Wash With Like Colors and Tumble Dry Low (A Precautionary Tail)

Typically I don't blog at 8:30 in the morning. Usually I blog at night after Samily have gone to bed and while Hot Jeff reads the paper and I just schedule it to post the next morning while you are sleeping soundly. Bestie Kim likes to read it with her morning coffee so I try to please her by having fresh stuff up in the am. Today though, my home is in post-vacation tornado status and I'm trying to do anything and everything instead of cleaning it. I'm pretty sure the disaster known as post-vacation is covered under my homeowners insurance.

I also needed to get another post up because seriously, how lame was yesterday's post? I'm not even sure telling you about how good it felt to sleep in my own bed counts as a real post. You can stop throwing tomatoes at me...I have a good post for you today. The suggestion comes from Eric the Bastard who I don't think is a bastard anymore. Thanks to our mutual friend, Green-Bean Stir Fry Rachel, we are now Facebook friends and it appears he has stopped breaking up with girls who have black eyes, and breaking up with girls who have black eyes is the sole reason he was a bastard.

Eric the not-a-bastard-anymore read the post about me killing my neighbor's cat and sent me a note on Facebook reminding me of the time my cat Macy got locked in the dryer. Yes, I said dryer. As in the large household appliance used to remove moisture from a load of clothing. Just making sure we're on the same page.

It was the summer between my sophomore and junior year of college and I was still living at home at my Mom's house in Park City. We had some company coming from out of town the following day. Having sworn off summer classes, I was home washing bedding for the guest bedroom. The bedspread on the guest bed was a charming quilt my Mom had sewn; it was thick and cozy and a favorite place for my cat, Macy, to lay. To be ready for company I decided to wash it and hang it out on the line to dry.

Only minutes after I hung the freshly washed, wet quilt out on the line it started to rain. I darted out the back door and rescued the rung out quilt from becoming dripping with the Montana summer shower.

I had just put the quilt in the dryer when the phone rang. Leaving the dryer door open I ran to answer the phone. It was Eric the not-a-bastard-yet calling to confirm our dinner plans for that evening. With the cordless phone I went back to the laundry room and without thought or hesitation, finished shoving the quilt in and shut the dryer door. I turned it on for 70 minutes and turned the setting to "Cotton/Sturdy". I turned out the light and shut the door before sitting and gabbing on the phone.

About 5 minutes in to the conversation I said to Eric, "I hear something. I hear a weird thumping". I sat quietly, listening closer. Me-ooow. Thump. Me-ooow. Thump. Me-oow. Thump. Like a bolt of lightning it hit me what had happened, I shouted in to the phone, "oooooooh nooooooo" and dropped it, sprinting to the laundry room. I flung open the dryer door and madly dug into the quilt. I felt damp fur and gently pulled the limp cat from the inside of the heavy, still sodden quilt. Macy weakly cried as I patted her head.

This would be a good time for Eric to comment and let us know if I hung up the phone or if he had to just sit and listen to me sob and pray that I hadn't killed my cat. I don't remember. I just remember the feel of her clammy fur and how her tongue hung droopily out of her panting mouth.

I rushed outside to the patio in an attempt to cool her down. The rain was softly falling and it was cool for a June day. I sat out there, holding her and crying for 10 minutes or so when I decided to come in and call the veterinarian.

The vet had me do a few home-tests to test Macy's vision and hearing and since she was standing and her tongue wasn't hanging out anymore he concluded she didn't need to be seen. She was walking like it was her 21st birthday but overall she seemed to be coming out of it ok.

I went on to have pizza at Eric's house that night and Macy went on to live another 4 or 5 years, much to mother's chagrin. When she died years after the unpleasant event I had Mom bury her in a Maytag box with a fabric sheet.


p.s.
This is why I don't blog while the kids are awake...Samuel just cut Emily's hair.

I Found My Password

Ok, so I didn't really lose my password...I'm just a total slacker.

And since today is FAQ Friday I'll make up a question that suits what I want to write about...

How's your vacation going?

Oh, thanks for asking. My vacation is going wonderful. I didn't realize how much I needed it.

I have this misconception that vacation equates big trip with daily activities that typically include a Disney character. As I've reflected these last few days I realize I have had this misconception and while a busy vacation is a wonderful get-away its typically not all that relaxing. This Montana trip has been SO relaxing.

