affirmatively. Not only does she have one of the most ferocious barks I've ever heard but I think she's got the bite to back it up!

Zoe has the amazing ability to make me smile even though I think I've had the worst day ever. She knows how to physically maneuver a hand so that it is in perfect petting position and I've never seen a dog wiggle themselves from point A to B quite as well as Zoe. She is a good judge of character and trustworthy dog. If Zoe is around you are in very good company :)

Zoe has planted the seed of doubt in those who stand firmly by their belief that they just aren't "dog people". Everyone that meets her falls in love with her and I am no exception. She is one in a million and I am so glad she is a part of my life. I've told Paul on more than one occasion that I think she must be an angel trapped in a dog's body.
Anyways, this was my ode to Zoe. She's the best!!