Day 2 - "Against her ankles as she trod, the lucky buttercups did nod." - Jean Ingelow

Ok! One mile down, 364 more to go.

I feel good, but of course in true Amy fashion, I twisted my ankle a quarter of a mile in. I stepped in a hole and just sat down. Chloe was awesome though. She jogged back (yeah I said back...she was consistently ahead of me), sat down beside me and waited calmly for me to get back up.

I got up, tested my ankle and decided a little pain was NOT going to stop me today!

"All the Whos down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot, but the Grinch, who lived just north of Whoville, did not." - How The Grinch Stole Christmas

Tis the Season....

I am even more into the Holidays than normal this year....and I LOVE Christmas!

I just got back from watching a Living Nativity Scene and Christmas Story at the Church by where I work....it was beautiful....

We sat in the outdoor amphitheater under the stars and were reminded of the true reason we celebrate this time of year....I was huddled with life-long friends enjoying hot Chai tea (which, lets face it tastes like Christmas in a cup), singing carols that bring back memories of previous Christmases and portend of Christmases to come....

Now I am curled up on the couch in my new Christmas PJ's, watching Christmas movies, with the puppies curled up on me feet and next to me, and the room glowing with the lights from the Christmas tree....

Being this happy seems almost decadent....but I am willing to risk it....

"No pleasure, no rapture, no exquisite sin greater...than central air." - Dogma

Today I thought all of my sins had caught up with me...

Sunday mornings in my house are pretty much the same every week...no one works, and no one stirs before eleven...except the dogs of course.

They usually wake early and demand to be let out sometime around or before 8. At which point I drag myself out of bed, stumble to the back door, let them out, and stumble back to my room....

At this point I am forced to turn on the high powered, industrial sized, incredibly LOUD fan Logan left behind so the the constant barks of my dogs to not keep me awake.

Because on Sundays....oh my do they bark!

Ok, confession time! My dogs are racists. Chloe and Rasta will bark like banshees if a black person (excuse me...African American) is around. I have NO idea why....but they do. Also, Chloe HATES people in hats. She will bark and bark till you take it off....

Anyway...back to my Sunday morning....

We live across from a church...now I hesitate to call it a black church....but lets face it....it is, as only black people attend this church. Also, all the little old ladies at this church are VERY fond of Sunday hats. You see where this is going....

Anyway, so every Sunday morning as the parishioners arrive, my dogs go NUTS!!!! (thus the fan) However, this morning...crickets...NOTHING....

I didn't notice at first, but as I turned off the fan later that morning.....I realized the silence was deafening.

I went to the window to look across the street and realized...NO ONE WAS THERE...not a single car or anything. That's when it hit me...the rapture had come...and I had been left behind....

"SHIT!" I yelled....and then realized maybe that reaction could be indicative as to WHY I was left behind....but still....SHIT!

So I called my parents house immediately....and like any good God-fearing Christian home at 11 o'clock on a Sunday morning....no one answered....or were they just gone....

Two hours later my phone rings....it's my parent's house....FINALLY!

"Dad?" I ask.

"Yeah!" he said...."How'd you know it was me? Usually your mom calls."

"Well Dad," I say, "If the rapture had happened and someone from that house is calling me.....well, lets just say I am pretty sure Mom will be missed!"

He didn't get it....and that is probably best!

Dog Days of Summer

This Fourth of July weekend, I am staying with some friends of the family and my parents at a lake house on Cedar Creek Lake.

At this house, there are nine people and nine dogs....

I am about to pull my hair out! Last night I slept (and I use that term VERY lightly) on the sofa with my two dogs and then at some point in the middle of the night two more dogs joined the mix.....

If I never see another dog (other than my own) again, it will be to soon!

"I'm your father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate." - Spaceballs

I SWORE I would not live in a house with three girls ever again......especially not a house with three girls and three dogs....been there, done that....it SUCKED!

However, albeit temporarily, I once again find myself in a seemingly similar situation....but this time...



Me and Sarah....technically she is the girlfriend of my roommate Tim who is in Alaska for the summer....but she is living in his room for the time being....with her dog Spencer.



