Red Writing Hood

This week's assignment is tough - so I'm going to have to work on it.

I'm not sure I want to be a fiction writer.

We'll see.

In the meantime you should know that I'm in a funk.

A serious one.

I can't explain it, but I hope it ends soon.

This may mean fewer, less entertaining posts.

I never can tell.

Miscellany Monday

one.
Ok - I'm back to simple template...This blog design thing is making me CRAZY!


But, I did visit the local library today and picked up a copy of:

So far, it is confusing. And I'm frustrated.


I think that the problem lies in the fact that I don't know what I want the blog to look like.


I need to come up with a plan. Stat.


two.
I can bench 135 pounds.


I'm serious!


In the absence of having a full time job, I have taken up filling my time with lifting weights.


Ok, ok, I just started today. A former client of mine is a power lifter and he is helping me learn more about weight lifting. To get a more toned look.


Today was our first lesson and we did a chest workout. We bench-pressed first, and my final set, I benched 135 pounds. Only once, but I was pretty proud of myself.


three.
Until Friday, I couldn't tell you the last time I went to the movies.

Actually, I think it was at midnight on my birthday, with Dirty, to see SATC2.


On Friday, I saw two movies - crazy, right?!


Tangled 3D was awesome and I recommend it to everyone! And I want my hair cut the way hers looks at the end.


Yes, I realize it is a cartoon.


On Friday night, Peach and I went to see Burlesque.


I don't know if I've told you, but I LOVE to dance!!


There were parts of the movie where I would have liked to just stand up and dance.


I can't wait for it to be on video and then I can put it on and dance around my house.


No - I'm not joking.

TMNT and NKOTB

I am going to apologize for two things:

1. The design of this blog. I am working on it. I promise. I'm about to buy a book that will teach me how to do exactly what I want. Until then, you have to put up with what you see.

2. Being a bad blogger. This Thanksgiving weekend totally got out of my control and I ended up not getting done the things that I wanted to get done and blogging was on that list.

That being said, I do have a story for you: 

Way back in the "good ol' days," we used to spend a lot of time with our cousins Prince William and YogaHippie.

Back then Prince William and Bunner LOVED the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Heroes in a half shell. Turtle Power!)

Us girls LOVED the New Kids on the Block. (Ok, maybe it isn't so past-tense for me.)

So we came up with this silly game to make the boys do whatever we wanted. It was kind of like truth or dare, without the truth, but add points.

The boys got TMNT points. The girls got NKOTB points.

Only I'm not sure anyone ever kept score. (Although I wouldn't be surprised if Sissy pulled a tally sheet out one of these days only to show that she was the winner by some obscene number of points. And it would probably be accompanied by some Halloween candy that she stashed away until everyone else was out.)

And there was no set prize for the person who won the most points.

But, boy did it keep us entertained for a long time.

Back in those days, we also used to take an annual trip to a specific hotel in Flagstaff.

The hotel had an indoor pool and our parents would take us there and basically let us run around the place for a weekend.

We came up with all kinds of ways for people to get points.

From the second floor, there were openings to the pool below. With a bucket of ice, you could rack up all kinds of points.

And I can not confirm or deny that one of the boys received A LOT of TMNT points for peeing in the corner of the elevator.

On Thursday, Match and SuperFan wrapped all of the napkins and silverware with orange ribbon. After lunch, Biggie noticed it and decided that he and Uncle Bunner needed to become Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Wednesday Wisdom

It's been a while, but I'm bringing it back today.

"We all can dance when we find music that we love."

-Gerald the Giraffe

Biggie has a book called Giraffes Can't Dance and it my most favorite book that he owns. When I am there, we can not go to sleep without reading it.

Seriously, if you have small children, go out and buy this book!

Speaking of Biggie...

(Before I get started with this story, I want to a make sure everyone knows that I love Tiny as much as Biggie. I really do. But he doesn't talk yet and it is hard to tell stories about how funny he is because he doesn't use words.)

So, Biggie sings this song. It goes something like:

A is for apple. Aa, Aa, Apple

B is for bear. Ba, Ba, Bear...

And so on through each letter of the alphabet. Using a word that starts with the letter and then making the sound of the letter.

But my favorite is when he gets to H.

H is for Hippolo. Huh, Huh, Hippolo.

Seriously, he calls it a hippolopotomus.

It is SO cute!