More times than not, when we come out here Jeff has stayed home. Not because he hates my Mom or Montana but rather because we are coming for 2-3 weeks and he just doesn't have that kind of vacation time to just blow on one trip. So, Hot Jeff is out here with me (spreading his hotness to the friendly folks of the Big Sky Country) and so I don't have that pull of loving being here but really missing my husband. 2 words: huge release.

Another thing is I really underestimated how much recovery I would actually need after my little kidney stone incident. I've been surprised at some of the residual pain/discomfort I've had and how I have needed to take a pain pill or two and watch a movie on Mom's couch. Its been so nice to have the freedom to do that.

Lastly, as I shared very briefly and flippantly a few posts ago, my Shrink increased my depression/anxiety meds from 20mg to 40mg. As you may or may not know, any change in that kind of medicine typically takes 3-4 weeks for the effects to be felt. This week in Montana has been the 4th week and its has been astounding to me to see the change those extra 20mg have made in my heart and head.

Its interesting to me that God allowed my physical and emotional needs to culminate and come to a head simultaneously. During my time on the couch or sleeping in late I've reflected and in turn praised and thanked God for giving me this week of relaxation which has brought my body and heart restoration. I truly feel like "my old self' again and I know the Lord has used the power of medicine and science to bring healing from head to toe.

In the last few weeks of emotional struggle I have felt the El Roi (the God who sees me) so close to me. Not necessarily speaking in a booming voice and giving me "aha" moments every morning but more a of a quiet arm around my shoulders loving me and comforting me. I've felt His Presence reminding me that we all have seasons of silence and struggle, and in my case, even when all circumstances are going perfect and we don't even have a "reason" for sadness or strife. Sometimes the internal strife needs just as much attention as the external.

So that's my last week of internet quiet in a nutshell. Thanks for being patient. Thanks for your funny comments. Thanks for reading my rambling thoughts day after day. Thanks for loving me through this online journal. I take full responsibility for your poor kids who most definitely haven't been prayed for all week long--poor babies.

There's No Place Like Home

Hooray...we are home! After the longest day EVER we are home. We had a wonderful time with my Mom, Gigi, aunts, uncles, cousins and besties but boy oh boy was it good to walk through the doors of our own home last night.

I'm sorry I didn't get PYKM up yesterday before I left. I had good intentions but we had some errands to run (like me going and buying a to-die-for sweater at Kohl's that I had seen 3 days earlier and didn't buy at the time so my Mom took pity on me and went and bought it for me on our way out of town--awesome) before we went to the airport and my kids were crazy insane and literally bouncing off the walls (a bad sign for what was to come later in the day) and it just didn't happen. And seriously, in theory if you take 2 suitcases out shouldn't you only need 2 suitcases on your return? I had to bum a duffel bag off my Mom just to get all the crap home we accumulated on our visit.

My Mom, my Aunt Kathy, my oldest and bestest friend Traci...they will all be appalled when they read this but truthfully my favorite part of the WHOLE trip was watching Grey's Anatomy on a TV. And not just any Grey's Anatomy but the first Grey's Anatomy from like a 73 week hiatus! Mmm...McDreamy I missed you. My entire childhood, teenage years and the few years I lived with my Mom while I was in college we never had cable. We only had the free TV and because we lived in Walnut Grove those 3 free channels didn't even come in very good so basically we only had NBC but now that I'm gone my Mom has gone all 1988 on me and gotten cable! It is so weird that my Mom has better TV than Hot Jeff and I but all she watches on it is Chuck and The Today Show.

You'll probably be very disappointed to hear this but I actually watched very little TV while I was in Montana. I did watch Grey's and a few nights I stayed up late to watch Conan because I love him and I think he's funnier than ever with all his NBC-can-suck-it jokes. And on a side note, if and when we get TV back I will NEVER, EVER, EVER watch Jay Leno again. I'm Team Coco all the way.

Ok, I digress. So anyway, yes, our trip home yesterday was like a John Hughes movie on crack. First of all, we allowed ourselves way too much time to get through the Billings airport security and had to sit and wait for over an hour AFTER the security check points. Then, just minutes before it was time to board they said there was a maintenance issue with our plane. Over an hour later we boarded the plane just to sit for another 25 minutes. And just in case you forgot, I was traveling with a 1 and 3 year old. Yep. Please pass the tequila.

