Dare you to move...

The world is full of people who will go their whole lives and not actually live one day....I do not intend on being one of them.

Over the river and through the woods....

I have been off of work the past few days. My first day off we got over 2 feet of snow. Needless to say I didn't go anywhere that day. On friday I went out for a little photo expedition and for a little snowshoeing. It is such a pretty area!

Charla and I decided we would go find a snowshoe trail over by Concord so we could go shopping in Manchester NH when we were done snowshoeing.  Once we actually found the place we were not impressed that the trail was so populated with snowmobiles.  There didn't hit us so we were happy about that.  We stopped and took some fun pictures as we always do.  We finished up our hike and decided it would be a good idea to change our clothes at the car...it was a good idea until some snowmobilers drove by and we had our pants around our ankles.  It quickly became less of a good idea!  I am sure the person across the road shoveling off his roof enjoyed the show as well.  Live and learn I guess!  We finally found our way out of the woods and headed to Manchester.  We were so excited to actually have a choice of places to eat....we chose Olive Garden.  After salad and bread sticks we were already full....then our entree came out and I could hardly look at it.  I brought most of it home. The journey home was a story in and of itself.  It is roughly 70 miles between Lebanon and Manchester.  It tooks us nearly 2 hrs and 40 mins to get home.  It was sleet...snow...thunder...lightening.  We got it all and guess who was driving....ME...the wimpy winter driver.  I got us home and thats all that matters.  I have perment white knuckles but I got us home and thats all that matters...haha.  Here are some pics from today.

Trying out snow shoes!

A photo collage by Smilebox

Charla and I took a class with LL Bean on snow shoeing. We liked it so much we both got a pair when we were done! Can't wait til they arrive and we can go check out more of the trails at the preserve!

CHEERS!!

Here are some of the "cheers"  photos that Emily and I have taken over the past few years.  There will be many more to come!

Sydney Australia

San Francisco, CA



Memphis TN
PS. that is my "brown" coat....does it look brown to you?



Max out your passport

Can you say SNOW TIRES!!!

I have only been in Lebanon for less then a week and we got a major snow storm on wed.  I tried to drive a few blocks down the street for some food and my car was NOT having it.  I came to a hill and I was like the little engine that could...I think I can I think I can.  So need less to say...my car got what it was asking for.  NEW SNOW TIRES!!! 

“For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” –  Robert Louis Stevenson

A few more pics

Time Square

The Natural bridge we found for free as Em mentioned before

Queen of the Road

Foamhenge

Emily's Top Ten

Hello, everyone. Katie asked me (Emily) to write a guest blog about our recent roadtrip to New York.  After mulling around several ideas for the past few days, and considering I have no idea who reads this blog and most of you don't know me and wouldn't realize I'm joking 97% of the time, I decided to stick with a more traditional writing style and go with a "Top Ten" list. Now, I don't really like top tens because inevitably things get left off that should have made the list. However, for the above noted reasons I decided to go with the top ten instead of my first idea which would have been titled "I wonder if Josh & Anna Duggar like spaghetti?"

So, here goes... the top ten things about our trip in my opinion:

10.  Leaving Arkansas. It seemed so empty and there is nothing to do... which probably explains why the Duggars have 19 kids... and counting.
9.  Scoring some sweet Elvis mugs at Graceland and taking our nearly-patented cheers photos.
8.  Not paying $16 to walk a trail to the Natural Bridge and driving the back roads to find it ourselves for FREE!
7.  FOAMHENGE!  Google it.  This fulfilled our mission of finding a quirky roadside attraction.
6.  The constant love/hate relationship between us and Wendy (the GPS).  She'll talk your ear off on the open highway, but does that lady have a thing to say in the city when you need a direction?!?! Doubtful.
5.  Belting our our former road trip anthem, "Come On Eileen" and learning a new one that Katie likes to call "Sex and Spaghetti."  We also promised our selves we would learn more words to Come On Eileen before our next trip so we can sing more than just those three words.
4.  The amazing ribs I had at that little Cuban restaurant off Times Square.  Oh yeah, the full pitcher of sangria was a nice touch too.  Definitely going back there.
3.  Exploring NYC with tour guides who suck at their job and then have the balls ask you for tips.  "We are a service industry you know..."  Really?  I would not have guessed that from the sh#tty service you've been providing.
2.  Buying cute new hats from a street vendor and finding out that (a) when the vendor says "$15 dolla" Katie finds it impossible to say "I'll give you twelve" (true, she really told me she can't do it so if you'd like to sell some overpriced junk to someone who won't hassle you, call Katie) and (b) Katie did not know that her coat was brown. (she thought it was black until I pointed out the stark contrast between her brown coat and black mittens)
1. As always, spending the last night of our trip planning the next adventure!  Alaska anyone?!?!?!