Makes me think of this clip from Big Daddy:

Hip Hop Anonymous. Classic.

One more thing about Biggie. He has this friend, Belly*. They spend a lot of time together. Sissy and Belly's mom are good friends. And Biggie and Belly are in the same preschool class.

If you ask Biggie what Belly's favorite bird is, he replies, "A pink maflingo."

When we were at the ranch a couple of weekends ago, Biggie and I were in the truck with Bunner and I asked Biggie to tell Bunner what Belly's favorite bird was. (Say that 5 times fast...)

So he tells Bunner it's a pink maflingo and then asks, "Uncle Bunner, what is Auntie Banana's favorite bird?"

Thankful

So you may remember from a random list somewhere on this blog that one of my goals in life is to write and publish a book. 

I do not know if that book will be fiction, a cook book, a semi-non-fiction novel type book.

I just know that I enjoy writing and I think that other people enjoy reading.

Where does that leave us?

Thanks to yesterday's post, I was visited by another blogger and when I went to her blog, she had this cute little button from the Red Dress Club - so I checked them out.

It looks like each Tuesday they post a "starter" of sorts to get you writing.

I'm going to try it for a couple of weeks - if you hate it, I'm sorry.

This week is pretty easy - write about what you are thankful for.

I guess I should take that back - it is kind of difficult.

When I sit down to write what I am thankful for, I get nervous. If I make a list, I don't want to leave anyone or anything off. I don't want to seem shallow if I list material possessions (although we all know that we are thankful for some of those). I don't want to seem boastful if I tell you about all of the wonderful that is my life.

So, I apparently ramble...

In 2010, I am thankful for life. And love.

For that feeling of nervousness right before I address a crowd of people.

For that funny feeling I get in my toes when I have a crush on someone and I know I'm going to see them.

For the warm comfort of a cup of hot chocolate.

For the ease of conversation with a friend who knows you better than you know yourself.

For awkward encounters with random acquaintances. 

For the thrill I get when I have a hand-addressed envelope in the mail - regardless of what it is.

For the memories that jump to the front of my mind at the strangest moments and make me laugh out loud.

For the pure joy that I get when I'm dancing.

For the freedom that comes with apologizing to someone you have wronged.

For the hope that comes with having a sleeping baby in your arms.

For the breathlessness that comes with seeing a man or woman in uniform hug their child.

For a smile that turns a day around.

For the smell of fresh-baked bread.

And rain on the desert.

And clean laundry.

For friendships that stand the test of time.

For firsts.

For lasts. 

Miscellany Monday

Ahh, Miscellany Monday....

I feel like we are kindred spirits.

With the randomness and all.

ONE

OB-SESSED! That is what I am! With Biggie and Tiny. I'm not kidding - it is officially out of control! But I feel like I have good reason - they are stinkin' A-DORABLE!

While I was in DC, both of the boys were at Match's house. On Tuesday, I was standing in front of the US Capitol building, chatting with Match on the phone until I had to go meet a friend for coffee. She was about to take the boys on a walk so she handed the phone to Biggie to distract him while she got Tiny ready.

Biggie: Aunt Wo?

Me: Yes, Biggie.

Biggie: Are you in the United States of America?

Me: Yes, I am.

Biggie: Can you see a United States of America flag?

How cute is that?

He LOVES the United States of America flag - I think he takes after me.

TWO

Well, here we are - the time of year where everyone gets super stressed out trying to find the best presents for the best prices. Totally disregarding the joy that should come from gift-giving. Paying no attention to the reasons that we celebrate Christmas.

I admit - I have been one of those people.

I'm stopping that right now.

I was talking to Glinda the other day about this whole crazy mess that has become Christmas. It led me to a revelation. I would rather buy you a gift because I was walking through a store in April and I saw something that reminded me of you than feel forced to give you a sub-par gift because that is what people do.

So, if you are thinking about buying me a Christmas gift - Don't!

I would rather have a nice conversation with you over a cup of coffee or a hand-written note when you see a card that makes you think about me and smile.

THREE

Continuing with the theme of Christmas - I am completely opposed to Christmas before Thanksgiving!

(Although, I did break that rule yesterday when Elf came on USA - I can't help it - that movie is HILARIOUS!)

I realize that it is hard to avoid since they start putting out Christmas decorations around Halloween, but I prefer to leave it for after Thanksgiving - let's give each holiday their stage.