We missed our connection in Seattle by 7 minutes. 7 MINUTES. As we landed in Seattle they made that announcement asking to let the folks who had "tight connections" off first so of course after 45 people LIED and acted like they had connections we were able to get off. Emily's stroller was in ala carte but I knew if I waited for it we would definitely miss our connection so I held Emily and told Samuel he would need to keep up. And wouldn't you know that every other friggin' time we have made a connection in Seattle our departing gate is like 10 inches from our arrival gate but not yesterday...NOPE it was on a whole other concourse. So I am holding 30 pound Emily, dragging Samuel and his Lightning McQueen mini suitcase on wheels and my red handbag (which had lost all of its attractiveness because it had sippy cups and softies falling out of it) and RUNNING through the airport. Samuel is yelling at the top of his lungs, "Wait for us. Wait for us. I have to see my Daddy". It was pathetic. Absolutely pathetic. And just like in a John Hughes movie they were shutting the doors as we arrived, red faced and panting.

Lucky for us Seattle has a connecting flight to Portland every hour. Unlucky for us, we had left our stroller on the ala carte.

We did a diaper change, walked around, bought a bag of pretzels and headed to our gate only to see that flight had been delayed.

You have got to be kidding me. That's what you're thinking, right? At this point, the only thing we had eaten for the last 8 hours were airplane snack food and raisins. Emily had lost her mind to the point I wondered if she would ever return to her normal, sweet self. I actually texted Hot Jeff that I was putting the kids on the plane and staying there in Seattle to look for my sanity and patience. I had begun to irrationally think that we would never get home.

Alas, we did make it home though. Tired, hungry and cranky but we made it. Hallelujah! Here are a couple of my favorite pictures from our trip. I took hundreds and have lots of favorites but I don't want to bore you with pictures of people you don't know. I am going to make you sit through these though.

Cousins!

Samuel and Nana's Snowman

Samuel, Gigi and Emily

Gigi crocheted Baby Pete and Baby Ashley new blankies!

Yes, that is a fire in my Mom's oven. We're not sure what caused it but I have suspicions it has something to do with the fact my Mom hasn't cleaned her oven in 23 years. And I hope you think that last sentence is funny because I probably will get cut from her will for writing it.

I'm Sure You Can Get Ammo Here Also...

My cousin Traci loves to take pictures of funny Montana signs. She's got a great collection of them and they range from the odd to the hilarious. The majority of them have the word "ammo" in them.

The other night I was driving through the little town where my Aunt lives and saw this sign. I loved it. Bug, this one is for you!

Winter Wonderland?

After arriving in Montana safely yesterday afternoon I went outside this morning to shovel the walk so the kids and I could take Gigi out to breakfast. I stepped outside; the snow glistened in the sunlight, its beauty taking me surprise after being gone from it for so long. I inhaled deeply and thought, "This is why I moved to Oregon". As I exhaled I felt the hairs in my nose freeze and my lungs burn with the freezing bite in the air. The snow around me crept in to my high heeled leather boots. What the...?

My mind raced back to November of 1997. It was 9:00pm and I was getting off from the hotel gift shop where I worked. It was some insane amount of degrees below zero and once again, the hairs in my nose froze the second I stepped outside. Although I had just driven my car a few short hours earlier the door was frozen shut and I thought to myself, "I will move to Oregon". Jeff and I had been discussing our future and needing to be near one another so we could do the day to day dating thing and that night it was confirmed for me that I would gladly leave this frozen wasteland of my youth.

Well now I'm here and there is 86,000 inches of snow on the ground and it is 18 degrees, outside. For the HIGH. Isn't freezing like 32 degrees? 18 degrees? That is like a gajillion degrees BELOW the freezing point. That is so cold!

We are having fun though and despite all the snow I did manage to get the car out of the garage and make a trip to Walmart to buy my children snow gear. They look ridiculously cute, by the way, in snow gear and I'm going to make you sit through looking at pictures of them because they are, indeed, so ridiculously cute in snow gear.

Emily's initial reaction to snow was a little less than thrilled.

Emily and Nana. She has eyes in there somewhere.

How sweet are those rosy cheeks?

Samuel and Nana!

Photographic Proof of Why We May

Never Be Invited Back to Nana's

Exhibit A

Emily, after having dumped salt and pepper (and water) all

over Nana's kitchen table and floor

Exhibit B
Cross-dressing, furniture jumping midgets

I'm always amused at myself when I get to Montana and hear myself saying things like, "That's a pretty barn" or "Wow, what a great fence". And what's even better than me saying it out loud is that I'm typically saying it to someone (my Mom or Gigi) who understands exactly what I'm talking about and nods in agreement.

I guess the cliche is true: you can take the girl out of Montana but you can't take the Montana out of the girl.