Treinta y Cinco

Hubs and I are celebrating my birthday on a beach in Mexico. As far as what last year implied, we'll see whether I end up riding a bike 35 miles for 35 years. Whew!

Have a great weekend!

Joy Pockets: Cinco

The joy has been flowing so fast and furious lately that I completely missed posting last week's joy pockets. That just means I have more to share this week!

• A fun, yet uneventful drive from Colorado to Austin. We drove straight through and crawled into our own bed around 2am.
• Dinner at our place with our awesome neighbors.
• Multiple fun dinners with friends.
• Hubs spent a week in Las Vegas for week, and while he didn't win any money, he didn't lose any either. Bonus!
• Our house is (mostly) clean! This is a direct result of bullet #2, but who cares why?! I just love that I can move around without knocking everything over. Wahoo!
• We are heading to Mexico for a week to celebrate my birthday. Wahoo!

What has filled your pockets lately?

31 Days: Before the Beginning

My writing has always been a lot like my personality. It's a little all over the map. I have a lot of interests, a lot of things I like to talk about, and a lot to say!

Occasionally, I benefit from a bit more structure and focus. Luckily, I have friends who operate in circles where they look for things like that. Green Goose sent me a text message yesterday that she'd found a new gimmick, and of course I was interested. She told me about a project for 31 Days of Change and I decided right then and there that I wanted to, even if only for the fun button I could create for it.

My next task was to pick a topic. What can I write about for 31 days in a row without getting so bored I'd rather clean the toilet? Well, I started created buttons, and that's what decided it for me. The button I came up with pretty much made my decision.

Look how cute this is!

What I like is this is 31 days of change. I'm not expected to position myself as an expert on the topic. I'm learning more about it as I explore.

If you're also interested in learning more about yoga, if you're curious to see whether I can commit to do anything 31 days in a row, come back starting October 1 and let's see how this thing rolls!

And of course, if you like the idea of focusing on something for 31 days, join the party and link up!

Where I'm From

I am from family evenings in front of the television, from Hamburger Helper, and homemade macaroni and cheese.

I am from the uniformity of base housing, beige walls that pulse with patriotism, and being home before the end of Taps.

I am from poinsettias at Christmas, spider plants all year long, and skinned knees from learning to ride a bike. From watching General Hospital and Night Court, Family Ties and Hanna Barbara Saturday mornings.

I am from saying the Pledge of Allegiance at school, opening gifts on Christmas Eve, stubborn streaks and speaking my mind. From dreaminess and a love for words.

I am from those who fought to save this country, those who love it dearly, and those who were taken from this world too soon. I am from terrible singers, decent dancers, and reading by flashlight under the covers.

From Frog and Toad to Trixie Belden and Motown songs I still know by heart. From wishing I knew my siblings as a child to loving them more than I thought possible as adults.

I am from no formal religious background, but church with Grandmas and friends as I grew up. I'm from the choice of no Bible path and an honest curiosity about everything around me.

I'm from a place everyone’s heard of because of a Matthew Broderick movie, from an Air Force base that was mostly destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. From a man who loved pancakes for dinner and a woman with more creativity in her little finger than I ever hope to contain.

I am from a list of Air Force bases I can name if I concentrate long enough, a family history that is juicy and mysterious. From a lucky encounter with a wonderful man who chose to marry me.

I am from a place where mountains rise and creeks swell, from where the air is thin and nights are cool. From a salty vocabulary and attempts to control it in the presence of others.

I am from a list of schools I probably can’t name even if I concentrate, two college degrees, and a thirst for more. From a love of animals and a propensity to memorize song lyrics.

(I still wonder how smart I’d be if I had more room for calculus and chemistry instead of lyrics to 80s and 90s music. My, my, my music hits me, so hard. Makes me say oh my lord, thank you for blessing me with a mind to rhyme and two hype feet...)

Where are you from?

Mental Health: By Any Other Name

It's been awhile since I used my blog to kind of go off on a tangent. That means I'm probably overdue.

I've been thinking a lot lately about mental illness, medication, and American society's seeming over dependence on both, along with the stigmas associated with both.

This is something I think about fairly often anyway. A couple of weeks ago, someone started a conversation on his Facebook page about it. His position is that there is no such thing as mental illness. It's usually a farce perpetrated on "us" by the "so-called" mental health community. To be fair, he has had false and mis-diagnoses and over-medication all his life. He's been told since he was 2 years old that he is mentally ill and needs medication, institutionalization, counseling, therapy, etc. From what I understand, he's been off medication for years and doing just fine and he says he doesn't know anyone who has been helped with therapy.

RemembeRED: My Early Internet

At the end of the last century, I lived alone with my cat. I had a computer and I had used several of those free disks that came in the mail from AOL. I didn’t care to participate in chat rooms and didn’t understand enough about technology to understand the jokes people were making. I also knew I didn’t want to flirt online; I didn’t have enough time for a relationship.