I love Christmas music, and movies, and lights, and bows...

But I believe that I love them so much because they are supposed to happen in a small window - which makes them special. If we put Christmas trees up year-round, it wouldn't be so exciting when we put them up.

So - stop! Enjoy Thanksgiving - eat until you have to unbutton your pants. Go to bed early because you have OD'd on tryptophan. Then wake up on Friday and go crazy!

I don't even care if you go to Target at 4 am in your red jumpsuit.

(I think she could have found some more sensible shoes. But I will admit, I did think about checking out the deals.)

FOUR

I had lunch with Granny B yesterday. I love that crazy lady!

I realized that I am VERY lucky to have a family who loves and supports me so unconditionally.

Don't get me wrong - we have our issues.

Our drama.

Our crazy.

But when it comes down to it - we will fiercely defend our own!

Just remember that if you think about taking one of us on.

We come as a group.

A huge, loud, boisterous, nutty group!

FIVE

A picture from my trip to DC.

I was really bad about taking pictures on this trip.

I think it went with the relaxation portion of the vacation, but I did not take one picture in either Santa Fe or Denver and I only took a few in DC.

But there you have Thomas Jefferson - watching over the White House.

By far my favorite memorial in all of DC.

Who I Am

I had an AMAZING vacation!

I don't know if my posts reflect it, but I'm not really a person who relaxes.

I just don't understand it.

I don't like massages.

I can't stand yoga.

In fact, BIL* asked me the other day what I do to relax and wind down. And I honestly didn't have an answer for him. 

I'm starting to think this could be an issue.

Oh well, we'll deal with that later.

Vacation ROCKED!

I loved visiting BodyBuilder, PR*, SS*, CK* and IT!!

Since I've been home I have been thinking a lot about life. (Probably because my life is a little bit up in the air right now and there are a lot of things to think about.)

While I was in DC, IT and I had dinner with a girl that I used to work with. I used to call her a friend, but I've decided that it is time to redefine that specific role in my life.

There are a lot of things to think about and a lot of decisions to be made, but one thing is for sure - things are about to change!

I am about to change.

Suspicious Minds

I have to admit, since I've been on vacation, I've pretty much been disconnected from the outside world. It has been awesome! I have to honestly say that it has been one of the greatest vacations ever - doing pretty much nothing.

But I do apologize because that has also meant that I have not been blogging.

But I do have a funny travel story.

I left home on Tuesday morning - a week ago. I hadn't flown in a while, but I didn't think much would have changed.

I got to the security line and there was a woman with a wand and she asked me to see both of my palms. She ran the cloth at the end of the wand over three parts of both of my palms, put the cloth in a machine and then let me go.

Weird.

Two days later, I was back at the Albuquerque airport, heading for Denver. I went through security and was waiting for my bags to come out of the scanner machine when a woman walked up to me with the same kind of wand and asked to see my palms.

Remembering the drill from Phoenix, I thought nothing of it.

This time, it wouldn't be so easy.

Apparently there was something on my hands that set off an alarm. So the woman takes all of my bags and asks me to sit in a chair off to the side.

I was a little annoyed, but try to appreciate the added security measures.

Then, another woman walks up and informs us that becuase of the alarm type, we had to go into a special screening room.

Are you freaking kidding me?

So into the tiny room we go. And the second woman starts to tell me about how she is going to "search" me.

I have read a few headlines something about people being violated by TSA agents, but I thought it was an exageration.

Trust me. It is not.

I honestly can not think of a way that could have violated me more unless they asked me to remove my clothes.

It was horrible!

Luckily, I passed whatever test they were giving me and I wasn't looking so suspicious when I flew out of Denver.

One more flight before I get home and I'm hoping that I make it through the airport for that one.

Thank You!

I don't think any veterans read this blog, but just in case, I have something to say:

Thanks!

If you know anything about me, you know that I am super patriotic!

Seriously - I LOVE the flag, I LOVE this Country, I LOVE the military (and not just because of those uniforms :)).

So, on this day, I try to think about all of those who have served in the military to protect my freedom!

Those who have served in war.

Those who have served in peace.

Those families who have sacrificed their loved ones so that I may have freedom to speak, worship, and do that which I choose and am able.

We truly are the land of the FREE, because of the BRAVE.

One of my favorite movies of all time is A Few Good Men. Seriously, I will watch it any time it is on TV - it just makes me happy!