When you get REALLY bored one sunny summer day....and the estrogen is flowing....in our house, the wigs fly.....


Me channeling Betty Boop.....



Whoa...black hair really brings out my darker side....



Me "Boop-Oop-A-Doop"-in....with Brin and her LONG brown hair piece (it's there...trust me)....she is my girl roommate that is permanent (along with the boys in Alaska).



My black wig....Brin's brown hair piece....and Sarah's Blond wig!



Vogue!



Then the dogs got in on the fun....


Chloe as Betty....




Rasta as Veronica....



This time around....we are having MUCH more fun!

"That's no dog....that's family." - White Chicks

Say hello to my little friend.....all of them :)

Chloe was VERY resistant of Rasta in the beginning....but now they are truly kindred spirits.....

CHILLIN....


WHAAAAAAAT????



Logan and Chloe.....they like each other too.....

Can you go home again?

Evidently what I need right now is some comfort! I have been stretched to the max emotionally lately and these are the things that usually help.....so I am about to start working my way down the list below.

This is the first time since moving to Austin that I don't feel at home here. I feel transplanted and detached from the people and places that have made this home. (Mostly because my apartment feels like a hotel room since I don't feel safe there anymore.) I have great friends here....I have family close (my brother and Jenny) but I need HOME!

I know there are so many friends that I graduated high school with that only go back home when they are drug by the skin of their teeth. I don't feel that way. I LOVE my hometown. It is tiny, everyone knows everything you do and there is nothing to do there but talk to the people you know. Sound boring as hell? It can be, but mostly there is a comfort in knowing that there are all these people keeping up with you. There is comfort in knowing that everyday is the same and that you can set your watch by the smells coming off the grill at Mr. Kenner's or the time the logs are being dropped at the mill.

Sniffing the air......"Mr. Kenner put the chickens on the grill....bout to start the lunch rush....."

I love that on Thursday's at noon, I know that all the men in that town that I love, will be gathered eating fried chicken at the Lion's Den and that I am always welcome there.

I love that the ballpark is still the best place to get a burger and that we actually go into ballpark-burger-withdrawal in the winter.

I love that when I drive down the main streets in town my left hand never sets on the steering wheel because I am waving at all the cars I pass....and that if I didn't my momma would have heard about it before she left school that day.

That's it.... I have just decided.....I am going home....SOON! I need the smell of the pine trees and the sound of the mill rumbling in the distance. I need the sight of the sunlight streaming through the stain glass windows in the sanctuary on Sunday morning. I need it all! There is a spot I hit on the drive home, where the mesquite trees give way to more majestic pines and the weight of the world that rests on my shoulders gets lifted away with the tree line.

I know I am over simplifying things, but hey....it's a simple place....and for the most part, we are a simple people.

If you don't have a place like this....you are more than welcome to join me in mine. But I think we all have a place that just by being there, makes us stop and take perspective. It makes us look into ourselves and find the peace we have been lacking.

I love to travel and see different place....the sights, the smells....the exotic difference of it all....but I will always need....home.

List of Comforts:

Comfort food: A Sonic DP and my grandmother's Apple Dumplings

Comfort People: Mindy....Mom.....basically the girls....

Comfort Movies: The Princess Bride, The Wedding Date, The Count of Monte Cristo

Comfort Cuddlers: Chloe

Comfort Huggers: Dad (why does a hug from your dad make everything ok?)

Comfort Music: DON'T LAUGH....if I am mad at a boy: Alanis Morsette......... if I am sad about school or work: The Dixie Chicks (I know there is much better music out there....but we are talking comfort here.)

Comfort Clothes: summer - my Dr. Seuss boxer shorts and my "hits happen" t-shirt; winter - my blue zebra-stripe flannel pj's with matching house shoes

Comfort Place: The backyard at my parent's house....laying in the grass between the pecan trees....laying still enough to hear the rustle of the leaves in the trees and feel the caterpillar walk across your hand.....

My turn to talk!

Hi! It's me Chloe!

I wanted to say hello to all of you that read Mom's blog.