Photo from morguefile.com

I worked on my school papers at home, saved them to disk, and took them to the school computer lab to print. When they’d ask whether I had a PC or a Mac, I would stare blankly until they directed me to a room with machines that kind of looked like mine. I’d put in my floppy disk, find my file, print the paper, and leave, not wanting anything more to do with the computer lab.

30 Posts: Vacation I Would Like to Take

We are preparing to drive almost 1,000 miles today, so I thought I would leave you with another post in the series 30 Posts to Get to Know Me.

Hubs and I love to travel, so it should be no secret that we have thought a lot about a dream vacation and what that would look like. There are at least 10 places on the list of where we want to go, but I'll concentrate on one; the next big vacation we're sortof-planning.

New Zealand
Several years ago, on a lazy Sunday afternoon, Hubs and I were lounging around, channel surfing. We were living in Phoenix at the time and I was probably lamenting the area and wishing there were mountains nearby. At some point, the channel surfing stopped and we watched a show about The Finest Walk in the World, along the Milford Track. This is a 4-day hike from Glade Wharf to Milford Sound on New Zealand's south island, with as much as 6 hours of walking per day. Having completed (in 2008) Camino Inka, a 4-day hike in Peru, we were intrigued by the story, the scenery, and the requirement to stay overnight in huts. No tents allowed. Yay!!

I am fortunate enough to work for a company that provides excellent benefits and one of those benefits is a paid 4-week sabbatical at each 5th year anniversary of service. I will celebrate my first 5 years December 2011, so we're planning to make the trip to the land of Kiwis in December 2012. We're hoping to take a few days to settle in to being on the other side of the world, then do the trek, then continue exploring this beautiful country.

If you live in or near New Zealand, or have visited and have tips for us, please share! We'd like to start making official plans for this trip starting around Christmas this year.

What's a vacation you dream of taking?

Joy Pockets: Quattro

This week has had its share of ups and downs. As always, the joy overfloweth!

• We attended the wedding of two of our favorite people, Hubs’ 3^rd youngest brother R and his 1TruLuv4Ever J. Watching them declare their love for one another in the presence of family and friends was humbling and sparked a desire to scoot closer to my own true love.
• Our sweet puppy Rue met and bonded with family and friends all over.
• We trekked back to The Lazy W and lazed the day away watching Chunk and Dusty dance giggle, Rue chase geese, and the thermometer finally stay below triple digits. Oh, thank you, fall weather!
• After a delicious breakfast where Green Goose’s Handsome taught Rue to beg off his plate (STOP that!!), we drove to Rue’s new home in Colorado.
• We met Rue’s new family, unloaded her tons of stuff (how does a small dog have that much stuff?!), and watched her play in her new yard. I held back tears until we returned to the car to find our hotel for the evening, then let them run freely. We *know* this was the right choice for Rue. We *know* she will be healthier and happier with her new family. And we *miss* her terribly. What was I thinking?!
• From there, it was back to our weekday routines, albeit 1,000 miles from home. I went into the office every day, socialized with colleagues, spent an afternoon in an awesomely fun teambuilding activity. We shared a couple of meals with dear friends and talked about how amazing it is that we moved away from Colorado 5 years ago this fall. HOLY MACKEREL!

We’re packing up the car to head home in the morning. We both love to travel, we love to spend time with family and friends, and we love to return home. Our boys are probably wondering where we are with that barking ball of fur since we left them a week and a half ago. It’s time to cuddle wit da kitties.  

What have you had in your joy pockets for the week?

Joy Pockets: Drei

My joy cup runneth over again this week. We are traveling and immensely enjoying time with friends and family.

Our beautiful Rue puppy has found a forever home. This is bittersweet, of course, since we love her to pieces. Her new family is very excited to meet her and we've been enjoying these last days with her. She will go to her new family after the long weekend.

We are spending a couple of days at The Lazy W with Green Goose and Handsome, as well as the beautiful spirits at their homestead. Chunk, Daphne, hens, geese, a turkey, cats, and of course Pacino. Rue *loved* chasing all the animals and playing in the grass. While at The Lazy W, there was a mini-high school reunion for Hubs, where several folks got to exchange stories of their youth. Not knowing our partners in their high school years, Green Goose and I sat back and listened to these stories, joining the laughter and raising our eyebrows at some of their antics from years ago. We all sat outside under the starry, open Oklahoma sky, relishing in the breezes whispering promises of cooler weather to come. I cannot explain the calm that permeates my spirit under a blanket of stars, listening to the voices and laughter of friends.

Daphne has Rue's undivided attention

Clark is not interested in a conversation.

Ignore the fact that Rue looks possessed. Pacino wants to play *so* bad.

Chunk

Sunrise at the farm

This face. Man, I'm going to miss this face!

Mia narrowly escapes the frantic tail wagging.

We're heading to a wedding Saturday and can't wait to see everyone there. Have a great holiday weekend!

Tell me about your joy pockets. What brings smiles to your face?