2837 miles to new hampshire...

As I await for a guest blog from my partner in crime on this adventure I will post of few pictures from along the way. 

The Brooklyn Bridge



Our nearly patented Cheers photo! (just ask and we will gladly show you more of them)

This is from a float in a presidential inauguration


More to follow......



Home on the Range

Well now that I am back in MN my body is getting used to the cold once again.  I am enjoying the snow since I haven't seen it in a few years.  Ask me again in a few months if I am still enjoying it when I am scraping it off my car every day.   Slowly but surely the family is filtering in.  My grandma has decided that she doesn't want her christmas tree up this year and she wants us to use paper plates and I for one can't wait to hear Ryan's reaction to that change.  Ryan is our biggest advocate for keeping family traditions alive...he will not be happy.  As for myself I am finishing up all the last minute paper work for my new job and then I will be headed east after the new year.  I just found out today that an old friend of mine will be joining me on this leg of my adventures.  I am thrilled!  She loves to ski so I am hoping to get back into it since there is some great skiing out there.  Emily will be joining me on my cross country drive.  The ipod is full of good tunes and our first stop is GRACELAND!!
As for today I am off to do some catching up over lunch with another old friend! 

What's next...

My current assignment is coming to an end and I am starting to look forward to what comes next.  I took a job in Lebanon, NH.   Yes, New Hampshire.  It is the home of Dartmouth College. I will be working at Dartmouth Hitchcock Hospital.   It wasn't exactly where I pictured going next but I think I will enjoy it. I am excited at what I might learn there.  I have never really been to New England so I am pretty stoked for some good skiing and some even better seafood.  I am going to miss the sunny days of california but not the traffic.   Before this new job begins I will be on a completely different type of adventure....a road trip!  I have to travel from phoenix to new hamphire in less then a week but the good news is that I think I have talked my good friend Emily into joining me!  Graceland here we come! 

More on that adventure to come....

Black Friday....

I have seen some crazy things in my life but Black Friday is up there near the top.  If I ever go out at 3am to go shopping its going to be with my aunt Candy.  She is the smartest shopper I know and she always finds the best deals.  Dillon and I were walking through the mall after we went to the movie and people were lined up for what seemed like forever to get into Toy's R Us.  The part that boggled my mind even more then the long line was how many kids were in it.  WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU BRING YOUR KIDS?  Don't you want them to be able to belive in santa or let them have a little bit of surprise on christmas morning?  It makes me a little sad to think that kids are already growing up so much faster then we did at their age but now they are being deprived of those few moments on christmas morning when they can belive in miracles.  I could go on and on about this but I will spare you all.  I hope all of you crazy shoppers found some good deals and as for the rest of you I hope you enjoyed your sanity.  Unitl next time...

Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang

It all started a few weeks ago when Sandy said she was coming to LA and wanted to go see Chelsea.  She got tickets and I watched the show once so I would know what to expect a little bit.  What did I find out you ask?  SHE IS HILARIOUS!  I was scheduled to work the night before so I had to figure out a way to stay awake until the show.  My problems were solved when I got a text from molly to see if I wanted to go to breakfast after work.  I always knew I liked that girl because she took me to Waffle.  Yes, the waffles are good but the real reason to go there is for the BOTTOMLESS Mimosas....yes I said bottomless.  What a great way to start a day!  Molly was going to be going to Scotland later that night so I was happy to enjoy a few mimosas with her before she left for two weeks.  Lucky girl! 

After breakfast I was on my way to the Chelsea show with Sandy and Dillon.  We got in line just in time.  We were the last of the guarenteed audience!  After standing line line for about an hour they send you through the security (it's worse then the airport)  then they send you back outside to wait in line again and give you the rules before brining you into the studio.