There are a couple of things I need to get off my chest!

First of all, to the people who keep breaking into my mom's car.....

STOP! I mean I don't bite or anything, but I know a mean pit bull a few blocks over that really gets off on that type of thing!

Next, I would like to say that the reason Mom isn't writing this herself is because she has a biology test tomorrow that she is studying for that makes her want to cry. Which is also why these posts are kinda few and far between these days.

Also, you all need to know....today is my birthday! Please bring Snausages and Milkbones! I really do love them....but no squeaky toys....Mom really hates those!

Lastly, when you bring the goodies for me, Mom could use a hug! She keeps referring to this weekend as Crapfest 2007 and tonight she cried. I tried to hold her, but unlike Josh, I do not have disposable thumbs..... (yes, I know it is opposable....it is a joke).....what?

Then how am typing? Jeez....Mom is right....you guys are a tough crowd!

I love you all! Woof!

Friends....

I have such great friends! Lately I have been having such connections with my friends.

I know that sounds weird. If they are your friends, then of course you have connections with them. But maybe you know what I mean when I say that like the moon, friendships have phases.

I have been blessed in my life to have friends that I can trust and rely on, but I must say that usually I have one GOOD friend at a time.

Lately I feel blessed to have many friends! I have met new ones that I can tell are going to be a part of my life for years to come, and I have further cemented friendships that have been there for years past. Guys, thank you for you love and support through all the drama that is my life!

por ejemplo.....

Me and Joshy: We have known things about each other before we realized them ourselves....that hasn't changed after all these years and I am so thankful for it! I love you Joshy!

Me and Jessica: She makes me laugh, A LOT. She also lives her life in a way that is inspiring to all who know her. Plus she makes everything Gouda!

Me and Mindy: Wow! Where to even start? She has been my best friend since second grade, but she still manages to amaze me with her intellect and heart. I love you and thank God for you daily. And the night of the Madrigal.....

Me and Tricia: We met at trying times, but God knew I needed her to get through them! Now we deal with minute men and less trying issues.....

Me and Allison: The funniest girl I have ever met. She has a confidence about her that leaves me in awe. That Can't Be Yogurt! (good luck with that red scurvy)





Me and Kayla: We are still getting to know each other even though we have known each other our whole lives. I am enjoying the journey. Plus she "meets" my friends well!




Me and Dylan (and Logan, but we'll get there in a minute): We hardly know each other, but I feel a level of comfort with him that is so telling of his kindness. Sorry again about the whole sick in the car thing!







Me and Logan: I never expected another "best friend" in my life, and I surely didn't expect to find it in the "frat boy" persona a saw when I first met him. (But that was my own prejudice.)His generosity of spirit and genuine interest in everyone he meets is just the tip of the iceberg with him. I love you Doobie!





Me and Jennie: She is my brother's girlfriend, but she is now my sister.....whether it ever becomes official or not. I first loved her because of the way she treated my brother, but now I love her for the woman she is.



And last but not least.....Me and Chloe: She is the smile on my face when I go home each day! She is the best dog EVER! Screw diamonds! Dogs are a girl's best friends!

How dare you call me carrots?

Chloe is my yellow lab...

SHE IS AWESOME!!!!!!

She pretty much has the coolest personality of any person (much less dog) ever....

Unfortunately, she does take after her mom in one way.....she talks....a lot....

When I come home every day, she meets me and proceeds to tell me about her day....which I think is adorable, and I highly encourage by saying things like, "Really?" "Uh uh, Chloe. No way that all happened in one day!" and stuff like that. She makes this weird sound that really does sound like she is talking...

This summer we have been spending an insane amount of time at Town Lake walking and running (much more walking than running, but it is a process)...

When we first get there she is extremely excited and she tells me....LOUDLY....unfortunately she is so used to my carrying on that conversation with her.....so, unless I reply, she just gets louder and more insistent until I say something.

So.......we are known at Town Lake as The Weird Girl Who Talks With Her Dog, and Chloe.

It's my Indian name! But hey, normal is boring right?

Right?

Hello?