Especially this monologue from Col. Jessop:

Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinburg? I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago, and you curse the Marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand a post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to. 

And there you have it. We do sleep under the blanket of the very freedom that they provide - and most days probably don't think twice about the sacrifice that is being made on our behalf. And on the behalf of our future generations.

So, THANK YOU!

Thank you veterans, thank you families of soldiers, thank you families who have lost a loved one in this battle.

I am eternally grateful to you!

Miscellany Monday

uno.

Now that the election is over, I'm going to get serious about changing this blog design. I'm going to see if I can talk Banana into sitting down with me and teaching me a thing or two about design. Stay tuned.

dos.

My grandfather told me this weekend that he is going to hire me to be his campaign manager and that we are going to start our own political party and we are going to call it Cowboys and Sheepherders - and we are going to be "very conservative." 

tres.

I found some pictures from the event with President George HW Bush.

Here is a view from the press stage before the doors opened. I still believe that they call New Mexico the "Land of Enchantment" because they want people to go there. Enchanting, it is not.

Standing on the side of the stage after introducing the President, this was my view. I got chills looking at this picture and remembering that day.

cuatro.

When I was going through pictures to find that one, I found a few others to share:

I have no idea where I found this picture, but if you cut it off at the top of the shorts and turned it black and white it would be the poster.

A picture of Biggie in the same costume that Tiny wore this year.

Back In The Saddle

Here goes nothing...

I'm back. The election cycle is over and I am working on destressing. (Which would be a lot easier if I knew where my next paycheck was coming from...but I'm trying really hard not to break into tears about that whole situation.)

This weekend we went to the ranch for round up and shipping. It was a blast!

Diddy and I left on Thursday afternoon after enjoying lunch with O'Dub. The ride up was just like old times. He drove. I controlled the radio. It's how we remain friends.

Diddy has this fancy Sirius radio with a remote and I can go through the channels to see what else is playing without changing from the song I'm listening to. On a good day this means that we never have to go a moment without ROCKING music. On a normal day, this means that we rarely get to listen to a full song...

I will admit, I have a little bit of music ADD. I'm so afraid of missing a good song, that I'm constantly going through the stations to see what is playing. And nothing angers me more than finding a great song and clicking on that station only to hear the last line. Talk about road rage.

Either way, Sirius wasn't letting me down on Thursday. Vanilla Ice, Warren G, Tag Team, Bell Biv Devoe (I did feel a little old when I was singing, That girl is poison... and Diddy looked at me like a fruitcake and then told me he didn't know who Bell Biv Devoe was), the list goes on and on - suffice it to say that there was a dance party to end all dance parties.

Friday morning, we wake up and head to the ranch with Dirty and PapaBear. Dirty and PapaBear and some others had rode on Thursday and gathered the majority of the cattle herd, but there were a few missing and Diddy, Dirty, and I headed out on horseback to find a cow and her calf. 

It was all fun and games - we were laughing and having a good ol' time - and then we found the pair and they took off from behind the tree they were in. So Dirty and I went one way and Diddy went the other way and we were going to turn the cattle around and head for home, when the horse I was on came up with her own plan. She took off running at full speed.

Let me break for a moment to tell you that this horse comes from race horse stock. When we had a horse race at our family reunion (yes, we did that), this horse KILLED the others. It wasn't even a contest.

So, there we are running full speed after a cow and her calf and I thought I was going to die. Seriously, I have no idea how I held on. Or made her stop.

I always wanted to own a race horse, but I never wanted to be a jockey.

Either way, we all ended up back at the HQ without the cow and her calf and I wasn't getting on another horse.

We had lunch and then took off for the corrals to sort the cattle.

I learned a long time ago that sometimes I can be most helpful by staying out of the way. So gates were assigned and I didn't have one so I grabbed the camera to record the activities. 

Do you see that horse in front? With the red arrow? I hate that horse!

Papa is working his gate, always with a cigar.

 Looking north from the corrals, this is the view.

Now I'm no photographer, but that is a great picture, if I do say so myself.

It was a successful trip to the ranch. We shipped the steers to the feedlot, the heifers to H&M's house, and moved the mama cows to the east side of the ranch for the winter.

We all laughed a lot and we're looking forward to the next trip.

We Win!!

It is the Wednesday after Election Day and I am home after a week and a half on the road.