The Rules:

I'll sum it up for you.  Don't stand up and damnit laugh and clap when we tell you to do so! 

 A little side note....if you ever go to to a live taping bring a jacket.  IT'S FREEZING!!!  They had a guy come out to warm up the audience and get them ready to laugh on cue.  If you know my friend J.D.  then you know what this guy looked like.  This guy taught us our role in the show.  He had this creepy fake laugh that made me laugh more then chelsea at times.  There was a little chelsea trivia and the person who knows the least about this woman got the answer right...ME.  They gave me and sandy one of Chuy's balls.  I would encourage you to go to a live t taping if you ever get the chance.  I think everyone needs to learn the "golf clap"   The show was followed by dinner and some wine with sandy's husband Bill and his cousin.  

We got a good laugh at Bill's eyes in this photo!

Follow the magic in your heart....it's the inspiration for your life.

Kayaking with Francy

Yesterday I went kayaking with Francy down in huntington harbor.  It was a great day for it and we had been trying to go for a few weeks but something always got in our way.   I wish I would have brought my camera but most of you that know me also know I can be a little accident prone.  I didn't want my camera to end up at the bottom of the harbor.  I am happy to report there was no mishaps....unless you count the difference between me and francy in what we thought kayaking was.  I thought it was paddling and she thought it was floating.   We compromised!  I did tell her that I was going to blog about her though.  So francy this ones for you!  As we were floating along (i told you we compromised)  we saw some HUGE houses and HUGE boats docked in front of them and I wondered how many of those places were somebody's second house.  What a life that must be?!?! 

Today in Atwater there are kids Trick or Treating at the local buisnesses.  I think I may walk down to the coffee shop do some people watching.  You never know who you might see!

The Happiest Place On Earth......

Last weekend I went with my friend Molly to disneyland for her husbands birthday along with some of their friends.  We wanted to be at the park all day so we got up early and made it there around 8:30ish. I had only ever been to Disneyworld and that was over 15 years ago so I was really excited to see what they had come up with since I was a kid.  They still had many of the familiar things, most notable was the mickey ears with your name on the back...you know the ones. 

They also had some made some welcomed changes.  There was now Captain Jack in the Pirates of the Carribean ride....who doesn't like Johnny Depp.  After hitting as many rides as we could and then hitting some again we watched what was called the World of Color.  If you have ever seen the water show at the Bellagio this makes that show look like childs play.  It was magical~   Like only disney can do!  Here are some of the pictures from the day!  Hope you enjoy!

the past few weeks....

I know I haven't posted anything for a few weeks.  I guess I got a little busy with this spread out work schedule they gave me.   I have yet to hit most of the tourist traps but I did make it to Magic Mountain with Becky and her family.  Man, I had forgotten how much I love rollercoasters.  

I FINALLY got to see Molly. We had a few drinks and then hit the hot tub at her place. That girl is a lot of fun!   I also got to see my brother yesterday.  We met up in Thousand Oaks and had dinner at none other then the Cheesecake Factory.  (one of our favorites)  I haven't seen Dill since I went to see him in Australia last year.  This visit didn't cost me as much.  I hope to see much more of him while we live so close.  

Well thats really all there is to update for the moment.   Not all of my posts will be so blah I promise.  Until next time....

when in rome....

and when in venice do as they do....venice beach that is.  It was either henna or medicinal marijiana. I think a henna tattoo was a better choice given my profession.  Muscle beach and the graffiti were also something to see.   The towers were painted by community groups...mostly kids

My Henna Tattoo on my shoulder





 



what to do with the skunk?!?

I have only been here a week and I have become very familiar with the smell of our neighborhood skunk.  I swear he knows when I lay down in my bed to go to sleep (that is a different time every night)....everytime there is that smell.   Any suggestions on how to get the skunk to go find a new home?  Please don't say "shoot him"   My uncle Craig tried that once and that is a mistake you don't have to make yourself to remember the outcome.   I think its the compost pile in my neighbors backyard that he likes and its not likely that they will get rid of that...I do live in California after all.  Well I am off to the beach for the afternoon.

Until next time.....