But it all was worth it last night when the numbers came in and we won!!

Hopefully in the next couple of days I'll have a better idea of what my future holds, jobwise, but for now, I'm getting ready to spend the weekend at the ranch shipping cattle and then go on vacation next week.

While I was on the road, I spent a lot of time with one of my favorite families! One night we were enjoying an adult beverage and I was telling them a story from my past. When Gert* asked me if I kept a journal. Then it dawned on me that Antique said this blog was like my journal, so I figured this was as good a place as any to tell this story and preserve it for posterity.

So picture this, it is October 2004, I'm living in Albuquerque, NM. The Great White Hope and I were working on a Presidential reelection campaign and had been sent to New Mexico for the last month of the campaign. While we had been working in Arizona, we had helped plan a couple of Presidential events, so we were aware of how things typically flowed and what needed to get done in order for an event to be successful. 

A little background (and I realize this part may be a little boring), when a member of the Presidential team such as the President or Vice President have an event, they have what is called an "advance" team, who sets up the event. Basically, deal with logistics, staging, everything to make the event go off without a hitch.

Apparently, former Presidents and President's daughters do not travel with and "advance" team. Or so we found out in Oct. 2004. 

You see, the people running the campaign had sent a low level staff member, who had never even attended a Presidential event to Los Alamos, to set up for former President Bush and Jenna and Barbara Bush to come to a campaign rally.

The day before the event was to take place, TGWH and I were sent in as closers (Brian Wilson has nothing on us!). We literally pulled up to the local rec center gym, where the event was to take place, around 8pm. Doors were scheduled to open at 10am and the event was to begin at noon.

We went inside and got to work. When we went to the hotel that night, we felt good about the set up of the event and all was well. 

Then we woke up. 

We were at the gym, waiting for people to arrive and the doors to open, going over final details of the event. We realized that without an advance team there was no one to do the off-stage announce. (Basically, stand back stage and introduce the guests over the PA system.) We were talking to the peeps back in the main office and they told us that we would have to be in charge of that.

Wizzah wuh?

After I realized that the responsibility would fall on me, I asked the next question - what is the protocol for announcing the former President of the United States? The inform me that you introduce the people with the lowest titles first. Check.

So is he "Former President Bush," "The 41st President of the United States," "President Bush's Dad?"

Do you know what they told me?

"Ask him."

I'm sorry - what did you say to me?

"Ask him."

"Oh, and by the way, MSNBC is going to pick up your rally live, so make sure nothing goes wrong."

Oh teeny tiny baby J, be with me.

Sure enough, President George H.W. Bush showed up and I walked up to him:

Airplane: Excuse me, Sir. My name is Airplane.

HW: Hello, Airplane.

Airplane: I will be introducing you today and I just need to know how you'd like to be introduced.

HW: What are my choices?

Airplane: Former President Bush, the 41st President of the United States...

HW: Uh, I think I like "The 41st President"

Airplane: Ok, thanks.

Long story, short. I was the off-stage announce and it went off without a hitch. Our event was carried live. Everyone was thrilled with us! And we won our campaign!

I would say it was one of my favorite moments from the campaign.

"41" is taller than I would have thought, and he was VERY nice!

Miscellany Monday

I know, I know - I'm a horrible blogger! But I've been super busy with this campaign and have not really been feeling funny. Tomorrow is Election Day and according to JP, "Airplane is going to get her groove back." So watch out.

Until then - here's another random list of my thoughts.

one.

OMG - in the process of typing that opening paragraph I forgot every single thing I was going to tell you. Yes, I am out of control!

two.

If you read my other blog, you know that I think that putting a cat on a leash is about the worst thing you can do. Well, I'm back in Cottonwood this week for work and some volunteers just came into this office with their cat on a leash. I can not put into words my disgust!

three.

Lots and lots of babies!!

I told you before that there were a lot of babies coming soon and here are a few pictures of the sweets!

This is Viper's sweet baby girl!

Bodybuilder's pageant baby!

Big T and Mrs. T's red-headed little guy!

And born just in time for this blog post this morning - Rejuba's stubborn baby boy!

So exciting! I can't wait until I have time to visit all of these teeny-tinys!

four.

My nephews dressed up for Halloween, but since I couldn't be with them, they tried on their outfits for me ahead of time.

Tiny is a dragon/dinosaur

Make sure your sound is up for this one!